I shook myself out of my state of shock. “Mom? Dad? Is everything okay?”
Mom grabbed me in a bear hug. “I could not stand it anymore. With you two having your fight, Satin having her problems, and you both overworking I-” She paused and took a calming breath. “I apologize for showing up like this, but I needed to see you two.”
I returned her hug. “Mom, it’s fine.” I patted her back. “At least neither of us passed out twice to prompt a visit this time.”
Mom gave me a disapproving look. “While I appreciate the attempt at humor, I would prefer you not joke about that.”
Dad moved to stand beside Mom and rubbed her shoulder with a hoof. “She was not the only one concerned. Satin promised to write as soon as she got here. When we didn’t get a letter, we both got worried.”
I heard hoofsteps approach from behind me.
“Hello again,” Coco said.
“Miss Coco!” Mom let go of me and hugged Coco. “What a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think we would see you this evening.”
“It’s good to see you too,” Coco told her, returning Mom’s hug.
“Has Pin been behaving?” Mom asked letting Coco go.
Coco released Mom and nodded. “I just got back into town today, but from what I can tell he has been.”
“Where did you venture off to?” Dad asked.
“I went back to Manehattan to help with an annual community play.”
“That had to be an interesting experience.”
Coco smiled and nodded. “It turned out to be a lot more involved than I expected.”
Dad looked past us. “There’s Satin, dear. I don’t recognize the fellow with her, though.”
Mom assured, “We will soon find out.”
“I’m not sure I like the sound of that.” Stormbreaker asked Satin, “Should I make a run for it?”
“Hold still,” Satin advised. “If you show fear and bolt, she will hunt you down and make you pay for the extra effort when she catches you.”
“That sounds about right,” Dad said, gaining him a glare from Mom.
Mom walked over to Satin and hugged her. “You worried me.”
Satin hugged Mom back. “I’m sorry. I should have written, but it slipped my mind. I’ve been busy trying to mend bridges, bake cookies, and reconnect with ponies here.”
Mom and Satin let go of each other.
Mom turned her attention to Stormbreaker. “My name is Intense Study. May I know your name, sir?”
“My name is Stormbreaker.” He gave Mom a bow. “It is a pleasure meeting you. I was looking forward to meeting you, but I was not expecting to so soon.”
Mom studied Stormbreaker with an intimidating amount of intensity. “You competed against my son in ice archery in the Equestria games and took the gold medal.”
Stormbreaker returned to standing. “I did.”
“How did you come to know Satin?”
“I am a part time ice archery instructor at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She and I met each other there while she was tutoring one day.”
Mom’s eyes widened. “You’re her special somepony. That is why you were both acting like you needed to protect each other from me.” Mom snorted. “Do not look so surprised, I saw how you shifted your stances towards each other when I walked over. It is a classic response to a threat by ponies who care for each other.”
“He’s more than my coltfriend,” Satin said, sounding more like a filly than I had heard her in a long time.
Mom turned her head towards Satin and prompted her to continue with her expression.
“He’s my fiancé and the father of our foal.”
Mom swayed for a second and then collapsed more than she sat down.
“Dear?” Dad asked, brushing past Coco and me in his rush to get to Mom.
Satin put a steadying hoof on Mom’s shoulder. “Mom?”
“You are with foal.” Mom said in a disbelieving whisper.
Dad got to Mom and hugged her from the side to steady her.
“I am going to be a grandmother,” Mom said, sounding a little more like herself.
“Is it going to be a colt or filly?” Dad asked Satin.
“We don’t know,” Satin responded.
“Do you know what tribe of pony the foal will be?” Dad followed up.
“We didn’t want to know that either,” Satin said. “We know things are going well so far and that is about it.”
“We will love our foal as they come,” Stormbreaker said.
“You have to know to plan,” Mom said looking to Satin. “What school will the foal attend? Cloudsdale’s Flight Academy? Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns? You need to start thinking about these things now, before your windows of opportunity to get the foal into a good school close.”
Satin had tensed up as if she were a foal getting a lecture.
“Dear,” Dad kissed Mom’s temple. “We can help them figure the rest out later. Look what you are doing to Satin.”
Mom took a deep, slow breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. “You are right.” She gave a feeble attempt at a smile. “You were going hold off telling us till the last minute, were you not?”
“I haven’t been hiding it. So far, it’s been such an easy process I didn’t even suspect I was pregnant until a few days before you took your trip here.”
“That was an unresponsive answer,” Mom said. “Were you going to tell us or not?”
“I was going to hold off,” Satin admitted. “After seeing how you two freaked out over Pin coming, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing how you would react to my being pregnant.”
“You remember our arguments over where he would go to school and all of that, don’t you,” Dad said sounding remorseful. “We tried to have them away from you so you would hear, but it seems we weren’t as successful as we had hoped.”
Satin nodded. “Beyond the fighting, you two seemed to want to plan every step of his life before he even got here. As a filly that bothered me not just for his sake, but because I realized you two must of have done the same for me. When you are nine, that leaves an impression.”
“You think I would do that with your foal too?” Mom asked Satin.
Satin ears fell, and she seemed to steel herself. “I think your ‘advice’ could bec- “
“No! No! No!” Piña raced into the room and put herself between Mom and Satin. “Satin can’t get upset! Please, whatever you’re arguing about, stop!”
Wondering where Piña had appeared from, I looked to the back door. In the still open doorway stood Pinch.
Pinch glanced around at the group of us in the workroom looking concerned and confused.
Piña hugged Mom and looked up to her with almost frantic eyes. “Please stop! Even if she’s wrong, stop! Please!”
Mom smiled at Piña, even as tears went down her cheeks. “I will, sweetie.” Mom hugged her back and nuzzled the top of her head. “I will.”
Satin let out a breath as some tension left her.
Stormbreaker cupped Satin to his side with a wing. “You okay?”
“I’m okay,” Satin said in a less than convincing voice.
Pinch walked up to me and asked in a hushed tone. “What is going on?”
“Mom and Dad surprised us and dropped in to check on me and Satin,” I told her.
“They just found out about the foal,” Pinch stated as if she were certain. Pinch drew in a breath as if she were bracing for something and gave me a quick hug. “Wish me luck,” she whispered and let me go, before I could even react.
Pinch walked up to Dad. “Hello, Uncle Insight,” she said to him and held out her hoof. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Dad smiled, gave her a slight bow of his head, and shook her hoof. “I’m glad to see you too.”
Piña let go of Mom and gave Pinch room to take her place in hugging Mom.
“I’m glad to see you again too, Aunt Study.” Pinch looked up at Mom and smiled. “You came back on the perfect evening.”
Mom sniffed and returned Pinch’s hug. “We did?”
“We’re having a potluck picnic at the park with friends and ponies who know Satin and Stormbreaker. Mom and Aunt Satin organized it yesterday. It’s going to be a congratulations event for them and what Mom said would be a ‘last time we will have a free night till the celebration is over’ dinner and get-together.”
Seeming to follow Pinch’s lead, Piña smiled up at Mom. “We will have lots of food,” Piña said to Mom. “Miss Bon Bon promised to some of her chocolates for dessert too.”
“You are both very kind. But I would feel awkward if we just showed up uninvited,” Mom said.
“Mom, Dad,” Satin said. “Would you like to come to the get-together?”
Mom looked up at Satin as if surprised.
“I would love to have you there,” Satin told them as tears formed in her eyes.
Piña hurried over and gave Satin a careful hug. “They’ll come.” She looked at Mom with imploring eyes. “Won’t you?”
“We will,” Dad said. “Now we know that our foals are fine, we have nothing to worry about and much to celebrate.” He gave Mom a squeeze around the shoulders. “Right, dear?”
“You are right,” Mom agreed. Mom gave Pinch a little squeeze. “What brought you two sweethearts over?”
“Berry and Barrel sent me and Pinch to help carry stuff for Aunt Satin,” Piña said.
Pinch snorted. “Dad sent us over because Mom and Piña are herding over Aunt Satin and making us crazy. He told me, ‘Take your aunt over there and help them out before she and your mother drive us both nuts,’ and here we are.”
“I wasn’t being that bad,” Piña said.
Pinch rolled her eyes. “Compared to Mom, I’ll agree, but that’s not saying much.”
Piña stuck her nose up in the air. “We can’t help that we are sensitive ponies who look after our family and friends.” She looked up at Satin and smiled. “What can we do to help?”
Satin giggled. “You wouldn’t know where Pin keeps the picnic stuff would you?”
“I would,” Dad said. “If Pin hasn’t moved it from its traditional spot, that is.”
“It’s all still there in the hall closet,” I told him.
“I’ll show them where it is,” Dad volunteered.
“Before you go, I want you to hear this,” Mom said. She looked to Stormbreaker and pointed a hoof at him. “I need you to answer two questions.”
“I’ll be glad to,” Stormbreaker said.
“Do you love my daughter?”
Stormbreaker smiled. “With every part of my being,” he said without hesitation and with unquestionable sincerity.
Mom followed up with, “What aspect of her do you value most?”
Stormbreaker blinked. “What part do I value most?” He looked toward Satin and scanned her from horn tip to her hooves. “I cherish all of her. It’s cruel to make me choose just one piece when she’s magnificent from top to bottom.”
“Please, do not repeat the compliments you have given my bottom to my mother,” Satin quipped.
Mom smirked. “We will discuss such things later, Satin. I would like my answer, Mister Stormbreaker.”
“I can’t choose a part of her, or her personality, and I’ll show you why.” Stormbreaker looked to Piña, who was still holding on to Satin. “May I borrow my fiancé for a moment?”
Piña nodded and let go of Satin.
Stormbreaker moved to sit just behind Satin, who leaned back against him and looked up at him with a bright smile as if she knew what he was going to do.
“Satin and I go together as if we were made for each other. I am not saying we don’t have our disagreements and that everything is smiles and rainbows all the time, but our personalities and values are so similar it’s sometimes scary. She’s my friend, my love, and will be the mother of our foal.” He looked down at Satin and waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe even our foals, if she decides she would like to have another one.”
“Let’s see how this adventure goes first,” Satin said, looking up at him.
Stormbreaker kissed Satin’s nose. “Back to my point, Satin has the mind and talent of a business mare.” He wrapped Satin with his left wing. “She has the heart and soul of a teacher.” He then wrapped his right wing around Satin and held her close.
The only parts that could be seen of Satin were her neck and head, her hooves, and a small portion of her haunches, the rest of her was blanketed by Stormbreaker’s wings.
Satin turned a bit, tucked her head against Stormbreaker, and hummed a happy note.
“Satin fits me as a whole pony, and I try to do the same for her.” Stormbreaker kissed the top of Satin’s head. “I can’t choose just one part of her to love more than another without ruining our fit together.”
Mom smiled and nodded. “Not what I had expected, but a very good answer.”
“I have a question for you, Satin,” Dad said, looking like he was doing his best not to smile. “Can we assume that you and Pin have made amends, since he let you braid his tail again?”
Satin laughed. “We have made up, but I can’t take all the credit for Pin’s tail. I prompted things and helped, but I didn’t do most of the work.”
Pinch raised her hoof. “It was me.”
“You did a very nice job,” Dad told her.
“Thank you.” Pinch looked over to me. “I’m glad that you liked it and kept it all day, but can I undo that braid real quick? I would like to use your mane and tail for Satin’s lesson, if that’s still okay.”
“Sure,” I told her. “I’ll have to comb it out first, before you can use it again.”
“We can handle that for you, can’t we?” Coco said, looking toward Pinch and giving her a hinting smile. “I have a brush and comb set that should work perfect with his tail in my bags.”
Pinch smiled back at Coco. “That would be great! Having two ponies working on his tail will make things go a lot faster.”
“In your bags?” Mom said. “That would mean that you would need to make a trip to Rarity’s, which may not save you that much time overall.”
“It won’t take much time at all,” Satin said and at me with the smile she reserved when she knew she was about to stir things up between Mom and me. “Coco’s bags are here.”
Mom turned to Satin, one of her ears pointed straight up with interest while the other folded sideways as if questioning what it had heard. “Did you just say that her bags are here?”
“They are,” I said. “Rarity has been out-of-town fixing a friendship problem and brought in somepony from Canterlot to help her catch up with her orders. I offered for Coco to stay with me, while Miss Sassy Saddles stays with Rarity. Coco’s bags are in the guest room.”
“Your mother and I could stay at the inn,” Dad offered. “We dropped in unannounced, after all.”
I shook my head. “If I had to bet, the inn will be booked solid, with the celebration coming up. Coco can have my bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“That is very kind of you,” Mom said. “Your father and I will only be here for two days, and then we will need to return to Canterlot. Then you and Coco can work out your long term sleeping arrangements.”
*****
I levitated the last of the plates from the picnic table and stacked them.
“That was one of the best meals I have had in a long time,” Sassy said, as she gathered silverware from the table.
“It was great,” I agreed. “For one of us, it may have been too good.”
I looked over to Barrel, who was lying on his side on overlapping picnic blankets close to the gazebo. His family, Dinky, Muffins, and Turner were with him in an after dinner repose on the blankets.
“You all right over there?” I asked.
“I’m not sure.” Barrel rolled onto his back and half curled his legs like a dead bug. “I’m stuffed, I can tell you that much,” he groaned.
Piña poked Barrel’s belly with a hoof. “Where did you put all of that?”
“I’m not sure, but it fit in there somewhere.”
“You’re going to have a tummy ache,” Piña warned.
Barrel chuckled. “It will be worth it.”
“You have to try this,” Pinch said to Dinky. She got up from her spot, walked to Barrel’s far side, and then rested her upper body on Barrel’s stomach, earning her a grunt from Barrel. “Dad has a nice, warm belly, when he’s full. Mom says when I was little I used to take naps on it after we ate.” She put her head down on Barrel’s stomach. “Come on.”
Barrel raised his head and looked between his forelegs at Pinch. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“When it’s something this cute, no,” Berry said to him.
Dinky looked to Berry as if needing her permission to act.
She grinned and nodded to Dinky. “Go ahead.”
Dinky got up and joined Pinch in resting her chest against Barrel’s midsection, drawing another grunt from Barrel. “Ooo, he is nice and warm.”
“Put your head down,” Piña said. “It’s even better.”
She put her head down close to Barrel’s ribs. “I see what you were talking about. I could take a nap right here.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Pinch said.
“Oh, no, you two don’t,” Barrel said. Catching Pinch with a foreleg, before she could escape, he rolled back onto his side and tumbled Pinch, who laughed the whole time, across him. He caught the two fillies up and tickled them. “Maybe I should use you two as pillows and see how you like it.”
Berry, Muffins, and Turner laughed as the pair of fillies dissolved into giggling, squirming laughter of their own.
“Reminds me of you and your father,” Mom said and looked at Satin and me. “While you did not nap on his belly, Insight would disappear with you, and I would find him with one of you two curled up with him taking a nap on the couch.”
“They were wonderful hot water bottles,” Dad said. “I had to take advantage of that while they were small.”
“We’ll be having moments like that with our little one soon enough,” Stormbreaker said to Satin in a quiet voice and kissed her temple.
Rarity walked over to me, as I was putting my dishes back into the picnic basket. “I never got to thank you for helping Sweetie and the girls help Applejack get her escorts to the celebration.” She gave me a slight bow. “Thank you.”
“I was glad to help.” I grinned. “It was fun.”
Sweetie Belle trotted up with Thunderlane.
“Everything’s ready,” Sweetie Belle reported to Rarity.
“Is he ready?” Rarity asked in a quiet voice. “He was skittish as a mouse this afternoon.”
Thunderlane grinned and nodded. “He’s still nervous, but he’s ready.”
Rarity smiled at Thunderlane. “As nervous as you were when you showed up to ask me to the celebration?”
Thunderlane blushed and shook his head. “He’s not that nervous.”
“You were cute, when you asked her, though,” Sweetie Belle told him. “You looked nice in your suit and the flowers you brought her were beautiful.”
“Are you trying to cut in on your sister’s coltfriend?” Lemon Hearts asked in a playful tone.
“She would never do a thing like that.” Bon Bon smiled at Sweetie Belle. “Besides, she has a dragonfriend.”
“How did you come by this information?” Lyra asked and bumped her shoulder to Bon Bon’s. “Is it some secret source you can’t divulge?”
“Something like that,” Bon Bon said and giggled.
Sweetie Belle blushed. “Thanks again for helping me pick out the chocolates. Spike loved them.”
“The quickest way to a stallion’s heart is through their stomachs,” Bon Bon said. “I had a feeling it would work with dragons too.”
Thunderlane nodded to Sweetie Belle. “Would you like to set things off?”
“Sure!” Sweetie Belle said and scampered towards Barrel and the others.
“What are you three up to?” Coco asked.
“We’re helping Rumble and his training partner meet up real quick,” Thunderlane said.
Piña, Pinch, and Sweetie Belle trotted up to Thunderlane.
“Where is Rumble?” Piña asked, acting as if she was not too curious.
“He’s at the jungle gym.” Thunderlane pointed a wing towards the park’s playground equipment. “He thought of something new you two could try to improve your agility times. He said that he would set things up while Sweetie and I got you.”
Piña looked to Pinch and Sweetie Belle. “Let’s go see what he’s up to.”
“I need to borrow these two for a moment,” Rarity said. “Run along now. You don’t want to keep Rumble waiting.”
Piña gave Rarity an odd look. “Okaaaay.” After glancing at Pinch and Sweetie Belle, she turned and hurried off.
“What is going on?” Dinky asked, joining the group.
“My aunt just got set up,” Pinch said. She looked towards Sweetie Belle. “What are you guys up to?”
“Rumble is going to surprise her with something,” Thunderlane said.
“Speaking of surprises, I will be teaching Pinch and Piña some new braiding styles,” Satin said. “Would you like to join in, Dinky?”
“Can I?!” Dinky asked Satin, her eyes alight.
“Sure!” Satin said. “We’ll need another pony for you to work with, though.”
Pinch looked at me. “I guess I could give him up, if I could have a substitute.”
Dinky grinned. “Don’t worry about that,” she said and trotted towards her parents. “I’ll be right back.”
“I call Bon Bon!” Lyra said.
Bon Bon gave Lyra a look. “Wait, what?”
“I was thinking about helping Piña with Rumble,” Coco said. She waved a hoof in the air. “Piña will need somepony to show her how to use her hooves to do it.”
“Oh!” Pinch blushed. “I didn’t even think about that.”
A squeal came from the direction of the playground equipment.
“What was that?!” Lemon Hearts said.
“That was Piña,” Pinch said. She looked towards Piña and Rumble. “It’s fine. That was a happy noise.”
I turned to look towards the playground equipment just as Piña and Rumble just as Piña hugged Rumble.
Rumble, after recovering from Piña’s energetic surprise hug, hugged her back.
“Just ‘training partners’ my hoof,” Dinky said, joining us again and leading Muffins and Turner to the table.
Piña let Rumble go and took something from him I could not see. She turned her back to him and then put what I guessed to be bands at two spots near the end of her tail. Piña looked over her shoulder and said something to Rumble. She shook her mane, gathered it with her hooves, and then presented it to him.
Rumble, with unsteady hooves and help from his wings, put bands around Piña’s mane: one near her head, creating a ponytail, and another near the end of her mane.
“That’s so cute!” Muffins said.
There was a flash, as Stormbreaker used my camera to take a picture.
Both Piña and Rumble looked towards us, seeming to become aware they had an audience.
“Now kiss him!” Lyra yelled.
“Lyra!” Bon Bon scolded, “Behave yourself.”
Piña shook her head.
“Oh, come on!” Sweetie called to her.
“He’s my training partner, not my coltfriend!” Piña called back, gaining her attention from passing ponies.
“You’re not fooling anypony with that!” Dinky yelled, grinning.
“What in Equestria is going on?” Berry asked as she and Barrel approached.
Piña and Rumble trotted back to the picnic table.
“Your mane looks lovely,” Lemon Hearts said. “Your training partner has good taste.”
Piña and Rumble both blushed.
“Those are a nice shade of purple,” Bon Bon said. “They go well with your mane.”
“He got them for me to help me keep my mane out of the way when we’re training,” Piña said.
“You could just cut your mane,” Barrel joked.
“Her mane is great like...” Rumble trailed off and turned crimson when everypony looked at him.
“Why don’t we start braiding?” Satin said, smiling at Rumble with sympathy. “We will run out of sunlight for what we have planned, if we don’t start soon.”
“I guess I’m the odd pony out,” Lemon Hearts said and acted dejected. “It’s okay, have fun without me.”
“Do you want Mom or Dad?” Dinky asked. “I’ll braid whoever you don’t pick.”
Time Turner looked around as if he were being ambushed. “Wait, what?! I thought I was being asked to help clean the table!”
“I’ll take Muffins.” Lemon Hearts smiled. “Maybe if I braid her mane and tail well enough, she’ll tell me the secret of how she gets them to be so smooth and glisten like that.”
Dinky grinned at Time Turner. “Looks like it’s you and me Dad.”
“What about Sweetie?” Piña asked.
“She’s got me,” Sassy said.
“Then let’s begin!” Satin said with grand enthusiasm.
*****
Doing my best to stay still, I glanced over to Time Turner. “I think there is a conspiracy going on.”
“What makes you think so?” he asked.
“Why else would Rarity set up changing screens so we can’t see and tell us to stay here? We’re in a park, and ponies have been passing by and looking behind the screens out of curiosity, so it can’t be for hiding something from anypony but us.”
“Where did Rarity get those changing screens from anyway?” Rumble said.
Turner snorted and chuckled. “There’s no telling. We’re talking about a mare who can make a fainting couch appear out of thin air. A trio of privacy screens, in comparison, can’t be too hard for her.”
“You sound relaxed,” I said to Turner.
“I didn’t expect it to be this soothing,” he responded. “The combing was nice, and she has a gentle touch.”
“Thanks Dad.” Dinky leaned over and nuzzled Turner on top of his head. “I’m almost done.”
“You’re welcome, sweetie. You wouldn’t happen to know what is happening with your mother on the other side of those screens would you?”
Dinky grinned. “I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”
“Whatever it is, they’ve made Piña part of it,” Rumble said. “She’s been giggling too much not to be.”
“My mom’s been giggling and laughing since Rarity invited her over there, so she has to be in on it now too,” I said to Rumble.
“I haven’t heard her laugh like that in a long time,” Dad said in a wistful tone.
I paused, after looking towards Dad, and studied him. There was still a part of me that was in disbelief at seeing Dad’s mane in braids. When Mom had told him to lie down and ‘let me have my fun,’ It shocked me to see how eager he was to comply. It became very clear this was not the first time Mom and Dad had done something like this, as Dad began to braid Mom’s mane as she braided his. I did not even know that Dad knew how to braid, until that moment.
“It brings back a lot of good memories.” Dad looked towards Satin. “What have you, Berry, and Miss Rarity cooked up?”
“It was just me and Berry, at the start. Now we have all kinds of help, and you have to wait and see,” Satin said.
“I’m wondering how the basket of flowers they had us pick up for fits into this, since we didn’t have any of them for dinner,” Turner said.
My ears snapped up. “Basket of flowers?!”
Barrel chuckled. “You got his attention with that one.”
I started to raise my head, but a touch of magical force to the crown of my head stopped me.
“You can’t move,” Satin reminded me. She leaned close and whispered, “If you’ve caught on, don’t say anything that could spoil things.”
“Now you have me curious,” Barrel said, “since Berry is over there too.”
Rarity stepped from behind the edge of the screens and walked towards us. “You are all such dears for volunteering to let the fillies learn like this.” She looked at Rumble and paused. “You, young colt, look very handsome.”
Rumble blushed. “Thank you.”
“You have a hidden talent, Coco,” Rarity complemented. “He wouldn’t be out of place in the Empire. I have to ask, where did you learn to braid manes like that?”
“I learned to braid as part of my costume design research,” Coco said. “Rumble’s braid is an old Canterlot style I picked up. When that style was popular, the Empire’s customs influenced Canterlot’s braiding styles.”
“Have you seen yourself yet?” Rarity asked Rumble.
Rumble shook his head. “Not yet.”
“He will, though.” Stormbreaker grinned and held up my camera. “I’ve been taking lots of pictures.”
“Done!” Pinch declared and patted my shoulder. “Thank you, Uncle Pin.”
“You’re welcome,” I told her and raised my head.
“You did a wonderful job,” Rarity said. “Runner’s braids have always been one of my favorites.”
Pinch looked to Coco. “What do you think?”
“I think he looks dashing,” Coco said.
Coco made a point of looking toward my hindquarters. “You did another great job with his tail too.”
I blushed at the tangential compliment.
“You four are next,” Rarity announced.
Pinch’s expression brightened for a second, but then something seemed to steal her joy. She gave Rarity a hollow smile. “It’s okay. You will be busy enough getting them ready, and I don’t have anypony to-”
Rarity put a gentle hoof on Pinch’s lips. “This is for you, nopony else. A wonderful, caring filly who looks after her friends like you do deserves the best in the world. You should allow yourself to feel as wonderful as you have made others feel.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Pinch said, when Rarity withdrew her hoof.
“You made Sweetie and Spike very happy, which means a lot to me because they mean a lot to me.” Rarity gave Pinch a determined look. “I will pay you back for helping them.”
Pinch shook her head, “You don’t have to do anything for me. I just wanted to help my friends. Spike was still hurting because Thunderlane got to you first, and Sweetie needed a little push to open up, so I gave them a bit of a nudge is all.”
Rarity gave Pinch an understanding smile. “Darling, we both know that you hurt yourself when you did what you did.”
Pinch sniffed and nodded.
“While I cannot say that what I’m feeling is the same, because of our differing circumstances and types of affection for Spike, I can say seeing them together stings a part of me too.” Rarity hugged Pinch. “You are a stronger mare than I.”
Pinch returned Rarity’s hug. “Thank you.”
Rarity rubbed Pinch’s back with a hoof. “You don’t have to worry about how long braiding your mane and tail will take. We have an enthusiastic herd of mares over there who can braid them both in no time.”
“That sounds great.” Pinch sniffed again and let Rarity go.
The four mares made their way behind the screens.
“How much trouble are we in?” Barrel asked.
Dad chuckled. “A lot, if they are setting up what I think they are. Some of us will in much deeper than others.”
Stormbreaker said in a concerned voice, “That’s a bit too vague for me.”
“You saw Pin’s reaction.” Barrel nodded towards me. “Right?”
“I did,” Storm confirmed.
“It’s got something to do with romantic stuff to get that kind of response,” Barrel said.
Stormbreaker’s eyes widened. “Oh, horse apples.”
“What is it?” Rumble said.
“Satin saw a book in Pin’s study, up on a bookshelf, and mentioned it.” He looked to Rumble with a touch of panic in his eyes. “It was on the meanings that flowers can have. I should have known she was up to something, the way she was talking about it.”
Rumble’s ears pinned back. “Flowers can have meanings?!”
“We’re fine.” Thunderlane said. “Pin knows the all meanings.”
“Not all of them, and not as well as I would like,” I admitted. “Rose has had to help me out, when I’ve gotten flowers for Coco.”
“That’s not good,” Thunderlane said, sounding less sure of our chances to pull things off.
“We have an ace up our sleeves, though.” I pointed to Dad with a hoof. “He knows them very well.”
Dad did not respond. His eyes were fixed on something that made him smile in an adoring way.
We all turned, as Mom approached us. Mom’s mane and tail were in fishtail braids. At each crossover, gillyflowers adorned her mane and tail, making a trail of flowers down both. In her magic, she carried a closed basket.
“Hello my love,” Dad said to her. “You look even more stunning than usual.”
Mom walked up to him and gave him a quick peck of a kiss. “You remain the charmer.” She opened one side of the basket and levitated it so he could see its contents. “I am interested to see which you choose.”
Dad made a show of looking into the basket and studying its contents. He hummed a thoughtful note. “There are so many things I would like to say to you.” He smiled and nodded. “I have made my choice.”
Using his magic, Dad levitated a red tulip from the basket.
Mom blushed and smiled. “Dear, I believe that is a bit of an exaggeration.”
“No, Love, it’s not.” He placed the tulip behind her right ear. “You have given me more happiness than I could ever describe. We have raised two wonderful children. We have been successful partners in business and in life.” Dad gave Mom a less than chaste kiss. “For me, our love is perfect,” he told her and touched his horn to hers.
Rumble looked around at the rest of us stallions. “What is going on?!” he said in a concerned whisper.
“This is an old tradition that few outside of Canterlot practice anymore,” Mom explained. “In Canterlot, it used to be that mares were in charge of most of the courting rituals. When a mare found a stallion she liked she would approach him and ask to braid his mane and tail. If he accepted, it was a sign that the courtship had begun.”
“Courtship?” Rumble said in a quavering voice.
“With younger ponies follow the tradition, it is seen as establishing good friendships between two ponies rather than being romantic,” Mom told him in a reassuring tone.
Rumble let out a relieved sigh. His ears perked up. “What about the flowers in your mane and tail and what Mr. Insight did with the flower?”
“During the second part of the tradition, a mare would have her mane and tail braided, putting with flowers in the braids, typically before the stallion undid the braids she had given him. She would present to him an assortment of flowers to choose from so he could put one behind her ear to signify his thoughts about the courtship. Once two ponies became a pair, it was not unusual for the stallion to go through the same practices to find out how the mare thought the courtship was going. When that occurred, it was often a signal that the stallion was thinking of proposing to the mare soon.”
“If you and Mister Insight are already married, why did you two braid each other’s manes?” Rumble asked.
“Ponies who are together use the tradition to reaffirm the relationship and send a variety of messages,” Dad told rumble can also do The tradition. “Study and I have not done this for years.” He looked toward Mom and smiled. “I plan on remedying that,” he said, gaining a sweet smile from Mom.
Rumble looked toward the grass and pawed the ground with a hoof. “What if… What if you like a filly but you’re not sure if she likes you back and you don’t want to push things?”
“Say something or don’t real fast,” Barrel said. “Don’t do what Pin did with Coco and send the poor mare mixed signals for weeks or months. Not all mares are as tolerant of that as Coco. You might hurt your friendship with the filly and any chances you might have with her in the romantic sense too.”
I sighed and nodded. “Barrel’s right. Don’t do what I did, after you’ve known her for a bit, approach the filly, tell her you’re interested, and then let her decide things.” I cut my eyes towards Barrel and told Rumble, “However, don’t just grab a mare either. That ends with you getting a black eye.”
Barrel chuckled. “True.”
Mom smiled. “The others chose me to explain the tradition to all of you, and for Insight and I to give an impromptu demonstration, since he and I had gone through the tradition before.” Mom told Rumble, “They also asked me, by a certain filly, to make sure that you would be okay with taking part. Since we were already deviating from the typical steps, we mares agreed that having her mane and tail tied with bands was close enough for the tradition to apply.”
“I think you have your answer whether she likes you,” Thunderlane teased Rumble.
Rumble blushed and then told Mom, “I’ll do it.” He looked toward Dad. “Will you help me say the right thing with a flower?”
Dad grinned and nodded. “I would be glad to.”
Mom put the basket on the ground. “You can look and make your choices now, but wait till you are approached before taking your selected flower from the basket.”
As Mom turned and walked away, she looked at Dad over her shoulder and gave a slight flick of her tail.
Dad responded by winking and giving her a lecherous grin.
“You’re a lucky fella,” Barrel said.
Dad nodded, his grin still in place. “Yes I am.”
Rumble opened the basket and looked inside. His eyes widened. “There are so many to choose from!”
Dad patted Rumble on the back. “That’s a good thing.”
Dad helped the others make their decisions as I wrestled with my choice. Hopes, fears, and numerous imagined possibilities of how things could turn out, stormed through my mind. “Cadance help me,” I whispered to myself. “I’m going to do it.”
Dad moved to stand beside me. “That’s quite an expression, Son.”
I took in a deep breath. “I’ve picked my flower.”
Rarity stepped around the screens with Mom, Lyra, Bon Bon, Dinky, Lemon Hearts, Pinch, and Sassy Saddles. All the mare’s had their manes braided with gillyflowers woven into the braids.
“Gentlecolts, have your made your selections?” Rarity asked as if she was the head of ceremonies.
“We have,” Rumble said, his voice cracking.
“He’s so cute!” Lemon Heats fawned.
“I think I might keep him myself,” Sassy Saddles said. “He blushes wonderful colors if you flirt with him.”
Lemon Hearts giggled. “I’ll have to try that.”
There was an unamused sounding noise from behind the screens that sounded like it came from a filly.
Using her magic, Rarity shifted the center screen forward so that a mare could pass behind it without revealing anypony else behind the full arrangement of screens.
“Who would like to be our first mare?” Rarity asked.
“Me!” Berry trotted from behind the screens. While she did not have her mane braided, she had gillyflowers woven throughout her mane and tail. “I’ll be the teaser, since I didn’t get gussied up like you girls. I want to know which flower my Barrel has picked too.”
Barrel reached into the basket and pulled out a delphinium, symbolizing joy and passionate attachment. He put the flower behind her ear and touched his nose to hers. “Thank you for the happiest years of my life.”
“You better plan on having many more, because I’m not going anywhere,” Berry told him and gave him a kiss.
Rarity glanced behind the screen. “Any volunteers to be next?” she asked. She nodded to somepony who must have given a non-verbal signal to her. “Oh, good timing. He’s looking a little antsy.”
My heart was beating at a good rate as I thought Coco would emerge next.
Muffins poked her head around the edge of the center screen, looked around, and then ducked back out of view. “I take it back. I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Come on, Mom!” Dinky cheered. “It’s just your friends here.”
“And some ponies stopping to look and trying to figure out what’s going on,” Barrel whispered for all to hear, earning him a light elbow from Berry.
Time Turner took his chosen flower from the basket. He held the bellflower, meaning unwavering love, as if it could shatter. “From the glimpse of you I got, you look even more stunning than usual. I would like to see all of you, if I could.”
Muffins made her way from behind the screen with tentative steps. “Do you look like it?” she asked and ducked her head in embarrassment.
“Very much so.” Turner tucked the bellflower behind Muffin’s ear, hugged her to him, and kissed her forehead. He whispered something to her, his mouth close to her ear, and she blushed scarlet.
Rarity looked behind the screen again. “Who would like to be next?”
“Me!” Piña said.
“That’s good,” Thunderlane said. “Rumble here is about to lose all his feathers he’s so nervous.”
Rumble snorted and looked up at Thunderlane with an unamused expression.
Piña trotted from behind the screen and Rumbled went still. Piña had gillyflowers woven in her mane and tail in rings above and below the bands Rumble had given her.
When she approached rumble, Piña giggled. “Are you okay?”
Rumble nodded.
After seconds of silence, Pinch urged in a hushed voice, “Quit staring and give her the flower!”
Rumble started at Pinch’s works. “Right, the flowers!” He opened the basket and pulled two strands of lilac, one purple and one white. His hoof shook as he put the flowers behind Piña’s ear.
Piña’s eyes never left Rumble’s, as she asked him, “What do the flowers mean?”
“That I’m starting to like like you, with the purple ones.” Rumble said looking and sounding vulnerable. “Things can stay the same if you want is what I’m trying to say with the white ones.”
Piña kissed his nose, and Rumble’s wings snapped up to their full span in response.
“We’re staying training partners, right?” Piña asked.
Rumble nodded. “I hope so. I want us to still be.”
“Good,” Piña said and gave Rumble a hug. “This just adds more to it for just you and me to know about for now, right?”
Rumble smiled and returned her hug. “Right.”
Thunderlane raised his hoof. “Did he break the rules by giving her two flowers?” he asked in a joking tone.
“I do not believe so,” Mom said. “While they are two different colors, they are the same kind of flower.”
Thunderlane presented Rarity with a peach blossom, meaning generosity and hope that she will become a bride, earning a sweetheart’s kiss from her.
Stormchaser presented Satin, after she came from behind the screen, with a plumeria meaning perfection and new beginnings. Satin gave him a fiery kiss that drew whistles and catcalls from Lyra, Lemon Hearts, and Sassy Saddles.
I could not even focus on the words that the couples exchanged in my anticipation.
“Dear, are you feeling well?” Rarity said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You look quite nervous.”
“I’m all right,” I said in a shaky voice.
Thunderlane patted me on the back with a wing. “Calm down, buddy. It’s not like you’re proposing to her or anything.”
I might as well be, I thought to myself.
“Last, but not least, I present to you Miss Coco,” Rarity said.
Coco stepped from behind the screens. She had removed her maneclip and wore singular braids that framed her face and ran close to her ears. Her tail was woven into a Prench braid. Her mane and her tail were adorned with gillyflowers which shown against her blue mane and tail.
“Breathe,” Satin encouraged me. “You can’t give her a flower if you pass out.”
“Me and Piña did her mane and tail like she asked us to,” Pinch said, grinning. “Do you like them?”
“She’s gorgeous,” I said.
“She asked about Coco’s mane and tail, not all of her,” Piña teased.
“The braids are very nice,” I said and gave her a grin. “You did a wonderful job.”
Smiling and blushing, Coco walked up to me. “Thank you for the complement.”
“You’re more than welcome.” I willed myself from looking into her blue eyes and focused on the basket. Using my magic to hold the basket open, I drew out my chosen flower, a heart's desire.
Mom and Satin gasped, while Dad chuckled and said, “Good choice.”
Coco’s eyes widened when she saw the flower. “Oh, Pin,” she whispered.
I put the heart’s desire behind Coco’s ear. “I hope the flower conveys what I’ve had trouble putting into words.”
Coco gave me a kiss and then nuzzled my cheek. “Perfectly.”