//------------------------------// // 5 – Taking Their Time // Story: Acts of Love // by Krickis //------------------------------// Chapter Five Taking Their Time ⠀ ⠀ Twilight was not a bad pony. She knew that. She was not one to talk up her virtues, but she also was not blind to them. She was a good pony, and she usually didn’t have a reason to doubt that. Usually. The thing with ‘usually’, of course, is that it means that there is also a ‘but sometimes…’ For Twilight, that sometimes had only crept up recently. She had never before had reason to feel like a bad pony, so the thought took her completely by surprise. But as was often the case, once the thought had entered her mind, it had taken root there and showed no signs of leaving. Twilight did her best to shake the thought, and she usually succeeded. Usually. She had plenty to keep her occupied, at least. They all had a lot to do in a small amount of time. After agreeing to adopt Morning Glisten, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Sunset’s week became a whirlwind of paperwork and meetings. Especially since they’d chosen to try and have Morning over for the weekend, which necessitated much of the paperwork to be done along with a full inspection of the castle. That had been an ordeal. There were rooms in the castle that no one had been in for years, as the whole thing had been designed to house much more than a single family, even if it was a large and growing family. Of course, they passed the inspection without a hitch. The whole family had spent the days leading up to the inspection going over the castle and making sure there wasn’t anything dangerous for a young filly. The only room that posed a problem was Twilight and Sunset’s workshop, which did have various tools and equipment Morning could hurt herself with if they weren’t careful. To be extra sure, they invested in a locking toolbox that kept things out of reach as well as a lock for the door itself so that they could keep it locked up when they weren’t in there. And it was just in time too. They did the inspection on Thursday, which cleared them for taking Morning home with them on Friday. Sunset and Fluttershy were on their way to get her now, while Twilight stayed behind to get things set up for a small welcome party. Of course, it wouldn’t be anything extravagant. Morning was a bit shy, and they didn’t want to overwhelm her on her first day with them. They had their closest friends over, all of whom understood that they couldn’t crowd her. In all likelihood, the adults would probably let Morning get accustomed to the castle while the wives took turns spending time with her. And in the hopes of giving Morning a few friends her own age, Pinkie also brought Pound and Pumpkin Cake. Morning had never shown much interest in other foals, but Twilight hoped that starting fresh in Ponyville would give Morning the chance to open up with a few ponies. Pound and Pumpkin were well behaved, and while they were a few years older than Morning at nine, they knew how to play with younger foals as well. Besides, if Morning thought of herself as being on the mature side, she’d likely prefer being with older kids. As always, the two of them were proving to be an absolute delight. All Twilight had hoped for was that the two of them could play quietly while the adults set up for the party. Instead, the two foals were eager to help, and they constantly ran back to Pinkie to get new instructions. Twilight giggled as Pinkie sent them off on another task. “You’re so good with foals, Pinkie. I would’ve run out of jobs for them by now.” “Aww, it just comes with practice,” Pinkie said with a wave of her hoof. “Before you know it, you’ll be the bestest mom ever!” Twilight blushed a little and grinned sheepishly. “I still can’t believe I’m going to be a mom at all. It’s just… wow, you know?” Pinkie slid across the room to put her foreleg around Twilight. “Aww, not excited to be a mommy?” “Trust me, we’re all excited. But we’re also very nervous.” Twilight smiled. “Somepony once told me there’s a word for that.” “Really!?” Pinkie beamed. “Well whoever she is, she sounds super smart. I bet if she were here, she’d say you have nothing to worry about. You’re going to be a great mommy, Twi!” Twilight chuckled. “Thanks, Pinkie. I keep telling myself that we can handle this, and that we’re not doing it alone. We have all our friends and my family to help us. But I also keep thinking of everything that could go wrong…” Pinkie pulled Twilight into a hug. “Silly Twilight… Of course something will go wrong! When does anything we do ever go right?” Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “That’s… not exactly inspiring.” “Think about it, Twitwi, everything we do has something that goes wrong. But you know what? What matters is that we stick together and we help each other overcome problems that are too big for any one of us. And in the end, no matter what goes wrong, we also always come out on top.” That was true, but Twilight wasn’t sure this time was quite the same. “But this isn’t some bad guy threatening Equestria, this is a little filly who depends on us. She’s going to be our daughter, Pinkie! Everything needs to be perfect!” “Parents don’t have to be perfect, Twilight.” Pinkie thought for a moment, then shrugged. “My parents never really understood me. They don’t get parties and fun, they just want the satisfaction of an honest day’s work. But you know what? It doesn’t matter, because they love me and even if they don’t understand, they support me doing what makes me happy.” Twilight thought about her own parents. Had they been perfect? Twilight couldn’t think of anything wrong that they’d done. Oh sure, they’d had little quarrels over the years, but those were always because Twilight was the one in the wrong, back when she didn’t care about being friends with other ponies. But still, there was something to Pinkie’s point. And it reminded Twilight that she had two perfect role models that would be more than happy to answer any questions. Not that Twilight had forgotten about them, of course, but the reminder still helped to calm her nerves a little bit. Thinking about it, maybe they could give her a few words of advice about the day. And with the party mostly set up and some time before Morning arrived, this was the perfect chance. “Would you mind finishing up the preparations, Pinkie? I’d like to talk to my parents for a bit.” “No problem, Twilight! Just leave it to me!” Twilight thanked her, then made her way to the kitchen. Her dad and Spike were preparing food for the party, so at least she’d have one of her parents to get some advice from. And it seemed that luck was with them, because her mom was in there as well. She smiled as she saw her daughter walk in. “Uh-oh, looks like I’ve been caught slacking off.” Twilight chuckled and took a seat beside her mom. “Nothing to worry about, we got it all taken care of. Pinkie’s finishing the last of the decorations now.” “Oh good.” Twilight Velvet sipped on what looked like a cup of tea. “I didn’t mean to leave you all, I just came in here to rest my hooves for a minute, but then time got away from me…” “It happens to me all the time,” Twilight said. “Besides, we had Pound and Pumpkin helping us.” “They’re good kids,” Velvet said. “I hope they get along with little Morning.” “I’m sure they will,” Twilight said. “I don’t know,” Spike said. “It took her a while to warm up to you all.” “It might be slow going, but it’ll be good to introduce her to some other foals,” Night Light said as he pulled some cookies out of the oven. “How much longer until she gets here again? I’ve been dying to meet her.” “Should be pretty soon.” Twilight glanced at a clock on the wall. “Their train will be in Ponyville in about half an hour, then they’re coming right here from the station.” “Exciting!” Night Light grinned, but then it turned to a glare at Spike, who had been reaching for one of the cookies. “Just because you can handle the oven hot temperatures doesn’t mean you can start chowing down on those cookies.” “Aww…” Spike withdrew his claw and just looked at the cookies longingly. Twilight giggled, then shifted in her seat a little. “To tell you the truth, I’m a little nervous.” “Of course.” Twilight Velvet put a hoof on her shoulder. “I’d be amazed if you weren’t. But you’ll do fine.” “What was it like for you two?” Twilight asked. “When you first became parents, I mean.” “Oh, we were terrified,” Night Light said. “We were young and not at all ready for it. But at least we had eleven months to warm up to the idea.” “Not that we felt very prepared by the time Shiny got here,” Velvet said with a smirk. “We were just doing our best, we had no idea if it was good enough. And if I know you, I’m sure that’s exactly what you’re worried about – if you’ll be good enough.” Twilight chuckled nervously. “Well… yes.” Spike laughed. “Twilight, you saved Equestria like a dozen times. I’m pretty sure that you can manage to take care of a single foal.” “Those two things have nothing in common!” Twilight said with a frown. “Relax, Twi,” Spike said. “I know better than anyone that you’ll be a great mom. I mean… well, you know.” Twilight knew what he was getting at. It wasn’t something they ever talked about – Twilight herself had only ever spoken of the fact once in her life – but Spike existed in a place between brother and son for Twilight. She had handled a lot of his emotional development, including being the sole pony he lived with for several key years of his life. Although it wasn’t all Twilight; her parents had already laid the groundwork for her by raising him from a hatchling to a young dragon. But as Twilight thought of that, she realized she was looking at this the wrong way. “What was it like when you adopted Spike?” “Hmm… Well, you know we never planned to adopt a child,” Night Light pointed out. He looked to Spike and smiled. “Of course, we’re glad we did. But it came as a surprise to us.” “I remember the biggest concern we had was how to raise a baby dragon.” Velvet stood up and gave her son a hug. He stood much taller than her now, so he was easily able to wrap an arm around his mom. “It turned out to be pretty similar to raising a pony, with a few unexpected differences. I don’t expect Morning Glisten will eat your expensive jewel necklace when you aren’t looking, though.” Spike chuckled nervously. “Did I, er, really do that?” Velvet laughed it off. “You did, but you were only a little baby. You didn’t know better. And neither did we – that was how we learned dragons eat gems.” Night Light grinned as well. “Nearly gave us both heart attacks, though. We had no idea that you could digest something like that, let alone that it was a normal part of your diet.” Twilight giggled. “I think I remember that, actually. I didn’t know the details, but I remember you two panicking over something Spike ate.” “Be glad you get to skip the toddler years,” Velvet said. “Oh, I’m sure there are different challenges with adopting a six-year-old, but I think you’re actually getting off easier here.” “I hope so.” Twilight sighed and folded her hooves on the table. “I wouldn’t mind having a bit of an easier time. I don’t know if we’ll ever adopt more than one foal, but it would be nice if our first time was easier.” “Every kid brings their own challenges.” Night Light crossed the room to give Twilight a hug. “As well as their own rewards. I’m sure you’ll find that Morning is worth every hardship.” Twilight nodded. “I’m sure she will be.” “Come on,” Velvet said. “Let’s go see if there’s anything we can do to help Pinkie.” “Good idea.” Twilight stood and walked out of the room with her mom. Truth be told, she appreciated having a reason to leave the room. She didn’t have a problem with Spike knowing she was a nervous wreck about being a mom, and he had even helped remind her that she’d done something like this once before. But there was one thing she still wanted to ask her parents, and she was afraid it would be too awkward to talk to with him around. Actually, she was afraid to talk about it at all. But she needed to get this out, needed to hear what her parents had felt like in this particular situation. Most of all, she needed to hear she wasn’t a bad pony. ‘Please, please say I’m not a bad pony…’ “Hey, Mom? Can we, uhm…” Twilight Velvet frowned a little. “What’s up, Twily?” Twilight looked away and folded her ears. “I just… wanted to ask you about something else. Uhm, privately?” “Oh, of course. Come on.” Instead of going towards the entry hall and sitting room where they had set up the party, Velvet led them towards the stairway leading to the second floor. They didn’t bother to go upstairs; there was no one around to overhear them. Twilight took a deep breath, using her practiced breathing technique to try and calm herself. She was afraid of asking what was on her mind, afraid that her mom would confirm her fears that she was a bad pony. Or rather, that she was a bad mother, which was basically the same thing. Velvet placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be.” “Well…” Twilight shifted her weight between her hooves. “When you first adopted Spike, did you, I don’t know… need time to feel like he was your son?” “Oh, of course,” Velvet said as if it was no big deal. “It wasn’t at all like with you and Shining. I had eleven months of you two being inside me, so by the time you were born, we already knew each other very well.” “Really?” Twilight’s eyes darted to her mom’s. Was it really that simple? Velvet chuckled. “With Spike, I knew right away that he belonged with us. But I guess at first it just felt like taking care of him was something we should do. Like your father said, we didn’t plan on adopting him, so we were just a little blindsided by the whole thing.” “Oh. Right.” They hadn’t planned on adopting. Twilight had. It was different for her, she should be welcoming Morning into her family as her new daughter, not as a house guest she was looking after. “Just like I’m sure you are,” Velvet said gently. “Twily, we both know you’ve always been apprehensive about having foals. If it takes a little time for that connection to form, that’s okay.” Twilight sighed. “It just feels like Sunset and Fluttershy are so sure about this. Fluttershy’s wanted foals for years, so I understand her, but even Sunset’s talking about Morning nonstop. And it’s not that they’re not nervous, they just… already love her.” “Oh, honey…” Velvet hugged her daughter. “You just need a little more time to get to know her. You haven’t even known Morning for a whole month, it takes time for these bonds to form. And even if they’re less apprehensive than you, I’m sure Fluttershy and Sunset both need a little more time for that maternal bond to fully form too.” “I just worry… what if it never forms? Of course I’ll take care of her no matter what; we can’t send her back when she’s already been through so much hardship. But what if I never grow to… to love her as a daughter?” “You will. Just like it took me some time to grow to love Spike. And once you do, you’ll love her so much that it’ll make up for the time you didn’t.” Every time either of them mentioned that she didn’t love Morning, Twilight felt the knot in her stomach twist. “I feel bad even just talking about it.” She looked at her mom with pleading eyes. “I’m not a bad pony, right?” “Oh sweetie, no. You’re a wonderful pony, and whether you realize it or not, you already care about this little filly. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t mind one way or the other about this.” “I… I guess so.” Twilight took a deep breath and smiled. “Thanks, Mom. This helps a lot.” “And of course, you can talk to your father and me about this whenever you feel you need to.” Twilight nodded. “Let’s go back to Pinkie. Morning will be here soon, and we should be ready for her.” Feeling a little better, Twilight led them back to the front of the castle. She found they weren’t just returning to Pinkie and the Cake twins; Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity had arrived as well. Rainbow practically flew into Twilight when she saw her. “Are they here yet!?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “If they were, I’m pretty sure they would have used the front door, so you all would be the first ones they’d see.” “Oh, right.” Applejack laughed. “Don’t mind her none, Rainbow’s just been jittery about meeting her new niece all day.” “Oh, I think we all have been,” Rarity said. “It took me ages to figure out what to wear. First impressions are everything, you know.” “Rarity, she’s five,” Applejack said. “Six,” Twilight corrected automatically. “Point is she don’t care none ‘bout what any of us are wearing.” “Well, I think Rarity’s dress is super pretty!” Pinkie said. She was sitting off in the corner with Pound and Pumpkin, and the three of them were playing a board game. “Thank you, darling.” Rarity struck a pose to show off her black dress, which sparkled in the light. It did look fantastic, but of course Applejack was right; Morning wouldn’t care one way or the other about it. Twilight chose not to comment. “I just want to meet my awesome new niece!” Rainbow said. “It’s too bad she’s not a pegasus though, I’d love to teach her how to fly.” “She’s a unicorn, which is much cooler,” Pumpkin said, sticking her tongue out at her pegasus brother. Although she knew it was just sibling teasing, Twilight didn’t like hearing one kind of pony say they were better than any other kind. “There’s plenty cool about being a pegasus too.” “I’d love to be able to fly,” Pinkie said. “I’d also love to be able to do magic, too. Other kinds of ponies are super cool!” “Not me,” Applejack said. “I’m happy being an earth pony, thank you very much.” “Of course!” Pinkie said, beaming. “I love being an earth pony, too!” Pound Cake fidgeted. “But… what can earth ponies do that other ponies can’t?” Twilight smiled, happy to turn this into a learning opportunity. “Earth ponies can sense things in the world around them. I admit that I didn’t really understand it until I became an alicorn and got earth pony magic myself.” “Like Pinkie sense?” Pound Cake asked. Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it and brought a hoof to her chin in concentration. Was Pinkie sense just concentrated earth pony magic? She never got to postulate further, since the front door opening interrupted her thoughts. Everyone’s heads turned to face it, and the ponies who weren’t in view of it came running over. Sunset walked in first, with Morning Glisten following behind, and Fluttershy bringing up the rear. Twilight beamed. “Hi, Morning. Welcome to –” “Aah!” Pinkie ran up to her and crouched down so their faces were on the same level. “You’re just the cutest thing! My name’s Pinkie Pie, and we’re going to be best friends and –” “Uhm, Pinkie.” Fluttershy put a hoof around Morning, who had backed up into her. “Maybe we could tone it down a teeny bit?” “Don’t mind her,” Sunset said. “She’s just… really excited to meet you.” “Oh, I’m sorry.” Pinkie stood up and frowned. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” “I’m not scared!” Morning said, stepping away from Fluttershy and puffing up her chest to try and look tough. It was adorable. “That’s right!” Rainbow said. “No niece of mine would be afraid of Pinkie Pie!” Morning looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Your niece?” Fluttershy flew up to where Rainbow was hovering. “This is Rainbow Dash, she’s my sister.” “Oh.” “I think some introductions are in order,” Twilight said. “Morning, we asked our closest friends and family to come here and meet you today. Let’s get out of the doorway and we can introduce you to everyone.” “I’ll just slip off and tell Night Light and Spike that she’s here,” Velvet said. Twilight nodded and led the rest of them out of the entry hall. They made their way back into the sitting room, where Twilight quickly realized there would not be enough seats for all of them. She could get more chairs from another room soon, but for the time being, they would make do. No one seemed to be sitting anyway, they were all waiting around for introductions. “Alright,” Twilight said, “so you met Pinkie and Rainbow. This is Applejack.” Applejack tipped her hat. “Nice to meet ya!” “Uhm, hi,” Morning said. “And this is Rarity.” Twilight gestured to their last friend. “The pleasure’s all mine.” Rarity gave a small bow. “Just you wait, little one, I’m going to spoil you rotten with the nicest dresses any little filly could ask for!” Morning looked to Twilight. “Dresses?” “Rarity owns a boutique in town. She makes dresses, like the one she’s wearing today. And Applejack lives at Sweet Apple Acres, a farm and apple orchard. She grows food for everypony in town.” “Oh.” Fluttershy gestured towards Pinkie. “Pinkie Pie works at Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery. Maybe during the weekend we can pay her a visit at work and get you something sweet to eat.” Applejack shrugged. “And no one’s really too sure what Rainbow does, exactly. Aside from eat my apples before I can pick ‘em!” “You’re only looking at the most daring stuntpony of all time!” Rainbow did a backflip in the air. “Just wait, I’ll put on a show for you and you’ll see it for yourself!” “She’s also on the weather team,” Fluttershy explained. “Yeah yeah, but more importantly, I’m the coolest athlete Ponyville has ever seen.” Pinkie pulled over Pound and Pumpkin Cake, who were waiting patiently for the adults to introduce themselves. “And these two are Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake! They’re twins! I just know you three are going to be best friends!” “Hi!” Pumpkin said, excitedly running up to Morning. The younger filly shrunk back a little bit. “Uhm, hi.” Morning looked up to Sunset, who chuckled. “We thought it would be good to introduce you to a few local foals. They’re a little older than you, but we figured you’re pretty mature for your age.” “Uhm…” Morning looked down at the ground. “I thought it would just be the four of us.” “It will be for most of the weekend,” Twilight promised. “But we wanted to introduce you to these ponies, because you’ll be seeing a lot of them once you live with us. They’re more than friends, they’re like our family.” “Speaking of family,” Sunset said, looking behind Twilight. She turned around to see the rest of the family walk into the room, bringing trays of food with them. Twilight smiled. “Just a few more introductions. You’ve already met Spike once before, I’m sure you remember him.” Spike set down the tray of cookies he was carrying and waved. “Hey, Morning. Welcome to Ponyville!” Morning just waved awkwardly. Twilight moved on. “And these are my parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light.” “Your name’s Twilight too?” Morning asked Velvet. “Doesn’t that get confusing?” “That’s why most ponies just call me Velvet,” she explained. Thankfully she kept herself very reserved despite how excited she had been to meet Morning. “I’m very pleased to meet you, Morning.” “I guess to you she’ll be grandma, though.” Night Light chuckled. Morning winced and looked from Velvet to Sunset. “Do I have to?” “No,” Sunset answered. They had agreed that they wouldn’t enforce family titles on Morning. “Only if you want to. But, well… Velvet and Night Light are your grandparents now, if you choose to live with us.” Morning looked around. “There’s so many ponies…” “You know Twilight’s the Princess of Friendship, right?” Sunset asked with a grin. “That means we have a lot of friends.” Fluttershy brushed a wing against Morning’s back. “Don’t worry, we aren’t going to keep making you the center of attention. Why don’t you go play a game with Pound and Pumpkin? I know you like board games, so we brought a bunch down here that the three of you can play together.” Morning looked at the older kids apprehensively. Pumpkin was quick to run up to Morning and smile. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” Instead of following, Morning looked back at Sunset. “But I don’t like playing with other foals…” Somehow, Sunset managed to keep her grin in place. “Aww, come on! Just give it a shot. Tell you what, I’ll play a game with you, and if you still don’t want to play in a little bit then we can do something else.” That seemed to placate Morning, who grumpily walked beside Sunset toward the corner with the board games. As they walked, Night Light called after them, “Be sure to have some of those cookies first, though!” Pumpkin ran over to the cookie tray and got one for herself and for her brother with her magic. Sunset levitated two cookies over as well, giving one to Morning. Twilight turned to address the adults. She spoke quietly so that the kids didn’t overhear. “Let’s split up a bit. Morning’s a little shy.” There were nods of agreement, and the group divided into two. Sunset was playing with the kids, of course, and Pinkie, Rainbow, and Spike all stayed behind. Although Spike mostly seemed interested in sticking close to the snack table, so he probably wouldn’t be crowding Morning much. Meanwhile, Twilight, her parents, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack made their way into the entry hall. “I wonder if this is a good idea,” Fluttershy said as they left. “I think it’ll help Morning feel a little less crowded,” Twilight said. “Oh, not splitting up. That was a good idea.” Fluttershy looked back at the other room uncertainly. “But this whole party. Morning was so excited all the way over, but then we got here and she completely changed…” “I think she just needs a little time,” Twilight said. “It’ll be better now that there are fewer ponies around her.” “I hope you’re right.” Fluttershy bowed her head into Twilight’s shoulder, so Twilight stroked her mane. “Fluttershy, darling, the Cake twins are wonderful foals,” Rarity said. “I’m positive they’ll get along famously!” “Maybe we should head out?” Applejack suggested. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to gettin’ to know Morning as much as anypony, but I don’t want to cause any problems either.” “Let’s see how things go with their game,” Twilight said. “Maybe she just needs a little time, then she’ll be more open to seeing other ponies.” “Maybe…” Fluttershy said, although she didn’t sound too sure. “We won’t push her,” Twilight said. “If she’s still not feeling up to being around our friends, we’ll call off the party.” “Twilight’s right, darling,” Rarity said. “And I daresay, she’ll need to get used to ponies being around sooner or later.” Fluttershy sighed and gave a small smile. “I’m sure you’re right.” “At least she’s not trying to boss everyone around,” Night Light said. “When Twily was little, she had to be in charge of everything.” “Dad…” Twilight blushed and looked at the ground. “Aww, shucks, Twi…” Applejack put a foreleg around Twilight. “You’re kinda still in charge of everything.” “I don’t mean to be!” Twilight insisted, and the others laughed. “Is there any food left in the kitchen?” Velvet asked. “I hope we didn’t leave it all to the others.” “There’s a bit left in the kitchen,” Night Light said. “Come on, I need to check on the main course anyway.” Everyone followed Night Light into the kitchen, where they helped themselves to what was left of the hors d’oeuvres. It was no wonder Spike had opted to stay with the snack table, since it seemed that’s where all the sweet foods had wound up. Still, there were some deviled eggs and stuffed mushrooms to eat. They talked about the same things everyone had been talking about ever since the triad had announced their plans to adopt – what it felt like to be new moms, how excited and nervous they were, the fact that everyone had faith in them to pull through. Twilight didn’t make any mention of the fact that she still wasn’t feeling much like a mom, especially since Fluttershy was clearly enamored with the idea. Still, Twilight didn’t mind. She may not be as certain as Fluttershy, but hearing her wife so certain did help her feel like this was the right idea for them. Maybe her mom was right, and when she spent a little more time with Morning, she’d feel better about the whole thing. They talked until Sunset showed up. She smiled at them and said, “There you are.” Twilight frowned a little bit. “Sunset? Is everything okay?” “Yeah, Spike, Pinkie, and Rainbow are still keeping an eye on the kids. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with her, but there’s only so much a mare can play a kids’ game, you know?” Twilight smiled. “Yeah, I guess I see your point. That’s something we’ll have to get used to though, isn’t it?” “Oh yeah,” Velvet said. “Little kids are insatiable. They can play the same game for hours.” “When I left, Morning and Pumpkin were playing a guessing game. Pound was helping Pumpkin, and Spike’s helping Morning.” “She playin’ nice with the Cakes then?” Applejack asked. “She needs to be reminded it’s just a game from time to time,” Sunset said. “As much as she didn’t want to play, once she did, she definitely had a competitive streak.” “That’s something a lot of kids have, though,” Night Light said. “She’ll probably grow out of it.” “Besides, she still can’t be as bad as Twily was,” Velvet said with a grin and a wave of her hoof. Twilight facehoofed. “Mom, please don’t make this into an embarrassing story about me.” “Oh no, please do,” Sunset said with a smirk. “Come on, gimme a good baby Twi story before I have to go back to the kids.” Twilight groaned and let her head fall onto the table, but the others ignored her. “Well, as you know Twily wasn’t big on friends back in those days. But she did try to have a sleepover. Once.” “Not the sleepover…” Twilight muttered. Fluttershy patted her on the back, but she did nothing to try and stop the story. “Oh yeah?” Sunset’s smirk grew into a grin. “Bet that went over great.” “Hang on,” Applejack said with a frown. “You said that sleepover with me and Rarity was your first one.” “I know, I just… didn’t really count the other one.” Twilight sighed. “I was a jerk, and I spent the whole night trying to get away from the others.” “Come now, Applejack,” Rarity said with a wink. “At least we did enjoy ourselves in the end.” “Fair enough, I suppose.” “We couldn’t have been happier at the time,” Velvet continued. “They had even built a pillow fort together.” Twilight rolled her eyes and figured she might as well set the record straight. “We didn’t build it together, I built it myself.” “And then she zapped anyone who got close,” Night Light said with a chuckle. “She made it her own private reading fort.” “I didn’t want a sleepover anyway!” Twilight said in defense of her younger self’s actions. “It was Princess Celestia’s idea! I just wanted to do something to make her happy.” Sunset laughed. “Pretty sure zapping all your friends with magic just ‘cause they wanted to play with you wasn’t what she had in mind.” “I’m glad we’re allowed in your reading forts now,” Fluttershy said, kissing Twilight on the cheek. Applejack laughed along with the others. “And I’m glad ya didn’t try to zap Rarity an’ me.” Twilight blushed. “Okay, so I wasn’t a very good friend back then! We already knew that, though.” “Aww, cheer up, Twi.” Sunset put a foreleg around Twilight’s shoulders. “It’s kinda cute, in a weird way.” “Besides, darling, it just goes to show how far you’ve come,” Rarity added. Twilight just grumbled in response. At least Twilight was spared from further teasing when Rainbow walked into the room. She was glad for the rescue until she got a good look at Rainbow’s face. She had the awkward look of someone who was clearly there to bring bad news. “Dashie?” Fluttershy frowned. “Is something wrong.” “Well, it’s over now, but… Morning and Pumpkin kinda got into a little bit of a fight.” “A fight!?” Twilight sat up straighter. “Well, you know, an argument. Not like a physical fight or anything.” Rainbow sighed. “Spike broke it up, but I don’t think he really knows what to do now. I mean, none of us do.” The three wives looked at each other, then they all got up. They left the room with Rainbow beside them. “So what was it about?” Sunset asked. “I dunno, their game or something.” Rainbow shook her head. “I was over on the other side of the room when I heard them start yelling about something. Pinkie got the Cakes out of there and Spike –” They stopped when they saw Pinkie and the Cake twins standing by the door. Pinkie’s mane had already deflated. “Hi, girls. I, uhm, I was gonna take the Cakes home…” Twilight grimaced. “That bad?” The twins were both standing behind Pinkie. Pumpkin looked ashamed, and Pound seemed to be trying to cheer her up. “It wasn’t that bad,” Pinkie said. “But I think Morning needs a little space.” Twilight nodded and turned to the Cakes. “I’m sorry, this is our fault. We should have known better than to throw a party on her first day here. Morning is… not used to other ponies yet. I hope you two don’t hold this against her too much.” “And I shouldn’t have left you all alone,” Sunset said with a sigh. “Spike, Pinkie, and Rainbow don’t know Morning like I do, I should have been there.” “Aww, it’s not your fault,” Pinkie said. “Maybe we can do something quieter another time.” “I think that sounds like a good idea,” Twilight said. “Thank you for coming and putting everything together.” “Bye,” Pound Cake said. Pumpkin looked up at the adults, then back down at the ground. “Bye, Princesses… I’m sorry…” “It’s okay, Pumpkin,” Fluttershy said. “Thank you for coming and playing with Morning. I think she’ll be better when she’s settled in a little more.” Pinkie saw the Cakes out, and Twilight turned her attention to the sitting room. She made her way towards it, the others following behind her. When they got to the room, Morning and Spike were sitting silently side by side. There were pieces of the board game scattered all around, and Spike looked relieved to see them; like Rainbow had said, he clearly had no idea what to do. “Hey, Morning,” Twilight said softly as she took a seat beside them. “Want to talk about what just happened?” “No,” Morning said without looking at her. “How about I take Morning to her room?” Sunset suggested. “You can talk to Spike, and then come meet me afterwards.” “Sounds good,” Twilight said. “I’ll… go and tell Applejack and Rarity that the party’s over,” Fluttershy said. “Uhm, please take some food home, Dash. We… didn’t think things would wrap up this quickly.” “Yeah, alright,” Rainbow said, flying over to the hors d’oeuvre table. Fluttershy left the room first, then Sunset turned her attention to Morning. “Come on, kiddo, let’s show you to your room.” Morning didn’t answer, but she did get up and follow Sunset out of the room. Once she was gone and Twilight and Spike were in relative privacy, Twilight collapsed on the floor and sighed. “Some mom I am…” “Hey, you weren’t even here,” Spike said. “Exactly! I shouldn’t have left her alone like that…” “She wasn’t alone, though,” Spike said, then he slumped over and leaned against the wall. “She was with me…” “It’s not your fault, Spike.” Twilight sat up. “We knew Morning had… issues with other ponies. Something like this was inevitable. A party was a really stupid idea…” “Well… maybe, but no one else thought of that either.” “Fluttershy did… I should have listened to her.” Twilight looked over the scattered board game pieces. “I just… I wanted Morning to get along with the others so much, you know?” Spike nodded. “Yeah, I know.” “So what happened, exactly?” Spike started to gather the pieces of the board game, so Twilight joined in. “Well, Pumpkin was winning, which already had Morning in a bad mood.” “Sunset said she gets really competitive.” Spike nodded. “So does Pumpkin, I think. Anyway, she was kind of rubbing it in that she was winning, and Pinkie was hovering around Morning trying to cheer her up, then Morning just kinda… flipped.” “She flipped?” “Yeah, like… lost her cool?” Spike sighed. “And… flipped the board. That was her.” “Ah.” Twilight levitated the last of the pieces of the board game into the box. “So she’s a sore loser on top of everything. Great.” “I don’t think that’s it. Sunset won the last game they played. She seemed almost more upset at Pinkie than at Pumpkin.” Twilight scrunched up her face. “For trying to cheer her on?” “Yeah, I think she was just feeling overwhelmed by all the ponies around.” Twilight nodded slowly. It wasn’t that it was surprising – she’d said as much herself to the Cake twins – but it was a little surprising that it had escalated so far. But that just served as a reminder to Twilight. “I guess… We need to get to know her a little better ourselves, huh?” “Yeah, I think so,” Spike said. “So… what are you going to do?” “I guess like Sunset said, I’ll go up and talk with her and Morning.” Twilight noticed Rainbow struggling to carry her food. “Er, after I get Rainbow some containers to get that home…” Spike laughed. “I’ll help Rainbow and the others with leftovers. You and Fluttershy should go see Morning.” Twilight nodded and said a quick goodbye to Rainbow. Then she and Spike left the room. On the way, they ran into the others, who were leaving the kitchen. “How is everyone?” Rarity asked. “We’re just going to go see now,” Twilight said. “But I think everyone will be alright.” Applejack nodded. “Lemme know if I can help any. Y’all know I have some experience with raising kids, thanks to Apple Bloom.” She turned to Twilight’s parents and smiled. “Course y’all got the experts right here, though.” “We’ll keep that in mind, Applejack,” Twilight said. “I have a feeling we’re going to need all the help we can get.” “So uhm, what’s the plan?” Fluttershy asked Twilight. “Spike’s going to help the others get some leftovers to take home while we check on Morning and Sunset.” Fluttershy nodded. “Okay. Thank you, Spike.” “Heh, better that than being in your place. I had no idea what to say to her…” “I think I have some idea,” Twilight said. “Anyway, we should get to that. Thank you for coming, everypony, and sorry to cut it short.” “It’s no trouble at all,” Rarity said with a smile. “Take care of your little one, and give her our best!” Twilight and Fluttershy waved off their friends, then they climbed the stairs to the second floor. It occurred to Twilight as they did just how backwards they had done things. They hadn’t even shown Morning her room and they were already forcing her into a party… “I’m sorry,” Twilight said. “You tried to say this was a bad idea. I should have listened to you.” Fluttershy shook her head. “I didn’t think anything like this would happen. I just hope Morning isn’t too angry with us…” When they reached the top of the stars, they saw Sunset waiting out by Morning’s room. She looked dejected, and her expression didn’t pick up when she saw her wives arrive. She gestured away from Morning’s room, so they followed her into their own bedroom. “How is she?” Fluttershy asked when they had the door closed behind them. Sunset sighed. “She’s still angry. Said she wanted to be left alone, and I thought it would be best to give her some space.” “I guess that’s probably true.” Twilight collapsed onto the bed. “This whole thing is our fault to begin with. I hated my welcome party, so why did I think she would like one?” “Hmm, I remember you hid in your bedroom the whole time,” Fluttershy said, crawling into bed with Twilight. “And we didn’t even give Morning the same option,” Twilight pointed out. She held out her foreleg, so Fluttershy snuggled in and rested her head on her wife’s chest. Sunset sat on the edge of the bed. “I guess we just have to wait. I showed her where those books we got her are, and told her where to find us if she changes her mind.” Fluttershy smiled and nudged Twilight. “I think Sunset needs some cuddles.” “I agree.” Twilight encased Sunset in her magic and levitated her over to where her wives were waiting. Sunset, who could no doubt break out effortlessly if she wanted to, just rolled her eyes and accepted the cuddles. “It just feels like we’re wasting precious time with her,” Sunset said as she curled around Twilight. Twilight saw her point, but at the same time… “Giving her plenty of space is something we’ll have to get used to, I think.” “I think Twily’s right,” Fluttershy said, reaching across Twilight to stroke Sunset’s mane. “This is what we signed up for when we decided to adopt Morning.” Sunset smiled and shook her head. “Geez, I can’t even mope with you two around, can I?” “Nope.” Twilight kissed Sunset’s forehead. “You’re just going to have to accept that we’re right.” Sunset laughed, and that made Twilight smile. She’d been trying to convince Sunset not to worry, and she wound up convincing herself too. They’d messed up, but all there was to do now was press on and try to be better in the future. No one saw Morning for the rest of the day, which had them all a bit worried. They managed to feel pretty optimistic when they were cuddling in bed, but as minutes wore away into hours, they lost a lot of those good feelings. Eventually, Fluttershy and Night Light made dinner for everyone, and Twilight went to tell Morning that it was ready. She paused at the door, unsure of what to do or say if Morning refused to come down. But waiting around wasn’t helping. She forced herself to knock on the door and called through it, “Morning?” “You can come in,” Morning said, sounding defeated. Twilight opened the door, finding her sitting in a heap on the bed. As far as she could tell, the books hadn’t been moved, but she was cuddling a plush rabbit that Fluttershy had left for her. Twilight put on a gentle smile. “Hi, Morning. How are you feeling?” “I dunno…” Morning traced her hoof around the comforter on her bed. “Am… I in trouble?” Twilight sighed and took a seat on the bed. “No, you’re not. I’m not happy that you threw a tantrum like that when ponies were just trying to play with you and have a good time, but this is our fault too. We should have known better than to throw a surprise party for you. We were thinking of what we wanted, not what you would want.” “I don’t like parties…” “To tell you the truth… I hated my welcome party too.” “You did?” Twilight nodded. “Pinkie surprised me with one when I first moved to Ponyville. She invited the whole town to it!” “I’m glad the whole town wasn’t here…” Twilight giggled. “Me too.” “So, uhm…” Morning looked up and Twilight saw her eyes were red. “You’re not going to send me back?” “Oh, Morning…” Twilight brushed Morning’s mane out of her face. “No, we’re not sending you back. We’re not ever sending you back.” Morning sniffed and started blinking, and a moment later, she started crying. Not a lot, just a few tears escaping, but it still broke Twilight’s heart. “You poor thing… You’ve been afraid of that all day, haven’t you?” Morning nodded. Twilight scooted closer and put her wing around Morning. She was so small that Twilight could completely blanket her in her wing. “I don’t ever want you to think we’re going to send you back. It’s just a matter of time before the adoption goes through for good, and we’re all looking forward to it. The only reason it wouldn’t is if you decide you don’t want to live with us.” “I do though.” Twilight smiled. It was good to hear she still felt that way. “Morning… this is new for all of us, you know? We’ve never done this before either, so we might mess up sometimes. In fact, I can guarantee that we will mess up again, although we’ll try our best not to. So… we’re just all going to have to be patient with each other. Is that okay with you?” Morning nodded. “I… I guess so.” “Good.” Twilight looked off to the side. “Although, just so you know, this won’t be the last time we’re going to have a lot of ponies here. And we want you to give the Cake twins another chance, and to apologize for today to them.” Morning groaned. “I know, you don’t really want to. But I promise we won’t try to spring anything on you again. We’re going to set up a playdate with the Cake twins, but we’ll tell you before it happens. And there won’t be a whole crowd of other ponies around.” “I guess that’s better…” Twilight nodded. “Now, Fluttershy and my dad made dinner, so why don’t you come down and get something to eat with us?” “Is, uhm… Is everypony still here?” Twilight shook her head. “No. It’ll just be me, you, Fluttershy, Sunset, Spike, and my parents.” Morning frowned. “That’s a lot of ponies…” Twilight chuckled. “That’s everyone who lives here in the castle, so I’m afraid you’ll have to get used to that. If you come live with us, this will be your family.” “Can, uhm…” Morning held up the plush rabbit. “Can I take my bunny with me?” Twilight giggled. “Sure.” Morning hopped off the bed, carrying the rabbit in one foreleg. Twilight followed after her, turning off the light on their way out. Twilight still didn’t feel much like a mom. She hoped she would in time, but that was something that she’d have to wait and see. For now though, she decided to think of it a different way. Morning didn’t feel like her daughter, not yet. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t welcome Morning into her family. Family was a vague enough word to cover how she felt about the little filly, and it was a strong enough word for Twilight to feel closer to her. For now, that was good enough. Everything else would come to them in time.