//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Amending Fences // Story: A Sparkle's Little Dusk III: Everlasting Family // by Mister E-Nonymous //------------------------------// Chapter 11: Amending Fences Dusk was asleep in his bed. He had enjoyed spending some time with his long lost sister ever since Twilight officially made her a part of the family. Nyx wanted to spend as much time with them as well, as well as hanging with the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Tri-Pies. There was also an issue with trying to make friends with the Yaks from Yakyakistan. Pinkie and the Tri-Pies looked to see what the Yaks did in Yakyakistan. Raspberry Pie told them everything. Dusk was then being slightly shaken. He tried swatting whoever was shaking him away with a hoof while saying, "Five more minutes, Mom..." He was then shaken again. He then opened his eyes and he saw Spike there. "Spike? What's going on?" "It's a long story," Spike said. "Listen, we're going back to Canterlot. Twilight's already getting your sisters." "Why?" Dusk asked. "Let's just say that Twilight is going to talk to some old friends," Spike said. "But at this time of night?" Dusk asked. He then yawned. "I'm going back to sleep." "Sorry, Dusk," Spike said. "But we're going by teleportation. After all, since your grandparents are having a nice relaxing vacation in the Crystal Empire." He then chuckled. "And if I know them well, Velvet's nice relaxing vacation would be going down the most difficult ski path in the entire resort." Dusk then yawned again, closing his eyes. Spike then rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, boy." The next morning, Dusk was asleep, but as he was waking up, he had to pairs of hooves wrapped around his body. He looked down and saw one black hoof and one sky blue hoof. He saw his sisters hugging him. He looked around and saw that he was in another location. "Where are we?" Dusk asked. He then tried to get up, but he saw that Nyx and Daylight were hugging him tight and pinning his wings down. He then sighed, then he lit up his horn and teleported out of the bed. He then flapped his wings to get out the pressure his sisters put on them, then he headed downstairs to see Spike sleeping on a stack of books with another book on his head. "Spike! Come on! We've got work to do!" came Twilight's voice, startling the baby dragon. Spike groaned in response and asked, "Have you been awake all night?" "I did a little research, and I think I know where we can find Minuette!" Twilight said. She then looked back over at Spike and asked, "That is one of my friends, right?" "Mom?" Dusk asked. "Why are we here?" "Sorry, Dusk," Twilight said. "I have something to do here in Canterlot, and I couldn't just leave you kids home alone for how many days. So, I need you to wake up your sisters." Dusk sighed and said, "Okay." He then headed over towards the bed where Nyx and Daylight were sleeping with him when he woke up. Later, the five of them ended up in front of a building with an hourglass shaped front door. Twilight then knocked on the door to see if somepony was home. "Uh, it's not too late to forget I opened my big mouth," Spike said, ashamed of what he said the previous night. "No, Spike, I'm glad you opened your big mouth," Twilight replied. "These ponies have probably been suffering ever since I left. Wondering why their supposed friend would treat them so badly!" Twilight was getting worried when she said that last part. But then, the door started opening. "Minuette?" Just then, a blue mare with a darker blue mane with gray highlights came out, happy to see Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle!" the mare, known as Minuette, laughed and went down the stairs, scaring Twilight a little. "You old so-and-so! What are you doing here?!" She then saw Spike. "Hey, Spike!" She then turned her head back to Twilight. "Look at these wings, huh?!" Twilight unfolded her wings. Minuette then used her magic to hand Spike a camera. "Hey, grab a picture of me and the princess, will ya?! I tried to tell my co-workers we used to be friends back when." She then giggled. "But they've never believed me!" Spike just shrugged his shoulders and aimed the camera. "Wait-wait-wait! Really fluff 'em up, huh?" Minuette requested to Twilight. Twilight then unfolded her wings, and then Minuette posed in front of Twilight, like she was photo bombing. Spike then took the picture. Minuette then noticed Dusk, Nyx and Daylight and then gasped. "Are these your foals?!" She then lowered herself to look at them in the eyes. "Ahh, they're so cute! Let's have them be in the next picture!" Minuette then used her magic to pull Dusk, Nyx and Daylight over towards Twilight. Daylight widely while Dusk and Nyx gave a nervous smile with Twilight as Spike took the next photo. Minuette then turned towards Twilight. "So what are you doing here? I mean, I know you're here all the time, but you never come to see me. Hey! I just had the greatest idea! You wanna go see Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine?" "Of course! My old friends!" Twilight said. "It'll be great!" Minuette said before giggling. She then jumped up and said, "Come on! Let's fly! Get it?" She then laughed when she landed. "This is perfect!" Twilight said, turning her head towards Spike, Dusk, Nyx and Daylight. "I can apologize to all three of them at once!" "Let's hope they're not as traumatized as Minuette," Spike said, sarcastically. "Wow," Nyx said. "This is going to be intense." "Maybe we should've gone with Grandma and Grandpa to the Crystal Empire," Dusk said. "We could have just gone sledding instead of skiing." "Yeah, I don't think Grandma wouldn't take no for an answer on sledding," Nyx said. "The last thing we want is a dislocated limb." "C'mon," Daylight said. "We got to catch up with Mom." Then they all followed Twilight and Minuette. It's been three days since they went to Canterlot. Twilight had already made amends with Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts, and they were okay with Twilight leaving for Ponyville. Lyra Heartstrings, who was among one of Twilight's old "friends" was already living in Ponyville with Bon Bon. But it was Moon Dancer that wasn't forgiving Twilight. So, Twilight decided to try and make amends by giving her the place she used to live in before she moved to Ponyville. "What is this place?" Moon Dancer asked. "This is where I used to live," Twilight said as Moon Dancer was looking at certain books. Twilight then realized something. "You mean, I never had you over?" "Wow! A first edition of Principles of Magic!" Moon Dancer said. "Hey, didn't I give this to you?" She said that with an angry tone, looking back at Twilight. "Maybe?" Twilight said, unsure of herself. "I did! Look, I even wrote something!" Moon Dancer said, with an angry tone. She then read the message she wrote in the book. "'To my friend, Twilight Sparkle. Thanks for introducing me to the classics.'I can see by the fact that you left it here that it meant a lot to you." She then put the book back on the shelf as Twilight was walking up to her. "Look, I didn't bring you over here for even more poignant reminders of what a bad friend I was," Twilight said in an apologetic tone. "I brought you here to give you this." She then levitated a key to Moon Dancer. "You can come here whenever you want and study to your heart's content." Moon Dancer smiled when she received the key, saying, "Really?" "But first, you've gotta do something for me," Twilight said, making Moon Dancer frown. "What?" Moon Dancer asked, with a tone. "Have dinner with our old friends tonight," Twilight responded. "I can't," Moon Dancer said, heading for the entrance. "I'm reorganizing my biology scrolls." "I've been spending a lot of time with Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts since I've been back," Twilight said. "They really miss you." "Look! I already told you!" Moon Dancer said as she reached the stairs. "The last thing I need is a bunch of ridiculous friend-making keeping me from studying!" "Moon Dancer, wait!" Twilight said, looking down from the top of the stairs. "A wise pony once taught me that there's more to life than dusty old books!" "I tried friendship and it's just not for me," Moon Dancer said as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." Moon Dancer was just about to exit the tower, but then Twilight thought of something. "What if I taught you Hayscartes' method?" That made Moon Dancer stop and look back up at Twilight. Moon Dancer then sighed and said, "Fine. Just for tonight. I'll come back so you can take me and our 'friends' to whatever restaurant you want us to eat at." That made Twilight smile. Moon Dancer then left the tower. "Well, that's a start," Twilight said. "We're just gonna have to see how it goes at dinner." Nyx then thought of something. She then said, "Is it me, or did Moon Dancer almost look like Twilight?" "I saw it, too," Dusk said. "Yeah, it's pretty obvious that the two share identities," Daylight said. "The only difference is the color," Dusk said. Twilight thought about it, then she shook her head and said, "Yeah, I don't think so. I don't really see it." "You're kidding, right?" Nyx asked. "I'm not kidding, Nyx," Twilight said. "Moon Dancer and I look nothing alike. She has glasses, has her mane done up in a band, and is wearing a sweater." That made the kids laugh. "What?! What is it?! Why are you all laughing?!" Just then, Nyx saw a book under a shelf. She then picked it up and read the title. "'Perfection: The Impossible Pursuit'." That made Twilight go wide eyed, teleported to right in front of Nyx, took the book in her magic, and inspected it. "Oh, boy," Twilight said, a little embarrassed. "I can't believe I forgot to return this book to the library before I left!" "Well, better late than never," Spike said, taking the book. "I'm probably going to get a huge late fee," Twilight said. She then headed down the stairs and said, "Spike, take the kids to the restaurant where we'll be meeting Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts." Spike saluted before Twilight left, taking the library book with her. "No doubt she'll lose her title as Best Book Borrower at the Canterlot Library," Spike said. "Now, let's get going." Dusk, Nyx and Daylight nodded and followed Spike out of there. Twilight, Spike, Dusk, Nyx, Daylight, Moon Dancer, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts were all in a restaurant, having dinner together. But everything that they tried to talk about, Moon Dancer wasn't interested at all. Just then, Dusk looked around until he noticed one pony hiding behind a menu. Dusk leaned towards Nyx and whispered, "Is it weird that that pony over there has been looking at her menu since we got here?" Nyx looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Now that you think about it, it does seem..." Nyx said, before something caught her eye. She could see the mare's mane and coat color. She then went wide eyed. "It can't be." Just then, Moon Dancer groaned and left the table. "Oh, man," Twilight said. "This is not going as much as I wanted it to." "Twilight," Nyx said, getting the grown up alicorn's attention. "Yes, Nyx?" Twilight asked. "Have you noticed that mare has been looking at her menu since we got here?" Nyx asked, pointing at where the mare was. But when they all looked over towards where that mare was, the mare was gone, the chair was wobbling, and the menu was face down on the table. "That was odd," Twilight said. "Who do you think you saw?" "I think it was that mare who tried taking you and your friends Cutie Marks," Nyx said. "Starlight Glimmer?!" Twilight asked. "But how? And why?" All Dusk and Nyx did was shrug their shoulders. "Well, whatever reason she's here, we have to be careful. Starlight might try and take our Cutie Marks away." That made Spike, Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine go wide eyed at what Twilight said. "But, let's not talk about that right now. I'm going to talk to Moon Dancer." She then teleported out of there, leaving a bag of bits in her seat. Daylight looked over towards Dusk and Nyx and asked, "Steal Cutie Marks?" "Apparently, Starlight Glimmer believes that Cutie Marks doesn't let anypony do anything else without a choice," Nyx said. "Although, we have no idea how she got that idea." She then showed her Cutie Mark. "I got my Cutie Mark, and I still stay in the Cutie Mark Crusaders to help my friends get theirs." "Wow," Minuette said. "Now that's a good friend." "Yeah," Nyx said. "Alright, guys," Spike said. "Finish up your plates, and then we'll head on back to the tower." Then the group started eating their food. Later that night, Dusk, Nyx and Daylight were about to get ready for bed, but as they were about to get in, Twilight stopped them. "Hold on, you three," Twilight said. "What is it, Mom?" Dusk asked, looking up at the older alicorn. "We need to go back to Ponyville, and pick up something there," Twilight said. "Or should I say, four somethings. So, c'mon. We need to fly." Daylight just yawned and said, "Why can't we just teleport there?" Twilight was about to say something else, but what Daylight just said made more sense to her. "Okay, Daylight. That actually is more of a good idea. Come over here." Spike walked up behind Twilight, then Dusk, Nyx and Daylight came towards the mare as well. Twilight then lit up her horn and the group teleported. When the teleportation spell ended, they saw that they were in Sugarcube Corner. "Pinkie?! Tri-Pies?! Are you here?!" Twilight called out. Then zooming down the stairs came Pinkie and the Tri-Pies, the Tri-Pies were in their pajamas. "Hiya, Twilight!" Pinkie said. "Where have you been for the past few days?" "In Canterlot," Twilight said. "Listen, we need your help. All of your help." That made the four Pies gasp. "You see..." "You went up to Canterlot to try to apologize to all of your old friends in Canterlot for not being as social as the others but not all of them were okay with you leaving, and that one friend of yours was so angry, she didn't want anything to do with Friendship and you want our help to make a party to make up for the party that you purposely missed so you can amend the fence with her and finally rekindle your friendship," Pinkie Pie said, then giving off a huge grin. That made Nyx and Daylight go jaw dropped. "She made a hunch like that when me, Twilight and Dusk came back from the dimension on the other side of that mirror," Spike said. "Her counterpart also did a hunch like that when we tried to explain about the Element that was taken to that world," Dusk said, making Spike nod. "So, you're willing to help?" Twilight asked. "Would we ever!" Pinkie and the Tri-Pies said in unison. Twilight, Spike, Dusk, Nyx and Daylight brought Pinkie and the Tri-Pies to Canterlot. Apparently, Pinkie Pie and Minuette were friends since Minuette was originally one of Cadance's original bridesmaids, which Dusk remembered when he and Cadance were getting out of the Gemstone Caverns below Canterlot. Twilight then had Pinkie and the Tri-Pies put up a party to make up for Twilight missing the one that made Moon Dancer isolate herself away from her friends. Moon Dancer cried at first, but when Twilight gave her most sincere apology, and their old friends also added some things that made Moon Dancer feel better. And they all had a great time. Pinkie and the Tri-Pies had a lot of ponies come to the party, including Moon Dancer's sister, Morning Roast. "I think it's time for us to go, Moon Dancer," Twilight said to Moon Dancer. "Thank you for helping me make some new friends," Moon Dancer said with a shy smile. "Even if they are my old friends." "Oh. We'll come back and visit soon," Twilight said while the two mares nuzzled each other's necks. "Besides, I need to get these kids back home. They got a lot of homework to make up for missing some school days. Luckily, I left a note for their teacher so she knows how much homework they can get so they can work on it." "Yeah, I understand," Moon Dancer said. "And as for you visiting, that would be great! You've still gotta teach me that Hayscartes technique!" "Deal," Twilight said. Then Spike came up with a messed up present and said, "Um, Moon Dancer? It got kinda banged up, but here's a little something I wanted to give you back at your first party." Moon Dancer took the present from Spike, opened it up and saw that it was a photo of her, Twilight and their old friends. Twilight and Pinkie took the kids to the train station. All of them were tuckered out from partying that night, and they all headed on home to Ponyville. Now that Twilight has amended fences with her old friends, things can now be so much better.