//------------------------------// // Poor Communication Kills // Story: Families // by Darth Link 22 //------------------------------// Twilight was used to such strange things happening to her, but she still preferred them not happening quite this early in the morning. First a dream where some omnipotent being spent more time messing with her head than telling her anything, and now one of her best friends was apparently about to tell the town she was dating another one of her best friends. She realized the problems that would cause. She quickly leaped out of bed, levitating a mane brush and working the knots out of her hair. She tossed it aside to race to her bedroom door, using her magic to open it. She nearly tripped over Spike as she raced out. Catching herself, she stared at her charge, who was wringing his tail. He looked at the floor before looking up at her nervously. “Spike? What are...” Then the baby dragon came forward and wrapped his arms around her barrel, hugging her tightly. Twilight froze solid at the act of affection. Slowly, she put a foreleg around him. She smiled. Tears escaped her eyes. Finally, he let go and backed up, looking at her like he was expecting punishment. “Spike...are you ready to tell me what’s been troubling you?” “...Yes,” he said weakly. “But I heard Pinkie barging through here. I think you should go stop her first.” “Oh no, I’ve waited days to get this out of you, I’m not waiting any mo...” “I want to,” he said quickly, before trailing off a bit. “...to, to make us a special meal. Something for lunch that we can talk about this over.” “Spike, you don’t have to...” “I want to,” he said quickly. “I...I’m sorry I put you through all this these last few days. I want to make it up to you.” Twilight was silent for a moment. Then, she came forward and kissed him on the forehead. “Apology accepted,” she said sweetly. Spike smiled a sad smile, wringing his tail again. “...And you’ll tell me everything then?” she asked hesitantly. “I will tell you everything at lunch.” Twilight was silent for a moment. On one hoof, she wanted to beg Spike to tell her now, to just finally put an end to all this worry. On the other, this was the first time in days Spike had been acting cooperative, and she didn't want to jeopardize it. "...Okay," she said at last. "I'm going to go make sure Pinkie doesn't end up gossiping around that me and Applejack are a thing, and I'll come back here. Then we'll talk, okay?" "Okay," Spike nodded in agreement. Twilight kissed his forehead again. "I'm glad you decided to come clean. I love you." Spike smiled sadly again. "I love you too." "Repeat after me: Applejack don't have no crush on Twilight." "Applejack don't have no crush on Twilight," Pinkie repeated, perfectly imitating her friend's accent. The cowpony rolled her eyes, but kept Pinkie pinned to the ground behind Carousel Boutique. "There is nothin' romantic goin' on between Applejack and Twilight." "There is nothin' romantic goin' on between Applejack and Twilight." "Pinkie is seein' things that aren't there." "Pinkie is seein' things that aren't there." Nodding, Applejack finally got off of her. "Good, glad that's settled." "Good, glad that's..." Applejack pinned Pinkie again. "If you repeat me one more time, I'm gonna buck you." "Sorry," Pinkie meaped. Twilight arrived on the scene just in time to see her earth pony friend get off of her other earth pony friend. "Applejack! Good, Pinkie didn't..." "Relax, Twi, Pinkie here understands everythin’ now. Right, Pinkie?" "Yes," the pink pony sighed. "That's good," Twilight nodded. She turned to Pinkie. "And you should really knock before you come into my house. I mean, really, it's that kind of attitude that got you in trouble with Cranky and..." Pinkie was spared the lecture by Carousel Boutique's back door swinging open to reveal its proprietor standing there, looking at them quizzically. "Well, I thought I heard something out here. Is something wrong?" "Not anymore, Rare," Applejack explained. "Pinkie was just givin' us a bit of a headache." "I see. Well, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and I are having some mid-morning tea. Why don't you join us?" "Ooh! That sounds great!" Pinkie said. "Thank you, that sounds nice," Twilight agreed. "Sure, why not?" Applejack sighed. Twilight had been surprised when she had first learned that Rainbow Dash had been friends with Fluttershy and Rarity even before the incident with NightMare Moon. The cyan mare had known her fellow pegasus since flight school, and once the yellow pegasus had made friends with Rarity it meant that Rainbow Dash spent time with her for the sake of their mutual friend. Part of that was a weekly tea party of sorts for the three to talk. They still carried it out, despite the fact that the three of them were spending more time with the rest of their group. It seemed the rest ended up interrupting this meeting in their efforts to keep Pinkie quiet, and as such ended up getting invitations. "By the way, I think I'll pass on that Daring Do fanzine from now on," Rainbow Dash commented. "You didn't like it?" "Well, those fanstories were lame. I mean, one of them is just every character whining that they didn't believe Daring that Derring's boyfriend was Ahuizotl in disguise. I mean, seriously, who would think that was entertaining?" "To each her own, I guess," Twilight muttered, taking a sip of tea. As she did, the bell at Carousel Boutique's front door sounded, signaling another customer. Rarity uncharacteristically rolled her eyes. "They never pay attention to the 'Closed' sign. Excuse me a mom..." At that point Scootaloo and Apple Bloom entered the kitchen. "Hey, Rarity. Is Sweetie up yet?" "Oh, it's you two. Yes, Sweetie is in her room. You know where it is. Would you like some tea or toast?" "No, thank you," the two fillies declined politely. "Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked when she saw her big sister. "Where were you last night? You didn't come home." "Oh. Uh... I was helpin' Twi with somethin', and she let me stay at her place," the farmer answered, hoping Pinkie wouldn't speak up with anything that could renew the previous problem. "Oh, okay. Big Mac says nothin' needs ta be done today," the youngest Apple explained as she and Scootaloo began heading toward the upstairs. "Well, onto more important things," Rarity said, turning back to her friends. "Twilight, have you gotten Spike to come out of his shell, so to speak?" Hearing this, the lavender pony smiled. "Actually, yes. Spike told me this morning that he he was willing to tell me." All of the ponies gaped at this. Pinkie spat out her tea, much to Rarity's displeasure. What the adults didn't notice was that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had stopped on the stairs as well, their ears perking up. "What? Then what are you doing here?" Rainbow Dash demanded. Applejack turned to Pinkie angrily. "It's because we had 'ta chase this one down 'fore she went an' told the town... somethin' that wasn't true." "Will you all relax?" Twilight assured. "Spike was making a big deal about making us a special meal to talk about it over. I guess he feels he needs to make it up to me. So I let him wait a little longer." "He's finally telling you?" The adults stopped. They turned to the two fillies at the staircase, for it had been Scootaloo that had spoken. "Squirt," Rainbow Dash said through her surprise. "Do you know something about this?" Twilight stood up. "You three came by the library yesterday to talk to him... did he tell you anything?" "No," Apple Bloom said quickly. "Yes," Said Scootaloo, just as quickly. "Apple Bloom? Scootaloo?" Sweetie called from upstairs.. "Sweetie, bring down Spike's gift," Scootaloo shouted. "What? But..." "Just do it, trust me." There was a pregnant silence for a few seconds, then movement from upstair, obviously the unicorn filly obeying. "You three have known something about this!" Twilight said angrily. "Why didn't you say anything to me before?" "We promised not to!" Apple Bloom protested. “And an Apple always keeps her promise! You told me so yerself, AJ!” Applejack sighed, rubbing her forehead with her hoof. She rose up, walking over to her youngest sibling. “Apple Bloom, listen to me. There’s a big difference between keepin’ a promise when it’s between you and yer friend, and keepin’ a promise when it hurts somepony. Now I know you meant well, but Twilight and Spike have been hurtin’ bad because of all this. Did you know that?” “...Yeah,” Apple Bloom admitted silently. “But...” Whatever the red-maned pony was going to say, it was interrupted by Sweetie coming back down the stairs, carrying a box in her teeth. The unicorn filly sat the gift down on the floor and looked at Twilight nervously. “This is from Spike... he wanted to give it to you... until the wedding.” Twilight took the box with her magic.Slowly, almost as if she was expecting something to jump out at her, she opened the package. She lifted the frame out and examined it. She recognized the picture, that of a newly hatched Spike and a filly Twilight. She had it on her bedside table, she had seen it a million times. “If you touch the circle on the bottom, it’ll change the picture,” Sweetie Belle explained nervously. Twilight looked up at the young unicorn for a moment before following the instruction. She gave a small gasp. She looked at it for a moment before looking back at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “What is this?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked to each other for help, but Scootaloo stepped forward immediately. “It’s supposed to be a Mother’s Day present. Spike wants you to be his mother.” Twilight’s breath inhaled sharply. Her eyes widened. The other ponies mirrored her expression. “...That’s it?” Rainbow Dash asked, sounding annoyed. “That’s why Spike’s been acting all mopey? He wants Twilight to be what she’s already been?” “That’s pretty much what I said,” Scootaloo chimed in. The cyan pony grinned, flying over to her number one fan. “Heh heh, I knew you had the most brains out of your friends. After all, you picked me as a role model,” she chuckled, rubbing her mane. “Hey! Don’t laugh at Apple family tradition!” Apple Bloom yelled. “She ain’t,” Applejack said bluntly, looking at her sister. “We don’t keep promises when they hurt somepony.” “I’m afraid Rainbow Dash is right,” Rarity said to her sister. “You three could have prevented a lot of trouble if you had told us about this.” “We were going to,” Sweetie protested. “We just wanted to give Spike a chance to do it himself.” “That was... noble of you, Sweetie,” Rarity said, picking her words carefully. “But Spike wasn’t thinking clearly. You really should have come to us and...” “Is that what this is all about?” The words were barely above a whisper, but they caught the attention of every pony in the room. They turned to Twilight. Her expression hadn’t changed. She hadn’t taken her eyes off the picture. “That’s what’s been bothering him?” “...Yeah,” Sweetie said sadly. “He thinks... he thinks you wouldn’t love him as a son anymore.” Tears. “That...that...” A smile. “...silly...little...” A short, breathless laugh. “...I have to go.” Before her friends could say anything, she was out the door, the frame floating behind her. There was a silence for a few moments. “Well, I hope the three of ya learned something from all this,” Applejack scolded. “Yeah,” Apple Bloom said sadly. “Yes,” Sweetie Belle agreed. “Nope! I was right all along!” Scootaloo cheered. Laughing, Rainbow Dash put a foreleg around her number one fan, pulling her close. “You’re one awesome filly, you know that, squirt?” Scootaloo threw her forelegs around her and buried her head into her. She didn’t want her hero to see her happy tears. Twilight ran home. Well, ran wouldn’t quite be the word. She went fast, faster than she ever remembered herself going, but it was like a skip. She was happy, excited. Her heart tightened at the mere thought. Mother... he wants me to be a mother... no, he wants me to acknowledge that I already am a mother. Memories flooded her. Those of an infant Spike crying and thrashing until he broke out of his crib and crawled into Twilight’s bed, nestling into her. He followed dragon instinct and refused to be apart from his mother, no matter how much she tried to convince him otherwise. At age three, he finally agreed to sleep alone like a big boy, but never in a different room than her. She remembered the pride she felt when she saw him leave for his first day of school, so happy and excited, but scared at how the others were going to treat him. She remember the heartbreak as she let him cry in her forelegs from being bullied out of what he had been looking forward to. The heartbreak resurfaced every time she saw him studying late hours to do better than those that had shunned him, and pride whenever he brought home a perfect score. She remembered feeling helpless at seeing him transform after his birthday and not knowing what to do. She remembered cold reality crashing in when she realized a pony doctor couldn’t help him. It was a reminder that Spike was different from her, a fact she often forgot. She remembered feeling for him when he begged to know about who he was and wishing she could help him. She remembered how terrified she had been when he wanted to go on the Migration, of the worries of what could happen to him. She remembered the feeling of rejection when he announced he was staying among dragons forever. She remembered how pride surged through her when he refused to smash Peewee’s egg, standing up to three very big dragons for the sake of an innocent. She remembered reading him bedtime stories, and challenging him to tickle fights, and fighting with him, then kissing his forehead and assuring him he was a good boy. She remembered being a mother for years and never even realizing it. Her heart beat with joy as she neared the library. She could hardly contain her glee. Spike was in there. Her son was in there! She opened the door, running in. “Spike? Spike?” No answer. She ran into the kitchen. There was nothing cooking. Calm down, Twilight. He just realized he didn’t have an ingredient he needed and went to the market. She dashed over to the mantle where all her pictures were kept. She placed the frame right in the center, positioning it carefully. She giggled with excitement. When Spike got back, she’d lead him into the room. He’d see the picture, then while he was surprised she’d tell him how much she loved him. It was going to be so perfect! She giggled, clapping her hooves with excitement...and then she thought back. "I'll tell you everything at breakfast." She smiled at the promise... Wait...he said lunch...where did breakfast come from? Then she thought even farther back. "I said I'd tell you everythin' at breakfast!” She froze. No, no...he didn't...He wouldn't... She ran up the stairs and into the room Spike had been sleeping in. She pushed the door open. There was Spike’s basket. She stopped dead. The blanket and pillow were gone, and there was only a scroll in their place. No...Spike, please tell me you didn't... She looked up on the windowsill were Peewee’s nest should be. It was gone too. Terror gripped her. She walked up to the bed. She unrolled the scroll and read... and her blood ran cold. Her fears were realized. Twilight, I told you I’d tell you everything at lunch. But I’m not coming to lunch. I can’t tell you why I’m upset, but you won’t let up. So I have to leave. I’m sorry I put you through all this. You’re mad at me now, but it’ll be better this way. Thanks for everything, Spike.