17 years later
“UGH!” Sparkling Apples groaned in frustration and threw her schoolbook onto the bed under her.
She wished that Cherilee would go back to taking care of the younger foals. Ever since she became the teacher for the graduating class she had a terrible knack for overworking the students.
What, did Cherilee not expect them to have lives other than school? It seemed that way, since she had three reports due the next morning that were assigned earlier that day. Three reports per subject, that is. And then she had to sleep.
Right, like that was going to happen.
“Sparkling Apples, Could you come down here for a minute sweetie?” Her mom, Twilight, called from the kitchen on the first floor.
Sparkling put her hoof to her face in frustration. “Mom, please, I need to focus. Cherilee has practically assigned me something from every book in the whole bucking library!”
“I know, but…we need to talk.” Twilight called back, a tone that seemed half command half plead.
Groaning, Sparks got up and started walking down the stairs. this better be good, I’m going to have to stay up late as it is! She thought in frustration as she reached the bottom of the stairs and turned a corner to the kitchen.
Soon after Twilight and Big Mac had married, Big Mac had recruited the assistance of Applejack and Rainbow Dash to help assemble him and his wife a home for themselves on the Apple property. Applejack wore a special iron horseshoe that protected her hoofs and bucked nails into place while Rainbow Dash was able to fly around and secure stuff and she would run errands, given that she was by far the fastest. It was also helpful that she was able to keep the rain away. Even Twilight helped by moving things around with her magic and bending iron rods into shape for the inner structuring and Big Mac mostly hauled supplies and blueprinted everything. It came together quite nicely into a nine room home, four bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, living room, a one room basement and a storage room. It was not exactly the smallest house, but there were bigger in existence.
So anyways, back to the present.
“Sparkling, dear, you may want to sit down.” Twilight suggested hesitantly as Big Mac walked into the room from the living room.
Sparks did as she was told, repressing her urge to raise her eyebrows. Her mom was odd, yes. A bookworm, yes. But not unsure of herself. She always knew what to say next and never started a sentence she didn’t know how to finish.
But this was different. Her mother was acting…different. It worried Sparks somewhat. Her mother was hesitant, almost stuttering. It was unnerving, and the look her mother gave Big Mac and the solemn nod he gave back was not encouraging either. Something was happening. What was wrong?
“Sparkling, I don’t know to approach this subject. I’ve looked in books, asked around, I even asked Princess Celestia. The only answer I have received is to come straight out with it.”
Sparks looked at her mother intensely, nervousness slowly etching in her face. Something’s up. Mom is never like this. She thought, swallowing hard. “Okay, what is it?”
Twilight looked at her daughter for a second, before she announced it.
“I’m pregnant.”
Oh, that’s it.
Wait.
Oh!
OH! THAT’S IT!
Twilight’s face reddened and she smiled sheepishly as she peered at her daughters shocked face. What if her daughter didn’t take it well? What if she felt like she was being replaced? The books said it was a possibility.
Sparks face suddenly lifted a bit. “So…I’m going to be a big sis?”
Twilight sighed slightly in relief. “Yes, dear. It’s a filly. I’m four months along.”
Sparks face once again showed shock. Four months?! How could she not have noticed?! She looked at her mother’s stomach and indeed it bulged slightly. It was subtle, but considering it was her mother Sparks was astounded she didn’t notice it.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Sparks asked, not hurt but confused.
“I wasn’t sure how to say it. I said that. It is big news, after all.” Twilight looked apologetically at her daughter.
“I need to think.” Sparks said, getting up and walking towards the front door.
Twilight watched her daughter leave, sighing. “I hope she accepts this. We should have talked to her before we let this happen.” She says more to herself than her husband who was now beside her.
“It will be okay, Twi. She just needs to think.” Big Mac comforted.
Twilight smiled. “I hope so.”
***
Sparks walked out from under the arched entry to Sweet Apple Acers. She felt bad that she left so abruptly. She didn’t want her mom thinking she wasn’t happy about her sister, she really was. It was just big news, and she needed to take a walk to sort out her thoughts.
As she walked, she came to the old town clubhouse. She smiled. It was the place her mother and father had admitted there love to each other. For a few seconds her mind was not on the big news as she imagined a younger version of her mother squealing ever so quietly “I love you.” And then her father freezing in his tracks, turning around with wide eyes and then a grin on breaking out on his face.
If it hadn’t been for Pinkie Pie’s party, who knows what would have happened. She still loved to hear the story.
She continued walking, wondering when she would fall in love. It wasn’t the first time she had wondered this either. How is it that she had never even had a coltfriend? She had a few crushes, sure, but none of them ever turned into anything. She was very pretty, she knew that. Even though none of the colts were asking her out, she could tell they thought she was pretty. They were nervous and trying to play it cool when they talked to her. It was cute in its own way, but it made it hard for
her to befriend colts in general because they never really show there true selves.
She was friends with most of the other fillies and mares though, so it didn’t bother her too much. Her best friend was her cousin, Red Apple. Red, Applejack’s daughter, had been born only months after Sparks. She had grown up in another home on the Apple property. Applejack had married shortly after Twilight….but that’s another story (*wink wink*). Big Mac and the crew had built Applejack and her love a home as well. It was quite close to Sparks’s home, and Sparks and Red had spent a lot of time both doing farm work and general hanging out together. They did many things together, but mostly they just talked. They grew quite close; few secrets were held between the two. They were like ‘two peas in a pod,’ so to speak.
Sparks suddenly looked up from her thoughts and realized she had reached the outskirts of town. She looked at the massive magical tree that housed the Ponyville library. She smiled. Spike still maintained that library, despite how he was now almost too big to get through the door. It was amazing how slow dragons grow, but I guess that’s one of the symptoms
of being part of a race that lives hundreds of years. He had been quite understanding when Twilight moved out. She hated to leave him, her Number One Assistant, but someone had to take care of the library. He was all too happy to do the job, so that’s exactly what happened and is happening to this day.
Sparks smiled and turned around to return home. As she walked, she walked directly by Sugar Cube Corner. She walked up to it briefly, thinking. The sweets store was still ran by the elderly Cake couple. They were about to be grandparents now, one of the twins had married. And the other was off in Manehattan where she was performing on broadhay (I suck at giving pony names to real places, I know) Pinkie Pie was to receive the shop when the Cakes retired, which wasn’t too far in the future. Pinkie was as crazy as ever, nothing really changing with her since Twilight and Big Mac got hitched.
Sparks was about to continue walking back to her home when she suddenly looked to the roof of Sugar Cube Corner. There was a young, familiar looking stallion on the roof, a pile of schoolbooks at his side. He lay watching the clouds. He seemed content with the world.
Sparks sighed. She wished everything was as peaceful for her as it was for him.
As she started to turn away suddenly there was a noise.
The next thing she knew the stallion had fallen from the roof and had landed squarely on top of her, a deafening “Crack!” of a bone snapping in one or the other or both of their bodies as they collapsed to the ground, groaning.
Okay, Sparks thought, wincing as she noticed a definite pain in her front leg. Maybe his life isn’t so peaceful either.