Amethyst felt like a fish out of water and placed in the desert sand. A thousand years he has been asleep. A thousand years of history to catch up on. After hearing from Miss Rarity and Sweetie Belle about recent events, he knew he had a long way to go before he could fully adapt.
So it was that he lay in the guest bedroom unable to sleep. As he looked around the room, he could not tell the difference between the guest bedroom and Miss Rarity’s room. The room was just as exquisite as the master bedroom was, with bright coloured walls and a very soft large bed to accompany it.
Even though it was soft, Amethyst could not find it in himself to sleep peacefully that night. The colt’s mind was tangled in thoughts. NightMare Moon, The Elements of Harmony, the Changelings, Bloodwing… the poor colt’s mind was overwhelmed just by listening to the barest of these events.
Fortunately, he was not alone. He was in good company in his current living place. Everypony he had met so far had greeted him with open hooves and offered to help a complete stranger, a pony who was an oddity to the others.
As he turned in his bed with his duvet covering his body, his thoughts turned back to Miss Rarity. How kind she is to him and how generous she is. He sighed and reached for his locket, opening it up gingerly to reveal two ponies in it. A smiling colt that was him, and a mare holding him close. His mother.
The door suddenly creaked, and he quickly closed his eyes. He heard hoofsteps coming towards his bed. He didn’t know how it was until he heard the pony speak.
“Looks like everything is alright here. The dear must have been more exhausted than I thought.”
Rarity stood over Amethyst’s bed and looked down on the sleeping foal’s form. She was concerned he wouldn’t be able to sleep due to the events that had transpired. Equestria’s makers know how poor Spike and Scootaloo couldn’t sleep without those dreaded nightmares… Her thoughts ceased when she saw Amethyst stirring and turning to his side, opening his eyes hesitantly to Rarity.
“I-is it time to wake up already?” he asked Rarity, feinting tiredness to the grown mare. He didn’t want her to know he didn’t sleep at all.
“Oh!” Rarity flushed as she blinked. “No no, dear! I was just checking up on you, didn’t mean to wake you…”
“What time is it?”
Rarity simply smiled and came closer to him. “That doesn’t matter,” she whispered and used her magic to form what looked like powder above Amethyst’s head. “Just sleep well and sweet dreams.” Before Amethyst could say another word, his eyes fluttered closed, followed by the sound of light snoring.
The next morning had been an active one for Amethyst. First, there was Miss Twilight, who came to his new home with what he guessed was half her library, though Miss Rarity laughed at the suggestion. After some excited squeals at getting to teach a young pony and hopes that he would get along with her sons, Spike and Light, she had entered a full lecture mode, starting from the year Amethyst had been frozen onward. What happened to the Crystal Empire and the years of mutual rulership between the Royal Sisters made up the first day's lesson. Amethyst listened intently, amazed by how much had happened, much to Twilight’s joy.
After a good three hours even Twilight decided that was enough for one day and departed back to the library, telling Amethyst to come visit when touring that day.
About thirty minutes after Twilight had left, he had just finished licking the last crumbs of lunch when the front door opened and Sweetie came in, this time followed by five other foals.
“Is that him?” a purple one asked. He turned to him. “Are you Amethyst?”
“Yes I am,” he answered. “And who might you be?”
“I’m Spike,” he said. Remembering who his tutor was, he added, “Twilight’s son.”
“A pleasure to meet you,” he said. He gave a hoof bump, but it was awkward, such a greeting had not existed when he was sealed away. He scanned the group until it fell on the white pegasus. “And you must be Light, Spike’s brother?”
“Pretty much, by this point,” the colt greeted.
As it turned out, Amethyst could easily pick out who was who based on the short descriptions Sweetie had given him. The only other colt had to be Pip, and Apple Bloom’s accent marked her even better than wings or a horn. Scootaloo looked almost plain compared to her friends, a shock considering she had the most interesting story of them all.
“So, what do ya need fer yer special talent?” Apple Bloom asked. “I need ta know so I can fix up what ‘cha need at th’ Clubhouse.”
“Tis a fine gesture,” he said, “but I would not bother. I am not sure I’ll be staying long enough to grow into such a thing.”
“Awww…” All the foals sighed dejectedly as they lowered their heads to the ground. The had so hoped to spend time with their new friend today.
Rarity came up to the foals, standing next to Amethyst. “I’m sure after tomorrow, when we return from Canterlot, Amethyst will be free to spend more time with all of you.”
“Yay!” All the foals save for Amethyst cheered. Just as the boutique quieted down, the bell from the front door ringed and a red pegasus entered the building wearing a saddle bag.
“Hello, Blaze,” Rarity greeted Twilight’s coltfriend, who had also become one of her close friends during the months he and Light had officially made Ponyville their permanent home.
“Yo!” Blaze saluted Rarity as he walked towards her, noticing the foals around her. “Hey kids.”
“Hey, Dad,” Light greeted his father as he walked up to him. “Aren’t you suppose to be at Wonderbolt training?”
“It’s Saturday, Light. Even Wonderbolt rookies have weekends off.”
Feeling sheepish, Light just blushed and fiddled with his hooves. “Oh… I forgot.” He simply answered the stallion and he was greeted by a chuckle from Blaze, followed by a ruffling of his mane.
“Just memorize it next time.” His gaze landed upon Amethyst, who shied away slightly behind Rarity. “So this is the crystal unicorn Twily’s been telling me about?”
Rarity turned around to face Amethyst. “It’s alright dear, he’s a good friend of mine,” she assured him and saw Amethyst walking out from Rarity’s shadow.
Amethyst gave a curt bow before speaking. “Greetings. I am Amethyst.”
Blaze whistled and grinned, lowering his head to Amethyst’s level. “My name is Blaze, Blaze Stream.” He greeted the foal back with a hoof bump that still confused Amethyst before pointing to his head. “Got it memorized?”
“Um…”
“Haha!” Blaze shook his head as he chuckled. “Well, being asleep for a thousand years, you got a lot to memorize before you oughta memorize my name.” His smile faded slightly when he saw Amethyst looking down frowning. “Don’t worry, you’ll catch up in no time. What with everypony here being your friends, you can’t go wrong.”
“Really?”
“Trust me, Twiley’s a smart pony. I’m a lucky stallion to have her.”
“Tell Twilight I’m sorry for not dropping by, but I have a limited time to show him around and I want him to meet everypony.”
“Of course. Now then, do you have my flight suit?”
“It’s on my work floor,” she assured. “I trust you can find it. I’m terribly sorry for not showing you to it, but we simply must be going. Come along, Amethyst, Sweetie. We have a lot to see.”
“Oh, oh!” Pinkie squealed, “try a cupcake! No, no,” she pulled the treat away. “The snickerdoodles! No, no,” she pulled the cookies away. “Cherry pie! No, no...”
“Pinkie,” Rarity said through limited patience. “Will you please give the foals a treat?”
“But you said they could only have one sweet, so it has to be my best! Oh, but there’s so many good things here!”
“I can see,” Amethyst said, his mouth watering at the sight. “Please Miss Pinkie, I will be happy with whatever treat thou would serve. We hardly got sugar in the Empire...”
“What?!” Pinkie exclaimed. “That’s terrible! Oh, Rarity, you have to let me give them more than one...”
“No,” Rarity said with firmness. “Give them each a cupcake, and then, if they’re good, we’ll stop for milkshakes on the way home, okay?”
“Oh, really? Well okay!”
Pinkie produced a tray with two chocolate cupcakes. Amethyst snached his up, and by the time he was finished his cheeks were covered in frosting.
“...Are milkshakes this divine as well?” he said, in a euphoric state.
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t drink it that fast...” Sweetie began, but Amethyst turned to Rarity.
“Please Miss Rarity, may I have one?”
“Well... I suppose...”
Pinkie almost immediately produced a milkshake. Amethyst took it and began taking one long, big gulp.
Seconds later, he was on the ground, grabbing his head and screaming from brain freeze.
Rarity gasped and rushed over to Amethyst, kneeling down to the floor. “D-don’t worry, dear! It will go away, now-now,” she comforted the colt in her hooves. Sweetie just shrugged and slurped her milkshake away without a care in the world.
Eventually the screaming stopped. Amethyst took a few deep breaths... and then jumped up and gulped down a few more mouthfuls.
Sweetie rolled her eyes as he was back on the floor, screaming his head off.
After recovering from the sugar rush, Amethyst made a mental note to not consume vast amounts of sugar in large quantity or at a fast rate. He couldn’t help it really, having only tasted such sweet delicacies recently was a blessing to him. So was being freed from that crystal he had been in a deep slumber in.
As he walked alongside Rarity and Sweetie Belle, he observed the whole town of Ponyville and was amazed at its diversity of all three races. That along with the warm reception in the air, he couldn’t help but smile.
Rarity took notice of this and looked down on the colt as he looked around. “You enjoying yourself, Amethyst?”
He nodded to Rarity. “Tis amazing the halcyon atmosphere of this quaint village.” He replied to Rarity, looking around to see a few families together. “But I must query on a thought…”
“Oh?” Rarity's ears perked at Amethyst’s words not seeing Sweetie Belle’s confused face, lost with Amethyst’s odd words.
“Where art thy mother and father?”
Rarity blinked as she heard his question. “Oh, well… they are just on—”
“They’re on holiday.” Sweetie Belle cut in, sounding robotic with her words. “They’re on holiday to some beach, that’s why I’m living with Rarity.”
“I see,” Amethyst replied, looking to Sweetie Belle before turning to Rarity.
“That’s right,” Rarity said dismissively, seemingly avoiding the topic. “Now then, what shall we do for now?”
Sweetie Belle raised her one hoof eagerly in the air, gaining Rarity’s attention. “Why don’t we show him the Sweet Apple Acres?”
Rarity hummed as she thought of the idea, tapping her chin. “What say you, Amethyst?”
“Sweet Apple Acres? Is that where Miss Applejack and Apple Bloom lives?”
“It is indeed. And they adore new ponies. I have a feeling you’ll fit right in.”
Amethyst’s first visit to the Apple Family wasn’t as overwhelming as Twilight’s, but it was still something. Granny Smith, hearing about the visit, prepared a meal far too large for him. This included apple pie to which Amethyst gratefully accepted and gulped down, before yelling due to the heat of the pie on his tongue. Even after all that, he asked for seconds.
Big Mac sized the colt up and down. “How long are you going to be in Ponyville?”
The colt looked at the large stallion. “I’m not sure. Rarity has sent word to the Princess of the Crystal Empire to seek out my mother, but I am not sure she is still among the living. If not, Sweetie wants me to stay in Ponyville, but I’m not sure Miss Rarity would be willing to have me for that long.”
“Your mother? Did you have a father too?”
“My father disappeared long before I was trapped. I accepted he was dead long ago.”
“That ain’t right,” the burly stallion said. “A colt needs a father.”
“I suppose... perhaps...” Rarity said, a bit tensely. Then, under her breath, she added, “I seemed to get by just fine without one...”
“I suppose it would be nice,” Amethyst said. “Miss Rarity, I don’t suppose you have a stallion?”
Rarity turned crimson. “N-no,” she stammered. “I am on a timeout, as it were, on matters of dating. Prince Blueblood decided that for me.” She left out that, after that date, she seriously considered finding a mare instead.
“A timeout?” Big Mac asked. His voice and face remained steady, but Amethyst saw his ears droop a bit.
“Well, I can’t say I’m hoping a big and strong stallion doesn’t sweep me off my hooves. Maybe it will happen...”
Applejack, having walked up towards the group of new arrivals and hearing what Rarity was saying, leaned into her brother’s ear with a grin on her muzzle. “Ya oughta get on with it, Big MacIntosh.”
Big MacIntosh simply scrunched his lips and was grateful that he had a red coat, otherwise the ponies would have seen his cheeks burning brightly.
Applejack merely giggled at her older brother and made her way to Rarity and the two foals. “Ya having a good time there, sugarcube?” She asked Amethyst, seeing as he had finished the apple pies and looked as stuffed as Twilight was on her first visit.
“Yes, I thank thee, Miss Applejack.”
“Shucks! None of that ‘Miss’” shenanigans with me now, please,” Applejack replied, shaking her head as she chuckled. “Just call me ‘Applejack’ or ‘AJ’, everypony else does.”
Before Amethyst could answer her, a ball of energy in the form of a yellow filly came running to the group. “Sweetie Belle! Howdy!” Apple Bloom came to a stop at her friend and saw Amethyst there too. “Hiya, Amethyst!”
“Hello…”
“What’re ya’ll doing here?”
“We were just showing Amethyst around Ponyville and decided to stop her,” Sweetie Belle answered her friend and looked to Amethyst’s full stomach. “Though your granny thought to give him a five course meal.”
Apple Bloom as she saw Amethyst’s expression from being so full. “That happens with every new pony,” she replied before raising her eyebrows and beaming. “Say! Why don’t we show ya our clubhouse?”
“Clubhouse?”
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, agreeing with Apple Bloom’s idea. “You mind Rarity?” She asked her sister, who was in conversation with Applejack.
Rarity rolled her eyes smiling. “Go on ahead, but come when I call y—”
Before she could say another word, the two fillies and colt were off towards the clubhouse. Amethyst, from what Rarity could see, looked awfully ill and she winced at the thought of the poor colt running on a full stomach.
“Ya sure took a likin’ to that there colt,” Applejack mentioned to her friend, seeing her gaze off to where the foals ran to.
“I suppose...” Rarity said, a smile crossing her features.
“Ya gonna keep ‘im? Or are you gonna let yer parents raise ‘im?”
“My parents don’t raise anypony,” Rarity said stiffly.
“What’s that mean? Wait... they weren’t at the cutieceañera either...”
“An all-too-common occurrence,” Rarity sighed. “My parents retired when I was sixteen, and they seemed to retire from being parents as well. I daresay I was changing Sweetie’s diapers and feeding her her formula more than they ever did.”
“Ah was wondering why she stays with you so much... ye don’t seem to like havin’ her around...”
“Well, she can be a hoofful,” Rarity admitted, “but that is not my main issue. I should not be the one raising Sweetie. I’m young, dearie, this is my chance to put myself in a better position. To make a name for myself and get my income stable, then I’d think of foals. I...” she sighed. “Nopony should be raising kids at this point. No offense, I know you’ve had to raise your sister as well, but it was unfair to you...”
Applejack nodded. “Ah felt cheated when my folks passed away,” she said sadly. “But at least Granny was there. But Rare, you’re takin’ another foal.”
“I suppose I am. I don’t know, I thought it was unfair with Sweetie. Perhaps I’ve simply matured more since then... Do you think I could be a mother, if that’s what Amethyst needs?”
“Sure as shootin’,” Applejack said. “Yer stable now. Ye got, what, a hundred thousand bits saved up from commissions since th’ weddin’?”
They both winced. That was one event they didn’t think anypony would ever look back on completely painlessly, Twilight included.
“I do.”
“And shoot, Ah’m bettin a father for ‘im is just waitin.”
Rarity blushed. “Applejack...”
“Maybe ya need to look outside the Elite—”
“Believe me, I think so too.”
Unbeknownst to Rarity, Big Macintosh gave a small smile away from hearing this. Luckily for him, it was not noticed by Applejack.
“Welcome to our clubhouse!”
Amethyst stepped inside the clubhouse of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and was impressed by how well decorated and built the small structure was. Every wooden piece was shining with though it were polished daily. A podium stood in the middle of the room with some seats around it. Posters littered the walls, posters of the Wonderbolts and of musical bands that Amethyst had yet to learn from.
“What you think?” Sweetie Belle asked Amethyst as he was looking around the inside of the clubhouse thoroughly.
“Looks very impressive. Who constructed this building?”
Apple Bloom beamed and raised her hoof. “Ah did!”
Amethyst looked at her and saw a hammer and an apple on her flank. He nodded and smiled to the yellow filly. “Quite an impressive talent you have.”
“Shucks!” Apple Bloom waved her hoof, blushing a little. “Just a shame we don’t have the others here. We coulda done something fun!”
“Yeah…”
Amethyst could not help but frown at the two fillies before him. From what he could tell, he wasn’t going to be living for long in Ponyville. The thought of living here in this town was tempting though, for all he knew, he was all alone in the world.
He shook his head and held his locket tight against his chest. He sighed and closed his eyes, resisting the urge to open the locket and reveal its contents.
“Say Amethyst, what’s in that locket?”
Amethyst’s mind was brought back to reality as Apple Bloom asked him an innocent question, which he was unwilling to answer.
“Tis nothing.”
“Then why are you carrying it?” Sweetie asked.
“I meant, tis nothing that should trouble thee,” he amended. “Shall we look around? I would like to see it before Miss Rarity comes to take us to our next destination?”
“There’s not much to see,” Sweetie said. “There’s Spike’s writing table, and Apple Bloom’s work bench...”
“What about yer stage outside?”
Sweetie brightened. “Hey, yeah!” She pulled and prodded Amethyst out the backdoor, where a simple theatre stage and a simple set of seats were waiting. “Apple Bloom made it too! I can sing for my friends every afternoon.”
“It looks charming,” the ancient unicorn said. “Thou have a lovely singing voice, I take it?”
Sweetie blushed. “It’s pretty good...”
“Pretty good? Yer singing is phenomenal! Spike can listen to you sing fer hours an’ hours!”
“Yeah, but he’s my coltfriend, he has to.”
“Might I hear a tune? I daresay I haven’t had a chance to sample modern music... come to think of it, there was little enough music after Sombra took over.”
“No time for that,” Rarity said, coming up. “We still have two more ponies for you to meet. I promise you’ll have some time to spend together tomorrow.”
“But Rarity...” Sweetie and Apple Bloom began whining, only for the older mare to cut them off.
“No buts! Say goodbye, Amethyst, Sweetie.”
“Okay,” Sweetie said. “See you, Apple Bloom.”
“It’s been a pleasure,” Amethyst said.
“Bye. An’ come but tomorrah, and we can all do somethin’ fun!”
Fluttershy’s cottage was a bit small, but certainly teeming with activity. Fluttershy served tea and cookies as she and her son entertained their guests.
“Let’s go to my room,” Pip suggested, seeing as he wanted to give his mother and Rarity some time to talk alone.
“Okay,” Sweetie Belle replied, placing her tea down on the saucer and standing up.
“Very well.”
When the foals left the room, Rarity looked to Fluttershy with new found curiosity. “So how are things with Pip now?”
Fluttershy smiled contently, looking to the direction where Pip’s room was now at since its addition. “Things have gone very well thank you, can’t believe it’s been over half a year since he came into my life.” My colt. Fluttershy squeed, thinking back to that fateful day when she took him in and when she received a wonderful foal in her life. Her thoughts crossed on Amethyst and her smile slowly dissipated when she looked to Rarity. “How’s Amethyst doing?”
“Better than I expected, really,” Rarity remarked as she remembered the events of today and how happy he seemed to be, albeit from the sugar consumption. “I just hope things work out in the end.”
“I hope so too, he looks like a very kind foal,” Fluttershy said as she furrowed her brow. “I just feel so bad for him having gone through such an awful time with that- that- meanie!” Fluttershy barked out, softly, as she remembered reading books on Sombra and what he had done to the Crystal Empire.
Rarity nodded as she sipped on her tea. “I know,” her thoughts returned to Amethyst, seeing how he cried when he met her the first time. “Fluttershy, what do you think I should do if worse comes to worse?”
“What do you mean?” Fluttershy cocked her brow in question.
“What should I do if Amethyst has no family up there?”
Fluttershy hummed as she thought of an answer. “Well, I think you will know the answer when the time is right, Rarity.”
Rarity tilted her head in confusion. “What in heavens does that mean?”
“You’ll know the answer when the time comes for you to need the answer. It’s like when I found out Pip was all alone in the world, I knew then I had to do something for him. So when Amethyst is alone or without any family, you will know the answer.”
“I suppose...” she looked at the door that Amethyst, Sweetie Belle and Pip disappeared behind. “I’m glad that he and the other foals are getting along alright. At least he won’t have to worry about making friends.”
“Are you worried about Diamond Tiara? She bullies a lot of foals for being different, and his coat makes him stand out...”
Had Rarity been a less dignified pony, she would have scoffed. “Diamond Tiara shouldn’t be much of a problem. My sister is always talking about how she has no more respect. The other foals don’t like her, and her father disciplines her enough...”
Rarity stopped and thought a minute. “Fluttershy, has there been any trouble raising Pip?”
“No, none at all. He’s very well behaved. I think he doesn’t want to do anything to upset me.”
She smiled. “You’re lucky. You might be the only one of us to have adopted a foal without any trouble.”
They giggled a bit, but not too much. Just thinking about Bloodwing brought along too many problems. Not the least of which was a certain jailbreak months ago.
“Any luck finding Black?”
Rarity shook her head. “Blaze, the poor dear, wants to go look for him again. And I think he’s starting to get jumpy. If Twilight, Light, and Spike were taken from him...”
“Maybe he won’t come after us.” Rarity looked at her like she had declared that the sky was purple. “Well, didn’t they say he seemed a little... crazy? Maybe he’s off somewhere, thinking he’s in Ponyville.”
Rarity thought of the sadistic pony babbling like a madpony at rocks and squirrels, and somehow it managed to simply disturb her more than anything else. Still, six months was an awfully long time for a pony in the grip of insanity to hide.
“Perhaps... but I do wish they’d find him...”
“Me too... poor Twilight was hysterical afterward. She wouldn’t let Spike or Light go anywhere alone. And Rainbow Dash... she was with Blaze on half of his trips, and the other half she went off alone...”
“Do you think he’d come after Amethyst?” Fluttershy gave her friend a look. “I suppose it’s silly, but... crystal unicorns are rare. Maybe he’ll want him for something... what I can’t say. Bloodwing was the mastermind of the whole thing, and none of his research was stolen...”
“I...” Fluttershy sighed. “I don’t know. If the guards never find him, I hope he stays far away. Very far away...”
After saying goodbye to Fluttershy and Pip, Rarity and the two foals had one last stop to make. Luckily for them, Rainbow was off today. Rarity knew exactly where she would be, and so she went off to a hill just outside of town where three pegasi were flying in the air.
When Rarity finally reached her destination, Rainbow Dash was the first one to notice and she floated down to where Rarity was standing with the unicorn foals.
“Hey Rarity,” Rainbow greeted her friend before turning her attention to Sweetie Belle and Amethyst. “Heya kids. What you doing all the way out here?”
“Oh, we just decided to show Amethyst around Ponyville,” she said out loud before leaning into Rainbow’s ear. “And I thought of getting him to meet new ponies too, poor dear’s awfully clueless.”
Rainbow’s mouth quirked up at one corner. “Why didn’t you say so?” She then scooted Rarity to one side and lowered her head to Amethyst’s level. “Say kid, were there any crystal pegasi up there?”
Amethyst simply shrugged as he rolled his eyes in thought. “They were as few as a hundred only. But most of them had been…” he trailed off he furrowed his brow and lowered his head in remembrance.
“A-anyway! Look,” Rainbow pointed to herself and grinned. “If you need any help at all from the fastest pegasus there is, just holler for me.” She winked at him as she gave a toothy smile.
“So,” Rarity chimed in and looked to the sky and back to Rainbow. “How is your training going by the way?”
Before she could answer, Rainbow Spectrum came flying down with his granddaughter Scootaloo and stopped just before Rarity. “By the time I’m finished with her, she’ll be a legend forever.”
“Aww, Dad!” Rainbow rolled her eyes and gave him a light push on his shoulder, blushing a little.
Spectrum looked down to Amethyst and cocked his eyebrow in curiosity. “So this is the crystal colt you’ve been talking about last night?” He asked his daughter, who replied with a nod. “Pleasure to meet you, I’m Captain Rainbow Spectrum of the Wonderbolts.” He said proudly before chuckling. “Retired of course.”
“The... Wonderbolts?” he asked curiously.
“They’re a part of Equestria’s defense, sweetie,” Rarity explained, “but they also put on shows for ponies... it’s a bit difficult to explain.”
“Not really,” Rainbow Dash said. “It’s a club for the coolest pegasi in Equestria.”
Amethyst cocked her head, then placed a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s leg. “You do not feel cold. How queer.”
“Uh, that’s not what...” Rainbow Dash said awkwardly. “Wow. You have a lot to catch up on.”
“It’s a figure of speech,” Rarity sighed. “Perhaps a visit to Twilight’s library would be good after all...”
“Pffth, he’ll pick it up.” Rainbow Dash brushed it off. “There’s nothing you can learn in school that you can’t learn from the streets.”
“Oh really?” Rarity deadpanned.
“Actually, I think she’s right,” Spectrum said. “At least about this. He’ll pick up on modern slang and everything by playing with other foals.”
"Oh, do you have him in school yet?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I’d keep him away from Diamond—”
“Um, it’s a little early to be thinking of that, don’t you think? I don’t even know if I’m going to be keeping him. Why, we sent word to Cadance...”
As the adults droned, Amethyst found himself being pulled away by Sweetie, and toward a place where Scootaloo was busy doing wing-ups.
Sweetie Belle scratched her head in confusion, seeing her friend do such strenuous exercise. “Isn’t that exercise for pegasi who want to be fast flyers?”
Scootaloo smirked as she got up from her exercise and wiped the sweat of her forehead. “Just cause I am good with dancing, doesn’t mean that’s the only thing I have to be good at,” she said as she unfurled her wings. “Sure I wanna be a top dancer, but I also wanna be a top flyer like my mom and grandpa.”
“That’s quite an admirable quality you have there,” Amethyst noted as he looked to her cutie, a pair of ballet shoes with wings attached to them.
“Thanks,” Scootaloo replied and looked to his cutie mark. “What can you do?” She asked curiously.
“Why don’t I show thee?” After he said that, he looked to the ground for a moment before a small smile spread across his face. “Observe.” He then lit up his horn and closed his eyes and small grains of minerals gathered to combine in the air before him. After a few seconds, the grains seemed to meld together and solidify. What formed was a bar of shining red crystal. The finished product dropped to the ground and Amethyst landed on his haunches, catching his breath as he was now sweating.
Scootaloo and Sweetie stared in awe at the work Amethyst did before turning back to him. “That’s such an awesome trick!” Scootaloo exclaimed, taking hold of the crystal. “What kind of crystal is this?”
“It;’s a garnet, nothing special,” Amethyst answered dismissively, catching his breath.
“Nothing special!?” Sweetie Belle retorted with wide eyes. “You have such a cool talent and you don’t think it’s special?!”
Amethyst just shrugged and smiled. “I’m not exactly on par with what others could do before me. There were some who could create the finest diamonds, my own mother was one who…” he trailed off again before scrunching his lips. “Nevermind.”
The fillies didn’t. They were too entranced by what just happened to not hear Amethyst’s words. Rarity came up towards them and caught sight of Amethyst. “Everything alright?” She asked worriedly, standing at Amethyst’s side.
“I was just showing them my talent.” He pointed to the garnet that Scootaloo was holding, before it was snatched away by Rarity.
Rarity’s eyes glittered, speechless to what she was holding. “Did you make this?”
“Yes, but it’s not really worth much.”
Rarity looked it over. “I suppose it isn’t the most flawless crystal I’ve ever seen, but it’s so beautiful. You have quite a talent.”
“My mother did it better,” he said sadly.
“Well... maybe you’ll find her soon,” she said with a sad smile.
“Perhaps,” he sighed.
“Well, are you ready to go? Rainbow Dash and Spectrum need to get back to training, and it’s getting late.”
“I suppose...” Amethyst replied as he, Rarity and Sweetie waved goodbye to the pegasi practicing flying.