//------------------------------//
// Episode 14: Brothers & Sisters 
// Story: My Little Pony: The Entities of Emotion 
// by Michael_Ravencroft 
//------------------------------//

A month had passed since the volcanic eruption in the mountain range near Ponyville. Luckily, the damage was minimal, and the cleanup had gone smoothly. Crops didn’t suffer much, and weather patterns hadn’t been thrown too off schedule. Unfortunately, now that the cleanup was over, it was time to address the problem concerning the arrival of Butcher, Ophidian, and quite possibly, Parallax. The four Positive Entities were gathered in Canterlot Castle, in secret, to discuss with the four ruling Princesses of Equestria.

“So, it is as you’ve feared, the other Entities have found a way into Equestria’s universe,” said Celestia. 

“I’m sorry we didn’t come to you sooner with this information, I take full responsibility for this,” said Ion.

“What we don’t understand is why you did not tell us when the first incident occurred,” asked Luna, eyeing each of them suspiciously. “We know that they are fellow Entities, but surely you don’t wish for them to cohabitate with you here?”

“Ugh, no, they were sent to places that best suited them. That’s what the Life Entity told us before we allowed him to take us from the universe we once lived in. Of course we were never told where they were placed, but we assumed that they were,” said Predator.

“‘Assumed,’ as in the Life Entity never told you?” asked Cadance.

“No, the Life Entity came to us and said that he would take us away from our universe. He told us that we, although cosmic, eternal beings, deserved to live lives like any other creature that existed. That is why he said he would take us to places that best represented our lights. The Life Entity must’ve deemed your world a good fit for us four and, quite honestly, I’m in agreement,” spoke Proselyte.

“So, when Applejack’s land became barren and lifeless, that was the work of one of the Negative Entities?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, it was. Ophidian is the Entity of Avarice; he takes and takes, and is never satisfied. The one that Ion faced last month, his name is the Butcher, the Entity of Rage. Ophidian is dangerous, but somewhat manageable. Butcher though…Butcher is pure rage, he’ll fight and kill anything that’s in his way. And, if those two have found their way here, we can also assume that Parallax, the Entity of Fear, is here as well,” said Adara.

The four Princesses sat on their haunches as they mulled over the information the Entities had just been told them. All in all, the four Entities were kind of worried. They thought they could handle just Ophidian, but the arrival of Butcher, and the possibility that Parallax was already there, made this too big to keep secret or handle quietly without help. Despite being what they were, the four of them were still guests in this universe, should the Princesses deem it necessary, they might send them away after expunging the other three first. And neither one of them wanted that, not now, not with all they’ve achieved thus far.

After some time of contemplating, the four Princesses seemed to come to a consensus.

“We’ll aid you in the locating of the remaining Entities. My threstral Night Guard can more easily conduct covert assignments,” said Luna.

“The Day Guard will also be alerted to keep vigilant and to report strange happenings, the bigger and wider out net is, the better chance we have of finding them,” said Celestia.

The four Entities blinked.

“That’s it…?” asked Predator.

“Shh!” Adara hissed.

“What are you talking about,” asked Twilight.

“Aren’t you going to banish us, you know, after we’ve gotten rid of them?”

Ion wanted to smack Predator upside the head for saying that, but to their surprise the Princesses seemed confused.

“Why would we do that,” asked Cadance.

Proselyte stepped forward, “It is most likely because of us that they were able to find Equestria. Their influence could disrupt the balance of your world, and it wouldn’t surprise us if you wished for us to depart after we’ve dealt with them.”

“We couldn’t do that to you, this wasn’t your fault to begin with. You all live here now and are a part of Equestria, you’ve proven that and more than earned your right to stay,” said Twilight with a kind smile.

“Honestly, did the rumors of us being ‘banish happy’ finally get to you all,” asked Celestia.

No words were spoken, but plenty of whistling, leg rubbing, and blushes could be seen by the four rulers, earning a round a laughter from all assembled.






(3 Weeks Later)


The meeting with the Princesses was a bit nerve wracking, but nothing that the stoic Entity of Compassion couldn’t handle. However, today might prove to be yet another one of those days. Dinky Hooves, Derpy’s daughter, had come to invite Proselyte on a, what she called, “siblings only picnic”. Now that didn’t seem like anything unusual, at first. Seeing as how Amethyst Star, or Sparkler as she was known by her friends and sister, was there, but it confounded when she asked him to join, but then he remembered their little incident during Hearth’s Warming Day some months back, how Derpy and Fluttershy more or less said they were family.

Currently the pegasus colt was walking along a dirt road, with Dinky in the middle, and Sparkler beside her carrying the basket in her telekinetic aura. The whole time they were walking, Proselyte couldn’t shake the suspicious glances that Sparkler would often give him. At first he thought it was nothing, this was the first time the two of them have officially met. And Dinky’s innocent affection for him didn’t quite make it any easier for the older sister, most likely her protective sisterly instincts were in high gear. 

“Isn’t this great!? Being out together,” asked Dinky cheerfully.

“Ah, any day’s great when I get to spend it with you Dinks,” said Sparkler.

“And now it’s even more fun because we have a brother.” Dinky emphasized her point by sliding up next to Proselyte and nuzzling him.

It wasn’t an overly affectionate nuzzle, more along the lines of a friendly one between family members. However, Proselyte noticed that Sparkler’s hold on the basket wavered a bit, and there was also the distinct sound of something cracking. Proselyte sensed the slight change in her emotional aura. Using his power, he analyzed her emotions trying to determine what she was feeling. 

She’s feeling a bit of Rage at the moment, stemming from Fear for her little sister. Ugh, does everypony believe me to be that much of a threat, I’m sure Parallax gets less fearful looks than I do.

Eventually the three of them made it to the picnic spot. Amethyst laid out the blanket with her magic, while Dinky took out the food one by one with her telekinesis. Once everything was out, the three sat down and began enjoying the peaceful day and delicious food. 

“So, your name is ‘Proselyte’, right? You’re the one who saved my little sister, huh?” asked Sparkler. 

“Um, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that, I really didn’t do much. What exactly, did you tell her Dinky,” asked Proselyte feeling just a teensy bit nervous. 

“Oh, I told Sparkler how you came to save me, and then helped Mom and Miss Fltuttershy find us in the blizzard,” she said. 

Proselyte let out a little sigh of relief, true to her word, Dinky had kept the truth about his powers a secret. Too many ponies are learning about our powers, at this point keeping them secret might not be a viable option anymore.

“Uh-huh, you and Dinky seem to be…close,” said Sparkler eyeing the colt.

“Well he did save me, sis. And Mommy said that we should consider Miss Shy and Proselyte family too. Oh! We should enter the Bro Hooves Blast,” suggested Dinky. 

Sparkler, while eating her sandwich, was now chocking on the little bit she had swallowed. The magenta unicorn levitated a thermos with some tea and chugged it to help the food make its way down her throat. 

Proselyte raised an eyebrow at that, “The ‘Bro Hooves Blast,’ what is that exactly?”

After regaining her composure, Sparkler answered the question. “It’s a little competition, much like the Sister Hooves Social here in Ponyville, where brothers or brothers and sisters can have fun and participate in some siblings on siblings competitions. But, sweetie, I don’t think you can. I mean, no offense, but Proselyte isn’t your real brother.”

Dinky stopped mid-bite of her sandwich and gave her sister an incredulous look. “What do you mean!? They let Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo compete last year! And they aren’t related! You and I aren’t either, but we’re still sisters!”

Sparkler rubbed the back of her head with her hoof as she tried to figure out the best way to explain adoption and familial relation. 

“Well… ya see Dinks, when Mom adopted me she signed a whole bunch of legal papers and stuff that says I’m officially, your sister. Even though we aren’t related by blood, adoption works differently. And, as far as I know, Rainbow Dash is Scootaloo’s legal guardian, but acts like a surrogate sister since Scootaloo doesn’t have one. Do you understand Dinks?”

Dinky just sat there, blinked, and then turned to Proselyte. “What’s ‘surgate’ mean?”

“It means that, in a way, Rainbow Dash is acting like a substitute. But now it’s official, like Spar –” Proselyte watched as the unicorn mare’s gaze rested on him in a sort of warning fashion. “– Amethyst and you.”

“Oh, so that’s all. Then we don’t have to worry about that, Mommy will take care of that,” said Dinky. 

Sparkler and Proselyte looked to each other and then to Dinky, blinked, and spoke at the same time, “What?”






(Fluttershy’s Cottage)


Fluttershy was enjoying a day of quiet time. Her critter friends were all taken care of and went about their day, Angel was busy doing…whatever it was he was doing since the little bunny rabbit constantly repeated “None of your business, Shy. But I’ll see ya later.” So with that said, Fluttershy decided to have some tea and take the day to relax. The month before had been quite hectic, what with the whole volcano business, and arrival of the Emerald Giant. 

Fluttershy was sitting outside, gazing over the peaceful scenery of her home as she remembered the news of Rainbow Dash and Twilight adopting Scootaloo, and taking in her little filly friend, Adara. When she first heard about Scootaloo’s situation, she was heartbroken, to think that that little filly was living alone, with nopony to look after her. Fluttershy shuddered, her mind wandering to bad places as she imagined all the bad things that could’ve happened to her while she was alone. It made her think about Proselyte, had she not taken him in the colt might’ve been in the same situation that Scootaloo was, she didn’t even know how long he had been on his own. 

But that was in the past, Lyte was with her now, she was his family, his…his…what was she exactly? Fluttershy put her teacup down as she contemplated this fact. 

Am I his sister? I’m too young to really be his mother – despite what other ponies think – I’m not even his legal guardian. Oh my, I’ve been harboring a runaway foal for months now!

And just like that, her peaceful teatime was now shattered as her mind now filled with the latent worries of Proselyte’s situation. It was true, Fluttershy had made no attempt at finding out where Lyte used to live, who his parents were, or if he was running from something bad that happened his life. 

Although, given his abilities, I can’t really blame him for wanting to run away. I mean, yes, his powers were a bit scary when I first saw them. But they’re just the opposite, he’s used them to help ponies and animals alike, he’s kind, compassionate, and thoughtful of others. How could anypony want to abandon him!? Or…was it that somepony took advantage of him?! Wanted to abuse his powers!?

It just continued to devolve from there. 

I haven’t even filed a report with the Royal Guard! Or gone to Town Hall to apply for legal guardianship, he could be taken away at any time and I’d have no way to stop them! If…if they were bad ponies, that is…Maybe I can talk to Twilight, I hate to ask, but maybe she could use her royal status to help me get custody of Lyte, maybe –!

“LOOK OUT!”

Fluttershy heard a mysterious voice and quietly ducked under her table. There was a sudden whooshing sound before a rather loud crash, and then a thudding noise followed. The pink maned mare poked her head up from the table. Her eyes followed the trail of destruction. Her fence had been broken through, some lawn care tools scattered about, and the chickens were flipping out as they flapped and clucked. Fluttershy continued to scan the area till her eyes rested on an odd looking bush, which had two gray hooves sticking out of it, along with a pair of gray wings to match, and a blonde tail. 

“Couldn’t be…” Fluttershy thought it over for a moment. “As a matter of fact, it could.”

Fluttershy quickly left the safety of her table and rushed to the bush, by the time she got there a gray pegasus mare rolled out of it, with some leaves tangled in her blonde mane as she flashed Fluttershy a sheepish grin. 

“Hi Fluttershy,” greeted Derpy. 

“Oh my goodness, Derpy, are you alright?!” asked Fluttershy concerned. 

Derpy rose up onto her hooves. She then lightly brushed the leaves out of her mane and smiled her usual carefree smile.

“I’m okay, that was actually one of my softer landings.” Derpy’s eyes then wandered over towards the small trail of destruction she had caused, she frowned slightly as her ears flattened. “Oh no, I was at least trying to aim for the bush. Sorry Fluttershy, I’ll pay for the damages, I promise.”

Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile at Derpy, maybe it was her kind heart, or that childlike quality in her, but it never failed to help lift somepony’s spirits. 

“No, that’s okay. It’s easily fixed; you don’t have to worry about it. But, why exactly did you come? Did I get a package?”

Derpy’s ears rose up as her smile returned, but now there was a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks. Was Derpy embarrassed about something? 

“Actually…there was something I wanted to talk to you about, can sit we somewhere.”

“Of course.” 

Fluttershy led Derpy Hooves to the table where she was having tea earlier. The walleyed pegasus sat across from Fluttershy, even though her eyes normally didn’t focus too well, Derpy seemed to be actively avoiding eye contact with the mare, fidgeting with her hooves every once and a while. It got to the point where Fluttershy was starting to feel awkward about the silence. She coughed a bit to break the silence before speaking. 

“So Derpy, what did you want to talk about? Lyte, Dinky, and Sparkler are out having a picnic right now. Did you want to join them?” Fluttershy asked. 

“No, but it does have something to do with the three of them…” Derpy sighed heavily. “Um, Fluttershy, I have a favor to ask you. Have you heard about the Bro Hooves Blast?”

“Yes, I have. It’s similar to the Sister Hooves Social.”

“Okay, so…you know how Sparkler and Dinky compete in the Sister Hooves Social? Well, this year…um, Dinky wants to compete in the BBB in Canterlot in a couple of days.”

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at that. As far as she knew, the competition required that one of the siblings be an older brother. To her knowledge, Derpy only had the two daughters, which made since why they’d join the Sister Hooves Social plenty of times before. 

“I don’t understand. Do you have another foal I don’t know about?”

“Actually…you already met him. He’s having a picnic with Dinky and Sparkler as we speak…”

Immediately Fluttershy knew exactly who she was talking about, her mouth forming an “O” of realization. But then something else made her rethink it. 

“But, Derpy, I don’t mean to be negative, but Proselyte isn’t your son. So he couldn’t enter the competition, I know we said we were like family now, but I don’t know if you could get away with that,” said Fluttershy. 

The blush started to become deeper on Derpy. “Well…there is a way, if you could – but you have to – um…you could pretend to…you know, be my marefriend…”

The world came to a grinding halt at that moment. The gears in Fluttershy’s head squeaked as they tried to turn, processing the request of the pegasus mare before her. She must’ve been in that silent paused state for a bit because Derpy was waving her hoof in front of Fluttershy’s face, calling her name. 

“Fluttershy? Fluttershy, you in there?” asked Derpy. 

The light–yellow mare shook her head a bit as if waking from a daze. 

“Oh…Oh my, I’m sorry Derpy. I guess I spaced out a little. I could’ve sworn that you said you wanted me to be your marefriend, I must’ve imagined it.”

“Well, technically, marefriend wouldn’t be the right word for it…more along the lines of wife…”

Suddenly Derpy heard a dull thud. She then saw four hooves sticking straight up into the air. The gray pegasus mare quickly sat up, craning her neck to see Fluttershy on the ground, still as a statue. Derpy walked around to the other side to see of if her friend was alright, she did note the odd twitch in Fluttershy’s left eye, Derpy then facehoofed herself, which comically knocked her eyes into the correct position before she blinked. 

“Stupid, I knew I should’ve done this differently! Oh no, now I’ve put Fluttershy into a coma! What am I going to tell Proselyte! Oh, what am I going to tell Rainbow Dash! She’ll definitely get mad me for this!” Derpy panicked.

It took several seconds before Fluttershy’s brain rebooted itself. Her hooves went lax as she regained control of her frozen limps. She then blinked a few times since her eyes were a bit dried from being open so long. 

“I’m…I’m alright Derpy,” said Fluttershy. 

Derpy quickly lent her friend a hoof up, slowly getting Fluttershy back onto her hooves. When Fluttershy was up, she noticed that both her hoof and Derpy’s were still interlocked. The two mares then quickly released the other’s hoof; a bright crimson blush was glowing on both their faces. 

“Um…Derpy…I…I don’t know what to say…I mean, I like you, you’re a good friend, you’re cute, and adorable, but…marriage is moving a little too fast! I-I-I’d be fine with being marefriends. I just don’t want you to be disappointed if I’m not what you expected if we got…married…”

Derpy then looked at Fluttershy with a confused expression, “What are you talking about?” That’s when the realization struck Derpy and her eyes went wide with embarrassment. “OH NO! Nonononononononono! That’s not what I meant at all!”

Now it was Fluttershy’s turn to look confused and flustered. 

“I wanted you to PRETEND that we were married, just until the Bro Hooves Blast is over. You know, that way Dinky and Proselyte can enter…and nopony would be suspicious…”

Fluttershy didn’t know if it was possible to blush even harder than she already was, her whole body was a bright shade of red now. “Oh…”

“I-I understand if you say no…it’s dumb idea. I just…When Dinky called Proselyte her ‘big brother’, and the way she acts around him, I just brought it up when we were all having dinner at one night. But Fluttershy, you should’ve seen her face, she was smiling so beautifully that I…I wanted to make her wish come true. I thought giving her a day with a full family, even if it was just pretend and for a day, it’d make her happy.”

Derpy then hung her head in shame, turning her back to Fluttershy. 

“It…It was a stupid idea, I’m sorry for embarrassing you Shy…Forget I said anything.”

As Derpy spread her wings to take off she felt a tug at her tail. She then turned around and that Fluttershy was preventing her from flying away. The pink maned pegasus then released Derpy’s tail and smiled sheepishly at her. 

“I…didn’t say no, Derpy. But…could you give me till tomorrow to think it over and talk to Lyte about it first?”

Derpy’s ears perked up as she beamed at Fluttershy. 

“Yes, of course, thank you Fluttershy! We’ll come by later in the afternoon, that alright?” 

Fluttershy nodded. 

“Great, see you tomorrow!”

Derpy then zoomed off into the sky, adding a few loop-de-loops into her flying as she did so. There was one thing, however, that both mares couldn’t get over that stuck out in their heads. 

Wait…did Fluttershy think I was cute?

Did I just offer to be Derpy’s marefriend?






(Later That Night)


Fluttershy awaited Proselyte’s return from his picnic with Dinky and Sparkler. The young colt was a little bewildered by Sparkler’s accusing and suspicious gaze throughout most of their time. Proselyte had informed Fluttershy that the three of them played a few games, most of them involving a Frisbee and quick game of tag, which, Proselyte admitted, was enjoyable. 

The two of them were currently at the dining table, Fluttershy had prepared a nice pasta for dinner, and Angel had received one of his “requested” salads. 

“Fluttershy, have you ever heard of the Bro Hooves Blast?” asked Proselyte.

The pink maned mare nearly choked on her pasta when he mentioned it.

“Um, yes, as a matter of fact I have. Where did you hear about it?”

“Oh, Dinky mentioned that she wanted to enter with me as her ‘big brother’.”

Fluttershy studied the colt carefully, trying to gauge whether or not the idea appealed to him. 

“And…what did you say,” she asked. 

“Well…we got into a slight discussion about what it meant to be a sibling. Come to think of it, Dinky did say something rather odd. She said that her mother would take care of the part about us being a family or something. I really didn’t understand that,” said Proselyte. 

Fluttershy gulped. So Dinky knew what her mother was doing then…or at least had an idea. Oh dear…well, here it goes.

“Lyte, would you mind entering the Bro Hooves Blast with Dinky?”

Proselyte thought it over for a moment before he grinned. “Not really, it actually sounds like fun. But, again, there’s still that little wrinkle about my not being adopted by or related to Miss Derpy.”

“That’s good to hear, because Derpy stopped by and proposed – EEP!” 

Fluttershy clasped her hooves over her mouth as she blushed yet again; using the word “proposed” brought back the memories of that awkward conversation. Proselyte and Angel both looked at Fluttershy with both concern and confusion. 

“Hey, Shy, are you alright? You’re acting more…skittish than usual?” Angel asked. 

“No, no, everything’s fine, just fine! It’s not like Derpy came by earlier and asked me to marry her – EEP!”

The fork that Proselyte was holding in the crook of his hoof dropped, both the bunny and colt had stunned expressions plastered on their faces as the information slowly sunk into their heads. 

“You were…proposed to…by Miss Derpy?” asked Proselyte. 

“That clumsy pegasus asked you to marry her!?” asked Angel. 

“Nononono, she just asked me to pretend to be her wife so that we could pretend to be a family, so that you and Dinky can enter the Bro Hooves Blast!” Fluttershy clarified. 

Angel gave the mare a skeptical look. “Uh-huh, ‘cause that’s a perfectly reasonable way to enter this thing.”

“It would only be for one day! Please understand you two! I want to do this for Dinky…and for Derpy and Sparkler. They’ve been through a lot since Hearth’s Warming. If we can give some semblance of being a whole family, then I think we should at least try to,” said Fluttershy with confidence. 

“What’s this we stuff, I’m kicking back here,” said Angel. 

“Angel…” The rabbit looked up at Proselyte. The colt grinned happily, but that was only to mask the great amount of intimidating pressure he was exerting on Angel. “…Miss Derpy, Dinky, and Amethyst Star are our friends, and as their friends, we should help and support them in this endeavor. Do you not agree?”

Angel gulped, although he was staring at a colt, he knew exactly what lay underneath the façade, which was the only reason why he wasn’t telling Proselyte off. 

“Um…yeah, sure, whatever you say,” said Angel, chuckling nervously. 

“Oh thank you for understanding Angel! And Lyte, I know I’m asking a lot of you, and I also know you like Derpy and Dinky, but I don’t want to force you into something you don’t want to do. This is as much your decision as it is mine.”

It didn’t take long at all for Proselyte to answer. “I’d be honored to play the role of Dinky’s ‘big brother’, if only for a day.”

“Oh I can’t wait; Derpy’s going to be so happy when we tell her tomorrow.”

As Fluttershy went back to eating her pasta she couldn’t help notice that both Proselyte and Angel were smirking at her for some unknown reason. 

“Um, do I have sauce on my muzzle?”

“No, just wondering, Fluttershy, do you like the idea of being Miss Derpy’s paramour?”

Fluttershy spluttered her food when she heard the implication.

“Now that Miss-look-at-me-I-the-fastest-flyer-ever is taken, guess ya gotta find somepony to pine over. And really, so long as it’s not Miss-prissy-prim-and-proper, you could do a lot worse,” said Angel as he nibbled on a lettuce leaf. 

That’s when they both heard a thudding noise and both sets of Fluttershy’s hooves pointed straight to the ceiling. Her entire body was glowing red as she started to mutter incoherently.

“I think we may’ve gone a bit far,” said Proselyte. 

Angel glanced over Fluttershy before shrugging. “Eh, not really. Ten bits says it doesn’t go anywhere.”

“Oh, why not up the ante?”

Angel raised an eyebrow, “Keep talking squid-boy.”

“I wager that Fluttershy and Miss Derpy seek each other out after the Bro Hooves Blast, and if I win, you have to be kind and cordial to every animal and pony you meet, and help out with chores all around the house for the next eight months.”

Angel furrowed his brow, but smirked nonetheless. 

“Alright, and I bet that Shy doesn’t even say a thing about how she feels by the end of that Blast thing. And you have to wait on me hoof and paw from now until next year.”

Proselyte’s left eye twitched at the prospect of serving this arrogant and ill-tempered rabbit for a whole year. Still, this did not stop him from mimicking the rabbit’s expression. He then reached out his hoof and met Angel’s paw as they shook on it. 

“You’re gonna lose, kid. I know Shy, trust me, better to just give up now then suffer an ‘I told you so’ later.”

“Yes, but I believe in Fluttershy, and in her heart. So I wouldn’t celebrate just yet.”

Fluttershy finally stirred back to consciousness, rising up off the floor as she looked around. She then noticed the odd expressions on both Proselyte and Angel. 

“Is there something wrong?”

“Nope,” they said at the same time. 






(That Same Night, Derpy Hooves’ Residence)


Derpy was busy tucking in Dinky, the little unicorn filly nestled into her pillow as her mother draped the blankets over her. Derpy then gently placed a kiss on Dinky’s forehead before saying, “Goodnight my little muffin.” She then quietly closed the door behind her, taking one last look at her sleeping daughter before closing the door.

Afterwards, Derpy made her way downstairs. There in the living room, Sparkler awaited her. Derpy had been vague on the details about how she asked Fluttershy about getting Proselyte to compete with Dinky in the Bro Hooves Blast. She knew Sparkler was especially protective of Dinky, Celestia knows she was a wreck when she found out Dinky had ran away and almost froze to death. And she wasn’t oblivious to the fact that Sparkler was a little suspicious of Proselyte. Derpy knew it was just her sisterly instincts, she wanted to tell her about the young colt’s special powers, but she was sworn to secrecy, and if Dinky could keep a secret then so could she. 

Derpy sat on the couch next to Sparkler, her adopted daughter gave her an inquisitive look. 

“Alright, so tell me Mom, how did you convince Miss Fluttershy to get Proselyte to join Dinky in the BBB?” asked Sparkler. 

“Uh…well, honey, I…I kinda sorta asked Fluttershy to…uh…pretend to be married to me…”

Derpy let that information hang in the air, she was prepared for a lot of things, but what she wasn’t prepared for was the boisterous laughter she heard coming from Sparkler. The unicorn mare laughed hard, holding her sides as if afraid they might burst open. Despite her initial reaction, Derpy was starting to take her laughter the wrong way. 

“What’s so funny?”

“S-Sorry Mom, I just – it’s just so funny! You didn’t actually say that to her, did you?!”

Derpy started to blush, which was all the evidence Sparkler needed.

“Oh Celestia, you did, didn’t you?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time…Besides, it’s not like they’re going to check the Public Archives and Family Registry to make sure we are actually related, right?”

Sparkler face hoofed and groaned loudly. “Mom, do you realize what you’re asking of Miss Fluttershy, you’re asking her to be your wife – your wife! Do you really think you can pretend to be into a mare?!”

“………Who said that I’d be pretending………”

That statement struck Sparkler like a ton of bricks, followed by a five ton safe, and then the entirety of Canterlot Castle. Sparkler shook her head, trying to wrap her head around what she just heard her mother confess to. 

“B-B-But you – and Dad – and Dinky – and – WHAT!!?” 

“I guess the term for it is ‘my barn door swings both ways’?” Derpy said sheepishly. 

Sparkler jumped off the couch and started pacing about, trying to come to grips with the fact that her mother was in fact bi this whole time. 

“So is this really about Dinky!? Or are you just trying to grab some tail off of Miss Fluttershy because you’re feeling lonely?!”

Derpy took slight offense at that, giving her daughter a scolding look. 

“Don’t you use that kind of language young lady! That’s not what this is about! Fluttershy’s a good friend, she’s kind, caring, gentle……..So what if I might have a crush on her, she’s wonderful mare…And in any case, yes, this is about Dinky! I just want her to have a complete family, is that so much to ask?”

Sparkler stared her mother down, “Are you saying we aren’t ‘complete’? So what if Dad wants to never see us again, fine, good riddance! He didn’t deserve you anyway. We can be a family just by ourselves. But…c’mon…Mom, how are you going to explain this to Dinky? She still asks me questions about why Bon-Bon and Lyra are living together and hugging each other in public! I’m running out of excuses!”

“Well then, maybe it’s time she learns that it’s okay to like both colts and fillies, it’s not really about gender, it’s about what makes you happy, Sparkler. Are you saying that it’s wrong for me to be happy around Fluttershy…?”

Sparkler opened her mouth to retort, but nothing came out. Deep in her heart, she knew she had no right to tell her mom who she can and can’t be happy with, if her heart told her that she loved Fluttershy, then who was she to tell her that those feelings were wrong. 

“I still think Dinky’s too young to learn about that stuff…”

“She’s ten going on eleven. We’re not having the talk with her, we’re just answering some questions she’ll have is all. I mean, look at Scootaloo and that nice filly, Adara, they’re fillyfriends, and I’m sure that Dinky will notice soon enough.”

Sparkler walked over to the fireplace mantle; on it were pictures of her, Dinky, and her mother. Only one had their father in it, it was a picture of the day that Sparkler was adopted from the orphanage. She remembered that day, saying goodbye to the other ponies, not too long before her, Lyra was adopted and they were saying goodbye to her. It was nice to know after all these years her “big sister” figure had come back to Ponyville, and found a special somepony. Sparkler wanted to be like Lyra, she was a great big sister to all the foals in the orphanage, and she swore she’d be the best big sister to Dinky. So far she has kept her promise, which was why there was something else that made this whole situation not right with her. 

“Mom, do…do you really think that Proselyte is best for Dinky,” asked Sparkler. 

“I know he is, he’ll be a great big brother for Dinky, she already adores him,” said Derpy. 

“But what do you really know about him Mom? I know he saved Dinky from dying in that blizzard at the risk of his own life, believe me I’m grateful, but I don’t know how you can just automatically trust some colt that’s living with Miss Fluttershy. Living with Miss Fluttershy! She’s practically afraid of her own shadow, and she just let’s some random colt live with her all of a sudden, you can’t tell me there isn’t something up with that,” said Sparkler. 

Derpy tensed up a bit, true the circumstances surrounding Fluttershy’s decision to take in Proselyte did strike her as a bit odd, given how painfully shy the pegasus mare was. She’d either have to trust this colt a whole lot, be family, or something else entirely. But regardless, the look in Fluttershy’s eyes told her enough, besides, Proselyte didn’t just save her daughter’s life, he saved hers too. 

“Trust me, honey, Lyte’s a good colt, he would never hurt Dinky or Fluttershy. I need you to help me with this.” Derpy trotted up to Sparkler, taking one of the unicorn’s hooves in both of hers. “You don’t have to do it for me, but at least do it for Dinky, for your sister.”

Sparkler looked away for a moment; her mom’s eyes were focused squarely on her. They only ever did that when she was serious about something, so it spoke volumes to Sparkler how serious her mother was about doing this. With a heavy sigh, and a half smile, Sparkler moved forward and hugged her mother. 

“Alright Mom, for Dinky.”

“Thank you.”






(2 Days Later, Canterlot)


The city square of the royal capitol was decorated in celebration of the one of the most anticipated days of the year. Many believed that it wouldn’t happen given the recent near disaster that nearly befell Equestria. But all those fears were put to rest, because today was a time for fun, competition, and glory! Today was the day of the annual Bro Hooves Blast. Children from Canterlot and the surrounding villages all gathered to Canterlot, some older, some younger, but they all had one thing in common, an older brother. Yes, much like the Sister Hooves Social, which was geared towards sister siblings, the Bro Hooves Blast allows siblings who are just brothers or big brothers with little sisters. Each one gathered came for the fun, but mostly it was to prove that they were the better sibling team. 

Entering the large archway that was plastered with decorations and a large banner that read “Welcome to the Bro Hooves Blast” were two of Canterlot’s native siblings. One of them was a purple alicorn mare, followed closely by a white unicorn stallion. The mare wore a joyous smile as she and the stallion walked side-by-side together. 

“I can’t believe you made it, Shining Armor! I thought you would be too busy,” said Twilight. 

“Well, Cadance said I should spend some quality time with you. You know, since the only other times we seem to get together are during world ending events. That, and I needed a break from Predator,” said Shining Armor. 

Twilight frowned a little at the mention of the Entity of Love. “Why, are you two not getting along…?”

“No, it’s just…I don’t know how to say it without sounding paranoid. It just seems like Predator’s becoming just a tad bit…possessive of Cadance lately.”

Twilight smirked at the way her brother said that. 

“Sounds like somepony’s jealous,” said Twilight. 

“I am SO NOT jealous of Predator!” 

“Are too.”

“Are not.”

“Are too!” 

“Are not!”

“Are too infinity!”

Shining Armor had to admit, she was good, but he was better. 

“Are not infinity, plus one! HA!”

Twilight opened and closed her mouth several times to try and counter, but no matter what she thought of, there was nothing she could do to counteract the dreaded “Infinity + 1”, it was absolute. Twilight then pointed her nose into the air in a haughty fashion. 

“Cheater.”

“Sore loser,” he threw back, smirking. 

“Well lookey here.”

Both Twilight and Shining Armor turned towards the familiar voice and saw Applejack, with her big brother, Big Macintosh, walking towards them. Twilight waved to them as they joined up.

“Applejack, I didn’t know you and Big Mac were competing as well,” said Twilight. 

“Well, Big Mac and Ah haven’t been able to on account of all the work we do. But Granny Smith pretty much scooted us out of the house to get on the train to come here, said somethin’ about ‘brothers and sisters should have some quality time together every once and a while’, so here we are. Ain’t that right, Big Mac?”

“Eeyup,” he responded. 

“Well, it’s most likely we’ll be competing against each other in some of the events, so no matter what, may the best sibling team win, no hard feelings,” said Twilight. 

Applejack smiled at her friend, “Sure, no hard feelings. And Ah gotta say, it’s right good of ya to show some humility like that Twi.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah mean, no offense, but Big Mac and Ah are the best bro-sis team around here, have the trophies and ribbons to prove it too, so don’t feel bad,” said Applejack. 

“Oh ho ho ho, wait a minute Applejack, it sounds like you’re implying that Shining Armor and I aren’t even competition, we’ve won plenty of events when we lived in Canterlot, right Shining Armor!?”

“Um Twi –”

“Exactly,” interrupted Twilight. 

“Now Twi,” Applejack laid a foreleg on Twilight’s withers, “sugarcube, confidence is good and all, but there ain’t no way Shining Armor is gonna beat Big Macintosh, right big brother?”

“AJ –”

“Right,” said Applejack, cutting off her brother. 

“Well, Applejack, Shining Armor is a trained Royal Guard Captain, so if it’s a contest of strength then that won’t be a problem.” Twilight used her magic to levitate her friend’s foreleg off her back. “When it comes to skill, Shining Armor has Big Macintosh beat! No offense.”

“Oh yeah!” Applejack snorted. 

“Yeah!” Twilight replied. 

Both mares were head to head, staring each other down like a couple of rabid timberwolves. Big Macintosh sighed and shrugged at Shining Armor, to which the unicorn stallion nodded his head in silent understanding.

“Well what do we have here, oh brother of mine?!”

“Seems like these two mares can’t decide who’s the better brother team!”

Applejack and Twilight groaned in unison, of all the ponies they were going to see today, they most certainly didn’t want to see these two. 

“Flim,” said Applejack. 

“Flam,” finished Twilight. 

The two stallions in question popped out of nowhere in their usual grandiose style. Both sported their trademark stripped shirts and straw hats, and both of them had very smug and superior expressions on their faces. 

“If you’re looking for the best brother team,” started Flim.

“Then look no further than the world famous, Flim-Flam Brothers,” finished Flam. 

Applejack gave both the brothers a venomous glare, “Now who in tarnation let you two into the Bro Hooves Blast! After what y’all almost did to take our farm, our home, away from us! Ah can’t believe you’d even show yer faces!”

“Tut, tut, little filly. If you recall it was a fair competition –”

“One that you entered of your own free will, we might add.”

Big Macintosh snorted angrily. Twilight was already using her telekinetic aura to hold Applejack in place, fearing she might actually assault the two scam artist brothers. And if she was being honest, a part of her wanted to let Applejack have at them. Twilight took a moment to glance over to Shining Armor; he too was fixing the Flim-Flam brothers with a steely gaze of his own. He may not know as much about them as Twilight, Applejack, and Big Mac did, but that didn’t stop his own instincts from seeing the two brothers for who they really were underneath.

“Now if you excuse us –”

“We have a Bro Hooves Blast to win –”

“And show them who’s the best,” they finished in unison.

The Flim-Flam brothers started to trot away, smug smiles on their faces as they laughed mockingly at the ponies they just left. It was at this moment that 

Twilight and Applejack came to a silent agreement. 

“Truce,” asked Twilight. 

“Truce, you in Big Mac,” asked Applejack. 

“Eeyup,” he responded with firm convection. 

“Shining Armor?”

“Oh you know it,” confirmed the unicorn stallion. 

With that the four siblings raced off down the path to sign up for today’s events. While this was all going on, neither of the four ponies knew that they were being watched by two pegasus mares, one pegasus colt, a unicorn filly, and unicorn mare, each one with a slightly stunned and frightened expression on their faces. 

“It looks like fierce competition this year,” commented Sparkler with trepidation. 

“Indeed,” affirmed Proselyte.

“I’m sure they’re just…um, excited about the games,” said Fluttershy, trying to make the situation look less intimidating than it was. 

“Wow…Twilight and Applejack can be scary when they wanna be. Maybe we should rethink this whole thing Dinky,” suggested Derpy. 

“What, no way!? This is cool! It just means that we’ll just have to work even harder to beat ‘em!” Dinky then sidled next to Proselyte. “Right big brother!?”

The piercing gaze of Sparkler was not lost on Proselyte, and with Dinky now pressed close up against him her piercing gaze was more along the lines of claymore swords and spears digging into his back. Proselyte had to constantly remind himself that she was just being an overprotective sister and she meant no real harm, at least none that could be viewed by Dinky or in the general public. 

“C’mon we need to sign up too!” 

Dinky then dragged Proselyte by the foreleg as she made her way to the sign up booth. Judging from what Proselyte saw, Dinky’s enthusiasm, and Sparkler’s attitude, something told the Entity of Compassion that this was going to be a very long, and trying, day. 

The, well, um, false family of five, arrived at the sign up booth. Many ponies had gathered around it, siblings and family members all ready to have fun at this year’s events. This whole time as they approached the official’s booth, Fluttershy and Derpy were sweating bullets. 

Was it a crime to lie about being married to somepony? Would they do some sort of magical paternity test? Since they were a mare couple they could get away with saying they adopted all three of them. But then again there was the overwhelming fact that Dinky matched Derpy in coat, mane, and eye color, the only difference was that her mother was a pegasus but the filly was a unicorn. How would they explain that?! 

When it was finally their turn, the five ponies bravely stepped up as the official, a unicorn mare, started to fill out the necessary paperwork for the parents to sign as she glanced from the papers to the five ponies before her, making all them gulp collectively. 

“Oh my, quite the unusual family we have here,” said the mare. 

“We-We – um – you see – I’m – and she’s –!”

“We get that a lot. This is my wife, Derpy, and these are our wonderful children. Amethyst Star, Dinky, and Proselyte,” said Fluttershy, taking the initiative. 

The mare official looked over the three children. The whole time Sparkler was starting to wish she had studied up more on teleportation magic, because right about now it would be handy for a quick escape. After about several tense seconds, the official simply smiled at the odd family, nodding her approval. 

“I think it so wonderful that you’ve adopted these children, too few are willing to because it singles them out, but I’m glad they have you two. Just like my boys do,” the mare then whispered in a low tone, “and my wife.”

The heavens above must be looking out for them, at least that’s what they thought. 

“Thank you…so, your sons, they’re signing up too,” asked Derpy, now able to form coherent sentences. 

“Oh yes, in fact they’re around here somewhere…actually…it’s gotten rather quite –”

*BOOM!*

Many of the ponies turned their heads towards the mini-explosion that had just taken place a few feet away from the sign up booth. At the epicenter were two unicorn colts, one with a pair of scissors for a cutie mark, and the other with a snail. Both colts were covered in soot from the explosion, and coughing up smoke as they regained their bearings. 

The unicorn mare quickly lit up her horn, aiming it at the two colts. She levitated the two over to the table, giving them both a scolding stare. 

“Snips, Snails, what have I told you two about performing spells higher than illumination and levitation, especially without me or your mother present?”

“Sorry Mom,” said the two in unison. 

“Now go wash up and please try not to set Canterlot on fire.”

The mare set Snips and Snails down as they hurriedly ran off to do just what they were told. The mare then let out an exacerbated sigh. 

“Sorry about that, my boys, from my first marriage, they can be a hoofful.”

“We know,” said all five of them at once. 

“So, I take it that you two will be signing up.” 

The mare then levitated a signup sheet along with a pencil for Dinky and Proselyte to use. After writing their names down, she then levitated a clipboard to Fluttershy and Derpy. 

“What’s this?” asked Derpy. 

“Emergency Contact information, so we’ll know who to call in the event a medical situation occurs.”

One of the lines said “Current Residence”, Fluttershy was still living in her cottage and Derpy at her home, now it was either lie on an official document or come up with a brilliant excuse, fortunately, Sparkler took the reins on this one. 

“My Mom, Fluttershy, isn’t currently living with us. We’re in the process of looking for a bigger home, so she still lives at her old place and us out ours. Is that going to be a problem,” asked Sparkler. 

“Oh not at all, just list both, it’s really just a formality. It’s expected that parents of younger contestants be present during the events, since it only lasts a day, so no need to sweat it.”

With that out of the way, Derpy signed her name to the residence and primary, with Fluttershy as secondary, followed by Sparkler. After that stressful situation, the five decided to get something sweet to lift their moods. The five ponies watched as all the other sibling teams we talking strategy, thinking of the best ways to get the one up on their competition. It was then that a thought popped into Dinky’s head, she then leaned close to Proselyte so as to whisper into his ear. 

“Lyte, I forgot to mention, some of these events have rules against using magic or flying. So try not to use your special powers,” warned Dinky. 

“No troubles there, I really didn’t plan to. I think we win these games without your magic and my powers,” said Proselyte, smiling confidently at Dinky. 

“What are you two talking about,” asked Sparkler.

“Nothing,” they said together.





“Welcome to the annual Bro Hooves Blast! We got a lot of exciting games to be played here today, all in the name of promoting the bond between brothers and brother and sister alike! I’m your host, you know me, you love me! I’m DJ PON-3!”

DJ PON-3, a white unicorn mare with an electric blue mane and rose color tinted sunglasses, levitated her microphone out towards the crowd, allowing their cheers to be amplified. 

“And with me is my, equally talented big brother, if not more so – just kidding, seriously, don’t let it go to your head bro – STALL-NEON!”

The pony next to her, a unicorn stallion, with a black coat, wearing purple tinted sunglasses, and a mane with different shades of neon colors of blue, purple, and yellow, was STALL-NEON the King of the Night Scene. Using his magic, he brought his mike and gave his sister and cheeky smirk. 

“Nice to know I’m so loved, ain’t it folks. But seriously, yeah, we got tons of fun stuff lined up, and as always, we have plenty of games to prove which bros or bro-sis teams are the best of the best!” 

“Each event will be elimination style; where the two remaining teams will face off in the final event for the glory of being number one!” 

“So let’s get started, with our first event! Which is –” STALL-NEON looked down at his clipboard, “– Pool Volleyball! The game will be a four on four matches, so this will be a great way to eliminate a good chunk of the competition for you guys! Now all contestants move to your designated pools!”

In a great rush the gathered ponies hurried to the site of their first event. DJ PON-3 put down her mike and smirked at her big brother suspiciously.

“Pretty convenient that the first game involves pools, eh, Dub Step?” 

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Vinyl.”

“Oh please, I know you dig the ‘wet mane’ look on mares, admit it, you had a hoof in arranging the events, didn’t you,” asked Vinyl.  

“Lil’ sis, I’m insulted! You think I’d purposefully set up such an event, just to ogle mares in a pool,” said Dub, feigning hurt. 

“Oh yeah, it’s so your style.”

“And that’s why I can always count on you to understand Vinyl!” Dub then draped his foreleg around his sister’s neck and drew her into a sort of half-hug.

I truly pity the poor mare that gets stuck with you. Oh well, since I’m stuck commenting this event, might as well enjoy the view too. Sorry ‘Tavi, will totally make it up to you, she thought.

Meanwhile, the contestants were already in their designated pools. A common fact that many of them knew, yes, but that still didn’t stop many of them from showing so great teamwork. Applejack and Big Macintosh were currently going against a brother and sister from Mareland and some twin brothers from Seaddle. The two of them pretty much did most of the work, their teammates waited to be served so they could spike it, but much of that was left up to the farm pony duo. 

Applejack would set up the shot, while Big delivered a powerful smack to the ball, sending it flying at such a speed that it ricocheted off the water and through – that’s right – through a promotional billboard. When it was Big Mac’s serve, Applejack was a slight more reserved, only slightly. When the ball went up, Applejack would punch the ball and send it flying. One of stallions on the other team dared to catch it, the moment he did he was being pushed back, the ball had not stopped spinning and had not lost its momentum, continuing to drive itself till it loss the built up kinetic energy. That stallion eventually found himself at the other end of the pool before releasing the ball, and going belly up. 

“Oh, he is definitely going to be feeling that when he wakes up,” commented Vinyl.

“Medic,” called Dub. 

In another pool, an intense match was going on. Proselyte, Dinky, Twilight, and Shining Armor were on the same team, up against Bulk Biceps and his, if you can believe it, bigger brother, Roid Rage, and two young colt brothers. Bulk was already a massively muscular pegasus, but his big brother (emphasis on BIG), had at least twice the muscle, a tannish brown coat, and a black mane that was longer. The red eyes seemed to be inherent, since Roid Rage had them too, making the two hulking pegasi even more intimidating. 

Bulk Biceps set up the serve. Roid Rage hopped up, raised his hoof and spiked the volleyball with a loud cry of, “YEAAAAAAAH!!!”

Now it was a known fact that alicorns embody the attributes of the three pony tribes. The speed and flight of the pegasi, the grace and magical prowess of the unicorns, and of course, the strength and endurance of the earth ponies, Twilight was at this moment very thankful for the earth pony part of her abilities. The alicorn Princess quickly intercepted the ball, hitting with the edge of her left hoof and sending the ball up over her. 

Dinky was quick, she paddled quickly and got right under it. She then reached up with her forelegs and bumped the ball, sending it up into the air and in perfect position. 

“Lyte!”

With amazing speed, Proselyte zoomed under water, bursting up from the depths in a shower of water droplets. The pegasus colt made it into the air alongside the ball, he then spun around and backhoofed the ball back the other side. The fluid motion of the play was too quick for the other team as the ball whizzed by them and struck the open space of the water. Proselyte did a backflip before splashing down in the water. 

“Nice save, Twily,” said Shining Armor. 

Twilight spluttered some water out her mouth before answering, “Thanks Shiny, I wasn’t sure I was going to make that one.”

“You did great Princess Twilight,” said Dinky. 

Proselyte then popped out from under the water and joined the others. 

“And you too big bro! I didn’t know you could swim like that!”

Well before I became one with the indigo light of Compassion, I was a mere cephalopod in Earth’s oceans. Deep sea water pressure is a great way to build up your muscles, guess it translated well into my new body, thought Proselyte.

“Match point! Blue Team serves,” announced the referee. 

Shining Armor served the ball, Bulk Biceps bumped for the setup, allowing one of the colts to come up hit it over. Twilight hurriedly hit it back. The ball flew over the net and right in into Roid Rage’s range. Sensing the inevitable strike from the overly muscular stallion, Proselyte ducked under water and built up some momentum in order to spring out of the water. Roid Rage bumped the ball, setting it up for himself. Proselyte saw this and watched as he prepared to spike it. At that moment Proselyte burst out of the pool. Roid Rage’s timing was perfect, spiking the ball a mere few seconds after Proselyte leaped up. 

The ball sailed right under Proselyte as he continued his ascent. The purple pegasus turned around and watched as the ball came careening for the only pony close enough to return it, Dinky. There wasn’t enough time for either Twilight or Shining Armor to hurry to her aid. Derpy and Fluttershy watched helplessly as the ball got closer to Dinky; Sparkler’s horn had a faint aura glowing on it, preparing to do whatever she had to protect Dinky. But then something unexpected happened. 

Instead of ducking out of the way, Dinky met the ball head on. Literally, she literally, hit the ball with her head, or to be more specific, she hit it with her horn. The volleyballs were enchanted to prevent them from being punctured accidentally by unicorn horns, Dinky took careful aim and, in much the same way as Proselyte, pushed up out of the water and struck the ball with the tip of her horn. The ball grinded against the hard bone appendage for a few short seconds before it recoiled off her horn. The ball then simply looped over the net and landed with a light splash on the other side.

Roid Rage, Bulk Biceps, and their two colt teammates just floated there, mouths agape. 

The referee then blew his whistle, “The match is over! Blue Team wins!”

The crowd in the stands cheered loudly for the winners, but more so for Dinky’s last minute save with her horn. Proselyte unfurled his wings so that he could fly back down to the poolside. Shining Armor and Twilight helped Dinky out of the pool as the four of them were immediately surrounded by Derpy, Fluttershy, and Sparkler. Derpy brought her daughter into tight hug, despite her still being dripping wet. 

“That was amazing, Dinky!” Derpy gushed. 

“Thanks, I…I got the idea from watching Lyte,” said Dinky a little embarrassed. 

“How’s your horn Dinks, that couldn’t have felt good,” asked Sparkler as she examined Dinky’s horn. 

Twilight trotted up next to Dinky and gave her horn a quick look. “It doesn’t seem to be chipped or worn, do you have a headache at all sweetie?”

“Just a little one,” she admitted. 

“Still can’t believe you took on that spike horn first, you got guts kid,” admonished Shining Armor. 

Dinky blushed from the attention, but winced a little from the headache that she was now aware of. 

“Dinky, maybe you should lie down for a bit, I’ll go and get some medicine for the headache,” said Fluttershy. 

“Thanks Mi – um – Mom, but…” Dinky nudged Proselyte gaining his attention. “I think a kiss on the forehead from my big brother would make it feel better.”

Proselyte then sensed a sharp increase in Rage energy, all of which was originating from Sparkler. At this rate we won’t need to search for Butcher, he’ll come running back because Amethyst Star wants my head right now.

Nonetheless, Proselyte chuckled at her request. “Sorry Dinky, but you’ll have to settle for a pat on the head instead.”

The pegasus colt gently padded Dinky’s head, channeling a small amount of his healing light onto the flat of his hoof, and sending healing waves with each pat. After about three pats on the head, Dinky felt her headache vanish as if it never existed. 

“You got off easy this time,” Dinky pouted, but smiled nonetheless. 

While this was going on, Twilight silently scooted closer to Fluttershy, fixing a suspicious gaze upon her friend. Fluttershy saw the way Twilight was looking at her and raised a curious eyebrow. 

“So…‘mom’, huh?”

“Eep!”





After a private conversation with Twilight, Fluttershy was able to convince her friend of why they were doing this. Luckily, Twilight agreed to keep quiet about it, besides, she really couldn’t say no to that cute little filly, and Proselyte genuinely looked happy. Fluttershy was sitting at a bench, her heart felt like it had just run a marathon, she closed her eyes to help calm herself down. She wasn’t sure if her friends’ appearance in the Bro Hooves Blast would complicate things or not, but from what Twilight said, she seemed okay with it and promised to relay the information over to Applejack. 

“You alright Fluttershy?” asked Derpy. 

Fluttershy opened her eyes and saw her fake wife standing a foot away from the bench. 

“Oh, yes, everything’s alright,” she said. 

Derpy took a seat next to Fluttershy, for some reason the gray pegasus mare had a frown upon her face. “I’m sorry if you got in trouble with your friends, Fluttershy. I knew this was a bad idea.”

“No Derpy, Twilight’s okay with this, and she’ll explain it to Applejack too. Besides, it’s only for a day.”

Derpy winced a little, “Y-Yeah, it’s only…only for a day.”

The two mares sat there in silence, watching Dinky and Proselyte talk with Sparkler close by. The two of them unconsciously sighed at the same time, content with the image before them. 

“Fluttershy…?”

“Yes Derpy?”

“Thank you for going through with this. I know it must be embarrassing for you, pretending to be married to me…”

“Not at all! You’re wonderful Derpy, and in truth, if it were anypony else I’d probably be held up in my cottage.”

Derpy couldn’t help but blush at the compliment; she even started to wonder if this fake marriage might go somewhere. But that was probably just wishful thinking, I mean, why would Fluttershy even consider going out with a clumsy mare like her? There wasn’t anything special about her. She wasn’t superfast or a Reserve Wonderbolt like Rainbow Dash, and she certainly didn’t have Rarity’s beauty or drive to become a famous fashionista. In truth, now that Derpy thought about it, Fluttershy was practically surrounded by big successes, and not to mention that Fluttershy was an Element of Harmony, thanks to her and her friends they saved Equestria more times than she could count. What did she have to offer this mare?

“Derpy, are you alright?” asked Fluttershy. 

The gray pegasus mare shook her head, snapping herself out her daze and smiled sheepishly at Fluttershy.   

“Oh nothing…” Derpy then looked back at Sparkler, Dinky, and Proselyte. “…Nothing at all…”





From there the Bro Hooves Blast became a fierce competition between Shining/Twilight team, the Big Mac/Applejack team, and of course, the Flim-Flam team. All through the games one team had been creating an upset, beating out some of the older siblings and veterans of the games, the Proselyte/Dinky team. The team of Proselyte and Dinky surprised many when they beat out Twilight and Shining Armor in the five legged race. Another upset occurred when the Flim-Flam brothers beat Applejack and Big Mac at a game of horseshoes, now Applejack was severely ticked off about that, being that she never lost at that particular game. 

Twilight and Applejack suspected that the two unicorn brothers must be cheating to have made it all the way to the final event, but so far they couldn’t prove anything. So with the favored teams to take it all out of the game, they placed their hopes on the youngest team to go up against the crafty scam artists. 

“Mares and gentlecolts, it’s now time for the final event of the Bro Hooves Blast!” Vinyl announced. 

“That’s right, sis! It’s time for the traditional obstacle course race!” 

The entire group of ponies had moved to large park where the course was set up. It was a unified theme of both the Sister Hooves Social and Bro Hooves Blast to have obstacle courses, whereas the SSS started with one, the BBB ends with it instead. Twilight and Shining Armor, Applejack and Big Macintosh, Derpy, Fluttershy, and Sparkler all gathered around Proselyte and Dinky as they all glanced over the course. It began with a large pool of water, about five meters long, six feet deep, and ten feet wide. Following a crawl under a net, over a one hundred foot wall, down a zip line, and ending with chariot race.

“Just remember you two, keep an eye out for them Flim-Flams, no tellin’ what they might do,” warned Applejack. 

“They may use magic, or something else to distract or deter you, so be on your guard,” added Twilight. 

“Also, try to have fun,” said Derpy. 

“We’ll be waiting for you two at the finish line, afterwards we’ll all go and get some ice cream to celebrate,” said Fluttershy. 

The offer of ice cream seemed to intensify Dinky’s resolve to win this game. Sparkler, unexpectedly, scooped up Proselyte in the crook of her foreleg and proceeded to give the colt a noogie. 

“Go and kick some flank out there,” she then whispered into his ear, “If you let Dinky get hurt I’m holding you responsible! So don’t push her!” Sparkler then released the young colt and gave them both a happy smile. “You guys can do this!”

The word “two-faced” seems appropriate at this moment, thought Proselyte. 

“Alright contestants, to the starting line,” shouted Dub. 

Proselyte and Dinky quickly headed to the line, Flim and Flam were already waiting, stretching their limps as they watched the two foals trot towards them. The two brothers then flashed a couple of confident smirks them. 

“Don’t be disappointed if you lose,” started Flim. 

“You should be proud to have made it this far,” finished Flam. 

Dinky, for the first time during this competition, was starting to feel a little bit doubtful that the two of them could win. The Flim-Flam brothers had made it all this way just like they had, but with Twilight Sparkle’s warning about the possible cheating ways of the brothers, and given their history in Ponyville a while back, she was convinced that their chances might be a little slim. 

“Lyte…are you…Do you think we can win,” asked Dinky. 

Proselyte looked over at the two brothers. He sensed something in them, something that he knew well. Their auras were tented with a slight amount of orange light, which wasn’t all too surprising given what he had learned about them. He then looked down at Dinky, her expression had turned uncertain. Proselyte then smiled confidently, nudging her with his wing to gain her attention. 

“Don’t start thinking like that just yet Dinky. We’ve come too far to give up now, you’re big brother won’t let you quit,” said Proselyte. 

The little gray unicorn filly’s smile returned as her resolve was renewed. “Do you think we can win?!”

“Oh we’re going to win this, Dinky, make no mistake!”

“Racers on your marks get set – GO!!!”

With that the race was on, Flim and Flam had jumped into the pool and started swimming their way towards the other side. Dinky and 
Proselyte stopped at the edge and watched as the two brothers were gaining a good lead on them. Proselyte considered what better way they could cross the five meter long pool. Dinky wasn’t as fast a swimmer as he was, but then again, she didn’t have to be. 

“Dinky, jump on my back and hang on tight!”

“Gotcha!”

Without question, Dinky hopped onto Proselyte’s back and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. Proselyte jumped into the pool and immediately dove under the water. Just as the Flim-Flam brothers made it to the other side, they turned around and saw how the water became a raging torrent in Proselyte’s wake. The two brothers’ eyes bulged at the sight, not believing how fast the colt was. They quickly made their way to the net and started to crawl underneath it. 

Dinky and Proselyte made it to shore, the little unicorn hopped off and shook her body free from the water. She then looked up concerned at her brother figure. 

“You okay Lyte?”

“Don’t underestimate your big brother Dinky.” That’s starting to get easier to say. “Let’s go!”

The crawling under the net was more difficult than was expected. Their wet fur was making the dirt muddy and slippery. Since the net was quite low it required them to get as low to the ground as possible, otherwise a unicorn’s horn could get tangled up, or a pegasus’ wing. As they approached the end of the net crawl Proselyte heard a little yelp beside him, he turned his head and saw that Dinky had accidentally got her horn tangled in the net. She thrashed her head back and forth, but it only helped in getting her tangled further. 

“Tough luck there little filly, but I’d suggest you hurry up and get out of that soon,” said Flim. 

“Just to remind you, if you can’t make it to the final part of course, then it’s an automatic win for us,” said Flam. 

The Flim-Flams made out of the net, dirty and muddy, and proceeded to crawl up the wall. Dinky continued to try and get her horn loose, but was failing with every attempt. 

“Dinky, calm down, let me help you,” said Proselyte. 

Proselyte examined the net that was now encircling Dinky’s horn. Her thrashing hadn’t helped her situation, since now the net was wrapped from the base of the horn to the tip. Even if he bit down as hard as he could, Proselyte doubted he could get it untangled in time. Well, it isn’t cheating if I get Dinky free. Proselyte concentrated, channeling the anger he felt for Dinky’s situation, how the brothers mocked them for Dinky’s misfortune. A red symbol appeared over his forehead. 

Dinky immediately recognized what he was doing and gave a stern look. “Lyte, you promised you wouldn’t use you your powers!”

“Not to help us win! To get you free! Close your eyes!”

Dinky did as she was told, Proselyte quickly let out a focused burst of red light. The red energy burned away at the rope. Proselyte then quickly channeled the blue light of Hope, using it to dampen the burning red flames from spreading and from hurting Dinky. Dinky watched Proselyte release his power and motioned with his head to indicate they needed to keep moving. 

Once free from the net the pegasus and unicorn started to climb the wall, which was a grueling task for the two of them, thankfully, the Flim-Flam brothers hadn’t made much headway either. It was a long five minutes but eventually, the two unicorn stallions made it up to the top and prepared to strap themselves into the harness for the zip-line. Flim looked over the edge and saw the Dinky and Proselyte were not far behind.

“Brother of mine, I don’t like to be a worrywart, but I think these two might actually have a chance,” said Flim. 

“Guess we’ll have change their odds a little, the Flim-Flam way,” said Flam. 

The stallions nodded to each other at the same time, their dastardly plan having been agreed upon. As Dinky and Proselyte made it to the top, the Flim-Flams jumped off. The two young ponies quickly strapped themselves in, Proselyte kept a watchful eye on their opponents as they made their way towards the chariots. 

“You ready Dinky,” asked Proselyte. 

“Ready!”

With that said the two of them jumped off the top and descended down to the awaiting chariots, the Flim-Flams seemed to be having a little trouble with the harness giving them ample time get there, for a moment, Proselyte could’ve sworn he saw a flash of green light near their designated chariot. He wrote it off as a trick of the eyes and focused on their goal. 

Once they landed, Dinky immediately helped Proselyte into the harness, having decided beforehand that he would pull while Dinky rode in the back. The Blindfolded Chariot Race was a test of sibling trust, one running while the other directed, basically they had to be both in tune with each other and completely trusting of their riders directions. Both teams finished at the same time, and with great speed the two teams dashed off. 

It was a straight path for the most part, so neither had need to say anything, however, the first turn was coming up and it would be a trick to keep both of them from crashing into each other. 

“There’s a turn coming up! Lean in left,” shouted Dinky. 

It was apparent that Proselyte was the stronger, the chariots were made to be somewhat lightweight, but they still required a good amount of effort to pull. Proselyte did as Dinky instructed and leaned into the left, slowly gauging how far he should go and waiting for Dinky to correct him. 

Meanwhile, Flim wasn’t doing so hot. Despite their earlier lead, they were falling behind; the two brothers knew that the pegasus colt possessed some uncanny strength from what they saw during the volleyball event and the mote obstacle. Neither of the brothers were the most athletic, relying mostly on their quick wit and brains to outsmart or browbeat somepony into submission. At the moment, Flam was considering if they should hurry and try to beat the other team to the first turn or fallback a bit and avoid a possible collision. Fortunately, Flam chose the latter. 

“Slow down and lean left,” he ordered. 

The two chariots were now at the first turn, and as predicted, Proselyte and Dinky took the first turn, getting ahead of the Flim-Flam brothers. One turn down, three to go, thought Proselyte. 

The second turn happened much like the first, the unicorn stallions slowing while the younger ponies sped up to take the turn. Many ponies along the racing trail were cheering on Dinky and Proselyte, apparently having very little love for the scam artist duo. The third turn was fast approaching; Dinky looked behind them and saw that their opponents were far behind them. If they kept it up they’d win it for sure. 

“Dinky do you hear something?” asked Proselyte. 

“Hear what?”

“There’s a sort of creaking sound, I’ve been noticing it since we made that second turn! Is the chariot alright!?”

Dinky did a quick inspection of the chariot, although she was limited. She checked the area she was in, the walls looked fine, and so did the platform. But now that she was lower, the young filly was starting to hear a creaking sound reverberating within. Dinky closed her eyes and listened closely to the sound, her left ear flicked as the origin of the sound became more apparent. Dinky quickly looked over the edge to view the left wheel, one of the spokes was sticking out, a lot actually. Dinky quickly looked to the right wheel and saw that it was perfectly fine. 

“Um, Lyte, these spoke thingies aren’t supposed to be sticking out are they,” asked Dinky with a hint of concern. 

“Not to my knowledge…why?”

“Uh-oh…!”

At that moment the wheel spoke shot off and now the wheel itself was wobbling uncontrollably! Proselyte could only hear the sounds of something metallic flinging off, a horrible wooden rattling sound, and the additional cries of Dinky as well as a few loud gasps from the crowd. 

“Oh my, now this is disconcerting,” said Flam. 

Dinky looked to their right and watched as the Flim-Flam brothers started to catch up to them, she was about to ask for help but then she noticed the smug looks on their faces.

“Sounds like our little friends are in trouble, brother,” said Flim. 

“Sorry we can’t stick around, but we have a race to win!”

With that said the two brothers whizzed past Proselyte and Dinky. The turn was coming and Dinky and Proselyte didn’t know what to do, slowing down was risky, but continuing was also risky. Dinky tried to think quickly as the turn got closer and closer. 

“It’s not cheating if it keeps us safe, right?!”

“Dinky?!”

“Just get ready to turn when I tell you,” she ordered. 

The turn was now upon them!

“NOW!”

Proselyte reluctantly made the turn. He then felt the chariot jostle and shake and the loud sound of, what he assumed to be, the wheel flying off the rod. Proselyte awaited the shift in weight and was prepared to do what was necessary to save Dinky. But it never happened. In fact, they were still rolling which only baffled Proselyte further. 

“Dinky what’s going on!?”

“Holding up…chariot…with my…magic!”

It was true; Dinky’s pink telekinetic aura was wrapped around the rod where the wheel used to be, holding the chariot level with the other wheel. The little unicorn filly’s brow furrowed as sweat started to bead down her face, her horn glowed brightly as she struggled to keep them aloft. 

“Dinky, we should stop now! It’s too dangerous to keep going!”

“No way…! We’re finishing this…! You promised we’d win big bro!”

Proselyte grunted in slight frustration of Dinky’s stubbornness, although, it was a trait he found admirable when it came to these kind of situations. Proselyte proceeded at full speed, trying to make this last leg a short one. His hooves thundered against ground as they made their valiant comeback.





Further down the track everypony was waiting with peak anticipation. One group of ponies in particular was very anxious to see who would emerge from this turn. Sparkler was pacing in a circle, stopping only for a few seconds to look at the bend in the path and then returned to pacing. Twilight couldn’t help but watch as the young unicorn mare continued to do this, which started to get Twilight wondering about something. 

“Shiny,” asked Twilight. 

“Yeah?”

“Is that how I look when I get…you know…?”

Shining Armor took a moment to watch Sparkler pace about, “Yeah, actually it is – OUCH!” Twilight had, at that moment, jabbed her elbow into her big brother’s side. “What was that for?!”

“The correct answer was: No. But thanks for playing,” said Twilight with a smirk. 

“Oh ho ho, alright, you’re getting yours, Twily,” he warned. 

“Where are they?! They should’ve been here by now,” said Sparkler. 

Fluttershy, no longer able to watch her ‘daughter’ pace herself into six foot ditch, trotted into Sparkler’s path and effectively stopped her in her tracks. 

“Sparkler, dear, you have nothing to worry about. Just watch, any minute now, Dinky and Lyte will round that corner and take first place, just imagine the smile on her face when that happens,” said Fluttershy. 

Sparkler sighed, “I…I know. It’s just…how can you be so trusting of that colt Miss Fluttershy? It’s not like you to take in some strange pony you’ve just met…he’s, don’t you get the feeling that he’s hiding something.”

“He isn’t hiding anything, honey,” spoke Derpy. “We actually know what his secret is, Fluttershy, Dinky, and I do. But it’s his business whether or not to tell you. Dinky trusts him, I do, and even Fluttershy, and shouldn’t that be enough?” 

Sparkler looked away for a moment, her mother was smiling at her, and in that moment she felt unworthy of it. You all know, yet you still trust him, even Dinky. It should be enough, but…

“Whoa now! Bad news everypony! The Dinky/Proselyte team has lost their chariot wheel during the race!” Vinyl announced. 

“WHAT!!!?” the group of ponies shouted in unison. 

“Currently, though, the Flim-Flam brothers are in the lead…” Dub was then given sheet of paper which made him blink in confusion. “And apparently so are Dinky and Proselyte!”

At that very moment the Flim-Flam brothers rounded the corner, with Dinky and Proselyte right on their tail. The group gasped in horror as they watched the chariot carrying the two young ponies was indeed missing its wheel. Dinky’s horn was glowing bright, doing all she could to hold up the chariot while Proselyte ran as fast and as hard as he could to make it to the finish! 

“What in tarnation!? How did they lose their wheel!? Those things were checked and double checked before the start of the course,” exclaimed Applejack. 

“Who cares how!” Sparkler rushed towards Twilight, giving her a pleadingly desperate look. “Princess Twilight you’ve got to do something! Teleport them out of there! SOMETHING!”

Twilight looked from Sparkler and to the chariots now making their way towards the finish line. The alicorn princess was ready to get the two ponies out of harm’s way, but there was something in the Dinky’s eyes, a look of determination and strength that almost reminded Twilight of herself.

“They can make it,” said Twilight. 

“WHAT!?” Sparkler shouted. 

“I now they can,” added Derpy. 

“Mom, are you serious! Dinky’s never done anything like that with her magic! She could pass out at any minute from exerting that much power!”

To the surprise of many, Big Macintosh actually strode up next to Sparkler. “Look there,” he pointed his hoof at the two incoming teams, “really look at yer sister and Proselyte, they ain’t givein’ up. Ah got a feelin’ that they aren’t separate on this, they know the risks and are still pushing to finish and win this.”

Sparkler looked hard at her little sister and the colt. Though they seemed exhausted, sweat dripping from their forms, their breathing heavy, their coats muddy and dirty, and yet, they both had a smile on their faces. It wasn’t a happy-go-lucky kind of smile; it was the kind you get when you’re giving your all and pushing towards a goal together. 

“YOU CAN DO IT MUFFIN,” shouted Derpy. 

“WE BELIEVE IN YOU, KEEP RUNNING LYTE,” cheered Fluttershy. 

“KICK THOSE FLIM-FLAM BROTHERS’ FLANKS YOU TWO,” cried Applejack. 

“JUST HOLD ON DINKY, YOU’RE ALMOST THERE,” encouraged Twilight. 

“PUSH IT PROSELYTE, POUR IT ON,” yelled Shining Armor. 

There cheering was infectious, soon the crowd was starting to cheer on the underdog team, yelling and cheering, keeping them motivated to beat the cheating brothers. Dinky and Proselyte heard their cries and used it as their fuel to push their limits even further. Flam watched as their opponents continued to advance on them, getting closer with each passing second. Soon Proselyte were at Flim’s position, both chariots were neck and neck. 

“C’MON DINKY/PROSELYTE TEAM, FASTER, FASTER!” Vinyl yelled over her microphone. 

“Lil’ sis, you know we’re supposed to be impartial – Oh who am I kidding! KICK IT INTO OVERDRIVE YOU TWO!” Dub joined. 

Sparkler continued to watch the race, her sister and Proselyte were almost there, the finish line only a few feet away. Hearing the cheers of the crowd, the cries for their victory, this is was what Dinky wanted, the family moment they that even Sparkler herself believed to have almost been lost, was now rekindled within her heart. The magenta unicorn mare stood at the head the group. She then sucked in as much air as her lungs could without bursting. Sparkler then let loose the words she didn’t think she would ever speak in a booming voice. 

“LYTE, GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!”

Sparkler’s cry carried over the roaring crowd and right to Proselyte’s ears. It was all the boost he needed. Channeling every ounce of strength he had, barring his light powers, Proselyte sprinted forward, the gap between their team and Flim and Flams was growing every second. One foot, two feet, five feet, ten feet, fifteen feet, and it just kept growing wider. 

At last Proselyte stretched out his neck and broke the thin paper strip that marked the finish line, they had done it, and they had won. 
What followed suit was a cacophony of cheers coming from almost everypony in attendance! But there wasn’t much time to celebrate yet, the chariot carrying the two young ponies was wobbling now, Dinky’s magical aura was fading and it was apparent that Proselyte had used up all his strength during that last sprint and was a about to collapse. 

Twilight and Shining Armor looked to each other and nodded in quick understanding. With great precision, Twilight engulfed the two tired ponies in her telekinetic aura, lifting them both up into the air and away from the chariot. Shining Armor then flared up his horn and captured the speeding chariot, bringing it to an immediate halt. Twilight levitated the two tired ponies back towards them and gently laid them on the ground, removing Proselyte’s blindfold afterwards. Both Dinky and Proselyte were panting hard, thoroughly exhausted, and completely tapped out of physical and, in Dinky’s case, magical energy. 

Derpy quickly went to her daughter’s side, nuzzling her gently, forgetting how sweaty and dirty she was. “You did great, Dinky! I’m so proud of you!”

Fluttershy did the same, nuzzling the side of Proselyte’s head gently. “And I’m proud of you Lyte, you deserve a good rest.”

Both Dinky and Proselyte allowed themselves a weak smile. Sparkler walked up to Dinky and mimicked her mother’s nuzzle. She then walked over to Proselyte; he must’ve sensed her presence because he lazily opened his eyes to look up at her. Gone was the Rage and Fear, now only Compassion and Love colored her aura. Sparkler then leaned down and nuzzled the 

“Thank you, for doing your best, and for making this fun for Dinky,” she said happily.

“They cheated!”

All eyes shot towards the Flim-Flam brothers, Flim looking particularly wiped out. 

“They used magic, and it’s against the rules to use magic or flight during the events,” said Flam. 

Sparkler turned towards the two brothers and glared angrily, “My sister…and my brother did not cheat! She used magic to stabilize that messed up chariot!” 

“A…A likely story! That little filly’s horn was practically shining like a star! She must’ve used a spell to give them a push for that last leg,” accused Flim.

“Are ya kiddin’ me, just look at ‘em!?” Applejack pointed in Dinky’s and Proselyte’s direction. “They can barely stand! That don’t come from just magic helpin’ them the whole way, that’s from hard work!”

“Also, Dinky doesn’t know any spells beyond levitation, which is why she’s so tired! It took all of her concentration to keep them from falling!” Sparkler yelled. 

“Humph and how are we to believe that, can you prove that, the young colt’s performance during the Pool Volleyball event makes me think that he may’ve been using his wings to give himself a boost! Even an experienced swimmer couldn’t exit the water at that speed and height, not without some help,” accused Flam. 

“Now see here you two low down snakes in the –!”

“Interestin’…”

Everypony now looked at Big Macintosh who was currently inspecting the broken chariot. 

“These spoke caps don’t come off easy. Looks like their either screwed or hammered in real good. Take a lot for these to just come off like that. What do you think, Miss Sparkle?”

Twilight seemed to catch onto Big Macintosh’s line of thinking and quickly made her way to the broken part of the chariot. She gave it a quick glance and nodded to the red stallion, agreeing with his analysis. 

“And what…does that have to do…with anything?!” asked Flim. 

“Well, for starters, it would if the chariot was somehow sabotaged. If you look closely inside the rod, where the screw went, there are tiny scratches that indicate that this was forcibly loosened. And since Dinky and you two were the only three unicorns around, I think I can find a way to see who tampered with what…”

Twilight let that information hang in the air, the two unicorn brothers had a feeling she wasn’t bluffing. Twilight Sparkle was a gifted unicorn mage before her ascension, and now she’s an alicorn, with all the power granted thereto. Which meant that there was little that was out of the realm of possibility, especially when it came to magic, and definitely when it pertained to this alicorn princess. 

“Well gee, will ya look at the time! We must be going now, congrats little filly –”

“And to you too, young colt, good race!”

“Goodbye,” they said in unison.

Before anypony could say a word the Flim-Flam brothers bid a hasty exit, not wanting to be in the general vicinity when they were found out, the wrath of two mothers was a force to be reckoned with, and they weren’t stupid enough to stick around for that. With that out of the way, Sparkler went up to Vinyl Scratch and Dub Step to receive Dinky’s and Proselyte’s prize on their behalf, seeing as the two of them were very much knocked out.






(One train ride later…)


The Bro Hooves Blast was now done and over, with Celestia’s sun now setting down on the horizon, and giving way for Luna’s bright moon, everypony decided that it was time to say goodbye. Despite the shenanigans that went on during the BBB, everypony had a good time. Twilight was just a little sad to see her brother leave, knowing that his duties awaited him upon his return so he could not linger long. But it wasn’t all that bad, especially when she had a marefriend and two fillies ready to greet her. 
Applejack and Big Macintosh headed back to the farm, their sibling bond made just a little stronger thanks to the BBB, but of course, when you’re an Apple, you’re family bond will always remain strong and only get stronger. 

That only left Fluttershy, Derpy, Sparkler, and the still sleeping Dinky and Proselyte. Sparkler had levitated the two of them through the streets as gently as she could so as not to wake them, and given everything they did and went through today, she was determined to make sure their sleep wasn’t interrupted. Derpy and Fluttershy walked a few paces behind Sparkler, the two mares just enjoying the sight of the three ponies, each with a slight smile. 

“It’s been a long time since we did anything that fun as a family, and sorry, again, for all that trouble and awkwardness I caused you, thank you Fluttershy,” said Derpy. 

Fluttershy shook her head, “It was no trouble at all, and I really did have fun! And…if you don’t mind me saying…it was nice being your…‘wife’.”

Derpy noticeably blushed at the compliment, which only served to make Fluttershy blush as well. Soon the group found themselves at 
Derpy’s residence. The walleyed pegasus mare looked from Proselyte and then to Fluttershy. 

“Hey…Fluttershy, why don’t you stay over for the night?”

“Mom!” Sparkler hissed, her cheeks filling with crimson. 

“Not like that! I just meant, so that we didn’t interrupt their sleep.”

Fluttershy, despite the growing intensity of her blush, nodded graciously. Now that she thought about, looking at Proselyte sleeping, she really didn’t have the heart to wake him or Dinky for a goodbye after today.

With that settled the ‘family’ entered the home. Sparkler went and laid Dinky down in her bed first and was about to make a place for 
Proselyte to sleep, but then she heard Dinky whimper in her sleep, her little hooves groping at something that wasn’t there. Or rather, somepony she wanted there. Sparkler then levitated Proselyte right next to Dinky and the little unicorn immediately latched onto the sleeping colt as a content smile spread across her face. 

Fluttershy watched the display from the doorway, smiling the whole time. Her smile wavered a bit when she saw something…for a brief moment, in the blink of an eye it was no longer Proselyte and Dinky cuddling in that bed. It was instead there was a pegasus filly with a light-yellow coat and a pink mane, and in her forelegs, she was cuddled up next to a younger looking Pegasus colt. He had a white mane, and a coat of sky-blue. For a moment, Fluttershy’s heart ached and raced at the same time. But then she blinked once again and the image was gone, leaving only Proselyte and Dinky in its place. 

Fluttershy shook her head and left the room as she headed downstairs. Awaiting her arrival was Derpy, who had fashioned a make shift bed out of the couch. 

“I’ll sleep her tonight, you can take my bed,” said Derpy. 

“No, I couldn’t! It’s your home; I’m fine sleeping on the couch.” Fluttershy contested. 

“Oh no, after everything you’ve done for us, I insist you sleep in my bed tonight. Besides, it’s not like you’re putting me out, silly, you’d do the same.”

Unbeknownst to the two mares, a little visitor had tracked the group down, he watched from the window as his floppy ears twitched to hear the conversation better. Okay Shy, just assert yourself and sleep on the couch and I’ll have won myself a butler from now until next year!

“Well…I know, but I just feel like I’m imposing…”

Derpy scuffed the floor with her hooves, her odd eyes trying not to directly look at Fluttershy as her face slowly grew redder. 

“T-There’s a third option, if you want,” said Derpy timidly. 

“What is it?”

Oh no…!

“We could, um…share the bed, me on one side, and you on another…?”

If Fluttershy wasn’t so sure that Derpy was just a sincere and kind mare, she would’ve thought that there was a deeper meaning to this. As a matter of fact, she did agree to be Derpy’s “wife” for the day and the day wasn’t completely over yet, so Flutterhy thought she’d be okay with it, just this once.

“I…I wouldn’t mind that at all,” she replied. 

Derpy’s smile was all the confirmation she needed. The mares then made their way towards the bedroom, with the white rabbit watching with a growing horrified expression. 

No…

They entered the bedroom. 

No…!

The bedroom door then closed behind them.

No, no, no, no, no!

And then the lights went off. 

NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

At that same time, in Dinky’s room, a violet-pink star symbol appeared over Proselyte’s forehead. He then smiled in triumph as he muttered under his breath.

“I win…”