//------------------------------// // There Will Always Be Room For Pie // Story: Somepony To Look Out For // by drunkenpandaren //------------------------------// Not every story begins with "Once upon a time..." Often than not, it begins more like "In a house, there lived a..." followed by indeterminable amounts of controlled chaos. It was here that one such story begins with the following words. "In a house, there lived a pony. It was a nice house, built from a tree. Not a dark and smelly tree, cropped with broken branches and twigs and nasty bugs. No, this was built for comfort, and trees, like many places, had books. And where there were books, there was comfort. And where there was comfort, there lived, a pony." "Something tells me that we need to make another checklist, don't we?" groaned Spike as Twilight scrambled through her things. "No, it's not that, Spike. I just can't find Miss Smartypants. I must have lost her in the scuffle." "I saw Big Mac trundle off with it earlier. Why don't you ask him?" The young dragon sighed as Twilight stood straight up and looked at him, confused. "What? You asked, and I told you where the doll was." "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" demanded Twilight. "Well, after the whole thing you went through yesterday, y'know, Tuesday, you kind of weren't yourself. You were sort of bonkers." Twilight exhaled a little as she shut her dresser with a soft thump. "Thanks Spike. I'll go talk to Big Mac about it." "Do you want me to hold the fort while you're out?" The door slamming was his answer. "Is that a yes?" Somepony To Look Out For "Big Mac, are you in there?" Twilight rapped at the door of Sweet Apple Acres again, wondering if Pinkie's method of pounding her face against the door would help. Those doors were thick after all. After the third door rap with a rock, the door opened. "Eeyup," replied Big Mac. "Howdy, Miz Sparkle." "Hi Big Mac. Do you have Miss Smartypants?" "Eeyup. Fixed her all up. That scuffle worked her over something bad." At this, Twilight exhaled deeply. "Thanks Big Mac. I've been without that doll for a day and I spent a evening looking for her. Can I get her back?" "Yep." Opening the door even further to allow Twilight in, he trotted upstairs while Twilight took a moment to admire the house. As always. the Apple Family homestead was full of pictures, knickknacks and other such items that were dotting the walls. The smell of the evening dinner was on the stove and soon, the creaky wooden stairs echoed with Big Mac's heavy footsteps as he came down with Miss Smartypants, looking good as new. "You should take better care of your things, I had to repair quite a bit of her seams," said Big Mac as Twilight levitated it from his grip, and she paused to admire his handiwork. Despite the dusty appearance, he had taken the time to mend a little bit of the old problems she had with the doll. Belatedly, she realized this was the most he had spoken to her in a straight shot. "Thanks Big Mac, I'll be sure to take good care of her from now on," said Twilight, placing the doll back into her saddlebags. "Are you about to sit down for dinner?" "Yep." "Oh, well, don't let me keep you waiting then." "You can stay if you want. Applejack's off eating with Rainbow Dash tonight. Jus' me an' Granny Smith an' Apple Bloom." Twilight blinked at that. "You sure? I wouldn't want to be a bother." "No problem at all," replied Mac easily. "What with you bein' practically family lately. Granny Smith makes too much pie this time o'year. Bring some back to Spike, I reckon." "Thanks. I'll gladly take you up on that offer." It was cleverly planned. Just a little more, one sluck of Granny Smith's special soup and-- "Twilight? Are ya datin' mah big brother?" And spittake. Right across Big Mac's face. Hiding a giggle, Apple Bloom took a quick sip of soup. No sense letting it go cold. "Nope," stated Big Mac, his cheeks a flaming tinge of red as Twilight coughed and sputtered, and he reached over to thump her on the back before she choked on an artichoke. "Apple Bloom..." "Aw c'mon, Big Mac, ya'll not gettin' anywhere with Fluttershy, now, ain'tcha?" "What Miz Fluttershy and I do is none of your business," replied Mac, flushing a deeper red color. Granny Smith hid a smile as she calmly spooned out some more soup to replace the fountain and handed her grandson a napkin to wipe his face. "Now dear, you know that you haven't had a ponyfriend in a while. And Twilight here is a nice young mare who just happens to be close to the family." "Granny!" exclaimed Mac, scandalized. "Please!" "It's okay, Big Mac," wheezed Twilight as she regained her ability to cough properly. as well as breathe. "I wasn't expecting that. And no, I haven't thought about dating yet. I've never really read any books on it." "Say wot?" Apple Bloom deadpanned. "Twilight, you don't need to read up on dating, you just making it happen! Tell her, Granny!" "In my day, we just made things happen, like they always did. Just go and fetch us a good ponyfriend. Gent or Mare, it didn't matter much in those days," chuckled Granny. "Ponyville's never been too worried about filly-foolin'. Not when the population's been so low for nearly a hunnerd years!" "Please, Missus Smith, I think I would know if I wanted a mare..." said Twilight, blushing. "So you'll date Big Mac then?" "We'll see," replied Twilight noncommittally. She shot Big Mac an apologetic look, to which he sort of grinned a little and returned to his food. "Thanks for walking me halfway, Big Mac. I know it's safe but it's nice of you," said Twilight that evening as she balanced a basket on her head. "Spike will enjoy the food." "Eyup," replied Big Mac. "Just t'keep the mares from tryin' t'hitch us." "You're telling me. I'm not ready for a relationship. Oh, and thanks for fixing Miss Smartypants. That was really nice of you," added Twilight. "Is there anything else I can help with tomorrow?" "Nope, nothing comes to mind," replied Mac. "Although, if you ask Applejack, she'll find something to do." "Mmm, yeah." Noticing a green pony walking by, she waved. "Hey, Lyra, good evening!" "Oh hey, Twilight, Big Mac. Mac, are you walking Twilight home?" inquired Lyra. "Yup," came the reply. "Great. Just don't go near your back 40 tomorrow. The Bots are having a skirmish there tomorrow." "Yep. I'll tell Applejack." "Kay, laters!" With that, Lyra trotted off, getting a bewildered look from Twilight. "What was that all about?" "Lyra stuff," replied Big Mac, giving her a knowing look. "... Right we'll go with that." Honestly, Twilight had no idea what Lyra got up to all the time, and sometimes she didn't come back for days. "Adventuring musician pony" her hide. She'd get to the bottom of it later on. "Oh, here's the Library. Thanks for walking me home all the way." "Yep." Twilight nodded, smiling at him. "Oh, and Big Mac?" "Hmm?" "Good night." "Good night, Miz Twilight." "About time." Spike sniffed the air. "Is that apple pie?" "And strudel and soup. Granny Smith sent home supper, if you haven't eaten yet." replied Twilight. "Hungry?" "Famished! I had a ruby a while ago, but that was just a snack." As Spike dug into the food, Twilight unpacked her things and levitated Miss Smartypants to her spot on her desk. "So, why'd Big Mac have it anyhow?" "He said he wanted to fix it up since it was in bad shape. You know how he is." "Sure he wasn't asking somepony for date?" teased Spike. Twilight fumbled the inkwell. "Spike! No! Of course not; we're just friends! Besides, that was the first time I was over for supper. It didn't mean a thing; we're just friends really!" "Uh-huh. Sure." Turning back to her work to hide the flaming of her cheeks, Twilight began to compose a letter. "I'm going to write to Princess Celestia on the importance of how good it is to accept invites from friends that you don't spend time with often." "I'll send it when I'm done here," replied Spike, slurping at the soup. "Any words on your new ponyfriend?" The resounding clunk of a book being bounced off Spike's head could be heard as he replied in kind with a book of his own.