“Are you ready, you two?” Rarity shouted to the top of the stairs, looking to the clock at the wall to see it was just past five in the afternoon.
Sweetie Belle came rushing downstairs, wearing a pink scarf around her neck. “I’m ready,” she said, looking back at the stairs. “Not sure about my ‘brother’,” Sweetie Belle remarked, emphasizing the word ‘brother’ with an increase of volume to her voice.
“I heard that.”
Amethyst came rushing down the stairs, wearing only leg warmers on his forelegs. “I still don’t see the point of wearing such garments, especially if it’s not cold.”
“When the sun sets, you will see why,” Rarity answered him, before smiling broadly with her eyes becoming moist. “But you look so adorable!” Rarity reached over to Amethyst, nuzzling him before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
Seeing this, Sweetie Belle just giggled before she too was brought in the hug by Rarity. “Rarity!” she moaned, feeling her cheeks burn in that moment. She looked to Amethyst, who only shrugged with a plain smile.
“Now then!” Rarity perked up when she released the two foals from her grasp. “Let us hurry now to the town center! We do not want to be late for the Princesses.” She opened the door, indicating for her the two foals to exit. When they were outside, Rarity closed and locked the door before making her way to their destination.
Amethyst looked around to see a number of unlit lanterns hanging from the trees as they passed through. “What’re all these for?” he asked Rarity, scratching his head. “When did they get placed there?”
“Pinkie Pie,” Rarity replied simply. “Do not ask any further please,” Rarity insisted, looking down on Amethyst with a soft smile.
“Alright... I won’t, Mom.”
Here we go… Sweetie Belle groaned, rolling her eyes when she saw Rarity’s eyes becoming teary and holding onto Amethyst, peppering him with kisses. Since she had taken the role as Amethyst’s mother, Rarity had become even more emotional than what she had previously been.
Rarity sniffed as she pulled herself away from her son, wiping away her tears as she straightened herself. “It seems we’re almost there, and in good time too,” she thought out loud as they approached a crowd of ponies.
There was a scene of merriment. Ponies were together with their family, laughing and singing. Time Turner poured drinks with Derpy and Dinky. Cranky and Matilda were giggling and laughing as if they were a quarter their age, sneaking kisses and nuzzles.
And, finally, she saw her friends. Blaze was whispering to Twilight, nibbling at her ear, while a red-faced mare told him, through her giggles, to knock it off. Spike was currently sticking his tongue out, but when he turned to Light for support, he had his attention full with Scootaloo.
Spike’s bad attitude lasted until Sweetie walked over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Then he simply blushed.
Rainbow Dash could do nothing but smile and laugh at this. She nudged Fluttershy playfully, who was slightly giggling herself. Pip rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath about wishing his fellow blokes weren’t so sappy.
“Ah hear ya,” Apple Bloom muttered back.
“Ah, yer just thinkin’ that ‘cause you haven’t found nopony yet,” Applejack said.
“We are not!”
Applejack only grinned at the denial in stereo. “Trust me, eventually everypony gets their eye on somepony. Ain’t that right, Big Mac?”
The stallion blushed as his sister nudged him. “Well... um...”
Pinkie giggled. “Ooh! Is it Miss Cheerilee?”
“Wha? No.”
“But the Love Poison...”
“Yeah, Pink? I don’t think that makes fer a good start to a relationship,” Applejack said
“Ooh! Then who?”
“Pink, I ain’t tellin’, ‘ cause you told me you thought secret crushes were silly and you’d just yell it out if you knew it.”
“Well duh! Why keep crushes a secret! Now who is it?”
“I ain’t tellin’!” Big Mac said stubbornly.
“Please!”
“No!”
Pinkie Pie inhaled a large amount of air. “Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please—”
Big Macintosh covered his ears and closed his eyes, but the vibrations of Pinkie’s voice was still penetrating his skull. He couldn’t think and he yelled out.
“Rarity!”
Silence greeted him the moment he yelled out his answer. He opened his eyes and removed his hooves from his ears, seeing his sister and Pinkie Pie stare at him as though he performed a miracle. Before he could react, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
“Me?”
Big Macintosh gulped, looking up to the sky as though it was the very last time he would see it. He turned around slowly, and saw the mare that caught his affection standing with two foals by her side.
“Um…” Sweetie Belle said out loud, looking over Big Macintosh’s shoulder. “Hey look at that! Cotton Candy!” She and the others got away from the awkward scene, with Pinkie Pie looking to where they ran off.
“Hey! There’s no Cotton Candy!” Pinkie Pie said, her smile dropping as she saw no Cotton Candy stands anywhere. “Why did Sweetie Belle say—” Her words were cut off when she felt her tail being pulled on. She turned to see Twilight using her magic to drag her away. “Twilight, what are you doing?”
Twilight didn’t answer her until as all ponies left the space they were occupying previously, leaving only Big Macintosh and Rarity alone.
When they were alone, with the exception of ponies passing them by, Big Macintosh could only look away from Rarity’s gaze. He was fortunate enough to have a red coat, otherwise she would have seen his cheeks burn brightly.
“So, Big Macintosh…” Rarity trailed off, walking a little closer to the stallion. “What you said earlier, is that true?”
Big Macintosh pursed his lips as he nodded, looking for a moment at her eyes. “E-eeyup.”
“...Well, you don’t mind that I come with two foals? You’d have to learn to love them too.”
“I know, Miss Rarity. I know. I can love ‘em.” He pushed one hoof in the dirt, looking a bit odd for a pony of his size. “I... I ain’t gotta whole lot ta offer ya, but...”
Rarity gave him a peck on the cheek. “I’ve seen stallions with a lot to offer. I haven’t been too fond of them. So perhaps we can give a relationship a try... that is, if you don’t mind me working a good deal.”
“I won’t...”
“Even if it takes me away from Ponyville? I might be in Canterlot or Manehatten a good deal of the time...”
“I know. I can learn to live with it.”
“If that’s the case... then will you do me the honor of a dance once the festivities begin?”
“It... it would be my honor, Miss Rarity.”
Smiling demurely at Big Macintosh, Rarity merely shook her head. “Just Rarity, please... and do find yourself a nice tux, Darling, I’d like our first date to be at a nice restaurant.” Rarity told him, caressing his cheek with her hoof.
“O-of course, M... er, Rarity.” Big Macintosh stammered, his face burning from the soft hoof of Rarity.
Rarity giggled, planting her lips on his for a simple kiss. “Good. Now then, I’ll see you when the dances start. For now, my son needs me.”
Rarity smiled and walked away, leaving Big Mac feeling lighter than air.
Silver Spoon felt her stomach tie in knots. “Please, please, let’s go home,” she said. Diamond Tiara was having none of it, and kept pushing her friend forward.
“What do you have to worry about? He broke things off with you because he thought he was moving back to the Empire. He has no reason not to love you now.”
“But—”
“No buts. Now come on, we have to...”
Silver Spoon tried to back away, but the force of Diamond Tiara from behind was too much and they finally reached Diamond’s intended target. Amethyst.
The colt in question was looking up to the decorations with Sweetie Belle, until he felt a nudge at his shoulder. He turned around and froze when he saw Diamond Tiara standing behind Silver Spoon. “Oh, good to see you two…” He trailed off, chuckling nervously as he rubbed his neck.
“You too Amethyst,” Diamond Tiara answered him, walking past him to Sweetie Belle. “Can I talk to you for a moment, Sweetie?”
“Wha-Why?” She was baffled before seeing Silver Spoon, and she nodded vigorously with a sly grin. “Of course, Diamond Tiara!” She waved at Silver Spoon before walking off into the distance.
Silver shuffled her hooves as she looked down to the ground, her cheeks becoming pink when she noticed Amethyst looking at her. “I’m… I’m glad you decided to stay,” she whispered, blinking profoundly as she started to lose her voice.
“I—I’m also glad, Silver,” he answered Silver Spoon, scrunching his lips before he sighed. “I want to apologize for what happened on that day…” he spoke softly, looking away from Silver’s gaze.
“Amethyst…” Silver trailed off when she heard his apology, but groaned before stepping closer. “Well, that was a pretty stupid thing to do, you know?!”
Seeing Silver’s sudden mood change put Amethyst off guard for a moment. “E-excuse me?”
“You don’t make a filly or mare cry!” she lectured him as marched closer. “Especially if it’s perhaps the last time you see her!” She poked his chest hard. “Worse, you don’t do that to a filly who likes you a lot!” She scowled, but her eyes were becoming moist after each second. “And you don’t just—”
Her words were cut off when she felt his foreleg bringing her into an embrace. She resisted little, as she melted into the embrace and buried her head in his shoulder. “Don’t leave me again, please,” she said softly, holding onto Amethyst.
When they let go of each other, Amethyst planted a simple kiss on her lips. “I won’t. I promise you… this is my home now.”
“Y-yes, well... you better not.”
Amethyst smiled and kissed her hoof. “Why don’t we share a dance tonight? I want everypony to know I have the prettiest filly in Equestria.”
Silver Spoon turned red and nodded. Another kiss to the cheek only deepened the color, if that was possible.
A good distance away, Diamond Tiara and Sweetie Belle watched with smiles. “He did it... that’s good.”
“Yeah, I was afraid we’d have to hit that knucklehead upside the head,” Diamond Tiara muttered.
“Oh, come on, Amethyst isn’t like that... with how charming he is, maybe I better ask Spike to step up his game.”
Diamond Tiara felt her ears drop. “I think you have all the colts in Ponyville. There’s nopony left for me.”
Sweetie Belle blinked. “Do you have your eye on anypony?”
“Well... no. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like a special somepony.”
“So? Rarity just found her special somepony tonight, and she’s way older than you. In fact, she’s...”
“Sweeeeetie~” Rarity said, extra loud, “why don’t you come over here and help your big sister with a few things?”
Sweetie blinked. “What things?”
“Oh, you know... thing things...”
“That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense...”
With that, Rarity encased her little sister’s tail in her magic and pulled her away, much to her protest.
Diamond Tiara just shook her head. “Just like my mother.” Then she turned to see Amethyst and Silver Spoon approaching her.
“Diamond! You’ll never guess what happened!”
“What happened?” Diamond feigned ignorance as she beamed to her friend’s elevated happiness.
Silver Spoon bounced as she giggled. “Amethyst and I are back together!” She held Diamond Tiara’s hooves as they both jumped in a circle together.
“Oh my word, that’s great!” She looked behind Silver Spoon and saw Amethyst chuckling at the two friends. She let go of Silver Spoon, making her way to Amethyst. “I’m glad you two are back together,” she leaned into Amethyst’s ear, her smile vanishing in mere seconds. “If you ever break her heart, I will end you,” she whispered in a calm soft voice, an eerie calm voice.
Amethyst started to sweat before nodding nervously. “N-never, ever!”
“Good!” She pulled both him and Silver in a group hug. “Why don’t we go see what the others are up to?”
When all of her friends were finally together, Apple Bloom and the others decided to inspect the various stands in the town center. The aroma of baked goods and other treats was dominant in the air, as crowds of ponies were stacking up at the various stands’ unique goods.
Silver Spoon and Amethyst were observing a muffin stand that was moderated by a crossed-eye gray pegasus mare named Derpy Hooves. They bought a few muffins from her, but Silver stopped in her tracks when she turned around.
Before her was a brown elderly stallion, carrying a box on his back. He was starting to lose balance of it.
“Hold on!” Silver called out, rushing towards the stallion and catching the box in time before it could be destroyed in its fall. “Are you alright, sir?”
The stallion sighed in relief, wiping his forehead clean of sweat. “Much better now, my dear. Thank you,” he answered her with a wavery smile, his glasses nearly falling off from his muzzle.
“Where do you need to go with this, Sir?”
“At my stand just over there,” he pointed to a vacant stand that had a ginger-pony logo on the top.
Silver Spoon smiled, taking the box on her own back. Her face contorted a little at the weight, but she smiled nonetheless. “Let me carry this for you, Sir.”
“Ah, thank you, Miss Spoon,” he said. His breath came out in a few gasps, his age clearly catching up to him far more quickly than he would have liked.
As Silver Spoon placed the box upon the stand, Apple Bloom came trotting over, having not looked so excited since receiving her own cutie mark. “Silver! I think I figured it out!”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
“Your cutie mark! I figured it out! When I saw you help that old stallion!”
“I don’t understand.”
“It’s simple. Do you remember what you told us you did during that day you got your cutie mark? You spent the whole day helping ponies! That’s your special talent?”
“You... you really think so?”
“Well, you are a wonderful filly,” Amethyst said, causing her to blush.
Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Well, look at your cutie mark. It’s a spoon with a heart in it, right? Well, maybe the spoon means that you give ponies something, and the heart means that the something is help! You help ponies that are helpless, just like a spoon is used to feed a foal who is helpless.”
Silver opened her mouth to reply, stopped, and thought a moment. “Well... maybe that is it. I do like helping ponies.”
“See! That’s it!” Apple Bloom cheered. She jumped around in a sing-song voice. “I figured it out! I figured it out.”
“That would make sense,” Amethyst said. “I must be blessed to have such a generous filly for my own.”
“Come on, Amethyst... if you keep that up, I’m going to turn permanently red.”
Giving a wicked grin, Amethyst planted a kiss on her cheek. “But thou looks so cute flustered.”
“Amethyst...”
“I kid,” he smiled. “Besides, you shouldn’t be so embarrassed about your beauty.”
Silver Spoon playfully punched Amethyst on the shoulder. “Stop making me blush, please!” She told him through her giggles, not bothering to hide her crimson cheeks.
Before Amethyst could reply, trumpets were heard from across the area. The foals tried to locate the source of the music, but were rather greeted by Rarity, Applejack and Silver Spoon’s butler, Clear Glass.
“Come along now, we don’t want to miss this,” Rarity said as she beamed, placing a hoof to her mouth as she looked rather ecstatic.
“Darn tootin’,” Applejack agreed with her friend, helping Apple Bloom on her back. “Yer gonna want to be on my back fer this, Apple Bloom,” she said plainly to her little sister, who only shrugged and saw the other foals being deposited on the backs of their elders. “Let’s go, y’all.”
The crowd in the centre of town began to increase. Luckily for Twilight and her friends, they were able to squeeze their way through to the front of the crowd and stage. Every foal of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were on the back of their respectable guardian, with Pinkie Pie the only one not to have a foal on her back. She squinted her eyes, rushing off to an unknown location before returning with the Cake Twins on her back.
Pinkie Pie sighed and smiled. “Much better…” she trailed off as she looked to the stage, not noticing Pound Cake flying over to her mane and chewing on it.
The Mayor of Ponyville, Mayor Mare, came from the side of the stage before stopping before a podium at the centre. The crowd began to cheer, but simmered down when she raised her hoof to speak.
“Welcome, Ponyville, to this very special evening!” she spoke with pride, raising her hooves and hearing the ponies cheer for her. “Now now, settle down please…” she calmly said, waving her hooves. “I cannot take all of your cheers… as we have two special guests here today with us. Allow me to present to you; Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!”
When she called out the princesses’ name, the curtains opened revealing the sisters standing on stage. The crowd gave a thunderous cheer to their princesses, surprising Luna slightly when she felt the force from the bottom of her hooves.
Both princesses came walking to the side of the mayor, giving off a motherly smile to the ponies before them. Mayor Mare kindly stepped away from her podium to let Princess Celestia approach it, raising her wings to silence the crowd.
“Welcome my dear ponies to Winter Moon Celebration!” she joyfully shouted out to the crowd, who responded in kind to her words.
“It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight. Now, I wish to welcome you to the first night of winter. We will begin the ceremonies at once!”
With a small bow, Celestia backed away from the podium, lighting up her horn. The sun began to lower in the sky, and with the rays giving her radiance, Luna stepped forward.
Luna spread her wings and lit up her horn. As the last bit of sun dipped under the horizon, then she began lifting herself into the air. As she did, the moon began to peek out, slowly coming up as if Luna was raising it with a particularly long rope. As it did, clouds began forming in the sky, blanketing the town in shadow, and leaving only one opening, a window large enough to bathe the crowd in moonlight. The moon rose higher and higher, until finally it was at its peek.
Then Luna spun around in three twirls, letting out a bright flash of light. When it faded, snow began falling from the clouds hanging overhead.
The ponies cheered as, in moments, the ground was covered in pure, white snow. The Cutie Mark Crusaders jumped from their family members’ backs and immediately began forming snowballs to throw at one another. Every other foal old enough was joining in, while the older ones were satisfying themselves with making snowponies and snow angels.
Luna looked over the crowd, and Twilight could swear she could see a tear forming in her eye. Obviously, this was quite a drastic change to a thousand years ago, when winter meant hardship and night meant fear. Celestia placed a wing over her sister. Luna waited until they had turned away from the crowd before nuzzling her sister.
Apple Bloom couldn’t resist pegging Diamond Tiara with a snowball. After a few seconds of scowling, her expression turned both playful and sinister. Apple Bloom couldn’t run far enough before three of Diamond’s own snowballs hit her.
After an hour of playing, the dancing began. Rarity took her first with Big Macintosh, and found the stallion to be surprisingly graceful despite his big size. There was a few whispering voices, the gossips of Ponyville excited at the new couple.
That made her sad. Not this gossip, she knew it was positive, but of what would inevitably happen in Canterlot. There was already those who muttered “She comes from the country... handles herself well for one of them, doesn’t she?” Now there would be the added, “You know she’s dating a farmer? It looks like she’s going to be stuck in that backwater town. Regrettable. She has such talent.”
She shook that off. She would not allow voices such as those to guide her relationships. Not like Twilight’s birthday. No...
“Something wrong, Miss Rarity?” Big Macintosh asked her, seeing Rarity looking into nothingness.
Shaking her head to bring herself back to reality, Rarity looked up to Big Macintosh and pecked his cheek before resting her head on his neck as they danced away. “Nothing is wrong, nothing at all…” she trailed off, closing her eyes slowly as she felt the softness of his coat against hers.
Feeling her head resting on his neck, Big Macintosh was grateful he had a red coat. Otherwise, the whole of Ponyville would have thought his head was replaced with a tomato. Some ponies however, knew the stallion was blushing furiously at that moment. One of them was snickering from a distance where Big Macintosh spotted her. Applejack.
He furrowed his brow at her, but then smirked and brought his attention back to Rarity. Big Macintosh held onto her hoof and had her whirl around once, before catching her and leaning down as though both were professional dancers. He then brought his muzzle to hers, closing his eyes as his lips connected with hers.
Surprised by this, Rarity’s eyes widened but slowly closed as she embraced Big Macintosh. She could have sworn she heard ponies gasping, even a whistle. But she didn’t care, she was happy. She and Big Macintosh.
From a distance, Amethyst and his friends looked in awe at what they were seeing. After a moment of silence, Apple Bloom finally spoke. “Well, Ah didn’t see tha’ one comin’.”
“Yeah, I always thought he would be with somepony like Fluttershy…” Spike trailed off, feeling a slight chill running down his spine. He shook it off, looking to his fillyfriend smiling. “Happy that your sister has a special somepony now?”
“It’s nice, yeah…” Sweetie Belle beamed, but the smile slowly dissipated when a thought came to her. “I just hope Big Macintosh won’t be all ‘Shmoopy Doo’ on my sister.” She grimaced, her ears drooping and her lips scrunched when she remembered the day she and her other friends tried to set him up with Cheerilee.
Remembering that day, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo flinched. “Ah’m gonna make sure that ain’t never happenin’!” Apple Bloom declared loudly, turning her head sharply to see Big Macintosh and Rarity exiting the dance area. She saw Applejack eying the two mischieviously with a smirk on her face. Sis might be jealous now… cause she ain’t got herself a special pony yet. Maybe… She shook her head quickly, snorting. “Nah!”
“What’s wrong, Bloom?” Pip asked her, coming closer to her as he stood by her side.
“Nothing,” Apple Bloom replied plainly, suddenly nuzzling Pip. “Let’s go do and have some fun before we gotta go!”
Rarity sat at home, watching as the newly fallen snow frosted the window. The Boutique was unusually quiet tonight. With both Sweetie and Amethyst in bed, there was a serenity that wasn’t usually present.
She was glad. She had a lot to think about. There was Big Macintosh, a strong, sturdy stallion who had picked her of all ponies. He wasn’t what she expected, but he was considered quite the catch by the other mares around Ponyville. There was Amethyst, tucked in his bed, hopefully sleeping soundly. The papers would be pulled through soon enough, and she’d legally be a mother. And there was Sweetie, thankfully everything that had happened had distracted her from the fact that their parents had failed to show up yet again to a holiday event, leaving her to do all the parenting.
She couldn’t help but fume as she thought of that. Hopefully...
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Rarity silently went over and opened her front door.
“Hello, Rarity,” Princess Celestia greeted. “I apologize for visiting so late, but I thought you might like these before I left.”
“Oh, it’s quite alright,” Rarity said as Celestia began to lift the papers out of her saddlebags. “I wasn’t...”
She trailed off when she saw it, the same kind of certificate that hung in Fluttershy’s living room, and the same kind that Twilight had hanging up before the truth came out. A Certificate of Adoption.
“It’s ready?” she said, losing her breath almost instantly.
“It wasn’t that hard,” Celestia smiled. “A few strings pulled, and we managed to speed up the process.”
Rarity wanted to bend down and kiss the Princess’s hooves, but restrained herself. There was something else to ask. “And my... other request.”
Celestia gave a regretful sigh. “I... I sent the workers undercover to check on your parents. They were actually bragging, bragging, to the ponies there about how they had dumped Sweetie on you.” She took a deep breath. “They haven’t contacted you in three months, and they lied about how long they would be gone. Legally, they have abandoned Sweetie. So, it wasn’t hard to get this, either.”
The second paper said Certificate of Custody.
Holding onto the certificate, Rarity sighed and felt her eyes becoming wet. She quickly wiped her eyes, smiling again to Celestia. “Thank you for doing this, Princess.”
“With you and your friends saving Equestria multiple times, it is the least I can do for, you Rarity,” Celestia replied as she lowered her head to Rarity’s level. “I hope you will be happy with your family here,” she leaned into Rarity’s ear. “And from what I saw earlier tonight, I’m sure you will be happy with Big Macintosh, too.”
“Oh, you!” Rarity giggled, blushing as she waved her hoof at Celestia. When she regained her composure, Rarity looked up to Celestia’s eyes. “I think you should get yourself a stallion, Princess. I am most certain you would make a fantastic mother, like Twilight,” Rarity remarked brightly, but her smile slowly vanished when Celestia’s was as dim as a candle’s light.
“Unlikely…” Celestia looked away as she muttered, trailing off as her eyes gazed downwards.
“What’s wrong, Princess?”
Brought back to reality, Celestia unfurled her wings a little before giggling and shaking her head. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong,” she quickly answered Rarity, looking up at the clock on the wall. “I must be off now, or else Luna’s going to become worried about me,” she told Rarity, heading over to the door. “Have a pleasant night, Rarity.” She bid Rarity goodnight, before flying off to Canterlot.
Left alone, Rarity furrowed her brow a little as she looked to the door. Was it something I said? Why did she try to avoid me when... Rarity yawned out loud, giggling a little and shrugging before heading upstairs to her bedroom. She stopped by Sweetie and Amethyst’s room, quietly walking in.
She saw both foals sound asleep with smiles on their faces, no doubt dreaming pleasantly. Rarity felt a tear run down her cheek as she smiled. She quietly made her way to Sweetie Belle, kissing her forehead softly. “I love you, Sweetie,” she whispered softly to her sister, who continued to smile in her sleep. Rarity made her way to Amethyst, her son, caressing his cheek gently before placing her lips on his forehead. “I love you so much, my son.”
Walking out of the room, Rarity sighed in relief before entering her room and landing on her bed. So much had happened the last month, so much has changed for her and the others in her life. Although there was much change, there was also much happiness. For Rarity, her friends and her family.