The repetitive rumbling and clacking of train tracks is the first sound Applejack wakes up to. While not her favorite wakeup call, it’s still miles ahead of echoing pickaxe strikes. Stretching as she wakes, she notices two key things: one, there’s a dark blue hoof draped over her, a fact which doesn’t particularly bother her as the body it’s attached to is nice and warm; and two, there’s something uncomfortable jutting into her lower back.
She squirms a bit as she calls behind her quietly. “Hey Win, would ya mind moving yer knee or whatever it is out of mah back? It’s pokin’ me a bit hard.”
The unicorn, who is not yet fully awake, responds with a grumble and flops over onto his other side, ready to go back to sleep. However, this ends up not only messing up the blankets uncomfortably and getting his legs tangled in them, but also results in him smashing his face against the wall. That successfully wakes him up, and he sits up with a start and a bruised nose.
Rolling partially onto her back so she can see him, the earth pony raises an eyebrow. “Ya’ll alright there? Nasty knock to the nose ya took.”
Winter blinks as he rubs his muzzle, squinting at the farmer no more than three feet away from him. He lights his horn, lightly sweeping his magic around the room in a search for his glasses as he answers her. “I’m fine...had worse...” He yawns and stretches as he finally retrieves his eyewear and hooks them onto his face, still trying to get his eyes to stay open. “What were you saying about my knee?”
“Just that ya were pokin’ me with it, nothin’ big.” She shrugs, moving to sit up, but laying back down anyway as she mutters. “Guess there ain’t really a farm to get up and work on in a train…”
The stallion seems to start doing his best to angle his body away from his bedmate while still being able to converse with her without talking directly to the wall. “Y-Yeah...not really, huh?” He smiles nervously. “Guess that means you get to relax this morning...”
“Guess so.” She looks over to the other bunk. “Those two awake yet?”
“Knowing Merc, probably not. Calls me lazy all the time, but I don’t think he’s ever woken up before me.” Winter chuckles. “As for Ash, I don’t know how she sleeps...but I assume they’re both still out of it, since neither of them have responded to any of this.”
“Good point.” She sits up enough to look at them, smiling softly at the sight despite only being able to see Merc through the half-closed curtains. “Cute…”
With another yawn, the unicorn finally turns himself to face the farmer fully, whatever was causing him trouble apparently dealt with. “Eh...I’ve seen cuter.” The fox’s tails flick as if he heard that, but he doesn’t respond otherwise.
“Ah don’t know about that…” Still, she lets the matter drop as she folds her forelegs behind her head and lays back down. “Sure is good going back home. Can’t wait to see everypony.”
Winter nods. “I can imagine. Want me to walk you back?” He winces at how sudden that comes out. “Uh, so I can...help explain to your family what happened?”
“Hmm…” She puts a hoof to her chin, thinking this over. “Well, sure. Ya know ya don’t have to make excuses though, right?”
He blushes and quickly looks away, faking another yawn to cover up. “Wh-what do you mean, excuses?”
A head pops up over the edge of their bed, looking at the two of them. “Excuses why they don’t serve breakfast on this train?” Her stomach growls as if to punctuate her question.
Winter jumps a bit at Ash’s sudden appearance, then smiles at her. “Good morning to you too. Sleep well?” He chuckles. “Don’t worry, we’ll get some food as soon as we’re off the train. Promise.”
“But I’m hungry…” She groans, her head dropping onto Applejack’s thigh. “Mamodos eat to keep up their energy… and I’m already running low…”
Applejack rubs the filly’s head soothingly, not sure what one word she said meant but still knowing what to do with a hungry filly. “There, there; maybe we can find somethin’ for ya ta eat if we go ask some of the ponies in Win’s team nicely.”
“Yeah; one of them’s bound to have snuck something on board.” The stallion crawls out of bed, having to almost climb over Applejack in order to do so. “Worst case scenario, you can just chew on Mercury’s tails.” He gets a pillow thrown at him for that comment. “Good, he’s awake too.”
“I don’t know about that…” Ash taps her chin, looking around the train a moment. “...actually, is there a way to get food on here? I could go for some halibut…”
“Sadly, no. The engineer and the conductor are the only ones here, since they still didn’t want to put too many ponies in danger by sending them to Appleloosa.” Winter begins strapping his watch to his hoof as he levitates a hair brush up, pauses, then puts it back down without even letting it touch his mane or tail. “Also, what’s halibut?”
‘It’s a type of fish from the sea, Win. A flounder, I think.’ Mercury slides the curtain open, looking like the victim of a severe snuggle attack. ‘Mamodos love fish...’
“...oh.” The stallion makes a face. “Great. Add another item to the list of things I never wanted to think about...” He blinks and does a double take, looking back at the fox. “...what happened to you?”
‘Ash is a sleep-snuggler.’ He shakes himself, becoming more poofy as a result. This draws an amused laugh from the unicorn, who levitates the brush he just got ready to discard over to help out.
As Merc gets brushed, struggling all the while, Applejack gets off the bed as well, stretching a little more before shaking her head, her golden mane swinging in graceful arcs. She kneels down next to Ash. “Want a ride while we look for ya some food? Ya can sleep more if ya want.”
“I’m not really that tired.” She jumps up onto the mare’s back, giving her a small smile. “I will take that ride, though.”
“Wow, AJ. First Merc, now Ash?” Winter chuckles, watching the scene. “Ever thought of renting yourself out as a taxi? Apparently a lot of ponies find your back comfortable.”
The fox bites the brush and tosses it to the side, leveling the stallion with a stare. ‘Win, you’re making it hard to keep my promise over here.’ He jumps onto his back, hoping to avoid more of the brush on his half-mussed fur.
“All you had to say was that you didn’t want to be groomed,” the unicorn mutters as he drops the brush back into his saddlebags, electing to leave his own bedhead as is.
‘I was talking about that double entendre you just dropped.’ He smirks, patting him on the back. ‘Seriously, did you not catch that?’
Winter glares. “I just woke up. I couldn’t catch a cold in a downpour this early.”
Applejack just watches the exchange with a bemused expression. Shaking her head, she turns to Ash as she heads for the door. “Make quite the pair, don’t they?”
She looks at the mare, confused. “What are you talking about? They aren’t a couple…”
“Ah never said they were. Ah said they were a pair, as in, two things that go well together.” AJ tilts her head at the filly. “Still tryin’ ta figure out romance, Ah take it?”
“No, I’m just… not good at idioms.” She shrugs, turning to look at the other two. “Though romance is something I’m curious about…”
The farmer chuckles. “Heh, you and me both, sister…”
Finishing their own conversation before it can become an argument, Winter and Mercury catch up to the girls. “Guess we should round up the rest of the team...figure out plans, not to mention see if anyone snuck food on board.” The unicorn sighs. “Plus, I still owe Dior an explanation...and probably the whole team, too.”
Within minutes, the whole of Tactics team is gathered in the otherwise empty dining car. Ash has taken it upon herself to raid the cupboards for whatever food there is, sharing a couple salmon with the silver fox. Winter is doing his best to ignore this, trying to focus on holding the attention of his team.
Vinyl is slumped over a table, struggling to stay awake. “Dang it, Sol… I was having an ice cream dream… with whip cream…” She goes silent for a second before Mercury bounds over, pulling off her shades to reveal puffy, closed eyes.
The royal blue unicorn sighs, rubbing his temple. “Vi...I know you’re tired.” He looks over at the whole group. “Strike that. I know you’re all tired. Some of you just woke up now, some of you are just lazy...” He looks at a certain nymph and red stallion with a raised eyebrow. “And some of you, I don’t want to think about why you look like you barely got any actual sleep.”
“Hey, I’ll have you know I work better with less sleep!” Dior huffs, unable to hide the vibrant blush on her cheeks.
“Dior, this is for your benefit primarily. You demanded this explanation, so I’m giving it. At least try to listen up for it.” The unicorn drops his look of annoyance and adopts a more neutral expression, but with a bit of guilt. “I know that, as a team, we’re supposed to trust one another...but I’ve been keeping a pretty big secret from you all for a while now.”
Flick pipes up from his spot next to the leader. “You know, it’s fine if you’re into stallions.” He holds up his hooves, laughing brightly. “I’m taken, though. Sorry!”
Winter growls, face going red as most of the team manages to laugh themselves awake from that comment. “That isn’t what I’m talking about!” He adds under his breath, “Not that it’s entirely inaccurate...”
Ash looks up at him from her spot right behind him, tilting her head to one side. She swallows her mouthful and speaks up. “What do you mean by that, Mister Solstice?”
“...of course somepony overhears me when I’m muttering.” The unicorn sighs and turns to face the filly, managing to hide his irritation with a small smile. “Just means that I can develop romantic feelings for someone regardless of their gender or species. Unlike most guys, who only like females; or most girls, who only like males.”
A few heads tilt back and forth, but ultimately everypony in the room nods to the revelation, not particularly surprised. The one griffon in the room looks at him strangely, but after another moment she blinks and her eyes go back to their usual gruff indifference.
“Anyway. Sudden reveals about my sexuality aside, there’s something kind of important I wanted to discuss.” He reaches into his saddlebags and withdraws a familiar blue book, beckoning to his silver fox friend to come over. “You all know Merc, of course.”
He hops over onto the stallion’s table, waving a paw at them all. ‘Hey.’
“Marshmallow frosting…” The disk jockey licks her lips, still asleep at her own little dining booth. “Pass the chocolate…”
Hydro taps right in front of her, startling her awake. “Dream of your coltfriend later, there’s an announcement to hear.”
She stares at him, slightly confused. “...how’d you know I was dreaming of him?”
He blinks. “It… was a joke… and now I think I know too much…” He leans away and against Dior, who whispers into his ear. He flinches slightly, but nods.
With a sudden thumping sound, the blue book drops itself directly in front of Vinyl. Winter stands in front of her, looking like a teacher who caught a student misbehaving. “Mind trying to read this for us, sleepyhead?”
The mare stares at him blankly, unamused. “Dude, I tried reading it before, after I snuck it from your saddlebag one day. It’s all a bunch of gobbledygook.”
“And what you were mumbling about in your sleep wasn’t?” Winter snarks before blinking, his eyes slowly narrowing. “...and why, exactly, were you sneaking things from my saddlebags?”
She shrugs, pushing the book closer to him. “Eh, I was bored one day, and Gilda dared me. I think she wanted me to get her something, but I forget what...”
The stallion levels a glare at the griffon, promising without needing to use words that they’d be having a long discussion later. He then turns back to Vinyl, not losing the glare. “Don’t go poking around in my junk ever again.”
She scrunches her nose. “I have a coltfriend, Sol. I wouldn’t want to mess with your junk.”
Winter lets out a lower, longer growl. “Celestia help me...keep me from strangling my friends.” He sighs and speaks in a calmer tone. “You know what I mean. Stay away from my bags...” He facehoofs. “Just don’t go near anything that’s mine!”
“I won’t mess with your property, Sol.” She shrugs. “I only did it because of that dare, anyways. And I don’t repeat dares.”
“Good. Now, getting back on topic, unless anyone else wants to try and make me look like an idiot?” The stallion glares out at the team, waiting for someone to speak.
‘Your fly’s down.’ The look Mercury received would have frozen a cockatrice. He whimpers, shrinking in on himself. ‘I was just trying to lighten the mood...’
Applejack puts a hoof on Winter’s shoulder. “Win, relax. They’re just havin’ a bit of fun.”
It takes almost a whole minute before the stallion finally seems to calm himself. He takes a deep breath, closes his eyes, and runs through his head one more time what he was planning to say. “...alright...thank you, Applejack.” He lets out a long sigh of relief as he relaxes.
“There ya go.” She smiles at him before turning to the others. “Maybe lay off a little, guys. He sure don’t take well to bein’ the center of it every time.”
“It’s not being the subject of ridicule that bothers me,” the unicorn explains calmly. “It’s being the subject of ridicule when I’m actually trying to explain something very important.” He picks the blue book up in his magic. “So. Book. Full of gibberish, to all of you. But let me show you what it really is.” He glances at Mercury. “Think you can aim down at the floor?”
He stares at the stallion blankly. ‘I’d rather fire upwards. Less chance of breaking the axles of the car. And I can aim it either direction.’ He gestures to his friend. ‘Go ahead, Win.’
“Good thinking.” With a smile, Winter sits down and lowers the book into his hooves, opening it; despite having the words memorized, he decides to go about it this way so the team understands. “Gikor!”
The fox bends his head upwards, like a fox howling at the moon. His maw opens wide and shards of ice fly out, embedding themselves in the ceiling above. He shakes himself, rubbing his tongue with a paw. ‘Great, my tongue went numb...’
Vinyl’s shades fall off to reveal wide eyes and magenta pinpricks. “I think I’m not alone when I say...what the fuck was that, dude?”
“That was a little something called mamodo magic,” Winter replies with a smirk.
“Okay, I’ll bite.” Flick looks from the stallion to the fox and back. “What is mamodo magic?”
Winter points to Mercury. “He is a mamodo.” He points to the book. “This is a spell book. When I - and only I - read aloud one of the spells within, so long as I am making physical contact with the book, he casts it automatically. For Merc, they’re all spells related to ice and cold.”
“So wait,” the nymph points to the book, curious, “if his spells are all ice or cold… what was with those scorch marks in the mine?”
The unicorn pulls out another book from his saddlebags; this one, the red one that Alpha once had. He glances meaningfully at Ash, who has taken a donut from a box nearby and is not paying the least bit of attention. “Well...Alpha had a book of his own, and seemed to be relying rather heavily on keeping one little filly...”
Hydro’s eyes widen. “Wait… you mean she’s…”
“Yep.” Winter nods. “That’s how the dogs could burn down Appleloosa...and furthermore, how they became such a threat.” He narrows his eyes and looks around at the group, seeming to linger on Vinyl. “And also why none of you are to touch either of these books, ever, without my express permission and supervision.”
Gilda tilts her head. “But you said the books won’t work for us, so… what’s the problem?”
“These are more than just spell books.” He slides them both back into his saddlebags. “It’s tough to explain, and would be tough even if I understood fully how they worked. But long story short…” He sighs. “...if the book connected to the mamodo is destroyed, so is the mamodo.”
“Well… more like we vanish from this world.” Ash sighs, tossing a donut and landing it perfectly on a certain nymph’s horn. “We’d still be alive, just… not able to see anyone here, again.”
Winter just nods solemnly and begins scratching Mercury behind the ears, keeping his foreleg in an almost protective position. “These books may be a mamodo’s greatest strength, but they’re also their greatest weakness. We have to take extra special care of them.”
Vinyl slowly nods, sitting up and frowning softly at him. “I understand. I won’t do anything to harm these guys…”
The nymph, having taken the pastry off and given it to Hydro, bows respectfully to the cobalt stallion. “You can trust in me, Sol.”
The red stallion takes a large bite of the donut, nodding approvingly. Even so, so gives a sideways glance and smirk to the nymph before wiping the donut on the tip of her snout, leaving a bit of glaze on it. “Whoops, clumsy me. Want me to get that?”
She gives him a flat look before her horn lights up, the box floating over from the counter. “Sure. But first, let me get this.” She squishes three of the pastries against his face, covering it in chocolate frosting.
Maud simply watches the proceedings with her usual stoicism.
Hydro slowly opens his eyes, two orange circles amid a shield of chocolate. “A little overreacting, don’t you think? After all, what if I were to… nuzzle you like this?” He tosses a foreleg over her to keep her in place as he slowly leans toward her.
She licks along his cheek, giggling warmly. “Then I’d be happy we both love chocolate… and hope you realize that you’ll be sleeping on the couch, if you actually do.”
“Might be worth it, probably not.” He licks the small bit of glaze off her nose before starting to get this chocolate off himself. She assists him, happily licking his cheeks to clean him of the sticky substance.
The white mare stares at them, her hooves tapping the table as she mutters to herself. “...that’s just like my dream… freaky…”
“Take it to the bedroom, you two. Or the kitchen. That seems a bit more appropriate for the situation.” Winter chuckles. “But...thank you for understanding. Merc’s book is just mine and his problem, but Ash’s...we need someplace to keep it safe.” He sighs. “Alpha was her caster, but he’s...gone. So the book is nothing more than a liability.”
Applejack raises a hoof. “Ah could keep it on the farm. Seems like it’d be the last place somepony would look fer somethin’ like that.”
“Good idea. Thanks, Applejack.” The unicorn smiles back at her.
“Just helpin’ out.” She smiles back. “What are ya’ll gonna do with her then? She just gonna stay with you?”
Winter nods, glancing at the filly in question. “I’m gonna look after her from now on. My place is more than big enough for her to live, even with Merc and I around.” He smiles, walking over and rubbing the filly’s mane. “Besides, I don’t want to just chuck her to someone. I like having her around.”
Hydro nods approvingly. “Adopting a daughter? Good on you, Win. They change your life, you know.”
The unicorn freezes. “Daughter…?” He looks at Hydro, worried and confused. “...is that...even what I’m doing?”
“Well, let’s see…” The earth pony raises a hoof, tapping it with each point he makes. “You helped take her from an abusive home. You’re offering her to live with you with no second thoughts. The action is purely for her safety which means you care in some fashion. She’s definitely still a child, so she can’t live on her own. She seems to like you. You freely admit liking having her around… sure sounds like adoption to me.”
Winter looks back at Ash. “Guess that makes sense...though now you’ve got me trying to think like a father.” He sighs. “I’m too young for that.”
Vinyl looks up at him, quirking an eyebrow. “Dude, I’m two years younger than you, and I’d be ready to settle down.”
“Yeah, but you’re not me. Besides, you’ve got a coltfriend who’d help you out if you were in this situation. I just have him.” He gestures to Mercury. “And he already acts like a child sometimes.”
‘I resemble that remark.’
“It’s more in the mindset, Win,” Hydro counters. “You jumped at the chance to have her with you, so you seem like you have the instincts at least to some degree already.”
“Instincts are not to always be followed.” Winter looks at Dior. “I was taught that recently.”
“Alright, alright.” The red stallion holds up his hooves. “Maybe not full on adoption, but you are taking care of her, and she is a filly.”
The unicorn sighs. “Let’s just think of her as a really young roommate who doesn’t have to pay rent.”
“Or simply one that pays with cuteness.” Flick chuckles, shaking his head.
“Pray she does not have full control of that,” Maud says wisely.
“Of course,” Dior pipes up, “I could give you a few tips on how to not let their cuteness win you over every time.” She rolls her eyes. “You would not believe the number of times Gelatin tried that with me.”
Winter smirks. “I grew up with a little sister, and now have to deal with a small fox on a daily basis. I think I’m basically immune now.”
“If ya think that, yer wrong.” AJ nods to herself and the room at large. “Ah helped raise mah sister since she was in diapers, and let me tell you, that filly could get you to do whatever she wanted you to unless you knew exactly how to counter it. Even then, they can catch ya off-guard.”
“Fine, fine...I guess some help would be a good idea. Thanks, Dior.” He nods thankfully to her. “Much appreciated.”
“You’re quite welcome, Sol.” She giggles quietly before a loud thud makes her jump. She glances at the disk jockey, seeing she’d fallen asleep again. “...that can’t be comfortable, sleeping on your shades like that.”
The stallion chuckles. “As somepony who wears glasses and often falls asleep at his office desk, I can safely say that you are correct. But I think I’d rather leave her with her whipped cream dreams than bother trying to keep her awake until we arrive.”
‘At least take her silly shades off, Win.’ Mercury huffs slightly. ‘It’s the least you can do for her, right?’
“For almost sleeping through a meeting and rifling through my stuff?” Nevertheless, he lights his horn and carefully lifts the mare’s head, sliding her glasses off and folding them neatly beside her. “There.”
‘I’m sure she’ll thank you when...’ He trails off when a blur grabs the shades. He turns to see Ash eating from the fallen box of donuts, glasses too big for her on her face. ‘...she gets them back from her.’
Winter sighs, shaking his head in amusement. “Ash, don’t take things that aren’t yours.”
She turns to look at him, mouth full of pastry. “Mmf?” She grabs one of the chocolate ones and tosses it, landing it around his horn and giggling brightly.
Applejack looks at the sight and shakes her head. “Good luck, Win.”
The unicorn shrugs, levitating the donut off and biting into it. As he does, he also simply plucks the shades from the filly’s muzzle and puts them back over by Vinyl’s sleeping form. “She’s on a sugar high. Best course of action: just fix any problems as quick as possible and keep her in one place.”
Before he can even finish that sentence, the filly is on Gilda’s back, grabbing a wing and making it flex. “How do you fly with these? They’re so heavy!”
The griffon, for her part, is more stunned than anything as she looks back at the filly. “Well… bigger wings are needed to lift me because I’m bigger than ponies…”
“Not much bigger. Diamond dogs are bigger.” She leaps, landing on Hydro’s head and leaning over, looking at his eyes while hanging upside down. “Why does your face smell like chocolate?”
“Because my wife thought it was an appropriate response to glaze,” he says without a trace of sarcasm.
“...okay. Yep.” Winter facehoofs. “I’m screwed.”
He finds himself face-to-face with the young pony, her wide eyes staring into his. “What do you mean, Mister Solstice? I don’t see a screw anywhere on you.”
“...it’s an idiom, Ash.” He gently grabs her in his forelegs, partially to hug her and partially to keep her from rushing off again. “Don’t worry about it.”
She looks down at her hooves, then up at him, her expression unreadable. “Is… something bothering you, Mister Solstice? Your smile’s… off.”
“Huh?” He blinks. “...I’m fine. What do you mean?”
“I don’t know, you just seem… troubled?” She shakes her head, turning away and looking around. “...did I miss something?”
The unicorn sighs and nuzzles her, managing a smile. “I’m fine, Ash. Don’t worry. And no, you didn’t miss much that you didn’t probably already know.”
“Oh.” The green filly looks up at him, trying to smile but coming off as slightly awkward. “So… where, exactly, am I going to stay?”
“You’ll be staying with Merc and I in Ponyville,” Winter replies. “Hope you don’t have a problem with that. We’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”
“I’m not worried.” She hesitates, then nuzzles his cheek. “You saved me… I feel more… comfortable around…” She yawns softly, her eyes blinking blearily. “...I think I’ll just…” She collapses in his embrace, snoring softly.
The unicorn smiles and nuzzles her sleeping form. “Silly girl...gotta watch out for those sugar crashes...” He carefully moves her onto his back, noticing everyone still conscious in the room looking at him with knowing smiles. “What?”
“Nothing, Sol.” Flick chuckles, shaking his head.
A small chime comes through the intercom. “Attention, passengers; we will be arriving in our next stop, Ponyville, within about twenty minutes.”
Anyone who had yet to collect their things heads off to do so, with the exception of Vinyl, who stays sleeping in her seat. Aside from her, this leaves Winter, Mercury, Ash, and Applejack in the dining cart.
Applejack still watches the door the others left through as she comments matter-of-factly. “Ah give ya a week before ya admit yer a dad.”
Mercury looks up at her, tails wagging idly. ‘I give him three days.’
Winter sighs. “I’m not a dad, you two. I’m her guardian, sure, but that doesn’t make me a dad. It just means she’s living with me and I’m taking care of her.”
The farmer just shakes her head knowingly before nodding it in the filly’s direction. “Try saying that to that hopeful face if she asks you the same question.” He noticeably winces at that. “Thought so. Don’t worry about it too much.” She pats him on his back, making sure not to get the filly. “Ya’ll will do fine. Take it one day at a time and relax for a bit, ya earned it.”
‘And if it gets too much, then you have a nice southern belle who’d be willing to help.’ Mercury flinches, smacking himself in the face. ‘Damn it.’
Giving the silver fox a warning glare, Winter sighs once again and looks back at Applejack, smiling a bit. “Thanks. Sorry about getting so worried.”
She winks at him, her loose mane hanging partially in front of one of her eyes. “Just means ya care.”
Ponyville is the kind of small town where everything you need to buy will most likely come from a store specifically meant to sell that. Whether it is a simple vegetable stand or the ever curious "Quills & Sofas" store, there is a place to buy most anything. As such, any shop you find will have a hard time to look out of place. This is the case with a particular shop opened up about ten years ago; while still cosy, its reputation has drawn ponies form even other towns to secure its services.
It's proprietress, seen now sketching at her desk in the shop, has been compared occasionally to local fashion designer Rarity, for which there is some basis. Both stores are for clothing, but while Rarity does dresses and the like, this shop, Silk's Select, is for a more... particular area of garmentry. Generally, it's the kind of store you wouldn't usually let your foals into without having to answer many awkward questions you would just rather avoid.
Still, as the purple-maned golden coated pegasus draws her next work, one can clearly she she is a passionate and caring soul. Her quill drifts across the page as she simply enjoys the quiet moment in her shop.
There's a soft jingle as the door opens, announcing the entrance of someone into the store. "One moment please." She finishes drawing a few more lines before she nods, setting the sketch to one side as she speaks. "Welcome, how may I help you?"
The white nymph before her quirks an eyebrow. "Huh. You were right." She looks to the stallion next to her, giggling brightly. "She really doesn't look at the door before speaking. I guess I owe you that massage."
"Told you, this is why she got the bell in the first place." The red earth pony chuckles as Silk's ears perk up at their voices.
She looks up sharply, breaking out into a wide smile. "Dior, Hydro!" She hops out of her seat, trotting over and bringing both of them into a hug. "You're back!"
"Was there ever any doubt?" Dior giggles, happily returning the embrace. "How has business been, by the way? I didn't get to see you because I was packing for the trip." She looks to Hydro, bumping his side. "And Red, here, didn't remember to ask like I asked him to."
Hydro turns away. "I remembered other things..."
Silk giggles at the two of them. "Oh, things have been fine. I get around a dozen or so customers a day, half of them new. I spend a lot of time with each of them, but it still leaves me plenty of time to work on projects." She looks upward. "Or time to check on the little ones to make sure they're doing alright."
"Always good to know." She tilts her head at the mare, curious. "Speaking of little ones... how has Goldie been doing in school?"
"Oh, she's been doing fine. She's been having to do a little extra work in her science classes, but that never was my strong suit so it's not too unexpected." The pegasus waves a hoof. "Of course, she can't stop talking about her photography courses if you get her on the subject. She just can't get enough of that ever since she got her cutie mark."
"How wonderful!" Dior giggles, shaking her head. "I wish I'd been there to see her get it, but, you know... duty calls." She shrugs, sheepishly smiling.
Silk laughs it off. "Oh now, hun, you know she forgave you as soon as she got to show it off once you got back. Same way Spark was when she got hers, really."
"Oh, I remember that day." Hydro chuckles. "Had to pry her off every piece of machinery she came in contact with for a month."
The nymph taps her chin, thoughtful. "On the plus side, she did get that one generator in the dam to stop rattling."
Their friend laughs. "Oh yes, they're all little prodigies. I can't wait to see what little Mystic and Serene end up having marks in."
"Agreed." She looks to the front door as hoofstomps sound off from the upstairs along the outside. "I wonder who that could be..."
The door bursts open, revealing a young, bright yellow mare as she barrels into the store. She looks around before her aqua eyes land on the group before her, and she sheepishly grins. "Hi! Don't mind me, just... looking around! Yeah, that." She ducks into the aisles of the store, the sound of hangers scraping along metal soon meeting the ears of the three older ponies.
As Hydro raises an eyebrow, Silk looks at her daughter curiously, barely able to see the tips of her tufted ears. "Golden Dawn, what are you doing? You know I usually don't want you foals coming into the shop when the younger ones are over."
She comes out from behind a clothes rack, frowning softly at her mother. "But Melody is doing so well watching them..." The young mare shrugs, her wings shifting slightly. "Besides, you let me in here, all the time..."
Dior blinks, looking to Hydro in confusion. I hope I'm mistaken, but I... I think she's disappointed...
He raises an eyebrow at that, curious what that could mean.
Sighing, Silk walks over and nuzzles her precious daughter. "I guess that rule is from when you were younger... and you are a big help sometimes when you're here with me. Alright, I'm not mad and you're not in trouble."
Golden smiles, hugging her back before turning to the couple before her. "Hi! Sorry for not properly... you know." She nervously smiles. "I was looking for someo- thing. Something. Heh heh."
The stallion chuckles. "It's alright, Goldie. It's good to see you. If you lost something, I'm sure your mother could help you find it, or maybe one of the other kids."
"Maybe..." She tilts her head to one side, considering him for a moment. "You're here to pick up Spark Plug and Evergreen, right? Do you want me to go get them for you?"
He nods. "That'd be very nice of you, Goldie. Thank you."
She smiles and nods to him, turning and heading to the back of the store. A few moments later, she returns to the front, blushing softly. "Forgot there's only the one staircase..." She quickly exits out the door, rushing up to the second story.
Silk hums as she leaves. "She's been like that recently, easily embarrassed and forgetting things. I think she's just at that point in her mid-teens when she's thinking about so much."
"Or maybe thinking about one thing in particular." Dior chuckles, shaking her head. "That's probably the romantic in me speaking, though."
The other mother nods. "That too... honestly I'm sort of curious why I haven't seen her eyeing any boy yet..."
"Not a clue, myself." She shrugs, turning to browse the wares as she waits. "Might be that she has a specific pony in mind... wow. This is kinky, even for you, Silk."
"I'll take that as a compliment." The pegasus winks as she strolls through her store. "I do try to cater to all tastes after all."
"You definitely have a selection, that's for sure..." Hydro comments.
"I'd buy some, myself, but there'd be no telling when I could use it." The nymph titters slightly, blushing a bit. "Not with two young ponies in the house..."
Silk grins at the two of them. "What? No time when they're at school, maybe stay up a little late together, when they're at a friends house...anything? I know for a fact Luster taught you the one-way soundproofing, so that has to open up options. I'm also certain you two are always willing."
"I... it's just..." She blushes softly, turning away from the shorter mare. "I'd rather not risk it..." Her ear flicks as the sounds of approaching hooves reaches them. "Oh... we should probably go outside to greet them, huh, Red?" She smirks at him, trying to hide her nervousness.
"Well of course," he smiles confidently at her, walking over and placing his side against hers. "You know they're going to be excited to see us. Come on, time to go be an adoring mother again instead of a bad-flank."
She smiles warmly, tenderly nuzzling his cheek. "You're right..." She waves to the golden pegasus as they exit, just in time for two figures to round the corner.
Taking up the lead is an ivory coated filly in her very early teens with short black mane and tail like her father's. Baby blue eyes smile at her parents as she runs toward them. Just behind her is a form that looks to be a few years younger than her. The brown-coated colt almost look like a plant with his pine green mane and tail taking up the same texture as the color. He trotts along behind his sister, his silver eyes looking up fondly at her, but widening as he spots the nymph and stallion.
The older of the two hugs their father, grinning excitedly. "You're back!"
Hydro hugs the filly back, smiling proudly. "Hey Sparky, were you two well behaved for Silk and Goldie?"
Meanwhile, the colt walks over to his mother looking up at her with his cute eyes before quietly hugging her chest tightly. "I missed you..."
The nymph sits down, gently hugging her son. "And I missed you..."
"We were, daddy!" The filly giggles, happily nuzzling his cheek. "Oh! You'll never guess what I did, yesterday!"
Hydro laughs, squeezing her tight as he nuzzles her back. "What did you do?"
"Repaired the Cakes' oven." She smiles warmly, looking up at him hopefully.
He smiles proudly, rubbing her head affectionately. “Now since when do you know about ovens? Especially professional baking ones?”
“Since I took a look at their functioning one.” She leans into the motions of his hoof, her eyes closing as she starts to enjoy the sensation. “Took it apart and put it back together, easy…”
“That’s my girl… learning how everything works and helping ponies in the process.” He kisses her cheek as he continues rubbing. “What did the Cakes say about your skills when you helped them?”
“They were upset that I made the kitchen a mess, but happy that it was fixed.” She looks up at the sky, frowning slightly. “Said something about… not letting Pound put dough in it without making sure the air pockets are out?”
“Yeah,” Hydro grimaces, yet still smiles, “classic ‘everything you could possibly think of is gunked up so that it doesn’t work’ repair. Good on you, Sparky. Hmm… I wonder if I should start giving you some challenges to see how you do… maybe give you something broken you’ve never seen before and tell you to fix it…” He looks up just as she is, lost in thought himself.
Dior rolls her eyes as she strokes the colt’s mane. She looks down to where he’s seated in her lap, smiling softly. “Your father and your sister enjoy their toys, don’t they?”
He nods as he nuzzles against her chest. “Yeah, sis was really cool when she was working yesterday. You should have seen her, she was climbing all over the ovens, poking at every little thing like it was the key to how the entire machine worked.” Laughing quietly, he shifts his tail into that of a black fox’s, curling it around himself as he snuggles her. “I actually had fun trying to copy Gummy perfectly while she was doing that. I was all scales at one point.”
“I see.” She chuckles, bringing him close and pecking his forehead. “How about school, sweetie? Did you learn anything new from Miss Cheerilee, yesterday?”
He nods again, his silver eyes looking into her own. “Yeah! She was teaching us about how the different weather affects what animals and plants live in an area, and how they change to live in it!” He grows less excited. “She also started us on long division… it’s not that hard, though a lot of the kids say it is, but it’s definitely not fun.”
The nymph giggles quietly, gently rocking with him in her embrace. “You love your animals and plants… did you see any new ones, recently?”
Leaning back against her, he keeps talking. “Miss Fluttershy actually came by the day before yesterday. She said she had a cool animal she wanted to show me. It was actually really weird! She said it was a… pla… plata…. platypus, yeah, that was it. It looked like if somepony crossed a duck with a beaver!”
“That’s fascinating, Eve…” She lifts a forehoof off his body, letting it shift into a beaver’s paw. “Did it have paws like this?” It turns into a cat’s paw, playfully using it to rub along his belly. “Or more like this?”
Laughing, the colt kicks his hooves in the air as they change to match his mother’s paw, albeit smaller and cuter. “N-no… they looked like… actually they looked like otter paws!” He still laughs as he grabs her cat paw with all four of his own, baring his teeth like he is going to bite it, only to nuzzle it instead.
Dior giggles, nuzzling his cheek tenderly. “Mommy’s silly, isn’t she?” She turns her paw into an otter’s, tapping him on the nose with it.
Smiling, he sprouts whiskers of the furry river mammals as he responds. “Yeah, but that’s a good thing! Daddy’s silly, sis is silly, I’m silly; it makes us fun and happy.” He leans up, kissing her on the nose, whiskers twitching. “You’re the best Mommy!”
She blushes softly, hugging him close and pecking his forehead once more. “You’re the best son, Eve.” She rubs her nose, pouting softly. “And I just poked my nose with your horn…”
“Aww…” His tiny horn, always hidden beneath his mane, dimly lights up as he moves her hoof, kissing her nose again. “Better?”
The nymph smiles warmly at her thoughtful son, cuddling him close. “Better.”
Spark watches her mother and brother for a moment, ears twitching slightly. She turns to her father, a foreleg wrapping around one of his. “Could we do that when we get home, daddy?”
He smiles down at her, nodding. “Of course, Sparky. They’d probably love to join us too if you wanted them to.”
She shakes her head, gently pecking his cheek. “I was hoping to spend more time with you… it feels like we miss out when you and mom go on your trips…”
Chuckling, he nuzzles her as he answers his affectionate little tomcolt. “Alright, we can do that. Just you and me enjoying some time together.” He pulls back, but his face is curious. “Just what do you think you’re missing anyway?”
“I don’t know.” She pouts up at him. “But you sometimes leave for days… we worry about you…”
“Sparky…” The stallion fails to find the right words, so he simply settles for scooping up his oldest foal into a hug much like his wife is to their youngest. “I’m sorry we have to leave sometimes… at least it’s not too often, right?”
“Right.” The white pony smiles softly, nuzzling against his chest. “I just want to spend as much time with you as possible… the foals in my class act strangely around me, for some reason, so you, mom, and Eve are…” She blinks, ducking her head sheepishly. “Never mind. I just… was hoping we could build that treehouse before Spring!”
Knowing exactly what she meant, the father sighs as he embraces her. “Sure thing, Sparky, we can get that done easily.” He decides to say one thing on what slipped out, but otherwise leave it be… for now. Some talks with his wife and the other parents might be in order later. “You know, you aren’t as alone as you think. Goldie, Ruby, Melody, even Mystic and Serene are your friends too, you know. They have probably gone through stuff like yours too.”
“Yes, but… they aren’t exactly family…” She grabs his hoof with her own, gently rubbing the soft, red fur. “I like them, but… I prefer when it’s just us four…”
Hoping her teenage years let her be a little more social as time goes on, her father smiles at her. “I understand. Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of time to spend with both of you now.”
The filly sighs happily, resting her head against his chest and bringing his hoof to her own chest. “That’s good to hear, daddy… we can head home now, right? I just… want to take a nap with you…”
“Sure, Sparky.” He looks over to the nymph and colt. “You two ready to head home?”
Dior looks up and chuckles, lifting the colt up in her magic. “I think so.” She places Evergreen on her back, smiling back at him. “You comfy, sweetie?”
The brown colt nods, changing back to what is normal for him and curling up on her back between her wings. “Comfiest.”
“Wonderful.” She turns to Hydro and nods, playfully flicking his side with her tail. “We’re ready, Red.”
He smiles and they all start heading towards the edge of town where their home is.
As soon as the family are a couple houses down the road, the door to Silk’s Select opens. The bell above rings softly, announcing another arrival. Although she isn’t sketching, as she rifles through a few racks checking inventory, Silk calls out. “Welcome! How may I help you?”
For about a minute, there’s no response, aside from the door closing. Golden paws silently pad across the floor, sneaking up on the unsuspecting pegasus. Finally, just as the figure gets mere inches behind her…
...he embraces her, tenderly kissing along her neck. He purrs softly as he cradles her in his arms, holding her firmly yet carefully to his chest, purring softly. “Honey, I’m home.”
Giggling and cooing, Silk leans back, recognizing her husband’s particular brand of sneaking up on her. “I was wondering when you’d be home, Flick. I see you’ve gone kitty on me again.” She coos again as he kisses her neck.
“Well, this cat caught a lovely canary…” He smirks, his paws slowly roaming over her chest and belly. “I wonder if I can make her sing?” He nips her shoulder, pulling her hips back to his as he pulls her up on her hindlegs. “What do you think, Silky?”
Her wings flaring out to either side, she blushes lightly even as she smiles. “I think,” she leans back and turns her head so she can kiss him briefly, “that I am a loving wife whose husband has just returned from a long trip.” Her eyelashes flutter at him. “But my shop is still open… whatever shall I do?”
Slitted eyes watch her curiously before a wind moves through the store, locks turning and blinds closing as his smile grows wider. “Now it isn’t… and your husband is pent up from the trip…” His paw drifts down further as he licks his lips. “And I can smell your need… I’m only too happy to help you with it…”
She giggles, letting out a soft breath as she speaks. “Well, it seems I’m tempted enough to accept your offer… Just remember, we are still watching a few extra little ones. But… once we make them dinner and they go off to bed… well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any reason I can’t stay up late tonight.”
“Well, then…” He chuckles, slipping his paw down to caress her inner thigh. “It’s a good thing Sis soundproofed our bedroom, hmm?”
“Oh yes…” She giggles once more before locking lips with him.
“And tonight…” He glances to the clothes rack before them, smiling coyly. “We test some of your wares out.”