"Ah said hold the darn ladder, Big Macintosh! You ain't concentrating!"
Big Mac looked up to see his youngest sister frowning at him as she hammered the banner up across the front of the barn. She'd been right to yell, he thought as he steadied it with his hooves. He hadn't been paying attention to her. He'd been looking over at the dragon who was attempting to relax with his marefriend, both of them lying down, chatting and pointing at clouds, her head on his chest. Every time there was a noise Spike didn't recognise, though, he stopped speaking, lifting his head slightly to see the path up to the front gate, squinting into the high, early afternoon sun.
Big Mac sighed at himself. They were both bucking down the wrong tree, waiting for Twilight and setting themselves up for a disappointment. He should just settle down and enjoy himself. John and Ditzy Smith were back in town for this party, and it'd be good to catch up with how they were doing in Fillydelphia. Pinkie, Rarity and Rainbow had all showed up early to help prepare, and Sweetie Belle was back for a visit too. She and Dinky were both helping Applebloom out by moving her art project into the barn for her big reveal later, and there'd been a steady flow of ponies from town who knew and liked Spike for one reason or another. There was a lot to like- the bulk of his time was spent around the farm or the library, but even in his off hours Spike was always looking for something to do. He'd almost become the town's handypony, helping out anypony who asked and needed it. There was even talk- and Big Mac was happy to say he'd encouraged it- that in a few year's time the little dragon should consider running for assistant mayor.
There were some tasks even Spike wasn't allowed to do, though. Applebloom had been firm with Spike that he wasn't allowed to help set up his own party, eventually stealing his apron and banishing him to the fields with Scootaloo after she'd caught him helping Granny Smith ice some of his own birthday cupcakes.
It was five minutes until the party officially started, and neither Applejack or Twilight had arrived yet. Big Mac sighed again, and cast another furtive glance at the road. There was a pony galloping up to the gate, almost a silhouette against the sun, and Spike had seen her too- Big Mac felt his heart rise in his chest until he recognised the shadow of his sister's stetson hat. Big Mac tutted to himself- he'd been foalish to think things had changed. Lowering his eyes, he turned his attention back to the ladder.
"Happy Birthday, Spike!"
Big Mac perked up an ear. That couldn't be the voice he thought it was.
"Hi Twilight! I knew you'd make it! I knew it!"
Spike's voice was almost cracking in his glee, and Big Mac turned away from the ladder to see Twilight greeting an incredibly enthusiastic Spike. Scootaloo was watching the scene with unabashed confusion- it was clear she hadn't expected it at all. Big Mac realised his expression was likely almost exactly the same, and pulled himself together.
"I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Now, I've set up a few things- presents, I mean- but I can't give them to you just yet because I need to clear some things with other ponies. I also need to have a talk with you and Fluttershy later, but I promise it's about good things, okay?"
"Okay! I'm so glad you're here- Applebloom and Pinkie have been planning a ton of fun stuff to do, I know you'll love it."
"Yeah. Yeah, it is good that you're here. Thank you." Scootaloo pitched in, and smiled at the unicorn, her brows still pulled down in confusion.
"I'll catch up with you two in a little bit- I have somepony I need to talk to," Twilight said, flicking her eyes to Big Mac for a moment. The big stallion could almost feel his blush starting, and silently kicked himself for it. Twilight looked back to Spike, and then up to Applejack's hat on her head.
"Oh! Before I forget- Applejack said I should give you this. I didn't have time to get everything done that I needed finished, and we were both going to be late. Applejack said I should make sure I got here on time and to take her hat. She said you'd know what it meant."
"It's something we do when we take a picnic," Fluttershy said as she emerged from the barn, her delicate voice carrying across the yard. "If Applejack's too busy working, we take her hat and then we know she'll be along eventually to pick it up."
Fluttershy took the hat from Twilight and put it firmly on her own head, smiling quietly.
"I'm so pleased you could make it, Twilight. I was thinking- is now a good time to have that discussion we mentioned earlier? I think it's best that we do it sooner rather than later."
"I think maybe you're right. Scootaloo, you should listen to this too. It's important."
Scootaloo and Fluttershy both stood closer, and as Twilight started to explain she didn't look away from Spike for a moment.
"Spike, I love you. I do, but I've been letting you down." Spike opened his mouth to object, but Twilight silenced him by holding up a hoof.
"The first thing I have to say is that you are never going to stop being part of my family. You're my little brother. But-" Twilight's voice faltered for a moment, and she took a deep breath and carried on.
"But your family's bigger than just me now. It includes the Apples, and I think it would be a good thing to recognise that. What I've suggested to Fluttershy- and she thinks it's a good idea-" Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically, the too-large stetson wobbling on her head as she did so.
"What I suggested was that maybe she could adopt you too. I'm already your formal guardian and that wouldn't change, and Fluttershy would have the same set of parental rights and responsibilities. You'd join the Apple family officially. If you'd like, I mean. I've got the papers right here if you want to sign them right now but you don't have to, I mean if you want to think about it then that's fine too."
Spike looked stunned for a moment, looking back and forth between a smiling Fluttershy and a nervous Twilight. After a few moments, he opened his mouth and spoke quietly.
"I'd still be your brother?"
Twilight moved forwards and lifted the dragon bodily with her magic as she reared, pulling him into a hug. She whispered something to him that Big Mac couldn't hear, and both of their eyes were bright with tears when she finally let him go. They were smiling, though, and that could only be a good thing. Spike turned to Fluttershy almost bashfully.
"You want this too, right? I'd love to be part of the family. Officially, I mean, but you want to be the one who adopts me?"
"Of course," Fluttershy said simply. "You're very loved by everyone in the family, Spike, but I'd like to be your parent. I know you've always had a big sister. Now you have a little one, too, and Big Macintosh and Applejack treat you like a nephew, but you're my son. You know that, don't you?"
Fluttershy wasn't really asking, Big Mac realised- she was just letting Spike confirm it. The dragon nodded, and gave Fluttershy an awkward kiss on the cheek.
"For a long time," Spike said, and then the four of them suddenly erupted into motion- Fluttershy wiped her eyes as Scootaloo pulled Spike into an excited hug, babbling to each other about what this would mean, and Twilight pulled a quill and a small stack of forms out of her saddlebags and started showing them to Fluttershy one at a time. The pegasus tilted the stetson back on her head and started initialling clauses and signing at the bottom of each page.
"Hey! Hey Big Mac! Guess who's gonna be your nephew-in-literal-law!" Scootaloo shouted, waving Big Mac over. He started off towards them and was rudely interrupted by a heavy weight on his back, as Applebloom jumped down from the ladder and bounced off him to land in front of him wearing an amused scowl.
"You are just plain bad at holding ladders, Big Mac. Come on, we gotta go congratulate everypony! And Spike!"
Applebloom bounced over, nuzzling Spike almost hard enough to push him over.
"Whoa, easy there, Applebloom! You know this makes you my official little sister, right?"
"Hah! You wish! Ah used t'be your big sister, and this makes me your auntie-in-law, you dunce," Applebloom grinned as Spike slapped his forehead in mock horror. "Anyhow, Ah can't be your big sister any more. Fluttershy says Twilight's out from under her rock for good now, so she's got that covered. Ain't you, Twilight?"
Applebloom turned and smiled at Twilight. Or at least, that's how it looked if you didn't listen to her too closely. Applebloom wasn't about to pick a fight just yet, but there was an edge in her voice that Big Mac recognised. It meant if anypony looked at her wrong they were in for a world of hurt.
"Yeah, I'm doing a lot better now, Applebloom. Fluttershy's right. You'll be seeing a lot more of me at the farm, too."
Twilight's voice had a tightness to it as well, and Spike and Big Mac both seemed to spot the brewing argument at the same time. Spike threw an arm around Applebloom's shoulders and started asking about party games, and Big Mac went with the old standby of just walking in between the two of them and turning to talk to Twilight.
"Twilight," Big Mac said, before realising he had no idea what he wanted to say. Twilight seemed to have the same problem, each of them looking at each other for a few seconds before Twilight spoke.
"Walking!" she shouted all at once, before rolling her eyes at herself and blushing. "I mean, we should go for a little walk. Fluttershy, are you okay with the paperwork?" Fluttershy nodded, not looking away as she initialed another clause in her immaculate copperplate.
Big Mac took a moment or two to work out what he wanted to do. It gave him a chance to get a good look at Twilight's face, and he realised what was wrong with it- her eye was swelling up something fierce.
"You get into it with AJ?" He asked, indicating her black eye with a nod of his head, and Twilight nodded hesitantly.
"Er, sort of. We had a bit of an argument, and it got a bit, well, physical." Twilight wasn't quite looking him in the eyes, he noticed, and her voice had an uncertain little wobble.
"I actually started it. The fighting part, I mean. I slapped her and she punched me in the face and that's the whole thing. We were arguing about-"
"Wait, wait," Applebloom weighed in, wriggling out of Spike's grip around her shoulders. "Applejack hit you in the eye? That ain't right. Didja put ice on it?" Twilight shook her head, and Applebloom sighed loudly before continuing.
"There's some in the kitchen, Ah guess. Look, we need to all get in the barn so's Spike can come in and we can get everything started. Twilight, come with me and we'll get you an icepack. Everypony else, just get yourselves in there, alright?"
Applebloom trotted off towards the front of the house, giving Twilight a curt nod to follow her. Twilight gave Big Mac a pleading look, and he shook his head a fraction of an inch. If Applebloom wanted to speak to Twilight before he did, she was gonna get her way somehow, and the easy way was best here. Twilight nodded and bit her lip slightly- she always bit her lip when she was nervous, Big Mac remembered in a rush- before trotting off to catch up with Applebloom.
Spike and Big Mac both watched them go, each with almost identical worry etched into their foreheads, before Scootaloo snapped them both back to attention with an exasperated sigh.
"Yeesh, would you two quit worrying? It's a party, in case you forgot. Fluttershy, Big Mac, we should get in the barn. Scales, give us a couple of minutes before you come in, okay babe?"
"Sure," nodded Spike, but he was still frowning, looking after Applebloom and Twilight. Big Mac let Scootaloo herd himself and his sister-in-law inside the barn, as soon as he'd helped Fluttershy collate all the adoption documents into a neat pile. She carried them into the barn, a big daft smile across her face- Big Mac reckoned she was mostly done with them. He couldn't help but smile at it, even if he was a little worried- Applebloom and Twilight had never really clicked even when she lived at the farm. Casting a last look towards the farmhouse, he entered the barn.
---------------------
Twilight followed Applebloom silently into the kitchen of the farmhouse, waiting while the younger pony rummaged through the freezer. Applebloom emerged with some ice cubes wrapped in a checkered red-and-white tea towel, and Twilight gratefully levitated it over and pressed it cautiously against her eye. It stang and Twilight winced involuntarily.
"Y'got to be careful with it. Hold it there for about three minutes or so, until it's gone numb. It's probably a little late to prevent it swelling shut tomorrow morning, but it'll help." Applebloom said conversationally, and Twilight groped for a reply.
"Thanks. I mean, this is nice of you to do."
"Y'need it," Applebloom shrugged. "Applejack shouldn't have hit you. Ah'm plenty mad at you but Ah wouldn't have hit you."
"Are you mad at me because I've not been there for Spike?" Twilight asked quietly.
"Yup. Ah heard you've been sick and all or something, but it don't fix everything. Y'still haven't been part of his life for too long and he's giving you a real easy time about it. He's the forgiving type. Good for you, Ah guess." Applebloom motioned towards the door, but before she could leave Twilight cut her off, burbling all at once.
"It is good that Spike is so forgiving because it means we can fix things, eventually, but he's not the only pony - dragon - being that I've neglected. I know I've hurt your brother too and that's between me and him but I actually wanted to speak to you too because I think I could do you a favour. If you want it."
Applebloom raised an eyebrow and Twilight barrelled on.
"It's something I should have done if I'd thought about it at the time, but like you said I've been getting sort of disconnected and I didn't click everything together until recently. But the university- I mean, Celestia's Universal Academy for Advanced Learning and Gifted Youngsters- they have an art program that's really good, and I had a quick chat with one of the professors there this afternoon and I showed him this-"
Twilight levitated an old piece of paper out of her saddlebag and unfolded it into a sketch. The fold lines were still clearly visible, but the sketch was of Twilight and Big Mac- she was clearly in the middle of conversation and he was looking on, listening intently.
"He said it was a little rough but showed real promise. So I told him it was over two years old and you'd not stopped working and you'd moved on to sculptures too, and he said he'd set up a visit to have a look at your stuff if you like and there are some great scholarships I think you might qualify for if he says your work is good enough. I think it will be. I always liked it."
Twilight trailed off, taking a deep breath and trying to read Applebloom's expression. Eventually, the younger mare spoke slowly, as though the words were coming from far away.
"That's mighty kind of you. But if you think- Ah mean, if you're expecting me to-" Applebloom shook her head, and her words came out very softly. "Ah feel like yer trying to buy me. As an apology to Big Mac."
Twilight's eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously.
"No, not at all! That's not what I meant at all! Applebloom, I'm going to talk to Big Mac today and this won't come up. You are a great artist, okay? I could have helped with that and I didn't. This is part of my apology to you, for that, and for- for everything. This is me trying to get square with you. Whether you want it or not or you tell anypony else or not is entirely up to you. I just wanted to say sorry. This is so you know I mean it."
Applebloom gave Twilight a cautious nod and a small smile.
"Well thank you for apologising. Ah'll think about it. Now, Spike's waitin' on us, Ah'll bet, so let's get ourselves to the barn."
Twilight fell in behind Applebloom as the two of them left the kitchen, still pressing the cool icepack against her eye. Applebloom had been pretty good to get this for her, Twilight thought, slowly realising why Applebloom had made the effort- she’d just resigned herself to Twilight being back, being in the lives of the men she loved. There was something admirable about it, Twilight thought. Applebloom wasn’t trying to control Big Mac or Spike at all. She was just trying to be the best sister she could be to them, and if that meant putting up with Twilight’s presence, then that’s what it meant.
“They’re lucky,” Twilight said out loud, half deliberately.
“Say again?” Applebloom asked over her shoulder as they walked around the front of the barn and saw Spike sitting and waiting for them to go inside. He gave them a little wave and Twilight returned it.
“Spike and Big Mac are lucky to have you around. You’re a better sister than- you’re a great sister to them.”
Applebloom raised an eyebrow at Twilight and chuckled as they entered the barn, shaking her head. Twilight couldn’t help but notice the slight cooling of conversation from the ponies gathered inside- Applebloom clearly noticed it too, speaking with a slightly raised voice.
“Twilight, you can come to the back and help me unveil my gift to Spike. Big Mac, let Spike know he can come in.”
They walked towards Applebloom’s gift- it was taller than Big Mac, Twilight realised, and draped with an old tarpaulin. She could feel the mutters bouncing around the room- Bon Bon was whispering something to Lyra and Cheerilee was glaring daggers at her. There were a couple of welcome faces, though- Rainbow winked at her, Ditzy and John gave her a big smile, and a gangling young unicorn she didn’t recognise waved enthusiastically at her for a couple of seconds before Twilight identified her as Dinky. She was so tall these days! Twilight made a mental note to find time to speak to them, the knowledge that she’d missed their wedding twisting around in her gut.
As Big Mac leaned out of the door to call Spike in, Rarity glided through the crowd, moving past Twilight without acknowledging her and leaning in to speak with Applebloom. She looked worried, Twilight thought, despite her rather majestic dress- a confection of grey silk that could only have been her own design.
“Applebloom, dear, I was wondering if you were absolutely sure that Twilight was the best choice to help you unveil your masterpiece,” Rarity said in a half-whisper that carried painfully clearly back to Twilight’s ears.
“Yup,” Applebloom said loudly, without looking at Rarity. “We had a conversation. Now take yer place, Spike’s about to come in.”
“As you say,” Rarity said, turning and walking back to Rainbow’s side. As she passed Twilight, she flashed her a cold, brittle smile. “Twilight, darling, so good to see you up and about.”
Twilight’s ears fell as she took her place by the big sculpture and Big Mac came back in, nodding. As Spike started to open the door to the barn, Twilight caught a glimpse of Pinkie Pie in the crowd near the door, bouncing up and down and frantically mugging an enormous smile in Twilight’s direction. Twilight only just managed to perk up her expression before the door was thrown wide open and the embarrassed-looking young dragon in the doorway saw the whole room.
“Happy birthday, Spike!” the crowd shouted in unison, and Scootaloo bounded out of the crowd to give Spike an enormous hug and a kiss on the cheek. He grinned broadly at everypony there and disentangled himself from his marefriend.
“Thanks, everypony! This is just- this is great. I’m not much for speeches, so let’s all just get ourselves a drink and-“
“Actually, little nephew, you gotta get your presents first,” Applebloom interjected loudly, rolling her eyes. “This first one is from me. Twilight, grab your end and pull!”
Applebloom grabbed the edge of the tarpaulin in her teeth, and forsaking her magic for the moment Twilight did the same, pulling the old cloth away from the sculpture. There was an audible gasp from everypony in the barn, and when Twilight looked up she could see why. Applebloom’s present to Spike was a sculpture of the dragon himself, made of curling, twisted iron cables. There was a sense of motion to it, and despite the simplicity of the construction it was certainly Spike- he looked like he was about to leap skyward, half extended from a crouch, elegant and lithe.
Spike looked at it for a moment, his jaw agape, before he walked forwards and pulled Applebloom roughly into his arms.
“It’s wonderful,” he said in a small voice, and Twilight could see the shine of tears in his eyes. “Thank you. Is this really how I look?”
“It’s more how you are,” Applebloom said, returning the tight hug. After a moment, she pulled away to indicate a pile of presents on the nearby table, which Spike eyed cautiously.
“Don’t worry none, Spike, most of this stuff is for eating or using. Ain’t no chance of you hoarding it,” whispered Applebloom, and Spike’s eyes lit up. He moved over to the pile of gifts and most of the ponies in the barn clustered around him as he started opening presents. Rainbow took the opportunity to sidle over to Twilight, her eyebrows knitted.
“Twilight, I need a favour,” she asked quietly, her eyes darting over to where Rarity was waiting in the crowd and watching Spike gleefully unwrap a bumper crop of fireworks that John and Ditzy were explaining to him.
“Look, Rarity’s not super pleased with me for making up with you. She’s being all reasonable about it, saying like I can go and spend time with anypony I like and it’s no skin off her nose and stuff. Could you have a word with her? I’m going to keep hanging out with you whatever she says but as it stands she’s going to keep being polite at me about it. I’d really appreciate it if you two could make up even a little bit and she’s not going to be the pony who makes the effort, so...” Rainbow trailed off and tried to fire her most charming grin at Twilight, but she just looked faintly pained.
“I actually meant to talk to Rarity anyway,” Twilight said, biting the bit. “I need to talk to you both together too, and I need to talk to Scootaloo and Spike.” Twilight looked over towards Big Mac, who was talking over his gift to Spike. As Twilight looked more carefully at it, she felt her heart leap into her throat- that was Big Mac’s copy of ‘Colt’, dog-eared and stained. His favourite book.
“I really have to talk to Big Mac too,” she murmured, almost to herself, and Rainbow gave her an enormous wink and nudged her with a wing.
“Yeah, I bet you do. Talking. I bet that’s totally what you’ve got planned. Just make sure you chat to Rare before you get all talked out, okay?” Rainbow smiled at herself and wandered off before Twilight could respond beyond a furious blush.
Twilight made a list in her head and ran through it. First, she needed to talk to Spike about his presents. Then Scootaloo- well, her and Spike together, after he’d finished off his presents. Then Rarity. Then Rainbow and Rarity together, then check in with the Whooves and Sweetie Belle, and then finally Big Mac. Right, she thought to herself. We’ve got a list. Let’s do this.
Spike was in the middle of an ecstatic mouthful of emerald crumble when Twilight finally got to the front of the crowd, and the pile of presents was a lot smaller. The stand-out so far was definitely the statue, but there were a couple of close seconds- Big Mac’s first edition of his favourite book and a brand new tuxedo hoof-stitched by Rarity had both been extremely gratefully received.
Spike took his next present from the pile, and it was Twilight’s- a selection of books that had been wrapped in a purple ribbon at Applejack’s insistence. Spike took then and looked them over, pleased but hardly enthralled, before he spotted the note tucked into the side.
“’Ask for details.’ There’s details? Twilight, what’s going on?” he asked, a smile playing around the edges of his mouth.
“Well,” Twilight took a deep breath, “there are two other parts to your present. The first is that I think everypony here will agree with me when I say you’ve been doing the practical work of running the library for the last couple of years.” There was a rumble of assent from the crowd, some of it slightly sharply aimed at Twilight. She ignored it and continued.
“So I got in touch with the library commission and signed a few forms, and this one right here-“ she pulled a form out of her saddlebags- “is all signed and sealed except for your signature. It would make you the official librarian of the Ponyville library.” She handed over the form and Spike looked it over with a raised eyebrow and a quiet smile.
“You’re giving me a job?” He asked quietly, scanning over the form.
“Not really,” Twilight murmured. “I’m just recognising the job you’ve been doing. You are the librarian, Spike. It’s just high time it was made official, and that includes fair compensation.”
“You mean I’d get paid for doing what I already do?” he asked, looking quite pleased at the concept. “I could do what I liked with the money?”
“Yes, and there’s likely some back pay too,” Twilight admitted. “I technically quit as librarian when I got the bursary, so there could be quite a lot. I’ve not had the chance to go over the details yet. The other thing I wanted to give you- which is to do with the bursary too- is this.”
Twilight handed over a bundle of scrolls all at once, and Spike gave her a confused look.
“Those are registration documents. You’ve been my number one assistant for years, but that’s not enough now. If you’ll accept, those documents will register you with the university as my number one student. You can work towards a theoretical magic qualification. And we’d spend twenty hours together a week, guaranteed, learning about magic. Together.” Twilight couldn’t read Spike’s expression at all, and that in itself was faintly distressing. Had she overstepped? Twilight could feel her carefully planned sentences unravelling as she spoke, and the silent eyes of everypony in the barn seemed to be burning a hole in the back of her neck.
“I know I’ve not- I haven’t spent as much time with you as I should have. I’ve missed you, and I thought maybe if we had a reason it would be easier-“ Twilight felt her sentence catch on a choked sob, her eyes burning, and she was about to turn and just try to leave when she felt familiar, warm arms around her neck.
“Easy there,” Spike said calmly. “I love you. Okay? I love you. Thank you for this. I’ll make a great student, I promise. I learned from the best.”
The grand magenta star on Twilight’s flank glowed brightly enough for a moment that it lit the barn. The gathered ponies gasped- none of them had ever seem a grown pony’s cutie mark ever change before. Now the mark had the same intense, bright colours it had always had, except for one small white star which remained stubbornly grey.
“Well ain’t you two a sight for sore eyes,” drawled a familiar voice from their side. Twilight turned to see Applejack had returned, and Spike let go of Twilight and gave her a quick hug.
“Applejack, have you seen all the stuff I got? Applebloom made me this statue and Big Mac gave me his favourite old book and I’m gonna be Twilight’s student!”
“That’s great, Spike. Now, Ah’ve got to go and find mah hat. Ah wondered if Twilight’d help me track down Fluttershy and bring me up to speed while you finish off your presents, if you can spare her for a moment?”
Spike nodded and gave Twilight a grin as he turned back to the crowd of well-wishers. Applejack and Twilight detached themselves from the group, walking over towards Fluttershy as Twilight grilled Applejack under her breath.
“Did you get the paperwork for the library?”
“Yup. In my saddlebags. What in the hay just happened to your cutie mark?”
“Nothing bad, it just means I’m getting better. And the cloud seed?”
“Same again. It took exactly as long to mature as you’d said. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“I’m fine, I promise! What about the-“
“Sugarcube, you’ve been out of the world for a while but Ah ain’t changed that much. D’you really think Ah’d come here without finishing every single item on that list you left me?”
Twilight had the good grace to look embarrassed. Fluttershy lifted her head up from her paperwork as they approached, the overlarge stetson rocking back on her ears, and Applejack kissed her on the cheek as she retrieved it. Fixing her hat firmly back in place, she looked at the paperwork and was about to ask a question when Fluttershy cut across her.
“It’s all finished, Applejack. Everything signed and sorted. I just have to file it with the mayor’s office tomorrow and then it’s official!” Fluttershy’s smile was as broad as Applejack had seen it in years.
“What’s official?” Pinkie asked, popping up beside Twilight.
“I’ve adopted Spike,” Fluttershy said proudly, and Pinkie took a colossal breath in, her eyes sparkling, before Applejack clapped a hoof over her mouth.
“We’re all real pleased about it, Pinkie, but today’s Spike’s birthday, okay? No turning it into a party for his adoption too.”
Applejack couldn’t take Pinkie’s tearful stare for more than a moment.
“How about you throw him a separate adoption party? The day after tomorrow?”
“Woohoo!” Pinkie bounced around in a circle before returning to the group. When she did, she was immediately distracted by something shiny on the floor. “Hey, is that a diamond?”
All four ponies looked down to see what Pinkie was looking at- it was a fine-cut diamond that Twilight recognised as the centre of one of her magical storage units, bouncing and jittering across the floor towards Pinkie. Applejack sighed and reached towards it, and as soon as her hoof got within a couple of inches of it the diamond jumped up and affixed itself to the bottom of her hoof.
“Consarn it! Ah thought Ah’d got all the darn things off back at the library. Hang on a tick.” Applejack pulled her hat off and deftly used the brim to scrape the diamond back onto the floor. As soon as she did, it started twitching again, slowly wobbling in the general direction of Pinkie. Twilight watched it with growing fascination and could feel an idea forming in her head- how long had it been since she’d been this excited about a new discovery?
“Pinkie, “ she said carefully, “can you jump up and down a little bit for me? I want to check something.”
“Okey dokey lokey!” Pinkie started bouncing, and the diamond began to bounce with her, edging closer and closer until it leapt and stuck fast to the front of her hoof.
“That feels tingly!” she said happily, holding it up for inspection.
“I think it’s storing your magic,” Twilight said, thinking out loud. “I think if we could find a way to get the magic back out then you could use this to grow things. Or heal ponies. I need to read up a bit more on earth pony magic, but I don’t think this is like what happened to me. Earth ponies pour magic out into the world all the time. I think this is just storing some of it for later. I wouldn’t touch it with unicorn magic, but this could really change things!”
“Actually, I think you’ll find you’re keeping things exactly as they were.” Rarity said clearly from beside Twilight. “Twilight, Rainbow said you wanted to speak to me. Shall we?”
Rarity walked out towards the door of the barn and Twilight looked around the group for a second, but nopony seemed quite able to meet her gaze. She was about to leave when Applejack pulled something out of her saddlebags and handed it over- a small wooden case with a simple latch.
“Here’s the cloud seed, hon. Keep your head up. And, uh, Rarity’s got a mean left, so stay on her right side.”
“Thanks,” Twilight said quietly, and left the barn. Rarity was waiting outside, a study in tension.
“Hi Rarity,” Twilight started. “I’m glad you agreed to talk to me.”
“Don’t thank me for that,” Rarity snapped, before turning to glare at Twilight. “Dashie has practically demanded that I try and patch things up with you and I can’t say no to her. But I doubt that we can be- I’m getting ahead of myself. I owe you one apology.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. Was Rarity planning to apologise for talking Big Mac into breaking up with her?
“I was wrong about you. I thought you’d come to your senses when I convinced Pinkie and Rainbow not to bother you any more. I thought you’d miss us. I read you badly. I’m sorry for that. I’m not sorry for anything else.”
“I don’t care that you’re not sorry! You’ve probably done the right thing most of the time. If I was well. But I wasn’t well, and you couldn’t have known. Apology accepted. I’ve got some apologies of my own to make-“ Twilight dropped the wooden case as Rarity leant in to shout at her.
“Yes! You should be in there making them right now! I mean, you’ve showed up to his party but I don’t see how that fixes anything. He needs to learn he can trust you and I need you to be trustable. Fluttershy explained that you’ve been sick and I don’t care. It doesn’t mean you’ve neglected him any less and it doesn’t mean that you were in the right. You hurt ponies, Twilight, and what happens at the first social occassion I see you at in years? You’re planning an experiment!” Rarity had a full head of steam now, advancing on Twilight and shouting at her, and Twilight could see that whatever Rarity had planned to say was coming uncoiled under the force of her anger.
“You’re exactly like you used to be! Everypony seems fine with it! I had to listen to Rainbow talking about getting you out of your shell for a Celestia-damned year! She barely talked about anything or anypony else- I don’t think she even knew who she was living with half the time! She was obsessed with some negligent shut-in who cared more about her books than about her son, who, by the way, is a kinder and more generous soul than I have ever seen you be, and-“
“Enough.” Rainbow’s voice was small, almost broken against Rarity’s tirade, but it stopped her in full flow. Rarity turned to see Rainbow with tears in her eyes, trying to set her face into a scowl.
“Dashie, I didn’t mean for you to hear that,” Rarity said, her chest still heaving with the force of her shouting. “I meant for-“
Rainbow moved closer and stopped her with a kiss, still crying as she pulled away.
“I love you, you idiot. You. You’re being cruel and you’re being jealous again and I still love you. Twilight wanted to apologise to you. Let her.”
Rarity opened her mouth and then closed it again, thinking better of speaking, and Twilight stood up straight and retrieved the case from where she’d dropped it.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry I’ve not been around. And to say thank you for stopping Rainbow and Pinkie and Big Mac from getting even more hurt. And for looking after Spike- I don’t know how he would have coped without you- and for helping out with the farm and everything.” Twilight could feel herself stumbling over her words, and put the case down carefully on the floor. She used her magic to pop the latch and opened the case to reveal a tiny white cloud, tethered to a blue sapphire and floating gently in the breeze. Rainbow gasped, and Rarity just raised an eyebrow.
“This is a thank you. So you know I mean it.” Twilight said, and Rainbow’s eyes were wide. Rarity looked to her for explanation, and during an excited barrel roll Rainbow explained what it was.
“It’s a cloud seed, Rarity!” Rainbow rolled her eyes as her marefriend blinked in confusion, and elaborated.
“A cloud seed is a shapable semisolid cloud structure that can grow in response to pegasus magic, so...” Rainbow trailed off in the face of matching, faintly disbelieving stares from Rarity and Twilight.
“What, you didn’t think I could talk the talk? Look, Rarity, here’s the bottom line- it’s a house. It’s a new house for me.”
Rarity raised an eyebrow at Twilight.
“You made her a house?”
“Actually,” said Twilight, allowing a smile at her good work, “I’ve made you both a house. The sapphire it’s tethered to will keep it anchored to the boutique through any storm, and it’s got a spellshape in it. Rarity, if you touch the sapphire with your horn it should teach you how to perform the walk-on-clouds spell, so you can go there too. I know you’ve both felt a little cramped in the boutique and Rainbow misses her old house, so-“
“This is the best present ever!” Rainbow shouted, squeezing Twilight tight in her forelegs and wings before realising something.
“Oh!” she shouted, letting Twilight go and spinning to face Rarity. “This means we can actually move in together!”
“Dashie, we’ve been living together for quite some time now, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“No we haven’t! I’ve been living with you in your house, and it’s been great, babe, but now we can live in a house we both own! This is perfect!” Rainbow kissed Rarity hard for a moment before flying back towards the barn.
“I gotta tell AJ!” she shouted over her shoulder, leaving Twilight and Rarity standing in awkward silence.
“So is the cloud seed okay?” Twilight asked sheepishly. “I mean, is it alright that I went ahead and made it for you and Rainbow? I didn’t want to overstep.”
Rarity stayed silent for slightly too long.
“Twilight, it is a very thoughtful present. Thank you.”
The silence crept back in, and Twilight couldn’t quite bring herself to look up at Rarity. The white unicorn sighed theatrically and spoke again, but Twilight could tell it cost her.
“I have a standing sauna appointment at the spa on Monday afternoons. If you’d like to join me, you can consider this an open invitation.” Rarity smiled, half at herself, as she spoke.
“I’d like that,” Twilight said, beaming. “We should get back in the barn, though. I have so many ponies I have to say hello to, and I don’t want Spike to think I’ve wandered off!”
“Quite,” said Rarity as they walked back inside. On Twilight’s flank, the final grey star didn’t seem to change at all.
Back in the barn, Spike had finished opening his presents and the party was in full swing. Rarity seemed to melt into the crowd the moment they entered the barn, and Twilight thought about trying to follow her for a second before deciding it was more important to pin Scootaloo down- they had things to discuss. Twilight decided to aim for the statue at the front and see if she could find Spike on the way, but as she got closer she started to regret it- the two young mares in front of it were clearly having a fairly urgent conversation, their voices low.
“Ah don’t see how it changes anything! It ain’t happened yet and until it does-“
“Oh come on! I mean, look at this thing! It’s gorgeous, Applebloom. There’s no way they’ll keep you off an art course, and that means you move to Canterlot, and that means we can actually see each other!”
“Sweetie, Ah know you’re excited, and you know- there’s nothin’ more Ah want in the world than to be close to you, but this is Spike’s day and Ah don’t want to be dredging things up- can’t we just keep doin’ what we’ve been doin’? For now, Ah mean?”
“There’s always a reason, isn’t there?” Sweetie Belle looked on the verge of tears, and Applebloom moved closer to her before speaking very softly.
“In the past they ain’t always been good ones. When we got started it was our little secret, right? Letters all flyin’ back and forth, almost never seein’ each other? It was more romantic t’keep it secret. Ah guess recently Ah just been running scared, though. This still scares me sometimes, because Ah- Ah mean, it’s you, and you’re so- look, just today. We can tell ‘em all tomorrow, okay? Ah promise.”
“You mean it?” Sweetie Belle asked, her eyes bright.
“Ah do,” said Applebloom softly, and leaned in towards Sweetie Belle. At the last second, she glanced left and right, and saw Twilight awkwardly pretending she wasn’t there.
Applebloom practically jumped backwards from a momentarily disappointed Sweetie Belle and tried to put on her best nonchalant face.
“Twilight, there you are! Were you looking for Sweetie Belle as well?” she said loudly, as Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.
“Actually, I was looking for-“
“Well, we’ve found her now! Ah guess we can ask her together!” Applebloom shouted with a big fake grin. “Sweetie Belle, we thought now would be a good time for you to give Spike your present!”
“We did?” Twilight asked, amused.
“Well of course we did! Ah mean why else would we be trackin’ her down, there ain’t no other reason, Twilight, you’re so funny! Ain’t she hilarious, Sweetie?”
“Yeah, she’s a laugh riot.” Sweetie Belle deadpanned, and took a couple of deep breaths before concentrating for a moment. Her horn glowed and Twilight could see Sweetie’s magic condense around her throat for a moment before disappearing- the next time the young unicorn spoke, her voice had been amplified to fill the barn and silence any ongoing conversation. Her voice was clear and silky, and Twilight could see a faintly dreamy expression slide over Applebloom’s face.
“Fillies and gentlecolts, it’s time for me to give Spike my present!” In the background, Pinkie turned off the music and gave Sweetie a smile, as a wave of ponies in the barn parted to let Spike and Scootaloo to the front of the crowd. Sweetie took another deep breath, and in her enormous voice began to sing.
“Happy BirthdaPRINCESS LUNA!” Sweetie Belle’s exclamation came out terrifically loud, and the entire crowd turned to the doors of the barn, where Princess Luna was trying to sneak in un-noticed.
“Um,” she said with a nervous little wave. “Continue with your song, Sweetie Belle. I will extend my congratulations to Spike afterwards.” The crowd was about to settle again and Sweetie had taken another deep breath when Pinkie finally unfroze.
“Luna! You actually came!” Pinkie’s voice was louder than either Sweetie’s or Luna’s. The pink pony bounced across the room at colossal speed, throwing her forelegs around Luna’s leg and kissing her hard before breaking away and bouncing in a little circle.
“You’re not mad at me any more?” Pinkie asked, looking a little worried. “I’m sorry I couldn’t marry you.” A murmur ran through the crowd at this news
“You thought I was still angry with you?” Luna asked, her eyes flickering to the crowd occasionally. “I was staggeringly cruel to you when you rejected my proposal, Pinkie. I had assumed that in my foolishness I had destroyed any chance of continuing our relationship. I came to apologise for my behaviour.” Luna bowed low as the crowd gasped, and she only raised her head when Pinkie giggled.
“You were kind of a meanypants, but I understood why. I mean, it isn’t much fun to have someone say no when you offer them a gift, even when it’s for good reasons. I thought I’d see if you’d forgiven me for it by giving you an invitation, and look! Here you are! You do forgive me, right? That’s why you’re here?”
“Well- well, yes, but I don’t think you have anything to apologise for and I was actually trying to apologise myself-“
“Well then you’re forgiven too! Come on, let’s go on a walk and talk it over and then we can make out. Sweetie Belle!”
“Y-yes?” Sweetie Belle’s artificially loud voice came from the back of the barn.
“Hit it! Luna and I are goin’ for a walk!” Pinkie bounded off in the general direction of the south fields, and after standing in the crowd’s collective gaze for a couple of seconds, Luna rubbed her forelegs together, cleared her throat and ran off after her.
Everypony stayed silent for a few seconds, and then Sweetie Belle started to sing. The silence became deliberate; the song was a simple birthday tune, but her voice was genuinely astonishing, warm and smooth and powerful. Twilight caught a glimpse of Applebloom’s expression as she watched Sweetie Belle singing, and permitted herself a small smile- if Applejack and Rarity caught sight of that then she and Sweetie Belle would have a lot less explaining to do than they thought.
As Sweetie Belle finished and hooves began to hit the ground in thunderous applause, Twilight pushed her way to the front of the crowd to pin down Spike and Scootaloo. She got there just after Spike had finished thanking Sweetie Belle for her performance, and managed to hustle the two of them away from the bulk of the crowd.
“Twilight?” Spike asked. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing bad! I’ve got another present for you. Well, for Scootaloo really, but it involves you too, if she wants it, I mean. Now, both of you, I’m going to ask you to let me get through this whole thing before answering, okay?”
“Okay,” Scootaloo replied, as Spike nodded his assent.
“Well, I do- I mean I did- two jobs at the library. I was the librarian there and now Spike is, right? But the librarian job doesn’t actually mean you live in the library. It just means you work there. The other job is maintenance, keeping the place clean and working. It’s not much work, maybe an hour a day, and the pay is low, but the big upside is you get to live there rent free.” Twilight took a breath to continue and held up a hoof to prevent Scootaloo from interrupting.
“Spike, I know that you spend a lot of time up here at the farm. I’ve discussed it with Applejack, and you can move into Big Macintosh’s old room if you’d like to live here. I know the Apples would all love it. Scootaloo, if you want it, I’m offering you the position of library maintenance. All my stuff is packed up and you can move in when you like- I know you’re lodging with Lyra and Bon Bon at the moment, but rent can really put a dent in the money you make and I’d like you to think it over.”
Scootaloo and Spike looked at each other, her eyes wide and his narrowed. Scootaloo turned back to Twilight, smiling despite her efforts to keep a straight face.
“Are you kidding me? You’re giving me a bucking home rent free! Yes. From me. If Spike wants to move out, otherwise I think he should get it.”
“I don’t know,” Spike admitted to the pair of ponies in front of him.
“Twilight, this is generous of you but where will you live? I’d love to live at the farm. It’d be great to get Scootaloo out of that little box room and I know she could do the job. But where will you live?”
“Well,” Twilight admitted, “I’m not certain yet. But I have a lot of options! I mean, there would be a room at Lyra and Bon Bon’s I could pick up until I work out something more permanent.” Twilight thought, for a moment, of the half-lived-in main bedroom here at the farm, before trying to kick it out of her mind.
“That won’t be necessary,” interrupted Rarity from behind Twilight, and she almost jumped.
“You have got to stop sneaking up on me,” she muttered before seeing that Rarity’s eyes were shining with tears.
“You can live with Dashie and I. We’re getting an extension,” she said with a smile, “so we’ll have the space. This is a wonderful thing you’re doing for Scootaloo, Twilight. I won’t see you without a home.”
Rarity blinked her tears away and smiled at Twilight, honestly, for the first time in years. Twilight didn’t feel the final star in her cutie mark brighten, but she did feel something warm creeping up through her hooves and bones, a sort of centred contentness that she hadn’t felt in years.
“Come on, we have to tell Dashie, Twilight. Assuming of course that Spike is happy with your plan?”
“I’m- yes? Everything’s sort of happening at once. Twilight, are you happy with all this?”
Twilight looked up at Spike with tears running freely down her face, and kissed his cheek.
“I haven’t felt this happy in years. You should attend to your guests, Spike.”
“Wait, so I definitely get to live in the library?” Scootaloo interrupted, practically vibrating with excitement.
“Hmm? Oh, yes. Absolutely!” Twilight answered, and the young pegasus whooped with delight before dragging Spike off, shouting to Dinky to come and hear their news.
Twilight lost track of the evening after that. She and Rarity tracked down Rainbow, who seemed almost exhaustedly relieved that Twilight and Rarity had started to patch things up; she talked with the Smiths about Fillydelphia and found that Ditzy was blushingly pregnant again, and that Dinky was following her mother’s hoofbeats into organised sports; once Pinkie and Luna finally wandered back in she and Luna spoke at length about the magical nature of cutie marks, and Twilight actually lost herself a little in the conversation. There seemed to be a hundred and one ponies that Twilight talked to, but she didn’t have the time- or the courage, yet, she admitted to herself- to talk to the one particular pony, even though she kept spotting his head above the crowd and hearing his sure, deep drawl in quiet conversation with his friends.
---------------
“Naw, Twilight, that’d never work. Ah need the west fields planted the very same day we wrap up winter or we don’t get our crops in time,” Applejack explained, taking a pull of cider as the darkness started to set in. Most of the guests had left, leaving only a few of the more dedicated partygoers and Spike’s closer friends behind.
“I’m not saying you’re wrong, if you assume that it’ll take the same amount of time for the crops to come good. But this soil treatment shouldn’t just increase yield- it should mean you can harvest a full week early. I really think it’s worth putting off planting for three days to get all those extra nutrients back in the soil with the new treatment,” Twilight explained. “Think it over, yeah?”
“Ah would, Twi, but y’gotta admit this is something pretty experimental. Ah mean, what if it-“ Applejack trailed off midsentence, looking over Twilight’s shoulder, and sighed deeply. “Ah mean, this sounds interesting but Ah should go look it over in the study, crunch some numbers. Catch you later, Twi.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion before turning round to see Big Macintosh standing there, solid as ever, smiling quietly at her.
“Everypony’s been telling me you wanted t’have a conversation,” he said gently, and Twilight just nodded before blurting out a garbled bundle of sentences that had nothing to do with the conversation openers she’d been carefully crafting all evening in the back of her mind.
“Would you like to take a walk?” she almost shouted, before wincing and correcting herself. “With me, I mean! We should go for a walk together. I like walking. With you.”
Blushing furiously, Twilight turned and started off slightly too fast. She had a definite destination in mind, and was relieved to hear Big Mac’s heavy hoofbeats behind her as the big stallion caught up. They slowed their pace, and as they got closer and closer to the lake, Twilight could feel herself relaxing more and more, Big Mac’s presence seeming to unknot her stomach and calm her mind. Just like it used to. As they reached the big pond, Twilight thought she could feel the faintest amount of trepidation from Big Mac, but it might have just been her own worries feeding back on themselves.
She sat by the lake edge, and Big Mac sat wordlessly beside her, close enough that they could feel each other next to them. Twilight longed to lean in, against him, to feel that big bass heartbeat again, but instead she took a deep breath and looked away from him, almost speaking to the stars as much as anything else.
“You brought me here a long time ago,” she said, and her voice was lost in the susurrus of the wind in the trees. She started again, stronger this time.
“You brought me here once to ask me a question, Macintosh,” she said, and felt him shift slightly beside her. Was that surprise? Panic? Joy? “You asked- you asked me if I’d marry you, and I said I needed time to think it over. I’ve had a lot of time, Mac.”
“Twilight-“ Big Mac started, a note of worry in his voice, but Twilight cut him off.
“Macintosh, I was so wrong not to answer. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I said no, didn’t I? Not out loud, like you deserved, but I said no by not saying anything for too long. I don’t want to pick up where we left off, Macintosh. You’ve changed, I’m sure you have even if I don’t know how yet and I know I’ve changed too. I wish- I wish I’d said no.” She said out loud, almost shouting it, starting to feel tears prick at her eyes and choke her voice.
“I wish I’d said no because I want to ask you to start over. But I can’t ask you that because I didn’t even end it properly with you. I’ve done it all wrong,” she said, leaning into him, pressing her head up against him. The smell of him- the familiar smell of hard work, soap and apples- broke through her, and she started to sob.
After a few moments, Big Mac put a foreleg around her, pulling her closer in as he spoke.
“Ah’d like to start over,” he said quietly, and Twilight could feel his voice through his chest as much as hear it. “Ah know we messed it up. You got far away, and Ah let you. So let’s do this over. A good clean break.”
He took a deep breath, and pulled away from Twilight for a second so that she could see him, almost smiling.
“Twilight, will y’marry me?” he asked quietly.
“No,” Twilight whispered, hating the answer and desperately hopeful for what could follow if she’d read him right.
“Alright,” said Big Mac with a hint of regret, before smiling broadly. “Then do y’want to come round for a picnic on Thursday? Just you and me.”
“Yes!” Twilight shouted, grabbing Big Mac with her forelegs and saying it over and over, punctuating it with kisses. After a minute or two, they slumped down against each other, both emotionally exhausted.
“It’s been a long day, huh?” Big Mac asked her, the two of them staring at the reflection of the stars in the still pond.
“It’s been a long time,” Twilight said, pushing herself against him harder, and there was something final about it. Big Mac kissed her on top of her head, and Twilight sighed contentedly, letting the noise of the night and the solid presence of the stallion she loved lull her into sleep.
END
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EPILOGUE
At three in the morning, the diamond lay nestled in the roots of the apple tree where it had finally fallen off Pinkie’s hoof as she and Luna had walked through the grounds. A moment ago, it had had a faintly pink sheen, but now that light started to become brighter, pulsing against the ground until it settled on a steady pink shine. The tree seemed to shake for a moment, and then with a sound like cracking bones started to grow at a colossal rate, higher and higher, apples growing from green nubs to full red fruits in fractions of a second. By the time the diamond stopped shining, the tree was a full forty feet tall, laden with enormous, juicy apples.
Back in Ponyville, the slight tremor of the ground as the tree grew was only enough to wake the lightest of sleepers, and in this case he wasn’t even asleep. Spike had been lying in the starlight in the library bed next to Scootaloo, watching her breathe with a faint smile on his face. She snored quietly, he’d been pleased to find out- whenever Twilight had been away on university business he’d always found it hard to relax without the noise of somepony else in the house. Tucking part of Scootaloo’s mane over her ear and away from her eyes, he scratched at his shoulders as he wandered downstairs for a drink, feeling faintly odd. This wasn’t home any more, he thought to himself- but it felt like home again. The farm felt like home too, and so did the company of his friends.
Scratching again at his aching shoulders, Spike couldn’t see that he was scraping the scales away from a compressed wingtip. He filled a glass of water and drank it, then lit a candle to read a book, and felt more free than he ever had before.