Not long after Spike left Ponyville, winter came to Ponyville, and with it came the holiday festivities of Hearth's Warming.
The holiday was usually a time of happiness and joy for everypony in Equestria, but for Shining Armor and Twilight, Spike's absence left a hole in their hearts too big to be filled by the cheer and holiday spirit of Hearth's Warming.
Even a trip to Canterlot to spend the holiday with family (during which time Shining Armor announced he and Princess Cadence were getting married in the spring), wasn't enough to completely heal their broken hearts.
But they both knew that it was pointless to try and beg Spike to come back. He needed answers, and the dragons were the only ones who could give them to him.
It wasn't easy, but Shining Armor and Twilight managed to get through the winter months without Spike, largely thanks to the support they recieved from their friends.
And then, not long after winter was wrapped up, something exciting and wonderful happened. Mrs. Cake (who had become pregnant not long after Discord was defeated) gave birth.
-----
Shining Armor, Twilight, and their friends, had all gathered at Ponyville General Hospital. They could hardly contain their excitement, though Pinkie Pie was, understandably, the most excited of all.
Clearing his throat, Mr. Cake tried his best to look presentable, despite his noticeable panicked state. He stood next to two beds, one of which had a blue blanket, and one of which had a pink blanket. With a smile, he pulled back both blankets, revealing a pegasus colt with a coat that was light goldish gray, almost like cake batter. He had a brown mane and tail in a wavy style, while his eyes were a darker shade of brown. In the other bed, was a unicorn filly with a coat that was light yellow, but could easily be mistaken for orange from a distance. Her mane and tail were light orange, and were as wavy as the pegasus colt Mr. Cake had revealed seconds ago. And her eyes were a briliant blue in color.
"Say hello to Pound Cake, and Pumpkin Cake. They're twins." Mr. Cake said with a smile.
"Well, aren't they just adorable?" Fluttershy commented.
"They are pretty cute, but I'm certain they'll be quite a hoofful." Soarin added.
"No kidding, when Rumble was a foal, he was quite difficult." Thunderlane said to his friends.
"Congratulations Carrot Cake! You and Cup Cake must be very proud!" Shining Armor smiled.
"We sure are, we've always wanted children of our own. And after all these years, our dreams have come true." Mr. Cake replied, still smiling brightly.
"Say, just how in the hay do two earth ponies have twins that are a pegasus, and a unicorn respectively?" Big Macintosh asked.
"Took the words right out of my mouth, Big Mac. I was thinkin' the same thing." Applejack added.
"Cup Cake and I wondered that as well when the twins were born," Mr. Cake explained "So, we did a bit of research into the family tree. Turns out, my great grandfather was a unicorn. He served in the royal guard as an admiral under Captain Steel Trap."
"Ah, Steel Trap. From what I heard, he was a harsh leader, but he produced good results," Shining Armor said with concern "He was one of the few captains to serve for life."
"And what about the pegasus?" Braeburn asked.
"Cup Cake's great aunt was a pegasus, she flew in The Wonderbolts but never held any noticeable rank." Mr. Cake replied.
"She must've flown with Captain Firefly II, now that was a captain who knew how to attract a crowd. Though, she's got nothing on Spitfire." Soarin commented.
"Oh, this is so exciting! I've got two new foals to play with! That's twice as much fun!" Pinkie Pie cheered, forgetting that she was suppose to be quiet so as to not wake the babies up.
"You'd better be keep an eye on Pound Cake, pegasus foals have a tendency to start being able to fly for short periods of time when you least expect it." Thunderlane warned.
"He'll grow out of it once he gets old enough, then he'll have to learn how to fly again." Soarin added.
"I get the feeling Pound Cake is gonna make for one awesome flyer when he gets older!" Rainbow Dash commented.
"And take great care with Pumpkin Cake." Twilight told Mr. Cake.
"Baby unicorns can get powerful magic surges that come and go." Rarity explained.
"Much like pegasus foals and flying, they grow out of it when they get older." Fancy Pants finished.
"All the same, you'd better make sure their surges dont get too powerful. Otherwise, they can cause louts of problems." Fleur warned.
"Foals in general can be very demanding, and raising twins that are different species from your own will only make it more complicated." Shining Armor said to Mr. Cake.
"Don't worry, Cup Cake and I are prepared for whatever the twins throw at us. And with friends like you, we have access to all the help we could need and then some." Mr. Cake replied, a look of determination reflected in his eyes.
Throughout all of this, Shining Armor noticed that Braeburn remained surprisingly silent. Aside from an occasional comment, he didn't say or do anything.
No one else seemed to notice, they were all too busy fawning over The Cake Twins. Or, in Pinkie Pie's case, bouncing around and making noise. In fact, Pinkie Pie was so loud that Nurse Redheart had to escort her out of the nursery.
-----
The weeks passed, and before long, spring was in full bloom across all of Equestria. Even in places winter's icy grip hadn't touched, such as the desert sands of Appleloosa.
This was made clear to Shining Armor, as he observed the lovely arrangment of flowers that greeted his eyes at the train station in Appleloosa. Braeburn had invited him to come alone, saying that there was something urgent he wanted to discuss with Shining Armor.
"Ah, Shining Armor. Right on time, as always," Braeburn greeted cheerfully "Thanks for comin' on such short notice, but you're really the only one I feel comfortable discussin' this subject with."
"You know me, Braeburn, I never turn my back on a friend in need." Shining Armor replied, as he and Braeburn made their way through Appleloosa. Shining Armor was amazed at just how far the quaint little town had come in such a short amount of time. Several buildings that had not been even close to completion during the previous visit, now stood tall and proud admist the desert landscape. Visitors and citizens mingled with no trouble. And the local buffalo tribe happily stampeded through the orchard road to their hearts content. All in all, things seemed rather peaceful.
So, Shining Armor couldn't help but wonder, what reason could Braeburn have for calling him to Appleloosa on such short notice? Even if it was something personal, why couldn't Braeburn have just told him about it while they were in Ponyville?
"Welcome to my humble abode. It's not much compared to what you're probably used to, but it's as cozy as any motel." Braeburn said with a smile, as he led Shining Armor into his house.
Braeburn's house wasn't anything really fancy, it had all the basic necessites any home should have. This included a kitchen, a bathroom with indoor plumbing, a dinning room, two bedrooms (one for Braeburn, and one for any guests that might stay the night), and a living room. It also had electricity.
Everything was styled into the type of theming you'd expect from a town like Appleloosa. This included wooden walls and floors, and colors like yellow, orange, green, and brown.
"What is it you wanted to talk to me about, Braeburn?" Shining Armor asked, once he and Braeburn were seated on the living room couch "And did it really require you to meet me here, instead of just talking it out in Ponyville?"
Braeburn nodded "I know it's sudden, but you're really the only pony I could disclose this to, outside of my family." He then sighed, and the smile on his face was replaced with a frown.
"It's got something to do with The Cake Twins, Pound and Pumpkin Cake, doesn't it?" Shining Armor asked.
"It's that obvious, huh?" Braeburn replied, the frown on his face only growing bigger "Guess I couldn't hide it for long."
"You didn't really think I didn't notice how you were the only one who didn't seem excited to see the new baby ponies, did you?" Shining Armor replied, then, without waiting for an answer he added "What I wanna know now is, what's the reason behind it? I get the feeling it's something you haven't told me, that you probably should've told me long ago."
Braeburn, knowing that it was no use trying to skirt around or change the subject, cleared his throat. "Back when Apple Bloom was just a baby, I helped foalsit her on one occasion. But it didn't go so well." he told Shining Armor.
"It couldn't have been that bad." Shining Armor said innocently.
"Granny Smith certainly didn't think so, and considering what happened, I can't blame her." Braeburn said with a shake of his head.
"Just what exactly happened, if you don't mind me asking that is?" Shining Armor asked Braeburn.
"I don't really like thinking back to that 'episode', but I guess I don't really have a choice in the matter," Braeburn replied after a moment of silence, then he began to tell his story to Shining Armor. "She said she forgave me for it, and she probably meant it. But it's still arguably one of the worst things I've ever done. You know how they say you should never leave a foal unattended, right?"
"You didn't listen to the first rule of foalsitting?!" Shining Armor said with shock.
Braebrun nodded "I really didn't mean to, I thought for sure Granny Smith was watchin' her. I just left to use the bathroom for a moment or two."
"And when you came back, Apple Bloom was gone?" Shining Armor concluded.
"Right again, but that wasn't the worst part," Braeburn explained "In fact, that's not even the half of it. When Granny Smith found out Apple Bloom wasn't in her playpen, she very nearly blew a fuse right then and there. I'd never seen her so angry before, and I don't think I've ever seen her so angry since."
"So, after Granny Smith was done chewing you out, how long did it take for the two of you to find Apple Bloom?" Shining Armor asked.
"It took quite a long time. We searched all of Sweet Apple Acres from top to bottom, but we couldn't find her anywhere," Braeburn continued "At last, just as we were about to give up and assume she'd escaped into the fields, Granny Smith got the idea to check the bathroom. And it's a good thing we did, because Apple Bloom was about to fall into the toilet. If Granny Smith hadn't found her at that moment, Apple Bloom probably would've actually fallen in. And if that had happened, I don't even want to think about what else could've happened to her."
"Even if that was a pretty bad mistake on your part, it was only one instance," Shining Armor said kindly "And considering you're going to be foalsitting The Cake Twins when Pinkie Pie brings them on a visit, I'd say you're getting all worked up over nothing."
"Trust me, Shining Armor, if Apple Bloom was the only bad experience I had with foalsittin', I wouldn't be so nervous," Braeburn replied "I foalsat for a lot of ponies, back when I was first tryin' to strike out on my own. But everytime I did, it was like an unending nightmare."
"Foals can be a hoofful, but I highly doubt every experience was as bad as you claim it was." Shining Armor told Braeburn. And Shining Armor knew he spoke from experience, he'd helped foalsit his sister on quite a few occasions, even after Princess Cadence took up the role full time.
"Believe me, I wish that was true," Braeburn said glumly "But every experience is one that I wanted nothing more than to forget. It didn't matter how old the foal was, what species it was, or what it liked to do. For some reason, I could never quite manage to take care of them well enough to make any repeat customers. There was always somethin' I was doing wrong, whether it be feedin' them the wrong type of food, or not puttin' them down for a nap or sendin' em to bed when they were supposed to. And now, The Cakes and Pinkie Pie are askin' me to take care of the twins? Knowin' my luck, they'll be twice as much trouble."
"But this time, you don't have to go through it alone, you've got Pinkie Pie to help you. And from what Mr. and Mrs. Cake have told me, she's a surprisingly competent foalsitter," Shining Armor said, as he looked Braeburn in the eyes "In fact, I hear she has a secret weapon that's guranteed to get the twins to laugh, no matter what."
"Which just means she's going to have to work extra hard, because I'm not goin' to be much help," Braeburn said glumly "Look, I know what you're tryin' to do, but it ain't gonna work. I like kids, and one day I'd very much like to start a family of my own. But I have to face the facts, I don't know the first thing about how to handle foals. If I did, all those experiences in the past wouldn't have turned out the way they did."
"There's gotta be someway I can convince Braeburn that he's better at taking care of children then he thinks he is, but how?" Shining Armor thought to himself, as he saw just how unhappy Braeburn looked. Braeburn seemed about ready to cry, and that was the last thing Shining Armor wanted.
"Braeburn, let me ask you something!" Shining Armor suddenly spoke up.
"Whatever it is, you'd better be quick about it." Braeburn replied, suspecting nothing.
"I know you think you're a bad foalsitter, and that you can't take care of foals-" Shining Armor began.
"Didn't I just get through telling you that?" Braeburn asked crossly, folding his arms across his chest.
"But, if you truly were bad, don't you think you wouldn't feel bad about all the times you screwed up?" Shining Armor went on, finishing his statement.
Braeburn said nothing for several minutes. He just stood there, with a puzzled look on his face. He hadn't thought of that before.
"So, you had a few bad experiences with foalsitting when you were younger. But every time you messed up, you learned something new," Shining Armor said, explaining his point "You won't have to go through it alone, and with all that you've learned, you should be able to manage. The Cakes obviously trust you, or they wouldn't have allowed you to help Pinkie Pie look after their children. Don't you think you owe it to them, and to yourself, to try one more time? If you still somehow screw up, you don't have to foalsit for anyone ever again for as long as you live."
Braeburn, after a moment of consideration, said to Shining Armor "If you really have that much confidence in me, and it'll make you happy, I suppose I can give foalsittin' one more chance. But that's all I'm gonna give it, if it doesn't work, I've never doin' it again," Then, he decided it was his turn to ask Shining Armor something. Something very important for that matter "How have you and Twilight been holdin' up since Spike left? I know it's been really hard."
Braeburn expected Shining Armor to skirt his way around the subject, or at least hestiate for a little bit before talking about it. But to Braeburn's surprise, Shining Armor immediately replied with "It has been difficult, both for Twilight, and for myself. They say that time heals all wounds, but the pain of Spike's absence hasn't gotten any better since that day. In fact, I think it's only gotten worse. Twilight and I have had to come to grips with the fact, that Spike may not ever come back. If he finds the information he's looking for, it's not likely he'll come back to live with us. I've even had to consider the possibility, that he won't be around for my upcoming wedding to Cadence."
"Wow! I... had no idea," Braeburn exclaimed.
"I've been trying my best to manage, and not let the pain interfere with my life," Shining Armor explained, as he tried his best not to look too upset "It hasn't been easy, especially considering Twily considered Spike to be her son. But I've lasted this long, and I know that Spike wouldn't want me to spend the rest of my life moping around. He can only hope, that joining the migration at least gave him something of an idea about who he is."
"When does that migration come through Ponyville? That's when Spike said he'd return, isn't it?" Braeburn asked.
"It's next weekend, after Hearts and Hooves Day. And about two weeks after that, Cadence and I are getting married." Shining Armor told Braeburn.
"Well, I know for sure I'm gonna have to be in Ponyville on that day! I've missed Spike just as much as you and your sister have, and that's no lie!" Braeburn replied, feeling more like his usual cheerful self for the first time since inviting Shining Armor to Appleloosa, to discuss his problem.
"Maybe, while you help Pinkie Pie foalsit The Cake Twins, the two of you could start thinking of plans for a party to welcome Spike back. And, assuming Princess Celestia approves, I hope you'll both be willing to help plan the wedding reception," Shining Armor offered "It doesn't have to be anything really grand, though if that's what you want to do, I won't stop you. It just needs to be something that both Cadence and I will like, and something that will make sure everypony knows we're determined not to let anything ruin our union."
"It's a tall order, but you can count on us to throw the best wedding reception Equestria's ever seen!" Braeburn boasted "I gurantee it!"