//------------------------------// // S5 E3: Castle, Sweet Castle (What If?) // Story: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 3 // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// It had been about two weeks since the girls had followed the newly discovered map in Twilight's castle, and ended up having to free an entire village from the control of a dangerous (not to mention unpredictable) unicorn who called herself Starlight Glimmer. Since then, life had gone back to normal, for the most part. Currently, the six friends were enjoying a pancake breakfast at Twilight's castle, and chatering amongst themselves in between bites. "Mm, these are delicious, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack said happily "You've really outdone yourself this time." "Thanks!" Pinkie Pie replied, as she slurped down her own pancakes "But I couldn't have done it without Twilight's help, she spent all night helping me pick out the right flavor. The funny thing is, I kept thinking we'd found the right one, but she insisted I make even more to try. And more. And more and more and more and more!" To emphasize this point, Pinkie Pie stacked a bunch of pancakes on top of each other, creating a large stack. "It was like she never wanted to leave. I ran out of time, so she convinced me to just go with every-berry-any-chip-surprise!" "Surprise?" Rarity asked curiously. Pinkie Pie whispered into Rarity's ear "You wouldn't like it, the surprise is that I ended up losing a measuring spoon in the batter at some point," then in her usual cheerful she smiled and said "Somepony's gonna get a very special pancake!" Before she went back to her seat, while Rarity cautiously checked her pancakes for any unusual bulges. "Up all night, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked "I guess that would explain why Twilight's so... out of it?" As if to emphasize Rainbow Dash's point, Twilight shut her eyes and began to snore. Her face fell forward, planting itself firmly in her pancakes, which she snuggled as if they were a pillow. "Um, I don't mean to sound unappreciative, but has anypony else noticed that Twilight has been a little too helpful lately?" Fluttershy asked the rest of her friends "It's like she'd rather be anywhere but here." "Funny you should mention that, 'cause I was thinkin' the same thing ever since Twilight lent a hoof at Sweet Apple Acres the other day," Applejack replied "I was grateful for the help with some of my tougher chores, but she kept hangin' around and askin' if there was somethin' else she could do. Eventually, I told her everythin' was fine, and sent her on her way. But I got the feelin' she was tryin' to avoid somethin'." "I felt the same way after Twilight stopped by the boutique, and spent an entire afternoon rearranging my gem drawers," Rarity commented "Even after she'd sorted them out one way, she tried to sort them in another way. Even for her, that's unusual." "And I got the feeling something was up when Twilight tried to challenge me to a bunch of races a few days ago," Rainbow Dash added "Even when I went easy on her, she still didn't win. Then, when I told her there was no point racing somepony who's heart wasn't into it, she decided to stay and talk about Daring Do for as long as possible. She even pleaded with me to give her another flying lesson, but I could tell she was no in shape to learn." "So, I wasn't just being overly worried when Twilight stayed until sunrise to help me give all my animals a bath yesterday," Fluttershy concluded "She even knocked Angel into a mud puddle, so she could give him another bath. I just don't know what's come over her." "I can only think of one reason why anypony would act like that," Applejack said with great reluctance "As soon as Twilight wakes up, we're gonna have to ask her just what it is she's tryin' to stay away from." "And what if she doesn't feel like talking?" Rarity asked "What happens then?" "Then we find a way to make her talk," Applejack replied seriously "Perhaps we'll even ask Spike. No matter what, we're goin' to get some answers from Twilight." Just then, Pinkie Pie coughed, and spit out a metal measuring spoon that landed on the table. "I win!" she cheered, albeit a little too loudly. Twilight woke up with a start! "Huh?! I'm pancake! I mean, awake." Twilight called, not noticing she had a pancake stuck to her horn. A long, drawn out silence hung in the air of the castle. Nopony said anything for a couple of minutes. Twilight just looked at her friends, who looked back at her with looks of concern and confusion. At last, Applejack broke the silence and asked "Uh, Twilight? Is there somethin' you wanna tell us? You've been actin' awfully strange lately." "You know how much we appreciate all you do for us, and we simply adore having you around... but... we worry you might be... ahem... avoiding something else?" Rarity nervously chimed in. Much to everypony's surprise, Twilight immediately responded by saying "Oh, has it been that obvious?" to which all of her friends nodded. Twilight sighed, as she told her friends "The thing is... I know it's silly, but I... I've been avoiding... this place." All of Twilight's friends gasped, they could hardly believe their ears. "But why in Equestria would you want to avoid being in such a splendid castle?" Rarity asked "Especially since you've been living here for about a month now." "Rarity's right, this castle's got everything," Pinkie Pie commented "It even has a library. Anypony would love to be in your horsehoes," Applejack coughed slightly at the statement "Well, almost anypony." Pinkie Pie added. "This castle is amazing, there's no doubt about that," Twilight agreed "But the thing is," she sighed "It just doesn't feel like home. I thought maybe this feeling would go away in time, but I just can't get used to the place. My home was the Golden Oaks Library, until Tirek blew it up. And this castle just hasn't been able to make me feel at home the same way the Golden Oaks Library did. Not even having Spike and Owlowiscious with me have done enough to make this place feel like a home." "I know how you feel, Twilight," Pinkie Pie said sympathetically, putting a hoof around her tired friend (as well as helping herself to the pancake on Twilight's horn, though she had to free it first) "When I first moved to Ponyville from my family's rock farm, Sugarcube Corner didn't really feel like a home to me. I kept missing my family's rock farm and longed to go back there. But The Cakes understood how I was feeling, and you wanna know what they suggested I do?" "What?" Twilight asked. "They suggested that I decorate my room, make it my own!" Pinkie Pie explained "And it worked like a charm. Sure, sometimes I would still feel a bit homesick, but decorating helped me get used to the idea of calling Sugarcube Corner my new home. I'm sure it'll work the same for you." "But, it's just so daunting! Look how big it is! I-I don't even know where to start!" Twilight complained. "You can start by letting us do it for you," Rarity offered "We will make this the castle of your dreams while you go to the Ponyville spa for some much needed rest and relaxation," Rarity then held up a mirror with her magic "I'm saying this with love, but... have you looked in a mirror lately? I've never seen you look this..." she paused, as if trying to think about how to best to describe Twilight's appearance, without sounding inconsiderate. "Frazzled?" Fluttershy suggested. Rarity smiled "Yes! That is absolutely the word I was going to use. Thanks for helping me out, Fluttershy." "You're welcome." Fluttershy replied. "Ooh, I guess I do need a little help," Twilight realized "And so does my castle. And I just know you'll do a great job, because nopony knows me better than you girls. But are you absolutely sure you're up to the challenge?" "Of course we're sure, darling," Rarity said eagerly "Think of it as our way of repaying you for all the nice things you've done for us. Now, where's Spike?" Just then a familiar voice grumpily called out "What's all the fuss? I was trying to sleep." And in strolled Spike, with a blanket wrapped around his body, and a Rarity plushie clutched firmly in his claws. "Sorry if we woke up you up, darling," Rarity apologized "But how come you didn't want to attend the pancake breakfast with us? I would've gladly shared some of my pancakes." "I'm not much of a breakfast type of creature," Spike admitted "Besides, I had pancakes just the other day." "Well, in any case, I'm glad you're here," Rarity said with a smile "Twilight's going to the spa, and you're going with her, while the rest of us decorate the castle for her." "Sounds good to me, I've been meaning to get my claws done," Spike commented "How long do you girls think it'll take to complete the decorating?" "We should be done by sunset. The spa trip probably won't last that long, so why don't the two of you spend the rest of the day together?" Rarity suggested "Think of it as 'Mother/Son Quality Time'." "Alright, sunset it is," Spike agreed "Come on, Twilight, let's get you down to the spa. You're in need of some serious pampering right now." And he dragged Twilight away before she could say anything. "Alright, ya'll!" Applejack declared, once Spike and Twilight had left "Let's get to decoratin'!" Aloe and Lotus were quite surprised when Twilight stumbled into the Ponyville Spa, looking like she'd gone days without bothering to brush her mane and tail. "Your highness," Aloe and Lotus greeted, bowing in respect "What brings you to our humble spa on such short notice?" "I was told I needed some rest and relaxation by a friend," Twilight replied nervously "I didn't think I looked that bad, but I really am a mess." "Say no more, princess," Lotus said warmly "I'll get a hot bath going for you. Shall I prepare one for your son as well?" "Of course, a hot bath sounds lovely right about now." Spike replied. "Then I shall start two hot baths at once," Lotus said with a smile "After that, we'll need to work on your mane." And with that, Lotus left to get the spa baths running. "Feel free to help yourselves to our catalog while you wait," Aloe offered "We've recently hired Bulk Biceps as a massage therapist, and he's running a special." "The 'Extra-strength-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage'?" Twilight read "That sounds... painful." "Yeah, I think we'll just stick with two regular massages, a claw filing for me, and a mane re-styling for my mom." Spike declared. "Very well then, your total comes to twenty eight bits." Aloe said, ringing up the total on a cash register. Twilight went up to the coutner the register was on, and deposited the necessary amounts of bits for the treatment. Aloe scooped them up with a smile, and put them into a compartment of the cash register. A short time later, Lotus appeared in the waiting room. Smiling, she cleared her throat and said to Twilight and Spike "Your baths are ready. Please, follow me." As soon as Twilight set hoof into the bath, all her worries seemed to wash away. "I haven't felt this relaxed in ages," she thought to herself, sighing happily as she slowly sank into the warm bath waters "I need to come here more often, being a princess is an incredibly stressful job." After their baths, Twilight and Spike were seperated for a while, but they didn't mind. Spike was taken by Lotus to have his claws filed, while Aloe helped Twilight to a seperate part of the spa to have her mane worked on. "Just relax, princess," Aloe instructed with a friendly smile, before she frowned as she obeserved the state of Twilight's mane "You're not making my job any easier when you come to me with your mane messed up like this. Syrup and tree sap aren't easy to wash out." "I'm very sorry, Aloe," Twilight apologized "I didn't mean for it to get this messy, honest." Aloe smiled again "It's quite alright, this is only a mild setback. I've had customers with manes in far worse shape than yours." And she set to work on cleaning and re-styling Twilight's mane. Much to Twilight's surprise, the process didn't take as long as she thought it would take. Soon, she was under a giant mane dryer, happily reading one of the magazines Aloe had provided for her. Just then, Spike came whistling into the room. His skin was spotless, and his green scales had been polished to the point where they glistened brightly. "Hey, Twilight." he greeted cheerfully. "Spike, you're back!" Twilight called happily, just as the mane dryer let off a small ding, and began to power down "How do I look?" she asked, as she poked her mane out from under the dryer. Spike could hardly believe his eyes, Twilight's mane had been completely re-styled, but not in a way he had been expecting. Her mane now looked rather wavey, with a few of her curls hanging off to the side. "You look great!" Spike said with a smile "But that mane style's going to take some getting used to." "Don't worry, I'll probably change it back later on," Twilight reassured him "Looks like Lotus did a fine job with your claws." "She sure did, they feel so much better now," Spike replied "Now, all that's left are the massages." "Did somepony order massages?" Aloe called cheerfully, as she stood in the doorway leading to the massage room. Twilight and Spike nodded, and followed Aloe through the door. Surprisingly, although he ended up with Bulk Biceps as his massager, Spike found that he rather enjoyed his treatment. Twilight felt the same way about her treatment, and she and Spike said thanks and goodbye to Aloe, Lotus, and Bulk Biceps, as they left the spa. Celestia's sun was high in the sky, signifying that it was just after noon. "I wonder how Rarity and the others are doing?" Twilight pondererd outloud "Maybe we should stop by the castle and see if they need a helping hoof, or claw?" "I think they've got everything under control," Spike insisted "With Rarity in charge, there's no way they could mess up even if they wanted to. They promised to have it done by sunset, and I know they won't go back on that promise. Besides, it's been a long time since we've had an entire day just to ourselves without anything to do. The last time that happened, was when you took me to town hall to offically make me your son. And that was the happiest day of my life." "It was the same for me," Twilight replied with a motherly smile "I'm glad Mayor Mare and Princess Celestia were able to get all the necessary paperwork required for the process," She then decided to change the subject "Great suggestion on the massages, I feel totally relaxed. Since it's such a lovely day, what else do you think we should do while we wait for sunset?" "Why don't we pay a visit to what's left of The Golden Oaks Library?" Spike suggested "I wanna see if anything survived the explosion that we didn't notice before. Plus, I wanna see if maybe I can salvage some of my comic collection." Upon hearing Spike mention the destroyed library, Twilight seemed to freeze in place. She trembled slightly, as if she'd just seen a ghost, and her legs wobbled. However, she quickly calmed herself and hastily said to Spike "Actually, maybe we'd better wait and do that later. You must be starving, after all it's just about lunch time." "Now that you mention it, I am getting kind of hungry," Spike replied, as his stomach rumbled slightly "But I'm sure we could-" "-Make a quick trip to Sugarcube Corner for a bite to eat? Of course we can!" Twilight interrupted. "But that wasn't I was gonna-" Spike protested. "Good, lunch it is! Come on, let's go!" Twilight cut in, before taking off at a speed that would rival even Pinkie Pie (at least when she wasn't on one of her sugar rushes). Reluctantly, Spike sighed, and set off after Twilight. "She can't keep avoiding the library forever," he thought to himself "Sooner or later, she's going to have to go back there. And today might be her best chance." When Spike arrived at Sugarcube Corner, he was out of breath and felt ready to collapse from exhaustion. Luckily, Twilight was already there, waiting for him. "Sorry I forgot to wait for you, Spike," Twilight apologized "But I was really hungry." "That's not the real reason you took off so quickly." Spike thought, but he kept it to himself. "I'll bet The Cakes will be glad to see us," Twilight smiled, as she and Spike walked through the front door of Sugarcube Corner. Then, Twilight remembered her mane styling from the spa treatment. "I should probably brush it back to its original state now, it does make it hard to see," Twilight quickly used her magic to readjust her mane back to the state it was usually in. "Much better," Twilight said cheerfully, and turned to Spike "Know what you want? You can have anything on the menu." "I'll be fine with just a few donuts and some hot chocolate," Spike replied "You know me, if I have too many donuts I go crazy." Twilight chuckled a bit, as she remembered all the visits to Donut Joe's shop from when she and Spike lived in Canterlot. Spike could never resist Donut Joe's donuts, and more often than not he'd ended up acting rather unusual afterwards (Twilight suspected it had something to do with all the sugar, but she couldn't be sure). "Okay then, some donuts and hot chocolate for you. And for me, I'll just have a bagel with cream cheese." And with that, Twilight and Spike made their way up to the counter, where Mrs. Cake was busy taking orders from customers. "Oh, hello dearies," Mrs. Cake greeted cheerfully, when Twilight and Spike approached "You're looking a lot better than you were the last time I saw you." Twilight couldn't help but blush a bit, as she remembered the fact that Mrs. Cake had seen her in her messed up state shortly before the pancake breakfast. "Well, as you can see, I'm much better now," she chuckled nervously, then coughed and cleared her throat "Anyway, for our order, Spike will have some of your donuts and hot chocolate, and I'll have one bagel with cream cheese, plain if you please." Mrs. Cake rang up the total on the cash register, and Twilight hoofed over the necessary amount of bits to pay for the order. "Go and have a seat, your highness. Carrot will bring your order over when it's ready." Twilight immediately trotted over to one of the open booths, and sat down in it. But Spike remained by the counter, he was hoping to have a talk with Mrs. Cake about something. "I'm so glad Princess Twilight's looking so much better now," Mrs. Cake said with relief "I was really worried about her this morning. It's not healthy for anypony to be such a state for so long." "Well, it's because she's been trying to avoid her new castle," Spike explained "The girls are redecorating it as we speak, so it'll feel more like home. They asked me to take Twilight to the spa to get pampered, and then told me I could spend the rest of the day with her. I figured now would be a good time to finally go back to the Golden Oaks Library, but she seems to want to do anything but go there." "Oh, the poor dear," Mrs. Cake commented "It reminds me so much of Pinkie Pie when she first came here. For nights on end she would stay up until long after the stars came out, and cry. Carrot and I tried to comfort her as best we could, but there was only so much we could do to cure her homesickness. She was very much like a daughter to us, and you can't begin to imagine how much it pained me to know that my daughter was upset, and there was nothing I could do to help her." "Tell me about it," Spike replied "I feel the same way right now with my mother. I know she misses the library, and pretends it doesn't bother her, but I can tell how upset she really is. Even on our first night in the castle, I could hear her crying her heart out about how much she missed the library and wished Tirek had never destroyed it. They say time heals all wounds, but I don't see how it's possible for a wound that deep to ever heal." Mrs. Cake was silent for a moment or two, as she pondered the information she'd just recieved from Spike. But at last she broke the silence and said to Spike "I'm no doctor, but I can tell that the only way for a wound like that to heal, is to address the source. For Pinkie Pie, getting her to write a letter to her parents, as well as helping her decorate her room, did the trick. For Twilight, visting the site of the destroyed library should do the same thing." "But, what if Twilight doesn't want to visit the ruined site?" Spike asked. "Then you've got to make her," Mrs. Cake said seriously "She may not like it, but she'll never be able to move on until she does." "Thanks for the advice, Mrs. Cake," Spike replied "What do I owe ya?" "Oh, the advice won't cost you a single bit. You just enjoy your lunch, and remember what I said." Mrs. Cake smiled. Twilight and Spike ate their lunch in silence, and nothing more was said while they were at Sugarcube Corner. They made sure to say thanks and goodbye to The Cakes afterward, as they left Sugarcube Corner. Celestia's sun had shifted its position in the sky a little, and the glow it admitted signified that the middle of the afternoon was upon Ponyville. "We've still got a few hours left to go until sunset comes," Twilight smiled, as she and Spike walked through town "Where should we go next?" "Actually, now would be the perfect time to go and visit what's left of The Golden Oaks Library," Spike suggested "We might not get another opportunity like this." "What are you talking about? Of course we'll have another opportunity," Twilight nervously chuckled "We can visit that place anytime we want, and why waste this lovely afternoon visiting a place like that?" Spike opened his mouth to protest, but Twilight spoke up before he could say anything "That was a trick question, you weren't supposed to answer that!" then she chuckled some more. "Twilight, please, we NEED to visit the library!" Spike insisted "You can't keep putting it off forever!" "I'm not putting it off forever!" Twilight protested, her eyes twitching a bit "I simply don't want to ruin a lovely afternoon visiting a place that we can't do anything at." "Twilight." Spike frowned, rolling his eyes. Twilight took no notice "Maybe we should go to Sweet Apple Acres next and talk to Granny Smith and Big Macintosh?" she suggested. "Twilight!" Spike said angrily, to no avail. "Or maybe we can see if Cheerilee needs help at the school house. You know how much I love teaching." Twilight went on. "Twilight, please!" Spike pleaded. He was coming dangerously close to losing what little patience he still had. "Or maybe we can-" Twilight began. But before Twilight could say anything else, Spike finally decided that he'd had enough. "TWILIGHT!" he angrily bellowed at the top of his lungs, so loudly that he made Twilight jump. Now that he knew he'd gotten her attention, Spike paused for a moment to calm down, before he said seriously "This has to stop! I know you want to keep pretending that everything is alright, and that nothing has gone wrong, but you can't. The library was destroyed, Twilight! DESTROYED! It's been that way for weeks now, so it's time you stopped pretending it didn't happen." Spike paused for a moment before continuing. "The only way you'll ever truly be able to accept the castle as your new home, is if you acknowledge that your old home is gone and is never coming back. Do you think I wasn't upset when Tirek blew up the library? Do you think it didn't hurt me deep inside to see the place I'd come to call home go up in smoke? Do you think a day goes by where I don't wish the whole thing had never happened? Because if so, then you don't know me at all. I know it's going to hurt, revisiting that place, but you need to do it. You need to move on, otherwise your castle will NEVER feel like a home!" A long, drawn out silence filled the air. Twilight didn't say or do anything for quite a while, and Spike didn't move at all. At long last, Twilight broke the silence as she turned to Spike and with tears in her eyes she said to him "You know what, you're right. I've been running from the fact that the library was destroyed for a long time, but it was going to catch up to me sooner or later. I need to stop trying to run from my past, the time has come for me to accept what has happened, and move on. I can't change the past, only the future." "Exactly, glad you're finally seeing sense." Spike said with a smile. "You truly are the best son a mother could ask for," Twilight smiled back "I must look so foolish right now." "Hey, we all make mistakes," Spike replied "Now come on, we don't have all day!" And this time, it was Spike who raced away at a ridiculous speed, while Twilight followed him as best she could. The afternoon sun illuminated the chared remains of The Golden Oaks Library, as two of its former occupants approached it. Already, tears were forming in Twilight's eyes, as she sighed and said "I really miss this place, Spike. We had so many wonderful memories here over the years." Spike put a claw around Twilight, and clung tightly to her body as he said in reply "We sure did, didn't we...?" "Oh, Spike, I'm so sorry. Of course losing the Golden Oak Library was hard for you too," Twilight realized "Do you want to try and salvage your comic book collection? Maybe a few issues survived the explosion?" "Nah, those comics are all just stuff," Spike said to Twilight, even as tears streamed down his cheeks "I can always obtain more. What's most important is that we have each other, and Owlowiscious, and all our friends." Twilight nodded "And we'll make new memories in the castle together. I've got an idea. Why don't we have the girls add some things to make the castle feel more like your home as well?" "Really? You'd do that for me?!" Spike exclaimed. "Of course," Twilight replied "Anything for my number one assistant, first friend, and the best son any mother could ever ask for. Just hop on and name the place!" Spike was about to climb onboard Twilight, when a thought came to him. "I, um... I just thought of what I want!" he said sheepishly. "Oh, okay. What is it?" Twilight asked. "It's a... well, I want a... it's... I kind of need a... a bed!" Spike declared "That old basket is nothing but ashes now, and those cold castle floors make it kind of hard to sleep." "Hey, I thought you said you sleep like a baby in the castle." Twilight complained. Spike scoffed "Everypony knows babies are terrible sleepers. Let's go!" "Okay then, please remain seated and keep your arms and legs inside the ride at all times," Twilight said proudly "Thank you for flying 'Air Twilight'. Next stop Sofas, Quills, and Beyond!" And with a flap of her wings, Twilight took off into the sky, with Spike riding on her back. Just after Twilight and Spike had left, a group of shadows began to approach the site of the ruined library. They had big plans for what was left of it, but they had waited until Twilight and Spike had left so they wouldn't know about said plans. "It's time to put this old stump to good use." the leader of the group thought to itself. It took surprisingly longer than Twilight thought it would take, to find a suitable bed for Spike. At last, they settled on one, payed for it, and left. When they had exited the store, and looked up to the sky, they could see the rays of Celestia's sun as it began to set in the west. "The girls should be finished with their decorating by now," Twilight said to Spike "So let's go home, and see what they've done with the place. I'll bet we won't even recognize the castle!" "That would certainly be a nice surprise," Spike chuckled "But something tells me they've got something else in store for us." "Well, there's only one way to find out! Ready for another flight?" Twilight asked Spike. "You sure you're up for it?" Spike asked nervously "It's not just me you're carrying." "You know what, on second thought, maybe we'd better walk home." Twilight said nervously, and she and Spike did just that. Upon opening the castle's front door, Twilight and Spike were surprised to find that the girls were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they'd vanished without a trace in the middle of decorating. "Hello? We're home!" Twilight called. Just a few seconds later, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie all emerged. "Welcome home!" they called. Twilight took a quick glance around the castle, but didn't see anything that hadn't been there before she'd left "Oh, I, uh... love what you've done with the place," she said nervously "You did such a good job of... preserving the integrity of the original design. Not quite what I thought you'd do when you offered to decorate." "Aw, come on! It looks exactly the same!" Spike grumbled "Did you girls actually decorate the castle at all?!" "Well, it did take a teensy bit longer than we thought it would, let's just leave it at that," Rarity laughed nervously "But we did redecorate, we've got a big surprise for you in the throne room." "A surprise?" Twilight asked. Applejack nodded, and explained, as the girs led Twilight and Spike through the castle hallways "What really makes home feel like home isn't what it looks like. It's the memories you make when you're there." "So we've made something that celebrates the memories we've made with you since you moved to Ponyville," Rarity added, as she opened the door to the throne room "Behold!" Twilight and Spike looked up, and their mouths dropped open in shock. There was the root of the tree that had served as The Golden Oaks Library. It had been turned into a chandelier with a variety of different colored ornaments hanging from it. "The ornaments on the chandelier are reminders of all the fun we've had together," Fluttershy explained "Rarity found a spell that can copy memories from the mind, and place them into solid objects. Sort of like a mental photograph." "That one shows your party at the library welcoming you to Ponyville!" Pinkie Pie smiled, as she pointed to one of the ornaments. "And this one displays the time we shared donuts after the Grand Galloping Gala!" Fluttershy said happily, pointing to another ornament "And there's a lot more memories from the years we've spent together, even some of the more recent ones such as the Equestria Games, and our defeat of Tirek." "It's very lovely, but what's with the memory ornaments?" Spike asked. "We were hoping that being able to look at your beautiful old memories would inspire you both to make new ones." Rarity explained. "And the best part of it is, it's made from the roots of the Golden Oak Library, so you'll never forget where you came from," Applejack said proudly "it wasn't easy to unearth it and move it here, but somehow we managed. Do you like it?" "Like it? I love it!" Twilight exclaimed happily "It's exactly what the castle needed. And I am ready to make new memories here. You girls are the best friends anypony could ask for!" "Then let's start right now with a new memory cake! Seven layer what's-that-flavor mystery surprise! These might be chocolate chips or they might be super-spicy black beans!" Pinkie Pie suggested, whipping out a cake that she'd apparently made for just such an occasion. "Oh, and I suppose I should warn you, there may or may not be some confetti cannons laying around. I don't remember where I hid them." "And the rest of us couldn't help but spruce up a few parts of the castle as well," Rarity added "The dining room will probably look a bit more lavish than it did when you left." "Your kitchen might have a small flower garden growin' there." Applejack chimed in. "I took the liberty of putting some Daring Do posters in your bedroom," Rainbow Dash spoke up "Don't worry, I've got plenty of Wonderbolts posters and Daring Do items at my place." "And I hope you and Spike will appreciate the stuffed animals I left behind." Fluttershy smiled. "You girls didn't have to do that, but I'm glad you did," Twilight said, beaming brightly. "Now, let's enjoy the cake!"