Chapter 38
“So tomorrow’s it,” Barrel said, as he put away a stack of plates.
I nodded. “It is.”
“Nervous?” Berry asked, as she gave me a dripping wet salad bowl.
“Nervouscited,” I admitted as I dried the bowl.
“You shouldn’t be,” she told me. “You’re both so in love it’s precious. Don’t give me any, ‘what if she says no,’ stuff either. That will not happen.”
The sounds of an adult pony leading foals up the stairway caused me to turn my head towards the kitchen doorway.
Berry paused in her scrubbing and looked in the same direction. “Sounds like we’re about to have company.”
A second later, Sassy stuck her head in the doorway. “Pin, could we borrow you for a minute?”
“Sure. Let me dry my hooves and I’ll be right with you.”
Gena, who had retaken her pegasus filly appearance, walked around Sassy and into the kitchen. “Miss Berry, I forgot to tell you earlier, Pinch is a great tosser.”
“Tosser?” Berry tilted her head. “Tosser of what?”
“Of groceries,” Sassy said and grinned. “We got to see a show involving flying produce and all kinds of other sundries this afternoon. Pin said you and Barrel were the inspiration for it.”
I chuckled, as a look of understanding came to Berry’s face.
“Oh that kind of tosser!” Berry laughed. “Thank you. She gets too riled up and goes too fast sometimes, like her father, but she’s got excellent technique.”
“We’re enthusiastic about our jobs,” Barrel said.
After putting the towel back on its hanger, I walked over to Sassy and Gena. “What’s going on?”
“Can we show them your nest?” Piña asked, from somewhere out of view. “Gena and Cubitus want to see it.”
“Do you really have a chair made out of a cloud?” Cubitus asked, as he leaned into view in the doorway.
I nodded. “I do. My grandmother and grandfather made it.”
Somepony came up the stairs at a good pace, making us all pause.
“Rarity’s here!” Turner announced, as he appeared from the stairway. “She brought Thunderlane and Radius with her.”
“If I had to bet, she’s having a fit about the expansion right now,” Berry said.
Berry, Barrel, and I followed Sassy, Turner, and the foals down into the workroom.
“There you are!” Rarity said. She made a sweeping motion with a hoof which took in all of the workroom. “This is marvelous, darling!”
“I’m not sure how it’s working for him as a workshop, but It’s been a great dining hall for us,” Silent joked.
“Did you design it yourself?” Rarity asked.
“Not all of it,” I told her. “I got help from Burnt Oak on getting the layout of the workstations and storage.”
Filter took off his helmet and shook his head. “Much better.”
“I take it you’re off duty now,” Sassy said.
“All of us are off duty now,” Thunderlane, who was out of his Wonderbolts uniform, said. “The state of emergency was called off, so only the personal guards for the princesses are still active. We’ll have to check in the morning, but we’re good for now.”
“If you’d like, there are changing rooms in the shop where you can take off your armor,” I told Brass.
“That sounds great,” he said.
I stepped out of the doorway, turned, and motioned towards the changing rooms with a hoof. “They’re on the right.”
“Thank you,” Brass said, as he walked past me.
“Let’s get out of these things,” Filter said to Silent.
Silent gestured with a wing for Filter to go first. “Lead the way.”
As the pair of guards passed, Sassy whispered, “Silent. Would you like help getting your armor off?”
Silent paused and gave Sassy a smile. “Yes, very much.”
Gena giggled, as the trio left the room.
“How are you two adjusting to being changed?” Radius asked Cubitus and Kevin.
“Everything seems to be okay,” Cubitus said. “I still haven’t tried to fly yet, though.”
“It takes a bit of getting used to, but not much,” Radius told him. “Having the elytra covering your wings is interesting, though. It’s weird to think about parts you’ve never had before.”
Cubitus glanced over his shoulder. “I didn’t even think about them.”
“What did you call them?” Kevin asked.
“Elytra,” Radius told him. “I didn’t know what they’re called either. June Bug told me their name.”
Kevin’s smile became forced. “What do you think of Miss June Bug?”
Radius smiled. “I like her. She’s interested in us and wants to help us get settled here in Ponyville. She said she would be happy to help me get to know my new anatomy better.”
I muffled my laugh to a light snort, while Berry, Barrel, and Thunderlane laughed outright.
“You better be ready,” Barrel said through his laughter. “She’s likely to make her ‘tutoring lessons’ through hooves on sessions.”
Radius blinked and looked around the room as if seeking an explanation.
“June Bug thinks insects are cute,” Cubitus said, giving his brother a teasing grin. “She thinks you volunteering to be our representative when we got caught was brave too.”
Radius’ eyes widened. “Oh! That explains what she was feeling. I thought...” He blushed and looked flustered. “That’s... interesting.” He looked at the floor with a thoughtful expression. “Very interesting,” he said, as if talking to himself more than the rest of us.
Kevin’s mouth fell open.
Cubitus sighed and shook his head at Radius, before looking back over his shoulder. He appeared to concentrate for a second and then his elytra lifted from his back and his wings extended to their full reach. “Got it!”
“Wow!” Dinky said as she moved closer to Cubitus and studied his wings. “They’re even prettier now than they were before.”
Cubitus blushed. “Thanks.” He folded his wings, and his elytra returned to resting on his back.
Radius turned to Gena and asked. “You still haven’t tried to change?”
“Not yet,” Gena said.
“I know you can do it,” Kevin told her. “It’s easy.”
“That’s not it,” Gena looked away from Kevin’s eyes. “I’m still not ready yet.” She gave Dinky and Cubitus a look. “Stop worrying about me. I’m okay.”
“No, you’re not,” Dinky said with concern. “You haven’t been your bouncy, huggy self since-”
Gena hugged Dinky and gave her a defiant smile. “If you wanted a hug, you could have just asked.”
Dinky hugged Gena back and looked toward Cubitus.
“Gena, we-” Cubitus began.
“I’ll try later,” Gena promised, cutting him off.
“Gena, we’re just trying to help,” Kevin said.
“I know, but It’s not something anybuggy can help me with.” Gena wrapped Dinky in her wings and held her like a filly needing support from a stuffed toy. “I take that back. Everypony being themselves is helping a lot. If you change what you’ve been doing, it will make me think about things I don’t want to think about right now.”
“When I find myself in such situations, I often try to find something else to occupy my mind,” Rarity said. “I focus on things like finding out what has changed since I left on a business trip and what plans a certain somepony has for a dear friend of mine.”
“I think she wants a tour,” Thunderlane said in a stage whisper.
“There’s not much to show, but I’ll be glad to show you the new room upstairs and tell you what I’ve got planned,” I said.
Gena giggled, sounding more like herself.
“What?” Dinky asked.
“Do you think his tail’s going to wag again?” Gena asked.
“Let’s follow them and find out,” Thunderlane said.
“Since you’ve seen the workroom, the next logical spot to go is the display window.” I motioned for anypony who was interested to follow me. “I can’t tell you how much Sassy has helped. Without her, I might have been able to get something basic pulled together in time, but it would not have looked half as nice as it does right now. It only needs a couple of more finishing touches.”
Our group moved into the shop and wove through the displays to the display window.
“You added curtains to the back of the window,” Rarity noted. “You’re planning to keep things out of sight until the opportune moment I take it.”
I nodded. “I’m sure she’s going to notice, but I’m hoping I can dance around it until I can get her in position for the big reveal.” I opened the back curtain and waited as Rarity examined the display.
“Mmm, yes.” Rarity nodded with approval. “From what I can see from this side, it looks very nice. It must look even better from the front. The ponyquins are stand-ins for you and her, I presume?”
“Yes.” I smiled as I looked at the pair of ponyquins. “Thank you for letting us get the flapper hat. It was perfect.”
“I’m glad that it worked so well for you,” Rarity said. She moved to take a better look at the table between the ponyquins. “I assume something will be placed on that pillow.”
“There will be,” I confirmed.
“A small box with a certain item in it?” Rarity asked.
“I haven’t decided if the box is going to be on the pillow or in my pocket, but there will be something there.”
“May I see the box and take a peek at what’s in it?” Rarity asked.
“You can’t,” Noi said. “He won’t show it to anypony,” she said. “We even had Dinky hug him and give him her look and he still wouldn’t show us.”
Rarity giggled. “He must be committed to not showing anypony, then.”
“It’s been a tradition in my family to keep the ring’s design a secret, so the pony it’s meant for is the first pony to see it,” I explained.
“I see,” Rarity said. “Or, in this case, I won’t see.”
“If this wouldn’t be your first stop, what will be?” Thunderlane asked.
“I was planning to show her the new room upstairs first.”
I led the group back through the shop, up the stairs, and into my apartment.
As we passed through the den, the three nymphs and Radius paused and looked towards the study, prompting the rest of us to stop.
“What’s going on?” Pinch asked.
Cubitus turned, looked at me, and grinned. “I think Sassy got Silent out of his armor and kept her promise.”
“What promise?” Rarity asked.
“That she was going to give him more than hugs when he got out of uniform,” Rumble said.
“Ah.” Rarity glanced towards Thunderlane and smiled. “I can understand her plight of wanting to express her affection to a pony in uniform and being unable to do so.”
Thunderlane put a wing over Rarity’s shoulders. “It’s not much fun for the pony in uniform either,” he said as he hugged Rarity to his side and then leaned his head so it touched Rarity’s.
“Awww!” Dinky, Gena, and Noi said in chorus.
“Pinch doesn’t have that problem with her coltfriend, though,” Noi said. “Right, Piña?”
“She sure doesn’t,” Piña agreed.
Pinch blushed, looked away from Piña and Noi, and grumbled something to herself.
Rarity gave Kevin a curious look. “I take it you inspired Pinch to be affectionate in view of others.”
Kevin, blushing, admitted, “I did.”
“He showed me he loved me with Dinky’s detector,” Pinch said, as if wanting to preempt further questions. “And I kissed him.”
“In front of everypony,” Noi added, grinning.
Sassy opened and then stepped out of the study’s door, interrupting the conversation, wearing a self-satisfied smile. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll tell them you needed a minute to yourself because of an...” She turned around to face the doorway, looked downwards, and hummed a teasing note. “Issue that sprang up.”
“I’m going to pay you back for this, with interest, when I get the chance,” Silent told her lustily from within the study.
“That’s not a threat, that’s something I can look forward to,” Sassy purred. “Just remember to bring the blindfold and hoofcu-”
“Sassy!” Rarity exclaimed, “There are foals present!”
Sassy’s attention snapped to us, and she blushed to her ear tips. “Oh!” She gave us a nervous smile that made her look like a filly caught doing something naughty. “Hello everypony. We didn’t hear you come up.”
“We heard you, though,” Thunderlane said.
“You haven’t heard anything,” Silent said, still out of view. “If she would be so kind as to step back into the room, I would be happy to help her demonstrate her vocal range.”
Sassy, without turning her head, used her magic to shut the study room’s door. Silent’s laughter could be heard through the door.
“I believe we may want to move along on our tour,” Rarity said.
“That might be wise,” I agreed and led everypony through the kitchen and into the new room.
Though they had seen the room before, the foals spread out around the empty room as if compelled to space themselves out evenly and examined it as if seeing it were a novel experience.
“Oak and his team did a great job with both rooms,” I said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out.”
“There’s still nothing in here,” Piña remarked.
“I want to talk with Coco about what we should do with the room, before I add anything to it,” I explained.
Rarity walked the perimeter of the room, seeming to take in minute details from the grain of the wooden floor and walls. “This is a good sized room.” She looked up at the ceiling and studied it. “It could be used in several ways. It will be interesting to see what plans you two come up with for it.”
Sassy jumped and made a startled noise, making the rest of us start. She spun around and gave Silent a light tap on the nose with a hoof. “I’m going to put a bell on you, you sneaky thing!”
“No, you won’t,” Silent said, as he took Sassy into a hug and wrapped her in his wings. “It would take the fun out of wondering when I was coming.”
Sassy reached her forelegs up and over Silent’s wings and hugged him back. “True.”
“He was quiet,” Cubitus said. “I wonder if he could teach us to move like that,” he said to Kevin.
Piña giggled. “I think we lost Gena,” she said and nodded toward the nymph, who was staring at Sassy and Silent.
“Gena, you okay?” Noi asked, with a mixture of amusement and concern in her voice.
“His wings have to feel really nice,” Gena said.
“Oh, they do.” Sassy put her chin on top of Silent’s head and snuggled him closer to her. “He’s the perfect size to cuddle with too.”
“Looks like the party moved in here,” Filter said, after sticking his head in the doorway.
“Mister Filter!” Dinky said and hurried over to him. “Can I-”
Filter held out his forelegs, and Dinky hugged him before she completed her question.
Kevin grinned at Cubitus. “I would have thought you’d gotten enough excitement at dinner from Mister Pin.”
Cubitus snorted. “It’s excitement from Dinky, of course I’m going to have some.”
“Wait a second,” I said, as things clicked together in my head. “You mean you’ve been tasting my anticipation for Coco coming back all evening?”
Cubitus gave me an unrepentant grin and admitted, “A little.”
“My excitement tastes good to you?” Dinky asked, as she let go of Filter.
Cubitus looked abashed, but he nodded. “When you get excited, which is one of my favorite emotions, it’s usually got caring or loving emotions mixed in with it, so it’s got a great flavor.”
“You’ve got a delightful shade of red going on there, Dinky,” Sassy teased.
Gena’s ears fell a bit, but she seemed to catch them and force them back up. “Mister Pin, what about the sign? You’ve talked about it, but I haven’t seen it.”
“It’s in the study,” Filter said. “Pin set me up a space where I could work on it there.”
“The cloud chair is in there too,” Piña pointed out.
“Lead the way,” I said to Filter.
Filter guided our group to the study. “Give me just a second,” he said and walked over to the desk. He adjusted the drawing board the drawing of the sign was on so everypony could see it. “There we go.”
“Oh my,” Rarity said. “This is a lovely design, Filter. You did a wonderful job of capturing the style of the shop’s current sign while making this version have a flare of its own.”
“Coco’s going to have a fit, when she sees it,” Thunderlane said. “The good sort of fit, I mean.”
“Thank you,” Filter said and bowed his head to them.
Rarity gave me a look of faux betrayal. “While this is a lovely gift for you to have prepared for her, it’s clear you’re wanting to help establish a rival for me.”
“I don’t know about establishing a ‘rival,’ but I would like it to make it official that the shop is going to be hers as much as mine.”
She raised an eyebrow. “How do you explain the new mare ponyquins in your vastly expanded workroom then?”
I put on as innocent a smile as I could manage. “I thought she could use them when she was making costumes.”
Rarity’s other eyebrow rose to match its partner in an expression of disbelief.
“I don’t think she’s buying it,” Rumble whispered.
“I don’t think so either,” I whispered back.
Rarity dropped her act and giggled. “Darling, I think it would be a marvelous idea for her to display her works here. I’ve been trying to get her to show off her work in my shops, but she has declined each time I have offered.”
“She’s done the same with me,” I said. “She said she didn’t feel right displaying her dresses in a shop that wasn’t hers.” I looked at the sign and smiled. “I’m hoping that by officially making the shop hers too she’ll feel comfortable enough to.”
“I do hope so,” Rarity said. “She has far too much talent for her to not show it over such a trifling concern.” She looked past me and nodded towards something. “It appears there are ponies who are patiently waiting for you to show something else to them.”
I turned and looked at the foals, who looked back at me with expectant gazes.
“I think they want to get on the cloud chair more than they want to look at it,” Sassy said. “I have to admit, I’m curious to find out what it feels like.”
“We might not want to let Pinch and Kevin get up there together, though,” Piña said. “Who knows what she’ll do to him, if they get comfy.”
Pinch blushed and gave Piña an annoyed look. “It was one kiss.”
“But it was a good one,” Gena said, grinning.
Cubitus nodded in agreement. “It was quite tasty.”
“Hello?” a voice called from the den.
“We’re in here, Mom,” Dinky called.
Muffins appeared at the doorway. “Coxa and Spiracle are here. They’d like to see Gena and Radius, if they could.”
“Their meeting must have gone well,” Rarity said.
“If I had to bet, you’re right,” Radius said.
Gena looked at Radius. “What’s going on?”
Radius gave her a smile. “I promised not to say much, but I can say it’s a good thing.”
Gena looked toward Rarity.
“Thunderlane and I made the same promise,” Rarity said.
“Let’s go find out what’s happening then,” Piña said.
Muffins led us all down into the workroom.
Coxa smiled as she greeted us, “Hello everyone.”
“She’s excited,” Cubitus noted.
Coxa’s eyes went to Gena. “There you are.” She held out her forelegs, and Gena rushed over and gave her a hug. “You feeling any better?”
“Some,” Gena said. “Everypony has been taking care of me. That’s helped a lot.” She looked up at Coxa with concern. “Miss Muffins said you wanted to see me and Radius.”
“We did,” Spiracle said. He looked at Cubitus and grinned. “You’ve gotten pulled into this too, so don’t relax too much.”
“Pulled into what, Sir?” Cubitus asked.
“Before we go too far, who officially gets her?” Radius asked.
“We do, but we’ll share,” Coxa said, with a bright smile.
“What are you talking about?” Gena said.
“There was a bit of a debate about who was going to be your… I think the term used by the mayor was ‘guardian,’ while you stay in Ponyville,” Spiracle told her. “After discussing things with the first one who offered to take you in and Thorax, Coxa and I are officially yours.”
“Who offered first?” Noi asked.
Radius raised his hoof. “I did, but nothing had been made official at that point. When Coxa and Spiracle offered to take her in too, we talked things over with Thorax, after dinner, and we decided since I was looking after Cubitus that they would look after Gena, not that either of them really need looking after.”
“You wanted to take care of me?” Gena said.
“Of course I did.” He gestured towards Cubitus with a hoof. “You’re been our friend and nest mate for years. Cubi and I have worried about you ever since you left for the Empire. Anytime we got status reports about the other teams, he always asked me if there had been any news about you.”
Gena looked at Cubitus, who blushed.
“I couldn’t stand the thought of you not having somebuggy to look after you with all the turmoil that’s going on, so I talked to Thorax about taking you under my wing as soon as I found out what happened with your parents,” Radius said. “Little did I know there was going to be so much competition for you.” He gave Berry an appreciative nod. “Even ponies you met a couple of day ago wanted to keep you.”
“So, you’ll be taking her back to the hive?” Berry asked.
“We’ll be staying here,” Coxa said, sounding quite happy to do so.
“We’re staying here?!” Gena said with exuberance.
“We’ll be staying here,” Coxa confirmed.
“What about your egg?” Piña asked. “You need to get back to it.”
Coxa smiled at Piña. “We will go back to the hive with the changelings and ponies who are going to go back to help rebuild the hive tomorrow, get our egg, and then hurry back here.”
“Coxa is going to be the head of the nursery that is going to be started in the caverns, and I am going to be head of security, so we can’t dally at the hive,” Spiracle explained.
Piña’s ears pricked up. “There’s going to be a nursery here?”
“The changelings staying here will need somewhere to lay their eggs,” Spiracle said. “We don’t know how long we’re going to be away from the hive. It sounds like it’s going to take months to repair the damage to the hive. It will take even longer for us to get our own crops going.”
“Congratulations to both of you!” Muffins said and everypony joined in congratulating them with applause and well-wishes.
“You’re almost going to need a whole new town in the caverns,” Noi said, after the applause died down. “That’s going to take a lot of work.”
“It is, but it will be worth it,” Coxa said.
“Speaking of work, you two are going to have a role to play with the cavern refuge too,” Spiracle said to Gena and Cubitus. “You’ll be working with Radius in his new role.”
Gena let go of Coxa and turned to face Radius. “What new role?”
Radius drew himself up and announced, “I’m going to be the liaison between Ponyville and the changelings staying in the caverns.” He pointed a hoof at Gena and Cubitus. “You two are going to be our counterparts to their research team. You’re going to help us find out about ponies and their lifestyles like they have been learning about us through Kevin.”
“Sounds like a good idea, but the count’s uneven though,” Barrel said. “Two ponies and a changeling on one side, two changelings on the other.”
“Mayor Mare suggested a solution to that, and June Bug and I supported the idea.” Radius turned towards Noi and held out his hoof as if offering something to her. “Would you like to be our team’s third member?”
Noi looked at him with disbelief. “Me?!”
“That evens things out,” Berry said and patted Noi on the back with a hoof. “I think you’d do a great job.”
“Mayor Mare was impressed with your idea about circulating a newsletter about the changelings and how you conducted yourself at the meeting,” Radius told Noi. “That you’ve been friends with Keratin as long as you have made you uniquely qualified too.”
“Go for it!” Piña cheered.
Rumble grinned and encouraged, “Say yes!”
“I can’t,” Noi said and shook her head. “I can’t take the position and leave you two out. You’re the reason I got to meet Cubi and Kevin.”
“We will have a use for them too, but in a different capacity,” Spiracle said. “I have been told they founded one of the best training teams in Povyville.”
“They are the best,” Kevin said. “They’ve gotten me back in active duty shape.”
“I’ll vouch they’re fast,” Cubitus said. “I had trouble keeping up with them and I was flying.”
“Good, they can help my two top youngling agents and the other nymphs stay in shape and get the other nymphs to mingle with the Ponyville foals when they show up. Our nymphs will have to adjust to training for competitive games rather than combat drills, but I’m sure they’ll manage.”
“We’re your top younglings?” Gena asked, as if she were unsure she heard him right.
Spiracle looked at her as if reaction were unexpected. “Of course you two are. I wouldn’t recommend him to be a love gatherer for the Ponyville infiltration team if he wasn’t skilled enough for the job, and I certainly wouldn’t have recommended you to take Flurry’s place if I hadn’t thought you were the best nymph for the role.”
Gena trembled. “You’re proud of us,” she all but whispered. “I can taste it.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my trainees, and you both did exceedlin-” Spiracle cut himself off, as tears went down Gena’s cheeks. “Gena?”
“But I gave our team away,” Gena said. “I thought you’d be disappointed in me, like my…”
Like my parents, I mentally finished for her and choked up a bit.
Spiracle shook his head. “Not at all. You arguably had the hardest role of us, and you performed above expectations. Flurry is loved by many in the castle. That you could fool so many ponies who knew her intimately for days is a testament to your ability.”
Gena sniffed. “I- I-”
Dinky stepped forward as if to go to Gena, but Cubitus stopped her by placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Hold on,” he whispered to her.
“Gena, go on, hug him,” Coxa urged. “You both need it.”
Gena and Spiracle both gave her surprised looks.
“Go on,” Coxa said to Gena and gave her an encouraging motion with a hoof.
Gena and Spiracle looked at each other, both wearing expressions of uncertainty.
“But he’s my instructor,” Gena said.
“He’s not anymore,” Coxa reminded her. “Don’t let his hardshell act fool you. He beat me to asking Thorax whether we could take care of you.”
Gena looked at Spiracle with wide eyes. “Really?”
Spiracle’s ears folded back in embarrassment, and he looked away from Gena. “I couldn’t let one of my top trainees go unsupervised.”
Coxa snorted. “Tell her what you told me, when you asked me if I was okay with the idea of us looking after her,” Coxa said. “She’s going to be ours from now on, so she should know.”
Spiracle gave Coxa a hesitant nod and then turned back to Gena. “When you had your breakdown about our previous lives being over and not having any value to the Hive it… resonated with me. I had been wrestling with the same kinds of thoughts, ever since we were captured. No matter what the ultimate outcome of our failed mission would be, I realized my time as an agent and instructor was over. I had no idea what I was going to do beyond whatever it took to make sure the members of our team survived and that Coxa and our nymph were going to make it.”
Coxa hugged Spiracle from the side as if to support him.
“When I found out that your parents weren’t coming, I wasn’t surprised. They never...” Looking vulnerable, he pushed on and told her, “They never appreciated what a special nymph they had. I couldn’t let one of my star pupils and Coxa’s best friend face what’s coming alo-”
Gena closed the distance between her and Spiracle and hugged him.
Spiracle returned the hug in an unpracticed and stiff, but genuine, way.
Coxa joined Gena and Spiracle in their hug. She met eyes with Gena and told her, smiling, “I’m counting on you to help me get him over this hugging thing, so we’re going to have to do this a lot.”
Gena sniffed and then giggled. “Sure!”
“Try giving them love!” Kevin said to her.
Gena closed her eyes and clung tighter to Coxa and Spiracle. A second passed, and then a light from within Gena glowed. The light grew brighter and spread through every part of her body. There was a magical ‘pop,’ and the light went out.
“You did it!” Dinky cheered.
Gena looked at one of her hooves. “I’m green!” She let go of Spiracle and Coxa and danced around in a small circle chanting; “I’m green! I’m green! I’m green!”
Kevin took a couple of steps backwards. “She can give off emotions now.”
Cubitus smiled, seeming to relish a sensation we ponies in the room could not experience. “She sure can.”
“Hold still for a second,” Piña said. “What’s on your chest?”
Gena paused in her jubilant dancing, looked down, and put a hoof to her chest. “They’re gems. I think.”
“What do they mean?” Pinch asked, as she stepped closer to Gena to examine the gems.
“I’ll bet they’re from all the love she had inside her,” Cubitus said. “I’ll bet a lot of the ‘softies’ have them now too.”
“That fits,” Spiracle said. “Coxa has them too, and I can’t think of another changeling who cares about the younglings like she does.”
“She’s always taken care of me,” Gena said, and hugged Coxa.
“She took care of all three of us,” Kevin said.
“Better than our own mothers,” Cubitus agreed, with a touch of pain in his voice.
Dinky gave Cubitus a sympathetic look and hugged him.
When Cubitus hugged her back, Kevin’s ears went up, “She’s jeal-”
Before he could finish, Pinch gave Kevin a nudge on the shoulder and a small shake of her head.
“I think we should follow Miss Rarity’s advice and think of other things,” Radius said. He looked at Coxa and told her, “Not that I don’t fully agree with them about how wonderful you’ve been.”
“I understand, Radi, don’t worry.” Coxa looked at me and smiled. “Turner was telling us you have a big event planned for tomorrow.”
I blushed and nodded.
“While he was kind enough to provide a general outline of his plans, he did not give details,” Rarity told her, and then gave me a prompting look.
I chuckled. “I get the hint. Right now, unless things change again, I was planning to...”
*****
A shape appeared down the length of the track. It grew steadily, though not fast enough for my levels of anticipation, as it moved towards the platform.
Swish, swish, swish.
Gena giggled. “He’s so cute!”
“Want us to get your tail?” Pinch asked.
“Wait until after she’s on the platform,” Amethyst said. “I don’t think Coco’s seen him like this.”
“I like that plan.”
Kevin grinned. “You should be glad she’s not a changeling. She’d be able to tell you were up to something as soon as she got close to you.”
“Miss Starlight!” Pinch greeted, as Starlight Glimmer stepped onto the platform from the stairs. “We didn’t know you were going to be here.”
“I didn’t know I was going to be here either, until Muffins stopped by and gave me a telegram from Sunburst telling Twilight and me he was coming,” Starlight said.
“Sunburst from the Crystal Empire?” Gena asked, sounding worried.
Starlight gave her a confused smile. “That’s him. Do you know him?”
Gena spun toward the platform’s stairs. “I have to go!”
“No you don’t!” Cubitus grabbed Gena before she could run. “You need to stay and talk to him.”
“Cubi, please!” She looked over her shoulder at the oncoming train as if there were a manticore coming for her. “Please let me go! You didn’t feel what I did when he found out. I made him feel awful.”
Gena struggled to get free from Cubitus, until Dinky hugged her from behind and told her, “That’s why you need to talk to him, to show him you’re not a bad changeling and to make him feel better.”
The conversation paused, as the sound of the train coming into the station drowned out any other noise. Cubitus continued to hold Gena, but instead of restraining her, he joined Dinky in giving her a supportive hug.
After the train released its built up steam, the train’s doors opened, and ponies filed onto the platform.
Starlight looked at Gena with an amused smile. “You’re worried about talking to Sunburst?”
Gena nodded. “We… met while I was in the Crystal Empire.”
“I get now. You’re worried about how he’s going to react to seeing you again?” When Gena gave her a nod, Starlight snorted. “Sunburst is one of the sweetest stallions I know. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I’ll hold those for you,” Sassy offered, and nodded toward the bouquet I was holding. “Don’t want them to get messed up, when you two hug.”
“Thanks,” I said, and passed her the flowers. My heart sped up as I watched for any signs of Coco. I smiled as I caught a flash of her mane and her flower pin. “There she is,” I said, and pointed a hoof towards where I had gotten the glimpse of her.
“Coco,” Filter called, wearing a huge grin. “We’re over here!”
“If you don’t hurry, Pin’s going to wag his tail off!” Silent called to her.
Coco appeared from the crowd. She glanced towards my tail, smiled, and then shook her head. “I don’t think I’m worth getting so excited about.”
“You are to me,” I told Coco, as she hugged me. I nuzzled her mane and relished being able to hold her again. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“Oh, wow!” Gena said. “I thought he opened up when he hugged the blanket. This is a lot better.”
Coco gave Gena a curious look. “Hugged the blanket?”
“Miss Coco, this is Gena. She’s in her pegasus form right now, but she’s one of the changelings who’s going to be staying here,” Dinky said. “She learns about ponies by hugging them. Mister Pin didn’t give her a good hug, when he hugged her, so we had him hug a blanket and pretend it was you.”
“What did you find out?” Coco asked Gena.
“That’s he’s a closet romantic snuggler who needs his special somepony close to let his affection out,” Gena responded.
“That’s a wonderful description of him,” Coco said.
“Quit hogging my sister,” Filter said, and patted me on the shoulder.
I let go of Coco so Filter and the others could welcome Coco back.
As Filter got his hug from Coco, Gena pranced in place.
“If you ask nicely, I’m sure she’ll give you a hug too,” Filter said and let go of Coco.
“Of course I will,” Coco said.
“Thank you!” Gena said and hugged Coco.
“What can you tell about her?” I asked as Coco returned Gena’s hug.
“She’s brave and caring and sweet,” Gena said.
I smiled and nodded. “That’s her.”
“I’m not all that brave, but thank you,” Coco said.
“You quit your job to tell me I had won the Fashion Week competition,” Rarity said. “That was very brave of you.”
“You also put on a successful community play to pull ponies together, knowing that it was possible nopony would show up for it,” I said.
“I had a lot of help with that one,” Coco said and gave an appreciative look to Rarity.
Somepony took my tail with their magic and held it still. “There you go, girls,” Sassy said. “Need any help?”
“Thanks Miss Sassy, but I think we’ve got this,” Pinch said. “Prench braid this time?” she said to Piña and Noi.
“Sound’s good to me,” Noi said, and Piña nodded in agreement.
“Let me give these back to you.” Sassy returned the flowers to me with a smile.
“Thanks.”
“You’re not super soft anymore!” Dinky, who was hugging Coco, looked up at her with concern. “Are you okay?”
Coco giggled and then told Dinky, “I haven’t had Pin around to spoil me is all.”
“I’m sure he’ll be glad to resume such activities, and she’ll be ‘super soft’ again in short order,” Rarity said.
“Sunburst!” Starlight called, and waved toward the thinning crowd. “There you are!”
“Hello!” Sunburst called back. “I’m so glad to see you,” he told Starlight, as he approached pulling a small wagon full of luggage and boxes behind him with his magic.
“Nope, can’t do it!” Gena said and bolted.
Gena only got a few steps before Starlight’s horn lit. Gena looked around, shocked, as she floated off her hooves and towards Starlight. “That’s cheating!” she protested from within a bubble of Starlight’s magic.
“Your friends are right. Running away from your problems won’t make them go away.” Starlight’s ears fell. “Trust me, it’s better to face your problems head on.” Starlight placed Gena in front of her and then put her hooves on Gena’s shoulders. “Don’t worry.” She gave Gena a reassuring smile. “If he gives you a hard time, I’ll sort him out.”
Sunburst approached Starlight and looked down at Gena with curiosity. “What’s going on?”
“Sunburst, this is Gena,” Starlight told him. “She’s a sweet nymph whom I’ve met once, thanks to Dinky and Pinch, and who I’ve heard nothing but nice things about. You two have met before too, but you didn’t know it.”
“With her being a changeling, I’m not surprised.” Sunburst looked at Gena with concern. “Is everything okay? You seem upset.”
Gena looked down at Sunburst’s hooves and did not say a word.
“She’s worried about meeting you without being disguised because of the role she played in the Empire,” Starlight told Sunburst.
Sunburst’s ears went askew. ”What do you mean?”
Gena confessed, “I was the one who took Flurry’s place.”
Sunburst’s eyes widened with realization. “That’s what’s going on!”
“I could feel how worried you got for her, when you figured out I wasn’t her,” Gena said, as her ears pinned back in a display of remorse. “I’m sorry.”
Sunburst waved Gena’s concerns away with a hoof. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not mad about what happened.”
“She needs a hug from you,” Kevin said to Sunburst. “She’ll feel better, after she gets one.”
Gena looked at Kevin with horrified disbelief. “Kevin!”
“If it will help, sure,” Sunburst said.
Gena snapped her head back to Sunburst. “But-!”
Gena stopped her protests as Sunburst hugged her. She sniffed and swallowed as she hugged him back. “You really don’t care.”
“Not at all. It’s not like you took her place all on your own, and you didn’t hurt anypony.” He smiled down at her. “You did a great job as Flurry, by the way.”
Gena gave Sunburst a relieved smile. “What gave me away?”
“You didn’t use your magic like she does.” Sunburst looked around and then leaned closer to Gena’s ear. “You were too well behaved, and you didn’t fuss and pout like she does too.”
Gena laughed. “Thanks, Mister Sunburst. It’s good to hug you again.” She let go of him, stepped aside, and looked at Starlight. “There’s somepony else who needs a hug from you, though.”
“I need a hug from her too,” Sunburst said, and took Starlight into his forelegs.
“Done!” Pinch declared.
“Thank you,” I said to the fillies, as I looked back at my tail. “It looks great.”
“It does,” Coco agreed.
“We’ve been practicing on Rumble and Kevin,” Noi said.
“How nice of you two to volunteer,” Rarity praised the pair of blushing colts.
“I’m glad to see the research team is here,” Sunburst said. He turned and patted one box in his wagon with a hoof. “A lot of these are for you and Twilight.”
“For us?” Pinch asked, her ears up.
“These are the first bunch of books that talk about changelings from the Empire’s library Twilight requested,” Sunburst explained.
“The Empire has books on the changelings?!” Pinch said.
“Only a couple,” Sunburst told her. “Most of the books I could find discuss or mention things about changelings but they weren’t written to be about changelings.”
“That’s still a lot more to work with than what we had,” Dinky said.
“Not that I’m not enjoying it, but what are you so excited about?” Cubitus asked Pinch. “It’s just a bunch of books.”
“Just a bunch of books?!” Pinch said as if offended on the books’ behalf. “These books could open up whole new avenues of research on the history of changeling and pony relations and how we could move forward together.” She looked at the box with yearning. “I can’t wait to go through them and see what’s in them.”
“Wow, Twilight really has rubbed off on you,” Starlight said.
“Pinch has always had a lot of curiosity,” Kevin said. “Twilight’s research lessons and projects have just it made it grow and become more refined.”
Cubitus grinned at Kevin. “Of course you’d notice that.”
Kevin blushed as Pinch gave him a curious look.
“Kevin likes curiosity like Cubitus likes excitement,” Gena explained.
Dinky burst into giggles. “So that’s why he gets that funny look whenever Twilight and Pinch discuss research stuff.”
“How about a change in plans?” Filter said to Gena, Noi, Cubitus, Silent, and the research team. “What if we meet at the castle instead of the school? There might be something in the books we could use for the newsletter.”
“That sounds great,” Noi said. “Gena, Piña, Cubitus, Rumble and I can go tell Miss Cheerillee what’s going on and then meet you there.”
“You’re going to have to come up with our own team name,” Rumble said. “Listing everypony like that takes too long.” He moved towards the stairway, paused, and looked back over his shoulder. “Come on. We’ve got ground to cover.”
“Hold just a second!” Amethyst called to the departing group. “I’m going with you.” Amethyst gave Coco a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“I’m glad to be back,” Coco said and returned the hug.
“I’ll see you at Pin’s later,” Filter said to Coco, as he and Silent headed off with the research team.
“Do you have any luggage you need help with?” I asked Coco.
“Nope!” Coco reached back and patted her saddlebags. “I just have these. Thanks though.”
“I’ll carry those for you, if you’d like,” I told her.
She gave me a mischievous smile. “If you’ll carry them for me, I’ll carry the flowers for you.”
I smiled. “I think that’s a fair deal.” I levitated her saddlebags to my back while passing her the bouquet.
Coco studied the morning glories, sweet peas, and red carnations for a second and then smiled. “I missed you too,” she said and gave me an appreciative look. She leaned forward as if to kiss me, and I leaned to meet her.
“Ahem! Think of your surroundings, before doing anything too risque,” Rarity said.
Coco stopped, close enough to me I could feel the air of her exasperated huff on my lips. She turned her head towards Rarity. “I wasn’t able to kiss him when he came to take care of me, and I’ve been looking forward to being able to again.”
“I understand, darling, I had to exert all my willpower not to throw myself at Thunderlane, even with him being in uniform, when I saw him, but a lady must maintain proper decorum.”
Coco raised a challenging eyebrow. “If I can’t get a quick kiss from him, I’ll ask him to let me nibble his ear again and I won’t care who watches.”
“Coco!” Rarity gasped.
Sassy laughed. “I’d like to see that.”
I gave Coco a kiss on the cheek. When she turned to face me again, I touched my nose to hers. “Will that tide you over until we can get home?”
“That helps, but hold still for a second.” She gave my nose a kiss. “There! That should be enough to hold me.”
Rarity shook her head and smiled. “You two are going to have to get all this affection out of your systems, before you join us this evening.”
“Join us?” Coco asked.
“We’re putting on a ‘We’re Glad You’re Back Safe and Sound’ event for Rarity at the park,” Sassy explained. “Rarity’s been so busy she hasn’t been able to tell us what happened to her, and we haven’t been able to celebrate her making it back.”
“If you are feeling up to it, we’d love for you to come,” Rarity said. “However, we all know what traveling such a distance on short notice can do to a pony, so if you decline we will understand.”
“Of course I’ll come,” Coco said. “I got a nap on the train, so I’m good for anything this evening.”
“I’m sure Pin’s glad to hear that, after you being away for so long,” Sassy teased.
Coco blushed and gave Sassy a look. “Sassy, my brother’s staying in the apartment too.”
“I could teach Pin my sound proofing spell,” Sassy offered. “Silent and I have gotten no complaints from our neighbors, so I’m sure Filter wouldn’t be able to hear a thing.”
“Sassy!” Coco hid her face behind the bouquet. “That’s not the point, and I don’t need those images.”
Rarity looked at me and said, “Why don’t you get Coco back to your place, before Sassy traumatizes her even more.”
“I’d be glad to.”
We left the train station’s platform as a group and then Rarity and Sassy split from us to go to Rarity’s.
“I know it’s a longer walk, but would you mind if we took the route through the market?” I asked. “Rose wanted to see you when you got back.”
“Sure,” Coco said. “I’d love to see her and I need to walk after the train ride.”
“How are things at the new shop?”
Coco smiled. “They’re going great. There were a couple of kinks we had to work out, but overall I think it’s off to an impressive start.”
“Did Suri behave herself for you?”
“She did. There were some tense moments, but I think we’ve put the worst of it behind us. She also flirted with me a few times, but apologized and said it was out of habit each time.”
“While I’m not sure I like the thought on one level, I can understand her flirting. I can’t help but flirt with you too.”
“You silly thing.” Coco’s eyes went to my neck. “I noticed you’re wearing the bow tie.”
“It’s a special occasion.”
Coco bumped her side into mine. “What are you up to?”
“Me?” I said, feigning innocence. “I’m walking with my special somepony to see a mutual friend of ours.”
“That’s not what I meant. What have you got up your slea-”
“Coco!” Rose called and waved from her stall. “You’re back!”
“Hello, Rose,” Coco greeted.
Rose came from behind her stall’s counter and hugged Coco. “I’m so happy to see you. I was so worried, when I heard Pin had to gallop up to Manehattan to take care of you.”
“I was miserable for a bit, but it wasn’t anything dangerous.” Coco nodded towards me. “Pin took good care of me and brought me medicine from Zecora that got me back on my hooves in no time.”
Rose patted me on the head as if I was a dog. “He’s a good stallion, even if he doesn’t buy flowers when you’re not around.”
“I bought that sample bouquet, before I had to take off,” I reminded her.
“True, but that was your only purchase since Coco left,” Rose said. “You got it for the girls, not yourself too.” She turned to Coco and smiled. “I better let you two go. I’m sure you want to get back to Pin’s and rest your hooves for a bit, after that trip.” Rose gave Coco another hug and a nuzzle. “It’s good to have you back.”
“I’m glad to be back,” Coco said.
Rose gave me a wink over Coco’s shoulder and silently told me, “Good luck.”
I gave her a brave smile and a nod in response.
After waving goodbye to Rose, Coco and I resumed our walk home.
“Now I know you’re up to something,” Coco said.
“What do you mean?”
“Rose said something to you, when she was hugging me. I caught you nodding out of the corner of my eye too.”
“I’ll confess, I have a surprise planned for you.”
“Pin, I appreciate it, but you didn’t have to do anything for me. With everything that’s been going on here, you had more than enough on your plate to worry about.”
“I didn’t have to ‘do’ much of anything, other than apply for the permits and talk with Oak about what needed to be done.”
Coco gave me a confused look. “Permits?”
“It may be better if you see it rather than have me attempt to describe it.”
We rounded a corner, and the back of the shop came into view.
“You put an expansion on the shop?!”
“Oak and his crew did the work. All I had to do was stay out of the way.” I could not help but grin at the look she gave me. “Would you like to see why they did?”
“Yes!” Coco said, and led me in a trot to the back of the shop.
I opened the back door for Coco, and she pranced in like an excited filly. She looked around the expanded workroom as if trying to take in as much of it as she could in the shortest amount of time. “This is wonderful! There’s so much more room and...” She trailed off, as she examined the mare ponyquins next to one workstation. “Pin, are those for me?”
“They are. If you ever need a stallion ponyquin, you are welcome to use any of mine.”
Coco put her bouquet down on the worktable next to the ponyquins. She reached out and touched one of them as if checking if it was real. “You did this for me. You did all of this for me.”
“I did it for both of us. We had enough space to work the way the workroom was, but just enough. If you were going to be working on costumes here too, we would ne-” Coco waved a hoof for me to stop.
“Pin, I-” Coco sniffed. “I- I mean, I-” She seemed to get frustrated with herself. She gave an irritated sigh and looked at the floor. “I’m so flustered I can’t even say what I’m trying to say.”
“Flustered in a good way, I hope.”
“Yes!” Coco said, and her eyes met mine. “There’s so much more space and storage, and I can’t thank you enough for the ponyquins, but I’m worried about you.” Before I could respond, she gave me a knowing look and asked, “If I wasn’t here, would you have had the addition put on?”
I felt my ears descend in silent acknowledgment of her point. “I probably wouldn’t have. But-”
Coco hugged me, cutting me off. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this or how flattered I am, but I’m worried you’re putting me before your livelihood. This had to be expensive, and I don’t want to put you in a position where you could lose your business and your home.”
I hugged her back. “You don’t have to worry about that at all. Thanks to my grandparents leaving me the shop and how I’ve lived, I’ve been able to save up. The expansion wasn’t too expensive either. The price of building in Ponyville is much less than in Manehattan.”
“It was still a lot of bits.” Coco looked up at me with worry in her eyes. “Bits you could have put into your business some other way, or taken a vacation with, or-”
I booped her nose with mine, stopping her protests, and told her, “There’s another surprise I want to show you.”
“Another one?!” Coco’s ears went back in shock. “Pin, you’ve done too much for me already.”
“I’d argue against that.” I told her in a playful tone, as she gave me a look that told me she was about to say otherwise. “Before we debate how much you’re worth to me, let me show what the surprise is.”
“Pin, you’ve-” She stopped and sighed when I gave her my best puppy eyes. After a couple of seconds of keeping her composure, she smiled and giggled. “You’ve been around Dinky too much.”
“I’m not near that good, but I have been getting some pointers from her.” I motioned with my chin towards the stairway. “The surprise is upstairs in the study.”
As we passed the doorway to the front of the shop, Coco halted mid-step.
“Pin.”
“Yes?”
“You added back curtains to the display window.”
I turned around and saw that Coco was looking towards the storefront and the display window.
“I did,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I needed a backdrop for the latest display, and curtains seemed a nice way to do it. I’ll be glad to show it to you, after I show you the surprise upstairs. I’d like your opinion on it, since you’re the expert in creating backgrounds.”
Coco gave me a look that said she was not convinced, but she would play along. “I’d be glad too.”
As we went up the stairs, I told her, “The two colt nymphs stayed in your room for a couple of nights.”
“They did? How did they end up here?”
“Filter was staying with me, and they needed to have protection from reprisals from the changelings who were still loyal to Queen Chrysalis, so they stayed here along with Silent.”
“I’ve got a lot to catch up on,” Coco said.
“I feel the same with all you’ve been doing,” I told her and paused at her room’s door. “I could put your bags in your room, if you’d like.”
“Yes, please. On the bed would be perfect.”
I opened the door and used my magic to levitate her saddlebags from my back to her bed. “Speaking of your bed, the colts didn’t sleep in it in the genuine sense. They built a nest out of the sheets and comforter on top of the mattress and cuddled together.”
“Please tell me you got pictures!”
“I did. Thanks to Berry, Dinky, and the girls, who came over with breakfast for them and insisted on waking them up themselves. Thanks to them, we also found out that changelings don’t have bellybuttons and have ticklish bellies.”
Coco laughed. “Are they going to put those little tidbits in their research reports?”
“Maybe not in the reports, but they might mention them in the newsletter.”
After we made our way into the study, Coco examined the stand that was propping up the cloth covered drawing. “My brother’s involved in this, isn’t he?”
“He is. How could you tell?”
“I’d recognize his drawing stand anywhere.”
Using my hooves, I removed the cloth with care to not smudge any of Filter’s work. “I commissioned a new design for the shop’s sign.”
Coco’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with a hoof in shock. “Coco and Pin’s Attire and Designs?!”
“Of course, the lady always goes first.” When she looked at me as if I had lost my mind, I smiled and added, “Besides, Filter and I agreed ‘Pin and Coco’s’ sounds like a Los Pegasus show’s name instead of a clothing store.”
“Pin, I-” She turned back to the sign and stared at it. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“I was thinking if the shop is yours too, then you wouldn’t have to worry about displaying your designs.”
Coco looked at me with intense eyes. “The expansion, the ponyquins, the new sign, the changes to the display window, you want me to be your business partner.”
“I do. If you don’t want to display your designs, I won’t push you to, but I do want the shop to be ours in the fullest sense. I want you to have a place that’s yours, where you can design your costumes and feel it’s yours and not some temporary rental space.” I took her hooves with mine. “I want you working beside me and with me, not for me.” I lifted her right hoof and kissed it. “You don’t have to answer right now. I know you just got in, and I’ve given you a lot to think about, but please consider it.”
“How could I not answer you right now, with all that you’ve done?” Coco asked.
“I’ve thought about an expansion for the workroom for a while. You were the catalyst for me to do it. I won’t deny that, but I don’t want you to feel pressured into saying yes or no because of it. The mare ponyquins a gift for you, no matter what you decide too.”
Coco studied me for a second and then gave me a playful smile. “How about I hold off with my answer until after you show me the new room and the display? Would that be enough time for me to ‘think about it’ so you won’t feel guilty when I give you my answer?”
I had to fight to not let my elation at the timing show through. “That would be perfect.” I led her through the apartment and into the new room. “This is great. We could use it for all kinds of things.”
“There is a lot of room to work with,” Coco said. “I’m surprised you didn’t put anything in here.”
“I wanted to know what you thought we should do with the room, before I moved anything in here.”
She gave me a teasing smile. “I recall somepony mentioning it could be a foal’s room.”
I blushed and ducked my head. “That was forward of me. We could do whatever you want with it.”
Coco walked over and nuzzled under my chin so I would raise my head. “Let’s think about it for a bit. There’s no rush for us to decide anything at all.”
“True.”
I did not realize I had lost myself staring into her eyes until Coco giggled and booped my nose with her hoof. “Are you okay in there?”
I blinked and gave my nose a quick shake to regain my focus. “I’m fine. I was thinking about how glad I am you’re back. When you’re not here, it feels like… something vital is missing.”
“Pin, don’t be silly.” Coco looked back towards my tail and smiled. “I’m flattered I’m worth a tail wag, but I’m not ‘vital’.”
“You are.” I took a second to think about how to frame what I wanted to say. I smiled, as I realized the perfect way to describe what I felt. “Without you, things around here are like a musical with all the actors just speaking their parts. The music, the life of the performance, is missing.”
“Pin,” she said and gave me an appreciative but skeptical look.
“It’s true. I missed you as soon as you left. I managed it pretty well for a couple of days, but then, while I was in the workroom, the silence got to me. I looked over at your worktable and you being gone hit me hard. I wanted to hear you humming while you worked.” I swayed side to side and mimicked her sketching something. “And see the little dances you do when you’re in your zone.”
Coco blushed. “Sorry, I can’t help it.”
“Never stop,” I said. “I love being able to take a break to watch you.” I hugged her and nuzzled her ear. “What I’m trying to say is that without you here, things are mundane.”
Coco hugged me back. “If having Guards and changelings sleeping over and being on the sidelines of major historical events is ‘mundane,’ I can’t imagine what your idea of ‘exciting’ is.”
I chuckled and kissed the tip of Coco’s ear, causing it to twitch away. “I meant the day to day routine, not the semi-regular Ponyville craziness.”
“Pin, you’re still being sill-” Coco giggled, as I made light, teasing plays at the edge of her ear with my lips. “Pin!” She leaned back and looked up at me with a faux irritated look that was ruined by the ill-concealed smile that was on the edges of her mouth.
I did my best to look innocent. “What is it?”
“No nibbling right now. We’re having a ‘serious’ conversation.”
I folded my ears back in exaggerated disappointment.
Coco snorted and then let her smile show. “I’m beginning to wonder if you’re a changeling. The Pin I know was scared to give me a kiss at one point, and you’re trying to sneak ear nibbles.”
“It’s still me. I’ve had a wonderful teacher who taught me to open up, though.” I touched her cheek with a hoof. “Do you know what I realized during those quiet moments in the workroom, beyond that I could recognize the tunes you hummed and knew why you liked them?”
Coco gave me a pleased but puzzled looked. “No. What?”
“During those moments of silence, I realized how incomplete my life felt. I wanted the mare who had brought music and passion into my life and made life meaningful back.”
Coco gave me a flattered look. “You’re exaggerating.”
I shook my head. “The longer you were gone, the more I missed you and the number of ways I missed you grew. I became away how you made day-to-day tasks like preparing meals or ordering supplies for the shop more meaningful for me because I did them for you too. Even brushing out my mane in the morning made me think of brushing your coat and mane out and watching you unwind.”
Coco gave me a tender kiss. “You’re such a sweetheart.”
“Speaking of you making things special, would you like to see the new display?”
I could tell by the look in her eyes she knew I had something planned. “Sure.”
As we made our way out of the room and down the stairs, my heart went faster and faster. Everything is ready, including you,” I thought to myself, as we walked through the shop. You just have to keep calm and follow the script.
I did my best not to let my anticipation show as I held the store’s front door open for her. “Mare’s first.”
“Thank you,” Coco said. “It’s nice being around polite stallions again.”
I followed her outside, leaving the door open. I paused for a half a second, after noticing the shadows of three clouds lined up in a straight line in front of the shop.
Coco glanced over her shoulder at me. “Pin, is everything all right?”
Forcing myself not to look skyward, I turned to Coco and smiled. “Everything’s fine.” After we moved to stand in front of the window, I asked her, “Ready?”
“Ready!” Coco said with a vigorous nod.
Using my magic, I reached back into the store, which pushed the limits of my control of my telekinesis spell, and drew the display window’s front curtain open.
Coco gasped. “Oh, Pin!”
The pair of ponyquins in the display stood so their raised forehooves touched each other. The mare ponyquin was wearing the dress Coco wore to Twilight’s Celebration and the flapper’s hat that Sassy and I had gotten from Rarity’s boutique, which was adorned with a blossom similar to the one Coco wore in her mane. The stallion ponyquin wore the suit I had worn that same night, along with a substitute bow tie. Pinned to the back curtain of the display were pictures of Coco and me from several of the events we attended together and our times with our friends.
“Everypony helped with the pictures, and I owe Sassy for all she did to make sure the display was ready before you got here,” I told her.
“It looks wonderful. What inspir...” Coco’s words drifted off as her eyes went to the display table.
On the display table that was just in front of the ponyquins’ touching hooves sat a small, laced pillow with a heart’s desire blossom and a jewelry box on top that was surrounded by camellias, peonies, and lavender blossoms.
“You inspired me,” I told her. I had to quit speaking as I focused my magic to pick up the heart’s desire and the jewelry box and maneuver them from the display, through the store’s front door, and to my hooves.
Coco stared at the heart’s desire and jewelry box as if not believing what she was seeing. “Pin?”
I tucked the heart’s desire behind her ear. “All these photos are a small sample of all the wonderful moments you have shared with me. I love you and want us to share as many more of these moments as we can.” I opened the jewelry box to reveal the ring inside and then presented the ring to her. “Coco Pommel, will you marry me?”
Coco sniffed with happy tears and smiled. “Yes!” She pulled me into a hug and kissed me. She giggled against my lips as cheers came from above us. “Yes, I will,” she said, after breaking the kiss.
“About time!” Barrel called down to us from his perch on one of the three clouds.
Coco and I looked up at our friends perched on three clouds above us.
“What are all of you doing here?” Coco asked.
“If you thought we were going to miss this, you’re crazy,” Berry said.
“Can we get down now, please?” Sassy asked. “I think I’ve been up in the air and looking down long enough.”
“Can do,” Silent said. He stood up from his seat at Sassy’s side, took to the air, and then pushed the cloud Rarity, Sassy, Sweetie Belle, Thunderlane and Spike were sitting on towards the ground.
“We need to get down too!” Piña said, hopping up and down on the cloud she was sharing with Berry, Noi, Pinch, Barrel, Kevin, and Rumble.
“Don’t do that!” Noi protested. “It might pop!”
Rumble put a wing over Noi’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, clouds won’t ‘pop’ unless you apply the right magic to them. It’s difficult to get them to pop, even when you’re trying.”
Noi breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”
“I’ll get you down,” Thunderlane said, and then took off from his spot on the descending cloud.
“Hang on,” Muffins said, as she guided the cloud she had been sitting on with Amethyst, Dinky, Gena, Cubitus, Filter, and Turner.
“What about you going over the books?” Coco asked Filter as he and the others descended.
“That was a bit of a ruse,” Filter confessed. “We walked with Starlight and Sunburst to the castle, though. We got to talk with Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance for a minute, and they wanted to go through them with us, but they are so busy they asked us to hold off until tomorrow.”
As soon as the clouds were close enough to the ground for a safe jump, the foals and Rarity jumped from their spots on the clouds and rushed Coco and me. While the foals stopped short of us, Rarity hugged Coco tight and let out a giddy squeal.
“That was delicious!” Gena said. “Thanks!”
Cubitus snorted. “What do you mean ‘was’? They’re still giving off enough love they could feed everybuggy in the sanctuary!”
Rarity let Coco go and then wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m so happy for you.” She looked at me and added, “Happy for you both.”
A solid thump on my back made me grunt and juggle the ring.
“Good job,” Barrel congratulated me.
“Why don’t you give that to her so nothing happens to it,” Muffins suggested.
“I think that’s a good idea,” I agreed.
“How’s she supposed to wear it?” Cubitus whispered to Kevin.
“Earth ponies wear our rings on necklaces,” Coco explained, as I took the ring and its matching silver necklace from the jewelry box and put it around her neck.
“Oh my!” Rarity said, as she leaned closer to the ring. “Three gems.”
“Hoof picked gems too,” Spike said.
“How do you know that?” Sweetie Belle asked him.
Spike puffed his chest up. “I was the one who helped him find them.”
“A diamond and two blue sapphires,” Amethyst noted. “It must have taken a while to find them.”
“It didn’t take as long as you’d think. I’ve gotten a lot of practice finding specific gems with Rarity.” Spike grinned. “I got to keep all of the ones that weren’t what he was looking for, so we could have kept going all day and I wouldn’t have minded a bit.”
“They match Coco’s eye color,” Sassy said. “Very nice touch.”
“Pin’s often complimented her eyes,” Turner said.
“And her cutie mark,” Berry teased.
“He loves every part of her,” Pinch said.
“True. I love her from her nose to her tail and from her hooves to the tips of her ears.”
“We all know about your fondness for her poor ears,” Rarity said, acting as if she disapproved.
“Don’t give him a hard time,” Coco said. “I get my nibbles in too.”
Rarity smiled in a hinting way. “You two tend to exchange affections, I have to agree.”
Coco’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “Yes, we do.” She tapped my nose with a hoof. “You stay right there. I’ll be back.”
“We could make sure he doesn’t go anywhere,” Piña said with a grin that hinted at mischief.
“I would appreciate it, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Coco said.
“There’s more of us now, so he won’t be a problem at all,” Piña assured Coco.
“What are they talking about?” Cubitus asked Kevin.
Kevin shook his head. “No clue.”
Piña looked at the other foals and pointed a hoof at me. “Everpony, get him!”
“That’s what’s they’re talking about,” Gena said, as she joined the others in rushing me.
Noi laughed and then declared, “I’ll get his tail again!”
“Wait a minute!” I mock protested, as the foals ‘restrained’ me by encircling me and then grabbing onto my forelegs, chest, sides, and sitting on my tail. “I can stay still on my own.”
“This is more fun for them and for me,” Coco said, and bumped noses with me. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll be here,” I said, as I watched her go back into the shop.
“Be glad they didn’t glue you to the ground,” Filter said to me. “That stuff is tough, and it takes hours to get out of your coat.”
“We can’t sticky anypony,” Gena said. “Only adults can do that.”
Dinky looked up at me from her hold on my left foreleg. “What does it feel like?”
“Like I’m being hugged all over and I can’t move my tail.”
Dinky giggled. “No, silly. What does it feel like being Coco’s fiance now.”
“It’s wonderful,” I told her. “It feels… wonderful and right and exciting all at the same time.”
“What did she say about the sign?” Filter asked.
“She likes it a lot, but she hasn’t given me an answer about being my business partner.”
“If she doesn’t say yes to that, after saying yes to marrying you, that’s going to get awkward,” Silent commented.
Coco exited the shop, carrying her engagement ring box and a small box I had not seen before.
“We held him for you, Miss Coco,” Gena said.
“Thank you all very much.” The foals let go of me as Coco approached. She stopped and held out the small box to me. “This is for you,” she said, and opened the box to reveal a silver ring with intricate scroll work etching.
“What do you think?” Coco said, sounding nervous.
“It’s beautiful.” I looked up from the ring. “You were going to ask me?”
“I had a feeling you were going to ask me first. I had the ring made so I would be ready to exchange rings with you.” Coco motioned for me to lower my horn. Once I did, she slid the ring down my horn so it rested on my head. “But, yes, I would have asked you if the deadline had gotten too close.”
Silent snorted. “No way that was going to happen.”
I looked at Rarity. “You knew she had the ring made, didn’t you?”
“Of course, darling!” Rarity said, sounding proud of herself. “Just like I knew about your surprises for her before she did.”
“Which you learned about all of yesterday,” Sassy pointed out.
Rarity made a dismissive motion with a hoof. “Details, details.”
“Does that mean you were the pony behind everypony being here?” I asked.
Coco looked at me with surprise. “They weren’t part of the setup?”
I shook my head. “Everypony wanted to be here, and I wanted them to be here, but we couldn’t figure out to make it work without giving away the surprise.”
“While I had a part in it. I cannot take credit for the plan.” Rarity pointed her hoof towards Amethyst, Mufifns, and Turner. “These three are the masterminds. The only contributions I made were to ask to borrow the clouds from Rainbow Dash and ask Twilight to cast the Walk on Clouds spell for everypony.”
Amethyst grinned. “Mom came up with the idea last night, after remembering everypony watching the fireflies light up the Everfree Forest. Dad figured out when we needed to be here, and I ran around this morning, with the help of the foals, and organized everypony so we could all meet up here and get in position.”
I glanced around at our friends. “So you had this planned and none of you said a thing to me?”
Pinch grinned. “Nope!”
“Speaking of timing, we all need to be off to get ready for our get-together this evening to start on time,” Turner said. He gave Coco and me a grin. “I’m sure our now affianced friends would like some time to themselves too.”
“We can’t go anywhere yet,” Pinch said. “We still don’t know Coco's second answer.”
Everypony looked towards Coco with expectation.
Coco tilted her head, which made me grin. “Second answer?” she asked.
“I mentioned that you hadn’t given me your answer about the shop,” I told her.
Coco smiled. “Oh! That second answer.”
“Ask her again,” Piña encouraged. “We want to hear the whole thing.”
“We certainly do!” Rarity said.
“I’d be glad to.” I drew myself up to give the appearance of being somewhat serious. I could not help myself and grinned when I met eyes with Coco, who seemed to be doing her best not to laugh. “Coco, I believe we work well together and could be very successful as a team. Would you be my business partner?”
Coco giggled, dispelling any semblance of formality, hugged me, and then touched her nose to mine. “I would be glad to be your partner.”
I kissed her, as our friends cheered and made cooing noises.
“Don’t kiss for too long, or Rarity will get on to you two again,” Sassy warned, after the kiss lasted a few seconds.
“You’re kissing her in front of her brother too,” Silent pointed out to me.
“It’s all right for right now,” Filter said. “If it goes on too much longer, it’s going to get weird, though.”
Coco and I broke our kiss, the both of us laughing.
I touched my forehead to hers. “I love you.”
Coco smiled in a way that made my chest warm. “I love you too.”
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Should be "Cubitus snorted."
Should be "her's."
Should be "changelings."
Should be "I have been told they founded..."
Other than that and a few other errors, YESSSS, Pin finally popped the question, and the way he did it was magnificent:
This proposal is now in my top 10, easily. It's nice seeing the other couples, too; Sassy and Silent (TMI Sassy, TMI), Thunderlane and Rarity (hard to say whether it or Pinch-of-Kevin was my second favorite pairing behind CocoPin), Kevin and Pinch (speak of the devil), and Coxa and Spiracle (I love them so much, ahh). Spike reappearing was nice, too, and him helping Pin with the ring was a wonderful touch. The others spying on Pin's proposal was a nice callback (poor Sassy doesn't seem to like heights; no flights carrying her for Silent, it seems
) and something I could definitely see them doing.
Overall, while there were a couple errors, they didn't detract from a wonderful chapter. Great job, Random_User.
Psst, Thunderlane, when are you going to follow up on the hint you gave Rarity back in Chapter 14 with the flower? Two out of my three main ships have sailed (as far as they can, given their ages); will you complete the set?
Another great chapter! And we finally build up to the engagement! It was a wonderful scene! I almost cried I was so happy for them!
Heh, when the part with the three clouds was mentioned, I thought perhaps Pin had hired some pegasi to spell out "Marry Me, Coco!" or somethings, but your part about having everyone there was even better! Heck, even Spike was there, oddly enough (I guess he wanted to see what happened to the gems he dug up?)
Although, Coco sure was happy to see them! She went from emotional high and near-tears to conversationalist very quickly.
I'm almost surprised that Cadence and Twilight weren't there, considering how well Twilight knows them and how Cadence is the Princess of Love. But maybe they're back at the castle trying to get Sunburst hooked up with Starlight. 😉
Very good chapter, though. Excellent set-up with the Big Question, and very descriptive with the emotional feels! Hit me right in the heart! 😍
Rumble came outta nowhere! One thing I've noticed about your scene set-ups is that you often don't write out the presence of a character before they speak, so a character could be there the whole conversation, but the reader doesn't know it 'til the end of the conversation when that one character speaks.
Dinky's just an all-you-can-eat buffet of adorableness, isn't she? 😉
Also, I think Kevin talked to Kevin somehow (can changelings turn into each other? tee-he-he)
Coco sure did take to having her emotions read by a changeling awfully quickly. I guess Pin had been writing to her about them in advance?
Umm...I know this was said in jest, but given their histories, that could be potentially be a very serious (though technically very true) insult.
“Sunburst is one of the sweetest tasting stallions I know. You have nothing to worry about.”
"Wait, sweetest tasting stallions? I didn't know ponies could taste emotions like we changelings do?"
Starlight blushed, "Trust me, if you love a stallion enough, sooner or later you will get a taste of their love." 😝
10960294
Thank you for helping me with all the errors. I cannot seem to manage to catch them all myself, no matter how many times I read through a chapter or how many editor software applications I use to help me find them.
I am glad the proposal was worth waiting for. I was sweating bullets about pulling it off, especially since things had been building up to it for more than a chapter. I tried to pull in as many bits from the story’s past without going overboard, for the event itself. Coco and Pin’s relationship has been as much a community thing as it has been between them, and I wanted the proposal to be an event they could share with their friends while not being too ‘public’ and dramatic.
I feel bad Coxa and Spiracle have come into the story so late. They are great characters to write for, and I think they could reveal so much about how the adult changelings are adapting to the Hive’s fall and the complete rearrangement of their lives.
Thunderlane is going to be feeling the pressure, now that Coco and Pin are engaged. I cannot say much more than that without giving away too much.
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Thank you! I was worried that with all the build up to the big moment that it would fall flat. I tried to pull bits and pieces from back in the story without going over the top. Coco’s and Pin’s friends have been right there with them through their journey, and I thought it would be disappointing not to have them there for the event somehow.
I am afraid I did to Spike what they did to him in the show. He’s a good guy, but he gets left out of too many scenes because he’s not the central character too often. With him being Coco and Pin’s pal and him helping with gathering the gems, it would have been brutal to have left him out. (That and I had to put in a hint that he and Sweetie Belle still might be a thing.)
I agree with you about Coco’s reaction. I will have to go back and see what I can do to smooth that transition out so it is more realistic.
Cadance and Twilight are both up to their cutie marks with all the stuff they are having to do with helping the changelings get settled or they would have been there too.
I have to admit, for some scenes I get too many characters involved. I was poking fun at myself with Rumble’s comment about ‘listing everypony like that takes too long’. I have pages and pages of notes for who is supposed to be where and I still get things mixed up or have ‘surprise’ speakers by including them in groups without detailing who is the in the group clearly. I will have to go back to see if I can make Rumble a little more visible before he speaks.
Good point with Coco. She was a bit calm for something like that. I have to say though, if Gena came up and hugged me I do not think I would consider her a threat in the least, especially after having seen her wait (albeit impatiently) to ask for a hug the way she did with Coco. I will go back to see what I can do to make that scene more realistic.
You were right on Gena’s reaction. I agree that was a bit too much. I went back and toned down the exchange quite a bit.
Not ‘sweet’ like that! Calling someone ‘sweet’ is a Southern thing in the United States that may not translate well. She meant Sunburst is kind and friendly, not dessert flavored. Despite my tendency of having nibbling ponies being a running joke, discussing ‘flavors’ would be getting a bit too close to the dreaded Mature rating for me. I am not brave enough to go that far with this story.
Hehe, I know! I'm just joshin' ya! 😁
(Or, rather, maybe Starlight is joshin' Sunburst! 🤣)