Chapter Sixteen
Family
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‘Long distance test attempt four. Conditions are favorable, and we’re optimistic for a positive result.’
Twilight’s notebook sat open next to their newest model of the radio and a gramophone record playing a Sapphire Shores song. Twilight herself was standing by, on a hill behind the castle. Once she and Sunset were finally able to set their minds to it, finishing the construction wasn’t too difficult. They’d done most of the heavy lifting the night they visited the human library, and soon had a fully functional one-way radio. However, there were still plenty of ways to improve on it, and simply recreating human technology was never really their goal. Right from the start, it had always been about studying the potential relationship between human technology and Equestrian magic.
A light was visible in the distance – Sunset’s signal that she was in place. Twilight turned to face the radio transmitter, which was already turned on, powered by a long cord feeding into the castle. Twilight closed her eyes, and cast out her magic aura. She was searching for the radio signal. It was easy enough to manipulate tangible objects. In that regard, magic worked a bit like hands – able to grab hold of something and maneuver it according to the caster’s ability. All unicorns could do that, to varying extents. Things like teleportation and altering the growth of plant life were much more difficult, requiring the caster to have a lot more knowledge on arcane principles, but there was still something physical that was being altered in some way. But manipulating something that wasn’t tangible? Unfortunately, in this regard, magic was also like hands – utterly useless.
There. Twilight finally felt the signal. Utterly useless wasn’t an entirely accurate description, really. It was more so mostly useless. Magic was also intangible, so it actually could interact with forces like radio waves, but learning how to touch something that wasn’t touchable definitely required a certain kind of skill. As odd as the sensation was, Twilight wrapped her magic through the radio signal. Their goal was to amplify it so that Sunset would be able to hear Twilight, even though she was well beyond the range of their device.
The record played its song, but Twilight tuned it out. Although the music was a little distracting, it was a lot better than trying to speak into the mic herself, and of course sound was essential to their test. If all went well, Sunset would teleport to her any moment and tell her she’d heard the song.
There was the smell of dust burning. Twilight immediately let go of the radio signal, and began preparing to teleport instead. Before she got the chance, the transmitter exploded. “Aah!” Twilight threw her hooves over her face and was knocked to the ground. Bits of wood and metal rained on her.
“Twilight!” Sunset teleported to her side immediately. She used her magic to clear the debris off of her, then knelt down beside her. “Are you okay?”
Twilight groaned in response.
“Here, keep still.” Sunset gently began checking Twilight for injuries.
“I’m fine,” Twilight insisted, pushing Sunset’s hoof away. She stood up, grunting from the effort. She noticed Sunset still looked concerned, so she smiled and added, “Really, I’m okay.”
Sunset kicked at a piece of wood. “Next time, I’ll be the one with the transmitter.”
They still had their work cut out for them. They couldn’t dedicate too much time to work on the radio since Twilight was also busy with wedding planning, and most of her free time was spent with both Fluttershy and Sunset. The only reason they had more than an hour or so to work on it at all was because Fluttershy was at the spa with Rarity. The weekly ritual of Fluttershy relaxing at the spa while Twilight and Sunset worked on their project allowed each of them to unwind in their own way.
It was good that Fluttershy wasn’t around for most of their tests, since most attempts to introduce magic to their device wound up the same way. After two failed attempts in the castle, they moved the project outside, since cleaning up after each exploded transmitter was a hassle. The explosions were never too serious – it was only a small device, after all – and usually just resulted in Twilight getting knocked to the ground. It honestly seemed worse on Sunset, who felt guilty for not being able to take her fair share of the damage, since she hadn’t been able to master the art of manipulating radio waves yet.
Twilight walked up and nuzzled Sunset. “Well then, you better get to practicing,” she teased. “For now, let’s just get back to the castle.”
Sunset smirked. “Yeah, you should probably get yourself cleaned up.”
Twilight looked herself over. She was covered in soot all along her right side, probably covering more of her than she could see. She looked back to Sunset and realized that while nuzzling against her, she had gotten Sunset dirty as well. Twilight grinned sheepishly and used her clean left hoof to wipe as much off as she could.
Sunset just rolled her eyes and grabbed Twilight’s extended hoof in her own. “Come here, you.” She pulled Twilight closer and kissed her. As they pulled away, they smiled at each other. They’d been dating for three weeks, but each kiss still brought a rush of excitement. Sunset picked up the broken pieces in her magic, and Twilight made sure to walk on Sunset’s right, so she could keep her clean side pressed against her as they walked back around to the front of the castle.
“Meet me in the workshop once you’re cleaned up?” Sunset asked as they approached the front doors.
“Of course,” Twilight said. She pulled open the door and followed Sunset inside.
“Twilight, you’ll never believe –” Spike ran out of the sitting room, and stopped in place when he saw Twilight. “Radio again?”
Sunset chuckled. “No, we got into a fight with another dragon.”
“Well, uh, you might want to take a shower, ‘cause we have company.”
Before Twilight could ask who it was, she got her answer. Two ponies followed Spike out of the room, and all Twilight could manage was to stare with her jaw hanging open.
Sunset set the debris down in a corner and stepped forward to greet the ponies, but was cut off when one ran right past her.
“Twilight, dear, what in Equestria have you been up to? You’re filthy.”
Finally remembering to close her mouth, Twilight let out a nervous chuckle. “We were just running some experiments. Uhm, Mom, Dad, I’d like to introduce you to Sunset Shimmer. Sunset this is my mom, Twilight Velvet, and my dad, Night Light.”
To her credit, it was only for a moment, but Twilight noticed pure panic flash across Sunset’s face. She composed herself quickly though, and her charismatic smile showed through. “It’s so nice to meet you both.”
Night Light walked over and bumped her hoof, but Twilight Velvet was more intent on fussing over her daughter’s dishevelled appearance. “Likewise. You know, Twilight’s told us a lot about you in her letters.”
“You don’t say?” Sunset asked, feigning ignorance. Telling her parents all about Sunset had been part of their plan to make the eventual reveal of their relationship go smoother, although that reveal was supposed to wait until they were ready, and the plan didn’t involve any unexpected visits. “Good things, I hope?”
“Of course,” Twilight Velvet said, finally giving up on fixing Twilight’s mane and also bumping Sunset’s hoof. “We were both so glad to hear she decided to see reason and get her own royal guard. It took her long enough, but then again she did inherit my stubbornness, for better or worse.”
“Along with your good looks, I see.” Sunset inclined her head, and Twilight Velvet smiled at the compliment. Sunset chuckled and added, “And I think it was more for Fluttershy’s sake that Twilight hired me than her own. But rest assured, your daughter is in capable hooves.”
“Oh boy, don’t let her start talking about herself, it’ll just go to her head,” Twilight warned, earning her a dirty look from Sunset. She ignored it and lifted half of the debris with her magic. “Sunset, can you help me get this all out of the way?”
“Of course.” Sunset lifted the other half and they made for the basement. Spike quickly led their parents back into the other room, giving them a chance to talk privately.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea they were coming,” Twilight said as they descended into the basement.
“I know, it’s not your fault,” Sunset said, letting the worried tone creep back into her voice. “But what do we do now? Just play it cool and keep everything under wraps?”
Twilight set down her half of the junk, followed by Sunset setting hers on top of it. “I don’t know… It was one thing to wait when we were just writing letters, but now that they’re here…”
Sunset wrapped her forelegs around her. “Hey, it’ll be alright. Whatever happens, everything will be fine.”
Twilight took a few deep breaths. “You’re right,” she said, leaning against Sunset. “But we need a plan.”
“Well, I’m for whatever you think is best. If you really think they’ll be okay with it, then why not tell them? I mean, if you’re ready to, of course.”
Twilight indulged herself for a moment, letting the feeling of Sunset holding her calm her down. “You’re right. All our friends understood, and my parents have always been supportive of me. But we need Fluttershy.”
“No problem, I’ll go get her.” Sunset let go of Twilight and smirked. “I’ll talk to her and figure out what she wants to do on the way back.”
“And avoid having to talk to my parents while I’m cleaning up.” Twilight looked over Sunset. “Speaking of which…”
Sunset noticed her hug had covered her in more soot. She laughed and did her best to brush it off. “Well, I wasn’t going to say anything, but since you said it… yeah, that would be pretty awkward.”
Twilight nodded. They had a plan, and she had no reason to be concerned. Her parents accepted her and Fluttershy when they came out, there was no reason they wouldn’t accept Sunset too. She hoped.
Once she was all cleaned up, Twilight walked into the sitting room. She smiled brightly at her parents, and hoped they wouldn’t be able to tell how nervous she was. Spike was getting them caught up on all the aspects of Ponyville life that a twelve-year-old found important, which included a very positive look at having Sunset live with them, to Twilight’s delight.
“So what brings you to Ponyville?” She asked once Spike was finished.
“Oh, it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out,” Twilight Velvet said. “There’s an important wedding coming up, and we wanted to see how everything was coming along.”
“Plus we know how busy you and Fluttershy must be,” Night Light added. “So if there’s any way we can help, just let us know.”
“Thank you. Everything’s coming together nicely, and although it’s hectic, we’re managing okay. Sunset, Spike, and all our friends have been doing a fantastic job at making sure Fluttershy and I don’t have to worry about too much aside from the wedding.”
Of course that didn’t answer her real question: Why hadn’t they written ahead? “Did I, uh, miss a letter from you two, or something?” Twilight asked as casually as she could.
“We did plan on writing ahead, but I wasn’t sure if I could get the time off from work,” Night Light said. “Princess Luna’s been… distant over the past few moons, so as Senior Astronomer I’ve had my hooves full trying to keep everything running smoothly. We almost gave up until I happened to run into her last night. She assured me she’d make sure everything will be taken care of, so we wound up with some time after all.”
“That’s wonderful,” Twilight said, while smiling and imaging all the horrible things she’d do to Luna once she got her hooves on her.
“I hope we’re not imposing too much,” Twilight Velvet said. “We could always find a hotel to stay in, don’t you worry about us.”
‘Imposing’ was an understatement. “Of course you’re not. The castle has plenty of room for everypony. Really, we hardly use most of the rooms here anyway. And we’re all happy to have you here.”
To be fair, that last part might wind up being true. She knew Sunset was nervous about telling her parents, but if Twilight was right and they did accept them, it would be one less worry on everypony’s minds.
“So, how’re things going with, uh” – Night Light waved a hoof around – “what was it called again?”
“The radio?” Twilight asked, and Night Light nodded. “It’s, well, it’s going. We keep running into a problem with boosting the signal, but I’m sure if we haven’t figured it out by the wedding, we’ll get it afterwards, once everypony has a bit more free time.”
“Of course you will,” Night Light said. “You’re the smartest mare I’ve ever met. I know you can handle this.”
Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Well, I may have some competition for that title, now that you’ve met Sunset. She’s really amazing, this whole thing was her idea.”
“In that case, then I’m sure the two of you won’t have any problems at all,” Twilight Velvet said.
Spike laughed. “Yeah, you should hear them talk about it when they don’t agree on something! It’s like having one book argue with another.”
Twilight shot him a warning look. “Careful, this ‘book’ controls your allowance.”
Spike cupped his hands and batted his eyelashes at her. “Have I mentioned you’re my favorite sister?”
“Yes, but not nearly enough,” Twilight said, smiling contently.
“Uh-oh, hear that, Fluttershy?” Sunset asked as she walked into the room, Fluttershy beside her. “Spike’s picking favorites.”
Spike turned around and stared wide-eyed at Fluttershy. “Oh, uh, I meant you’re both my favorite!”
Fluttershy giggled. “Honestly, you two… There’s no reason to make a contest out of it. Besides, you two grew up together, trying to compare me and Twilight is just being silly.”
She exchanged hugs with both of Twilight’s parents. “Fluttershy, it’s so nice to see you,” Twilight Velvet said. “Everything’s going well?”
“Oh yes, I’ve never been happier,” Fluttershy said, smiling brightly.
“Is that the engagement necklace?” Night Light asked. Fluttershy brushed her mane aside to better show it off. “It certainly suits you.”
“Thank you. It’s so lovely, I feel like the luckiest mare in the world!”
Twilight got up and stood next to her fiancée. “Actually, she’s not. I’m the luckiest mare in the world.”
Fluttershy kissed her on the cheek and they sat back down, with Sunset sitting on Twilight’s other side.
They talked about the wedding for a while, going over plans while Twilight’s parents looked for ways they could help. Twilight didn’t want to trouble them with it, but it seemed they were determined to involve themselves one way or another, so eventually she gave in.
After a while of trying to figure out how to bring up the topic of Sunset, Twilight Velvet wound up giving them the perfect chance. “So how was your anniversary?”
“It was great,” Twilight said. She glanced at Sunset then looked to Fluttershy, searching for some sort of indication that she was okay with telling them. Fluttershy smiled and nodded, then took Twilight’s hoof in hers. Twilight took a deep breath. “Our anniversary was certainly interesting, to say the least.”
“In a good way, I trust?” Twilight Velvet asked.
“Yes. The truth is we have something to tell you.” Twilight could feel herself shaking, so she took hold of Sunset’s hoof as well. “Well we, uhm, we decided to try out something a bit unconventional. On our anniversary Fluttershy, Sunset, and I all went out on a date together. We’re in what’s called a triad relationship now. So Fluttershy and I are still engaged, but we’re also dating Sunset as well.”
Just as he had when they were telling their friends, Spike started clapping immediately. But unlike that day, nopony else joined in. Twilight’s parents just sat unmoving, watching uncertainly.
Eventually Night Light let out a small chuckle. “That, uh… that certainly would be unconventional.”
Twilight blinked. She looked around the room, but nopony else spoke. “I’m not joking,” she said after a moment. “This is something we decided to try. So far it’s been going really well.”
More silence. Fluttershy was the next to break it. “We, uhm, we told our friends recently. Everypony was so supportive of us.” She smiled hopefully, but Night Light and Twilight Velvet just exchanged expressions marked with worry and confusion. “It was, uhm, really nice. To know… that they supported us, I mean.”
“This is…” Twilight Velvet attempted to speak, but shook her head. “Twilight, don’t you think…” She trailed off again.
“I understand it’s a lot to take in,” Sunset spoke up. Twilight felt Sunset’s hoof tighten around hers. She knew how nervous Sunset must be, but her voice was full of confidence. Twilight allowed herself to feel a bit better; Sunset had a way with words, and would be able to explain things better than she could. “I’m sure you have reservations about how this could possibly work. We can’t expect you to accept it right away. The only thing we can ask is that you’ll look at this with an open mind. Believe me when I say the last thing I want to do is cause any problems for Twilight and Fluttershy. If any of us thought this was going to put their relationship in danger, we’d end it in a second. I sincerely believe that while you’re staying with us, and once you get to know me a bit better, you’ll see that this really is something we all want to work for, and that we can make this work.”
Twilight Velvet looked at her sharply. It was clear what she thought by her expression. She blamed Sunset. “Twilight, this type of thing simply isn’t done.”
“But it is!” Twilight insisted. “Cadance was the one who told me about it. She explained all about the ways ponies have made polyamorous relationships work.”
Twilight Velvet’s ear twitched. Undoubtedly, she was unhappy to hear about Cadance’s involvement. “I’m sure there are some ponies somewhere that resort to this sort of behavior, but you’re better than this!”
Twilight felt her chest grow tight while her heart pounded against it. It became difficult to breathe. “Mom, I…”
“Honestly, what kind of example are you setting for Spike?”
Twilight looked up at Spike. He looked like he didn’t want to be dragged into any part of the conversation. “Mom, it’s okay,” he said, smiling nervously. “Really, once you get to know Sunset you’ll see –”
“Excuse us for a moment,” Night Light said. He stood up and Twilight Velvet followed him out of the room.
Twilight sunk to her hooves. She felt both Fluttershy and Sunset wrap themselves around her, but it didn’t help much. They didn’t approve, and from the sound of it, they wouldn’t be changing their minds.
She felt one more set of arms wrap around her neck, and opened her eyes to see Spike hugging her. She smiled weakly and returned his hug.
“They’ll come around,” Spike said. “I’m sure that before they go back to Canterlot, they’ll –”
“Twilight, we’d like to speak with you,” Night Light said. “Privately.”
Twilight looked uncertainly at the others. She debated if she should refuse, insist that anything they had to say could be said in front of everypony.
Eventually Sunset nodded. “That’s… probably for the best.”
“Just remember to keep your temper,” Fluttershy said.
“And if you call for us, we’ll come running,” Sunset said.
Spike gave her a thumbs up. “You can handle this. You’re Twilight Sparkle! Princess of Friendship! There’s nothing you can’t do.”
She smiled at everyone, then stood up and followed her dad out of the room.
They stood in the foyer, and at first nopony spoke. Twilight looked between her parents. Her dad looked a little uncertain, or maybe he just didn’t like what they were going to say. Her mom looked like she was going to go off at any moment. She probably was.
Since nopony else spoke, Twilight cleared her throat. “I know you weren’t expecting this, but I agree with what Sunset said. If you just give it a chance, I think you’ll see how wonderful this is for all of us.”
Night Light sighed. “Be reasonable, Twilight. You’re a princess, Equestria looks to you for guidance.”
How many times had that thought bounced around in her head? “I know that. You know how seriously I take my role as princess. But that’s exactly what I was worried about when I began dating Fluttershy. You both accepted me then, so why can’t you accept this too?”
“That was different,” Twilight Velvet said.
“It wasn’t!” Twilight insisted.
“It was. Fluttershy is only one pony.” Twilight Velvet placed a hoof on her temple and shook her head. “How could you even do something like this to such a sweet mare?”
“Why are you even assuming this was my idea!?” Twilight asked. She took a deep breath. Remain calm. “Fluttershy knows all she has to do is say that she’s not happy with the situation, and that’s the end of it, no questions asked. Sunset agrees with that too. Besides, it was Fluttershy’s idea to begin with.”
Night Light looked at her with genuine concern, which only irritated her further. “Think of what everypony is going to say.”
“I’m very aware of what everypony will say,” Twilight said, struggling to keep her voice down. “I already saw what they said when I came out as gay, I know exactly how hurtful ponies can be.”
Night Light shook his head. “Why would you want to put yourself through that again, now that it’s finally died down?”
“Shouldn’t the fact that I’m willing to go through that again prove how important this is to me?”
Night Light placed a hoof on her shoulder. She resisted the urge to push it off. “Twily, please –”
“Don’t ‘Twily’ me,” Twilight said curtly. Night Light retracted his hoof. Twilight regretted the outburst. She wanted to apologize, for everything. For snapping at him, for dating Sunset, for being polyamorous at all. But she wouldn’t apologize. She’d made her mind up, and was going to live her life with or without their approval.
“I think it’s time we left,” Twilight Velvet said. “I hope you’ll see reason soon, but for now it would be better if we returned to Canterlot.”
“Agreed.” Twilight couldn’t believe the word had left her mouth. Even as a teenager, she’d never done anything to push away her parents.
Twilight Velvet glanced down for a second, and when she looked back up Twilight could see fire in her eyes. “We’re taking Spike with us.”
“You what!?” Twilight recoiled for a moment, then lowered her head and glared at her mom. “No. You’re not.”
“That wasn’t a request.” Twilight Velvet matched her gaze. “We love you, Twilight, but we have to think about what’s best for all our children, especially the only one who is still a child.”
She took a step for the door, so Twilight teleported in front of her. “Spike is staying with me!”
Night Light stood beside his wife. His expression was less angry, but just as firm. “The agreement was he would stay with you as long as you were able to take care of him properly.”
“I am taking care of him!” Twilight shouted.
“We don’t think this is the best environment for him to grow in any longer,” Night Light said, his voice remaining far more calm.
“He’s fine, you heard him yourself. He loves it here.”
“He’s still a child,” Night Light said. “He loves you and Fluttershy, but he doesn’t know what’s best for him.”
“Neither do you!” Twilight had given up every attempt at keeping calm. “I’ve taken care of him, I’ve watched him grow up, I was the one to hatch him in the first place!”
“This is not a discussion,” Twilight Velvet said, as if Twilight was still a filly and could be told what to do. “Spike is our son!”
“Not for the past five years!”
Nopony moved. Twilight had found her mom’s weak spot, the one thing that could hurt her more than anything else.
Twilight Velvet’s nostrils flared, and she looked like she would charge at any further provocation. “Get out of my way.”
Twilight held her ground. “Get out of my house.”
They stood, eyes fixed on one another. Twilight Velvet took a step, but it was towards Spike, so it was in the wrong direction.
Twilight’s horn lit up, and a moment later they were outside. Other ponies were around, and they all turned their attention to the commotion. That suited Twilight just fine, since witnesses were required for a royal decree.
“I, Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship, and with all the power awarded to me by my crown, hereby forbid Twilight Velvet and Night Light from setting hoof inside the Friendship Castle. Furthermore, they are not permitted any contact with Spike the Dragon.”
Whatever the reaction was, Twilight didn’t see it. A moment later she was back in the castle, locking and fortifying the door. Once she was satisfied with that she went back to the sitting room. She started off stomping the whole way, but with her momentum gone, she soon found herself shuffling instead.
She hadn’t thought about what she did when she was doing it. She wasn’t sure if it would even hold up legally. There were limitations to her power, after all. Even Celestia and Luna couldn’t do whatever they wanted.
By the time she reached the sitting room door, she wound up just stopping and staring at it for a few minutes. She didn’t know if there was anything she could have done to turn the situation around, but it didn’t stop her from feeling like a failure.
Eventually she opened the door. Spike was sitting in between Sunset and Fluttershy, and all three of them were huddled up tightly. One look at them made Twilight turn her head away.
Nevertheless, she heard the sound of claws against the marble floor, followed by a pair of arms once again wrapping themselves around her neck. She held Spike close to her with one hoof and wiped her eyes with the other.
Sunset and Fluttershy were there almost immediately, contributing to the group hug.
“We, uhm, we heard everything,” Fluttershy said.
Twilight could only nod.
At some point, they all found themselves sitting on the ground, despite the fact that there was a couch big enough for all four of them. None of them wanted to break away from the circle they had made.
“Spike,” Twilight said, after a long time, “you know I’d never let anypony take you away from me. But it’s only fair to ask: What do you want to do?”
“I…” Spike looked around at the three of them. “I want to stay here, with you three and all our friends. Ponyville is my home.”
Twilight smiled. It didn’t matter if her decree was useless. It didn’t matter if Princess Celestia herself came to take him. Spike wasn’t going anywhere.
“But, uhm…” Spike twirled his claws together. “If they do come back, I think it’s probably better if I go.”
Somehow, after everything that had been said that day, that still hurt the worst.
“Oh.”
“It’s just that… What’s going to happen if I stay here?”
Twilight sighed. “I don’t know, Spike.”
“And, you know,” he said, smiling weakly, “maybe I can convince them that there’s nothing to worry about.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Twilight said. “You’re still a –”
“Don’t say I’m still a child,” Spike said. “I’ve been on lots of adventures with you, and you’ve taught me so much. I know I’m not an adult yet, but you taught me how to be mature when I need to be. There’s been plenty of times you’ve saved me, but there’s been times I saved you too! Because… we take care of each other. We’re a family, and that’s what we do.”
“Spike…” Twilight hugged Spike tighter as she started crying. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Twilight,” Spike said through tears of his own.
Everypony was crying before long. Whenever it seemed like they were done, they looked around and one of them would start again, triggering all the others. It might have gone on for a few minutes, or for an hour, or longer still. By the end, they were all sick of crying, and huddling together had made them all uncomfortably warm, but it didn’t matter. They stuck together anyway. They were a family, and nothing could tear them apart.
“Hey, Spike,” Twilight said, once it seemed the tears had subsided for real. “Remember the time you took my place at the summit?”
“Why do you have to bring up old stuff?” Spike asked, although he sounded just as amused at the reminder as she was.
“Didn’t you even tell one pony to call you Princess Spike?” Twilight asked, smiling.
“Well… I didn’t really tell her too, I just said she could. You know, if she wanted to.”
Sunset laughed and playfully nudged him. “Hey, you can be a prince any time, as far as I’m concerned.”
“I remember the first time I met you and Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “I couldn’t even talk to Twilight yet, but it was a lot easier to talk to you.”
Spike chuckled. “Yeah, you wanted to know everything you could about me.”
“Yup, and you told her.” Twilight smiled, remembering how she had used him as an excuse to get out of the conversation. “Every little detail, right from being an egg.”
Sunset cocked her head to the side. “I wonder what would have happened to us if you never unlocked that door when we were fighting the Dazzlings. Even if you did need some help reaching the doorknob.”
Spike grinned. “I bet I could reach it now. I’m as tall as Fluttershy!”
“Almost,” Twilight corrected.
“Soon enough,” Fluttershy said. “In a few years, you’ll probably be taller than Twilight.”
“Don’t remind me,” Twilight said. She ruffled Spike’s spines. “I like having a little brother, thank you very much.”
“Didn’t you fight off some sort of mutant chickens one time?” Sunset asked.
Spike shook his head. “No, they were cockatrices!”
“What? No way,” Sunset feigned disbelief. “Cockatrices are serious business when they’re not super powered. You gotta be mistaken.”
“Really! See, here’s what happened…”
They spent the rest of the day doing all of Spike’s favorite things. Sunset let Spike help her make an Oubliettes and Ogres character with the promise that they’d all play together soon. Twilight ‘accidentally’ let it slip that she’d been reading the comic Sunset had gotten him hooked on, and admitted that maybe some comics were worth reading after all. They wound up discussing the finer points of the story for at least an hour. While they were talking, Fluttershy made dinner, giving his dish extra flair by breaking into the stash of gems that they had planned to bake into his birthday cake.
In the end, they all knew what was coming though. They’d even packed his things into Sunset’s old backpack. ‘Just in case,’ they told each other, but they knew better. Just when it was getting late enough that Twilight was going to send Spike to bed, convinced they’d have at least one more night, there was a knock on the door.
They all gathered in the foyer, and Twilight undid the enchantments barricading the entrance. “Come in.”
The door opened to reveal three ponies. Twilight Velvet and Night Light were expected, but they had brought with them a very dishevelled looking Mayor Mare. Twilight stepped forward to greet them.
“Princess Twilight,” the mayor said, bowing her head awkwardly. The two of them rarely relied on official titles outside of public appearances, but everything about her suggested she was walking on eggshells.
“Hello, Mayor,” Twilight replied as politely as she could manage. It wasn’t her fault that this was happening, after all.
The mayor’s voice was shaky as she continued. “It has come to my attention that there is a dispute over the guardianship of Spike the Dragon. Having looked into Ponyville’s official records for him, he does seem to be listed as the son of Mr. Night Light and Mrs. Twilight Velvet.”
“He is,” Twilight said. “Although I continue to dispute their legal right to custody over him. I don’t want any further… incidents, however, so I will comply with your decision until a time when a proper court case can be made.”
Mayor Mare frowned. Twilight was aware she was putting her in an awkward situation, deciding between the law and a princess, but she had to make one last attempt.
“I’m afraid the law does seem clear on this matter.” The mayor frowned. “Unless determined otherwise by a judge in a court of law, his legal guardians are his parents.”
Twilight nodded solemnly, then turned to her parents. “Please… don’t do this…”
“Twilight,” her mom addressed her, sounding more worn out than angry, “I hope you know we love you just as much as we ever have. But unless you can change your living situation to be suitable for raising a child, then as good parents there’s nothing else we can do.”
There it was. It had been just beneath the surface the whole time. Spike or Sunset. Pick one. Only selfish ponies thought they deserved to have everyone they cared about.
Twilight looked back to Sunset and knew she understood. Sunset was smiling. It wasn’t exactly a sad smile, but it was far from happy. It was encouragement. It was the answer. ‘It’s okay,’ it said. ‘I understand. Pick him.’
Twilight looked away, before she had the chance to start crying again. “Mom, Dad. Understand that you’re not asking me to pick between Sunset and Spike. Sunset’s not the problem. You’re asking me to either deny part of who I am or break apart my family. I love Spike. I love him more than you probably realize. He’s my little brother, but he’s so much more than that. In a lot of ways, he’s more like my son. But this is part of me. I am polyamorous. I never asked to be, I’d probably be better off if I weren’t. But at the end of the day, I can’t change who I am. And I won’t be ashamed of that, even if… even if you’re ashamed of me for it.”
Nopony spoke. Nopony moved. Nopony would so much as look at one another.
Eventually Twilight realized there was nothing else to be done, so she turned around and walked over to Spike. Wordlessly she pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged Fluttershy and Sunset in turn, before hugging Twilight one last time.
He slung the backpack over his shoulder and walked over to his parents. He looked back sadly, and saw three ponies doing their best to keep smiling while they waved. He did his best, too.
Mayor Mare was the first out the door, obviously happy to put the awkward scene behind her. Night Light guided Spike out next, with Twilight Velvet following behind. She turned back in time to see her daughter collapse to the ground, sobbing. She hesitated for a moment, but left all the same.
Twilight barely noticed Fluttershy and Sunset holding her on either side. She barely noticed when they helped her up, or when they started guiding her upstairs. She barely noticed when they reached their bedroom door. Sunset said something, and she almost didn’t notice what it was. Sunset was already walking towards her own room when Twilight realized it was “Good night.”
“Please stay,” Twilight said. It was the first thing she’d said since Spike left, and she hadn’t thought about it. But once she finally said something, it snapped her out of her daze. “Uhm… would you mind staying with us, tonight?”
Sunset blinked a few times. “Of course I wouldn’t.”
Fluttershy kissed Twilight’s cheek, then led them into the bedroom. She climbed into bed, positioning Twilight in the middle.
Twilight lay on her back, with Fluttershy on one side and Sunset on the other. She was comforted by their company, but couldn’t sleep. She wasn’t sure how long she had been awake for. Turning her head slowly, she saw Fluttershy was asleep. Turning again, she saw Sunset wasn’t. Sunset smiled for her, but Twilight didn’t have it in her to return it.
“You know,” Sunset said, speaking softly, “Fluttershy told me you still know some of those old Rainboom songs.”
Twilight nodded. “It was a lot of fun being in a band.”
“I, uhm…” Sunset fidgeted. “Maybe I could sing for you. If, uhm, you wanted.”
“Would you?”
“Okay, but it’s been a while, so, uh, you’ve been warned.”
Twilight closed her eyes and focused only on the feeling of the two ponies next to her and Sunset’s voice. Slowly it washed out other thoughts, and Twilight found herself finally drifting off to sleep.
“Once upon a time, you came into my world and made the stars align…”
How old is spike? He may be a "babe" dragon. But do the laws point out that or are they based on the ageing of most races?
I would think adoption a dragon may be so rare that the laws may treat him as an adult if he is the pony age of adults.
Also Twilight had a lot of trouble finding any information on dragons. So for all they know spike maybe an adult in the eyes of other dragons.
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Spike's canon age is never mentioned, but within this story he's twelve. You're correct that the laws would treat him similar to a pony as far as age goes, and if they were to try and use the potential difference in species as a legal method, they may end to working against themselves. A species that lives as long as dragons probably ages slower if anything, meaning he may well be a 'child' when he's eighteen. To use the claim, they'd also need to back it up. Since apparently Equestria doesn't have any dragon experts (a dumb plot hole, in my opinion), they'd rely on child psychologists, and at the end of the day regardless of anything else, they'd consider him a child since he's obviously a child, teenager at most, based on his behavior.
Yeah, well, I do believe the Twilight family (that is, Velvet and Night Light) have successfully killed any chance any princess will ever be cordial with them for a good long time, especially considering that their actions at this point could be considered treasonous.
Let's see, circumventing Twilight issuing a royal decree, doing something they know is hurting every single person involved. Outright saying the Princess of Love doesn't know what she's talking about regarding romance. Goddess only knows what they would think about Luna herself if they knew her proclivities.
With letters to Twilight showing up at her parent's house, Celestia's sure to know what happens within hours at most, unless they do the absolute unthinkable and fake letters
Is it too much to ask to see Nightmare Sun come out when seeing that affront those most important to Celly?
7064391
A very good point. Some of this stuff will be answered directly in the upcoming chapters (the other princesses and their reactions in particular), but I should have given a better explanation of Twilight's official decree in this chapter, at least. Apologies for the wall of text.
So the main thing to understand is that Twilight Velvet and Night Light are in all legality Spike's legal guardians. Twilight's agreement with her parents was not actually legal in nature (not that it was illegal, just that they didn't transfer custody of him to her), and it was on the grounds that she'd have Spike as long as she could care for him. Whether she can or not is actually irrelevant though, since his parents have every legal right to take him back at any time anyway.
On the Royal decree: Twilight never actually had the authority to make it. She is a princess, but she's not a ruler. She doesn't have subjects, she doesn't make laws. Her dominion consists only of her castle, and doesn't extend to Spike (or anyone else for that matter). Since he's Twilight Velvet and Night Light's child, she didn't have the authority necessary to prevent them from seeing him (or taking him away, for that matter). She did have the authority to prevent them or anyone else (aside from Celestia and Luna, but that could actually be debated) from coming into her castle, so she could get them on trespassing, I suppose. I'll address this later (thanks for bringing it up, by the way, totally wouldn't of thought of it otherwise) but even if she had them punished, or even incarcerated, she still wouldn't necessarily be given custody of Spike (I'll get to that in a minute), so it very well may not be in her best interest to press the matter. Since she could prevent anyone she wanted from entering the castle, she could refuse to give him up, and would have if he hadn't volunteered to go willingly. But then her parents could argue that she was essentially kidnapping him, since it all comes back to them being his legal guardians.
Now, as far as them doing something they knew was harmful to everyone involved, they actually didn't. They don't think it's in Spike's best interest to leave him with Twilight, because they don't believe polyamorous ponies serve as good role models. This is how much of the world views the topic, sadly. In real life, family members of polyamorous parents do indeed use polyamory as grounds to bring in child services, and people have actually lost their kids because of it, especially in the case of adopted kids. This is why Twilight would not be guaranteed to get custody if her parents were arrested: She'd still have to win custody rights, as part of a polyamorous relationship.
They also never directly said they don't think Cadance knows what she's talking about (they don't), but it still wouldn't really matter, since Cadance doesn't have the legal authority to counter what a parent thinks is best for their child.
Ouch, there goes that happy feeling. Oh well, they were bound to run into somepony who would disapprove of their new relationship status eventually, just unfortunate it had to be Twilight's parents. And Luna still seems out of it, hope she shows up in person, er, pony (?) soon. Twilight will probably have a few things to say to her (she probably didn't mean for Twilight's parents to show up so suddenly, but still).
And while it is not to Twilight's advantage at the moment, just wanted to add that I'm glad this fic has it official that Spike is Twilight Sparkle's little brother. The show won't ever bother to clear that up. Well, that kind of thing is a bit outside of the show's normal scope, and it doesn't help that the show usually has Spike as either comic relief or manual labor (if they bother to have him show up at all). Her parents' disapproval is one thing, but losing Spike due to "immoral environment" is a whole other emotional wound.
I guess the only thing they can do at this point is somehow convince Twilght's parents that their relationship isn't a bad thing (unlikely any time soon) or... hope for Spike to reach emancipation age? Think that's the right word, but short of proving them unfit to be parents, can't think of much else (and doing that would just tear the family apart more). Not to mention Cadance's stance on this, or even Shining Armor's (I forget if he found out during Twilight's last visit). Sunset could always bow out, but that would just leave them all miserable.
Ah, always loved that Rainboom song. Guess on top of wedding preparations (and radio experiments in their free time), they have to figure out some legal loophole to get Spike back. And who knows what other objections the parents will raise for Twilight getting married while in a polyamorous relationship. Turning it into a double (triple?) wedding probably wouldn't help. Just hope Twilight doesn't have a meltdown over how her other maternal figure in Celestia might react to their relationship too. Actually, that could be a double meltdown considering Sunset's unresolved issues with Celestia too. Well, better call a friendship group meeting soon, Twilight needs the support.
7064693
Luna does indeed turn up soon, and it's about damn time. She's in the character tags for this story, yet she's been hiding away this whole time. The nerve
I feel you so much about Spike, I get so frustrated with the way he's is depicted in the show some times. I'm fine with his relationship with Twilight being ambiguous, I kinda headcanon it as strange and hard to define anyway, but when they treat him badly for the sake of a joke it really irks me.
I've never clarified if Shining Armor knows or not, but he didn't. He'll find out now though, and him and Cadance will be coming into play soon, as well as Celestia and Luna.
I'm treating the laws of Equestria as being similar to the laws in a liberal Earth country, meaning full support for things like same sex marriage, but polygamy is still out. Plus, they've been dating Sunset three weeks, it'd be a little early to add her to the marriage However this also means that no matter what objections anyone has, there's no law against dating somepony other than ones spouse, so no one can actually do anything to prevent the wedding.
And Shine Like Rainbows is my favorite pony song
Ugh. Legal issues. One of those things that I just prefer to avoid in MLP fics. Not that it's going to stop me from reading this fic. Honestly, this is easily one of my favorite stories right now. Love the plot, characterization, romance elements, etc. It's a fantastic story. I'm just not fond of legal matters in these stories because, naturally, most authors seem to try developing a system based on either how their government works, or based on more realistic monarchies (or similar systems) that tend to conflict with what we've seen of Equestria's government in canon. But the way it's portrayed in the series, the Princesses do seem to essentially hold absolute authority. We see very little of how Equestria's government works in action. Not that I would expect to. This is MLP, not Game of Thrones. But while we don't see much, we do see some, and what we see...
I mean, in the show: The Princess is implied to have the authority to banish or imprison someone, can appoint government officials, can assign individuals to rule significant territories, can appoint individuals who aren't involved in the government to address matters of international relations, and can do all of it on a whim. They also have direct authority over the majority of the military forces we've seen (the various Royal Guard factions), and on top of all that, they have direct control over two celestial bodies and the most powerful set of magical artifacts known to exist. And they're friends with the Spirit of Chaos who technically outclasses all of them in terms of raw magical power. That...that doesn't exactly paint a picture of a government that has many checks and balances on its leaders' authority. By all appearances, Twilight could simply issue a royal decree and call it a day unless one of the other princesses decided to countermand her order.
Of course, I can totally get why authors choose to change up the system a bit. After all, it makes for a pretty dull and uninteresting conflict if it can be immediately solved with "Lol no. Screw the rules, I'm the Princess. That makes this legal."
That said, I'm loving the story and looking forward to seeing where you go with the rest of it.
7065217
To start with, I want to thank you for the compliments. I'm glad you're liking the other parts of the story so much
I see what you're getting at, and definitely understand it, but there's one important thing to note: all of the things you mentioned are things Princess Celestia and Luna can do. Twilight's never shown having anywhere near that level of power. Actually, aside from the cutie map and attending events where the only qualification was holding the title of princess, it's never shown at all what it is Twilight can actually do. I imagine Cadance has that power over the Crystal Empire, but Twilight doesn't rule Ponyville (they still have a mayor, after all)
And while they're not exactly canon, I do draw from the comics. In one of them, The Day Shift, Luna takes over for Celestia for one day. What we see does seem to be a system where Celestia (and Luna) have absolute power, but chose to instead maintain a level of balance by going through the whole bureaucratic process.
But honestly there was no way I wasn't involving legality. There's no legal system that I'm aware of that gives polyamorous relationships the same rights as monoamorous ones, aside from some less progressive ones where polygamy is part of their culture. Though typically even those aren't true polyamory, but rather a form of male domination, where one man is allowed to take multiple wives, but never the other way around. My main point of writing this story is to give a more realistic view on polyamory, rather than the fandoms tendency to view it as ‘I like both these ships, but can't choose which one is better.’ Not that I really have a problem with that mindset either – I also enjoy drama free fluffy happy stories. But this is an important issue to me, and I want to portray it fairly.
Incidentally, the legal system I'm shooting for in Equestria is a generalized equivalent to a progressive Earth country, although having only lived in one country I may goof up and write it more like mine specifically.
7065289
Have to disagree here. She had authority over the talks with Rutherford - both in handling negotiations and delegating tasks to her people. Twilight and her friends were the only ones involved in deciding Starlight's punishment. The same goes for Sunset and the Dazzlings, who committed crimes in Equestria and in the human world, and who she decided (entirely on her own) not to even attempt to subdue and bring in for judgement. And, whatever the map's advice, it was ultimately Twilight's decision to just send Pinkie and Rainbow to Griffonstone. Of course, it turned out to be different than Twilight anticipated, but the point is that she still believed it was a full blown kingdom with royalty, and made no effort to consult with Celestia before essentially appointing two friends to act as ambassadors. Likewise, it was her call that only she and Fluttershy follow the map's directions to the Smokey Mountains, where they initiated and oversaw negotiations between the feuding families, even when Twilight had to intervene with force to make them stop fighting and start talking.
As for Mayor Mare and Ponyville...the Princesses rule over all of Equestria, not just individual towns within. Based on that reasoning (Mayor Mare is still Mayor of Ponyville, so Twilight doesn't have authority over it), neither Celestia nor Luna should have authority over Ponyville either since she's still the mayor even when they're in town. A ruler living in a town doesn't require that any and all lesser positions of authority be abolished. And when there were issues where their authority would presumably come into conflict (receiving ambassadors, judging criminals), Mayor Mare is never even consulted. It was left entirely to Twilight and Co. Furthermore, when Celestia and Luna went missing, the Royal Guard immediately deferred to Twilight. No questions asked, no issues with the chain of command, nothing. Just immediate deferral to the one who held the same title as their other leaders.
So during her time as princess, we've seen Twilight: Delegate ambassadorial positions to her friends (Griffonstone), personally oversee foreign and internal affairs without input from her seniors (Yakyakistan, Smokey Mountains), and decide the fates of criminals without input from her seniors (Sunset, Starlight). All things in Celestia and Luna's range of powers. Now, would she be able to override an order from Celestia? Technically yes, but not likely in practice. No matter her title, Celestia has spent hundreds of years gaining trust and loyalty. But when she's not being overridden by her peers in the royalty, she's demonstrated a similar degree of authority.
Heh. That was a fun comic. And I didn't mean to imply that they don't respect their subjects and allow them power. Just that they don't particularly need to. It's pretty telling of their characters that, despite all evidence indicating they have absolute power, they've managed to avoid the pitfalls that could lead to a dictatorship based on fear or violence.
Oh, I'm not complaining about that. I might not generally enjoy legal issues in MLP fics for the reasons I mentioned earlier, but if people are going to add them, I prefer that they take your route on it and try to portray them realistically. Like I said, it would make for a pretty dull and uninteresting story if all it took was "Screw the rules, I'm the one who makes them."
Nothing wrong with that. I'd rather write (and see others write) a mostly fictional government based on the ones we know than try to perfectly mimic one we don't.
7065533
Of course, I don't dispute anyone else's headcanons. This is all just how I see her role as princess, a title I consider vastly different in Equestria and Earth. But many (not all) of your counterpoints are things I've considered.
I'll give you the Rutherford example, I honestly hadn't thought of it. Or at least I'll give you that her entering into negotiations shows she has a significant level of authority. As far as delegating tasks, she is in charge of certain ponies within certain situations, but that's hardly the same as ruling, in the same way that a manager may delegate a task to an employee, but they can't overstep their bounds by making demands outside of work. She is a leader, not a ruler. With the human world, Celestia did specifically put Twilight in charge of that one. While she didn't need to report back to anypony, she was still acting under authority Celestia gave her. Not to mention irl a country can't just enter another and take criminals back, unless they're looking to start a war. They can make requests, which are often met, but that's not exactly the same thing. The better argument is Starlight, which I really can't counter. At this point I'm also going with the plan I had laid out from the beginning, which was made before that episode. I do think she has absolute authority on any and all things surrounding the map, which includes on the spot judgement calls for when a level of force is needed to complete a mission.
On screen, we don't know what preparations were made beforehand (at least with the yaks, I agree they didn't seem to consult her at all with Starlight). Yes, they could have shown her playing some role in the episode, but they also primarily have to think about what younger fans of the show would care about, and that's not local politics. Also I may have given the wrong impression with what I said about Mayor Mare. My starting stance was that Twilight is not a ruler of Equestria, and that only Celestia and Luna hold that level of authority. I brought up the mayor only in relation to Cadance. I think Cadance and Shining Armor are the rulers of the Crystal Empire, but not involved in the larger ruling of Equestria. Twilight doesn't even hold that much sway (or rather, her role is just entirely different), in that she doesn't rule even a single town. With the guards, I think that actually speaks more for a system of checks and balances. They didn't need to question the chain of command 'cause it's kinda a major part of their job, but there clearly is one. Only after Celestia and Luna were disposed did Twilight assume that authority. Cadance and Twilight are indeed second in command, but that doesn't give them the same level of control.
I am in agreement that Celestia or Luna could swoop in and make a quick end to the matter. That will be explored soon
7065646
True, she put her in charge the first time. But the second time, when Twilight let the Dazzlings go because she decided they were just harmless teenagers without their amulets? That one was all her. As for border issues...the human world isn't exactly comparable to another country. You don't really have to worry about starting a war when the other "country" doesn't know you exist, doesn't know about anything that occurred, and the only people who could tell them have shown that they have no intention of doing so (probably because they were the victims).
Another issue there is that, irl, everything that Twilight did would already be an issue. Twilight has outright confronted Equestrian criminals in head-on battles that caused major property damage on two separate occasions. By then, returning them to Equestria would basically be nothing more than a side note on the political nightmare that they're looking at. Plus, in the first case, that criminal wasn't simply fleeing to that foreign nation: They enslaved citizens of said nation to form an army to invade their homeland, all in a way that said nation couldn't detect or address itself. Even ignoring the many issues brought to the table due to the whole "'from a parallel world" thing, that would give you a bit of an edge if they try the whole "You can't come to our country to capture your criminals" angle.
That aside, Twilight and Cadance more or less serving as their second in command is kind of my point. It would be extremely difficult for anyone whose authority effectively ends at one town and is subservient to a higher level of authority to simply ignore a direct order if she gives it. In the context of the show, of course. The setting you've constructed is hardly identical to what we see in the show (not that that's a bad thing - unless we make things up ourselves, we'd be working with a horribly barebones political setting), and as I said before, I really do like how you're handling it given the more realistic setting you've written here.
I guess for a TL;DR version of my many rants: If people are going to write about the legal systems of Equestria in their fics, I prefer the way you're doing it because otherwise it'd be hard to add any real substance to the story. I just tend to get turned off when people try to keep to the theme/setting of canon (rather than adjusting it to something more realistic for their story), and just kind of ignore that what little we see of Twilight's political clout in canon suggests she's likely one of the most politically powerful individuals in the country. The Darth Vader to Celestia's Emperor Palpatine, so to speak.
Oh, also, aside from our current discussion: I forgot to mention it in my first review, but I'd also like to say that I really enjoy how you handled the drama with her family here. I understand how it can be really hard to write a situation like this without demonizing one side of the argument (intentionally or not). I'm glad that you managed to show that it's honestly not just a matter of prejudice or personal disapproval. While they do obviously disapprove and hold some degree of prejudice regarding that sort of relationship (hence their worry about how it will influence a child), it's nice to see that it's also out of genuine concern for how Twilight will be treated by the public once it gets out - far from an uncommon concern for parents when it comes to any kind of sexual preference that portions of the population consider abnormal/wrong. There's always more than one side to an issue like this, and not all behavior that could be considered "prejudiced" is derived purely from hate for a group or lifestyle.
Or in short: Props for actually writing a realistic sort of "coming out" scenario that isn't just "Everyone is accepting and it's all bunnies and flowers and hugs" or "OMG they're bigoted jerks who suck and we should hate them."
7065798
Hmm, fair point about the Dazzlings, unless Twilight did talk to Celestia in between receiving Sunset's message and going through the mirror. Possible, but I'm inclined to believe she didn't and did indeed act on her own authority. Though I would argue that it is like dealing with a foreign country between Equestria and the human world, but that Twilight is acting in a covert ops manor. Country A can send a team to capture somebody in Country B without B ever being aware, that doesn't make the events legal (at least not as far as respecting B's laws), so this could be viewed as another example of choosing to obey laws despite absolute power. Which, in fairness, is more to your point than mine since Twilight made the call (though I still say at least with Sunset anything she did was because Celestia gave her the authority to do anything she needed to by assigning her the task in the first place).
I do definitely agree that going into the human world as she did would be an issue irl. That honestly sounds like an entirely seperate debate from how much power Twilight holds due to her title, however. The black ops nature of the whole thing could make for a good fic, actually, but I'm not touching that one; I'm more about social issues than political ones.
I do wish I had given more focus on the whole royal decree thing. I was even going to, but changed how I wanted the event to play out, and the explanation wound up getting lost in the change That's definitely my bad, and I already added a bit of an explanation to the next chapter (nothing that's not already here in the comments, mind), and will probably add it to this one if ever I wind up making a second draft of the story (which is likely). Honestly, the more I think about it, I do agree with you, at least partially. She didn't have the authority to make the order, but having made it anyway it ought to have been much harder for them to work around it.
7065824
Thanks, I honestly thought everyone would just hate them, though that's definitely not what I was going for. It's probably pretty obvious that I think they're wrong in their view on polyamory, but I definitely think their hearts are in the right place.
They took away my Spikey Wikey, who is going to assist me in dressmaking, or gem mining? Oh this is the worst. possible. thing!" Collapses onto magically moved fainting couch.
Its okay Rarity, I'm sure this will be cleared up in three or four chapters. I'm rather shocked Twilight never had the guardianship changed when she came of age. Velvet's playing with fire now, and one wrong move can cost her the family she thinks she's saving.
7066080
I imagine actually being his legal guardian must have seemed unimportant at the time, since she never thought she'd be going against her parents. Plus the conversation would have been awkward at best, and fight provoking at worst.
"Mom, dad, I think you should transfer guardianship of your youngest son to me, so that if you ever do want to take him back you won't be able to."
7066389
Just infuriating is all, i still growl reading it, but like I said, a few chapters and it will be resolved and I will quit growling about it. I'll keep at it with optimism for a happy ending and laughs around the fire with Sunset wearing her own custom itchy sweater.
7066441
Now's as good as ever to mention that act three is actually really long Will this particular story line run through the whole rest of the fic? Not telling
If you were a sword fighter, you would be the kind that weakens the soft spots of your opponent, then faking mercy to pierce right through the heart.
Anyway, maybe Spikey wikey will be able to make his parents understand. Just like AppleBloom did for AJ. Night Light seems a bit more open minded than his wife.
7071086
In all the years I practiced fencing, never did I fight dirty. That is purely a trait I reserve for writing, thank you
In a way, yes, Night Light is more open minded. They're meant to represent two types of disapproval; Night Light is logical (I see many ways this situation could cause problems) while Twilight Velvet is emotional (this situation feels wrong because it goes against what I believe). So while Night Light had more potential to be convinced, he also had a stronger argument to hold on to in the face of disagreement.
finished... f the parents realy i could slap them
7192453
You'd have to get in line, they made themselves quite unpopular in this fic
This chapter was rather interesting. While I do wildly disagree with Velvet and Night Light's actions and reasoning regarding taking Spike back with them, I do understand how, from their perspective, the polyamory might sound a bit sketchy. While I don't have a problem with the idea of polygamy, I do also think it's something that has historically been abused, particularly with Mormons and some Middle Eastern societies, so I understand that at first glance, something like this might be off-putting. The vital flaw in presentation, I think, is that there was a bit said about Twilight now dating Sunset as well as Fluttershy, but they didn't really mention or at least emphasize so heavily that Sunset and Fluttershy were also trying their hoof at dating each other, so it probably came off to the parents that their daughter was starting a harem.
But yeah, taking Spike away because of that was kind of a dumb and reactionary move. Faust damn it, Velvet, and you were doing so well up 'till now.
(Funny thing is I'm reading another story concurrently with this one that also has Sunset returning to Equestria and entering a relationship with Twilight, but Velvet is portrayed rather more negatively in that one, so I got things mixed up there for a moment or two)
7461237
I'd say the ones caught up in the idea that this is more about Twilight are her parents. Twilight specifically said “So me and Fluttershy are still engaged, but we’re also dating Sunset as well” when she announced it, and she also pointed out that it was Fluttershy's idea. Her parents were the ones who kept harping on Twilight as the focus, because they are her parents.
They definitely do have their own misconceptions (possibly imagining it like the harem scenario, as you said), and in the end they want what's best for Spike. I mean, obviously I disagree with them here, and could name a number of ways that while situation could have gone better, but the one thing I really wanted to be clear is that despite not being his primary caretakers for the past few years, they are his parents. What parent wants to leave their kid in the care of (in their minds) someone being morally reprehensible?
7192453
I am right behind you.
Okay if Spike lost his temper and decided not to leave how would they get him to leave his almost as tall as Fluttershy and can breath fire.
8581103
While you’re not wrong, Spike isn’t an animal liable to start attacking ponies if he loses control. He identifies Night Light and Twilight Velvet as his parents just as much as they identify him as their son, and everyone involved knows he’d never attack them. Plus he’s aware of the long-term consequences something like that would have (imagine Twilight trying to keep custody of him after he physically attacks his own parents )
Also sorry I haven’t been replying to your comments on this story, I found myself incredibly distracted this week I’ve been reading them and I’m enjoying hearing your thoughts though
fiancée
Regardless loved the part where the three of them do all of spikes favourite things with him. I’ll miss him in future chapters, he was becoming quite the 3 dimensional character that the show nor comics never cared to make him.
Also liked the way you describe magic at the beginning and it’s interaction with radio waves.
Are you a scientist? A magician?
*grumble* And if this was shown, it'd make her point stronger. *grumble*
8710301
Again, I really don't disagree
I feel bad for Sunset here.
That last line hurts especially, because Shine Like Rainbows has always felt like Sunset wrote it with Twilight in mind.
You're being silly
Also this isn't Playing House.
Damn it Sparkle it's not her fault
Uh what
Athena all powerful this... I agree. I feel bad for her but I agree with what she did.
To be honest, going to court, the law would be on Twilight's side, she is the legal guardian, her parents are being unreasonable because they aren't doing anything illegal... Just... I'm just sad for her.
Why?
Like, her parents' behavior makes absolutely no sense.
At the end of the day Twilight should have leverage over this
... Yikes
Ah, there's the drama. Not that I was looking forward to it, but things staying happy isn't exactly par for the course. But still...wasn't expecting Spike to be taken away. It really sucks that his opinion apparently doesn't matter at all. He's just overwritten because he's a child.
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Despite Twilight being the one to raise him, Spike is under the custody of Velvet and Night Light. The Mayor says that he's listed as their son under Ponyville records, and Krickis affirmed that they are his legal guardians in at least one reply.
:(
...I don't get how you can be both so supportive of your child's sexuality and so afraid of polyamory at the same time. Maybe it just doesn't come up often enough IRL for me to have seen that people will indeed act like this, but it felt especially out of place for Twi's parents.
:(
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Their reaction was based largely on things that I've seen as a polyamorous person re: people who are queer allies but who are opposed to polyamory.
plan "literally kidnap spike" is soon to be put in motion
operation "literally kidnap spike" is getting closer to execution
oh maybe i should clarify
movement "literally kidnap spike" is 100% legal despite being a bad idea
and there it is
isn't it just great that kids aren't thinking individuals and can't possibly be allowed to make their own decisions? adults are so much better at making decisions for them, especially about "what's best for them". what was that, adults grow from kids and thus only have decision making experience if given opportunities while kids and that kids generally know more than expected about themselves? preposterous
I knew it! I knew it! You crook! You criminal! Lulling us into a safe place of lovey-dovey mushy feelings for so long and then BAM!
You done stabbed us with a knife and look us straight in the eye and said “So…..ready for the next chapter~?” And then laugh manically at us
Good story so far, can’t wait to read to more. You good author
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...so what you're saying is that you're ready for the next chapter, right?
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
Oh no.
Holy fuck. Well, can't say there's no drama anymore. c.c;
Well that didn't go according to plan.
Oofity.
Fingers crossed. 🤞
I really hope it does.
She's got a good point.
Wait what!?!?
Welp, she's done it now! 😰
Oh. Oh shit! 😦
https://m.Glad to see things have gotten better I guess...
If I were in this situation I'd honestly have no clue who'd I'd choose, it's too tough of a decision to make, reminds me of a video I played where you got to choose how your story would go, and so of the choices were a pain to decide. Especially the choice to choose for the second game.
Goodbye Spike, I'm sorry.
Oh, there's the drama.
I figured a situation like this (not specifically polyamory) would show up eventually but I didn't expect it to circle back to Twilight. Not like this. I would've put her parents far down the list on something like this.
And now Spike is gone for a while.
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Yeah lol I had to put something in there. I've seen a number of people be progressive on queer stuff and regressive on poly, at decided to write about that. I like the plot of what happens but I have some mixed feelings on my execution of it.