The Champion of Harmony

by Voxum

Following the Rainbow

Slitted pupils stared into slitted pupils as their gazes clashed.

An ear flicked.

Wings twitched.

Motion.

Taking off with nary a warning, the small, yellow form of Bolero shot into he air, snagging the bright red strawberry he'd flicked straight out of the sky. He swung back around, and landed on the head of a particularly disgruntled filly, while the juices of his favoured snack began to drip onto his stand as he gorged himself.

"Watch it, Bolero!" Wisp snapped, trying to glare up at her passenger, but only succeeding in getting strawberry juice on her glasses, "Hey!"

Emerald snickered at the sight, and swiped another strawberry from the basket Fluttershy had lent them.

It had been awhile since he'd gotten to see his favourite flying rat, and, judging by his actions, Bolero had certainly missed him, Starlight, and Wisp as well.

Then again...

"No, Bolero! Stop it!"

He wasn't sure the feeling was mutual as far as Wisp was concerned.

Silly little sister, don't you know he's only a little shit to the ones he likes?

He chuckled, watching as the little pissant snatched up Wisp's glasses and took off, with the angry filly running after him.

"Bolero! Gimme back my glasses!"

He snickered again, though Starlight only sighed,

"You know that's only encouraging him, right?" she asked, raising a brow at him. Emerald shrugged,

"Not like I taught him to take her glasses," he said, "He did that all on his own." Starlight shook her head,

"Still, you're only getting him to do it more often."

"Think of it as a lesson. The more he does it, the more likely Wisp is gonna get better protections on those things," he said, turning back to watch as the filly and bat ran/flew in circles around each other, "Wisp said Luna put a charm on those to prevent theft, but I'm guessing it was aimed at actual theft, and not playful teasing. Intent based magic, I'd figure."

Starlight sighed once more, but nodded,

"That's probably true," she muttered, watching the scene before them unfold, though she couldn't stop herself from smiling, "I wonder why Twilight hasn't taught her theft-prevention spells yet."

"Probably didn't think it was important," he replied with a shrug, "Ponyville doesn't have a very high crime rate."

"You mean a crime rate."

"No, I'm right," he said, frowning, "There was an attempted foalnapping, followed by an attempted murder when they were caught, as well as some illegal Jewelian immigrants who engaged in slavery over in the quarry."

Starlight shook her head, placing a hoof against her temple,

"Why did I move here again?"

"You didn't have a choice."

"That does explain it..."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, only interrupted a minute later when Wisp, finally using her head, caught Bolero in her magic and took back her glasses,

"Ha! I win!" she cheered, smirking smugly at the tiny bat in her magical grasp. Bolero gave the filly a rather impressive stare for a bat, before wriggling of her weakened magic, soaring over to Emerald, where he finally landed.

"Good job, Wisp," Emerald congratulated, smirking, "You caught a small, yellow fruit bat that stole your glasses. Truly skill beyond measure," he snarked, flicking a strawberry in to the air, feeling Bolero snap into flight after it. He came back down with his catch, landing on Starlight's outstretched hoof, where he got to enjoy both food and the mare's petting.

Wisp huffed,

"It's not my fault he keeps takin' 'em!"

"What am I supposed to do about it?"

"Tell 'im to stop!"

"You think he actually listens to me?"

"He does listen to you!"

"When?"

"All the time!"

"Doing tricks for food barely counts, you know?"

"It still counts!"

"This is our family, Bolero," Starlight muttered to the lemon coloured bat, gently stroking his little head, "They're a little crazy, but we still love them, don't we?" she asked.

Bolero screeched a little, and, while she couldn't speak bat, she was pretty sure that he agreed.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?"

The unexpected voice caused the bickering to stop, and four different sets of eyes locked onto the source, finding Fluttershy standing by the house.

"Hey cuz. You're fine, we're just messing around," Emerald greeted, turning to her, "Playing around with Bolero a bit, too."

"Stealin' my glasses isn't playin'!"

"Is for him."

"Big Bro!"

Fluttershy giggled at the by-play, smiling fondly at them,

"Wow, it's really nice to see everyone having fun!" Fluttershy gushed, only to frown moments later, "Oh, but... I was going to ask if you wanted to come to our pony pet play-date," she muttered, sounding a bit sad.

"'Pony pet play-date'?" Emerald asked, brow rising, "What... is that exactly?" Fluttershy perked up,

"Oh! it's this fun little idea that I came up with! You see, I noticed that we all have pets, and I thought it would be really really fun if we all got together at the park and played!" she gushed excitedly, "I've already asked the girls, and you're the last one!" she added.

Emerald blinked,

"That's... a good idea, actually," he said, glancing over at Bolero, "Whaddya think, bud? Wanna go play with the others and their little pals?" he asked. Bolero twisted in Starlight's hooves to face him, then let out a little screech of agreement, flapping his way over onto Emerald's head,

"He says yes," Fluttershy supplied. Emerald smirked,

"I figured," he said, then turned to Wisp and Starlight, "Either of you wanna come with?" he asked, hoisting the basket of strawberries onto his back, idly swiping at Bolero when the little bugger tried sneaking a few. Wisp shook her head,

"Nah, Twist wanted me an' Dinky to come over today. She's gonna show us how to make peppermint sticks!" she chirped. Starlight, however, shrugged,

"Sure, why not?" Fluttershy smiled,

"That's wonderful!" she said, "We're all meeting over in the park in a half hour! Ooh, I can't wait. This'll be so much fun!" she gushed. With that being said, she bid them goodbye and jogged off, a big smile on her face.

There was silence for a moment, before Emerald broke it,

"Well, might as well get goin'. C'mon you two."

---

The park was surprisingly empty when he, Starlight, and Bolero arrived. Considering that it was Sunday, he'd have figured more ponies would be out and about.

Oh well, it wasn't a bad thing, in all honesty. In fact, it'll probably make messing around with all their pets easier and less of a hassle.

Speaking of pets, he hadn't known everyone in their group had owned a pet.

Sure, Sparky had Owloysius, Applejack had Winona, Pinkie had Gummy, Rarity had Opal, and Fluttershy had... well, he supposed Angel was her pet, but, really, the entire forest might as well be.

What he hadn't known, however, was that Rainbow had a pet.

He couldn't recall ever hearing about Rainbow's pet. What it was, its name, nothing! Though, given her lifestyle, it was probably a pretty self-sustaining little bastard. Likely a bird of some sort.

Still, he was surprised to have never heard about it. Rainbow was the kind of individual to brag about nearly anything, and her pet was certain to have come up once or twice in his time here.

Unless... she was embarrassed by it? Maybe she did have a bird for a pet, but it wasn't something she'd claim to be 'cool' or 'awesome'. Like... a hummingbird? A parakeet? A parrot? It definitely couldn't be anything big, considering that he'd have noticed such an unusually large bird around the area.

... Assuming it didn't just stay over at Fluttershy's like Bolero liked to. Maybe Rainbow did have an 'awesome' pet, but felt that she couldn't brag about it since Fluttershy looked after it more?

He shook his head.

No point in getting all worked up over it. He'll find out when the play-date started.

...

That was not a sentence he thought he'd ever apply to his life. And mean.

"Hoo."

The sound of beating wings preceded the arrival of the familiar little owl, which, itself, was followed by a second weight on his head, prompting Bolero to hop to the side. He chuckled,

"Hey, Owloysius," he greeted, holding out a leg for the avian to hop onto, which it did not long after, allowing Bolero to reclaim his perch, "Good to see you again," he added, "though, if you're here, I suppose your mistress isn't far behind..."

He paused at the thought, feeling an icy shiver shoot down his spine.

The completely and utterly mortifying events of Hearts and Hooves Day had, thankfully, been pushed aside for the most part. Contrary to his beliefs, the ponies around town didn't really comment on it. At least, to him. He didn't know if anyone spoke to Cheerilee about it, since he hadn't really spoken to the mare since.

Still, he'd expected the ponies in town to grill him about it, or at least attempt to give him a little ribbing considering the utterly shameful actions he'd unwillingly done, only to receive nothing of the sort! In fact, he'd had a few ponies come up and ask if he was okay, for Faust's sake!

A humorless chuckle escaped him.

It reminded him of one, crucial fact that he'd ended up forgetting.

Ponies were weird.

Still, it was actually somewhat... touching that nigh-on strangers knew him enough to wonder about his health.

Or just didn't want to see him skipping through the market again.

It could be either, really.

But even so, there was one part of that whole ordeal that, frankly, haunted him, even if he only knew of it after the fact.

"There you are, Owloysius!" Sparky's voice chirped, prompting the four of them to turn to where the mare in question was gently jogging towards their location, a pair of saddlebags on her back, "Oh! Emerald! Starlight! It's good to see you agreed to come along!" she added cheerfully upon reaching them.

"Oh, hey Twilight," Starlight greeted politely, glancing at the little owl, "I didn't know you had an owl." Sparky smiled and nodded,

"Yep! His name is Owloysius, and he's my my little assistant!" she chirped. Starlight blinked,

"I thought Spike was your assistant..." she muttered. Sparky shook her head,

"They're both my assistants," she explained, "Owloysius helps me whenever Spike is asleep or not around!"

"Oh, and he's... okay with that?" Starlight asked, "Dragons can be pretty territorial, you know?" Sparky sighed,

"I know, I know... There were some issues at first, but we've worked them out," she said, smiling softly.

While they were talking, Emerald's eyes ended up fixed on Sparky. More specifically, on the darker patch of fur on her chest.

Where he'd struck her.

Guilt ate at him at the mere thought of striking her, but it wasn't the soul-crushing guilt he might've expected had he still bore a crush on the purple unicorn.

Though... he did feel a sort of... spark in his chest whenever he looked at her now. The same kind of feeling he'd had before his crush had grown.

Had the love poison knocked something loose? Was it causing his feelings to return, albeit slowly?

Or was something else the cause?

He shook his head,

"How you feelin', Sparky?" he asked, eyes still locked on the bruise. Sparky turned to him, smiling, only to realize where his gaze lie. Her smile softened,

"I'm fine, Emerald," she said, gently brushing a hoof over the spot, wincing slightly, "It only stings a bit whenever pressure is applied. Aside from that, it's like it isn't even there," she consoled him. He grit his teeth, and looked away,

"... It shouldn't be there," he muttered. Sparky's eyes hardened,

"It's not your fault, Emerald," she said firmly, poking him in the chest roughly, causing him to meet her eyes, "I know for a fact you'd never hurt me," she added quietly, "You were under a spell. A powerful one, at that. It's okay."

He swallowed, eyes darting away from hers.

"Still..."

"'Still' nothing!" she snapped without heat, smiling once again, "Now... stop feeling guilty about this. We have a pet-play-date to get to!" she chirped, grabbing his hoof and dragging him along, prompting Owloysius to fly after them.

He heard Starlight giggle behind him, and he vowed to get her back for it, one day.

-----

Sparky had pulled him-with Starlight following leisurely behind-further into the park, where they ran into Fluttershy already waiting for them, not that it was much of a surprise.

"Fluttershy!" Sparky called, letting go of his hoof as she trotted up to the shyer mare, Owloysius taking perch on her back as she did so, "Guess we're not the only ones early!" she noted with amusement. Fluttershy flushed, but smiled and nodded,

"Mhmm! I was just so excited to play with all our pets, I couldn't wait and came by as soon as I could!" she gushed in a rather loud voice, for her at least.

Bolero let out a quiet screech, shifting in place. Fluttershy perked up, finally taking notice of the three of them.

"Oh! It's nice to see that you all made it!" she said with a bright smile. Emerald smirked,

"Well, when you make the offer so enticing, how could we not?" he asked, almost sarcastically.

Whatever reply Fluttershy had was lost when a small brown blur came running by them, loud, high-pitched barking following in its wake.

The little border collie Emerald only vaguely remembered as Winona continued barking, running in circles around Fluttershy and Sparky, before stopping in front of them, panting happily.

She yipped, causing Fluttershy to giggle and pet her head.

"Oh, hello there Winona, how are you doing?" she asked happily.

"She's doin' great, Shy!" Applejack answered for her, trotting up to the group with a pair of saddlebags, "Those treats'o yours certainly made 'er happy ta see ya, too!"

"Oh, I'm glad she liked them!" Fluttershy said.

"Yoohoo!" the familiarly posh voice called, before Rarity appeared moments later, wearing a large-brimmed hat a few shades lighter than her mane, "Oh, I'm so glad you had this idea Fluttershy!" she gushed, approaching them, "Little Opal has been feeling so restless cooped up inside all day, it'll be nice for her to run around a little!" she said, turning to the side to reveal the familiar white cat, resting on a lavish red pillow.

Opal gave a bored sounding mewl, before hopping down from Rarity's back, only to jump up once more with a hiss when Winona decided to introduce herself with a bark.

"Oh dear."

Emerald snickered slightly at the sight.

I guess what they say about some pets resembling their owners is true, huh?

He conveniently ignored what that implied about him and Bolero.

"Winona, calm down!" Applejack scolded, stomping the ground to call her over, "Try an' save yer energy, girl!"

Fluttershy giggled at the sight, a bright smile alight on her face. Starlight snickered as well, eyes tracing each of the currently gathered pets, before frowning,

"Hey, Fluttershy?" she asked, earning her attention, "Where's your pet?"

Fluttershy blinked, processing the question, before perking up,

"Oh goodness, you're right!" she said, looking around, "Angel! Angel Bunny, where are you?!" she called worriedly. Her worries were quickly assuaged when a familiar white rabbit scampered into view from behind some nearby bushes.

"A rabbit?" Starlight muttered, staring at the small, irritated looking fuzzball, who was currently experiencing a fond nuzzle from his owner, "That... does make sense. I feel like I was expecting something more... dangerous, for some reason," she said to herself.

"Pinkie's got that part covered," Emerald said, only to frown, "Er... sorta."

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see. Gummy is... just something you'll need to get used to."

"'Gummy'?" she asked, face scrunching in confusion, "How can something dangerous be named-?"

Starlight was, rather unfortunately, cut off by a small green reptile surreptitiously dropping onto her face.

Starlight froze instantly, eyes wide and unblinking, as she stared into the distant purple eyes of Pinkie's pet,

"... Emerald?" Starlight asked.

"Yes, Glim?"

"Is there a tiny crocodile on my face?"

"No."

"'No'?"

"I'm pretty sure Gummy is a baby alligator."

"Okay, why is he on my face?"

"I don't have all the answers, Glim."

Starlight's horn ignited, and the small reptile was gently lifted by his tail, where he now hung in the air, completely unconcerned with the current series of events.

Starlight stared at Gummy, holding him away from her like she was afraid he'd bite.

"He doesn't have any teeth, by the way," he decided to tell her. Starlight blinked, her head slowly turning to face him,

"... Huh?"

"His name is Gummy in reference to his lack of teeth," Emerald said, gently snatching Gummy from Starlight's hold, where Gummy immediately proceeded to clamp his jaw around Emerald's hoof, causing absolutely no pain to him whatsoever.

Emerald blinked down at the little gator, unsure if this was a form of aggression or affection.

He was Pinkie's pet, so either option was possible, though it tended to lean more towards affection.

"There you are, Gummy!" Pinkie's excitable voice all-but-shouted in his ear suddenly. Starlight yelped and flinched away, but Emerald, having grown practically immune to Pinkie's sudden appearances by now, only twitched, "Aw, look! Gummy missed you, Emerald!" she added, smiling.

Emerald rolled his eyes, a smirk growing as he gently pat Gummy's head,

"I missed you too, Gummy," he said idly.

Gummy's tail wagged slightly, before his jaw loosened, allowing the little gator to fall to the ground where he landed without issue. His eyes blinked out of sync, and he was still.

Pinkie's smile was as blinding as ever,

"Wow! I haven't seen Gummy this excited since we visited the rock farm!"

"Riiiight..." Starlight muttered, staring blankly down at Gummy, who remained frozen in place, "He certainly looks... energetic?"

"I know, right?!"

"Alright!" Sparky suddenly announced, smiling brightly as she looked around at their little assembly, "Looks like we're all here! Let's get this pet-play-date started!"

""""Yeah!"""" the others cheered, while Emerald frowned,

"Uh, what about Rainbow?" Emerald asked, brow furrowing. Sparky blinked at him,

"Oh, uh, Rainbow Dash doesn't have a pet," she said, then turned to Fluttershy, "Er, does she?" Fluttershy shook her head, but Applejack ended up beating her to answer,

""Fraid not, sugarcube," she said, shrugging, "Ain't a lot'o pets that can live up in that house o'hers." Emerald nodded,

"Right, I forgot about the whole 'cloud house', bit," he admitted, "Still, I'm... surprised that she doesn't have a pet. I'd expect a bird, at least."

"Shouldn't we invite her to join in?" Starlight asked, to which Fluttershy nodded, before gasping,

"Oh, of course! I can't believe I forgot!" Rarity stalled Fluttershy with a gentle hoof to the shoulder,

"Now now, Fluttershy. If I recall, Rainbow Dash tends to nap around this time. I don't believe it would be polite to wake her up for this," she said. Applejack nodded,

"Yeah. She ain't got a pet, an' she likes sleepin' 'round now. Plus, Rainbow ain't ever looked like she wanted ta play with Winona whenever she came 'round. I reckon she won't be missin' much," she said. There was a round of agreements, some more reluctant than others. Sparky shook her head,

"Well, that's enough of that! C'mon everyone, let's start the pony-pet-play-date!"

-----

The play-date was... more fun than anticipated, if he was honest.

Fluttershy had really thought of everything when it came to the play-date. They each took turns playing with each other's pets, shared various stories about times spent with said pet, and generally just taught each other things about their little animal pals.

It was... nice. If a bit odd at times.

Playing with Winona was about as fun and pleasant as one would expect playing with an energetic dog that loved fetch could be. She was happy, energetic, cheerful, and playful. Traits expected in a well-cared-for border collie of her age.

Completely contrasting that experience, 'playing' with Opalescence consisted of pampering the little fur ball with brushes and various cat toys. The experience was... pleasant, in a different way than playing with Winona had been. Though Opal seemed less willing to play around with Pinkie, to no one's surprise.

Owloysius, however, seemed content to race around with everyone, before settling into a period of rest, and simply watch the others for a bit.

Angel was a little rat who enjoyed annoying everyone who wasn't Fluttershy and Pinkie-the former since she fed him, and the latter because it was Pinkie, and Emerald was honestly not sure if annoying that mare was even possible-by running around and generally refusing to play nice.

Gummy... didn't really do much with anyone. It wasn't until himself or Pinkie got close that he had any sort of reaction, which was to quickly bite them in as many places as he could reach, for some reason. Trying to catch the little bugger had been somewhat entertaining, though he was sure the others found watching him and Pinkie playing an impromptu game of tag with the small alligator even more amusing than they did actually playing with him.

Bolero was, of course, a little showoff. He did every sort of trick he knew in return for a strawberry or head pat. Easily the most active of the lot, with Winona coming up a close second through sheer energy.

Looking back, it was actually pretty funny how similar each pet was to its owner.

Winona was cheerful and friendly, and had no issues getting along with anyone. Opal was pampered and hated getting dirty, but was altogether well-behaved. Owloysius was happy to be involved, but was equally happy just resting and enjoying the company around him. Angel was sweet and gentle to look at, but hid a strong personality under the sweet appearance. Gummy was unpredictable, but harmless. And Bolero...

Well, he didn't see how Bolero was similar to him, but Emerald was pretty sure the others saw something, if the way they smirked at him when he brought that up meant anything.

He even learned how each of them met their little friends.

When Applejack was in her mid-teens, some of her relative's dogs had a litter and they brought one of the pups home-mostly to help around the farm, but also to keep an eye on little Applebloom-and Winona had been there ever since.

Rarity's parents, due to their traveling tendencies, brought home a little kitten to keep Rarity company for while they were away when she was a teen, a bit before Sweetie's second birthday.

They all knew how Sparky met Owloysius.

Pinkie found Gummy not long after Sparky's arrival in a little pond without any other alligators nearby, nibbling on a fish and making zero progress. The Cakes weren't happy about it at first, but Gummy eventually grew on them. The fact he was literally harmless played a large part in it, he was sure.

Angel was one of the first animals Fluttershy helped when she moved to Ponyville, and had stayed with her since, eventually growing into the slightly spoiled little shit he was now.

And he told them how Bolero was a gift from Mother-making very sure to avoid referring to her as Mother, of course-to celebrate his first joining the Guard. She'd taken him to a pet shop and he'd immediately latched on to the shop's only fruit bat, a little pup at the time whose family had recently died.

... Thinking about it now, Emerald was pretty sure he'd projected a bit of himself on to Bolero at the time, leading to his adoption.

Well, all that being said, he wouldn't mind doing this again.

---

He sighed, gently running a hoof over the head of the doll of his once-crush.

Staring at the thing every now and again hadn't brought back any lingering feelings he felt for Sparky, but now, after that love-poison-fiasco... it brought a twinge to his chest every time he looked at it.

He huffed, setting Smarty Pants back on to his desk, beside the framed picture of him and his family.

He didn't know how he felt about the returning feelings. They were slowly coming back now. He could feel a distinct difference in how he felt today over how he felt just before taking the love-poison.

That's not to say it was a big change. The change was distinct, but so minimal he would never have noticed if he hadn't been paying close attention to it.

But, yes, he was unsure how he felt about these feelings. After all, they had disappeared for some reason or another. That they existed at one point, then vanished at another did not bode well for his mental health. The fact that the same feelings that simply ceased to exist were bubbling back up in his chest, as minimal as they were, was not helping him.

And so little had happened in the past few weeks to distract him from these thoughts as well. The only thing of note was the creation of their bi-weekly pet-play-dates.

On the plus side, it turned out to be a decent method of relaxation. He hadn't been feeling overly stressed since they started it. He actually felt more relaxed now, which was a surprise.

The twins would be happy for him, if they ever found out.

Though, part of him was surprised that Rainbow hadn't shown up to join them. Starlight frequently came by, and so did the Crusaders and occasionally Wisp and her friends joined to play. Though, he supposed, Applejack was right, and that mare did like her afternoon naps. He wondered if she was even aware of their weekly get-togethers.

He stretched as he hopped out of bed, letting his thoughts run wild as he went through his morning routine.

One other thing that had begun happening over the past several weeks was Sparky's frequent visits. They saw each other fairly often before, but now she was going out of her way to talk to him several times a day at this point. Even Pinkie only went so far as to say 'Hello!' every time they walked by each other, rather than stop and start a conversation every single time.

He wasn't sure why she was doing this, either, which was beginning to annoy him.

A small part of him felt as though he did know what she was doing, but it was lost within the empty space where his feelings once were.

He finished up quickly, but when he went down to start breakfast, he found Starlight already washed up and awake, with several bowls of oatmeal already waiting out for them.

"Oh?" his voice caused her to jump in place and glare at him, "You're up early, Glim. Special occasion?" he asked, brow rising as he took a seat. She sighed,

"Not... kinda. Rarity asked me to tutor Sweetie Belle in magic, since she's still having problems using it. I guess I'm just nervous," she admitted. Emerald hummed,

"That's cool. I'm surprised she asked you, though. You're a scholar, like Sparky, but you're a lot less obvious about it. I didn't think any of them caught on to that," he said, taking a bite from his oatmeal, "I figured she'd've gone to Sparky first."

Starlight nodded,

"Yeah, I was pretty surprised myself," she said, then scoffed, "But she said I reminded her of Twilight when she first came to Ponyville. Serious, less sociable... a bit awkward," she added, bitterly, "Plus my cutie mark doesn't exactly make it a secret, even if it's abstract. But yeah, she said she didn't want to bother Twilight since she's tutoring Wisp still."

"Well, I'm sure you'll do just fine, Glim," he said, twirling his spoon, "Honestly, you've got real talent for magic, just as much as, if not more than, Sparky."

Starlight scoffed,

"I'm good with magic, sure, but I'm not as... I'm not a teacher," she said, frowning, "I... I know it's kinda silly, but I really don't want to let her down."

Emerald hummed, taking a few more bites from his oatmeal.

This was a new development. He hadn't realized that Starlight and Rarity were close enough for something like this. Not that he really kept that close of an eye on either of them, but he did keep tabs on them. Either it was recent, or it had been burning slowly for some time now.

He knew Starlight and Fluttershy were getting close. They went out for drinks-tea or coffee, no one in this house was drinking alcohol if he could help it-every now and again, after all. But he hadn't expected her to befriend Rarity so quickly, given their first meeting. He would've expected Applejack before Rarity, not the other way around.

...

Was he getting too self-absorbed?

He frowned at the thought. Surely not, right?

He knew plenty about the others' lives. He knew about-er... well, plenty of general things about the others. He knew their-well, not really, actually...

...

Shit.

Yes, he did know general things about the others. Some likes, some dislikes. Their jobs, how they tend to spend their free times. Where and what they did for work. Yes, he knew plenty about them.

But, again, they were general things.

Had he ever tried and spent dedicated time with any of them, with the purpose of getting to properly know them?

...

Well, he had spent time with Fluttershy and Sparky. He taught Fluttershy a little about their lineage, and he and Sparky had played that question game around the whole Appleloosa issue.

He spent time with Pinkie everyday, and he knew a bit about her family... but only because he'd stolen one of her scrapbooks and all-but-forced her to tell him...

... Okay, so the answer to that question was... likely yes.

His eyes drifted over to Starlight.

....

"Hey... Starlight?" he asked suddenly, idly noting that her head whipped around very quickly at her name, "Am I... self-absorbed?"

"Wh-.... where'd that come from?" she asked, eyeing him warily. He shrugged,

"Just... I feel like... I don't pay enough attention to those around me. I mean-" he paused for a moment, "I've been in this town for close to a year now, but..." he scowled, "... I haven't really... gotten to know the others, beyond the most basic shit."

Starlight was silent for a moment, rubbing the back of her head, before sighing,

"You're not... okay, you're a bit self-absorbed," she admitted with a shake of her head, "but it's not a bad thing. You're... focused. You're dedicated. You do what you think is right, even if it might be an issue for those around you," she said. Emerald scoffed, and glanced at her, a deeper frown on his face,

"The way you put it... am I really that bad?" he asked. Starlight stared at him, gritting her teeth,

"You're... well... from what I've heard, you're a lot better than you used to be," she said, glancing away from him, "I... I talk to the girls, and other ponies from around town, every so often and... well, they've never had anything bad to say about you, but... they didn't really have much good to say about you when you first arrived either. I mean... you were abrasive, rude, and pretty unsympathetic, but somehow made nice with Pinkie. You pushed on doing what you thought you needed with little regard for those around you, but never went out of your way to cause trouble or inconvenience anyone," she said. "No one was really sure what to think of you at the time. You were just... someone else. But-!" she added quickly upon seeing his grimace, "you're not like that anymore! Well, okay you kind of are, but you're way better!" she said, trying to be supportive.

Emerald shook his head,

"That's... well, enlightening, but it's not what I asked," he muttered bitterly. Starlight sighed, and rubbed the back of her head,

"... Look, don't just go asking someone if you're this or that. I mean, if you think you're like that, just... change it. I mean..." she huffed, "If you think you're self-absorbed, then just try focusing on the others, you know?" she asked, shrugging, "If you think there's something wrong, then fix it, right?"

Emerald scoffed, amused. He then shook his head,

"Yeah... I suppose you're right," he said, raising his head, his eyes grazing the clock as he did so, "... I think... I'll go take a walk for a bit," he said, getting out of his seat. He glided over to the door, and threw Starlight a look over his shoulder as he grasped the door handle, "See you later," he added idly, before stepping out.

Starlight stared at the door for a moment, before sighing.

"I... probably didn't handle that well," she muttered, "but seriously, where did that come from?"

---

The park was almost completely silent at the time. Given how early it was though, it really didn't come off as much of a surprise.

Still, the silence was appreciated. Starlight's words rang through his head as he walked, head lowered, eyes locked onto the ground in front of him.

... So I really am self-absorbed, then... It... doesn't seem to have caused any issues thus far, but... do I really want to be that way, issues or no?

He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

No, no I don't. It's hardly even a question. I have to change that, but... 'just fix it' isn't exactly advice that helps me... So what should I do?

He raised his head, and cast a look around, hoping he might spot something that gave him an answer.

Against all odds, his prayers might've been answered. For, in the distance, he could spot a familiar rainbow tail hanging from a tree further into the park.

Looks like I've found Rainbow's napping spot... huh, it's not actually that far from where we hold that pet-play-date...

The thought trailed off, taking with it most of his attention.

It's not like it was important information. Whether Rainbow knew about the play-date or not wasn't his responsibility, after all.

He grimaced, and rubbed his head.

Yeah, because thinking like that definitely isn't self-absorbed. Just because it's not my problem, doesn't mean I should ignore it... he sighed, Still... is it important enough in general? It's... just a pet-play-date. She, apparently, doesn't even have a pet, so why would she care? Then again, if she knew, she might feel left out. If that's the case, then it's only fair that she knows about it... right?

He grit his teeth. This... wasn't easy.

Dammit, I don't know enough about that mare to make any sort of judgment like this... he froze, a light-bulb going off in his head, Of course. That's the issue. If I'm so self-absorbed as to not know a lot about the girls, then the solution is to get to know them better, he scowled, and struck his forehead, I've been wanting to get to know this lot better for a while now, so why the fuck didn't I think of that sooner?!

It would be a good idea. Though... getting to know them for the purpose of not being self-absorbed was, in and of itself, a rather selfish thing to do, and being selfish wasn't too far off from being self-absorbed...

Well, he needed to start somewhere. A lifetime of being himself wasn't going to be undone immediately. Hopefully it would become second nature to him at some point. Plus, he got along with Rainbow Dash the least out of the six of those mares. If they were going to be friends, and fellow Elements, then it would only be right for them to, at least try, to get along.

So, with that in mind, he approached the, presumably snoozing, mare.

He arrived beneath her perch not long after, finding that, yes, she was asleep. She was laid out on the branch, back against the bark, with a pillow beneath her head.

... I can't see how that's comfortable.

He stared at her for a moment, chewing on his lip. Did he really want to wake her up for something like this? It would probably be best if he just waited until she woke up and came back lat-

Rainbow snorted above him, mumbling and smacking her lips as she shifted in her sleep. He watched, almost as if everything was moving in slow motion, as she began to roll over, every second that passed a portion of her body began to hang over the edge of the branch and into empty air.

Then, all at once, she feel from the branch like a brick in water, and hit the ground.

Emerald snorted.

"Snrrrt-! Agh!" she shouted, flailing around, "I'm up! I'm up!" she continued, looking around wildly. She blinked, dazed, as her gaze locked onto him, ".... Emerald?" she asked, a hoof rising to rub her head, "What happened?"

"You rolled out of the fucking tree," he said, snickering, "Oh, that was fun to watch," he added, smirking. Rainbow rolled her eyes, but a small smirk played at her lips,

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it was real funny," she said, getting back to her hooves. She looked back up at him, brow raised, "No offense or anything, but what the hay are you doing here?" she asked, then glanced around, "There's nothing around here but me."

Emerald's brain short-circuited for a moment,

"Er..."

"I mean, we don't talk or hang out, like, ever," Rainbow added, frowning slightly.

"Maybe we should fix that," his brain managed to sputter. Rainbow blinked,

"What?" she asked, clearly taken aback. Furiously scrambling to latch onto the train of thought that phrase provided, Emerald continued,

"I mean, maybe we should talk. Maybe we should... hang out," he said. Rainbow stared at him for a moment, then tilted her head,

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she asked. It wasn't said with any malicious intent, rather, it was said in a way that made it sound like she was really asking 'Are you serious?', "Did you hit your head on something?"

Emerald grit his teeth slightly.

"What?" he asked, shrugging, "Is there something wrong with the idea of you and I hanging out?"

Rainbow nodded,

"Uh, yeah," he blinked at that response, but thankfully she continued, "I mean... we've barely talked since you came to Ponyville, and it's not like we're super friendly with each other when we did. I mean-" she added before he could speak, "sure we don't, like, hate each other or anything. Well, anymore. But, well, we've got nothing in common except our friends."

"We don't know that," Emerald interjected, "We've barely spoken to each other, as you pointed out." Rainbow shrugged,

"Well, yeah, but... wait..." she paused, then leveled a flat stare at him, "... You pranking me?" she asked, a slight grin working its way onto her face.

Emerald blinked,

"Uh..."

"Ha!" Rainbow laughed, smiling now, "That's a good one! You almost had me, but you've got a loooong way to go before you should start pranking the master," she boasted, the smile becoming a smirk.

"I... it... wasn't a prank," Emerald muttered,

"Oh. Then where the hay is this all coming from?" Emerald sighed,

"Well, I was just thinking that-" he cut himself off with a growl, "fuck-I, I can't fucking play this game," he growled, before leveling a stare at her, "Look, I'm not the best with this fucking 'friends' thing, okay? I barely know what I'm fucking doing, most of the time I'm just treating you lot like someone I actually like. I don't know what friends do for fucking fun, or how they spend their damned time together. I usually just wait for one of you lot to come and drag me along on some weird, bullshit adventure that should have no right happening in a town as small as Ponyville, and definitely not as often as it does! I-I-" he cut himself off once more, a feral growl coming from his throat.

He forced himself to calm down, and let out a breath. His eyes opened, meeting Rainbow's slightly wider than usual ones,

"Listen, I'm a pretty self-absorbed stallion. I know that. If it's not my problem, or not one that pertains to any of my issues, I tend to leave it be unless it personally bothers me. This-" he huffed, "I-I... I don't... want... to be like that," he said, choosing his words carefully, "I want to get to know you lot. You're... I've had friends before-stars, four of 'em are living in or around this town right now-but... I..." he trailed off.

He stared at her for a moment longer, before shaking his head and turning around,

"Forget it. I'm not good at this shit."

Just as his back arched for take-off, Rainbow spoke,

"Hey... you ever pulled any pranks on anybody?"

He paused, and glanced at her,

"... Does 'sneaking up on someone to startle them and pretending it's their fault for not noticing me because I think it's funny' count?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Then yeah, why?"

Rainbow smirked,

"Wanna go pull a prank on someone?"

---

"So, what am I doing?" he asked, idly staring at the red and white box in his hooves.

After Rainbow's suggestion, they'd taken off and arrived at Rainbow's cloud home. It was... nice. Not as messy as he'd expected. There was a cloud shelf off the corner of the living room, completely empty by the way, a sofa made of darker clouds sat the center of the room with a cloud table in front of it. That was... about it, actually.

It was... bare bones. Minimalist, almost. Of course that thought was lost when they entered her room.

All the decorations he might've expected elsewhere in the house seemed to have all been stuffed into her bedroom. Large blue and gold banners were hung across the wall, each sporting the Wonderbolts' insignia, picture frames holding their various friends were also thrown in-had he ever taken a group photo with them? He couldn't remember if he had-and even a couple plaques were visible amongst the myriad colours. There was a large shelf in the corner of the room that held a bunch of different trophies and medals, though he didn't know what any of them were for. Her bed was, somehow, the most noticeable thing in the room, despite also being covered in blue and gold colours. As expected of Rainbow Dash, a large blue and gold checkered sheet covered her cloud bed, and, just above the bed on the ceiling, was a large print out poster of the Wonderbolts.

He refrained from making a comment at the sheer amount of Wonderbolts memorabilia in the room. It was... more difficult than he'd like to admit, but, thankfully, he was distracted when Rainbow shoved that aforementioned box into his hooves.

Rainbow smirked,

"There's a spring in it attached to a pie tin. We just need a pie to stick in it, then we can give it to someone, though I usually just use a bunch of whipped cream. All they gotta do is open it, and the spring'll smack it right into their face!" she then snickered, smirking at him almost evilly, "Open it and check it out!" Emerald blinked, and glanced down at the innocuous package. He weighed it in his hooves, finding that it was a tad heavy. Was the spring that big? Wait, how would that even work? What sort of mechanism would generate enough force to launch a pie in someone's face like that?

He flipped open the box's lid, before his instincts snapped at him. His hooves flew up, catching a pie tin filled with whipping cream inches from face, but not without some of it landing on his face regardless. Rainbow laughed,

"I can't believe you fell for that!" she snickered, "I wasn't even tryin' to be subtle!"

Emerald just blinked, staring at the thing that nearly smacked him in the face.

For a moment, he was frozen in indecision, completely unsure of what he should be feeling. Embarrassment for having fallen for such a juvenile prank, shame for having let his guard down even in a peaceful setting, anger at Rainbow for the attempted-and subsequently successful-prank, and, finally, amusement. It was kind of funny, after all.

Eventually he managed to settle for the amusement,

"I don't..." he chuckled a bit, smirking, "I'm... honestly not sure what I was thinking," he admitted, lowering the cream-filled tin, "That was... a good one, I'll admit," he added. Rainbow grinned slyly, her eyes twinkling,

"Yeah, it was wasn't it?" she asked cockily, posing ridiculously, before chuckling, and grabbing his hooves, "Here, I'll show ya how to reload the thing, then we'll head out and find our prankee!"

-----

"Pinkie?" he asked his partner-in-crime, peering in through the bakery's front window as sneakily as he could.

Pinkie spotted him immediately-in the way only she could-and waved. He, of course, waved back, completely nonplussed.

"Yeah, snrk," Rainbow snickered from the bush she was hiding in, "I haven't pranked her for a while, so she's totally unprepared for it now," she said, making sure both her camera and the pie box were ready, "Plus, even if she is prepared, there's no way she'll expect it coming from you!" Rainbow chirped, grinning up at him cheekily, "Man, this'll gonna be awesome! There's so many pranks we can pull off just because no one'll see 'em coming from you!"

Emerald wasn't entirely sure how he felt being used as a prank, but pushed the thought aside and grabbed the box, eyeing the camera, before disregarding it. He was pretty sure he knew what it was for.

"So, what do I do?" he asked, glancing back inside briefly, "Just... walk in and give it to her?" Rainbow scoffed,

"You kidding? Course not! You gotta have a story to go with it, make it believable, you know?" she asked, "Jeez, it's like you've never pulled a prank before."

"Not one like this," he said, smirking at her dumbfounded expression, "The whole 'sneaking up on ponies' prank I mentioned earlier? Literally the only one I've ever pulled," he said. Rainbow stared at him for a moment, completely silent. After a bit, she broke it,

"Damn, good thing we're fixing that, then, yeah?"

He scoffed, smirking,

"Guess so," he said, then frowned, "Ya sure I need a story?" he asked, throwing another glance through the window, "I mean... it's Pinkie. I could just tell her it's cake, or something, and she'd believe me, I'm sure."

Rainbow rolled her eyes, and opened her mouth, only for nothing to come out.

".... Good point," she finally muttered, before shaking her head, "Well, whatever you say, just make sure she opens it after you leave, in case she tries to retaliate. Who knows how many pies she has stashed in this place," Rainbow said, shuddering. Emerald's brow quirked,

"Bad memories?" he asked, smirking. Rainbow grimaced,

"Eh... I just don't like pie," she said. Emerald blinked,

"Really?" he asked, "Why not?" She shrugged,

"Eh, I just don't. I used to, but one day, I just stopped," she said, then blinked and turned to him, "Uh... Don't tell Pinkie."

"Why no-you know what, nevermind," he cut himself off, rubbing his head, "She'd be devastated if she knew, I'd imagine." Rainbow nodded,

"Yeah. She really likes makin' stuff for her friends, and I don't want her to feel bad about me not liking her pies," she admitted.

Emerald nodded, and glanced at Rainbow. She was frowning, staring through the window with a guilty look in her eyes. For a moment, he felt his respect for this mare grow, before it faded as he refocused on the current situation.

"Don't worry," he said, "Your secret's safe with me."

Rainbow turned to him,

"Thanks pal, I appreciate it," she said, giving him an honest smile. He grimaced and looked away,

"D-don't thank me, I just don't want Pinkie to be upset," he muttered, ignoring Rainbow's snicker. He shook his head, "S-so, just head in, give it to her, and get out quick, yeah?" he asked once more, for clarification. Rainbow smirked at his deflection, but nodded,

"Yeah, pretty much," she said, picking up the camera, idly scrubbing the lens, smirking, "This is gonna be awesome! I haven't gotten Pinkie with something for months, just waiting for today! Hehehe!" Emerald smirked and rolled his eyes,

"Alright, heading in now," he said.

He broke away from Rainbow and slipped through the bakery's door. The bell above the door rung and Pinkie's head snapped up,

"Oh, hi Emerald!" she chirped at seeing him, "Whatcha doin'?" she asked, tilting her head. Emerald shrugged, fighting down a rather uncharacteristic nervousness that tried overtaking him,

"Not much, I was just doing some thinking about myself. I figured I could try to be a little nicer, ya know?" he said, approaching her, "Thought I'd start with you," he said, setting the box on the counter, "I made ya something," he added, somewhat lamely, before looking at the nearby clock a bit exaggeratedly, "Damn, look at the time, well, I gotta go. Enjoy the surprise, Pinkie," he said, waving at her as he left the building a tad quicker than what might've been appropriate.

He let out a breath once the door shut behind him, wide-eyed as he stared into thin air.

Damn... why was that so nerve-wracking? I've done way more dangerous things than this and I wasn't nearly as nervous as I was just now! He held a hoof against his head, and scoffed, a wry grin taking over his face as he turned to Rainbow Dash.

She was grinning, the camera held up to her eye as she stared through the window. Not wanting to miss the fruits of their labour, he quickly dove next to her, and peered through the window.

Pinkie's head was tilted as she stared at the door, blinking. Her mouth moved as she talked to herself for a bit, too quietly for him to hear, before she looked at the box. She smiled and reached for the box. He watched, mouth quickly going dry, as she all but tore open the lid. She stared for a moment, before a pie tin full of whipped cream slammed into her face.

Pinkie jerked back slightly, obviously surprised. Her hooves flew up, wiping away the whipped cream over her eyes. Just as she could see again, a bright flash of light erupted from Rainbow's camera, causing her to jump.

Rainbow let out a loud laugh, hoof held against her stomach as she pointed at Pinkie,

"Aaaahahaha!"

Pinkie blinked at the laughing mare, her gaze slowly leaking over to Emerald. He swallowed dryly, and waved at her, a tad shyly, not that he'd admit that.

Pinkie blinked, before she started giggling, wiping away the rest of the whipped cream. The familiar sound caused Emerald's tensed shoulders-which he hadn't even noticed-to immediately relax. He sighed, almost deflating with relief at the sight of Pinkie's smile.

In the wake of his newfound relief, Emerald found himself fighting a chuckle. He ended up failing, his own laughter accompanying Rainbow's.

That... that wasn't so bad. Pinkie doesn't seem bothered by it, and... well, this was actually pretty fun. His laughter subsided, though his smile didn't. He turned to the still laughing Rainbow, the smirk growing a tad wider. Hehe... guess we have more in common than I thought.

He smirk fell, replaced by a soft smile as he sat there, basking in both the laughter and odd comfort he was beginning to feel.

I should've done this a lot sooner...

-----

Pranking with Rainbow Dash had been a fun experience. Pinkie treating them both to something from the bakery had been nice as well. Of course, ducking under a pie Pinkie had thrown as they left, only for it to hit the back of Rainbow's head in front of him had been even more fun.

He could tell, almost immediately, that his and Rainbow's relationship had improved immensely. The fact she outright said she'd like to go pranking with him again also helped.

That being said, he still had a long ways to go before he was truly close with any of these mares.

Hmhm, he looked forward to it.

---

Bolero hissed lightly, fluttering his wings irritably. Emerald sighed, and gave the little bat a half-glare,

"Relax, Bolero," he chided, glancing up at the tree above them, "It's about time Dash got to join in on our play-date-which I still can't believe I'm saying out loud-don't you think?" he asked his pet.

Bolero hissed once more.

"I'm not asking you to like her," Emerald groaned, "though I'd like it if you did, I won't ask that of you. I'm just asking you to give her a chance. I did, and, well it turns out she and I aren't too different after all."

And that was true, for the most part. He and Dash had 'hung out'-fucking pony slang, he'll never understand it-twice more since their prank, and for longer as well. Evidently something in that rant of his had resonated with Dash-or she just pitied him, it could be either-and she went a bit out of her own comfort zone and approached him the next day.

They hadn't really done much that time, other than spend time with each other, though she had surprised him with a copy of the picture she'd taken of the pie-covered-Pinkie. They had gone out for a flight, and he'd gotten Dash to tell him a bit more about her job. The surprising amount of detail and complexity that came with managing the weather of even a small town caused his respect for her to rise, and the fact she shot out the information with such ease made it rise even further. Not that she was stupid, no, but even she admitted she wasn't a book learning kind of pony. If anything, it looked like she learned through passive observation while flying. No wonder she was such an able flier, and a stunt flier at that. She could memorize and perform damn near any routine just by going through it a few times.

Honestly, with an ability like that, she really would make it to the Wonderbolts someday. She just needed practice working with a group, and that was what the Wonderbolts Academy was for, if he was right.

The second time she'd approached him, she'd brought her Daring Do books with her-he hadn't realized she bought so many since their hospital stay-and started asking questions about stuff that 'Green Sky' did in the book. He'd quite enjoyed that, though less for the questions and more for the irony of her asking him why he did something without knowing it was him she was talking about.

He wasn't entirely sure why Bolero didn't like Dash-though it was probably because, until recently, he hadn't liked Dash all that much himself-but he was sure the two of them would get along if they spent a bit of time together. They were, after all, very similar.

Both of them were unrepentant show-offs, after all. Not that it bothered him, though.

Plus, he wasn't wrong. He honestly did think it was time for Dash to join their pet-play-date. Even if she didn't like it or only did it the one time, he figured it was only fair.

With a quick jerk of his head, and a hiss of momentary protest from Bolero, the little bat took flight and landed on the branch alongside the sleeping pegasus. Emerald watched as Bolero prodded her a few times, hissing lightly. When those inevitably failed to rouse her, Bolero screeched right by her ear.

"AGH!"

Dash jumped maybe a foot into the air, before crashing back against the branch and rolling off,

"Uggh..." she groaned, her voice muffled a tad by the ground.

"Morning," Emerald greeted, "well, afternoon, but I'm sure they're the same to you." Dash groaned a bit more, before lifting her head, sending him a glare as she did so,

"What the hay are you wakin' me up for?" she asked, rising to her haunches as Bolero landing on his head.

"Figured I'd send you an invite, since no one else has yet," he said, shrugging. Dash frowned,

"Invite to what?"

"The pet-play-date."

"'Pet-'?"

"I didn't come up with the name."

Dash frowned at him, before shaking her head,

"What are you talking about?" she asked. Emerald frowned. So she really didn't know, then?

"For the past few weeks the lot of us have been meeting up in the park for a 'pony-pet-play-date'-it was Fluttershy's idea-" he cut in, getting Rainbow to nod, "here in the park. The others-well, all of us, I guess-didn't invite you sooner since you tended to nap around this time, and you didn't have a pet of your own. I just figured it was about time you at least got an invite."

Rainbow frowned, and stood up,

"That sounds... kinda cool, actually," she admitted, "Not really surprised to hear that Fluttershy came up with it, though. Totally something she'd think of," she added, before nodding, "But... yeah, sounds pretty cool. I think I'll tag along. When is it?"

"About five minutes."

"Awesome. Where we headed?"

Emerald turned, pointing off more towards the center of the park,

"Not far, actually. Given how hyper some of the animals can be, I'm pretty surprised we haven't run by you before."

"Eh," Rainbow shrugged, "I conk out pretty hard. I probably would've slept right through you guys anyways. Anyways, let's go!" she said, quickly bolting off. Emerald blinked at the sudden take-off, but Bolero seemed ready for it. The little bugger screeched and took off after her pretty quickly, leaving him standing by the tree.

He blinked.

"... Huh. Did my pet bat just... declare a rivalry or something?"

He stood there for a moment longer, still trying to comprehend what happened, before he shrugged, picked up the basket he'd brought, and began heading over there.

"Eh, whatever. If it keeps him entertained..."

---

He met the two of them over by the usual spot, with Bolero giving the chromatic mare a glare from atop Fluttershy's head. He smirked at the sight, since Rainbow was smugly challenging the bat with a grin of her own while Fluttershy gushed about how happy she was that Rainbow was joining them today.

"I figured it was about time to invite her," he said, making himself known. Fluttershy turned to him, surprised,

"Oh! You invited Rainbow Dash?" she asked, looking between them, "I didn't think you two got along all that well. Um, no offense," she added meekly. He shook his head, while Rainbow just waved it off,

"Eh, no biggie. We only really started getting along, like, a week ago."

"Really?" Fluttershy asked, sounding honestly interested,

"Yeah," Rainbow said, puffing her chest out, "he totally begged me to hang out with him. Not surprising, obviously," she said. Emerald rolled his eyes,

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Dash," he said, "I might of approached you, but you're the one who made the offer, remember?"

"Yeah, Dashie!" Pinkie's voice suddenly chirped from behind them, startling both Rainbow and Fluttershy, who turned to find her bouncing towards them, Gummy dangling from a bit of her mane he had lodged in his jaws, "There's nobody else in town who'd come up with a prank pie-in-a-box like that other than you!" she said, gasping as she came to a stop, and turned to Emerald, "That reminds me! Why didn't you tell me you liked pranks, Emerald?" she asked, smiling brightly, "I totally could'a come with you! I've got tons of pranking supplies like whoopie cushions, invisible ink, streamers, snakes-in-a-can-!"

"Rainbow Dash?" Rarity's voice interrupted Pinkie's by-now-standard rambling, "I take it you'll be joining us today?" she asked, ignoring the hiss Opal let out at the sight of her.

"Uhh, yeah," she said, eyeing the feline warily, "Thought it sounded cool, so I figured 'why not?'."

"Well, that's delightful to hear!" Rarity said, smiling beautifully, before frowning, "I must say, though, I am quite sorry for not inviting you sooner. Had I known you were so keen on the idea, I absolutely would have!" she said. Rainbow just shrugged,

"Eh, it's fine. I'm here now, right?"

"Glad ta hear it!" Applejack's voice boomed, followed by the sound of excited barking as she and Winona neared, "Though, I hope ya don't mind missin' yer nap. Try not ta fall asleep on us, Rainbow," she added, smirking at the chromatic mare. Rainbow rolled her eyes,

"Hardy har har. Real funny, cowfilly," she replied, before glancing back at Fluttershy, "So, how's this 'pet-play-date' supposed to go?"

"Oh, well, we usually just... play around," Fluttershy said, smiling softly, "It's really quite fun, and our animal friends love the attention!"

"Uh, yeah I figured," Rainbow said, "I meant, like... what do you do?"

"Oh."

"Well, Winona likes running 'round an' playin' fetch," Applejack supplied, eagerly giving said border collie a belly rub, "Each of our little pals plays 'round differently. Yer jus' gonna have ta see fer yerself, Dash," she said.

"Well, it's all pretty self-explanatory," Emerald said, setting down his basket and flipping its lid, revealing a bunch of fresh strawberries he involuntarily sneered at, "We really just mess around with each of our pets before rotating and playing with the others'."

"Really?" she asked, frowning slightly, "Sounds... kinda boring," she admitted, "I thought there'd be a lot more... ya know, tricks and stuff."

"Well, Bolero and Winona have the tricks part covered. Gummy too."

"Gummy?" Rainbow asked, glancing over at Pinkie. Gummy wagged his tail slightly at the increased attention, but remained attached to Pinkie's mane.

The sound of rapid hoofsteps caught their attention, and they turned to find Sparky running up to them, Owloysius not far behind.

"Sorry I'm late everyone!" she said, slowing to a stop, panting slightly, though there was a large smile on her face, "I lost track of the time! I just received a letter from Canterlot about the library!"

"Sounds exciting," Rainbow muttered,

"It's about the next Daring Do book!"

"Sounds exciting!" Rainbow repeated, eyes now locked onto Sparky's, "What happened?! Is the next one coming out soon!? It's been months since A.K. Yearling wrote anything!"

Emerald shared a glance with the others. Apparently he wasn't the only one out of the loop.

"Yep!" Sparky chirped, "I have a few connections from back when I was in Canterlot that let me stock some new books, and the letter I got mentioned the newest Daring Do book! Apparently, A.K. Yearling plans on releasing it within the next five months!"

"Really?! That's awesome!"

Emerald frowned slightly, but quickly hid it. That was odd. He hadn't been made aware that Daring was on a new job. Then again he wasn't her bodyguard anymore. Someone called Iron Rock had taken her place, since he was a dedicated bodyguard, unlike him.

"You think Green Sky'll be in this one?"

"I hope so! Sturdy Rock is... nice, but Green Sky seemed to be a much more fleshed out character! I'm surprised Yearling got rid of him, especially like that!"

... Wait, what did Daring do to him?

Did she kill him off or something?

... If she was still sore about the volcano thing, then he wouldn't be surprised.

It was fun, dammit!

"Well!" Rarity said loudly, grabbing everyone's attention, "As lovely as it is to see Rainbow embrace her inner bibliophile, isn't it time we give our darling little animal friends the attention they deserve?" she asked. Fluttershy gasped,

"You're absolutely right Rarity! I can't believe I got so distracted!" she said, turning to the little ball of white that had been lounging around, "I'm so sorry Angel, could you forgive me?"

While Fluttershy was doing that, the rest of them, minus Rainbow, got out their various toys/treats for their respective pets,

"C'mon Dashie! You can play with me and Gummy first!" Pinkie offered cheerfully. Rainbow rolled her eyes,

"Thanks Pinkie," she said, sounding sarcastic, but moving to join Pinkie anyways, "So what do we do? Play fetch with him or something?" she asked. Pinkie giggled, and snorted,

"Alligators don't play fetch, silly! They play tag!"

"Tag?" Rainbow asked, sounding a bit interested. Pinkie nodded, sending Gummy softly falling to the ground,

"Yep! Watch!"

Emerald looked away, just as Gummy began rapidly biting at Pinkie's everything, turning back to Bolero. Surprise surprise, the little bat was still glaring at Rainbow from on top of Fluttershy's head. The little rat's glaring contest was interrupted when Emerald chucked a strawberry at him, which was, of course, caught.

"You're such a sore loser, Bolero."

Bolero screeched at him.

-----

"You certainly seemed to have fun."

It was an hour later, and the others had, mostly, wandered off by now. Only Emerald and Rainbow remained, along with Bolero of course. He'd approached her not long after the last pony-Fluttershy-had left.

She turned to him, smirking,

"Hmm... yeah, it was pretty cool," she said, fully turning to face him, "I had fun, I guess."

Emerald nodded,

"I think we all did. I hadn't noticed 'till now, but, the group just doesn't really feel complete without you 'round, Rainbow."

And it was true. Things weren't bad or awkward by any stretch of the words. They all got along fine with each other regardless of who was or wasn't there.

But the group just felt... complete when all seven of them were there. Like being in their combined presence was natural. As if being alone was the abnormality among all the crazy things happening around them. It was... simultaneously comforting yet off-putting, if that made sense.

Rainbow's eyes widened at that, and her face took on a more flushed tone than it had before. She laughed, softly, and rubbed the back of her head, not looking at him,

"Y-yeah... I guess it does, doesn't it?" she said, though the cockiness in her voice was missing. She looked back at him, smiling, "If I'm bein' honest, it doesn't feel right without you either, Greenie."

He rolled his eyes,

"Whatever you say, Rainbow."

---

Emerald couldn't help but marvel at how well Sugarcube Corner was doing. Not today, or even recently, but in general.

It was located in a town filled with crazy occurrences that ranged from mildly annoying to mildly apocalyptic in nature, yet the ponies of this town still had their sweet tooth after such events.

No matter how strange, or bad, things got, there would always be ponies coming and going from Sugarcube Corner. Emerald had expected a decrease in customers at the very least when his species was announced, and, yes, there were fewer customers than before. But rather than the sharp decrease he'd expected, they'd lost one, possibly two, in total.

That was, however, not accounting for the increase in business since Emerald first began working there. According to the Cakes, they'd been receiving roughly an extra ten to fifteen percent in profits since he'd begun working there, and not even a full percent was lost after the reveal, meaning that, in the end, Sugarcube Corner hadn't been harmed by his species being revealed.

Mrs. Cake had made a comment about the increase in profits being from a bunch of mares who came by to eye him while he worked. He was sure she was joking, however.

...

Then again, there had been a lot of staring, but he'd assumed that was because of his status as the new pony in town.

...

Regardless, the issue, or rather the lack of an issue, with Sugarcube Corner only highlighted the fact that the ponies here in Ponyville were astonishingly accepting of him. Pony or not. In fact, he'd yet to meet a single pony in town who openly rejected him.

And you know what? The crazy thing was that it didn't look like that was going to change.

Even now, he half expected some new pony he'd yet to meet to come waltzing through that door, unaware of his existence, only to scream and spit at him upon sighting him, leading to some convoluted series of events where the girls tried getting the two of them to get along, only for it to somehow backfire, yet also somehow end up working when the two of them were forced to deal with the aftermath themselves.

Yeah, that sounded exactly like something that would happen in this town. Especially this town.

He sighed, and flipped a page in the book he was reading. At least he wasn't completely bored, thanks to this little suggestion of Mr. Cake's.

As if to spite him, the bell above the door-would it be considered a doorbell?-rang, causing him to look up and see a familiar rainbow and saddlebag-laden mare walking in.

"Hey Rainbow," he greeted, returning to his book, "if you're looking for Pinkie, she's out on a delivery right now for a 'Daisy Jo'."

"Actually," she began, slamming a hoof down on the counter, causing him to look back up, "I'm looking for you!" His brow rose,

"What for?"

"Pranking, duh!"

He sighed,

"Rainbow Dash, I'm working right now," he pointed out, giving her an 'Are you serious?' look. Rainbow only grinned wider,

"Yeah, that's perfect!" she said, reaching into her bag, before pulling out a bottle of mustard, which she held out to him. He eyed it warily,

"What is that for?" he asked, not taking it.

"I overheard the Crusaders talking about getting some doughnuts to sell for their cutie marks, and-" Emerald cut her off,

"I am not going to ruin their plans by stuffing all their doughnuts with mustard, Rainbow Dash," he said, glaring at her. Rainbow blanched,

"Wha-Hey!" she snapped, pointing at him with narrowed eyes, "I'm a prankster, not a dick!" she said, "I don't want you to stuff all their doughnuts. I just know Rarity is coming by in, like, ten minutes to pick them up for the girls, and I want you to give her an extra one, stuffed with mustard!" she explained. He relaxed,

"Oh," he said, glancing back at the mustard bottle. He ran the thought through his mind for a bit, playing the scene in his head.

He took the bottle.

"Fine, but you're paying for the doughnut." Rainbow grinned,

"Awesome!" she chirped, slapping two bits on the counter, one bit more than necessary, "I'm gonna go grab my camera, if she shows up early, just stall her 'till I get back!" she said, before turning around and bolting out the door.

Emerald glanced at the mustard bottle in his hoof, as well as the extra bit, then smirked a bit, before turning to face the kitchen window,

"Hey, Mr. Cake?"

"Hmm?"

"Mind helping me set up something for Rainbow?"

-----

It was about five minutes later that Rarity appeared, sooner than Rainbow predicted.

"Helloooo Emerald, darling!" she greeted cheerfully, strutting up to the counter, a smirk on her lips.

"Rarity," he greeted in return, already turning to grab a bag, "will two dozen doughnuts be enough?" he asked. She smiled and opened her mouth to respond, only to freeze, blinking in confusion,

"Um... yes?" she said, furrowing her brow slightly, "If I may ask, how did you know what I would ask for?" He shrugged,

"When those three are involved, you'd be surprised how quick information can spread, you know?" Rarity smiled, and giggled lightly,

"Oh I suppose you're right," she said, sighing fondly, "Honestly, those three are adorably enthusiastic about their cutie marks, but I can't help but think they're trying much too hard," she glanced at her own mark, "Ponies rarely get their cutie marks on purpose, after all." Emerald 'mhmm'ed in agreement, but, since he needed to stall, spoke anyways,

"Well, to be fair, the seven of us might've had some help, if you recall."

Rarity's expression fell slightly,

"Ah, yes, I... suppose that's true," she said, before shaking her head, "Well, regardless of that-" the door opened up behind her, revealing Rainbow Dash with both a camera and a wide, toothy grin, "-ays have each other."

Emerald blinked, having missed most of whatever she said, but nodded along anyways.

"Of course," he said, hoofing her the bag, "24 bits, by the way," he said. Rarity smiled, hoofing over the bits without issues,

"Thank you, darling. Now I must be getting back to the Boutique before the Crusaders get restless," she said, sounding only a bit worried.

"Hold on," he said, pausing her in her tracks as he reached for another doughnut, presenting it to Rarity a moment later, "We ended up making a few extra. Consider it a consolation for taking care of those three."

"Oh!" Rarity gasped, sounding surprised, "Oh my, I couldn't possibly," she said, eyeing the treat hungrily, "I'm on a diet, you see," she added, gingerly taking the treat from him, "so I really must avoid anything too sugary. Th-that being said, perhaps... one couldn't hurt?" she muttered to herself.

As entertaining as it was to watch her slowly devolve and convince herself to break her apparent diet, he realized that she probably wouldn't like breaking her diet for a prank doughnut, so, the moment before she took the damning bite, he spoke,

"Rainbow made me do this," he said, holding out an extra bag for her.

There was a visible confusion in her eyes, one that lasted right until the, rather humorous, sound of squirting liquid sounded from her mouth. Her eyes widened, and the bag disappeared from his hooves as she began retching into it.

"Ugh!" she spat, mustard and doughnut bits dripping from her lips. She sent him a nasty glare, but it was quickly redirected to the other way, at Rainbow, when the distinctive flash and snap of the camera lit up the area,

"Bahahahah!"

"Wainbow Dath!" Rarity spat, tongue hanging from her lips, likely a futile attempt at avoiding the taste, "How dawe you pwank me wike thith!" Her lisp only made Rainbow laugh harder, the mare turning red in the face as she pointed at the unicorn.

Emerald made a valiant effort to force down his own grin, even as he cleared his throat, pushing forward a glass of lemonade for the mare to take, which she did. Rarity greedily downed the drink, spitting some of it out into the bag as she did so.

She, none-too-gently, placed the glass back on to the counter, her glare once more directed at him,

"And you, Emerald!" she snapped, "I can't believe you would partake in such foalish pranks!" she said. Emerald only shrugged at her anger,

"I have to do something to pass the time, don't I?" he said, smirking, "Besides, it's something Rainbow and I seem to have in common. Might as well take advantage of it, right?" Rarity continued glaring at him, before eventually sighing,

"Well... I suppose that's fair," she conceded, then huffed, "but please, leave me out of it. I understand these little jests of yours aren't done in bad taste, but I still don't enjoy them." Emerald nodded, agreeing quite easily, while Rainbow shrugged,

"Eh, fine. Hearing you nag at me about them isn't fun anyways," she said, pouting a tad. Emerald smirked,

"Eh, don't be like that Rainbow. I mean, we managed to get her this time, right?" he asked, his smirk turning a tad sharp, "Hmm, how about a celebratory doughnut, eh?" he offered, bringing out a second doughnut from a bag under the counter, "I wasn't lying when I said we made extra, after all." Rainbow grinned cheekily,

"Don't mind if I do!"

She took the offered pastry, licking her lips, allowing Emerald a moment to give Rarity a quick wink, before she bit into it.

Immediately, Rainbow spat the doughnut out, not caring for the floor he'd have to clean later,

"Gah! Whad da fug?!"

Emerald laughed at the look on Rainbow's face, and even Rarity let out a few snorts. She glared at them, but swiped at the bag in Rarity's grasp, spitting into it like the posh mare had only moments before.

"Dick," Rainbow muttered, tossing the soiled bag at him. He smirked, catching the bag to toss it into the trash,

"It's even funnier when you realize you're the one who paid for it," he said, "Hehe, thanks for the tip!"

Rarity eyeballed the two of them with a surprised look on her face,

"Hmm, my my, you two are getting along quite nicely," she noted, smiling slyly, "I suppose I should be expecting the end of the world within the next few days, then?"

"Didn't that already happen?" Rainbow asked, glancing at Rarity, "Coulda sworn it involved chocolate rain and cotton candy clouds."

"And giant diamonds, don't you remember, Rarity?" Emerald asked, smirking at her glare,

"I told you to never speak of that!"

"Speak of what?" Rainbow asked, grinning,

"Nothing!" Rarity hissed, "Absolutely nothing!"

"Discord tricked Rarity into-" he ignored the magic that tried, and failed, to hold his lips shut, "-believing a giant boulder was a huge diamond. She was obsessed with the thing."

Rarity glared at him, though there was a bit of confusion laced in it, while Rainbow just guffawed,

"Wha-haha-at?" she asked, smiling stupidly, staring at Rarity, "Wait, were you just hauling around this huge boulder through town?" she chortled, "How'd I miss that?"

"Well, you weren't any better with that cloud you thought was Cloudsdale, Rainbow." Rainbow's grin fell as she stiffened, pointedly ignoring Rarity's own smug grin,

"Oh? What's this I hear about you thinking a mere cloud to be a large, floating city?"

"Nothing!" Rainbow snarled, "You heard nothing!" Rarity humphed,

"And neither did you, am I right dear?"

Rainbow grumbled,

"What was that?"

"Yeah," Rainbow muttered, "I didn't hear shit..." Rarity nodded,

"Good."

Emerald snickered at the scene before him. Looks like he wasn't the only one with an astonishingly good relationship with Rainbow.

"So how have things been for you two?" he asked, after making sure there was no one behind them waiting to order, "Everything's been pretty quiet lately, so one of you must be doing something right." Rarity tittered,

"I've simply been working on some orders I've had backlogged. I've actually nearly finished!" Rainbow groaned,

"I had a meeting with my boss," she said, frowning, "Something about my team's performance lacking? I'm gonna do some extra training with that bunch," she muttered. Emerald smirked,

"Sounds stressful. For them." Rainbow mirrored his smirk,

"Well, duh. They've gotta get back up to my standards!" she boasted, before the smirk fell and she looked to the side, "Guess with all the weird stuff goin' on I've been getting lenient," she noted, "... Been sleeping a little more often too," she added. Rarity hummed,

"Sounds like the stress has been getting to you, darling," she pointed out, resting a hoof on her chin, "A trip to the spa would do wonders for you, I'd imagine! Some of Fluttershy's animals are sick, so I happen to have an extra spot beside me this week!~" she offered. Rainbow grimaced,

"Ugh, no thanks. I know what you and Shy do, and I am not messing up my feathers with any of that gunk," she protested. Rarity gasped,

"It is not gunk!" she snapped, "It is a special blend of nutrients that-!"

"Don't you have to get back to the Crusaders?" Emerald suddenly cut in. Rarity stiffened, glancing at the clock,

"Oh my! You're right! Well, as fun as this little talk was, I must be going before those girls get too restless! Ta!" she chirped, speed-walking out the door. He and Rainbow were silent for a moment, watching as Rarity's form disappeared around the window.

"... Heh, thanks for the save," Rainbow snickered, "She totally would've kept going for, like, an hour if nobody stopped her."

"Why do think I stopped her?" he asked, "I'd've had to listen to it as well." Rainbow snickered,

"Yeah, she woulda torn right into both of us!" she chuckled. Emerald nodded, humming to himself,

"... She did have a point though, about the stress getting to you, that is," he said, bringing her laughter to an end, "I've had... one or two problems with stress in my life, so I know it can really fuck you over." Rainbow sighed,

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. I need to relax more. What the fuck am I supposed to do?" she asked, shrugging, "Flying and sleeping are how I de-stress. They sure don't seem to be working that well," she grumbled. Emerald frowned, eyes drifting away in thought.

Well, if Rainbow was anything like him-and at this point he was beginning to understand they were really quite similar-then doing what would usually relax her would only cause more stress. For him, training and working were how he de-stressed, but, like Rainbow, there was only so much those two things could do to help him. The only other thing that had worked, and worked phenomenally, was spending time with the others.

Pranking with Rainbow and going on those pet-play-dates helped him. So... maybe it would help her?

"Well, when my usual de-stressors aren't helping, I find that just... spending time with you lot helps me. Those pet-play-dates happen every other week, and they're pretty good for relaxing. Well, to me."

Rainbow stared at him, rubbing her cheek,

"... Well, I guess I was thinking of getting a pet, to be honest." Emerald blinked in surprise,

"You were?" he asked, she nodded,

"Yeah. A little pal to fly around with would be pretty cool."

"Why haven't you asked Fluttershy yet?" he asked. Rainbow scoffed,

"You kidding me?" she asked, looking at him like he was an idiot, "She'd go crazy if she thought I was even thinking of getting a pet!" Emerald breathed in, then nodded,

"Fair. But, assuming she wouldn't, what sort of pet were you thinking?" he asked. Rainbow frowned, glancing off to the side,

"I... don't know," she said, scratching her chin, "Something that flies and is as cool as me, obviously."

"'Obviously'," he snarked, leaning on the counter, "So a bird?" Rainbow shrugged,

"I dunno, maybe..." she muttered, "I wouldn't know what kind, if I wanted a bird."

"Shame there isn't someone in town you could ask," Emerald said, frowning sarcastically, "Someone with a cottage full of animals to choose from." Rainbow stuck her tongue at him,

"Hardy har har, very funny asshole," she snarked, just as the bell above the door rang, "Fine, I'll ask Fluttershy about getting a pet, ha-?"

"You want a pet, Rainbow?!" the excited voice of Fluttershy gushed, causing both of them to freeze as she rushed up to them from behind, her face split into a wide grin, "Oh that's amazing Rainbow! Don't worry, I'll help you find the bestest little animal friend ever!" she chirped, grabbing onto her hoof, beginning to drag her away, "C'mon c'mon! I can't wait to introduce you to everyone!"

Rainbow stumbled in the astonishingly strong grip of her shy friend, throwing a panicked look at Emerald, begging him to save her with her gaze. The cheeky fuck only grinned at her, waving goodbye like the innocent fuck he wasn't.

He chuckled to himself once the door slammed shut behind the two.

"So much for everything being quiet lately, huh?" he asked himself, "Well, I suppose it was about time, wasn't it?"

He smirked at nothing, though it fell when he glanced downwards, finding the mess Rainbow had made not long ago.

"Fucking... damn it, Rainbow..."

---

Emerald yawned as he made his way into town, still not quite used to his new, far healthier than before, sleeping schedule despite being on it for awhile now. He supposed it was to be expected, since a change in schedule after so long was bound to harder to implement than usual. Didn't mean he liked being tired in the mornings.

More than usual.

He gave a few polite 'Hello's to a few of the passerby, but quickly took notice of the hushed whispers and veiled grins of the townsfolk around them. His exhaustion was further beaten away when he noticed a few worried looks amongst the crowd.

Those varying looks only grew more plentiful the farther he got in town, right until he came across a large crowd outside Sugarc-

"What the fuck?" he muttered, staring up at the... mess before him.

Sugarcube Corner, in all its glory, had been completely bombarded by what looked to be the remains of bread, various jams and custards, and powdered sugar. He growled at the sight, his vision going red.

"What the fuck?!" he repeated, much louder, as he began to force his way through the crowd, ignoring the increasingly loud murmurs and shouting he was beginning to notice.

He shoved through the final ring of ponies, only to pause at the sight before him. He... suddenly felt significantly less murderous than before, his entire body relaxing.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake, both wearing sleeping masks and each cradling one of the pair of-adorably-tired looking foals in their legs, berating a set of three familiar fillies who were covered in the same mess adorning the front of the shop. He stared at the sight for a bit, trying, and mostly failing, to figure out just what the fuck had happened. He shook his head, walking forward,

"Uh... what happened?" he asked, though he went mostly unheard. Mainly because the Cakes were still loudly scolding the three fillies, their faces flushed slightly, either from shouting or anger he wasn't sure. The girls were also steadily shrinking in on themselves and Emerald might've felt bad for them if he knew what was going on.

Mostly unheard, because one of the foals, Pumpkin specifically, heard and turned towards him. She yawned in her mother's hold, reaching out her hooves towards him.

He walked over, plucking her from her mother's grasp. Mrs. Cake's angered gaze snapped to him, though it softened upon realizing it was him. She nodded at him, gently taking Pound from her husband and transferring him to Emerald, before immediately going back to scolding the Crusaders.

He sighed, shaking his head. He cradled the foals in one hoof, before making his way inside, and froze.

He tried not to snort at the sight, but failed miserably. While the outside of the shop looked bad the inside was practically comical, covered completely in some form of white powder. He wasn't sure if it was flour or powdered sugar, but, knowing those three, it was probably some combination of the two.

Hoofsteps echoed from the stairway,

"What's goin' on?" the tired voice of Pinkie asked as she appeared, rubbing at her eyes. Emerald stared at Pinkie Pie, contemplating what a tired version of her meant in regards to the end of the world, before shrugging it off,

"The Crusader's... did something," he said lamely, shrugging, "The Cakes are out there yelling at them. They gave me the twins, so I'm going to put them back to bed," he said, gently shouldering passed her. Pinkie blinked slowly,

"... Really?" she asked, yawning once more, "That sounds... nice..."

A soft snore escaped the mare, causing Emerald to turn in surprise.

... She was still standing. She was asleep, and she was still standing. He scoffed, amused, but gently tipped her over onto his back.

Great, now I have three babies to put to bed...

It didn't take more than five minutes to get all three into their beds, and he found the Cakes downstairs, watching carefully as the Crusaders got to work cleaning up their mess.

"So, what happened?" he asked, skirting around the sad looking fillies. Mr. Cake sighed,

"To be honest, we're not really sure," he said, rubbing his cheek tiredly, "The girls here asked us if they could borrow some things yesterday and, while we were pretty reluctant, all they wanted were things to make and fill doughnuts," he said. Mrs. Cake cut in,

"What these girls didn't tell us, was what they were planning to do with the doughnuts. All we know is that it involved the doughnuts, Scootaloo's wagon, and, apparently, Pinkie's party cannon," she said, eyeing the three with a disapproving gaze only a mother could possibly have.

Emerald snorted, a fanged grin taking over his face,

"I... take it that things didn't go as they planned?"

He grinned further at the deadpan looks he received.

""No.""

He chuckled, before a thought struck him,

"Does this have anything to do with why Pinkie's so tired?" he asked. She hadn't seemed to even notice the state the bakery was in when she came down, and, in the time he'd known Pinkie, he didn't think he'd ever since her actually tired before. Not even in the mornings.

Mrs. Cake sighed,

"No, thankfully. I... well, I believe Rainbow Dash asked her for some help late last night," she said, glancing at him, a worried frown overtaking her face, "Something about... pets, I think? She seemed quite out of sorts, really," she added, looking up at the ceiling, "... I do hope Pinkie is alright. How tired would you say she is?" she asked. Emerald snorted,

"She fell back asleep. While standing."

The Cakes shared a worried look,

"Oh my, that hasn't happened for quite some time," Mr. Cake muttered. Emerald's brow rose,

"What happened?"

"Well," Mrs. Cake cut in, "Someone made a last minute order just as they were moving out of town, a few months after Pinkie first started working here, and ended up forgetting it. Pinkie, probably trying to prove herself to us, ran after the fellow. She came back the next day, covered in dirt, looking dead on her hooves!" she exclaimed. Mr. Cake nodded,

"That's right. She ate a dozen cupcakes, worked the counter, despite us telling her to get some rest, before going to bed that night. She was so exhausted in the morning, we just closed up so she could rest!"

"Which we'll probably do today as well," Mrs. Cake added, looking around, "This mess'll take hours to clean!"

Emerald glanced around as well.

...

Yeah, hours was right.

"Welp, better get started," he muttered, reaching for one of the mops. Mrs. Cake smacked his hoof away,

"What are you doing?" she asked. He stared,

"... I don't know," he replied, confused, "Am I... not supposed to help?"

"These girls made this mess, so they've got to help clean it," Mr. Cake said,

"I work here," Emerald replied, deadpan, "That means I'm responsible for this place too, you know?"

"True, but you're not actually clocked in, are you?" Mrs. Cake asked, "We're not opening today, so you're not working today," she said, "Besides-" she added at his annoyed expression, "-we have some restocking we need to do anyways, so we wouldn't have opened in the first place. This-" she gestured around, "-is just a rather unfortunately timed excuse."

"... 'Kaaaaay?" Emerald said. He frowned and glanced at the Crusaders, "But isn't it a bit much to make these three clean all of this?" he asked.

"Perhaps," Mrs. Cake agreed, then eyed the three, who hurriedly got back to work, having stopped to listen to the conversation, "but maybe this will teach these three to be careful next time," she said heatedly, "This mess might be rather large, but it's only food. If they had been paying any less attention than they were, they could've easily broken a few windows and hurt someone. Cleaning up their messes should be good incentive to not make any more. Right girls?" Mrs. Cake asked.

The fillies winced,

"""Yes Mrs. Cake...""" they chorused unenthusiastically.

Emerald stared at the lot for a moment.

When the fuck did she get so strict? he wondered. Was this what having a foal did to ponies? A sweet, kindly mare like Mrs. Cake turning into a proper disciplinarian?

He shook off his thoughts,

"Right... well, if I'm not required, then... I'll just be off?" he muttered to himself, heading out the door. He paused once the door closed behind him, ".... Now what?"

He looked around, finding the crowd from earlier had dispersed, though a few ponies still paused to stare at the mess that was Sugarcube Corner. Emerald, as usual, didn't really have anything planned for the day beyond work and making breakfast and dinner for Wisp and Starlight.

... Guess I'll go find out what the fuck Rainbow's doing...

With that vague objective in mind, he set off.

He didn't have to go very far.

There, not too far ahead of him, he found not only Rainbow Dash, but three of the other four girls, as well as a line of animals standing/hovering in front of them, seemingly without reason. There was a flamingo, a duck, a wasp, a toucan, an eagle, a hawk, a butterfly, a hummingbird and... Bolero, for some reason.

".... Dare I ask?" Emerald muttered to himself, walking forward.

"-handle it, then bow out now before you humiliate yourselves in front of your peers," he caught Rainbow saying, pacing in front of the animals like a drill sergeant.

"What the fuck is happening here?" he asked abruptly. Rainbow turned,

"Oh, hey Emerald. I'm just trying to figure which one of these guys is good enough to be my pet," she said, casually waving at them.

"'Kay...?" he breathed, then glanced at the animals, "... Why is Bolero here then?" he asked. Rainbow shrugged,

"I dunno. He just showed up," she said, glancing over at the fruit bat, who was glaring harshly at her.

... Okay, I think I know why now. He really is a sore loser, isn't he?

He sighed, rubbing his face, and mostly ignored Fluttershy, who was pushing a turtle-tortoise?-whose green shell had yellow spots towards the line from behind Rainbow.

"Now you just pay attention, and try your best, okay?" she encouraged the little thing, "And-"

"Seriously?" Rainbow asked, glancing at the other pegasus incredulously, "You brought the turtle? Why?"

"He's a tortoise," Fluttershy corrected immediately, before gently rubbing its shell, "And he's always wanted to be someone's pet, so please just give him a chance?" she begged, looking over at Rainbow with wide eyes.

Emerald shook his head, brushing passed the two of them, heading towards where the other three were,

"Someone please explain," he said, "I woke up less than an hour ago, and, frankly, I'm still sort of reeling from what happened at Sugarcube Corner," he admitted, eyeing them pleadingly.

"Well," Rarity began, "Rainbow Dash seems to have decided she wants a pet and insists on a series of little contests to decide which one is fit for her."

"Yeah, an' she dragged all'o us out here ta watch," Applejack added, glancing around, "Well, all'o us 'cept you an' Pinkie, 'pparently."

"What happened at Sugarcube Corner?" Sparky asked, worriedly, "Is Pinkie alright? Are you alright?!" Emerald waved off her concern, gently,

"I'm fine, and so is Pinkie," he began, rubbing his head, "The Crusaders did... something, and now the bakery is completely covered in doughnut residue, flour, and powdered sugar."

""They what?!"" Applejack and Rarity chorused, incensed. Emerald held up a hoof, stopping them from continuing,

"I don't know what happened," he said, "but the bakery is closed for cleaning today, and the Crusaders are helping the Cakes clean. Pinkie's tired today, since, apparently, Rainbow over there needed her help last night, and she didn't get much, if any, sleep," he added after a moment, "What she needed help with, I'm not sure, but it seems to have involved all of this," he finished, gesturing over to the veritable conga line of animals.

"Pinkie's tired?" Rarity asked, her brow furrowing in worry, "That's unusual. Why, I believe the last time that happened was when Mr. Dry left town eight years ago," she commented. Applejack nodded,

"I remember that. There were two birthdays that week, an' Pinkie didn't throw even one party," she suddenly scoffed, amused, "Everyone in town was worried fer her."

"I can imagine," Emerald said, thinking back to the usually chipper mare's tired expression, "It was... surreal. Though, putting her back to bed was surprisingly easy," he added.

"Wait, you 'put her back to bed'?" Applejack asked, smirking "What, didja carry her ta her bed too?" Emerald nodded,

"Yes. She fell asleep standing up, actually." Applejack blinked,

"Wha... That's possible?" she muttered, looking away.

"C'mon, let's go you lot!" Rainbow suddenly shouted, drawing everyone's attention, before zipping off, leaving a rainbow blur behind, Fluttershy eagerly following after. Emerald stared,

".... Where are we going?" he asked, turning back to the girls, "I wasn't paying even a little bit of attention to any of what was going on," he admitted. Sparky frowned,

"Apparently, to the track. Rainbow wants those animals to participate in a race to test their speed. Along with their agility, 'guts', style, as well as, and I can't stress this enough, their 'coolness', 'awesomeness', and 'radicalness'," she said, rolling her eyes, "those together, evidently, are what she wants in a pet."

Rarity hummed, nodding to herself,

"'Kay, but those last three are pretty much the same thing," Emerald said. Sparky scoffed,

"Evidently, you and I would never be able to qualify as a good pet for her," she muttered, frowning. Emerald opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't figure out what he was supposed to say to that.

"C'mon ya'll," Applejack eventually cut in, walking off, "let's get goin' before Rainbow makes those critters do somethin' dumb."

"Like racing?" Rarity asked idly, following along, "I never would've guessed that Fluttershy would be agreeable with all this," she suddenly added as the rest of them trailed behind, "Pitting animals in a competition for the 'right' to a new home?"

Sparky frowned, tilting her head,

"Yeah, it really doesn't sound like something Fluttershy would just be... okay with," she said, eyes scanning the ground in thought, "But, if anything, she looks just as eager as Rainbow about all this."

"Mmmh, I doubt Fluttershy would allow Rainbow to do anything too bad," Emerald cut in with a shrug, "Plus I doubt Rainbow actually went through all the trouble of planning all these 'contests' by herself. Fluttershy probably helped plan this and made sure none of them would be too taxing for the animals, and they probably got Pinkie to go along with it and help set it all up," he guessed.

"Definitely sounds like somethin' Shy would do," Applejack agreed, nodding sharply, "That mare would sooner nurse an injured manticore back to health than anythin' else."

"Even if said injury was just a small splinter," Rarity added, smiling softly.

---

The group made it to the track in just a few minutes, where Rainbow was telling them exactly how she expected them to perform in the race, while Fluttershy did the opposite, wishing each and every one of them the absolute best.

"So, who do ya'll think is gonna win this thing?" Applejack asked from their spot on the sidelines,

"I certainly hope you're not asking us to place bets on this... thing," Rarity said, furrowing her brow with curled lips,

"Might as well," Emerald muttered, eyeing the track distastefully, "This won't last long, so we might as well make it somewhat interesting," he said, glancing at Rarity's expression.

She seemed... unusually against this. That wasn't to say he enjoyed the idea of pitting animals together in a contest like this just because Rainbow couldn't decide which she liked or got along with best, certainly not. But he couldn't help but notice the way she glared at Rainbow, the track, and even Fluttershy as everything got put into place.

He made a mental note to ask her about it.

"Exactly!" Applejack agreed, smirking, cutting his thoughts off, "I got ten bits on the eagle," she said. Emerald scoffed,

"I'll match that on Bolero."

"You're actually doing this..." Rarity mumbled to herself,

"I think the hawk will win," Sparky suddenly added, causing Rarity to turn to her in disbelief,

"You're joining in on this?!" she asked, to which Sparky only shrugged,

"Why not?" she asked, tilting her head, "We're all friends here, right?"

"That's the spirit Twi!" Applejack cheered, before bumping Rarity, "Don't go listenin' to what this ol' fuddy duddy's sayin'." Rarity gasped,

"Fuddy duddy?! I'll have you know-!"

"Alright!" Rainbow called, cutting Rarity off and dragging their attention back over to her, "On your marks! Get set!" she paused for a moment, watching each animal prepare to take off, before she swung her hoof down, "Go!"

The race was... well, it wasn't really much of a race. The only animals in the whole thing known for their speed were the hawk and the eagle. So it wasn't really much of a surprise when the hawk won. The only surprising thing was the fact Bolero got second and started hissing at the hawk the moment it was announced the winner.

"Huh, there goes my money," Emerald muttered, while Applejack sighed,

"Darn it, coulda sworn the eagle was gonna win," she said. Sparky smiled,

"Hawks are generally very fast when compared to other, larger birds, like the eagle," she informed them, "Eagles are much stronger due to their size, but that size difference means that a hawk will usually out-speed an eagle quite easily."

"Of course you can spout trivia like that off the top of your head," Emerald said, "I'll get you the bits later."

"Same," Applejack muttered.

"I cannot believe you actually placed bets on this..."

"I mean, we might as well. Not like this actually involves any of us," Emerald said, fishing for a reaction, having noticed the slight vitriol in her voice, "So why mi-" he paused as he glanced over, before muttering, "is that an obstacle course...?"

He wasn't sure how they'd managed it-though he was suspecting he knew what Pinkie had helped out with-but they'd dragged a whole slew of odd looking structures into the center of the field in a short amount of time. Pipes, hoops, holed walls, hinged planks, and... well, a lot of stuff he didn't even recognize.

"What in the world are they doin' now?" Applejack asked,

"Agility!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouted, spreading her hooves wide,

"Oh."

"This test is gonna see which of you guys is the most agile pet there is!" Rainbow continued, hovering above the whole course, "You're gonna start from this end-" she pointed to a series of small hoops, "-and end over here!" she pointed at the curving pipe, "Quickest time has the best agility! Starting with our last winner!"

Emerald wasn't sure how, but the hawk managed to look quite nervous.

"This is gonna take a while," Emerald said, idly scratching his chin,

"Looks like it," Applejack agreed, before turning to them, "So, who's winnin'? I'm gettin' the feelin' that toucan's pretty slick."

"Probably one of the smaller animals. I'm betting Bolero."

"As much as I don't like any of what's going on, I must commend your loyalty," Rarity muttered, perhaps a tad sarcastically, eyeing Emerald,

"I'd have to say..." Sparky tapped her chin, "The hummingbird."

"That's a good one... Can I change my bet?"

""No.""

Emerald sighed, not really bothered by their denial. He followed Applejack's example, laying himself down on the grass while he watched the butterfly fly through a few hoops.

... He was watching a butterfly fly through hoops.

What the fuck was his life coming to?

He shook his head and turned back to the girls, hoping to distract himself from that... worrying thought,

"So how's everything been for you lot?" he asked, "Until now, things've been quiet, so one of you must've been hogging the bullshit." Applejack snorted at his wording, and shook her head,

"Not much, sugarcube. I've been busy dealin' with Applebloom's punishment since Hearts an' Hooves Day," she suddenly scowled, shaking her head, "She jus' finished it up last week an' now she goes an' blows up Sugarcube Corner. That filly..."

"What were you having her do anyways?" he asked, causing Applejack to shrug,

"No Crusadin', not allowed in 'er clubhouse, extra chores, that sort'o thing," she said, getting him to nod.

"Sweetie Belle's punishment was much the same," Rarity suddenly said, daintily laying on the grass alongside them, pointedly looking away from the course, "though there was an extra part where she had to model some dresses for me. That poor filly absolutely hates modeling for me. She just can't sit still," Rarity added lightly, a soft giggle escaping her.

"What about Scootaloo?" Sparky asked, "You brought the whole mess up with her parents, right?"

Emerald grinned, fangs glinting in the light as a small chuckle escaped him. He missed the slightly worried looks the other three sent him,

"Funny you should ask. Cloudy and Paint were kind enough to give me full reign of her punishment. So I gave her the same punishment I give Wisp whenever she's in trouble. Exercise." Applejack frowned,

"That... doesn't sound too bad-"

"My exercise," he suddenly clarified, turning enough to spot Sparky going white, "Though that wasn't all. She also wasn't allowed to Crusade, ride her scooter, and I asked her parents to get her a tutor, since her grades aren't the best, which I, of course, paid for."

"That's very kind of you to pay, Emerald," Rarity praised, before frowning, "Though I'd like to backtrack a tad. You make Wisp exercise when she's in trouble?" she asked, "Isn't that a tad... harsh?" Emerald shrugged,

"Maybe for you, but it's pretty common in my family. I can faintly recall my older brother being forced to do extra training sessions with Father whenever he was in trouble. Though that's only because he was in trouble often. He was a bit of a dick, if I remember right," he muttered, before waving his thoughts away, "Eh, regardless the training is good for her. She's mentioned wanting to be in the Guard when she's older, so earlier training is a good thing. Nothing too strenuous, of course," he added upon spotting Rarity's worried expression.

"That's... surprising," Sparky said, frowning thoughtfully, "I didn't think Wisp wanted to be in the Guard. At the very least I don't remember her ever mentioning it," she muttered. Emerald nodded,

"Surprised me too. But I'm honoured, if I'm honest," he said, smiling softly, "I didn't think she wanted to follow after me, what with all the shit that's wrong with me."

"There's nothin' wrong with ya, Emerald!" Applejack suddenly snapped, "Yer a perfectly fine po-thestral as you are." Emerald smiled, but shook his head,

"I appreciate the thought, Applejack, but there are things wrong with me. I mean, I'm friends with you lot, aren't I?"

"Are you saying there's something wrong with us?" Rarity asked, sounding a tad offended. Emerald scoffed,

"'Course not! There's clearly nothing wrong with the mares who decided running off to face Nightmare Moon in the middle of a monster-infested forest was a good idea, after all!" he said, smiling cheekily. Rarity glared at him, but it was ruined by the smirk tugging at her lips. Eventually it won, and she relented,

"I suppose you do have a point, darling," she said, glancing back to the contest, "Oh, it seems the hummingbird won," she muttered.

""Damn it.""

Sparky giggled,

"Forty bits so far!" she chirped, smiling brightly.

"Oh, we've created a monster. A gambling monster," Emerald muttered sarcastically.

"Yes, it certainly seems as though-" Rarity paused suddenly, before launching to her hooves, "WHY IS OPAL HERE?!"

The sudden shout startled just about everyone in the area. Even Rainbow Dash, who'd just brought in a small carrier that was exactly the kind of thing Rarity would get her pet cat. Rainbow set it down, and shrugged,

"It's the guts test, Rarity," she said as though it explained everything, before she took out a small mouse toy, "Whichever animal can get Opal's favourite toy away from her totally has the most guts!"

"THAT DOESN'T EXPLAIN WHY YOU HAD TO CHOOSE MY DARLING OPAL FOR YOUR LITTLE GAME!" she snarled, usually pretty expression lost in a sea of rage,

"Well, Opal is a bit of a bitch..." Emerald muttered. Rainbow frowned,

"C'mon Rarity! It's nothing bad!"

"NOTHING BAD MY REAR END!"

"This is gonna take awhile..." Applejack muttered, lazily resting her head on a hoof.

It did take a while. Nearly eight minutes of constant back and forth between Rainbow and Rarity, with Fluttershy trying and failing to chime in, until, eventually, Rarity gave Rainbow reluctant permission to use Opal in the 'guts' test, though not without a few assurances, of course. Even so, Rarity was clearly on edge, eyes narrowed on the proceedings before her, as if she was anticipating having to jump in.

"So... bets?" Emerald asked, not so much as breaking the silence as shattering it, completely ignoring the venomous glare Rarity sent him.

"Dunno," Applejack said, eyeing the animals, "Prolly one'o the bigger ones." Sparky hummed,

"Actually, I think the tortoise might do well," she mused, "He's been trying very hard, even if he isn't doing well. With his shell, I don't see him having any issues with this," she added, smiling slightly at the reptile. Emerald shrugged,

"Eh, that's probably true, but I doubt he's quick enough to get in, get the toy, and get out. Bolero has got this, easy," he boasted.

As as it turns out, he was quite right. The moment Rainbow had finished telling the animals the rules, with Fluttershy's help, Bolero immediately swooped in, plucked Opal's toy from the ground, hissing angrily at the cat in the process, before flying over and depositing his catch on Rainbow's head, smugly returning to his perch on the tortoise's back.

"Brat," Emerald muttered, "At least I got my money back," he added.

"Dammit..." Applejack grimaced, "There goes my spendin' money fer taday..."

"I think style is next," Sparky mused, glancing around the track, "Assuming she's going in order of what she said earlier." Emerald hummed,

"Wow," he muttered sarcastically, "I can't wait to see the tests of coolness, awesomeness, and radicalness!" he gave a wide, fake smile, before it fell with a scoff, "How the fuck is anyone supposed to judge that?"

"I imagine the only pony capable of that is Rainbow herself," Rarity interjected, huffing angrily, "Why I-"

"Rarity!" Rainbow suddenly called, zooming over to the group, "The next test is style, think you can help us out?" she asked. Rarity clicked her mouth shut, clearly not enjoying having been cut off once more, but gave Rainbow her attention,

"And how exactly am I supposed to... assist?" she asked, brow rising, "What is this... 'test' measuring?"

"We're trying to figure which one of these guys looks the best, cuz if they wanna be my pet, they gotta make me look good too!" Rainbow chirped.

"Sooo... which critter looks the nicest?" Applejack clarified. Rainbow waved her off,

"Yeah pretty much. So, you gonna help, Rares?" Rarity stared at Rainbow for a moment, before speaking in a low hiss,

"You're asking me to help with this... this... filth?!" she snapped, practically shooting to her hooves, "You're quite lucky I haven't demanded this nonsense be stopped immediately! The only reason I've remained so quite is because of Fluttershy's insistence, but I am not about to help you parade this poor animals around as though they're nothing more than toys for you to show off!" she snarled, eyes alight and horn sparking dangerously.

The sheer fury in her words had startled everyone around her, causing everyone to lean back as if she were about to pounce. Rainbow's eyes were wide-though so were everyone else's-as she stared, stunned silent, at Rarity's outburst.

In wake of the silence, Rarity let out a growl, her horn lighting as Opal and her carrier were gently snatched from the ground and pulled over to her.

She seemed to calm herself, for a moment, when Opal was close-by, but it was over after she had to snatch Opal's toy from where Bolero had dropped it. Things and pet in hoof, she spun around, and not-quite stomped off, leaving the area behind her silent.

Until it was broken,

"Uh, did anyone see that comin'?" Applejack asked, staring worriedly after Rarity, "'Cus I sure didn't."

"I don't think any of us did," Sparky mumbled, hoof outstretched, as if to grab onto something.

"Oh my, I hope she's alright..." Fluttershy murmured. Rainbow Dash frowned, a look of combine worry, guilt, and anger swirling in her eyes,

"What's her problem?" she muttered.

Emerald stared after the mare and cat duo, before standing, idly stretching his back as he did so,

"I'll go talk to her," he volunteered, "I was getting bored of watching this anyways," he added before any of them could contest him, "Wish me luck," he added, trotting off.

---

Finding Rarity was easy. She had the uncanny ability to part the crowd around her like the sea, whether it was a result of her looks or some other quality, he didn't know, but it made following behind her laughably easy.

It was something he'd need to keep an eye on, just in case anyone else noticed how useful it was.

She made it to the Boutique in record time, her obvious anger spurring her legs faster than she'd usually walk. It also caused her to forget to shut the door behind her, allowing him to slide through without issue as she tended to Opal.

"So," he began, hiding a smirk as Rarity started, whirling around to face him, hoof against her chest, "do you mind explaining what happened back there? Or should I try guessing?" he asked. Rarity huffed, gently patting at her chest,

"Goodness, Emerald, you really must stop sneaking up on ponies!" she scolded him, "Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were doing it on purpose!" she added, a bit more pointedly, glaring at him with narrowed eyes, "I wonder if that Rainbow Dash was, perhaps, a tad bit of a bad influence on you, hmm?"

Emerald gave her a vague grin, neither confirming nor denying her thoughts.

"So, you gonna explain?" he asked again. Rarity eyed him, almost suspiciously, before she sighed,

"I... suppose I must," she muttered, before gesturing towards the lounge area, "Take a seat. I'll brew us some tea and explain myself."

Emerald did so, and, perhaps ten minutes later, both he and Rarity were sat, each a cup of warm tea in hoof and a tray of biscuits in front of them.

Rarity took a dainty sip from her cup, before setting it down,

"I suppose the best way to explain... would be frankly," she said, more to herself then him. She sighed, elegantly straightening herself and folding her hooves, leveling a cool stare at him, "I am not aware if you know or not, but, until recently, Sweetie Belle did not live here in Ponyville with me. Rather, our parents took her with them on their many... many trips around the world," she began, sounding a tad exasperated, "The trips themselves are... lacking. Boring. Our father is a retired hoofball player, and our mother is, or rather was, nothing more than a housewife," she pursed her lips, seemingly holding back a grimace, "Our parents' trips are mostly to make them feel as though they are young again. But I bring this up to inform you that, before Sweetie Belle, I was the one who was brought along with them on these trips."

Rarity's story was paused, for a moment, as she nibbled on one of the biscuits, but Emerald chose not to break the silence. He could see method for what it was. Rarity was stalling. Whatever explanation she was going to offer him must've been... unsettling for her.

He could see the way her hooves clenched slightly. How her eyes did not quite meet his own. She took pauses often, to take a breath, or to think on her words.

For a moment, Emerald wondered why she was telling him this. Sure, he wanted an explanation, but if it was so uncomfortable, then why was she willing to tell it to him?

It took a moment, but an idea came to mind.

She knew about the Facility. About his old fears. Did she feel as though she owed him a secret of her own in exchange for his?

He frowned at the thought, but before he could bring it up, she continued.

"Make no mistake, I am certain our parents love Sweetie Belle and I very much," Rarity said, idly casting a glance towards the stairs leading up to the bedrooms, "but those trips were never meant to be a family activity. Those trips were for them to spend time with each other, to feel young, in their prime again," she took a breath in, "... To be honest, I am not sure if my parents ever intended to have a foal, let alone two. Luckily, for them and myself, my dear grandmother lived in Ponyville, and I was often left with her whenever our parents left on a trip they could not, or would not, bring me on, which was fairly often," she added, "It was why I say I grew up here in Ponyville, despite my parents not being around. I had my darling grandmother, some friends from the school, and things I enjoyed doing. However, shortly before Sweetie Belle turned two, my parents took me on one last trip. I... can't recall where it was," she admitted with a frown, her gaze falling to the floor, "Perhaps my memory is faulty, or perhaps I simply... suppressed that part of my memory, to keep myself from remembering where it happened. Regardless, it was the final trip they would take me on, as well as the final trip I would want to go on."

She paused again, licking her lips.

"I... do not wish to dwell on the memory, so I will be quick. I got separated from them, got lost, and stumbled into a building that was hosting some sort of..." she took a breath, idly petting Opal, who'd ventured over and jumped up onto the sofa beside her, "factory for lack of a better word. There were animals there, being bred and trained for purposes I don't care to know. Some for what I imagine to be illegal animal fighting rings, others for show-" she growled the word, and forcibly calmed herself, "... It frightened me, and I ran off. I told my parents of what I saw, they informed the local authorities, and the... operation, was shut down, but the memory stuck with me," she sighed, her back suddenly slouching, "Seeing Rainbow Dash-seeing Fluttershy, put those creatures through those... those games like they had, as if they were nothing more than toys, just brought back the memory and I grew a tad angry."

She sighed, gently plucking Opal onto her lap, the usually irritable feline unusually docile in the moment, as Rarity gently stroke her head,

"... Opal was one of the animals from the factory. Nothing more than a small kitten at the time. That little tale I told at the play-date was, obviously, a bit of a lie," she admitted, smiling faintly, "I was somewhere between my fourteenth and fifteenth birthday, Sweetie was only a month off from her second birthday when this happened. One of the officers approached me with Opal, asking if I would be willing to take care of her," she paused, frowning slightly, "... I don't know what possessed that mare into thinking it was a good idea to give a pre-teen filly a kitten from an illegal animal breeding factory she'd inadvertently help bust, but my parents thought it a grand idea," she huffed, her frown turning into a scowl for a moment.

"Why's that?" he asked. Rarity shook her head,

"My grandmother had passed the month before, at the admirable age of ninety-two. I was, as you can imagine, quite saddened by this. That, coupled with the fact my parents believed me old enough to live on my own, at just before fifteen might I add, convinced my parents that having someone, or something, to keep me company would be good. In hindsight, I suppose that is why I spoil Opal so much, given what she experienced as a kitten," she added, as an afterthought.

Emerald stared at Rarity, trying to comprehend the words she'd said,

"So... your parents let a fourteen, nearly fifteen, year old filly live by herself... with a kitten?" he asked, earning a nod, "Why? That's just... that's idiotic," he breathed, "Though, it would explain why you're as mature as you are," he added, under his breath. Rarity shook her head,

"My mother claims it was because her parents had done the same for her, and that she had 'turned out alright'," she said, before letting out a distinctly unlady-like sigh, "Unfortunately, she was proven right, it seems. The incident with the Elements and Nightmare Moon convinced them to do the same with an eleven-almost-twelve-year-old Sweetie Belle, dropping her off here sometime after Twilight's arrival, and she has been here since."

"That's... wow," Emerald muttered, "There's a lot more to you than I'd thought, I must say." Rarity tittered, her face relaxing into a smile,

"Of course there is, darling. I'm much more than a pretty face, you know?~"

---

His conversation with Rarity hadn't lasted much longer than that. There was a bit of commotion, a flash of light, and Sparky was right beside them.

She'd been surprised to see them-she hadn't expected to find either of them on her first teleport, evidently-but had composed herself quickly, explaining that Rainbow had decided to move on to the final test to prove which pet was best for her.

Another race, in hindsight, was obvious. Given the mare's nature, she'd definitely find some way to put herself in the spotlight, and having the animals race against her-an idiotic notion, given that none of the animals present were as fast as she could be-seemed just like something she'd do.

Another thing that seemed like something she'd do, was to have the race run through a massive, hazard-ridden gorge.

Ghastly Gorge was... well, it was in the name, really. Heavy winds, narrow walls, brambles, quarry eels, on top of being an avalanche zone waiting to happen, and it was no wonder that Ghastly Gorge wasn't a popular tourist destination.

Oh it wasn't all bad. There were, according to some old reports he'd read, some ore and gem deposits in the area, but none of which were large or rare enough to justify driving out the nest of quarry eels. He'd heard there might be some exotic plants growing in the relatively harsh conditions present in the gorge, but he wasn't sure how likely any of that was true.

Emerald had been ready to march down to the gorge and drag the mare-and the animals-out of the place, but, as it turns out, the race... was over.

Surprisingly, Rainbow had isolated most of the race to as few of the hazards as possible, rather than through the entire gorge as he might've thought. This ended up causing the race to be rather short. In fact, judging by how long it took for any of the animals to finish, they'd probably been waiting at the finish line while he and Rarity were talking.

Part of him felt annoyed to have missed the race, but when Sparky described waiting at the finish line for the tortoise, he'd... been okay with missing it.

And wasn't that an interesting outcome? Rainbow had specified that the race was over when one of the animals crossed the finish line with her. She'd somehow gotten herself caught under a minor avalanche-she'd bruised her wing, but she'd be fine within a few days, provided she rested-and, in a twist of events Emerald could honestly admit to never anticipating, the tortoise won.

The tortoise, who Rainbow had decided to name Tank-it fit, Emerald thought-had managed to leverage the boulder just enough for Rainbow to pull away, and then carried her to the finish line.

He knew Rainbow was light-most pegasi were-but he was surprised to hear a small tortoise like Tank had managed to carry her all that distance without much effort, if only because of the size difference.

On a completely unrelated note, Bolero did not like Tank.

He was such a sore loser. Emerald wasn't sure where he got it from.

Really.

"Come on Winona, you can do it!"

On another, but actually related, note, Tank was getting along quite well with the other pets.

Emerald smiled lightly, watching as Winona energetically tugged on a piece of rope, whose other end was being held by their little newcomer.

"Kick her ass, Tank!"

Seeing Rainbow and Applejack fuel their strange competitive rivalry through their animals was amusing, but, perhaps, not as amusing as watching a dog and tortoise play tug'o'war.

He chuckled softly,

"Rainbow and Tank seem to be having fun," Sparky spoke up from beside him, Owloysius perched quietly on her back. He nodded,

"Certainly seems like it," he said, eyes flicking towards the nearby tree, where he could spot Bolero glaring down at the shelled reptile. He smirked.

Well, Tank was getting along quite well with most of the other pets.

"Shouldn't you do something about that?" Sparky asked him, her gaze following his. He shrugged,

"Sorry, but my job description hasn't mentioned anything about helping an oblivious tortoise and jealous bat become friends," he snarked, glancing at her with a grin, "If anything, that's your department, Miss I-Need-A-Friendship-Problem-To-Solve."

Sparky scoffed, gently smacking his leg,

"Very funny Mister I-Don't-Know-When-To-Stop-Fighting." Emerald hummed to himself,

"I suppose we both have issues, don't we?" Sparky nodded, turning back to the pets, just as Winona managed to pull Tank over onto his shell, to Applejack's and Rainbow's respective delight and anguish,

"We do. Good thing we've got some good friends to help us through them, huh?"

Emerald smiled, his eyes sparkling,

"Yeah, we do."

Author's Note:

This chapter took... too long. Way too long to get out, and I'm sorry. A lot of things were happening around my area that gave me too much stress to write, and I ended up with writer's block. I tried forcing myself to write-because I usually try to power through blocks, it tends to work in all fairness-but I ended up burning myself out for a bit. Then the block ended, and I had too many ideas in my skull, so I had to write them out as the other stories you've probably seen by now to free up some room in my noggin.

But hey! It's back! The Champion of Harmony is here again, and I have so many new ideas I can't wait to explore! That being said, chapters will probably take a bit to get going again-gotta get back into the groove, ya know?-but it shouldn't be too long. I know some of you were getting impatient, so I hope this chapter helps you guys!

So I hope you enjoyed! Constructive criticism appreciated. See you next time!

Comments

[Kichi]

It's Alive!

[WanderingPony]

It's good, and it's also all good. :)

[Zapper Frost]

Yay, new thingy

[Marebook7]

Nice chapter.

[Sir Budginton]

That bit with Rarity and the animal breeding was really sad. Damn, now I'm just... I don't know, thinking about something like that happening for real (which I'm almost certain it does)

[Osiris Grandeur]

I had been waiting a while for a new chapter... I'd re-read it, and logged off.

ANd when I hopped back on, 21k words were staring me in the face. Suffice to say, I was a little intimidated by this.

After gathering up the courage to read what I was sure was going to be a dull chapter about Rainbow "Annoyingly Egotistical" Dash, I sat myself down for a story that was probably going to be a decently interesting read.

I really enjoyed this. Rainbow has always been annoying to me, but the author has a really nice spin to her that just makes her character work. I don't know how he did it, but reading this chapter was far more enjoyable than I ever expected it to be. That tidbit with Rarity was nice too. Her reactions seemed a little out of character, but when it was all explained, it made a lot of sense.

I really like this chapter.

[afellownerd]

I cannot stress enough how much I'm loving this story.

[Asimov_Law]

" Big Bro! "

https://pics.me.me/hidingoutbackstage-sibling-less-writers-hey-sis-hey-little-bro-13-41704213.png

[Bronyshot2020]

If you need any help i can

[Simply Toast]

Oh boy. I can't believe I was never notified or anything. This may have been 3 or so months ago, but great job! Loved the chapter, fantastic writing. took a while to read but I love long chapters. I'm glad you're trying to continue this story! Try not to overwork yourself!