Slice of Velvet and Pear

by David Silver

49 - Family Reunion, Part 3

Spike hit the ground running. The party was underway and it was calling his name. He could smell tasty food and hear friendly voices all around with the warm comraderie of a good family. A family he was part of? He hopped up onto a stool near Apple Bloom. "Hey, uh..." He curled a finger, unsure how to proceed.

"Howdy, Spike." She turned to him with a big smile. "First time seein' you at one of these as one of us!" She offered a hoof.

He grabbed for her hoof, shifting from an open hand to a balled fist to bump against her. "Nice to see you too! Um, so, what are we now?"

Apple Bloom hummed softly. "Well, once we're past the immediate family, start to call 'bout everyone 'cous and stop thinkin' too hard 'bout it." She pointed at Spike. "So yer a cousin."

"Hey 'cous," he fired back, testing the feel of the greeting. "Yeah, I like that."

"Good." She folded her arms. "Weren't up to bringing Diamond alon'?"

"Should I have?!" He wheeled in place as if Diamond may be there, but she was not. "Did I mess up?"

"That depends." Apple Bloom shrugged. "If you brought her, you'd be announcin' that you want her in the family. Since you didn't, yer sayin' she may be a girlfriend, but y'ain't aimin' fer tyin' that knot just yet."

Spike slapped an open palm on his cheek. "Woah... I didn't even think about that."

"Bet she did." Apple Bloom winked. "Ah'd be ready fer that tomorrow, jus' sayin'."

Spike went tense. "Uh oh... I didn't mean... I like her! I like her a lot!"

Apple Bloom patted Spike's tense shoulder. "Relax. Just tell the truth. Yer a colt. That's a very colt thin' to do, so ya just tell her that and fess up."

Spike smiled as tension began to flee. "Alright, wow, I'm glad you were here."

"I'm glad ah'm not the only pony mah age here today." Apple Bloom giggled and danced in place. "Got you around! Now, just to be clear, ah already know ya belong to Diamond Tiara an' whatever. Ain't lookin' fer kissy times anyway. Ah just wanna have some fun. Wanna play some games?"

Spike clapped as he hopped up onto a bench, then the table it was next to. "Having fun is what today's about, right?"

"Hey there." A mare with a tall hat tipped it towards Spike as she came closer. "Ah heard 'bout you. Yer Moon's, right?"

Spike took a more rigid stance, twirling to the mare. "Howdy! I'm Spike." He hiked a thumb at himself. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, oh, and there's Apple Bloom." She waved at little Apple Bloom gently. "I'm getting in the way, aren't I? You two have a fun time!" She wandered off, letting Spike right off the hook.

Apple Bloom phewed. "Thought we were gettin' a third wheel there." She hopped up next to Spike. "Now, ah ain't the only filly in all the family, but ah ain't seein' 'em today. Wonder what's wrong with 'em... Maybe 'cause we had another so soon?"

Spike squeaked. "Oh no! Did we ruin it?!"

Apple Bloom waved that concern away. "It ain't like that, and it wasn't your idea anywho. Let's give a tour!" She led Spike along towards the food tables. "Here's where you can get a snack, or fill your belly to full, whichever yer feelin'" She waved over the many apple-themed snacks on display. "An' before you get worried, wit' everythin' bein' an apple in a coat, we got an answer for that."

"You do?" Spike didn't see an answer for not-apple cravings. "Where?"

Apple Bloom trotted along energetically, diving through a cloth divider to a concealed extra table. "Ta da!" She waved over a whole new set of options. "From sweet right on to savory. Leavin' an apple to go hungry just ain't the Apple style!"

Spike licked over his lips with appreciation. They had enough food to feed the entire crowd twice over, by his extremely quick estimation. "Woah, um... Getting greedy, but I don't suppose you have any gem powdwer or anything?"

Apple Bloom blinked at that. "That's the first time anypony done asked for that, 'least that I heard. You need that?"

"Um. I like it." He shrugged helplessly. "But I can eat anything Moon's eaten, we tried. I can even eat some things she'd rather not." He patted his round belly. "Dragon guts are tough!"

Apple Bloom giggled at that display. "Ya don't say? Huh. Well, then you can eat whatever yer nose leads you to."

"Don't mind if I do." He snatched a slice of something and chomped. "Mmm, sweet." It did not live long after that, vanishing into him. "But you shouldn't have to just watch me eat."

"Don't plan to." Apple Bloom led him away from the tables. "Congratulations, by the way. Yer... Mom? Her hookin' up wit' one of us is gettin' you in. How's it feel?"

"She's more like an older sister," corrected Spike quickly. "She, um... She didn't lay an egg... But I love her a lot, and owe her even more." He scratched behind his head. "Even if I know she thinks of me like a Celestia project sometimes... But she takes those super seriously, so... Uh... Maybe that's not an awful thing? It's complicated."

"Huh." Apple Bloom inclined her head at Spike slowly. "Yer family's complicated. Well, we Apples like to keep it simple." She curled a hoof at herself. "Ah'm Apple Bloom, ya know that. Got a big sister, Applejack. Got a mother." She pointed off to where her mother was chatting with Twilight's mom. "Who just got a new sister suddenly. And she's got a mom too, my grandma! Right in her name, Granny Smith! She's everypony's granny, an' she ain't shy 'bout it."

Spike clapped at the introduction. "I've met them all before." But he was smiling, they were all good ponies. "What about your brother?"

"Oh yeah." She circled in place to find him. "Oh, there he is." He was leading a small herd towards some new game. "What is he upta? Wanna see?" With a nod from Spike, she led the way to join that crowd of ponies following Big Mac.

They arrived at a soft field of grass with stakes driven into it. With great ceremony, Big Mac grabbed a horseshoe in his mouth and gave it a toss with a flick of his neck. The shoe flew through the air and bounced off the spike, landing a few inches from it. The crowd clopped and cheered at the try, but many were moving in, ready to show they could manage it even better.

Apple Bloom burst into giggles. "All that to play a game?" She pointed to the pile of shoes. "Wanna play?"

Spike grabbed about five shoes in a quick snatch, mashing them against his chest to keep them from tumbling. "Sure! What're the rules?"

Apple Bloom pointed to a free post and led Spike over to it. "See this?" She pointed to a line on the ground. "This is where ya stand! We take turns tossin' the shoes. The one who gets the closest when we run out of 'em is the winner. Simple!"

Spike surrendered two shoes to rest at Apple Bloom's side and kept two for himself. He casually tossed the one extra back towards the pile it came from. "Alright! That's simple..." He tossed a shoe up and caught it with a cocky grin. "I can handle this."

Apple Bloom giggled at the sight. "Have ya ever thrown a horseshoe before?"

"Um, no?" He jiggled it up and down, getting a feel for it. "What's so complicated about it?"

"Well..." She pointed at the stake. "Go ahead and try. Maybe yer a natural!"

"Maybe!" He took up his spot at the line in the grass, drawn with chalk. "Just..." He drew the shoe back. "Toss!" He hurled it, sending it spinning and wobbling wildly. It landed several feet away from the post with a dull thud. "Oh."

"Yeah..." Apple Bloom got a shoe of her own. "It ain't as easy as it looks. A shoe's shaped funny, so it can end up in different places 'less yer good at it!" She curled her neck back and whipped forward, sending the shoe flying. It took a straighter path, landing closer, but not all that close, maybe six inches off. "Shoot. Yer turn."

Spike grabbed the next shoe and squeezed it. The hard iron didn't mind much, resisting the squeeze entirely. "Alright... I can do this better! I got this..."

"Ya got this," joined Apple Bloom. "Don't stress 'bout it. Jus' give it a throw. Practice'll make ya better at it."

Spike chuckled at that. "Isn't that true of everything?" He tried a more underhanded lob. The show landed next to Apple Bloom's, just a tiny bit closer. "Yeah!"

Apple Bloom clapped appreciatively. "See? Just like that! Now... It gets tricky when you try to get it on the peg. Shoes love to bounce or fall right off. Only the real experts can get that right." She launched her next and last shoe, the last of them all. It struck the other shoes, bouncing off of them and sent kareening away, landing wildly off target when it came to a stop. "Shoot..."

Spike patted her back. "It happens. I was expecting one of mine to do that."

Apple Bloom giggled at that. "Hey! I'm the one showing you the game." She dashed out, collecting the shoes on her back with little tosses. "You mighta won that round, but I'm up fer a rematch!"

"You're on!" So they tossed shoes. Other players swapped in, replacing either of them for a game. Everypony there did it in good spirits, and smiles were plentifully shared between them all.

An older stallion stroked his wrinkled shin, other hoof out to feel the wind. "Mmm..." He weighed the shoe and eyed the stake. "Mmm..."

Spike watched this slow measurement. "Are you...? Does that help?"

"Huh? Oh, 'course it helps!" The stallion rested the shoe on his own hoof, bouncing it up and down. "Been playin' this game fer years! Probably longer than you even existed! Lotta things can make the difference. All fun and games, just tossin' and hopin' fer the best..." He hurled the shoe and it hit the peg directly, spinning wildly, but staying attached as it flopped to the ground on the peg. "Ringer!"

Other ponies clapped appreciatively.

Spike was among them, alongside Apple Bloom. He bowed his head at his appreciative crowd. "Hardly fair, fightin' a horseshoe vet."

But Spike was undeterred. "Practice makes perfect." He tried his best to imitate the toss of the older pony, feeling the wind and the weight of the shoe. "Mmm..."

The old pony chuckled softly, seeing that the actions were being copied, but not the intent behind them. "Sonny, ya want a tip?"

"Huh?" Spike aborted the throw he had been about to do. "What?"

The stallion took up the next shoe, showing it to Spike. "Want some tips? You look like you want to do it like ah do it, but that ain't somethin' yer gonna pick up on yer own. It's an art! Passed down from one generation to the next. Now, way I see it, yer a young Apple." He pointed to Apple Bloom. "An' so's she. So if either of ya want me to learn ya a thin' or two, this'd be a fine time fer it."

Apple Bloom dropped her shoe in surprise. "Really?!" She twirled to face him. "Ya mean it?"

"Ah don't say things ah don't mean!" he thumped the ground to be clear on that. "So, ya wanna lesson or not?"

Spike shrugged. "Well, why not?" He elbowed Apple Bloom. "You got two eager students right here. Wise teacher, show us your secrets."

The older pony smiled at that, chuckling. "Now we're talkin'. Alright." He pointed to the pile of shoes. "Go get ten of 'em each. Yer gonna need 'em!"

An intense lesson in horseshoe tossin' wasn't the original plan, but there were worse ways to spend a day. At least it felt clear, to Spike, that he was welcome as an Apple, being invited to a family secret and all.

Author's Note:

And fin! Of the arc anyway. Everycreature had a great time with the Apples in their own way. Friendships were forged, welcome was found, and complications might have been tripped over.

Join the special community of folks who like my stories, see the updates early, and/or get your own written here at atreon!

Join my discord to chat!

Comments

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Awww so cool seeing Spike's POV of him having fun at the Apple's Family Reunion, especially the horseshoe toss contest!

[Booster Spice]

Spike learns Hook Shot?

[TheGJ90]

Ain't nothin' complicated about little Apple Bloom, no sir!

Glad to see Spike having a good time.

[redandready45]

I love these discussions about what constitutes a family. It warms my heart to see so many ponies who have Spike's back.