Cracking Dawn

by Didily Winkles

Chapter 25: Cheers

Chapter Twenty-five

Dawn cleared her desk of all the botany research she had done and finished. A new tome of spells of dark, light and whatever her aspect of magic took on rested on her shelf with the others. While the pain in her throat was still there she did feel better now that her mother was laid to rest. The funeral had every pony who had an ounce of respect for her mother at attendance including ponies from all over the country, most of the guard, nearly every single Wonderbolt since Dawn's birth, old enemies as well as some equally old friends; so many stories, so many laughs were shared. Her mother sure did live to her fullest. It was also the first time seeing her father in full guard apparel, it was his way of showing his respect not just as his wife but for the combat specialist he fell in love those many years ago. A weekend of rest and relaxation was just what Dawn needed to feel a little bit more normal again. She mainly just finished up her research, spent time with April, etcetera.

Pinkie often paid her a visit with the best intentions in mind. She was still small but clumsy as ever as she flew around her tower knocking over books and the like off Dawn's shelves only for her to practice her telekinesis by putting the books back in what she thought was their proper place.

Dawn let out a sigh as she moved the books she had just read to the shelves with the others likely to never be reopened again. She was expecting new books to be brought up to her any minute, both from deep within the Canterlot library and fresh off the press.

Dawn made her way over to her balcony just to watch the rest of the afternoon drift away. It was an abnormally hot day, summer was fighting to give up it's time that had come and gone. Dawn stretched as she lay down in the shadow of her tower, letting the warm breeze graze across her coat.

"Pinkie just cast her first spell."

"Which was?" Dawn turned over on her back revealing Luna standing over her.

"Just a basic light spell but you should have seen Twilight's face, absolutely horrified that she picked it up so quickly. She is so much like Celly was when she was that age, it's spooky."

"Really?"

"Oh yah." Luna said nodding quickly. "Bouncing off the wall with energy and excitement. Yep, unlike you and me, Celly is most powerful when she is small. Also unlike you and me she is insatiably hyper during those years of her cycle."

"So..."

"Yep Celly will be like her daughter in a couple centuries. Not something to look forward too in my opinion." Luna laughed. "You know they're teaching her more spells now. Why aren't you joining them?"

"I'm not in the mood."

Luna planted herself next to Dawn with a sigh.

"You ever feel you're stuck in a rut."

"Of course, but this rut you are in however is one that will pass by itself."

"Right."

Luna lifted Dawn with her magic and pulled her into the same kind of embrace she had received, what seemed like, dozens of times today alone. And the day before, and every day before that. She wasn't in the mood to fight the blatant disrespect of her movement. "I promise things will turn for the better, it always does." Luna whispered from behind her.

April banked in, curling around the tower to land on the balcony Luna and Dawn were sitting on. "Am I interrupting some more mother-daughter time?" She asked with a laugh.

Dawn bucked up Luna's backend to plop her on her back with Luna's legs still wrapped lovingly around her. "Nope." Dawn said as she walked over to great April. "How was your day?"

"Exhausting."

"You always say that." Dawn pouted after planting a kiss on April's cheek.

"Yes well I have been really tired lately." April said, leading the way into Dawn's tower to buck off the saddle bags on her back.

"Celly works you too hard. You’re a lady of the castle now. You don't have to work for her." Luna said from Dawn's back.

"I don't want to mooch."

"What is a mooch any ways?" Luna asked Dawn.

"The word evolved from an old donkey dialect which means sulk and/or steal."

"Why do you know that?" April asked, once her saddle was off.

"I have a health curiosity and access to the largest library in all Equestria."

"Why aren't you helping Pinkie learn magic and stuff?" April asked, inspecting Dawn for irregularities that would answer question.

"She is not in the 'Mood'." Luna answered, still on Dawn's back.

"Well can't have that..." April said as she turned around to trip over her own hooves forcing her to plant her face into the marble floor. "Ow"

Dawn let out a sigh as she helped her up with her magic.

"Perhaps you are more tired than you originally thought." Luna laughed.

"She's been doing that a lot lately." Dawn said plainly.

"Have not." April defended.

"That time we went apple cider tasting was personal favorite but the time we got our hooves on those fireworks fight for second with that time in Las Pegasus on the beach. Oh! And at Applewood with your favorite actor, those poor flowers... and let's not forget the last summer sun celebration..."

"Fine, fine." April said quickly, cutting her off.

"I clearly missed some entertainment." Luna chuckled, forcing Dawn to shake.

"Yes well I haven't been getting the best of sleep with miss 'wakes-up-at-the-crack-of dawn-without-fail' pony."

"Well we both know that is a lie." Dawn said with a smirk.

April was interrupted from her rebuttal with a knocking on Dawn's door. Nopony knocked Dawn's door at this hour; the servants were long done with their chores in here.

"Come in." Dawn called out as she turned around, pointing Dawn and Luna towards the door. Fluttershy emerged from behind the creaking heavy wooden door that led down the spiral stair case.

"Oh, I hope I'm not disturbing you or anything... I can come back... I'll come back." Fluttershy mumbled under her breath as she quickly surveyed the room.

"Don't be silly Fluttershy." April jumped on Dawn's inaction as she quickly glided to the yellow pegasus' side. "Dawn is your princess, she's here to help."

"That's a new one." Dawn laughed only to receive a small jab from Luna on her back. "What can I do for you Fluttershy?"

"You know I was just telling Dawn last night 'What are the chances that the only daughters of the princesses would fall in love with such cute pegasus mares such as us'." April said excitedly, guiding the timid pegasus over to Dawn and Luna.

Dawn was positive they had no such conversation but she wasn't going to refute her lest she get the rancor's wrath later.

"Oh, I guess that is umm.... Interesting." Fluttershy whispered quietly for it to dissolve into the white noise of the tower.

April stopped short of Dawn and Luna, she was beaming back at them for some odd reason.

"Right..." Dawn was caught off guard by the smile she was receiving. "What can I do for you Fluttershy?"

"Well you see..." Fluttershy started to say but her voice fell to the silence of the room. "Pinkie and I..."

"I will leave this in your capable hooves." Luna said before kissing Dawn on the back of her head and disappearing in a puff of black smoke.

Dawn's back shivered at the absence of the extra body warmth on her back. "Pinkie and you?" Dawn egged on.

"Pinkie and I are engaged!" Fluttershy announced to the room.

"Umm... Congratulations." Dawn said confused as can be.

"When?" April asked, pulling around Fluttershy to look at her face to face.

"That night before the princesses came to sugar cube corner..." Fluttershy clarified in a timid volume. "I purposed to her as we were walking back from Applejack's farm before they came..."

"Oh..." April said in an understanding tone.

"Oh?" asked Dawn. Wait... As Dawn's thoughts sped through her head she had a near overwhelming urge to flea. Her wings flared in response. "I will leave this in 'Your' capable hooves...." Dawn started to say as she charged up a magical escape. April in a feat of grace and speed poked hard at Dawn's horn to stop her from casting magic. "Ow."

"Oh it didn't hurt. You are staying, this is important." April said sternly giving Dawn a look that she would not be disobeying. "Go on Fluttershy, what is wrong?"

"Well... The morning of her first flight lesson I told her I was still excited about it. I thought I knew she was too but then she changed the subject and..." Fluttershy's voice got lost to the void as she stared at the ground between them.

"You were right to come to us. Dawn does that all the time." April said, lending a supporting hoof to Fluttershy's shoulder.

"I do what now?" Dawn asked, she was getting a bad feeling in her stomach.

"Pinkie is still your Pinkie I swear, turning into a princess is just a big deal, just give her time." April said supportively.

"Did this happen to you and Dawn?" Fluttershy asked, peaking up to look at April.

"Yep, I can't get her to talk about anything any more let alone marriage, children, well any bit of our future..." April lost herself in her own thoughts only to snap back when she felt Fluttershy's eyes on her. "I'm not helping..." She admitted. April fell onto her quarters to brainstorm. "Just pin down Pinkie and force her to talk. Get it all out in the blue."

"Pin her down?" Fluttershy gasped.

Dawn had a very bad feeling now she found herself slowly backing up out from the range of April.

"Yeah..." April agreed with herself nodding. "...and just bop her on the horn if she tries to get away using magic." April demonstrated on Dawn who was just a dozen feet away which was easily shorted with a flap of April's wings.

"Umm..." Fluttershy was clearly frightened by the plan April was suggesting. "Thank you for your help..." She said quietly to April, now backing away herself.

"Huh? Yes, no problem Fluttershy, any time." April smiled at a successful deed well done.

Fluttershy darted for the door once her back was turned, letting the creaking door to close itself as she flew down the spiral stairs behind it. April turned around and smiled at Dawn who was now backed up against the block of marble in her tower.

"Is there something you want to talk about, Miss Showers?" Dawn asked, chuckling as she side peddled for a better escape route.

"I was going to wait for awhile to let you mourn your mom but yes." April said now on the approach towards Dawn. "Before you sprouted wings you wanted to adopt foals, get married, move to the outskirts of Canterlot, and live a 'fake' modest life, your words not mine. Now what?" April jumped to the side, cutting Dawn off from the balcony no matter how fast Dawn flew. "I wanna know what I'm getting into with you now?"

"Err..."

"I know you will out live me, and all of Equestria for that matter but I need to know. I think it is only fair."

"Perhaps we should take these one at a time..." Dawn suggested.

"No, you're clearing it all up right now, I tried multiple times to talk to you but we always get interrupted."

"Oh..." Dawn thought back to April leading her around the skies multiple times with no particular destination. "Alright." She said, adopting a professional manner. "Foals scare the living life out of me. You were poisoned the first week of me 'sprouting' these little wings I wouldn't dream of putting a foal through that."

"Okay, so foals are a no?" April asked in a near shrill of surprise as she continued to approach Dawn.

"I don't know..." Dawn admitted as she backed into her desk.

"What about me? Do you want to get married some day? To me?"

Is she asking? Dawn let out a sigh. "I don't mind marrying you. I just didn’t think that was a life you wanted."

"And you decided that did you?" April snapped showing a bite of anger in her voice.

Dawn was stunned into silence. What does she want?

April closed her eyes to take a calming breath. "I'm sure we could get away with moving to the outskirts if we so choose to." April calmly suggested.

"I suppose..."

"You suppose?" April asked, letting a bit of anger show again. She closed her eyes again to clear her mind with tempered breaths. "Whatever you are so scared of I know you can figure something out. Something so amazing, something that bends all of reality to make all our dreams come true. Like our boxes."

"No pressure..." Dawn said to herself. April stepped up to nuzzle Dawn muzzle to muzzle.

"I'm sure 'We' can figure something out." April said before kissing Dawn.

"I suppose I can redirect my research to something more 'useful'." Dawn mumbled to herself. She hadn't thought about doing something that the princesses hadn't thought of yet. Her father's words so long ago never rang truer in Dawn's mind. "What do you want Miss Showers?"

"A lovely little cottage on the outskirts of town. I want to adopt a couple foals of our own. I want you to be happy. I don't care if we get married or not but I do know I want to be with you now and that is not likely to change in my life time."

Dawn closed her eyes as April came in for another kiss. How in the world was she going to give April what she wanted.

-------

"Happy Hearth warming." April cheered.

"Happy Hearth Warming." Dawn mumbled as she walked into their kitchen. Dawn and April had April's old room converted into a full small living quarters inside the castle with kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom the works. For living in a castle, it was modest living. April had a spatula in her mouth. She was flipping eggs and diced potatoes together, which made a sizzling noise after every scrape.

"Hope you're hungry." April said once spitting out the spatula to serve her homemade breakfast. "This is our first Hearth Warming together." April cheered.

"Indeed it is." Dawn said as she surveyed the food laid out in front of her. It was likely a tasteless if not bitter meal but she would eat it all the same, after adding a heavy dose of pepper and salt.

"Do you know how hard it is to shop for a princess? And I bought gifts for four of them this year."

"Yes, well you aren't entirely easy to shop for either." Dawn said indifferently, scooping the predictably tasteless food into her mouth. "What in the world are you doing up so early?" Dawn asked, looking at the preparation April put into the tasteless food.

"I couldn't fall back asleep, I only woke up a hour or so ago." April lied before pushing her food into her own mouth. "And what do you mean shop, you didn't get me anything." April snapped back with a mouth full of food.

Dawn could see that April had woken up hours ago, the kitchen was clean, and the rooms she passed had all the papers that once littered the ground stacked neatly in some matter of organization. All of this time she spent awake cleaning left very little time for actual rest. "I'm thinking it's time you go see a doctor about that." Dawn waved a free hoof at April.

"Yes, yes." April waved Dawn away like she had been for weeks. "I was thinking. Is there any way you can make a house invisible? You know like the temple of serpent dragon?"

"From Daring Doo?" Dawn asked, laughing.

"Hey don't laugh, it would be useful."

"I'll look into it." Dawn said, rolling her eyes.

"Fine knock away my idea."

"You still want to go to Twilight's tonight?"

"You still don't?"

"I suppose it's too late to have a choice."

"Correct."

Dawn sighed as she pushed away her half eaten breakfast. She needed to save room for something tastier. Taste was really the only reason to eat any more, something she had never told April. Dawn thought to herself as April polished off her food.

"Wanna go explore the streets before it gets crowded?" Dawn asked as April grabbed her plate from the table. "Look at the decorations and such."

"Sure..." April tripped on herself again as she turned around, Dawn caught her with her magic. "Thanks"

"You're growing clumsy in your old age my dear." Dawn laughed.

"Am not."

------

Dawn unfolded the void, exposing Dawn and April to a party in full bloom. Twilight's library was garnished with red and green of all shades with the traditional glass wendigos on every spare shelf or exposed surface. Dawn was swiftly swept up in a gruesome hug by her father, lifting her in the air.

"Happy hearth warming." He said before kissing Dawn on her forehead minding her sharp horn.

"That it is." Dawn said with a forced smile.

Sturdy Shield set down Dawn and swept up April with the same greeting she received. "How are you my dear?"

"Same old same old." April said, gasping for breath from Dawn's dad's vice like hug.

The library was populated with a few choice ponies of Ponyville, ponies Dawn had come to know as Twilight and Trixie's family, the other princesses and of course Metal. Pinkie was talking a thousand miles a second to, what she now accepted as her mother. Celestia was soaking in every second of the mare's words that just bled out with no consequence or for that matter order.

"I haven't seen you all day." Luna said as she snuck up form behind to Dawn, taking advantage of her full moon size, she wrapped Dawn in her forelegs. "I hate Celly's political parties."

"I'm glad I wasn't there." Dawn said with earnest enthusiasm.

"Me too, it was horrid." Luna nuzzled Dawn again from behind. "I went and did something I have never done before and bought a gift, which was more taxing than I thought it would be."

"Oh?"

Luna teleported a small pink book lined with green cloth on the binding. "It's a diary, I know you don't keep one but it is a good way to remember the ponies you care about."

It was a simple gesture that meant the world to both them in their own way. "Thank you Luna." Dawn said before returning a nuzzle to Luna, which was a rare treat for the Mare of the Night.

Dawn leafed through the blank pages of the book taking in the smell of bound paper before teleporting it on top of her desk back in her tower.

"I got something for you too." Dawn said, walking out of Luna's embrace, she teleported a wrapped box addressed to Luna in front of its receipt.

Luna unwrapped the box to pull out a wooden board that had four glass globes set into it and a small book. Inside the globes, one could see small beginnings of a plants set into the wood. Luna cocked her head as she attempted to decipher what the gift was. "What is it?" She asked when her curiosity finally peaked.

"They're enchanted plants. In that book it tells you how to set the plants to a pony. The plants will grow parallel to the pony, so you could set one of them to me and it will grow in a unique way that is unique to me."

"I see." Luna said, studying the tiny plants sprouted out of the wood.

"They're magical, so you don't need to water them or anything."

"You made this just for me?"

"Yep."

After another loving nuzzle, Luna ran to Celestia presumably to show her the gift she gave her. Dawn searched the room; it would seem her family gave her a wide birth to exchange gifts with Luna as her dad and April were now sitting on the opposite side of the room with her brother and a few other choice ponies.

"Marry Hearths warming." Twilight cheered behind Dawn.

"Marry Hearths Warming..." Dawn mumbled back.

"I made you something. Something to add to your collection." Twilight said, levitating two books over to her one smaller than the other. "The small one is how to make those boxes you made. I fixed the enchantment, which was no easy task but it's still a very advanced spell. I already gave the originals back to April already. The bigger one is all my spells in bound form." Twilight chuckled.

"Getting fancy on me Twilight." Dawn laughed.

"Yep, made you and Celestia a copy. New editions will be sure to come out in the future." Twilight cheered to herself.

"I'll let you discover my gift on your own. Helpful hint though. It has something to do with this poor mutilated tree." Dawn said, stomping her hoof on the floor below her before, leaving Twilight to ponder by herself.

"So Dawn, when are you going to marry this filly?" Dawn's father asked as Dawn sat down to join her family. April shrunk in place, hinting what they were talking about before she joined them.

"Gosh I don't know. How's Tuesday?" Dawn asked, rolling her eyes. "When are you gonna get married?" Dawn asked, turning her attention to Metal across the table. He had a wing wrapped around Sweetie Belle.

Metal coughed up what he was drinking, spraying it all over his free wing that was covering his mouth out of reflex. Sweetie Belle blushed a deep red.

"My little sister will not be getting married before me!" Rarity proclaimed from behind Dawn.

"Best get cracking then." Dawn laughed as she studied Metal's reaction to all this.

"My boy is too young to be getting married." Dawn's father said sternly. "But you Honey Buns are not getting any younger."

"Yep nor any older." Dawn sighed.

"Why am I too young to get married?" Metal protested.

Rarity and Dawn's father erupted in a hurried and hilarious list of reasons causing both of their voices to go course.

"I think you two should get married just to spite them." Dawn suggested while giggling, only to receive a quick jab from April. Rarity and Dawn's father cut their list of reasons short to give Dawn a glare of disapproval. A thick silence grew across on the table as no pony wanted to touch the previous subject again.

The silence was only broken with a ringing of some glass that bought the attention of everypony in the library. Twilight was standing on the stair case with a glass from a near by table and a spoon hovering nearby. Trixie was standing slightly behind Twilight wearing a grin that would send shivers up Dawn's spine if not for Twilight's smile which was just calming to see.

"I thought it would be a good time to tell everypony, my friends and family, about our good ne...

"We're getting some foals! FINALLY!" Trixie interrupted Twilight. Pinkie was the first to cheer loudly in celebration the rest of the library followed.

When the cheering and clopping slowed to a hush Twilight elaborated. "We finally got approved with the help of Celestia and were going down to the orphanage in a couple weeks to pick up twin foals just under a year old." Twilight said happily. "Once the paper work reaches them." She added, rolling her eyes.

"Whoo Hooo!" Pinkie Pie cheered, taking flight, spinning around near the ceiling. "I'm gonna be Auntie Pinkie!"

Rarity face hoofed as she watched the pink alicorn swirl around. "I fear for future generations under her rule."

"Luna says she is a lot like Celestia at rare times." Dawn laughed before springing to the air to join Pinkie in a flight around the Library. After a dozen or so cycles they both landed side by side.

"So much happy news!" Pinkie shrilled out of excitement, her tail shivered with her voice.

"What else did I miss?"

"Your brother silly."

"My brother?"

"Yah! He's getting married!"

"What?" Shrilled the table across the room.

"Oh wait that hasn't happened yet." Pinkie whispered to Dawn. "Oopsy."

"Oopsy?" Dawn repeated as the library grew quite. All eyes were on either Pinkie or the couple on the other side of the room.

"Well he was going to tell everypony but everypony made fun of the idea before he could even announce it." Sweetie Belle said nervously as the rest of the room's eyes turned to the cream colored mare.

There wasn't enough time for the room to react to see Dawn sweep across the floor to pick up her brother in a hug mirroring her mother's brutality. "Congratulations." Dawn picked up her soon to be sister-in-law with her own magic and brought her into their mid air hug. "How exciting!" She cheered.

Dawn put down her brother and his soon to be wife, the room was of mixed emotions but for the most part it was jubilant for the young couple. She backed away as Dawn's father took her place to whisper something to the couple. What he whispered could only be guessed at.

Turning around to face a mare who was hopping up and down. "Pinkie, how did you find out before everypony else?" Dawn asked letting her curiosity best her excitement for the moment.

"I don't know..." Pinkie replied elongating her words playfully. "I just did." She concluded.

"But you said it didn't happen yet." Dawn said approaching her cousin to study, her curiosity besting many other emotions.

"It just did, silly."

"Pinkie sense!" Twilight exclaimed meeting Dawn's pace to approach the pink alicorn.

"Ohh, could be..." Pinkie said playfully feigning about thinking about it, bring a hoof to her chin while scrunching up her brow in the strain of it all.

"She always has had these premonitions ever since I met her. I tried to explain it through scientific observation but I never imagined she was Celestia's daughter..."

"It will be fun experimenting with your magic..." Dawn said slyly.

"Wait she has a unique magic like yours?" Twilight asked, daunted by the idea.

"Possibly..." Never before has time been predicted before. A new kind of magic... Dawn thought to herself.

"Listen girls we should be celebrating not studying little ol' me."

Dawn reluctantly agreed. She would have all the time in the world to sate her curiosity. She turned around to see the entire group of ponies, save for the princesses and Twilight gather around Metal and Sweetie Belle to offer their congratulations.

"It's gonna suck to move out of this tree." Twilight commented to Dawn as she turned around herself.

"Dawny, you didn't show her?" Pinkie asked, poking a hoof in Dawn's side.

"It's been here for days I was hoping she would discover it herself."

"Discover what?"

"The thing I did to this poor tree." Dawn answered petting the floor like soothing an injured animal.

"What did you do?"

Pinkie lit up her magic briefly teleporting them to a room just out of ear shot of the party. Twilight blinked harshly as she looked around at her new surroundings. She was for a lack of a better word in a nursery if not a full fledged bedroom for two.

"I'm rather surprised on how little you go behind your tree Twilight. I coaxed the tree to grow another room for you. This room has been here for days, almost a week in fact." Dawn announced to the room filled with dolls and toys of all sorts. "What is also impressive is you didn't notice the hallway leading to the room or for that matter the rooms and along that."

"I don't have to move?" Twilight asked as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates.

"Isn't great?" Pinkie cheered, hopping around a dumbstruck Twilight.

"Pinkie distracted you as I built it." Dawn said, pointing to the door leading to the hallway which would end near the party. They all walked down it as Dawn showed the new bathroom, shelves, and closet.

Twilight jumped at Dawn, wrapping a hoof around her tight. "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem my dear. You've been a good friend to me all I can do to return the favor."

Much thanks for the pleasent expeience, i enjoyed myself for the most part. Many cheer for sdrawkcab eip eikniP.

Comments

[Vengeance383]

So you're not going to post the next story ever? Or are you just waiting?

[Didily Winkles]

Thought it over a game of LoL, it never happened. The earth king invites you to Lake Laogai....

[Flutter_Shy]

its over???
but i loved it soo much, you have to do a sequel

[Vinyl Scratch Jr.]

but but but i love this story..... please say there's going to be a sequel

[Terra Tithorea]

Overall a great story, but Princess Pinkie. Equestria is doomed.

[Jagged Fox]

2121681 ARE YOU KIDDING?! Princess Pinkie means CHOCOLATE RAIN!!!!!!!!

[Jagged Fox]

2097743 The author isn't a brony anymore, so sequels won't exist. Of course, you could try writing one.

[Spirit Wind]

Honestly, after I read this... I didn't see the conflict at all. It was just about a teen who struck out on her own and just happened to fall in with the powerful of Equestria. What else was there? Did I miss something? Honestly, this was very close to a Mary Sue character that I've seen. There was a vs. Self conflict here, but it didn't last long enough to be worth anything.

[PinkiePieCupCakeSlayer]

Hm.. Seen this around! Time to give it a chance ^.^. Although, should I? The author doesn't like MLP anymore, which, in a sense, means he didn't really like the show in the first place, just seemed cool at first. Kinda like an infatuation, if you will. Then again, it is for my entertainment, so it doesn't matter I guess.

[booman980]

pinkie with magic is so scairy
GREAT story hope for some more of this masterpiece soon

[American_agent12]

MORE :P

[PersonalGamer]

The ending leaves a lot of loose ends(could argue the plot wasn't wrapped up); and the story could use an editor to go through it.

It's a shame, because there were a lot of good things going for it. But there was a critical failure to continue developing plot, which had multiple plausible developments already included.

[Mare Imbrium]

Oh. It just... ends. Well okay.

Dawn is fun, if a bit awkward, so this was a pleasant enough read. In still curious how everyone would react to Twilight ascending after all of this.

[33]

Nice story!