Pinning the Heart

by Random_User

First published 2nd of December, 2018

With Twilight holding court, more and more ponies come to visit Ponyville. Royal Pin, the only tailor in Ponyville, has too much business to handle by himself. When he hires help to ease the pressure, he finds a partner in business and love.

With Twilight holding court, more and more ponies come to visit Ponyville. Royal Pin, the only tailor in Ponyville, has too much business to handle by himself. When he hires help to ease the pressure, at the suggestion of Rarity, he finds a partner in business and love.

Chapter 1

After penning the last entry into my work calendar, I added the final work order to an overstuffed folder.

“I never thought business would get good enough for me to not keep up with it all,” I muttered to myself. “If this keeps up, I'm going to have to learn to live without sleeping at all.”

The shop’s bell ringing drew my attention to the door. “What can I do for you today?”

Filthy Rich smiled and gestured to the suits on his back. “You forgot about my appointment didn’t you?”

I looked back down at my calendar. “Does it count that I remembered it if I wrote it down?”

“Not quite.” He looked around the shop. “Your inventory is getting a little low.”

“You're being kind. The place is looking barren. I’ve had so many special orders lately I haven’t had time to make anything for display sales.” I tapped my hoof on the calendar. “About the time I clear this thing off, it fills right back up.”

Rich nodded towards the calendar. “Do you mind if I have a look?”

I spun the calendar so it faced him. “Go ahead. I never write a client's name in this.” I levitated the suits from him. “Let me put these in the back and I’ll be right with you.”

I went into the back of the shop, put the suits away, and pulled my supplies together.

As I was retrieving my file on Filthy Rich's measurements and a list of past purchases, his voice came from the front, “From what I can tell, and I'm not a specialist in tailoring, you will be working some very long hours for a while.” There was a pause, before he asked, “You sure you can do all of this on your own?”

I returned to the storefront with the items I needed. “I'm sure I can do it. It will be rough, I won't lie, but I'll push through.” I levitated Rich's file to the countertop. “Would you like to step into the changing room?”

Rich waved a hoof in dismissal. “Here is fine.”

“This will just take a couple of minutes.” I noticed, as I jotted down his new measurements, that he had lost weight. “Now I see why you needed those alterations. Are you training for the Running of the Leaves too?”

He snorted. “I hardly have time to sit down anymore, much less eat. With Princess Twilight opening court and drawing more ponies to town, I'm constantly having to work with my suppliers to make sure that the store remains stocked.”

“I thought Spoiled helped you with that.”

“She has been helping me keep up with the store, but she also has been spending more time with Diamond Tiara. Diamond shocked her and me both, the other day with some things she did at school. We've even been thinking about hiring an associate manager to help with the business.” He looked around the shop again. “Consider getting help yourself. Celestia knows, you could use it.”

I rolled up the measuring tape and placed it on the counter. “I'm managing well enough on my own.”

“Pin, you should be doing more than just 'managing'.” Rich pointed a hoof towards my calendar. “You have one lunch scheduled for the month, and that's with Rarity. If you two are still holding to your agreement, your conversation will be limited to niceties, business, and, knowing Rarity, some gossip.”

I chuckled, as I put my tablet down beside Rich's file. “Are you Filthy Rich, the stallion that is known for working till he falls asleep at his desk, or do I need to call one of the Guard because I have a changeling impersonating my friend?”

“I haven’t fallen asleep at my desk in a long time. I have Spoiled and Diamond now. The business is great, but it’s not the most important thing in my life. They are.” He locked eyes with me. “Not too long ago somepony suggesting that I should hire help to run the shop so I could have a little time to myself would have made me laugh. Now, I’m not only considering it, I’m wondering where the best place to advertise the position is.”

The seriousness of his tone took me aback. “Rich, I’m sorry, I meant nothing I said as an insult.”

The intense look faded, and Rich’s smile returned. “I never thought you had. I’m just worried that you’re making the same mistake I did.” He nodded towards the door. “Speaking of doing something other than work, you need to get out of here.”

“I appreciate you trying to get me out of the shop, but I can’t. I have too much to do this afternoon.”

“Now I am worrying about you. You’re not a pony that forgets things. Look at your calendar again. If you run, you can still make it.”

I looked at the calendar. After reading the day’s entry, I smacked my forehead with a hoof. “I can't believe I forgot! If I’m late, she’ll have my tail!”

*****

With seconds to spare, I sat down across from Rarity. I was grateful that The Grazing Meadow was an open air cafe. The breeze felt wonderful, and my rushed arrival did not disturb anypony else.

“Darling, there was no need to run. You're allowed to be fashionable late occasionally.” After taking a sip and putting her teacup down, Rarity shook her head. “Poor thing, you're still panting. Have you been doing too much getting ready for the Running of the Leaves?”

After taking a gulp from my glass of water, I answered, “It's not just the run, I'm drained from using my magic non-stop for hours the last few days.”

“I know that feeling all too well. I hope you don’t mind, I ordered your usual for you.”

“Thanks.” I took another swallow from my glass. “I didn't mean to cut it so close, I was talking with Rich about the shop.”

“How is he? I haven’t seen him in ages.”

“He’s busy, just like everypony else these days, thanks to Twilight holding court.”

“I never thought I would see high fashion come to Ponyville.” Rarity looked down the road, towards Twilight’s castle. “Twilight has changed this town so much; there are moments I don’t even recognize it.”

“While having more business is good, I could do without all the disasters she seems to bring with her.”

“A little excitement never hurt anypony. Besides, it gives us an excuse to break the routine now and then. Speaking of which, is everything at the shop okay?”

I hesitated; long enough for her catch it.

“Pin, whatever it is you’re about to say, don’t lie. If you need help, just ask.”

“While that is generous of you, I‘m going to push through it.” I smiled, as she rolled her eyes at my joke.

“Is it getting that bad?”

“I’m the only tailor and haberdasher in town. While that’s great for business, it’s not so wonderful for having time for anything else. Rich took one look at my inventory, or lack thereof, and suggested that I hire somepony to help out.”

Horte Cuisine bringing our meals caused us to hold our conversation. After he left, I immediately put fork to my salad. Rarity did not make a move to eat, but silently studied me. After a few seconds of her doing nothing but stare at me, I felt self-conscious. “Do I have lettuce on my face or something?” I kept my mouth closed and ran my tongue across my teeth. “Or is it stuck somewhere?”

She shook her head. “You look fine. I was just thinking.”

“Dare I ask?”

After finishing a dainty spoonful of her soup, she said, “I’ve been a little overworked here lately myself. Managing both of my boutiques is proving to be more time consuming than I thought it would be, and I finished up another commission for Sapphire Shores.”

“Congratulations. I’m sure she will love your designs.”

“Thank you. I’m taking Sweetie Belle with me on the trip to deliver the outfits to Sapphire in Canterlot. We'll be leaving in two days. Sweetie has been asking to go on one of my trips, and Sapphire asked if Sweetie would be with me when I delivered the outfits. I simply couldn't disappoint both of them.”

“That must get you some points with Sweetie, being friends with one of the biggest pop stars right now.”

“I can’t say it hurts.” Rarity dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin, wiping away an imaginary bit of food. “After I square everything away with Sapphire, I was going to do a little Equestia hopping to find inspiration for my next line. I’m planning on taking Sweetie with me. I’ll admit, I have not been spending the time with her I should. I hope that this trip will help make up for it a little.”

“Sounds like you’ll be gone for a while.”

“We’ll be away most of the summer. We might swing through on the way to another city to see everypony and check in on things, but we’ll be away far more than we’ll be here.”

“Do you need somepony to watch the shop? I can check on it every day.”

“Thanks for the offer, but it won’t be necessary. A friend of mine needed a place to stay till she finds her next position. I offered for her to stay at my place in exchange for her keeping care of Opal and the shop.” Rarity put aside her empty soup bowl. “I thought that you might want to ask her if she would be interested in helping you with your shop too. It would work well for both of you.”

“What does she do? I’m interested, but I don’t really need a book keeper or anything like that. I need help with making stallions' formal wear.”

“She is a costume designer. The theater group she is working for in Manehatten is taking time off to relax before their next production and she needed something to tide her over till they required her skills again. I offered for her to stay at my place and keep the shop open, but the orders I have been getting from Canterlot have been keeping me busy enough as it is. You would do her and me both a favor if you would let her help you rather than keeping the shop open and taking more orders while Sweetie and I are on our trips.”

I chewed the last bite of my salad and mulled the idea over.

“She's coming in this afternoon. We could come by your shop later so you can meet her.”

I nodded and swallowed. “I could use the help. Even if things don’t work out, it can’t be any worse than the last time I got ‘help’ around the shop.”

Rarity laughed. “I can assure you, nothing like that will happen.”

*****

The shop, though still having too many empty spaces on the shelves and racks, was as neat I could make it. I cleaned myself up too, but held off wearing clothing. As much as I wanted to give a good first impression, I did not want her to think me the stereotypical arrogant and conceited Canterlot unicorn.

To keep to the front of the shop and still be productive, while waiting for Rarity and her friend to arrive, I started a list of items that needed to be restocked. Having help around the shop looked more and more appealing as I added item upon item to the list.

The door's bell rang, and I turned to greet my guests. Seeing Rarity’s friend, I froze.

“It is nice to know you appreciate having two beautiful mares enter your store. However, a gentlecolt should never stare,” Rarity said, gracefully breaking the silence.

Inwardly thanking her, I slipped into my best manners. “I apologize. My store is not often graced by such fair patrons.” I bowed to them and lowered my eyes to the floor. “How can I be of service?”

Rarity giggled. “First, you can stop the sweeping and bowing, and then I would like you to step over here so I can introduce the two of you.”

Following Rarity’s suggestions, I put down my list and made my way over to them.

“Coco, this is Royal Pin,” Rarity said. “Pin, this lovely mare is Coco Pommel,”

I smiled and held out my hoof. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Coco returned my smile and took my hoof in a solid shake. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Darling, I hate to ask, but may I step into the back for a moment?” Rarity said.

“Treat this like your home.”

“You’re too kind. I’ll just be a moment.”

I turned back to Coco. “I would like you to do the same. If you decide that you want the job, we’ll be spending a lot of time together. I would like you to be as comfortable as possible while you’re here. What is mine is yours.”

Her smile brightened. “Thank you. You have a very nice place.”

“I am afraid you're not seeing it at its best. It’s in need of more items on the shelves for it to look like it usually does.”

“Is that what you were working on when we came in?”

I nodded. “There’s more work to do than I realized. I can't tell you how much having you here is going to help.”

Rarity stuck her head around the frame of the door that led to the back. “Pin, sorry to interrupt, but can I see you for a moment? It seems your facilities are low on inventory as well.”

“Sorry about that.” I levitated the parchment to Coco. “If you would like to look over what I have written down so far, please do. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as I stepped into the back, Rarity waved me further down the hall. I quickly and quietly went to her.

“Pin, what's wrong?” she asked, under her breath. “Why did you freeze like that?”

I motioned for her to follow me and led her to my workroom. I pointed to the second workspace I had set up for Coco. “Everything is all wrong!” I whispered, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. “I can’t let her see things like this!”

Rarity looked at the room for a moment. She turned back with a confused expression. “What are you talking about? Everything is arranged perfectly.”

“For a unicorn, it is.”

She looked back into the room. After a moment, her eyes widened and she gasped.

“Rarity, I swear to Celestia and Luna both, I didn’t do it on purpose! I didn’t even think about it! I set things up the way I would have them. Had I thought about it, it wouldn't be like this! You know I don't thin-” She put her hoof over my mouth, stopping my frantic words.

“Dear, I know such a thing would never cross your mind.” She gently touched her horn to mine. “Take a deep breath and calm down. Go back out and talk to her before she wonders what is going on. I’ll be there in a minute. I’ll take care of this.”

“May the Sisters bless you, Rarity.”

I returned to the front, taking the brief time to travel the hall to compose myself. As I stepped through the doorway, Coco regarded me with a curious look. “Is everything okay?”

“The bathroom down stairs had run out of soap. I had to go upstairs and grab some.” I smiled out of embarrassment and nervousness. “I’m afraid that I’m not giving a good first impression.”

“I’m sure that if you weren’t so busy something like that wouldn’t happen.”

“I'll be honest, I'm beyond busy. I'm swamped. It's almost to where I'll have to turn clients away to make sure I can meet my deadlines.”

She grinned. “It so happens that I'll have a clear calendar in the next couple of days.”

“That is exactly why I wanted you two to meet,” Rarity said, as she joined us again. “Pin runs a well maintained and organized business. When he told me that things had been getting out of hoof for him, I thought the two of you could help each other.” She looked at the list Coco was holding. “Is he already putting you to work?” Rarity looked at me askance and raised her nose into the air. “Here I thought you a gentlecolt, and have even been saying so to Coco, and it turns out you are nothing but an uncouth, ill-mannered lout,” she said with mock indignation.

I put a hoof to my chest. “You cut me to the quick. Allow me the opportunity to prove to you I possess some measure of civility by providing you two lovely ladies with a meal.”

Rarity, nose still in the air, replied, “If you would include my sister in the outing, then I would entertain the idea.”

“She is welcome to join us.”

Rarity turned to Coco. “Excuse me, I have overstepped myself. I did not mean to speak for you. If you do not wish to give this ruffian a chance to redeem himself, then the whole affair is off.”

Coco drew herself up into a regal posture. “All ponies err. So long as they recognize their transgressions, and they set to never repeat them, they should be granted the opportunity to atone.” She regarded me with a look that caused me to stand taller. “I trust that if I afford you such a chance you would not squander it.”

Her manner and voice held all the nobility that a mare of one of the high houses would have possessed, and it struck something in me. Instinctively, I bowed to her. “I will do all in my power to earn your forgiveness.”

Coco's giggling broke the mood. “I guess those old acting lessons stuck with me better than I thought.”

“If you would be as so kind, could you show her where she will work?” Rarity said.

I rose back up. “Right this way.”

Rarity had arranged everything perfectly for Coco. The items that I had put in inconvenient places or on distant shelves had been placed so they were within hoof reach. As I explained where things were, and answered the couple of questions that Coco had, my stomach rolled every time I saw the worktable.

After showing Coco around the rest of the shop, I led them back to the door.

“When should I pick you up?”

Rarity shook her head. “Tonight would not be a good night. Coco still needs to get settled, and I still have a lot to do before the trip. Would you mind terribly if we get together some other time?”

“I wouldn't mind at all. It will give me something to look forward to.”

“Take care of yourself and don't work too hard.” Rarity waved, guided Coco out of the shop, and pulled the door shut behind them.

After flipping the shop’s sign to closed, I walked behind the counter and sunk down so that my chin rested on the countertop. “I can't believe I did something so idiotic. I know better than that!” I thumped myself on the side of head with a hoof.

After taking a minute to breathe and calm down, I got back on my hooves. “I made a mistake. Best thing I can do is learn from it and move on.” I forced a smile and opened my calendar back up. “Now, let's see when I might be able to squeeze in a meal with them in the next couple of days.”

*****

“Come on, third time’s the charm.” Using what little focus and control I had left, I tried to get the thread to go through the center of the needle's eye. I pushed the end of the thread against the side of the eye, causing strands of the thread to splay in a variety of directions. Muttering obscenities, I put the needle and thread down. “That’s it. I’m officially too tired.”

A knock on the back door singled that somepony was visiting as a friend rather than a customer. “I'll be right there!” After getting myself to my hooves, I made my way to the store's rear entrance and opened it. I was surprised to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the back stoop.

“Good gravy! What happened?! You look like a timberwolf chewed on you!”

“Hello to you too, Apple Bloom.”

Sweetie Belle poked Apple Bloom on the shoulder. “You shouldn't say something like that to anypony!”

“I was just being honest!”

“That's your sister's thing, not yours. You're supposed to be polite.”

Doing my best to ignore the argument between the other two, I turned to the third filly and asked, “How have you been?”

Scootaloo grinned. “Not too bad. I hate to say it, but Apple Bloom's right. You look like you got into a fight with Bulk Biceps.”

I sighed. “I haven’t been sleeping much lately.”

“Looks like for about a week,” Apple Bloom stage whispered to Sweetie Belle.

“Apple Bloom!” Sweetie said, giving her another poke.

“It's just been a day and a half, I'll have you know. Using as much magic as I have been doesn't help.”

“You look like Twilight when she's been studying and experimenting too much,” Sweetie Belle said.

I chuckled, despite my best efforts to hold it in. “Hopefully, I won't have any break downs as spectacular as hers. What can I do for you three?”

“Rarity wanted us to stop by and give this to you.” Sweetie Belle pulled an envelope from her saddlebags and gave it to me.

“Thank you.” I took the envelope, opened it, and scanned the letter.

“Well? What does it say?” asked Scootaloo.

“It says that my plans for dinner have been made and that I should get a nap in before this evening.”

“You datin' Rarity?” said Apple Bloom.

I could not help but glance at Sweetie Belle, who had a look of excitement. “No, I'm not. It's just a business dinner that I am having with Rarity and a friend of hers. I felt horrible as Sweetie Belle's ears folded back. “Well, I guess it will not be strictly a business dinner. Sweetie will be eating with us too.”

“So, you don't like Rarity?” asked Scootaloo.

“Rarity and I are good friends, but we're not right for each other romantically.”

“Why not?” she pressed.

I sighed. “It's complicated.”

“That's what all grown-ups say when they don't want to want to talk about something,” Sweetie huffed. “Come on, girls. Let's get out of here.” Sweetie did not wait for a response and walked away.

“Hey! That's not cool! Wait a second!” Scootaloo ran to catch up with her.

“What's got her tail in a knot?” Apple Bloom said.

“Remember when you three tried to get Big Mac and Cheerillee together for Hearts and Hooves Day?”

Apple Bloom flinched and turned back. “Kinda hard to forget.”

“Sweetie tried getting me and Rarity together a while back.”

“Thin's didn't work out?”

“The long and the short of it was that, after one 'date', we remained friends and nothing more. Sweetie thinks there is still some kind of chance for the two of us.”

She gave me an encouraging smile. “Maybe you two could give it another go.?”

I tried to give a decent smile back. “Rarity made it clear where we stood. The two of us will just have to look for our special someponies a little longer.”

Apple Bloom's grin gained a mischievous aspect to it. “You wouldn't happen to like hard workin', apple farmin' mares with blond manes would you? My sister needs a coltfriend somethin' fierce.”

Chapter 2

“I know that look,” Berry Punch said, from behind the shop's counter. “You have no clue what to get. That's not like you.”

“I've been hearing that a lot here lately,” I said, not taking my eyes off the wine rack in front of me. “If I were buying for me, I wouldn't be having such a hard time.”

“You're not buying for yourself? What's the occasion?”

“I'm taking dinner over to Rarity’s tonight.” I glanced at Berry. “It's strictly a business dinner, so don’t get too excited. Sweetie and another pony will be eating with us.”

Berry deflated a little. “You're no fun. I don't even get to gossip.” She stepped from behind the counter. “I know Rarity's favorites.” She gestured toward a Chenin Blanc. “You can't go wrong with that one.”

“Light, sweet, refined,” I said, picking the bottle up with a hoof. I winced when I saw the price. “On the expensive side too. That fits her.”

“You broke house rule number one: don't whine about the prices of the wine. I only carry the best.”

“I know, and that's what I tell everypony.”

“And I appreciate that, so I forgive you this time. What do you know about the other pony?”

“Not much at all. I only met her once, and we didn't talk for long.”

Berry's ears perked to full attention. “Her?”

“Berry, focus please. Help me find the right wine first. You can dig for dirt later.”

“I'll take that as permission to gossip.”

“If it makes you happy, you may gossip all you want. Getting my name in ponies' minds might bring them to the shop.” Realizing what I said, I winced. “Scratch that. You can't say a thing. I'm overworked as it is.”

“Too late, I'm holding you to your word. Consider it the price for my expertise.”

I sighed. “Fine. You get me the right wine, and you can gossip.”

“That's what I wanted to hear.” Berry bumped me with her shoulder. “Give me something to work with. What does she do? What was your general impression? Did something about her stick out to you? Anything you can think of.”

“She's a costume designer visiting here till her acting group starts their next production or she finds another job.”

“She works in the theater. That's a start.” Berry motioned with a hoof for me to give her more information.

“She's had acting lessons. The other night, she acted like a lady from the high houses and did a convincing job of it.”

Berry smiled and nodded. “I have just the wine.” She moved down the row and pulled a bottle of red wine from the shelves. “It's a strong mulled wine that has a heavy body and rich, but artful, after tones.” She gave the bottle to me. “Just remember, warm it up for it to have its full flavor.”

I looked the bottle's label over. “This is from the Crystal Empire.”

“It came back when the Empire did, so it's from the right period.”

“Berry, you're a marvel.” I turned the bottle, looking it over. “There isn't a price on it.”

“What did I say about prices?”

“I'm not complaining. I'm just pointing out there isn’t a tag on it.”

“Tell you what; I'll sell you two bottles at my cost. In return, you come back and tell me how the wine was and how the night went.”

“I will. But you will be disappointed. It's not a date.”

“Maybe not, but I think your mystery mare has made an impression on you.”

“Her name is Coco Pommel. What do you mean she 'made an impression'?”

Berry gave me a smug smile. “What is her Cutie Mark of?”

“It’s a purple hat with a red feather.”

“What color are her coat and mane?”

“She has a cream coat and light blue mane that has a streak of paler blue in the center. What does that-?”

“What color are her eyes?”

“They’re blue, with white flecks around the irises. What are you-”

Berry held up a hoof, silencing me. “When was the last time you paid attention to a mare to where you could memorize that many details, much less in a short time frame?” Berry asked.

I could not come up with an answer.

Berry's smile grew. “I bet you liked her voice too.”

“I did,” I admitted.

“You better come back tomorrow, to tell me what happened, or I will spread gossip of the juiciest sort.” Berry poked me in the chest. “And I'll start by talking to Rarity.”

“Tomorrow! I'll come by tomorrow!”

*****

After taking a steadying breath, I knocked on the door to Carousel Boutique. A short time passed, and the door opened.

“Hello,” Sweetie greeted me.

“Good evening.”

“Rarity isn't here right now. She went to pick something up at Sugar Cube Corner and hasn't made it back.”

“I bet Pinkie has her tangled up.”

Sweetie nodded. “That's what I was thinking. She's probably asking Rarity a million questions about what's going on.”

“I will have to answer a million questions of my own tomorrow.”

“To who?”

“Berry Punch.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “She and Rarity gossip all the time.”

“I’ll do my best to keep you out of it.”

“Don’t worry. Rarity will tell her about whatever goes on tonight.” Sweetie Belle looked at the bag balanced on my back and my saddlebags. “That’s a lot of stuff. What did you bring?”

“Dinner is in the bag on my back. The saddlebags have wine for after dinner.”

“Oh,” Sweetie said, seeming crestfallen. “Rarity never lets me try any of hers. She says 'when you’re older' every time I ask.”

“This was going to be a surprise for after dinner, but I think I'll give it to you now.” I turned my head and, using my magic, opened one pouch of my saddlebags. I floated a bottle to her and turned it so she could see the label. “I didn't want to leave you out and asked for a little help. Berry said you would like this.”

Sweetie looked up from the bottle of sparkling apple cider. “This is the stuff that Apple Bloom’s cousin makes! It’s great!”

“How nice of you to think of Sweetie. It makes me feel bad, having called you all those nasty things the other night.”

I looked over my shoulder, towards the source of the voice. “Good evening, Rarity.”

“Good evening.” Rarity looked past me. “Sweetie Belle, what do you say?”

Sweetie took the bottle from my magical hold. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Sweetie turned and entered the boutique. “I’ll put this in the refrigerator.”

I stepped aside, bowed slightly to Rarity, and motioned towards the door. “Mares first.”

“You’re too kind.”

As Rarity went past, I took the cake box she was carrying from her back. “I’ve got that.”

Following Rarity into the kitchen, I asked, “Where would you like everything?”

“The counter is fine,” Rarity said. “Sweetie, would you be a dear and help set the table?”

“Can I use my magic?”

Rarity grimaced. “Tonight may not be the best night for something like that.”

“I promise I won't put any forks into the ceiling again.”

I looked up, scanning for holes. “You put forks into the ceiling?”

“Just two, Rarity said we had to stop after the second one.”

“I wish I could have seen that,” Coco said, as she entered the kitchen. She looked up towards the ceiling too. “I don't see any marks.”

“I haven’t found any,” I said.

“There aren’t any now,” Rarity said, in a controlled but unamused tone. “I've gotten good at a couple of repairing spells.”

Taking the hint, I stopped my search. “You can help me get everything unpacked, Sweetie.”

Rarity and Coco set the table while Sweetie and I got the meals and side items unpacked.

After transferring the last meal from its container to a plate, I looked at the table. Rarity and Coco had arranged things so that there were two sets of silverware on opposite sides of the table. “Who is sitting where?”

Rarity grinned, looking like a cat who had just caught a mouse. “What a dilemma for a gentlecolt to face. Which lady will he sit beside?”

Feeling I was being teased and tested in equal parts, I glanced back and forth between Coco and Rarity. “It would be wrong for me to choose. I don't want to hurt anypony's feelings.”

Rarity shook her head. “You're the guest and brought the meal, it's only proper for you to choose who will sit beside you. I assure you, nopony will hold your choice against you.”

“If that is the case, then I have made my choice.” I walked over to the table, pulled out a chair, and then held out my hoof to Sweetie Belle. “Would you grant me the pleasure of having you sit beside me?”

Sweetie Belle gave Rarity a wicked smile, then turned to me and said, “I would be glad to.”

As I helped Sweetie into her chair, Coco covered her mouth with a hoof and giggled.

“That's not at all what I had in mind,” Rarity muttered.

*****

“Pinkie outdid herself on that one,” I said putting down my fork. “Thank you, Rarity, for getting the cake.”

“You're welcome.”

I gathered the plates from the table.

Sweetie hopped down from her seat. “Can I help clean up?”

I shrugged. “Sure, if you want to.”

“Can I use my magic?”

“That's up to your sister.”

Sweetie looked to Rarity.

Rarity gave Sweetie an uneasy smile. “Why don't we wait until another time for you to try?”

“Twilight said I need to use my magic as much as I can so I can get better at controlling it.”

“I know, Sweetie, but you don't have enough control right now to help with something like this.”

Sweetie pouted. “How can I get better if you don't let me practice?”

“Maybe I can help?”

The three of us unicorns stared at Coco, who smiled back sheepishly.

“You can teach me to levitate stuff?” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “I thought only unicorns could do stuff like that.”

“Sweetie, that's quite rude,” Rarity said, her tone sharp.

“Earth ponies can move things using magic,” I said. “They do it all the time.”

Sweetie gave me a look. “I haven’t seen any pony but a unicorn levitate something.”

“It may not have been levitation, but you've seen an earth pony use magic to move things tonight.” I nodded towards the table. “Coco picked up her silverware with her hooves, right?”

“Yeah,” Sweetie said, looking unconvinced.

I held up a hoof, showing it to her. “Ponies don't have things like a minotaur's fingers to pick stuff up. We have to use a kind of magic to hold and manipulate items with our hooves.”

Sweetie's ears shot up. “I remembered something from school! Unicorn horns and hooves are made of the same stuff!”

“Exactly.” I tapped a hoof against my horn. “Horns allow unicorns to focus magic outside our bodies. Magic flows into a pegasus' wings and gives them the ability to fly. Earth ponies hold their magic inside until they touch something with their hooves. When they do, they can connect with it much more than a unicorn or pegasus.”

With a look of comprehension, Sweetie nodded. “That's why earth ponies can help things grow and why the Apples can buck their trees without hurting them!”

“You've got it.”

Sweetie rushed over to Coco. “What do I need to do?”

“Get your spoon,” Coco said.

Sweetie grabbed up her spoon from the table and held it in front of her. “Now what?”

“Close your eyes and pass the spoon back and forth between your hooves.”

With a look of determined focus, Sweetie moved the spoon between her hooves again and again.

“Concentrate on how your magic clings to the spoon and what it feels like when you grip it and let go.”

After passing the spoon back and forth a few more times, Sweetie nodded. “Now what do I do?”

“Keep your eyes closed, use your magic to take the spoon from one of your hooves and back again,” Coco instructed.

Sweetie's look of concentration intensified as she used her magic to levitate the spoon in and out of the grip of her hooves.

“Really feel how similar your hoof's grip on the spoon is to your magic's.” Coco leaned towards Sweetie. “Now hold the spoon in the air with just your magic. Use enough magic to keep it still, but don't use too much or it will shoot out of your grip.”

“Okay.” Sweetie's magic held the spoon in the air. The spoon twitched now and again but it remained in place.

“I'm going to try to move the spoon. Try to keep it where it is.” Coco reached out, tapped the spoon a couple of times with her hoof, and then began to push on it with a slight bit of force.

Sweetie drew in a hissing breath, but the spoon remained where it was.

“Fantastic!" Coco cheered. "Now I‘m going to put a little more effort into getting the spoon to move. Are you ready?”

Her breathing getting labored, Sweetie nodded.

Coco pushed the spoon a little harder. “Don't open your eyes; focus on what you have to do to keep the spoon from moving.”

Beads of sweat formed on Sweetie’s brow. “I can't hold it much longer!”

“Keep holding it there as long as you can. If you drop it that's fine.”

After a two more pushes by Coco, Sweetie's magical grip gave. The spoon fell from the air and clattered across the floor, coming to a stop against a chair leg on the far side of the table.

“Don't move!” Coco said, as Sweetie made to retrieve the spoon. “Now, using your magic, pick up the spoon.”

Sweetie bit her lip and used her magic to lift the spoon and weave it through the chair legs. Levitating the spoon so it returned to its original spot in the air, she grinned triumphantly.

“Sweetie, I'm so proud of you!” Rarity rushed around the table and hugged Sweetie. “That was much better!”

Sweetie gasped as her magic faltered.

I caught the spoon in my magic, before it hit the floor. “Well done! I couldn't have done that when I was your age.”

Sounding winded, Sweetie said, “I feel like I've been running all day.”

Rarity nodded. “Using magic can do that to you, especially when you’re just learning.”

I asked Coco, “Where did you learn an exercise like that?”

“My brother's a unicorn. I remember that exercise from when my mom taught him to control his magic.”

“I didn't know you had a sibling,” Rarity said.

“I take it he's younger than you,” I said.

Coco nodded. “Five years younger.”

“Can I help clean up with my magic now?”

With trepidation in her voice, Rarity said, “You may, but please just help with the silverware. We'll get the rest.”

*****

Leaning against Rarity, Sweetie slept. Her empty glass sat on the couch beside her.

“Poor dear, she used a touch too much magic tonight,” said Rarity.

“She did well." I chuckled. "I have to admit, I'm kind of disappointed. I wanted to see her stick something in the ceiling.”

Rarity gave me a withering look and then smiled at Coco. “Thank you for helping Sweetie. I would have never thought to do something like that.”

“It was fun. I used to help my brother with exercises like that all the time. Teaching Sweetie brought back a bunch of memories.”

Rarity turned and kissed the top of Sweetie's head. “Adorable as you are, Sweetie, you should to go bed.” Rarity gently nudged her. “We still have a lot to talk about tonight, and you might get a kink in your neck if you stay like that for long.”

Sweetie barely opened her eyes. “I'm awake. I wanted to talk about something with you and Pin.”

“Not tonight. The three of us have quite a bit to discuss, and you need to get some proper sleep.” Rarity set aside her glass of wine, got off the couch, and, using her magic, levitated Sweetie to her back. “Come on. I'll tuck you in.”

“She's cute as a button,” said Coco, as they left the room. “She tries so hard to help Rarity. I don't understand why she acts the way she does when Sweetie offers to do something.”

“She tries, but Sweetie's help often is more of a hindrance than anything else," I told her. "Remind me to tell you about how she and her friends 'helped' me with the store one time.”

Rarity walked back into the room with a slight blush on her face. She sat back down on the couch and took a large sip from her wineglass.

“Are you feeling all right?” I asked Rarity.

Swallowing her wine, Rarity nodded. “Thank you for the concern, but it's nothing. Sweetie asked about something I was not expecting is all.”

Coco teased, “Must have been quite the something, if you were still blushing when you came back.”

“It was about a little project of hers that I thought she had given up on.” Rarity's eyes met mine for a second, and then she looked away. “Apparently she still thinks it still might work.”

It took me a second to realize what the 'project' must have been. I rubbed the back of my neck with a hoof. “That project. She brought that up when she delivered your message too.”

Coco, looking confused, asked, “Just what kind of project is she working on?”

“It's rather sweet, but embarrassing,” Rarity said.

“She thinks Rarity and I could be a couple.”

Coco paused for a moment. “Oh.”

“Let's get away from such an awkward topic.” Rarity pointed a hoof at Coco and then me. “Tonight is about getting things arranged between you two.” Using her magic, she floated a piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkwell from somewhere in the shop's back to the coffee table. “I asked Twilight to write up the contract. Take your time and look it over. There are few items you will have to fill in, and you both have to sign it, but it‘s mostly ready.”

“Mares first,” I said.

“Thank you.” She looked over the contract, wrote in various dates, and then nodded. “This looks fine.” She offered me the contract.

I took it and read carefully. “I can't agree to this.”

“Why ever not?!” Rarity said. “The terms are perfectly reasonable!”

I put the contract back down on the coffee table and pointed to the contract's clause that covered Coco's payment. “I can't pay her that. She would make the same rate as an apprentice.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes at me. “Are you saying she does not deserve that amount?”

I held up my hooves. “That's not it at all! She is a professional and deserves a professional rate.”

“I've never worked as a tailor before,” Coco said.

“You're a costume designer for both stallions and mares, so indirectly you have.” I took the quill and scratched through the offending amount. “What should go here?”

“I don't know. I was happy with the apprentice rate.”

Careful not to drip any ink, I pointed the quill at Rarity. “You will have to act as the neutral third party here. What should I pay her?”

Rarity gave me a disbelieving look. “You want me to give you a rate?”

“You opened your new boutique in Canterlot recently. You're the most up to date on what ponies are being paid for this kind of work right now.”

“But I'm not a neutral party. I'm friends with both of you and set things up to begin with.”

“Because you're our friend, we can trust you not to let either of us get a raw deal.”

Rarity sighed and gave a figure.

“That seems high,” Coco said.

“I was thinking it was low, considering your experience and level of skills. Since it's between what the two of us think should be the rate, we'll go with it.” I changed the contract’s payment numbers. “Out of curiosity, what makes you think it's too high?”

Coco fidgeted. “That's almost twice what Suri was paying me, when I was her assistant.”

Rarity all but growled, “So not only did she treat you like dirt, but she also didn't pay you what you deserved.”

“Suri sounds like a real piece of work,” I said.

“You have no idea,” Rarity said. “Coco is too nice to say anything, but Suri treated her awfully.”

I slid the contract down the coffee table and offered Coco the quill. “I promise I will treat you with respect.”

After taking the quill from me, Coco looked down at the contract. After a moment, she signed it and then slid the contract and the quill back.

I added my signature and turned the document towards Rarity. “Now for the witness.”

Rarity made a dramatic production of dipping the quill into the inkwell and adding her name to the paper. “Now that it's official, you two can open that wine. If you don't mind, I would like to sample a taste of it myself.”
“Of course,” said Coco. “It will be just a minute, it's a mulled wine, it needs to be heated it up first.”

“I’ll go with you,” Coco offered.

I motioned for her to stay seated. “Thank you, but don't get up. I'll heat the wine. I need to know where a saucepan is, though.”

“One is in the cabinet just to the left of the stove,” Rarity informed me.

“Thank you.” After entering the kitchen, I found a saucepan, uncorked the wine, and poured a good portion of the bottle into the pan, and set it to warm on the stove. The aroma that the wine gave off was wonderful. I used my magic to speed the process, being careful not to add too much heat. As I prepared three glasses of the wine, I could hear Coco and Rarity talking. While I could not make out all of what they were saying, they brought my name up more than once. “You know it's not nice to talk about a pony when they're not in the same room,” I said, loud enough for my voice to carry to them.

“It’s nothing negative,” Rarity called back.

“I'm glad to hear it.” Using a plate as a serving tray, I carried the glasses into the den. “If the wine tastes half as good as it smells, this will be wonderful.”

“I appreciate the thought, but I wanted a taste. I would hate for it to go to waste.”

“Drink as much or as little as you would like. It won't go to waste either way. I promise.”

Rarity shook her head. “Stallions.”

Coco raised her glass. “To artisans, successful businesses ventures, and doing what we love.”

“Cheers!” After touching my glass to Coco's and Rarity's, I took a drink of the wine. I hummed an appreciative note at the flavor.

Rarity's nose crinkled. “It’s a touch strong for me, but I can see why some would find it appealing.”

Coco said, “This is wonderful.”

“I have never had mulled wine before,” I said. “If this is what they are like, I'll have to try more varieties.”

“Drink more you two,” Rarity ordered.

Coco and I drank from our glasses again.

“Coco, would you mind drinking after me?”

“Not at all.”

Rarity poured what remained in her glass into Coco's and mine. “You two enjoy. I'll stick with the Chenin Blanc.”

After some pleasant, wandering conversation, and more wine for us all, Coco asked, “Rarity told me you used to live in Canterlot. What made you move to Ponyville?”

“Less completion was one thing, but ponies tending not to wear clothes here has about undone that advantage.” I looked down into my wine. “I've always liked the town; I guess is the best way to explain it.”

Rarity pointed a hoof at me. “Pin, if Applejack was here, she would chew on your ear about not being honest. Tell her about the shop and your grandparents.”

“His grandparents?” Coco said.

“The shop belonged to my grandmother and grandfather. Whenever I visited them, I would do whatever could to help out. My mark appeared when I was helping them make accessories to sell.”

“That's so sweet!" Coco said. "So you ended up taking over the shop from them.”

“That's the long and the short of it.” I glanced over to Rarity, making a silent plea to her.

“There's more to the story than he is letting on,” Rarity said, after giving me a disapproving look. “He's shy about telling the whole thing. The only reason I know anything about it is that his grandmother and grandfather used to help me with my sewing.”

“You two must have known each other for a while.”

“We have. I didn't get to see Rarity that often, but we would talk when she came to see my grandparents and would occasionally do things together. I guess the best way to describe it is that we were sporadic friends.”

“While not very eloquent, I guess that is one way to describe us back then,” said Rarity.

I glanced up at the clock. “I hate to do this, but I should be going. I've got to get an early start, and you'll have to meet the train in the morning. Would you like help getting your stuff there?”

“It's kind of you to ask, but no. The girls will see us off. They've already said they would help get everything on the train.”

“If you change your mind, let me know. I'll do what I can to help.”

“Thank you.”

“Let me get those glasses for you.” I put the empty wineglasses back on the plate and carried them to the kitchen. As I was rinsing them out, the sound of hooves behind me made me pause.

“Thank you for hiring me. I'm looking forward to working with you.”

I turned the water off and turned to face Coco. “I'm looking forward to working with you too. I feel horrible that you are walking into such a mess.” I took the mostly drained bottles from her and put them on the counter. “Thanks for bringing these. I should have gotten them when I got the glasses.”

“You're welcome.” She took quiet steps towards me and whispered, “If you don't want to talk about the shop later, I won't ask about it. Though, I have to admit that what Rarity said has me curious.”

“It's not that I go out of my way not to tell anypony about the shop, but it's a long story with a lot of family drama. I promise, if you still want to know later, just ask, and I'll tell you.”

“It sounds like something that would make good a play.”

I chuckled. “My grandfather would get a kick out of having a drama written about him. Not too sure how my grandmother would take it, she didn't like to make a fuss about anything, but I can assure you she would have something to say about who would to play her.”

Rarity walked into the kitchen. “It's entirely too quiet for two ponies to be in here.” She stopped, just inside the door, and one of her eyebrows rose. “Am I interrupting something?”

Mentally measuring the distance between Coco and me, I realized what Rarity was suggesting and blushed.

“What do you mean?” said Coco.

I attempted to take a step back. My hindquarters hitting the cabinet door under the sink stopped my retreat and made a hollow thump.

Coco turned towards me, and a look of embarrassed comprehension came to her face.

With a smirk, Rarity said, “It would appear, from where I am standing, that you were pinning him against the counter.”

Coco blushed and whipped her head back to Rarity. “Rarity! I wasn't 'pinning' him! I wanted to thank him for hiring me.”

“At a rate higher than what originally was given in the contract, no less.”

“I couldn't hire her at that rate in good conscience, particularly considering how much she will help me.”

“Spoke the still blushing stallion, in defense of the mare who moments before had been maneuvering him so that any retreat on his part would have impossible,” Rarity said, as if narrating from a cheap romance novel. “Or perhaps you were planning to surrender to her advances?”

“Rarity, you're reading more into this than what there is. He bought dinner for all of us. He got us both wine that he thought we would like and Sweetie sparkling cider so she wouldn't be left out. You should thank him too.”

“You're right. I should.” Rarity said with sincerity, “Thank you for dinner, the wine, and for being kind to Sweetie.”

“You're more than welcome. It was a pleasure.”

Rarity's smirk slowly came back. She put a hoof to her chin and tilted her head. “I'm still not convinced that there wasn't something else going on when I walked in.”

Coco sighed and lightly laughed. “Okay, I'll confess. I told him he didn't have to tell me about the shop if he didn't want to.”

“That's all?”

“That's it.”

“That's rather anticlimactic,” Rarity said, sounding disappointed. Looking to me, she said, “You will tell her about the shop.”

“I will, but not tonight. You know how long the story is.”

“We would be up too late, I'll grant you. Still, it's better for her to get the tale from the source rather than second hoof, so don't wait too long.”

“You're right there. No telling what ponies will tell her, particularly if they heard it second or third hoof.” I chuckled. “After the Foal Free Press fiasco, any doubts I had that gossip is nothing but useless are gone.”

“I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss gossip entirely. Depending on the pony you talk to and the circumstances, you can find out a lot of things.” A glint of something I could not name entered Rarity's eyes. “For instance, after speaking to a certain shopkeeper I learned there was no need for me to buy wine for this evening.”

“That was rather rude of the shopkeeper,” Coco said. “You should never name your customers.”

“She didn't. Berry was professional about the whole thing. One reason I was nearly late was that it took a bit to draw the details out of her.”

“I doubt it took too much effort,” I said, unable to keep a tinge of sarcasm from my words.

As if I had not spoken, Rarity continued, "I figured things out after hearing the list of nuances he gave to Berry so she could help him make his choices.”

My ears folded back of their own volition.

“You must have recognized something about yourself. Or did him asking for the sparkling cider give it away?”

“He didn't have to say anything about me. Berry knows the kinds of wine I prefer, and she never mentioned the cider. The impression I got is that he did a thorough job of describing you.”

I snapped my ears forward, as Coco turned to look at me. She studied me for a moment, as if trying to read my thoughts.

Rarity moved to stand beside Coco. “Don't worry about those glasses. I'll get those in the morning. It is getting rather late, and we will all have to face an early start tomorrow.” Rarity turned her head to Coco. “Perhaps you should ask him about what he said to Berry after he tells you about shop?” Rarity cut her eyes towards me. “You wouldn't want to rely on gossip on either of those topics, would you?”

Chapter 3

Taking a draw from my coffee, I checked an item off the job list. For a moment, I felt I had made a little headway. The feeling vanished as I realized that the list remained one and a half pages long and still being added to. The store's bell ringing made me look up and smile. “Good morning. How did things go?”

“Good morning to you too,” said Coco. “They got everything on the train and left with no hiccups. Twilight arranged loading all the outfits and luggage perfectly.”

“I wish I had her level of organizational skill. It would save me a lot of headaches.” As we made our way to the workroom, I asked, “Would you care for some coffee?”

“No, thank you. I've had a cup this morning, and I'm jittery as it is.”

“What for?”

“Starting a new job, living in a new place, half a dozen different things.”

“Don't worry about the job. Compared to what you've been doing, the work will be easy. If you need any suggestions about where to go to shop, eat, or things to do, I'll be more than happy to help.” Stopping in front of my work table, I rubbed one foreleg over the other. “I hope that last night didn't make you feel awkward being here.”

Coco looked at me as if I had said something odd. “Why would it?”

“I was worried you might have gotten the impression I'm a creep. I described you to Berry, but not quite the way Rarity was insinuating.”

“Oh. The whole scene in the kitchen.” Coco shrugged. “I know that Rarity loves drama and romance, and will make something out of nothing to get either. She accused me of trying to pin you to the counter too, don't forget.”

“True.”

She smiled. “Just to give you fair warning, I will follow her suggestion to ask Berry what you about what you said about me. That will have to happen later. Right now we need to get to work.”

We discussed possible projects for her to tackle, and she chose to work on items for the storefront. I showed her where the patterns were kept, the particular cloth she would need was, and then returned to my worktable. The only time either of us paused in our work was when we needed to get supplies or tools. Not long before lunch, the store's bell chimed.

I turned my head towards the front of the shop. “I'll be right with you!”

Coco put down the piece of cloth she had been measuring. “Would you like me to help them? You look like you have your hooves full.”

“If you don't mind, I would appreciate it.”

Coco headed to the front, and I continued to work with careful haste.

“What can I help you with this afternoon, sir?”

“I'm sorry. I must have the wrong store.”

Recognizing Rich's voice, I turned one of my ears towards the front.

“Sir, this is,” Coco said, trailing off after the sound of the door closing.

The door opening and the bell ringing again made me pause. “Nope, this is the right place. Did Discord visit you today?” Rich's voice was louder than it needed to be, making me certain he was putting on an act.

“Discord? I can't say I've met him, sir.”

“It's worse than I thought. Pin, I hate to tell you this, but I think an ancient embodiment of chaos has turned you into a mare and altered your mind. While you make a lovely mare, I think we need to get you to Fluttershy's so she can make Discord fix this.”

“Rich, behave,” I called to the front. “I'll bring your suits out in just a moment.”

“So Discord didn't get you! That's good to know.” Rich asked Coco, “Is he treating you well?”

“He’s treating me very well.”

“That's good. He ran off the last three that tried to help him around this place.”

“Rich! That's not what happened, and you know it.” I pulled his suits from one of the store's wardrobes and went to the front of the shop.

“Did you or did you not throw them out?” Rich asked, as I stepped into the storefront.

“I asked them to leave, but-”

“See!” Rich interrupted, making a sharp gesture at me. “Don't let his nice pony act fool you. He ran off three assistants, all at once.”

This wouldn't happen to be the time that Sweetie and her friends helped you would it?” Coco asked me, a hint of a smile showing.

“It was. They were trying to get their cutie marks. In what exactly, I don't know. They offered to help me rearrange the displays. There was an incident with a ladder, and everything in the shop, the shelves included, ended up on the floor. It took a day and a half to get everything cleaned, repaired, and back where it was supposed to go.”

Rich took the suits from me. “Thanks, Pin, especially for doing this on such short notice.”

“Do you want to try them on to check the fits?”

Rich shook his head. “I trust your work. If I don't hustle, I will be late for my train.”

I presented Rich with his bill, and he paid me. As I put the bits in the register, he said to Coco, “Now I've gone and bad mouthed him, I have to say he was being kind to them by letting them try.”

“From what Rarity has told me about them, they seem quite the hoofful.”

“Most ponies won't even let them touch a project, since it usually ends up a disaster or with somepony covered in tree sap.”

“I still haven’t figured out how they manage that so regularly,” I said.

“I'm sorry; I didn't even ask your name,” Rich said to Coco.

“Coco, Coco Pommel.”

“Filthy Rich.” Rich looked at me pointedly. “Not a word.”

I grinned, but did as told and remained silent.

“Nice to meet you,” said Coco.

Just as he was about to shut the door, on his way out, Rich said, “You two take care.”

After Rich shut the door, Coco laughed. “I can't believe he's Filthy Rich. I would have thought he would have been much more businesslike.”

“I think’s one reason he is so successful is he acts like everypony else, even though he has enough bits to buy most of Ponyville.” I put the store's 'out to lunch' sign in the door's window. “Have you made any plans for...” I stopped in mid-question as somepony knocked on the door. I turned to see Berry with her nose pressed against the door's glass, at the sign's edge. Only one of her eyes and a portion of her face was visible.

“Don't act like you’re not there, Pin,” Berry said, through the glass. “I saw you put this sign up, and I can see a part of you, so I know that the rest of you is there too.”

Overriding the part of me warning it would lead to nothing but trouble, I opened the door and let Berry in. “Hello, Berry. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Don't act innocent with me. I'm here to collect on that promise you made. I almost forgot that Rarity was leaving this morning and figured you would try putting off telling me about last night until she was about to get back.”

“Actually, I was planning on seeing you after closing. What's with the pizzas?”

Berry looked over her shoulder at the two pizza boxes she was carrying. “I brought them to honor the Ponyville tradition that gossip be shared with a meal.” Berry must have noticed that Coco was in the store with us. She smiled at Coco as if she had discovered a key part of a puzzle she had been working to solve. “So this is the mystery mare. I didn't think she would start so soon.”

Berry made a slow circuit around Coco. Coco followed Berry's movements with an expression that had a mixture of amusement, annoyance, and curiosity.

“I'm Berry Punch,” Berry said, stopping in front of Coco and offering a hoof.

“Coco Pommel,” said, taking Berry's hoof without hesitation.

“Nice to meet you. Did you like the wine?”

“I did.”

“I'm glad. Pin gave me enough to work with, but I was a little worried about the choice. I do my best work when I can talk to a pony face to face.”

“You did wonderfully, thank you. Rarity suggested I ask you about what he told you so you could make your suggestion.”

Berry nodded sagely. “You can tell a lot about a stallion by how he describes you. We should have this conversation over lunch, or we will break tradition.” Berry turned to me and asked, “Do you want to eat here or at my place?”

“Here's fine. Would you like me to carry those?”

“Nah, I've got them.”

I led Berry and Coco into the back, up the stairs, through my apartment's den, and into the kitchen.

“For a busy, single stallion you keep a tidy place,” Berry said, putting the pizza on the table. “There aren't any dishes in the sink, no mess on the counter, nothing.”

“Thank you. I try to keep things neat as I can.”

“In fact, it doesn't look like you've fixed anything or cleaned for a couple of days.” After putting the boxes on the counter, Berry stepped in front of me and took my face in her hooves. “You're not eating or sleeping again.”

“That's quite a logical leap.”

I tried to pull away, but she held me in place. “Answer me: yes or no?”

“Berry, what are you talking about?” Coco said.

“Pin has a tendency to forget to eat or sleep when he gets too busy. That's another reason I brought the pizza.”

“You can't do that with all the magic you're using!” Coco scolded. “You'll make yourself sick!”

“He has before, that's why I'm worried.” Berry's eyes bored into mine. “I want you to promise that you will eat regularly and get rest.”

“I can't make that promise. Things are too busy right now.” Before I knew what was happening, Berry had me in a headlock.

“While that was an honest answer, that was not the one I wanted to hear.” Berry tapped her free hoof against my head. “You will promise me you will eat and sleep right, or we will be like this all day.”

“You have a shop to run too,” I said, trying to sound like I had more conviction than I felt.

“Barrel's watching the shop.”

“Who's Barrel?” Coco said.

“My husband, Oak Barrel.” Berry rested her hoof on my head. “You're lucky he's not the one that's doing this. He would give you a noogie for being so hardheaded.”

“Knowing him, I can't really argue with you on that one. Getting back to the main point, I'm not going to make a promise I might not be able to keep.”

“Coco, would you be as so kind as to fetch my husband? Maybe he can talk sense into him or beat it into him.”

“I don't know where your shop is,” Coco said.

“I can give you directions, it's not far.”

“I shouldn't be asking this, considering my position, but if you feel I might need to be beaten into submission why aren't you doing it?'

“I'm a lady. Ladies don't rough up ponies over intellectual debates.”

“What you said has so many problems with it I don't even know where to start.”

“Are you implying that I'm not a lady?” Berry said, with an icy bite to her voice.

Coco let out a short, nervous laugh. “Berry, I don't think this is the right way to do this.”

I could not see Berry's expression, but something told me she was smiling. “You're right. I have a better idea. Would you come here for a moment?”

Coco moved so that that she stood in front of us. Not knowing what Berry had in mind, and not liking where things were going, I tried to squirm out of Berry's hold.

“I move barrels and cases of wine all over town every day,” Berry said, tightening her hold. “Do you really think you can get away?”

“Berry, don't hurt him.”

“I'm not planning on it. I need you look to at him.”

Coco came close and leaned down so her eyes were level with mine.

“Look into those blue eyes you described so well the other day and promise you'll eat right and take care of yourself,” Berry prompted me.

Avoiding Coco's eyes, I said, “I'll do better. I promise.”

Berry gave me a light shake. “That's not good enough.”

“Pin, look at me.”

I looked up to Coco's worried face.

“I've seen what working too hard without food and sleep does to ponies, especially when they use a lot of magic, and I don't want that happening to you.”

“It's not that I don't want to eat or sleep, but there are only so many hours in a day. I have to get every pony's orders ready on time. If that means I have to tough it out, I'll do it.”

“I'm here so you don't have to do anything like that. Remember?”

I found myself unable to reply.

“Promise.”

“If you'll let me buy your lunches.”

Coco blinked. “What?”

I felt Berry's laugh, through her ribs, before she let it out. “I think he's saying that he'll promise to take care of himself if you'll eat lunch with him.”

“You don't have to eat with me, but I want to pay for your lunches when you're here. I still think I'm not paying you enough and it would help me feel better about that.”

“Only if you make a full promise in return.”

I met her eyes and held them. “I promise that I will eat and sleep properly.”

Berry shifted slightly and moved me so I was nearly touching Coco. “Now, kiss him on the nose and seal the deal.”

“Berry!” Coco laughed and moved away. “I think he's been traumatized enough.”

“I doubt he would consider a smooch on nose traumatic. In fact, I bet he'd like it.”

“Berry, you can let me go now.”

“Not yet. You're going to tell her what you told me about her. Hurry, the pizza is getting cold.”

I sighed and felt my ears droop. “I told Berry that you were a fashion designer in Manehatten that was between jobs, acted the part of historical Canterlot elite well, had blue eyes, a blue mane with a lighter streak in the middle, a cream coat, and a nice voice.”

“What he is leaving out, is that he described your cutie mark perfectly, which means he inspected your rear,” Berry said.

I remained silent.

Berry looked down at me. “Not going to say anything in your defense?”

“When faced with a situation like this, a wise stallion would keep his mouth shut.”

“You do not qualify as a wise stallion, and I have you at my mercy, so you will say something to her.” Berry gave me another shake. “Go on.”

“I looked at your cutie mark long enough to remember it.” My confession was met by a slight blush from Coco.

Berry patted me on the head. “It's okay. I'm sure she'll forgive you. We mares know you stallions can't help yourselves sometimes.”

“His is of a safety pin with a heart on it,” Coco said. “So we're even.”

“You made him blush! That's so cute!”

“Just so you know, Berry, I can get out of this.”

“I doubt that. You're in good shape, but you don't have a chance of wrestling your way out of this. You can't teleport and your telekinesis isn't strong enough to pry me off of you, so magic won't do you any good either.”

“Barrel told me your weakness, so I won't have to overpower you at all.”

“How are chocolate covered baked oats going to help you?”

“While I'll keep the oats in mind for another occasion, that is not the secret he told me.” I tilted my head and grinned up at Berry. “He told me you were ticklish.” Using my magic, I attacked her ribs with feather soft touches.

“That's not fair!” she protested, laughing and letting go of me.

“You two act like brother and sister,” Coco said, laughing.

“We've known each other since we were little more than foals. Berry and I would play together whenever I was here.”

“So you two were sporadic friends too?” Coco asked.

“We were good friends and still are,” I said getting out plates and putting them on the table.

“What's this 'sporadic friends' stuff?” said Berry.

“He told me he and Rarity were 'sporadic friends' last night.”

Berry paused in her divvying up the pizza and gave me a look. “I bet she didn't take that well.”

“She called it an 'inelegant' description, but she didn't argue.”

Coco said, with leeriness in her voice, “I thought you and Rarity were good friends.”

“We are, but our friendship has hit rough spots. At one point, she wanted to use me as a way to get into the Canterlot circles. When I refused, things between us got a little tense.”

Berry sighed and passed our pizza slices to us. “I can't argue that she might have been trying to use you, to a degree. But I think you're selling yourself short.”

“Either way, I wouldn't have been able to get her into the inner circles. While I'm still somewhat active in Canterlot, due to my professional activities, I'm not considered a true Canterlot pony.”

Berry paused and looked around the kitchen. “You've been here so long by yourself; I almost forgot this used to be your grandparent's. I don't know if I could live in my parents' or grandparents' place. It would bring back too many memories.”

“Now and then I'll turn up something that brings back a memory that makes me miss them, but mostly it's like they're gone on one of their trips.” I looked to Coco. “I could tell you about the place now, if you would like.”

“I'd love to hear about it, but isn't it a long story? We need to get back to work before too much longer.”

“It would be a long story, if I told it the way Rarity would like.” I grinned and dramatically put the back of a hoof to my forehead. Pitching my voice into a falsetto, I did my best impersonation of Rarity. “It would be a tale of lovers challenging society's norms. Of a father pitted against his son. Of a third generation dragged into the conflict before they were old enough to even understand the forces causing the rift in their family.”

Berry snorted. “You've got her love of drama down. The voice could stand some work, though.”

I put my hoof down and returned to my regular voice. “Rarity would have me recite every he said she said, which would take hours. We'll skip all that and keep it simple. My grandmother and grandfather had my dad when they were young. About the time my dad got his cutie mark, my grandmother passed unexpectedly from some kind of illness. What exactly it was, I don't know. Neither dad nor grandfather would talk about it much. About the time that my dad went off to school, my grandfather met my grandmother. My dad and grandfather ended up getting married to the mares they loved two years later.”

“Here's where the trouble starts,” Berry said.

“It wasn't all that big of a deal.” Seeing the look Berry gave me, I added, “At first.”

“You're being too kind to a pair of ponies that don't deserve it.”

“Berry, my folks are good ponies. They're too into the Canterlot lifestyle is all.”

“From what little I know of Canterlot, that doesn't sound good,” Coco said.

“My grandfather ruffled a few feathers literally and figuratively by marrying a pegasus, which was not common back then. It was overlooked, to an extent, since their relationship a business merger too. My grandfather was a tailor in Canterlot and she was a cloth dealer who settled in to Ponyville not too long after its founding. They met at a trade function and hit it off. Grandfather moved here to be with her and to get away from the snobs in Canterlot. A little time passed and my dad and mom had my sister. Things were steady for years, and then I came along as an unexpected blessing. My dad and mom didn't know quite what to do with me. They loved me, but I didn't fit into their plans.”

Berry slapped her hoof on the table. “He's being way too forgiving. Let me give you a more realistic picture of what happened. His parents were too busy to look after him and shoved him into a military style boarding school as soon as they could.”

“Berry, it wasn't as nasty as you're making it sound. There's a waiting list for enrollment at that academy that is often years long. With me being a surprise, they had to pull strings just so I could go there. It also wasn't cheap. While my parents may not have been involved with me growing up that much, they loved me and made sure I was prepared for life. I learned disciple and got a great education at that academy.”

“I could never send Pinch away, even if I were double my age when I had her.” Using a less acidic tone, Berry told Coco, “When he wasn't at the academy, his grandfather and grandmother took care of him.”

“In most ways, I was more my grandparent's child than my parents. I went to school in Canterlot, lived here when I wasn't taking classes, and learned to be a tailor. After my grandfather and grandmother passed, I took over the shop. Sis took over the family business, as she and they wanted, and everypony is happy.” I shrugged. “That's the whole story more or less.”

“He's still far too kind in his description.” Berry said, grabbing another slice of pizza. “His parents never warmed up to his grandmother, even though she was one of the sweetest ponies you could ever meet. They gave his grandfather fits about not staying in Canterlot and tried their best to keep Pin from 'involving himself with the wrong ponies' even though they were miles away. To them, the 'wrong ponies' meant any pony that wasn't a Canterlot unicorn.”

“My parents have mellowed out since then.”

“I have to admit, their last couple of visits were almost pleasant.” Berry gestured towards me as if putting me on display. “However, notice he hasn't talked about his sister much and he hasn't defended her like he has his parents.”

“That bad?” said Coco.

“I'll admit, Satin can be a pill.”

“That's not the word I would use,” Berry muttered, chewing on a bite of crust. “During her last visit, Satin made her views about Ponyville, and all the ponies living here, well known and made Pin's life miserable for a week.”

I sighed. “I can't argue with any of that.”

“She's overdue for a visit too.”

“I doubt she'll come back. She and I had sharp words before she left. We haven't even written each other in over a year.”

“Bad bits have a way of turning up at the worst time.”

Coco gave me a sympathetic smile. “I hate that you don't get along with her. I can't imagine how having a sibling like that could be. I have always gotten along with my brother.” She giggled. “He didn't even complain when I used to make him part of my tea parties.”

“You didn't dress him up, did you?”

“Once or twice.”

“Ouch. His poor pride.”

“He was adorable.”

“Please, tell me you didn't take pictures.”

“I didn't. Mom did. Dad wouldn't let me play with the camera, so Mom volunteered to take the photos.”

“I don't know if that's better or worse. What do your mom and dad do?”

“Dad's runs an advertising service. Mom is a theater manager. They met when my dad was doing a promotional shoot for a play she was billing. She used to be an actress, but she tired of all the traveling that went with it and chose a job that allowed her to still be in the theater world without all the running around.”

“He must have found her very photogenic,” Berry said.

“That sums it up.”

“Your mom's job explains why you like the theater so much. What got you to into fashion?”

Coco lit up. “Designing costumes! The different eras, different cultures, the different looks; it was amazing to me that you could make a pony into somepony entirely different by changing what they wear.”

I smiled at her infectious enthusiasm. “As well as you acted the other day, I'm kind of surprised that you don't get onstage yourself.”

“I've been in little community plays. Nothing big, though. When I was little, I thought I would grow up to be an actress like Mom. I found out I liked working on costumes a lot more than being onstage myself.” She smiled and looked towards her cutie mark. “I was helping mend a tear in a costume, during a break between scenes, when I got my mark.”

“I think I understand why you like making costumes. There is something about making clothing for somepony to bring out the best in them, isn't there?”

Coco nodded. “There is.”

Berry giggled.

“What's so funny?” I asked.

“Nothing. Nothing at all.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I was just thinking you two are literal clothes horses.”

I groaned. “That was horrible.”

“Speaking of clothes, you two will need to get started again soon.” Berry took her plate, rinsed it off, and put it in the sink. “I need to get back to the shop too.”

“Thank you for the pizza,” I said.

“Yes, thank you very much.” Coco closed the box of the remaining pizza. “Would you like to take this last bit home?”

“Nah. You two can have it. Don't move, either of you. I'll put it in the fridge.” Berry took the box from the table and went to place the box in the refrigerator. She paused, before shutting the door back. “You drank both bottles of the wine?”

“We had one,” Coco said. “He left the other at Rarity's for me to have later.”

Berry grinned and slowly closed the refrigerator door. “He did, did he?”

One of Coco's ears folded down, and she tilted her head in an adorable way. “He did. Is there something wrong with that?”

“Nothing wrong, that was nice of him, is all.” Berry gave us a wave as she left the kitchen. “Behave you two and don't work too hard.”

“At least let me get up so I pay you for the pizzas,” I said.

“Sit. Stay. We'll settle up some other time,” She called up the staircase. “I expect my payment in gossip material.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I called back. After waiting for Berry's hoof steps to finish going down the stairs and her leave out the back door, I turned to Coco. “You have now met the loveable madness that is Berry Punch.”

“I like her. She is very honest and lets you know where you stand.”

“She can be a little rough, but she has a heart of gold.” I took Coco's plate and mine to the sink. “She looks out for all of her customers, both in and out of the shop.”

“Just how many customers of hers does she deliver pizza to?”

“I may be the only one.” I paused in my scrubbing of the plates. “She, Barrel, and I helped each other through some rough times and keep an eye on each other. They are the closest friends I have in Ponyville.”

“But not the only ones, I hope.”

I put the plates back in the cabinet. “I am very lucky to have a number of friends here.”

“What about Canterlot?”

“Not so much. I have many acquaintances and business contacts there, but not ponies I could call friends.”

“Sounds like Manehatten, I think I have more friends here than back home.” She started towards the staircase.

I followed. “I hope that I can be added to that list, eventually.”

She paused, looked over her shoulder at me, and smiled. “You're already on it.”

Chapter 4

Noticing something about one of the new bow ties, I paused in hanging it on its hook and inspected it. While similar to the original pattern, the cut of the tie was distinct from what I used. “There are a couple of these that are different.”

Coco looked at me, seeming a little worried. “I hope you don't mind. I tried something with it based on an older style of bow tie I had seen.”

“I don't mind at all.” I tied on the bow tie and stepped over to the shop’s fitting mirror. “I like what you've done. It gives them an elegant flare without being too bold.” I turned my head left and right. “If it can make me look good, it will do wonders for anypony else.”

The shop's bell rang, and I turned to the entrance. “Welcome to-” I stopped, mid-sentence, not seeing anypony come in. The door shut, and the sound of claws moving across wood made me smile. “Hello, Spike. How have you been?”

“I can't complain.” He stepped around a display and into view. “Looks like you've been busy. Rarity said your shop was getting thin on merchandise, but it doesn't look like it to me.”

“I can't take credit for that.” I gestured to Coco. “She’s making this place look like a shop again.”

Spike smiled. “Hey there! Long time no see.”

“It's nice to see you too, Spike. Did you come to visit?”

“We could, if you'd like, but I came to see Pin for a suit.”

I leaned back, surprised. “Not that I would turn away a customer, but I thought Rarity was the pony who made your suits.”

“She usually is, but she's not in town. I want to surprise her when I deliver something to her.”

“That changes things. I didn't want to poach one of her favorite clients.”

Spike lit up. “She told you I'm one of her favorites?”

“She talks about you all the time. She is always telling me how helpful you are around the shop and how much she enjoys going on gem gathering trips with you.”

“Yep, that's me.” He poked himself in the chest with his thumb. “Ponyville's number one assistant.”

“I‘ll have to take a measurement or two more than usual, to get an idea of the range of motion I should aim for.” I levitated my measuring tape and pad from the counter. “You looking for a full suit, or just a shirt and jacket?”

“Just a shirt and jacket.”

As I measured him and asked him to move in various ways so I could get an idea of the cuts I would need to make, he looked uneasy. “You feeling okay?”

He avoided meeting my eye. “How much is this going to cost?”

“I don't know, to be honest. If will depend on the style you choose, the cloth you want, things like that.”

He looked to the floor. “Truth is, Twilight doesn't know I'm doing this either. I wanted to surprise her with how professional I look when-” He slapped his claws over his mouth, before he said anything else.

“You did your secret royal stuff,” Coco supplied.

Spike dropped his claws and nodded. “Everypony will know about it before too long, but not right now. We're still setting everything up.”

I looked over the measurements and did some calculations in my head. “Come to the back with me. Let's see what we can work out.” Coco gave me a curious look as I led Spike to the workroom.

“I've ever been back here before,” he said looking around.

“It's nothing much. Just a work and storage area.” I gestured for him to take a seat in one of the work chairs. “I want you to look a few samples, and we'll go from there.” I showed him a selection of the cloth available and the various styles I thought would work with his build. He made his choices, and I jotted notes about what he wanted. “If I had to guess, Rarity modifies patterns for minotaurs when she makes suits for you. Am I right?”

“I think so. She has those kinds of pattern books out when she does.”

“Good. That gives me a better idea of how to start things. We may have to make some adjustments the first time around, but you'll be looking like a million bits after we're through.” I put my things away, keeping a poker face.

He gave me a look. “You didn't say anything about a price.”

“That's true.”

“Give it to me straight. What's the damage?”

“None.”

His jaw fell open. “You can't do that!”

“Yes I can, and I want to.”

He pointed a claw at me. “Look, buster, I'll take my business elsewhere.”

I smiled. “All the way to Canterlot? In secret too?”

A look of realization came across his face. “Oh, yeah.”

“I'm not saying I'm not going to ask for something in return, I'm just not asking for bits.”

Spike grinned. “I gotcha. I scratch your back, you scratch mine?”

“Got it. Just drop the name of your tailor, during whatever's coming up, and we'll call it even. Having a good recommendation from an influential VIP is worth more than bits.”

Spike puffed himself up. “I do have the ear of some of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. You've got a deal.” We shook on it. While he still had hold of my hoof, he said, “I still think you're getting the short end of this bargain.”

“Not at all.” I nodded to my notes. “I'm getting the shop's name out and getting to try something new at the same time. It's rare that I can do that.”

“I don't want to rush you, particularity since you're doing this for free, but when will everything be ready?”

“About the end of the week. I have jobs for other clients I need to finish and then I'll get started.”

“That's perfect. We haven't even gotten the invitations in yet.” Spike looked at me with pleading eyes. “Forget you heard that.”

“Forgot what?” Tapping a hoof against my temple, I acted as it I was trying to recall something. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“I better get out of here before I say something that makes you remember.” After Spike raced out the door and turned down the hall, he called back, “I will drop your name a lot! I promise!”

I chuckled and wrote down some quick notes as to what I needed to do for Spike's jacket. “Those dorsal scales of his could be a challenge,” I muttered to myself. I placed the notes into a folder, tucked them into the file cabinet, and returned to the storefront.

Coco gave me a curious look. “Spike was grinning ear to ear, when he ran past me. What did you do?”

“We came to an arrangement we both found agreeable.”

“With the both of you smiling like you are, I don't doubt it.” After we returned to the store, we resumed putting out more items for display. “Cutting out the pattern and getting the stitching right for the shirt and jacket is going to be tricky.”

“I've worked on suits for minotaurs and one for a diamond dog. If all goes well, I think I can start with what I remember from those jobs and make things work without too much trouble.”

The store's bell chimed again.

“Good afternoon! How can we help you today?”

“Sorry to disappoint you, but it's just me.” Thunderlane leaned around a display and gave me a worried look. “You must be working too hard again. You said 'we'.”

“There are two of us here,” Coco said as moved so he could see her. She smiled at Thunderlane and waved. “Hello.”

Thunderlane's eyes widened. He looked back and forth between me and Coco. “Sorry! I didn't know I was interrupting anything.”

“We're just shelving,” I said. “Thunderlane, this is Coco Pommel. She has been kind enough to agree to help me while she is waiting for her next big contract in Manehatten.”

Coco offered her hoof. “Hello.”

Thunderlane gave her a winsome smile as he shook her hoof. “A pleasure.”

I told Coco, “Thunderlane is part of Ponyville's weather team and is a back up Wonderbolt.”

“Really?” She turned to look at him, seeming to reassess her opinion of him. “That's impressive. Not too many ponies can do jobs like that, much less at the same time.”

Thunderlane shook his head. “It's nothing. I like flying and thought I might as well make bits doing what I love. I'm not even on the full time backup roster for the Wonderbolts yet, so don't be too impressed. When I make the show team full time, then you can get stars in your eyes.” Thunderlane pointed a hoof at me. “Is he treating you right?”

“He's been wonderful.”

“Good to hear.” He leaned towards her and made a show of covering his mouth with his hoof. “You know what they say about the quiet ones that live alone.”

“Thanks, Lane.”

He grinned at me rakishly. “No prob.” His ears snapped up. “Oh, before I forget, the guys are getting together tonight, at the usual spot. There's an important bit of news we need to discuss.”

“I can't make it. I've still got too much to catch up on.”

“Barrel told me to tell you, if said what you did, that I should tell you, 'You can meet us there, or you can be hogtied and carried out of your shop.'” Thunderlane gave me a no nonsense look. “I think he was serious too.”

I rubbed my forehead with a hoof. “I have no doubt he was, and if he didn't tie me up and carry me, he would talk to Mac, and Mac would.”

“Eeyup,” Thunderlane said, doing his best impression of MacIntosh.

“I'll make sure he goes,” Coco said.

“Et tu, Coco?” I said, putting a hoof to my chest. “I thought you would be on my side.”

“We've made a lot of progress the last couple of days. It wouldn't hurt for you go on a colts night out.”

“If you would like, you could-”

Before I could finish, Thunderlane held up a hoof. “Stop right there. The point of a colts night out is that there are only colts involved.”

I ignored Thunderlane, and continued, “Ask Berry if she would like a fillies’ night in with you and Pinch. I'm sure she would enjoy the company.”

“Whew. There for a second, I thought you were so desperate to go on a date you were going to ask her to join us.”

I looked daggers at Thunderlane. “Excuse me?”

“You're lunch dates with Rarity don't count.” He paused and tapped his chin with his hoof. “Now I think about it, I can't remember when the last time you asked a mare out. Have you decided to see if you barn door swung the other way without telling us? Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, I have friends I could-”

“Out!” I pointed to the door. “I do not need this kind of abuse, even if it's friendly.”

“I believe he protests too much,” Thunderlane said, with a wink to Coco. “I bet he hasn't even taken you out to lunch, and you're quite the cutie.”

“Thunderlane, you're pushing it,” I warned.

“He hasn't needed to ask me to lunch,” Coco said. “He's been making lunch for the both of us.”

I winced as Thunderlane's eyebrows rose.

“Really?” He looked at me and smiled like a manticore about to pounce a rabbit. “He's been making your lunches?”

“Not all of them, but he has.”

“Have any of them any good or have you been gagging them down out of politeness?”

“They've all been delicious.”

Thunderlane's smile grew, which I thought would have been impossible a moment before. “It's good to hear he's been treating you kindly. I bet he's been working your tail off, though.”

“We've both been working at a steady pace, but it's nothing like what I do in Manehatten. There is enough time for me to slow down and really focus, instead of constantly rushing to get a job done.”

“I will let you get back to it, then. I don't want to give him an excuse not to come tonight.” He nodded to her. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

She nodded back. “Likewise.”

Thunderlane stopped and pointed a wing at me. “You better show up.”

“I'll be there. I don't want to be carried through the streets like a trophy.”

Thunderlane snorted. “You flatter yourself. I doubt you would ever be mistaken for a trophy.”

After the bell rang, and the door closed, signaling Thunderlane was gone, I muttered, “With friends like him, I don't need enemies.”

“He's not too bad. He's just full of himself.”

“I don’t think he’s a bad guy, really. He likes to act smooth around good looking mar...” I trailed off, as Coco looked at me with an amused expression.

She motioned for me to continue. “Go on. Finish the thought.”

“He likes to look good around mares,” I said, as soon as I thought through how to rephrase my words.

She smiled. “So, you're going to act like it was a slip of the tongue?”

“It's the proper thing to do.”

“You don't have to be proper all the time. We're friends, right?” Her ears folded back and she would not meet my eye. “Or am I only a temporary employee?”

“I consider you a friend, but I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable.”

“Since we're friends, you don't have to have your guard up around me all the time. Sometimes, when you’re so formal, it makes me feel like I've done something wrong.”

“Sorry. I didn't realize I was making you feel that way. I'll do my best to loosen up.”

Her eyes went to my neck. She titled her head and looked amused. “Your tie is crooked. Hold still.”

I froze, as she worked on the bow.

“Besides, mares like compliments like that, especially when they are spontaneous.” Seeming satisfied, Coco looked up from her work. “There we go. You look handsome.”

I felt my cheeks warm. Before I could say something in response, the store's bell chimed again.

*****

As I slid the key into the lock, I heard large hooves approaching, and a shadow fell over me. I did not even glance over my shoulder as I turned the key. “Hello, Mac. I take it that Barrel spoke to you earlier.”

“Eeeyup.”

“I wasn't planning on skipping. As you can see, I'm locking up the shop to leave.” MacIntosh stood silently as I tucked the key away and turned to him. “I'm surprised Barrel isn't with you.”

“I volunteered to come in his place. The plan was that Mac would flush you out, and I would dive on you as you made your escape.”

I looked up to see Thunderlane hovering above our heads. “Get down here, you buzzard.”

“I prefer to be called a hawk or an eagle, thank you.” Thunderlane glided down and landed beside MacIntosh. “Barrel will escort you home, so no trying to leave early.”

I looked to MacIntosh for support. “All this fuss is making me feel like I'm a foal that needs looking after. I’m not that bad, am I?”

He smiled and moved the sprig of wheat in his mouth from one side to the other, but he did not say a word.

“Come on, you two. We're keeping the others waiting.” Thunderlane trotted away from us, heading towards the tavern. “They'll be on their second ciders, and we won't have even gotten started.”

“It's not a race, Lane.” MacIntosh and I followed, at a more leisurely pace. “Enjoy the evening a little.” I looked up. “It's nice and quiet, the moon is bright, and the stars are out.”

“I'd like the evening a lot more with a mug of cider to go along with all of that,” Thunderlane replied, not looking back.

“You can't tell that he's the youngest of our group can you?”

MacIntosh chuckled. “Eenope.”

The tavern was more crowded than usual. The others had occupied our typical table, saving it from being taken. Barrel, Carrot, and Caramel were talking; as the three of us sat down to join them.

“Bout time you three showed up,” Barrel said, wiping foam from his mouth. “Get lost on your way over here?”

“They were enjoying the moon, the walk, and the stars,” Thunderlane said, making a gagging motion. He waved to Frosted Mug. “Three more over here, Frost! Make that four; I've got catching up to do.” He then turned back to us. “I tried to get them to move it, but that didn't happen.”

“I thought as much. You should do the same. Life passes by too fast as it is, there's no need to rush it.” Barrel took a draw from his mug and then slowly lowered it back to the table. His mind seemed distant. “It's been too long since Berry and I took a walk and enjoyed the stars. I need to fix that.”

“I need to do something with Dazzle too, but we've been working our flanks off here lately.” Carrot leaned back in his chair. “Even with Pinkie helping, it's almost to the point we can't keep up.”

We collectively turned to Caramel, who told us, “Sassafras has been filling orders all over the place too. It's like anything from Ponyville is a hot commodity.”

“That would be due to our resident princess,” Barrel said. “Berry and I have even been getting requests for special labels celebrating Twilight's rise to royalty on wines from that year.” He looked to MacIntosh. “I bet you're having trouble keeping apples in storage, with your sister being an Element and a friend to Twilight to boot.”

“Eeyup.”

“Workaholic here has been busier than usual too,” Thunderlane said. He smiled and raised his mug. “I have an announcement to make. We can no longer count one of our members among the single.”

Several heads, at other tables, turned when he made his proclamation. I tried to not let it show, but Thunderlane's words chilled me. I had visions of his announcing that Coco and I were an item, the Ponyville rumor mill getting a hold of the idea, it getting back to Coco, and me having to explain that I had nothing to do with such a thought getting spread around.

“So that's the reason for us getting together tonight,” Barrel said. He looked at MacIntosh, Thunderlane, and me. “Since you three are the ones without a mare in your lives, we've got good odds at guessing who it is.”

“It's Pin.” Carrot said. “He reacted a little too much, when Thunderlane said something.”

“I can't guess, since I know who it is,” Caramel said.

“Well now, that changes the odds.” Barrel slowly grinned as he looked at me. “It is you, isn't it? You're looking more uneasy by the second.”

“Eenope,” MacIntosh said. “It's me.”

Carrot and Barrel looked shocked.

“Congratulations, you big lug!” Barrel said. “Who’s the lucky mare?”

“Miss Sugar Belle,” MacIntosh said, sounding proud.

Carrot gave him a look. “The confectioner from the town Starlight left?”

“Eeyup.”

“I thought he was dating Pinkie Pie’s sister,” Caramel said. “When I asked him how it was going, he set me straight.”

“He might have been and wouldn‘t admit it,” Thunderlane said. “The Apple doesn't roll far from the family tree.”

MacIntosh grabbed Thunderlane and put him in a somewhat friendly headlock. “That was uncalled for,” MacIntosh said, as he gave Thunderlane a light, for him, noogie. “I won't have you callin' into question Marble's morals.”

“It's not her morals I'm calling into question.” Thunderlane tried to wriggle free of MacIntosh's hold, as the noogie intensified. “Let me go, you over-sized lumox! This isn't high school!”

“Eenope.”

“Marble's a very, very, very distant cousin, if she is at all,” Caramel said, leaning away from the struggling form of Thunderlane. “Keep in mind, Pinkie was the source of that information.”

Carrot laughed. “True. She has her own take on things.”

I let out a slow breath. Just I as felt myself relax, Barrel made a slight motion with his hoof to draw my attention. I looked up to meet his eye. He smiled in a way that told that he knew something.

Oh crab apples, was the only thing I could think.

******

“You sure you will be all right making it back?” Barrel asked our buzzed friend. His volume was the same as if we were still in the tavern and still needed to speak up to be heard.

Thunderlane used a wing to wave off Barrel's question. “I'm fine. I'm fuzzy, I'll admit, but I'll get home without any trouble. Thanks, though.” He walked away from us showing no signs of inebriation.

“He can hold his drink better than most pegasi, I'll give him that.” Barrel poked me in the chest with a hoof. “We need to have a little chat.” He looked over my back to Carrot. “Why don't you join us for a minute? You might have something to add to the conversation.”

Carrot nodded. “And I need to keep an eye on you, since you’re worse off than Thunderlane.” After finishing waving to Caramel and MacIntosh, Carrot joined us. “You noticed it too? Our friend here got a little jumpy when Thunderlane made his announcement.”

“This one has gotten himself interested in the mare in his shop.” Barrel said, poking me in the chest again. “From what Berry said, she caught your eye quick.”

“Yes, I like her. No, before you ask, I haven't made any moves.”

“Why not?” Carrot asked.

“I didn't want her to feel weird working with me.”

“Understandable, but don't let that stop you,” Carrot said. “Try it once. If she doesn't seem interested, back way off and keep things professional.” Carrot tilted his head, indicating we should get moving. “Come on Barrel. It’s late, and you’re being loud again.”

“She put any moves on you?” Barrel asked, as we walked with Carrot.

“No, but she's given indications she might be open to being courted.”

“Such as?”

“She wanted me to quit being so formal.”

Barrel snorted. “We want you to get the stick from under your tail too, but we figure that’s not going to happen and none of us are making a pass at you.”

“She had to have done something more than that,” Carrot said, in a quiet voice, as if trying to compensate for Barrel’s almost shouting. “You reacted too strongly for there not to be something else.”

“She gave she adjusted my tie and told me I looked handsome this afternoon.”

Barrel slapped me on the shoulder. “You’re right to be fidgety. She’s all but given you an engraved invitation to woo her.”

“I don’t feel like I should, with the way things are right now.”

“Why the Tartarus not?”

“She’s under me.”

“Not yet, she’s not. But she might be if you play your cards right.”

My irritation must have shown. Barrel moved out of my reach, as I told him with more force than I should have, “That is not why I am interested in her.”

“Come on. You can’t tell me that, if she offered, you would pass it up.” He dropped his head and looked towards my hind quarters. “Or did you join that cult in Gelding Grotto and you haven’t told us about it?”

I stopped on the path. As Barrel and Carrot to came to a halt, I took a calming breath.

Barrel grinned. “That get under your coat? Guess you still have em.”

“Barrel, stop it,” Carrot said sharply.

“He’s drunk, Carrot. It’s all right.”

“I’m buzzed, but I’m not drunk. I’ve got to work tomorrow, so I can’t get properly hammered.” He moved close to me. “Doesn’t mean I’m not talking sense, either. You like the mare? Grab her.”

“If I recall, Berry beat the stuffing out of you when you did that to her.”

“I was drunk that night.” Barrel laughed, his breath carried the smell of heavy gravity cider. “It might not have been the best approach, but it worked out. At least she knew I was interested after that.”

After a long pause, I conceded, “You might have a point.”

Barrel’s grinned and his ears went up. “What’s this? Mr. Proper might take a pass at a mare?!”

“Not quite how you did with Berry, but I might.”

“I hate to do this, but I’ve got to get back,” Carrot said. “Dazzle is alone with the foals, and they can be quite the hooffull. Pin, give it a shot. It sounds like she wants you to, and you’ve been alone long enough.”

Barrel said, turning from me, “Rarity is a one of a kind mare, but she’s not worth not having another lady in your life.”

“We didn’t get that far, and things ended well enough.” I shrugged. “I didn’t feel like getting back into dating for a while.”

“Two years is more than a while.”

“I know, but work has been so crazy there just hasn’t been time for me to date a mare properly.”

“Take the time, Pin,” Carrot said. “I know the shop means a lot to you, like Sugar Cube Corner does to us, but you still need to take time for yourself away from it.”

Barrel nodded in agreement with Carrot. “Or draw her in into your life completely, work and all. Let her be your partner in everything. That’s what my marriage to Berry has become, and I wouldn’t have any other partner in business or life than her.”

Carrot and I both looked at Barrel, giving him a disbelieving stare.

He looked back to us. “What?”

I laughed. “There is no doubt about it now. You are drunk. You said something almost romantic.”

“You can kiss my mark. I’m crude and I'm not refined, I’ll admit, but I have soft spots too.” Barrel walked past Carrot, heading towards his place. “Come on Carrot. We’ve got mares and foals to go home to.”

Whether or not Barrel meant them as a parting jab his words stung. I had not thought about being on my own for a while. My feelings getting hurt by something said might that might not have even involved me gave me something to mull over as I made my way home.

After returning home I made my way to my bedroom. Seeing myself in the dresser mirror, I stopped and studied my reflection. My hoof went to the bow tie. “I didn’t even think about taking it off, even knowing I was going to a pub,” I told my image. With care, I undid the knot. “Not too long ago, that would never have happened.” After folding and putting the tie on top of the dresser, I looked up at my reflection and smiled. “She is something special, isn’t she?” My expression turned serious. “Should I try?”

Realizing that I was talking to my reflection and sincerely wanting an answer, I rubbed a hoof against my forehead. “I think I might have had too much. Here I am blithering to my reflection.” After finishing my evening routine, I slid into bed. My thoughts roiled with should I’s, what abouts, and worries, before I drifted off.

I woke to the sound of my alarm clock. After a groan and a good stretch, I rolled out of bed and silenced the ringing. My eyes drifted to the bow tie. I sighed, my mind still jumbled about the whole situation with Coco. As I got ready for the day, I sorted through my thoughts. Having slept, and with the effects of the alcohol gone, it proved an easier task.

After a quick breakfast, I made my way to Rose Luck’s market stand. She was setting up and putting her flowers on display. She paused in what she was doing as I approached. “Good morning. You rarely visit the market this soon this soon after making a trip. Did you forget something?”

“No, I got everything the other day. I came to talk to you about flowers.”

A smile came to Rose’s face. “I would love to help however I can.”

Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Rose Luck passed my change to me. “There you go.”

I tucked the bits in my saddlebags. “Thank you for helping me double check I was getting the right ones.”

Rose gave me an encouraging smile. “I’m sure she will love them and the message. Good luck.”

“Thanks, Rose. I’m going to need it.”

As I made my way through the market, I felt the eyes of several ponies linger on me. It was not unusual for me to make an early morning run for supplies, but my carrying a bouquet was a novelty. I sighed, knowing the news of me buying flowers would be all around Ponyville by dinner.

I returned home and put the flowers in the refrigerator in my apartment. Afterward putting the flowers away, I went about my normal routine to prepare for the day.

As I put the last vest on display, I looked around the storefront and smiled. “The shop’s almost back to normal,” I said to myself. My ear turned towards the back of the shop as Coco worked the lock and entered the shop. “Good morning!”

“Good morning!” Coco called back. “How was last night?”

“Things went well. Gossip was swapped, bragging was done, and we made it back home under our own power.”

Coco giggled as she stepped into the storefront. “Barrel was in a good mood when he came home last night. He greeted Berry with quite a kiss.”

“That’s somewhat how they got together,” I said. “Barrel had a good amount of liquid courage in him when he made his first pass at Berry.”

“She told me about that last night, after she tucked Pinch in for bed. Barrel is a bit rowdy, but he’s sweet, it shows he loves ‘his ladies’ too.”

I picked up my feather duster and went over a display with it. “What did you ladies do?”

“We had takeout from The Grazing Meadow, played a board game, and talked. Berry and Pinch had Piña Colada over. The fillies were so cute. They asked me all sorts of questions about living in Manehattan and being in fashion. I didn’t realize that Piña was Berry’s sister until she told me about her and Berry winning the Sisterhood Social.”

“Pina is another reason that Berry and I get along so well. Piña was a shock to her parents like I was to mine.” I gave a slight bow to her. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

I stepped into the back of the shop to put up my cleaning supplies. I fumbled the duster as I was putting it back on its shelf and sprinkled dust on myself. I did what I could not to sneeze, but, to my chagrin, could not suppress it.

“Was that you?” Coco asked.

I grabbed a clean cloth and wiped the dust off of my coat and face. “Sorry about that. I have a weird sneeze.”

She giggled. “I thought it was cute.”

“That’s a kind description.” I returned to the storefront. “I think the sneeze blew my train of thought right out of my head. Where was I?”

Coco pulled the store’s receipt book from the cash register and put it on the counter. “You were telling me about how Piña made your friendship with Berry stronger.”

“That’s right.” I bopped the side of my head with a hoof and continued, “Berry helped raise Piña along with Pinch. I’ve tried to help by giving Berry and her parents insight from the perspective of a ‘surprise’ foal.”

“I bet she’s loved to pieces, as sweet as she is.”

“We all adore her. Pinch is a wonderful filly too.” I walked to the store’s front door and flipped the sign to ‘open’. Before I took three steps from the door, somepony walked through the door.

“I need your help,” Thunderlane said, as he came into the shop. He had a suit bag slung over his back and an uncharacteristic serious look.

“Are you all right?”

“Yes, no, horse apples, I don’t know. I know you’re busy, but I’ve put myself in a tailspin and you’re the only pony I know that I can talk to it about.”

“I can always make time to help a friend. Coco and I have made a good bit of headway on the order backlog too, so don’t worry about that.”

Thunderlane’s ears perked up. “Is she here?”

“I’m here,” Coco said and waved from the counter.

Thunderlane slapped a hoof to his forehead. “I am a mess. I didn’t even see you.”

“You were distracted.” Coco stepped from around the counter. “What can we do to help?”

“I need my suit adjusted. During this morning’s practice briefing, Spitfire told us the Wonderbolts are going to put on a performance at an event that’s still hush-hush. We’re going to get tickets to the event, plus one for each of us. She said we were to all find somepony to go with us or she would shave our manes and tails and make us do wing ups till our wings fell off.”

“That seems on the extreme side,” I said.

“She doesn’t want for any of us to disappoint Princess Celestia by not using our tickets. She also told us we were not to give them away. We have to choose somepony we know and trust to bring with us to cut down on the possibility of some of our top fans getting upset about not getting a ticket.” Thunderlane looked down and tapped his hooves together. “I’m going to ask Rarity if she would like to go.”

“I’m sure she would love to,” Coco said. “All you have to do is ask her.”

I held out a hoof to him. “Give me your suit. I’ll put in the back and get my file on you.”

“I told you to look out for the quiet ones,” Thunderlane said to Coco as he gave me his suit bag. “I bet he has a file for everypony in Ponyville.”

“You’re mistaking me for Pinkie.” I made my way to the back of the shop. I could hear snippets of Coco’s and Thunderlane’s conversation while I put away Thunderlane’s suit and retrieved his file, but could not hear them well enough to know what they were discussing.

As I walked back into the storefront, Thunderlane pointed a hoof at me and said, “And it’s all his fault.”

I blinked in surprise. “I would defend myself, but I’m not sure what I’m being accused of.”

“Last night, while lying in bed alone, I realized that I’m just as bad as you about talking to the mare I have a crush on.”

I felt my cheeks warm, but I tried to act as if his words had not impacted me. “I take it Rarity’s the mare you’re having trouble talking to.”

Thunderlane sighed. “I know I walk around like I’m all that and a bag of chips, but she’s so far above me it scares me to even talk to her.”

I tapped him on the shoulder with the folder. “Lane, don’t’ put yourself down. You’re a Wonderbolt, a hardworking stallion, and a great older brother to Rumble.” I readied my measuring tape. “Hold still. I need to update your measurements.”

“Thanks, Pin.” He looked to Coco. “I’m going to invite her to the… event, no matter what. I want to know if I would waste her time and mine asking her if she would like to see me after that to see if something could grow between us.”

“Well,” Coco put a foreleg across her chest, rested her elbow in one hoof and put her free hoof to her chin, “what do you know about Rarity? Not Rarity the Element of Generosity or Rarity the fashionista, but Rarity the mare.”

“She can be a perfectionist who demands the best of herself. In everything she does she aims to shine and help others shine too. She can be pushy, but I think she acts that way because she feels that her ideas are going to help somepony.”

I finished writing the measurements I had taken down. “Foreleg out,” I told him.

Thunderlane obliged.

“She’s also a romantic looking for the highest quality stallion.” He paused and swallowed. “I’m not sure if I fit what she’s looking for.”

“Leg down, chin up,” I said. Putting my measuring tape around his neck, I told him, “Your measurements have changed.” I removed my tape from his neck. “If she’s looking for somepony athletic, you fit the bill.”

He grinned. “I can thank the Wonderbolt’s training routine for that. When I tried my suit on, I could tell that I had put on muscle and lost weight. It was too tight in spots and too loose in others.”

“Rarity’s told me about you,” Coco said, giving Thunderlane a kind smile. “You’re the stallion that saved her when she fell from the Wonderbolt’s training grounds.”

Thunderlane rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “Yeah, that was me.”

“That made quite an impression on her.”

“It did for me too. When she hugged me, that’s when the crush started.”

Coco tilted her head, which made me smile at how cute she was, and asked Thunderlane, “You can tell that was the exact time?”

“I’ll admit; Rarity has always drawn my eye. When she hugged me, it was genuine and strong. It lit something in me. As we flew back to the training grounds, I thought about all the things she does: maretial arts, adventuring, singing with the Ponytones, and volunteering around town. I realized how special a mare she is then, and my admiration for her has grown every time I hear about the latest thing she has accomplished.”

“Do you want to know she said about you?” Coco asked him.

Thunderlane gave an unsure nod.

“She told me you were like a knight out of the old stories, saving the damsel in distress.”

Coco’s demeanor changed and she mimicked Rarity: “There he was, a handsome, strong, kind stallion, holding me safe.” She put a hoof over her chest and looked wistful. “I was sure he could hear my heart beating. For a second, I thought I saw a spark in his eyes when he looked at me, but he’s never said anything.” She sighed and put a hoof to her cheek, just as Rarity would. “Coco, why can’t I ever get a stallion like that to be interested in me? All I seem to find are self-absorbed princes and egotistical prats.”

Thunderlane applauded her. “Whoa. Pin was right, you are good at that.”

Coco blushed and returned to her normal self. “Thank you.”

“She said that,” Thunderlane said, a small, hopeful smile on his lips. “That’s great, but what if we want it to be long term?” He motioned a hoof towards me. “Look at him. He’s everything she could have wanted, and they never even got off the ground. What chance do I have to give her what she wants?”

I finished recording the last of the measurements I needed. “A much better chance I ever would have, that’s for sure.”

“But you’re in the same profession.” He tapped the floor with a hoof. “You’re from Canterlot.” He gave the floor another tap. “You have connections out the kazoo.” Tap. “You two have been friends for the longest.” Tap.

I shook my head. “That’s not enough. A long term relationship is a symbiosis between two ponies. Loving partners shield each other from the daily grind and are there to bolster each other through tough times. When the good times come, they enhance each other’s joy by sharing it. They have to give themselves to their partner without judgment and without reservation. I could not be what Rarity needs in a partner. She needs someone who could help her lift her career and her social status. While I haven’t burned any bridges, I didn’t have the connections she needed and wanted. I didn’t want to get dragged back into the Canterlot scheming either.” I closed the folder and smiled. “You, on the other hoof, can give all of that and more to her.”

Thunderlane looked at me as if I had lost my mind. “How am I supposed to do that? I don’t know one thing about fashion or have those kinds of connections. I can’t even sew.”

“You don’t have to. As a Wonderbolt you are a famous athlete that gets to rub shoulders with the elite of Equestria. Through your fame and position, she can enhance her business by going to and hosting events with you. In turn, you can spread the Wonderbolt’s name, and help out more ponies like you enjoy by attending the various charity events she does. I would be shocked if she didn’t ask you to model her clothes at charity auctions.” I grinned at him. “As much as you like to preen and strut, I’m sure you would love it.”

“You have the look for it,” Coco said, nodding in agreement. “It would help both of your careers, and she would love all the attention she would get from being involved with a Wonderbolt.”

He looked to her with vulnerable eyes. “You think so? You think I could do all that for her?”

“Would you like to?”

“Yes,” he said with conviction.

“Then I know you can.” Coco patted him on the shoulder. “She’s been waiting for a stallion like you. Like Pin said, you would benefit each other being together and you both admire each other in your own ways. If you two give it a chance, I’m sure you two will go together professionally and romantically like hoof and glove.”

“Thank you.” He put a hoof over Coco’s, lifted it from his shoulder, and gave it a light kiss. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome.”

He turned and grinned. “I’m not going to kiss you, even on the hoof.” Thunderlane caught me in a hug, before I could dodge. “You get a hug, though. Thanks. I didn’t realize you were a philosopher on love.”

My forelegs trapped, I gave his lower back a weak pat. “You’re welcome.”

The shop’s bell rang, and Filthy Rich stepped in. He paused and his eyebrows rose as he looked at Thunderlane and me. “Do I even want to know what is going on?”

Thunderlane let go of me as if I had turned red hot. “I was thanking him for helping me. I gave Coco’s hoof a kiss, so I gave him a hug so he wouldn’t get jealous.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Rich said, giving Thunderlane an unconvinced look.

“I hate to do this, but I’ve got to fly,” Thunderlane said. “I’m on rotation for the weather team this afternoon, and I’ve still got errands to run. If I’m late, Rainbow will have my tail.” He shook hooves with Rich, before heading out the door. “Take care, sir.”

“You too!” Rich told him as the shop’s door closed.

“How did the trip go?” I asked Rich.

“It was going well, right up to the point I opened my big mouth to your parents.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was at a function for business owners in Canterlot when I ran into your folks.” Rich adjusted his tie as if it were making him uncomfortable. “When you came up in the discussion, they said they were worried since they hadn’t heard from you in a while. I told them you were fine and that your business was going well enough you were having trouble keeping up with orders.”

“There’s nothing wrong with what you told them. It’s all true.”

“To help them not worry I also mentioned that you had hired an assistant recommended by Rarity.”

“Oh.” I gave as nonchalant of a shrug as I could. “That’s not a secret. She and I take turns working the front.”

“After they found out I had met her, they asked me what kind of mare she was. When I answered, they said they wanted to meet her.”

I closed my eyes and let my head fall back. “Of course they would.”

“They asked me to tell you they would come to visit as soon as they could get a clear spot on their calendar and train tickets. I feel terrible that I’m the one that prompted all of this.”

I looked back at Rich. “The last time I got a letter from them, they hinted they might be coming. They sped up their time table is all. Knowing how fast Canterlot and Ponyville gossip travels, they would have found out from another source.” I patted him on the back. “I’m glad they found out from you. Who knows what rumors they would have gotten from anypony else.”

Rich turned to Coco and bowed to her. “I am sorry for bringing up your name to them too.”

She waved his words away. “Mister Rich, it’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

Rich gave her a searching look. “Has Pin told you about them?”

“He has.”

“I will give it to you straight.” Rich gave my chest a light thump. “This stallion is one of the best ponies to come out of that city. Most of them have their noses stuck so far up in the air they can’t see where they’re walking. They don’t care for ponies from outside Canterlot. They put up with ponies like me because I bring them business. If it weren’t for that some of them wouldn’t so much as give me the time of day.”

Coco looked uneasy. “His parents didn’t sound that bad.”

“They aren’t, but they still have their moments. They have an odd relationship with Pin too. They love him, but they can pull some of the daftest things I have seen to try and ‘help’ him. I’ve felt bad about setting what I have into motion, and I wanted to warn you about them.”

“You don’t have to feel bad at all. You were trying to help Pin’s parents not worry about him.”

He gave Coco a bow. “You’re both too kind.” As he raised his head he asked, “Has there been any news from Rarity?”

Coco shook her head. “Not a word.”

“I have heard nothing from her either,” I added. “She’s supposed to be coming back this afternoon.”

“I hope her trip went well. There is nothing like being miserable while traveling.” Rich gave us both a nod. “Thank you for being so understanding. You two take care and don’t work too hard.”

“You too, Rich,” I told him and held the door open for him.

After closing the door behind him, I sighed. “At least we’ve been forewarned.”

“I’m sure it won’t be that bad,” Coco said, half chiding me.

“It won’t be, if it’s just them. If they bring Satin with them then all bets are off.” I smiled at her as I was struck with inspiration. “This isn’t how I planned it, but since you got the news you’re going to be meeting my parents sometime soon, I think a slight change in timing is appropriate.”

She gave me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“I want to give you something. It’s up in my apartment.” I put out a bell and a sign that read ‘For Service Please Ring Bell’ on the counter. “Would you mind following me up?”

“Not at all.”

I led her out of the storefront. As we went down the short hall and ascended the stairs, my heart pounded.

When I led her into the kitchen she tilted her head in the way that made me smile. The feeling I got seeing her as cute and lovely as she was at that moment strengthened my resolve to see my gamble through.

I opened the refrigerator and took out the flowers.

She gave a soft gasp when they came into her view.

I held them out to her. “Coco, I have feelings for you that go beyond our professional relationship and our friendship. I realize by doing this I am jeopardizing both, but I wanted you to know.”

She took the flowers from my hooves, her expression one of surprise.

“If you are uncomfortable with the thought of me having a romantic interest in you, please tell me. It will not offend me and will never bring the subject up again. I want you to enjoy the flowers, no matter what you decide.”

“These are wonderful. Thank you.” She looked up from the bouquet and gave me a smile. “You know the language of flowers.”

“Not all that well, I’ll admit. I had to ask Rose to double check their meanings for me.”

“Let’s see if I remember them right.” Coco touched a hoof to each flower as she named them: “White carnations for a pure love. Peonies for a growing love toward somepony new. A white rose for good beginnings.” Coco met my eyes with hers as she named the last flower. “A lavender rose for love at first sight.”

“You did make quite an impression on me. Enough of one for me to give Berry the details she needed to work her magic.”

She tittered at my words. “When you first saw me, you looked like you were ready to panic.”

I swallowed and nodded. “It was because I had made a thoughtless error. It terrified me that what I had done would hurt the feelings of a beautiful mare I didn’t even know.”

“Rarity told me about the workstation, when I asked her what had caused you to lockup when you saw me later that evening.”

“I-”

Coco put a hoof over my lips, before I could say anything. “She also explained to my why you panicked. I know you aren’t like the other unicorns from Canterlot. That you were so upset over something I wouldn’t have given a second thought to proves it.” She removed her hoof from my mouth and gave my nose a light tap. “I like you’re complimenting me without worrying about it.”

I smiled with elation and relief. “I would happy to give you many more, if I get your permission.”

“You are welcome to give me as many as you want.” She blushed and gave me a shy smile. “I liked the message of the flowers. I would like to see if we can build a relationship beyond business and friendship too.” Her smile shifted to being mischievous. “More than what we have developed already, I should say.”

My ears went up in surprise.

“You silly pony, after all the kindness you’ve shown and the things you’ve done for me how could I not have feelings for you?”

“I had hoped that you telling me to relax and you calling me handsome when you adjusted my bow tie meant what I thought it did, but I wasn’t sure.”

“I noticed that bow tie never made it back to the shelf.”

“It’s special, just like the mare that made it, so I kept it.”

She raised an eyebrow and teased, “Are you planning to keep me too?”

“I want to invite you to stay as for however long you would like.” I looked into her blue eyes.“The longer you’ve been here and the more I have gotten to know you the longer I have hoped you would stay, but I would never keep you here.”

She gave me a smile that made me feel warm. She sniffed the flowers and told me, “You’re making me want to stay a very long time.”

I smiled back. “I’m glad.”

*****

I closed the shop’s ledger and then put it and a bag of bits in the safe under the counter. As I stood up, the store’s door opened with energy.

“We’re back, and I’ve been inspired!” Rarity announced.

“Welcome back!” I responded. “I take it the trip went well.”

“It was fabulous! Sweetie and I got to spend a lot of quality time together and I had the most marvelous idea.”

“What was that?”

“I’m going to open up another shop!”

As I took a moment to let her announcement set in, her eyes went to the vase of flowers on the counter.

“Those are beautiful and they have such a wonderful scent.” She approached the counter and reached out a hoof to touch a blossom.

Coco stepped from the back and into the storefront. “I thought I heard your voice, Rarity. How did the trip go?”

“It was wonderful. I can’t wait to tell you both all about it.” She smiled at Coco. “These were a wonderful idea, darling. They look wonderful here on the counter and they smell divine.”

“I didn’t get them,” Coco said.

Rarity gave me a look. “I’ve never known you to display flowers in your shop. Has our dear Coco been influencing you?”

“She has. The flowers were for her.”

“What?” Rarity looked back to the flowers and studied them for a moment. “I can’t believe I missed it! They’re a message of a hopeful start to a relationship. I must be suffering train lag.”

“You’re better at remembering their meanings than I am,” I complemented.

“These are fresh too,” Rarity noted.

“I got them this morning.”

Rarity smiled in a way that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “I hope you two don’t have dinner plans. You will tell me all about whats been going on. I have to tell you about Sweetie and my trip too.”

I looked at Coco and asked, “I think she gave us a command more than an invitation, don’t you?”

Coco nodded. “It sounded like it.”

“There is one teensy little problem, though,” Rarity said. “I don’t have reservations for anywhere, so our options are limited with as crowded as things get nowadays.”

“We could eat here. I went to the market this morning and resupplied. I’d be happy to cook.”

“That is an option,” Rarity said with a hint of uncertainty.

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Coco said. “Pin is a great cook and I’m sure you need a break from being crammed into places with a lot of loud ponies. I‘m sure you could use some home cooking to, with all the traveling you’ve been doing.

Rarity paused and then asked, “He’s cooked for you?”

“He’s made most of my lunches, since I’ve been here.”

I smiled with unease at the look Rarity gave me.

“Really now?” Rarity asked, as her eyebrow rose.

To change the subject, I asked, “Would Sweetie like to join us again?”

“She’s at Mother and Father’s. I’m sure they are doting on her and listening to her tell all about our trip. It’s kind of you to ask about her, though. You made her night the other night when you brought the sparkling wine for her.”

Rarity’s smile changed again and the hairs on the back of my neck returned to standing.

“Did you happen to get wine while you were out this morning?”

Sisters, if she’s thinking what I think she’s thinking, Coco and I will need your intervention, I silently pleaded.

“No, I didn’t,” I admitted.

“Coco, darling, would you like to come with me to pick up a bottle or two? I know just the place. If we head there right now, we’ll make it before the shop closes.”

“I would be glad to go,” Coco looked to me, “unless you would like help closing the shop.”

I shook my head. “Thank you, but I’ve got it. If you two are going where I think you’re going, please ask Berry if she, Barrel, and Pinch would like to come over too.”

“You know me too well,” Rarity said, with a self-satisfied smile. “We’ll be back before too long, darling.”

I followed them to the front of the shop. “Tell Berry hello for me.”

“We will,” Rarity assured.

Coco looked over her shoulder, gave me a smile, and shrugged her shoulders as they left.

I shut the door behind them and flipped the store’s sign to ‘closed’. I shook my head and chuckled as I turned back to finish closing up the store.

Chapter 6

As I set the oven to preheat, I heard a knock on the back door.

“Almost perfect timing,” I congratulated myself. “I hope dinner comes out as well.”

I went downstairs and to the back door. When I opened it, I was greeted by four smiles and an unexpected hug.

“Uncle Pin! I’m so glad to see you!”

I smiled and hugged Piña back. “I’m glad to see you too! This is a nice surprise.”

“Barrel was feeling under the weather,” Berry said, giving me a look that made me think the previous night’s activities had contributed to Barrel’s condition. “Piña was visiting us, she and Pinch are having a sleepover, and we thought you wouldn’t mind a substitution.”

“I don’t mind at all.” I leaned my head closer to Piña’s ear and stage whispered, “Don’t tell Barrel, but I think I got the better deal out of the trade.”

Piña giggled and added more to her hug.

“I’d like a hug too,” Pinch teased and poked Piña in the shoulder.

Piña reached out with a foreleg and pulled Pinch to her. “There!”

Piña and I shifted and brought Pinch into the hug.

“Hello, Pinch, I’m glad to see you too,” I told her.

“Hello Uncle Pin,” she said. “You and Piña are both crazy.”

“I can’t argue that. I hope it’s a good crazy though.”

Pinch grinned. “It is.”

I let the fillies go. “Good evening, Berry.”

“Do I get a hug too?” Berry kidded.

“If you’d like one,” I said with sincerity.

“You are a crazy thing,” she said, and we shared a hug.

Piña hopped up and down in place. “Miss Rarity said you had flowers in your shop. Can we see?”

“You’ll have to ask Miss Coco,” I told her. “The flowers are hers.”

Before Piña could ask her, Coco said, “You can see them.”

Piña smiled up at her. “Thank you.”

“Come on in,” I invited everypony. “The shop’s looking a lot better, thanks to Coco.”

“Because she brings flowers?” Piña asked as we entered the storefront.

“Pin was the one who brought the flowers,” Coco said.

I heard Piña’s hoof steps stop behind me.

“He bought them for you?” she asked.

“He did.”

I turned in time to see the smile on Coco’s face and Piña’s look of happy surprise.

Piña leaned towards Coco. “So you’re his special somepony?”

“I am as of this morning.”

Piña squealed with glee and trotted in place “Congratulations! Uncle Pin is the best! He’s needed a special somepony for a long time too.”

“You could have phrased that better,” Berry told Piña, “but he has.”

Piña stopped her joyous display and pointed a hoof at me. “Be good to Miss Coco. She is a very nice mare.”

Coco giggled and told her, “He’s been nothing but wonderful since the moment I walked into the shop.”

“Those are pretty,” Berry said, admiring the flowers.

“They’re from Rose’s, if I had to bet,” Rarity said.

Piña and Pinch moved closer to examine the flowers.

Pinch asked, “They mean that the giver is feeling love towards somepony new and they hope are looking forward to a long relationship, right?”

I nodded. “That’s what I was trying to say.”

“How did you know?” Rarity asked Pinch. “There aren’t too many ponies that know what flowers mean from memory.”

“I read about their meanings in a book in the library. The meanings stuck in my head.”

“You’ve got a better memory than I do,” I complemented.

“I wish I could do the same thing with my schoolwork,” Pinch huffed in annoyance at herself.

I could just hear the oven chime from the apartment.

I nodded towards the back of the shop. “It sounds like we’re ready to cook now.”

Piña turned her head from the flowers. “What are we having?”

I held my foreleg out as a head waiter with a serving towel would. “On tonight’s menu is a fresh garden salad followed by vegetable stuffed cannelloni. For dessert, if anypony is interested…”

Piña and Pinch held up their hooves. “We are!” Pinch said.

“There will be brownies. According to the kitchen’s tradition, any fillies or colts who help prepare the brownies also get to help clean the mixing bowl of any brownie batter.”

Piña stretched and raised her hoof higher in the air. “We’d like to!”

“Nana used to let us have the leftover batter too,” Pinch said, with a touch of sadness in her words.

“We all miss them,” Rarity said, rubbing Pinch’s shoulder in comforting circles. “They were special ponies to all of us.”

Piña tapped Pinch on the nose. “Nana said we weren’t supposed to get sad when she was gone. Remember, we promised.”

“You two knew Pin’s grandparents?” Coco asked the fillies.

Pinch’s smiled returned, and she nodded. “When we were little, Nana and Grandpa would take care of us if Mom and Dad were busy. She would hold Piña and me in her wings and read us stories.” Pinch seemed frustrated with herself for a moment. “I sort of remember what she looked like.”

“I don’t remember her much at all,” Piña said, looking down. “We’re in the same grade, but Pinch is almost a year older than I am.” Piña perked up. “I remember her wing hugs, though. They were great.”

“You usually fell asleep when she read to us,” Pinch teased.

Piña blushed. “I couldn’t help it! Nana’s wings were so comfy and her voice was so nice.”

Everypony followed me into the apartment.

“Make yourselves at home,” I invited. “I’ll pop the cannelloni in the oven, and then we can get started on the brownies.”

“I’ll follow you,” Berry said. She patted her saddlebags. “We’ll need to find a place for these.”

“You didn’t have to bring anything,” I told her.

“We’re going to have an evening of fun and gossip and you think I’m not going to bring wine?” She pointed a hoof at me in an over dramatic fashion. “You have to be a changeling! Confess! The real Pin would know me better!”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Your first pet was a cat named Bottle Cork, you placed second in a spelling bee in primary school, and for the longest time you have a crush on-” Before I could finish my sentence, Berry used her hooves to close and hold my mouth shut.

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Berry warned. She glanced towards Piña and Pinch, who were looking at Berry with intense curiosity.

Pinch grinned in a too enthusiastic way and asked me, “Who, Uncle Pin?”

I tried to say the name, but Berry’s hooves held firm.

“Dear, he needs to breathe,” Rarity reminded Berry.

“He’s fine; I don’t have his nose.” Berry looked me in the eye and added, “For now, anyway.”

“But I want to know,” Pinch insisted in a lighthearted tone.

“I could tell you who he had a crush on instead,” Berry offered. “Would that work?”

“I’d be interested in that information,” Coco said.

Pinch nodded and agreed, “Sounds good.”

Berry looked at me as if asking permission. I shrugged and nodded as best I could with Berry’s hooves still on my muzzle.

“June Bug,” Berry named.

“Isn’t she the mare that helps ponies with bugs in their gardens?” Piña asked.

Berry let go of my muzzle, and I affirmed, “That would be her.”

We spent the next half hour kidding around, talking, and relaxing. While the cannelloni cooked Piña, Pinch, and I prepared the brownies. After we poured the batter into a baking pan, the fillies each used a spoon to scrape the last of the batter out of the mixing bowl we had used for the brownie batter while I prepared the salads for everypony.

“The salads are served,” I said, placing Piña’s and Pinch’s salads in front of them. “Enjoy!”

“Thank you!” the fillies said together.

I served the mares their salads. “Which wine should we start with?” I asked Berry as I put her salad in front of her.

“The white, it will go well with the pasta,” she said.

“Which sparkling juice would you two like?” I asked Piña and Pinch.

“Apple!” and “Grape!” were their responses.

Berry put a hoof to her chest. “Daughter of mine, how could you?!”

Pinch’s ears fell. “I’ve had a lot of grape juice today.”

Berry gave her a comforting look. “I was kidding; you can have whatever you like.”

As I uncorked the first bottle, I asked Rarity, “What was the grand inspiration you mentioned earlier?”

“I’m going to open another shop,” Rarity declared.

“You opened a shop in Canterlot not too long ago, though,” Coco said, sounding stunned. “Won’t you be too busy?”

“I don’t plan to open it right now. I’m thinking ahead, darling.”

“What made you think about opening another shop?” Berry asked Rarity.

“The inspiration struck while Sweetie and I were on the train to Manehatten from Fillydelphia. I thought about how much traveling and seeing the different cities and the ponies that lived in them had given me several great ideas. Knowing I don’t travel without a reason all that often, I wondered how I could coax myself to do so.”

“Having a shop you would have to check on would make you travel,” I ventured.

Rarity nodded. “That was my thought.” She held up a hoof. “I would have to travel, which I enjoy and gain inspiration from.” She held up her other hoof. “It would also open a new market for me.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” I told her, as I gave the fillies their sparkling juice. “I’m worried you will stretch yourself too thin. There is only one Rarity and there are hundreds of ponies who want your designs.”

“Thank for the compliment and your concern, but I’ll be fine. Unlike a certain somepony I know, I don’t do everything on my own till I can no longer function.”

I looked around the room as if searching for somepony. “Who in Equestria could you be talking about?”

“I think she means you,” Piña said, not buying my act.

I put a hoof to my chest. “She can’t mean me, I have somepony helping me.”

“Now you do,” Berry said. “What about the other times we’ve had to check on you because you worked yourself till you all but collapsed?”

“I might have had a bad habit of that, but I think I’ve kicked it now.” I placed Coco’s glass of wine in front of her. “Somepony special has shown me how much getting help during a tough stretch makes every aspect of life better.”

Coco looked up at me with a tint of a blush on her cheeks.

The oven’s bell chimed.

I turned to look at the oven. “It sounds like the cannelloni is ready.”

“He’s stopping right there?!” Pinch whispered, as I walked from the table.

“Pinch, this isn’t one of your books,” Piña chided.

Rarity asked, “What books has she been reading?”

“I’d like to know too,” Berry said in a mother’s tone.

During their exchange, I removed the cannelloni from the oven, adjusted its temperature setting, and put the brownies in.

“I don’t know if it will taste any good, but it looks good,” I said putting the cannelloni on a metal rack on the counter. “About the time we finish our salads, it should be cool enough to eat.”

Berry gave a light snort. “You mean when we finish our salads. You haven’t even sat down and had a bite.”

“I have to look after my guests first.” I gave Berry and Rarity their wine.

“We’re friends having dinner, not patrons of a restaurant,” Berry pointed out. “We can fend for ourselves.”

“He’s being a gentlecolt,” Pinch said. “If we don’t let him wait on us, it would be rude.”

Piña gave her a look.

“What?” Pinch asked her.

“Nothing.” Piña smirked at Pinch. “I’m just wondering if Miss Coco is the only one that has a crush on Uncle Pin.”

“Piña! He’s too old for me to have a crush on!” As soon as the words left her mouth, Pinch slapped her hooves over her mouth.

I let my ears fall, slumped into my chair, and sighed. “Thanks, Pinch. I am getting over the hill.”

“No, Uncle Pin, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re hard working and wonderful. What I meant is that you have to be close to Mom’s age, since you were in the same class, and that would be weird.”

“Now I’m old!” Berry said with mock indignation. “I’ll remind you of this conversation when you get my age and we’ll see who’s ‘old’.”

“Please, let’s talk about something else,” Pinch begged and looked towards the rest of us, “anything else!”

Rarity smiled in an amused way and turned to Coco. “While Sweetie and I were in Manehatten, we saw fliers for a community show close to your place. Could it have been the one you volunteer for?”

Coco nodded. “This would be about the time they would advertise it, so it probably is.”

“Are you planning to go up there and help this year?”

“I was thinking about it,” Coco said. “But if you or Pin needs me, I’ll stay here.”

“I’ll be fine, darling,” Rarity gave me a sideways glance, “others, perhaps not so much.”

“Thanks to you, I feel like I can breathe again,” I told Coco. “Your contract with me is almost done too, so you don’t have to worry about that either.” I sat down beside her. “Speaking of which, I wanted to ask you and Rarity about something.”

“You want to keep her,” Rarity guessed.

I gave a light snort. “That’s the second time today that the word ‘keeping’ has come up in connection with me.”

“Mares want to be kept,” Pinch said. “Not to bar us from leaving but in a way that makes us feel shielded from the world and loved.”

Everypony turned to Pinch, who all but ducked under the table at the attention. “I guess I have been reading too many of Princess Twilight’s books.”

“Twilight’s books?” Rarity asked her eyebrows raised high in surprise.

“When I asked about where the romance books where in the castle’s library, she recommended them,” Pinch explained. “I guess they’re not actually hers, now I think about it.”

“I might have to have a little chat with Twilight,” Rarity said. “I had no idea she had any interest in romance.”

Rarity grinned in a way that made me feel sorry for Twilight.

“Which series have you been reading?” Berry asked.

Pinch blushed and looked towards the tabletop. “They aren’t anything bad, I promise, and Twilight said they were age appropriate.”

“That sounds like Twilight,” Rarity said. “I doubt she would recommend anything that would be too risqué.”

“I’ll get the cannelloni,” I said, hoping to help take the attention off of Pinch.

“Can I help?” Piña asked. She glanced at Pinch. “I think being close to my niece is not the safest place to be right now.”

Pinch scrunched up her nose and gave Piña a look. “Don’t act innocent, Auntie. Should I tell them who’s read a couple of the books after I finished them?”

“Piña, I would love for you to help,” I said, doing my best not to laugh as Piña gave a guilty, weak grin to Berry.

“Thank you!” Piña said and scrambled from her chair.

“If you would get everypony’s plates, I’ll divvy up the cannelloni.”

“This conversation isn’t over for either of you,” Berry promised, giving each of the fillies a look.

With Piña’s help, the cannelloni was served in little time.

“Dig in!” I encouraged, while checking on the brownies. “I’ll be right there.”

After trying a bite, Berry gave a satisfied hum. “This is good.”

“Thank you.” I shut the oven and retook my seat. “It’s not Grazing Meadow quality, but I hope it’s edible.”

“It’s good Uncle Pin,” Piña said and took another generous bite from her portion.

“Slow down,” Rarity told her. “A lady should show proper decorum and enjoy her meal at a stately pace.”

“What are you going to be working on with Miss Coco?” Pinch asked Rarity.

“This and that, since I’ve been away I will have back orders I will need to fill along with everything else.”

“So, what’s she’s been doing with Uncle Pin pretty much,” Pinch said.

“There will be more dress making involved,” Rarity said, “but yes.”

Piña put on a mischievous grin as she took a strong swig of her grape juice.

Berry pointed her fork at Piña. “I know that look. What are you thinking?”

Piña put down her cup. “Maybe they’ll have a duel for Coco. The winner gets to have her at their shop for three days a week, the loser only two.”

“Coco can make her own decisions who she will work for and when,” I said.

“So you don’t her around every day?” Pinch asked me with an impish grin of her own.

“I didn’t say or even think such a thing.”

“Rarity has an unfair advantage,” Pinch pointed out. “Coco is staying at her place.”

Piña shrugged. “Uncle Pin has a second bedroom.”

I did my best not to look at Coco but I end up glancing over at her. Her face was as red as I felt mine was.

“Piña,” Rarity said with restraint, “such an arrangement would be scandalous.”

“I don’t see why,” Piña said. “It’s not like rumors couldn’t start with her staying with you. You don’t share your house with any of the other ponies that work for you. Ponies will wonder what makes Coco so special to you and the gossip would start.”

I took a quick bite to avoid laughing as one of Rarity’s eyebrows twitched.

Berry tried to hold her laugh in, but failed.

“There is a difference because she and I are friends, but we haven’t been romantically involved like Pin and I have,” Coco said.

Piña’s ears perked. “I thought you two had become special someponies today.”

“We did, but Pin has been courting me in his indirect way for weeks now, and I’ve done my share of flirting back.”

Pinch leaned forward, seeming hungry for more information. “What has he been doing?”

“All kinds of sweet things, he’s made my lunches most days, walked me home holding an umbrella for me, made me tea during the day, things like that.”

“Not to be a buzz kill,” Piña said, “but Uncle Pin does that for everypony.”

“Even before that, he paid attention to who I am and made sure I felt welcome and appreciated. He’s made sure I was comfortable with our arrangement, negotiated with me and paid me generously, and even got some very expensive wine for me because he was told by an expert I would like it based on what he picked up from being around me for just a few minutes.”

With a self-satisfied smile, Berry held one hoof up and pointed at herself with the other.

Coco grinned at Berry then continued, “But even when he’s tried to be professional he’s slipped up and complemented me, which means he meant what he said from the subconscious level.”

Pinch’s tail swished back and forth through the gap in the back of her chair. She asked me, “What did you say to her?”

For the first time that night, as everypony looked my direction, it occurred to me that I was the lone stallion in the group.

The oven’s bell chimed.

“The brownies are ready, we don’t want them to burn so I better hurry and take them out,” I said leaving my chair. “I don’t have any ice cream, but I have the stuff to make homemade whipped crème.”

“Get back here!” Pinch commanded.

“What’s more important, your answer or the brownies and whipped crème?” Piña asked, as if Pinch’s choice should have been simple.

“I vote for the brownies and whipped crème,” Rarity said.

“Now I’m wondering if you’re a changeling,” Berry said.

“Oh no, darling it’s me. We all know how skittish Pin can be about such things, so let’s not traumatize him when there’s no need.” Rarity made a graceful gesture towards Coco with her hoof. “We have another viable source, and it gives us an excuse to have a girl’s night together at my place tomorrow evening.” She looked towards Pinch. “We need be but patient and we’ll get our answers.”

Pinch smiled and nodded to Rarity. “Brownies first, questions later.”

“There’s no need to worry Berry,” I told her. “It’s Rarity all right.”

*****

“It’s been such a wonderful evening,” Rarity said. “Thank you.”

I opened the back door for everypony. “Now that things are manageable again, we should make this a reoccurring thing.”

“I feel bad we left you with the dishes, after you cooked for us and all,” Berry said as she walked past me.

“Don’t worry. I’ll get them in the morning after they’ve soaked.”

“Thanks Uncle Pin.” Piña stopped and gave me a hug. “It’s been fun.”

I returned the hug. “I didn’t realize you were such a card shark.”

Piña grinned. “Barrel taught me.”

I chuckled. “That figures.”

As soon Piña let go of me, Pinch took her place and gave me a hug. “Thanks Uncle Pin. Dinner was delicious.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” I gave her a hug back. “It’s nice to cook for other ponies. I get to fix things I normally wouldn’t and share with friends.”

“That hug is going on a little long,” Piña kidded.

Pinch stepped back, making a show of taking her hooves away from me. “I gave him a thank you hug, Piña. That’s all.”

“Maybe to you, but Miss Coco was looking jealous.”

“Don’t tease them,” Coco said. “I can always ask Pinch for a hug too,” she said in a playful tone.

I followed them out the door, shut it behind us, and locked it.

“Are you going to walk us home?” Piña asked.

“I was planning on it, if you wanted me to.”

Pinch tapped Piña’s shoulder and motioned for her to lean close. Pinch whispered something in Piña’s ear. The pair of fillies then rushed over to Rarity and whispered to her.

“I believe you’re being conspired against,” Berry said. “You two better brace yourselves.”

The trio of conspirators turned towards us and gave us unsettling grins.

“Since Rarity’s tired from her trip, we thought we could all walk her and Miss Coco home first,” Pinch said.

“We’re being set up, if I had to bet,” I whispered to Coco.

She gave me her wonderful smile, and I felt my chest warm.

“I don’t mind if you don’t,” she whispered back.

I shook my head.

“They don’t mind,” Berry said for us.

Our small herd moved towards Rarity’s. Piña did a great impersonation of Pinkie as she bounced along the road.

Rarity shook her head. “She never slows down.”

“It will catch up with her,” Berry said. “Even with the brownies and the candies she won off of us giving her a boost she’ll collapse before too long.”

“You don’t mean that literally do you?” Rarity asked sounding concerned.

“Don’t worry,” Pinch said. “She goes till she can’t go anymore and then finds someplace to curl up and goes to sleep. We’ve found her in all kinds of places. It’s kind of cute.”

“The castle looks nice tonight, with the lights in the windows. Twilight must be working late again.” Berry gave Pinch a look and prodded, “Maybe she’s giving advice to someone about which books to read.”

Pinch dropped her head in resignation. “She recommended the Young Fliers series. Piña liked them more than I did.”

“They were okay,” Piña said. “I liked the Daring Do series better, much more action, much less ‘does he like me or not’ stuff.”

Berry tilted her head. “We have the Young Fliers series at home. Why would check them out from the library? You know I grew up with them as a filly, so also know I wouldn’t be upset about them.”

Piña bumped shoulders with Pinch. “Tell her about the other books Twilight gave you.”

Pinch looked back at Berry with uncertainty.

“Everypony stop,” Berry ordered in a commanding tone.

Without hesitation we all did.

I looked around at everypony. “How did she do that? I didn’t even think about it.”

Berry grinned. “It’s something mothers can do.” She held her forelegs out to Pinch. “Come here.”

Pinch nodded and gave Berry a hug.

Berry hugged Pinch back and nuzzled her head. “First, I am not mad at you, if that is what you are worried about. I wouldn’t tease about something if it upset me. Second, I will not take the books from you, no matter what they are. I trust you and all I ask is that you trust me enough to talk if you need to.”

Pinch nodded with her head against Berry’s chest. “I trust you.”

Berry continued: “Third, and most important, is that I have a slight concern you will be exposed to something you might need to discuss with somepony to put it to a realistic perspective to keep you from getting hurt. However, I know that by forcing an issue I could do just as much, if not more, damage. If you really don’t want to tell me, I won’t make you, but please be careful and talk to somepony, even if it isn’t me, if you need to.”

“They’re books on emotional intelligence and relationships by Princess Cadance,” Pinch revealed. “Twilight said they were advanced for a filly my age but she knew I could handle them. She said she would recommend that I keep out of the deeper psychology stuff till I was older.”

“I recommend that too. Some of that stuff can really mess with your head.” Berry kissed Pinch’s temple. “What made you think I would be upset about you having those books?”

Pinch’s ears folded back in worry. “Isn’t it weird for a filly my age to want to read something like that?”

“That doesn’t sound weird to me. I was reading books on horticulture and wine making techniques at your age.” Berry brushed a strand of mane from Pinch’s face. “What made you curious about emotions?”

“The attack on the Canterlot wedding started it. I got curious about what made pony emotions so appealing to the changelings. Twilight was looking into the same thing, on the magical level, and things just clicked. I liked looking at how ponies can create positive emotions for themselves and others and I kept reading.”

“Pinch sandwich!” Piña hugged Pinch from behind and nuzzled the back of her head. “That wasn’t too bad was it?”

Pinch let go of Berry and turned to give Piña a look. “No, it wasn’t, but I wasn’t planning on having this conversation in the middle of the road and with everypony watching.”

Piña giggled and took point for our group. “Come on, everypony! We’ve got to get Coco and Rarity home.”

Berry smiled and shook her head. “Yep, she’s going to crash hard tonight.”

Piña led us to Rarity’s boutique and made a grand gesture towards the door. “Taa-daa! We got you home safe and sound.”

“Ponyville can be such a dangerous place,” Rarity teased. “Without you being here who knows what could have happened.”

As Rarity unlocked the door, I told Coco, “Thank you for staying for dinner. It was great having you and everypony else over.”

“I enjoyed it,” she replied. “I haven’t had this much fun in a while.”

There was a pause and an unusual amount of silence. Coco and I looked around.

“What?” I asked.

“That’s it?” Piña said, sounding disappointed.

“I hope you have a wonderful rest of the night,” I said to Coco, giving her a subtle hint to follow along.

“You too,” she said. “Should I show up at the same time in the morning?”

“I’ll have everything ready then.”

Coco smiled and turned as if she was going inside.

Piña waved her hooves around in a display of frustrated dismissal. “Nope! Nope! Nope! This is not how things will end tonight!”

Coco put a hoof to her chest and acted surprised. “Piña, whatever could you mean?”

Piña narrowed her eyes at Coco. “You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?”

Coco grinned. “Maybe, but I don’t know what you’re expecting.”

Piña pointed towards me with both her hooves. “It’s your first night as special someponies! Hug him! Kiss him! Do something!”

“It is our first night, and we haven’t even had our first date yet,” I pointed out. “We don’t want to rush anything.”

“What about tonight?” Piña asked looking incredulous. “You cooked for her.”

“This was a group fun and catch up with Rarity thing, not a date. Besides, I’ve made lunches for her for almost a month now, and those didn’t count either.”

Piña groaned and tilted her head back. “Oh come on! It was a date with an audience and a sideshow!”

Rarity gave Piña an offended look. “Excuse me? I am not a sideshow.”

“What do you want from Coco?” Pinch asked me, with a neutral expression.

I grinned at her. “That was tricky. If I say nothing, then it looks like I’m not interested. If I name something, I look selfish.”

Pinch shook her head. “It depends on what you want. This is a special occasion, the rest of us being here or not. It should be celebrated.”

“A hug would be wonderful,” I said.

“I can do that,” Coco said.

I turned to Coco and hugged her around the barrel as she hugged me around the shoulders. She was warm and the right size for me to embrace. I turned my head a little at the scent of her shampoo, which had a light touch of mint to it. I had an impulse to give her mane a nuzzle but suppressed it.

“Now I would like something,” Coco said.

I pulled back just enough to see her blue eyes.

“Hold still,” she told me and touched her nose to mine. She smiled and nuzzled me. “There. It’s not quite a kiss, which would be too much for a first date, but appropriate for how much I appreciate what he’s done.”

“She got him!” Piña cheered. “He’s blushing!”

“He’s not pulling back either,” Pinch pointed out. “I think he’d stay like that all night.”

Coco, blushing herself, giggled and broke contact with me.

With reluctance, I let her go. I smiled, looked in her eyes, and told her, “Sleep well.”

She smiled back and said, “You too.”

Chapter 7

“Muffins asked me to tell you good morning,” I relayed to Coco.

“She’s so sweet.” Coco stood beside me at my work desk as I went through the mail. “Anything interesting come in?”

“Bills, invoices, sales fliers, and… oh crab apples.” I held up an envelope and dropped my head. “I knew it was coming.”

Coco tilted her head, as she looked at the letter, making her more adorable than usual. “Whoever wrote you has pretty hoofwriting.”

“That would be Mom.” Using a pair of shears as an impromptu letter opener I unsealed the envelope and pulled out the letter. I scanned the first lines and sighed. “They will be here in two days. If you want to leave early for your trip, I wouldn’t blame you.”

Coco gave me a disbelieving look. “They can’t be that bad.”

“They aren’t, but they know how to push my buttons and there’s a good chance they will make a game of trying to find out how to push yours.” I snorted, after reading to the bottom of the first page. I held the letter’s second page out to Coco. “She asked me to stop reading and for me to give the second page to you.”

After giving me a curious look, Coco took the sheet of paper. I watched as her eyes went back and forth across the page and her expression turned to one of concerned curiosity.

She looked up from the letter, and stated, “She seems to know a lot about me.”

“Mom’s specialty is finding potential business relationships and tie-ins. She can find information on just about any business or pony.”

“That’s impressive and intimidating,” Coco said and returned to reading. A second later, her ears snapped back, her cheeks flushed, and she folded the letter with a quick motion.

I braced myself and asked, “Do I want to know?”

Coco would not look me in eye. “She wants to discuss the possibility of us becoming more than business associates to ‘heighten the chances that Insight and I will have at least one grandfoal’.”

I winced and gave Coco an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. Mom’s sense of what is appropriate is off.”

Coco gave me an amused smile. “She also says if we have progressed beyond business matters already she hopes that ‘my son is performing well during any intimate acts’ and offers to send books and potions to ‘optimize the experience’ if not.”

“Oh Celestia and Luna above, Mom.” I closed my eyes and put my forehead down on the worktable. “I’m sorry. I should have read the rest of the letter before giving it to you.”

“I could write back and tell her we haven’t gotten to that part of our relationship yet,” she suggested in a tone that sounded half serious.

Keeping my head on the worktable, I looked up at Coco. “That would make things worse, knowing her. Besides, she and Dad will be here in two days and they’d miss the letter.”

“Then I’ll have to give my report to her face to face.” Coco gave me a teasing smile. “She’ll be disappointed that I can’t even get a kiss out of you.”

I lifted my head, put a hoof to my chest, and acted slighted. “I must protest! I have kissed you.”

Giving me an unamused look, Coco touched her nose with a hoof. “Giving me a kiss on the nose does not count!”

“I didn’t realize that. The kiss you gave me on the nose did for me.” I tapped my chin. “I wonder if there is a guide to which kisses count and which don’t that I can study.”

“It’s different for each pony.” Coco closed her eyes and raised her chin. “You can choose a spot to kiss and I’ll tell you if it counts or not.”

“There are so many possibilities it’s hard to settle on one.” Hearing the shop’s front doorbell ring, I paused. “I think I heard somepony came in.”

“Then you’re going to have to make your choice before they ring the bell for service,” she insisted.

“You shouldn‘t rush such a decision, but I guess it can’t be helped this time. Would you do me a favor and tilt your head a little more to the right?” Keeping her eyes closed, she tilted her head.

“Just what are you planning?” she asked, with a playful smile.

“This.” I shifted my position and kissed the tip of her elevated left ear. “I cannot tell you how delectabe your ears look or how adorable you look when you tilt your head like that.”

Coco flicked her ear, tickling my lips with its softness, and cracked an eye open. “That is not what I meant, but you’re sweet.” She closed her eye again. “You had me going there for a second. When you said I my ears looked ‘delectable’ I thought you were going to-”

“Do something like this?” I caught her ear with my mouth and gave it a tender nibble.

“That was it!” Her blush contrasted well against her pale creme coat. “It’s not a kiss, but it counts for me.”

“Spit her ear out this instant!” somepony ordered from the doorway to the storefront.

I froze, Coco’s ear still held in my lips.

“I knew there had to be a flaw in you somewhere,” Berry said. She closed the distance between us using quick steps and gave my nose a light swat. “Release,” she ordered as if I were a misbehaving dog, “you horrible ear nibbler!”

“Berry!” Coco protested. “Don’t scold him. I’m trying to get him not to be so shy.”

Berry gave a snort. “You’ve got a long-term project there.”

“I haven’t gotten a true kiss out of him, but he’s already doing much better.” Coco blushed and admitted, “Besides, I like being nibbled.”

Berry’s eyebrows rose. “Not just your ears?”

Coco bit her bottom lip and shook her head.

My ears snapped up.

“You are a nibbler!” Berry said, acting aghast at my involuntary reaction. “And here I took you for a proper stallion.”

“I try to be. But Coco and mint is too much to resist.”

“Don’t use puns. That’s my shtick.” Berry gave me a confused look and asked, “Mint?”

“Her shampoo smells like mint,” I explained.

Berry gave me an inquisitive look. “I want to know how you, who won’t kiss her, ended up nibbling her ear.”

“She hinted that’s what she thought I would do, after I gave her a kiss to the tip of her ear. It was too tempting, and I went for it.” I looked at Coco and said, “If she wants nibbles I’ll be glad to deliver them whenever and wherever she directs.” I grinned as Coco blushed.

Berry laughed. “It seems she’s being a good bad influence.”

There was a knock on the back door.

“I’ll get it.” After making my way across the room, I opened the back door. “Hello, Thunderlane.”

Thunderlane looked around as if he was worried about being watched. “Is this a good time for me to pick up my suit?”

“Now would be great.” I made room and waved him in. “You okay?”

“I’m trying to keep a low profile,” said, as he stepped in. “Rainbow is beyond peeved with me.”

I closed the door behind him. “What did you do this time?”

“It’s what I didn’t do. She wanted me to ask a mare to the shindig, and I turned her suggestion down.”

“Ah, she wouldn’t take that well.”

“She didn’t. She promised the mare a date with a Wonderbolt, and she was sure I would agree.”

“What about Soarin? You said he was unattached.”

“He was.” Thunderlane paused and smiled when he looked at Berry. “Berry! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Berry smiled back at him. “Hello Lane, how have you been?”

Thunderlane shrugged. “You know me, I manage a little trouble now and then, but I’m working most of the time.”

Berry gave him a searching look. “I don’t get a hug, and you turned down a date? What’s going on?”

Thunderlane chuckled. “You’re right, I’ve been berry bad.”

“Oh, please, don’t get her started with the puns,” I begged. “She’s already given me a warning for using them.”

Thunderlane gave Berry a hug, which she returned. “How are Pina and Pinch?”

“They’re doing fine. How’s Rumble?”

Thunderlane sighed. “He’s working too hard for a colt his age.”

“Takes after someone I know, mister weather pony and Wonderbolt.” Berry poked Thunderlane in the chest with a hoof. “What is this about you turning down a date?”

“It’s on the classified side, but I had already chosen someone to take to an event that will be held before too long.”

“Hmmm,” Berry said. “I planed to set up an appointment for Barrel with our friends here because we got a berry nice order and catering contract for an event that hasn’t been announced yet.” She leaned close to him and whispered something I could not make out.

Thunderlane nodded. “That would be the one.”

“Who are you going to ask?”

Thunderlane looked like a nervous colt as he told Berry, “Rarity.”

Berry grinned. “So you’re making the move. You better work fast, though. She will be on the top of a lot of bachelor’s lists of mares to ask.”

“I’m heading over to her boutique as soon as I can.” Thunderlane gave Berry a vulnerable look. “You don’t think she’s out of my league do you?”

Berry snorted. “Mister super athlete, nice guy, and stallion that saved her by plucking her out of the air, I think you’ve got this.” She patted his shoulder. “Be the handsome, witty guy you are and everything will be just fine.”

“Be sure to stop by Rose’s first,” Coco said. “Ask her about making a bouquet that sends the right message.”

“I will,” Thunderlane said. “Thanks.”

“Speaking of getting ponies together…” Thunderlane moved closer and gave me an elbow. “If you need tips about luring this guy in, let me know. He can be a tough nut to crack, but I know tricks that could help.”

“She’s lured him in already,” Berry told him.

Thunderlane’s ears went up and he smiled. “That’s great!”

Berry gave him a conspiring look. “She is having an issue with him though. Maybe you could help? I’m berry determined in making sure this blend works out.”

My eyes widened as I realized I was about to have Berry and Thunderlane team up, with me as their target. They had known me since I was a colt, and I worried what kinds leverage they could apply.

Coco said to Berry and Thunderlane, “This is a question for both of you: how do I get him to give me a kiss?”

Berry gave me an exasperated look as she said to Coco, “Let me guess, he’s following his nibbler nature and working the edges.”

Coco nodded. “One on the nose, after our first official dinner date, and one on the ear just now,” Coco reported.

“I know the answer to this one!” Thunderlane said, holding up a hoof. He stopped and gave me a look. “You’re a nibbler?”

“Just a little,” I told him.

Thunderlane shook his head and then asked Coco, “Have you noticed Pin has a tendency to follow orders, especially when given by mares?”

Coco giggled. “I found that out the other day, thanks to Berry.”

Thunderlane’s eyebrows almost met his mane.

“Sorry Lane, it‘s not that exciting,” Berry said. “I asked for our group to halt, the other night, and he did along with Pina and Pinch.”

“Underwhelming, but in character for Pin.” Thunderlane looked back to Coco. “You’ve noticed that he likes to pamper others too, I’m sure.”

Coco nodded.

“Use those characteristics in combination and you’ve got him.” Thunderlane tapped the side of his head with a hoof. “It’s true that stallions don’t take hints. There are two reasons for that. First, I’ll admit, we miss even blatant ones. Second, we hesitate because we’re aware that what we see might be a hint or might not. If the stallion is a respectful and shy one, like Workaholic here, he won’t respond because he doesn’t want to come across as a jerk.”

Coco gave me a scheming look. “He kissed my ear when I asked him for a kiss, so the theory seems sound.”

Thunderlane chuckled. “He’s also a tease. Give him precise instructions or he’ll turn things into a game.”

“I can’t argue with any of that.” I retrieved Thunderlane’s suit bag, with his suit inside. “Here you go.”

“Try it on,” Berry said. “You’ll want to look your best when you ask her.”

Thunderlane looked at the suit bag for a long second.

“Lane, don’t get cold hooves now,” Berry said.

“It’s kind of hard not to.” Thunderlane looked up from bag. “She’s an Element, she’s famous, she’s-”

Berry covered his mouth with a hoof. “If Pina or Pinch brings home a colt of your caliber, when they’re older, I’ll be thrilled.”

Thunderlane’s ears fell in humility, and he gave her an appreciative smile. “Ank uo,” he said, Berry’s hoof still on his mouth.

Berry gave Thunderlane a hug and an assuring pat on the back. “I’m telling you, you’ve got this.”

“Fitting rooms are out front,” I reminded him.

“I’ll be right back,” Thunderlane said and went to the storefront.

“He’s so nervous,” Coco said.

“Underneath his bravado and flashy attitude, there is a good stallion,” Berry said. “If Rarity doesn’t recognize that, it’s her loss.”

“I hope he’s ready with a backup plan,” I said.

Both Berry and Coco game me near identical, scathing looks.

“Don’t get me wrong,” I told them, holding up my front hooves. “I’m with you, but Rarity will have others hoping to take her that might have moved first.”

“That’s reasonable,” Berry said. “If not Rarity, who would you suggest?”

I thought for a moment. “Apple Bloom mentioned that Applejack was available the other day.”

Berry tilted her head for a second in thought, which I noted did not have the same effect on me as when Coco did it, and then nodded. “I could see that working too.”

We turned our attention to Thunderlane, as he rejoined us.

“You look sharp!” Berry said.

“Thank you.” Thunderlane did a slow turnaround to allow us to see the suit from all angles. “Do you think this is enough to catch her eye?”

“Sure!” Coco said.

“It looks good, but bet me check the fit.” I walked around Thunderlane, inspecting various points on him to make sure the suit rested on him as it should. “It settles on you well. Anything feel off?”

“Nope,” he responded. “It feels great.”

“Extend your wings, please. I need to make sure the jacket’s not binding your wings.”

Thunderlane glanced at Berry and Coco. “I can move my wings just fine. I tested it.”

“Aww,” Berry said in exaggerated disappointment. “We don’t get a plumage display?”

Thunderlane blushed. “Not today.”

“Saving it for Rarity?” Berry teased.

“Something like that. Pin, I left my bag in the fitting room. Could you watch it for me?”

“Sure, but why?” I asked.

“I’m going now, before I talk myself out of it,” Thunderlane said and walked towards the door. “I’ll be back.”

“Hold it.” Berry ordered.

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow and glanced over his shoulder, still moving to the back door. “That may work on him, but not me. Spitfire has you beat, Berry.”

“You have to pay him!” Berry said.

“He has my bag. He can hold it as collateral until I get back.”

“Good luck!” Coco cheered.

Thunderlane paused in stepping out the door. “Thanks, I’m going to need it.”

“No you’re not,” I told him. “Stop by Rose’s, like Coco said, and you’re good.”

“Better pay her, though, or your name will be mud,” Berry teased. “And good luck.”

“Thanks guys,” he said and went out the door, closing it behind him.

“He didn’t think things through,” Berry said. “If he didn’t want attention, he shouldn’t have gone out there wearing a suit.”

“He’s so nervous I don’t think it even crossed his mind,” I told her. “I think he’s worse now than the first time he found out he would be a substitute for one of the Wonderbolts for a show.”

“I don’t understand what is bothering him so much,” Coco said. “Rarity is one of the nicest, most approachable ponies there is.”

“It’s a sign he likes her and is not just being his typical flirty self. Rumble and Sweetie being friends is weighing on his mind too, I’m sure.” I smiled at her. “I’m sure he’s facing what I did with you too. It terrified me that the mare I adored and thought so much of might turn me down and I would ruin our friendship by gambling for something more.”

Berry gave an odd snort and chortle combination.

“I’m serious,” I told Berry, as Coco gave her a glance.

“That’s what’s tickling me. There was no chance that would happen.”

Berry grinned. “If you had been there during our mare’s night, you wouldn’t have been nervous at all.”

Coco’s eyes widened. “Berry, we agreed, what happens during mare’s nights is privileged to us mares.”

The shop’s clock struck the first chime of twelve.

“It’s been fun, but I’ve got to go,” Berry said. “Barrel’s watching the shop alone, and the it’s been berry busy. Would three tomorrow work?”

It took a moment for me to realize that her question had been directed to me. I nodded and to. “That would be fine.”

“Then he’ll be there.” Berry winked at Coco. “Now I’m leaving, maybe you can ply what Thunderlane said to try on the guy who is too shy.” As she left the workroom, Berry told Coco, “Keep in mind, I’ll want a full report on how the experiment went, so don’t go too far with him, this time, unless you want to share every sordid detail later.”

“Berry!” Coco protested.

“Be good to her, or you’ll answer to me, Pin!” Berry called from the storefront.

The store’s front door opened and closed before I could form a response.

Shaking my head, I smiled and snorted. “She’s in a full-fledged Berry mood today.”

“She’s a hoot,” Coco said.

I glanced at the workroom’s clock to check myself. “It’s about time for lunch. I was thinking about making a fresh salad. I got the veggies from Golden Harvest this morning, so I’m sure it will taste great. Would you like some?”

Coco smiled and shook her head. “That sounds great, but today is my day to be at Rarity’s during the afternoon. Remember?”

My ears fell with disappointment, but I caught them before they could fold back all the way. “I forgot.” I offered, “I could pack you a salad to take with you.”

She smiled and told me, “Pin, hold still.”

I did as she asked, and she bumped her nose to mine. She did not draw back that far and told me, “You’re sweet, but you don’t have to do that.” She smiled, looking satisfied. “The first test is showing positive results.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure Berry and Lane will be glad to hear that.” I got caught by her eyes. I looked into them and told her, “I know I don’t have to make you a salad, but I would like to.”

“So you want to make me a salad and have me eat it in front of a jealous Rarity,” Coco teased. "Is that what you're aiming for?"

I smiled. “I’d be glad to make her a salad too. Though, you’ll be the motivation for it. Not that I wouldn’t share my food with her, but making the salad for her would make her happy, which would make you happy, which would make me happy.”

“Me being happy is important to you?”

I nodded, not breaking eye contact and just missing her nose with mine. “Very much so.”

She smiled in a way that, close as she was and with us sharing breath, made my heart go faster.

Ceasing the moment, I kissed her. It was not a fiery kiss, but a tender one I hoped that would not be too forward and could convey my affection for her.

To my delight and relief she returned the kiss.

Ending the kiss, I touched my nose to hers.

The store’s entry bell rang, and I gave a light sigh. “I didn’t flip the sign, did I?”

“Neither of us did.”

“Would you like to wait for the salads, or do you need to go?”

“I’ll wait.” Coco touched her forehead to mine, just below my horn, and rested her nose on mine. “Good things are worth waiting for.”

The counter’s bell for service rang.

*****

The shop’s door opened and a voice I recognized called my name at almost the same instant.

I stood up from behind the counter. “Lane, you okay?”

Thunderlane peeked from behind a display, his ears held high, and grinned in a way that made the primal herbivore part of my brain tell me to run. I did not get the chance to heed my hind-mind’s advice. I made an unstallion-like noise as Thunderlane launched himself over the counter and tackled me to the floor in an exuberant hug.

“She said yes!” he declared.

“I gathered that.” I patted him on the shoulder. “We told you it would go fine.”

“She loved the flowers too!”

“Rose is the best at what she does, and I’m sure you picked the right message to send.”

“I think I did.” Still standing over me, Thunderlane did a happy victory prance. “We’re having dinner next week!”

“Congratulations.”

His grin vanished as he looked down at me. “You’re doomed.”

I blinked up at him. “What?”

“I came to warn you. I was still at Rarity’s, when Coco showed up with the salads. They looked good.”

“Thank you, but please let me up and focus on why I’m doomed.”

Thunderlane glanced down at the rest of me as if realizing that I was on the floor. “Sorry about that.” He helped me to my hooves. “I got a little excited there.”

I gave his shoulder a congratulatory thump. “You should be. Rarity is a wonderful mare.”

“I have a conflict of interest now between you and Rarity, but I’m still going to warn you.” Thunderlane put a hoof on my shoulder. “Rarity knows about your kiss with Coco.”

I winced. “That could be bad.”

“That wouldn’t have been so bad alone, but she knows about the nibble too.”

“Scratch my previous statement. You’re right, I’m doomed. Coco and I will be gossip material for weeks.”

He nodded. “Sweetie Belle knows too. She was visiting Rarity, when I went over. She got to see me ask Rarity out and heard Coco explaining to Rarity why she was smiling so much.”

“Oh horse apples,” I said, my ears folding back. “That will go over about like Gummy getting in the punch bowl at a party. Rarity won’t like that it was mentioned in front of Sweetie and Sweetie is sure to spread gossip as much as Rarity will.”

Thunderlane shrugged. “Sweetie was so fixated on me and Rarity going to the event and having dinner plans I don’t think it sunk in with her.”

I felt relief at his words. “That’s good.”

“Rarity wasn’t happy that Sweetie heard about it at all, though, and drew attention to it. She told Sweetie, ‘Such behavior, before being affianced to the mare, is not becoming of a proper stallion,’ so it might stick in her head.”

My relief vanished. “That’s bad.”

“Thunderlane grinned. “It could have been worse. For a second, when I first saw Coco at the boutique, I thought you two had a very active lunch break.”

“She was still smiling?” I grinned at the thought.

Thunderlane paused for a second and then chuckled. “Dude, you’ve got it really bad. What I said didn’t even register did it?” He gave me a lecherous wink. “Or did you two play ‘threading the needle’ or whatever you clothes horses call it after all?”

I snorted in irritation. “We didn’t.”

“Whatever you two did, it made Coco so happy that Rarity noticed so you may not be in all that hot of water. I can tell Rarity adores Coco, so there’s a chance if what you did was okay with Coco it will be looked over by Rarity.” Thunderlane eased around the counter. “Still, she’ll want all the juicy details, I’m sure.”

I gave Thunderlane his coat bag, which I had put on the shop’s back counter. “Here you go.” I suspected something, because of the look on Thunderlane’s face and his widening grin as he paid me for the alterations and I gave him his change.

“I better go,” Thunderlane said. “Ponies to see, weather to manage, dinners to arrange and all that.”

As Thunderlane took slow steps backwards, with a grin that was far too wide, a thought occurred. “Wait a minute. She’s not as shy as I am, but I can’t imagine Coco mentioning the ear nibble to Rarity.”

“She didn’t.” Thunderlane spun away from the counter and got into a sprinters stance. “It was me!”

“You traitor!” I called after him. I could not help laughing as he bolted out the door.

*****

I flipped the store’s sign to ‘closed’ and locked the front door. I said to myself, “There will be a knock on the door right abo-” I did not finish my sentence before there was a knock on the back door.

“Coming!” I called. I trotted to the shop’s back door and opened it. I had to look down to see who had knocked. “Hello! I wasn’t expecting you.”

“You were expecting Coco and Rarity weren’t you?” Sweetie Belle asked. Her voice holding a slight strain with the effort of holding the basket I had given Coco to carry the salads in the air with her magic.

“To be honest, I was. That doesn’t mean I’m not glad to see you.”

“Rarity asked us to drop this off before we crusaded again,” Scootaloo said, nodding to the basket that Sweetie Belle was keeping aloft in her magic.

“Thank you very much. She didn’t have to send it back this quick.” I took the basket from Sweetie Belle. “How’s the magic training going? It looks like you’re not having as much trouble as you were.”

Sweetie Belle took a relieved breath before answering, “Much better, thanks to what Miss Coco showed me.”

“Twilight’s been happy with how much she’s improved,” Apple Bloom said. Her ears fell and she grumbled to herself, “I wish I could say the same about my potion makin’.”

“So what if you didn’t make a miniature cloud for me to sculpt,” Scootaloo encouraged Apple Bloom. “You filling the library with bubbles was great!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed. “You made the day of those foals from the elementary school.”

Scootaloo got a grin that reminded me of Rainbow Dash’s when she was up to mischief, and patted Apple Bloom’s back. “Ask yourself this: how many ponies can say they started a bubble popping contest in a royal library and even had one of the princesses join in?”

Apple Bloom’s frown evaporated and she giggled. “Not too many.”

Sweetie Belle fidgeted, seeming hesitant about something.

“Go on, Sweetie,” Apple Bloom coaxed.

“Thank you, Mister Pin,” Sweetie Belle said.

“You’re welcome, but I’m not sure what I did.”

“You helped Thunderlane get ready to ask Rarity out. He said you got his suit ready and that you and Coco gave him advice to get him ready for when he came over to see Rarity.”

“I was glad I could help him. I think they might have a shot at something, if they work at it together.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and smiled. “I haven’t seen Rarity this happy in a while. She’s been fussing about not having a coltfriend a lot.” She struck a dramatic pose and mimicked Rarity’s voice: “If things do not change soon, I am destined to be one of the many mares who yearn for love their whole lives and never find it.” Sweetie Belle shifted into another dramatic pose and continued, “I am getting to the age that soon nopony will look upon my wilting beauty.”

I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. “You’ve got her down.”

“That was all because she found one gray hair in her brush that morning,” Sweetie Belle said with exasperation.

“I wish my sister was more interested in getting a special somepony,” Apple Bloom huffed. “Even Rainbow Dash got a special somepony before her!”

“Hey!” Scootaloo protested. “Rainbow deserves somepony too.”

I could not keep my eyebrows from rising at the news. “Who’s her special somepony?”

Scootaloo puffed up with pride. “Soarin, from the Wonderbolts! He’s great! He’s even been training with Rainbow and me.”

“I thought Sis could lure Soarin in with apple pies, after thinkin’ about what she told me about how he panicked when he almost lost one of our pies at the Gala, but Scoot’s told me Rainbow got to him first,” Apple Bloom fumed. “To add insult to injury, Rainbow was going to get another of the Wonderbolts to take her, but that fell through too!”

Things clicked together in my head and I did my best to keep a straight face. That explains why Rainbow was so mad at Thunderlane, I thought to myself. She was setting him up with Applejack.

“We were supposed to help all of our siblings get special someponies,” Sweetie Belle seemed to remind Apple Bloom. “Look at it this way, now we only have Applejack to focus on, since we helped Big Mac.”

Apple Bloom sighed. “We’re fifty-fifty with him, though. We helped him with Sugar Belle, but we poisoned him and Miss Cheerilee the first time we tried to help him find a special somepony.”

“Look on the bright side,” Scootaloo teased. “You helped us get the potion right that time.”

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a less than amused look. “I’m goin’ to ignore that.” She pointed a hoof at me. “I thought this one might work if we could somehow get him tickets to the ball, but Coco got him first.”

“I don’t know how I feel about being ‘this one’.” I tilted my head, as what she said sunk in. “What ball?”

Apple Bloom’s ears pinned back and she winced. “Oops.”

“Apple Bloom, you’re going to get us into trouble!” Sweetie Belle scolded.

I made a ‘timeout’ gesture. “Don’t be mad at her. I already knew something big was being planned, but not the specifics. This won’t go any further than us, I promise.”

“You Pinkie promise?” Scootaloo asked.

“I Pinkie promise.” I went through the motions of making a Pinkie promise and recited the words to seal it. “Berry said she had gotten a big order and Thunderlane mentioned that the Wonderbolts had been asked to perform for an upcoming event in Ponyville, so a ball coming up explains both.”

“Rarity said they are about ready to send out the invitations, but there are a few things Twilight wants to double check on,” Sweetie Belle said. “We have to hurry, if we want to get Applejack’s date on the invitation list.”

“We have to find her a date first,” Apple Bloom grumbled.

“Do you have any ideas?” Scootaloo asked me.

I rubbed the back of my head with a hoof. “I’ll admit, I don’t know Applejack that well. She’s always stuck to Sweet Apple Acre’s, even when we were little.”

“She’s still stuck on the farm,” Apple Bloom said. “My sister will be the only Element there without a date besides Twilight!”

“Pinkie and Fluttershy have dates?” I asked.

“Pinkie is dating Creme Brulee,” Sweetie Belle informed me. “They met while he was making deliveries to Sugar Cube Corner. Fluttershy and Discord have been going out for a while now, but they’ve kept it quiet.”

“I didn’t know about either of those developments,” I confessed. “Then again, I haven’t gotten out of the shop much in a while.” I suggested to Apple Bloom, “You could try think of anypony that helps around the farm, makes deliveries, or has some kind of overlapping interest with Applejack she seems happy to see when they come around.”

Apple Bloom pondered things for a moment. “I’ll think about that one. I’ll talk to Big Mac again too. Maybe he’ll have an idea.”

“What about asking Granny Smith?” I offered.

Apple Bloom shuddered. “Not unless I really need help.”

“It’s a long shot, but Pinkie collects a lot of information on ponies too.”

“Nope!” all three fillies said at the same time.

“Can’t say I blame you for that reaction. It was a thought though.”

“I might go to her to avoid going to Granny Smith, but she would be the second to last pony I would go to for somethin’ like this,” Apple Bloom said.

“Who else could you reach out to?” I asked. “Can you think about anypony with experience in this kind of thing who knows Applejack?”

There was a quiet hooffull of seconds and then Scootaloo jumped into the air. “We need to find Spike! We can get help for Twilight too, if this works!”

“Whoa, hold your horses!” Apple Bloom told her. “What are you goin’ on about?”

“Twilight’s Princess Cadance’s sister in law, right? Candance knows Twilight and Applejack and is an expert in love!”

Apple Bloom grinned. “I like where you’re goin’ with this.” She looked to Sweetie Belle. “Do you think Spike is at the castle? I’m sure he can get a letter to her.”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I don’t know, but that’s the place I would start.”

“Let’s do this!” Scootaloo cheered. “With Princess Cadance on our side we can’t fail!”

“We’ve got to find Spike and get that message sent first,” Apple Bloom said. “Come on girls! We’ve got a dragon to rustle up!”

The trio ran off towards the castle. “Thanks for the help!” Apple Bloom called back, over her shoulder. “We’ll let you know how things turn out!”

I waved and grinned. “I’m looking forward to it!”

Chapter 8

I paused and looked at the shop’s clock with trepidation.

Coco walked into the workroom from the storefront. Following my gaze, she looked up at the clock and smiled. “Yes, it’s getting close to time for you to go get them.”

“I keep reminding myself that the last couple of times they’ve been here we had a good time.” I took my eyes from the clock’s face and looked to Coco’s. “That’s not helping much.”

“Something about this has gotten under your coat.” Coco sat beside me at my worktable. “You haven’t been this wound up since I first got here.”

“They always come with expectations and worries. Mom will inspect me, inspect the shop, inspect everything to make sure it’s all going okay on one level. While she’s poking and prodding in her way, Dad will analyze everything on a different level.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever told me what your parents do in the company,” Coco said, “now I think about it.”

“Beyond being an owner, Dad is the head contract negotiator and unofficial pony services representative. Mom is also an owner and is the information gather and main accountant for the company. With Satin taking over most of the management and public relations, they have been able to focus on their areas of strength and the three of them have got the company running well.”

She leaned against me and put her head on my shoulder comfortingly. “I hear a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”

“I think the pressure is getting to Satin, from what few hints they’ve given me in the last couple of letters. That’s causing Mom and Dad to worry. When they worry, they check in on everything.”

“Including you.”

“Including me.” Without thinking, I gave a nod along with my verbal response which rubbed my cheek against her ear.

After a second, Coco gave me a nudge. “That was a promising start,” she told me.

“I didn’t mean to start anything, but I think I’ll enjoy the opportunity.” I caught her ear with my mouth and gave it a feathery nibble.

She gave a contented hum. “I’ll get you trained yet.”

With reluctance, I let her ear go. “It will be a sad day, if I ever complete my training.”

She looked up at me, her expression surprised. “What do you mean?”

“I enjoy being coached by you. It allows us to have moments like this.”

“I like these moments too.” She bumped her nose to mine. “I’ll make sure you have refreshers and tests to see if you keep what you learn.”

“I look forward to it.”

She gave me a caring smile. “You’re still worrying about something.”

“You’re a new and special part of my life, which means they’re going to focus on you. Dad can be just as forward as Mom, in his own way. I’m afraid they will irritate the Tartarus out of you.”

She gave a snort. “I worked with Suri for years; I can take whatever your folks dish out.”

“I don’t want you to look at them and then look and me and see so many similarities you conclude I’m just as nuts and bolt for it.”

“They aren’t going to run me off I promise. We’re both quirky, but I think it brings us together more than anything else. I understand, though. I’m worried about you meeting my parents too.”

“I’m not concerned about them at all. Your brother, on the other hoof, worries me a bit.”

She folded an ear and tilted her head in confusion. I thought I caught a hint of a smile on her face, as my eyes lingered on her upturned ear.

“What do you mean?” Coco asked. “My brother’s a sweetheart.”

“Satin and I don’t get along and I’m still protective of her. As wonderful as you are, your brother is going to be watching out for me, and I couldn’t blame him. You’re too wonderful a mare not to be treasured.”

She leaned up as if to nuzzle or kiss me, and there was a knock on the back door.

“Oh come on,” I complained to the universe. “Just a couple more seconds.”

Coco giggled and gave me a quick peck of a kiss on the nose. “I bet that’s Rarity. She promised to take me out to lunch to give you some time with your folks.”

Coco and I went to the door. I opened it and smiled at Coco when I saw who had knocked. “You were right.”

Rarity gave me a look. “I take it my arrival was expected?”

“Coco was just telling me you were planning to take her out to lunch.”

“There has been a slight change of plans. Thunderlane offered to treat Coco and I both to lunch. I came by to pick her up and head there straight away as our reservation is tight.” Rarity scrutinized Coco. “Darling, would you be a dear and step just a smidgen closer?”

Coco did as she was asked. “Is something wrong?”

Rarity raised her chin and made a show of looking over Coco’s ears. “I’m checking on something for you.” Rarity cut her eyes to me. “It wouldn’t do to go out in public without touching up, if somepony had been too amorous and left a mark.”

“I’m always as tender as I can be,” I told her.

Rarity looked to Coco for confirmation.

“He is,” Coco assured. “He gave me a nibble not five minutes ago.”

Rarity’s eyebrow rose.

“I asked him to,” Coco said.

“Seems that things are rather one sided.” Rarity looked at me. “If she were to ask, would you allow her to do the same to you?”

I could feel the beginnings of a blush as I answered, “I think so, but she hasn’t asked.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Coco giving me a wink and a conspirator’s smile.

“Let’s find out if he will or not,” Coco said to Rarity. “Pin, drop your head for me, please.”

I lowered my head so it would be an easy reach for her. I expected what was coming and tilted my head to allow her easy access to my ear.

Coco gave my ear a nibble.

It surprised me how much I enjoyed the contact. “That tickles, but it feels good too,” I reported. I fought down a laugh, trying to still appear somewhat serious. “Now I know why you like it.”

Rarity stood there with her mouth agape. After she gathered herself, she protested, “Coco!”

Coco released my ear. “Yes, Rarity?”

“I was not intending for you to try!”

A shadow passed over us, drawing our attention upwards.

“I thought this is where you would be,” Thunderlane said as he landed at Rarity’s side. “Having trouble prying Coco from Pin?”

“She nibbled his ear in sight of everypony!” Rarity told him.

Thunderlane looked around. “There’s nopony here. It’s just the back of the shops.” He stretched taller and added, “I think there’s a calico cat by those bins, but she doesn’t seem too traumatized.”

“That’s not the point,” Rarity huffed. “Any pony could have seen.”

“You provoked the incident,” I pointed out.

Thunderlane acted pitiful, slumping and letting his ears fall. “You mean I can’t give you displays of affection in public?”

Rarity gave Thunderlane an amused, suffering look. “No, darling, that’s not what I meant. There are appropriate displays of affection and those that are too risqué.”

“Nibbling is one of the risqué ones?” Thunderlane asked, seeming to play along.

“It is in my book,” Rarity said and put her chin in the air. “Such a thing should be undertaken in the privacy of one’s home or, if a thorough nibbling is to be done, in the bedroom.”

“So you’re not against nibbling on the whole,” Coco said.

Rarity gave Coco a wicked smile. “Everything has its proper time and place, but a lady must be mindful of her public image.”

“What about kissing of hooves?” Thunderlane asked Rarity.

“That is both proper and welcome,” Rarity said and extended a hoof to him.

Thunderlane took Rarity’s offered hoof, bowed over it, and gave it a kiss. “Would the gorgeous lady and her lovely companion do me the honor of join me for lunch?”

“It would thrill me to,” Rarity said.

“Sounds great,” Coco said.

“Good luck with your parents,” Thunderlane said.

“Thanks, I’m going to need it,” I responded.

“I’ll see you this evening,” Coco said.

“I’m looking forward to it.” I sighed and gave her a less than confident grin. “It could be an interesting evening, though.”

Coco smiled. “I’ll be ready.”

I leaned towards her, paused, and glanced over to Rarity. “I would give you a send off, but Miss Proper over there might critique me.”

Coco grinned. “We’re back to you having to choose the right spot.”

I kissed Coco on the forehead and then touched my nose to hers. “See you soon.”

“That was the right spot,” Rarity complimented.

*****

I scanned the rush of ponies coming off the train, looking for my parents. I dodged two squealing foals who seemed more than happy to be off the train and able to run free again.

“You rascals, we still have to get our luggage before we can go home!” a mare shouted. She nodded in apology as she went past me and after the young colts. “Excuse them, please. They’re just a little too wound up from the trip.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I told her. “Good luck catching them.”

“Thank you!” she called back, still pursuing her colts.

“That was kind of you,” a voice said from the crowd.

I turned toward the speaker. “Thanks Dad.” I glanced around. “Where’s Mom?”

“I thought she was right with me.” Dad did a cursory scan for Mom and then shrugged. “She’ll show up in a moment or two, I’m sure. How have you been?”

“Things are calming down. I almost feel like I can take a relaxed breath when I look at my work orders.”

“You found him, good.” Mom appeared out of the last of the throng of ponies from the train. Her eyes worked their way from my hooves to my mane. “You seem in good health.” She gave a disapproving click of her tongue. “You’ve lost more weight.”

“The Running of the Leaves is coming up. I’ve been doing more training to make up for the busy period.”

Dad gave me a roguish smirk. “I’ll go collect our luggage. I’m sure you and your mother have much to talk about.”

I could not help but give Dad’s back a glare, as he walked away.

“You should not look at your father so,” Mom said, with a slight smile of her own. “For our sakes, I will not ask the questions he is interested in getting answers to till he gets back. No sense in having to go through them twice.” Mom gave me a hug and nuzzled my mane as if I were a foal. “I am glad to see you and glad you are looking less frazzled than last time.”

I returned the hug. “It’s good to see you too.”

She pulled back and, using her magic, moved my mane away from my face. “You’re getting more sleep. That is good. You have been eating, right?”

“I have, I promise.”

Her eyes lingered on my bow tie. She adjusted it with her magic and seemed about to say something, but Dad spoke first.

“Dear, don’t fuss over him yet. He is a grown stallion. Wait till we get to Father’s, then you can arrange, inspect, and interrogate him all you like.”

“I’ll take those,” I told Dad and took the three bags they had brought in my magic. I took a step back, knowing a verbal fencing match between them was about to begin.

“I am not ‘interrogating’ him. I asked him a question.”

“How many more questions did you plan on asking?”

“I am uncertain. It depends on the answers he gives me.”

“That sounds like an interrogation. Also, please consider his feelings on the matter of having to answer personal questions in a public place.”

I sighed as their debate drew attention from the ponies around us. “Mom, Dad, please.” My words were unheard or unheeded.

“I am only asking basic questions as to his well-being, not asking him about personal matters.” Mom pressed on, “There is no need for concern as to embarrassment for rudimentary questions.”

Dad shook his head. “He may not feel that such questions are rudimentary.”

“Let us agree that you are both looking after my health, and head to the shop,” I interjected. “You two are drawing a crowd.”

Mom and Dad glanced around, seeming to notice the ponies around us for the first time.

Dad took off his hat and gave the watching ponies a bow. “Sorry for the disturbance. Be assured this was a debate between concerned parents and not an argument.”

As if assured by Dad’s words, the gathering of ponies broke apart.

Dad put his hat back on with a flourish. “Such a lovely town, they seemed to have true concern we were not getting along.”

“This is the town of the Princess of Friendship,” I reminded him.

“It is at that.” Dad smiled and gave me a wink. “There is a certain ‘friend’ that you have made that your mother and I are curious about.”

I gave him a shaky grin and glanced around. “Could we save that particular topic for when we get to the shop?”

*****

“Here we go.” I unlocked the door and led Mom and Dad into the storefront.

Mom stalked around the shop, taking in minute details. Dad watched her and my reactions to what she was doing with a grin.

“Things seem to be clean and in order,” Mom said. As she moved about the she, she would pause at certain displays as if trying to figure something out.

“I noticed something was different too, Dear.” Dad reached out and felt of a vest on display. “This seems like one of Father’s patterns, but there is something different about the cut.”

“There are now two bow tie displays, with two new styles,” Mom remarked. “What inspired this?” she asked me.

“Coco made adjustments to the patterns,” I informed them. “We wanted to display the old and new styles so if customers had a preference they could pick.”

Both of my parents looked to at me with surprise.

“You’re displaying her work?” Dad asked.

“Yes, in a way.”

Mom searched me with her gaze. “Are you paying her commission?”

“I tried to, but she insisted that the new items were ‘our’ product and wouldn’t accept any.”

Mom glanced to Dad, who had a look of intrigue on his face.

“Let’s head upstairs so we can put away our things,” Dad said. “If we linger in the shop, we might give the impression it’s open, despite the sign saying otherwise.”

I led them into the apartment.

Dad hung up his hat on the hat rack and took their luggage to the guest room.

“I’ll get some tea going,” I said.

Mom followed me into the kitchen and surveyed everything while I filled the kettle. She paused for a moment and looked at something at the counter.

“Is everything okay?” I asked her.

“There are two cups out,” Mom pointed out. “You used to only have one by the coffee press.”

“I make coffee and tea for Coco often enough I leave two out now,” I explained.

She seemed to note what I said and continued to scan the kitchen.

“How goes the inspection?” Dad asked as he joined us.

“I’m not sure,” I told him. “She hasn’t given much feedback so far. She hasn’t gone through the rest of the apartment yet either.”

Mom paused and looked at Dad and me. “I’m concerned about my boy. I want to make sure he is keeping care of himself.”

“We understand that Dear, but you could just ask him how he’s doing.” Dad got out another cup. “I know he will always be our little colt in some ways, but he’s a grown stallion who can share with us what is going on in his life.”

“He might miss something he’s not aware of that could be a symptom of a larger problem,” Mom countered. “It is prudent to have another set of eyes look things over every now and again.” She asked Dad, “Could you get another cup out?”

Dad looked at the one he was holding in his magic and then at the two on the counter. “I will, but why? We have three here.”

“One of the one’s on the counter is reserved for Miss Coco,” Mom said. “It would be impolite for me to drink from somepony’s cup without permission.”

Dad’s eyebrows rose. “I'll get that cup for you, Dear.”

Mom went back to inspecting the kitchen. “Thank you, Love. I am concerned about him losing weight again.”

I smiled and shook my head, as Mom opened the refrigerator and looked over its contents. “It’s been busy and I’ve been training is all, I promise.”

“When was the last time you had a physical?”

“A little over a year ago,” I admitted.

Mom gave me a mother’s disapproving look.

“I’ll set up an appointment for one, I promise.” I told her, “If you would like witnesses as to my eating habits, you can ask Berry and Coco if I have been behaving or not.”

“I will do that,” Mom assured and moved into the den.

“How is Miss Berry doing?” asked Dad.

“At the moment, she’s feeling berry good. She and Barrel got a good sized contract for an upcoming event.”

“It seems her pun habit has rubbed off on you.” Mom paused her inspection of the den and looked through the kitchen door. “Is her shop open today? If so, I would like to go there. I would enjoy another bottle of the wine she suggested last time.”

“It should be open,” I told her.

“We can go after you finish your inspection,” Dad teased.

Mom gave him a withering look, but returned to looking around the den.

“How are her little ones?” Dad coughed into a hoof. “Sorry, how are her little one and her sister doing?”

“They are doing fine and growing up fast.” I watched as Mom stepped into the bathroom. “She’s wound up,” I whispered to Dad.

“We both are, to tell the truth,” he answered just as quiet.

The tea kettle whistled and I took it off the stove. “Is something wrong?”

“We’re not sure.” He gave me a serious look. “Something is troubling Satin.”

Mom stepped out of the bathroom.

“Did you find anything incriminating?” Dad asked. “Strands of mane that do not belong to him or anything of the sort?”

“Everything is clean. He is using the same shampoo and coat soap. There are no products I would associate with a mare staying for a long duration nor extra toothbrushes.”

To my surprise, her voice held a touch of disappointment.

“You could ask him his marefriend had been staying over,” Dad pointed out.

“That was not the intent of me looking. Now I know I need to provide him with a list of products that a mare would find welcome in a bathroom.” Mom looked at me. “You need to replace your hooftowel. It is all but threadbare.”

“I have another in reserve,” I assured her. “This cycle of use would be its last hurrah.”

As Mom moved into the guest bedroom, she told Dad and me, “Whatever you two are whispering about, it can wait till I am done making sure my colt is taking care of himself.”

“Yes, Dear,” Dad responded as I said, “Yes, Mom.”

I prepared the three cups of tea, as Dad asked, “Where has the young mare been staying?”

“She’s been staying at Rarity’s. Rarity was the one that invited Coco to Ponyville to help with the boutique while she was on a trip as a temporary job.”

Mom moved from the guest bedroom to the main bedroom.

I could feel Dad watching me. I put the tea kettle back on the stove and asked him, “How’s the analysis going?”

Dad flinched and looked away. “I’m sorry, Son.”

“Dad, it was a joke,” I assured him. “I know it’s in your nature and you don’t mean anything by it.” For the first time I could remember, Dad seemed small.

Dad waved my concern away. “I know you meant nothing by what you said. But I upset Satin the other day by trying to analyze her. It would seem I am still dealing with that.”

“What happened?”

A touch of guilt came to Dad’s face. “She asked that I stop, but I pressed on and went too far. I tried to act as ‘father’ in the workplace. Words were exchanged, and she asked me to leave her office. When I refused, she reminded me that while my skills and record with the company was excellent that nopony was irreplaceable.”

For a second, I did not believe what I was hearing. “You can’t be serious. She doesn’t have the authority to do that.”

“Since she holds most of the company’s shares now, she could have ordered it.” Dad took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead with a hoof. “As mad as she was, and what I could tell by her tone, she might have followed through had I pressed the matter.”

I sat down and tried to process what Dad had said. “She owns the majority of the stock now? When did that happen?”

Mom walked back into the kitchen, glanced at Dad and me, and then walked over and gave Dad a hug. “I take it you told him about what happened with Satin.”

Dad nodded and hugged her back. “I did.” His answer sounded hollow.

“When we planned this trip, beyond making sure you were doing well we wanted to ask your help with Satin.” Mom gave me an intense look. “Her daily patterns and routines have been off for weeks now. She is defensive and sharp with us and she has withdrawn to her office during work days.”

“That’s not her at all,” I agreed.

Dad kissed Mom’s temple. “Thank you, dear.” He turned his attention to me. “Satin will be forced to take time off soon, due to the company policy ensuring the use of vacation time. We want you to come see her, during that time, if possible.”

I shook my head. “I would try to help, but my breathing room is about to vanish again. There is a big event coming up that hasn’t been officially announced, but the word got out about it and I’ve gotten several orders for suits and requests for alterations already. As things go on, I’m sure it will only get worse.”

“What if we could convince her to come here?” Mom asked.

I flinched at the thought.

“I know you two are not on the best of terms right now.” Mom insisted: “She needs somepony to talk to who is away from and not connected to the company and who are not us. You are about the only pony who fits that description she might talk to.”

“The last time we saw each other, Satin and I yelled we didn’t talk.” I levitated Mom’s tea to her. “I’m not sure if she would come here or not, after what we said to each other.”

“If we can convince her to come, would you let her stay for a few days?” Dad asked. When I paused, he added, “We’re not sure what is going on, but we know she needs somepony to talk to.”

“She needs you,” Mom stated. “She will open up to you, when she won’t with us.”

I levitated Dad’s tea to him. After he took it in his magic, I closed my eyes and took a breath. “If you can get her to come, I’ll welcome her so long as she behaves. If she acts like she did last time, I’ll buy her a ticket on the next train to Canterlot.”

“Thank you, Son,” Dad said. “You will be helping her and us more than you know.”

“I’m glad I am, but I’m being not being altruistic. I have a selfish reason for agreeing to let her come.”

“What do you mean?” Mom asked.

“Despite the fight and the nastiness that built up between us, I still want my older sister back.” I gave them a hopeful smile. “Maybe this will help me do that.”

*****

Dad smirked as he watched me.

While still preparing the salad, Mom cut her eyes over to him. “Dear, behave. You’re supposed to be keeping an eye on the rolls and getting the silverware.”

“I am. I’m also keeping an eye on our son, who is getting antsier by the minute.”

“Dad, you’re enjoying this too much,” I commented, rinsing my hooves clean.

Dad moved to stand beside Mom and leaned his head against hers. “I knew your mother was special, when I felt butterflies before asking her out and before she met Father.”

Mom smiled and leaned against Dad. “Let us hope this goes as well.” She gave him a nudge. “You will behave for his and my sake.”

“Of course I will.” Dad glanced at Mom. “You’re sake?”

Mom nodded. “The possibility of being able to cuddle grandfoals increases with the amount of time they are together.”

Before I could respond, the guest bell rang.

“That would be her,” Dad said. He glanced at the kitchen’s clock. “She is a touch early.”

“She usually is,” I said. “I’ll let her in.”

The oven’s timer chimed. “I’ve got the rolls,” Dad said. “We’ll be right here.”

I left the kitchen, went down the stairs, and to the backdoor. I opened the door and smiled. “Good evening.”

Coco smiled back. “Good evening to you too.” Her eyes went to my bow tie. “Is that the one I made?”

“I thought since this was a special occasion for us I would wear it again as a luck charm.”

“I don’t think we will need luck,” Coco said.

“I don’t think so either.” I touched the bow tie with a hoof. “But just in case we need it, it’s right here.”

Coco took a breath and nodded. “I like that thought. Now that this is about to happen, I’m kind of nervous.”

“You shouldn’t be.” I gave her a kiss on the nose and a hug. “They will adore you, like I do.”

Coco gave me a return hug. After we held each other for few seconds, she patted my back. “Let’s go see them, before they think we ran off.”

“That’s still an option.”

Coco tapped my nose with a hoof. “Behave.”

I led Coco into the shop, up the stairs, and into the apartment. Before we entered the kitchen, I poked my head around the door frame and announced, “Mom, Dad, this is Miss Coco Pommel, my special somepony.”

Coco stepped into the kitchen and gave my parents a nervous wave. “Hello.”

“You were right, she is precious,” Mom said.

Coco blushed. “Thank you.”

“Coco, this is my Mom, Intense Study, and my Dad, Useful Insight.”

“Nice to meet you,” Coco said to them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too,” Dad said. “Please sit down; the lasagna will be out of the oven in a moment.” He gave Mom a kiss on the check. “You too. Pin and I will handle the rest.”

Coco sat down in front of Mom, while Dad and I prepared to serve the rolls and salads.

“Thank you for helping Pin,” Mom said to Coco. “He has a tendency to overwork himself. If you had not helped him with his backlog, we might have gotten a letter telling us he had passed out from pushing too hard.”

“You’re welcome, but I should be the one thanking Pin. He offered me a job when I needed one.”

Mom poured Coco a glass of wine. “I hope he has been a pleasant boss and pony to work with.”

While I continued to toss the salad, one of my ears swiveled towards their conversation.

Coco giggled. “He’s been wonderful. He’s never acted like my boss, to tell the truth.”

Mom, after selecting another wine, filled her own glass. “What do you mean?”

“Before he even hired me, he gave me a raise and he has either made lunch for us or bought me lunch pretty much every day.”

I could feel both Mom and Dad looking at me. I paused in my work and glanced at them. “What are you looking at me like that for?”

“So that’s what Berry meant when she said you had been treating Coco well,” Dad said.

“The initial contact draft had her pay too low,” I explained. “I couldn’t take advantage of her.”

The oven’s bell chimed.

“I’ve got it,” Dad said and took the lasagna out of the oven and placed it on a rack to cool.

“Providing lunches was part of the contract too?” Mom asked with a look that told she knew it did not.

“No, we came to that agreement later. I still felt I wasn’t compensating her enough for her work.” I moved the salad from the counter to the kitchen table. “To be honest, I still don’t feel like I’m doing right by her.”

Coco motioned for me get closer to her. When I did, she touched her nose to mine. “You’re doing right by me, I promise.”

“Dear, if you smile any more you’re going to strain something,” Dad teased Mom.

“I’m glad he appreciates her, and I am glad to see what Berry said is true. Her training is sinking in with him.”

Coco turned her head and gave Mom a concerned smile. “You talked to Berry today?”

Mom lifted her wine glass and nodded in a small salute. “Her insights and recommendations have never been wrong.”

“It was good to see her and Barrel,” Dad said, as he sat down beside Mom. “I’m glad we got to see the girls too.”

“Has our son been giving you any issues that your training could not improve?” Mom asked Coco. “We could give advice on how to correct his behavior.”

I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise at her words. Without looking at her, I could sense that Coco was having a similar reaction.

“Dear, you’re making them both uncomfortable,” Dad said.

“I promised Berry that I would do what I could to make sure they were not having troubles.” While I do not think Pin would give her any serious issues, it is best to address such things now. It would break my heart if something were to come up later that tears them apart we could have discussed and headed off now.”

“It’s okay Dad,” I assured. “I like being ‘trained’ by Coco.” I glanced at Coco out of the corner of my eye and caught her blushing. “It brings us closer together. I agree with Mom that I’m more likely to give our relationship troubles.”

Coco snorted. “The only thing wrong with Pin is that he is too cautious and reserved.” Coco gave me a look. “He’s been much more affectionate and free with his words, but sometimes getting details about what he does and likes outside running the store is like trying to catch smoke with my hooves.”

“I would suggest a tit for tat,” Dad said. “Study and I have always tried to make even swaps with each other, when discussing things such as this.” Dad looked to me. “What would you like from her in return, for you to open up about your interests outside the shop?”

I did not have to think long about my answer. “I want her to teach me more about the theater,” I said. “She lights up when she talks about it. I want to learn about the aspects of costuming and the stories she likes best so I can enjoy them with her.”

“I would be glad to!” Coco said. She poked me in the shoulder with a hoof. “Since we're going tit for tat, and you’ve agreed to the training, is there is anything you would like me to improve?”

While I shook my head, one of my ears betrayed me by folding sideways. “You’re wonderful as you are.”

Coco looked to my ear and raised an eyebrow. “There is a part of you that doesn’t agree.”

I flicked the offending ear, trying to get it to behave. I scolded it, “Traitorous thing, get back where you’re supposed to be.”

“Pin.”

Coco’s tone, when she said my name, made me stop my joking and look at her.

“Please, if there is something wrong, tell me,” she said, looking me in the eye. “I’ll do my best to work with you the way you have worked with me.”

“There is nothing ‘wrong’, but I would like you to value yourself as much I value you,” I told her. “You’re a talented professional, and a wonderful pony. I know Suri didn’t treat you well and didn’t pay you near what you deserve. I don’t want to do anything like she did to you and I don’t want you to ever let anypony else to do that to you either.”

Coco’s ears folded back, and she blushed and ducked her head. “This is about me not taking commission for the new designs isn’t it?”

“In part it is, but it’s more than that too.” I smiled at Coco. “When you slip into your noble lady persona, you radiate confidence and surety. I would like to see that part of you surface a little more, when you are negotiating business contracts and judging yourself.”

“If you’ll help,” Coco said, “I’ll do my best.”

“I know you can do it.” I gave Coco’s cheek a soft nuzzle. “That alluring and powerful mare is part of you. All we have to do is figure out how to coax her to come out for you when you need her.”

“Hot items incoming,” Dad warned as he levitated the lasagna and the rack it was on, along with the rolls, over to the table.

“No, dear,” Mom said to him. “The hot items are across the table.”

“We’re warming up, but we’re not ‘hot’ yet,” I told her.

Coco gave Mom a suffering smile. “We’ve only gone on four ‘official’ dates, where our friends weren’t involved. They seem to have a sense for when we’re planning things.”

“A pity,” Mom said. “That means that my wait for grandfoals will be longer than I had hoped.”

“Dear, it’s too early to be talking about such a thing,” Dad chided. “They have not faced a challenge to their relationship, that would test its durability either. We do not want their first challenge to be having a foal and all that entails for their sakes and the foal’s.”

“Satin could be their first challenge,” Mom said.

“She was ours, so it’s fitting,” Dad said.

While I tried to keep my face impassive, Dad must have caught an emotional tell.

“We love your sister, as we did then, but parenting and rearing a foal is a demanding process.” He sighed. “Your mother and I spent hours debating what was ‘best’ for Satin. Which school she would attend, what we would teacher ourselves, what foods she would eat, anything and everything concerning Satin became points of contention.”

“I can see that,” I said. “You two have such different approaches to things.”

“We tried to be the best parents we could. We did all we could for Satin.” Mom looked towards the table top, seeming reflective and regretful. “We did too much and pushed too hard, I am afraid.”

Dad put a foreleg around Mom’s shoulder. “Satin is a strong, driven mare, who is quite successful.”

“She is also under constant stress, tense, and has little, if any, life or joy outside the company.” Mom pointed a hoof at me. “He wasn’t around us near as much, and I can still see some of the negative impacts my influence had on him.”

“You’re giving yourself too much credit,” Dad told her, gaining him an irritated look from Mom. “We both had a hoof in their growing up, including giving them perfectionist tendencies in their genes. We did our best with Satin, learned, and then tried a different approach with Pin. That’s all we could have done.”

I got up from my seat, went around the table, and wrapped Mom and Dad in a hug. Mom accepted the hug and leaned into me. Dad stiffened, and I could tell the contact bothered him.

“You were both wonderful parents. I never doubted I was loved and you had my best interests at heart.”

“You are Nana’s and your Grandfather’s child more than mine,” Mom said, sounding like she would cry.

I let go of Dad and gave Mom a full hug. “How much did you see Satin day to day, Mom?”

Mom sniffed. “Truth be told, after she got out of the foal stage, not that many hours during most days with her school, our work, and life keeping us apart so much.”

“It’s the same for most ponies,” Coco said. “I lived with my parents, but, once we were older, between school and them having to travel for work, my brother and I didn’t get to see them that much.”

Mom gave me a loving squeeze. “We tried to do what was right. I hope you know that.”

“I do, and you did. I had two loving homes and got to learn from you and Dad and from Grandfather and Nana. There aren’t that many colts who are as lucky as I was.”

Coco fidgeted as if she wanted to say something.

Dad gave her a supportive look. “Please, say what you would like.”

“Pin has always described you both as good parents and said you always put his well-being first,” Coco told Mom. “Pin is a disciplined, intelligent stallion who has a huge heart. If you had not been good parents, he wouldn’t have turned out to be the pony he is.”

Mom sniffed again, and tears ran down her face. “I am sorry. My worrying about Satin has had me reflecting on all kinds of things and asking what ifs.”

Coco looked to me and then to Dad as if to ask permission for something.

Dad gave her a measuring look, while I smiled and motioned for her to come closer.

Coco, with timid steps, moved to the other side of the table.

I realized what Coco’s aim was, released Mom, and gave them space.

Coco reached out, and Mom accepted the offered hug. “Thank you.” Mom sniffed again. “I am sorry for the waterworks. This is not the first meeting I had envisioned.”

“It’s fine.” Coco said, and let Mom tuck her closer. “I hate you’re feeling this worried. I’m sure whatever is happening with Satin can be worked through.”

Dad sighed. “I believe so, but she can be headstrong and shut others out when she feels threatened. Whatever has her bothered, it must have touched something deep for her to shut us out and act as she has. That’s one reason we made the trip, to ask for Pin’s help.”

“They asked me if I would help Satin,” I explained to Coco. “I’ve agreed that if they can get her to come, I would do what I could to help her and them.”

Coco game me a worried look. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, but wouldn’t her coming here make it worse? You two aren’t even speaking.”

“That is a recent development,” Dad said. “Pin was Satin’s ‘bigger brother’ and everything he accomplished she took pride in.” Dad looked to the lasagna. “Before we dive into that topic, let’s dive into dinner, while it’s still warm. Getting something in Study’s stomach will help her feel better too.”

Coco let go of Mom. “That sounds good.”

“First though...” Dad moved over and hugged Mom. “Dear, you were an excellent mother and have been the best partner in business and life I could have ever dreamed of. Don’t let anypony, including that doubtful voice in your head, make you think than you are anything less than one of the best mares Equestria has ever seen.”

Mom gave Dad a tender smile. “Thank you, Love.”

Dad gave Mom a kiss with enough behind it she blushed.

Dad broke the kiss and gave Mom a lecherous smile. “Remember, I am always available to make that doubtful little voice disappear.”

“Behave yourself,” Mom half scolded him.

“I’ll serve,” I offered, trying to draw attention back to our dinner.

I cut the lasagna into equal portions. I paused, trying to remember the proper protocol.

“Serve Miss Coco first,” Mom instructed. “We may be long distance guests and your parents, but special someponies come first.”

“It gives us a moment to enjoy the smell too,” Dad said and took in a breath through his nose.

I put Coco’s serving on her plate.

“Thank you,” she said.

“You’re welcome.”

“Speaking of wonderful smells, what brand of shampoo do you use?” Mom asked Coco. “That mint fragrance is wonderful.”

As I put Mom’s portion on her plate, I did my best to keep a straight face and maintain control of the spatula.

Dad chuckled. “Be careful, young lady. Mint is one of Pin’s favorites. He might try to take a nibble or two, if you don’t watch him.”

I blushed as Coco let out a half restrained giggle and blushed herself.

Mother’s eyebrow rose and Dad gave a deep belly laugh.

“I take it he has tried already,” Mom deadpanned.

“There has been nibbling, after I was encouraged to,” I admitted. “I haven’t left any marks, I promise. Rarity can vouch for that.”

Mom put her hoof to her forehead. “Nibbling afflicts yet another generation of this family’s stallions,” she bemoaned.

“I’ve nibbled Pin too,” Coco confessed.

Mom looked to Coco in surprise.

“She didn’t leave any marks I know of.” I gave Coco a smile. “I don’t think I would have minded, though, had she.”

Dad’s laughter got louder as Coco’s blush went to her ears.

Mom sighed. “At least it improves the chances of grandfoals.”

Chapter 9

“This has been a wonderful evening,” Mom told Coco. “Thank you so much for visiting with us.”

“It was great to meet you both,” Coco said.

Mom gave her a cautious smile. “Would you mind if I gave you a hug? I would like to make up for the sogginess of the last one.”

Coco smiled back. “I wouldn’t mind at all.”

Mom gave Coco a warm hug and whispered something in her ear.

Coco nodded. “I’ll do my best.”

When Coco turned to Dad, he gave her a slight bow. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“Likewise,” Coco said and returned the bow.

Mom and Dad stepped back into the shop and closed the door behind them.

I let out a sigh of relief.

“That wasn’t bad at all,” Coco said, bumping her shoulder to mine.

“No, it wasn’t.”

Coco led us away from the shop. “Your Mom’s sweet as she can be. I bet she has every aspect of me memorized.”

I chuckled. “She is, and I’m sure she does.”

“Your dad seems nice too, but I’m not sure how to describe him.”

“Quirky,” I supplied.

“He doesn’t care for physical contact, except with your mom, does he?”

“He doesn’t. Grandfather was like that to an extent too. Nana, on the other hoof, would cuddle a cactus.”

“You’re more of a Nana deep down,” Coco said with certainty. “Just you wait; I’ll have you snuggling in no time.”

“I look forward to those lessons.” I looked up towards the sky and smiled. “Have you been on a nighttime picnic while you’ve been here?”

“No, I haven’t.” Coco looked up. “There are a lot more stars here than back in Manehatten.”

“If you would like, I could take you on one. Once you get away from town, it seems like you can see every star in the night sky.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

We made the rest of the walk to Rarity’s in comfortable silence. We stopped a short distance from the boutique’s door and faced each other.

“I’m glad my parents didn’t traumatize you too much.” I made my ears go akimbo and gave her a goofy grin. “I’m sure you can see them in me, I hope that’s not too horrible a thought.”

“I think you got the best aspects of them both.” Coco glanced toward the boutique and then back. “Don’t turn your head,” she whispered, “we’re being watched.”

“Rarity?” I asked.

“I think Sweetie’s at the window too,” Coco confirmed. “If it had just been Rarity, I was thinking about putting on a show.” She flicked an ear and grinned.

I chuckled. “I think we’ve traumatized Rarity enough for today.”

Coco raised an eyebrow. “You wouldn’t think so if you heard the questions she asks.”

I tilted my head. “Questions?”

Coco blushed. “She asks things like: ‘Is he as skittish in intimate matters as he is in his showing affection to you?’”

“Sounds like she and Mom are thinking about the same thing,” I said with a sigh.

“That’s nothing compared to what Berry has asked.”

I winced. “Do I want to know?”

Coco grinned. “As examples: ‘How good is his ‘sewing’ technique?’ and ‘Have you gotten his ‘inseam’ measurement yet?’”

“That sounds like Berry.” I groaned and looked to the stars. “Why is everypony assuming we’ve made that leap?”

“According to Thunderlane, it’s because, ‘It shows he wants to do more than take nibbles of you.’” Coco smiled at me and raised an eyebrow. “Judging by how you’re blushing, he’s not too far off.”

I ducked my head in embarrassment. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find you tempting. I hope Lane wasn’t too bad with his comments. He can get carried away.”

“He wasn’t at all. He said he could tell that how much you liked a mare by how nervous, polite, and uptight you got. He told me, ‘I’ve never seen him this bad before, he must think you are the most amazing thing since sliced bread.’”

“I do, and you are. You are the most wonderful mare I have met. That’s why I over analyze everything I do with you. I’m afraid that I’ll make a mistake and-”

Coco stopped me by giving me a hug. “Not happening, so don’t even think it. Unless you plan to drive me off somehow, one mistake or even several mistakes will not make me think less of you. If you were being nasty or doing hurtful things on purpose, then would I change my opinion of you and consider leaving.”

I returned her hug. “I would never do that.”

“I know you wouldn’t. Would you toss me out of your life if I made a mistake or two?”

“Absolutely not,” I told her and accented my words by giving her a light squeeze.

“Then we have nothing to worry about, since I’m not planning to say or do anything horrible to you either.”

I nuzzled her mane close to her ear. I thought I heard a noise, muffled by glass, coming from the boutique.

“Was that Sweetie or Rarity?” Coco asked.

“I couldn’t tell.”

Coco giggled, and I giggled with her.

After our giggle fit subsided, I asked Coco, “Should we be enjoying teasing them this much?”

“Maybe we’re being a little bad, but after all the teasing Rarity’s given us turnabout is fair play.” Coco sighed. “I better go inside. You should head back to your parents.” She let go of me. “Sleep well.”

“I will, and you too.” I let her go. “Thank you for coming this evening. I know you’re busy getting ready for your trip.”

“I enjoyed it.” She smiled and told me under her breath, “Rarity and Sweetie look like they are about to have a conniption.”

I did my best to keep a straight face. “I bet they’re expecting a kiss.”

“Since you gave me a goodbye kiss earlier, it’s my turn.”

I lowered my head and Coco rewarded me with a kiss on my forehead.

“Goodnight,” she told me.

I looked up at her and smiled. “Goodnight.”

*****

I stepped in and closed the door to my apartment. I could hear the shower’s water running.

“I hope your walk with Miss Coco was enjoyable,” Dad said from the couch.

“It was.”

The quiet that followed gave me the impression that something was on Dad’s mind. When I stepped into the den proper, I asked him, “You okay?”

He gestured toward the love seat across from the couch. “Let’s talk.”

I could feel Dad taking in information as I walked into the room and sat down.

“You tensed up,” he stated. “She makes you more defensive.”

“Coco you mean?”

Dad nodded.

“Coco plays a part, but I’m wondering what you’re trying to read and why.”

Dad watched me for a few seconds, saying nothing.

“You haven’t played inquisitor with me in a while,” I said. “What has you worked up?”

“I think you’ve fallen for her.”

The flatness of Dad’s statement told me he was probing me.

“She has become a dear friend and a welcome part of my life.” I added, “I hope that we can become more, but at a pace she sets.”

For a second, Dad seemed to waiver at some internal thought.

“This has something to do with Satin too, doesn’t it?”

A small smile came to Dad’s face. “It seems you’ve picked up pony reading yourself.”

“I learned from one of the best.”

My compliment drew no reaction.

“You need to be more open to her, or you risk losing her.”

“I promised her I would, and I will.” I leaned towards Dad. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m facing an echo of what your mother faced during dinner.” He studied me for a second and then asked, “Are you happy?”

I thought about my situation and nodded. “Business is going well, I have a roof over my head, and I have food on the table. I have good friends who look after me, I enjoy looking after and sharing with them. I have a wonderful special somepony, and I have parents who love me enough to stop by on a business trip to see how I’m doing. I have nothing to complain about.”

Instead of making Dad relax, as I thought it might, my answer seemed to sadden him.

“I see,” he said in a hollow tone.

“Dad, what’s this all about?”

“I asked the same question to Satin. Her answer was not so positive.” Dad took off his glasses, leaned his head back, and took in a deep breath. “’I have a job I like and I can pay my bills," was her response. I waited for her to add anything to what she said, but she never did.”

“That’s… not all that good of an answer.”

Dad sighed and told me: “She asked me why I was asking her whether or not she was happy. When I told her I could tell that she was not acting her usual self she laughed at me. She asked me what did it matter if she was happy and what had made me care how she was acting so long as she was doing her job.”

My mouth dropped open.

Dad opened his eyes. “I cannot say I blame her either. We’ve been pushing hard to get ready for this deal we’re trying to broker with Appleloosa to create an airship that would help them get their apples to new markets.”

“Linked in with the ties you already have with the warehouses and businesses in Canterlot,” I ventured.

Dad nodded. “Satin’s been pushing right along with us, plus trying to keep the shipbuilding side of things running.”

“Is everything okay?”

A small smile came back to Dad’s face. “We’re ship shape.” He chuckled. “Sorry, couldn’t let that one pass. While the company is doing well, we’re getting run ragged.”

“That sounds about normal, what’s gotten under Satin’s saddle then? Do you have any idea?”

Dad looked me in the eye and told me, “Her mood changed when after we told her about you getting an assistant.”

“Oh.” I grinned, trying to make light of the situation. “Sounds like an easy fix. Let her hire an assistant to take the load off of her. If she can get the pressure off, maybe she’ll go back to her usual self.”

“We-” Dad stopped as the door to the bathroom opened.

Mom walked into the den, a towel wrapped around her head, glanced at Dad and me, and then looked with disapproval at Dad. “You are talking about the business. We agreed we would not bring up such topics.”

“It’s fine, Mom,” I said. “We talked about if I was happy, which led to us talking about Satin. Since Satin and the company are intertwined we slipped into talking about work a little, but Satin was our main subject.”

Mom nodded in agreement. “True, you cannot talk about Satin without discussing aspects of work.”

For a second, Mom’s seemed like she was seeing something other than the room and her ears fell a little.

“You okay, Love?” Dad asked and reached out a hoof to her.

Mom gathered herself and her ears snapped back into place. She moved close to Dad, took his hoof, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I’m fine. Your turn, Dear. Go have a nice, warm shower.”

Dad leaned over the back of the couch and gave her a kiss. “Thank you, but I would need to stay warm is to think about you.” He waggled his eyebrows and bumped his nose to hers.

“Behave yourself,” Mom scolded him with a grin.

As Dad got up from the couch, Mom moved to sit beside me on the loveseat.

“No talking about me till I get back,” Dad said.

“I make no such promise,” Mom said.

Dad stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.

“I am worried about you and your sister,” Mom said. “You are doing better than I expected, but Satin seems to be worse.”

I turned and hugged Mom. “Satin is tough and stubborn. She also has a good sense of when she’s over her head. Don’t worry. She’ll talk to you or somepony and get help or she’ll grind it into submission.”

“Whatever it is, I do not think it is of that nature or she would have conquered it by now.” Mom sighed. “Her behavior and patterns have been off for almost half a year. I have been trying to find out what the cause could be, but nothing has turned up in the company.”

“She pulls into her shell when something unexpected happens and she pushes through,” I said.

“Until your father asked her about how she was feeling, she was not doing that, but something was still off.”

“It’s something outside the company then,” I ventured.

“As far as I know, she has nothing outside the company that would upset her so. I want to ask her, but she has been pulling back so much I am hesitant to do so.” Mom hugged me and put her chin on my shoulder. “This is tearing me apart. Something is wrong with my filly, and I do not know what is wrong or how to help.”

“Get her to come, and I’ll see what I can get out of her.” I rubbed Mom’s back with a hoof. “If I can get anything out of her.”

“I am afraid it has something to do with your father and me.” Mom sniffed. “Nopony else that I have talked to is having trouble with her.”

Dad opened the bathroom door and stepped into the den. He looked towards Mom and me and his ears fell. He approached the love seat and asked, “Can I borrow your spot and your mother?”

“Of course,” I said and moved to the couch.

Dad took my place on the loveseat and held Mom in his forelegs. “I’m sorry you’re hurting, Love.”

Mom nuzzled Dad and touched her horn to his. “I am not hurting as much as I am scared for my foals.”

“I’m doing fine Mom, I promise.” I sat down on the couch. “Satin will get over whatever is bothering her too.”

“She worries about you both all the time,” Dad said. “If you weren’t so close, I think she’d worry her tail right off if she couldn’t put eyes on you now and then.”

Mom turned to look at me. “Please understand, it is not because I think either of you are incompetent, it is because I love you both.”

“I know, Mom. I worry about you three up in Canterlot too. I will visit more often, even if Satin is still being an ursa major. I promise.”

“I will hold you to that.” Mom smiled. “If you don’t come and see us, we will come see you for longer and longer visits.”

“Dear, threatening him is counterproductive to your goals,” Dad told her.

“I am not threatening, I am promising. Besides, Coco and he may need help taking care of a little one before too much longer and they might enjoy the help.”

“She and I are still quite a way off from that,” I said.

“Blessings can come to couples at unexpected times, as you well know.” Mom gave me a smile. “All it takes is the right moment.”

“And a good ear nibble to start things off,” Dad said in a deadpan voice, but with a half contained smile. “It turns out that a light nibble in the back of stagecoach after a lovely dinner can lead to things even before you get back to- umph!”

Mom, blushing, cut Dad off by covering his mouth with a hoof. “I believe we can leave things right there, Dear.”

*****

The store’s bell chimed, and I looked up from my order schedule. I smiled and greeted Coco, “Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon to you too,” she replied. “How did it go with your parents this morning?”

“They got on the train with no trouble. They both told me to tell you goodbye and they look forward to seeing you again.”

Coco smiled. “I look forward to seeing them again too.”

“Mom left a package for you. She made me promise to deliver it to you at the first opportunity.”

Coco looked surprised. “She didn’t have to do that.”

“That’s Mom for you.” I held up my hoof in a warning gesture. “Be careful though, Mom’s gifts are sometimes strange.”

“I take it you don’t know what’s in the package.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t a clue. She also told me that if I tried to peek she would come back and give me a ‘scolding like you have not had since you were a foal.’ ”

Coco laughed. “I can’t image you getting into too much trouble, even as a foal.”

“I had my moments,” I confessed. “After getting used to Ponyville, where I could run around wherever I wanted, Canterlot was constraining.” I felt my ears perk up, as it occurred to me to share with her: “Speaking of running, that’s one thing I like to do before I open the shop.”

“No wonder you keep trim.” Coco smiled. “Berry said it was because, ‘he tries to live off air too much’.”

“Since you’ve been here, I’ve haven’t skipped that many meals.”

Coco raised an eyebrow and gave me a displeased look.

“I only skip breakfasts!” I said, shielding myself from her look with my fore hooves. “Sometimes, after I run, I get pinched for time and I’m not that hungry after the exercise.”

Coco pointed a hoof at me. “You shouldn’t skip any meals. At least have something light when that happens. I don’t want to report you to Berry.”

“She’s chewed on me before for not eating,” I said in playful defiance. “I can take it.”

Coco gave me a scheming smile. “I’ll tell your mother.”

I gave an exaggerated gasp. “You wouldn’t!”

“I wouldn’t,” Coco confessed. “But if you make a habit of skipping breakfast, I might.” Coco made her way around the counter. “I don’t want you to make yourself sick.”

“I enjoy running too much to torture myself with it to the point I didn’t like it.” I struck a pose in Thunderlane-like fashion. “But I have to use every trick I can to keep looking good for you, so I have to push a little.”

Coco smiled and rolled her eyes. “You look fine, and I don’t think you have to worry. Both your mom and your dad looked like they were in top shape.”

“That’s because they eat well and start most days off with a workout.”

“Your Mom’s idea, I take it.”

“Mostly, Dad enjoys it too, so he has never complained.”

Coco’s ears perked up as if she had an idea. “Could I run with you in the mornings?”

“I, uh… sure, but do you want to?”

“Yes, please!” Coco said, with enough enthusiasm her front hooves came close to leaving the floor.

The strength of her insistence surprised me. “You are more than welcome to.”

“Thank you,” she said, relieved.

“Is everything okay?” I said, getting worried.

“Rarity has insisted on taking me to her morning maretial arts classes.”

I drew in a breath through my teeth. “She talked me into going to lessons with her a while back. She turns into a monster when she gets on a sparring mat.”

“I haven’t sparred her or anything like that; it’s just not my cup of tea.”

“That's good. She can get rough." I rubbed my shoulder with a hoof out of nerves. "I’m glad you want to run with me, but I’m worried that you’ll get tired of seeing me.”

Coco smiled. “Do you every get tired of seeing me?”

“Not at all.”

“It’s the same for me seeing you.“ Coco sighed. “However, I have to I warn you, I don’t look my best first thing in the morning all hot and sweaty.”

I did my best to keep my thoughts from going to inappropriate places, failed, and tried to suppress my blush.

“Looks like you don’t mind such things.” Coco got closer, reached up with a hoof, and touched my mane. “I wonder what your coat, mane, and tail look like when you’re all sweaty.”

“Not near as nice as yours, I’m sure,” I said.

“I don’t know. You and your mom have wonderful manes.”

“Not so much when I’m sweaty. Think soggy mop strands and that’s close to what my mane turns into.”

Coco laughed.

I felt a pang of missing her even while she was standing in front of me.

“What was that look for?” Coco asked, her smile fading away. “You seemed sad or worried about something.”

“I was thinking about you leaving tomorrow.”

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Coco gave my nose a light tap with her hoof. “Besides, with all the orders piling up, you’ll be too busy to notice I’m gone.”

“I can’t agree there.” I took her hoof with mine, before she could lower it, and gave it a kiss. “But it will allow me to get surprises ready for you for when you get back.”

The store’s bell ringing caused us to pause our conversation.

“She’ll figure out we ducked in here!” Scootaloo said.

“We can go out the back,” Sweetie said.

“If Pin will let us,” Apple Bloom said.

“Sweetie, what are you three up to now?” Coco asked the trio of fillies as they approached the counter.

“We’re tryin’ to avoid my sister,” Apple Bloom said, glancing over her shoulder at the shop’s door.

I raised an eyebrow. “Dare I ask?”

“We did it!” Scootaloo said. “We got a letter to Princess Cadance! She agreed to help us and Applejack!”

“That’s great news,” Coco said. She tilted her head and asked, “Why are you three acting like Applejack is after you?”

“Because she is after us!” Apple Bloom said, and glanced toward the door again. “Princess Cadance wrote a letter to us and to Applejack about her plans to help, I think.”

“What do you mean, ‘you think’?” I asked.

“The two letters came this mornin’ from the Crystal Empire; one for us and one for Applejack” Apple Bloom said. “After reading our letter, I expected what was goin’ to be in Applejack’s and skedaddled the first chance I could.”

Scootaloo told Apple Bloom, “You should have just left the letter for her to pick up later.”

“It wasn’t my fault!” Apple Bloom protested. “Big Mac brought in the mail today. I thought I might have pulled it off, but Big Mac told Applejack about me getting a royal letter too.”

“Now we’re all going to be in trouble,” Scootaloo grumbled. “She must have figured things out right after she finished reading her letter.”

“Please,” Sweetie begged, “let us cut through your shop. We saw Applejack not too long ago, and she didn‘t look happy.”

“Wait a second.” I held up my hooves and made a timeout gesture. “You want me to help you avoid Applejack? I don’t think so.”

“Applejack doesn’t know you were the pony that helped us come up with the idea.” Scootaloo smiled at me in a way that told me I was in trouble and added, “Yet.”

“That’s just low,” I replied to Scootaloo.

“I think I see her hat!” Sweetie squeaked. “She’s cutting through the market!”

“You realize you have to go home sometime, right?” I asked Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom gave me a resigned nod. “I know, but I want her to cool down before I get my ears chewed off.”

I could not keep the smile off my face. “What kind of co-conspirator would I be if I let you three get caught?”

All three fillies’ ears perked up.

“You’re goin’ to help us?” Apple Bloom asked.

I looked out the store’s front window and told them: “I’m going to give you a sporting head start. Applejack and Big Mac are coming this way.”

Coco stepped aside and waved them toward the back. “Come on, you three. The escape route is this way. I’ll let you out while Pin distracts them.”

“Thank you!” Scootaloo said and rushed towards the workroom.

“Thanks!” Apple Bloom said, as she hurried past.

“Thank you,” Sweetie said, gave Coco a quick hug, and scurried into the workroom.

The fillies and Coco just made it into the back as Applejack and Big Mac walked into the store.

Applejack tilted her hat and rubbed her temple with a hoof. “What in tarnation are those three doin’ here?”

“Giving you some time to calm down over a letter, from what Apple Bloom told me,” I told her.

Big Mac gave a deep chuckle.

Apple Jack gave her brother a look. “Laugh it up. You only have Sugar Belle to worry about. I’m goin’ to have a whole battalion of guards to try and not trip over.”

“Sis, three guards aren’t a battalion,” McIntosh said, through his chuckle.

“It might as well be! How am I supposed to do the caterin’ if I’m trippin’ over them while they’re tryin’ to be sweet on me?!”

“Just one’s your ‘honor escort’; the other two are goin’ to help with the caterin’,” McIntosh said as if he had explained this to her before. “You’re supposed to relax a little during the-” McIntosh cut his eyes toward me and ended his sentence, “evenin’.”

“Somethin’ just occurred to me.” Applejack looked towards me. “Why would the girls go and mention something to you about the letter I got?”

“I might have had a small part of giving them the idea to contact somepony that knew you and could help them find you a date for the… whatever is coming up.” My ears went back in guilt. “Beyond delivering the news that their plan worked, they asked for a shortcut because they thought you were upset with them about the letter.”

“I didn’t know you had it in you, Pin,” McIntosh said, with a full laugh.

I shrugged and grinned. “Since I contributed to their plan, I couldn’t let my partners in crime get caught.”

“I hate to spoil your fun, but I wasn’t even after them.” Applejack poked McIntosh in the side with a hoof. “This laughin' lummox needs a new suit. After he gets measured for one, he and I need to go to the market.”

Coco stepped back into the storefront. “Hello, Applejack. Hello, Big McIntosh.”

McIntosh got his laughing under control. “Hello, Miss Pommel.” He gave Coco a nod. “I take it you let my sister and her friends out the back.”

Coco smiled. “I did.”

“Good for you, gettin’ in on the fun. Sis has needed somethin’ like this for a while.”

Applejack looked up at McIntosh, seeming shocked. “Of all the ponies I thought would be on my side, you go sidin’ with them!”

“They helped me find my special somepony. You ought to consider lettin’ them do the same for you.” McIntosh grinned at Applejack. “At least this time they have Cadance helpin’ them. She’ll keep them from doin’ the crazy stuff with you like they tried with me and maybe even find you a good fella.”

“I don’t have time for that kind of hooey,” Applejack said. “We’ve got too much work to do on the farm for me to be courtin’.”

“I was wearing your horseshoes not too long ago, and Rich told me to make time to bring somepony in my life and focus on what is important.” I looked at Coco, smiled, and turned back to Applejack. “What happened wasn’t what I was expecting, but Coco coming into my life has been the best thing to happen in a long time. Let Cadance and the Cutie Mark Crusaders try to find somepony for you that equals what Coco has done for me. You won't regret it.”

Applejack tilted her hat and gave me a searching look. “Do you mean what she has done for the shop or for you as a pony?”

“Both,” I said without hesitation. “One of the reason’s I’m rooting for Cadance and the girls to find your somepony is I hope you feel as happy with whoever they find for you as I have since Coco shared her life with me.”

Applejack seemed to mull my words over. She looked toward Coco and a grin came to her face. “That’s a right rosy shade of red there, Coco.”

I turned to Coco, who was staring at me and blushing. “She’s the Element of Honesty; I have to tell her the truth about how I feel.”

McIntosh nodded. “Eeyup. Sis gets real ornery if you don't tell the truth.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “I’m not that bad.”

McIntosh and I looked at each other and, without a word said, agreed not to argue with her.

I took McIntosh’s measurements and got his choices of what colors and materials he would like for the suit.

“You’re goin’ to need an acre’s worth of cloth for him,” Applejack warned.

“That won’t be a problem,” I assured and added McIntosh’s order to my files. “We should have everything ready in about a week. I’ll send a note, when it’s done.”

McIntosh smirked.

“What?” I asked.

His smirk shifted to a full grin. “ ’We’? Coco’s doin’ that much around here, huh?”

It took a moment for his words to register. I smiled and nodded. “She is. I don’t even think about the shop being ‘mine’ anymore.”

Applejack patted McIntosh on the shoulder. “We ought to get goin’. We have chores to do, and it looks like Coco would like to have a talk with our friend here.”

“Thank you both,” McIntosh said and led Applejack out of the store.

“Thank you and take care!” I called after them.

“Pin,” Coco said, as soon as the door shut.

I turned to her.

“Hold still.”

I did as directed and Coco gave me a lasting kiss.

She broke the kiss and said, “Thank you.”

“I’m not sure what I did, but I’m glad it made you happy.”

Coco gave me a hug. “You let me know I’m appreciated and valued.”

I hugged her back and put my cheek against her head. “You’re cherished.”

The shop’s door opened. “Coco, dear, are you…?” She stopped just inside the door. “Oh.” Rarity fidgeted. “I’m sorry, I’m interrupting.”

Coco dropped her head to my chest and muttered something impolite about the universe and timing.

I fought to keep a straight face as I told Rarity, “It’s fine. We should save such activities when were not in the storefront.”

“We get interrupted in back too,” Coco whispered.

I kissed the top of her head. “I’ll make it up to you,” I promised.

“It really wasn’t anything of importance.” Rarity took a step back toward the door. “I was picking a few things up from the market and came by to chat and then walk with Coco to the boutique.”

Coco turned her head and looked at the store’s clock. “I didn’t even realize what time it was.”

“Such things happen when you’re with your coltfriend.” Rarity smiled and hummed a happy note. “It’s happened to me a number of times here lately.”

I let Coco go. “Don’t forget the package.”

“That’s right!” Coco headed toward the back. “I’ll go get it,” she said over her shoulder.

“It’s on the coffee table,” I told her.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you two. I really am.” Rarity adjusted her saddlebags in embarrassment. “I just couldn’t wait to talk to Coco about my idea for my new shop.”

“Rarity, I promise, it’s fine.” I gave her a warm smile. “It’s good to see you this excited about something. If you don’t mind me asking, what was your idea?”

“I want to open a shop in Manehatten.”

I felt like somepony had doused me with ice water at Rarity’s words.

“I’ll need her help to select the right spot and get it up and running. I was hoping she could give me some advice and ask her to do a little scouting for me too if she had the time.” Rarity looked past me. “Dear, where is your package?”

“I think it’s best if I leave it here,” Coco said and stood by me.

I turned to Coco. When our eyes met, she blushed.

I took a slow breath before asking, “What did Mom do this time?”

Coco suppressed a laugh and put her mouth close to my ear. “It’s a collection of books and a sample pack of potions for mares and stallions,” she confided in a soft voice.

I closed my eyes and let my head drop. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“I do,” Coco said. “I look forward to us reading and discussing them.”

I felt my blush go to my ears as I looked at her.

“I’ve read the one I put on top,” Coco said. “I know you’ve promised to read the Pony of the Opera, but I would like to talk to you about the other book too, when I get back.” She booped my nose with a hoof. “Take notes as to your favorite parts on both of them,” she teased. “I want to know what you think.”

Coco smiled in a way that renewed my blush.

Rarity glanced at Coco and me. “Judging by his reaction, I believe I’m out of the loop on something.”

“I’ll tell you when we’re at the boutique,” Coco told her.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to see you off tomorrow?” I asked.

“I’m sure,” Coco said and gave me a hug. “Your orders are piling up again, and I don’t want you to get behind or miss a sale.”

“Have fun while you’re up there.” I hugged Coco back. “I’m going to miss you.”

“I’m going to miss you too.”

Coco smiled, flicked her ear, and gave me a meaningful look.

Rarity made a noise of protest.

I smiled and asked, “Miss Coco, are you trying to tempt me into doing something improper?”

Coco grinned back and nodded. “Is it working?”

“It is.” I leaned towards Coco’s ear, drawing out the action as long as I could.

“You can be seen!” Rarity protested.

Using my magic, I levitated a jacket from a nearby rack so that it obscured Rarity’s and anypony walking by the shop’s view of Coco and I. I gave Coco’s ear a gentle nibble and then kissed her. “Travel safe.”

“I will.” She touched her nose to mine. “Don’t work too hard.”

“I’ll do my best not to.”

Chapter 10

Hearing the front counter’s service bell, I looked up from my stitching.

“I’ll be right with you,” I called to the front.

“Take your time,” Berry called back. “I’m not here as a customer.”

I finished the stitch and tied the thread off. “Come on back.”

“I guess it’s safe to,” Berry said. She stepped into the workroom. “Since Coco’s not here, I don’t have to worry about walking into another scene of ear nibbling.” Berry flinched. “Sorry, I shouldn’t make jokes about her not being here.”

“It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not,” Berry insisted. “I know how I feel when Barrel has to go on a trip.”

“That’s different. He’s your husband.”

“It’s not that different between you two.” Berry poked me in the chest with a hoof. “If she asked you to marry her, would you say no?”

I gave a light snort. “First, I would have to get over the shock and then I would say yes.”

“I didn’t think you’d turn her down.” Berry gave me a satisfied smile. “Now, all we have to do is wait for one of you two to pop the question.”

“I’ve only known her for a few months,” I reminded Berry. “It’s too early for either of us to consider making that kind of leap.” I felt my ears fall as I told her, “I’m not sure her heart isn’t in Manehatten too.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that too much. She’s part of why I’m here. Coco asked me and the girls to check in on you since the orders were piling up again.”

“I’m fine.” I waved a hoof towards my workstation. “As long as things don’t pick up too much I’ll be able to keep pace.”

“Now I’ve checked in on you, I have some good news and some bad news,” Berry said. “Which would you like first?”

“Good news first, please.”

“Coco likes the wine you have been getting her.”

I drew in a hissing breath, guessing what the bad news would be.

“The bad news is she is not happy with your spending habits,” Berry said, confirming my guess.

“She’s worth every bit.”

Berry patted me on the shoulder. “That’s sweet, but it will not save you if you tell her that. It’s against my best interests, but I can suggest alternatives to get her next time.”

“The only problem is I like the wine too. If I try to convince her it’s for my personal consumption, while sharing a good portion with her, it’s not going to go that well.”

The shop’s entry bell chimed again.

“I better check up front,” I told Berry.

Berry fell into step behind me. “I’ll follow you.”

After entering the store front and not seeing anypony, I glanced around. “Hello?”

“Sorry!” a voice said from behind a display. “I was looking at all the new stuff in the store. There’s even more new designs, since the last time I came in here. You and Coco make a good team.”

“Thanks. Is everything all right with your suit?”

Spike stepped into view. He was wearing the suit I had made for him and carrying a messenger bag. “The suit’s great. I’ve been getting a lot of complements on it.”

“It looks sharp,” Berry said.

“I didn’t know you would be here!” Spike said and reached into his bag. “That’s perfect. I can give you your tickets too.”

“What tickets?” I asked.

“To Twilight’s Castle Warming Celebration.” Spike gave me a ticket. “This is for you.” He then gave a pair of tickets to Berry. “These are for you and Barrel.”

“Thank you!” Berry pranced in place with glee. “From what I’ve heard this is going to the event of the century for Ponyville.”

“Thank you very much,” I told Spike. “I’m not sure how I ended up on the guest list, though.”

“Consider it a thank you from Twilight for making me the suit,” Spike said. “I haven’t forgotten. I still owe you that favor. I’ll drop your name as often as I can, I promise.”

“You don’t have to do that. As much as you and the Elements have done for Ponyville and Equestria, it was the least I could do to show my appreciation.”

Spike shook his head. “A deal’s a deal. You delivered the suit. Now, I have to deliver my end of the bargain.”

I looked at the ticket, which was the size of an announcement card and printed with a stylized image of Twilight’s castle. “This isn’t a ticket; it’s a work of art.”

“Davenport did the printing. Rarity was right when she recommended him, he does great work.” Spike’s smile waned and his spines drooped.

“Are you okay?” Berry asked him.

“Yeah, I was just thinking about something.”

“Tell me what is wrong,” Berry encouraged in a maternal tone. “Maybe I can help.”

“I was going to ask Rarity to the celebration, but somepony got to her first.”

Berry hugged Spike again and gave him a comforting nuzzle on the top of his head. “I can’t help with that, but I hope the hug takes some of the hurt away.”

Spike returned Berry’s hug and told her, “It does.”

I felt a pang of guilt, knowing I had encouraged Thunderlane to ask Rarity out.

“You better save a dance for me,” Berry told Spike. “I’m no Rarity, but a wonderful dragon like you deserves it.”

Spike looked up at her and smiled. “You’re great as Berry Punch.” Spike sighed and let Berry go. “I better go. I have lots of stops to make today.” He chuckled. “This assistant is thinking he may need an assistant if things stay as busy as they have been.”

“Hold still a moment.” Berry fussed over Spike, making sure his suit was pristine and straight. “There we go. You look quite handsome.” She gave Spike a wink. “If you’re not careful, you might be the one getting asked out.”

“I doubt it, but thanks.” Spike gave Berry a brave smile and stepped towards the door. “At least if I go stag I can dance with all the nice mares like you I want.”

Berry laughed. “That’s the spirit!”

“Take care and thanks again,” I called after Spike, as he left the shop.

Berry sighed. “Poor little guy.”

“I feel bad, knowing I helped his competition,” I confessed, after the door closed.

“I do too, but I think Rarity and Thunderlane are happy together so that takes some of the sting off.” Berry looked at me. “I hope Coco gets a ticket too, or things could get awkward.”

“I’ll give mine to her, if she doesn’t get one. She would enjoy it more than I would.”

“You’re always putting her before yourself,” Berry said smiling.

“Ladies first,” I responded.

“I almost forgot to warn you,” Berry said. “The girls will be by to check in on you next, so you better behave.”

“I won’t disappoint them. When are they coming?”

“Two days from now was the plan. They are supposed to swing by after they get out from school. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to know if they are coming or not, now I think about it. Act surprised or you might disappoint them.”

“I’ll try, but you know how horrible of an actor I am.” I walked over to the counter and marked the date. “I’ll pick them up something from Sugar Cube Corner as a treat. That should make up for not being able to surprise me.”

Berry studied me for a moment. “Something is bothering you. I can tell, so don’t deny it.”

I put the quill back in its inkwell and looked up at Berry. “Rarity is thinking about opening a shop in Manehatten. She’s already using Coco’s knowledge of the city to do the preliminary research and scouting she needs.”

Berry’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She collected herself and assured me, “That doesn’t mean you have to worry about anything.”

“I would hire her for my shop, if I were opening one there. Coco knows the city, knows fashion trends, and is a skilled designer that could help with any number of projects.” I gave Berry a brave smile. “Rarity would be crazy not to consider hiring her, and it would be an excellent opportunity for Coco.”

Berry nodded. “I agree with your logic, but you’re trying to get into the heads of two different ponies without knowing what they might be planning. Talk to both of them first and then worry if you need to.”

“You’re right, but I can help but think...” I took a breath before finishing, “We might have to try for a long distance relationship, which most likely wouldn’t work out for her or me.”

Berry came around the counter and gave me a hug. “It will be okay. Talk to Coco, be honest and tell her your feelings and fears. I’m sure she will do the same with you and you two can discuss what this could mean for the both of you.”

“Do I have any right to even interject myself into her considerations? There is part of me that says I should savor the time I’ve had with her and enjoy the days I’ll have with her before she goes as best I can and let her go.”

“While you’re being very considerate,” Berry pulled back and tapped my forehead with a hoof, “you’re using this too much.” She lowered her hoof and tapped my chest over my heart. “What does this say?”

“I want her to be happy, but I don’t want her to be that far away.”

“Think positive. What if being here is what makes her happy? Besides going back to help with the play, she hasn’t seemed too eager to head back to Manehatten.” Berry gave me an encouraging smile. “I think one reason for that is you.”

“I can only hope.”

“You owe it to both of you to tell her how you feel.” Berry shook my shoulder. “Let her make the choice, but let her make an informed choice.”

I put my hoof over hers. “I can’t argue with any of that. I promise; I will talk to her after she gets back.”

Berry put her other hoof over mine and gave me a supportive look. “Loving somepony is a wonderful problem isn’t it? Admit it.”

“There’s part of me that is scared if I stop to think on how much I care about Coco that things will fall apart and it will be more painful when they do.”

“You two will make it.” Berry gave me a grin. “Trust me. I know my blends berry well.”

I grinned back at her. “That reminds me. I’ve been out of wine for a few days now. While I’m running errands this evening, I’ll stop by your place.”

“We can discuss the others wines Coco might like when you come over.” She booped my nose with a hoof. “I better quit distracting you and get going.”

“You’re never a distraction and you’re always welcome. Thank you for checking in on me.”

“That’s what friends are for,” Berry replied, as she walked out.

*****

“You have a wonderful evening,” I told Barrel and Berry, putting my hoof on the door handle.

“You have a good one too,” Barrel said, and waved.

“Thank you again for the purchases!” Berry told me.

I stepped outside the shop and double checked to make sure I had secured the strap on the pouches I had put the wine in. “If I dump those on the ground, right outside the shop, I’ll be in berry big trouble,” I told myself.

“Pin!”

I looked around for who called my name and saw Rarity hurrying toward me.

“There you are! I’ve been running all over town to find you!” Rarity trotted up. She was out of breath when she told me, “You weren’t at your shop and I had no idea where you went.”

“Are you okay? What’s going on?”

“I hate to do this, but I have to ask. Can you-” Rarity’s cutie mark chimed and flashed with light, interrupting her.

“Be patient,” Rarity said, looking back towards her flank. “I was about to tell him.”

“Perhaps I’ll hold off on the wine this evening.” I shook my head, trying to clear my head of what just happened. “Seems like the samples Berry gave me were more than enough.”

“You’re fine,” Rarity said with a suffering smile. “This happens to my cutie mark when there is a friendship problem I need to assist with.”

“It’s an interesting way to get your attention.”

“It’s effective.” Rarity gave her flank a reproachful glance. “It can have rather poor timing though. Trying to explain why my cutie mark chimes and lights up to a customer is always an interesting conversation.”

I suppressed a grin. “I can only imagine. What can I do to help?”

“I have to leave for Manehatten for a few days to help somepony with a friendship problem. Would you be a dear and check in on the shop?” Rarity smiled as my ears pinned back. “Don’t worry. Fluttershy will take care of Opal.”

“Thank Celestia and Luna both,” I said under my breath.

Rarity gave me an unhappy look. “She’s not that bad.”

“She despises me and enjoys tormenting me whenever she can, and you know it.”

Rarity paused and put a hoof to her chin as if in thought. “Come to think of it, she’s not all that keen on Thunderlane either.”

“I’m seeing a pattern,” I grumbled.

“She can get a touch jealous if she thinks somepony could be a rival for my affections, I’ll admit.”

“That’s an understatement,” I said. “Thunderlane better keep one eye open when he sleeps.”

“Let’s change subjects back to the original one, before you disparage my cat further,” Rarity suggested.

I gave Rarity a slight bow. “I would be glad to check in on the shop for you.”

“Thank you so much.” Rarity sighed in relief. “I hate to ask, knowing how busy you are, but everypony else is tied up.”

“Your shop is in good hooves,” I assured. “If you run into Coco while you’re up there, say hello for me.”

“Manehatten is a big city. I doubt we’ll bump into her, but if we do I’ll send her your love.” Rarity tittered at my resulting blush. “Is there anything in particular you would want me to tell her?”

“I hope she is having a good time.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “That’s all?”

“I would say more, but it feels odd having you deliver this kind of message to her.”

“You have my word, if I see her, I will do my best to confer your emotions and your message as true as I can,” Rarity promised.

“Then tell her ‘I miss you and am counting the days till you get back’.” I smiled and added: “I have read the Pony of the Opera and am enjoying the second book. I look forward to talking about the former and trying some of the techniques to help you recover from your trip from the latter, if you are up for it.”

Rarity titled her head. “Second book?”

I enjoyed the moment or two she took to put things together more than I should have.

Rarity’s eyes widened and she blushed. “I will not be telling her such a thing!”

I gave Rarity an innocent smile. “It’s just a book on giving massages and papering the pony you care for. She deserves special treatment after donating so much of her time and making that long trip back.”

“Oh, ha, ha. Coco told me about the titles of the other books your mother left for her.”

“And you jumped to the conclusion I was referring to one of those books rather than Aloe and Lotus’ Guide to Showing Affection and Appreciation to Your Special Somepony.” I made a wounded noise and put my hoof to my chest. “I am stung you think so little of me.”

Rarity retorted, “After the exhibitionist ear nibbling scene the other day, I have had to reevaluate some of my thoughts about you.”

“I was the nibbled, not the nibbler,” I reminded her. “My displays of affection with Coco have been discreet.”

Rarity let her act of being offended drop and gave me a smile. “Coco’s coming here has changed you. You’re so much more open and relaxed now.”

For an instant, I felt searing indignation at Rarity for saying such a thing, knowing she could lead Coco away from Ponyville. After reigning in my emotions, I told her, “I cannot tell you how much Coco has helped and inspired me or how much I value her affection and friendship.”

Rarity paused. She started to say something just as Applejack’s voice cut across the square: “Rarity! There you are! We’ve got to get a move on if we’re goin’ to make the train!”

“I’ll meet you at my place as soon as I can,” Rarity called to Applejack.

“I hope everything works out as quickly as possible,” I said to Rarity.

“As do I,” Rarity said in a half sigh. “I have so many orders coming in and so little time. If I am gone too long, this could turn into a disaster. I wish Coco were here to help. She can work miracles.”

I nodded in agreement. “She certainly can.”

“Darling, I-”

“Rarity, we need to get a move on!” Applejack insisted as she trotted up to Rarity and me.

“I’ll quit distracting her,” I told Applejack and took a step back. “You two have a safe trip.”

“I’ll tell Coco your message and give her a hug for you, if I see her,” Rarity said, as Applejack led her away.

“Thank you!” I waved at them as they walked away. “Good luck!”

“Thanks!” Applejack called back. “Considerin’ where we’re goin’ we’re goin’ to need it just to find the pony with the problem!”

As I walked home, I scolded myself for my emotional flare up at Rarity. You should be nothing but grateful to her, I told myself. If it wasn’t for Rarity you would never have even met Coco.

A panicked voice from above broke my self-chastising, “Pin, dodge left and roll!”

Without thinking, I did as the voice commanded. As I rolled, I saw a blur of gray legs and wings accompanied by a flash of golden mane and tail go tumbling by.

I got to my hooves and looked around. Muffins lay sprawled out on the path to the shop, her mailbags tangled around her legs.

“This was today’s last delivery too!” Muffins fumed at herself, while giving futile kicks to get free of the mailbags’ straps. “I almost made the day without crashing or damaging anything!”

“Hang on Muffins, you’ve caught yourself.” As I helped her get the mailbags loose from her legs, I asked, “Are you okay?”

“Nothing broken that I can tell.” Muffins rolled to her belly and then got to her hooves. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I told her, “thanks to your warning.”

She looked toward my saddlebags. “What about your stuff?”

I helped Muffins get on her hooves. “I let the saddlebags slide off me, when I rolled. I’m sure everything’s fine.”

“Mom!” a filly’s voice yelled. “Are you all right?!”

Muffins looked down the path and gave the fast approaching unicorn filly a comforting smile. “I’m fine, sweetie. I nearly ran into Pin, but he got out of the way in time.”

Dinky ran up to Muffins and gave her a hug. “It looked horrible.”

“Nothing is bruised but my pride,” Muffins said and nuzzled Dinky while giving her a hug back.

I picked up the mailbags and offered them to Muffins. “Your mom’s tough,” I told Dinky. “She can take a lump a lot better than I can.”

“You can dodge, though,” Muffins said. “I just crash into things.” She took her mailbags and rummaged around in one pouch. “I hope your letter made it out as well as you did. It was a special rush delivery.”

Dinky used her magic and levitated my saddlebags from the ground. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” I told her, taking the bags.

“Check what’s in them,” Muffins said. “I’ll pay for anything that got ruined.”

“Muffins, it wouldn’t be a big deal, even if something was.” I opened the flaps on the saddle bags and showed their contents to her. “See? Nothing was broken and my groceries are fine.”

Muffins winced as she pulled out a crumpled envelope from her bags. “I wish I could say your letter came out the same.”

I took the letter from Muffins and smiled. “One or two wrinkles won’t hurt anything.”

“Are you okay?” Time Turner asked, as he trotted towards us. “Dinky said she thought she saw you going down a little too sharp and took off like an arrow.”

“She is a better pegasus than I am,” Muffins said, patting Dinky on the shoulder. “All I can manage is to crash into things and knock ponies over. Maybe I could ask Princess Twilight to change me into another kind of pony so I wouldn’t be such a hazard.”

“We can’t have talk like that,” Time Turner said and kissed Muffin’s nose. “We love our Bright Eyes just as you are, and you losing your beautiful plumage would be a tragedy.”

Muffin’s blushed. “Turner, we’re in public.”

“So we are, but that does not mean I can’t complement my wife for begin the wonderful, attractive mare she is.”

Muffins gave Turner a light scolding: “I thought we agreed to no pet names.”

Turner put a hoof to his chin. “I remember you suggesting it, but I don’t recall agreeing to it.”

Dinky gave me a smile that begged that we ignore her parents. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Piña and Pinch said their Mom checked in on you today.”

“Thank you, but I haven’t been sick. Berry wanted to make sure I’m taking care of myself and don’t overwork with all the orders coming in for the celebration is all.”

“Mom’s been flying her tail off helping deliver the letters to get everything set up.” Dinky’s ears folded back and she looked to the ground. “I wish I could help.”

“You are going to be helping,” Muffins said. She prodded Dinky with a wing. “Go on. Tell him about what you got chosen to do.”

Dinky blushed and told me, “I got selected to be on the school’s Celebration Party Student Committee.”

“Congratulations!” I shook her hoof and asked, “What are you going to be doing?”

“We’ll be working with Miss Cheerillee and Pinkie Pie to set up the school’s part of the celebration. We haven’t gotten started yet, so I’m not sure what we’ll be doing.”

Muffins puffed up with pride. “Dinky was nominated and voted into the position by her classmates.”

“Who are you going to be working with?” I asked.

“Rumble, Piña, and Twist,” Dinky named. “We’re supposed to have our first meeting tomorrow.”

“Sounds like a great group.”

Dinky gave the ground a worried scuffing. “I hope so. Everypony in our class is counting on us.”

“You’ll do great,” Turner assured Dinky and patted her on the back.

“I have to go,” Muffins said. “I need to check in and return the mailbags before my shift ends.”

Turner gave Muffins a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll have dinner going, by the time you get home.”

“Thank you.” Muffins nuzzled Turner and gave Dinky a hug, complete with wings. “I’ll see you both in a little bit.” Muffins let Dinky go, and then moved a few steps away from us.

Turner waved, as Muffins took to the air. “See you at home.”

“Take care you two.” I told Dinky and Turner.

“We will, and you too,” Turner responded.

“Congratulations again!” I called to Dinky.

“Thank you!” Dinky said and waved back at me as she and Turner walked away.

I made my way into the shop and up to my apartment. After entering the kitchen, I put my saddlebags on the counter and sat down at the table with the letter.

“This has to be from Satin,” I told myself, seeing the return address. “It’s not her writing, though.”

I opened the envelope and read the enclosed letter:

Pin,

Mom and Dad told me about seeing you during their trip. They said you were willing to talk with me again and have me stay there for a few days. If you truly want me to visit, please write me back.

Considering my behavior during my last visits, you have every right to refuse this request. I would not hold it against you if you do, but I need my big brother right now.

Satin

Unlike the envelope, the letter was in Satin’s writing. “Sis, what in Equestria is going on?” I asked the empty room. I got up from the table and went into the study, which also served as an impromptu library and office. I sat down at Nana and Grandfather’s desk and wrote a return letter:

Dear Satin,

Mom and Dad are worried about you, which is making me worried about you. You have always been the tougher of the two of us. If something is bothering you, it has to be something big.

Neither of us was at our best the last couple of times we have seen each other. I said things to you I am not proud of. I want to see you again. I want to listen and help. I want my older sister back.

Tell me when you will arrive, and I will have things ready for you.

Love,

Pin

I put my letter in an envelope and got it ready to take to the post office and have it expressed to Canterlot. I said to the letter, as if Satin could hear me through it: “I hope I can help, Sis. Even if I can’t, I’ll be glad to see you and talk with you again.”

*****

I looked up at the workroom’s clock and smiled. That worked out well, I thought. The girls coming by will give me a nice break before I go diving into the next order.

I put the finished jacket and my tools away and went to the storefront. I did some dusting while waiting for Piña and Pinch to arrive. I was about through cleaning the whole storefront, when I realized that they were later than I thought they would be. I checked the store’s clock, getting a little worried about what could have delayed them.

The store’s welcome bell rang, and I felt a rush of relief. “Welcome,” I said as if I had no idea anypony in particular was coming. “Please feel free to look around. I will be right with you.”

“Hello Uncle Pin!” Piña said in a little too bright a tone.

“Good afternoon!” Pinch said, her tone too formal.

“Hello Mister Pin,” greeted a third voice, which I recognized as Dinky’s.

I put the feather duster down and turned towards them. “Good afternoon. What brought you three here?”

Dinky gave me a nervous smile. “We were talking-”

Piña gave a huff and glanced at Pinch, who kept her pleasant but strained expression.

“-and when they realized what time it was they said they needed to come see you,” Dinky finished. “Since Mom nearly crashed into you yesterday, I came along to check on you too,”

“I’m doing fine. How’s Muffins?”

“She’s sore, but she didn’t hurt anything,” Dinky reported.

“Mom asked us to ask you if you were eating and sleeping right,” Piña said.

Pinch nodded in agreement.

My suspicion something was wrong grew at Pinch’s continued silence and her deliberate efforts not to look toward Piña.

“I have been eating and sleeping as I should,” I told them. “I’ve also been exercising in the morning. You can tell her I have not been training like I was when I got myself into trouble, so she doesn’t worry.”

Pinch asked, breaking her silence, “Have you heard anything from Miss Coco?”

“No, but she hasn’t been gone that long. I’m sure she’s super busy too, getting everything set up for the show.”

“She’s you’re special somepony!” Piña said shocked. “She should write you to tell you she made it there safe at least.”

“I haven’t written to her either, so I’m just being just as bad of a special somepony.”

“Do you have her address?” Piña asked.

I thought for a second. “Now you mention it, I don’t think I do.”

“I bet Miss Rarity has it,” Pinch said.

“I’m sure you’re right,” I agreed. “I would ask her for it, but Rarity is out of town.”

“Rats!” Piña said. “You could have gotten some bonus points.”

“I don’t think that’s quite how things work,” Pinch said.

“He could at least give it a try,” Piña said with too much force in her voice.

I thought up a quick plan to find out what was going on between them. “I have a confession to make. I knew you two were coming.”

“It had to be Mom,” Pinch said, looking disappointed.

“She spilled the beans, didn’t she?” Piña asked, her ears pinned back. “We were hoping we could surprise you.”

“Yes, but I’m glad she did. That gave me the chance to get some cupcakes for you from Sugar Cube Corner.”

Piña’s ears snapped back up, she smiled, and her tail swished back and forth. “You got us cupcakes?!”

“You can have one now, if you’d like. I have some ready for you to take home too.”

“I better go,” Dinky said, sounding embarrassed.

“You’re welcome to have some too,” I offered. “There are more than enough. I can package some up for you too.” I looked past the fillies and used my magic to swap out the store’s open sign for my ‘Will Return Soon’ sign.

“Come on Dinky,” Piña insisted. “Have a cupcake with us.”

“You sure?” Dinky asked me.

“Very,” I responded. “Would you like me to bring them down here or come up with me?”

“Could we come up?” Piña asked.

“Sure.” I led the way up to the apartment and into the kitchen. I grabbed them each a cupcake and put them on plates. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” the fillies said in chorus as I served the cupcakes.

I went back to the counter and pulled together what I would need to send a portion of the cupcakes home with Dinky.

“These are so good,” Piña said.

“They are!” Dinky said.

Her mouth full, Pinch made a hum of enjoyment and nodded.

Dinky put her cupcake down and asked me, “What was in the letter that Mom brought you?”

“It was a message from Satin.”

Dinky seemed to recognize the name. “That’s your sister, right?”

“She is. I think she’s going through something serious, and I want to help, but I can’t right now. It’s driving me to distraction.”

Piña glanced at Pinch and needled, “Sisters can do that to us”

“I’m not your sister, I’m your niece,” Pinch reminded Piña. “And I’m fine.”

“No you’re not!” Piña snapped. “You’re just acting like you are!”

Dinky sighed and told me, “They’ve been about to argue all afternoon.”

“I could tell something was wrong. What’s going on?”

“She should have been the one on the committee!” Piña said and poked Pinch in the shoulder. “She has all these great ideas, and she wants to meet the princesses and the changeling that’s coming and-”

“And I’m fine,” Pinch said.

“You cried!” Piña put her hooves on Pinch’s shoulders. “I know you didn’t want me to know, and you acted like you didn’t, but you did.” Piña looked as if she would cry herself.

“Piña, it’s okay,” Pinch assured.

“No it’s not!” Piña insisted. “If getting on the committee was based on what somepony could do, you would have gotten on it. You should have gotten nominated, not me! You’re the one that deserves it!” Piña sniffed. “I’ll resign, if it would make you feel better.”

“Don’t you dare!” Pinch hugged Piña. “They need you on the committee, and you will do a great job.” Pinch rubbed Piña’s back with a hoof. “You can present my ideas, if you think they will work.”

Dinky moved so she could hug both Piña and Pinch. “I’ll help get your ideas out there too.”

“That’s still not going to get the princesses to come visit the class,” Piña said.

“Don’t bring the princesses into this,” Pinch begged. “I wanted to meet Princess Cadance and her family because of the books she wrote. I thought if I couldn’t get to Empire, I might somehow finagle a way to meet them while they were here.” Pinch touched her forehead to Piña’s. “You were the right choice. You’re working for the class, I would have been doing things for myself and helping the class second.”

“You still would have done a good job,” Piña said. “I wish there was a way we could figure out how to sneak you into what we will be doing.”

I smiled as a thought struck me. “Dinky, is anypony serving as a go between for the school and the castle?”

Dinky shook her head and said, “Not that I know of.”

“I have an idea then.”

“You do?” Piña asked.

“Pinch, would you be willing to be a messenger and help Spike get things ready for the celebration?” I asked. “From what I can tell, he’s been running himself ragged trying to get everything ready. He could use the help.”

Dinky gave Pinch a teasing look and giggled. “They spend enough time in the library together I’m sure she wouldn’t mind working with him.”

“Dinky!” Pinch protested, blushing. “He just helps me get the books I want and talks with me.”

Piña’s smile returned. “You two have been scolded for being too loud in the library by Miss Starlight too much for just that.”

“Okay, we’re friends!” Pinch confessed. “He’s funny, smart, and I like talking to him about his adventures and his visits to the Empire.”

Piña’s eyebrows rose. “Are we talking about you being Dinky and Pipsqueak level ‘friends’ with him?”

“Leave me and Pip out of this!” Dinky gave Piña a slight push on the shoulder. “At least we don’t hide we like each other, even if we’re not special someponies.”

“Yet,” Piña teased.

“Sounds to me they’re more like you and Rumble,” Dinky served back. “He spent all that time helping you train for the Sisterhooves Social but neither of you will admit you have crushes for each other.”

Piña blushed, her ears folded back, and she grinned, but she did not say a word in response.

“I’m the one reading books on emotions and relationships, and I can’t even get a coltfriend,” Pinch muttered.

“Maybe you should try going for a special somedragon instead.” Piña waggled her eyebrows. “Dinky‘s right, seems you’re off to a good start already.”

Pinch protested, “He’s nearly twice my age!”

“In pony years,” Dinky pointed out. “He’s still young for a dragon.”

“Him being older may not be a bad thing. Think of all the books he’s read you two could discuss.” Piña grinned and added, “You two could grow up together and become the castle’s next librarians and live happily ever after with each other and your books and stories.”

Pinch responded with an indignant snort.

“I’ll write a recommendation letter to Spike for you real quick.” I nodded toward the other end of the apartment. “Why don’t you three come back to the study and get in Nana’s nest while I write. It shouldn’t take too long.”

Dinky titled her head at me and asked, “ Nana’s nest?”

“It’s the best thing ever!” Piña said. “It’s Nana’s special chair sort of thing that’s made from a real cloud.”

Dinky looked at Pinch with a confused expression.

Pinch explained, “It’s a big beanbag made of magical cloth and stuffed with a cloud.”

Dinky’s eyes widened. “That has to be fantastic.”

“It is!” Piña said, prancing in place.

“You can try it out,” I invited, as we headed for the study. “Grandfather made the chair for Nana after she told him she wished she could share being on a cloud with him. He designed the chair using ideas from traditional pegasus cloud furniture. He even enchanted the cloth it’s made from to hold the cloud.”

“Nana used to read to Piña and me and snuggle us in it,” Pinch said, sounding sad.

“Nana wouldn’t like you being down while thinking about her,” I told Pinch and opened the study door. “Remember what she told us, ‘I only want happy thoughts about me?’ ”

Pinch put on a smile and nodded. “I remember.”

“You three get comfortable and I’ll get writing,” I said, sitting down at the desk.

“I’m in the middle!” Piña declared and trotted to Nana’s nest.

“It looks like a huge beanbag on stilts,” Dinky said, leaning down so she could inspect the wooden stand beneath the cloud cushion.”

The fillies settled into the chair as I wrote to Spike.

“Mister Pin,” Dinky said, “I don’t mean to be nosy, but I thought you weren’t talking with your sister.”

“I wasn’t,” I told her. “But I’m not going to be a complete jerk and not help her because we fought.”

Piña said, in an uncharacteristic growl: “We wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t help her. Your sister is a mean lady.”

“What did she do?” Dinky asked, shocked by Piña’s reaction.

“She said all kinds of things about Tie, Nana, Mom and Dad, me, and my grandparents,” Pinch said. “She tried to bully Uncle Pin into going back to Canterlot too.”

“That’s horrible!” Dinky said aghast.

“She tried to steal Pinch too!” Dinky hugged Pinch to her as if protecting a stuffed toy from being taken. “Nopony is taking my niece from me.”

“She offered to help Pinch get into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” I clarified for Dinky. “I don’t think that quite counts as stealing her.”

“It’s close enough,” Piña said. “She’d have been gone, and it would have been that awful mare’s fault.”

Pinch tapped Dinky’s foreleg with a hoof. “Piña, I need air!” she wheezed.

“Sorry!” Piña loosened her hold on Pinch. “I keep forgetting how strong I am now.”

“It’s okay,” Pinch told her, after getting a good breath. She hugged Piña back. “I would never leave you to go to some snobby school that doesn’t even teach the things I’m interested in. You know that right?”

Piña nuzzled Pinch and rested her forehead on Pinch’s shoulder. “I know, but it scared me real bad back then.”

“It looks like training with Rumble paid off,” Dinky teased Piña. “Don’t squeeze him like that, though. You might break him.”

Piña glanced up and gave Dinky a nasty look.

Ignoring Piña, Dinky asked me, “Who is Tie?”

“My grandfather, Silk Tie,” I answered and put my quill back in its inkwell. I put the finished letter into an envelope and addressed it to Spike. “Here we go.”

“Part of me wants to deliver the letter, but this is so nice I want to stay right where I am.” Piña adjusted her hold on Pinch and wiggled into Dinky. “Nana and Grandpa could have sold these and made a fortune.”

I fought to keep the sadness out of my voice, as I responded, “I think she and Grandfather had discussed something like that, but...”

Pinch gave me a comforting smile. “Remember what Nana said.”

I smiled back and nodded. “I’m trying.”

Dinky prodded Piña’s shoulder with a hoof. “Come on girls, we have a delivery to make, before the library closes, and Mister Pin has to get back to work.”

“You take after your Mom,” Piña teased, as she let go of Pinch.

“Getting messages to ponies is an important job.” Dinky climbed out of the nest. “I’m glad Pinch is going to be our messenger. She’s super reliable.”

“Thank you.” Pinch rolled out of the nest and onto her hooves. “I’ll do my best, if Spike and Twilight agree to the idea.”

Dinky gave Pinch a teasing smile. “I’m sure he will. With all the time you spend in the library, I’m sure Twilight will too.”

Piña poked her nose over the edge of the nest and sighed. “I guess I have to get out don’t I?”

Pinch booped Piña on the nose with a hoof. “Maybe you can hire Uncle Pin to make you one.”

I laughed. “I can’t wrangle clouds by myself and I’m not sure I could enchant the cloth either. I think there are others out there that create furniture like this, but you have to get it special order.”

“Drat.” Piña slid from the nest. “That means it would be really expensive.”

I gave Pinch the letter. “Here you go, one recommendation letter.”

Pinch gave me a hug. “Thank you, Uncle Pin.”

“You may not thank me after you realize how much work you will be doing,” I warned and gave her a hug back.

“I don’t care if I have to work my tail off.” Pinch looked up at me with determination. “I want things to go right for everypony.”

“With a cupcake as a bribe, a letter of recommendation, and if you bat your eyelashes at him and act cute, there’s no way he’d say no,” Piña said.

“Piña!” Pinch blushed. “There’s no food allowed in the library.”

“We’ll lure him out,” Dinky said with a devious smile. “I bet Miss Starlight will help us, if we ask her to.”

“I’m not going to act cute either,” Pinch said and put her nose in the air, “that would be manipulative and could hurt our long-term friendship.”

“So you’re thinking about ‘long term’ with him already,” Piña teased.

Pinch looked at me as if asking for help.

I chuckled. "Let’s go get your cupcakes and then you three can see if your plan, whatever it will be, works.”

“Come on! Let’s go get a dragon for my niece!” Piña cheered, as she led Dinky and Pinch out of the study.

“I’m volunteering, not asking to be his special somepony!” Pinch protested.

“One could lead to the other,” Dinky joked.

I shook my head and thought, I might owe Spike another favor or two after this one.

Chapter 11

I came to the path that would take me to Rarity’s and slowed my pace. Time for this morning’s detour, I thought to myself, turned down the path, and circled around Carousel Boutique. “Everything looks good,” I said, after making a full circuit. I trotted back onto the path and spotted a familiar pony at Rarity’s mailbox. “Good morning, Muffins!”

“Good morning!” Muffins greeted me and shut Rarity’s mailbox. “Did you make sure you were hydrated?” she asked in a mother’s tone.

“Yes ma’am,” I told her and stopped beside the mailbox.

“Did you warm up first?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Did you get enough sleep?”

“Yes ma’am.” I looked up to the morning sky and gave a lighthearted groan. “I had to take a nap during a run one time, and now everypony acts like I‘m fragile as a breezie.”

Muffin’s wing’s fluffed up. “You were close to the Everfree Forest when you fainted! You could have been eaten by something!”

“I was too sweaty and smelly to be appetizing. Besides, Rainbow was keeping an eye on us during the training session.”

“You passed out closing your shop too,” Muffins reminded me. “If Berry hadn’t found you there’s no telling how long you would have been on the floor. You had all of us worried that something horrible was going on with you.”

“I recall somepony else needing some T.L.C. with all the work and training she was doing.”

“There’s a big difference between what was going on with you and what I was going through. I got dehydrated and sore. I wasn’t passing out. I have a family to look out for me too. You’re facing the world alone.”

“No I’m not. I have my good friends looking out for me. If I didn’t have ponies like you in my life, then I would be in trouble.”

Muffins shook her head. “You’re a sweet lost cause.” She tapped my nose with a wingtip. “I need to talk to you about what you did the other day.”

“You can’t prove a thing,” I told her. “You have no witnesses.”

“Dinky was there, so I have a witness,” Muffins said, smirking. “She also brought home the cupcakes you gave her, so I have evidence too.”

“I confess! I gave illicit pastries to fillies.” I pointed toward Berry’s and Barrel’s. “Berry was the mastermind behind it all. She told me Piña and Pinch were coming over to check on me, so I got them cupcakes. Dinky was with them, when they came over, and I couldn’t send her home without some cupcakes too.”

Muffins gave me a hug. “Thank you for giving Dinky the cupcakes and helping her friends. You made her day.”

“You’re both welcome.” I returned Muffins’ hug, trying not to make too much contact with her. “Thanks for the hug, but I feel bad you touched me. I’m nasty.”

“Don’t worry about it. I will be flying all day today making deliveries, so it won’t matter.”

“You wouldn’t know if Pinch got the position would you?”

“Not yet. Dinky said that Spike read your letter and liked the idea, but he would have to run it by Twilight for the final okay.” Muffins gave me a curious look. “What did you put in that letter? Dinky told me Spike took some time reading it.”

“I asked for a change in favors and gave him some details about Pinch and her motivations for wanting to work for him and for getting the festivities ready.”

“I hope it impresses Twilight the way it did Spike.” Muffins reached into one of her bags and pulled out two envelopes. “These are for you. Would you like me to drop them off at your mailbox or do you want them now?”

“I’ll take them. That will save you the stop.”

I took the envelopes from Muffins and looked them over. One letter was from Rarity and the other was an express letter from Canterlot.

“I don’t know what I did to become this popular.”

“Is everything in Canterlot okay?” Muffins asked. “This is the second express message you’ve gotten from there in the last few days.”

“I’m not sure what is going on, to be honest.”

Muffins fidgeted from hoof to hoof. “Dinky told me your sister might be in trouble. Would you open it and tell me if everything is all right or not? I’ll worry the rest of the day, if I don’t know. You don’t have to give details, just if she’s all right.”

“Of course I’ll tell you. I’d be a pretty rotten pony if I didn’t.” I opened Satin’s letter and read it as fast as I could.

“That’s not a good expression,” Muffins said.

I rubbed my forehead with a hoof. “Satin’s ‘surprising’ me. She’s arriving this afternoon and I don’t have things ready for her.”

Muffins let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Maybe not for you, since you’re not ready and she’s been so wound up the last couple of times she’s visited, but I’m glad she can come. That means her troubles aren’t too bad.”

I put Satin’s letter back into its envelope and opened the second letter. After scanning it, I smiled. “Rarity is coming back today. She and Applejack solved the friendship problem.”

“That’s great!” Muffin’s tilted her head. “Applejack’s not coming back too?”

“She’s staying in Manehatten to visit her aunt and uncle.”

“That’s sweet of her.”

I reread the time that Rarity would be coming in and snorted. “Rarity will be on the same train as Satin, if I had to bet.”

“Which means they could run into each other,” Muffins pointed out. “How bad could that turn out?”

“We might see the fireworks from here, if Satin gets snippy and Rarity is too tired to hold back in her responses.”

“Oh dear, I hope things don’t play out like that.”

I sighed and agreed, “Me too.”

*****

I watched the train come toward the station with a chaotic mix of emotions.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” Thunderlane said, walked up, and held his hoof out to me. “It’s good to see you.”

I bumped my hoof to his. “Good to see you.” I nodded to the bouquet he was carrying. “Rarity will love those.”

“Rose said she would.” Thunderlane fiddled with the bouquet, trying to make it look just so. “I didn’t think I’d miss her as much as I have. I don’t see her every day, but knowing that I wouldn’t be able to made it feel like something vital in my life was out of place.”

“I know that feeling,” I told him.

The rush of air and sound from the train coming into the station drowned out Thunderlane’s response.

I scanned the crowd for Satin.

“Wait a minute,” Thunderlane said. “You’re not here to pick up Rarity, so who are you picking up?”

“My sister,” I answered.

Thunderlane grimaced. “You’re serious?! I heard how nasty she was the last time she was here. I thought you told her to keep away.”

“I think she might need help. I won’t let her sink because we had a fight. She is my sister.”

Thunderlane grunted. “I understand. Rumble and I get into it every now and then, but I would fly into Tartarus itself if he needed me to.”

“Thunderlane!” Rarity called. “There you are, darling!” Rarity moved through the crowd towards us. Her eyes lingered on the bouquet tucked in Thunderlane’s foreleg. “Are those for me?”

“They are,” Thunderlane said, passed the bouquet to Rarity, and gave her a nose-to-nose nuzzle. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Rarity kissed Thunderlane’s cheek. Rarity glanced behind her and called, “Satin, Pin’s over here!”

Satin wove through the thinning crowd and came into view. When she met eyes with me, she braced herself and marched more than walked towards us.

“Hello, sis,” I said, as she came closer.

“Hello.” Satin stopped in front of me and stood like she was presenting herself for an inspection. “Thank you for having me again.”

I hugged her. “I’m glad you came.”

Satin relaxed and returned the hug.

“I still imagine her from when we were smaller,” Thunderlane said. “I keep forgetting she’s miniature sized like Rainbow.”

“Petite is the word I would use,” Rarity said.

“Petite?” Thunderlane shook his head. “Rainbow’s too solid and tough for ‘petite.’ Compact or concentrated would be more appropriate for her.”

Rarity giggled. “Though those might be apt descriptions, please consider not using them when Rainbow can hear you.”

Satin broke her hug with me and turned to Thunderlane. She looked over him from hooves to ear tips. “Rarity’s right. You are quite handsome.”

Thunderlane blushed. “Thank you.”

“Let’s grab your luggage,” I said to Satin.

“I’ll get Rarity’s,” Thunderlane said.

Satin patted one pouch on her side. “I just brought what’s in my saddlebags.”

“You might want to carry those for her,” Rarity suggested, her tone hinting at something.

“He doesn't have to.” Satin gave Rarity an inscrutable smile. “I’m ‘petite,’ not delicate.”

“But dear...” Rarity trailed off and nodded. “Please, take care of yourself, though.”

“I will,” Satin assured.

I let out a relieved breath. “I’m glad to see you two are on better terms than last time.”

“She apologized to me, and I have forgiven her,” Rarity said. “We had a wonderful conversation during the ride back after that.”

Thunderlane and I glanced at each other in silent agreement that something else had to be going on.

“You don’t have to worry about my luggage,” Rarity said to Thunderlane. “I followed Applejack’s example and only carried what I could in my saddlebags too.”

Thunderlane stared at Rarity as if she was talking gibberish. “You didn’t go shopping?”

Rarity smirked. “I did. I had my purchases shipped home, though. They should be waiting for me at the post office.”

“That’s great.” Thunderlane gave Rarity a handsome smile, bowed, and spread his wings in an elegant display. “Would the lady do me the honor of letting me give her a flight?”

Rarity blushed and glanced around. “Dear, while I appreciate the offer, you don’t have to do that. I’m carrying quite a bit and I don’t want for you to overwork yourself.”

“I’m sure Pin could help you with those,” Thunderlane said, looking to me for help.

“I would be happy to,” I said.

“Please?” Thunderlane looked up at Rarity with puppy eyes. “I’ve missed our flights together.”

Rarity touched her nose to Thunderlane’s. “How could I say no after that?”

I levitated Rarity’s saddlebags from her back and onto mine. “We’ll drop these off at your place.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Rarity told me. “I’ll swing by your place and pick them up later.”

Thunderlane took Rarity into his forelegs, whispered something in her ear, to which she blushed and giggled, and then took off with her into the air.

“She has it bad for him.” Satin grinned and elbowed me. “I guess it worked out you two didn’t work out.”

I studied Satin for a moment.

Satin raised an eyebrow. “What did I do?”

“Nothing,” I said. “I keep thinking something is different about you, but I can’t put my hoof on it.”

“Is it something good or bad?”

“I don’t know. You’re different is all I can tell.” I bumped my shoulder to hers. “You ready to head to the shop?”

“That sounds great.” She took in a breath and let it out. “I hope I can have as easy a time making amends with everypony else as I did with Rarity.” One of her ears fell and she gave me a vulnerable look. “Including you.”

“I wasn’t a paragon of proper behavior myself.” I tapped my chin to the top of her head, gaining me an indignant huff from Satin.

She gave me a mock glare. “Did you have to do that?”

“I think the best way for us to get past what happened is to get back to acting like big brother and older sister.” I gave Satin a grin. “Including me reminding you who’s taller every now and then.”

“That sounds good to me.” Satin gave me a hug around the neck. “I’m glad you still want me as a sister.”

I gave her a one foreleg hug back and nuzzled the top of her head. “I will always want you as my sister.”

“Let’s get to Grandfather’s, before one of us, or both of us, cries,” Satin patted my shoulder and let me go. “We have a lot to talk about.”

As we walked towards home, Satin took in the town. “Is it just me, or are there more ponies here?”

“Ponyville’s grown, but not too much. We get a lot more visitors, though.” I nodded towards the town’s only inn, as we passed it. “Comfy Sheets has more business than she knows what to do with, thanks to ponies coming to town to see Princess Twilight’s castle or the princess herself.”

“Speaking of ponies working themselves to death, how are you doing?” Satin asked.

“I’m keeping up.”

Satin gave me a look of concern. “Mother said you gave her the impression you were doing okay.”

“Keeping pace sums up how I am at the moment. If orders pick up, however, I could be in trouble. How’s work going for you?”

Satin took a long breath in and let it out with a hissing exhale through her teeth. “Maybe we should wait till we get to Grandfather’s to talk about work.”

I noticed Satin and I kept getting curious looks, as we made our way through town. “What’s going on with everypony?” I muttered to myself.

“They’re admiring your frilly pink saddlebags with Rarity’s cutie mark on them,” Satin said deadpan. “They go well with your coat.”

I laughed. “These in combination with you wearing extra-large saddlebags that make you look like a filly; I guess we’re something to see.”

Satin’s ears fell. “Or they heard about my tirade.”

I bumped sides with Satin. “If they did, don’t worry. Ponies here are forgiving. Trust me; I’ve had my share of faux pas to make up for.”

“What I did was more than a faux pas.”

We paused at the door, while I put my key in the lock. “You’re giving yourself too much credit. What you did wasn’t horrible.” I turned the key. “I still don’t understand why you acted that way though.”

“I wanted you back in Canterlot,” Satin said in a quiet voice. “Not where I couldn’t see you or talk with you or-”

I touched my hoof to her nose, cutting her off. “Or braid my mane and tail if I’m not paying attention.”

Satin giggled. “That’s not what I was thinking about, but that too.”

I opened the door. “I have the guest room ready for you. Would you like me to carry those for you up the stairs?”

“Thank you, but no thank you,” said as she passed me. “I’m not going soft yet.”

“The thought never crossed my mind.” I shut the door behind us.

Satin took a moment to look around the storefront. “You’ve changed things up in your designs and the layout of the store.”

“Coco’s inspired me. Several of the display shifts were her ideas too.”

“About this mysterious mare that’s come into your life,” Satin gave me a curious older sister’s look. “When do I get to meet her?”

“She’s supposed to be back in two days.” I led Satin into the apartment. “Would you like something to drink? How about some wine before dinner to help unwind from the train?”

Satin shook her head and headed to the guest room. “I have to decline the wine.”

“Coffee?”

“I better skip that too.” She looked back over her shoulder and said, “I would like some decaf tea, if you have any.”

“I can do that.” I put Rarity’s bags aside, stepped into the kitchen, and put the kettle on. “Are you feeling all right?” I asked, hearing Satin’s hoof falls approaching. “I’ve never known you to turn down coff-” My mind returned to how Rarity had treated and spoken to Satin and things fell into place.

I turned as Satin stepped into the kitchen and stared at her.

She paused and gave me a look that told me she knew something was going through my head. “What is it?”

“Sis, are you pregnant?”

Satin gave me a worried smile. “I am.”

My flank hit the floor. After taking a second to regain my ability to speak, I asked, “How?”

Satin shook her head. “If you have to ask, it's no wonder you had trouble getting a marefriend.”

I snorted. “I know the mechanics. What I meant is that this is going against what I thought you had planned.”

Satin’s expression shifted to one of distaste. “No, having a foal was not in the plans for me, as mother has so often lamented.” She closed her eyes and took a breath. “Sorry. Raw moment there.”

“Trust me, I understand.” I rubbed the back of my neck with a hoof. “Should I be happy for you or...”

Satin smiled a genuine, bright smile. “Happy, be very happy.”

I walked over to Satin and gave her a hug. “I’m glad.”

“I was so nervous about telling you,” she said, as she hugged me back.

I gave her a comforting light squeeze around the shoulders. “Did you think I would get mad at you or something?”

“I didn’t know how you would take it.”

“Considering my coming into the world was an unexpected event, I’m in no position to say much of anything.” When Satin looked up at me, I bumped my nose to hers. “I can’t wait to be an uncle.”

“Pin, I’m scared.”

I did my best to keep an even tone when I asked, “Did the stallion run out on you?”

Satin shook her head. “No. He never would.” She sniffed. “He loves me, and I love him. That won’t be an issue.”

“Then what’s to be scared of?”

“I don’t want to treat the foal like Mother and Father treated you.” She pulled back from me and put her fore hooves to her belly. “This is my foal, and I will be a good mother and give it all the attention, love, and support I can.”

Her conviction and the touch of anger in her voice made my ears pin back. “Sis, Mom and Dad loved and still love me.”

“I know, but they’ve always treated you and me like projects to complete and maintain rather than as foals or ponies of our own.” She smiled at me with sad eyes. “I hated when they sent you off to that academy. You were my little brother. I had somepony that was so special to me and they sent you away.” Her tears started again. “I won’t do that with this foal. I won’t!” She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her foreleg. “I’m not doing a good job of explaining what I’m feeling.”

I took her hoof with mine. “I think you’re doing a good job of getting the idea across.”

Satin studied our clasped hooves. “I lost all that time with you. I don’t want to lose time with somepony else that I love, but with all that’s pulling on me I’m not sure I’ll be able to be the mother I want to be without letting somepony down.”

“The only ponies you have to worry about are you and the foal. Everypony else will be fine. Do you know what the foal will be?”

Satin shook her head and smiled. “We decided not to find out. We don’t know whether it’s a colt or a filly or what tribe of pony it will be.”

I looked down at Satin’s belly. “You’re just going to be a surprise all the way around aren’t you?”

Satin giggled and mussed my mane. “You will be great uncle.”

“I hope so.” I shook my head to get my mane to fall back into place. “I haven’t blown it with Piña and Pinch, so far, so that’s a good sign.”

“The girls!” She walked over the kitchen table, put her head down, and covered her face with her forelegs, and groaned. “How am I ever going to make up to them for what I did?”

I took the kettle off the stove and prepared the tea. “I’ve found that one of the best ways to reach a pony is through food. If you apologize and give them a treat, I’m sure they will come around.” I levitated Satin’s tea to the table. “In fact, that will work their entire family, if I had to bet.”

“I don’t know. I was a royal ursa major.”

“What about if you make your mint chocolate cookies?” I suggested, sitting down at the table. “You could make a timberwolf roll over for one of those.”

Satin shifted a foreleg so she could look at me with one eye. “Do I detect an ulterior motive here?”

“I may want a cookie or two,” I admitted. “I never can get them to come out the way you do. I’d be glad to help.”

“We will have a lot of baking to do, considering how many ponies I have to apologize to.” Satin uncovered her face and sat back up. “Do you have the stuff we’d need?”

“Not at the moment. We can get what we need after we finish our tea.”

“The only good thing that came out of you not being home is that Nana and Grandfather raised you to be a wonderful pony.”

“Mom and Dad had a hoof in that too.”

“Not much, though.”

“They must have irritated you pretty bad for you to keep taking swipes at them.”

“You have no idea.” She booped me on the nose. “I was selfish to ask you come back to Canterlot. It would have helped me, but it would have ruined you. Those two are enough to drive any pony bonkers.”

“You haven’t gone nuts,” I pointed out.

“No, but there have been some close calls.” Satin reached out and took my hoof. “Speaking of which, I owe you a whole batch of cookies for yourself for what I did.”

“Satin, you-”

Satin used her magic to tap me on the nose.

I froze at her use of our old signal to keep quiet and listen.

“The company’s new projects, Mother and Father, Canterlot living, not having a personal life, it all got to be too much. I came here to relax, see you, and get away from all that. I ended up bringing all of that stress with me here and being horrible to you and your friends.”

I opened my mouth and she tapped my nose with her magic again.

“I didn’t know how to ask or even if I should have asked for help. You have your own life, I knew that, which made hesitate to ask.” She broke eye contact with me, looked to the table, swallowed, and then looked back up. “I was so stressed and frazzled all it took was a little too much wine for me to lash out.” She tightened her hold on my hoof. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t pleasant to catch the brunt of it, but I understand. Just living near Mom and Dad would drive me up the wall, much less everything else you have on you.”

She gave me a smirk. “You were right, I needed therapy.”

I winced, remembering telling her as much as she boarded the train back to Canterlot. “I should never have said that.”

“No, it was the right thing to say. After I got my head back on straight, I got some help, changed my schedule, and got out more.”

“And you met him,” I ventured.

“And I met him.” Satin gave me a guilty look. “Speaking of meeting him, if you don’t think I owe you cookies for the last time I was here, you will after I ask this.”

I sat back, smiled, and crossed my forelegs over my chest. “This should be good.”

“He’s flying into Ponyville tomorrow evening. Can he stay here too?”

“Sure. I didn’t know that there were any passenger balloons coming into town tomorrow.”

“He doesn’t need a balloon.”

Satin giggled, as my mouth fell open.

“He’s a pegasus?”

Satin nodded. “It seems I take after Grandfather.”

“How are Mom and Dad taking that? I know they warmed up to Nana and Grandfather a little, but…”

The cheer in Satin’s eyes vanished. “They don’t know.”

“They don’t know about him?”

Satin shook her head. “I haven’t told them I’m pregnant either. I think Mother suspects something, but she has said nothing about it.”

“Sis, you’ve got to tell them. How have you hid it this long?”

“I haven’t ‘hidden’ it. I just haven’t shared the fact I’m carrying with them or anypony in Canterlot.” Satin looked down and put a hoof on her belly. “There had been hints, which I’ll spare you the details of, but I wasn’t certain I was pregnant until not too long before Mother and Father told me they found out you had a special somepony again. Give it another month or two and the cat will be out of the bag whether or not I want it to be.”

“Which means you’re in the second trimester,” I said, looking down towards her belly.

Satin seemed surprised. “You know about that timing?” she asked.

“I stayed awake in health class. Being around Berryshine and Berry Punch when they were carrying Piña and Pinch taught me a lot too.”

My expression must have shown what I was thinking.

Satin raised an eyebrow. “You’re not happy about me not telling them.”

“I don’t know about ‘not happy.’ I‘m just worried about how your relationship with Mom and Dad is if you’re not sharing stuff like this with them.”

“I tried to have conversations with them about things outside of work before.” Satin sighed and let her ears fall. “You can guess how well that went.”

“About as well as me trying to find out what is going on with you three and the company, if I had to bet.” I sighed and groused, “Them and their odd unwritten rules.”

“Besides,” Satin raised an eyebrow at me, “would you tell Mother you were expecting until you had to?”

I did my best to suppress it, but I ended up laughing. “No, I can‘t say I would.”

The spark returned back to Satin’s eyes. “There for I second, I wondered why you would know about the trimester timing. Is there something you should be sharing?”

“Coco and I have not advanced our relationship that far,” I confessed.

Satin gave me an amused but disappointed look. “You’ve been your typical gentlecolt self with her haven’t you?”

I put a hoof to my chest. “Of course I have.”

“And you’ve been dating for about half a year now?” Satin made a tsk-tsk noise at me. “You better watch it or she’ll do to you what I did to Storm.”

“Which was?”

Satin gave me a wicked grin. “I pinned him to my couch and told him we were going to ravish each other or break up.”

“Satin!” I chided, “Don’t beat up your coltfriend.”

“Fiancé, now,” she informed me.

“I would hope so, but the point still stands.”

“I didn’t ‘beat him up.’ I got his attention and made things about our relationship clear. Besides, he gave as good as he got, after he agreed and we moved into the bedroom.” Satin sipped the last of her tea and hummed. “The things he can do with those wings.”

“Sis, I don’t need to know.”

“You sure you don’t need pointers?” Satin kidded. “It could be educational for you to get things from a mare’s perspective.”

“Thanks for the offer, but Mom left a whole stack of books worth of pointers that wouldn’t involve changing my perceptions of you forever.”

Satin sighed and looked down into her empty teacup. “She sends you books while she and Father don't even notice I’m dating somepony for over a year.”

“Is that why you snapped at Dad?”

Satin nodded. “They found out you had a marefriend and gushed to me about it. They see me almost every day and they almost never ask about anything outside the office. It’s like they put a check-mark on me as fulfilling the role they wanted and they aren’t interested in anything else about me. It got under my saddle that it took you getting a marefriend for Dad to ask how I was doing.”

“They are both very proud of you and concerned,” I told her. “That’s one reason they asked me to think about reaching out to you again.” I rubbed her shoulder with a hoof. “You know how both of them are at communication.”

“They’re both horrible, I know.” Satin smiled, scooted closer to me, and gave me a hug. “You’re the only sane pony left I can talk to that knows them well enough to get what I’m saying.”

I snorted. “If I’m the sane one, we’re both in trouble.” I gave her a hug back. “I’m glad you’re back. I’m sorry I said that you were not wel-” She stopped me by tapping my nose with her magic again.

“We both did and said things last time I was here. We should just get back to normal, like you said.” She looked up at me and asked, “Let’s learn from what happened and leave it behind us. Agreed?”

“Agreed.”

“Good.” Satin patted my back. “Now, let’s go get those ingredients. We’re through with our tea, and we’ve had enough sappy conversation for now.”

“Since we’re going to the market, are there any strange food combinations you would like for dinner?” I teased. “Hay bacon and whipped crème? Wasbi and ice cream?”

“Wasbi and ice cream?!” Satin blanched. “Why would such a horrible combination even cross your mind?!”

“From what Grandfather and Nana told me, Mom used to put hot sauce on her pancakes when she was expecting you and make jalapeño and fruit salads when she was with me.”

“Okay, fine.” Satin blushed and pouted. “I’ll admit Storm and I have been going to a new place in Canterlot that has spicy tofu enough to where they know who I am when I order carry out.”

“I don’t know about spicy tofu, but I’m sure Cuisine at the Grassy Meadow can whip up something with a bit of spice for you and I’m sure it will taste great.”

Satin’s ears perked up. “Really?”

I nodded. “He’s a Canterlot Culinary Institute trained chef.”

Satin grinned. “We have a plan.”

*****

“Here’s our last stop,” I said and pointed towards Bon Bon’s shop. “It’s the only place in Ponyville to go, if you’re looking for quality chocolate or mint chips.” I opened the door for Satin and let her into the shop first.

“Satin!” an exited voice called. “What are you doing here?!”

I stepped into the shop just as Lemon Hearts darted from behind the shop’s counter and hugged Satin.

“Hello, Hearts, I could ask you the same thing,” Satin replied and returned Lemon Hearts’ hug.

“I’m here helping Bon Bon fill her orders for the Castle Warming,” Lemon Hearts explained. “She and I are teaming up to do the dessert catering. Lyra’s here too.”

“I’ll be out there in just a second,” Lyra called from the back. “I’m moving some hot racks, right now.”

“I haven’t seen you in ages,” Lemon Hearts let go of Satin and took a step back. She gave Satin a knowing smile. “I’ve heard that you found yourself a stallion.”

“Ah, Canterlot gossip,” Satin said with a sigh and a smile. “It’s true. Don’t spread this around, please, he and I are engaged.”

Lemon Hearts’ already high energy level increased. “Congratulations!” She waggled her eyebrows at Satin. “How much of a hunk is he?”

Satin, with a light blush, told Lemon Hearts, “He’s a real stud.”

Lemon Hearts’ eyes widened and her ears went to full attention. “You mean…?”

“I’m expecting,” Satin confirmed.

“That’s wonderful!” Lemon Hearts cheered.

I did my best not to laugh, as Lemon Hearts hopped up and down and asked Satin a flurry of questions: “Is it a colt or a filly? How long do you have now? What kind of pony is it going to be? Who’s the Dad? Do I know him? When did you find out you were expecting?”

After attempting to answer Lemon Hearts’ first three questions, and getting cut off by Hearts’ next inquiry each time, Satin stood still and stared in amazement at her bouncing inquisitor.

Bon Bon rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “Hearts, calm down.”

Lemon Hearts’ ears fell. “But I want to know.”

“She’s trying to answer you, but you have to give her a chance to say something,” Lyra pointed out, as she stepped behind the counter. “Hello to you too.”

Bon Bon looked towards me and asked, “What brings you two here?”

“We need chocolate and mint chips,” I told her. “I was telling Satin this is the only place to get them in town.”

“He’s buttering you up for a discount,” Lyra warned Bon Bon in stage whisper. “Don’t fall for it.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Satin said and smiled. “Hello, Lyra. Staying out of trouble?”

“Trying to,” Lyra said. “Bon Bon here runs a tight ship.”

“Chocolate making is a serious business,” Lemon Hearts said. “One mistake and you can ruin a batch and hours of work.”

“Oh, I know,” Lyra said and picked a bon bon from the counter’s sample tray in her magic. “I appreciate that chocolate making is a delicate process that requires attention and devotion.” Using her magic, Lyra unwrapped the bon bon with a slow twist of its paper. “As much as I love bon bons, I wouldn’t be able to stand the guilt of messing a batch up.” Lyra levitated the bon bon to her mouth and made a show of sticking out her tongue and placing the bon bon on it.

Bon Bon’s blushed a deep shade of red as Lyra drew the bon bon into her mouth, bit down with slow exaggeration, and hummed a pleasured note. “Lyra!” she scolded, “Behave yourself!”

“You’re cheating!” Lemon Hearts protested. “I can’t do things like that since I’m not her special somepony!”

Lyra, still making a show of enjoying the bon bon, smiled.

“What are you two crazies up to this time?” Satin asked.

“They have a contest going to see who can make me blush the most times during the day,” Bon Bon said, hiding her face behind her hooves.

Lyra swallowed her treat. “I get a bonus point too.”

“What for?” Lemon Hearts asked.

Lyra pointed a hoof at me. “I made him blush at the same time.”

I did not bother trying to deny that I had blushed. “Leave me out of this! The last time you two involved me in one of your games I ended up grounded for a week!”

Bon Bon looked around at everypony. “How can you know each other?”

“Lemon Hearts and Lyra were underclassponies to me at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns,” Satin said. “I used to tutor them.”

“She’d meet us outside of school too,” Lyra said, “and sometimes she’d bring Pin with her.”

“I heard something else,” Lemon Hearts said and made sad eyes at me. “Is it true you found yourself a special somepony?”

“Yes, Lemon, it’s true,” I said.

“I thought I was the only mare for you,” she teased, acting wounded. “We had milkshakes together and everything.”

Lyra giggled. “He let you and Satin braid his mane and tail too.”

Bon Bon snorted a laugh and covered her mouth with a hoof. “Sorry,” she said to me. “I couldn’t keep the image out of my head.”

I let my head drop towards the floor. “My poor, wounded dignity.”

“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Lyra said. “You looked good with braids.”

“I am sorry, Hearts, for disappointing you so,” I told her, joking back. “But my heart belongs to another.”

Lemon Hearts put her nose in the air, smiling the whole time. “You shouldn’t worry about me. I have found another whose love is true. A fine stallion named Autumn Leaf.”

The shop’s door opened, prompting us to behave ourselves.

“Hello, Miss Bon Bon!” a cheerful, familiar voice greeted. Piña pranced into the shop, followed by Pinch and Barrel. “We’re getting Mom a treat-” Piña froze in mid step at the sight of Satin.

“Hello Piña,” Satin greeted in a cautious tone.

Piña looked at me like I had betrayed her. “Uncle Pin, I thought you told her to stay away.”

“I invited her back. She is my sister, I missed her, and she needed some help.”

Piña put herself between Satin and Pinch. She stared right into Satin’s eyes and told her: “Uncle Pin is too nice. You should have stayed in Canterlot, since you like it there so much.”

“I understand why you’re mad,” Satin said, her words laced with pain and regret. “I said some nasty, hurtful things. I’m sorry for what I did and I want to make it up to you. That’s why we’re here; to get ingredients for the cookies I want to make everypony to apologize.”

“You can’t make things better with cookies.” Piña said in an icy tone. “You were supposed to be our aunt. We looked forward to you coming and when you got here you were grouchy to us.” She drew a breath through her nose and let out an angry, hot breath. “Then, at dinner, you insulted us, Nana and Grandpa, and tried to tempt my niece into leaving us.”

“Piña, calm down,” Barrel said. “She acted an ursa, but you shouldn’t have a fit about what she did in the middle of somepony’s store.”

Pinch moved to stand beside Piña and put a foreleg around her shoulders. “Piña, please, calm down. I’ve never seen you like this and it’s scaring me. Close you’re eyes and take a deep breath. Think about what you’re doing and where you are.”

Piña glared at Satin. “She didn’t think about that when she did what she did.”

“So you want to stoop to the same level she did then?” Barrel asked. “You were raised better than that.”

Satin flinched at Barrel’s words.

Piña closed her eyes and took a breath. “Mom and Dad said family is supposed to stick together.” She opened her eyes and looked at Pinch. “Your mom and dad and my mom and dad have said that family and friends are all that matters and that we should treat everypony we care about like a treasure.”

“Satin is our adoptive aunt,” Pinch pointed out. “We should treat her special too and gi-”

“She was!” Piña interrupted. She pointed a hoof at Satin. “She said horrible things about our families, our friends, and our home town. She tried to take Uncle Pin from us.” Piña sniffed, turned, and hugged Pinch. “She even tried to take you. She’s not our aunt. A real aunt wouldn’t do something like that.”

Pinch hugged Piña back. “I promise me leaving Ponyville isn’t happening.”

Piña said in a sad and soft tone, “I thought you might.” She nuzzled into Pinch. “You could make it into Celestia’s school, if you wanted to go.”

Satin said, her words sounding fragile: “I was stressed and falling apart. It’s no excuse, but I had too much wine that night. Some part of me thought if I belittled what he was doing, his friends, and where he lived he would come back to Canterlot.” Satin sniffed at her tears. “I’ve had a long time to think on it and learn from my mistake.” She took in a pained breath. “Two years’ worth of time.”

I started to move towards Satin, to comfort her, but she motioned for me to stay put. Sis, standing against your troubles alone is the main thing that got you into this mess, I thought to myself.

Lyra said, “Piña, I’ve known Satin for a long time, and she’s a caring, solid pony that takes too much on herself.”

“Like somepony else we know,” Bon Bon said, looking at me.

I shrugged and gave her a guilty grin. “It runs in the family.”

“Pin is Satin’s biggest soft spot, so I’m sure not being able to convince him to come back to Canterlot ate her up,” Lemon Hearts told Piña.

Barrel took both Piña and Pinch in a hug. “We should forgive her.”

Piña looked up at Barrel. “But-”

Barrel tapped Piña’s nose with a hoof. “Berry forgave me, when I had too much wine and did something stupid. I did the best I could to apologize and make it up to her; Berry was kind and accepted my apology. After a wonderful courtship, we got the most precious thing in our world.” Barrel leaned down and kissed Pinch’s head. “I think she’s special to you too.”

Piña nodded. “She is.”

“I also got to be a part of you growing up, which I hope has been a good thing for you.”

Piña nodded and smiled. “It’s been great.”

Barrel touched his forehead to Piña’s. “Don’t shut somepony out of your life because of a mistake they want to make up for and learn from. You never know what that may cost you.”

Piña nuzzled into Barrel. “Okay.”

“I’ve sworn off drinking, I’ve learned how to better manage my stress, and I’ve found a wonderful stallion I can rely on to help me out.” Satin assured, “What happened then will not happen again.”

One of Pinch’s ears turned towards Satin.

Barrel chuckled. “You’ve done it now.”

Pinch gave Barrel a light poke to the ribs and ducked under his foreleg. She approached Satin and smiled. “Will you tell me about him and how you met?”

Satin sniffed and nodded. “You can meet him too. He’ll be coming tomorrow.”

Pinch closed the distance between her and Satin and gave her a hug. “I missed you Auntie.”

Satin nuzzled the top of Pinch’s head. “I missed you too.”

“While I’m glad you’re feeling better and yourself again, I’m not sure if I like this talk about you not having a drink now and then,” Barrel kidded.

“I’m glad I haven’t. It might have harmed somepony I didn’t know was going to be a part of my life. It would have torn me to pieces, knowing I might have hurt them before they even got here.”

Pinch looked up at Satin. “Are you…?”

“Pregnant?” Piña asked as if completing Pinch’s sentence.

“I am,” Satin said.

“Now you’ve really done it,” Barrel said to Satin and let go of Piña. “There is something about pregnant mares that has always fascinated Piña.”

“I think it touches something in her caring, protective nature,” Bon Bon said. “Mrs. Cake used to tell me how Piña would come to Sugar Cube corner just to check on her.”

Pinch released Satin and moved aside. “She and Mom take after Grandma. They care for everypony, but they always look out for anypony that might need a little more support a bit more.”

Barrel chucked. “That sounds about right. It also explains why Berry and Piña are always fussing over Pin. He’s a mess on his own.”

I sighed, not able to refute Barrel’s assessment.

As Piña approached Satin, her eyes never left Satin’s midsection.

“You can’t see anything yet.” Satin put a hoof to her belly. “It won’t be too long and you’ll be able to.”

“Do you know what it will be?” Piña asked.

Satin shook her head. “We want it to be a surprise. We’re going to love them whatever they decide to be.”

Piña reached up with a hoof and then paused.

“It’s okay.” Satin took Piña’s hoof with hers and guided it to her belly. “You can feel something right about here.”

“I feel it.” Piña smiled and looked up at Satin. “I can’t wait to meet them.”

“I’m glad.”

Piña’s ears pinned back in worry, as she looked up to Satin's face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Tears went down Satin’s cheeks even as she smiled. “I was thinking you’ll be a much better aunt to this foal than I’ve been to you and Pinch.”

Piña sniffed back her own tears. “Except for that one time, you've been a great aunt. I shouldn’t have been so mean to you.”

Satin took Piña into a hug. “Let’s not be mean to each other ever again. Okay?”

Piña cuddled against Satin. “Sounds good to me.”

Satin reached out and brought Pinch into the hug. “I’m so glad I’ve got you two back.”

Piña said, “Don’t leave us again, please.”

Satin nuzzled Piña. “I won’t. I promise.”

Chapter 12

The smell of Satin’s cookies baking tantalized my nose and prompted my stomach to growl.

“Hang on for a second,” I told it. “We’ll see if we can sneak up there and grab a cookie as soon as I get this pinned.”

As if by summoned by my stomach’s rumblings, a cookie, surrounded by the glow of magic, floated into my view and landed on the edge of my worktable.

“Sounds like I got here at the right time,” Satin said. “I heard your stomach on the stairs.”

“It’s been torture, smelling the cookies but not being able to get to one.” Mindful of crumbs, I took a step back from the table and levitated the cookie to me. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. I haven’t seen anypony this excited for my baking in a while.”

I took a bite of the cookie. I hummed in appreciation, smiled, and let my ears fall in contentment as the flavors of chocolate and mint mingled with the sweet cake-like texture in my mouth.

Satin laughed. “It’s not that good.”

“I beg to differ,” I said, after swallowing the bite. “It’s still warm too, which makes it perfect.”

“I’m glad you like it, but I think you’re exaggerating.”

“Not a chance. Your cookies are superb.” I hummed again in bliss as I took another bite.

“You goofy thing.” Satin looked toward my worktable. “How is it going?”

“I’m about where I need to be, but if I get any more orders it will be wild for the next bit.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“If you bring me a cookie now and then I’ll be able to make it,” I said and popped the last of the cookie in my mouth.

Satin booped me on the nose. “I’ll bring you one more. You don’t want the miles we did this morning to go to waste.”

“I ran those miles off so I wouldn’t have to worry about my waist.”

“That was horrible.” Satin turned her head, as the oven’s timer went off. “I better get back up there. We don’t want the cookies to burn.”

“That would be a tragedy. Keep in mind, though, if any get singed, I’d be happy to dispose of them for you.”

Satin snorted. “If you behave, I’ll bring you another cookie in a few minutes,” Satin said, as she went up the stairs.

The store’s front bell chimed.

“Sounds like I won’t even have the chance to be bad,” I said to myself.

I stepped into the storefront and greeted my visitor, “How can I help?”

The customer, a pegasus stallion, turned to me. “Hello, Pin.”

“Stormbreaker! I haven’t seen you since the Equestria Games. What are you doing here?” I walked up to him and shook his hoof. “It’s good to see you!”

“Good to see you too. I will be attending a wedding soon, and your suits were highly recommended.”

“Let me get my things and we’ll get you measured.” I stepped behind the store counter and gathered what I would need. “If you don’t mind sharing, who recommended me?”

“Thunderlane said you were the best tailor in Ponyville.” Stormbreaker moved closer to one suit on display and scrutinized it.

“I think he’s pulling your tail. I’m the only tailor in Ponyville.”

Stormbreaker turned to face me. “What about that lovely mare he’s dating?” She’s in the fashion business, if I remember right.”

“She is. Rarity could outdo me, I’ll admit. I’m lucky she focuses on dresses and not stallionswear.”

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit.”

Something in his tone and posture made me think he was toying with me, but his words seemed to be sincere.

“I like this style,” Stormbreaker said, nodding toward the suit he had been examining.

“That’s one of our new patterns,” I informed him while making my way from behind the counter.

Stormbreaker gave me a quizzical look. “I thought this was your shop.”

“It is, but somepony has been working with me for a while. I’ve started to think of things as ‘ours’.”

He grinned and stood so I could measure him. “Thunderlane said that you had fallen hooves over tail for somepony. I take it she’s the one who’s been helping you here.”

“She is.”

“Is she the one, for you?”

“I think it’s too early to tell if she is, or wants to be ‘the one,’ but if things work out...” I found I could not finish my sentence, as all a parade of negative thoughts and nagging ‘what ifs’ went through my mind.

Stormbreaker chuckled. “Thunderlane was right. You’ve got it real bad and you’re worrying about things way too much.”

I snorted. “That’s enough about me. Are you still working two jobs?”

“Yep and still loving both.” He raised his nose and took an appreciative sniff. “Speaking of working two jobs, are you running a bakery too?”

I chuckled and took down his measurements. “I’m not. My sister is visiting. She’s making cookies for friends of ours.”

“Your sister’s visiting?”

Again, his tone and expression hinted he was up to something.

“Doesn’t she live in Canterlot,” he asked, “and run an air ship building company?”

I looked up from my notes to him.

Stormbreaker grinned and held up a hoof indicating a height shorter than he stood. “She’s about this tall, has a soft blue mane, a gray coat, and blue eyes.”

“I never told you about-”

“Storm?!” Satin said from the door to the workroom.

I turned to face her.

Satin did not even glance at me, but stared at Stormbreaker. “What are you doing here so soon?” Satin asked him.

I snapped my head back to Stormbreaker. “You’re ‘Storm’?!” I tried to say something, but I sputtered and could not form any of the thoughts or questions I had into proper speech.

“I’m sorry. I think I broke something in your brother,” Stormbreaker said. “Not telling him right off was supposed to be a joke.”

“It’s my fault, if you broke something,” Satin told him. She trotted around me to get to Stormbreaker and give him a hug. “I referred to you as ‘Storm’ and not your full name, when I was telling him about you.”

Stormbreaker hugged Satin back and nuzzled her mane. “I could tell something was up when he didn’t respond to me saying I needed a suit for a wedding.” He gave her a kiss and touched his nose to hers. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” Satin assured him.

Stormbreaker let her go, took a half step back, and lowered his head. “How are you doing, little one?” he asked Satin’s belly. “Are you giving your mother too much trouble?”

Satin smiled at Stormbreaker with affection and reported, “Not much at all.”

“That’s good to hear.” He kissed Satin’s stomach. “You keep behaving and growing,” he told Satin’s navel. “We’re looking forward to meeting you, so keep up the pace.”

Satin giggled. “Storm, while I am looking forward to seeing our foal, I don’t think you have to start coaching quite yet.”

He looked up at her with a warm smile. “You both still have a way to go. Since I can’t do too much else to help for either of you, I will be cheering for you both every step of the way.”

Satin leaned down and kissed Stormbreaker’s forehead. “I love you, you wonderful stallion.”

For a second I felt I was intruding in an intimate family moment.

Satin looked at me and grinned. “Are you doing okay?”

“I think I can speak in coherent sentences again,” I informed her.

“You knew about our little one coming, right?” Stormbreaker asked.

“I did.”

“He pieced it together before I could tell him,” Satin said.

“He did?” Stormbreaker looked at me with surprise. “But Satin isn’t showing yet.”

“I had help,” I admitted. “Rarity said things that hinted Satin needed to be treated with care at the train station. When we got home, Satin turned down my offers to get her wine or coffee. I knew then something had to be going on. When I put the two together, along with her coming so soon after I invited her, I figured things out.”

Stormbreaker grinned. “So you stitched things together.”

Satin gave Strombreaker a light shove on his shoulder. “Behave.”

“How in Equestria did you two fall for each other?” I asked.

“We-” Stormbreaker paused, as Satin held up a hoof.

“Let’s keep him in suspense,” Satin suggested. “There are going to some ponies coming tonight, if all goes well, that will want to hear the story too.”

Stormbreaker shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind telling the story again.”

“If you told me, before you told everypony tonight they wouldn’t be happy with either of us,” I warned him, “the girls in particular.”

“The girls?” Stormbreaker asked, with one of his ears angling out.

“Berry’s girls,” Satin explained. “Berry and her family adopted Pin as one of their own. The girls adore him.”

“Oh, the girls.” Storm breaker gave her a hopeful look. “If they’re coming over, I take it you’ve talked with them and it went halfway well.”

Satin nodded. “We bumped into each other yesterday. I did my best to apologize, and they and their dad accepted.” She seemed to shrink in on herself. “I still haven’t talked to Berry or her folks.”

Stormbreaker nuzzled her cheek. “I’m proud of you. You knew this would not be easy and you’ve made headway even before you could prepare something.”

“Thanks, but they aren’t going to easy to apologize to.”

“You have your cookies,” I reminded her.

“You have me too,” Stormbreaker said. He posed regally. “I can play the part of pretty preening pegasus and be a distraction during any tough moments.”

I grunted a laugh. “Yep, there’s no doubt you and Thunderlane are related.”

The store’s door opened and its bell chimed.

“Mister Pin!”

Dinky rushed through the story towards us. After making her way around a display, she almost slid into me in her hurry.

“I’m so sorry!” Dinky said her ears pinned back. “I didn’t mean to interrupt you and a customer.”

“We’re not customers,” Satin told her. “I’m Pin’s sister, Satin Stitching, and this is my fiancé Stormbreaker.”

“Oh,” Dinky said, looking a touch relieved. “I’m still sorry that I interrupted.”

“Satin, Stormbreaker, this is Dinky Hooves,” I told them. “She’s Time Turner’s and Muffin’s daughter.”

“And she’s adorable,” Satin said. She smiled at Dinky. “We’ve seen each other a couple of times, when you were littler, but I bet you don’t remember. You’ve grown up to be a lovely filly.”

Dinky blushed and ducked her head. “Thank you.”

“What’s the big news you were going to deliver?” Stormbreaker asked.

Dinky’s ears snapped back up and her enthusiastic energy returned. “Pinch got the job! She found out this morning. She’s at the castle right now getting instructions about what she and Spike will be doing.”

I grinned. “That’s great!”

Dinky nodded. “She wanted me to tell you she got it and will tell you all about what she will be doing later.”

The store’s door opened again. “Pin, your sign says you’re open,” Muffins said, as she stepped in.

“I am.”

“It’s the weekend,” she pointed out.

“Oh.” I smacked my forehead with a hoof. “That’s right. I got in my morning routine, since I’m have to do some catch up, and flipped the sign to open without thinking about it.”

“I’ve got it.” Muffins flipped the sign to ‘closed’, joined us, and hugged Dinky from behind. “Did you tell him?”

Dinky looked up at Muffins and grinned. “I did.”

Muffins smiled at Satin. “It’s good to see you. I’m glad you’re okay. I rarely get to deliver express mail from Canterlot on back-to-back days to the same pony. I was worried something was wrong.”

“I’m fine,” Satin assured. “Now I’m out of Canterlot I can even relax.”

“Hello, Muffins.” Stormbreaker said. “I don’t think I’ve seen you since the Equestria Games either.”

Muffins blinked as if she were just seeing Stormbreaker. “Storm, it’s good to see you! What are you doing here?”

“I’m following my fiancé around to make sure she’s not doing too much.”

“Fiancé?!” Muffins looked to Satin and her wings snapped open in excitement.

Storm made a motion with a wing towards Satin and bowed as if he were introducing royalty. “Satin and I are engaged and are expecting.”

“That’s wonderful news!” Muffins kissed the top of Dinky’s head, let her go, and then moved to hug Storm. “You better take good care of her and the little one.”

“I’ll do my best.” Stormbreaker hugged Muffins back. “She doesn’t slow down much, though.”

“You can keep up,” Muffins told him. She let go of Stormbreaker and hugged Satin. “Congratulations. Stormbreaker is a wonderful stallion and you’ll both be wonderful parents.”

“Thank you,” Satin said, returning Muffins’ hug.

“Keep in mind, if he does ever give you trouble, all you have to do is tell me,” Muffins half kidded. “I’ll straighten him out for you. And if I can’t, I’ll tell his parents about whatever is going on and they will.”

“I don’t think I have to worry about a thing,” Satin said, “but I’ll remember that.” She looked to Dinky and smiled. “What are you thinking, Dinky? I don’t think you’ve moved since Muffins let you go.”

“He’s the Equestria Games gold medalist ice archer, isn’t he?” Dinky asked.

“He is,” Satin said.

A light blush came to Dinky’s cheeks. “Mister Stormbreaker, can I get your autograph?”

Stormbreaker gave Dinky a grin. “Sure.”

Dinky’s expression changed as if she had thought of something unpleasant. “Oh, drat.”

Stormbreaker tilted his head at her. “What’s wrong?”

Dinky ears feel and she looked to the floor. “I don’t have anything for you to sign.”

I chuckled. “I can fix that. Give me a moment.”

As I went behind the counter, Dinky asked me, “You competed in the Equestria games too, didn’t you?”

“I don’t talk about that too much,” I said.

“Why not?” Dinky asked.

“I had to turn traitor to get on a team, according to some ponies.” I put a piece of paper, and inkwell, and a quill on the counter. “I had lived here long enough I could have competed for Ponyville, but the roster was full. I lucked out and got invited by the Canterlot team to join them. Since it was the place where I was born, the rules allowed me get on their roster instead.”

“You’re that good?” Dinky asked.

I shook my head. “Even back in school and when I was on our archery team, I was adequate and not much else. Despite me telling the team I hadn’t touched a bow in months, they said they would take me if I could pass the qualifiers. Their inviting me showed how desperate they were, not how skilled I am.”

“Pin’s being modest,” Satin told Dinky. “One year he was co-captain on his school’s archery team.”

Dinky tilted her head at me. “But you trained here with the Ponyville team.”

“Rainbow found out about me getting invited and pulled me into the Ponyville training regime. When I tried to turn her ‘invitation’ down, she told me, ‘No way are you going all the way to Canterlot and embarrassing Ponyville by not being in shape for the games. They’ll think living in Ponyville makes you go soft or something.’ ”

“That sounds like her,” Muffins said. “She’s always talking about how great Ponyville and its weather team is, whenever we have wild weather preparation meetings in Cloudsdale.”

“Don’t’ spread this around, if it gets back to Rainbow I’d be in deep trouble, but I think she had me train with everypony else because she knew that I wouldn’t have been able to make it to Canterlot to train while running my business.”

“Rainbow did a great job getting everypony ready,” Stormbreaker said, as he wrote a quick note and signed the paper. “Ponyville came out nowhere and took the whole thing. You didn’t do half bad yourself, Pin. Getting bronze is nothing to be sneezed at.” He gave the signed paper to Dinky. “Here you go.”

“Thank you!” Dinky took the autograph as if it would shatter at the wrong touch.

Stormbreaker leaned close to Dinky and stage whispered, “Do you think I could get your mom’s autograph?”

Dinky looked confused. “Mom’s?”

Stormbreaker nodded. “It’s not every day you get to meet an Equestria Games relay flier medalist and overall medal count champion. Your mom’s cool.”

Dinky gave Stormbreaker a bright smile. “Yeah, Mom’s pretty awesome.” She looked to Muffins. “Mom?”

Muffins, blushing, nodded. “I’d be glad to.”

I put another piece of paper on the counter. “Here you go.”

Muffins wrote a little note and signed the page. She offered the page to Stormbreaker. “I never asked; do you know what your foal will be?”

“We’re letting it be a surprise.” Stormbreaker took the page from Muffins. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Muffins moved to stand beside Dinky and patted her on the back. “We better get going. We’ve got more errands to run.”

“It was nice to meet you,” Dinky told Satin and Stormbreaker.

In the distance, the oven’s bell chimed.

“If you can wait a couple of minutes, I’ll bring you both a cookie,” Satin said and trotted into the back of the shop.

“We can wait,” Muffins said. “Take your time and don’t burn yourself.”

Stormbreaker looked to me. “Do you mind if I follow her?”

“Of course not, feel at home.”

“Thanks. I know she can more than take care of herself but…”

“You’re nesting,” Muffins stated.

“It’s bad too,” Stormbreaker confessed and sighed. “I’m trying to keep it under control, but I slip up now and then. I hope I’m not driving her crazy.”

“I doubt you are,” Muffins assured Stormbreaker, as he went after Satin.

“Nesting?” Dinky asked Muffins.

“Some ponies get protective of our loved ones when we are expecting,” Muffins explained. “It can be worse with the stallions than it is with the mares. It’s called ‘nesting’ with pegasi, but all tribes of ponies have their versions.”

“You should have seen your mother when she was expecting you,” I said. “Your dad and Amethyst were cuddled and fussed over to the point of distraction.”

Dinky giggled. “For a second, I thought Mom meant he would build her a nest or something. Nesting sounds like something Miss Berry or Piña would do.”

“You’re right,” I said. “When Berry was expecting Pinch, she fussed over me, when Barrel wasn’t around for her to focus on, and I’m not even kin!”

“You are kin,” Muffins rebutted. “You are her adopted brother.” She grinned. “Besides, you need fussing over.”

Satin returned to the storefront with two cookies in her magic and Stormbreaker close behind her. “Here you go,” she said and levitated a cookie each to Dinky and Muffins.

“Thank you,” they said in unison, sounding much alike.

Stormbreaker stood by Satin’s side and put a wing over her shoulders. “I’m sorry about my nesting. I hope you don’t feel like I’m hounding your every hoofstep.”

“You’re not being bad at all,” Satin said and kissed his nose. “I’m ‘nesting’ myself. I think that’s one reason we’re here. There’s some part of me that wanted to be where it’s calm, safe, and where I could be surrounded by good ponies.” Her ears fell, and she leaned into him. “I just have to mend some bridges before I can feel comfortable.”

“You should use Nana’s nest to help you relax,” Dinky suggested.

“Nana’s nest?” Stormbreaker asked, looking more than a little confused. “That’s not quite what ‘nesting’ means.”

“I know. Miss Satin or Mister Pin can explain it better than I can.” Dinky said. “Trust me, you and Miss Satin could cuddle great on there.”

“I could do with a little break,” Satin said. “Thanks for the idea, Dinky.”

“You’re welcome,” Dinky said smiling.

Muffins gave Dinky a look, as she led her towards the front of the store. “And here you were saying that Berry and Pinch fussed over ponies.”

“I had to pay her back for the cookie,” Dinky said.

The store’s door shut behind them and Satin hummed a note. “She’s so cute.”

“Ours will be just as cute if not more so,” Stormbreaker told her.

Satin looked to me. “Pin, would you mind if we used Nana’s nest for a bit? Now I’ve thought about it, I could use a break and Storm has to be a little tired flying all the way here.”

“Be my guest,” I told her. “Would you like me to bump you for lunch?”

Satin nodded. “Please.”

“You really have a ‘nest’?” Stormbreaker asked me.

“Sort of, it’s an oversized cloud chair that my grandmother and grandfather made together.”

Stormbreaker’s eyes lit up. “I haven’t seen on one of those in ages.”

Satin took Stormbreaker’s hoof and slid from under his wing. “Come on. I’ll show you where it is.”

I smiled, as she led him to the back of the shop. You got yourself a good one, Sis, I thought to myself. He didn’t do half bad either, and you both seem so happy.

I put away my incomplete notes for Stormbreaker’s order. I looked out the shop’s front window, watched a pair of ponies go by, sighed, and thought of Coco.

*****

I put the last of the sandwiches out on the kitchen table. “There we go.”

I looked toward the back of the apartment and chuckled. “They must be zonked, if my fixing lunch didn’t wake them up,” I said, keeping my voice low on instinct.

Using soft hoofsteps, I made my way to the study and peeked in.

Satin had occupied the center of the cloud chair, tucked up in a contented looking ball with her left cheek resting on the chair’s fabric.

Stormbreaker was spooned around Satin, his chin touching her head between her ears. He had draped his wing across her, giving me the impression he had held her right against himself at some point.

I sneaked to my room and got my camera. After returning to the study, I took a picture while making as little noise as possible.

The shutter of the camera must have been enough for Satin to hear. Her right ear twitched and her eyes opened. Seeing me with my camera, she gave me a drowsy smile. “We get copies,” she whispered.

I nodded and smiled back. “Lunch is ready,” I whispered. “Sleep well?”

“The best I have in a while.” Satin moved as if she would get up, but Stormbreaker’s wing caught her and tucked her against his side.

“Just five more minutes, my Satin doll,” Stormbreaker said to her, sounding more asleep than awake and without opening his eyes. “I haven’t gotten to hold you for almost two weeks.”

“I missed you too.” She gave me a look I understood to mean I should keep quiet. “But we should get up. Lunch is ready. We don’t want to let Pin’s cooking go to waste.”

“While that sounds good, I have something tasty right here.” Stormbreaker kissed Satin’s neck near her shoulder and then nuzzled his way to the base of her ear, up to her ear’s tip, and gave it a nibble.

Satin turned a glorious shade of red. “Storm, my brother is standing right there!”

I snapped off a photo as Stormbreaker opened his eyes and looked towards me, Satin’s ear still held in his mouth.

*****

There was a knock on the back door.

“Coming!” I put my work down and went door. I just got the door open when a filly grabbed me around my barrel.

“Thank you!” Pinch told me as she hugged me tight. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” I fake wheezed. I hugged Pinch back and patted her shoulder. “I didn’t know you could move that fast.”

“You’re lucky you’re bigger than Spike,” Piña said. “Pinch tackled him when she gave him a hug, after he told her she got the messenger position.”

“I was a little excited,” Pinch said.

“How did the meeting with Twilight go?” I asked Pinch and let go of her.

She gave me a squeeze and released me. “It went real well. Twilight gave me a list of things I would need to do starting next week. Being a messenger will be a lot of work, but it will be a lot of fun too.” Pinch looked toward Piña. “Right now Piña is the messenger for Mom.”

“Berry told us to tell you,” Piña changed her voice to mimic Berry’s, “’Pin, dinner your plans for tonight and tomorrow have changed. We are meeting at the Grazing Meadow tonight. We’ll discuss what the plans for dinner tomorrow night are when you get there.’”

“That was uncanny,” I told Piña. “You sounded just like Berry when she was your age.”

Piña smiled. “She is my sister.”

“I take that Satin’s apology went well.”

“After a couple of tries by Aunt Satin it did.” Pinch sighed. “Piña and Mom are similar in a lot of ways, including needing to vent at whoever insults them and their families. After Mom pointed out what an ursa Satin had been, she cooled off and forgave her.”

“Barrel and Stormbreaker helped calm Berry down too,” Piña said.

“Speaking of Mom, if we don’t get going she will fuss at us for being late,” Pinch said.

“Just a second, please.” I stepped outside and locked the back door. “Thank you. Now, let’s trot before we get into trouble.”

“What do you think about Stormbreaker?” Piña asked me over her shoulder.

Pinch’s ears perked, and she turned one towards me.

“I’ve met Stormbreaker a few times, thanks to being involved in ice archery. He’s a solid guy. Has he told you too much about himself?”

Both the fillies shook their heads.

“Then I better not say too much. He and Satin wanted to tell their story to you tonight.”

“Do you think they love each other or is it the foal coming that is connecting them?” Pinch said.

Piña glanced at Pinch as if she questioned the appropriateness of question.

I smiled, recalling the image of them curled up together on Nana’s nest. “They love each other,” I told Pinch. “They both want the foal and each other.”

Pinch looked back over her shoulder at me and smiled. “Great. I’m looking forward to being an aunt. It will be a happier experience if Satin and Stormbreaker love each other deep down.”

“It’s pretty cool, being an aunt,” Piña said and grinned at Pinch. “I could give you some pointers, if you’d like.”

Pinch snorted a laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Piña’s ears fell a little. “Haven’t I been a good aunt?”

“I didn’t mean it like that.” Pinch moved so she and Piña were walking shoulder to shoulder and nuzzled her. “You’re such a great aunt I think of you more like my sister.”

“I’m glad.” Piña nuzzled Pinch back. “Don’t forget, though, I still outrank you.”

I laughed. “You two are a mess.”

“Are the girls stirring things up again?” Barrel asked, as we approached the restaurant and its outdoor tables. He had waited for us just outside the restaurant’s roped off seating.

“Not this time,” I answered, gaining me a look from Pinch and Piña both.

“We’re seated over here,” Barrel said. He pointed toward a table just as Berry, Satin, Stormbreaker, Thunderlane, and Rumble waved at us from their seats.

“Looks like everypony saved you a seat by Rumble, Piña,” Pinch teased.

“Pinch!” Piña hissed through her teeth.

“You’re blushing,” Pinch pointed out in more of a giggle than a whisper. “He’s blushing too. That’s so cute!”

“I didn’t know Rumble and Thunderlane were coming,” I said Pinch, trying to draw attention away from Piña.

“We didn’t either,” Pinch said.

“We ran into them on the way here,” Barrel said, as we got closer. “They hadn’t had dinner, so we invited them along.” He grinned and leaned close to Piña. “Rumble asked us to hold a seat for his ‘training partner,’ just so you know.”

Piña glanced towards Rumble. His eyes met hers and their respective blushes renewed.

“Looks like we will be having dinner and a show,” Barrel said and chuckled.

“Uncle Barrel, please,” Piña begged, “not you too.”

“We’ll behave,” Barrel assured. He gave Pinch look. “Won’t we?”

Pinch nodded, smiling in a less than innocent way. “We can’t say anything for Mom, thought.”

Barrel nodded. “True.” He gave Piña a too wide smile. “You will have her on your other side too.”

“I’m doomed,” Piña sighed.

Barrel led us to the table and took his seat at the end. I pulled out Pinch’s chair for her.

“Thank you, Uncle Pin,” Pinch said, taking her seat.

“You’re welcome.”

Satin bumped her shoulder to mine, after I took my seat. “You’re ever the gentlecolt.”

“I try,” I told her.

With a subtle movement, Thunderlane reached over with a wing and prodded Rumble.

Rumble left his seat and pulled out Piña’s chair for her. Piña had just enough distance to walk around the table so that Rumble’s timing seemed unprompted.

“Thanks,” Piña told Rumble with a bashful smile.

Rumble gave her a return smile and nodded in response.

After they both took their seats, Horte Cuisine approached the table and took our drink orders.

Pinch nodded towards the other end of the table where Thunderlane and Stormbreaker sat. “They look like twin brothers instead of cousins. They even have the same manecut.”

“The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” I said.

Pinch giggled. “Apple Bloom doesn’t like it when somepony says that.”

I asked her, “Why not?”

Pinch grinned, “Apple Bloom says it’s because the Apple’s don’t like some implications of that saying.”

I could not help but snort.

Thunderlane held up a wing, getting everypony’s attention. “Now we’re all here, spill it.” He pointed his wing towards Stormbreaker. “How in the world did a stallion like you end up with a mare like her?”

Stormbreaker gave Thunderlane a less than amused look. “What do you mean ‘a stallion like you’?”

Thunderlane made rough, circular gestures at Stormbreaker with both his hooves. “You’re you. I don’t know how to say it.” With a bow of his head, he then a made a graceful motion with a hoof towards Satin. “She’s Canterlot nobility.”

“Thank you, but I am not Canterlot nobility,” Satin said with a grin, “I work too much to be true Canterlot nobility.”

“Too true,” Thunderlane conceded. “Now I think about it, maybe you should be the one to tell how you two met. Stormbreaker’s been known to exaggerate his stories.”

Satin shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. After my last visit here, I was encouraged to get out more and do the things I like to do with ponies I enjoyed being around, even if whatever it was seemed foalish. I thought it over, remembered how much fun I had helping ponies when I was in school, and got involved in the tutoring program at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. He and I bumped into each other there, while I was tutoring a group of fillies on the campus grounds.”

Horte Cuisine returned with our drinks and took our orders, causing a pause in the conversation.

After Horte Cuisine left us, everypony stared at Satin and waited for her continue.

Satin, with a smirk remained silent and took a sip of her tea.

“And?” Berry said making a motion for her to go on.

“And that pretty well sums up what happened,” Satin answered, her smirk growing.

Stormbreaker stared a Satin as his feathers raised in a slow motion fluffing.

Piña giggled, leaned close to Rumble and asked, “Can your feathers do that?”

Rumble, after biting back a laugh, told her, “I’m not sure.”

“Satin,” Stormbreaker said in a too sweet tone. “Is that all you’re going to tell them?”

Satin looked up at him and gave him an innocent look. “Are there any details you think I should add?”

“I think ‘confess to’ would be more appropriate,” he said.

“I have no idea what you’re suggesting,” Satin said, still feigning innocence and ignorance. “Well, I could add that you asked me out to dinner first. That was sweet of you.”

Stormbreaker’s nose crinkled. “You’re trying to ruffle my feathers aren’t you?”

Satin smiled. “Judging by how you’re puffed up like a down pillow, I’d say it’s working.” She motioned for him to lean closer. She kissed his nose when he did. “I think you should tell things from your perspective. You’re a better narrator.”

Stormbreaker touched his nose to Satin’s, and his feathers fell back into place. “You could have just asked.”

“This was more fun.” Satin grinned at him, her nose still touching Stormbreaker’s. “Keep in mind; I get to call you on any embellishments.”

Stormbreaker grinned back at her. “I’ll try to stick to the truth as best I can.”

“This should be good,” Thunderlane muttered.

Stormbreaker sat up and cleared his throat. “To give a little background, besides working at the weather factory as a storm specialist, I am a part time ice archery instructor at Celestia’s school in Canterlot. Our range there is in a spot close to where there is a nice part of the grounds where students will lie out and study on every so often.”

Stormbreaker paused and looked at Satin as if expecting input.

She nodded. “So far you’re doing well.”

Stormbreaker continued: “During an afternoon lesson I noticed that a few of the colts in the class I was teaching were getting distracted by a group that settled down not too far from us. I looked where their eyes kept going, trying to find out what they found so interesting, and saw a lovely mare with a small group of students laying on a blanket and working through some spells they were reading out of a textbook.”

“Good old teenage hormones,” Barrel said with a chuckle.

“In their defense, Satin is a powerful distraction,” Stormbreaker said.

Satin arched an eyebrow. “How do you know they were looking at me?”

Stormbreaker put a wingtip under his chin. “You’re right. I don’t know if you were the one distracting them or not.” He used the same wing tip to tap Satin’s nose. “You distracted me the rest of the lesson. That I know.”

Piña and Pinch giggled as Satin blushed.

“I’m sure she and her students sneaked a few glances your team’s way,” Berry said.

“Once or twice,” Satin admitted. She bumped shoulders with Stormbreaker. “Keep going.”

“At the end of our practice session, I decided to address our pretty distractions,” Stormbreaker told us. “When I got to where they were, Satin asked me if anything was wrong. I’ll admit I froze for a second, when she looked up at me. From where we had been, I could tell she was pretty. Closer up, I could appreciate she was beautiful.”

“You’re laying it on thick,” Thunderlane teased.

“While I’m flattered, I think I agree with your cousin,” Satin said smiling at Stormbreaker.

“I’m just telling what happened and what I thought,” Stormbreaker assured.

Stormbreaker returned to addressing us: “After we introduced ourselves to each other, I asked Satin if she would consider moving her tutoring location for the student’s safety. She told me she and her students were ‘perfectly safe’ in their spot. I told her it wasn’t her and her students I was worried about but me and mine getting hurt taking our eyes off what we were doing to look at nature’s outdoor beauties, and she laughed.”

“I couldn’t help it,” Satin said. “He blushed when he confessed what was going on like he was a colt. The way he said it and his openness about being distracted tickled me too.”

“I did try to phrase it politely,” Stormbreaker mock grumbled.

“It was almost poetic,” Satin praised.

“When she didn’t agree to the idea right away, I took a chance and offered to take her to dinner to make up for the inconvenience,” Stormbreaker told us. “Satin said she was agreeable, on the condition I bring her students some snacks for their next meeting since they would have to move their spot too. We shook hooves on those terms and we had dinner the next evening.”

“That’s so sweet!” Pinch said a little too loud. She covered her mouth with her hooves and slid down in her chair as ponies from other tables glanced in her direction.

Stormbreaker snorted. “It wasn’t sweet. It was a set up. When she and her students had their next meeting their ‘new spot’ was the same distance away but on the other side of the archer’s stations.”

I looked at Satin and mock scolded, “Sis, that’s not quite what you agreed to.”

Satin held her nose up in the air. “I beg to differ. I held up my end of the bargain and then some.” She looked toward Stormbreaker and asked, “Didn’t I?”

“Technically, yes you did.” Stormbreaker returned to addressing the table: “At the end of our even more distracted practice session, I headed over to deliver the promised snacks and speak with Satin again. Five of my students who wanted to listen in what I was going to say to ‘the new tutor you’re dating’ followed me. Thanks to them, I now know it takes less than a week for rumors about part-time instructors and tutors going out on a date to make it through the school.”

“They were so cute,” Satin told us. “It looked like they were following their big brother expecting something interesting.”

“Some big brother I turned out to be,” Stormbreaker said acting as if he were ashamed of himself.

“The fillies enjoyed it,” Satin teased.

“But the poor colts, I led them into a trap. Before I could say anything, Satin invited me and my students to join her and her students on the blankets they had laid out and share the snacks I brought and the cookies Satin provided.”

I chuckled before I could stop myself.

Stormbreaker looked in my direction with a raised eyebrow. “I take you’ve got an idea of what happened.”

I nodded. “You all agreed, settled down with them, you and the colts relaxed too much, and then the braiding of manes and tails stared,” I guessed.

“That’s right; she sprung the trap on us.” Stormbreaker dropped his head and ears in mock mourning. “It was nine on four. The poor colts and I never had a chance.”

Satin gave a polite cough. “I recall somepony looking dashing with a running braid and even saying so himself when shown a hoof mirror.”

“Do you have pictures?” Piña asked with her ears perked.

“She does,” Stormbreaker said. “She came prepared that day.”

Satin smiled. “I have photos of him and the colts and I have permission to share them all.”

Piña giggled and tapped her hooves together. “Did you bring them?”

Satin nodded. “I planned on showing them to Pin and your folks.”

“The blackmail potential could be staggering,” Rumble kidded.

Satin hugged Stormbreaker with a foreleg. “After seeing how he took everything that afternoon in stride I knew Stormbreaker was somepony special.”

Berry giggled. “Pinch, you heard the mare. He’s taken.”

Pinch blushed crimson. “Mom! I was imagining what he and the colts looked like.”

“I don’t know,” Barrel said through a fit of laughing. “You were looking at him hard there for a moment.”

“You’re right, she does have a thing for older colts,” Rumble whispered to Piña.

Piña nodded. “I told you.”

Pinch drew herself up and made a point of ignoring them. “Aunt Satin, could you show me how to braid somepony’s mane and tail like they do in Canterlot? I only know one basic braid.”

Satin’s eyes flashed with eagerness. “I would be glad to.”

“We can’t use Piña, though,” Pinch said. “She doesn’t like braids.” Giving her aunt a look, she added, “She won’t sit still long enough for them, anyway.”

“My mane and I like to be free,” Piña joked shaking her head enough to wave her mane.

Satin smiled in a feline manner and looked towards Thunderlane. “Then we’ll need another pony to work with.”

“I have a short tail like Stormbreaker’s!” Thunderlane said. “If you are planning on showing her tail braiding, I wouldn’t be a good candidate!”

Satin’s gaze went to Rumble.

For a second, Rumble’s eyes widened. His ears fell, and he looked towards the tabletop. “I uh… I can’t.” He fidgeted. “I mean, I shouldn’t.”

“Why not?” Satin asked in a comforting tone. “You have a nice mane and your tail is a little short, but it will work better than your brother’s or Stormbreakers.”

“He’s Piña’s, so it’s hooves off for me is what he means,” Pinch said.

“Oh, you’re dating my niece?” Satin asked.

“We’re not dating, we’re training,” Piña insisted, blushing. “He’s helping me get ready for the next Sisterhoove’s Social.”

“Would you let Piña braid your mane and tail then?” Satin asked Rumble. “I don’t want to leave her out, if she wants to learn too.”

Rumble looked toward Piña. When Piña looked at him with hopeful eyes, he nodded.

“Thank you!” Piña said and hugged Rumble.

“It’s got to be something cool like a competition braid, though,” Rumble said blushing to his ear tips.

“We can do that,” Satin assured. “Since Piña’ is in too that means we still need a candidate for Pinch.” Satin looked towards Barrel. “Short mane and tail too, so he won’t do.”

Barrel muttered something that sounded like, “Thank Celestia.”

“Before you get any ideas, no braids for me,” Berry said holding her hooves up in a warding motion. “I’m with Piña. I’ve tried braids a couple of times and they’re too uncomfortable.”

“Why can’t she braid your mane and tail?” Rumble asked Satin. “They’re pretty and the right length. I bet they would look great braided.”

Rumble’s comments gained him looks from both Stormbreaker and Piña. Stormbreaker seemed amused. Piña appeared to be a touch jealous.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Rumble defended himself, looking back and forth between Piña and Stormbreaker.

Satin, fighting a smile, answered, “I can’t teach her if I’m the one she’s braiding.”

Everypony turned towards me.

“I think we have a winner,” Thunderlane said. “All who agree raise their hooves.” He raised his hoof, starting the voting.

Everypony else at our table raised a hoof.

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or not,” I muttered.

I turned to Pinch, who looked up at me with puppy eyes.

“You two can braid my mane and tail,” I told her.

“Thank you!” Pinch leaned in her chair and gave me a hug.

“You’re welcome,” I said and patted her back with a hoof

“You and Rumble with both get an extra cookie tomorrow for helping us,” Satin promised.

“I think they might need two each,” Stormbreaker said.

Satin looked towards Stormbreaker. “Why two?”

Stormbreaker met eyes with Satin and smiled in a way that gave me the impression I was in trouble. “Pin needs to use up the rest of the roll of film in his camera. They’ll deserve the cookies for posing for Pinch’s and Piña’s pictures.”

“We get pictures too?!” Pinch’s ears perked up and her tail swished back and forth through the hole in the back of her chair.

“You do,” Satin told her. She then looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Right Pin?”

I should have known I would pay for taking that second picture, I berated myself. I turned to Pinch and nodded. “If you would like photos, I wouldn’t mind.”

Pinch beamed up at me. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” I put a hoof on my chest, put my nose in the air, and struck a pose. “You have to get my good side, though.”

Pinch giggled. “I’ll do my best.”

“You all right with pictures too, Rumble?” Satin asked him.

“I don’t know,” Rumble said. He turned toward Piña, who gave him a pleading look.

“The Wonderbolts and I have to do all kinds of shoots for our promotions and some of them get us out of our comfort zones,” Thunderlane told Rumble. “Consider this good practice for when you make it.”

Rumble seemed to consign himself to his fate. “As long as they don’t end up in the Foal Free Press, I guess I’m okay with it.”

I looked towards Satin and Stormbreaker, who were both giving me smug grins, and gave them a conceding half bow.

“There’s another story there, if I had to bet,” Berry said.

“Oh, there is,” Satin said.

Chapter 13

Leaning over the end of the platform on the tips of my hooves, I glimpsed the approaching train in the distance.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

“That’s adorable!” Pinch whispered.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

“He doesn’t have a clue he’s doing that does he?” Stormbreaker asked.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Satin gave an older sister’s sigh. “Not one.”

Swish. Swish. Swish.

“Uncle Pin, are you feeling okay?” Piña asked.

“I’m fine,” I assured her not taking my eyes off the train.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

“Somepony should say something,” Rarity implored. “The poor thing is drawing attention to himself.”

Swish. Swish. Swish.

“Pin, brother dearest, your tail,” Satin said.

“What?” I looked behind myself towards my tail, which was wagging on its own. “Oh.” I willed my wagging tail to stop, and it came to a halt.

“That should spare his dignity a little,” Rarity said.

I returned my attention to the tracks.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

My right ear flicked at the giggling and whispering that started behind me as if trying to warn me of something.

“Let me help you,” Satin said and caught my tail with her magic.

There was a hushed exchange between Satin and somepony and more giggling ensued.

Stormbreaker moved so he could stand beside me. “You missed her, didn’t you?”

“I did.” I smiled watching the train seemed to creep closer. “I didn’t realize how much until this morning.”

“I bet you were first in line at Rose’s,” Piña teased as she and Sweetie Belle joined me on my other side.

“I was second.”

Piña looked at me with surprise. “Who was first?”

“Spike,” I reported.

“No!” Piña looked devastated.

Pinch said from behind me, “He’s a good one, Sweetie. Keep hold of him.”

“I’ll do my best,” Sweetie said sounding a touch embarrassed.

Piña looked towards her niece. “Pinch?” she asked, sounding as if she was not believing what she was hearing.

I felt a slight pull on my tail. I started to turn, but halted when Pinch said, “Please hold still, Uncle Pin, I’m almost done.”

What does she mean ‘almost done’?, I asked myself.

“Spike came by this morning and asked Sweetie to breakfast and for permission to take her to the celebration,” Rarity said to Piña. “I’m so glad he did. Sweetie’s had a crush on him for the longest. She even sleeps with the plushie I made of him for her.”

“Rarity!” Sweetie said mortified.

“It was very kind of Pinch to help Sweetie get over her nerves so she could ask him,” Rarity continued. “Pin, I have to tell you that Spike’s suit looks marvelous.”

“Thank you.” Having connected the dots in my head, moving only my eyes, I glanced over to Stormbreaker. “They got me didn’t they?”

Stormbreaker chortled. “They might have.”

“And you two helped him distract me,” I accused Piña and Sweetie Belle, cutting my eyes to look at them.

They smiled up at me feigning fillies’ innocence.

“This is the style that I know,” Pinch said. “It’s not much.”

“It’s a classic braid that will never go out of style, and you did a great job,” Satin complemented. “It’s difficult to get everything to come out so even. Now I’ve seen what you can do, we can jump right into a more complex braid this evening.”

“Thanks for helping me,” Pinch said. “I wouldn’t have finished fast enough without you.”

“Any time,” Satin told her.

“Had I known something like this was going to happen, I would have brought a ribbon or two,” Rarity said.

I closed my eyes and sighed. “May I look now?”

“You’ve got more important things to focus on,” Stormbreaker said. “The train’s stopping.”

We all took steps back from the rail’s side of the platform as the train slowed to a halt and released a rush of steam.

I looked up and down the length of cars, wondering which one Coco would exit.

“Pinch,” Satin said in a whisper everypony could hear, “when you find a stallion who looks forwarding to seeing you that much, that’s the one for you.”

The train’s doors opened and ponies filed out from the cars onto the platform.

Stormbreaker jumped up and used his wings to hover under the platform’s roof. He cupped his hooves to his mouth and called, “Miss Coco Pommel and Miss Sassy Saddles, your party is waiting for you on the north side of the platform!”

“You have quite a voice,” Rarity said. “Thank you,” she told Stormbreaker as he landed back on the platform.

Piña hopped up and down. “There they are!”

Coco and a pony I guessed to be Sassy Saddles moved through the crowd towards us. Sassy Saddles, being the taller of the two, saw us first and pointed a hoof towards our group.

When Coco’s eyes met mine, we smiled at each other. I moved towards her, only to have to let a few ponies past. When they moved on, Coco closed the gap between us.

“Pin, you shouldn’t have,” Coco said, looking at the flowers.

“I’m so glad you’re back I didn’t know if I could put it into words. I hoped the flower would convey what I was feeling better than I could.”

Coco looked over the flowers for a second more and then hugged me. “I missed you too,” she said.

Keeping the flowers aloft in my magic, I held Coco close.

“What did he tell her with the flowers?” Piña asked Pinch.

“The pansies and zinnias mean remembrance,” Pinch said. “The white orchids are ‘I miss you flowers,’ and the violets mean devotion and loyalty.”

Sweetie asked, “What about the camellias?”

“When they’re pink like those are, camellias say I missed you, but they can also mean…” Pinch trailed off.

“What do they mean?” Piña insisted.

Coco leaned back from me and looked at me as if searching for answers in my eyes. “That his future is in my hooves.”

“Our turn!” Piña declared.

I stepped back from Coco, giving the fillies room enough to rush in and hug her.

“We missed you!” Sweetie told Coco.

“I missed you girls too.” Coco included all three fillies in her return hug.

“We made sure Uncle Pin behaved,” Piña reported.

“Thank you very much,” Coco said.

“We tried to get him to write you, but he didn’t have your address,” Pinch told Coco. “Rarity was out of town too, so we couldn’t ask her.”

“Rarity was with me in Manehatten for a community event.”

I looked towards Rarity. “You didn’t mention that you had seen Coco on your trip.”

Rarity grinned. “I got carried away, when I got back, and it slipped my mind.”

I chuckled. “True, we didn’t have much time to talk before Thunderlane took off with you.”

“After that, I had to get right to work on all my orders so I couldn’t stop by and will you in on what happened.”

“I understand that all too well,” I said to her.

“Speaking of filling my orders,” Rarity said and then hugged Sassy Saddles. “While I didn’t bring you any flowers, I am glad you’re here.”

“You didn’t have to bring me any flowers, Rarity.” Sassy Saddles returned Rarity’s hug and kissed both of her cheeks. “I’m always glad to see you.”

Piña turned to Pinch with an expression of disbelief. “I was wrong about her.”

“Wrong about what?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Rarity does have special relationships with her employees,” Piña said.

Sweetie Belle’s mouth dropped open.

Sassy Saddles broke into laughter while Rarity looked at Piña flabbergasted.

Satin leaned against Stormbreaker for support as they both laughed.

I snorted, did my best to suppress it, but gave into laughing myself.

Pinch, looking embarrassed, said, “Kissing on the cheeks is a formal way of saying hello in some countries and cultures, Piña.”

“Riiiight,” Piña said. “If I did something like that to Rumble, I’m sure he would think I’m saying ‘hello’.”

Coco, through her giggles, told Piña, “Pinch is right; that’s not what kissing on the cheeks the way Sassy did means.”

“While I adore Rarity,” Sassy Saddles told Piña, “we’re not special someponies.”

Piña’s ears folded in embarrassment and she looked down to the platform. “Sorry.”

“There is nothing to be sorry about. If I were ever interested in a marefriend, Rarity would be at the top of the list.” Sassy Saddles patted Piña’s shoulder with a hoof. “What’s your name, sweetie?”

“Piña Colada,” Piña said.

“I’m Sassy Saddles, nice to meet you.”

Pinch held out her hoof. “I’m Ruby Pinch, please to meet you. Please excuse my aunt.”

Sassy Saddles blinked and then shook Pinch’s offered hoof. “Your aunt?”

“I was a surprise,” Piña said. “Pinch and I are about the same age.”

“Speaking of surprises,” I said to Coco. I gestured toward Satin and Stormbreaker. “May I introduce my sister, Satin Stitching, and her fiancé, Stormbreaker.”

Coco tensed as she looked at the pair.

“Hello Miss Pommel,” Satin said with a wide smile. “My brother has been telling me all about you.”

“Just Coco, please,” Coco said, looking nervous. Her ears folded backwards, and she glanced towards me as if asking what she should do.

Satin’s smile lessened. “I see he has told you about me too.”

“A little,” Coco confirmed.

Satin’s ears fell. She looked toward the platform and said, “You must think I’m some kind of windigo.”

“Not at all, he said that you and he had a bad argument, but that he still loved you and he wanted his ‘older sister’ back.” Coco closed the distance between Satin and her and gave Satin a hug. “I’m sorry me being nervous about meeting somepony so special to him made you feel bad.”

Satin returned Coco’s hug. “Pin’s right, you are a sweetheart.”

Stormbreaker looked to me. “You’re brave, calling her ‘older’.”

I snorted and motioned at Satin with a hoof in a way that drew attention to her size. “I can’t call her my ‘big’ sister.”

“True,” Stormbringer conceded.

“Tell her,” Piña said with happy enthusiasm and poked me with a hoof.

Coco let go of Satin and looked to Piña. “Tell me what?”

“Satin and Stormbreaker are expecting,” I said.

Coco’s ears perked, and she turned back to Satin. “Congratulations.” She looked down towards Satin’s belly. “How far along are you?”

“Nearing the third trimester,” Satin said. She gave her belly a gentle pat with a hoof. “Before too long, I’ll be looking like a grape with legs.”

“Do you know what the foal will be?”

“We’re keeping everything a surprise, even from ourselves,” Stormbreaker answered. “What we know is that everything is going well with our little one.” He hugged Satin across her shoulders with a foreleg and nuzzled the top of her head. “Satin’s having some morning sickness and she eats spicy dishes that will make your eyes water from across the table, but I’m very glad to say she’s doing well overall too.”

“Second to last call for luggage pick up!” the train’s conductor announced.

“I’ll go get it,” I offered. “Miss Saddles, what does your luggage look like?”

“We brought more than our bags,” Sassy Saddles warned. “I don’t think you can carry it all on your own.”

“You worry about the cart, Pin, I’ll help Coco and Sassy with the rest,” Rarity said.

“I’ll go get hitched up,” I said. “I’ll carry your flowers to the cart, Coco.”

“Thank you.”

I did not take five steps before I heard Coco make a surprised noise.

“Do you like it?” Pinch asked.

“It looks very nice,” Coco said with a touch of a giggle in her voice. “I take it you did it?”

Crab apples, I forgot about my tail, I thought to myself.

“Satin helped so we could get it done before your train got here,” Pinch said. “She’s going to show me how to braid like they do in Canterlot to-“

Satin touched Pinch’s nose with a hoof. “Let’s not ruin any surprises.”

I steeled myself, looked over my shoulder, and swung my tail so I could see it. Pinch and Satin had put my tail into a fishtail braid.

“I think it looks rather good on him,” Rarity said.

“Yes it does,” Coco said, meeting my eyes and giving me a teasing smile. “It accents the fact he’s been getting ready for the Running of the Leaves very well.”

*****

“Thank you all!” Rarity said. “It would have taken me all day to put everything away and it would have been all but impossible for me to have brought it all here on my own.”

Coco put the last box into its place in Rarity’s workroom. “We’re glad we could help.”

Piña, Pinch, Sassy Saddles, Sweetie Belle and I nodded in agreement.

“I owe you all dinner for the all the help you have given me. But that will have to be some other day.” Rarity struck a dramatic, determined pose. “Now, we get to work on these orders.”

Rarity levitated her glasses and measuring tape to herself. Her glasses landed on her nose with practiced precision and her tape measure draped across her neck as if it knew its rightful place.

I gave the three seamstresses a bow. “I will take my leave then. I’ve got my own pile of orders to contend with.”

“Take Coco with you,” Rarity said. “I would suggest you two getting a nice lunch and catching up, before diving into your work.”

I looked to Coco, who seemed as surprised as I was that Rarity would make such an announcement.

“As much I would love to have her help, don’t you need all hooves on deck so you can catch back up from your trip?” I asked Rarity.

“Sassy and I can manage for the time being. I will need both her and Coco for the next couple of days after today, though.” Rarity gave me a wicked smile. “We three can negotiate who gets to keep her for how long after that.”

“Him, for as long as possible,” Piña muttered.

Sassy Saddles smiled and leaned down close to Piña’s height. “I don’t think that’s quite what she meant,” she whispered.

“Pin, could I ask you a favor?” Rarity said with a spark in her eyes.

“I’ll do what I can to help,” I assured.

“I only have one guest room, and Sassy will need a place to stay. Could Coco stay with you for a few days?”

I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks as I looked to Coco. “Since Satin and Stormbreaker are here, if she wants, she can sleep in my bed-“

Piña and Sweetie gasped and looked at me with disbelief.

“-and I’ll sleep on the couch or in the study,” I finished.

Pinch gave Piña and Sweetie a look. “Uncle Pin’s a gentlecolt. Did you really think he would share a bed with her?”

“If he nibbles on her like Rarity says he does, he might,” Sweetie said.

“I’m with her, whether or not he nibbles Coco,” Piña said. “You saw his reaction when she kissed his nose on the first night they got together and the look she had today looking at his tail.” She stood tall and beamed. “I’m looking forward to being a three times aunt. This could help speed things up.”

I felt my blush reach my ears.

Coco’s cheeks turned rosy, and she put a hoof to her mouth to hide her smile.

“Piña!” Pinch said. “I don’t think they’re ready for that.”

“How long have they been a couple?” Sassy Saddles asked.

“Over half a year now,” Sweetie said.

Sassy Saddles hummed and tilted her head back and forth as if considering things. “Then it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

“Sassy!” Coco protested.

“Coco, I think we should go while we still have our dignities intact.” My ears snapped back, and I flinched. “If you want to stay at my place.”

“If she wishes to stay here, that would be fine,” Rarity said, with a smile that told she was enjoying the way things were playing out. “Sassy could stay with you, if you were agreeable.”

“I don’t know if Miss Saddles would be comfortable staying with a stallion she just met,” I said in as neutral of a tone as possible.

“Sassy.”

I looked towards Sassy Saddles. “Excuse me?”

“You don’t have to be so formal.” Sassy smiled showing too many teeth. “If I’m going to be staying with you, it would get tiresome if we keep on calling each other miss and mister.”

“I’ll be staying with him,” Coco said in an unamused tone.

“You go Miss Coco!” Piña cheered and hopped up and down. When everypony looked at her, Piña’s ears pinned back. She gave a weak laugh, lowered down, and grinned. “Sorry.”

Pinch closed her eyes and put a hoof to her forehead.

“Thank you girls, for helping us bring everything in.” Using her magic, Rarity opened a draw with her magic and levitated each filly some bits. “Please, go to Sugar Cube Corner and treat yourselves to something.”

“Thank you Miss Rarity, but we can’t take your bits,” Pinch said looking up from the coins in her hoof.

“You three earned them by helping this afternoon,” Rarity stated. “You shall not try to return them or I will have to have words with your parents.”

“Don’t argue with her,” Sweetie Belle warned in a hushed tone. “Apple Bloom and Scoots tried it one time, and it didn’t go well for either of them.”

“Thank you Miss Rarity,” Piña and Pinch said together.

“Thanks, Sis,” Sweetie said a second later.

“You’re welcome.” Rarity escorted us to the shop’s back door and outside. “You three run along,” she prompted the fillies. “Sugar Cube Corner closes early today.”

Sweetie Belle grinned at Piña and Pinch. “Let’s go!”

Rarity giggled as the three fillies ran off. “They’re still not as happy as Pin was about you coming back, Coco.” She looked to Coco and smiled. “His tail even wagged when he saw the train. Pinch and Satin decided to ‘help’ him control it by holding it still and braiding it.”

“I’m sorry I missed that,” Sassy said.

“So am I,” Coco said and grinned at me. “I thought I saw somepony doing something with your tail, but I couldn’t tell what was going on.”

“It was precious,” Rarity said.

Sassy shooed Coco and me with a hoof. “You two go on. We all have work to do.”

“I’ll get your luggage,” I offered.

“Thank you, but I can wrangle my luggage.” Sassy moved towards the cart. “You focus on…” She stopped and tilted her head at something I could not see. “Well, hello there. What are you doing peeking around the corner?”

“I’m sorry for hiding,” Rumble said as he stepped into view. His ears were pinned back, and his tail half tucked. “I came to see Miss Rarity and ask a favor, but I didn’t want them to see me.”

“Who did you not want to see you?” Sassy asked.

“Piña, Pinch, and Sweetie, I was just about to come around the corner when they came out the back door. I’m not some kind of creep, I promise. I was going to knock, once you were through talking and went back inside.”

“The thought a cutie like you was a creep never crossed my mind.” Sassy smiled at him. “Why didn’t you come to the front?”

“Miss Rarity’s shop is closed on the weekends,” Rumble said. “Thunderlane said that he thought it would be okay if I came to the back door since I’m delivering something for him too.” His ears shot up as if he had thought of something. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t even introduce myself. My name is Rumble. My brother, Thunderlane-”

“Is Rarity’s coltfriend,” Sassy finished for him. “Rarity was right, you are adorable.”

Rumble blushed. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“I’m Sassy Saddles.” She gave him a wink. “Please, call me Sassy.”

Rumble’s blush darkened. He nodded, seeming to have lost his ability to speak.

“Sassy, don’t tease the dear,” Rarity said. She walked over to Rumble. “How are you doing, Rumble?”

“I’m just fine.” Rumble took an envelope from under his wing and gave it to Rarity. “This is for you, from Thunderlane.”

“Thank you.” Rarity gave Rumble a smile and gave him an intrigued look. “What favor were you going to ask?”

Rumble’s front hooves trotted in place in a nervous display. “I know that you’re not open today, but I want to buy something from you. It’s nothing big, but you’re the only one in Ponyville that has what I’m looking for.”

“You must be looking for something specific, if that is the case,” Rarity said. She smiled at Rumble. “While my shop is closed, I’m always happy to help a friend.”

Rumble beamed at her. “Thank you. Miss Applejack said you would help.”

Rarity gave him a surprised look. “You spoke with Applejack about something in my boutique?”

Rumble nodded. “She told me you were the one that sold her the mane and tail braids she wears.”

“I do.” Rarity studied Rumble for a second, one of her ears at an angle. “Do you need some?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“With your mane and tail, you could wear whatever color you want,” Sassy said.

“They’re not for me,” Rumble told Sassy. “They’re for my training partner.”

“For Piña?” Rarity asked with a knowing grin.

“Sometimes when we train her mane or her tail bothers her. During one of our practices, she said she wished that she had mane and tail bands like Applejack does to keep them out of the way.”

“That’s very thoughtful, but why the rush?” Rarity asked.

“Miss Satin is planning to show her and Pinch different braiding styles later, but Piña doesn’t like to have her mane and tail braided. I thought she might feel left out if Satin and the girls started braiding everypony’s manes and tales and she couldn’t do anything with hers.”

“So you’re going to surprise her,” Sassy said.

Rumble nodded. “I wanted to give them to her tonight. That’s why I had to come see Miss Rarity today.”

“That’s so precious!” Satin cooed. She looked at Rarity. “Are all the stallions like him here in Ponyville?”

“Not all of them, but a good number are,” Rarity told her.

Sassy grinned. “I may have to visit Ponyville more often.”

“Consider my boutique open to you,” Rarity said to Rumble and gestured towards the back door. “Let’s see which ones you think she would like.”

Coco looked to me as Rarity led Rumble and Sassy into the shop and shut the door. “He’s getting his ‘training partner’ mane and tail bands?”

“Rumble likes to play things cool,” I told her. “Thunderlane thinks Rumble has the idea that ‘training partner’ sounds better than ‘special somepony’. Berry told me that Piña said to her that making a big deal about liking a colt would get her teased in school. The two of them seem to have some agreement to keep up the act.”

Coco looked up at me. “Since we’re training for the Running of the Leaves together, would you like to be your ‘training partner’ rather than your ‘special somepony’ too?”

“Hmmm…” I made an act of thinking about her question, before answering, “I think we should leave things just as they are.”

“You’re not worried about being seen as a cool?” she teased.

“I can’t say I’ve ever worried about begin cool. Besides, even if we quit training together you would still be precious to me so ‘special somepony’ focuses on the important thing.”

Coco put her nose under my chin, raised my head with a gentle nudge, and then, rubbing her cheek across mine as she moved closer, hugged me.

I hugged her back and put my cheek on the top of her head. While I held her, I wondered what was going through her mind.

“You’re overthinking things again,” she said.

I laughed. “How could you tell?”

“You’re holding me like I might break.” She gave me a squeeze firm enough to make me grunt. She looked up at me and grinned. “You don’t have to worry about that, I promise.”

“I knew you were strong, but you moving those boxes was something else.” I adjusted how I was holding her, guided her close, and kissed her.

The back door to Rarity’s shop opened.

“Well now!” Sassy stepped through and shut the door. “I was planning on bringing in my luggage. I wasn’t expecting a show.” She grinned at us. “I take it you couldn’t wait to get him home, Coco?”

Coco sighed and dropped her forehead to my chest.

*****

Coco grumbled, as I worked the lock to the back door, “Sassy sure lives up to her name.”

“I think she likes to tease you like Thunderlane does me.” I opened the door and levitated Coco’s luggage ahead of us. “I read the books you recommend.”

Coco’s ears perked up. “What did you think?”

“Both were great. I enjoyed the Pony of the Opera and I got a lot from Aloe’s and Lotus’ book.” I kissed the tip of Coco’s ear. “I liked their chapter on how to do spontaneous things to show appreciation to the special pony in your life. It gave me tons of ideas.”

“You do more than enough.” Coco smiled and booped my nose with a hoof. “As much as I would like us to continue, with our luck somepony will interrupt us.”

We stepped inside, and I shut the door behind us.

“Things will settle down by the end of the week. Satin and Stormbreaker will be gone, and the requests for the shop will slow down since the celebration is the week after.” I smiled at her, leaned my head down, and presented my ear to her. “I will still sneak in moments for us, though.” I wiggled my ear like a lure.

Coco laughed. “You liked the nibble I gave you didn’t you?”

I nodded.

She kissed my ear tip as I had hers. When I looked up at her, she kissed my nose. “I missed you, you silly pony.”

She and I turned as the apartment’s door opened and hoofsteps came down the stairs.

“You had it pegged,” I said and drew back up to standing.

“Pin, Satin would like to know-” Stormbreaker looked at Coco and me and then her luggage. He grinned ear to ear. “She’s moving in?”

“She will be staying here while Sassy is in town.” Coco gave me a look that made me pause. “At least that was my understanding.”

Coco smiled, but did not say a word.

“Seems you could have a new housemate,” Stormbreaker said.

When Coco did not rebut Stormbreaker’s statement, a part of my mind was overjoyed that such a thing seemed like a possibility rather than dreaming on my part while another part warned it was too good to be true.

“Where is she going to sleep?” Stormbreaker asked.

“I wanted to talk about that with you and Satin.”

“She could sleep with us, if Satin’s up for it.” Stormbreaker looked to Coco and deadpanned, “Just to warn you, Satin snores.”

I snorted. “That’s not what I meant.”

The apartment’s door opened again. “Storm?” Satin asked.

Stormbreaker leaned so he could look up the stairwell. “I’m here.”

“Is everything all right?”

Stormbreaker smiled. “Sort of, we were just talking about how we would need your input on something.”

We could hear Satin’s hoofsteps coming down the stairs. “What are you and Pin up to?”

Stormbreaker stepped aside so Satin could move past him. “Nothing much, we were just discussing how we would arrange things.”

“Arrange what?” Satin asked and stepped into the workroom. She looked at Coco and then to the luggage I still held in my magic. Her ears perked, and she smiled at Coco. “You’re moving in?!”

“Sassy will be staying with Rarity, so I offered for Coco to stay here,” I explained. “Since you two are in the guest bedroom, she can have my bed.”

“She can have the guest bedroom,” Satin said. “We call the study and the nest.”

Stormbreaker raised a wing. “I second that.”

Coco looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Nest?”

“You haven’t shown her Nana’s nest?!” Satin asked.

“Well… no,” I confessed.

Stormbreaker shook his head at me and told Coco, “He’s been holding out on you.”

“It never came up,” I defended myself. “Besides, it would sound weird if I invited her out of the blue.” I changed my voice to sound sinister and made a gesture as if inviting somepony to accompany me. “Lovely lady, would you like to come and try the special chair in my backroom?”

Satin rolled her eyes. “It would if you said it like that.”

Stormbreaker glanced over at Satin. “I think he’s been practicing his villain voice. That sounded too authentic. Should we be concerned?”

Not dignifying Stormbreaker’s comments with a response, I told Coco, “Nana’s nest is a cloud chair that my grandfather made for my grandmother so they could have the feeling of being on a cloud together whenever they wanted.”

“I’d like to try that sometime,” Coco said.

“It’s a great spot to cuddle up with some pony since...” Satin looked to me with an expression of disappointed understanding. “You planned to show her the chair when you thought she was comfortable with you.”

“After Coco and I became special someponies, it crossed my mind to show her the chair, but the opportunity never came up,” I admitted.

Coco smiled at me. “So, you were going to lure me to your secret lair and snuggle me?”

“If he ever turns into a super villain that sounds like the type of thing he would do,” Satin said.

Coco giggled. “That doesn’t seem too nefarious to me. I think some ponies, me included, would like to have that kind of ‘villain’ around.”

Satin dismissed Coco’s words with a wave of a hoof. “He’s too cautious and shy for something like that.”

“I know,” Coco said. “I’m working with him on that.”

Satin gave her a conspiring smile. “I could give you some tips. I know all his weak points.”

“I would appreciate that,” Coco said and gave Satin a return smile.

I chuckled and shook my head. “To think I worried you two wouldn’t get along.”

*****

I held up the jacket in my magic, turned it through a full rotation, and nodded. “This looks ready.” I put the jacket on a hanger and moved it to the nearest rack.

I paused and looked towards Coco.

She was humming what sounded like a show tune while, with deft hooves, she ran material through a sewing machine. She never changed the rhythm of the hoof she was using on the treadle to power the machine’s action, even as she maneuvered the cloth in a curve.

I smiled, thinking she seemed to be moving in a choreographed production more than working.

“Admiring her pedal work?” Satin said, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I snapped my attention to Satin. To me it seemed as if she and Stormbreaker, who stood beside her, had appeared out of thin air. “When did you get here?”

“About two minutes ago,” Stormbreaker said and chuckled. “We’ve been watching you watch her. You were the perfect example of what somepony having a smitten smile looks like.”

Satin raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised at you. For somepony that’s as shy as you to stare at a mare’s hind quarters like you were was rather bold.”

“I was focused on her humming and sewing, not her working the treadle,” I defend myself.

Satin grinned. “So you deny admiring her physique along with her technique?”

“Coco, you may want in on this conversation,” Stormbreaker invited.

Coco slowed the sewing machine to a stop. “Well, hello,” she greeted and smiled, after turning to us. “What’s going on?”

“I was asking Pin what his opinion on your pedaling was, since he had stopped to stare at you,” Satin said.

Coco looked at me with a confused expression.

“I just finished up a jacket and stopped to listen to you hum and watch how skillful you are with the sewing machine,” I told her. “It was great to see you enjoying what you were doing.”

Stormbreaker poked me in the shoulder with a hoof. “And,” he prompted.

“I’ve been trying to to tell them your work with the treadle is superb, but Satin is twisting things,” I said to Coco. “I was looking at you, but my focus-”

“Seemed to be on a particular aspect of you and how you were powering the machine,” Satin supplied for Coco.

Coco smirked. “Has he told you about Berry finding out he memorized my cutie mark?”

“No!” Satin said looking astounded. “My brother?”

“I have to defend Pin on this one, as a fellow stallion,” Stormbreaker said. “There are times it’s difficult not to admire a mare’s rear assets.” He gave Satin’s hip a light bump with his own. “I noticed you have princess level flanks associated with your cutie marks right away.”

Stormbreaker paused and seemed to lose himself in thought.

Satin raised an eyebrow as she looked at him. “Dare I ask what is going through that head of yours?”

Stormbreaker put a hoof to his chin and hummed exaggeratedly. “Now that I’ve thought about it, I would have to put you up there with Luna, who is second only to Cadance.”

Satin gave him a disbelieving look. “You rank Cadance over Celestia, Luna, and Twilight?”

Stormbreaker nodded with conviction. “Twilight’s flanks, while nice, are like most ponies’, so she’s at the bottom of the princess’ bottoms list. Celestia’s are a significant step up, but she’s so composed and regal it limits their appeal to me.”

“Ranking Luna high, I can understand,” Satin said. “She has lithe haunches like a dancer’s.” She tilted her head and drew in a hissing breath through her teeth. “Putting Cadance at the top… I don’t know about that one.”

I stood in stunned silence at the brazenness of their conversation.

Coco covered her mouth with a hoof and did her best to smother her laughter.

“Cadance has hot mom’s flanks. There is something extra appealing about those kinds of curves to some stallions, including me.” Stormbreaker kissed Satin and then touched his nose against hers. “I must I rank her above you only because she a princess of a foreign nation and saying anything against her flanks could cause an international incident. I don’t think our princesses would mind me saying that you match them or have them beat. If I’m wrong and they’re somehow listening to us, please come visit me in prison now and then.”

Satin tapped Stormbeaker’s nose with a hoof. “I think the princesses have better things to do with their time than eavesdrop on random ponies. I also think you’re being biased. I don’t have my ‘hot mom’ flanks yet, so Luna has to have me beat, if we’re being objective.”

“Not your toned, satin smooth flanks she doesn’t,” Stormbreaker said with conviction. “When you get your mom’s flanks, you’re sure to displace Cadance at the top of the list for me whether it causes an international incident or not.”

“You’re such a loveable mess.” Satin gave Stormbreaker a kiss. “I’m glad you’re mine.”

“I thought Mom and Dad had a weird relationship,” I said shaking my head and smiling. “You two have them beat.”

The workroom’s clock chimed quarter past the hour.

“I almost forgot why we came down here,” Satin said. “We’re here to remind you to stop working. We were going to pack everything up for the get-together, but we couldn’t find the picnic stuff.”

“I can show you where it is,” I said.

“Let me put my stuff up and I’ll help too,” Coco said.

A knock on the back door made us pause.

“I’ll get it,” I said.

Satin looked to me. “Did you invite somepony over? This an odd time for a random knock on the door.”

“Not me,” I said. “I take it from your question you didn’t either.”

As I moved toward the door, Satin asked, “Were you expecting anypony?”

“Not me,” Coco said.

“Not me either,” Stormbreaker said.

“Maybe it’s Berry or one of the girls coming over about something with our plans tonight,” I offered as an explanation.

“That would fit,” Satin said.

I opened the door and froze at the sight of Mom and Dad.

“Hello, Son,” Dad said, with a slight grin. “Surprise.”

Chapter 14

I shook myself out of my state of shock. “Mom? Dad? Is everything okay?”

Mom grabbed me in a bear hug. “I could not stand it anymore. With you two having your fight, Satin having her problems, and you both overworking I-” She paused and took a calming breath. “I apologize for showing up like this, but I needed to see you two.”

I returned her hug. “Mom, it’s fine.” I patted her back. “At least neither of us passed out twice to prompt a visit this time.”

Mom gave me a disapproving look. “While I appreciate the attempt at humor, I would prefer you not joke about that.”

Dad moved to stand beside Mom and rubbed her shoulder with a hoof. “She was not the only one concerned. Satin promised to write as soon as she got here. When we didn’t get a letter, we both got worried.”

I heard hoofsteps approach from behind me.

“Hello again,” Coco said.

“Miss Coco!” Mom let go of me and hugged Coco. “What a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think we would see you this evening.”

“It’s good to see you too,” Coco told her, returning Mom’s hug.

“Has Pin been behaving?” Mom asked letting Coco go.

Coco released Mom and nodded. “I just got back into town today, but from what I can tell he has been.”

“Where did you venture off to?” Dad asked.

“I went back to Manehattan to help with an annual community play.”

“That had to be an interesting experience.”

Coco smiled and nodded. “It turned out to be a lot more involved than I expected.”

Dad looked past us. “There’s Satin, dear. I don’t recognize the fellow with her, though.”

Mom assured, “We will soon find out.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that.” Stormbreaker asked Satin, “Should I make a run for it?”

“Hold still,” Satin advised. “If you show fear and bolt, she will hunt you down and make you pay for the extra effort when she catches you.”

“That sounds about right,” Dad said, gaining him a glare from Mom.

Mom walked over to Satin and hugged her. “You worried me.”

Satin hugged Mom back. “I’m sorry. I should have written, but it slipped my mind. I’ve been busy trying to mend bridges, bake cookies, and reconnect with ponies here.”

Mom and Satin let go of each other.

Mom turned her attention to Stormbreaker. “My name is Intense Study. May I know your name, sir?”

“My name is Stormbreaker.” He gave Mom a bow. “It is a pleasure meeting you. I was looking forward to meeting you, but I was not expecting to so soon.”

Mom studied Stormbreaker with an intimidating amount of intensity. “You competed against my son in ice archery in the Equestria games and took the gold medal.”

Stormbreaker returned to standing. “I did.”

“How did you come to know Satin?”

“I am a part time ice archery instructor at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. She and I met each other there while she was tutoring one day.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “You’re her special somepony. That is why you were both acting like you needed to protect each other from me.” Mom snorted. “Do not look so surprised, I saw how you shifted your stances towards each other when I walked over. It is a classic response to a threat by ponies who care for each other.”

“He’s more than my coltfriend,” Satin said, sounding more like a filly than I had heard her in a long time.

Mom turned her head towards Satin and prompted her to continue with her expression.

“He’s my fiancé and the father of our foal.”

Mom swayed for a second and then collapsed more than she sat down.

“Dear?” Dad asked, brushing past Coco and me in his rush to get to Mom.

Satin put a steadying hoof on Mom’s shoulder. “Mom?”

“You are with foal.” Mom said in a disbelieving whisper.

Dad got to Mom and hugged her from the side to steady her.

“I am going to be a grandmother,” Mom said, sounding a little more like herself.

“Is it going to be a colt or filly?” Dad asked Satin.

“We don’t know,” Satin responded.

“Do you know what tribe of pony the foal will be?” Dad followed up.

“We didn’t want to know that either,” Satin said. “We know things are going well so far and that is about it.”

“We will love our foal as they come,” Stormbreaker said.

“You have to know to plan,” Mom said looking to Satin. “What school will the foal attend? Cloudsdale’s Flight Academy? Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns? You need to start thinking about these things now, before your windows of opportunity to get the foal into a good school close.”

Satin had tensed up as if she were a foal getting a lecture.

“Dear,” Dad kissed Mom’s temple. “We can help them figure the rest out later. Look what you are doing to Satin.”

Mom took a deep, slow breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. “You are right.” She gave a feeble attempt at a smile. “You were going hold off telling us till the last minute, were you not?”

“I haven’t been hiding it. So far, it’s been such an easy process I didn’t even suspect I was pregnant until a few days before you took your trip here.”

“That was an unresponsive answer,” Mom said. “Were you going to tell us or not?”

“I was going to hold off,” Satin admitted. “After seeing how you two freaked out over Pin coming, I wasn’t looking forward to seeing how you would react to my being pregnant.”

“You remember our arguments over where he would go to school and all of that, don’t you,” Dad said sounding remorseful. “We tried to have them away from you so you would hear, but it seems we weren’t as successful as we had hoped.”

Satin nodded. “Beyond the fighting, you two seemed to want to plan every step of his life before he even got here. As a filly that bothered me not just for his sake, but because I realized you two must of have done the same for me. When you are nine, that leaves an impression.”

“You think I would do that with your foal too?” Mom asked Satin.

Satin ears fell, and she seemed to steel herself. “I think your ‘advice’ could bec- “

“No! No! No!” Piña raced into the room and put herself between Mom and Satin. “Satin can’t get upset! Please, whatever you’re arguing about, stop!”

Wondering where Piña had appeared from, I looked to the back door. In the still open doorway stood Pinch.

Pinch glanced around at the group of us in the workroom looking concerned and confused.

Piña hugged Mom and looked up to her with almost frantic eyes. “Please stop! Even if she’s wrong, stop! Please!”

Mom smiled at Piña, even as tears went down her cheeks. “I will, sweetie.” Mom hugged her back and nuzzled the top of her head. “I will.”

Satin let out a breath as some tension left her.

Stormbreaker cupped Satin to his side with a wing. “You okay?”

“I’m okay,” Satin said in a less than convincing voice.

Pinch walked up to me and asked in a hushed tone. “What is going on?”

“Mom and Dad surprised us and dropped in to check on me and Satin,” I told her.

“They just found out about the foal,” Pinch stated as if she were certain. Pinch drew in a breath as if she were bracing for something and gave me a quick hug. “Wish me luck,” she whispered and let me go, before I could even react.

Pinch walked up to Dad. “Hello, Uncle Insight,” she said to him and held out her hoof. “I’m glad you’re back.”

Dad smiled, gave her a slight bow of his head, and shook her hoof. “I’m glad to see you too.”

Piña let go of Mom and gave Pinch room to take her place in hugging Mom.

“I’m glad to see you again too, Aunt Study.” Pinch looked up at Mom and smiled. “You came back on the perfect evening.”

Mom sniffed and returned Pinch’s hug. “We did?”

“We’re having a potluck picnic at the park with friends and ponies who know Satin and Stormbreaker. Mom and Aunt Satin organized it yesterday. It’s going to be a congratulations event for them and what Mom said would be a ‘last time we will have a free night till the celebration is over’ dinner and get-together.”

Seeming to follow Pinch’s lead, Piña smiled up at Mom. “We will have lots of food,” Piña said to Mom. “Miss Bon Bon promised to some of her chocolates for dessert too.”

“You are both very kind. But I would feel awkward if we just showed up uninvited,” Mom said.

“Mom, Dad,” Satin said. “Would you like to come to the get-together?”

Mom looked up at Satin as if surprised.

“I would love to have you there,” Satin told them as tears formed in her eyes.

Piña hurried over and gave Satin a careful hug. “They’ll come.” She looked at Mom with imploring eyes. “Won’t you?”

“We will,” Dad said. “Now we know that our foals are fine, we have nothing to worry about and much to celebrate.” He gave Mom a squeeze around the shoulders. “Right, dear?”

“You are right,” Mom agreed. Mom gave Pinch a little squeeze. “What brought you two sweethearts over?”

“Berry and Barrel sent me and Pinch to help carry stuff for Aunt Satin,” Piña said.

Pinch snorted. “Dad sent us over because Mom and Piña are herding over Aunt Satin and making us crazy. He told me, ‘Take your aunt over there and help them out before she and your mother drive us both nuts,’ and here we are.”

“I wasn’t being that bad,” Piña said.

Pinch rolled her eyes. “Compared to Mom, I’ll agree, but that’s not saying much.”

Piña stuck her nose up in the air. “We can’t help that we are sensitive ponies who look after our family and friends.” She looked up at Satin and smiled. “What can we do to help?”

Satin giggled. “You wouldn’t know where Pin keeps the picnic stuff would you?”

“I would,” Dad said. “If Pin hasn’t moved it from its traditional spot, that is.”

“It’s all still there in the hall closet,” I told him.

“I’ll show them where it is,” Dad volunteered.

“Before you go, I want you to hear this,” Mom said. She looked to Stormbreaker and pointed a hoof at him. “I need you to answer two questions.”

“I’ll be glad to,” Stormbreaker said.

“Do you love my daughter?”

Stormbreaker smiled. “With every part of my being,” he said without hesitation and with unquestionable sincerity.

Mom followed up with, “What aspect of her do you value most?”

Stormbreaker blinked. “What part do I value most?” He looked toward Satin and scanned her from horn tip to her hooves. “I cherish all of her. It’s cruel to make me choose just one piece when she’s magnificent from top to bottom.”

“Please, do not repeat the compliments you have given my bottom to my mother,” Satin quipped.

Mom smirked. “We will discuss such things later, Satin. I would like my answer, Mister Stormbreaker.”

“I can’t choose a part of her, or her personality, and I’ll show you why.” Stormbreaker looked to Piña, who was still holding on to Satin. “May I borrow my fiancé for a moment?”

Piña nodded and let go of Satin.

Stormbreaker moved to sit just behind Satin, who leaned back against him and looked up at him with a bright smile as if she knew what he was going to do.

“Satin and I go together as if we were made for each other. I am not saying we don’t have our disagreements and that everything is smiles and rainbows all the time, but our personalities and values are so similar it’s sometimes scary. She’s my friend, my love, and will be the mother of our foal.” He looked down at Satin and waggled his eyebrows. “Maybe even our foals, if she decides she would like to have another one.”

“Let’s see how this adventure goes first,” Satin said, looking up at him.

Stormbreaker kissed Satin’s nose. “Back to my point, Satin has the mind and talent of a business mare.” He wrapped Satin with his left wing. “She has the heart and soul of a teacher.” He then wrapped his right wing around Satin and held her close.

The only parts that could be seen of Satin were her neck and head, her hooves, and a small portion of her haunches, the rest of her was blanketed by Stormbreaker’s wings.

Satin turned a bit, tucked her head against Stormbreaker, and hummed a happy note.

“Satin fits me as a whole pony, and I try to do the same for her.” Stormbreaker kissed the top of Satin’s head. “I can’t choose just one part of her to love more than another without ruining our fit together.”

Mom smiled and nodded. “Not what I had expected, but a very good answer.”

“I have a question for you, Satin,” Dad said, looking like he was doing his best not to smile. “Can we assume that you and Pin have made amends, since he let you braid his tail again?”

Satin laughed. “We have made up, but I can’t take all the credit for Pin’s tail. I prompted things and helped, but I didn’t do most of the work.”

Pinch raised her hoof. “It was me.”

“You did a very nice job,” Dad told her.

“Thank you.” Pinch looked over to me. “I’m glad that you liked it and kept it all day, but can I undo that braid real quick? I would like to use your mane and tail for Satin’s lesson, if that’s still okay.”

“Sure,” I told her. “I’ll have to comb it out first, before you can use it again.”

“We can handle that for you, can’t we?” Coco said, looking toward Pinch and giving her a hinting smile. “I have a brush and comb set that should work perfect with his tail in my bags.”

Pinch smiled back at Coco. “That would be great! Having two ponies working on his tail will make things go a lot faster.”

“In your bags?” Mom said. “That would mean that you would need to make a trip to Rarity’s, which may not save you that much time overall.”

“It won’t take much time at all,” Satin said and at me with the smile she reserved when she knew she was about to stir things up between Mom and me. “Coco’s bags are here.”

Mom turned to Satin, one of her ears pointed straight up with interest while the other folded sideways as if questioning what it had heard. “Did you just say that her bags are here?”

“They are,” I said. “Rarity has been out-of-town fixing a friendship problem and brought in somepony from Canterlot to help her catch up with her orders. I offered for Coco to stay with me, while Miss Sassy Saddles stays with Rarity. Coco’s bags are in the guest room.”

“Your mother and I could stay at the inn,” Dad offered. “We dropped in unannounced, after all.”

I shook my head. “If I had to bet, the inn will be booked solid, with the celebration coming up. Coco can have my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“That is very kind of you,” Mom said. “Your father and I will only be here for two days, and then we will need to return to Canterlot. Then you and Coco can work out your long term sleeping arrangements.”

*****

I levitated the last of the plates from the picnic table and stacked them.

“That was one of the best meals I have had in a long time,” Sassy said, as she gathered silverware from the table.

“It was great,” I agreed. “For one of us, it may have been too good.”

I looked over to Barrel, who was lying on his side on overlapping picnic blankets close to the gazebo. His family, Dinky, Muffins, and Turner were with him in an after dinner repose on the blankets.

“You all right over there?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.” Barrel rolled onto his back and half curled his legs like a dead bug. “I’m stuffed, I can tell you that much,” he groaned.

Piña poked Barrel’s belly with a hoof. “Where did you put all of that?”

“I’m not sure, but it fit in there somewhere.”

“You’re going to have a tummy ache,” Piña warned.

Barrel chuckled. “It will be worth it.”

“You have to try this,” Pinch said to Dinky. She got up from her spot, walked to Barrel’s far side, and then rested her upper body on Barrel’s stomach, earning her a grunt from Barrel. “Dad has a nice, warm belly, when he’s full. Mom says when I was little I used to take naps on it after we ate.” She put her head down on Barrel’s stomach. “Come on.”

Barrel raised his head and looked between his forelegs at Pinch. “Don’t I get a say in this?”

“When it’s something this cute, no,” Berry said to him.

Dinky looked to Berry as if needing her permission to act.

She grinned and nodded to Dinky. “Go ahead.”

Dinky got up and joined Pinch in resting her chest against Barrel’s midsection, drawing another grunt from Barrel. “Ooo, he is nice and warm.”

“Put your head down,” Piña said. “It’s even better.”

She put her head down close to Barrel’s ribs. “I see what you were talking about. I could take a nap right here.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Pinch said.

“Oh, no, you two don’t,” Barrel said. Catching Pinch with a foreleg, before she could escape, he rolled back onto his side and tumbled Pinch, who laughed the whole time, across him. He caught the two fillies up and tickled them. “Maybe I should use you two as pillows and see how you like it.”

Berry, Muffins, and Turner laughed as the pair of fillies dissolved into giggling, squirming laughter of their own.

“Reminds me of you and your father,” Mom said and looked at Satin and me. “While you did not nap on his belly, Insight would disappear with you, and I would find him with one of you two curled up with him taking a nap on the couch.”

“They were wonderful hot water bottles,” Dad said. “I had to take advantage of that while they were small.”

“We’ll be having moments like that with our little one soon enough,” Stormbreaker said to Satin in a quiet voice and kissed her temple.

Rarity walked over to me, as I was putting my dishes back into the picnic basket. “I never got to thank you for helping Sweetie and the girls help Applejack get her escorts to the celebration.” She gave me a slight bow. “Thank you.”

“I was glad to help.” I grinned. “It was fun.”

Sweetie Belle trotted up with Thunderlane.

“Everything’s ready,” Sweetie Belle reported to Rarity.

“Is he ready?” Rarity asked in a quiet voice. “He was skittish as a mouse this afternoon.”

Thunderlane grinned and nodded. “He’s still nervous, but he’s ready.”

Rarity smiled at Thunderlane. “As nervous as you were when you showed up to ask me to the celebration?”

Thunderlane blushed and shook his head. “He’s not that nervous.”

“You were cute, when you asked her, though,” Sweetie Belle told him. “You looked nice in your suit and the flowers you brought her were beautiful.”

“Are you trying to cut in on your sister’s coltfriend?” Lemon Hearts asked in a playful tone.

“She would never do a thing like that.” Bon Bon smiled at Sweetie Belle. “Besides, she has a dragonfriend.”

“How did you come by this information?” Lyra asked and bumped her shoulder to Bon Bon’s. “Is it some secret source you can’t divulge?”

“Something like that,” Bon Bon said and giggled.

Sweetie Belle blushed. “Thanks again for helping me pick out the chocolates. Spike loved them.”

“The quickest way to a stallion’s heart is through their stomachs,” Bon Bon said. “I had a feeling it would work with dragons too.”

Thunderlane nodded to Sweetie Belle. “Would you like to set things off?”

“Sure!” Sweetie Belle said and scampered towards Barrel and the others.

“What are you three up to?” Coco asked.

“We’re helping Rumble and his training partner meet up real quick,” Thunderlane said.

Piña, Pinch, and Sweetie Belle trotted up to Thunderlane.

“Where is Rumble?” Piña asked, acting as if she was not too curious.

“He’s at the jungle gym.” Thunderlane pointed a wing towards the park’s playground equipment. “He thought of something new you two could try to improve your agility times. He said that he would set things up while Sweetie and I got you.”

Piña looked to Pinch and Sweetie Belle. “Let’s go see what he’s up to.”

“I need to borrow these two for a moment,” Rarity said. “Run along now. You don’t want to keep Rumble waiting.”

Piña gave Rarity an odd look. “Okaaaay.” After glancing at Pinch and Sweetie Belle, she turned and hurried off.

“What is going on?” Dinky asked, joining the group.

“My aunt just got set up,” Pinch said. She looked towards Sweetie Belle. “What are you guys up to?”

“Rumble is going to surprise her with something,” Thunderlane said.

“Speaking of surprises, I will be teaching Pinch and Piña some new braiding styles,” Satin said. “Would you like to join in, Dinky?”

“Can I?!” Dinky asked Satin, her eyes alight.

“Sure!” Satin said. “We’ll need another pony for you to work with, though.”

Pinch looked at me. “I guess I could give him up, if I could have a substitute.”

Dinky grinned. “Don’t worry about that,” she said and trotted towards her parents. “I’ll be right back.”

“I call Bon Bon!” Lyra said.

Bon Bon gave Lyra a look. “Wait, what?”

“I was thinking about helping Piña with Rumble,” Coco said. She waved a hoof in the air. “Piña will need somepony to show her how to use her hooves to do it.”

“Oh!” Pinch blushed. “I didn’t even think about that.”

A squeal came from the direction of the playground equipment.

“What was that?!” Lemon Hearts said.

“That was Piña,” Pinch said. She looked towards Piña and Rumble. “It’s fine. That was a happy noise.”

I turned to look towards the playground equipment just as Piña and Rumble just as Piña hugged Rumble.

Rumble, after recovering from Piña’s energetic surprise hug, hugged her back.

“Just ‘training partners’ my hoof,” Dinky said, joining us again and leading Muffins and Turner to the table.

Piña let Rumble go and took something from him I could not see. She turned her back to him and then put what I guessed to be bands at two spots near the end of her tail. Piña looked over her shoulder and said something to Rumble. She shook her mane, gathered it with her hooves, and then presented it to him.

Rumble, with unsteady hooves and help from his wings, put bands around Piña’s mane: one near her head, creating a ponytail, and another near the end of her mane.

“That’s so cute!” Muffins said.

There was a flash, as Stormbreaker used my camera to take a picture.

Both Piña and Rumble looked towards us, seeming to become aware they had an audience.

“Now kiss him!” Lyra yelled.

“Lyra!” Bon Bon scolded, “Behave yourself.”

Piña shook her head.

“Oh, come on!” Sweetie called to her.

“He’s my training partner, not my coltfriend!” Piña called back, gaining her attention from passing ponies.

“You’re not fooling anypony with that!” Dinky yelled, grinning.

“What in Equestria is going on?” Berry asked as she and Barrel approached.

Piña and Rumble trotted back to the picnic table.

“Your mane looks lovely,” Lemon Hearts said. “Your training partner has good taste.”

Piña and Rumble both blushed.

“Those are a nice shade of purple,” Bon Bon said. “They go well with your mane.”

“He got them for me to help me keep my mane out of the way when we’re training,” Piña said.

“You could just cut your mane,” Barrel joked.

“Her mane is great like...” Rumble trailed off and turned crimson when everypony looked at him.

“Why don’t we start braiding?” Satin said, smiling at Rumble with sympathy. “We will run out of sunlight for what we have planned, if we don’t start soon.”

“I guess I’m the odd pony out,” Lemon Hearts said and acted dejected. “It’s okay, have fun without me.”

“Do you want Mom or Dad?” Dinky asked. “I’ll braid whoever you don’t pick.”

Time Turner looked around as if he were being ambushed. “Wait, what?! I thought I was being asked to help clean the table!”

“I’ll take Muffins.” Lemon Hearts smiled. “Maybe if I braid her mane and tail well enough, she’ll tell me the secret of how she gets them to be so smooth and glisten like that.”

Dinky grinned at Time Turner. “Looks like it’s you and me Dad.”

“What about Sweetie?” Piña asked.

“She’s got me,” Sassy said.

“Then let’s begin!” Satin said with grand enthusiasm.

*****

Doing my best to stay still, I glanced over to Time Turner. “I think there is a conspiracy going on.”

“What makes you think so?” he asked.

“Why else would Rarity set up changing screens so we can’t see and tell us to stay here? We’re in a park, and ponies have been passing by and looking behind the screens out of curiosity, so it can’t be for hiding something from anypony but us.”

“Where did Rarity get those changing screens from anyway?” Rumble said.

Turner snorted and chuckled. “There’s no telling. We’re talking about a mare who can make a fainting couch appear out of thin air. A trio of privacy screens, in comparison, can’t be too hard for her.”

“You sound relaxed,” I said to Turner.

“I didn’t expect it to be this soothing,” he responded. “The combing was nice, and she has a gentle touch.”

“Thanks Dad.” Dinky leaned over and nuzzled Turner on top of his head. “I’m almost done.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. You wouldn’t happen to know what is happening with your mother on the other side of those screens would you?”

Dinky grinned. “I can’t tell you. It’s a surprise.”

“Whatever it is, they’ve made Piña part of it,” Rumble said. “She’s been giggling too much not to be.”

“My mom’s been giggling and laughing since Rarity invited her over there, so she has to be in on it now too,” I said to Rumble.

“I haven’t heard her laugh like that in a long time,” Dad said in a wistful tone.

I paused, after looking towards Dad, and studied him. There was still a part of me that was in disbelief at seeing Dad’s mane in braids. When Mom had told him to lie down and ‘let me have my fun,’ It shocked me to see how eager he was to comply. It became very clear this was not the first time Mom and Dad had done something like this, as Dad began to braid Mom’s mane as she braided his. I did not even know that Dad knew how to braid, until that moment.

“It brings back a lot of good memories.” Dad looked towards Satin. “What have you, Berry, and Miss Rarity cooked up?”

“It was just me and Berry, at the start. Now we have all kinds of help, and you have to wait and see,” Satin said.

“I’m wondering how the basket of flowers they had us pick up for fits into this, since we didn’t have any of them for dinner,” Turner said.

My ears snapped up. “Basket of flowers?!”

Barrel chuckled. “You got his attention with that one.”

I started to raise my head, but a touch of magical force to the crown of my head stopped me.

“You can’t move,” Satin reminded me. She leaned close and whispered, “If you’ve caught on, don’t say anything that could spoil things.”

“Now you have me curious,” Barrel said, “since Berry is over there too.”

Rarity stepped from behind the edge of the screens and walked towards us. “You are all such dears for volunteering to let the fillies learn like this.” She looked at Rumble and paused. “You, young colt, look very handsome.”

Rumble blushed. “Thank you.”

“You have a hidden talent, Coco,” Rarity complemented. “He wouldn’t be out of place in the Empire. I have to ask, where did you learn to braid manes like that?”

“I learned to braid as part of my costume design research,” Coco said. “Rumble’s braid is an old Canterlot style I picked up. When that style was popular, the Empire’s customs influenced Canterlot’s braiding styles.”

“Have you seen yourself yet?” Rarity asked Rumble.

Rumble shook his head. “Not yet.”

“He will, though.” Stormbreaker grinned and held up my camera. “I’ve been taking lots of pictures.”

“Done!” Pinch declared and patted my shoulder. “Thank you, Uncle Pin.”

“You’re welcome,” I told her and raised my head.

“You did a wonderful job,” Rarity said. “Runner’s braids have always been one of my favorites.”

Pinch looked to Coco. “What do you think?”

“I think he looks dashing,” Coco said.

Coco made a point of looking toward my hindquarters. “You did another great job with his tail too.”

I blushed at the tangential compliment.

“You four are next,” Rarity announced.

Pinch’s expression brightened for a second, but then something seemed to steal her joy. She gave Rarity a hollow smile. “It’s okay. You will be busy enough getting them ready, and I don’t have anypony to-”

Rarity put a gentle hoof on Pinch’s lips. “This is for you, nopony else. A wonderful, caring filly who looks after her friends like you do deserves the best in the world. You should allow yourself to feel as wonderful as you have made others feel.”

“I didn’t do anything,” Pinch said, when Rarity withdrew her hoof.

“You made Sweetie and Spike very happy, which means a lot to me because they mean a lot to me.” Rarity gave Pinch a determined look. “I will pay you back for helping them.”

Pinch shook her head, “You don’t have to do anything for me. I just wanted to help my friends. Spike was still hurting because Thunderlane got to you first, and Sweetie needed a little push to open up, so I gave them a bit of a nudge is all.”

Rarity gave Pinch an understanding smile. “Darling, we both know that you hurt yourself when you did what you did.”

Pinch sniffed and nodded.

“While I cannot say that what I’m feeling is the same, because of our differing circumstances and types of affection for Spike, I can say seeing them together stings a part of me too.” Rarity hugged Pinch. “You are a stronger mare than I.”

Pinch returned Rarity’s hug. “Thank you.”

Rarity rubbed Pinch’s back with a hoof. “You don’t have to worry about how long braiding your mane and tail will take. We have an enthusiastic herd of mares over there who can braid them both in no time.”

“That sounds great.” Pinch sniffed again and let Rarity go.

The four mares made their way behind the screens.

“How much trouble are we in?” Barrel asked.

Dad chuckled. “A lot, if they are setting up what I think they are. Some of us will in much deeper than others.”

Stormbreaker said in a concerned voice, “That’s a bit too vague for me.”

“You saw Pin’s reaction.” Barrel nodded towards me. “Right?”

“I did,” Storm confirmed.

“It’s got something to do with romantic stuff to get that kind of response,” Barrel said.

Stormbreaker’s eyes widened. “Oh, horse apples.”

“What is it?” Rumble said.

“Satin saw a book in Pin’s study, up on a bookshelf, and mentioned it.” He looked to Rumble with a touch of panic in his eyes. “It was on the meanings that flowers can have. I should have known she was up to something, the way she was talking about it.”

Rumble’s ears pinned back. “Flowers can have meanings?!”

“We’re fine.” Thunderlane said. “Pin knows the all meanings.”

“Not all of them, and not as well as I would like,” I admitted. “Rose has had to help me out, when I’ve gotten flowers for Coco.”

“That’s not good,” Thunderlane said, sounding less sure of our chances to pull things off.

“We have an ace up our sleeves, though.” I pointed to Dad with a hoof. “He knows them very well.”

Dad did not respond. His eyes were fixed on something that made him smile in an adoring way.

We all turned, as Mom approached us. Mom’s mane and tail were in fishtail braids. At each crossover, gillyflowers adorned her mane and tail, making a trail of flowers down both. In her magic, she carried a closed basket.

“Hello my love,” Dad said to her. “You look even more stunning than usual.”

Mom walked up to him and gave him a quick peck of a kiss. “You remain the charmer.” She opened one side of the basket and levitated it so he could see its contents. “I am interested to see which you choose.”

Dad made a show of looking into the basket and studying its contents. He hummed a thoughtful note. “There are so many things I would like to say to you.” He smiled and nodded. “I have made my choice.”

Using his magic, Dad levitated a red tulip from the basket.

Mom blushed and smiled. “Dear, I believe that is a bit of an exaggeration.”

“No, Love, it’s not.” He placed the tulip behind her right ear. “You have given me more happiness than I could ever describe. We have raised two wonderful children. We have been successful partners in business and in life.” Dad gave Mom a less than chaste kiss. “For me, our love is perfect,” he told her and touched his horn to hers.

Rumble looked around at the rest of us stallions. “What is going on?!” he said in a concerned whisper.

“This is an old tradition that few outside of Canterlot practice anymore,” Mom explained. “In Canterlot, it used to be that mares were in charge of most of the courting rituals. When a mare found a stallion she liked she would approach him and ask to braid his mane and tail. If he accepted, it was a sign that the courtship had begun.”

“Courtship?” Rumble said in a quavering voice.

“With younger ponies follow the tradition, it is seen as establishing good friendships between two ponies rather than being romantic,” Mom told him in a reassuring tone.

Rumble let out a relieved sigh. His ears perked up. “What about the flowers in your mane and tail and what Mr. Insight did with the flower?”

“During the second part of the tradition, a mare would have her mane and tail braided, putting with flowers in the braids, typically before the stallion undid the braids she had given him. She would present to him an assortment of flowers to choose from so he could put one behind her ear to signify his thoughts about the courtship. Once two ponies became a pair, it was not unusual for the stallion to go through the same practices to find out how the mare thought the courtship was going. When that occurred, it was often a signal that the stallion was thinking of proposing to the mare soon.”

“If you and Mister Insight are already married, why did you two braid each other’s manes?” Rumble asked.

“Ponies who are together use the tradition to reaffirm the relationship and send a variety of messages,” Dad told rumble can also do The tradition. “Study and I have not done this for years.” He looked toward Mom and smiled. “I plan on remedying that,” he said, gaining a sweet smile from Mom.

Rumble looked toward the grass and pawed the ground with a hoof. “What if… What if you like a filly but you’re not sure if she likes you back and you don’t want to push things?”

“Say something or don’t real fast,” Barrel said. “Don’t do what Pin did with Coco and send the poor mare mixed signals for weeks or months. Not all mares are as tolerant of that as Coco. You might hurt your friendship with the filly and any chances you might have with her in the romantic sense too.”

I sighed and nodded. “Barrel’s right. Don’t do what I did, after you’ve known her for a bit, approach the filly, tell her you’re interested, and then let her decide things.” I cut my eyes towards Barrel and told Rumble, “However, don’t just grab a mare either. That ends with you getting a black eye.”

Barrel chuckled. “True.”

Mom smiled. “The others chose me to explain the tradition to all of you, and for Insight and I to give an impromptu demonstration, since he and I had gone through the tradition before.” Mom told Rumble, “They also asked me, by a certain filly, to make sure that you would be okay with taking part. Since we were already deviating from the typical steps, we mares agreed that having her mane and tail tied with bands was close enough for the tradition to apply.”

“I think you have your answer whether she likes you,” Thunderlane teased Rumble.

Rumble blushed and then told Mom, “I’ll do it.” He looked toward Dad. “Will you help me say the right thing with a flower?”

Dad grinned and nodded. “I would be glad to.”

Mom put the basket on the ground. “You can look and make your choices now, but wait till you are approached before taking your selected flower from the basket.”

As Mom turned and walked away, she looked at Dad over her shoulder and gave a slight flick of her tail.

Dad responded by winking and giving her a lecherous grin.

“You’re a lucky fella,” Barrel said.

Dad nodded, his grin still in place. “Yes I am.”

Rumble opened the basket and looked inside. His eyes widened. “There are so many to choose from!”

Dad patted Rumble on the back. “That’s a good thing.”

Dad helped the others make their decisions as I wrestled with my choice. Hopes, fears, and numerous imagined possibilities of how things could turn out, stormed through my mind. “Cadance help me,” I whispered to myself. “I’m going to do it.”

Dad moved to stand beside me. “That’s quite an expression, Son.”

I took in a deep breath. “I’ve picked my flower.”

Rarity stepped around the screens with Mom, Lyra, Bon Bon, Dinky, Lemon Hearts, Pinch, and Sassy Saddles. All the mare’s had their manes braided with gillyflowers woven into the braids.

“Gentlecolts, have your made your selections?” Rarity asked as if she was the head of ceremonies.

“We have,” Rumble said, his voice cracking.

“He’s so cute!” Lemon Heats fawned.

“I think I might keep him myself,” Sassy Saddles said. “He blushes wonderful colors if you flirt with him.”

Lemon Hearts giggled. “I’ll have to try that.”

There was an unamused sounding noise from behind the screens that sounded like it came from a filly.

Using her magic, Rarity shifted the center screen forward so that a mare could pass behind it without revealing anypony else behind the full arrangement of screens.

“Who would like to be our first mare?” Rarity asked.

“Me!” Berry trotted from behind the screens. While she did not have her mane braided, she had gillyflowers woven throughout her mane and tail. “I’ll be the teaser, since I didn’t get gussied up like you girls. I want to know which flower my Barrel has picked too.”

Barrel reached into the basket and pulled out a delphinium, symbolizing joy and passionate attachment. He put the flower behind her ear and touched his nose to hers. “Thank you for the happiest years of my life.”

“You better plan on having many more, because I’m not going anywhere,” Berry told him and gave him a kiss.
Rarity glanced behind the screen. “Any volunteers to be next?” she asked. She nodded to somepony who must have given a non-verbal signal to her. “Oh, good timing. He’s looking a little antsy.”

My heart was beating at a good rate as I thought Coco would emerge next.

Muffins poked her head around the edge of the center screen, looked around, and then ducked back out of view. “I take it back. I don’t know if I can do this.”

“Come on, Mom!” Dinky cheered. “It’s just your friends here.”

“And some ponies stopping to look and trying to figure out what’s going on,” Barrel whispered for all to hear, earning him a light elbow from Berry.

Time Turner took his chosen flower from the basket. He held the bellflower, meaning unwavering love, as if it could shatter. “From the glimpse of you I got, you look even more stunning than usual. I would like to see all of you, if I could.”

Muffins made her way from behind the screen with tentative steps. “Do you look like it?” she asked and ducked her head in embarrassment.

“Very much so.” Turner tucked the bellflower behind Muffin’s ear, hugged her to him, and kissed her forehead. He whispered something to her, his mouth close to her ear, and she blushed scarlet.

Rarity looked behind the screen again. “Who would like to be next?”

“Me!” Piña said.

“That’s good,” Thunderlane said. “Rumble here is about to lose all his feathers he’s so nervous.”

Rumble snorted and looked up at Thunderlane with an unamused expression.

Piña trotted from behind the screen and Rumbled went still. Piña had gillyflowers woven in her mane and tail in rings above and below the bands Rumble had given her.

When she approached rumble, Piña giggled. “Are you okay?”

Rumble nodded.

After seconds of silence, Pinch urged in a hushed voice, “Quit staring and give her the flower!”

Rumble started at Pinch’s works. “Right, the flowers!” He opened the basket and pulled two strands of lilac, one purple and one white. His hoof shook as he put the flowers behind Piña’s ear.

Piña’s eyes never left Rumble’s, as she asked him, “What do the flowers mean?”

“That I’m starting to like like you, with the purple ones.” Rumble said looking and sounding vulnerable. “Things can stay the same if you want is what I’m trying to say with the white ones.”

Piña kissed his nose, and Rumble’s wings snapped up to their full span in response.

“We’re staying training partners, right?” Piña asked.

Rumble nodded. “I hope so. I want us to still be.”

“Good,” Piña said and gave Rumble a hug. “This just adds more to it for just you and me to know about for now, right?”

Rumble smiled and returned her hug. “Right.”

Thunderlane raised his hoof. “Did he break the rules by giving her two flowers?” he asked in a joking tone.

“I do not believe so,” Mom said. “While they are two different colors, they are the same kind of flower.”

Thunderlane presented Rarity with a peach blossom, meaning generosity and hope that she will become a bride, earning a sweetheart’s kiss from her.

Stormchaser presented Satin, after she came from behind the screen, with a plumeria meaning perfection and new beginnings. Satin gave him a fiery kiss that drew whistles and catcalls from Lyra, Lemon Hearts, and Sassy Saddles.

I could not even focus on the words that the couples exchanged in my anticipation.

“Dear, are you feeling well?” Rarity said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “You look quite nervous.”

“I’m all right,” I said in a shaky voice.

Thunderlane patted me on the back with a wing. “Calm down, buddy. It’s not like you’re proposing to her or anything.”

I might as well be, I thought to myself.

“Last, but not least, I present to you Miss Coco,” Rarity said.

Coco stepped from behind the screens. She had removed her maneclip and wore singular braids that framed her face and ran close to her ears. Her tail was woven into a Prench braid. Her mane and her tail were adorned with gillyflowers which shown against her blue mane and tail.

“Breathe,” Satin encouraged me. “You can’t give her a flower if you pass out.”

“Me and Piña did her mane and tail like she asked us to,” Pinch said, grinning. “Do you like them?”

“She’s gorgeous,” I said.

“She asked about Coco’s mane and tail, not all of her,” Piña teased.

“The braids are very nice,” I said and gave her a grin. “You did a wonderful job.”

Smiling and blushing, Coco walked up to me. “Thank you for the complement.”

“You’re more than welcome.” I willed myself from looking into her blue eyes and focused on the basket. Using my magic to hold the basket open, I drew out my chosen flower, a heart's desire.

Mom and Satin gasped, while Dad chuckled and said, “Good choice.”

Coco’s eyes widened when she saw the flower. “Oh, Pin,” she whispered.

I put the heart’s desire behind Coco’s ear. “I hope the flower conveys what I’ve had trouble putting into words.”

Coco gave me a kiss and then nuzzled my cheek. “Perfectly.”

Chapter 15

I drifted back from sleep and looked around. It took me a moment to get my bearings and realize that things seemed off because I had slept on the couch. Remaining still I took in the predawn's quiet. I reflected on what had happened last night. Elation and unease juxtaposed with each other, as I tried to think through what Coco and my next steps could be.

I heard the door to my room open, and Coco stepped out from the hallway. She looked in my direction and smiled at me. “What are you doing awake?”

“I’m not sure,” I said in a quiet voice and sat up. “I guess some part of me wanted to get a head start on the day.”

“Same here,” Coco said.

I smiled and raised part of the blanket away from me like a cape. “Care to join me?”

Coco nodded and sat beside me on the couch. “I was thinking about sneaking out for a little walk, but this is better.”

Using my magic, I wrapped the blanket around us. “Now I know it’s true, nothing beats a warm Coco in the morning.”

“You silly pony.” She leaned into me and hummed a happy note. “You’re snuggling is progressing very well.”

My eyes lingered on her neck and what I could see of her shoulders.

“What?” she asked and tilted her head.

I blushed when I realized she had noticed me staring. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your sailor’s collar.”

Coco looked down toward her chest and then back up to me. “It’s not that big of a difference.”

“It’s not, in one sense, but it is to me. It’s another appealing part of you I haven’t seen before.”

“Here I thought you were interested in my flank,” she teased.

“I am interested in every aspect of you.” I shifted and kissed Coco’s closest ear. “I have something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Nothing too serious I hope,” Coco said and leaned against me again. “It’s too early for heavy conversations.”

“Did you get an invitation to the celebration?”

Coco nodded. “I did.”

“Would you like to go together?”

Coco smiled. “I would.”

“Then it’s a date,” I said. “When should I pick you up?”

“Pick me up?” Coco asked.

“From Rarity’s,” I said.

Her ears drooped. “You’re going to kick me out after your parents are gone?”

“No! I want you to stay here from now on. I would never-” I froze as I realized what I had blurted out.

“Pin?” Coco smiled at me, as I tried to say something coherent to recover from my slip and failed. She touched her hoof to my nose. “Stop, don’t worry. I’m flattered.”

Drawing in a breath, I took her hoof with mine. “I meant it, though. I would love to have you here, but I realize that you have to make some very important decisions soon that could… lead you to other places. I know it’s contradictory, but as much as I want you to be here I don’t want to be an undue influence and you make a decision that is not the best for you.”

“Caring for somepony else can put us in conflict with ourselves,” Coco said in a sage way.

“I considered not giving you the heart’s desire because I thought it might be manipulative even if it signifies how important you are to me,” I confessed.

“You gave me your honest feelings, which I appreciate.” Coco put her head on my shoulder. “Most of my life is in flux right now and I’m not sure what will happen. Knowing that you care for me and want me here gives me a calm, safe spot in all the uncertainty.” She giggled. “You’re comfy to lean against and a comfort overall. Thank you.”

“You’re more than welcome,” I told her and kissed her head.

Coco glanced at my alarm clock. “We still have a half hour before we’re supposed to be up, if you wake up when I do.”

“It seems I do. Would you like me to make coffee?”

She shook her head. “Thanks for offering, but no thank you. My mind is going fast enough as it is.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You already have.” Coco turned and hugged me. “You offered me a job, fed me, and given me peace of mind. The rest of what’s going is stuff I’m going to have to deal with.”

I hugged her back and snuggled her to me. “What happened up in Manehatten? Rarity never got the chance to tell me what she was doing up there.”

Coco sighed. “It was another mess I needed help out of.”

Coco told me about her trip to Manehatten. She detailed how the community play came close to not happening and how Applejack and Rarity helped her community reestablish the connections it had lost so that the play could go on.

“Then Rarity and I spent the next couple of days scouting locations for her new shop, while Applejack went to visit her family,” Coco ended.

“That’s a lot to pack into one trip,” I said.

“You’re thinking too much again,” Coco said. She prodded me in the ribs with a hoof. “Relax. You’re not as comfy when you tense up.”

I chuckled and did my best to let my muscles loosen up. “Sorry. There’s just so much I was to talk with you about.”

“No heavy conversations, remember?” She glanced at my alarm clock. “Besides, we’re supposed to getting up in few minutes. We don’t have enough time for any deep discussions.”

“True,” I agreed. “I don’t want to spoil the moment either.”

“Pin, there is something I would like to tell you that is serious,” Coco said, looking into my eyes.

“Yes?” I said in a whisper because of the intensity of her gaze.

Coco grinned and gave me a gentle but firm push so I flopped over on the couch.

I grinned up at her. “Coco, what are you-!” Coco pounced on me and kissed me into a delighted, surprised silence. I wrapped my forelegs around her, as she hugged my head to her chest and rested her chin on the top of my head.

“Pin, I’m not sure what will happen, but I know we will make it,” Coco said, sounding sure. “I promise to do my best not to let my worries get in the way of us sharing time together, no matter what comes in the next few days and weeks. I want you to promise you will do the same.”

I smiled at hearing her royal mare’s voice coming through. I looked up her, as she pulled back from me a bit, and caressed her cheek with my hoof. “My lady, you have my word I will limit my worrying to the best of my ability. However, since every moment that I spend with you is special I can’t promise that I can stop worrying they will become rare or stop completely.”

“They will not stop,” Coco said with conviction. She leaned close enough I could feel her breath on my lips when she told me, “You mean too much to me for that to happen.”

Just as Coco’s lips touched mine, my alarm clock went off. We jolted at the sound, and she leaned back from me. She and I both reached for the clock at the same moment, shifting ourselves too far over. We tumbled from the couch in a tangle of blanket and limbs into the space between the couch and the coffee table.

“Ouch,” Coco said with a faux pained expression. “That woke me up, how about you?”

Chuckling, I reached out with my magic and silenced the alarm. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she said and rested her head in the crook of my neck so her cheek touched mine. “I guess it’s time to get up.”

“We could stay here for a minute or two.” I caught Coco’s ear in my mouth and gave it a soft nibble, gaining me a giggle from her. “I’m finding it cozy down here,” I said after letting her ear go.

Coco sat up and patted my ribs with a hoof. “That sounds tempting, but we need to-”

A gasp from the direction of the hallway stopped Coco in mid-sentence and drew her attention. She blushed a beautiful shade of red and said to somepony I could not see, “This isn’t what it looks like!”

I held up a hoof, making it visible over the coffee table to the unknown pony. “This is exactly what it looks like. Coco and I were cuddling on the couch.” I pointed to the couch.

“My alarm clock went off.” I pointed to the alarm clock on the coffee table.

“We both reached for the clock.” I pointed at Coco then downward at myself.

“We tumbled to the floor with the blanket around us.” I held up a part of the blanket that was not entangled with Coco and me.

“I tried to get her to stay here with me. She, being the responsible mare she is, refused.” I let the blanket drop in a show of disappointment.

Coco looked down at me with an amused grin. “Behave yourself.”

I leaned up and waved at Mom, who was doing a poor job of hiding a broad smile behind her hoof. “Good morning,” I told her.

“I am glad to see you were using protection during your activities,” Mom said.

Coco burst into laughter.

I blushed and looked cross-eyed at the safety ball at the end of my horn. “I forgot I had this thing on,” I muttered.

“I didn’t even think about it,” Coco said and touched the ball off the tip of my horn with a hoof. “My brother wears one of these too.”

“It has saved many a pillow,” Mom said. “Pin earned his nickname of Pokey Pierce, when he was younger.”

“What in Equestria is going on?” Satin asked, as she emerged from the hallway. She took one look at Coco and me and grinned. “Wow, that’s bold: pinning him right here in the den, out in the open, while there are so many ponies in the house. I’m impressed, Coco!”

Coco looked at me as if seeking understanding. “Why do ponies think I have this thing about pinning you against things?”

“You’ve pinned him up against something before?” Satin asked in a curious tone.

“Pin, a mare has needs,” Mom mock scolded. “Do not make Coco resort to using force to get affection.”

“I think you’re looking at this wrong, Mom,” Satin said. “Wrestling around can be part of the fun.”

I sat up and touched my nose to Coco’s, while Mom and Satin continued to debate the merits of affectionate tussles. “I warned you my family was crazy.”

*****

The workroom’s back door opened.

“Pin, we’re back and we brought lunch!” Satin announced.

I put the piece I had been working on down. “That sounds great. Did you have a good time?”

“We did,” Stormbreaker said. “We’ve got everything sorted out for the wedding too.”

I turned towards him. “That fast? I’m impressed.”

“It’s going to be a small thing,” Satin said. “Having Lemon Hearts being in town was fortuitous. We made Berry berry happy with an order, too.”

“Davenport was thrilled with the wedding invitation commission,” Dad said. “You were right. He showed us samples of his previous works. He really is talented.”

“There’s a bet going around that his cutie mark changes if he keeps getting better with his printing,” I said.

Mom made her way to me and gave me a hug. “How are you doing?”

“Keeping a good steady pace,” I said, returning the hug. “There’s still a lot to do, though.”

Mom turned her head toward Satin. “Come here, Satin.” When Satin got close, Mom pulled her into the hug. “I am so proud of both of you. I do not say it often enough. You are caring, hardworking, solid ponies, the both of you.”

“We had excellent parents as examples,” I said.

“That’s true,” Satin said and nuzzled Mom’s cheek. “Even if you two drive us crazy sometimes.”

“That’s part of a parent’s duties,” Dad said with a grin.

Mom let go of us. “If we did not pester you a little, you would not think we loved you.”

Satin pointed a hoof at Stormbreaker. “He needs a hug too. He’s going to be your son-in-law soon.”

Stormbreaker looked surprised at Satin’s suggestion. He reestablished his poise and said, “She doesn’t have to hug me, if she doesn’t want to.” He made a show of looking small and wounded. “It wouldn’t hurt my feelings too much, if she didn’t.”

“I will give you a hug,” Mom said with a mother’s tolerant smile.

As Mom moved to give Stormbreaker a hug, Satin urged, “If you want to win some bonus points, give her the full wing treatment too.”

“Really?” Stormbreaker said. “Some ponies think they’re too claustrophobic. Miss Study, would you like a wing hug or a regular one?”

Mom appeared to consider taking the offer. She glanced at Dad and then shook her head. “I believe I will stick to a regular one,” she told Stormbreaker.

“Dear, I know how much you enjoyed Nana’s wing hugs,” Dad said. “I’m sure Nana would have encouraged you to let him give one to you too.”

“While I enjoy them, I know how significant wing hugs are to pegasi and how special Nana was to me.” Mom looked towards Stormbreaker. “He and I met yesterday. I am not sure that I should ask him for such a thing so soon after meeting him.”

“I would be happy to give a wing hug to you,” Stormbreaker said. “Satin admires you and has told me she would not be the mare she is without you and Mister Insight. You are special to her, so you are special to me.”

Mom smiled. “Since you feel that way, I would like that hug.” She hugged Stormbreaker and allowed him to wrap his forelegs and wings around her.

“He gives the best hugs,” Satin said. “Don’t you think so, now that you’ve had one?”

“Satin,” Mom said.

“Yes, Mom?” Satin asked and tilted her head.

“You did very well with this one,” Mom complemented.

Stormbreaker released Mom from his wings and their hug.

Dad’s stomach growled. “Sorry,” he said.

“Your belly is right, though,” I said. “It’s time to eat.”

We made our way up to my apartment and I helped Dad serve the soup and sandwiches they had brought.

“The wedding will be in three months,” Satin said, as I sat down. “Things should have calmed down around here by then, right?”

“Right,” I told her.

“Berry will take care of the wine, Lemon Drops is catering, and Davenport will design and print the invitations,” Satin reported.

“You’re taking care of my suit,” Stormbreaker said. “Rarity is creating Satin’s dress and veil.”

“While I’m glad that everything is fitting together, things will be tight time wise,” I said.

“We will only be having a few guests, so it’s not that bad,” Satin said. “We checked with everypony who’s helping us set things up. They said they could do it with no problems.”

“I have this feeling that Rarity is going to stress out on the dress though,” Stormbreaker said.

I laughed. “She gets wound up about every wedding dress.”

“I wonder how wound up she will be when she does Coco’s,” Dad said and gave me a grin.

I looked down toward my plate and sighed. “That’s a little too far down the road to worry about, if it happens at all.”

“You gave her a heart’s desire,” Mom said as if that act had guaranteed that Coco and I were to be together.

I looked up at Mom and gave her the best smile I could muster. “I told her my feelings, and she’s told me hers, but that’s a long way from making everything come together with our jobs and everything else that could happen.”

Mom’s ears fell a little. “While I admire you for being practical and realistic, sometimes you are a bit too much so.”

“She’s practical too,” I said. “We’ve promised each other that we will work things through, but we realize that things could get complicated.”

“You love her right?” Stormbreaker asked.

I was caught flathooved by the bluntness of the question and did not provide a swift answer.

Stormbreaker seemed to ill pleased by my lack of response. “Look, not to be a jerk, but if you’re not sure you shouldn’t have given her a heart’s desire.”

“He is in love with her,” Dad assured. “However, my father and I taught him not to use the word ‘love’ in connection with a mare lightly.”

“That’s a good practice,” Stormbreaker said, turning back to me. “However, don’t overdo not saying it either. That can get you into as much, if not more, trouble.”

Mom and Satin both nodded and said, “true.”

Stormbreaker took Satin’s hoof with his. “When I realized I loved your sister, there was nothing practical about it. I decided right there and then, if she wanted me to stay with her, I would fly from Canterlot to Cloudsdale every day to be with her. She, being he more grounded of us, convinced me to fly in on certain days so I didn’t wear myself out.”

“I tried to anyway,” Satin said. “The plan lasted right until I told him I was expecting.” She gave Stormbreaker a light elbow. “That was a horrible pun.”

“If was hard enough not to fly in as it was with you being there alone,” Stormbreaker said and gave Satin a smile. “Knowing that the two most important ponies in my life were in Canterlot, while I wasn’t, the plan went right out the window and she invited me to stay with her.” Stormbreaker asked, with a sudden change in tone, “You want Coco here, right?”

“Right,” I said, wondering where he would take the conversation.

“Show her you have the more established nest and she’ll come this way.” Stormbreaker leaned till his shoulder touched Satin’s. “Satin had a home, friends, family, and a job in Canterlot. I had a small bachelor’s cloud in Cloudsdale.”

“That he made himself,” Satin interjected sounding proud of him.

“A good portion of it, not all of it,” he corrected and kissed Satin’s head. “I’m not a professional cloud sculptor and needed all the help I could get.”

“I’ve thought Coco moving here would make sense,” I said. “I have a workroom, supplies, and established business connections, but she will have to decide as far as leaving her family and friends.”

“A good relationship is built on more than business matters,” Mom said. “Has she ever mentioned her friends in Manehatten?”

I thought about it for a moment. “No, I don’t think she ever has. The only friend’s I think she’s ever mentioned live here in Ponyville.”

“What about her family?” Mom followed up.

“She’s talked about her brother and her parents, but I don’t know if they live in Manehatten or not.” I leaned back in my chair. “I had worried about her leaving her family and friends, but I don’t know about her life in Manehatten to fill a teacup.”

Dad chuckled. “You’re following the family tradition of thinking about business and practical things first, even in matters of the heart, which is good and bad.” He smiled at me. “Now for the second part of the tradition. You need to set that kind of thing aside and go after her with everything you’ve got, whether it’s practical or not.”

Satin smiled at me. “You gave her the heart’s desire after admitting to yourself you would move to Manehatten for her didn’t you?”

“If it came to it, yes,” I admitted.

Satin’s smile grew. “It won’t come to that, but you would do Grandfather and Nana proud if you did.”

I recognized Satin’s tone and could not keep the smile that came to my face away. “You know something, don’t you?”

“Mares talk when braiding manes and tails,” Mom said with a full smile of her own. “We have been sworn to secrecy on one level, but it I believe it is safe to encourage you to talk to her about things practical and otherwise.”

I smiled. “I take it if I advance things between her and me quick that nopony will be upset with me.”

“Not at all,” Dad said. “Coco is a wonderful mare, and we all adore her.”

Everypony else at the table agreed with nods and affirmative words.

Dad gave me a rascal’s smile. “I would like to advise that you and Coco don’t follow Satin’s and Stormbreaker’s example by putting certain events before others and then springing the news on us. You’ll drive your mother to fits.”

*****

My left ear turned, as hoofsteps came down the stairs.

“I’m telling you it will work,” Satin said. “It may take a minute or two to set in, but it will work.”

“Whether or not it does, it will be entertaining to test your hypothosis,” Mom told her.

The two of them stood near the edge of my worktable and stared at me.

I continued to work, acting as if they were not there. When I had finished the step I had been involved in, and they still had said nothing, I put my sewing materials down I turned to them.

Mom and Satin remained silent. Satin grinned at me while staring, while Mom seemed to study me with a hint of a smile.

“Can I help you?” I asked in my shop keeper’s tone, keeping a chuckle out of my voice.

“We were talking,” Satin said.

Her statement caused me an immediate concern.

“It won’t be long before Coco’s comes back.” Satin leaned over the worktable and made a show of looking at what I had been working on. “Do you think she will have eaten?”

“I’m not sure. This is the first night she’s come home like this.”

“What an interesting way to phrase it.” Mom smiled and, before I could say anything, continued, “We were wondering if we needed to make dinner plans for five or six ponies.”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.

“Since Coco is coming, it would be rude of us not to at least consider her,” Mom said.

“What we can do, Mom, since Coco is coming, is plan to cook for six ponies.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What are you two up to?”

“An experiment,” Mom said. “I think I will try a different approach,” she said to Satin. Mom looked up at the workroom’s clock. “Pin, your shop should have been closed about fifteen minutes ago. Does Rarity close her shop around the same time?”

Swish.

“I believe so.”

Satin smiled. “It’s about a ten-minute walk from here to there, right?”

Swish.

“That’s about right.”

Swish. Swish.

“Which means Coco will come through the door any moment,” Mom said.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Satin pointed a hoof toward my rear. “I told you!”

“You are right. It worked, and his reaction is adorable.” Mom sighed and gave me a look. “I thought Satin was exaggerating when she said you wagged your tail on the train platform.”

I looked back at my tail, which continued to swish back and forth of its own accord. “Not again.”

“You just have to build up the anticipation,” Satin said.

A knock came on the backdoor.

Swish. Swish. Swish. Swish. “Behave,” I glanced back and told my tail.

My command went unheeded.

“I’ll get the door,” Satin said.

“Son, while I am glad you are so taken with Miss Coco, learn to control yourself,” Mom teased.

Satin opened the door and grinned. “Well, hello.”

“Aunt Satin!” Piña gave Satin a careful hug. “I thought Uncle Pin would open the door.”

Satin gave Piña a hug back. “He would have, except Mom and I were trying something on Pin.”

“Aunt Study!” Piña waved a hoof. “What are you two doing with Uncle Pin?”

“Seeing if we could get his tail wagging again.” Mom gestured towards me.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

“We succeeded,” Mom said sounding accomplished and amused.

Pinch stepped just inside the workroom. “You got him thinking about Coco, didn’t you?”

“We did,” Satin confirmed.

“Does that mean we can braid his tail again too?” Pinch said.

“I want to see,” Berry said and prodded Pinch to move further into the workroom so she could enter.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

As she came in and saw my tail’s state, Berry laughed. “I thought the girls were kidding.”

“It’s not my fault!” I protested. “I can’t help my tail, and I can’t help that Coco’s the most attractive and charming mare I’ve ever met either.”

Coco chose that moment to walk into the workroom.

“Hello to you too,” she said blushing. She looked at my tail, smiled, and shook her head. “I’m not that exciting.”

“You are to him,” Mom said.

“Miss Coco!” Pinch gave Coco a hug. “Can Satin and I braid his tail, since he’s wagging it again?”

“I’m not wagging it,” I pointed out, “it’s wagging itself.”

“If he agrees, sure,” Coco said and hugged Pinch back. “But why are you asking me?”

“He’s your coltfriend,” Pinch explained.

“What about his mom?” Coco nodded towards Mom. “Don’t you have to ask her too then? She outranks me with Pin.”

“Do I now?” Mom asked. “I am not so sure. Let us get Pin’s opinion as to who ranks higher.”

The hairs on the back of my neck and all the way down my spine to my tail stood up at the look Mom gave me.

“Pin,” Berry said. “With a question like that your only good option is to run for it.”

“Who’s running where and why?” Dad asked as he stuck his head in the workshop’s back doorway. “Miss Berry! Girls! What good timing. We just got back from the market and the photo shop. The pictures are ready. We haven’t even gone through them yet.”

“We could help,” Pinch offered.

“We would like the help, but have you completed your schoolwork?” Dad asked.

“We did,” said Piña, who was still holding onto Satin. “We wanted to come see you again, before you left, so we got our stuff done and came to visit.”

Stormbreaker stood in the doorway, beside Dad, and smiled at Piña. “I take it I’ll have to wait my turn for a hug from my fiance.”

Piña nodded. “You will get to see her everyday.” Piña leaned her head against Satin’s chest. “I won’t be able to see her for a long time.”

“It’s not going to be nearly as long as last time,” Satin said and kissed the top of Piña’s head. “In fact, I need to ask you and Pinch both about something that’s coming up soon.”

Piña looked up at Satin. “What is it?”

“Would you two like to be my flower girls?”

Piña lit up. “We would!” With care, she snuggled into Satin. “Thank you!”

“Sounds great to me!” Pinch said. She looked to Berry. “Can we, Mom?”

“Of course you can,” Berry said. “They had already talked to me about it, but Satin wanted to ask you in person.”

“Speaking of asking things, we were just discussing dinner,” I said. “Would you three like to join us? Barrel’s invited too.”

“I’m sure Barrel could have loved to come, but he’s making a delivery to Appleloosa,” Berry said. “If you’re providing dinner for us, I will provide the wine and dessert for everypony.”

“You don’t have to,” I said.

“I would like to though,” Berry responded.

“Would you like some help?” Dad asked.

“I would,” Berry told him.

“Let me and Stormbreaker put what we have away, and I’ll be right with you.”

“Sounds like we have a plan,” Satin said.

*****

“I don’t think I’m going to get my fiance back,” Stormbreaker said.

“Eventually, you might,” Dad said, putting down the dish he had been drying. “You may have to wait for the right moment to squeeze yourself in there, though.”

I paused in my dish washing and followed Stormbreaker and Dad’s lines of sight to the couch. Satin was seated on the middle section of the couch. She was looking through the photographs that Dad and Stormbreaker had brought back on the coffee table flanked on either side by Berry and Piña. Berry maintained a close but comfortable distance from Satin. Piña, on the other hoof, was all but attached to Satin’s side.

“I don’t think they’ve ponynapped anyone before, but there is a first for everything,” I told him.

Berry looked towards us. “Ha. Ha.”

“I’m spending quality time with my aunt and my… niece or nephew,” Piña defended herself. “I’m not planning to ponynap anyone.”

Pinch, who was sitting on the floor on the other side of the coffee table beside Coco, started to giggle while looking at one photo.

“What is making you giggle like that?” Mom asked her.

“I can’t describe it well enough.” Pinch levitated the photo to Mom.

“Another nibbler!” Mom exclaimed. “Are there no stallions around that can control themselves anymore?”

Stormbreaker slapped a hoof to his forehead. “I should have remembered to look for that one.”

“Can I see?” Piña asked.

“I do not know if your mother would approve,” Mom said.

“What about my sister?” Piña asked. “Does she count?”

“I guess we could substitute her judgment for your mother’s,” Mom said and gave the picture to Berry so that only Berry could see it.

Berry grinned. “She can see it.” She passed the picture to Satin, who looked at it along with Piña.

“That looks so cute,” Piña said.

“Getting ideas for you and your ‘training’ buddy?” Pinch teased.

“That doesn’t look like any training to me,” Piña said, acting disinterested. Despite her denial, her eyes lingered on the photo.

“We know how much you like wing hugs, so it’s okay to admit that looks nice,” Pinch said.

“She like’s wing hugs?” Stormbreaker asked.

“She sure does,” Berry said.

I dried my hooves and declared, “And we’re done.” I nodded to Stormbreaker. “Thanks for the help.”

“No prob,” he responded.

“Thanks, Dad.”

“You’re welcome,” Dad said and then took a seat by Mom on the loveseat.

“Now that they’re finished, Miss Coco, can I borrow you and your special somepony?” Pinch asked.

“Awww!” Berry interrupted. “Sorry, but this one is too cute!” she said.

Stormbreaker made his way to the back side of the couch and looked over Berry’s shoulder. “Pin must have taken that right before the other one. I always sleep the best when I’m holding my Satin doll.”

Satin leaned over the couch’s back and kissed the bottom of Stormbreaker’s chin.

Berry showed the photo to us all, getting coos and smiles from everypony.

“I knew the nest would be the right spot for you,” Piña said. “You both look so comfy and happy, even while you’re asleep.”

“Stormbreaker is a great blanket,” Satin said.

Piña looked over the back of the couch at Stormbreaker, at his wings in particular, and seemed to want to say something.

Satin grinned. “Would you like to try?”

“Yes, please!” Piña told her. She looked to Stormbreaker, blushing. “If you wouldn’t mind giving me a hug, I would like one, I mean.”

“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Stormbreaker said.

“I’ll move,” Satin offered.

“No, you will scoot over,” Berry said and got off the couch to sit beside Coco. “That way he can have his fiancé back too.”

Satin moved over, and Stormbreaker assumed her previous spot on the couch.

Stormbreaker wrapped Satin in a wing, with a practiced motion, and then looked to Piña. “How would you like to do this?”

Piña arranged herself on the couch and leaned against Stormbreaker. “Is this okay?”

“That’s fine,” Stormbreaker said and wrapped Piña in his wing.

“Satin’s right,” Piña said, as she cuddled against him, “you are a great blanket.”

“I give her ten minutes, tops,” Pinch said, shaking her head.

Coco smiling, asked, “What were you going to say?”

“Oh, right!” Pinch said. “I would like to learn the style you showed Piña last night, if you would teach me.”

“I would be glad to,” Coco said.

“Can I borrow you, Uncle Pin?” Pinch asked me with a less than innocent smile. “I need somepony I can work on.”

“Sure,” I said, putting up the last of the dishes. I made my way into the den and settled down on the floor between Coco and Pinch.

“Should we start with his mane or his tail?” Pinch asked.

“His tail,” Mom said. “Since he cannot seem to control it on his own.”

“I think that’s only an issue when Coco’s involved,” Satin said.

“It’s true,” I said and smiled at Coco. “She’s the only pony who has such an effect on me and my tail.”

“You silly pony,” Coco said and nuzzled me. “Let me go get a brush and comb.” She got to her hooves. “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as Coco left the room, Pinch asked, “Have you gotten her address?”

I looked up at Pinch and smirked. “Her current address is: Coco Pommel, care of Rarity, Element of Generosity, Carousel Boutique, 1 Glamour Lane, Ponyville, Equestria.”

“Her other address,” Pinch said, after giving a light snort.

“No, I haven’t,” I confessed.

Pinch sighed and gave me a disappointed look.

“She just got back yesterday,” I said to defend myself.

Berry leaned over and gave my nose a light tap with a hoof. “That’s no excuse.”

Coco returned to the room. She paused, tilted her head, making me smile, and asked, “What did I miss?”

“We were fussing at him for not knowing your address,” Pinch said.

“That’s funny,” Coco said, looking confused. “He should know it. I’ve been using Rarity’s.”

“Not Rarity’s address,” Pinch clarified, “your address in Manehattan.”

“Oh.” Coco said. She sat down beside Pinch and began brushing out my tail. “That’s a bit of a trick question there too, since I don’t have an address of my own.”

I could not keep my ears from rising in interest at her statement.

“But you live there,” Pinch said, sounding as intrigued as I was.

“I still live at my folk’s,” Coco explained. “While I was working for Suri, I couldn’t afford a place on my own. Mom and Dad let me stay with them to help me save my bits and so their apartment wouldn’t be empty when they had to take long trips.” She looked at me, one of her ears tilted. “I haven’t mentioned that to you?”

“Not that I remember,” I said.

Coco paused in her brushing and blinked. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think I mentioned it to Rarity either.”

“Snerrk.”

Everypony paused at the odd sound.

“Snerrrrk.”

“What in Equestra?” Dad asked and looked around the room.

Stormbreaker held a hoof up to his mouth indicating we should keep quiet. He grinned and then pointed to Piña.

Everypony looked toward Piña as she let out another light snore: “Snerrk.”

Pinch giggled and glanced at the den’s clock. “Five minutes.”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said he was a good blanket,” Satin said in a low voice.

“She must have been worn out after school and her training,” Berry said, looking at Piña with a sister’s smile.

“She never had a chance, even with that,” Pinch said. “She’s always been able to fall asleep anywhere, but when Nana put us under her wings and read to us Piña couldn’t keep herself awake for fifteen minutes.”

“Should we let her sleep?” Mom asked. “While I am sure she is tired, and she is precious where she is, we do not want her sleep pattern thrown off.”

“I’ll sneak a picture and then pour the wine and sparkling juice,” Dad said, getting off the loveseat without making much noise. “We can wake her after I bring the drinks. That way she gets more of a nap and then she can have a drink too.”

Stormbreaker looked down at Piña. His eyes had a distant focus and his expression was thoughtful.

Satin looked up at him and asked, “Storm, you okay?”

Stormbreaker turned his head toward Satin and hugged her closer. “I was just thinking we will have our own little one to have these kinds of moments with before too long. I was imagining what it would be like if they would be a colt or filly, what tribe they would be, and how I could be a part of their life beyond the warm fuzzy moments.”

Satin rested her head on Stormbreaker’s shoulder. “We can still find out what our foal is going to be, if you really want.”

“No, thank you. When I meet them I want it to be like when I met you.”

Satin tilted an ear. “What do you mean?”

“It was a moment that I wasn't expecting and made my life so much better.” Stormbreaker leaned and kissed Satin’s nose. “I’m hoping that meeting our foal without knowing about who they will be that it will have just as much of a positive influence on us.”

“I’m sure it will be,” Satin assured and gave Stormbreaker a kiss.

Dad walked into the room again. He smiled as Satin and Stormbreaker leaned their heads together. “I hope there’s enough light.” Covering the flash with a hoof so it would not be too bright and wake Piña, Dad took pictures of the trio on the couch. “There we go,” he said and put the camera on the coffee table. “I’ll be right back with the drinks.”

Berry got up off the floor. “Let me help. I make the stuff but I don’t get to help serve it that often.”

I smiled and looked around the room. We’re feeling like a family again, I thought to myself. My smile disappeared and my ears fell a bit as part of me reminded, They will gone tomorrow.

A hoof rubbed up and down my back. “You’re thinking too much again.”

I turned to Coco, who smiled at me.

As I looked into Coco’s eyes, the same negative part of me turned the knife by adding, She might be going too, leaving you alone in your apartment and your shop again.

“Nope!” Pinch hugged me around the neck. “Whatever it is you’re thinking, stop it.”

“Sorry, I was thinking about them lea… Never mind.” I gave Pinch a hug with a foreleg. “I’ll stop.”

“I don’t want them to go either,” Pinch whispered. “It feels like when we used to get together when Granddad and Nana were here again.”

Satin giggled. “Pinch, that’s Coco’s coltfriend you’ve got hold of and whispering to.”

Pinch pulled back from me and looked at Satin. “It wasn’t like that!” she protested in a soft voice.

“Don’t worry, Satin, she’s not interested in me.” I grinned. “She’s said I’m too old for her.”

Pinch hid her face in her hooves. “I really am never going to live that down am I?”

“Not while I’m young enough to still remember it,” I teased. “I’m sure your sister will continue to remind you of thinking she’s too old now and then too.”

“What’s this about you two being too old?” Satin asked me, raising an eyebrow.

“Wellll,” I drew out.

“Please, don’t!” Pinch looked at me with pleading eyes.

“I would like to hear this too,” Mom said. “If Berry and Pin are ‘old,’ Insight and I have to be ancient.”

“What’s this about us being ancient?” Dad asked, as he and Berry walked back into the den carrying everypony’s drinks. “I missed it.”

“Pinch evidently thinks Pin is too old,” Satin said with a grin. “Pin was thinking about telling about what Pinch said.”

“I’m begging him not to,” Pinch said.

“I won’t,” I assured Pinch.

“I will though,” Berry said with a wicked grin. “If she thinks she can call me old and get away with it, she’s got another thing coming.”

Pinch groaned and returned to hiding her face in her hooves.

Chapter 16

I levitated Big McIntosh’s suit bag to him. “There you go. Thank you. I appreciate your business and the information.”

“You’re welcome.” McIntosh glanced toward the back of the shop. “Is Miss Coco in?”

I shook my head. “She’s helping Rarity and Miss Saddles today.”

“Applejack asked me to tell her hello,” McIntosh said.

“I’ll pass the message along when she comes back tonight.”

McIntosh gave me a curious look. “Is she helpin’ you during the evein’s?”

“No, she’s staying here.”

McIntosh’s eyebrows rose.

I blushed at his silent implication. “It’s just for a few days,” I explained. “She’s staying with me while Miss Saddles is staying with Rarity.”

“That’s goin’ to start some gossip.”

“Oh, I know it,” I said, putting McIntosh’s bits in the store’s register. “Even if she could have gotten a room, it would have been crazy for her to pay to stay at the inn when I have a free room here.”

McIntosh stood there studying me. He grinned and switched the sprig he had been chewing on from one side of his mouth to the other.

“What?”

“Your folks were here the last couple of days, right?”

I nodded. “They, my sister, and her fiance came for a visit.”

“Ponies in the market were talkin’ about you havin’ visitors, but I didn’t hear the particulars.” He chuckled. “So it’s goin’ to be you and her alone.”

I felt my blush reach my ears. “True.”

He chuckled again, fuller and louder.

I pointed a hoof at him. “You know I’m not that kind of stallion.”

“I didn’t think I was that kind of stallion either. But when Sugar Belle invited me to rest for the evenin’ at her place, when I went up to Our Town for deliveries a while back, she proved me otherwise.”

I stared at him, astonished at his admission.

“Mares can be right convincin’, when they want to be.”

The store’s bell chimed as Sassy stepped into the shop. She stopped and smiled at my friend across the counter. “You must be Big McIntosh.”

McIntosh nodded to her. “Eeyup.”

“Rarity’s told me about you,” Sassy said. “She said you have a lovely voice.” Her smile turned teasing. “Sounds to me she was right. She was right about you being handsome too.”

Big McIntosh blushed. “Thank you. Please, tell her she’s got a nice voice too for me.” Giving Sassy a polite but wide berth, he left the store.

“He’s taken,” I told Sassy.

“I know.” She grinned at me. “Rarity mentioned he blushes easily, so I had to give it a try.”

“What can I do for you?” I asked.

“You don’t have go formal on me. I’ll behave. I know you blush easy already.” Sassy’s expression changed to one that was almost sad. “I’m here about Coco.”

I swallowed as a worried lump formed in my throat. “Is she okay?”

“She heard from the acting company. They are planning to do a more contemporary show and won’t need the number of costumes they thought since most of the case won’t be performing with clothes on.”

“Oh no.” I slumped in disappointment. “She needed that commission.”

Sassy nodded. “It’s only about a third of what she was hoping it would be.”

“What can I do to help?”

“Rarity sent me out under the auspices of getting a few things for the shop.” Sassy motioned her head towards her saddlebags. “I got what we needed, but I was also asked to find out if you could come up with a surprise pick-me-up for after our mares only combination congratulations and sympathy dinner. You are to appear at the boutique at seven o’clock this evening.” She pointed a hoof at me. “Don’t knock, that might give things away. We’ll let you in.”

“I’ll be there,” I said. I smiled and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this about the dinner being mare’s only?”

“Rarity and I want Coco to ourselves for a while.” Sassy’s grin regained its liveliness. “We will provide the main courses for her and you’re in charge of dessert.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Or, if you’re bold, you could be dessert.”

“I don’t know how Rarity would react to me being dessert, considering her stance on nibbling. However, if Coco asks to nibble me or to be nibbled I will not deny her.”

Sassy laughed. “Good to hear.”

The store’s bell chimed again as a customer entered.

“I better go.” Sassy gave me a wink over her shoulder as she walked away. “If you want to keep with the dessert theme, invest in caramel or chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and strawberries. Inviting her to use them in creative ways may give her spirits a needed boost and enhance the evening for both of you.”

Caramel approached the counter, stopped, and looked back at Sassy with a curious expression as she exited the door. “Who was that?”

“Miss Sassy Saddles,” I told him, trying to keep my embarrassment out of my voice.

“I don’t think I’ve seen her before,” Caramel stated.

“She’s Rarity’s assistant and store manager from Canterlot,” I explained. “I think this is her first time visiting Ponyville. She’s here helping Rarity meet all her orders. ”

“Ah.”

“I’ll be right back with your suit,” I told him.

“Before that, I’d like to make a suggestion or two.”

I paused in mid-turn. “Sure.”

“Stick to the whipped cream. Caramel or chocolate syrup would take forever to get out of your coat, unless you’re planning to invite her into the shower to help get them out of your coat afterward.”

“I would never have thought of that,” I admitted.

“Put down something easy to clean on your chosen spot first too,” he added.

“I take it these suggestions are coming from the voice of experience.”

Caramel smiled and shrugged. “Mayyyyybe.”

I’m learning more about my friends than I really wanted this morning, I thought to myself.

*****

I felt odd as I waited outside of Carousel Boutique with my picnic basket. While there were not too many ponies walking by, I wondered what they thought of me sitting in the middle of the walk to Rarity’s like a pet waiting to be let in.

Rarity eased the boutique’s door open and peeked outside. “Right on time,” she praised. She paused and pointed a hoof at the picnic basket in front me. “Did Sassy not mention to you we would have everything for dinner covered?”

“She did, but she told me you put me in charge of providing Coco’s dessert. I did my best to follow the spirit of her advice while making sure we could enjoy our treat while in public.”

Rarity gave me a blank look.

“I bought caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and strawberries. I got two gallons of ice cream too. One for us and one in case you and Sassy would like some.”

“I believe I’m missing some context as to how enjoying ice cream could be seen as indecent.”

“I’ll let Sassy fill you in as to what she suggested that Coco and I do with the toppings.”

“Knowing that much I’m uncertain I want to know anything else.” Rarity gestured for me to follow her. “Do come in. Sassy should be bringing Coco to the front in a moment.”

“Thank you.” I stopped inside the doorway and looked around. “You’ve been busy.”

Dresses of all colors and descriptions hung from every one of the store’s displays. Several moving racks occupied the storefront’s floor and held even more dresses. While there was room to move, the remaining space seemed cramped compared to the boutique’s typical openness.

“Now you can see why I’ve needed both Coco and Sassy. Without them there would have been no way I could have finished all of this.” Rarity sighed. “Though, it turns out we’re not as close to being finished as we thought. The last of the orders I will take until the Celebration is over came in from Canterlot in today, along with Coco’s message.”

“How is she doing?”

Rarity sighed and looked toward her workroom. “She’s putting on a good face, but we can tell the news disappointed her. I’m hoping staying busy will help her keep her mind off of things.”

“It does for me.”

Rarity looked back to me with an apologetic expression. “Speaking of staying busy, there is more to do than what I had thought. I’m going to need a lot more of Coco and Sassy’s help. We’ll most likely be working long after the shop’s normal hours, so I will be providing them lunch and dinner for the next few nights.”

“That’s-” I stopped, hearing ponies coming towards us.

“I thought I heard somepony besides Rarity,” Sassy told Coco as she led her from the workroom. Sassy dropped her head to be on a level with my saddlebags.
“Oooo, what did you bring?”

“I brought strawberries, caramel and chocolate syrup, and whipped cream.” I grinned, enjoying the mixture of surprise and amusement on Sassy’s face. “And two gallons of ice cream,” I finished.

“Are you trying to have dessert with all three of us?” Sassy said gave me a flirtatious smile. “I’m game, if Coco doesn’t mind sharing. I hope Thunderlane isn’t the jealous type, though, if Rarity joins us.”

“Sassy!” Rarity said. “You’re making our dessert sound scandalous.”

“I could be,” Sassy teased. “It all depends on what and how much we let others sample of ours.”

“I brought one gallon of ice cream for you and Rarity and one for Coco and me,” I informed Sassy. “Since you said I would be in charge of dessert for the evening, I didn’t want to leave you two out, but I was hoping to take Coco to something special.”

“I’m not sure I like the thought of you taking Coco to places unknown,” Sassy said and moved to stand beside Coco like a protective older sister. “Where are you planning to steal our Coco off to?”

“It’s a surprise,” I said.

Coco looked up to the taller mare. “'Our' Coco? You’ve only known me for a few days.”

Sassy looked down at Coco and smiled. “I’ve become fond of you in a short amount of time.”

“I can’t blame you,” I told Sassy, “she had that effect on me too.” I was glad to see Coco blush at the complement.

“We will allow her to accompany you only if you promise that she will be returned to us with no indications of having been sampled as dessert herself,” Rarity said, with a poorly suppressed smile.

A knock at the boutique’s door drew our attention.

“Come in,” Rarity called.

The door opened and Thunderlane stepped halfway into the shop. He paused as he took the four of us in. “Is now a bad time?”

“There is never a bad time for you, Darling.” Rarity made her way to Thunderlane and gave him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. “What brought you here?”

“You.” Thunderlane said and kissed Rarity’s temple. He gave Rarity a return hug and told her, “While I admire your work, I don’t think I would look very good in a dress.”

Sassy put a hoof to her chin. “We might surprise you. You have lines we could work with.”

Rarity leaned back from Thunderlane and scanned him from ears to hooves. “Now that you mention it...”

“Sorry, Rarity, but don’t start getting ideas,” Thunderlane said. “Big McIntosh is the only stallion I know of who is bold enough to pull off one of your outfits in public in Ponyville.”

“Wait, what?” Sassy asked. She looked toward me. “Is he serious?”

I nodded. “He is.”

“Nooo.” Sassy shook her head. “I can’t even picture McIntosh in a dress.”

“Dress, makeup, and wig,” Thunderlane said. He held up a hoof at Sassy’s disbelieving expression in a display of sincerity. “I promise.”

“It’s true,” Rarity said. “I have photos.”

“What in Equestria prompted him to do something like that?” Sassy asked.

“To make a long story short, Big Mac will do anything for his sisters,” Rarity said.

“I’m sorry.” I gave them an apologetic bow. “I hate to break this up, but where I’m planning to take Coco is time sensitive.”

“So it’s a swap of ice cream and toppings for some Coco?” Sassy asked.

I smiled and nodded. “I believe it will be a sweet deal for all involved.”

“That was terrible,” Thunderlane said.

I levitated one gallon of ice cream and the promised toppings from my picnic basket. “Here’s yours.”

Thunderlane looked over the ice cream and toppings, as Sassy took them in her magic. “Looks like you went all out.”

“If you ask nicely, Rarity and Sassy both might share with you,” I kidded, gaining me a laugh from Sassy and a suffering look from Rarity.

Using her magic, Rarity opened the door for us. “Remember, I expect Coco back tomorrow in the same condition she is leaving us.”

“I will behave,” I assured her.

“You’re not requiring Coco to follow the same rules,” Sassy noted.

“Ssshh,” Coco said, holding a hoof up to her mouth. “Don’t point that out. I might take advantage of it.”

Sassy laughed as I blushed. “Rarity was right; he does get flustered when you’re involved.”

“Shall we?” I asked Coco, hoping to escape with some of my dignity intact.

Coco nodded and smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

Coco led our way out of the boutique, and I shut the door behind us.

“I take it you know,” Coco said, giving me a less than authentic smile.

“I do.” I tried my best to give her a full smile back. “Sassy stopped by and told me the news.”

She sighed. “I don’t know whether or not to be upset about it.”

“Let it fall into our rule of not worrying about things for a bit.” I touched my nose to hers. “We can talk about it, if you want to, when we get back to my place.”

“That sounds good to me.” Coco perked up a bit and asked, “Where are we going?”

“On a kind of picnic, if I tell you too much more it might ruin the surprise.” I pointed a hoof in the direction out of town and towards the Everfree Forest. “Everypony meets up on or near the hills close to Fluttershy’s cottage.”

Coco told me, as she joined me in walking down the path, “I didn’t know that there was an event planned for today.”

“It’s not a thing you can set a date for,” I explained.

“Now I’m even more curious.”

Even though she seemed enthusiastic, Coco did not have her typical energy.

“I don’t mean to be selfish and keep you out. I know you’ve been working your tail off. If you would like to rest back at-”

Coco cut me off with a nuzzle to my cheek. “I am tired, but I want to see what you have planned and have our ice cream picnic.”

“If you’re sure. This might be the first night, but it will go on for a couple of more days.”

Coco gave me a reassuring smile. “I’m sure. Besides, Rarity will need a lot more help than she expected, so this might be our only chance.” She looked at me with concern. “Are you going to need help at your shop?”

“I will be fine,” I assured her. “There are a lot more mares than stallions, so I don’t have near the number of commissions she has to work on.”

“Thank you for understanding. She needs all the help she can get.”

“You don’t have to thank me. She invited you here to help her. I was lucky to get your help when I did.” I nuzzled her ear and told her in a soft tone, “And even more lucky for the time to get to know what a wonderful mare you are.”

We made our way to the edge of town. Families and groups of friends had and set out picnic blankets on the grass on and around the hill and grassy fields between Ponyville and the Everfree Forest. Some pegasi had gathered stray clouds and positioned them in the sky above us, making it a two tiered gathering of townsponies. The sounds of colts and fillies playing, ponies talking, and occasional laughter from those around us provided lighthearted background noise to the growing twilight.

“The mystery deepens,” Coco said as she looked around. “I see ponies gathering, but I don’t see anypony setting anything up.”

I nodded toward a section of grass near the foot of the central hill. “Speaking of setting things up, that looks like a good spot. We can see the fields and the forest from there.”

“So it has something to do with the Everfree Forest,” she ventured.

I nodded. “The major part of it does.”

When we got to our spot, I put our blanket down and set out the ice cream and toppings.

“Look, it’s the first firefly!” a colt cheered.

“There’s another one!” a filly said.

Before long, the whole of the field was alight with fireflies hovering through the air.

“Oh wow.” Coco said, as she looked around. “I have seen a few fireflies outside of Rarity’s window the last couple of nights, but nothing like this.”

“It’s actually late in the season for them.” I passed her bowl of ice cream to her. “While having this many out is a good sign that what I hope will happen will be tonight, it also means that we’re about to lose them for the year.”

“You look a bit sad,” she said.

“I am a bit. I’ve loved fireflies since I was a colt. They are another reason I loved coming to Ponyville. You don’t get many fireflies in Canterlot.” I turned to her and smiled. “I’m glad I got to share their last hurrah for the year with you, though.”

Coco and I enjoyed our ice cream while watching the fireflies hover around us. I kept half an eye on the Everfree Forest, hoping to catch an early sign that we were all there at the right time.

“How did you know that we should be here tonight?” Coco asked.

“When Big Mac came by to pick up his suit, he told me that Granny Smith had noticed some signs that the end of the firefly season was here and that she had put her guess on the big event starting tonight. If it doesn’t, he invited us to an alternative that is sure to happen a little later at the Apples' farm.

“They’re starting!” somepony cheered. “The first one lit up!”

“Speaking of the main event,” I said and nodded toward the forest.

For a second or two, nothing seemed different with the Everfree Forest. The green canopy and dark trunks of the forest maintained their intimidating, wild appearance as we all watched for any signs of change. A light blue glow in one treetop caused expectant mutterings throughout the gathered ponies. After a moment, the glow faded.

“That was pretty,” Coco said.

“That’s just the start,” I said, not able to keep the foalish excitement out of my voice.

As if the initial glow had been a signal, more and more blue lights began to shine throughout the forest’s canopy. Several lights ascended above the canopy, while others descended from the leaves to float among the trunks of the trees. As the glowing lights shone and faded, they caused the branches and trunks of the trees to cast shadows that made it seem as if the forest itself was moving in accordance to the lights’ patterns and painting the tops of the trees in a muted bluish silver tone, giving the Everfree Forest a beautiful and eerie appearance.

“The trees look like they’re dancing,” Coco said, sounding awed. “What is doing that?”

“They’re beetles,” I explained. “They only come out about three or four days a year close to end of summer. They’re about the size of your hoof, so when they glow they can really put out some light.” I smiled as I watched Coco stare at the forest. She had a happy, wondrous smile that made me glad that my idea was something she enjoyed.

“Do they ever fly out of the woods?” Coco asked, not taking her eyes from the Everfree Forest.

“Not that I know of, they are like the timberwolves and other creatures of the forest in they keep to the trees. Ponies have found a few of them of them outside the forest after nights like this, but it’s not common.”

“If one of them comes this way, I want to catch it!” Coco said.

“I would go get one for you, but their lights stir up the creatures of the forest. That’s why not too many ponies are much closer to the woods.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can enjoy them from right here.” She leaned against me and gave a happy sigh. “I can enjoy you here too.”

She and I ate the rest of our ice cream and watched the beetles light up the forest in relative silence.

I thought she might have gone to sleep when Coco gave a slight gasp and pointed a hoof. “Did you see that?!”

I turned my attention to where she indicated and made out shapes moving among the trees and the occasional flash of glowing yellow eyes. “Timber wolves,” I told her.

“Rarity told me about them.” Coco shuddered. “They don’t sound very nice.”

“They’re not. Thankfully they won’t come outside the trees with this many ponies around.”

Over the next hour, the number of glowing lights decreased in number until just a few remained. Ponies began packing up their supplies and gathering any errant members of their groups.

“I think it’s over for tonight,” I said.

“That was wonderful,” Coco said. She looked up at me with a sleepy, full smile.

A shadow drifted over us in a way that struck me as unnatural. I looked around, after noting that the shadow did not move on. “What’s going on?”

Coco giggled and pointed upwards. “We have company.”

I looked up to see Sassy, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rumble, and Thunderlane looking down at us from a cloud above.

Sassy grinned and waved. “Hello!”

“What are you doing up there?” I asked.

“We were watching the lantern beetles,” Thunderlane responded. “Now they’re gone for tonight, watching you two being cute is the entertainment.” He glanced beyond us, and his smile grew. “You have incoming.”

Coco and I turned towards where Thunderlane had been looking.

Dinky, Pinch, and Piña were running our direction, dodging ponies and their picnic spreads on their way.

“Seems like most of Ponyville came out tonight,” Coco said.

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” I told her. “While it’s not an official event, it’s almost one with all the ponies that show up.”

“Pony pile!” Piña declared, when they drew closer.

My ears pinned back. “Oh no.”

Before I could prepare myself for their enthusiastic hugs, I found myself rolled on my side and under the combined weight of three fillies.

“Hello, Uncle Pin,” Dinky said and giggled.

“Hello to you too,” I said.

“Girls,” Coco said and then paused with theatrical skill.

The trio of fillies, their ears perked, looked at her with expectation.

“Could you help me find out something about Pin?” she asked them.

“Sure!” Pinch said. “What would you like to know?”

Coco smiled mischievously. “Is Pin ticklish?”

All three fillies grinned ear to ear.

“Wait!” I pleaded. “I can answer that! You don’t have to-!” I could not get another word out as the three fillies tickled me without mercy. I laughed and tried to squirm away, but Coco leaned against my back and blocked my escape.

“What brought this on?” Berry asked, as she and Muffins walked up.

“Call them off!” I begged between laughs.

“I think we have our answer, now,” Coco said. “Thank you.”

I flopped to the ground and did what I could to get my breath back with the three fillies resting on me.

“Pinch was right,” Berry said to Muffins. “Here they are.”

“Good evening,” Rarity called from the cloud above. “I see you found them too.”

Berry, Muffins, and the fillies looked up and waved to our friends on the cloud. “We guessed they would be here somewhere, when we heard the lantern beetles were starting tonight. Looks like you did too.”

“Am I really that predictable?” I asked nopony in particular.

“Yes,” Muffins said and smiled at me. “We love you for it, though.”

“How did you three get up there?” Piña asked.

“I asked Twilight to teach me a Walk On Clouds spell,” Rarity said.

I raised my head to look up at her and teased, “I wonder what prompted that.”

Rarity gave me a look, but did not respond to my comment. “It was a bit of a strain for me to cast it three times in a row, but I managed. Where are Barrel and Turner?”

“They’re packing up our stuff,” Muffins said. “We ended up setting up so close to each other we just moved side by side. We were about to head back, when Pinch said that she thought she saw these two.” Muffins gestured with a wing towards Coco and me.

“Oooo, they had ice cream,” Piña said, after examining the jars of toppings and bowls Coco and I had left out on the blanket.

“I didn’t pack extra bowls or spoons,” I told her. “But you’re more than welcome to dip the strawberries into the ice cream and any of the toppings you’d like.”

“Thanks, but we just had brownies and cookies.” Piña leaned back on her hindquarters and patted her belly. “I’m full.”

“Could I sneak one?” Dinky asked. “That whipped cream looks delicious.”

I smiled at her. “Of course you can.”

Dinky moved off my side and set her attention on the strawberries.

“What do you think?” Berry asked Coco. “About the beetles and the fireflies, I mean.”

“They were beautiful. It was quite a show.” She leaned over and nuzzled the top of my head. “I never did say thank you for bringing me.”

“I was glad I could share it with you,” I told her, feeling my face warm with a blush at the attention we were getting.

In the forest, a timberwolf howled a long note.

“I should pack us up too,” I said, rolling back to upright. “We don’t want to chance anything with the beetles having riled them up.”

“Please, just a second!” Dinky grabbed a strawberry, dipped it in the chocolate, then the whipped cream, and then popped the strawberry in her mouth. “Ank oo. Ter elly ood.”

“Dinky!” Muffins scolded. “Manners!”

“She said thank you, at least,” Berry pointed out.

I smiled. “I can't take much credit for them. You’ll have to tell Bon Bon thank you for the chocolate and Strawberry Sunrise for the strawberries.”

Everypony moved off the blanket, and I packed the picnic supplies back into the basket.

I levitated the last of the strawberries and the bowl of whipped cream towards the fillies. “Would you like one for the road?”

“Can I have one too?” Sweetie Belle asked from her cloud perch.

“Sure,” I said, looking up toward her. “But you’re a little out of reach for me to use my magic to bring you down.”

“I could jump so you can catch me,” Sweetie Belle offered.

“You will do no such thing,” Rarity said in a final tone.

“Could I get down too?” Sassy asked, looking a little pale. “While I enjoyed seeing the show from up here, I think I’ve had about enough of being up in the air for tonight.”

“I could carry Sweetie down and you could carry Miss Saddles,” Rumble suggested.

“Or I could just push the cloud towards the ground and let them hop off,” Thunderlane said, grinned, and patted Rumble on the back.

“Oh.” Rumble’s ears fell, and he looked away from Thunderlane. “That would be safer.”

Rarity reached over Sweetie Belle and rubbed Rumble’s shoulder with a hoof. “You were very kind to offer.”

“He might have been trying to show off for his training partner, and you ruined it,” Sassy told Thunderlane with a wink.

“Nah.” Thunderlane waved the thought aside with a wing. “Even if he was, carrying another filly for a flight might cause a bit of green eyes. I’m sure he wouldn’t want that.”

Rumble blushed, groaned, and put his face down into the cloud. “I uz ust eyeing oo be ice.”

Sweetie bumped shoulders with Rumble. “You were, thank you.”

Thunderlane maneuvered the cloud down so it floated just above the ground while Pinch and Dinky grabbed and dipped their strawberries.

Sweetie hopped off the cloud and came to get her strawberry. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” I winced at Sassy’s appearance, when I glanced over to her. “You okay?”

“Glad to be back on the ground is all.” Sassy leaned against Rarity. “I was doing fine until I looked down at you and the others.”

“Darling, you should have told us you have trouble with heights,” Rarity said in a sympathetic tone.

“I typically don’t. I think being on the cloud, with no railings or things like that worked on some part of my brain that doesn’t usually get bothered about being up high.”

“Thunderlane would have caught you had anything happened,” Rumble said, puffing up with pride. “He’s done it before.”

Sassy, less pale than she had been, smiled at him. “I’m sure he would have tried, but I weigh more than Rarity does.”

“He still would have caught you,” Rumble assured.

“Then I would have to duel Rarity for him,” Sassy said. “Tall, dark, handsome, and a personal hero? You don’t find stallions like that every day.”

“However lovely you are, I’m sorry.” Thunderlane put the back of a hoof to his forehead and acted dramatic. “Even were you to win, which I doubt you would, my heart would still be Rarity’s.”

Rumble rolled his eyes, and Sweetie Belle giggled at Thunderlane’s theatrics.

Thunderlane dropped his hoof back to the cloud. “However, since my brother does not seem to have a special somepony, only a training partner, I would have recommended you pursue him as a worthy substitute.”

Rumble gave his brother a startled look, and his wings fluffed.

“Hmmm,” Sassy said and studied Rumble. “He is rather cute and has very nice manners. He’d be just the right size to snuggle too.” She gave Rumble a wink, and the colt blushed in response.

Piña bristled up and gave what sounded like a low warning growl to Sassy.

Rarity giggled. “Dear, I’m afraid he’s a little too… inexperienced in life for a mare such as yourself. Besides, you didn’t fall and get caught, so there is nothing to consider.”

“True.” Sassy folded her ears down and acted saddened. “I will have to continue to wait for my special somepony it would seem.”

“We’re packed and ready to go,” Barrel said as he and Turner walked up. “You about pulled together, Pin?”

I put the strawberries and whipped cream in my picnic basket and secured its top. “I am now.”

“Then let us head back,” Turner said and glanced towards the Everfree Forest. “I’d rather we not test our luck with the lantern beetles stirring up the beasties in the forest and everypony leaving.”

“You guys go on,” Thunderlane said. “I’ve got to put this cloud back where I got it or Rainbow will have my ears. I’ll catch up with you once I’m done. It should take just a minute or two.”

“Would you like some help?” Rumble asked.

“Thanks, but I’ve got it,” Thunderlane told him. “Stay with them. If trouble comes, you can fly to get help.”

Sassy moved to stand next to Rumble and put a foreleg around his shoulders. “It would be nice to have a capable flyer with us, if something does decide to come along.”

Piña half stomped, half walked over to stand in front of Sassy. “Since he and I are the fastest of the group, we’ll be at the front.” She took one of Rumble’s hooves. “That way we can get a good head start toward town.” She pulled Rumble out from under Sassy’s foreleg. “Come on, Rumble. Let’s take point.”

I thought I heard Rumble whisper, “Thank’s for the save,” to Piña as she guided him past.

Smiling at Piña’s and Rumble’s backs, Dinky called, “We’re not that much slower!”

Pinch giggled and announced, “We’d probably be faster, since we’re not holding hooves,” gaining her a glare from Piña.

“She’s still not letting him go,” Muffins pointed out in a whisper, as she and Pinch went after them. “That’s so cute!”

“Sassy, that was a bit much,” Coco chided.

Sassy gave her an unrepentant smile. “If they are going to play games about what they mean to each other, I believe I can have a little fun.” Sassy gave me a pointed look. “Besides, it may prompt one of them to commit to that next step.”

“I wonder though,” Rarity said, giving a look of her own to Coco, “if it happens, which of the two will be the one to take the initiative.”

“Just who are you talking about?” Turner asked. “These two are already special someponies.”

“Live-in special someponies,” Sassy said with relish. “We all know what the next step from that is.”

“She’s staying with me for a few days,” I tried to correct.

I was ignored.

Berry gave Barrel a smug smile. “I told you.” She bumped shoulders with him. “Now, about that dinner out...”

Barrel groaned and looked skyward. “I should have known not to bet against you. After the celebration, we can go wherever you want.” He bumped Berry back. “Agreed?”

“Piña and my folks too?” Berry prodded.

“Piña and your folks too.”

Berry kissed Barrel on the nose. “Agreed.”

“You bet on me staying with him?!” Coco asked the pair.

Berry grinned and nodded. “I did.”

“We’ve got a couple bets going on about you two,” Barrel said.

I sighed and let my ears drop. “Dare I ask as to what and who you’re betting on?”

“No, that may sway the odds.” Berry gave me a wink. “I’m berry sure on my choices, though.”

*****

I opened the door to my apartment and stepped in. I held the door open for Coco and asked, “Did you enjoy the beetles?”

Coco, who looked distracted by some thought, snapped her attention to me. “I did! I think Rarity mentioned them a while back, but things have been so busy I had forgotten about them.” She smiled her genuine, bright smile as she walked pass me and into the apartment. “The ice cream was great too. Thank you.”

“You're more than welcome.” I closed the door behind her and turned the lock. “I’ll get everything cleaned and put back up. Would you like the first shower?”

Coco seemed distracted again. She was looking at the furniture in the den in a way that gave me the impression she was seeing more than what was there. She blinked and turned to me. “Oh. Sure, that sounds great.”

“Are you okay?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

I felt a touch of concern, but decided not to press her. I made my way into the kitchen and unpacked the picnic basket. I had just turned on the water to clean the dishes, when Coco hugged me from behind.

“Pin?”

I turned off the water and turned my head so I could see what I could of her. “Are you really okay? You seem distracted.”

“To be honest, I’m a bit of a mess. Can we talk now?”

“Sure.” Coco loosened her grip on me, and I turned to face her. She rested her head on my chest, and I hugged her and put my cheek on her head. We held each other for over a minute, not saying a word.

I kissed her forehead and told her, “I know where we need to be right now.”

Coco looked up at me. “Where?”

“On the cloud chair.” I took her hoof with mine. “Would you like to try it?”

Giving me a small smile, she nodded. “That sounds great.”

Holding each other’s hooves, we walked into the study. “Ladies first,” I said and nodded to the chair.

Coco, with a dainty hop, got onto the chair. She did an adorable circle, like a cat testing a bed, and settled down. “Oh, wow, this is nice.”

I joined her on the cloud chair. “I am glad you like it.”

She leaned against me. “It’s so comfy. How do you not stay on this all the time?”

“It feels off to me, getting on it alone. It was made for two ponies to share, and it felt too big and empty when I got on it.” I gave her temple a nuzzle. “With you here it feels right.”

Coco drew in a quick breath and hugged me around the neck.

I hugged her back. “I didn’t mean to upset you saying that.”

“You didn’t. My thoughts and feelings are a wreck and that slipped out.” She gave a dainty huff and leaned back from me. “I’m frustrated with myself and a little with Rarity. I know that being frustrated with Rarity isn’t right, which makes me more frustrated with myself.”

“Which causes a negative emotional feedback loop; I’m very familiar with those.” I gave her a comforting squeeze. “Why are you frustrated with yourself?”

“I wanted that contract before I came.” Her eyes reflected her inner turmoil. “Now that I’ve gotten it, my nerves are worse than when I was waiting for it.”

“Why?”

“Manehatten is the center of the costuming world, but beyond that it’s empty for me. While I’m back in Manehatten, I’m going to miss everypony here, especially you.”

“You’ll be able to see your friends there though, right?”

Coco shook her head. “I was too busy working for Suri to make friends.” She gave an uneasy giggle. “I don’t even have a place I can work there anymore. Since I’ve been here, I let my membership with the shared workshop I had been working out of lapse to save some bits.”

“I would have helped you with that,” I said. “I’m sure Rarity would have too.”

“I know you would, that’s why I didn’t say anything.” Her ears fell, and she looked away from me. “I didn’t want to burden either of you two by asking you to save me again.”

“Save you?” I could not keep my confusion out of my voice, and my right ear went askew. “What are you talking about?”

“I didn’t have a full-time job. I didn’t have a workshop. I didn’t even have a place of my own. Rarity somehow finds out about my situation, swoops in and offers me a job to help her with her shop.” Coco drew in a breath and continued, “Then you appear and offer me another position, treat me like a full professional, feed me, introduce me to your friends, and have shared so many good times with me.” She touched her nose to mine. “You’ve made me feel like I’m worth something.”

“You are worth the world to me.” I looked into her blue eyes and told her, “Coco, I love you.”

Coco’s eyes widened at my confession.

“I will move to Manehatten if-”

“No!” She put a hoof over my mouth with surprising speed. “No,” she said again, in a more gentle tone, and removed her hoof from my mouth. “A big part of what makes you, you is that you are here, in the home and town you cherish, close to your friends. I cannot and will not ask you to move.”

“For you, I would, though.” I braced myself as her expression shifted to something I could not read. “Maybe this was a horrible time to tell you how much you mean to me, but-”

She pulled me into a kiss that made my eyes widen, my ears snap to their full height, and my tail go straight back from my haunches.

Coco broke our kiss and grinned up at me. “This was the perfect time to tell me.” She grinned and gave me a light shake. “Pin, are you okay in there?”

I refocused my euphoria-addled brain and smiled back at her. “I think so.”

“Good, because I want you clear-headed for this.” She gave me a lingering, softer and more intimate kiss. “I love you too.” She smiled and put her forehead against mine, resting the top of her head against my horn. “I am so glad to hear you say you love me, I can’t even tell you.”

“My Grandfather and Dad taught me not to say ‘I love you’ to a mare without meaning it from the core of my being. I’ve been trying to show how much I cared for you as best I could.”

She kissed my nose. “You have done a wonderful job.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know if you wanted me in your life the way I want you, but hearing you devalue yourself when I think so much of you stung.”

“You silly pony, you’re the main reason I was stewing in my own thoughts. I’ve been trying to figure out the logistics of completing my costuming contracts while living here. It will add a couple of challenges, but I would only need to go to Manehatten now and then during certain stages of the projects.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you living here prove to be a huge pain in the flank. I think I’m as averse to interfering with your love of costuming as you are about me moving.”

Coco nodded. “I’m sure. Living here would also make it easier for me to work contracts from Canterlot too, if I can break into the market.”

“I’m sure Rarity could introduce you to the right ponies for that to happen.”

Coco’s expression turned to one of annoyance. “Speaking of Rarity, if she doesn’t quit playing games with me about what she is planning with her new shop she and I might have words.”

“So she’s not giving you any details?”

“Not one! Sassy is tormenting me by dropping hints that she knows things that I don’t, which is making it worse.”

I had to fight a smile at her cute, flustered expression. “I’m not sure what I think about Sassy myself.”

Coco sighed. “I like her. She has a good heart, but she doesn’t know where the line is with her teasing sometimes.”

“While we’re on the subject, a question occurred to me, and you may know the answer. If you’re here and Sassy is here, who sent the orders from Canterlot?”

“I don’t know that either,” Coco said, a touch of irritation returning to her voice. “Neither of them will tell me.”

I smiled as she hid a yawn behind her hoof.

“Coco, I want to restate it, no matter what happens or what you decide my home and workroom are always open to you.”

“Knowing that you’re looking out for me and want me here is keeping me sane right now.” She blinked and yawned again. “I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. You’ve had a long day. I feel bad for keeping you out.”

“I would have stayed out all night with you to see what we did.” She smiled at me with a sleepy look in her eyes.

“There is a lot more I want to show you.” I smiled back at her. “There is so much more I want to learn about you and from you too.”

“I would love for us to talk more, but I’m fighting to stay awake.” She guided us down onto the softness of the cloud.

I pulled her close and touched my nose to hers. “Are you comfy?”

“I’m more than comfy. Your snuggling has progressed very well.”

My heart sped up, as Coco leaned up, kissed my ear, and gave it a light nibble.

She settled back in my forelegs, turning her back to me so I could hold her as the little spoon. “If I wasn't about to fall asleep, I would give you a test to see if you were ready for training in more advanced displays of affection.”

After having said that, Coco fell asleep in moments.

With the combination of holding the mare of my heart, the nibble, and her words echoing in my mind it took me a while to compose myself enough for sleep take me too.

Chapter 17

Coco broke the silence that had been between us since we had finished breakfast: “Pin, you’re beating yourself up over nothing. I promise I’m not upset.”

Keeping my head down in shame, I felt Coco’s eyes on me from across the table.

“I have a brother,” she reminded me. “I know that certain physical events are outside your control first thing in the morning.”

I stared into my coffee cup, not daring to look up at her. “I’m ashamed of myself because that’s not what happened.”

“Really?” Coco asked, sounding more at ease than I was.

“I woke up early, and you were right there. I could smell you. I felt your warmth, the texture of your coat, and your breathing. I was enjoying doing nothing but holding you, then my mind went places I shouldn’t have let it and I… reacted before I could control myself.”

“I thought I had hurt you for you to put space between us like you did,” she said with an echo of concern in her voice.

I still could not lift my eyes to her. “I am sorry for waking you up and for-”

“Don’t apologize,” she insisted. A hint of a giggle came into her voice as she told me, “That was quite a reaction for me just being there.”

I looked up to her and saw no hint of anger or disgust with me in her expression.

“If I hadn’t been dead tired last night and fallen asleep first, I had planned to see if I could coax that kind of response from you.” She smiled at me. “I’m flattered that I didn’t have to do anything for you to consider me so enticing.”

My blush, which had only subsided a minute ago, renewed itself.

“Pin, we’re going to be living together.” Coco reached over the table and took my hoof with hers. “I’m not sure how you feel about such things, since you’re more traditional, but I hoped that at some point we could take full advantage of having each other all to ourselves.”

“I gathered that after our conversation last night.”

“Are you opposed to the idea?”

I surprised myself by giving an immediate and sincere response: “Not at all.”

Coco giggled at me. “That was a fast answer considering it came from somepony I’ve had to give snuggling lessons to.”

I raised a playful eyebrow and reminded her, “I nibbled you without prompting,”

“True, but you...” Using her free hoof, she took a long sip from her coffee while studying me.

I fidgeted under her gaze like a colt. “What is it?”

With a self-sure smile, she put her coffee down. “That’s the key.”

“What’s the key?”

“You are a Canterlot gentlecolt who respects mares. You won’t go much past the boundaries you think are proper or I’ve invited you to cross. Even with the nibble, it took a good bit of teasing before you acted on impulse.”

I blinked. “I never thought of it like that, but it fits.”

“It also explains why you took to your training so well. You wanted to be more affectionate, but until I made a clear shift of the boundaries between us as part of our lessons you didn’t feel you could.”

I grinned at her. “With you as my teacher, I couldn’t help but be an eager student, psychological blocks or not.”

She smiled back at me. “I think I have an idea for your exam.” Coco got up from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

She left the kitchen with energy in her steps. I did not have long to wonder what she was up to before the returned to the kitchen.

“The heart’s desire,” I whispered in recognition, as she came close to me.

Coco held up a hoof and touched the blossom behind her right ear. “The other flowers you’ve given me have been beautiful and tasted wonderful, but I wanted to keep this one.” She gave me a too fleeting kiss. “It’s very special to me, as is the stallion that gave it to me.”

“For my exam you want to complete our courtship?”

Coco nodded. “As best we can, since we’re not following the exact steps your Mom and Satin described.”

“I don’t think how the steps are carried out matters as much as honoring their intent, but we can try.” I got to my hooves and bowed to her. “Lady Coco, I ask that you allow me the privilege to return the loving gesture you gave me the other night.”

Raising my head just enough to see what I was doing, I used my magic to braid a strand of her mane behind her left ear.

I lowered my head back down and told her, “If my offer is agreeable to you, please return still wearing this braid.”

Her hoof raised my chin so I would look at her.

“Good stallion, you shall have my answer by the evening of this day,” Coco told me, touching her nose to mine and looking into my eyes. “We shall discuss what boundaries our relationship will have then.” She smiled and added, “If there are any barriers left at all.”

*****

I hummed the melody to Coloratura’s The Magic Inside while walking through the storefront and taking notes on what needed to be restocked. Getting low on cufflinks and tie pins again, I thought, peering to a display cabinet.

The store’s bell chimed as the door opened,

“Pin, I’m in urgent need of your assistance!” Rarity called, sounding as if she were being dramatic rather than in distress.

“I’m right here,” I answered, turning to her.

“Oh! My apologies, I didn’t mean to shout at you. I thought you would be in the back.”

“I was taking a quasi-break and checking my inventory,” I told her, putting my notepad down. “What can I do to help?”

“Do you still have dress collars and ties for school aged foals?”

“I do.”

“How many?” she asked.

“In the foal’s section, I have thirty five collars of varying sizes, nineteen bow ties, and twenty eight Langshoof ties. I know that I have a few ascots and stock ties behind the counter too.”

“You’re quite sure?”

“Very.” I tapped my pen against my notepad. “I counted the ones in the foal’s section less than ten minutes ago.”

“Wonderful!”

Rarity turned and exited the shop, leaving me standing alone and confused.

“What was that about?” I asked the empty storefront.

The shop’s door opened again and the store’s bell chimed its welcome again.

“Here you go, darlings!” Rarity said, holding the door open for half a dozen colts, one of which was Rumble, and a pair of fillies to come in. “Mister Pin will help you.”

The foals wandered around the shop looking at what was on display.

Cheerilee followed the colts and fillies in. “Children, I know Mister Pin’s shop is interesting, but I need you to make your choices so we can get back to the others on time.”

“Whoa, did you make all of this?” a lanky colt with a snail cutie mark asked as he continued to walk between the racks and shelves.

“Not all of it, but most of the clothing items in the store were made by me or by Miss Coco Pommel,” I answered.

“Is she your partner?” a light green colt with a pair of scissors for a cutie mark asked.

“She’s his special somepony,” Rumble informed him.

“Is she the nice mare at Rarity’s?” one filly asked.

“Did she have a short blue mane with a braid on this side?” I asked her, using my hoof to indicate my left ear.

She smiled and nodded. “She had a pretty flower behind her other ear.”

“That would be her,” I confirmed.

“We just met her, she’s nice,” the second filly said.

I smiled. “I think she is too.”

“Mister Pin, these students would like ties to wear to the Celebration,” Cheerilee said, sounding like she was trying not to giggle. “Miss Rarity ran out of her selection, so we were hoping you might have some.”

“I do.” I made a gesture toward the foals’ section of the shop. “Everypony, please come this way.”

As I helped the other students, Rarity did her best to help Cheerilee answer the foal’s questions about items in the shop and about making clothes.

I noticed that Rumble and one filly had broken away from everypony else and were moving through the displays and racks as if looking for something.

“Do you have a bow tie like Miss Octavia’s?”

I turned my attention back to the filly who’s turn had come. “I’m not sure if I have one just like hers, but I have pink ones that should be close.”

I showed her the pink bow ties I had and she smiled.

“I like that one,” she said, pointing a hoof.

“A very good choice,” I told her. Remembering she was the filly who had asked about Coco, I added, “Miss Coco designed and made this one.”

“That makes it even better!”

“I’ll tell her you said so. Let me measure your neck for your collar.”

The filly raised her chin up and I levitated my measuring tape around her neck. “Do you like Miss Octavia’s music?”

“I do!”

I had to readjust the tape, due to the filly moving with excitement.

“Liza, you need to hold still,” Cheerilee reminded her in a kind tone.

“Sorry, Mister Pin,” Liza said.

“You’re fine. I get excited about my favorite musicians too.”

“When I play her music to my flowers, it helps them grow,” Liza said.

I took Liza’s measurement and removed the tape from around her neck. “I had heard the right music can help plants grow. I didn’t know it really worked.”

“It does with her music. My flowers are a whole hoof taller now.”

“I believe they scheduled Octavia to play at the Celebration,” Rarity said. “You might meet her there.”

Liza all but hopped in place. “You think so!?”

“If I bump into her, I’ll mention she has a fan who would like to see her,” Rarity said.

Liza did hop up and down at Rarity’s words. “Oh, thank you!”

Rarity smiled at the exuberant filly. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what I can do.”

I put Liza’s bow tie and collar in a bag. “Here you go.”

Liza stopped hopping and took the bag from me. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Noi, Rumble, you need to come over here,” Cheerilee called.

The two foals came back over, appearing reluctant to stop what they had been doing.

“You go ahead,” Noi said to Rumble, sounding less than enthusiastic.

“You sure?” Rumble asked her.

Noi nodded.

As I assisted Rumble, I noticed Noi kept looking around the shop with a purpose. The more she searched, the more dispirited she got until her ears fell in disappointment.

“Dear, whatever is the matter?” Rarity asked.

Noi looked up at her. “I don’t see what I was looking for here either.”

“Ask Mister Pin about what you wanted,” Rumble said. “He’ll help you.”

“I’ll do my best,” I promised. After putting Rumble’s collar and his chosen tie in a bag and giving them to him, I turned to Noi.

Noi looked up to me with hopeless eyes and pointed a hoof towards her chest. “Do you have the floofy thing that Major Mare wears?”

“You mean a pleated stock tie with ruffle trim?” I grinned as light returned to Noi’s eyes. “I sure do. I keep stock ties in a different section behind the counter.”

“I told you he’d know what you were talking about,” Rumble said.

Noi lunged and pulled Rumbled into a hug. “You were right! Thank you so much!”

Rumble gave her an embarrassed, reluctant hug back. “You’re welcome.” He went stock-still and blushed as Noi gave him a nuzzle.

“Uh, dude, ain’t cha going to say something?” the stocky colt with the scissor cutie mark asked. “Piña might get jealous.”

“Maybe they’re forming a herd,” the lanky colt suggested. “Piña is Noi’s best friend.”

“Piña’s my training partner, not my marefriend,” Rumble grumbled.

“Then you won’t mind if ask her out,” the stocky colt said. He breathed on a hoof and then rubbed it on his chest. “I am quite the catch, you know.”

“Sure, if you’re going by the pound,” Rumbled snapped.

“Rumble, well behaved ponies do not make fun of others!” Cheerilee scolded. “If I hear something like that from you one more time, you will have detention. Apologize to Snips right now.”

“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” Rumble said, his ears folded back. “Sorry Snips. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Snips, looking smug, just smiled.

I guided Noi over to the display counters, went behind them, and pulled out my selection of foals’ stock ties for her. “Here’s what I have available.”

“They look great.” Noi looked over the stock ties for a moment. She turned her head and asked, “Miss Rarity, what would be a good color for me?”

Rarity walked over and studied the stock ties. “Let us see here.” She levitated one of the pleated, ruffled ties to Noi’s neck. “This one would bring out the color of your eyes. It’s not quite what Mayor Mare wears, though.”

“That’s okay.” Noi smiled at her. “It will let me have a bit of my own style too.” She turned to me and said, “Can I have this one?”

“Sure,” I said. Rarity levitated the tie to me, and I put it and Noi’s collar in a bag for her.

“Rarity, could you take the children back to your shop?” Cheerilee asked. “I need to settle accounts with Mister Pin.” She looked a little worried, as she pulled out her money pouch and weighed it in her hoof. “I’ll pay you as soon as you get back to the shop.”

Rarity leaned close to me and confided, “I found out from a source who wishes to remain unknown that Cherrillee tried to get approval from the Equestria Education Association to use school funds to pay for the foals’ collars and ties. She wrote to them about how she would use them to show the foals how to tie their ties as part of teaching them how to dress for job interviews and formal occasions. She told the board that this would be a one time use of school funds associated with the Celebration that she would not ask for again too.”

“Sounds reasonable to me,” I said, “but I take it something went wrong.”

“The board approved her request, but the chancellor vetoed it at the last second and wrote back to her that ‘school funds are not to be used for frivolous extracurricular activities’. The poor dear didn’t even have enough time to organize a fundraiser. Cheerilee promised the foals that they could get their collars and ties today and she won’t go back on her word so she is paying for all of this herself.”

My ear twitched in irritation. “Like Tartarus she will,” I whispered back.

Rarity gave a slight nod. “Then you and I are in agreement.”

“Pin? Rarity?” Cheerilee looked at us with concern. “Is everything okay?”

“Rarity and I will send you a combined invoice,” I assured her. “You and your students can go ahead. It will take us a bit to calculate the total, with all the purchases to tally up and applying all of your discounts.”

Cheerilee gave me a confused look. “What discounts?”

I listed: “Your educator’s discount, your client referral discount, your haberdasher’s appreciation discount, your…”

As soon as I slowed down, Rarity picked up with, “Your civic service discount, your support of the arts discount, your affectation enhancer’s discount, your-”

Cheerilee raised an eyebrow in a way only a teacher about to discipline a fibbing student can.

“Oooo, they’re in trouble,” the lanky colt said.

“They might be, depending on how many ‘discounts’ they give me,” Cheerilee told the colt.

“We can discuss such things later, dear,” Rarity said. She made a point of looking to the shop’s clock. “You wouldn’t want to be late in getting the students back to the schoolhouse would you?”

Cheerilee, her voice cracking a touch, responded, “No, I wouldn’t.” She put her money pouch away and gave Rarity a hug. “Thank you.”

Rarity returned the hug and patted Cheerilee on the back. “You’re welcome. Consider it a thank you for all that you do for Sweetie and the other students.”

Cheerilee waved for me to come from around the counter. “You get a hug too.”

I made my way to Cheerilee and received a hug from her.

“Thank you,” she told me.

“You’re welcome,” I said and gave her a hug back.

She let go of me and turned to the students. “We need to get going so we can get the others and head back to the school. What do you say to Miss Rarity and Mister Pin for helping us?”

“Thank you!” the students said in chorus.

“You’re welcome,” Rarity and I replied.

After ushering the students out of the shop, Cheerilee paused in the doorway, turned, smiled, and waved back at us. “Thank you again!”

As soon as the door shut and the students were out of sight Rarity let out a relieved breath and sat down.

“If that was just a small portion of them, I can’t imagine what it was like at your place,” I said.

Rarity groaned. “Discord would have been proud of the chaos. If Coco and Satin hadn’t have been there I don’t know how I would have managed.”

I stepped back behind the counter and replaced the display racks of stock ties back into their cabinet. “You would have managed it.”

“Speaking of Coco,” Rarity said and gave me a look. “I noticed her appearance was different when she came into the boutique this morning. She’s wearing a real flower instead of her barrette, and I believe somepony braided a strand of her mane.”

“I think the single braid looks good on her. I’m glad I didn’t bungle it since I’m so out of practice.”

“Pin, she’s talked with me about this possibility since the other night,” Rarity told me with a hint of a warning. “She is taking you two finishing the tradition seriously.”

“I’m glad she is; I am,” I said in a gentle tone to not seem combative.

“I know you are, but she’s so fragile right now.”

“Rarity, I love Coco, and I’ve told her as much.”

Rarity’s ears snapped up and she looked at me with a startled expression.

“I will never do anything I think will hurt her. She’s the treasure of my life.” I looked down at the display counter in front of me, tapped a hoof on its glass top, and sighed. “But I don’t want to put her in a crystal display or a gilded cage either. I want to live with her, which means she and I will have to take chances that might end up hurting one or both of us.”

Rarity touched a hoof to my cheek. “Darling, I have full confidence you, of all ponies, can strike that balance with her.”

“Thank you.” I looked up I saw something in Rarity’s eyes that sent a shock through me.

She gave me a wan smile as if sensing my thoughts.

“Rarity, I-”

Rarity cut me off with a tap of her hoof to my nose. “We have both been fortunate.” Her smile brightened and the shadow that had been in her eyes vanished. “I have found the stallion who makes my heart soar and who catches me in my worst moments. You have found the mare you cherish above all else and who allows you to express all the affection you’ve held back over the years.”

“We’ve both been very lucky,” I agreed.

“Don’t worry, darling. We all have our little wonderings on what might have been, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want what we have now.” Rarity tapped me on the nose with more force. “I would prefer, however, to never be described as an ‘occasional friend’ by you again.”

I chuckled. “I promise, I will only describe your as one of my best friends from now on.”

She nodded with satisfaction. “That’s very good to hear.”

The store’s clock chimed half past the hour.

“I need to get back. The girls and I still have so much to do.”

“Thanks for letting me in on the fun,” I said as she turned to leave. “I’m glad I got to help you and Miss Cheerilee too.”

“I hope I didn’t put too much of a strain on your inventory bringing them here.”

“Not at all, adult clothing moves fast, not so much with foals’. It will give Coco and I an opportunity to work on new designs too, as we restock.”

“You’re always thinking of her,” Rarity commented with an amused smile.

“I am. Speaking of which, before you go, could you tell me something real quick?”

“I’ll be happy to.”

“What time does the Ponyville Day Spa close? It’s been so long since I’ve been there I’ve forgotten.”

*****

“Rarity was right,” I said, as I looked at the spa’s hours, “which means I have just enough time to pull things off.”

Aloe looked up from her calendar as I stepped in. “Welcome to-” She paused and her smile grew. “Mister Pin!”

“Hello, Aloe.”

“You haven’t visited us in ages!” Aloe trotted from behind the counter and gave me a hug. “We’ve worried about you.”

I returned her hug and kidded, “I haven’t been trying to work myself to death.”

Aloe released me and then poked me in key spots on my shoulders and neck. “You are still too tense. You do not have to be near the point of collapse to come and see us. We can help you with day to day stresses too.”

“Sister, did we have another appointment so soon? I have not finished preparing the room for them.” Lotus stepped through a beaded curtain and into the reception area. She gave me a smile. “Mister Pin, it is good to see you have returned to us.”

“It’s good to see you too.”

“If you wait a few minutes for me to prepare, I can begin whatever treatments you would like,” Lotus offered.

“While that sounds nice, I was wondering if I could ask for you and your sister’s help.”

Aloe moved to stand beside Lotus. “We’d be glad to help. What can we do for you?”

“I read your book on pampering special someponies.” That statement gained me two smiles and two sets of perked ears from the sisters. “I was wondering if you had some of brushes and combs that you described in chapter five for sale. I have a basic grooming kit, but I wanted a nicer set for what I have planned for this evening.”

Lotus’ grin expressed that she was more than eager to help.

Aloe nudged Lotus. “Sister, do not make such faces when there is a customer present.”

Paying no heed, Lotus, in a voice that was almost a purr, asked, “Would you like to see our full selection?”

After a slight hesitation, I answered, “Sure.”

“Come this way,” Lotus said in the same almost seductive tone and gave a turn of her head showing the direction in which I was to follow. “Let me help you select the perfect grooming instruments for you and your special somepony.”

Aloe sighed. “Lotus, keep in mind Mister Pin is on a schedule this evening.”

“He will have made his choices in thirty minutes,” Lotus assured. “However, I will not allow him to do so uninformed.”

Lotus kept her word. With five minutes to spare, I returned to the front desk with a set of brushes and combs that she assured me would make any pony I used them on happy and relaxed. I placed on the counter, along with the brush and comb set, a blanket from the Crystal Empire woven from wool from crystal ewes.

Aloe stroked the blanket with hoof as if it were a delicate living thing. “I see Lotus introduced you to our newest import.”

“I’m glad she did. I never thought I would find wool that could match cashmere for softness. When she told me about the blanket, I thought she was kidding. When I touched it I knew her statement that it would ‘make the pony you pamper feel nothing but luxurious relaxation’ was true.”

“My sister and I never exaggerate the quality of what we offer.”

As Aloe rang up my purchase, I remarked, “Lotus must have written chapter five.”

Aloe laughed. “She did. I cannot match her enthusiasm and knowledge in brushes, combs, and their uses. She, however, cannot match my expertise in oils and scents.”

“She taught me a lot just in the time I spent with her, and I appreciate it.” I paid Aloe, and she gave me my change. “Thank you both for the grooming kit and for writing the book.”

“Just a moment, please.” Aloe bent down and disappeared behind the counter. When she stood back up, she put a small spray bottle and what appeared to be a fuzzy oven mitt on the counter top. She held up the mitt. “Do you remember these being discussed in our book?”

“I do. It’s a grooming mitt. They can be used at the end of a grooming session to remove any loose hairs from a pony’s coat.”

“Very good,” Aloe said and put the mitt in the bag with the grooming kit.

“I didn’t-”

Aloe held up the spray bottle. “Do you remember something like this from the book?”

I nodded. “I think it’s grooming spray, often made of plant oils and herbal extracts to help a pony’s own oils make their coat shine.”

“Good! You are a very attentive reader.”

“The book was an interesting read, and she provides ample motivation to pay attention to details,” I said.

Aloe beamed at me. “During the evening, after you brush and comb her, use two sprays of this on the mitt and then run it along her coat. In the morning, use the mitt again, without adding any more sprays. It will make her coat shine so ponies will be jealous.” She added the bottle to my bag and then held it out for me to take.

“Aloe, I need to pay for those.”

“I will not hear it. You read our book, bought a top tier grooming kit, one of our finest blankets, and allowed my sister an opportunity to share her love of grooming techniques and tools. You have also directed ponies to our spa many times. Consider them a thank you for your past and continued support of our business.”

“Thank you.” I took the bag from her using my magic. “I will use them to the best of my abilities and will keep sending ponies your way.”

“Please remember, if you ever need oils for any use, please come and see me.” Aloe grinned in a way that mirrored the eager smile Lotus had given me. “The proper application of the right oils can do wonders for couples that our editors would not allow me to describe in our first book.”

Ignoring the intense blush that came to my cheeks and corresponding wave of bashfulness that pinned my ears down I asked, “You wouldn’t have a copy of your other book for sale here, would you?”

*****

After completing my second set of purchases at the spa and receiving a larger bag for my items, which had a bold print of the Ponyville Day Spa’s symbol on both sides, I trotted toward my next stop. Though I knew that no pony could see what was in it, I could not help but feel self-conscious when ponies glanced at the bag as I went past them.

I arrived at Berry’s, braced myself, and stepped in.

“Welcome!” Berry greeted.

“Well hello.” Lyra looked at the bag on my back and smiled. “Does somepony got a relaxing night planned?”

Bon Bon turned her head at Lyra’s comment. Her eyes widened when she saw me. “Pin?!”

“Good evening ladies,” I greeted them.

“That’s a pretty logo,” Lemon Hearts said. “Where is it from?”

“The Ponyville Day Spa,” Lyra answered.

“Oh!” Lemon Hearts said.

“Lyra, Hearts, behave,” Bon Bon told them.

“Sis, we’re through with our homework, can we meet up with our friends now?” Piña asked, after opening the store’s side door and poking her head into the storefront.

“Sure!” Berry nodded toward me. “Say hello to Pin, before you go. He just stepped in.”

“Uncle Pin!” Piña ran to me and gave me a hug that sat me back on my haunches and the bag to slide from my back. “Thank you for helping Noi! She told me all about what you, Rumble, and Miss Rarity did for her.”

I returned her hug. “I was glad I could help.”
Pinch walked through the side door, looked at the state that Piña and I were in, and shook her head. “Piña, you made him drop his bag.”

My eyes widened as Pinch moved toward the open bag. “I’ll get it for you,” she offered.

I lifted the bag with my magic and held it in the air so it folded closed again. “Thank you, but I’ve got it.”

Pinch’s eyes lingered on the bag, and she exclaimed, “You went to Aloe and Lotus’ spa!”

Piña, still holding onto me, leaned so she could see the bag. “What did you get?”

“We were about to ask him that,” Lyra said.

“It’s for Coco, isn’t it?” Lemon Hearts asked.

I nodded. “We’re going to finish-”

The shop’s door opened behind me, and I hear a filly’s gasp.

“Rumble, I’ve got him, he’s right here!”

I turned my head and could just see Noi out of the corner of my eye. “What do you mean ‘he’s right here’?”

“I’ll get Miss Coco!” Rumbled called from outside. “Keep him there!”

“I’ve got him!” Piña declared. “He’s not going anywhere!”

I grunted as Piña strengthen her grip on me.

“Thanks! I’ll be right back!” Rumble shouted, his voice sounding as if he were flying away from us.

“Pin, what did you do?” Berry asked through a laugh.

“I don’t know!”

Noi sat on my tail, pinning it to the floor, and put her forehooves against my back, shoring up Piña’s hold on me. “We’ve really got him now!”

I tapped on Piña’s shoulder with a hoof. “I need those ribs,” I said in a wheeze.

“Sorry!” Piña eased up on her hold. “Barrel says if I keep training I’m going to be as strong as Sis is before too long.”

“I’ll believe it.”

“Excuse me,” Bon Bon said with an amused smile. “Why are you keeping Pin from going anywhere?”

“Liza, Rumble, and I wanted to deliver our class’ thank you note to him,” Noi answered. “We went to his shop, but he wasn’t there. We were talking about what we were going to do when Miss Coco showed up. She said that she needed to talk to him too. We offered to help her find him, and we came here first to see if we could get Piña’s and Pinch’s help.”

“I was picking up gifts for Miss Coco,” I explained and nodded towards the bag suspended in my magic. “I wasn’t expecting her to come back early.”

“I don’t think she was expecting to either,” Noi said. “She seemed worried about something.”

I did not like the sound of that.

“Hello,” Lemon Hearts said to Noi and gave her a small wave. “I’m Lemon Hearts. I think you came into Bon Bon’s the other day, but I didn’t catch your name.”

“I’m Noi, Golden Harvest’s sister.”

“She’s my best friend and Rumble’s and my new training partner,” Piña told Lemon hearts.

Piña’s statement received raised eyebrows from Berry and Bon Bon and with giggles from Lemon Hearts and Lyra.

I turned to look at Noi as best I could. “Is Coco okay?”

Noi nodded. “I think so, she just seemed… almost sad.”

Piña gave me a reassuring pat on my back. “Uncle Pin, don’t look so worried.” I glanced down at Piña and she smiled up at me. “I’m sure Miss Coco is fine. Liza is with her, and Rumble’s sure to find them soon, so she won’t be alone.”

“Liza is the kindest, sweetest filly in our class,” Pinch said. “If anypony can make Miss Coco feel better, it’s Liza.”

Noi and Piña shared a glance and then looked toward Pinch.

After a second or two of Noi’s and Piña’s scrutiny, Pinch blushed and started to seem uneasy.

“What?” Pinch asked.

“Nothing,” Noi and Piña said together.

“He’s right here!” Rumble said, sounding as if he was right outside the store’s door. “They got him!”

I heard Coco giggle behind me. “They certainly did.”

I let my ears and head fall. “I confess! They apprehended me before my devious plans were complete,” I said, acting the part of a foiled villain.

“Thank you for your help, girls, I’ve got him from here,” Coco said.

Noi and Piña released me and moved to stand on either side of Rumble.

Coco bumped her shoulder to mine. “We’ve been looking for you,” she told me with a smile. Though she had put on a good face, I could tell something was bothering her.

“So they told me,” I said, glancing at Noi and Rumble.

“Hello, Mister Pin,” Liza said as she stepped in front of me. “Our class and Miss Cheerilee wanted to send you a thank you letter for helping us.” Liza stood by Coco and presented me the notes.

“Thank you!” the gathered foals said together.

“You’re very welcome.” I gave them a slight bow. “I am always happy to help others feel and look their best in their finest.”

Liza looked to Coco. “What did you want to talk to him about?” The filly’s ears folded in worry. “Is it bad?”

Coco told Liza, with a noticeable touch of disappointment, “It’s not too bad, but it looks like we’re going to have put off our plans for the evening.”

“That’s terrible!” Piña said. She pointed a hoof at the bag I still held aloft in my magic. “He got your gifts and everything!”

“Lyra,” Lemon Hearts said.

Lyra answered, “Yes, Hearts.”

“She’s wearing her flower and a braid,” Lemon Hearts pointed out.

Lyra’s eyes widened. “Oh! That’s what was going on!”

The foals looked to Lyra. “What was going on?” Rumble asked.

“They were planning a special date,” Lemon Hearts answered. “I bet that’s why Pin is here. He was getting wine to share with her.”

“That’s right,” I said. “I picked up Coco’s gifts first, since the Day Spa closes before Berry’s and Barrel’s. I was hoping to pick up the wine and be home before Coco came back, but she found me first.”

“You might not be able to go out, but maybe you could still give her presents to her?” Liza suggested.

“I think that is an excellent plan. That would help both of us cheer up.”

“If she came looking for you, you two need to get going,” Bon Bon prompted. “I’m sure that you will have some planning and talking to do.”

“That might be best,” I acknowledged.

“That’s Bon Bon,” Lyra said. “Always the practical one,” she said and looked towards Bon Bon with affection.

“Somepony has to balance you out,” Lemon Hearts teased.

“I’m not that bad!” Lyra said.

“Now might be the time for us to make our getaway, while they distract everypony,” I stage whispered to Coco.

“I get a hug from Miss Coco first,” Piña declared. Coco laughed as Piña ran up to her and gave her a hug. “I’m sorry things didn’t turn out for you two.”

“We’ll make the most out of it,” Coco promised.

“We’re next!” Noi said when Piña let go of Coco. Liza and Noi hugged Coco at the same time. “Thank you for helping our class get our ties,” Liza said.

“I had a great time while everypony was in the shop.” She gave them a hug back. “Thanks for helping me find Pin.”

“You’re welcome,” Liza said.

“It was fun,” Noi added. “If you ever lose him again, just come get us.”

“I’ll do that,” Coco said with a smile. She looked towards Rumble, as Liza and Noi ended their hug with her. “Would you like a hug too?”

Rumble blushed. “I would, but…” Rumble glanced at me and then back to Coco. “I better not.”

Noi gasped. “You can’t turn down a hug!”

“Coco’s his special somepony,” Rumble said, pointing a hoof at me.

“I give hugs to other ponies’ special someponies all the time, and nopony else gets jealous,” Piña pointed out.

“But you’re you,” Rumble said. “You could hug anypony, and nopony would mind.”

“Noi hugs to lots of ponies too. She told me about giving you a hug in Uncle Pin’s store for helping her, so I know you know what I’m talking about.”

“He didn’t seem to mind too much either,” Noi said with a grin.

Rumble's blush returned as the other fillies and mares in the room all looked at him. “That’s different!”

While Noi, Piña, and Rumble continued to debate, Pinch snuck over and gave Coco a hug. “My aunt and Noi are crazy.”

“They’re like Berry and Golden when they were that age,” I said. I gave Pinch a grin, “There might be a some crazy in them, but it’s a good kind.”

Pinch released Coco and gave me a hug. “Take care of Miss Coco,” she said, in a quiet tone.

“I’ll will,” I promised.

Pinch sighed, let me go, and shook her head at Noi, Piña, and Rumble. “They’re still going at it?”

“It’s no different than you being friends with Noi and me and us giving you hugs and you giving us hugs,” Piña told Rumble.

Rumble sighed in exasperation. “Like you said, we’re friends, we can do stuff like that.”

Seizing the opportunity he presented, I asked Rumble, “You don’t think I’m your friend?”

Rumble turned to me, seeming shocked. “No! I mean, we are! That’s not what I meant.”

“Miss Coco’s not your friend?”

Coco let her ears droop, her tail fall to the floor, and slumped in feigned rejection. She looked so pitiful that I had to stop from giving her a hug myself.

Rumble’s eyes widened with a touch of panic. “That’s not it either! Miss Coco is one of the nicest mares I’ve ever met! I liked talking with her when she was brushing my coat and teaching Piña how to braid my…” Rumble trailed off as he realized what he was saying and turned bright red.

I chuckled. “By your logic, since I’m your friend, and she’s your friend there shouldn’t be any problems if you gave her a hug.”

Rumble gave a conceding nod.

Coco cast off her act and asked Rumble, “Can I give you that hug now?”

Rumble nodded and moved towards Coco, who took him in in her forelegs and gave him a full hug.

“Thank you for helping us,” Rumble said and returned Coco’s hug.

“You’re welcome,” Coco said to Rumble, giving Noi and Piña a wink over his head.

*****

“I don’t think Rumble knows what he’s gotten himself into,” I said as Coco and I entered my apartment.

“What do you mean? Noi seems sweet.”

“She is, but she and Piña combined can be a hoofful. They are like Applejack and Rainbow in that they’re friends, but there’s a competitive vibe between them.”

“Do you think they’re both interested in him as a training partner or a training partner?”

“I don’t know. I think Noi and Piña both want to train with him, since Noi, Golden Harvest, Piña and Berry all compete in the Sisterhooves Social. Something more could be going on.” I chuckled. “But considering how protective of him Piña was with Sassy, I doubt the second version of ‘training partner’ happening with Noi and Rumble is too likely.”

“True.”

I levitated the bag to the coffee table. “Speaking of being protective of others, is everything okay?”

“To be honest, no. Sassy did a check on our progress with the orders. We were fine, at the start, but the three of us took the time off to see the lantern beetles, which ate up what little slack we had. When the foals showed up and needed help with their ties, we fell behind. If we don’t push, we might not reach our deadlines.”

“So you need to go back tonight,” I surmised.

Coco nodded. “I do.”

“We’ll both go.”

Coco looked at me with surprise. “What about your orders?”

“Thanks to you, I’m ahead of where I needed to be. If I can, I would like to help take the pressure off of you three.”

Coco angled an ear, tilted her head, and asked, “You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” I smiled at her and touched my nose to hers. “Do you have any clue how adorable you look when you do that and how much I have to restrain myself to not kiss or nibble your ears?”

“You sweet, silly thing.” Coco smiled and turned her head.

I gave the tip of her offered ear a kiss and then a light nibble. “We might not have the evening we planned, but we can still spend it together.” My ears snapped up as I thought about the items in the bag again. “Speaking of which, would you like your gifts now or when we have our official date?”

Coco looked towards the bag. “What about giving me one and leaving the rest as surprises for later?”

“I like that idea.” I went over to the bag, opened it, and looked down into it. “Choices, choices.”

“Pin, I have a feeling you spent too much on me.”

“I would rebut that, but doing so might ruin some of the surprise.” Careful not to damage anything as I shifted items in the bag, I drew out the blanket. “This is the first part of this gift.” I held the blanket out to her. “Feel it first, please.”

Coco touched the cloth with her hoof. “Oh, wow.” She had a look of wonder as she stroked the blanket. “This cloth is fantastic. What is it?”

“You’re not allergic to wool are you? ”

“No.”

“Good. It’s made from the wool of the Empire’s crystal ewes.”

Unfolding the blanket, I draped it around her shoulders. “What do you think?”

“It’s amazing.” Coco drew the blanket around her so it cocooned her. “I can’t believe this is wool.”

“I don’t know enough about the cloth, or the wool it’s made of, to fill a thimble, but it caught my attention as soon as I felt it.”

“This is so comfy.” She snuggled into the blanket. “I wonder what clothes made of this are like.”

Her question prompted several internal questions of my own and inspiration for a quick, rough plan. I filed my thoughts away, promising myself I would return to them when I had time.

“I was told that if you lie down on the blanket while I-” I stopped myself.

Coco raised an eyebrow, “As you...?”

“Give you a massage and pamper you,” I offered as in incomplete answer.

Coco wrapped a portion of the blanket around me and pulled me close. “It seems to me you had more planned.”

“I did.” I wrapped my forelegs around her. “But I didn’t even get the chance to get our wine or dinner ready.”

“You didn’t need to cook. We could have gotten-” Coco eyes widened and her ears shot up in panic. “Dinner! I forgot! I was supposed to get dinner for Rarity and Sassy!”

“Don’t worry. We can pick it up on the way over.” I kissed her forehead. “I distracted you, so you can blame the delay on me.” I touched my nose to hers. “There is one thing I would like to do, before we go.”

Coco smiled. “Sure.”

“Lady Coco, thank you for keeping the braid and returning to me.” I kissed her with as much appreciative, loving emotion as I could. When we broke the kiss, I returned to touching my nose to hers. “I look forward to discussing where our relation shall go and having the opportunity to braid your beautiful mane and tail.”

Coco’s eyes flashed. “Sir Pin, I will wear this braid until that time.” She reached up with a hoof and gave me a gentle nudge for me to turn my head. When my head was as she wanted, she nibbled my ear, sending a thrill up my spine, and said in a sultry voice, “I hope that time is not too distant, or I very well might pin you against something.”

*****

Coco opened the boutique’s door with her key. “I hope they’re not too hungry.”

“They’ll understand.” As I followed Coco into Rarity’s, inspiration struck. I shut the door behind us, and grinned at her. “I just had a thought.”

“What?”

“Direct them to the kitchen. I’ll unpack everything there. We’ll give them a bit of a surprise that should make up for the delay.”

Coco smiled back. “I like the way you think.”

I trotted toward Rarity’s kitchen as Coco went toward the workroom.

I put our orders from the Grazing Meadow onto the counter. I could hear voices from the back of the shop, but could not make out what they said. Keeping one ear turned toward the door, I gathered the silverware. I smiled as the voices from the back began to come closer.

“I understand darling, delays happen,” Rarity said.

“I wonder if she didn’t have a nibble or two of Pin, before she headed back our way, and lost track of time,” Sassy teased.

Rarity gasped as she stepped into the kitchen. “Pin, what are you doing here?!”

“I was hoping to have dinner with three and then help you with your orders,” I said as nonchalant as I could. “Coco said that you were in a bit of a bind, because of the foals coming today. So I’m volunteering my services.”

“What about your own orders?” Rarity asked.

“I’m where I need to be, if not ahead, thanks to Coco. I wanted to pay you back for letting me borrow Coco as much as I have and for the opportunity to go see the lantern beetles last night even though you were pushed to get things done.”

“Are you sure? While we would appreciate the help, it will be a long night.”

“I’m sure.”

Rarity walked up to me and gave me a hug. “Thank you, darling. You have no idea how much your being here will take the pressure off.”

I gave Rarity a hug back. “It’s the least I could do.”

“I think you’re just bound and determined to have dinner with Coco tonight,” Sassy said. “By the way, Rarity, since you’ve got him right there, check his ears to see if I was right about Coco having a pre-dinner nibble.”

“Your date! We were so busy I forgot!” Rarity let go of me and turned to Coco. “Darling, I’m so sorry!”

“There is no need to apologize, Rarity. You’re the pony that brought us together, and we’re behind because we were helping Cheerilee and a whole school’s worth of foals. Pin and I both agreed that helping you was far more important.”

Rarity hugged Coco. “You two are worth more than your weight in gemstones.”

“Since we’re giving out hugs,” Sassy said and hugged me. “Thank you. We needed the help.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, giving her a polite hug back.

Sassy looked over to Coco. “At least you don’t growl like Piña does when I hug your special somepony.”

“Here’s a bit of gossip,” Coco said. “Rumble and Piña have a new training partner.”

“Really?” Rarity asked, seeming to be equal parts surprised and intrigued. “Who?”

“A cute little filly named Noi,” Coco answered.

“Harvest’s little sister,” Rarity said and hummed. “Now when you say practice partner, are we talking the training variety or is there a little bit of something going on between the three of them?”

“We didn’t get to ask,” Coco said.

“Oh, so you found this bit of information out when you found Pin.” Sassy released me and gave Coco a curious look. “Where was he?”

“He was at Berry’s, about to buy some wine for us to share. Rumble and his friends helped me find him.”

“That’s so sweet of both of them,” Rarity said. She paused and gave me a smile. “Darling, how did your little errand go?”

I’m in for it now, I thought to myself. “It went well,” I told her.

“What errand?” Sassy looked to Rarity with an ear turned in confusion.

“He went to the Ponyville Day Spa and got me gifts,” Coco said.

“Ooo! I’ve heard about the Spa from Rarity. It sounds wonderful.” Sassy leaned towards Coco. “What did he get you?”

“I don’t know all of what he got me; we agreed to save the other gifts for later. He gave me one thing from out of the bag tonight. He got me a marvelous blanket of the softest wool from the Empire.”

Sassy smiled as she cut her eyes toward me. “Looking to do some cuddling?”

“I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” I told her.

“So when you say ‘gifts’, how big a bag of goodies are we talking about?” Sassy asked Coco.

Coco sat back and gestured in the air a square a touch broader than her chest and about the same distance in height with her hooves. “It’s about this big.”

Rarity gave me look. “Sounds like you made Aloe and Lotus happy.”

“I don’t know about that, but I hope to make Coco a happy mare in the next couple of nights.” Only when Rarity and Sassy grinned and Coco blushed did I realize how poor my choice of words was.

Chapter 18

I fumbled with the shop’s key. It seemed to refuse to go into the lock no matter what angle I tried. “I’m more tired than I thought,” I said to Coco.

“We could go back to Rarity’s and crash on one of her couches.” Coco leaned against me and giggled. “I bet she could magic us both one in less than a minute.”

“You wouldn’t know where she hides those things would you?” The lock and key worked together, and I opened the door.

“I don’t know, but it has to be a big place.” Coco giggled again. “Maybe she buys all of Davenport’s rejects for cheap and stores them in the basement of Twilight’s castle.”

I let Coco enter the shop first. After stepping inside, I shut and locked the door behind us.

Coco led us to the back of the shop and into the workroom. “Oh, right stairs,” she half groaned, looking toward the stairwell. “No rest for the weary. Unless there is some way I could convince you to haul me up.”

“I can do that.”

“I’m kidding, but thanks for being sweet.” Coco giggled and put a hoof over her mouth. “Sorry, I’m so tired I have the giggles.”

I smiled at her and asked, “Has anypony carried you by magic before?”

“Not since I was little. I don’t even have a clear memory of it, it was so long ago.”

“Let’s fix that.”

Coco blinked. “You’re serious?”

“I’m serious.”

“I’ve wondered what it would be like, now that I’m older.” One of her ears turned in concern. “But I’m so much bigger, isn’t that going to be a problem? I remember my brother saying that it was tougher to levitate something than it was to lift it by hoof.”

“I’ll admit Rarity and Sassy have an edge on their control, but for sheer oomph I’ve got them beat thanks to all the training I’ve done. You’re a petite mare. Carrying you won’t be a problem at all.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Hold still for a second.” I focused my magic on Coco and lifted her from the floor. “Comfy?”

“This is great.” Coco giggled. “You’re magic tingles against my coat a bit.”

“I’ll make it quick.”

“Don’t rush, I didn’t mean it like it was a bad thing.”

Walking up the stairs while carrying Coco in my magic took most of the concentration I had left. When I got to the top of the stairs, I remembered I had locked the door. I muttered impolite things under my breath.

“If you need to, you can put me down,” Coco said. “This has to be similar to trying to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time enough as it is.”

“I don’t trust myself to let you down safe on the stairs. Levitating you back to the first floor would push my abilities more than I want to risk too. We’ll have to go back down the stairs.”

“How about you put me on your back?”

I turned my head to look at Coco.

“I’m serious,” she said and gave a sure nod.

Being careful of the limited space, I floated Coco so she could settle on my back. I got a hold of the key in the spot I had tucked it. Never mind the lovely distraction on your back, let’s see if you can manage this lock better than the last one, I thought.

Coco shifted so more of her body pressed against my back.

I tensed at the new sensations the contact brought.

I think I can feel her-!

Coco wrapped her forelegs around my neck and kissed my left ear.

Clean thoughts and control! Clean thoughts and control! I begged myself in a pseudo mantra.

“You’re comfy.” She said and rested her chin on top of my head. “You’re mane is nice and soft too.”

I somehow got the key in the lock and opened the door.

“You’re getting warm.” Coco said as I stepped into the apartment. “Are you feeling okay?” she asked and shifted her position again.

If you weren’t certain you were feeling them before, you know you’re feeling them now!

“You have that effect on me,” I said aloud, trying to sound collected and failing.

“I’ve noticed, and I’m glad I do.” She slid from my back, rubbing against me last as long as possible before making a light landing on her hooves.

I stared at her as she walked in front of me and tried to regain my composure.

She looked over her shoulder, gave her tail a flirtatious flick, and smiled.

“You, Miss Coco, are a tease.”

Coco giggled and raised an eyebrow. “This coming from the pony who just levitated me at the perfect angle so I could admire his rear end and get glimpses of his other assets as he walked up the stairs.”

I imagined what she must have seen as we came up the stairs and groaned. “I didn’t plan that!” I protested. “Had I thought about it I wouldn’t have done it.” I put a hoof to my forehead and sighed. “I can’t seem but embarrass myself when I’m alone with you today.”

“From what I’ve seen you have nothing to be ashamed of.” Coco turned and I could see she had a light blush herself. “Thank you for carrying me up the stairs.” She grinned. “And thanks for giving me a ride for the last bit too.”

“I think I enjoyed that part more than you did,” I admitted.

“Somepony’s being more open about what he likes.” She giggled. “I wonder what I need to do to get you to tease back.”

“That was more than enough.”

“Really? Let’s see.” She shifted into an imitation of a Royal Guard’s standard pose. “I want you to show both your verbal and tactile teasing skills.”

I stepped to her and kissed her forehead. “Keep your eyes shut for me, please.”

“Okay.”

I kissed and nibbled her ear. Controlling my breath and making as little noise as possible, I lowered my head to kiss her cheek and then her jaw. Putting my nose just under her jawbone, I kissed her neck, letting my lips linger on her pulse.

“It’s getting hard for me to just stand here,” Coco said with a touch of pleased tension in her voice.

I chuckled. “Good.” I traced my lips down her neck, keeping gentle contact with her coat. When I reached the crook of her neck, I gave her collarbone a light nip and a kiss. I she rewarded my actions by taking a catching breath.

“After we finish our courtship, I plan to make up for not showing you the proper amounts and kinds of affection I have for you.”

I raised my head to her ear, while touching the spot where I had kissed her collarbone with my hoof.

“You’re a very enticing temptation for me, but I’ve kept my passion for you in check.”

I kissed the tip of her ear, let my lips slide down to the edge of the soft furred warm inner portion of her ear, and kissed it again.

Coco pawed the floor with a hoof and gave an appreciative noise.

“As you saw this morning, that is becoming all but impossible for me.” Keeping my movements as silent as possible, I moved parallel to her side and traced my hoof with as light a touch as I could manage along her collarbone. “There is no aspect of you I am not eager to explore.”

I stopped my hoof at her shoulder and then moved it down her upper foreleg. “Your strong, supple legs.”

Keeping my hoof at the same elevation on her body, I moved further back and ran my hoof along her ribs. “Your beautiful coat.”

My hoof came to her cutie mark and I traced its outline. “Your eye drawing flanks.”

I let my hoof make slow circles to the center of her mark and I eased myself closer to her. I positioned myself so I would remain clear of her hind legs and lifted my hoof from her cutie mark.

For several silent, uneventful seconds, I enjoyed the sound of Coco’s excitement laced breathing.

I smiled as she turned an ear and then her head towards me but kept her eyes closed. I leaned to get at a safe angle for the finale. I drew in a breath and her scent with enough force I was certain she could feel it.

“Pin?”

As soon as she said my name, I gave a nip to base of her tail where it connected to her hips.

Coco whinnied, jumped forward, and gave a slight buck with her hind legs.

“And your more delicate aspects,” I finished, grinning as she looked back at me with a full blush and wide eyes.

“Where did that come from?!”

“You’ve been driving me wild, so I thought it appropriate that I acted in a manner reflecting that.”

Coco did not respond, but stood looking at me as if I had appeared out thin air.

Through my bravado, there was a flash of fear that I had taken things too far.

“You didn’t learn that from any book,” Coco praised.

My relief at her words allowed my full smile to return. “That’s true, but I look forward to being able to demonstrate to you all that I’ve learned from them.”

She looked down at my hindquarters and raised her eyebrows. “Somepony is feeling bolder. Maybe I have unleashed a wild animal.”

I turned to face her, wanting her to focus what I wanted to tell her. “I want to be passionate with you, but I never want to be an uncontrolled beast.”

Coco’s ears fell a bit. “I didn’t mean anything like that.”

“I know you didn’t, but giving you the impression that I’m a lust crazed brute has worried me.”

Coco’s ears returned to standing and she gave me a sweet smile. “Pin, I have only felt cared for and safe around you.”

I let out a relieved breath. “I’m glad.”

“To be honest, I’ve worried that my kidding around and teasing you makes me look like an easy mare or a gold digger.”

I snorted. “Neither of those thoughts ever crossed my mind. I’ve only thought of you as an attractive, talented mare, and that I’ve been very lucky to have you come into my life.”

Coco turned so she was square to me, wrapped her forelegs around my neck, and kissed me. She broke off the kiss with a sudden withdrawal of her lips from mine. “Pin, if we want to keep our special night as special as Canterlot tradition would have it, I need to take a cold shower right now.”

“We may want to sleep apart tonight too,” I suggested. “As you can tell, I am very, very tempted for us to break with tradition, but I think we’re both too tired for us to make the event what we want.”

Coco gave me a look and asked, “Just what kind of event are you thinking about?”

“The kind that lasts until one or both of us gives out.”

She giggled and kissed my nose. “Be careful. I’m an earth pony mare with lots of endurance. That could be quite a challenge.”

“I’m a wily unicorn with lots of tricks, magical and otherwise.” I returned her hug with a foreleg and nuzzled her cheek. “I look forward to facing that challenge.”

*****

A knock on the shop’s back door made me pause.

I stepped from behind the shop’s counter and went into the workroom. “I’ll be right there,” I called.

When I opened the door I paused. I had the surprise of seeing Berry, Cheerilee, Pinch, and Spike standing outside.

“Good afternoon ladies and dragon,” I said.

“Good afternoon,” Cheerilee said. “I’m beginning to think that you and Rarity may need some remedial math lessons.”

“What do you mean?”

She gave me a disapproving look. “I still haven’t gotten that invoice.”

I laughed. “Rarity and I had to stop when we got to the point we would need to divide by zero to figure out what portion of nothing each of us would have.”

“Pin, that is not acceptable,” Cheerilee fussed. “I owe you two, and I will pay it back.”

“Get Rarity a gift card to the Ponyville Spa, and that will settle things,” I suggested.

Cheerilee thought for a moment and nodded. “For her it would. What about you?”

I lifted a hoof and inspected it. “My hooves aren’t perfect, but I don’t think they need professional help.”

Cheerilee gave a snort. “Pin, be serious.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I have everything I need or want. In fact, I feel that I owe you since you helped me clear out some shelf space. Now Coco and I can experiment with new designs.”

“Wow, dude, you do have it bad,” Spike muttered.

“Is Coco here?” Pinch asked.

“No, she’s over at Rarity’s right now. I was closing up the shop and about to head there myself.”

“Oh.” Pinch seemed anxious. “Well, we were going to go there too.”

“Pinch, are you okay?”

She nodded and hugged me. “I just got some big news and I’m still working through it in my head.”

I looked to Berry as I hugged Pinch.

“None of us can say anything yet,” Spike said. “It’s royal, secret business that we can only talk about when we’ve gathered the ponies involved all together.”

“I will do anything I can to help the Sisters,” I vowed. “Name what you need, and I’ll provide.”

“Wow, I’ve never seen this side of you,” Berry said with a grin. “Too bad Coco isn’t here, she’d swoon.”

Before I could form a question or response, Pinch looked up at me and said, “It’s nothing like that.”

“Wrong princesses too,” Spike said.

“Don’t tell him that, he might back out,” Berry said. “He gets weird if you mention one princess in particular.”

I looked back down to Pinch. “What in Equestria is going on?”

Pinch shook her head. “I can’t give hints. I promised.”

“Promised who?”

Pinch shook her head again. “I can’t say who made me promise either.”

I chuckled and let go of Pinch. “Sounds like I’ll have to finish up closing up so I can find out.”

Pinch nodded. “Can I help?”

“Thanks, but there’s nothing much you could do.” I looked to Spike. “Want me to meet you over at Rarity’s, since you’re heading that way too?”

“That’ll work,” Spike said.

“I’ll be right behind you,” I promised. “The last thing I have to do is close the register, and I’m about done with that.”

“I want to stay and visit with him for a couple minutes, while he works,” Berry said. “We’ll catch up.”

Berry and I waved to the others goodbye and watched them disappear around the corner of the shop.

“So… how did things go?” Berry asked, while we were still waving.

“We’ve put things off.”

“Pin.”

I turned just in time to have Berry take my muzzle in her hooves.

Berry looked me in the eye and said, “I hope you’re not serious, or you’re both in berry serious trouble with me. You two either need to move things along or call it all off right now.”

“Just for two nights!” I explained. “We’re helping Rarity meet her orders. We wanted to take a full evening for ourselves when we finish our courtship.”

Berry’s eyes lost their dangerous glint. “Oh, good, there for a second I thought the three of us would need to sit down together and have a berry intense talk.”

“You don’t have to worry about us putting things off for too long. She and I are at the point that one of us will take a tease a bit too far and we’ll break Canterlot courting traditions in the most carnal way they can be.”

“Wait, you’ve teased her? I’m so proud of you!” Berry smiled, leaned closer, almost putting her nose to mine, and demanded, “Details.”

I blushed. “I won’t give you all the details, things got… intense, but I’ll tell you what I can without embarrassing her or myself too much.”

“Never mind, I can wait.” Berry’s grin shifted. “We will be over at Rarity’s.”

The way she said it made my ears pin back.

Berry released my muzzle and gave my nose a light tap with her hooves. “Rarity, Sassy, and me will get the details out of both of you.”

Two fillies ran around the far corner of the shop.

“Sis?!” Piña said, as she and Noi skidded to a stop close to Berry and me.

“What are you two doing here?” Berry asked. “I thought you were supposed to be helping setting everything up with your class.”

“Everypony is taking a break for dinner,” Piña said. “Have you seen Pinch?”

“You just missed her,” I said. “She, Spike, and Cheerilee are heading over to Rarity’s for some kind of meeting.”

“So she was invited,” Noi said to Piña.

Piña turned her attention to me. “Do you know what the meeting’s about?”

“I haven’t a clue,” I answered. “I was about to close up shop and Berry and I were going head over there ourselves.”

Noi looked to Piña. “What do we do now?”

“We go to the meeting,” Piña said without hesitation.

“Sis, I don’t know what’s going on either, but from what I can tell the meeting is invitation only and at least two of the princesses are involved so you can’t just storm in,” Berry told her.

Piña’s expression became worried, and she swallowed. “Do you know how long the meeting will be?”

“I don’t have a clue, to be honest.”

“But Liza is waiting. I can’t go back and tell her that Pinch isn’t coming to see her.” Piña sniffed. “I promised I would bring Pinch to her.”

Noi hugged Piña from the side. “We’ll figure something out.”

“We don’t have enough time.” Piña’s cheeks discolored with tears. “I feel horrible. She’s going to have her heart broken again.” She pawed the ground in frustration, kicking up a clod of dirt and crass. “I should have kept my big mouth shut.”

“Oh, Sis, don’t cry.” Berry took both fillies in a hug and nuzzled the top of Piña’s head. “Tell us what is going on, and we’ll help.”

A push of air along the ground heralded Thunderlane’s arrival as he landed. “Whoa, I was just supposed to help gather ponies together, but this looks serious.” He looked to the fillies with concern. “What’s going on?”

“We’re okay. I was trying to help Liza.” Piña buried her face in Berry’s coat. “And I messed it up.”

“Liza’s waiting at the castle with a note to give to Pinch, since she’s too nervous to talk with her,” Noi said. “Piña volunteered to find Pinch for Liza, but Pinch had left the castle and nopony knew where she went.”

“What did she mean ‘break her heart again’?” I asked.

“Liza had a crush on Twist and tried to give her a Heart and Hooves Day letter. Before she could, Twist and Truffle, a colt in our class, exchanged cards they had written for each other. Liza was so upset she threw the card she had written for Twist away.”

“Ouch,” Thuderlane said.

“Yeah, it was bad,” Noi said. “Pinch, who was her friend already, helped Liza get over her disappointment.”

“And Liza developed a crush on Pinch,” Berry said.

Noi nodded. “We think so.”

Piña raised her head from Berry’s coat. “I told Liza about what Pinch had said about her yesterday, while we were helping set things up. She asked whether Pinch had anypony to go to the Celebration with. When I told her no, Liza got excited. I think Liza is going to ask Pinch to go to the Celebration.”

“Which adds to your overall time pressure since its two days away,” I said.

Piña nodded and sniffed. “It’s so important to her, and after what happened with Twist I don’t want her to get feelings hurt again. Even if Pinch tells her no, she can do it in way that won’t tear Liza up.”

A shadow passed over us and then made a sharp turn around.

“Don’t move anypony, he’s coming in fast!” Thunderlane said.

Rumble passed back over us and made an impressive, near vertical landing just a few lengths away. As soon as he got his hoofs back under him, he turned and ran the short distance to us.

“Is somepony hurt?!” He stopped a foreleg’s length away from Berry and the girls and looked them over. His coat bristled and his wings flared in an angry display. “Did somepony hurt my training partners?”

“Whoa there, Bro!” Thunderlane said and waved his hooves in placating manner. “No need to go protective pegasus on us, everypony is fine.”

“But Piña’s crying,” Rumble said. “Piña’s tough, she never cries.”

“I’m fine. I’m just stupid, did something stupid, and now I’m crying about it like a foal,” Piña said and sniffed.

“You are not stupid,” Rumble told her with insistence. “Are you hurt?”

Piña looked at him and shook her head.

Rumble looked into Piña’s eyes and asked, “You promise?”

She gave him a smile through the last of her tears. “I promise.”

Rumble’s coat smoothed out and his wings relaxed.

Thunderlane chuckled. “That was impressive.”

Rumble looked toward his brother. “What, my landing? I could have done better, but I was worried about Noi and Piña and didn’t concentrate. I’m lucky I didn’t get hurt.”

“The landing wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t what I was talking about. I’ve seen Rainbow when she’s protecting somepony important to her.” Thunderlane gave Rumble a proud older brother’s grin. “You were right up there with her in your display.”

“Thanks,” Rumble said and looked back toward Berry and girls. “Noi and Piña are important to me.”

Berry gave a good-humored snort. “I see how it is. The rest of us are just window dressing.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Rumble protested. “I was worried about you and Mister Pin too. I just...”

Rumble’s words seemed to fail him and he looked ashamed.

“Rumble, it’s all right, I get it,” Berry said.

The colt approached Berry with his ears down, his wings pinned firm to his side, and his tail half tucked. “Miss Berry, ma’am.”

Berry raised an elder sister’s scrutinizing eyebrow. “Yes, Rumble.”

“Can I,” Rumble seemed to have trouble phrasing his words, but his gaze went to Noi and Piña with clear intent. “Please?” he asked Berry, his nose a mere hoof above the ground.

Berry smiled. “Sure.”

Berry let go of Noi and Piña. As soon as she gave enough room, Rumble hurried in and took Piña in his forelegs. Noi joined him in hugging Piña, and he wrapped both fillies in his wings. He gave Piña a comforting nuzzle and cooed soft noises to her. “It’s okay. We’re right here. We’ll help, whatever is going on.”

Thunderlane’s mouth fell open as he stared at the three foals.

Berry giggled. “I take it Rumble didn’t tell you.”

Thunderlane shook his head. “Bro, you have to tell me things like you having two training partners now.”

Rumble blushed. “I sort of have two training partners.”

Thunderlane’s wings rustled in agitation. “You either you do or you don’t. You shouldn’t play around with fillies’ affections like that.”

“He has two training partners, but only one ‘training partner’,” Noi said. “We both love Piña, but he got to her first. I got jealous of him for having her and of her for getting the extra training, but we worked things out.” Noi leaned a bit and nuzzled Rumble, which caused his blush to intensify. “I’m getting a crush on him fast, though. He’s a sweetheart.”

“I’ve worried about him being able to keep up with Piña,” Thunderlane stage whispered to Berry in a joking tone. “Noi’s so much like Piña they might as well be twins. There’s no way he will survive two of them.”

Noi and Piña gave Thunderlane near to identical glares.

“In for a bit, in for a gem,” Berry said. She looked to the foals. “Back on subject, how are we going to help Liza?”

Rumble looked at Berry with his ears askew. “Liza?” He folded his wings back to his side and let go of Piña. “Liza was fine, when I saw her back at the castle. I was about to go back to keep helping set things up, but I saw you guys and thought there might be trouble. Do you need me to deliver a message to her or something?”

“Let me close up the shop, while you bring Rumble and Thunderlane up to speed,” I said. “We’ll be on a tight time table, if we’re going to help.”

I trotted back into the shop and finished putting things away as fast as I could. When I stepped back outside to lock the door, Piña was finishing her summary of what had happened.

“We’ve got this,” Rumble said. “We just have to get to Rarity’s and Spike first.” He looked to Berry. “Miss Berry, can you and Pin walk slow over to Rarity’s? They can’t start the meeting if you two aren’t there too.”

Berry smiled. “We can do that.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” he said and gave Berry a bow.

“Sis, Noi,” Berry said and gave them a nod. “You have a keeper.”

Rumble turned to his brother. “Lane, can you fly to the castle and tell Liza we’ll be there as soon as we can, and we’re bringing Pinch with us?”

“I can.” Thunderlane gave Rumble a look. “Bro, what are you thinking?”

“We’re going to fillynap my niece aren’t we,” Piña said and grinned.

“We’re going to ‘borrow’ her. Spike too, if we have to,” Rumble said. “Princess Twilight sent me with a message give to Lane to get everypony involved in the meeting there. She told me that Spike would send her a message when everypony was at Rarity’s.”

“Let’s do this!” Noi said.

Berry laughed as the trio of foals raced towards Rarity’s boutique.

Thunderlane sighed and shook his head. “My little brother, what have you gotten yourself into?”

“Conspiring against a princess, fillynapping, dragonnapping,” I named. “Impressive for a colt of his age, I think.”

Thunderlane snorted. “I meant getting himself tangled up with those two.”

“That’s my sister you’re disparaging,” Berry mock growled. “As much as Noi is around our place, I’m all but an aunt to her, so I take offense for her sake too.”

“Since time is of the essence, I better go,” Thunderlane said backing away from Berry.

“Lane, running won’t help,” I told him. “She will be at the meeting too.”

“This buys me a little more time and it’s for a good cause,” he said and took off. “Remember, amble that way!”

“We will finish this discussion!” Berry called after him and laughed.

“Let me lock the door, and we can go.”

“Don’t rush,” Berry said. “Remember, slow is the word.”

I locked the door and tucked the key away. “As fast as they took off, they’re half way to Rarity’s by now.”

When I turned to her, Berry put a hoof on my chest, stopping me in mid step. “Pin, as much as I want to see you and Coco happy, if you have any doubts about her not being the one for you I want you to call the courtship off. It would be rough for her to recover, but it would destroy you, if things didn’t work out after you two took things that far.” She hugged me. “You can think me an interfering nag, but I don’t want you hurting yourself because of your sense of honor.”

“I would never think you’re a nag.” I hugged Berry back. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

“No doubts?” she asked, giving me a squeeze.

“No doubts. I love her, Berry. There will never be another mare in my life like her.”

She patted my back with a hoof. “Good.” She grinned. “I figured as much, after you showed up with that goodie bag on your back yesterday.”

Berry and I made our way towards Carousel Boutique. A minute or two into our walk she bumped her side into mine. “I’m curious, what was in that bag?”

My cheeks warmed. “Grooming products,” I answered.

“That’s rather vague.”

“I haven’t given her gifts to her. I feel kind of odd letting you know what they are before she does.”

“I thought you would give her the presents yesterday.”

“We changed plans a bit. I gave her one gift; a blanket.”

Berry gave me a look. “A blanket?”

“Made of wool from the ewes of the Crystal Empire.”

“An exotic blanket. That makes more sense.” She bumped into me again. “What was in that bag that’s making you blush?”

“I think I’ll keep that to myself for now.”

Berry giggled. “Did Aloe help you make your selections?”

“She did,” I admitted.

“You and Coco won’t be disappointed. Those oils work like a charm.”

I shut my eyes and shook my head. “Berry, I don’t need those images.”

“I little bit goes a long way too.”

“That’s good to know, but-”

She interrupted, “They don’t taste bad either.”

I looked at her in shock. “Berry!”

Berry pointed a hoof. “I think we walked slow enough.”

I looked where she was pointing and grinned. Rumble was leading Pinch, Noi, and Spike away from the back of Rarity’s boutique at a brisk trot. The quartet of friends had formed a circle around Pinch as if acting as her honor guard.

“Looks like they had to dragonnap Spike.”

“I’m worried about how this will go,” Berry confided.

“Why?”

“Unless something has changed, Pinch has only been interested in stallions.”

“They’ll work things out. Just look at Piña, Noi, and Rumble.”

“I’m not sure how that’s going to turn out either. Golden told me she thought Noi had a crush on Piña a while back. I thought once Piña and Rumble became an item that Noi would find somepony else to moon over.”

“Noi and Piña are a lot alike,” I pointed out. “Would you expect Piña to give up on Noi, if things had been reversed?”

Berry thought for a moment and shook her head. “No, I wouldn’t. I don't want her to get hurt. She acts like she’s tough, but you saw how sensitive she is.”

I hummed a note, tilted my head, and put a hoof to my chin. “That reminds me of somepony, but I just can’t seem to think of who.”

Berry gave me an unamuzed look. “Ha. Ha.”

“She’ll be fine and they’ll be fine. If things go sour, which I doubt they will, we’ll be there to help her bounce back.”

“You seem sure things will work with them. Why?”

“The way they hugged each other, there was genuine concern and affection among the three of them.”

As we approached the boutique’s front door, Rarity opened it, looked at us for a second, and then glanced around as if searching for something. “You wouldn’t have seen a group of foals and Spike come this way would you?”

“So they sneaked out with their objectives,” I said. “Impressive.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “I take it you know something I’m not privy to.”

I grinned but did not say a thing.

“They’ll be back,” Berry assured. “They’re helping a friend with something that came up at the last minute.”

“If that is all, why did they do things in secrecy?”

“It adds to the excitement,” I said.

“Ah, yes, I keep forgetting you used to be a bit of a wild colt when you were younger,” Rarity said.

“He’s still got a bit of wild side to him,” Coco said from behind Rarity.

I felt a bit of blush come to my cheeks at the comment.

Coco peeked around the door frame and smiled. “Hello you two.”

“Hello to you too,” I touched my nose to Coco’s for a second in greeting. “How are things coming?”

“We’re getting there. It will be a long night, but we’ll make it.”

“I’m up for getting dinner again and then we can get back to it,” I told her. “What would you like?”

“I get the impression we might as well not be here,” Berry said to Rarity.

“It would seem that way,” Rarity replied, sounding amused and a touch slighted. “Did you notice his ears perked up when he saw her and his smile gained that little something extra?”

Berry nodded. “I did. I noticed her voice got a touch sweeter with him too.”

“I think we’re being mocked,” I said to Coco.

Thunderlane landed not too far behind Berry and me. “Good. Most of us are here. Twilight said she will be starting the meeting on time.”

“How were things when you left?” Berry asked.

“Liza’s a bundle of nerves, but she’s glad that I told her about what was going on. I took off just as soon as Liza and I saw Pinch and the others coming.” Thunderlane made an assuring motion with a wing. “Don’t worry, I didn’t leave her alone. Dinky was there for her for support and Twilight had found us and stayed with her too.”

“Twilight came to see you?” Rarity asked. “She’s been so busy planning everything she’s hasn’t been out of the castle the last few days.”

“Spike sent Twilight a message about what was going on. Whatever happens between Pinch and Liza may impact something concerning the meeting.”

“Let’s step inside,” Rarity said. “We’ve left poor Cheerilee alone by herself.”

We stepped into the boutique’s storefront.

Cheerilee waved at us. “Hello everypony. I take it the foals snuck off.”

“It seems so,” Rarity said. “They took Spike with them, so they shouldn’t get into too much trouble.”

I glanced around, nothing that many of the racks of dresses were gone. “Lots of ponies must have come by to pick their orders up today.”

“Poor Sassy has been helping ponies get their dresses all day, while Coco and I have been in the back,” Rarity told me.

“That’s good. Before we walked in, I was thinking about how we would arrange things if the meeting would have a lot of ponies involved.”

“From what I understand, there should be just a hooffull more coming,” Rarity said.

“We’ll still be a little on the cozy side, which I don’t mind at all,” Thunderlane said and wrapped a wing around Rarity. When she turned to look at him, Thunderlane gave her a soft kiss on the nose. “Hello, my lovely lady. How are you holding up?”

“Tired, stressed, and happy this is all going to be done tomorrow.”

“I’m glad it will be over for you too. You deserve a break, and I plan to treat you to finest that Cloudsdale offers.”

She leaned her head against him. “That sounds wonderful darling.”

Sassy walked in from the workroom. She looked at the gathered ponies and laughed. “It looks like we lost some and gained some. Where did the foals go?”

“They sneaked off to Twilight’s castle,” Rarity said. “They’re on some secret mission to help somepony.”

“At least we know where they went,” Sassy said. She looked at Thunderlane and gave a teasing huff. “You know how to make a mare jealous.”

“I haven’t been able to see her too much, so I’ve got to make up for lost time.”

“Maybe you could follow your brother’s example,” I kidded Thunderlane.

“Ahhhh, no,” Thunderlane responded, while Rarity gave me a look.

Sassy looked towards me and raised an eyebrow. “Speaking of making me jealous, I still want to know what was in that goodie bag you got Coco.”

“You won’t get anything out of him,” Berry said. “I tried and didn’t get much.”

Sassy grinned. “What did you get out of him?”

A slight hum filled the room. A musical popping tone announced Twilight, Barrel, Muffins, Pinch, Spike, and Turner as they teleported into the room.

Pinch glanced around, looking half stunned.

“That was awesome!” Muffins said. “Thank you Princess!”

“I agree!” Turner said, sounding like a colt. “What a remarkable way to travel!”

Twilight grinned. “You’re welcome.”

Barrel sat down, closed his eyes, and shook his head. “I think my vertical and my horizontal are trying to swap places on me.”

Muffins patted Barrel’s back with a wing.

“Good, we’re all here,” Twilight said. She glanced at the boutique’s clock and nodded. “We’re right on schedule too.”

I bowed, but stopped as Twilight gave a noise of dissatisfaction.

“No bowing or titles, please. I may have gotten wings but I’m still just me.”

“Yes, Princess,” I said and raised my head.

Twilight gave me a look.

“Excuse me,” I gave a polite cough into my hoof, “yes, Twilight.”

“Spike, if you would be as so kind as to pass out the letters,” Twilight said.

“On it!” Spike went to everypony in the room and gave us each a letter bearing the royal seal of the Crystal Empire.

I stared down at the envelope. Though my name was on its surface with beautiful script, I could not believe it was for me.

“We’ve lost him,” Berry said. “Coco, give him a poke.”

Hearing Berry’s words, I looked around just as Coco gave me a light jab in the side. The others had opened their letters and seemed to be waiting on me.

“Sorry,” I told them.

“What happened?” Sassy asked. “You zoned out on us there.”

“He was thinking how he would enshrine the letter,” Berry said. “Since Princess Cadence touched it, I’ll bet it’ll end up in a glass case in prominent display somewhere in his apartment.”

I ignored Berry’s joking, and, with care not to damage the wax seal, opened the letter.

Twilight asked, “Why is getting a letter from Cadance such a big deal?”

I looked up from the letter. “She’s the Princess of Love.”

Twilight gave me a confused look.

“I understand, Uncle Pin,” Pinch said. She turned to Twilight. “He thinks about Princess Cadance like I do. Since love is so important to us, we admire her.”

“They’re hopeless romantics and they idolize her,” Barrel said and chuckled.

“There’s nothing wrong with being a romantic,” Muffins said. “Turner is one too.”

“True,” Turner said. “However, I do not have the admiration for Princess Cadance Pin has.”

“She and Shining armor stopped an invasion with the power of their love,” I reminded them, “that’s something to admire to me.”

We all read our letters. When I finished, I looked up at Twilight.

“We get a Crystal Guard?!” Sassy pranced in place. “Can I take him with me to the Celebration too?”

“Darling, I’m not sure that is what Cadance intended,” Rarity told her with a smile.

“Twilight, I’m not sure I understand what is going on,” Coco said. “We’re supposed to meet with a diplomat?”

“Sort of,” Twilight said. “Crystal Hoof is from a kingdom that differs greatly from ours. Cadance and I hoped that having him meet ponies from Ponyville and seeing the town would help him get to know how things can be.”

Rarity blushed. “I take it were to help him with his special dietary needs.”

Twilight smiled and nodded. “We thought it would help him feel better if he could nibble a bit here and there all day.”

“Wow,” Thunderlane said. “I never thought I would ever have met him. Much less…”

Everypony turned to Thunderlane, waiting for him to say something more.

“You know about Crystal Hoof?” Rarity asked.

Thunderlane nodded. “Since the Wonderbolts are part of Equestria’s defenses, we get briefed on certain allies and potential threats.”

“Threats?!” Muffins’ feathers fluffed up and her wings went into a defensive display. “I’m not letting any kind of ‘threat’ near my daughter.”

“He’s an ally!” Thunderlane assured. “From what I understand, he’s all but harmless.”

“You got that right,” Spike said. “The guy wouldn’t hurt a parasprite.”

“You know him too?” Berry asked.

Spike puffed his chest up and tapped on it with a fist. “I’m the one that helped him get the job he has now. He and I are best buds.”

“What’s his job?” Barrel asked.

“He helps look after Princess Flurry along with Sunburst, her Crystaler,” Spike said.

Muffins relaxed. “If Princess Cadence and Shining Armor trust him with Flurry, then Dinky and the other foals should be fine.”

“How does Pinch figure into all of this?” I asked.

“They have selected me as Ponyville’s ambassador for him. I will be showing him around town. Part of the tour will be introducing him to my class and Miss Cheerilee.”

“That seems quite a task for one pony,” Turner said to Cheerilee. “Just managing the foals in such a situation would be more than I would want to contend with. Would you like some assistance?”

“Thank you for the offer, but Ameythest Star and Royal Riff will help me tomorrow. You’ve got your own projects you need to focus on.”

“We won’t give you and Amethyst any trouble,” Pinch said. “Why is Mister Riff coming?”

Cheerilee blushed. “We could use the help, and it’s part of a personal project.”

“You mean?!” Pinch asked, her ears up at attention.

Cheerilee gave a nod.

Pinch squealed in delight.

“Oh no…” Muffins said, and her ears fell, “poor Amethyst.”

“What do you mean, ‘poor Amethyst?’ She’s-” Cheerilee paused and her blush turned cherry red. “Oh. You don’t… oh. She is keeping things quiet then.”

“Darling, you’re not making much sense,” Rarity said. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, thanks. What meant to say is that she and I have talked. We’re… working things out.”

Pinch gasped and a look of realization came to her.

Cheerilee gave Pinch a vulnerable smile. “Pinch, I am trusting you with this, not a word to your classmates, especially not to the Crusaders.”

Pinch nodded. “I promise!” She then went through a full Pinkie Promise. “I’m so happy for you!” She ran up and hugged Cheerilee. “I agree with the Crusaders. You deserve all the love in the world for everything you do for us.”

“You’re so sweet.” Cheerilee gave Pinch a hug back. “Thank you.”

“My daughter might be in a herd?” Muffins asked, sounding as if she had some disbelief.

Berry laughed. “You and I need to sit down and have a nice, long chat.”

Barrel glanced at Pinch. “You’re in a herd?”

“No, Dad, I don’t even have a special somepony,” Pinch said, letting go of Cheerilee.

I felt a sting for Liza.

Berry glanced at me, giving me a silent signal to keep what I knew secret.

“What about that filly that came to talk to me while I was unloading the wine orders at the castle?” Barrel asked with a father’s teasing smile. “She said she had been looking for you and needed to ask you something. Liza is her name, right? I remember she’s come by the house too.”

“Dad!” Pinch turned a wonderful shade of red. “She’s going to the Celebration with Cotton Cloudy! Liza wanted to invite me to go with them since I was the one that helped her open up to Cloudy. She didn’t want me going to the Celebration alone and invited me to go with her and Cloudy.”

“Oh,” Berry and I said at the same time.

“You guys missed that part,” Thunderlane said with a smirk.

Pinch looked at Berry and then at me. “Piña must have said something to you, didn’t she?”

I nodded. “She thought Liza planned on asking you to Celebration.”

Pinch shook her head. “She had it all wrong. Liza gets very shy when she’s trying to say something important to somepony, so she gives them letters or notes instead.”

“Well, you have been friends for a while,” Berry said. “You two had talked a lot too.”

“While intriguing, why don’t we have this conversation at a future time?” Rarity asked, before Pinch could continue. “We’re all on rather tight schedules.”

“True,” Barrel nodded. “I’ve still got wagons to unload, and not much daylight left.”

“Then let’s make this quick.” Twilight looked at all of us. “Anypony who does not want to be a part of this, raise your hoof.”

No pony raised their hooves.

Twilight smiled. “Every pony who is in-”

Everypony raised their hooves before Twilight could finish.

Twilight grinned. “Thank you all for agreeing to this. It will mean a lot to Crystal Hoof.”

“Great!” Spike said with satisfaction, “Another item off the checklist.”

Muffin’s looked to Twilight and asked, “What does this part about ‘another potential guest’ mean?”

Twilight shook her head. “I can’t say, but Cadance and I are hoping to help someone else along with Crystal Hoof. Don’t worry; the ‘potential guest’ is just as harmless as Crystal Hoof.”

“We’ll help as best we can,” Muffins said with conviction.

“I know you all will. Anypony want to go back with me and Spike?” Twilight grinned. “Teleportation would save you steps and time!”

Barrel and Pinch pinned their ears back and grinned awkwardly. “No, thank you,” they said in unison.

“Thanks, but I’ve got things to pick up before coming back by the castle for Rumble,” Thunderlane said.

Cheerilee gave a polite wave. “Thanks, but I’ll walk back with the others.”

“I’m in!” Muffins and moved to stand closer to Twilight.

“Allons-y!” Turner cheered and stood beside Muffins.

Twilight smiled. Her horn lit up for a second and she, Muffins, Spike, and Turner vanished with a flash of light and a hissing pop.

“Wait a minute,” Pinch said, turning to Berry. “If I’m not the one in the herd, then… Piña?!”

“Yep,” Berry said, “guess with who.”

“Rumble and Noi, it has to be.”

Berry confirmed, “Got it in one.”

“Poor Rumble’s not going to make it,” Pinch said.

“If he kicks his training up a notch or two he might,” Thunderlane said. “If not, there are worse ways to go.”

“If herds are so common here...” Sassy cut her eyes toward me and grinned.

I gave a less than dignified squeak, as Coco grabbed me into a firm, possessive hug and glared at Sassy.

*****

“We did it!” I cheered in a quiet voice and touched a hoof to the back door.

“We haven’t made it up the stairs,” Coco pointed out.

“Let’s savor this small victory and then we can worry about going up the stairs.” I managed to work the lock with little effort. “After you,” I said opening the door.

Coco walked into the workshop.

I followed her, locking the door behind us. “Rarity seemed ecstatic that we got everything done, even thought she was dead on her hooves.”

“Earlier she thought we might need to would work through the night to get everything done.” Coco glanced at the clock. “We beat the deadline by five hours.”

I moved to the foot of the stairs and paused. I looked to Coco, who shook her head.

“No magic tonight. I know how tired you have to be.”

“I know how tired you have to be too.” I lowered myself to the floor. “If I can’t use magic, then perhaps you would let me carry you another way.”

“That’s not happening either.” She walked over and kissed my nose as I looked up to her. “I would feel guilty if you hurt yourself carrying me.”

“I would be fine, if you didn’t distract me the way you did last night.”

Coco giggled and touched her nose to mine. “Did you enjoy it, though?”

Looking up at her made me feel like I was confessing a transgression like a naughty colt. “I did.”

“So did I, but let’s not chance anything. Remember, we have tomorrow night to look forward to.” With dainty steps, she made her way around me and started up the stairs. She paused, looked back, at me, and swished her tail to the side.

My blood warmed at the sight.

“Turnabout is fair play,” she teased and ascended the stairs. Every third step, Coco would flick her tail to the side. She reached the top of the stairs, retrieved the key from its hidden nook, and unlocked the door. She looked back at me. “You coming?” she asked in a musical tone, breaking me from my stupor.

“That is a terrible thing to ask a stallion in the condition I’m in.”

Coco laughed. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to get you that riled up.”

“Like you said, turnabout is fair play. I noticed I got you wound up last night.”

“That has to be uncomfortable against the floor. Don’t worry, there’s nothing of you I haven’t seen before.”

I chuckled. “Have you been talking to Zecora?”

“Who?”

“A zebra mare who lives in the Everfree Forest. She talks in rhyme. I’ve heard that if you stay around her long enough it’s catching.”

“She lives in the Everfree Forest?!”

“She’s an alchemist that can handle herself. Ponyville gossip says she’s a spiritual mystic or guru too. She’s braver than I am. I have trouble making it through the forest in broad daylight to visit her cottage to get medicines. I couldn’t imagine living in there.”

I had calmed down enough not to embarrass myself when I stood. I made my way up the stairs and touched noses with Coco. “Thank you.”

She smiled. “For getting the door?”

“For being the mare you are,” I gave her a kiss, “and for the show,” I added and smiled back.

“Pin, no more teasing for either of us,” she said and tapped my nose with a hoof. “If we were tired last night, we’re exhausted now.”

I took her hoof, kissed it, and looked into her eyes, wondering if I dared say what was going through my mind.

Coco giggled. “I know that look. You’re debating whether or not to say something.”

“Coco I want to tell you something.”

Coco’s smile fell a little. “That’s not quite the tone I was expecting.”

“This morning I woke clutching a pillow. When I realized it wasn’t you, I had a horrible thought you had left or that you being here had been some kind of prolonged dream.”

“Pin,” Coco whispered in sympathy and used her free hoof to give my cheek a comforting touch.

“I don’t want to wake up with you not being there.” I looked down to her hoof and mine. “I don’t mean we have to sleep together every night, but I would like to hold you tonight.”

She used her hoof to raise my chin and gave me a kiss that warmed my soul. She ended the kiss and smiled. “That was the most romantic thing anypony has ever said to me.”

“I meant it.”

“I know.” She kissed my nose. “I get to be the big spoon this time.”

“I’ll have to wear protection for that. We were lucky nothing happened when we slept together last time.”

Coco giggled.

It took my tired brain a moment to realize what I had said. Coco gave a full laugh as I sighed and dropped my head. “That did not come out the way I wanted it to.”

“I take it we’re in your bed tonight,” Coco said through the last of her laughter.

“Or the cloud chair, whichever you prefer.”

“I like the cloud chair idea.”

“One second.” I ducked into my room to get my horn protector and my alarm clock. I slid the ball on the tip of my horn, making double sure it was in place.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in your room before,” Coco said, as I returned to her. “We need to fix that tomorrow.”

Coco led me into the study. She took her sailor’s collar from around her neck the heart’s desire from behind her ear and put them on my desk. She then got on the cloud chair and arranged herself. She patted the space beside her. “Here you go.”

After putting down the alarm clock, I smiled and admired her for a second.

“What?”

“You look as alluring as a mare in a Prench painting,” I said, as I joined her on the chair.

“You flatterer.” She gave me a gentle push so I rolled on my side still facing her. “Better.” She shimmied closer to me and hugged me around my neck. “Scoot closer.”

As I wiggled towards her, I had to turn a bit to avoid poking her with my horn.

She guided my head to her chest and settled against me while putting her hind legs on either side of knees, leaving a comfortable space between us. “There we go. Are you comfy? I don’t want to do anything uncomfortable to your neck.”

“This is perfect. I’m being held my the mare I love.”

She kissed my head just behind my horn. “I love you too.”

I fell into a gentle sleep listening to her breathe and the sound of her heart.

Chapter 19

My alarm went off, rousing me from my sleep. I smiled, feeling Coco in my forelegs, her head tucked under my chin.

She pulled me in tighter with all of her legs and mumbled, “Five more minutes.”

Using my magic, I turned off the alarm and set it to ring again. “Five more, then we have to get up.”

She nuzzled into my chest. “This is nice. How did I end up here?”

“I don’t know, but you fit right in that spot.”

She wiggled as if testing the theory, drawing my attention to how close we were and how much contact there was between us.

“It is a good fit, comfy too.”

“Coco, if you keep doing that one of us will get up sooner than expected.”

She looked up at me with mischief sparking in her blue eyes. “So you find the situation titillating?”

I chuckled. “I do.”

She kissed me and I reciprocated. After a few seconds, I needed to shift away from her.

She broke the kiss. “I’m sorry, I’m tormenting us both.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re tantalizing, not tormenting.” I raised my hoof up to the braid in her mane and ran it along its length. “Good things are worth waiting for.”

The back doorbell rang, making both of us jump.

“Who in Equestria?” I asked and stopped as the ringer used the doorbell in a specific rhythm. “It’s Barrel,” I told Coco. “That’s the tune he hums when he’s had too much to drink.”

“This is awful early for a visit,” Coco said and slid off the cloud chair. “I hope he’s okay.”

“So do I.” I turned off the alarm clock and followed her into the den. I put my horn protector on the coffee table and told her, “I’ll go let him in.”

“I’ll get some coffee started.”

“Wait for a second, please.”

Coco paused and turned to me.

I kissed her forehead. “Thank you.”

Coco smiled. “I don’t think I deserve that sweet of a kiss for making coffee.”

“You do.” I gave her a proper kiss and her ears stood at attention. “That was for giving me the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a very long time.”

“You’re welcome. It was nice for me too.” She smiled and gave me a quick kiss to the nose. “Go let Barrel in, before he thinks he’s being ignored.”

I went down into the workshop and called to the back door, “Barrel, I’m coming, give me a second!” I could hear a muffled reply, but could not make out what he said. I opened the door and looked Barrel over. “Is everything all right?”

“My little girl is torn up about something, and Berry and I don’t know what to do,” Barrel said. “It’s a stupid thing to come see you about this early, but I couldn’t even sleep last night. Berry’s getting more and more worried about Pinch too.”

Barrel looked worse for wear. “Have you had breakfast?”

He shook his head.

“Let’s fix that.”

“Thanks, Pin.”

I led Barrel up into my apartment. The smell of coffee greeted us as we stepped in.

Barrel paused. “Who else is here?”

“Coco.”

“Oh, that’s right.” Barrel gave me an uncertain look. “I’m not… interrupting anything am I?”

“Barrel,” Coco said from the kitchen door, “Are you okay?” She walked up to him with concern in her eyes and her ears angled in worry.

“I didn’t sleep too well last night,” he confessed.

“What’s wrong?”

“Pinch has been having a rough time, and Berry and I don’t know how to help,” Barrel told Coco in the most defeated sounding voice I had ever heard him use.

Coco gave Barrel a hug. “I hate to hear that.”

Barrel looked down at Coco in surprise and then glanced at me.

“Hug her back,” I encouraged.

“She’s so little I might hurt her,” Barrel half joked.

One of Coco’s eyebrows rose, and she gave Barrel a squeeze.

“I take it back!” Barrel grunted and then hugged Coco. “I keep forgetting; do not question an earth pony mare’s durability. Living with Berry and Piña should have taught me that.”

Coco let go of Barrel. “What happened with Pinch? Is she all right?”

“She’s having trouble with stuff I’m not good with. Berry doesn’t know how to approach things either.” Barrel let go of Cocoa and gave her a grateful smile. “Thank you, that helped.”

“I’ll get breakfast started,” I said. “Come sit down.”

We moved into the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” Coco asked.

“Pinch seems to be feeling alone even though she’s got ponies around her all the time. We noticed it got rougher for her when she helped Sweetie Belle talk to Spike. We thought it would pass on its own. Then, during the voting for the class committee, she only got two votes.”

“Ouch,” I said, and levitated Barrel’s and Coco’s coffee to the table.

“That made things worse, but she bounced back a bit when she got the invitation to be a runner for Spike and Twilight.” He sighed. “She got hit hard again yesterday.”

“I would have thought getting the letter would have cheered her up.” I paused. “How do you two like your eggs?”

“Sunny side up,” Barrel said.

“Coco?”

“Over easy well done, please.”

I broke the first of the eggs. “Got it.”

“I take it Piña being in a herd got to her,” Coco said.

Barrel nodded. “When Piña told us more about it last night, Pinch seemed happy for the three of them. It seemed to sting her a bit too, though.”

“The thing with Liza might have played into it too,” I said and floated Coco’s eggs and toast to Coco.

“Thank you,” Coco said.

"What makes you think that?" Barrel asked.

"Even though Pinch helped Liza and Cloudy get together, it might have been another reminder she didn't have anypony for herself."

I levitated two jars to the table along with a butter knife. “Here’s the apple butter and jam I have. Would you like butter and cinnamon sugar instead?”

“I’ll have the strawberry jam, thanks,” Coco said.

Barrel gave me a teasing look. “I see who the favorite is here.”

“Ladies first, Barrel, you know that,” I lobbed back.

“That’s why I wanted to come see you; you’re into that Canterlot chivalrous stuff like Pinch is. I thought you might help Berry and me understand what’s going on in her head.”

“Is she going with Liza and Cloud to the celebration?” Coco asked.

“No, since they chose her to be the ambassador.”

“That’s about an even trade for her there, I would think,” I said, plating Barrel’s eggs and getting his toast from the toaster. "Unless she is interested in Liza or Cloudy."

“She’s not,” Barrel said. "Berry and I have never seen her so much as hint at she had any interest in mares."

“Then she’s got to find the right colt,” Coco said. “I’m sure she will.”

“Berry says it will be difficult for her, and I agree.”

“Why?” Coco asked. “She’s an intelligent, precious filly.”

Using my magic, I put Barrel’s plate in front of him.

“Thanks, Pin.”

“You’re welcome.”

“She likes stallions like Stormbreaker,” Barrel picked up his fork and pointed at me with it, “and our friend there. They’re not too common in Ponyville. If you two were the same age, I think she would try to talk you into forming a herd with him.”

Coco giggled at me, as I gave Barrel a questioning look. “I approve of her tastes,” Coco said. "We might have been able to work something out. I'm not too sure I'll be able to manage him by myself now that he's starting to come out of his shell."

“I’m not sure how I feel about this conversation anymore,” I said, turning back to cook my breakfast and hide my blush.

“What made you so worried about Pinch?” Coco asked.

“After dinner and Piña went home last night, Pinch was quiet. Berry and I still had a little more work to do. Pinch offers to help most times, but she and went up to her room instead. We thought she was tired and didn’t think much of it. After a few minutes, Berry’s mother’s instincts kicked in and she went to check on her. When Berry didn’t come back, and things were still too quiet, I went to check on both of them.” Barrel sighed and stared at his plate.

“Barrel,” Coco rubbed Barrel’s shoulder with a hoof. “Please, tell us. We might find out something that will give us a clue on how to help her.”

“I went to Pinch’s room. Berry was on Pinch’s bed curled around Pinch. There was an open book on the bed, and Pinch was holding her Princess Cadence plushie while Berry was holding her. Pinch looked drained and worried. This will sound horrible, but if she had been crying, I don’t think it would have been as bad.”

“Do you know what book she was reading?” I asked.

Barrel shook his head. “No clue.”

“I have books that destroy me on an emotional level, but I love them,” I said. “I was wondering if she were reading something like that. Did she say anything about what was going on?”

“Berry couldn’t get much out of her about why she was feeling bad. Berry told me she kept saying things like, ‘I’m being a silly filly worrying about stuff, don’t worry about it, Mom.’ ”

“I don’t think it was the book,” Coco said, “I think there might be a bunch of little things that might have gotten her down.”

Barrel looked down at Coco and gave her back a light pat before letting her go. “Thanks again.”

“You’re welcome.” Coco returned to her spot and I sat down beside her. “I think she’s been facing being frustrated, nervous, and scared and last night it caught up with her.”

“Is there anything we can do about it you can think of?” Barrel said.

“Keep being there for her is about all you can do. I faced something very similar while I was working for Suri. All the ponies around me seem to have somepony to go home to. I worried I never would. I worried about how my career was going since I didn’t even make enough to pay my rent. There were days I… shut down. Even when my parents were around to give me support, negative thoughts and depression gnawed at me bad some days.”

Moving to her side at the head of the table, I hugged Coco, entwined my tail with hers, and kissed her head.

She leaned against me. “Now, thanks to Pin, I don’t have to worry about things like that.”

“She doesn’t have a Pin, though,” Barrel said. “All those books she reads about emotions and relationships have gone to her head. I can’t say they’ve messed her up, but a filly her age shouldn’t be taking that kind of stuff as serious as she does.”

“Pinch is mature for her age,” I said.

“I know.” He groaned leaned his head back and rubbed his forehead with both his hooves. “If it were only as simple as finding her a good colt, lassoing him, and presenting him to her with a bow around his neck I’d do it.”

A thought came to me. “You may not have to worry about that. The letters didn’t come from Twilight.”

Coco and Barrel both looked at me as if I was uttering gibberish.

“Sorry, let me explain. Twilight has been working with Pinch for weeks now and she’s the pony who gave Pinch the books on emotions and relationships. I’m sure the two have talked. Twilight has to have talked with Spike and Sweetie Belle too. If Twilight mentioned Pinch and what she did for Spike and Sweetie Belle to Cadence and Pinch’s interest in relationships, then Cadence may be plotting something involving Pinch.”

“That’s a bit of a leap,” Barrel said.

“Maybe, but we know the Princesses set things to go the way they want. Look at Twilight coming here, for example. Celestia didn’t know for sure that Twilight would make friends and save Equestria and Luna, but she set things in motion so that Twilight had a good chance to.”

“You think that’s what’s happening now?” Coco asked.

I nodded. “The more I think about it, the more sure I am. Pinch is the only foal involved with the ambassador’s visit. Only ponies that she knows and who have ponies they love will be around too.”

Barrel grinned. “You’re right. That’s too much of a coincidence.”

“The mystery guest,” Coco said. “Pinch’s the key there. She has to be.”

Barrel’s expression became serious. “You think my daughter is bait for some kind of plot?”

Coco shook her head. “Not bait, as a… enticement.”

“Coco knows all about enticing somepony, so I would go with her on this one,” I said, causing Coco to turn red to her ears tips.

Barrel chuckled. “That’s quite a blush there, Coco.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about there being a threat to Pinch. The Princess of Friendship and the Princess of Love will not put a filly in harm’s way. If something happens, Sisters forbid, all the princesses, the Elements, Shining Armor, the Royal Guard, the Crystal Guard, and the Wonderbolts will be in Ponyville for the Celebration.”

Barrel relaxed a little. “You think the princesses are up to something?”

“I would bet all the bits I’ve made in the last two days that at least Cadance is up to something. This fits her modus operandi too well, from what I’ve read of her. She’s trying to bring Pinch and somepony together. Twilight, as the Princess of Friendship, is certain to have some stake in things too, even if romance is not the main goal of whatever will happen.”

A solid series of knocks on the back door made the three of us look towards the floor.

“That would be Berry,” Barrel said.

A series of more solid knocks came.

“I was wrong. That would be Berry,” he said and laughed.

I told him, “I’ll let them in.”

I trotted down to the workshop and then to the backdoor. “Just a second,” I called, while unlocking the door. I opened the door and smiled at the pair of visitors. “Good morning.”

“Good morning, Uncle Pin,” Pinch said, her expression calm, but her voice carrying some exasperation. “We noticed your kitchen light was on. Is my Dad here?”

“He is.”

Pinch tilted her head back and looked to the predawn sky. “Daaaad.”

I did my best to hide my smile. “Good morning, Berry.”

“Good morning,” Berry replied.

“Have you two had breakfast?”

“No, we haven’t,” Berry said.

“Come on up, I’ll fix you some.”

Pinch gave me a hug. “I’m sorry Dad’s such a worry wart. I’m sorry for being a mopey silly filly too.”

I hugged her back and chuckled. “You’re not a mopey silly filly. Coco was just telling Barrel and I how she felt like you while she was up in Manehatten. To be honest, I’ve felt that way many times myself.”

“Coco’s helped you though, right?”

“She has, and I hope I’ve been able to help her.”

“You have,” Berry said. She patted Pinch on the shoulder. “Let him go, or he won’t be able to let us in or make us breakfast.”

I led Berry and Pinch into my apartment. After putting away my protector, I made my way back into the kitchen. “How do you two like your eggs?”

“Over well, please,” Pinch said, before marching up to Barrel.

“Scrambled hangover dry, thank you,” Berry said and sat down across from Barrel. “I warned you that something like this would happen.”

“Dad,” Pinch said.

“Yes, Pinch,” Barrel said, sounding resigned to whatever was coming.

Pinch hugged him and nuzzled against his coat. “Thanks, but you didn’t have to go looking for help for me.”

Barrel hugged her close and nuzzled the top of her head. “My little girl was upset, and your mother and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to get you help, so I went to the pony I thought could.” Pinch looked up to him and Barrel touched his nose to hers. “You've still got stuff running around in your head a bit, I can tell.”

“It’s just me being dramatic for no reason.”

“I know my girl. You don’t get dramatic without a reason, and last night it seemed bad.”

“I don’t have a real reason. I’m just…”

“What?” Barrel said.

“Scared, I guess.”

Barrel stroked her mane with a hoof. “Scared?”

“Princess Cadance is coming, with an ambassador. I’m supposed to be the main contact with him for the class. I don’t know why I was chosen. I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to mess things up and disappoint her, I… I want to talk to her about all kinds of things and if I goof up I may not be able to.”

“Be your usual intelligent, kind self and I’m sure everything will be fine,” Barrel assured. “Remember that Berry and I and your friends are going to be around. If things get out of hoof, we’ll be right there to help.”

“I don’t think you have to worry a thing about Crystal Hoof,” Coco said. “Rarity told me and Pin last night that he’s a shy pony that’s having a little trouble adjusting to life in Equestria.”

“I can’t think of anypony better to be Ponyville’s representative to him than you,” Berry said. “You’re calm, have emotional intelligence, and are friendly to everypony. If he can’t get along with you, we might as well throw him out of town.”

“I agree,” I said and levitated Pinch’s plate to the table. “Cadance and Twilight picked you for this. You are the right pony for the job, don’t worry.”

“Thanks, Uncle Pin.”

Barrel let go of Pinch, and she turned to face her plate. “This smells great, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Speaking of Pin’s domestic qualities,” Berry said with a smile, “how has being here worked out, Coco? Has Pin been behaving himself?”

“As much I have let him,” Coco responded.

“That sounds promising for future discussions,” Berry said.

“Did he give you your presents?” Pinch asked.

“Not all of them, we agreed that he would give them to me when we finished out courtship.”

“Are you going to finish your courtship soon?”

“We were planning on finishing it tonight.”

“Oh!” Pinch looked towards me. “Do you know how to braid?”

“I do. I was the one that braided that strand in Coco’s mane.”

Pinch leaned closer to Coco, who turned her head so Pinch could get a better look at the braid.

Pinch nodded. “You did a good job.”

“Thank you.” I floated Berry’s plate to the table. “Here you go.”

Berry smiled down at her plate. “This looks great, thank you.”

“Uncle Pin, are looking forward to seeing the princesses tomorrow?”

“I am.” I levitated Berry’s and Pinch’s cups of coffee to the table.

“Princess Cadance in particular?” Berry asked and took a sip of her coffee.

“It would be nice to talk to her again, if I get the chance,” I said and sat down at the table beside Coco.

“You’ve met her?!” Pinch asked. “I saw her at Matilda’s and Cranky’s wedding, but I didn’t get to talk to her.”

“I did. I got to talk with her for a bit, when I competed in the Equestria games.”

Pinch stared at me with intense interest. “What was she like?”

“Energetic and friendly would best describe her. If it weren’t for her being an alicorn and her regalia, I wouldn’t have thought of her as a princess. She comes across as somepony you could meet in the market and have a good talk with.”

“I hope I can…” Pinch’s conviction seemed to falter, but she drew herself up and said as if trying to convince herself and us, “I will do my best for her and Twilight.”

“We know you will,” Barrel said, took Pinch into his forelegs and hugged her to his chest. “She will think you’re a talented, big hearted filly, just like we know you are.”

Pinch sniffed, kissed Barrel’s cheek, and then nuzzled into his chest. “Thanks, Dad.”

*****

I looked at the shop’s clock and smiled. “Getting close to time,” I told myself.

The shop’s door opened and its bell chimed.

“You still open?” a cantankerous donkey’s voice asked.

“Yes sir,” I answered.

“Cranky, don’t be so gruff,” a sweeter voice said. Matilda stepped into view from behind one display. “Hello Pin, how are you?”

“Doing very well, how about yourself?”

“I can’t complain.”

“She never does,” Cranky grumbled, with a hint of affection.

“How can I help you this afternoon?” I asked. “Is there something wrong with Cranky’s suit?”

“No, it’s fine,” Cranky said. “We’ve something else you can help us fix.”

Matilda explained, “We need a colt’s collar and tie.”

Her request struck me as a little odd. Hoping she did not catch my pause, I told her, “My selection of ties for foal is over here, unless you want to see my stock ties.”

“He won’t need anything too fancy,” Cranky said. “We don’t want him to stick out.”

What is going on?, I thought to myself.

“Cranky, dear,” Matilda chided in a gentle tone.

“Sorry,” Cranky said. “A bow tie would work.”

I showed Cranky and Matilda what was left of my stock of foals’ bow ties.

“This one would be lovely,” Matilda said picking out a light blue tie.

“What size collar will you need?”

Matilda looked at me for a moment. “Oh dear, I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out.” I held out my hoof. “About how tall is he?”

Matilda bit her bottom lip. “A little lower, I think.”

I dropped my hoof in a slow motion.

“That’s about right,” Cranky said, and I stopped my hoof.

“What is his build?”

“In shape earth pony,” Cranky said.

I did some sizing calculations in my head. “I’ll give you three collars I think will work. Have him try them on and bring the two he doesn’t need back to me sometime soon.”

“You don’t need to do that, dear,” Matilda told me.

“If he’s going to the Celebration, I won’t be open for fittings or exchanges tomorrow. I would hate for him to go to attend with an uncomfortable collar.”

“Anything will fit him,” Cranky said. “Don’t worry about it.”

Matilda gave Cranky a patient look. “Dear.”

“You’re right,” he grumbled. “We’ll take all three,” he said to me.

I put the collars and the tie in a bag and rang them up, only charging them for one collar. “Thank you for your business.”

“Thank you for helping us,” said Matilda. “We’ll bring the other two back after the celebration, I promise.”

“No rush,” I told her.

The pair of donkeys left the store, leaving me with a puzzle.

“I wonder who they’re buying the collar and tie for,” I said to myself.

I did not have any time to ponder. The shop’s door opened again and in stepped Muffins.

“Good afternoon!” I greeted her.

“Good afternoon to you too,” Muffins said. “I have another delivery from Canterlot for you.”

Muffins approached the counter and put a box and two high quality envelopes on the counter. All of three were from Satin.

“I need you to sign for the package,” Muffins said and presented me with a clipboard.

“Thanks, Muffins. How are things going?”

“Things are slowing down. While I’ve been looking forward to the Celebration, I’ll be glad when everything is done.”

“I know what you mean,” I said and signed for the package. “I’ve got two more pick-ups and then I’m closing the shop.”

“You’re closing early?” Muffins gave me a look. “I don’t think you’ve ever done that.”

“I have, but it’s been a while. The last time was when I was sick as a diamond dog because of something I ate.” I returned the clipboard to Muffins.

“Oh, right, Applejack’s baked bads.” Muffins shuddered. “I’ve tried to put that whole thing out of my mind.”

“On the plus side, I do set some weight.”

“So did I, but I don't want to lose it like that again.” Muffins gave me a look. “This is going to sound strange, but have you seen anything weird going on with the school foals?”

“I can’t say I have, but I’ve been working so much I haven’t been around any foals much, outside of going to the market and yesterday. The only foal I’ve seen today was Pinch at breakfast.”

“Berry mentioned they had come over this morning, when I dropped some stuff off at her place.” Muffins’ high spirits lessened a little. “Poor Pinch. I wanted to give her a hug, but Berry said that she and Piña had already headed to the castle to help get things set up.”

“Why did you ask about the foals?”

“There’s been something going on for a while.” Muffins tapped the clipboard on the edge of the counter. “But whatever is going on has been happening more often since the wedding.”

“Matilda’s and Cranky’s you mean?”

Muffins nodded. “Several foals have said they are meeting new foals once and never seeing them again. Cheerilee has been asked by her students when the new ponies are joining her class but she says that there hasn’t been anypony new sign up for her classes in awhile”

“That’s… odd. Pinkie hasn’t thrown a new foal’s welcoming party, that I know of, either. Have you asked her about whether she knows about what’s going on?”

Muffins shook her head. “Wouldn’t that seem weird to her?”

“We’re discussing Pinkie Pie, who hides party supplies all over town ‘just in case’ she might need them for a surprise party, who can make the whole town sing on a whim, and who twitchy-twitches before things happen.”

Muffins giggled. “True.”

“Besides, I’m sure she would be glad to make sure everypony is safe.”

Muffins sighed. “Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but with all the stuff Ponyville goes through I get worried about my girls.”

“One of your ‘girls’ is a mare who’s not much younger than I am,” I pointed out. I looked at the box's label and saw that it was intended for Coco. I put the box on the floor and slid it under the counter. I picked up the envelope addressed to me and smiled, recognizing Satin’s elegant hoofwriting. I opened the envelope and pulled out a beautiful invitation. There was a note tucked in the envelope but I left it to read later.

“Oh, wow,” Muffins said.

I admired the invitation for a moment and then turned it so Muffins could see it too. “Davenport outdid himself with this one.” The invitation had scroll work around the edges and an intricate cross hatch sketch depiction of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

“I got one too, but I dropped it off at home. I can’t wait to get back and open mine. That looks good enough to frame.”

Underneath the drawing, in perfect calligraphy, were the details for the wedding. I read the invitation and tilted my head. “They’re holding the wedding at the school? Satin didn’t mention that.”

“Isn’t that where they met?”

“It was.”

“That’s so romantic and sweet!” Muffins said. “Speaking of romantic,” she gave me a wink. “Good luck tonight.”

My cheeks warmed with a blush. “The word is out all over town I take it.”

“Nope, I overheard a certain sassy pony teasing somepony else while delivering a package to Rarity.” She grinned. “Your private life is still somewhat private.”

I sighed in relief. “Good, otherwise I would blush to my ears every time I stepped outside.”

The shop’s door opened again.

“I’m telling you, I haven’t been near any poison joke,” Amethyst Star said, as she and Dinky entered the shop.

“But I saw you helping at the castle!” Dinky insisted. “You were a filly again!”

“I don’t know any age regression spells either.”

“I know they exist though,” Dinky said. “Twilight told me about them.”

“They exist, but they are very hard to cast. I can’t manage one, must less make it last.”

“But you went to school with Twilight,” Dinky said.

“I was in the same grade, yes, but she was in a whole different class than me in her magical skills.”

Dinky paused and looked down to the floor and tapped her hoof. “I didn’t mean to spoil the surprise by seeing you, if you were practicing, I promise,” Dinky said. She hugged Amethyst’s side and clung to her. “Please, change back into a filly, when you can. I never got to have fun with you when you were a filly too.”

“Dinks,” Amethyst said in a caring tone. “I hate you’re disappointed, but whoever you saw wasn’t me.” She hugged Dinky and nuzzled the top of her head. “I would change back into a filly for you, if I could.”

Muffins asked, “What happened?”

“I thought I saw Amethyst as a filly at the castle.”

“It wasn’t me, Mom,” Amethyst said. “I can’t pull off that kind of spell. Even an illusion for something like that would be tough to cast and maintain.”

“Something odd is going on,” I said to Muffins.

“What brings my girls here?” Muffins asked and hugged her daughters.

“I’m picking something up for... a friend,” Amethyst said. “Dinks and I was going to head back home and get supper started after this.”

“A ‘friend’ with a white mane and tail and a musical cutie mark?” Muffins asked.

Amethyst blushed. “The Ponyville grapevine never ceases to amaze me.”

“It wasn’t the grapevine I heard it from,” Muffins said. “It was somepony a little more involved.”

“Ah-ha,” Amethyst said with a look of realization, “that’s right, she was at the meeting.”

Dinky looked up at Amethyst with wide eyes. “Sis?”

Amethyst looked down at her sister. “Yes, Dinks?”

“You have a coltfriend?”

“I’m working on it. It’s a complicated situation rut it looks like things are heading that way.”

Dinky squealed with delight and hugged Amethyst.

“Now we just have to work on you and Pip,” Amethyst teased and patted Dinky’s back with a hoof.

“Sis!” Dinky blushed and hid her face against Amethyst’s coat.

I chuckled. “I’ll get the order,” I said and turned toward the back counter. I levitated Royal Riff’s items next to the cash register and put them in a bag. “He paid in advance, so I just need your signature.”

“Is it who I think it is?” Dinky asked, still hiding her face.

“I can’t say. That would not be professional of me.” I nodded towards Amethyst. “She can though.”

Dinky looked up at Amethyst.

Amethyst gave Dinky a smug smile. “I’ll tell you, if promise to ask Pip to dance at least once tomorrow.”

“That’s not fair!” Dinky complained.

“If I don’t get your promise before we leave, I’m not telling you.” Amethyst walked over to the counter and signed for the order.

“Here’s the receipt,” I said, and gave the slip of paper to Amethyst. “Thank you for the visit.”

“You’re welcome.”

During the entire exchange between Amethyst and me, Dinky had fidgeted in place. “Fine, I promise!”

Amethyst raised an eyebrow. “Pinkie promise?”

Dinky made a full Pinkie promise. “Now, will you tell me?”

“Royal Riff,” Amethyst named.

“Our music instructor?!” Dinky looked shocked. “I thought he was going to be Cheerilee’s special somepony!” Dinky protested.

Amethyst looked to Muffins.

Muffins shook her head and crossed her forelegs over her chest. “Oh, no, you’re going to have to dig yourself out of this one.”

Amethyst looked back to Dinky. “You know about Piña, Noi, and Rumble right?”

Dinky looked confused. “Yeah, Pinch told me about it, why?”

Amethyst gave Dinky a strained grin. “Think about their situation and then mine.”

Dinky’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean think-” Dinky’s eyes widened. “You mean you and Miss Cheerilee?!”

“After she asked me in to help tutor some of the unicorn foals in her class and she and I worked together for a bit we clicked. I’ve been helping her organize a lot at her place and at the school. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been around the school more often.”

“You’re kidding,” Dinky said. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“You have to admit, she’s cute in that cheerleader outfit of hers,” Amethyst said, getting a gasp from Dinky. “She can dance too. You know how I like to dance.”

“You’re not kidding,” Dinky said in a horrified whisper.

“That’s how we started being interested in Riff. We met him a different musical events where he was playing or directing and the three of us hit it off. She and I have been keeping our relationship quiet, so pulling him in will take a delicate touch.” Amethyst put on an exaggerated scheming expression and rubbed her hooves together like a villain. “We have plans, though.”

“Poor mister Riff doesn’t have a chance,” Dinky said.

“Poor Mister Riff?! Just five minutes ago you were happy that he might be my coltfriend.”

“That was before I knew about you and Cheerilee. were planning to do” Dinky looked over to Muffins. “Did you know, Mom?”

“I didn’t have a clue, until yesterday.” Muffins said. “Cheerilee said something that I thought hinted at something, but even with the hint I didn’t expect this.”

“I think Riff could be very happy with Cheerilee and me,” Amethyst told Dinky with a grin. “On top of all the rest of Cheerilee’s good qualities, she’s a good kisser.”

“Sis, I don’t need those images!” Dinky protested.

“She’s flexible like a cheerleader too. She’s been giving me all kinds of private lessons that have improved my endurance and flexibility that I’m sure Riff will appreciate.”

Dinky’s ears pinned and her mouth dropped open in shock. “Sis! That’s just wrong!”

Muffins closed her eyes and put a hoof to her forehead. “Thanks, Amethyst. Parent teacher conferences will never be quite the same.”

I leaned on the counter and laughed.

*****

I looked around, doing a quick inspection of the kitchen. Everything was as ready as I could make it. I checked the oven. The stuffed acorn squash was doing well.

I glanced at the clock and took a slow, calming breath. “She should be here any minute,” I told myself.

I trotted to my room, past the candle lit den, to get the last thing I would need. I pulled open the top draw of my dresser and pulled out Coco’s bow tie. I looked at myself in the mirror, as I tied the bow tie around my neck. “Things have changed a lot since we last talked,” I said to my reflection and smiled, “including me.” I took another calming breath. “I’m sure she’s-”

The door to the apartment opened. “Pin?”

“Wish me luck,” I whispered to the mirror and stepped out into the hall.

“I’m right here. I was-” I stopped and stared at Coco. She wore a dress that was nothing short of inspired. Instead of cloth, it appeared to be strands of translucent silk woven into a netting that clung to her, and accented her curves Light blue gems decorated each junction of the strands. The points where the strands meet were most numerous around her neck and shoulders, along her spine, and near her tail. On the dresses’ collar, which was an elegant silver hoop necklace, sat a single sapphire that caught the candlelight just as her eyes did.

I must have stood in awe struck silence for a few seconds before Coco giggled. “I take it you like it?”

“It’s stunning,” I smiled at her, “as is the mare wearing it.”

“Thank you,” she blushed.

I raised a hoof to my tie. “I feel wholly under-dressed.”

She looked at my tie and smiled. “Not at all, and you’re a sweetheart for wearing it.”

“It’s my favorite,” I said with honesty. “It’s a special night too.”

She closed the distance between us and kissed my nose. “It is.”

The oven’s timer went off.

I held out my hoof. “If the lovely lady would do me the honor of accompanying me, I will serve dinner in short order.”

Coco placed her hoof on mine, and I led her into the kitchen.

I pulled out her chair for her, and she sat down. I had lit candles spaced out along the kitchen counter, but had not lit the ones on the table. I reached for the box of matches I had left on the table with my hooves.

Coco intercepted one of my hooves with hers. “You can use your magic.” When I looked at her, she smiled. “I’d like to see it.”

I smiled back and nodded. It took me a second of focus, but I managed to lite the trio of candles.

She looked at the now illuminated bouquet of the edge of the table. “They’re beautiful.”

“Heather for admiration and devotion, peonies for romance, magenta lilacs for love, irises for hope, and azaleas for gratitude,” I listed.

“Azaleas can also mean passion.” Coco gave me a teasing smile. “Are you trying to send me a subtle signal?”

I lifted her hoof and kissed it. “If it pleases the lady, if not, I do not mean to presume too much.”

“I find it very pleasing,” she said.

I took her glass and went to the stove top. I filled her glass with the warmed wine and placed it before her.

She smiled, looking a touch guilty. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”

“It’s a special occasion,” I reminded her. My ears pinned back, as I had a thought. “Oops, I better get dinner out of the oven before it becomes more memorable than special.”

She laughed as I rushed to remove the squash from the oven. “Sassy told me to tell you the is expecting to taste some of your cooking before she heads back to Canterlot.”

“When is she heading back?”

“I’m not sure. She said something about taking a vacation here, but she didn’t give any details.” Coco took a sip of her wine. “I don’t know if she has any definite plans or not.”

“I take she’ll be staying at Rarity’s?” I floated Coco’s salad to her along with two choices of dressing.

“I think she will, Rarity made the offer for her to stay there at least.”

I plated Coco’s main dish and returned to the table carrying the plate on a hoof. “Tonight’s special, acorn squash stuffed with cranberries, quinoa, cheese, onion, pumpkin seeds, and chickpeas.” I gave her a bow. “Bon appetit.”

“I my coltfriend is a chef, a tailor, and a gentlecolt all in one. I'm a very lucky mare.”

I filled my glass with wine, plated my main course, moved my dinner to my spot at the table, and sat across from her. “It’s nothing fancy, but I hope you enjoy it.”

“It’s wonderful,” she said, after taking a bite. “How did you manage to squeeze in time to do this?”

“It looks complicated, but it’s not that demanding of a recipe. You have to prepare the ingredients, but the main thing you have to do is put everything in to a bowl and stir.” I took a bite and felt relief the squash had come out well. “How did things go with Rarity’s?”

“Every order was picked up, the cleanup went fast, and Thunderlane came by and swept Rarity off her hooves and into the sky.”

“Which means Sassy-”

“Is taking a hot bath, reading a steamy novel, or is already in bed,” Coco informed me. “Those were here plans as she told them to Rarity and me.” She smiled at me. “You’re looking out for her.”

I nodded. “She’s been working her tail off with us, and she’s your and Rarity’s friend.”

“Is she your friend, though?”

“In an odd way,. I’ll admit she’ can be a bit too much for me with all the comments and innuendo.”

Coco giggled. “Pin, that’s her way of flirting.”

“But she pokes at you and Rarity too.”

Coco raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Oh,” was all I could say, as realization hit me.

“She would form a herd with you and me or Thunderlane and Rarity in an instant. If she could get us all in a herd, I think she would.”

“No thanks. The only mare I would be interested in that situation would be you, and Thunderlane is a good friend, but he doesn’t do a thing for me.”

Coco blushed. “I’m flattered.” She smiled and teased, “But what if I were interested in forming a herd with you and a pretty mare that wasn’t Rarity or Sassy?”

I thought it over for a second as I took a sip of my wine. Putting the glass down, I told her, “If it would make you happy, and it was the right mare.”

Coco’s ears perked in surprise.

“I’m serious. For you, and only you, I would.”

Her eyes never left mine. “I can tell there’s something unsaid in there somewhere.”

“The other mare and I would have to be careful to work things out. I would give them all the affection I could, but I doubt I could ever love another mare like I do you.” I grinned, “She and I could bond working together to spoil you, though.”

She giggled. “You spoil me well enough your own.”

“I try.” My ears went up. “Speaking of ponies getting together, I have an invitation for you from Satin and Stormbreaker.”

“They did send it here then. Rarity said that is what must have happened, since I didn’t get mine with hers and Sassy’s.”

“Satin also wrote me a note saying she had planned to send a single invitation for the both of us, but that Mom had cautioned that might be too presumptuous.”

“When is the wedding?”

“Just over two months from now.”

“Wow, they weren’t kidding when they said they would move fast.”

“Considering they already have a foal on the way, that seems to fit their pattern.”

“Speaking of foals, Rarity was telling me how good you were with the foals that came by the other day.”After hearing what Rarity had to say, Sassy asked me something that I realized we have never discussed.”

I felt one of my ears angle out. “I can’t think of anything we haven’t talked about.”

Coco’s eyes looked into mine. “Have you ever thought of having foals of your own?”

You’re in the manticore’s den now, a part of my mind warned, and my ears snapped to their ‘alert’ position.

“You’re so good with Piña and Pinch and all the other foals I’ve seen you with, her question made me curious.”

I opened my mouth, paused, shut it, thought for a second, and then tried to say something and failed.

“Your Mom warned me you would do this, if foals came up, and Rarity said pretty much the same thing. Sassy said she wanted a ‘full report of how bad he freaks out’ when it did.” Coco reached over the table and took my hoof with hers. “I want your honest answer, but I don’t want you to get worked up over it.” She squeezed my hoof. “I also don’t want you trying to guess what I think about having foals.”

“Until you came along, there hasn't been a mare in my life I that would have caused me a serious thought about…” I looked at the candles for a second and then back to her.

“Pin, you’re panicking,” Coco said with a touch of concern, but with a small smile too. “Try keeping it to a yes or no answer, if that helps.”

My eyes dropped to our entwined hooves. “I can’t. It’s not a decision I can make.”

“It’s not a decision; it’s a question of whether you would like to have a foal or two of your own.”

“On my own, no, I wouldn’t be able to do right by the foal. With somepony else… it would depend on a lot of things.”

“Pin, I am going to pin you down this time.”

I looked up to Coco. She looked more open and vulnerable, as I had ever seen her. “Would you have a foal with me?”

“If-”

“Pin, please!” Coco shook my hoof. “No if’s, no asking my opinion, no couching things; no thinking of alternatives or making backup plans, please, just an answer.” She swallowed and shook my hoof again. “I will not leave you no matter how you answer, but I need to know... for my sake,”

“Yes.” I lifted her hoof from the table and kissed it. “I would raise a foal with you.”

Hearing myself say I would like to have a foal with her aloud made the idea more real and allowed me to realize how much I liked the thought.

“Or two.”

Coco sniffed and then giggled.

“Or three,” I said and kissed her hoof again while grinning.

“Now you’re being silly.”

“No, I’m not. I had all but consigned myself to living alone until the end of my days. There aren’t many mares that would be interested in sharing my home and lifestyle, and even fewer that would find it and my profession appealing.” I snorted at myself. “To further limit my chances, there are very few mares that would put up with my personality quirks.”

Keeping hold of Coco’s hoof, I made my way around the table and hugged her.

I touched my forehead to hers. “You are the one mare I have ever met that I thought might want to join me here. You are the only mare I thought I could help reach your own dreams just by being me and doing what I love. You are the only mare that I would have foals with, however many you want. I would cherish them and do my best to support them in flourishing, as I want to do with you. They would be you.”

“They would be us.” She studied me for a moment, and smiled. “Aren’t you going to ask me about my thoughts about foals?”

I smiled back. “Coco, have you ever thought about having foals?”

“I have.” She did not say a word more, but her smile became mischievous.

Cadance in the Empire I love this mare, I thought. I touched my nose to Coco’s. “I would very much like to hear your thoughts on the subject.”

“I wouldn’t want to raise foals in Manehatten, so I would have to move to a place where I could stay long term.”

My ears perked. “What kind of place did you have in mind?”

“I would have to go somewhere where I could continue doing what I love while taking care of them. I will not miss raising my own foals. There aren’t that many places where I could work and call it home at the same time.”

“I see,” I said, feeling my smile grow. “What if you found that spot?”

“That would be a good start, but I would also need a stallion who would help me with the foals, help me support them financially, and who I thought would be a good father.”

“You want more than a stud. I can understand that. What if you found somepony that might be such a stallion?”

“I would flirt with him to gauge his interest, find out more about him and his personality as we dated, be open with him in our conversations about what each other want in our lives, and then…” She stroked my cheek with a hoof. “Wait to see if he would ask a specific question as to him, the possibility of foals, and me.”

“Coco.”

“Yes.”

My heart pounded in my throat and I had a second’s worth of trouble forming my words. “Would you be interested in having a foal with me?”

Tears came to Coco’s eyes. “Yes, I would.”

I felt tears run down my cheeks as I drew Coco close and kissed her.

Chapter 20

“I hope dinner was passable,” I said as Coco and I walked into the den. “I tried to get a table at restaurants I know, but they were booked solid with everypony coming into town for the celebration.”

“It was delicious,” Coco said and gave me an appreciative nuzzle to my neck.

I nodded towards the coffee table. “Satin sent you a package, along with your invitation.”

“She didn’t have to do that.” Coco went to the coffee table, opened the envelope, and pulled out her invitation. “This is beautiful. It will make a wonderful keepsake.” Coco put the invitation aside, taking care not to damage it. She looked toward the package and then glanced around. “Do you have any scissors?”

“Allow me,” I said and used my magic to undo the tape holding the box closed.

“Thank you,” Coco opened the box and peered into it. Her cheeks flushed, and with slow motions, she closed the box back up.

“Do I want to know?”

“She sent items for events after we complete our courtship,” she said with a giggle.

“Speaking of our courtship,” I said, took a step back from her, and bowed. “Lady Coco, it warms my heart you kept the braid and still wear the flower I gave you. Please, grant me the privilege of completing the braiding your mane and tale.”

Coco slipped into her royal mare persona. “Good stallion, I have looked forward to you braiding my mane with great anticipation and am relishing the thought of you braiding my tail.”

Her voice’s sultry tone caused me to blush. “You honor me.”

She turned, gave me a look over her shoulder, and drew the tip of her tail across my nose. “I am also looking forward to discussing the end of our courtship and the possibility of us sharing in a prosperous and pleasurable future together.”

While I controlled one aspect of myself, I could not keep my nostrils from flaring as I took in her scent. It took me a second to gather my rational thoughts and tell her, “If you would follow me, I have prepared a spot that should meet our needs.”

I walked with brisk steps to the study door, stopped, and turned. I tilted my head, seeing Coco still at the entrance to the short hallway.

Coco smiled and moved with fluid feminine grace towards me, giving her hips a slight sway with each step. She stopped less than a foreleg’s length away from me and raised an eyebrow. “You seem to be afflicted by something, good sir. Your cheeks are quite flushed for such a short stroll.”

After a second, I surrendered to the fact I could not come up with a proper response. “How do you do that?” I asked, breaking my act.

Coco giggled, turning back into herself. “You’re adorable when you’re flustered, did you know that?”

“I’m glad, since I seem to find myself in that state a lot around you.” I smiled at her. “I’m serious, though, you disappear into your character, and that walk was something else.”

“I could teach you,” Coco offered.

“That walk of yours?” I shook my head. “Thanks, but I could never pull it off. I don’t have the hips for it.”

Coco laughed. “Not the walk, acting lessons is what I meant.”

“I would love that.” I opened the door to the study.

“Oh, Pin,” Coco said in a sweet tone.

I had put a comforter and a blanket of mine on the floor and topped them with Coco’s Empire woven blanket. Around the edges of the blankets, I had placed jonquils and red chrysanthemums.

Using my magic, I lit each of the candles I had placed around the room.

“That was pretty.” Coco’s ears snapped up, and she looked at me.

“What?” I asked with concern.

“That’s why you wanted to use matches to light the candles at dinner.” Her ears fell. “You didn’t want to give the surprise away.”

I kissed her nose, and her ears went back up. “Was it still a surprise?”

She smiled. “It was.”

“Then everything went just as planned,” I said. I took her hoof and led her to the blankets. “I know it will not be as nice as the cloud chair, but for what I have in mind, this will work better.”

She nestled down in the center of the pile. “This is very comfy.” She seemed to notice the bag from Aloe’s and Lotus’ and her ears perked up.

I went to the bag and pulled out the grooming set. After returning to the blankets, I presented the teak wood box to her. “This is for you.”

She opened the box and her eyes lit up. “Pin, these are amazing.”

“I was promised you would love them.” When she looked at me, I blushed. “May I?”

“Please.” She gave me a seductress’ look. “You must undress me first, though.”

Struck mute by her words, I nodded and put aside the grooming kit. I had to lean in close to her to undo the clasp on the back of her collar.

She kissed my neck just under my jaw, making my hooves tremble as I took the collar off her. I levitated the dress from her, making sure not to tangle its delicate strands. As I moved it, the candlelight made it look as if I was guiding a net of captured stars. I floated the dress over to the cloud chair and lay it out full spread.

“That is the most eye catching and imaginative dress I have seen.”

“Thank you. I didn’t think I could pull the design off.”

I turned to her in surprise. “You didn’t mention you made it.”

“I didn’t want to make a big deal about it,” she said.

“You should!” I told her and bumped my nose to hers. “It’s amazing.”

Coco blushed and ducked her head. “Rarity said it would get me some attention at the Celebration, if I wore it.”

“What do you mean, ‘if I wore it?’ It would be a crime for you not to.”

“I made it for tonight. I didn’t plan on wearing it for any events. I wanted it to be special.”

“It is, as are you.” I picked up the curry brush from the set and began stroking Coco’s neck and chest with gentle motions. “Please, wear the dress tomorrow. Rarity’s right, it will get you all kinds of attention.” I kissed her nose. “Everypony should see and appreciate a beautiful masterwork like that, along with its creator.”

Coco giggled, lifted her chin for me as I worked higher, and hummed in appreciation. “This will make completing our courtship more difficult.”

“How so?” I asked, continuing to use soft, circular motions on her coat.

“We’re both going to be distracted.”

“I can’t argue that. I’ve been looking forward to doing this for days. Hang on for a second; I’m going to move so I can get your back.” I paused and she gave me a brief kiss.

“Thank you, for the gifts, for dinner, for everything.”

“You’re welcome.” I smiled and touched noses with her. “I enjoy showing my appreciation for you. It makes me feel wonderful, and I hope it makes you happy.”

She wrapped her forelegs around my neck and pulled me in for a more lasting kiss. She released me and said, “Pin, I don’t want us to break tradition when we’re this close to finishing, so let me start us off with my questions.”

“Sounds good,” I said, and moved so I could start grooming her back and sides.

“Does your family approve of our relationship?”

I chuckled. “They do.”

“Do you think we can live together and make each other happy?”

“Without a doubt,” I said. I stood and moved to her other side.

She giggled. “Will you let me cook for us once in a while?”

I laughed, and kissed her back just below her shoulder blades. “Sure, anytime you want.”

As I reached her lower back and flanks, I looked to her for approval.

She smiled at me and gave me a caring but firm look. “Pin, this is a bit out of order, from the way your mom and Satin described how this should go, but we need to discuss this. I appreciate you being respectful and tender, but I like it when you let the unbridled side of you come out.” Her eyes lit as she added, “I really liked when you got creative the other night.”

She swept her tail and draped it over my neck and shoulders. She drew her tail back, caressing my coat with its soft strands as she did so.

Her scent mixed with the aroma of the flowers that her tail had disturbed as it had swept towards me, making a heady mixture that made my heart go faster.

“I will be sure to keep that in mind from now on.” I turned my attention towards her croup, made a show of placing the bristles of the brush on a certain spot on her lower back and at a specific angle, and then drew the brush in a way that followed the curve of her hip to and then close to the ridge of her spine on the right side.

She gasped as my hoof moved close to an area further back on her hindquarters.

I gave a light flick of my hoof causing her to jump a little and squeak. “That one I learned from a book.”

I finished up on Coco’s right side and moved to her left.

Coco turned her head towards me. “Since we’re going things out of order, what do you think you and I will need to address?”

I continued to brush her. “I want to meet and get to know your family.”

She blinked. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Something about me has to irritate you. There has to be something about me you have to want to ch-”

Shifting once again, I stopped her words with a kiss. “What few little foibles you have, I find adorable and I wouldn’t change them for the world. If there is one thing I would like you to change, and we’ve talked about it before, is that you don’t value yourself for being the wonderful mare you are.”

“Foibles?” Coco arched an eyebrow.

“As an example; you don’t like asparagus.”

She made a face like a filly tasting something bad. “Bleh!”

“That just leaves more for me when I cook it, so it’s not even a bad thing.”

After removing the loose hairs from the curry brush, I put the brush back in the grooming set box and pulled out a dandy brush.

“All that came off me?!” Coco gawked at the pile of loose hair I had collected and set aside on a washcloth.

“You’ve been stressed, that causes hair to come loose. Neither of us have taken a shower in two days too.”

“I’m so embarrassed.” She hid her face between her forelegs and covered her head with her hooves. “If that’s what came off with the curry comb, I dread what will come off with the dandy brush.” She lifted her head and looked to her blanket. “Maybe we should put a sheet down so I don’t get the blankets dirty.”

“Don’t worry about that.” I tapped the dandy brush to my horn. “I can take care of cleanup with no trouble.”

She looked at me, as if horrified at some thought. “I don’t stink, do I?!”

I laughed. “No, you don’t stink.” I kissed her ear and gave it a teasing nibble. “You smell scrumptious to me.”

“You’re biased though,” she said sounding relieved.

“Do you think Sassy wouldn’t let us know if either of us was getting a little ripe?”

“True.”

I began with the dandy brush on her shoulders, giving her coat light flicks to tease out what hairs the curry comb had missed. “Back to your family, I’m not sure if you’ve ever mentioned their names or what your brother does.”

She watched me work her coat for a moment and had an expression of trying to remember something. She blushed and bit her bottom lip. “I don’t think I have.”

“Don’t feel bad, I didn’t tell you Grandfather’s name until the other day, and I still haven’t told you Nana’s.”

“Mom’s name is Stage Light. Dad’s is Picture Frame. Light Filter is my brother’s, and he’s a Royal Guard.”

“He’s a guard?” I shifted my position and continued to brush her. “I would have thought his talent would entail something creative like the rest of your family.”

“He is. He’s a designer and helps create the Guard’s training manuals and recruiting posters. He still has to go on patrols and stand guard too, though.”

“Ah, he’s in Internal Publishing and Support. That fits.” I shifted again and continued brushing.

Coco smiled. “You’re enjoying this.”

I looked at her, grinned, and nodded. “I hope you are too.”

“Enough to make a regular practice of it, if I can talk you into it,” she said and leaned to touch her nose to mine.

“You don’t have to talk me into anything, I volunteer.”

“You’re going to spoil me with all this attention. I get to groom you too, though.”

“That sounds good, but you must be careful. As the fillies revealed the other night, I’m ticklish.”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten,” she said in a way that made her words an appealing threat.

“Don’t look,” I said and gathered the hairs from the dandy brush and from around her.

“That bad?” she asked with a wince and closed her eyes.

“Not at all.” I put the hairs with the others I had gathered before and folded the washcloth over them so she would not try to look at them. I returned the dandy brush to its spot in the box and pulled out the finishing soft brush.

“Your turn,” Coco coaxed. “Ask away.”

“Does having my friends pop in at odd times bother you?”

She laughed. “No! They’re part of being here and with you.”

I brushed her shoulder. “I’m glad. We’re an eclectic bunch.”

“Which makes it even more fun. You’re a family, and it’s something I want to be a part of.”

“You already are.” I moved again. “Will the workshop have enough space for us both to work on our projects if your business takes off?”

She stiffened a bit and hesitated before answering, “I’m not sure.”

“Good.”

She turned her head to look at me.

“It’s cramped for us as it is.” I smiled. “Now, I have a reason to expand it.”

One of Coco’s ears turned. “Pin, are you sure?”

“I meant it when I said I wanted to build my life around yours. If that requires literal construction, I’ll be glad to do it.”

“That will cost a fortune,” she said with a worried frown.

“In Canterlot or Manehattan, it would. It won’t in Ponyville. If building was expensive, the Apples would have lost their farm years ago with as many barns as they’ve built and torn down.” I moved to her other side and looked in the kitchen’s direction. “On the second story of the extension, if we can work it, we could put…”

She tilted her head at me and gave me a poke with a hoof. “Pin?”

“A nursery or foals’ room,” I finished.

She blushed and smiled. “Pin, while I like the thought, we’re not even through our courtship yet.”

“We’re close.” I removed the hair from the finishing brush, while Coco hid her eyes again. I put away the brush and took out the combs I would need. I combed her mane and hummed a note. “Is there a style you would like?”

“I’ll let you pick.”

“Tell me if I do something that makes you uncomfortable,” I said and started using my hooves and my magic in combination.

“I hate that I’ll have to take the braids out tonight.”

“If you like them, I’ll be glad to do them again tomorrow.” I kissed the back of her neck.

She gave a little start. “Oh, you were prepared. I just noticed you put the tri-fold dressing mirror in the corner.”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I had been looking forward to this. I wanted to make it as perfect as possible.”

I scooted back towards her tail.

She looked over her shoulder at me. “That was fast, and I didn’t even feel a tug.”

“I’ve had practice. Mom and Satin made sure that I could braid manes before I left home.” I stroked her tail with a hoof. “You have a beautiful mane and tail. I love the bi-color in them.” I levitated a comb to me and, taking it with my hoof, separated her tail into the sections I would need.

“Pin, you still have a question left.”

“I’m saving it for a few minutes more, if you don’t mind.”

“I’ll ask you a non-courtship question then. Did Cranky and Matilda come by today?”

“They did. I take it they stopped by Rarity’s.”

“Rarity was still out of foals’ ties, so she sent them to you.”

“I’m still not sure why they wanted one. They didn’t say too much when they bought it.”

“They didn’t say much at the boutique. Rarity said she could figure out who they could be buying it for.”

“I couldn’t either. I haven’t heard of them adopting or taking care of anypony, much less a pony that age.”

Coco wiggled a little, turning her head one way and then the other. “I can’t see what you’re doing.”

I chuckled. “I’m nearly there.”

“There is a part of me that wants to see what you’ve done, but another part wants this to go on,” she admitted.

“We can do this as often as you like. I would enjoy it every time and I have so many ideas I want to try with the colors of your mane and tail.”

“Pin.”

I looked up into her eyes.

“I love you.”

I smiled. “I love you too.” After a few more seconds of braiding, I declared, “I’m done, but you can’t move yet.”

“You’re getting me back for teasing you aren’t you?”

“That is not what I had in mind.” I move to the bag once more and drew out the grooming mitt and spray. “But there is just one more thing I would like to do before you see yourself.”

“You just want to rub your hoof all over me,” she teased.

“I will admit that is part of the appeal.” I sprayed the mitt with two mists from the bottle and settled down beside Coco. I ran the mitt over Coco’s coat. “This won’t take long.”

“There was something else odd that happened today. Muffins and her girls came by. Dinky was telling Amethyst, Muffin’s older daughter, that she had seen Amethyst as a foal at the Celebration set up.”

“That’s weird.”

I moved further back on her and made my strokes more like caresses. “You have the most wonderful coat.”

“Thank you.” She squirmed as I continued with the mitt. “I think Rarity and Thunderlane know something about what is going on. They both were acting like they we’re having to be careful of not revealing something while talking with each other. The way Cheerilee was acting yesterday, before everypony showed up, I wouldn’t be surprised that she’s in on what’s going on.”

“Here’s a bit of news that I don’t think has gotten out yet. There’s a reason Cheerilee and Amethyst are going after Riff at the same time. They’re already together.”

Coco turned her head and watched me move to her other side. “So that’s why Cheerilee had that reaction to Muffins’ comment. Muffins didn’t have a clue did she?”

“From what I could tell she didn’t,” I said and shifted towards her shoulders. With a few more caressing strokes, I finished. I levitated the tri-fold mirror to stand at the front of the blankets. I got to my hooves and then offered a hoof to Coco.

She took my hoof and stood. “Thank you.” She looked toward the closed mirror with anticipation.

I kissed her cheek. “You look stunning,” I told her, as I opened the mirror.

“Oh, Pin,” she breathed.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes!”

I had braided her mane in a waterfall style, giving her mane the appearance of being a woven crown near the top of her head, taking the remaining strands of her mane into a small bun at the back of her head below the braid line.

She turned so she could see her tail in the mirror. “Oh my goodness,” she said.

“Your tail’s coloration inspired me.”

I had made a central braid of the darker middle section of her tail and woven braided strands of the lighter outer sections into the central braid at every interval of the central braid making a full waterfall braid of her tail.

“Would you wear these to the Celebration tomorrow?”

“Of course I would!” She pranced in place and smiled. “These are wonderful.” She paused and looked at her reflections. “My coat looks fabulous too!”

“I’m glad you’re so happy. I was afraid I’d-”

She spun, wrapped her hooves around my neck, and kissed me. “I’m ecstatic! I look like royalty!”

I hugged her back. “You’re my Lady Coco, so you’re royalty to me.”

“Pin, you’re blushing.”

I kept my voice steady as I told her, “I would like to ask you that question.”

She smiled and bumped her nose to mine. “Ask.”

“May I make love to you tonight and as often as you would like from this night on?”

Coco looked at me as if stunned and blushed all the way to her ears.

My ears tilted back. “Too bold?”

She smiled and gave me a tinder spark of a kiss. “Yes, you can make love to me, I will ask for you to frequently, and no that was perfect.”

“Keep hold of my neck for a second, please,” I said and levitated her off the floor. Getting to my hooves, I carried her using a combination of my magic and a foreleg towards my room.

Coco nuzzled me under my chin. “You’re such a gentlecolt.”

“You may not think so after tonight,” I said and opened the door to my room.

“Promises, promises,” she teased.

*****

“You realize we’re in for it,” I said to Coco as we walked towards Ponyville’s central square.

“That’s fine,” Coco said nonplussed.

“You’re rather relaxed about it. I’m sure Sassy alone will give us fits.”

“She will.”

“Berry will not be much better.”

“I know.”

“Rarity will want to know ‘every little detail’ too.”

I could hear Coco’s smile in her answer; “That’s fine.”

I glanced over at her and she turned her smiling face to me. “You’re blushing.”

“So are you.” She leaned against me. “They can’t grill us too much. We’re going to be too busy.”

“They’re patient.” I leaned my head against hers. “They’ll isolate us at some point and the questioning will start.”

“And oh the answers I will give them.”

I felt my blush intensify at her tone. I leaned back up, as we came to the edge of the square. “You don’t have to give them all the details.”

“If they’re going to ask questions, I’m going to make them jealous.”

“What if they ask me questions?”

She kissed my cheek. “Blush, as you always do, and give honest answers.”

“Uncle Pin! Miss Coco!” Piña waved to us from where she Barrel and Berry were sitting beside the fountain. “We’re over here!”

Coco and I made our way to the fountain.

Piña rushed over and gave me a hug. “Are you excited? I am!”

“I’m nervouscited,” I told her and hugged her back.

“Whoa, Coco, you’re coat looks great,” Berry said.

Piña released me and hugged Coco. “She’s super soft too!” Piña nuzzled against Coco’s coat.

Coco laughed and told them, “Pin went over me again with the grooming mitt after we got out of the shower this morning.”

Barrel chuckled while Berry stared at me.

“Did I hear ‘we got out’?” Berry asked. “And what’s this about grooming mitt?”

“We’ll talk about it later,” Coco said and made a subtle glance towards Piña.

“Pin,” Barrel said, “now might be your only chance to escape.”

“He can’t go anywhere, we’ve got to get to the castle,” Piña said.

“You need to let Coco go, if we’re going,” Berry said.

“I can’t, she feels too nice to let go of.”

Barrel looked up. “I think we’re about to have somepony join us.”

Rumble landed near to our group and trotted over. “Good morning!” he said. “Thunderlane wanted me to tell you he, Rarity, and Sassy are at the castle. They had some special meeting to go to.” He tilted his head and looked at Piña, who had still not let go of Coco. “Why are you holding onto her like that?”

“Give her a hug and you’ll see!” Piña said. She released Coco and stepped back.

Rumble looked to Coco for permission.

“Come here,” Coco said and took Rumble into a hug.

“Whoa.” He gave Coco the slightest start of a nuzzle, blushed, and jumped back from her. “Sorry.”

Coco giggled at him. “You’re fine.”

“Don’t feel bad, I did the same thing!” Piña said. She looked to me and asked, “What did you do to her?”

“I’d like to know what all he did to her last night and this morning too,” Berry said.

Coco leaned close to Piña and stage whispered, “He pampered me from nose to tail. I think he’s one of the spa ponies part time and hasn’t told us.”

“Nah, he’s too shy for that kind of work,” Barrel said.

I looked around. “Where’s Pinch?”

“Prince Shining Armor came by and got her earlier this morning!” Piña said. “He bowed to her and everything. He said that she was needed for a quick meeting too.”

“We should head to the castle ourselves,” Turner said, as he, Dinky, and Muffins joined us. “We don’t want to anything less than punctual with royalty involved.”

“You’re right,” Piña said. “Twilight really doesn’t like it when ponies are tardy.”

Our group moved through town and towards the castle.

Ponyville was the busiest I had seen. Ponies were trotting around town running last-minute errands before the market shut down for the celebration. Crystal and Royal Guards patrolled the streets. While the Royal Guards remained stoic, the Crystal Guards glanced around at the buildings and ponies around them seeming to be as fascinated by them as the town’s ponies were of them.

“They’re so awesome looking,” Rumble said.

“The Lunar Guard will be here tonight,” Dinky said.

He turned toward her. “Really?! Pip’s going to flip out.”

As we approached the castle, Turner stated, “I’ve always considered the castle more as the town library, but having the guards around has changed the atmosphere.”

“That’s why Twilight doesn’t have guards,” Muffins said. “She enjoys keeping the relaxed feel of Ponyville.”

“Good morning everypony!” The Crystal Guard stationed at the castle doors greeted. “You must be here for the meeting.”

“We are,” Barrel said.

The guard nodded to his Royal Guard counterpart.

The Royal Guard opened one of the castle's doors for us. “Take the first hall to the left and the meeting will be in the third room on the left.”

“Thank you,” we said in chorus.

Piña lingered for a moment, as the rest of us approached the door, and stared at the guard.

He gave her a smile and raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“Can I try something?”

The Crystal Guard shrugged. “Sure.”

“What are you doing?” Rumble asked, as Piña moved closer to the guard.

Piña put her hoof behind the guard’s right leg. “Cool, you can see through them!”

Piña’s exclamation got a mirthful snort out of the Royal Guard, and a full belly laugh out of the Crystal Guard.

“Piña!” Berry chided. “I’m so sorry, sir,” she said in a mortified tone.

“She’s fine,” he said and gave her a smile. “I have a daughter her age. She’s curious too.”

“Piña!” Dinky hissed through her teeth. “Behave! You will get us tossed in the dungeon!”

“We rarely throw anypony in the dungeon, much less foals,” a voice said.

“It’s the prince!” Piña said.

We all bowed, and the two guards saluted, as Shining Armor approached.

“At ease you two,” he told the guards. “Please, don’t bow,” Shining said to the rest of us. “You’re doing us a huge favor and this event is supposed to be as informal as possible.”

We returned to standing.

“Dinky, dear,” Muffins said through a giggle. “You need to breathe.”

“He’s right here, Mom,” Dinky said in a whisper.

“You must be Dinky,” Shining said to her with a winsome smile. He held out his hoof to her.

Dinky stared at the hoof for a moment and then touched hers to it. “You know my name,” she said as if not believing it and she looked up to him.

“Rarity described you, Piña, and Rumble to me.” Shining smiled and bowed over Dinky’s hoof, causing Dinky to blush. “She said there would be a good chance that you three would be with everypony else.”

Releasing Dinky’s hoof he turned to Piña and repeated the greeting ritual he had done with Dinky.

“It’s nice to meet you, your highness,” Piña said, as Shining bowed over her hoof.

“The pleasure is mine. Please, just Shining.” He turned and shook hooves with Rumble. “I’ve heard you’re a future Wonderbolt.”

Rumble’s eyes widened. “I’m trying to be, sir.”

“He’ll make it,” Piña said with certainty, gaining her a smile from Rumble.

“I was asked to escort you three to the library. Starlight, Sunburst, and Flurry are there, and they would like to meet you.”

“Princess Flurry is here?!” Piña said, and then slapped her hooves over her mouth.

Shining glanced at Piña. “She is. If we didn’t bring her, Twilight and Flurry wouldn’t have been happy with us. They don’t get to see each other that often.”

“Our daughter has a fascination for expecting mares and foals,” Barrel told him.

“Flurry will like you then,” Shining said to Piña. “Follow me, and I’ll take you three to her.”

Piña all but skipped behind the prince while Dinky and Rumble smirked at her and walked behind them.

The rest of our group continued to the room where we were to meet with Twilight and the others.

“There you are!” Rarity said, as we stepped into a spacious sitting room. “I told Twilight you would be a touch early.”

“Did Shining meet you?” Twilight asked.

“He did,” Berry said. “Twilight, if Flurry comes up missing, don’t worry, it’s most likely that Piña has run off with her for a while.”

Twilight laughed. “Come in everypony. I double checked to make sure there would be enough seats.”

As everypony standing moved to find seat, Sassy grinned at Coco and me. “Well, Coco, he must have treated you right last night, your coat is all but glowing.”

Rarity gave her a light tap on the shoulder and admonished, “Sassy, not here.”

“I sense some gossiping going on,” said a feminine voice just outside the room.

I turned around as Princess Cadance, Spike, and a blue-coated crystal pony colt who seemed at least a hoofful of years older than Piña and Pinch stepped into the room.

Those of us who were not royalty, a guest of royalty, or a dragon, bowed to the princess.

“None of that!” she told us. “This is Twilight’s celebration, not some stuffy Canterlot gala. Besides, I’m not a princess of Equestria, so I’m just Cadance to all of you.”

Cadance was taller than I had expected. I had to look up at her, after returning to standing.

“You were right, Rarity, they’re perfect,” Cadance said.

“Thank you, darling. I’d like to think I have a sense for these kinds of things.”

Cadance looked over Coco for a moment and then to me. “Are these the two you were telling me about?”

“That would be them,” Rarity said with amusement.

“You two went through the full Canterlot courtship?” Cadance asked.

“As best we could,” Coco answered.

I could only nod in agreement.

Cadance laughed in a kind way. “I rarely awe ponies. That’s more Celestia’s and Luna’s thing. I’m not sure what to do to break him out of it. ”

“Pin’s quite shy,” Rarity said. “It might take a few minutes to get him to say anything. He’s a big romantic like Pinch and I are and a fan of yours too.”

Cadance looked back to me. “I have fans?”

I blushed and nodded.

Twilight gave an amused snort. “Cadance, you’re the Princess of Love, how can you not have fans?”

“Your highness, please excuse the interruption,” a Crystal Guard said as he entered the doorway and bowed.

Thank you for the interruption! I thought.

“Wild Wind, at ease, you shouldn’t be so formal around the ponies you will be escorting.”

“He’s our guard?” Sassy said from behind me in a tone that did nothing to disguise her delight.

The sergeant glanced at Sassy and then to Cadance.

“Sassy, down girl,” Berry said. “You’re scaring him.”

“Come in, and sit down you two,” Twilight said.

It took me a second to realize she was speaking to Spike and the colt.

The colt hesitated and looked to Spike.

“It’s okay,” Spike told the colt. “They’re all good friends.”

The colt nodded and walked with Pinch into the room. There might have been hoof width between him and Spike, but not any more than that. Twilight gestured with a wing for them to sit next to her.

“Please, everypony sit down,” Twilight said. After a moment, she added, “You too Wind.”

The guard shook his head. “Thank you, Princess, but I’m-”

“To do as you’re told,” Cadance said as if only half joking.

“Yes, Princess!” Wind trotted towards the closest empty chair in the room to him and sat beside Sassy.

Sassy looked him over as if he were a treat and gave him a flirting smile.

I noticed there were three empty chairs left. Cadance sat on the other side of Spike and the colt, leaving two seats unoccupied in the room.

After everypony sat down, Twilight addressed us: “Thank you for coming so early this morning. I wanted to introduce you to Crystal Hoof so he would know who he will spend the day with.”

Crystal Hoof gave a meek wave to us. “Hello.”

Twilight looked past us as the sound of two sets of hooves approached from the hallway. She smiled and declared, “Good, the last of us are here. Please come in and have a seat.”

I turned my head as Thunderlane and Pinch walked in the room.

Cadance smiled. “How did things go?”

“Very well,” Thunderlane said. “Pinch was perfect, and things are moving right along.”

“I knew she would be the right pony for the job,” Twilight said.

Pinch smiled, blushed, and bowed her head. “Thank you.”

“Crystal Hoof, this is the filly I told you about, Ruby Pinch.” Cadance said, gesturing to Pinch with a wing. “She and Spike will be your tour guides of the town.”

Crystal Hoof gave her a shy smile. “It’s nice to meet you.” He turned to Spike. “Isn’t she the filly that helped you and Sweetie Belle?”

Spike nodded. “That’s her. I think you’ll like her.”

“If she helped you, I like her already,” Crystal Hoof said.

“Everypony, please introduce yourselves and tell what you do,” Twilight said.

We took turns introducing ourselves to Crystal Hoof, who seemed to relax as everypony told their names and occupations.

“Wow, there are a lot of different talents in the room,” Crystal Hoof said.

“Ponyville is a great place,” Spike said. “You can find a niche here, no matter what you do.”

“Speaking of finding your niche,” Twilight turned to Pinch, “are you ready to start things off?”

Pinch nodded. “I am.”

“Great!” Twilight tapped her hooves together. “Crystal Hoof, you’ll be having breakfast with Pinch and her family at their home. After that Pinch will take you to the activities that have been set up for the Celebration.”

“Sounds great,” Crystal Hoof said.

There was an awkward pause as nopony moved.

Cadance reached out a wing, and poked Crystal Hoof on the back. “She means you should go with Pinch now.”

Crystal Hoof started. “Oh! Right!” He hopped from his seat and walked up to Pinch. He looked away from her and rubbed one foreleg over the other. “Thank you for doing this for me.”

Pinch grinned. “I can’t wait to introduce you to everypony and show you around.”

Spike got down from his chair. “I don’t mean to be pushy, but we better get going. We’ve got lots to do and plenty of ponies to meet.”

“Wind, please accompany them,” Cadance said.

Wind got to his hooves and bowed to Princess Cadance. “I will guard them with my life, your highness.”

“I doubt anything serious will happen,” Twilight said. “But this is Ponyville, so don’t get too relaxed.”

“Yes Princess.” Wind bowed and followed his wards out of the room.

Twilight watched the door. “How did the meeting go?” she asked Thunderlane, after the sound hooffalls faded away.

“It went very well,” Thunderlane told her. “The special guest will be in position for lunch.”

“That’s wonderful,” Cadance said. She leaned forward in her seat. “How did their meeting go?”

“Even better,” Thunderlane said. “Pinch reacted as you two predicted and even got a hug for being so understanding.”

Cadance’s voice rose in excitement as she asked, “From him?”

“From him,” Thunderlane confirmed.

Cadance clapped her hooves together and giggled like a filly. “That’s perfect!”

Sassy raised her hoof. “Excuse me, but I’m feeling out of the loop.”

“That’s part of the plan,” Twilight said.

Muffins also raised a hoof, “Twilight, we can’t help if we don’t know what’s going on.”

“Trust me. You’ll be more able to help by not knowing.” Twilight smiled at us. “We wanted to meet with this group of ponies so early this morning because you will be involved in a delicate part of what will happen. We needed to give you a little bit of a heads up while having as little impact on how you behave and feel as possible and so you could stay calm even if odd things happen.”

Cadance told us, “Today, ponies may act off to you. Conversations may take odd turns. There may be unexpected… disturbances. Part of this will be because of cultural differences. The other part of it will be because these sort of plans always have unexpected things happen. We ask that you take such things in stride, remain calm, and be the ponies you are.”

“We can do that,” Turner said.

“Oh yes,” Cadance said in a near purr. “There is one more thing we would like you to do. Send lots of love towards your partners today.”

Sassy’s ears angled back as if Cadance’s words had stung, but she put them back into place.

Cadance smiled at Sassy. “I noticed you noticing Wind.”

Sassy grinned. “I was wondering if he looked as good out of his armor as he did in it.”

Rarity cut her eyes toward Sassy and gave a warning noise.

“Wind is taken,” Cadance said, “and yes, he does.”

Sassy sighed. “Why is it all the good and handsome ones are taken?”

Cadance giggled. “There will be some available stallions, guards and otherwise, at the celebration.”

“I could use some guidance as to which ones I could consider pursuing,” Sassy said.

“I would be glad to help. I did quite a bit of research for tonight to help such connections happen.” Cadance cut her eyes towards Twilight. “While I am glad to help whoever I can, there is a certain somepony who I was hoping to assist who says she’s too busy for ‘romantic entanglements.’ Maybe you could help me convince her to take some time of her schedule to pursue a partner or two.”

Twilight blushed and gave a Cadance a look. “I’ve got to help run the country and continue my studies!”

Cadance snorted. “When I courted your brother, I was in school and training to become a full princess. You can take time to find somepony special too.”

“There are so many variables to consider in choosing a partner though!” Twilight protested. “I can’t invest that much research time right now.”

“Twilight, look at finding a partner as an advanced form of making a friend, not a science project. Since you’re the Princess of Friendship, it should be natural for you.”

Twilight grumbled an answer I could not hear.

“You’re making things too complicated and regimented.” Cadance assured Twilight, “Getting to know your partner then figuring out and working through how their variables and your variables could fit together with yours is an unstructured process that is a lot of fun.”

Sassy giggled. “She’s right. Even if the relationship breaks down, fitting ‘variables’ together while your together is always fun.”

Cadance grinned. “I think you and I will get along great.”

“I’m doomed,” Twilight groaned. “Now there’s two of them!”

“Excuse me?” a filly’s voice asked from the doorway. “Are my mom and dad here?”

“We’re over here, Dinky,” Muffins said, turning to look at the door.

“Mom!” Dinky trotted into the room, Rumble following behind her. “I got to hold…” She stopped and stared at Princess Cadance. “You’re his wife.”

“If you mean Shining Armor’s, yes I am,” Cadance said with a smirk.

“She is also a princess,” Turner reminded Dinky.

“Sorry Princess!” Dinky bowed.

Rumble stood beside Dinky and joined in her bowing to Cadance.

Cadance waved a wing at the foals. “No bowing, please. I’m here on semi-official and unroyal business. I get the impression you’re a fan of Shining.”

Dinky blushed. “Yes, Princess.”

“Don’t be embarrassed. I’m a big fan too. It’s one of the reasons I married him.” Cadance turned to Rumble. “You must be Thunderlane’s brother.”

“Yes, Princess,” he responded. “I’m Rumble.”

“I’ve heard you’ve taken on two ‘training partners’,” Cadance half teased. “That requires a lot of commitment. I wish all three of you happiness and success.”

Rumble blushed and smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”

Twilight gave a polite cough and then looked towards the room’s clock.

Cadance sighed. “Right, we can’t forget the schedule. I’ll reign in my romantic curiosity for the moment.” She gave Rumble a wink. “I’d like to meet your training partners sometime today, if we could arrange it.”

Rumble’s wings fluffed in shock, and he nodded. “We’re all in Miss Cheerilee’s class.”

“Which you’re scheduled to meet after lunch,” Twilight prodded with a grin.

“Hint taken, Twilight.” Cadance stood and gave us a bow. “Thank you all for helping us. We will see you again at lunch. If you would like some, breakfast for everyone helping with the Celebration is being served in the dining hall on the opposite side of the castle.”

Twilight stood and smiled. “Great! We’re still in the time buffer I put in till our next event. We’ll need to teleport to be on time, though.”

“Teleport away,” Cadance said.

Twilight lit her horn, and with a hiss, a pop, and a muted flash of light Cadance and Twilight vanished from the room.

“So, bro, you got the attention of the Princess of Love herself,” Thunderlane teased Rumble. “Not bad.”

Muffins’ stomach growled, and we all turned towards her.

Looking embarrassed, she grinned. “Sorry.”

“Let’s get you a breakfast muffin or two, love,” Turner said and gave her a hug around her shoulders with a foreleg. “That should quiet things down.”

“We could all do with some breakfast,” Thunderlane said and stood. “Besides, it would be rude to turn down the invitation of a princess.” He offered his hoof to Rarity and helped her to her hooves.

“Thank you.” She put a hoof to his cheek. “I hate we will lose you for so long this afternoon.”

“That's the one downside of being a Wonderbolt. Your time is not your own anymore.” Thunderlane moved to Rarity’s side and wrapped a wing around her. “I hope the performance will make up for it.”

“I’m sure it will. I will get to have this evening with you, though, right?”

Thunderlane nodded. “As soon as I can clean up, change, and get myself looking presentable I will be by your side.”

“Speaking of getting presentable, is the plan still on?” Sassy asked. She gave a meaningful look towards Coco. “We girls have so much to discuss.”

“Patience, darling, we will have her this afternoon,” Rarity said.

“What are you two plotting?” I asked.

“Two? I’ll have you know there will be eight of us.” Rarity looked to Coco, Dinky, and Muffins. “If we can get these three lovely ladies and to join us in getting ready for the Celebration, that is.”

“That sounds great,” Muffins said.

“Excuse me,” I interjected. “I promised to braid Coco’s mane and tail for tonight.”

Sassy gave me a flat look. “Really?”

“He did,” Coco confirmed, “and I would like him to.”

Sassy tapped a hoof to her chin and appeared to be weighing her thoughts.

“It won’t take long,” I said.

“I don’t know,” Sassy said, acting unsure. “I was picturing this as a mares night kind of thing.”

“I’ll share the flowers he got me with everypony,” Coco said. “I can’t eat them all by myself.”

“Bribery!” Sassy said and put her hoof to her chest mock offense. “Coco, he’s being a horrible influence on you, if you’re stooping to such levels to spend more time with him.”

“What if he braided your mane and tail too?” Rumble suggested.

Sassy sighed and let her ears fall. “No, that won’t work. Coco made it clear yesterday that Pin was hers and she will not share.”

“Wait a minute,” Dinky said. “Rumble will need to get ready too, and Thunderlane won’t be around.”

“Are you suggesting we should invite him too?” Rarity asked with a knowing smile.

Dinky nodded. “He might want to braid Piña’s mane too.”

“What about Noi, then? We wouldn’t want to leave her out.” Sassy gave a look to Rumble and asked, “Would we?”

Rumble shook his head.

Muffins stomach growled again.

“Why don’t we get breakfast first and then debate the situation further,” Turner said and patted Muffins, who was hiding her face behind her wings in embarrassment, on the back.

Rarity giggled. “Let’s.”

Chapter 21

Coco closed one eye and looked down the dart perched on her hoof.

“You’ve got this,” I encouraged in a quiet voice.

Coco bit her lip and let the dart fly.

The dart hit the backboard with a solid ‘thunk’ less than a hoof width from a balloon.

Coco gave a snort. “Drat!”

“That was close.”

“No, it wasn’t,” she said with a sheepish grin. She pointed towards a balloon up and to the right of where the dart had struck. “I was aiming for that one.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have enough points for a prize,” the mare running the booth told her.

“I poke holes in things for a living, you would think I could do this,” Coco joked as they moved from the throwing line.

“I would like to have a go,” I told the mare running the booth. I gave her my required number of tickets, and she gave me five darts.

I stepped to the throwing line.

“This should be good,” a voice said from behind me.

I turned my head toward the speaker. “Berry?”

Berry, Barrel, and Satin had come up from behind us.

“Get ‘em Pokey Pierce!” Berry cheered.

“Who?” Sassy asked.

“Oh, the stories Barrel and I could tell,” Barrel teased.

“Please don’t. Not here anyway.” I aimed and let the first dart go.

Pop!

“Good one,” Barrel congratulated.

Pop!

“He’s good,” Sassy said.

Pop!

“Wait, he’s not using his magic.”

Pop!

I took a second to line up my shot for one of the smallest balloons at the center of the target.

“Why isn’t he using his magic?!” Sassy asked.

“Using magic is against the rules in Ponyville,” Berry explained.

“That’s not quite true,” the mare running the stall said. “He would have to stand about where your friend is, though.”

Pop!

I sighed with relief.

“That was a good show, especially with all the distractions going on,” the mare told me. “You got enough points for anything on the second shelf or lower.”

“Which would you like, Coco?” I asked.

“How sweet,” Sassy cooed.

“How stereotypical,” Barrel said.

“Be nice!” Berry chided.

“That one, please,” Coco said and pointed toward a stuffed diamond dog.

Using a grabber pole, the mare retrieved the diamond dog plushie from the shelf. “Here you go,” she said and gave the plushie to Coco.

“Thank you!” She hugged the plushie and smiled. “He’s so cute!”

“That’s one word for him,” Sassy said. She turned to Barrel and Berry. “Either of you want to try it?”

“Nope!” Barrel and Berry said together.

Sassy giggled. “I take it there’s some history there?”

“Yes, there is. Let’s leave it at that,” Barrel said.

“It’s good to see you, but what are you three doing here?” I asked.

“We got through the tour of Ponyville with Crystal Hoof early so we came to the festival. Pinch, Crystal Hoof, and Spike are in the bouncy castle with Wind watching them. We wanted to see what else there was to do, while they had their fun.”

“Where’s Piña?” Coco asked.

“Piña had to go help set things up for lunch at the castle with her class.”

“I offered to help Rarity and Thunderlane get things set up at the Castle too, but they told me to come have fun,” Sassy volunteered. “I ran into these two and then we three ran into you two.”

“Shall we five look for something else to play?” I asked.

“Sure!” Berry said. “The more the merrier.”

“Thank you,” I told the mare at the booth, as we walked away.

“I should thank you!” she said and gestured to the larger crowd of ponies that had gathered at the booth.

“You made it look easy,” Barrel said. “She will make a killing for a little while with all the ponies thinking they can do as well as you did.”

“There’s something more my speed!” Berry said and trotted toward a booth. “We’ve got to try this!”

Coco laughed. “You can’t tell she and Piña are related can you?”

“She’s a big filly,” Barrel said. “She doesn’t take life too seriously.”

“Pin, you’re first,” Berry ordered as we caught up to her. “I want to see how my competition does.”

I looked at the test of strength game and shook my head. “I won’t be too much of a challenge.”

“You did great on the balloon pop, though,” Sassy said, nodding to the stuffed diamond dog on Coco’s back.

“I’ve trained with projectiles, but performing feats of strength is outside my bailiwick.” I gave the stallion running the booth my tickets and took the game’s hammer from him. “Thank you.”

The stallion grinned. “Good luck,” he told me with an Appleoosian accent.

“I will need it.” My swing yielded a result that was average according to the markings on the test of strength.

I gave the hammer back to the stallion. “At least I didn’t embarrass myself.”

“My turn!” Coco said. She passed me her diamond dog plushie, gave the stallion her tickets, and took the hammer. She got into position, swung, and gave the machine a solid blow. The ringer ran up the game’s pole.

“She beat you, Pin!” Sassy said, looking up to where the marker had stopped.

“She beat me by three levels too.” Why is that so appealing? I asked myself.

Coco smiled, as she gave the hammer back to the stallion running the stall. “Thank you.”

“Not bad, but I’ve got this,” Berry said with confidence. She gave the stallion her tickets, took the hammer from him, and got into position. She lifted herself into a two-legged stance and took the handle of the hammer between her forehooves.

“You look like you’ve done this a time or two,” the stallion commented.

Berry lifted the hammer above her head and then swung it down with a grunt.

I felt the thump of the hammer’s blow on the impact plate of the machine in my hooves.

The ringer shot up the test of strength’s pole and the bell rang with a clear note.

The stallion gave a tip of his hat to Berry. “Pick any prize you’d like.”

“I don’t really want a prize,” Berry said. “I just wanted the exercise and to see if I’ve still got it.”

“There’s no doubt you’ve still got it,” the stallion said with a grin. “I could take you out to dinner and treat you to dessert as a prize, if you’re goin’ to be around this evenin’,” he offered with a waggle of his eyebrows.

Berry’s eyes narrowed. “I think I’ve decided. Rather than taking anything or going to dinner with you, I would like my husband to have a turn.”

Barrel stepped forward, looked down at the stallion and gave him a look I would not want to be on the receiving end of.

The stallion blanched. “Sure,” he said after a nervous swallow.

Berry gave the hammer to Barrel and patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t break anything.”

“I’ll try not to,” Barrel said and got into position.

Using a technique similar to Berry’s, but without rising up but the slightest bit, Barrel lifted the hammer above his head and then swung it down.

Despite the ease of his swing, I felt the thump of the impact of the hammer in my hooves even stronger than when Berry had taken her turn.

The ringer shot up and rang the bell with energy to spare.

“What would you like for your prize, Sir?” The stallion asked with his hat in his hooves.

“I would like you to give my wife’s tickets back to her,” Barrel said.

The stallion nodded and returned Berry’s tickets. “Sorry ma’am. I didn’t realize you were hitched.”

“If you hadn’t been eyeing her flanks so much, you might have caught a hint,” Sassy said, sounding irritated.

The stallion’s ears snapped back, and he glanced towards Barrel with apprehension.

“Sassy, it’s fine,” Berry said. “I had my fun and Barrel got my tickets back.”

Barrel gave the hammer back to the stallion, using one hoof on the handle and moving it as if weighed nothing.

We walked away from the stand, our collective mood less jovial.

“He sure had some nerve,” Sassy said.

“Sassy, let it go,” Berry said.

“I can’t! His eyes were all over you the moment we got to the stand. He didn’t even look at Coco or me. There’s a huge difference between taking an appreciative glance at a mare and being creepy and making offers like that.”

“While it doesn’t excuse what he did, I think there was a misunderstanding,” Barrel said. “I’m sure he thought you and I were together since Berry rushed to his stand and we walked together after her.” He tilted his head towards Coco and me. “It’s clear these two are together, so he must have thought Berry was the only single mare in the group.”

Sassy’s ears angled out. “That makes sense.” She shook her head, huffed, and raised her nose in the air. “He still shouldn’t have acted that way. Glancing my way, you at my side or not, wouldn’t have hurt either.”

Berry gave a mirthful snort. “Never change, Sassy.”

“He got one thing right,” Barrel said.

“And that would be?” Berry asked.

Barrel grabbed Berry up into a hug and gave her a kiss that drew a few wolf whistles and catcalls.

“Dad!” Pinch called from somewhere in the throng of ponies in front of us.

Barrel grinned as he broke the kiss. “You still have it.”

“Excuse us,” Wind said grinning at the pair of kissing ponies. “We need to talk with them.” Ponies parted so he, Crystal Hoof, Pinch, and Spike could make their way to us.

Barrel put Berry back on the ground.

Sassy giggled, put a hoof on Berry’s shoulder, and asked, “You all right? You seem a bit out of it.”

Berry gave Barrel a tempted looked. “If we weren’t in the middle of a festival, I’d pin him to the ground and-”

“Mom!” Pinch said, turning much redder than her normal pink hue.

“Is this kind of display of affection typical for Ponyville?” Crystal Hooves asked Pinch as they, Spike, and Wind joined us.

“No,” Pinch said. “I’m not sure what’s gotten into them.”

“They both enjoyed it though,” Crystal Hooves said. “As did several ponies around.”

“Place and context,” Spike cautioned and glanced at some nearby ponies.

Crystal Hoof noticed the looks he was getting and rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “Sorry about that.”

Barrel glanced at Pinch, who gave him a strained smile.

“There was just so much…” Crystal Hoof started and trailed off.

“My parents still love each other very much,” Pinch said. “There are a lot of couples like that in Ponyville.”

“I can tell,” Crystal Hoof said. “There’s a lot of new love around too.” He looked towards Coco and me and greeted, “Hello again.”

“How do you like Ponyville so far?” I asked.

“It’s great!” Crystal Hoof said, with a grin. “It’s not as fancy as the Empire, but it’s cozier and lots warmer.”

“Coming from Manehatten, I like it for those aspects too,” Coco said, kissed my cheek, leaned against me, and put her head against mine. “To top it off, the ponies here are wonderful.”

Crystal Hoof’s ears perked up as I blushed. “You really like her.”

“The blush is a dead giveaway,” Sassy kidded.

“Their love is delicious too,” Crystal Hoof said.

Spike gave Crystal Hoof a warning look. “Most ponies here call it ‘cute’ not ‘delicious’.”

Crystal Hoof seemed to realize something, and his ears folded back. “Sorry. I’m still adjusting to how to say things.”

“I think you described it quite well,” Wind said. “I always think spending time with my special somepony as a kind of treat.” He asked us all, “Speaking of tasty things, are you ready for lunch?”

“Sure!” Berry said.

“Follow me then, please,” Wind said.

Pinch moved towards Coco and me.

“Hello,” she said, giving me a smile.

I grinned back. “Hello yourself.”

“Did you give her the gifts?”

“I did.”

Berry and Sassy both turned an ear towards us.

“Did you like them?” Pinch asked Coco.

“Very much,” Coco said.

Pinch’s steps came close to becoming skips. “What were they?”

“Getting a little close there, bud,” Spike said to Crystal Hoof, who had drifted very close to Pinch. Spike put a hand on Crystal Hoof’s shoulder and guided him so there was more space between him and Pinch.

Crystal Hoof blushed. “Her excitement pulled me in.”

Spike gave him a light elbow. “We could tell.”

Pinch smiled at Crystal Hoof. “They have been following the Canterlot traditions.”

“Welcome back!” the Crystal Guard greeted us as we neared the castle.

“You still here Brass?” Wind asked. “I thought you would be off by now.”

“Just a few more minutes and I will be,” Brass replied. “How was the festival?”

“It was great,” Wind said. “Etched and Precious will love it.”

The Royal Guard opened the door, and we followed Wind into the castle.

“Who are Etched and Precious?” Sassy asked Wind, as we went down the hall.

“Etched Plate is Brass’ wife and Precious Gem is their daughter. If you’d like, I could introduce you. They are supposed to be having lunch with all the other guard’s spouses and kids.”

As Wind led us back towards the dining hall, the sound of foals laughing and talking reverberated through the hallway.

I looked towards Pinch. “What is going on? It sounds like every foal in town is here.”

She smiled and nodded. “Every foal in town and then some.”

We stepped into the dining hall and into a semi-organized chaos. The room was arranged to accommodate what looked to be around a hundred foals and close to thirty adults. Amethyst, Cheerilee, and Riff were directing guests, their foals, and Ponyville students through a buffet style arrangement on the far side of the room. Muffins, Turner, Rarity, and Thunderlane were doing what they could to assist getting the younger ponies from their tables, into the line for food, and then back to their seats.

All four of the princesses mingled with the students, drifting among the tables and striking up conversations.

“Oh, wow!” Crystal Hooves said his ears up and looking around smiling. “I can’t believe the feeling in this room!”

Cadance looked in our direction, smiled, and waved. “Crystal Hoof! Great timing, I have three students here I would like you to meet.” She gestured towards Noi, Piña, and Rumble, who were sitting at the table she was visiting.

“Yes, Princess!” Crystal Hoof turned to Pinch and Spike. “I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t worry about us, this is what you are here to do,” Spike told him. “I’m going to go see the Crusaders real quick.”

Crystal Hoof tilted his head. “The who?”

“Oh, that’s right, you don’t know about them.” Spike grinned. “You’ve got to meet the three of them.”

Crystal Hoof looked to Pinch. “Are you coming?”

“I’ve got to go get my collar and tie,” Pinch said touching her bare neck with a hoof. “I’m supposed to wear it to let visiting foals know I’m from town in case they need something.” She glanced towards Twilight, who had approached us during the conversation.

Twilight told Pinch, “Your tie is in the sitting room where we met this morning.”

By her tone, I got the impression that Twilight was giving another message to Pinch with her words.

Pinch’s smiled with enthusiasm. “I’ll go run and get it right now.” Pinch turned and trotted out of the room.

“You better get over there,” Spike urged Crystal Hoof. “Cadance keeps glancing this way.”

Crystal Hoof nodded. “I’ll see you in a bit,” he said and walked off.

“When they said we would have lunch at the castle, this wasn’t what I envisioned,” I admitted.

“You’d rather it be a stuffy formal lunch?” Barrel asked.

I grinned. “Nah, this will be a lot more fun.”

“Everypony, a moment of your time, please!” Cheerilee called out over the din.

She got some response from the ponies in the room, but not much.

Princess Luna stood and addressed the room in her booming Canterlot voice, “Our hostess calls for our attention. We shall give it to her.”

The room went still.

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Cheerilee said. “I wanted to thank you all for coming. My students and I have been looking forward to this event and having you here means so much to us. Please enjoy the food, meeting new ponies, and the town. We hope to see you at the school, where our class will have foal focused activities and games set up.” She bowed to the princesses. “Princesses, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to join us. It is an honor having you here.”

“We’re glad to be here,” Celestia said. “Thank you for having us.”

“There is one last group of ponies I would like to thank. I’m sure you have noticed that all the foals from my class and Ponyville are wearing collars and ties so you can tell they are from here. I wanted to thank Rarity and Royal Pin for donating the collars and ties and Coco Pommel and Sassy Saddles for helping my students pick out their ties.”

I blushed as the room applauded us, and Rarity took a graceful bow.

“Thank you for your attention,” Cheerilee said. “Please, enjoy the rest of your meal.”

“That should stir up some business for you,” Sassy said, as everypony returned to their conversations and to eating.

Amethyst trotted up to our group and gave us an uneasy grin. “Could we get help serving the foals? We had more family members of the guards show up than we had thought would come. We’ve got enough food, but if everything is going to keep on schedule, we will need more hooves.”

“Sure,” Sassy said. “I’ll be glad to jump in.”

“I’m in,” I told Amethyst.

“Me too!” Coco said. “I love community events like this.”

“We’re in,” Berry said for her and Barrel. “Where do you need us?”

Amethyst directed each of us to a serving position. After helping a few foals through the line we found our rhythm, and the line moved much faster.

“Uncle Pin.”

I looked up from the serving trays and met Piña’s eyes.

“Hello Piña! Corn on the cob or grilled asparagus?”

“Go for the corn on the cob,” Coco advised. “You’ve got enough greens on your plate to avoid it.”

“She likes asparagus like me,” I told Coco with a laugh.

“Something’s off with Pinch and the colt she came back with,” Piña whispered and glanced up the line towards her niece. “I’ll take the asparagus, please,” she told me in a normal tone.

“Sure,” I leaned closer to her as I put the asparagus on her plate. “What do you mean?” I whispered.

Piña had to move down, but Noi picked up the conversation.

“She’s acting weird around him, like he’s about to go running off at a loud noise or something and she has to keep from bolting,” Noi said, keeping her voice down.

“Corn on the cob or asparagus?”

“Corn on the cob, please.” Noi dropped her voice again and added, “He doesn’t have anypony with him like the other visiting foals do too.”

I put her corn on the cob on her plate. “Pinch’s probably making sure he’s not so nervous around so many new ponies.”

Noi moved down to be replaced by Rumble.

“Asparagus, please,” Rumble said before I could ask his preference. “He knows the Sisters too. You could tell because of the way he acted, and they talked to him like they met before.”

After putting the asparagus on Rumble’s plate, I looked down toward Pinch and the colt. “He might be the colt of one of the guards or somepony who works at the castle,” I offered as an explanation.

“Maybe, but he keeps getting odd looks,” Rumble said and moved down

As I served the next foal, I glanced around the room. At first, it did not seem anypony else appeared to be paying the colt any notice, then something caught my eye. Crystal Hoof kept sneaking looks towards the colt as if he was uncertain about something.

Coco nudged me. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure.”

Spike seemed to pick up on Crystal Hoof’s concern and put a claw on his shoulder.

“Hello Uncle Pin,” Pinch said.

I looked down at Pinch and smiled. “Hello! How are things going?”

“Great!” She glanced at her choices of food. “Corn on the cob, please.”

“Here you go,” I said, and put two cobs on Pinch’s plate.

The colt at Pinch’s side acted as if going through a buffet was a novel experience. He seemed overwhelmed with all the excitement and noise in the room.

Pinch shuffled down a bit and asked the colt, “You doing okay Star?”

Star nodded. “I’m good.”

“Asparagus or corn on the cob?” I asked him.

“Asparagus, please,” he answered.

“You must be kin to Star Hunter,” I said, putting Star’s choice of food on his plate. “You look a lot like him.”

The colt seemed pleased. “You think so? I tried my best. He’s one of my favorites.”

“Cousin,” Pinch said, glancing around.

Star looked at her as if confused. “What?”

“He’s one of your favorite cousins,” Pinch told him with nervousness in her voice.

Star’s eyes widened. “Oh!” He turned and gave me a self-conscious grin. “My favorite cousin!”

Pinch and Star moved down the line.

I think that counted as one of the odd conversations that Princess Cadance warned us about. The next pony in line drew my attention from Pinch and Star, and I could not focus on what they said to Coco as she served them.

We served the remaining guests, foals, and ponies in short order and then got in line ourselves.

“What about the Princesses?” Berry asked Amethyst, as we shuffled down the length of the serving table.

“They ate first so they could have more time to visit,” she explained.

As soon as Coco finished putting her final choice on her plate, Sassy declared, “We get Coco.”

“No, you don’t,” Coco told her. “I promised to sit with the ‘training partners’, Liza, and Cloudy.”

Sassy stared at her. “You’re just going to leave him with us?

“Yes,” Coco said with a slight grin. “I’m sure he understands.”

I nodded. “I do. I wouldn’t want to disappoint somepony who invited me to share a meal with them.”

Sassy’s ears fell in exaggerated disappointment. “But we need you two together to get the best reactions when we tease you.”

“Sorry to delay your fun, but I promised.” Coco patted Sassy’s shoulder with a hoof. “You can give us a proper teasing later.”

“Miss Coco!” Piña stood at her table and waved. “We’re over here.”

“Got to go,” Coco said to Sassy with a smile.

“Miss Sassy, Uncle Pin!” Pinch called. “Come sit with us!”

“Does something seem off with those two?” Sassy asked in a quiet tone as we moved towards Pinch’s table. “Piña said there might be, when she was in the line.”

“She did to me too, but I don’t think so,” I said. “Star seems to be nervous, but nothing more than that.”

“Thank you for sitting with us,” Pinch said, when we got to the table and took our seats.”

“Pinch, could we borrow you for a moment?” Princess Cadance asked from a few tables over.

“Yes, Princess!” she answered. Pinch assured us, “I’ll be right back.”

Star looked at her as if he were afraid for her to go.

Pinch put a comforting hoof on Star’s shoulder. “Uncle Pin is one of the nicest ponies in town. He’ll take care of you.”

“Okay,” Star said, with a nervous nod.

“Not going to say a thing about me?” Sassy put her nose in the air as if offended. “I see how it is.”

Pinch halted. “What? No! There's a lot going on all at the same time and-”

Sassy leaned over the edge of the table and booped Pinch’s nose with a hoof. “I was kidding. You go take care of what you need to do.”

Pinch blinked, smiled, and nodded. “Thanks, Miss Sassy.”

I sat down at the table between Sassy and Star. “Hello again.”

“Hello,” Star greeted.

I realized Star was wearing the bow tie I had sold Cranky and Matilda. “I’m glad a collar fit. I had to guess what size you might wear.”

Star looked downwards and put a hoof to the bow tie. “That’s right, you made the tie. Matilda told me about how you helped her and Cranky with them.”

“It looks good on you,” Sassy complimented.

Star looked up to her and blushed. “Thanks.”

We ate in silence for a few minutes. As time went on, Sassy seemed to get more and more impatient.

“Well?” she said, as if waiting for me to say something.

“What?” I asked.

Sassy gave me an unamused look. “What happened last night?!”

“We had a lovely evening,” I told her and returned to eating.

Star’s ears went up and a small grin came to his face, as Sassy stared at me.

Sassy narrowed her eyes. “That is not a sufficient answer.”

I speared a piece of asparagus with my fork. “You said that you wanted the whole group together before you got answers.”

“Before we got to teasing you two, is what I meant.”

“I can’t even give a hint. Rarity would have my ears if I told anypony anything before her.”

“What are you talking about?” Star asked.

“I had a date with my marefriend last night. Sassy wants to know how things went,” I told him.

“Oh!” He turned towards Coco.

Sassy and I both paused.

When Star turned back to us, his ears went down. “What?”

“How did you know Coco was his marefriend?” Sassy asked.

“The way he was acting with her while Pinch and I were in line,” Star answered as if he were not sure and shrunk down as if he were afraid of us.

Sassy gave Star a look and tilted her head.

Star glanced around. “Pinch, please...” he whispered so low I almost missed it in the background noise of the room.

He’s not nervous, he’s scared, I realized. “We joked around a bit, while you were in line. Was that what clued you in?”

Star snapped his eyes back to me and nodded. “That was it!”

“You look like I’m going to feed you to manticore,” Sassy said, sounding worried. “Are you okay?”

Star nodded and took a breath before telling her, “I don’t want to seem weird.”

“That wasn’t weird to say at all. When they’re being cute, you can take one look at them and tell that they are together.” Sassy gave Star a smile. “You must be new to Ponyville.”

“Sort of,” Star said and looked down to his plate.

“Ponyville is one of the nicest towns in Equestria and has some interesting characters living here. Trust me, from what I’ve heard, unless you’re trying, nothing you do or say will come off too weird.”

Star gave her a grateful, but still nervous, smile. “Thanks.”

Pinch trotted back up to us. “Star, are you okay?”

Star nodded, but his eyes still held some of his fear and unease.

“You’re not,” Pinch said with concern. “Come here.”

My ears went up as Pinch took Star in a comforting hug. Pinch had always been kind to ponies, but I could not remember her hugging anypony like she did Star. That he was new to her made the hug even more remarkable.

At first, Star seemed shocked by the contact. When he returned her hug, he held her like she were his sole comfort in the world.

“I think he’s overwhelmed,” I said.

“I am,” Star said. “If Pinch hadn’t talked with me this morning, I wouldn’t have been brave enough to come.”

“You’re giving me too much credit,” Pinch told Star. “You’ve come out to play before.”

Star chuckled. “Yeah, but those times were only after Matilda coaxed me out the door.”

“There you are,” Muffins said as she, Dinky, and Turner approached from the far side of the table. “We were wondering where you had gotten off to. It’s about time for our turn with Crystal Hoof.”

Dinky froze as her eyes went to Pinch and Star.

“Oh no,” Pinch said.

Star’s ears went up in alert and he let go of Pinch. “Pinch, what just happened?”

“Nothing yet, but we could be in deep crab apples in a second,” Pinch said in a low voice, releasing Star.

Dinky gave an excited shriek. She dashed around the table and stopped just short of running into Pinch and Star. “You got a coltfriend?! Why didn’t tell anypony?!”

Dinky’s outburst turned heads at the tables around us.

Star Blinked at her. “Wow, you’ve all kinds of excited.”

“Of course I am!” Dinky hopped up and down. “Do you have any idea how long we’ve wanted for her to find a coltfriend?”

Star’s ears took odd angles. “What do you mean ‘how long we’ve wanted’?”

“I don’t think she’s ever had a coltfriend,” Dinky said. “She’s been looking for one for a while too.”

Pinch winced.

“That can’t be right.” Star turned to Pinch.

Star held Pinch in a searching gaze until Pinch admitted, “She’s right.”

Star’s mouth dropped open. “But you’re so brave and kind and understanding, how can you have never had a coltfriend?”

Pinch bit her lip and her ears fell.

“I hurt you by asking that.” Star’s ears fell, mirroring hers. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Pinch gave Star a small smile. “You were trying to be nice.”

“You’re not her coltfriend?” Dinky asked, sounding confused.

“No,” Star said. “This morning was the second time we’ve met.”

Dinky ears went askew. “Second time?”

“I don’t think the first time really counts either,” Pinch kidded and bumped shoulders with Star.

“Hello, everypony,” Twilight greeted as she and Cheerilee approached the table. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Pinch told her.

Twilight glanced to Sassy and me.

Sassy nodded. “They were discussing possible coltfriends.”

Twilight sighed. “So that’s what the fuss was about.”

One of Star’s ears turned as if it was tracking something. His back stiffened, and he whispered, “Pinch, I think we need to go.”

Piña marched to the table, followed by Noi and Rumble. The trio’s arrival cut off any easy route away from the table for Pinch and Star.

“Hello,” Star greeted, sounding nervous.

“Hello,” Piña said in too sweet a tone. “Are you my niece’s coltfriend?”

“She gets right to the point,” Sassy said with a giggle.

I gave a slight grunt of agreement.

Star shook his head. “We just met this morning.”

Piña raised an eyebrow. “And you’re getting hugs from her already?”

Star blushed and nodded.

“Is he going to be a transfer student?” Rumble asked Cheerilee.

“That’s one possibility that’s been discussed,” Cheerilee said. “We asked Pinch to help him meet ponies and get to know the town more so he could make an informed decision.”

Noi whispered to Piña, “Wasn’t she supposed to be helping Crystal Hoof today?”

“I would like to introduce you Star Chart,” Pinch said in a calm, civil tone. “Star Chart, this is Piña, my aunt, Noi, one of my best friends, and Rumble, another of my best friends and their training partner.”

Star’s ear stopped in its slow rotation so it was almost pointing backwards. Star turned around and met eyes with Crystal Hooves who had stood next to Cadance and Celestia at a nearby table. The longer that Crystal Hoof held his gaze the more Star looked like he was considering making a break for it.

Pinch took one of Star’s hooves with one of hers. “It’s okay.”

Star trembled. “No, it’s not,” Star looked to Twilight. “Princess, I think he’s-”

Twilight put a hoof on Star’s lips and smiled.

“We know,” Pinch said and got a disbelieving look from Star.

“We know that you two are from the same kingdom,” Twilight said with a caring tone. “Pinch has been studying your culture with me. That’s why I thought it would be a great idea for you two to meet her today and for her to be there when you two were introduced to each other. Depending on what you think about today, we are hoping to introduce both of you to Ponyville.”

“Now I think about it,” Muffins tilted her head just as Dinky had, “I don’t remember Pinkie throwing a party for anypony new for a while.”

“I asked her not to,” Star said, sounding apologetic. “I get nervous around a lot of ponies.”

Muffins gave him a smile. “You’re here, though.”

“If Pinch wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be,” Star said, as if talking about the situation was making his anxiety worse. “When she has to go back to helping Crystal Hoof, I’m not sure how well I’m going to do.”

“Twilight, could we include Star in what we’re doing with Crystal Hoof?” Muffins asked. “Since they’re from the same kingdom, I’m sure they will get along and have stuff to talk about. If he comes with us, he and Pinch won’t have to split up too.”

Twilight grinned. “Cheerille and I planned to ask you to do just that, if it would be too much trouble.”

“Not at all,” Turner said. He turned to Star and gave him a welcoming smile and nod. “The more the merrier.”

After receiving a pat on the shoulder and a whisper in his ear from Cadance, Crystal Hoof walked up to the table. “Hello, you must be Star Chart,” he said to the colt, appearing almost as nervous as Star.

Star nodded. “I am,” he replied in a shaky voice.

“I didn’t know that anyone else from our kingdom was here.” Crystal Hoof smiled. “It’s good to know I’m not the only one.”

“Do you think there could be more?” Star asked seeming more at ease.

“I hope so.” Crystal Hoof glanced at Pinch. “I see you’ve met Pinch too. She’s a special pony, don’t you think?” Crystal Hoof asked Star with a teasing smile. “I’ve only known her for a few hours, and I already consider her a good friend.”

Star nodded and gave Crystal Hoof a genuine, relaxed smile. “She’s the most caring, wonderful filly I’ve met.”

Pinch blushed.

Piña looked to her training partners, and the three foals shared a look and a nod.

“How did your tour of Ponyville go this morning?” Dinky asked Crystal Hoof.

He grinned. “It was great. There is so much going on here it’s incredible. Gem collecting, farming, crafts, you name it.”

“Did you get to do much else?” Cheerilee asked.

“We got through with just enough time to try some of the games they have set up,” Crystal Hoof told her.

Dinky grinned. “Great! That means you will have a great time with us and our class.”

“Is everything okay?” Coco asked, as she walked up behind Piña, Noi, and Rumble. “We heard Dinky squeal, but Rarity assured me it was ‘a good squeal’, so we didn’t come rushing over.”

“Sorry,” Dinky said, “everything’s fine. I thought… I was wrong about something.”

“That’s good to know. With everypony gathering around, I was curious about what had happened.” Coco looked at Crystal Hoof and smiled. “Hello again.”

“Hello again to to you too,” he responded.

“You’re one of the ponies that takes care of Flurry Heart, right?” Piña asked Crystal Hoof.

“I try to,” Crystal Hooves said with a sheepish smile. “She’s more than any pony can take care by themselves, though. Sunburst and I usually work together.”

Dinky smiled. “You like her, though, don’t you?”

Crystal Hoof smiled and nodded. “She’s a bundle of caring and love for everypony she meets.”

“Sounds like somepony else we know,” Star said and looked towards Pinch.

Pinch, blushed, smiled, and glanced away from Star.

“You sure he’s not your coltfriend, Pinch?” Sassy asked.

Pinch gave Dinky, Piña, and Noi a look. Noi nodded at some silent message that had been shared between the group.

“My goodness, that is quite the pair of blushes,” Rarity said as she joined us. “I gather I missed something.”

“Sassy’s teasing ponies again is all,” I said.

Rarity gave Sassy a mock disapproving look. “I thought we agreed there was to be no teasing until we got everypony together tonight.”

Sassy chuckled. “For Coco and Pin, yes. For Pinch and Star, no.”

“Pinch and Star?” Rarity asked and looked to the blushing foals. “So he must be ‘Star’.” She studied the colt. “I’m not sure we’ve met, but you seem familiar.”

“Star Hunter is my cousin,” Star told her in a nervous tone.

“I think they look a lot alike,” Pinch said as if trying to draw attention from Star.

“They do favor each other.” Rarity smiled. “In fact, if it weren’t for the fact Star is an earth pony and younger I would say he was a near copy of Hunter.”

Star’s expression turned worried. “Thanks.”

Turner gave a polite cough. “If we are to remain on schedule, we should all be getting along to our next activities about now.”

“You and Twilight and your schedules,” Muffins teased.

“Not all of us are as free as spontaneous as you are,” he said and gave Muffins a hug from the side.

Crystal Hoof’s and Star’s full attention went to the pair.

Muffins touched her nose to Turner’s. “I thought you liked my spontaneous side.”

“I do.” He touched his forehead to hers. “It adds spice to life.”

I noticed Pinch and Twilight watching Crystal Hoof and Star. It seemed as if they were studying them.

“Mom, Dad, ponies are staring,” Dinky said in a suffering tone.

Muffins gave Turner a quick kiss to the nose. “Your father is right. We better get going.”

Star turned to Pinch, who tried to act as if she had no be staring at him. He seemed apprehensive as he asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Pinch smiled. “I was just watching you two appreciate their affections.”

Star relaxed as he blushed. “You don’t think it’s disgust-” He paused and seemed to rethink his words. “You don’t mind?”

Pinch shook her head. “You two were cute, the way you were so focused.”

“No observable transference of energy occurred, so it must be on a magical level,” Twilight muttered. “That might explain some of Cadance’s ‘intuitions’. I must do controlled tests to test the theory. If it is true, love may be another form of-”

“Dear, you’re talking to yourself again,” Rarity told Twilight.

Twilight blinked and looked around at us as she came back from her thoughts. “Sorry! I was speculating about… a project! A project I wanted to set up.”

“Projects are good, but let’s get things going,” Cheerilee said. “Children!” she called out, and the room quieted a good deal. “We’re about to leave for the school! Find your visiting buddy and meet with everypony outside the castle’s front doors! Parents who want to join us, please meet us there too!”

Dinky approached Crystal Hoof. “You’re my visiting buddy,” she told him and took his hoof. “Come on! I can’t wait for you to see what we set up!”

Turner shook his head, as Dinky led Crystal Hoof away from the table. “She’s so much like you. She has so much energy and enthusiasm.”

“You can get pretty excited about things too,” Muffins replied as she walked by Turner’s side and after their daughter. “Remember your flameless fireworks?”

“Miss Cheerilee,” Star said.

Cheerilee smiled at him. “Yes, Star?”

“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. I’m wearing a tie, but I’m not part of the class or from Ponyville.”

“I have an idea,” Rarity said. “Why don’t you and Pinch be visiting buddies for Coco, Sassy, and Crystal Hoof together with Dinky? They’re not visiting foals, but they’re not from Ponyville either.”

Pinch nodded. “I like it. Since we don’t fit in a category and they don’t fit in a category, we can not fit into categories together.”

Rarity reminded us, as we moved to leave, “Don’t forget we’re all meeting for the Wonderbolt’s show later, everypony.”

“No chance of that happening.“ Sassy looked over her shoulder to Rarity and smirked. “You really think I would miss getting to see Thunderlane in that aerodynamic outfits of his?”

Rarity gasped. “Sassy!”

Chapter 22

“Sorry folks, but all the spots are filled for this round,” Apple Bloom announced to the ponies still in line from her position atop a nearby crate. “Everypony ready?”

Those of us around the wash basin cheered and hooted our eagerness.

“Great!” She looked over to Scootaloo, who was in charge of the timer. “Ready Scoots?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Ready!”

Apple Bloom grinned. “All right then! Three, two, one, go!”

Scootaloo rang a bell, flipped a sand timer, and the contest began.

I took half a second to pick my target and lunged for it. I thought I had chosen a small enough apple, but it was still more than I could get my teeth around. I resorted to pinning the apple to the bottom of the wash basin, pull it up, and then put it in my bucket. I had even worse luck with the next two apples.

Right before I ducked my head into the basin for another apple, Scoolaloo rang the finishing bell.

“Let’s see how everypony did!” Sweetie Belle announced to everypony. She walked over, looked into my bucket, and then announced my count, “Three!”

I had to fight the compulsion to shake my mane dry. “Three is still better than zero,” I muttered to myself.

“Four!” Sweetie Belle announced, after looking into Crystal Hoof’s bucket.

I turned to Coco. “How did you...” I trailed off as I looked into her bucket, which looked to be half full. “How in Equestria did you do that?!”

“Earth pony,” she answered and used a hoof to brush back strands of wet mane from her face. She gave me a smile and a less than innocent raise of an eyebrow. “We get lots of practice using our mouths on all sorts of things.”

“Five!” Sweetie Belle called for Star.

“Way to go!” I congratulated him, using the opportunity to break eye contact with Coco before my blush intensified.

“Thanks!” He said and grinned.

For a second, I thought I saw fangs in his mouth. After I blinked to make sure I did not have water in my eyes, they were gone.

“Five!”

“We tied!” Star said to Pinch.

Pinch gave him a knowing look. “I’ll have to sharpen my bobbing skills for the Autumn Wrap Up to beat you.”

Star’s ears folded back, and he gave her a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I got too excited.”

“Four!” Sweetie Belle called, after looking in Dinky’s bucket.

“Happens to me sometimes too,” Crystal Hoof told Star. “Just be careful and don’t forget where you are. You don’t want to get into trouble or cause problems for anypony else.”

Star gave a glum nod and looked down. “You’re right. I don’t want to mess this up for anypony.”

Pinch patted his shoulder. “You won’t.”

Sweetie finished counting Coco’s apples. “Eight!”

“We have our winner!” Apple Bloom declared.

Scootaloo walked over and presented Coco with her prize. “Here’s your certificate for one deluxe cupcake from Sugar Cube Corner!” she exclaimed with an emphasis on the name of the shop.

“Thank you,” Coco said.

“Be sure to take your apples with you,” Apple Bloom reminded us.

“I can carry those for you,” I offered to Coco.

“Thanks,” she said.

I put Coco’s and my apples into my prize bag. “Whoever thought up giving these things out was a genius,” I said.

Dinky grinned. “That was my idea.”

Royal Riff, who had been overseeing the game along with the fillies, smirked at me. “Pin, you might want to dry off a bit, before you go anywhere else.”

I sighed. “I know, my mane looks horrible when it’s wet.”

He patted me on the shoulder. “Towels are on the table over there. I’d come chat, but I’ve got to stay here to monitor things.”

Crystal Hoof and Star stepped back from the wash basin and then shook themselves like dogs, sending sprays of water everywhere.

“Ack!” Sweetie Belle said and jumped away from them.

“They’re definitely from the same kingdom,” Scootaloo said with a giggle.

“Bein’ from the same kingdom doesn’t have anythin’ to do with it,” Apple Bloom said and grinned. “They’re boys.”

“Pin didn’t do that,” Sweetie Belle said while giving Crystal Hoof and Star a look.

When Sweetie Belle looked towards me, the temptation became too much. I smiled and gave a few vigorous shakes of my mane.

“Not you too!” Sweetie Belle protested and shielded herself with a hoof.

“Pin,” Coco said in a tone that sounded like she was doing her best to act firm while trying not to laugh. She tapped my nose with a hoof. “You’re supposed to be setting a good example.”

I folded my ears down and tucked my tail. “You’re right. I’m being bad.”

“I doubt he’s sorry at all,” Crystal Hoof whispered loud enough for all to hear.

“To make up for it, I could help dry your mane,” I offered.

“If you’re going to dry her mane, then I get Crystal Hoof and Pinch gets Star, since all three of you did the same thing,” Dinky declared.

“Sounds fair to me,” Royal Riff said and chuckled.

“I like that idea too,” Coco said. “Girls, let’s go get our towels.” Coco glanced back at us guys, “Come on you trouble makers.”

Star raced around the basin and got close to Crystal Hoof and me. “We shouldn’t do this!” he whispered to us with urgency.

“Why not?” I asked.

Star looked to Crystal Hoof as if he would understand.

Crystal Hoof gave Star a supportive smile and put his hoof on the colt’s shoulder. “They have a lot of communal grooming rituals in this kingdom. If we don’t help them, it would be rude and attract attention.”

Star looked at Pinch with clear nervousness. “I-”

“I think they’re thinking about trying to get out of it,” Dinky said, looking back at us and holding her towel in her hooves.

“We’re coming,” Crystal Hoof said and gave Star a nudge to get him moving. I could just hear Crystal hoof say to Star in a soft voice, “You will disappoint her if you don’t too.”

“Is everything okay?” Coco asked as we approached.

“Everything’s fine,” I said, “Star just wanted to know if drying another pony’s mane was acceptable behavior here.”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Dinky asked, while giving Crystal Hoof her towel.

Crystal Hoof unfolded the towel, draped it over Dinky’s head, and dried her mane with gentle motions.

“Where we’re from, being this… friendly with each other is not common,” Crystal hoof said. “He was worried it would be a faux pas.”

“That’s sad.” Pinch gave a towel to Star. “Ponies should do stuff like this for each other all the time. It helps everypony connect and keep friendships going.”

I took a towel from the table. “I agree.” I smiled at Coco. “I’m lucky; this is the second time today I’ve been able to do this.”

“You think this makes you lucky?” Coco said, turned, and sat down so I could reach her mane.

“I do,” I told her, and began drying her mane.

I glanced over at Pinch and Star. Pinch had assumed a position much like Coco had. Star met my eyes, still seeming unsure. I nodded and formed silent words telling him, “Go on.”

Star gave me a nervous nod, unfolded his towel, and dried Pinch’s mane.

Dinky poked her nose and an eye out from under her towel. “You enjoy drying Coco’s mane that much?”

“I do. I consider myself fortunate to do anything with her. Even when we’re just working in the same room together and not even talking to each other, having her close by is comforting and makes me happy.”

“Comforting?” Pinch asked, her voice muffled, from under her towel.

“Having her around reminds me I’m not facing the world alone and that life can be wonderful with the right pony around.”

Pinch gave a light, good humored snort. “So when we come over to visit we don’t count?”

“That’s not it at all. You, Berry, Piña, and Barrel, in his own odd way, have enhanced my life more than I could describe.”

“But...” Pinch prodded.

I smiled and admitted, “But Coco is special.”

Pinch turned as if trying to look towards Coco and me, and Star removed the towel from her head. “Thanks,” she told him.

“Why is she special?” Star asked.

Coco, her head still under the towel, turned towards me as if anticipating my answer.

I smiled and ducked under the towel, keeping it tented so I could see Coco’s face. “Because she’s the mare I love,” I said and kissed her.

Coco giggled against my lips. “Pin, there are foals present.”

“They can’t see what’s going on under here.” I touched my nose to hers. “I’ll say this about Rarity’s fussing, it’s made me consider the various ways I can sneak in some affection for you while in public.”

“You’re adorably horrible,” Coco said, reached up, and took the towel from me. She blushed as the others stared at us and told me, as she folded the towel, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Whoa,” Crystal Hoof said, sounding as if he was enjoying the afterglow of a good, strong drink. “I guess not having time for dessert wasn’t a bad thing.”

Pinch poked Star in the ribs. “You okay? You look kind of out of it.”

“I’m fine,” he said, snapping his attention from Coco and me and looking at Pinch. “I haven’t been this full in a long time. I think it’s putting me in a daze.”

“How can you still be full?” Dinky asked. “We ate a while ago.”

“We’ve been having a lot of snacks since then,” Crystal Hoof said as if he had the line prepared. “We didn’t give our stomachs much time to empty.”

“There you are!” Rarity called. “I’ve been looking for you.” She trotted up to our group, glanced at each of us, sighed, and shook her head. “Your poor manes.”

Dinky shrugged. “When they dry out, they’ll be fine. Besides, we don’t have to get ready for the Celebration until later.”

“I realize we will be going to an outdoor event, but still.” She clicked her tongue at Crystal Hoof and me. “There’s no helping Pin’s mane, but for a representative to attend a function with such an appearance would call our hospitality into question.”

“I just need help getting mine back up,” Crystal Hoof said, holding up the hair pins he had been wearing. “It shouldn’t take long at all.”

Dinky hopped up and down. “I can help! I can do more than just pin your mane up too! I’ve had braiding lessons and everything!”

Crystal Hoof appeared stunned by Dinky’s enthusiasm.

“Is she always giving off bursts of energy like this?” Star asked while watching Dinky continue to bounce in place.

“She takes after her dad on that,” I said. “You should see him when he goes on a tear about something.”

“You might as well agree,” Pinch advised Crystal Hoof. “If not, she’ll give you her sad puppy eyes until you give in.”

“I’d be glad for you to,” Crystal Hoof told Dinky.

“Thank you!” Dinky grabbed Crystal Hoof into a hug. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

“You’re welcome.” Crystal hoof looked down at her as if not sure what to do. “I should be the one thanking you, though, since you’ll be helping me.”

Rarity smiled. “Dear, give her a hug back. Dinky, we don’t have time for you to give him a full braiding before the show. For the moment, you must settle for getting his mane back up in a bun.”

“Oh.” Dinky looked as if the life had been taken out of her. “If that’s all I can do, I’ll do my best.”

“Don’t feel like that!” Crystal Hoof said and hugged Dinky. “I’ll let you braid my mane, I promise.”

Dinky looked up at him, her eyes reflecting her disappointment. “But Rarity’s right; we don’t have time for me to.”

Both Crystal Hoof and Dinky looked to Rarity, who fidgeted under their expectant gazes.

“Could we include him in what we will be doing this evening?” Coco asked. “That way she could help him get his mane back in a bun now and braid his mane for the major event later.”

Rarity paused.

“Please!” Dinky pleaded. “This will be my only chance.”

Rarity let a hint of a smile show. “If you get permission from Princess Cadance and Shining Armor for us to have him, I can’t see why not.”

“Thank you!” Dinky said, her enthusiasm returned.

“I get to braid yours too,” Crystal Hoof said to Dinky. “Princess Cadance has been teaching me how as part of me getting to know the Empire’s culture.”

Dinky looked at him with surprise. “You’d do that for me?”

“That’s what friends do. Right?”

“I’m your friend?” When Crystal Hoof smiled and nodded, Dinky squealed in happiness and hugged him tighter.

Crystal Hoof chuckled. “You’re welcome.”

“Forget her day, I think you just made her week,” I said and chuckled.

“He did!” Dinky said, still holding Crystal Hoof tight.

“Is braiding manes that special?” Star asked.

“It can be,” I told him. “It helps if you have somepony as enthusiastic as she is about it too.””

“I could braid yours,” Pinch said offered with a blush. “That way you could see.”

Star’s jaw worked, but no words came from him.

Rarity encouraged, “Just nod for her, dear.”

Star gave a dutiful, eager nod.

“Dinky!” Amethyst called out, as she trotted towards us. “What are you doing?!”

Dinky turned her head toward her sister. “I’m hugging Crystal Hoof.”

“I can see that,” Amethyst said, sighed, and stopped to stand by Rarity. “Why are you hugging Crystal Hoof?”

“She offered to braid my mane, and I said yes,” Crystal Hoof explained.

“Then she got excited and hugged you?” Amethyst stated more than asked.

Crystal Hoof nodded. “In return, I’m going to braid hers.”

Amethyst gave an admonishing look to her sister. “Dinky, what have you been told about surprise hugging ponies?”

“They might not like it, so I should ask permission first.” Dinky looked up at Crystal Hoof. “Sorry.”

“It’s all right. You can hug me whenever you want.”

Dinky grinned. “Thanks.”

Amethyst chuckled. “Dinky, you’ll need to let him go so we can meet up with Mom and Dad.” She nodded to the rest of us. “If you guys stay right here, we’ll meet back up with you and we can all head over to the show together.”

“We can do that,” I assured.

The sisters left our group just as Sassy joined us.

Sassy glanced around at the group and raised an eyebrow. “What did I miss and why is everypony’s mane damp?”

“They went bobbing for apples, and we’ve got two more someponies joining us this afternoon for our preparations,” Rarity said.

Sassy glanced toward Pinch and Star. “I can guess who at least one of them is.”

Pinch blushed.

Star seemed more flustered by Sassy’s words than Pinch.

“Did you ask her or did she ask you?” Sassy asked and gave Star a teasing smile.

“She asked me,” Star responded.

“I thought so. Keep in mind that some mares like it when the stallion takes the initiative every now and then.”

“Miss Sassy!” Pinch protested. “We haven’t known each other long enough for him to be interested in me like that.”

“You sure?” Sassy smirked and put a hoof to her chin. “I remember him describing you as brave, kind, and understanding at lunch.”

“He told me you were caring and wonderful too,” Crystal hoof said, acting as if he were oblivious to the game that Sassy was playing.

“I don’t think those sound like things an uninterested colt talking about a filly would say,” Sassy said with a grin.

Pinch’s blush intensified, and her eyes widened as if a realization had come to her. With a slow motion, she turned her head to Star.

When Pinch’s eyes met his, Star’s ears folded, and he dropped his head in a bashful display. While he kept silent, Star’s blush and sheepish smile spoke volumes.

Rarity giggled. “You were saying, dear?”

“I… I…,” Pinch stammered.

“We’re back!” Amethyst announced as she led Crystal Hoof and her family to us.

“You two look flustered,” Muffins said to Pinch and Star. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine!” Pinch squeaked. “Just fine! We’re fine. Star and I are fine.”

Turner chuckled. “You’re acting like Dinky when we mention a certain colt.”

Dinky looked mortified. “Dad!”

Rarity giggled and shared a smile with Sassy. “It seems the conversation during our get together will be quite interesting.”

*****

“Did you like the show?” Muffins asked Crystal Hoof and Star, as we walked away from the area that had been set up for the Wonderbolts’ performance.

“That was awesome!” Star exclaimed.

“I know, right!” Dinky agreed, matching him in excitement.

“The crowd was really into it,” Crystal Hoof said, walking with unsteady steps. “They kept going from being excited to being scared in sync with the stunts. I’m dizzy and I wasn’t even flying,”

Muffins put a wing around Crystal Hoof’s shoulders. “There you go. Lean on me, if you need to.”

Pinch grinned and told Star, “Did you know that Rarity’s coltfriend is a Wonderbolt?”

“I didn’t!” Star answered and then turned to Rarity. “Which one?”

“Thunderlane,” Rarity answered.

Star gave a moving hop. “Cool! I think I met his brother, Rumble, earlier.”

“You did,” Pinch confirmed.

“Rumble is okay, but he gets an attitude sometimes,” Dinky said. “His brother is much more laid back. I like him.”

“So much that you have his poster on your wall,” Amethyst teased.

“She has good taste,” Sassy said with an approving nod to Dinky.

“Rarity!” a voice called out from behind our group.

Everypony in our group turned our heads towards the speaker.

Star Hunter, still in his Wonderbolts uniform, worked his way through the crowd towards us.

“Please no!” Star whispered in a terrified voice. His ears pinned back, his tail tucked, and he half curled to the ground.

“Hello, Hunter!” Rarity greeted. “That was a wonderful show. You have fans here I’m sure would love to meet you.”

“No! No! No!” Star bolted from us, jostling ponies in his haste to get away.

“Star?!” Pinch stared at the colt as he galloped away from us. “Wait!” she called and ran after him.

“What in the world?!” Turner said.

“Dinky, what happened?!” Rumble said as he, Piña, and Noi rushed towards us from the direction the school students and their guests had been sitting as a group. “Why did Star run off like that?”

“I don’t know,” Dinky told Rumble. “He just took off!”

“Something’s not right!” Piña said, not slowing as she ran past. “We’ve got to find them!”

“Rumble, you’re our eyes,” Noi said and pointed up.

“Got it!” Rumble launched himself into a vertical takeoff. “I’ll yell, when I see them,” he said and flew after Piña.

Noi slowed to halt and nudged Dinky with her shoulder. “Dinky, come on! We might need your magic to catch him if Pinch can’t grab him!”

“Right!” Dinky said. She and Noi sprinted off and ran alongside each other in the direction the other foals had raced off to.

“What in Equestria was that about?” Hunter asked, as he walked up to us.

“I don’t know,” Muffins said and removed her wing from Crystal Hoof’s shoulders. “I’m going after them.” Muffins took two steps and was airborne. “Take care of Crystal Hoof for me!” she called back to us.

“We will!” Turner assured. “Good luck!”

“There has to be some kind of cultural miss-understanding,” Rarity said, sounding near frantic, and then looked towards Crystal Hoof.

Crystal Hoof seemed to be in utter confusion. “What?”

“There has to be an explanation for why Star would run off like that,” Rarity said, seeming to prompt him.

A look of comprehension came to Crystal Hoof’s features. “Oh, right!” He bowed to Star Hunter. “I’m sorry, please don’t be insulted. Where Star and I are from, it’s bad luck to greet somepony after a performance if they are still in their costume. We believe the spirit of the performance will be lost from the garb and it could cause bad luck for the wearer the next time they performed.”

“That’s a neat idea, but after walking through the crowd and greeting as many ponies as I have, the ‘spirit’ of the event is long gone from this suit.” Hunter pulled out several tickets from under his wing. “I got these from Thunderlane. He was supposed to give one to Crystal Hoof and the rest of you, but he and Rainbow Dash were pulled into a post-show meeting. I volunteered to bring them to you instead.”

“That was very kind, thank you,” Rarity told him.

Hunter looked in the direction that Star had run. “Was I seeing things or did the colt that ran off look an awful lot like me?”

“There is a passing resemblance,” Rarity said in too smooth a way. “Perhaps he’s a distant cousin?”

Hunter continued to stare. “I guess it’s possible. If you didn’t take my wings into consideration, he could pass as my doppelganger.”

Ponies gathered around Hunter and our group. Some seemed to be curious what the fuss was about; others seemed focused on the Wonderbolt with us.

Hunter glanced around at the growing number of ponies and passed the tickets to Rarity. “Tell the little guy I’m sorry for me,” he told her. “I’d like to meet him and apologize for causing him to freak out, but it looks like I might be here a bit.”

A teenage crystal pony and a filly who appeared to be his little sister took nervous steps from out of the gathering and towards Hunter.

“Mr. Hunter, sir?” the crystal colt asked.

“That would be me.” Hunter gave the pair a winsome smile. “What can I do for you?”

The crystal colt maneuvered behind the filly and gave her a nudge with his nose. “Here’s your chance,” he whispered to her.

The filly swallowed, nodded, stepped forward, and then presented Hunter with a notebook with the Wonderbolts’ emblem emblazoned on it. “Mr. Hunter, sir, can I get your autograph?”

Hunter replied, “Sure!”

The filly squealed with delight, and more fans surrounded Hunter.

“This way!” Turner hissed, pointing to a gap in the crowd. He led us away from the growing mass of fans at a trot.

“I hope Star is all right,” Sassy said. “He seemed scared out of his mind.”

“I hope so too,” Coco said.

“He’ll be fine,” Turner said over his shoulder. “If I had to bet, Muffin’s has found him and is taking care of him as we speak. Wouldn’t you agree, Pin?”

“No doubt,” I agreed, keeping my answer short and doing my best to suppress any other reaction to his words.

“I hear a hint of a story here,” Sassy said.

“Muffins has some very strong nesting tendencies, and she considers Pin an honorary part of the family.” Turner told her. “When Pin passed out during a practice for the Equestria Games, Muffins was the first to get to him. She guarded him until he could be carried to hospital and wouldn’t let anypony else touch him.” Turner glanced back at me with a smirk. “Tell her what you told my wife and mother of our two daughters when you came to.”

“When you hear it, please keep in mind I was just coming back from passing out and was still loopy,” I said to the ponies around me.

“I bet it was something sweet,” Coco said.

“That’s one way to interpret it,” Turner said with clear enjoyment at making me squirm. “It made Muffins blush, that’s for sure.”

I sighed. “When I came to, I thought somepony had wrapped me in a warm blanket and given me a pillow. After a few seconds, I realized Muffins had wrapped her wings around me and had my head against her chest. Muffins noticed I had come around. She looked down at me, gave me a smile, and asked how I was doing. I, still half out of it, told her, ‘You smell delicious, like fresh muffins, and you’re soft as a cloud.’ ”

Coco laughed. “That sounds like you.”

“You commented on her smell?!” Sassy said, looking at me as if something was wrong with me.

“She had baked the team muffins that morning and still smelled like them. We had been practicing for a while, I was hungry, and it was the first thing my addled brain focused on,” I said. “Let’s change the subject to how we’re going to find Muffins and the foals, please.”

“If Muffins found Star, I’d bet I know where they will be,” Turner said. “We have a policy that if any of us get separated from each other for too long we are to meet back up at the fountain in the town square.”

We did not trot long when Turner nodded down the path. “It would seem I was right.”

“Dad!” Dinky called, as she ran towards us from the direction of the town square. “We got him!”

“Is he all right?” Turner asked.

“If Mom doesn’t smother him hugging and fussing over him, he’ll be fine.” Dinky walked alongside Turner. “Mom was right; you were on your way already.”

“You’re mother and I know each other well,” Turner said.

“How are Pinch and the others doing, after all the excitement?” Rarity asked.

“The training partners are fine, but Pinch is getting frustrated,” Dinky said, fighting a giggle.

Rarity cocked her head. “Frustrated?”

Dinky grinned. “She keeps trying to get Star from Mom, and that’s not happening.”

“Oh dear, she is having a full nesting fit,” Turner said.

“They both are,” Dinky stated. “It’s cute.”

Turner chuckled, as we rounded a corner and the town square and fountain came into view. “That is a perfect display of pony herd defensive behavior.”

Muffins had her back against the fountain’s stone basin as she held Star in her forelegs and wings. Pinch paced back and forth in front of them, pausing at intervals to stand on her hind legs to look over Muffins’ wings and check on Star. Piña and Noi were on guard behind Pinch, while Rumble was keeping watch from a hovering position not far over the height of the fountain.

“There they are!” Rumbled announced, when he saw us.

“Mister Turner, help!” Noi laughed. “We can’t get her to let him go!” she managed to say and then started laughing again.

Piña giggled. “Pinch is about to have fit, since she can’t get to Star.”

“I’m not going to have a fit!” Pinch protested.

“I’m with them, you sure are,” Rumble said, sounding less than sympathetic.

“I’m supposed to be taking care of him!” Pinch said. “I can’t let the princesses down!”

“His silent confession has nothing to do with it at all, I’m sure,” Sassy teased.

Pinch blushed, but did not respond.

“Silent confession?” Piña looked to Pinch with suspicion. “What silent confession?”

“Mister Turner, please help,” Pinch pleaded, seeming to attempt to ignore her aunt.

Turner chuckled. “Dear, you need to let him go. We’ve been given tickets to Trixe’s show and it’s starting soon. We don’t want to be late.”

“Give me a minute more to snuggle him, now he’s calmed down,” Muffins said. “I’ll be sure he’s okay then.”

Turner closed the distance between him and his wife and kissed her temple. “Did he give you much of chase?”

“No, the foals found him first.” She nuzzled the top of Star’s head. “Poor thing was shaking like a leaf, when I caught up to them.”

“Star,” Crystal Hoof said, raising up a touch so he could peek over Muffin’s wings.

Muffins shifted a wing so Star could see him unimpeded.

“I told them about the custom from our kingdom about not seeing performers still in their costumes,” Crystal Hoof told him. “Star Hunter was fine with it and everypony understands.”

For a moment, Star looked as if he were puzzling things together. His eyes lit up, and he told us in an apologetic tone, “I didn’t mean to cause anypony trouble, but I’m such a big fan of his I didn’t want to mess anything up for him.”

“We understand, but you shouldn’t have run off like that,” Rarity scolded in a light tone. “You worried us to death.”

Star’s ears folded back. “Sorry everypony.”

Muffins pulled Star in closer. “Shush now. Don’t feel bad. It was a misunderstanding and nopony got hurt.”

“Star, I have an important question for you,” Sassy said, with a look that hinted she was up to something.

Star looked up at her. “Yes?”

Sassy grinned. “Is she soft and smell like muffins?”

Star blinked. “What?”

“You told them about that?!” Muffins asked Turner, aghast.

“I did,” Turner said, unrepentant.

Muffins huffed. “The poor thing was just coming to.”

“And the first thing he did was flirt with my wife,” Turner said, giving me a mock glare.

“I thought it was sweet, but he wasn’t conscious enough for it to have been real flirting,” Muffins assured him. Besides, you’re all the stallion I can wrangle. I don’t need another one.”

“Thank you, I think.” Turner used a hoof to tickle Muffins with a practiced technique. “Dear, let Star go now, please.”

Muffins giggled and let Star loose from her wings and forelegs.

Star did not make it three steps from Muffins before Pinch grabbed him into a hug.

Rumble landed between Noi and Piña. “Yeah, not having a nesting fit my hoof.”

Blushing, Pinch let go of Star.

Piña raised an eyebrow as she looked at her aunt. “ That reminds me. What’s this about him giving a ‘confession’ to you? You never did answer me.”

Star smiled. “I couldn’t have given her a confession. I didn’t say a word to her.”

“Don’t look so smug,” Piña said, giving Star a half glare. “I know Pinch reads so many books on body posture and emotional tells she can get what ponies are thinking without them saying a word. Between her reading all that stuff and the stuff on changelings, sometimes I think she wants to be a changeling.”

Pinch went pale and gave a worried glance to Star.

Star’s expression was hard to read, but I saw pain in his eyes.

“I hope you’re wrong,” Star said in a flat tone. “No pony should ever want to be a changeling.” He swallowed, sniffed, and said with anger, “They’re horrible emotional parasites.”

Crystal Hooves stiffened as if he had been physically struck by Star‘s words.

“Star, you’re-” Pinch stopped and hugged Star as he looked towards the ground.

“You’ve been hurt by changelings,” Rarity said.

Tears ran down Star’s face as he nodded. “I can’t go home because of them,” he told her, as he returned Pinch’s hug.

Piña, her ears down, approached Star. “I’m sorry, that’s not at all what I meant when I said what I did.”

“I know.” Star said and gave her a weak smile. “You were joking around, but it still hurts, thinking about it.”

“We’ll do whatever we can to help, but you can’t cry,” Noi said. She moved to Piña’s side and gave her a comforting nuzzle. “If you cry and upset Pinch, then Piña will cry, then I’ll cry, and I’m not doing that in the middle of town.”

“No crying. Got it.” Star smiled and then sniffed. “You don’t have to do anything. I just need to toughen up.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Muffins said, getting to her hooves.

“Mom, no,” Dinky said putting a restraining hoof on Muffin’s shoulder. “They’ve got this.”

“But!” Muffins protested.

“Why don’t you hug Dinky and Rumble instead,” Turner suggested with a mischievous grin toward Dinky. “That will help.”

“Wait!” Dinky tried to scramble out of Muffins’ reach, but Muffins snagged her into a full wing hug along with Rumble. Dinky gave a resigned sigh and snuggled into her mother’s embrace.

Peeking from under Muffin’s wing, Rumble looked up to her. “You’re fast. No wonder you were on the Ponyville flying team.”

Muffins grinned. “Thank you. Comfy?”

Rumble nodded. “I am.”

Turner sighed and smiled at his wife. “You can’t hold them for too long, though. We still have a show to go see.”

“Trixie puts on a great magic show,” Pinch said to Star. “That will help cheer you up.”

“Sounds great,” Star said.

Piña gave her niece a teasing look. “That means you have to let him go too, Pinch.”

“He’s still upset,” Pinch said.

Piña snorted. “I don’t want to hear about me or Sis ‘herding’ or ‘nesting’ from you after this.”

“It’s not the same,” Pinch argued. “You two have that reaction with every little foal and pregnant mare. He’s a special case for me.”

“We can see that,” Noi said and giggled.

Piña nodded. “She’s right. It looks like he’s quite the ‘special’ case to you.”

Pinch groaned and looked up to the sky. “That’s not how I meant it.”

“Would you like to be somepony special to her?” Piña asked Star.

Star grinned and did not say a word.

Chapter 23

Starlight Glimmer shut the door on the top water tank and secured it with a padlock. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is now sealed inside!” she declared to us in the audience. She hopped from the top of the tank to the outdoor stage’s wooden floor and put her hoof on a lever that extended from the side of the tank. “Let’s see if the Great and Powerful Trixie can escape!”

Starlight flipped the level, and water rushed into the tank.

Trixie thrashed against the restraints holding her to the bottom of the tank. As the water level went above her head, Trixie’s hat floated away from her and sunk to the bottom of the tank. Long moments passed, and Trixie did not appear to make any progress in freeing herself.

“I don’t think she’s going to get loose!” Dinky said, clinging to Turner.

“Shouldn’t we do something?!” Crystal Hoof asked Muffins.

From behind us, Sunburst assured them, “She’s got this.”

“You sure?” Noi asked with concern in her voice.

Sunburst nodded. “Yep, give her a second more, and...”

Trixie freed her limbs from the chains and bindings that had held them. With a quick motion, she removed the magic limiter that she had around her horn. With the flash of a teleportation spell, and an accompanying volley of fireworks, Trixie appeared outside the tank.

We in the crowd applauded her with a standing ovation, cheering and stomping the ground.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you all for coming!” Trixie said and took a bow.

Starlight turned her head toward the tank. Her horn glowed, and Trixie’s hat appeared in front of her and remained hovering in the air in an aura of Starlight’s magic.

“Thank you, my lovely assistant.” After returning to standing and taking her hat from Starlight’s magic, Trixie swept her wet mane back in a practiced manner. “Trixie will be available to give autographs to her admirers in fifteen minutes. Trixie must get her coat and mane presentable first, before gracing everypony with her presence.”

“Is she always like that?” Star asked, as the crowd dispersed from the outdoor stage.

Sunrburst nodded with a smirk of a smile. “Pretty much.”

“Notice she didn’t shake her mane out,” Coco teased, giving looks to Crystal Hoof, Star, and me.

“Her mane doesn’t look like wet lint plastered to her head,” I protested.

“She’s missing out on the fun of it too,” Star said.

“She might shake it once she gets back stage,” Crystal Hoof conjectured.

“Knowing her, she just might,” Sunburst said with a grin.

Starlight, joining us after coming from the stage, asked, “Did everypony enjoy the show?”

“It was great!” Dinky, Noi, and Star said at the same time.

Pinch giggled at them and then told Starlight, “Ditto!”

Rumble shook his head. “I can’t believe you missed it, guys.”

Star looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

Rumble stood on his hind legs, threw his forelegs wide in dramatic fashion and declared, “it was a great and powerful show!”

After we all stopped laughing, Dinky asked, “Miss Glimmer, can we ask you and Mister Sunburst a favor?”

Starlight gave Dinky a smile. “Sure.”

“Could you help us talk to Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance to see if we can have Crystal Hoof for a while longer?”

“I don’t know,” Starlight said and glanced at Sunburst. “You think they will part with him much more today?” she asked in a joking tone.

“Flurry could be the real issue,” Sunburst said. “She hasn’t gotten to see Th-” He shook his head and then tapped his temple with a hoof. “Crystal Hoof, I mean, all day. She can get fussy, if she doesn’t.”

“Crystal, Sunburst, you have incoming!” Shining Armor called from the roped off royal seating section.

Crystal Hoof grinned. “Speaking of Flurry, he she comes.” He held out his forelegs and caught Princess Flurry when she flew to him. He smiled and held her against his chest. “Hello, Flurry.”

Flurry clung to Crystal Hoof and made soft fussing noises.

Crystal Hoof nuzzled the top of her head. “I missed you too, but you know you’re not supposed to do that.”

“Piña, down girl,” Pinch said, smiling, as Piña moved closer to the hugging pair.

“I can’t help it!” Piña said. “She’s so cute.”

Flurry turned her head toward Piña still clinging to Crystal Hoof as if determined not to let him go.

“This could be an issue for your plans,” Sunburst said to Dinky. “When she gets this clingy, things tend to turn sour if you try to separate her from whoever she has a hold of.”

Dinky’s ears fell. “Oh. I guess we can’t have him and her both, can we?”

“I doubt it,” Sunburst said.

Piña moved closer to Flurry and held out her hoof to the alicorn filly. “I won’t take you from him, but I wanted to say hello again.”

Flurry smiled, touched hooves with Piña, and made friendly foal’s noises.

“She remembers you,” Crystal Hoof said. “She likes you.”

Piña smiled. “I’m glad. I like her too.”

“Flurry, what have we told you about flying off without permission?” Cadance scolded as she and Shining Armor walked up.

Flurry gave a whine, hid her face against Crystal Hoof’s shoulder, and held onto him with a possessive hug.

“Looks like you’re right, Mister Sunburst.” Dinky said, looking glum. “I don’t think she’s going to let him go.”

Cadance looked at Dinky. “What do you mean?”

“Princess, I have a problem you can help me with,” Crystal Hoof said, looking down to Flurry.

Flurry peeked up at Crystal Hoof with one eye.

“My new friend, Dinky, wants to braid my mane for the Celebration as part of a group event. Do you think your mom and dad would help me figure out how we can arrange for that to happen?”

Flurry relaxed in Crystal Hoof’s hold and looked towards Cadance and Shining Armor. Crystal Hoof and Dinky joined Flurry in looking at the royal couple with expectant expressions and pleading eyes.

Cadance smiled as she sighed. “That’s not fair, having all three of you look at us like that.”

“Where was this ‘group event’ supposed to happen?” Shining Armor asked with a hint of a smile.

“At my boutique,” Rarity told him. “There will be several ponies gathering there to get ready for the Celebration.”

“I think we need to consult one other pony about this, before we decide.” Shining turned towards the royal section and waved. “Twily, can we talk to you for a second?”

“Sure!” Twilight responded and trotted over. “What’s going on?”

“We have a bit of a friendship issue here,” Shining told her and then explained the situation.

“Oh, I see,” Twilight said, after Shining Armor finished, and smiled at Dinky. “You’re trying to make him feel welcome.”

Dinky smiled and nodded. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble when I offered to braid his mane, but I don’t think we’ll get Flurry to let him go.”

Flurry, as if understanding Dinky’s words, hugged herself tight to Crystal Hoof.

“We have two options,” Shining said. “We can have them come to the castle to prepare with us, or we can go with them.”

Cadance nodded. “I would agree, but we’ve promised Celestia, Luna, Twilight, and your parents that we would help them get ready.”

Crystal Hoof’s and Star’s ears went up and their gazes followed Cadance's eyes as she looked towards Starlight and Sunburst.

“Or, we could send Starlight and Sunburst with them.” Cadance gave the pair a knowing smile. “I’m sure they would enjoy braiding each other’s manes too.”

Starlight and Sunburst blushed and glanced at each other.

“Do you ever braid Princess Cadance’s mane?” Dinky asked Shining.

Shining grinned and nodded. “Whenever I can. I am going to tonight, if we have time.”

“You really are a prince,” Dinky said with adoration.

“Would you like me to braid your mane?” Sunburst asked Starlight. “I’ve been studying various styles, but I haven’t practiced.” He blushed as he told her, “It would be like back when we were foals and I helped you get your mane into pigtails.”

Starlight smiled at him. “I didn’t think you would remember that.”

Sunburst gave her a bashful smile. “You were the only friend I would have ever felt comfortable doing something like that with, and I enjoyed doing it.”

“Awwww,” Star said. He ducked down when everypony looked towards him. “Sorry, I thought they were cute.”

Dinky giggled. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard a colt say anything was ‘cute’ like that.”

Star’s ears fell. “I guess I’m different for a colt.”

Pinch bumped shoulders with Star. “There is nothing wrong with saying what you did. I think it’s great you feel comfortable saying something like that.”

A small gasp came from Flurry. She looked up to Crystal Hoof and then back to Star. She pointed a hoof at Star and gave a series of excited babbles.

“You’ve a bright filly!” Crystal Hoof smiled at Flurry and touched his nose to hers. “Yes, he and I are from the same kingdom.”

Flurry turned and waved her forelegs at Star as if seeing him for the first time.

“She doesn’t mind?” Star asked Princess Cadance, while waving back to Flurry.

“Not at all,” Cadance told him. “She doesn’t care what kind of pony anypony is. You should see her when Luna brings members of her guard to visit. There’s one guard in particular that if she doesn’t get to say hello to she gets grumpy.” Cadance’s ears perked up, and she smiled slyly as she looked towards Sassy. “Speaking of him, Sassy, have you found somepony to go to the Celebration with?”

Sassy shook her head. “Not yet, I haven’t. The candidates you pointed out to me were nice, but there wasn’t much of a spark.” She snorted. “Or other mares got to them first, as I found out with three of them.”

“So that’s why you have been wandering off from us all day,” I said.

“Don’t sound so judgmental.“ Sassy gave me a look. “Since Coco won’t share you, and Rarity won’t share Thunderlane, I’ve been doing what I can to find my own date for the Celebration on very short notice.”

I held up my hooves. “I didn’t mean it like that. I thought you were off having a good time on your own.”

Sassy sighed. “While the process has been fun, and having permission to flirt with her guards from the Princess of Love herself has made things wonderfully unique, it still stings a bit that I can’t find a Crystal Guard who would be my escort tonight.”

“Then we’ll have to try guards from another princess.“ Cadance grinned. “I’ll have to ask permission to borrow him, but I think I have an idea on who you should meet. He’s been busy with other aspects of the Celebration, or I would have introduced you sooner.”

“Cady, what are you up to?” Shining Armor asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“What I love to do,” she said and kissed his nose, “making connections like yours and mine.”

Shining chuckled and then touched horns with Cadance. “I won’t fuss about something like that, knowing how much I love you.”

Dinky gave a light squeal and hugged Pinch.

Pinch gave Dinky a look. “You were making fun of Star for being open about his feelings, and now you’re hugging me because of something he said?” she said and pointed a hoof at Shining Armor.

Dinky put her nose in the air. “It’s different. Shining Armor’s a stallion. They’re married, and he’s supporting her in her calling, not just being mushy.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being mushy now and then,” Pinch insisted. “What if Star said something like that to you?”

“I would think it was nice, but I don’t think that would ever happen.” Dinky, still holding onto Pinch, leaned so she could get a clear view of Star and grinned at him. “He’s only said nice things about you, as far as I know, and there was that whole ‘silent confession’ thing too.”

Cadance’s and Twilight’s ears perked up and their eyes went to Star, who looked sheepish and ducked down again.

Pinch blushed. “Dinky!”

“I still want to know about this ‘silent confession’ of his,” Piña muttered.

“I’ll be right back,” Cadance declared, sounding as if she was fighting back a giggle.

“How has the afternoon gone for you, Star?” Twilight asked, almost keeping the mirth out of her voice. “Are you getting to know Ponyville better?”

Star nodded. “I am. It’s been wonderful.”

“What about the ponies here?” Cadance asked.

“They’re wonderful too. They’re really caring. They’ve looked out for me just like Cranky and Matilda have.”

Rumble looked around as if trying to spot somepony in the crowd. “Speaking of them, I haven’t seen them all day.”

“They are serving as ambassadors to the delegation of donkeys visiting for the Celebration on Celestia’s and my behalf,” Luna explained as she, Cadance, and a Lunar Guard approached. “Since they could not perform their duties and attend to young Star, we made him Pinch’s ward for the day.”

Flurry cooed and waved a hoof towards the Lunar Guard.

The Lunar Guard smiled. “Hello again, Princess,” he greeted her. He approached her and lowered his head so Flurry could touch his nose with a hoof. “I’m glad to see you too.”

“I am pleased that your fondness for my niece remains,” Luna told the guard. “While protecting her is your primary concern, know that Cadance has asked that Flurry not be the only pony who you give attention to this evening.”

Not turning his head, the Lunar Guard looked towards Sassy. His eyes widened with recognition.

“Hello again, Silent Wing,” Sassy greeted the Lunar Guard and smiled. “I was beginning to think my sleep deprived mind had made you up.”

The Lunar Guard grinned. “I’m real.”

“You two have met before, I take it,” Rarity said.

Sassy nodded. “He and I met at an all-night cafe in Canterlot, after one of my late nights at the shop, around two months back. He bought me a coffee and ended up paying for my dinner.”

“I never thought I would ever have been glad to have a late night until that one,” Silent said, letting Flurry rub the bridge of his nose with a hoof.

Sassy turned her eyes back to Silent. “How could you have a ‘late night?’ I thought bat ponies were nocturnal.”

Flurry stretched, reached with her hoof, stroked one of Silent’s tufted ear tips, and giggled.

Silent leaned forward and tilted his head so Flurry did not have to stretch so far in Crystal Hoof’s hold. “Most of us are, but I’m a member of a liaison team between the Lunar Guard, the Crystal Guard, and the Royal Guard. Thanks to having to fit in with their schedules, I’m diurnal now.”

Cadance glanced at Luna. “Did you know that they had met before?”

Luna, with a smirk, nodded. “I knew.”

“So that’s why you smiled like you did when I mentioned their names,” Cadance said.

Luna raised an amused eyebrow. “Recall, young usurper, I was the Princess of Love before your ancestors many times removed drew breath.”

Star looked to Pinch and whispered, “Is she serious?”

Pinch nodded. “That’s why terms like ‘moonstruck’ and ‘acting like a mooncalf’ are around. Ponies related falling in love with Princess Luna back then.”

“How sweet!” Sassy said to Silent. “You talked about me to Luna.”

Silent gave her a nervous grin. “To be honest, I haven’t talked to Princess Luna about you.”

Sassy tilted her head. “Then how did she know that you and I have met?”

“I monitor the dreams of my guards with utmost diligence to ensure that the Nightmares are not attempting to influence them,” Luna said.

Sassy gave Silent a curious, pleased look. “Has somepony been dreaming of me?”

“I have,” Silent admitted with a blush. “That evening would have been wasted, but it turned into something memorable thanks to our… unexpected shared dinner.”

“Date,” Noi teased Silent. “It’s called a date.”

“How many times has he dreamed of me and in what kind of setting?” Sassy asked Luna.

“I am honor bound not to speak of the details I encounter in another pony’s dreams, unless given leave to by the dreamer.” Luna’s smile turned teasing. “I will say you must have made quite the impression on him.”

“She did,” Silent confessed, his eyes meeting Sassy’s. “Few non-bat ponies would have been as welcoming, much less have shared dinner with me.”

“Their loss,” Sassy said. “Not too many ponies are into mares taller than they are, no matter what tribe they come from.”

Silent grinned. “Their loss.”

Cadance giggled and tapped her fore-hooves together.

Luna’s expression turned serious. “Silent Wing, you are to assist Crystal Hoof, Starlight, and Sunburst in guarding Flurry. At the end of your allotted shift, you are to escort Miss Sassy Saddles to the Celebration.”

“Yes, Princess, it will be an honor,” Silent answered and bowed.

Flurry fussed until Silent returned to his previous position and allowed her to continue stroking his ear.

“Flurry, let Miss Sassy have Silent this evening,” Cadance said. “You’re already holding onto Crystal Hoof as it is.”

“She’s fine. He’s got two ears, one for her,” Sassy said and sashayed to stand close to Silent. She gave Silent’s free ear a stroke from its base to its tip that was most parts caress. “And one for me.”

Rarity gasped. “Sassy!”

“Oh wow,” Star said, watching Silent’s reaction to Sassy’s touch. “I didn’t know ponies could blush like that.”

“You turned close to the same color during your ‘silent confession’,” Dinky teased Star and giggled.

Piña gave Star a look. “He’s blushing a bit himself right now.”

“Sassy, there are foals present!” Rarity said, as Sassy gave Silent’s ear another tamer stroke.

“At least she didn’t nibble his ear,” I pointed out. “That would have traumatized them.”

Rarity gave me a withering look.

“Now I see why Flurry is enjoying this,” Sassy said, giving another stroke to Silent’s ear. “His coat is cashmere soft and the tufts of his ears are like silk.”

Twilight fidgeted and looked toward Celestia, who was still in the royal section talking with a dapper stallion who was wearing a monocle.

“I know, Twilight, we have a schedule to keep,” Cadance said.

“As do we,” Rarity said. “We need to go, if everypony wants to be their best for the Celebration.”

Twilight sighed. “I had planned to keep things as informal as possible.”

“Let us have our frivolities,” Luna said. “Not often is a new princess ascended. Such an event should be marked with full pageantry, including appropriate attire.” She turned and gestured with a wing. “Come; let us not Sister waiting. She is near Twilight’s equal in becoming distraught at the possibility of being late.”

“I’m not that bad!” Twilight said, trotting to keep up with Luna’s longer strides.

“Yes you are, and you know it,” Shining said, as Cadance and he followed them.

Cadance glanced over her shoulder and warned Sassy, “Luna will want him back, at some point, and in functional condition.”

Sassy grinned. “That leaves me a lot of room to play with.”

“You are in so much trouble,” Rumble whispered to Silent.

“Maybe.” Silent gave Rumble a grin. “You only live once, though, and she looks like the good kind of trouble.”

“Oh, they’ll be perfect together,” Pinch said to nopony in particular.

“I hope so,” Sassy said and let her hoof linger on Silent’s ear. “I enjoyed that evening.”

“I’ll do my best to make sure this one is just as enjoyable,” Silent promised.

“Everypony, drop your prize bags at home, pick up what you’ll need for tonight, and then come to my boutique.” Still looking at Sassy and Silent, Rarity smiled. “I have a feeling our get together will be the start of an unforgettable evening for us all.”

*****

“Now tuck that strand under like this,” Coco said and motioned with her hoof in the air in front of her.

Star, biting his lip in concentration, did as Coco instructed and tucked one strand of Pinch’s tail under another.

Barrel, who was sitting at my right side, chuckled as Berry approached. “You two are in for it now.”

Berry bumped her shoulder to mine after she sat down beside me. “Talk.”

“About?”

She bumped her shoulder against mine again. “You know.”

“Wait a minute,” Sassy said and sat down close to Coco. “I don’t want to miss a word of this.”

“Leave poor Pin alone,” Muffins said, pausing in her braiding of Turner’s mane. “He’s already blushing.”

“He cooked me a delicious meal and served me the perfect wine,” Coco said, while showing Star’s next step in the braiding process with more hoof motions.

“What did you make her?” Piña asked, pausing in her braiding of Rumble’s mane.

“Baked stuffed acorn squash with a salad and bread,” I answered.

“No dessert?!” Piña asked in disbelief.

“We had some cake from Sugar Cube Corner for dessert,” I added. “I didn’t list it with the others, since I didn’t make it.”

“Did you give her the presents?” Pinch asked, remaining still for Star.

I nodded. “I did.”

“And they were?” Rarity prompted.

“A crystal ewe wool blanket, a very nice brush set for my coat, mane, and tail, a grooming mitt, oil for my coat, and...” Coco gave Rarity a coy smile and blushed. “A few other things we’ll discuss later.”

“So that’s why your coat was so soft this morning,” Rumble said to Coco. “He groomed you.”

Noi looked up from her work on Rumble’s tail in shock.

“It’s not like it sounds!” Rumble told her, looking panicked. “Piña told me to hug her.”

Piña nodded. “It’s true. I told him to hug her, and Coco’s coat was extra soft.”

“Very good!” Coco complimented, after Star finished the portion of Pinch’s tail he had been working on. “She looks wonderful.”

“She does.” Rarity said and used her magic to float a mirror to Coco. “You did well, especially for a first attempt, Star.”

Coco held the mirror so Pinch could see her mane. “Oh, wow.” She turned her head one way and then the other and smiled. “It looks great.” She turned as if to look behind her, but stopped partway. “Can I look at my tail now?”

“Sure,” Star told her.

Pinch finished her turn and arced her tail so she could see it.

“I hope you like it,” Star told her.

“It’s wonderful.” Pinch gave Star an appreciative smile. “Thank you.”

Flurry wiggled in Crystal Hoof’s forelegs and made happy noises.

“Yes, everypony is having a good time.” He touched her nose to hers. “This has been a great day, and we’re not even through yet.”

Flurry giggled and batted at one of Crystal Hoof’s braids.

“Don’t play with those too much,” Dinky said to the princess in a kind tone. “He’s supposed to wear them to the Celebration.”

“You three did a wonderful job too,” Coco praised, as Rumble got to his hooves.

“We learned from the best,” Noi told her.

Rumble looked towards Piña, appearing disappointed with himself. “I just wish we could do something special for Piña.”

“You already did.” She reached back and touched one of the bands holding her mane in a ponytail.

“I’m glad you like them, but I don’t think they’re enough for tonight.”

“I know what you mean,” Noi said and stood by Rumble. “It doesn’t feel right that we have our manes and tails done up and you don’t.”

“I have an idea,” Barrel said. “I’ll show you two something that I used to do to Berry’s mane and tail when we were going out, if she’ll agree to it.” He turned to Rarity. “Could we borrow four more bands and some ribbon? If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could we have a pair of scissors too?”

Rarity raised an intrigued eyebrow, nodded, and stepped into the back of the shop.

“Barrel, are you thinking about doing what I think you are?” Berry said.

Barrel gave her a tender smile. “Yes, I am. Would you mind me using you as a demonstration?”

“Not at all,” Berry said.

Barrel poked me in the shoulder. “You. Move.”

“Gotcha,” I said and moved to sit by Coco.

Rarity returned holding a selection of ribbons and bands in her magic. “I’m curious to see what you have planned.”

“Piña, which color do you like best?” Barrel asked.

Piña pointed a hoof. “That one, it matches my hairbands.”

Barrel took the ribbon from Rarity’s magic and looked to his wife. “Berry?”

Berry’s eyes had a spark in them, as she answered, “The wine red bands and ribbon, please.”

“Piña, sit by your sister,” Barrel said. “Rumble, Noi, come sit by me.”

Barrel put Berry’s mane into a ponytail with the bands. He did a series of quick measurements using his nose and his forehooves with the ribbon, cut lengths from both, and then made another cut to the strands he had taken from the rolls. “Follow what I do. Since this is the first time you two have done this, pass the ribbon to each other as we go over and under.”

“Got it!” Noi said.

“Ready,” Rumble said with a smile.

The rest of us watched in quiet fascination as Barrel took Noi and Rumble through the steps of weaving and wrapping the ribbons around Piña’s mane and tail as he showed the steps on Berry’s. The result of their efforts, which took a much shorter time than I would have guessed, made elegant lacings of ribbon that mimicked the lines of true braids around Berry’s and Piña’s manes and tails.

“My, my,” Rarity said with approval. “You two look lovely.”

“Really?” Piña asked.

“You do,” Coco said and held up Rarity’s mirror for Piña. “See?”

“Oh, wow!” Piña said and hugged Rumble and Noi. “Thank you!” She turned to Berry. “Did you know he knew how to do this?”

“I did.” Berry said and looked up at her husband. “He hasn’t done it in a long time, though.”

“I wanted to do this the other night, when everypony was braiding manes, but we didn’t have the lace or ribbon for it,” Barrel said.

“I thought about bringing the stuff for you too, but I didn’t know if you would want to anymore.” Berry’s ears shot up and her eyes widened as Barrel kissed her.

“Barrel!” Rarity protested. “You’re just as bad as Sassy and Coco!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Coco said and then blushed. “Tonight, anyway.”

“Don’t fuss, he’s being sweet,” Sassy said. “Rumble and Star can learn a thing or two about being romantic from him too.”

Barrel broke the kiss. “I will always want to do things like this with you.”

“I didn’t know you had a tender side and talents like that, Barrel,” Thunderlane said, sounding like he was half kidding and half admiring what Barrel had done. “You’ve never even hinted at it before.”

Barrel hugged Berry to him, who kissed his cheek and snuggled against him. “It’s a side of me that’s reserved for my girls.”

“I get to hug him too!” Piña said and hugged Barrel. “Thank you!”

Barrel leaned and nuzzled the top of Piña’s head. “You’re welcome.”

“What is this called?” Noi asked, touching the ribbon around Piña’s mane with a hoof.

“I think the style is called a laced ponytail,” Barrel said.

“That’s right,” Sunburst said. “There are all kinds of variations of the style in the Empire.” He adjusted his glasses and smiled. “I think it could be called a ribboned pony tail this time, though, considering he didn’t use the traditional lace or lacings.”

Piña let go of Barrel and then pointed a hoof towards Coco and me. “We still don’t know what else happened with Coco and Pin.”

“Drat,” I said in a less than serious tone, “I thought Barrel’s distraction was enough for everypony to forget about us.”

“Nope,” Berry said. “I was about to bring it up, if she hadn’t.”

“I used the brushes on her and then braided her mane and tail in the same style she’s wearing them,” I told Piña. “While I pampered Coco, she and I talked about our relationship and where we wanted things to go.”

I glanced at Coco. She smirked, and we both sat still, neither of us saying a word.

The fillies looked at me with intense eyes until Dinky’s patience cracked. She hopped up and down and asked, “Where are things going?!”

“Our courtship is over, and now we have a year for one of us to either break things off or ask the other to marry us,” Coco answered.

Pinch squealed with happiness and hugged Coco.

“So when’s the wedding, Pin?” Barrel asked with a grin.

“My sister is getting married next month,” I responded in a cheery tone, gaining me a snort from Barrel.

“I didn’t know ponies here had formal courtship rituals.” Star looked to Crystal Hoof. “Did you?”

Crystal Hoof shook his head.

“They’re not formal formal anymore,” Pinch said, letting go of Coco. “But some ponies consider following them a nice romantic gesture.”

“Wait a minute,” Star said. “Miss Coco, Pin braided your mane and tail as part of your courtship, right?”

Coco smiled and nodded. “He did.”

Star looked uneasy. “Is braiding manes always considered a romantic gesture?”

“Not always, but it’s also not something that casual acquaintances do for each other either,” Coco told him.

Star relaxed a little, but when he met Pinch’s eye he blushed and his nerves seemed to return.

“Worried you’ve sent the wrong signal?” Noi asked him.

Star nodded, still looking at Pinch.

“Or are you worried about sending the right one a little too fast?” Sassy teased.

“That reminds me, I still want to hear about this ‘silent confession’ you gave her,” Piña told Star.

“So do I,” Berry said in a tone that caused both Pinch and Star to look nervous.

“That will have to wait,” Muffins said and patted Turner on the back. “Now that’ everypony’s manes are done, it’s time for the guys to leave so we mares can finish up what we need to do.”

“You’re kicking us out?” Turner asked, giving her a surprised look.

“We are,” Rarity said. “There are some things, such as putting on their attire and applying finishing beauty touches, ladies should do only in the presence of other mares.”

“What about Flurry?” Sunburst said.

“If you haven’t noticed, she’s a filly,” Starlight joked. “She can stay with us. She’ll be safe.”

“What about Silent?” Sunburst asked.

“He’s a guy, he’s out,” Starlight stated.

Sunburst looked unsure. “He’s supposed to be guarding Flurry, though. We don’t want him to get into trouble.”

“His shift as a guard was up thirty minutes ago,” Sassy said. “He’s serving as my escort now.”

“Not that she’s paying attention to that kind of thing,” Thunderlane said and chuckled.

Piña approached Flurry, who seemed content in Crystal Hoof’s forelegs. “Flurry, can my friends and I have you for a while so the guys can leave and the mares can get ready?” She reached out a hoof which the princess took with both of hers. “We would like to have you to ourselves for a bit too.”

Flurry laughed and wriggled in Crystal Hoof’s grasp.

“I think that’s a yes,” Crystal Hoof said, and passed Flurry to Piña.

Piña smiled and cuddled Flurry. “Thank you.”

“We’ll make sure she’s okay,” Starlight assured Sunburst. “You don’t have to worry.”

Turner snorted. “Berry and Muffins will be with them. An ursa major couldn’t get to Flurry with them around.”

“That’s right,” Berry said with confidence.

“Now, all boys, no matter your age, out,” Muffins commanded and waved us towards the door with her wings.

“Let us pick up our suits at least!” Turner mock protested.

We colts and stallions gathered our belongings and filed out the door.

Barrel stuck his nose in the air, grinned, and told Rarity, “I’ve been thrown out of better establishments!”

Rarity arched an eyebrow. “That you’ve been thrown out of places, I’ll believe. That they were nicer than my boutique, I have serious doubts.”

“You’re right on both, Rarity!” Berry called.

Barrel gave a grunt. “And she’s supposed to be on my side.”

“We’ll pick you gentlecolts up at Pin’s in a few minutes,” Rarity told us, grinned, and then shut the boutique’s door.

“Well, I guess it’s to my place then,” I told my fellows.

“Where’s your place?” Star asked.

“This way,” I said and pointed a hoof. “Follow me, I’ll show you.”

Star did not follow me as much as he stuck to my side.

“So, what kingdom are you from, Star?” Rumble asked.

Star tensed.

“He’s from a kingdom called Märchen,” Sunburst supplied. “It’s a much smaller kingdom, compared to Equestria.”

“Oh.” Rumble looked puzzled. “I think I’ve heard of it before, but can’t remember much about it.”

“There’s not much of a reason for anypony no involved in diplomatic relations to know about it,” Sunburst told him. “They don’t trade with us too much because of their different culture and dietary needs.”

“Have you been having fun today?” I asked Star.

Star smiled and nodded. “Tons! I like how everypony comes together to get things done and then enjoy things.”

Rumble’s steps drifted him towards Silent. Rumble acted cool, but it was obvious he was interested in the bat pony by the way he would sneak glances at him.

Silent gave Rumble a sideways look and a smile. “Never seen a bat pony up close?”

Rumble shook his head.

“I’m glad you’re curious rather than freaked out.” Silent turned his head towards Rumble, blinked his cat-like eyes and wiggled his tufted ears. “Some ponies find the differences unsettling.”

“Nah, they’re cool.” Rumble nodded towards Silent’s wings. “Flying with membranes has to be way different than flying with feathers.”

Silent grinned. “You sound like one of the Shadow Bolts’ recruits. She keeps asking me to meet up with her so she can do comparative studies of pegasus and bat pony wings and flight attributes.”

“Has she conducted any ‘studies’ Sassy needs to be jealous of?” Barrel kidded.

Silent snorted. “No. That cadet is all business. She keeps talking about encouraging ‘mixed member task forces for greater operational efficiencies’ and ‘higher degrees of operational flexibility with varying team member physiological attributes.’ “ Silent chuckled. “She’s a great flier, but I think she would be better suited in strategic command.”

“Here we are,” I announced and nodded towards my shop. Once we approached the storefront, I opened the store’s front door for my guests. “The changing room is on the left,” I told them, as we walked in and I used my magic to turn on the lights.

“I will need to go get my dress uniform from my tent,” Silent said. “If I don’t make it back before you set off for the castle, I will see you there.”

Silent turned, took a few steps out the door, and leaped into the air for his takeoff.

Rumble leaned forward, his ears perked, as if straining to hear something.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Not a sound.” He looked up to me, wide eyed. “Even with flapping his wings for takeoff, there wasn’t a sound.”

“Seems he lives up to his name,” Thunderlane said. “I knew bat ponies were quiet fliers, but I had no clue they could be that quiet.”

“I’ll go first,” Barrel said. “It won’t take me long,” he assured and trotted off to the shop’s changing room.

“I don’t think I’ve gotten to tell you thank you for the show today,” Star told Thunderlane.

“You’re welcome,” Thunderlane said and gave a slight bow.

“How often do you do shows?”

“About once every two weeks,” Thunderlane said, returning to standing. “We’ve done three in a week before, but that’s unusual. I was sore as all get out after that week, let me tell you.”

Rumble chuckled. “He stayed on the couch more than usual, that’s for sure.”

“Done!” Barrel announced, as he wove his way back to us through the racks.

“Go ahead, Lane,” I said.

“I’ll be quick, but not that fast,” Thunderlane said and headed toward the changing room.

“Pin, give me a look over,” Barrel said. “Did I miss anything?”

I did a quick trot around Barrel. “Everything looks good to me.”

Barrel raised his chin. “Did I get the tie right?”

I looked the tie’s knot over and nodded. “You’re fine. It’s nice and even.”

Barrel nodded and snorted in relief. “Good.”

Crystal Hoof tilted his head. “What’s making you nervous about how you look?”

“I don’t get to go to these kinds of fancy shindigs that often. Supply wine for them, yes, going to them, no. I don’t want to disappoint Berry by looking as if I don’t know how to dress myself.”

“You look great,” Star said. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“Buttering him up?” Rumble said, giving Star a light elbow.

Star looked at Rumble, one of his ears at an angle. “What do you mean?”

“It’s always a good idea to get on the good side of the father of the filly you’re interested in,” Barrel said in an over serious tone. “But it will take more than words if you want to convince me you’ll do right by my little girl.”

Star’s ears pinned back in worry. “That’s not at all what I was trying to do, Sir!”

Barrel laughed and patted Star on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know.” He let his hoof linger on Star’s shoulder. “I also know you are interested in my girl the way you’ve been acting around her.”

Star swallowed and nodded. “She’s amazing.”

Barrel’s eyebrows went up.

“What did I miss?” Thunderlane said, as he returned. He looked at Barrel’s hoof on Star’s shoulder and then gave Barrel a look. “Everything all right?”

“I was telling him what I think of Pinch,” Star said.

Thunderlane snorted. “You’re brave.”

“He’s honest and has backbone.” Barrel’s gave a chuckle that rumbled from his center. “We’ll see how brave he is when he talks to Berry and Piña.”

Thunderlane flinched. “I don’t envy you on that one,” he told Star.

“Go change, Pin,” Turner said and poked me in the shoulder with a hoof. “I will only take a moment, so I will go last.”

“I’ll be right back.” I trotted off to the changing room and pulled on my shirt. I smiled into the mirror, as I finished the knot on Coco’s bow tie and made sure it was even. “Today was not at all what I had envisioned, but it’s been fun,” I told the mirror. “I hope this evening goes as well.”

After pulling on my jacket and pinning a flower from Coco’s and my date onto my collar, I returned to my friends.

“Be back in a tick,” Turner said and headed off to the changing room.

“Who were you talking to?” Star asked.

“I was talking to me.”

Thunderlane leaned close to Star. “He lived alone for too long. It addled his brain.”

“He’s not living alone now,” Barrel pointed out. He looked at me and grinned. “How’s that going?”

I could not help but smile. “So far, it’s been wonderful.”

“Speaking of living arrangements, I’m curious about something,” Crystal Hoof said. “Princess Cadance has told me that polyamorous relationships are not uncommon in Equestra, particularly among mares.”

“That is true,” Sunburst said.

“All right, gents,” Turner said, as he walked out of the changing room. “I believe we are ready.”

“That was fast,” Star said.

Turner gave him a wink. “You just have to know how to manage your time to get things done.”

Crystal Hoof seemed to ponder something for a second. “Do you think Rumble being the only one in the group involved in a multiple partner relationship is a good reflection of the overall ratio of stallions in polyamorous relationships?”

We stallions looked at each other and then to Rumble, who gave us an awkward grin.

“I don’t know if he counts.” Thunderlane gave Rumble an older brother’s knowing look. “What he’s told me the three of them are ‘training partners’ and not ‘special someponies.’ ”

Star laughed. “Riiiight.”

A knock came on the door.

“Thank Celestia,” Rumble whispered.

“If that’s Silent, he’s quiet and quick,” I said, before going to the door and opening it.

“Hello, Uncle Pin,” Pinch said, not looking me in the eye.

“Hello,” I returned. “Is everything okay?”

Pinch did not look up, but I thought I saw a hint of a smile on her face. “They gossiped, and we heard everything.”

Trying to sound calmer than I felt, I asked, “They did?”

“I had to cover Flurry’s ears, it got so bad,” Piña said, looking down at the Princess in her forelegs.

Dinky giggled. “We’ll never be able to look at you the same way again.”

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I imagined all the things said in front of the girls.

“Don’t believe them!” Coco said, her face a wonderful shade of red. “Sassy put them up to this!”

“Judging by his face and yours, we have a lot to talk about,” Sassy said.

“We’ll need to set aside a future date for a mares-only night at my place, so little ears won’t be around,” Rarity said.

“Notice we aren’t invited,” Dinky said to Pinch and Piña.

“We’ll just have to have a filly’s night of our own on the same night,” Piña said.

Dinky giggled. “I wonder what kind of stuff Noi will tell us about your ‘exercise’ routines then.”

Piña’s mouth fell open, and she blushed to her ear tips. “We don’t do anything like that!”

After smothering a laugh, I asked, “Speaking of Noi, where is she?”

“She had to go help our class,” Piña said. “We’ll be meeting up with her once we get to the Celebration.”

“You’re blocking the door,” Barrel told me and gave my backside a push.

I stepped out of the way, and my friends exited the store.

“Now I see why he didn’t move. Such beauty stunned him,” Thunderlane said. “You ladies look wonderful.” He grinned at Rarity. “Though, I have to say, there is one of you who is drawing my attention more than the others.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said.

I shut and locked the store’s entrance.

“What about Silent?” Sassy’s ears fell. “He didn’t have to leave did he?”

“He’s right there,” Crystal Hoof said and pointed a hoof upwards.

Silent drifted down and landed close to Sassy. “Hello again.” He smiled. “You look stunning.”

“And you look even more handsome in your uniform.” Sassy reached and touched Silent’s collar with a hoof. “Luna has good taste.”

“Thank you,” Silent said. His wings flexed with the first movements of folding.

“Mister Silent, please don’t put away your wings!” Dinky said and trotted over Silent. “I’ve always wondered what bat pony wings look like up close.”

Silent blushed, still holding his wings out. “I shouldn’t. Not like this at least.”

Dinky tilted her head. “Why not?”

Silent looked to Muffins as if pleading for help.

“Among flying ponies what he is doing is a courting display,” Muffins said, after stopping her giggles. “If he keeps holding his wings like that for too long, he is being too forward.”

“Oh!” Dinky looked to Silent and blushed. “Sorry about that. They are nice wings, though.”

“They are,” Sassy commented, making a show of inspecting Silent’s wingspan. “Perhaps, I’ll find out what a hug from them feels like at some point tonight,” she said in a flirtatious tone.

Silent, his blush more prominent, folded his wings against his sides and looked to Dinky. “I’ll let you and Rumble look at them later.”

Piña held up a hoof. “Can Noi and I see them too?”

“You all can,” Silent told her, giving the foals a sweeping look that included them all.

Pinch’s ears went up, and she grinned.

Star looked at her and smiled. “Somepony just had an idea.”

“Miss Sassy, can we borrow him for a bit tonight?” Pinch asked. “I bet our class and the other foals would love to see him up close.”

“Only if I get to come along and have fun too,” Sassy said. “We’re a package deal.”

Silent’s eyes widened and gave Sassy a nervous grin. “I’m not sure if there would be enough bat pony to go around for that many foals, if there was just me for the class.”

“I think we can make this work, Pinch,” Starlight said. “All we have to do is ask to borrow guards from each of the princesses so we get a good mix for the students to see. If we want to put leverage on them, all we have to do is tell Twilight it’s for ‘educational purposes’ and she’ll make sure we get them.”

Sunburst chuckled. “I’m sure Princess Cadance wouldn’t mind having a guard or two borrowed.”

“Could we get Shining Armor?” Dinky asked, sounding as if she was trying to sound calm. “He’s the Captain of the Guard, so he counts, right?”

“We can try,” Starlight said.

“Let’s go!” Dinky said and walked towards the castle at a brisk pace.

“We’re right behind you!” Noi said, as she and the other foals took off after Dinky.

Piña grinned down at Flurry as she trotted past me. “Looks like we might get you and your Dad.”

Flurry giggled and clung to Piña’s neck.

“Wait!” Muffins called after the foals. “Some of us are in dresses and can’t go that fast!”

Sunburst called after them, “You have Flurry too!”

“Come on, Silent,” Thunderlane said. “I don’t know if we can keep them out of trouble, but we can catch up to them at least.”

Silent grinned and nodded. He and Thunderlane then took to the air after the foals.

“Looks like Star is fitting in just fine,” Sunburst said to Crystal Hoof.

“I’m glad,” Crystal Hoof said, sounding contemplative. “There’s just one bridge that he will have to cross now, and it won't be easy for him.”

Sunburst patted Crystal Hoof on the back. “You did it.”

“With Spike’s help,” Crystal Hoof acknowledged. "If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t think I could have done it.”

“Star has Pinch,” Rarity said. “He also has a group of friends I’m sure who will support him.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

Rarity smiled in a way that showed she was enjoying the fact my curiosity had been stirred. “Patience, Pin, all will be revealed soon enough.”

“Not if we don’t get moving, it won’t be,” Berry said and walked after the foals. “I don’t know who’s worse at stirring up trouble, my daughter or my sister.”

Barrel caught up to her and walked at her side. “They’re about even, but each has their own flare.”

Sassy giggled as the rest of us followed Berry and Barrel. “I’ll say this for Ponyville, it’s never dull.”

Chapter 24

“What are you thinking?” Coco asked as we turned in synchronous.

We maneuvered through the next section of the dance, keeping our spacing with the other couples.

“You’ve been smiling for the last couple of songs,” she said, as we stepped apart.

After the music brought us back together, I told her, “I don’t know if I can put it into words.” We circled each other while touching one of our forehooves together. “I think it’s the whole of the day catching up to me.”

Coco nodded and led us in circling in the other direction. “Today has been great.”

We stepped apart, twirled, and then came back together.

“For me, you being here made it wonderful,” I told her as we touched hooves again.

During the next section of the dance, Coco and I had to dodge a pair of foals that miss-stepped into our path.

“Sorry!” Apple Bloom said, after she recovered. “I’m still gettin’ the hang of this.”

“You’re going better, though,” Tender Taps, the colt Apple Bloom was dancing with, said to her. “You’re thinking too much and anticipating the next steps.” He guided Apple Bloom back to their spot, his steps still in sync with the music. “Move in tempo with the music and you’ll be fine.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” Apple Bloom kidded, smiling. “I’m all left hooves.”

After a few moments more, the song ended with a light crescendo.

We dancers formed back into lines and bowed to our partners. After returning to standing, the audience and we applauded the musicians.

The musicians stood, bowed to us, and then, to my surprise, filed off the stage.

Octavia approached the edge of the stage and addressed us: “Good evening, ladies and gentlecolts. This concludes our performance. There will be much more dancing and merriment thanks to our favorite disc jockey DJ Pon-3.” She made a graceful gesture with a hoof towards the banquet tables. “Please, partake of the food and beverages and refresh yourselves until she is set up.”

Rarity and Thunderlane stepped from their positions in the dance lines and approached Coco and me.

“Octavia has such a lovely voice,” Rarity said. “There are rumors that her parents started her training in singing but when Octavia found her love for the cello she rebelled and took the path of an instrumentalist instead.” She smiled and nodded toward something behind me. “I believe we are in for an unexpected treat.”

I turned my head just as Royal Riff brought Liza and Cloudy to us.

“Stay with Miss Rarity for a moment,” Riff told them. “She helped make this surprise happen, and I’m sure she would like to be here to see your reaction. I’ll be right back.

“Yes, sir,” Cloudy said.

Liza seemed too nervous to respond and kept her eyes on the ground.

“Hello Liza,” I greeted.

“Hello, Mister Pin,” she said and looked up. Liza’s eyes widened when she saw Coco. “Miss Coco! I never thanked you for making my tie. Mister Pin told me it’s one of yours. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Coco said and smiled. “It looks good on you.”

“Are these the young ladies?” Octavia smiled as she approached Liza and Cloudy. “You are right, Riff, they are precious.”

“Cloudy, is this real or am I dreaming?” Liza whispered.

Cloudy laughed. “Yes, silly, it’s her,” she assured and gave Liza a soft poke in the ribs.

Octavia held out a hoof to Liza. “Hello, Miss Doolots. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

Liza, wide eyed, took Octavia’s hoof and gave it a shake. Afterwards she looked at her and Octavia’s touching hoofs as if she could not believe what was happening.

“Rarity mentioned to Twilight that you were fond of my music. The princess was kind enough to tell me. When she approached me about the possibility of us meeting, I took her offer in an instant.”

Cloudy shook her head. “Liza, breathe and give Miss Octavia her hoof back.”

“Sorry,” Liza said, after drawing in a quick breath. As she let go of Octavia’s hoof, she blurted, “Your music is amazing! Thanks for making my flowers grow!”

“Liza!” Cloudy groaned. She sighed and rubbed her forehead with a hoof.. “Pinch was right, we are going to have to work on you, aren’t we?”

Liza put a hoof over her mouth and blushed crimson.

Octavia giggled and gave Liza a bow. “Thank you, Miss Doolots. I am always happy to hear somepony enjoys my playing. Though, I am not sure how I helped your flowers grow.”

Cloudy bumped shoulders with Liza. “Tell her.”

“I played your music to my plants, and they grew more,” Liza said, after dropping her hoof from her mouth.

“I am flattered that you thought to use my music for such a purpose, and I am glad that your flowers found my music so invigorating.” Octavia paused and leaned down to be on eye level with Liza. “That is a very fetching tie.”

Liza’s blush returned. “Thank you. I picked it because it looked like yours.”

Octavia looked down to her own bow tie. “I see the resemblance. Though, I must say that yours has more flair.”

“Miss Coco made it,” Liza said and pointed a hoof towards Coco.

“I might have to speak with Miss Coco,” Octavia said and glanced toward Coco. “Beauty and I have been debating whether or not it is time to update our ties. If the new ones matched the quality of yours, I very well might.”

Liza gasped. “Please don’t! That would be horrible!”

“Liza,” Cloudy whispered, her ears pinned back in worry. “Being a little bolder is okay, but that’s too much!”

“She is fine,” Octavia assured Cloudy. She looked towards Liza with a curious expression. “I would like to hear her reasoning why we should keep them.”

“Everypony has been giving me compliments on my tie because ‘it looks like Octavia’s,” Liza told her. “If you change your tie, it wouldn’t be yours anymore.”

Octavia smiled. “I have had similar thoughts.” Octavia patted her bow tie with a hoof as if it were a pet. “I have become fond of this tie myself. I consider it good luck to wear it to each performance.” Octavia smiled and nodded to Liza. “You are right. It would not do to change my on stage persona now and to risk losing the luck this tie has brought me.”

Liza sighed in relief.

“Beauty, however, may still wish to change her tie, and I will be certain to mention Coco’s skill to her.” Octavia leaned in toward Liza, turned her head so she looked at the gentlecolts of her ensemble, who were talking with ponies near to us, and whispered, “I will make a strong recommendation of Miss Coco to Parish and Fredrick too. Their ties are lacking and somehow garish at the same time. They could do with replacing.”

Liza giggled and nodded.

Riff moved closer to Rarity and Thunderlane and told them something under his breath.

Rarity smiled and nodded. “We will be there. He will need as many friends nearby as he can get, and we will not let him down.”

Coco’s ears perked with concern. “Is everything okay?”

Rarity nodded. “Everything is fine, but our presence is being requested by Twilight and Cadance.”

“I’ve got one more pony to find,” Riff said. “If you would be so kind to take Cloudy and Liza with you, I’ll go fetch him.”

“We’ll head right there,” Rarity said. She turned to the fillies, Coco, and me, and told us, “We’re expected at the school’s festival section.”

Rarity set the pace, which was quicker than her usual walk.

“I’m glad he decided,” Thunderlane said to Rarity.

Rarity nodded. “So am I. I think things will be much better for him once he gets this over with.”

“Who is he, and what is going on?” I asked.

“I can’t say, or I would ruin the surprise.” Rarity glanced back at me and gave me a grin. “As to specifics of what will happen, we don’t know.”

“She’s enjoying this too much,” I muttered to Coco.

Coco nodded. “Intrigue and drama are in the air. The only thing that could spice things up more for her would be to have some romance thrown in too.”

Rarity’s smile grew. “I have a feeling there may be a bit of romance involved too, but we shall have to see.”

I chuckled. “She’s going to strain something, if she keeps grinning like that.”

Coco bumped shoulders with me. “Let her have her fun.”

When we got to the edge of where the students had set up their portion of the Celebration, I could hear Cheerilee and Amethyst herding the foals toward the stage they had constructed. Rarity led us toward a section with adult ponies who seemed baffled as to what was going on.

“There’s Berry and Barrel,” Thunderlane said and pointed to them with a wing. “I’ll take the fillies over to Miss Cheerillee and the other foals. We’ll meet up at the stage with everypony else.”

“We get our own Wonderbolt escort?!” Cloudy said, looking up to Thunderlane with a huge smile.

Thunderlane gave her his show pony’s grin. “For a couple of minutes, you sure do.”

Cloudy bumped shoulders with Liza. “I told you tonight would be great! You want his left or right side?”

“Left,” Liza said and moved to Thunderlane’s left side.

As Thunderlane led them away, he asked the fillies, “Wait a second, who’s escorting who here?”

“Looks to me you are escorting each other,” Rarity told him as she led us toward the milling adults.

“Either of you know what’s going on?” I asked Berry.

“I thought you might know,” Berry said.

“We don’t have a clue either,” I told her.

“You were right, they were right together,” Silent said to Sassy, as they approached us.

Rarity gave Silent a smirk. “Darling, you seem to have lost your attire. I didn’t realize the foals threw that rowdy of a party.”

Silent blushed and snorted. “The foals were very curious about bat pony physiology. Since I was the only member of the Lunar Guard not in full barding, Luna ordered me to take my uniform off right there in the open.”

“I wish I could have been there to see Sassy’s reaction,” Berry said through a fit of giggles.

“While I was taking off my uniformSassy’s and Vinyl comments got so brazen Cheerilee had to tell them to tone it down.”

“I was voicing my appreciation for a soldier out of uniforml,” Sassy said. “I kept it foal friendly.”

Silent gave Sassy a look. “Barely.”

“Do either of you know what is going on?” Berry asked. “Cheerilee and Amethyst have been rounding up the foals, including Piña and the others, but we don’t know why.” As she spoke, her eyes would dart toward the foals seated near the stage. “I haven’t seen Pinch or Star for a while either.”

“Pinch and Star are accounted for, don’t worry,” Silent told her.

Berry tensed. “Accounted for? What does that mean?”

“I can’t say, at the moment, but Twilight asked me to help gather the ponies that have been with Crystal Hoof today and take them to their spot by the stage.”

Berry looked to Barrel with concern.

“Berry, calm down, Pinch is fine,” Barrel assured her. “Have you ever known our girl to stir up trouble?”

“No,” Berry conceded, “but this whole thing feels weird.”

Silent led us closer to the stage and pointed out to Rarity where the other Elements and Spike were sitting. After Rarity left us to join her fellow saviors of Equestria, he led us to a spot just off the front of the stage. “Here you go.”

Muffins, Turner, and Thunderlane were in their spots when we walked up.

“Hello again, friends,” Turner greeted us. “Do any of you know what all the fuss is about?”

“We don’t,” Berry said. “Have either of you seen-” Berry went silent, as she looked towards the stage.

Princess Celestia led the Crystal Empire’s royal family, Twilight, Matilda, and Cranky to the front of the stage on the ground level. Celestia whispered something to them, and then Twilight flew up to stand on the stage itself in front of Vinyl’s half-disassembled equipment.

The gathered crowd grew quiet as Celestia turned to face us. “Good evening. Thank you all for putting together this wonderful festival and for coming to help us celebrate Twilight’s accomplishment of becoming the third princess of Equestria.”

We in the crowd applauded.

Twilight waved bashfully and stepped forward to stand at the edge of the stage. “Thank you all that you have done for me. I would not have been able to make it this far without all of you.” She glanced toward her fellow Elements. “Since I will address two groups tonight, I promised I would not give a long speech so we could get back to the fun and so nopony would miss their bedtime.”

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash cheered, gaining chuckles from several ponies in the crowd and from Twilight.

After she recovered Twilight continued: “However, I wanted to thank you all for making tonight so special for me, my family, and my friends.” She bowed. “I hope to serve you as a princess with the same care, joy, and work ethic you have put into making tonight so wonderful.”

We cheered her and gave her an enthusiastic ovation.

Twilight blushed and looked overcome by all the attention. She hopped from the stage, gliding the short distance to the ground, and then took her seat among the Elements.

“There’s Pinch,” Barrel said and pointed to where Pinch was sitting with the other foals. “Star’s right beside her.”

“Good eye,” I complemented.

Cadance, Shining Armor, who was holding Flurry, and Crystal Hoof stepped forward and turned toward the gathered foals.

“Hello, everypony,” Cadance said to them.

“Hello!” The foals greeted in return.

“My family and I wanted to thank you for making us and Crystal Hoof feel so welcome today,” Cadance told the foals.

“It was fun!” Noi said, and many other foals nodded in agreement.

Crystal Hoof stepped forward. “I want to thank you all for all the fun today too.” His ears fell and his tail tucked in shame. “I also wanted to confess that I have not been the best friend I could have been and ask you to forgive me.”

“What are you talking about?!” Dinky said, from her spot among the foals in the group's front. “You’ve been a great friend.” She put a hoof to one of her braids. “You braided my mane and everything.”

“But friends shouldn’t keep secrets from each other, and I’ve kept a big one from you.”

Dinky looked at him with disbelief and a touch of hurt. “You have? What is it?”

“It may be better if I show you,” Crystal Hoof said, his voice unsteady. “I’ll understand if you don’t want to be my friend anymore, after you see.”

“I would never do that,” Dinky said.

“No matter what?” Crystal Hoof asked.

“No matter what,” Dinky promised.

Crystal Hoof gave her a hopeful smile. “I’m glad.”

I, and several other ponies, gasped as Crystal Hoof disappeared in a puff of green fire. When the fire dissipated, a changeling stood before us.

Most of the crowd sat in silence for a few long seconds, except for a few crystal foals who cheered the impromptu performance. “You’re a great pony! You didn’t have to hide!” a crystal colt said. Several other crystal foals echoed his comment.

“Thank you,” Crystal Hoof said and gave a slight bow. “But I didn’t want to upset anypony who didn’t know me by walking around like this today. My real name is Thorax,” he told the foals. “Crystal Hoof is who I change into when meeting new ponies, so I don’t scare them. Princess Cadance and her family have been taking care of me, ever since I ran away from the colony. In return I’ve been telling them what I could about Changelings and helping take care of Princess Flurry.”

“That’s your secret?” Dinky asked, sounding underwhelmed.

Thorax blinked. “You don’t mind?”

“No!” Dinky gave a relieved giggle. She ran up to Crystal Hoof and hugged him. “You had me worried. You made it sound like you were secretly a bugbear or something.”

Thorax laughed and returned Dinky’s hug. “No monsters here. I’m just a cuddle bug.” He turned his head and nodded towards Flurry. “Ask her. She’ll vouch for me.”

Flurry giggled and reached out towards Thorax.

“Just a couple of more minutes and then you can go see him,” Shining told Flurry.

“Oh wow, there are other nice changelings!” Cloudy said.

I noticed Star’s ears snap up as he half turned toward Cloudy.

“What do you mean, ‘other nice changelings?’,” Thorax asked and tilted his head. “There are more here?”

“We don’t know,” Cloudy answered. “There was one at Matilda’s and Cranky’s wedding, but we haven’t seen him since then.”

“You don’t know what happened to him?” Thorax said, looking disappointed.

“No, we don’t,” a filly with a dark purple mane said. She looked towards the ground, seeming guilty. “We might have run him off.”

“Oh.” Thorax sat down. “What makes you think you ran him off?”

“He was little, like us,” Cloudy said. “He didn’t do anything mean, but we were scared of him and we didn’t sit by him or talk with him.” She seemed disappointed in herself. “We should have.”

Celestia sat down beside Thorax. “It would have been nice if you had. The changeling is Luna’s and my friend. He didn’t feel very welcome, and he could feel ponies feared him.”

“This is theater,” Coco whispered with certainty to us around her. “They’ve set the stage, the audience has been gathered, and the main actors are performing.”

The realization of the importance of our seating position struck me, and I knew she was right. “We’ve been minor characters in a production and didn’t even know it,” I whispered back.

“If Coco’s assessment is correct, and I’ll bet my best scarf it is, our part in this drama is not over,” Turner said.

I caught Thunderlane and Silent smiling out of the corner of my eye.

“We’re sorry,” Liza said. “But we’ve been told to be careful of changelings.”

“You should be cautious of us,” Thorax said. “Most of us are not nice, and our queen certainly isn’t.”

“Take heart, little one,” Luna said. “You did not cause the changeling to flee this place. He has lived among you with you none the wiser.”

“Oh sweet Celestia,” Berry said and put a hoof to her mouth. “That’s why Pinch is in the middle of this!”

Barrel looked to his wife. “What do you mean?”

“Cranky and Matilda have been keeping care of the changeling.” Luna gestured toward the pair of donkeys with a wing. “Sister and I realized their love was more than enough for a young changeling, when we visited them before their wedding ceremony. We asked them to take the little one in, they accepted without hesitation.”

Matilda and Cranky moved to stand beside Luna.

Cranky told the foals, “He’s a good kid, but he’s been lonely with just two old geezers to talk to.”

“He’ll only go out to play when I coax him to,” Matilda said. “We hoped you would give him another chance, and then he could feel more comfortable being around other ponies his own age.”

“Cheerilee and Twilight have taught us we should try to be friends with every creature,” Piña said. She looked around at her fellow Ponyville foals. “We can be his friends. Right?!”

“Right!” a chorus of foals answered.

“I’m very proud of all of you,” Twilight said. “I didn’t learn to be open to those different from me until I was much older than you.” She looked toward where the Elements were sitting and waved to Zecora, who waved back to her. “I nearly didn’t make a wonderful friend because of it.”

“There’s one problem,” Thorax said. “We don’t know where the other changeling is.”

“Yes we do,” Pinch declared for everypony to hear.

As if following a cue, Star stood. After taking a deep breath, he made his way from his spot. Excited whispers from the foals he passed followed him, as went to stand with Matilda and Cranky.

“He was with us all day,” I said in disbelief.

Barrel chuckled. “He sure was. I thought something was off with him, but I never could put my hoof on it.”

“His speech patterns,” Coco said and smiled. “If we had known to look at them as signals of a changeling rather than a cultural difference, we could have figured it out. He was trying to play the part but didn’t know the vernacular.”

“Little one, you need not tremble so,” Luna said to Star. “You are among friends.”

“You sure are!” Pinch stood. “I’m one!”

Rumble stood, followed in quick succession by Piña and Noi. “Count us too!” he declared.

Dinky waved to Star, “Me too!”

Liza, looking as nervous as Star, stood and addressed the surrounding foals: “We didn’t give him a chance last time because we were scaredy cats. The adults had to have known he was here since before the wedding, and they didn’t even say anything to us about him being dangerous or anything. We need to make it up to him.”

The foals of Ponyville stood together.

Tears went down Star’s cheeks.

Matilda hugged Star from the side and held him to her. “See, I told you they would accept you. They have made friends with dragons, griffins, zebras, sea serpents and all kinds of other creatures. Adding a changeling to that list won’t be a problem at all.”

Star looked toward the group of us who had been with him most of the day, seeming to need a response.

Muffins sprang to her hooves. “You better believe I’m your friend!”

Berry and Barrel stood.

“I wouldn’t have teased you, if I didn’t think you were my friend,” Sassy told Star as she stood. “I hope I can do it more often. You turn wonderful shades of red when I do.”

Tuner laughed and stood. “You can count me as a friend too.”

Coco, Silent, Thunderlane, and I stood together.

“I hope we can be friends too,” a voice from the adult section of the crowd said. “I never thought anypony would even think enough of me to make themselves look like me.” Smiling, Hunter stood and walked towards the stage. “Sorry for almost blowing your cover earlier.”

“Wow!” Noi said. “They look alike!”

“Except for he’s an earth pony and not a pegasus,” Piña pointed out.

Hunter approached Star and held out his hoof. “Hello, ‘cousin.’ It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hello to you too,” Star said and shook Hunter’s hoof. “Thanks for not being upset with me for copying you.”

Matilda let Star go and then stepped away from him. “Would you like to show everypony what you really look like?”

Star stiffened with apprehension.

“Kevin, you can do it, and you should do it,” Cranky said. “If not, it will bother you from now on.”

It took me a second to realize that ‘Kevin’ was Star.

“They were scared of me last time.” Star glanced at Thorax. “They were scared of him too, when he changed. I don’t want them to be afraid of me again.”

Cranky looked towards the foals. “Are they scared of him now?”

Star paused and looked towards the foals too. “No, they’re not.”

“They won’t be scared of you either, once they get some time to adjust,” Cranky said.

Star licked his lips with worry and nodded. He stood still for several seconds and looked towards a specific spot within the crowd of foals.

The foals and some adult ponies became restless.

“Excuse me. Sorry. Please let me through.” Pinch moved to the front of the foals and gave Star an encouraging smile. “You can do this.”

Star gave her a small, vulnerable smile in return. “Promise me this won’t make you look at me the way you did at the wedding. I don’t think I could stand it.”

Pinch gave Star a tender look and nodded. “I promise.”

Star vanished in a puff of green flames. When the flames cleared, a foal sized changeling stood where Star had been. He looked around with his ears back, and his tail tucked, looking exposed and vulnerable.

“He’s adorable!” a mare called out, causing a peel of laughter through the crowd and our group.

“That would be June Bug,” I said, still chuckling.

“Keratin!” Thorax said, overjoyed. Thorax grabbed Kevin up into a hug.

“Wait a minute!” Sassy raised her hoof. “What’s his real name? He was Star to us, but I’ve heard him called Kevin and Keratin too.”

“His name’s Kerut… Karato…” Cranky snorted in frustration. “I can’t say it, that’s why I call him Kevin.”

“But that’s a sea serpent name,” Noi pointed out.

“Some of my best friends are sea serpents,” Cranky informed her. “Their names aren’t tongue twisters either, so Kevin’s what I call him.”

“What would you like everypony to call you?” Twilight asked the younger of the changelings.

“Kevin is great,” he responded, which made Cranky smile. “That way I don’t have a changeling name.”

One of Celestia’s eyebrows rose.

Thorax put Kevin back on his hooves. “How did you end up here?”

“The Lunar Guards found him disguised as a foal curled up in a ‘borrowed’ blanket in an alleyway one night in Canterlot,” Celestia said. “They brought him to Luna, who then consulted with me about what we should do to help him.”

Thorax looked toward Celestia. “Have you found any more changelings around his age? There were twenty of them.”

“All of them have been found,” Celestia assured him.

“Let us discuss such matters at another time,” Luna said and gave a meaningful glance towards the foals. “Tonight should be festive and not troubled by such topics.”

“True,” Thorax said. He looked back to Celestia with concern. “Please tell me, though, are they all okay?”

Celestia put a hoof on Thorax’s shoulder. “They are healthy, unharmed, and are being taken care of by guardians in the same manner Kevin has been.”

“Thank you,” Thorax said, with tears in his eyes. “We hadn’t heard from them in so long, I thought...”

“Don’t!” Dinky said, as she ducked under Celestia’s foreleg and hugged Thorax. “No more crying on Twilight’s special night. Kevin crying was bad enough. You can’t cry too.”

Flurry fussed, and Shining let her fly to Thorax.

Thorax caught and cradled Flurry against his chest with one foreleg while returning Dinky’s hug with his other.

“I believe now is a good time for those of us who will be staying for the evening’s dance to head toward the main stage,” Cheerille said. “Everypony else, I will look forward to seeing you when school starts again.”

With the chaos of the foals moving toward the main stage or to their parents, the intensity in the air dissipated and the jovial feeling that had been present all day returned.

“Dinky!” Muffins said and marched towards her daughter. “Let Thorax go!”

“Bits to cupcakes as soon as Dinky lets him go, Muffins will hug him,” Turner said and followed his wife.

“I won’t take you up that one,” I called after him. “You’re sure to win.”

Piña and her training partners ran up to Berry. “Sis! We lost Pinch and Kevin!”

Silent chuckled. “Notice a certain princess missing too?”

“Luna!” Rumble said, after he looked around. “She’s gone!”

“That’s rather impressive,” Rarity said. “Trixie could learn a thing or two from her.”

“She foalnapped my niece!” Piña said with vexation. “I need to talk to her!”

“After I talk to her and Kevin both,” Berry said.

“Judging by Princess Cadance’s look, you two might have to get in line,” Thunderlane said.

Cadance, who was talking in a low voice to Celestia, glanced around the crowd, her feathers half fluffed in agitation.

Celestia wore her diplomat’s smile, but her eyes hinted she was enjoying the fuss.

“Since we can’t really do much here, why don’t we head back to the main stage?” I asked.

Berry looked at me as if I was crazy. “We’re supposed to go dance after all this?!”

I shrugged. “What else can we do? Cadance, Celestia, and Thorax are in a mob of foals, so we can’t talk to them. Rarity is with Twilight and the other Elements in the middle of a crowd too. Luna, Pinch, and Kevin have disappeared so there’s not much we can do here on any front.”

Berry narrowed her eyes at me, but she had a slight grin that ruined the menacing effect. “You’re enjoying that Luna took them, aren’t you?”

“I think that was very kind on her part. From what I’ve seen today, Pinch is Kevin’s closest friend. Luna must have borrowed her too to help him calm down.”

“That she’s the former Princess of Love surely has nothing to do with it,” Sassy said.

I grinned. “Not a thing, I’m sure.”

Cranky and Matilda walked up to our group.

“Good evening,” Matilda greeted us. “We wanted to thank you for helping take care of Kevin today.”

“It was fun,” Coco said.

“He’s too quiet for a kid,” Cranky said. “I’m surprised you got him to open up.”

“He’s been starved for interaction with other ponies his age,” Matilda said. “I think he’s so quiet around us because we're older.”

“No, dear, he’s quiet around me because I’m old and grouchy.” Cranky’s ears fell a little. “He’ll talk to you.”

Matilda kissed Cranky’s cheek. “He likes you too. Think about it. He listened to you when you told him he needed to show everpony what he really looked like. If he didn’t like and respect you, you wouldn’t have been able to reach him like you did.”

“True.” Cranky grunted and shook his head. “Enough of this mushy stuff, Princess Twilight asked us to tell you we all should enjoy the rest of the night, and that we’ll have a post Celebration meeting tomorrow morning at ten at the castle.”

There was a soft musical sound and a slight push of air from behind us as Princess Luna and the absentee foals appeared.

“Thank you, Princess!” Pinch said.

“You are quite welcome,” Luna responded. “Kevin looked like he would have been overwhelmed had I not intervened.”

“I would have been,” Kevin said. He bowed to her. “Thank you for the rescue.”

Luna gave him a filly’s grin “Think nothing of it. I have not spirited away anypony in ages. It was most fun.”

“There you are!” Matilda said and held out her forelegs to Kevin. “You had me worried.”

Kevin, shifting his appearance to again look like one of Hunter’s relatives, trotted to Matilda and gave her a hug. “Sorry, Aunt Matilda.”

Kevin let go of her and hugged Cranky. “Thanks for helping me. I was freezing up, and you snapped me out of it.”

Cranky, looking confused as to what to do, patted Kevin on the shoulder. “No problem, kid.”

“Pinch,” I said, in a mock whisper.

“What?” she answered back.

“You’re in for it,” I said and pointed a hoof towards Berry and Piña, who were giving Pinch matching displeased looks.

“Crab apples,” Pinch muttered and put on a weak smile. “How bad do you think this is going to get?”

“I would guess about as bad as Berry, Muffins, Rarity, and Sassy talking to me and Coco.”

“Oh, that bad,” Pinch said and winced.

“Pinch has served Equestria well this day,” Luna said. “We decree that she and Kevin are to be granted a reprieve as to discussing the details of their fellowship until the meeting tomorrow.”

“Luna!” Cadance called, as she led a class-sized group of foals our way. “You cheated!”

“I do not recall being in a contest with anypony,” Luna said and smiled. “I also do not recall there being any rules of engagement.”

“You stole them right from under our noses!” Cadance said.

“I take umbrage at your accusation,” Luna said. “They needed a moment to gather themselves, so I granted them a reprieve. They are now with those that care for them. Therefore, I cannot have stolen them.”

“Whatever you did was wicked!” a colt with a Trottingham accent said. He nudged the colt standing beside him. “Did you see what she did? They sank into their shadows and disappeared!”

“Thank you, Pip,” Luna said and nodded towards the colt. “That spell has long been one of my favorites. It pleases me you appreciate it.” Luna looked at the gathered foals and smiled. “Young ones, who among you wants to dance till our elders carry us away or our hooves support us no more?!”

Every foal raised a hoof.

“Then we shall!” As she turned, Luna gave an elegant gesture with her wings and commanded, “Follow me!”

The foals cheered and followed their Princess of the Night with adoration.

Cadance stood dumbfounded as Luna led the foals away. “What just happened?”

“She outplayed you,” Celestia said, as she strode by. “Come on Cadance, or do I get the first dance with Shining?”

“Celestia!” Cadance said and trotted after the elder princess.

Chapter 25

“Good morning, Brass,” Coco greeted as we approached the castle’s doors.

“Good morning, Miss Coco,” Brass returned and gave her a slight bow. “To you too, Pin.”

“Good morning,” I said. “May we pass?”

“Of course,” Brass said and opened one of the castle’s doors for us. “The meeting is in the same room as yesterday.”

“Thank you.”

Coco and I entered the castle and took our needed turn. We went a few steps down the hall and heard a commotion from the meeting room.

Coco’s ears perked. “Who is that? They sound tickled.”

“That sounds like Celestia,” I said, the princess’ full laugh bringing a smile to my face.

As we approached the door, I could make out voices.

“What do you mean we can’t ask them questions yet?!” Cadance asked.

“My decree was clear,” Luna said with authority. “Their bond with each other, whatever it may be, is not to be discussed until the meeting. Since the meeting has not begun, there shall be no inquiries on the matter.”

When we got to the door, I eased my head around the doorframe. The same group of Ponyville ponies, minus Pinch, from the previous morning was in the room along with the additions of Noi, Kevin, Spike, Starlight, and Thorax. The room, while not crowded, was cozy with all the ponies in it.

Cadance, her plumage puffed in frustration, sat on one side of Celestia and fumed at Luna.

Luna, looking smug, sitting on Celestia’s other side, held herself to her full height and regarded Cadance with a goading smile.

“Pin! Coco!” Rarity waved at us to come into the room as if glad for the distraction. “Please, join us.”

“Now there are but two who are absent,” Luna said.

“Of course they had to be the last ones too,” Cadance said and pouted. “We could have talked with them instead.”

As Coco and I took our seats, Rarity told Cadance, “I thought you might like to know that Pin described the fine characteristics of crystal ewe wool to us the other day.”

“That’s wonderful!” Cadance’s mood returned to its typical cheerfulness. “It’s great to hear that our wool is making inroads into other markets.”

Rarity nodded. “He said the wool makes wonderful blankets. That puts me in the mind of warmer clothing, but I will have to make such determinations after I inspect some for myself.”

Cadance gave Rarity a curious look. “You haven’t examined the wool yourself?”

“I haven’t had the opportunity to see the blanket he bought or any of the others the others offered at the spa,” Rarity informed the princess and cut her eyes in my direction. “Pin gave the blanket to Coco as one of gifts he gave her while completing their courtship the night before last.”

Cadance turned her attention toward Coco and me. “Really?” She leaned forward and smiled. “What else did you get her?”

Blushing from the attention I was getting from everypony, I started to reply, but was interrupted by ponies entering the room.

“I told you we’d make it,” Sassy said, as she led Silent into the room. “We had two minutes to spare. Look, Princess Twilight isn’t even in the room yet.”

“Thank the Sisters,” I whispered without thinking.

“We had no influence on the timing of their arrival I assure you,” Celestia said, regarding me with a good-humored smirk.

“It would seem she found you,” Luna said to Silent.

“He was where you said he would be.” Sassy patted Silent’s armored back as if comforting him. “I had to rescue him from another group of curious foals, though.”

“It fascinates me that foals are inquisitive as to my guards while many adults seem put off by them, but that is a topic for another time.” Luna asked Sassy, “Did Silent meet your expectations as an escort last night?”

“He was wonderful,” Sassy said.

“You have to give more details than that,” Cadance insisted.

“I would, but we don’t have time. I’ll sum up by saying he was as charming and fun as he was the other night in Canterlot.” Sassy poked Silent in the ribs to no effect. “If he weren’t in his barding, I’d hug him again.”

Silent smiled. “I did my best to make the evening special.”

“You succeeded,” Sassy told him and touched his cheek with a hoof. “I didn’t want to give you back.”

“He may return to you, when he has completed his duties for the day,” Luna said.

“Did you get a wing hug from him?” Noi asked.

Sassy grinned and nodded to the filly. “Yes I did. It was a very nice one too.”

A hum filed the room. With a pop and a flash of light, Twilight, Cheerilee, Matilda, Pinch, Cranky, and Kevin appeared close to where the princesses were sitting.

“Did we make it?!” Twilight asked Celestia.

“With seconds to spare,” Celestia told Twilight.

“Whew!” Twilight said, letting out a relieved breath. “Everypony take your seats, please.”

“Give them a second, Twilight,” Amethyst said, and put a steadying hoof on Cranky’s shoulder. “They still need to get their hooves under them.”

“Not doing that again,” Cranky declared and shook his head.

Matilda nodded. “I agree. That is not at all what I thought teleportation would feel like.”

Cheerilee leaned on Amethyst for support. “Count me out too.”

Kevin moved to Pinch, who seemed in as bad a shape as Barrel had been after being teleported the other day, and braced her with his hooves. “You okay?”

Pinch gave him a careful, slow nod. “I will be once I know which way is up.”

“Everypony is here,” Piña said. “Can we ask now?”

“The meeting has yet to begin,” Luna pointed out. “Silent, please shut the door.”

“Yes, Princess,” he responded and moved to shut the door.

“So how did your pre-meeting meeting go?” Celestia asked Twilight.

“It went very well. I hope this one is just as productive.” Twilight glanced around the room. “We’re all here, everypony is in their seats, it’s ten o’clock, so let the meeting begin!”

“She enjoys this kind of affair far too much,” Luna commented to Celestia in a stage whisper.

Noi raised her hoof a fraction of a second faster than Piña.

“Yes, Noi,” Twilight said with a giggle, as Piña glared at Noi.

“Will Kevin be in school with us now?” Noi asked.

“That’s an unsettled issue,” Cheerillee said. “Because of his… unconventional education, he’s already past the levels I am certified to teach. We tested him when he first came to town to see if he would need any remedial lessons. There were some gaps in his knowledge, but Amethyst, Matilda, and Cranky have tutored him in those areas. Thanks to them, he’s on par with graduates from our school.”

“Whoa!” Dinky looked at Kevin with wide eyes. “So he’s a genius.”

“I’m not a genius. I had to learn how to absorb information fast back at the… where I came from,” Kevin said. He gave Dinky a sad smile. “To be honest, I’m a failure. Despite all the cramming I did and the training I got about survival and how to blend in with ponies, I still couldn’t make it on my own.”

“You’re wrong,” Thorax told Kevin in a comforting tone. “You were meant to fail and didn’t. Reaching Equestria’s capital city on your own shows how good you are.”

Dinky, looking uncertain, raised her hoof. “Thorax, what happened with Kevin and the others? Why are they here and not at the hive?”

Thorax glanced at the Princesses as if asking for permission to speak.

“Let it be told,” Luna said. “Though I did not want it discussed in front of the younger foals last night, ponies must know how calculating and ruthless your queen can be.”

Thorax nodded and turned back to Dinky. “Our colony is suffering from starvation. When we tried to take Canterlot, we used up most of our already low stores of love. After we failed, things got even more desperate. To reduce the number of changelings we would need to collect love for Chrysalis ordered that the least aggressive nymphs in the hive be rushed training to act as infiltrators. When their crash courses were finished, Chrysalis ordered them to gather love for the hive and bring it back. She told them that whatever fate they faced out in the world would be far more merciful than what she would do to them if they failed.”

Muffins pulled Dinky and Amethyst to her sides with her wings. “How could she do that to foals?”

“From her perspective, it was a win-win situation,” Thorax said. “She either got a few new infiltrators while eliminating those she thought would be a burden to the hive, or they all failed and she had fewer mouths to feed while setting an example for the rest of the hive.”

“Where are the others?” Rumble asked, after raising his hoof.

“They are safe,” Celestia assured. “Their locations are being kept secret to protect them and those taking care of them. Even we princesses do not know the locations of all of them. I believe Kevin is the only one who all four of us know where he is.”

“He’s home,” Cranky said.

We Ponyville ponies voiced our approval of Cranky’s words.

“So, if he won’t be at school, what is he going to be doing?” Piña asked.

“If he wants, he’ll be helping me run the castle library, while Twilight does her princess stuff,” Spike said. “What he doesn’t know about being an Equestrian pony yet I can teach him.”

“That sounds great,” Kevin said. “I’ll be glad to help, but I’m not sure how good of a pony you could ever make me.”

Celestia raised her hoof in a motion that demanded attention. “We need to discuss something. I was told by Thorax you said changelings are ‘horrible emotional parasites’ yesterday.”

“I did say that, Princess,” Kevin affirmed.

Celestia’s expression became troubled. “Do you consider yourself one too?”

Kevin nodded. “Yes, Princess, I try not to act like one, but I’m still a monster.”

Spike laughed. “Dude, I’ve seen monsters. You are not a monster. Yeah, you’re a changeling like Chrysalis, but beyond that you and Thorax are nothing like her.”

“It bothers me that you think yourself a monster. No pony should think so of themselves.” Celestia turned to us in the room. “Do any of you consider Kevin a monster? If you think so, raise your hoof.”

No pony moved.

“Please drop your disguise,” Cadance said to Thorax.

Thorax nodded, was obscured by green fire for a second, and then reappeared in his natural form.

“Thorax looks different that most ponies in Equestria, but my family has taken him in and now he is family.” Cadance put a foreleg around Thorax’s shoulders and pulled him to her side in a hug. “You’ve seen how Flurry adores him, and she has seen him as he is right now more often than when he’s in his other forms.”

“Let us cut to the quick of this matter,” Luna said. “Who among you would take Kevin into your home if the need were to arise?”

Without hesitation, I raised my hoof. I paused, my hoof three-quarters in the air, and looked to Coco.

Coco, grinning, took my hoof with hers and raised it high.

Not one donkey, dragon, or pony failed to raise a hoof.

Kevin seemed shocked as he looked around at us.

“Changelings are not parasitic by nature,” Twilight said. “By definition a parasite has to harm their host. From what I can tell, changelings absorbing love doesn’t harm ponies. Unless taken to extreme measures, I should say, but that’s true for any form of magic.”

Celestia looked around the room and asked, “Have any of you noticed any adverse effects from being around Kevin or Thorax?”

I glanced at Coco, who shook her head.

“Me either,” I said.

Coco declared to all in the room, “None here!”

“Nope, were all fine,” Turner said.

“None,” Rarity said with a smile and leaned against Thunderlane.

“Nothing here either,” Barrel said.

Muffins raised her hoof. “I want to hug him until he feels better. Does that count?”

Twilight laughed. “I don’t think so, Muffins.”

“Matilda and I are fine,” Cranky assured Kevin. “With all the time you’ve spent with us, if something bad was going to happen it would have by now.”

“Chrysalis fed off Shining’s love for days, and he didn’t even notice,” Cadance told Kevin. “When he had headaches, they were because of her mind control magic not her feeding on his love.”

“Pinch, now would be an excellent time to talk to Kevin,” Cheerilee suggested.

Pinch swallowed and nodded. “Yes, Miss Cheerilee.”

Kevin turned to face Pinch. “What do you need to talk to me about?”

“It’s something I should have done before now,” Pinch told him. “I want to apologize how I acted at the wedding.”

Kevin shook his head. “You don’t have to apologize for anything.”

“Yes I do,” Pinch insisted. “Twilight had been helping me study emotions and changelings and had told me a lot about Thorax before the wedding. When you were sitting out in the open I should have known not to be afraid.” Pinch made a gesture to Kevin as if she wanted him to let go of something. “Please, let me see you again.”

Kevin gave a slow nod and, with a flash of green fire, dropped his disguise.

Pinch studied Kevin for a long moment. “I feel ashamed of myself. I’m sure you felt I was scared of you then.”

A smile came to Kevin’s face. “You don’t have to feel bad at all. I couldn’t tell what you were thinking, but I knew you weren’t reacting to me like the other foals. You had some fear, but you had curiosity, concern, comforting and protective impulses towards me, and some guilt too. You separated yourself from the other foals and came the closest to me. I could tell you wanted to come closer, maybe even sit with me, but another part of you wanted to remain close to your friends.”

“That’s pretty much what I was feeling,” Pinch said. Her ears folded in shame. “I should have sat by you and broken the ice. You might not have felt so unwelcome, if I had.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself. I could have moved to sit by you and I didn’t.” Kevin blushed. “I should tell you something too. If it had been any other filly had asked me to come to the Celebration yesterday, I don’t think I could have made it out the door. Because of what you did and felt during the wedding, I could. Thank you.”

“Tell him about your hypothesis,” Twilight told Pinch. “I’d like to get his and Thorax’s thoughts on it.”

Pinch looked shocked. “But it’s not ready yet! I haven’t written it out or anything!”

“Tell me, please,” Kevin said and gave Pinch a supportive smile. “I’d like to hear it.”

“I’m not sure if I can explain it,” Pinch said, looking nervous. “I’m not sure it even makes sense.”

“It did to me, when you told us about it earlier,” Cheerilee said. “Though, you need to refine how you explain it. We should be able to help with that.” She looked to the younger ponies in the room and made a gesture for them to approach. “Children, please come to the front and sit with Pinch and Kevin.”

The foals glanced at each other and then did as Cheerillee asked.

Cheerille moved to sit in front of the foals. “What have we gone over in class about teaching others something new?”

Rumble raised his hoof. “You have to understand it yourself and then break it down into its smallest parts for whoever you are teaching and build up from there.”

“Right!” Cheerillee said. “Pinch, what is the central idea behind your theory regarding the tribes of ponies?”

“That each tribe of pony has something special to provide to the other tribes,” Pinch answered.

Cadance hummed an intrigued note. “So you believe that changelings are another tribe?”

Pinch nodded.

“But we’re so different,” Kevin said.

“Not really,” Pinch said. “Look at bat ponies,” she said and pointed towards Silent. “They are ‘different’, but you can’t say they’re that different from other ponies.”

“What purpose do you attribute to my bat ponies the pegasi could not accomplish?” Luna asked.

“They take care of us in the night,” Pinch said. She seemed to gain some confidence as she explained: “That’s why they have different characteristics than day time ponies. They have eyes, wings, and ears that boost their senses for protecting us at night.”

“What purpose do you see the changelings serving?” Cheerilee asked.

“Making sure ponies are emotionally healthy and have friendly relationships with others,” Pinch said, some of her uncertainty seeming to return.

“Interesting,” Celestia said.

Though she maintained a neutral expression, there was a note of approval in Celestia’s voice.

“What led you to have such an idea, Pinch?” Cheerilee asked.

“Most of the tribes focus on something particular to their natural abilities. Earth ponies are strong, can build all kinds of things, and provide everypony with food. Unicorns use magic to protect us from magical creatures and wild magic that gets loose from places like the Everfree Forest and the Flame Geyser Swamp. Pegasi protect us from the air and manage the weather and seasons and bat ponies guard us at night.” Pinch looked more uncertain of herself as she spoke. “But nopony takes care of our emotions and feelings.”

“Is that needed?” Cheerilee asked in a leading way.

“I don’t know,” Pinch said in a near whisper.

“You know you’re right,” Kevin said. “You’re getting nervous, but deep down you feel you’re right.”

Pinch turned to him. “But I don’t have any evidence.”

“When you were talking with us in the pre-meeting meeting, it sounded to me you might be on the right path to find some.” Cheerilee turned to Piña. “Piña, what major event allowed for the founding of Equestria?”

“The three tribes’ defeat of the windigos,” Piña answered.

Cheerillee looked at Noi. “Noi, what caused ponies to need to defeat the windigos to begin with?”

“The distrust and fighting between the three tribes,” Noi said as if she had gained an insight.

“The tribes needed a Thorax!” Dinky exclaimed. “They needed somepony who could tell them they were getting upset at each other over nothing and everypony just wanted to be happy and safe!”

Kevin and Thorax’s eyes went to Luna.

“Such council could have served Equestria well on more than one occasion,” Luna said in a shaken tone as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Dinky got to her hooves.

“Dinky, what are you doing?!” Amethyst asked through her teeth, as Dinky sprinted from the other foals.

As Dinky ran towards where the princesses were seated, Celestia’s horn lit and Silent gave a surprised grunt.

“It could have helped a foolish pony not allow the Nightmares to stir her hubris and petty jealous thoughts into a maelstrom such they could overthrow her-” Luna paused and looked down at the filly hugging with surprise.

“Dinky!” Muffins said in a frightened whisper and hid her mouth behind her hooves.

“Thank you, little one,” Luna said and embraced Dinky. “Such a mawkish display is unbecoming a ruler of Equestria.”

“We are not made of stone, Luna,” Celestia said and hugged Luna around her shoulders. “Sometimes it is best to let things out, regardless of where we are.”

Noi kidded, “If Dinky paired up with a changeling who’d detect ponies feeling down for her, there wouldn’t be a sad pony anywhere.”

“She does pretty good taking care of sad ponies on her own,” Thorax said. He turned to Pinch and smiled. “Thanks for telling us your theory. It’s given me a lot to think about.”

Pinch smiled. “I’m glad.”

“Kevin,” Cheerilee said, with a slight smile. “What do you think?”

Giving no reaction, Kevin continued to stare at Pinch.

Rumble poked Kevin on the shoulder. “You okay in there?”

Kevin started at Rumbles prod. “Sorry!” He turned to Cheerilee and told her, “It would make sense. I hope she’s right. The idea is already helping me feel better about being a changeling.”

Pinch’s ears snapped up. “Speaking of helping, would you like to help Twilight, Starlight, and me in our research?”

“Sure!” Kevin’s eyes regained their spark. “We can be research partners.”

Sassy teased, “Is that anything like a ‘training partner’?”

“Hey!” Piña and Rumble protested together, while Noi laughed.

“Maybe it could become something like that, someday,” Kevin said and gave Pinch a bashful smile.

“I think you’re already there,” Noi said with a giggle.

Pinch blushed. “Noi!”

“Wait a minute!” Piña said and gave Kevin a suspicious aunt’s look. “Why are you so happy about getting in on this research stuff? You’ve only met Pinch twice; once at the wedding and yesterday.”

“Well, we’ve sort of only met those two times,” Kevin said with a guilty grin. “You and I have met before too. You didn’t know it, though.”

“That’s what’s been happening with all the foals coming and then disappearing!” Dinky let go of Luna, turned, and pointed an accusatory hoof at Kevin. “I didn’t see Sis as a filly either! It was you!”

“It was me,” Kevin confessed. “I try to look like somepony that wouldn’t be around, but that day the colt I was mimicking showed up and I had to change forms before anypony noticed.”

“You can change into a filly?!” Piña asked.

Kevin seemed confused by her question, and his ears tilted at odd angles. “Of course I can. Why couldn’t I?”

“So when you’re a filly...” Pinch trailed off and blushed. “Are you a filly filly, or is it part of your magic?”

“I’m a full filly when I change,” Kevin told Pinch, blushing and not making eye contact with her. “Changelings have both sets of parts, but only one set is functional at a time depending on the form we take.”

“Then are you a boy or a girl?” Rumble asked.

“Changelings are both, sort of,” Kevin said. “When I hatched I was a boy. Since my unchanged form has male... parts, they are the ones that work for...” He glanced towards Thorax, sending a silent plea.

“Making little changelings,” Thorax finished for Kevin. “Why don’t you show them?”

Kevin tucked his tail between his legs. “I can’t show them!”

“Not like that,” Thorax said, sounding as if he was trying to stay calm as chuckles and giggles broke out around the room. “Change into a filly, is what I meant.”

“Oh, I can do that.” Green flames spurted from Kevin. When the flames died out, Kevin appeared as a filly aged copy of Amethyst.

“Dear, no, stay here,” Turner said and shifted to put his foreleg around Muffin’s shoulders. “It’s not her.”

“But he looks just like my little girl,” Muffins said in a tone that held tinges of happiness and bittersweet yearning.

Dinky approached Kevin while studying him from his hooves to his ear tips. “Is this what you looked like, Sis?”

“It’s really, really close if it isn’t.” Amethyst stared at her doppelganger. “Now I know what Hunter was feeling when he saw you. It’s kinda weird in a way.”

“If this bothers you I-” Kevin stopped as Dinky touched his shoulder with a hoof. “Dinky, are you okay?”

Dinky gave Kevin a tortured smile. “I always wondered what it would be like if Sis were my age.” Dinky dropped her eyes and took her hoof from Kevin’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” She sniffed. “You have to be feeling what I’m feeling. It can’t be good for you.”

“Sis!” Amethyst walked over and took Dinky into a hug. “Am I that bad of a big sister?”

“No! That’s not it at all!” Dinky hugged Amethyst and nuzzled against her chest. “It’s just you’ve always been bigger, you’ve had different friends, you’ve had different things you needed to do.” She looked up at Amethyst and smiled. “But sometimes I’ve wanted you to be closer in age to me like Piña and Pinch are. It looks like so much fun, and they’re so close and-” She sniffed. “It doesn’t even make sense. You’re a great sister just like you are.”

Amethyst leaned down and touched her horn to Dinky’s. “I think I understand. There have been times I wanted to shrink down to your size so we could play and run around together too.”

Twilight caught Starlight’s attention with a slight motion of a wing and winked.

Starlight nodded and smiled. “Dinky, close your eyes and let go of Amethyst for a moment.”

“Okay,” Dinky said, sounding confused. She let go of Amethyst and closed her eyes.

Amethyst looked towards Starlight with a raised eyebrow.

Starlight mouthed several words to Amethyst and made a shrinking motion with her hooves.

Amethyst grinned and nodded.

A bright ball of magic surrounded Amethyst, as Starlight lit her horn. There was an electric crackle and the ball of magic faded.

Muffins gasped. “Amethyst?!”

“Whoa!” Rumble said. “That’s amazing!”

I stared at the now filly sized Amethyst. “That’s a very hard spell to weave,” I whispered in admiration.

“Dinky, you can open your eyes now,” Starlight said, sounding drained.

Dinky opened her eyes and gasped at Amethyst.

“Hello Sis,” Amethyst said, her voice as it was when she was a filly.

Dinky glanced toward Kevin and then towards her sister. “It’s really you?!”

“It’s me,” Amethyst said grinning. “Starlight cast- umph!”

Dinky tackled Amethyst to the floor in a hug. “I can’t believe it! It’s you!”

“She’ll be like this for about ten hours,” Starlight said, still sounding winded. “When the spell wears off, she’ll be back to normal. I can’t cast that spell all too often, but since you made it so Sunburst and I could braid each other's manes I wanted to return the favor and give you a surprise too.”

“Ammy?” Muffins said, taking slow steps toward her daughters.

“It’s me, Mom,” Amethyst said, as she and Dinky got back on their hooves and smiled. “It’s weird looking up at you like this again.” She smiled nostalgically. “There’s part of me that missed it, though.”

Muffins pulled Amethyst and Dinky into a full wing hug. “My girls.”

Turner stepped towards the princesses and bowed. “Princesses, may we depart the meeting early? I would like my family to enjoy every second of this gift.”

“Of course you may,” Celestia said. “Have fun!”

Amethyst wiggled and poked her head over Muffin’s wing. “Before we go, I want to know why you chose me to change into.”

Kevin blushed. “It’s part of our infiltrator training to pick a pony that gets our attention so we don’t have to think about changing into them.”

“Wait, ‘gets our attention,’ you mean like you pick out a pony because of how they look?” Noi asked with a grin.

“That’s just one part of it!” Kevin all but squeaked as Pinch looked at him in an amused way. “When I first saw her helping Cheerilee with things around the school, I noticed Amethyst was disciplined with students while still being caring and funny. After watching her and Miss Cheerilee for a bit, I decided she would be the pony I would copy if I needed to.”

“You have a crush on my sister?!” Dinky asked, her voice muffled by Muffin’s wing.

“It’s not like that.” Kevin tilted his head and hummed a note. “I’m not sure if I can explain it. It’s like finding a new flavor you like and it sticking with you. I felt how she cared for her students, how they felt about her, and how much she and Cheer-”

Pinch put a hoof over Kevin’s mouth and glanced toward Cheerilee.

“We do care for our students and value the opportunities we have to work together.” Cheerilee smiled at Kevin. “I have to admit, it feels odd to be talking about her while there are two of her in the room.”

“I’ll change,” Kevin said, and with a spurt of green fire, he returned to his disguise as an earth pony Star Hunter.

“I want you to know I take your description of what you and the other ponies around me felt about me as quite a compliment.” After Muffin released her, Amethyst walked towards Kevin with a purpose. “Thank you.”

Kevin’s blushed. “I was just telling what I felt.”

Pinch stiffened as Amethyst hugged Kevin and whispered something in his ear.

Kevin smiled and nodded. “I do, and I promise I will.”

Amythest smiled. “Good.” She held on to Kevin, winked at Pinch, and then gave a series of subtle signals using her ears and her tail.

Noi giggled and then muffled herself with a hoof. She turned her head and whispered something to Piña and then to Rumble.

Making as little noise as they could, the three of them got to their hooves, and Piña motioned for Dinky to move to a spot with rapid flicks of an ear.

“Miss Amethyst I like the hug, but-”

Amethyst loosened her hold on Kevin, leaned back, and touched his nose with a hoof. “Call me Ammy while I’m like this.”

Kevin looked at the hoof touching his nose. “Okay, Am-me,” he responded. He glanced around at the foals, who had surrounded him and were smiling with mischievous expressions. “What’s going on?”

“There is a special rite Ponyville foals use to signify when somepony is accepted as one of us,” Amethyst explained.

Kevin glanced towards Cheerilee, who put on an exaggerated serious expression and nodded.

“It’s true,” Cheerilee confirmed. “I’ve seen it done several times.”

“What is it?” he asked Amethyst.

Amethyst grinned, grabbed hold of Kevin, and declared, “Pony pile!”

The other foals, cheering and giggling, lunged together.

“Aaaaugh!” Kevin yelled, as the foals tackled him to the floor and piled on top of him. His laughter joined the other foals’ as they hugged and tickled him.

“You are now an official foal of Ponyville,” Twilight said with a grin.

I smiled, remembering my own ‘acceptance ritual’.

“All right, we got him enough,” Amethyst declared and removed herself from the pile. “Why don’t you all come with us too? I’d like to play with all of you for a bit.”

“That sounds great,” Noi said as she stood and helped Piña to her hooves.

Amethyst said, “I’ll want some time with me and Sis alone too later, though,” as she helped Dinky up.

“Welcome to our crazy group,” Rumble said, patted Kevin on the shoulder, and then rolled off him. “We understand,” he told Amethyst, getting to his hooves.

After all the foals got back up, Amethyst declared, “Let’s go!” and waved for the other foals to follow her.

“Wait, you need an adult with you!” Turner said, grinning, as the foals raced out of the room.

Muffins smiled as jubilant as I had ever seen her. “With Amethyst in charge, they’ll need two!” She bumped shoulders with Turner, and the two of them went after the rambunctious herd of foals.

“You made them all very happy,” Thorax said to Starlight. “I hope the spell didn’t take too much out of you.”

Starlight shook her head. “I’m fine. I’ve been using my magic a lot to help get everything ready for the Celebration. It must have worn me out more than I thought.”

“You’ve been practicing your magic Sun Burst a lot too, since we arrived,” Cadance said with knowing grin.

Starlight blushed. “He brought a lot of interesting spells from the Empire I wanted to try.”

“Silent, I am flabbergasted at your lack of decorum for our guests.” Luna turned a critical eye towards Silent. “They should not have had to open the door for themselves.”

“Forgive me, Princess, but I could not move to open the door for them,” Silent said, giving Celestia a look as the eldest princess giggled. “I believe Princess Celestia has stuck my hooves to the floor.”

“So that was the nature of your spell, Sister.” Luna turned to Celestia. “Why did you feel compelled to enchant my guard’s hooves so?”

“He would have intercepted Dinky before she got to you, and you needed the hug.” Celestia’s horn glowed and her magic glowed around Silent’s hooves. “There,” she declared as her magic faded out. “He is free.”

Silent looked down to his hooves, and raised each one as checking to see if they could come off the floor.

Sassy giggled, “That was so cute. You looked like a colt, there for a second.”

“While I would like to end this meeting on a cheerful note, there is one more item we must discuss before we adjourn.” Celestia swept her gaze across the room. “You all have been in the presence of two changelings in disguise for most of a day. I am sure that you observed some of their errors and quirks when posing as an Equestrian citizen.”

“We did, Princess,” Thunderlane affirmed.

“I ask every pony in this room to be vigilant and use the knowledge that you have to spot other changelings who may come to Ponyville. If you encounter somepony you suspect to be a changeling, you are not to confront them. As soon as you can, report them to Twilight, Starlight, Spike, or one of the Elements. They will take things from there.”

Thorax sighed and let his head droop. “I know us sneaking around is wrong, and Chrysalis could be planning something nasty again, but the hive needs the love.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” Twilight said and patted Thorax on the shoulder. “We’re not going to do anything, if they are just after love. In fact, I hope more changelings come.” She gave him an excited smile and tapped her forehooves together. “It would help with my research to observe a changeling in action.”

“You’re serious?” Thorax looked to Celestia. “They can take love?”

“So long as the changeling does no harm, we shall let them be.” Celestia gave Thorax an understanding smile. “Changelings have been coming in and out of Equestria unannounced for quite some time. My sister and I agreed long ago that allowing another nation to starve was out of the question.”

Luna nodded. “Until the recent events, Sister and I also shared the thought that if our nation was considered an asset to the hive for such practices we reduced the chances of facing invasions as other countries had suffered.”

“Considering it took over a thousand years for Chrysalis to turn her eye toward Equestria I would say our choice was sound,” Celestia said.

“But now the hive is facing shortages and Chrysalis’ pride has been stung,” Thorax said. “I am sure she will try again just to have a shot at getting back at you.”

“There is no doubt of that,” Luna told him. “Therefore, we must prepare as best we can and seek allies who can grant us insight about what Chrysalis could be scheming.”

Thorax pulled himself up, put his shoulders back, and raised his head with determination. “I will do everything I can to help.”

“We know you will,” Cadance said.

“Before we all leave, how long is the research project with Pinch going to last, Princess?” Berry asked.

“I’m not sure,” Twilight said and sighed. “I brought materials on changelings from Canterlot here, but there is not much else I can work from. A lot of what was written about changelings read more like fairy tales than anything else.”

“Perhaps you should try the Crystal Empire’s library,” Cadance said. “We have been getting scholars like Sunburst from all over Equestria visiting us to get access to our collection.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!” Twilight said, slapping a hoof to her forehead. “I’m so used to going to Canterlot for older materials I didn’t consider searching the Empire’s library.”

Luna prodded Celestia’s side with a wing. “Sister, did she not borrow most of those ‘older materials’ from your personal collection?”

Celestia gave Luna a less than amused look.

Twilight slumped. “But I haven’t finished with the Canterlot materials and I have so much to catch up on. The Celebration has been great, but I’ve had to put aside so many things I need to get to.”

“Send your scribes,” Luna suggested. “Is that not what they are for?”

“I don’t know...” Twilight bit her lip.

Luna tilted her head. “Do you not think them up to the task?”

“That’s not it,” Twilight responded. “It’s just I don’t know if they would know what to look for. I’m not sure what to look for, at this point. It might take two or three trips, if I didn’t go myself.”

Luna gave a slight shrug. “Would it not be possible that numerous trips would be needed even if you attended to the matter yourself?”

“That’s true,” Twilight conceded.

“Then I see no issue,” Luna said. “I am sure the Empire’s ruling family would accommodate multiple visits to their library.”

“We would,” Cadance assured. “I’ll make sure Thorax and Sunburst can help with the research too. Just tell me when your ‘scribes’ are coming, and Shining and I will get everything ready.”

Thunderlane raised his hoof. “What is it you are trying to do with your research, Princess?”

“Oh, I guess I never said,” Twilight said, looking embarrassed. “I’m trying to find out how changeling magic works to absorb love. I have a theory that whatever made it so the Badlands absorbs magic but never releases it causes the entire area to be devoid of most life. The changelings seem to be afflicted with something similar in that they absorb magic in the form of love but have a hard time transferring it efficiently to other members of their hive. I am hoping I can find some way to make their transfers more efficient so they do not have to rely on ‘stealing’ love from other creatures as their primary way of survival. Considering their hive is in the Badlands, the possibility that the same magical event that turned the Badlands into what they are now could have affected the changelings through-”

Cadance raised her hoof, and Twilight paused. “Twilight, please skip to your conclusion or we will be here another hour. Besides, there are only two ponies in the room, other than you, who could understand the magical theories you’re about to dive into.”

Twilight blushed. “Oh, right.” She turned back to us. “By taking the pressure off of the changelings from having to take love from ponies, it might make it so changelings would be more open to adapting their behaviors so they are more in line with norms of pony society and making themselves more compatible with ponies.”

“Compatible?” Berry asked, looking stunned.

Twilight nodded. “That’s why having Pinch and Kevin helping with the research is so important. Their unique perspectives on the subject and the bond they seem to have created could offer all kinds of insights into the ways changeling and pony relationships could develop.”

Berry drew in a breath.

“Twilight, you might want to reword what you just said,” Celestia urged, while Luna did her best to muffle her laughter.

Twilight, appearing bewildered, looked up at Celestia. “What do you mean?”

Cadance closed her eyes and rubbed her temple with a hoof. “You just insinuated to a filly’s mother you were planning on using her daughter as part of a long term study of changeling and pony relationships.”

Twilight blinked. “Oh, I guess I could have phrased that better.”

“Yes, you could have,” Cadance agreed.

“Not that there would be anything wrong with them becoming partners in that way.” Twilight’s eyes lit with excitement. “In fact, it would be a good thing! I will have to be very careful with how I interact with them, so I don’t skew the data, but if they form a relationship it would be great to study it from its conception.”

Twilight went still, as if struck by a thought.

“Dear, are you feeling well?” Rarity asked, after an awkward moment passed.

“I was wondering if conception of a foal between a changeling and pony could be possible,” Twilight answered as if she was not giving her full attention to what she was saying. “Their physiology is so different, but considering the variety of pony cross species with other magical creatures, such as hippogriffs, it’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

Berry’s mouth fell open.

“Twilight!” Cadance said in an admonishing tone.

If Twilight heard Cadance, she gave no sign. Twilight’s horn lit and a notebook and quill appeared in the air in front of her.

“I’ll have to go back and cross reference the old fairy tales about having pony foals replaced by changeling foals against reliable historical records. It may have been pony hybrids exhibiting their changeling characteristics that were mistaken for ‘swapped’ foals,” Twilight muttered to herself as she jotted down notes in the notebook. “If one parent was unaware their partner was a changeling, it would explain the legends.”

Luna’s laughter filled the room, as she dropped all pretense of holding it in.

“Cadance, please, see if you can help her with this kind of behavior,” Celestia pleaded.

Cadance took in a deep breath and let it out while shaking her head. “I’ll do my best, but it’s going to a lot of work.”

*****

“Good luck finding them,” Berry called to Cheerilee, as the teacher separated herself from our group of Ponyville donkeys and ponies and one Canterlot unicorn.

“Oh, I know where they are,” Cheerilee said. “Amethyst is stirring up trouble at the school’s section of the festival already. I have no doubt about it.”

“Sounds like a plan for after lunch,” I said. “Anywhere in particular anypony wants to go, or are we breaking up for today?”

“Whatever we do, first, I need to go back to the shop,” Berry said.

“Why?” Barrel asked. “We’re closed today, since the festival is still going on.”

“I need a glass of wine, and I don’t care that it’s not even noon,” Berry told him.

Cranky prodded with a chuckle, “You think my ‘nephew’ isn’t good enough for your girl?”

“What?! No! I like Kevin. He’s sweet, but…” Berry trailed off and paused on the path.

We all stopped with her.

“This whole ‘research partners’ thing could become serious,” Berry finished.

“It’s something serious already, for Kevin,” Cranky said.

“How can you tell?” Matilda asked him.

“Because I’m the kind of jack who could fall in love with a jenny I met one time so deep I’d wander the world looking for her,” Cranky said and gave Matilda an old scoundrel’s flirtatious wink, causing her to blush.

Barrel approached Berry and put his hooves on her shoulders. “Talk to me.”

Berry, seeming a touch reluctant, nodded. “I can see them fitting together. He’s everything she wants in a coltfriend and he sets off her protective instincts. She will bond to him real strong real fast. Once she does, she won’t want to let him go.”

“Why does that bother you?” Barrel asked.

“I’m worried they might try to force something to be between them for the wrong reasons,” Berry said, hugging Barrel.

“What kind of wrong reasons?” Barrel asked.

“You saw how worried Pinch was about messing up for Princess Cadance and Twilight. If Pinch sees her friendship with Kevin as part of Twilight’s research, she might reach for a bond with him to please her.”

Barrel chuckled. “Berry, you’ve seen how she’s been acting around Kevin the last couple of days. Do you honestly think Pinch has taken care of him like she has out a sense of duty?”

“No, you’re right, and part of me knows it, but another part of me is looking for something to worry about and there are things to worry about. Kevin very well might go along with it to keep Pinch happy, as much as he seems to want to please her. I think he needs a friend so bad he might follow her blindly and end up putting himself into a bad position too.”

“Kevin’s clever enough that wouldn’t happen,” Matilda said. “He’s very open about what he is thinking and feeling too, so I doubt the two of them would get themselves into that kind of trouble.”

“I don’t doubt that, but even if everything between them is smooth with him being a…” Berry paused and looked around with caution, before continuing, “They will face challenges that most couples wouldn’t on all kinds of levels. If their bond isn’t solid and they get tested, things could fall apart, and it would devastate them both.”

“If you think about it another way, they would be ready to face any troubles that could come up than most couples would,” Barrel said. “Pinch has her knowledge about emotions, relationships and ch... cultures. Kevin can sense what Pinch is feeling and help her work with him to make it through things.”

Berry let go of Barrel and studied him. “This is a switch from the other day. Now, I’m worried about Pinch to the point it’s driving me to reach for a bottle of wine, and you’re the calm one.”

Barrel chuckled. “Kevin and I bonded a bit while we were over at Pin’s. Kevin appreciates the mare that Pinch is on the inside. You saw how he was with Pinch yesterday and how he treated her last night when he was braiding her mane and tail. He didn’t want to put a hoof out of place or do anything that would jeopardize whatever you want to call what Pinch and he already have.”

Coco giggled and leaned against me. “That sounds familiar to me.”

I leaned and touched my head to Coco’s.

Barrel touched Berry’s cheek with a hoof. “I’m more worried about Kevin coming to need her too much or smothering her, but with him being… A feelings specialist, I don’t think that will happen.”

“Now that I think about it, Kevina and Pin do share a few characteristics,” Rarity teased.

“Since your name is being brought up, what is your opinion on the two of them, Pin?” Thunderlane asked.

“If Pinch and Kevin would be good for each other, I’m all for them giving it a shot,” I told him. “They wouldn’t be facing troubles alone either. I know I would help them, if they ran into a rough patch. I’m sure other ponies they know feel the same.

Rarity applauded with polite stomps. “Well said! While I won’t speak for my special somepony, I agree they should have their chance and I will be glad to support them.”

Thunderlane chuckled and pointed a hoof at Rarity. “What she said, minus the ‘speaking for’ thing.”

“If Kevin has any chance of having what could be considered a normal life, it’s going to be with your daughter,” Cranky said. “I think they would be good for each other.”

“Kevin adores Pinch, and I can tell Pinch had feelings of a sort for Kevin,” Matilda told Berry. “I really can’t see things turning sour for them, if they do give it a shot.”

Berry sighed, nodded, and smiled. “If my sister can be in a herd with two of her best friends and have it work out, I guess I shouldn’t worry my daughter with one special somepony too much.”

Rarity looked to Sassy, who was staring back at the castle. “Sassy, you’re worrying me. You’ve awfully quiet.”

“They’ll be fine.” Sassy turned back to us and grinned. “If not, toss Dinky their way. She’ll hug one or both of them into submission and fuss at them until they’re back together.”

Rarity gave Sassy a knowing smile. “Thinking of somepony are we?”

One of Sassy’s ears angled out. “I was thinking about deeper connections or lack thereof too.” She gave a light sigh. “It would be my luck to find a nice stallion, but not have anything to make a connection with him about.”

“You’ve been on two dates, don’t worry about it yet,” Thunderlane said. “You have plenty of time to find common ground.” He leaned so he touched shoulders with Rarity. “If Rarity and I could find things to bond over, you two can.”

“Judging by how he reacted to seeing you again, I don’t think you have to worry about him losing interest before you two can find them,” I said.

“I’m with Pin.” Coco said with certainty, “There’s no chance he’s going to wander off before you two can get to know each other and see how you could stay together long term. You’ve got him until you let him go.”

Sassy gave Coco a smirk. “What makes you think so?”

“He gave you a wing hug on the second date,” Coco said.

I chuckled and nodded. “That is one good sign,” I agreed.

“I take it you have another,” Sassy said.

“His reaction to you petting his ears.” I tilted my head towards Coco and gave a playful wiggle of the ear closest to her. “Give one of his ears a nibble, and I guarantee you’ll be on his mind for days.”

“Pin,” Rarity said in a warning tone.

“Are you speaking from experience?” Sassy asked.

“And what wonderful experiences they have been,” I said.

Coco gave a squeak and hid her face behind her hooves.

“Pin!” Rarity protested.

“I don’t know why you’re upset. You’re the one that encouraged it.”

“I did no such thing!” Rarity said.

“You most certainly did. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“You slanderous ruffian, don’t thank me! I was ensuring a friend wasn’t going to embarrass herself, and you turned my efforts into an inappropriate public display.”

Coco dropped her hooves, revealing her blush and a smile. “Rarity, remember, I was the one who told him to lean down and hold still so I could go after his ear.”

Rarity gave Coco an understanding look. “Don’t blame yourself, dear. He led you to act out of character with his own misdeeds.”

Coco giggled. “He didn’t have to lead me anywhere. To be honest, most of the time I’ve been leading him.”

Rarity looked shocked. “Coco!”

“I’m very glad I’ve followed too,” I said and nuzzled Coco’s mane.

Berry looked over to Sassy and grinned. “Sounds like we will have all kinds of things to discuss during our mare’s night.”

Sassy smiled back at Berry and nodded. “It sure does.”

Chapter 26

The shop’s back door lock turned and, a second later, the door opened.

I paused in my work, turned my head, and asked, “How did the ‘mares afternoon and dinner retreat’ go?”

“Everything was great,” Coco responded.

My left ear flicked at something in her voice.

“Coco, is something wrong?”

“You’re getting too good at reading me,” Coco said as she approached my worktable.

I touched my nose to hers. “I have to know if the mare I love is having trouble so I can help.”

“Oh, I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Coco said and gave me a gentle poke in the chest with her hoof. “You are in deep.”

I blinked. “What did I do? I’ve been balancing the books most of the evening.”

Coco giggled, and I caught a light scent of wine on her breath.

“According to Rarity, our post courtship activities and mutual ear nibbling have led me down a path of ‘behavior that does not concord with a mare with such an innocent and precious affectation.’ ”

“Oh no,” I groaned.

“I tried to be as vague as possible during the interrogation, but some details came out,” Coco said and gave me a hug. “Berry told me to tell you she’s planning a trip to the Ponyville Spa for copies of their books.”

I hugged Coco back and let out a sigh. “At least Aloe and Lotus will be happy to have more business.”

“Muffins asked what we are going to name the foal,” Coco said and laughed at my resulting dumbfounded expression. “I told her we weren’t to the picking names stage yet.”

“I don’t think either of us wants to follow in Satin’s and Stormbreaker’s hoof steps.”

“Not now,” Coco agreed. “Someday, though, before I get too old,” she said and tucked her head under my chin.

“You’ve got a while to go before you have to worry about that,” I told her and kissed her head.

“I know.” Coco nuzzled against my neck and shoulder. “I think there is a part of my brain that still doesn’t believe it could happen for us.”

“It will happen,” I assured her. “It doesn’t it have to be that long from now, either, but I don’t think we want to be trying to scramble to get ready for a foal coming with all the other things up in the air.” I turned my head just enough to allow me to kiss the tip of her ear. “We might catch it from my parents and my sister for a while, but I know that Mayor Mare loves to do elopements. We could go that route, if we want to do things the ‘proper’ way, after things settle down a bit.”

“We can’t do that to them. My family would be upset with us too, and it still would be a bit too soon.” Coco looked up at me, and gave me a smile. “Thanks for the offer, though. It means a lot.”

“You’re welcome. Speaking of your family, am I a guilty secret or will I get to meet them someday?”

Coco gave an amused snort. “You’re not a secret. I’ve written to them about you and talked with my parents about you, when I was in Manehatten.”

“I didn’t know they had been there too.”

“For two days, right when I got there. They had to leave again, though, and missed meeting Applejack and Rarity. They don’t get to stay in Manehatten too long anymore, with all the traveling they have to do with their promotion work.”

The happiness faded a little from Coco’s eyes.

“Whatever thought is bothering you is back,” I said.

“That’s right, I still haven’t told you.” Coco turned and reached into one of her saddlebags. “This came in the mail at Rarity’s.”

Coco pulled out an envelope and put it on my worktable.

Noting it came from the acting troupe she had contracted with, I opened the envelope and read over the letter.

“They confirmed they are planning to need you for only a month. That’s excellent news to me.” I read further. “The commission was about what they thought it would be. That’s still bad.”

Coco leaned against me. “It was telling you about the dates they want me to be there that was bothering me.”

I read on and flinched. “The starting date isn’t even two weeks after the wedding.”

“We’d just have enough time to get home for me to have to dig into my research, get my concept sketches done, and then pack for…”

She trailed off as I turned to her and stared at her in a state of giddy shock.

One of her ears angled out as she looked up at me. “What?”

“Home. You said home.”

Coco tilted her head, and I had to restrain myself from grabbing her in a bear hug. She gave me an infectious smile, which I could not help but mirror.

“Do you think I could consider any place other than here home after we finished our courtship?” Coco put her hoof to my cheek. “Pin, I knew what I was doing the other night. What we were doing the other night. We bonded ourselves to each other.” Her smile turned vulnerable. “At least, that is what it felt like to me.”

“It was a bonding,” I agreed with solemnity. I kissed her and enjoyed the sensation of her eager lips and the lingering hints of wine on them. When the kiss broke, I told her, “I could never love another mare like I love you. I made myself yours. My home is yours. My-”

Coco tapped my nose, cutting me off. “I did not take you or anything of yours. We shared with each other and we loved each other.” She giggled and smiled. “Just to warn you, when you do meet my parents, they know about the Canterlot courtship traditions. I’m sure there will be awkward questions asked.”

I chuckled. “If they can surpass the interrogation Mom will put me through, I’ll be impressed.”

“Speaking of my parents, I wanted to talk to you about maybe having you visit Manehatten while I was working on the commission so you could meet them.” Coco put her head back down on my chest and snuggled against me. “It will be tricky, since they will only be there a few days while I am there and their exact itinerary won’t be set until the last moment.”

“We’ll figure out a way for it to work,” I promised.

“There was something else,” she muttered. “Oh!”

Coco lifted her head so fast I had to turn my chin to keep her from hitting it.

“Sorry.” She said and kissed my cheek. “But I have to tell you, before I forget, Sassy wants you to send her copies of the books and a set of the oils you bought from the spa, since she’s leaving tomorrow and won’t have time to get them herself. She said she would pay you back as soon as she could.”

“That will be an interesting conversation.” I sighed. “Make that two interesting conversations. One with Aloe, and another with whoever I talk to at the post office to have the package shipped.”

Coco grinned. “That will be Muffins. She expects to see you the day after tomorrow at the post office. She promises to not tease or say a word, while you're there, so long as you make a list of whatever you ship and give it to her for her own reference.”

“I noticed the ‘while I’m there’ part.”

“I’m sure she’ll have things to say later,” Coco said.

I looked back down at the letter. “They’re doing Too Hot to Trot In Canterlot? I liked that one.”

“I thought you would.”

My ears perked up. “The play’s set a few decades back, right?” I asked, unable to keep the eagerness out of my voice.

Coco looked up at me with an interested expression. “It is. Why?”

“How would you like to see some vintage Canterlot fashion magazines from then?”

Coco’s eyes widened. “You have some here?!”

I shook my head. “I don’t have any here, but I know that the Canterlot Library has a collection of them down in the basement that’s open to the public.”

“You’re kidding,” Coco said.

“I’m serious. They’re part of the Equestrian Association of Haberdasher's archives. I happen to be a member of the Association and have used the collection a couple of times myself. Since we’re going to be in Canterlot for the wedding, I’m sure we can work things out with my folks to stay a bit longer so we could dive into the collection.”

“That could save me days of research time!” She paused and raised an eyebrow. “Wait a second. We?”

“Yes. You and me.” I grinned. “You tell me what you need me to do, and I help.”

“Pin, I appreciate the thought, but this is my commission. You should spend time with your parents.”

“Mom and Dad will have to be back at work.”

“Then you should be off enjoying yourself.”

“Me wander around Canterlot while knowing you’re working your tail off?” I shook my head. “The thought would drive me to distraction.” I touched my nose to hers. “You’ve helped me with the shop. Let me help you in return.”

Coco smiled. “Pin, you realize helping with the business of their employers is what employees do, right? On top of that, you haven’t just paid me for my work, you’ve bought or made me lunch most days. It’s sweet of you to offer, but you don’t have to help me with anything.”

“But-”

“Just showing me the archive will be more than help enough. You deserve some time for yourself.” She gave me a self-certain grin. “When was the last time you took days off, besides the Celebration or a festival?”

I paused and thought.

The more time passed, the wider Coco’s smile grew and the further her eyebrows rose.

“Two or three years ago... I think.” I felt my ears fold down, as I confessed, “I’m not sure.”

“Pin! No wonder Berry thought you were working yourself to death.” Coco gave me a playful poke in the chest with her hoof. “If you don’t take those days for yourself, I’ll tell Berry and the girls.”

“No need to bring them into this!” I held up a hoof and promised, “I’ll take those days for myself.”

“Good,” Coco said and nodded with satisfaction. “I would have felt guilty if-” She stopped as a yawn interrupted her. She covered her mouth for the last part of the yawn and looked mortified. “I’m so sorry. That one surprised me.”

“No problem. It’s late, and I bet it’s the wine getting to you. Besides, it was cute.” I nuzzled her ear. “Should we turn in for the night?”

“Sounds good to me,” Coco said.

“May I ask a favor to do you a favor?”

She giggled. “Sure.”

“Would you like me to carry you up the stairs again to the bed of your choice?”

“Are you going to carry me on your back again?” Coco’s asked in a sultry tone and caressed my cheek with a hoof.

I stammered something almost coherent in response.

Coco bumped her nose to mine. “While the thought is tempting, I doubt I could do a repeat performance of what we did the other night right now.”

I blushed. “While that would be… delightful. I was aiming to carry you up the stairs, beg a kiss or two, and then tuck you into your bed of choice.”

“You wouldn’t have to beg,” she said and gave me a quick kiss. “What if I chose the cloud chair so we could cuddle?”

“Sounds good to me.” I stood and lifted Coco with my magic. After settling her on my back, I asked her, “Comfy?”

“Quite.” She kissed my left ear and then rested her chin on top of my head.

After I took a few steps, Coco nuzzled into my mane.

“I thought about something, while the girls and I were at the spa,” she told me, her voice muffled against the back of my head.

“That would be?”

“You’ve given me a full grooming a couple of times now, but I haven’t returned the favor.”

I went up the steps. “You don’t have to do that. I enjoy grooming you.”

“I know, and it’s wonderful.” She asked, her voice sounding uncertain, “Would you say no, if I asked you?”

“Of course not. I enjoy a little pampering, every now and again.”

“So I’ve heard.” Coco gave a light nibble to my right ear. “Rarity informed me you made ‘frequent’ trips to the spa yourself, when you were training.

“Under the orders of Rainbow Dash,” I protested while making playful evasive maneuvers with my ear. “She told us she wanted us to get massages to make sure we were ready for competition.”

“Muffins hinted she thought you might have been enjoying the ‘scenery’ at the spa while getting those sports massages.”

“They do have nice decorations,” I said.

“So that’s what you call Aloe and Lotus? I agree. They are lovely and their accents are adorable.”

As I realized the implications of what Coco had said, my ear froze.

Coco caught my ear in her mouth. “Eye ache it u ink zo?”

My hooves hastened us towards the study.

She released my ear. “You’re surprised I like mares too?”

“A little.”

After stepping into the study, I lowered myself to the floor. Instead of getting off my back, as I had expected, Coco rested her weight on me and hugged me around the neck.

“After my question about sharing you with another mare and my comment to Barrel about Pinch, I thought you would have known.”

“This will sound idiotic of me, but I’ve been interested in stallions so I didn’t even think about the possibility of you liking mares too.” I turned my head to see her face as best I could. “Am I your first stallion special somepony?”

Coco leaned so I could see her face. “No. Does me having dated another stallion bother you?”

“No, but I hope he was a gentlecolt to you.”

“He wasn’t bad to me, but he didn’t care for me the way you do on any level.” Coco stood, moved to my front, and offered me a hoof. As soon as I got to my hooves, with her help, she guided me to the cloud chair.

After climbing onto the chair, we settled down together, holding each other close enough we shared breath.

“I can tell that got your mind going,” she said. “Judging by your expression, not in a good way.”

“I’m feeling… inadequate for you,” I confessed.

Coco blinked. “What?!”

“I’m not- umph!” Coco cut me off with a kiss. When her lips left mine, I tried to continue, “I’m serious if you need or want-”

She covered my mouth with a hoof and smiled. “No, you’re not a mare. As you could tell the other night, that is something I very much like about you.” She smiled. “The shop’s closed tomorrow, right?”

I gave a slight nod.

“Rarity’s is closed too. How about I groom you sometime tomorrow?” She gave me a kiss that held promises of greater passions. “After I’m finished, we can see what other potions and suggestions from those books we like.”

“That sounds great,” I said and smiled a relieved smile.

“Pin, I have no intention of sharing myself or you with anypony, unless we find a mare we both fall head over hooves for.” She put her forehead to mine. “I would never risk losing you over something so trivial.”

“Your happiness is not trivial.”

Coco kissed my forehead, just above my eyes. “Your happiness is not trivial to me either.”

“I know you’d put on a smile for me, and that’s why I am concerned.” I touched my nose to hers again and stared into her eyes. “If you need affections I can’t provide, whatever they are, I want you to tell me so we can try to find a solution.”

Coco giggled. “Pin, there are two things that you do not have to worry about. The first is that your ’affections’ are inadequate for me. The second is I will be as honest with you as you have been with me about these kinds of things and we will work things out if anything does come up.”

“I’m glad.”

I smiled as a thought occurred to me.

“There’s the smile I want,” Coco said. “You had a much nicer thought right then.”

“I never thought I would have the possibility of mare watching with my marefriend.”

Coco giggled. “Sounds like this won’t be an issue for us at all.”

*****

My ear turned at the sound of several sets of trotting hooves coming up behind Coco and me.

“There they are!” a familiar voice called from behind us.

“What in Equestria?” Coco asked, as she and I turned to look behind us.

“Come on everypony, we can catch them!” Thunderlane called out, encouraging the small herd of fillies and colts running along with him.

“I think we’re being pursued,” I said through my chuckling.

“Should we speed up?” Coco asked.

“Just for a bit, then we should slow down so they can catch us.”

Coco glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t think that will be a problem.”

I looked back and was surprised to see how much distance the herd had closed on us.

“Set the pace for us,” I told Coco.

Coco grinned and nodded. She sped up, and I kept with her.

“We’ve spooked them!” Thunderlane said. “We’re going to have to push to catch them!”

“I’m not sure how much push I’ve got left,” Dinky declared between panting breaths.

“Come on Dinks!” Noi encouraged. “We can get 'em! Just a little more!”

Coco kept our pace for a couple more minutes and then slowed down.

“They’re getting winded!” Thunderlane cheered.

“So are we!” Pinch said and gasped in a breath.

As we rounded the turn in the park’s trail that brought us back to the picnic area, Coco led us off the path and towards the pavilion.

“Hello everypony,” Coco greeted our pursuers, as she brought us to a halt.

Dinky more staggered than walked to Coco and put her forelegs around her. “Gotcha!” she declared, sounding worn out and proud.

Coco laughed and hugged Dinky back.

“Oh, wow, Piña was right, you are soft!” Dinky said and snuggled against Coco.

Coco looked at me and smiled. “Pin takes wonderful care of me and my coat.”

“That was fun!” Pinch said, after getting her breath back.

“You okay, Rumble?” Kevin asked.

“What we did is called pacesetter chasing,” Rumble said. “The Wonderbolts do it as part of their training of new recruits.”

“I’m proud of you, Bro!” Thunderlane said and patted Rumble on the back with a hoof. “Not too many ponies know about that.”

“We should have been doing that too,” Rumble said, sounding disgusted with himself. “Then maybe at least one of them could have placed.”

“Rumble!” Piña walked over and put her hooves on his shoulders. “You’ve got to stop this.”

“But I let you down,” Rumble said.

“Dinks,” Kevin said. “You’re on.”

Dinky let go of Coco, turned towards Rumble, and settled herself into a pouncing position. “As soon as Piña is clear, he’s hugged.”

“Don’t move!” Rumble pleaded to Piña. “I’ve been hugged enough!”

“Only if you promise you’ll stop doing this,” Piña told him.

“What’s going on?” Thunderlane asked Noi.

“Rumble’s feeling like he let us down since none of us won or placed in the Sisterhooves Social this year,” Noi explained.

“That’s crazy!” I said. “The competition was the fiercest I’ve ever seen it. There’s no way you should be feeling bad about what happened.”

“They trained as hard as they could,” Rumble said. “So it had to be the training routine.”

Coco shook her head. “You’re looking at this the wrong way.” She turned to the fillies. “How many of you didn’t place in the top ten pairs?” she asked, even though we all knew the answer from having been at the event.

No pony raised a hoof.

“Since I didn’t start training with them not too long ago, I don’t think I should count,” Dinky said.

Coco smiled at Dinky. “If you trained with them, you count too. I’m sure it helped, even if it was just for two or three weeks.”

“It did!” Dinky said.

Coco asked, “How many pairs of sisters competed this year?”

“Right at two hundred,” Thunderlane said. “I know, because Big Mac called me and Caramel in to help since there were so many partners competing this year.”

“Sounds to me you did a great job, Rumble,” Coco said. “Not one pair of sisters you helped train didn’t place in the top ten out of an entire herd of ponies. That’s very impressive.”

“Thanks, Miss Coco, but I wanted them to win,” Rumble said.

“So what if we didn’t?” Piña said. “We had fun and we’re in great shape.” She let her hooves drop back to the ground. “You’ve been pushing yourself and us too hard. Even with Dinky, Pinch, and Kevin joining us, it’s getting to be where it’s not fun anymore.”

“Rumble,” Thunderlane said, “I thought we had talked about this kind of thing.”

“I know not to push things too hard, but they can do it!” Rumble said. “They’re the best fillies in Ponyville!”

“Awww!” Piña said and hugged him.

“He meant that,” Kevin said, with a grin.

“Do you know why I could keep chasing Miss Coco and Mister Pin?” Dinky asked, coming out of her crouch.

Rumble shook his head.

“Because it was fun.” Dinky smiled. “I wanted to keep up with everypony so I wouldn’t miss out.”

Rumble stared at her. “Really?”

“That’s why the Wonderbolts use the technique too,” Thunderlane said. “It allows us newbies a chance to chase the ponies we’ve been figuratively chasing for years.” He slumped and acted disappointed. “None of us have been able to catch Spitfire yet, except Dash, but she’s in a league of her own.”

“You caught Soarin, though,” Rumble said.

Thunderlane gave Rumble a somewhat guilty grin. “That didn’t count. We cheated and loaded him down with pies the day before.”

Dinky looked up at Coco. “Could we chase you again?”

“Sounds like fun to me. I enjoyed being a pacer pony. It gave me a bit of push.” Coco glanced at me. “Sound good to you?”

“I’m in.” I looked to Dinky, Pinch, and Kevin. “I know what they are training for, but why are you three training?”

Dinky puffed herself up and held her head high. “We’re going to run the Running of the Leaves Foal’s Race, and I want to do better in the Social next year.”

“There you are!” Berry called as she approached. “I thought we were supposed to meet at the park’s entrance.”

“They got a little sidetracked,” Coco said.

Berry glanced at Coco and me as if just recognizing us. “What are you two doing here?”

“We chased them here!” Dinky said with pride.

Berry’s ears angled out in confusion and she tilted her head. “What do you mean ‘you chased them here’?”

“It’s exactly what she said,” I told Berry. “They chased us here after coming up on us from behind, while we were trotting.”

“Then we caught them,” Dinky said, turned, and hugged Coco again.

Coco smiled and hugged Dinky back. “Thunderlane started it all,” she said to Berry.

Berry looked toward Thunderlane. “You supposed to keep them out of trouble, not rile it up.”

“It was part of our training, so it wasn’t trouble,” Thunderlane said.

“It was fun too,” I said, and Coco nodded in agreement.

Berry shook her head. “You three are crazy.”

Piña looked as if inspiration had struck her. “You can train with us too! You could be our pace pony. You’re fast.”

“I would, but I have a store to run and so many other things to do,” Berry said.

“You don’t have to everyday, but sometimes, when you can, please.” Piña pressed. “Thunderlane’s been having fun with us.” She turned to Thunderlane, “Haven’t you?”

“It’s been a blast,” Thunderlane said with a grin. “I’d plan on doing it some more, if you’ll have me.”

“That would be great!” Rumble said. “Getting training tips from a real Wonderbolt could help us a lot.”

“I don’t know, Bro.” Thunderlane reached over and ruffled Rumble’s mane with a hoof. “I’m not sure how much I can add, since you’ve been training them so well.”

“Lane, come on! Not the mane!” Rumble ducked away from Thunderlane’s hoof, but looked pleased at the compliment.

I did my best to keep a neutral expression as I looked to Piña. “Sounds like you're going to have to put in some extra training to make up for Berry not joining in,” I told her. “Golden Harvest and Noi came close to you this time. You will have to pick up the slack, or they might get you next year.”

When Berry’s eyebrows rose at my comment, I knew I had hit my mark.

Noi grinned, seeming to pick up on my plan. “I bet Goldie will come train with us sometime.”

“Oh no!” Pinch said in dramatic fashion and put a hoof to her chest. “That means you’ll beat Mom and Piña for sure!”

Kevin, though staying quiet, smiled in a way that expressed he was enjoying every second of the banter.

“Ammy will come!” Dinky said with enthusiasm. “She was already talking about getting a training schedule going for us.”

Everypony paused and looked at Berry.

Berry sighed and smiled with happy capitulation. “I’ll come train too.”

“Yes!” Piña, releasing Rumble, ran up and hugged Berry. “Thank you!”

Berry looked to Pinch. “I’ll need you to help me get your father to come along too.”

Pinch nodded. “I will!”

“Speaking of getting ponies somewhere, you lot need to come along with me,” Berry told the foals. “We need to get some lunch in you.” Berry looked back towards Thunderlane, as she led the foals away. “You too, Wonderbolt.”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Thunderlane told her.

I waited a moment or two to be sure the foals were out of ear shot before asking Thunderlane, “Have the girls picked up on anything?”

“I think they know something is up, but I don’t think they have any idea about the details,” he answered. He turned his attention from the departing group to Coco and me. “Thanks for playing along. They got a kick out of chasing you two.”

“It was fun,” I said. “I meant it, when I said I wanted to do it again.”

“Me too,” Coco added.

Thunderlane grinned and nodded. “The more the better. Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack have been training with Scoots, Bloom, and Sweetie. We need to help even the odds.”

“Competitive as always,” I prodded.

“You don’t get better unless you push yourself and pick a good rival to go after.” He looked to Coco. “So, you’ve lasted over a month living with him. I take it he’s treating you halfway decently.”

Coco leaned against me. “He’s been wonderful. I keep trying to get him to quit spoiling me so much, but nothing’s worked so far.”

“And nothing you do ever will. He’s always been a mare admiring romantic, but he worships you. You couldn’t get him to quit fawning over you anymore than you could get him to stop breathing.”

“I guess I’ll have to quit trying,” Coco said.

“It would save you a lot of time, energy, and frustration.” Thunderlane gave us a wave. “I’ve got to get going, or Berry will not be happy with me. See you two later.”

“See you at the station,” I told him, as he launched himself into the air.

Coco shook her head. “He’s a mess. He’s no better with Rarity.”

“He may be, but he’s right,” I told her.

She turned to me with a curious smile. “About what?”

“I’ll never stop treating you the way you deserve.”

Coco kissed my nose. “I don’t know if I’m comfortable being ‘worshiped’ though.”

“How about admired, valued…” I gave her a soft kiss. “And deeply loved?”

Coco smiled and touched her forehead to mine. “I would be very happy with that.”

*****

“We’re over here!” Barrel called to the rest of our group and waved.

“Quit grinning, you’ll spoil things,” Rarity chided me.

“I can’t help it,” I said.

Rarity gave a good natured sigh. “At least your tail is behaving itself.”

“His tail is reserved for Coco,” Berry said.

“That’s not true, Pinch has braided it too,” I pointed out. “Hello everypony,” I greeted, as Berry, Piña, Pinch, Rumble, and Thunderlane joined us on the train station’s platform. “Anypony need help with their luggage?”

“We got it, Uncle Pin,” Pinch declared.

“I feel bad, Uncle Pin, I didn’t hug you this morning.” Piña put her travel bag down and hugged me. “I-” She paused, leaned back from me, and then stared at my chest.

“What?” I asked, looking down at my coat. “Do I have something on me?”

Piña giggled and looked at Coco.

Coco, grinning, nodded.

Pinch looked up at me. “Uncle Pin, what’s going on?”

“He’s soft!” Piña said and nuzzled against me. “Nearly Coco soft!”

“I didn’t realize you were a measure of softness, darling,” Rarity said to Coco, with a teasing smile.

“She is to me,” I said, causing Coco to blush.

Pinch put down her bag. “Let me try!”

Before I could say anything, Pinch had swapped herself for Piña in hugging me.

“Oh, Mom, you’ve got to try this!” Pinch said, after a second and a content hum. “I can’t believe a stallion can have this soft of a coat!”

“Wait a minute!” I protested.

“Hush and accept your hug.” Barrel jabbed, “You don’t want her tackling you and getting your nice, pretty, soft coat dirty, do you?”

I gave Barrel a nasty look, as Berry swapped places and hugged me.

“Coco! What have you done to him?!” Berry asked.

“I convinced him to let me pamper him a bit,” Coco said, giving me a grin.

“His coat is softer than mine!” Berry said.

I blushed as other ponies on the platform looked our way. “Berry, could you tone it down a little?”

“No! I’m jealous.” She reached up and touched my mane with a hoof. “Your mane too?! You’ve always had a nice mane, but this isn’t fair!”

Barrel laughed and gathered up the luggage from the platform. “Come on girls, you can exchange beauty tips with him and Coco on the train.”

Berry poked me in the chest with a hoof, after letting me go. “I will know you two’s secrets, by the time this trip is over.”

Thunderlane chuckled and then gave Rumble a light elbow. “You want to hug him too?”

Rumble shook his head. “Nah, I’ll pass.”

I held out a hoof. “Hoof bump?”

Rumble grinned, nodded, and bumped hooves with me. “That works.”

“You three go ahead,” Rarity said, waving Coco, Berry, and me on to follow Barrel, Piña, and Pinch. “I am sure you will want to stay close to the girls.”

Pinch glanced over her shoulder and gave Rarity a curious look.

“Where is your luggage?” Piña asked Coco.

“Barrel and Pin loaded it with all the things everypony is taking for the wedding,” she answered.

Barrel entered our car and seemed to do his best to block the fillies’ view down the aisle.

I started grinning again, as we got closer to our seats.

Barrel moved to put the girls luggage in the overhead rack, but kept his eyes more on the girls than his efforts.

“Dad, I can help…” Pinch stopped and stared at Mom and Dad, who were in their seats and looking relaxed.

“Hello to you too, Pinch,” Dad teased.

“Aunt Study! Uncle Insight!” Piña blurted. “What are you doing here?!”

“The same as we are,” Turner said, from across the aisle and then looked at his watch. “Waiting for the train to depart in five minutes.”

Piña laughed, raced over to Mom, and gave her an enormous hug. “You came just to ride with us?”

“We had business in Appleloosa again,” Dad explained. “We timed our trip back so we could take a bit of break at Pin’s and then ride back to Canterlot with you. So, in a way, yes.”

While taking a seat between Mom and Dad, Piña turned to Dinky and asked, “Did you know they were coming?”

Dinky shook her head. “I don’t think anypony knew except your Mom and Dad, Mister Pin, and Miss Coco.”

“I didn’t,” Amethyst said.

“I didn’t know either!” Rumble said, as if trying to head things off. He looked to Thunderlane. “Did you?”

Thunderlane grinned. “I might have had a clue.”

“I must confess, I knew they were coming too,” Rarity said.

Mom patted the seat beside her with a hoof. “Care to sit by me? I think there’s just enough room.” She asked Pinch, who was still standing in the aisle like a statue.

Pinch snapped out of her daze and smiled. “Sure!”

Coco and I took our seats across from Mom and Dad.

Barrel and Berry sat across from Dinky, Muffins, and Turner.

Dinky looked up to Muffins. “Mom…” she said and glanced towards Piña and Pinch.

Muffins kissed Dinky’s head. “You can go sit with them.”

“Thanks, Mom!” Dinky said and scrambled from her seat.

Muffins sighed and looked at the empty spot beside her.

“She is growing up, dear,” Turner said and nuzzled his wife.

Thunderlane leaned close to Rumble’s ear and whispered something.

Rumbled blushed and nodded.

“Miss Muffins?” Rumble said and approached her. “Could I sit by you?”

Muffins smiled. “Of course.”

Rumble took his seat beside Muffins and looked out the window, his ears perked.

“Look out,” Amethyst warned, as Muffin’s. “Mom’s in a nesting mood, since she knows we’ll be seeing Satin. She could grab you at any moment.”

“Ammy, let your mother have her snuggles, if he’ll allow it,” Turner said.

“Um…” Dinky said, as she looked at our seating arrangement, drawing my attention from the others.

“I can scoot over,” I offered.

Dinky smiled. “Thanks Mister Pin!” she told me and hopped onto the padded bench seat between Coco and me.

“Have you given Uncle Pin a hug today?” Piña asked Dinky.

“No,” Dinky answered and tilted her head. “Why?”

Piña grinned. “Give it a try.”

Dinky looked at me as if asking permission.

I decided not to struggle against the inevitable and told her, “Go ahead.”

Dinky hugged for a second and then looked at my coat as if in disbelief. “Wow! He feels like a mare!”

I blushed and looked towards the train car’s roof, as laughter broke out all around me.

“You’re not going to live that one down,” Barrel said to me, still chuckling.

“Nope!” Thunderlane confirmed, as he and Rarity took their seats.

“If you keep that up, you’re going to make me jealous,” Coco told Dinky with a grin.

Dinky let go of me and turned to Coco, who took her in a hug.

“You have him beat, though!” Dinky nuzzled into Coco and hummed.

Even after several seconds, Dinky showed no signs of letting Coco go.

“Uncle Pin, I don’t think you’re getting her back,” Pinch kidded.

I met eyes with Coco, and she smiled and shrugged.

“Now, I’m getting jealous,” I kidded.

“All aboard!” the conductor called from outside the car’s doorway.

“Right on schedule,” Turner said, glancing again at his watch.

With a slight jolt and some rocking motions, the train pulled away from the station.

Dad looked to Pinch. “How was Twilight’s Celebration?”

Pinch smiled. “It was interesting.”

Dad gave her a look.

“Can we tell them?!” Piña asked Pinch.

Pinch nodded. “Just keep your voice down and you know who’s name out of things while we’re on the train.”

One of Dad’s eyebrows rose. “I take it there was a bit of excitement.”

“You won’t believe what happened!” Pinch told him, and the three girls took turns giving him and Mom their version of the events of the Celebration, while the train carried us on to Canterlot.

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Dad stared at Pinch. “That was a lot more than I expected.”

“I am so proud of you!” Mom said and patted Pinch on the shoulder. “Getting a research position at your age is impressive. That it is with Princess Twilight is even more so.”

“Thanks,” Pinch said.

“I am also proud of you two,” Mom told Dinky and Piña. “He needed friends, and you two did not hesitate to accept and welcome him.”

“He’s a nice colt,” Dinky said, in a neutral tone. “It’s kind of hard not to like him.”

Dad’s ear flicked, and I wondered what he had picked up on. “So, beyond you girls and Rumble, does he have any other friends his age?” he asked Dinky.

“Noi,” Piña named. “She promised to keep an eye on him, while we’re gone.”

“Spike too,” Pinch said. “They’re good buddies now.”

The train slowed, and ponies stirred and stretched in their seats.

“Please remain seated until the train comes to a complete stop,” the conductor called. “Once the train is stopped at the station, you may gather your belongings.”

“Thanks for letting me sit with you,” Dinky said to Coco and me.

I gave her a smile. “You’re welcome.”

The train slowed to a halt and the sound of the engine releasing steam gave the unofficial signal that everypony could move again.

“We’re a smidgen early,” Turner said, looking at his watch.

“Mom, you’re going to have to let-” Amethyst stopped and smiled. “Girls come here,” she whispered and motioned for the trio of fillies to move towards her.

“Oh my, he’s precious,” Rarity said, after leaning in her seat.

“You’ve got to see this,” Coco said, and moved so I could see where Muffins was sitting.

Muffins had tucked Rumble against her side with a wing and he had gone to sleep leaning on her. He was half curled up so that only a portion of his head and one ear were visible from under Muffin’s wing.

“Poor little guy,” Thunderlane said. “I knew he was tired, but I didn’t think he was that tired.”

“Is he all right?” Piña asked, concerned.

“Mom told me he’s been sneaking in two a days,” Thunderlane said. “I think he’s been pushing himself so he could do more with you girls and Kevin.”

“We’re doing great, as it is,” Piña said. “I don’t want him to hurt himself.”

“Please tell him that, when you can,” Thunderlane said. “I’ve been trying to get him to tone his training down, but maybe if it came from another pony too it would sink in.”

“We’ll all tell him,” Dinky said.

Muffins gave Rumble a light shake with her wing. “Sweetie, we’re there.”

Rumble gave a slight groan and raised his head. He turned his face up toward Muffins and opened his eyes as if doing so were an effort.

Dinky giggled. “He’s still half asleep.”

Rumble’s eyes widened and he looked at Muffins’ wing and then back up to her. “Miss Muffins, I’m so sorry! I-”

Using her free hoof, Muffins booped Rumble on his nose. “No apologies. I enjoyed having somepony to snuggle, and you needed the rest.”

“Mom, you have to let him go,” Amethyst said.

Muffins smiled and shook her head. “We have to wait for the ponies at the front of the car to leave first.”

“Doesn’t look like he’s minding it much either,” Barrel said.

“She’s soft and warm,” Rumble said, blushing. He sank down, almost disappearing under Muffin’s wing. “Pin was right, she smells like muffins too.”

I laughed to the point I had to lean against the train car’s wall.

“Why are ponies always commenting on my wife’s scent?” Turner said, acting as if offended.

“Because Mom smells good,” Dinky said and hugged Muffins on her unoccupied side. She took an exaggerated sniff of Muffins’ shoulder. “She smells like the muffins she made for us for lunch, wind, and sunshine.”

“Pegasus smells,” Thunderlane said. “Well, the wind and sun smells are. The muffins are your mom’s special thing.”

After recovering from my laughing, and waiting for room to move, I helped the others unload our group’s luggage from the train car. We then unloaded the wedding supplies from one of the train’s business storage cars and moved them to the edge of the platform.

“It’s almost all dresses and Mom and Dad’s stuff,” Piña said, seeming confused at the pile of bags and suitcases. She looked to Rarity. “Won’t you need stuff to adjust Aunt Satin’s dress?”

“I will, but I didn’t need to bring too much,” Rarity said. “Remember, I have a store here in Canterlot.”

“We will need a cart,” Coco said and looked around the platform. “Is there a place we could rent one?”

“No need, darling,” Rarity said and waved at somepony further down the platform. “Sassy and I have this routine down to an art.”

“Hello everypony!” Sassy greeted, as she maneuvered a cart into one of the available spots on the loading side of the platform. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stay strapped in while you put everything in.”

“Rarity, since she’s your employee, tell Sassy to get her skinny flank out of that harness,” Barrel said. “This load weighs three times what she does with just the juice and wine.”

“I heard that!” Sassy said. “I’ll have you know my coltfriend likes my skinny flank!”

“Dear, let Barrel pull the cart,” Rarity said, maintaining a neutral expression, albeit with a slight smirk, as Barry and Barrel moved toward the cart.

While Barrel inspected the cart, Berry helped Sassy out of her harness.

Berry asked, “Will it hold everything?”

“The under-chassis looks solid. Watch it, while we’re loading, though,” Barrel said and stood back up. “We don’t know what this thing is rated for.”

“Why don’t we carry most of our luggage, just to be on the safe side?” I offered. I tapped my horn with a hoof. “I can carry stuff with my magic with no trouble.”

Coco cut off a giggle and gave me a look. She leaned close to my ear and whispered, “You’re good at carrying things on your back too.”

“What did you say?! I missed it!” Sassy trotted up to Coco. “It must have been something juicy to get him to blush like that.”

“Never mind, please!” I said.

“You don’t have to worry about our stuff,” Turner said. “We’re staying with family just down the road.”

“Would you care to join us for dinner?” Mom asked.

“Thank you for the offer, but my cousin has our evening’s itinerary planned out,” Tuner told her.

Rarity looked at Turner with curiosity. “I don’t recall meeting your cousin.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised, since he doesn’t come to visit Ponyville all that often. He recalls you, though,” Turner said and smiled. “You made quite an impression on him at the Best Young Flyer competition.”

Rarity winced. “That was not one of my better moments.”

Dinky smiled at her. “I think Uncle Watch Spring had a crush on you for a bit after that, so don’t worry.”

“Oh,” Rarity said and blushed.

Sassy looked at Rarity and grinned. “What is about you that attracts pegasi?”

“I haven’t the faintest clue, but I don’t mind the attention,” Rarity said and gave a flirting look to Thunderlane. She turned and addressed all of us, “Back to our original subject, to save time, why don’t we split up for a bit?”

Dad nodded. “We’ll take Berry, and the girls to our place, so they can drop off their luggage. Everypony else can go with you to help unload. We will meet up at your shop and then we can head over to Satin’s.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Thunderlane said.

*****

I could feel Berry and Piña’s eyes on my back. They had been getting closer and closer to Dad and me, as we led the herd down the sidewalk.

I glanced over at Dad and gave him a smile as I slowed my steps. “The weather team has been doing wonderful work here.”

Matching my unhurried walk, Dad glanced upward. “They have. While they don’t have the flare and speed the Ponyville team does, they do a good job.”

I heard something akin to a growl come from Berry.

“Pin, if you and your father do not allow us to pick up the pace, I believe there are two ladies that will do horrible things to you both,” Mom warned us.

I glanced back at Piña, who gave me an irritated look.

“We’re not training yet, nopony has to run or be chased,” I joked.

“You might have to run pretty soon,” Berry said, sounding unamused.

“We’re almost there,” Dad assured. “Her place is just around the corner.”

We rounded the corner and approached Satin’s townhouse’s front door. Mom rang the doorbell and we waited.

Piña made an excited noise and hopped up and down in place.

“Sis, calm down,” Pinch said to Piña. “You can’t tackle Aunt Satin.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Piña said. “But I really want to see-” She stopped as the front door opened.

“Hello everypony,” Stormbreaker greeted.

“For your safety’s sake, step out of the doorway,” Mom warned Stormbreaker.

Stormbreaker looked towards Berry and Piña and nodded. “Gotcha, nesting mares incoming,” he said and moved to give the sisters room to enter.

“Thank you, Storm,” Berry said, as she led Piña into the townhouse.

“Hello, Mister Storm,” Piña said, as she went past him.

“Be glad Muffin’s wasn’t here too, or they would have just carried along you with them,” I told Stormbreaker, as he leaned back into the doorway.

“Come on in,” Stormbreaker invited us. “I think we have enough seats for everypony.”

A delighted squeal came from inside the townhouse.

“Sounds like they found her,” Barrel said and chuckled.

“They didn’t have to go far,” Stormbreaker said, and gestured for us to come in.

I stepped out of the way and the others into the townhouse, as a cascade of thoughts went through my mind.

Coco paused, halfway into the house, and looked back at me. She smiled and gave a soft giggle. “You’re thinking too much again.”

I shook my head to clear it, chuckled at myself, and nodded. “Is it strange that I’ve been looking forward to seeing her but, for some reason, I’m hesitant to step through the door?”

Dad poked his head into the doorway. “No, Son, I had the same reaction when Satin and you were born. I wanted to see you both, but there was a part of me that froze at the thought of the unknown and life changing things beyond the door.”

“I will use the same ultimatum with you I did with him on those occasions,” Mom said from just out of my line of sight. “Get your tail in here or I will have somepony drag you in.”

“I volunteer!” Barrel said from within the townhouse.

I laughed and followed Coco inside.

“There she is,” Mom said, nodding towards Coco, who was half on her side on an almost oversized cloud chair in the room's corner.

Piña was on her hind legs, her chest resting on the edge of the chair, with her forelegs reaching out as if to touch Satin’s gravid belly without quite doing so.

Berry was sitting at the edge of the chair, talking to Satin, both with grand smiles.

“She’s been the happiest I’ve seen her in a long time,” Mom said.

“She looks good,” I agreed.

“She looks beautiful,” Stormbreaker said.

Satin looked at Piña and giggled. “You can come up.”

“You sure?” Piña asked. “I don’t want to hurt you or the foal.”

“You won’t hurt either of us.” Satin used her magic to lift Piña onto the cloud chair.

Piña’s eyes remained on Satin’s belly. “How is the foal doing?”

“Very well,” Satin said with a grin. “Active enough to keep me guessing what parts of me will get poked next.”

Piña winced in sympathy. “That doesn’t sound fun.”

“It can get uncomfortable, but it’s not too bad, unless something tender gets prodded,” Satin said.

“How is your stomach doing?” Berry asked.

“Not too bad. I’ve had to cut down on the spicy food, and there have been some… unpleasant times, but compared to some mare’s I’ve talked to it hasn’t been all that bad.”

“She’s carrying a load that’s a bit too big for her, is what I’m afraid of,” Stormbreaker said.

“Storm, we’re both be fine,” Satin assured him. “The doctor-” Satin paused and then looked towards her belly. “Somepony’s awake.”

Piña drew in an excited breath and leaned close to Satin’s belly.

“Put your head on me,” Satin said. “Storm says he can feel the foal moving around sometimes.”

“I can,” Stormbreaker said. “Which makes me worry about your innards.”

Piña put her head against Satin’s belly with a delicate touch. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. “I can feel the foal move too!”

“Can you hear anything?” Pinch asked, from her spot at the edge of the cloud chair.

“Just gurgling,” Piña reported.

“Hearing a foal’s heartbeat can be tricky, even with the right spells,” Mom said, taking a seat on the couch. She looked at the coffee table in front of the couch and smiled. “I see you have been looking over the literature I gave you.”

“Yes, Mom, I have,” Satin replied in her diligent and somewhat annoyed daughter’s tone.

Pinch moved to examine the coffee table. “There are all kinds of schools here.” She looked towards Satin. “You still don’t know what the foal is?”

“Not yet,” Satin said. “We’ll know in about a month.”

“Any guess what it’s going to be?” Barrel asked. “Somehow, Berry knew with Pinch.”

Satin hesitated for a slight second, but then shook her head. She looked to Mom with an amused expression. “You can ask Mom about the odds, though. She did a whole write up on them. I think it’s still somewhere in the brochures.”

“Let me see.” Mom shuffled through the piles of brochures and pamphlets on the coffee table. “Here we are.” She held up a piece of paper and read, “The population of Equestria comprises approximately fifty eight percent earth ponies, nineteen percent pegasi, and twenty three percent unicorns.”

Rumble, who had taken a seat beside Pinch, looked towards Thunderlane. “I didn’t know we were the smallest group.”

“You might find this interesting then,” Mom said. “The sexes are split about fifty fifty in earth ponies. For unicorns, mares are sixty percent of the tribe and stallions forty percent. With pegasi, it is sixty two percent for mares and thirty eight percent for stallions.” She looked at the three male pegasi. “For this group, we seem to have a statistical anomaly with the number of pegasi stallions in the room.”

Rumble titled his head. “Something about those numbers seems off. In my class there are a lot more fillies than colts.”

Mom smiled and nodded. “You are observant and you are right. There are two fillies for every colt in your generation.”

Rumble seemed stunned by the news.

Sassy teased, “Sounds like you, Piña, and Noi were on the right path without even knowing it.”

“How could that happen?” Pinch asked.

“No pony can say, but such shifts have happened before,” Mom told her. “That is one reason the herding laws were never stricken from the books.”

“Rumble, you okay in there?” Thunderlane asked.

“I’m not sure,” Rumble said, as if haunted by his thoughts. “I just found out I’m an endangered species.”

Everypony in the room laughed.

“Think of it this way, Rumble,” Rarity said. “It also means that the pegasi in the room are the rarest of catches for us mares.”

Thunderlane and Stormbreaker puffed up with pride in almost the same display.

A clock chimed six in another room.

Rarity, Satin, and Storm Breaker shared conspirator’s glances, while I did my best to keep my expression under control.

Piña raised her head from Satin’s belly. “I saw that. What is going on?”

Somepony rang the doorbell.

“I’ll get it,” Stormbreaker said and moved towards the door.

“You know something,” Coco said, as I failed to suppress my smile.

Stormbreaker opened the door so we could not see who was standing outside and looked up. He whispered something to whoever was outside and nodded. He leaned around the edge of the door and asked us, “Does anyone here know an extra large unicorn stallion with a light red coat and pink mane?”

Coco looked toward Storm with an expression of disbelieving confusion. “Did you say a large, light red unicorn stallion?”

“He’s got blue eyes too, if that helps any,” Storm said, after glancing back at whoever was at the door.

“Filter?!” Coco said.

Stormbreaker opened the door for the guest, and a large unicorn stallion with a terracotta red coat and a pink mane walked in.

The stallion’s eyes went straight to Coco, and he grinned. “Hello, Sis!”

Coco rushed to the stallion and hugged him. “Filter! What are you doing here?!”

“We invited him,” Satin said in a breezy way, as Filter took Coco in a warm hug that lifted her off the floor.

Coco nuzzled Filter and told him, “I’m so glad to see you!”

“Time out!” Piña said. “Who is he and why is he hugging Coco like that?”

“This is my brother, Light Filter,” Coco said, as Filter lowered her back to the floor.

“No way,” Piña said, her ears pinning back in surprise.

Coco let go of Filter and looked at Piña with an amused grin. “What do you mean ‘no way?’ ”

“I believe she might have an easier time believing he’s your brother if he were more… Coco sized,” Rarity said. “I have to admit, the difference between you two is a bit to take in.”

“So now I’m a measure of size too?” Coco joked.

“You are soft,” Filter told Coco. “Did you get a new coat and mane shampoo?”

Coco blushed. “That’s part of it,” she said and glanced in my direction. She snapped her attention back to Filter and poked him in the chest with a hoof. “Forget about my coat for a moment. Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“You’ll have to ask your special somepony about that,” Filter said.

Coco looked back at me, “Pin?”

“It wasn’t just me,” I told Coco. “Satin and I are in the habit of writing again, and I mentioned that you had a brother in one of my letters. Satin wrote back for more details about him, but I didn’t have much to give her beyond he was a Royal Guard stationed here in Canterlot and I had the impression you and he hadn’t seen each other in a while.”

“I wanted to invite him over for when everpony got here, but we didn’t have his address,” Satin said. “Pin remembered that most of your mail still went to Rarity’s, so I wrote to her to see if she knew your brother’s address.”

“I didn’t.” Rarity smiled at Coco, as she turned towards her. “But, since I was asked about it, I might have taken the liberty of copying an address from a piece of mail that came to my boutique and sending it to a certain pair of sneaky siblings.”

Coco sniffed. “Thank you. I didn’t know if I would see him, with the way his schedule is and with the research I will be doing.”

“Sis, don’t cry,” Filter said and hugged her from behind. He lowered his chin to Coco’s head in a practiced way, and her expression to one of a sibling who was suffering her brother’s familiar antics. “I feel kind of bad coming to such a special event like this without knowing anypony, but I wanted to see you again, so here I am.”

“I have a feeling you’ll be getting to know us pretty well,” Dad said and gave me a look.

“You’re her younger brother, if I recall?” Rarity asked.

“He’s not her ‘little’ brother,” Sassy said.

Filter lifted his head from Coco’s. “You must be Sassy. Silent told me to tell you hello, if I saw a ‘pretty, taller, blue coated unicorn mare with a red mane’. ”

“You know Silent?” Sassy asked.

Filter nodded. “Since he’s part of the liaison program, he and I work together off and on making informational packets about the Lunar Guard for the Royal Guards and us for them. Their way of doing things is very different, so it helps cut down on confusion.”

Pinch giggled and then covered her hoof with her mouth.

Berry looked at her daughter. “Pinch, what was that about?”

“I was imagining Dinky’s reaction, had she been here and he was in his armor,” Pinch said.

Piña gave a snort. “You’re right. She would have had a fit or frozen in place.”

“If her meeting Shining Armor was any sign, she’d freeze up,” Barrel said.

Satin shifted, with a light grunt, and Berry’s, Piña’s, and Stormchaser’s eyes snapped to her.

Mom gave Satin a knowing smile. “Aiming for the kidneys this time?”

Satin nodded and shifted again. “Good ear.”

“I made that sound a lot carrying you and Pin.”

“Do you need to eat?” Stormbreaker asked Satin. “I know this is about the time you need to.”

“It’s all right, for right now, but I’ll need to soon.”

“What would you like?” I asked. “I could cook or trot and get something for everypony.”

“We’ve got dinner covered,” Stormbreaker said. “The main dish is keeping warm in the oven. I could use help serving, though.”

“She’s not serving anypony, including herself,” Berry said. She rubbed Satin’s shoulder with a hoof. “You stay right here, until we have everything ready for you, okay?”

Satin grinned. “I take it, that's an order.”

Barrel nodded. “Yep.”

“I’ll stay right beside her, Sis,” Piña said, as she settled down beside Satin. “If she needs anything, I’ll run and get it or get you.”

Filter looked back and forth between Berry and Piña. “Sis?”

Pinch raised her hoof. “I’m her daughter,” she explained, pointing her hoof to Berry. “Piña’s my aunt.”

“Ah, Piña, must have been a… blessing,” Filter said.

“She was,” Barrel said, earning him smiles from Berry and Piña both.

“Pin, Silk, Stormchaser, follow me,” Mom commanded and headed toward the kitchen. “We have a pregnant mare, guests, and foals to feed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” all three of us responded.

*****

Pinch sighed and shook her head. “We’ve lost Piña again,” she said, and nodded toward the couch, where Berry, Satin, Piña and Rumble were sitting.

Piña had fallen asleep against Satin’s side. Satin, not seeming to mind Piña leaning against her, had a foreleg wrapped around Piña’s shoulders to help her stay upright.

“She’s had a big day.” I looked at Pinch. “All of you foals had a big day. You trained this morning, then there was the trip, then we had to get everything where it needed to be, then the walk here. I’m surprised you’re awake.”

“She’s got something on her mind,” Dad said.

Pinch gave Dad a curious smile. “How do you do that?”

Dad grinned. “I watch ponies. Often, you can get more out of what they don’t say than their words, if you know what to look for.”

“What did you see with me?” she asked him.

“You asked Pin if you could braid his tail again, was the first sign something was going on. After you got started, it seemed like you wanted to occupy your hooves rather than talk to him. Then, while you focused on what you were doing, your mind did not seem to be devoted to the task.”

Pinch held up my braided tail to Coco. “It looks all right, though, doesn’t it?”

“It looks good,” Coco assured.

“What are you thinking about?” Dad asked.

Holding my tail with one hoof, Pinch stroked it like she was petting a cat out of nerves. “I’m not even sure anymore.”

Satin gave a light start, looked down, and put a hoof on her belly. “That’s not a comfortable thing for you tapdance on.”

“You okay?” Berry asked.

“Yes, but I need to make a quick dash,” Satin said, and glanced at Piña.

“Rumble!” Thunderlane half whispered, from across the room where he was sitting with Strormbreaker. He made a leaning motion with his hoof, and then a cupping motion with his wing.

Rumble nodded and then looked up at Satin. “I’ll take her.”

“Thanks,” Satin said and leaned Piña so Rumble could ease her to his side. “Sorry!” Satin said to the room and rushed towards the back of the townhouse.

“Poor dear,” Mom said.

Piña muttered something in her sleep and leaned against Rumble, pinning him against the couch’s armrest.

“Don’t forget the wing,” Stormbreaker reminded Rumbled and gave a light shake of his own wing.

Rumble, with a slight blush, wrapped a wing around Piña. Sliding his hip against the arm rest, Rumble adjusted how he was sitting so Piña and he could be comfortable. As soon as he did, Piña snuggled against him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Barrel opened his mouth to say something, with an expression that suggested a strong teasing was coming, but Berry gave him a look, cutting him off before he could.

Dad leaned close to Pinch. “See the smile he’s trying to hide?” he whispered. “Rumble’s trying to not let it show, but he is enjoying being able to hold her. He’s fighting to not put his head on hers too. Watch how his eyes go to her face and his head tilts a touch.”

Sassy sighed. “Makes me want to go grab my special somepony.”

Dad sneaked a smile, as he watched Pinch’s reaction to Sassy’s words.

“Speaking of special someponies,” Satin said. “What is the plan for tomorrow? I know we mares are meeting up at Rarity’s to get ready, but what about the rest?”

“The school is closed tomorrow, but we have to get everything up and take it down in one day, because of another event scheduled for the next day, so it will not be a complicated set up at all,” Stormbreaker said. “There are going to be a few students and teachers around, though. They will be welcome to the ceremony or just come by to have some of the food, if they want. We are expecting some of our students to come, and Mom and Dad are coming, but beyond that not too many other ponies will be joining us tomorrow.”

Stormbreaker turned, as Satin came back into the room. “You okay?”

Satin nodded. “I just had some pressure on an uncomfortable spot.”

Berry grimaced in sympathy. “I remember those days. I learned where every bathroom in every store I went into was.”

“I feel kind of guilty I did that to you,” Pinch said, her ears falling a bit.

Berry waved Pinch’s words away with a hoof. “It’s just a part of the process. Being pregnant is wonderful in some ways, but it also comes with being uncomfortable and having to learn how to deal with some of the less pleasant aspects of it. I got you out of it, so I consider it more than worth it.”

Satin smiled at Rumble. “Did she wake up?”

Rumble shook his head.

“Good.” Satin got back in her spot on the couch. “You’re a good ‘training partner’.”

Rumble smiled. “Thanks.”

Satin looked to Stormbreaker. “What did I miss?”

“I was telling Sassy the plans for tomorrow is all.” Stormbreaker turned back to Sassy. “Those who want to help us set up can meet up here for breakfast before we go to the school to Lemon Hearts, Lyra, and a mare named Minuette.”

I smiled, hearing those names together again.

“By the way, Pin,” Satin said and looked toward me with a half bemused expression. “I was told by the Headmare to remind you that four should be on your best behavior while at the school.”

Pinch looked up at me. “Why would she ask Aunt Satin to tell you that?”

Sassy looked at me with intrigued curiosity. “I want to know why too.”

“I might have been involved with a couple of minor incidents at the school,” I admitted.

Satin and Mom gave me identical disbelieving looks, while Dad chuckled.

“They banned you from the school grounds for months for those ‘minor incidents’,” Satin deadpanned.

“I can’t recall if it was for three or four months, though,” Dad said, seeming to want to stir things up.

“Three for the first and four for the second,” Satin reminded him.

“That is right,” Mom acknowledged and gave Dad a look. “I also recall you having a blasé reaction to his actions then too.”

Dad shrugged. “I thought the Headmare was overreacting myself. Colts will be colts, especially when pretty mares lead them on. There wasn’t any lasting harm done, either time, and they made amends. Seems to me she’s still a bit of stickler with no sense of humor.”

Pinch leaned closer to me and whispered, “What did you do?!”

I couldn’t help but smile as I whispered back, “Which time?”

“Don’t you dare tell her about either,” Satin said, with a hint of a smile. “You’ll give her ideas.”

“How about all of those interested in helping set up meet up here in the morning at seven?” Stormbreaker said. He pointed a hoof toward the couch and grinned. “I believe some of us may need some rest for tomorrow.”

Rumble had fallen asleep with his head leaned against Piña’s, and she had turned to hold him in her forelegs as she slept.

“Rum-” Thunderlane started, but was cut off by a gesture from Satin.

“Let Stormbreaker get a picture of them for me, please,” Satin said.

Thunderlane grinned and nodded.

“I’ll make sure you get a copy,” Stormbreaker told him, before sneaking out of the room.

“Will you be able to join us tomorrow?” Satin asked Filter.

Filter shook his head. “I tried to get my schedule shifted, but it didn’t work out. Celestia and Luna both have events going on tomorrow, so the Royal Guard will be busy.”

Coco’s ears fell. “At least I got to see you tonight.”

“Sis, don’t be sad,” he said and hugged her. “I’ll have the nights off. Where are you going to be staying? We could meet up, if you can take a break for a little bit.”

“She’ll be staying at our place, after tonight,” Dad said. “Why don’t you walk with us, so you will know where it is?”

“Sounds great,” Filter said. “Thank you.”

Stormbreaker came back into the room and snapped pictures of Piña and Rumble. “These will bookend the pictures from today and dinner.”

“Piña, Rumble, we need to get going so Satin can rest for her big day tomorrow,” Berry said in a kind voice that was loud enough to stir Piña.

With a sleepy hum, Piña lifted her head and looked around.

“Did you have a nice nap?” Barrel teased.

Piña turned and looked at Rumble’s sleeping face as if surprised to see him. “What happened?”

“Satin needed to leave for a bit, and Rumble took you for her,” Barrel explained.

Piña glanced down at Rumble’s wing and blushed. “Oh.”

“I want to see how she wakes him up,” Sassy said. “Will it be with a nuzzle or a kiss?”

After giving Sassy a look, Piña put her mouth close to Rumble’s ear. “Rumble,” she whispered and gave him a light shake. “I think we’re getting ready to go.”

Rumble’s ear flicked.

As Rumble came awake and met eyes with her, Piña gave him a bashful smile. “Thanks for taking me for Aunt Sassy. I didn’t even know I had been moved.”

“That’s an interesting shade of red, Rumble,” Thunderlane said.

Sassy cupped her hooves around her mouth and whispered for the room to hear, “This is the part where one of you kisses the other.”

“We’re training partners, not special someponies,” Piña reminded Sassy. “Training partners don’t kiss.”

“You kissed him on the nose, when he gave you his flowers that night,” I pointed out.

“That was a special night, and we agreed to remain training partners too,” Piña said.

“But he was so sweet to you,” Pinch said. “He deserves a little something for letting you sleep on him and holding you with his wing.”

“I’ve seen Noi nuzzle him, and she’s his training partner,” Berry said. “Would that work?”

Piña nodded. “Thanks, Rumble,” she said, leaned in and gave him a nose to nose nuzzle.

“Poor colt can’t even talk,” Sassy teased.

Rumble unwrapped his wing from around Piña.

Piña gave him a squeeze, let him go, and then hopped off the couch.

“Coco, Pin, would you like to join us?” Mom said. “We have not seen you for a bit, and I would like to spend as much time with you as possible, before you return to Ponyville.”

“That sounds great,” Coco said.

Mom walked over to Satin and gave her a tender hug. “Sleep well.”

Satin returned the hug. “I will. You too.”

Dad stood, moved to the couch, and gave Satin a hug. “See you tomorrow.”

Stormbreaker opened the door, and those of us leaving all walked outside.

“See you in the morning, Storm,” Thunderlane said.

“Take care everypony and sleep well,” Storm said and closed the door behind us.

“Goodnight everypony,” Sassy said. “I have to head off in a different direction to get home.”

“Take care, darling,” Rarity said and hugged Satin.

“You too,” Sassy told Rarity and returned her hug. Letting go of Rarity, she looked to Rumble. “Make sure your brother behaves for her.”

Rumble grinned. “I’ll try.”

With a wave for all of us, Sassy walked down the sidewalk in the opposite direction from where we would be heading.

“Shall we lead the way, Dear?” Dad asked.

“We shall,” Mom said, as they went to the front of our group and led us away from Satin’s.

“Tonight was great,” Pinch said. She trotted forward so she walked at Dad’s side. “Is there anything we can do to help, in the morning?”

Piña and Rumble followed Pinch’s example and walked at Mom’s side. “Setting up for the festival was fun,” Piña said. “Being able to help set up for Aunt Satin’s wedding will be even better.”

“I am sure we could find a way for you to help, and we would appreciate it,” Mom told her. “While there will not be much to set up, we have a limited window to do so and every hoof will count.”

“You were right,” Filter said to Coco. “They’re a family.”

Berry smiled. “Coco’s one of us too, now.”

“So long as Pin doesn’t botch things,” Barrel said. “If he does, we’ll throw him out of the group and keep Coco.”

“I don’t plan on botching anything up, but I couldn’t blame you if you kept her instead of me if I did,” I told him.

“This is where we turn off,” Rarity announced, as our group approached a corner. “Goodnight everypony.”

“See you ponies tomorrow,” Thunderlane said, as he turned with Rarity and gave us a parting wave with a wing.

“Goodnight,” Piña told Rumble, as he moved from her side.

“See you in the morning,” he responded and gave her a smile.

After a small amount of time, Berry kidded, “I noticed none of the rest of us got a ‘goodnight’ from Rumble.”

“We didn’t sleep with him either,” Barrel said, with a grin.

“Dad!” Pinch said, aghast.

“Oak Barrel!” Berry said and gave him a smack to his shoulder. “Don’t joke about my little sister like that!”

“He’s right, though,” Dad said, looking over his shoulder at me with a smirk. “Things change between ponies after they’ve sleep together.”

Oh crab apples, he knows, which means Mom must have picked up on it too, I thought and felt my face flush.

Mom said nothing, but her glance in my direction all but confirmed my suspicions and added to my blush.

“You feeling all right there, Pin?” Barrel asked me with a look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “You’re looking a little-”

“Leave poor Uncle Pin alone,” Piña said, her face still red. “He’s embarrassed for me.”

Barrel held up a concessionary hoof. “I’ll leave him alone. I don’t want to be in the dog house any more than I already am.”

As if looking backwards drew her attention towards him, Pinch slowed her pace and maneuvered so she could walk at Filter’s side. “What are you going to be doing tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure,” Filter told her. “We’re having to switch a lot of things around for tomorrow, so I’m not sure if I will be in the print shop or out on patrol.”

“If you were on patrol, do you know where you would be?” she asked.

“Nope. Since the changeling invasion, internal security has stepped up. If most of us on the lower rungs of command don’t know what we’re doing until the last minute there’s less of a chance for a security breach.”

“Oh.” Pinch said and plastered on a smile. “That makes sense.”

“Doesn’t that make planning hard?” Coco asked.

“It can, but it’s better than having a bug knock you over the head so it can take your place to start another invasion,” Filter said.

“I take it you don’t like changelings,” Piña said, doing a solid job of masking her apparent concern.

Filter chuckled. “It’s kind of hard to like a group that glues you to a wall for hours and tries to take over the kingdom.” He shrugged amiably. “I can’t say I hate them either, though. From what we’ve been told, their queen is the nasty one and who won’t let them negotiate for help. I can understand what most of the changelings have to be going through, so I can’t hold a grudge against them. If Coco and Mom and Dad were starving, I would do some pretty questionable things to make sure they got fed too.”

A good bit of the unease that seemed to have built up in Pinch left her.

Piña tilted her head. “You didn’t name anypony else but your family.”

“True,” Filter said. “Should I have?”

“You don’t have a special somepony?”

“Piña!” Pinch said through clenched teeth.

“She’s fine,” he told Pinch. He turned back to Piña. “I haven’t been as lucky as Coco, but I’m working on it. I have a mare I like, and I think she likes me too, but her father is a tough cookie and isn’t too keen on me yet.”

“We could vouch for you,” Coco said.

Filter shook his head. “Thanks, but I don’t think that would work with him.”

“Is there anything we could do?” Piña asked.

“I’m not sure.” He grinned. “I might have one idea. Do you and your family like curry?”

Piña’s ears went akimbo. “What’s curry?”

Filter gasped in over-acted shock. “What’s curry?! It’s the best food ever! It can be spicy or sweet, thick or almost like a sauce. You can put it over rice, or vegetables, or just about anything.” He sighed and got a love struck expression. “And she makes the best curry in Equestria.”

“See girls,” Berry said. “The way to a stallion’s heart is through their stomachs.”

Coco bumped shoulders with me. “Works pretty well on mares too.”

“Here we are,” Dad announced and pointed a hoof, as we approached Mom and Dad’s house.

“Thanks for showing me where you live,” Filter told Dad, as Coco, he, and I stopped on the sidewalk. “I may come by and borrow Coco for a night or two, if that would be all right.”

“You are welcome any time,” Mom said.

“Goodnight,” Pinch said and waved, as Dad led their group toward the house.

“Goodnight,” we responded together.

As the others walked on, Filter turned to Coco, “You two don’t have to walk home with me. It’s a bit out of the way from here, and you two will have a lot to do tomorrow.”

“Of course, I’ll walk with you,” Coco told him. “I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“The walk would do me good,” I told Filter, when he looked in my direction. “I have so many things running through my head right now I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if I tried.”

“If you two are sure, I would enjoy the company,” Filter said and motioned with his chin. “This way.”

I moved so Coco and Filter could walk side by side.

“How is the business going?” Filter asked me.

“Very well, thanks to Coco,” I told him. “I think she’s the primary draw of the shop now.”

“Pin’s exaggerating,” Coco said.

“I am not.” I grinned at Filter. “Since she wore one of her dresses to the celebration for Twilight, There have been several mares who were wanting Coco to design them a dress come into the shop with the impression that it was hers. I’ve had to explain to several ponies that the reason for all the displays having stallion’s attire is because the shop is technically mine, but Coco works there.”

“Wow, Sis, that’s impressive,” Filter said. He seemed to think for a moment and then asked, “What do you mean “technically mine?’ ”

“I might own the shop, but I consider it Coco’s too,” I told him.

“You’re sweet, but I’m your employee, not a business partner,” Coco reminded me in a gentle tone.

“You’re much more than that to me,” I responded, before I thought about Filter being on Coco’s other side. As she blushed, and I realized what I had done, I looked toward Filter. “Sorry, I shouldn’t-”

Filter laughed. “Don’t apologize! It’s great to see her special somepony appreciate her.”

Coco tensed, but her smile remained in place.

“Speaking of special someponies, what is the deal with Piña and Rumble?” Filter asked. “They have moments where it looks like their together, but then they claim they’re only practice partners.”

I smiled. “Piña and Rumble don’t want to catch it at school for being special someponies, so they came up with a deal to just call each other training partners.”

“Is their entire training group like that, or is it just them?”

“They have another ‘training partner’ named Noi, who is the sister of Berry’s best friend Golden Harvest.”

“Ah. Now I know why they were talking about somepony named Noi a lot.”

“The others just train with them, as far as I know.”

The three of us walked together and made comfortable small talk. When we reached Filter’s apartment building, he stopped and pointed to a window on the upper floor. “That one is mine. It’s number fortytwo.”

“Filter, I’m so glad to see you again,” Coco said and hugged him.

“It’s been good to see you too.” He hugged her back and nuzzled the top of her head. “I’m glad to see you’re yourself and happy again.”

Something in his tone made my ears fall a touch. He sounded like he was feeling echoes of past worries.

“I am happy,” she said and looked up to him.

Filter smiled at me. “Thank you for taking care of her. After what Suri did to her, we were so worried.”

Coco reached up and tapped him on the nose. “Filter, it wasn’t that bad. I needed some time, another steady job, and-”

He cut her off by hugging her again and stroking her back in a comforting motion. “You were crushed. You tried to be brave, like you are now, and not let it show, but we could tell, and it tore us up. Suri never appreciated you, even with how hard you worked for her and all the affection you showed her.”

Unseen by Filter, Coco’s eyes widened in panic. Without moving her head, she looked toward me with her eyes, and I felt sick at how upset she seemed.

“You might not be happy with me saying this, but I’m glad things didn’t work out between you too,” Filter told her. “You weren’t the Coco we love, when you were with her.”

Coco slipped into acting through her part of the conversation. “You don’t have to worry about me anymore. I’m back to my old self, I have a job, and I’m cared for.”

“He loves you,” Filter said, lifting his head and looking at me.

“I cherish her,” I said, keeping my voice natural so my worry did not come through. Thanks for those lessons, Coco, I thought her way.

“I can tell.” Filter let Coco go. “She’s written to me about all the things you’ve done for her, and how you’ve treated her. I can tell your family and your friends care about her too.” He snorted. “We never even saw Suri’s family or another friend of hers.”

“Let’s not talk about her anymore,” Coco said, her mask still in place.

“I’m sorry,” Filter said and his ears drooped. “I can tell I upset you a bit, but-”

Coco reached up and tapped him on the nose. “It’s fine, but let’s not end a wonderful evening on a sour note by even thinking about her.”

“You’re right.” His ears perked up a little. “I would ask you two up, but I know how busy you will be tomorrow.”

“Let’s meet up again,” I said. “We will be in Canterlot for four more days. I’m sure we can figure out a time to get together, or for just you two to get together, if you would like.”

“Sounds great.” He said and raised back up to standing. “Tomorrow night might not work, with all the excitement, but we’ll fit something in.” He grinned and hugged Coco one more time. “I’ve missed being able to do this.”

She smiled a genuine smile and hugged him back. “I’ve missed you too.”

Filter released her and turned towards the apartment building. “You two better get going, or I’m going to get all sappy and ruin my reputation as a tough Royal Guard.”

Coco and I waved at him and watched until he went into the building.

“Ready to head back?” I asked her.

Coco nodded.

Coco’s act had vanished, and I could sense the tension build up in her as we took the first few steps back up the street.

“Coco, are you-”

“That’s not the way I wanted you to find out,” she said, cutting me off as if the pressure not to say something had been too much. “It’s the wrong time too,” she added, sounding like she might cry.

“There’s a little park about a block up and over, if I remember right,” I told her. “Let’s go there and sit down and talk.”

Coco nodded. “Okay.”

I moved a little closer to her and took her tail with mine.

She took in a sharp breath, as if fighting not to cry, and leaned against me.

We made our way to the park. As I remembered, there were no signs posted with a closing time. We made our way to the nearest bench and sat down.

“Before we get started,” I said and hugged her. “I want to tell you whatever has gotten you like this is not worth it.”

“Did you know?” She sniffed. “About me and Suri?”

“I suspected- No, that’s not the right word, ‘suspected’ makes it sound like I think you did something wrong, which you haven’t.” I gave her ear a nuzzle. “I thought you two had been more involved than just working together.”

“Why?” She asked. “I thought I didn’t let it show.”

“You didn’t, but as I got to know you, there were little things that tipped me off. Your personality and what little I had heard about Suri’s didn’t fit together well enough for you to have stayed around her just for a job. That you didn’t talk about her at all was another sign. After what you said about liking mares the other night, things clicked, and I was all but sure you two had to have been an item for you to put up with all she did.”

“You don’t care if I was with her?” Coco asked, looking up at me.

“The only pony I care about who was involved in your previous relationship is you.”

Coco gave me a kiss and smiled her wonderful smile.

“Why were you so worried about me knowing?”

She sighed in self-exasperation. “I’m not sure. I guess there’s been some part of me that’s been scared you would think you were a rebound, or that I went from job to job sleeping with my employers.”

“Coco, anypony who is around you for any length of time at all can tell you are not that kind of mare.” I gave her a curious look. “How did you two meet, anyway? You two don’t seem like you would be in the same circles.”

“Do you remember when I mentioned that I was part of a shared workshop?”

“Ah, you met there.”

“When I signed up for the workshop, she had established a good client list and was about to open her own store. I must have caught her eye somehow. She took time to talk to me and give me tips and then she asked me out to lunch a few times.” Coco’s smile weakened. “I liked her, and she picked up on it. She asked if I would like to be special someponies with her, and, not too long after that, she offered me a job.” Her ears fell and her smile evaporated. “For a little bit, things were fine, but it didn’t take long for her real personality to show, and it all went downhill from there.”

“She used you.” I swallowed and then asked, “Have I ever made you feel like...”

“Never,” Coco said in a way that assured me she meant it.

“Good,” I whispered in relief. I tilted my head, as a thought occurred to me. “What did you mean, when you said ‘this isn’t the right time’?”

“I didn’t want there to be tension between us before the wedding and after.”

I snorted a laugh. “I don’t care who you’ve dated. If you don’t want to talk about your previous special someponies we don’t have to. We’re adults, we’ve both had special someponies, and we’ve moved on from them.”

“I’d rather we not talk about them, but I will if you ask about them or if we need to.”

“Then I won’t ask because, as far as I’m concerned, we don’t.”

I was glad to see the playful spark in Coco’s eyes when she asked, “Would you talk to me about yours, if I asked?”

“I would.” I gave an overdone sigh of concern. “In fact, we may need to talk about one of them, since you will probably meet her tomorrow.”

Coco giggled. “Okay.” Smiling, she sat up as if bracing her herself. “Go ahead. I won’t get upset, no matter who it is or what you tell me.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, in a mock serious tone.

“You didn’t bat an eye about Siri, I can do the same for whoever you dated.”

“Lemon Hearts.”

Coco tilted her head. “Lemon Hearts? That doesn’t make sense. She lives in Canterlot. Berry and Rarity both have told me you hadn’t dated in years until I came to Ponyville.”

“I was head over hooves for her,” I told Coco in my best confessional tone. “She was a pretty filly with a lovely voice and sweet personality who didn’t mind me hanging around with her and her friends.”

By the change in her expression, I could tell Coco had caught on to my game. “A pretty filly?”

“We had milkshakes together and everything,” I told her, echoing Hearts’ words. I hung my head in feigned shame. “We even kissed once or twice.”

Coco laughed and hugged me. “I don’t think there will be a problem at all.”

I hugged her back and nuzzled her mane. “I hoped you would feel that way.”

Coco lifted her head and bumped her nose to mine. “We should head back. I don’t want Satin or Storm to worry about us.”

I chuckled. “Knowing them, they’re coming up with things to tease us with.”

“Then we shouldn’t give them too much time to come up with anything,” she said.

I got off the bench and offered my hoof to Coco. After she stepped down, I let her hoof rest in mine and studied how they fit together. If we had met a few months earlier, there might have been a combined wedding, I thought to myself.

“Pin?” Coco ducked her head into my line of sight.

“Sorry. My mind drifted a bit.” I lifted her hoof and kissed it.

“It looked like it went someplace nice,” Coco teased.

“I was thinking about you, so it was.”

Coco gave me a quick kiss on the nose, and we started back towards Satin’s.

Chapter 28

Chapter 28

A small noise brought me three quarters awake. Another slight sound prompted me to sit up. “Coco?”

“I’m sorry, Pin,” Satin said from the cloud chair. I thought I had been quiet enough.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I told her as the last of sleep’s fog left me. “Berry and Piña aren’t the only ones herding. As alert as some part of my brain is I think I would hear a pin drop in the kitchen. Are you okay?”

“I am, but the foal is restless. I can’t get my mind to slow down enough to get any sleep either.”

“I’m surprised Stormbreaker didn’t come down with you.”

“He would have, but I told him to stay in bed so he could go back to sleep.”

Putting my hoof over my mouth, I fought back a yawn before asking, “Does getting on the cloud chair help?”

“It calms the foal down and it’s comfy, so we can both relax when I’m on it.” Satin patted a spot at her side. “Want to join me?” She snorted and grinned. “Don’t give me that look. There’s more than enough room for you and me.”

After putting aside the pillow I had been holding and getting out from the blanket, I rolled off the couch and approached the cloud chair.

“First, though.” Satin leaned onto her side and exposed her stomach. “You would never ask to, but I know you want to.”

I reached out, put a hoof on her belly, and smiled. “Hello, little one.” I gave Satin’s belly a delicate rub in a small circle. “You have no idea how much you will be loved.”

“He’s moving around. Put your head on me.”

I stopped, my head about halfway to Satin’s belly and looked at her. “He? You know the foal is a colt?”

“We didn’t have things checked, but I… know. Colt or not, I do know our foal will be a pegasus. Between him being able to poke me in several directions at once and his reaction to being on a cloud I’m sure he’s a pegasus.”

With as careful a touch as I could manage, I put my head on Satin’s belly. For a second or two, I felt nothing. Then there was a sensation against my cheek as if somepony had put their hoof on the other side of a water balloon and pushed on it.

“You’re eyes lit up,” Satin said. “You must have felt that too,”

I lifted my head and smiled at Satin’s belly. “According to your future ‘uncle’ you will be a member of an endangered species.”

Satin giggled and returned to her upright position. “You’re the only pony who knows, besides Stormbreaker. Don’t tell Dad or Mom, please. It’s not one hundred percent certain, and Mom would drive me nuts.”

“I won’t say a word to anypony. I promise.” With caution, I joined Satin on the cloud chair.

Satin glanced at the space I had left between us and then up at me. “Chicken,” she teased and leaned against me.

I chuckled and made a gesture with my chin towards the coffee table. “From what I can tell Mom’s already been driving you nuts.”

Satin gave a grunt. “You have no clue.”

“So, since he’s a pegasus, that cuts down on the pile of brochures you have to go through,” I half joked.

“If I’m right, and Stormbreaker is certain I am, we’re planning on moving to Ponyville so we can be closer to Cloudsdale and the Flight Academy,” she told me as if presenting a fragile idea.

I smiled with excitement. “Really?!” I paused. “How is that going to work with work?”

“I’m going to offer my portion of the company to Mom and Dad,” she said. “If they won’t want it, I’ll sell it to somepony on the company’s board.”

I could tell by her tone she had set her mind on the matter. “You want out.”

“I want out,” Satin stated. “I’ve enjoyed parts of running the company, but the pressure of managing things is getting to be too much again. I wanted you back in Canterlot to bring the family back together and to take some of the pressure off the three of us here, but I almost severed what few connections between us were left with that drunken tirade of mine. I’ve learned from that mistake.” She looked down at her stomach and put a hoof on it. “I cannot do what I’m doing now and be there for our foal.”

“The bits you’ll get from selling your stake in the company would set you for life too,” I said.

She nodded. “It would.”

I raised an eyebrow. “I know you. Once the colt gets older, and is in school, you’ll be bored out of your gourd. What are you planning on doing then?”

“Beyond tutoring, which I love, we’re on it,” she said with pride. “I figured out the enchantments for making cloud chairs.”

I looked down between my forelegs. “You made this?!”

“With help from Storm. Being the granddaughter of one of the best tailors in Equestria, a graduate of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, andbeing the fiance of a pegasus with access to ‘cheap surplus cloud material’ has all kinds of advantages.”

I moved to the edge of the cloud chair, leaned over its side, and examined the stitching. “Had I looked close at it earlier, I would have recognized your sewing.”

“Pin, can I ask you a favor?”

I lifted my head. “Of course.”

“Can I have a copy of Grandfather’s notes on how he made Nana’s nest?”

“You can have the originals,” I told her.

Satin shook her head. “Just copies, please. That way, if something happened to them the originals would still be around.”

I leaned back over the edge of the chair and looked over more of the cushion and the stand. “I can’t tell you how impressed I am. You made this from memory?”

“I modeled it after a throw pillow I saw in a store window. It reminded me of the shape of Nana’s nest, and inspiration struck. I bought the pillow, brought it home, took it apart, and studied how everything went together. One trip to the Canterlot library later, and I had the enchantments I needed.” She patted the cloud cushion as if it were a beloved pet. “I know the design isn’t right. We had some trouble with getting the cloud cushion and the stand to work together, and the stitching isn’t the best, since I’m out of practice, but I think it turned out well.”

“Are you kidding? This is great, especially for a prototype.” I lifted my head, scooted back to my original spot, and grinned at her. “If you move to Ponyville, the first pony you’ll want to talk to about this is Davenport. He would have a fit if he could sell these alongside his couches.”

As if prompted by what I had said, Satin’s eyes lingered on the couch for a second. “Speaking of couches, you realize you and Coco could have slept in the same bed, right?” She gave me a teasing bump of her shoulder. “Stormbreaker and I wouldn’t say a word.”

“Since we don’t know when anypony will arrive in the morning, for prudence's sake, this was the best option.”

She gave me a less than innocent smile. “Have you two been using the ‘items’ we sent?” She giggled. “Never mind. You turning that color tells me all I need to know.”

“Thank you for them. They have been fun for both of us.”

“If you’ve taken that step and ended the last part of the courtship, have you asked her yet?”

“Asked her what?” I said, feigning ignorance.

“Pin,” Satin said in a warning tone.

I grinned. “Not yet, but soon.”

Satin poked me in the shoulder with a hoof. “How soon?”

“I was thi-”

Satin gave me another prod, as a set of hooves came down the steps.

“Pin?” Coco whispered, as she looked at the couch from its backside. “Who are you talking to?”

“Me, and he’s over here,” Satin said. “Scoot over,” she told me.

“It’s all right, I’ll pull up a chair,” Coco said, as I shifted myself towards the edge of the chair.

I had not realized how much bigger Satin’s cloud chair was compared to Grandfather’s until I noticed that even with moving over I still had some space before I would have come to the edge of the chair’s cushion.

“You will not,” Satin said. “You’re family, and there’s more than enough room for you.”

Satin scooted over to the center of the chair.

With careful motions, Coco got on the chair and settled on Satin’s left side.

“I want you to know, when he woke up, the first thing he said was your name,” Satin told Coco.

“He’s such a sweetheart.” Coco smiled at me. “He’s always looking out for me.”

“I try,” I told her, smiling back.

“I found out why he wanted a second pillow too,” Satin said. “He was so cute. When I checked to see if he was asleep, he was almost curled around it.”

“I’m getting to where I can’t sleep without something to hold,” I confessed.

“So that’s how well things are going,” Satin said, causing Coco and me to blush. Smiling, she asked Coco, “What brings you down here?”

“I woke up, I’m not sure why, and then something told me to come down and check on things,” Coco told her.

“You’re herding too,” I said. “That’s pretty much what happened to me, when Satin came down to get on the cloud chair.”

“You look sleepy,” Coco said to Satin. “We can leave, if you want us to.”

“No, I want you two to stay with me. I’m nesting pretty bad tonight. Having you two close is helping me relax.” Satin put her head down on the cushion and closed her eyes. “You two can talk, but since the foal is calm again, I’m going to try to get some more rest.”

“After our walk, we’re tired too,” Coco said, giving me a look that told me to follow her lead.

“I am,” I agreed, meaning what I said and going along with Coco’s unvoiced request.

Without saying another word to each other, Coco and I settled down with Satin. To make sure I would not grab Satin while I slept, I levitated my cuddling pillow from the couch and held it against my chest.

I am not sure how long the other two stayed awake, but it did not take long for me to nod off again.

The sound of a camera working stirred me. I opened my eyes, and was met by the sight of Stormbreaker looking over the top of his camera and smiling. “I got some good shots,” he whispered, soft enough I almost did not hear him.

“Do you want to swap places?” I asked him with slow, silent words.

He shook his head and made gestures that indicated us swapping places would wake Satin. He pointed to himself and then to the couch. “I put the alarm on the stairs so it won’t blast us awake,” he whispered.

I gave him a slight nod, and he took my previous place on the couch.

I closed my eyes and relaxed back into slumber.

“Keep quiet,” somepony whispered, and my ear flicked.

“Oh my goodness!” a filly’s voice said in an excited whisper. “They’re adorable!”

“Sssh!” somepony that sounded like Berry warned. “You’ll wake them up.”

I remained still and listened as a camera worked three times.

My curiosity got the better of me. I raised my head and opened my eyes.

Mom, Dad, Berry, Barrel, and the girls had sneaked into the house.

Stormbreaker, his chest resting on the arm of the couch and one hoof holding onto his camera, grinned, made a motion for me to stay quiet, and then pointed to my left.

I turned my head and smiled. Satin had settled with her back against mine and had wrapped her forelegs around Coco, holding her just under her shoulders.

Holding Satin in her sleep, Coco had assumed the shape of a comma; her head resting under Satin’s chin and the rest of her curled against Satin’s somewhat smaller form.

I turned back to Stormbreaker to whisper to him to take another picture the same instant the alarm went off.

Satin gave a start and opened her eyes. She seemed to take a second to realize where she was. Her eyes widened, as she looked at the top of Coco’s head.

Stormbreaker snapped a photo.

“Pin, can you get the alarm?” Coco asked and hugged Satin closer. “I need five more minutes.”

“I can’t,” I told her, as a chorus of giggles and laughs came from the herd just inside the door. “I’m not sure where the alarm is,” I said, as I felt my blush reach the tips of my ears.

Coco’s eyes flew open and met with Satin’s.

Satin, blushing close to rose red, greeted Coco, “Good morning.”

Stormbreaker snapped another photo.

“I’ll get it,” Dad said, still chuckling.

“Good morning,” Coco said, turning red herself.

“I think we have visitors, but I’m too afraid to look,” Satin told her.

Coco raised her head and looked towards the front door.

Barrel, with a grin that was too wide to be polite, waved at her. “Good morning,” he said, as Dad cut off the alarm clock.

“Oh, sweet Celestia,” Coco said. She put her head back under Satin’s chin as if hiding. “Yep, you have guests.”

Satin laughed and looked at the group at the door. “Not that you’re not welcome, but what are you doing here?”

Piña, who had leaned against Pinch for support, gasped in enough air to tell her, “We were planning on sneaking over here to start breakfast before you got up.”

“Seeing as how we’re not up, you have accomplished your goal,” Satin said.

Mom, looking pleased, snapped off orders: “Barrel, Pin, and Stormbreaker, you are with me on hay bacon and eggs duty. Insight, you are on coffee and tea duty. It will be tight with all of us in the kitchen, so mind your hooves and watch out for hot or sharp objects.”

“What can we do?” Piña asked.

“You two young ladies take Pin’s spot and help Berry and Coco look after Satin,” Mom told her.

“Wait, before anypony does anything else, I need to know something,” Satin said. She looked down at Coco and asked, “How in Equestria do you two get your coats so soft?”

I sighed, put my head down on the cloud cushion and covered my face with my forelegs, as more giggles and laughter broke out.

*****

“Is that even?” I asked, as I pulled the table cloth towards me.

“Just a touch more,” Hearts said. “There!”

I stepped back as Amethyst and Pinch used their magic to set the decorations on the table.

“Here you go!” Dinky said, as she tossed an arrangement of flowers up to Rumble.

Rumble caught the flowers with a deft hoof. “Got it!” He turned and positioned the arrangement at the top of one of the decorative poles.

“A touch to the right, please,” Mom directed. “A bit more. Perfect!”

Rumble held the arrangement in place, as Muffins tied it in its spot.

"I think that's the last pole," Rumble said, glancing around at the other poles and their decorations.

“I think so,” Piña said, looking into her now empty basket. "That was the last arrangement."

"Let's check the knots on the draping and the other decorations, real quick, to see it any of them are trying to slip," Muffins suggested to Rumble.

Rumble nodded. "I'll go check the other side."

“Wow,” Lemon Hearts said, looking at what everypony had set up. “If we had you ponies every time we did an event, things would be much easier.”

“Many hooves make light work,” Dad said.

“The archway and side lattices are up and decorated,” Mom said as if going down a list. “The poles, with their flower arrangements at their bases and tops, along with their connecting draping are ready. The outdoor seating cushions are in place. The tables are set up. The juice, wine, and water are on their stands. The tables are all but set.” Mom nodded with satisfaction. “As soon as the food arrives and is in place, the preparations will be complete.”

Dinky went to Mom and hugged her. “Thank you for inviting us to come help set up. It was fun.”

“You are welcome, but I cannot take all the credit for you being here,” Mom said. “Pinch was the first to bring up the idea and Piña seconded it with grand enthusiasm.”

Dinky looked up at Mom and tilted her head. “How did you know where we were staying?”

“She asked me last night, so I gave her the address,” Amethyst said.

“Knowing where your guests are staying, if they are not with you, is required of a good host,” Mom said, patted Dinky on the back, and let her go.

Dinky motioned for Piña and Pinch to get closer and then grabbed them both in a hug. “Thank you!”

Piña giggled. “We couldn’t leave our training partner behind,” she said and hugged Dinky back.

“It wouldn’t have been as much fun without you, Amethyst, and your folks here,” Pinch said, hugging both Dinky and Piña.

Dinky looked away from Pinch. “I’m glad you still think being around me is fun.”

Pinch looked horrified at Dinky’s words. “What do you mean?! Why wouldn’t I?!”

Piña removed herself from their shared hug. “Pinch, keep hugging her. I’m getting Muffins.”

“No!” Dinky said and winced at Piña’s resulting flinch. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be that loud. It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.” Dinky hugged Pinch a little tighter. “I’m just glad we’re still friends.”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Pinch asked.

Dinky looked down again, and her ears fell, as she let Pinch go.

Dispelling the tension in the air, Turner and Thunderlane walked through the archway and to us.

“Now we’re ready,” Thunderlane said with a grin.

“What are you two up to?” Stormbreaker asked.

“I promised I wouldn't say too much, but I need to make a bit of an announcement.” Tuner said. He cleared his throat and announced to everypony, using a louder voice. “Everypony, may I have a moment of your time?” After everypony looked his way, he continued; “I can’t divulge too much, or risk spoiling the surprise for those who have not seen them, but please stay clear of the two decorative arrangements of ‘flowers’ just behind the archway.”

“I thought they were safe,” Muffins said, looking concerned, as she and Rumble landed close to Turner.

“They are.” Turner smiled and bumped noses with Muffins. “But let’s say you and I got close to them and we…” He leaned and whispered something in Muffins’ ear, and her mouth formed an ‘O’ of understanding.

Muffins giggled and nodded. “Got it.”

“With all the ponies who are so fond of each other around, I thought it best to err on the side of caution,” Turner explained.

“Girls, there is something else we need to do to get everything ready,” Mom said to the fillies. “We need to weave your flower crowns and get your manes ready.”

“I get to help Dinky with her mane and tail,” Pinch declared.

“Only if I get to do yours,” Dinky said and gave Pinch a relieved smile.

“I could do your mane and tail again,” Rumble offered to Piña, blushing. “Rarity let me have some ribbon for it.”

Piña smiled. “That sounds great.”

“I’ll help things set up,” Dad said and levitated a basket of flowers and two blankets to him from the supply pile. He leaned touched noses with Mom. “Then, I would like to help you with yours.”

Mom smiled. “I would very much like that,” she said and led Dad, Rumble, and the three fillies away towards a spot where they could spread out the blankets.

“Food’s here!” Minuette announced as she pulled a caterer’s cart close to us. “Twinkle, help me get out of this thing so I can hug Pin.”

Twinkle Shine, who arrived with Minuette, smiled and helped Minuette out of the cart’s harness. “Remember, he has a mare friend now, so don’t get too enthusiastic.”

I braced myself as Minuette got free of the harness. She rushed towards me and took me in a solid hug.

“Hello to you too,” I said to Minuette and gave her a hug back.

Minuette let go of me and glanced around. “Where is Satin?”

“She should be here any minute,” I said. “She’s at the school with Coco, Rarity, and Sassy.”

“Hello, Pin,” Twinkle Shine greeted.

“Hello, Twinks.” I smiled at her. “How have you been?”

“As well as I can be trying to keep up with this crazy mare,” Twinkle Shine said and poked Minuette in the shoulder with a hoof.

With a smug grin, Minuette raised her nose in the air. “Admit it. Without me your life would be boring.”

Twinkle Shine rolled her eyes and then bumped noses with Minuette. “It would be slower paced, I’ll give you that.”

“Excuse us,” a teenage filly said, as she led a group of fillies and colts towards us. “Is this Miss Satin’s wedding?”

“You’re at the right spot,” Barrel told her. “The wedding isn’t for another hour and a half, though.”

The filly looked nervous as she responded, “We know, but Miss Satin said she would-”

“Be here to help you all get your manes and tails ready,” Satin finished for the filly as she and two ponies I thought I recognized approached from the direction of the school.

“Miss Satin!” the spokesfilly of the small herd greeted. “When we didn’t see you, we got worried something had happened.”

“Everything’s fine,” Satin said. “I promised I would be here and here I am.”

“You’re not dressed, though,” the filly said, looking worried. “If you need to go take care of things, we can manage.”

Satin smiled and gave the group a look that took them all in. “All of you are the reason that Stormbreaker and I met. I can’t go back on a promise to the ponies that made this possible.”

“You sure?” the spokesfilly asked, seeming uncertain of Satin’s words.

“I will be dressed for the wedding with plenty of time, I promise. None of us will have far to go to get dressed for the wedding. In fact, I was just showing my soon to be in-laws the rooms the school are allowing us to use as changing rooms.”

“Okay,” the spokesfilly said, looking much happier. “You look great.”

Satin smiled and gave a self-depreciating giggle. “You’re very kind, but I know I look like I swallowed a watermelon.”

“That doesn’t mean you don’t look great,” Stormbreaker told Satin as he moved to take her in a hug and kissed her cheek.

“Awwww!” said most of the fillies in the group.

“Satin!” Dad called. “This is a delightful spot. Why don’t you join us?”

“Look at the foals!” another of the fillies of the group said. “They’re precious!”

“Are they kin to you?” the spokesfilly asked Satin.

“The foals are my friend’s. My mom and dad are on the blankets with them.” Satin motioned with her head for the group to follow her. “I’ll introduce you, while we set up.” She paused and smiled at me. “I almost forgot to introduce you. Everypony, this is my brother, Royal Pin, and some of our friends from Ponyville.”

I waved a hoof and gave the students a nervous smile. “Hello. Nice to me you.”

One filly giggled. “You’re right, Miss Satin, he’s shy.”

I felt my face warm with a blush at the comment.

“He blushes like you said too,” another of the fillies said, as the group walked past.

“Hey coach,” a colt greeted Stormbreaker. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks Sparks,” Stormbreaker said. “I’ll be there with you guys in a minute.” He turned and patted me on the shoulder with a hoof. “Satin’s right, you turn a wonderful shade of red when you’re embarrassed.”

I chuckled. “If that’s all Satin told them about me, I’ll be fine.”

“Since we’re doing introductions, I would like everypony to meet my parents, Storm Chaser and Summer Rain,” Stormbreaker said and gestured to the pair of ponies who had come with Satin.

“It’s good to see both of you again,” I said and gave a slight bow to Summer Rain. When Storm Chaser held out his hoof to me, I shook it. “I hope the flight here was nice.”

“You know them?” Berry asked.

“We met at the Equestria Games,” I told Berry.

“Is everypony doing things with their manes and tail?” Summer Rain asked.

“It looks like it turned out that way,” Stormbreaker said. “Why don’t you two join Satin and me and our students? I think you will like them, and I know they’re curious about you.”

“We can do that.” Storm Chaser chuckled and ran a hoof over his buzz-cut. “I don’t think anypony can do much with my mane or tail, though.”

“They seem sweet,” Muffins said, after Stormbreaker led his parents away from us.

“They’ve both very nice,” I told her. I turned, as Lemon Hearts and the other three caterers set the first of the food on the table.

“No, Pin, you’re not helping,” Minuette said. “We’re getting paid for this. You need to be with your family.” She made a dismissive gesture toward me with a hoof. “Go on, all of you. Shoo!”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said with playful formality.

“We made it just in time, it seems,” Rarity said, as she Coco and Sassy came up on us from behind me.

Rarity caught me looking at her and tilted her head. “You seem surprised.”

“You three altered her dress that fast?”

Rarity giggled. “No, darling, we didn’t need to do a thing. Satin went to my shop here in Canterlot a week ago, had Sassy take the measurements I needed, and then she sent them to me. I altered the dress before we even arrived. We just did a quick fitting to make sure she had not ‘progressed’ any more than I expected.”

“Oh,” I said, feeling embarrassed. “To tell the truth, I wouldn’t have thought of that.”

“You would have, but you’re not used to working with a partner in another city,” Sassy said. “We do this kind of thing all the time.”

“So you don’t need any last minute help?” I asked.

“Nope,” Sassy told me.

“You heard the lady,” Minuette said. “You’ve all done your parts, so now, all of you get over there and let us do our jobs.”

Coco walked closer to me, wearing a mischievous grin. “She’s not Lemon Hearts is she?” she asked in a stage whisper.

I gave a light snort and shook my head. “That’s my friend, Minuette and her wife Twinkle Shine.” I pointed a hoof at Lemon Hearts. “She’s Lemon Hearts.”

One of Lemon Hearts’ ears angled out in confusion, and she paused in what she was doing to help get the food on the tables. “Is somepony looking for me?”

“I just wanted to know who the mare who had milkshakes with my coltfriend was,” Coco said, her grin still in place.

Lemon Hearts blushed. “Pin! What in Equestria did you tell her?”

“Oh, the things he could have told her,” Minuette said, with a giggle.

“You stay out of this!” Lemon Hearts told Minuette.

“Like about the time we almost got suspended for-” Minuette’s eyes widened, as Lemon Hearts’ magic closed her mouth.

“Not another word,” Lemon Hearts told her, staring into Minuette’s eyes with a look that threatened reprisals if she did not comply.

“We?” Coco asked and glanced at me.

Twinkle Shine giggled. “Pin and three of us were friends, when we were foals, but Lemon Hearts was his special ‘milkshake buddy’.”

“Shine,” Lemon Hearts warned, “I can hold your mouth closed too.”

*****

“Rumble, chill,” Thunderlane told his brother, as he adjusted Rumble’s bow tie. “I’ve seen you do entry level Wonderbolts stunts. Why are you worked up about walking in a straight line with two rings on a pillow?”

“If I mess up a stunt up the only thing that gets messed up is me, not somepony’s wedding.” Rumble asked, sounding nervous, “What if I trip?” His wings flared out in panic. “What if I drop them?!”

“We pick them up, dust them off, and keep going,” Stormbreaker said. He patted Rumble on the back with a wing. “Nothing like this goes without a hitch or two. If that happens, it happens.”

“If you get too nervous, it will happen,” Tuner told Rumble. “At Muffin’s and my wedding, I focused about where I was putting my hooves too much. I ended up tripping on Muffins’ dress train and we both went down in a heap.” Turner smiled. “I was mortified, but it’s a fond memory Muffins and I share now.”

A knock came at the door. “Are you gentlecolts ready?” Mom asked, through the door.

“We are,” Dad answered and opened the door for her.

“My, my,” Mom said and smiled at us. “What a herd of handsome stallions.”

“You look lovely yourself,” Dad complemented her.

“How’s she doing?” Stormbreaker asked, his ears half back in concern.

Mom’s smile grew. “If you mean Satin, she is doing fine.”

Storm Breaker blushed. “Sorry.”

“Do not worry about her. I went to work until two weeks before Satin was born.” Mom glanced in my direction. “He, on the other hoof, gave me some trouble.”

Dad chuckled. “I don’t believe not going to work a month before you were due would be considered ‘trouble’ by most mares.”

Stormbreaker looked at Dad and smiled. “I don’t think Satin or Insight are like most mares. That’s why we love them.”

Dad nodded. “Well said.”

“It is time for you gentlecolts and us mares and fillies to get into our spots,” Mom informed us. “Sassy and Insight will follow us soon.” Mom’s voice hitched with emotion as she said, “Then the wedding can start.”

Dad took Mom’s hoof and guided her into the room. “You guys go on.” He brought Mom into a hug and gave her a comforting nuzzle. “We need a minute or two.”

Giving Mom and Dad some privacy, we left the school room and came upon Berry, Coco, Rarity, and Sassy in the hallway. All of them were staring out one of the school’s back windows.

“I can’t believe you pulled it off,” Berry said.

“It took no effort at all, darling.” Rarity said, looking pleased with herself. “Since I knew Celestia might come, thanks to Satin, it was a simple matter of making a request who her escorts would be if she brought any.”

“Celestia is here?!” Rumble asked, in a voice that was almost a squeak.

“See, no pressure at all,” Thunderlane kidded, and poked Rumble in his shoulder.

“Ignore him,” Stormbreaker told Rumble. “From what I’ve heard about Princess Celestia, she enjoys when things don’t go as planned.”

I followed the three mares’ gazes toward the decorative arch and smiled. Celestia sat in the middle of the school’s students, along with the school’s headmare. At the back edge of the guests, in full armor and standing at attention, were Filter and Silent.

“Dinky’s going to have a fit, when she finds out Filter’s your brother,” I told Coco.

When Coco turned to me, the pink gillyflowers in her hair gave her mane more motion and, framed in the light from the window and with the backdrop of the stone hallway, she looked as if she were out of a fairy tale. I smiled and met eyes with her for a long moment.

“We just lost Pin,” Thunderlane said. He gave Rarity a kiss on the cheek. “You look even more gorgeous than usual.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said. “You look quite dapper yourself. Coco, please break whatever spell you put on Pin. We need to get going.”

I stood as still as I could, but I could not help my grin showing my mischievous intent.

Coco giggled and then bumped noses with me. “I take it you like the dress.”

“I like the dress,” I said and leaned close to her ear. “But I love the mare that’s in it,” I whispered to her.

“No fair!” Sassy protested. “I want to know what you said to make her blush and smile like that.”

“It was something sweet,” Coco told Sassy.

“Is something wrong?” Mom asked, as she stepped into the hallway with Dad.

“Princess Celestia is here,” Rumble told her and pointed a hoof at the window.

“She made it!” Mom said, sounding happy. “When she responded to our invitation, she was not sure if she could attend or not.” Mom made a motion at all of us to prompt us toward the door. “We need to get out there ourselves.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Thunderlane said, as he and Rarity led us out of one of the school’s back doors.

Sassy walked closer to Mom and asked. “Are you okay?”

“I am fine,” Mom said with a bitter-sweet smile. “My daughter is getting married to a very nice stallion today.”

Sassy nodded. “She is. I have to admit, I’m jealous of her.”

We passed by Filter and Silent, as Mom replied, “I am sure you will find your own special stallion someday too.”

Sassy glanced back over her shoulder, looking at Silent. “I might already have.”

We each took our places on either side of the arch as Lyra, who must have arrived while we were changing, began a delicate song on her lyre.

Motions behind the guests caught my eye. Dinky, Piña, and Pinch had joined Rumble and seemed to discussing something with whispers and animated gestures.

There where giggles and squeals of delight from the school fillies, as Satin and Dad emerged from the school.

Stormbreaker took in a breath and smiled as they came closer.

“You’re a lucky stallion,” Raven told him, in a whisper

“I am,” he replied. “I hope I’m making her just as lucky.”

The trio of fillies proceeded before Satin and Dad, spreading flower petals as they walked down the ‘aisle’ between the seated guests.

Dad held Satin’s hoof, as he walked with her. When they reached their mark, they stopped. Dad’s hoof lingered on Satin’s for a second before he let her go and then kissed her on the forehead.

Mom sniffed, as Dad took his place beside her. He took his tail with hers as Mom leaned against him and wiped her eyes with a handkerchief.

Satin stood beside Stormbreaker, looking wonderful in her dress and veil. Rarity had done a stunning job of pleating and cutting the dress so that Satin could move without trouble while allowing it to accent Satin’s figure. The dress did not hide the fact that Satin was expecting but allowed it to be part of her beauty.

Lyra ended her melody, and there was a slight pause as Stormbreaker took Satin’s hoof and they walked the few steps they needed to stand in front of Raven under the archway.

Raven smiled at the guests and began the ceremony.

“We are gathered here to celebrate the joining of these two ponies. We all know Satin and Stormbreaker in different ways, but they have been important parts of all of our lives. Satin was my schoolmate, and has remained my friend even after we graduated. Many of your know them as your tutor or your coach. Others here know them as family. We all know them as caring, loving ponies, who have found somepony special in each other.” Raven smiled, and glanced at Satin. “Soon, they will have another somepony in their lives they will adore and share their love with and who will be special to all of us too.” Raven looked towards Rumble and asked, “May we have the rings, please?”

Rumble held the pillow that had the rings atop it with intense focus. Though a little stiff with his steps, he walked down the aisle and presented the rings to Satin and Stormbreaker without incident.

“Satin, do you take this stallion to be your husband?” Raven asked.

Using her magic, Satin levitated Stormbreaker’s ring, which was on a thin chain, and put it around his neck. “I do.”

Raven looked to Stormbreaker and asked, “Stormbreaker, do you take this mare to be your wife?”

Using his wings, Stormbreaker took Satin’s ring and placed it on her horn. “I do.”

After lifting Satin’s veil with his wing tips, Stormbreaker drew the leading primary of his wing down Satin’s face in a caress and touched his forehead to hers.

There was a hissing noise behind the archway that made the hairs on my back of my neck stand up.

“Oh no,” Turner half whispered and half moaned.

“What is-” Raven’s question was cut off, as the ‘flowers’ behind the archway shot into the air and exploded into a wonderful display of sparks, streaks of flame, and a variety of vivid colors.

“Cool!” one colt declared. A filly sitting at his side gave him a light punch to the shoulder.

“This is a wedding!” the filly reminded the colt in a harsh whisper.

The fireworks ended, and Raven, having regained her composure, announced, “I now pronounce you mare and stallion!”

Satin gave Stormbreaker a kiss that brought cheers from their students and applause from the older guests, as he wrapped her in his wings.

After Satin and Stormbreaker broke their kiss, Raven announced, “Thank you for coming. Everypony, please, enjoy the food and refreshments.”

It seemed as if half of the guests headed towards the food, while the other half surged to surround Satin and Stormbreaker.

I shied away from the crowd of students and a few assorted friends, who all took turns giving Satin hugs and shaking hooves with Stormbreaker.

Raven made her way around the throng of students towards me. “There you are!” She said, and gave me a hug. “How is my honorary little brother?”

“I’m doing well,” I said, returning her hug. “How have you been?”

“Busy!” Raven said with a smile. “How’s it feel to know that you will be an uncle soon?”

“Kind of nice, but a little nerve wracking too.”

Rumble approached us, just as Raven and I let each other go.

“You did great!” Raven complemented.

Rumble grinned. “Thanks. I’m glad the fireworks were the thing that went wrong and not me carrying the rings.”

Raven gave him a curious look.

“Stormbreaker told him that something always goes wrong at these events,” I explained.

Raven nodded. “Strombreaker’s right. Even with the royal events, something always manages to not go as planned.”

“You did it!” Piña wove through several ponies legs and took Rumble in a full hug that pinned his forelegs to his sides. “I told you, you didn’t have to worry about it.”

“Thanks Piña,” he said.

“I told you she’d find him,” Pinch said to Dinky, as she and Dinky walked up.

“You all did great,” I told them.

“Did you know Princess Celestia coming with guards?!” Dinky asked.

“It was a surprise to me,” I told her.

“I know Silent, but I don’t know who the other pony is,” Dinky said.

“Coco knows who he is,” Sassy said, as she and Coco joined our group.

“You do?” Dinky asked Coco. “Who is he?”

“That’s my brother, Light Filter,” Coco told Dinky.

“No way!” Dinky looked at Filter and then back to Coco. “He’s your brother?!”

“Piña and Pinch didn’t tell you?” Coco asked, smiling with amusement at Dinky.

“We didn’t get a chance,” Pinch said. “They showed up right before the wedding got started.”

“There you are, you rapscallion!”

I jumped at the voice of Harsh Tutor, who had somehow sneaked up on me. I turned to the school’s silver maned Headmare and smiled my most innocent smile. “Hello, Headmare.”

Tutor’s light purple eyes met mine with a faux serious expression. “I hope you have been behaving yourself.”

“I have,” I said.

“No bubble bath or glitter hidden away anywhere?”

I blushed. “No, Headmare.”

“Good colt,” Tutor said and patted my shoulder with a hoof.

“Bubble bath?” Dinky asked, tilting her head.

Tutor turned to Dinky and smiled. “Do you see the fountain at the back of the school?” she asked pointing a hoof towards the fountain.

All four of the foals nodded, as Dinky said, “Yes, ma’am.”

“Thanks to Pin and this three filly friends, we know that it can blow bubbles higher than the roof of the school if bubble bath is added to it and that it can fit an entire class worth of rambunctious foals in it too.”

“Three filly friends?” Pinch said, looking at me with wide eyed shock.

“Oh yes,” Harsh Tutor said, before I could clarity my relationship with my ‘filly friends’ to the foals, with clear glee at my squirming discomfort. “Pin and his three filly friends were legends at the school because of their antics. Thanks to them, we also know it is possible to cover every hoofspan of an arts and crafts room, including the fixtures, furniture, and the foals inside it, with glitter using the right combination of spells.”

“Whoa,” Rumble said, looking at me as if he were admiring some novel aspect of me.

Raven giggled and asked her, “Isn’t the ceiling of Room 204 still covered in glitter?”

“It is,” Harsh Tutor confirmed.

My ears fall as if I had regressed back to being a colt being reprimanded. “I thought you told us not to clean off the ceiling.”

“I did,” Harsh Tutor said. “You four got the glitter coverage so even, it seemed a waste to let your experiment go unchronicled. Besides, it’s saved us from having the ceiling repainted, since the enchantments you four wove together are till functioning so well.”

“Headmare!” the spokesfilly from earlier called to Harsh Tutor. She waved from her spot at Satin’s side. “Come join us, please!”

“Wait, before you go, I want to ask something,” Piña said. “If you sort of liked what Pin did, why did you ban him from the school?”

“To remind him of proper magical safety protocols,” Harsh Tutor said. “Young fillies and colts shouldn’t mix enchantments and their magics together without supervision.” She gave me a knowing look. “You didn’t mention you were ‘banned’ only over the summer for most of the time did you?”

I grinned with little guilt.

Harsh Tutor sighed, but kept her smile. “It’s no wonder Study has gray hairs in her mane.” She turned to the foals and said, “Please take my advice, and don’t get any ideas from this one or Minuette. They will get you into nothing but trouble. Now, you must excuse me. I need to give the new couple congratulations from Whinny or she’ll never let me live it down.”

The foals’ eyes stayed on Harsh Tutor and then snapped to me, after she had been obstructed from sight by the throng of students around Satin and Stormbreaker.

Rumble grinned in a wicked way. “What else did you four do?” he asked, his ears perked.

I grinned back and opened my mouth to answer.

“Pin,” Raven said cutting me off. “Behave.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said.

“I feel bad, you’re brother and Silent are just standing there,” Dinky said to Coco.

I hummed a note and rubbed my chin with a hoof. “There may be a way to fix that.”

Raven sighed. “Pin, I know that look. What are you plotting?”

“I had the thought that if a group of foals and several students from the school asked Princess Celestia if the guard could join them for lunch they might have a good shot at making it happen.”

Piña giggled. “I like this plan.”

“Who should we talk to with the students, though?” Pinch asked. “We don’t know any of them.”

“Do you see the filly with the light green mane that asked for Headmare Tutor?” I said and nodded toward where the filly was in the crowd of students.

“Yes,” Pinch answered.

“She seems to be the one in charge with the students. She’s the one I would go to first to ask for help.”

“Got it!” Pinch said and gave me a quick hug. “Thanks, Uncle Pin.”

“You’re welcome,” I said, giving her an encouraging pat on the shoulder.

The four foals left us, walking with a purpose toward the students.

“You still have a bit of wild colt in you, don’t you?” Raven asked me.

“Yes he does,” Coco said, hinting at a lot of things and making me blush.

Chapter 29

My ear tilted as somepony knocked on Mom and Dad’s front door. “I’ll get it,” I declared.

Upon opening the door, Silent’s grin greeted me.

“Seems you remembered just fine, Filter,” Silent said to the stallion beside him.

“Come on in,” I invited them.

As soon as he stepped into the house, Silent’s eyes scanned the room and his ears swiveled until he located Sassy. On seeing her, Silent’s smile changed to one of infatuation and his eyes never left her.

Filter gave Silent a nudge. “Don’t stare too hard. You don’t want to look creepy to the ponies who don’t know you.”

Silent snorted and gave Filter a look. “Says the stallion who ogles the chef in front of her father and her customers.”

Pinch poked her head over the back of Mom and Dad’s couch and grinned. She said something to Piña, who was sitting beside her, and they both scrambled off the couch and into the living room.

“I didn’t know it was going to be that kind of after party,” Minuette said, after glancing as if to make sure the fillies were out of the room. “Too bad they’re already out of uniform and we don’t have any music going. I bet Hearts would have loved the show.”

“Min!” Hearts said, blushing to her ear tips.

“That’s my coltfriend you’re talking about,” Sassy told Minuette.

“Ooo!” Minuette grinned at Sassy. “Which one?” She waggled her eyebrows. “Or both?”

“Silent Wing,” Sassy said. “The one on the left.”

“Ah, you went with dark and handsome.” Minuette nodded in approval. “Not that the other stallion is a lesser choice, mind you. There’s a lot of good looking stallion there, if you’re into them.”

Filter blushed at the complement.

Dinky and Pinch peeked into the den from the living room’s doorway.

“They’re here!” Dinky said with excitement. She glanced back into the living room. “You promise he’s your brother?”

Filter smiled, as Coco came into the room.

“I Pinkie promise he is,” Coco told Dinky, as she walked toward Filter and the group’s four foals followed at her hind hooves.

“Hey, Sis,” Filter said, and hugged Coco off her hooves.

“He picked her up like Dad does me,” Dinky said in awe, as Coco returned Filter’s hug.

Coco giggled and patted Filter’s shoulder, as he put her down. “He’s strong, thanks to all his training and wearing his armor all the time.”

Filter’s ears went up, when he saw Satin on the couch. He gave her a bashful wave. “Hello again. It was a lovely wedding.”

“Thank you,” Satin said. “I’m glad you could be there.”

“I am too.” Filter bowed his head to the foals. “Thank you for inviting us to eat with you. We enjoyed it.”

“You’re welcome,” Pinch, Piña, and Rumble said together, while Dinky remained motionless.

“Dinky, you’ve got to breathe,” Piña said and bumped shoulders with Dinky.

“Is she okay?” Silent asked.

“She’s fine,” Pinch told him. “She has this reaction to Royal Guards who talk to her.”

“I don’t know, Sis,” Piña said, giving Dinky another bump. “She’s almost as bad now as when she met Shining Armor.”

“Awww, you have a fan,” Silent teased Filter.

“So do you,” Sassy said, as she approached Silent and gave him a hug.

Silent wrapped Sassy in his wings and reached his head up to touch noses with Sassy.

“I wonder what that feels like,” Piña muttered to herself.

One of Sassy’s ears turned in Piña’s direction. “What does what feel like?”

“A wing hug from a bat pony,” Piña said.

“It’s soft, warm, and delicate, like being wrapped in living silk,” Sassy described. She put her head on Silent’s and gave a contented sigh. “It’s wonderful.”

“Would either of you want something to drink?” I asked the new arrivals.

“I would,” Filter said. He glanced at Silent. “I think he’s a little too wrapped up for a drink right now.”

Silent snorted. “Jealousy can be such an ugly thing.”

Grinning, I motioned for Filter to follow me. “I’ll show you where the food and drinks are.”

As Filter followed me, the foals followed him.

“I thought I heard a familiar voice,” Dad said as Filter and I stepped into the kitchen. “Welcome.”

“Thank you for having me,” Filter said. He smiled at Stormbreaker, who was sitting at the kitchen table with Dad and Turner. “It was a great wedding. I wasn’t expecting the literal fireworks during the ceremony.”

“Nopony was,” Turner said with a sigh. “I’m not sure what went wrong.”

“Nothing went wrong,” Thunderlane, who was leaning against the kitchen counter, told him. “They just got a head start.”

“It had to because Satin and Strombreaker touched,” Turner said. “Their physical contact must have allowed their love to-”

“The fireworks!” Dinky blurted, causing Filter and me to jump forward half a step. “Love makes them work, right, Dad?!”

“Sort of,” Turner said, looking puzzled. “It’s what gets them to ignite. Why do-?”

“I think I’ve got it,” Dinky said in a quiet voice and with unfocused eyes. She appeared as if she was seeing something inside her mind. “That’s how I can prove it,” she whispered to herself.

Muffins leaned into the kitchen’s doorway. “Is everything all right? I thought I heard Dinky shout.” She smiled, after looking at Dinky. “So that’swhat’s going on.” She gave an affectionate, suffering sigh. “Looks like we have two of you crazy ponies now.”

“What do you mean?” Turner asked.

“She has the same look you get when you get one of your ‘inspirations’,” Muffins explained.

“Really?” Turner said, seeming proud. “What’s running through that noggin of yours?” he asked Dinky

Dinky shook her head as if to refocus. “Just some ideas I had for a project.” She smiled at Turner. “I think I might need your help for parts of it, though.”

“I would be glad to help.” Turner looked intrigued. “What kind of project are we talking about?”

Dinky glanced at Pinch, seemed to catch herself, and then looked back to Turner with a quick turn of her head. “I’m not sure what it’s going to be, but I know it’s going to work.”

“She even sounds like you,” Muffins said to Turner, “vague and determined.”

“As much as she takes after you, with her kindness and good looks, it’s nice to know there’s a little of me in there somewhere,” Turner said.

Muffins blushed.

Dinky ran up to Turner and hugged him. “Thanks Dad.”

Turner smiled and hugged Dinky back. “You’re welcome, muffin.”

*****

We followed Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkleshine outside.

“Wait a second,” Satin said. “I get a hug, before you go.”

Satin gave each of the trio a hug. “Thank you for all that you did today. The food was delicious, the decorations were gorgeous, and the flowers you chose were beautiful and tasty. Getting to have you there was a real treat too.”

“We had to make things special for our tutor,” Minuette said.

“We should thank all of you,” Lemon Hearts said. “Thanks to everypony pitching in, this was the nicest set up and take down for an event we have had in awhile.”

We waved as Lemon Hearts, Minuette, and Twinkleshine walked away from us.

“Come on, Lug,” Silent said, poking Filter in the shoulder with a hoof. “We need to follow their example.”

Dinky’s ears fell a bit. “I guess the party’s over, isn’t it?”

“It’s winding down,” Muffins said. “We’ll need to go soon too.”

Coco leaned and whispered something in Filter’s ear.

Filter looked apprehensive. “I’m not sure I should ask her something like that. It might come off kind of creepy.”

“Then I’ll ask her.” Coco smiled at Dinky. “Would you like a hug from a Royal Guard, before he goes?”

“I can have a hug?” Dinky looked at Filter as if not believing what she was hearing. “Really?”

Filter smiled and nodded. “If you want one.”

Muffins giggled, as Dinky rushed over to Filter and hugged him. Because of the difference in their sizes, Dinky only could get her forelegs around his midsection.

Filter chuckled. “Thank you, but it’s going to be tough for me to give you a proper hug back like this.”

Dinky tilted her head back and looked up at Filter. “That’s all right. I got to hug a guard.”

“That won’t work. I’m the one supposed to be hugging you.” Filter bent down and picked up Dinky as if she weighed as much as a paperweight.

Dinky gave a light squeal of delight and hugged Filter around his neck, as he returned her hug and blushed.

“You made her evening,” Satin said.

As Filter put Dinky back down on the floor, she held onto one of Filter’s hooves. “Will we get to see you tomorrow?”

“I’m not sure,” Filter said. “It depends on a lot of things with work and what all of you will be doing.”

“We are going to be scattered around the city most of the day tomorrow. You could meet up with us for dinner, if you would like,” Mom told Filter. “We were planning to go to a restaurant that Satin has been recommending.”

“That sounds great,” Filter said. “Where do I need to be and when?”

Mom looked over to Satin. “What was the name of restaurant again?”

“The Tasty Treat,” Satin told her.

“There’s no way he’s going to miss it,” Silent said, through a laugh, as Filter’s ears perked and his eyes lit up.

“You and Sassy are invited too,” Mom said.

“Thank you, but we have reservations for tomorrow night,” Sassy said.

“Oh?” Rarity gave her an intrigued look. “Where do you have the reservations?”

“At Silver Platters,” Silent said with a smile.

“Silent!” Sassy all but gasped and turned to him. “You didn’t tell me that. The Silver Platter’s too expensive.”

“For you it’s-” Silent’s ears shot up as Sassy gave him a quick kiss.

“We’ll debate this as we walk home,” Sassy told him.

“We should get you to bed too,” Stormbreaker told Satin. “Would you like me to see if I can find a carriage for hire real quick?”

Satin shook her head. “No thanks. The walk would do me good, and it might help the foal calm down for tonight.”

“We’ll walk with you, until we need to take our turn,” Silent said.

Rarity grinned in a sly way, and Sassy caught it. “What are you smiling like that for?” Sassy asked.

“I was contemplating the possible interpretations of ‘we need to take our turn’ and ‘as we walk home,” Rarity teased.

“We live in the same direction,” Silent said, with a bright blush.

“Dinks, you need to let Filter go,” Amethyst told her sister. “You can’t keep him, and we need to head back to Uncle Spring's too.”

Dinky looked at her hooves as if surprised they were still holding Filter’s hoof. “Sorry!” she said and let go.

Filter chuckled. “You’re fine.”

As if they had shared a signal among themselves, Satin, Stormbreaker, and most of our friends walked away.

Piña, looking glum, hugged Berry on her side.

“You okay?” Berry asked, putting a foreleg around Piña.

“Yeah,” Piña answered. “I’m just sad they’re leaving.”

Pinch hugged Piña’s free side so she could reach around Pina and hug a bit of Berry too. “Piña sandwich!” she declared and nuzzled Piña. “Now you can’t feel bad.”

“Thanks,” Piña said and nuzzled Pinch back.

Looking as if a thought had come to her, Pinch turned her head toward Coco and me. “If Miss Summer and Mister Chaser are staying with Satin and Stormbreaker? Where are you two going to sleep?”

“I’m on the couch,” Coco said.

“I brought a bed roll, so I’m camping out in the living room,” I told her.

“Slight change,” Berry said. “Coco is sleeping with me and Barrel is on the couch.”

Barrel looked surprised at Berry’s words. “I’ve behaved myself today,” he said, in mock protest. A devious smile came to his face. “Or are you jealous Satin got to snuggle with her and her nice, soft coat and you didn’t?”

“Could we have miss Coco?” Piña asked, before Berry could respond. “The bed is big enough for the three of us, and that way Uncle Pin doesn’t have to sleep on the floor.

“Miss Coco, I’ll have to be in the middle,” Pinch mock whispered. “Piña is a sleep snuggler.”

Piña looked indignant. “So are you!”

“So is she, judging by this morning,” Berry said. “If you’re in the middle, you could get it from both sides.”

“Ever thought there would be a time ponies would debate about who was going to sleep with you?” I asked Coco.

Coco giggled. “Can’t say I have.”

*****

“This is kind of creepy,” Coco whispered to me, as we went down the stairs to the library’s basement.

“I like to think of it like a part of a Daring Do book,” I whispered back and grinned. “Descending the dark, long unused stairwell our heroes braved onward towards their sought treasure,” I narrated in mimic of an old time radio show host’s voice.

Coco smothered a giggle with her hoof. “Don’t do that. If you make me laugh, we’re going to get into trouble.”

We made our way to the end of the basement’s main hallway, and I knocked on First Folio’s office door.

“Just a moment,” a voice answered from inside the office. A second later, the door opened. “How can I help- Pin!” Folio hugged me. “I haven’t seen you in moons!”

“Hello Aunt Folio,” I said and hugged her back.

Folio seemed to notice Coco standing behind me. “Hello there,” she greeted, as she let me go.

Coco, smiling, gave a shy wave back. “Hello.”

Folio gave me a curious look. “Who is this young mare?”

“This is Coco Pommel,” I told her. “Coco, this is First Folio, the library’s archivist and special collections expert.”

Folio snorted. “He’s making me sound like something special. I take care of all the dusty old tomes nopony wants to look at.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “In fact, Coco and I would like to get access to the Haberdasher's special collection.”

One of Folio’s eyebrows rose as she gave me a grin. “Doing a mare a favor are we?”

I felt myself blush. “That sums it up.” I opened one of my saddlebag’s pouches and levitated out a box of ginger snaps. “I brought the customary ‘bribe’ too.”

Folio teared up, as she took the ginger snaps from my magic. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Grandfather wouldn’t have been happy with me, if I hadn’t,” I told her.

“I miss that old stick in the mud,” Folio said and ran her hoof along the edge of the box in a self-comforting way.

“I miss him too,” I said, and my ears fell a little.

“He was quite the stallion. He and Weave raised a good stallion too.” With her free hoof, Folio patted me on the shoulder. “He’d fuss at both of us for making a scene over him, so let’s stop there.” She turned and stepped towards her office. “I’ll be right back,” she told Coco and me. “I need to put these in a safe space and get the key for that room.”

Coco moved closer and asked in a soft voice, “Weave?”

I turned to her. “I guess I never have told you Grandmother’s actual name. It was Fine Weave.” I chuckled at myself. “It almost feels weird to say her actual name. Everypony in Ponyville, including me, called her Nana so much it might as well have been her name.”

Folio stepped out of her office and closed the door behind her. She gave Coco and me a knowing look. “You two are more than friends.”

I nodded. “She’s my special somepony.”

“I see.” Folio asked Coco, “Where are you in your courtship?”

Coco blushed. “We completed it not too long ago, ma’am.”

“And you’re letting him walk around as if he was unclaimed?” Folio gave a “tsk, tsk” and shook her head. “You better watch it. Some filly around here might try to nab him from you.” Folio gave me a look. “You haven’t done your part for her either.”

I held up my hooves. “We didn’t go by all of the traditional courtship rules.”

“As precious as she is, you better follow them more closely or somepony might try to sweep her off her hooves,” Folio said and motioned for us to follow her. “You don’t want her catching the eye of somepony like your cousin or Blueblood, while she’s in Canterlot, do you?”

“No I wouldn’t,” I said, not able to keep all of the protective growl at the thought out of my voice.

“Rarity’s told me about Blueblood, but who’s the cousin I’m supposed to watch out for?” Coco asked.

“His name is Pinprick,” Folio told her.

“Most of the family doesn’t like to talk about him much,” I said.

“I can understand why too,” Folio said as she stopped and unlocked the door to the collection. “He’s the opposite of Pin personality wise, but they look a lot alike. If you ever see ‘Pin’ wearing a gaudy red jacket, check to make sure he’s got the right cutie mark. If it’s a stallion with chess pieces on his flank, kick said flank before he puts the moves on you and gets hoovesy.”

“Thanks for the warning.” Coco gave a light giggle. “I won’t mind checking Pin’s flank to make sure he’s the right stallion from time to time.”

I blushed as Folio laughed.

“I’ve got to get back to my office.” Folio gave Coco and me a teasing look. “You two don’t do anything in here you wouldn’t do in front of your parents.”

“She seems like a very nice pony,” Coco said, after Folio had left.

“She’s one of the hidden treasures down here in the basement that more ponies should get to know.” I could feel my smile get heavier. “She, Nana, and Grandfather were good friends. Whenever Grandfather needed some extra inspiration for a new design, we would come here and he would look through the archive and Nana I would visit with Folio and share the ‘bribe’ of ginger snaps.”

“Pin.”

When I turned from looking at the door to Coco, she touched her nose to mine. “You’re looking sad again,” she said in a gentle warning tone.

“You’re right, no doldrums.” I felt the vigor return to my smile as I told her, “Grandfather would have loved to have been able to show you the archive. I hope I can do as well showing it to you as he did with me.”

During the next few minutes, I showed Coco the archive’s catalog and where its various holdings were. While she was looking over the first items that had caught her interest, I dusted off the desk in the room's corner. She brought her selected items to the desk, and I helped her get her workspace arranged.

There was a natural pause in our activities, and I watched Coco scrutinize and work from images in a magazine she had pulled from the collection. Her alternating between studying the illustrations and giving careful attention to the notes and drawings she created set a rhythm that was engrossing and made her motions look like a choreographed dance rather than any effort on her part. Her look of relaxed concentration and gentle humming as she sketched design ideas made me smile, and I stood there for long moments admiring her and her skill.

Coco glanced up at me and smiled. “Pin, are you in there?”

I blinked and then shook my head. “I can’t help it. Watching you work is hypnotic.”

Coco giggled. “You’re sweet, but you can’t stand here and watch me work all day.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” I told her with honesty.

She motioned for me to get closer. When I did, she gave me a brief kiss on the nose. “I know you wouldn’t, but shoo. You promised you would enjoy yourself today.”

“I will, but, before I go, I would like to remedy the issue Folio pointed out.” Using my magic, I braided the same strand of her mane I had before she and I had completed our courtship. “This signals you have somepony courting you or that you are in the trial period with them,” I explained.

Coco smiled as she took the braid with a hoof and gave it a look of fond familiarity. “I doubt anypony is going to try to lure me away from you.”

I gave her an exaggerated uncertain look. “I don’t know about that, judging by some of the glances and stares I’ve seen you get.”

Coco gave me a smile. “I will not be lured away from you by anypony, no matter what they tempt me with.”

“Ponies around here have a lot to lure with,” I half joked, feeling a touch insecure as I thought of what some ponies in Canterlot could offer her. “Fortunes, mansions, private airships, vineyards, titles, world trav-'' Coco cut off my listing with a hoof to my lips.

“Would they cook for me and take the time to do all the sweet things you do for me? Probably not. Would they brush out my coat and mane, making me feel like the most adored mare in Equestria, and let me enjoy brushing theirs out? Very unlikely. Would they wake up worried that I had been a dream that vanished from their life? Almost certainly not.”

My insecurities scurried away at her words, and I smiled and kissed the frog of Coco’s hoof.

Coco replaced her hoof with an earnest kiss of her own that held more than a modicum of restrained passion. She looked me in my eyes and told me, “I know they would not love me like you do or could ever get me to feel as much love for them as I have for you.”

I held still, my heart pounding, as Coco reached up, braided the same strand of my mane she had as part of our courtship, and tucked it behind my ear. “You better go, or there’s a good chance we will end up doing things in here we wouldn’t do in front of our parents.”

*****

I stepped out of the library and shielded my eyes from the morning sunlight. Where to? I thought to myself. I have a free day and no clue what to do with it.

“There is the very stallion we needed,” a stallion who sounded like Turner said to somepony I could not see.

After Shifting how I stood to avoid the full brunt of the sun’s light and blinking my eyes back into focus, I looked at Turner and the four foals with him. “How did you know I was going to be here?”

“It was nothing more than a matter of timing,” Turner said.

Piña trotted over to me and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad we didn’t miss you!”

“I’m glad to see you too,” I told her and gave her a hug back.

“We would like to ask a favor of you,” Turner said. “Dinky, Pinch, and I each have a spot of research to do in the library, but Piña and Rumble have another task they would like to accomplish. Since I can’t be in two places at the same time, nor can I guide them around Canterlot as you could, we were wondering if you would be as kind as to help them in their endeavor.”

“Sure,” I told Turner. I looked to Rumble and asked, “What do you need help with?”

“Since Noi and Kevin couldn’t come with us, we wanted to get something special to take back with us for them,” Rumble told me.

“I can help with that,” I told him.

“Wonderful!” Tuner said. “Our predicament is solved, and we can research to our heart’s content.”

“Or until lunch,” I reminded him.

“Of course, my good chap.” Turner patted me on the shoulder as he, Dinky, and Pinch went past me. “Wouldn’t miss it for all the tea in Trottingham.”

“You’re going to have to let him go, if we’re going to get to go,” Rumble teased Piña.

“Did you two have anything in mind to get them?” I asked the foals, as Piña let go of me.

“Since we’re an official training trio now, we were going to get Noi something to wear to keep her mane back like Rumble got me,” Piña said.

I did my best to suppress the smile that came when I noticed Rumble’s blush. “Then a trip to Canterlot Boutique is in order. What about Kevin?”

“That’s going to be harder,” Rumble said.

“Pinch suggested things, and we had some ideas too, but we don’t know if we could get any of them before we left,” Piña said.

“Why don’t you tell me about what you’ve come up with on the way to Rarity’s?” I said and motioned with my head for them to follow me. “Depending on what you’ve got in mind we might have to hustle, but I’m sure we can find something for him before you have to get on the train tomorrow morning.”

*****

“I’ve never been here,” Piña said, as we stopped in front of Rarity’s boutique’s door.

“It’s pretty fancy,” Rumble said.

“That’s right, you’ve been staying here the last couple of nights,” Piña said.

I opened the door for the foals and heard a gasp and Sassy giving a frantic whisper to somepony. As I stepped into the boutique, I got a brief glimpse of somepony with a deep purple mane and tail rushing through the boutique’s back door.

“Who was that?” Piña asked Sassy.

“Just somepony visiting the shop,” Sassy told her, in an evasive tone. “She thought you might be customers, so she ran off.”

“Out the back?” Rumble asked, his ears at odd angles.

“She’s a friend of mine and Rarity’s, so she can leave that way,” Sassy explained. She seemed to make a deliberate shift to her demeanor and she grinned at Rumble and me. “You three make an interesting trio. What brings you here?”

“We’re wanting to get Noi a surprise,” Piña said, putting a foreleg across Rumble’s shoulders.

“I’m the guide and escort,” I said, raising my hoof.

“I see,” Sassy said. She gave the foals a slight bow. “Welcome to Canterlot Boutique, where everything is sleek, chic, and magnifique.” With a graceful motion of her hoof, indicating they should follow, she told them, “Please come with me. I’m sure we will have something that Miss Noi would like.”

While Sassy assisted the foals, I wandered the shop, admiring its décor and the dresses on display. The fabric used for one dress caught my eye. With a light hoof, I touched the dress and studied the fabric’s weight and texture.

“If you are interested in that dress, I would be happy to make alterations for you.” I turned to Rarity, who gave me a teasing smile. “I am always happy to help stallions reveal their more feminine side.”

“After seeing what you did with MacIntosh, I don’t doubt it.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Or are you looking for a dress for a particular special somepony? If it’s who I suspect it might be, I have her measurements on file.”

“Speaking of Coco and dresses, you did a wonderful job with her bridesmare dress,” I complemented.

“I cannot take credit for that one,” Rarity said. “She made it while she was working with me in Ponyville.”

Rarity’s words made me pause. “She never mentioned it was hers,” I told her. “I will have to say something to her, then.”

“She’s so shy about talking about her own work,” Rarity said with a small sigh. “She’s good enough to have her own line, but she refuses to step forward so ponies can acknowledge her skill.”

“I know I floated an past her about how I could help, but she say’s she’s not ready to ‘step out there’ yet.”

“What did you suggest?” Rarity said.

“Giving her some display space in the shop.”

Rarity looked at me with surprise.

I turned back to the dress. “I don’t think I’ve seen this material before. Did you make it?”

“It’s from the Crystal Empire, actually, but thank you for the vote of confidence.” Rarity prodded me in the chest with a hoof. “No trying to change the subject. You can’t say something like you did and then change the subject.”

“We’re ready Uncle Pin!” Piña said, as she, Rumble, and Sassy walked up.

Perfect timing, thank you, I thought towards Piña. “Then we better get going, if we’re going to grab something for Kevin,” I told her aloud.

Rarity gave me a look that told me she was not through with our topic of conversation and she would follow up on it later.

Making sure not to make eye contact with Rarity, I asked Rumble, “What did you end up getting her?”

“A nice head band and some tail scrunchies.” Rumble reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out an embroidered periwinkle head band and a matching tail scrunchy.

“He picked out the hair band, and I pinked the scrunchies,” Piña said.

“If those are for Noi, you picked an excellent color,” Rarity praised. “Those will go well with her coat and mane.”

“They match her eyes too,” Rumble said.

I smiled, as the three mares collectively said, “Awwww!”

Rumble blushed and put the headband and scrunchie back in their bag.

“You have a very good training partner there, Piña,” Rarity told her.

Piña bumped her shoulder against Rumble’s. “I know.”

“Speaking of ‘partners’,” Sassy said while making a show of looking at the braid in my mane. “It seems somepony is staking her claim.”

Everypony’s eyes turned to me and the braid tucked behind my ear.

“Considering the looks he got yesterday from some of the mares at the wedding, I can’t say I blame her,” Rarity said.

Piña looked at me with a meaningful smile. “She looked like she wanted to catch Aunt Satin’s bouquet yesterday pretty bad too.”

“She surprised me with that display,” Sassy said. “I didn’t know she could jump like that.”

“Coco may be small, but she’s strong, quick, and…” I tapered off, as Piña and Rarity giggled and Sassy grinned at me.

Rumble winced as if he had watched me walk into a trap of my own design.

“Flexible too?” Sassy asked with a suggestive tone in her voice.

Deciding to cut my losses, I remained silent as I stood there and blushed.

*****

Dinky all but pranced as she walked alongside Pinch.

“I take it she found what she was looking for,” I said to Turner.

“I think she did, but she asked me to keep quiet about what she was looking into until she can prove it can work.” Turner’s smiled held a good bit of paternal pride. “Judging by what she and I found, I think it will.” He asked Coco, “Were you able to find what you needed?”

“Yes!” Coco said, sounding very pleased. “The archive had what I needed. I’ll have to visit the collection a couple of more times to gather everything I’ll need, but it’s all there.”

Tuner looked behind us. “Did you two find what you were looking for?”

“We did!” Pinch said.

Rumble, his mouth occupied with the handles of the bags he was carrying, nodded in agreement.

“Seems Uncle Pin was the only pony who didn’t find something today,” Pinch said.

“I didn’t need to look for anything,” I said and took Coco’s tail with mine. “I found who I was looking for a few months back.”

“Are you going to stand for that?! somepony said in an exaggerated tone. “He’s being affectionate with your sister! Out in public no less!”

“The scandal!” a mare said and giggled.

“At least they are not doing something vulgar like nibbling each other's ears,” another mare said. “What such a sight would have done to the foals!”

“You three are horrible,” a fourth voice said.

Our little herd stopped and waited for the four ponies behind us to catch up.

“Seems he’s possessive too,” Silent teased. “He’s not even letting her tail go so she can give you a hug,”

Coco looked to Dinky with a grin. “Would you mind giving my brother a hug for me, since I can’t right at the moment?”

Dinky looked at Filter with anticipation. “Could I give you another hug?”

“Sure,” Filter said. He all but caught Dinky, as she flung herself at him. “Hello to you too,” he told her, through a laugh. He picked her up and gave her a hug back.

After Dinky and Filter finished their hug, our herd continued on to Mom and Dad’s.

Piña knocked on the door and we waited for a couple of moments.

Dad opened the door with an uneasy expression on his face.

“Dad, is everything all right?”

“Satin’s having a bit of a rough time,” Dad said.

“Oh no!” Piña glanced through Dad’s legs and looked further into the house.

Dad, with a grin, stepped out of the way. “Go on. Satin could use a little T.LC.”

“Thank you!” Piña said and dashed inside.

“It’s not serious I hope,” Sassy said.

“Nothing more than some stomach issues,” Dad assured.

“The poor dear,” Rarity said.

“Come on in,” Dad told us. “We’ll have to discuss changes to our dinner plans.”

Berry, Mom, Muffins, and Summer Rain walked into the room as we all got settled in the den and joined Barrel, Storm Chaser, Thunderlane and Rumble.

“How is she doing?” Dad asked.

“Still green, but she is fine,” Mom informed everypony.

Storm Chaser looked towards the legs of the trio of mares as if expecting somepony smaller to be with them. “Where did the little filly go?”

Summer Rain smiled. “She’s glued to Satin, who’s holding her like she was a doll.” She tilted her head and looked thoughtful. “This is going to sound strange, but her being there seemed to help Satin relax and help her stomach calm down a bit.”

“Earth pony mare’s magic,” Berry said with conviction. “As soon as we discuss our change in dinner plans, I’ll be right back in there so I can rest against Satin’s back so she can get a double dose.”

“If you can pry my son away from her,” Summer Rain said. “I never thought I would see somepony nest worse than Chaser did, but I have now.”

Mom looked to Sassy and Silent. “I am sorry you canceled your reservations to join us when it looks like we will be eating in.”

“We didn’t do a complete cancelation,” Silent told her. “Friends of ours took our reservation, so it all worked out for everypony involved.”

“We might not have to change too much,” Filter said, in a self-conscious way. “The Tasty Treat does carry-out.”

Silent studied Filter with an amused expression. “I wondered if you were going to mention that.”

Filter did not acknowledge Silent, but blushed.

“We don’t know the menu, though,” Sassy said.

“He does,” Silent said, poking Filter in the side with a hoof. “He has the thing memorized, from what I can tell.”

“I can help ponies pick out something they might like,” Filter offered, looking bashful, as everypony in the room’s full attention went to him. “They have a great raisin and pineapple fried rice that’s light on the stomach too.”

Storm Chaser smiled. “I sense an ulterior motive.”

“He’s trying to curry favor with a cute curvy curry chef and her cantankerous curmudgeon of a caretaker,” Silent said.

Sassy giggled. “Nice alliteration.”

Silent gave her a slight bow of his head. “Thank you.” He told all of us, “Filter’s even working on a redesign of their menu.” He turned to Filter and asked, “How’s that going, by the way?”

“It's done, but figuring out where to get it printed has become an issue,” Filter told him, looking even more uncomfortable with the scrutiny he was getting.

“Do you think they can handle this many orders coming in at once?” Mom asked, smiling.

Filter nodded without hesitation. “I know she can.”

“There is more than one pony working there,” Silent said. “Or can you only think of her?” he teased.

Dad grinned. “I think we have our solution then. I’ll get a pad and a pen, and you can take everyponies’ orders.”

Filter smiled. “I’ll be glad to.”

As Filter helped ponies decide what to try, Rumble’s and Thunderlane’s, who were sitting with Storm Chaser on the couch, eyes remained on Filter, as he described The Tasty Treat’s various dishes and flavors.

“Is that everypony here?” Filter said, after taking the last order in the room.

“I think so,” Barrel said.

Filter flipped to the next page in the pad. “Let me go get the orders from the back, and I’ll be off.”

“We’re going with you!” Rumble blurted, after sharing a brother’s look with Thunderlane.

I lifted my hoof. “I’ll go too. I can help carry things back.”

“I’d like to go,” Rarity said. “I would hate to miss a chance to see Saffron again.”

“Give me your keys,” Silent told Filter, and held out his hoof.

Filter stared at him. “What?”

“Where did you leave the menu?” Silent asked.

Filter seemed to make some connections in his head. “You are not going to my place to get the menu!”

“Think about it for a moment. You show up with all these orders, which I’ll mention you helped get for them, and a possible new menu you’ll gain all kinds of brownie points with the old grouch.” Silent gave his hoof a slight shake. “Hoof them over.”

Filter hesitated and stared at Silent’s hoof with indecision.

“Give him your keys,” Mom said in her authoritarian voice. “When an opportunity comes, seize it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Filter said and gave Mom a smile.

*****

“Do you smell that?!” Rumble said, raising his nose in the air like a hound.

“I do!” Thunderlane said, and took a sniff of his own. “He pointed a wing to our left and took the corner. “This way.”

Filter chuckled, took in a deep sniff, and then let out a happy sigh. “That’s coming from The Tasty Treat alright.”

“That is a wonderful smell,” I told him, after taking in the aroma myself.

“It smells even better inside,” Rarity said.

After taking the turn, we walked a small distance to the restaurant. Silent was standing next to the front door and shaking his head at Rumble and Thunderlane who were gazing into one of the restaurant’s windows.

“You two need to tone it down.” Silent kidded them, “You’re going to freak out the guests and you're getting drool on the window.”

“He beat us here?” I asked nopony in particular.

“He’s quiet and fast, when he wants to be,” Filter said.

Silent grinned and pulled an artist’s protective portfolio from his saddlebags. “Here you go.”

“Thanks Silent,” Filter said, and tucked the portfolio into his own saddlebags.

“Hold still.” Silent made a show of examining Filter and brushing off Filter’s shoulders. “We can’t have you going in there without looking spiffy.”

“He looks handsome just as he is,” Rarity said in a supportive tone.

Silent opened the door and grinned at Filter. “You’re on big guy.”

The smell from the door opening was delicious. When we stepped inside, the pleasant scents of spices, baking bread, and jasmine tea brewing were overwhelming. I was glad to see that the restaurant had patrons but did not have so many that our putting in our orders would have caused them problems.

A grinning, younger mare with a light orange coat and emerald green eyes and mane trotted up to Filter. “Welcome back Mister Filter.” She glanced at the rest of us and her smile grew. “Welcome, friends of Mister Filter. How many of you will there be all together?”

“We won’t need a table this time, Poppy,” Filter told her.

Poppy’s ears fell a touch. “You won’t be staying? Saffron will be disappointed to hear that.”

“We were planning on bringing an entire herd of ponies, but things went a bit off,” Filter said, reached into his saddlebags, and took out the pad he had written our orders on. “We would like to place several carry out orders, though.” He offered the pad to Poppy. “I hope that makes up for us not staying.”

Poppy took the pad from Filter and read down the first page. Her eyebrows rose as she flipped to the second page and rose even further when she flipped to the third. “These are very detailed orders.” Poppy looked up at Filter and smiled. “I take it you shared one of our menus with them.”

“He was our menu,” Silent said. “He helped us make our choices from memorizing the menu he drew up for Saffron, which is in his saddlebags right at the moment.”

A mare who seemed to be a family relation to Poppy walked up to our group. “Good evening and welcome to The Tasty Treat. How can I help?”

“Aunt Panch, look!” Poppy said and held out the pad to Panch and flipped the pages with our orders on them. “They are going to need help in the kitchen with this many orders.”

Panch’s eyebrows rose in a manner very reminiscent of Poppy’s when she saw the orders. “That they will.” She glanced at Filter in a knowing way. “However, it would be poor service for us to not let our guests take a seat and have some naan while we prepare their meals.”

“Saffron will want to talk to Mister Filter,” Poppy said, sending a message to her aunt with her eyes and a playful twitch of her ears. “He created a special project for her and has it with him.”

Panch smiled warmly. “Please seat our guests, and I tell Saffron about the orders and her special caller.” She paused as she looked at Rumble and Thunderlane, whose eyes were trained on the back of the restaurant as if trying to sneak a glance into the kitchen through the bead curtain at the back of the room. “I sense you two have questions about our cooking.”

“We do!” the brothers said in unison.

Rumble, blushing, added, “Ma’am.”

“They both have a keen interest in the culinary arts,” Rarity said, with a smirk. “Despite him being a Wonderbolt and weatherpony by trade, the meals prepared by Thunderlane are as good as any chef. His brother here, Rumble, is showing a budding talent for cooking himself.”

“You’re Thunderlane?!” Poppy asked, as she gave the pegasus another look.

“I am,” Thunderlane said, putting on his charm and giving Poppy his Wonderbolt smile.

Rumble gave his brother a disbelieving look and a snort.

“I didn’t recognize you out of your uniform,” Poppy said, blushing. “I love your shows. I go to them every time I get the chance.”

“Poppy, dear,” Panch said in a prompting way.

“Right! Sorry.” Poppy said and gestured towards an empty table. “Please sit down and relax. We will bring out some naan for you soon.”

We took our seats on cushions arranged at the table, and Panch and Poppy went to the back of the restaurant.

Rumble and Thunderlane studied the meals of the ponies around us, making comments between themselves about what they thought was in the dishes and what techniques were used to make them.

Some of the ponies whose meals they studied seemed to find their discussion of their choice of meals amusing, others gave them grouchy looks which they ignored in their enthusiasm to study the new dishes.

“Getting nervous yet?” Silent asked Filter.

“A little,” he admitted. He put a hoof on the pouch with the redesigned menu in it. “I hope she likes it.”

“You’ll soon find out,” Rarity whispered to him. She waved at somepony and greeted, in a louder voice, “Saffron, there you are, darling!”

A mare carrying a basket of naan and a tray with small bowls with a variety of dipping sauces approached the table. “Rarity, it’s so good to see you!” she said, as she put the naan and sauces on the table.

Faster than I would have guessed either of them could move, Rumble and Thunderlane grabbed pieces of naan.

Rumble sniffed the bread. “This smells wonderful!”

Thunderlane, through a mouthful, said, “Et astes gate ooo!”

Rarity rolled her eyes and gave a suffering sigh.

Rumble broke off a piece of his naan, and reached it towards a sauce.

“Careful, that one is very spicy,” Saffron cautioned.

“Try the one to the left,” Filter said. “It doesn’t kick as hard, but it’s got a great flavor.”

Saffron paused, as if struck by something. She looked back and forth between Rarity and Filter and asked, “You two know each other?”

“We recently met,” Rarity explained. “He is the brother of a dear friend of mine who went with me to attend a wedding yesterday.” She gave Filter a look. “He was one of Princess Celestia’s personal guards for the event too.”

Filter blushed and fidgeted, looking like a nervous colt who had been put on the spot. “It was a bit of a surprise, but I was there.”

“He was just telling us he had hoped to show you something, if you were not too busy,” Rarity partially fibbed. “I have to admit, I am rather curious about what he designed for you.”

The mare’s eyes went to Filter, and she gave him a warm smile. “Filter, I said you didn’t have to do anything for me or the restaurant.”

“You told me I didn’t have but I wanted to.” Filter pulled out the portfolio from his saddle bags and then the menu from an oversized folder inside it. Treating the menu as if it were a delicate historical document, he placed it on the table before Saffron.

The menu he had created was a functional work of art. Under the name of the restaurant, which was written in beautiful calligraphy near the top of the page, the restaurant's offerings and prices were listed in matching calligraphy in two columns. On its edges, Filter had made a beautiful colored drawing of a desert oasis with a twilight sky that complimented the restaurant’s purple and orange colors.

“Filter!” Saffron breathed with shock. “This is gorgeous.” She looked up at him. “How long did you spend on this?”

“Spend on what?” Panch asked, as she approached the table with a tray of water glasses suspended in her magic. “By Luna’s stars!” she said, as she looked at the menu. “Your suitor has considerable talent.”

Saffron blushed. “Mother!”

“So he’s an official suitor now?” Silent asked in a half serious tone. “I had the impression that Coriander did not approve of my buddy.”

Panch gave a light snort. “My husband would think one of the princesses was not good enough for our daughter. His heart is the right place, but his head is lodged in his-”

“Mother,” Saffron interrupted. “Please consider our guests.”

“I am just a guard, so I can understand his concern,” Filter said. “But I want to do whatever I can to help Saffron and The Tasty Treat succeed.”

Poppy approached the table, looking concerned. “Uncle wants to know what is...” Her words drifted off, as her eyes lingered on the menu. She looked up to Filter. “You did this?”

Filter nodded. “I did,” he acknowledged in a soft tone.

“Cousin, if Uncle will not allow you to court him, I think I might have a try at him,” Poppy told Saffron, with a prodding grin. “A handsome and kind stallion with such talents is hard to come by.”

Saffron gave Poppy a less than amused look. “I would not approve of that.”

Filter’s ears went up and he smiled at Saffron.

“Let us return to the kitchen,” Panch said to Poppy. “Let’s see what we can do to distract my husband for a moment or two so they can talk.”

Poppy glanced toward Thunderlane and Rumble. “If a Wonderbolt and his brother, who both are friends of Miss Rarity accompanied us to the kitchen, would that be enough to keep his attention?”

Panch looked towards the brothers and grinned. “I believe it would be.”

Thunderlane and Rumble both jumped to their hooves. “Thank you!” Thunderlane said. “I have so many questions.”

“Me too!” Rumble said.

“Perfect,” Poppy said, and motioned for Rumble and Thunderlane to follow her.

“Visit with your friends,” Panch told Saffron. “We’ll start on the orders and keep your father busy.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Saffron said, as Panch and Poppy walked past her.

Rarity moved to take Thunderlane’s previous spot, opening a space next to Filter.

Filter beamed and blushed as Saffron sat down beside him. “Hello, Saffron.”

“Hello, Filter,” Saffron said with a sweet smile. “Poppy told me you were the one who helped get the order together.”

“I did,” Filter said. “We were going to come here, but Miss Satin wasn’t feeling well and-”

“Miss Satin?!” Saffron interrupted. “You mean Satin Stitching, who is expecting soon?”

Filter, looking shocked, answered. “Yes. It was her wedding we went to yesterday.”

“Is she okay?” Saffron’s eyes widened. “Is the foal okay?!”

“They are both fine, dear,” Rarity said. “Satin was having a bit of… discomfort is all.”

Saffron looked relieved. “I’m sorry she is not feeling well, but I’m glad nothing serious happened. Satin and Stormchaser have been regulars of ours for a good while now and we consider them friends.”

“Sis has had only wonderful things to say about The Tasty Treat,” I said.

“So you’re the brother she has mentioned.” Saffron studied me. “You resemble her a little bit. Mister…?”

“Just Pin, please,” I said. “Thanks to Filter, and his knowledge of your menu, Satin’s dinner plans for everypony didn’t have to shift that much.”

Saffron smiled, as she looked up to Filter. “She and I have much to thank Filter for this evening.”

“There is a slight issue with the menu,” Filter said. “It would be expensive to have them printed with this much coloring and detail. I might have to simplify the design a good bit and maybe even take out the colors to get the cost down.”

“That would be such a shame, though,” Saffron said. “How much are we talking about?”

“Cousin!” Poppy said, as she hurried to the table. “Thunderlane mentioned Miss Rarity was here, and Uncle is wanting to see her.”

“I will have to go then.” Saffron got up from the table. “I need to be helping with the orders too.”

“I will accompany you,” Rarity said. “I would like to see Coriander again, and perhaps me going to him would cut down on the possibility of any unpleasantness.”

“Too late,” Poppy whispered, and nodded towards a heavy set stallion who had appeared from the kitchen doorway.

Saffron sighed. “I am sorry, Filter. I am sure Father is going to make a mule of himself again.”

“It’s all right,” he whispered back. “I got to visit with you for a bit, so it’ll be worth it.”

As she stood, Saffron sneaked in an endearing bump of her shoulder to Filter’s. “I’ll come out with the meals and to say goodbye,” she promised in a whisper.

“Panch could use some help with the orders and our ‘visitors,’ please,” the stallion said to Poppy in a commanding tone, as he approached the table.

“Yes, Uncle,” Poppy said, as she and Saffron headed to the kitchen.

The stallion’s expression softened, when he looked to Rarity. “Miss Rarity! It is so good to see you again!”

“Likewise,” Rarity said with a winsome smile. “I am glad to see The Tasty Treat is still doing well.”

Coriander puffed his chest with pride. “My daughter runs a fine restaurant.” His eyes went to Filter and his good humor disappeared. “Have you come to harass my daughter again? If Miss Rarity were not here, I would have words for you.”

“Coriander, please don’t use such a tone with my friend,” Rarity implored. “He created something wonderful for the restaurant and was showing it to Saffron,” she said and made a gesture with her hoof towards the menu on the table.

Coriander’s harsh gaze dropped from Filter to the menu. A look of surprise came to his face. For a second, he seemed to be impressed by the menu, but his expression firmed again. “This is pretty, but it would cost a fortune to have printed.” His eyes went back to Filter’s. “I thought you promised my daughter to create a new menu, not an art piece.”

“I wanted to talk to her about that,” Filter said. “I wanted to-”

“You wanted to impress her, but you didn’t think about the business aspects of what you were doing,” Coriander said, cutting Filter off. “That is the problem with you artists. Everything has to be pretty, but you don’t think about how things have to work in the real world.”

“I take a bit of umbrage at that statement, since my successful businesses focus on making pretty things,” Rarity said in an even tone.

Coriander’s expression softened again, as his attention returned to Rarity. “Miss Rarity, you are an artist, but you make things that meet their purpose too.” He made a rough gesture towards the menu. “This is pretty, but is useless as far as The Tasty Treat is concerned. I have tried to find printers who could help us make a new menu, but the prices are too high to do something like this.” He looked toward Filter with a harsh eye. “If he could help my Daughter with practical matters, such as creating an affordable menu or finding us a supplier of peppers who won’t gouge us like the one we are dealing with now is, I might think better of him.”

Filter, for all his brawn and size, looked like a colt who had been scolded and dismissed as he looked towards the table top, and his ears fell.

“Miss Rarity, while I would like to visit with you more, I am needed in the kitchen,” Coriander said. He gave her a slight bow. “We will have your order prepared as soon as possible.”

“Thank you,” Rarity said. “It was good to see you again.”

Coriander turned and all but marched back to the kitchen.

“Grouchy, fat, cuss,” Silent growled.

“He’s right, though,” Filter said. Using his magic, he turned the menu so it faced him and sighed. “It’s pretty, but it's not utilitarian.”

I smiled as a thought came to me. “Not at the price a printer in Canterlot would charge for it. I know a pony you need to talk to about the menu who might be able to help.”

Rarity hummed an approving note. “If you are thinking of the same pony I am, I believe he could.”

Filter’s spirits seemed to rise a bit. He chuckled and asked, “Would either of you know somepony who grows enough peppers to supply a restaurant?”

“I don’t,” Rarity said.

“Neither do I, but if there is somepony out there, I know the pony you can talk to to find out,” I said.

Filter’s ears perked with curiosity. “Who?”

I grinned and told him, “Mom.”

*****

“If you lick that plate clean in front of everypony, we are going to have words,” Rarity told Thunderlane, who paused halfway bent towards his plate with his tongue out.

“Use the naan to get the last of the sauce up,” Filter suggested with a smirk.

“We have to go back,” Rumble said, just beating his brother in snatching one of the last pieces of naan.

“We will,” Thunderlane said, as he used the naan to get up every drop of curry sauce still on his plate.

Satin giggled. “I take it you liked it.”

Rumble, his mouth full, nodded with enthusiasm.

“I think he might want to go back to see Poppy again too,” Thunderlane teased.

Piña asked, in a touchy tone, “Who’s Poppy?”

“Saffron’s cute cousin, who is working at the restaurant with Saffron,” Silent said in a manner that seemed aimed to goad things on.

“She gave him and me some cooking tips,” Thunderlane explained. “She didn’t pay me as much attention as she did him, though,” he added with a grin.

“Oh, so she was spicing things up in the kitchen with him.” Sassy gave Rumble a teasing smile. “I bet he turned wonderful colors.”

“That’s not what happened!” Rumble protested. “Poppy and Saffron andSaffron’s Mom and Dad were being nice to us.”

Silent’s expression soured. “Speaking of that bloated pustule, I can’t believe how he acted towards you,” he told Filter. “You went through all that trouble to make the restaurant a menu, and he couldn’t even be civil.”

“You made them a menu?” Dad asked.

“It didn’t work out, though,” Filter said, sounding dejected.

“Can we see?” Coco asked.

Filter looked towards the kitchen door, started to get up, and then hesitated.

“Please,” Dinky said, giving Filter puppy eyes.

“You can’t say no to that face,” Silent teased. “You would be a monster.”

“I would like to see it too,” Mom said.

“All in favor,” Summer Rain said and raised her hoof.

“Aye!” we all voted and raised our hooves.

Filter laughed and finished standing up. “I can’t argue with that can I?”

“Nope,” Barrel said with a chuckle.

Using my magic, I levitated Filter’s dishes from the table and, using clean cloths, wiped down and then dried his section of the table to make sure nothing would get on the menu.

“He feels really bad about the menu,” Dinky said, her ears angled down.

“Saffron, Panch, and Poppy liked it, but he’s been trying to get in good with Saffron’s dad so their courtship can officially begin,” Silent told her. “Coriander seems to think Filter is an artist in guard’s armor and as soon as his time with guard is up that he won’t be able to help Saffron with The Tasty Treat in any meaningful way.”

“That’s so mean!” Piña said.

“Yes, and no,” Pinch said. “He’s trying to make sure that Saffron, and her business, are safe. He could do a nicer job of doing it, though.” She looked to Silent. “Have Saffron’s dad and Filter sat down and talked?”

Silent shook his head. “I think Saffron floated the idea, but Coriander didn’t take her up on it.”

“Very poor judgment,” Mom said, her expression serious. “You never know what kinds of connections can be made with a pony, if you do not learn about them and talk with them.”

I grinned as I recognized the look on Mom’s face. She’s about to get in the zone, I thought to myself. Dad and I met eyes and he smiled and nodded in a silent signal that he must have had a similar thought.

“Coriander issued a challenge to Filter about a problem The Tasty Treat was having,” I told Mom, as I began gathering ponies’ finished plates. “I suggested that he talk to you about it, since it concerns making business connections.”

Mom all but purred, “This could prove an interesting project.”

Filter stepped back into the kitchen, the protective folder held in his magic, and halted as everypony looked at him with expressions of anticipation. “Why are you giving me those looks?”

“We have been discussing your conundrum,” Mom said. She waved a hoof toward the clean portion of the table. “I would very much like to see your work now.”

“Yes ma’am,” Filter said. He took the menu from the folder and placed it on the table.

I stayed back, as the ponies who had not seen the menu gathered around Filter.

“I can’t see!” Dinky said, hopping up and down and trying to get a glimpse of the table top.

Filter smiled, caught Dinky in mid hop with his magic, and put her on his back. “Better?” he asked, glancing back towards her.

“Yes! Thank you,” Dinky said, as she hugged Filter’s neck and leaned so she could see the menu. “Wow!”

“It’s great,” Muffins said. “How could he not like it?”

“It’s too complex to print without it being expensive,” Filter said.

“He is right,” Mom said, while she examined the menu. “It is beautiful, but would not be cost effective to print as it is. That does not excuse his poor demeanor toward you, though.” She glanced up at Filter. “Do you have a simpler version? Perhaps even a draft?”

Filter nodded. “I do.”

“Good,” Mom said. “Do you hold onto the wedding invitation for Satin and Stormbreaker’s wedding?”

Filter’s ears went up and he grinned. “I did! I really liked the design. You want me to mimic that style working from the draft?”

Mom nodded. “Davenport, who is the pony I would recommend you contact, gave us a good price on printing the invitations. If you simplified the menu’s design to something akin to the level of detail of the invitations, I am sure he would give a reasonable quote you could take to Saffron and her father.”

“I can do that,” Filter said.

“Silent mentioned that you were challenged by Coriander.” Mom all but commanded, “Tell me what the challenge was.”

“The Tasty Treat is getting put over a barrel on the price of peppers they need,” Filter told her. “Coriander said that if I could help with that he might think a little better of me.”

“Hmmmm… peppers.” Mom closed her eyes, appearing to focus inward on something. “Peppers, peppers, peppers,” she chanted to herself.

Filter looked to Dad with concern.

Dad waved his hoof dismissively. “Don’t worry. She does this when she’s putting her full concentration on something. She’ll come around, if you give her some-”

Mom’s eyes shot open. “Lemon Hearts was in a band, and may still be, with a mare named Pepper Dance.”

“She’s still in the band,” Satin confirmed. “So is Pepper.”

“Pepper’s family specializes in growing several varieties of peppers, and their farm is not too far from Canterlot,” Mom told Filter. “Talk to Lemon Hearts first, she will put you in contact with Pepper.”

Filter grinned. “You’re amazing! Thank you so much.”

“Give her a hug,” Dinky said, in a whisper loud enough for all in the room to hear.

Filter turned his head towards Dinky. “Her husband might object to that.”

Dad snorted. “No objection here. Hug away.”

Keeping three hooves on the ground, and not upsetting Dinky’s balance on his back, Filter hugged Mom with one foreleg. “Thank you.”

“You are welcome,” Mom said, and returned the hug.

Chapter 30

Before I came full awake, I felt something was off in the house. I sat up and looked around Mom and Dad’s den. Celestia’s sun’s light was just visible behind the curtains and cast portions of the room in a soft orange and yellow glow.

I stayed still and listened. Somepony was moving around in the kitchen. It seemed to me, from the cautious sounds they were making, they were trying to stay quiet.

Spurred by my curiosity and instincts, I got up and went to investigate.

I looked into the kitchen and paused. Mom was pulling out the items she would need to make breakfast, looking haunted and half focused on what she was doing.

“Mom?” said, as I stepped into the room.

She jumped at my voice, and her magic’s grip on a serving spoon failed.

I caught the serving spoon with my magic before it hit the floor.

“Pin, why are you not still asleep?”

I levitated the spoon to the counter. “Something told me I needed to be up.”

She smiled at me. “Always looking out for others.”

“I didn’t get this safety pin with a heart on it on my flank for nothing,” I kidded. “What’s wrong?”

Mom turned away from me to face the counter. “I thought I would get breakfast going a little early, since we are going to have so many ponies to cook for this morning.”

“Mom.” When she turned back to look at me, I took her in a hug. “What’s wrong?”

Mom returned my hug. “It is a pegasus and she has said nothing to me or your father.” I must have tensed up a little and Mom felt it. “She told you, though. Did she not?”

I nodded. “She made me promise not to tell anypony. They haven’t gotten anything checked out, so she’s not sure.”

Mom snorted in a way that conveyed she did not buy my explanation. “I knew with her what she was going to be and I knew with you. Satin is my daughter.” Mom stated with certainty, “She knows what her foal is going to be.”

I hugged her tighter. “If she thought she was going to hurt you by not telling you, she would have said something.”

“You cannot know that for certain. You know she can be unpredictable when she feels stressed or threatened.”

Another uncomfortable silence came over us. I broke the quiet by asking, “What made you think that Satin knows the foal’s a pegasus?”

“The way she had the brochures I had given her were arranged on the coffee table. She had placed the ones for earth pony and unicorn schools to the side and had arranged the information on the pegasus schools in the way she does when she is concentrating on a project.”

Leave it to you, to be that observant, I thought to myself. I hadn’t even noticed the pattern, much less made a connection from the brochures to what the foal was going to be.

Mom took a breath as if to bolster herself. “I have thought, more than once, your father and I were lucky to get invitations to the wedding.”

“Mom, that’s absurd.”

Tears went down Mom’s face. “I wish it were. Satin did not tell us she was seeing somepony. She did not tell us she was expecting. She has not told me or your father she knows what the foal would be. Every time I have I have offered her help she gets defensive and icy.” Mom’s tone was hollow, as she told me, “If they move, which I am certain they will, I do not think I will see the foal, or her, after that.”

“Mom, stop. You’re making connections to things that might have nothing to do with each other.” I rubbed her back with a hoof. “Have you talked with her about what you’re thinking?”

Mom shook her head. “No.”

Despite the situation, I chuckled. “Dad talks to ponies about their thoughts and feelings too much and you don’t talk to ponies about them near enough.”

I turned my head toward the kitchen door, as hoofsteps approached.

Pinch poked her head around the door frame in a slow, cautious way. When her eyes met mine, she looked heart broken.

“What’s going on?” Piña whispered from somewhere behind Pinch.

“Aunt Study’s crying and Uncle Pin’s trying to help,” Pinch whispered back in a sad tone.

“I told you something didn’t feel right.” Piña appeared in the doorway and looked me and Mom over. “Sis, go get Mom. I’ll help Uncle Pin.”

“I am fine,” Mom said, pulling away from me. “I am still emotional and tired from the wedding is all.”

“That’s not all that’s going on,” Pinch said, as she and Piña came into the kitchen.

As if knowing what the other was thinking, Piña and Pinch took Mom into a hug.

Mom hugged the girls back, but her expression seemed to become more troubled as she held the fillies.

Coco’s voice came from the hallway. “Pin, are you in the kitchen? The girls got out of bed and they haven’t...” Coco’s words faltered, as she stepped into the kitchen and took in the scene. “What’s wrong?” she asked, as her ears fell in worry.

“Mom’s having a rough morning,” I said. “I think the last couple of days have been a bit much.”

“Oh no.” Coco moved to stand beside me. “Is there anything we can do to help?”

“No, but thank you,” Mom said and gave a poor attempt at a smile. “I will be fine, in a moment.”

“Dear, you are a terrible liar,” Dad said, as he came into the kitchen. “Girls, may I have my wife?”

Piña and Pinch let go of Mom and stepped aside.

Dad approached Mom and wrapped her in his forelegs in a tender hug. “You have not been ‘fine’ in days.” He gave her temple a nuzzle. “You had me worried. I turned over and reached for you and you weren’t in the bed. When I couldn’t hear you moving around, I knew something wasn’t right.” Dad looked towards me as if expecting an explanation.

“Please, let us let this go,” Mom said. “I have caused a big enough disturbance to everypony as it is.”

“I don’t know what is going on, but you need to talk to somepony about it,” Pinch said.

“She needs to talk to Satin,” Dad said to her. He looked at me. “Am I right?”

“All right, who is setting off my herding instincts?” Berry asked, as she joined us in the kitchen. Her ears fell, when she saw Mom and Dad. “Oh, Study! What’s wrong?!”

Piña and Pinch hugged Berry as if needing comfort themselves. “She won’t tell anypony,” Pinch said.

“I am worrying about things I have no control over,” Mom said.

“Is it about Satin?” Berry said.

“In part, if I had to guess,” Dad said. He kissed Mom’s head and rested his lips on her mane. “Is she right?”

“Dear, please,” Mom begged. “Let us not do this with everypony here.”

“Take her to the den and hold her until you get something out of her,” Berry said to Dad. “Pin and I will get breakfast going.”

“We can help,” Piña said.

There was a knock on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Coco said, and trotted out of the kitchen.

“That will be the boys and Rarity,” Mom said. “They offered to come help with breakfast and bring the cart for everypony to tote their luggage with.” Mom pulled away from Dad and dried her eye with a hoof. “Let me go make myself presentable, and I will be right back down.”

“Slight change of plans,” Berry said. “You go with Study and take care of her,” Berry told Dad. “Girls, you’re in charge of getting the place settings in here and the dinning room ready.” Pin, you’ll be on cooking duty with me, Rumble, and Thunderlane.” She stopped, as she looked at somepony coming into the room. “What are you doing here this early?!”

“Mom?!” Satin trotted up to Mom and hugged her. “What’s wrong?!”

Mom, tear stains still on her cheeks, told Satin, “It is nothing to concern yourself with. I am being too emotional is all.”

Satin snorted. “You’re a horrible liar.”

Dad gave an uneasy bark of a laugh. “I told her much the same.”

“Coco said you were having trouble.” Satin touched her horn to Mom’s. “Talk to me.”

Mom remained silent.

Satin turned her attention to me and gave me a look that told me, “I know you know something.”

“She is worried about where things are heading with you and the foal,” I said, putting a slight emphasis on ‘where’ and ‘foal’ I hoped she would pick up on.

Satin looked puzzled for a second, then her eyes widened. She turned back to Mom and took her hoof. “Mom, why don’t you come with me for a bit? I’ll help you get back to looking yourself.”

Mom sniffed, nodded, and let Satin guide her out of the kitchen.

Everypony turned toward me and stared.

“What?” I asked, starting to feel anxious.

“What did you tell her and about what?” Piña said.

“What did I tell who?”

“Don’t act like you don’t know,” Piña said. “I do that trick with Berry and Pinch all the time.”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I said, grinning and feigning ignorance.

“Siblings, and aunts in this case, know,” Berry said. She poked me in the ribs with a hoof. “Talk.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“You made a promise, didn’t you?” Pinch asked.

“I did,” I said.

“Would I be interfering if I go check on them?” Dad asked.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Just-” I paused, not knowing how to phrase what I wanted to say.

“I will be as gentle as I can with both of them,” Dad assured me. He patted me on the shoulder, as he walked past. “Get breakfast going. We’ll be down in a minute or two.”

I nodded. I watched him walk out the kitchen door and took a deep breath.

“Mom, Sis,” Pinch said.

“Got him,” Berry said and grabbed me in a hug from the side. The girls took the opportunity and hugged me too.

“You can’t make that face,” Pinch said. “I’m already close to crying because we’re going to be leaving soon. You can’t make it worse, or I will.”

“I’ll try not to,” I gave her a light squeeze. “No crying Pinches today, if I can help it.”

“Please, tell us one thing, even if you can’t say anything else,” Piña said. “Is the foal okay?”

“Yes,” I assured her. “As far as I know, the foal is fine.”

“Is Aunt Satin okay?” Piña pressed.

“She’s fine too,” I said.

Piña sighed in relief. “Good.”

*****

“Piña,” Barrel called. “Finish up your hug. We need to get in our seats.”

“Put your head on my stomach one more time.” As Pina did so, Satin told her, “The next time we see each other you’ll be an aunt.”

“I’ll see you then,” Piña said and gave Satin’s belly a light nuzzle. She turned and hurried to Barrel, who let her on the train first.

“We’ll see you soon,” Barrel said to us still on the platform and stepped onto the train.

“Even though I know we will see them in soon, it stings to watch them go,” Rarity said.

“It does,” Coco said.

“They’re family to all of us,” Dad said. “Sharing blood has little to do with who you care for.”

“Well said,” Rarity agreed as she hugged Coco from the side with a foreleg.

“We need to take off ourselves,” Storm Chaser said. He gave Satin a hug. “Take care of yourself and the little one.”

“I will,” Satin said.

Summer Rain gave Satin a hug next. She paused and touched Satin’s belly with her wing. “You behave for her.” She raised her wing and touched Satin’s cheek. “Take care, love. As soon as things get going, send a message.”

“I will,” Satin said. “We’re still a bit off from anything happening, though.”

“It will come faster than you think,” Summer Rain assured Satin. She gave a hug to Stormbreaker. “Take care of her.”

“I’ll take care of them both,” Stormbreaker promised.

As the train pulled away, we waved at it. I thought I glimpsed a trio of smaller ponies waving back from a window, but I was not sure.

“Ready?” Storm Chaser asked his wife.

“One moment,” she said and hugged Stormbreaker. “Love you.”

“I love you too, Mom,” he said and gave her a hug back.

After letting go of Stombreaker, Summer Rain sniffed. “Okay, we need to go or I’m going to cry.”

Stormbreaker’s parents launched themselves into the air and flew toward Cloudsdale.

Satin took in a breath and swallowed. “I knew it was going to be sad, but...”

Stormbreaker wrapped a wing around her. “We’ll see them soon.” He touched Satin’s stomach with a hoof and then gave it a gentle pat. “We just have to wait for a certain somepony to decide on the time.”

Satin looked towards Coco. “I just thought about something. You’ll be in Manehattan when the foal comes.”

Coco grinned. “That won’t keep me from coming. Get a message to me, and I’ll be here.”

“So, what now for you three?” Satin asked.

“They’re going to the library, and, after he gets Coco settled, then Pin’s coming to my shop,” Rarity stated.

Coco and I both glanced her way.

Satin giggled. “I take it they didn’t know this was the plan.”

“I didn’t,” Coco said and looked toward me.

“No matter how hard you try, I am not doing a fitting with that dress,” I told Rarity, gaining a blank look from her. “It’s fabulous, but that color clashes with my eyes,” I said and batted my eyelashes at her.

Dad guffawed and Mom rolled her eyes.

“If you had that dress in a color that would work with gold, I might think-” I laughed as Rarity swatted my shoulder with a hoof.

“You’re horrible,” Rarity said with a smirk. “Fitting or no, please do come by the boutique after you get our Coco situated at the library.”

“I will,” I promised.

“You’re not going to say anything about the ‘our Coco’?” Satin asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I can share,” I said and leaned so my side touched Coco’s. “It’s only fair, since Rarity shared her first.”

“And you ended up keeping her,” Rarity said in a mock accusatory tone.

“What if she asks for Coco back?” Stormbreaker said.

I grinned. “I will do my best to tempt her to stay with me.”

“And consign herself to half the work space I could offer her?” Rarity said and tossed her mane back in a dismissive way. “And at a haberdasher’s, instead of a lovely boutique, at that.”

“I have enough space at Pin’s.” Coco took my tail with hers. “Besides, it would be hard for me to give up all the pampering he gives me.”

“He is keeping your coat pristine, I’ll grant him that.” Rarity gave Coco a teasing smile. “I do, however, have concern for a certain habit of his involving you.”

Coco tilted her head, making me smile. “Habit?”

“His nibbling of your lovely, delicate ears.” Rarity put on a thoughtful expression. “Now I think about it, since you displayed such a willingness to nibble his too, I guess I should be concerned for his too. However, your ears remain my primary worry, since they’re more accessible for him than his are for you.”

Dad laughed, when he noticed my embarrassed expression.

“If your ears are all he’s been nibbling on, he and I are going to need to have a serious discussion,” Satin said.

Coco blushed and giggled.

“I do not think there will be a need for such a talk,” Mom said, giving me a knowing grin. “After you are through with him, please send him on to our place,” Mom said to Rarity. “We’re going to have a family lunch today.”

Mom’s too casual tone caused warning bells to chime in my head.

“I’ll be sure to,” Rarity said.

“You’re in high demand,” Coco said.

I chuckled, in part to allay the sense of disquiet building in the back of my mind. “It seems so.”

*****

I opened the door to Canterlot Boutique and stepped in.

“There you are,” Sassy said. “I was wondering what happened to you.”

“I visited with my Aunt First Folio for a few minutes,” I said. “I didn’t know I was expected at a certain time.”

“You weren’t, but Rarity gave me a general idea of when she thought you would be here.” She looked to the empty air beside my legs with a wistful look. “I never thought of myself as liking foals, but, now that I’ve spent these last few days around the girls and Rumble, it feels like something’s missing with them not here.”

I turned my head towards the space where Piña and Rumble had stood at my side yesterday. “There is. They add spark to life.” I gave a light snort. “The trade off is quiet and predictability are gone when they are around.”

Sassy laughed. “True, but what is life without a little excitement?”

“I completely agree,” Rarity told Sassy, as she stepped into the storefront. Rarity studied me with a smirk.

After a second or two of her scrutiny, I asked, “What?”

“I was imagining you as a parent,” Rarity said.

“Judging by how he does with the foals, I think he would make a good father,” Sassy said.

“Thank you,” I said and gave her a slight bow.

“I could see him being a wonderful role model for a little colt,” Rarity said. “If he ever had a filly, however, the poor dear wouldn’t stand a chance.”

I felt a slight sting at her words. “What do you mean?”

Rarity giggled. “Darling, don’t take this the wrong way, but a little filly would have you wrapped around her hoof so fast you wouldn’t even know what happened.”

“I could be strict, if I needed to,” I said, puffed up my chest, and tried to look stern. My ears fell, as Rarity and Sassy laughed.

“It would be sweet, but could you imagine Coco as the disciplinarian of the two?” Rarity asked her.

“You’d be surprised,” I said. “Coco can have a firm hoof.”

Rarity and Sassy gave me amused looks.

“Makes one wonder how he knows this,” Rarity said in a less than innocent way.

Sassy grinned at Rarity. “Think of how he would act with a miniature Coco around.”

Rarity giggled. “It would be too precious! I can see him sitting down to tea parties, baking with her, teaching her how to braid her mane and tail, teaching her to dance in the apartment, and all the other precious things doting fathers do.”

“So, pretty much how he acts with the fillies plus a scoop or two more?” Sassy asked.

“Precisely.” Rarity cut her eyes in my direction with a smirk. “We might see such a thing not in the not too distant future, if things continue as they are.”

Doing my best to ignore the full blush that came to my cheeks, I asked, “Beyond giving you the chance to tease me, why did you want me to come by?”

“We wanted to tell you we’re stealing Coco for lunch, so you don’t have to worry about delivering anything to her, if that is what you were planning to do,” Sassy said.

“Does Coco know about this?” I asked.

“She does not,” Rarity said.

There was something in the way Rarity spoke that prompted me to say, “I take it the lunch will not be just a visit.”

Rarity shook her head. “I put in an offer to rent, so long as the location came with an option to buy, on a place in Manehattan for my new shop, and the owner accepted the terms. I got the news when we arrived in Canterlot, but did not want to say anything with all the other activities going on.”

“Congratulations!” I told her, even as an icy feeling went down my spine.

“Thank you,” Rarity said. “During lunch, I plan to ask Coco if she would go with me to Manehattan to help get the store up and running.”

I got the sensation of the floor shifting under my hooves and sat down. Rarity walked up to me as I told her, “I’m sure the new store will be just as successful as your other two.”

“Pin,” she said.

“Is there anything I can do that could he-”

“Pin,” Rarity said, in a softer tone, as she cut me off. “Calm down, breathe, and listen for a moment.”

I nodded and took a breath. “Okay.”

“I need Coco’s help to get the new store going, but I do not know if she’s going to agree to help or, if she does, what extent she would help me.”

“I can’t imagine her not agreeing to help as much as she can.”

“She might not, if she thought it would jeopardize losing something special in her life,” Rarity said in a serious tone.

“If I’m that ‘something special’-”

“You are,” Sassy interjected.

I smiled a bit, despite the weight I felt on my chest. “I’ve told her, and I stand by it, she is always welcome to come home, but she can leave any time and for any length of time,” I told Rarity. My smile slipped and my ears fell, as the thought of Coco's absence sunk in. “I would miss her, while she was gone, though.”

“Where’s Dinky when you need her?” Sassy said with sympathy.

“I can give him a hug too,” Rarity said and wrapped her forelegs around me. “I don’t know what is going to happen for the next little bit. I’m not sure what all I will need Coco for or for how long, either, but I am not planning to ask her to stay there forever.”

I hugged Rarity back. “Don’t worry about me. You’re going to have enough to think about as it is, with getting the shop open.”

Rarity gave me a teasing smile. “I have to take you into consideration, if Coco is involved, especially now that you two completed your courtship.” She let me go and patted my shoulder with a hoof. “I promise, I will do as best I can for both of you.”

*****

I waited, after knocking on Mom and Dad’s door.

A few seconds later, Dad opened the door for me.

His expression caused me to worry. “How is she doing?”

Dad listed: “Distracted. Fragile. Worried.” He studied me for a second. “You’re not much better. What happened?”

“Dear, is Pin here?” Mom asked from the kitchen.

“He is,” Dad replied, looking over his shoulder.

“Perfect! I could use his help.”

“Stress cooking again?” I asked.

Dad nodded. “As much as she has done for lunch, I’m pretty sure dinner is going to be a banquet.” He waved me into the house.

I followed Dad into the kitchen and stared at the amount of food Mom had prepared.

“Satin and Stormbreaker are coming over,” Mom explained, seeing my expression.

“It looks like half of the Royal Guard is too,” I quipped.

“Filter will join us this evening, not for lunch, and, even as big as he is, I doubt he constitutes half the Royal Guard,” Mom zinged back without pausing in what she was doing. “Would you be a dear, and take everything to the dining table?”

Mom’s manner and tone were both off. I glanced at Dad, who gave me a look that told me things were serious.

Using my magic, I took several items from the kitchen to the dining room. As I was setting things down on the table, somepony knocked on the front door.

“I’ll get it,” Dad said.

“Thank you, Dear,” Mom called.

I stepped back into the kitchen, as Dad greeted whoever was at the door.

“Pin,” I stopped and Mom took me in a hug.

I hugged Mom back. “Mom, what’s gotten under your coat?”

“We will talk about things soon enough,” Mom said and gave me a little squeeze. “I would like Satin and Stormbreaker to be present when we discuss things.” She looked up at me. “Is Coco going to be joining us?”

Doing my best to control my expression. “Rarity and Sassy are planning on grabbing her for lunch.”

Mom scrutinized me. “Which bothers you. Why?”

Before I could answer, Satin came into the room.

“Mom, you went crazy!” Satin said, as she walked into the kitchen and looked at the food.

“You’re eating for two, and I was planning on Coco attending, so I needed to prepare enough for at least six ponies.”

“You made enough for twenty!” Satin looked at me. “She needed a hug again?”

I nodded. “Pretty bad too.”

“Don’t let her go. I know just what she needs.” Satin called through the kitchen door, “Storm, could I borrow you for a second?”

Storm poked his head into the kitchen’s doorway. “What’s going on?”

“Mom could use one of your hugs,” Satin said. “You take care of her, and Pin and I will finish setting the table.”

“Still feeling bad?” Stormbreaker asked Mom, as he stepped into the kitchen.

“She’s got something grinding on her mind,” I said, and let Mom go.

Satin met eyes with Storm. A silent message went between them, and Storm nodded as Satin gestured towards Mom.

“Storm’s hugs always make me feel better, so no fussing Mom,” Satin said. “You need this.”

“But he’s your-” Mom broke her words off as soon as Stormbreaker took her in his forelegs and wrapped her in his wings. After a second Mom’s reluctance faded, and she settled into the hug. “Protest withdrawn.”

“He is my husband, and he’s part of our family,” Satin said, as she and I gathered plates, food, and silverware in our magic.

“Ah, good!” Dad said, as he came through the doorway. “She needed that.”

Dad helped Satin and I moved everything from the kitchen to the dining room. With the three of us working together, the table was set right before Mom and Stormbreaker entered the room. The lunch started off with pleasantries being exchanged, plates of food being passed, and glasses being filled. After a few minutes, our eating and the conversation slowed and the air in the room became heavy.

“So, since we can all tell it’s coming now, should we call the meeting to order?” Satin half joked.

Mom’s expression turned businesslike at Satin’s words. “We should.”

Stormbreaker looked to Dad, who had a concerned look on his face.

“Who’s taking the minutes?” I asked in as light a tone as I could, trying to break some of the tension.

“Let us not settle into old habits,” Dad said to everypony. “Things have changed and will continue to change. I hope we can use this as an opportunity to address some of the… shortcomings of our relationships.”

Not a good sign, I thought to myself, as an uneasy silence settled over the table.

Stormbreaker fidgeted. He moved closer to Satin and put a wing around her shoulders. “Love, I’m not sure what’s going on, and I get the sense it isn’t going to be easy, but someone has to be the first to dive into the storm cloud.”

“I will take the lead position then,” Dad said. “We’re moving to Appleloosa.”

It took me a moment to process what he said. “What?!”

Mom gave Dad an amused look. “Dear, I believe there is still a need for tact, even when dealing with storms.”

“There is,” Stormbreaker confirmed. He grinned at Satin’s shocked expression. “You okay?”

“You’re the two who volunteered to move there for the project?” Satin said, sounding as if she were still in disbelief.

“We asked to not be named in any of the preliminaries,” Dad said. “Since we didn’t know if things would progress this far, we thought prudence was in order.”

“Now I know why nopony would give me a straight answer when I asked about who signed up to go,” Satin said.

“We did not want to put others in a situation that had so much uncertainty,” Mom said. “Since we are two of the owners of the company, we felt we should be the ones to bear the stress of not knowing if it would be necessary to move.”

“You’re leaving Canterlot,” I said in a half whisper, sounding like a foal whose world had been rearranged to my own ears.

Dad grinned. “Just for a year.”

“Oh.” The muscles in my back and shoulders released.

“All is right in Equestria,” Dad assured. “The Sisters’ sun and moon remain in the sky, and we shall remain in Canterlot. We wanted to go to Appleloosa to get things going and be there to train the ponies who would take our positions.”

“Then you’ll be coming back to the primary office,” Satin said. “Right?”

Dad met eyes with Mom. He smiled and took her hoof with his and nodded as if encouraging her to say something.

“After completing our time in Appleloosa, we are planning to sell our share of the company and retire,” Mom said.

While I tried to process the news, Satin stared at Mom with her mouth open. After a long pause, she said, “Well, horse apples.”

Dad burst into full laughter, while Mom looked offended.

“First, young lady, language!” Mom scolded. “Second, what kind of reaction is that?!”

“I was going to offer to sell my share of the company to you so you could have control over it again,” Satin said and gave an uneasy giggle. “Guess that’s not going to happen.”

Stormbreaker looked at me and asked, in half jest, “Do you want their shares?”

“No!” I said without hesitation. “I’ve never wanted to be part of the company. Besides, I couldn’t afford them even if I wanted to.”

“You were going to sell us your share of the company and move,” Mom stated.

With her words, the tension in the air returned.

“I do plan to sell my share, but we’re not sure on moving yet,” Satin confirmed.

“Because of the foal,” Mom said in a tone that made me uneasy.

“For the foal.” Satin turned to Dad. “I told Mom earlier, but didn’t get the chance to tell you, I think the foal is going to be a pegasus.”

“Ah,” Dad said. “Thus the potential move.”

“Ponyville,” Mom said, sounding certain. “You are planning to move to Ponyville.”

“If the foal is a pegasus or an earth pony,” Satin said.

Mom prodded, “If it’s a unicorn?”

Stormbreaker told her, “We’ll stay here in Canterlot,”

“I still don’t like the idea of you flying all that way everyday,” Satin said, looking up at him.

Stormbreaker kissed Satin’s nose. “I don’t mind the flight, and it will keep me looking good for you.”

Satin gave Stormbreaker a kiss. “You’ll always look good to me.” She sighed, turned her head, and looked down at her hindquarters.

“Don’t even think it,” Stormbreaker said. “There is something about a pregnant mare’s curves that’s all kinds of sexy. You know I’m not lying too. I still have trouble keeping my hooves off you.”

Dad made an uncomfortable noise that went unheeded.

Stormbreaker nuzzled Satin’s ear in a teasing way. “Now that I think about it, we didn’t slow down having-”

“Whoa!” I said and held up my hooves. “You can stop right there! Thank you.”

“I agree,” Dad said.

Mom gave Dad a meaningful glance and a smirk of a smile.

Dad, with a rare blush, told Mom, “Yes, Dear, I know, pot and kettle, but I do not need, nor want, to know the details of our daughter’s love life.”

“Ditto, but from a brother’s perspective,” I said.

“Tread with light hooves, dear brother of mine. If you think you’re squirming now, just wait.” Satin gave me a look and smirk that were too similar to those Mom had given Dad for comfort. “We’ll be discussing your love life soon enough.”

“That we shall,” Mom said and raised an eyebrow in a way that made me blush to my ears. She turned back to Satin. “Let us finish our discussion on the possibility of you moving. If you move, I suspect you will not want me or your father in the foal’s life beyond a few limited interactions.”

Satin’s eyes widened. “Mom, that’s crazy.”

“Please do not give me platitudes.” Mom told her. “I know well that you have never agreed with aspects of your and Pin’s upbringing. If I were in your position, I would see the foal’s coming as an opportunity to leave, and I suspect you have thought much the same.”

Mom’s words seemed to rattle Satin. I could not tell if she was going to cry or to have a tirade, but I could tell Satin was close to doing either.

“It’s all right,” Stormbreaker told her and drew her closer with his wing. He turned and hugged her in a comforting, supportive way. “Take a moment. I know this is rough, but we need to have this conversation.”

Satin snorted. “No, I need to have this conversation with them.”

Stormbreaker kissed Satin’s forehead. “You are my love and my wife. If you have an issue, I have an issue. I will do whatever I can so we can get through it.”

“Dear Celestia, I love you,” Satin said and nuzzled her head under Stormbreaker’s chin and against his chest. “I can’t even tell you how much.”

Dad smiled. “You two do fit together well.”

Satin pulled back from Stormbreaker, looked at his chest, and smiled apologetically. “He might not want me to fit too close to him for a little while, though, once he realizes I just got snot on his coat.”

Storm sighed, but kept his smile. “If I could make you feel better, it’s worth it. Besides, it will be good practice for when the foal gets here.”

“You may use a napkin,” Mom invited with a wry grin. “It would not offend.”

“Thank you,” Storm breaker said, and then used his napkin to clean himself.

Satin turned back to Mom, appeared to steel herself, and said, “I won’t lie to you.” She shifted in her seat like she was a filly who had gotten caught doing something she should not have. “When I first found out about the foal, I worried that you would try to force decisions for me and the foal.”

“My showing up with all the brochures must not have helped with that,” Mom said.

Satin nodded. “I remember about how you and Dad ‘debated’ what to do when you found out about Pin coming. I kept thinking about when you sent him to Grandfather’s and Nana’s too. It felt like you didn’t care about what he wanted and you didn’t...”

“Care what you wanted either,” Mom supplied.

Satin nodded again. “I wanted my brother here, and you sent him off. First to that school, and then to Grandfather’s and Nana’s.”

Dad tensed angrily. “You were a filly. You had no say-”

Satin raised her hoof in acknowledgment. “I understand what I wanted should not have had too big of an impact, but I never even got the chance to say anything. Later, when I spoke up, I got different versions of what you were about to say and told me to grow up.”

“We wanted what was best,” Dad said. “Those ‘debates’ were because we realized how serious the decisions we had to make were and we wanted to make sure we had taken everything into account for everypony.”

“For somepony who focuses on other’s thoughts and feelings, you didn’t take into account the thoughts and feelings of those you decided for,” Satin said in an icy tone.

Dad’s ears snapped back and he stared at Satin for a long and uneasy moment. “Go on. I can tell you want to say more.”

“I wanted to be a teacher. Instead, you decided what school I went to, what I specialized my studies in, and groomed me for the company. You said my responsibilities to the company and it’s employees come first, even though I wasn’t a part of it and didn’t want to be. I’ve always had the impression the only reason I got to be a tutor, when I was a filly, was because you thought it would help me ‘learn to manage and train ponies,’ as you so put it.”

Dad’s expression became unreadable. His deliberate posture and controlled breathing gave no indication what emotion he had felt at Satin’s words, but it was clear she had struck something in him.

Satin turned to me and sniffed. “I’ll always remember when Grandfather and Nana came to get you, before you went to Ponyville. You cried, you begged to stay, you held on to me like you would never see me again. You asked me to get them to keep them from making you leave, and I couldn’t do anything.” Tears went down her face. “All I could do was tell you lies that things were going to be okay.”

Seeing Satin cry and recalling that moment, I teared up a bit myself.

“As your parents, we needed to make such decisions,” Dad told her.

Satin’s attention snapped to Dad. “Sending Pin away was not needed at all,” Satin said with enough venom it shocked me.

“Satin, calm down,” Storm told her in a soft tone.

“You want the foal to be a pegasus so you can get away from us,” Dad stated.

“What I want is for my foal to be born healthy and to give them the best and as happy of an upbringing as I can,” Satin told him. “As Storm said, if the foal is a unicorn, we’ll stay here.”

Dad’s expression remained inscrutable. “Your tone tells me you think your mother and I did not provide the best or a happy upbringing to you or Pin.”

“Perhaps we should hear from Pin, since we have brought his name up so many times now?” Mom suggested.

All eyes turned to me, and my ears pinned back in discomfort at their combined attention.

“All that matters is I was loved, I was raised in a safe and caring home, and now I have a career I enjoy that provides me with what I need,” I said, not wanting to wade into an argument. “I’m not sure what the point of this is, but, whatever is going on, it’s not leading us anywhere and it’s creating bad feelings among us.”

“We’re feeling out the boundaries of our relationships, which have just undergone a significant shift, and are about to undergo more,” Dad said.

“Pin,” Mom stared into my eyes, when I turned to her. “I want a straight answer from you. Do you feel your father and I gave you poor treatment?”

I rubbed my forehead with a hoof in frustration. “What happened wasn’t just with you and Dad. Grandfather and Nana had to go along with it too, and, no, I do not feel I was treated poorly.”

“Do you feel wronged by what we did?” Dad asked in a vulnerable way that made my coat stand on end.

“I wasn’t ‘wronged.’ I had a home, I had friends, and I had a safe place to grow up in. That is more than what a lot of ponies get.”

“Did you feel you were loved there?” Dad followed up.

“Stop this,” Stormbreaker said. “This is not healing or helping anything.”

“Lancing wounds is never pleasant,” Dad said, without taking his eyes off me. “Answer.”

“Of course I did,” I replied.

“Did you feel the same when you were here?”

I met eyes with Satin. “I did.”

“Could you say that while looking toward your mother or me without either of us doubting it?”

I remained silent and did not look at either of my parents. I was not sure if I could look at them, say the words, and mean them with enough conviction to not appear false or evasive while some of the old doubts and thoughts I had about them lingered in the back of my mind.

“I have a statement I would like to make and one question for you both, since Pin’s not going to speak to keep from hurting you,” Satin said.

“Go on,” Mom said.

“It strikes me funny that you two were so worried about your employees you all but volunteered to move to Appleloosa in their stead. Why did you think that moving was going to be such a bad thing for them?”

“We were concerned that requiring them to move would do to their...” As he spoke, Dad’s words transitioned into a whisper and then into silence, and a look of comprehension came to him.

Mom gave Dad an odd look and then turned to Satin as if to answer for him. “I fail to see what your question was aimed to do.”

Satin raised an eyebrow. “You don’t feel comfortable asking employees to move as part of their job, but you can send your son to Ponyville for the betterment of the company?”

“Of course,” Mom said, even as Dad gave her a motion that seemed to want her to consider her words. “As his parents, we had the right to.”

Satin asked in a heated, judgmental tone, “You really don’t get it do you?”

“Get what?” Mom said, anger tinting her words.

“You’ve given employees more consideration than you gave your son when you made him move or your daughter when you forced me into a career I didn’t want for the sake of your Sisters forsaken company!” Satin snarled.

Mom’s eyes widened in shock.

Stormbreaker drew Satin to his chest and tucked her head under his chin, as more tears went down her face. “Satin, you need to calm down for both of your sakes.”

Satin closed her eyes and took slow breaths.

Mom, looking pained, stared at Satin as if trying to reassess what she knew about her daughter. Dad, his emotional mask still in place, studied me and the others as if searching for unspoken ques and tells.

After regaining her composure, Satin sat back up and looked to Mom. “I agree, parent’s have to make choices for their foals, but I believe they should not do anything to their children that they would not do to a stranger in their care. I also believe when there are tough or life changing choices that need to be made that children be talked to and treated with as much kindness as possible.”

“A parent’s duties are to make their children into something useful, get them to fit into society, and to be able to stand on their own hooves,” Dad stated as if certain. “A child’s emotions and wants shouldn’t get more than cursory consideration when making choices to ensure the child is ready for life.”

“That kind of attitude has led us to have a broken family, this conversation, and Mom to worry that Storm and I are planning to keep our foal from her,” Satin said in an icy tone.

Dad’s head jerked back as if he had been struck.

“Do you see us as taskmasters rather than parents?” Mom said, with tears in her eyes. Her voice quavered as she followed up with, “Or are we monsters to you?”

Satin got up from her seat and hugged Mom. “Neither.” She kissed Mom’s temple and rested her head against Mom’s while allowing their horns to touch. “Mom, you provided me with so much: a wonderful home, a great education, a career-”

“Which you seem to despise,” Mom interjected.

“There are parts of it I like and I’m proud of what we have accomplished, but being part of the company is not what I would have chosen,” Satin said in a tender way. “However, being part of the company will allow Storm and I to begin our family without worrying about bits for a long time, once I sell my portion of it, so it was worth it.”

“You’re starting your life over with the foal,” Dad said.

“I’m shifting the focus of my life to my family.” Satin gave Dad a smile. “I’m planning to have as many of the ponies I know now in my life, including you and Mom, not ‘starting over’ on everything.”

I let out a relieved breath.

Dad cut his eyes in my direction and gave me a small smile. “You thought this was going to turn into a major blow up with irreparable consequences.”

I nodded. “It had the potential to be volatile. Mom’s been wound up, Satin’s been stressed, you looked like you were having to balance being a father and a husband, us talking about all the changes coming and bringing up rough stuff from the past; it could have been much more unpleasant.”

“Are you saying you thought I might have a hormone and stress induced emotional fit?” Satin giggled in a sad and uneasy way. “I can’t imagine what could have put that kind of idea in your head.”

“Let us shift our attention to him, now that we have addressed the other matters,” Mom said, sitting up while remaining in Satin’s forelegs. “He seemed troubled when he came in.”

“Something’s up with you and Coco,” Satin said.

I nodded.

“Is she pregnant?” Stormbreaker asked with a wicked grin.

“Storm!” Satin chided, while grinning herself.

“You’re looking like a colt caught with his hoof in the cookie jar,” Dad said. “So there’s a possibility she could be?”

“There could be a tiny possibility, but we’ve been careful,” I answered in a meek tone. “We’re not ready for a little one.”

“So the topic has been discussed,” Mom said, sounding pleased.

“It has,” I acknowledged.

“I trust this means you are planning to ask her to marry you sooner rather than later.” Mom’s expression fell, as she watched my reaction. “Something has gone wrong on that front.”

“Rarity is opening a shop in Manehattan. She and Satin are meeting with Coco, to ask Coco to help with setting up the shop and then for her to stay there for a while to help with getting it going for a while.”

“Oh, Pin,” Satin said.

“So that’s why Rarity asked you to come by her shop,” Dad said. “She wanted to tell you before she met with Coco.”

I nodded. “That’s the long and the short of it.”

Dad gave me a supportive smile. “Your relationship’s first genuine test seems to have arrived.”

“It won’t be a test,” I said, trying to be convincing to him and myself. “It’s going to delay things, but she and I both knew this might happen and she told me she would come home if it did.”

“You believe her,” Mom said with a smile.

I nodded. “I believe her.”

Dad chuckled. “Home?”

Despite the weight on me I felt, I smiled. “She considers Ponyville ‘home’ now.”

“Specifically your place, or Ponyville?” Satin asked in a teasing way.

“My place,” I said. After a second, and having a few troubled thoughts run through my head, I felt my smile fade to a ghost of what it had been.

“You see storm clouds on the horizon?” Stormbreaker said.

“Sort of.”

“There is something more on your mind isn’t there?” Dad asked.

“She’s committing herself to staying with me, at my place, and working at my shop.” I tapped my chest with a hoof with each ‘my’. “I want it to be our place and our shop. If they don’t become 'ours' I’m worried I’ll smother her.” I accented each ‘our’ by cupping my hooves upward and tapping them together.

“In what way?” Dad asked.

“She’d be working for my shop, rather than making her own designs and creating costumes for the plays and shows she loves.” My smile revitalized, as I recalled Coco working in the library yesterday. “Coco comes alive, when she alters patterns or creates her own. She gets this blissful look, she hums to herself, and her ideas seem to flow out into her sketches without her having to think about it.”

“You are so in love head over hooves with her,” Satin said, after a giggle.

“I am,” I acknowledged “Even if she keeps altering or creating new patterns for the shop, I don’t think that will be enough for her to be happy.”

“I am sure this is not the first time such thoughts have occurred to you,” Mom said. “Have you given thought on how to avoid such an outcome?”

“I didn’t have much of one, until this trip,” I told her. “Now, I think I do. It’s going to take careful planning and a bit of luck to get all the pieces to come together at the right time, but I think I can pull it off.” I grinned. “You inspired me in how to fit things together.”

One of Mom’s ears angled out. “How so?”

“If I make the right connections with the right ponies, at the right time, I can leverage their skills while helping them make new connections of their own.”

Mom and Satin shared a glance. They both gave me mirror smiles, as Mom said, “You seem to be planning quite a lot of changes in your business and your life around her.”

Dad gave a snort of laugh. “You’re in for it now,” he whispered.

“Long term changes too,” Satin said.

“Makes one wonder as to do details about what else he is planning in regards to her,” Mom said, matching Satin’s tone.

Storm glanced past my shoulder and grinned. “In the short term, he should go to pick her up from the library.”

I turned, saw the time on the dining room’s clock, and grinned. “You’re right, Storm, thanks for pointing that out.”

“Young colt, I will be quite upset with you if we do not get a hint as to when you are going to ask her to marry you,” Mom said.

“I was planning on asking her when she got back from Manehattan after her job with the acting company was finished,” I admitted. “Now, I have to wait and see what happens with Rarity’s shop opening.”

Mom, seeming only half satisfied with my response, raised an eyebrow.

I held up my hooves in a defensive, placating gesture. “I know that’s not much of an answer, but it’s all I have right now.”

“Go pick her up,” Dad said. “She’ll be wanting to talk with you, I’m sure.”

“Give her a hug for me,” Satin said, as I stood up.

Mom laughed, as I gathered my silverware with my magic. “You were too well trained.” She motioned for me to put the silverware and plates down. “Do not worry about that, go.”

I smiled. “Yes, Mom.”

*****

The descent down the library’s basement stairwell seemed more foreboding to me, thanks to the worried thoughts that raced through my mind. I was so caught up in my thoughts, it felt as if my hooves moved me along more of their own volition than any conscious direction I gave them.

My ears pricked up at the sound of voices coming from Folio’s office.

“Dear, you are worrying over nothing,” I could just hear Folio tell somepony comfortingly. “This sounds like a great opportunity for you. I’m sure he would tell you the same.”

“He’d tell me that, mean it, and still be torn up,” Coco said, sounding as if she was fighting to keep her emotions in check.

“Have a ginger snap,” Folio said. “It’ll help.”

“Thank you,” Coco said, sounding like a comforted filly.

There was the light crunch of a cookie being bitten into, as I reached Folio’s office door.

Folio must have seen me approach her office. She looked through the half-open door, gave me a warm smile, and motioned for me to come in. “Speaking of Pin, here he is,” she told Coco.

“MMMmmm!” Coco said, as I stepped into the office. She waved a hoof at me in greeting and then pointed at her mouth.

“MMmm to you too,” I said in a joking tone.

“Don’t tease her,” Folio chided me. “She’s had a bit of an afternoon.”

“I had a feeling that was going to be the case. Rarity told me about what she was going to ask Coco earlier.”

“MMMph?!” Coco asked, her ears shooting straight up.

“What do you mean she told you?” Folio said, with a grin, as if translating.

“That’s why she asked me to come by her shop,” I said, gaining a smile of my own.

Coco took three more hasty chews and then swallowed. “She didn’t tell me she told you!”

“She didn’t?” I said, surprised.

“She told me you two talked about your ‘special dress’ again,” Coco said.

“We did. However, she Sassy and I agreed it didn’t suit my build. I couldn’t get it to work with me when I tried doing that walk of yours either.” I sighed and looked back towards my haunches. “It seems like I don’t have the hips for the dress or to match yours.”

“You didn’t really go talk to her about a dress, did you?” Folio asked.

“We discussed the cloth the dress was made of, so, in a way, yes,” I said. “However, I did not try it on.” I put my nose in the air and put on my best pompous Canterlotian act. “I am dedicated to the Coco Pommel line of accessories and attire and will wear nothing else.”

Folio snorted. “Careful there. You keep that up and she might make you a dress.”

“If she did, I’d wear it.” I looked at Coco, who’s mood seemed to have lightened, and smiled. “She’d have to give me sashaying lessons before I went out in public with it on, though.”

“You’re serious!” Folio said, through a laugh.

“If Big Mac can get dressed up so his sister can enter a competition, I can get dressed up for my marefriend’s business.” I folded my ears down in mock worry. “However, I’m not sure how convincing of a mare I would make.”

Folio raised an eyebrow. “Your build might give her a little trouble, but with your mane and tail I could see it working.”

“I could even get the girls in on it,” Coco teased. “I’m sure Pinch would love to try something new with braiding your mane and tail again.”

I was glad to see Coco all but returned to her normal self. I stood there for a second, enjoying her full smile.

“Pin, hug her,” Folio said. I did as prompted, and Folio shook her head. “While he was a good stallion, you take after your grandfather a bit too much at times.”

“I’ve been working on him,” Coco said, wrapping her forelegs around me. “If we had been out of your office, he would have given me a hug.”

“True on both accounts,” I agreed.

Coco looked up at me. “How did the ‘family meeting’ go?”

“Better than I thought it would, but there’s going to be a lot of changes coming fast,” I told her, trying to hint at some of the unpleasant aspects of the talk.

Coco gave a look that said she could tell there was more to what I had said. “Talk about it later?”

I nodded, and Coco held me tighter.

“You two get out of here,” Folio said and made a shooing motion at us with her hooves. “You two need some time together, and we’re about to close up this section of the library.”

Coco released me and went around Folio’s desk. “Thank you for the cookies, for listening, for everything,” she told Folio and gave the archivist a hug.

“Any time,” Folio said and returned Coco’s hug. She glanced my way and raised an expectant eyebrow.

I grinned. “You get a hug from me too.”

“Let me go get my stuff together,” Coco said. She let Folio go and then left the office.

“She’s a special mare,” Folio said, as she came around her desk.

“I know.” I gave Folio a hug. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

Folio returned my hug and told me, “I was glad I could be here for her.” She glanced toward the door and then leaned close to my ear. “I will get an invitation to the wedding, right?”

I gave a muted laugh and whispered back, “I promise you will.”

Chapter 31

I was adding more foals’ ties to their display when the shop’s bell rang.

“Good morning Muffins!” I greeted, when I saw who it was. “What can we do for you today?”

“I need a signature for a package, please,” Muffins said.

I smiled at Muffins, as she came toward the counter. “I can do that.”

She looked toward the doorway to the back of the shop. “Is Coco in?”

“She is.”

Muffins gave me a mischievous grin. “Good. They’ll be happy to hear that.”

“They’ll?” I asked.

Muffins acted if she had not heard me and placed a slip of paper on the counter. “Sign here, please.”

I grabbed a pin, with my magic, and signed the package receipt. “I take it you’re not going to give me a hint about what is going on.”

“I promised I wouldn’t.” Muffins put a stack of letters on the counter, beside the package. “I brought these in, instead of leaving them in your box.”

“Thanks.” I glanced at the letter on top of the stack. My eyebrows rose, when I saw it was from Filter and addressed to me. “That was fast.”

Muffins puffed herself up and made a show of adjusting her mailmare’s hat. “Equestria Mail Service is the fastest and most reliable carrier of documents, letters, and parcels in Equestria.”

I chuckled. “I can’t argue that.”

“Pin, is that Muffins?” Coco asked from the back of the shop.

I grabbed the top letter from and stuck in a random spot lower in the pile of mail. “It is,” I called back to her.

Coco trotted out from the back of the shop. “Muffins! How are you?”

“Doing fine,” Muffins said. “How about you?”

“Great, but super busy!” Coco said.

“You ready to head up to Manehatten?” Muffins asked her.

“Very close, but there are a couple of things I still have to button up.”

Muffins glanced at me. “Get those ears up. She’ll be back.”

I forced my ears back to vertical. “I don’t know,” I joked. “If she gets a break from here and me, she might decide not to come back.”

Coco gave me a look. “That’s not happening.”

“Rarity could ponynap you,” I said.

“That’s not going to happen either.”

I grinned. “Sassy might ponynap you.”

Coco gave a light snort. “That’s a little more likely to happen, but I doubt it.”

“He’d rescue you anyway,” Muffins said.

“True,” I agreed. “If I couldn’t do it alone, I have a couple of friends in the Guard.”

“A big friend, if you're talking about Filter,” Muffins said.

“That would be one of them,” I confirmed. I tapped my chin with a hoof. “Now that I think about it, though, I might not ask Silent for help, since he’s Sassy’s coltfriend.”

“Don’t forget, you have a Wonderbolt or two you could turn to too,” Muffins reminded me.

“I’m not worth all that trouble,” Coco said, waving a hoof.

“I disagree,” I told her.

The shop’s bell rang again, as Amethyst opened the door and stuck her head into the shop.

“You’re still here!” Amethyst said, her eyes on Coco. “ Good! I thought Rarity might have gotten you.”

“Funny you should say that,” I said, and Coco gave me a light poke in the side.

After shaking her head at me, Amethyst waved at Muffins. “Hey, Mom!”

“Hello to you too sweetie,” Muffins said in return. She took the slip of paper from the counter and tucked it in a pouch in her mail bag. “I better go. You’re about to have visitors.”

“You two, stay right where you are,” Amethyst said, pointing a hoof at Coco and me. “I’ll be right back.” She and Muffins shared a quick hug, and then they both went out the door.

“I wonder what’s going on,” Coco said.

“There’s no telling.”

“I thought big cities were supposed to be the wild, unpredictable ones.” Coco looked at the pile of letters. “Anything interesting?”

I acted as nonchalant as possible. “I’m not sure. I haven’t looked at all the mail yet.”

“All the mail?” Coco looked at the stack of letters again. “Strange, since they’re still in a neat little stack.” Coco gave me a suspicious look. “I get the impression somepony is up to something.”

I smiled. “Maybe.”

The store’s bell rang again.

“You didn’t have to stay right there, but thanks,” Amethyst said, holding the door open. She glanced behind her. “Ready?”

“Ready!” a voice that sounded like Piña said.

“Good,” Amethyst said and let Dinky, Pinch, Piña, Noi, Kevin, and Rumble to the shop.

Pinch and Dinky had on their saddlebags, and the other foals were carrying three privacy screens that looked like they had come from Rarity’s boutique.

“Pinch, you’re up,” Amethyst said.

Pinch walked up to Coco and me. She stood tall and, in an official sounding voice, said, “We are here on behalf of Princess Twilight Sparkle. We would like you two to take part in a study that could be beneficial to Equestria. While your participation is not mandatory, we would appreciate it.”

I shrugged. “Can’t see why not.” Coco and I met each other’s eyes. “How about you?”

Coco nodded, turned to Pinch, and told her, “We’re in.”

“Do you have someplace private where we could do this?” Kevin asked, seeming a touch nervous.

“Sure,” I told him. “Come on up to our apartment.”

Amethyst’s eyebrows rose and she grinned. “Things are far along enough that it’s ‘our’ apartment now?”

I blushed.

“We’re going to get some good readings from him,” Noi said.

“Noi!” Pinch chided, “Don’t say things that could skew the results.”

My curiosity grew at their exchange. “What is the study about?”

“We can’t say,” Pinch said. “It might alter how you react.”

Dinky, who looked more nervous than Kevin, nodded.

“Dinky, are you okay?” Coco asked.

“I’m fine,” Dinky all but squeaked in response.

“Dinks, everything’s going to be fine,” Amethyst said and hugged her sister across her shoulders.

“Everything has worked so far, right?” Piña asked.

Dinky nodded.

“Then it’s going to work this time too,” Rumble said.

“I’ll get the store’s sign,” Coco said.

“I’ll take them up, then.” I waved for everypony to follow me. “This way.”

As we went up the stairs to my apartment, I smiled. It had been a while since so many hoofs had gone up the stairs, and I enjoyed the sound.

I opened the door to the apartment and asked, “How much room do you need?”

“Just enough for the three screens and for a couple of ponies to fit behind each of them,” Amethyst said.

“It might be a little tight, but that shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. Using my magic, and with some direction from Amethyst and help from the foals, we arranged the den so they could put the three screens up while allowing room for everypony to have space to sit.

Coco walked in, as the foals finished putting up the third screen in front of the love seat. “What do you need us to do?”

Dinky explained, “Amethyst is going to show you some cards, and you just have to do what they say.”

“That’s it?” Coco asked, tilting her head.

There was a soft magical noise from Dinky’s saddle bags.

The foals and Amethyst all turned towards Kevin, who blushed. “Sorry.”

“I can’t believe I forgot to turn that off!” Dinky said. Her hooves fumbled with one buckle on her saddlebags in her haste to get it open.

“Wait until you’re behind a screen!” Pinch told her in a whisper. “We don’t want them to see!”

“Not see what?” I asked.

“We’ll tell you after the experiment,” Amethyst said. “You two get on the love seat and behind the screen, and we’ll get everything else set up. Dinky, you’re on the left. Kevin, you’re on the right. Recorders and time keepers take your spots.

The foals arranged themselves behind the screens, save for Pinch and Rumble, who joined Amethyst and sat at the edge of the screen in front of Coco and me. There was a flash of green light, which I assumed was Kevin dropping his earth pony disguise.

“Everything okay, Kevin?” Coco asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Kevin said. “Dropping my disguise helps with what we’re doing.”

“Are you two comfortable?” Amethyst asked.

Coco and I told her we were.

“Good.” Amethyst’s tone turned more formal as she told us, “What we are going to do is ask you to do a series of things with your special somepony. We will take measurements of various aspects of your interactions. Please say nothing to each other or the administrators of the test. Do you consent to taking part in this study and allowing a changeling to feed off your affections for each other?”

Amethyst looked at me. “I consent,” I told her.

“I consent,” Coco said, when Amethyst looked at her.

“Great!” Amethyst broke her serious act and smiled. “Before we continue, please sign these forms. Twilight insisted we be formal about all this.”

Pinch presented Coco and me each a pen and a set of forms which we signed and returned to her along with her pens.

“Now that the preliminaries are out the way, the test can begin.” Amethyst leaned back to look at one of the other screens. “Time keeper one, are you ready?”

“Ready!” Piña said.

“Time keeper two?” Amethyst said, looking toward the second screen.

“Ready!” Noi said.

Pinch provided Amethyst with a set of index cards from her saddlebags. She then retrieved a stop watch from another pouch and fiddled with its knob. After setting it, Pinch said, “Synchronize time… now!” and pushed the knob down.

Amethyst presented the back of the card, which had ‘Number 12’ printed on it, to Pinch and Rumble. She then showed the front of the card to Coco and me.

The front of the card read, “Hold hooves with your partner and think caring thoughts about them.”

Coco and I held hooves and looked at each other. As the time went on, my smile grew as the pleasant but odd feeling of the test sunk in. Coco smiled back at me, appearing to me to have the same reaction to the prompt.

Rumble announced, “Actions observed.”

“Recording done,” Piña responded.

“Recording done,” Noi said.

Using the cards, Amethyst prompted Coco and me through a series of tasks, some of which required Coco and I to be touching or thinking about each other while others directed us not to have contact with each other or think about each other, and the foals took down their observations. I tried to figure out what they were trying to observe, but could only guess it had something to do with loving feelings that Coco and I were having.

“We’re finished!” Amethyst declared, as she put away the last card from the stack.

“We can keep going, if you need more readings,” I said as Coco and I continued to hold each other, her head tucked under my chin.

Pinch giggled. “Thanks, Uncle Pin, but I think we got enough.”

“You can come out now,” Amethyst said. When the foals stepped into view, she held a hoof out. “I’ll take those results, please.”

Dinky watched with a worried expression as Noi, Piña, Pinch, and Rumble gave Amethyst their papers. She bit her bottom lip, as Amethyst took the results and tucked them into a manila envelope and then sealed it.

“Dinks, you don’t have to worry about a thing,” Amethyst said. “Nothing went wrong with any of the tests.”

“But is it good enough for Twilight?” Dinky asked. “Is it going to be accurate enough for the Guard to use?”

Amethyst tucked the envelope in her saddlebags, put them back on the floor, sat back, and then held her forelegs out to Dinky. “Come here.”

Dinky rushed up to Amethyst and gave her a hug.

“Dinks, it doesn’t matter how the tests come out,” Amethyst told her, giving her a hug back. “What you have done to come up with the concept and get everything to work is amazing. Do you have any idea how proud of you Mom, Dad, and I are?”

“It doesn’t do anypony any good if it doesn’t work like it’s supposed to,” Dinky said.

“It works just fine,” Kevin said. He put a hoof on Dinky’s shoulder. “It’s even sensitive enough to pick up when I took a nibble of Pin’s love when Miss Coco tilted her head.”

Coco glanced at me, and I blushed.

“What is ‘it’?” Coco asked.

“You can show them now,” Amethyst said. She let go of Dinky and patted her on the back. “Go on. I’m sure they’ll be impressed.”

Dinky went behind the first privacy screen. When she stepped back into view, she was carrying what looked like the face and mechanical housing section of a mantel sized clock. Dinky placed the device on the coffee table, and everypony moved so they could see.

The face of the clock was modified so that at each number there was a small gem. Where the hands of the clock would have been, in the center of the face, there was a larger gem.

“This is an affection harmonics frequency interference indicator,” Dinky said.

Piña snorted. “Tell them what it is in Ponish.”

Dinky, after giving Piña a dirty look, told us, “It’s a feeding changeling detector.”

“Really?!” Coco leaned closer to the device. “How does it work?”

“Show them,” Noi urged, trotting in place. “It’s super cool!”

“Miss Coco, would you hug Uncle Pin again?” Dinky asked.

Coco giggled. “Sure.”

Even before Coco hugged me, the central gem on the device glowed and two of the outer gems on the face of the device nearest to Coco and me glowed with softer lights of their own.

“Go on!” Rumble said and prodded Kevin on the shoulder.

Kevin gave Coco and me more of his focus, and the central gem on flickered.

“Dinky, that’s awesome!” I said and from the device up to her. “This is some advanced magical artifact work.”

Dinky blushed. “Thanks, but it’s not.”

“It seems like it to me,” Coco said. “How does it work?”

“It uses the same stuff Dad’s fireworks are made of to detect love and to power the gems” Dinky explained. “When a changeling feeds, it messes with the love, which is a form of magic, that is flowing between two ponies a bit, like getting interference on a radio, and the center gem picks up on that and flashes since it’s a lot more sensitive than the little ones.”

Rumble grinned. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Very cool!” I agreed.

“So it’s a love detector?” Coco asked.

Dinky looked disappointed and shook her head. “It’s not as accurate as Dad’s fireworks. To get it to work right, we had to adjust it so it picks up any kind of affection. We still haven’t figured out how to tune it so it only picks up on loving feelings and still work like it’s supposed to.”

“Tell her who the ‘we’ is,” Amethyst prompted.

“Dad, Pinch, Kevin, Princess Twilight, and me,” Dinky said.

“So you’re an official research assistant too now?!” Coco said. “Congratulations.”

“I’m not sure if they’re going to keep me after the project,” Dinky looked towards Amethyst’s saddlebags. “I think Princess Twilight is going to see if the detector is reliable enough, before she invites me on the team or not.”

Kevin snorted. “Princess Twilight picked you up off the floor, and hugged you, and called you a genius, when you showed her what you and your dad built. Even if she hasn’t made it ‘official’ official, I think she’d have a fit if you didn’t keep helping us.”

Dinky glanced toward Pinch and then averted her eyes. “It depends on what you two think about it. If either of you don’t want me on the team, I won’t make you take me.”

Pinch gave Dinky a disbelieving look. “Dinks, are you still worried I’m going to get jealous or something?”

“Being research assistants is kinda your and Kevin’s special thing,” Dinky said.

“You’re not putting moves on Kevin are you?” Amethyst said in a teasing tone.

“No!” Dinky said and then covered her mouth with her hoof and looked ashamed. “I’m sorry Kevin. That came out wrong. You’re great, and I like you, but...”

Kevin laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I got what you meant.” He gave her a thoughtful look. “Why do you want to get involved in the research?”

“I’m like Dad. I love studying about magical artifacts and how they work. I thought I could use that to help,” Dinky said, looking down at her device and sounding small. “I won’t force myself into something when I’m not wanted, though.”

“Of course we want you!” Pinch said. “You’re our friend! You’re super talented and have helped us to find out more about changeling magic in the last few days than we have in a month.”

Dinky looked up at Pinch with a surprised expression.

“Dinky sandwich!” Piña declared, and she and Noi took Dinky in a hug.

Noi giggled, as the device lit up. “There’s no doubt we're friends now.”

“Yep!” Piña agreed. “We have proof!”

“Thanks, you two,” Dinky said through a giggle.

Kevin continued to study Dinky. “Dinks, there’s more to you wanting to be part of this isn’t there?”

Dinky looked back to her device. “I remember when Mom told me about how she got her cutie mark by blowing bubbles to cheer up a filly that had gotten bullied.” Dinky looked at Kevin with a determined expression. “Even if I don’t get my cutie mare for it, if I help you and the other changelings get away from that nasty queen I would be so happy and-”

Dinky’s words halted, as Amethyst used her magic to levitate Dinky from Piña and Noi’s hug, lift her over the coffee table, and take her into a hug of her own. “Dinks, I-” Amethyst hugged her sister tighter. “You’ve become such a wonderful mare, I don’t even know what to say.”

Dinky, hugged Amethyst back. “Thanks, Sis.”

“It picked that up too,” Noi said, looking at the device’s glowing gems.

Amethyst put Dinky back down on the floor. “Of course it did. I love my little sister to pieces.”

“No nibbles, so far, though,” she said and cut her eyes toward Kevin.

Kevin’s muzzle scrunched in feigned irritation. “I’m not taking any love right now. If I keep ‘nibbling’, we might find out if it’s possible for a changeling to get fat.”

“Awww, I wanted to see the light show again,” Noi said. “It’s pretty neat, being able to see you eat too.”

Kevin seemed to become self conscious at Noi’s comment. He looked down at his natural form, glanced toward the kitchen, and then looked towards me. “Can I step in there for a second and-”

“Kevin,” Pinch said in a kind but authoritative tone. “What did Princess Twilight say?”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t hide what I am unless I need to for my safety.” With a reluctant expression, Kevin closed his eyes. For a second, he was enveloped in a flash of green fire. When the fire dissipated, Kevin had assumed his earth pony disguise again.

Kevin opened one eye and then the other as if worried about what he would see as he looked at Coco and me. “That wasn’t so bad.”

“See,” Pinch said in a kind way.

“What do you mean ‘wasn’t so bad’?” Coco asked him.

“I got some curiosity, but no fear or-”

“Fear?!” Coco ears angled down in hurt. “How could we be scared of you?”

The central and the closest gems on the device to Pinch glowed.

“I wish you would quit doing this,” Pinch said and gave Kevin a hug. “You’re worrying over nothing, you’re hurting yourself, and you’re making ponies who know you feel bad.” Pinch gave Kevin a little shake. “I know you’ve picked up ‘bad’ reactions before, but ponies get anxious and surprised when unicorns cast unexpected spells, right?”

“I know. I know.” Kevin hugged Pinch back. “Thanks, Pinch.”

“You’re too nice of a pony for anypony to be afraid of you,” Pinch assured Kevin as she hugged him closer.

The central gem on the device flickered.

“There’s some readings for you, Dinky!” Noi said and laughed.

Piña looked up from the device and stared at the hugging pair with her mouth open. “Sis?!”

Pinch, her face a bright shade of red, said, “Don’t go there, or I’ll ask Rumble and Noi to hug you and see if we get any readings from him!”

Dinky broke out into giggles, as Piña, Noi, and Rumble blushed.

Pinch’s attention went from one of the trio to the next in rapid succession. “You mean…”

“They helped me test the prototype,” Dinky said. She looked toward Noi and asked, sounding hopeful, “When did the device glow?”

“It didn’t pick me up again,” Kevin said. “It got Pinch’s affection the same time I did.”

“It doesn't get anything from you?” I asked.

“Not one time, so far,” Dinky said. “I thought something was wrong with it, when we couldn’t get it to work with him, but it works fine for everypony else.”

“Twilight’s pretty sure it has something to do with changeling’s absorbing love but not being able to share it among themselves real well,” Pinch said.

“I promise I feel for you,” Kevin told her, looking vulnerable. “I promise,” he repeated with almost desperate urgency.

The gems on the device glowed again, as Pinch took Kevin into a hug. “I know you do.”

*****

As Coco and I walked toward the train station, she bumped shoulders with me and gave me a smile. “We’ll see each other in a couple of weeks. It’s up to Satin as to the exact timing, though.”

“I know. It doesn’t mean I won’t miss you.” I looked toward one pouch of her saddlebags. “Woofs, take good care of her for me. I’ll admit I’m jealous she’s going to be snuggling with you and not me, but if you keep her happy and safe I can live with it.”

Coco giggled. “I could have gotten you a plushie to snuggle with.”

“Thanks, but it wouldn’t be you.”

“Woofs won’t be you for me either, but since you won him for me he’s going to be my connection to you while I’m gone.”

“They’re they are!” Piña said to the ponies gathered near her on the station’s platform.

Coco smiled, sighed, and shook her head. “I wasn’t expecting this to turn into a big deal.”

“You’re a big deal to all of us,” I told her. “So you leaving us, even for a little bit, is a big deal too.”

As soon as Coco stepped onto the platform, Dinky rushed up and hugged her. “We’re going to miss you!”

“I’m going to miss you too,” Coco said, and hugged Dinky with a foreleg. Coco sat down, as Noi, Piña, Pinch, and Sweetie Belle joined in on the hug. When the fillies let go of her Coco looked toward Kevin and Rumble.

“Can we hug her too?” Kevin asked Rumble, sounding unsure.

“You better!” Piña said.

Pinch and Noi nodded in agreement.

Rumble grinned at Kevin. “Trust me; it’s fine.” He gave Coco a hug. “Travel safe.”

“I will,” she told him. She released Rumble and then hugged Kevin. “I need to ask everypony a favor,” Coco said, looking at each of the fillies and colts.

“We’ll watch out for Uncle Pin for you,” Pinch promised.

Coco smiled. “Thank you.”

Rarity hugged Coco. “I know we’ll see each other soon, but take care of yourself until then.”

“I will,” Coco said.

Rarity let Coco go and gave me a teasing look. “Now you can give her a hug.”

“The train will depart in ten minutes!” a conductor announced. “All passengers, please take your seats.”

I took Coco in a hug. “Take care and be safe.” I kissed her forehead and then touched my nose to hers. “I love you.”

She kissed my nose and gave me a hug back. “I love you too.”

*****

I grinned as I gave Berry and Barrel’s back door three soft knocks. I did not have to wait long, before the lock turned in a quiet way.

Barrel opened the door and smiled. “You’re right on time.”

“Do they have a clue?”

Barrel chuckled. “Not one. They think it was a regular sleepover. Come on in.” After letting me in, he shut the door with care not to make any noise.

Barrel led me to the kitchen, where Berry, Piña, and Pinch were having breakfast.

“Good morning, Pin,” Berry greeted me, with a grin.

The girls’ attention snapped to me.

“Ukle In?!” Piña asked with her mouth half full.

Berry gave Piña a mother’s disapproving look.

“Orry,” Piña said, covering her mouth with a hoof.

“Good morning,” I said.

“We didn’t know you were coming for breakfast,” Pinch said.

“Your father and I did,” Berry confessed.

Pinch looked to Berry. “What’s going on?”

“We have a train to Canterlot to catch this morning,” I announced. “We’re going to meet everypony else who’s going at the station. Rumble and Thunderlane flew out yesterday, so we’ll meet them there.”

There was a quiet moment, as the fillies fit things together.

Piña’s eyes widened. “Satin had the foal!”

I smiled and nodded. “The message came late afternoon yesterday. There weren’t too many details in the message, but we know she and the foal are doing just fine.”

Piña ran from her spot at the table and hugged me. “Are we heading straight to the hospital?!”

“They’ll be home by the time we get there,” I told her, in a wheeze, and returned her hug.

“Sorry Uncle Pin!” Piña released some of the pressure from her hug and turned her head toward Pinch. “Scarf that down, Pinch! We’ve got to get packed!”

*****

“Keep up!” Berry said to the rest of us, as she and Piña led our group at a near trot towards Satin’s and Stormbreaker’s.

“I think they’re excited,” Amethyst joked to Muffins.

“A little,” Barrel said, and chuckled his deep laugh. “I have to say, though, Berry did an outstanding job of keeping things bottled up until this morning.”

“After Uncle Pin showed up, though, she uncorked,” Pinch said and giggled.

“Keep it up you two,” Berry said.

“Good thing we’ve been training, huh Dinks?” Pinch said, as she trotted along by Dinky’s side.

Dinky giggled and nodded. “Yep! I didn’t expect to be in a race so soon after the Running of the Leaves.”

Berry and Piña’s pace had us at Satin’s in a short time. They stopped at the front door and looked back at me with expectant expressions.

“What?”

“You should be the one to knock,” Piña said. “You’re her brother.”

“Thank you,” I said, stepped to the front door, and gave it a series of gentle knocks.

A few seconds passed, and the door opened.

“Aunt Study!” Piña said in an excited whisper. She took Mom in a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here too! How are they doing?”

“They are sleeping on the cloud chair,” Mom told her, in a quiet tone. “Storm is right there with them.”

“On the cloud chair?” Piña asked, tilting her head.

“You will understand, when you see the little one,” Mom said. She stepped out of the door and made room for everypony. “Come in, everypony.”

As everypony else filed past and into the house, I hugged Mom. “I take it she was right.”

“She is my daughter,” Mom said with pride and hugged me back. “Let us go inside. I want to see everypony’s reactions.”

I followed Mom into the house and grinned. Piña was standing so close to the edge of the cloud chair I could not tell if her chest was touching the cushion or not. Berry was close enough behind her that when Piña’s tail wagged with enough excited energy it hit the insides of Berry’s forelegs.

Stormbreaker smiled at the sisters. “I take it you got the message,” he whispered to them.

“We did,” Berry whispered back.

He looked down toward Satin, who was tucked under his wing. “Satin,” he whispered and gave her a soft nuzzle. “We have some more visitors.”

Satin’s ear flicked. “Mmmm.” She turned her head and was close to being nose to nose with Piña. When Satin opened her eyes, she giggled. “Well, hello.”

“Are you okay?” Piña asked, her voice filled with worry. “I know things can go wrong when...”

Satin touched her nose to Piña’s. “I’m fine. I’m still sore, but the healing potions have helped a lot. It wasn’t as horrible a process as I thought it was going to be, but I can tell you it’s not something you want to go through unless you really want a foal, though.”

Berry nodded. “That’s about what I felt coming out of it.”

Pinch and Dinky took positions on one side of Berry’s while Muffins moved to stand on her other side. All of them had their ears perked and their full attention focused on Satin.

Satin raised up and looked back at where Stormbreaker’s wing covered most of her body. “It was worth it though.”

Piña pranced in place with light hoofsteps. “Can we see?”

“Sure,” Satin said. Stormbreaker lifted his wing from Satin and she moved a bit from him. In between them, curled up on a blanket, was a sleeping pegasus colt.

“He’s so cute!” Piña breathed. “He looks like Storm, but he’s got your mane and tail.”

“He’s got her eyes too,” Stormbreaker said and kissed Satin’s temple.

“I’m a double aunt now,” Piña said with glee. “What’s his name?”

“Intense Rain,” Satin said.

Mom and Summer Rain, who were standing side by side, smiled with pride.

Stormbreaker grinned at Rumble, who was sitting on the couch with Summer Rain, Thunderlane, and Storm Chaser. “What’s it feel like, being an uncle?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Rumble said. He looked up from the foal and smiled. “It’s pretty awesome, so far, though.”

Rain stretched as if trying to make more contact with his parents.

Using her magic, Satin levitated Rain and his blanket and placed them in the space between her forelegs and her chest.

Rain wiggled until he nestled up against Satin’s chest and then settled back into a full sleep.

“He’s a snuggler,” Summer Rain said.

Satin gave Stormbreaker a smile, as he closed the small gap between them and put his wing over Satin again. “Just like his father.”

Everypony spread out around the den, settled down, and started quiet conversations with each other. I sat on a sitting cushion with my back leaned against the wall, watching the ponies around me, and letting my thoughts drift.

“You okay?”

I gave my head a light shake and looked up at Amethyst. “I’m fine.”

“No you’re not. You’re out of place,” she said and gave me a nudge. “Scoot over.” I did, and Amethyst sat down on the cushion beside me. “There. Now you're with somepony too.”

I grinned at her. “I’m sorry that I wasn’t properly organized.”

“You should be. Organization is very important.” She bumped shoulders with me. “What was running through that head of yours?”

“This feels right,” I said. “I was thinking about why everypony getting together feels so…”

She bumped me with her shoulder again. “So what?”

“Relaxing? Happy? Safe? Right?” I shook my head, feeling none of the words fit. “I can’t describe it.”

Amethyst grinned. “Deep down we’re herd animals. This is natural. We’ve come together to celebrate a recent addition. Bonds are getting made, others are being strengthened, and everypony is feeling out their new roles or reaffirming their spots in the group.”

“Natural.” I smiled. “I think that’s the word I was looking for.”

Dinky and Pinch approached us, carrying a sitting cushion between them.

“Thank you,” Dinky said to Pinch and put the cushion beside the one Amethyst and I were sitting on. “I get Ammy, you get Uncle Pin.”

Amethyst snorted. “I take it, I'm moving.”

Dinky grinned. “Yep!”

We arranged ourselves so that Pinch took Amethyst’s spot at my side, while Amethyst sat on Dinky’s sitting cushion with Dinky’s back against her chest.

“Sisters make the best backrests,” Dinky said and looked up at her sister. “Thanks Ammy.”

Amethyst gave an amiable snort. “I’m glad I can be of use.”

“How is the study coming along?” I asked.

“I got the raw data organized and now it’s off to Twilight for analysis and review.” Amethyst lifted her head and smiled. “While I can’t say what she’s going to find, from what I could make of the tests’ results it looks promising.”

“I hope so,” Dinky said.

Pinch giggled, as she looked at Rumble, who was talking in whispers with Stormbreaker. “He tried to be cool about it, but he’s so happy to be an uncle his wings are puffed up.”

“Piña’s not much better,” Dinky said. “I can’t tell who’s more excited, her or your mom, though,” she said, nodding towards where Berry, Turner, and Muffins sat together.

“It’s a tie,” Pinch said.

I looked around the room and studied how everypony had paired up or gathered together. “All right, Ammy, what am I missing?”

Amethyst gave me a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“How did we four end up over here together?”

Amethyst did a quick scan of the room, and her ears drooped a little. “That’s an easy one. We’re the ponies who’s special someponies aren’t here.”

“Or who doesn’t have one,” Dinky said with a sigh.

“I’m sorry about Pip,” Amethyst said. “When you got him to dance with you, I thought you had him.”

“He was being nice, when he danced with me,” Dinky said. “That’s all.”

“What did I miss?” I asked Pinch in a whisper.

“Pip went to the Celebration with Tulip Swirl, but gave Dinky a dance,” Pinch informed me.

“Oh.” I winced in sympathy. “Ouch.”

“Considered joining the herd with Rumble?” Amethyst suggested. “I’m sure Piña and Noi would share.”

Dinky smiled. “Nah. Rumble’s stretched pretty thin as it is.”

Pinch giggled and then covered her mouth with a hoof.

“You have to share, after laughing like that,” Amethyst said.

“Kevin said that if we ever came across ‘results’ like him that Dinky could lure them in all by herself with as much affection as she has for everypony,” Pinch said.

I chuckled. “I could see that.”

Dinky snorted. “I don't know whether to be complemented or not.”

Amethyst leaned back against the wall, holding Dinky in her forelegs so Dinky remained against her, and gave a thoughtful hum. “If anypony would appreciate as much love as you have for everypony, it would be somepony like Kevin.”

Pinch gave Dinky a grin. “Would you consider it?”

Dinky took a long, thoughtful pause before she answered, “If it would be anything like you and Kevin, I… I think I might.”

“He’s awake!” Piña reported to the room with an excited whisper.

Rain made fussing noises and shifted his position.

“I’m sorry,” Piña whispered. “Was I too loud?”

Satin smiled. “No, sweetie, he’s hungry.”

“How can you tell?” Rumble asked.

“It’s about long enough since he ate, and the noises he’s making,” Satin said and nuzzled Rain. “Hold on for just a minute, my little raindrop. We’ll need to go upstairs, first.”

Rumble looked confused. “We could get him a bottle real quick for you, so you don’t have to move. Where do you keep them?”

“Thank you, but we’re not using bottles with him,” Satin said.

Rumble blushed. “Oh!”

“I have a suggestion,” Dad said, getting to his hooves. “How about we step outside for a few minutes, so you don’t have to move?”

Summer Rain gave Dad an amused glance. “I forgot Canterlotians are more… conservative about such things.”

Dinky tilted her head and asked, “What do you mean?”

“I used to nurse Stormbreaker on a cloud, with a full view of the sky, and with family and friends around,” Summer Rain explained. She laughed at Dinky’s surprised expression. “I take it nursing is not a common sight in Ponyville either?”

“Some families are more open about it than others,” Thunderlane told her. “But it’s not done in public all that often.”

Summer Rain gave him a curious look. “Why not? There wouldn’t be anything shown you don’t see everyday.”

“Ground based foals were more prone to predation, in the past, so mares would find safe and secluded spots to nurse them,” Piña explained. “Now, it’s considered a private time for mares and their foals to have together.”

“I’m impressed, Piña,” Berry said.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever get the courage to nurse in public, but I don’t mind if ponies I know stay in the room,” Satin said.

“You never know,” Summer Rain said and grinned. “You might get there one day. You’re already on a cloud.”

Dad levitated his hat from the coat hook on the wall as he neared the front door. “Those who wish to join me, now is the time.”

“And we’ve lost Pin,” Amethyst said, as I stood.

“I think you lost me too,” Rumble said, gaining him a giggle from Piña.

“You’re a pegasus!” Summer Rain teased him. “You should stay for the cultural aspects of the event.”

Thunderlane told her, “Rumble’s more of a Ponyville pony than a Cloudsdale pony, in some respects.”

“Ah, I see,” Summer Rain said as she watched Rumble trot out the door.

“I think I’ll step out too,” Storm Chaser said.

Barrel, the last one of us to step outside, shut the front door behind him and chuckled. “Give it a few minutes, after he’s finished, and another bit of excitement will happen that’s not so pleasant for eveypony involved is going to happen.”

Dad nodded with a knowing expression. “As Father used to say, ‘You put it in one end and it’ll come out the other.’ ”

Rumble looked up to Storm Chaser. “Uncle Chaser, should I have stayed, as a pegasus?”

“You don’t see me in there, do you?” Storm Chaser patted Rumble’s back with a wing. “Don’t mind Summer. She’s a bit of free spirit. Even among pegasi, there are variations as to nursing practices. If you’re not comfortable with it, this is the best place to be.”

After a bit of time, Dinky and Pinch stepped out the door. Dinky looked pale and a touch queasy as she walked alongside Pinch.

“Is everything okay?” Barrel asked them.

“Mom, Summer, and Satin started talking about what it was like when they were having foals,” Pinch said, doing her best to keep her tone neutral, but a small smile betrayed her amusement. “It got a little too graphic for Dinky.”

“I’m never having a foal,” Dinky stated. Some of her color came back, as she looked past everypony and pointed a hoof. “That’s Mister Filter!”

“I think that’s Miss Sassy and Silent with him,” Dad pointed out.

“Mister Filter!” Dinky called and raced down the sidewalk toward the approaching ponies.

“I think she’s focused on the big guy,” Barrel said.

“It would seem so.” Dad smiled and shook his head. “She’s a bundle of energy isn’t she?”

Rumble nodded. “She almost beats Piña and Noi.”

As soon as Dinky got to Filter, she gave him an enthusiastic hug and said something muffled against Filter’s coat.

Filter laughed and returned her hug. I could not hear what Filter said, but he turned his head as if talking to Silent and Sassy. Sassy said something in return, lifted her nose in the air, and acted as if slighted. Dinky let go of Filter and rushed to give Sassy a hug. Sassy, dropped her act, grinned and hugged Dinky back.

Dad smiled and turned to watch Dinky lead Sassy, Filter, and Silent down the sidewalk to join us. “Good afternoon, everypony.”

“Hello Mister Insight,” Silent said.

“How is Satin doing?” Sassy asked.

“She and the foal are doing well,” Dad told her. “Satin’s feeding Rain in the den, in fact.”

“When you say ‘feeding,’ you mean giving the foal a bottle… right?” Filter asked.

“No bottles involved,” Barrel explained. “She’s doing it the natural way.”

“Oh,” Filter said and blushed to his ears. “That’s why everypony is outside.”

“Not everypony is outside,” Storm Chaser said and grinned at Filter’s surprised expression.

“Good for her,” Sassy said. “I don’t know if I could do it, but I’m proud of her.”

Silent looked back and forth between Filter and Sassy. “I get this feeling I’m missing some context somewhere.”

“In Canterlot and Manehatten, nursing a foal is not done in public,” Filter said. “It’s considered a private thing.”

“What?!” Silent snorted. “In bat pony colonies nopony would even give it a second glance. Back home, mares nurse their foals in groups. It’s considered a bonding time for new mothers and a way to make supportive social connections.”

Rumble’s blush matched Filter’s in intensity. “When you say ‘nurse their foals in groups’ you mean they… share milk their milk with other pony’s foals?”

Silent grinned. “Yes, bat pony mares will nurse each other’s foals if one of them is having a hard time producing milk.”

“That’s… practical,” Sassy said, sounding as if she were still deliberating about the notion.

Silent looked at Sassy in a concerned way.

“Silly pony. Don’t look so worried.” Sassy kissed Silent’s nose. “I have always agreed with the old saying, ‘When in Roan, do as the ponies there do’.”

The front door opened again, and Mom and Piña stepped out.

“Hello again!” Mom greeted the newest arrivals. “We did not think we would see you three until later.”

“We had to come see the little one,” Sassy said. “These two had the day off too, so we came on.”

“Rain’s through, so everypony can come in now,” Piña said. She looked at Rumble, who still had a blush on his cheeks. “You okay?”

Pinch giggled. “Silent was telling us that bat ponies nursed their foals in groups and would even nurse each other’s foals.”

Piña raised an eyebrow at Rumble. “You realize earth ponies and ponies in herds who have foals at the same time do that too, right?”

“No,” Rumble admitted.

Dinky glanced at Pinch, and they both giggled. “I think parts of Rumble’s world have been rearranged,” Dinky said.

“Miss Study,” Filter said, sounding like a colt and fidgeting from hoof to hoof.

One side of Mom’s mouth turned up in a smile. “Yes, dear?”

“Do you accept hugs?” he asked.

Dad chuckled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her turn one down.”

Mom gave Dad a look and then told Filter, “I do. If you are asking to give me one, I would be glad to have a hug from you.”

Filter took Mom in a gentle hug. “Thank you.”

I had not realized how much bigger Filter was than most unicorns, until I saw Mom in his forelegs. She could not quite reach all the way around Filter’s barrel, when she returned his hug.

“You are quite welcome, but I am not sure what you are thanking me for,” Mom said.

“For putting me in contact with Pepper Dance,” Filter said. “I told her about what was happening with Saffron. When I told her how much Saffron had been paying for peppers, she couldn’t believe it. She’s gotten in contact with Saffron and they’ve already worked out a deal for Pepper’s family’s farm to supply peppers to the Tasty Treat.”

“I take it you got a bit of recognition for being the catalyst for the deal from a certain protective pony?” Mom asked.

“I did, and a good bit of appreciation from the pony he’s protecting.” Filter let Mom go. “I still have some work to do to gain his trust, but I think it was a good start.”

Mom released Filter and patted his shoulder. “If you would like another suggestion as to a connection, please come see me.”

“I will.” Filter gave her a slight bow. “Thank you again.”

“I’m surprised Miss Rarity and Miss Coco are not with you,” Dad said to Sassy.

“They will get here tomorrow,” Sassy said. “I got a telegram from Rarity saying they had to catch a later train than they had hoped.”

“They’re together?” Dinky asked.

“Sort of.” Sassy explained, “They’re both in Manehattan, doing their own thing, but they were planning on coming to see the foal together.”

“Oh,” Dinky said.

Mom met eyes with Pinch and Piña and they shared a mischievous smile among them. “Please, everypony, come in,” Mom said.

I stepped aside, as Mom led the others into the house.

Filter moved towards me with strides that were too casual and controlled. When he got close enough, he whispered, “I got your letter yesterday. I’ll be glad to.”

One of Silent’s ears rotated towards us, as if he heard what Filter had said.

“Great,” I said. “Now all we have to do is figure out when a good time to set everything up will be.”

Silent, who was at the back of the group of ponies entering the house, turned towards us with his ears at attention and an eyebrow raised in intrigue.

“Put your ears away, you snoop,” Filter said. “You heard nothing.”

“Sure I didn’t,” Silent said and grinned.

Being the last pony back into the house, I shut the door behind me. I remained standing, somewhat trapped against the door by the others, as greetings were exchanged and the newest trio of ponies went to see the Sassy and Rain.

“Oh my goodness he’s precious!” Sassy said. “What pretty eyes too!” She nodded with approval. “He got the best of both his parents.”

“His eyes!” Pinch said. She looked toward Dinky with an expression I could not interpret. “I hadn’t even thought about it.”

Dinky tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“They’re like Kevin’s,” Pinch said and looked back at Rain, who seemed to look back at her with curiosity.

Satin regarded the two fillies with an amused expression. “Like Kevin’s?”

“They’re pretty,” Pinch said, after a slight pause. She blushed and said, “They’re like gems.”

“That’s my boy,” Stormbreaker said and tickled Rain with a hoof. “He’s not even walking yet and he’s getting fillies’ attention.”

“Kevin’s your research partner with Princess Twilight, right?” Satin asked Pinch, after giving Stormbreaker an amused shake of her head.

“He’s a bit more than that to her,” Piña told Satin. She looked toward Pinch. “Foals’ eyes are like that because they’re taking in a lot of magic to help them...” Piña trailed off and her eyes widened.

“Develop and grow,” Dinky finished for her. She looked toward Pinch, and they shared a glance.

“What is his name?” Silent asked, after the silence got awkward.

“Intense Rain,” Satin told him.

“Oooo, good name,” Silent said. He paused and looked toward Mom and Summer Rain. “To get a name like that from his grandmothers is pretty cool.”

“Does that mean you are going to have a second one so you can name them after the grandfathers?” Sassy asked.

Satin blew out her cheeks with a puff of air. “I think I’m going to take some time to recover before we even think about another one.”

Stormbreaker looked around the room. “Did Coco and Rarity not come with you? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you guys without them.”

“Coco will come tomorrow with Rarity from Manehattan,” Mom said and glanced toward Piña and Pinch, who smiled at her with matching grins.

Pinch giggled. “Coco and Rarity couldn’t get an early train, but they’ll be here before we know it.”

“Oh, I see,” Satin said and smiled. “Coco will arrive with Rarity.”

Swish.

Oh no, I thought, as I figured out what they were up to.

“What is going on?” Amethyst whispered to Dinky.

Swish.

“Watch Uncle Pin,” Dinky said, with a light giggle. “I’ve never seen it, but Piña and Pinch told me about what happens.”

“I can’t wait for Coco to get here,” Pinch said and looked toward me with an expectant grin. “I’m sure Cocowill think Rain is the cutest thing ever, when she gets here and sees him.”

Swish. Swish. Swish.

I glanced back at my tail and sighed, as laughter and giggles broke out around the room.

Rain fussed and squirmed.

Piña’s ears snapped to attention. “What’s wrong?” She cooed to Rain. “You were so happy a second ago. Were we too loud this time?”

“That wasn’t it.” Stormbreaker’s muzzle scrunched up. “I just got a whiff of what’s bothering him.”

Piña took a sniff and then gave a snort. “Yep!” she said and covered her nose with a hoof “That’s got to be it.”

“I”ll take care of him,” Stormbreaker said and kissed Satin’s temple. “You stay right where you are.”

“Would you like some help?” Mom offered.

Stormbreaker gave her a sheepish grin. “Some help and pointers would be great.”

Summer Rain shook her head. “I thought I had done better than that in raising you.”

“You did, but I haven’t changed a diaper since Rumble was little,” Stormbreaker said, as he picked up Rain with caution.

Rumble flinched in embarrassment.

“Sorry, Rumble, but it’s true,” Stormbreaker said. He told Summer Rain, “I know when to ask for help, and I’m over my head with this one.”

“A wise stallion,” Storm Chaser said, as Rain cried in earnest.

“Just a second, kiddo, Daddy’s going to help get you out of that messy diaper in just a minute,” Stormbreaker said. He and Mom stepped from the room and further into the house.

“Uncle Pin, we can help you with that again,” Pinch said, pointing to my still wagging tail.

“I would appreciate that,” I said, and took my previous spot beside Amethyst, turning so Pinch and Dinky could get to my tail.

“You’re a good sport,” Summer Rain said to me, as the fillies began braiding. She watched them work on my tail for a minute or two, while the other ponies in the room chatted, and her eyebrows rose. “You two have some talent there!”

“We could do your mane and tail next,” Pinch offered, and Dinky nodded.

“You sure?” Summer Rain said. “I wouldn’t want anything fancy, just a fishtail for my tail and something simple for my mane would be nice.”

“We can do that!” Dinky said.

Mom and Stormbreaker, who had Rain tucked against his side in a wing, walked back into the room.

“He’s feeling much better now,” Stormbreaker said. “He should be safe to hold for a bit too.”

“Speaking of that, please give him to Pin,” Mom said. “He has not held him yet.”

“I’ve got the camera,” Dad said.

Stormbreaker held Rain out to me. “Here you go.”

Being careful as I could, I scooped Rain from Stormbreaker’s wing and tucked him against my chest. “Hello, little guy.” I smiled as Rain’s eyes studied my face. “I’m your uncle Pin. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for a while now.”

Dad took a picture. “Good one,” he said.

“Wow, he’s warm,” I said, as Rain’s body heat registered with me. “He’s got soft wings too.”

Rumble looked at Rain, and then up at me with an unspoken question in his eyes.

“Have you gotten to hold him?” I asked.

Rumble shook his head.

“Come here,” I said. When Rumble got close enough, I transferred Rain to him.

“Put your foreleg under him like this,” Piña said to Rumble and demonstrated how to hold a foal with her forelegs. “Perfect!”

“You’re right, Uncle Pin, he is warm,” Rumble said. He smiled at Rain. “I’m Rumble. I’m your uncle too.” Rumble gave Rain a mock serious look. “We’re rare ponies, so we’re going to need to stick together and watch out for each other as much as we can.”

“We’re going to be counting on you to help him grow as a pegasus, since I lack the requirements for that,” Satin said.

“You can count on him,” Piña said. “Rumble can help anypony get better at anything.”

Rumble blushed. “Thanks.”

“Sounds like we might have a new training partner,” Dinky said.

Satin laughed. “He’s a little too little for that right now.”

“What about making him our honorary mascot until then?” Dinky asked.

“I like that idea!” Piña said. “All in favor!” she prompted.

“Aye!” the foals voted unanimously, gaining them a curious look from Rain.

Rumble grinned and touched his nose to Rain’s. “Welcome to the team, little guy.”

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

“Pin!” somepony called.

I looked around, certain I knew the voice.

“Pin, over here!” Rose called and waved from her stall.

I trotted over to her. “Is everything all right?”

“I was going to ask you the same,” Rose said. “You haven’t bought flowers in weeks.”

“I should have stopped by, but I don’t buy flowers for myself all that often.”

Rose gave me a concerned look. “Is everything between you and Coco okay?”

“From what I can tell from her letters.”

“Letters?” Rose looked confused. “I thought she had moved in with you.”

“She did, but she’s in Manehatten with Rarity working to get a new shop going right now.”

Rose’s eyes widened in alarm. “She’s not going to keep Coco up there, is she?!”

A few ponies looked in our direction, and I motioned for Rose to keep her voice down. “That wasn’t the plan, but Rarity’s not sure how long she’s going to need Coco’s help before she can come back.”

Rose sighed with relief. “That’s good to hear. For a second there, I was getting worried.” She gave me a grin. “The lost sales for me and the girls would have been terrible.”

“Ah, now I see the true motivations for your ‘concern’,” I said, unable to keep a smile off my face.

Rose’s ears perked up as she looked behind me. “It looks like you’re being searched for.”

I looked over my shoulder just as Piña pointed a hoof at me and said something to Pinch.

“Seems they found me.”

“Are they checking in on you again?” Rose asked.

“They are,” I said. “Though, If they are looking for me in the market, I think they’re after me for a different reason.”

Piña and Pinch made their way through the market’s crowd to Rose’s stall.

“Hello, Miss Rose,” Piña greeted. “Thank you for holding Uncle Pin for us.”

“You’re welcome,” Rose said. “Take care of him and make sure he gets Coco back. My sales have been suffering since she left.”

Piña giggled. “We’ll do our best.”

“Uncle Pin, we got the results back!” Pinch said.

“Is he pregnant?” Rose asked.

All three of us turned and stared at Rose.

Rose grinned. “Is she pregnant?”

“Rose!” I hissed through clenched teeth, after glancing around to see if anypony had reacted to her words. “We’re in the middle of the market. Rumors get started that way.”

Rose gave me a knowing look and raised an eyebrow. “Like the rumor that a certain pony visited Clarity and Karat’s shop not long after he got back from going to Canterlot to see his new nephew?”

Feeling two pairs of eyes on me, I turned back to the fillies. Their excited, expectant expressions caused me to grin. “Yes?”

Pinch’s eyes got a strange look in them. “How many times did he go, Miss Rose?” she asked, not looking away from me.

Rose giggled. “At least once is all I know.”

Pinch turned to Rose. “Do you know if he was carrying anything when he left their shop?”

“You found him!” a fresh voice called out. Kevin trotted up to us. “Whoa, Pinch, you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Pinch said.

Kevin looked at Pinch with an ear at a disbelieving angle. “You sure? You’re really… I mean, you seem excited about something.”

“Let’s get Uncle Pin over to Dinky’s,” Pinch said. “Then, we can get more information out of him without worrying about anypony hearing us.”

“That sounded a little creepy,” Rose said.

“It did,” I said, feeling a bit uneasy under Pinch’s gaze.

“Remember, he’s ticklish if you need to ‘convince’ him to talk,” Rose said. “I’m sure your mom would be glad to help press him for information too.”

“Wait a minute!” I protested. “There’s no need to bring tickling, or Berry, or her style of puns into this.”

“We’ll ask Dinky’s mom for help,” Pinch said. “We’ll already be at their house, and Miss Muffin’s the best tickler in town.”

“Or you could just ask him about whatever this is about,” Kevin suggested.

“Nah,” Piña said. “Having Dinky’s mom tickle it out of him would be more fun.”

“You have to tell me about whatever you get out of him,” Rose said.

“We can do that,” Piña said.

“Isn’t Dinky’s mom doing her rounds?” Kevin asked.

“We’ll hold him there until she gets home, if we have to,” Pinch said with conviction.

“I think I’ll just tell you what you want to know,” I said. “It will save us both a lot of trouble.”

“Awwww!” Piña said with mock disappointment.

“There they are!” Dinky called, sounding as if she had been running.

“Speak of the filly,” Rose said and waved. “Hey Dinks. Hey Rumble.”

“You’ve got good timing, Dinks,” Piña said. “We were just about to head to your house.”

Kevin’s ears went up in alarm. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Dinky said. “Mom’s got some kind of super important urgent message to give Uncle Pin.”

“That doesn’t sound good,” I said. “Where is she right now?”

“I’m not sure,” Dinky said. “She thought you might be at our house, picking up the report, since you weren’t at your shop. She asked me to help find you, when I told her you hadn’t come by yet.”

“Let’s go back to my shop,” I said. “That would be the most likely place she would check again.” I turned to Rose. “Can I get one large variety sample bouquet to go?”

Rose looked guilty. “Pin, I wasn’t trying to twist your leg to buy something, I promise.”

I waved her concerns away with a hoof. “I know that, and we could all use something to snack on while we wait for Muffins to find us,” I told her.

“Thanks, Pin.” Rose’s smile returned. “One large sample bouquet coming right up.”

I felt a pang of longing, as I watched Rose gather the various flowers she needed for the bouquet.

“Dinks,” Kevin said and pointed a hoof at me. “Hug needed.”

Dinky nodded. “Got it!”

“Wait, I-” I could not get a proper protest out before Dinky rushed to me and gave me a hug. I chuckled as I realized the hug was making me feel better. I hugged Dinky back. “Thanks, I needed that more than I thought.”

Dinky looked up at me with knowing eyes. “You miss her.”

I patted Dinky’s back and let her go. “I do,” I admitted. “Buying the flowers made me think of her.”

“We need to break you of that,” Rose said, as she put the bouquet on the stall’s counter top. “You should treat yourself to some now and then too.”

“If I do things like this for myself, I feel selfish.” I paid Rose for the bouquet and thanked her. “Besides, it’s more fun being able to share something like this,” I told her as I picked the bouquet up.

“I can carry those,” Piña said. After I gave her the bouquet, she gave the flowers a long sniff. “These are going to taste great! Thank you, Miss Rose. Thanks, Uncle Pin.”

“You’re welcome,” Rose and I said at the same time.

Rose shooed us away with a hoof. “As much as I’d like to talk, you need to get going.”

We said our goodbyes to Rose, and Piña and Rumble led our impromptu herd towards my shop.

“Did your Mom know the message was about?” Pinch asked.

“No, she didn’t,” Dinky said. “That’s one reason she’s so worried about getting the message to him.”

Catastrophic thoughts of all sorts went through my head. I said to myself, more than anypony else, “I’m sure everything will be fine, whatever the message is.”

Kevin gave me a supportive look and nodded. “We’ll help too, if we can.”

“We sure will,” Dinky said.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I gave them a smile. “I hope there's nothing anypony will need to help with, though.”

“Pin! There you are!”

Dinky’s ears swiveled around as she looked around. “Mom?!”

“Uncle Pin, dodge!” Piña said.

Piña’s warning was too late. An impact on my side bowled me over. Out of instinct, I grabbed onto what had struck me and let momentum carry me along. After the rolling stopped, I found myself pinned to the ground by somepony’s body weight. The sound of several envelopes floating to the ground and resting on the grass accompanied the ringing in my ears.

“Whoa!” Rumble said. “That was a griffin style takedown! I didn’t know your mom could do that!”

A fuzzy image of Dinky appeared at the edge of my hazy and partially gray coat obscured vision.

“Quit being a doofus and help me check them!” Dinky said.

Muffins rolled off me, and I got a better view of the sky.

“He looks like a dead bug, with his legs like that,” Rumble said. “Can you feel this?” he asked, as he prodded me in various places with his hooves.

“I can,” I grunted after getting some air back in my lungs. “I’m going to feel that in the morning, but nothing’s broken. Check on Muffins.”

My still somewhat unfocused vision blurred again as Muffins hauled me into a sitting position and a hug. “Pin, I’m so sorry!”

I gave her shoulder a pat. “It’s alright. I’ve had much worse. Are you okay?”

“Don’t worry about me, I’m the one who crashed into you,” Muffins said.

“You didn’t ‘crash into’ him; you tackled him!” Rumble said. “It was awesome! Did you ever play cloudball? It looked like you did, the way you took him down.”

Pinch shook her head. “Colts.”

“It was a good tackle,” Piña said with a grin. She offered Muffins a stack of envelopes. “Here are your letters.”

“The message!” Muffins said, sounding near panicked. I came near to collapsing back to the ground, as she let go of me and made a frantic search for something. “What happened to my mailbag?!”

“It’s over there,” Rumble said and pointed a hoof towards the bag.

“Thank Celestia! I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost it.” Muffins took me in a full wing hug. “You promise you’re okay?” she asked me.

I hugged her back. “I’m fine.”

“I’ve got your bag,” Pinch said, as she levitated them from the ground.

“Your hat’s back where you tackled him, though,” Rumble said, sounding impressed. “I didn’t realize how far you two went.”

“Don’t say it like that!” Dinky chided. “It’s a wonder they weren’t hurt!”

I chuckled as I watched Rumble trot toward Muffin’s hat. “We did go a ways.”

Rumble had a grin, and a light blush, as he came back towards us.

“What are you thinking?” Piña said.

“I was wondering if she still smells like muffins,” Rumble said.

“She does,” I confirmed. I made a show of taking a couple of sniffs of one of her wings. “Raspberry, this time, I think.”

“You two are crazy,” Dinky said, smiling.

Muffins and I ended our hug.

“Thanks, Pinch.” Muffins took her mailbag from Pinch’s magic and rummaged around in one pouch. “Here it is!” she announced and gave me a scrollwork embellished envelope. “Spike came by the post office with this and asked for help to find you. He said that if you needed to send a return letter fast, he would be at the castle’s library.”

“It’s a royal missive!” Pinch said.

“From Princess Twilight,” I said.

This can’t be pleasant news, I thought to myself. She wouldn’t send something like this without it being urgent.

“Open it!” Piña said, prancing from hoof to hoof.

Steeling myself, I opened the envelope, took out the letter, and read Twilight’s elegant writing.

“It’s not good!” Pinch said “Look at his ears! They’re all the way down!”

Dinky hugged my side. “What’s wrong?”

“Coco’s sick,” I said, summing up the message and hugging Dinky with my free foreleg. “Bad sick too. She couldn’t even help Rarity with her shop opening.”

“Oh, no!” Dinky said.

“Rarity and the other Elements are too busy helping with opening the shop to take care of Coco.” Using my magic, I pulled a pair of train vouchers from the envelope. “They want me to head up there as soon as I can.”

“Poor Coco!” Muffins said. “She looked so tired, when she came to see Rain. With everything she’s been doing, I’m sure she wore herself down to the point some nasty bug got her.”

Pinch glanced at me. “Sounds like somepony else we know.”

“I’m sorry, everypony, but I’ve got to run to Zecora’s. After that, I’ll get my stuff ready for the trip as fast as I can. The next train for Canterlot is leaving this afternoon. If I’m going to make it, I need to hustle.” Feeling guilty, I looked at the foals. “I’m sorry I won’t be able to go over the report with you.”

“That’s all right, Coco should come first,” Dinky said. She perked up a bit. “We can run your copy of the report by your store. That way you can share it with Coco, when you get up there.”

Pinch grinned. “That’s a great idea. I think she’ll like what’s in the report. It will make her feel better.”

“Take care of Miss Coco for us,” Piña said.

“I will,” I promised.

“Take care of yourself too,” Muffins said. “You can’t do her any good if you get sick too.”

“I’ll try,” I assured her.

“You better,” Piña said, pointing a hoof at me. Dropping her serious act, she gave Pinch the bouquet and then me a hug. “Tell her we love her and we miss her and we want her to get better and for her to get her tail back here where she belongs.”

I laughed, which helped my anxiety level a good bit. “I’m not sure I’ll use those exact words, but I’ll tell her.”

*****

I stepped off the train onto Manehattan Station’s pony packed platform. I was bumped, jostled, and given nasty looks by several ponies as I unwittingly went against the local movement patterns, trying to find a spot to pause and orient myself.

“No wonder Coco’s not fond of the ponies here,” I grumbled, after finding a somewhat quiet spot on the edge of the platform. I reached for my saddlebags to get my map, just as a voice called, “You’re Royal Pin, ain’t you?!”

I glanced around and saw a stallion waving at me. “Yes, sir, I am!” I said and trotted over to a stallion wearing a taxi pony’s hat and vest.

“You stick out like a sore hoof,” the stallion said and grinned. He held out his hoof to me. “Fast Fare, at your service.”

“Pleased to meet you,” I said and shook his hoof. “How did you know I was coming?”

“Miss Rarity sent me for you,” he said. “She got your message yesterday and hired me to pick you up.”

“Sisters bless her,” I said. “I haven’t been here five minutes and I already feel overwhelmed.”

“Manehatten will do that to you, if you ain’t ready for it.” Fare motioned to follow him. “My cart’s this way.” As we walked, he told me, “Don’t mind those jerks on the platform. Those types give us Manehattan ponies a bad name.”

I loaded my saddlebags and myself into Fare’s taxi cart. The speed with which he strapped himself into the cart’s harness was impressive.

“You make that look easy,” I told him.

“Lot’s of practice,” Fare replied with a grin. “Sit back and relax. I’ll have you at Rarity’s place in no time.”

Fare pulled the cart away from the curb with a smooth gait. I kept a hoof on my saddlebags, making sure they did not slide around in the cart as Fare maneuvered through traffic and took a series of turns. It felt odd being carried along by somepony else, but I was glad that I had somepony I could rely on to get me where I needed to go.

“You here to help Miss Rarity with her new place?” Fare asked.

“Sort of,” I answered. “I’m here to take care of somepony that was going to be helping Rarity with the opening who caught a something that’s making her sneeze uncontrollably.”

Fare glanced back at me. “You came all the way from Ponyville to take care of somepony with a case of the sniffles?”

“That’s the long and the short of it,” I said.

Fare chuckled. “This somepony’s special to you, I take it.”

“More than I can put into words,” I told him.

“I know what you’re talkin’ about,” Fare said. “If my wife were sick, I’d go across Equestria for her too.”

“We’re not quite to that point.”

“You’re close, though,” Fare said, sounding certain.

“Very,” I said.

Fare pulled the cart to the side of the road and in front of a boutique with a storefront that looked recently renovated. “Here you go,” he announced.

I could see a good number of ponies inside the boutique through the shop’s front window. “Looks like the opening went well.” I got out of the cart, put my saddlebags on, and reached for my money pouch. “How much do I owe you for the trip?”

“Nothing,” Fare said. “Miss Rarity paid upfront.”

I gave Fare what I thought was an appropriate amount of bits. “Consider this as a tip. Without you, I would have gotten lost.”

“Thanks,” Fare said, and tucked the bits in his vest pocket. “You tell that special somepony of yours I hope she gets to feelin’ better.”

“I will,” I promised.

“Tell Miss Rarity hello for me, won’t you?”

“I will.”

Fare appeared to have an insight, as he looked towards the boutique. He turned back to me and said, “I don’t mean to put my nose where it ain’t wanted, but is it Miss Coco you’re takin’ care of?”

“It is.”

“I figured that was the case. The poor gal didn’t look her best the last time I saw her.” Somepony whistled, and Fare’s ears snapped to attention. “I got to go,” he said, after glancing down the street. Fare pulled his cart away from the curb. “You tell Miss Coco I hope she gets back on her hooves in no time.”

“I will.” I waved at Fare as he trotted off, “Thanks again!”

I stepped into the boutique, took about a dozen steps, and my vision became pink.

“Pokey! You made it!”

“Hello Pinkie,” I said, my voice muffled by her mane. I hugged her back. “It’s good to see you too.”

“I’m so glad you’re here! Poor Coco is all sniffly and sneezy and miserable.” Pinkie pulled back, keeping her hooves on my shoulders, looked into my eyes, and gave me a shake. “You have to make her feel better.”

“I’ll do my best,” I assured her.

“Pinkie, dear, would you let go of Pokey for me?” Rarity said, as she approached. “I need to give him directions so he can go take care of Coco for us.”

“Thank you for helping us help Coco!” Pinkie gave me another hug. “When we get back to Ponyville, I’m going to blow up a roomful of balloons for you to pop for this!” Somepony out of my line of sight caught her eye. “Ooo! Another customer!” she said and rushed off.

I stood still and blinked a few times to recover.

“Hello, Pin,” Rarity said, with a hint of a giggle in her voice. “I hope your trip went well.”

“It did. Thank you for sending Fare to pick me up. I would have gotten myself lost without him.”

“You are quite welcome. Fare’s such a dear. I knew he would take good care of you.” Rarity gave me a knowing smile. “Speaking of taking care of ponies, I’m sure you want to be on your way to take care of Coco, so I won’t keep you long.” She gave me a sheet of paper with detailed directions on how to get to Coco’s apartment and a key. “Coco’s building is three blocks from here. Up two and over one. You can’t miss it. She’s on the third floor.”

“Thank you,” I said, staring at the paper and trying to memorize the directions to Coco’s.

“Somepony will be by later to deliver dinner for you two, so you don’t have to worry about fixing anything.”

“Thank you again. I would be glad to cook for her, but having dinner delivered will be a treat for both of us.”

“Pin.” Raritys’ tone made me look up from the paper. “Through a source who shall remain nameless, I have learned that a certain pony has been discussing a deal with the Apple family and Mister Burnt Oak to add on an expansion to his shop.”

You’re getting me back for helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders with their project aren’t you, Applejack? I thought to myself. Tucking Coco’s key away in my saddlebags, I told Rarity, “I honestly don’t know what to say.”

Rarity glanced around and then stepped close to me. “I would wager there is a certain question that might coincide with the project,” she said in a softer voice.

I swallowed. “That’s very possible, but timing is everything with these kinds of things, and the pony doesn’t know wh-”

Rarity put a hoof on my shoulder and leaned close. “I’m planning to be back in Ponyville in five weeks,” she whispered.

My ears snapped up.

“Do with that information what you will,” Rarity said in the same soft tone.

I hugged Rarity. “Thank you!”

Rarity giggled and hugged me back. “You’re welcome.” She patted my back, let me go, and said, “Now, run along and take care of our dear Miss Pommel, please.”

I released Rarity and smiled. “I will.”

*****

I knocked on Coco’s door, waited for some time, and then knocked again.

“She must be asleep,” I told myself, after more time passed, and turned to get the key from my saddlebags.

The door opened a crack.

“I’m sorry,” Coco said, sounding congested and pitiful. “I would invite you in, but I’m sick and I don’t want anypony to catch it.”

“Thank you for warning me, but I’m willing to take that risk,” I said.

“Pin?!” The door swung open. Coco, holding a tissue to her chest with one hoof while holding the door open with the other, stared at me. “What are you doing here?!”

“I got a royal summons from Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony to take care of a sick friend of theirs,” I told her and held up the royal missive.

“Pin, I-” Coco sneezed, and I just got a hoof up to shield myself somewhat. Coco looked mortified as she wiped her nose with her tissue. “Not again! I sneezed all over Rarity, and now I got you!” She sniffed and looked pitiful. “I’m so sorry! When the sneezes come, I don’t get any warn-”

I created a brief magic barrier to shield myself from her next sneeze. “Don’t worry about me. Let’s get you back inside and bundled up. I brought some stuff from Zecora that should help.”

Coco sniffed. “That sounds good,” she said, sounding tired. She opened the door and led me into her apartment’s den.

“I feel bad for making you get up to open the door, but just coming in with the key didn’t seem right.”

“I wasn’t sleeping, so don’t -” Coco sneezed and sniffed again. “Feel bad,” she finished. “I’ve been sneezing too much to rest.”

I could tell she had made herself a cozy spot on her couch with a blanket, pair of pillows, and a book before I had caused her to rouse herself.

When Coco sat down on the couch, I said, “Please hold still.” Using my magic, I wrapped her in the blanket.

“Pin, you don’t-” she sneezed again. “Ohhh,” she groaned, sniffed, and wiped her nose with a fresh tissue she got from the almost empty box sitting on her coffee table. She added her previous tissue to an enormous pile of wadded up castaways.

“Let’s start with this,” I said, putting my saddlebags down on the floor and pulling out a jar of ointment. “Zecora told me, when she gave me this for you, ‘If her trouble is a terrible sneeze, this will put her nose at ease.’ ”

“How do I take it?” Coco asked.

“You won’t have to.” I opened the jar and a pleasant rain dampened woodsy scent filled the air.

“But then how-” Coco sneezed again.

I put a dollop of the medicine from the jar on my hoof. “Hold still.”

Coco’s eyes went cross as I rubbed the pale green ointment on her irritated red nose. “Your poor nose,” I said, as I put the top back on the jar.

“At one point I thought I was going to sneeze it off,” Coco said.

I snorted a laugh. “Zecora said that if you breathe this stuff in through your nose as best you can for a few minutes it would help pretty fast.” I pulled out a potion from my saddlebags. “She said this would help your body fight off the bug. You have to take it with food, though.”

“I’ve got some crackers right here,” Coco said and reached for the plate of stale looking crackers on her coffee table.

“Coco,” I said, and her hoof stopped halfway to the plate.

“Yes?” she said and sniffed.

“Are crackers all you have been eating?”

Coco’s ear’s angled out, and she looked up at me with guilty eyes. “Pretty much.” She gave a sneeze, but it was lighter than her previous ones. “I haven’t felt like making anything the last couple of days,” she said.

“That won’t do,” I said. I put the potion on the coffee table. “I’ll go make you something.”

“Pin, you just got here. You don’t need to cook for me. Sit down and relax for a couple of minutes.”

I shook my head. “I won’t be able to sit down and relax without making sure you’re taken care of. How about I fix you something comforting and quick like cinnamon toast and tea?

Coco sniffed and said, “That sounds good.”

I glanced around the room. “Which way to the kitchen?”

“This way,” she said, and got up from the couch. She gave me a look when I opened my mouth to protest. “I will be in the kitchen with you,” she said, with a smile. “I haven’t seen you in three weeks, and I want to know what’s going on back home.”

My ears perked, and I grinned at her use of ‘home’.

Coco led me into the kitchen and then turned to face me. “First thing, though, I want you to know, I am officially not going to be staying in Manehattan after I get through helping Rarity with this new shop.” She giggled at my poor attempt to not let my excitement show. “You don’t have to hide what you’re feeling trying to be polite towards Rarity. You have my permission to act however you like.”

“Thank you!” I grabbed Coco up in a hug and nuzzled her mane. “You’re coming home.” I kissed her forehead. “You’re coming home,” I whispered with giddy relief.

Coco hugged me back. “I told Rarity that I would still work for her, when and if she needed me, but only at her Ponyville boutique.” She gave me a squeeze. “Were you still worried I might stay here?”

“The back of my mind has tormented me with all kinds of horrible thoughts, but my heart knew you wouldn’t.”

“Your heart was right.” She paused and tilted her head. “What are you thinking?”

Before she could prod further about the thoughts I had about my plans for the shop, I told her, “Thinking about me thinking about you just reminded me, the research team got the results from the study written up.”

Her ears perked up. “That fast?”

“Amethyst, Twilight, and Turner worked with the foals to analyze the data and draft the report. The three of them have published papers before, so I’m sure they had no trouble pulling things together.”

Coco covered her nose with her tissue and gave a sneeze. “Zecora’s medicine must be working already. That was much better.” She sniffed, wiped her nose with the tissue, and then asked, “What did they find?”

“I don’t know. They gave me a copy of the report right before I headed up here. The ‘report’ is more like a book, to be honest. I was hoping to read it with you, so I didn’t peek.” I smiled, noticing Coco’s nose was not looking as red as it had been. “After we get some toast, tea, and the potion in you, would you like to look over their findings with me?”

Coco smiled and nodded. “That sounds great.”

*****

“Coco, are you doing all right?” I said, as her eyes closed on their own.

“Hmmm?” she said and opened her eyes a little.

“Why don’t I stop here, for the time being, and you get some sleep?”

“I’m sorry for drifting off,” Coco said, sounding groggy. “The potion’s kicking in, and I’m feeling like I can rest.”

“Don’t apologize. That’s what supposed to happen.”

“Your reading voice is nice to listen to too,” she said. “It helped me relax.”

“Thank you. Would you like me to carry your stuff to your room?”

Coco gave a sleepy shake of her head. “I think I’m going to stay on the couch.” She turned and sneezed into a tissue. “At least I’m getting some warning now,” she said and sniffed.

“You’ve been sick, it’s going to take some time for this to clear your system, even after we get the other doses of the potion in you.” I got out of my seat and put my hoof to Coco’s forehead. “You still have a bit of a fever too.”

“I’m doing a lot better than I was,” she said, leaned over, and slumped down onto the couch’s cushions. She struggled with getting her blanket out from around her for a couple of seconds, stopped, and gave a self-defeated sigh. “I didn’t think that through. I should have taken the blanket off first.”

I did my best to keep from smiling. “Would you mind if I helped?”

“Thanks, but we need to limit our close contact as much as possible.”

“You forget.” I pointed a hoof towards my horn. “I can cheat.”

“Oh. Right. It must be the fever. I’m not thinking straight.”

“Relax, and I’ll get you unwrapped.” I lifted her with my magic and untangled the blanket from around her. I chuckled as I straightened out the blanket. “I’ll have to tell the foals about how you made yourself into a Coco burrito, when I get back.”

She raised an eyebrow at me, but Coco’s small smile told me she found my comment somewhat amusing.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it.” Using more magic, I straightened out the cushions on the couch and fluffed her pillow. “I’ll put back down in a second, but I want to make sure you’re going to be comfy when I put you back down.”

Coco stretched her legs and hummed. “Take your time. This is nice.”

After getting everything ready, I lowered Coco back to the couch. She rested on her side, put her head on her pillow, and I put the blanket over her. I brushed Coco’s mane from her face with a touch of magic and smiled at her.

She smiled back at me. “What’s that look for?”

“I was admiring you.”

She gave a light snort. “I look horrible.”

“You’re beautiful.”

Coco sniffed and her eyes drifted shut. “You’re biased.”

“A bit, I’ll admit.”

Coco sank into sleep after a few seconds.

I skimmed the next two pages in the report and then put it down after thinking that knowing about the results would take the fun out of finding out about them with Coco. My eyes wandered around the den, taking in details about the room. A lot of the items on the various shelves fit in with a theater and photography theme. I noticed there were no family pictures, but there was a couple of a unicorn mare standing on stage in costume.

A famous friend of the family, maybe? I asked myself. I stood up and moved to one photograph. It took me a second to realize that the angle of the photo would have required the photographer to be elevated to look down toward the stage.

I studied the picture. “She looks familiar,” I whispered to myself.

There was a knock on the apartment’s door.

Coco made a soft, half asleep noise as I trotted to Coco’s front door and opened it.

A dark purple maned mare with a pink coat and golden eyes greeted me with an uncertain look.

I put on a welcoming smile. “Hello.”

She did not say a word as she continued to give me an uneasy stare.

“Are you looking for Coco Pommel’s?” I asked.

The mare gave a slow nod.

“You’re at the right apartment, then. I’m helping take care of Coco while she’s sick. My name’s Royal Pin.”

The mare took two of the three carry out bags from her back, put them down in front of her, and then backed away as if she were facing a dangerous wild animal.

“Is everything all right?” I asked her, growing concerned something was wrong.

She took another step back until her tail touched the wall across the hall from Coco’s apartment’s door. “Everything’s fine, but I need to get going.”

“Come in, please,” Coco said from right at my side, making me jump. I had been so focused on the nervous mare I had not heard Coco approach.

The mare would not make eye contact with either Coco or me. “Coco, I can’t. It took about everything I had to make myself come and-”

“Suri, please, come in,” Coco said, with a note in her voice I had not heard before.

My attention snapped back to Suri as a variety of thoughts and questions ran through my mind.

Suri bit her bottom lip and glanced back and forth between Coco and me as if debating about which one of us she needed to be more worried about.

“Would you like some tea?” I offered and stepped back. “I would be happy to make some.”

“Did Rarity put you up to this?” Coco said, as she picked up the two bags with a hoof.

“No, I volunteered,” Suri said and tapped her chest with a hoof. “I wanted to see you again and to talk about… everything, but I wasn’t ready for your… New friend to open the door.”

“Come in and eat with us,” Coco said. “You, Pin, and I have a lot to talk about.”

Suri gave me a wary look. “How much has she told you about me?”

“I know you were lovers, and that you had a rough break up,” I said and did my best to maintain an amiable tone.

“Nope.” Suri turned as if to leave. “This is going to be too much drama.”

“Suri!” Coco protested.

Things snapped together in my mind. “You’re the pony that’s been helping Rarity and Sassy in Canterlot.”

“I am,” Suri said and turned back towards Coco and me. “Rarity offered me a job after she found out I...” Though she maintained a neutral expression, she wiped her tears away with a hoof. “I lost my shop.”

“Suri,” Coco said, sounding brokenhearted. “Pin, hug her for me, please.”

I looked at Coco, not sure I had heard her right.

“Please,” Coco said. “She needs it, and I need somepony to hug her.”

I braced myself and offered, “Suri, I’ll give you a hug, if you want one.”

Suri gave a teary, wet snort and then looked at me. “You’re kidding.”

“You’re feeling awful, and Coco asked me to, so I have two good reasons not to joke around.”

Suri shook her head, but she had a small smile on her face. “Sassy was right, you’d walk into Tartarus if Coco asked you to. If we're going to do this, I better step inside. If I cry, I don’t want everypony on the hall to hear me.”

Suri stepped into Coco’s apartment, and I shut the door behind her.

“Does he give as good a hug as you do?” Suri asked Coco, as she put her dinner bag down on the floor.

“I don’t know about how I give hugs, but I know he’s good at them,” Coco said.

Suri looked at me as if still uncertain. “I’m only doing this because Coco is asking.” She sniffed and gave me a stiff, formal hug.

“Likewise.” I returned Suri’s hug with as much comfort and warmth as I could. “However, I can’t imagine losing my shop and home. I hate you’ve gone through something like that.”

“Don’t you dare!” Suri sniffed. “You’re not supposed to be nice. Yell at me. Cuss me out. Tell me I’m a lousy pony that got what I deserved, but don’t be nice!”

“That’s against his nature,” Coco said. “Suri, give him a real hug, please.”

“You’re supposed to be mad at me too, not sharing your special somepony like this,” Suri said, as more tears went down her face.

“We yelled at each other enough, when things fell apart,” Coco said. “It didn’t help then, and I don’t think it would help anything now.”

“You’re both horrible,” Suri said between sobs.

Despite her words, Suri hugged me tighter and cried against my chest.

*****

Suri put her fork down and sat up straighter. “Now that dinner’s over, let's talk about what we need to talk about. After we’re done, I’ll leave, and he can put you to bed.” She turned to me and said, “Coco’s caught up on what’s been going on with me by Rarity, I’m sure, but let me give you the short version real quick.”

“Okay,” I said.

“After word got out about the stunts I had pulled against Rarity, several very influential ponies in the fashion world blacklisted me, including: Fancy Pants, Photo Finish, and Hoity Toity. When word got around about why I had been blacklisted by them, I stopped getting referrals and my sales all but stopped. It didn’t take long, before I couldn’t make the payments for my shop and then my apartment.”

“You made some pretty bad mistakes, but you shouldn’t have lost your business and your home over them,” Coco told her.

“If there is a dark side to ponies’ herding instincts, it’s that we gang up against anything or anypony that is a threat to who or what we care about,” I said. “After Trixie tangled with Twilight, pony’s would vandalize her cart, whenever she stopped at town that had heard about what happened.”

“Yet we’re sharing a meal after I wronged Rarity and treated Coco like I did for years,” Suri said and raised her glass in a sarcastic gesture.

“The good thing about ponies is that we tend to forgive and make friends with those who we overreact to. Trixie’s now has a good fan base in Ponyville, and her shows are some of the most popular events in town. Starlight is now Twilight’s student and even lives with her in the same castle.”

“And Rarity’s offered me a job as an assistant manager here at her new shop until I can get back on my own hooves, even after what I did to her,” Suri said as if conceding the point. “As the Element of Generosity, I can see her being forgiving. You two, I don’t quite get; you in particular, Pin. Why give me a chance, when you don’t even know me?”

“If Coco wants to give you another chance, even after what you did to her, I will follow her lead.” I looked Suri in the eye and told her, “I’ll also do my best to make sure she doesn’t get hurt by you again.”

“So there might be some stallion under that soft coat of yours,” Suri said in a mocking tone.

My hackles rose at her goad.

“Suri, be careful,” Coco warned. “He threw his own sister out of his life for two years, after a fight with her.” When Suri turned to her, Coco told her in a level tone, “If you aren’t going to act civilly, I’ll give him permission to do the same to you in the physical sense of the phrase.”

Suri slumped back in her chair, closed her eyes, took a slow breath, and nodded. “You’re right. I was out of line.” She opened her eyes and looked at me. “I came geared for a fight, and I think part of me still wants one.” She looked to Coco with emotion filled eyes. “The break would be easier that way.”

“There doesn’t have to be more of a break than what there’s already been,” Coco said. “Suri, you were my mentor for years. You taught me new design and sewing techniques, business acumen, and how to go after what I wanted in life. There is a part of me that will forever be grateful for what you did for me, but-”

“But I was a complete ursa major to you and any other pony I thought I could bully or manipulate into getting what I wanted, including you.”

Coco’s ears fell a bit. “I tried to stay with you. I adored you, but you treated me like-”

“I know how I treated you and for how long,” Suri interrupted, with guilt in her voice. “Of course, I realized what I had done after I lost my cuddle toy and my… No. I can’t act like I treated you other than as a go-for, even with myself.”

I looked to Coco to see what she wanted me to do.

“You stay right where you are, even if she asks you to hug me.” Suri straightened herself back up in her seat. “I need to pay for what I did to her.”

“I think you already have,” I said.

Suri snorted. “Would you ever forgive yourself for hurting her like I did?”

“No, I wouldn’t,” I admitted. “I love Coco too much to ever forgive myself for hurting her like that.”

“I didn’t realize how much I loved Coco, until I lost her.” Suri took in an uneven breath. “I still love her.”

“I knew you loved me, but you almost never made me feel loved, and you wouldn’t let me show how much I loved you. You would always tell me I was being ‘too soft,’ when I tried.”

“I take it he’s different?” Suri said, giving me a meaningful glance.

Coco was about to say something, but she turned her head with a sudden sneeze. “Sorry.” Coco wiped her nose with a tissue. “I couldn’t keep that one from coming out.”

“Rarity said you were sneezing your nose off,” Suri said, with a sympathetic wince.

“I thought I was going to, there for a bit,” Coco said. “The ointment Pin brought has helped a lot.” Coco sniffed again. “Yes, Pin is different. He tells me he loves me every day. He thanks me for anything and everything I do. Whenever he cooks, he makes some for me, whether or not I’m eating with him. He brushes out my coat, whenever I want, and braids my mane and tail for me, when we have special nights out.”

“Wait, he does what?” Suri said with disbelief.

“It’s a Canterlot thing,” I said, blushing.

“Must be,” Suri said, giving me a look. “Just how do you let her show you affection back?”

“Any way she wants,” I said. “Words, hugs, letting her brush out my coat and tail when she asks to.”

“That’s enough saccharine stuff from you both,” Suri said, holding up a hoof. “Is he good to you in the sewing room, though?” she asked Coco.

It took me a second to get where Suri was going with her inquiry. When I did, my blush deepened.

“He pays me well, allows me to experiment with the designs he’s shared with me, and always gives me supplies when I ask for them,” Coco said. “He keeps trying to pay me commission for when he sells any of the designs I’ve altered, but-”

“Coco, you’re precious, but that’s not what I meant,” Suri said, interrupting. Suri made a crude demonstrative gesture with her hooves as she asked, “Does he know how to oil up and get your sewing machine running?”

Coco’s blush reached her ear tips. “I thought you were talking about how he treated me business-wise!”

Suri grinned. “Wrong business, but there’s still ‘horizontal and vertical bobbins’ and ‘stitch lengths’ involved, though.”

“Suri!” Coco put her head down on the kitchen table and covered her face with her hooves.

“I want an answer,” Suri said in a half teasing voice.

“Yes!” Coco said, without uncovering her face. “He knows how to sew my buttons on!”

Thank the Sisters neither Sassy or Satin are here or we’d never hear the end of this, I thought to myself. Aloud, I told Coco, in as professional a tone as I could manage, “I am glad you find my ‘sewing’ satisfactory.”

“Sounds like you found a stallion like the ones from those plays you love,” Suri said, sounding amused and hollow at the same time. She looked at me and asked, “Do you go to plays with her?”

I nodded. “The last one we went to see was The Ponies.”

“After a romantic dinner, I bet,” Suri said.

“A very nice one,” Coco said, as she raised her head from the table as if it were an effort.

Suri looked toward Coco, smirked, and shook her head. “We need to stop talking. She had to fight to sit back up and her eyes are closing on her.”

“I can stay awake,” Coco said.

“I know you can. I pushed you to stay awake way too much, when you worked for me,” Suri told her. “That doesn’t mean you should.” She pointed a hoof at me. “Since you’re serving as a hugging substitute, give her a hug for me.”

I moved from my spot at the table and gave Coco a hug.

“Coco, I’m sorry for what I did to you,” Suri said. “I-”

“Suri, don’t,” Coco said, cutting her off. “Friends forgive each other, learn from what happened, and move on.”

“Friends,” Suri echoed as if the word were lacking.

“Why did you say it like that?” Coco asked.

“I’m glad we’re talking again, but I would be lying if I’m said there isn’t a part of me that’s not taking it well that there’s no possibility of me convincing you to come back to work with me.” Suri smiled in a less than innocent way. “Another part of me is also very disappointed I won’t have the opportunity to tie you up with ribbons and take my time enjoying some hot Coco and whipped cream again.”

Coco gasped. “Suri!”

The mental image I had of such a scene made it impossible for me to form a response.

“Let that thought stay with you for a while,” Suri said to me. “You two stay where you are. I’ll see myself out.” Suri stood and walked toward the kitchen door. “Get to feeling better, Coco,” she said over her shoulder, as she walked out of sight.

A couple of seconds past, then there was the sound of the apartment's door opening and closing.

“Oh Celestia, I can’t believe she said that,” Coco said.

“She was trying to get under my coat again,” I said. “ She strikes me as a possessive type.”

“She can be. Or, could be, I should say.” Coco sighed. “If another pony ever showed any interest in me, on the personal or professional level, she would run them off. That, along with the long hours we worked, made it very difficult for me to make connections with other ponies.”

“Since everypony who meets you adores you, I’m sure she had to run off a lot of ponies.”

“A few,” Coco said as if confessing something.

“I have to admit, I am a little miffed at her.” Coco looked at me with concern, and I waggled my eyebrows. “She didn’t go into details or draw diagrams.”

Coco laughed and hugged me tighter. “We shouldn’t be doing this, with me sick, but I have to admit I’m enjoying it.”

“I’m enjoying it too, but Suri was right; I should tuck you in. I think it’s about time for me to put more of that goop on your nose too. That should help you sleep.”

Coco let me go, gave me a look that made me think of a filly being bashful about asking for something, and blushed.

I smiled. “What is it?”

“Could you use your magic again?” Her ears went out and she ducked her head in an adorable display. “When I was little, Mom would use her magic to carry me to bed, when I was sick.”

“Sure,” I said. “Hold still.” Using my magic I lifted her from the floor. “Whenever you want me to do this, just ask.”

“Doesn’t it wear you out?”

“If I held you for a while, it might. You don’t weigh enough to be much of a challenge.” I carried her into the den, and then added carrying her box of tissues and Zecora’s ointment to my magical grip. “Which way to your room?”

“That way.” Coco pointed and smiled.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this.”

“I’ve missed these moments.” Coco said. I opened the door to her room, as she listed, “I’ve missed you. I’ve missed the foals. I’ve missed our friends.”

“We’ve missed you too.” I smiled, when I saw Woofs sitting on top of one of Coco’s pillows. “Hello, Woofs. Thanks for looking out for Coco for me.”

“He has helped a lot.” Coco watched me get her bed ready for her with my magic. “How many things can you hold or do with your magic at the same time?”

“This is about it for me.” I said and tucked her into her bed. “I can’t do like Rarity can, and move dozens of items at the same time.” I levitated Woofs to Coco, who smiled and hugged him to her chest. “I’m counting on you to keep looking after her for a while longer,” I told the plushie.

“He’s done a good job so far,” Coco said and kissed the top of Woofs’ head. “He’s not you, though.”

I opened the jar of ointment and then put a bit of the medicinal goo on my hoof. “I’m glad he’s been taking care of you, but I’m jealous of him,” I told Coco, as she leaned towards me a bit. “He’s gotten to cuddle with you, and I haven’t.” I put the medicine on her nose. “Your nose is looking better already. It doesn’t feel as hot too. I can’t tell if it’s the ointment, the potion, or the combination of the two, but there’s a difference.”

Coco caught my hoof with hers, when I drew it back from her nose. “Thank you.” She took in an emotional breath. “Thank you for coming to take care of me.”

“I’m glad I’m here, but don’t give me too much credit. I got a royal summons to do this.”

Coco giggled. “I doubt the summons included anything about ‘putting up with your special somepony’s ex’ in it.” Her smile faded a bit. “Suri’s trying to do better, I can tell, but what she said there at the end was wrong.”

“There’s part of me that wants to be mad at her, but I know she’s worried about you and she’s hurting from missing you. Even knowing you were coming back, your being gone for a few weeks has been rough. I can only imagine knowing that she will not have you back in her life is tearing her up.” I could not help but grin, as I thought of Piña’s message. “Speaking of ponies who are not happy about not seeing you, the training partners and the research team told me to tell you to get better. Piña told me to tell you to, ‘get her tail back here where she belongs.’ ”

Coco laughed.

“The other’s agreed with the message, but I think they would have phrased it differently.” I looked into Coco’s eyes. “All of us have missed you and we can’t wait to have you back with us.”

“I’ve missed all of you too.” Her eyes closed, and she fought them back open. “Pin, I won’t be able to stay awake much longer.”

“That’s fine. You need to rest.”

She gripped my hoof a touch tighter. “Stay with me, until I drift off, please.”

“I’d be glad to.” I leaned against the side of the bed and put my chin down on the bed’s comforter. “I love you. ”

“I love you too.” Coco smiled, closed her eyes, and relaxed.

It did not take long, and her breathing even out in sleep.

I studied her sleeping face and smiled. “Sweet dreams.”

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Hearing whispers and the working of a camera’s shutter, I floated toward consciousness.

A hoof touched my shoulder, and a mature feminine voice whispered, “Hello, strange stallion in my daughter’s room.”

I lifted my head from the comforter on Coco’s bed and turned toward the source of the voice.

A later middle aged mare smiled at me and asked, ““Would you like some breakfast?”

Though I had never met her, I felt I had seen the mare before.

The mare put her hoof to her mouth in a signal for me to be quiet and then motioned for me to follow her.

I glanced at Coco, who was still asleep.

The mare patted my shoulder with her hoof. When I looked at her again, the mare whispered, “We’ll make breakfast for her too.”

I eased away from Coco’s bed and followed the mare. At Coco’s bedroom door stood a pegasus stallion who was holding a professional grade camera. He grinned at me and patted the top of his camera with a hoof as if to tell me he had gotten the shot he wanted. He stepped from the doorway and allowed the mare and me to pass.

As we stepped into the den, and the pegasus stallion asked, “Coffee or tea?”

“Coffee, please,” I said, and looked back at him.

“Hash browns or hay bacon?” The mare in front of me asked.

“Hash browns, please.” I said, as we stepped into the kitchen, “I’d be glad to help cook.”

“While it’s kind of you to offer, you will do no such thing,” the mare said. “Please, take a seat at the table.”

I sat at the table as invited.

The stallion began making coffee as the mare inspected the contents of the refrigerator.

“I believe introductions are in order,” the mare said. “I’m Dramatic Flare, and this is my husband, Best Light.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” I said. “My name is Royal Pin.”

“How’s your back?” Light asked. “You didn’t look to be in the most comfortable position, when we found you.”

When he mentioned it, I became aware my back and shoulders had a dull ache to them. “I’m fine, just a little stiff.” I rolled my shoulders and told Light, “Thank you for asking.”

Presence gave me a teasing smile and a curious look. “Now that the pleasantries are over, I would like to know how you ended up sleeping on the edge of my daughter’s bed.”

“I received a royal summons. I was to come and take care of Coco, who had caught something bad and needed tending after. I had been taking care of her, and fell asleep on the side of her bed.”

Light stared at me. “Are you joking?”

“No, sir,” I answered. “The summons is in my saddle bags.”

“I’d like to see it, if you wouldn’t mind,” Light said. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but, as a parent, I would like to see any royal letter regarding my daughter.”

“I’ll get it right now,” I said.

I got up, but Presence motioned to remain seated. “We can look at the summons later. How is she doing? If a princess asked you to come, she must be having a rough time of it.”

“She is doing better. The medicine and ointment I brought from Ponyville’s alchemist have helped her sneeze and dropped her fever a little.”

“Poor Coco,” Presence sighed. “She rarely gets sick, but when she does she gets very sick. I’m glad you’re here to help.”

“So am I,” I told her.

Light walked towards the table and set a mug of coffee down. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I paused, when I noticed Light’s eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“You have the same color eyes as Coco,” I told him.

Light grinned. “I think it’s the other way around.”

“True,” I agreed.

“Thankfully, for her sake, Coco takes after her mother in the looks department, as far as everything else goes.”

Presence pointed a spoon at Light and shook it in disapproval. “Light, don’t say such things. You are a very handsome stallion.”

Light chuckled. “Thanks, but I don’t think Coco would have appreciated being ‘handsome’ as her father when she could have been as beautiful as her mother.”

I looked at Presence again and realized why she seemed familiar. “You’re the mare on stage in the pictures in the den.”

Presence smiled and struck a regal actor’s pose without seeming to be aware she was doing so. “I am.”

“And she’s just as gorgeous now as she is in those photos, don’t you think?” Light asked me with a wink.

“She is,” I responded.

Presence snorted. “I have gray hairs in my mane and I couldn’t fit into one of those dresses again if my life depended on it.”

“That does not mean you're not still gorgeous,” Light told her. “You just have more experience in life that gives you a refined beauty.”

Presence touched her head to Light’s. “Only you could make aging seem appealing.”

“You’re the one who makes it look good,” Light told her. “I just take the photos.” Light gave Presence a quick kiss on the nose and then looked at me. “Speaking of appealing to others, you’ve been dating our daughter for a while now,” Light said. “Just how serious are you two?”

“Very,” I assured him. “We have completed our courtship and are now in our trial period.”

Light seemed confused. “You what and you’re in your what now?”

Presence laughed. “I’ll explain later.” She regarded me with a raised eyebrow. “While she was in Ponyville, she was living with you, right?”

Oh, crab apples,, I thought. “She was,” I told Presence. “She still has a room at my place.”

Presence gave me an interrogator's smile. “How did living with her work out?”

“Great,” I said without thought. “Better than great, really. At least from my perspective it did.”

“From what she’s told me, it was nice for her too.”

“Just so you know, I get to be the photographer for the wedding,” Light said. “There will be a wedding, right? If you’re planning on eloping, I will be very unhappy with both of you.”

I did my best to stay calm as I told him, “Actually, I’m glad you’re both here so I could talk to you about that.”

“So you’re going about this the old fashioned Canterlotian way?” Presence asked with an approving smile.

“I am.” I glanced toward the kitchen door and listened for a second, to make sure Coco had not come out of her room. After determining we would not be overheard, I turned back to Presence and Light. “I would like to ask your daughter for her hoof in marriage,” I said to both of them. “May I have your blessing to do so?”

“With manners like that, how could we say no?” Light said.

“Let’s not be too hasty, dear,” Presence crossed her forelegs over her chest and acted uncertain. “We need to vet him to make sure he’s right for our daughter.”

“He came all this way to help her feel better,” Light said. “There aren’t that many stallions who would fall asleep on the edge of her bed while taking care of her either.”

“True, but a royal summons compelled him to be here.” Presence gave Light a mock unconvinced look. “We’ll never be sure if he would have taken care of our daughter of his own volition or not.”

Before I could say anything, Light pointed out, “He’s gotten Filter’s approval. You know how protective he is of Coco.”

“That goes in his favor, but Pin might have undue influence over Filter, since he’s been helping our son pursue that mare he’s enamored with.” Presence put a hoof to her cheek, tilted her head, and acted even more uncertain as she looked at me. “If only there was a way we could test to see if he loves her.”

“Somepony already has,” I said.

Presence blinked in surprise, breaking her act. “What?”

“Coco and I took part in a study which all but proves I love her and that she loves me,” I said and grinned. “The study’s findings are in a report that is on your coffee table right now.”

“I wondered what that was,” Light said.

“Seeing those results would go a long way to-” Presence stopped herself in mid sentence and smiled at something behind me. “Good morning.”

I turned to see Coco standing in the kitchen’s doorway and staring at Presence and Light.

“Mom?! Dad?!” Coco said. “You’re here?!”

“Why the surprise?” Presence said. “We wrote to you telling you we were coming.”

“I’ve been sick, and haven’t been checking the mail like I should.” Coco gave a sneeze into a tissue and then sniffed. “I’m sorry.”

“Pin told us you haven’t been feeling well,” Light said. “My poor little girl. Your nose is all pink.”

As if prompted by Light’s observation, Coco gave a sniff. “It’s doing better. It was red yesterday, before Pin brought me the ointment.”

“We saw the potion, the ointment, and the tissues on the table, and you were still in bed when we came in, so we figured you weren’t feeling well,” Presence said. “We were trying to figure out whose saddlebags were in the den too. When we peeked in on you, we found Pin asleep on the edge of your bed and answered our own question.”

“Pin, you didn’t have to stay with me like that,” Coco said to me.

“I didn’t plan to, but I fell asleep right where I was.”

“I got a couple of wonderful photos of you two,” Light said.

“I can’t wait to see- Achoo!” Coco gave another sneeze into her tissue.

“Let me go get the ointment,” I told her.

“Stay where you are, I’ll go get it and the potion,” Light said. On the way out of the room, he paused and gave Coco a full wing hug. “We missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Coco hugged her father back. “We can’t hug for too long. I don’t want to get you sick.”

“It’s fine,” Light assured Coco. “I’m old, but I’m tough.”

“You’re not old, Dad,” Coco said.

Light gave her a grin. “Well weathered?”

Coco giggled. “That’s better.”

Light let go of Coco and continued into the den.

Coco sat down at the table beside me, and I put my hoof to her forehead. “You still have a slight fever.”

“I’m feeling a lot better, though,” Coco said.

“Whether or not you’re feeling better, after breakfast, you’re going right to the couch or to bed,” Presence told Coco.

“I’ll sit with you in the den,” Coco said. “I want to hear about your trip.”

“We’ll tell you about our trip after you and Pin tell us about the study you two were part of,” Light said, as he stepped back into the kitchen. “It sounds very intriguing.”

“We’ll be happy to tell you about it.” Coco looked at me as if seeking confirmation for what she had said.

“Of course we would,” I said.

“How long are you going to be here?” Presence asked me.

“Three more days,” I answered. “I will need to get back to my shop, after that.”

“Good!” Light said, as he stepped back into the room. “Presence and I are going to be busy catching up with things at the office for the next few days. Since you’re here, we won’t have to worry about whether Coco is resting and taking care of herself.”

Light gave me the jar of ointment and put the potion on the table.

“Thank you,” I told him.

“We can also learn more about each other, while you’re here,” Presence said. “Going by what Coco has told us about you, I think we are going to be part of each other’s lives for the foreseeable future.”

I opened the jar of ointment, took a dollop of the medicine on my hoof, and then applied it to Coco’s nose with gentle rubs. “I hope so.”

*****

“Ready?” I asked the foals.

Noi grinned and nodded. “Ready!”

I smiled, turned to Muffins’ and Turner’s front door and knocked.

We did not have to wait long for Muffins to open the door. “Pin?” She looked past me to the foals. “The training trio and the research partners too?” She gave me a curious look. “What are you ponies up to? I thought we were getting together later.”

“We were wondering if Dinky was available to help us greet somepony at the station,” I told her. “If you and Turner would like to come along, we’d be happy to have you.”

“Turner’s working on the town square’s clock right now, or I’m sure he would come.” Muffins raised an eyebrow. “Dinky hasn’t said a word about meeting anypony today. I take it this is going to be a surprise for her.”

“That was the plan,” I told Muffins.

Muffins smiled. “Let me go get her, and we’ll head right on out.”

“This is going to be great!” Piña said.

“I hope so,” Kevin said, sounding nervous.

“It’ll be fine,” Rumble assured him.

“You’ve been around Pinch too much,” Noi teased. “Now you’re both worrywarts.”

Pinch and Kevin both gave Noi annoyed looks.

Dinky trotted out the door; followed by Muffins, who took a moment to lock the door behind her.

Dinky asked Piña, “Who are we going to go meet?”

“We can’t say,” Piña told her. “Uncle Pin made us promise.”

Dinky looked up at me with curious eyes.

“The only hint I’ll give you is that it’s somepony you know,” I told Dinky.

Dinky’s ears perked up. “Miss Coco?”

“You can tell it’s not Coco,” Pinch said. “His tail isn't wagging.”

Dinky giggled. “True.”

“Let’s go!” Piña urged. “We’re going to be late, if we don’t get trotting.”

The foals led Muffins and me to the station. We stepped onto the platform at the same time the train came into view.

“Perfect timing,” Rumble said.

Dinky pranced in place. “Seriously, none of you are going to tell me who it is?” she said.

Piña grinned. “And miss getting this cute of a reaction out of you? Not a chance.”

Kevin chuckled, but smothered his laughter when Dinky looked at him.

“Don’t act innocent,” Dinky told Kevin, giving him a less than serious glare. “I can tell you’re enjoying it too.”

“I can’t help it,” Kevin said. “Your anticipation is great.” He looked around to make sure nopony was paying attention and told her in a quiet tone, “It’s got a fizzy taste to it.”

The train came to a stop and ponies filed out from it onto the platform.

Rumble took to the air and scanned the platform. “I don’t see- Wait, there he is!” He waved and called out, “We’re over here!”

A stallion called over the noise of the thinning crowd, “Hey, Rumble! It’s good to see you!”

“Mister Filter!” Dinky said with glee. She ran towards Filter, weaving through the remaining ponies on the platform in her haste.

“Whoa!” Kevin sat down on his haunches as if pushed back by Dinky’s enthusiasm. He grinned and said, “She’s really excited.”

Muffin’s laughed. “You should have been there when she and Turner got her device working. I couldn’t tell which of them was more thrilled over it, but they bounced around the house for the longest time.”

Kevin’s joviality evaporated as Dinky led Filter over to us.

“You know most of us already,” Dinky said to Filter. “The two new ponies are Noi, our other training partner, and Kevin, our other research partner,” she introduced, nodding to Noi and then to Kevin as she named them.

“Hello, Mister Filter,” Noi greeted. “Dinky’s told us a lot about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” Filter said. “She’s told me a lot about you too.”

When Filter’s attention went to him, Kevin got to his hooves and shuffled closer to Pinch.

“Hello,” Filter said.

“Hello,” Kevin said in a meek tone.

“Don’t be scared,” Dinky told Kevin. “He’s big, but he’s real nice.”

The other foals shifted closer to Kevin as if ready to intervene.

“You’re Princess Twilight’s and Spike’s assistant librarian right?” Filter asked.

Kevin nodded, “That’s right, Sir.”

“Just Filter, please.” He held out a hoof and smiled. “Dinky’s told me you’ve been helping with all kinds of research too.”

Kevin smiled back and shook hooves with Filter. “I’ve been doing my best.”

The foals relaxed, and Pinch let out a relieved breath.

Filter grinned at her. “What?”

Pinch blushed and glanced away. “That went better than I thought it would, to be honest.”

“If all of you say he's a good pony, then he’s a good pony to me too,” Filter told her. He looked at Kevin with a searching expression. “Did you think I was going to be nasty to you or something?”

“Not too much, since everypony has said good things about you, but…,” Kevin said.

Filter raised an eyebrow. “But?”

Kevin swallowed. “I thought, since you were in Canterlot during the event, you might-”

Filter held up his hoof. “Stop right there.” He looked around and then leaned close to Kevin. “You’re not planning on gluing me to a wall with green stuff are you?” he asked with a grin.

Kevin smiled and shook his head.

Filter patted Kevin on the shoulder with a hoof. “Then everything is going to be just fine.”

The last of the tension in the foals disappeared.

“Next stop Uncle Pin’s!” Piña declared. “Then we can go to Mister Davenport’s to help pick up the menus, and then we can get ready for the party!”

“You coming with us, Mom?” Dinky asked Muffins.

“I wish I could go with you, but I’ve got an afternoon route today instead of a morning route today. Remember?”

Dinky slapped a hoof to her forehead. “I can’t believe I forgot. That’s why you couldn’t help-”

“I’m sure Amethyst will do just as good a job as I would,” Muffins said, interrupting Dinky gently.” Muffins grinned at Filter. “Welcome to Ponyville. Don’t let all the looks you’re going to get bother you too much.” Muffins hugged Dinky. “You take care, behave, and have fun.”

“I will,” Dinky gave Muffins a hug back.

Muffins let go of Dinky, took a few steps from us, and then flew off in the direction of the post office.

Filter looked at me. “What did she mean, ‘looks you’re going to get?’ ”

Piña and Noi looked at each other and giggled.

“Ponyville doesn’t have that many stallions,” Rumble said.

“Unicorn stallions are pretty rare here too,” Pinch added.

“Oh.” He shrugged. “I’m sure I won’t get that much attention.”

*****

It was hard for me to get the key in the shop’s door, I was chuckling so much.

“Quit laughing and get that open,” Filter said, as he glanced over his shoulder as if worried about being pursued.

“We tried to warn you,” Pinch said.

“Yes, you did,” Filter said.

I opened the door and waved everypony to move inside. “I might have you try on a suit and stand so ponies can see you through the windows. It would be great free advertising.”

“Ha, ha,” Filter said, as he went past me.

“Let’s wait here, since they’re going to be coming right back down,” Rumble suggested to the other foals.

I told the foals, “You’re more than welcome to come on up with us.”

Noi shook her head. “Thanks, but we’re good here.”

“Dinky might not want to let her guard out of sight for too long, though,” Piña teased.

“He’s not my guard!” Dinky protested.

“He isn’t?” Noi said. She turned to Kevin and asked, “How excited to see him was she again?”

Kevin smiled. “Pretty excited.”

Dinky looked at Kevin with surprise. “Not you too!”

“Play nice,” I said, fighting the urge to grin. “We’ll be right back down.”

As I stepped into the shop and shut the door Filter asked, “What was that about?”

“Foals being foals. I’ve got you set up in Coco’s room. Let me show you where it is.”

“Coco’s room?” One of Filter’s ears angled out. “She has a room?”

“She does.”

“Oh. I thought you two were sharing.”

“We keep separate rooms so if I stay up working on a project or she’s reading or whatever it is we’re doing we don’t disturb each other when we decide to go to bed,” I told him as he followed me up the stairs and into the apartment.

“That’s practical.”

I opened the door to Coco’s room for him. “Here you are.”

“Thank you.” Filter walked into the room and put his saddlebags on top of the dresser. He looked around at the decorations and theater production posters Coco had put up and smiled. “This is her room all right.”

“I realize she set it up a lot like her room in Manehatten now,” I said.

Filter looked to the right of where he put his saddlebags and picked up one of the two pictures that was on the dresser. He smiled and touched the glass with a hoof. “She looks so happy with everypony here.”

“That’s one of my favorite photos of all of us. That’s the night of Twilight’s Celebration.”

He put the first photo down and picked up the second.

“That’s my favorite,” I told him. “That’s the night we all braided each other’s manes.”

“You gave her the heart’s desire that night,” Filter said, as he put the picture down. “She wrote to me about that.”

His tone held a contemplative note to it. For a second, I wondered if I had irritated or worried him.

Filter, seeming to pick up on my concern, grinned disarmingly. “We’ll talk about Coco after we get back from Davenport’s. The foals are waiting on us.”

Filter and I went back downstairs and met up with the foals outside the shop.

As I locked the door, Noi asked Filter, “Do you think they look good?”

“Did what look good?” Filter said.

“The expansions,” Noi said.

“I didn’t have time to look,” Filter told her. “We went in, Pin showed me my room, I dropped my stuff off, and we came back down.”

The foals all gave me a disappointed look.

“I’ll make sure he sees them this afternoon, so you can talk to him about them later,” I promised.

Filter gave me a curious look but did not ask any questions.

Our herd made our way to Quills and Sofas. I held the door, as everypony else entered the shop.

I heard Davenport great the others: “Well hello! I would ask if you were looking for quills or a sofa, but I have a feeling something else brought you.” I stepped in as Filter responded, “I’m Light Filter and I’m here for the menus you printed for the Tasty Treat.”

Davenport beamed at Filter. “Of course! Pin told me you would come in today.” He gestured toward a trio of love seats that were arranged around a coffee table. “Please have a seat, and I’ll be right up with the menus.”

Dinky sat between me and Filter on one of the love seats, and the other foals fit themselves on the larger of the other two.

“I can’t wait to see what you did to change the menus for her,” Dinky said to Filter.

“I hope they turned out all right,” Filter said, sounding nervous.

“I have never seen Davenport turn out anything less than an impressive job, so don’t worry,” I told him.

“Have you gotten to take Miss Saffron out yet?” Piña asked.

Filter smiled and nodded. “I have.”

There was a long pause, during which Noi, Piña, and Pinch stared at Filter with impatience.

“And?!” Noi prompted, after a few seconds past.

“It was very nice,” Filter said.

There was another pause. While Filter’s expression was stoic, I thought I caught a hint of a smile.

“He’s worse than Uncle Pin,” Pinch muttered. “It’s gotta be something they learned in Canterlot.”

“Dinks, a little help here,” Noi said and gestured towards Filter with a hoof.

Dinky nodded, turned to Filter, hugged his side, and looked up at him with puppy eyes. “Mister Filter, please tell us more about how things went.”

“Wow, she’s giving you the full treatment,” I said.

“That’s not even fair,” Filter told Dinky.

Piña grinned. “She’s our secret weapon when we want to know something.”

“I can see why.” Filter chuckled, looked back to Dinky, and told her, “We had a very nice breakfast at a quiet cafe that morning.”

“Breakfast for a date?” Kevin said.

“She runs her own restaurant, so lunch and dinner were out,” Filter explained.

“That’s right,” Kevin said, looking embarrassed. “I should have thought about that.”

“I didn’t think about it before I asked her out either, to tell the truth,” Filter said. “Saffron was the one who changed the plan from dinner to breakfast, after I asked her out.”

“How did you get her past that meanie of a dad of hers?” Piña said.

Filter grinned. “We walked past him, thanks to me helping them with their pepper problem. Her dad’s protective, but he’s not a bad guy.”

Pinch asked, “What did you do after that?”

“We walked around Canterlot for a while and talked.”

“Where did you go?” Rumble asked.

“We went through one of the botanical gardens and around downtown.”

Dinky let go of Filter and gave him a wistful smile. “That sounds so romantic.”

“I’m not sure how romantic it was. It was more...” Filter thought for a second. “Comfortable? Relaxing? I don’t think I have the right word for what it was.”

“Perfect,” Pinch said in a tone that was almost a purr. “You’re easing into becoming better friends before you try to be romantic with her.”

Piña giggled. “Like you and Kevin did?”

Pinch blushed and gave her aunt a dirty look.

Kevin leaned against Pinch’s side and touched his head to hers. “It worked for Pinch and me. It should work with them too.”

Filter’s mouth fell open. “Wait.” He pointed a hoof at Kevin and then at Pinch. “You mean...”

Kevin blushed and nodded.

“I guess that means that you’re adjusting to living in Ponyville well,” Filter said.

“Here we go!” Davenport trotted toward us from the back of the shop. He placed a large box and a folder on the coffee table. “Here are menus,” he said and patted the box with a hoof. “In the folder there is a sample menu for you to inspect, in case you don’t want to unseal the box for transport, and your invoice. I assure you, all the menus in the box are the same quality print as the one in the folder.”

The foals leaned forward, their attention focused on the folder.

“Open it,” Dinky whispered and gave Filter a nudge.

Filter, with a cautious hoof, took the sample menu from the folder and put it on the table for everypony to see.

The menu’s design was altered from the original to have an almost woodcut style appearance. The colors and the detailed embellishments had been removed from the previous version, but the new menu was a work of art of its own.

“You did it again, Davenport,” I said, looking up from the menu.

Davenport gave me a slight bow. “Thank you, but I can’t take all the credit. I had an inspired piece to work from.”

“That looks great!” Pinch looked up at Filter. “I think it’s as good as the first one.”

Filter’s eyes remained on the menu. He did not speak, but his smile conveyed he was ecstatic about how the menu had turned out.

“Please see if the back is to your liking too,” Davenport said.

Filter turned the menu over and his smile broadened. “This is perfect.”

“You’re in the Royal Guard right now aren’t you?” Davenport asked.

Filter looked up from the menu. “I am.”

“You have any plans about what you’re going to do after you get out?” Davenport asked Filter.

Filter’s eyes got an uncertain look to them. “Not really.”

“If that’s the case, would you consider working with me to do some freelance work? I know of some ponies who could use your skills to update their business fliers and materials. I’m sure if I show them this menu and a couple of examples of other work you’ve done we could drum up enough business to keep you busy for a while.”

“I’ll…” Filter paused and then nodded as if unsure. “I’ll think about it.”

Dinky hugged Filter’s foreleg and looked up at him. “You could do it.”

Filter smiled at Dinky. “Thanks.”

A pair of ponies walked into Davenport’s store and began pursuing the store’s selection of sofas together.

“Looks like I have to go,” Davenport said. “Thanks for letting me help with the project. I am sure your friend is going to like the menus.”

“I’m sure she will too,” Filter said.

Davenport shook hooves with Filter. “Think about what I said. You don’t have to get back to me right away.” Davenport nodded to us and went to take care of his customers.

“Let’s get the menus back to my place,” I said. “With all the shenanigans that happen around town, I think it would be better for us to be safe rather than sorry.”

“You need to let go of Mister Filter so he can move,” Rumble teased Dinky.

Dinky looked at where her forelegs Filter’s leg and blushed. “Sorry!” she said and let him go.

“You’re fine,” Filter told her. He stood, helped Dinky off the sofa, and then levitated the box of menus to his back.

“I’ll hold on to the folder for you,” I said and picked up the folder.

“Thanks.”

We left the store and turned to head back to my shop. We had not gone far, when somepony called, “So you’re the ‘giant unicorn’ everypony’s talking about.”

“Hey Sis!” Dinky said and waved a hoof.

“It didn’t take you long to find him,” Amethyst teased, as she walked up to us.

Dinky raised her nose in the air. “I didn’t have to find him. They invited me to be part of the Greeting Committee.”

“Speaking of greetings, you rascals ready to come help me and mom get the you-know-whats ready?”

“Sure!” Piña and Pinch said together.

Rumble grinned and nodded, looking more excited than I had seen him in a while.

Noi bumped her shoulder to Rumble’s and told Amethyst, “Somepony’s been talking about getting to help all week.”

“I wonder who that could have been,” Amethyst said. She waved to Filter, as she led the foals away. “It was nice to see you again.”

“Likewise!” Filter said and waved back. After the foals were out of earshot, he said, “Now I understand what Coco meant when she said the foals are something in a group.”

I smiled. “They are.”

“She adores them,” Filter said, as if leading me into a topic.

Not knowing where he wanted the conversation to go, I responded, “It’s hard not to.”

As Filter and I walked back to my shop, he would look at me as if inspecting me or looking for an insight. After we made our way through the shop and up into my apartment, I asked Filter, “We need to talk, don’t we?”

“We do,” Filter confirmed.

“Would coffee or tea go better with the conversation?”

Filter chuckled. “Coco was right, you can’t sit down to talk with anypony without a hot cup of something.”

“It’s a family thing I picked up,” I said.

“Tea, please.” Filter continued on toward the guest room. “Let me go put these in a safe spot, and then we’ll talk.”

I wonder where this is going to go, I thought to myself, as I walked into the kitchen. He’s got something on his mind he wants to talk to me about. I put the kettle on and grabbed a cup for Filter.

The sound of Filter’s hoof steps approached. “Thanks for the escort to Davenport’s,” he said, as he entered the room.

“I can’t take all the credit, the foals helped,” I said, trying to keep things light.

Filter gave a lighthearted snort. “They did.”

“Have a seat,” I said and took a seat at the table. “We can talk while we wait for the water to boil.”

After he sat down, I was struck again by how big Filter was. I had to look up to meet his eyes like I would have for Big McIntosh. While McIntosh had a sturdier build, Filter was an imposing figure in his own right.

“Mom and Dad wrote to me you went to Manehatten to take care of Coco,” he said.

“I did. I took her medicine from Ponyville’s alchemist and did my best to make her feel better for a few days.”

“They also said you asked for their approval to marry Coco, while you were there.”

Now I know where this is going, I thought to myself. “I did, but I never got an answer. They were joking around with me about their thoughts on the subject and we got interrupted.”

“I think they realized that after you left. They’ve asked me my opinion about you.”

“And your opinion is?”

Filter grinned. “Mostly favorable.”

I smiled and snorted at his jesting tone. “Did you tell your parents about you coming?”

“Yes, but not about the specifics of the trip or how long I was going to stay. I was planning to send them a follow-up letter after I got back to Canterlot.”

“Good. When you write to them, you can tell them about what we’re up to.”

“I’m going to need enough details about you and yours plans to send to them to make sure you and Coco don’t have to sneak off and get married in Los Pegasus. Dad’s always told Coco and me that if either of us pulled something like that, and he couldn’t be the photographer for our weddings, he’d disown us.”

The kettle whistled.

“He told me the same thing.” I got up and took the kettle off the stove. “Should I start with the personal plans or the professional plans?” I asked, as I prepared the tea.

“Personal.”

I motioned him to follow me. I led him to the new door that stood in the corner of the kitchen. “This is the second story room of the expansion,” I told him and opened the door. We stepped into the room and Filter glanced around. “We lost some counter space and a few cabinets, but I think it was worth it.”

“The room looks nice.” He glanced around. “It’s empty, though.”

“I had an idea what this room, but now I’m not so sure since it’s right next to the kitchen. I want to get Coco’s opinion, before I do anything.”

“A foal’s room would be better closer to the bedrooms,” Filter said.

It took me a second to get over my surprise at his statement and how casual a tone he used when he said it. “So Coco told you about our discussion about foals.”

“She did. When she was with Suri, she thought there would never be a possibility for foals in her life. That you were open to having them meant a lot to her.” He gave me an approving look. “After seeing you two around the foals, I think you two would make great parents.”

“Thank you,” I said, flattered by the sincerity of his words.

“I’m sure my Dad’s first question would be, ‘And how do you plan to provide for your prospective family?’,” Filter said, doing a good impersonation of his Dad’s voice and demeanor.

I laughed. “Let me show you the other part of the expansion. It will help answer that question.”

“All right,” Filter said, as I led him out of the room and downstairs.

“As it was, the workroom was adequate, but Coco and I almost tripped over each other several times.” I nodded to the back of the workshop, where there were still dust cloths hung up to shield the older part of the workroom from the newer section. “The new space is ready, but the specialty features aren’t finished. After they’re done, I can put some things in place. Before I did too much, though, I wanted Coco’s feedback on how she would like to have things arranged.”

Filter and I parted the dust cloths and stepped into the new section of the workroom.

“Very nice!” Filter said. “Built in cloth racks and storage, work counters with cabinets underneath, and…” He trailed off and stepped towards the quintet of mare styled ponyquins in the corner. “You got mare ponyquins.”

I met eyes with Filter. “Like I said in my letter, I want this to be our shop, so she can thrive and be happy. Coco has refused every offer I have made her to display her dresses because she feels that she’s my employee and it would be wrong for her to display her works in my shop.”

Filter studied me for a moment. “You don’t think she would be happy helping run the business as it is?”

“Maybe she would, but she could do so much more. The dress that she designed for the Celebration was inspired. The bride’s maid dress she made to wear to Satin’s wedding was beautiful. The touches she has added to my patterns have brought them up to a new level. She has the talent to make a name for herself, and I want to help her do that.”

“What if you tell her that and she says she’s happy with the way things are?”

“I don’t want to put pressure on her to do anything, but I want to give her the option to. I hope I can be the supporting trellis she can depend on so she can grow and bloom to her fullest in whatever she chooses or tries.”

Filter chuckled. “If I write what you just said to Mom, you’re definitely getting brownie points with her. She loves metaphors like that.”

My doubts chose that moment to haunt me. I looked toward the three ponyquins and swallowed. “The one thing that I’m concerned with about asking Coco to marry me is that I’ll cause her to trap herself in a box that’s too small for her abilities or I won’t be able to provide a strong enough base for her to-” I stopped speaking, as Filter put a hoof on my shoulder.

“You have nothing to worry about. Coco’s a strong mare. Having you and the shop to fall back on will give her all the support she could ever need.” He looked around the room and smiled. “If this is phase one, I can’t wait to see what you two come up with for phase two.”

“Remember, phase two is contingent on if she agrees to marry me and if she agrees to the business proposal.”

Filter laughed. “With that first ‘if’ the only thing you have to worry about is that she asks you first and ruins the surprise.”

“That’s a good problem to have, I guess. You think she would?”

“I swore a brother to sister oath of secrecy to her on that one, so I cannot say.”

I smiled with gleeful relief. “Having a sister myself, I understand. What about the second part?”

Filter hesitated, and his ears fell a bit. “Coco has some confidence issues. She’s always avoided being in the spotlight herself and worked to support others.”

“She could do it,” I told him with certainty.

“I know she can.” Filter gave my shoulder a shake. “One of the many reasons I’ve been looking forward to coming here and helping with your plan is you’re the only pony I know of who could coax her to take the lead role herself. We could get started tonight, if you would like. I think I’m as excited about doing this as you are.”

“That sounds good, but there’s something planned for this evening I forgot to mention to you.”

Filter raised an eyebrow. “And that would be?”

“Our friends want to give you a proper Ponyville welcome with a get-together dinner in the park tonight.”

“So that’s what Amethyst and the foals were up to. They were getting ready for the picnic.” Filter took his hoof off my shoulder and grinned. “A picnic sounds great, but that seems like a lot of work just to welcome me to town.”

“Don’t worry about it. We have these get-togethers often. You coming gave us a good reason to have another one of our gatherings. Everypony will bring something to eat, so I hope you’re hungry.”

“That won’t be a problem.” Filter sat back on his haunches and patted his stomach. “Mom said that I eat more like a horse than I do a pony, thanks to me being so big.” He looked up at me and grinned. “I’ll sample a bit of everything, so I won’t disappoint anypony by not trying what they brought.”

“You may want to rethink that approach when you see how much food we’re going to have.”

“Nah,” Filter said with bravado. “It won’t even be a problem.”

*****

“You think he’s going to make it?” Thunderlane asked me.

“I hope so,” I said and shook my head at the sight of Filter’s prone form. “If not, it’s going to be tough explaining things to Coco and her folks.”

Dinky rubbed a comforting hoof over Filter’s side. “Mister Filter, are you okay?”

Filter raised his head from the picnic blanket and gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m all right, but my eyes were bigger than my stomach.”

“Amateur.” Barrel plucked another muffin from their basket.

“Dad!” Pinch protested. “You have to leave some for everypony else.”

“This is the last one. I promise,” Barrel said and then took a hefty bite out of the muffin.

Kevin grinned. “He’s enjoying them.”

Barrel swallowed. “They’re good,” he complimented.

“Which did you like best?” Noi asked.

“I don’t know if there’s a ‘best’ for me, but...” Barrel trailed off and grinned.

“Go on!” Piña said.

“I was thinking the ones with the cinnamon and sugar crumbles would go well with my coffee in the morning,” Barrel finished.

Rumble sat up straight with pride. “Those are mine.”

“I like those too,” Amethyst said. She turned to Rumble. “You sure you want to be a Wonderbolt? Barrel, Mom, and I could write you a recommendation, if you wanted to work with the Cakes.”

“He could do both,” Piña said. “Thunderlane has two jobs.”

“Speaking of working with other ponies,” Berry said and gave me a meaningful look. “I’m curious to know what you two have cooking up.”

“Me too!” Muffins said.

“Here! Here!” Turner said, adding his vote to his wife’s.

“It’s a little too early to say,” I responded. “At the moment, Filter has some sketchy ideas, and I have some that aren’t quite stitched together, but that’s about it.”

Noi gave me a disbelieving look. “Were those puns?”

Pinch giggled. “Uncle Pin has a weird sense of humor.”

“Did you like the new room and all the stuff they did with the workroom?” Dinky asked Filter.

With a light groan of discomfort, Filter sat up. “I did. It’s a little different for me, since I didn’t see the workroom before they put the additions in, but they look great.”

“I can’t wait to see Coco’s reaction,” I said. I caught Kevin grinning at my excitement out of the corner of my eye. “I’m curious what she thinks we should do with the new room too.”

Amethyst, Berry, and Muffins glanced towards each other and then gave me a collective searching look.

“What?” I asked.

Berry gave me a knowing look. “It’s struck me you’ve been so eager to get the expansion done before she got back.”

Turner chuckled. “I agree. The timing of it and our guest of honor arriving indicates a larger plan.”

“It raises certain questions I am sure we would like to know about too,” Amethyst said.

“Questions?” I responded trying to sound as clueless as possible. “What questions?”

“Uncle Pin,” Piña said in a saccharine singsong tone.

“Yes?”

“Please tell us what’s going on and what you’re up to.” Piña made a tickling motion with her hooves. “If not, Dinky’s mom is right here.”

“I like the way you think,” Amethyst said.

“I’m not sure I do,” I said.

“Are you going to answer the question?” Amethyst asked.

“Not right at the moment. But if you wait for a-”

“Wrong answer,” Amethyst told me, cutting me off. “Get him, Mom.”

“This is going to be fun.” Muffins unfurled her wings and then wiggled her primary feathers as if warming them up. “Would anypony like to help?”

“Sure!” Dinky, Noi, Piña, and Pinch said together.

“You little traitors!” I said, feigning betrayed indignity. “Even after inviting you to be part of the Ponyville Greeting Committee, this is the thanks I get?” I looked at the colts. “At least the guys are on my side.”

Rumble gave me a turncoat’s smile. “I’ll get his front hooves and you get the back!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Kevin said, as he grinned and got into a ready stance.

“You too?!” I said, continuing my betrayed act.

“Sorry, Mister Pin,” Kevin said, without a hint of remorse. “We have to help our training and research partners.”

“Charge!” Piña urged.

“His ribs are his weak spots!” Pinch said, as she and the other foals rushed towards me.

“Wait!” I said and held up my hooves, and the foals stopped just beyond grabbing distance from me. “I’ll talk! I promise!”

The foals turned towards Muffins as if wanting her guidance.

“We can still get him, if you want us to,” Piña said.

Muffins grinned. “He promised to tell, so let’s hold off for the moment.”

“You better talk fast, or the tickling starts,” Amethyst said.

“I’ll talk, but I want to ask everypony something first. Who would like to take part in another Ponyville Greeting Committee event?”

The foals’ hooves shot into the air and the adults of the group raised their hooves too.

“Great!” I stopped and grinned.

“Pin, you’re on thin ice,” Berry warned.

“I’ll need your help when Coco comes back.”

Swish, swish, swish; my tail went back and forth across the blanket.

I ignored my tail, and told them, “Filter has agreed to help me make Coco’s coming back as special as can be. I would like you to help too, if you want to be a part of it.”

“Of course we would!” Piña cheered.

Pinch gasped, sat down, and covered her mouth with her hooves.

Kevin turned to her, smiling, but with a look of slight concern. “What is it?”

“He’s going to ask her, when she comes back,” she said.

“Ask her?” Rumble said.

“To marry him,” Pinch answered.

“Really?!” Piña said and looked at me with wild-eyed excitement. “Is she right?!”

I nodded. “That’s the plan.”

“About time,” Barrel said. He asked Filter, “I take it you’re okay with this?”

“I am,” Filter said.

“What about your parents?” Thunderlane said.

“I’m pretty sure they’re on board too.”

“ ‘Pretty sure?’ “ Noi said.

“Mom wrote to me about what I thought about Pin and his family, since I’ve met them. I had nothing but good things to say, so it will be fine.”

“She wrote to you about something like that?” Rumble asked, looking perplexed. “She spent three days with Pin and she can’t tell he loves her?”

“I don’t think there’s any genuine doubt with her,” Filter said. “She mentioned something about needing my input for the ‘Canterlot courtship tradition.”

Pinch’s eyes went wide. “Oh, that’s right!”

“What?” Piña asked.

“The parents have to ask any immediate family member’s opinion about the pairing and consider their input, before giving their official approval,” Pinch explained.

“What if they don’t?” Thunderlane asked.

Pinch winced. “Then the wedding can’t happen.”

“Nah, then we sneak them off to Los Pegasus,” Filter said.

Amethyst laughed. “I like that plan.”

“Speaking of plans,” Turner said and turned to me. “What are your plans for Coco’s return?”

My tail started wagging again. “Here’s what I was thinking...”

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

“You weren’t kidding,” Filter said and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his magic. “Rumble means business with his training.”

“He’ll get you to push yourself, that’s for sure,” Berry said.

“If he doesn’t become a chef or a Wonderbolt, he’ll make a great drill sergeant,” Barrel joked.

“What’s the rule on talking if you’re not encouraging your training buddies?!” Rumble asked.

“If you can chatter, you can go faster!” The foals answered in chorus.

“Let’s pick up the pace then!” Rumble said and hastened his trot.

“You tell em!” Thunderlane cheered, sounding as if the new pace were no effort to him.

Hearing panting, I glanced over at Turner and grinned. “Come on Turner, you can do it!”

“Gasp!” Turner gave me a nasty look. “How did I get talked into this again?!”

“Rarity!” Thunderlane said.

“I don’t recall her being involved in the conversation. Gasp! I believe it was my lovely wife and my daughters who convinced me to take leave of my senses.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Thunderlane turned his head and nodded to his right. “It’s Rarity, and it looks like she’s having trouble.”

“Slow pace!” Rumble led the herd in a jog towards Rarity and the pair of overloaded trolleys she was attempting to pull along.

Thunderlane pulled away from our group at a full gallop. “Rarity!” he called to her. “You’re back!”

“Show off,” Turner grumbled.

“Darling, it’s so good to see- oomph!” Rarity giggled as Thunderlane picked her up and spun her around in a full circle. Putting Rarity back on her hooves, he shielded their upper bodies from sight with his wings and leaned forward.

Rarity leaned in to meet him, and hummed a satisfied note.

Kevin stumbled a bit, with a goofy smile on his face. “Wow.”

Pinch giggled and slowed down to steady Kevin. “You all right?”

“I’m fine,” Kevin said. “Thanks.”

“Drat!” Dinky said and hopped up and down in frustration. “I should have brought the detector. This would have been a perfect spontaneous test.”

Pinch laughed. “Don’t worry, we can test the new calibrations with your mom and dad or my mom and dad soon.”

“Just bring it when Pin sees Coco again,” Amethyst teased. “You’re sure to get some readings then.”

Thunderlane dropped his wings, and Rarity, blushing, waved a hoof at us. “Hello everypony.” She blinked in surprise. “Filter?!

Filter smiled and waved at her. “Hello Miss Rarity.”

“Not that I’m not pleased to see you, but what in Equestria are you doing here?”

“Pin invited me,” Field said and patted me on the shoulder with a hoof.

“He’s picking up the new menus for the Tasty Treat and taking a couple of days off to visit Ponyville,” I said.

“Hmm,” Rarity said. She gave me a look that told me my answer had not convinced her.

“It’s true,” Rumble said. “He’s going with us, Bon Bon, and Lyra to the Ponyville Buckball Tournament this afternoon.”

Rarity looked as if she recalled something. “That’s right. Fluttershy mentioned she and Pinkie would play in a tournament soon. Since I wasn’t planning on being here the date must have slipped my mind.”

“Why are you back, Miss Rarity?” Noi asked. “Pin said we still had to wait two weeks for you and Miss Coco to get back.” She looked worried. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine. At least, I believe it is. Twilight sent me a message that Celestia had written to her saying the Elements of Harmony were needed to help with an important diplomatic issue. We’ll be meeting tomorrow to discuss the matter. What we will discuss, I haven’t the faintest clue. Twilight didn’t provide many details.”

“I hope nothing bad has happened,” Piña said, looking worried.

Rarity gave her a kind smile. “I’m sure it hasn’t. If not, Twilight would have been more specific with her message and asked us to meet her post haste.”

“Since you’re here, would you like to go with us to the tournament?” Thunderlane asked, sounding hopeful.

“I would love to, darling, but as you can see I have a lot to sort out and put away.” Rarity looked to the two trolleys and sighed. “I will also need to repack so I can get on the earliest train back to Manehatten after we address whatever has come up.”

“Oh.” Thunderlane’s ears fell, and he looked crestfallen. “Had I known you were coming I’d...” He glanced at us and looked guilty.

“You’d have ditched us,” Barrel said.

Thunderlane flinched. “I wouldn’t put it quite like that.” He looked to Rarity. “If I help, could you make it?”

“Having your help would make things go faster, but I doubt it would make it so we could make the tournament,” she said. She gave Thunderlane a halfhearted smile. “If you see Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Snails before their games, tell them I’ll be cheering for them from afar.”

“I could help too,” I offered. “I’ve worked in your shop before and know where most things go.”

“You’re such a dear, but I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Rarity said. “You have a guest to tend to.”

“We can take care of Mister Filter, while he’s helping you,” Piña said. She gave Dinky a prod with her elbow. “Right Dinks?”

“Right!” Dinky said with enthusiasm.

I glanced at Filter, who gave me a wink.

Doing my best not to grin, I asked the foals, “You wouldn’t mind being Filter’s hosts for me?”

“Of course we wouldn’t,” Pinch said.

“I don’t know,” I said, feigning being worried. “There was a lot we needed to do to get ready.”

“Like what?” Berry asked, looking at me with mock suspicion.

“Pin said something about getting a ‘lucky hat’ before things started,” Filter said.

“We can show you where they’re selling them,” Rumble said.

“Pin mentioned we needed to paint our faces, too,” Filter said. “He told me it was good luck for Ponyville’s fans to wear the team’s colors.”

Dinky pranced in place. “We're going to do that too! We could do it together!”

“Dinks, calm down,” Kevin said, taking a step away from Dinky.

“I needed to teach him the rules of buckball too,” I told them.

Dinky’s prancing halted, and the foals gasped.

“You don’t know the rules?!” Noi asked in disbelief.

Filter shook his head. “I’ve never even seen a game being played.”

“Dinks,” Kevin said, taking another step back from her.

“Really?!” Dinky asked. “We’re going to be with you for your first game?!” Dinky asked.

“Really,” Filter confirmed, smiling.

“This is going to be so great!” Dinky said and then ran up and gave Filter a hug. “We’ll make you a buckball fan in no time!”

Kevin sat down and shook his head. “I took steps back from her and she still got me,” he said, drawing giggles from Noi, Piña, and Pinch.

“Dinky,” Muffins chided in a gentle tone. “What have you been told about doing that?”

“Ask permission first,” Dinky said, her ears half down. She let go of Filter. “Sorry, Mister Filter, I got excited.”

“No harm no foul,” Filter said. He grinned and asked, “Are there fouls in buckball?”

The town’s clock chimed the half hour with pleasant notes.

“Sounds wonderful Dad,” Amethyst complemented. “Much better than that horrible clunking noise it was making.”

“All she needed was some love and care, a bit of oiling, getting the movements in rhythm, and she was singing sweet tunes again,” Turner said.

“That works with Berry too,” Barrel deadpanned.

Berry looked shocked, blushed, and smacked Barrel’s shoulder with a hoof. “There are foals present!”

Barrel feigned innocence, but the playful spark in his eyes ruined his act. “I didn’t say anything inappropriate.”

“We’ve had enough of a break,” Rumble said. “Everypony who is not going to Rarity’s to help her, follow me. We’ll have to push to get home, clean up, and then meet back up to get ready for the tournament.”

“You guys have fun,” Amethyst said. “I’m going to go with Pin and Thunderlane.” She smiled and rubbed her hooves together in an almost maniacal way. “I feel an organizing spree coming on.”

*****

What is going on? I thought, as raucous laughter came from just outside the shop.

I looked up from my ledger, as the shop’s door opened and it’s bell chimed. Filter stepped inside blushing a brilliant shade of red.

“You all right?” I asked him.

“Yes,” Filter answered. He glanced over his shoulder, just as Muffins waved to me through the shop’s window. She paused, waved at Filter, and gave him a teasing grin.

Looking embarrassed, Filter waved back with a tortured smile plastered to his face.

Muffins laughed before she turned and trotted away from the window.

“All right, spill it,” I said. “What did you do?”

Filter, still blushing, approached the counter. “I might have said something inappropriate to Miss Muffins.”

“If Muffins was joking around with you it couldn’t have been too bad.” I raised an eyebrow. “How inappropriate are we talking, though?”

Filter gave me a guilty look. “Turner would not be happy level bad.”

I snorted. “I doubt that. I’ve never known Turner to get upset about somepony saying something about Muffins, unless they were making fun of her amblyopia. Tell me what happened, and I can tell you how much trouble you’re in.”

Filter put a stack of mail on the counter and glanced back towards the store’s window. “Muffins landed close to the shop as I was about to come in and asked if I would carry your mail in for you. I said, ‘sure,’ and took your mail from her. She gave me a wing hug and thanked me for taking your mail and for being so nice to Dinky and the foals the last couple of days.”

Filter paused, and his blush almost went as red as it had been when he came into the shop.

I motioned for him to continue. “Go on.”

“She asked if I minded the hug, since she didn’t ask before giving it to me.”

“And she wonders where Dinky gets it.”

“I told her, ‘I don’t mind at all. Your wings are so soft and warm I could stay with you like this all day,’ without thinking.”

I laughed and waved a hoof. “Don’t worry about it. Compared to me telling her she smelled like muffins one time, what you said is nothing.”

Filter stared at me. “You didn’t tell her that.”

“I did, in front of an entire group of ponies. Turner gave me Tartarus for it later, but he wasn’t mad. He thought it was funny.”

“Then I don’t feel quite so bad,” Filter said.

“Muffins has this ability to get ponies to say what's on their mind. I think it’s because she can make you so comfortable around her things bubble out without you meaning to say them.”

Filter looked thoughtful. “That fits her cutie mark.”

I nodded toward his saddlebags. “How did things go with Jasmine and the tea?”

“Great! Miss Leaf gave me an entire set of samples to take back to Saffron. She didn’t charge me much even though I offered more for them.”

“Jasmine’s a smart business mare. Knowing her, she sold them to you at cost to make a good impression with Saffron. Did she brew you any of them?”

“Only a couple of them,” Filter said. “They were both delicious.”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said Jasmine has some of the best teas I’ve ever tasted.”

Filter snorted in annoyance and his ears pinned back. “I still can’t believe that jerk raised the prices on his teas so much.”

“I can. Saffron can take it as a kind of complement. Canterlot suppliers will try to raise their prices on successful businesses. Since this is the second time she has it happen, her restaurant must be quite popular in several circles.”

Filter’s ears went back up. “That’s good news. As long as she can keep from being gouged, she can take it as a sign things are going well and not worry too much about it.”

“If another supplier raises prices on her you can be a hero again too.”

“I’d rather she not have any trouble at all,” Filter said, his ears falling a bit.

I studied him for a moment and then grinned.

“What?” he asked.

“It shows you care for her.”

“Her and her family,” he said with a nod. “The restaurant means so much to them, I don’t want them to have to worry about it because of some greedy sleazeball trying to take advantage of them.”

“Are you including her dad in that?” I joked.

“Even the grouch,” Filter said through a chuckle.

Feeling something was off, I glanced up at the shop's clock. “That’s strange.”

Filter followed my gaze and looked up at the clock. “The time looks right to me.”

“That’s not it. The foals said they wanted to come see you after school. They should be here by now.”

Filter shrugged. “Maybe they got caught up with something after class.”

“That’s possible, but I would have thought Dinky would have shown up even if something was going on at the school.”

“I’m sure they’ll be here in a few minutes,” Filter said and walked around the counter. “I’ll go put these up and then I’ll get back to sketching.”

“You don’t have to work on the design today. These are your days off, remember?”

“Working on the design isn’t work. It’s fun.” He stopped and grinned at me. “I’m excited just thinking about how she’s going to react. Besides, I’m going to be getting back on the train the day after tomorrow.”

“It doesn’t seem like you’ve been here that long.”

“Good, that means I haven’t been too much of a pain.”

“Quite the opposite,” I assured Filter. “I’ve enjoyed you being here. I hope you don’t feel you’ve misspent your days off.”

Filter snorted. “Are you kidding? We’ve gone to a buckball tournament and I got to meet the Elements of Harmony while we were there. Yesterday, we went on a guided tour of the most beautiful caverns I’ve ever seen, played buckball with everypony, then had a cookout, and this morning you took me to the ice archery range.” He grinned, turned, and patted his saddlebags. “And this afternoon you directed me to the perfect solution for Saffron’s problem and I got some delicious teas for myself at the same time. This trip has been awesome!”

“I’m glad. I’m sorry I couldn’t go with you, but the pickups I had scheduled couldn’t wait.”

Filter waved my words away with a hoof. “I understand. You have a business to run. It’s not like you didn’t tell me about it before I got here either.” He stepped into the back of the shop. “I’ll keep an ear out for the foals, but grab me if I don’t come down. I get lost in my work sometimes.”

“Will do.”

After the final two pickups of the day and an hour later I finished up my work on the ledger and put it away. Glancing at the clock, I muttered, “Something’s wrong.”

As if summoned by my worrying, Filter stuck his head into the storefront through the workroom door. “Still no foals?”

“No.” I stood up and started putting things in their places. “I’m going to close a bit early and go looking for them.”

Filter gave me a concerned look. “You’re worried.”

“I am. This is not like them, and with us living so close to the Everfree Forest and it getting close to dark...”

“I’ll go with you,” Filter said, his tone serious.

The shop’s door opened and Cheerilee, Piña, and Sweetie Belle stepped in.

“Piña, what...” I stopped as I noticed how tense the trio were. “Are you okay?”

“I wanted to come by and thank you for fixing us dinner last night, Uncle Pin,” Piña said, sounding cautious.

I looked at Filter, who gave me a confused look.

“What are you talking about?” I said, turning back to Piña. “We all had a cookout at your place after we played buckball.”

“I wanted to meet my sister’s friend Coco’s cousin.” Sweetie walked up to Filter and gave him a nervous smile. “I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you sooner, but I’ve been busy helping Noi with her flying lessons.”

Filter’s brow furrowed. “Noi’s an earth pony and Coco’s my sister. What are you-?”

“It is them!” Piña said with relief. She rushed up to me and gave me a hug that made me grunt. She started crying, and I gave her as comforting a hug as I could.

“What in Equestria is going on?” I asked.

“Changelings are here in Ponyville,” Cheerilee said, doing an admirable job of keeping her voice calm. “We needed to get help as soon as we could. Since Filter is in the Royal Guard, we thought it would be best to come here to contact him so he can get us help.”

“Changelings other than Kevin?” Filter asked.

Cheerilee nodded. “Amethyst is holding one in her magic in the school's basement right now.”

“Sisters help us,” I said, as a chill of fear ran through me.

“We don’t know where Pinch and Kevin are,” Piña said through her sobs. “We split up and-” She hiccuped and looked frustrated with herself. “I can’t be crying and hiccuping right now!” She stepped back from me and wiped away her tears. “I’m sorry, Uncle Pin. I was so relieved it was you I lost control.”

Cheerilee hugged Piña and nuzzled the top of her head. “You’ve been very strong and brave. Don’t be hard on yourself for crying. I’m close to crying too, worrying about all you foals Amethyst, Riff, and everypony else.”

Filter looked at me and said, “Pin, I’m going to need a pen and paper. I’ve got to send a message to-”

“Don’t send it to Spike!” Sweetie blurted. “We think they got him and Twilight.” Her voice trembled as she added, “We think they got Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie too.”

“Pin,” Filter said, snapping me out of my shocked state. “Can I have that pen and paper, please?” he said with patience.

“Got it!” I used my magic to pull a quill, ink, and sheets of paper from my work supplies. I transferred the supplies over to Filter’s magical hold and looked to Cheerilee. “You have a changeling in the school’s basement?”

Cheerilee nodded. “I’m not sure what happened, to be honest. Amythest and I were tutoring some students after school while Riff was refereeing a hoofball game with some of the foals outside. Everything was fine, and then sompepony ran into the schoolyard yelling that changelings were in Ponyville. There was a commotion and the sounds of a scuffle. I ran outside to see what was going on, and Rumble had tackled a foal to the ground. Scootaloo and Piña jumped on top of the foal too and held him down. Before I could ask what was going on, Pinch cast a spell I’ve never seen before, and the foal turned into a changeling.”

“And Amethyst ended up holding him in the basement while you went for help,” Filter said.

Cheerilee nodded. “Riff stayed with her and the foals, in case anything happened.”

“Good thinking,” Filter said. He looked at Sweetie Belle and gave her a comforting smile. “You must be Rarity’s sister, Sweetie Belle.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and sniffed. “I am.”

“I remember you from the reports on the Elements we guards have to study. You look just like your photo. The reports say you are brave like your sister and have had your own adventures.”

Sweetie smiled back at Filter. “Not quite like my sister’s, but a couple of them.”

“I need you two to tell me what happened, so I can give more details to my commanding officer.”

“Apple Bloom’s was telling everypony at school her sister had been acting kinda off this morning and she didn’t seem to know the morning routine around the farm too well. I said that Applejack may have been working herself too hard again, since Rarity can act funny when she’s been working too hard too, and then Scootaloo joked that maybe Applejack was a changeling.”

“Little did she know,” Piña said in a tone that lacked humor.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Apple Bloom didn’t think it was all that funny either, since the way Applejack was acting like some of the things Twilight and Miss Cheerilee have told us to be on the lookout for if we thought somepony might be a changeling. She remembered hearing Dinky had made that changeling detector with her dad, and said we should ask her about it after school.”

“So that’s how you got involved,” Filter said to Piña.

“After school, the Cutie Mark Crusaders went to Dinky about what was going on and asked if they could use her detector,” Dinky told us. “Since we were Dinky, we heard what was going on and volunteered to go with them, in case it was a changeling.”

“So you went and got Dinky’s device and went to the Apples,” I guessed.

Piña nodded. “We talked to Big McIntosh about what was going on. He thought we were kidding, but he agreed to come with us when we talked to Applejack. When we got closer to Applejack, Kevin froze and said she was a changeling, before Dinky’s tester even did anything. Big Mac said he wanted to try something, and called Applejack over to us.”

“Could the changeling sense Kevin?” Filter asked.

“I think so,” Piña said. “She was looking at him in a funny way, when she walked over to talk to Big Mac. At first, Dinky’s device didn’t make a sound, but when Big Mac started talking to his ‘Sis’ about how proud he was of her and how much he cared about her Dinky’s detector started chiming.”

“She was feeding off his love for Applejack,” I said. “Big Mac set her up.”

Filter asked, “What happened then?”

“The changeling must have known we were on to her and bolted,” Piña said.

Filter paused in his writing. “Towards where?”

“Into town,” Sweetie Belle said. “We tried to follow her, but she was too fast. When she ran through some of the alley’s between the buildings we lost sight of her for a few seconds, and she disappeared.”

“Tell them about what happened at the Cake’s,” Cheerilee prompted the fillies.

Piña nodded. “After we lost the changeling, Big Mac said we should try to get to another of the Elements to warn them what was going on. Sugar Cube Corner was the closest place we could think of with one of the Elements, so we ran there.”

“As soon as we got into the shop, Dinky’s machine started chiming,” Sweetie Belle said. “Mister Cake was at the front counter and he asked us what was wrong, since we had come in a rush. Before we could say anything, Big Mac told him we needed to talk to Pinkie about Applejack and asked if we could see her for a minute. Mister Cake said that she was helping Missus Cake with the foals, but that he could go get her for us. Big Mac said we would come back later and took us all back outside.”

“I didn’t get what he was doing, when he motioned for us to be quiet and to go back outside. After we moved away from Sugar Cube Corner Kevin said, ‘They’re after the Elements,” and Big Mac said, “Eeyup.” When Piña asked him why he didn’t say anything to Mister Cake he said he didn’t want the changeling to start trouble for he Cakes.

“Big Mac told us to split up and then head for the schoolhouse, while he and Apple Bloom went to tell Mayor Mare what was going on,” Sweetie Belle said.

“There could be dozens of changelings here, if they’re going after the Elements,” I said.

“Rumble said the same thing after he, Piña, and Scoots caught the changeling,” Sweetie told us and gave a worried glance to Piña.

“The doofus is flying to Cloudsdale to get the Wonderbolts,” Piña said. “He said we couldn’t wait on the Royal Guard to come, even if we went to get Mister Filter and got his help. We couldn’t even try to talk him out of it. He took off even with us yelling at him not to.”

Filter paused in his writing and sighed. “Brave, but reckless. He’s right though, we need hooves on the ground as fast as we can.” He finished up whatever he was writing, folded the paper, and cast a spell that made the letter vanish in a shower of red sparks. “The emergency report is away, now we wait.”

“We haven’t seen Apple Bloom or the other foals,” Cheerilee said. “That has me worried.”

“Apple Bloom with Big Mac, so she should be okay,” Sweetie Belle said. “Dinky went with Pinch and Kevin, so they should be okay too, since Kevin can tell when another changeling is around.”

“We need to go help Amethyst with the changeling,” Filter said. “Do you know any containment spells?” he asked me.

“A couple, but it’s been years since I practiced them.”

“That’s fine. Hopefully, you won’t have to use them.” He looked to Cheerilee and said, “Lead the way, ma’am.”

*****

As we approached the schoolhouse, there was not a pony in sight and the schoolhouse was dark.

“There’s nopony here,” I said, worry tinting my voice.

“Everypony’s in the basement,” Cheerilee said. She led us to the covered stairwell to the school’s basement and rapt out the rhythm of a tune with her hoof and stepped back. “We thought it would be safer to stay out of view.”

Piña tilted her head. “What was that?”

Cheerilee grinned. “It’s Amethyst’s favorite tune. It’s better than a password.”

There was the sound of a bolt being slid free. The basement door was flung open and Riff stepped out of the stairwell. “You’re back!” he said with relief.

“Yes, we-” Cheerilee’s words were cut off as Riff took her in a hug.

“You are a brave, beautiful mare,” Riff told her and nuzzled her mane. “Amethyst and I were worried to death.”

“Riff, there are students standing right there!” Cheerilee said.

“We didn’t see a thing,” Piña said, grinning.

Sweetie Belle giggled. “Nothing at all.”

Cheerilee smiled. “Good. I trust you won’t see this either.” She turned, hugged Riff back and gave him a quick kiss. “How are the foals?”

“They’re all worried about what’s going on, but they’re being brave,” Riff told her.

“What about the changeling?” Cheerilee asked.

Riff’s ears went back in worry. “Not so good. He’s not responding to anything we say. He’s far more afraid than the foals.”

Cheerilee gestured towards Filter with a hoof. “Filter’s already sent a distress message to the Guard, so help should come for everypony soon.”

Riff turned to Filter and his ears sprang up with surprise. “The foals weren’t kidding when they said ponies were talking about a ‘giant unicorn’ being in town.” He waved for us to follow him. “Let’s get out of sight.”

We followed Riff down into the basement. Being the last pony in our group, I shut and locked the door behind us.

“Woah!” one student said. “You were right, Pip. There is a giant unicorn in town.”

My attention went to Amethyst, who was maintaining a containment spell around a young changeling who was half curled up in a pitiful shaking ball.”

“It’s a foal,” I said, surprised.

“I thought I told you it was,” Cheerilee said.

“You did, but I thought it was an adult changeling mimicking a foal not a nymph.”

“How is everypony?” Cheerilee asked the students.

“We’re fine, Miss Cheerilee,” Lisa said.

“Is this the Royal Guard?” Cloudy asked.

“Mister Filter is in the Guard, yes,” Cheerilee told her.

A worried noise came from the changeling and he tried to make himself smaller by sinking lower to the ground.

Filter walked close to the bubble with careful, slow steps and sat down. “Hello.”

The changeling scrambled to the back of the containment spell and pressed himself against the barrier as if trying to put as much space between him and Filter as possible. His chest heaved with fearful breaths and his eyes never left Filter.

“Little guy, please stop!” Amethyst told the changeling. “We told you we’re not going to hurt you!”

“He will!” The changeling looked to Amethyst with frantic eyes. “Let me go! Please! I didn’t hurt anybuggy! I didn’t want to hurt anybuggy! We didn’t want to come on this mission at all, but we had to!” He took a breath and pleaded, “Please let me go! He’s going to torture me and tear my wings off! Please!”

“I would never hurt any creature, much less a foal!” Filter said, aghast. “The Guard doesn’t do such things either.”

“You’re lying,” the changeling said, not with defiance but in terror. “She told us that’s what you did with the other nymphs. You tortured them, you starved them for days, tore off their wings, and then staked them out in the Everfree Forest, and watched them be eaten alive by manticores.”

Filter looked horrified. “By the Sisters no! I swear to you, I would never hurt a prisoner, much less a foal, nor would anypony in the Royal Guard.”

The nymph slid down the side of the containment sphere and to the floor. “If you won’t, then the bats will. She told us Princess Luna still likes to eat foals and nymphs. She told us her guards will carve us up and feed us to her while we’re still-”

“That’s absolute rubbish!” Pip said, jumping to his hooves. “Princess Luna would never eat anypony or let her guards hurt anypony!”

“Liars.” The nymph curled up, tears going down his face. He shifted, ducked his head, and shielded his face with his forelegs. “I just want to go home.”

An uneasy silence came over everypony.

“Who is the ‘she’ he keeps talking about?” Snips asked.

“Queen Chrysalis, if I had to bet,” Filter said.

A knock came on the basement’s door.

The foals tensed, and Cheerilee approached the stairwell with cautious footsteps as Filter and I channeled magic into our horns. “Hello?”

“It’s us!” Dinky said through the door.

“We have to prove it,” Pinch said, her voice muffled.

“Mrs. Cheerilee, if you’re down there, you drew a smiley face on my last quiz,” Dinky said.

“That’s them,” Cheerilee said.

Using my magic, I undid the bolt to the stairwell door. “It’s unlocked,” I called.

The door swung open and Dinky, Kevin, and Pinch came down the stairs.

Using my magic, I shut and bolted the door again.

“Where were you?!’ Piña asked, as she grabbed Pinch into a hug. “I was worried sick.”

“We went the long way through the park, so if there were any changelings around they wouldn’t sense Kevin.” Pinch hugged Piña back. “We went at a normal pace, so we didn’t draw any attention our way. I’m sorry we made you worry.”

“It’s okay, I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Sis?” Dinky said, looking at Amethyst and then at the changeling. “What’s going on?”

“We had an unexpected guest,” Amethyst said.

“Are you okay?” Dinky asked as she gave Amethyst a hug.

“I’m fine, but I feel like a ursa, having to hold him like this,” she replied, giving Dinky a hug and nuzzling her mane.

Dinky let go of Amethyst looked to Filter. “Can we let him out?”

Filter looked down at Dinky and shook his head. “We can’t do that, as much as I would like to.”

Dinky walked over and put her hoof against the barrier, sending small ripples across its surface. “Hello?”

One of the changeling’s ears twitched.

“My name is Dinky,” she said. “I’m sorry you have to be in there. Is there anything we can do for you?”

The changeling raised his head. His eyes were puffy from crying, but he did not look as afraid as he had been. He shook his head and curled back up.

“He’s back to not talking,” Cheerilee sighed.

“Sis, let me in,” Dinky said.

Several of the foals gasped.

“Dinky!” Amethyst said, sounding shocked. “I can’t.”

“Please,” Dinky said. “He’s scared and he’s alone. He needs somepony.”

The changeling raised his head and looked at Dinky with suspicion.

“Dinky, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Filter told her. “He’s a foal, but consider the situation he’s in. He could take you as a hostage.”

“He’s not a monster, he’s just like us.” Dinky said with determination, “I want to help him.”

“He won’t hurt anypony,” Kevin assured.

The changeling cut his eyes towards Kevin as if recognizing something about him, and then went back to looking at Dinky.

“Let her,” Cheerilee said. “Like you said, he’s a foal. He needs somepony right now. I would do it myself, but I have my students to take care of.”

“I agree,” Riff said. “How better to prove to him we are not monsters than to let one of our own comfort him?”

“Yeah but...” Amethyst said and looked to Dinky. She gave her sister a proud, worried smile. “We’re not going to talk you out of this are we?”

Dinky smiled. “No.”

“Mom would have my ears,” Amethyst said.

“It’s what Mom would do,” Dinky countered.

I grinned. “She’s got a point there. Muffin’s would never stand by and let a foal be so miserable.”

Amethyst paused for and smiled. “You’re both right, but she’s still going to have my ears.” She nodded to the magic barrier. “Ready?”

Looking nervous, Dinky turned to the barrier and nodded. “Ready.”

The barrier blinked out of existence, Dinky took a quick step into the space it had encompassed, and then the barrier appeared again with a soft pop of magical power.

Dinky moved close to the changeling and sat down.

The changeling looked up at her. “You’re worried about me?”

Dinky smiled and nodded. “I am. You’re so scared it’s tearing me up.”

The changeling sniffed. “I couldn’t tell what any of you were feeling, with you on the other side of the bubble. I thought it was some kind of trick.”

Dinky leaned down and hugged the changeling, who stiffened at the contact.

“Careful,” Filter cautioned.

The changeling sat up to return her hug with an awkward hug of his own. “Thank you.” He held on to Dinky as if she were a lifeline. “My name is Cubitus.”

“I’m Dinky,” she told him.

As if an unspoken permission had been given, the other foals moved closer to the barrier.

“So the barrier’s why you couldn’t tell,” Kevin said. He dropped his disguise, with a flash of green fire, and waved at Cubitus. “Hey Cubi.”

Cubitus gasped in shock. “Keratin?! The Queen said the ponies had tortured and killed you!”

“Nope!” Kevin grinned. “They took me and the others in our group in.”

“She said they would never accept us,” said as if parts of his world were being rearranged.

“They want to help.” Kevin nodded to Dinky. “You're hugging one of my best friends. Does she feel like she doesn’t care about you?”

Kevin glanced at Dinky, who smiled a bit more. “No, she wants to help.”

“We all do,” Pinch said, getting a chorus of affirmatives from the other foals.

There was a solid knock on the stairwell door. “Miss Cheerilee? You down there?” Apple Bloom asked, her voice muffled by the door.

“You’re going to need to prove you’re you,” Cheerilee called up the stairwell.

“Cheer, it’s me, Big Mac,” he said, his deep voice having no trouble being heard. “You wore braces durin’ high school. You wanted them off before our senior pictures, but your dentist said you weren’t quite ready for them to come off.”

“It’s them,” Cheerilee confirmed, looking unamused as the foals giggled.

I unbolted the door, using my magic. “Come on down,” I called to them.

Big McIntosh opened the door and Apple Bloom sprinted down the stairs.

“I’m so glad you’re back!” Sweetie Belle said as she and Scootaloo took Apple Bloom in a hug.

After returning her friends’ hug, Apple Bloom looked toward Dinky and Cubitus. “What in tarnation is goin’ on?!”

“Apple Bloom, this is my friend from the hive, Cubitus,” Kevin introduced. “He came in with the other changelings, if I had to bet.”

“Then he knows where my sister is!” Apple Bloom said.

Cubitus looked confused. “Your sister?”

“Applejack, the Element of Honesty,” Big McIntosh told him. “She’s my sister too.”

“The other team took the Elements to the hive,” Cubitus said.

“Not good,” Filter said. “That’s in the Badlands.”

Apple Bloom looked up to Filter. “We have to help us get her back before they do something horrible to her.”

“We wouldn’t do anything to her,” Cubitus said. “The Queen won’t either. She wants them as political hostages and for their powers. She’s planning to mind control them like she did with Prince Armor.”

“Really not good,” Filter said.

“Why are you here?” Dinky asked. “You’re just a foal.”

“I’m one of the team’s foragers,” Cubitus said.

“What’s a forager?” Cloudy asked.

“I gather love to share with the impersonation team until they could get established and start collecting enough love on their own,” Cubitus told her.

“Why were you at the schoolhouse then?” Lisa asked.

“Them,” Cubitus said and pointed a hoof at Amethyst, Cheerilee, and Riff in turn. “They have enough love among them to keep the entire team going.”

Cheerilee blushed and looked at Amethyst and Riff as if needing help about what to say.

Amethyst giggled, shrugged, and said, “Cat’s out of the bag now.”

“Our teachers are in a herd?” Cloudy said as if stunned by the news.

“You could’ tell?” Lisa asked her, sounding surprised.

“Wait a minute,” a slight built pegasus colt said and looked toward Dinky. “You’re Amethyst’s sister, so you had to know.”

Dinky gave the colt a guilty smile. “Amethyst asked me not to say anything.”

Filter turned back to Cubitus. “How many-”

Somepony tried to open the stairwell door, interrupting him. There was a tension filled second of silence before there was another attempt to open the door followed by pounding.

“They know we’re here,” Cloudy said, sounding scared.

Lisa hugged her and gave her a comforting nuzzle. “It’s going to be okay.”

“Cheerilee!” a very impatient sounding Berry called through the door. “You unlock this door right now or I’ll buck it in!”

“That sounds like Berry all right,” I said.

“Please prove who you are first, please,” Filter said, in a polite guard’s tone, after approaching the stairwell.

“I gave you a hug this afternoon, and I want to see my girls,” a concerned sounding Muffins said.

“Private Light Filter, this is Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts. What did the princesses have as their snacks today?”

Filter sighed in relief and answered, “Celestia had tea and two slices of cake. Luna had coffee and a moon pie.” He used his magic to undo the bolt to the stairwell door and opened it.

Berry raced down the stairs, scanned the room, ran to Piña and Pinch, and took them in a hug. “Thank the Sisters! Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” Piña said.

Muffins was the next to descend the stairs. While not as rushed as Berry had been, she came down the stairs in a hurry. She looked towards Amethyst and gasped. “Ammy! What in Equestria is going on?!”

Dinky let go of Cubitus and waved a hoof at Muffins. “Hey Mom,” she said, sounding worried.

“Dinky wanted to help Cubitus feel better, so I let her into the containment spell,” Amethyst said.

“He wouldn’t even talk, until Mister Filter came,” Piña said. “When Cubitus saw Filter he freaked out and said the Royal Guard was going to do horrible things to him and feed him to manticores.”

“Don’t be mad, Miss Muffins!” Cloudy said. “He was terrified and Dinky and wanted to help.”

Muffin sighed and looked at her daughters. “I don’t know whether to scold both of you or tell you how proud I am.” She hugged Amethyst and took her in her wings. “I was worried to death about you, when I found out what had happened and there was a changeling here.” She looked towards the containment sphere and smiled. “Had I know it was a little changeling, I wouldn’t have worried so much.”

“Oh wow, it’s Soarin!” one of the students said.

Filter came to attention and saluted the Wonderbolt, as he stepped from the stairwell.

Soarin saluted back. “At ease.” He looked at the containment bubble and tilted his head. “I was informed there was only one changeling here.”

“I’m not a changeling, Mister Soarin,” Dinky said and waved. “I wanted to make Cubitus feel better, since he was so scared.”

Soarin gave Filter a no-nonsense look. “Since the changelings are now considered asylum seekers and we are dealing with a nymph rather than an adult, I will let this very serious breach of protocol go and not mention it to Spitfire.”

Filter swallowed. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Does that mean Amethyst can let him out?” Scootaloo said.

Soarin nodded. “She can.”

“Thank you!” Amethyst said and ended the spell. She rubbed her horn with a hoof and winced. “I’m going to be feeling that in the morning.”

Everypony turned their heads towards the stairwell as uneven hooffalls came down on them.

“Easy there, Bro, you don’t want to go tripping down the stairs after all you’ve been through,” Thunderlane said.

“Rumble!” Piña and Noi cried, as the colt took exhausted steps into the basement.

“I’m ba-” Rumble was cut off as Noi and Piña took him into a crushing hug.

“Don’t you ever do something like that again!” Piña scolded him.

“He got the Wonderbolts, though!” Noi said.

“Girls, he needs to breathe,” Thunderlane said, through a chuckle. “He’s flown far and fast today, so go easy on him.”

“Sorry!” Piña said, as she and Noi loosened their grip on Rumble.

Soarin looked toward the freed changeling. “Cubitus, right?”

“Yes,” he said, fear in his voice.

“I am here to inform you, you are now under the protection of the Equestrian Forces as an asylum seeker.”

“Thank you.” He swallowed and said, “Thank you so much,” in a raspy voice.

“Does that mean everything is okay now?” the slight pegasus colt asked.

“The situation is... controlled for the moment,” Soarin said. “Everypony can go home now, but we’re going to need to escort you back.”

“Is everypony okay?” Riff asked.

Soarin nodded. “Everypony is fine on both sides. The changelings knew we were coming and most of them split. The changelings that stayed were waiting outside of the castle with a white flag. They’re meeting with Mayor Mare and Spitfire right now and telling them everything they know about what is going on.”

Cubitus slumped in relief.

Dinky hugged him again. “See? Ponies don’t hurt other creatures unless we have to.”

“That’s how you knew his name,” Noi said, still holding onto Rumble. “One of them told you.”

“That’s right,” Soarin said.

“Who…” Cubitus swallowed. “Who told you my name?”

“A changeling named Radius,” Soarin said. “He’s the spokespony, er, spokesbuggy for the other three.”

“I knew it,” Cubitus said, sounding like some hope had come back to him. “I knew he wouldn’t leave me.”

“Is he a friend?” I asked.

Cubitus smiled. “He’s my brother.”

“Despite everything turning out well with the changelings here, I have some bad news to deliver,” Soarin said, his tone turning grave. “Right now, the Princesses’ location is unknown and we are under martial law. The royal family of the Empire is also missing, along with the Elements of Harmony. We are coordinating with the other Guard forces to organize a rescue attempt.”

The foals whispered among themselves in scared voices.

“Was anypony else taken?” Cheerilee asked.

“Not that we know of, but Starlight Glimmer, Trixie Lunamoon, and one of the royal staff from the Empire, a pony named Crystal Hoof, are missing. However, the changelings we have talked to said they were not taken by them and there was never a plan to. Nopony seems to know where they went.”

“They must have known we were here,” Cubitus said. “My brother said there were intruders in the castle yesterday, but they got away from the team before they could capture them.”

“How many were on each team?” Soarin asked.

“Twelve for our team, twenty for the extraction team that took the Elements,” Cubitus said. “I was one of the four foragers for our group.”

Filter stared at him with disbelief. “You’re telling me a group of changelings took the Element’s places and they only had four changelings for support?!”

“We’re expendable to the Queen,” Cubitus said in a resigned tone. “She told us that if we failed we should be glad to face the horrors of the dungeons of Canterlot instead of suffering what she would do to us if we returned to the hive.”

That a nymph could say such things in such a flat and hopeless tone chilled me.

“That’s what Radius told us too,” Soarin said.

“Radius is part of a group that thinks the Queen’s gone mad,” Cubitus said. “They’ve said she’d starve us all to death or keep sending us on suicide missions until there weren’t any changelings left because she couldn’t get over her wounded pride and admit what she was doing was wrong.”

“I told you what they had been saying made sense,” Kevin said to Cubitus. “There are some ponies that aren’t too happy about seeing a changeling or we scare them, but that’s because we attacked them, not because they’re mean. It took a while for me to go over all the lies the Queen told us about them, but now I’m more at home here in most ways than I ever was back at the Hive.”

“He’s a Ponyville pony now,” I said. “The foals did the special ceremony in front of the Princesses themselves that made it official.”

“That’s right we did!” Piña said and giggled.

“Maybe, if you stay long enough, we can do it to you too,” Noi said.

“What are you going to do with him?” Dinky asked Soarin.

Soarin raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean ‘do with him?’ ”

“Are you going to arrest him?” Pinch asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it,” Soarin said. “We have standing orders that so long as a changeling does not harm anyone or cause trouble they can feed off of the love of ponies.”

“But they involved him in the kidnappings,” Filter said.

“I was ordered to check in on him and bring him to Town Hall so he could see his brother. I wasn’t told to make arrests or take prisoners.” Soarin appeared to have an idea. “Wait a minute. You’re staying here right?”

“With me,” I said, raising a hoof.

“Then you’re coming with me to Town Hall too,” he told Filter. “As the only member of the Royal Guard in Ponyville I think Spitfire and the mayor would like to talk with you.”

Filter glanced my way as if asking, “What I have gotten myself pulled into?”

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

“Dinks, sit down,” Amethyst said. “You’re going to wear a track in the floor if you keep pacing like that.”

“In Uncle Pin’s new workroom floor too,” Piña teased.

“I can’t help it!” Dinky said. “I can’t stop thinking about Mister Filter and Cubitus.”

“They’re fine,” Berry assured. “They’re with the Wonderbolts. Nothing is going to happen to them.”

Dinky stopped in her pacing. “I know, but them being with Wonderbolts is what’s bothering me.”

“What are you worried about?” Muffins asked.

“I might have gotten Mister Filter in trouble by getting into the bubble with Cubitus.”

“Soarin said it was okay, so don’t worry,” I told her, as I put plates and napkins out on a worktable.

“Soarin’s nice, but I’ve heard about Spitfire from Scootaloo.” Dinky resumed her pacing. “She sounds like she’s tough on everything. I don’t know if she’s going to arrest Cubitus or not or too.”

“I doubt she’s going to arrest a foal who didn’t harm anypony,” I assured her. “They may have to take him and the other the changelings into protective custody, though, to make sure other changelings don’t retaliate against them.”

“Does that mean they might take Kevin too?” Pinch asked, sounding worried.

“They might, since the changelings that ran off know he’s here.”

Dinky’s pacing resumed with her taking faster steps.

“Dinks, you need to chill or you’re going to drive yourself and Mom nuts,” Amethyst said.

Muffins extended a wing. “Come here and sit by me.”

A knock on the workshop’s door made everypony stop and turn their heads toward the sound.

“I’ll get it,” Rumble said.

“You’re not moving,” Noi said and put a restraining foreleg around his shoulders. “You need to rest.”

“That’s right,” Piña said as she got to her hooves. “I’ll get the door.” She ordered Rumble, “Sit.” She booped his nose with a hoof. “Stay.”

“I’m not a dog,” Rumble grumbled.

Piña trotted to the door. “Hello?”

“It’s us,” Kevin said, sounding as if he were away from the door a bit. “Soarin was the Wonderbolt who came to get us from the school’s basement.”

Piña opened the door. “Hello Mister Filter.” She sidestepped just in time to avoid Dinky running her over to get to Filter. “Dinky’s been worried about you,” Piña said and grinned.

Dinky hugged one of Filter’s legs and looked up at him with worried eyes. “You didn’t get into trouble because of me did you?”

Filter smiled and shook his head. “Nope.”

“Dinks, you’ve got to let him go for a second so we can get in,” Kevin said from behind Filter.

“Sorry!” Dinky let go of Filter and made room for him to step inside.

Kevin and Cubitus followed Filter into the room.

“Cubitus!” Dinky cheered.

“Hello Din- ulp!” an enthusiastic hug from Dinky cut Cubitus off.

“I’m so glad Spitfire didn’t lock you up!”

Kevin laughed as Cubitus froze in shock. “I told you there wouldn’t be a problem with them liking you.”

“Dinky!” Amethyst said and shook her head. “I know Filter has given you permission, but remember to ask first, then almost tackle somepony new,” she scolded, smiling in a way that ruined her authoritative tone.

Cubitus looked to Kevin with wide eyes. “Does she do this with everybuggy?”

“Not everybuggy, but the creatures she likes,” Kevin said. “Hug her back or you’re going to hurt her feelings.”

“Do I ask first?” Cubitus asked, glancing toward Amethyst.

“You can hug me any time you want,” Dinky said, through a giggle.

Cubitus returned Dinky’s hug as if hugging was not something he was used to doing.

“Dinky, you’re holding up progress again,” Thunderlane said from the doorway.

“Sorry!” Dinky let go of Cubitus and the trio of foals removed themselves from in front of the door.

Thunderlane came into the room. The room went silent as a full grown changeling followed him.

The changeling paused, as if uncertain about having so many eyes on him.

“A changeling,” Pinch whispered to herself. “A full grown changeling.” She looked over to Dinky, and the two exchanged smiles.

The changeling’s ears went up. “You’re excited and curious?” he asked as if confused by their reaction.

“This is Dinky and Pinch,” Kevin said. “They’re the ones I’ve been helping study changelings.”

Pinch motioned for Kevin to come to her. When he did, she hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re back. I thought they might take you somewhere with the others.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Kevin said and returned her hug.

Something in Dinky’s saddlebags, which were in the room's corner, chimed.

“Yes!” Dinky said, prancing in place.

“She loves him,” the elder changeling said as if not believing it.

“Which one of you was nibbling on her love,” Dinky asked. “I need to know for our study.”

Cubitus blushed, “It was me.” He paused and looked at her with amazement. “You’re not mad?”

“No!” Dinky said. “This is great! If you ever nibble on love and the detector doesn’t go off please tell me or Pinch.”

Cubitus and the adult changeling looked at each other as if to ask each other what was going on made sense to them.

“Don’t worry, this is normal for this group,” Thunderlane said. He turned to address the rest of us in the room. “Everypony, this is Radius, Cubitus’ brother and leader of the changelings that stayed behind in Ponyville.”

Radius gave us a bashful wave. “Hello. I’m really not the ‘leader.’ I’m more of a spokesbuggy. The leader of our team ran off when the Wonderbolts arrived.” He bowed low to us. “I would ask a favor of you.”

“We’ll be glad to help,” Berry said.

“Please help Filter take care of my brother for me while I am gone,” Radius said. “I have been asked to travel to Canterlot with Spitfire to provide information to the Equestrian Guard leaders about our Hive and its defenses and cannot take him with me.”

“Of course we’ll take care of him,” Muffins said.

“Where will he be staying?” Noi asked.

“Here, we assume,” Thunderlane said. “Spitfire assigned Filter to act as his bodyguard. Since Filter is staying here, we thought it would be a good idea for him to stay in the same place.” He looked at me. “Is that going to be alright?”

“Sure,” I said. “We’ll figure out the sleeping arrangements later.”

“Thank you all.” Radius returned to standing. “I can only hope to repay your kindness someday.”

“I hate to do this, but we need to get moving,” Thunderlane said. “Spitfire wants us in the air as soon as possible.”

Radius nodded to him. “I understand.” He turned to Cubitus. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“You’re not going to fight are you?” Cubitus said.

“I hope nobuggy, or pony, has to fight. We need help. Our queen needs help. This plan of replacing the leaders of Equestria shows she’s not thinking right. I hope that if the combined Equestrian forces push the matter that the queen will parlay and we can negotiate some kind of solution to all of this.”

“The queen will never negotiate,” Cubitus said with certainty.

“We have to try,” Radius said, not sounding hopeful. “If she won’t listen to reason, maybe enough of the Hive will so we can avoid a war.”

Radius turned and followed Thunderlane out of the workroom.

“He didn’t give Cubitus a hug goodbye,” Dinky said, sounding astounded, as I shut and locked the door with my magic.

“Changeling’s don’t hug that much in the Hive,” Kevin said. He scrutinized Cubitus for a second. “You gave them your reserves didn’t you, Cubi?”

Cubitus nodded. “That’s why I took a nibble of the pon… Pinch’s love. I couldn’t help it.”

“You’re hungry?” Berry asked.

Cubitus nodded.

“The spaghetti's about ready,” I said. “Or do you need love?”

“He needs both,” Kevin said.

“That won’t be a problem.” Amethyst walked over to Muffins and gave her a hug. “If there’s one pony who can put out love, it’s Mom.”

“You’re so sweet,” Muffins said and took Amethyst in a wing hug.

“Pinch, Sis, get over here,” Berry said and extended her forelegs towards them. “We can’t let those two show us up.”

Piña and Pinch trotted over to Berry and joined her in a hug.

Rumble, moving as if fighting sore muscles, reached out a wing and guided Noi to his side.

Noi blushed and leaned her head against Rumble’s.

I felt a pang of longing for Coco. We could have helped too, and she would have loved it, I thought to myself.

The chiming from Dinky’s saddlebags began again.

“I can’t beli…,” Cubitus said and swayed on his hooves.

“Catch him!” Kevin said, as he tried to steady Cubitus.

“Got em!” Dinky said and grabbed Cubitus and pulled him to herself, keeping him upright. She looked to Kevin with concern. “Is he okay?”

“He took too much too fast, but he’ll be fine,” Kevin said. “I had the same problem, when I first got here.” He patted Cubitus on the shoulder. “Slow down. You know you can’t take love in that fast after being drained.”

“They’re giving it away,” Cubitus said, slurring his words. “I can’t believe they’re giving it away.”

Dinky adjusted her hold on Cubitus so they were in a more comfortable position. “We want to help.”

Barrel and Turner walked into the workroom from the store side entrance. Turner had a large bowl of salad balanced on his back and Barrel had a basket of homemade rolls.

“What’s going on?” Barrel said. “It’s a hug fest in here.” His eyes went to Cubitus. “Who’s that?”

“Put the salad down first, Barrel,” Turner told him. “We’ll ask questions in a second.”

Barrel looked at Turner as if he was not sure what to think. “You’re pretty calm for someone whose daughter is hugging a changeling we don’t know during an invasion.”

“Dinky hugs everypony,” Turner said. “I hope she asked permission first, though.”

“She didn’t,” Amethyst tattled with an older sister’s smirk.

“Let me get those for you,” I said and used my magic to take the food from Barrel’s and Turner’s backs and put it beside the plates and napkins.

“Thanks.” Turner said. He walked over to where Dinky, Cubitus, and Kevin were standing. “You must be Cubitus.”

Cubitus nodded in a slow, cautious manner.

“You missed his brother, Radius, being here,” I said. “Radius heading to Caterlot to help get the Elements and the Princesses back. Cubitus is staying here until his brother gets back.”

Barrel walked over and took Berry, Piña, and Pinch in a hug. “You three doing all right?”

Piña nodded and put her head against Barrel. “We’re fine. You don’t have to worry about us.”

“I won’t stop worrying about you three until this is all over,” Barrel told her.

“Is he okay?” Turner asked Dinky and then nodded to Cubitus.

“He’ll be okay,” Kevin said. “He gave all his reserves of love to the other changelings. He fed too fast, and it’s making him woozy.”

“Ah. I think I understand.” Tuner walked over to Muffins and gave her a kiss that lasted for a long moment. “I have a similar reaction when I get to be with my love again after being separated from her for too long.”

Muffins blushed. “Tuner, everypony can see.”

“You can’t complain too much, Mom; you enjoyed it,” Amethyst teased.

“So you’re having a changeling version of a brain freeze?” Dinky asked Cubitus.

“I don’t know,” Cubitus said. “I’ve never had a brain freeze.”

Kevin grinned. “It works the same, but it gives you a headache instead of making you dizzy.”

“There’s something we can put in our next report,” Pinch said. Her ears dropped in worry. “At least, if they can get Twilight back.”

“We’ll get her and the others back,” Filter said.

Cubitus sat back up under his own power. “Thank you. I’m feeling much better.”

“Wait a minute, if you’ve never had a brain freeze that means you’ve never had ice creme or cold drinks,” Noi said.

“I haven’t,” Cubitus confirmed.

“We’re going to have to fix that,” Noi said.

“I bet he’s never had spaghetti either,” I said. “I’ll go get it. Everypony get your salad and rolls. I’ll be right back.”

I trotted up to my apartment and retrieved a large pot of spaghetti and a couple of trivets. As I returned to the workroom, I announced, “I think Turner’s done it again.” I put the trivets on a work counter and placed the pot on top of them. “If this tastes half as good as it smells, it’s going to be delicious,” I said, taking the top of the pot with a flourish that wafted the aroma from the spaghetti around the room.

“That smells good,” Barrel said.

“Guests first,” I declared and stepped back from the food.

“Good call, having everypony eat in here,” Turner said, as he sided up to me. “It would have been a wee bit too crowded in the kitchen.”

“Here you go, Cubi,” Kevin said and gave a plate of food to Cubitus.

“Thanks.” Cubitus took the plate and took a bite of the spaghetti. “Mmmm!”

Kevin laughed. “Pretty good, huh?”

“This is fantastic,” Cubitus said and took a larger bite.

“Slow down or you're going to have a tummy ache to go along with that brain freeze,” Dinky said.

“There’s a pot full, so take your time and enjoy,” Turner said. “There will be plenty left over for seconds and maybe even thirds.”

“I’m not too sure about those thirds,” Barrel said, as he picked up a plate.

*****

“Stay safe everypony,” I said, after we had all stepped out the workroom’s back door.

“We will,” Berry said. “You colts stay safe tonight. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Pinch’s ears went up. “That’s right! School’s canceled.”

“Does that mean we can come and visit?” Dinky asked to nopony in particular.

“I think that’s a question for your folks,” I said. “You’re welcome to come over, if they say it’s okay.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Turner said.

From his tone I got the impression it was going to be a brief talk and we would see Dinky the next day.

While the others walked away from the shop, Kevin lingered close to Filter.

“You okay?” I asked him.

Kevin looked to Filter as if seeking approval.

“Go ahead,” Filter said. “Ask him.”

“Mister Pin, can I stay over tonight?” Kevin asked.

Before I could answer in the affirmative, Filter prompted Kevin, “Tell him what you us earlier too.”

Kevin nodded and looked at me. “Changeling nymphs are raised together and we sleep together in small groups. Cubi was in my group, and I wanted to help him get some sleep tonight, since this is his first night here in Ponyville without anybuggy else.”

“You don’t have to stay here,” Cubitus told him. “I’ll be fine.”

“Do you not want me to stay?” Kevin asked.

“That’s not what I meant,” Cubitus said. “I don’t want to cause anybuggy any trouble.”

“Then, if Mister Pin says yes, I’m staying,” Kevin insisted.

“Of course you can sleep over,” I said. “We’ll need to talk to Matilda and Cranky so they know where you are.”

“They were at the meeting at town hall,” Filter said. “They already knew he was going to ask. We thought it was a good idea to keep them together since they both could be at risk too, but we thought we would ask you first.”

“Then everything’s set,” I told them. “I’ll be glad to have you both stay for as long as you need. Let’s go back in, and we’ll figure out where everypony is going to sleep.”

“I get the couch,” Filter said. “They can take Coco’s bed.”

I snorted in mirth at the image of him trying to fit all of his enormous frame and legs onto the couch. “You won’t fit on the couch. You can have my bed.”

“Nope,” Filter said without hesitation.

“Why not?”

“It would be too awkward.”

“It would have to be less awkward than you sleeping on a couch that’s too small for you.”

“You and my sister sleep there,” he said.

Things connected for me and I chuckled. “We’ve slept in her bed too.” I grinned and heaped on, “And on the couch, and-”

“Stop right there!” Filter said, as he shut his eyes and raised his hooves. “I don’t need nor want to know.”

Cubitus and Kevin grinned at our banter.

“Now will you take my bed?” I asked Filter.

“Might as well,” Filter said, acting as if unhappy with the situation. After a second he smiled. “Thanks.”

*****

My alarm clock went off.

I sat up and groaned to myself, “Why did you set your alarm?” I stopped the clock’s ringing with a hoof. “The town’s going to be shut down today, so it’s pointless to open the shop.”

“Force of habit,” I answered myself. “And you have guests to care for.”

My bedroom’s door opened and Filter glanced around the den. “You okay?” he asked in a hushed tone. “I thought you were talking to one of the foals.”

“I’m fine,” I said. After putting my blanket aside, I rolled off the couch and onto my hooves. “Sorry about that. I’ve gotten back in the habit of talking to myself, since Coco left.” I looked toward Coco’s door. “I wonder what she would think of all of this. Even though the situation’s serious, and I wouldn’t want her to be in harm’s way, I bet she would have enjoyed being with everypony.”

“You miss her,” he said. “I could tell you were thinking about her last night.”

“I’ve missed her every day. There have been so many moments I would have loved to have shared with her.”

Filter patted me on the shoulder. “She’ll be back soon.” He smiled. “Once you ask the big question, you’ll have the rest of your lives to share.”

“That’s a good thought to start the morning on. Sorry about waking you up with my alarm.”

“You didn’t, my alarm went off a little earlier. I’m trying to keep on the Guard’s sleep schedule.”

“Coffee?” I asked, as I took off my horn protector and put it on the coffee table.

“Yes, please,” he responded.

The workshop’s back door doorbell chimed.

“Who would come here this early?” Filter asked.

“I’ll go see,” I said. “Stay here in case there’s trouble.”

“Trouble wouldn’t be polite and ring the doorbell, but I’ll keep an ear out.”

I made my way to the workroom’s back door. “Hello?”

“Pin, it’s me, Silent.”

I recognized his voice, but I thought some caution was needed and asked, “What’s my nephew’s name?”

“Intense Rain,” Silent said. “His mother’s name is Satin, and his father’s name is Stormbreaker. I’m no changeling. I come bearing orders and Filter’s barding.”

I opened the door and let silent in. I looked at the large bag he was carrying on his back and his bulging saddlebags and winced. “That looks heavy.”

“I got my leg workout for the morning, that’s for sure,” Silent said.

“I’ll take the bag,” I said and tried to lift it from his back using my magic. I grunted, as the effort it took to raise the bag required more than what I had expected it to. “Is his armor made of lead?”

“Nope, but there’s a lot to cover somepony as big as he is.”

I put the bag on one of the work counters. “No wonder he’s in such good shape.”

Silent glanced around the room as if curious about something. “Is this place bigger or is it just me?”

I laughed. “It’s bigger. I had an expansion put on not too long ago.”

“The back door’s open, is everything okay?” I heard Muffins say to somepony from outside.

Piña poked her head around the door frame and smiled. “Mister Silent!”

“Good morning,” Silent greeted.

Piña led Dinky, Pinch, Berry, and Muffins into the workroom.

“You’re in your armor,” Dinky said. “I guess that means I can’t hug you.”

“That would be uncomfortable for you, and against regulations for me,” Silent said. He raised a hoof and grinned. “I can offer a hoof bump, though.”

Dinky smiled and bumped hooves with Silent.

Silent asked, “What brings you ladies here this early?”

“We brought breakfast muffins,” Piña said and pointed a hoof at the picnic basket on Muffin’s back. “Dinky and her mom made them.”

“We wanted to do something special for Cubitus, since he’s going through so much,” Muffins said.

“He’s still in bed, right now,” I told them. “He and Kevin haven’t gotten up yet.”

“Kevin’s here?” Pinch said, sounding surprised.

“He stayed over to help Cubitus settle in.”

“That’s… nice,” Piña said in an odd tone.

Dinky and Pinch glanced at each other and then to Piña.

Using my magic, I took the basket from Muffins’ back and the saddlebags from Dinky and Pinch. “Come on up, everypony. I’ll get some coffee and tea going.”

We made our way into the kitchen. As we entered the room, Filter looked at us with surprise.

“Good morning everypony.” Dinky hugged him and he hugged her back. “Hello, Dinky.” He looked to Silent and his expression turned serious. “I take it you’re here on official Guard business and not to visit.”

Silent nodded. “I brought your barding and new marching orders. “Captain Night Flight has assigned me to be Kevin’s protection.” He pulled out a sealed envelope from his saddlebags and gave it to Filter. “If I had to bet, you’re being assigned to Cubitus.”

Filter open broke the seal on the envelope and took out the letter from inside. “We’ll find out in just a second.”

“How is Miss Sassy doing?” Pinch asked Filter.

Filter smiled. “She’s doing fine. I saw her yesterday, before I had to get on the train to Ponyville. The princesses and the Elements being taken has her worried, but otherwise she’s great.”

I put the basket on the counter top and placed the saddlebags at the far end of the counter. “Let me get the coffee and tea started.”

“You had it right, Silent,” Filter said, looking up from the message. “I’m now Cubitus’ official bodyguard until further notice.”

“Should we get them up so we can tell Cubitus?” Pinch asked.

“Sure,” I said. “We don’t want the muffins to get cold on them either.”

“I’ll get them,” Berry said. “Which room are they in?”

“Coco’s,” I told her.

“Coco’s?” Silent said and grinned. “So that’s how serious it’s gotten.”

“I’ll be right back,” Berry said and left the kitchen.

“I guess I’m out of uniform, considering I’m on duty again,” Filter said.

“Your armor is down stairs,” I told him. “That’s a lot to lug around all the time.”

Filter shrugged. “I’ve worn it so much I don’t even think about it anymore.”

“Pin!” Berry said in a whisper from the kitchen doorway. When I turned to her, she asked, “Where’s your camera?”

“It’s in the hall closet.”

“Can I borrow it?”

“Sure, but it’s only got four shots left on the roll. I used the rest during the tournament, the cookout, and our buckball games.”

“That will work,” Berry said. “Where is it in the closet?”

“I’ll get it for you,” I told her.

“Thanks.” Berry motioned for us to follow her. “Girls, Muffins, follow me. You’ve got to see this, they’re so cute.”

I walked out of the kitchen in time to watch Berry open the guest bedroom’s door a little ways with a quiet, slow motion.

“Oh my goodness,” Muffin’s said in a whisper. “They’re adorable!”

I could not see through the door to see what they were looking at, as I walked past them to get to the hall closest.

“What did they do to the bed?” Piña asked.

“They made a nest,” Pinch answered.

Intrigued, I got the camera and returned to the herd of mares outside Coco’s room. “Here’s the camera,” I said and offered the camera to Berry.

Berry opened the door a bit more, and I grinned at the sight of the two colts. They had used the bed’s comforter and top sheet to make a round nest in the middle of the bed. They had forgone using the pillows, and slept resting their heads on each other’s backs, curled together in a ball like a pair of cats trying to stay warm.

“That looks so comfy,” Dinky said.

“Maybe if you ask real nice, Cubitus will let you try it with him,” Piña teased.

Dinky blushed and muttered something that made Piña giggle.

“How do you turn off the flash?” Berry whispered.

“The switch on the top right,” I told her.

“Thanks.” Berry turned the flash off and snapped a couple of photos.

Kevin raised his head. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and then looked surprised at all of us at the door. “Cubi,” he said and gave his friend a light prod. “We’re being watched.”

“Keratin?” Cubitus said, sounding half awake. He rolled on his back, yawned, and stretched his front and back legs. “Is it time for roll call already?”

“Doesn’t that make you want to tickle his belly?” Berry asked Muffins.

Cubitus’ eyes snapped open and he turned his head toward the door.

Muffins grinned. “It sure does. Should we girls?”

Kevin a foreleg on Cubitus’ front legs to hold them over his head. “Go ahead,” he said with a mischievous grin.

“Wait a second!” Cubitus said and curled his hind legs towards his belly, as Dinky, Piña, and Pinch approached the bed.

“They’re kidding,” Dinky said. “We wouldn’t do that to you.”

“Yes we would,” Pinch said. “Dinky’s being nice because you’re new.”

“Maybe,” Dinky confessed.

As Cubitus relaxed and let his hind legs down, Dinky looked at his stomach and tilted her head.

Cubitus looked down to where Dinky was gazing. “What?”

“You don’t have a belly button,” Dinky said.

“He doesn’t have a belly button?!” Piña asked.

“If he does, I can’t see it.” Dinky said.

Piña moved closer to Dinky and inspected Cubitus’ stomach. “He doesn’t!”

“You silly fillies,” Pinch said. “Changelings come from eggs, they don’t have belly buttons like we do.”

Berry moved to a better angle and snapped another picture of the scene.

“Kevin has one,” Dinky said.

“When he’s disguised as a pony he does,” Pinch said. “I bet you he doesn’t right now.”

“I don’t,” Kevin said and rolled on his side so Dinky could see his stomach.

“You can let him go now, Kevin,” I said and chuckled.

“Oops!” Kevin said and moved his forelegs. “Sorry, Cubi.”

“It’s all right.” Cubitus rolled over onto his belly. “Why is everypony here? Did something happen?”

“We brought breakfast,” Dinky said.

“That sounds great,” Kevin said. “Have you heard anything about what’s going on?”

“Not so far,” Piña told him.

“Silent is here, though,” Dinky told Kevin. “He brought Filter’s armor and orders from his captain.”

“Awesome!” Kevin said and grinned. “I haven’t seen Silent in a while.” He got out of the nest of sheets and blankets and joined the other foals at the edge of the bed.

“Now’s your chance Dinky,” Piña teased. “There’s a spot waiting for you. All you have to do is ask.”

Dinky blushed. “I’m not going to ask him that.”

“Ask me what?” Cubitus said.

“She thought you and Kevin looked cozy,” Pinch said. “I did too,” she said, glancing at Kevin.

Cubitus’ ears went akimbo. “Ponies don’t nest together?”

“Not like you two were doing,” Piña said. “How good of ‘friends’ are you two anyway?”

Cubitus tilted his head. “I don’t think I’m getting what you’re asking.”

Berry snapped off the last frame on the roll of film. “We’ve got to share that one with June Bug,” she whispered to me, and I chuckled.

“Does my niece need to be worried about you stealing her coltfriend?” Piña asked in a blunt tone. “Or are you going to discuss sharing him?”

“Piña!” Pinch said.

Kevin made a strangled noise. “It’s not like that! Nymphs and young changelings nest together to stay warm in the Hive’s caves not for...”

“For?” Cubitus asked.

Kevin blushed. “Romantic and other reasons.”

“Oh.” Cubitus snorted with good humor. “Kevin might as well be my brother. He’s a great friend, and we’ve been through a lot together, but we’re not special somebuggies or anything like that. We were part of a group that used to nest together every night, including Radius.” Cubitus’ ears fell, and he looked worried. “I hope he’s doing all right.”

Dinky leaned over the edge of the bed and gave Cubitus a hug. “He’ll be fine.”

Cubitus hugged her back. “Thanks, Dinky.”

Pinch teased, “You didn’t ask to hug him again.”

“She can give me as many hugs as she wants,” Cubitus said.

*****

One of Silent’s ears angled out. “What?”

Cubitus continued to stare at Silent. “Sorry, but you’re the first bat pony I’ve ever seen. I’m trying to get all your details.”

“You guys can copy ponies pretty fast, right?” Dinky asked. “Could you make yourself into a bat pony?”

“I can try,” Cubitus said. He closed his eyes and changed his form with a puff of green fire.

Cubitus opened his eyes and looked down at himself. “How did I do?”

“Really good!” Dinky said. “I like you kept your blue eyes.”

“Thanks, but I should have caught that.” Cubitus closed his eyes again.

“Don’t change them!” When Cubitus opened his eyes, Dinky said, “They’re pretty like they are.”

Cubitus blushed. “Okay.”

I put the last of the plates away. “I just thought of something. If you’re here, does that mean there are more Lunar Guards here too?”

“Two dozen of us,” Silent confirmed. “I’ve visited Ponyville, know some of the ponies here, and I’m one of the few diurnal Lunar Guards, so they assigned me to the detachment that came here.”

“Do you know what the plans are for getting everypony back?” Piña asked.

Silent shook his head. “We’re on a need to know basis. Our orders were to come here with a detachment of Royal Guards and keep watch over the town. We weren’t told anything else. Considering what we’re facing, we can’t be too careful with security.” He looked to Cubitus and Kevin. “No offense.”

“It’s fine,” Kevin said.

“I can’t imagine how they caught you,” Filter said to Cubitus. “If you’re that good at copying new ponies, how did they pick you out?”

“I panicked when they came running up to the school warning everybug- everypony that changelings were in Ponyville,” Cubitus said. “When the other foals started looking each other over I knew they were going to figure out I was an ‘extra’ and ran for it.”

“Then Rumble got you,” Piña said with a bit of pride.

“I remember somepony else tackling me too,” Cubitus said, giving Piña a look.

Piña smiled. “He got to you first, though.”

“Speaking of Rumble, where are he and Noi?” I asked.

“Noi’s with Golden Harvest,” Berry said. “Rumble’s staying with Flitter, while Thunderlane and Cloud Chaser are away.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Kevin said. “His brother and his cousin both are in Wonderbolts. That means they both might...”

“His brother and cousin going to be fine and so is my brother,” Cubitus said as if trying to convince himself.

Muffins glanced up at the clock. “I hate to do this, but I have to go.”

“You’re going on a mail run?” I asked, surprised.

“Ponies are going to be sending a lot of letters, with what’s going on,” Muffins said. “The Equestria Mail needs to keep going to make sure everypony can stay in contact with each other.”

“Be careful, Mom,” Dinky said. She moved over to Muffins and gave her a hug.

“I will be.” Muffins kissed the top of Dinky’s head. “You behave.”

Dinky snuggled against her mom. “I will.”

A chime came from Dinky’s saddlebags.

“Which one of you nibbled?” Dinky asked, not letting go of Muffins.

Cubitus raised a hoof.

“Are you still hungry?” Muffins asked, sounding like a concerned mother.

Cubitus shook his head and then smiled and patted his belly with a hoof. “I’m full. Those muffins were fantastic. I didn’t need the love, but we’re taught to take love whenever we can, since we don’t know when we will get more.”

“You won’t have to worry about not getting love while you're here,” Kevin told Cubitus.

Muffins nuzzled the top of Dinky’s head and let her go. “I’ll see you in a little bit,” she said and left.

“Well, what are we going to do?” Berry said. “We’re going to be stuck inside today with everything being shut down.”

Filter raised his hoof. “I want to know more about the report you guys did, how the changeling feeding detector works, and how you came up with the idea.”

“Dinky’s the genius behind the detector,” Pinch said. “We just helped her with testing it and getting the study done.”

“You did a lot more than that,” Dinky said.

“I’d like to know about the detector too,” Cubitus said.

“So would I,” Berry said. “Barrel and were part of the study, but I don’t think I got a good idea of what the device does and what you were trying to measure.” Berry put a hoof to her chin. “Now that I think about it, I’m not sure what you and Twilight are studying about the changelings.”

“I don’t think I know either, and I helped with the study,” Piña said.

“We’d be glad to tell you,” Pinch said.

Dinky trotted over to her saddlebags and pulled out her detector. She returned to the kitchen table and put the detector on it. “Here’s the detector. Right now it’s still picking up all kinds of affection, but we're trying to get it to where it will only pick up on when ponies are feeling love, but it’s tougher than we thought it was going to be since isolating the specific magical resonance of love is hard.”

Filter raised his hoof again. “Love is magic?”

“Dinky and I think it’s a kind of magic,” Pinch said. “Twilight thinks so too, but we’re having a hard time proving it. It acts like friendship in some ways, which has been Twilight’s major area of research, but it’s more complex and more subtle at the same time so we haven’t been able to pin down exactly what it is.”

“As a non-magical pony, I could use a primer on what you’re talking about when you say ‘magical resonance.’ ” Silent said.

Dinky shook her head. “That’s a misconception. You are a magical pony, but your body uses magic in a different way than a unicorn’s does.”

“Do what Miss Cheerilee told us to do in class,” Piña said. “Start with the basics and then work up.”

Pinch nodded. “We can do that.” She turned back to Silent. “Each type of pony uses magic, but in their own way. Flying ponies use magic to stay in the air, earth ponies...”

Filter looked over to Berry and me and gave us a wink.

*****

“This is amazing,” Filter said, as he looked at the pieces of the deconstructed detector. Any signs that his interest in the foals’ discoveries and explanations was a polite ruse had long disappeared and he looked over the parts with genuine fascination.

“It is,” Silent said. He smiled at the foals. “You should all be instructors. I’ve learned more about magic this morning than I have in my entire life.”

“It can’t pick up emotions from changelings though,” Filter said. “That’s weird.”

“That’s another thing we’re trying to figure out,” Dinky said. “It’s almost like changelings can take in forms of emotional magic but they can’t share them.”

“Which fits, since most changelings are jerks,” Kevin said.

“You aren’t, Cubitus isn’t, and Thorax isn’t,” Silent said.

“Thorax?!” Cubitus’ ears shot up. “You know Thorax?!”

“I’ve met him. He visited Ponyville a while ago and spoke with everypony about being accepted by the Crystal Empire’s royal family.”

“Accepted?” Cubitus asked, looking stunned. “What do you mean ‘accepted’?”

“He helps take care of Flurry Heart with Sunburst, her crystaller,” Silent said. “They all came as part of Princess Twilight’s celebration.”

“He was here with them?” Cubitus asked Kevin as if not believing the idea.

Kevin nodded. “He was.”

“Was he… okay?”

“He looked great,” Kevin said. “I should have told you earlier, but with everything going on-”

“No, it’s okay,” Cubitus said. A strange look passed over his face. “So the Queen lied about what happened to him too.”

Kevin nodded. “Almost everything she’s told us about ponies is a lie.”

“Our lives… they’ve been built on lies,” he said as if he had come to a disturbing revelation. “The Hive is built on lies.” Cubitus sat in silence.

“Cubi, you- Oh no, Cubi,” Kevin said, as tears went down Cubitus’ face.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Berry said.

Before Berry could reach him, Dinky had Cubitus in a hug. “Hug me back,” she told him.

Cubitus hugged Dinky back, rested his head on her shoulder, and cried in near silence.

Dinky gave Cubitus a comforting nuzzle. “Hold me until you feel better.”

On the table, the closest gem to Dinky lit up.

“Dinky, you just lit up a gem,” Piña said.

“Sympathy,” Pinch said. “It’s picking up on her wanting to help him.”

“I don’t want him to hurt like this,” Dinky said. “Nopony should hurt like this.”

“I’m okay,” Cubitus said. “I just got hit by everything at once is all.” He said and sat up. He let go of Dinky, gave her a brave smile, and wiped the tears from his face. “Thanks.”

“I was in my room alone, when I broke down after realizing what the Queen had done,” Kevin said. “Matilda came into the room, like she could sense it, and held me until I cried it all out.”

Filter watched the gem’s light fade with open curiosity.

“What is it?” Berry asked.

“If friendship and love require two ponies, how did it up on what Dinky is feeling since it can’t pick up anything from changelings?”

“They don’t have to have two ponies, but the effects are stronger if there are,” Pinch said. “The two ponies’ emotions and magic harmonize, like tuning into a radio frequency, and it makes their friendship or love easier to detect.”

Filter’s eyes widened. “Like casting a spell with somepony else. You feel each other’s magic out until things get in sync, which strengthens it, and then cast the spell.”

“That’s it in a nutshell,” Pinch said.

“So if you aren’t in tune with the other pony magic-wise you can’t fall in love?” Silent asked.

“You can fall in love without your magic touching somepony else,” Kevin said. “I’ve fallen in love with Pinch, but my magic can’t reach hers,” he said, sounding unhappy with the thought.

Pinch blushed as Berry gave her a teasing look.

“Your magic and the other ponies can tune together over time, if you and the other pony let them,” Kevin explained. “There are a lot of things Twilight and Pinch are trying to figure out with both friendship and love that work like that.”

Piña moved one gem on the table closer to Silent. “Close your eyes and think about Miss Sassy.”

Silent closed his eyes.

“Think about her voice, her smell, her-” Pinch encouraged, and then stopped when the gem on the table glowed.

“That didn’t take long,” Piña said.

Silent opened an eye and grinned. “Yep. It works with one pony.”

“What were you thinking about?” Berry asked.

“The first time I saw her,” Silent said.

“That’s so sweet!” Dinky said.

“How did you two meet?” Berry asked. “We know you met in a cafe, but we have gotten details from either of you.”

“It’s kind of a bland story,” Silent said, seeming embarrassed.

“I’d disagree,” Filter said.

“Please tell us,” Pinch said.

“Yes, please!” Dinky added.

Filter reached over and poked Silent’s shoulder with a hoof. “Go on.”

“Since the ladies asked so nicely, I will.” Silent sat up straighter. “I had a long day that day. I spent most of it finishing up a project with Filter and then had to present the finished product to my Lunar Guard superiors that evening. By the time my presentation ended, it was getting late. I was tired and didn’t want to cook, so I headed over to my favorite all night cafe.”

“I thought Canterlot had all kinds of places to eat,” Cubitus said.

“It does, but most of them don’t keep bat pony hours,” Silent explained. “Right after I put in my drink order, I saw Sassy sitting at the counter. She was drawing in a sketchbook. She seemed so focused on what she was doing it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist for her.”

I thought of Coco when she would get into her work and smiled.

“When Perigee brought me my coffee he noticed where I was looking he said I should go talk to her. At first, I told him I thought it would be rude for me to just walk up to her, but he insisted and said I would be doing him a favor since she had not even looked at the menu since he had taken it to her after bringing her a drink.”

“You owe Peri big time,” Filter told Silent.

“I do,” Silent agreed. “I’ve been trying to send as many ponies to his place as I can since then to thank him.”

“Is Perigee a friend of yours?” Dinky asked.

“He is,” Silent confirmed. “He’s a fellow bat pony and he’s the owner of the cafe.” Silent acted as if he were girding himself for battle. “I gathered my courage, went over to the counter, offered Sassy my untouched cup of coffee, and then asked her what she was drawing. She told me she was just doodling. What she had been doing was drawing an excellent portrait of a pony. When I told her it looked like she was doing a lot more than doodling, she said what she was doing wasn’t that good. When I disagreed, she gave me that cute smirk of hers and asked what qualifications I had to judge art beyond being ‘an obvious flattering flirt.’ ”

Berry laughed. “That sounds like Sassy all right.”

“When I told her I was an artist myself, she pulled out a sheet of paper from her sketchbook, drew a few lines on it, and then slid it in front of the seat next to her. She offered me her pencil, and said, ‘Then you should be able to help me finish this.’ I sat down, took her pencil, and turned the lines into a drawing of a leaf. She said she was impressed. I drew a few lines myself and slid the paper back to her. She took up the challenge, and we ended up eating together, talking, sliding the paper back and forth throughout the meal, and finishing each other’s drawings.”

“That’s so cute!” Dinky said.

“At the end of the meal, she let me keep the page we had worked on.”

“He had that page framed and put on his wall even before he met Sassy again,” Filter said.

“That was a special night and Sassy’s a special mare,” Silent said. He shook his head as if clearing it. “Enough of this sappy stuff, I want to know more about what you are researching.”

“We’ve about covered it,” Pinch said. “I’m trying to find out more about the origins of the changelings and how they used to interact with ponies, but I’ve hit a dead end.”

“What about changelings now?” Silent asked. He gestured towards Kevin. “You have a living source of information at hoof all the time.”

“He doesn’t like to talk about what it was like at the Hive,” Dinky said.

Kevin’s ears fell a bit, as we all looked towards him.

“Things were that rough?” Filter asked.

“You know how he became one of the twenty nymphs that were sent out to be infiltrators, right?” Cubitus asked.

Pinch shook her head. “We don’t.”

Cubitus gave Kevin a disbelieving look. “You didn’t tell them?!”

“Cubi, don’t,” Kevin said. “It doesn’t matter what happened, I’m here now, I’m safe, and I’m happy.”

“They should know,” Cubitus said.

“I don’t want things to turn into a pity party.”

“Kevin,” Pinch said. “What happened?”

Kevin would not meet her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“His parents ‘volunteered’ him to be one of the twenty changeling nymphs on the suicide mission,” Cubitus said.

Berry, Pinch, and Dinky gasped.

“No way,” Piña said in a horrified whisper.

Cubitus nodded. “They thought he wasn’t ‘true changeling’ enough since he had been listening to Thorax’s ideas of trying to get along with ponies and he wasn’t as aggressive as other nymphs.”

“That’s why Thorax was so glad to see you,” I said. “You two were friends.”

“Thorax tried to be every changeling’s friend, and he and Kevin clicked,” Cubitus said. “He was good friends with Radius too. I thought Thorax was crazy, but harmless, and didn’t listen to him like Kevin and Radius did. Now I know he was right, and I have a lot of apologizing to do.”

Pinch reached for Kevin.

“Pinch, I need this,” Berry said, sounding like she was trying not to cry. She moved from her spot and took Kevin into a mother’s hug and nuzzled the top of his head. “How could they do that to such a sweet foal? To their own son?!”

“It was because he was ‘soft’,” Cubitus said. “In the Hive, they teach everybuggy to be tough and to only focus on what the Queen wants and to do whatever it takes to gain her favor. His parent’s thought the Queen would be disappointed with Kevin, since he never did well in the more aggressive forms of training. They volunteered him to avoid the possibility of him being chosen and losing face with the Hive and the Queen.”

Kevin hugged Berry back. “It’s okay. Family bonds in the Hive aren’t like they are here. Elytra and Tarsus were more my parents than my parents were.”

“Who are Elytra and Tarsus?” Dinky asked.

“My mom and dad,” Cubitus said. “They aren’t as… tough as Keratin’s parent’s are. Mom and Dad agree with a lot of what Thorax has said about being kinder to others too. They had to be careful, since they didn’t want to be labeled as being disloyal to the Hive by helping ‘weaklings,’ but they helped Keratin and a couple of other nymphs get by as best they could.”

“Wait a second,” I said and raised a hoof. “If changelings can sense emotions, how can you be so nasty to each other? I would think that acting like that would taste bad, or something like it, and would stop one changeling from hurting another.”

“We can’t feel each other’s emotions,” Kevin said. “We can feel ponies’ emotions, but not other changeling’s.”

“That’s weird,” Piña said. “You can tell when another changeling is around, though.”

“Because it’s like there’s a hole there,” Kevin said. “You can tell when you're not getting emotions from somepony. It’s kind of like if everyone is talking and you can tell when there’s a quiet pony in the room.”

Pinch sat up as if she had gotten a jolt. “It has to be related to why you can’t share love!” She looked at Dinky. “Am I crazy, or would that would explain why we can’t pick up anything from him with the detector?”

Dinky’s ears went up. “They can take love and emotions in, but they can’t send them out so there’s nothing for the detector to pick up on!”

Pinch looked toward the corner of the room. “I’ve got to get my notes!” As she got to her hooves, she asked, “Uncle Pin, can we use your workroom? We’re going to need to spread out a lot.”

The workroom’s doorbell rang.

“Let’s hold that thought.” Berry glanced at the kitchen’s clock. “I believe that will be our lunch arriving.”

“Lunch? I didn’t know lunch was being delivered.” I looked up at the clock to see it was almost noon. “We talked for that long?”

“We sure did,” Filter said.

“I’ll get the door,” I said.

“I’ll go down with you,” Filter said. “I’ve still got to get into my barding.”

“Barding?” Piña asked. “What’s barding?”

“Armor designed for ponies and horses,” Filter explained.

“Got it,” Piña said. “Thanks.”

“I’m coming with you two,” Berry said. “Barrel’s the one who’s supposed to be making the delivery.”

"You'll have to let go of Kevin then," I pointed out, doing my best not to grin at Pinch's rising impatience.

"I get him now," Muffins declared and held out her forelegs.

Piña patted Pinch, who was fidgeting in place, on the back. "You'll get turn."

Dinky giggled, as Muffin's took Kevin into a full wing hug. "At some point today, maybe."

Chuckling, I led Berry and Filter down into the workroom.

“Ah, there it is.” Filter said and opened the bag with his magic. “I just hope he got all the pieces.”

“Need any help putting it on?” Berry said, as Filter took the armor out of the bag with his magic.

“Thanks, but I’ve got it,” Filter told her.

As I walked toward the workroom’s back door, the sound of metal clinking and buckles being cinched and adjusted came from behind me.

“You got all that on that fast?!” Berry asked.

I looked over my shoulder in time to see Filter, in full armor, grin at Berry. “Lots of practice.”

Berry raised a teasing eyebrow. “Does Saffron know you’re so good with buckles and leather?”

I laughed as Filter blushed and stammered. Turning from them, I opened the work room door. “Berry, you were off by three,” I said.

“Three?” Berry smiled, as I let Amethyst, Noi, Barrel, and a sore looking Rumble into the workroom. “Hello everypony,” she greeted.

“Hello Miss Berry,” Noi responded.

“Poor little guy,” Berry said. She held her forelegs out to him. “Come here.” She gave Rumble a hug, when he got close to her. “You look like you’re not having a good day today.”

“He’s paying the price of being a hero,” Barrel said.

“I’m not a hero,” Rumble said. “I just flew to get help.”

“You might want to go to the spa to get some help with that,” I said. “The twins did wonders for me, while I was training.”

“I’m sure they’d do a very good job for the colt that captured a changeling and got the Wonderbolts to come so fast,” Barrel teased.

Rumble blushed. “Thunderlane’s going to take me to see them, when he gets back.”

“They’ll have you feeling better in no time,” Amethyst said.

The sounds of hoofsteps came down the stairs. After a second, Piña poked her head into the room. “You’re here!” she said, and rushed to Noi and Rumble. She took them both in a hug. “I didn’t know if you were going to make it.”

Rumble gave a slight grunt as Piña put pressure on his wings, but smiled and hugged Piña back. “Mister Barrel came and got us.”

“Sorry!” Piña said and let Rumble go. “I was just so glad to see you, and-”

Noi interrupted, with a giggle, “You pulled a Dinky.”

“Who’s hugging ponies without warning?” Pinch said, as she led the other foals from upstairs into the room.

“I am,” Piña confessed.

“Whoa!” Rumble said. “You decided to be a bat pony?”

Cubitus nodded and gave Rumble a nervous grin. “Dinky asked if I could change into one so I tried.”

Noi gave Dinky a teasing look. “How many hugs have you given him this morning?”

“Two,” Dinky said.

“Just two?” Amethyst said, sounding surprised.

“One of them was a pretty long one,” Kevin said. “Cubi needed it, though.”

“What inspired you to ask him to change into a bat pony?” Amethyst asked.

Silent stepped into the workroom. “Hello.”

“Never mind. You answered my question.” Amethyst waved at Silent. “Hello to you too. I take you’re here with the other guards patrolling around town.”

“That sums it up,” Filter said.

“Have they been behaving?” Amethyst asked, giving the foals an exaggerated suspicious look.

“They have,” Filter said. “They have been telling us about the research you’ve been helping them with.”

“We’ve got something new to look into,” Pinch said. “Cubitus and Kevin told us that changelings can’t sense each other’s emotions.”

“You can’t?” Amethyst asked Kevin.

“We can’t,” he responded.

“Pinch and I think it might have something to do with why the detector can’t pick up anything from Kevin,” Dinky said. “It’s like they can take in love and other emotions, but they can’t put any out.”

“You can take in other emotions?” Filter asked.

“We can, but we don’t get any energy from them,” Cubitus said.

“We’ll need to run some tests for our baselines,” Amethyst said. She looked to Cubitus. “You up to being a test subject, after lunch?”

Cubitus smiled. “Sure. It sounds like fun.”

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

“Pin.”

I paused in my writing and looked up at Barrel.

“Thanks,” he said and patted my back with a hoof.

Confused, I looked down at the page and then back up at him. “I’m just working on my next supply order.”

“For letting us turn your workroom into a corral for everypony.” Barrel nodded to where Berry, Filter, and Silent were playing a board game with the colts and Noi. He then gestured toward Amethyst, who was talking with Dinky and Pinch about something they were working on with Dinky’s detector. “Berry and Amethyst are herding pretty bad.”

I put my quill back in its ink-pot. “Muffins is right there with them.”

Barrel gave me a look. “They’re not the only ones herding.”

“I noticed that too,” I said, acting as if I did not notice his insinuation. “Is it just me, or is even Dinky showing signs of herding?” Barrel asked.

I nodded. “With a focus towards the newcomer of the group,” I whispered

“You’re seeing the same thing I am, then.” Barrell grunted. “I wonder what Turner will think about that.”

“If his reaction to Dinky hugging Cubitus last night is any indication, I think he’ll be open to the possibility. Speaking of Turner, I’m surprised we haven’t seen him today.”

“He’s working with Mayor Mare and the changelings who are still here on something. I have no clue what they are up to.”

“With Turner there’s no telling.” I watched the others for a couple of moments and smiled.

“Yeah, you’re not herding at all,” Barrel kidded.

“I’m herding. I won’t deny it. I’m glad we’re all here or I would worry about everypony. It’s been fun having everypony around too.”

There was a knock on the workroom’s back door.

“I got it,” Barrel said and moved to open the door.

“Mail service,” Muffins said, after Barrel opened the door.

“You ended up having a full day,” Amethyst said.

“Yep!” Muffins said. “Lot’s of ponies were sending out letters.” Muffins stepped in and offered me several envelopes. “Here’s your mail.”

“Thank you,” I said and took the letters from her.

“Any news?” Berry asked.

Muffins shook her head. “Nothing I know of, but there have been Guard messengers running all around town this afternoon so something’s going on.”

“There is, which is why I’m here,” Turner said from the doorway. He stepped inside and kissed Muffin’s forehead. “How are you my delectable muffin?”

“I’m fine,” Muffins said, blushing.

“Dad, we’re glad to see you too, but focus,” Amethyst said, as she and Dinky trotted over to Turner and gave him a hug. “The news, please.”

“Oh, yes!” Turner’s ears fell in a bashful display. “Sorry. Your mother is too lovely a distraction to ignore.” His ears snapped back up as he announced to the room, with a bright smile, “The Elements and the princesses are free!”

“Thank the Sisters,” Filter said and slumped in relief.

“Was there any fighting?” Silent asked.

“The Mayor’s office received mixed reports,” Turner said. “There seems to have been some kind of a scuffle or large scale magical event, but nopony or changeling was badly injured in whatever occurred.”

Rumble bumped shoulders with Cubitus. “That’s a load off isn’t it?”

Cubitus nodded and grinned. “Yep!”

“There was some bad news too,” Turner said. “The Princesses asked the Mayor’s office to prepare for refugees from the Hive to be brought here. There was some major structural damage to the Hive itself and large sections of it are now unlivable.”

“It was unlivable the way it was,” Kevin said.

“What about the Queen?” Cubitus asked, after giving Kevin a glance.

Turner shook his head. “No word. The reports were concise and didn’t mention her.”

“That’s standard operating procedure when we think...” Filter paused and cut his eyes toward the pair of changelings in the room.

“Sneaky changelings are involved,” Kevin joked.

Filter grinned. “Something like that.”

“The Hive is over,” Cubitus said, as if a realization was hitting him. “If the Elements and the princesses are free, somebuggy must have driven off the Queen. Even if it gets rebuilt, it won’t be the same.” Cubitus shook Kevin’s shoulder with a hoof. “We can go home!”

Kevin looked toward the floor, his ears tucked back.

“Kevin?” Pinch looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m not going back,” Kevin stated. “That’s not home for me anymore. Even if my parents show up, I’m not going back with them. They wanted me gone, I’ll stay gone.”

“Kevin,” Pinch said and hugged him.

Kevin hugged Pinch back as if needing her comfort.

“What if Mom and Dad take you in?” Cubitus asked.

“They would, wouldn’t they?” Kevin said.

“They would,” Cubitus said.

Kevin thought for a moment, before replying, “Nothing against you and your folks, Cubi, but no thanks. If there’s any way for me to stay in Ponyville, I won’t give up my life here.”

“I understand. Radius was right; you and Thorax would have been happier if you had been hatched as ponies instead of changelings.” Cubitus asked Turner, “How much of the Hive took damage?”

“I don’t know. I know that Ponyville was not the only town asked to get ready to take changelings in, though.”

“It must have been bad,” I said.

“Let’s not put the cart before the pony, with any of this,” Barrel said. “We don’t know enough specifics to worry about, and there’s more than enough good news so we don’t have to worry as much any more.”

“Too bad Sugar Cube Corner isn’t open,” Berry said. “We could go get us a treat to celebrate.”

“It’s open,” Turner said with a grin. “The changeling that took Pinkie’s place and the Cakes opened up Sugar Cube Corner so if anypony needed a treat they could come in. There are several stores that went ahead and opened up too. There are even a few of the market stalls open.”

“Was the changeling who took Pinkie’s place at the meeting?” Dinky asked.

Turner nodded. “She was. Her name’s Coxa.”

“So there are girl changelings,” Rumble said, feigning surprise.

Kevin snorted. “Ha, ha.”

“They might outnumber us by a little bit, but there’s about as many girl changelings as there are boys,” Cubitus said.

Kevin looked as if something was bothering him. “I didn’t think about it yesterday, but they sent out the ‘softies’ for the dangerous roles didn’t they?”

Cubitus nodded. “The softies and anybuggy who was friendly towards Thorax.”

Kevin huffed out a frustrated breath. “Figures. That explains why Coxa and you are here.”

Cubitus grinned in a challenging way. “You calling me soft?”

“No, I’m calling you a friend of a known traitor to the hive,” Kevin lobbed back, grinning.

“I’ve been called worse,” Cubitus said and shrugged.

“They can send us all the softies and traitors they want,” Dinky said to Cubitus. “We’ll keep you.”

Noi, Piña, and Pinch exchanged glances and grins.

“Do you want to go see her?” Berry asked Kevin, after showing a hint of a smile at the girl’s silent communication with each other.

Kevin nodded. “I didn’t get to talk to her much yesterday.”

“I think we can get a couple of guards to escort us,” Berry said and looked at Filter and Silent.

“I’d like to tag along too,” I said. “I’d like to check in on the Cakes and the twins, I haven’t swung by to see them in a while.”

Amethyst gave me a knowing look. “And grab something minty while you’re there?”

I pinned my ears back and grinned with feigned guilt. “That’s not outside the realm of possibility.”

“It won’t be Coco, but I’m sure he’ll find something to nibble on,” Berry said.

Barrel laughed as I blushed.

*****

“Hello everypony!” Missus Cake greeted, as we walked into Sugar Cube Corner. “Please, take a seat and we’ll be right with you.”

While everypony else found their seats, I approached the store’s counter and Missus Cake. “Hello, Swirl. How are you doing?”

“Just dandy.” Missus Cake smiled and added, “Relieved too, since we got the good news about the Elements and the Princesses.”

“How are the little ones?”

“They’re still a bit confused about Pinkie not being Pinkie, but they’ve calmed down. Carrot’s taking care of them right now or I’d go get him.”

“Miss Cake, the macarons are ready,” an unfamiliar voice called from the back of the shop. A second later, somepony who looked like Pinkie Pie, but who had tied her mane back with a blue bow, stepped into view in the kitchen’s doorway. The mare glanced at me and the seated ponies behind me. “Great! More customers!” She trotted over to the side counter and picked up a writing pad and pencil. “I’ll take their orders, Missus Cake.”

“Thank you, dearie,” Missus Cake said to the lookalike.

“What would you like?” the Pinkie Pie appearing changeling asked me.

It took me a second to work through the cognitive dissonance of seeing a friend of mine but not hearing the right voice come from her. “A brownie with a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice crème, please.”

“Good timing,” she said with a smile. “We just made a fresh batch of brownies.”

“You can put my order at the back of the line. Please take care of them first,” I said.

The Pinkie Pie lookalike raised an eyebrow. “You sure? You were first.”

“Only by happenstance.”

“Since you’re being so sweet, I’ll make sure you get a big scoop of mint chocolate chip with that brownie.” She gave me a smile and then walked around the counter towards the others. “Cubi! Kevin!” she greeted. “What are you doing here?!”

“It's an uncanny feeling, isn’t it?” Missus Cake asked me in a soft voice.

“It is,” I admitted. “She looks like Pinkie, but her mannerisms and voice don’t match what I’m expecting.”

“She’s a sweetie, though,” Missus Cake said and smiled. “I’m glad she convinced us to open the shop today. We’ve had more ponies coming in than we thought we would, and they seemed to need the normalcy.”

“She didn’t want to change from being Pinkie?” I asked.

“When she tried the twins had a fit until she changed back,” Missus Cake said. “I think they know she’s not Pinkie, but they want Coxa to look like her.”

The sound of an unhappy small filly came from the kitchen.

Carrot stepped into the storefront, bouncing Pumpkin in his foreleg as Pound rode on his back. “You can stop fussing now, Pumpkin. There’s Momma. See?”

Pumpkin calmed down a bit at the sight of Missus Cake, but reached out to her mother with her forelegs as if needing attention.

Missus Cake took Pumpkin from Carrot and cooed. “There’s my little girl. What’s wrong?”

Pumpkin buried her face against Missus Cake’s chest and clung to her.

Missus Cake kissed the top of Pumpkin’s head. “You needed some mommy time, didn’t you?”

“I think so,” Carrot said. He looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. “Pin! How are you doing?”

“I’m doing just fine,” I told him.

Carrot glanced behind me and his eyes widened. “We’ve got an entire herd in here!” He looked at me and then turned his head and nodded toward Pound. “Could you take him for a few minutes? It looks like Coxa could use some help.”

“I’d be glad to.” Using my magic, I floated Pound from Carrot’s back, took him in my forelegs, and held him. “Hello little guy,” I said to Pound. “How have you been?”

Pound giggled and put a hoof to my nose.

“Muffins told me you’ve had all kinds of visitors over,” Missus Cake said.

“I have,” I said, not looking away from Pound. “It’s been interesting.”

“How is the new guest doing?”

“He’s fitting right in.” I moved my head, and Pound kept his hoof on my nose. I grinned, moved my nose again, and Pound kept his hoof on the end of my nose and laughed.

Small hoofsteps approached the counter from behind me.

“Hello, Missus Cake,” Piña greeted.

“Hello dearie. How are you holding up with all this excitement?”

“I’m great,” Piña said.

Pumpkin raised her head from Missus Cake’s chest.

Missus Cake smiled down at Pumpkin. “Yes, your friend Piña is here. Would you like to see her? I’m sure she’d like to see you.”

Piña held her forelegs out toward Pumpkin. “Can I hold you, please?”

Pumpkin reached toward Piña and giggled.

“Hold on just a moment, my little girl.” Missus Cake transferred Pumpkin to Piña. “There you go.”

Piña nuzzled Pumpkin and smiled. “Hello Pumpkin. Have you been behaving for your mom?” Piña looked up to Missus Cake and asked, “Can we have her?”

“I would like her back at some point,” Missus Cake teased.

“I’ll bring her back,” Piña said with a smile. She turned and headed towards the table, carrying Pumpkin with care.

I chuckled and looked back down at Pound. “I think your sister just got foalnapped.”

“How are Satin, Rain, and Stormbreaker doing?” Missus Cake asked.

“They’re doing great,” I said. “I went up and saw them a couple of weekends ago. I had a hard time getting Rain away from Mom and Dad to visit with him a bit.”

“Have you heard from Coco?”

“We’ve been writing back and forth. She’s busy, but she sounds good.” I smiled as Pound got hold of my nose with both his hooves. “I can’t wait for her to get back.”

Missus Cake studied me for a moment.

“What is it?”

“I was just imagining you with your own bundle of joy to take care of,” Missus Cake said and smiled. She leaned closer to me and whispered, “Carrot and I get to bake the cake, right?”

I blushed. “If things turn out the right way, sure.”

“Uncle Pin,” Pinch called. “If you don’t let Mom hold Pound she’s going to have a fit.”

Missus Cake laughed. “Take Pound to Berry before she tackles you.”

“We better hustle,” I told Pound. “Auntie Berry can be scary when she’s herding and you have a foal she wants to snuggle.”

“I heard that!” Berry said.

I carried Pound to Berry and passed him to her. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” Berry said and cuddled Pound. “Hello cutie. How have you been?”

“We’ve lost Mom and Piña,” Pinch said and shook her head.

“They’re happy, though,” Barrel said.

“We’ll be right back with your orders,” Coxa said to everypony.

“You stay and visit with them,” Carrot told her. “Missus Cake and I will get everything ready.”

“But I need to help,” Coxa said. “I have to earn my keep.”

“Without you, we wouldn’t have had any customers today so you have already done more than enough. We’ll take care of the rest.” Carrot held out his hoof. “May I have the orders, please?”

Coxa nodded and gave the pad and pencil to Carrot. “Yes, sir,” she said and seemed to shrink in on herself.

“I wasn’t trying to scold you or anything like that,” Carrot said in an apologetic tone. “I thought you would like to visit with Cubitus and Kevin.”

“Dinks, hug needed!” Noi said.

“Hug needed?” Coxa asked, her ears askew.

Dinky approached Coxa. “Can I hug you?”

“I will never say no to a hug, but won’t your pare-” Coxa stopped, smiled, and returned Dinky’s hug. “Thank you. I needed that.” She looked at Carrot and told him, “I know what you meant, but I’m so worried about messing things up I overreacted.”

“I was the same way, when I first got taken in,” Kevin said. “I’d gotten tossed out of one home, I didn’t want to want to get tossed out of another, but that’s not what ponies do.”

“Nope!” Noi said.

Barrel chuckled. “If they haven’t thrown me out of Ponyville for some of the stuff I’ve pulled, you’re safe.”

“Take care of her for us for a little bit, please,” Carrot said and patted Dinky’s shoulder. “She needs some T.L.C.,” he said to us all, before turning and heading toward the kitchen.

“We’ve got her,” Muffins assured.

“What do you think of the news?” Cubitus asked Coxa.

“I still can’t believe it.” She smiled, but it seemed haunted by unspoken concerns. “We might have a chance now.”

“You have more than a chance,” Turner said. “We’ll help you get back on your hooves in no time.”

“That’s very kind, but there’s so much that’s going to be fixed, though.” Coxa held Dinky closer as if needing more comfort. “I’m not sure where we’re going to begin. I don’t want to see anypony pulled down with us, if we can’t right ourselves and stay afloat.”

“Changing is part of who you are,” Piña said. “You’ll make it.”

“We’ve faced other catastrophes and came out all right,” Cubitus said.

“True, but we had leadership then,” Coxa said.

“Bad leadership got us into most of those horrible spots to begin with,” Kevin said.

Coxa stroked Dinky’s back as if she were a cat. “I can’t argue that.” She sighed. “We’re going to need guidance on how to pull ourselves back together. We’re going to be starting over as a society, with the Hive and the Queen gone.”

“The ponies will help us,” Cubitus said. “They’re nothing like what the Queen said.”

Coxa smiled and looked down at Dinky. “They’re not, but there are a lot of changelings who will not accept the idea of getting help from ponies. I have a feeling some of them will even try to force us to stick to the old ways.”

“If enough changelings come to Equestria and experience how things could be, the traditionalists may not have as much influence as you think,” I said.

“One can hope,” Coxa said. “But with everything being alien to those of the hive that did not get infiltration training and take part in gathering intelligence or love, it’s going to be easy for the followers of the old ways to sway changelings to doing things the way we have been.”

“We also have to face the fact that some ponies won’t be too happy about dozens of changelings coming into town either,” Barrel said. “If they pick up on that feeling, it could cause trouble.”

Noi looked as if an idea had struck her. She turned to Silent and asked, “You two are working on a project that gets the Royal and Lunar Guards working together, right?”

“We were,” Silent said. “We’re all but finished up with all the publications that were planned now.”

“Could you do a project like that for changelings and ponies to better understand each other?” she asked.

Silent paused for a second and then nodded. “We could, but I don’t know how we’re going to get the go ahead for that kind of project to make it official, though.” Filter glanced over to Silent. “What do you think?”

Filter seemed to lose himself in thought.

The three changelings watched Filter with their ears held high at attention.

“He’s thinking it over pretty hard,” Cubitus said to Kevin.

“Princess Twilight,” Filter named and nodded to himself. “She’d be open to establishing a project to help changelings and ponies become better friends.”

“She’s not here, though, and the changelings will be here soon,” Noi said.

Who could give us permission for a quicker smaller project here in Ponyville?” Filter asked. “We could use it as a proof of concept for petitioning Twilight’s help too.”

“Mayor Mare, would be who I would go to, since she will be in the middle of the efforts to get the changelings settled,” I told him.

“Does Ponyville have a newspaper?” Filter asked.

“The Foal Free Press is as close as we get.”

“It’s a newspaper run by the students,” Amethyst said.

Filter slapped a hoof to his forehead. “I should have remembered that! That’s the paper that had the article about Princess Celestia and her cake habit in it. That piece caused a stir with the Guard because somepony got that photo of her eating without being seen.”

Noi’s eyes lit up. She asked Amethyst, “Do you think Cheerilee would let our class help?”

“I’m sure she would see it as an educational opportunity for any of the students who would volunteer to help,” Amethyst assured.

Silent grinned. “Sounds like we have a plan, but we’re going to need some insight into changelings and insights about what they think about their interactions with ponies.”

“We can do that,” Kevin said, as he and Cubitus raised their hooves.

“Count me in too, if you would like,” Coxa said.

“Later this afternoon, I need to report to Mayor Mare on something I’ve been working on,” Turner said. “I could take a couple of ponies with me to pitch the idea.”

“I nominate Noi to be one of the two spokesponies,” Berry said. “All in favor?”

Everypony raised a hoof, and Noi looked surprised.

“Me?!” Noi said.

“It’s your idea,” Piña said.

“This would give you a chance to talk to Mayor Mare too,” Pinch pointed out.

“I nominate Filter to be the second representative,” I said. “He’s met Cheerilee and-”

“All in favor?” Amethyst asked, cutting me off.

Everypony voted in the affirmative.

“Good,” Amethyst said and got to her hooves. “I’ll go get Cheerilee. She’ll want to be in on the planning.”

“Somepony’s enthusiastic,” Turner said.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, and Cheerilee is going to love it.” Amethyst grinned. “Getting this sort of thing organized, set up, and going is what I live for too.”

*****

“Will these work?” I asked, as I floated the blankets to Kevin in my magic.

“They’re perfect! Thank you.” Kevin took the blankets and arranged one on the floor in the room's corner and against one of the work cabinets. “You want the first layer flat so it’s a firm base,” he explained to Piña.

Piña watched with rapt attention, as Kevin and Cubitus showed her the art of making a challenging nest. Pinch stood off to the side, taking notes as the nest took shape layer by blanket layer.

“I yawned,” Rumble said. “That’s all I did. I’m not a foal. I don’t need a nap.”

“I don’t think she’s listening,” Dinky said.

“I am,” Piña said. “Dinky’s mom said it looks like you need a nap, so you need a nap.”

“We also need to see how the nests are constructed for comparison sake against those created by ponies,” Pinch said.

“Only pegasi make cloud nests, and they’re totally different,” Rumble groused.

“My grandfather made a cloud chair that serves as a nest,” I pointed out. “My sister has made one too.”

“We Earth Ponies make nests too,” Berry pointed out. “They’re usually chairs with woven frames and plant fiber stuffed cushions, but they’re close enough.”

Rumble looked to Barrel. “I’m not going to win this one am I?”

Barrel grinned. “Nope. The best you can do is keep your ‘training partners’ happy by nesting with them without fussing too much.”

A knock on the shop’s back door drew my attention.

“I’ve got it,” Silent said. He opened the back door and greeted somepony, “That was a quick meeting.” He let Amethyst, Cheerilee, Noi, Filter, and Turner into the workroom.

“How did it go?” Piña asked.

“Not quite the way we hoped, but good!” Noi said. “Mayor Mare thinks it’s a great idea to have some kind of publication to get everycreature ready for living with each other. The only thing is that the changelings will come in the day after tomorrow so we don’t have enough time to get things done before they get here.”

“We will just have to adjust the focus of the writing a bit and aim to have it out a day or two after they get here and settled in, but the project is good to go,” Cheerilee said. “Mayor Mare likes the idea of us doing a special edition of the Foal Free Press with helpful information for changelings and ponies, so that’s what we’ll aim to do.”

“There is one pony Mayor Mare requested we include on the team,” Noi said. “Miss June Bug.”

Kevin paused in his work on the nest. “That’s going to be… interesting.”

“What’s wrong with June Bug?” I asked.

“Nothing!” Kevin said a little too fast.

“June Bug’s a sweetheart,” Muffins said. “What’s got you worried about her?”

Dinky giggled. “She thinks Kevin is ‘cute as a bug.’ She stops us to ask how he's doing about every time she sees us. If we have Kevin with us, she always checks on him.”

Cubitus seemed confused. “Cute as a bug?” He looked to Kevin. “We’re cute to ponies?”

“To some ponies more than others,” Piña said and gave Pinch a teasing grin.

“June Bug is an entomologist,” I said, fighting to not smile at the less than amused look Pinch gave Piña. “She has bug decorations all over her house.”

Cubitus’ ears pinned back in concern. “Not bug bug decorations, right?”

“No, she doesn’t collect bugs like that,” Berry assured him. “She likes her bugs alive and helpful. She’s used ladybugs and soldier beetles to help Golden Grape’s and our vineyards with aphid infestations more than once.”

“I’ll be as helpful as I can be, just to be sure,” Cubitus said, which got a giggle out of Noi and Piña.

“How did June Bug’s name get in the mix?” Barrel asked.

“According to Mayor Mare, June Bug volunteered, with grand enthusiasm, to help ‘make the changelings feel right at home’ in Ponyville, this morning,” Turner said.

Kevin patted the nest’s edge as if testing it. “Done,” he declared. “This should be big enough for three or four foals to get into.”

“Rumble’s in the middle,” Piña said. “Noi, pick your side.”

“What’s going on?” Noi asked.

“I’m taking a nap,” Rumble said as if resigned to his fate. He stepped into the nest and lay down.

“If you’re the middle, Rumble, to start off, your head goes here and fold your legs under you,” Kevin said, as he talked Rumble into taking the proper position. “Noi, Pinch, settle in beside him now. There you go. Now...” Kevin chuckled, as Noi and Piña snuggled against Rumble. Noi rested her head behind Rumble’s shoulder blades, and Piña put her head down, leaning it against Rumble’s, without prompting.

Pinch smiled as she took notes. “It would seem that beyond helping with warmth that nesting helps bonding between ponies.”

“What few bonds changeling have are with their nesting group,” Kevin said. “It makes sense it works the same with ponies too.”

“Changelings are ponies,” Pinch said as if reminding him.

“I hope we are,” Kevin said, his ears folded back. “But we haven’t been able to prove changelings are real ponies, though, even with Twilight’s help.”

Pinch paused in her writing and hugged Kevin. “You’re ponies in the ways that count.”

Dinky’s detector, which they had reassembled and brought down with them, chimed.

Cubitus dropped his head in a display of shame and held up a hoof. “Old habits are hard to break,” he said as Dinky giggled.

A light knock came on the workroom’s back door.

“I’ve got it,” Barrel said. As soon as he opened the door, his ears snapped up. “Hello again.”

“Hello,” Coxa said, sounding very timid. “May I come in?”

“Of course you can,” I said, as Barrel moved and let her into the workroom.

Coxa halted in mid step and stared at Pinch and Kevin. “She loves him,” she said as if not believing what she was sensing.

The chiming from the detector grew louder.

“The adjustments we made seem to work,” Pinch said to Dinky.

Coxa gave Cubitus and Kevin a curious look.

“It would take too long to explain right now,” Cubitus said. “Are you okay?”

“I’m worried about what’s going on back home,” Coxa said. She asked Turner, “Did they mention anything about any of the other changelings that were caught during the meeting this afternoon?”

“You mean from Canterlot or the Empire?”

Coxa nodded.

Turner shook his head. “Nothing specific, beyond they are still under observation.”

“Did they give any more details on which sections of the hive took damage?” Coxa asked, her voice sounding more desperate.

“They didn’t,” Cheerilee said.

Coxa closed her eyes and appeared to fight to keep control of her emotions. “No news is better than bad news, I guess.” Her ears pinned back and she acted very self-conscious. She glanced toward the door. “I better get going. I’m sorry for disturbing you, but Mister Cake said you would tell me if you had heard anything.”

“What’s wrong?” Muffins asked. “Something’s bothering you.”

“It’s okay, I’ll just have to wait to find out about-”

“Coxa,” Kevin said in a kind way. “Tell them what’s wrong. They can help.”

“No, they can’t,” Coxa said, as she sniffed back tears.

Pinch turned to Dinky. “Dinks hu-”

Kevin snorted as Muffin’s hugged Coxa. “Never mind, your mom beat you to it.”

Seeing Pinkie Pie's face crying stung me in a way I was not braced for. If I was down, Pinkie Pie was somepony I could go to knowing she was going to give me a boost. I realized Pinkie Pie was not actually there, but seeing ‘her’ suffering along with knowing the pony who had borrowed her appearance was distressed dug at me.

“We can’t try to help you if you don’t tell us what is wrong,” Dinky said.

“I had...” Coxa paused and seemed to chide herself. “I have an egg in the nursery at the Hive.”

Piña and Kevin gasped. “You’re a mom?!” Piña asked.

Coxa nodded. “It’s our first.”

“You and Spiracle’s?” Kevin asked in an incredulous tone.

Coxa smiled at Kevin. “Yes, Spiracle and I are paired now. We announced it not too long after you… left the Hive.”

Kevin’s ears perked. He turned to Cubitus and asked, “Spiracle was on another team wasn’t he?”

Cubitus nodded. “He was on the Empire’s replacement team. I didn’t want to say anything because things weren’t over and I didn’t know if he...”

“Got it,” Kevin said. “What was his assignment on the team?”

“He was going to be Shining Armor’s replacement,” Coxa said.

“Wow,” Dinky said. “That would be hard to do.”

“It was going to be.” Coxa smiled with pride. “He could have done it, though.”

“If the nursery was damaged I’m sure we would have been told about it or there would have been an emergency request for help,” Turner said. “Where was the nursery compared to the living areas?”

“Deeper in and lower down in the Hive,” Coxa said. “That thought is the only thing that’s keeping me together.”

Barrel said in a harsh tone, “Your queen’s a genuine piece of work if she sent out a husband and wife on a mission knowing they had a little one back home.”

“She isn’t our queen anymore,” Coxa said with undisguised satisfaction.

“Seems we have another ‘friend of a traitor’ with us,” I joked.

“She and Thorax were friendly, but Coxa belongs in the softie category,” Cubitus said. “Spiracle was a friend of a traitor. He agreed with pretty much everything Thorax said about us needing to reach out to ponies for help. He and Radius are good friends too, so his reputation in the Hive was not great.”

Kevin and Cubitus both turned towards Piña as if picking up something from her.

“We have to get you back to your foal,” Piña said. She stood up. “Did you tell the Guard or Mayor Mare about your egg? She’ll let us get you back to the Hive.”

“Whoa, Piña,” Filter said. “Nopony can go anywhere right now, with the travel restrictions in place.”

“But this is different!” Piña insisted. “She has to get home to her foal!”

“Nymph,” Kevin corrected, with a slight grin.

“Doesn’t matter,” Piña said.

Coxa put on a smile. “You’re a kind soul, but what has happened to my egg has happened. I don’t want anypony getting into trouble when there’s nothing that can be done.” Worry showed in her eyes and her smile faltered. “If my egg is gone, then it’s gone. And if my mate is-” She stopped and closed her eyes as if the combined thoughts were too much.

Muffins wrapped her wings around Coxa and snuggled her closer. “Don’t think like that. Until you find out otherwise, tell yourself your little one and your husband are fine or you’re going to drive yourself crazy.”

“The Guard, no matter what branch, does not harm prisoners, so you don’t have to worry about your husband,” Filter said with conviction.

“If he fought to give the others a chance to escape-” Coxa began.

“He would have faced an entire division within the castle and an army outside of it,” Silent said. “I know the Crystal Guards. He would not have had a chance, and, unless he did something very rash, they would have taken every measure to capture him. The Princess of Love would not be pleased, if her guard did not show restraint towards an outnumbered and overwhelmed foe.”

“They aren’t our enemies, though,” I said, voicing my thought aloud without intending to.

“Until told otherwise, any guard would treat an unknown changeling in a palace or military installation as a threat,” Filter said.

“My brother didn’t follow his orders,” Cubitus said to Coxa. “Thorax left the Hive, to get away from what’s been happening. If anybuggy else would have decided not to follow Chrysalis to help others, it would be Spiracle.”

“It would,” Coxa agreed. Her smile regained some of its liveliness. “So you’re sticking with the bat pony form, Cubi?”

Cubitus blushed. “I guess. Dinky likes it, and I think it’s kinda cool.”

“Piña,” Noi whispered. “Rumble’s side is getting cold.”

“Oops,” Piña said, as she returned to her spot beside Rumble in the nest of blankets.

A knock on the door caused everypony to pause.

“Got it,” Barrel said and opened the door. “Hey!” he cheered and grabbed somepony that was all but blocked from my view in a crushing bear hug that made them grunt. “You’re back!”

“Good to see you too Barrel,” Thunderlane said, sounding half winded by Barrel’s hug. “Could you put me back on the floor and let me breathe, please?” he wheezed.

“Sorry about that,” Barrel said. “I forget how squishy pegasi are.”

“Bro!” Rumble cheered. Noi and Piña shifted so he could get up, and Rumble raced to Thunderlane and hugged him. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” Thunderlane said, returning the hug and wrapping Rumble in his wings. “The Bad Lands are interesting but they’re not somewhere I would go on a vacation.”

“You’re out of uniform,” I noted. “Does that mean you’re off duty?”

“For the rest of the day, but I’ll be back on duty tomorrow to help get things ready for the changelings coming in,” Thunderlane said. “They sent cloud Chaser and I back with messages for Mayor Mare and the Guard.” Thunderlane seemed to notice Muffins holding Coxa and smiled. “Hello, changeling that looks like Pinkie Pie. I’m Thunderlane, Rumble’s brother.”

“Hello,” Coxa returned. “I’m Coxa.”

Thunderlane’s ears perked up. “That’s great! I was going to see you, after checking in on Rumble. I have a message for you from Thorax.”

“From Thorax?” Coxa said. “Why would he send me a message?”

“He’s your friend, from what he told me.” Thunderlane grinned. “He’s in charge of the changeling nation now, by the way.”

“What?!” Cubitus and Kevin said at the same time.

“It’s a wild story. I’ll let him tell you about it when he gets here with the other changelings.” Thunderlane turned back to Coxa. “He asked me to tell you that your egg is safe and is being taken care of.”

“Thank goodness!” Coxa said with gleeful relief. “Thank you so much for telling me.”

“What happened to the Hive?” Amethyst asked. “We know there was some pretty terrible damage to it, but we don’t know the details about what happened.”

Thunderlane glanced around the room and grinned. “Whoa! There’s a herd in here.” He looked at me and said, “Good thing you had this place expanded or this would have been a tight fit.”

“Lane, answer the question asked,” Cheerilee said in her teacher’s voice.

“Yes, ma’am,” Thunderlane said. “They have asked me not to say too much to anypony about what happened, I can say there was a magical explosion that took apart the throne room and damaged a lot of the upper part of the hive. The living areas are in rough shape and the areas that don’t show signs of damage need to be tested for structural security.”

“The rooms should heal themselves,” Cubius said.

“The magic that allowed the Hive to change shape was lost when the throne was destroyed, from what I understand,” Thunderlane said.

Kevin asked in an almost panicked tone, “Was anybuggy trapped?!”

“Nope,” Thunderlane said. “Every changeling has been accounted for.”

“The throne’s gone?” Cubitus said. He looked at Kevin with worry. “That means our magic defense is gone.”

“That’s a good thing it turns out,” Thunderlane said. “Twilight and the Sisters found signs that the throne’s magic absorption wasn’t healthy to be around.”

“How’s Radius doing?” Cubitus asked.

“He’s doing fine,” Thunderlane said. “He stayed behind to help organize the changelings that will be coming.”

“How are Rarity and the Elements?” I asked.

“She is beautiful, as always, and the other Elements are looking forward to coming home. They are going to travel with the changelings, along with the Empire’s royal family, here. The Sisters have returned to Canterlot to help coordinate everything that needs to be done.”

“That’s Celestia,” Filter said with a smile. “If there is somepony that needs help, even if she’s about asleep on her hooves, she’ll work until there’s a solution for them.”

“Luna does her part to help ponies too,” Silent said, in a playful tone that belied a defensiveness for the Princess of the Night.

“I’ve got two more messages to deliver,” Thunderlane said. “Everypony interested should greet the train coming in at ten o’clock tomorrow morning. We’ll have our first changeling guests coming in from Canterlot and the Empire then.”

“From the Empire?” Coxa asked, her ears up. “Do you know the names of anybuggy coming tomorrow?”

Thunderlane shook his head. “Sorry, I don’t.”

“Oh.” Coxa’s ears fell. “That’s all right.”

Thunderlane gave Coxa a curious look.

“Her husband was on the Empire team,” Piña said.

“Ah! Now I get it.” Thunderlane said. “There were only four that ditched from the Empire team, when they were discovered, so there’s a good chance he’ll be on the train.” Thunderlane paused, and his eyes widened. “You and your husband were sent on a mission when you had an egg?!”

Coxa nodded.

“That’s monstrous!” Thunderlane said and hugged Rumble closer. “I was so worried about Rumble I was almost sick, and I knew he could take care of himself and he was with Flitter. I can’t imagine what you must have been going through.”

“Mom’s been helping her,” Dinky said.

“So I see,” Thunderlane said. “Speaking of helping ponies, how have things been going with you, Cubitus?”

“Dinky says we’re keeping him,” Noi deadpanned.

“Noi!” Dinky protested and blushed.

“We’ll be keeping a lot of changelings here for a little bit,” Thunderlane said in a diplomatic tone and a hint of a grin.

“Where are they going to stay?” Berry asked. “We have room, if somepony needs it.”

“I don’t know the details, but Twilight and Pinkie have something cooking up with Pinkie’s sister,” Thunderlane said.

“What was the last message, Lane?” Barrel asked.

“The last message isn’t quite such good news.” Thunderlane’s expression became serious. “Not all the changeling’s have accepted what has happened to the Hive, so we have to keep on the lookout. The rogue changelings seem to be glad to be rid of Chrysalis, but they want to stick to the old ways of stealing love and living separate from ponies.”

“Those idiots!” Cubitus said with enough vehemence to make Dinky, Kevin, and Amethyst, who were standing close to him, jump. “Ponies give love away! We don’t have to steal anything! We don’t have to live in barren holes in the ground or worry about being sent on suicide missions! We’re so close to having everything we’ve ever wanted, how could they-” He stopped fuming, as Dinky hugged him.

“They don’t know ponies like we do,” Kevin said. “Remember how you felt when you were in that bubble?”

“Yeah,” Cubitus said, sounding regretful, as he hugged Dinky back. “I remember.”

“Society wide changes do not happen overnight,” Turner said. “Equestria’s own history is littered with events where differing groups of ponies butted heads over how ponies should live that took years to resolve.”

“We’re taking steps in the right direction, though,” I said. “Look at everypony here, for instance. A couple of weeks ago us being together would have been all but impossible.”

“We’ve got a ways to go, but we’ll make it,” Cheerilee said. She smiled at the foals and said, “As long as we can learn from each other and help each other grow, like you have, it will all work out.”

*****

Cubitius grinned at Pinch, who was all but prancing down the road.

“What?” Pinch asked him.

“You’re excited,” he said.

“Of course I’m excited,” Pinch said. “We’re going to meet new changelings and Coxa’s husband.”

“If he’s with them,” Coxa said as if tempering her emotions.

“He will be,” Cubitus said. “He would never wing it if there were other changelings in danger.”

“That’s not what Shining Armor would do,” Dinky said with certainty. “If they picked him to replace Shining Armor, they have to be similar, so he wouldn’t run.”

After our group took a few steps, Cubitus chuckled to himself.

“What?” Rumble asked him.

“Before being caught, I never would have thought that a pony would ever look forward to meeting a changeling,” Cubitus said.

“Hello!” a kind voice called from the train platform.

“Oh, you haven’t got a clue,” Kevin said, his ears pinning half back.

“Hello Miss June Bug!” Noi greeted.

“Whoa, you were right,” Cubitus said. “I can sense her all the way from here. I didn’t know ponies could get that excited.”

Kevin chuckled. “You’ve haven’t seen Dinky excited yet.”

Cubitus’ ears perked. “Dinky gets more excited than that? I can’t wait to-” He cut himself off and blushed, as Dinky looked at him and Coxa giggled.

Pinch glanced at the three changelings and seemed to make a mental note of something.

As we ascended the platform’s stairs, June Bug approached our group. “I’m so glad everypony came. Our guests should feel welcome with this many friendly ponies coming to greet them.” She looked to the three changelings with us. “How are you this morning?”

“We’re doing fine, Miss June Bug,” Kevin said.

“You must be Cubitus,” June Bug said and extended a hoof to him. “Pleasure to meet you. I’m June Bug.”

Cubitus smiled at her and shook June Bug’s hoof. “Nice to meet you to.”

“You wanted to be a bat pony as your alter-ego?” June Bug asked. “We don’t get many of them here in Ponyville.”

“Dinky liked it, so he stuck with it,” Piña said.

Both Dinky and Cubitus blushed.

“Should we change so they know we’re here?” Coxa said.

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Mayor Mare said, as she approached us from further down the platform, with Thunderlane walking at her side. “The other changelings are with Maud Pie, so having undisguised changelings here to greet them will be a welcome sight, I’m sure.”

With spouts of green flame, the trio of changelings shifted to their natural forms.

Kevin appeared to be self-conscious, while Coxa and Cubitus seemed much more at ease with their natural appearance.

Pinch bumped shoulders with Kevin, gave him a supportive smile, and moved close to him so her coat touched his exoskeleton.

“Thanks,” Kevin whispered to her.

June Bug studied Coxa with intense interest.

Coxa blushed. “Yes?”

June Bug blinked and gave Coxa a sheepish grin. “Sorry, I was admiring you. You’re beautiful.” She looked to Cubitus and Kevin. “You’re very handsome young stallions too,” she said.

“Thanks,” Cubitus said.

June Bug paused as if struck by a thought. “You’re Radius’ brother, right?”

“Yes,” Cubitus answered, giving her a curious look.

“I am looking forward to working with him to help get everypony settled here in Ponyville,” June Bug told Cubitus. “If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know.”

Berry and I met eyes, and I had to fight not to laugh.

June Bug glanced at us. “What?”

“Buttering Cubitus up for a better chance at doing a hooves-on study of a new specimen, June?” Thunderlane asked. “Radius must have made a good impression; you only got to talk to him for about five minutes before we left for Canterlot.”

June Bug blushed to the tips of her ears. “I’m trying to be helpful to somepony whose home was damaged. As for my opinion of Radius, anypony who is brave enough to do what he’s done to help his friends is admirable in my book.”

“When did you talk with Radius?” Cubitus asked June Bug.

“Miss June Bug visited Town Hall to volunteer a room at her house for any changeling to stay in, after we posted a flier in the market seeking help in getting the changelings places to stay for a few nights,” Mayor Mare said. “She met him then.”

“I got there too late,” June Bug grumbled.

“It was good to see your willingness to help however you could, though,” Mayor Mare praised.

Noi grinned, leaned close to Pinch’s ear, and whispered something to her.

Pinch looked shocked and blushed vivid red. “That’s not going to happen!” she told Noi.

“Why not?” Noi asked. “If you want to help ponies and changelings get along, sharing your experiences with Kevin could help a lot of ponies.” She giggled. “It would also get the guide more readers. You know how ponies love having romance thrown in whatever they’re reading.”

“What kind of ‘experiences’ are we talking about here?” Berry asked, with a playful raised eyebrow. “Anything your father and I should know about?”

Pinch covered her face with her hooves. “Mom!”

“When you say ‘romance’, you mean...?” June Bug asked Noi, with obvious interest.

Noi grinned. “Yep!”

“I see.” June Bug told Pinch, “I might have a question or two, if you don’t mind.”

A distant train whistle drew everypony’s attention.

“Saved by the whistle,” Piña said to Pinch.

“Please, please, be on the train,” Coxa whispered.

Dinky approached Coxa. “Need a hug?”

“I do,” Coxa said and hugged Dinky.

Dinky returned Coxa’s hug and gave her a comforting nuzzle. “He’ll be on the train.”

The train seemed to creep closer as we watched.

Coxa began stroking Dinky’s back with a hoof.

“There they are!” Thunderlane said and waved at somepony behind us. “You’re right on time.”

I turned and grinned at the sight of Amethyst, Cheerilee, and Riff leading a group of foals toward the train platform.

“I told you we’d make it,” Amethyst said.

“We still cut it close,” Cheerillee said.

“We didn’t miss our intro, so everything’s fine,” Riff said. “Besides, it's not like we were lollygagging around.”

“So that’s what a real changeling looks like!” Cloudy said, as the foals gathered around Coxa and Dinky.

Rumble grinned at Cubitus and Kevin. “I guess you two don’t count as ‘real’ changelings.”

Cubitus snorted. “I guess not.”

“I can live with that,” Kevin said, grinning.

“Featherweight, take a picture,” Liza prompted in a whisper to a thin pegasus colt with a camera around his neck.

“Sure!” Featherweight took a quick photo of Coxa and Dinky. “Thanks! That will be perfect for the paper.”

“Are you okay?” Cloudy asked Coxa. “If Dinky’s hugging you like that, there’s something wrong.”

“Her husband might be on the train coming in, but she’s not sure,” Dinky explained.

“Changelings get married too?” Liza asked.

Coxa smiled. “Sort of.”

The train slowed and pulled up to the platform. With a hiss of steam, it came to a full stop. It seemed to take longer than normal for the train’s doors to open.

“Please,” Coxa whispered.

Berry put her foreleg around Coxa’s shoulders. “Hold on a little longer.”

The train’s door’s open, and Featherweight took a couple of photos as ponies came out of the cars.

Noi looked up and down the length of the platform. “Where are the- oh!”

A pair of Royal Guards stepped off the train along with five adult changelings.

“The Canterlot team,” Cubitus said. He flinched and added, “Some of them, anyway.”

Following the last of the initial group of changelings, a pair of Crystal Guards stepped off the train, one of the guards being Brass Ring.

“It looks like they brought the welcoming committee to greet us,” Brass Ring said and waved for someone inside the train to step out onto the platform.

A changeling filly stuck her nose out of the doorway and glanced around. When her eyes settled on our group, her ears went up in excitement. “Hey, Cubi!” Her eyes widened and she gasped, “Keratin!”

“Hey Gena!” Kevin said and waved. He gave an unhappy look to Cubitus, “You could have told me she was on the Empire team, Cubi.”

“I didn’t know if she’d been caught or not,” Cubitus whispered to Kevin. “You know how well she can blend in.”

“We’re not in the Hive anymore, you don’t have to be so secretive,” Kevin said.

Gena raced from the train toward our group. “I can’t believe it! You’re both here!”

“Brace for it,” Cubitus said to Kevin.

The filly ran up to Cubius and Kevin and took them both in an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so glad you two got caught!”

“I’m glad they caught you too,” Cubitus said. “Are you doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Gena said. She glanced over towards Pinch, who had stiffened up a bit. “What’s up with…” She stopped and then grinned at Kevin. “Oh, that’s so cute. You’ve made a friend.”

“Gena,” Kevin said in a warning tone, as Pinch blushed.

“Chill, I’m just teasing,” Gena said. “I take it being out of the Hive hasn’t gotten you to loosen up.” She looked at Dinky and asked. “Hey, cutie, can I have your spot for a moment?”

Dinky blushed. “Sure,” she said and made way for Gena to hug Coxa.

“Thanks,” Gena said to Dinky, as she hugged Coxa. “So they got you too?”

“They did,” Coxa said, returning the filly’s hug. “And I’m glad for it.”

“Coxa!” a stallion’s voice called. We all turned to see a changeling stopped halfway out of the train, with a relieved on his face.

“I better get out of the way,” Gena said, let go of Coxa, and stepped to the side. “I told you!” she called to the stallion with a victor’s grin.

The stallion trotted to Coxa and touched his horn to hers. “I’m glad you’re alright.”

Coxa smiled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” the stallion said.

Pinch glanced over to Kevin as if wanting an explanation.

Piña whispered to Kevin, “What gives?! I thought they would be thrilled to see each other!”

“We’re changelings,” Cubitus said. “Showing you care for somebuggy else is seen as a weakness and can draw attention to you in a bad way.”

“We don’t have to worry about that anymore.” Kevin hugged Pinch across her shoulders with a foreleg and touched his head to hers.

Gena and Spiracle stared at Pinch and Kevin.

“No way,” Gena said. “I felt her get jealous, but I thought she had a crush on him not… this!”

“She loves him,” Spiracle said as if in disbelief.

Gena looked toward Spiracle. “Is that allowed?”

“Of course it is,” Piña said.

“You sure?” Gena asked.

“Her Mom and Dad think so and Twilight said it’s a good thing,” Noi said.

“What do you think about it, though?” Spiracle asked.

“It’s fine to me,” Noi said. “Me, Piña, and Rumble love each other, and there’s three of us.”

“But you’re all ponies,” Coxa pointed out. “I think what Spire’s trying to ask is if it’s okay for a changeling and pony to love each other?”

“Love between creatures is never a bad thing, no matter what forms they have,” Dinky said without a hint of uncertainty.

Spiracle appeared to have a weight lifted from him. “I’ll be honest, with all that’s going on, I worried about us having a little one hatch into the world right now. You’ve made me feel a lot better about our chances.”

Liza’s ears went up. “You lay eggs?”

“I can’t, but Coxa can,” Spiracle answered with good humor.

The foals fired off a series of questions without pause between them: “How big are they?”, “What color are they?”, “Does it hurt?”, “How long do you have to wait for the foal to hatch?”

Mayor Mare leaned and whispered something to Thunderlane and June Bug. “Sure thing, Mayor,” Thunderlane said, as Mayor Mare trotted off towards the larger group of changelings. Thunderlane made a motion with one of his wings to get the school foals’ attention. “Let’s hold off on the questions for now. Mister Spiracle’s had a long trip to see his wife, and Gena hasn’t seen her friends in a while. Let’s give them a bit of time together, while we go greet the other changelings. You’ll be able to talk with them later at the meet and greet at Town Hall.”

Thunderlane and June Bug led the school foals off.

“He’s so good with the foals,” Cheerilee admired.

“I know somepony else who is good with foals,” Amethyst said and gave Riff a quick nuzzle.

Cheerilee smiled. “Yes, he is.”

Gena gave the trio a hungry look.

“If you need love, you can have a nibble,” Dinky said.

Gena snorted. “Oh, I’m sure that would go over well,” she said with sarcasm.

“Be nice to her,” Cubitus said, in a protective tone.

“It’s all right,” Kevin assured Gena. “If you need love, you can have some.”

Gena’s ears splayed out and she looked unconvinced.

“Rumble, in the middle,” Piña prompted.

“Gotcha.” Rumble moved to stand between Piña and Noi and then took the two of them under his wings. “You can nibble off of us,” he told Gena.

“That’s not funny to do to a changeling who needs love,” Gena said as if offended.

“They’re not joking, Gena.” Cubitus stated as if the idea was something he was coming to terms with himself, “The ponies here give love away. They’ve given me more in the last couple of days than I’ve had in weeks.”

There was a long, tense pause, as Gena seemed to wrestle with her thoughts. “No!” Gena said in a sudden burst. She took steps back from the hugging foals. “We’re supposed to sneak in and take it!”

“We don’t have to anymore,” Kevin said. “Gena why are you-”

“Pretending to be a pony is what I live for, Kevin! I love it, and I’m good at it! Being able to hug, play, and have fun while feeling the rush of making sure I’m blending in is the only thing I have! It’s the only thing that makes getting up for role call and going through a day worth it!”

“We don’t have to pretend anymore,” Cubitus said.

“Then what do we have?! What are we going to do?! What good am I, if I can’t gather love for others! I have nothing else to offer the Hive!” Gena’s emotions seemed to shift to defiance, and she backed further away from our group. “I should have run off with the others when they bolted for it.”

“Agent Gena, at attention!” Spiracle snapped.

Gena, seeming without thought, did as commanded. As if realizing what had happened, she cut her eyes towards Spiracle and looked betrayed.

Spiracle let go of Coxa and faced Gena. “This display is unbecoming of an agent of the Hive.” He nodded to a spot behind Gena. “And you’re about to walk off the platform.”

Gena glanced toward her back hooves, which were too close to the platform’s edge for comfort, looked surprised, then composed herself and returned to standing at attention.

Spiracle turned his head towards the changelings who were still visiting with Mayor Mare and the others. “Agents!” he barked. “Form up on me!”

The changelings, including Coxa and Cubitus, formed two lines with impressive precision and little noise.

“What are you doing?” Mayor Mare said, her voice tinted with fearful concern.

“Addressing something with my fellow agents I should have a while ago,” Spiracle said, without a hint of hostility but with sterness. “I believe the ponies here should witness this too.” After giving the school foals and the other ponies on the platform a moment to come closer, Spiracle turned his attention back to Gena. “Agent Gena, repeat what you said about leaving us.”

Gena swallowed. “I should have run off with the others.”

“If you had somehow sneaked away, what would that have accomplished?” Spiracle asked.

“I could return to the hive to get new orders, as my duty required, Sir,” Gena said as if speaking from a script.

“You’re duty would have demanded you stay with your fellow ‘failed’ changelings and suffer whatever fate came to us, as the Queen decreed.” Spiracle moved closer to Gena and lowered his head so he could look her in the eye. “Even if you had made it back to the Hive, do you think you would have gotten mercy from the Queen, after hearing the ‘pep talk’ she gave us before we set out?”

Gena blanched. “No, Sir.”

“Do you know why I didn’t run when our ruse failed or slink away when an opportunity presented itself?” Spiracle asked her.

“No, Sir,” Gena said.

“My duty to do what is right by my fellow changelings and, on the very slim chance that Coxa had not been captured too, that her success would mean she and our egg would be spared the Queen’s wrath,” Spiracle stated.

Berry made an uneasy noise and pulled Pinch into a protective embrace.

“Something’s going through that head of yours,” Spiracle said. “Speak, Agent.”

“I think I understand, Sir,” Gena said. “You were loyal to the Hive by not returning to it, and I should follow your example.”

“You think I did what I did out of loyalty to the Hive?” Spricale snorted. “The knowledge that the ponies had a good chance of winning, disposing the Queen, and saving my comrades, my mate, and our egg is what made me stay.”

Gena’s eyes widened in shock. A few of the changelings fidgeted and expressed unease, but stayed in position and silent.

Spiracle raised to his full height and addressed the lines of changelings. “I want you to consider that had we returned to the Hive we would have been executed, or far worse. While that fate would have awaited any of us had we gone ‘home,’ the first thing I saw here when I got off that train was a filly of an supposed enemy hugging my mate.” He paused for a moment, as if to let the implications sink in with the agents. “Have any of you sensed animosity from anypony here?”

Spiracle walked back and forth in front of the lines of changelings. He made three circuits, without receiving a response, and stopped. “No? Nor have I. Whether or not we accept it, our previous lives are gone. The Hive is gone. The Queen is gone. We are going to have to depend on the ponies for more than providing us with scraps of love we can sneak off with. We have to rebuild our entire society on both the physical and social levels and we cannot do it without them.”

Gena trembled and tears went down her face.

Dinky started toward Gena.

“Dinky, no,” Noi warned in a whisper.

“She’s hurting and scared,” Dinky whispered back, after pausing in her steps. “She needs somepony.”

Spiracle turned back to Gena. “It’s going to be hard for a while, but this upheaval is affording us a chance to have a better future if we stick by each other and work together.”

Dinky took another step.

“Dinky!” Pinch hissed through her teeth.

“You might as well give up,” Rumble said, as Dinky sneaked another slow step.

Spiracle turned his attention to Dinky.

Dinky froze and her ears pinned back. She gave Spiracle a nervous smile.

Spiracle studied Dinky for a moment. “Yes?”

Dinky did not say a word, but glanced at Gena with clear meaning.

Spiracle grinned and looked at Gena. “I have to agree, having ponies give us love will not be as exciting as stealing it, but it makes things simpler.” He nodded to Dinky and made a motion with a hoof for her to proceed.

“Thank you!” Dinky said with exuberance, and then hurried the last few steps between her and Gena.

“Ask first!” Amethyst reminded Dinky.

“Can I hug-” Gena hugged Dinky before she could finish. Dinky hugged her back and giggled. “I guess so.”

“You just ruined the whole discipline thing you had going on there,” Coxa said, as she relaxed her posture.

Spiracle gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I’m not sure why anybuggy listened to me in the first place, considering there’s not an army anymore.”

“We need somebuggy to keep us organized,” Cubitus said. “Our team leader bailed on us, and you’re keeping everybuggy calm, so you’re the logical choice for a ‘commanding officer’ to help us through this.”

Spiracle looked uncertain. “Thanks for the compliment, and I’d be glad to help everybuggy get through this until we can get a real chain of command established again, but I think I’m through being an officer.”

“Would you consider being a ‘representative’ for the time being?” Mayor Mare asked. “Radius seemed to like the title, when he was working with us.”

Spiracle thought about it for a moment, and nodded. “That would work.”

As everypony returned to mixing and mingling, I noticed Cubitus break away from the other changelings and approach Kevin. His eyes showed with curiosity as he asked Kevin, “Was that her getting excited?”

“You mean Dinky?” Noi asked and then sorted. “That wasn’t even a warm up.”

“She’s right,” Kevin confirmed.

“Really?” Cubitus asked. He looked at Dinky, who was still being held by Gena, with an intrigued expression.

Gena leaned her head over, so she could look past Dinky, and asked, “What’s with that look?”

Cubitus blushed and blanked his expression. “Nothing!”

“Don’t lie to me. I can hear your brain buzzing from here.” Gena sniffed, wiped her tears away with a hoof, and then grinned. “Do you have a thing for this cutie here, Cubi?”

Cubitus said in a careful tone, with a light blush tinting his cheeks, “She’s been kind to me ever since I got caught.”

“That wasn’t much of an answer,” Gena raised a mischievous eyebrow. “Since you’re not that interested, I think I’ll keep her for myself then.” She made a show of snuggling into Dinky a bit more. “I know a good pony when I hug one, and she has to be one of the best out there.”

While Cubitus stammered an incoherent response, Kevin, Piña, and Noi laughed.

“Wow, Dinks!” Amethyst teased, “You’ve got ponies you just met competing over you!”

Somehow looking pleased and mortified, Dinky blushed crimson.

Coxa reached out and took Spiracle’s hoof with hers. “We’re going to make it,” she whispered.

Spiracle smiled, nodded, and leaned his shoulder against Coxa’s. “We will.”

Chapter 37

After putting my tape measure aside, I took a couple of steps back from the display window. I sat on my haunches and made a frame with my forehooves.

“She will be there.” I moved my hooves to the left. “He will be there.” I made a downward move with my hooves. “The table with the-”

The store’s front door opened, cutting me off mid-sentence.

Piña stuck her head inside. “Hello, Uncle Pin. Can we come in for a bit? We saw you working on something through the window. We don’t want to bother you, if you’re busy.”

“Come on in. I was double checking to see if what I had planned was going to fit in the display window and trying to picture how it was going to look.”

Piña entered the store, followed by Dinky, Noi, Cubitus in his bat pony form, Rumble, and a pegasus filly with a white coat and pale-green mane I did not recognize. Brass and Silent, both of whom were in their full barding followed the foals in.

“You’re missing ponies,” I half joked.

“Pinch and Kevin are helping with getting things ready along with Sis,” Dinky said. “Mister Filter went with them.”

The pegasus filly looked around the shop and smiled. “There’s all sorts of neat stuff in here!”

“Thank you, Gena,” I said, recognizing her voice, and gave her an appreciative bow of my head.

Gena looked at me. “What are you working on?”

“Planning a new display for me and my... hopeful business partner.”

Gena tilted her head. “Hopeful?”

“I haven’t asked Coco to be my partner yet,” I explained. “I’m going to, when she comes back.”

Cubitus’ ears went up. “Is Coco the mare in the pictures on the desk in the room Kevin and I are in?”

“She is,” I confirmed.

Gena gave me a supportive smile. “You miss her.”

I nodded, as my ears fell a touch. “I do.”

“She’ll be here in a couple of weeks,” Piña said in a supportive tone.

“I know, but that feels like a long way off.” I shook my head to clear my thoughts and get my ears back up. “Never mind about that. How’s the tour going?”

“They’ve kept a good pace,” Silent said. “We’ve hit about all the major spots in town.”

I smiled at Gena. “I see you chose to be a pegasus filly.”

Gena grinned and turned a full circle as if showing off a new outfit. “Do you like it?”

“I do,” I told her. “What do you think of Ponyville so far?”

“It’s great! I like it a lot better than Appleloosa. It’s not so dusty and hot and there are a lot more ponies here.”

Good thing Braeburn didn’t hear that, I thought to myself. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Ponyville has one problem for her, though,” Cubitius said. “She’s got serious competition for hugs. She gets jealous when somepony beats her to one too.”

“Me? Jealous? Humph!” Gena stuck her nose in the air. “I don’t have to be jealous. I can get hugs from Dinky or her mom any time I want.”

“Says the nymph who trotted in place and gave Piña’s mom puppy eyes when she hugged Piña and Pinch goodbye this morning,” Cubitus prodded.

“She gave me a hug too,” Gena said. “I just had to wait my turn.”

“What is it with you and hugs away?” Rumble asked. “I thought changelings don’t do hugs.”

“We don’t hug in the Hi-” Gena paused, cleared her throat, and started her explanation again, “I like hugs, because they’re comfy, friendly, and wonderful all around. They’re also one of the best ways to get love from ponies.”

“That doesn’t mean you have to use hugs to get love every time,” Cubitus told her. “You know there are other ways.”

“Yes,” Gena agreed. “They’re not as fun, though. With hugs you can learn a lot about ponies by how they hug and what they’re feeling when they hug you.”

“What things can you learn?” Brass asked, with one of his ears angled out in curiosity.

Gena hummed a contemplative note. “I’m not sure how to explain it. It’s different for each pony.”

“Hug Uncle Pin and tell us what you get from him,” Piña said. “Maybe then we can get an idea.” She glanced at me. “If that’s okay.”

“Sure,” I agreed.

Gena trotted up to me and gave me a hug. I returned the hug, feeling more self-conscious about hugging another pony than I had in a while.

“Relax,” she prompted me and gave me a light squeeze. “I’m not testing you or anything.”

I did my best to do as she asked.

Gena giggled and let go of me. “He’s caring and sweet, but very reserved,” she declared. “I can’t tell much more than that.”

“Sorry for the sub-par hug,” I said, feeling as if I had let her down.

Gena looked up at me and smiled. “That was a good hug, but you were thinking about it too much.” She turned to Piña. “He doesn’t give hugs that often does he?”

“He does, but only to ponies he’s known for a while,” Piña told her.

Gena shook her head. “That’s so sad. Giving and getting hugs is one of the best things about being a pony.”

“I have an idea,” Silent said. “You don’t have to be touching him to sense what he’s feeling when he’s giving a hug right?” he asked Gena.

Gena shook her head. “No, but I have to be pretty close.”

“Let’s try something.” Silent asked me, “Do you have anything cuddly around?”

“What about a blanket from the nest?” Dinky said, turning her head to look toward the back of the shop, before I could answer.

“That would work,” Silent told her.

Dinky asked me with excitement, “Can I go get one?”

“Sure. I folded them up and put them on the counter next to where the nest was.”

Dinky sprinted towards the back.

“What’s gotten under her saddle?” Noi asked.

“No clue,” Rumble said.

“I do,” Gena said and grinned. “There are hugs involved.”

It did not take long for Dinky to come trotting back. “I got the biggest one out of the pile!”

“That’s perfect,” Silent said. “Give the blanket to Pin, please.”

Dinky offered me the blanket, and I thanked her as I took it.

“All right, Pin,” Silent said. “Fold that up to a comfy size and hug it.”

Feeling silly, I folded up the blanket into a tighter bundle and wrapped my forelegs around it.

Silent snorted. “That’s not a hug! Hold it like you would hug Coco.”

Without thinking, I adjusted how I held the blanket so it made more contact with me and I leaned my head as if I were going to touch my head to Coco’s.

“Better,” Gena said, as she moved closer to me. “I still need a bit more.”

“Close your eyes and think about her,” Silent prompted.

Closing my eyes, I did my best to imagine I was holding Coco. I smiled and recalled a time she and I had cuddled on the couch wrapped in her blanket as she told me about one of her favorite plays.

“Whoa, that made a big difference,” Cubitus said. “I could feel something all the way from over here.”

“It sure did!” Gena said. She smiled and closed her eyes as if concentrating. “Now I can tell he’s a big romantic and cuddler deep down too.”

Piña looked at Silent. “How did you know that would work?”

Silent gave her a wistful smile. “I know what it’s like to miss somepony special and want to give them a hug.”

Noi’s ears snapped up, as she looked out the display window. “Miss Sassy?!”

“That would be her.” Silent said, looking a bit confused. “Why did you say her name like that?”

The store’s door opened and in stepped Sassy Saddles. She paused, as those of us who knew her stared at her in collective surprise.

Sassy glanced over her shoulder. “What? Is something going on I should know about?”

“That’s a pretty neat trick,” Piña said.

Sassy turned back to face us and asked Piña, “What trick?”

“Silent was talking about you, and you appeared,” Noi said.

“I didn’t intend to, but I’ll take lucky happenstances whenever I can get them.” Sassy cut her eyes toward Silent and asked, “What has Silent being saying about me?”

“That he knows what Pin’s going through not being able to see Coco, and he couldn’t wait to see you again and hug you,” Piña said.

“Oh?” Sassy raised a teasing eyebrow and told Silent, “Too bad you’re in uniform or I’d give you more than a hug. I-” She paused, as her eyes drifted to Cubitus. She glanced back at Silent and then again to Cubitus. “Silent, why is there a miniature version of you here?”

“Because of me,” Dinky said, holding up a hoof. “I wanted to know if he could copy a bat pony.”

“He can, and he does it well,” Sassy said. “The only thing you're missing are Silent’s eyes, or you’d be a perfect colt sized version of him.”

“Dinky asked me to keep my blue eyes,” Cubitus told her, blushing.

“I can understand why. They are quite pretty.” Sassy held out her hoof to Cubitus. “Sassy Saddles.”

“Cubitus,” he responded and shook her hoof.

Sassy turned to Gena and offered her hoof. “You must be another of the recent additions to Ponyville then.”

Gena nodded and shook Sassy’s hoof. “I’m Gena.”

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Sassy asked, “How did you two beat the rush here?”

Gena and Cubitus glanced at each other.

“We got a head start,” Cubitus told Sassy in a wary tone.

Sassy raised an eyebrow. “Something tells me there’s a bit more to the story.”

“We were on the infiltration teams,” Gena said with a worried smile.

Sassy gasped, “No!” She looked at Silent. “Please, tell me she’s joking.”

“She’s not,” Silent said.

“They sent foals to invade?!” Sassy sounded disgusted and horrified. “That’s monstrous! What were they thinking?! Were they thinking?!”

“I’m good at scavenging for love by blending into crowds, and Gena is small, skilled at acting like a pony, and a hug fanatic,’ Cubitus said. “Me being on the Ponyville support team and her taking Flurry Heart’s place made strategic sense to our superiors.”

“No part of what you said makes sense,” Sassy insisted. “Sending foals is cruel and, no offense, but I would think that it would raise the likelihood of something going wrong.”

Gena looked guilt stricken and looked down.

“Gena?” Cubitus said.

“I’m the one that blew our cover in the Empire,” Gena confessed, keeping her eyes on the floor. “I tried my best, but somehow Sunburst knew I wasn’t Flurry. The others on the team realized what was going on and stuck him in a pod before he could blow our cover.”

Dinky hugged Gena. “It’s okay. If you tried your best, nopony could ask more of you.”

Rumble scooted closer to me. “Is is weird that Dinks is comforting her for failing to take us over or is it just me?” he whispered

I chuckled. “A little,” I whispered back. “But I’m not going to say anything to Dinky. Are you?”

“No,” Rumble admitted.

“If your team got Sunburst before he could warn anypony, who found you out?” Cubitus asked.

“Thorax,” Gena said, as she hugged Dinky back.

Cubitus snorted. “That proves the entire operation was doomed from the start. How did he get involved? I thought he had gone into hiding, or something like that.”

“Our intelligence was wrong,” Gena told him. “He was helping take care of Flurry while disguised,”

Cubitus’ mouth fell open. “You’re kidding me.”

“We couldn’t set things up for one of the support team changelings to take Sunburst’s place fast enough. Thorax came to, ‘help take care of Flurry until Burst gets back,’ before we were ready. He realized what was going on and alerted the Crystal Guard. If it hadn’t been for our team chasing him out of the palace and Spiracle convincing the Crystal Guard Thorax had run off because he had tried to pull a ‘changeling plot from the inside’ they would have caught us sooner.”

“What was Chrysalis thinking when she came up with this scheme?” Sassy said, looking perplexed. “It’s not like the ponies around the most beloved and important figures in our kingdom wouldn’t notice something was off.”

“She wanted to gather as much love as possible, while the replacement teams kept their act up. Even when that part of the plan failed she would still have the Elements and the royals as hostages for ransom,” Cubitus said.

“You mean she realized things would fall apart from the beginning?” Sassy asked, her eyes wide.

“Yes,” Cubitus said with bitterness in his voice.

“She didn’t care what happened to you?” Sassy said, sounding astounded.

“I think losing most of the members of the teams was part of the plan,” Cubitus said. “She picked the softies of the hive to be the impersonators because they were the ones who could act like ponies the best out of all of us. In her eyes, if they were captured the Hive would be losing nothing. For those of us who were ‘friends to traitors’ if we were lost she was getting rid of potential problems. She also made sure the impersonators had connections back at the hive she could leverage to make sure they wouldn’t warn anypony about what was going on or go A.W.O.L. like Thorax did.”

Sassy’s face paled. “When you say ‘leverage’ are we talking about...”

“Sass, she sent a mom and dad here knowing they had an egg back at the Hive,” Silent said.

The unspoken implications of Silent’s statement chilled the air.

“We were fodder,” Cubitus said. He looked to the floor and angry tears went down his face. “No, we were trash to be thrown out.”

Dinky moved toward Cubitus, but froze and looked at Gena, who was still in her forelegs.

Gena gave Dinky a teary, understanding smile and guided Dinky over to Cubitus so they both could hug him.

“Chrysalis deserves to be locked in the deepest pits of Tartarus with all the other monsters,” Sassy said.

“If we catch her, that might be where she goes,” Brass said. “She’s earned it.”

After composing herself, Sassy put her nose in the air and waved a dismissive hoof in Canterlotian fashion. “Let us not speak of Chrysalis anymore. She’s getting more attention than she deserves.” She looked at me and asked, “Is there a particular reason you’re holding that blanket like it’s precious?”

“He pretended to hug Coco so Gena could tell us what he was feeling,” Noi said.

Sassy grinned. “You’ll be able to get his reaction to hugging the genuine article tomorrow.”

I felt elation and panic at her words and hugged the blanket tighter. “Tomorrow?!”

“I think you broke him,” Cubitus said, his ears pinned back in concern.

“That was a weird mix of emotions,” Gena agreed, making a face as if she had tasted something strange.

“Yes, tomorrow,” Sassy said to me. “Coco and I have been telegraphing back and forth, in case either of us got word about what had happened to Rarity and the others. She and I both got a message from Rarity, via dragon fire, that they were coming back today. Suri and the ponies at the Manehattan shop encouraged her to return to Ponyville early since everything is going so well at the shop.” Sassy raised an eyebrow. “I thought you’d be excited, not panicked about it.”

“I am excited!” I glanced towards the window and then towards the back of the shop. “But nothing’s ready!” I looked out the display window and winced. “The sign’s not even finished!” Almost frantic, I used my magic to take apart a section of the display that was in the window. I put the pieces from the display in disorganized piles on the floor. “There’s no way I’m going to get everything set up in time and I can’t miss everypony coming back and greeting the changelings!”

Sassy turned to Piña. “Could you please explain to me why your ‘uncle’ is unhinging?”

“He’s setting up some special plans for Ms. Coco,” Piña said.

“Plans?” Sassy’s ears angled out. “What plans?”

“The long term type,” Silent said. “You can’t tell it from the front, but he had an expansion added to the workroom and upstairs. He wanted them done before Coco got back and they sat down and discussed a long term ‘partnership’.”

Sassy’s mouth made an ‘O’ of understanding. “That kind of partnership!” Sassy put a hoof on my shoulder, making me pause in my deconstruction of the window display. Several items remained hovering mid-air in my magic, as she told me, “Put those down, show me the expansions, and then I’ll help you set up as much as we can get done.”

“I would love the help, but there’s so much I haven’t pulled together I wouldn’t even know where you could start!” I said. “I’ve go to figure out what I’m going to do about the sign and-”

Sassy put a hoof over my mouth. “Stop freaking out and breathe.”

“Es, a’am,” I said with my mouth closed, getting giggles out of Gena and Noi.

“Better.” Sassy lifted her hoof from my mouth and patted my nose. “Focus on the major things we’ll need to do, first. We can fill the rest as best we can after that. I agree, we cannot miss anything today, so you’re going to need to calm down and focus.

I nodded, swallowed, and assured her, “I can do that.”

“According to the telegram Coco sent me, she won’t be coming in until tomorrow afternoon, so we have time to work with.” Sassy turned to the others. “The rest of you, out. I’m sure you have things you need to do.” She made a shooing motion with her forehooves, directing everypony to the shop's door. “We have a lot of work to get done and cute foals or handsome guards can ’t distract us.”

“Are you talking about him or me?” Silent kidded and indicated Brass with a tilt of his head.

“You’re both quite nice on the eyes so you’ll both have to go,” Sassy said.

“Well, if we're going to be thrown out at least she’s complementing us as we go out the door,” Brass said. He went to the door and opened it. “We all heard the lady. Out we go.”

“You,” Sassy said, making eye contact with Silent. “Since I can’t get a hug out of you now, I expect a double serving later.”

“I can do that,” Silent said.

“Would you like a hug right now?” Dinky asked.

“Of course I would,” Sassy said. “I’ll take as many as I can get.”

Gena’s ears snapped up. “From us too?”

“If you’d like to,” Sassy said.

Cubitus chuckled, as Gena pranced in place with glee. “She’d like to.”

Sassy hugged each of the fillies. When Gena gave her a hug, Gena held onto her for a second as if savoring something.

“What are you getting from her?” Noi asked.

“Spicy-sweet and fun,” Gena said.

Silent smiled and nodded. “That sums her up.”

Sassy let go of Gena and turned to Cubitus. “I can’t hug my bat pony, but at least I get to hug one,” Sassy said and hugged him. “My goodness! You even got the texture of Silent’s coat. That’s impressive.”

“Thank you,” Cubitus said, looking pleased with himself, and let Sassy go.

“Dinky, I have a tip for you,” Sassy said. She tickled the tuft at the tip of one of Cubitus’ ears, making him blush. “Go for the ears.”

“Thanks! I will.” As if realizing what she said, Dinky blushed and ducked her head.

Cubitus, his blush a stronger red, stared at Dinky.

“No, we won’t let you live that down,” Piña said, as she motioned for the other foals to follow her.

“Nope,” Noi agreed, as she and the others trotted out the door.

After the door shut, Sassy tapped a hoof on the floor in frustration. “Drat!”

“What?” I asked.

“I just thought of something I should have asked Cubitus.” Sassy shrugged. “It’s all right. I’m sure I’ll get another chance.” She turned to me and grinned. “Now, what about that tour of the expansions?”

*****

“Very nice,” Sassy said, as she made a minor change to how the dress rested on the poniquen. She paused and tilted her head. “She’s missing something, though. The dress makes it apparent she’s supposed to be Coco, but it needs something that would remove any doubt it’s her.”

“A flower,” I said and smiled. “She always has her flower barrette in her hair or a flower tucked behind her ear.” I touched the corresponding spot on the poniquin’s head with a hoof. “Right there. Since the poniquin doesn’t have mane, maybe we could use a headband like the flapper mares used to wear to hold it in place?” I thought about it for a moment and nodded. “A flapper’s hat would work too. We could pin the flower to it or tuck it in behind a hat band.”

Sassy gave me an approving look. “I like that idea. There should be something like that at Carousel Boutique.”

A pair of fillies and the shadows of three flying ponies rushed past the shop’s window.

Sassy leaned, trying to get a better angle to see out the window. “I think that was Dinky and Pinch.”

As if hearing their names, Dinky and Piña rushed into the shop, their steps energized with excitement.

“They’re passing the edge of the Everfree Forest!” Dinky announced. “They sent a Wonderbolt to give everypony a heads up.”

“Sorry, we’d walk with you there, but we’ve got to go tell Sis and Barrel,” Piña said.

The fillies turned and raced out the door, causing Cubitus and Rumble to jump apart to avoid being run over by the fillies.

“I thought we were supposed to be the fast ones,” Cubitus said, sounding winded. “We’re the ones with wings.”

Rumble grinned. “Not when they’re wound up.”

“Looks like all that training has paid off,” I told Rumble.

Rumble puffed up with pride. “Our group has the fastest fillies in Ponyville, no matter what Scootaloo says.”

“Good luck catching them,” Sassy told the colts.

“Thanks!” Cubitus said. “We’re going to need it.” He and Rumble turned, took to the air, and flew after the fillies.

Silent stuck his head in the door and grinned. “We’ll see you there,” he told us, before ducking back out and then taking off after the foals. “Wait up!” he called after the foals. “I’m supposed to be guarding you!”

“I love that goof,” Sassy said. “He’s nothing but a big colt in Lunar Guard armor.”

“Shall we head out to greet everypony?” I asked.

“Let’s,” Sassy said.

After I locked up the shop, Sassy and I walked towards the edge of town.

“You’re a lot calmer now,” Sassy noted.

“Thanks to you. I can’t believe how fast we’ve been able to pull the display together.”

“Fashion in Canterlot is always changing, so I get a lot of practice putting displays up and taking them down. I’m glad I love doing displays, or it would get tedious real fast.”

“Hold on a second!” A voice called from the air. “I’ll walk with you,” Muffins said. A second after her hooves touched the ground, Muffins yelped and stumbled.

“Got you!” Sassy said and caught Muffins with her magic before she could fall.

“Thanks!” Muffins said, as she hovered just off the ground in Sassy’s magical hold. She sighed in relief and patted her saddlebags with a hoof. “I’ve had to pick these up once today, I’d rather not do it again.”

Sassy put Muffins on the ground and gave her a hug. “How are you doing with all the excitement going on?”

“I’m doing great.” Muffins returned Sassy’s hug. “It’s good to see you. When did you get into town?”

“This morning,” Sassy said. “I couldn’t stand it. I had to be here to greet Rarity and the others when they got back.” She smiled. “Seems Dinky and the others found you.”

“They did,” Muffins said.

“I told you we’d catch up to them if we trotted!” Piña told somepony as they approached from behind us.

I turned and saw Piña and Dinky leading Berry, Barrel, Cubitus, Rumble, and Silent towards us at a brisk pace. Dinky ran from the group, up to Muffins, and then gave her a big hug. “Hello again, Mom.”

“Hello sweetheart,” Muffins said. She hugged Dinky back and nuzzled the top of her head.

“Hey, Sassy,” Berry greeted. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“I don’t think anypony here knew,” Sassy said. “It was a last minute thing, and I didn’t have time to get a message sent in this direction.”

There was some noise from the crowd of ponies down the road from us.

“They must be getting close,” Barrel said, as he and the others trotted closer. “Come on you four. We don’t want to miss this.”

As we all trotted to join the crowd, Pinch waved us over to where she, Coxa, Gena, Matilda, Brass, Cranky, Spiracle, Kevin, and Fitler were standing.

“There’s something strange going on,” Spiracle said. “I’m seeing too much color on those changelings.”

“Are they wearing something?” Coxa asked.

“No,” Kevin said, his ears up. “They’re different. Look! They’ve changed body shapes and everything.”

Turner trotted up to our group from the direction of Mayor Mare’s greeting party at the front of the crowd. “It seems the rumors that the changelings at the center of the event metamorphosed were true.”

Cubitus stared at the approaching changelings. “Do you feel that?”

“Feel what?” Brass asked.

“I can pick them up like I do the ponies,” Coxa said in a tone of surprise.

“I do too,” Spiracle said, sounding as if he was having trouble believing it.

“You’re right!” Kevin said.

“That shouldn’t be possible,” Pinch said. “Changelings don’t give off emotional magic.”

“That means they have changed,” Dinky said.

There were a couple of chaotic minutes as the group of changelings, the royals, the Guard members, and the crowd merged. The dignitaries of the groups exchanged greetings, the Elements embraced family and friends, the Princesses were beset with well-wishers, and the changelings sought out their friends and family members.

“Cubi?!” A familiar voice called.

Cubitus looked around as if searching for the source of the voice. “We’re over here!”

“There they are,” June Bug said, as she led a blue changeling with orange eyes towards us through the throng.

Making eye contact with Cubitus, the blue changeling struck a pose and grinned. “How do you like the new look?”

Cubitus gasped, “Radi?!” He went still as if he had experienced something unexpected.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“He’s happy to see me,” Cubitus said. “I can feel he’s happy to see me.”

“Give him a hug,” Dinky said, and gave Cubitus an encouraging pat on the back.

After a moment’s hesitation, Cubitus gave Radius a stiff hug. For a moment there was not much of a response from either changeling towards the other. After a couple more seconds, they relaxed and the hug became comfortable for both of them.

Gena pranced in place, grinned, and made excited noises. She turned to look at Dinky, who was smiling a smile of her own, and declared, “I need a hug too!” She hugged Dinky, who giggled and hugged her back.

“He’s not holey anymore,” Noi pointed out.

Radius laughed. He held out hoof and then rotated his foreleg as if inspecting it. “Nope. All my holes filled in.”

“What happened?” Cubitus asked, looking up to his older brother. “Why did everybuggy change?”

“Thorax and the princesses are trying to figure that out,” Radius said. “Princess Twilight and Starlight think it might have had something to do with when we interrupted the throne’s ability to pull magic from us.”

“Could we change too?” Kevin asked.

Radius smiled and nodded. “You should be able to.” His smile faltered as if he had thought about something unpleasant. “First, though, Thorax asked me to find you and Gena. He wants to talk with you about something.”

“Okay,” Kevin said. He glanced at Gena and they exchanged uneasy looks.

Radius let go of Cubitus and led the two nymphs away.

“What’s going on?” Dinky asked Cubitus.

Cubitus shook his head. “I don’t know, but it’s not good.”

“How bad?” Pinch asked.

“I don’t know,” he answered.

Dinky took in a worried breath.

“Sassy whatever are you doing here?!” Rarity called out, as she moved through the crowd. She smiled, as her eyes went over our group. “Oh my! Sweetie Belle was right, everypony in town is here to see us back.”

“I was so worried about you!” Sassy trotted up to Rarity, hugged her close, and nuzzled her mane. “Don’t you ever let yourself get ponynapped again!”

“I don’t plan on it darling,” Rarity said, returning Sassy’s hug. “However, I didn’t plan on getting ponynapped the previous times either, so I can’t promise it won’t happen again.” She looked at Cubitus and tilted her head. “You seem familiar.”

“This is Cubitus, a nymph they sent here with their team,” Dinky told her. “He copied Silent for me.”

Rarity gave a polite nod to Cubitus. “Pleased to meet you.” She paused, looked at Dinky, and raised an eyebrow. “Why did he copy Silent for you?”

Dinky blushed. “I wanted to see if he could.”

“They’re coming back,” Noi said. “Something’s not right,” she said and bit her lower lip.

As Kevin walked back with Gena, he stayed close to her as if trying to comfort her. Gena brushed aside his concern with smiles and an upbeat affectation.

“She’s hurting,” Dinky said.

“If what I think has happened, she’s going to need support,” Spiracle said, looking at Dinky and Cubitus.

“What do you think is going on?” Berry asked, her tone concerned.

Before Spiracle could answer, Gena and Kevin rejoined us.

There was an uneasy moment of silence, and then Pinch asked Kevin, “Are you two okay?”

Kevin gave Pinch a worried look. “I’m fine, but-”

Gena interrupted, “I’m fine too.” Her smile became more fragile. She sat down, and her chest rose and fell with restrained emotion. “We’re going to be staying in Ponyville a while longer.”

“That’s great,” Piña said in a careful tone. “For how long?”

Tears went down her cheeks, but Gena continued to smile. “I don’t know.”

“You’re not ‘fine’!” Dinky said and moved towards Gena.

Gena held up a warding hoof, causing Dinky to stop short of reaching her. “Thanks, but,” she said and sniffed. “If you hug me right now, I’ll cry.”

“Gena, we have to tell them,” Kevin said. “You need a hug too.”

“We can tell them later,” Gena said. “This is supposed to be a happy time, I can’t…” She sniffed again and her smile faltered. “I can’t cry right now.”

Cubitus demanded in a kind but firm tone, “Gena, tell us what’s going on.”

Gena sniffed, dropped her hoof in a dejected motion, and let her head fall. “Our parents aren’t coming for us.”

“How could they not come for their foals?” Berry whispered in a horrified tone.

“They’ve joined a group of renegade changelings who want to live like we had been,” Kevin said, as Dinky hugged Gena. “They left us behind.”

Gena wrapped her forelegs around Dinky, rested her head on Dinky’s shoulder, and then broke down into sobbing.

Cubitus looked torn about what to do. He glanced towards Radius, who appeared to be just as uncertain.

“Hold these for me, please,” Muffins said to Turner, as she gave him her saddlebags and mailmare’s hat. Muffins took both the fillies in her wings and hugged them to her.

“We’re keeping her,” Berry said with finality.

Barrel blinked twice and then turned to look at his wife. “I don’t think that’s quite how it works.”

“If I have to march over to the Sisters right now and have them declare it, I will,” Berry said. “We’re keeping her.”

Turner gave a polite cough behind a hoof. “She’s been spoken for. She will be staying with the changelings in the caverns next to Maud’s home.”

Radius told Berry, “We planned things with Mayor Mare, in case something like this happened.”

Pinch turned to Kevin. “Are you...”

“He’ll still be staying with us,” Cranky said.

Kevin looked at Cranky with wide eyes.

Matilda gave Kevin a warm smile. “We’d love to have you, if you’d like to stay, is what he means. We’re the other part of the ‘we’ that Radius mentioned who talked with Mayor Mare.”

“I would love to stay with you!” Kevin rushed to the pair of donkeys and hugged them both.

Cranky chuckled. “We’ll just have to work out how much rent we’re going to charge you to make it official,” he teased.

“Cranky!” Matilda mock scolded, smiling all the while. “We will do no such thing.”

“Radius,” Spiracle said.

Radius snapped to attention. “Sir!”

“At ease, agent. I’m out of a job, if you haven’t heard. You don’t have to do that anymore.” Spiracle made a gesture with a hoof that took in Radius’ form from his hooves to the tips of his ears. “I’d like a more detailed explanation of how… this happened to you and the others.””

“Oh, that,” Radius said, looking down at himself. “Thanks to Starlight and Thorax, we learned how to give love instead of taking it. When we started sharing love, we changed.”

Dinky’s ears shot up. “You can give love now?!”

“Twilight and Starlight think they always could,” Rarity said. “The problem was Chrysalis was draining all the love of the changelings to gain power only to have it taken from her by her throne.”

“Leaving her and the hive always starving,” Pinch reasoned.

“It was more dreadful than that,” Rarity said. “The throne interfered with any life around the Hive. That’s why nothing grows around it. Twilight and Starlight hope that with the throne gone things will grow around the hive so they can produce food of their own. Twilight believes it was also the principal cause of the changeling’s inability to share emotions with each other for so long, but she’s going to need to do a lot of research to prove her theory.”

“How?” Kevin said, with a desperate curiosity in his voice. “How do we give love?”

“You’re pretty close to doing it now,” Radius said and nodded toward Matilda and Cranky. “Keep holding onto them, close your eyes, and, I’m not sure this will make sense, but ‘push’ affection from you towards them instead of pulling.”

Kevin turned back to Matilda and Cranky, held on to them tighter, closed his eyes, and put his head against Matilda’s chest.

“You should feel something uncork and-” Radius smiled as Kevin glowed with an inner light.

I shielded my eyes with a hoof, as the light from Kevin became stronger. There was a hum of magical power, a snapping pop of a noise, and the light faded.

“Did it work?” Kevin said, not opening his eyes.

Matilda laughed. “Yes, sweetheart, it worked.”

Kevin opened his now orange eyes, let go of Matilda and Cranky, and raised his now whole and yellow colored hooves. He studied his forelegs with giddy amazement. “I’m fixed!”

Pinch grabbed Kevin in a hug and, with affection, insisted, “You weren’t broken!”

A flash of light to my left and another snapping pop of strong magical forces dissipating drew my attention to where Cubitus and Radius were hugging.

Cubitus kept his eyes shut. “Please tell me I’m not green.”

Radius laughed. “Open your eyes and see.”

Cubitus sighed with relief as he let go of Radius. “I’m orange!”

“You still have your blue eyes,” Dinky noted.

“Of course you’d notice that,” Sassy teased, which got a giggle out of Piña and Noi and a blush out of Dinky.

“What’s wrong with green?” Gena asked in a faux insulted tone, after taking a sniff and cracking a small smile. “You know it’s my favorite color.”

“According to somepony I know, it’s not a suitable color for-” I cut myself off and grinned, as Rarity gave my shoulder a light slap with a hoof.

“Green is a wonderful color for just about anything, if treated with the care it deserves,” Rarity said.

“I think you would be fine in green,” Cubitus told Gena. “It’s just not for me.”

“Would you like to change too?” Coxa asked Gena.

Gena closed her eyes and sniffed. After a second, she shook her head. “It’s okay. I’ll try later. I can’t focus right now.” Dinky looked upset, and Gena touched her forehead to hers. “Don’t feel guilty. If it weren’t for you and your mom, I’d be even more of a crying mess right now.”

“Why don’t we get you someplace a bit more secluded,” Rarity suggested. “A lady should be able to have emotional moments in privacy.”

“We can take her to Pin’s,” Sassy said. “He and I still have some finishing up to do on the display,” she announced, with obvious enjoyment in being able to be the one to head the conversation in its fresh course.

Rarity looked at Sassy with curiosity. “You two are working on a display?”

“Oh, that’s right!” Piña said. “I don’t think Sis and Barrel know.”

“Mom and Dad don’t know either,” Dinky said.

“Know what?” Turner said.

“Coco is coming in tomorrow,” I said.

“But your surprise!” Muffins said. “You can’t have the sign ready yet.”

“It’s not colored, but Filter completed the design, so I’m going to improvise,” I told her. “I think I have a frame that will fit. If not, I’ll scramble and find one.”

“Would somepony please tell me what is going on,” Rarity said. “I’m feeling more than a bit out of the loop.”

“It may be better if he shows you rather than telling you about it, like he did earlier with me,” Sassy said.

“I would love to know what he has planned for Coco, but I must spend more time with Sweetie Belle and my parents.” She looked towards her sister and her parents, who were talking with Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. “They have been so worried about me, I would hate to say hello and then dash off on them.”

“We could all get together at my place and you could have dinner with us, so we could welcome you back and I could tell you about what I’ve got planned.” I flinched, as I thought about the logistics of what I had offered. “Now that I think about it, dinner could be an issue.”

“Why?” Barrel asked. “It’s not like we won’t have room at your place for everypony.”

Rarity gave Barrel an inquisitive look.

“He’s about out of food,” Filter said. He grinned and chuckled. “Foals and guards eat a lot.”

“One guard more than the other,” Silent said, and poked Filter’s ribs with a hoof.

“I was going to go on a shopping trip, but my plans got derailed,” I explained to Rarity. “I need just about everything.”

“We can help with that.” Silent said. “It’s the least we could do, since we’ve been eating all your food.” He looked at the foals. “You ponies up for a supply run? Filter and I could use your help in getting stuff, since we don’t know what shops or market stalls have what.”

“Sure!” Noi said. “We have carrots for sale, if he needs any.”

Berry gave a snort. “When do you and Golden not have carrots for sale? It would be like the Apples showing up for market with no apples.”

I did my best to keep my expression neutral as I told Noi, who was giving an impolite look to Berry, “I would love to have some of your carrots.”

“Speaking of picking things up,” Sassy said. “Rarity, would you mind if Pin and I went to your shop to get an item or two for the display?”

“Of course not, darling,” Rarity said with a wave of her hoof. “Take whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” I said to her. I turned to Coxa, Spiracle, June Bug, and Radius and told them, “You are more than welcome to come over for dinner too.”

“Thanks, but we’re going to be eating with the Elements, the Princesses, Thorax, and the changelings who are going to be settling in here,” Radius said.

“Can we keep Cubitus, Radi?” Gena asked.

Radius nodded. “If he would like to go with you, he can. It’s going to be a meeting dinner, so it will not be the best event for nymphs.”

“You’re more than welcome to come too,” I said to Matilda and Cranky.

“Thank you, dear, but we were invited to dinner a bit earlier,” Matilda said in a modest tone.

Cranky looked towards the foals and chuckled. “You’re going to have enough on your hooves without us old codgers being there anyway.”

“We behave,” Piña said. “Mostly,” she added, after Berry gave her a look and raised an eyebrow.

“I would love to join you all, but my parents, Sweetie Belle, and I revived the same invitation Matilda, Cranky, and Radius did, which is an invitation cannot not turn down. I’ll come by after dinner to find out what you have in mind for our dear Coco, if that wouldn’t be a problem,” Rarity said.

“Not a problem at all,” I assured her.

“We need to get going ourselves,” Spiracle said to Radius. “Coxa and I would like to talk with Thorax for a minute or two, if we can get his attention.”

Gena asked Coxa and Spiracle, “Are you two going to change too?”

“We might do that somewhere more private,” Spiracle said. “I’m not sure how comfortable...” His words trailed off, as Coxa hugged him. He looked down at Coxa and smiled. “Taking a page out of Gena’s book?”

“You know I’ve always liked hugs too.” Coxa gave him an encouraging squeeze. “I’m fine trying right here.”

“If you’re okay with it, I’m game,” Spiracle said. He paused and looked uncertain about what to do.

“Hug her back!” Dinky stage whispered. She smiled, as Spiracle did as she suggested and he and Coxa both glowed.

“I keep telling everybuggy hugs solve just about anything,” Gena said, as the magical humming stopped and the light from Coxa and Spiracle faded.

Spiracle opened one orange eye and then the other. “That wasn’t bad.” He smiled and touched his yellow nose to the top of Coxa’s head. “Thanks for the inspiration.”

“You’re welcome,” Coxa said. She tilted her head back, smiled, and touched her nose to his. “I love you too.”

Spiracle blushed. “I guess it’s going to be a lot tougher to play the hardshell now that everybuggy can feel I love you.”

Coxa giggled. “I’m sure you’ll manage.”

“I’m not too sure about this,” Spiracle said, looking down at himself.“

You shouldn’t worry about a thing,” Coxa said. “You look quite handsome.”

Spiracle smiled. “And you’re beautiful. Blue’s a good color for you.”

Coxa touched her cheek with a hoof. “Too bad we don’t have a mirror.”

“They’re a lovely carnation pink, if you’re wondering,” Rarity said.

“A mom’s color,” Pinch said.

“Fitting, since she’s one of the hive’s nursery care givers and has a hatchling on the way,” Radius said.

Kevin started as if jolted by a thought. “Dinky, did you take the detector home with you?”

Dinky nodded. “It’s in Dad’s workshop.”

“Could we go get it, while we’re running around?” he asked.

“Sure,” Dinky said. “What do you need it for?”

“I want to test something, if we get a chance,” Kevin said, in an evasive tone. His eyes went to Pinch for a split second, and then he glanced away.

*****

“Piña!” Pinch tossed a bag of carrots to her aunt, who caught them and put them in the refrigerator.

“Send the lettuce my way, please,” I requested.

“Incoming,” Pinch said and lobbed three heads of lettuce towards me.

“Got it,” I said, and caught the heads of lettuce in my magic. I put the lettuce on a cutting board to prepare the evening’s salads.

“They’re crazy,” Gena said, her head following the path of a loaf of bread through the air to Piña.

“Noi!” Pinch called and sailed a bag of sugar to her.

Noi caught the sugar and put it in a cabinet. “Good toss.”

“I think you’re right, but they’re efficient,” Sassy said, as she watched Piña, Pinch, Noi, Kevin, and I put away the groceries using Barrel’s “soar and store” method.

“Next time, I get a station!” Silent grinned, as he watched our organized chaos. “That looks like too much fun.”

Filter shook his head as if not believing what he was seeing. “When Pin said they could get the groceries put away in no time, I thought he was going to use a spell.”

“This is so much cooler!” Cubitus said grinning.

“Five more!” Pinch declared, before tossing the items to the ponies standing in the spots closest to where the items were to be put away.

“Done!” Pinch declared, as Piña put away the baking soda.

Dinky, Gena, Cubitus, and Rumble applauded.

“Way to go!” Sassy said and then laughed. “Few ponies can say they got a show with dinner before dinner.”

Pinch grinned. “Dad taught us.”

“Does your mother approve?” Filter said.

“Sis is the designated tosser,” Piña said. She gave me a grin. “Thanks for letting us help. It was fun.”

“You’re welcome.” I gave her a polite bow. “I should be the one thanking all of you.”

“Now that everything is put away, I’m curious about this changeling detector I’ve been hearing about,” Sassy said, looking at Dinky.

Gena’s ears perked up. “You made a changeling detector?”

“That’s sort of what it does,” Dinky said, as she moved towards the kitchen table. “It makes more sense if you see a demonstration,” she said as she took the detector from her saddlebags.

Dinky and Pinch gave a brief overview of what the detector did and how it worked to Gena, Sassy, and Brass. As they talked, Gena moved closer and closer to the detector until her nose was close to touching it.

“It’s kind of a good thing you didn’t change, Gena,” Kevin said. He grinned as Cubitus tapped Gena’s nose with a hoof. “We can see if the detector does anything different if a changed changeling or a non-changed changeling feeds.”

Gena drew back her head and then stuck her tongue out at Cubitus. “I just wanted to look. I didn’t touch it.”

“Give me a second to get ready to take notes, and we can show what it does,” Pinch said. She took a notebook from Dinky’s saddlebags and put it on the table along with a quill and inkwell. After opening her notebook and dipping the quill in the inkwell, she said, “Ready!”

“I’ll ask Mister Brass this time, since we got a reaction from Silent yesterday and we’ve gotten readings from Mister Pin before too,” Dinky said.

“You got a reaction from Silent?” Sassy asked.

“They asked him to think about you,” Piña said.

Pinch giggled, as Sassy looked at Silent with curiosity. “We got very good readings off of him, Miss Sassy.”

“And Kevin and I got a good snack,” Cubitus said.

Sassy gave Silent a teasing look. “When I get you out of that armor they’ll be able to pick us up from across town.”

The gem on the detector closest to Sassy glowed.

“Oh!” Sassy said. She looked over at Pinch. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I hope I didn’t throw anything off.”

“You didn’t,” Pinch said, as the light on the detector faded. “You showed it’s still working fine, though.”

“I take it you want me to think about my ladies back home and see if the nymphs can feed off my love?” Brass asked Dinky.

“If that’s all right,” Dinky said.

“Of course.” He closed his eyes and smiled. “I’m thinking about them now.” The detector signaled it was getting something from him. He opened an eye like a colt peeking while playing a game. “Hey! It’s working.”

“Keep thinking about them,” Pinch encouraged, and Brass closed his eye.

“Nibbling,” Kevin said, and the detector chimed and blinked the gem closest to Kevin.

The device stopped signaling anything for Kevin, who turned to Gena and said, “Take a nibble.”

Gena hesitated for a second, then she concentrated on Brass.

The detector chimed and indicated she was taking love with a glowing gem.

“Perfect!” Pinch said, as she wrote. “Thank you, Mister Brass.”

“Glad to help,” Brass said, opening his eyes. “I didn’t feel a thing.”

“You’re not supposed to,” Gena told him. “We don’t need to hurt anycreature to get the love we need and we don’t want to be found out so we can take love from the same pony again and again.”

“Dinks, you’ll need to take the notes for this one,” Kevin said, sounding nervous. He moved around the table, sat down close to Pinch, and motioned for her to sit in front of him. “Would you sit here for me, please?”

Pinch tilted her head at Kevin’s request, and then a look of realization came to her face. “Kevin, you don’t have to do this,” she said.

“I want to try,” Kevin told her.

Piña’s eyes widened. “Is he…?”

Noi nodded. “I think so.”

Dinky grinned and took Pinch’s previous spot and poised the quill over Pinch’s notebook. “Ready!”

Kevin’s hooves trembled, as he took Pinch’s with his. He leaned forward, touched his horn to Pinch’s, and closed his eyes.

The gem closest to Kevin on the detector glowed.

Piña gasped and hugged Noi and Rumble to her sides.

“Cubi,” Dinky prompted.

Cubitus nodded. “Nibbling,” he announced, and the detector chimed.

Noi whispered, sounding amazed, “It’s just like with a po-”

“Ssh!” Piña whispered.

“Gena, your turn,” Dinky said, trying to act and sound professional but unable to hide the fact she was thrilled.

“I can taste it,” Gena said, smiling, as the detector chimed again. “It’s love.”

Kevin opened his eyes and smiled a relieved smile. He touched his nose to Pinch’s. “I told you I-”

Pinch cut him off with a kiss that had enough energy behind it to make Kevin’s ears snapped to their full height.

“Pinch, he needs air,” Sassy teased, after the kiss lasted for a few seconds.

Pinch blushed and released Kevin from their kiss. “You didn’t have to prove that you loved me. I already knew.”

“I know, but I wanted to show you like you have for me,” Kevin told Pinch in a relieved tone. He gave her a giddy smile. “We know the detector works on changed changelings now too.”

“You getting all this, Dinks?” Rumble said.

Dinky grinned and nodded, never stopping in her writing. “I’m getting every detail and word they say.”

“Don’t add that part!” Pinch protested. “Twilight’s going to read those notes, and we can’t publish anything like that anyway!”

“That’s not what you need to be worried about,” Piña teased. “Wait until Sis and Barrel find out you kissed him like that, and in front of everypony, then you’ll have something to worry about.”

Chapter 38

“So tomorrow’s it,” Barrel said, as he put away a stack of plates.

I nodded. “It is.”

“Nervous?” Berry asked, as she gave me a dripping wet salad bowl.

“Nervouscited,” I admitted as I dried the bowl.

“You shouldn’t be,” she told me. “You’re both so in love it’s precious. Don’t give me any, ‘what if she says no,’ stuff either. That will not happen.”

The sounds of an adult pony leading foals up the stairway caused me to turn my head towards the kitchen doorway.

Berry paused in her scrubbing and looked in the same direction. “Sounds like we’re about to have company.”

A second later, Sassy stuck her head in the doorway. “Pin, could we borrow you for a minute?”

“Sure. Let me dry my hooves and I’ll be right with you.”

Gena, who had retaken her pegasus filly appearance, walked around Sassy and into the kitchen. “Miss Berry, I forgot to tell you earlier, Pinch is a great tosser.”

“Tosser?” Berry tilted her head. “Tosser of what?”

“Of groceries,” Sassy said and grinned. “We got to see a show involving flying produce and all kinds of other sundries this afternoon. Pin said you and Barrel were the inspiration for it.”

I chuckled, as a look of understanding came to Berry’s face.

“Oh that kind of tosser!” Berry laughed. “Thank you. She gets too riled up and goes too fast sometimes, like her father, but she’s got excellent technique.”

“We’re enthusiastic about our jobs,” Barrel said.

After putting the towel back on its hanger, I walked over to Sassy and Gena. “What’s going on?”

“Can we show them your nest?” Piña asked, from somewhere out of view. “Gena and Cubitus want to see it.”

“Do you really have a chair made out of a cloud?” Cubitus asked, as he leaned into view in the doorway.

I nodded. “I do. My grandmother and grandfather made it.”

Somepony came up the stairs at a good pace, making us all pause.

“Rarity’s here!” Turner announced, as he appeared from the stairway. “She brought Thunderlane and Radius with her.”

“If I had to bet, she’s having a fit about the expansion right now,” Berry said.

Berry, Barrel, and I followed Sassy, Turner, and the foals down into the workroom.

“There you are!” Rarity said. She made a sweeping motion with a hoof which took in all of the workroom. “This is marvelous, darling!”

“I’m not sure how it’s working for him as a workshop, but It’s been a great dining hall for us,” Silent joked.

“Did you design it yourself?” Rarity asked.

“Not all of it,” I told her. “I got help from Burnt Oak on getting the layout of the workstations and storage.”

Filter took off his helmet and shook his head. “Much better.”

“I take it you’re off duty now,” Sassy said.

“All of us are off duty now,” Thunderlane, who was out of his Wonderbolts uniform, said. “The state of emergency was called off, so only the personal guards for the princesses are still active. We’ll have to check in the morning, but we’re good for now.”

“If you’d like, there are changing rooms in the shop where you can take off your armor,” I told Brass.

“That sounds great,” he said.

I stepped out of the doorway, turned, and motioned towards the changing rooms with a hoof. “They’re on the right.”

“Thank you,” Brass said, as he walked past me.

“Let’s get out of these things,” Filter said to Silent.

Silent gestured with a wing for Filter to go first. “Lead the way.”

As the pair of guards passed, Sassy whispered, “Silent. Would you like help getting your armor off?”

Silent paused and gave Sassy a smile. “Yes, very much.”

Gena giggled, as the trio left the room.

“How are you two adjusting to being changed?” Radius asked Cubitus and Kevin.

“Everything seems to be okay,” Cubitus said. “I still haven’t tried to fly yet, though.”

“It takes a bit of getting used to, but not much,” Radius told him. “Having the elytra covering your wings is interesting, though. It’s weird to think about parts you’ve never had before.”

Cubitus glanced over his shoulder. “I didn’t even think about them.”

“What did you call them?” Kevin asked.

“Elytra,” Radius told him. “I didn’t know what they’re called either. June Bug told me their name.”

Kevin’s smile became forced. “What do you think of Miss June Bug?”

Radius smiled. “I like her. She’s interested in us and wants to help us get settled here in Ponyville. She said she would be happy to help me get to know my new anatomy better.”

I muffled my laugh to a light snort, while Berry, Barrel, and Thunderlane laughed outright.

“You better be ready,” Barrel said through his laughter. “She’s likely to make her ‘tutoring lessons’ through hooves on sessions.”

Radius blinked and looked around the room as if seeking an explanation.

“June Bug thinks insects are cute,” Cubitus said, giving his brother a teasing grin. “She thinks you volunteering to be our representative when we got caught was brave too.”

Radius’ eyes widened. “Oh! That explains what she was feeling. I thought...” He blushed and looked flustered. “That’s... interesting.” He looked at the floor with a thoughtful expression. “Very interesting,” he said, as if talking to himself more than the rest of us.

Kevin’s mouth fell open.

Cubitus sighed and shook his head at Radius, before looking back over his shoulder. He appeared to concentrate for a second and then his elytra lifted from his back and his wings extended to their full reach. “Got it!”

“Wow!” Dinky said as she moved closer to Cubitus and studied his wings. “They’re even prettier now than they were before.”

Cubitus blushed. “Thanks.” He folded his wings, and his elytra returned to resting on his back.

Radius turned to Gena and asked. “You still haven’t tried to change?”

“Not yet,” Gena said.

“I know you can do it,” Kevin told her. “It’s easy.”

“That’s not it,” Gena looked away from Kevin’s eyes. “I’m still not ready yet.” She gave Dinky and Cubitus a look. “Stop worrying about me. I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not,” Dinky said with concern. “You haven’t been your bouncy, huggy self since-”

Gena hugged Dinky and gave her a defiant smile. “If you wanted a hug, you could have just asked.”

Dinky hugged Gena back and looked toward Cubitus.

“Gena, we-” Cubitus began.

“I’ll try later,” Gena promised, cutting him off.

“Gena, we’re just trying to help,” Kevin said.

“I know, but It’s not something anybuggy can help me with.” Gena wrapped Dinky in her wings and held her like a filly needing support from a stuffed toy. “I take that back. Everypony being themselves is helping a lot. If you change what you’ve been doing, it will make me think about things I don’t want to think about right now.”

“When I find myself in such situations, I often try to find something else to occupy my mind,” Rarity said. “I focus on things like finding out what has changed since I left on a business trip and what plans a certain somepony has for a dear friend of mine.”

“I think she wants a tour,” Thunderlane said in a stage whisper.

“There’s not much to show, but I’ll be glad to show you the new room upstairs and tell you what I’ve got planned,” I said.

Gena giggled, sounding more like herself.

“What?” Dinky asked.

“Do you think his tail’s going to wag again?” Gena asked.

“Let’s follow them and find out,” Thunderlane said.

“Since you’ve seen the workroom, the next logical spot to go is the display window.” I motioned for anypony who was interested to follow me. “I can’t tell you how much Sassy has helped. Without her, I might have been able to get something basic pulled together in time, but it would not have looked half as nice as it does right now. It only needs a couple of more finishing touches.”

Our group moved into the shop and wove through the displays to the display window.

“You added curtains to the back of the window,” Rarity noted. “You’re planning to keep things out of sight until the opportune moment I take it.”

I nodded. “I’m sure she’s going to notice, but I’m hoping I can dance around it until I can get her in position for the big reveal.” I opened the back curtain and waited as Rarity examined the display.

“Mmm, yes.” Rarity nodded with approval. “From what I can see from this side, it looks very nice. It must look even better from the front. The ponyquins are stand-ins for you and her, I presume?”

“Yes.” I smiled as I looked at the pair of ponyquins. “Thank you for letting us get the flapper hat. It was perfect.”

“I’m glad that it worked so well for you,” Rarity said. She moved to take a better look at the table between the ponyquins. “I assume something will be placed on that pillow.”

“There will be,” I confirmed.

“A small box with a certain item in it?” Rarity asked.

“I haven’t decided if the box is going to be on the pillow or in my pocket, but there will be something there.”

“May I see the box and take a peek at what’s in it?” Rarity asked.

“You can’t,” Noi said. “He won’t show it to anypony,” she said. “We even had Dinky hug him and give him her look and he still wouldn’t show us.”

Rarity giggled. “He must be committed to not showing anypony, then.”

“It’s been a tradition in my family to keep the ring’s design a secret, so the pony it’s meant for is the first pony to see it,” I explained.

“I see,” Rarity said. “Or, in this case, I won’t see.”

“If this wouldn’t be your first stop, what will be?” Thunderlane asked.

“I was planning to show her the new room upstairs first.”

I led the group back through the shop, up the stairs, and into my apartment.

As we passed through the den, the three nymphs and Radius paused and looked towards the study, prompting the rest of us to stop.

“What’s going on?” Pinch asked.

Cubitus turned, looked at me, and grinned. “I think Sassy got Silent out of his armor and kept her promise.”

“What promise?” Rarity asked.

“That she was going to give him more than hugs when he got out of uniform,” Rumble said.

“Ah.” Rarity glanced towards Thunderlane and smiled. “I can understand her plight of wanting to express her affection to a pony in uniform and being unable to do so.”

Thunderlane put a wing over Rarity’s shoulders. “It’s not much fun for the pony in uniform either,” he said as he hugged Rarity to his side and then leaned his head so it touched Rarity’s.

“Awww!” Dinky, Gena, and Noi said in chorus.

“Pinch doesn’t have that problem with her coltfriend, though,” Noi said. “Right, Piña?”

“She sure doesn’t,” Piña agreed.

Pinch blushed, looked away from Piña and Noi, and grumbled something to herself.

Rarity gave Kevin a curious look. “I take it you inspired Pinch to be affectionate in view of others.”

Kevin, blushing, admitted, “I did.”

“He showed me he loved me with Dinky’s detector,” Pinch said, as if wanting to preempt further questions. “And I kissed him.”

“In front of everypony,” Noi added, grinning.

Sassy opened and then stepped out of the study’s door, interrupting the conversation, wearing a self-satisfied smile. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll tell them you needed a minute to yourself because of an...” She turned around to face the doorway, looked downwards, and hummed a teasing note. “Issue that sprang up.”

“I’m going to pay you back for this, with interest, when I get the chance,” Silent told her lustily from within the study.

“That’s not a threat, that’s something I can look forward to,” Sassy purred. “Just remember to bring the blindfold and hoofcu-”

“Sassy!” Rarity exclaimed, “There are foals present!”

Sassy’s attention snapped to us, and she blushed to her ear tips. “Oh!” She gave us a nervous smile that made her look like a filly caught doing something naughty. “Hello everypony. We didn’t hear you come up.”

“We heard you, though,” Thunderlane said.

“You haven’t heard anything,” Silent said, still out of view. “If she would be so kind as to step back into the room, I would be happy to help her demonstrate her vocal range.”

Sassy, without turning her head, used her magic to shut the study room’s door. Silent’s laughter could be heard through the door.

“I believe we may want to move along on our tour,” Rarity said.

“That might be wise,” I agreed and led everypony through the kitchen and into the new room.

Though they had seen the room before, the foals spread out around the empty room as if compelled to space themselves out evenly and examined it as if seeing it were a novel experience.

“Oak and his team did a great job with both rooms,” I said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out.”

“There’s still nothing in here,” Piña remarked.

“I want to talk with Coco about what we should do with the room, before I add anything to it,” I explained.

Rarity walked the perimeter of the room, seeming to take in minute details from the grain of the wooden floor and walls. “This is a good sized room.” She looked up at the ceiling and studied it. “It could be used in several ways. It will be interesting to see what plans you two come up with for it.”

Sassy jumped and made a startled noise, making the rest of us start. She spun around and gave Silent a light tap on the nose with a hoof. “I’m going to put a bell on you, you sneaky thing!”

“No, you won’t,” Silent said, as he took Sassy into a hug and wrapped her in his wings. “It would take the fun out of wondering when I was coming.”

Sassy reached her forelegs up and over Silent’s wings and hugged him back. “True.”

“He was quiet,” Cubitus said. “I wonder if he could teach us to move like that,” he said to Kevin.

Piña giggled. “I think we lost Gena,” she said and nodded toward the nymph, who was staring at Sassy and Silent.

“Gena, you okay?” Noi asked, with a mixture of amusement and concern in her voice.

“His wings have to feel really nice,” Gena said.

“Oh, they do.” Sassy put her chin on top of Silent’s head and snuggled him closer to her. “He’s the perfect size to cuddle with too.”

“Looks like the party moved in here,” Filter said, after sticking his head in the doorway.

“Mister Filter!” Dinky said and hurried over to him. “Can I-”

Filter held out his forelegs, and Dinky hugged him before she completed her question.

Kevin grinned at Cubitus. “I would have thought you’d gotten enough excitement at dinner from Mister Pin.”

Cubitus snorted. “It’s excitement from Dinky, of course I’m going to have some.”

“Wait a second,” I said, as things clicked together in my head. “You mean you’ve been tasting my anticipation for Coco coming back all evening?”

Cubitus gave me an unrepentant grin and admitted, “A little.”

“My excitement tastes good to you?” Dinky asked, as she let go of Filter.

Cubitus looked abashed, but he nodded. “When you get excited, which is one of my favorite emotions, it’s usually got caring or loving emotions mixed in with it, so it’s got a great flavor.”

“You’ve got a delightful shade of red going on there, Dinky,” Sassy teased.

Gena’s ears fell a bit, but she seemed to catch them and force them back up. “Mister Pin, what about the sign? You’ve talked about it, but I haven’t seen it.”

“It’s in the study,” Filter said. “Pin set me up a space where I could work on it there.”

“The cloud chair is in there too,” Piña pointed out.

“Lead the way,” I said to Filter.

Filter guided our group to the study. “Give me just a second,” he said and walked over to the desk. He adjusted the drawing board the drawing of the sign was on so everypony could see it. “There we go.”

“Oh my,” Rarity said. “This is a lovely design, Filter. You did a wonderful job of capturing the style of the shop’s current sign while making this version have a flare of its own.”

“Coco’s going to have a fit, when she sees it,” Thunderlane said. “The good sort of fit, I mean.”

“Thank you,” Filter said and bowed his head to them.

Rarity gave me a look of faux betrayal. “While this is a lovely gift for you to have prepared for her, it’s clear you’re wanting to help establish a rival for me.”

“I don’t know about establishing a ‘rival,’ but I would like it to make it official that the shop is going to be hers as much as mine.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How do you explain the new mare ponyquins in your vastly expanded workroom then?”

I put on as innocent a smile as I could manage. “I thought she could use them when she was making costumes.”

Rarity’s other eyebrow rose to match its partner in an expression of disbelief.

“I don’t think she’s buying it,” Rumble whispered.

“I don’t think so either,” I whispered back.

Rarity dropped her act and giggled. “Darling, I think it would be a marvelous idea for her to display her works here. I’ve been trying to get her to show off her work in my shops, but she has declined each time I have offered.”

“She’s done the same with me,” I said. “She said she didn’t feel right displaying her dresses in a shop that wasn’t hers.” I looked at the sign and smiled. “I’m hoping that by officially making the shop hers too she’ll feel comfortable enough to.”

“I do hope so,” Rarity said. “She has far too much talent for her to not show it over such a trifling concern.” She looked past me and nodded towards something. “It appears there are ponies who are patiently waiting for you to show something else to them.”

I turned and looked at the foals, who looked back at me with expectant gazes.

“I think they want to get on the cloud chair more than they want to look at it,” Sassy said. “I have to admit, I’m curious to find out what it feels like.”

“We might not want to let Pinch and Kevin get up there together, though,” Piña said. “Who knows what she’ll do to him, if they get comfy.”

Pinch blushed and gave Piña an annoyed look. “It was one kiss.”

“But it was a good one,” Gena said, grinning.

Cubitus nodded in agreement. “It was quite tasty.”

“Hello?” a voice called from the den.

“We’re in here, Mom,” Dinky called.

Muffins appeared at the doorway. “Coxa and Spiracle are here. They’d like to see Gena and Radius, if they could.”

“Their meeting must have gone well,” Rarity said.

“If I had to bet, you’re right,” Radius said.

Gena looked at Radius. “What’s going on?”

Radius gave her a smile. “I promised not to say much, but I can say it’s a good thing.”

Gena looked toward Rarity.

“Thunderlane and I made the same promise,” Rarity said.

“Let’s go find out what’s happening then,” Piña said.

Muffins led us all down into the workroom.

Coxa smiled as she greeted us, “Hello everyone.”

“She’s excited,” Cubitus noted.

Coxa’s eyes went to Gena. “There you are.” She held out her forelegs, and Gena rushed over and gave her a hug. “You feeling any better?”

“Some,” Gena said. “Everypony has been taking care of me. That’s helped a lot.” She looked up at Coxa with concern. “Miss Muffins said you wanted to see me and Radius.”

“We did,” Spiracle said. He looked at Cubitus and grinned. “You’ve gotten pulled into this too, so don’t relax too much.”

“Pulled into what, Sir?” Cubitus asked.

“Before we go too far, who officially gets her?” Radius asked.

“We do, but we’ll share,” Coxa said, with a bright smile.

“What are you talking about?” Gena said.

“There was a bit of a debate about who was going to be your… I think the term used by the mayor was ‘guardian,’ while you stay in Ponyville,” Spiracle told her. “After discussing things with the first one who offered to take you in and Thorax, Coxa and I are officially yours.”

“Who offered first?” Noi asked.

Radius raised his hoof. “I did, but nothing had been made official at that point. When Coxa and Spiracle offered to take her in too, we talked things over with Thorax, after dinner, and we decided since I was looking after Cubitus that they would look after Gena, not that either of them really need looking after.”

“You wanted to take care of me?” Gena said.

“Of course I did.” He gestured towards Cubitus with a hoof. “You’re been our friend and nest mate for years. Cubi and I have worried about you ever since you left for the Empire. Anytime we got status reports about the other teams, he always asked me if there had been any news about you.”

Gena looked at Cubitus, who blushed.

“I couldn’t stand the thought of you not having somebuggy to look after you with all the turmoil that’s going on, so I talked to Thorax about taking you under my wing as soon as I found out what happened with your parents,” Radius said. “Little did I know there was going to be so much competition for you.” He gave Berry an appreciative nod. “Even ponies you met a couple of day ago wanted to keep you.”

“So, you’ll be taking her back to the hive?” Berry asked.

“We’ll be staying here,” Coxa said, sounding quite happy to do so.

“We’re staying here?!” Gena said with exuberance.

“We’ll be staying here,” Coxa confirmed.

“What about your egg?” Piña asked. “You need to get back to it.”

Coxa smiled at Piña. “We will go back to the hive with the changelings and ponies who are going to go back to help rebuild the hive tomorrow, get our egg, and then hurry back here.”

“Coxa is going to be the head of the nursery that is going to be started in the caverns, and I am going to be head of security, so we can’t dally at the hive,” Spiracle explained.

Piña’s ears pricked up. “There’s going to be a nursery here?”

“The changelings staying here will need somewhere to lay their eggs,” Spiracle said. “We don’t know how long we’re going to be away from the hive. It sounds like it’s going to take months to repair the damage to the hive. It will take even longer for us to get our own crops going.”

“Congratulations to both of you!” Muffins said and everypony joined in congratulating them with applause and well-wishes.

“You’re almost going to need a whole new town in the caverns,” Noi said, after the applause died down. “That’s going to take a lot of work.”

“It is, but it will be worth it,” Coxa said.

“Speaking of work, you two are going to have a role to play with the cavern refuge too,” Spiracle said to Gena and Cubitus. “You’ll be working with Radius in his new role.”

Gena let go of Coxa and turned to face Radius. “What new role?”

Radius drew himself up and announced, “I’m going to be the liaison between Ponyville and the changelings staying in the caverns.” He pointed a hoof at Gena and Cubitus. “You two are going to be our counterparts to their research team. You’re going to help us find out about ponies and their lifestyles like they have been learning about us through Kevin.”

“Sounds like a good idea, but the count’s uneven though,” Barrel said. “Two ponies and a changeling on one side, two changelings on the other.”

“Mayor Mare suggested a solution to that, and June Bug and I supported the idea.” Radius turned towards Noi and held out his hoof as if offering something to her. “Would you like to be our team’s third member?”

Noi looked at him with disbelief. “Me?!”

“That evens things out,” Berry said and patted Noi on the back with a hoof. “I think you’d do a great job.”

“Mayor Mare was impressed with your idea about circulating a newsletter about the changelings and how you conducted yourself at the meeting,” Radius told Noi. “That you’ve been friends with Keratin as long as you have made you uniquely qualified too.”

“Go for it!” Piña cheered.

Rumble grinned and encouraged, “Say yes!”

“I can’t,” Noi said and shook her head. “I can’t take the position and leave you two out. You’re the reason I got to meet Cubi and Kevin.”

“We will have a use for them too, but in a different capacity,” Spiracle said. “I have been told they founded one of the best training teams in Povyville.”

“They are the best,” Kevin said. “They’ve gotten me back in active duty shape.”

“I’ll vouch they’re fast,” Cubitus said. “I had trouble keeping up with them and I was flying.”

“Good, they can help my two top youngling agents and the other nymphs stay in shape and get the other nymphs to mingle with the Ponyville foals when they show up. Our nymphs will have to adjust to training for competitive games rather than combat drills, but I’m sure they’ll manage.”

“We’re your top younglings?” Gena asked, as if she were unsure she heard him right.

Spiracle looked at her as if reaction were unexpected. “Of course you two are. I wouldn’t recommend him to be a love gatherer for the Ponyville infiltration team if he wasn’t skilled enough for the job, and I certainly wouldn’t have recommended you to take Flurry’s place if I hadn’t thought you were the best nymph for the role.”

Gena trembled. “You’re proud of us,” she all but whispered. “I can taste it.”

“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re my trainees, and you both did exceedlin-” Spiracle cut himself off, as tears went down Gena’s cheeks. “Gena?”

“But I gave our team away,” Gena said. “I thought you’d be disappointed in me, like my…”

Like my parents, I mentally finished for her and choked up a bit.

Spiracle shook his head. “Not at all. You arguably had the hardest role of us, and you performed above expectations. Flurry is loved by many in the castle. That you could fool so many ponies who knew her intimately for days is a testament to your ability.”

Gena sniffed. “I- I-”

Dinky stepped forward as if to go to Gena, but Cubitus stopped her by placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Hold on,” he whispered to her.

“Gena, go on, hug him,” Coxa urged. “You both need it.”

Gena and Spiracle both gave her surprised looks.

“Go on,” Coxa said to Gena and gave her an encouraging motion with a hoof.

Gena and Spiracle looked at each other, both wearing expressions of uncertainty.

“But he’s my instructor,” Gena said.

“He’s not anymore,” Coxa reminded her. “Don’t let his hardshell act fool you. He beat me to asking Thorax whether we could take care of you.”

Gena looked at Spiracle with wide eyes. “Really?”

Spiracle’s ears folded back in embarrassment, and he looked away from Gena. “I couldn’t let one of my top trainees go unsupervised.”

Coxa snorted. “Tell her what you told me, when you asked me if I was okay with the idea of us looking after her,” Coxa said. “She’s going to be ours from now on, so she should know.”

Spiracle gave Coxa a hesitant nod and then turned back to Gena. “When you had your breakdown about our previous lives being over and not having any value to the Hive it… resonated with me. I had been wrestling with the same kinds of thoughts, ever since we were captured. No matter what the ultimate outcome of our failed mission would be, I realized my time as an agent and instructor was over. I had no idea what I was going to do beyond whatever it took to make sure the members of our team survived and that Coxa and our nymph were going to make it.”

Coxa hugged Spiracle from the side as if to support him.

“When I found out that your parents weren’t coming, I wasn’t surprised. They never...” Looking vulnerable, he pushed on and told her, “They never appreciated what a special nymph they had. I couldn’t let one of my star pupils and Coxa’s best friend face what’s coming alo-”

Gena closed the distance between her and Spiracle and hugged him.

Spiracle returned the hug in an unpracticed and stiff, but genuine, way.

Coxa joined Gena and Spiracle in their hug. She met eyes with Gena and told her, smiling, “I’m counting on you to help me get him over this hugging thing, so we’re going to have to do this a lot.”

Gena sniffed and then giggled. “Sure!”

“Try giving them love!” Kevin said to her.

Gena closed her eyes and clung tighter to Coxa and Spiracle. A second passed, and then a light from within Gena glowed. The light grew brighter and spread through every part of her body. There was a magical ‘pop,’ and the light went out.

“You did it!” Dinky cheered.

Gena looked at one of her hooves. “I’m green!” She let go of Spiracle and Coxa and danced around in a small circle chanting; “I’m green! I’m green! I’m green!”

Kevin took a couple of steps backwards. “She can give off emotions now.”

Cubitus smiled, seeming to relish a sensation we ponies in the room could not experience. “She sure can.”

“Hold still for a second,” Piña said. “What’s on your chest?”

Gena paused in her jubilant dancing, looked down, and put a hoof to her chest. “They’re gems. I think.”

“What do they mean?” Pinch asked, as she stepped closer to Gena to examine the gems.

“I’ll bet they’re from all the love she had inside her,” Cubitus said. “I’ll bet a lot of the ‘softies’ have them now too.”

“That fits,” Spiracle said. “Coxa has them too, and I can’t think of another changeling who cares about the younglings like she does.”

“She’s always taken care of me,” Gena said, and hugged Coxa.

“She took care of all three of us,” Kevin said.

“Better than our own mothers,” Cubitus agreed, with a touch of pain in his voice.

Dinky gave Cubitus a sympathetic look and hugged him.

When Cubitus hugged her back, Kevin’s ears went up, “She’s jeal-”

Before he could finish, Pinch gave Kevin a nudge on the shoulder and a small shake of her head.

“I think we should follow Miss Rarity’s advice and think of other things,” Radius said. He looked at Coxa and told her, “Not that I don’t fully agree with them about how wonderful you’ve been.”

“I understand, Radi, don’t worry.” Coxa looked at me and smiled. “Turner was telling us you have a big event planned for tomorrow.”

I blushed and nodded.

“While he was kind enough to provide a general outline of his plans, he did not give details,” Rarity told her, and then gave me a prompting look.

I chuckled. “I get the hint. Right now, unless things change again, I was planning to...”

*****

A shape appeared down the length of the track. It grew steadily, though not fast enough for my levels of anticipation, as it moved towards the platform.

Swish, swish, swish.

Gena giggled. “He’s so cute!”

“Want us to get your tail?” Pinch asked.

“Wait until after she’s on the platform,” Amethyst said. “I don’t think Coco’s seen him like this.”

“I like that plan.”

Kevin grinned. “You should be glad she’s not a changeling. She’d be able to tell you were up to something as soon as she got close to you.”

“Miss Starlight!” Pinch greeted, as Starlight Glimmer stepped onto the platform from the stairs. “We didn’t know you were going to be here.”

“I didn’t know I was going to be here either, until Muffins stopped by and gave me a telegram from Sunburst telling Twilight and me he was coming,” Starlight said.

“Sunburst from the Crystal Empire?” Gena asked, sounding worried.

Starlight gave her a confused smile. “That’s him. Do you know him?”

Gena spun toward the platform’s stairs. “I have to go!”

“No you don’t!” Cubitus grabbed Gena before she could run. “You need to stay and talk to him.”

“Cubi, please!” She looked over her shoulder at the oncoming train as if there were a manticore coming for her. “Please let me go! You didn’t feel what I did when he found out. I made him feel awful.”

Gena struggled to get free from Cubitus, until Dinky hugged her from behind and told her, “That’s why you need to talk to him, to show him you’re not a bad changeling and to make him feel better.”

The conversation paused, as the sound of the train coming into the station drowned out any other noise. Cubitus continued to hold Gena, but instead of restraining her, he joined Dinky in giving her a supportive hug.

After the train released its built up steam, the train’s doors opened, and ponies filed onto the platform.

Starlight looked at Gena with an amused smile. “You’re worried about talking to Sunburst?”

Gena nodded. “We… met while I was in the Crystal Empire.”

“I get now. You’re worried about how he’s going to react to seeing you again?” When Gena gave her a nod, Starlight snorted. “Sunburst is one of the sweetest stallions I know. You have nothing to worry about.”

“I’ll hold those for you,” Sassy offered, and nodded toward the bouquet I was holding. “Don’t want them to get messed up, when you two hug.”

“Thanks,” I said, and passed her the flowers. My heart sped up as I watched for any signs of Coco. I smiled as I caught a flash of her mane and her flower pin. “There she is,” I said, and pointed a hoof towards where I had gotten the glimpse of her.

“Coco,” Filter called, wearing a huge grin. “We’re over here!”

“If you don’t hurry, Pin’s going to wag his tail off!” Silent called to her.

Coco appeared from the crowd. She glanced towards my tail, smiled, and then shook her head. “I don’t think I’m worth getting so excited about.”

“You are to me,” I told Coco, as she hugged me. I nuzzled her mane and relished being able to hold her again. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“Oh, wow!” Gena said. “I thought he opened up when he hugged the blanket. This is a lot better.”

Coco gave Gena a curious look. “Hugged the blanket?”

“Miss Coco, this is Gena. She’s in her pegasus form right now, but she’s one of the changelings who’s going to be staying here,” Dinky said. “She learns about ponies by hugging them. Mister Pin didn’t give her a good hug, when he hugged her, so we had him hug a blanket and pretend it was you.”

“What did you find out?” Coco asked Gena.

“That’s he’s a closet romantic snuggler who needs his special somepony close to let his affection out,” Gena responded.

“That’s a wonderful description of him,” Coco said.

“Quit hogging my sister,” Filter said, and patted me on the shoulder.

I let go of Coco so Filter and the others could welcome Coco back.

As Filter got his hug from Coco, Gena pranced in place.

“If you ask nicely, I’m sure she’ll give you a hug too,” Filter said and let go of Coco.

“Of course I will,” Coco said.

“Thank you!” Gena said and hugged Coco.

“What can you tell about her?” I asked as Coco returned Gena’s hug.

“She’s brave and caring and sweet,” Gena said.

I smiled and nodded. “That’s her.”

“I’m not all that brave, but thank you,” Coco said.

“You quit your job to tell me I had won the Fashion Week competition,” Rarity said. “That was very brave of you.”

“You also put on a successful community play to pull ponies together, knowing that it was possible nopony would show up for it,” I said.

“I had a lot of help with that one,” Coco said and gave an appreciative look to Rarity.

Somepony took my tail with their magic and held it still. “There you go, girls,” Sassy said. “Need any help?”

“Thanks Miss Sassy, but I think we’ve got this,” Pinch said. “Prench braid this time?” she said to Piña and Noi.

“Sound’s good to me,” Noi said, and Piña nodded in agreement.

“Let me give these back to you.” Sassy returned the flowers to me with a smile.

“Thanks.”

“You’re not super soft anymore!” Dinky, who was hugging Coco, looked up at her with concern. “Are you okay?”

Coco giggled and then told Dinky, “I haven’t had Pin around to spoil me is all.”

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to resume such activities, and she’ll be ‘super soft’ again in short order,” Rarity said.

“Sunburst!” Starlight called, and waved toward the thinning crowd. “There you are!”

“Hello!” Sunburst called back. “I’m so glad to see you,” he told Starlight, as he approached pulling a small wagon full of luggage and boxes behind him with his magic.

“Nope, can’t do it!” Gena said and bolted.

Gena only got a few steps before Starlight’s horn lit. Gena looked around, shocked, as she floated off her hooves and towards Starlight. “That’s cheating!” she protested from within a bubble of Starlight’s magic.

“Your friends are right. Running away from your problems won’t make them go away.” Starlight’s ears fell. “Trust me, it’s better to face your problems head on.” Starlight placed Gena in front of her and then put her hooves on Gena’s shoulders. “Don’t worry.” She gave Gena a reassuring smile. “If he gives you a hard time, I’ll sort him out.”

Sunburst approached Starlight and looked down at Gena with curiosity. “What’s going on?”

“Sunburst, this is Gena,” Starlight told him. “She’s a sweet nymph whom I’ve met once, thanks to Dinky and Pinch, and who I’ve heard nothing but nice things about. You two have met before too, but you didn’t know it.”

“With her being a changeling, I’m not surprised.” Sunburst looked at Gena with concern. “Is everything okay? You seem upset.”

Gena looked down at Sunburst’s hooves and did not say a word.

“She’s worried about meeting you without being disguised because of the role she played in the Empire,” Starlight told Sunburst.

Sunburst’s ears went askew. ”What do you mean?”

Gena confessed, “I was the one who took Flurry’s place.”

Sunburst’s eyes widened with realization. “That’s what’s going on!”

“I could feel how worried you got for her, when you figured out I wasn’t her,” Gena said, as her ears pinned back in a display of remorse. “I’m sorry.”

Sunburst waved Gena’s concerns away with a hoof. “Don’t worry about it. I’m not mad about what happened.”

“She needs a hug from you,” Kevin said to Sunburst. “She’ll feel better, after she gets one.”

Gena looked at Kevin with horrified disbelief. “Kevin!”

“If it will help, sure,” Sunburst said.

Gena snapped her head back to Sunburst. “But-!”

Gena stopped her protests as Sunburst hugged her. She sniffed and swallowed as she hugged him back. “You really don’t care.”

“Not at all. It’s not like you took her place all on your own, and you didn’t hurt anypony.” He smiled down at her. “You did a great job as Flurry, by the way.”

Gena gave Sunburst a relieved smile. “What gave me away?”

“You didn’t use your magic like she does.” Sunburst looked around and then leaned closer to Gena’s ear. “You were too well behaved, and you didn’t fuss and pout like she does too.”

Gena laughed. “Thanks, Mister Sunburst. It’s good to hug you again.” She let go of him, stepped aside, and looked at Starlight. “There’s somepony else who needs a hug from you, though.”

“I need a hug from her too,” Sunburst said, and took Starlight into his forelegs.

“Done!” Pinch declared.

“Thank you,” I said to the fillies, as I looked back at my tail. “It looks great.”

“It does,” Coco agreed.

“We’ve been practicing on Rumble and Kevin,” Noi said.

“How nice of you two to volunteer,” Rarity praised the pair of blushing colts.

“I’m glad to see the research team is here,” Sunburst said. He turned and patted one box in his wagon with a hoof. “A lot of these are for you and Twilight.”

“For us?” Pinch asked, her ears up.

“These are the first bunch of books that talk about changelings from the Empire’s library Twilight requested,” Sunburst explained.

“The Empire has books on the changelings?!” Pinch said.

“Only a couple,” Sunburst told her. “Most of the books I could find discuss or mention things about changelings but they weren’t written to be about changelings.”

“That’s still a lot more to work with than what we had,” Dinky said.

“Not that I’m not enjoying it, but what are you so excited about?” Cubitus asked Pinch. “It’s just a bunch of books.”

“Just a bunch of books?!” Pinch said as if offended on the books’ behalf. “These books could open up whole new avenues of research on the history of changeling and pony relations and how we could move forward together.” She looked at the box with yearning. “I can’t wait to go through them and see what’s in them.”

“Wow, Twilight really has rubbed off on you,” Starlight said.

“Pinch has always had a lot of curiosity,” Kevin said. “Twilight’s research lessons and projects have just it made it grow and become more refined.”

Cubitus grinned at Kevin. “Of course you’d notice that.”

Kevin blushed as Pinch gave him a curious look.

“Kevin likes curiosity like Cubitus likes excitement,” Gena explained.

Dinky burst into giggles. “So that’s why he gets that funny look whenever Twilight and Pinch discuss research stuff.”

“How about a change in plans?” Filter said to Gena, Noi, Cubitus, Silent, and the research team. “What if we meet at the castle instead of the school? There might be something in the books we could use for the newsletter.”

“That sounds great,” Noi said. “Gena, Piña, Cubitus, Rumble and I can go tell Miss Cheerillee what’s going on and then meet you there.”

“You’re going to have to come up with our own team name,” Rumble said. “Listing everypony like that takes too long.” He moved towards the stairway, paused, and looked back over his shoulder. “Come on. We’ve got ground to cover.”

“Hold just a second!” Amethyst called to the departing group. “I’m going with you.” Amethyst gave Coco a quick hug. “I’m glad you’re back.”

“I’m glad to be back,” Coco said and returned the hug.

“I’ll see you at Pin’s later,” Filter said to Coco, as he and Silent headed off with the research team.

“Do you have any luggage you need help with?” I asked Coco.

“Nope!” Coco reached back and patted her saddlebags. “I just have these. Thanks though.”

“I’ll carry those for you, if you’d like,” I told her.

She gave me a mischievous smile. “If you’ll carry them for me, I’ll carry the flowers for you.”

I smiled. “I think that’s a fair deal.” I levitated her saddlebags to my back while passing her the bouquet.

Coco studied the morning glories, sweet peas, and red carnations for a second and then smiled. “I missed you too,” she said and gave me an appreciative look. She leaned forward as if to kiss me, and I leaned to meet her.

“Ahem! Think of your surroundings, before doing anything too risque,” Rarity said.

Coco stopped, close enough to me I could feel the air of her exasperated huff on my lips. She turned her head towards Rarity. “I wasn’t able to kiss him when he came to take care of me, and I’ve been looking forward to being able to again.”

“I understand, darling, I had to exert all my willpower not to throw myself at Thunderlane, even with him being in uniform, when I saw him, but a lady must maintain proper decorum.”

Coco raised a challenging eyebrow. “If I can’t get a quick kiss from him, I’ll ask him to let me nibble his ear again and I won’t care who watches.”

“Coco!” Rarity gasped.

Sassy laughed. “I’d like to see that.”

I gave Coco a kiss on the cheek. When she turned to face me again, I touched my nose to hers. “Will that tide you over until we can get home?”

“That helps, but hold still for a second.” She gave my nose a kiss. “There! That should be enough to hold me.”

Rarity shook her head and smiled. “You two are going to have to get all this affection out of your systems, before you join us this evening.”

“Join us?” Coco asked.

“We’re putting on a ‘We’re Glad You’re Back Safe and Sound’ event for Rarity at the park,” Sassy explained. “Rarity’s been so busy she hasn’t been able to tell us what happened to her, and we haven’t been able to celebrate her making it back.”

“If you are feeling up to it, we’d love for you to come,” Rarity said. “However, we all know what traveling such a distance on short notice can do to a pony, so if you decline we will understand.”

“Of course I’ll come,” Coco said. “I got a nap on the train, so I’m good for anything this evening.”

“I’m sure Pin’s glad to hear that, after you being away for so long,” Sassy teased.

Coco blushed and gave Sassy a look. “Sassy, my brother’s staying in the apartment too.”

“I could teach Pin my sound proofing spell,” Sassy offered. “Silent and I have gotten no complaints from our neighbors, so I’m sure Filter wouldn’t be able to hear a thing.”

“Sassy!” Coco hid her face behind the bouquet. “That’s not the point, and I don’t need those images.”

Rarity looked at me and said, “Why don’t you get Coco back to your place, before Sassy traumatizes her even more.”

“I’d be glad to.”

We left the train station’s platform as a group and then Rarity and Sassy split from us to go to Rarity’s.

“I know it’s a longer walk, but would you mind if we took the route through the market?” I asked. “Rose wanted to see you when you got back.”

“Sure,” Coco said. “I’d love to see her and I need to walk after the train ride.”

“How are things at the new shop?”

Coco smiled. “They’re going great. There were a couple of kinks we had to work out, but overall I think it’s off to an impressive start.”

“Did Suri behave herself for you?”

“She did. There were some tense moments, but I think we’ve put the worst of it behind us. She also flirted with me a few times, but apologized and said it was out of habit each time.”

“While I’m not sure I like the thought on one level, I can understand her flirting. I can’t help but flirt with you too.”

“You silly thing.” Coco’s eyes went to my neck. “I noticed you’re wearing the bow tie.”

“It’s a special occasion.”

Coco bumped her side into mine. “What are you up to?”

“Me?” I said, feigning innocence. “I’m walking with my special somepony to see a mutual friend of ours.”

“That’s not what I meant. What have you got up your slea-”

“Coco!” Rose called and waved from her stall. “You’re back!”

“Hello, Rose,” Coco greeted.

Rose came from behind her stall’s counter and hugged Coco. “I’m so happy to see you. I was so worried, when I heard Pin had to gallop up to Manehattan to take care of you.”

“I was miserable for a bit, but it wasn’t anything dangerous.” Coco nodded towards me. “Pin took good care of me and brought me medicine from Zecora that got me back on my hooves in no time.”

Rose patted me on the head as if I was a dog. “He’s a good stallion, even if he doesn’t buy flowers when you’re not around.”

“I bought that sample bouquet, before I had to take off,” I reminded her.

“True, but that was your only purchase since Coco left,” Rose said. “You got it for the girls, not yourself too.” She turned to Coco and smiled. “I better let you two go. I’m sure you want to get back to Pin’s and rest your hooves for a bit, after that trip.” Rose gave Coco another hug and a nuzzle. “It’s good to have you back.”

“I’m glad to be back,” Coco said.

Rose gave me a wink over Coco’s shoulder and silently told me, “Good luck.”

I gave her a brave smile and a nod in response.

After waving goodbye to Rose, Coco and I resumed our walk home.

“Now I know you’re up to something,” Coco said.

“What do you mean?”

“Rose said something to you, when she was hugging me. I caught you nodding out of the corner of my eye too.”

“I’ll confess, I have a surprise planned for you.”

“Pin, I appreciate it, but you didn’t have to do anything for me. With everything that’s been going on here, you had more than enough on your plate to worry about.”

“I didn’t have to ‘do’ much of anything, other than apply for the permits and talk with Oak about what needed to be done.”

Coco gave me a confused look. “Permits?”

“It may be better if you see it rather than have me attempt to describe it.”

We rounded a corner, and the back of the shop came into view.

“You put an expansion on the shop?!”

“Oak and his crew did the work. All I had to do was stay out of the way.” I could not help but grin at the look she gave me. “Would you like to see why they did?”

“Yes!” Coco said, and led me in a trot to the back of the shop.

I opened the back door for Coco, and she pranced in like an excited filly. She looked around the expanded workroom as if trying to take in as much of it as she could in the shortest amount of time. “This is wonderful! There’s so much more room and...” She trailed off, as she examined the mare ponyquins next to one workstation. “Pin, are those for me?”

“They are. If you ever need a stallion ponyquin, you are welcome to use any of mine.”

Coco put her bouquet down on the worktable next to the ponyquins. She reached out and touched one of them as if checking if it was real. “You did this for me. You did all of this for me.”

“I did it for both of us. We had enough space to work the way the workroom was, but just enough. If you were going to be working on costumes here too, we would ne-” Coco waved a hoof for me to stop.

“Pin, I-” Coco sniffed. “I- I mean, I-” She seemed to get frustrated with herself. She gave an irritated sigh and looked at the floor. “I’m so flustered I can’t even say what I’m trying to say.”

“Flustered in a good way, I hope.”

“Yes!” Coco said, and her eyes met mine. “There’s so much more space and storage, and I can’t thank you enough for the ponyquins, but I’m worried about you.” Before I could respond, she gave me a knowing look and asked, “If I wasn’t here, would you have had the addition put on?”

I felt my ears descend in silent acknowledgment of her point. “I probably wouldn’t have. But-”

Coco hugged me, cutting me off. “I cannot tell you how much I appreciate this or how flattered I am, but I’m worried you’re putting me before your livelihood. This had to be expensive, and I don’t want to put you in a position where you could lose your business and your home.”

I hugged her back. “You don’t have to worry about that at all. Thanks to my grandparents leaving me the shop and how I’ve lived, I’ve been able to save up. The expansion wasn’t too expensive either. The price of building in Ponyville is much less than in Manehattan.”

“It was still a lot of bits.” Coco looked up at me with worry in her eyes. “Bits you could have put into your business some other way, or taken a vacation with, or-”

I booped her nose with mine, stopping her protests, and told her, “There’s another surprise I want to show you.”

“Another one?!” Coco’s ears went back in shock. “Pin, you’ve done too much for me already.”

“I’d argue against that.” I told her in a playful tone, as she gave me a look that told me she was about to say otherwise. “Before we debate how much you’re worth to me, let me show what the surprise is.”

“Pin, you’ve-” She stopped and sighed when I gave her my best puppy eyes. After a couple of seconds of keeping her composure, she smiled and giggled. “You’ve been around Dinky too much.”

“I’m not near that good, but I have been getting some pointers from her.” I motioned with my chin towards the stairway. “The surprise is upstairs in the study.”

As we passed the doorway to the front of the shop, Coco halted mid-step.

“Pin.”

“Yes?”

“You added back curtains to the display window.”

I turned around and saw that Coco was looking towards the storefront and the display window.

“I did,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. “I needed a backdrop for the latest display, and curtains seemed a nice way to do it. I’ll be glad to show it to you, after I show you the surprise upstairs. I’d like your opinion on it, since you’re the expert in creating backgrounds.”

Coco gave me a look that said she was not convinced, but she would play along. “I’d be glad too.”

As we went up the stairs, I told her, “The two colt nymphs stayed in your room for a couple of nights.”

“They did? How did they end up here?”

“Filter was staying with me, and they needed to have protection from reprisals from the changelings who were still loyal to Queen Chrysalis, so they stayed here along with Silent.”

“I’ve got a lot to catch up on,” Coco said.

“I feel the same with all you’ve been doing,” I told her and paused at her room’s door. “I could put your bags in your room, if you’d like.”

“Yes, please. On the bed would be perfect.”

I opened the door and used my magic to levitate her saddlebags from my back to her bed. “Speaking of your bed, the colts didn’t sleep in it in the genuine sense. They built a nest out of the sheets and comforter on top of the mattress and cuddled together.”

“Please tell me you got pictures!”

“I did. Thanks to Berry, Dinky, and the girls, who came over with breakfast for them and insisted on waking them up themselves. Thanks to them, we also found out that changelings don’t have bellybuttons and have ticklish bellies.”

Coco laughed. “Are they going to put those little tidbits in their research reports?”

“Maybe not in the reports, but they might mention them in the newsletter.”

After we made our way into the study, Coco examined the stand that was propping up the cloth covered drawing. “My brother’s involved in this, isn’t he?”

“He is. How could you tell?”

“I’d recognize his drawing stand anywhere.”

Using my hooves, I removed the cloth with care to not smudge any of Filter’s work. “I commissioned a new design for the shop’s sign.”

Coco’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with a hoof in shock. “Coco and Pin’s Attire and Designs?!”

“Of course, the lady always goes first.” When she looked at me as if I had lost my mind, I smiled and added, “Besides, Filter and I agreed ‘Pin and Coco’s’ sounds like a Los Pegasus show’s name instead of a clothing store.”

“Pin, I-” She turned back to the sign and stared at it. “I don’t even know what to say.”

“I was thinking if the shop is yours too, then you wouldn’t have to worry about displaying your designs.”

Coco looked at me with intense eyes. “The expansion, the ponyquins, the new sign, the changes to the display window, you want me to be your business partner.”

“I do. If you don’t want to display your designs, I won’t push you to, but I do want the shop to be ours in the fullest sense. I want you to have a place that’s yours, where you can design your costumes and feel it’s yours and not some temporary rental space.” I took her hooves with mine. “I want you working beside me and with me, not for me.” I lifted her right hoof and kissed it. “You don’t have to answer right now. I know you just got in, and I’ve given you a lot to think about, but please consider it.”

“How could I not answer you right now, with all that you’ve done?” Coco asked.

“I’ve thought about an expansion for the workroom for a while. You were the catalyst for me to do it. I won’t deny that, but I don’t want you to feel pressured into saying yes or no because of it. The mare ponyquins a gift for you, no matter what you decide too.”

Coco studied me for a second and then gave me a playful smile. “How about I hold off with my answer until after you show me the new room and the display? Would that be enough time for me to ‘think about it’ so you won’t feel guilty when I give you my answer?”

I had to fight to not let my elation at the timing show through. “That would be perfect.” I led her through the apartment and into the new room. “This is great. We could use it for all kinds of things.”

“There is a lot of room to work with,” Coco said. “I’m surprised you didn’t put anything in here.”

“I wanted to know what you thought we should do with the room, before I moved anything in here.”

She gave me a teasing smile. “I recall somepony mentioning it could be a foal’s room.”

I blushed and ducked my head. “That was forward of me. We could do whatever you want with it.”

Coco walked over and nuzzled under my chin so I would raise my head. “Let’s think about it for a bit. There’s no rush for us to decide anything at all.”

“True.”

I did not realize I had lost myself staring into her eyes until Coco giggled and booped my nose with her hoof. “Are you okay in there?”

I blinked and gave my nose a quick shake to regain my focus. “I’m fine. I was thinking about how glad I am you’re back. When you’re not here, it feels like… something vital is missing.”

“Pin, don’t be silly.” Coco looked back towards my tail and smiled. “I’m flattered I’m worth a tail wag, but I’m not ‘vital’.”

“You are.” I took a second to think about how to frame what I wanted to say. I smiled, as I realized the perfect way to describe what I felt. “Without you, things around here are like a musical with all the actors just speaking their parts. The music, the life of the performance, is missing.”

“Pin,” she said and gave me an appreciative but skeptical look.

“It’s true. I missed you as soon as you left. I managed it pretty well for a couple of days, but then, while I was in the workroom, the silence got to me. I looked over at your worktable and you being gone hit me hard. I wanted to hear you humming while you worked.” I swayed side to side and mimicked her sketching something. “And see the little dances you do when you’re in your zone.”

Coco blushed. “Sorry, I can’t help it.”

“Never stop,” I said. “I love being able to take a break to watch you.” I hugged her and nuzzled her ear. “What I’m trying to say is that without you here, things are mundane.”

Coco hugged me back. “If having Guards and changelings sleeping over and being on the sidelines of major historical events is ‘mundane,’ I can’t imagine what your idea of ‘exciting’ is.”

I chuckled and kissed the tip of Coco’s ear, causing it to twitch away. “I meant the day to day routine, not the semi-regular Ponyville craziness.”

“Pin, you’re still being sill-” Coco giggled, as I made light, teasing plays at the edge of her ear with my lips. “Pin!” She leaned back and looked up at me with a faux irritated look that was ruined by the ill-concealed smile that was on the edges of her mouth.

I did my best to look innocent. “What is it?”

“No nibbling right now. We’re having a ‘serious’ conversation.”

I folded my ears back in exaggerated disappointment.

Coco snorted and then let her smile show. “I’m beginning to wonder if you’re a changeling. The Pin I know was scared to give me a kiss at one point, and you’re trying to sneak ear nibbles.”

“It’s still me. I’ve had a wonderful teacher who taught me to open up, though.” I touched her cheek with a hoof. “Do you know what I realized during those quiet moments in the workroom, beyond that I could recognize the tunes you hummed and knew why you liked them?”

Coco gave me a pleased but puzzled looked. “No. What?”

“During those moments of silence, I realized how incomplete my life felt. I wanted the mare who had brought music and passion into my life and made life meaningful back.”

Coco gave me a flattered look. “You’re exaggerating.”

I shook my head. “The longer you were gone, the more I missed you and the number of ways I missed you grew. I became away how you made day-to-day tasks like preparing meals or ordering supplies for the shop more meaningful for me because I did them for you too. Even brushing out my mane in the morning made me think of brushing your coat and mane out and watching you unwind.”

Coco gave me a tender kiss. “You’re such a sweetheart.”

“Speaking of you making things special, would you like to see the new display?”

I could tell by the look in her eyes she knew I had something planned. “Sure.”

As we made our way out of the room and down the stairs, my heart went faster and faster. Everything is ready, including you,” I thought to myself, as we walked through the shop. You just have to keep calm and follow the script.

I did my best not to let my anticipation show as I held the store’s front door open for her. “Mare’s first.”

“Thank you,” Coco said. “It’s nice being around polite stallions again.”

I followed her outside, leaving the door open. I paused for a half a second, after noticing the shadows of three clouds lined up in a straight line in front of the shop.

Coco glanced over her shoulder at me. “Pin, is everything all right?”

Forcing myself not to look skyward, I turned to Coco and smiled. “Everything’s fine.” After we moved to stand in front of the window, I asked her, “Ready?”

“Ready!” Coco said with a vigorous nod.

Using my magic, I reached back into the store, which pushed the limits of my control of my telekinesis spell, and drew the display window’s front curtain open.

Coco gasped. “Oh, Pin!”

The pair of ponyquins in the display stood so their raised forehooves touched each other. The mare ponyquin was wearing the dress Coco wore to Twilight’s Celebration and the flapper’s hat that Sassy and I had gotten from Rarity’s boutique, which was adorned with a blossom similar to the one Coco wore in her mane. The stallion ponyquin wore the suit I had worn that same night, along with a substitute bow tie. Pinned to the back curtain of the display were pictures of Coco and me from several of the events we attended together and our times with our friends.

“Everypony helped with the pictures, and I owe Sassy for all she did to make sure the display was ready before you got here,” I told her.

“It looks wonderful. What inspir...” Coco’s words drifted off as her eyes went to the display table.

On the display table that was just in front of the ponyquins’ touching hooves sat a small, laced pillow with a heart’s desire blossom and a jewelry box on top that was surrounded by camellias, peonies, and lavender blossoms.

“You inspired me,” I told her. I had to quit speaking as I focused my magic to pick up the heart’s desire and the jewelry box and maneuver them from the display, through the store’s front door, and to my hooves.

Coco stared at the heart’s desire and jewelry box as if not believing what she was seeing. “Pin?”

I tucked the heart’s desire behind her ear. “All these photos are a small sample of all the wonderful moments you have shared with me. I love you and want us to share as many more of these moments as we can.” I opened the jewelry box to reveal the ring inside and then presented the ring to her. “Coco Pommel, will you marry me?”

Coco sniffed with happy tears and smiled. “Yes!” She pulled me into a hug and kissed me. She giggled against my lips as cheers came from above us. “Yes, I will,” she said, after breaking the kiss.

“About time!” Barrel called down to us from his perch on one of the three clouds.

Coco and I looked up at our friends perched on three clouds above us.

“What are all of you doing here?” Coco asked.

“If you thought we were going to miss this, you’re crazy,” Berry said.

“Can we get down now, please?” Sassy asked. “I think I’ve been up in the air and looking down long enough.”

“Can do,” Silent said. He stood up from his seat at Sassy’s side, took to the air, and then pushed the cloud Rarity, Sassy, Sweetie Belle, Thunderlane and Spike were sitting on towards the ground.

“We need to get down too!” Piña said, hopping up and down on the cloud she was sharing with Berry, Noi, Pinch, Barrel, Kevin, and Rumble.

“Don’t do that!” Noi protested. “It might pop!”

Rumble put a wing over Noi’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, clouds won’t ‘pop’ unless you apply the right magic to them. It’s difficult to get them to pop, even when you’re trying.”

Noi breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

“I’ll get you down,” Thunderlane said, and then took off from his spot on the descending cloud.

“Hang on,” Muffins said, as she guided the cloud she had been sitting on with Amethyst, Dinky, Gena, Cubitus, Filter, and Turner.

“What about you going over the books?” Coco asked Filter as he and the others descended.

“That was a bit of a ruse,” Filter confessed. “We walked with Starlight and Sunburst to the castle, though. We got to talk with Princess Twilight and Princess Cadance for a minute, and they wanted to go through them with us, but they are so busy they asked us to hold off until tomorrow.”

As soon as the clouds were close enough to the ground for a safe jump, the foals and Rarity jumped from their spots on the clouds and rushed Coco and me. While the foals stopped short of us, Rarity hugged Coco tight and let out a giddy squeal.

“That was delicious!” Gena said. “Thanks!”

Cubitus snorted. “What do you mean ‘was’? They’re still giving off enough love they could feed everybuggy in the sanctuary!”

Rarity let Coco go and then wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’m so happy for you.” She looked at me and added, “Happy for you both.”

A solid thump on my back made me grunt and juggle the ring.

“Good job,” Barrel congratulated me.

“Why don’t you give that to her so nothing happens to it,” Muffins suggested.

“I think that’s a good idea,” I agreed.

“How’s she supposed to wear it?” Cubitus whispered to Kevin.

“Earth ponies wear our rings on necklaces,” Coco explained, as I took the ring and its matching silver necklace from the jewelry box and put it around her neck.

“Oh my!” Rarity said, as she leaned closer to the ring. “Three gems.”

“Hoof picked gems too,” Spike said.

“How do you know that?” Sweetie Belle asked him.

Spike puffed his chest up. “I was the one who helped him find them.”

“A diamond and two blue sapphires,” Amethyst noted. “It must have taken a while to find them.”

“It didn’t take as long as you’d think. I’ve gotten a lot of practice finding specific gems with Rarity.” Spike grinned. “I got to keep all of the ones that weren’t what he was looking for, so we could have kept going all day and I wouldn’t have minded a bit.”

“They match Coco’s eye color,” Sassy said. “Very nice touch.”

“Pin’s often complimented her eyes,” Turner said.

“And her cutie mark,” Berry teased.

“He loves every part of her,” Pinch said.

“True. I love her from her nose to her tail and from her hooves to the tips of her ears.”

“We all know about your fondness for her poor ears,” Rarity said, acting as if she disapproved.

“Don’t give him a hard time,” Coco said. “I get my nibbles in too.”

Rarity smiled in a hinting way. “You two tend to exchange affections, I have to agree.”

Coco’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “Yes, we do.” She tapped my nose with a hoof. “You stay right there. I’ll be back.”

“We could make sure he doesn’t go anywhere,” Piña said with a grin that hinted at mischief.

“I would appreciate it, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Coco said.

“There’s more of us now, so he won’t be a problem at all,” Piña assured Coco.

“What are they talking about?” Cubitus asked Kevin.

Kevin shook his head. “No clue.”

Piña looked at the other foals and pointed a hoof at me. “Everpony, get him!”

“That’s what’s they’re talking about,” Gena said, as she joined the others in rushing me.

Noi laughed and then declared, “I’ll get his tail again!”

“Wait a minute!” I mock protested, as the foals ‘restrained’ me by encircling me and then grabbing onto my forelegs, chest, sides, and sitting on my tail. “I can stay still on my own.”

“This is more fun for them and for me,” Coco said, and bumped noses with me. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be here,” I said, as I watched her go back into the shop.

“Be glad they didn’t glue you to the ground,” Filter said to me. “That stuff is tough, and it takes hours to get out of your coat.”

“We can’t sticky anypony,” Gena said. “Only adults can do that.”

Dinky looked up at me from her hold on my left foreleg. “What does it feel like?”

“Like I’m being hugged all over and I can’t move my tail.”

Dinky giggled. “No, silly. What does it feel like being Coco’s fiance now.”

“It’s wonderful,” I told her. “It feels… wonderful and right and exciting all at the same time.”

“What did she say about the sign?” Filter asked.

“She likes it a lot, but she hasn’t given me an answer about being my business partner.”

“If she doesn’t say yes to that, after saying yes to marrying you, that’s going to get awkward,” Silent commented.

Coco exited the shop, carrying her engagement ring box and a small box I had not seen before.

“We held him for you, Miss Coco,” Gena said.

“Thank you all very much.” The foals let go of me as Coco approached. She stopped and held out the small box to me. “This is for you,” she said, and opened the box to reveal a silver ring with intricate scroll work etching.

“What do you think?” Coco said, sounding nervous.

“It’s beautiful.” I looked up from the ring. “You were going to ask me?”

“I had a feeling you were going to ask me first. I had the ring made so I would be ready to exchange rings with you.” Coco motioned for me to lower my horn. Once I did, she slid the ring down my horn so it rested on my head. “But, yes, I would have asked you if the deadline had gotten too close.”

Silent snorted. “No way that was going to happen.”

I looked at Rarity. “You knew she had the ring made, didn’t you?”

“Of course, darling!” Rarity said, sounding proud of herself. “Just like I knew about your surprises for her before she did.”

“Which you learned about all of yesterday,” Sassy pointed out.

Rarity made a dismissive motion with a hoof. “Details, details.”

“Does that mean you were the pony behind everypony being here?” I asked.

Coco looked at me with surprise. “They weren’t part of the setup?”

I shook my head. “Everypony wanted to be here, and I wanted them to be here, but we couldn’t figure out to make it work without giving away the surprise.”

“While I had a part in it. I cannot take credit for the plan.” Rarity pointed her hoof towards Amethyst, Mufifns, and Turner. “These three are the masterminds. The only contributions I made were to ask to borrow the clouds from Rainbow Dash and ask Twilight to cast the Walk on Clouds spell for everypony.”

Amethyst grinned. “Mom came up with the idea last night, after remembering everypony watching the fireflies light up the Everfree Forest. Dad figured out when we needed to be here, and I ran around this morning, with the help of the foals, and organized everypony so we could all meet up here and get in position.”

I glanced around at our friends. “So you had this planned and none of you said a thing to me?”

Pinch grinned. “Nope!”

“Speaking of timing, we all need to be off to get ready for our get-together this evening to start on time,” Turner said. He gave Coco and me a grin. “I’m sure our now affianced friends would like some time to themselves too.”

“We can’t go anywhere yet,” Pinch said. “We still don’t know Coco's second answer.”

Everypony looked towards Coco with expectation.

Coco tilted her head, which made me grin. “Second answer?” she asked.

“I mentioned that you hadn’t given me your answer about the shop,” I told her.

Coco smiled. “Oh! That second answer.”

“Ask her again,” Piña encouraged. “We want to hear the whole thing.”

“We certainly do!” Rarity said.

“I’d be glad to.” I drew myself up to give the appearance of being somewhat serious. I could not help myself and grinned when I met eyes with Coco, who seemed to be doing her best not to laugh. “Coco, I believe we work well together and could be very successful as a team. Would you be my business partner?”

Coco giggled, dispelling any semblance of formality, hugged me, and then touched her nose to mine. “I would be glad to be your partner.”

I kissed her, as our friends cheered and made cooing noises.

“Don’t kiss for too long, or Rarity will get on to you two again,” Sassy warned, after the kiss lasted a few seconds.

“You’re kissing her in front of her brother too,” Silent pointed out to me.

“It’s all right for right now,” Filter said. “If it goes on too much longer, it’s going to get weird, though.”

Coco and I broke our kiss, the both of us laughing.

I touched my forehead to hers. “I love you.”

Coco smiled in a way that made my chest warm. “I love you too.”

Chapter 39

The store’s welcome bell chimed, and I looked up from my order records. “Welcome to Coco and Pin’s Attire and Designs. How can I be of service?”

“You sound so happy saying that,” Satin said as she and Stormbreaker came into the store.

“It makes me happy to say it.” I looked up at the store’s clock. “I didn’t expect you two back so soon.”

“We saw all the places we had on our list and we wanted to be back before Rain’s afternoon snack time,” Satin said.

“Mom and Dad could have taken care of him with no trouble,” I assured her.

“I know, but he’s been fussy about his feedings. They shouldn’t have to face that.”

“He can tell we’re anxious about getting ready for the move,” Stormbreaker said. “I feel bad our stress is making him stressed, but this is the right move for us.”

“The last time I saw him, Rain wasn’t stressed at all. He was curled up with Dad on the couch taking a nap.”

Satin giggled. “Rain has that effect on Dad. Every time he holds Rain, Dad nods off.”

“It must run in the family.” Stormbreaker nuzzled Satin’s ear and hugged her to his side with a wing. “Every time I hold you in my wings you go to sleep.”

“I think it’s a pegasus thing,” Satin said. “Holding Rain is like snuggling a downy hot water bottle.” She leaned against Stormbreaker and tucked her head under his chin. “You’re a warm, soft, sexy, heated blanket.”

Coco stepped out from the back of the shop. “I thought I heard you. How did it go?”

“We’ve got it narrowed down to two, maybe three, choices,” Stormbreaker reported.

“That’s great,” Coco said. “I’m glad you’re not having to face what ponies have to go through to find a place in Manehattan. Even when the process goes well, it’s still a colossal pain there.”

The sounds of a fussy foal came from the apartment.

Satin looked at the shop’s clock. “I thought we had it timed about right.”

“I changed the cover on the cloud chair, so you should be good to go, if you want to feed him there,” I told Satin.

Satin gave me a guilty look. “Sorry about that.”

“He couldn’t help it. Foals make messes, that’s what they do.”

“That was a big, nasty mess, though,” Stormbreaker said.

“Nothing that won’t come out after a good washing,” I assured him.

Satin and Stormbreaker went past and into the back of the shop.

I smiled at Coco, as she joined me behind the counter. “How are things going?”

She touched noses with me. “Steady.”

“That’s a modest way to describe things, judging by the numbers I went over.” I tapped the pile of records with a hoof. “You’re getting new orders at a good rate and the new sign for the shop isn’t even out front yet.”

“We’re getting more orders,” Coco corrected me and smiled. “It’s our shop, and you’ve got more orders to work on than I do.”

“For right now, but more and more ponies aren’t coming to see me. They want to talk with ‘Miss Pommel’.”

“I wonder who’s responsible for that?” Coco said, giving me a playful accusatory look.

“You are, for having artistic talent and a flair with fabrics.”

“That is sweet of you to say, but I think you insisting on keeping a certain display up for almost a week might have had something to do with it.”

“I felt a little selfish for keeping the display up, but I felt compelled to let Ponyville know I was the luckiest stallion in Ponyville because I was yours.” I gave Coco my best rascal’s smile. “That it helped business was a bonus.”

Coco raised an eyebrow. “Was coming up with the ‘Star Catcher’s Net’ name for my dress a selfish act too?”

“That was an act of inspired desperation. When Lily asked what the name of the dress was, the first thing that came to my mind was Tantalizing Desire, since that’s what I feel whenever you wear it, but I thought that might give the wrong impression.”

Coco blushed. “Pin!”

“After rejecting the first name, I remembered us dancing under the stars at Twilight’s Celebration, and the name popped into my head.” I touched my nose to hers. “I’ll never forget that night. You looked as if you had enticed stars down from Luna’s sky to dance with you.”

The shop’s door opened before Coco could respond.

“Welcome to Coco and Pin’s Attire and Designs,” I greeted, after leaning back from Coco.

“Hello,” Berry said, as she, Dinky, Gena, Piña and Cubitus entered the stop. “Sorry if we’re interrupting anything,” she teased.

“Coco and I were discussing how well things are going with the shop, and she was downplaying her part in the uptick in business,” I told her.

“We’ll continue our ‘discussion’ later,” Coco said and bumped shoulders with me.

“What kind of discussion are you needing to have with him?” Mom asked, as she stepped from the back of the store. “Is it anything I could assist with?” She gave me a mock stern look. “Even if he is a grown stallion, I will make sure he behaves himself for you.”

“Aunt Study!” Piña said and ran to Mom.

“Hello, sweetheart,” Mom said, as she hugged Piña.

Gena’s ears went up, and she smiled. “Aww!”

Berry joined Piña in hugging Mom. “It’s so good to see you.”

“It is good to see you both,” Mom said. “When I found out that you were in the middle of all the events going on here, I worried about you but it did not surprise me to learn you had jumped in to help ponies in need.”

“You think changelings are ponies?” Gena asked.

Mom looked at Gena with an appraising eye. “Of course I do. Ponies come in all shapes and sizes.” She smiled at Gena and Cubitus. “I see you two are keeping up your affectations of being non-changeling ponies like most of the changelings in Canterlot.”

“You can tell we’re changelings?” Cubitus said, sounding surprised.

“I cannot tell you are changelings just by looking at you. I recognized you both from the descriptions of you I got from Pin’s, Pinch’s, and Piña’s letters.”

Berry and Piña let Mom go. Mom smiled as she looked at Dinky. “Hello, Dinky. Could I get a hug from you too?”

“Sure!” Dinky trotted up to Mom and gave her a hug. “I’m glad to see you, Miss Study.”

“I am glad to see you too.” Mom glanced at Berry and Piña, who were easing their way toward the doorway to the back of the shop. “You two go on up. Satin is settling down in the study and getting ready to feed Rain.”

“Thank you!” Piña trotted through the doorway and out of sight. The sounds of her hurried hooves going up the stairs started a second later.

“I’m conflicted,” Berry said. “I want to see Rain and Satin, but I want to talk with you and Coco about wedding plans.”

“There will be time for planning later.” Mom patted Dinky’s back with a hoof and then let her go. “Besides, Coco and Pin seem to have everything well in hoof already.”

“We’ve had our plans made for us, more than anything,” I said. “Several ponies have given hints, or outright stated if they didn’t get to do things for the wedding they would not be happy with either of us.”

“Let me guess. Bon Bon and Lyra are going to be providing sweets, the Cakes will provide the cake, Twinkle Shine and Minuette will do the main dishes, Filter will design the invitations, and Davenport will print them.” Berry looked at Coco and grinned. “Rarity will make your dress, if I had to wager.”

Coco nodded. “I’m not sure Rarity would speak to me again if I didn’t let her make my dress.”

Mom looked at Gena, who was fidgeting in place and staring at her. “Would you like to ask something?”

Gena nodded.

“Please do,” Mom told her.

“Can I get a hug too?”

“Of course,” Mom said and held out her forelegs.

Gena hugged Mom with enthusiasm and hummed with satisfaction.

Mom looked down at Gena and smiled. “You’re the filly with the ability to read ponies when you hug them, Piña wrote about, if I recall correctly.”

Dinky grinned and nodded. “That’s her.”

“May I ask what you are getting from me?”

Gena closed her eyes and leaned her head against Mom’s chest. “Precise, organized, energetic.”

Mom cut her eyes toward me. “Since you nodded with every word, I assume you agree with her assessment?”

I had not realized I had been nodding along with Gena’s descriptors, but I smiled. “I wouldn’t argue with it.”

“What about you, young stallion? Would you like a hug?” Mom asked Cubitus. Mom looked puzzled, when Cubitus hesitated.

“Cubi’s not as much of a hugger as Gena,” Dinky said.

“Cubi?” Mom smiled at Dinky in a teasing way that made Dinky blush. Turning her attention back to Cubitus, she said, “If you ever want a hug from me, you just have to ask.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Cubitus said, looking bashful.

“How is your brother doing?” Mom asked. “I understand he has been quite busy in his new position.”

Cubitus’ bashfulness disappeared, and he smiled. “Radius is running around a lot, but I think he’s enjoying being able to help everybuggy get settled. He’s a lot happier here than at the Hive.”

“We think he’s got a marefriend now too,” Gena said.

Mom looked intrigued. “Who might that be?”

“Miss June Bug,” Cubitus told her.

Mom laughed. “I cannot say I am surprised to hear that.” Mom asked Gena, “How are Coxa, Spiracle, and their egg doing?”

“They’re doing great,” Gena answered, but her tone seemed off somehow. “Spiracle likes being in charge of security and Coxa loves being head of the nursery. There are four eggs they are taking care of, including hers, and three hatchlings from the Hive.”

“When is the egg due to hatch?” Mom asked.

“About another month,” Berry said. “Piña has the expected week highlighted on our calendar.”

Gena went still, as if not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Cubitus, looking uneasy himself, put on a smile. “I can see Piña working with Coxa in the nursery at some point. She’s always excited to visit there.”

Berry looked toward the back. “Speaking of being excited about visiting little ones, I can’t stand it any more. I’m going to head on up.”

“I will go with you,” Mom said. “I would like to introduce our new friends to Insight.”

As Berry, Mom, and Cubitus moved towards the back, Dinky hurried over to Coco and gave her a hug. “Hello, Miss Coco.”

“Hello to you too,” Coco said.

“Mmm!” Dinky said and snuggled into Coco. “You’re super soft again!”

Coco giggled. “Pin’s been taking good care of me.”

“I do my best,” I said. Gena looked toward me, and I held out my forelegs before she even asked.

Gena giggled, appearing to be back to her normal self, and hugged me. “I’m that predictable aren’t I?”

“If you didn’t want a hug, I’d worry.” I gave her a hug and asked, “Am I getting any better?”

Gena nodded. “You have, but more practice wouldn’t hurt.”

Still holding onto Dinky, Coco shuffled towards me, and leaned her head on my shoulder. “Better?”

Gena nodded. “Yep!”

“Swap with me,” Dinky told Gena. “You have to feel her coat.”

Dinky let go of Coco and hugged me. I hugged her back, and we both watched Gena with shared anticipation of her reaction.

Coco and Gena hugged, and Gena’s eyes widened.

“Oh wow!”

“Isn’t her coat super soft?” Dinky said.

“It is!” Gena looked up at Coco and asked, “How do you get your coat this soft?”

“Pin’s the pony responsible. I lay down on a blanket, relax, and stay still while he takes care of me,” Coco said. “You’ll have to ask him about his coat care secrets.”

“There aren’t any secrets involved,” I said. “I follow the instructions from a book I got at the Ponyville Spa. To sum it all up, I brush her coat using specialized brushes in a specific order and then use oils to help her coat stay healthy.”

Gena leaned away from Coco just enough to look at me and ask. “So can anypony feel like this?”

“It might be possible, but Coco has a good coat to start with.”

“Dinky has a nice coat too,” Gena said. She looked at Dinky and asked, “Would you like me to help you see if your coat can get this soft?”

“I… I...” Dinky let go of me and took a couple of steps back.

Gena’s ears pinned back. “Dinky, did I say something wrong?”

Dinky shook her head. “Gena, I-”

The store’s door opened, and the bell chimed.

Dinky stopped, but expression made it clear she was still going through some inner turmoil.

“Welcome to Coco and Pin’s Attire and Designs,” I greeted, doing my best to keep my worry about whatever was going on between Dinky and Gena out of my voice.

“It’s us, not a customer,” Thunderlane said. He led Noi and Rumble through the displays to us. “The shop’s new name has a nice ring when you call it out like that, though.”

Noi announced with enthusiasm, “The first newsletter is out!” She pointed to Thunderlane’s saddlebags. “We saved everypony a copy.”

“Noi, something’s wrong,” Rumble said, after looking at Dinky and Gena.

“I think I hurt her, but I can’t tell because her feelings are all swirling together too fast,” Gena said, sounding as if she was trying not to panic. “I didn’t mean to hurt her, I swear!”

“You didn’t hurt me. I’m worried about…” Dinky paused for a doubtful second before finishing, “About us staying friends.”

“What do you mean ‘staying friends’?” Gena asked, her ears going at odd angles. “You’re always going to be my friend, Dinks.”

“Cubi told me you have been feeling jealous when he and I do things together.” Dinky blushed and added, “Especially if I give him a hug.”

Gena closed her eyes and sighed. “Cubi, you dofus, why couldn’t you keep that to yourself?”

Dinky looked more upset. “Gena, it’s not-”

“Time out!” Noi said, and made a ‘T’ with her hooves. She looked at Coco and me and asked, “Is Cubi here?”

“He’s upstairs,” I said.

“Thank you.” Noi turned back to Dinky and Gena. “You two sit right there until I get back with Cubi. Rumble, you make sure they behave and don’t go anywhere.”

Rumble saluted her with a wing. “Yes, ma’am.”

Noi walked towards the back of the shop with purposeful steps.

Coco maintained a serious expression but only half hid her smile. She complimented Noi, “Your tie looks very nice.”

Noi paused in the store’s back doorway and gave Coco a smile. “Thank you. I wear it every time I have official duties with Ponyville and Sanctuary.” With a determined look, Noi resumed her march into the back.

Gena, still looking concerned, managed a small smile and giggled at Rumble. “Thanks for the snack.”

Rumble blushed. “She can be bossy, but she wants to do the right thing.”

“And you admire her for that,” Thunderlane said.

Rumble nodded. “Yeah.”

Thunderlane asked Dinky, “Where’s the rest of the research team?”

“Twilight found something interesting in the books Sunburst brought from the Crystal Empire, and Pinch and Kevin are helping her, Starlight, and Sunburst follow up on whatever it is she found,” Dinky said. “There are only so many books to go around, so I volunteered to help the Training Team, Gena, and Cubi distribute the newsletter.”

“You still haven’t come up with a name for your team?” I asked.

Gena gave a frustrated snort. “We’ve tried Hospitality Team, Culture Sharing Team, Ponyville Welcoming Committee, but none of them fit. They don’t describe what we do, and they’re not snappy like ‘Research Team’ or ‘Training Squad’.”

Noi marched back into the storefront with Cubitus following close behind her. Behind him were Mom and Dad, who appeared curious about what was happening.

“I’m still not sure what’s going on,” Cubitus said to Noi.

“Everypony can tell things have gotten weird with you three, and now Dinky and Gena are making each other upset just talking to each other.” Noi pointed a hoof to a spot on the floor to show where Cubitus was to be. “You three need to work things out right now.”

Dinky looked horrified. “We can’t talk with everypony here!”

Noi gave Dinky an uncompromising flat look. “I talked with Piña and Rumble about what was going on with us in the middle of the school yard with everypony watching and listening.”

“But that’s you! You three could talk about anything in the middle of the market and not care if everypony heard you.”

“If the three of us are going to have a talk, could I have a hint about what we’re supposed to be talking about, please?” Cubitus asked Noi.

“You told Dinky you could feel Gena get jealous of you and her,” Noi said in a tone that insinuated Cubitus should have known.

“That’s what this is about?” Cubitus said, sounding relieved. “I thought there was something serious going on.”

“This is serious,” Noi insisted.

Cubitus held his hooves up in a placating manner. “I meant serious serious; somepony getting hurt serious. I am taking things seriously, but I’m glad nothing terrible is going on.”

“Good,” Noi said. “If you could feel what Gena was going through, why didn’t you talk to her about it?”

“She was staying quiet about it, so I didn’t want to push. I thought she would get over it or needed some time before she talked to me or Dinky about what was going on. I told Dinky what I was getting from Gena since she wouldn’t have been able to sense it. I didn’t want it to be a surprise, if things came up.”

Dinky told Gena, with rushed words, “I know he’s been your friend a lot longer, and I’ve been hogging him, and I should have talk to you, and-”

“Dinks, it’s okay,” Gena said, cutting off Dinky’s apology. “You haven’t been ‘hogging’ him. How many times have you been around him when I wasn’t right there with you?”

Dinky thought for a moment before answering, “Not too many.”

“I live in the same nesting area with him so I get to see him a lot more than you do too, but that’s not the point. I’ve had a crush on him for a long time. Now you’ve gotten interested in him too.” Gena smiled as Dinky’s face turned red. “Don’t deny it. You know I can tell.”

Dinky turned to look at Cubitus as if realizing something. “You could tell too, couldn’t you?”

Cubitus grinned. “It was kind of hard to miss.”

“You having a crush on him gives me all kinds of trouble, since I’ve gotten a crush on you too,” Gena said to Dinky. “That’s part of what Cubi’s been picking up on. I want you to smile and get the warm fuzzies for me like you do for him.”

“Gena, I-” Dinky looked disappointed in herself, as she told Gena, “I like you. I do, but I’m not… I mean I don’t...”

“She doesn’t like fillies and colts like I do,” Noi said.

“Oh.” Gena grinned. “That won’t be an issue.” With a flash of green fire, Gena shifted her appearance to a colt version of her pegasus form. “I kinda like being a colt.”

Dinky froze and stared at Gena.

“I think you broke her,” Cubitus said.

“Ponies can’t shift between being fillies and colts like you can,” Noi said. “She’ll have to work through it, but she’ll get there.” She pointed a hoof at him and then at Gena. “You two need to talk now.”

Cubitus raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to make us work all the way through this right now?”

“The best time to work on points of friction between ponies is as soon as possible and, when you are able, before they become issues,” Noi said.

I recognized where the advice Noi had given Cubitus came from and chuckled. “Mayor Mare will be happy to hear you’re quasi-quoting her.”

Noi smiled. “She’s been teaching me a lot.”

“Gena you know I like you, now that we can feel emotions from each other,” Cubitus said, sounding embarrassed. “Even before we came here, I was hoping if we survived long enough to grow up maybe you and I could become partners outside of being agents.”

Gena blushed and his ears fell in a display of bashfulness. “I had hoped we could too.” Gena pointed a hoof at Dinky. “She has a big crush on you though, and I have a crush on her. Not as deep as I have on you, but I do. That could be an issue for us, if it keeps getting stronger.”

“I understand, she’s cute, smart, caring, and delicious to be around,” Cubitus said looking at Dinky.

Everypony looked at Dinky and waited. As the shop’s clock ticked the seconds by, Dinky blushed even more.

Noi, smiling, prodded, “Dinks.”

“Yes?!” Dinky squeaked out and then covered her mouth with her hooves in embarrassment.

“You need to say something,” Rumble told her.

“I don’t know what to say. I didn’t think anypony would be interested in me and now two of my friends are calling me cute and delicious, one of them was a filly and is now a colt, and, and-!” Dinky stopped and half-gasped. “I can’t even think, much less say anything that’s going to make sense!”

Gena walked over to Dinky and hugged her. “Dinks, breathe.”

“What were you two talking about that got all of this going?” Cubitus asked.

Gena giggled. “I asked her if she would let me try making her coat as soft as Miss Coco’s.”

Dad, Rumble, and Thunderlane laughed, and Dinky hid her face against Gena’s shoulder.

“I think you need to address what grooming can mean between ponies in your next newsletter,” Mom said to Noi.

Noi giggled and nodded. “I think that’s a good idea.”

“Since you like me and her, and I like you and her, maybe we could try what Noi, Piña, and Rumble are doing,” Cubitus suggested.

“You mean a herd?” Gena said, sounding surprised. “Changelings don’t do herds, though.”

“Changelings don’t date ponies for real either, but that’s what my brother is doing.” He sighed and rubbed his forehead with a hoof. “Though Radi still hasn’t figured it out, that's why June Bug’s been asking him out for coffee or lunch every other day.”

“I would have thought he would have picked up on what was going on from June Bug’s emotions,” Mom said.

“Radi’s always focused on not upsetting anypony when he’s one on one with them so he wouldn’t give himself away. He’s great at ‘grazing’ through a crowd or public place for love, but he’s never been good at getting love from a single target through direct interaction. He’s been getting better about reading one buggy at a time, since we’ve been able to give off emotions too and he’s gotten more practice, but he’s still pretty clueless.”

“I think June Bug is going to give him lots of opportunities to get the hint, but Radi could use another ‘bump’ if he doesn’t clue in how serious she is soon,” Gena said. “We’ve got our own filly issues to sort out first.”

“It shouldn’t be too hard for us.” Cubitus nodded towards Dinky. “I think she’s worth trying something new for. What about you?”

“I do too.” Gena met eyes with Dinky. “I’ll share him with you, if you would let him share you with me.” Gena swallowed and looked vulnerable. “Or is me not being a ‘real’ colt going to be too weird?”

“You’re a ‘real’ colt right now.” Dinky hugged Gena back, as if realising she had failed to do so until then. “You don’t have to be a colt all the time if you like being a filly more, though.”

Gena’s ears shot up. “Is that a yes?”

“It’s a yes,” Dinky confirmed and smiled.

Gena cheered, hugged Dinky closer, and took her in his wings. “I’m so glad!”

Rumble made a motion with a hoof to catch Cubitus’ attention. When Cubitus looked at him, Rumble mimicked hugging somepony with his wings and pointed toward Dinky and Gena.

Cubitus nodded and then wrapped Dinky and Gena in a full wing hug.

Gena stared at Cubitus with wide eyes. “You gave me a wing hug.”

Cubitus blushed. “Yes.”

“You gave me a bat pony wing hug,” Gena said, sounding giddy.

Cubitus looked at each of his wings as if not understanding Gena’s excitement. “Yes.”

“I’ve wanted a bat pony wing hug forever,” he said and nuzzled Cubitus’ cheek. “Thank you!”

“Why is everypony down here?” Piña asked, as she led Berry, Satin, and Stormbreaker, who was carrying Rain tucked in one of his wings, into the storefront. She stared at the hugging trio. “What is going on?”

“We’re a herd now.” Gena told her.

Pinch stared in shock. “Gena?!”

“You look good as a colt,” Berry complimented. “You’re throwing the typical balance of herds off, though. There’s more mares in a herd than stallions, most of the time.”

“That’s an easy fix.” Cubitus let go of Dinky and Gena and changed his form to that of an earth pony filly with the same coat and mane colors as his bat pony form.

Rain made a startled noise, and acted as if he might cry.

Cubitus winced. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare him.”

“He’ll be fine.” Satin said and then nuzzled Rain’s head until he calmed down. “He’s used to me doing magic, but having somepony burst into flame is something new. He’ll get used to it.”

“Oh my goodness, he’s so cute!” Gena said.

“You having a colt’s voice and looking like a colt is messing with my head,” Piña said.

“I have a question for you two, if you don’t mind answering,” Dad said. “I’ve noticed changelings don’t mimic unicorns that often. Why is that?”

“We can’t use our magic like unicorns can,” Cubitus explained. “Most of us can only push our magic to go a little further than we can reach with our hooves or our horns. Somepony would notice we don’t use magic like a real unicorn does, if we stay as a unicorn for too long.”

“That’s interesting,” Dad said. “It must be something to view another group of ponies with the mindset of picking up their customs and habits enough to blend in.”

Cubitus grinned and nodded. “Even though it was part of our training, it was still fun to me to learn about how to watch ponies to see what they do.”

Piña stared at Cubitus as if she were not sure what to think. “You two talk the same and act the same, even though you look and sound different.”

Cubitus shrugged. “To changelings, it’s no big deal to shift appearances. We’re still the same bug underneath, no matter what we change into.”

Coco’s ears went up. “Like changing costumes and rolls for actors.”

“Pretty much,” Cubitus said.

The store’s door opened, and its bell chimed.

“Welcome to Coco and Pin’s Attire and Design. How can we help?” I said.

“You can start by telling us why everypony is down here instead of up in your apartment,” Barrel said.

I glanced at the ponies around me. “I’m not sure. The whole thing happened on it’s own.”

Muffins giggled as she, Amethyst, Barrel, and Turner, joined us. “Everypony’s herding again, if I had to bet.”

“Dinky, would you mind introducing us to this colt?” Turner said, in a protective tone.

“Hello, Mister Turner, it’s me,” Gena said.

“Ah!” Tuner said, sounding far more relaxed. “I should have recognized you, Gena.” He tilted his head and asked, “Why did you decide to become a colt?”

“To help make Dinky feel better,” Gena said. “She was worrying about something, but it’s fine now.”

Cubitus poked Gena’s shoulder with a hoof. “We need to tell them.”

“Tell us what?” Tuner said.

“They’ve made a herd,” Amethyst said.

“How could you tell?” Gena asked Amethyst, her ears up in surprise.

“Remember, I’m in a herd too.” Amethyst said. “I know the signs of one forming.”

“Oh, that’s right!” Gena said. “Cubi was storing up the love you three were sharing for the others on his team when he got caught.”

Barrel opened his mouth as if to say something, but his stomach interrupted him with an audible growl. He grinned. “My friend just asked me to ask all of you if we could continue this conversation at the park. Packing food into baskets and saddlebags and not being able to eat any of it after a day moving barrels of wine all over town has made him impatient.”

Dad laughed. “That sounds like a good idea. We’re all ready to go. I’ll go get our things and we can head out.”

“I’ll help you carry stuff, Dad,” Satin said.

“Stormbreaker could help too, if he lets me carry Rain,” Berry hinted while giving Stormbreaker a look.

“Wait a minute, he’s our mascot, we should get him,” Piña said.

I shook my head, as our friends’ banter continued. “I’ll close up the shop and catch up with you,” I said to Coco.

“We’ll close up the shop.” Coco booped my nose with a hoof before I could say anything in response. “It’s our shop, so I should help. Besides, everything will get done faster, if we work together.”

Feeling giddy warmth at Coco’s words, took her tail with mine and touched noses with her.

“I don’t think Gena and I will need too much for dinner,” Cubitus quipped.

“We won’t need dessert, that’s for sure,” Gena agreed.

With a low rumble, Barrel’s stomach made its impatience known again.

Berry poked Barrel’s belly with a hoof. “You hush. We’re about to go.”

There was a flurry of activity as ponies went up stairs to get picnic supplies, changelings reverted to their previous appearances, and Coco and I worked to close up the shop.

With a display of agility and cunning, Rumble wove through everypony and asked Stormbreaker to hold Rain. After securing his nephew, and getting jealous looks from Berry and Piña, Rumble introduced Rain to Gena and Cubitus with a look of familial pride.

Coco and I did our best to make quick work of closing up the shop, but the others were ready to go before we finished.

“Go on, everypony,” I encouraged. “It will only take us a couple more minutes to finish up, and we’ll be right behind you.”

After everypony left, Coco and I hurried through the rest of what we needed to do to close up.

“That didn’t take long at all,” Coco said, as we walked through the workroom and towards the back door.

“It goes much faster with you here.”

Coco gave me a mischievous smile. “I’m tempted to finish up our ‘discussion’ with you right now, but since they might wait on us to eat I think we need to put it off for a little bit longer.”

I paused as I put my hoof on the door handle, and kissed the tip of her ear. “I look forward to it.”

“I would like a quick word with you, though,” Coco teased and then leaned as if to kiss me.

A knock on the door made us both jump.

“Again?!” she grumbled.

I chuckled and gave her a peck on the nose, before opening the door.

“You’re still here!” Pinch cheered, as soon as I got the door ajar.

“You just caught us,” Coco said, in a good humored tone.

“When we saw the ‘closed’ sign out front, we thought everypony might have already left,” Pinch said, after the door was open.

“I think we interrupted them,” Kevin said. “I was going to say something, but you knocked before I could.”

“Interrupted them?” Pinch’s eyes widened and she blushed. “I’m so sorry!” She apologized to Coco and me.

“I’ll get a kiss from him later,” Coco assured Pinch. “How have you been?”

Pinch gave Coco a hug. “Busy.” She smiled and hugged Coco a bit more. “Wow, you’re soft. Uncle Pin’s been taking good care of you again.”

“Spoiling me, is more like it,” Coco said, as she returned Pinch’s hug.

“You do the same for me,” I pointed out.

Kevin glanced past me and into the shop. “Is everypony else upstairs?”

“They went on ahead while we closed up the shop,” I told him.

Pinch let go of Coco and then gave me a hug. “Has Piña or Mom foalnapped Rain yet?”

“Rumble got him first,” I said, hugging her back.

“That’s impressive,” Pinch said. “Rumble’s been talking about looking forward to seeing Rain again, but I didn’t expect him to get Rain first.”

“Rumble’s so proud of being an uncle, he smiles and fluffs up every time he talks about Rain,” Kevin said.

“I can’t wait to see him again,” Pinch said. “How big is he now?”

“Not too much bigger, but you can tell he’s grown.” I shut the door behind us and locked it. “Ready to go?”

Pinch nodded with enthusiasm. “Ready!”

“Can I get a hug from you too?” Coco said and held out her forelegs to Kevin.

“Sure!” Keven said and hugged Coco. “Woah! Pinch wasn’t kidding.” Kevin looked up at Coco. “You need to be careful. If Gena ever hugs you, she might not let you go.”

I laughed. “Gena did hug Coco, but she got distracted by something and let her go.”

“What happened?” Pinch asked.

“I think I’ll let her tell you about it when we get there.”

As we walked toward the park, I noticed something seemed to weigh on Pinch and Kevin even though they appeared excited about the picnic. I debated asking them what was going on, but decided to let them bring up whatever was bothering them when they were ready.

*****

“I don’t think this is working!” I told Pinch, who was clutching onto Barrel’s neck and shoulders, as I lay across his back like a pair of saddlebags.

“Nope, but it’s fun!” Gena said, as she held onto Barrel’s left front leg and let him carry her along.

“It’s a good team effort, though,” Barrel praised as he strolled toward the pair of baskets we had borrowed to make our goal.

From what I could tell, Gena, Pinch, and I were not a hindrance to Barrel at all.

Kevin ran back and forth in front of the advancing titan, keeping just ahead of him. “What should I do?!”

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do,” I told him.

“Nope,” Thunderlane said, as he walked beside Barrel. “Barrel’s a beast.”

“That’s it!” Gena exclaimed. “Kevin, change into something big and stop him!”

“We all agreed, no using magic or flying,” Dinky said, grinning as her teammate carried us on.

“That’s why you and Thunderlane wanted the last play to be full tackle instead of touch!” Gena said, looking up at Barrel. “You tricked us!”

Kevin hopped up onto Barrel’s back and rested himself across Barrel’s hindquarters. “It’s like we’re not even here,” he marveled.

After a few strides more, Barrel carried us and the ball across the goal line.

Our friends, who were sitting near the imaginary sidelines applauded, cheered, and laughed.

Barrel stopped, turned towards his fans and gave them a sports hero’s smile. “Thank you!”

“The game ends in a tie!” Amethyst, who was serving as our referee, called.

After putting the ball down, Barrel lifted his foreleg straight out, raising Gena so she was even with his chest. “We’ve got to feed you out. You don’t weigh enough for a filly your age.”

Gena glanced down toward the grass and then back up at Barrel. “How strong are you?!”

“Very,” I said, as I slid from Barrel’s back. On my hooves again, I patted his shoulder with a hoof. “Thanks for being gentle with us, you big showoff.”

Barrel grinned. “You’re welcome.”

“That was great!” Kevin pulled himself up and then sat on Barrel’s back. “I knew earth ponies were strong, since we’ve been training with Noi and Piña, but I didn’t know you were that strong.”

“It was an impressive feat to watch, I agree,” Radius said, as he and June Bug approached our group from the nearby walking path.

“Oh my goodness!” June Bug said. “He’s so cute!” She smiled and waved a hoof at Rain, who was cuddled against Satin on a picnic blanket, drawing his attention away from Radius. “Hello there. What’s your name?”

Satin smiled and patted Rain’s back with a hoof. “This is Intense Rain.”

Rain went back to looking at Radius, who was in his natural form, as soon as June Bug stopped waving.

“Oh, I see how it is,” June Bug said, feigning being insulted. “I’m not as interesting as Radius.”

“I think he’s the first changeling Rain’s ever seen out of their disguise,” Stormbreaker said.

“He’s curious, but he’s also scared of me,” Radius said, his ears falling in sad display.

“Radius is a very nice changeling,” June Bug assured Rain. “You don’t have to be scared of him at all.”

“Give Radius a hug,” Gena suggested. “That will show him he has nothing to worry about.”

June Bug’s ears perked up. “You think that will work?”

“Hugs help with just about anything,” Dinky said.

June Bug blushed and asked Radius, “You want to try?”

“If it wouldn’t bother you,” Radius said, blushing himself.

“It wouldn’t bother me at all.” June Bug hugged Radius and smiled when he wrapped his forelegs around her. “You see? He’s not scary at all.” She patted Radius’ back with a hoof. “He’s a cuddle bug.”

Cubitus snorted and then broke out into full laughter as Radius’ blush deepened.

“It seems pony and changeling relations are improving at a faster rate than we had expected,” Spiracle teased, as he and Coxa approached our group from town. “I thought you were going to escort Miss June home.”

“I asked him to join me for a walk,” June said.

“Radi, you can let her go now,” Kevin said. “I don’t think Rain’s scared anymore.”

“Rain?” Coxa asked.

Satin sat up and picked Rain up from his spot on the blanket. “This is Intense Rain. He’s mine and Stormbreaker's son.”

Coxa cooed, “You’re so precious!” She leaned closer to him and smiled. “You’re still pretty new to the world aren’t you?”

“A little less than six months,” Stormbreaker said.

Coxa looked up at Stormbreaker. “You must be Stormbreaker. He looks a lot like you.”

“Thunderlane and I are his uncles,” Rumble declared with pride, before Stormbreaker could respond.

Thunderlane nodded with a wide grin, as he drew himself up.

Berry laughed. “If you three puff up any more somepony could use you for feather dusters.”

“You can puff up all you want,” Piña told Rumble. She hugged Pinch to her side with a foreleg and grinned. “I’m proud of being an aunt, and I’m not ashamed to show it either.”

“You’re still not too sure about me are you?” Coxa held her hoof out so Rain could reach it. “You don’t have to worry. I’m a cuddle bug too.”

With a tentative expression, Rain reached out and took Coxa’s hoof with his. After a second, his tentativeness disappeared and he began touching as much of Coxa’s hoof and foreleg as he could reach as if curious about her.

“Would you like to hold him?” Satin asked.

Coxa’s eyes lit up. “May I?”

“Sure,” Satin said and transferred Rain to Coxa.

Rain made uneasy sounds for a moment, but then settled down as Coxa cooed over him and offered her hoof to him again.

“You’re so warm and soft,” Coxa said to Rain. She giggled, as Rain mouthed her hoof. “I take it we’re getting along better now?”

Spiracle watched Coxa with a tender smile and an expression I could not read, but it seemed to hold some worry in it.

“Pin, would you be so kind as to introduce us?” Mom prompted.

“Of course! Mom, Dad, this is Coxa and Spiracle that I have written to you about.” I nodded toward Radius. “The stallion with June Bug is Radius. Everypony, this is my Mom and Dad, Intense Study and Useful Insight, my sister Satin Stitch, and her husband Stormbreaker.”

“I understand congratulations are in order,” Dad said to Coxa and Spiracle. “We’ve been told you two are expecting your own little one soon.”

“Thank you,” Spiracle said, his tone sounding off.

“It looks like her egg will be the first one to hatch in Sanctuary,” Radius said, his tone not quite right too.

“How long does it take for a changeling to come into the world?” Mom asked.

“About twelve months,” Spiracle said. “The egg forms fast and is laid about five and a half months in. From there, the egg remains in the nursery and the little one inside develops on its own.”

I thought I noticed Coxa, Gena, June Bug, Piña, and Radius tense a little as Spiracle explained the timeline for changeling eggs to hatch, but I was not sure.

“Laying an egg around the halfway point sounds a lot easier than what ponies have to go through,” Barrel said.

“It’s worth it, though,” Satin said and gave Rain a mother’s smile.

Coxa looked down at Rain then at Satin as if comparing their respective sizes, and her eyes widened. Sounding equal parts horrified and sympathetic, she said, “Passing an egg is not fun, but things had to be… intense, with as big as he is.”

Satin laughed. “It wasn’t pleasant.” She stroked Rain’s mane with a hoof. “But he wasn’t this big then either, so it wasn’t as bad as you might be thinking.”

“Even so.” Coxa gave Satin an impressed look. “You’re a tougher mare than I.”

“You and Dinky think a lot alike,” Piña said.

“I take it that carrying a foal full term doesn’t sound like fun to you either,” Coxa said.

Dinky nodded with full seriousness. “You’re uncomfortable for months, and then things get painful, and then there’s blood, and yuck, and all kinds of icky stuff.” She closed her eyes and shook her head as if trying to dispel thoughts from her mind. “None of that sounds like something I want to go through.”

“You don’t have to worry about anything,” Gena said. “I don’t think it’s possible for changelings and ponies to mix.”

“I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of such a thing,” Spiracle said. He gave Gena a curious look and then asked, “Why did you bring it up like that?”

Gena glanced at Dinky. “Well...”

Coxa gave Gena a knowing smile. “I take it you talked.”

Gena nodded. “We did.”

Coxa raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“Noi got us to work things out with Cubitus,” Gena said.

Radius asked Noi, “How did Cubitus get pulled into this?”

“Dinky and Gena both have crushes on Cubitus, and Gena has a crush on Dinky. To fix the problems between them I had to bring Cubitus into their discussions.” Noi smiled. “Since he has crush on both of them, it was easy for them to work out things out.”

“Somepony here is a mix of emotions.” Coxa gave Dinky a playful smile. “What kind of solution did you come to that made you feel like that?”

“We’re going to share him,” Dinky answered, blushing.

Kevin smothered a laugh behind his hoof, as Radius’ mouth fell open.

“What do you mean, ‘share him’?” Radius asked.

“They’re going to share me too, but I can’t change into a colt, which could be a problem later, but I want us to try anyway because they like me and I like them, and I don’t want to hurt their feelings being in love by being with only one of them, and-” Dinky stopped her hurried and rambling explanation, as Amethyst burst into laughter.

“It sounds like they agreed to form a herd,” June Bug told Radius.

Radius looked toward Spiracle as if needing guidance. “Can they do that?”

Spiracle shrugged. “I don’t know of any law or decree in Equestria that says they can’t.”

“They can,” Pinch said with certainty. “About a week ago, we found a couple of books from the Crystal Empire that talked about how things were between changelings and ponies. From what Twilight, Starlight, and Sunburst have been able to translate from Old Ponish, things weren’t great, but there was some cooperation between ponies and changelings. There were a few places where changelings and ponies lived together too.”

“If that was the case, what made things go bad between us then?” Stormbreaker asked.

Pinch explained, “There was a huge magical fluctuation that affected how magic flowed in the world. During the time the event was going on, which may have been over a year, Sombra took over the Crystal Empire, Discord showed up and messed up the rest of Equestria, and Chrysalis became much more aggressive towards ponies. She declared that changelings and ponies should not coexist because ponies were meant to supply food for changelings since changelings were superior beings. After that, she led raids on the city states who were allies of Equestria.”

“That would put a strain on diplomatic relations,” Dad quipped.

“Celestia and Luna were able to seal away Discord and Sombra, but Chrysalis escaped to the Badlands and took the other changelings with her,” Kevin said. “To help defend the hive, Chrysalis had her throne made of the stone that interferes with magic she and the changelings found there. Not too long after that, the hive got desperate for love to feed on, and the organized sneaking of changelings into Equestria to gather love began.”

“When you say ‘lived together’ do you mean they lived in the same towns or that they lived together as families?” Mom asked Pinch.

“There were changeling and pony couples and herds, but there’s nothing that says one way or the other whether they had foals or nymphs with each other,” Pinch said, sounding as if the thought troubled her on some level.

Kevin met Pinch’s eyes, gave her a supportive smile, and then hugged her.

June Bug asked them, “You two have been planning that far out?”

Pinch returned Kevin’s hug, before answering, “Sort of.”

“We’ve talked about it,” Kevin said. “It started out as a joke between us, after we heard about what Twilight said about wondering if ponies and changelings could cross from Mister Barrel.”

Berry gave Barrel a critical look.

Barrel looked sheepish and muttered, “I thought they would think it was funny.”

Kevin met eyes with Pinch. “We did, but it’s not a joke for us anymore.”

Pinch’s ears drooped a bit. “I had hoped we could have one, but it might not be possible.” She attempted to appear cheerful again. “One of the good things we found out is that changelings and ponies in those communities followed the changeling way of bringing up foals and nymphs and raised them as a community, so we still could help raise a nymph if we adopt.”

“What about a mare having a changeling’s foal?” Amethyst asked. “Would it work that way?”

“That way probably doesn’t work either,” Kevin said. “Since ponies have foals and changeling’s lay eggs, it looks like our reproductive systems can’t work together.”

“You two could find a stud, if they don’t,” Coxa said. “From what I understand, it’s not an uncommon practice with herds that comprise all mares who want to raise foals.”

“I suggested that,” Kevin said. “Pinch is thinking it over, but she’s not too sure about having a foal if it’s not ours.”

“I thought changelings were monogamous,” Dinky said. She looked at Kevin with concern. “You sure you wouldn’t get jealous when Piña... um...” Dinky blushed and looked away.

Gena giggled, put a foreleg around Dinky’s shoulders, and hugged her. “You are too cute. You can’t even say it.”

“Kevin’s a changeling, remember?” Cubitus said. “Changelings are raised knowing their partners are going to have to gather love from others in any way they can.”

“But this is so different,” Dinky said.

“I thought of a solution to that kind of issue,” Pinch said, blushing.

“This ought to be good, if it’s got you flustered,” Berry said.

“She suggested neither of us could get jealous of the other if we both had a turn with the stud,” Kevin said, blushing as much as Pinch.

“That’s quite practical,” Radius said.

Rumble stared at Radius as if not believing what he had heard. “Did you say it’s ‘practical’?”

Spiracle grinned at Rumble. “Remember, we’re changelings and we’re more flexible with sharing lovers.”

“I won’t be ready to have a foal any time soon, so we’ll have a long time to think about what we’re going to do,” Pinch said.

“A very long time,” Berry said.

Rain squirmed in Coxa’s forelegs and made fussy noises.

“What’s wrong little one?” Coxa looked Rain over from head to tail and adjusted how she was holding him. “Am I getting one of your wings? Is that why you’re not happy?”

“Around this time, it’s usually one of two things,” Stormbreaker said. “He either needs a diaper change, or he’s hungry.”

Coxa took a cautious sniff. “I don’t think it’s your diaper. You must be hungry, then. I guess I need to give you back to your mommy, don’t I?” She passed Rain back to Satin. “Thank you,” she said with emotion in her voice.

Without a word, Gena trotted up to Coxa and hugged her. She leaned so she could see around Coxa and told Spiracle, “This is a hug moment.”

Spiracle nodded and hugged Coxa.

Pinch and Kevin fidgeted as if uncomfortable while June Bug, Piña, Cubitus, and Radius seemed to guard their emotions.

“Spill it,” Noi said to Kevin.

Kevin looked at her with surprise. “What?”

“You’re worried. They’re worried. Piña and Pinch are worried. You’re all worried about the same thing; I can tell.” Noi poked Kevin’s shoulder with a hoof. “Don’t make me sic Dinky on you.”

“I was asked not to,” Kevin said, looking away from Piña’s eyes.

“By who?” Noi asked.

“By me,” Coxa said, sounding as if she were near to crying.

“Coxa, you don't have to say anything you don’t want to,” Spiracle said.

“Please tell them,” Piña pleaded to Coxa. “I know you didn’t want me and the others to say anything, but everypony should know what’s going on.”

“It’s about your egg, isn’t it?” Berry asked, looking concerned.

Muffins’ ears went back with worry. “I bet it is.”

Coxa swallowed and nodded. “The nymph is developing too fast.”

“Too fast?” Mom asked.

“It’s further along than a typical changeling egg should be at this point.” Coxa took a second to gather herself and told us, “The shell is hardening and turning opaque as if it’s going to hatch soon.”

“How soon?” Muffins asked.

“Two or three days,” Spiracle said. “If the typical signals are reliable, which we’re not sure of at this point.”

“When did the symptoms start?” Turner asked.

“I’m not sure. I think, maybe, not long after we moved to Sanctuary. Whenever I checked on the egg, it seemed fine, but there was always something that made me feel as if I was missing something. About a week ago, the egg started it’s final phase. I knew it was well ahead of where it should be then.”

Berry looked at Piña. “How long have you known?”

“Yesterday afternoon,” Piña confessed. “When I went to visit the nursery, I saw the egg and found out what was going on.”

Berry looked at Pinch.

“Pinch and Kevin didn’t know until this afternoon,” Spiracle said, before Pinch could say anything. “Since this is not something anybuggy could do anything about, we asked them not to say anything so nobuggy would worry. Piña was the one who convinced us to ask Twilight for advice.”

“What did Twilight say when you told her?” Dinky asked.

“She said she had an idea about what may be happening, but she needed to get a couple of things that could measure magical flows ready to move before she could say for sure,” Coxa said. “She told us not to worry too much, since changelings have had so much change since we metamorphosed that what is happening to our egg is probably related.”

“She was going to bring one of your changeling feeder detectors too,” Spiracle said to Dinky. “Twilight said that it would be the thing that would most likely prove her theory was right, but she didn’t go into any more detail.”

“What do you think she’s trying to measure?” Cubitus asked Dinky. “What can your detectors do hers can’t?”

Dinky looked toward the grass at her hooves and appeared to ponder.

“Is there anything… wrong with the egg, other than it’s developing fast?” Noi asked in a delicate tone.

Coxa shook her head. “There is nothing ‘wrong’ with the egg. The silhouette of the nymph looked healthy, before the shell hardened enough to where we couldn’t see it. The egg is at the right temperature, the right size and weight, and everything seems good.” She took a deep, slow breath. “I realize I’m being paranoid, but I wanted some kind of explanation about what’s going on.”

“It’s your little one, of course you’re going to be concerned if something unexpected is happening,” Berry said.

“She wants to know if it’s feeding from you,” Dinky said, as if she had gained an insight. “That has to be what Twilight wants to test with the detector.”

“What do you mean?” Coxa said.

Dinky looked towards Spiracle. “Do you visit the egg too?”

“Whenever I can.” Spiracle said. “For the last few days, Coxa has hardly left the nursery, so I have all the more reason to go there to check up on both of them.”

“I bet Twilight’s going to see if your egg is taking magic from you and her like a foal does from its mom,” Dinky said.

“Foals take in magic?" Radius asked.

“They do,” Turner said. “They get it through their mother’s milk and through coat to coat contact with other ponies. Dinky and Pinch think that foals’ eyes look the way they do early on because they are involved in a foal's ability to draw in magic somehow. Twilight thinks they might be onto something, since changeling eyes appear very similar.” He drew himself up with pride, as he told Radius, “Twilight’s thinking about getting Dinky, Pinch, and Kevin to help her do a study about it.”

Dinky gave Turner a look. “She asked if you would like to help too.”

Turner waved Dinky’s words away with a hoof. “You three, Starlight, and Sunburst will be all the help you could ever need. While I’ll be glad to help when I can, I doubt there is going to be anything you can’t manage on your own.”

Rain’s fussing became more emphatic.

“Speaking of taking in magic, it sounds like somepony is getting impatient for his own feeding.” Satin nuzzled Rain. "I think we have enough light left for me to feed you and then us to pack up and get back to Pin’s before dark.” She settled herself down on a picnic blanket and placed Rain near her belly. “Give us just a moment, sweetie, and then you can eat.”

“You’re going to feed him here?” Radius asked, blushing.

“Yes.” Satin smiled at Radius with amusement. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, but don’t you want privacy?” He looked at June Bug with concern. “Should we leave?”

“Nopony has to go anywhere.” Stormbreaker pulled out a blanket and covered Satin’s hindquarters and midsection with it. “There you go.”

“Thank you.” Satin adjusted her position, and her horn lit. A slight glow shown from under and through the blanket. “Let me scoot you a bit. There we- Oh!” She looked at the foal sized lump in the blanket with wide eyes. “Somepony was hungry.”

“He has been outside, moving around on his own, and got excited watching everypony play,” Mom said. “For a little one, that leads to a strong appetite.”

Spiracle chuckled. “Radius, your instructors covered pony reproduction in your training. This shouldn’t be a surprise.”

“I wasn’t expecting to ever be this close when it happened.” Radius looked anywhere but at Satin. “I thought nursing was done in private.”

“Not with all ponies,” Stormbreaker explained. “Pegasi and bat ponies are known to nurse their foals in public in view of others.”

Radius’ blush spread to his ears. “That would be a bit of a surprise, if you’re not expecting it.”

Cubitus gave an exasperated sigh. “Radi, you’ve been a mare. Why is this bothering you?”

“It feels voyeuristic to sense what a foal and a mare are feeling when they’re nursing. It’s an act of love that’s supposed to be shared by them; not… sampled by others.” Radius’ eyes went towards Satin, but they stopped at the edge of the blanket covering her. “We’re taught to take love however we could, but taking love from a foal and mother during a feeding has always seemed profane to me.”

“You are such a sweetheart,” Mom said. She smiled in a devious way and told June Bug, “It seems you found yourself a good one, June.”

June Bug blushed and gave Mom an appreciative smile.

Radius looked puzzled. “What do you mean, ‘found yourself a-’ ” His words stopped, and his eyes widened. “Oh,” he said in a tone of realization. Wearing a sheepish grin, he asked June Bug. “I’m pretty dense aren’t I?”

“As a rock!” Cubitus said.

“Cubi!” Piña, Pinch, and Noi scolded.

“Wait a second,” Satin said. “Don’t changelings nurse their nymphs?” she asked Coxa.

“That’s one thing we can’t do, even if we change forms,” Coxa told her. “Changelings have both sets of reproductive organs, but we don’t have true mammary glands.”

“That’s why her egg is developing faster!” Piña exclaimed without warning, making Noi, Pinch, and Rumble jump. She looked at Coxa with relieved excitement. “Before everybuggy changed, the eggs had a harder time getting the love they needed. Your egg’s getting better nutrition than the eggs before everybuggy got their new bodies so it’s hatching faster.”

Pinch looked at Piña with admiration. “I think you and Dinky figured out what’s going on.”

Dinky’s ears went up. “What about the other eggs, are their nymphs developing faster too?”

“It’s hard to say, since they are still so early on, but it’s something we can keep a lookout for,” Coxa said. “I can say they are quite healthy, though.” She cried, and wiped her tears away with a hoof. “I’m sorry. I’m just so relieved there’s an explanation for what’s going on and it’s positive rather than what I was afraid of.”

Dinky glanced over at Kevin as if seeking his opinion.

Kevin nodded and pointed a hoof towards Coxa. “Dinky, Piña, hug needed.”

“Can do!” Dinky said. She and Piña both trotted over and joined in the group hug.

“Eeek!” Amethyst yelped in shock, as Muffins grabbed her up in a full wing hug with surprising speed. She smiled and turned so she could give Muffins a proper hug. “You all right, Mom?”

“I’m fine.” Muffins nuzzled Amethyst. “I needed to hug one of my daughters, and you were the closest.”

“My egg hasn’t hatched, and I’m already overprotective.” Coxa sighed. “This isn’t a good start for me as a mom is it?”

“Make room,” Berry said. She somehow squeezed herself into the group hug and looked Coxa in the eye. “You stop that right now. I’ve seen you with the Cake’s little ones and around Piña, Pinch, and the others. You do a wonderful job of taking care of them and guiding them. You should have told us about what was going on, though. Even if we couldn’t have done anything for your egg, we could have given you and Spiracle support.”

All of us ponies voiced our collective agreement.

Berry turned her head and nodded towards Muffins. “I can’t tell you the number of times Barrel and I’ve gone to Muffins and Turner for advice about what to do with Pinch.” She smiled, looked down at Piña, and added, in an older sister’s teasing tone, “I’ve even asked them what I’m going to do with Piña.”

Piña, smiling back, stuck her tongue out at Berry.

“Same for me getting advice about Amethyst and Dinky from her and Barrel,” Muffins said.

“You’re in a new home, your first egg is about to hatch, you have new neighbors that live completely differently than you’re used to, you’re getting used to getting emotions from other changelings, your body has completely changed, you’re taking care of Gena now, and there have to been dozens of other things that are putting pressure on you, whether or not you’re thinking about them,” Berry told Coxa. “You don’t have to face all of that by yourself. Let us help when we can.”

“I haven’t been facing everything alone. Spiracle has helped me a lot. Gena’s been there for me too. As have Cubitus and Radius.” Coxa looked down at Piña and smiled. “Piña’s been a blessing too. She’s helped me so much in getting the hatchlings acclimated to their new home.”

Berry gave Coxa a faux half-stern look. “That’s great to hear, but you are going to let us help you right?”

Coxa smiled and nodded. “I promise, when I need help, I will ask for it.”

“I’ll make sure she does,” Gena said.

“I will too,” Spiracle said. “I have a feeling she’s going to be having enough eyes on her for a while. I won't have to worry about her too much though.” He smiled and let Coxa go. “Shall we head on back?”

Coxa nodded.

“I guess that means we have to let her go,” Berry said to the fillies.

“Thank you all,” Coxa said. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to have so many ponies looking out for us.”

“Please send us a message when the egg hatches,” Berry said. “We’ll all be on pins and needles until we hear something.”

“We will send our swiftest messengers with the news,” Spiracle said and gestured towards Gena and Cubitus.

“You will be coming to tell us first, right?” Berry asked them in a mock threatening tone.

Piña nodded in silent agreement and gave the pair of ‘messengers’ a serious look.

“We’ll split up so you will find out the same time Kevin does,” Cubitus assured. “We already promised him he would be the first to know.”

Berry smiled and nodded. “That will work.”

Chapter 40

Chapter 40

I woke up with a start. I could not remember the details of the dream, but my heart was beating fast, and I felt a lingering sense of dread.

Remaining still, I swiveled my free ear and listened for anything out of place. I watched Coco sleep, while alert for any atypical sound. Focusing on her undisturbed breaths helped me slow my pulse and relax.

“You’re my happiness and peace, even when you’re asleep,” I whispered in appreciation. I gave the back of Coco’s head a light kiss. Her scent, which still had hints of her mint shampoo, and the soft touch of her mane helped me release the last of the tension.

Coco stirred. For a second, I thought I had woken her up. She turned over, almost touching her nose to mine, muttered something, and then reached out with a hoof until she touched my shoulder. Coco muttered something incoherent again, sounding pleased. Her hoof drifted from my shoulder to the comforter, and then she settled into a deep sleep.

I kept still for a few minutes, but could not go back to sleep. My internal clock informed me it was around my typical time to get up and I should do something productive. I eased out of the bed and, as quiet as I could, made my way to the kitchen.

“If I can’t sleep, at least I can get things ready for breakfast,” I told myself. After getting a pot of coffee going, I began gathering what I would need to make pancakes.

Light steps entered the room. “You couldn’t sleep either?”

I turned to look at Satin, who had Rain tucked in her foreleg. “I did, but not that well. Rather than lie in bed, I wanted to do something constructive. I smiled at Rain. “Hello little guy. You’re up too?”

“We’re herding,” Satin said.

“You’re a little young to be herding,” I told Rain. “What’s causing our little guy to be worried?”

“That’s not what I meant, you silly thing.” Satin nuzzled Rain’s head. “He’s up because he takes after his father and wakes up at the crack of dawn. You and I are up because something is bothering us.”

“What are you worried about?”

“Coxa and her little one. Becoming a new mother not too long ago makes it easy for me to imagine being in her horseshoes. I understand her being worried, even if there doesn’t appear to be anything wrong with her nymph.”

I felt Satin’s thoughts echoed the cause of my uneasy dreams. “They’ve been on my mind too. Coxa and Spiracle would be devastated if something goes wrong. Berry, Gena, and Piña wouldn’t take it well either.”

“And you wouldn’t.”

“No, I wouldn’t. They’ve gone through so much. It would be too cruel for them to get their egg to a safe place only to have something go wrong.”

“There you are,” Stormbreaker said, as he entered the kitchen. He did not seem to notice I was in the room as he wrapped Satin and Rain in a wing hug. “My treasures went missing.”

“We didn’t wander far,” Satin told him. She gave him an amused look. “I thought you were a pegasus, not a dragon.”

“No dragons here.” Stormbreaker gave Satin a lingering kiss. “I do like to know that the things I cherish most are safe, though.”

Rain babbled in a tone that suggested he wanted his father’s attention.

“Yes, you’re my cherished treasure,” Stormbringer said and kissed Rain on the forehead. He looked up at Satin with apologetic eyes. “I didn’t mean to be a possessive dragon, but I couldn’t keep myself from checking on you.”

“We’re all herding,” Satin said and looked towards me.

When he noticed me, Stormbreaker’s ears snapped up. “Oh.” He grinned with a mixture of guilt and humor in his expression. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

I chuckled. “You had more important ponies to focus on.”

Satin looked at the items I had put out on the counter and smiled. “You were going to make pancakes.”

“That was the plan.”

“Your plan just changed. Storm and I will make the pancakes.”

“But-”

“No buts,” Satin insisted.

Stormbreaker let Satin go. “I’ve learned not to argue with her when she uses that tone.”

“But you’re-”

“We’re not guests,” Satin interrupted. “We’re family and you’ve been cooking for us far too much.”

I looked towards Rain. “What about-”

With smooth and quick movements, Satin closed the distance between us, passed Rain to me, and grinned. “Now he’s in good hooves, and you can get some snuggle time in with him like you’ve been wanting.”

I looked down at Rain. He seemed as surprised to be in my forelegs as I was at holding him. “I’m not sure what just happened, but I’m glad it did. Your ‘aunts’ have been hogging you, and I was getting jealous.”

Rain smiled and reached up with his hooves. I offered my nose to him, and he took it in his hooves.

Coco stuck her head in the kitchen’s doorway. “Pin?” Her ears perked up when she saw me and Rain. “Aww!”

Rain turned his head to Coco, smiled, patted me on the bridge of my muzzle, and giggled.

“I think he’s pretty neat too.” Coco walked over to us and stroked Rain’s mane with a hoof. “I woke up and reached for Pin and all I got hold of was a pillow. Little did I know, he had gotten hold of you.”

“We’re herding,” Satin said.

Coco nodded. “I went to sleep thinking about Coxa’s egg.”

“Have you noticed that it’s Coxa’s egg and not ‘Coxa and Spiracle’s egg’?” Stormbreaker said to me in a joking tone.

“She carried and laid it, it’s her egg,” Satin said.

“Spiracle had to be involved somewhere in there,” Stormbreaker pointed out.

“True, but marginally compared to what Coxa had to go through.”

“I can’t argue.” Stormbreaker's ears angled out in thought. “You know I’m jealous of changeling’s way of doing things. All I could do was cheer you both on and keep you comfy as possible. If Piña is right, Spiracle’s been able to feed the egg his love.” He looked at Rain and smiled almost sadly. “Since this adventure began, I’ve felt I was on the sidelines while you were doing all the hard work. To a great extent, I’m still on the sidelines, since I can’t help you feed him or-”

“You stop that right now,” Satin insisted. She stood on her hind legs and hugged Stormbreaker around his neck. “You have fed him plenty of times.”

“With milk you made for him,” Stormbreaker said, as he wrapped Satin in his forelegs.

“Which I could make since you’ve been taking care of me and making sure I had the right nutrition. You’ve also given me time to rest so I could keep taking care of him with you.” Satin kissed Stormbreaker’s nose and held his eyes with hers. “I know what this is about, Mister Overachiever. You don’t think you’re pulling your weight.”

“Compared to what you’ve had to go through and given up, I haven’t,” Stormbreaker said.

“First, you went through the pregnancy right at my side. You cared for me, fed me, made sure Rain and I we’re healthy, and kept telling me I was beautiful even while I looked like an over-ripe grape.”

“You were beautiful when I met you, you were beautiful and glowing while you were pregnant, and you're a beauty now,” Stormbreaker said, still gazing into Satin’s eyes.

Satin looked towards her flanks and belly as if questioning the validity of Stormbreaker’s words.

“We talked about my opinion on mares with mom curves, remember?” When Satin looked back up at him, Stormbreaker gave her a lecherous grin. “You’ve gone right past Cadance to the top of the list.”

Satin giggled and gave Stormbreaker’s shoulder a light slap with her hoof. “Second, I haven’t ‘given up’ anything. I chose to have our child with you so we could be happy together. Do you think Rain or I aren’t happy?”

Stormbreaker shook his head. “No.”

Satin’s eyes got a concerned look. “Are you not happy being a family with us?”

“No! Sweet Celestia, no!” Stormbreaker picked Satin up off her hooves and held her close. “You and Rain are the best things that have ever happened to me, and I love you both so much I can’t even describe it.”

Satin turned her head toward Rain. “Rain, where’s Daddy?”

Rain let go of my nose and looked toward Stormbreaker. He stretched out his forelegs and made cheerful noises. After a second or two, Rain looked up at me as if asking why I was not taking him to Stormbreaker.

“Hang on a second,” I said. I waited for Stormbreaker to lower Satin back to the floor and then passed Rain to him. “There we go, little guy.”

“Daddy does more than enough for us, doesn’t he?” Satin asked.

Rain giggled and snuggled into his parents and put his head on Stormbreaker’s chest.

“I would take that as a yes,” Mom said, from the kitchen doorway.

“I assume you’re all herding too?” Dad asked, at Mom’s side.

“We are,” Coco said.

Mom looked at the bowls and utensils on the counter and then to the coffee pot. “Somepony was starting on breakfast.”

“I needed to work out some nervous energy,” I said.

“Rain and I interrupted him. Stormbreaker found us, and we determined he and I were going to cook breakfast while Pin looked after Rain,” Satin said.

“We mares will cook breakfast, Pin or Stormbreaker will take care of Rain, and Insight will prepare coffee for us. Whoever does not have Rain can set the table.”

I looked at Stormbreaker and nodded towards Rain. “Why don’t you hold onto him? You two are having a moment.”

Stormbreaker nuzzled Rain. “Thanks.”

“After breakfast, we are all going to sit down and discuss housing and weddings,” Mom said in an authoritative tone and gestured for us to get on with our assigned tasks. “That will give us something productive to do with all this energy.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Satin, Dad, and I said together.

*****

“I don’t know.” Satin sighed as she looked at the two piles of notes that were on the coffee table. “They both have their good points.”

“Which one seemed more fitting to your daily life?” Dad asked her.

Satin thought for a moment. “I liked the location of the first one a bit more, but I like the layout of the second better. For me, it’s almost a toss up between the two”

“When decisions are this close, trust your heart. Which one felt more like ‘home’ to you?”

Satin glanced at Stormbreaker as if trying to read him.

When she did, I almost chuckled at how similar Satin looked to Mom. My eyes went to Dad, and he gave me a grin that told me he and I were thinking similar thoughts.

“None of that.” Stormbreaker wrapped a wing around Satin and hugged her to his side. “Wherever you and Rain are is where my home is and where I will be happy.”

Satin put a hoof on the second pile. “This one.”

Stormbreaker smiled. “That was my choice too.”

“How do I know that you’re not agreeing with me to make me happy?” Satin asked in a joking tone and leaned against him.

Being careful of Rain, I held up a hoof. “Because I can vouch that’s the one he told me he liked yesterday.”

Mom nodded. “He told your me the same. He also told me the reason he thought you would choose it.”

“Which was?” Satin asked.

“It was more similar to your townhouse, which you have adored since before you moved into it,” Mom answered.

Satin stared at the pile of notes again as if seeing them in a new light. “I hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Your subconscious will influence you in unexpected ways,” Dad said. “Sometimes bouncing concerns and ideas off those who know you best is the most revealing way to find out what it is saying to you.”

“As your father said, if two choices are so close, it is almost impossible to pick the wrong one from an opportunity cost standpoint,” Mom said. She paused and looked at Stormbreaker. “May I ask what inspired such a grin?”

Stormbreaker, his smile still in place, nodded to Mom. “The more I’m around you, the more I realize you two are two sides to the same coin. You both look at the world through logic and you both see connections between ponies and things all the time, but your approaches are almost inversions of each other. You see a group or system and its purpose then identify the individuals in it. He identifies the individuals in a group and then sees how and why they organize with other to reach a common goal.”

“That’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with her,” Dad said. “Her views on things have always differed from mine, but I’ve always admired her intellect and reasoning and adored her personality.” He grinned at Mom. “That she has delectable ears to nibble on made me fall for her all the faster.”

“Insight,” Mom said in a flattered but warning tone.

“Not to mention her marvelous flanks and perfect tea-”

“Useful Insight, do not finish that sentence!” Mom interrupted Dad, a full blush on her face.

Dad grinned. “For the record, you remain alluring in every way.”

Mom, wearing a suffering smile, told him, “Thank you.” Her smile became relaxed and warm, as she touched her nose to Dad’s. “You remain the handsome charmer.” Mom hugged Dad, and he tucked her against him in a way that showed they both knew how they should fit together.

Looking towards Satin and Stormbreaker, Rain wiggled in my forelegs and giggled.

"Yes, your grandparents still snuggle like your parents do," I told him.

Coco leaned against me and tickled Rain with her hoof. “I’m sure your mom and dad will be just like them, when they've been together as long.”

“They look natural like that, don’t they?” Satin asked Stormbreaker.

“Cooing over a foal together?” Stormbreaker nodded. “They do.”

I felt a warmth in my chest, as Coco looked up at me and smiled.

Coco tried to pull her hoof back, but Rain clutched to her hoof and refused to let go. She giggled and told Rain, “I’ll need that back at some point.”

“Now that your housing has been addressed, let us turn to planning the details of getting these two wed,” Mom said. “Perhaps, after that, we could-”

The sound of the back doorbell ringing caused us all to pause.

“I’ll get it, since you two have the little one,” Dad said. He kissed Mom’s temple and let her go.

Rain babbled at Dad, as he passed close to us.

Dad paused and told Rain, “I won’t be gone long. I have a lovely mare I want to get back to cuddling with.”

Mom shook her head, as Dad descended the stairs and out of sight. “Ever since you two got married and you two got engaged he has been more affectionate than he has been in quite a while.”

“I didn't hear a complaint from you in there,” I teased.

Mom smiled. “And you will not hear one.”

There was a quiet second, then we could hear the sounds of two sets of hooves coming up the stairwell.

Dad led Thunderlane into the room and nodded towards us. “Everypony is right here. Please, come join us.”

“Hello everypony,” Thunderlane stopped and grinned at Coco and me. “You two are looking like parents and you’re not even married yet.”

Satin gave a light snort. “Marriage is not a strict prerequisite for becoming a parent.”

Mom looked Thunderlane up and down and then stated, “You are nervous about something.”

Thunderlane blinked and looked down at himself. “What gave me away?”

“You have been shifting on your hooves, the feathers on your wings have a slight puff to them, and your tail is twitching,” Mom listed.

Thunderlane glanced at me. “I bet you didn’t get away with much when you were little.”

“You’d be surprised how much we both did,” Satin said, which earned her a look and a raised eyebrow from Mom.

“What’s got your feathers ruffled, Lane?” Stormbreaker asked.

“I need to talk to all of you as family,” Thunderlane said.

Stormbreaker’s eyebrows rose. “So it’s serious.”

Thunderlane nodded. “It is.” He took a breath and then announced, “I’m going to ask Rarity to marry me.”

We gave a collective cheer.

Rain looked confused at all the excitement. I bounced him in my forelegs and told him, “It’s alright. We’re just happy for your uncle.”

“I take it you have talked with her parents?” Mom asked.

“I have.” Thunderlane’s expression became worried.

Mom’s steady gaze remained on Thunderlane. “There is more you are nervous about.”

“Saffron, Sassy, Filter, Silent, and I were planning a surprise for Rarity, for when she stops in Canterlot on her way back from Manehatten in a couple of days, and I got the idea it would be the perfect time to ask her.” Thunderlane’s ears fell. “I’ve got an idea of how I can get Sweetie and her parents to be a part of it, but I can’t figure out how to include all of you without giving things away.”

“Thunderlane!” Mom chided. “It is sweet of you to think of us, but we understand.”

Coco, Mom, Satin, Dad, and I voiced our agreement to Mom’s statement in a simultaneous jumble of words.

“Whether or not we’re there, we’ll be happy for the both of you,” Stormbreaker said.

Dad clapped his hooves in a polite display. “Here! Here!”

Thunderlane’s ears fell further, and he put on a worried grin. “Then again, if she turns me down, having a smaller audience might be best.”

Coco gave him a reassuring smile. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

Thunderlane’s ears perked back up. “How do you know?”

“Mares will answer all kinds of questions during mares’ nights after having a couple of glasses of wine,” Coco said and winked.

Thunderlane smiled in relief. “I’m glad I don’t have to wo-”

The doorbell rang, cutting Thunderlane off.

“This seems to be a popular spot today,” Dad said.

“I’ll get it,” Thunderlane volunteered. “I’m already up.” He trotted from the room with more energy and confidence.

“You made his day,” Stormbreaker said to Coco. “He’s been thinking Rarity was out of his league since he started dating her. He’s been worried she would turn him down, once it was time for the big question.”

“There’s no chance of that happening,” Coco assured him. “Rarity said that if her ‘tall, dark, and handsome’ coltfriend didn’t ask her to marry him soon she was going to borrow Twilight’s balloon, fly up to the Wonderbolts’ academy, and make a scene of carrying him off with her to Las Pegasus to elope.”

“I can see her doing that,” Satin said.

“I understand why Lane was worried, though,” I said. “Courting high profile fashion designers can be intimidating.” I turned to Coco and gave her a smile. “Asking one to marry you is much more so.”

Coco gave me a bemused look. “I’m not a ‘high profile fashion designer,’ and you never had a thing to worry about.”

The sound of hooves racing up the stairwell caused me to hold my reply.

Piña ran into the room, came to an abrupt stop, and turned to face us. Her eyes were lit up with excitement, as she declared, “It hatched! We were there, when it did! It was amazing! Everything is fine! She’s got pretty colors and she’s adorable!”

“Piña are you-?”

“Sorry, Uncle Pin, but I’ve got to get to Kevin’s and tell them!” Piña sprinted from the room, leaving us all staring at the doorway to the stairwell. There was an exclamation of surprise and a grunt followed by Piña saying, “Sorry!” to somepony.

“She has gotten fast,” Stormbreaker said. “Maybe we’ll see her in the Equestrian Games someday.”

The sound of Thunderlane’s laughing preceded him up the stairwell. “When earth pony mares get moving at full speed, the best thing to do is get out of the way.”

“I’m just glad she didn’t hit square on,” Cubitus said. “She’d have leveled me.” He paused, as he followed Thunderlane into the room. He looked down at himself, and his ears pinned back. “Sorry! Piña knocked me out of my disguise. I’ll change back real quick.”

“You don’t have to change on our account,” Dad told him. “You’re among friends.”

Cubitus hesitated. He scanned the room as if searching for anypony that felt otherwise.

“You have such wonderful colors,” Satin said. “It would be a pity for you to hide them.”

“Thanks,” Cubitus told her, with a slight blush.

Rain wiggled in my forelegs and craned his head as if wanting to get a better look at Cubitus.

“Hang on.” I turned so Rain could see Cubitus. “He may look different from when you saw him yesterday, but it’s Cubitus.”

Rain studied Cubitus as if he was not sure.

“Hello, Rain,” Cubitus said and waved at him. “It’s me.”

At hearing Cubitus’ voice, Rain laughed and reached towards Cubitus with his hooves.

"You're happy to see me?" Cubitus asked and offered his hoof to Rain.

Smiling, Rain took Cubitus' offered hoof with his and mouthed it.

“You made a friend yesterday,” Stormbreaker said. “Rain adores anypony who plays with him.”

Mom scooted closer to Dad and made a foal sized space between her and the arm of the love seat. She patted the free spot on the cushion beside her with a hoof. “Come and sit with us. If you have time, I would like more details about what happened. Piña was effective at getting the basic ideas across, but we would appreciate more information.”

“Thanks, but I can only stay for a couple of minutes,” Cubitus told her. “I’m a messenger for Coxa, so I'm talking with everypony Pinch is seeing too. I was trying to keep up with her, but I’ve given up on that.”

“We won’t keep you too long, but we’ve all been worried about the egg and would like to know more about how things went,” Dad said.

Cubitus relaxed a bit. “The egg hatched about two hours ago. Coxa and Spiracle have a daughter now. From what everybuggy can tell, she’s healthy, even with hatching early.”

“So Dinky’s and Piña’s theories seem to be right,” Coco said.

“It looks like it,” Cubitus said.

“What’s her name?” Satin asked.

“Arista,” Cubitus said, a smile coming to his face for a second, before fading just almost as fast.

“Are you uncomfortable being here?” Mom asked.

I winced at Mom’s blunt manner, and Dad sighed. “Dear, you could have phrased that better,” he told her.

Satin laughed. “Considering it’s Mom, it could’ve been worse.”

Cubitus shook his head. “I’m thinking too much about something.”

“About being an honorary uncle?” Thunderlane said as if trying to lighten the mood. “You shouldn’t be. You did great with Rain yesterday, I’m sure you’ll be great with Arista too.”

“Thanks, but that’s not it.” Cubitus looked back to Mom and braced himself. “Can I hug you?”

Mom looked surprised and then gave Cubitus a warm smile. “Of course.”

Before Mom could rise from the love seat, Cubitus hurried over and hugged her. “Thank you!”

Mom laughed and wrapped Cubitus in her forelegs. “That is quite a reaction to such a simple request.”

“The hug’s great, but I wanted to thank you for helping Radi.” He looked up at Mom and smiled. “He and June are dating now, because of what you said to her yesterday.”

Mom smiled back at him. “I am glad the gambit worked. With some stallions, hints are not enough and more direct approaches need to be applied.”

Coco, Mom, and Satin cut their eyes at me, and I did my best to act clueless.

Cubitus let Mom go. “I better get going. Piña’s got a good head start on me.” Mom released Cubitus, and he walked towards the stairwell. Before he got to the end of the couch, he stopped and slapped his forehead with a hoof. “I almost left without telling you; Coxa and Spiracle wanted me to invite all of you to the Viewing at Sanctuary that they are planning to have.”

“Viewing?” Coco asked and tilted her head.

It took a great deal of restraint for me to keep from nuzzling Coco’s elevated ear.

Cubitus grinned at me. “Thanks for the snack.” He turned back to Coco. “It’s something Coxa, Twilight, June Bug, Spiracle and Radius came up with. All I know is it’s going to be some kind of celebration of Arista hatching and introducing her to everybuggy in Sanctuary and our friends from Ponyville.”

“Sounds grand,” Dad said.

“When is it going to be?” Thunderlane asked.

“I’m not sure, but Pinkie Pie’s in charge of getting the party together,” Cubitus told him.

“In that case, it will be soon,” I said. “The only thing that will slow Pinkie down is getting all the food ready. If she gets the Apples and the Cakes to help, it could be in two or three days.”

Cubitus smiled at Rain. “We’ll see you there too, right? Coxa and Gena would be disappointed if you didn’t come.”

Rain responded with pleasant noises and waved his forehooves at Cubitus.

“He’ll be there too,” Satin assured.

“Thank you again, Miss Study,” Cubitus said, before trotting across the room, down the stairs, and out of sight.

“I just had a thought,” Thunderlane said.

“What?” I asked.

“Do you know how to get to Sanctuary? I don’t.”

“Not a clue,” I admitted. “I know it’s close to Maud’s cavern, but that’s it.”

“We know ponies who do, though,” Coco said. “I’m sure we could ask directions from-”

Something about the sound of the back door shutting made my ears go up.

“That was a bit of a delay, considering how long ago Cubitus went down the stairs and how fast he was moving,” Mom said, as if she had the same thought.

“I thought I heard somepony to him talking too,” Stormbreaker said.

The sound of hooves coming up the stairs made me turn in my seat towards the stairwell.

The sound of hooves stopped and Rumble’s voice came up from the stairwell, “Hello! Pin, Coco, can I come up?”

Rain giggled and squirmed.

“If you don’t, Rain will not be happy,” I told him.

“He will not be the only one,” Mom said.

Rumble came into the room. Somepony had braided his mane in a dashing competition style. “Hello, everypony,” he greeted, seeming a touch self conscious at his appearance.

“You’re looking sharp,” Thunderlane complemented. “What inspired you to get all fancied up?”

“It just kinda happened,” Rumble answered. “I went with Noi and Piña to visit Coxa and her egg. When we got to sanctuary, the Research Team, Twilight, and Spike were already there. Piña was so anxious about the tests the Research Team was helping Twilight with that she was distracting them with all her questions, so Twilight suggested we spend some time with the hatchlings. When we got to the nursery, Piña and Noi decided on showing them a pony ‘social bonding practice’.”

Stormbreaker, grinning with amusement, asked, “Aren’t hatchings young for that kind of thing?”

Rumble shook his head. “Not according to Piña and Noi.”

“Come here and let me get a look at you,” Satin said. Rumble moved to stand beside the coffee table, and Satin hummed an approving note. “Turn around for me, please.” After Rumble finished his full rotation, Satin nodded and smiled. “They did a good job. You look quite handsome.”

“Thanks,” Rumble said and blushed.

“I hope you returned the favor,” Mom said.

“I tried, but Noi’s running around with only half her mane braided right now.”

Dad laughed. “What happened?”

“After they were done with me, Piña and I started braiding Noi’s mane. Before we could finish, Dinky came racing into the room to get us when the egg hatched. After the egg hatched, the fillies were so wound up Spiracle sent all of us foals as messengers to tell everypony the good news.” He looked at Thunderlane. “I got your note about coming over here. What did you need to talk with them about?” Rumble’s ears went back with worry. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine,” Thunderlane assured. “I needed to talk to them about something is all.” Thunderlane’s nerves seemed to return. “I need to talk to you about it too.”

“What is it?” Rumble said.

“I’m going to ask Rarity to marry me, when we go to Canter- uff!”

Thunderlane’s words were cut off by the impact of Rumble using his wings to propel himself to Thunderlane to give him a hug.

Rumble looked up at Thunderlane, grinning. “I knew you were going to ask her soon! You’ve had the same look when you talk about Rarity Pin does when he talks about Coco.”

“I guess that means you approve,” Thunderlane said and hugged Rumble back.

“Of course I do,” Rumble said. As if he had a sudden unpleasant thought, Rumble’s ears pinned back. “Does that mean you’re moving in with her?”

Thunderlane laughed. “I’m not sure how we’re going to arrange things. Why?”

Rumble looked away from Thunderlane, his ears folding the rest of the way back.

Thunderlane’s eyes widened. “Wait a second. Did you say ‘You’re moving in with her’?” His expression became serious. “Rumble, do you think I’d move in with her and leave you behind?”

“You love her,” Rumble said in an unsteady voice.

“That was a non-responsive answer,” Mom said.

“Dear, now’s not the time,” Dad chided in a gentle tone.

“She’s right, and now’s the perfect time,” Thunderlane said. He looked back down at Rumble. “Bro, I need a straight answer.”

“I don’t want to get in your-” Rumble choked up, as Thunderlane pulled him into a wing hug.

“I would never send my cooking buddy, training partner, chill housemate, and my brother, who I love and am proud of, to live with our parents and have to move with them every six months for anypony.”

“But-,” Rumble started.

“No buts. Rarity and I have already talked about things. I told her I would not abandon you, and she informed me she would have been very unhappy with me if I had even considered wronging my ‘charming, polite, young stallion of a brother’ in any way chasing after her.”

Rumble, looking much less distressed, chuckled. “Does that mean we’re both moving in with her?” He looked up and put on a mock expression of concern. “I will, if you want me to, but me staying in Sweetie’s guest room might make things awkward between Sweetie and me, especially if she wants to have a sleepover with Rarity.”

“We’ll figure all that out later,” Thunderlane assured. “From what Rarity and I’ve discussed, she and I will have ‘short distance living arrangements’ for a while, since you and I are still keeping the house for Mom and Dad.”

“You two have been talking about things like this?” Stormbreaker said.

“They inspired us,” Thunderlane said, pointing a hoof at Coco and me. “Rarity likes the practical parts of a Canterlot courtship, and suggested we look at our situation the same way they did theirs.”

Ah, I see what happened, I thought to myself. “If she’s the one that started the conversation, it’s another good sign she won’t turn you down when you ask her to marry you,” I told Thunderlane. “It was a hint for you to.”

“Pin, I’m proud of you!” Satin teased. “You’re learning.”

I looked at Coco and smiled. “I’ve had an outstanding teacher.”

Thunderlane snorted. “Okay, enough sappy stuff,” Thunderlane said, and let go of Rumble. “We’ve got something we need to ask you.”

“Sure,” Rumble said and released Thunderlane.

“Could you guide us to Sanctuary for the Viewing?” Thunderlane asked. “I know about where it is, but I’ve never been to it myself.”

Rumble grinned. “No problem.”

The back doorbell rang again.

Everypony looked at me as if I were responsible for the bell’s ringing. After seconds of uncomfortable silence, I broke. “What?!”

“This is a very popular spot today,” Dad said, with obvious enjoyment at me being flustered.

“I’ve got it.” Thunderlane patted Rumble on the shoulder. “Keep the whole asking Rarity thing mum, please. If word got out, the news would be be all over town faster than I could fly from one end to the other.”

“I won’t say anything, I promise,” Rumble said.

Thunderlane disappeared down the stairwell, after a few quick steps.

“Shall we take bets on who it is?” Stormbreaker said.

“Berry, who will want to visit with Rain,” Mom said with confidence. She looked intrigued, as the sound of three sets of hooves came up the stairs. “Somepony else is with her, it would seem.”

Noi stepped into the room and her eyes went to Rumble. “There you are!” She walked toward him, pointing toward her mane with a hoof. “You’ve got to fix this! I look ridiculous. Goldie even laughed at me when she saw me. I was hoping to catch Piña at her mom and dad’s, but she’s still running around telling everypony about Arista hatching.”

“You don’t look ridiculous,” Berry said, as she appeared from the stairwell with Thunderlane. “You look like you were in a rush is all.”

“I agree,” Satin said. “You have the start of a nice straight braid going.”

“I can finish it up,” Rumble said.

“Thank you,” Noi glanced around the room, as if looking for a spot for them to occupy.

Satin lit her horn and used her magic to move the coffee table from in front of the couch and out of the way. “Here you go. Now we have some space to work.”

“We?” Noi asked.

“I’d like to help, if that would be all right,” Satin said.

“That sounds great,” Noi said and Rumble said together.

As Satin and the foals settled on the floor, Rain wiggled and made wanting sounds.

“If Satin’s on the floor doing something, he thinks he should be too,” Stormbreaker said. “He tries to crawl off, if you don’t watch him, though.”

“I’ll keep him corralled,” Thunderlane said and lowered himself to the floor. “I’ve been wanting to play with him.”

“You have to share,” Berry told Thunderlane. “All this talk of a new little one has me herding again.” She glanced around the den. “We’re going to be tight on space, though.”

“We could all gather some blankets and cushions and all move into the spare room. Rain can crawl around and we can keep him contained while having more space for everypony.”

“An indoor picnic kind of arrangement.” Dad nodded with approval. “We can do that.”

“I’ll help set up the room,” I said, getting to my hooves.

“If you’re going to help, I get Rain,” Berry declared. I gave Rain to her, and Berry nuzzled him. “Your Uncle Lane and I are going to have so much fun with you, here in a minute. We just have to wait for them to get everything set up.”

Something prompted me to look at Satin. She met my eye and gave me a look and a smile that told me she had a thought that had inspired her to older sister shenanigans.

“Sis, what are you up to?”

Satin’s grin grew. “Nothing… yet.” Satin looked at Coco, sending a message whatever devious designs she had in mind involved her.

Coco glanced back and forth between Satin and me as if trying to figure out what was going on.

*****

After placing my engagement ring beside Coco’s on my dresser and putting on my horn protector, I slid into bed.

Coco wiggled close and wrapped her forelegs around me. “I’ll be able to get to sleep easier, knowing Arista is okay.”

“So will I.” I told her, hugging her back.

Coco gave me a light squeeze. “Did you say something to me this morning?”

“I did wake you up, then. Sorry.”

“I had the impression that you had said something to me, when I woke up, is all. It must have been something sweet. Even before I came all the way awake, I wanted to hug you.” She smiled and touched her nose to mine. “I was disappointed when I reached for you and all I got was a half-warm pillow.”

“I had some kind of nightmare and woke up on edge.” Without thinking, I stroked Coco’s back with a hoof. “Watching you sleep and listening to you breathe calmed me down. I whispered you were my peace and happiness, and you rolled over to face me. I thought I had woken you up, for a second, but you settled right back down.”

“You’re the same for me. I feel loved and secure, when you’re around. You also bring…” My ears snapped up, as Coco placed a teasing kiss on my neck and then nuzzled her way up to kiss the tip of my ear. She giggled, as I shifted my lower half away from her to keep from embarrassing myself, and then finished, “A lot of passion to my life.”

Coco looked up at me with tempting fire in her eyes.

“I should have gotten that spell from Sassy,” I said.

“We can be quiet,” Coco whispered as if showing how quiet we could be.

“You might, but I’m not sure I could be.” I kissed her ear and nibbled it for a second, delighting in her suppressed giggles as she squirmed. “I also want things to go so you can’t be quiet, so I’ll behave. For now, anyway.”

“Promises, promises,” Coco teased. She looked deep in thought, as she caressed my cheek with a hoof. She stared into my eyes, as she let her hoof rest on my cheek, seeming to debate whether to say something or not.

I took her hoof with mine and held it. “Bit for your thoughts.”

“I need to talk to you about something. While you, Stormbreaker, and your parents were seeing everypony out, Satin asked me about what our plans for the spare room are.”

“That explains the look she gave us before everypony moved from the den. What did you tell her?”

“That we had a couple of ideas, but we hadn’t decided on anything yet.”

I gave a good humored snort. “Knowing her, that answer didn’t satisfy her.”

“It didn’t. She asked whether one option we had discussed was making it a foal’s playroom.”

I felt a jolt of emotion at Coco’s words, even knowing the conversation was flowing towards the topic. “What did you tell her?”

Coco’s eyes got a vulnerable look. “I told her it had been mentioned, but we hadn’t sat down and had a serious discussion about it.”

“I’m not opposed to those kind of ‘plans’ for the room.” As Coco perked her ears, I smiled. “If I remember correctly, I said something along those lines about the room when the night we completed our courtship.”

Coco pulled me closer and nuzzled her head under my chin.

Coco said nothing for a moment or two, and I began to worry. “Did I say something wr-?”

“You didn’t,” Coco said, before I could finish. “It feels more real to hear you say it, especially now we’re engaged.”

“Did you think I said I was open to foals to lure you in or something?” I half-joked.

“No!” Coco leaned back from me, looking shocked. “I-”

Coco relaxed when I kissed her nose. “I stand by what I said. You’re the only mare I've ever had serious thoughts about having foals with.”

“I’m still not sure why you feel that way. What makes me so special compared to all the other mares out there?”

“You’re the only Coco Pommel in the world, and I know you would keep me from warping a foal by being a poor parent.”

“Pin, don’t be ridiculous. You’re great with foals.”

“With other ponies’ foals. Playing with them for a while and then turning them back over to their parents is one thing, helping raise one full time is another.”

Coco gave me an amused look. “Is this about what Rarity and Sassy said to you about having a filly?”

“Having to say no to a ‘miniature Coco’ might be a challenge, but that’s not what worries me.”

“What is?”

“I’m concerned that I would make a foal as neurotic as I am, if I helped raise them.”

Coco snorted. “You’re not neurotic.”

“You’re very kind, but thanks to my parents’ influence, my time at boarding school, and my grandparent’s almost contradictory stances on how to raise a foal, I’ve got more hangups than our store.”

“We all have quirks.” She grinned and reminded me, “You described mine as ‘endearing foibles’.”

“I did. But-” Coco gave me a quick kiss, before I could argue.

“There’s a part of me that’s worried about me being a good parent too. My parents loved Filter and me, but they were gone so much he and I were pretty much latchkey foals. We didn’t raise ourselves, but I doubt how we grew up would be viewed as normal.”

I looked into Coco's eyes and told her, “You’re going to be a great mother, and I’m going to be right there beside you the whole way.”

Coco drew in an emotional breath and then gave me a tender kiss. She snuggled against me, and we held each other in peaceful, loving quiet until we drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Rumble watched with an expression of disbelief as Stormbreaker packed the last foalcare item into the saddlebag.

Stormbreaker chuckled at Rumble. “What’s that look for?”

“I can’t believe you got all of that in there.”

“You made it look easy too,” Thunderlane said.

“I’ve had lots of practice.” Stormbreaker snapped the pouch closed and patted it as if it were a loyal dog. “If you want to see something impressive, watch Satin when she does it.”

“He’s giving me too much credit,” Satin told Rumble and Thunderlane. “I cheat and use magic. If I only used my hooves, Storm would beat me every time.”

Stormbreaker adjusted how he was standing and extended his wings upwards. “Ready,” he told Satin.

“I’ll carry the saddle this time.” Satin used her magic to lift the saddle and saddlebags from the coffee table and put them on her back. “I want to carry our little stallion, and I need the exercise.”

“I can understand wanting more time with Rain, but you don’t need the exercise,” Stormbreaker told her.

Satin gave an amused snort. “While I appreciate you appreciating my ‘mom curves,’ I think I could do with a little less of them.”

Stormbreaker put a hoof to his chest and acted distraught. “You want to lessen your perfection?!” He turned to me and asked, “She’s sexy just as she is, right?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Put yourself in my horseshoes and think about how you phrased that question about my sister.”

“Point.” Stormbreaker turned to Rumble. “You think she’s gorgeous, right? Don’t hold back because she’s your aunt. We need an honest assessment.”

“I think she’s very pretty,” Rumble said, with a light blush.

“I think she’s beautiful,” Coco said, before Stormbreaker could ask her. “If she wants to lose a little weight to feel good in her coat, she can, but she doesn’t need to.” She looked down at Rain, who was seated beside her on the blanket on the floor where she, Rumble, and I had been playing with him. “You think your mother’s beautiful too, don’t you?”

Rain made cheerful noises in response.

“The majority has spoken!” Stormbreaker touched his nose to Satin’s. “You are lovely as you are, but if you want to lose a little weight I’ll do what I can to help.”

“After you move to Ponyville, you could train with us.” I nodded towards Rumble. “We have an excellent instructor.”

Rumble drew himself up and smiled.

“That sounds like wonderful idea.” Satin glanced over her shoulder and watched as Stormbreaker did the buckles on the saddle and saddlebags for her. “Yep. I need to lose some weight. You had to use the fourth hole on the strap to do that buckle instead of the third.”

Stormbreaker sighed and shook his head. “I’m not even going to say anything.” Stormbreaker stepped towards where Coco was sitting and scooped Rain up with a wing.“Come on, little guy. We’re going on an adventure.”

Stormbreaker secured Rain in his harness on Satin’s side while I picked the blanket and Rain’s toys off the floor and put them away. We gathered Mom and Dad from the study, left the apartment, exited the back of the shop, and then walked to the town square and our meetup point at the fountain.

Turner paused in his conversation with Cranky and Matilda and waved. “Hello everypony!” he greeted.

As soon as our group came to a stop Berry and Muffins went straight to Satin and Rain.

“He’s getting so big!” Berry cooed at Rain and offered her hoof to him. “You must get tired doing all that growing.”

“It’s a bit of an illusion,” Stormbreaker said. “Rain’s average size for a foal his age, but since Satin’s so petite he looks big.”

“You’re going to have an exciting day today, aren’t you?” Muffins said to Rain.

“Now they’re here and we’re here and our two guides are here; let's get this show on the road,” Cranky said.

“Wait, we need to tell you about something,” Rumble said. “Arista is going to look different than a foal, but she’s fine, so don’t worry about her hind legs and how small she is.”

“What do you mean?” Mom asked.

“When changeling’s hatch, they’re covered with a protective layer of chitin they shed after about two months,” Rumble said. “Right now Arista looks like she’s in padded onesie pajamas so you can’t see her back legs. It’s normal for nymphs who just hatched.”

“Thank you for telling us, sweetie,” Matilda said. “We wouldn’t want to cause a commotion fussing over something we didn’t need to.”

“How far of a walk is it from here?” Dad asked Noi.

Noi hummed as she thought for a second. “About twenty minutes.”

Dinky giggled. “With Piña leading, it’s more like fifteen.”

“She gets excited to see the little ones,” Coco surmised.

Dinky nodded. “Yep!”

Mom gestured to Noi’s tie. “That tie looks quite nice on you.”

“Thank you. Mister Pin made it.” She stood taller as she told Mom, “I always wear it when I’m doing something official for Ponyville and Sanctuary for Mayor Mare.”

“So you’re Ponyville’s envoy to the changelings,” Dad remarked.

Noi’s ears snapped up, and she looked at Dad with keen interest. “What did you call me?”

“Ponyville’s envoy,” Dad repeated, seeming a bit confused by the request.

Noi pranced in place with glee. “That’s it! We’re the Envoys! Thank you! Thank you Thank you!” Noi took a step toward Dad and reached for him.

Dad took a quick step backwards and gave a polite bow. “You’re welcome.”

Noi’s ears drooped. “That’s right. You don’t like hugs. Sorry.”

“I do not want to seem rude. A hug is a generous thing to want to give to somepony, and I appreciate the thought.” Dad smiled and returned to standing. “Instead of accepting it myself, though, I would like it delivered to somepony else.”

Noi grinned. “I can do that.”

Dad pointed to Mom. “I’d like her to have it.”

“Can do!” Noi said and hugged Mom.

“Thank you both,” Mom said, as she hugged Noi back. After a second, Mom patted Noi’s back and let her go. “Shall we?”

Noi released Mom, smiled, and nodded. “We shall.”

Noi and Rumble led us from the square, to the edge of town, and then beyond Ponyville’s limits. Along our way, the well trodden street we started on turned into a lesser used path and then into a hooftrail leading away from Ponyville. After we walked a bit, Mom stopped and looked down at the trail. Her focus remained on the ground even as the rest of us moved past her.

Dad walked back to Mom and looked at her with concern. “Study, dear, is everything okay?”

His worried tone prompted the rest of us to stop.

“A new route is forming.” Mom stepped off the hooftrail and walked up and down a section. “Hooves of all sizes have come up and down this path from both directions.” She pointed out the ruts on both sides of the trail. “Carts have traveled this way too, some of them with heavy loads. I bet they were carrying goods to help the changelings set up their community.”

Mom moved to the other side of the hooftrail and scanned it as she had the previous section. She leaned closer to ground, her focus on one of the cart trails. “Have the changelings been trading anything with Ponyville?”

“Gems, stone, and subterranean plants used in potions and medicine,” Rumble said. “Maud has been helping them expand Sanctuary, and the changelings have been providing the plants, gems, and worked stone to trade for the supplies and tools they needed and for stuff to keep the colony going.”

“If they are expanding the colony, that shows they are planning to stay long term. They are trading in specialized goods to establish the basis of their economy too,” Mom looked around at everypony with a smile. “We are standing on a very rare thing for this day and age; the start of a new trade route with a new population.” Mom turned her focus to Noi. “Are they trading for anything that would indicate they are looking to be more self-sufficient, such as farm equipment and seeds?” Mom asked, seeming more excited.

Noi nodded. “Goldie and the Apples have been helping them get some crops going. They’re not used to farming, but they’re learning fast.”

“Are they-” Mom started.

“Dear, you’re getting worked up and we-” Dad started, with amusement in his voice.

“Look at this!” Mom interrupted, and then pointed at the hooftrail with a hoof. “This is the start of a whole new community and trade system between groups who were adversaries recently. How could I not get excited about it? How are you not excited about it?”

I chuckled at hearing Mom sound so enthralled with something.

“I am excited, but we could learn a lot more about what is going on if we move on and talk to the changelings and ponies involved.” Dad looked at Noi and Rumble and tipped his hat to them. “Not to say you two haven’t been an appreciated source of information, of course.”

“We understand,” Noi said. “Dinky, Piña, and Twilight do this kind of thing all the time.”

Rumble laughed. “And Cubi eats it up when they do.”

“Please, lead on,” Mom encouraged our guides. “My anticipation for this visit was high. Seeing the start of this new route has raised it even further.”

Dad laughed as Mom joined Noi and Rumble at the front of our group. She asked them a barrage of questions about how the colony was developing and organizing itself as we walked along.

“Speaking of new business ventures, how is it going for you two with getting ready for Appleloosa?” I asked.

“We’re as ready as we can be,” Dad said.

“That’s right!” Dinky said. “I almost forgot that you two were moving there for a year.”

“It won’t be too long, and we’ll be heading that way.” Dad grinned. “It’s funny we’re heading out not long after Satin and Storm move. Ponies are going to wonder if the whole family abandoned Canterlot.”

“Do you need help moving stuff there?” I asked.

Dad shook his head. “We’re renting a furnished place. Most of the ‘moving’ we’ll have to do is shipping paperwork from Canterlot to the office in Appleloosa.”

“Have you two decided what you’re going to do afterwards?” Satin asked him.

“We plan to say active, but we haven’t agreed on how we are going to go about that.” He turned his head and nodded toward something down the path. “It seems we’re about there.”

Mom, Noi, Dinky, and Rumble trotted ahead of the rest of our group, as festive decorations, booths, and a gathering of changelings and ponies came into view.

“I thought there would be more changelings here,” Dad said, as we got closer.

“Some of them may still be inside,” Thunderlane said. “Even if they are, there aren’t too many changelings in Sanctuary. A lot of them headed back to the Hive, even with it damaged.”

As our leads approached the gathering, they gained the attention of several of the changelings on the edge of the festival. It did not take them long to notice the rest of our group too.

“They brought a nymph,” a nearby changeling pointed out.

“Foal,” another changeling corrected. “They’re called foals.”

“Whatever they’re called, they’re cute,” the first responded.

I glanced around at the changelings who were watching us with open curiosity. I wondered if the changelings who came to town felt the same way I was feeling at having ponies look at them like novelties. While their attention did not feel threatening, it made me self conscious.

“There you are!” Cubitus’ voice called from within the crowd. He appeared from the changelings around us and walked towards us. “Wow, Miss Study, I didn’t realize you were the one who was so excited.” He changed his path so he headed for Mom.

“I am almost overwhelmed, to be honest.” Mom scanned the changelings around us with an inquisitiveness that seemed to match theirs about us. “I did not know there were so many variations on physical characteristics among changelings. It is no wonder Junebug has been devoting so much of her time here. I am not even an entomologist and I see why she wants to study all of you from nose to tail.”

“Dear, please don’t cause any international incidents,” Dad cautioned in a playful tone.

“I will do no such thi...” Mom’s words dropped off, as a large green colored changeling with orange antlers that looked like they could have belonged on a moose approached us. “Oh my.”

“Hello everypony,” the changeling greeted us. “It’s good to see you again.”

I thought I recognized the changeling’s voice, but I had the impression it was being used by the wrong speaker.

Dinky, her ears angled with uncertainty, tilted her head. “Thorax, is that you?”

The tall changeling smiled. “I’m surprised you knew it was me.”

Dinky’s ears snapped up. “Thorax!” Dinky sprinted to Thorax and gave him a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming. I thought we wouldn’t see you again, since you’re a king now.” She looked up at him and smiled. “You’re huge!”

“The metamorphosis made me a lot bigger,” Thorax told Dinky, as he hugged her back. “I’m not sure why, though.”

Dinky reached up with a hoof and touched the center gem of the three on Thorax’s chest. “You got gems too.”

“I’m not sure why on that one either,” Thorax told her.

“It’s because you had a lot of love in you when you changed.” Dinky renewed her hug with Thorax. “I bet all the love in you was what made you a super sized cuddle bug too.”

Several of the changelings around us laughed.

From out of the group of changelings, Gena trotted up to Cubitus. “Cubi, did you find...” Gena’s mouth fell open. “Dinky, what are you doing?!” she asked, staring at Dinky with disbelief.

“I’m hugging Thorax,” Dinky replied as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

“Gena, it’s fine,” Cubitus said in a reassuring tone.

“No it’s not!” Gena grabbed Cubitus’ hoof and pulled him along to stand in front of Thorax with her. “We apologize for our partner’s behavior, King Thorax,” she said and bowed. As she bowed, she pulled Cubitus down with her so he gave an awkward bow too. “She does not know our customs.”

“Are you saying because I’m king now I can’t get a hug from my friend?” Thorax asked, sounding bewildered.

Gena’s head lowered so her nose touched the grass, and she trembled. “No Sire! I would never think to tell you what you can and cannot do.”

Thorax’s ears pinned back in a sad display. “You’re scared of me.”

Gena did not respond, and lowered her head further so her horn touched the ground.

Uncomfortable seconds went by, and some changelings around us fidgeted with tension.

Dinky looked up at Thorax and told him, with mock seriousness, “She needs a hug.”

“Yes she does.” Thorax grinned down at her. “Shall we give her one?”

Dinky grinned back. “Sure!”

Dinky and Thorax rushed over to Gena and pulled her into an enthusiastic shared hug.

Gena turned her head toward Cubitus with a look of utter confusion. “What just happened?”

Cubitus laughed so hard he had to sit down.

“Thorax!” Radius greeted, as he, Junebug, and Barrel stepped out from the crowd. “I thought I saw your horns. Have you seen…? Ah. Never mind, you found her and Cubi.” Upon seeing us, he waved at our group. “You found our guests too.”

“Is everything okay?” Barrel asked, as Cubitus took in a breath to recover. “Radius said he felt something intense was going on.”

“Everything’s fine,” Cubitus said, still trying to stop laughing. “Gena freaked out when she saw Dinky hugging Thorax.”

“I thought he’d...” Gena glanced up at Thorax and then turned away. “Never mind.”

“You thought I would react like Queen Chrysalis would have, since I’m king now?” Thorax asked.

Gena nodded as if ashamed.

“Dinky is my friend, who I have given permission to hug me whenever she’d like, and I am not Chrysalis. I will never act the way she did to us to anypony.” Thorax gave Dinky a curious look. “What was that about you being their partner? I thought you were part of Twilight’s research team.”

Dinky blushed. “I…” She looked at Gena, who appeared just as embarrassed. “We...”

“We’re a herd,” Cubitus said as if it was not a big deal but he blushed as he did so.

Thorax looked dumbfounded.

Gena giggled. “Cubi, I think you broke him.”

Thorax shook his head and refocused on Cubitus. “Radius said he thought you and Gena might end up together a while back, but how did Dinky get involved?”

“She’s cute and smart, and I love how she feels and makes me feel when she hugs me or somepony else,” Gena said. “Cubitus thinks her excitement tastes-”

“Could we talk about this somewhere else?!” Dinky asked, cutting Gena off. She hid her face against Thorax. “Please.”

“We can do that,” Thorax told her, as giggles broke out among us ponies and the changelings. He looked towards our group and smiled. “You look very nice in your tie, Noi, but I didn’t think this was going to be that kind of event.”

“Thank you, King Thorax,” Noi said and bowed.

“Just Thorax, please,” he said, looking embarrassed. “You don’t have to bow, either. No pony or buggy has to bow to me.”

“You’re king now, Thorax, you’re going to have to get used to it,” Cubitus said.

Thorax raised a playful, defiant eyebrow. “As king, I do not have to.” With a grin, he declared to us and the crowd, “I now decree that no creature has to bow to me!”

“We should, though,” Radius said. “You saved us all from Queen Chrysalis and have given us the opportunity to make new lives.”

“It was more of an accident on my part than anything else,” Thorax said. His eyes got a sad look. “There are changelings out there who would argue what I did destroyed us and our home rather than saved us too.”

“No feeling bad!” Dinky returned to hugging Thorax with her full effort. “We wouldn’t be here with our friends if you hadn’t gotten rid of Chrysalis. You just have to convince them they are going to be happier and safer now and they can make new homes that are even better.”

“That will not be easy,” Thorax said. “The changeling that’s leading them… knows me pretty well and knows how to argue against me.”

“He can’t argue with the results though,” Matilda said. “Ponyville and Sanctuary have started something great that shows changelings and ponies can live as neighbors. Or closer, in our case.”

Thorax’s smile returned. “You’re right, Miss Matilda.” He looked over our group, as if not seeing somepony he was expecting. “Is Kevin not with you?”

“He’s with his special somepony somewhere around here,” Cranky said.

“He’s in the nursery,” Radius said.

“Have you seen the nursery yet?” Dinky asked Thorax.

“I have. It’s a lot better than the ones we have at Hive. Coxa and Spiracle have done a wonderful job of setting it up.”

“We haven’t seen the nursery yet,” Berry hinted, giving Radius a meaningful look.

“Wait a second, please,” Thorax said. “I recognize most of you from Twilight’s celebration, but there are ponies here I don’t know too.”

“They’re Mister Pin’s family,” Cubitus said and nodded toward me.

Finding myself the center of attention, I swallowed and took a second to find my voice. “These are my parents, Intense Study and Useful Insight,” I said and gestured toward them.

Mom smiled and waved a hoof in greeting, and Dad took off his hat and gave Thorax a formal half bow of a salute.

“This is my sister, Satin Stitch, her husband, Stormbreaker, and their son, Intense Rain,” I introduced, after stepping aside so Thorax could see them unobstructed.

“Coxa told me about how wonderful you were to her and Spiracle,” Thorax said. “Thank you for being so kind to them. They needed friends to talk to.”

“We were glad to help,” Mom said.

Thorax looked toward Dinky and Gena and smiled. “I better let you go,” he said and released the fillies. “I think if I hold you up from taking them to the nursery much longer Miss Berry will not be happy with me.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Dinky said, and her ears fell with disappointment.

Thorax paused, as if having an internal debate, and then smiled. “I will, but I can’t stay long. I promised Pinkie and Spike I would play some games with them.”

“I’ll get to see you later, though, won’t I?” Dinky asked.

“Of course you will. In fact, anypony who wants to can come with me.”

“Sounds like fun,” Cubitus said.

Gena looked at him with disbelief. “He’s our king!” she half whispered.

Cubitus snorted. “Yeah, but this is Thorax. He was the biggest softie in the hive before he became a giant cuddle bug. He used to goof around with me, Kevin, and Radius all the time.”

“But-!”

Before she could finish, Dinky put a hoof on Gena’s shoulder. “I’m not sure why you’re so worried about it. We’re friends with Princess Twilight. We do fun stuff with her all the time too.”

A small smile came to Gena’s lips. “It would be weird not to be friends with the Princess of Friendship.”

“We can be friends and you can do fun stuff with me too,” Thorax assured her.

“Would you like to see the hatchlings and nymphs?” Radius asked.

“Yes, please!” Berry said.

Barrel sighed and acted hurt. “I guess I know where I stand now compared to seeing little ones. I don’t even get a ‘hello’ from you.”

Berry’s ears pinned back with guilt. “Sorry about that. I’m a little bit excited.”

“We can tell,” Barrel said, dropping his act and giving her a smile.

“Let me try again.” Berry gave Barrel a teasing smile, sashayed over to him, and greeted, “Hello, my handsome husband.” Berry kissed Barrel for a long second, making his ears go up. “How did the delivery and the step up go?”

“They went well,” Barrel answered, his tone warm with affection.

Thorax’s ears snapped up in alert as if he were aware of something untoward happening I could not sense. He looked at the changelings around us while appearing to debate whether or not to say something. When his eyes passed over them, a few of the changelings got guilty looks on their faces.

“Follow us, please,” Radius said.

Our group followed Junebug and Radius towards a rocky outcropping. As we made our way through the gathered changelings, our group got several curious glances.

Mom’s typical searching looks picked up in speed, as if she were looking for something specific.

Cubitus slowed to walk beside Mom. “Are you okay, Miss Study?”

“I am fine, but I am noticing a distinct lack of something for this large of a celebratory gathering,” Mom told him.

“Whatever it is, it’s got you thinking,” Dad said.

Radius nodded in agreement.

“It is nothing serious,” Mom assured. “As you would say, ‘Dear, you’re over analyzing things again’.”

The entrance to Sanctuary was a gap in the outcropping that was little more than a cart width wide. Other than a pair of lanterns that were hung on the sides of the entrance and the wear in the soil from hooves and carts coming and going, a pony could have walked past it and never given it a second thought.

“Mind your head, Thorax,” Radius said, as we entered the opening.

“Thanks for reminding me.” Thorax grumbled, in a low voice, “I don’t need to embarrass myself any more today.”

There was a flash of green light behind me. I glanced back and saw Thorax had taken his Crystal Hoof form. After doing a quick measurement in my head, I could understand why he would have had trouble navigating the tunnel. While the ceiling was not too low for a pony of average height, Thorax’s larger physique and horns would have made the passage difficult for him.

“There!” Thorax said with a grin. “Problem solved.”

After a short distance, the tunnel opened up into a larger cavern with passageways branching away at different angles. The cavern was well lit by crystals charged with magic. The light they gave off appeared like muted sunlight and illuminated the room without being too bright.

Mom stepped away from the group and examined the cavern. Her eyes started on the floor and moved their way up. “You have worked the floor to be level, but left the walls in their natural state.” She trotted up to one lantern and studied it. “Sun stones? What a clever way to light a cavern. How often do you have to take them outside for them to get sunlight and recharge?”

“Dear, no wandering away on your own,” Dad said. “You might get lost, if you go down a tunnel on your own.” Mom, with obvious reluctance, rejoined the group. Dad moved closer to Mom, took her tail with his, and grinned. “There. Now you’re going to stay with me.”

Mom gave Dad a mock disapproving look that was undermined by her half-suppressed smile. “I am not a school aged filly.”

“You’re acting like one, though, wandering away from the tour group and looking at whatever catches your eye,” Dad teased. “It’s wonderful seeing you... so...” Dad’s words slowed and then stopped, when he realized everypony in the group was looking at Mom and him.

Gena broke out into giggles. “They’re so cute!”

“Tasty too,” Cubitus said. “The nymphs are going to wonder if we brought them to visit or for them to have snacks.”

“Cubi, remember, you shouldn’t take love without permission now,” Thorax scolded in a soft but uncompromising tone.

“Thank you for your concern, Sire, but we gave him and the other nymphs permission to nibble on our love whenever they would like,” Dad said.

“Oh.” Thorax’s expression turned curious. “You don’t mind?”

“Not at all,” Mom assured.

“It’s not creepy to you?” Thorax asked.

Dad shook his head. “We find it complementary.”

Thorax’s expression became contemplative. He seemed to ponder something as we continued down the tunnel.

I could hear a voice coming from not too far ahead that sounded as if somepony were speaking to a young audience.

“We’re almost there,” Gena announced.

Dinky giggled at Cubitus, who had been drifting closer and closer to Berry as if following a siren’s call.

Gena sighed. “He can’t help himself, can he?”

Dinky shook her head. “Nope.”

The tunnel opened up into a roomy cavern. They had worked the floor of the cavern into a configuration similar to an amphitheater with three levels of bowl shaped beds. In the center of the room, which was its lowest point, was a circular common space that was occupied by a group of nymphs and foals having story time with Amethyst.

“Oh my goodness!” Berry said, in a loud whisper, sounding more like a filly than a grown mare.

Piña, Pinch, and Kevin, along with around twenty nymphs, turned their heads to look at our group. The trio of foals were down on the floor on blankets surrounded by the nymphs who snuggled against them and one another in a cozy looking pile.

“We found them,” Radius said.

“I see that,” Amethyst said, putting a bookmark in the book she had been reading. “You found Thorax too.” She told the nymphs, “Everybuggy, these are our friends from Ponyville we told you about.”

Berry sneaked herself closer and closer to the cuddled foals and nymphs.

“Berry, behave yourself,” Barrel said and reached for her with a hoof.

Berry dodged Barrel’s attempt to restrain her with impressive agility. She looked toward Radius and asked, “May I?”

Radius smiled and made an inviting gesture towards the nymphs with a hoof. “Of course you can.”

Berry approached the little ones and then got down on her belly about a foreleg’s length away from the closest nymph to her. “You’re all so precious!”

The nymphs studied Berry with expressions ranging from curious and excited to timid and uncertain.

“This is my sister, and Pinch’s mom, Berry,” Piña told the nymphs.

A yellow nymph with orange eyes and elytra moved from Piña’s side, over and around the other nymphs, and hurried towards Rumble.

“Maxilla, stay with us,” Amethyst said and got to her hooves, disturbing the nymphs who were leaning against her.

“It’s okay, Miss Amethyst,” Cubitus said. “Rumble’s Maxilla’s favorite. She’ll stick to him like pine sap.”

When Maxilla got close to Rumble, Rain made a noise and wiggled in his harness.

Maxilla stopped. Her and the other nymphs’ attention fixated on Rain.

“They’re curious about Rain,” Kevin said and smiled.

“He’s curious about them too,” Gena said.

Satin looked over her shoulder, as Rain continued to wiggle. “You want down, sweetie?”

“I’ve got him,” Stormbreaker said and reached for Rain. “Hold still little guy. I can’t get you out if you keep moving around.” Stormbreaker removed Rain from his harness and put him down on the floor. “There you go.”

Maxilla made a worried sound, as Rain walked closer to her and Rumble, causing Rain to halt.

“It’s okay,” Rumble said in a soothing voice. “That’s Rain, my cousin.”

Rain looked towards Satin and Stormbreaker as if needing guidance.

Kevin gave a surprised chirp, as Pinch hugged him around his neck and pulled him to her. “Please, please,” she whispered.

Thorax took in the scene with great interest. He studied each of us as if trying to gauge our reactions to how the foal sized drama was playing out.

“Rumble, they both want your attention pretty bad,” Noi said. “Play it smooth.”

“He’s got this,” Piña said.

Rumble reached out an inviting hoof to Maxilla. “It’s okay. You can come see me.”

Maxilla looked at Rumble’s offered hoof, seeming to struggle to resist the urge to go to him, as her eyes went back to Rain.

“Well, if you won’t come see me, I guess I’ll have to get my snuggles from somepony else.” Rumble extended a wing toward Rain and cupped it to show where Rain could fit. “Come on, little guy. Get in here.”

“That’s playing dirty,” Cubitus said with approval.

Rain closed the gap between him and Rumble, and Rumble tucked him against his side and under his wing. “There we go.”

Rain peeked around Rumble and watched Maxilla.

Maxilla gave Rumble a look as if he had betrayed her.

“I have a wing for you too,” Rumble said, and cupped his free wing in the same inviting manner he had with Rain.

Maxilla moved closer to Rumble and put a hoof on the edge of his wing. She stopped and stared at Rain, as if waiting to see what his reaction was going to be.

“You’re almost there,” Pinch encouraged with quiet words.

“Rain doesn’t bite.” Rumble drew his wing in, guiding Maxilla to him. When she was close enough, Rumble wrapped Maxilla in his wing. “There you go,” he said.

Maxilla and Rain leaned forward to see around Rumble and studied each other, both seeming more at ease with his sheltering wings around them.

“Pinch, are you okay?” Thorax asked.

Pinch sniffed and nodded. “I’m fine. I’m having a silly filly moment is all.”

Kevin put a foreleg across Pinch’s shoulders. “Pinch, talk to us.” He gave her a gentle shake. “You’re getting the nymphs worried about you.”

“Oh!” Pinch looked at the nymphs and put on a smile. “I’m okay, I promise. I was worried that Maxilla and Rain were going to be afraid of each other.” She sniffed and leaned against Kevin. “I made a terrible mistake when I first met Kevin. I didn’t want something like that to happen again with Maxilla and Rain.”

“What’s going on?” Coxa asked as she stepped into the room from another entrance, carrying who I assumed as Arista with her. “All kinds of emotions are flaring.” As if guided by instinct, her eyes went to Maxilla. “Maxilla, you know you’re supposed to stay with the group,” she chided.

Maxilla ducked under Rumble’s wing and made a guilty sound.

Before anypony else could speak, Cubitus raised his hoof. “It’s my fault. Miss Amethyst was going to herd her back, but I said it was fine since Maxilla was going to glue herself to Rumble.”

“I see she’s not the only one who is sticking to Rumble,” Coxa said. She smiled and waved with her free hoof. “Hello again, Rain. I’m glad you came to see us.”

“Is that who I think it is?” Berry asked.

“It is.” Coxa adjusted how she was holding the hatchling in the crook of her foreleg and presented her to us. “Everypony, this is Arista.”

“She’s so tiny!” Berry said.

“For a hatchling, she’s pretty big,” Thorax said. “We think it’s because of all the nourishment she’s been getting.”

A trio of the nymphs got to their hooves, and several others looked tempted to do the same.

“Coxa, I think they’re about at their limit for sitting still,” Radius said. “I’m shocked they have been so well behaved with all that’s going on, to be honest.”

“You’re right. We should let them run around a bit, before they go outside.” Coxa looked to those of us who were new to the nymphs and smiled worriedly. “They can be rambunctious. We could take you into another chamber for a bit, if you would like.”

“We’ve all been around and raised little ones, we’ll be fine,” Barrel said.

Cranky and Dad gave Barrel glances that seemed to say, “Speak for yourself.”

Coxa turned to address the nymphs. “You can get up and move around now, but behave yourselves. We have guests.”

I could not follow all of the flurry of activity Coxa’s words set off. The nymphs scattered and bounced around as if somepony had made the opening break on a rack of bright colored billiard balls.

Berry laughed as two of the nymphs vied with each other to fit in the space between her forelegs. She made more room between her forelegs for them and hugged them both.

“Hello there,” Mom said to a nymph who had approached her and Dad. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“Yes, he’s a pegasus too,” Rumble said to the pair of nymphs and Maxilla who were looking at Rain.

“Hello, sweetie, I missed you too,” Junebug said to the nymph that had jumped into her forelegs. She nuzzled the nymph and asked, “Have you been behaving for Amethyst and Coxa?”

Radius smiled at Junebug and the nymph with delight.

“Pin,” Coco said and giggled. She pointed at Barrel, who had taken a position similar to that of Berry on the floor. Four of the nymphs had climbed on him as if he was a jungle gym. Barrel, unperturbed by the nymphs exploring and romping over him, grinned down at a nymph who was sitting down in front of him as if taken by Barrel’s size. “Hey there, little guy,” he greeted.

I jumped a bit, as I felt something grab my foreleg. I looked down to find a green nymph with purple eyes and elytra holding onto my left leg. The nymph half hid himself behind my leg, as he stared at Coco. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” I asked the nymph, making Coco blush.

The nymph smiled, moved from my left leg to my right, and then looked up at me as if expecting me to do something. When I did not react, he let go of my leg with one hoof and reached out towards one of Coco’s legs. Coco was just beyond his reach, even when he stretched to his fullest, but he did not give up his hold on my leg.

“Frons, let him go,” Dinky said, as she trotted up to us. “That only works with Noi, Piña, and Rumble.”

“What is he trying to do?” Coco asked.

“He wants you two to hold hooves so he can get some love,” Dinky said. “He figured out that whenever Piña would hold hooves with Noi or Rumble they would give off love. Now, whenever any of the three of them are close to each other, he tries to get at least two of them to hold hooves.”

“How could he tell Coco and I were in love?” I asked.

“The same you can tell when other ponies are in love.” Dinky nodded toward Muffins and Turner, who had gotten down on the floor together and were enjoying being visited by a trio of nymphs. “It shows somehow. The nymphs are even better at picking up on it.”

Coco offered her hoof to Frons and then moved closer to me so her side touched mine. Frons put Coco’s and my hooves together and then took a step back from us.

“Hold on, sweetheart,” Coco said. With a slight pull on my hoof, she guided me to settle down on the floor with her. “Get right here,” she told Frons and patted the floor in front of her.

Frons took the offered spot and leaned into Coco’s leg. When he touched Coco’s coat, his eyes widened. He wiggled forward and curled against her chest as if to touch as much of her coat as possible, making a joyful noise.

“There we go,” Coco said and wrapped her free leg around Frons. She took my tail with her hers and settled against me. “Now we’re ready for a good snuggle.”

I put my head on Coco’s and basked in the feeling that came over me. It was as if knowing that loving her was helping somepony else allowed my love for her to bubble up in a warm and almost euphoric way.

Dinky looked past Coco and me. “Thorax, are you okay?”

“It’s like it was in the Crystal Empire with Flurry and her parents,” Thorax said, sounding as if he were having trouble believing it. “Everypony is sharing their love without even thinking about it.”

“How could we not share our love with such little cuties?” Berry said, as she tickled one nymph into a fit of giggles.

“Even my standoffish husband is enjoying the experience,” Mom said.

I turned my head to see Dad grinning at the nymph who had been visiting him and Mom. Dad must have put his hat on the nymph, as the little changeling was half obscured under it. The nymph, who was giggling and peeking out from under the brim of Dad’s hat, seemed delighted by the ‘game’.

Thorax sounded as if close to being overcome with emotions. “I had hoped changelings and ponies might learn to get along over time, but this is so much more than I had expected.”

“It seems the party started in here before it started outside,” Spiracle said, as he led Cheerilee, Mayor Mare, and Riff into the room from another tunnel.

Cheerilee looked to Coxa. “Should I wait for a couple of minutes?”

Coxa smiled and shook her head. “I think they’re ready to go. They’ve gotten to let out enough energy they should be manageable now.”

Cheerilee nodded and then addressed the room in her teacher’s voice, “Hello, everybuggy. It’s good to see you all again.” Cheerilee paused for a second to allow a light blue colored nymph to hug her. She smiled and hugged the nymph back. “We have a surprise waiting for you outside. The students from my school, with the help of Mister Barrel and Mister Riff, have set up all kinds of games outside. They would like to meet and play with all of you.”

Several of the nymphs looked toward Coxa.

“Go with Miss Cheerilee and her friends and have fun, but behave yourselves,” Coxa told them. “If we make a bad first impression there may not be any more events like this.”

Muffins deflated a little, as the nymphs that had been visiting with her and Turner wiggled out from under her wings. “Goodbye,” she told them, trying to sound cheery.

The nymphs rushed back to Muffins and gave her a hug.

“Oh, little ones, I didn’t mean to make you feel guilty.” Muffins returned the nymphs’ hug and nuzzled the top of their heads. “You two go play.”

“They learned to hug ponies to cheer them up from Dinky,” Cubitus said with amused pride.

“Can we take Rain too?” Gena asked Satin.

“Rumble and I will watch him,” Thunderlane said.

I did not hear Satin’s response to Gena’s question because of my attention going to Coco, who leaned away from my side.

“You better get going,” she told Frons and lifted her head from him.

After a show of reluctance, Frons got to his hooves.

“I don’t blame you,” I told Frons. “She’s wonderful to cuddle with.”

“How do you say ‘thank you’ to someone who’s given you love?” Dinky asked Frons in a prompting way.

Frons’ ears snapped up. He smiled at Dinky, and then turned and gave Coco a hug around her neck.

“You’re welcome,” Coco said, and returned his hug.

To my surprise, Frons let go of Coco and hugged me around the neck too. “You’re welcome,” I told him and used my free leg to give him a hug.

“Come on, cuddle bug,” Cubitus said to Frons, who scampered to Cubitus’ side.

“Mom, you need to let them go,” Pinch teased.

“I’ll see you outside soon,” Berry promised the nymphs in her forelegs and then gave them each a nuzzle. “Go have fun with Miss Cheerilee’s class.” The pair of nymphs gave her a hug and then trotted to join the other nymphs who were gathered in front of Cheerilee.

“Let’s go, everycreature,” Cheerilee said, and led the way into the tunnel heading toward the surface.

After the foals, including Rain, the nymphs, Amethyst, and Thunderlane left, the room felt much larger and too quiet.

Satin stared at the tunnel’s entrance as if struggling with something.

“It’s hard isn’t it?” Muffins said.

Satin snapped out of her thoughts. “Pardon?”

“It’s difficult letting them go on their own adventures, is it?” Muffins said.

Satin took in a slow breath. “It’s not.” She smiled and leaned against Stormbreaker, who put a wing around her shoulders. “I keep telling myself I can’t fret over him every second, but that impulse is still there.”

“It will still be there when he’s grown and has a home of own,” Muffins told her. “Even though she has Cheerillee and Riff looking out for her, I still worry about Ammy.” She sighed wistfully. “I worry about Dinky too, even thought she’s brilliant, can take care of herself, and has wonderful friends to watch over her.” She cut her eyes towards Turner, “But she’s got a lot of her father in her.”

“About fifty percent,” Turner quipped.

Muffins raised an eyebrow at Turner. “And she’ll jump in to help ponies or get too excited about one of her ‘inspired’ ideas and race to do things without thinking them through.”

Berry returned to standing, moved closer to Coxa, and cooed over Arista. “You are too cute, did you know that? Rumble was right, you look like you’re in pajamas.”

“It’s not off putting to you?” Coxa asked.

Berry shook her head. “Nah. It’s a little different, but having a little extra padding on a newborn seems like a good idea to me.”

“Speaking of the differences between foals and nymphs, we would like to get input on what raising a foal is like from those of you who have,” Spiracle said. “We have gotten some information from Cheerilee, but she suggested we talk with ponies with ‘hooves on’ experience.”

“We’re hoping to...” Coxa looked troubled for a second. “Adjust how we raise our nymphs here,” she finished.

“Study was right then,” Dad said. “You are planning to stay long term.”

“We’ve been asked not to make comments on such topics for now.” Spiracle looked toward Thorax and smiled. “Our King will address the long term plans for Sanctuary at the ceremony.”

Mom hummed a curious note and made a show of looking around the room. “I noticed there are no eggs in this chamber. Are they in a more secure location for safekeeping?”

“They’re in another room designed for them, and it is further in, but security wasn’t the main reason for its location,” Coxa said. “We have taken precautions to make sure we could close off the room in case of...” Coxa’s words faded, and she looked sickened by some thought.

“Troubles of any kind,” Spiracle finished for her. He put a comforting leg around Coxa’s shoulders. “We are as secure here as we were at the Hive, if not more so.”

Coxa met eyes with Berry, who was giving her a pleading look, and giggled. “Would you like to see the egg chamber?”

“Yes we would!” Berry said.

“Too bad Cubi left with the others,” Radius said. “He’d enjoy this.”

“I’m sure he’s getting plenty of excitement from the nymphs and foals right now,” Junebug said.

Coxa and Spiracle let us into a tunnel on the other side of the nursery. After a short distance, we entered into a smaller chamber. Though similar to the nursery, each of the three levels of the room had bowl shaped depressions in the floor that were lined with cloth padding. Only four of the ‘nests’ held eggs, which gave the chamber a solemn and wanting feeling.

“They’re beautiful!” Muffins said, as she moved close to examine one egg. “It’s like they’ve been painted with swirls.

“You can see the nymphs!” Berry said. “You have to look close, but you can see them!”

I moved closer to one egg and studied it. It took me a second to recognize it among the swirls of the outer shell and the floating matter inside, but there was a vague outline of a curled up foal in the center of the egg.

“Fascinating,” Dad said.

Mom moved from one egg to the next, looking each over. She then stopped and looked around the room systematically.

“You have questions,” Spiracle said to her.

“Several interlocking ones,” Mom said.

“Please ask them,” Coxa said. “Part of the reason for the Viewing was to help changelings and ponies understand each other.”

Mom looked toward the empty nests. “Why are there so few eggs when the room is designed to hold so many more?”

“We have not been here long enough for more changelings to have an egg here,” Coxa answered, sounding as if she were trying to hide the sadness in her voice.

“Something is bothering you about that,” Dad said.

“Mom, Dad, no interrogations,” Satin warned them.

Spiracle did not seem phased by Mom and Dad or Satin’s words. “My mate has a caring heart.” He made a gesture that took in the eggs and then pointed towards the tunnel that led to the nursery. “These eggs and the nymphs you met were abandoned by their parents who joined with Ph-”

Thorax made a noise that cut Spiracle’s words short.

“Who have joined with the rebel changelings,” Spiracle said, seeming to correct himself.

“They left them behind?!” Berry whispered, sounding disturbed and saddened by the thought.

“Most changelings’ views on parenting differ greatly from ponies. In fact, ‘parenting’ is a foreign concept to them. Because of Chrysalis, we-” Arista squirmed, and Coxa halted her words. She held Arista closer and nuzzled her. “I’m sorry, my love. I’ll try to cheer up for you. I know sadness doesn’t taste good.”

A soft, sleepy chirp caused everypony to pause.

Coxa smiled, as Berry’s and Muffins' full attention focused on one nest on the third level up. “They must be waking up too.”

“The other hatchlings?” Muffins said.

Coxa nodded. “Would you like to see them?”

Berry pranced in place. “Yes please!” she whispered.

Coxa gestured for us to follow her. “They are almost ready for their first molt, so they are not looking their best, but they’re doing fine.” She guided us up to one bed and pulled aside the curtains that had been shielding the bed from the light in the room.

I waited for a moment for everypony else to find their spot and then shuffled so I could see. The three hatchlings were cuddled together in the center of the nest. Their colors appeared dulled compared to the nymphs. One of them raised her head and met eyes with Berry.

“Oh my goodness!” Berry said in a whisper. She got so close to the bed her nose almost touched its edge. “I should have brought our camera.”

“Berry, you can’t get in the nest with them,” Barrel said.

“Same goes for you, sweetheart,” Turner told Muffins, who had taken her spot on the opposite side of the nest from Berry.

“Hello there,” Berry greeted the still sleepy nymph.

“They’re so cute!” Coco said, as she leaned against me.

The hatchling started and looked around as if panicked. She reached out with her hooves and patted the nest around her, getting more upset as she could not find what she was searching for.

“It’s okay, Syrphidae,” Coxa said and stroked the nymph’s back with a gentle hoof. “Arista is right here. She woke up and was a little fussy. I didn’t want her to wake you up too, so I let her meet our visitors.”

The other hatchlings stirred and sat up.

“Their eyes are milky,” Muffins said with concern.

“They do that right before a molt. They could use a little care and attention, since they can’t see as well right now.” Spiracle grinned. “Would either of you like to hold one of th-”

“Yes!” Berry and Muffins answered in unison.

“I’ll take Syrphidae,” Spiracle said, as he picked her up. He turned and held Syrphidae so she was close to Arista. “Arista’s right here. You can calm down now.”

Syrphidae reached out and touched Arista with a hoof. She relaxed, when Arista put a hoof on top of hers in response.

“She’s very protective of Arista,” Dad noted.

“Arista was the first addition to their nesting group, after they came here,” Coxa said. “Syrphidae made herself the nest’s guardian and makes sure that everybuggy is where they’re supposed to be.”

“You mentioned changelings cannot nurse their nymphs the other day,” Mom said. “Does that mean they can eat solid food this young?”

“Not yet,” Coxa said. “After their first molt, they will be able to handle some solid foods. Right now, they only feed on love.”

“So you are a little love bug aren’t you?” Muffins gave a gentle nuzzle to the nymph she was holding. “He’s so small I’m worried I might hurt him if I’m not careful,” she said to Coxa, as the nymph cuddled closer to her.

“Gryllus is tougher than you might think,” Spiracle said. “He, Bombus, and Syrphidae rough house a lot.” He looked at Coxa with a smile. “I think this would be a good time to ask them.”

Coxa gave an amused snort, but she looked somewhat troubled. “Asking now seems unethical.”

“Unethical?” Barrel said. “Now you’ve got to ask. You’ve got my curiosity stirred up on how holding a little one could be used as leverage for something.”

“Mine too,” Dad said.

We ponies not holding nymphs raised our hooves, as did Matilda and Cranky, while Berry and Muffins nodded in agreement.

Mom grinned. “I believe that makes it unanimous.”

Coxa’s hesitancy disappeared. “While we’re able to share love between us now, there are not enough changeling pairs here to provide the amount we need,” she explained. “Gathering love is not near the problem it used to be, but it’s still taking efforts away from other things we need to do to get Sanctuary stabilized. We’d like to know if you would help us provide love for the nymphs until we can get a larger and more stable supply going.”

“We’ll get to visit with the nymphs some more?” Berry asked, her eyes filled with excitement.

Coxa smiled at her. “Of course.”

“I’d never turn down an opportunity to make love with Berry,” Barrel said, with a lecherous curl to his smile.

“Barrel, behave,” Barry warned, sounding both flattered and serious. She told Coxa, “We’re in.”

I watched Coco, waiting with unexpected anticipation to see what her response was going to be.

Sensing my attention on her, Coco turned and gave me a curious look.

Even with the conversation continuing around us, I lost myself in Coco’s blue eyes and thinking about what I had felt while we cuddled in the nursery. I heard a couple of more questions and answers from those around me, but they were distant and vague to my ears.

Dad chuckled and said something that got part of my attention and made my ear flick, but it was not enough for me to register what he said.

Coco smiled, lifted a hoof, and booped my nose. “Pin?”

After coming back to reality, I blinked and gave her a smile. “I’m here.”

“You okay there, buddy?” Barrel asked with amusement. “You zoned out on us.”

“He’s fine,” Satin assured. “Coco enraptured him again is all.”

“Did you say, ‘again’?” Turner chuckled. “How often does this happen?”

“It’s not a regular occurrence, but it happens often enough we’ve gotten used to it,” Satin said.

“Your emotions were an interesting mixture,” Thorax said. “What were you thinking about?”

“Other than Coco’s eyes,” Berry teased.

Trying to avoid further inquiries, I gave the truncated but truthful response, “I was wondering what Coco’s answer was going to be.”

“There was a lot more going through your head than that,” Dad said. “You didn’t even hear me ask you what you thought about the idea.”

I shrugged and put on my best smile. “It wasn’t important, or even coherent.”

“You say that, but you are acting nervous and embarrassed while being evasive with us,” Mom said.

“Pin.” I looked at Coxa, who had a kind but no-nonsense expression. “Beyond all of you being our friends and us wanting to share this celebration with you, we wanted to get your impressions and opinions on several things during your visit. We’re trying to plan for Sanctuary, and the ponies of Ponyville are going to be key to whether or not we succeed. You were putting a lot of thought into something concerning giving love to our nymphs, and I want to know what it was.”

“I’ll try to make it all make sense,” I said and tapped my temple with a hoof. “It was kind of jumbled in here, though. I’m not sure where to start.”

“Then I’ll give you a prompt,” Spiracle said, a touch of his commanding tone entering his voice. “Your emotions flared when you two cuddled with Frons. You didn’t just give off love, you seemed to have some kind of epiphany. Tell us about what caused that flare of emotion and go from there.”

You had to ask about that first thing didn’t you? I thought. “I-” My eyes went to Coco, who gave me a supportive look, and I lost my ability to speak. “I-, She’s-,” I stammered.

“Coco, give him a hug,” Muffins prompted. “He’s bottling things up with all of us looking at him.”

“And knowing we’re waiting with high expectations, ready to judge him and every word he- Oof!” Barrel’s joking was cut short by a shoulder bump from Berry.

“Quit giving him those eyes of yours, too,” Berry said. “We need him talking sense.”

Coco giggled and then moved closer and hugged me. As I returned her hug, she tucked her head against my chest. “Now you have support and I won’t distract you by looking at you,” she said.

“Thank you.” I moved my mouth close to her ear and whispered, “Your eyes are such a pretty distraction, though.”

Smiling, Stormbreaker chided in a teasing tone, “Pin, quit flattering your fiancee and focus.”

“Sorry.” I turned my attention back to Coxa. “Coco’s been helping me quit hiding behind etiquette and Canterlotian social rules and let my emotions out. I love Coco to the core of my being, but even with her giving me permission to express it something still causes me to… restrict myself as if loving her is some kind of guilty pleasure I shouldn’t indulge in. When we were cuddling, and she was holding Frons, her effect on me got much stronger and that feeling vanished.”

“You felt a release,” Thorax said.

“I did. It was as if knowing that my loving her was helping somepony else allowed it to flow with no resistance. I didn’t feel guilt for enjoying it or shame for having feelings about her with others around either. It was amazing.”

“I know what you’re talking about,” Cranky said. “Knowing that loving Matilda feeds Kevin makes it even sweeter than it already is.”

Matilda gave Cranky a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you, Doodle dear.”

Cranky blushed and grumbled, “Let’s not make this any more embarrassing than I already have.”

“If Coco agrees, I’d be more than happy to come and donate love,” I told Coxa.

“Count us in,” Coco said. “By the way, I felt something similar to what Pin described when we cuddled with Frons.”

“The same with me and Cranky,” Matilda said.

“All four of you’ve had the same reaction,” Turner said, putting a hoof to his chin. “Interesting.”

“They’re not the only ones,” Radius said. “Amethyst, Cheerilee, and Riff have said similar things. As have Pinch and Kevin and the Training Partners.”

“That’s a significant number of outcomes considering the sample size. I wonder...” He looked at Muffins and grinned. “I know everypony would be watching, but would you be willing to do a quick experiment with me?” he asked and waggled his eyebrows.

Muffins blushed to her ear tips and her wings fluffed. “Turner!”

Berry laughed. “It’s nice to know my husband isn’t the only one who misbehaves in public.”

“In all seriousness, I would like to find out if we can experience the same sensation if we snuggle with purpose.” Turner, sounding much like a colt trying to justify getting a treat, added, “It would be to further our efforts to help the changelings and advance science too.”

“Don’t give me that ‘to help’ and ‘for science’ malarkey,” Muffins said and extended a wing.

Turner tucked himself under Muffins’ wing and held her close in a tender embrace. “That is a positive aspect of the experiment’s methodology, I must admit.” Smiling, he leaned his head against Muffins’ and they both closed their eyes.

There was a silent, still second, and then the ears of the adult changelings in the room perked up and Bombas cuddled against Muffins as if enjoying a warm blanket.

Barrel moved to sit just behind Berry. “I think we should have an experiment of our own,” he whispered.

Berry smiled at him, nodded, and settled back against Barrel’s chest. She hummed a cheerful note, as Barrel held her and put his cheek on the top of her head.

Gryllus did much the same to Berry as Bombus had done to Muffins, and wiggled in her forelegs until he was tucked against her.

Coxa drew in a breath as if she were enjoying wholesome sea air. “They’re giving off a steady flow of love like the others.”

“Can changeling couples not do the same?” I asked.

“They can, but ponies’ love still has a special appeal,” Radius said. “A pony’s love has a richer flavor, and it’s even better when you find a pony that gives off the secondary emotions you like.” He glanced towards Junebug but caught himself and looked back to me. “In the past, changelings have gotten into trouble by sticking around too long trying to get love from a particular pony because their other emotions were so enticing.”

Thorax’s ear flicked and he looked at Radius with a teasing smirk.

“So getting love from a pony may have different, please forgive my lack of a more precise description, ‘nutritional values’ for a changeling?” Dad asked.

“Dinky and Twilight think that might be the case,” Spiracle said. “They are already trying to figure out how to test their theory, but they are not even sure how we take in love.” He chuckled. “Kevin has been enjoying their efforts to ‘unravel the mysteries of a changeling’s magical metabolism’.”

“So you may still need ponies?” I asked.

“It seems so.” Coxa smiled. “You felt good about that. Why?”

“It feels good to know we can still be of help. You’ve all become our friends too. It’s nice to know we’ll still have something that could keep us all together.”

Cranky snorted. “You live up to your mark don’t you?”

“What do you mean by that?” Radius asked, sounding offended on my behalf.

Cranky pointed towards my rear with a hoof. “He’s got a safety pin with a heart on it on his flank. He’s a bring everypony together and keep everypony safe kind of guy.”

“That’s a very sound interpretation!” Matilda praised. She looked at me and smiled. “I bet you earned it doing something nice for somepony sewing or mending something.”

My ears perked up with surprise. “I did. How did you know?”

“I have a degree in sociology with a specialization in pony studies. Cutie marks and their meanings are one of my favorite topics.”

“Matilda’s taught summer courses at Canterlot University and been invited to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns to present her research more than once,” Cranky said with proud affection.

“Dear, don’t talk me up so much,” Matilda said, blushing. “They might get the impression that I’m somedonkey special. That was a long time ago.”

“Don’t act like you’re some average high school teacher. You’re so good at what you do Celestia herself invited you to that Gala.” He leaned and touched his head to Matilda’s. “I’m so very glad she did too. You’re somedonkey special to me.”

“And here you told me you weren’t a sweetheart,” Matilda teased.

Dad rubbed his chin with a hoof and stared at Berry and Muffins holding the hatchlings.

“What is on your mind?” Mom asked him.

“I was thinking about the broader ramifications of such an arrangement.”

“I was pondering the same thing. My first impression is that the changelings are getting the most tangible benefits out of the arrangement.”

Satin and I winced and shared concerned glances.

“Do we need to offer some kind of repayment?” Coxa asked Mom, sounding worried.

Mayor Mare, Spiracle, and Thorax watched Coxa and Mom with their full attention.

“If ponies want to give their love for the benefit of positive feelings and knowing they are helping others, then it is a fair exchange.” Mom gave Coxa a reassuring smile. “I, for one, would never ask for repayment. Seeing my husband open up and play with a nymph was more than payment enough for any love anybuggy may have nibbled from me.”

“Could you give us a rough estimate of how much love you would need?” Turner asked. A coltish grin appeared on his face. “That’s something I’m going to talk with the research team about. We may have the honor of establishing a measuring unit for love!”

I smiled as Turner put his hoof to his chin and stared off into space much like the way Dinky did when she mulled things over. He muttered to himself, “Would it need to be a volumetric measurement or something similar to measuring an electrical current? Since love’s flow seems tied to magic, perhaps we could alter-”

“Turner, come back to us, sweetie,” Muffins said and gave his shoulder a bump with hers.

Turner shook his head. “Sorry, drifted off for a tick there,” he apologized.

Coxa giggled. “Not a problem. To answer your question as best I can, the two herds and Pinch have provided the nymphs enough love for a couple of days with no issue, but we cannot keep asking them to disrupt their schedules and lives to help us.”

Mayor Mare looked to Thorax with matronly concern. “Thorax, you seem troubled.”

“The donkeys and ponies here are very generous creatures, but Mrs. Study brings up a good point. If Sanctuary or the Hive needs more love than we can gather we will need to be ready to trade for it.”

Spiracle's ears snapped up in alarm. “Are there supply problems at the Hive?”

“We’re not having supply troubles, right now anyway. Thanks to Celestia arranging for us to gather love from the ponies of Canterlot.” Thorax sighed and rubbed his temple with a hoof. “However, we’re facing the same thing at the Hive you’re facing here. We’re not producing enough love on our own to be independent yet.”

“Your society is restructuring itself on both the literal and figurative levels,” Mom said. “You cannot expect changelings who know almost nothing of positive emotions of any kind to produce enough love to sustain themselves.”

“I know, but we can’t depend on ponies for love indefinitely. We’re putting strains on relations enough as it is. There are ponies, especially in Canterlot, who think we shouldn’t even have diplomatic relations after all we’ve done. They see us as monsters, and their fears are well founded considering changelings have been raiding and threatening Equestria’s peace for close to a thousand years.”

“Thorax, you have to let what Kevin said go,” Radius said, with a bit of force. “He was scared, he was angry, and he was wrong.”

“No, he was right, and that’s why we have to stand on our own hooves as soon as possible. With the metamorphosis, we have a chance to not be-” He stopped as if not wanting to utter his next word.

“Not be what?” Coco asked.

“Parasitic,” Thorax said, making it sound like a vile cuss-word.

“You are not parasitic!” Junebug said. “I know parasites. I study and fight against parasites, and you are no such thing.”

“As a whole, we were, though! We produced little to nothing and took everything by guile or force! My br-” Thorax took a moment to collect himself. “The renegade changelings would have us go back to that life. We have to become self-sufficient as soon as we can so we don’t endanger our relations with ponies and show the renegades there is a viable alternative way to live rather than sneaking around or attacking and draining others.”

“You cannot do such a thing overnight,” Mom said. “Building up a complex system like a country takes time and the efforts of dozens of specialists.”

“We don’t have that kind of time or the knowledge to do it,” Thorax said. He breathed as if trying to control his emotions against a rising panic. “The renegades could force the issue with an attack, and we’re not prepared for it. I don’t even know if we could field a fighting force, since we might feel every horrible thing we do to them while they attack us.”

“There will be no attack,” Spiracle said. “We both know their commander well enough to know he would never lead changelings against fellow changelings.”

“He might, if he thought we were not ‘true’ changelings. That is why we have to show him and the others our way can work, but we don’t have the educators and experts we need to build a functional society. We only have a hoofful of ‘softie’ officers and spymasters who know the logistics and planning of war, not of a peaceful nation and supplies that ponies give us, which makes us weak in their eyes.”

“We have you,” Coxa said in a supportive way.

“You have me?!” Thorax laughed a bitter laugh, as tears ran down his face. “A scared, selfish, cowardly traitor, who left everybuggy behind and became king by being glued to the floor at the ‘right’ time?!” The hatchlings squirmed in discomfort, as Thorax continued his self-demolishment, “I’m no leader, I’m-”

“Thorax, you need to stop,” Muffins' calm voice cut through the tension like a clear chime.

In the silence that followed Muffins' words, everycreature looked toward her.

“You’re upsetting the hatchlings and hurting yourself.” Muffins turned and asked Berry, “Could you hold Bombus for me for a minute?”

“Sure,” Berry said and took Bombas, with her free foreleg and then gave him a comforting nuzzle. “It’s okay sweetheart.”

“Thorax.” Muffins held out her hooves. “Come here, please.” Though her words were gentle, it was clear he was to obey.

Thorax, his head down and seeming every bit the defeated and saddened young pony he appeared to be, went to Muffins like a colt to his mother.

Muffins pulled Thorax to herself, guided his head to her chest with a gentle hoof, held him close, and then wrapped him in her wings.

Thorax, returning her hug, shook and sobbed against her.

“You’ve been working so hard for everybuggy else, but you haven’t been taking care of yourself, have you?” Muffins asked. From the motion under her wing, I could tell she was stroking his back with a hoof. “When was the last time you slept a full night?”

“I don’t know. Luna’s been helping me with the nightmares, but I’m still having trouble getting to sleep. There’s too much for me to do and think about. I can’t get myself to let it all go.”

“It won’t be easy but you need to learn how.” She paused, and patted around on him with both hooves as if giving him an impromptu examination. “When was the last time you sat down and had a good, full meal? Even as a pony, you’re feeling thin.”

“A couple of days at the most.” Muffins gave him a critical gaze, and Thorax’s ears flattened. “None of us have been getting regular full meals, but we’re used to that, and they’re becoming more frequent for all of us. I have been eating, I promise.”

“He’s not telling you the whole truth,” Radius said. “I don’t think he’s been taking in much love, and, from what I’ve been told, he hasn’t been taking in love from ponies at all.”

Muffins raised Thorax’s chin with a hoof so he looked at her. “Why not?” she asked, sounding like a concerned mother.

“We have a shortage, and others need love more than I do,” he said, without meeting her eyes.

“Thorax.” At her tone, Thorax looked at Muffins again. “Tell us what’s going on.”

“I’ve been thinking about what Kevin said, about what we were and how we acted. I wanted to set an example, now that we can change things.”

“You’re not setting a good example if you’re staggering around half awake and looking like a scarecrow,” Muffins scolded in a soft tone. “You have to take care of yourself so you can take care of the other changelings.”

Matilda’s ears snapped up. “Kevin!” she whispered as if she had a revelation. “That’s what’s going on.”

Cranky looked at her as if worried about her. “What are you talk…” He stopped and his eyes widened. “Oh, now I get it.”

“Have you been sleeping alone?” Matilda asked him. “Kevin has the hardest time getting to sleep, unless I snuggle with him until he drifts off.”

Thorax nodded as if confessing something.

“Thorax!” Coxa chided. “Changelings don’t sleep well alone. You know that.”

“My nesting group is gone,” Thorax said. “I don’t know that many other changelings well enough to ask to join theirs. Even if I did, me being king would make things weird.” A small, but genuine smile, came to his face. “Besides, I take up a whole nest now. Nobuggy wants to sleep with a nest hog.”

“Now I think about it, how did you handle sleeping alone in the Crystal Empire?” Radius asked.

“I didn’t. I slept in the barracks with the guards.”

Radius stared at Thorax with his mouth open. “What?!”

“I asked to be put there. It was the perfect spot for me. I had ponies around, so I slept okay. The guards knew where I was, which dropped their paranoia level, and it helped them get to know me and realize I wasn’t a spy.”

“Brilliantly done,” Spiracle said, as if praising a student.

Thorax blushed at the compliment. “Not too long after they started asking me about how changelings lived, Cadence and Shining caught on to my motives for asking to be in the barracks. To help, they made it my official duty to be Flurry’s nap partner, so I could help protect her and get the contact and love I needed.”

Spiracle’s eye got a devious glint in them. “As to be expected for the top of your class in collection and infiltration techniques.”

“Top of his class?” Berry said.

“By a good margin too,” Spiracle said. “Thorax was never a fighter, but he knew ponies and how to get love from them. There were several times when he brought more love back to the hive by himself than some of the lower performing teams did.”

“We used to tease him he should have been born a pony rather than a changeling,” Radius said, grinning at Spiracle as if picking up on whatever scheme he was using. “He was also right at the top of the class for concealment and survival techniques too.”

“Yes, he was. In fact, I bet-”

“What are you two up to?” Thorax asked Spiracle, sounding much more like himself.

“I wanted to remind you you are not weak. Even by changeling standards, you are good at what you do and you’re tough. I doubt any other changeling could have crept out of the Hive, made their way through hundreds of miles of hostile territory, feeding off the love of ponies on the way, undetected, and then survive in one of the harshest climates a changeling can face without freezing to death.”

“There are a couple of others who could have,” Thorax said, in a tone that hinted he was uncertain about his own argument.

“Like Radius?” Spiracle snorted. “Sure, he might have been able to sneak around undetected, but he’d have starved to death before he even got to the border of the Empire. If starvation didn’t get him, had he stayed in the wilds there as long as you did we’d still be trying to thaw what was left of him out.”

Radius grumbled, “That was harsh, but true.”

“Thorax, you and the leader of the renegades have to face it. We’ve needed the ponies to survive, and we will always need the ponies. The difference between you two is you are taking the only sane road we have in confronting that fact and working together with them. We are not as bound to them now, thanks to you and the metamorphosis, and there’s a tiny possibility we might be able to live without them, but it’s easier and healthier for us to accept what they are offering us, including their love.”

“Like ants and aphids,” Junebug said.

There was an awkward moment of silence, and then Barrel laughed. “June, we’re going to need some context with that one.”

“Oh, sorry.” June Bug blushed and danced hoof to hoof like a filly put on the spot, as she explained, “There are ants who live with and take care of aphids because the aphids provide a ‘honey’ that’s nutritious to the ants.” Her ears perked up, and she smiled. “In fact, you taking care of Flurry to nibble on her love is a good example of the relationship the ants and aphids have.”

“It’s a wonderful theory, and I wish it were that simple, but ponies don’t need protection like aphids do,” Thorax said. “Beyond trading goods, which any species can do, we can’t offer them anything special to repay them for their love.”

“Basic goods coud suffice,” Mom said. “Once a price for love has been determined, systems of exchange and prices will develop between changelings and ponies.”

“While I don’t disagree with your logic, I would hope that everypony realizes love is too precious a thing to be reduced to a base trade good,” Dad said, gaining him a surprised stare from Mom. “I know our shared love is something I could never put a price on, and it would be vulgar for me to attempt to.”

Mom smiled and touched her nose to Dad’s. “Ever the flatterer.”

Dad nuzzled Mom’s nose and then turned to address Thorax, “Respectfully, Sire, I believe you are wrong in saying changelings have nothing unique to offer ponies. I believe changelings being part of their lives has enriched the Research Team’s, the Training Partners’, and the Envoy’s lives.”

“Envoys?” Mayor Mare asked.

“Gena, Noi, and Cubi,” I supplied.

“Oh, I see.” Mayor Mare laughed. “I bet Noi is thrilled they have a title now. Not having an ‘official name’ for her trio was bothering her.”

“By extension, I guess you’re an ‘envoy’ too, Radius,” Coxa said.

Radius grinned and nodded. “I like it. It sounds more friendly than ‘representative’.”

“From what I understand, the young ones’ working together with Princess Twilight have pushed a couple of areas of magical research forward by years, and Dinky has opened up a whole new line of research on emotion based artifacts and detectors,” Dad added.

Turner puffed himself up in a manner that would have made a pegasus proud. “That’s our filly.”

“I know Cheerilee has been enjoying being able to share ponykind’s knowledge with others has given her an enormous boost too,” Mayor Mare said. “I believe more cultural exchanges, like today’s Viewing, would do both our communities good. Amethyst and Rift have already suggested that we could put on plays and have music recitals for everycreature to enjoy.”

Coco’s ears snapped up and she exclaimed, “Plays would be wonderful!” When everybody looked at her, she blushed and dipped her head down in adorable embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“That makes me feel somewhat better, but we still have a trade imbalance that will cause trouble down the line if we don’t address it now,” Thorax said.

“I would not worry about a trade imbalance, for the time being. The emerging market is being primed by both sides, and it is too early to see where the flows of trade will go.” Mom made a gesture with her hoof that took in the room. “You could exchange your services for portions of love. Changeling stonework is impressive. To do so much in such a short time, and with such skill, is remarkable.”

“Thank you, but it’s not true ‘changeling’ work,” Spiracle said. “We bend the rules a bit and change into different creatures that are good at burrowing, like diamond dogs, to open up the caverns. After that, we get into the finer detail work.” He told Thorax, “She is right, though we have skills we can offer for love.”

“That’s a good thought, but using our abilities like that burns through our energy, which is one of the reason’s we’re still close to being short on love even with the Sisters allowing us to send infiltr- Sorry, old habit. Collectors to gather love.”

“Collectors?” Junebug’s eyes lit up. She asked Coxa and Spiracle, “Has Sanctuary been sending collectors to Ponyville? I want to observe them in action.”

Coxa gave Junebug an amused smile. “We haven’t hit the point where we’ve needed to send out official collectors, but you’ve been around at least one changeling when they were collecting love to share,” she said and nodded towards Radius.

Junebug gave Radius a teasing look, and he gave her a guilty smile. “And you didn’t say anything?”

“I was planning on saying something, but you weren’t...” Radius blushed and he glanced away from Junebug’s eyes. “I mean, I got nibbles from other ponies by accident.”

Junebug gave a snort. “How do you nibble love on ‘accident’?”

“I wasn’t after their love. I was hoping... Never mind. The long and the short of it is, I was wrong about what I thought was going on. I didn’t want the love to go to waste, so I took nibbles to bring back to Sanctuary.”

“Radius, you two need to have a talk,” Coxa said. “Especially after the display you put on in the nursery.”

Junebug scrutinized Radius. “What display? I missed it.”

Radius’ blush deepened and he waved his hooves towards Coxa as if to shoo away her words. “I wasn’t putting on a display! I was happy you and Petrova were so glad to see each other.”

Spiracle let out a dramatic sigh. “And for the longest I thought Thorax was the hopeless one of you two.”

“Hey!” both Thorax and Radius said while Coxa giggled at them.

The sound of approaching, rapid, and echoing hoofsteps halted the conversation.

“Thorax!” a filly’s voice called from the tunnel we entered the room from. “You’ve got to come outside. Pinkie’s looking for you and getting more and more wound up not being able to find you.”

“She’s getting the nymphs riled up, with all the energy she’s giving off,” another filly’s voice said.

A second after, Dinky and Gena ran into the room. Dinky froze when she saw Muffins holding Thorax. “Mom, is everything okay?”

“He’s okay, he just needed a little T.L.C.,” Muffins assured. “He’s been under a lot of stress trying to take care of everybuggy and needed a hug.” Muffins made an inviting gap in her wings. “I’m sure he could use a couple of more.”

“Can do!” Dinky ducked under Muffins' wings and joined her mom in hugging Thorax.

Muffins smiled at Gena, who seemed hesitant to say anything. “Come on, sweetie.”

Gena smiled, scooted under Muffins’ wings, and hugged Thorax’s free side.

“Are you doing better now?” Dinky asked, her voice muffled.

“I am. Your mom helped me feel a lot better.”

“She’s good at that,” Dinky said.

“It’s still kinda weird getting to hug you,” Gena said. “It’s double weird hugging you with you being a pony.”

Dinky giggled. “Did you know I got to braid his mane and tail one time?”

“No way!” Gena said. “You’re serious?!”

“You three better get going,” Muffins said, as she released them from her hug and tucked her wings to her sides. “We don’t want Pinkie to have a full on conniption.”

Dinky took Thorax’s hoof with hers. “Come on! We’ve got all sorts of games set up.” She guided Thorax toward the exit all but skipping with every step. “Everybuggy that tried them seemed to like them.”

“I’m sure I will too,” Thorax said, hurrying to keep up with the two fillies.

Spiracle sighed and shook his head, as the trio disappeared into the tunnel. “Our king’s like a nymph himself in some ways.”

“He’s what we need, though,” Radius said. “His concern for us, his kindness, and his open nature are going to get us through this.”

Spiracle hummed in approval. “I agree. He’s going to need a lot of support, though.”

“He’s not as out of his league as you might think,” Radius said. “He and I have been talking on and off since he and the others got here. He’s trying to make long term plans, but there is so much going on and changes coming so fast he hasn’t had time to sit down and work it out. I’m hoping having here here for the next couple of days will give him that time and he can see how far we have come.”

Something almost desperate sounding edged into his voice.

“Sanctuary has to work. We can’t go back, especially not after all we’ve done and tasting what life could be like for us here.” Radius’s eye’s went to Junebug for split second and then he forced his gaze to the floor and swallowed. “I can’t even imagine what it would do to Cubi and Gena and the nymphs, if it fails.”

“It’s already working,” Junebug said. “Look how it’s brought all of us together.” She took his hoof with hers and gave it a reassuring shake. “Give it some more time for Thorax and the Hive to do their part. Once word gets out about Sanctuary, there’s no way the others are going to continue to live like they are.”

Radius to his and Junebug’s hooves with a bit of hope in his eyes. “You sound so confident about that.”

“Of course I am,” Junebug said. “Ponies follow the path of least resistance. It’s easier to ask for love rather than having to sneak around and try to sneak nibbles.”

Radius looked up to meet Junebug’s eyes and gave her a timid smile. “Asking somepony for their love can be a lot harder than you’d think.”

Junebug’s ears perked up, and she studied Radius for a long moment.

“Ponyville will do it’s part to help too,” Mayor Mare said, breaking the quiet. “I am sure we might have a few holdouts, we always do, but the ponies I have spoken to are more than willing to help any changeling in need.”

“You’ve all done so much for us already,” Coxa said. “Speaking of which, let’s head outside for the party. The Viewing is as much a thank you for everycreature’s generosity and hard work as it is a welcoming for Arista to Sanctuary.”

Radius looked toward Berry. “Would you like me to take them for you?”

“No, thank you,” Berry said.

Muffins took Bombas back from Berry. “We’ll be happy to carry them.” She giggled and nodded towards Radius’ and Junebugs’ clasped hooves. “Besides, somepony has hold of you already.”

“I’m not planning on letting him, or any of the others go either.” Radius turned toward Junebug as if to say something in response, and Junebug pulled him to her and gave him a hug. “Sanctuary is going to work, you and everybuggy else are going to stay right here, and we’re going to figure out how everypony can live together like ants and aphids.”

Afer a slight hesitation, Radius put his forelegs around Junebug in something not quite a hug. “But-”

“No buts,” Junebug interrupted and gave him a little shake. “It’s going to be a lot of work but we will do it.”

“You’re right.” Radius gave Junebug a full hug. “We will.”

Chapter 42

Chapter 42

Dad’s nose went up into the air. “Ooo, that smells nice.”

I took a sniff and smiled. “That would be the Apples’ pies, if I had to bet.”

“Ah!” Dad said. “It’s been ages since I’ve had a slice of an Apple’s apple pie. My stomach is telling me that’s something we need to remedy.”

Mom sighed as Dad began zigzagging through the sparse crowd following the scent. “Dear, I realize Ponyville apples are superior to Canterlot’s, but that does not give you reason to act like a hound,” she said, as we followed him.

“It’s not just the apples, it’s how they’re baked,” Dad said, paying Mom no heed. “The Apples know how to get the best flavor out of apples no matter what they put them into.”

As we got closer to the source of the aroma, I noticed some changelings and a trio of ponies focused on something going on ahead of us.

“You many slices did you let him have?!” Rainbow Dash asked somepony I could not see.

“One,” Big McIntosh replied.

“It was the apple brown betty, fritter samples, and cobbler he put on top of the pie that got him,” Applejack said.

“He wolfed them down like he was starving,” an unfamiliar feminine voice said. “I haven’t seen anypony, other than Pinkie, eat that much that fast.”

“What in Equestria is going on?” Thunderlane asked, as we approached the Apples’ serving table.

“Are you ill, Sir?” Mom asked a gray pegasus stallion with a dark blue mane and tail who was lying on the grass in front of the Apple’s serving table with his chin resting on the bottom of a pie tin.

“I’ll be fine, ma’am,” the stallion said with discomfort in his voice. “Could you convince them to let me lie here for a couple of minutes to let things settle, please?”

“We don’t have a problem with you doin’ that, but we have a problem about where you’re doin’ it,” Applejack told him. “You’re blockin’ the line. Roll to the side and you can stay down there as long as you’d like.”

“I don’t think you want me trying to roll anywhere for a bit,” the stallion said. “That would get uncomfortable, and then messy, for both of us.”

Thunderlane, who had gotten into a position where he could see who was on the ground, laughed. “Why am I not surprised to find you face first in a pie tin, Soarin?”

Soarin tilted his head a slight bit and looked up at Thunderlane. “I couldn’t help it. Applejack’s pies are the best in Equestria, and the Apples’ baked goods are too good to pass up.”

“Thanks, sugar cube, but you’re still goin’ to have to move so ponies don’t go tramplin’ you,” Applejack said, as she gave a slice of pie to an eager changeling.

“Sugar Belle made the fritters,” Big McIntosh said.

“They were great too,” Soarin said. “My stomach says she’s Apple material, Mac. Now all you’ve got to do is get her in the family so you can share the family recipes and secret techniques so we can really see what she can do with your apples.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” the mare, who I presumed was Sugar Belle, said, as Big McIntosh blushed.

“Applejack made the cobbler too,” Granny Smith said.

Soarin’s ears perked up, and I could just see his smile over the edge of the pie tin. “I knew it. It had her special touch.”

“You can’t tell who made it by the taste,” Rainbow Dash said.

“You’re just jealous cause he likes my cookin’ better than yours,” Applejack said with a smug smile.

“Now wait a minute,” Soarin said, making a show of getting to his hooves with theatrical grunts of effort. “I’ll have you know Rainbow is a skilled cook. She’s been helping me get my diet right, and everything she’s made for us has been delicious.”

Applejack raised a dubious eyebrow. “I can tell you ain’t fibbin’, but there’s still part of me that’s havin’ a hard time picturin’ Dash in the kitchen.”

“She’s great in the kitchen,” Soarin said, his wings fluffed in a defensive display. “She’s studied diet and nutrition to fuel her training and to keep in top shape.” He made a gesture towards Rainbow Dash. “You can tell she knows her stuff. Just look at her. She’s stunning on top of being one of the best fliers the Wonderbolts have seen in generations.”

“Soarin!” Rainbow Dash blushed and told him, in a whisper, “Tone it down. I am awesome, but you don’t need to be all mushy about it.”

Soarin’s ears pinned back in shame. “Here I’ve been talking about your cooking and you helping me get into shape and I went and scarfed down desserts like a pig.” He moved from the table, his head half lowered, to stand by Rainbow Dash. “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t blame you,” Rainbow Dash said and patted him on the head. “I do the same thing with their cider.” She grinned. “I’ll have to work you double hard tomorrow to make up for it, though.”

During Rainbow’s and Soarin’s exchange, Dad tipped his hat to Granny Smith and made gestures indicating he wanted samples of pie for Mom and himself. Granny smiled, nodded, and gave him two pie tins with a slice of pie on them. After passing Mom one tin, Dad grinned, tipped his hat to Granny Smith again, and whispered, “Thank you.” As he and Mom stepped to the side of the table, Dad took in a long sniff of his pie sample and smiled.

“I seem to recall somepony havin’ a habit of sleepin’ in our trees most of the next day after we have a big cider day,” Applejack said. She made an act as if she were thinking and then turned to her brother. “Can you remember who, Big Mac?”

Big McIntosh grinned and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Eeyup.”

“Mmm!” Dad said, as he took the first bite of his pie. His smile grew as he chewed with meticulous care.

Sugar Belle giggled at Dad’s blissful expression.

Soarin nodded at Dad’s non-verbal assessment of the pie. “Like I said, best in Equestria, hooves down.”

Dad, his mouth still full, hummed a “mmm” of agreement.

“I keep telling you, the way to a stallion’s heart is through his stomach,” Granny said to Applejack. “That reminds me, have you been sendin’ that see-through fella of yours vittles with your letters like I told ya?”

“Granny!” Applejack looked around with a mortified expression. “Let’s not talk about that right here and now, please.”

“I’ll let the whole thing be, if you give me a straight answer.” Granny crossed her forelegs over her chest and warned, “If not, I’m goin’ to keep askin’ ya ‘til I get one.”

Applejack tilted her hat down to hide her blushing face. “Yes, Granny, I’ve been sending him pies and fritters with my letters.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Rainbow Dash stared at Applejack, her ears askew in shock. “You have a coltfriend and you didn’t tell me?!”

“He’s my pen pal,” Applejack said, tilting her hat back up. “Neither of us has said one thin’ about bein’ anythin’ more.”

“Nonsense, filly.” Granny paused for a second to give a changeling a slice of pie. “He’s been sendin’ you hoofmade jams, tarts, and even that fancy tiri, tara, whatchamacallit dessert.”

“Crystal berry tiramisu,” Sugar Belle supplied.

“That would be the stuff,” Granny Smith said. “It was a bit too froufrou for my tastes, but it’s the kinda stuff a stallion sends a mare to show he’s interested.”

Big McIntosh gave Granny Smith an amused look. “I recall you and Bloom havin’ a ‘discussion’ about who was goin’ to have the last slice Applejack shared with us.”

“Don’t you sass me,” Granny Smith warned Big McIntosh. “It was too close to her bedtime to go lettin’ her have that much sugar, so I had to have it myself.” She turned her attention back to Applejack. “When’s your fancy fella goin’ to be comin’ back, anyway?”

Applejack, avoiding making eye contact with Granny Smith, busied herself serving another changeling who had approached the table. Granny Smith raised an eyebrow and waited for a response.

“Does he have nice hoofwriting?” Coco asked. “I’ve heard the Crystal Empire uses the old styles of writing, and they’re quite nice to read.”

“He’s got wonderful hoofwriting,” Applejack said, as if wanting to move away from the subject.

“We’ll have to take her word for it, since she won’t let us look at his letters,” Granny Smith said.

I got a feeling the conversation was drawing attention and I glanced around. Several changelings and ponies had gathered around us and the Apple’s table. A good number of them had approached the table, taken their choice of samples, and then moved out of the way and continued to listen to the banter. Dessert and a show, hard to beat that, I thought to myself.

“Hold on a second.” Granny looked at Coco. “You’re that mare from Manehatten Applejack talked about, aren’t ya?”

Coco nodded. “I am.”

“You know about them Crystal ponies don’t you?”

Coco’s ears pinned back, and she blushed at the attention she was getting from everypony. “A little.”

“Do they still follow the earth pony tradition of courtin’ through the mail?” Granny Smith cut her eyes toward Applejack, who pulled her hat down a bit more.

“I guess so,” Coco said. “To ponies in the Empire not that much time has passed. I don’t think they’d change their social habits so fast.”

A green changeling held her hoof up. “Why would earth ponies court through the mail?”

“Back in the day, earth pony families lived on farms and spread out from each other,” Granny Smith explained, looking happy to do so. “They worked from can to can’t most days too. Without them newfangled trains and airships they didn’t have time to visit their special someponies, so they’d write and send gifts and vittles through the mail.”

The same changeling held her hoof up again. “Can to can’t?”

“From the time you can see in the mornin’ til you can’t see to work in the evenin’,” Granny Smith told her.

“Waaait a second.” Rainbow Dash got a teasing smile on her face. “He’s not coming to Ponyville is he?”

“Dash, drop it,” Applejack said through clenched teeth.

“He better be coming to visit again, or you best quit writin’ him,” Granny Smith said. “I don’t care how good lookin’, strong, or mannerly he is if he ain’t doin’ right by ya.”

“He’s doin’ fine by me, Granny,” Applejack said.

Sugar Belle leaned against Big McIntosh, glanced up at him with an adoring smile, and then met eyes with Rainbow Dash and winked.

Rainbow Dash grinned, nodded, and then asked Granny Smith, “Have you got any shipments of apples heading to the Crystal Empire soon?”

“Dash!” Applejack growled, “I’m warnin’ ya, leave it be.”

“I don’t rightly know.” Granny Smith turned to Big McIntosh. “Big Mac, you keep the books. Do we...” Her eyes widened as she stared at Sugar Belle and Big McIntosh leaned together.

“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh told Granny Smith, grinning a little too wide. “There’s four shops up there wantin’ our apples. The castle’s kitchen put in a big order, and there was a request for a couple of bushels from-”

“You can stop right there, Big Mac,” Applejack said, tilting her hat back up in a gesture of resignation.

“Now I remember!” Granny said, and gave Applejack a look. “So that’s why you were so hot to trot to wrangle that shipment by your lonesome. I may be old, and the wheels in my noggin don’t turn like they used to, but you should have known I’d have figured it out.” She pointed a hoof at Big McIntosh. “And that’s why you were so quick to agree to swap out with her. You knew she was chasin’ after her fella.”

“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh said. “It’s only fair, since she let me make the deliveries to Our Town.”

Granny Smith turned back to Applejack. “I know you want to see that stallion of yours, but how are you goin’ to haul all them apples to where they need to get to by your lonesome?”

Applejack’s blush intensified. “Cloudberry’s going to help me make the deliveries.”

Ganny Smith’s ears went up. “He’s what now?”

“He’s goin’ to help me deliver the apples and then show me around the Empire,” Applejack said.

“Cloudberry?” Stormbreaker said. “That sounds like a pegasus’ name.”

“It kinda does, but his family’s been growing those berries up north for a long time, on account of how well they do in the cold,” Applejack told Stormbreaker. “Since he was the fifth foal, and his parents were runnin’ out of names, his parents gave him a traditional family name.”

“How’s he goin’ to manage helpin’ you haul apples and showin’ you around while bein’ a guard?” Granny Smith asked. “Did that princess friend of yours assign him to you again?”

“He’s taking time off,” Applejack told her.

“Be ready to talk about stallions and about Cloudberry, a lot,” Rainbow Dash said. “Cadance is going to want all the dirt when you get back to the castle.”

Applejack looked perplexed. “Why would I go to the castle, besides droppin’ off the apples off at the kitchen?”

“Aren’t you going to be staying there? Cadance and Shining both told us we would always have a room at the castle if we needed one.”

“Well… Umm...” Applejack’s blush returned in an even stronger hue of red. “Unless somethin’ changes, I ain’t goin’ to be stayin’ at the castle.”

“You shouldn’t be payin’ to stay somewhere if somepony’s offered you a free room,”Granny Smith scolded. “That’s a waste of bits and rude to boot.”

“Granny, I ain’t goin’ to need a hotel room,” Applejack said with the trepidation somepony would use dealing with a manticore.

“So he’s going to let you stay at his place, show you the Empire, the farm, and maybe give you a tour of the barn too,” Rainbow Dash said and waggled her eyebrows at Applejack.

Applejack glared at Rainbow Dash. “Get your mind out of the gutter!”

“If you two get to experimentin’ to see if apples and berries can cross pollinate, make sure he gives you a ring first,” Granny Smith advised. “I’d hate to have to go all the way up there and drag him back to Sweet Apple Acres by his crystal stem and shiny berries if you come back with a ‘souvenir’ and he didn’t plan on an honest mare of you.”

Rainbow Dash’s giggles turned to laughter as Applejack resorted to hiding her face behind her hat again. “Granny, that’s not goin’ to be an issue.”

“I thought the same thin’, not long after I met your grandfather, but a trip to the barn’s how your pa ended up comin’ into the world and what sped up us gettin’ hitched’,” Granny said.

There was a flash of pink at the edge of my vision, and Coco jumped in surprise as Pinkie Pie seemed to materialize at her side.

“Hello, Coco!” Pinkie said, grinning. “Oh, neat, that rhymed! Zecora’s must be rubbing off on me.”

“Hello, Pinkie,” Coco said, sounding as if she had not quite recovered from being startled.

Pinkie glanced around as if worried she was going to be overheard. She leaned in close to Coco and stage whispered, “I heard from Dinky and the other foals your coat’s super soft again.”

“Pin’s been taking good care of me,” Coco said. She giggled as Pinkie gave her a begging look. “Would you like a hug?”

“Yes!” Pinkie grabbed Coco into a hug with enthusiasm. “Wow! They were right!” Pinkie Pie pulled Coco close and nuzzled her mane like she was a stuffed toy. “Even your mane’s super soft.”

Coco looked up at me with wide eyes. “Help!” she said, forming the word but not making a sound.

Satin gave me her cunning elder sister’s smile. “Pin’s coat is pretty soft too,” she told Pinkie. “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind giving you a hug.”

“I-!” Before I could respond, my vision went pink from Pinkie’s mane obscuring my view. Pinkie took me in a firm embrace and then used a hoof to guide my head under her chin.

“Ooo, Pokey! I don’t remember your coat ever being like this, and I’ve given you a lot of hugs.” She put her cheek on my head and rubbed it over my mane in a circular motion. “I think his mane’s almost as soft as yours, Coco.”

“I doubt that, Pinkie,” I said.

Pinkie Pie nuzzled my mane and hummed in thought. “It’s pretty close.”

“What did you mean when you said, ‘I’ve given you a lot of hugs’?” Coco said, giving Pinkie an inquisitive look.

Pinkie Pie gasped. “You didn’t know?!”

“Didn’t know what?” Coco said.

“Pin used to be my party planner sidekick.” Pinkie Pie used her hooves to make me look into her eyes. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell her!”

“You two dated?” Thunderlane said, sounding astounded.

Pinkie turned to look at Thunderlane with an offended look. “I don’t think I like how you said that, Mister.”

“Sorry, but I’m having a hard time picturing it.” He gestured towards me as if trying to sum me up. “He’s… well... pretty restrained.”

“I don’t think I like how you said that,” I said, joking.

“We didn’t date, but we had a lot of fun together,” Pinkie Pie said. “He was my party planning buddy for the longest. When I got a request for a party that was too big for me to set up alone, I’d get Pin to help.” She giggled at some thought. “Did you know you can make him really happy by setting up some balloons to pop with his horn?” she asked Coco.

Coco smiled. “I’ve noticed he has a penchant for popping balloons.”

“He can dance too.” Pinkie grabbed me under my forelegs, pulled me back to her, and swayed with me in an awkward demonstration of a dance.

“I know he can,” Coco said with a giggle. “We’ve danced several times.”

“But then he had to help his grandparents with the shop, when they got older, and then them when they got sick, and...” She stopped and sniffed. “Then he was too busy looking after the shop after they- they-” Pinkie sniffed again and stroked my mane like she was comforting a foal.

I hugged her and patted her back with a hoof. “It’s okay, Pinkie.”

Pinkie let me go, reached into her mane, drew out a handkerchief, and blew into it. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be all mopey during a party.”

“Speaking of party buddies,” Rainbow Dash said. “Where’s Brulee?”

“He hasn’t been helping me set up parties for a while.” Pinkie’s smile became forced and her mane lost some of its life. “I thought he might make it to this one.” Her mane drooped a bit more. “But he couldn’t. He said he wouldn’t be able to help any more, since his family’s business has gotten so busy.”

Some of the surrounding changelings seemed uncomfortable with Pinkie’s change in mood and fidgeted.

“Too bad Dinky and Gena aren't here,” Coco said. “They would have both been hugging you by now.”

Pinkie’s hair sprung back to life, and she gasped. “Oh! That’s right! I almost forgot!” She turned to address Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “We’ve got to getting trotting to the field! Dinky, Gena, and the foals from Cheerilee’s class were helping get the nymphs herded that way.”

“Is it that time already?” Applejack said. “Time flies, when you’re dishin’ out home cookin’ for a shindig.”

“Thorax is going to speak right after the game, so we’ve got to start on time,” Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash snorted. “Yeah, and Twilight will lose feathers freaking out if we throw off the schedule.”

“We’ve got everythin’ covered,” Granny told Applejack. “You three get goin’.”

As the trio left, Big McIntosh's attention rested on Coco and me. He grinned at us and gave us an inviting wave. “Come on and have a slice. There’s somepony I want you to meet.”

As Coco and I approached the table, I noticed Dad getting back in the line in front of Granny Smith with his and Mom’s pie tins. We only had to wait a few moments, before we were at the front of the line.

“Hello, Big Mac,” Coco greeted. “How have you been?”

“I’m doin’ fine, Miss Coco,” he said, as he offered her a sample of apple pie. “Is Pin behavin’ himself for ya?”

Coco nodded. “Very much so.”

“He doesn’t look like a pony who would misbehave,” the mare standing beside Big McIntosh said, as she offered me a sample of apple pie.

“Thank you,” I said to her, as I took the pie tin with a hoof.

“Sugar Belle, this is Miss Coco Pommel and Royal Pin,” Big McIntosh told her. “They’re good friends of the family.”

Sugar Belle’s ears went up. “Oh, I just remembered! Big Mac told me you two got engaged not too long ago.” She gave us a bright smile. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” Coco and I said at the same time.

Sugar Belle giggled at us. Her giggles ended in a light snort that got a grin out of Big McIntosh.

“Your laugh is adorable!” Coco told her.

“Eeyup,” Big McIntosh said. “She’s mighty adorable, from nose to tail.”

“Big Mac!” Sugar Belle bumped Big McIntosh with her shoulder, which seemed to have no effect on the sturdy stallion.

“You two quit flirtin’ and get back to servin’,” Granny said. “We’re already a pony down, and the lines are backin’ up.” She gave me and Coco an authoritative look and a smile. “You two need to mosey on and quit distractin’ them. You’re blockin’ ponies from gettin’ their samples too.”

“Sorry, Granny,” I said, having flashbacks of the light scoldings she would give Big Mac and me when we were too rambunctious.

“No harm done,” she said, as Coco and I moved to join Mom, Dad, and Soarin off to the side of the table. “I might send Mac your way later, Pin.” Granny cut her eyes toward Big McIntosh and grinned. “Somepony needs to give him pointers on how to seal the deal with a mare, since he won’t listen to me.”

“Granny,” Big McIntosh groaned, while Sugar Belle blushed and giggled.

Granny gave Dad a grin as he took his pie tin from her. “Be careful there. You don’t want to end up like that other fella.”

Dad looked down at the apple betty, cobbler, and fritter samples, which just fit together on the pie tin, glanced back up at Granny Smith, and then smiled. “These aren’t all for me. I’m splitting them with my wife.”

Granny Smith smiled back at him. “Good stallion.”

Dad joined our group near the side of the table, as Satin, Stormbreaker, and Thunderlane got their samples. He sat down beside Mom and the tin to her. “Ladies first.”

“Thank you,” Mom said, taking the pie tin in her magic.

I hummed as I enjoyed my first bite of pie. The crust was perfect; the filling had the perfect blend of apple and cinnamon flavors, and the scent tempted me to keep my nose as close to the pie as I could so I could enjoy more of it.

“Is it that good?” Stormbreaker asked, as he and Satin joined us carrying their own pie tins.

Coco nodded, as she chewed a bite of her sample.

Stormbreaker took a bite of his slice of pie. His eyes widened and his ears snapped up. “Mmm!”

Satin smiled. “Good, isn’t it?”

Stormbreaker nodded.

We chattered with each other and with the Apples and Sugar Belle as we all enjoyed our desserts until the nearby changelings turned their heads as if something we were not aware of had gotten their attention.

“Miss Satin?! Mister Stormbreaker?!” a filly’s voice called, ending our group conversation.

“We’re over here,” Stormbreaker answered.

Dinky and Cubitus ran up to Satin.

“Is something wrong?” Satin said, in a forced calm tone.

Dinky shook her head. “Everything’s fine. Rain needs a change, and the Cakes are out of diapers.”

Satin relaxed and let out a relieved breath. “That I can handle.”

“We didn’t mean to scare you,” Cubitus said. “We would have said something if something bad had happened.”

“I’m being a worrywart. I know he’s in good hooves.” Satin smiled. “I hope he’s been behaving himself for you.”

Cubitus nodded. “He’s been better behaved than most of the nymphs and he’s holding his own with them. He might be younger, but he’s scrappy.”

“That’s my colt,” Stormbreaker said and grinned.

“You two have done a good job of teaching him to mix with others,” Mom complemented. “He conducts himself well and is not hesitant to meet new ponies.”

Dinky giggled. “Noi’s been trying to get Rain to be an icebreaker for the nymphs and Pumpkin and Pound, but I think he’s just as unsure what to do about the twins as the nymphs are.”

“Of course,” Satin put on a smile and sighed. “We’ve introduced him to lots of adults, but not that many foals his age. One moment, please.” She finished the last bite of her pie. “There we go. Now I’m ready. Where is he?”

“He’s with the nymphs and Dinky’s class, getting ready to watch the game,” Cubitus said.

“I think we should accompany her.” Mom said, passing the pie tin with the samples back to Dad, who grinned as if he had received an early birthday present. “I have not seen a buckball game before.”

Cubitus’ ears went askew as he looked at Dinky. “Dinks, you okay?”

Dinky looked at me as if I had failed at something vital. “You haven’t taken them to a buckball game?”

I shook my head. “I haven’t had the chance.”

“I get the impression this is something we should have partaken in before,” Mom said.

“Watching a game is great,” Dinky told Mom. “We go to them as a group a lot.”

“Satin and I haven’t been to one either,” Stormbreaker said, and wiped away the crumbs from his last bite with the back of a hoof.

“None of you have seen a buckball game?!” Dinky gasped in realization. “You mean we get to be with all of you during your first game?!”

Cubitus grinned and seemed to bask in Dinky’s excitement.

Satin smiled with bemusement at Dinky. “We don’t even know the rules.”

Dinky’s hopped up and down with glee. “I can teach you! Dad volunteers as a timekeeper for Ponyville’s games all the time, and I’ve read his copy of the official rules.”

A few of the changelings closer to us took a step back, as if overwhelmed by Dinky’s reaction.

“First, we need to take care of Rain,” Satin reminded Dinky.

“Of course!” Dinky shifted to trotting in place. “If we get there fast, we can make sure everypony has a good spot to watch the game too.”

“I’ll take everypony’s tins,” I offered. I took Coco, Satin’s, and Stormbreaker’s pie tins and paused in surprise as Dad used his magic to scrape every crumb from Mom and his pie tins and tossed them in his mouth.

“We might not even need to wash those,” Granny joked.

Mom sighed and shook her head. “Dear, that was rather uncivilized.”

“Perhaps.” Dad smiled as he passed me the pie tins. “But well worth the effort, and it ensures nothing goes to waste.”

Soarin added his pie tin to the stack I was holding. “I know what you mean. If you don’t mind, I’ll walk over there with you. If I’m not there for Rainbow’s game, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“We’ll get a head start,” Satin said, as Dinky pranced in excited circles while keeping ahead of her.

“I’ll come with you,” Stormbreaker said.

“We’ll be fine,” Satin assured, over her shoulder, as she trotted after Dinky. “Take it easy and talk with Soarin some more. You two haven’t seen each other in a while.”

Cubitus got to his hooves with shaky legs and a goofy smile. “I guess I should follow them.”

“You okay there?” Soarin asked.

“I’m great,” Cubitus said, as he took uneven steps to follow Dinky and Satin. “That was a lot of happiness and excitement to take in all at once, though.”

I took the pie tins and added them to the stacks of tins that were behind the Apple’s table. “Do you need any help cleaning these?”

“Eenope,” Big McIntosh said. “Thanks for offerin’, though.”

When I returned to the group, Soarin looked at me as if something had occurred to him. “I just thought of something. You helped the Cutie Mark Crusaders with their idea to write to Princess Cadance, didn’t you?”

I could not tell by his tone whether or not he considered that a good thing. “I did.”

Soarin held out his hoof to me. “Thank you.”

“I’m not sure what you are thanking me for, but you’re welcome,” I said and shook his hoof.

“I’ll explain on the way.” He paused and waved to the Apples. “Thank you for the food. It was all wonderful.”

The members of our group echoed Soarin thanks, and several changelings and ponies around us chimed in too.

“You’re all welcome,” Granny Smith said. “We neighbors have to help each other through the rough times so we can enjoy the good ones together.”

“Eeyup!” Big McIntosh agreed.

“Now, you lot, go, shoo, skedaddle,” Granny said to us and waved us away. “You’ve got a game to go to and you’re gettin’ in the way of folks gettin’ food.”

Soarin gave her a polite salute. “Yes, ma’am.”

We waved goodbye to the Apples and Sugar Belle, and followed Soarin towards the field.

“You started to explain how Pin helped you,” Stormbreaker prompted.

“Right.” Soarin slowed so he walked in the center of our group. “Pin helped the Cutie Mark Crusaders come up with the idea of reaching out to Princess Cadance for help to find Applejack an escort for Twilight’s celebration event. What he and the girls didn’t know is that Rainbow had made plans for Thunderlane to take Applejack. Her plan fell through when Thunderlane ended up taking Rarity instead.”

“Which Coco and Pin both had a hoof in,” Dad pointed out.

“True.” Soarin acknowledged. “When she found out about what had happened, Rainbow was beyond frustrated, so she came to see me about what she could do with the extra ticket she had. I told her I would help her with her problem, if she helped me with my problem about who to give my ticket to.” He blushed as he told us, “She joked I should take one of the two cheerleaders that distracted me so much I crashed right before the Equestria Games trials.”

Stormbreaker winced. “Ouch, on a couple of levels.”

“She got me with that one, but it gave me an opening.” Soarin put on a smug grin. “I told Rainbow I wasn’t interested in taking either of them and that I had planned to ask her, which left me with no clue who to give my second ticket to. I suggested she and I could work together to come up who to give them too, since we were in the same boat.”

“Risky but smooth,” Satin said. “Did she have any clue you were thinking about taking her?”

“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure she didn’t even know I was interested in her on that level.” Soarin blushed. “A couple of weeks before I asked her to go with me, she teased me about having one of the Wonderbolts’ promotional flyers featuring her taped up in my locker. I think she thought I had it there because-”

“Soarin!” Rainbow Dash landed just ahead of our group. She walked up to Soarin, ignoring the rest of us. “I’m glad you’re on your hooves. We have a timekeeper, but Twilight said we need an impartial ref for the game too.”

“Judging by what he’s been telling us, I’m not sure anypony could trust him as being impartial if you’re playing,” Thunderlane joked.

Rainbow Dash gave Soarin a look. “What have you been telling them?”

“He was explaining why he was thanking me for helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” I told her.

Rainbow Dash gave a snort. “Pokey, if you’re going to cover for somepony, you’ve got to work on your poker face.” Rainbow Dash looked at Mom. “Miss Study, I know you’ll give me a straight answer. What was Soarin telling you about?”

“He was about to tell us why he had a picture of you in his locker,” Mom answered.

“Sooarinnn,” Rainbow Dash groaned. “We agreed not to spread mushy stuff about each other.”

“He wasn’t providing ‘mushy’ details,” Dad said. “He was being factual.”

“Why don’t you walk back with us to make sure he doesn’t get too ‘mushy’?” Stormbreaker suggested.

“It would be interesting to hear your side of the story too,” Coco said.

“I thought Rarity was the only one into this kind of stuff.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Fiiiine. But you have to promise whatever he says doen’t go anywhere else.”

“We promise,” Coco assured, and the rest of us nodded in agreement.

“You were about to tell us about the flier in your locker,” Mom prompted Soarin, as we resumed our walk towards the field.

“Right!” Soarin smiled and continued his explanation. “Wonderbolts keep posters or pictures of ponies who inspire them in their lockers to remind themselves to do their best. Rainbow and I used to have a poster of Wind Rider in our lockers.”

“Until I found out he was a lying underhooved jerk,” Rainbow Dash growled under her breath.

Thunderlane patted Rainbow Dash’s back with a wing. “After Rainbow’s run in with him, we both chose different ponies to have pictures of. Rainbow chose Spitfire’s mom, Stormy Flare, and I chose her.”

“What inspired that choice?” Stormbreaker asked.

“Rainbow’s one of the youngest fliers to join the Wonderbolts, she helps others on the team all the time, and she’s helped me more than I can ever pay her back for,” Soarin said with obvious admiration. “She’s going to be one of the Wonderbolt’s all-time greats. I know it.”

“You’re getting close to being mushy,” Rainbow Dash warned him, even though she looked pleased.

“I can understand admiring her and appreciating her help with your training, but there seems to be something else that made the connection between you two more personal,” Dad said.

“She pulled me out of a bad dive.” Soarin’s expression turned glum. “I’ve always been the weakest one on the team.”

“That’s not true,” Rainbow Dash said.

“For the stunt division I am,” Soarin said. “I pushed myself to get better, but I kept wearing myself out doing the wrong kinds of supplemental training. Not making sure I had the right nutrition for what I was doing made it even worse.”

“You just needed a few tweaks to your routine, some diet changes, and more sleep,” Rainbow Dash said. “I keep telling A.J. that naps are important, but she won’t believe me.”

Soarin turned his attention back to us. “Spitfire needed volunteers for an emergency supply delivery posting up north, so I volunteered for the most remote, harshest location, hoping it would get me to push my limits.” He snorted in self-disgust and his ears fell. “I ended up almost flying myself into the ground. If Rainbow hadn’t shown up when she did, I’m not sure I’d be here, much less still be a Wonderbolt.”

Rainbow Dash did a slight sideways hop and bumped her shoulder and hips into Soarin’s. “No pity parties!” While her expression was still serious, a softer look came into her eyes. “You were the one that caught me when I got knocked out of the sky during that storm. I’m the one that almost didn’t make it back, not you.”

“Nah, you could have recovered from that,” Soarin told her. “I owed you for catching me at the Young Flyers Competition. I still owe you for all the help you’ve given me, even before you were on the team. Don’t think I don’t remember you getting me my spot back on the Cloudsdale team during the Equestria Games trials and calling out Spitfire for what she tried to do.”

“I didn’t know we were keeping score, but I guess we’re even now on catching each other.” Rainbow Dash looked somewhat guilty and rubbed the back of her neck with a hoof. “About the whole helping you thing, you don’t owe me for that. I’d been slacking a little and making sure you were doing what you were supposed to get me back to doing what I should have been doing too.”

Soarin gave Rainbow Dash an affectionate smile. “We work better together, don’t we?”

“We do,” Rainbow Dash agreed in a sweet tone. Her ear flicked, and she glanced around and blushed. “Okay, that’s enough. Now you’ve got me doing it.” She swatted Soarin’s legs with her tail. “Get back to telling your story and quit with the mushy stuff.”

“Before you do that, I was wondering how you two could be an official couple,” Stormbreaker said. “I thought relationships between officers and teammates were prohibited.”

“Soarin and I kinda had a thing going before I became a Wonderbolt, so under the rules we’re good,” Rainbow Dash said. “There’s another couple, Vapor Trail and Sky Stinger, that are on the team too. Besides, those rules only apply when an officer could evaluate a junior team member for performance tests and promotions. Soarin’s a senior Wonderbolt to me, but he doesn’t do my evaluations. Spitfire does. She’s cool with it since we’ve never let it get in the way of our training and it’s been helping both of us.”

Stormbreaker gave Soarin a look. “Just how long have you two been together? You never said anything to me about it, even when I told you about me and Satin.

“Officially, since Princess Twilight’s celebration. Before that, not long after Cadance and Shining’s wedding, I’d say.”

Rainbow Dash gave Soarin a curious look. “Why then?”

“After we had so much fun at Cadance and Shining’s wedding, and we started to doing stuff together after that pretty often, I thought we had started something between us.” Soarin gave Rainbow a winsome smile. “I had a crush on you by then, if that counts.”

Rainbow Dash gave a light snort. “Okay, that was mushy, but-”

“We’re over here!” Piña called to us, cutting Rainbow Dash off.

“You found him,” Scootaloo said to Rainbow Dash, as our group approached her near the edge of a mixed group of seated and lounging foals, nymphs, changelings, ponies, and one baby dragon.

“I told you I would,” Rainbow Dash said.

Dinky gave Soarin a bashful look. “Hello again, Mister Soarin. I’m sorry I didn’t say hello to you earlier. I got kinda excited about the game.”

“No problem at all.” Soarin gave her a full Wonderbolt’s smile. “I’m glad to see you and Cubitus are still getting along.”

Gena smiled in a devious fashion and cut her eyes at Dinky. “You’re right, he looks even better in person than he does on his poster,” she faux whispered.

Dinky blushed. “Gena!”

“What’s this about a poster of my coltfriend?” Rainbow asked.

“Dinky has a poster of Soarin in her room,” Cubitus said, after making eye contact with Gena and smiling in a co-conspirators way. “She’s even got an official plushie of him she keeps on her bed.”

Dinky looked toward Soarin and blushed all the way to her ear tips.

“I thought you had a thing for Shining Armor,” Sweetie Belle said, giving Dinky a look.

“She has a thing for stallions in uniform,” Amethyst told her. “You should see her when Coco’s brother and his buddy, who are in the Royal and Lunar guards, are around.”

“There’s nothing embarrassing about having a Wonderbolts plush. I have several myself.” Rainbow Dash leaned up against Soarin and wrapped a possessive foreleg around Soarin’s. She gave Dinky a mock warning look and joked, “But the original Soarin is my Wonderbolt and I’m not sharing him or letting just anypony hug or snuggle with him.”

“Wait a second,” Soarin protested. “You give Scoots hugs, and I’m cool with it. There’s a big double standard here.”

“Scoots is my sister, not a fan,” Rainbow Dash said, keeping up her act. “That’s different.”

“Sure it is,” Soarin said. “Sense you’re bending the rules, it’s only fair I do the same.” He wrapped his wing around Rainbow Dash in a hug and gave her a playful and defiant look. “Right?”

Scootaloo looked stunned. “I thought you two didn’t do P.D.A.s!”

“This isn’t a P.D.A., this is me making it clear the full sized Soarin’s mine,” Rainbow Dash said, giving Soarin’s leg a shake. “What he’s doing is a P.D.A.”

Soarin gave Rainbow Dash a smug smile. “I’m just making sure somepony can’t run off with you, so it’s not a P.D.A. under your rules.”

“I can’t believe you’re flirting in public,” Scootaloo said, staring at Rainbow Dash and Soarin as if the pair had rearranged her world.

Apple Bloom snorted. “That’s nothin’. Try chasing’ after Winona through the west orchard and then seein’ your brother makin’ out with his marefriend and his tallyw-”

“I think you should stop right there, Bloom,” Sweetie Belle interrupted. She closed her eyes and shuddered. “If it’s anything like what I saw going on with Rarity and Thunderlane when I opened the door to her ‘inspiration room’ that one time, we don’t want to know.”

“Those are some mental images I didn’t need,” Rainbow Dash said and then shook her head as if to dispel whatever she was seeing in her head.

“I tried that,” Apple Bloom said. “It doesn’t work.”

“It was worth a shot.” Rainbow Dash looked up at Soarin. “Alright, you’ve made your point. I can share you… a little, every now and then.”

“Does that mean Dinky could get a hug from him as a test case?” Gena asked.

“Gena!” Dinky did her best to shrink herself down and hide behind Cubitus.

“You can’t tell us you wouldn’t want to be where Rainbow Dash is right now,” Piña said. “Under that strong, comfy wing all nice and warm.” She leaned against Rumble, who grinned and put his wing around Piña.

Noi giggled and leaned against Rumble’s free side, and he hugged her with his wing.

The two nymphs sitting close to the hugging trio moved a little closer to them, as if seeking warmth from a fire.

“You’re excited just thinking about it, so don’t act like you don’t want to,” Cubitus said, grinning at Dinky.

“It’d make her super happy,” Gena said to both Rainbow Dash and Soarin.

Soarin looked at Rainbow as if asking for her approval.

“Fiiinnne.” Rainbow let go of Soarin’s leg. “One hug, no wings.”

Dinky peeked around Cubitus. “You sure?”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” Rainbow said. “Just make it quick.”

Dinky stepped from behind Cubitus and approached Soarin while keeping a cautious eye on Rainbow Dash.

“Don’t worry about her.” Soarin assured, “She won’t bite.”

“Don’t squeeze him too hard,” Thunderlane warned. “He’s overstuffed with the Apples’ samples.”

Dinky hurried over and gave Soarin a hug. “I can’t believe I’m getting to hug a Wonderbolt officer!” She looked up at Soarin and smiled. “You really are my favorite Wonderbolt.”

“Humph!” Rainbow Dash acted insulted and stuck her nose in the air. “So far, I’m not liking this test run.”

“Aww, thanks.” Soarin returned Dinky’s hug with an appreciative one of his own. He let go of her, smiled, and leaned in close to her ear. I could just hear him say, “Would you do me a favor? If you give Rainbow a hug too, she can’t get too jealous.”

Dinky’s ears perked up. She glanced toward Rainbow and then back to Soarin.

“I’m serious,” he said, raising back up.

“What are you two up to?” Rainbow asked.

Dinky moved to stand in front of Rainbow. “Mister Soarin said I should give you a hug.” She used her most adorable expression and asked, “May I give you a hug?”

“Dinks, that’s not even fair,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Like you don’t do that to grownups too,” Noi teased.

“I don’t know,” Rainbow said, sounding as if she was not averse to the idea. “I feel like I’m being manipulated here.”

“Come on, Dash, she gets the awesome combo of hugging a Wonderbolt and an Element of Harmony with you,” Soarin said and then winked at Scootaloo. “Right Scoots?”

“Getting to hug the Rainbow Dash is pretty awesome,” Scootaloo said.

“Oh, that’s low,” Rainbow said. “Tag teaming me and going for my ego?”

“It’s a pretty easy target,” Spike snarked.

“Please?” Dinky asked, putting even more into her expression.

“All right! All right! Sheesh!” Despite her protests, Rainbow gave Dinky a hug and smiled. “There you go.” She patted Dinky’s back and let her go.

Dinky raced back to Gena and Cubitus and hugged both of them. “Thank you! Thank you! I got to hug two of my heroes thanks to you.”

“You’re welcome.” Gena patted Cubitus’ shoulder with a hoof. “Cubi, you okay?”

“I’m good,” Cubitus said, sounding mellow. “Dinks is happy, so you’re happy, which means I’m double happy.”

“Alright, enough sappy stuff!” Rainbow Dash said. “Soarin and I have a game to get to, and I’ve still got to find...” She smiled and pointed a hoof at Amethyst. “Hey, Amethyst! You know how to play buckball, right?”

Amethyst gave a slow, unsure nod. “Yeah, but I’ve only played a few times. Why?”

“We need a unicorn who knows how to play and whose magic is pretty good. Twilight’s going to be the line judge for the game, so she’s out.”

“I don’t know.” Amethyst glanced around at the nymphs and foals near her. “I’m supposed to be helping with the little ones.”

“Go play,” Riff told her. “We have more than enough adults here.”

“You sure?” Amethyst asked him.

“I’m sure,” Riff said. He gave Amethyst a less than innocent smile. “If you’re out there, maybe I can convince Cheerilee to be a cheerleader for you.”

“I don’t think she brought her pom-poms and outfit, though.” Amethyst sighed with half-feigned disappointment. “What a lost opportunity.”

“What are you two up to?” Cheerilee asked, as she and a few foals and nymphs joined us at the edge of the now sizable group.

“We’re borrowing Amethyst for a bit, if that’s okay,” Rainbow said. “We need another unicorn for the game.”

“Sure! We’ve got everything in hoof here.” Cheerilee looked at the foals and nymphs around her. “Find a spot to sit with your partner or an adult, everypony. The game is going to start soon.” As the foals and nymphs scrambled to claim places to sit, Cheerilee gave Amethyst a quick hug. “Good luck, Ammy.”

The nymphs paused and watched, ears perked, as Amethyst hugged her back. “Thanks, Cheers.”

“That’s it. I’m out. You ponies are waaaayy too sappy for me.” Rainbow Dash turned and trotted off. “Come on, you two, we’ve got a game to play,” she said, not even looking over her shoulder.

“Coming,” Soarin said, shaking his head at Rainbow Dash. He waited for a second for Amethyst to finish her hug with Cheerilee and then they both followed Rainbow.

“Mister Cake, it seems we are both missing our better halves,” Stormbreaker said. “You wouldn’t know where they are, would you?”

“Just Carrot, please.” Carrot pointed towards a spot not too far from us that was screened off with moving tarps hung from ropes tied to what looked like a couple of spare decorative poles. “Changing time turned into feeding time for the little ones. They moved away for some privacy.”

“Ah,” Stormbreaker said. “Satin has been trying the pegasus approach to feedings, but this must have been a bit much.”

Carrot nodded. “It was for Chiffon.”

“We seem to be missing Coxa and some nymphs too,” Mom observed.

“The nymphs are with Coxa, Missus Cake, Satin, and the foals,” Cheerilee said. “I just came back from helping them get settled. Coxa wanted to know more about what feeding a foal entailed, and the nymphs stayed with her. I think they’re having a snack too.”

Mom’s eyebrows rose, and then she smiled. “I would guess neither Satin nor Missus Cake were expecting to provide for so many.”

“I don’t think so,” Cheerilee said. “They didn’t seem to mind, though.”

Everypony settled down, claiming their own spots with anticipation for the game.

Driven by curiosity, I looked around at the various combinations of ponies and changelings around us. There were more changelings than ponies in the group. While the adult changelings tended to be with other changelings, several of them had settled down with ponies and were chatting. The younger members of the groups mixed in all kinds of combinations. In some groups, the nymphs outnumbered the foals. For other groups, it seemed as if two or three foals shared a nymph among themselves, as if the nymph was a younger sibling.

I jumped as Coco put her hoof on mine. “Bit for your thoughts.”

“I was looking at how everypony is sitting together,” I said.

“It is an interesting array of arrangements.” Mom settled against Dad, leaning so her side rested on his. “The adult changelings mingling with other adult changelings I can understand because of their previous connections and the difference in the numbers of changelings and ponies. The reasons behind the other combinations are a bit of a mystery to me.”

Pinch smiled and cut her eyes to Kevin as he fidgeted at her side.

“I take it you have an idea why the nymphs have gone with the groups they have,” Dad said.

“Flavor,” Kevin said, as if confessing something. “They go to ponies who give off the emotional flavors they like.”

Cubitus snorted. “Kevin, chill. It’s not like it’s a big secret.”

“Yeah, but it’s...” Kevin paused, as if thinking of a word. “Awkward to talk about.”

“It shouldn’t be,” Junebug said. “There are some major physiological and behavioral differences between the tribes of ponies and we talk about them. Changelings, as close as you are to us, should feel the same. In fact, we will need to have such conversations for us to live and work together.”

Pinch bumped Kevin with her shoulder. “See? What have I been telling you?”

“Ponies group together with who we like based on personalities, so there’s little difference there. We use flavor and food-based endearments with those we like too.” Junebug smiled and looked down at Petrova, who was curled up in the small space between her and Radius.

Petrova looked up at Junebug with expectant alertness.

“Isn’t that right, sweetie?” Junebug said and leaned down to nuzzle Petrova.

Petrova lit up and returned Junebug’s nuzzle with affection.

“Awww!” Sweetie Belle, Dinky, Gena, and Piña said in chorus.

Cubitus put on a wicked smile. “So, Radi, what flavor does Miss Junebug give off that you like?”

Radius blushed to his ears. “Cubi!” He glanced at Junebug as if worried about her reaction and then back to Cubitus.

Junebug appeared amused at Radius’ reaction more than anything else.

“You shouldn’t worry about talking about it,” Gena said and hugged Dinky. “I tell Dinky she’s all my favor flavors, caring, loving, and upbeat, all the time.”

Dinky blushed and ducked her head in happy embarrassment.

Radius stared at Gena for a second, looking as if he was warming up to the idea of talking but still very unsure.

“Sounds like somepony is talking about their tastes in wines,” Berry said, as she and Barrel joined the group and settled into one of the few free spaces available. “If you leave us out, I’ll be berry upset.”

“She’s a bit too little to be talking about wine, though,” Barrel pointed out.

“I was telling about what flavors I liked from Dinky to get Radius to tell us about what he likes about Miss June Bug,” Gena told him.

Barrel grinned. “Ah, I see.”

“What about Pinch, Kevin?” Piña asked. “What ‘flavors’ do you like to get from her?”

“Pinch is curious and supportive, with a good scoop of warmth for everypony,” Kevin said, sounding vulnerable but sincere.

“So she’s like curling up with a good book, some tea, and a comfy blanket,” Noi said.

Kevin’s ears perked up, and he nodded. “That’s her.”

“Aww!” Pinch leaned against Kevin and put her head on his shoulder. “Thanks.”

A few of the surrounding changelings gave the pair curious looks.

Radius swallowed. “June Bug… It’s hard to describe. It’s an emotional blend with several layers to it.”

Cubitus nodded as if knowing what Radius was talking about. “Like Dinky’s mixture of excitement and happiness at being able to do something nice for or something new with somepony that’s so tasty,” he said. “And Gena’s feelings when she gets to learn about ponies by hugging them. She enjoys the contact and sharing what she senses from them.”

Our group’s expectant attention went back to Radius, who blushed. “I-”

A mixture of nymphs and young foals rushing in to join the group interrupted him.

“We’re back!” Coxa announced. “Everyone, find your partners.”

“We heard you fed more ponies than you expected to,” Stormbreaker said, as Satin sat down beside him.

“We did,” Mrs. Cake said, with a slight blush, as she and the twins sat beside Carrot. “It was something, let me tell you.”

“It was quite educational for me and nutritious for the nymphs,” Coxa said. “Thank you both.” She looked at a trio of nymphs who had not settled down with anypony and told them, “You three need to be with a partner from Cheerilee’s class or with an adult.”

“I’ll take one or two!” Berry said. She held out her forelegs in an inviting gesture to the trio.

Two of the nymphs ran to Berry and hugged her.

The final nymph looked overwhelmed and unsure of what to do.

“Come here little one,” Mom said and patted the ground. “You can sit with us.”

The nymph paused at Mom’s words, but he did not move towards her.

Mom’s ears fell after a couple of seconds passed. “Do you not want to sit with us?”

“I don’t think that’s the case.” Dad said and chuckled. “He’s just nervous and needs some encouragement.” Dad twined his tail with Mom’s and leaned his head against hers. “Or ‘enticement,’ I should say.”

“Devious.” Mom smiled and snuggled against Dad. “I approve.”

The nymph’s ears perked up, and he moved towards Mom and Dad.

Dad’s grinned. “It’s my fellow hat enthusiast! I thought I recogniz-”

I flinched as the nymph went straight to Dad and hugged him.

The nymph recoiled from Dad as if he had touched a hot eye on a stove, stumbled backwards, tripped, and landed on his flank.

I could not tell who looked more disturbed by what happened, the nymph or Dad. The nymph looked confused, shocked, and upset, while Dad’s face showed his guilt, heartbreak, and worry for the nymph.

Of the four fillies that got to the nymph, in what seemed to be a heartbeat, I could not tell if Dinky, Gena, Pinch, or Piña touched him first, but Dinky ended up with him in her forelegs.

“Are you okay?” Dinky asked the nymph, who had tucked his head against her chest.

“You can’t go hugging everypony without asking first, Thysbe.” Cubitus scolded as he trotted up to the huddled group. “Some ponies don’t like it.”

“Give him a moment, Cubi,” Piña said. “He’s upset enough as it is.”

Gena disengaged from the others. “He’s not the only one.” She walked to Dad, her ears back with worry, and asked. “Are you okay?”

“No, I am not,” Dad responded. “I am ashamed of myself.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Gena told him.

As if saying so cut into him, Dad responded, “I traumatized a foal.”

“You didn’t mean to, and you hurt yourself too,” Gena said. “It was an accident.”

“I wanted for him to get love from Study, not this.” Dad took off his hat and held it in his hoofs. He stared at the hat with a haunted, faraway look. “I was thinking he would want a hug from Study, and I was going to put my hat on him again.”

“He didn’t want love from Missus Study, he wanted love from you,” Cubitus said in a rough and close to accusatory tone. “You’re the flavor he likes.”

“Cubi!” Dinky and Piña chided at the same time.

“Mister Insight, you need a hug,” Gena said. “May I give you a hug?” she more demanded than asked.

Dad hesitated for an unsure moment and then nodded.

Gena hugged Dad as if she exerted too much pressure on him he would shatter. At first contact, she flinched, then her eyes widened, and she looked shocked. “You’re worse than Mister Pin without Miss Coco!” She wrapped her forelegs around him tighter. “It’s like trying to hear you when you’re deep in a tunnel.”

“Hug him, Miss Study,” Pinch said. “That will help.”

Mom nodded and hugged Dad from his side.

“Better,” Gena declared and then rested her head on Dad, closed her eyes and remained still.

“Hug her back,” I told Dad. “Do your best to relax and hold her.”

Dad, with some hesitancy, hugged Gena.

A couple of seconds passed before Piña asked, “Anything?”

“A little. He’s curious, considerate, and...” Gena looked up at Dad and smiled. “And steadfast.”

“That sums him up well,” Mom said.

“Okay, Gena, you need to let him go,” Cubitus said. “Thysbe needs to hug Mister Insight again.”

“What?!” Piña said.

“They both need it. Thysbe needs to see that it wasn’t him that caused Mister Insight’s reaction, and Mister Insight needs to work on not freaking out about being hugged and get over feeling guilty about scaring Thysbe.” He held out his hoof toward Thysbe. “Come on, little guy.”

“But!” Dinky hugged Thysbe a little closer. “He’s still scared.”

“He will be, until he faces this.” Cubitus paused, and the hard set expression on his face softened. “One reason I could get over my fear of being captured by ponies is you hugged me while I was scared out of my mind. It’s hard to think about somepony wanting to feed you to a manticore when all you can feel is somepony wanting to calm you down and make sure you’re okay.”

“He’s right, Dinks,” Pinch said. “Going ahead and facing something that’s thrown you helps you overcome it faster.”

“Shouldn’t we be doing something?” Radius whispered.

I jumped a bit when Spiracle answered from behind me. “No, let them work this out for themselves. Besides, I think he has the right idea.”

“You’re sneaking around again,” Coxa reprimanded him in a light tone. “You startled poor Pin.”

“Sorry about that,” Spiracle said. “Having to worry about security with all of us out in the open has me slipping into old habits.”

“It’s fine,” I said to him. “How long has he been behind us?” I asked Coco in a whisper.

“I have no clue,” Coco whispered back, while looking over her should at Spiracle.

Spiracle gave us a self-pleased rascal’s smile.

Dinky let Thysbe free of her hug, but held onto his hoof until the moment she passed Thysbe to Cubitus.

Cubitus chuckled. “Dinks, chill. I’m not feeding him to a bugbear or anything.”

Dinky’s ears went back. “I know, but he’s upset, which makes me upset.”

“Mister Insight is upset too,” Gena said, as she let go of Dad. “Cubi’s right. They both need this.”

Cubitus guided Thysbe the short distance to Dad and told them both, “Try it again.”

“Hug him instead of him hugging you,” Pinch suggested. “That way, you’re the one who starts things. That might help.”

“I’m sorry about last time, little guy.” Dad reached out to Thysbe, holding his forelegs open. “Let’s try again, all right?”

Thysbe let go of Cubitus’ hoof and approached Dad with caution.

With careful, slow motions, Dad brought Thysbe into a hug. He seemed to concentrate on regulating his emotions as he looked down at the nymph.

The tension left Thysbe. He smiled and hugged Dad back.

“Much better!” Piña declared.

“I am very proud of you, Dear,” Mom said. She looked down at Thysbe and smiled. “I am proud of you, too. It is difficult to face something that has scared you with the courage you did.”

For a second, Dad seemed bothered by Mom’s words, and Thysbe hugged Dad a bit more as if to comfort him.

Twilight’s voice, aided by an amplification spell, came from the buckball field. “May I have your attention please?”

Thysbe nestled between Mom and Dad and Spiracle settled down with Coxa and Arista, while everypony else returned to their previous spots.

As Twilight introduced the players and then summarized the rules of buckball, many of the nymphs perked up. They seemed to pick up on the building anticipation and excitement of the surrounding ponies.

After Twilight ended her explanation, Soarin went to the middle of the field with a hoofball. He signaled to Turner to be ready, addressed the players to tell them to get ready, and then started the game by tossing the ball into the air.

The game was a much closer one that I had expected, considering Ponyville’s official buckball team was playing against a pickup team. Rainbow Dash’s speed countered Fluttershy’s ball handling technique well. Applejack and Pinkie Pie matched each other out too. Amethyst, on the other hoof, had some trouble matching Snail’s basket handling prowess, but she did not put on a poor show.

In the middle of an impressive back-and-forth series between the two teams, Turner signaled time and Soarin paused the game with a whistle and then declared, “Halftime!”

“Way to go, Ammy!” Dinky cheered.

“You are right, Dinky, buckball is a great game to watch,” Mom said.

Everypony paused as Thorax approached. He had returned to his new form and his size drew our attention.

“Is everypony liking the game?” Thorax said, looking as if not sure how to handle the looks he was getting.

“It’s great!” Gena said.

Thorax looked at Cubitus with some concern. “Cubi, are you okay?”

“I’m great.” Cubitus grinned, looking unfocused. “I’ve had way too much excited supportive love from Dinky for Ammy,” he said and leaned against Dinky, who blushed. “Want some? I’ve got a full store I could share already, and I’m sure she’ll be giving off more.”

“I’m not sure I should,” Thorax responded.

“You need to eat,” Muffins told Thorax, in her mother’s tone, before he could refuse.

“You better listen to her, or we’re all going to gang up on you,” Berry said. “We’ve had practice getting overworked and starving ponies to eat and rest, thanks to Pin. You won’t have a chance.”

Picking up on what they were doing, I smiled. “You better do what they say,” I told Thorax. “No matter how much I argued and told them I was fine, they always won.”

Gena looked around in shock. “He’s a king!” she half whispered. “What are they doing?!”

“Being moms and good friends,” Pinch said.

Dinky got to her hooves. “Thorax needs love?”

“A lot,” Coxa said. “He hasn’t been taking in love from anypony, since he thinks ponies might think it’s wrong.”

“Thorax, you goof!” Cubitus said. “They give the stuff away!”

Gena stared at Cubitus with her mouth open in shock.

“But-” Thorax started.

“Mom’s right, you need to eat!” Dinky said, without giving Thorax a chance to finish. “You have a kingdom to take care of and you can’t do that without eating.” She marched over to stand beside Muffins. “You settle down right here,” she told Thorax and waited for him to do as she instructed. “I’m going to be in the middle, and Mom is going to be on my other side.” As soon as Thorax had lowered himself to the ground, she said, “Cubi, you’re on his other side.”

“Got it!”

“What about me?” Gena asked, as Cubitus left her.

“You can pile in too,” Dinky told her.

Thorax gave the trio an uneasy look. “I appreciate this, but you don’t need to go through all this trouble for me.”

“Thorax, just go with it.” Cubitus all but flopped down and half-rolled to settle against Thorax’s side. “You need the love, and I need to share some love, or I’m going to pop.”

“I get the front then.” Gena said, and curled up against Thorax’s chest.

“There’s still a lot of available Thorax to go around,” Berry pointed out.

Careful of her hooves Noi stood up and addressed the younger ponies around us, “Everypony in Miss Cheerilee’s class and our nymph friends!” She waited a moment for ponies to turn her direction and then told them, “We need to give good feelings to King Thorax. Anypony who wants to join us, we’d be happy to have you.”

“All right!” Rumble cheered. He grinned down at the two nymphs sitting with him. “We’re going to pony pile a king!”

“Wait, what?!” Thorax said.

“Be gentle with him, please,” Cheerilee said, giving her approval for their plan. “Be mindful of the nymphs too. They are smaller, so you need to be careful with them.”

“You heard her!” Spike stood up and pointed at Thorax, “Everypony, snuggle him!”

There were a few moments of gleeful, frenzied chaos as most of the foals and nymphs and Spike piled on Thorax.

“If you can’t get some affection now, there’s no hope for you,” Spiracle teased, once the youngsters settled down again.

Thorax relaxed and smiled. “Thank you, everypony,” he told the youngsters and settled down with a contented look.

Cheerilee made a motion to Featherweight, who smiled, nodded, and then flew up and above our group and took several photos of the cuddling group and those of us around it.

“Seems the next edition of the Foal Free Press is going to be another interesting one,” I said to Cheerilee.

“With their enthusiasm for it, I’m sure it will be,” she said with pride.

Turner blew a whistle, signaling that the game was about to start again. Everypony settled back down, the players took their positions, and Soarin started the second half by tossing the ball in the air.

At first, some foals from Cheerilee’s class guarded their reactions to what was going on with the game. I guessed that their proximity to *King* Thorax made them self-conscious about how much noise they were making. As the game went on, and Thorax cheered with abandon, the younger ponies got into the game too. The adults circling the nymphs and students went through a similar process.

I felt the tension I had been holding release. Knowing the surrounding ponies could let their guards down allowed me to relax.

Gena turned and looked at me with a curious expression.

Coco leaned against me. “What are you thinking about? I can all but hear the gears turning in your head.”

“I was-”

“Wild ball!” somepony called, as a shot bounced off the edge of one of the scoring buckets and careened towards our section of the field.

“Shield up!” I called and put up a mid-air barrier to intercept the ball.

The ball bounced off my shield at an odd angle and hit one of the decorative poles, knocking loose several flowers and the streamer that was attached to it.

Spiracle caught the ball after its bounce off the pole. He grinned and bowed at the scattered applause and cheers he received.

“Well done!” Stormbreaker told me. “That would have stung, if it had hit somepony, as fast as it was going.”

“Pin was one of the safety monitors on his ice archery team.” Satin grinned at me. “Looks like the quick reaction shield training’s still with you.”

“I guess so,” I said, feeling surprised at myself. “I didn’t even think about what I was doing.”

“So that’s why you could get your ‘sneeze guard’ up so fast while I was sick,” Coco joked.

“I’m glad nopony got hit, but I didn’t do the poor decorations any favors. I’ll help put things back up.”

“I’ve got it,” Radius said. He picked up the loose flowers and the streamer and flew upwards. Once he got at the right height to reattach the streamer to the pole, he glanced back toward the ground. “I think I’m missing something to hook it to.”

“There’s a tack down here,” Spiracle said, getting to his hooves and picking it up. “We don’t have a hammer, though.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll just stick it.” Radius spit a globule of sticky green goo onto the pole and adhered the streamer to it. “There we go.” After putting the flowers back in their arrangement, he drifted back to the ground with lazy wing beats and returned to his spot. “Do you think I should get…” He trailed off as June Bug, all but put her nose to his. “Yes?”

“You can still excrete adhesive saliva and you didn’t tell me?” Junebug asked, sounding excited and disappointed with Radius at the same time.

“I didn’t think about it,” Radius said.

“Can I see inside your mouth?” Radius opened his mouth wide, and Junebug came close to sticking her nose in it. “Where is the…? Oh?! You have three! They’re bigger than I thought they would be too. Impressive!”

Radius blushed. “Ank ou.”

“Is everything okay, June?” Spiracle asked, sounding far too helpful.

“I thought changelings had lost the ability to secrete adhesive saliva after the metamorphosis.” She looked at Spiracle for a second before returning to her examination of Radius’ mouth. “Why haven’t you been using it to help build Sanctuary?”

“The stuff hardens up and breaks down after a while, so we can’t use it for anything than needs to last,” Coxa explained.

“Since our friend here can’t speak for himself, I’ll be glad to point out a couple of things.” Spiracle moved and sat beside Radius with obvious enjoyment of his friend’s plight. “Adhesive saliva is released from the upper gland and valve.” He pointed a hoof at something inside of Radius’ mouth I could not see. “Its placement and shape helps the spray be more accurate. The other valves and glands allow us to make cocoons and the suspension fluids we fill them with.”

“So they have less of a squirt gun shape because of their not needing to push out their contents with velocity, but allow for finer work close up,” June Bug guessed.

“That’s it in a nutshell,” Spiracle confirmed.

Turner trotted up from the game field. “While I came with another purpose, curiosity demands I find out why our friend is being examined.”

“They’re looking at the valve he uses to spit the sticky stuff he used to put the streamer back up,” Dinky said.

Turner looked over June Bug’s shoulder. “Ah, I see! What a marvelous organ.”

Radius’ blush deepened.

“Turner, what’s the holdup?” Soarin asked, as he landed at the edge of the ponies gathered around Radius. “Is he okay? Did he get hit in the mouth by the ball?”

“He’s fine, they’re looking at his spit valves,” Coxa said.

“Should you be doing that in front of foals and nymphs?” Soarin joked.

“This is awkward,” Junebug agreed. “Thank you, Radius.”

Radius closed his mouth. “You’re welcome.”

“Could we get samples of the various substances you can produce?” Turner asked. “It would be very interesting to know what they’re composed of.”

Dinky’s ears perked up and her eyes got a distant look to them. “We could learn so much.”

Pinch giggled, and Cubitus shook his head. “I think we know what our next project is going to be,” Cubitus said.

“Samples later, buckball now,” Soarin said. He glanced over his shoulder towards the field. “We better get moving. Twilight’s giving us a look.”

“Right!” Turner said. “We cannot disrupt the schedule. We will press things too close to dark, if we do.” Spiracle passed him the ball, and he trotted off with Soarin back towards the field. As he walked past the cluster of ponies around Thorax, he asked, “Dinky, my dependable research partner whose memory is far better than mine, please remind me to ask for samples from Mister Radius later.”

“Sure, Dad!” Dinky said.

Spiracle patted Radius on the back. “You’re a good sport.”

“Yes he is,” Junebug agreed. “The more I find out about him, the more fascinating I find him. He has the patience of Celestia, and lets me ask all the questions I want while I draw my diagrams of his anatomy too.”

Spiracle chuckled, raised his eyebrows, and gave Radius a grin that caused him to blush.

“Get your mind out of the cesspit,” Radius said. “She draws my anatomy for her reports.”

“His physiology is fantastic for my studies,” June Bug said, blushing too. “Being able to see the structures of his wings and eyes without needing a magnifying glass or microscope has let me see things I have never seen before.”

“I believe the studying has been mutual, based on how much he’s talked about you and what he’s learned from you about living in Ponyville,” Coxa said.

Turner blew his whistle, and the game resumed.

Petrova gave a happy chirp as June Bug and Radius settled down with her again.

“If you would hold still, I’d draw you too, you precious thing,” June Bug said.

Gena looked up at Thorax, who seemed lost in thought studying June Bug, Petrova, and Radius. “What are you thinking about? You seem happy and worried at the same time.”

“I’m nervous about my speech,” Thorax said. He smiled at Gena. “I think I’m going to improvise some of it, with what I’ve seen and experienced today, but I’m going to need to figure out how I want to word it.”

Cubitus reached over Thorax’s leg and gave Gena a playful prod. “What he means is, ‘Be quiet, cuddle with me some more, and let me think’.”

Gena giggled. “I can do that.”

The rest of the game went well and without the ball flying into the crowd. While Amethyst and the pickup team played their hearts out, they could not best Ponyville’s official team. We cheered both teams, who lined up and took a bow, and then dispersed to join the crowd.

“You did great, sis!” Dinky congratulated, as Amethyst and Turner came towards us.

“I don’t know about ‘great’, but I didn’t embarrass myself at least. I’m going to have a sore horn for a couple of days, though. I haven’t used my magic for that long in a while.” She smiled at the cluster of ponies around Thorax. “Seems you found yourself a comfy spot.”

“It found me is more what happened.” Thorax smiled. “I’m going to need to get up for my speech. Would you two mind taking my place?”

“Sure!” Amethyst said and bumped shoulders with Turner. “Right, Dad?”

“Do you want to make the other half of the Dinky sandwich, or are you making me into a sandwich with Dinky?” he asked, which earned him several giggles from the foals.

“I’ll finish the sandwich.” After some careful maneuvering through the settled foals and nymphs, Amethyst took the vacant spot beside Dinky.

As soon as Turner settled down beside Amethyst, the foals and nymphs closed the open space around them by cuddling against them.

Thorax walked to the edge of the field and turned to address the crowd.

“Hello everyone,” he said, sounding nervous.

Some changelings and ponies leaned forward, as if straining to hear him.

“Hold on just a second,” Twilight said, from her seat near where Thorax was standing. She cast a spell, and Thorax’s throat glowed for a moment. “That should help.”

“Thanks,” Thorax said, his voice amplified by Twilight’s spell. He turned back to face the crowd. “While today has shown me more than I could have ever hoped, and I want to talk about all of it, I promise to keep this short.” He looked toward a section of the crowd that held a majority of ponies. “First, I want to thank our wonderful friends from Ponyville for making this celebration possible. This has been an unforgettable day. Without your generosity, we would not be here to celebrate it.”

Cheers from the changelings echoed Thorax’s words.

Thorax’s expression lost its joviality. “We have needed such a celebration. We changelings are facing an unprecedented time in our history. Our home was shattered. Our colony is divided. We are facing challenges in meeting our basic needs, and our… history with the other creatures of the world has all but eliminated the possibility of seeking aid from most kingdoms.”

The changelings of the crowd became uneasy at Thorax’s words.

“However, despite all of those challenges, we are still here, and we have hope.” Thorax looked towards our group and smiled. “Coxa and Spiracle, please join me.”

Coxa and Spiracle glanced at each other as if they were not aware they were going to be asked to the front, got to their hooves, and then moved toward Thorax. As if sensing something of gravitas was occurring, Arista wiggled in Coxa’s grasp and made fussy noises.

“We are here to welcome the first nymph to be hatched in Sanctuary. Unlike the previous ‘viewings’ that Chrysalis held for herself to pick her favorites among a hatching, this Viewing is for all of Sanctuary to get to greet its newest member.” He stepped out of the way so Coxa and Spiracle could have the central speaking spot. “Please, introduce us all to the newest addition to Sanctuary.”

Spiracle seemed stunned. “My King, that honor goes to you.”

Thorax shook his head. “This is a celebration in honor of the hatching of your nymph.”

There was a quick, whispered discussion between Coxa and Spiracle I could not hear.

Coxa passed Arista to Spiracle, who held her above his head for all to see. His broad smile showed his adoring pride for his daughter.

Coxa, smiling herself, called out, “Changelings of Sanctuary, the Hive, and our friends from Ponyville, Spiracle and I introduce our daughter, Arista!”

Applause, cheers, and welcomes from those of us in the crowd resounded.

Arista did not seem to know what to make of being lifted into the air and the noise from the crowd, but she did not fuss.

After a few seconds more, Spiracle lowered Arista and held her to his chest.

Thorax smiled at us in the crowd. “The customs the Crystal Ponies introduced me to during my time in the Crystal Empire that bonded their community together partially inspired this celebration. We hope Sanctuary can become a living example of how changelings and ponies can live in harmony, learning from and sharing with each other. That larger aspiration aside, I hope that Sanctuary lives up to it name for those who call it home. Would the adult changelings of Sanctuary please stand?”

There was a general confusion and what seemed to be an almost reluctance among the changelings, but then Radius stood. Following his example, more and more changelings got to their hooves.

It shocked me to see less than half of the changelings stood. Thinking back on what we had seen in Sanctuary's interior, the thought of how much work they must have put into its construction awed me.

“These changelings have all chosen to give up their homes and their lives within the Hive for an opportunity to make Sanctuary a living example of the future we hope to achieve for all changelings. Coxa, Radius, and Spiracle, in particular, have not only been working their exoskeletons off to help build, but also to establish diplomatic and trade connections with the ponies of Ponyville.”

Hints of sadness haunted Thorax’s features, but he maintained his smile. “These changelings also came to offer an opportunity to those who did not have such a choice. Nymphs of Sanctuary, please stand.”

Gena and Cubitus got to their hooves together. They then coaxed the younger nymphs to stand with them.

“These younglings had all ties to their previous lives severed. They have lost their homes, their families, and their nesting groups, all without warning. These are the nymphs that the adult changelings of Sanctuary are working so hard for.” Thorax nodded toward Gena and Cubitus. “The ‘older’ of the nymphs themselves have been doing their best to make the lives of their fellow nymphs better by guiding them and helping them learn and make new connections, friends, and lives.”

One nymph, as if all the attention was getting to her, shrank towards the ground. Before she could touch the grass, Dinky was at her side to give her a hug and whisper encouraging words as she guided the nymph back to standing tall and held her hoof.

“Our older nymphs have not been facing this task alone. The foals of Ponyville have helped them not only get back to their hooves but also thrive in their new lives. Would the members of the Envoys, Research Team, and Training Team please stand?”

The foals looked at each other as if surprised at being named.

“Did any of you know he was going to do this?!” Pina whispered.

“No!” Gena told her.

“He’s winging it,” Rumble said.

“He’s doing great,” Pinch said and stood. Kevin stood at her side without hesitation.

Following their example, the other team members stood.

“These ‘teams’ formed because they were friends, not because they were assigned to each other. They have worked with Princess Twilight, Mayor Mare, Miss Cheerilee and her class, Miss Junebug, and many other ponies to help the leaders of both communities learn about each other.” Thorax smiled at the Teams. “I am sure they will continue to do great things and serve as examples of how changelings and ponies can live together for us all.”

“No pressure,” Thunderlane said in a loud stage whisper, prompting several laughs around us.

“Don’t leave yourself out,” Twilight said to Thorax. “You’ve had a major hoof in setting up Sanctuary.”

Thorax shook his head. “I agreed the plan sounded promising, gave a bit of input, and then let Coxa, Spiracle, and Radius have the reins. I cannot say I had anything to do with their success so far.” He focused his eyes on the section of the crowd that had the most changelings from the Hive. “I had hoped Sanctuary would succeed at being a haven for changelings who needed somewhere other than the Hive to live in peace. It is proving to be much more than that. The changelings and ponies here have shown me I was wrong for not accepting their full help. We could stand on our own, but that would make the process longer and more difficult. The ponies of Equestria want to help us, including sharing their love with us. We should accept it with appreciation and do our best to pay them back when we are able.”

“Pay them back with what?” A changeling, I assumed from the Hive, asked. “We can’t even grow our own food yet.”

Princess Twilight made as if she were going to speak just as Junebug got to her hooves. Their eyes met, and Twilight smiled and nodded with approval.

Junebug addressed the changelings, while giving most of her attention to the changeling who had spoken. “You have a lot of other things to offer us.” She put a hoof to her chest. “I’m an entomologist. Being able to work with Coxa, Radius, and Spiracle has been the biggest opportunity in my life. Coxa has taken the time to answer my questions about the changeling life cycle and how she and her team care for the nymphs.” She gave a grateful look to Radius. “Radi has answered even more of my questions and has been kind enough to let me use him as a model for my scientific diagrams and study his anatomy.”

“Keep it clean, June,” Berry kidded, drawing some laughter from the crowd. “There are foals present.”

June Bug blushed and shot Berry a look before addressing the changelings again. “What I am trying to say is what we could learn from you more than makes us for us sharing our resources and supplies. But if you could share the adhesive you produce and let us study your cocoons and their properties, it would mean a lot to us.”

Turner’s hoof snapped up into the air. “I second that!”

Dinky hopped up and down, waving a hoof in the air. “Yes, please!”

“We would be interested in studying the silk you produce too,” Junebug said. “We could make all kinds of advances studying it.”

“That would make an excellent exchange!” Twilight agreed. “There could be all kinds of medical and practical applications we could use it for. I know Rarity would be very interested in having a steady supply of high quality silk too, and I’m sure she wouldn’t be the only one.”

“There is another thing that we can provide for Equestria to repay the ponies’ generosity, information and support for our mutual defense,” Thorax said, changing the tone of the talk in an instant. “Equestria and the Hive still face a threat from Chrysalis. We need to share any information we have about her activities, in case we ever see her again.”

“What about the renegades?” A voice called out. “Are they going to help us with them?”

Thorax stiffened, but kept his composure. “First, let me state I do not regard the separatist changelings as military threats. They have every right to disagree with our way of life. So long as they are non-violent, the Princesses have agreed there is no need for us to treat them as hostile.” He turned and gave a slight bow to Spiracle. “I believe Spiracle is the right changeling to address our plans for bringing the Hive back together, since Sanctuary is going to play such a large part in it.”

Spiracle stepped forward. “Everyone, please sit down.” He waited a moment for those who had been standing to settle down on the grass. “Our approach is quite simple. We keep doing what we are doing. Pharynx is a warrior changeling through and through. If he hasn’t already...” He paused and looked perturbed as a uneasy murmurer went through the changeling portion of the crowd. “Yes, I said his name. Pharynx was a fellow trainee, a staunch defender of the Hive, and someone I knew I could count on when things got tough. He’s not a villain, he’s not a monster, he’s a changeling of the old ways who is doing his best to keep the Hive going following what he was taught.”

Arista wiggled in Spiracle’s grasp. He took a moment to whisper something to her and nuzzle her until she calmed down.

The sight of the tough, proud warrior being a loving father made me smile, and got several ‘awws’ from the surrounding ponies.

“Pharynx will soon have scouts and spies throughout Equestria and the neighboring kingdoms, looking for opportunities to shore up the renegades’ supplies.” A devious grin came to his face. “We’re going to invite those scouts and spies in and give them what they want.”

There was a ripple of disbelief and muttering through the crowd.

“It’s a very simple plan we know will work because we changelings of Sanctuary have experienced what we want them to experience.” Spiracle pointed a hoof at the groups of foals, nymphs, and ponies cuddling together. “To a love starved changeling, this much affection and caring being shared is going to be irresistible. We invite them to join us, share our love with them, and then send them back to tell the others what is possible if they rejoin the Hive or us here in Sanctuary. Before long, Pharynx's influence will erode from all the defectors, and he and the rest of the renegades will be hard pressed not to rejoin us.”

The changelings of Sanctuary in the crowd seemed satisfied with the plan. Many of the changelings of the Hive seemed to have reservations and exchanged quiet comments with those around them.

“Are the ponies up for this?” a voice asked.

“We are.” Mayor Mare said, after standing. “Several ponies from Ponyville have volunteered to provide love for the nymphs and changelings of Sanctuary. Princess Twilight, the Envoys, the students of Cheerilee’s class, and I are all going to do what we can to find more ponies to help with this strategy. Our plans are not complete, but we have several ideas on how to increase the number of ponies willing to donate love and guide changelings who need convincing that Pharynx's ways are unnecessary back to the Hive or to Sanctuary.”

Mayor Mare’s words had some impact among the changelings of the Hive, but many still seemed skeptical.

“It seems too easy,” the same voice said, loud enough to be heard over the general murmuring of the crowd.

“It is that easy!” Cubitus jumped to his hooves. “When I was caught by the ponies, I was terrified. Chrysalis had told us all those lies about nymphs being tortured and fed to the creatures of Everfree Forest, and I believed them.” He pointed a hoof at Dinky. “Dinky, who is the bravest and kindest pony I know, got into a magical shield with me, after arguing with her own sister about how dangerous it would be, to help me calm down and feel safe. She did more for me, while I was in that bubble, than my parents had been to me in my entire life.”

Dinky blushed at all the attention she received from everyone around her. The nymph who was holding her hoof smiled and hugged her as if to support her.

“Then, while I’m still in the shield with Dinky, Keratin shows up looking better and happier than I had ever seen him.” Cubitus took a breath before continuing at full volume. “He hadn’t had his wings pulled off or fed to manticores, Princess Celestia herself arranged for him to live with two of her personal friends. I looked up to Pharynx, and I still do. But he’s got his head up his-”

Gena lunged and put a hoof over his mouth. “Cubi! Think about where you are and about the nymphs.”

There were several giggles from the surrounding foals.

“Sorry,” Cubitus told Gena, as she dropped her hoof. He turned his attention back toward the neighsayer. “Pharynx is wrong. We changelings of Sanctuary and our pony friends can and will show them that if they give us the chance!”

I noticed a change in Spiracle’s expression. He appeared to be suppressing a grin, and he glanced at a couple of spots in the crowd as low conversations among the changelings spread.

The whispers throughout the crowd grew. On the whole, they sounded more positive, but there were still doubtful undertones.

“She’s just one filly,” the neighsayer said, over the noise. “What about the rest of them?”

Gena’s ears shot up, and she grinned as if inspired. “Pinch, give Kevin a hug!”

Pinch looked at Gena as if doubting what she had heard. “Hug him?”

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Gena, I think I know where you’re going with this, but I don’t think-”

“You two think too much!” Gena stood up and pointed a hoof at Kevin. “You want them to see just how well things can work? Show them!”

Kevin nodded. He hugged Pinch and whispered something to her.

Pinch’s eyes widened. After a second, she hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder.

There was a gasp from the changelings sitting closest to the hugging pair. They turned to other changelings around them, expressing their disbelief in a rapid jumble of words.

“Pinch and Kevin don’t just get along, she loves him and he loves her!” Gena announced for everyone to hear. “You Hivelings can doubt whether we can pull this off you want, but this is what has already happened with them, and I’m sure there are going to be more ponies and changelings falling in love before too long.”

Gena’s announcement and the confirming words of the changelings close to the pair caused discussions throughout the changelings of the Hive. The neighsayer looked perplexed, as he tilted his head in thought and stared at Pinch and Kevin hugging.

Turner gave Princess Twilight a signal, and she nodded. “This has been a wonderful discussion of what Sanctuary means for all of us, but we ponies need to head home.” She gave a meaningful glance toward the Everfree Forest. “While we’re a good bit away, we don’t want to chance things by having ponies go home in the dark.” She smiled at the foals in the crowd. “We don’t want any pony sleepy during school tomorrow either.”

I had not noticed, but the sun had drifted lower in the sky. While there was still daylight left, with fall making the days shorter, we would not have too much time to spare getting home.

“Thank you all for coming,” Coxa said. “It was an honor for Spiracle and I to be the first parents to have an egg hatch in Sanctuary and for Arista to be the first to have a Viewing held for her. For all of our friends to be part of the Viewing has made it even more special. Thank you all!” She and Spiracle bowed, and everyone cheered them.

After the applause ended, there was a lot of activity as ponies and changelings got to their hooves.

“If you did not come with your parents, every student should gather here please,” Cheerilee called over the din. “We’ll need to head back to the schoolhouse soon.”

There were disappointed sounds from a few of the foals.

“If Coxa agrees, we’ll come back to visit sometime,” Cheerilee told them.

“We would love to have you visit again,” Coxa said as she and Spiracle walked up.

“Could we see your daughter before we go?” Cotton Cloudy asked, standing on her hind legs and stretching to her full height, trying to get a better look at Arista.

“We couldn’t see her too well when you held her up, Sir,” Liza said, while motioning for Cotton Cloudy to settle back down.

“Of course,” Spiracle said, and held Arista so the foals could see her.

“She’s so small!” Cotton Cloudy said.

“I thought the nymphs were little,” Snips said as he and some of the other foals moved closer to Spiracle.

The shutter of Featherweight’s camera snapped several times as he took photos of the foals gathered around Arista.

Coxa looked around and smiled. “Come on, little nymphs, we need to get inside too. It’s going to get cool before too much longer, and we don’t want anybuggy getting sick.”

The foals and nymphs separated from each other with reluctance and gathered around their respective teachers.

Amethyst counted the foals. “We’re all here,” she declared and put her hoof down.

“I seem to be missing five nymphs,” Coxa said. She looked at the pegasi of the group. “I wonder where they could be?” she asked.

Muffins, Stormbreaker, and Thunderlane raised their wings, and revealed the five nymphs.

“Come on, you rascals.” Coxa shook her head, as the five trotted to her. “I’m going to have to watch all of you to make sure you don’t sneak off with somepony, aren’t I?”

Coxa and Cherrilee led their respective group of youngsters away, leaving our group with an exhausted trio of young foals.

“They’re going to sleep well tonight,” Stormbreaker said to Missus Cake, as he rubbed Rain’s back with a hoof.

Missus cake nodded. “They’ll probably fall asleep before we get back to Ponyville.”

“Do you need any help to break things down?” I asked Barrel, as he got to his hooves.

He shook his head. “Nah, Riff, Turner, and I’ve got it. Taking everything down is a lot easier than putting it up.”

Spiracle raised an eyebrow, as Piña eased closer and to him, her full attention on Arista. “Yes?”

Piña stopped and smiled. “Sorry, I haven’t gotten to see her today.”

Spiracle smiled and held Arista so Piña could see her. “Your friend wanted to see you.”

Arista smiled and reached out with her forelegs towards Pina.

Piña moved closer so Arista could touch her nose. “You were such a good girl up there. You didn’t fuss, even with all that noise.”

Thorax trotted up, looking flustered. “You were right, they’re gone.”

“Good,” Spiracle said. “Now we wait and see what the reaction from the renegades is going to be.” He looked towards the foals and asked. “Could we see the Teams over here for a minute?”

As the foals and nymphs gathered together, Thorax pranced in place. “You did great! Everybuggy is abuzz about you.”

“Why?” Noi said. “We didn’t do anything.”

“Oh, but you did.” Spiracle passed Arista to Piña. “You did quite a lot.”

Piña lit up and snuggled Arista with care.

“That jerk was a spy, wasn’t he?” Cubitus said.

“One of at least four,” Thorax confirmed. “We think there were two disguised as changelings and two as ponies.”

“How can you be so calm about them being here? This was Aristra’s Viewing! Those low life-” Cubitus paused and then gave Pinch and Kevin a hunter’s smile. “I get it now. They were perfect.”

“I don’t think I like the way he’s looking at us,” Pinch said to Kevin.

“I don’t either,” he responded. “What do you mean, Cubi?”

“You two set the perfect bait,” Cubitus said. “News of a changeling and a pony being in love is going to spread like wildfire through the renegades.”

“I’m so sorry!” Gena looked horrified and sick. “I’ve put them in danger!”

“Not at all,” Spiracle said. “Pharynx wouldn’t risk an incident with the Hive or Equestria right now.”

“How could they have slipped in?” I asked, unable to contain my curiosity. “Wouldn’t you be able to sense them?”

“With so many changelings and ponies mixed, it’s very difficult to pick out one individual who is not giving off emotions,” Thorax said. He looked towards Radius and grinned. “Except for one changeling, that is. He was the one who picked up on them first.”

Cubitus grinned at Radius. “You had a special talent and didn’t even know it.”

“So, what can we do?” Berry said.

“None of us have to do anything,” Thorax said. “That’s the great part about this plan.”

“So spelling out the plan for them was part of it too?” Cranky asked.

“It was.” Thorax watched Piña play with Arista with a hopeful expression. “We rang the dinner bell and invited them to the table. Now all we have to do is wait for their stomachs to growl loud enough at them and they’ll come.”

“Excuse me, King Thorax,” Mom said. “There is something I wanted to ask, but I am not sure if it is… a sensitive subject or not.”

Thorax raised his eyes from Piña and gave Mom his full attention. “Please ask.”

“I notice a lack of adolescent and young adult changelings here today. May I inquire where they are?”

“They’re with Pharynx's renegades,” Thorax said.

“Oh.” Mom looked sheepish. “I should not have pried.”

“I’m glad you did,” Thorax said. “It’s not a pleasant subject, but it needs to be out in the open. In the old Hive, we were ‘trained up’ with a group of changelings with similar abilities more than ‘brought up’ as families. Once a changeling goes through their training, they are a full member of the Hive. Even if they are young, they have an adult’s level of responsibility. Some changelings who complete their training choose to become more familiar with their family, others don’t.”

“So that’s why the bonds with these three are so strong,” Dad said.

Thorax nodded. “Pharynx was one of the best changelings of the hive. That’s why it was so easy for him to get the younglings to follow him.” He sighed, and his ears fell. “A softy like me isn’t as attractive a leader to a traditional changeling or a youngling who wants action to solve things rather than talking things out and negotiating.”

Dinky and Gena looked at each other, shared a grin, and then both rushed to give Thorax a hug.

“You two aren’t too different,” Kevin said. “He cares about everybuggy too. He shows it in his own way, with lots of tough love, but he does cares.”

“Wait, that reminds me.” Pinch looked towards Radius. “What were you going to say about Junebug’s flavor?”

Radius put on a stiff smile. “You remembered that?”

“If it has something to do with romance, she’ll remember it,” Berry said.

“We shared. Now it’s your turn,” Cubitus insisted.

Radius met eyes with Junebug, who raised her eyebrows at him.

“It’s a mixture of concentration, fascination, and kindness,” Radius said, his eyes never leaving Junebug’s face. “It comes out the most in here when she’s studying something and drawing a diagram. She’s so intense about what she is doing, but she makes sure I am comfortable if I’m holding a pose and talks with me while she’s drawing. I could relax and listen to her voice while she draws all day.”

Junebug blushed. “Thank you. That’s quite the compliment.”

I smiled as visions of Coco humming and doing her dances while she worked came to me.

Gena cut her eyes at me and grinned.

Coco must have caught the look Gena gave me. She studied me for a second and tilted her head in curiosity, making me smile even more.

“Alright, that’s enough mushy stuff,” Cranky said. He grunted as he got to his hooves. “I know what the big guy said to Pin, but let’s help him and the others pack up and get out of here. We don’t want to get eaten by something on the way home, and the cold and old arthritic bones don’t mix.”

I stood and helped Coco to her hooves.

Coco leaned in and whispered. “You’re going to have to tell me what you were thinking about later.”

We both turned to look at Gena, who was giggling at us.

“That’s an easy one,” Cubitus said. “He was thinking of you.”

“Don’t tease them.” Pinch motioned for the foals to follow her. “Come on, we need to help too.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cubitus said and saluted.

“I’ve got to go,” Pinch told Arista. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” She looked up and asked Berry, “Would you like to hold her, Mom?”

“If that’s okay with Spiracle.” Berry looked towards Spiracle, who nodded his approval with a smile. Berry took Arista from Pina and cooed over her. “You are so tiny and cute.”

Thorax watched the foals trot off with a contemplative expression. He then watched Berry fuss over Arista, who seemed to enjoy Berry being happy to hold her. “Before today, I had some serious doubts we could patch things up between us and the separatists. Now, I think we might have a little hope. I never thought I would ever see a pony holding a hatchling before today, so maybe being able to work things out with my brother and the separatists isn’t as impossible as I thought too.”

“You should have a lot more hope than that,” Spike told him and grinned. “I’ve got a feeling things are going to patch up a lot faster than you’d think.”

“I hope so,” Thorax said and smiled. “I really hope so.”

Chapter 43

Chapter 43

“Thank you for your patronage,” Coco told her customer.

“Thank you for the wonderful dress!” The mare hugged Coco. “It’s better than I pictured in my mind.”

“You’re more than welcome,” Coco said and gave her a hug back.

The mare let Coco go, and all but skipped out of the store with her dress bag.

I chuckled at Coco’s astounded expression. “I take you weren’t expecting such an enthusiastic thank you.”

“This is going to sound silly, but I’m still getting used to getting a thank you,” she said and walked over. “Ponyville is such a different place from Manehattan.”

“For the better, I hope.”

“Very much for the better!” She sat down beside me and smiled. “I still have moments where I don’t believe this is real.”

“What do you mean?”

“Two years ago, I was worried I could ever make ends meet on my own. Now, I’m here with you and I’m a partner in a shop. It’s like I’ve stepped into a dream.”

“You’re the mare of my dreams, so it’s only appropriate I help you reach yours.”

Coco took my hoof with hers. “Pin, I-”

The store’s bell chiming caused her to pause.

“Hello?” a voice called from the door, sounding as if they were reluctant to intrude.

“Radius?” I asked, as I got a glimpse of his pony form in the doorway.

“We’re at the counter,” Coco said. She gave me a small smile, a look, and gave my hoof a squeeze, as if promising to continue our conversation later. “Come on in.”

“You two have everything looking good,” he said as he walked through the shop. He had to weave back and forth through the displays several times as he approached. “You’ve got even more stuff out.” He stopped and looked at one of our formal jackets. “New designs too.”

“Coco’s been encouraging me to stretch myself in new directions. She’s been teaching me the finer details of costume making too, which has allowed me to make modifications to patterns I wouldn’t have been able to before.”

“That’s not true,” Coco said. “I saw that suit you made for Spike. That was an impressive design.”

I felt a warmth in my chest knowing she meant it. “That was a fluke. The drive to help him inspired me. You inspire me all the time.”

Radius grinned. “They were right. You two are the perfect ones to talk to.”

“Talk to us about what?” I said.

“Well… I...” Radius’ words did not seem to want to come for a second. “Sorry. I’m a bit over my head. That’s why they sent me to see you.”

Coco gave Radius a supportive smile. “You’re fine. Who is ‘they’?”

“Pinch, Piña, and Noi, mostly. Dinky added some comments too, but she had me spitting into test tubes, so I didn’t catch all of what she said.” Radius drew in a bracing breath and then said, “I want to know how to conduct a Ponyville courtship ritual.”

My ears went in confused directions. “Ponyville courtship ritual?”

I am not sure what my expression must have been, but Coco looked at me and giggled.

Radius nodded. “I want to do things right with Junebug.”

“But there isn’t a Ponyvi-” I stopped as Radius’ ears fell in despair.

“There isn’t a Ponyville courtship ritual?” he said, looking disappointed. “They were so sincere, though.”

Coco gave me a light shoulder bump. “I thought what we did worked rather well.”

“That it did.” I told Radius, “Coco and I adapted the customs from Canterlot and made our own ‘courtship ritual’ to follow that served the same functions.”

“That would be perfect!” he said, perking up. “They said to ask you something about talking flowers too, but I’m not sure what they meant.”

Coco tilted her head, which made me smile. “Talking flowers?” she asked.

Things clicked together in my mind. “The meanings of flowers!”

“Oh!” Coco laughed. “We can help there, too. Would you like something to take notes with?”

Radius’ eyes widened. “Courtships are that involved?” He drew himself up and stated, “It will be worth it for her, no matter how complicated it is.”

“It’s not too complicated,” I assured him. I got Radius a quill, some paper, and ink, so he could take notes.

He listened with his full concentration, as Coco and I explained the old Canterlot traditions and what we had done to adapt them.

A short time after Coco and I began giving Radius a basic outline of the courting process, a customer came into the shop. As soon as she saw us at the counter, she asked, “I know you won’t be open for too much longer, but would you mind if I browse for a few minutes?”

The customer had a slight Canterlot accent, which piqued my curiosity. When the mare’s light brown eyes settled on Coco she seemed to recognizing her.

“Please browse all you like,” Coco said. “If there is anything we can help with, please let us know.”

“Thank you,” the mare said and then inspected the store as if trying to take in every detail of both the mares’ and stallions’ displays.

Moving as if not wanting to draw attention to himself, Radius wrote something on the notepad he was using and turned it to face Coco and me. “Something like this then?” he said and tapped the edge of the pad with his hoof.

The message read, “Starving changeling. Must have sensed your love. Keep going.”

Coco nodded, slid the notepad to herself, and examined it as if studying something detailed. “That’s very close.” She wadded up the note and tossed it into the trash can. “You’ve got the idea.” Coco leaned against me and took my tail with hers.

I gave Coco’s mane a quick nuzzle and took her hoof with mine. “The important part about the whole thing is learning about each other and about each other and letting your guard down. It’s easier to do when we’re doing something together.”

Giving us an encouraging smile, Radius picked up his quill again. “What would you recommend?”

“Casual things that allow you to talk. Cooking together, walks, visiting shops, going to the market, that kind of thing.”

Coco nodded. “Talking while you’re doing day-to-day stuff, even chores, is great to start off with. From what I can tell, you two have been doing things like that a lot.”

“We have.” Radius’ expression became bashful. “What if you want to… get closer?”

“How close?” Coco asked.

He gestured towards Coco and me. “Not quite that close, right now, but heading there.”

“Pin’s the expert on that.” Coco looked at me. “Now that I think about it, once you felt comfortable, you moved things along very well.”

Radius looked up from his writing. “What do you mean, ‘felt comfortable’?”

“Pin was hesitant to express his feelings at first, because of his upbringing as a gentlecolt,” Coco said. “Once he knew I was open to being touched and receiving compliments, he did a wonderful job of showing his affection in more personal ways.”

“The mane and tail braiding?” Radius asked.

“And more.” Coco game me a teasing look and flicked her ear.

I blushed and decided the best course of action was to remain silent on the matter.

As Radius, Coco, and I continued to talk, the customer drifted closer and closer to us. She stole glances at us as she moved through the displays, as if checking to see if we were paying any attention to her.

“I would talk to Aloe and Lotus at the Ponyville Spa too,” I told Radius. “They have some great tips on how to set up brushing sessions and they have books that-”

The customer swayed and stumbled into one of our standing racks. She tried to catch her balance by getting hold of the rack itself, but only pulled it and the shirts on it down on top of her as she fell to the floor.

“Hold on, we’ll help you up,” I said, using my magic to lift the rack it back to standing upright. The shirts on the rack were a tangled mess, and a few of them remained on the floor and draped over the mare.

“I’m so sorry!” the mare said. “I tripped over my own hooves.”

Radius got to the mare and offered her a hoof. “Are you okay?”

“I think so,” she said. She took Radius’ offered hoof and stood. “I hope I didn’t damage your shirts,” she said. She picked up and dusted one shirt off with a hoof. “I think they’re still clean, but-”

Using my magic, I picked the other shirts off the floor and put them back on the rack.

“Don’t worry about that,” Coco said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be fine.” The mare said. “It was a clumsy moment on my part.” She patted the shirt she had been dusting off. “You have such wonderful designs. I got distracted and didn’t pay attention to where I was putting my hooves.”

“You’re love drunk,” Radius said.

The mare looked horrified for a fleeting second, but she composed herself just as fast. “I like the clothes here, but not that much,” she joked, playing his words off.

“Would you like to sit down?” I said. “That was a pretty hard fall. Not to mention you had a rack of clothes fall on you.”

“I’m fine, really,” the mare insisted. “Thank you for being so kind, though.”

“Please stay for a few minutes,” Coco said. “Is there anything we can get you? Water? Tea?”

“You’re both really sweet, but I’ve caused you enough trouble,” she said and turned as if to go. “Thank you for being so kind. I will tell everypony how nice you’ve been to me, even after I rearranged a part of your store.”

“They know and they want to help,” Radius said.

The mare paused and looked over her should with a winsome smile. “Know what?”

With a flash of green fire, Radius showed his true form. “They know what we are.”

“What are you doing?!” The mare looked at Coco and me as if fearful of our reaction. The mare tensed as if readying to make a bolt for it, even as she studied us.

Coco gave the mare a caring, disarming smile. “If you need love, we’ll be happy to give it to you.”

I nodded. “You don’t have to wolf it down and make yourself woozy.”

“How do you know about that?” the mare asked.

“They’re friends of several changelings, including me.” Radius made a gesture towards Coco and me with a hoof. “Do you feel any fear or disgust from them?”

The mare gave a slow shake of her head. She turned and approached the counter. “You really want to give your love away?”

“We’d be glad to,” Coco said, and I nodded in agreement.

“So, they weren't exaggerating.” She looked towards Radius. “The talk at the Viewing really happened?”

“It did,” Radius confirmed. “I take the ‘extras’ in the crowd reported in.”

“They did.” The mare sat down with careful movements as if she were having trouble processing everything.

“I believe introductions are in order,” I said, prompted by my etiquette training. “This is my fiance, and business partner, Coco Pommel,” I said and nodded to Coco. “The gentlestallion who helped you up is Radius, and I am Royal Pin.”

The mare’s attention went to Radius. “You’re Radius?”

Radius nodded. “I am.”

“Why don’t we close up the shop a little early?” Coco whispered to me.

“I think that would be a good idea.” I had not made it halfway to the front door when its bell chimed, announcing Gena, Piña, Noi, and Cubitus entering.

“Uncle Pen!” Piña said as soon as she saw me. “We have the latest issue of the Foal Free Press for you and Miss Coco.”

“You two are in some of the photos Featherweight took at the Viewing,” Noi said.

“Radi, June was looking-” Cubitus’ words halted, and so did he. He stared at the mare, his ears back, as if she were a threatening timberwolf.

“Cubi, what is it?” Gena asked, and then her eyes went to the mare at the counter too.

Noi looked at them and then at the mare. “You two okay?”

“She’s a changeling,” Gena said.

“Oh, that’s all,” Piña said, sounding relieved. “I thought there was something wrong.”

The mare’s eyebrows went up.

“She’s not from the Hive or Sanctuary,” Cubitus clarified, as if he expected Piña to change her opinion.

Piña shrugged. “No big deal.”

The mare’s jaw dropped open, and she stared at Piña.

“Come say hello,” Radius said.

For an uneasy second, nopony moved.

Ceasing the initiative, Noi stood straight and put on a warm smile as she walked towards the mare. “Hello, I’m Noi. I’m part of the Envoy Team which has been helping Ponyville and Sanctuary work with each other.” She approached the mare and held out her hoof.

The mare looked at Radius with disbelief. “Look, if this is some kind of trap, spring it. I’ll go without a fuss.”

Radius laughed. “No traps. No tricks. I promise.”

After looking back at the foals, the mare shook Noi’s hoof. “I’m Osima.”

Noi’s smile grew. “Welcome to Ponyville.”

Osima waited as if expecting the other horseshoe to drop. When nothing happened, she looked she looked confused. “That’s it? No running, no screaming, no calling the Guard?”

“Not unless we need to,” Cubitus said with some gruffness.

“You were after Coco’s and Pin’s love, weren’t you?” Gena asked, sounding protective of us.

Osmia nodded. “I sensed their love and got drawn in. I don’t know what they were talking about, but when I got closer, I got love coming from Radius too. I thought he was a pony until he showed me who he was.”

Radius seemed shocked. “I was giving off love?”

Cubitus sighed and then asked Coco and me, “He was talking to you about Junebug, wasn’t he?”

“He was,” Coco answered.

“That’s so sweet!” Piña said. “Congratulations!”

“Thank you.” Radius blinked and then looked at Cubitus. “You knew?!”

Gena giggled. “Radi, everyone in the hive knows. Whenever you and Junebug are together, you give off love.”

Radius blushed. “Look, I’m glad to find out, but let’s keep this between us since I haven’t gotten to talk with-”

The front door’s bell chimed, and June Bug and Dinky stepped into the shop. “Coco? Pin? Is everything okay? It’s past closing for you, but your sign still says you’re open, and there’s a lot of ponies still here.”

“Thanks for reminding me.” I used my magic to flip the shop’s sign. “No secret pleas for help, I promise.”

“We found him,” Gena said and pointed a hoof at Radius.

Junebug paused. Her eyes went to Radius and then to Osmia. While she maintained a neutral expression, there was confusion and a hint of worry in her eyes.

“You must be Miss June Bug.” Osmia gave Junebug a beguiling smile. “Radius was kind enough to help me up after I got tangled up in a rack of clothes and fell.”

Junebug’s ears snapped up. “Are you okay?”

“Other than my pride being a bit bruised, I’m fine.” Osmia looked at the rack of shirts she had pulled over. “I’m more worried about what I did to the shirts than what happened to me.” She turned her attention back to Junebug. “I can see why Radius is so fond of you. You’re a caring pony.”

Junebug looked at Radius with pleased surprise. “You told her about me?”

Osmia shook her head. “He didn’t, but I was eavesdropping on his conversation with Miss Coco and Mister Pin, so I picked up your name.”

Seeming more relaxed, Junebug moved closer to the group at the counter. “I can’t imagine what he could have said about me would be worth listening to.”

“He said lots of things.” It was clear Osima was enjoying playing with Junebug. Her grin made her look like a filly who was enjoying keeping a secret. “Things interesting enough to help distract me to the point I ran into a rack of shirts.”

Dinky moved with quiet steps to stand at my side. “Is Radius in trouble?” she whispered.

“I don’t think so,” I said. “Not yet, at least.”

“What were you three talking about that involved me that could have been so distracting?” Junebug asked Radius.

“Now he is.” I leaned closer to Dinky’s ear and whispered, “We need a change of topic, stat.”

Dinky nodded and trotted forward. “Thank you for helping the Research Team, Mister Radius.” She went straight to Radius and hugged him. “Twilight and Dad already have all kinds of ideas for the samples you gave us. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier, but I got too excited and forgot to.”

“You’re welcome,” he said and hugged her back. He opened and closed his mouth, acting as if it were dry. “It’s going to be a couple of days before I can provide any more, though. I’m drained.”

“Who’s this precious filly?” Osima asked.

Gena and Cubitus bristled.

Osima glanced at the two nymphs, but kept her friendly expression. “In fact, except for Noi, I don’t think I got any of your names.”

“I’m Dinky. This is Gena and he’s Cubitus.” Dinky gave Gena and Cubitus a concerned look. “You two okay?”

Osima held up her hoof right hoof. “I promise, I have no ill intentions for anycreature or anything.”

“What is going on?” Junebug asked.

“I’m a changeling,” Osima told her.

Dinky looked confused. “Why is that a big deal?”

“She’s not from the Hive or from Sanctuary,” Noi said.

“Really?” Dinky’s ears went up, and she looked at Osima with excitement. “You’re from Thorax’s brother’s group, then! That means you’re one of the original changelings!”

“Dinks, don’t!” Cubitus warned, as Dinky rushed over to Osima.

“Give it up,” Gena told him, with a suffering smile. “She’s having one of her moments.”

“Original changelings?” Osima smirked as Dinky circled her and looked her over from horn to tail.

“You haven’t metamorphosed, have you?” Junebug asked and stepped closer to Osima.

“I can’t say I have,” Osima said, seeming leery of Junebug’s sudden scrutiny.

“Wonderful!” Junebug said. “Dinky and Princess Twilight have been hoping to find an unchanged changeling to test a couple of their theories on. I’d be interested in studying you too, if you don’ t mind.”

Osima looked at Radius as if wanting an explanation.

“Dinky’s a budding scientist who works with Princess Twilight to study changeling magic. Junebug’s an entomologist.” Radius smiled and shrugged. “They can get enthusiastic about us.”

Osima’s eyes widened, and her ears pinned back in alarm. “She doesn’t ‘collect’ bugs, does she?”

“Nope,” I said. “She draws them. Her house is filled with diagrams and bug decorations. She raises bugs that help gardeners and farmers too.”

“Her house is real cool in one way and kinda creepy in another,” Cubitus said, which got him an elbowing from Gena.

Osima looked around at all of us and laughed in an amused and relieved way. “I can’t believe it. Here I am, a changeling, discovered for what I am in the middle of a store and ponies are interested in me rather than terrified.”

“You’re a pony too,” Dinky said, sitting down between Gena and Cubitus, who moved closer to her so their shoulders touched the instant she sat down.

“Relax. I’m not going to run off with her or anypony else.” Osima studied Gena and Cubitus for a moment and her ears drifted up with recognition. “Now I remember why I thought I should know your names. You two were with the special units, weren’t you?”

“We were,” Cubitus said.

Osima gave them a curious look. “If they are accepting of us, why keep the disguises?”

“We don’t have to, but I enjoy being a pony,” Gena said and relaxed a bit.

Cubius never took his eyes off of Osima.

“You’re not going to let your guard down, are you?” Osima asked.

“Everypony is safe,” Dinky said. She hugged Cubitus and gave him a reassuring shake. “You don’t have to worry.”

“Get his ears,” Gena said.

Dinky reached up with a hoof and stroked the tuft on the top of one of Cubitus’ ears. “There you go. Just relax. It’s not like she’s going to ponynap anyone with all of us right here.”

“True, but-” Cubitus gave an accepting sigh and relaxed a little. “I can tell from her voice she’s from the Canterlot division. You have to be careful with them. They’re double sneaky.”

“I was part of the Canterlot division, but not as an operative,” Osima admitted. “I was in a support role, much like you were, but thanks for the compliment.”

“You’re a secondary scout to Ponyville,” Radius said.

Osima nodded. “What the first team reported was hard for many of us ‘separatists’ to believe. It sounded too… friendly and tempting.” She grinned. “I guess you could say it had all the trappings of a trap.”

Cubitus groaned, while Gena, Noi, and I chuckled at the pun.

“Then there’s a team of you here, isn’t there?” Gena said.

Osima nodded. “There is.”

“How many?” Radius asked, for the first time sounding like he was concerned about Osima’s presence.

“Three agents and two support,” Osima said. “Well, now there’s one support, considering I’ve about to be taken in.”

“You mean arrested?” Noi smiled and shook her head. “You won’t be. The Princesses have decreed that as long as a changeling doesn’t hurt anypony or break any laws, they are welcome to come and go as they want.” She gave Osima a copy of the Foal Free Press. “You can see a copy of the proclamation on page five.”

Osima took the paper and turned to the page. There were a few silent seconds as she read. A conflicted and sad look came over her as she folded the paper back up. “What if someone wants to be taken in?”

“You ask to be, and we take you to Sanctuary,” Radius said and put a hoof on her shoulder. “As a guest, not as a prisoner.”

Dinky and Gena looked at Cubitus with pleading puppy eyes.

Cubitus sighed and nodded.

“Thank you!” Dinky said, and then she and Gena ran to Osima.

Osima looked down in shock as Dinky and Gena hugged her. “I-” She stopped trying to say anything and hugged the fillies back. She fiddled a bit with the paper so she could hold them both without it pressing into either of them.

Noi took the paper back from Osima. “Now you can really hug them.”

“Thank you.” Osima held both the fillies close and took a deep, calming breath. “You two are wonderful. I needed that.” She looked toward Radius. “I’m sorry. I had a weak moment there. As much as I would like to be, I can’t be taken in right now.”

“Why not?” Cubitus asked.

“There’s someone else who needs to be. She’s… not coping well with all that’s happened. We’re all not doing well, to be honest. Our supplies are low, we’re on constant high alert, and Pharynx is making us move our location every few days. We’re exhausted, hungry, love starved, and scared.” Osima took in a slow breath and let it out. “If she gets taken in, that will help her and give me a chance to tell the others that are thinking about leaving that everything the first team said was right.”

“So there are others that want to come back,” Radius said.

“There’s a growing number of us who want to return to the Hive or join Sanctuary.” Osima patted the fillies’ backs and let them go. “I feel like a double traitor. First, I abandon the Hive, now I’m planning-”

“You’re not a traitor,” Gena interrupted. “When I first got here, I almost ran off to go back to the Hive and the old ways of doing things too. Spiracle got me to stop before I did. I wanted to be loyal to the Hive, but he told me following the old ways wouldn’t fix anything and for us to help everyone, we needed a new way of doing things.”

Somepony approaching the front of the store caught my attention. I moved closer to the door to see who it was, just as Coxa, who was in her natural form, tapped on the door and waved.

I used my magic to open the door. “Welcome,” I greeted, as Coxa, Amethyst, and a younger mare I did not recognize walked into the store.

“You were right, they were here,” Coxa said to Amethyst.

The younger mare froze at the sight of Osima. “I… I’m…,” she stammered. She tucked her tail and looked ashamed. “I’m so sorry”

Coxa rubbed the young mare’s back with a hoof. “Nessie, quit beating yourself up.”

“Vanessa!” Radius trotted up to the young mare and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“Radius?!” Vanessa asked. “Is that you?”

“It’s me,” Radius assured. He pointed a hoof towards Cubitus. “The bat pony colt is Cubitus.”

“Cubi?!” the mare asked.

Cubitus grinned. “Hey, Nes.”

Vanessa giggled. “You’re adorable!”

“We think so too,” Gena said.

“Gena!” Vanessa reached out with a hoof, and Gena rushed over to join in on the hug.

“Keratin is here too,” Gena told Vanessa. “Right now he’s with his special somepony and Princess Twilight, if I had to bet.”

“Yep,” Dinky said. “They were going to work with her today, while Junebug, Dad, and I got samples of the sticky stuff changelings make from Radius.”

“So, how did they catch you?” Osima asked Vanessa.

“They didn’t.” Vanessa’s eyes went to the floor. “I saw Coxa and...” She sniffed. “I broke cover. I had to ask how the nymphs were doing. I didn’t even know it was her, and then she hugged me and I knew it had to be her before she even said anything.”

Gena held Vanessa tighter. “Dinks, I’m going to need help on this one!”

“Got it!” Dinky trotted over and hugged Vanessa.

Vanessa looked down at Dinky as if befuddled by what was going on. “You’re a filly aren’t you?”

“She is,” Cubitus said. “Dinky hugs anyone that’s not feeling good.”

“Sometimes without asking,” Amethyst said, giving Dinky a look, which caused Dinky’s ears to pin back with guilt.

“You don’t care I’m a changeling?” Vanessa asked.

“Nope.” Dinky smiled. “You’re a pony who needs a hug. That’s all that matters to me.”

“But… I’m not a...” Tears went down Vanessa’s face. She pulled Dinky and Gena closer and curled herself around them as if she wanted to make as much contact with them as possible, as she sobbed.

“Nessie!” Coxa said and hugged her from behind. “Oh, sweetheart.”

“Don’t let Pinch hear you say you’re not a pony or she’ll give you a lecture on how changelings are ponies,” Cubitus warned.

Piña pranced in place as if not sure what to do.

“Come here.” Amethyst hugged Piña and told her, “She’ll be okay, but she’s been through a lot.”

“You’re not in your pony form,” Radius said to Coxa. “Why not?”

“Thorax, Spiracle, and I think it’s time we quit hiding who we are,” Coxa said. “It feels disingenuous to say we want to be part of a community while not showing who we are.”

Gena’s ears fell. “Does that mean we’ll have to quit using our pony forms, too?” She looked brokenhearted.

“You can keep being a pegasus,” Coxa said and released Vanessa. “We adults are trying this to see what the reaction is going to be.” She asked Coca and me, “I hate to impose, but would you mind letting Vanessa have some of your love?”

“We’d be happy to,” I said, and Coco nodded in agreement.

Vanessa stared at Coco and me in disbelief. “Are you serious?”

Cubitus snorted. “Yeah, I know the feeling. We went through all that trouble to steal love from ponies and they give it away, if you ask for some.”

Osima glanced up at the shop’s clock and told Vanessa, “You stay here, get some love, and then go to Sanctuary with Coxa.” She stood up and seemed to build herself up. “I have to meet up with the others at the rendezvous point.”

Vanessa sniffed and let go of the fillies. “If you go back, I go back.”

“Nessie, you need love.” Osima made a gesture towards Coco and then towards me. “Their love is quite delicious. It’s tempting for me to stay and have a second serving with you, but no matter how much I don’t care to, I need to get to the rendezvous point on time.”

“Please! You don’t have to-”

Osima closed the distance between her and Vanessa and put a hoof to her lips. “Listen to me. I can do more good with you here. I can tell how the ponies took you in, gave you the love you needed, and then allowed you to go on to Sanctuary.”

“No.” Vanessa’s expression became determined. “I won’t let you leave without me.”

Osima raised an eyebrow. “You ‘won’t let’ me? Really?” She lowered her hoof to Vanessa’s chest and gave her a slight push.

“Hey!” Gena said, as she and Dinky struggled to help Vanessa fight to stay upright.

Dinky looked up at Osima with a betrayed look. “I thought you were nice.”

“I am, but I needed to make a point.” Osima gave Dinky her full attention. “If you and Gena had not helped her, she would have toppled over, right?”

Dinky nodded.

“Vanessa is love starved,” Osima told her. “Since our reserves ran out, she’s been giving every bit of love she could to others. She’s very weak and she’ll get sick if she doesn’t get a reliable supply of love.”

Dinky’s eyes widened, and she looked up at Vanessa with concern.

“Vanessa is a study in contradictions,” Osima said. “She won’t stand up for herself, but she’d wrestle a cragadille to help someone else. You’d rather go up against a full grown dragon than do something nasty to a nymph around her too.”

“The dragon part sounds like somepony we know,” Noi said and looked towards Piña.

“I don’t know if I’m a dragon by myself, but if Mom was with me, we would be,” Piña said.

I chuckled. “Yep. I think I’d choose the angry dragon over you two. If Muffins were in the mix too, I would definitely pick the dragon.”

“Vanessa, you need to stay here. You can get the love you need, and it will help me convince others to rethink things.” Osima put her hoof to Vannessa’s cheek and looked into her eyes. “You can’t tell me you don’t want to stay and help Coxa with the nymphs again.”

“I do, but...” Vanessa took Osima’s hoof with hers. “You shouldn’t have to face going back by yourself. You’ve been my only friend since the split. I know you’re trying to help me, but I would feel horrible if-”

Osima removed her hoof from Vanessa’s grasp and tapped her nose. “Hush. I am repaying you for all the times you shared your love with me when you didn’t have any to spare.” She gave Vanessa a self-assured smile. “Besides, you staying here will give me a reason to sneak away from the others that much faster.”

“Ozzy, I-” Vanessa stopped herself and gave Osima a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

Osima looked towards Coxa. “You take care of her. She’s the reason I kept my sanity during all of this.”

“I will,” Coxa assured.

“Please save a little love for me,” Osima said to Coco and me, with a flirtatious note to her words. “I plan to take you up on your offer once I get back.”

“We will,” Coco said.

Without another word, Osmia walked out of the store, only slowing down to close the door behind her.

“She didn’t want to go,” Vanessa said, her voice filled with guilt.

“She’ll be back,” Cubitus said. “The Canterlot teams were our best for a reason. She’s given herself a mission, and she’ll see it through.”

Noi giggled. “That’s quite a change. You were trying to protect everypony from her, and now you sound like she’s a hero to you.”

Cubitus blushed. “Every nymph admires the Canterlot teams. They’re like the Wonderbolts or the Shadowbolts of the Changelings.”

Coxa rubbed Vanessa’s back with a hoof. “Let’s get some love in you, and then we’ll head to Sanctuary.”

“How much love does she need?” Noi asked.

“She could use a reliable source for the next couple of days,” Coxa told her. “She won’t be able to take too much in at one time without making herself sick, but if she can get a steady supply, she’ll be back to herself in no time.”

Dinky looked up at Vanessa. “Maybe not this time, but would you mind if I test some things while you’re taking in love later?”

Vanessa’s ears went back, and she looked nervous. “What kinds of tests?”

*****

“You’ve both been wonderful,” Coxa said, as I took her finished mug of hot chocolate from her. “Thank you so much.”

“I’m glad we could help.” I looked over to where Vanessa had fallen asleep, half leaned against Coco. She was wrapped up in one of our blankets and had Dinky and Piña snuggled against her. Noi, who was settled against Vanessa’s side with her head on Piña’s back. Vanessa held Gena in her forelegs as if she were a stuffed toy, her chin resting on Gena’s head.

“I’m glad she felt at ease enough here to let her guard down and get some rest,” I whispered.

“If she can’t relax here, she can’t relax anywhere,” Amethyst said and gave me a bitter-sweet smile. “You’ve carried on your grandparent’s tradition of being welcoming and kind to everypony so beautifully. It’s no wonder when somepony needs help or support we all end up over here.”

“I’ve tried,” I said, feeling a twinge of sadness at them not being with us. They would have loved all this, I thought. Nana would have volunteered herself, Grandfather, and me up to donate love every day and made a schedule for changelings to stop by and get some.

The doorbell chimed, and my ear turned toward the front of the apartment. “That must be our other guests. I’ll let them in.” I made my way out of the spare room, put the finished mugs I had gathered down in the kitchen sink, walked through the apartment and then down to the back door. I found myself all but nose to nose with Berry, before I could get the door open all the way.

“I am berry upset with you,” Berry said. “There’s a sick nymph in your house, our fillies are involved, and you didn’t tell me or Muffins as soon as things happened.”

It took me a second to gather my wits enough to respond. “We wanted to get some love in her first. She’s fragile right now, so we wanted the foals to be there for her too. We sent a messenger as soon as we thought it would be okay.”

“Berry, calm down,” Muffins urged. “They were taking care of the nymph. The foals are safe, and we’re here now.”

“Hello, Muffins,” I said, just able to look past Berry’s face through the crack in the door. “I’m glad they found you. Dinky said you might be out of the house and Tuner was probably in the basement and wouldn’t be able to hear anypony knock.”

“I was out, but they didn’t have to track me down. I was going home from the market when I saw Cubitus running towards Berry’s with Pinch and Kevin, so I figured something was going on. I waved them down and found out what had happened. After that, we stopped at my place so I could put the groceries in the fridge real quick. Then we went to Berry’s, got her, and now here we are.”

I opened the door all the way and stepped aside. “Please, come in. Everypony is in the spare room off the kitchen.”

Before heading in, Berry paused and gave me a quick hug. “Sorry. My herding instincts have kicked in, and my little sister wasn’t where I had thought she would be. I was waiting for her and her friends to stop by to drop off our paper, but they didn’t show up when I thought they would and started getting worried.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” I told her and hugged her back. “I’d be worried if Satin didn’t show up when I thought she would.”

“Thank you for taking care of everypony too.” Berry let me go and then smiled. “Let’s go see this new little one.”

“She’s not too little,” I said, as Berry walked in.

“I can’t believe she’s here,” Kevin said to Cubitus, as the trio of foals went past. “I mean, I hoped we’d see her again but-”

I did not catch the rest of what he said, because of Muffins patting me on the back and giving me a smile. “It looks like you’re providing the safety zone again.”

“I’m always glad to.”

We made our way up to the spare room and entered just as Gena said, “I think I’m stuck.”

Berry giggled. “It looks like it.”

“You’re right, Pin. She isn’t a ‘little’ little one,” Muffins said. She smiled at Amethyst. “Hello, Ammy.”

“Hi, Mom,” Amethyst got up from her spot and hugged Muffins.

Vanessa stirred and opened her eyes. She seemed startled, as if she was not sure where she was, and she clutched Gena tighter.

“It’s okay,” Gena said and patted one of Vanessa’s forelegs with a hoof. “You’re safe.”

“She’s got that right,” Cubitus said. “Coxa and Pinch’s and Dinky’s moms are here. If anyone messed with you, they’d have a really rough day.”

The foals gave Vanessa some space. She sat up and watched Kevin with curiosity as he and Pinch approached her.

Kevin smiled. “Hey, Ness. It’s me, Kera-urk!”

Vanessa grabbed Kevin in a bear hug with impressive speed, lifting him off the floor. “Keratin! I am so glad to see you!” She smiled at Pinch. “Hello.”

“Hello,” Pinch said, sounding like she was trying not to laugh. “I’m Pinch. Kevin was telling me how glad he was you were here.”

“I’m glad he’s here too,” Vanessa said and put Kevin back on the floor.

Gena giggled. “We can tell.”

“Cubi, Gena, and Keratin were in one of the first groups I got to help raise in the nursery before they went on to their full training,” Vanessa explained to Pinch. “They are very special to me.”

“Ness has a soft spot for all us softies,” Gena said to Pinch.

“I do.” Vanessa grinned and looked at Cubitus. “Even the ones who try to act like hard shells.”

Cubitus snorted. “Compared to these two, I am a hard shell.”

“Riiight,” Dinky said, and then stroked one of Cubitus’ ear tips with a hoof.

Cubitus melted at Dinky’s touch and tilted his head toward her. “That’s not fair, Dinks.”

“Is it true?” Vanessa asked, as she let go of Kevin. “Are you two really…?”

Pinch smiled, nodded, and held hooves with Kevin. They leaned together so their heads touched and closed their eyes.

Vanessa’s eyes widened. “They were right!” she half whispered.

“I think Berry’s held off as long as she can,” I warned, as Berry fidgeted in place.

“We might want to make some room,” Piña said and . “Vanessa, this is my sister, Berry Punch.”

“Sister?! I thought she was...” Vanessa stopped herself, hid her surprise, and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Miss Berry.”

“Nice to meet you too.” Berry held out her forelegs. “May I?”

Vanessa nodded, and Berry took her in a motherly hug. “I’m sorry to worry you. As soon as I get more love in me, I’ll be fine.”

“I can’t believe they sent a sick filly on a mission,” Muffins said. “There’s something wrong with them.”

“They didn’t send me,” Vanessa’s confessed, and her ears pinned back. “Osima helped me sneak in with the team so I could scavenge love.”

“So they know you’re here?” I asked.

She nodded. “I think they all suspected I would defect too.”

“You did not ‘defect’,” Coxa said. “There is no conflict or hostilities. There is a difference of opinion we are working out. You needed help, and you came to us for it. That is all.” She smiled. “Besides, you will do much more for all of us changelings back in a nursery helping with the nymphs. We could really use you in Sanctuary right now. We’re about to have another couple of eggs hatch any day now.”

Vanessa looked stunned. “You’d let me have my position back?”

Coxa laughed. “Of course I would! I want you back. The nymphs want you back. Everyone in Sanctuary wants you back with us.”

“Yep,” Gena said and raised a hoof.

Cubitus and Kevin both raised their hooves in agreement.

“Wait a second,” Cubitus said, and gave Kevin a poke with his hoof. “You’re not a Sanctuary changeling. You’re a Ponyville changeling. You don’t get a vote.”

“I’m voting for all the Ponyville changelings,” Kevin said with playful defiance. “We’re unanimous that we wanted her back.”

“All one of you!” Cubitus said and laughed.

“Wait a second,” Vanessa said, glancing around the room. “Did Radius and Miss Junebug have to leave?”

“They’ll be back soonish,” Coxa said, with a secretive smile.

“I’ll make you two a cup of hot chocolate while we wait for them, if you’d like one,” I said to Berry and Muffins.

“Yes, please!” Berry and Muffins said together.

“The weather team promised to bring in the cold air, and they did,” Berry said and shivered.

“I know what will help you warm up,” Amethyst said. “Snuggling up with Vanessa and helping supply some love for her.” She hummed a contemplative note and studied the ponies on the floor. “How to arrange everypony to maximize comfort and love output is the question.”

“I’m sure you’ll have us in our proper spots in no time,” Muffins said.

As Amethyst began giving instructions as to who should be where, I went into the kitchen to make another batch of hot chocolate. I let my thoughts drift as I stirred the beginnings of the hot chocolate together.

A voice interrupted my wandering musings. “Pin?”

I turned and smiled at Coco. “Everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine.” She sat down, leaned against me, and relaxed into my side. “It’s been a much more eventful day than I could have imagined when I got up this morning.”

“No argument here.” I leaned my head against hers. “Since we’ve got a moment, what did you want to talk about earlier?”

“Now may not be the best time for us to discuss it.”

The odd tone in her voice concerned me. I sat up and asked, “Is something wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong. I promise, but I would like to talk to you about a couple of things that...” She paused and seemed to search for the words she wanted. “That will require some discussion.”

My ears shifted in various directions while my thoughts and concerns ran wild.

Coco giggled. “I love you,” she said and gave me a kiss. “Tell your ears to settle down and your mind to quit coming up with scenarios to worry about.”

“I’ll try.” I said and touched my nose to hers.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Can I borrow your camera? The foals and Amethyst wanted pictures for the Foal Free Press.”

“Of course,” I said. “I think I put it up, though.”

“Hall closet, second self from the top on the left side?” Coco asked, as she stood.

“That’s the spot.”

“Thanks!” she said and headed to get the camera.

“You’re welcome.” I returned to stirring the pot. “Just about ready,” I said to myself, after giving the pot a few more stirs and watching the first of the steam rise from the hot chocolate.

“It smells good,” Coco said as she returned to the kitchen.

“Thank you.” I grinned and whispered, “While I’ve always enjoyed it, I’ve gained a much greater appreciation for hot coco in the last few months.”

Coco blushed, but looked flattered. “Behave,” she said, and went on into the spare room.

I prepared the two mugs of hot chocolate, adding a few marshmallows to both, and then returned to the spare room. I stepped in just as Coco took a photo of the pile of ponies on the floor.

Vanessa between Berry and Muffins, who had tucked her wing around the nymph. Gena was curled in a small ball in the space between Muffin’s forelegs. Dinky and Cubitus cuddled against Amethyst who leaned against Muffins’ other side and under her wing. Berry had Kevin and Pinch resting against her side. Piña nestled against Berry’s chest, and Noi rested against Berry with her head on Berry’s leg leaned so it rested against Piña.

“Good thing you have a free hoof,” I whispered to Berry, as I set her mug in front of her. I chuckled, as Piña gave a slight noise. “She’s already back asleep?”

“She’s had a busy day, and she’s cozy,” Berry said.

“She’s not the only one asleep.” Muffins nodded toward Vanessa, who was curled against Muffins so I could see only a small portion of her from under Muffins’ wing. “I didn’t realize how sick she was. The poor thing is acting like a foal with a cold, eating and then going right to sleep.”

“I’m worried about her,” I said. “She feel asleep while Coco and I were trying to give her love too.”

“That’s actually a good sign,” Coxa said. “Give her a few days, and she’ll be back to herself.”

“I have a question about what happened with Osima,” I said. “If you don’t mind answering something personal.”

Coxa did not hesitate and responded, “I’d be glad to answer.”

“Radius said Osima picked up on Coco and my love from outside the shop. From how far away can changelings detect love?”

“That’s not personal at all, and it depends,” Coxa said, appearing to be amused by my question. “There are a lot of variables at play. How hungry the changeling is, whether the love has other emotional flavors they like, things of that nature. Thorax could pick up on the love given off by the Crystal Heart and the ponies of the Empire from miles away. However, the Crystal Heart’s magic and its ability to spread love is a special case, and he was all but starving. Your flavors of emotions and love must have been quite to Osima’s liking. I would say she was pushing the edge of a changeling’s typical ability to identify a source of love at that distance.”

Dinky giggled. “That reminds me. Uncle Pin, Thorax told me he thought Mom smells like muffins too.”

“She does,” Gena confirmed. She put her nose close to Muffin’s chest and took in a long sniff, as if enjoying a scrumptious smell from an oven. “Muffins and fresh fruit and sunshine.” She snuggled back against Muffins and hummed. “It’s wonderful.”

Muffins smiled and then shook her head. “Of all the things I might have guessed I could be known for, my smell wouldn’t have been one of them.”

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Coco said. Before she left the room, she passed the camera to me and whispered, “I think you’ll need to be ready to take pictures.”

“I can do that.” I moved so I would have a clear view of Vanessa and most of the room.

Cubitus raised his head and gave Dinky a slight nudge. “I think you’re going to want to see this.”

Berry nuzzled Piña. “Piña, they’re here.”

“Mmmm?” Piña opened her eyes, but she still seemed half asleep. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snore.”

“You weren’t snoring,” Noi said, through a giggle. “Junebug and Radius are back.”

Piña’s ears perked up. “They’re back?” She raised her head and yawned. “That was fast.”

“They were gone longer than you think,” Pinch said. “You were sleeping pretty good.”

Piña rubbed her eye with a hoof. “I couldn’t help it. Sis is warm and comfy.”

“She is,” Noi agreed.

The sound of approaching hoofsteps drew everypony’s attention.

“She’s in here,” Coco said, as she stepped in the door.

Coco was followed by Junebug and Radius and then by Spiracle, who was holding a bundle wrapped in a blanket.

Spiracle stopped and stared at the pile of ponies. “I thought nesting was a changeling practice.”

“Not anymore,” Cubitus said.

“We have something similar call pony piles or snuggle piles,” Muffins explained. “We don’t do it for sleeping, though.”

“We should fix that,” Piña said. “For napping, making a pony pile is great.”

Coxa smiled at Spiracle. “I see you brought her.”

“I agree with you and Radius. This might be too intense of an introduction for the hatchlings and nymphs to be around. “It’s better if they meet here.”

Berry’s and Piña’s full attention went to the bundle that held Arista.

Vanessa stirred, as if the higher level of energy in the room caused her to wake. She poked her head from under Muffin’s wing and looked around as if trying to piece together what was happening.

“Poor thing’s still groggy,” Berry said.

“She’s probably love drunk too,” Coxa said.

“A little,” Vanessa said. “I feel a lot better than I did, though.” Her eyes went to Spiracle and her drowsiness vanished. “Sir!”

“At ease,” Spiracle told her, and smiled. “I am glad to say I am out of that position.”

Muffins took her wing from around Vanessa and sat up along with Berry.

Vanessa’s eyes went to the bundle Spiracle was holding. The bundle moved, and she gasped. “Is that…?”

“Arista?” Spiracle nodded. “It is.”

“Would you like to hold her?” Coxa said.

Vanessa sat up, sniffed, and her ears went back in slow arcs. “I do, but-”

“But nothing.” Coxa moved to Vanessa and gave her a hug. “You’re feeling guilty again, aren’t you?”

Vanessa nodded and tears welled up in her eyes. “I wanted to be there when she hatched. I should have been there when she hatched.”

“Stop beating yourself up.” Coxa tucked Vanessa’s head under her chin and held her like she was comforting a foal. “You did your best. You took care of her and the nymphs when Spiracle and I were on our missions.”

“I had a choice to stay or go. You didn’t.” Vanessa broke down and cried. “I left her and the nymphs and the eggs and-!”

“You didn’t have a choice,” Spiracle said. “I heard about what happened. When Chrysalis fell, Pharynx invoked the emergency protocols. You got a direct order from a superior to evacuate. You did what we trained you to do, and I’m glad you did. As frantic and tense as things were, I they might have used force to make you leave.”

“I know, but...” Vanessa clung to Coxa and sniffed. “They needed me, and I abandoned them. What kind of caretaker leaves eggs and nymphs behind?”

“The kind that gives others her stores of love when she’s about out herself.” Coxa smiled as Dinky and Gena moved closer to Vanessa while trying not to be noticed. “Just so you know, you’re about to be hugged.”

“What?” Vanessa jumped when Dinky and Gena contacted her. She looked down, sniffed, and then smiled with appreciation at the fillies. “Thanks, but-” She sniffed again. “You’re going to get snot and tears on you.”

“Worth it,” Gena said. “Besides, you took care of me when I was little and put up with my snot and crying.”

“Nessie, if you weren’t a good caretaker, we wouldn’t let you hold Arista,” Spiracle said and offered her the bundle.

“First, she needs a hug from you,” Coxa said and let go of Vanessa. She stepped back and took Arista from Spiracle. “Go on.”

Both Vanessa and Spiracle stared at Coxa as if not believing what they were hearing.

“I can’t hug him!” Vanessa protested.

“Yes you can,” Gena said. “We’ve been working on him. He gets three hugs a day, minimum.”

“Three hugs a day?” Vanessa said.

Gena nodded. “Three hugs from Coxa and me a day. If we can get him to take more, we given them to him.”

Vanessa looked up at Spiracle with her ears back in trepidation. “I don’t know if I can. He’s my superior.”

“Was your superior.” Spiracle said and hugged Vanessa. “I’m glad you’re back and safe. Coxa and I were both worried about you.”

Vanessa sat there in shock for a few seconds and then put her forelegs around Spiracle.

Dinky giggled. “Looks like the hugs they’ve been giving you are working.”

“They’re growing on me,” Spiracle said. He let go of Vanessa, put his hooves on her shoulders, and looked her in the eye. “The eggs, hatchlings, and nymphs were all fine and taken care of. You did what you needed to do to keep yourself safe and the best you could under the circumstances. Let the rest go.” He grinned and added, “That’s the last order you’re going to get from your former superior.”

Vanessa sniffed, smiled, and then nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

“Here you go,” Coxa said and passed the wiggling Astria to Vanessa. “She’s a little fussy, due to all the emotions in the room, but she’ll calm down.”

Vanessa took Arista as if she were as fragile as spun sugar. She smiled and used a hoof to open the blanket wrapped around Aritsa so she could see her better. “Oh, my goodness!” She smiled and offered her hoof to Arista, who stopped wiggling and gave her full attention to Vanessa. “You’re beautiful. Like a little gem.” She looked up at Coxa and asked, “Was blue when she hatched?”

“She was,” Coxa said.

“You have your dad’s eyes too,” Vanessa told Arista. She had a sad smile as she said, “I’m sorry I broke my promise about being there for your hatching. I was so looking forward to it and to meeting you.”

“I’m sure she understands.” Coxa hugged Vanessa around the shoulders with a foreleg. “We’re all just glad to have you back with us.”

Smiling, Coco made a motion of taking a picture.

I had been so focused on the conversation, I had forgotten I had the camera. I snapped a quick picture of Vanessa holding Arista while squeezing Coxa and Spiracle into the frame.

“That will make a wonderful picture for the paper,” Amethyst said.

“Paper?” Vanessa asked.

“Our class runs a paper for Ponyville,” Pinch said. “We’ve been using it to tell ponies about changelings and what’s been happening with Sanctuary.”

“We were passing the last of them out when you came to Uncle Pin’s,” Piña said. “Our latest one was about Arista’s Viewing and what Princess Celesita has declared about how ponies should treat changelings.”

“We have a couple of extra copies,” Noi said. “Would you like one?”

“We could tell you about Arista hatching and the viewing, while we show you the paper,” Gena said.

“That would be wonderful.” Vanessa turned and touched her nose to Arista’s. “You won’t mind if I hold you for a little while, would you?”

Noi dashed to her saddlebags and then returned with a copy of the Foal Free Press. The foals settled back down on the blankets on the floor with Vanessa, who tucked Arista between her forelegs.

I snapped a couple of more photos to capture the scene.

Berry and Muffins lasted a whole three minutes before they joined the foals on the floor.

Junebug eased her way over to me. “Radius and I will go get everyone supper. Does Pizza from Golden Crust’s sound good?”

“It does, but you don’t have to do that,” I whispered back.

“We want to.” She glanced towards Radius, who was giving his full attention to listening to the foals tell their versions of the Viewing, and then leaned closer to me. “It will give me a chance to talk to him about this mysterious ‘research project’ he’s been working on alone.” My face must have shown something, because Junebug’s eyebrow rose. “I take it you know about whatever it is?”

I limited my response to as innocent a smile as I could muster.

*****

“Thank you Uncle Pin,” Piña called over her shoulder as she, Berry, Noi, Pinch and Kevin walked away.

I waved back and smiled. “You’re welcome. It was fun.”

“You sure you’re okay to walk?” Radius asked Vanessa.

Vanessa nodded. “I’m good. I’m more drowsy than love drunk now.”

“Just you wait until we get back to Sanctuary,” Gena said. “You’re going to love it.”

“I think we’re going to have to put off the tour, though.” Spiracle said. “She’s tired enough as it is.”

“Can she nest with us?” Gena asked.

“We’ll see,” Coxa said. She turned and smiled at Coco and me. “Thank you both for helping Vanessa and for the love.”

“You’re welcome,” I said.

“We’ll be looking forward to having lunch with her tomorrow,” Coco said.

As the other Sanctuary changelings and Junebug walked away, Radius paused and whispered to Coco and me, “Thanks for everything. Especially the tips. I’ll pick up my notes tomorrow when I come with Vanessa.”

“We’ll hold them for you,” I promised. “We can even keep going with the pointers, if you’d like, since we got interrupted.”

“That sounds wonderful.” Radius grinned and then trotted off to catch up with the others.

“Thank you both for all the fun and for looking out for Dinky,” Muffins said and hugged Coco.

“You’re welcome,” I said. Dinky hugged me, and I looked down, grinned, and hugged her back. “You’re welcome too.”

Amethyst shook her head. “Come on, you two. Dad’s going to be worried about you, even with the note you left, and I’ve got to get home.”

Dinky gave her sister a look. “You’re going on another date with Miss Cheerilee?”

“And with Riff.” Amethyst gave Dinky a look. “You run around with your special someponies all the time, so don’t act like I’m doing something wrong.”

“There’s a big difference.” Dinky let go of me and faced her sister. “We’re working on projects together most of the time, and I don’t date my sister’s teacher.”

“You better brace yourself then, if that’s what you think. Cheers and I are working on how we’re going to get Riff to ask us to marry him.”

Dinky looked horrified. “You can’t marry them yet!”

Amethyst snorted in amusement. “What do you mean ‘yet’?”

“You can’t marry them until I’m out of Miss Cheerilee’s class,” Dinky said.

“Sorry, Dinks, but we’re not waiting that long to make things official.” Amethyst said, not sounding sorry in the least. “If Riff shows up with rings tomorrow, Cheers and I might just drag him down to Town Hall and have Mayor Mare marry us right then.”

Dinky turned to Muffin’s and begged, “Mom, please tell her they can’t do that!”

“Don’t worry, Dinky, that won’t happen.” Muffins gave Amethyst a mock stern look. “She knows that if Tuner and I don’t get invited to the ceremony, we wouldn’t be happy with her.”

“Aww, Mom, you spoiled my fun.” Amethyst got a sly grin and asked, “What if we set it up where you and Dad could be at the ceremony too?”

Muffins feigned thinking about it for a second. “That might work. We’d have to talk to your father about it, though.”

Dinky gasped. “Mom!”

“I’m kidding.” Muffins scooped Dinky to her side with a wing and nuzzled her. “Besides, I know for a fact Cheerilee wants a full wedding. Even if Riff proposes tomorrow, it’s probably going to be a little while before they tie the knot.”

Dinky breathed out a sigh of relief.

Coco and I waved as Muffins and her girls walked off.

“Stay warm!” I called to them. “It’s getting cold.”

Coco gave a soft giggle. Even though she looked as if she were trying to keep a straight face.

“What is it?”

“She does smell like muffins,” Coco said.

I laughed. “I think that’s one of many reasons Turner calls her his ‘muffin’.”

Coco gave me a teasing look. “And I’m your ‘cup of hot coco’.”

I thought about it for a moment and then shook my head. “No, you’re a more complex flavor than that. More… sophisticated, but still delectable and sweet.” My ears rose, as I had a devious thought. “Hold still for a second.” Coco stayed still, a curious look on her face, as I leaned over and sniffed her mane.

“Pin, what are you-” Coco giggled when I kissed the tip of her ear.

“Mint,” I whispered to her. “A flavor that’s great on its own and can make everything sweet in life even better.” I gave her mane another sniff. “Yep. You’re my minty treat.”

“You silly pony.” She turned and kissed my nose and then rested her forehead against mine.

A colder breeze blew past, making us both shiver.

“Wow, I wasn’t expecting that,” I said. “Should we head inside?”

Coco looked up at me. “That sounds good, but… Could we take a walk? I’ve got some energy I need to burn off.”

The worried angle of one of her ears caught my attention. “You’re thinking about something.”

She nodded. “A couple of things.”

I waited for a long second to see if she would say anything else. After concluding she was not going to, I asked, “Want me to get your jacket or your scarf?”

“My scarf, please.”

“I’ll be right back,” I said and let her go. She really is stewing on something,, I thought, as I ducked back inside. She’s too quiet. I put my scarf on and then grabbed Coco’s. I hope I didn’t upset her having everypony over.

I stepped back out, locked the door, and then offered Coco her scarf.

Coco smiled her knowing, teasing smile. “You’re worrying.”

“Did I-”

Smiling, she booped my nose with a hoof, cutting me short. “No, you didn’t.”

“You su-?”

“I’m sure,” she said, before I could even finish.

“I promise I-”

“I know.” She took her scarf from me. “I also know we talk about serious things better on the hoof because we’re not busy trying to read each other.”

After Coco put her scarf on, we walked together toward the park.

She said, as if committing to jumping off a high dive, “We’re running out of room in the shop.”

A wave of relief came over me. “We are. The displays are getting too crowded. If we didn’t have that open spot near the counter, I doubt everyone would have been able to stand together this afternoon.”

“We’re going to have to make do for a while, though. The paperwork for an expansion could take a while to work through, and we’ll need to save up the bits.”

“The paperwork won’t be a problem. Nana and grandfather got the preliminary permissions needed to expand the shop a long time ago. We would just need to go to Town Hall to have them updated and get another building permit.”

Coco’s ears perked up. “That makes the red tape a lot easier. The bits would still be an issue, though.”

“That won’t be an issue either,” I told her.

“Pin, I know the business is doing well, but not that well.”

“The business is doing great, thanks to you, but the reason that bits won’t be a problem is that Nana and Grandfather left me the funds to expand the shop. I payed for the storage expansion from my savings, so we still have plenty to work with. They had planned to expand the shop when I got older and became a full partner with them. Their health issues kept them from going through with the construction.”

The memory of their decline stung a bit, and I did my best to not let it show. As usual, my attempt at a poker face failed me.

“Oh, Pin, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I sniffed and gave her a smile. “Since I was alone, I wouldn’t have been able to maintain a larger shop. I didn’t go through with the plans either, so I’ve kept the funds in a separate account from mine and the shop’s. We’ll have to make a couple of changes to the initial plans, since we’re serving mares and stallions now, but that won’t be a big deal.” I chuckled and looked up at the emerging stars. “If the second thing you're thinking about is something we can work through like the first, we’ll be in good shape.”

“We’re going to need help if we expand the shop.”

“Yes, we will. Keeping up the front and directing customers is going to be a big job by itself and we can’t do that, design, and make clothes at the same time. Hiring somepony won’t be that big of a deal. If we don’t get applications from ponies in Ponyville, I’m sure Rarity could give us a couple of names to look into.”

“I’m sure she could.” Coco relaxed a little. “Should we wait until after the wedding to get started?”

“That might be best. There a could be a delay in updating the building permit or getting the contractors in or something of the sort. We don’t want to be trying to straighten that out while getting everything in place for the wedding.” I thought about it for a moment and then hummed an uncertain note. “However, if we want to get started as soon as possible, we all but have everything set for the wedding right now.”

“We have enough on our plate right now. I think we should hold off.”

We walked a distance in loving quiet. I basked in her warmth and her presence, glad the issues we were facing were ones we could overcome with planning and working together. Images of the next few months went through my mind, and I had had a thought. “There is one thing I would like to talk with you about.”

“Sure,” Coco said.

“We haven’t made any honeymoon plans.”

Coco made a happy, thoughtful noise. “We haven’t.”

“Would you like one?”

“Yes, but I’m not really sure where we would go. I lived in Manehatten, so it’s not too special to me and you’re not much for crowded cities. There’s Los Pegasus, but it isn’t my kind of thing.”

“Not mine either, to be honest.”

“Appaloosa would be charming and quiet, but it might get dull after a couple of days.”

“I worried Ponyville would feel that way to you.”

“Ponyville is anything but boring.” Coco looked towards Twilight’s castle, which rose above the rooftops of the rest of the buildings in Ponyville. “We’ve helped the princesses and met a future king. We’ve been in the middle of changeling invasions and been magical study participants. Now, we’re getting to play minor parts in making connections between Ponyville and Sanctuary. I think Ponyville has more going on than Manehatten, in some ways.”

I chuckled. “It may not be the traditional sort, but Ponyville has its own form of entertainment.”

“Wait a second.” Coco gave me a look. “You’re trying to lead me somewhere with this, aren’t you?”

“Lead you somewhere?” I said, feigning innocence. “Me? Why would you think I would do something so dubious?”

“Pin, you had an expansion built onto your shop while I was away. Planning so things go smoothly is something you do.”

“To be honest, I had a vague thought rather than a plan. I wanted to run it by you first, though. What if we went somewhere further away?” I smiled as she tilted her head with curiosity. “Somewhere up north?”

Coco’s eyes lit up, and she gave me an excited smile. “The Crystal Empire?! That would be wonderful!”

“We have a plan then,” I said, glad she was so thrilled at the idea.

We walked along for a couple of minutes in comfortable silence.

Coco hummed a note, breaking me away from my thoughts about how we were going to arrange our trip to the Crystal Empire. “You all right?”

“Sorry. I was thinking about the Crystal Empire, which led me to think about the Crystal Heart. That made me think about what Coxa had said about changelings and sensing love, and then about Osima finding us, and then about Vanessa.”

“I’ve had that kind of train of thought before.”

“I can’t imagine what they’ve gone through. If I lost my family and my home and then found out the way I had been living was based on lies, I think I would have a complete breakdown.”

“I feel sorry for them both. Vanessa’s such a loving soul. Osima seems like a good mare too. I’m glad they were there for each other.” My ears fell, as I thought about Osima returning to Pharynx’s group alone.

“You’re worrying again.”

“I’m worried about Osima, and to a lesser extent, her team. Going back without Vanessa is going to be tough for them.”

“I’m sure the team will be fine, and Osima seems the type that can handle herself.” Coco bumped her shoulder into mine. “You only met her for a few minutes and you’re concerned about her?”

“I am.” I laughed at myself. “If I was a changeling, I would have been a ‘softie’ for sure.”

“Don’t you worry about her. She’ll be back, probably sooner rather than later.”

“You sound sure about that.”

“I am. The way she asked us to save some love for her was all but a promise she’d be back.”

“She was rather forward. She’s almost the opposite of Vanessa. We all but had to coax Vanessa to settle down on the blankets with us. If the fillies and Cobalt hadn’t been there, I’m not sure she would have.”

Coco giggled. “She was a cuddle bug after she got on the floor with us, though.”

“I can’t blame her for wanting to snuggle with you. As many ponies compliment how soft your coat is, it surprised me Amethyst didn’t put you in the middle of the second pile so everyone could enjoy it.”

An odd look passed over Coco’s face. “I didn’t fit into the pattern she was working with by myself, so I volunteered to sit out. Besides, they were running out of room on the blankets.”

“What you do you mean you didn’t…?” The implications of what she meant hit me. “Oh.”

There was no problem to fix or anything ‘wrong,’ but it still stung me she had felt excluded.

Not sure how to respond, I said, “I’m sure Gena would have been happy to snuggle with you.”

“I’m sure she would have, but it didn’t feel right on some level.” Coco sighed. “I think Coxa picked up on what I was feeling. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, so I asked if they would like pictures and then volunteered to go get the camera.” She nuzzled my cheek. “Don’t get that look on your face. It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not. It hurt you.”

“It didn’t ‘hurt’ me. I just felt...”

“Like you were missing something,” I supplied.

Coco’s ears pinned back. “I feel horrible even saying anything.”

I kissed her temple. “I’m glad you can tell what you are thinking and what your heart wants. You’re not being greedy, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I feel that way.”

“You shouldn’t. I felt something similar when I asked you to move in with me. I was asking you to leave your home, your family, your friends and professional connections, and everything else. Even with all that, you told me you were happy to call Ponyville home and now here we are.”

“Having a foal is very different. They require so much. They need care, and parenting, and support, and then when they’re older there’s schooling costs, and-”

“We can provide all of that.”

“But we’re not ready. Even after we get the store expanded, it’s going to be awhile before we’re settled enough to have a foal.”

I smiled, as I recalled a conversation with Grandfather. You were right, I thought. I didn’t understand until I found the right mare. I felt my ears pin back in slow arcs of their own accord, as some of the unpleasant memories associated with my conversation with Grandfather came to me.

Coco’s eyes shown with concern. “Pin, what are you thinking? That wasn’t a good series of expressions.”

“I remembered something Grandfather told me I didn’t really get until now.”

“What was it?”

“It will take a bit of explaining to put it into context, and it’s linked to an unhappy topic.”

“That’s fine. I don’t care whether it’s pleasant.”

I had a hard time meeting Coco’s eyes as I told her, “There was a time when I was a teenager I thought I was a mistake.”

She gasped. “Never say such a thing!” Coco chided me. She hugged me, bringing us to a halt. “Don’t even think it!”

“I realize I was wrong, but back then I was in a rough state. When I was living in Canterlot, I got bullied throughout school about being an unplanned foal. They would call me ‘Royal Mistake’ and all sorts of other things. When I got to Ponyville, and away from the boarding school, it was better. Now and then somepony at school would take a shot at me about it, but not very often.”

“Foals can be cruel. Did your parents try to help?”

“Sort of. But their ‘helpful’ conversations were always awkward. Before I came to Ponyville, a couple of our talks were really awkward. I think their knowing that Nana and Grandfather were planning on taking me in made them feel as if they had to seem disingenuous to me.”

“Did you feel that way? That they were lying, I mean.”

Feeling ashamed of myself, and my ears pinned back, I nodded.

“Oh, Pin.” She pulled me into a hug so my head rested on her shoulder. “Your parents love you to pieces.”

“I know that now, but teenage me had some serious doubts.” I suppressed a laugh, as I realized how firm of a hold she had on me. “I keep forgetting how strong you are. You could pin me whenever you want, couldn’t you?”

“I have before.” She giggled and whispered in my ear, “You didn’t seem to mind too much.”

“Not at all.” Coco released me, and I touched my nose to hers. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She made a point of looking up at my ears. “Ears back up. They’re too cute for them to be pinned back like that.”

“Thanks,” I said, and coaxed my ears upright.

“They tell me what you’re thinking, too. They can’t do their job if they’re fold back.”

“They’re good at that.” I angled my head as if trying to see one of my ears and gave it a mock annoyed look. “They’ve gotten me into trouble more than once by announcing what’s going on in my head.”

Coco’s expression dimmed a little. “Speaking of troubles,” she prompted in a gentle tone.

“Thankfully, the ‘trouble’ part is pretty much over.” Coco and I resumed walking, and she took my tail with hers. “Being a typical teenager, I kept what was going on bottled up and acted like everything was normal for Nana and Grandfather. But one day I got bullied again during an already rough day at school and I couldn’t hide it anymore. When Nana asked me how my day had been, when I got home, I broke down. Nana didn’t even say anything when she took me into my room, got on my bed with me, wrapped me in her wings, and let me cry. After I got control of myself again, she and I had a long talk about what had been going on and what I was feeling. During the discussion, she asked me if I felt like I really was a mistake. I told her I didn’t know. Grandfather must have been close by, because as soon as he stepped into the room. Without saying a work, he pulled my chair away from my desk and sat down facing Nana and me. For a second or two, because he was so quiet, I thought he was mad.”

“Was he?”

“No, he was concerned and… hurt. I guess you could call it that. He asked me if living with him and Nana was so bad, and I immediately sad no. I told him that living with them had been the best thing that had happened to me. But my leaving Canterlot made me feel like my parents didn’t really want me. I knew it hurt Satin when I left, and having ponies be nasty to me about moving made what I felt about it worse.”

“That must have been hard to say,” Coco said, giving me a sympathetic look. “How did he react?”

“He didn’t, for a few seconds. Then he said a parent’s foremost responsibility was to make sure they provide their foals and keep them safe.” Nana added, ‘And cared for and loved.’ Grandfather said those were goals that good parents aimed for, but they were unnecessary for a foal to make it. He told me, ‘Your parents are good parents, in they have done more than provide the basics for you. They knew that staying in Canterlot would smother the wonderful, lively spark you have in you, so they let us have you. They knew your sister was going to miss you, but she was going to be going to university before too long, and she would have missed you no matter what. They love you so much, they chose to miss seeing you grow up rather than seeing you unhappy and your potential stunted.’ ”

“He was right,” Coco agreed.

“I thought about for a bit, and I realized what he said was true. I felt a lot better and joked that only the only mistake was when my parents had me. He told me I was wrong. He said that if parents waited for the ‘perfect’ time to have a foal, they would never have one. ‘There are always challenges for parents with a new foal. They have to adjust how they live, their financial plans, and how they are going to take care of their other foals, if they have any,’ he said.”

“I remember when Mom had Filter. To me, it was as if the entire world changed. Our routines, their work schedule, my schedule, everything was different.”

“Nana said my being born when I was meant that she and Grandfather had the chance to raise a colt when they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.”

“They sound like such wonderful ponies.”

“They were.”

We reached the usual turnaround point in our walks, and Coco lead me further down the park’s path.

“Bit for your thoughts,” I said to her, after a couple of minutes.

“I was thinking about what your grandfather said. I think he’s right, but I still don’t want to rush into anything. It would be nice for our foal to be close to the same age as Rain so they could grow up together, though.”

“What if we use Satin’s and Stormbreaker’s approach?”

Coco giggled. “I think it’s a little late for me to pin you down on the couch and tell you we’re going to make love or we’re breaking up.” She burst into full laughter, as I blushed and stammered for a couple of steps.

“Not that part,” I said. “I meant them agreeing to allow things to happen at a certain point.”

“I know.” She leaned against me and put her head on my shoulder. “But when would be a good starting point?”

“Since you’re going to be the one carrying the foal, I think you should be the one to set the timetable.”

Coco thought, making cute expressions and thoughtful noises as we walked on. The path looped us back to the beginning of the walking trail and pointed us toward home.

“I’m not sure,” Coco said, rekindling the conversation. She gave a light snort, as if amused and irritated at herself at the same time. “After all my questions, and our talking things out, I don’t know when we should start trying.”

“Nothing has to be decided tonight." I moved closer to her and took her tail with mine. "When you're ready, I'll be ready."

"Thank you." Coco leaned against me. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

“Hello!”

Coco and I stopped and turned toward the source of the greeting.

“Hello to you too!” Coco replied as Vanessa trotted towards us. “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great!” Vanessa gave Coco a hug. “Thank you for everything. I’m feeling so much better now.”

“I’m glad we could help,” Coco told her.

“Snuggles and hot chocolate can fix just about anything,” I said.

Vanessa released Coco and then hugged me. “Thank you, too.”

“You’re welcome,” I said and gave her a hug in return.

Radius approached us at a more relaxed pace. “She’s got the pep back in her step now.”

Vanessa let me go and looked a little sad. “I’m going to miss our lunches. It was fun getting to know you both and learning about everything that’s been going on with Ponyville and Sanctuary.”

“It was fun for us too,” Coco said. “We’ll be visiting Sanctuary to help with love supplies for the nymphs this weekend. We can visit then.”

Vanessa's smile returned. “That would be great!”

“This time we can provide lunch for you, while you provide lunch for the nymphs,” Radius said.

“Speaking of ponies getting together, I’ve got some good news.” Vanessa bumped her shoulder into Radius. “Radius is going to ask to court Miss Junebug the next time she’s at Sanctuary.”

“Nessie!” Radius glanced around. “Not so loud.”

“It’s fine,” Vanessa said. “She’s not here.”

Radius remained vigilant for anypony who might be listening. “Junebug might not be, but she has lots of friends, and ponies gossip.”

“That they do,” I agreed.

Radius moved closer to Coco and me. “Thanks for all the tips,” he said in a quiet voice.

“You’re welcome,” I said.

“Where are you two off to?” Coco asked.

“To see Princess Twilight and the Research Group,” Radius said. “Twilight wanted to meet Vanessa and take a few notes about her.”

“They’re pulling you into their research?” Coco asked.

Vanessa nodded. “From what Gena and Cubi told me, I’m going to be the first non-metamorphosed adolescent changeling she’s seen.” Her expression turned worried. “I’m nervous about meeting her. They said Princess Twilight can get a little intense when she’s studying something.”

“You have nothing to worry about,” Coco said. “Twilight is a sweetheart.”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but we better get going,” Radius said. “Twilight is nice, but she doesn’t take anyone being late very well.”

“True,” I agreed.

“We need to go, too,” Coco said. “We’re meeting Rarity and Thunderlane for lunch.”

Coco and I bid Vanessa and Radius goodbye and continued on toward Rarity’s boutique.

“I’m surprised Vanessa was anxious about meeting Twilight,” Coco said. “She’s such an approachable pony.”

“She is, but meeting anyone with ‘princess’ as part of their name is intimidating. Knowing you’re going to be studied by said princess has to make it even more nerve-wracking.”

As we approached Rarity’s, the front door opened, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders walked out.

“I’m tellin’ you, somethin’s goin’ on,” Applebloom said to Sweetie Belle. “First it was my brother, then your sister, then Rainbow Dash, and now Applejack’s actin’ all weird about that Crystal Pony fella.” She paused and pointed a hoof at me. “Even Mister Pin found himself somepony.”

I did not know if I should feel insulted or not at her comment.

“Hello girls,” Coco greeted.

“Hello, Miss Coco,” Sweetie Belle said.

“If you’re right, you two caught it too,” Scootaloo said, as if Coco and I were not there.

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a look. “What are you talkin’ about?”

“Sweetie Belle and Spike and you and Tender Taps,” Scootaloo said.

“Sweetie’s Spike’s friend. She doesn’t...” Apple Bloom let her words trail off as Sweetie Belle’s cheeks turned pink and she avoided Apple Bloom’s gaze.

Scootaloo gave Apple Bloom a smug look. “You were saying?”

“She may have caught whatever it is, but Taps and I are dance partners and that’s it,” Apple Bloom said.

Scootaloo snorted. “He’s as much your dance ‘partner’ as Rumble is Piña’s and Noi’s training ‘partner’.”

“We’re not like them at all,” Apple Bloom protested. “I’m teachin’ him country dances and line dancin’ and he’s teachin’ me all the fancy steps he knows.” She stuck her nose in the air. “It’s an honest trade. Simple as that.”

“What about all those times he’s bought apples from you when you were helping Applejack and Big Mac at the market?” Sweetie Belle asked in a probing tone.

“It’s nothin’ like what you’re tryin’ to make it out to be,”Apple Bloom said. “He buys them, usin’ his parents’ bits, for him and his family.”

“Just because you don’t charge him extra for flirting with him while bagging his apples doesn’t mean it’s not flirting,” Sweetie Belle said.

Apple Bloom looked indignant. “I don’t treat him any different than I treat anypony else who comes to our stand.”

Sweetie Belle gave Apple Bloom a disbelieving stare. “Riiiight.”

“What about those times he took you to Sugar Cube Corner and paid with his allowance?” Scootaloo challenged. “Don’t go saying it didn’t mean anything, either. You know Sweetie and I saw you two sharing a milkshake.”

Apple Bloom’s cheeks got a touch of pink to them. “You’re makin’ somethin’ out of nothin’. I told him he could save some of his bits if we shared a bigger shake rather than gettin’ two. That’s all it was.”

“You better be careful, Bloom,” I said, doing my best not to grin. “Sharing a milkshake with somepony is a pretty serious thing. I shared a milkshake with Lemon Hearts in Canterlot when we were foals and she brought it up years later.”

“This is Ponyville, not Canterlot,” Apple Bloom said. “We don’t do all that fancy courtin’ stuff here.”

“Face it, Bloom, he’s your coltfriend,” Scootaloo insisted.

“Did I hear somepony mention a coltfriend?” Rarity asked as she stepped through the boutique’s door.

“We were talking about Apple Bloom’s coltfriend,” Scootaloo said, prompting Apple Bloom to sputter half formed words of protest.

“Congratulations!” Rarity said to Apple Bloom. “Who is the lucky colt?”

“Tender Taps,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Isn’t that the name of the young dancer you helped find his cutie mark?” Rarity asked Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom nodded in a reluctant, almost confessional, way. “That’s him, but he’s-”

“You’ve done well,” Rarity complemented, interrupting Apple Bloom in a kind voice. “I had the pleasure of helping him get fitted with an ensemble he was going to wear during one of his dance school’s performances. He struck me as a handsome, polite, and talented young stallion.” A teasing smile came to Rarity’s lips. “While I was working with him, he spent a good bit of time telling me how much he appreciated being able to dance with you. He seemed to really enjoy spending time with you during after-school activities, too.”

Apple Bloom blushed to her ear tips.

Scootaloo laughed. “I wish you could see your face! You’re as red as your bow!”

“Sorry, Rarity, but I’ve got to go!” Apple Bloom said and then darted between Coco and me and away from the Carousel Boutique.

“You get back here!” Scootaloo called after Apple Bloom.

“What was that about being ‘Just dance partners,’ huh?!” Sweetie Belle yelled, as she and Scootaloo galloped after Apple Bloom.

I took a side step to allow the pair of fillies to pass without hindrance. “Good luck catching her!” I cheered.

“Thanks!” Sweetie Belle called over her shoulder, and then turned back to her pursuit.

Coco giggled. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. “They didn’t step on my hooves or anything.”

“I’m glad they didn’t, but that’s not what I meant,” Coco said. “I was thinking about the ‘even Mister Pin’ comment.”

“Oh, that.” I shrugged. “It took me a while to find somepony.” I took a sideways step and stood by her side again. “It was more than worth the wait, though.”

“You two are still too cute,” Sassy said as she stepped into the boutique’s doorway.

“Hey, Sassy!” Coco greeted. “I didn’t know you were coming with them.”

“Somepony needed to help them get all the supplies here,” Sassy said. “Besides, Pinkie invited me to a ‘Rarity and Thunderlane are Getting Hitched’ party.”

“So you didn’t turn him down,” I kidded Rarity.

“The thought never crossed my mind.” Rarity put a hoof to her chest, touching a diamond ring that rested on an elegant gold chain. “I had no idea he was going to ask me that night. When he did, it was perfect.” She paused, looked at my saddlebags, and raised a critical eyebrow. “I was sure I mentioned you did not have to bring anything for today.”

“These are congratulatory gifts from Berry,” I explained. “I am merely the delivery pony.”

Rarity’s act of being displeased evaporated. “Berry’s such a dear. Thank you both.” She waved for us to follow her. “Please, do come in.”

Sassy moved to intercept Coco. “I’m so glad to see you,” Sassy said. She kissed both of Coco’s cheeks and then caught her up in a hug. “Has Pin been treating you right?.

Coco answered, “He has been.”

“Good stallion,” Sassy complemented me, and let Coco go. “She deserves it.” Sassy then hugged me and gave Coco a look. “Somepony’s been getting some pampering of his own.”

“We take turns,” Coco said.

Sassy raised an eyebrow and gave Coco a curious look. “I’d bet that’s not all you two take turns on as far as who’s holding the reins.” Sassy laughed as Coco and I blushed. “Oh, we are going to have to have another mares’ night soon,” she told Coco. “I’ve got a feeling there will be lots to share.”

We followed Rarity into the kitchen, where I was surprised by the sight of Thunderlane in an apron and chef’s hat.

Thunderlane gave us a bow. “Welcome to High Fashion Kitchen. Ladies, please have a seat. Sir, I could use your help to serve the ladies while I finish up their entrees.”

Raising my nose in the air and putting on my Canterlot accent, I said, “Of course, sir.”

Falling into my role as server, I got the ladies' drink orders, poured the requested drinks, and helped Thunderlane bring the food to the table. “Is there anything else I can provide, ladies?” I asked, after putting down the last item on the table.

“Not at the moment, thank you,” Rarity said.

“You should leave that on,” Sassy teased Thunderlane, when he undid the knot holding the strings to his apron. “It fits you.”

“Thank you, but no.” He hung the apron next to Rarity’s and put his hat on the counter. “It’s a lot more comfortable than the Wonderbolts uniform, but not something I would wear all the time.”

“Oh, so you save your outfits for special occasions.” Sassy gave him a wicked grin. “Has Rarity asked you to strut around in your suit so she could enjoy the eye candy?”

Rarity gasped. “Sassy!”

“He doesn’t have to answer,” Sassy said. “His blush tells me all I need to know. Besides, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. I enjoy it when Silent comes home from his assignments without stopping at the barracks. There’s something about a stallion in uniform that’s just delectable.”

Rarity’s ears perked up. “Did I hear you say, ‘when Silent comes home’ or am I mistaken?”

“You heard correctly.”

“You failed to mention that to me earlier,” Rarity said.

“The topic never came up. Besides, we’ve been a little too busy talking about your stallion for mine to come into conversation.”

Rarity gave a happy sigh. “True.” She leaned so her shoulder touched Thunderlane’s and looked up at him. “He’s such a lovely distraction, though.”

“I see your stallion is still wearing his ring,” Sassy said to Coco and nodded towards me.

Coco smiled. “He rarely takes it off.”

“Speaking of rings, when should we expect you making it official with Silent?” Rarity asked Sassy.

“Well… that’s...” Sassy paused for a second, looking unsure what to say. “That’s somewhat complicated.”

Rarity’s eyes narrowed. “He does plan on giving you a ring, does he not?”

“He does.” Sassy would not meet Rarity’s gaze. “Not right now, though.”

“You are cohabiting, and he isn’t planning on making you his fiance soon?” One of Rarity’s eyebrows rose in a dangerous arch. “Would you like me to have a word with him on your behalf?”

The tone Rarity used made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“No!” Sassy said and waved both her hooves in front of her. “It’s not his fault! Bat pony courtship is very family oriented, and I haven’t been brave enough to meet his. If he asks me to marry him without their approval, he could get into all sorts of trouble.”

Sassy’s comment perplexed me. “What do you mean, you’re not brave enough? I haven't seen you get ruffled over anything.”

“I’ve tried to learn as much as I can about bat pony customs, but there is not much out there to reference,” Sassy said. “I’m scared I’m going to mess something up and derail things with Silent.”

“That’s not going to happen,” I said. “He adores you. Even if there was some kind of faux pas with his family, I’m sure he wouldn’t let that get between you two.”

“What if you meet them on neutral ground?” Coco asked. “Meet them somewhere for dinner, or something like that.”

“I thought of that too, but that won’t work for the traditions involved. I have to go to them.” Sassy drew herself up and said with determination, “He’s met my parents at their home. I can do the same for him.” Sassy made a motion as if casting aside her worries. “Enough about me. We’re here for Rarity and Thunderlane.” She waved a hoof at Coco and me. “One of you, tell them what happened, please.”

“I’d be glad to,” Rarity said, with an eager smile. “Right before Sassy and I closed up the boutique, Thunderlane surprised us by coming in.” She glanced at Sassy. “Well, I should say I was surprised that he appeared.”

Sassy put on a faux look of innocence.

Rarity turned her attention back to Coco and me. “Thunderlane said he wanted to surprise me to celebrate the opening of my shop in Manehatten and my expected return to Ponyville. He then offered to take me and Sassy out to dinner.”

“After giving Rarity a very enthusiastic wing hug and an enviable kiss,” Sassy added.

“I hadn’t seen her in weeks,” Thunderlane said. “I missed her.”

“It showed,” Sassy teased.

Rarity ignored the side comments and continued her retelling. “Thunderlane suggested the Tasty Treat, which I immediately agreed to. I wondered why there was a bit of relief in his expression when I agreed, but I thought little about it. Sassy and I closed up the shop, and the three of us made our way to Saffron’s. Lo-and-behold, we came across Filter and Silent sitting together on a bench not too far from Saffron’s restaurant.”

“Your brother sends his love,” Sassy told Coco.

“Your brother is such a dear,” Rarity said. “One of the first things he did was ask about you. It turned out he and Silent were planning to have dinner out too.” Rarity giggled. “All it took for us to do was to mention that we were heading to the Tasty Treat, and he got this love struck look in his eyes.”

“And Silent teased the hay out of him for it,” Sassy said. “You better get ready, Coco. I think he’s getting to the point he’s contemplating getting a ring.”

Coco’s ears perked up. “Really?”

“Judging by the way he reacted, he’s tail over hooves for Saffron,” Rarity agreed. “After we got Silent to quit teasing your brother, they ended up joining us in our dinner plans.” She gave Thunderlane a look. “By that time, I had a suspicion something was going on, but Thunderlane did a remarkable job of not showing anything.”

“I was very glad I had lots of practice of hiding my nerves before each Wonderbolt show,” Thunderlane said.

Rarity gave Thunderlane a playful tap on the shoulder with a hoof. “There was no need to be nervous. You weren’t going to be doing daring feats in front of hundreds of ponies, or anything of the sort, that evening.”

“There was plenty of reason for me to be nervous.” Thunderlane looked into Rarity’s eyes. “It was the most important performance of my life. I couldn’t mess it up.”

Rarity blushed and then leaned over and touched her nose to his. “Just so you know, you played the part of the dashing, handsome, and romantic stallion perfectly.”

“My word!” Acting shocked, I protested, “Such wanton displays of affection!”

While not removing her nose from Thunderlane’s, Rarity cut her eyes at me. “I am touching noses with him. I am doing anything so risque as kissing him or nibbling on his ear in public.”

Coco giggled. “You should try it sometime. It’s fun to see ponies’ reactions.”

Thunderlane opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Rarity told him, “Not one word.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

“They’re almost as sappy as you two,” Sassy said to Coco and me. “Rarity, back to the story.”

“You’re right, darling.” Rarity turned her attention back to us. “I apologize. A charming stallion distracted me for a second. Where was I? Oh, yes, our arrival.” Rarity brushed a strand of her mane from her face with a showmare’s flare. “When we entered the Tasty Treat, Panch and Poppy immediately greeted us. They, with Filter’s help, put two tables together for us and asked us to be seated. Saffron came out from the back to greet us. We exchanged pleasantries for a couple of minutes, and then she returned to the kitchen.” She giggled and told Coco, “That was when we lost your brother for a little while.”

Coco’s ears angled in adorable confusion. “Lost him?”

“He followed her like an over-sized puppy into the back,” Sassy said. “From what Silent has told me, he practically works at the Tasty Treat part time now. He thinks Filter is doing it because he wants to be near Saffron and gain her family’s approval.”

“He is doing well, in that regard,” Rarity said. “Poppy took our drink and appetizer orders, and we chatted for a couple of minutes. Imagine my shock when Filter and Rumble were the ones to bring out our food.”

“I wondered where he was,” I said. “He seemed to vanish for a couple days, and I never found out what was going on.”

“He was being a co-conspirator,” Rarity said. “When I asked him what he was doing at the Tasty Treat, he said that Thunderlane had set him up with cooking lessons from Saffron and Coriander.”

“Which was true,” Thunderlane said.

“When Rumble joined us at the table, and Thunderlane helped Panch and Poppy move another table next to ours. I knew somepony had choreographed events without me being aware.” Rarity gave a look to Thunderlane. “I had no doubt who the unseen director was, but I didn’t realize how many ponies he got to help, or who they were.”

“There were a lot of our friends who wanted to help,” Thunderlane said. “I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off, otherwise.”

“I doubt that. You would have found a way. You even got my parents in on it as it was!” Rarity took a breath to steady herself, but she still sounded as if she were close to tears. “I couldn’t believe it when they and Sweetie Belle came into the restaurant. Then Twilight and girls came in and… (sniff)... and...”

Thunderlane wrapped Rarity in a wing and pulled her close. “No crying.”

“I can’t help it. It was wonderful.” She sniffed again and then smiled. “Even if you lured me in with somewhat false pretenses.”

“There were no false pretenses at all,” Thunderlane said. “We were celebrating the opening of your new boutique with dinner. Dessert was going to be a celebration of us getting engaged, or I was going to go in the back in the kitchen and eat a whole tub of ice cream by myself and cry.”

“I would never have dreamed of turning you down,” Rarity said and then giggled. “I wondered where the tub of ice creme that we all shared came from.”

Thunderlane grinned. “I was prepared for as many possibilities as I could think of.”

“So you asked her between the courses?” I asked Thunderlane.

“We set it up for Saffron and her family to all come out under the pretext of clearing the table. Once everypony was in place, I got down on my knee and asked her.”

“I immediately said yes,” Rarity said. “Except for me crying tears of joy and ruining my makeup, it was a perfect moment.”

“I’m so happy for both of you,” Coco said.

“I still feel bad I couldn’t figure out a way for you two to be there,” Thunderlane said. “You helped the whole thing happen by bolstering my confidence before I asked her out.”

“There’s no reason to feel bad at all,” I said. “We got to play a part by watching the boutique and rooting for you from a distance.”

“Which I am very grateful to you both for doing,” Rarity said. “Knowing that my boutique was in good hooves, let me focus on all the things we needed to do to get things set for Rarity for you.” She gave Coco a playful smile. “Speaking of setting things up, a little bird told me you have displays of your own up at your shop now.”

“She does,” Thunderlane confirmed.

“I think a reconnaissance mission to scope out the new competition is in order,” Sassy said.

“I agree,” Rarity said.

Coco’s eyes widened in shock. “I’m not competition. I don’t design high fashion dresses like you do.”

Rarity gave Coco a disbelieving look. “What do you mean? Your dresses could be on the cover of designer magazines. That dress you wore to Twilight’s Coronation Celebration certainly caught many an eye.”

Remembering how she looked that night, I nodded.

Sassy grinned at me. “We know it caught your eye.”

“Then there was that lovely dress you wore to Satin’s wedding,” Rarity said. “While I didn’t get to see it, I saw it in pictures Thunderlane showed me from the wedding.”

“Pin liked that one too,” Thunderlane said, joining in on Sassy’s teasing.

“I did,” I confirmed.

“However biased he may be for any dress you wear, Pin has a good eye,” Rarity told Coco. She asked me, “Don’t you think her designs are runway ready?”

“No doubt about it,” I answered without hesitation.

Rarity looked at Sassy. “Do you think so?”

“I do,” Sassy said.

“There we have it.” Rarity smiled. “Four for four say so.”

Coco showed subtle signs of being uncomfortable with the conversation in the tilt of her ears and in her expression. “But I didn’t want to compete with you then and I don’t want to now. I just want a shop where I can make a few dresses and still work on costume orders.”

Rarity seemed to pick up on Coco’s unease and gave her a disarming smile. “Coco, I meant you being my ‘competition’ in jest. I believe it would do Ponyville good to have another designer available. Especially one who I consider a wonderful talent and a dear friend.”

“I guess the field trip’s off then,” Sassy said, sounding guilty.

“No, it’s not,” Coco said, and brightened up. “You are more than welcome to come over. I apologize for dampening the mood. I’ve been worried being part of a business in Ponyville would cause friction between Rarity and me. Even though part of me knew you two were kidding, I couldn’t help but panic a bit.”

“No apologies needed, darling!” Rarity said. “You have absolutely nothing to trouble yourself over. Pin and I have been in ‘competition’ for years, and we’re on good speaking terms.” She acted as if she were annoyed with me. “Even after poached my best and only Ponyville employee from me,” she joked.

“I would advise you not to say anything,” Thunderlane told me. “Especially since I’m sure you’re not at all sorry about what you did.”

I chuckled. “I think I’ll do just that.”

*****

As we came to the edge of the town’s central plaza, Rarity made a cheerful noise. “I missed Ponyville so much. Manehatten has its charm, and Canterlot is delightful, but Ponyville is home.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Coco said.

Sassy’s ears snapped up. “Is that Lilly?”

I looked around and did not see Lilly. “I don’t see her. If I had to bet, she’s at her stall in the market right now.”

“Not Ponyville Lilly,” Sassy said. “I thought I saw the Canterlot Lilly for a second there.”

“Canterlot Lilly?”

“She’s one of our loyal patrons,” Rarity said, as she scanned the ponies near us. “She was one of the first ponies to come to Canterlot Boutique, in fact.”

Sassy looked thoughtful. “You know, I can’t remember her ever buying a dress, though. She comes in with somepony else every time. She always has that flower of hers tucked in mane, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen her wearing anything else or even trying something on.”

“Now that you mention it, I can’t recall having sold her anything, either.” Rarity added, looking thoughtful, “Nor can I recall her wearing anything but the flower.”

Something stirred in my mind, and I thought of Osima. “Does she wear a blue flower?”

Rarity and Sassy both looked at me as if surprised.

“How did you know she wears a blue flower?” Rarity asked.

Realizing the potentially awkward ramifications of any answer I gave for knowing Osima, I glanced at Coco for some hint on how to respond.

“We had a customer come in the other day with a blue flower in her mane,” Coco said.

“Really?” Sassy said.

I nodded. “I remembered her because she wore a flower like Coco does.”

“It’s possible it’s the same pony,” Sassy said. “Some ponies will go to one end of Equestria to the other for fashion.”

“Very true,” Rarity agreed.

I was grateful we arrived at our shop before the conversation could take another awkward turn.

“Coco! This display is simply charming, and the dress is lovely. And here you were telling me you weren’t competition for me.”

“It is wonderful.” Sassy walked up to the shop’s window and came close to putting her nose on the glass. “This looks like a scene out of a theater production.”

“It sort of is.” Coco stood beside Sassy. “I made the backdrop to be like a scene out of a play to make things more interesting.”

“That’s inspired,” Rarity said.

“It was fun,” Coco said and smiled.

“I really liked the idea when she told me about it and which scene she wanted to do.” I said. “It’s one of my favorite scenes from Hinny of the Hills. I knew the exact suit I wanted to pair with her dress for the display, when she describe what she wanted to do.”

Rarity, Sassy, and Thunderlane all stared at me.

After a long second, I asked, “What?”

“You think you know a stallion,” Thunderlane joked.

“Coco has made me a more cultured pony.” I unlocked the front door and opened it. “Please come in.”

“If she’s been getting you into the theater, what have you been getting her into?” Thunderlane asked, as the mares entered before us.

“Buckball,” Coco said. “It’s a lot of fun to watch, and getting dressed up and painting our faces, especially when we go with Berry’s or Muffins’ families, is a blast.”

“I might have guessed that one. I’ve seen you two at a couple of games.” Thunderlane and I followed the mares in. “Is there something else he’s introduced to you we wouldn’t know about?” he asked.

“He’s been teaching me ice archery too,” Coco said.

Rarity paused in her inspection of the store and gave Coco a curious look. “Really?”

Coco nodded. “I’ve really enjoyed it. I’m thinking about getting a bow.”

“I wouldn’t have guessed that would be something you’d take to,” Sassy said as she continued to scan the store.

“It intimidated me at first,” Coco said. “The thought of using a weapon and all that is involved made me real nervous. Pin is a great instructor, though, and he got me over my fears of it pretty quick. I’m not all that good, but I’m getting better.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” I said. “Considering you had never touched a bow before we started, it’s impressive how far you’ve come.”

Coco, Thunderlane, and I stood and watched Rarity and Sassy as they perused and studied the store and our clothes.

Thunderlane smiled. “It’s fun to watch when she gets in her element.”

“What do you mean?” Coco asked.

“Watch. Her eyes scan everything methodically, looking over every detail. Her ears and the tilt of her head tell she’s mulling a lot of things. She sees details and patterns in things I would never have noticed.” Thunderlane gave a love-struck sigh. “She’s amazing.”

“I don’t know if it’s wise to talk about Sassy like that when your fiance can hear you,” I teased.

“Ha, ha.” Thunderlane said.

“It’s nice to know I’m admired,” Rarity said, walking back over to us. “Especially by such a handsome stallion with so many charms of his own.”

“There they go again, being sappy like you two,” Sassy said to Coco and me. “I have to admit, they made me jealous, snuggling on the train all the way here. Silent better be ready when I get back, because I’m going to make up for-” She stopped and looked past us and toward the door in shock. “It is Lily!”

I turned to see Osmia standing at the door to the shop and looking surprised. She was holding her hoof halfway to the door as if she had paused in mid action and was uncertain whether to open it.

She’s not looking well, I thought to myself. “I’ll let her in,” I said and moved to the door with some speed while trying not to appear alarmed. I opened the door just as Osima took a step back from it. “Hello again,” I greeted her. “It’s good to see you.”

“I should come back later,” she whispered just loud enough for me to hear. “You’re busy, and-”

“Please come in,” I said, cutting her off in as kind a tone as I could. “You must be cold, and you’ve had a long way to travel.”

“Lily, darling!” Rarity said. “Not that I’m not delighted to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you.” Osmia smiled at Rarity and then waved at Sassy. “Hello, Sass.”

Osmia slipped into her pony persona so well it was impressive. Had I not known who she was, I would never had guessed she was anypony other than who she presented herself to be.

Sassy trotted over, nudged me aside, and then hugged Osima. “I haven’t seen you in ages! I was getting worried.”

“I had to take an unexpected trip back home,” Osima said. “Other than being tired, I’m fine.”

Sassy held onto Osima for a second longer than necessary. “No, you’re not.” She put her hoof to Osima’s forehead. “We need to get you in from this cold.”

“She’s sick?!” Rarity asked with concern.

“I think so,” Sassy said, as she guided Osima into the store by putting a kind hoof on her shoulder. “She feels puny. She needs to be resting, not walking around in the cold.”

Coco gave me a worried look, and I did my best to communicate that Sassy was right without drawing attention to myself.

“Without so much as a scarf too!” Rarity said. “You need to take care of yourself, Lily.”

“I didn’t realize I was sick until I was in town,” Osima said. “By the time I started feeling bad, it was too late to turn around. I came here, hoping to get out of the cold for a bit, but I wouldn’t have stopped by had I known I would have interrupted your get together.”

“Nonsense, darling,” Rarity said. “Your health is far more important than our chit-chat.” Rarity looked at Coco. “Might we impose on you a bit? I believe she needs more than just getting out of the cold.”

“Of course,” Coco said. “You’re all welcome to come upstairs.”

“Thank you both for looking out for me, but I can’t do this to you,” Osima said. “Just give me a couple of minutes to warm up, and I’ll be on my way.”

“Lily, you’re sick,” I said. “Please, let us take care of you, even if it’s just for a little while.”

Osima looked as if she were about to argue.

I put on my best smile. “We’ll get you wrapped up in a blanket, and I’ll make some hot chocolate for everypony. It will put something nice and warm in your stomach, which I’m sure will help.”

“Lily, please,” Sassy said. “You’re already not feeling well. We don’t want you getting worse.”

I risked asking about what I thought was the underlying cause of her weakness in as nebulous a way as I could. “Have you eaten today?”

Osima seemed to get the hidden meaning of my words and did not respond.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?” Sassy accused more than asked.

Osima shook her head. “I haven’t.”

“Lily!” Rarity said sounding exasperated. “Ask Pin what happens if you don’t eat, don’t take care of yourself, and then push yourself.”

“You end up passing out and worrying everypony,” I said, before she could ask. “Please, come up with us and rest for a bit and get some food in you.”

“He’ll make the coco, and I’ll make you some soup,” Thunderlane said.

“You don’t have to go through all that fuss for me,” she told him.

Thunderlane put on his winsome Wonderbolts’ smile. “It wouldn’t be a problem at all.”

“You’re a sweetheart. Please excuse me. I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“Thunderlane,” he said.

“My fiance,” Rarity said as if dangling a lure.

“Oh! Really?” Osima studied Thunderlane from his hooves to his ear tips as if reevaluating him. “When did this happen?”

“Just a few days ago.” Rarity smiled. “I’d be glad to tell you all about it if you come up with us and visit with us.”

With a playful smile, Osima gave a relenting sigh. “Hot chocolate, hot soup, and fresh gossip? I guess I really can’t turn that down, now can I?”

“Not really,” Sassy said. “There was no way we were going to let you go right back out into the cold.”

Osima feigned shock. “Are you implying you would have ponynapped me against my will?”

“No, but if you had gone back in the cold, we all would have been out there right with you huddled against you to keep you warm.”

The rest of us voiced our agreement with Sassy’s alternate plan.

Osima seemed touched. “You’re all such wonderful ponies. Thank you.”

I skirted the others and led everypony toward the back of the store. “This way, please.”

As we wove through the displays, Sassy said, “The first comment I would like to make about your store is that it has wonderful pieces, but the displays are crowded.”

“Thank you, and we have a plan for the crowding,” I said, over my shoulder.

“I noticed you have gone in new directions with some of your designs,” Rarity said. “It would seem Coco’s been influencing you.”

“Coco’s been a wonderful influence on me on every level.” I had just put my hoof on the bottom step when I heard a gasp behind me.

“Lily!” Sassy called.

“Gotcha!” Thunderlane said.

I turned in time to see Thunderlane catch Osima, who had been swaying on her hooves, just as she collapsed.

“I’ll get the door!” I raced up the stairs. With frantic efforts using my magic, I worked the lock and opened the door.

“Lily, stay with us,” Sassy said.

Osima made a noise that indicated she was trying.

I went back down the stairs just far enough to see Osima and Thunderlane. “Lane, I’ve got her!” I took Osima in my magic and lifted her up the stairs.

Rarity ducked as Osima floated past her. “I didn’t realize she was that ill,” she said with concern.

After stepping into the den, I put Osima on the couch with care and put a pillow under her head. I had to pause and think to make sure I used the right name when I asked, “Lily, are you okay?”

Osima gave a slight shake of her head. “I’ve really made a mess of things now. I’ve made trouble for you and everypony.”

“Darling, you’re being far too harsh with yourself,” Rarity said. She prodded me in the side with a hoof so I would move aside for her. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. You’re sick. These things happen.”

“I thought if I got some love I could make it,” Osima said, her words slurred.

“You better not be dying on us!” Sassy said. “We’ll give you all the love and care you need, but you cannot die on us. I won’t allow it.”

“I need to get to Sanctuary.” Osima’s eyes lost what focus they had. “They can put me in a pod and...” She sank into unconsciousness before she could finish.

“Lily!” Sassy shoved me aside, almost in a full panic, and checked Osima’s vitals. “She’s breathing, but we’ve- Eeeek!”

Sassy jumped back, nearly knocking Rarity over, as green flames covered Osima. After the fires faded, Osima’s true appearance and state shocked me. She looked even worse in her natural form than she had in her pony disguise. Her chitin was dull and her face looked drawn.

“Sweet Celestia!” Rarity gasped. “It’s a changeling!” Her look of concern shifted to one of unadulterated anger. She growled, grabbed Osima by the cheeks, and shouted at her, “You tell me what you did with Lily right now! If you harmed one hair on her head, I'll-”

“Rarity, stop!” I put a hoof on her foreleg. “I think Osima is Lily!”

Rarity looked at me as if she thought I had lost my mind. “What do you mean this sneaky, vile, misbegotten... thing is our Lily?”

“Osima, or Lily, as you know her, came by our store the other day,” Coco said. “She’s the one we told you about helping Vanessa when you asked if you had missed anything exciting during lunch.”

“She recognized Coco from somewhere, when she came in the shop,” I said. “If she has visited your boutique in Canterlot several times, I’m sure she heard you mention Coco or knew who she was some other way before she came here.”

Sassy’s eyes lit up at some thought. She put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “You showed her the article about Coco’s community play in Manehatten, after you got back from the trip.”

“That’s right!” Rarity looked at Osima with guilt. “I’m so sorry, Lily.” With care, Rarity put Osima’s head back on the pillow. “Please forgive my brutish behavior.” She touched Osima’s cheek with a gentle hoof. “I was worried about you. If that makes any sense.”

Sassy hugged Rarity. “I’m sure she’ll forgive you.” She broke into an awkward smile. “With some luck, she might not remember it at all.”

“No matter who she is, we need to get her help,” Coco said.

“You’re right,” Thunderlane agreed. “Question is, do we bring somepony here or do we take her somewhere?”

“We need to get her to Sanctuary,” I said. “They will know what to do to help her. Rarity, do you still have the cart you borrowed?”

“I do,” she answered. “Applejack hasn’t been by to pick it up.”

“I think there’s a bit of Sassy’s luck right there. I’ll go get it and bring it back.”

“I’ll go with you,” Thunderlane said. “I can help you get harnessed up.”

I shook my head. “We need you to fly to Sanctuary and tell them what is going on. We don’t know what’s going on with her, and she may need help as soon as she can get it.”

“You’re right.” Thunderlane turned toward the door. “I’ll get going right now.”

“I’ll stay and help Coco get Lily bundled up for the cold,” Rarity said. “She knows where everything is here.”

“I’m with you then,” Sassy said to me.

“We have a plan,” Thunderlane said. “Let’s move.”

Sassy, Thunderlane, and I rushed out of the apartment and then out of the shop.

“I’ll get back as quick as I can,” Thunderlane said, and took off into the air.

Sassy and I galloped towards Rarity’s, drawing attention to ourselves from several ponies with our haste.

“Why do crazy things like this always happen in Ponyville?” Sassy asked through her panting breaths.

“I have no clue,” I said. “It keeps life interesting, though.”

We rounded Rarity’s boutique, and there was no cart to be seen.

“It’s not here,” I said, with frustrated disappointment.

“Applejack must have come by and gotten it while we were gone,” Sassy wheezed.

“Berry and Barrel will have a cart we can use,” I said.

“That’s in the other direction,” Sassy pointed out. “It’s not like we’d be running to Sweet Apple Acres to get the cart back, but it’s still a way.” She leaned up against the wall and took in lungfuls of air. “I have got to get out and run more.”

“Rose.” I tapped my hoof on the ground and grinned. “Rose always brings her cart to the market. It’s smaller, but it will work.”

Sassy nodded. “The market’s closer too.”

Sassy and I raced to the market and to Rose’s stand.

“Pin?” Rose looked at Sassy and me with concern as we slowed to a stop in front of her stall. “What’s going on?”

“Rose, I’m sorry to bother you, but we need your cart,” I said. “May we borrow it?”

“Sure,” Rose said. “I take it something serious is going on.”

“There’s a very sick pony we’re trying to get to help as fast as we can,” Sassy explained between breaths.

“Then, by all means, take the cart!” Rose stepped out of her stall and helped Sassy get me get strapped to the cart. “How bad is it?” she asked, as she cinched down a strap.

“We don’t know,” I said.

“Mister Pin, what’s going on?” Noi asked as she ran up to us. “Thunderlane went flying past like he needed to get somewhere fast, and now you and Miss Sassy are here and in a hurry.”

“We’re trying to get a sick pony some help,” Sassy said.

Noi’s eyes widened. “Bad sick?!”

Sassy nodded. “We’re going to get her to Sanctuary as soon as possible.”

Noi asked me, with concern in her eyes, “Who is it?”

“Osima,” I said.

Noi gasped. “She’s back, and she’s in trouble?!” Her expression shifted to one of determination. “I’m going with you!”

By her tone, I could tell I would not dissuade her. “All right, but you’ll have to keep up or get in the cart,” I said.

“I can keep up, I promise,” Noi said.

I turned to Rose as she did the last strap. “Thanks, Rose! We’ll bring your cart back as soon-”

“We don’t have time for you to be polite,” Sassy said, cutting me off. She slapped my rump with her hoof and commanded, “Gee-up!”

With a startled whinny, I set off.

“That wasn’t nice!” Noi scolded.

“It worked, though,” Sassy said, sounding less than repentant.

After navigating the market with as much hurried care as I could, I picked up the pace towards home.

“You two keep going,” Sassy said, after we had trotted for a bit. “I’ve got to slow down.”

Noi hastened her strides and ran at my side.

“I’m impressed,” I told her. “I’ve got longer legs, and you’re keeping right with me.”

“Thanks, but I’m not pulling a cart.”

“That doesn’t matter. I’m sure Rumble would be proud of you right now.”

Noi and I hurried to the backside of the shop. Using my magic, I got the spare key from its hidden spot and used it to unlock the door. “Run up and tell them the cart is here, please.”

“Can do!” As soon as the door was open wide enough for her to squeeze through, Noi zipped inside.

I did not have to wait long before the sound of hooves approaching from inside came to my ears. Coco, Noi, and Rarity came out of the shop a couple of seconds later, carrying blankets and a pillow.

“What happened to Sassy?” Rarity asked, while she used her magic to put the blankets and comforter into the back of the cart.

“I’m here,” Sassy said, stepping around the shop’s corner and looking winded. “I’m fine, but I couldn’t keep up with these two.”

“We’ll be right back,” Coco said.

After Coco and Rarity returned inside, Noi paced circles around me and the cart with nervous energy. “I’m not sure why I came,” she said. “I can’t do anything, and I’m not good at stuff like this.”

“You came because you care,” I said. “You were the first pony to shake Osima’s hoof and treat her like a regular pony, remember?”

“But what can I do now?” Noi’s pacing stopped. She moved so I could see her without straining my neck. “I’m just a filly.”

“She’s going to need support. She may not be conscious, but I’m sure she will feel your concern for her. You’ve already helped by getting a message to them while I was still harnessed too.”

Coco and Rarity came out of the shop. Coco carried Osima on her back, while Rarity steadied her with magic. They had bundled Osima in a blanket and had put one of our winter caps on her head. She was more prepared for the cold, but she still looked ill and remained non-responsive.

“I’ve got her,” I said and lifted Osima from Coco’s back. “Guide her into position for me, please. I can’t see what I’m doing.”

“I know what you can do for her,” Sassy told Noi. She moved to stand beside Noi and put a foreleg around her shoulders. “She needs to be kept warm. As soon as Coco and Rarity get her settled, you are going right into the cart with her.”

Noi looked up at her with an uncertain look. “I’m a hot water bottle?”

“Even better,” Sassy said and grinned. “You’re going to be her cuddly, heated, security blanket.”

Noi smiled back at Sassy. “I can do that.”

The harness settled on my neck and shoulders with more weight as Coco and Rarity placed Osima in the cart.

“There you go, dear,” Rarity cooed to Osima. “We’re going to get you to help as fast as we can, and out of this cold.”

“That’s your cue,” Sassy said, and then she and Noi stepped out of my field of view.

The harness settled on me a touch more as Noi joined Osima in the cart.

“Hold on a second, Pin,” Rarity said. “Let’s move you a bit there, wrap this blanket here, and viola!”

“We’re ready now.” Sassy giggled at something. “Coco, you get to smack Pin’s flank to get him moving this time. I’ve already had a turn.”

“What?!” Coco asked.

I could not see her, but I could imagine Coco’s shocked expression.

“I had to get him going somehow,” Sassy said, sounding like she was enjoying herself. “He was taking too long talking and being polite with Rose when we had to get moving.”

“Really, darling, you need only ask him to go and he will,” Rarity said.

“That’s not half as fun,” Sassy said.

“Mister Pin, I think we can go now,” Noi said, sounding as if she was doing her best not to laugh.

“I think so too, unless I want another smack on my cutie mark.” With even steps, so not to jostle my passengers, I got the cart moving. “Tell me if it gets rough back there.”

“I will, Mister Pin,” Noi said.

“Did Sassy really smack Pin’s flank, or is she playing with me?” Coco asked.

Noi giggled. “She did.”

“Sassy!” Coco protested.

“If you’d like, you can give Silent’s flank a shot the next time he’s in town, and we’ll call it even.”

“I won’t do that to poor Silent,” Coco said.

“You should. Silent won’t protest, too much anyway, and he has a really nice flank.” Sassy chortled. “Besides, you’re going to be married soon, so this might be the only time you’ll be able to put a hoof on a good piece of flank other than Pin’s.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I think.” I did my best to look over my shoulder, but could not see into the cart. “How’s our patient doing?”

“She’s still out, but she’s breathing okay,” Noi reported. “She’s not very warm, though.”

“She doesn’t have a coat like us,” Rarity said. “I’m so glad you came. Even with us bundling her up, she needs somepony with her to keep her warm.”

“I wish I could do more,” Noi said, sounding disheartened.

“The first couple of times we helped Vanessa get the love she needed, she would nod off for a few moments,” Coco said. “Even when she was asleep, she still seemed to get some good out of it, though. Try thinking about ponies you love.”

For a few seconds, there was nothing but the sound of the cart and hooves on the path. There was the sound of cloth moving and a surprised gasp from Noi.

“What happened?” I asked, not risking taking my eyes off the path while moving at the pace I was maintaining.

“She hugged Noi,” Sassy said.

“Remember when Vanessa held onto Gena?” Coco asked. “She’s doing the same thing with Noi.”

“Keep those good thoughts coming,” Sassy said. “They must be working.”

“I will,” Noi said.

As we got close to the edge of the market, I noticed there was more activity than usual around Rose’s stand.

“It looks like we made a stir,” Sassy said.

“We weren’t subtle, that’s for sure,” I agreed. “This is Ponyville too. I’m sure word’s spread we were rushing around and borrowed Rose’s cart.”

As we got closer, I recognized the ponies gathered at Rose’s stand. Dinky, Golden Harvest, Thunderlane, and Turner were having a discussion with Rose. Golden seemed worked up about something. As if sensing us approach, she turned her head in our direction. She said something to the others and pointed a hoof at us.

“Golden’s rather animated,” Rarity said. “I wonder what has upset her so.”

I had a hunch about what was bothering Golden. “Noi, did you tell Goldie you were coming with us?”

“Ummm… Not really,” Noi said in a meek voice. “I told her I wanted to check to see what was going on, but that was it.”

“That explains why she’s giving Pin and me that look,” Sassy said.

“I’m sure she’ll understand,” Coco said.

I sighed in resignation. “We can only hope. Goldie matches Berry in intensity in being protective of her sister. This could get rough.”

“Pin!” Golden marched to intercept us before we could skirt the market, her ears back, looking displeased. “Is Noi with you?”

I swallowed. “She-”

“She is,” Rarity said, in a calm tone. “Noi is helping us aid a very sick pony at the moment. Please keep any chastisements to a low volume.”

Golden’s ears went up. “She’s helping you with a sick pony? How?”

“She’s being a support blanket,” Sassy said. “She’s keeping Lily warm and supplying her with love.”

I brought the cart to a halt as Golden walked closer. “Where is she?”

“In the cart,” Coco said. “She can’t move right now, or I’m sure she’d be sitting up to talk to you.”

“I’m here, Sis,” Noi said, as if ready for Golden to fuss at her.

To my relief, Golden went past me and to the cart. I turned my head as far as I could, but still could not see behind me enough to see Golden’s expressions.

“Noi, you know you’re not supos-” After a pause, Golden sighed. “Never mind.”

“I’m sorry,” Noi said. “They told me Osima was sick and-”

“It’s okay,” Golden said. “I’m just glad you're safe. If you hadn’t been with Pin, I would have been really worried.”

“I’m sorry, Goldie, but we really need to get going again,” I said. “We’re not sure how bad she’s doing and every second could count.”

“We’re coming with you!” Dinky said. She paused as if a thought had come to her, and then looked up at Turner. “Right, Dad?”

“Of course we will.” Turner gave Dinky a hug across her shoulders. “We can’t very well leave a pony in a bad way if there is the possibility we could help, right?”

“Right!” Dinky said.

“Let’s put her in the cart too,” Coco said. “I’m sure she can give off some love for Osima.”

“If there is a bundle of love in Ponyville, besides her mother, it’s our Dinky,” Turner said.

Turner and Dinky stepped towards the back of the cart and out of my view.

Coco moved to stand in front of me so I could see her. “Are you doing okay?” she asked, her ears angled in concern.

“I’m doing fine,” I assured her. “All those runs we’ve been on are paying off.”

“If you need to swap out with somepony, just say something,” Coco told me.

I touched my nose to Coco’s. “I will, I promise.”

The harness settled on my shoulders as Dinky joined Noi and Osima in the back of the cart and settled in.

“We’re ready,” Thunderlane said.

With a little more effort than I had to put in the last attempt, I got the cart moving again.

“You sure you’re going to be okay, Mister Pin?” Dinky asked.

“I’ve hauled a lot heavier loads than this. Thanks for asking, though.” I glanced at Thunderlane. “I didn’t expect you to make it back so fast.”

“I would have made it back to your place sooner, but Golden and Rose waved me down,” Thunderlane said. “They noticed I was in a rush when I flew past the markets, so they figured I was involved in what was going on with you and Sassy.”

“Dinky and I were at the right spot at the right time too,” Turner said. “We were going to pick a couple of things up on the way back home from Twilight’s castle. When Golden saw Dinky and me, she asked us if we had seen Noi and then told us you had run off with her and Rose’s cart.”

“Everypony will be ready for us at Sanctuary,” Thunderlane said. “When I arrived and told them the guards what was going on, they got Spiracle for me. He said that it sounded like she had been too low on love for a while and it caught up with her.”

“Did he say anything about how serious her condition could be?” Rarity asked.

“He didn’t,” Thunderlane answered. “He was too busy getting everypony ready for her arrival.”

“She seems stable,” Turner said. “Her breathing is steady and even. She’s not showing signs of distress. On outward appearances alone, one would think she was asleep.”

“When she fainted, it didn’t seem like she was in trouble,” Sassy said. “It was like she used the last of her energy and down she went.”

“Sounds like somepony we know,” Rose said.

While I could not see her, I got the impression she was looking at me.

“If she wasn’t getting the love she needed, she may have hit her limit and passed out,” Thunderlane said. “Not that it’s a good thing, but I hope that this is all it is.”

Our impromptu herd moved on to the edge of town without too much conversation. As we passed, ponies would pause and look at us with curiosity. When ponies asked what was going on, Rarity would be our spokespony and would give a brief explanation.

“You okay back there?” I asked, turning my head to look over my shoulder.

“We’re fine,” Dinky said. “It’s nice and cozy.”

“I’ll try to keep things smooth, but we’re getting onto the trails now,” I warned.

“Don’t worry about that,” Noi said. “We can take some bumps and shaking.”

“Pin, we have incoming,” Thunderlane said.

I looked forward and snorted at the sight of the trio flying towards us. “Why am I not surprised?”

“The older one must be Vanessa,” Rarity said.

“That’s her,” Coco said.

Vanessa put on more speed and broke from Gena and Cubitus.

“You better slow down,” Rarity said. As Vanessa got closer, and showed no signs she was going to reduce her speed, she added, “Actually, it might be better if you stop again.”

I nodded and slowed the cart to a halt.

Vanessa transitioned from flying to running and then skidded to a stop just in front of me, missing running into my chest by a couple of hoof widths. She looked up at me with frantic eyes. “You’ve got Ozzy?!”

“She’s in the cart with Noi,” I said.

In an impressive display of speed, Vanessa hurried past me. There was a thump and a slight shaking of the cart as she vaulted into the cart.

I craned my neck, but could not get a good view of what was going on in the cart.

“Ozzy?!” Vanessa said. “What happened?”

“She’s not hurt,” Noi said. “She passed out at Coco and Pin’s. When I tried giving off love, she hugged me and hasn’t let me go. I think that’s a good sign.”

“Could you tell us what’s wrong?” Dinky asked.

“Move your head for me, please,” Vanessa said. “She’s breathing right and her pulse is good.” Vanessa’s tone lightened as she reported, “Good grip on Noi, so she’s not too bad.” There was the sound of cloth being moved, and Vanessa drew in a hissing breath. “Ozzy, you idiot! You gave all your love away, didn’t you?!”

“Is that why she’s like this?” Noi asked.

“She’s pushing what most changelings can do while drained, but...” There was a pause and then Vanessa asked, “Did she try to take in love?”

“I think she might have,” Coco said.

“That’s what did it, if I had to bet.”

I heard somepony settling down in the cart.

“Ozzy, I’m mad at your for doing this to yourself, but I’m so glad you’re with us again.”

“Her taking in love did this?” Tuner asked. “Why would that cause her system to have such a reaction?”

Gena and Cubitus landed close by and trotted up to the cart.

“What’s going on with her, Ness?” Cubitus asked.

“She’s love starved pretty bad,” Vanessa told him.

“But she made it to Coco’s and Pin’s shop,” Gena said. “She should have been able to get some love there.”

“That may have been what caused her to pass out,” Vanessa said. “Remember our survival training lessons? We have to be careful taking in love after going without it. Our bodies can overreact to it, if we take too much in at first.”

“So it’s much like not giving solid food to a pony who has been starving for days because it can mess up their body chemistry,” Tuner said.

“It’s about the same,” Vanessa said. “The reaction is more on the magical energy flow side of things, though.”

“Will she be okay?” Golden asked.

“She should be, but putting her in a pod as soon as possible will help,” Vanessa said.

“Then let’s get moving,” I said. With some effort and a light grunt, I got the cart moving again.

Gena and Cubitus took to the air and hovered above the cart.

“I don’t think you’ll be able to squeeze in,” Rose said. “My cart’s for moving flats of plants, not ponies.”

“That’s all right,” Gena said. “We can hover and watch over her, at least.”

“You doing okay back there, Dinks?” Cubitus asked.

“I’m fine,” Dinky assured her. “Noi and I were trying to give off love for Osima. That won’t hurt her, will it?”

“No, it won’t hurt her at all,” Vanessa said. “But until we get her in a pod her system won’t be too efficient at drawing it in.”

“So it’s like priming a pump after it’s gone dry,” Noi said.

“Not quite, but the thought’s the same,” Vanessa said. “Why don’t you two take my place? I’m sure Dinky she’ll give off more love with you two than me back here.”

I assumed Vanessa had been speaking to Gena and Cubitus.

There was a quiet moment that was broken by Sassy giggling.

“That’s quite a blush, Dinky,” Rose said.

“You don’t have to leave,” Noi said, sounding as if she wanted to draw attention away from Dinky. “We know you’re worried about her, and care about her, so stay. You can give her love, too.”

“I would, but that’s not what she needs right now. I care about her a lot. She’s my best friend, and we’ve been through a lot together, but I don’t love her like that.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Dinky said. “Thorax gave that nasty queen all of his love and he didn’t even like her. I’m sure you can give love to Osima.”

“I guess I could try,” Vanessa said, sounding hesitant.

“If I can get loose, you can take my spot,” Noi said.

Weight shifted through the harness and the cart’s shafts as my passengers changed positions.

“She let go, but the blankets have me all tangled up now,” Noi said.

Dinky laughed. “We’ll get you out.” There was some more movement, and then Dinky declared, “There you go.”

“Thanks. Now, Vanessa, you get where I was. There you go, now give her a hug.” Noi giggled. “Never mind, she’s got you.”

“Now you know what it feels like, Ness,” Gena teased.

“Don’t act like you didn’t like it, you snuggle bug,” Vanessa said. “Okay, I’ve hugged her back. Now what?”

“Close your eyes,” Cubitus said. “Let things settle like you were going to let her take love like usual, but then give it a solid nudge and let it go wild. It feels great, like getting to run and fly around outside after being in one chamber for too long.”

“You make it sound so simple,” Vanessa said.

“It is,” Gena assured her. “I can’t think of anyone who didn’t get it to work. Even Spiracle did it on his first try. Focus on holding her and that you want to let the love and your emotions out, and then, pop! It happens.”

“Then you change colors, lose all your holes, look completely different, and give off emotions anybug can pick up on all the time,” Cubitus grumbled.

Gena snorted. “We knew you were a softie before you changed, and you’re still cute, so quit fussing. It’s not like we can’t change back to how we look whenever we want, anyway.”

Dinky giggled. “Let’s be quiet for a bit, so she can try.”

For a few seconds, there were only the sounds of the cart moving down the trail and everypony walking. Then there was a magical hum, flash of light, and then the soft chime of a magical event ending.

“You did it!” Gena cheered.

“You’re right, that felt great,” Vanessa said. “It felt like letting something out after bottling it up for too long.” She gasped. “I’m blue!”

“A lovely shade of blue too,” Rarity told her.

“The process of metamorphosis for changelings is fascinating,” Turner said. “I am glad I was here to see it. Dinky, I just had a thought. Is the warm?”

“A little,” Dinky said.

“So it is an exothermic reaction,” Turner said. “Twilight will be pleased to know our theory was right.”

“I bet she got gems too, with as caring as she is,” Dinky said.

“Gems?” Vanessa asked. “What are you-?”

There was a sleepy moan, as if somepony were fighting to come awake. “Mmm… What’s going on? Who are you?”

“Ozzy!” Vanessa cheered. “You’re awake!”

“I’m not too sure about that,” Ozzy said. “Am I in the back of a cart?”

“Yep,” Gena said. “We’re on the trail to Sanctuary right now.”

“You gave us quite a scare, darling,” Rarity said.

“Rarity I- ohhh.” There was a thump that sounded like somepony had flopped to the floorboards of the cart. “Sitting up is evidently not an option right now.”

“You need to stay still,” Vanessa scolded.

Osima giggled. “So you went pastel on us, Ness? You sound like Ness and hug like Ness does, if you’re not.”

“It’s me,” Vanessa said.

“She just changed,” Dinky said. “She wanted to give you some love so you’d get better.”

“Well! Hello, again, cutie. How did you…” Osima’s words trailed off. “Hold on. How many ponies are involved in this now? Unless I’m still more addled than I thought, there are several around.”

“There are nine ponies and four changelings all together,” Tuner said. “Including you in the count.”

Osima groaned. “I’m sorry this has become such a production. When I set out, I had hoped I wouldn’t get anypony involved.”

“Things rarely go as planned,” Rarity said. “Celestia only knows how many of my plans have gotten rearranged because of unforeseen events. Look on the bright side. At least you know you have ponies looking after you.”

“Some of whom I have lied to and betrayed,” Osima said with guilt. “I don’t deserve-”

“Hush,” Sassy commanded. “You’re sick and you need to rest. Guilt trips are not needed right now.”

“I don’t believe they’re needed at all,” Rarity said. “We understand a lady has to do what she must to get by. You’ve never harmed either of us, and I believe your friendship with us is genuine.”

“It was,” Osima said.

“It still is,” Sassy said. “If not, we wouldn’t have bothered wrapping you up and tossing you in the back of a cart to get you some help. Besides, we owe you for all the good publicity you gave us by writing those articles about Canterlot Boutique.”

“Sass, I-” Osima sniffed. “Thank you. Thank you both.”

There was some shuffling around in the cart. “I get to hug her too,” Dinky stated.

“Dinks, I don’t think that’s going to work,” Noi said.

“We’ll figure it out,” Vanessa said. There was more movement and weight shifting in the cart. “There we go.”

Cubitus chuckled. “Of course she fits.”

“Dinks, don’t give off too much love,” Gena said. “If Osima tries to take too much in, she might pass out again.”

“I’m doing better, but I’ll be sure to only take little bits in,” Osima said. “Besides, as much of a little bundle of care and concern as she seems to be, telling her not to give off love would be like telling her not to breathe.”

“That’s her,” Gena said. “She’s cuddly, cute, and delicious.”

Tuner gave an amused grunt. “I’m not sure how I feel about my daughter being calling ‘delicious,’ even if we call her ‘our little muffin’ from time to time.”

“Hold on in the back,” I warned, taking a turn. “I’ll try to keep things as even as possible, but there still might be some tilting.”

“So you’re the one who’s pulling us,” Osima said. “I take it you picked the short straw?”

“He volunteered,” Sassy said. “He even figured out where we could get the cart on such short notice.”

“My, my!” Osima said. “Handsome, fit, and quick on his hooves. Miss Coco, you’ve done very well for yourself.”

“Thank you,” Coco said, who smiled at me as I blushed.

“It’s been a team effort,” I said. “Rarity and Coco bundled you up, Thunderlane was our messenger, and Sassy helped me get the cart from Rose. Noi came with us from the market and then volunteered to be your support.”

“How did you two get mixed up in this?” Osima asked somepony.

“I was at the market with my dad, and we saw Goldie was upset about something,” Dinky told her. “While Dad was talking to her and Miss Rose about what was wrong, we saw Thunderlane and Goldie and Miss Rose waved him down to talk to them. While he was telling about what had happened, Mister Pin came with the cart and everypony else. When I found out what was going on, I wanted to help. Everypony else did too, so we all came along.”

“Then the gentlestallion with the brown mane must be your father,” Osima said.

“Time Tuner, ma’am, and I am,” Turner said.

“Your daughter’s a delight,” Osima said.

“She takes after her mother,” Turner said.

“I’m sure she takes after you too,” Osima said. “The mare with the lovely orange mane I got a glimpse of must be your sister.”

“That’s her,” Noi confirmed. “Her name’s Golden Harvest.”

“A fitting name,” Osima said. “Miss Harvest, just so you know, your sister is a brave and caring soul.”

“Thank you. I am quite proud of her.” Golden’s voice had some humor in it, as she added, “Even if she runs off without telling me where she’s going.”

“Sorry, Sis,” Dinky said.

“Miss Rose, I promise you I will repay you for your kindness in letting me be transported in your cart.”

Vanessa giggled. “Ozzy, you’re doing your Canterlot thing again.”

“I beg your pardon,” Osima said. “What do you mean by my ‘Canterlot thing’?”

“You’re thanking everypony and being super polite.”

Her comment struck me as curious. “I thought Canterlot ponies had a reputation for being snooty and obnoxious,” I said.

“I can think of one stallion who embodies all the egotistical, self centered, and rude stereotypes of Canterlotians,” Rarity said with venom. She made a noise as if attempting to check her emotions. “However, thankfully, he and his kind are in the minority,” she said in her usual tone. “I find most ponies from Canterlot to be quite endearing.”

“You Ponyville ponies aren’t half bad either,” Sassy said.

“We’re almost there, Osima,” Gena said. “We’ve got one more turn to take around an outcropping and we’re home.”

“Ozzy, you okay?” Vanessa asked.

“I’m worried,” Osima answered, sounding vulnerable.

“About what’s going to happen? Don’t be. We’re going to get you in a pod, give you some love, and you’re going to be feeling better in no time.”

“Not that. I meant about the reception I’m going to receive.”

“Don’t worry. When they took me in, they didn’t fuss at me. They didn’t ask questions about where we had been or where we had been staying. Nothing like that at all. They made sure I was okay, asked me what I needed and wanted to do, and I’m back working with the nymphs as if nothing happened.”

“I’m in a different category than you, though.”

“No you’re not,” Noi said. “You’re a pony in need. They’re going to treat you right.”

“You’re sure of that,” Osima said.

“I am,” Noi said with complete confidence.

As we rounded the turn, the entrance to Sanctuary came into view. Standing outside the tunnel entrance was Spiracle, Radius, and a duo of changelings I did not know. The duo stood close to a stretcher that was resting on the ground.

“Looks like Noi’s right,” Rose said. “They’re waiting on us with a stretcher, so I don’t think they're doing to toss you out into the cold.”

“We weren’t expecting a third of Ponyville to be with you when you came back,” Spiracle said to Thunderlane.

I stopped the wagon and began undoing the harness’ straps. “Give me a moment, and I’ll lift her out for you.”

“Let me help,” Coco said, and then began undoing the buckles further back on the harness.

“How bad is she?” Spiracle asked.

“I’m weak and my mind’s on the blurry side, but I’m doing better, thanks to everypony allowing me to get some love from them,” Osima said. “Thank you for your concern.”

“She’s awake!” Radius said. “That’s a good sign.”

“She’s worried that she’s going to be rejected,” Sassy said. “If you don’t want her, we’ll keep her.”

Spiracle chuckled. “That won’t be a problem.”

Radius walked to the side of the cart. “No one here is going to give her...” His words drifted off, and then he laughed. “Hello girls.”

“Hello Mister Radius,” Dinky greeted.

Coco stepped in front of me, drawing my full attention to her.

“Hold still for a second.” She lifted the harness off of me and over my head. “There we go.”

“Thank you.” I stepped out from between the cart shafts as the two changelings baring the stretcher approached. “If you two hold still for a moment, I’ll have her right out for you.”

“We appreciate it,” the leading changeling told me.

Dinky, Noi, and Vanessa clamored out of the cart.

“Be careful with her, please,” Dinky said.

“I’ll be as careful as I can,” I said. I noticed I needed to use more concentration to levitate Osima from the cart’s floorboards. By the time I placed her on the stretcher, I was having to use some effort to maneuver her where she needed to be.

“Thanks!” the lead changeling said.

“We’ve got her from here,” the rear changeling said.

Without further ado, the changelings turned the stretcher around and walked towards Sanctuary’s entrance.

“They told us you’re part of the Canterlot team,” the rear changeling said. “Is that true?”

Osima gave a quick laugh before replying, “Was part of, but yes.”

“Wow! I can’t believe I’m getting to help one of the Canterlot team members.”

“Focus on what you're doing or we’re going to drop her,” the lead changeling groused. “You’re out of step.”

“Sorry!” the rear changeling said and matched his steps with his partner.

“She’s going to be okay, right?” Dinky asked Spiracle.

“It looks like she’ll be fine,” he said. “We’ll still put her in a pod overnight to make sure she gets some rest and let her system get used to having love again.”

“Would you like to see us put her in the pod?” Radius asked all of us.

“Yes, please!” Dinky and Turner said at the same time.

Gena cut her eyes toward Cubitus, who had a grin on his face. “Getting a double helping again?”

Cubitus snorted. “Like you can say anything. You get nibbles from Dinky and her mom all the time.”

Spiracle shook his head. “Come on, you two. We can’t keep them waiting.”

Rarity looked apprehensive and took a slow, deep breath.

Thunderlane gave her a concerned look. “You okay?”

Rarity snapped out of her thoughts. “Sorry, darling. I was reflecting on some of my previous... experiences below ground.”

“I forgot about that.” Radius gave Rarity an apologetic smile. “Sorry for being so insensitive. You don’t have to come with us if you don’t want to.”

“You have nothing to apologize for.” Rarity composed herself and put on a polite smile. “Please forgive my hesitancy. The situation surrounding when I was in the pod bothered me far more than being put in the pod itself. I was also thinking about the time I was the ‘guest’ of a pack of some rather uncouth diamond dogs who tried to force me to help them mine for gems. Neither event pertains to what is going on today, and it would be boorish of me not to accept your invitation.”

“I can assure you no one is going to force you into a pod and there are no diamond dogs in Sanctuary,” Spiracle said.

Radius and Spiracle led us to a part of Sanctuary and a chamber I had never seen before. The design of the chamber was similar to the nursery’s. On each level of the amphitheater like room, there were shallow casserole dish shaped indentations carved into the floor. The changelings carrying Osima on the stretcher were talking with Coxa and Junebug as we stepped into the chamber. The nymphs were gathered close around Coxa and Junebug.

“We’re back,” Vanessa said. “I’m sorry about rushing off like that. I’m sure I upset the nymphs, as worked up as I was. Are they okay?”

Coxa stared at Vanessa for a moment and then laughed. “You tried giving love to Osima didn’t you?”

Vanessa nodded. “I did.”

“They are doing fine,” Coxa assured. “They were a little worried, but Junebug and I calmed them down without too much trouble.”

The nymphs studied Vanessa with curiosity.

“It’s me.” Vanessa looked down at herself and smiled. “I might be blue and have gems on my chest, but it’s still me.”

“Which spot is she going in?” the changeling at the front of the stretcher asked Coxa.

“This one,” Coxa said, pointing toward an indentation almost at the center of the room with a hoof. She turned and addressed the nymphs. “Everyone, the mare on the stretcher is Osima. She’s sick right now, but we’re going to help her feel better. I wanted you here to see how pods are made. Some of you might want to become weavers yourselves.” Coxa turned back to changelings with the stretcher. “Thank you both.”

“Our pleasure, ma’am,” the rear changeling said. He and his partner lowered the stretcher and placed Osima next to the indentation. “We’re always glad to assist in any way we can.”

The lead changeling smirked. “You’re laying it on thicker than usual today, Apis.”

Apis blushed. “I’m just glad we can help like this again.”

The lead changeling gave Apis a smirk. “That’s she’s one of the Canterlot team has nothing to do with it, right?”

“Ex member,” Osima reminded him. “I am nothing more than an asylum seeker now.”

“You’re more than that,” Vanessa said to Osima. She looked up at the lead changeling and scolded, “Bombyx, be nice.”

Bombyx held up his hooves. “Just joking around.”

“Osima is in good hooves,” Coxa told us. “Bombyx is one of the Hive’s best pod weavers,”

“Not anymore,” Bombyx said and puffed himself up. “Now, I’m Sanctuary’s best pod weaver.”

“Bombyx is also full of himself,” Vanessa said.

“That’s a little harsh. I have talent, but I know I can’t do what I do all by my lonesome.” Bombyx patted Apis on the shoulder with a hoof. “Without my buddy here, I wouldn’t hold the title I do now. Even I can’t weave masterpieces without excellent materials, and this guy spins the best.”

Apis blushed. “Thanks.”

“I didn’t realize we were going to be working with an audience.” Bombyx bowed as if on stage. “Welcome everyone! I guarantee you won’t be disa-” He stopped when he raised his head and his eyes went to Rarity and looked uneasy.

After a pause that went on for too long, Rarity said, “May I ask why you are staring at me like that?”

“You may, but I won’t answer,” Bombyx said.

“You said the wrong thing to the wrong pony,” Sassy told him. “You can either tell her, or she’s going to get it out of you through whatever means necessary.”

“We’ve met before, is what he means,” Apis said, sounding sheepish.

“I don’t recall meeting either of you,” Rarity said. Her ears perked up. “Oh! You must mean we’ve met when you were in pony forms.”

“Let’s go with that,” Bombyx said.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Judging by your tone, I don’t believe we should.”

Apis looked guilty and would not meet Rarity’s eyes. “We made your pod.”

“Made my pod?” Rarity looked confused. “What ever do you… Oh.” Her demeanor turned frosty. “I can see why that would be an uncomfortable topic to bring up.”

“Please don’t be mad at us!” Apis pleaded. “We were under orders, and it was an honor for us to get chosen for the job. To make a pod for an Element of Harmony was something we’d never forget. We put a lot of care into that pod.”

“Apis, shut it,” Bombyx said. “You’re digging us in deeper with her and her muscle.”

I glanced over at Thunderlane. While his expression was neutral, there was a tension about him that made it clear he was not happy.

“This stallion is much more than a fine physique,” Rarity said, with obvious delight in being able to do so. “This is Thunderlane, my fiance. He also is a valiant, strong, swift, and well-trained member of the Wonderbolts.”

Apis’ ears pinned back with fear. “We didn’t do anything to her besides put her in the pod! I swear!” he told Thunderlane.

“But, before all else, Thunderlane is a gentlestallion,” Rarity said, shifting to a sweet tone. “Since you appreciated who I am and took such good care of me during my… unanticipated stay at the Hive, I am sure he will forgive you.”

“Thank you!” Apis said with relief. “We really were lucky to make the pod for the Element of Generosity.”

“Apis, now’s a good time for you to stop while we’re ahead,” Bombyx said.

“Excuse me,” Vanessa said to Bombyx. “Would you mind if I contributed to the base? I can’t produce much and I haven’t had that much practice, but I’d like to do what I can to help.”

Bombyx’s expression softened. “Of course you can, sweetheart.”

“Anyone who wishes to is welcome to help,” Apis said.

“I’m drained, or I’d contribute too,” Radius said. “I’ll do my best to explain to our guests and the nymphs so you won’t have to pause.”

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Coxa said. “Everypony, please find a pod mold to sit in.”At her command, our group split up and sat in our chosen molds. “Thank you.” She told the nymphs, “Everyone, find places to sit where you can see.”

A few of the nymphs scrambled to one mold and piled into it together. A good number stayed put. Some of the nymphs who stayed with Coxa would look towards us ponies and then back to her as if asking permission to do something.

“Very good,” Coxa praised. “Thank you for asking if you could sit with somepony.” She looked at us ponies and said, “If you like to share your mold with a nymph or two, please raise your hooves.”

As soon as ponies’ hooves went into the air, the remaining nymphs hurried to their chosen ponies.

Frons rushed over and took a seat beside Coco. He gave her a hug and nuzzled her side.

“I’m glad to see you too,” Coco said and returned the hug with a foreleg.

“I believe we are ready to begin,” Coxa said, after all the nymphs had settled down.

With Bombyx directing their efforts, Coxa, Vanessa, Apis, and Spiracle set to work.

Each changeling produced a gel-like substance from their mouths and then used their magic to suspend the fluid in the air. Apis used his magic to extract strands of material from the suspended globes and then formed them into finer threads. Bombyx then guided the threads into the mold. The process was painstaking, requiring layer after layer of threads to be put down and shaped.

“They’re starting with the base,” Radius narrated for the rest of us. “The base is the thickest layer and acts as both a cushion for the occupant and as an anchor for the pod itself. Each changeling provides material for the pod, and the spinner then takes that material and then turns it into thread. The weaver then takes those threads, coats them with adhesive so the threads will bind, and puts them in place.”

“What a fascinating process,” Turner said.

“It’s stunning,” Junebug said, as she took notes. “We may be the first ponies to study the creation of a pod.”

“You most likely are,” Radius said. He moved closer to Junebug and sat at her side. “Once the base is done, we can put Osima on it. Then they can start the next steps.”

Petrova, who had been sitting on Junebug’s other side, got up and wiggled her way between Radius and Junebug so she was sitting and touching both of them.

Vanessa stepped back from the pod and wiped her mouth with the back of her hoof. “Sorry, that’s all I have.”

“You did great,” Radius said. “You’re still young for providing silk.”

Rarity’s ears perked up. “I believe I heard you mention the word silk,” she said. “Could you give us a little more detail about the silk being created?”

“I’d like to know more too,” Junebug said, flipping to another section of her notebook.

Dinky raised her hoof, “We’d like to too!”

“I know spinners and weavers can make different varieties of silk, but that’s about all I know,” Radius said. “Apis and Bombyx can tell you more than I could when they are through.”

“What she’s trying to find out, in a roundabout way, is if the silk can be used for clothes,” Sassy said.

“Oh.” Radius paused a moment and thought. “I would think so, but I’m not sure. Changelings rarely wear clothes. They can hinder our ability to change body types or become a hazard if we try to change into something bigger.”

Vanessa sat down beside Osima and stroked her shoulder with a hoof. “Just a bit longer, and they’ll have everything ready.”

Bombyx nodded toward Vanessa, and made a motion that they were ready for Osima to get on the base.

“Let me help,” Radius said. He hurried over and assisted Vanessa in getting Osima on her hooves to take the few steps she needed to get onto the base.

“Thank you both,” Osima said as she lay down. “I think I could have managed that on my own, but I’m not sure.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Vanessa said.

“I’ll do my best.” Osima put her head down. “It won’t take me long to fall asleep again, pod helping or not.”

Bombyx made a motion and the pod crafters shifted their positions to one side of the pod.

“Now, they are getting into the tricky parts of making a pod,” Radius told those of us observers. “While the base is solid and one piece, the rest of the pod will be sections of silk that will need to be folded onto each other and then glued together. The sections have to the be right length, be able to flex the right way, and still be strong enough to maintain the pod’s shape, so they require a touch to make.”

Bombyx’s careful efforts became delicate. Each new section of silk did not take as much time to form, but Bombyx checked each one’s length and pliability at least three times each. After he completed four of the new sections, the sections resembled a familiar shape.

“It looks like a flower,” Noi said.

“That’s an apt description,” Radius said. “Just like with a flower, the petals have to be the right size for them to close and layer together to protect what’s in the middle.” He pointed a hoof towards one of the ‘petals’ that had a slight variation in its shape. “See how these sections have a ridge in them? That’s so they can fit together with the sections underneath. Once they fit the sections together and add some adhesive, they will be all but impossible to pull apart.”

As if taking Radius’ words as a cue, the crafters folded the sections of the pod inward, layering each one on top of the other and gluing them together. They left one end of the pod open, making it look as if somepony had put a stein on its side and left the lid open.

“You okay?” Bombyx asked through the opening.

“I’m fine,” Osima answered, her voice muffled by the pod’s walls. “It’s quite comfy in here.”

“Good!” he said, sounding pleased. “We’re about to add the gel and seal the pod.”

“One moment, please.” Osima shifted her position in the pod. “Okay, I’m ready.”

Each of the crafters went to the opening of the pod and spit a glob of goo in. The contrast of the elegant work they had done up to that point and the unrefined addition of the goo struck me.

“That’s how they add the foamy stuff we were in?!” Rarity said.

“That’s it,” Radius answered. “I’ll admit, it’s not as refined a process as the rest of making a pod, but it’s needed for the pod to let emotions pass to or from the occupant.”

Bombyx closed the end of the pod and sealed it shut with the last of the floating adhesive spheres. “There we go! If stays in there until the morning, she’ll be back on her hooves in time for breakfast.”

“She can breathe in there?” Golden asked. “It looked to me you sealed it up pretty tight.”

“The upper sections must act like a cocoon’s membranes that allow oxygen in,” Junebug said. “In fact, the pod looks just like a cocoon.”

“It is a cocoon of sorts. But instead of the changeling inside changing into something new, the pod allows them to draw in love and other emotions more effectively,” Abis said. “The catalyst gel we add makes a connection between the changeling and the pod. The pod naturally attracts positive emotions and allows the changeling inside to absorb them.”

Noi bit her bottom lip and raised her hoof. “So when a pony is in a pod…?”

“It works the same way,” Apis said. He looked uneasy with Rarity’s eyes on him, but he explained, “The pony’s emotions flow into the pod, which lets changelings harvest the love they need.”

There was an awkward silence amount us ponies as an unvoiced question lingered in the air.

“I’m going to be the one who asks, so nopony else has to feel weird about it,” Thunderlane said. “Why didn’t Chrysalis have you capture ponies and keep them in pods to feed the Hive?”

Apis looked horrified. “We would never do such a thing!” he said. “Even Chrysalis knew that would be a horrible idea! Celestia would have declared war if we had done that!”

“Beyond that, it wouldn’t have been practical,” Bombyx said. “Each pod takes a good deal of reserves for us to make. If the pony doesn’t put out a lot of love, it’s a net loss for us.” He touched the pod with a hoof. “The pods don’t last long either. They become brittle and fall apart after about three days, even if we try to maintain them.”

“Why don’t we stop our discussion here,” Coxa said. “Our guests need to go to get home before dark. We need to get the nymphs back to the nursery, and Osima needs quiet so she can sleep.”

The nymphs must have picked up on what Coxa was saying and moved closer to the ponies beside them. The nymph sitting with Thunderlane nosed at his side and the edge of his wing to get him to lift it.

With a coltish smile, Thunderlane tucked the nymph under his wing and against his side. He acted innocent, when Coxa gave him a look that sent the message he was not being helpful.

“Would it help if we promised to come back tomorrow?” Dinky asked, as she hugged the nymph that held onto her. “You all will need more love since you made the pod, right?”

“While that’s a kind offer, you don’t have to worry about that. Our supplies are doing much better,” Spiracle said. “We can manage with what we have right now.”

“But we want to help and visit,” Noi said. She looked up at Golden and smiled. “Right, Sis?”

Golden nodded. “Right.”

“We could check in on Osima then too,” Dinky said.

“If your mother doesn’t ground both of us for running off without telling her and without bringing the groceries home in time for dinner.” Tuner patted his saddlebags, which were resting in front of him.

Dinky’s eyes widened. “I forgot about that.”

“I’m sure that if Coxa wrote you a note about what you were doing, you’d only get a slight scolding,” I joked.

“That might actually help,” Turner said, with no hint he was kidding.

“You’re serious?” Thunderlane asked, his ears angled in disbelief.

“Quite serious,” Tuner said. “Dinky and I both have been prohibited from partaking in certain activities for a couple of days on more than one occasion.”

“I can’t imagine Muffins being so put out she would resort to such measures,” Rarity said. “What in Equestria did you two do to get her to that point?”

“Experiments,” Dinky and Tuner said together, and then grinned with matching expressions.

Rarity giggled. “Ah, I see.”

“Come on everyone,” Vanessa said. “Miss Osima needs to rest, and we need to get back to the nursery. Give your ponies hugs for thanks, and then come over here, please.”

Most of the nymphs got up from their seats, some more reluctant than others, and gave hugs to those they were sitting with.

“We’ll see you this weekend,” Coco said to Frons, as she returned his hug.

“I tried little guy, but Miss Coxa outranks me.” Thunderlane lifted his wing, exposing the nymph curled up against his side. “I’ll be back tomorrow. Rumble and I are coming to visit. If I can convince her to join us, we’ll bring Rarity again too.”

The nymph peaked around Thunderlane’s barrel and looked at Rarity.

“I’ll be here too,” Rarity promised.

Seeming satisfied at Rarity’s response, the nymph gave Thunderlane a hug and then trotted towards Coxa.

“I’m going to miss you too,” Junebug said to Petrova, who was holding onto her. “I’ll be back in the morning. I’m going to come back with all my supplies and sketch Miss Osima in the pod.”

Petrova hid her face in the space between Junebug’s barrel and her foreleg.

“Petra, I know you want her to stay, but we can’t keep her here,” Radius told her. “She needs to go home to check on her insects and get some rest.”

Petrova got one more hug in, and then let go of Junebug.

“I know, little one,” Radius said, his ears falling a bit. “I miss her before she’s gone too.”

“You stop that,” Junebug said and bumped shoulders with Radius. “Petrova makes me feel guilty enough as it is.”

“Come on, Petra,” Vanessa said, and held her hoof to Petrova. “We’ve got to get back, so we’re not late for story time.”

Petrova went to Vanessa and took her hoof, looking a little less disheartened.

After we ponies stood up, my eyes went to the pod and lingered. I was surprised at the protective impulse that arose in me at the thought of leaving Osima alone in the room.

“Don’t worry,” Bombyx said. “She looks rough, but by morning, she’ll be feeling like a new mare.”

“I know we’re not responsible for her, but her seeking us out for help makes things...” I did not have the right words to express what I wanted to say.

“More personal,” Coco finished for me. “She’s come to our place for love twice. Knowing she came to us for help and everything Vanessa told us about how Osima looked out for her, it’s hard not to be concerned about her.”

“We will tell her you two are thinking about her when she gets out of the pod,” Apis said.

“Could we borrow somepony to show us the way out?” Golden asked Spiracle. “I have no clue how we got here.”

Radius’ hoof was half in the air when Bombyx snorted and said, “You won’t need a guide. Junebug knows Sanctuary about as well as us changelings.”

“She hasn’t been in this part of Sanctuary that many times,” Gena said. “She could still get lost.”

“Are you volunteering, then?” Bombyx said.

“Well… I could,” she glanced at Radius, whose hoof was still in the air.

“She and I can’t,” Cubitus said. “We have to help with the nymphs.”

“That’s right!” Gena perked up and grinned.

“You two need to run along if you’re going to catch up,” Spiracle said. “Radius and I will escort our guests to the entrance.”

Radius lowered his hoof, smiled, and nodded.

“Give your mom hugs for us, Dinks,” Gena said, and then hugged Dinky.

“I will,” Dinky said.

Gena let go of Dinky, who then hugged Cubitus while Gena hugged Tuner.

“Thank you for letting us watch you work,” Noi said to Apis and Bombyx.

“You’re welcome,” Apis said. “I hate Osima is sick, but I’m glad we could turn this into a somewhat positive experience.”

Gena whispered something to Dinky. After getting a smile and a nodded in response, she led Dinky to Apis. “Have you ever gotten a thank you hug from a pony?”

Apis shook his head.

“Would you like one?” Dinky said.

Apis looked thrilled and held out his forelegs. “I would love one.”

Dinky gave Apis an energetic hug. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Apis said. “You better give Bombyx a hug too, or he’ll get jealous.”

“Jealous? Me? Bah!” Bombyx’s stuck his nose in the air and crossed his forelegs across his chest. His act fell apart a second later, when he smiled and glanced at Dinky. “I wouldn’t mind the hug, though. After all that work, I could use a little recharge.”

Dinky walked over to Bombyx and gave him a hug. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said and gave her a hug back. He looked up to address the rest of us. “Thank you all for looking after Osima. She’d could have gotten herself into real trouble if it weren’t for you.”

“We’re glad to help,” Thunderlane said.

Our gathering broke up, and Spiracle lead us out of the chamber.

“I’m glad Lilly will make a full recovery so fast,” Rarity said. “Please don’t tell her I said this, Radius, but she looked horrible.”

“How much will making the pod tax your reserves?” Turner asked.

“Only a little,” Radius told him. “Now that we have access to a steady supply of love, we don’t have to worry about that kind of thing much anymore. I can’t tell you how much more relaxed Coxa and Vanessa are, now they know we can provide the love the nymphs need with no trouble.”

“How could you not love those little cuties?” Sassy said. “The one who sat with me was adorable and so sweet.”

Radius chuckled. “That’s not quite what I meant, but that’s been a huge positive. Thye have been getting the love they need and are becoming used to being around others from outside Sanctuary.”

“I think they could tell something serious was going on,” Noi said. “They’re usually more wild than that.”

“They needed comfort,” Junebug said. “Vanessa, rushing out and then Gena and Cubitus chasing after her was bad enough. Coxa and Spiracle having to discuss serious matters in front of them, and Radius and me being worried couldn’t have been easy on them.” She glanced back at the rest of us. “I’m so glad you all came. The nymphs needed to be fussed over and snuggled.”

Radius gave Junebug a loving look. He must have felt everypony’s eyes on him and realized what he was doing, because he suddenly put on a more neutral expression.

Rarity’s ears went up, and she smiled. “It seems to me you have endeared yourself to the changelings here, big and small.”

“We all appreciate her,” Spiracle said. “Junebug has helped us adults fill in the gaps of our practical knowledge in interacting with ponies and trade customs with Ponyville businesses more than anypony else. The nymphs adore her because they can sense she is curious about them and enjoys visiting them.”

We stepped out of Sanctuary’s entrance and into the cold afternoon air.

“Oooo!” Sassy said. “It is getting colder.”

“The weather team is scheduled to bring in the first snow of the year tomorrow,” Thunderlane told her. “It feels like we got everything primed for a good first snow.”

I walked toward the cart. “We were lucky then. Getting Osima here through the snow would have been a lot harder.”

“Pin, you’ve pulled the cart enough today,” Rose said, causing me to pause. “It’s my cart, so I’ll pull it.”

“Excuse me, but I’d like to pull the cart,” Radius said. “It’s the least I can do to pay you back for helping Osima.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Rose said. “It’s nice of you to offer, but you’d have to head home in the dark. As close as Sanctuary is to the Everfree Forest, that wouldn’t be safe.”

“I’ll be fine,” Radius assured. “I’m a changeling. Sneaking around and avoiding dangerous situations is what I was trained to do.”

“Even so, we don’t want to help one pony only to have another put themselves in danger,” Golden said.

Radius’ expression remained determined. “Thank you for your concern, but I feel honor bound to do this.”

“I have the feeling we’re not going to talk him out of it,” Thunderlane said.

Junebug asked Spiracle, “Would it be okay if he stayed at my place tonight?”

Radius looked shocked at the suggestion.

“That’s up to you and him,” Spiracle said, sounding like he was having to fight not to laugh. “I’m not his commanding officer anymore.”

Before Radius could protest, Junebug told him, “Radi, if you stay at my place tonight, nopony will have to worry about you getting home safe.” She blushed and smiled. “You would be doing me a favor. I wouldn’t be able to sleep, worrying about if you made it back safe.”

“I- I-” Radius stammered, his blush surpassing Junebug’s in brightness.

Dinky pranced in place in anticipation while whispering, “Say yes, say yes, say yes.”

“I would be happy to,” Radius told Junebug. He smiled, and his ears folded back with bashfulness. “Thank you.”

“Yes!” Dinky cheered in a soft voice.

“Dinks, calm down,” Noi said, even though she seemed excited too.

“What’s got you so excited, Dinks?” Golden Harvest asked

Dinks stopped her prancing and looked nervous. “Oh! Um… I’m glad Radius won’t have to walk in the cold and dark back here.”

Golden Harvest smirked and raised a skeptical eyebrow.

“I think it’s a relief to us all that Radius will have somewhere safe and warm to stay for the evening,” Rarity said. Radius’ ears snapped up in alarm as Rarity’s smile turned mischievous. “Of course, if we run into each other again tomorrow, I would love to know the details of your evening together.”

Junebug blushed. “I don’t think there’s going to be anything too exciting to report.” She glanced at Radius, who did a poor job of trying to look nonchalant.

Sassy giggled. “I’m not too sure about that. Seems somepony has something on his mind.”

“He sure does,” Rose said. “Come on, share with us,” she prodded Radius.

“I thought that Junebug and I could continue our conversation from earlier, if I stayed with her,” Radius said sounding evasive. “That’s all.”

“Your conversation about what?” Sassy prodded.

Radius held steadfast and did not offer any details.

“Be that way.” Sassy turned to Junebug. “What were you talking about?”

“I’m not sure what we were going to be talking about,” Junebug said. “We got interrupted by the news Osima was sick, before he and I could step away and talk.”

“He was trying to get you off on your own?” Rarity said, putting a dose of suggestion in her tone. She giggled, as Radius blushed and babbled a string of denials of what she was insinuating. “June, darling, I will want all the details when we talk tomorrow.”

Coco muffled a giggle behind her hoof. “Poor Radi.”