Our birthday is coming up, little brother. The colts and I want you to come back to town for the weekend and party with us ‘till the cows come home. I know you prefer to keep to yourself over there in quiet little Ponyville, but I’m sick of hearing Mom and Dad wondering how you’re doing. You might as well just come over, tell them yourself over dinner, and hang with your brother and his angelic, non-troublesome friends.

Let me know as soon as you can whether you can spare some time. It’d be good to see you again. Getting into trouble just isn’t the same without my little brother there.

Hope to see you soon.

-- Tungsten Ring

P.S.: ‘Sharp Twirl’ says hi and hopes you can come by this weekend. She said she misses you.

*-----*-----*-----*-----*

You fold up the letter and place it back into its envelope with your magic, sighing with a knowing grin. Angelic, my back left hoof, you think. You like hanging out with me because you know I could pretty much weasel us out of trouble. You look up and adjust your glasses with the tiniest amount of magic as you approach your destination: Carousel Boutique.

You pause in front of the door and take a deep breath before knocking.

“Who is it?” Rarity calls out from behind the door in a singsong voice. You hear the door click before it swings away from you, revealing a stunning snow-white unicorn with an expertly curled purple mane. Her eyes widen and she smiles broadly, trotting up to you.

“Darling!” she calls out as she wraps her forelegs around you in a hug. “What brings you here? Do you need an alteration for one of your costumes?” She turns and trots towards the main room of her boutique.

You shake your head. “No, Rarity, the costumes are fine.” You sigh. “I just dropped by to tell you that I’ll be out of town this weekend."

“Oh? I heard from Pinkie Pie that it’s somepony’s birthday this weekend.”

You grin nervously. “Yeah, well, my twin brother sent me a letter, inviting me home for my, er…our birthday. I couldn’t be there last year, and I don’t want to disappoint this year.” You lower your head. “I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head casually. “It’s fine, my dear. Family is always important. Where does your family live?”

“Over in Manehattan,” you reply. “We lived in the quieter side of town.”

“Is that so?” she asks, raising an eyebrow. “I’ve heard that the ‘quieter’ side of Manehattan can get very rough if you’re not careful.”

“Oh, my brother, his friends and I got into a few little scuffles back in the day,” you say with a shrug. “We never did get into anything too serious. My brother always got me to smooth-talk us out of trouble.”

She tilts her head and gives you a small smile. “Did it work?”

You can’t help but feel a small wave of warmth rush up to your cheeks. “Well, my folks didn’t name me Silver Tongue for nothing.”

She winks. “So it would seem.” She looks back at the marequin, but not without catching something going on beneath her eyes, as if she’s planning or waiting for something.

“W-would you like to...”

She gently presses a hoof to your lips. “It’s a family affair, my dear. And from what you’ve told me, your brother and your old friends will take up your time this weekend.” She kisses you on the cheek. “It’s fine, darling. You go and have fun. I’ve got friends, too, you know?”

*-----*-----*-----*-----*

“Hey-hey! It’s Silver!”

“High-ho, Silver! It’s been way too long!”

Hoofbumps and heavy hugs abound as you and your brother’s old friends crowd around you. A hug from one of your friends nearly knocks your black fedora off your head. You use your magic to right it.

“Thanks, guys. It’s good to see you guys again.”

“We were wondering when you would show up. Marz was getting annoyed waiting for you.”

“Had to spend time with the folks,” you say. “Wasn’t able to see them last year.” You grin. "Besides, I had to look good."

“Yeah, well, the folks weren't the only ones missing you, little brother,” your brother says with a grin. Being older by a couple of minutes, though shorter in stature, you don’t mind being called ‘little’. “The girls missed you.”

“Ahh, I’m sure you guys had fun without me,” you say.

Your brother, a silver-grey stallion with a black mane with a silver stripe, grins knowingly. “Oh, no. Like I said in my letter, Sharp Twirl was hanging around us all night wondering where you were.” He waggles his eyebrows. “Candy Cane was also asking about you, too, you charmer.”

You blow a small raspberry as the eight of you walk down the empty Manehattan road. “You’d think that you’d have picked something up from me by now.” You look over your shades at your brother and raise an eyebrow.

“I’ve tried my hand at sweet-talking. Sultry Step just laughed and said to leave the talking to you.”

Marzipan (or Marz), a rust-red earth pony with a tan-colored mane, laughed out loud. “Ha-ha! You should have seen the look on his face! He looked like he was going to cry!”

The others laughed, while Tungsten made a mock sour face. “At least I tried, Marz. Let’s see you try to schmooze your way to Fiery Tango.”

Marz shakes his head. “Nope. I leave all the talking your brother. I prefer to have a pretty mare come to me if she wants my time.”

“You’ll have to wait a long time, then, Marz,” you say with a chuckle as you and your group reach a building with a bright pink neon sign over its double doors. The neon lights were shaped to outline a female earth pony, pegasus and unicorn. Underneath, the words ‘The Rough and Tumble’ burned into your vision.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Suave and his entourage,” the bouncer, named Brick Wall, says with a grin. “Haven’t seen you ‘round our neck of the woods in a while. Where ya been?”

“I work in Ponyville, now, Brick,” you say. “I drop by when I can.”

“Which isn’t too often, these days,” Tungsten cuts in. You shoot a glare his way and the bouncer laughs.

“Go on in, boys.” He picks up the velvet rope with his mouth and tilts his head to the doors. Leading your little group of friends, you turn your head towards them with a devilish grin.

“The night starts now.”