Twilight was lying on a couch and occasionally registering bits of morning news when she heard someone come into the room.

“Morning, Spike.”

“Mornin’, Twahlaht.”

“What?” She gathered all her will and pulled her head up to the armrest. “Apple Bloom?”

“Yeah.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Meh.”

“Do you know where Spike is?”

“Sleepin’.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

“Can Ah stay here for a bit?”

“Sure. If you’re going to eat something, have the strawberries in the fridge, they’re probably going to go bad soon.”

“‘Kay.”

Apple Bloom went back to the ground floor. “Twahlaht said Ah can stay.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah. Wait, you’re awake?”

“Yeah.”

“You were asleep a few minutes ago.”

“Yeah. I woke up.”

“Huh. Didn’t think of that.”

Spike was at the opposite end of the house when he heard the call.

“Spiiike!” Twilight said.

Spike went down a couple flights to summon himself. “Are—”

“Get the door and tell whoever it is that I’m busy.”

“What if it’s Rainbow Dash?”

“Busy.”

“What if it’s Celestia?”

“Get the fucking door!”

“But if—”

“Get the door!”

He went down and got the door. “Hi, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey, Spike.”

“Look, Twilight’s kinda busy, so....”

“That’s fine. When should I come back?”

“I don’t know, she didn’t say. Really, I think she’d rather not be bothered today.”

“I’ll take up somepony else’s living space, then.”

Octavia and Lyra were lying on their television couch, Lyra on top of her, having just released her from the week’s forced kiss.

“Are you starting to like it yet?”

“No....”

“When are you going to start?”

“You could at least warn me.”

“Then you might consent to it.”

“You know, you might’ve been right. Maybe this job isn’t for me.”

“Come on, give it a chance. You’ll start to like it at some point.”

“I don’t know, I am Octavia....”

“I know you. You’ll be fine.”

“I also know me, and I don’t agree.”

“At least give it a chance.”

Big Mac opened the door to his room. “Make it quick.”

“What’s up with you today?” Applejack said. “Just askin’ if you know where Apple Bloom is.”

“No.”

“Huh. Ah’m pretty sure she ain’t here....”

“Did you check the cabinet in the corner you always forget to check?”

“No. Ah’ll do that.”

Apple Bloom was lying on the floor in Twilight’s bedroom. So was Spike, but this was normal.

“So why are you here?” Spike said.

“Ah just need a li’l’ change ah scenery for a bit. Same three buildin’s, same three routes between ‘em, it gets a bit old.”

“That kind of makes it sound like you’re moving.”

“Didn’t mean to. So how you been?”

“Normal. You?”

“A bit bored with m’ lahfe, if Ah’m honest. Ah mean, Ah lahke mah friends and such, they ain’t the problem, but lahke... Ah have home, school, and one friend’s house, and it was all gettin’ a bit dull, so Ah decahded to come ‘ere. Just to mix it up.”

“That almost makes it sound like you want to move.”

“Ain’t what Ah meant. How you been?”

“Normal. You?”

“Well, recently Ah’ve been a bit bored with mah lahfe, if Ah’m honest. Ah love Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Shortbread, they certainly ain’t the problem, but it’s lahke... Ah have home, Ah have school, and then Sweetie Belle’s place, and it just seems like Ah’m doin’ the same three things every single week. Ah was sick of everything. So Ah thought, you know, this is a nahce place and Ah’ve... never given you a chance, Ah guess, even though Ah’ve always had a feelin’ we’d lahke each other. So Ah came here, just to do somethin’ different for once.”

“You’re coming close to making it sound like you want to move.”

“Ah didn’t mean for it to be interpreted that way. And you?”

“Normal. You?”

Having brushed her teeth and taken a shower but still feeling slightly sleepy, Apple Bloom was back in her room and about to turn on her computer. It was a normal Saturday morning. But a thought suddenly came to her, out of nowhere as far as she could tell: why was she about to tun on her computer? She had no idea what she planned to do with it. It was pure habit. She slowly moved her hoof away from the button and back to the floor, and wondered what she was going to do, then. What she couldn’t do was visit Sweetie Belle, because as much as she liked her, this was about breaking habits and she was sick of that place. Then she realised she was sick of this place too. And school was school. She was bored of everywhere. She ran through the possibilities, and it came to her: the treehouse. Unlike the others she knew, Twilight probably wouldn’t mind having her, plus she always felt that Spike deserved a chance. She had always had this feeling they would get along, and it was a good time to test it.

She went over there, and her first mental obstacle was the front door. She could knock or she could go straight in. She decided she would rather not bother Twilight, plus she just wanted to be surprising, so she went straight in, the door unlocked as always. She noticed Spike asleep on the floor, so with nothing else to do, she decided it was time to surprise Twilight. She went up the floors until she found her in the television room, watching news and looking almost fully awake.

“Hey, Spike.”

She tried her best to copy Spike’s voice, but it was so bad Twilight didn’t notice she was trying to do anything. “Mornin’, Twahlaht.”

After the conversation which confirmed that she wasn’t being kicked out, she went back down to wait for Spike to wake up. Maybe be in his face as he woke up and scare him a bit.

“Twahlaht said Ah can stay.”

“Cool.”

After a short conversation about—

“Yeah, I know what happened after that.”

“Oh. Sorry. So yeah, last naht Ah was—”

“Stop.”

“Okay.” Next Chapter: Chapter 69: Much to Undo Estimated time remaining: 12 Hours, 20 Minutes