The kitchen was alive and bustling, as Fluttershy sat next to Faerie Tail, watching with a warm smile as Belle and Sandow looked curiously at their favorite sitter's tummy. After three months, Faerie Tail was finally showing, enough for it to be noticeable yet there was still a long way to go. The doctors had assured Faerie Tail that her unusual pregnancy was finally starting to gain momentum in the development of her foal, and they were glad to tell her that the magic that had kept her from aging had finally worked its way out from her Thaumaturgical System.

Regardless, they had her under doctor's orders to maintain check-ups every two weeks, just to be sure everything was progressing smoothly.

Applejack and Thunderlane were making breakfast together, their relationship growing closer to the point that sometimes Thunderlane came over to cook with Applejack, and even brought Rumble along as he spoke with Apple Bloom about a book report Miss Cheerilee had assigned for their class. Macintosh was reading the paper at the head of the dining table while Granny Smith was knitting in her rocking chair nearby.

"G--good morning, everypony..." That voice caused them all to gasp and drop what they were doing, and they looked to see a nervous Twinken standing in the doorway, forcing a smile.

For a moment, Faerie Tail thought, Am-am I dreaming...?

Twinken chuckled nervously, "No, Mom, we're all awake here, and I'm here too."

"Well, g'mornin' t'you, stranger!" Applejack teased, "Yer usual? Apple-cinnamon pancakes an' a cheese omelette?"

"Er- Yeah, that'd be nice, AJ," Twinken nodded as he walked up to the table and took a seat next to his mom.

"Coming right up," Thunderlane immediately helped Applejack get started on Twinken's breakfast as they heard the chatter around the table get even more excited.

"Twinken! We've missed you," Apple Bloom scooted her chair over and threw her forelegs around the colt, who warmly returned the hug, "First opportunity we get, wer' makin' up on some crusadin'!"
"So, you doing okay, buddy?" Rumble asked kindly.

Twinken paused a moment, and took a deep breath, "I... I'm doing better, but... I don't think I'm completely over what happened. I don't know if I ever will be, to tell you the truth."

Then he felt a familiar hug that became just a tad unfamilair, as he felt how extra soft and plush it was, and saw it was his mom, giving him a loving embrace, as she gently assured, "We're all here for you, sweetheart... and so is your future baby brother or sister!"

Twinken gasped as Faerie Tail loosed her hug and then gently took Twinken's hoof and placed it upon her tummy. He found himself in awe. He'd seen pregnant mares before, and had got to feel Fluttershy's tummy when she'd been pregnant with the twins. But this time was different. The touch of his mother's belly was warm and soft, and when he concentrated, he felt not only a single heartbeat another as well.

Then, Twinken felt something else. Not with his hoof, but rather with his mind. There...

Inside of his mother, this new life was taking shape and form, as well as something more. Twinken was careful, doing nothing but observe but in a telepathic manner. The life inside of his mom's tummy... it was aware. It felt warm and snug, hearing but unable to see, much less understand. It was a faint, lacking in understanding or comprehension, but it was distinct enough for Twinken to be certain.

It was the baby's mind!

That realization brought invoked a shuddery gasp, that Twinken began to tear up and then look up at his mom, Faerie Tail smiling so deeply, so joyously, that neither needed to say a word, as they hugged so tenderly and nopony around them said a word, not wanting to spoil the moment.

...until a sleepy snort disrupted the moment anyway, "Su- wha? Ah wuz jus' restin' muh eyes... Oh! Twinken, honey, yer fin'lly out an' about, Ah see."

Twinken flinched at the sound of Granny Smith's voice, suddenly reminded of last night. It took a moment to brace himself before he looked to her. Why did this feel different? There she was, the same ol' Granny Smith, the only grandmother-figure he'd ever known in his life. She loved him, he knew that, embraced him as an Apple in all the ways that truly matter.

And yet... Twinken thought as he could not deny the suspicion worming around in his heart at the very sight of her. He had to find out more.

Clearing his throat and taking a breath, Twinken said, "Hello, Granny Smith. How are you?"

"Oh, can't rightly complain, sonny," Granny Smith shrugged as she ambled over to join them at the table, "but now it feels a whole lot better with you here, sweethawt."

"Order up!" Thunderlane placed Twinken's breakfast in front of him, "Fresh off the griddle, enjoy, little mane!"

Twinken eyed the apple cinnamon pancakes and cheese omelette, his red eyes burning with hunger, and he quickly said, "Thanks!" before digging in with gusto.

"Oh my, at least Twinken's still got his healthy appetite," Fluttershy teased and everyone laughed in a good-natured way.

Twinken focused on eating in order to avoid conversation, so as to think. How could he find out more about what he had learned from Granny Smith's dreams? While everyone else talked, he heard Applejack say, "Hey Mac, d'ya mind takin' th' Cakes' order o' apples t' Sugarcube Corner?"

The Cakes? Twinken slowed down in his eating, his ears perking.

"Sorry, AJ, Ah got some repairs on th' barn Ah've been meanin' to handle," Macintosh replied as he lowered his paper. "In fact, Ah oughta get to it before th' sun gets too high n' hot else th' day'll be plum misery."

"Alright, but Mr. & Mrs. Cake `r expectin' their apples t'day!" Applejack sighed wearily, "Ah've got mah own workload as well, so who can Ah-"

"I can do it, AJ!" Twinken raised his hoof, "I can take the apples to Sugarcube Corner! I'd like to get out anyway, so..."

"Well, thank ya kindly, Twinken," Applejack smiled appreciateively, "Once wer' done with brekky, Ah'll give you th' apples and note to take to th' Cakes. Jus' make sure ya get their signature an' th bits they're payin'."

Twinken nodded and continued to eat. This was perfect, he thought. Twinken couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. He knew he couldn't just ask Granny Smith about Bright Mac and Buttercup, but, having seen her dreams, he knew there was somepony else he could ask.

The back door to Sugarcube Corner opened, revealing tall and lanky Mr. Cake, who beamed to see his visitor, "Well, well! Long time, no see, stranger!"

"Hi, Mr. Cake," Twinken smiled politely while levitating the bag of apples in his red magic, "I got your order of apples, just need your signature and payment, please."

"Well, c'mon in and let's get that taken care of," Mr. Cake welcomed the colt in kindly, and gestured Twinken to the island-countertop where he placed the apples. "I believe that's... 52 Bits for that bushel of Sweet Apple Acres apples, and where's that pencil...?"

As Carrot Cake looked for said pencil, Twinken asked, "uh, Mr. Cake? Is your wife here?"

"Oh yeah, the missus has the register covered while I'm taking care of things in the kitchen. Aha!" Carrot Cake took a sticky note from the refrigerator and signed his name and the amount due. "I've got the payment prepared, but if ya need t' see Cup Cake, go on ahead. Just wait if she's handling a customer."

"Sure thing, Mr. Cake," Twinken nodded and he went to the front of the bakery, and was glad to see things were slow today, with only a few customers enjoying baked goods at some booth tables. Looking to the register, Twinken saw Mrs. Cake.

Despite his resolve, Twinken couldn't deny the hesitation. He cared about Mrs. Cake, seeing her as a sort of honorary aunt. Even before he'd met Midnight at the orphanage, Mrs. Cake had visited the orphanage to bring treats to cheer up all the little colts and fillies there, including Twinken himself. At one point when he was younger, he'd even hoped that Mrs. Cake and her husband might adopt him, but then Midnight came along and he found a family, the Apples and his own, along with all of his friends.

But now, here he was, about to ask Mrs. Cake a really personal question and bring up a complicated chapter of her past. He'd considered speaking with Burnt Oak, but Twinken didn't know the stallion personally, and Burnt Oak might not be as open with Twinken asking such questions about the Apples and Pears.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to steel himself, Twinken stepped closer and said, "Hi, Mrs. Cake."

Mrs. Cake startled just a bit and her eyes lit up to see her visitor, "Twinken! Hello, dear, it's been a while!"

"Yeah, it has," Twinken smiled when Mrs. Cake held out her forelegs, and he gladly went in for a hug. When they separated, he gazed up at her, and said, "Mrs. Cake? Would you... mind talking to me about something? It's... personal."

"Hold on..." Mrs. Cake looked around Sugarcube Corner and once she was satisfied nopony seemed to need anything and there didn't seem to be anymore customers coming, she shrugged and set up a 'Back in ten minutes' sign next to the register. "Go have a seat at table five and I'll prepare us a snack, okay?"

Twinken nodded and went to table five to wait. Although Mrs. Cake didn't keep him waiting long, the time had still livened up his anxiety a bit, though the snickerdoodles and lemonade Mrs. Cake brought helped a great deal.

"So then, dear, what's on your mind?" the maternal mare asked.

Gulping down his bite of snickerdoodle and washing it down with a swig of lemonade, Twinken took a deep breath, and began, "You knew AJ, Mac, and Bloom's parents, right? Bright Mac and... and Pear Butter."

Mrs. Cake was taken aback a little, surprised that Twinken knew her late friend's real name.

"You know I'm a dreamwalker, right?" Twinken asked, and when Mrs. Cake nodded, he explained, "Last night, I... well, I finally decided to dreamwalk again. When I did, I saw that Granny Smith seemed to be having a bad dream. Except, it wasn't a dream. It was memories..."

"I didn't know that dreamwalking meant you could see memories if somepony was dreaming them..." Mrs. Cake was mystified and unsure of how to respond to this. "...but I suppose it makes sense."

"I thought Granny Smith needed help, that's why I went into her dreams," Twinken assured, "but she wasn't having a bad dream, exactly, just dreaming memories, and... I saw how she was with Grand Pear and his daughter, Pear Butter. Or Buttercup, as Bright Mac called her."

"Hm, I haven't heard Pear Butter's real name in a long time," Mrs. Cake said solemnly before turning to look out the window, except Twinken could see that the mare wasn't really looking at anything in particular. Except perhaps seeing something in her memory. "Truly a sweet soul, she was... The love she shared with Bright Mac really was something special. If only her father had understood that..."

"Granny Smith didn't either," Twinken said and Mrs. Cake noticed a certain edge of contempt in the colt's voice and she looked at him, seeing Twinken's gaze downwards, and she saw a colt that seemed... disappointed. "Not until Pear Butter said that the Apples were her family too after Mayor Mare wedded her and Bright Mac."

"Oh my," Mrs. Cake remembered that as well. How Pear Butter cried so many tears when her father disowned her for marrying an Apple.

"I just don't understand, Mrs. Cake," Twinken stared into his lemonade, "How could Granny Smith and Grand Pear have been so- so... selfish? The Apples and Pears never made up either, and do AJ, Mac, and Bloom even know their mom's real name or that they're related to the Pear family?! What was the point of the Apples and Pears fighting so much, hating each other?"

"I'm afraid I can't really answer that, Twinken," Mrs. Cake replied apologetically, "Grown-up business... it can get so complicated by a lot of things. Pride, anger, jealousy, competition, lots of things can come between ponies and make them treat their fellow pony in ways that they shouldn't. Like how the three pony tribes used to be divided and at odds with each other. They're not anymore, but there are still some ponies, nowadays, among each of the tribes that hold onto those old grudges and bigotries.

"Why do they do it? What's worth putting others down just to build yourself up? So you can look down on them? Is it really worth it in the end? I just don't know. And it's not just ponies, but other creatures too! Griffons, dragons, zebras, like how Ponyville acted towards Zecora not all that long ago. I don't understand why everypony acted so back then, Zecora's such a nice and wise mare, it baffled me that even Pinkie thought she was some 'evil enchantress'. I'm sorry to say my hubby and I were away at the time when finally your brother and friends actually spoke with Zecora, but it still was something special to see Ponyville accept and welcome Zecora into our community."

"But then why didn't Granny Smith and Grand Pear do the same?! Their families are all ponies, so what's their excuse?" demanded Twinken.

"Well, before they left Ponyville, the Pears were the Apples' biggest rivals," Mrs. Cake explained, "in business and in farming. It takes a lot of work and money to run a business, especially a farm. So, of course the Apples and Pears had to compete with each other in making as much business as they could to keep their farms afloat, but things were different back then, and it just seemed Ponyville wasn't big enough for those two families and their farms.

"So, somewhere along the line, the competing turned into a full-blown rivalry and even a feud! And Granny Smith and Grand Pear were the most competitive of their families."

"Yeah, no kidding," Twinken recalled how competitive Granny Smith and Grand Pear were. How in each other's faces they were, the nasty verbal barbs they traded, it was ugly, but it also felt... juvenile, childish.

"Twinken, I don't know how to help you with this," Mrs. Cake placed a caring hoof over Twinken's in an assuring way, "but this is all in the past. Just like what happened with you and your friends is in the past. I know it's difficult, but the best thing to do is to move on."

She then raised her other hoof and gently tapped Twinken on the forehead, being mindful of his horn, "Don't let all those worries and concerns clutter up your upstairs, else they'll just distract and bother you so much you won't be able to see and think clearly. You understand, dearie?"

Sighing, Twinken replied, "I think so, Mrs. Cake. Thanks for the snack. I gotta get back."

"Anytime, dear, have a good day," Mrs. Cake bade him as Twinken went back into the kitchen to collect the payment and note from Mr. Cake, but Mrs. Cake couldn't help but suddenly worry.

After saying seeya-later to Mr. Cake Twinken started making his way back. Looking around, he took in Ponyville. Always alive with friends, neighbors, family, all smiling, saying their howdy-dos, how's-it-goings, and going about their lives. A lot of things happened in Ponyville, but no matter what everypony just seemed to move on.

Like Mrs. Cake said, Twinken though. But I can't do that... I have to find out more.

And it was then, reflecting on Mrs. Cake's words, that Twinken thought of where he might be able to find out more.

After returning to Sweet Apple Acres, Twinken delivered the money and note to Applejack, as he'd promised, and took some time to play with Belle and Sandow, since they were being foalsat by his mom, Faerie Tail. While he wanted to look for more answers to his questions, Twinken knew it would draw unwanted attention if he isolated himself yet again. Even so, he found himself enjoying it, playing with his honorary niece and nephew, and it made him wonder if this was what it would feel like when his little brother or sister was born, as he gazed at his mom and her pregnant belly every now and then, feeling his heart swell with love to see her happy.

After Faerie Tail took the twins to set them down for a nap, Twinken made his move... up the attic.

Mrs. Cake's words, despite advising him otherwise, had only spurred him, and he felt the attic might just be a place he could find the answers he was looking for.

The old and dusty room had a circular window shaded by some homemade curtains, which Twinken magicked open, casting the afternoon sunlight upon the stacks of boxes and old chests and other things long stored away up here. To be sure he wasn't disturbed Twinken placed a distractor spell upon the attic door in case anypony came looking for him, so his spell would divert their attention away from the attic.

Given what I'm searching for, Twinken thought as he began levitating the first box to himself, I can't afford to be found out too soon.

First, Twinken divided the boxes, setting aside the ones he found were full of things like holiday decorations, old knickknacks, tools, things that didn't really indicate they would hold any clues as to Twinken's query. The ones he was really interested in were boxes containing any kind of records, photo albums, even old newspapers. He found the original documents of the births of Bright Mac, Big Mac, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, but he was miffed to see that instead of her actual name of Pear Butter, his foster siblings' mother was listed as 'Buttercup'. He leafed through an older album, showing Granny Smith as throughout her youth, including pictures of her own parents and closer relatives. To his expectation, he saw no picture containing even a hint of Grand Pear or any of the Pear Family.

Then he found albums depicting Granny Smith as a mare with her husband. Then at different stages of her pregnancy, and then of the first time she held her newborn son, Bright Mac. The tearful joy in her eyes left Twinken conflicted though he was resolute. The pictures went on, showing Bright Mac as a baby, a toddler, a young colt, growing up to a strapping young stallion.

Only once did he see Buttercup as a filly, and that was when somepony seemed to catch her and Bright Mac near a patch of actual buttercup flowers.

Sighing that his search wasn't yielding any answers so far, Twinken put everything back the way he found them, not wanting anypony to suspect something. But as he did so, he noticed a box that had been buried rather deep and far into everything else. After organizing the others, Twinken levitated his box towards himself and started to open it with his hoof-

Twinken gasped as he pulled his hoof back as though he'd been burned. The thoughts he'd just heard, So jumbled, so... emotional, anguished! Granny Smith, please tell me you didn't...!

Twinken gulped, disturbed by what had just happened. He'd recognized the mental voice of Granny Smith, it'd matched how she'd sounded in her memory. Yet he'd never would have thought he could read thoughts from an object. Clearly, this box contained something Granny Smith had wanted to pack away and forget about it, her thoughts so intense when she did that she must have left some kind of... imprint? Echo? Something behind that the moment Twinken touched it, it was almost as though he were experiencing Granny Smiths' mental and emotional state of mind back at that moment.

How is that possible? Twinken wondered, Maybe I should ask Mistress about it later, but for now...

He'd come this far, he couldn't turn away now. Bracing in case it happened again, Twinken touched the box... and nothing happened. He sighed a little in relief, and opened it, finding inside an old shawl similar to the one Granny Smith wore now, a framed picture that showed Bright Mac, Big Mac, and Applejack fawning over Buttercup as they looked fondly at her round tummy, clearly pregnant with Apple Bloom. But it was the book inside that drew Twinken's attention. Lifting it, he saw it bore Granny Smith's apple pie cutie-mark and had a tiny little padlock to close it, and he immediately suspected, A diary...?

A feeling of suspense came over the colt. This was it! This was surely what he had been looking for, answers to illuminate the messy and awful revelations he had learned about Granny Smith and her past and how it affected her own grandchildren. But now, here he was, hesitating... because his answers were locked up inside a diary? It seemed silly, but was it? Twinken used to keep a journal himself, back in the orphanage, a way for him to process his thoughts and feelings with being an orphan. He understood the privacy and sanctuary a journal or diary offered. After meeting Midnight for the Sibling Revelry, his entries became fewer and farther in between... until finally he'd stopped, completely forgetting about his journal. In fact, after his formal adoption by Midnight, Twinken threw his journal away, because he'd no longer needed it.

Wouldn't it be hypocritical of him to read this diary? To violate that sanctity? Part of him thought so... but then he'd experienced that strange telepathic reading when he'd opened the box containing this diary. Granny Smith had thought something to emotionally and mentally tense it had left some kind of residual effect on the box that Twinken was able to perceive the moment he touched it. Had that not happened, had he not felt that state of mind Granny Smith had once been in, Twinken was no so sure he'd be able to do this.

No... I have to know. Even if it turns out to be... Twinken furrowed his brows and lit up his horn, and whispered, "Unlo Penock."

The little lock on the diary undid itself, and he removed it. Taking a seat, Twinken took a deep breath, and opened it.

Unlocking Charm - Unlo Penock (Unlock + Open)