It was the next day and after a daytime to myself, I was resting in my house by early sunset, when I heard the sound of my door knocking.

"Yeah hold on, just a sec." I responded calmly as I got out of bed and walked over to the door to answer it and I saw Fluttershy.

"Evening Bond." Fluttershy asked. "Is this too late for you?"

"Evening  Fluttershy...not really." I replied.

"Oh that's good and I know we came back from our quest yesterday, but I need your help. Most of my animals have gotten really dirty during a mudstorm last night and I was wondering if you could help me clean them up."

"Hmm, we'll it has been a long while since I worked with your animals, sure I'll help."

"Oh thank you Bond, I'm sure it won't take long."

With that, I left my home and walked with Fluttershy to her cottage. When I got there, I saw most of her animals covered in mud, this'll take longer than not long, I thought. But I smiled and went to work with helping the cleaning. It took some time and the sun was about to start lowering by the time we were done and I was covered in mud in a few places.

Fluttershy smiled as she finished off cleaning her otter. "Phew!" she said, wiping a sweat from her mane. "Thanks for helping me get them so fresh and clean, Bond."

"No problem, happy to do it!" I replied happily.

"You probably can't wait to get back to your home and take your own bath, huh?"

"Well for me, it's a shower in the outhouse in my back garden, but you were close enough. Is that all the animals done?"

"I think you and I are the only ones left, and I can't wait to get the mud out of my mane."

I then noticed Angel behind me and thinking back to when I wanted some payback after he tried nibbling at my hooves when I first moved here years ago, I silently bucked him in the puddle of mud he was looking at and giggled on the inside.

"Oh, no! Angel got dirty!" I said sarcastically. "I'd better stay longer to help give him a bath too!"

"Oh you don't have to do that, I can clean him up on my own." she replied as she grabbed Angel and placed him in a wooden bucket filled with bubbles.

"Fair enough."

"Oh and I almost forgot, could you go and check on Twilight?"

"I could, but why?"

"She seems to be a bit...not herself, I wanna help, but I'm already tired..."

"It's not a problem, I'll go and see what's bothering her, see you next time."

"Thank you, see you soon."

I then gave Fluttershy a quick hug and left her cottage, flying all the way to Twilight's castle. When I got in, I heard nomming sounds coming from the dining room, I walked in and saw the other mares eating away with huge piles of pancakes with lots of added stuff.

"Woah!" I exclaimed. "Is this a party or something?"

"Oh hi Bond!" Pinkie greeted. "This is the big pancake delight I made. Wanna try one?"

"Pancakes, eh? Sure...if there's a spare one for me."

"There's one for you right here, my love." Rarity said as I walked over and sat by her.

"This looks...huge, but I'll certainly eat as much as I can."

I started at my pile before I began tucking into the food, I was enjoying it and all the other girls seemed to love it a lot.

"Mm, these are delicious, Pinkie Pie!" Applejack complimented.

"Thanks!" Pinkie replied. "Twilight spent all night helping me pick the flavor! I kept thinking we'd found the right one, but she insisted I make even more to try. And more. And more and more and more and more! It was like she never wanted to-"

"Leave?" I asked.

"Exactly! Eventually we ran out of time so we just went with every-berry-any-chip-surprise!" she then whispered to us. "The surprise is I lost a measuring spoon in the batter. Somepony's gonna get a very special pancake!"

"That's gonna make going to the bathroom a challenge, right?"

Rainbow and Pinkie laughed whilst Rarity playfully glared at me. "Not in front of our food, darling."

"Up all night, huh? Is that why she's so, uh...out of it?" Rainbow asked.

We then saw Twilight snoring away, she was looking completely dirty.

"Actually girls, I've been meaning to say." I said quietly. "I don't know the whole story but Fluttershy wanted me to asked if Twilight has been a little too helpful lately."

"Now that you mention it, she was lendin' a hoof at Sweet Apple Acres yesterday after we got back and stuck around 'til near midnight." Applejack replied, "Dug up fifty tree-plantin' holes when all I needed was ten."

"She spent an entire late afternoon rearranging a single gem drawer at the boutique." Rarity added. "An entire late afternoon!!"

"You think that's weird? She raced me, like, a hundred times the other day." Rainbow said. "And lost every time! She just kept goin'! Best out of ten, best out of twenty, best out of a hundred! I mean, I know hanging out with me is awesome, but it was like she'd rather keep losing than-"

"Leave?" I asked.

"Yeah. Who does that?"

Twilight then went face first into her pancake plate and didn't seem to wake up by it as she grabbed onto it like a pillow.

"Somepony who's avoidin' somethin', that's who." Applejack answered. "Soon as she wakes up, we're gonna find out what."

"Well I don't think her sleeping in the dining room will do her any good." I then used my magic to levitate Twilight gently. "I'll carry Twilight to her bedroom and help clear this mess up."

"Sounds good, sugarcube." Applejack. "Ah don't think ah can eat anymore of this."

"Me neither, I need to do a bit of fashion researching or I won't be able to fit in my dresses." Rarity added. "See you again my love."

"See you Rarity." I replied back before we kissed.

"I'll stay behind to help clean up..." Pinkie suggested as she began eating the remaining pancakes. "...that measuring spoon has gotta be in one of these pancakes somewhere."

I giggled as I took Twilight to her bedroom at the second floor of the castle. When she was laid down, she suddenly woke up.

"Huh? I'm awake..." Twilight said as she saw me.

"Uh, Twilight? Is there something you wanna tell me and the other girls?" I asked. "Cause they wanted to say know how much they appreciate all you do for them, and they simply adore having you around, but they're worried that you might be avoiding something else?"

"Oh, has it been that obvious?" Twilight replied. "I've been...the thing is...I know it's silly, but I...I've been avoiding...this place."

"But why would you want to avoid a cool castle like this? This place has everything! Big tall ceilings that make you feel tiny! Shiny new floors that are cold to the touch! And it even has loooong empty hallways!"

I then heard my voice echoed.

"Okay, I get it." I replied happily.

"The castle is amazing. But it just...it doesn't feel like home."

"Well if Rarity was here, she would say that you would need to decorate and make this space your own."

"It's just so daunting! Look how big it is! I-I don't even know where to start!"

"You can start by letting me and the other girls do it for you. We do our best to make this the castle of your dreams while you go to the Ponyville spa for some much needed rest and relaxation."

I paused for a moment and smiled. "Oh and no offence but have you looked in a mirror lately?"

Twilight then saw herself in a mirror next to her bed and sighed. "I do look a bit Frazzled...but you are right, Bond. I guess I do need a little help. And so does my castle. And I just know you and the girls will do a great job, because nopony knows me better than you six."

"That's the spirit, Twilight."

"Thanks Bond, I needed to hear that."

She then got off the bed and hugged me."

"It's alright, I think you should go to the spa right away."

"Okay."

Twilight and I walked from her bedroom and back to the dining room to see the girls and also Spike who just walked in.

"Oh, no! Did I miss the pancakes?!" he exclaimed. "I sleep like a baby under that cold, cavernous ceiling."

"Spike,  glad you're here." Rarity said.

"Really?"

"Yes! You're taking Twilight to the spa!"

"Great! I've been meaning to get my claws done!" he then ate a few pancakes before noticing the girls were looking at him. "Oh, you mean now."

He then grabbed a few more pancakes and left the dining room with Twilight, making thier way to the spa.

"Come on, y'all! We've got work to do!" Applejack exclaimed. "Ah'll go and get Fluttershy and we'll get started."

"Oh oh oh oh!" I said. " I have two words...song time!"

Then as if right on cue, music began to play as each of the girls and myself sung our parts.

Let's all work together

To make this castle shine

Once we add some sparkle

It'll feel, it'll feel, it'll feel...

It'll feel divine

Crates of apples an' bales o' hay

Just makes ya feel at home

Furry friends and some popinjays

So she won't be alone

And we'll make, and we'll make, and we'll make

This castle a home

There's nothing like balloons and confetti

To greet you every time you walk through the door

She'll need this and those

Posters of all my heroes

How could anypony awesome ever ask for more?

And we'll make, and we'll make, and we'll make

A home she'll adore

Bright curtains of flowing silk and lace

This picture of me winning a race

Party cannons to give her a surprise

Hoes and rakes and some more garden supplies

Getting hugs from this nice, big, friendly bear

Decorate with some gemstones bright and rare

More of this and that

Don't forget the party hats

How could anypony awesome ask for more than that?

Let's all work together

To show that we have shown

Princess Twilight Sparkle

How we make, how we make, how we make

This castle a home

How we make, how we make

This castle a home

How we make, how we make

This castle a home!

After a long while, we looked over at the work we made and we all had a different reaction.

"Wow, girls! We did a...great job...together..." Applejack commented half-heartily.

I knew straight away that was a full blown lie.

"We sure did... something." Rainbow said.

"Together." Pinkie added.

"All together." Rarity corrected.

"Fluttershy, I love that you brought so many animals." Rainbow said un convincingly.

"Are these your trophies?" Fluttershy asked.

"I prefer to think of them as everypony's trophies but with my name permanently etched onto them."

"My my, Applejack, bringing the outdoors inside, it's... earthy... What a lovely touch!" Rarity complimented with a hint of sarcasm. "Are these cloaks vintage?"

"Nope, just old!" Applejack replied. "Unlike your sparkly window doohickeys which are...why, they're just swell! "

"No one said anything about my hidden confetti cannons!" Pinkie intervened before she squeed. "Oh, right! They're hidden!"

"Girls...there's no easy to say this." I said, "We had one job and it seems that we all screwed up on this one."

But before the girls could reply, Spike had returned.

"Hey guys, how do my claws look-Sweet Celestia!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Spike! Are you and Twilight done already?" Rarity asked.

"Don't worry, I ordered her the super-deluxe mane blow-out! She'll be a while. Man, this place looks terrible!"

"Thank goodness somepony said something!" Fluttershy said.

"It's pretty bad, right?" Rainbow asked.

"This place looks like a mishmash of knickknacks." Applejack said.

"Hmm, I suppose it is a little cluttered." Rarity replied.

"What are you guys talking about? I think it looks super fun!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Suddenly, one of her hidden cannons went off and the animals which were frightened by the noise stampeded the whole place.

Seeing the damage that was happening, I had to do something and I could only think of one thing. "EVERYPONY STOP!!!" I shouted.

Suddenly, everything went silent, finally a moment to clam down thanks to my shouting.

"Okay, now it's a mess." Pinkie said.

"What're we gonna do?!" Rainbow asked.

"I dunno. But Twilight's blow-out won't take that long." Spike said. "If she was avoiding the castle before, she'll never set hoof in here now!"

"Come on, guys, we've gotta do something! Twilight's counting on us!"

"Spike, you've got to get back to that spa and stall her!" Rarity said. "Whatever you do, don't let her come home!"

"Like, forever? But we live here."

"Uh, yes, well, uh, maybe you could manage it 'til...sunset-ish?"

I looked at her and feeling displeased. "No Rarity, that's only going to make this problem worse."

"Okay, we all agree the castle is too cluttered, right?" Applejack asked. "So why doesn't everypony take one of their own decorations out and we'll see how it looks?"

The other girls replied happily, but I wasn't convinced.

"Oh sweet mother of Equestria." I said as I facehoofed in shame, "Girls, why do you have to exaggerate on every problem we face, such as wondering what Twilight would say when she see this?"

"We're not exaggerating, Bond." Fluttershy said. "It's just that Twilight does so much for us, that when we don't feel like we're doing much for her in return, we're letting her down."

"And I understand that...tell you what, I'll go to the spa and try and to buy you girls some time, whilst you all take down your decorations, it's the only way to get rid of the mess."

The others looked at each other before nodding.

"Alright darling, do whatever you can." Rarity replied before kissing me.

I then smiled and left the castle and walked over to the spa, when I got inside, I saw Twilight looking clean and with a somewhat new styled mane.

"Oh, hi Bond, how do I look?" she asked.

"Like a rock chick who's about to rock out." I replied.

"And more importantly, how does the castle look?"

"Yeah...about the castle...listen, we'll need to talk about that once we leave."

"Oh...okay, well I'm ready to go now."

"Alright."

As soon as we left the spa room and into the reception area, one of the spa twins, Aloe, came out with a form.

"Next customer." Aloe said. "Bulk Biceps, body massage?"

"YEAH!" Bulk replied. "Let's do this!"

I could only blink and shudder at the thought of him getting a massaged...that's the stuff of nightmares.

As we left and walked through the town, I cleared my throat and began to tell her. "Twilight, me and the girls all helped to try and make your castle look more better...well, let's just say that they have bitten off more than they could chew."

"Really? Is the castle bigger than I thought?" she asked.

"Not really, they all brought forward thier own ideas of how to improve the castle and when we done, it didn't exactly mix well....and to make matters worse, a hidden party cannon went off and the animals that were inside kind of made the place a big mess."

Twilight began to feel sadder at the news, I didn't want to make her feel that way, but it was better to be honest than to tell a lie.

"I'm really sorry Twilight, they tried so hard to help and now they're worried about what you'll say or do if you go back to find the place as one huge mess."

"It's alright Bond...I am so glad to have a wonderful close friend like you who's not afraid to tell me the truth, even if it may hurt me a little."

We then came across the burnt oak tree that was once Twilight's original home, the moment where it was destroyed by Tirek left a huge scar in her memory.

"I really miss this place." Twilight sighed. "Spike and I had so many wonderful memories here."

"And when there was a time, we all had some great memories here." I replied.

"It was...and losing the Golden Oak Library was hard for Spike, too." she paused as I gave her a comforting hug before she perked up slightly. "I've got an idea. Why don't we have the girls add some things to make the castle feel more like his home as well?"

"That's a great idea...maybe it's also time he had a bed of his own too and not just a basket."

"A bed? But he's way too short for a big bed."

"Hey, it ain't the size that matters, it's how you use it." I then winked.

Twilight laughed and I did as well, she's known me long enough that I can let out a few cheeky jokes now and then.

"Well, Spike having his own bed, I'll give that some thought, but right now, I wanna head back to the castle."

"Okay Twilight, I'm sure they'll be glad to see you back to your normal self."

We then walked back to the castle and Twilight opened the door to the main hallway.

"Hello? We're home!" Twilight called.

"Welcome home!" the five girls replied.

"Oh, I, uh...love what you've done with the place. You did such a good job of...preserving the integrity of the original design."

"Actually, it took a teensy bit longer than we thought." Rarity corrected.

"Really, how come?" I asked.

"We learnt that what really makes home feel like home isn't what it looks like. It's the memories you make when you're there." Applejack said.

"So Twilight, we've made something that celebrates the memories we've made with you since you moved to Ponyville."

We then walked into the Council room and looked around and I had to admit, it looked even better with the elements of Twilight's old home added in.

"The ornaments on the chandelier are reminders of all the fun we've had together." Fluttershy said.

"That one shows your party at the Golden Oak Library welcoming you to Ponyville!" Pinkie pointed.

"The time we shared donuts after the Grand Galloping Gala!"

"We were hoping that being able to look at your beautiful old memories would inspire you to make new ones." Rarity said.

"And the best part of it is, it's made from the roots of the Golden Oak Library, so you'll never forget where you came from." Applejack added.

Twilight smiled at the scene and so did I...though I felt slightly guilty on why I didn't come up with that before.

"It's exactly what the castle needed." Twilight said as she cried happy tears, "And I am ready to make new memories here."

We all then got into a close group hug, knowing that we accomplished a tough mission today.

"Then let's start right now with a new memory cake! Seven layer what's-that-flavor mystery surprise!" Pinkie exclaimed. "These might be chocolate chips or they might be super-spicy black beans!"

"Let's go to the dining room. It's a little sparse, but  at least there's a table and chairs." she paused as we walked into the dining room to see a lot changed. "Whoa! What happened in here? Last I checked, this place was empty!"

"Woah girls, you really went to town in this room." I said.

"I couldn't help myself! It was just begging for the personal touch!" Rarity replied.

"Truth be told... ah couldn't either." Applejack added. "Your kitchen might have some rustic farm decor, Twilight."

"And there may or may not be some Daring Do posters up in your library." Rainbow said.

"And some stuffed animals in your bedroom." Fluttershy whispered.

Then another cannon went off in another room.

"What was that?!" Twilight asked.

"One of Pinkie Pie's confetti cannons." Applejack sighed.

"What? It's not my fault I hid them so well!" Pinkie protested.

We then giggled together before I reminded myself of the time.

"Well girls, it's getting very late for all of us, it's time to go back to our homes and sleep." I said.

"It is getting quite late, darling." Rarity replied. "Goodnight girls."

The others responded as we left the castle together before walking to her home.

"You were right dear, it was much better for us to undo the damage we did, but I hope you forgive us for that last minute decoration."

"I do, my love and looking at it, you did a brilliant job with the dining room."

"Thank you, darling...have a goodnight...love you always."

"Some to you my fiance, I love you always too."

We then kissed passionately and hugged before I went back into my house and seeing that it was night time, I went straight to my bed. Looking back today, I was concerned for Twilight, but now that her oak tree memories are with her in the castle, she seems much more happier with the place. Home is where the heart is after all...and speaking of which, I wonder if I could find a bigger place to own for when Rarity and I move out and start a family. Next Chapter: Bloom & Gloom Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 31 Minutes