Twilight rubbed her eyes. Her throat was dry, and the faint light emitted from the many candles strained her vision badly enough to make her want to give up and retreat to the comforting warmth of her bed. But she couldn’t, not now. She had spent the last five hours researching wormholes and other such oddities, working on her promise to figure out a way for Jason to get back to Earth. She’d been putting this work off in lieu of other more pressing matters, but as the Princess of Friendship, she felt it her duty to not go back on her promises, no matter how large or small.

Now that he’s probably adopted a pony already, would he even want to go back to Earth? Twilight thought, rubbing her eyes. He has his own house, he has a job, and it finally seems like he’s settled in for the long haul. I know I told him that I’d work to find a way for him to get home, but all of these books are telling me that these portals are highly randomized, both in their duration and at the locations that they show up at. Who knows when, or even where, a portal to Earth would open?

Now rubbing her temples, Twilight groaned and pushed the book that lay before her away, pushing away the one that she’d been reading earlier. She crossed her forelegs, flicked her tail once, then collapsed upon her legs, letting her eyes close for a few moments. “Why does this have to be so hard?” she muttered to herself.

“Uh, I don’t know,” she heard Spike’s voice directly behind her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand up straight.

“Gah!” Her head whipped around, staring at Spike with bloodshot eyes as her heart raced in her chest. “You know I don’t like it when you sneak up on me, especially when I’m studying, Spike!”

Spike deadpanned. “Twilight, I knocked on the door twice, said your name three times, and I asked if you wanted some hot cocoa. When I heard you mumble something, I figured that you said yes, because who in their right mind says no to hot cocoa?” He held out one of two mugs in his claws, then smiled when Twilight gratefully took it from him with her magic. “So... whatcha studying? And is there anything I can do to help?” he asked in a hopeful tone.

“I’m afraid not, Spike.” Twilight took a sip from her mug, grabbed it from her magic, then let a weary smile slip on her face as she felt it warm her hooves. “I’ve been trying to figure out a way for Jason to get back to Earth, but... now that he’s chosen to adopt somepony, I’m starting to think that doing so might not be a good idea.”

“Hm...” Spike scratched his head. “I think I see what you’re getting at. He’s got a life here now, and when you find out how to get him home to his own planet, he’d be faced with a dilemma: give up his life here to go home, or stay here and start a family...” He licked his lips and shook his head. “That’d be one heck of a decision...”

“Mhm.” Twilight sipped from her mug, groaning in content as she felt it warm her up. “Thanks for making this, Spike. I sure needed it.” She flicked her tail and stood up for a moment, stretching her legs. “So... yeah. My books show me that the portal he came through are totally randomized. Finding one is nearly impossible, and I don’t know if it’d even send him back to his own planet, much less his own time! And now that he has adopted somepony, should I even keep trying?”

Spike took a large gulp from his mug. “Why don’t you let him decide?”

Twilight shrugged. “Yeah, I guess I could do that. If he really wanted to still go back to his own world, then I would have to spend the next several weeks trying to figure out how to make my own portal. We already know that we can travel back in time, but... what would we do about the pony he adopted? Sending them back to an orphanage...” Twilight shuddered. “No, we’d figure something else out. So... I guess talking to Jason first would be a good idea, but I think I already know his answer.”

“Sounds like a plan! So what’s keeping you up so late, huh? You’re usually in bed by now.”

“I know, I know... I just feel like the answer to his problem keeps eluding me, and no matter how much research I do... ugh.” Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes.

“So, I’m guessing you haven’t heard?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow at him. “He adopted a bat pony,” Spike said, draining the rest of his drink in one large gulp. He let loose a large belch.

“No, I haven’t heard anything about him adopting a bat pon—” Twilight nearly choked on her hot cocoa, though she managed to swallow most of it. “Wait, what did you just say?” She placed her mug on her desk and used her magic to lift Spike up in the air. She held him up so that they were staring eye-to-eye. “Did you say that he adopted a bat pony?! Not a pegasus, a unicorn, or an earth pony, but a bat pony?”

“Uh...” Spike raised an eyebrow and shrugged. “Yeah? I don’t see what the big deal is, Twilight. You gave him your approval to go adopt whoever he wanted, and he came back with a bat pony filly. She looked to be around Scootaloo’s age, too.”

“Where did you see this?” Twilight demanded. “Or did you just hear about it?”

“I saw them earlier today, Twilight. I was in the market buying some apples from Applejack to restock the kitchen for you when I saw Jason walking by. I wanted to say hi, but then I saw a filly I’ve never seen before trotting beside him! She had a dark green mane and a dark gray coat.”

Twilight’s eyebrows scrunched together. “But... were there any discernible markings or features on her?”

“Oh, you mean like leathery wings and those cute tufted ears? Yeah, she had those. I thought I saw a little fang, but there were too many ponies walking around for me to get a good look.”

“Um... any chance that you thought you saw a bat pony by Jason’s side?” Twilight asked with a wince.

“Nope!” Spike shook his head with a smile. “He totally adopted a bat pony.”

“...Of all the ponies he could have adopted, he had to choose a bat pony...” Twilight groaned and spun around, letting Spike fall onto her cushion.

“What’s the problem?” Spike crawled up onto Twilight’s desk and peered down at her books.

Twilight sighed. “I thought I was giving him permission to adopt one of Equestria’s three races, not a foreign one. As for how Jason managed to adopt a bat filly, I... I have no idea how he managed to do that. I don’t even know if that’s allowed! An entirely different species raising a bat filly is unheard of!”

“So... hang on a second.” Spike sat down and stared up at Twilight. “I heard them talking about how they were going to spend the rest of the day building furniture for her new room, so are you saying that Jason might have to give up the filly even though he just adopted her?”

Twilight stayed silent as she thought things through. “I... I hope not,” she muttered, glancing away from Spike.

“Can you imagine how it would be from her point of view?” Spike poked Twilight’s leg as she stared off into the distance, making her look back at him. “She’s probably spent most of her life in that orphanage, Twilight. I have no idea how it must feel to have ponies looking to adopt somepony pick someone other than you. She’s missed out on so much, and you and I both know that Jason can give her a better life than she could ever have at the orphanage.”

Spike sighed, then stood up and wrapped his little arms around Twilight. He nuzzled her soft neck as she felt Twilight wrap a hoof around his back, and after a few tender moments of silence, he asked, “Do you remember when I hatched from my egg?” He felt Twilight nod, so he continued speaking. “Remember the first week that we spent together, and how Celestia gave you that whole week off? Well, I don’t remember much, other than the pictures you have, but I remember feeling something I had never felt before: a parent’s love. I consider you my mom because you raised me, and even though we aren’t related by blood, I think of us as family.” He sniffled and wiped a tear from his right eye. “I... I know I don’t say this enough, Twilight, but I love you.” Spike tightened his grip around Twilight’s neck and buried his face into her neck, using her fur to wipe away his tears. “You’ve been a great mom.”

“Aww, I love you too, Spike,” Twilight cooed, rubbing his back with a hoof. “And yeah, that first week was a blast. I think I showered you with more love and affection than I ever gave Smarty Pants,” she said with a light giggle. She lowered her head to nuzzle Spike, but felt him push her away. She cocked her head to the side, wondering why he did that as her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I know you do, Twilight.” Spike’s voice grew hard and cold. “Now imagine this...” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, then looked Twilight straight in the eye. “How you would feel if I was ripped away from your care after a week because of some stupid technicality? Look at it from the filly’s point of view, too.”

Twilight’s ears flicked back and she wilted in her seat. “I... oh my gosh, I’d feel—” She tasted bile in the back of her mouth.

“Like crap, right?”

“Don’t talk like that; you know better,” Twilight snapped at Spike. “But... yeah. I’d feel depressed, but knowing both of them, I’d feel alone, and feeling alone is the worst.” Twilight nodded slowly, then bit her lip as she glanced away. “I see what you’re trying to say, Spike. Sometimes I forget you aren’t that adorable baby that followed me everywhere I went.” She pulled him into a hug, wrapping her wings around his back as she nuzzled him. “You’ve grown up so much since we moved from Canterlot.”

“Yeah, I know... If you want, we can snuggle like we used to when we lived back in Canterlot if it’ll make you feel better. As for Jason and his adopted... daughter? I guess that’s the correct term for her... anyways, as for them, if you went and talked with the princesses about this, I think that there’s a big chance that Jason could lose that filly he just adopted. They looked really happy together when I saw them earlier, too. So, I guess what I’m really trying to say is... could you live with yourself if you were the reason that they got separated?”

Twilight glanced away again as she let Spike go. “I... I don’t know...” she muttered. She looked back at Spike and gave him a warm smile. “I’ll have to talk with the princesses tomorrow and see what we can do about this filly, and then see if we can make a special exception for Jason. First thing tomorrow, though, I’m going to talk with him and let him know what’s going on. He needs to know that I’m on his side, and that I won’t let his newly-adopted daughter be taken away from him without a fight. I just need to find out what he knows about her, because if this bat filly was in an orphanage for most, if not all of her life, then something is really messed up in the system. And if there is, then that’s another thing I have to take care of.”

“Would you like for me to come along?” Spike asked. “I’m sure you would like the company!”

Twilight smiled at him, then used her magic to toss him onto her back. “Yes, Spike, I’d like that a lot. Now, let’s go get some sleep; I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”

“We’re gonna snuggle, right?” Spike asked hopefully.

Twilight giggled. “Yes, Spike... we’re gonna snuggle tonight.”