Phew! Thanks for helping me get them so fresh and clean, Twilight.
No problem, happy to do it!
You probably can't wait to get back to your castle
and take your own bath, huh?
Aren't there more animals that need cleaning?
I think you and I are the only ones left,
and I can't wait to get the mud out of my mane.
Oh, no! Angel got dirty!
I'd better stay longer to help give him a bath too!
Thank you ever so much for staying
to give Angel a bath too, but, um...
I think he's dry.
Goodness! It's gotten late!
You really didn't have to stay all day...
not that we don't appreciate it, isn't that right?
I for one am exhausted.
Plus, I really need to rest up for that big pancake breakfast tomorrow.
And I'm sure you have to get the castle ready.
No! The castle's... fine!
But maybe I'd better see if Pinkie Pie needs help with the pancakes!
Um, Angel?
Mm, these are delicious, Pinkie Pie!
Thanks! 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? - Exactly!
Eventually we ran out of time
so we just went with every-berry-any-chip-surprise!
The surprise is I lost a measuring spoon in the batter.
Somepony's gonna get a very special pancake!
Up all night, huh? Is that why she's so, uh... out of it?
Um, I don't mean to sound unappreciative,
but has anypony noticed that Twilight has been
a little too helpful lately?
Now that you mention it, she was lendin' a hoof
at Sweet Apple Acres the other day, and stuck around 'til near midnight.
Dug up fifty-three plantin' holes when all I needed was ten.
She spent an entire afternoon rearranging
a single gem drawer at the boutique.
An entire afternoon!
You think that's weird?
She raced me, like, a hundred times the other day.
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?
Yeah. Who does that?
Somepony who's avoidin' somethin', that's who.
Soon as she wakes up, we're gonna find out what.
I win!
Huh?! I'm pancake!
I mean, awake...
Uh, Twilight? Is there somethin' you wanna tell us?
You know how much we appreciate all you do for us,
and we simply adore having you around... but...
we worry you might be... ahem...
avoiding something else?
Oh, has it been that obvious?
I've been... the thing is... I know it's silly,
but I... I've been avoiding... this place.
What in Equestria would you want to avoid such a gorgeous castle?
Yeah, this place has everything!
Big tall ceilings that make you feel tiny!
Shiny new floors that are cold to the touch! Brrr!
And it even has loooong empty hallways!
Okay, I get it.
The castle is amazing. But it just... It doesn't feel like home.
Oh, is that all?
Oh, you simply need to decorate, darling. Make this place 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 us do it for you.
We will make this the castle of your dreams,
while you go to the Ponyville spa
for some much needed rest and relaxation.
I'm saying this with love, but... have you looked in a mirror lately?
I've never seen you look this... mmmm...
Frazzled?
Yes! That is absolutely the word I was going to use.
Ooh, I guess I do need a little help.
And so does my castle.
And I just know you'll do a great job,
because nopony knows me better than you.
We'll make this place feel cozier than hot cider on a rainy day.
There's gonna be cider?!
Uh, I mean, let's decorate!
Oh no! Did I miss the pancakes?!
I sleep like a baby under that cold, cavernous ceiling.
Spike! I'm so glad you're here!
Really?
Yes! You're taking Twilight to the spa!
Great! I've been meaning to get my claws done!
Oh... You mean "now"... Hm...
Come on, y'all! We've got work to do!
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!
Wow girls... We did a great job together...
We sure did... something.
Fluttershy, I love that you brought so many animals.
Are these your trophies?
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...
earthy... what a lovely touch!
Are these cloaks vintage?
Nope, just old!
Unlike your sparkly window doohickeys which are...
why, they're just swell!
No-one said anything about my hidden confetti cannons!
Oh right, they're hidden !
Hey guys, how do my claws look- Sweet Celestia!
Oh, Spike! Are you and Twilight done already?
Don't worry, I ordered ther the super-deluxe mane blow-out!
She'll be a while. Man, this place looks terrible!
Phew!
Thank goodness somepony said something!
It's pretty bad, right?
This place looks like a mishmash of knicknacks.
Hmm, I suppose it is a little cluttered...
What are you guys talking about?! I think it looks super fun!
Whee!
Oh, oh no! Please don't do that!
If you all just take a deep breath and calm down-
No! That curtain is embroidered by hoof! Don't you move one more paw!
Everypony stop!!
Okay, now it's a mess.
What're we gonna do?!
I dunno!
But Twilight's blow-out won't take that long!
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!
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?
Anything for you, Rarity...
Okay, we all agree the castle is too cluttered, right?
So why doesn't everypony take one of their own decorations out,
and we'll see how it looks?
Spike, you're back! How do I look?
Great!
And more importantly, how does the castle look?
Great?
I can't wait to go home and see it!
Great! I mean, no!
I mean, uh, I'm not... quite ready to go yet!
Uh, why don't we have a massage?
I was really hoping to get a... this thingy!
The 'Extra-strength-hot-stone-deep-tissue massage'?
Yep!
I think I'll just have a traditional massage, but you go for it!
Did somepony order massages?
Yeah! Let's do this, little dragon!
Oh, I hate it when he does that.
Come with me, princess.
Come on, Rarity.
Everypony has taken somethin' out except you.
Ooh, I know! I simply can't decide.
How about this?
No, not that, anything but that!
How about these?
Oh, but those brighten up the whole room!
They're my favorite accent!
Then let's lose the curtains!
The room wouldn't need brightening if they weren't making it so dark!
Not them! They're my favorite too!
They can't all be your favorite!
Okay, I'm taking down the portrait. We all know what we look like!
Well, the room still looks a bit cluttered, doesn't it?
Perhaps I'll take down a poster or two, only to be helpful, of course!
Okay, everypony calm down!
I'm sure we can find a way to remove the clutter together.
You're absolutely right, dear.
Hey, those are my warming quilts!
Together!
Fluttershy, tell your birds to stop pecking at my balloons!
I guess they must not like being scared out
of their wits by exploding confetti cannons or something.
But we can't get rid of the cannons!
I don't remember where I hid them.
Allow me to help.
Oh no, I'll help you.
Not if I help you first!
Ahhhhh. Great suggestion, Spike. I feel totally relaxed.
Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow...
You want to hop on? Maybe I can get us to the castle faster.
Ow! I mean... how... nice is this day?
I was hoping we could take the scenic way back!
I don't know...
Come on. Walking is good for post-massage circulation.
Really? I've never heard that theory.
I really miss this place, Spike.
We had so many wonderful memories here.
We did, didn't we...
Oh, Spike, I'm so sorry!
Of course losing the Golden Oak Library was hard for you too!
I've got an idea!
Why don't we ask the girls to add some things
to make the castle feel more like your home as well?
Really?
Hop on!
Ow! What are you doing?
I, um, I just thought of what I want!
Oh, okay. What is it?
It's a... well, I've wanted... it's... I kind of mean a... a bed!
I thought you said you sleep like a baby in the castle.
Taaah, everypony knows babies are terrible sleepers!
Let's go!
There! Now nothing is cluttering the castle!
You're right.
There is literally nothing cluttering this castle.
What do we do now?
I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but it's almost sunset!
If we don't figure this out soon it's going to
look like we didn't lift a hoof to help her!
Why is this so hard?!
We're Twilight's best friends! This should be easy for us!
If anypony should be able to make her feel
comfortable in her new home, it's us.
If we can't do it...
Then Twilight would be stuck living
in a castle that makes her feel... sad!
Wow, Fluttershy! I didn't know you could be loud enough to echo!
What do we do, what do we do?!
If Twilight comes home now, she'll be like 'What'd you guys do?'
and we'll have to be like 'Nothing!'
and she'll be like ' I was counting on you!
Some friends you are!' and we'll be like''!
Calm down, Pinkie.
We just need to figure out what we did wrong so we can make it right.
Well I didn't do anything wrong!
I did exactly what I would do if this were my home!
But it's not your home. It's Twilight's home!
Where she keeps all her Rainbow Dash trophies?
Touché.
Maybe we're all a little guilty of making
ourselves feel at home instead of Twilight.
Come on, y'all.
We just need to think about Twilight.
What was it she'd loved about livin' in the Golden Oak Library?
Oh, everything!
The books, the smell of books, the joy she felt from organizing books...
Remember that time I crashed into all those books
attempting my sonic rainboom after you guys just cleaned up?
That was good times.
Yeah, for you, maybe.
Oh, and Applejack, remember when we were stuck having a sleepover there?
That turned out to be so much fun!
Remember the time it got blown up to smithereens?!
Wait, no, that was the worst.
We had a lot of good memories there, though.
That's what made the Golden Oak Library home.
Yeah...
That's it!
How's that one? Too soft? Too hard? Too lumpy?
Um...
Just right! I'll take it!
Thank goodness.
I thought you'd never find one you liked!
Let's find a salespony and get out of here.
Sounds good to meee-
I... nn, um, aheh... did you hear that?
Too squeaky! Better keep looking!
Maybe my plan won't work after all.
Of course it will, darling. I can see it!
You and Fluttershy stay here.
Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, you come with me! We're going shopping!
We'll meet back at the castle!
It's not the things that ya gather 'round
It's not how much you own
The things that hold the meaning in your life
Are the memories you've sown
So we make, so we make, so we make
This castle a home
So we make, so we make
This castle a home
So we make, so we make
This castle a home!
Hello? We're home!
Welcome home!
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.
Oh come on, it looks exactly the same!
Do you know how hard it was to keep her from coming back here?!
I never want to see another dust ruffle as long as I live!
Wait. Keep me from coming back here?
It took a teensy bit longer than we thought.
What really makes home feel like home isn't what it looks like,
it's the memories you make when you're there.
So we've made something that celebrates the memories
we've made with you since you moved to Ponyville!
The ornaments on the chandelier are reminders
of all the fun we've had together.
That one shows your party at the Golden Oak Library
welcoming you to Ponyville!
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.
And the best part is, it's made from the roots of the Golden Oak Library,
so you'll never forget where you came from!
It's exactly what the castle needed.
And I am ready to make new memories here.
Then let's start right now with a new memory cake!
Seven layer what's-that-flavor mystery surprise!
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- whoa!
What happened in here? Last I checked this place was empty!
I couldn't help myself! It was just begging for the personal touch!
Truth be told... I couldn't either.
Your kitchen might have some rustic farm decor, Twilight.
And there may or may not be some Daring Do posters up in your library.
And some stuffed animals in your bedroom.
What was that?!
One of Pinkie Pie's confetti cannons.
What? It's not my fault I hid them so well!