It was very easy to tell when Twilight was nervous. She had several tell-tale signs that she couldn’t hide if she tried. She would stop eating, she would giggle oddly and at inappropriate times, and, more than anything else, she would pace. Whether slightly anxious or dreading for the end-times, Twilight always found herself pacing. The severity of her nerves could easily be gauged by the distance of her passes, the length of her pauses before turning, and her overall volume for the duration. Awaiting a letter from her parents made Twilight the most nervous she had ever been.
It was a Tuesday that the couple would remember for years to come, one way or another. After several hours of workshopping, rereading, redrafting, and fine-tuning a letter that should have taken all of five minutes, Twilight was satisfied with her wording. It was polite, apologetic, with just the slightest hint of mystery. She knew her father wouldn’t be able to resist. She hoped that he would read the letter, pass it on to his wife and son, and the five would meet in Twilight’s castle for a meal prepared by Spike, where they would chat, sip wine, break the ice, and eventually come clean. It was a perfect plan.
Until Twilight recieved the letter stating that her parents had already sent for her, and that Shining Armor couldn’t make it. This changed a lot about the entire situation. For starters, having Shining there was the crux of the plan. Twilight needed a clear-headed middleman, especially if said middleman was biased in her favor. Everything Twilight knew told her to call off the dinner, to try again later. However, she knew that was impossible, so she had no other choice but to accept the ride from the chauffeur sent by her father, answering Rarity’s questions all the while.
“What exactly does your father do?” asked Rarity, too nervous to enjoy the luxury of the limousine in which they were riding. “I never knew he was so… financially privileged.”
“It’d be easier to list what he doesn’t do. Professor of about a million different branches of sciences and magics,” said Twilight, her eyes glued to her lap. “Former military researcher, former head of the guard. I think he played college hoofball for a bit, too. Could’ve gone pro, Shining says, but he joined the guard instead.” She looked up to confirm the intimidation in Rarity’s eyes. “So, yeah, he does alright for himself.”
“What should I call him? Would he be offended if I called him by name?” asked Rarity. “Is he the type of man to want me to call him ‘Dad’?”
“God, no! Just… Mr. Light will do,” Twilight answered, tapping her hoof nervously. So many things could go wrong tonight. There were so many variables, many of them not only outside of her control, but incalculable. This could either be the best day of her life or the absolute worst.
“And your mother?”
“What about her?” Now it was Twilight’s turn to ask the questions.
“What does she do? She must be as intellectual and powerful as your father, no?” asked Rarity. “Surely she must have something to keep him occupied, in terms of mental aptitude.”
“Not really. My mom is a stay at home housewife,” said Twilight. She glanced out the window, her stomach constricting when she realized just how close they were. “Thanks, by the way, for changing your outfit so suddenly.”
Rarity had originally wanted to wear a sexy single-sleeved black dress of her own creation to the dinner, but, after Twilight manic shoutings and pleads for her to reconsider, she finally decided on a longer, slightly more tasteful (and less fabulous, as Rarity was quick to point out) yellow sundress.
“Oh, it was nothing, dear,” said Rarity, running her hand down the pale yellow fabric thoughtfully. “Now that I’m blessed with the gift of hindsight, I realize that dress may be best suited for another occasion. I do wish you would’ve let me find something for you, though.”
Twilight was dressed as she normally was; A semi-formal purple sweater vest, a purple and pink school girl-like skirt, and a pair of black flats, contrasting starkly with Rarity’s gold six-inch heels.
“It’d be weird. I never dress as nicely as you do,” explained Twilight. “My dad would know something’s up.”
"We are approaching the estate now, Ms. Sparkle," said the driver.
“T-thank you,” said Twilight nervously. She took in a deep breath, then switched into “battle mode”, adopting the same mindset and attempts at calm as she did when battling the likes of Lord Tirek.
“When we get inside, do not try to hug my father or even shake his hand,” warned Twilight. “He hates physical contact. Just smile politely, say your name when he asks, and try to answer any questions. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Your worrying is starting to worry me,” said Rarity. “Please, calm down. For my sake, if not your own.” Twilight tried her best to steady her breathing and to shake off the nagging in her gut, but she still felt like everything was going to go horribly wrong.
Time shot past and, before they knew it, they had arrived at the massive estate of Night Light and Twilight Velvet. It was four stories tall, with easily over forty rooms. According to Twilight, the whole of the uppermost floor was used as a massive library. There were rooms for the help, in the form of maids, cooks, drivers, and groundskeepers, all of whom lived on the premises. Twilight promised that they’d probably never even see most of them.
They exited the limousine together, then proceeded into the house. With Twilight slightly ahead of her partner, the two were lead by a housekeeper down a long hallway decorated with many fine paintings, down into a large dining room. Besides the entrance, there was a door on the opposite end leading to the kitchen, several feet behind the head of the table. The table itself, exquisitely set with the finest of silver, sat right in the middle of the room, bathed with the glow and warmth from the fireplaces in the walls and the burning candlesticks that made up its centerpiece. The room was far from dim, but it had a certain ominousness to the lighting that made Twilight feel like her father had done it with the intention of intimidating her.
At the head of the table was Night Light, dressed in a dinner suit so exquisite and classy that Rarity found herself envious of whoever designed it. The blue unicorn had a look to his eye, shining disapproval and inevitable judgement outwards. To his right was his wife, the grey skinned, blue eyed mare Twilight Velvet. It was clear from whom Twilight Sparkle took her appearance, as she had a striking resemblance to her mother. Rarity had always heard that if you want a good look of your woman in the future, you look at her mother. A quick glance at Twilight Velvet eliminated any fears or complaints that Future Rarity could ever have.
“Hi, Daddy,” said Twilight nervously. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hello, dear, come, take a seat,” said Twilight Velvet. “Dinner should be ready quite shortly.”
“And then we all can have a nice, long chat,” said Night Light forebodingly. Rarity, deciding to abide by Twilight’s rules and keep her mouth shut, followed Twilight to the left side of the table. She took a seat next to her lover, her sat as far from her father as possible without it seeming as if she was trying to avoid him.
“So…” said Twilight awkwardly. “I-”
She couldn’t get another word out, because the kitchen doors burst open. A trio of stallions, a black skinned, white haired pegasus, a ginger unicorn, and a dark, red maned Earth pony, emerged from the kitchen, with warmed carts and covered plates in tow. Without a word to anyone, they went about laying out the food on the table, making quick work of the task. They finished as quickly as they started, and were on their way out when Twilight Velvet stopped them.
“Silver, would you be a dear and fetch us some wine?” asked Velvet.
“Of course, ma’am,” said the white haired pegasus, bowing slightly. “It’ll be right out.” The three left with their carts, leaving Night Light to uncover the plates and dishes by magic, revealing the delicious meals they hid. A few moments later, the pegasus known as Silver returned with two bottles of expensive fine wine, pouring a bit of the red liquid into four wine glasses. He placed a glass next to each diner’s plate, bowed again, then left into the kitchen.
“Now, Twilight, I am a little disappointed that you let this fallacious rumor persist for as long as you did,” said Night Light. “But, I suppose it is better late than never.”
“R-rumor?” asked Twilight.
“Oh, of course. You wouldn’t believe the shock your father and I had when we heard what those awful people are saying about you,” said Velvet. “Some of our staff had the audacity to perpetuate these false claims. We had to let them go, of course.”
“I imagine you came all this way just to tell us what we already knew?” asked Night Light. “Twilight, you need to start thinking about your image. People these days just love to talk, and you don’t want or need the mindless masses ruining your reputation and, by extension, ours, as your parents.”
“Wait, wait, hold on a second,” said Twilight. She should’ve known better than to let her dad start the conversation. Once he had control, it was hard to take it away. “What rumor are you talking about?”
“Oh, dear,” gasped Velvet. “She doesn’t know, Night.”
“Which explains her lack of concern for the issue,” nodded Night Light. “Which is a whole problem in of itself.” He turned his intimidating golden eyes onto Twilight, frowning slightly. “Self-awareness is very important, especially for someone of your stature. Things that you don’t know can hurt you.”
By this point, Twilight was a bit frustrated and Rarity was even more uncomfortable. She wasn’t sure what she expected in Twilight’s parents, but this wasn’t it. Twilight had a sort of down-to-earth, small town humility that you just didn’t see in her parents. Twilight had no delusions of grandeur nor the belief that she was any better than the next mare, while Night Light, at least, certainly seemed to think so. It was night and day, so much so that Rarity began to wonder if Twilight had ever even lived with her parents.
“Alright, I get it. I need to be more aware,” said Twilight. “But, since I’m not, would you mind humoring me? Just this once? What rumor?” Night Light sighed, shaking his head slightly as he did.
“There’s been a rumor going around,” said Night Light. “That you have been… pursuing a romantic relationship with some common Ponyville mare. Absolutely ridiculous, of course, but we can’t have that marring your image.”
“I beg your pardon?” said Rarity and Twilight together, though they both had slightly different tones. Rarity was slightly confused, and Twilight was bordering on anger.
“Of course, we did what we could to keep things a bit quieter than they’d be otherwise,” said Velvet.
“Told anyone who would listen, which is, to say, many,” said Night Light. “We told them that our daughter, our alicorn princess, wouldn’t be involved with anyone beneath her, least of all some no-name Ponyvillian.”
“Then who would you have me be involved with, hm?” asked Twilight. “Someone ‘on my level’? Like who? Royalty? I don’t know if you’re aware, Daddy, but the only other alicorns are either several thousand years my elder or married to my brother.”
“I thought you were interested in Flash,” said Velvet. At the name ‘Flash’, Twilight felt her control over her anger slip slightly.
“Why would you ever think that?” she asked. “What indication did I give that even insinuated that I wanted anything to do with Flash, romantic or otherwise? Besides, how is a ‘common Crystal Empire stallion’ any better than a ‘common Ponyville mare’?”
“You are joking, aren’t you?” asked Night, with such a tone that made it clear that he saw no humor in the situation. “In any case, it’s not about who Flash is now, it’s about who he might become with you. Now, he’s a mid-ranking guard, but if he were to find himself in a relationship with you? His father would be very happy, I know that for certain.”
Twilight wasn’t sure what offended her more: the fact that her dad seemed to genuinely care about Flash’s development more than her happiness or the idea that Flash’s dad had leaned on Night Light to push her towards his son. Rarity could see the anger building in Twilight, and desperately wanted to say something. Words failed her at the moment, and she could do little more than stare at her plate awkwardly.
“Daddy, I told you already,” said Twilight, trying her best to be firm. “I don’t want to date Flash. That’s all there is to it.”
“But he’s such a nice young man,” said Velvet. “I’m sure if you gave him a chance, you’d come to like him.”
“I don’t doubt it, but I’m not interested in him romantically,” said Twilight, crossing her arms. Her father’s frown only seemed to grow with time, and he was near-grimacing by this juncture.
“And why not, Twilight?” asked Night, his patience running thin.
“I’m not going to explain to you why I don’t find him attractive,” said Twilight. “It’s not really any of your business, and that’s not why we came.”
“Yes, why did you want to see us? We thought it was to diffuse the rumor, but, as you have proven that you had no knowledge of such rumors, it seems that this was merely coincidence. What prompted you to invite us over?”
“Well, Mr. Light, Twilight and myself had something we wanted to tell you,” said Rarity, speaking up for the first time. “We… Or, perhaps you’d rather hear it from her?” Twilight glared at her girlfriend, rolling her eyes in disbelief. Way to take one for the team, Rares.
“We all know that I was sick a few months ago,” said Twilight. “Rarity was in the quarantine with me, and she looked after me.”
“Yes, and I believe the reason you’re still with us today,” said Night. “Is because Flash Sentry delivered your medication on time. Isn’t that enough reason to entertain the idea of dating him?” Twilight clenched her fists tightly, digging her fingernails sharply into the soft flesh of her palms.
“Can we shut up about Flash for just a second?” asked Twilight. “I am eternally grateful for what he did, but that’s neither here nor there. It’s not enough to give me romantic feelings for him?”
“Why exactly not?”
“Because I don’t like boys!”
The room went dead silent after that. Rarity, obviously the least surprised in the room, still found herself slightly taken aback by Twilight’s sudden outburst. Her tiny gasp was nothing compared to the other reactions in the room. Twilight Velvet had dropped her glass of wine, splattering her lap with red. Night Light opened his mouth several times in an attempt at speech, never properly forming words. Twilight Sparkle shrunk down slightly, clearly embarrassed by her inadvertent boldness.
“That’s why we came here, Daddy,” said Twilight, significantly more calmly than before. “I’m gay, and I think it’s about time you knew that. I-”
“No,” said Night Light. Twilight tilted her head in absolute bamboozlement.
“I… What? I don’t understand what you mean,” said Twilight. “What do you mean ‘no’?”
“As simple as it sounds, daughter of mine. No, you are not. The fact that you entertained such an idea for even a second is ludicrous, and to delude yourself enough to bring it to my attention is absolutely unacceptable. You are not gay. You’re a nice young woman.”
“If I may so interject…” said Rarity, unable to hold her tongue any longer. “I don’t quite see why she can’t be both.”
“Because nice young women don’t sleep around with that sort of crowd,” said Night Light through clenched teeth.
“I assure you, Mr. Light, your daughter isn’t ‘sleeping around’. We are intending to wait,” said Rarity. She raised an eyebrow at Night Light, almost challenging him. “We’re saving ourselves for each other.”
This time, Rarity was as stunned by Night’s reaction as Twilight was. He slammed his fist on the table, standing up so quickly that he knocked over his chair in the process.
“You? You’re the Jezebel who’s corrupting my little girl?” asked Night. “It’s you! Are you the reason she left Canterlot? Abandoned her studies?”
Up to this point, Twilight had been fairly irate. At certain instances, she even found herself genuinely angry. Upon hearing that trio of implications, however, Twilight felt as if her mane was about to catch fire.
“Wait just a second!” demanded Twilight. “There are so many things wrong with that, I don’t even know where to start! First of all, how could it be her fault? I didn’t even know her.”
“You’ve proven yourself to be capable of withholding the truth,” chimed Velvet. “There’s no telling how long you’ve been going with this little game.”
“Second, how dare you imply that I ignored my studies! I’ve done all I could, and tried to do even more, to continue learning and reporting to Princess Celestia,” huffed Twi. “And what if she was the reason I left Canterlot, huh? It’s not like you guys visited me or invited me over, anyway.”
“It looks bad,” said Night Light simply. “As does this, mind you. It’s time you got over your rebellious fantasies and started seeing sense.”
“They’re not rebellious fantasies, Daddy! I’m gay, I’ve always been gay!”
“No, you haven’t! Stop saying that, you know it’s not true! We’ve raised you better than that.”
“What’s so terrible about me liking girls? Why are you attacking me like this?” asked Twilight. “If Shining Armor wanted to marry a man, you wouldn’t be giving him this sort of treatment.”
“Your brother is different, dear,” said Velvet, attempting to sound soft and gentle. She really just sounded like she was holding in a sneeze.
“Why is he different?!”
“Because he didn’t wait until he was 21 to try and make something out of himself!” bellowed Night Light. “He’s been making us proud since he could walk, and you’ve done nothing but trail. Of course it’s different. And I assure you, if Shining Armor somehow convinced himself that he was gay, he’d be receiving the same sort of lambast.”
Now that stung. Twilight, of course, had always admired her brother, and with admiration eventually comes envy. She harbored no bitterness for Shining Armor, but she certainly did notice how it took her changing species for her parents to clear their calendars for her. Yet, somehow, Shining Armor never seemed to have this problem.
“You keep implying that she’s not actually gay,” noted Rarity. “According to you, she’s just deluded. I promise you, that is not the case.”
“My daughter is not gay, and that’s final,” said Night Light, crossing his arms angrily. “She’s normal. She is a perfectly nice, perfectly normal girl.”
“Who just happens to like other perfectly nice, perfectly normal girls,” said Twilight. She could tell that she was wearing her dad down. “We’ve been so quick to jump at each other, we haven’t even properly introduced. Daddy, this is my girlfriend, Rarity.”
“Pleased to meet you, sir,” said Rarity, standing and extending her hand for a handshake. Night Light ignored it, and it soon retreated to fold up opposite its partner by Rarity’s side.
“We’ve been together for months. She’s the real reason I recovered,” said Twilight. “I’m in love with her, and I’d like to marry her someday. Can you learn to live with that?”
Night Light struggled again to find the proper words, this time sputtering madly for a second. Once he regained his composure, he pushed himself up onto his hooves.
“Get out,” he said, pointing at Rarity. “Get the hell out of my house! I will not have you sitting here, trying to destroy my daughter. I won’t let your kind ruin her image.”
“Daddy!”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Rarity, properly angry for the first time. “What exactly do you mean by ‘my kind’, hm? If I didn’t know any better, I’d wager you were going to say something disturbingly rude.”
For a spectacular few seconds, Rarity was very pleased with herself. The shock on Night Light’s face gave Rarity the horribly naive idea that she had said something to convince him. Unbeknownst to her, Night Light was never the type to abandon what he thought to be right. He hated being made to look foolish, most of all by a woman. Silently, he circled around his chair, slowly crossing the room until he was nose to nose with Rarity.
“Listen here, you two-bit harlot. You are not welcome here,” snarled Night. “I won’t have you here, trying to ruin my daughter. She is a princess, a goddess. You are nothing. And, unless you wish to be less than nothing, you will leave my home, crawl back under whatever manhole you emerged from, and never speak to my daughter again. Are we clear?”
Rarity was aghast. She stared, wide-eyed, at Night Light, trying to fight back the tears she felt welling up. She looked to Twilight, who was appropriately and intensely furious. The fury that painted her face was unlike that of which anyone had ever seen. Before she could do so much as open her mouth, Rarity broke down. She ran away, choking out sobs as she fought with her legs to carry herself out of the dining room. Twilight felt her heart snap. She had never seen Rarity so distraught. It would take some work to get her feeling better, and there would be time for that later.
Currently, however, it was time for her to give her dad a piece of her mind.
“How dare you! Do you have any idea how you just made her feel?!” shouted Twilight. “Do you even care?! You think you can talk to my friend, my girlfriend, like that?”
“She’s not your girlfriend,” said Night plainly. “You don’t really love her.”
“That’s not for you to decide! Hell, it’s not even for me to decide!” Twilight felt her horn lighting up, as if it was going to start firing spells of its own accord. “Mom! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I admit, I don’t agree with how Night delivered his message,” said Velvet. “But I do agree that you are confused.”
“I’m not confused, I’m-”
“A child, dear. You’re still young. You don’t know what love is.” Velvet got up, walked over to Twilight and, with audacity that Twilight wouldn’t be able to fathom for years to come, attempted to wrap her arms around her daughter.
“Don’t touch me,” snapped Twilight, pushing her mother away. “Do not speak to me like I’m a child. I’m older than you two were when you got together. You two make me sick! You’re supposed to love me and support me, and all you’ve done tonight is make me feel like dirt.”
“That wasn’t my intention,” said Night. “You must know that I have your best interests in mind. I’m your father.”
“No you’re not. If you can’t accept me or her, then you’re nothing,” said Twilight. “Now, if you excuse me, I have to go find her.”
Twilight turned for the door, just to be grabbed around the wrist by her father. She snapped, firing up her horn with the angriest magic she’d ever experienced. Her eyes began to glow bright white, and her very body crackled with intense, powerful fury. With an upwards flourish of her other hand, she sent an invisible wave towards her father, throwing him several feet in the air and pinning him in place over the table.
“Twilight Samantha Sparkle, lower your father this instant!” demanded Twilight Velvet. Twilight Sparkle waved her free hand to the right, pushing her mother similarly against the wall.
“This is the last time I hope to see you two. Don’t bother trying to contact me,” spat Twilight venomously. “I hope you’re happy. You were trying so hard to keep the image of your princess intact, but you end up losing your daughter.”
“Twilight, don’t talk like that,” said Night Light. “Lower me now, and we’ll talk about this. You can come back here, live with us, and we’ll work through this. We’ll find you a nice young man that you’ll like, someone you can properly love. We-”
Twilight released her spell, letting her father fall onto the dinner table. The impact knocked the wind out of him, pushing out whatever it is he intended to say.
“Bite me,” said Twilight, her eyes dimming back down to their usual violet.
She walked out of the room, making those the last words she said to her parents for a very long time. Several years later, when Rarity would ask about it, Twilight would say firmly that she had no regrets about that night, and she wouldn’t do it over if she could. Even that long after the fact, Twilight could recall vividly the hurt plastered on her love’s face. That face would be the subject of her dreams for days, and she knew that she would never be able to completely forgive the ones who made her feel like that. Rarity had quickly become the most important thing in Twilight’s life, and she’d be damned if she was going to let a little something like blood relations hurt her.
Twilight found Rarity just outside the grounds of the manor, the alabaster unicorn in a shocking state of disarray. Her eyes were puffy, baggy almost, and her mascara was leaving dark tracks down her face in conjuction with her tears. The very sight made Twilight tear up slightly.
Neither said anything to the other at first, until Twilight unfurled her wings and wrapped one softly around Rarity in the ultimate alicorn snuggle.
“I’m sorry,” said Rarity. “I didn’t want to come in between you like this.”
“I don’t know if it was obvious in there, but the two of us never really had the best of relationships,” said Twilight grimly. She pecked a tearful kiss on Rarity’s cheek. “It’s not your fault. Don’t blame yourself.”
“You should break up with me, right now,” said Rarity dejectedly. “I’m just some girl. You shouldn’t have to abandon your family just to appease me. That’s not fair.” Twilight felt as if someone had run a letter opener through her chest. Rarity’s voice wasn’t filled with just sorrow or regret. No, her voice was heavy with self-loathing, the very idea tearing Twilight apart.
“I’m not abandoning my family. You’re all the family I need,” said Twilight, pulling Rarity closer. “At least I know that you’ll always be there for me. I love you, Rarity. That’s what’s important, not Night Light or his wife. That’s what they are now; Twilight Velvet and Night Light, not Mom and Dad, understand? You’re more important than them.”
“I’m not,” insisted Rarity.
“Not your decision. Come on, babe. We have to catch the next train if we want to get home before it gets too late.”
Twilight interlaced her fingers with Rarity’s, squeezing the other woman’s hand gently, and the two went on their way. Rarity tried to apologize again, to truly put into words how much she regretted the night, how much she wished things could be different. She couldn’t find the words to properly convey how dreadful she felt. Instead, she quietly began to sob. Twilight gently hugged Rarity against her chest, stroking her mane gently.
“I know, baby. It’s okay, it’s not your fault,” promised Twilight. “We’ll get through this somehow.” Rarity wasn’t sure how that was true, but she knew it was. The tone of her lover’s voice conveyed such an air of control and knowing, it convinced Rarity not to question it.
Which was fortunate, because Twilight would have no ready answer if Rarity was to ask. This was one of those things that couldn’t be planned. They would get through it, simply because they had to. Twilight smirked darkly to herself. Had the situation been a bit different, she’d be going crazy at the not knowing. But, seeing as she had essentially just told her dad to screw off, she took a bit of solace in the future, and all of its mystery.
She may not know what tomorrow held, but it was almost definitely better than today.