A Mother's Forgiveness
Twilie,
Sorry I won’t be able to go with you to see Mom this year. Cadence’s and my train was delayed, and won’t get there until Tuesday. I’m sorry, but you’ll have to go without me. I’ve included a few bits. Flowers are tricky to send through the mail, so could you please buy some flowers for her? Daisies. Weren’t daisies her favorite? Also, tell her I love her and am sorry to miss seeing her on mother’s day.
Love,
Shining Armor
P.S. Cadence wants me to thank you for the book you gave her. She won’t put it down!
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Twilight sighed. There was no way she was going to see her mother today. She couldn’t face her alone, nor could she handle the guilt. No matter how long ago it happened, her mother had never seemed to forgive her. Twilight always felt hostility directed towards her. After all, Twilight had been so close to her mother, shared everything with her. And then Twilight betrayed her.
Twilight read the letter again. The casual tone didn’t surprise her. Her brother and mother had never been that attached to each other. Not like her and Twilight.
She snorted. “At least I know her well enough to know that her favorite flowers are dandelions. She’s allergic to daisies!”
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“Come, my child,” her mother called to Twilight, “help me plant these carrots!”
Twilight approached her. Her mother’s cream-colored mane tumbled down her flank in loose curls. Her chocolate-colored body was drenched in sweat from the August heat. Twilight knelt down and began digging haphazardly.
Her mother chuckled. “Small holes, darling, all in a line. Like this.” She demonstrated with her hoof.
After planting the carrots, Twilight stared at the weed-covered field. “Mommy,” she asked, “Why don’t you take the dandelions out?”
“Because, sweetheart, dandelions are my favorite flowers.”
“But why? They’re just ugly weeds! And they grow everywhere! They’re not special, like roses or lilies.”
“A dandelion is kind of like a pony,” her mother explained, “each pony may seem to be mundane, or to be common, but if you really take the time to look closely at them, you’ll see how beautiful and unique each one is.”
Twilight looked at her mother’s cutie mark, a tiny plant just beginning to unfurl. At first glance, her mother seemed to be just another farmer pony, but when ponies began to know her, they realized what a kind and loving mare she was.
“Plus,” her mother added, “what other kind of flower lets you make a wish?” She plucked a dandelion with her teeth and snorted.
Twilight giggled gleefully as the dandelion seeds floated all around her. “My turn!” she yelled excitedly. Using her budding magic skills, she shakily lifted a dandelion close to her mouth. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and blew the seeds. They traveled upwards to join her mother’s, then gently floated away.
“What did you wish for, little one?” Her mother whispered, lying down in the freshly turned earth.
Twilight snuggled close to her mother. “That we can always be together.”
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Where did those peaceful times go? As time went on, they began to fight more and more over everything: what to have for dinner, how Twilight should dress, how Twilight should spend her time. Her mother always insisted that Twilight needed to spend time with her friends, but Twilight argued that she could be just fine without friends.
Her mother had been right, of course. Since making friends in Ponyville, a whole new world had opened up to her.
Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by Spike, who had just come upstairs to where Twilight was sitting. He had a picnic basket packed with some of Twilight’s favorite foods.
“Tell your mom I said hi,” Spike instructed as he handed Twilight the basket.
Twilight shook her head and handed it back. “I can’t go.”
“What? Why not?”
Twilight sighed “Shining Armor can’t make it, and you know I can’t go alone!”
Spike spoke gentler to her than usual. “But Twilight, you’ve learned so much since moving here. Maybe when she realizes how much you’ve changed, she’ll forgive you.”
Twilight bit her lip. “But what I did was unforgivable, and I’m not sure I’ll even have the nerve to talk to her when I get there!”
Spike thought for a moment. “Write her a letter then.” He handed her the basket again. “Besides, not going would make it even worse.”
Reassured slightly, she took the basket and offered Spike a small smile. “See you tonight, then?”
Spike hugged her tightly. “Good luck, Twilight.”
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“…I just want you to be happy!” Her mother pleaded.
“Then leave me the buck alone!” Twilight shouted back. She tried to run out of the room, but her mother blocked her.
“Twilight, I care about you, and want the best for you. I don’t want to see you wasting all your time on those books. Please, you need to make some friends. It’s not healthy to spend so much time alone!”
Twilight glared at her mother. “I don’t want you to meddle in my life anymore! If I don’t want friends, you can’t force me to make them. Now, get out of my way!”
Her mother’s eyes began to tear. “I love you-”
“Yeah? Well I don’t!” She shoved past her mother out of the room.
Her mother stood there for a moment, shocked, then flopped down at Twilight’s desk, sobbing. Needing comfort food, she grabbed a sandwich on Twilight’s desk.
Twilight turned back to see her mother about to eat the sandwich Twilight had left there. A daisy sandwich. Twilight was about to run back to her room and stop her mother. She was so severely allergic to daisies that they could kill her! But out of anger, Twilight said nothing, and stalked away as her mother bit into the deadly meal.
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“H-hi, mom,” Twilight began. Hostile silence filled the air. “I, uh, I wrote you a letter…I’m going to read it for you.”
She cleared her throat nervously, and began. “Dear mother, I’m so sorry about that night. I’m sorry I said I didn’t love you. I do, and always have. I was just so mad, it slipped out. And I’m so sorry I didn’t stop you from eating those daisies. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I did. I’m not sure if you can ever forgive me, but I’ll try to make it up to you, even if it takes the rest of my life.”
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Twilight sobbed on her bed.
“It’s okay, Twilie. It’s not your fault,” Shining armor tried to reassure her.
But it was her fault. They both knew it.
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“Over the past year, I’ve realized that you were right. I did need friends. I now have lots of them, and they have helped me so much to grow and develop. I realize that my life had been empty before, and that I was trying to replace companionship with knowledge. I never could see this, though. Only you knew what I needed.”
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The mother’s day after that horrible night, Shining Armor chatted happily to their mother. Twilight sat far from them, glumly chewing oats. She knew she wasn’t wanted.
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“I’ve spent a lot of time with Princess Celestia, and she’s tried to fill the gap you left. But she can’t. No one except you could fill it. You taught me how to appreciate everypony, no matter how common they seemed. You could find the good in them. You were loved and respected by everypony, but especially by me. No matter what I’ve said, you were my hero, and since you left my life, nothing has been right. That’s why I need your forgiveness. So I can live and love to the fullest extent. Like you.
Your loving daughter, Twilight Sparkle.”
She took a deep breath, rolled up the letter, tied it off, and placed it on her mother’s grave. She stood there for a moment, unsure.
“Well?” she whispered anxiously.
A gentle breeze caressed her. “Mom?” she called softly.
She spied a dandelion, and used her magic to bring it up to her mouth. She closed her eyes, made her wish, and blew the seeds. She opened her eyes, and gasped.
The sky was filled with seeds floating up towards the sun, and not just from her flower. The wind had picked up, causing every dandelion to release its seeds. They floated upwards, swaying and swirling in the wind.
Her seeds drifted up to meet the others, and then gently floated away. The experience took her back to that time when she helped her mother plant carrots, so many years ago.
The wind even seemed to whisper, “What did you wish for?”
Twilight smiled. “That we can always be together, Mom.”
In that moment, she knew she was forgiven.