"W-What?" Starlight couldn't quite believe her ears. Her daughter had apparently gone from having no interest whatsoever in her heritage to wanting to hear everything in minute detail, all in a heartbeat. "B-But I thought..."
"Not right away, but later." Sparkling shrugged her shoulders, as if she couldn't quite believe her own interest either. "I just thought it would be nice to find out a bit more about where I came from. T-That's okay, isn't it?"
"W-Why yes, of course it is, Spar... I-I mean, d-darl... um..." Starlight was almost ecstatic over Sparkling's apparent embracement of where she came from, but the unicorn didn't want to ruin it by constantly rehashing the name she hated. Or for that matter, using any other cloying terms of endearment this early in their relationship.
Sparkling seemed to pick up on this unease, and laid a reassuring hoof on Starlight's neck. "I just don't want to rush things, you know? Like you did with this silly name change, as I'm sure you'd agree if you really thought about it. I realise you feel it was your right to choose, but I was perfectly happy with my old one for years, and it would feel a bit odd to suddenly switch it now. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Droplets began gathering at the cusp of Starlight's eyelids, and she glanced down tearfully at her polite yet blunt filly. "I-I just wanted to call you by the name I had decided on from the day you were born. I-I've been waiting so long to see you again since you were ripped from my hooves, and to be able to finally think of you as my own. S-Sorry if that sounds selfish..."
Now it was Sparkling's turn to feel a bit of the ol' eye moisture dribbling down her nose. Darn it, now I feel like a heel. "N-No, it doesn't at all. I understand it must've been really hard for you to let me go, almost as difficult as it is for me to accept that I've been adopted all this time and a total stranger is my birth mother. But Daddy gave me that name himself, and whatever you might think about Spoiled's behaviour, he's been nothing but loving and supportive all along. So to take that one small thing away from him, kind of feels like you're trying to write out his contribution to my life. Which, if you knew how good he's been to me, I'm sure you'd see is a big mistake."
"U-Uh h-huh." Starlight went to wipe away the gathering fluid from around her cheeks, perhaps realising that the entrance to Sugarcube Corner wasn't the best place for a emotional meltdown. "M-Maybe I did let my dislike of your mother cloud my judgement somewhat, in deciding where to proportionate blame for the way you've been treated. If you tell me Mr Filthy has been a great father, who am I to disagree? I shall apologise to him the next chance I get for thinking otherwise. And, as for the name thing..."
Sparkling's ears pricked up as she heard these pertinent words. "Y-Yes?"
"I suppose we don't have to change it, if it means that means that much to you." Starlight gave a rueful smile at the-one-and-only Diamond Tiara's intense expression. "That's probably something else I should've consulted with you about first, including the whole 'grab you by the use of magic and force you into my lap' incident. You see, I was just desperate to hold you after so long, and after hearing such dreadful things about what'd gone on in my absence, I suppose my overprotectiveness got the best of me."
"Well yes, it was sort of disturbing, to be ponyhandled suddenly like that..." Diamond openly admitted with an obvious frown. "...But compared to being grounded for getting my cutie mark a few months too late, or shouted at all night for daring to finish in second place for a stupid Equestria Games pre-show competition, I'd say what you did was quite mild. I'm willing to put it behind me, if you are."
"R-Right." Starlight tried to remain calm through gritted teeth. Every new revelation about Spoiled's monstrous conduct while she was off ruling an isolated village made her want to resurrect Starswirl's old spell again to travel back in time and wring the lying mare's scrawny neck. "Shall we attempt to make a fresh start, then? You tell me when I'm doing the whole 'overbearing mother' thing, and in return I'll do all I can to tell you about where you came from. I-Including, about your real father, if you so wish. Deal?"
"Deal!" Diamond said without any further hesitation. As an honorary Rich, she liked to think she could spot a good transactional opportunity when she saw it. "Let's treat each other with respect, try not to get on each others' nerves, and hopefully by the end of it all Spoiled will be gone forever and life can be worth living again."
"Now, that's something I think we can both agree on." Starlight grinned happily as she and Diamond shook hooves to seal the arrangement. "And who knows, when this is over, the name 'Sparkling Glimmer' might just have grown on you..."
"Hey, things are going well for a change." Diamond arced a stray eyebrow at Starlight's little aside there. "Don't push it."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Come on, let's go back to the castle to see what Twilight has in store for us next. If it's any kind of overlong friendship lecture, feel free to hide behind me until it's finished. Unless you fancy having a mid-morning snooze." The mirthful unicorn laughed along with her equally amused filly companion, and the two of them finally left the cafe behind, already feeling much lighter than when they'd arrived. Despite, of course, all the fattening desserts they'd partaken of inside.
Their bulging bellies hadn't gone unnoticed by a few passers-by either, one of whom was a rather overweight filly with a knife and fork for a cutie symbol. "H-Huh? Why do you two look as though you've just had a four-course meal, when it's still only morning?"
"Oh, haven't you heard?" Starlight answered nonchalantly. "Mothers and daughters eat free today at Sugarcube Corner. If I were you though, I'd get there quick. After the feast we've just had, I'm not sure they'll be much left on the menu soon."
"Starlight!" Diamond chastised the loose-lipped unicorn with an irritated look. "I asked you before to keep the nature of our relationship private for now. There are actually things I'd rather wait to tell others about myself, before the rumour mill kicks into gear and everypony finds out."
The obese filly they were chatting to didn't seem too interested in Diamond's complicated parental situation though, instead homing in on the 'free food' angle.
"What?! Why haven't I hear about this before? There wasn't even any posters advertising this on the wall. Oh well, I'm not wasting another second longer if what you've told me is true. Hungry Horse! Blubber Butt! Come over here right now, and bring your moms! I just found out something very exciting, and I feel it's our duty to spread the word about it. Even if it does cost us more grub in the long run."
.......................................................
And so it was that Pinkie and the Cakes soon found themselves inundated with demanding customers, though perhaps not the kind they really wanted to see. A bunch of freeloaders is what they were, and as they proceeded to devour every single crumb in the joint, the usually jovial couple who ran the place stared at Pinkie with the intensity of a thousand daggers.
"Hey, it isn't my fault!" Pinkie protested vehemently to her peeved employers, as she zipped around at light speed to toss dozens of fresh muffins into wide open mouths with unerring accuracy. "It was Twilight's decision to treat Starlight and her daughter to a free meal, to bring them closer together. I was just the one who concocted that whole phoney baloney 'Mother And Filly Day' promotion, in order to avoid rousing suspicion. Brilliant, huh? They didn't suspect a thing! And now, we have more customers than ever! This really is the best of both worlds!"
"Pinkie, as usual, you're kind of missing the point." Mr Cake did his best to talk whilst trying to avoid being crushed by the stampede. "This is a business, and we're not making any bits today! Your little stunt has cost us a fortune! Didn't we tell you to run any random promotions by us first?"
"Yes dear, I am afraid that's true." Mrs Cake concurred with her husband's words, as she attempted in vain to make donuts quicker than the growing crowd could order them. "I'm afraid, as a one off measure, we're going to have to garnish your salary during the next few weeks to make up for the shortfall in profits."
Pinkie stopped her barrage of sweet treats temporarily to glance at the Cakes with an unreadable face, and for a moment the guilty couple thought maybe they'd been too hard on her.
"Garnish my celery?! Ooh, I'd love that! What other boring fruit and veg can we liven up, with frosting, topping and the works? Bananas? Tomatoes? Snozzberries? I have a very reliable contact I could get plenty of apples from, if you're interested. Trust me when I tell you she's very honest..."
Despite their current frustration with her latest shenanigans, the Cakes couldn't stay mad at the irascible funster for very long. They exchanged an affectionate eye-roll, before returning to the serving of customers with a renewed sense of purpose and levity.