Twilight Velvet watched her son levitate his teacup for a sip. She'd have to get the timing just right. Once he'd begun tipping the cup to drain into his mouth... now!
"So Shining," she asked, "have you and Cadance set a date for the wedding yet?"
Shining Armor's eyes went wide and he began coughing violently. "Mom!" he finally managed. "It's not like that at all! It's--"
"Mom? Dad?" Twilight Sparkle's voice called from the front door. "Are you home?"
"Twilight!" Velvet lept to her hooves and rushed to meet her daughter at the door. Teasing her son could come later; for now, she had far more important motherly duties to attend to. "Oh Twilight, I was so worried!" she said as she engulfed her daughter in a crushing hug. "When I heard that you'd fought Nightmare Moon I just about died! Twilight, promise me you'll never do anything that dangerous ever again."
Twilight awkwardly returned the hug. "Don't worry, mom. This was a once in a thousand year event. I can't imagine that I could ever possibly be in a situation like that again."
"I'm sure that we're all glad to hear that," Night Light said from the stairs as Velvet finally released her daughter from the hug.
"For sure," Shining agreed. "Twiley, we're all so incredibly proud of you, but please, don't ever scare us like that again."
Velvet beamed at Twilight as she blushed at her brother's praise. "Well," Velvet said, "it's all over. You're safe here at home now."
Twilight's body stiffened, and her ears drooped as she looked down at her hooves. "Actually, that's what I've come here to talk about. Can we all sit down? I have something I need to tell all of you."
Velvet's heart lept into her throat. "Oh, sweet Celestia. Did something happen to you during the battle? Are there going to be side effects from the magic you had to use?"
Twilight looked back up at her mother, shaking her head. "No, no. Nothing like that! I wouldn't really call it a side effect at all." A small sob escaped from Velvet. "Mom! It's not bad news, I promise. Things are just going to change, is all."
Hooves shaking, Velvet followed Twilight and the rest of her family into the sitting room. She took a deep breath to steel herself for the imminent news, but her resolve almost broke after Night Light gave her an agonized look.
"Mom, Dad, Shining," Twilight began, "the thing is, I... I'm leaving Canterlot."
"Wait, what?"
Twilight's face was redder than Velvet could ever recall seeing. "I know I said that I didn't think that it could ever happen to me, but you see... I met these amazing ponies in Ponyville. And I thought really hard about it, and I just can't leave them behind. So I've decided that I'm going to move to Ponyville where I can be closer to them."
There had been many times when Velvet hadn't had a clue how to respond to her daughter, but before it had always been because she hadn't understood half of the terminology that Twilight had been using. Velvet's mind raced as she struggled to keep up with the implications of what her daughter had told her.
"But Twiley," Night Light said, "what about your studies with the Princess? You're not really just going to throw all of that away for some mare that you've just met, are you?"
Twilight smiled widely. "Don't worry about that, Dad. I've already spoken with Princess Celestia and this won't effect my studies at all. She says that this is a very important type of magic that I need to explore. Isn't this exciting?"
Velvet blinked rapidly. She had no idea what the Princess could be thinking. Yes, she had long worried that her daughter was becoming more and more of an asocial recluse, but this was not the way she ever would have chosen to break Sparkle out of her shell.
"Uh, Twiley?" Shining asked hesitantly. "I couldn't help but notice that you said that you'd met some ponies. As in plural."
"Oh, yes. There's Rainbow Dash, who's this incredible flyer, and Fluttershy, a pegasus who works with animals, and Applejack, who farms applies, and the seamstress Rarity, and finally Pinkie Pie, who... well, she's a bit hard to sum up. But she's a lot of fun to be with. They all are."
Velvet wasn't hearing what she thought she was hearing. This was all just some big misunderstanding. "And they're all your friends now?"
"Best friends, mom!"
Three jaws dropped in unison. Apparently, Velvet had heard exactly right the first time. Then she had a horrible realization. "Twilight, I know that you're not very experienced when it comes to ... relationships with other ponies. All of these ponies, they do know about each other, right? You've told everypony about the others?"
"Well, nopony really said it outright. I thought it was just implied. We're all going to be best friends together! It's so wonderful!"
Night Light closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "And these ponies, they're all mares?"
Twilight nodded. "Mm-hmm."
Night Light looked skywards and whispered, "Thanks Celestia for small favors."
Twilight trotted over to Velvet and gave her a quick hug. "I know what you're disappointed that I'm leaving home, but I really won't be far away at all. I'll still be able to come to Canterlot whenever I want it. I'm going to be in my room packing, okay?"
Nopony moved as Twilight's hoofclops faded up the stares. Velvet looked over at her son and husband and saw the same masks of horror that she imagined that her own face wore.
"Five. Ponies." Shining whispered as he stared out the window.
"Mares, though," Night Light pointed out. "At least we don't have to worry about an unexpected grandchild."
"Oh Twilight," Velvet moaned. "Night Light, do you think that there's any chance that this won't all explode in poor Twilight's face?"
Night Light shook his head. "Of course not. I mean, Twilight's never been much of an athlete."
Velvet mouthed the word athlete several times, trying to see the connection. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, just think about it. Where's the poor girl going to get the stamina to keep five ponies satisfied?"
"Night Light! How can you joke at a time like this? Our daughter is about to get her heart ripped to shreds. What are we going to do?"
Shining, who was still staring out the window, brightened suddenly. "Oh, that's perfect! Look who's here!"
Velvet followed his gaze out of the window and saw exactly the Princess that they needed walking to the front door. She hurried to the door and had it open before Cadance could even knock.
"Oh!" Cadance said, "I guess you saw me coming. Is it true? Is Twilight really moving to Ponyville?"
"That's what she just told us."
Cadance's face lit up as she squealed. "Oh, this is so amazing. I never thought that filly would ever have it in her. So, who's the lucky mare?"
Shining answered from behind Velvet. "Mares, apparently. Five of them."
Cadance's mouth made a perfect o. "Five?" Velvet nodded. "At the same time?" She nodded a second time.
Cadance wavered for a second and had to take a step back to steady her self. "Wow," said the Princess of Love. "Way to go, Twilight!"