//------------------------------// // A Simple Question, A Difficult Answer // Story: "Mother, Where Do Foals Come From?" // by Twilight Star //------------------------------// Twilight was quietly reading on the couch an astronomy book she got from Luna for her birthday, a pleasant read for a quiet and peaceful afternoon. She was so focused on her book, she didn’t even hear the sound of hooves approaching her.  “Mother,” said a female voice.  Twilight lifted her head and looked the way the voice came, to her right was a dark blue unicorn filly with dark blue mane with pink and purple streaks, and Cutie Mark of a moon with a pink six-pointed star. That filly was nothing more than her and Luna’s daughter: Moonlight; who was looking at her with a look of curiosity on her face.  “Yes, daughter?” asked Twilight, looking at her daughter with a maternal smile.  “I… wanted to ask you a question,” Moonlight began, scratching her knee with a front hoof.  “What’s your question, dear?” asked Twilight.  Moonlight looked to the right side, trying to think how she was going to ask that. “Well, you know you and Luna always have royal duties, right?” She started, looking back at her mother.  “Of course, why? Do you feel we don’t have time for you?” Twilight tried to guess Moonlight’s question.  Moonlight’s ears perked up and she looked back at Twilight. “What? No, that’s not it. It’s another thing, mom.”  “So what’s the question?” asked Twilight. If it didn’t have to do with the fact that she and Luna had royal duties, then what was the question?  Moonlight closed her eyes and let out a breath. She soon opened her eyes and looked at Twilight, prepared to ask her question. “So, since you two always have royal duties I kind of never got to ask you two my question, but since you’re free today, I decided I would finally ask my question: Where do foals come from?”  Twilight’s ears snapped back and Twilight’s pupils shrunk at the question heard. She felt the words not wanting to leave her mouth. An awkward silence filled the room. Moonlight noticed Twilight’s puzzled expression, her ears drooping worriedly.  “Mom? Are you okay?” asked Moonlight, nudging the purple alicorn lightly with a hoof. But Twilight didn’t respond, she remained frozen in place, not moving a muscle.  Xi! I think I broke her. Did I say something I shouldn’t?  Then Moonlight’s ears perked up as she heard Luna’s voice behind her. “Twilight dear, could you help me with-” She looked back and saw Luna standing in place when she saw her wife paralyzed.  Luna soon approached Twilight worriedly and swung her front hoof in front of Twilight’s face in hopes of her breaking out of her trance. “Love?”  Twilight blinked for a few seconds before shaking her head and looking at her wife. “Luna? What are you doing here?” asked the Princess of Friendship with a puzzled raised eyebrow.  “I came to ask you for help with royal duties, but seeing you paralyzed has me worried,” the Princess of the Night replied. “What happened?”  Twilight glanced at Moonlight before looking back at Luna. “Can we talk about this privately in our room?”   “Of course, Twilight.” Luna looked at Moonlight. “Daughter, could you stay here waiting for us?”  “Of course, Mom,” Moonlight replied. Luna nodded, leaving the living room with Twilight beside her.  The princess examined Twilight and noted the nervousness on her wife’s face. She was worried, why was Twilight like this? Moments ago, the Princess of Friendship was calm and with a smile on her face. So what could have made her that way? Does it have something to do with the book she gave? But that couldn’t be it, astronomy has always fascinated Twilight. So what could it be?  Twilight and Luna soon arrived in their room and went inside. Twilight closed the bedroom door with pink magic and they sat on her haunches on the purple blanket. Luna examined Twilight and noticed Twilight looking to the left side with her ears down.  “Love, what happened? Why are you so nervous?” asked Luna, placing a hoof on Twilight’s back.  Twilight looked at Luna, nervousness still on her face. “Luna, Moonlight asked me a question.”  Luna raised an eyebrow in a confused way. “What’s wrong with that, love?”  “It’s just… she asked THE question,” Twilight replied, nervousness present on the penultimate word.  As if reading Twilight’s thoughts, Luna said, “She asked ‘Where do foals come from?’  Twilight nodded nervously. “Yes, Luna! And now? What do I answer? I can’t lie, but I can’t tell the truth either. This will likely shock her, or worse, traumatize her!” said Twilight, looking down nervously, her heart pounding.  “Love, it’s normal for foals to ask their parents that question,” Luna assured Twilight.  Twilight looked panicked at Luna. “I know! But I wasn’t prepared to be asked that question today, Luna!” She lowered her head sadly, not knowing what to do about it.  Luna’s heart just couldn’t stand seeing Twilight like this, so she enveloped her in a loving and recomforting hug to make Twilight feel less nervous about it. “Love, I understand why you’re nervous about this: you don’t want her to feel traumatized by the fact that we had sexual relations in bed to have her.”  Twilight nodded her head. “That’s right, Luna. Do you have any idea how I could answer this question of our daughter?”  Luna looked away, putting a hoof on her chin in thought. How could Twilight answer that question? One thing she knew: Twilight shouldn’t say to her face that she and Twilight had sex to have Moonlight, as she knew it would make Moonlight feel speechless, shocked...and possibly traumatized. Until an idea popped into her mind of how Twilight could answer Moonlight’s question. She looked up at Twilight, a smile on her muzzle.  “Love, I believe I know how you can answer our daughter’s question,” said Luna.  Twilight’s ears perked up hopefully, she looked at Luna with a smile. “Really? How?” “You could say that the mare gets pregnant by the stallion, but without being explicit,” Luna replied. Twilight’s ears perked up and her smile fell at Luna’s response. “Saying that the mare gets pregnant by the stallion, but without being explicit? Luna, do you think this is a good idea? Don’t you think Moonlight will get the message and be traumatized?”  Luna began lovingly stroking her wife’s mane. “Love, rest assured. She won’t be traumatized. I can guarantee.”  “But what if she stays?” Twilight suggested.  “She won’t stay, love,” Luna assured, stopping with the affection. “If you like, I can join you and keep you company.”  Twilight looked left in thought, Luna’s company would even be a good idea during this tense moment. After all, what she needed most right now was her wife to help her. Letting out a sigh, she replied with a smile, “Of course, Luna. Your company would help me a lot.”  Luna then got up from the bed and watched Twilight do the same, they approached the bedroom door and opened it with their spells. As they left, they closed the door behind them and trotted towards the room Moonlight was in.  The two princesses soon saw the dark blue unicorn filly sitting on the sofa waiting for her two mothers. She soon heard the sound of footsteps and looked at the door, the filly saw her mothers approach her and sit on the sofa with her. Twilight sat on Moonlight’s right side, and Luna on her wife’s right. A smile crossed Moonlight’s muzzle.  “So, Mom? Where do foals come from?” asked Moonlight to Twilight again.    Twilight smiled nervously and scratched her knee, knowing that now would be her time to respond, she just hoped Moonlight wouldn’t get the double meaning message and be traumatized. “Hehehe! Well, daughter… it’s like this: the stallion plants a seed inside the mare’s belly, and this seed stays in the mare’s belly until it grows into a colt or filly. But as Luna and I are mares, it was necessary magic to have you.”  Moonlight was in a thoughtful state about what was said. Twilight felt her heart beating rapidly, would Moonlight understand the double meaning in her explanation and result in her being traumatized? She hoped not, because what she least wanted was for her daughter to be traumatized to learn that she and Luna had to have coupled to have her.  Moonlight soon looked back at Twilight and Luna with a curious look and asked, “So… I was a seed in which belly? Yours or Luna’s?”  “You were a seed in my belly, Moonlight,” Twilight replied.  “So, all foals, in the beginning, are a seed in the mare’s belly?” asked Moonlight, wanting to be sure.  “Yes, daughter,” Twilight confirmed.  A smile appeared on Moonlight’s snout by Twilight’s answer. “Well, I have to confess that I didn’t think this was how the foals come from, but that kind of surprised me.” Twilight looked at Luna with a smile of relief, knowing she managed to answer her daughter’s question without resulting in Moonlight being traumatized in the process. Luna, in response, smiled back at her wife.  “But… I have another question,” Moonlight added, Twilight and Luna looked back at their daughter, “when I asked you where the foals come from, you were all transfixed by my question as if I’d said something I shouldn’t. By any chance, was my question something embarrassing?”   “No! Imagine, daughter! It’s just that you took me by surprise with the question!” Twilight responded quickly with a nervous smile, not wanting to admit to Moonlight that she was nervous about the question was the fact that she and Luna had to have lovemaking to have her. Although she knew Moonlight would ask her that question one day, she just didn’t expect it to be today, which made her get caught off guard. She just hoped Moonlight would never ask her what sex was.