“Let me get this straight.” Arching my brow at Aunt Mercy, I leaned back on my haunches and crossed my forehooves. “Mom wants simple, and you want to go hunting mandraboara?”
My aunt grinned at me like a loon under moon. “To be fair, they make great sand—”
“No.” I held a hoof out to stop her, frowning as I puffed out my chest. “She said simple, so we’re keeping things simple. She needs a break after yesterday.”
“You need a break too!” My aunt nudged me, only grinning wider.
“Stargazing was my break and you know it.” I snorted. “Don’t be dumb about this. Besides, Mom doesn’t want me to leave the house.”
“Fine.” With a roll of her eyes, Aunt Mercy chuckled and sauntered to the kitchen. “Let’s see what you’ve got in the fridge.”
I followed her down the hall and up to the smooth cloudstone appliance. Walls of snow packed tight into ice lined the box, and it was stuffed with all sorts of goodies we could use.
“Cauliflower, broccoli, brussel sprouts… a few fresh cabbage heads… carrots…” The rustling intensified as Aunt Mercy dug deeper. “Where the buck are the potatoes?”
“Uh… Aunt Mercy?” I poked at her and pointed to the pantry. “Potatoes aren’t usually something you refrigerate—at least, not the ones you peel.”
“They aren’t?” She blinked back at me. “You mean those sacks of potatoes I always got stuck peeling back in the guard weren’t just to discipline little piles of guano like me?”
“Uh, no?” My ear flicked and I tilted my head.
“Huh… well, what my fellow guards don’t know won’t hurt them.” She tittered like mad as she moved over to heft up a sack of potatoes.
“Do I even want to know?” I tsked and arched my brow.
“No, no, you really don’t. The things I did to those potatoes out of spite…” She sighed. “Good times. Good times.” Before I could let my curiosity get the better of me, she flashed her fangs in another smile. “I got a great idea for something simple I learned on a stint in the Griffish Isles. Real simple to cook if you got a slow cooker. All we need is pickled brisket!”
“Aunt Mercy… you know how hard it is to get anything other than fish and bugs…. Mom won’t even eat it!” I stomped and frowned, careful not to stir up any thunder.
“I’m sure she’d enjoy the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, but fine.” With a huff, she went back to digging through the pantry. “Maybe something with rice, then.”
“How about just soup and salad?” I edged forward to gently shut the pantry on her.
Aunt Mercy’s voice shifted up as she whined. “Really? But that’s boring!”
I nodded and patted her on the back. “It’s also simple.”
“But there’s plenty of simple stuff that’s not boring!”
“Is any of that stuff gonna be something Mom will like?”
Her pause was long, awkward, and oh-so-very pregnant.
“Well?”
“I’m thinking! I’m thinking! I’m sure there’s something, but I’d have to go shopping!”
Rubbing the bridge of my muzzle, I tsked and rustled my wings. “Mom did say to let you decide…. Fine. You can go shopping while I start some soup as back up, alright? Drop your dress off at Carousel Boutique, and get back here so we can start and make sure things are ready by the time you need to go pick up the twins.”
“On your orders, captain~ I’m gonna give your mom a meal she’ll never forget.” Giving me a lazy salute and a cocky grin, Aunt Mercy sauntered out of the kitchen.
Rolling my eyes, I gave a tiny smile as it was my turn to shuffle through the fridge and pantry. I started with the broccoli and carrots, pulling them out and taking them to the cutting board. Pulling out one of the bigger knives, I started chopping them up into large chunks, falling in the rhythm much like I would striking a training dummy.
My mind wandered as I chopped, and it probably was inevitable that the fight with Crusty came to mind. The knife glinted like the bastard’s cocky smile, and that made me grunt and chop all the harder. Pushing the large chunks to the side, I decided a bit of catharsis was in order, and I minced the second half of the broccoli and carrots with fast and furious power that echoed through the room. The knife rapped against the cutting board until the deed was done, and I took a deep breath at a job well done.
I hadn’t been sure the knife would survive.
Cleaning it up, and slipping it back into its holder. I picked out a smaller knife and took an onion from the pantry. Closing my eyes as I cut, I relied on clicks to measure my process with the onion.
I let Crusty’s face float before me in my mind, and I kept up the deep breathing to try and force my heart to stay calm. My blood boiled as much as it ran cold, though, making it oh-so-hard to keep composed. One second he was laughing and I wanted to lunge for his throat, the next I saw him broken on the ground and had to force myself not to wince.
Did it help? No, not really, but I felt like coasting the waves right now. It was just me in the kitchen, alone, and I wouldn’t get time to brood later if I ended up watching the twins.
When the onion was cut and my tears were dried, I pulled out a big old soup pot and tossed the onion in. Putting the pot on the stove, I bucked it just as I flipped a switch, lightning crackling through the burner to start heating the pot and sauté the onion. Just a few minutes to lightly shade it, and then add a sprinkle of garlic for seasoning.
I had that sit a minute, then started on the roux, dumping in a bit of flour and stirring it with the onion juice. After that came the stock and veggies. I woulda gone chicken stock normally, but this was for Mom in case Aunt Mercy didn’t come through. Thus, vegetable stock it was, and I was stuck twiddling my hooves as I waited for it to boil.
Out of boredom, I did a set or two of pushups between every stirring.
Boiled and simmered, all the veggies were now cooked. All that was left was the half-and-half and the shredded cheddar cheese.
Boom. Broccoli and cheddar soup! Not as good as chicken noodle, but it was one of Mom’s favorites. Just had to leave it on low heat and wait for Aunt—
My ear flicked at the sound of the door opening and closing. Sounded like I wouldn’t need to wait long.
Aunt Mercy stumbled in with loaded saddle bags and a bag from the boutique in her mouth. She grunted at me and briefly sniffed as she eyed the soup, putting her bags over by the door to the dining room. “Alright, I got everything we need. You want sandwiches and salad? I got it covered. Start roasting me some potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Make sure it’s a bunch of thin slices and wedges. Gonna use them in the sandwich.”
“I thought soup, salad, and sandwiches were boring?” I grinned and hastened to comply, starting with the sack of potatoes and grabbing the peeler.
“Not when I make them~” Aunt Mercy threw her head back to laugh as she pulled a bunch of zucchini and gourds from one of her bags to start washing them.
“Squash and zucchini in salad?” I tilted my head to the side.
“Squash, gourds, and zucchini as the salad.” Aunt Mercy tittered as she sliced through the veggies like a practiced butcher. I hadn’t even seen her pick up the knife, it just seemed to flow to her hooves and cut everything into ribbons so fine you would swear she was working with leaves or lettuce.
Several squashes were aptly cut into wedges and slices and pushed towards me as I mixed the oil and spices for the roasting—just some salt and pepper to add some bite. I tossed them in with the potatoes and carrots and lettuce before putting a makeshift top over the bowl and shaking like crazy to coat everything.
Pouring it out on the pan, I opened the oven and slid it in, looking up at Aunt Mercy as I did. “Convection currents or lightning rack?”
“Convection.” Aunt Mercy hummed as she glared at the shredded ribbons of squash and zucchini before her. “After that, you’ll find some cream cheese in the bags. That needs to get mixed with the rosemary, thyme, and rose petals into a spread. Can you do that and sauté some crickets at the same time?”
“I should be able to, but what are you gonna do, then?”
“You know how nobles have all sorts of notoriously stupid hobbies to stave off boredom?” My aunt snorted.
I arched a brow. “I guess?”
Aunt Mercy giggled as she lifted a ribbon and twisted it, starting to layer a bigger plate with it, and decorating the edges as if it was a present. “Well… my mothers and I may have been into fashion, but Checkmate was a fan of flower and fruit arrangement. This salad is gonna end up so damn pretty, eating it is gonna be a sin.”
I paused at her answer, ear flicking as crickets sizzled before me. This was one of the few times she’d mentioned Pushing’s father since moving in.
Should I say anything? What should I do?
“Errr… yeah, Checkmate….” I gave a forced chuckle as I resumed mixing the cream cheese spread. “You, uh… mind telling me more about him?”
There was a long hum from Aunt Mercy as she kept weaving the ribbons of veggie-stuff into a bowl. “Do you trust me talking about him?”
“What the hay kind of question is that?”
She twirled a hoof as she tittered. “Well, you know me~ I could give you all kinds of stories~”
I frowned and looked towards her. “Would you really, now? I mean, he’s different from all your other coltfriends, isn’t he?”
The giggling continued, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes… yes, he was very different. He’s one of the few I dated that were genuinely good ponies. Most were guano-guzzlers, but Checkmate? Checkmate always believed in doing the right thing. He might have slept around just to piss off his parents, but he worked hard to live up to being what a noble should be in every other way.”
“Now that I can see why you’d like.” My frown turned to a smile.
“Mhmm.” Aunt Mercy nodded and set her work down for a moment as she closed her eyes. “He was big, strong, charismatic, and kind—the spitting image of everything a prince should be. He brought me roses and wrote me poems; even as buck buddies, he treated me like a lady.
“I absolutely hated it.” The half-titter, half-sob belied the lie to her words. “Whenever he did it, I would smack him with a wing and drag him off for some real fun.” Her wings drooped for a moment even as she went back to intently working on arranging the salad. “Maybe if I’d let him have his way, the two of us would have made everything official sooner, and I wouldn’t be here right here and now….”
“Maybe.” I bit my lip and shook my head. “Or maybe you would have gotten sick of him and you wouldn’t have Pushing. There’s no way of knowing, so you shouldn’t worry, you know?”
“Ha! You’re one to talk!” Aunt Mercy threw her head back to briefly cackle. Slapping me on the back, she looked down. “Telling me not to brood on things. I’ve been running from a good and serious brooding all my life; you brood over the littlest things.”
Tasting a bit of blood, I still couldn’t help but chew. “I don’t know if I’d call my current problem little.”
“You did the right thing and fought for your friends when nopony else would.” With a snort, Aunt Mercy stepped over and ruffled my mane. “It’s as simple as that. Screw the school. Screw the authorities. If I was your mom, the school wouldn’t have gotten zip from me.”
“Are you even proud that I lost control?” I shivered. “Mom’s right to be disappointed. She told everypony I wouldn’t take things too far, and then I— I—” Nope. Couldn’t finish that thought. “I wanted to break Crusty into pieces, I was so mad at him. I-I— I let the Nightmare take me. I don’t know if I would have stopped without Dad there.”
Things were silent for a time, save for the hum of the oven.
“Night?”
“Yeah?”
“No offense, pipsqueak, but you’re still a bit too young and stupid to be worrying about that.”
I didn’t— Wha—
Aunt Mercy thwapped me lightly with a wing and tsked. “You and your Mom have such an overinflated sense of the situation. You did what you thought was right, regardless of how others perceive it; don’t you dare lower your head.”
“But—”
“Shhhh…” A hoof was unceremoniously shoved over my mouth. “No buts, soldier. You went for that guano-guzzler’s throat the same way you would charge in to help anypony in need. The best guards don’t think; they act. That’s what you did, pure and simple. Was it the right call? Ehhhh? But that’s why your dad was there as the judge.”
I stayed silent as Aunt Mercy pulled her hoof back to quickly wash and get back to cooking. I was still as stone as she bustled about—sautéing crickets and mixing the cream cheese, all while slowly weaving the ribbons of zucchini and squash into a bowl in which the rest of the slices and wedges were stacked in a beautiful pattern.
Sub rolls were brought out and sliced, set to the side as the oven sat waiting to toast them. Aunt Mercy swirled and danced through the kitchen with a zeal I’d only ever seen when she’d sparred with Mom and Dad before. Her titter was sharp, and her gaze pierced each task before her with intense scrutiny. Only as she pulled the crickets off the stovetop to set them aside did she finally slow and turn back to me.
“I’m going to get the twins and Pushing.” She had to pat me on the back to get me to stir and show I was listening. “You wake up your Mom and tell her everything will be ready as soon as I get back and shower. Rarity already fixed my dress, so it would be nice if she wore the one I got her.”
“I’ll… I’ll tell her that.” Her words still weighed heavy on me, but I managed a nod. It wouldn’t do to sulk and brood for too long, and I could always ask her for more advice later on.
Nightmare take me, asking Aunt Mercy for advice…. What was the world coming to?
“What… what should I do about Pushing?” Looking down, I bit my lip. “I’ve handled the twins well enough before, but Pushing almost constantly cries if you aren’t around. I’m… I’m not… I’m not the Pink Demon or Miss Fluttershy. I can’t magically stop tears once they start.”
Aunt Mercy took a deep breath and gave a small smile. “I’ll try and lull her to sleep with a lullaby. Other than that? You’ll be on your own. Make sure to check on her often, though. I shoved a sound dampener in just about all the shadows of her room to stop her from waking the rest of you up at night.”
I blinked. “Wait, so that’s why… How do you know when she needs something?”
“I’ve been sleeping in her nursery, duh. Why do you think I haven’t gotten around to making a room for myself?” The smile morphed into her signature grin. “Or did you think I liked sleeping on the couch? I’m used to barracks. What’s a frilly little filly’s room to me? ’Sides, it makes her sleep better.”
“Huh…” I wasn’t sure what to say, so I just shook my head. “You really are trying your hardest, aren’t you?”
“I am.” She giggled and nodded, heading for the door with a wave. “And I’ll be back in a flash, hrmmm? So make sure your Mom is bringing her A-game.”
With the sound of the front door opening and closing, I was off to go wake Mom. She was sprawled in bed, mouth agape and drooling. I was pretty sure she had literally fallen into bed and passed out.
She groaned as I poked her, and curled up into the cloud. With her buried in the floof, I had no choice but to do what she did to my little brothers. As I nipped her ear and nuzzled her softly, she groaned again and blearily opened her eyes.
“Just use the backdoor, Tempered. I’m too tired to turn over.”
“First things first, Mom, ewww.” I blew a raspberry at her and nipped her ear again. “And second, it’s me, not Dad. He’s not back yet.”
“Ohhhhhh…” Mom groaned like the dead as she stretched. “Knowing that lunkhead, he won’t be back for a day or two. That featherbrain Crusty pissed him off more than I’ve seen in a long time. The last time your father was that mad… mmmm… it was right after we decided to settle down and have you. Some idiot in the nobility tried to steal his spot in the Night Guard, and they made the mistake of playing dirty and talking shit just like what happened with you.”
Blinking bemusedly, I flicked an ear. “He never told me that story.”
“It’s not one he’s proud of, so don’t ask him for it.” Mom sighed and rolled out of bed, doing a few stretches that caused loud, satisfying cracks. “If he wants to give it, he will, but… let’s say he understands all too well what you’re beating yourself up for. He almost lost his spot in the Guard, even though he won, and the only reason he didn’t is that every other thestral in the Night Guard threatened to resign if he did.”
I shivered. “That’s—”
“—all in the past.” Mom yawned. “Honestly, I shouldn’t be telling you about it, but you caught me on what? Two hours of sleep?”
“Three.” I squirmed. “Aunt Mercy and I came back at about thirteen hundred.” Looking down, I kicked some clouds. “Sorry I couldn’t give you more, but dinner is about ready, and Aunt Mercy is off to pick up Pushing and the twins.”
Mom grunted and scratched her chest. “Time to face the music, then, huh? Gonna be honest, I didn’t expect your Aunt to even make it to the first date. I don’t really know what to do. Is it any different dating mares?”
“W-w-what?” My neck blazed with the heat of a thousand suns as the floor became more interesting for a whole other set of reasons. “W-why are you asking me?!”
Mom chuckled and patted me on the back. “Why do you think I’m asking? For once, I’m in uncharted territory, and well… You may be my daughter, but I still stick by what I said earlier today. You’re an adult, too, and here at least, you might know more than me.”
“Mrgmrfff!” My wings rustled fiercely. “I doubt it. It’s not like I’ve dated any colts.”
“Fair enough.” Mom drew me into a hug and squeezed. “I think I need to try and talk with you more like an adult now after all this, though, so don’t be surprised if I’ve got more questions later.”
So. Bucking. Weird.
This was so bucking weird. Why was Mom—
“Heh. You’re blushing as red as your father the day I let him win a round. Too much, Night?” My Mom threw back her head and laughed. “Think of it as a reward. Even if I’m disappointed and angry, I’m also proud of you for standing up in the first place. I… don’t think I said it before. It’s my job as your mother to make sure you don’t fight, but as one adult to another? No, as one guard to another? I am proud of you, Night, and that won’t change just because you made mistakes doing what was right.”
Mom, I… No, no words could suffice, only squeezing the guano out of Mom could do things justice before she headed off to go shower.
I got the dress Aunt Mercy had bought her out of the closet. It was easy to find, mostly because it was the only one I hadn’t seen her use whenever she went out with Dad.
Rarity had really outdone herself with it, and unlike Aunt Mercy’s slinky, little, tearaway dress, Mom’s was simple, strong, and elegant with a corded braid meant to be entwined in the tail.
Laying it out on the bed, I headed back to the kitchen, picked up the bag from Carousel Boutique still sitting with the groceries, and I moved to set it in view of the front door for when Aunt Mercy returned. The dining room already had a few candles, but I dragged a bunch from other rooms to add to the ambience for Mom and Aunt Mercy, setting the table for two, and using the leftover roses, I sprinkled the table with petals.
I was just in time, too. As I sprinkled the last of the petals, the front door opened, and the sound of the terrible twosome gamboling in filled the house.
“Red, gimme that back! It’s mine!” Rolling’s whine threatened to go subsonic as the flumping of hooves scurrying over clouds came from the living room.
“Yours? It’s ours! Twinsies are supposed to share!” Red laughed.
“Oh yeah? Maybe I’ll take your paints, then! You never share those with me!”
“That’s because they’re mine, duh! I’m the oldest!”
“You’re not the oldest! I’m the oldest! Dad told me rolling thunder always comes before a red dawn!”
“Nuh-uh! It’s totally me! I’m a whole half a hoof taller than you!”
“Oi, twerps, settle down. Neither of you two is older from what your Dad told me. Your mother doesn’t want you two lording it over each other exactly like you are right now.” Aunt Mercy tsked and walked in with Pushing on her back at about the same time I made it from the dining room. “You want me tattling to your Mom that you’re doing it anyways?”
“You wouldn’t!” Red stuck his tongue out as he passed her, running from his brother with a bottle clinking precariously as it threatened to fall out of his saddlebags.
“Oh, really?” With a wicked grin, Aunt Mercy arched her brow. “You know, it’s not smart to say I wouldn’t do something. That just makes me wanna do it more. Oh, Morning!~”
“No!” Red skidded to a halt, letting Rolling run right on into him and sending the two tumbling to the ground.
Rolling squeaked and quickly dove for the bottle as it rolled on out of the back and over the floor, snatching it up and holding it close as he slunk over to hide under my legs and glare out at Red. “’t’s mine!”
“Mmmm… Just what are you two fighting over?” Bending down to look at the jar, Rolling shied away for a second before holding it out. I blinked in surprise at seeing lightning crackling and bouncing around inside it—the light flickering and sparking as it did so.
“You made that?” I smiled and reached over to rustle his mane. “That’s really cool! I wasn’t able to do anything with lightning at your age! Gimme a sec and you can tell me all about how you managed that!”
“He cheated….”
My ear flicked as Red muttered to himself and sulked where he had fallen on the floor. Whatever had happened, he didn’t have one of his own, and that was gonna cause trouble I needed to cut off at the pass.
I looked to Aunt Mercy and nodded towards the bag from Carousel Boutique. “I got the table set and woke Mom. She’s in the shower right now.”
“Oh?” Aunt Mercy’s fangs gleamed as she licked her chops and grinned. “Well then, I better go get ready myself.” Hoofing me a snoozing Pushing, she sauntered over to her bag. Picking it up, she walked down the hall with a sway to her hips and some far too conspicuous whistling.
Closing my eyes, I internally groaned, counting out the seconds until Mom shouted.
And it never happened.
“Night? Why is your face scrunching up like you just ate an extra sour lemon drop?” There was a tug on my leg as Rolling poked his head out from my legs and looked up. “Do you gotta go to the bathroom or something?”
“No, Rolling. Going to the bathroom is the exact opposite of what I want right now.” I shivered at the continued lack of scolding or yelling, and tried not to blink for as long as possible to avoid seeing what my imagination dared consider. “Come on, you two. We’re going to be stuck in your room for a bit while Mom and Aunt Mercy do big pony stuff.” Moving over, I nudged the still sulking Red to his hooves, but he brightened rather quickly as he looked up at me.
“Huh! That’s right! I totally forgot! We were supposed to ask you about the thing at the place! Night, Night, Night, Night, Night!” Hopping up and down before me, he took little small fluttering leaps backwards as we tromped to the twins’ room. “School was totally canceled today so we just went over to Sugar Cube Corner with Pinkie for the whole day! It was so cool! We got to hang with anypony from school that showed up! I dunno what you did, but Scotch Tape and a bunch of the others say it’s all thanks to you!”
“They said what?!” I almost tripped over Rolling with a screep.
“Yeah! The whole class was really excited about it! There’s even ponies saying we’ll get next week off, too! What did you do?!” Doing a three-sixty twirl as he reached the door, Red bucked it open and ran inside his room.
The room was split in half down the middle with a little divot carved in the cloud. Like day and night, each of the little buggers had claimed a side, and when wars between them started, they would shove toys to the frontlines as guards while they shouted across the border at each other.
“Errrr…” I gulped. “So you two know what Schattenkrieg is?”
“Yeah!” Both nodded as we settled into the room.
“I challenged a bully who was being mean to me, and things went a little too far.” Tail lashing, I tried not to shiver.
“You fought a bully?!”
“A bully got you to go too far?! Wow! He musta been strong!”
“What happened?!”
“Did you have a super cool battle?!”
“Is there gonna be a movie about it?!”
“Yeah! A movie with lasers and explosions!”
“G-guys!” I sniffled as the two fell silent. They didn’t press any further, so I took a few deep breaths to calm down. The ruckus had woken Pushing, and she too was sniffling and on the verge of crying as she looked around for her Mom. Holding her close and humming, my rocking thankfully settled her back down to sleep, but there would be no stopping her if she really got going.
When I composed myself a little, I smiled over at Rolling, who was studying the floor intently. Gently approaching him, I settled down to wrap a wing around him. “Hey….”
“Hey.” He snuggled up close, still not looking at me as his eyes wandered from the floor to his star charts and bug collection. “’m sorry. Is something wrong? Isn’t beating a bully and no school a good thing?”
Shaking my head, my ears splayed back. “Look, I don’t wanna talk about it—”
“O-oh, sorry….” He nuzzled close, finally looking up at me with big, sad eyes.
“—but I will say I may have beat him, but I didn’t win.”
“How does that work?! You can’t beat a bully and not win!” Red was bouncing a ball on his head on the other side of the room. His half of the room was covered in paintings and sketches, along with the easel Mom got him for last Hearth’s Warming.
“S-stupid! Don’t ask that!” Rolling hugged me tight. “She said she didn’t wanna talk about it!”
“No, I don’t. Not now, at least.” Shaking my head, I reached over to pick up Rolling’s new little doodad. “How about you give me the story of how you got this?”
Rolling immediately lit up as he took the jar and stared within. “I made it! Pound and Pumpkin didn’t have school either, and Pound was showing off all sorts of stuff he’d learned! He was so cool about it, too! He gave us all jars so we could try it ourselves! That never happens with any of the cool stuff when pegasi stop by class to teach us! It’s all ‘clouds this,’ or ‘clouds that!’ They don’t even let us do breezes yet!”
“Sounds like you had fun.” I chuckled and ruffled his head again.
“Mhmm! I’ve never made my own lightning before! I didn’t know I could!” He hugged the jar close to him. “I just squeezed a cloud smaller and smaller until it was all fizzly and crackly before putting it in the jar and closing it! Nobody else but me did it!”
“Sounds like you have a talent for weather, then.” With a smile, I watched Rolling and listened with one ear as the other swiveled and flicked to track Red’s growing grumbling. “You know, if you’re good enough to do it once, I bet you can do it again. How about I go grab a couple of jars from the kitchen? I need to grab you two dinner anyways, and I think Mom and Aunt Mercy should be out of the shower and eating by now.”
“Really?! That would be fun!” Clapping his hooves, Rolling got up to go place his jar on the shelf.
I glanced over at Red as he huffed from his bed. The little bugger was sketching on his tablet, the very picture of a cold shoulder as he used a stub of charcoal to draw. “I need you two to stay here and get along while I’m gone, though. Understand? Mom and Aunt Mercy have special plans tonight, and the last thing they need is us yelling and screaming.”
“Whatever.” Red sulked into his bed, tail lashing as he bit his lip. Rolling simply smiled and nodded, and so I slipped out of their room with Pushing hanging on my neck like a true blue thestral.
Mom and Aunt Mercy were indeed in the dining room when I peeked in. Both were dolled up and in dresses, and in the candlelight it was hard for me to miss how much Mom was smiling. Aunt Mercy was banging her hoof on the table and telling some outrageous tale of how she’d helped Rarity save Equestria by modelling a dress so sexy it was being used to stop the yetis from encroaching on the northern border.
I carefully crept past to head for the kitchen, only to freeze at the door when I heard Mom laugh and giggle.
“Doesn’t mean anything.” I muttered and shook my head, face scrunching up as I pushed through the door. “Mom’s just… being a good friend.”
I pulled a tray out from a closet and set it on my outstretched wing before heading to the cupboard to get me and the twerps bowls and plates. Dinner was simple enough. I put two sub rolls in the oven to briefly toast, then I ladled several bowls of soup.
The salad was gone and probably out on the dining room table. I didn’t really blame Aunt Mercy for that, though, ‘cause it had been gorgeous when she finished it.
Spreading the cream cheese mix over the toasted rolls as I pulled them out, I sprinkled them with the sautéed crickets and started layering the roasted vegetables on. I cut the finished subs in half. Give each twin one half. Keep a whole for myself. Pour us all glasses of our favorite ice-cold drinks. With dinner ready to go and layed out on my back, I at last grabbed a few jars and slunk back towards the twerps’ room.
Mom was still smiling as I walked past the dining room. Occasionally chuckling, she took sips of some sorta wine, listening to Aunt Mercy’s story which still hadn’t finished somehow. Apparently, the dress she’d modeled was not just giving cold and lonely soldiers the morale to keep on fighting, but it was, in fact, quite lethal.
Fully capable of stopping yeti hearts with a single glance at Rarity’s ‘inspirational centerfold,’ it was a miracle it hadn’t done the same to any hard-working, able-bodied soldier. Clearly a sign our cause was just, only such depraved heathens like the yeti were debauched enough to—
Yeah, no, there went her face finally. Even Aunt Mercy had limits on the Guan-o-meter. I don’t know how she kept a straight face through half of her story if it was that bad, but she was paying for it now from the looks of things. While Mom merely giggled like a loon, Aunt Mercy was clutching her side and rolling on the floor with a high-pitched titter.
Bunch of crazy ponies.
Snorting to myself, I snuck past and made it back to the twins, cracking the door open to squeeze back inside and setting the tray on the table in the corner. “Alright, twerps, time to eat.”
“‘M not hungry.” Even as he sulked in his bed, Red’s stomach growled, and I rolled my eyes before taking a jar and giving it to Rolling as he approached.
Getting down on my knees, I leaned in to whisper in his ear. “Oi. I know your brother was kind of a guano-guzzler for taking your thing, but it looks like he’s really upset he couldn’t make one, too. You wanna make him one so he’s not left out?”
Rolling blinked at me before not even attempting to whisper. “Why should I do that? He’s mean and snooty and a cock!”
“He’s a what now?” I arched my brow. “Where did you hear that?”
“What? It’s not bad! Mom calls Dad that all the time!” He looked up at me pouting.
“Errr… No, Mom calls Dad cocky.” I licked my lips. “Don’t forget the ‘eee.’ It’s important. A lot of ponies will get mad if you call them a— if you call them that, so try not to say it, hrmmm? It is very much one of Dad’s bad dad words.”
“Well, he’s still mean and snooty!” Rolling stomped his hoof, tailing lashing.
“Am not!” Red finally looked over from his bed. “You cheated! You had to! You aren’t even a pegasus!”
“Red Dawn, you stop that right now before you say something I make you regret.” I growled just a little as I stepped forward. Not a lot, but just enough to give him a proper warning. “Rolling is your brother and he’s got just as much of Mom in him as you, understand? It doesn’t matter if he’s not a pegasus. Everypony is different, and from what Rolling said, nopony else you normally play with managed it either. It might just be that he's good with lightning and thunder. It’s not unheard of to have thestrals on weather teams for late night work. Is it rare? Yes, but not unheard of.
“You should be happy your brother found something he seems interested in, Red.” Shaking my head, I made sure to glower at both twins so Rolling would know his brother wasn’t the only one being silly. “And you, Rolling, should try and be a little more sensitive about why your brother acts like a butt. If there’s anything I’ve learned from Dad’s and Uncle Liquid’s stories, it’s that usually when one was a jerk to the other, they had a reason.”
“‘M sorry, Night.” Both twins hung their heads in apology to me, ears splaying and wings drooping before Rolling looked up at me and puffed out his chest.
“I’m gonna make one for everypony in the family!” His hoof went high with the zealous declaration, and then he stomped, causing an appropriate rumbling to punctuate his words.
Bending down, he scooped up a bit of cloud and glared at it before starting to squeeze it down. It was soon crackling and threatening to collapse as it rained itself away. I could see it trying to flat out zap Rolling and just condense all the moisture at once, but Rolling managed not to let that happen as he carefully looked it over with a scrunched face. His tongue was poking out of his mouth as he grimaced, and I saved him the extra concentration of fidangling with the jar.
Popping it open, I held it out to him.
He all but dunked the cloud inside, and flicked the cork top shut before anything could come out.
There was a brilliant flash and a muted roar of sound that shook the jar. When I was done blinking spots from my eyes, instead of a cloud, there was a little puddle of water, and lightning bounced within the jar every which way.
Taking it from me, Rolling squirmed and poked at the floor, studying it for a bit before he held it out to Red. “H-here… If it really means that much to you… I’ll try and get good enough at it that I can teach you to do the trick.”
It was Red’s turn to look away, ear flicking a bit before he turned back to take it. “Thanks. I guess Night was right…. I was kind of being a butt.”
Ah… Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, and turned, foolishly thinking we could start dinner.
“But it wasn’t cool calling me a cock!”
Really, Red?
“Huuuuuuh! Night! Red said a bad dad word! Now you gotta wash his mouth with soap!”
Really, Rolling?!
Where did he even learn about that? We didn’t do that in this household! We were a civilized house with civilized punishments! We weren’t the sort of barbarians who used soap and brute force! We taxed our citizens and used a swear jar!
“Cock!”
“Butt!”
“Cock!”
“Butt!”
Back and forth they went. There went all my hopes and dreams for a quiet dinner. They knew it, too. The twerps were smiling as they bickered.
At least, they smiled until Pushing woke up and showed them what quiet really meant. Served them right. Mom was gonna bring down the hammer if she thought I taught them that.
Well, either that or the new ‘adult’ Mom was gonna arch her brow and ask if I was ‘hiding something’ from her. Having Dad ask me that would be one thing, but Mom? Mom?!
That was just wrong on so many levels, but it made me smile.
Life, apparently, goes on.