//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12: Closure 
// Story: How I Became My Mother 
// by Halira 
//------------------------------//

It had been an ordeal, but magic had been restored. Her daughters, Sunny, Hitch, and Izzy, were safe, and ponies of all three types freely walked around Maretime Bay. 

There was one pony absent from all this. 

"Excuse me, Mister earth pony with the strange goggles. May I ask you a question?" Haven asked an earth pony walking by who had a strange contraption on his face. 

The pony dipped his head and revealed his eye on the top of the gadget. "Hey! You're supposed to be up there. Why are you down on the ground?"

She smiled at the odd pony. "I've spent my whole life without flight, and walking around feels more natural to me. Besides, all the earth ponies and unicorns are on the ground; I think it is easier to talk to you when I'm down among you all."

The pony blinked. "I guess that makes sense. What was your question?"

She lost her smile. "I met an earth pony who was very kind to me years ago. I know he lived in the lighthouse, but I didn't see him there. His name is Argyle; I think he is Sunny's father. I would very much like to see him again. You wouldn't happen to know where he is, would you?"

The pony took a few steps back and took the thing off his head, and then stared at the ground. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Argyle's been dead for a while."

Her gut clenched, and her heart skipped a few beats. She put a hoof up to her barrel and tried taking a deep breath. "Oh… well… oh my… Do you mind telling me what happened?"

The pony looked out at the sea. "When Sunny was old enough to take care of herself, Argyle went off adventuring again. He had put it off for years while she was growing up, but everypony knew his hooves were itching to go back out there. He took a boat and went off looking for one of those other ports that he had records of. A storm came in the next day, and the day after, we found parts of his boat on the shore, along with some of his belongings. Sunny locked herself in that lighthouse for a solid two months before Sheriff Hitch finally pried her out."

"I see," she said, looking down. She looked over at Sunny, who was smiling as she watched foals of three different types play together. "What about her mother?"

"I was too young to remember, but I was told she died in foalbirth. She wasn't a very healthy pony. It was just Sunny and Argyle, then it was just Sunny."

"She's had a hard life, hasn't she?" Haven asked, eyes tearing up. 

The other pony nodded. "Sunny pushed harder than ever to convince us that unicorns and pegasi weren't our enemies after her dad died. It went from just something she believed to something like an obsession. I think she wanted to prove her dad right after he died, like her way of honoring his memory. I don't know where Argyle got the idea he could get along with other pony types. He apparently got much more insistent about it not long before Sunny was born."

"About twenty years ago?" Haven asked. 

"I guess, I was very little," the other pony said with a shrug. 

She smiled again and nodded her thanks. "I appreciate the information…and the closure it brought me."

The pony didn't seem that happy. He bowed his head. "I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you."

She was going to start crying again. "Somepony had to. Thank you."

She turned her eyes back to Sunny. In another life, one where all three tribes got along, and Argyle hadn't been already married; this could have been her daughter too. Was it weird to feel motherly pride for somepony else's foal? Maybe, but Sunny had earned pride. And in a sense, Haven may have had some indirect impact on Sunny's upbringing. Her trip out as a princess had not been pointless. Big things could start with small steps, and it seemed Haven had as much impact on Argyle as he had on her. Sunny may never have had the determination to go out and do what she did if a certain naive princess hadn't wandered off and met a kind scholarly earth pony. 

And Sunny may still have been sitting in the castle dungeon, the real one if Haven hadn't decided to put her in the royal holding cell because she had once met Argyle. Funny how the ripples came back. 

"A queen, huh?"

She turned and faced Phyllis. This mare had let her son run psycho with that killing machine of his and shown so much hostility to her years ago… but she had also stood in front of that same son to stop him and had joined them in reassembling the picture. It was time to let go of old grudges. 

"I may have downplayed my importance when we first met," Haven said with a smirk. "No hard feelings?"

Phyllis looked at her son, who was busy getting scowled at by a group of other ponies. "If you can forgive me for letting things escalate as much as they did with my Sprout. It's going to be a nightmare trying to get him an image makeover. Don't think too harshly of him. He was always a colt looking for approval, and I may have given him some poor guidance. I take the blame. I just want him to recover from this."

Haven nodded. "Spoken like a true mother. I empathize with you fully. My daughters and I have our own such battle to face when we return home, but Pipp will probably smooth it all over somehow. She's been taking endless photos of your lovely town and all the ponies getting along. Combine that with us getting our magic back, and we might be forgiven. My queenship might not survive it, but Zipp will make a fine queen if I'm forced to step down…don't mention that to anypony. I don't think Zipp has entertained the option she might have to take up the crown just yet,  and I'm still going to try to plead my case."

"You have the full support of the ponies of Maretime Bay if you need character witnesses," Phyliss chuckled, but her face then grew serious. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior years ago and for stirring up paranoia for years afterward. It was how I was raised, but that's no excuse. You never showed me any hostility, and I showed you nothing but hostility. I'm deeply ashamed, and I'm sorry."

Haven pulled her old nemeses into a hug. "I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you back then and sorry I didn't try harder on my part to get along with you."

Phyllis leaned into the hug for a moment before jerking back at the sound of ponies jeering at her son. "We will talk later! I need to go save my son from the angry mob!"

Haven wasn't sure she wished Phyllis luck on that. Sprout was going to be on her poop list for some time. He nearly killed multiple ponies and had wrecked the lighthouse. She could feel for Phyllis, but not her brat. 

A leg wrapped around her neck, and she was pulled into a tight embrace. 

"Hey! Haven! Queenie! Some of these ponies and I will be doing a game of rummy tonight. I wanted to see if you wanted in," Alphabittle said jovially. "We could use another player, and you've moved way up my pal list after saving my little buddies and me."

"Well, your little buddies are cute," Haven said in a strained voice as she gasped for breath. 

Alphabittle released her. "Here that! She's even got a sense of humor!" He turned and lowered his voice to a whisper. "You were trying to save me too, right?"

"Yes, I was trying to save you too, you big goof," Haven replied in a fonder voice. 

"Are you single?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Mister Alphabittle! I am not on the market!"

He shrugged. "Worth a shot. How about that game? Light stakes. I promise it's a clean game, but I'm pretty good, so I can't promise I won't win. Ten-time, grand champion, right here."

"What is it with unicorns and games?" she asked. 

He shrugged again, grinning. "It passes the time, and I like winning."

She smirked. "I'll just have to show you how skillful a royal can play. You just haven't had enough of a challenge."

"Oh, it's game on, Queenie," Alphabittle said coyly. 

They spent minutes talking, exchanging pleasantries with passers-by, and watching as unicorns and members of her guard (who still hadn't gone home to report in) helped put Maretime Bay back in order. It was hearting, watching the friendships form between previously hostile ponies, and watching young foals play together. Speaking of which…

"Why are there unicorn and pegasus foals here?" she asked suddenly. She looked around. There were other pegasi here and unicorns that hadn't been among the ones that had followed them on their rescue mission. 

"Oh, them," Alphabittle laughed. "Sunny's little light show drew a lot of attention. Ponies have been filtering in all day. They want to know who was responsible. You might not have to go back to your town in hoof cuffs. Your ponies have been coming in and hearing all about how you, me, and Phyllis brought back magic— BING! Um…sorry about that, a force of habit."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "How we saved magic? I think credit should be given where credit is due, and that is to those five young ponies— which includes my daughters."

"Sure, sure, but it was the three of us helping put together that picture frame with Sunny that finally sealed the deal. I think that makes us saviors too," Alphabittle said smugly. 

"Perhaps," she conceded. It did help her image, and she desperately needed help with that after the debacle at the royal celebration. Image was still everything; it was just a new image for a new future, a brighter future. Plus, he wasn't entirely wrong, so she wasn't falling back on lies. It was fine as long as her daughters and their friends were first in the limelight. 

A dehydrated-looking earth pony with a bunch of balloons on his back suddenly ran by, screaming like a mad pony, and Hitch went running after; a second later, Izzy followed, prancing casually down the road. 

"It seems like not everypony got the message," she said sadly. 

"They'll get it," Alphabittle assured her. "I'll catch you tonight, at the big building with the glasses. That's where we're all meeting up for the game. The head of the floor staff is going to let us in. Bring some bits!"

She rolled her eyes. She didn't have access to a single bit at the moment, but she'd figure something out. Some of her jewelry would do to start. She was sure she could win a few rounds and then pull her jewelry out of the betting pool. For right now, she wanted to talk to her daughters and Sunny, and with Hitch and Izzy occupied, it was an opportune time. 

The three looked at her as she approached. "Hey, Mom, want to take a pic with Sunny? That content would blow up the likes!" Pipp asked excitedly. 

Haven smiled gently. "As you wish, dear."

She stood beside Sunny and spread her wings wide, and Sunny spread her more ethereal wings likewise, giving them a good view. At Pipp's insistence, they joined hooves and smiled so wide it hurt to hold it while the filly took a picture. It was a relief to relax her posture when Pipp said she was done. 

"Sunny…" Haven said hesitantly. "About your father… did he ever mention meeting me years ago?"

Sunny stepped back in shock. "No, he didn't. You knew my father?"

"You knew her dad? Why did you never say anything?" Zipp asked in equal astonishment. 

Haven sat down. "Yes, I knew Argyle. I might have even had a slight crush on him, possibly. I had more feelings for him than any other stallion in my life, no offense to you or father, darlings— he was just a means to heirs, and he was more ambitious than loving. An upstart who thought he could seize power through marriage. He had to go."

Zipp nodded grimly. "I heard rumors about our dad, even though you never talked about him. I understand."

"But why did you never say anything about meeting earth ponies?" Pipp asked, sounding hurt.

Haven hung her head. "Honestly? I was trying too hard to follow the track my mother set for me. I felt if I let you two know, you might think the old days might be able to be resurrected, and you'd go off endangering yourselves instead of focusing on protecting our ponies with the lies about royals can fly. Plus, after telling lies for so long…it became second nature to hide the truth, even from you. I'm sorry."

"But when did you meet my father?" Sunny asked in a tone both eager and fearful. 

A small crowd of earth ponies and pegasi had gathered near, having overheard the conversation. Unicorns started filtering in close to find out what the commotion was about. 

Haven looked at them all and was unsure what to do about all the ponies listening expectantly. The cat was out of the bag. She had an audience, and it was time to appease that audience. 

"I met him about twenty years ago when I was a young mare with big hopes and big dreams of uniting the tribes, much like Zipp had big dreams of restoring magic," Haven replied. "Let me tell you the story about who I used to be before I became a copy of my mother. How I met Argyle and Phyllis, and about the mare I want to be again."

Ponies gathered in closer and sat down to listen. 

"When I was young, I did things my mother said were foalish, and after disappointment, I put them away to follow the example she set. Now that I'm older and wiser, I have learned the value of those foalish things and how important they are, and I no longer wish to be my mother. This is the story of a foalish dream of living in peace and harmony; how I became my mother, and how I learned to be me again…."