A Goddess' Wish [Mother's Day Special]
By Wanderer D
It had rained the night before, and in the early morning, the air in Tokyo felt chill and pure on mornings like these, and she took a deep, deep breath and let it out slowly as she stared out into the city.
"Ah, Motosu-san!" her kindly neighbor, an old lady, bent down by the weight of years, yet energetic enough to manage all the kids in the neighborhood greeted her. She was, as always, tending her plants. "Good morning! I see you are out early today."
"Good morning, Sato-san," she greeted in return, offering a gentle smile and a slight bow. "Yes, I am now headed over to visit Urano-chan."
The old woman's smile turned from gentle to understanding in an instant. "Ah. Be sure to greet her for me."
Yuka Motosu simply bowed in acknowledgment, then turned and walked away. There was no need for more words. Mrs. Sato had always had a soft spot for Yuka's daughter, Urano, when she was alive. Although Urano would never get her nose out of her books, and before she had gotten her job at the library, she had always been welcome to sit with old Sato-san, who would talk for hours while the oblivious young woman would keep reading.
It was an arrangement that had suited them both for the longest time, until one fateful day, an earthquake has collapsed an entire bookshelf on top of Urano, ending her life in an instant.
For almost a year the absence of her daughter had made Yuka feel dead inside. She had visited the grave every morning of every day, be there rain, snow, or sunshine. It didn't matter if she risked getting sick, and it didn't matter if her coworkers looked at her in pity.
Her life had been hard to pick up when her husband had passed away, but she'd managed to persevere for the sake of her daughter. But without her…
It had all changed one day, however, when a small miracle had happened. She had been visiting Urano's grave when she had noticed a young, beautiful girl, praying at the grave. It had been very strange to see someone like that. She had studied the area around them to look for her parents, but the young (obviously foreign) girl seemed to be there on her own.
Had she perhaps known Urano from the library? But how had she ended up here on her own, this early?
The girl had talked with her for a little bit, and then, out of no-where, had apologized to her for things that.. it was then that she realized her daughter was gone, yet not… that somehow a miracle beyond anything she could have ever hoped had happened, and she had been granted a magical, ephemeral moment from the universe to let her know that… It was okay. Her daughter was out there, changed, but still there.
She remembered the young girl so clearly, it was almost as if she could see her right now, standing next to a foreigner woman with the most fabulous hair Yuka had seen.
She blinked. Why was the young girl not wearing the same clothes as her memory? Could it be…
"Hello, mom," the young girl said, smiling sweetly at her with tears on the edge of her eyes. "Happy Mother's Day. This is Lady Rarity, and we have a few things to tell you…"
After the spell the nobles had cast had restructured and cleaned the Lower City, it had become relatively normal to see merchants and visitors walking around and even haggling for small low-level feystones of creatures that did not exist in their dutchy, but this guest was not a merchant.
Having waited outside of her workplace, the woman that was now blocking her path was dressed differently than any other woman she had seen before. Tall and strong-looking, she carried a sword at her belt, and exuded an air of capable danger. Her clothes were simple under an unusual, almost-glowing armor, and her eyes studied Effa and her surroundings quickly and efficiently.
They were in a small alley, close enough for Effa to call for help, but far enough that, if she did, it would cost her. Effa gulped, trying to read the golden-brown eyes of the tall warrior woman.
"You are Effa, correct?" the woman asked, her tone clearly indicating she knew exactly who she was.
Despite this, Effa straightened, hopefully showing none of the fear that was eating away at her. "Yes."
"Good." The woman grinned. "You have a nice look in your eyes, Effa. I see where a certain archduke candidate got them."
Her words put Effa on edge. Somehow she knew!
The woman pulled out a letter and passed it over. "Calm down. I'm a friend. This is for you."
Effa blinked in surprise, but that did not make her lower her guard. Keeping one eye on the warrior, she took the letter, noticing the nice quality of the paper, and the small emblem on it. Her daughter's emblem.
A bit less wary, she opened the letter and scanned it quickly. Then read it again, not believing her eyes. She looked up at the warrior with wide, hopeful eyes. "I-is this true?"
The woman nodded, her grin still there. "It's nearby. She needs some time to get there on her own, but…"
"Please…" Effa said, throwing caution to the wind. If it was real… if the letter was true, she wasn't going to miss her chance. "Show me the way…" she hesitated.
"Kassandra," the woman answered. "The name's Kassandra."
They started walking together and Effa glanced at the warrior woman. "Are you one of her… um, the knights?"
"Nah," Kassandra shook her head. "I'm a friend of hers through a mutual acquaintance. When I heard what she was planning, I couldn't let her do it alone, so I offered to help."
Effa glanced at her curiously. Even though the woman stuck out of the crowd like a Trombe in a field of roses, she moved in such a way that it didn't draw the attention of others. She was very skilled, as many times people waved at Effa, but didn't seem to spot her companion. "Why offer to help?"
Kassandra's grin became softer. "I was separated from my mother when I was a child of ten," she said, glancing at her. "It took me years and many adventures to reconnect with her. How could I not help?"
The place where Effa walked into was nothing like she had ever seen before. Strange paintings adorned the walls, there were things and devices she could barely understand, but this was no place for a commoner!
Besides them, there were only two people here; one standing behind the bar, the other, a woman dressed in strange clothing, with brown hair tied in a ponytail. Both of them had apparently been talking when they had arrived.
Effa hesitated, but Kassandra unwaveringly led her in, and then waved a greeting at the woman behind the bar. "Sunset! I found Effa."
Effa studied the woman named Sunset, as something tickled her memory. Sunset… wasn't that the name of the noble that Lutz and Rozemyne had met before she had been adopted by the Aub? It made sense… it was a noble that knew Rozemyne before she had become one herself! And much like Damuel must be someone that had kept the secret!
Upon realizing she was standing in front of a noble, Effa made a move to kneel, but Sunset spoke up. "No need for that, Effa, you're our guest today."
Effa blinked in surprise. "I'm… thankful, mylady, but—"
"None of that either," Sunset said, smiling as she walked around the bar and smiled warmly at her. "Rozemyne is my beloved student, you know? I couldn't treat her mom any less than as part of the family."
This was the first time in her entire life that Effa could have kissed another woman. Instead, she smiled shyly and looked down. "Thank you. But won't Aub Ehberfest object to that?"
"Not here," Sunset said firmly. "Now, come. I hope you don't mind sharing a table for now… I'll bring you something to drink. For now, let me introduce you two, this is Yuka Motosu. Yuka, this is Effa, who I was telling you about earlier."
It was nerve-wracking having a noble serve her. It was just tea and snacks, but Effa felt like she was going to faint! What-how had Rozemyne done this?! Even Damuel, as kind and understanding as he was, would never—
Yuka stood up and bowed slightly with a sad smile. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Um," Effa stammered, blinking at the slightly familiar move. Wasn't that the bowing Rozemyne had done? Probably a noble and temple thing. She bowed similarly. "T-the pleasure is mine, my lady."
The woman smiled. "I'm not a noble either, please, sit down and let's talk."
Effa nodded, sitting carefully across from the other woman as Lady Sunset returned to serve them tea and a plate of cookies. Rather than let anxiety dominate her with the noble doing this for her, she studied Yuka instead.
If she wasn't a noble, Yuka was certainly not a lower-city commoner. Her skin was clean, and her clothes were of good quality, if unusual. She probably was a rich merchant. Maybe she was from another Dutchy where the trends were different?
She made a mental note to draw the design when she got home. Maybe she could get some new ideas that might help Tuli, herself, and more importantly, Rozemyne. Where was she anyway?
As if reading her mind, Yuka spoke again, reaching out to Effa with an envelope. "Rozemyne asked me to give you this before we talked. She said it would help put your mind at ease."
Effa took the letter, feeling like she was being judged, despite having just met Yuka. For not being a noble, that was a very noble-like attitude!
As if realizing what she was doing, Yuka sighed and closed her eyes. Composing herself. "I apologize… I know it was rude to look at you as I did."
Effa noded, still wary of the whole situation, then opened the letter. She immediately recognized Rozemyne's beautiful handwriting. There was not much written there, just a simple message:
I will be there soon. Please feel at ease at the Isekai. It's a special place where nothing bad can happen. You will not be mistreated or threatened. No one will hear things they shouldn't.
Yuka is someone you can definitely trust! She won't tell anyone our secret, so trust me, and trust her.
Well. As far as communications from Rozemyne went, that wasn't the worst, even if she wished her daughter had been more forthcoming with information.
"It's odd that Rozemyne wouldn't have introduced us in person," Effa said. "How do you know her?"
"The truth is," Yuka said, "that I lost my child some time ago, and well, from what I've heard, she was very similar to your own daughter. I met Rozemyne a year or so after losing mine, when I was… laying flowers at the cemetery."
Immediately Effa's guard lowered a little. Not completely, but a little. She carefully sipped her tea, enjoying the flavor, but not forgetting to practice her manners. This was the best chance she would get outside of help from Tully. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said gently. "How was she similar?"
Yuka smiled. "Well, she loved books. If she got her nose in one, there was little anyone could do to get her attention back."
That got a laugh out of Effa. "That does sound familiar. Myne is the same way. When it comes to books she'll get her hands dirty and work until she collapses, but other manual labor was too unimportant."
Yuka nodded, smiling. "Yes. My daughter, Urano, was the same way. I tried to teach her many crafts, or encourage her to dance or play a musical instrument, or do sports… but her heart and soul were always within those pages." She looked down. "She loved them so much…"
Effa's heart melted at the look in Yuka's eyes. The other woman's lips were pressed together and tears were welling up.
"I miss her so much."
Fighting back tears of her own, Effa forgot about propriety (something that could get her killed in certain situations) and reached across the table to hold Yuka's hand.
The other woman sniffled and nodded with a small smile of thanks. "I like to think that life goes on somewhere else, and wherever my Urano went after… I hope that she's happy." She gave Effa a very slight shug. "Speaking of which, I'm told you've been separated from your daughter… I can't imagine going through that."
Effa nodded, gathering her thoughts. Yuka had lost her daughter… in a way it was similar, yet not. She couldn't see Rozemyne outside of very few, very specific, very, very, very calculated circumstances. and even then couldn't act as a mother… but she could at least see her. She could make sure her little girl looked well, and although she hadn't been trained well enough to visit the castle, the odd visit to the temple allowed her a glimpse of Rosemyne, and how she was becoming a wonderful young noble woman.
Remembering that, she let go of Yuka's hand and straightened up. "Yes. Although my daughter is alive, I cannot see her when I want, and she cannot visit me. If we meet each other… I cannot be her mother, or address her as such. For her own protection, and for that of our family, I must act like a stranger to her."
"How sad," Yuka said softly. "Rozemyne clearly loves you very much as well. It's such a shame that we can't be with our loved ones due to forces outside of our control."
Effa simply pressed her lips. "We had to pretend she had died. And we had to tell everyone the same thing to protect her and the rest of us—" she stopped herself, curling her hands into trembling fists. She had kept that inside for years now, and speaking about it to a stranger was both nerve-wracking and freeing. But mostly nerve-wracking. "I trust Rozemyne when she says that here I can speak freely, but out there… if anyone hears this... "
"They won't," Yuka said firmly. "Not from here, and definitely not from me. I would never betray Rozemyne like that, nor you."
Effa looked up to see Yuka struggling to hide tears.
"I can't be with my daughter…" Yuka said in an almost-whisper. "She is gone from my life now, and even before that she was distant and—" She took a shuddering breath, letting it out slowly, visibly fighting to control herself until, with a sigh, she slumped slightly. "Even though you are not allowed to be her mother in public, she is there, she's alive, and she knows you are her mother."
A crystalline chime announced the door to the bar opening, and a few seconds later a familiar young girl stepped into the room, dressed in a finely-made black and ochre school uniform that Effa immediately recognized as the one worn in the Noble Academy. The young girl, a cute girl with golden, honey-like hair and grass-green eyes glanced around curiously before a familiar voice called out to her.
"Philine, I told you I'm fine on my own."
"My Lady, you should always have one of your retainers with you at all times!"
Behind the girl, Rozemyne stepped in, dressed similarly, only with even a better quality of materials.
"You say that, but you really just want to visit Khisanth and Mirage, don't you?" Rozemyne asked.
When the girl, Philine, blushed and looked down, everyone there knew that Rozemyne had hit the nail on the head, so to speak. "Um… would that be okay?"
"That's not a problem, Philine," Sunset said, smiling at the young girl. "Just head out the door. It'll drop you off with Mirage."
Philine looked ecstatic then remembered herself and glanced at Rozemyne, who sighed. "Go ahead, I'll meet you here when you're done."
"Thank you, My Lady!" Philine gasped, then bowing to everyone in the room, she happily turned around and left. The bell chimed again and the sound of a door closing reached everyone's ears. Sunset and Rozemyne shared a giggle before the former nodded at Yuka and Effa.
"And on that note," Yuka said, startling Effa, who had been distracted by her daughter and her assistant's shenanigans, "I should go. It was a pleasure to meet you, Effa."
Effa also stood, smiling. "And you too, Yuka."
She watched as the other woman walked towards Rozemyne and gave her a firm, but warm, hug before leaving the bar. Somehow the action hit her deep within her heart, like she was seeing a family part, odd as it was.
"Mom? Thanks for coming," Rozemyne said, wiping little tears from her eyes. She had relaxed her speech, but her education in noble society was such that even now it sounded more refined than before. "I'm sorry I made you wait."
Effa smiled, shaking her head. It was the first time in a long time she had taken a good look at her daughter, and Myne was looking much healthier than ever before. "I'm just glad I get to see you. Thank you for arranging this."
Rozemyne grinned that familiar, spirited smile of hers. "Sunset decided it was a good time to celebrate Mother's Day."
Rozemyne's smile never dwindled as she gave Effa a small box with one of those strange symbols of hers on the lid. "These can be shared with Dad and the others if you want, but always remember I made them specially for my mom."
Yuka sat down on her sofa. The TV was on with the news, but the volume was low enough just for it to work as background noise as she took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Things had gone very different than she had expected in her life.
When Urano had passed away, it had turned into nothing but dull grays and monotony. But somehow her daughter lived on. Different in many ways, but still living. It gave her hope that life could get better. Meeting Effa had been heartwarming, even if this other woman was now her daughter's biological mother, as crazy as that sounded, she knew that her daughter was loved… adored even by her family.
It had been a short conversation, but what had mattered was Effa's very evident love for her child. Hopefully Rozemyne's other mothers were just as devoted.
Yuka sighed and massaged her temple. "Two biological mothers, and two adoptive mothers. All at the same time. You really have a crazy life, Urano." She snorted at how crazy that sounded, even to herself, knowing it was true, then reached into her purse and pulled out a box identical to the one Rozemyne had given Effa.
The Kanji on the lid read: "For Mom"
With a soft smile she opened the box and found several neat rows of cookies inside.
Urano might not be with her anymore, and her daughter might have changed in more ways than one, but she was still there, and she loved her too.
And that love from her daughter was all she needed.
Elizabet's sighed with a deep sense of contentment and the surety of a future existing for earth. She knew she was dying, but she had done everything she could and thus had no regrets. Her legacy... the human race... would live on. She sighed again, ignoring the warnings and beeping of her suit as the devastated Earth and distant clouds of plague slowly faded from view.
She had never failed to believe in their cause, or second-guessed the necessary lies and hope she had given the people of Earth as the plague devastated everything around them. As soldiers fought and died for every inch of ground as the world crumbled around them through the actions of the tiny percent of people that controlled mega corporations so powerful and wealthy that they had steered the fate of humanity and all beings on Earth towards a devastating almost-extinction.
Before, she was filled with hope. Now, she was filled with contentment of a job well-done. Her last message to the future daughters she would never meet was recorded. Things would progress as intended until nature took its course and change happened… and her daughters were born a thousand years in the future.
And she knew this certainty because of a fluke in the world. Something so unexpected, so… unscientific that it had blindsided her completely and altered her understanding of everything. She had been amazed. She had been angry. She had been shown that her sacrifice, and that of everyone else meant something.
And now she could rest.
"I'm telling you this is not how this works! Gah! Por que no me entiendes? Esta mujer esta muerta! Just let her go."
"Bah! Metiche! I did not ask you to come with me. Besides, this is a personal favor."
Or she would… if not for the voices.
When she opened her eyes, she saw two curious beings. One, in a dark-gray, almost black poncho, was very clearly an anthropomorphic wolf, with red eyes and a dangerous air about him. The other, also with a dangerous air to her, was a female skeleton in a red, velvet dress, with a large winged hat decorated with orange flowers of some kind. Somehow, despite being a skeleton, her female figure was clearly filling out the dress itself. Her skeletal face was decorated with carefully painted swirls and makeup, reminding her of the ancient Mexican skull decorations. And despite the fact that she was clearly a skeleton, her mouth moved as if it were flesh and blood. It didn't make sense… but it somehow felt right.
It was then that Elisabet remembered that she was supposed to be dead. She looked down at herself, and panic shot up her spine in a second. She wasn't wearing her environmental suit! She turned around, wide-eyed and—there she was.
Slumped over, observing the world around her with eyes that couldn't see anymore, her body would remain there forever.
"Oh." Elisabet said. She looked down at her arms, noticing for the first time that they were slightly translucent.
"Ves? Ya se dio cuenta. Let's just get it over with," the wolf growled.
"You've been too grumpy ever since that cat—"
"I will see him again!" A pause. "Eventually."
Elisabet turned to face her visitors once more, just starting to realize as well, that she should have been freaking out, or at least surprised at seeing them, but instead it just felt… normal. Like it was perfectly reasonable for a sexy female skeleton and a grumpy anthropomorphic wolf to just be there when she died.
Which could only mean…
"Death?" she asked.
"Yes?" they both answered, turning to look at her.
There was an awkward silence until the wolf sighed. "You can simply call me Lobo."
"And you can call me Lady Micte," the skeleton added, smiling.
Smiling. Not grinning. It was a genuine smile coming from a skeleton that shouldn't be able to do that.
As if Lady Micte could read her mind, she shrugged. "It does throw some people off. Especially if I'm not their regular Death."
"Donde esta la Muerte local?" The wolf asked.
"We have a 'local' death?" Elisabet asked, blinking and thanking her Spanish lessons hadn't faded altogether.
"Well, they're busy," Lady Micte said in a matter-of-fact tone, waving with her hand at the massive cloud of self-replicating murderous-ai-controlled machines. "So they didn't mind if I picked up a random soul as a favor."
The wolf threw up his hands in exasperation and muttered something about seeing to the last few living beings on the planet before walking away from them and fading into the air like an apparition.
Which, for all Elisabet knew, was what they all were.
Lady Micte rolled her brown eyes in amusement before turning them to regard Elisabet warmly. "My, but you have been through a lot, haven't you dear?"
"Oddly enough it feels like I still am," Elisabet said, eliciting a small laugh out of Death, who offered her her arm. Taking it, they both started walking towards a door that hadn't been there before. "Wait… is that—"
The door opened. The silver bell chimed. The bar felt solid. Real. She turned to stare at Lady Micte, who smiled and nodded. "Welcome back. Sunset is the one that asked me to bing you here."
"But why?" Elisabet asked as she followed Micte into the bar itself and stopped, staring.
"It's Mother's Day at the Isekai," Micte responded. "The one arm-wrestling Aloy is my daughter, Maya."
Both were dressed like aztec warriors. Or… similar. Maya, Death's daughter, was wearing an armor decorated with feathers and a complicated eagle-like headpiece, obviously crafted as such, while Aloy's armor was decorated with similarly tribal adornments, but the armor itself was an amalgam of machine pieces, as if a hunter had destroyed them and claimed their 'bones' to make their own armor.
It was surreal just seeing Aloy. It was like looking through a mirror that turned her reflection into a stronger, brasher and much fitter young version of herself. Aloy couldn't be older than twenty five, but Elisabet knew that she hadn't looked that good in her younger years.
Next to the two arm-wrestling young adults, was another version of herself. Although she knew Beta was the same age as Aloy, her shy nature and the way she kept looking around the bar in awe and evident interest made her look a little younger. But even if she was less visibly enthusiastic than her sister, it was obvious she was also enjoying herself watching the shenanigans of the warriors.
It was Beta who spotted her first, and gasped.
The distraction threw Aloy off—who was already struggling to keep her elbow straight—and her hand slammed on the table. Maya literally backflipped and struck a pose, both fists in the air. "Woo! I won!"
Aloy didn't argue, she was now also staring straight at Elisabet with her mouth open in surprise.
"Hey, mom!" Maya called out, skipping across the bar to take Death's other arm. "Feliz Dia de las Madres!"
"Thank you, mija, come on, let's find a table and let these three talk," Lady Micte responded, giving Elisabet a smile and a pat on the hand.
The pair walked off while Elisabet stumbled into the bar. She spotted Sunset, who was grinning at her, behind the bar. "Sunset? Is this your doing?"
Sunset shrugged. "Hey. Yes and no. A couple of visitors reminded me I needed to do this. A certain version of the Goddess Bast reminded me that I owed her for tricking her into giving up three possible immortal bodies, and settled for me organizing an interdimensional Mother's Day… so here we are."
"Wait, so what you're saying is…" Beta looked from Sunset to Elisabet. "That's… really you? But how is that possible?"
"It's definitely not science, if that's what you're using as reference," Sunset said, bringing up menus over to their table. "Let me know if you want anything, alright? I need to check on Rozemynes moms."
"Who?" Beta asked.
"She explained it to me the first time," Aloy said, glancing around. "Sometimes you can… yeah, look at that table over there."
"It's empty."
"Look closely."
Elisabet followed Beta's gaze and stared at a table that seemed to be vacant. Then, for a moment the air around it shifted, as if she was looking at a mirage, and she could see two women, one Japanese, one caucasian but with oddly green hair sitting there and talking… and then they were gone.
For one brief moment, the bar seemed to suddenly be full of people talking. A woman with a mass of red hair and two young girls, the youngest one looking as feral and red-headed as her, and the other older one, thinner, well-kept and blonde.
Nearby another table shimmered for a moment, revealing a female-looking duck humanoid in a pilot's getup sitting with three younger ones dressed in red, blue and green each before once more they all faded away.
"Ghosts?" Elisabet asked, blinking.
"Of course not!" Beta said, laughing. "There's no such thing as…" She trailed off, glancing at Elisabet uncomfortably.
"Ghosts?" Elisabet asked again, smiling.
"They're not ghosts," Aloy said. "Sunset explained it to me the first time I was here. It's like… collapsed time and space, they exist in the same place as we are, but not exactly. There could be any number of people around us, but they are not aware of us, or us of them… it's kind of a way to have several people be able to have private conversations in the same room and right to each other. The only ones that are aware of all of them are Sunset and her staff."
"I've a headache now," Beta muttered, sitting down heavily on her chair.
Elisabet could empathize. Her rational mind, as open as it was to experiences and ideas, was still tied to the confines of science and laws as they understood them. They were experiencing a 4th Dimensional event and being cognizant about it taking place.
"I'd probably also feel a headache if I was alive."
And on that thought, she sat down between her clones.
The three of them stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time, until…
"Well, you said you wanted to have a daughter," Aloy said, referencing the message Elisabet had just recorded and Aloy would hear a thousand years in the future. "Surprise?" She grinned a very familiar, uncomfortable grin. "Now you have two?"
Elisabet didn't answer immediately, but after a moment, she reached out and drew both young women into a hug. "So I do. And I have seen a little of what you have gone through and I am so very proud of you both."
After a few seconds she felt the arms of both young women wrap around her too.
"We've been wanting to meet you for so long," Aloy whispered.
"I've wanted to meet you too," Elisabet said, sighing as she let them go and settled down. She glanced at the menu. "How about we get something to drink first?"
"We have so many questions…" Beta said. "About your work… your life…"
"And I want to know more about the world before… were the Pangea holos really that good?" Aloy added.
"How in the world…" Elisabet stared at her, then started laughing.
"It's always fun to have these many guests," Sunset said.
"I have to admit I am impressed," the Goa'uld, Bast, said. She narrowed her eyes, concentrating as she gazed into the empty-yet-full bar. "And you have dealt with my request perfectly, if in a completely baffling manner."
Sunset grinned. "I had been wanting to organize something like this for some time now, so you provided me the perfect excuse."
The Goa'uld sighed as she stood up to leave. "My life changed after our first interaction. I am still annoyed that you took the sirens from me, but I have since reached out to Princess Celestia on your recommendation. We uncovered a plot to destroy me and Sekhmet… you have my thanks."
"Well, I was a bit underhanded," Sunset admitted.
"Aren't we all?" the alien remarked, making her way to the door. "Thank you for sharing some stories with me. I am satisfied with how you reach out to mothers and children. Our arrangement is fulfilled. I shall depart now, and go back to my duties."
"Say hi to SG-1 for me!" Sunset called as the doorbell chimed with the departing Goa'uld.
Sunset glanced around the bar. Unlike her visitors, she could see everyone she had gathered as if they were all existing in the exact time and space, rather than in their own realities. She usually didn't do this, but it allowed all of them to comfortably talk without feeling the need to hold back lest others hear them.
Dela Duck and her boys were having an animated discussion, while Robyn and Mehb were showing Moll food from different places, each plate delighting and surprising the elder Wolfwalker.
Luz caught her eye and waved before returning to her animated chat with Eda and Camila, who were sitting alongside Vee and King.
Neko Haru and her mom were talking at their own tiny table, with the former already showing signs of her first baby, and the latter showering with advice and love.
Rozemyne talked about her life at the Royal Academy with Effa, who hadn't had a chance to speak to her in years. Aloy and Beta both took turns regaling Elisabet with their deeds.
"Hey," a familiar voice made her look up from her musings, and she blinked in surprise.
"Freya?" Sunset asked, walking closer to greet her lover. She took the Burmecian's claws in her hands and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I wasn't expecting you here tonight."
"Kassandra found me. She and I will take care of the bar tonight, so why don't you celebrate Mother's Day as well?"
She nodded over to the other side of the bar, where a table had been set by Rarity, who stood smiling next to Lena, Dani and… "Celestia?"
"Go on, love," Freya insisted. "We've got you covered."
"Are you sure?" she asked. She wasn't comfortable leaving the work to everyone else.
"We insist," Rarity said. "Go spend time with your mom and your daughters, Sunset. There's never a wrong time, but if you're celebrating Mother's Day here, there's no way in the Omniverse we're letting you miss out."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"Don't worry. Ahsoka, Kuro, and White are also coming to help," Kassandra said, giving her an encouraging thumbs-up. "This is your day too, don't miss out."
Before Sunset could protest further, both of her arms were entangled in her daughters', as both teenagers started dragging her away from the bar.
"Come on mom," Lena said, grinning as she pulled her towards the table. "The tea will cool down and granny Celestia is waiting."
"Granny Celestia?" Sunset chuckled as she was pulled over to the table.
"She told us not to call her that," Dani said, "but of course we will. I always wanted a grandma."
"I suppose there's worse things to be called," Celestia said, overhearing them and standing up to walk slowly up to Sunset. The alicorn tilted her head and smiled.
Sunset chuckled and drew her in with a hug, feeling the girls latch to her sides as well as soft wings wrapped around them all. "Thanks for coming, Mom."
"Always."