Twilight’s parents’ living room was pretty cool, all things considered. All sorts of wacky archaeology stuff took up space on the bookshelves, and star charts had overtaken the desk in the corner. The ancient sofa was more comfortable than it looked, too. Scratchy, though. Rainbow squirmed a little on the seat cushion, trying to scratch out the niggling itch between her wings. That was definitely a huge advantage of clouds, really. They didn’t make her all sweaty and tense, even if they were still carrying lightning.
Twilight’s mom was pretty awesome, too. Almost radical, really. The ghost author of Daring Do? Actually, yeah. That totally counted as radical, in Rainbow’s books. But the thing about Twilight’s mom, even as radical and awesome as she was? Twilight’s mom was scary. And Twilight’s mom was practically glaring at her from across the scarred, scuffed coffee table. Rainbow squirmed a little bit more as Twilight Velvet shifted and cleared her throat. Darn fabric cushions…
“So, Rainbow,” Twilight Velvet began. Rainbow swallowed hard and fought to keep a whimper down at those two, perfectly friendly words. Something in the eyes, or maybe teeth, of the other pony sent waves of ice down her spine. “What exactly are your intentions with my daughter?” Rainbow jumped half a foot in the air and struggled to fold her wings into some semblance of decency, blushing. Twilight’s mom raised one eloquent eyebrow, the ghost of a frown on her normally warm mouth.
“Umm… I … uh …” Rainbow choked, looking around the room for inspiration. It was a pretty cool room, after all. She fixed her eyes on a pristine pith helmet, focusing on it instead of the way the little hairs on the back of her neck were all prickling up to attention. After a few seconds, the worst of her free-fall panic subsided, and she turned back to look at Twilight Velvet. “Look,” she sighed, brushing her mane out of her face. Her bangs still tickled her cheekbones after five quick swipes. “I’ve been saving up a lot, since, y’know, the Wonderbolts salary is pretty great…” Rainbow winced. “Not that I’m trying to brag!” she squeaked, her voice cracking horribly. She coughed and chuckled nervously.
“But I was thinking about buying a place, soon. For the two of us. I know Twi … Twilight ... I mean, not you Twilight but your daughter Twilight …” Twilight Velvet’s eyebrow raised itself a few more notches, and blood rushed to Rainbow’s cheeks. “Yeah. I mean, Twilight has the library, but it’s not really all hers, see? But I’d get this little bungalow, maybe with a couple extra bedrooms in it. And then we could move in together. And if she wanted we could get married or something. Like, if she’d be cool with that, I mean,” Rainbow clarified, before rubbing that stupid itch on her wings against the stupid itchy comfy couch.
Twilight Velvet broke out into a huge, amazing smile that made Rainbow feel like she’d just done three Rainbooms at the same time. And suddenly Twilight’s mom was hugging her, tighter and warmer than Rainbow could ever remember being hugged. She keened a little and nuzzled into the softness of Twilight Velvet’s neck, pressing herself into this strange comfort.
The front door opened and slammed shut. Rainbow couldn’t care less. Something in this bear hug made the rest of the world less important, at least for now. Hoofsteps came closer, and Rainbow finally looked up from her constant nuzzling, bleary.
Twilight Sparkle’s dad closed his gaping jaw with a crisp snap. And Twilight Sparkle took a single, hesitant step forward, looking quizzically at her mother and her girlfriend. “What’s going on?” she asked, her mouth halfway smiling, her forehead showing clear signs of confusion.
[TIME]
Twilight’s mom looked at Twilight’s dad, her face alight with a serene joy. “Night Light, I think we have ourselves another daughter,” she said.
Twilight’s Parents’ living room was pretty cool.Watery, but cool. Two more sets of forelegs and familiar, well-trimmed claws had snaked their way around Rainbow’s shoulders and back, adding even more warmth, even more softness. Twilight’s family … no, their family was the best thing ever. And the rest of the world could wait for a while.