Lilac Stardust
May 5th, 2013
“Wake up! Wake up! Lilac wake up! Wake up!”
Squinting my eyes open, I saw my mother jumping excitedly before me. Her smile was so big I thought her face would get stuck like that. Her usually pajamas were gone, and in it’s place was a pink-orange dress. Her normally crazy hair was brushed into elegant curls. I think she was even wearing make-up on her face!
It had been four months since the now called ’January Incident’. Mom’s parents had been letting me stay with them simply because I refused to stay away from Mom. The only condition was that I go to school. I had been getting close with my uncles; Damian, Terence and Nathan. Little Nathan liked my blue hair... as a toy.
I had begun to understand the Spencer Weekly Ritual. Monday, school. Tuesday, leave by eight and return by six. Wednesday, school. Thursday, school. Friday, maybe school. Saturday, weekly shopping. Sunday, morning Church. Mom had only gone to Church twice since my acceptance into the family. She slept through it anyway. I’ve never been to her church, the closest I ever got was Chapel at school and Mrs. Spencer’s Bible Class at school.
Mom had tried explaining to me that she was a Christian (whatever that is). She believes that someone had died for her (even though she’s told me tons of people had died for her, but this guy was special) and that he was her savior. She tried explaining to me that other Christians, and other people known as Baptists and Catholics, went to church either Sunday morning or Saturday night.
She, also, never got up before me.
Mom shook me to get my attention. “Come on Lilac! We need to get up!”
I groaned, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. Climbing out of the bed, I watched as Mom pulled out a lilac colored dressed from her closet. It was a small dress, with no sleeves and appeared it would reach past my knees. Around the waist was a midnight blue cloth wrapping all around it with a large matching bow.
The black haired girl threw the dress at me, that smile still on her face. “Get dress, Li, we need to get going.”
Staring at the dress, glancing between it and my mom, I asked her a question. “Mom, I thought you didn’t go to church on Sundays?”
“I don’t.” Mom said, reaching into the closet and pulled out a pair of white sandals. “But this Sunday is different than the others.”
I tilted my head. “Why?”
Mom looked at me. Her expression was shocked, it went away almost as soon as it came. “I forgot.” Then she gasped excitedly. “Oh my gosh! This is your first Easter!”
I raised a brow. “Easter?”
“Easter Sunday! It’s your first Easter Sunday!” Mom told me.
Mrs. Spencer was brushing my hair, trying to find a new hairstyle for it. The dress I was wearing felt scratchy against my skin, I miss my scales. I knew it was made by Miss Rarity because I found her label on the back of the neckline. The shoes, midnight blue shoes that Mom called Mary-Janes, were a little tight around the heel even with the white socks.
Staring at the mirror, I noticed Mrs. Spencer trying to curl my hair. She had picked a lilac purple bow to put into it once she was finished, but there was apparently a big knot in the back of my hair that was giving her trouble.
Mrs. Spencer was a pretty human. Her skin was lightly tanned, with some freckles on her cheeks. She has the prettiest eyes of ocean blue, complimenting the sandy blonde hair reaching her shoulders. She was wearing make-up, though more than Mom. Black eyeliner covered some of her eye, red blush on her cheeks, bright red lipstick, nails painted sky blue, and a black and white dress. Mrs. Spencer’s earrings were pearl with a golden setting. Around her neck was a simple necklace made of gold, with four shoes as pendants.
As she brushed, I thought to ask. “Mrs. Spencer?”
“Ugh. Think I got that half-way there-oh. Yes Lilac?”
“Why are you wearing a necklace with shoes? Isn’t that weird?” I asked.
Mrs. Spencer shrugged. “Well, yes, but this necklace is special.”
“Like the Elements of Harmony necklaces?” I asked.
Mrs. Spencer laughed, though it that motherly way Mom does. “No. Not that kind. You see, these shoes stand for each of my children.”
I was confused. “How?”
Mrs. Spencer lightly turned me around so we were face-to-face. She lifted the necklace so I could get a better look. The shoes were all a different design; the first was all gold, the neck was bronze, the next was light blue with age, the fourth was silver. “You see, four shoes, four kids. The gold is for Morgan, the bronze is for Derek, the blue is for Terence, the silver is for Nathan. Each time I had another child I added another shoe. I wear it on special occasions like today.”
“But...where’s my shoe?” I asked, noticing the lack of a fifth shoe.
Her blue eyes widened. “Oh! Umm...you see-”
“No. It’s okay if I don’t have one. Those are for your kids, and I’m not one of them. Sorry for asking.” I apologized, turning back to the mirror so Mrs. Spencer could get back to brushing.
The woman sighed, getting back to the brushing. We sat in silence the rest of the time.
“Everybody, get in the car! We gotta get moving!” Mr. Spencer yelled. He was dressed in a lavender shirt with long jeans and shined up brown leather shoes.
My uncles were dressed up too. Their hair was brushed at they were wearing fancy clothes. Uncle Derek was carrying a book with a brown cover and in gold writing on the front. Mr. Spencer had a book too. Mom just brought her phone.
Mom, instead of giving a remark, just smiled. “Sparkle of Twilight! You’re gonna be late!” She shouted back into the house.
“Gah! Coming!” A voice called out.
Soon after, Miss Twilight ran outside. She was wearing the dress Rarity gave her for her birthday. It looked amazing, even in her human form.
Her tri colored hair was brushed beautifully. Although she didn’t wear make-up, she did wear her Element of Harmony. She was bringing a large notebook, ten black pens (she didn’t understand they had a lot of ink) and a spare notebook.
Miss Twilight Sparkle half glared at Mom, trying to organize all the objects in her arms with her purple magic.
“Uh-uh-uh. You know the rule today, Twi. No magic.” Mom said as she walked to the family’s tan minivan.
Miss Twilight gasped. The objects in her magical grasp gathering themselves into her arms. “What? But how am I-”
Mom silenced Miss Twilight. “You want a look into human religion, then act human. For two hours, Twilight, just don’t use magic. Let’s make that Rule #1 for today. No Magic on Church Grounds.”
The unicorn turned human was ready to say more, but stopped herself. I laughed.
“Don’t know why you’re laughin’. The rule applies to you too.” Mom said.
My jaw dropped. No magical fire today? Awesome! I was starting to see why Mom liked this holiday!
The church parking lot was nearly filled when we arrived. One by one we filed out of the car, looking over at the small building where a majority of the Spencer family spent their Sunday mornings.
Mom had told me it was a small building. The room where the service was held was the largest and first room.
Walking inside with Miss Twilight, I learned she was right.
The room was fairly small. The walls were painted in a very dark gray, with multicolored carpeting but overall it was dark gray purple. The seating was split in two, with small armless black chairs in three rows each with at least ten seats.
A door to the stallion’s room was straight ahead of the door and just to the left of it was a soundboard. In the far left corner of the room, a bunch of musical instruments were placed. The drum set was blocked by clear dividers, there was a keyboard and three microphone stands. I saw two guitars waiting by them.
The other thing I noticed, was the large amount of people dressed in their best. Women dressed in dresses, men in fancy clothes, even the little foals were...erm little children were dressed up with their hair brushed back. It was strange. Is was this how they dressed every Sunday?
Miss Twilight walked up beside me just as a couple people walked up to Mr. and Mrs. Spencer.
“Lathan, Sara. Hi!” A woman greeted.
“Lathan, what’s up man?” A man greeted.
Mom came up behind Miss Twilight and I, gently guiding us away from the slightly growing crowd around her parents.
“Uhh...Mom, why are all these...people dressed up?” I asked, gesturing to everypony in the room.
“Because, it’s Easter Sunday. You gotta dress up on Easter Sunday.” She explained.
“Why are you moving us away from your parents?” Miss Twilight asked.
Mom gulped, looking back to her family with an almost scared look. “No reason.” She lied. Mom stopped us once we were on the other side of the room, the large crowd separating us from her family. She reached into her large beach bag purse and handed Miss Twilight one of those brown books with gold lettering on the front. “Here ya go Twilight, your own personal copy of the Bible.”
Miss Twilight smiled, taking the book in her hands and staring at the bottom corner. “You had it monogrammed for me?” Mom nodded. “It says Sparkle of Twilight.” Miss Twilight glared at Mom.
“That is does.” Mom smirked. “The book is yours to keep. You can take notes in it, the section for note taking is in the back, or you can just write insi-” Mom came to a stop when she saw Miss Twilight’s glare. “Okay. Writing in the back then.”
“I still can’t work out how these pens work.” Miss Twilight said, trying to ask to use magic.
“No magic. I haven’t been teaching you to write for no reason, Sparkle of Twilight. You. Will. Be. Normal.”
“What’s with all this demand for me being normal today, Raspberry?” Miss Twilight asked.
Oh no, I think they’re gonna fight soon.
“No reason. Is it so wrong that I want you to try to adapt to human culture?” Mom said.
“Nothing’s wrong, I’m just curious as to why you want me to hide who I am.” Miss Twilight argued.
“It’s not that,” Mom defended. “I just...the people here...they don’t really...get magic.”
Miss Twilight raised a brow. “What’s there to get? It’s just a form a science showing the inner energies within a pony, I mean, person to work with the area around them via wings, horns or hooves.” Miss Twilight explained.
“Do you see anyone around here with those?” Mom asked, an angry look on her face.
Miss Twilight opened her mouth to retort. The two of us looked around and remembered that everypony here was human. They didn’t know what magic was. They couldn’t even control the weather!
“Oh...” Miss Twilight started.
“Yeah...” Mom finished. “Now you see why I want you to be normal for today?”
Miss Twilight continued looking at the crowd, a curious look on her face. “All of today?”
“Yep. From now until midnight.” Mom ordered.
“Why not until this...Church is over?” Miss Twilight asked. “It seems that those extra hours are a little...much.”
Mom was silent. “Just be normal for today. The human equivalent of normal, not the-” Mom glanced about before whispering “Equestrian version.”
“Why are you whispering?” I asked.
The teenager looked over our heads in the direction of her family. “No reason.” She lied again.
Miss Twilight spoke. “Why are we sitting so far away from your parents?”
Mom almost laughed, but a kind of angry laugh. Like someone had just told her she was crazy. “Sit near my family? I haven’t done that since I was thirteen years old.”
“Why not?” Miss Twilight dug further.
“This is not about questioning my personal reasons for not sitting with my family. This is about showing you and Lilac a peaceful First Easter Sunday!” Mom nearly growled. “Once the festivities are done I’m taking you both back home so you can spend the rest of the day enjoying your findings. If we’re lucky, you won’t get to see my family for more than ten minutes.”
Miss Twilight raised a brow. “You’re trying to keep Lilac and I from your family on Easter Sunday? A holiday that, by my research, is about love and family?”
Mom nodded, giving Miss Twilight an almost annoyed look. “Let’s just drop it.” Mom ordered in her I’m The Boss voice.
“So...now what happens?” I asked, hoping to break the tension before Miss Twilight and Mom fought.
A man picked up a the guitar, playing a cord which made it fill up the whole room.
“Worship.” Mom said, laying back against one of the walls.
The service had ended. That’s what Mom told me. The whole thing still confused me to no end. If God created all things, why did he cause evil? Why did he let his son die? Why do we celebrate his death every year with chocolate eggs and bunnies?
I’m saying we. Like I’m a part of this. Like I believe it.
Miss Twilight seemed confused as well. Although she had that entire book filled with notes (both in the back of the book and inside [she found a lot of grammatical/logical errors]) of it. She turned towards Mom afterwards. “Morgan,” She began.
“Yes Sparkle of Twilight?” Mom said quickly, like she had fallen asleep and Miss Twilight had woken her up.
The bluenette noticed. “Were you asleep?”
“...maybe...” Mom dragged out, slouching into her seat.
“For how long?”
“After he said ’Easter Sunday’.” Mom yawned, rubbing her eyes.
“That was two hours ago!” Miss Twilight exclaimed.
“Yep. Best sleep I ever get is on Easter Sunday.” Mom face scrunched up in pondering. “No. Christmas Sunday is when I get my best sleep. No, I don’t sleep on Christmas. Still Easter.”
Miss Twilight facepalmed. She went on as if that conversation had not happened. “Morgan, I noticed some points in this book that don’t make sense.”
Mom gestured for Miss Twilight to continue. “Explain.”
Miss Twilight turned to the front of the book. Everyone around us was getting up from their chairs and walking around. They were talking with other and making it very loud. It echoed off the walls and irritated my ears. “It says here, in Chapter One-”
“It’s called Genesis.” Mom corrected.
“-that there is something called an angel guarding a mystical land known as the Garden of Eden. How was the author able to see this garden without access?” Miss Twilight asked.
Mom shrugged. “God wrote it.”
“The man Mr. Philby was speaking about?” Miss Twilight commented.
“Eeyup.”
“He wrote the bible?” I asked.
“Yep. God wrote it beginning to end.” Mom answered.
“But how?”
“He was more of a Ghost Writer.” Mom explained.
“Alright.” Miss Twilight wrote in the book. “How did this...Noah... build a boat that fit a thousand animals at least.”
“God made it bigger on the inside.” Mom answered.
“That’s not possible.” Miss Twilight argued.
“You believe in a magical alicorn that raises the sun, while her sister lowers the moon.” Mom stated.
“You’ve seen the Princess do that.” Miss Twilight almost growled.
“Yeah, but if you believe that you can believe in a man building a small boat with over a thousand animals fitting inside it.” Mom explained. “Oh, if you think that’s fun you should read about Moses.”
“Who?” Miss Twilight asked.
Mom opened her mouth to answer, but a woman tapped on her shoulder. Mom turned towards the woman, a fake smile on her face.
“Ms. Vanessa! Hi!” Mom greeted.
The woman was in her early thirties. She had golden brown hair with tan skin. Her eyes were big and brown, her smile was almost at Pinkie Pie levels of cheer.
“Morgan! Oh it has been too long!” She reached down and hugged Mom.
I tried to get Mom’s attention by tapping her shoulder when somepony tapped mine. Turning back to see who, I saw a young woman with Applejack’s blonde mane and forest green eyes.
“Hello. And who might you be?” She asked. “Are you one of Morgan’s cousins?”
In a small stage of fright, I turned to my mom to see Ms. Vanessa had dragged her off to speak with two more humans. They looked kinda elderly. Oh dear.
“What’s your name sweetie?” The blonde woman asked.
“Uh...Mom told me not to talk to strangers.” Was all I said, trying to scoot closer towards Miss Twilight.
The student caught on to my worry. “Excuse me, but who are-”
“Oh my! I love your hair!” The woman said, walking up behind Miss Twilight.
Miss Twilight raised a brow. “This hair?” She tugged at the ends. “What about it?”
“It’s so creative! I mean, sure the little sweetheart has just plain blue, but you put in some purple and pink! How did you get it to do that?” The blonde woman asked.
We had started to gain the attention of other onlookers. It was slightly unnerving. I hadn’t been surrounded by this much humans with my mom at least a yard away. She was still talking with the elderly people and Ms. Vanessa, but her eyes were wide as she kept glancing back to me and Miss Twilight.
“Umm...” Miss Twilight began “I was born with it?”
The blonde stepped back, laughing. “No, I mean what kind of dyes did you use. I might have to try it for my Halloween costume in a couple of months.”
“Yeah.” Another female agreed. “Did you have a professional do it? Do you know the name? Is it local?”
Miss Twilight was starting to blush. It was more pronounced when she was a human. She had such pale cheeks. “Uhh...n-no. I r-really mean it’s natural. I-I’ve had it since I was a f-baby.” Miss Twilight self-corrected. Her purple eyes going wife when she realized she almost said foal.
A human male piped in. “Woah. Are those purple contacts? Where did you get those!”
“It’s all natural.” Miss Twilight said, starting to get annoyed from the tone of her voice.
The women and men flinched back. “What?” A few asked.
“This is my natural hair, and these are my natural eyes.” Miss Twilight explained to the surprised crowd.
“N-no way.” The original blonde woman stuttered. “Nobody has natural blue hair.”
This is a bad idea. “I do.” I finally said.
The adults turned to me. I knew I would regret saying that.
“You have natural blue hair? At least you have normal eyes.” A woman with brown hair said, making me uneasy. Wait...I think I feel something...
“And what is that supposed to mean!” Miss Twilight said, rising up from her chair.
“What? You have some kind of ....thing coming out of your head!” A man nearly shouted.
“It’s my horn! What? You want to ask where I got this too?” Miss Twilight growled. She turned back to the brunette. “Now, what did you say about me again?!”
The woman’s face was in pure terror. I know what this feeling is...it’s getting bigger...oh Celestia this is bad.
“T-They aren’t-They aren’t natural.” She muttered.
“Yes. They. Are!” Miss Twilight yelled.
I’m...I’m gonna...sneeze...
“I don’t believe you!” Another man argued. “No one has purple eyes, blue hair, and some weird growth coming out of their head!”
“M-Miss T-Twilight...” I squeaked.
The student turned to me, hearing the fear in my voice. “Lilac, are you alri-”
“ACHOO!” I sneezed.
The force was strong enough to lift me from my chair. Midnight blue fire with bright blue tips emerged from my lips as I sneezed. The people in front of me flinched back in fear. The large crowd took large steps away from Miss Twilight and I.
Mom was staring at me wide eyed. The two humans she was talking to were very afraid.
“What the heck was that?!”
“Did she just sneeze fire!?”
“Get that thing out of here!”
Hearing everypony say those mean things and giving me funny looks, I got up from my seat and ran to the door.
“Li, wait!” Mom called out.
My eyes were blurry, but I still ran off in the direction of the Center.
I hated Easter Sunday.
Morgan
7 a.m.
“Morgan, honey, time to wake up.” Mom’s gentle voice said, yanking me out from my sleep.
Groaning, I rubbed my tired eyes. The sky was starting to brighten on the East Coast. Stumbling out of the room, I began my Sunday morning routine when I went to Church.
I had some blueberry muffins for breakfast, brushed my teeth, took a fifteen minute shower, got my dress on, and all while avoiding my family.
You see, we had grown more distant since the January Incident. They disapproved of many of my Travels. More especially my horror movie ones from my pre-teens. Dad liked adventure movies, Mom liked romantic comedies. I liked horror, comedies, and the occasional LMN movie. Parents disapprove of it.
So, when they heard Darcy had met an untimely demise, they had questions. None of which were answered. It’s hard to avoid people when they follow you everywhere.
“What’s happening?” Twilight said, her head rising from the book fort she had been buried under.
“’bout time you got up.” I told her. “We have a lot of things to do today.” I picked up a muffin and tossed it to her. She caught it with some difficulty.
“Wha?” Twilight said groggily.
I rolled my eyes. “It’s Easter Sunday, Twi. We talked about it. You wanted to understand human culture so you could report to Celestia about it.”
The blue haired mare nodded. “Right. That was today.”
“It is today, egghead. Get dressed, we leave at nine thirty.” I instructed.
“Morgan! It’s time to do you hair!” Mom shouted from upstairs.
I groaned. I already had my dress on!
Mom pulled at my hair, trying to brush out all of the knots. It wasn’t as bad as it was last year. It was still kinda painful.
“Gah!” I bit my lip. I was a bit of a tender head. “Mom, please. I need this hair.”
I could almost hear Mom rolling her eyes. “Morgan, you have to look move today. You rarely get to see your grandparents since they moved to Africa.”
Grandpa and Grandma Spencer. They were Dad’s parents. They moved to South Africa when I was fourteen. They were nice. Grandpa was a little generous on hugs and Grandpa kisses. Grandma always tried to start a conversation with you even when you were in the shower. I didn’t completely enjoy my time with them, since I could never Travel or get a moment’s peace with them or have a conversation that didn’t end up being about Gospel ministry or what kind of medical steps I need to take to ensure I stay healthy and strong.
They were also doctors. Imagine being me, the supposed first of your kind, with doctor grandparents asking you medical questions. Fun huh?
Sorry. I’m going tangent.
“I know Mom. I know. Grandpa and Grandma try really hard to be with is, so we should be decent, kind, and respectful.” I said tiredly. I had said it over a thousand times.
Mom groaned. “Morgan...”
“Sorry Mom.” I lied. “I’ve had a hard time at work.”
Oh. Another great thing to tell the grandparents. I managed to score top job at a company where I brutally murdered the previous boss, as well as three other workers. Did I mention I was able to kill him because I was locked in it’s dungeon for breaking and entering? Yeah. It pays well, at least.
“Really?” Mom asked, that curious Mom voice coming up. “What happened?”
’Dicks.’ I almost told Mom. She hated when I swore. A bunch of Travelers had been filing complaints against me. They didn’t think I was ’emotionally stable’ for the job of Reigning Princess. They were people who supported Dominic and wanted to have my ass arrested.
Which is another thing I didn’t want. The detective I met after Dominic shot me, Detective Wilde, was still investigating what happened. You don’t know how many times he has come to the Center looking for evidence. He hasn’t come with a warrant yet, so that’s good.
“Everything.” I said, sighing deeply.
“You know,” Mom said after a while, “you can talk to your father and I about anything.”
I rolled my eyes. Then I recoiled as Mom brushed thru another hard knot.
After Sermon
After being oh so rudely awakened by Twilight, I found myself face to face with the most cheery person at my church.
Ms. Vanessa.
With her clown worthy smile, brunette Rapunzel-from-Tangled hair, and big green eyes, it was hard to hate her. It was easy, however, to be annoyed at her.
“Ms. Vanessa! Hi!” I greeted.
“Morgan! Oh it has been too long!” The woman reached down and hugged me. It was slightly awkward for me.
“Yeah...too long...” I said, struggling to get out of the lingering hug.
When it finally ended, she gestured towards...my grandparents. “I was just talking with your grandparents when I saw you sitting over here.”
She lifted me up by my arm. The two of us began walking towards Grandpa and Grandma.
Grandpa was an older version of my father. People thought my dad was huggy, they haven’t met Terence Spencer.
Grandma looked really nice. She had pale skin with some patches here and there on her arms. Her small eyes rested behind Liberian glasses were dark forest green. Her rusty brown hair was shoulder length with curled tips.
They both wore their Sunday best. Grandma even wore her pearls.
“Morgan!” Grandpa cheered. “Bubba’s girl. Come ’ere.”
Nodding my head, I walked over to Grandpa as he hugged me tight. He gave my forehead a sloppy kiss. The extremely awkward and long hug was near impossible to escape.
When I was finally able to take a step back, I stood in front of Grandma. “We missed you when we came in.” She admitted, sounding a little disappointed.
“Yeah. I know.” I said, turning my head to see Lilac talking with Miss Trisha. Smurf.
“Why didn’t you come sit with Grandpa and Grandma?” Grandpa asked.
“I like sitting by myself.” I admitted, now desperate to get back to Lilac before things got hectic.
“Not on Easter.” Grandma said, her South African accent kicking in strong. “You should’ve been sitting with us.”
Now, Old Me would’ve told Grandma Spencer off. New (Motherly) Me knew to shut up.
“I’ll be sure to do that next time, Grandma.” I said, looking back to see Twilight talking with Miss Trisha. It was getting heated. “Actually, I need to-”
“Are you helping your mother and I with lunch?” Grandma asked.
“Always am, Grandma.” I said, worried for Lilac.
“Oh, good. Do you have the ingredients for creamed corn? Or dinner rolls? Or the ham?” Grandma asked me hurriedly.
“Martha, Sara said-” Grandpa started
“Terry, I am trying to talk to Morgan.” Grandma said, turning back to me. “Or what about the vegetables? Do you have those?”
“Yes Grandma. We gave the corn, chicken, rolls, and vegetables. We also have the ingredients for brownies, mashed potatoes, tea, and supplies for an Easter Egg Hunt. We have everything we need.” I said.
“See, Martha, I told you-”
“Terry I know, I know. I just wanted to make sure they had everything.” Grandma explained. “What kind of Easter Supplies?”
I groaned quietly. Looking over at Lilac, I saw Twilight getting an argument with another church goer. “Look, I get you two don’t come around often, but we have everything prepared so if you’ll excuse me I have to-”
“ACHOO!”
Snapping over to Lilac, I saw the last bits of blue flame fade into the air. The large crowd previously surrounding Lilac and Twilight took steps away. They all looked afraid.
“What the heck was that?!”
“Did she just sneeze fire!?”
“Get that thing out of here!”
Lilac shook her head. She got up from her seat and ran to the door.
“Li, wait!” I called out.
The girl didn’t listen to me. She kept on running.
I tried running after her. The crowd thickened around the door. I was trapped. I couldn’t get to her.
“Lilac!” I called out. “Li!” Stretching my neck up high, I tried to spot Lilac.
All I could see was the door to the church closing shut.
“Lilac!” I cried out.
Speeding thru my neighborhood, I tried to find Lilac. One would think a girl in purple with blue hair would be easy to find in dark greens. One would also think to have worn different shoes. Searching in this shoes was killer.
“Morgan!”
Turning around, hoping to see someone with Lilac, I just saw Twilight inside my mother’s car.
“What do to want? I have to find my daughter.” I said, storming off to continue my search.
The car rolled up to next to me. Twilight looked over at me. “Morgan, please get in the car.”
“I can cover more ground this way.” I stated.
“It’s going to rain soon.” Twilight pointed out.
“I’m wearing a jacket with a hood.” Pulling up the jacket’s collar, I showed off my black jacket with pink and orange stripes along the sleeve side. “I will be dry.”
Twilight groaned. “Look, I’m worried about Lilac too, but-”
“But what? Hmm? I can’t worry that Lilac is running around, scared out of her mind, it’s about to rain, and it’s Easter Sunday. I am not going to let Lilac run around town alone on Easter Sunday!” I screamed at Twilight. The rain slowly began. I felt some hit rain my cheeks. “Lilac is probably thinking everyone hates her! That she’s a freak and nobody wants her! I have to find her and bring her home! No one is going to stop me! Not even you!”
The bluenette gave me a look of pity. She unbuckled her seat belt, opening her car side door.
I sighed. “What are you doing?”
Twilight shut the door. She walked up right to my side, reached down and gripped my hand. “Helping a friend.”
Despite my aggravation, I chuckled.
The future princess smiled. “Now, she’s only been gone twenty minutes. I’m sure you can call some Travelers, have them search the area.”
I nodded. “Yeah, but a lot of them are at Church or out of town.”
Twilight shook her head. “Well just fell them Lilac ran away. I’m sure they’ll come running.” She turned towards Mom. “Mrs. Spencer, you and Mr. Spencer know this neighborhood. You two, and Derek, Terence, and Nathan, will search it for Lilac. Call some of your friends and ask them to help.”
Mom nodded, reaching for her phone. “Okay.”
Twilight turned towards Derek and Terence, both seated in the back seats of Mom’s van. “I want you two helping search the neighborhood. Try asking neighbors if they have seen Lilac.”
Derek nodded. “Terence and I can ride our bikes.”
“Perfect.” Twilight said, turning back to me. “Morgan, you and I are going to go find a tracking spell. If we hurry, we can find it before the rain starts.”
I nodded, ready to help. “Sparkle of Twilight, when did you get so good at this?”
My pony friend stared me right in the face, her purple eyes shining. “You haven’t noticed?”
“W-What?” I hiccuped.
Twilight rested a hand on my shoulder. “You’re crying.”
My mouth opened in protest, then I thought about it. Reaching up to my cheek, I felt a tear on my cheek. I had thought it was the rain. Moving it into my eyesight, I saw a black drop on my finger. My makeup smeared.
I had been crying.
“Huh.” I realized. “T-that makes sense.” Pulling up my sleeve, I tried wiping away some makeup. “We...We should start on that spell. I need to find Li.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded. She gripped my hand with her glowing hand.
Lilac
The sounds of sniffling echoed in Mom’s office at the Center. The gentle pits and pats of tears hitting the marble flooring joined it. Other than that, it was complete silence. Not even the humming of the air conditioning was heard. The pit-patting of the rain was just the perfect touch to my depressed move.
It was a dark grayness in the usually bright halls of the Center. It Mom’s office it was much more dark, since Mom had large curtains placed over the people sized windows. She hated waking up to sunlight.
It had taken me until just now to notice. Mom had placed Easter themed decor across the room. Some pastel shaded eggs, a purple basket right next to a pink one, both filled with various sized and colored eggs. Her computer desk had a few additions. A white plastic bunny, a large fake smile on his face, placed on the edge with a basket in his paws.
I had thought it was just her redecorating. I had thought wrong.
“Stupid Easter.” I sniffled. “Stupid humans.” Another sniffle, plus a wipe of tears from my eyes. “Stupid earth. I wanna go home.”
“Okay.”
I immediately stopped sniffling. Looking up, I saw Mom standing in the doorway of her office. She had a sad smile on her face. Black makeup leaked from her eyes onto her cheeks. Her dress looked ruffled, as thought she had been running more than she should’ve in the dress. It had some durst stains on the knees and on her elbows. She was soaked to the bone, her dress sagged to the floor.
Mom waved at me, quietly walking over towards me. She sat two feet away from me.
“So...that could’ve gone better.” She sighed.
I scoffed, rolling my eyes.
“Hey, give me a break, Li. I’m trying really hard to make this day special. I didn’t think people would-”
“Would what? Not notice my hair? Or when I sneeze fire comes out?” I spat, much to my shock. “What about Miss Twilight and her horn? Didn’t think people would notice that either?!”
Mom sighed, wiping tears from her eyes and sniffling.
I calmed down. “Mom?”
“I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I never wanted you to go thru that again. It’s hard enough with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The people at Mom and Dad’s church are usually way nicer than that.” Mom apologized. “I can understand you not wanting to come back. I can take you home right now and we can spend the rest of the day playing and eating ice cream. That good?”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to lie, that offer is pretty tempting. Going home, eating some rubies, maybe playing with the fillies back at the Clubhouse.” I shook my head again. “But, no.”
Mom flinched back in surprise. “Why?”
“Because you’ve been crying.” I answered. Mom lowered her head. “At least last time I ran off, I never saw you crying.”
The last time I had run away was at the Dragon Migration. Spike and I wanted to know about our dragon heritage. We both ran away, I had only left a note for Mom to find. The two of us walked for two days before finding any dragons, and they made the Diamond Dogs look nice.
They laughed at Spike and I. Myself even more, since I was a girl. They kept saying I was a crybaby, something called a priss, and a coward.
They tried Spike into their group. Three of them brought the two of us to a nest of Phoenixes. After some trouble, one egg landed in my claws, the leader told him to smash it.
I had changed, much like Spike did on his birthday. I had remembered the egg was small a fragile, just like I was when Mom found me. She had been told to get rid of me, and she kept me. Raising me like her own. I wasn’t about to end some poor things life.
When I calmed down, the dragons were covered in soot. Miss Twilight, Miss Rarity, and Miss Rainbow Dash had appeared. I had given the egg to Spike, saying I didn’t feel ready enough to watch over it when it hatched. Spike nodded, not questioning the real reason why.
The five of us walked back home. Miss Twilight brought me home alone. She most likely understood my real reason behind giving up the un-hatched Peewee. I didn’t want to hurt him.
I asked Miss Twilight if Mom was alright. She told me the truth. Mom was a wreck when she found out I ran away. According to Fluttershy when I asked her days later, she hadn’t come out of the house. As far as the caretaker could tell, she hadn’t even got out of bed. Fluttershy had to tell Ms. Cheerilee that I had run away and Mom was sick with worry.
It wasn’t long until Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon found out. The made fun of me for it. Endlessly. They tried mocking Mom, but she one up’d them one day at school. They never brought it to again.
Backtracking. When I knocked on the door, Mom came running down. She hugged me so tight I couldn’t breathe. She took me out for pizza and ice cream like u had done nothing wrong. She had forgiven me so easily.
Mom wiped some of the make-up away. “My happiness doesn’t matter today, Li. Yours does.”
“That’s just it, Mom. You try so hard to make everypony happy, even at the cost of your own.” I remembered Aunt Killjoy. “You never even think of gaining when somepony else needs it more.” I gripped her hand. “You wanted to make today special, just for Miss Twilight and me. Can’t we make it special for you?”
Mom shook her head. “Making it special for you, will make it special for me.”
I sighed heavily, resting my head in my arms. “Well, then I guess neither of us will have a good Easter.”
Mom’s eyes brightened. “Actually... I have an idea.”
The car finally came to a gentle stop. Mom put it in park, turned it off, and walked out of the car.
Miss Twilight glance around. “Is this your school?”
Mom nodded, opening the car door. “Yep. My school. It has just what we need.”
I was slightly nervous as I climbed out of the car. “Umm...no offense Mom, but do you really think taking us to a church is a good idea?”
Mom scoffed. “Usually I would say ’it’s my idea, when are they ever good?’. This time I know it’s good.”
Miss Twilight and I exchanged glances. I shrugged.
The three of us walked towards a large Church building right next to the church. Mom stood atop the small staircase, a smile on her case.
“Inside this chapel room, is a story. A story of Hope and Love.” Mom explained. “So, please. Lend me your ears!”
“Morgan, calm down.” Miss Twilight pleaded.
“No!” Mom shouted. “I have wanted to do this for years, let me have this Twi.”
I giggled. Miss Twilight rolled her eyes. “Okay. Open the doors.”
Mom squealed. She opened the doors and skipped inside.
I followed behind her. It was certainly strange. There were eight pews on righter side of a walk way, long enough for five people each. At the very end of the room, a stand was placed with a golden cross on the front.
Mom gestured to my right. I saw a stained glass window.
“Is that music?” Miss Twilight asked.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-4uyNNDkEeI&feature=kp
Mom stopped singing, a large smile was on her face. She skipped over towards Miss Twilight and I.
“So, what did you think?” Mom asked.
I ran up to my mother. My arms wrapped around her waist.
“I think I can give Easter a try.” I admitted.
“Hey, could you pass the ham?”
“Oh! Those potatoes look delicious!”
“Hmm. This tea is amazing. You must tell me how you do it.”
“Dad, could you pass the cranberry sauce? Seriously, you’re gonna eat all of it.”
“Mmm. Ms. Sparkle, would you like some vegetables?”
“Yes please Grandma Spencer.”
“Li, you hungry? I made some corn with crushed up rubies.” Mom’s voice broke from the chaos.
“Oh. Sure. Thanks.” I said, holding out my hands says Mom placed a bowl of corn in it. It was bright yellow corn sitting in a bowl of white cream and red rubies.
“Everyone, I would like propose a toast.” Mr. Spencer said.
The entire family turned to Mr. Spencer, his glass raised high.
“We’ve...had an exciting year. Morgan getting a job, meeting Twilight, and welcoming young Lilac into our home.” I blushed. “It has been an honor, watching Morgan take care of Lilac. To see her maturing and acting responsibly.”
“Thanks Dad.” Mom smiled.
“He meant Lilac.” Uncle Derek joked. Everyone laughed.
“To welcoming Lilac.” Mr. Spencer laughed.
“To Lilac.” The Spencer’s and Miss Twilight cheered.
I raised my glass. “To Easter.”
“To Easter!” They all cheered again.
"Mom, I still have one question." I said.
Mom turned to me, giving me a smile. "Go ahead.
"So, Jesus didn't have a dad?" Mom nodded. "But he did have a mom." She nodded again. "I don't have a dad. Does that make me Jesus?"
The grown-ups erupted in laughter.