A week had passed since Aurora revealed her true self to her friends. All three of them made a Pinkie promise not to tell anypony else, much to the relief of both Twilight and Aurora. As of yet, nopony else showed any signs of having found out. Though this meant she was still lying to everypony else she met in Equestria... at least she didn't have to lie to her three closest friends anymore. One big lying streak was coming up soon, however: lying to keep her identity from the rest of Twilight's, and her, family.
As the train pulled into Canterlot station, Aurora could finally look upon the city without fear of being attacked. Boy, did the city look beautiful when you weren't trying to take it over. Aurora found it hard to believe that almost two years ago, she was helping in the assault of this city. The sight of it and it's inhabitants moving around, all cheerful and ready for Hearth's Warming, made her want to cry.
"You ok, Aurora?" Twilight asked, fully aware of what was going on.
"Had the invasion almost two years ago succeeded, these ponies would've been slaves to my old hive," Aurora said softly, "I just can't stand the thought of almost ridding these ponies of such joy".
"And that's a good thing," Twilight said, pulling Aurora close.
"Yea... I suppose so," Aurora said.
"So, after my family meets you, what's the first thing you wanna do?" Twilight asked.
"Well... could we maybe go shopping?" Aurora suggested.
"For yourself?" Twilight asked, "Or others?".
"Well, I don't really know what the others like so... myself," Aurora said sheepishly.
"Well, I suppose a little souvenir shopping wouldn't hurt," Twilight said.
"Thanks," Aurora said, hugging Twilight tightly.
"Aurora... kinda... need to... breathe," Twilight said as Aurora's hug threatened to asphyxiate her.
"Sorry," Aurora said, letting go of Twilight, "Mom".
Twilight was speechless. Normally, Aurora would just call Twilight by name... but now she'd just called Twilight mom. A warm, fuzzy feeling crept over Twilight as she took in that one simple word... a word that seemed to hold a lot of power at the moment. Aurora decided to break the awkward silence that had come between them, a tad concerned all of a sudden.
"You ok?" Aurora asked.
"Yea, I'm fine," Twilight said, "It's just... you've never called me mom before".
"You're practically leaking sadness," Aurora said, "And to be honest, it tastes awful".
"I'm not sad... I'm actually quite happy," Twilight said.
"I don't remember happiness tasting so bad," Aurora said, "So, are you sure you're ok?".
"Yes, I promise," Twilight said.
"Well, hello there, Twilight," Twilight's mom said as she looked upon her daughter, "Do come in, you must be freezing out there".
"Twily!" Shining Armor called out as he ran over to greet his sister.
"Hey there, BBBFF," Twilight said, nuzzling her brother's neck.
"Twilight, dear... who's this little filly?" Twilight's mom asked as she took notice of Aurora.
"Oh, that's right," Twilight said, turning around, "Mom, shining... I'd like for you to meet Aurora, she's my daughter".
"Da... da... daughter?" Twilight mom asked, obviously confused.
"Now hold on just a second," Shining Armor said sternly, "I've been an uncle, and never knew it... for how long?".
"Almost a month and a half at this point," Twilight said, "But I'll get to that later... it's a bit of a touchy subject for her".
"Almost a month and a half, and you never told me," Shining Armor said.
"Well, to be fair, you never mentioned your wedding until a few days prior," Twilight said.
"Well, let's go say hello to the others," Twilight's mom said, "I'm sure your father will be happy to know about this little filly".
"Can I get some earplugs first?" Shining Armor asked jokingly.
Twilight just walks off, shaking her head at her brother's question. As the trio enters the living room, Cadence is deep in conversation with Twilight's dad. As Twilight walked in, she was greeted, and then questioned almost immediately about the filly that walked by her side. As soon as Twilight said the word "daughter", a very audible squee came from Cadence.
"I can't believe it, Twilight's a mother," Cadence said, clapping her hooves, "Oh, you have gotta let me foalsit at least once for you".
"She's a tad old for that," Twilight pointed out.
"Well, I guess it was worth a shot," Cadence said, "I just kinda miss being your foalsitter, and figured I'd maybe get a second chance with this little cutie".
"You'll have plenty of time to do that in about seven more months," Shining Armor said.
"I thought you said we were saving that," Cadence said.
"Saving what?" Twilight's mom asked.
"Well, I'm three months pregnant tomorrow," Cadence admitted.
"Serious? More grandfoals?" Twilight's mom asked.
"We were going to announce it on Hearth's Warming," Shining Armor said, "But with Twilight's big announcement, I felt this was really the best time".
"We;;, I'm really happy for both of you," Twilight said, "Congratulations".
"Thanks, sis," Shining Armor said.
"Alright, enough with the mushy stuff," Aurora said, "I'm kinda hungry".
"Right, well, dinner is almost ready," Twilight's mom said, "It'll be about ten more minutes".
"And while we're on the topic of food, would it be alright if I made something for you all to try?" Aurora asked.
"Well... I suppose that would be alright," Twilight's mom said, "Just, don't destroy the kitchen".
"And what did you call this stuff?" Cadence asked.
"Cinnamon apple soup," Aurora said, not even trying to hide her pride, "My signature dish".
"Well, I must say, it's amazing," Cadence said.
"Indeed, you seem to be very good with food," Twilight's mom said.
"That she is," Twilight said, "I'm actually surprised she hasn't gotten some kind of culinary cutie mark yet with how good she is".
"If it's not too much to ask, could you send me some of your custom recipes some time?" Twilight's mom asked, "I'd love to try them out".
"Of course," Aurora said.
The rest of dinner just settled into dull conversation as time went on. Aurora, bored of the break in the action, excused herself from the table and went to go take a nap. Twilight followed, knowing full well what would happen if Aurora fell asleep in the wrong room. When she got to her room, it looked completely untouched... and it make Twilight cringe slightly. She was a little bit of a girly filly back then, and it showed in the fact that almost everything was pink or had some kind of girlish design on it. Aurora could help but burst out laughing when she finally realized it was really Twilight's.
"Be glad I don't decorate this way any more," Twilight said, "Else, you're room might just look the same".
"Present time!" Aurora called out as she ran into the living room.
"Geez, slow down there Rainbow Dash," Twilight teased.
"Oh, come now, Twilight, you weren't any different at her age," Twilight's mom said.
"And the house managed to survive your energy," Twilight's dad said, "So I'm sure it survive hers".
Twilight was a little concerned for Aurora, as she didn't think the Changeling would be getting anything from the others. What she didn't know was that while she took a little nap with Aurora the previous day, everypony else went out to get an extra present. As the present were hoofed out, the first went right to the little Changeling. It wasn't a big present, but she didn't care. When she opened it up, she found a beautiful silver necklace with a sterling silver snowflake pendant. After saying thanks to the gift giver, Cadence, she put the necklace around her neck. It fit perfectly, and she absolutely loved it. Though Aurora got more presents than she and Twilight had expected her to, one thing outshined each one: she was with family. One thing was certain, Aurora's first Hearth's Warming couldn't possibly get any more perfect.