“Okay Twilight, are you ready to have some pancakes?”
Ghastly turned to the high chair that was meant to hold the little filly, humming to herself like she had most of that morning. It had been almost two years since her beautiful baby had entered the world, and she had risked the market to get all of the ingredients for Celestia’s own pancake recipe, graciously provided to her by her mother. It was her gift to Twilight for her two year old birthday.
Now if only Twilight was still in her chair.
Night rushed in when he heard Ghastly’s scream, and almost fell over his hooves as his flank hit the side of the door. He stood there, all four hooves spread wide apart as he looked up to his wife and panted out, “What… is wrong?”
Ghastly looked around herself, making absolutely certain that she still couldn’t see her before prancing with her eyes shut and squealing, “It’s Twilight! She was supposed to be in the chair, and we were talking all the way through the food preparation, though I suppose only I was talking seeing as little fillies can’t really articulate anything, and she hasn’t said anything, though how amazing would it be if her first words were-” She stopped as a hoof was placed on her muzzle. She looked up at Night and blinked a few times. “What was I talking about?”
His own horn glowed for a moment as he stepped over to the counter. Night’s blue magic lifted up two of the pancakes on the plate to reveal why there was such an odd shaped lump in the mound of dough. Sitting there was Twilight, barely not too large so as to eclipse the large, fluffy discs. She ignored having been revealed, but instead chimped back down on her treat and ripping it off by tossing her head from side to side. “I believe it was,” he started pouring syrup onto the filly as he chuckled, “about having lost a pancake apparently.”
Ghastly smacked the bottle away from the filly before glaring at him. “Don’t do that. She gets messy enough as it is. Ugh.” She put a hoof to her head as Twilight looked at them. “She doesn’t even like baths yet, so it’s going to be impossible to get it out of her mane.”
“At least she looks adorable with it.”
She rolled her eyes. “Not anymore than norm-” She stopped, watching Twilight suck some of the syrup now on her hooves before she planted the top of her head onto the pancake she had been mistreating, trying to get some onto the dough. “Okay, I’ll give it to- Don’t try to put more on her!”
It was while the two older ponies were wrestling over for the bottle that a knock came against the door. Night stopped almost immediately, having felt Ghastly freeze beneath him from the sound, and he gently began stroking her mane. “Who is it?”
A familiar, wise voice came through in response. “I thought it would be inappropriate for a mare to miss her grandchild’s birthday. Would you two not agree?”
Ghastly’s eyes widened, before she let out a sigh of relief and walked towards the door. Once it was open, she smiled at the green mare on the other side who was making sure to brush away some of her long, purple hair. “Hello mom. How have you been?”
Clover tilted her head and smiled. “I’ve been alright. Celestia has started asking me if I want to take a vacation, but I think she is just being silly.”
Ghastly moved to the side before she waved the other mare in. “I would think so. Starswirl always liked the fact that you refused to ever take breaks.” She watched as the other mare’s eyes went downward and felt a chill go through her body. The same chill that had come when she had gained her cutie mark, and seen her father for the last time as he floated above his grave. “Oh no.”
With a shake of her mane, Clover brushed the darkness from her face away and smiled to Night Watch. “So, where is my grandfilly? I have a whole cart full of presents here for her.”
Night let Ghastly go outside to retrieve the books, if not just to process the news of her teacher’s death as he guided Clover towards the kitchen. “We were having pancakes before you got here, and I think our little Twily may have teleported when we weren’t looking. You should have seen her with a pancake over her head.”
Clover lowered her eyelids as she smiled. “Oh really? I bet it was quite cute… just like her trying to use the syrup bottle as her normal one.”
Night glanced over to his little filly who was indeed sucking on the syrup bottle with all of her might. He was about to zip forward when the sticky bottle slid out of her tiny hooves and flew against Night’s forehead. He trotted back on unsteady hooves, chuckling a bit as Clover barked out a short laugh. “Well, as long as you’re both enjoy yourself I suppose.”
The green mare nodded before coming closer to Twilight and putting the bottle on top of the cabinets. She pointed to it and whispered, “Don’t you want your bottle back?” She smiled wider as the little filly nodded and clapped her hooves. Soon, the foal’s horn glowed a bright purple, and Clover watched as the syrup easily floated down. That wasn’t quite good enough.
While making sure the father was still dazed, Clover lit her own horn up with green magic. At first, her aura merely slowed the bottle. However, it wasn’t long before her own push forced it to come to a complete stop. Twilight frowned before stomping down with one of her hooves, a second tier glow coming over her horn as the pressure on the bottle increased. Clover’s eyes widened as she relented. A second tier was a hard task for Ghastly, and was something Starswirl and her had to work hard together on to reach. Twilight here though had it at the ripe age of two. “You will do wonderfully, won’t you?”
“What was that mother?”
Clover looked back to the doorway and shook her head. “Oh, just simple mutterings. Did you see my gifts?”
Ghastly nodded before hugging her mother tight. “I did, and thank you. I… I wasn’t sure how I was going to do her schooling if I were honest.”
The older mare waved it away a hoof. “Think nothing of it. I’m merely looking out for my daughter and grandfoal. Those books should be able to give her more than any normal school can, while letting you keep your secrecy.”
Ghastly nodded once more before brushing a tear away. “Oh, how can I thank you? You’ve done so much for me already-”
Clover held a hoof up, cutting her daughter off. “Ep! Like I said, think nothing of it. And if you truly wish to thank me, make sure she grows up to be strong, smart, and everything else you know I would wish for.”
Ghastly nodded as she stepped away. “I will mother, I promise.”