//------------------------------// // A Mother's (Lack of) Love // Story: Pacific Glow's Gaze // by Scribblesheet The Scribe //------------------------------// It was five PM when Pacific made it home. The bus had dropped her off at a station about half a mile away from her house and she had walked the rest of the way. There before her was the Iron gate that boardered her home. Four stories, eight bathrooms six bedrooms, lounges, kitchens, dumb waiters the whole nine yards. Her mother's mansion was painted in a titainum white with gold trim and the hedges were trimmed to perfection twice weekly. She could have just about anything she wanted at the clop of her hooves from one of the several buttlers in the house. Oh how she hated her home. With a long sigh she buzzed the intercom and within seconds there was a reply on the other end. "Hello?" "Taffington it's Glowy, can you open the gate please?" "Of couse miss Glow right away." The gate buzzed and swung inward almost immediately. With down cast eyes she trotted in through the front doors. When she stepped inside she was greated by a short hall and walls covered in expensive paintings. She began trotting for her room as quick as she could but knew it was unlikely she would be able to avoid Taffington. It was almost creepy how fast he could move about the house. She was only half way down the hall when he met her at the end of it. "Welcome home miss Glow." "Thank's Taffington." She grumbled slightly. She tried to move passed but he didn't move out of her way. "Miss Glow your mother wishes to see you in her study." "Damnit!" She screamed internally. "Thank you Taffington I'll go there now." With that she trotted down the left cooridor as slowly as she could trying to delay her arival as long as possible. Still she found herself outside the Oak barrier to her mother's private study. She sighed pressing her head against the door in a frustrated manner as she steeled herself. Why her mother wanted to see her was beyond her. All she ever did was ask a question or two then tune her out until she left and went to her room. "Why am I even living here if she has no interest in talking to me or even being in the same room!" Glowy inhailed sharply before looking back at the door again finnaly she raised a hoof and knocked. "Mother?" "Come in Pacifica." Glowy pushed the doors open and as she'd expected her mother hadn't even looked up from her business reports. She was still there scribbling away holding the pen in the pink light of her horn. Pacific waited for the older pink mare accross from her to speak some would say she was the spitting image of her mother but she hated beeing compared to her. As far back as Glowy could go in her mind there was no memory of a hug goodnight or being tucked in by the mare before her. There were times where she had even referred to her as a surrogate rather than a parent when talking with Azure. In truth it was a more accurate description than mother in her opinion. "Where were you last night?" "I went to CPPP. I told you I was going." "Why didn't you leave a note on my desk?" "I told you before I left..." "How many times do I have to tell you that you need to leave a written note? I don't have time to discuss things with you every day and letter's make it much easier as I can read them when I have the time." "You'd have to discuss things with me once a week before it could be every day!" Glowy bit her tongue "Sorry mom." "There was no trouble with any of the authorities or business proprietors?" "No." "Well you can go now and have one of the Buttlers prepare supper for you then." "Actualy I've already eaten." She waited for a response but none came. "Arn't you going to ask where?" Silence. Her mother had finnished listening and tuned her out again. The whole time they talked she hadn't even looked up from her papers. It shouldn't have bothered her at this point but it still always did. Every talk with her mother went like this. A brief exchange of a few words then a dissmissle with no hint of tact. Pacific had often found herself wondering why she hadn't been simply placed in an orphanage when she was born. Her mother at most spent an hour with her a week and it was always to scold her or ask a simple one or two sentence long question. In fact this talk had been one of their longer ones. "Bye mom..." With that Glowy left the room. She knew once her mother stopped talking back she would have better luck getting a stone to have a meaningfull conversation with her. With nothing left to do for the day until she could get ahold of Azure again she made for her room so she could have some privacy. Doing her best to dodge the buttlers as she went she soon found herself in her room and quickly locked the door behind her. She sighed out of boredom before falling back first onto her bed and looking up at the celling. The mural she had painted there with her allowance showed impressionistic renditions of stars, birds and tree's. In the center of the painting surrounded in an oval boarder was a near perfect copy of Prancent Van Show's Stary Night her favorite painting by her favorite artist. She spent the next seven minutes simply staring at it her eye's tracing all of the lines until they blurred togeather. Soon she found herself crying for no reason she could discern. She was simply sad all she felt was the unpleasant emotion with no rhyme or reason as to why. She simply felt and it hurt. Crawling under the cover's of her princess sized bed she burried her face in her silk feather pillow and wept. Salty tears stained the fine fabric but she didn't care. To her household silk pillows were common place, they could be replaced at the clop of a hoof. She didn't know how long she cried, she didn't know how long she mourned, she didn't even know what she was mourning. She simply felt and she felt pain. She was just begining to dry her eye's after an unknown amount of crying when her phone rang. Glancing down at it she saw the name displayed on the screen. Azure. Sniffling once more she held the phone to her ear as she pushed the answer button and gave her most convincing attempt at a cheery voice. "Hey Azure. How are you?" "You sound like I should be asking you that." "I'm fine." "Lier." A sniffle "Ya." "What's wrong?" "I don't know I'm just..." "Depressed?" "Ya I guess." "Why don't you come over? We'll watch the Princess Bride and I'll make us some popcorn. That always cheer's you up. Also maybe you can meet Show Stopper before she leaves." "Show Stopper?" "The mare I slept with last night." "Oh?" "She's well...Nice. I'm gonna see her next wednesday at the coffee shop before we screw again. Nothing big just a Latte and some fun later." "So you have a date then?" No it's just a...meet up ya a meet up." "Now who's a lier?" "S-shut up!" Glowy cracked a small smile. "So what makes her different from your passed encounters?" "She's just different? No she's well...She's nice and cute and...She has a great flank and *Ehem* She likes Dragons & Dangers." "Oh my Luna! You mean that game with the dice and roll playing?" "Hey it's freaking fun and you'd know if you ever tried it! Look we're just gonna meet up and see how it goes nothing is set in stone." "Well I'm glad to hear that. She sounds nice." "Ya well she is. Oh she's getting out of the shower I got to go see you in twenty?" "Ya sure thanks Azure." "Hey that's what friends are for, just get over here and I'll get the shit ready." "Ok see you in a few." Pacific hung up the phone before climbing off her bed and bursting the intercom in the hall outside her room. "Taffington? Could you get a carridge ready please? I'm going to Azure's place and I'm in a bit of a hurry." "Of course miss Glow, right away." /l\---)O(---/l\ Azure sat up from the couch before making her way towards the wet mare coming out of her shower with a subtle smile. "Hey. I uh had a good time last night." The bright blue mare with two toned gold and white mane smiled at her. "Is that your way of saying your looking forward to Wednesday?" "Uh ya I guess." "Your new to actually dating huh?" "*Ehem* A little ya." "Cute." Smiled the mare "Well I need to go soon thanks for letting me use your shower." "After last night I couldn't really let you go without one." "Ha ha I'll say! I can still smell you on me and I used soap, shampoo and conditioner." "Ya sorry about that." "Not a problem I like a mare who's not afraid of a little adventure." Azure turned beat red before scratching the back of her head with a hoof and laughing awkwardly. "Ya uh...Listen my best friend is comming over in twenty minutes and I was wondering if you wanted to meet her?" "I would but I have work in an hour sorry." "That's cool so I'll see you Wednesday?" Show Stopper smiled before giving the mare a soft peck on the lips. "Count on it." With that the mare turned on a dime and flicked her tail into Azure's nose making her sneeze cutely as she grabbed her wool coat off the rack along with her black beret. Once dressed she walked out the door without a glance but instead a small sway in her hips leaving a blushing Azure behind. "Dad always said I should stay away from actors but when they look and act like that..." Azure gave herself a quick sniff before scrunching up her muzzle. "Uhg I gotta shower before Glowy gets here. I smell like sex." /l\---)O(---/l\ Glowy let herself in with the key hidden under the floormat in front of Azure's appartment. The room wreaked of air freshener. "She must have gone crazy last night if she used that! She hates the stuff." She thought to herself. Looking around the room she saw an empty pizza box in the corner of the room shoved there with some other left over's of her friends activities last night. She didn't have time to tidy up much I guess." Glancing at the coffee table she saw a bottle of soda and the remote next to a bowl of popcorn. "Azure? You in here?" "I'm in the kitchen? Could you start the movie? I'll be out in a sec." Glowy hit the play button as the commercials played while she waited for the start screen. Azure came out shortly after with a small jar of caramel sauce that she had pulled out of the microwave. With very little grace she dumped the entire contents of the glass onto the popcorn. "Now we're ready." "So where's your mare friend?" "She had to leave early-Hey she's not my marefriend we just slept togeather and we have one date planned! It's not like it's super searious." "I'm just teasing you Velly come on have a seat." The movie started shortly after and the two friends watched while eating the homemade caramel corn. They had reached the scene where West Lover was fighting with Avenging Blade in the ruined castle on the cliffs of Insanity. "Who would you be if you could choose a character to be from this?" Asked the pink mare. "Hmm Avenging Blade. He has mad fencing skills. You?" "I don't know. I like Gental Giant but I can't really see myself as him. Maybe Lunatic?" "You? Lunatic? Inconceivable!" "You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means." The pair burst into laughter at the same joke they often made in one form or another when they watched the movie togeather. "Hmmm actually I think you did use it in the right context that time though." The two burst out laughing agian. When they stopped and caught their breath Pacific wrapped her hooves around her friend in a tight hug. "Thanks for this Azure. You're a great friend." "Your welcome Glowy." The pair continued to watch the movie laughing where it was funny and smiling when it was touching. As the night went on she began to feel better as a whole and even managed to loose the urge to cry the rest of the evening. Glowy might not have been born into the best of homes but she had more than a lot of other ponies could say. A best friend who truly deserved the title.