//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: Mom?! // Story: No spell for that // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// "YOU BITCH!" Drifting froze in place, her face paling as she looked over to the guard behind her, who had stood up and slammed her hooves down on the table. Goldwing had been a bit excitable so far, but this new outburst was something she hadn't seen before. "You massive, evil, monstrous bitch! you didn't! Did you? Is she...?" Goldwing asked, pointing a hoof accusingly at Aeon. The unicorn merely smirked and nodded. "By Celestia's cutie mark! You... you're evil! You're the evilist bitch of a GM I've ever met!" Drifting whimpered, moving back closer to the bat pony on her opposite side, the fear starting to rise. The mare look pissed and Drifting had no idea why, but it was something she'd done. Somehow. "I-I'm... I-I'm sor--" "That's bucking brilliant! This is gonna be AWESOME!" Goldwing sat back down, roaring with laughter, a moment later the rest of the guards joined in. Drifting just sat there, her eyes wide and frightened, looking between them. "W-what? What happened? W-what'd I do? I'm sorry..." Goldwing looked over, a wide grin on her face. "Oh, right, newbie. Okay, so you wouldn't know. But my pony? Redwing, well, she's actually a thief. Grew up on the streets. However, when she was younger, she saw a princess get captured and, hey, she looked enough like her that she saw her opening. Claimed amnesia, been living with the royals ever since." She leaned in. "And guess just which princess you seem to be?" Drifting blinked. Then the realization dawned on her. She paled and shook her head. "O-oh my gosh I'm so sorry I--” "What are you sorry about? This is going to be AWESOME! She thought you were dead! Buck, EVERYPONY thought you were dead. The court is going to flip. Especially those that know about my girl's little secret." Aeon laughed, shaking her head. "Ahem, so, as I was saying. The group opens the bars to the cage and finds Drifting's character inside the cell. Most of you realize almost instantly. This mare looks JUST LIKE Redwing. What do you do?" “I flirt with the prisoner!” Neon said quickly. “W-what?” Drifting asked with a squeak. The rest of the group snickered. Goldwing rolled her eyes. “I shove the bard aside and go to examine the girl, a look of horror on my face and holding my sword out, ready if she tries anything. Are there any hints of her being a changeling?” Drifting smiled and nodded. “I uhh... I thank my rescuers, though I back away from the girl with the sword. I also examine her a little as well.” It had been almost two weeks since her sleep over and Drifting felt as if she was getting back into her groove. Aeon had done as she'd said and brought her into the game with the other guards. She still felt a little nervous, but she couldn't help feeling more relaxed as the night went on. They'd been nothing but kind to her since they met, if they could tell what she was they didn't say it. School had been going well for her as well. Branding had been leaving her alone, if the mare felt bad or considered her words she didn't know. To be honest, she didn't care. Her therapy was going well, Sole really did get her. Her mother hadn't sent her any letters or threats, either. She really hoped whatever Twilight had done had stuck with her. She'd also been working on what to tell her mom about hormonal treatment. Sole had been helping her with writing a letter and now that her grades were picking back up, she felt she might have a chance. A slim chance. She'd have to make sure Twilight signed the letter she'd send. “Hey! Drifting!” a voice said, snapping her from her thoughts. She looked up to Aeon, who was staring at her. “Huh?” “The griffon picked you up. What do you do?” “Oh, uhhh... errr... parley?” she said with a nervous squeak. There was a low groan from the table. “Not the parley rules,” Neon said with a face hoof. “Worse than grappling...” She gave a sheepish smile, though she couldn't help feeling a little happy as she reached for her dice. ------ “It was a lot of fun, Drifting,” Aeon said before she gave a little wink, her bags tossed over her back. “See you tomorrow, okay?” “O-okay,” Drifting said with a small smile. “I... I had a lot of fun. I didn't do too bad, did I? I just--” “You did fine,” Neon said with a chuckle. “Don't worry, we're all a good group of friends. Besides, Poofy liked you.” Drifting blinked, then frowned. “Poofy was the one that sat on me and force fed me chips, right?” “Hey, you did tell her you were on a diet,” Neon said solemnly. “She has made it her duty to make sure each and every one of us take the worst possible care of ourselves on game night.” He gave a nod. “It's true. She is dedicated to her craft,” Aeon said, adding her own solemn nod. “Are all your classes going well?” “Yeah. I'm getting everything back in order,” she said with a grin. “I can't wait until I graduate, though. Only a few more years!” She then gave another sigh. “At least this year is almost over.” “Ahhh, buck up,” Aeon said with a grin. “Besides, I've got some good news. Princess Twilight said Princess Luna okayed your--” “Mom?!” Drifting squeaked, her eyes going wide. “Err... what? No, I was going to say she okayed--” Aeon paused at Drifting's frantic pointing. She then looked back and the two guards barely parted in time as Drifting's mother slammed into her, wrapping her in a tight embrace. “Oh my little baby boy I'm so so so sorry I never thought... w-why didn't you tell me?” she asked, shaking. “M-mom?” Drifting asked, struggling in the arms. “Err... I'm sorry? What did I do?” She tried to pull herself free to no avail. “It's okay, mommy's here.” Drifting squeaked as she was suddenly being rocked in the hug. Her cheeks burned bright and she glowered at the two guards who were struggling not to laugh. “A-a little privacy?!” “R-right. Game's over, see you later!” Aeon said quickly, dragging Neon off as the stallion started to snort. “M-mom, what's wrong?” Drifting asked before, finally, managing to squeeze out from her grasp and stumbling back. She shook her head. “You're acting funny.” “I-I received dozens of packages from the princess last week.” A haunted look flashed over her mother's features. “Dozens. I was only able to go through some of them yesterday and... and I'm so sorry. I had no idea what you were going through.” Drifting closed the door and looked around. There was still a big mess from the group she needed to pick up, but her mom took precedence. “How... much did you read?” “Enough. Oh, darling. I'm so sorry you had to go through all this.” There was another hug, an even tighter one than the first. Drifting groaned, closing her eyes and really wishing she knew how to teleport. She considered trying to transform into something small to escape, but she was too scared she'd be crushed. “I... thank you? So... you're...?” “I wasn't sure what to do,” the mare said. “I just... I finally went to Toughlove today. I requested an emergency appointment to talk with her about the things I read.” An icy chill went down Drifting's back. “She suggested I take you out of here right now. That the princess enabling your behavior is... just going to make it worse.” “Are we going back to this, mother? You promised me! You PROMISED! I-I meant what I said! If... if you can't accept--” “I'm not taking you home,” her mother said quickly, shaking her head. Drifting paused, staring up at her. “You're... not?” “No. I... I realize that Toughlove... may not have been the best mare to talk with about these things. May not have been the right...” She closed her eyes. “The things I ready scared me, honey. They terrified me. I... I had no idea that ponies felt that way. That you felt this way. Why didn't you tell me?” Drifting lowered her eyes. “I... I tried... you sent me to Toughlove...” The mare sighed and slowly let her go. “I'm... I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry. I... I just wanted to protect you. But I made a mistake.” “Really?” Drifting said softly. “You really... mean it?” “I do... I just wish I had realized sooner. Can you ever forgive me?” The mare slowly nodded. “Y-yeah. Yes. Mom... I... I can. I...” She chewed on her lower lip. It was now or never. “Mom. I... I want to... I...” She took a slow, deep breath. “I want to... I want to transition.” “What?” “I want to become a mare. I want to... take hormones and everything and--” “No!” she shrieked, her eyes wide. “Why in Equestria would you even--” “You just said--” “You've been through a lot and I am so, so sorry I--” “Don't,” Drifting said, digging her hoof into the ground. “I'm... sorry?” “Just... don't. Don't come and tell me how sorry you are, or how you want to make it up to me, or... or any of that. Then just cut me off and tell me you don't really mean it.” “But Drifting--” “No. You said no, that's fine.” Her eyes narrowed. “If you won't accept it, I'll find a way to do it myself. I don't need you to support me for this. I never needed it. I definitely never had it.” She knew she was being cruel, but right now she didn't care. Even as the pain flashed in her mother's eyes, a part of her reveled in it. Enjoyed it. Wanted to see how far she could twist that knife. She'd had the knife twisted in herself enough times. “I'm just... I'm done. I thought you understood. I thought after... after last time. I thought you'd realized this was real. That I'm your daughter. But I just... I can't keep doing this. It's just exhausting.” She turned and trotted to the table and began picking up the mess. “You come and feel bad, I smile and try to pretend everything is alright. That I'm doing fine. You try to 'help' me, but you never mean help. You mean 'cure' me. You hope that maybe if they give me some kind of pill or jam some needles in me or maybe just beat me up enough, I'll decide to man up. Well, that's not going to happen. Even if it could, I don't want that to happen. I'm happy being a mare. I'm going to take the hormones, one way or another. I'm going to try going as far as I can, even. The princess has even given me a bunch of information about how far I can go.” She shook her head. “And I want to go all the way.” Her mother just stood there, chewing on her lower lip. Finally, after a few minutes, she gave a sigh and trotted to the bed, sitting down on it. “Drifting...” “Don't.” “No, Drifting. Let's... talk about this. Actually talk.” “Mom, I don't want to do this. Your idea of talking is just... I tell you what I am, what I want, how I feel. And you shut me down and tell me I'm wrong, or silly, or just... no. I'm just... I'm just tired of it. I can't keep doing this,” Drifting finally said, turning away when she felt the tears start to build up. “I can't... I can't just let you keep hurting me! Do you have any idea what any of this feels like? How it feels to wake up every day looking in the mirror and hating what I see? How it feels to look down at myself and want to burst into tears because I feel I'll never be as cute as I feel I could have been? To wonder if every single pony that looks at me thinks I'm really a mare, or is disgusted or, even worse, planning to find a way to hurt me because of what I am? I'm just... I'm just done. I'm done arguing with you. I'm done fighting with you. You said no, fine. I'll find another way.” “Drifting...” “NO!” she shrieked, glaring back at her mother with tears in her eyes. “I'm just... I'm tired of it! I'm not letting you change my mind. I'm not letting you control me! I'll find my own way to do it so just... just go home!” The mare stared at her for a long while before lowering her eyes. “Is... is this really how you feel? Is this really what you want?” “Of course it's what I want! I've been telling you for years! It's not just going to go away because you ignore it! Don't you think I've tried that? This makes me happy and I'll do it with, or without your help!” Her mother lowered her eyes. “Drifting... I...” She closed her eyes. “If... if you really feel this strongly about it... I... won't stop you.” She paused. “I'll... okay it.” Drifting paused. Then, weakly, she spoke up. “Wait... really?” “Yes. I just... I just want you to be happy. That's all I ever wanted. If for that to happen you need... those, then I'll okay it. I just--” She let out a yelp when she was suddenly hugged. “Oh thank you mommy thank you thank you so much thank you!” Drifting shrieked, little tears in her eyes flowing freely. “I-I wasn't sure how I was going to do it I mean I was sure I could somehow but I didn't know how it worked without permission and thank you so much thank you!” The elder mare smiled and hugged her tightly, gently rubbing her back. “I know, I know. I... I don't want you to be alone in this. I don't want you to feel alone. Ever. I'll... I'll support you.” She paused. “I don't like it. I really don't. But you're still my little... baby and I will never make you go through any of this alone. I'll help you, I promise.” Drifting nodded and closed her eyes. “T-thank you... mommy. I... I just...” She gulped. “How... much of what Twilight sent did you read?” “Not even a fraction. How many months has she been preparing all that?” “Oh... I'm sure a while,” Drifting said nervously. Unwilling to admit that the alicorn had probably only prepared it a few days before sending it all. Maybe even a few hours. The princess was a little terrifying. She was thankful she wasn't a teacher. “I thought somepony had shipped a full front room set to us by mistake. I can't even begin to imagine the cost of shipping all those boxes. Has... she really been helping you?” “Oh, yeah. She's great. Terrifying at times, but great. She's really worked hard to... well, understand all this.” “Good. Good. I'm... happy you're not alone in all this,” her mother said with a small smile. She then looked to the table and frowned. “Who were all those ponies with you?” “Oh, game night. We were playing some board games.” She tossed some chip wrappers in the trash. “They're a bit weird, but a lot of fun.” She glanced out the window. “I... have class in the morning so I was just going to clean this up and go to bed. I uhhh... I'll take the floor, okay?” “What? No, honey, there's no need for--” “I insist. Besides, you're a guest here now. The floor is carpeted so it'll be fine.” She sighed and gave a nod. “Well... I suppose it'll be fine.” “Good,” Drifting said before going back to clean up, though after a few moments her mom joined her. Soon the mess was cleaned up and she was able to brush her teeth and get ready for bed. She couldn't believe it, she was going to be able to get her hormones. She was going to be able to get everything! She could barely hold her tooth brush in her magic she was so excited. Tomorrow was going to be the best day EVER! ------ Drifting was awoken by a blood curdling scream. “AWAKEN YOUNG DRIFTING! For we have come to speak of great BUSINESS WITH YOU! Cease thy's SCREAMING!” a voice boomed through the room. Drifting looked up and saw a dark blue alicorn, Princess Luna, standing over her terrified mother. “The... buck?”