My Dearest Mother
The biting light of the morning sun seeped through Willemite's eyelids, making her turn her head around a bit and crawl out of the dream land. She opened her eyes, squinting a bit. The calm breath of her son warmed her chest as he buried his head in her mane, uttering cute squeaks while squirming around, trying to find the most comfortable position. Willemite looked at him and carefully kissed him on the cheek. That was the first time Sombra had slept for this long. Usually, when Willemite woke up, he was already on his hooves, running around the house or drawing. It seemed her presence had convinced him to stay in bed longer.
She didn't want to wake him up right now, and just slowly moved him to the side, put his head on a pillow, and tucked up the blanket. Thereafter she got up and looked around.
Sombra's room wasn't big, maybe even small, but he was quite comfortable here. The box with his toys stood beside his bed. Most of the toys were quite old, some of them had belonged to Willemite when she was a child, but there were several new ones: gifts from Star Gem.
The table near the left wall was Sombra's workshop. There, he drew pictures or sorted them in some kind of weird order that only he could understand. The pencils were all black and white, since colored pencils cost quite a sum. Willemite walked carefully, trying not to emit even a single sound, hoping not to wake up her son, as she went for the door. She'd just sneak out, make breakfast, and wait for her sweetheart to wake up.
Some heavy thoughts crossed her mind as she walked past the door that led to her bedroom. Loud snoring reached her ears when she came a little bit closer to investigate. Amethyst had some problems with snoring, so she was a bit relieved to know that he was home.
The memories of yesterday were still fresh in her mind, and the bitter feeling of pain still prickled her from inside. Willemite didn't even open the door, and just continued on her way to the kitchen. Today, she'd make breakfast just for Sombra. Amethyst would have to take care of himself from now on. Enough of this stupid servitude – he was an adult, and should learn to behave like one.
Half an hour later and Willemite had already made several sandwiches with butter for Sombra, and poured some water into a glass and put it into the direct sunlight so it’d heat up a bit. She looked outside, realizing that she'd have to leave soon, maybe even before anypony woke up. Star Gem and his sister had school today, so she'd have to arrive early and prepare them – gather the bags, sort the pencils and so on. Star Gem usually did it all himself, but Night Spark refused to even lift a hoof to help.
Suddenly, Willemite's concentration was interrupted by the creak of the door. She quickly turned to the source of the sound and sighed. Amethyst stood there, not quite awake, with his eyes half closed and his bedmane. He scanned the room with his eyes and noticed the breakfast, which stood upon the table.
"Mornin', dear," he yawned and took a step towards the food, when suddenly Willemite stepped right between the table and him.
"No. This isn't for you," she said in a cold voice, looking straight into his eyes. "You'll have to learn to take care of yourself from now on."
"Wha— what do you mean?" Amethyst said, rubbing his eyes in an attempt to drive away the sleep that was still clinging to him.
"I mean that you are by yourself from now on. You have to learn to be a parent, and you should start with the simplest task possible: making yourself something to eat. I already made breakfast for Sombra, so you don't need to worry about it," Willemite said and came closer to her husband. "Also, Star Gem goes to school today, so you need to watch over our kid. Make sure he has dinner and lunch. He usually plays in his room, so there won't be too much trouble."
"But dear, I have another audition today!"
"It's officially cancelled. No more auditions. I know how each of them ends. Enough of this idiocy, time to get serious," she said, and her words sounded more like an order. Amethyst stayed silent and just nodded acceptingly.
"Good. I'll be leaving in ten minutes. Take care," Willemite practically dismissed him and turned her attention to some more important things. Her husband looked away, delving into his thoughts.
She sounded too serious to be joking, and that cold anger in her eyes made her arguments even weightier. It was his son and shouldn't be too hard to handle. Though, Amethyst was a bit disappointed. Even after the scandal yesterday, he considered the victory in that gambling tournament a possibility. How many problems he could’ve solved; nopony of them would need to work after, there’d been so much money at stake! If he had won, he could have supplied them with food for the next five years! But this suppressed fury made it clear that he was not getting another chance.
He quietly bustled about, making himself a sandwich, though, it turned out they had ran out of bread, only one slice of it was left for him. Bread was quite pricey in general, because of the infertility of the imperial ground. Of course, there were a few farms in some corners of the Crystal Empire, and their owners were some of the richest ponies in the country, but there wasn't enough bread for everypony. It was mainly imported from neighboring countries, which was pretty disadvantageous since the neighbors could manipulate the Empire by threatening them with an embargo. Even to this day, this problem was on everypony's mind.
Amethyst sighed, and decided to eat the bread like it was: without anything else. While he munched on the grainy product, Willemite finished up with cleaning and went to check on Sombra, and maybe, to kiss him goodbye for the day.
The sound of a closing door reached his ears, and Amethyst sighed heavily. He was no good babysitter. He often forgot things, but he had to do it. This was his son after all, thus it was his duty to take care of him. Besides, maybe Willemite would forgive him if he did well. He just hoped that Sombra would wake up soon, for it felt as though Amethyst would snap any second now and eat everything Willemite had prepared for the boy.
***
Sombra gobbled up another sandwich with a satisfied look on his face. Several crumbs of bread still stuck on his lips, and he licked them away with glee. Amethyst just looked at him with a little bit of jealousy in his eyes. The boy certainly had an appetite.
"So... how's it going?" Amethyst asked just to start a conversation.
"Hmm... it's all good. I defeated Star Gem in chess yesterday. It was fun," Sombra replied, tilting his head to the left, and then resumed eating.
"That's cool... So... Do you want to do anything special today? Like, go for a walk, catch butterflies, or whatever?" the father asked in a somewhat lazy voice, watching as the grey magic aura wrapped around yet another sandwich and carried it into Sombra's mouth. Telekinesis was something even children could learn easily. Almost every unicorn knew how to manipulate the energetic streams, no big deal.
"Err... no. Don't really feel like going out," Sombra said, after swallowing the sandwich.
"Okay... that's really good – don't want to go out today either," Amethyst said, sighing yet again. For a moment, they just sat in silence, with him just watching Sombra eat. Suddenly, he pierced Amethyst with his childish eyes, looking straight into his soul.
"Dad... may I ask you something?"
"Uh... of course you may. What is it?" Amethyst said, disturbed slightly by how serious Sombra had gotten all of a sudden.
"Why was mom crying yesterday?" this question struck Amethyst like thunder. He didn't know what to say, how to react. Deep inside he knew it had been his fault. But how could one explain it to a child?
"Why are you asking that? She wasn't crying," Amethyst lied, trying to bluff his way out.
"No, she was. I could clearly see the water under her eyes. She was crying!" Sombra said, sounding more concerned than a child should.
"Don't say stupid things, Sombra. She wasn't crying. Maybe something got in her eye, I don't know, you know how it goes," Amethyst snapped, raising his voice, and Sombra looked at him with disbelief, but said nothing. Maybe he had said it a bit too loud, but still, he couldn't tell Sombra the truth.
After eating up the last sandwich, the kid silently got up from his chair and went back to his room. Amethyst rubbed his forehead, trying to drive away the feeling of guilt which had appeared from nowhere. It seemed like the kid took that shouting really close to the heart.
Great, just great. The headache was getting more and more severe – this wouldn’t be easy. No matter how much he assured himself everything would be alright, he knew it couldn’t. He was stuck here with his own child that he didn’t know how to handle.
He approached the window and looked outside. The sun was high up in the sky, with white clouds crossing and hiding it once in a while. The street looked welcoming and fresh, and Amethyst felt that sensation of beauty. On such a perfect day, nothing could go wrong. The nature wouldn’t allow it.
He reverted to his yesterday game of gambling for a second. He had been at one table with two thugs, and some gentlecolt with a top hat. The two seemed to be friends, but they certainly did love to fight against each other. The pony with the hat on the other hoof was cold, rational, and surprisingly polite. In the end, they all lost their money to him. Amethyst suspected he’d cheated: he’d been way too suave for a regular visitor of the den. Now, he absolutely knew that guy had been cheating. Even the flickering of the sun agreed with him as it touched his eyes, making him blink.
Suddenly, a very interesting thought crossed his mind. He knew where Willemite put the money, and Sombra seemed like a very independent kid. He might just take a little bit of cash, and go win back all the gold he had lost yesterday. He just felt like today was the day to do it, the day to win everything. He felt great, the sun was shining, and the lady luck was on his side.
On the other hoof, there was still Willemite. What if she came back home early and noticed he was missing? No, that wouldn’t happen; he'd be back very soon, in a moment's notice.
He silently agreed with this, maybe a bit risky, but a good plan. Amethyst decided to wait until noon, give Sombra some dinner, and head out. Today, everything would change. From this day on, his family would no longer need to worry about finances. He would win, and he would redeem himself in the eyes of his beloved wife and son.
A perfect plan. Nothing could go wrong.
***
"Take care, Sombra. I'll be back soon. Don't trash the place while I'm away!" the sarcastic voice of Amethyst reached the young unicorn's ears, followed up by the bang of the closing door. He didn't react to this, and just went back to his drawing. He didn't know where his father went and why, but those questions didn't bother him very much: he wanted him to leave anyway.
Why did he need to shout? Sombra just asked a simple question. There had been no reason to get angry. The look on Amethyst face was just like he was about to tear him in half.
"You don't have to be so mean," Sombra whispered to himself, wrapped the pencil in the grey energy and slowly moved it closer to himself. Today, he felt like drawing something special. He loved adventures, but constant dragons, battles, and stuff like this started to bore him. He looked for some other images in his mind, images that were worthy of being imprinted on paper.
While Sombra was pondering about this important-for-his-childish-mind problem, a small bird landed on the sill of his open window and took a quick look around his room, probably searching for food. Its tiny wings were carefully folded, and it periodically tapped the sill with its beak, eating up the remains of bread that Sombra had once eaten thereover, while sitting there. The quiet taps made him turn around and carefully observe the easily scared creature.
The bird jumped from place to place several times, and suddenly stopped, looking directly at Sombra. Its small eyes, by some unknown reason, reminded him of Willemite’s. They were just as brown and expressive as her eyes, though not as big. The bird's body looked weak and fragile, it seemed like even a gentle push could break every small bone in its body.
The creature spread out its wings and took flight, lifting itself from the sill and flying deeper into Sombra's room. The door to the rest of the house was closed, so there was no way for the bird to reach the kitchen.
It flapped its wings, flying right under the ceiling, looking for a way out. Its quick movements were almost unnoticeable, too quick to be registered in pony's sight. Sombra awed in amazement at this miracle – a living bird, in his room. It had never happened before. He had never seen an animal so close to him. Mother never took him to the zoo, since there wasn't enough money, and he always dreamt of seeing an animal in flesh, not on a picture.
Sombra stood completely still, as the bird slowly descended and landed right on the table. In several hops it reached a small glass of water that stood just by the wall. After taking a few small sips, it flapped its wings and flew up into the air again, and, in just several seconds, it was gone with the wind. Young Sombra stood, amazed by the beauty and grace of the bird. It looked so real and natural, flowing like water through the channel. The picture of this bird was stuck in his head, and he quickly picked up a pencil with his magic, and began to draw. First, there was a mess of lines, but slowly it formed into something recognizable. Consumed by this enthralling work, Sombra lost count of time and his own needs, paying no attention to the things happening around him. Minutes became hours, and time went on, but he continued drawing, no matter what.
***
"Ugh, where is this damn thing?" Willemite grumbled, digging through a pile of books. Her mane was disheveled and dusty, and several small bleeding cuts were now outfitting her face. Her haste didn't concern the edges of the books one bit – they still cut her. She leaned over a bit more, and felt a biting pain in her cheek, then a trail of cold, forming and running down. The annoyance and anger started getting out of control.
"You stupid son of a...!" Willemite growled at the book, that had so rudely cut her, but she held back the emotions and just rudely moved it away. She had to find that stupid encyclopedia for Night Spark, or else the hours of her whining would stay in her ears for all eternity.
The look on Amethyst's face was still haunting her sight: this annoying, confused look that asked if he had done something wrong.
Of course he’s done something wrong! That stupid moron, what was he thinking as he wasted so much money on his addiction? How could it get any worse?! She ranted on in her mind.
Suddenly, she felt something rubbing against her flank, something stiff and scratching. Willemite was about to jump out of this pile, but a calm voice reached her ears.
"I think you're looking for this," the sound of Star Gem’s voice reached her ears. "Sorry for the interruption, if you were busy, though."
Willemite quickly got out of the pile and turned round, looking at him with surprise and a bit of shock. He stood right next to her, smiling innocently and holding the book aloft with his magic.
Willemite felt her cheeks turning red, and her heart speeding up.
"You know, there are some parts of a mare you shouldn't touch without her permission!" she said in an angry voice.
"Sorry, I'm sorry. Couldn't find a better way to get your attention," he apologized, and moved the book closer to Willemite's face. "Is this the book you were looking for?"
"Yes, it is," Willemite said, calming down and taking the book. It was just the encyclopedia that Night Spark had ordered her to take. "How did you know?"
"Ah, I know what my sister has to study. She can never process the material herself so she needs this book... Oh, my, your face. Just a second, Willemite, I'll bring you a towel," Star Gem said, dashed to the left, and disappeared behind the bookshelf. Willemite looked at him in confusion. Just what exactly was wrong with her face?
Several seconds later, he returned and, without any warning, carefully rubbed her face with the white piece of cloth. When he was done, Willemite saw several crimson stains on the towel.
"Stupid books!" Willemite grumbled out loud, realizing just how many cuts she got from diving into that pile. "Excuse my language, sir... Argh!"
She finally snapped, anger and frustration taking over her mind, as she swiped away the pile, scattering the books all over the floor. The innocent look on Amethyst's face, his excuses, and his constant demands. It had all piled up on her mind like a giant mountain of metal that was ready to bring down the shaky foundation of her calmness at any moment. She fell down on her knees and struck the floor with her head. The sudden bang startled Star Gem.
"By the Emperor; Willemite, don't do that!" he said in a scared voice and quickly approached her, carefully putting his hoof on her shoulder.
"Sorry... I'll clean everything up... I just need a little time to calm down," Willemite replied, trying to hide her face from Star Gem.
"Who cares about this, I am worried about you! You could have hurt yourself!" he said, carefully moving Willemite's mane away, trying to see her face. His soul ached with sorrow when he saw her big watery eyes.
"I... I'll clean it up..." she continued to mumble, as her voice shook and became quieter. Suddenly, she lost all mind and started crying out loud like a small child who just got hurt. Her sobbing and screaming was like a knife to Star Gem's soul, cutting it piece by piece.
"Willemite... relax... That was just a stupid joke. I'm sorry, I really am," he said, thinking that the reason for her grief was his idiotic action with the book. "Don't cry, please, I beg you."
He carefully wrapped his front hooves around her neck and rubbed his cheek against hers, trying to comfort her in any way he could. Her tears felt like pieces of ice on his cheek when one ran down Willemite's face. Though this was quite rude, but Star Gem felt that Willemite needed somepony nearby, close to her. He might not be the closest friend of hers, but they still were friends.
She finally stopped sobbing, and was now just sitting on the floor, crying silently.
"Willemite... there's no need to cry. It was a stupid joke by a stupid fool. I'm sorry... Forgive me, please. I won't do that again, I promise with my life," he whispered quietly into her ear, carefully caressing her other cheek with his hoof, wiping away the tears.
"It's not you... it's just—" Willemite uttered, before bursting into loud crying yet again. All this pressure, all these problems, her whole life – it was too hard for her to handle and this stupid book was the last drop into the already overfilled cup.
"There, there. Calm down. Just calm down. No need to cry. Nothing bad happened, everything will be alright," Star Gem continued to coo soothing words, and it began to work. The crushing grief started to fall back, letting go of Willemite, allowing her to finally silence herself. Slowly, she turned her head to Star Gem and pierced his soul with her glare. For a second he just stared into this abyss that was filled to the brim with waters of sadness.
"I'm really sorry I disappointed you so much... I really am," Star Gem said, still thinking it was his fault. He, however, was proven wrong when Willemite encased him in a tight hug, pressing him against herself as hard as she could. Star Gem was shocked for a moment, trying to figure out what is going on.
"It's not your fault... Not your fault—" she whispered, putting her head on Star Gem's shoulder. "Just please... don't drive me away... please... It's just so much for me, so much..."
Star Gem didn't understand what she meant, but he still nodded to her, allowing her to rest on his shoulder. He might not know all her problems, but he sure knew that she just needed a friend now. And... probably somepony else.
He rubbed his cheek against hers, feeling her short fur tickling his skin. Her warm breath breezed over his neck, leaving tiny particles of water. Star Gem suddenly got this strange feeling of intimacy, of attraction. This moment was special for both him and Willemite, for it meant that they were becoming something much more, not just friends.
She trusted him. She trusted him enough to let him hug her. Wasn’t that a sign of something bigger? Wasn’t that the sign of their relationships moving beyond those of a nanny and her charge? Star Gem moved so close to her lips he could almost feel their warmth. Just one movement... He wanted to kiss her so bad. He wanted to merge with her in a fiery kiss. He had enough of the pain and suffering in these eyes. He wanted to see pleasure, passion, lust! Anything but sorrow.
Star Gem slowly tickled her back, and delved his right hoof into the cascade of her hair. It was so soft and fuzzy; he just wanted to sleep on that mane like on a pillow. The sound of her heartbeat was so close, and yet, it still could be even closer. They hadn't yet reached a limit. There was still room for expanding.
"I understand..." Star Gem whispered to Willemite, soaking the remains of her tears with his own fur. The vague memories of his own mother came to his mind: how they played together, had dinners together, walked through the park together. They did everything together...Everything... They were the best friends other ponies could not even hope to become. All other ponies, even his sister, even his father paled in comparison to his beloved mommy.
"I understand everything..." he said, and, as quiet as he possibly could, he whispered, "Mother."
"Thank you, Star Gem... Thank you," Willemite said in a soft voice, obviously having not heard his whispers. "You've been such a good friend to me all this time... Despite that I am nothing to you; you still show mercy and compassion to me. Thank you."
They sat like this for ten minutes, and with each second, the passion inside Star Gem burned stronger and stronger. However, it was soothed by something else. Maybe it was his inner conscience, maybe something else, but it made him decide that it wasn’t the time yet to reveal his true feelings. He would, at some point, but not now. Right now, Willemite needed some rest. She had suffered enough.
"Go home, Willemite. You need to rest. I'll finish up all the chores for you, don't worry about that. Just go and have a pleasant rest," he said, and Willemite looked at him right in the eyes. He was pleased to see notes of happiness in them.
"Thank you so much..." she said, with her voice still trembling.
Poor mare, what had happened to her that would reduce her to such a state? He wondered. It was just monstrous.
Willemite pulled herself together and got up, preparing for the trip home. She just wanted to enter her house, hug Sombra, and prepare something tasty for him. Maybe buy some ice-cream while on her way. Yes, she’d do that. Some ice-cream and the life would become much greater. She still had friends, she still had family, and she still had her son. Everything would be good, eventually.
In just several minutes, Star Gem was left alone to deal with the mess Willemite's tantrum had caused. It was a lot of busy work, but he didn't regret his decision – there could be no sweeter task than helping out the one you love.
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I haven`t read the original, but damn I`m loving this so far!
Not even joking, I can`t wait for the next chapter!
If only his family hadn't had it so rough...
Do you need an editor or anyone to pre-read or look over?
3464904 Nah, I already have 2 of them
3465569 Just wait a little bit into the story, you'll find how egocentric he REALLY is.
Off to fix that...
>perfect score
clearly you'd be a better character writer for the show than the people they had for season 3......
3469518 Thank you, I am incredibly happy to hear that. However, if I was a writer for the show, it would not be shown on children television... He-he
3469596 oh right , guess there's always that.....
Oh GEEZ!!!!!!
That dirty Amethyst.
Well, shit is going to hit the fan...
The darkness ensues!