Princess Twilight Sparkle adjusted her crown and studied herself in the mirror with a bright, sunny smile.
Mother's Day had once again come to Equestria. Ever since moving to Ponyville, Twilight had seen less of her mother than she really cared for—the last time she'd seen her was at her coronation, and that had been nine moons ago. The life of a princess, even an inexperienced one, tended to be hectic, and with all the crazy adventures Twilight and her friends had, she simply hadn't found the time to drop by her parents' home for a visit.
Normally, Twilight and her mother, Twilight Velvet, would spend Mother's Day together in Canterlot. This year, however, Velvet was coming to Ponyville, because Twilight and Pinkie Pie had organized a Ponyville Mother-Daughter Picnic. Pinkie was excited for her mother and her two younger sisters to arrive on the morning train; Twilight had sent the Twinkling Balloon to collect her own mother.
Satisfied with her appearance, Twilight launched herself off the balcony of her royal suite and flew down into Ponyville. She saw Fluttershy browsing a selection of flowers and swooped down beside her. "Morning, Fluttershy!" she said brightly. "Are you bringing your mother to the picnic?"
Fluttershy looked down, eyes sad. "I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll be there," she said. "Mama is afraid of the ground. That's why I've never brought her to Ponyville."
"Oh," Twilight said quietly.
"I'm going to try to convince her to come, but...we're probably going to spend the day together in Cloudsdale, like we do every year." She was near tears. "I'm sorry."
"That's okay, Fluttershy," Twilight said with a gentle smile. "The important thing is to spend today with your mother."
"I should get going," Fluttershy said. She bought a bouquet of flowers, put them in her saddlebag, then took off, waving a wing at Twilight.
At that moment, Rainbow Dash dropped down next to Twilight. "Fluttershy off to Cloudsdale?" she asked.
"Yeah," Twilight said with a sigh.
"What's up? You look kinda down."
Twilight flicked an ear. "It's just...Pinkie and I went to a lot of trouble to arrange this whole Mother-Daughter Picnic thing for the whole town, and I was hoping all my friends would be there." She frowned. "Sure, Applejack has to bring Granny Smith, because her own mother is, well..." She sighed. "But Fluttershy's not coming, Shining Armor can't make it to be with me and Mom, Maud can't come, Pinkie's upset about that..."
Rainbow grimaced. "Uhh...yeah...I'm not gonna be there either," she said.
Twilight blinked. "You're not?"
Rainbow sighed. "I don't have anypony to bring," she said. "My biomom ran off when I was a foal. I don't even know who she is."
"Oh, Rainbow! That's..." Twilight blinked. "Wait. Biomom?"
"It's easier to say than biocomologimacal—"
"Just...stop," Twilight said, facehoofing. "Okay, so...your 'biomom'. I'm sorry. I didn't know." She frowned. "But wait. Your dad never told you...?"
Rainbow shook her head. "Dad won't say. I've asked him for years, but he won't tell me who my biomom is." She shrugged. "He did a good job bringin' me up, him and his girlfriends. He had a ton of girlfriends over the years. I don't really think of any of them as a mom though. They were more like really cool big sisters." She sighed. "Well, I'd better get to work on the clouds so everypony has a nice clear sunny sky today. Later, Twi!"
Twilight watched Rainbow fly off with a frown. *Rainbow Dash doesn't even know who her own mother is...that's terrible...* She thought back to all the times when she was a little filly and her mother had been there for her: whenever she'd hurt herself playing, when her horn ached from too much practice, when she had a tummyache or a sniffle. Or when a noise or a shadow scared her at night and she wet the bed. Or when her mother had had that special talk with her about estrus and colts...
Dads were great. Twilight loved her father. He'd read to her and give her candy and do lots of neat stuff, but...a dad couldn't be a mom.
A string of girlfriends certainly was no substitute for a proper mother, either.
*I need to do something about this.*
A plan swiftly took shape in Twilight's mind. She headed off to the balloon dock; just as she arrived, the Twinkling Balloon descended into view, a familiar pale unicorn sitting in the basket.
Before the balloon could even land, Twilight had teleported her mother onto the ground beside her. "Hi Mom," she said.
Twilight Velvet blinked. "Good morning, Twiley," she said. "You...could've let the balloon land, you know." She chuckled weakly.
Twilight grimaced. "Mom...I'm really sorry about this, but there's something I need to take care of this morning, and I need to take care of it really fast. I really hate to ditch you, but—"
Velvet cocked her head. "Is this Princess business?" she asked.
"It's friendship business," Twilight replied. "I've got five hours to find out who Rainbow Dash's mother is and drag her here to reunite with her daughter."
Before Velvet could inquire further, Twilight shot off into the sky, headed for Cloudsdale.
Five seconds later, Twilight reappeared in a flash of magic and flung her hooves around her mother in a crushing hug. "Spike's hanging around Carousel Boutique, why don't you meet up with him? I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, she was gone again.
Velvet waited a full ten seconds before heading into Ponyville, bemused, confused, and concerned.
* * * * *
As Twilight landed on one of the many busy cloud lanes in Cloudsdale, her appearance drew quite a few stares and murmurs. She ignored the curious buzz that her presence generated and scanned the lanes. After several minutes of flying errantly, she spotted a familiar pink tail slipping inside a house. She descended and knocked on the door.
"Yes?" a soft voice asked. The door opened, and Fluttershy peeked out. "Oh! Twilight! Goodness...wh-what are you doing here?"
"Sorry to bother you, but I need to find Rainbow Dash's dad," Twilight said.
"Rainbow Blaze?" Fluttershy asked. "Oh...I think he lives..." Fluttershy frowned. "Mama knows where he lives. Just a moment." She went inside; a moment later, an older pegasus with a cherry blossom pink coat and a butter yellow mane peeked out.
Twilight smiled at her. "Oh! You must be Fluttershy's mother."
The older mare quaked in fear. "P-Princess T-Twilight Sparkle?!" she squeaked in a soft, trembling voice.
Twilight's ears drooped slightly. "I...see it runs in the family," she muttered. "Please...don't be afraid. You know I'm one of your daughter's best friends, right?"
"Umm...y-yes..."
"I was just wondering if you happen to know where I might be able to find a Mr. Rainbow Blaze..."
"THAT ASSHOLE!!" Fluttershy's mother suddenly thundered—literally, as her house spat a lighting bolt into the air. Twilight took a step back, wings flared in alarm.
"Now, Mama," Fluttershy said gently, reappearing in the doorway. "It was a very long time ago, and you know it was an accident. Please, please let it go? His daughter Rainbow Dash is one of my very dearest friends..."
"Uhh...Fluttershy? What—?"
"Some other time!" Fluttershy whispered frantically.
"Err...right..." Twilight cleared her throat. "Ma'am...I'm sorry to have upset you, but it's really important I find Mr. Blaze."
Fluttershy's mother seethed. "He lives over on Drizzle Drive," she said. "There's a rainbow fountain in the front yard, you can't miss it."
"Thank you very much. It was nice meeting you."
As Twilight flew off, she heard Fluttershy's mother yell, "I HOPE YOU SHOOT A FREAKING LASER BEAM UP THAT SON OF A BITCH'S ASS!"
"Wow," Twilight said to herself, shuddering.
It took her several minutes to find Drizzle Drive, and a few more minutes to find the house with a rainbow fountain in the "yard". She glided to a halt on the doorstep and knocked.
After nearly a full minute, the door was opened by a stallion with a rainbow mane. His eyes widened. "Princess Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight nodded. "Good morning, sir. You're Rainbow Blaze, father of Rainbow Dash, are you not?"
"Yes...is something wrong? Has something happened to—"
"No, nothing like that," Twilight assured him. "May I come in?"
"Of course, Your Highness."
Twilight followed Rainbow Blaze into a modest living room full of soft, fluffy cloud furniture. "You have a lovely home," she said.
"It's nothing compared to that monument to my little girl's ego floating over Ponyville," Blaze said.
Twilight giggled. "Her house is a bit...over-the-top." She sat down on one of the cloud chairs. "The reason I've come today is to ask you a question. I understand if it's a sensitive subject, but...it's extremely important."
"Alright," Blaze said cautiously.
"I'll get right to the point," Twilight said. "Rainbow Dash's mother. Who is she?"
Blaze frowned. "I'd...rather not say."
Twilight's face fell. "I was afraid you'd say that," she said. "I only learned this morning that Rainbow Dash doesn't know who her mother is. That she was raised by you and a succession of your girlfriends. Is her mother even alive?"
"Yes, she is," Blaze said. "It's...complicated."
Twilight gave him a hard look. "Uncomplicate it," she suggested. "Rainbow Dash deserves to know who her mother is."
Blaze shook his head. "It's not that simple," he insisted. "She left because she didn't want the responsibility of motherhood. And, well...her lifestyle is...not like other ponies."
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Rainbow Dash is a grown mare. I don't really think those things matter anymore."
Blaze sighed. "I suppose not. Still..."
"I don't want to overstep my bounds," Twilight said. "But as one of Rainbow Dash's closest friends, I really must insist you at least tell me who her mother is. Then let it be up to me to confront her and try to bring them together." She fixed Blaze with an imploring look. "If you can't trust a Princess of Equestria, who can you trust?"
Blaze flinched, looking away. After a long, tense moment, he hesitantly said, "Her mother is...A.K. Yearling."
Twilight blinked. "You're kidding!"
"No, it's true," Blaze said. "Which is why it's complicated. You see, apart from living in a very remote part of Equestria, she—"
Twilight frowned. "But that doesn't make sense!" she said. "After that whole thing with the Rings of Scorchero, and—Daring Do should've recognized her own daughter!" She stood up and began to pace.
Blaze blinked. "Wait. You've actually met..." He trailed off. "You know?"
"That A.K. Yearling is Daring Do? Yes," Twilight said. "My friends and I met her several moons ago. Rainbow Dash helped her defeat Ahuizotl." Twilight tilted her head. "Now that I think about it...they do look an awful lot alike..."
"And...she didn't show any sign at all of recognizing her daughter?" Blaze asked. When Twilight shook her head, he sighed. "I'm not surprised. The only reason she came around was for...well...sex," he said with a blush, "and she kinda flew off the handle when Rainbow Dash happened. As soon as she could get away after foaling her, she took off as fast as her wings could carry her. She never came back."
Twilight frowned. "But...that's...!"
"Daring's got a lot of character flaws that she leaves out of her books."
Twilight sighed, ears drooping. "Apparently," she muttered.
Blaze looked away. "It's...it's part of why I stopped reading them. When Dash wrote me a letter gushing about her new favorite book series...it opened a very painful old wound."
Twilight grimaced. "I can only imagine." She sighed. "Thank you for telling me the truth, Mr. Blaze. I'll take it from here."
"You're...really gonna try to get Daring and Dashie together?"
"Rainbow Dash deserves to know the truth," Twilight said. "Besides, Daring Do is her hero. Even if...even if this knocks her off that pedestal, it's..." She shrugged. "I just need to do this," she finished.
"Good luck," Blaze said.
"Thanks. I have a feeling I'll need it. Oh, before I go..." Twilight tilted her head. "Why would Fluttershy's mother want me to shoot you in the butt with a laser beam?"
Blaze blinked. "She what...?"
"What did you do to that poor mare?"
Blaze snorted. "Fifteen years ago I accidentally hit her in the lady parts with a tiny little lightning bolt when I was wrangling a thundercloud. I apologized, but..." He shrugged. "She can really hold a grudge."
Twilight's jaw dropped. "Wow." She shook her head. "Well...I've taken up enough of your time and I really need to get going. Thank you for being honest with me."
Blaze bowed. "It was a pleasure, Your Highness. Tell Dashie to drop by sometime soon!"
* * * * *
Twilight sighed as she left Cloudsdale. She knew she didn't have enough time to fly to Daring Do's cabin before the picnic, so she resigned herself to returning to Ponyville empty-hooved.
Once she arrived, she flew to the park where Pinkie Pie was setting up things for the picnic. She found her mother and Spike under a tree and landed next to them. "I'm back," she said. "Sorry about leaving you like that, Mom."
"It's okay, dear," Twilight Velvet said. "I understand. So, did you find what you were looking for?"
"Yes and no," Twilight said with a sigh. "I found out who Rainbow Dash's mother is, but actually getting the two of them together is going to have to wait until later."
"That's too bad," Velvet said.
"So who is it?" Spike asked.
"I'll tell you later," Twilight said. "You'll never believe it."
Spike gave her a half-lidded stare. "Is it Daring Do?" he asked flatly.
Velvet blinked.
Twilight sighed. "Yep."
Velvet's jaw dropped.
"I totally believe it," Spike said.
"You have got to be KIDDING ME!" Velvet yelled, attracting attention from ponies around them. "All the years I've known that crazy mare, and she never once thought to tell me she'd had a foal and...and up and abandoned her?!" She frowned. "Oh, have I got words for her..."
"Wait," Spike said. "You know Daring Do?"
"Of course I know that featherbrain," Velvet said. "I'm her editor."
"Oh yeah," Spike said. "Huh. I totally forgot about that."
"I've had to keep her secrets for a long time," Velvet said. "It looks like she's been keeping a really BIG secret from me." She ground her teeth. "Why, of all the...I have half a mind to..." She began muttering under her breath.
Twilight's ears wilted. "Umm...okay, so...how about we enjoy this lovely picnic together, and worry about the whole Daring Do thing later?"
Velvet sighed. "You're right, dear. I'm sorry."
Still, Velvet's mood didn't improve much over the course of the afternoon.
* * * * *
After the picnic, Twilight found Rainbow Dash napping on a cloud not far from the park. "Hey Rainbow," she said.
"Oh, hey Twi," Rainbow replied sleepily, waving a hoof. "'Sup?"
"Daring Do is your mother," Twilight said.
Rainbow fell through the cloud and hit the ground face-first.
"WHAT?!"
Why am I not surprised Fluttershy's mom swears like a sailor when pissed off?
A lightning bolt to the folds has to hurt, though...
And you love your Mama Bear Velvet, don't you? Though I wonder how much of that is her feeling betrayed because she's Yearling's editor?
Hell, even supercalifragilisticexpialidocious seems easier to say than that.
(Yes, I actually did try pronouncing "biocomologimacal" out loud. It didn't exactly end well. )
I'm kind of surprised and impressed Twilight just up and told Dash like that instead of dancing around the issue. Well done.
5941928 I think it's actually Dash having trouble saying biological.
5943577
Yeah, that was kind of obvious. I was just having a bit of fun trying to pronounce Dash's mispronunciation.
I bet Dash doesn't believe her.
This was so funny I'm looking forward to what is in store next
Twilight, thy name is not tact.
Damn Twilight! Just up and throw the bombshell right at her why don't you?
"Oh hey Twi- *BOOM*
Fluttershy, where is your father? I want to see the pony who gave you the other half of your genes.
Well this is interesting. If Rainbowdash finds out who her mother is and that she left simply because she didn't want anything to do with her she'll probably never want to look at another Daring Do book again.
So ... Daring Do is immortal like Ditzy Do? [Ditzy being unaging is canon ^_^. I'd be funny if it ran in the family].
5954231
Everypony knows Fluttershy is half dragon. They say so in MLP:FiW.
Wow, way to break it to her gently, Twi.
Coming back and rereading this story now, I can honestly say that this remains one of my favorite stories.
And, even having read this story before, Rainbow Dash's reaction is priceless.
5965272 FIW?
7126059
Friendship is Witchcraft
7126161 You mean that fan work that Voice of Reason said he hated which lead to him getting chased by an angry mob that was already chasing the Fiery Joker for hating Double Rainboom?
That is the worst butchering of the word biological I have ever seen. every time I so mutch as think of how mutch Rainbow butched the word, I can't help but shuder. Eeeeuuuugh!
Wow, that's a big change in personality.
WHAT THE HELL HAPENED BETWEEN THOSE TWO FOR HER TO BE SO ANGRY AT HIM!
Agreed, Twilight, agreed.
That's what she just said, dumb ass.
The reason one should never meet their hero is that, once you do, you relise that they're human, or in this case equine, too.
Thats not a grudge, thats just wanting pay back. And I can tell why, even though I myself am a male. Impact of any kind to the reproductive orgins, wether you are male or female, is extremly painfull, as the fact it hurts so mutch to get hit there gives an organisim all the more insentive to protect the area.
He's gonna guess it in one isn't he.
Called it.
The only sane reaction here.
Don't say it Twi,
Aaaaaaand she said it. in the most blunt, in your face way, to.
I was wrong, their are TWO sane reactions here.
So this was the first time I've ever done a comment like this, and I must say, it all started because Rainbow butchered the word biological. I still can't beleve how badly she did that. Eeeeuuuugh!
... I see who 'Shy gets her.... anger problems from!
7893502 when i read the bold print, i nearly fell out of my chair laughing, cuz the words were something my dad would say! lol
Ah, I see repressed anger issues run in the family as well.
Way to shun single fathers.
8384728
How many men are cut out to be moms to daughters they're raising alone? I'd be willing to bet it's roughly the same number as the number of women who can be dads to their growing sons.
I speak from experience: There are things you go through growing up that, frankly, you need a parent of the same gender to help you deal with, simply because they've had the same experience. It's not that a single dad can't help his daughter, say, deal with her first period, it's just...he's not going to handle it very well. Same as it's awkward for a single mom to deal with some of the stuff a boy goes through.
I'm a dude. I was raised by my grandmother and my great-grandmother, with no male role model in the house. It absolutely affected how I turned out. (Mostly for the better, I would think, but I do often wonder how things would be different if I'd had a dad growing up.)
I would react the same way
facepalming hard
Yes Rainbow, it’s definitely easier to say than...that.
7893248
I know, right!?
9615998
Okay she butchered the word so badly I didn't recognise it.