Libero

by Discombobulated Soul

Mother's Day Special

And that should finish up that batch! Now to start the next one...

Bon Bon Heartstrings once more lifted the box of sugar above the sizable pot and tipped it, sending the powdery contents falling to their heated doom. One light sprinkling of some alchemical ingredients and a swift turn of the stovetop's knob marked the start of what would soon become a jar of delectable candies.

The mare hummed to herself as she worked, her thoughts wandering aimlessly as she relaxed into the well-practiced routine. She didn't especially know why she'd continued making so many candies; Her wife and son enjoyed partaking of them, sure, but they lacked the capability--though not the appetite--to consume the whole shop's worth of sweets she made on the daily. Perhaps Bon Bon simply took too much joy in the process of making candy to give it up, perhaps she did it as a sort of calming ritual to meditate and reflect on her day, and perhaps she just liked the taste of sweet victory when the work was finished.

Whatever it was didn't especially matter; Bon Bon was making candy and there was little anypony could do to stop her, even on the unlikely chance that they'd want to in the first place.

Soft-yet-hurried hoofsteps heralded the imminent arrival of a certain unicorn foal, and Bonnie tensed in preparation for the assault. As predicted, her hind legs--which had been foolishly (or perhaps purposefully) left undefended--were the sudden victims of a vicious attack from behind.

With a most stealthy battle cry and a preemptive peal of laughter, Knight catapulted himself straight into her hocks and held on with feral strength. Unable to withstand the might of such an overwhelming onslaught, the former agent fell to the ground with a dramatic "oof!", gradually weakening her death throes before finally collapsing, but not before adding an extra twitch for good measure.

"Momma!" Button--for that was almost definitely who was in charge at the moment--managed to squeak out after recovering from his fit of giggles. Bon Bon couldn't stop herself from breaking into a grin, cracking an eye open just in time to watch the colt launch himself once more, this time straight into her barrel. The earth pony deftly caught him and held the laughing lump of foal to her chest before the two engaged in a heartfelt nuzzle.

The ponies laid in silence for a while, with Bon Bon listening carefully to both the heating sugar and her son's breathing. She tried desperately to pinpoint the exact moment Button was shoved to the background and Knight resumed control, but found herself yet still unable to read him that well. At this rate, I doubt I'll ever figure out how Lyly does it. As of yet, she could only detect a mix of signals--the tempo of his breath and heartbeat, the occasional tensing of his muscles, and his flickering gaze foremost among them--but never begin to decipher what exactly they meant.

Finally, Knight wiggled a bit and Bon Bon knew to let him slide off of her, standing from her belly-up position shortly after. At that point, the pot of sugar had begun to boil, so the mare slid on a pair of oven mitts and poured the contents onto a nearby magically-cooled pan. The unicorn watched all of this with rapt attention, still somehow fascinated by the process despite having seen it to its completion several times already. Suddenly, his expression became pensive and he pursed his lips in the beginning of a question, to which Bon Bon raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"What does that mean?" The earth pony blinked a few times in confusion, removing her mitts before turning to look her son in the eye. Neither of us has said anything, so he must be referencing what Button said earlier. Knowing the candy-in-progress needed some time to reach the right consistency, the ex-agent laid herself down to be on the same level as the colt.

"What does 'Momma' mean? Is that what you're asking me, Knight?" The colt nodded and appeared genuinely interested, so Bon Bon took a moment to ponder. He started calling me 'Momma' and Lyra 'Mommy' a few days ago. That means he's able to distinguish between us and accepted both of us as parents, so that can't be it. Maybe he's asking what it means to be a mother? He hasn't had much experience with that, after all.

After another few moments of her looking questioningly at her son and receiving nothing in the way of clarification, the mare promptly decided that that was the most plausible interpretation and so answered accordingly: "Well, a mother is somepo--er, creature--who cares for their child. Whether they're biologically related or not, a mother tends to her children's needs and helps raise them to become strong, capable adults." Knight mulled this over for a few seconds, nodding and appearing to debate with himself--potentially literally, considering his mental state. Bonnie was about to continue her little spiel, but was surprised when he instead asked another question and doubly so when she fully registered it.

"What's your mother like?"

So unexpected was this inquiry that it stumped the former agent entirely for quite some time. Once that period was over, however, a slight smile appeared on her face. One that only grew the longer she spent reveling in joyful memories.

Momma! Momma! Look what I found!

"My mother, Knight?"

Oh, a flower! And it matches my mane, too! Thank you so much, Sweetie. It looks so pretty!

"She's amazing. I think she's probably one of the greatest ponies to ever exist."

Not as pretty as you, mom!

Knight blinked curiously, tilting his head in silent beckoning for more information. Bon Bon smiled yet wider and laid her head on the floor, having to concentrate rather hard to avoid getting lost in the fond recollections.

There, there, Sweets. Let it all out. It's okay.

"She comforted me when I hurt myself on a sharp rock..."

That's so cool! I've never heard of that! Can you tell me more?

"...she listened to my crazy stories, even when they got too outlandish to ever be real...

How was your day at school, Sweets? Did you like the lunch I packed you?

"...she fed and cared for me, all without expecting anything in return."

Knight was, at this point, staring in what was practically wide-eyed wonder, and Bon Bon suddenly felt she knew exactly what to finish with.

"That's what mothers are, Knight. Comforters. Caregivers. Listeners. And," she stared back, projecting every last scrap of sincerity she could, "that's what I am for you, too. Okay?" The colt hesitated for but a moment before nodding vigorously, to which the former agent swept him up in yet another hug that he eagerly reciprocated.

Fortunelessly, the embrace was doomed to premature death as the cooling candy finally reached the correct consistency for further work. Bon Bon gently set the foal down--to both of their disappointments--and reached up to lift the wad of soon-to-be-candy, carrying it over to yet another machine.

The work didn't continue for long before Lyra strode in, hungrily eyeing the finished batch. The earth pony watched carefully from the corner of her eye as the minty mare attempted to sneak past her to the nearby table. A swift swat with Bon Bon's tail was her retribution, to which Lyra recoiled and adopted an expression of nonchalance.

"Naughty Lyly. You know you have to ask first. Think of the example you're setting for our son!" The unicorn ducked her head and seemed appropriately abashed, but the ex-agent still caught her mouth's mocking movements and her hoof's waving, as well as Knight's resulting giggle. "I saw that!" The minty mare paled and began backing away, but a certain colt's sudden grip on her foreleg stopped her in her tracks.

"Mommy? What does 'mother' mean?"

This shocked Lyra right out of her playful attitude and she stared down at her son in surprise before sending an asking glance Bonnie's way. The earth pony merely shrugged and gave a meaningful look, to which the elder unicorn breathed deeply and settled down, mulling the question over.

Bon Bon returned to her work, but still kept an ear pointed backwards both to insure against any more sneaky attempts at thievery and because she was interested in what her wife had to say.

"Well, I'm sure your Momma already told you about it, but a mother is somecreature who cares about and for her child." The cream-colored candymaker smirked to herself, greatly pleased and somewhat smug that their respective answers to the question had been nearly identical. Knight hmmed for a moment before, predictably enough, turning the same follow-up inquiry on his other parent:

"What's your mother like?"

Silence relayed Lyra's surprise and Bon Bon found herself twisting her neck around to get a look at her stunned expression. The mint-colored unicorn took a few minutes to collect her thoughts, but eventually brought her gaze back down to Knight's curious expression to give him an earnest smile.

"Well, as a filly, I was quite the hoof-full. The fact that I was--and still am, I guess--far from neurotypical hardly helped. All in all, my family had to deal with a lot of behavior that I'm sure got annoying really fast." Lyra's gaze grew distant as she--much like her wife mere minutes prior--revisited old and fond memories of her foalhood. "My mother, though? She was and is as patient as anything. Even when the whole word seemed sick of me and nothing made sense, I always knew I could go to her for love and support."

"She always understood me on some level, even when I failed to understand myself. Looking back, I would definitely have turned out for the worse if she hadn't acted like she did."

Lyra jolted out of her thoughts in time to catch her son's expression of utter wonder, giving him a soft smile and a nuzzle in response. "That's what being a mother means, Knight. Patience, understanding, and unconditional love. And I want to give you the very same things. That is, if you'll have me?"

The colt merely initiated a tight hug in reply, clutching at Lyra's barrel and sighing his gratitude. The unicorns sat in a contented embrace for the umpteenth time, and Bon Bon found herself slightly jealous as she finished up the batch of candy.

"Hey, where's my hug?" The former agent yelped as she was surrounded by a yellow glow and brought rather forcibly over to join the cuddle pile. She rolled her eyes after discovering several candies also having been the victims of levitation, but couldn't stay angry when she saw the looks of utter bliss on her family members' faces when they partook. Knight in particular seemed to be enjoying the sugary delight to a degree that was nearly worrying, and the earth pony chuckled to herself as he consumed her work, still not leaving the group hug.

"You really like sugar, don't you, Knight?" The colt hardly had the presence of mind to nod his agreeance, which only heightened Bonnie's humor at the scene. A rogue idea planted itself in her head and she mulled it over, trying to gauge his potential reactions. Well, we do still need a name to refer to everypony in his head...

"What do you think about being nicknamed that? Sugar, I mean. You do share a lot of things in common, after all." Bon Bon felt a sting of worry in witnessing Knight's surprised expression, but it was swiftly replaced by relief when he beamed and nodded, still sucking adorably on his treat.

That settled, the family laid together on the floor, heartily indulging in the one member's succulent creations as they basked in each other's presence.

A long road lay ahead of them, wrought with dangers and peril the likes of which they couldn't imagine. But they would face that road together, united in cause--if not mind--and strengthened by their mutual love.

The mothers would face challenges, yes, but they knew that from the get-go. They were ready. Prepared and even eager to face the trials. They'd do anything for their child, as any true mother would.

And true mothers they were.

Author's Note:

Happy Mother's Day! I decided I needed to write something special for this occasion, but any story idea was deemed inadequate compared to the potential for a Libero chapter dedicated to the holiday.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this more lighthearted chapter. It was quite a bit more experimental, so if y'all would give feedback on how it turned out, I would be very appreciative.

Comments

[mustangdrew4]

That was super heartwarming and wholesome I really enjoyed the warm, fuzzy feelings that filled me with.

I greatly appreciate that Knight and Button are getting to feel safe enough to ask those questions. It's great progress and I'm super happy to see it.

My favorite part was the Button tackle