> Played Out: A Mother's Day Story
>  by Sketchy Changeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Test Your Might
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


“Good morning, sweetheart,” a low voice said to me as I felt a gentle rubbing sensation on my shoulder.


 


I sighed with content as my eyes slowly opened to see my lovely husband looking back at me, a warm smile on his face.


 


“Happy Mother’s Day, Velvet,” he told me, leaning in and giving me a soft kiss on my forehead.


 


“Thank you, Night Light,” I replied as I sat up and stretched my arms with a long yawn. “You’re already dressed?”


 


“Well, I did have to prepare your breakfast, you know. I wanted to go a little bigger than last year, so I can’t serve it to you in bed, unfortunately.”


 


“That’s alright, honey,” I chuckled, levitating my robe over to me as I got out of bed. “I don’t mind. I’m sure breakfast will be lovely regardless.” With my robe slipped on and tied, I walked over to the dresser drawer by the wall and picked up my brush, trying to tame my mane at least a little bit before going downstairs.


 


I was never one to keep my bedhead for too long.


 


I looked down at the picture frames on the dresser as I brushed my mane, smiling at the various memories captured in each photo: Shining Armor’s wedding, Twilight Sparkle’s coronation, and two family pictures outside Shining’s Castle in the Crystal Empire and Twilight’s castle in Ponyville. I loved all my kids, Spike and Cadance included, and I cherished every moment we spent together as a family.


 


“You know, it was a lot easier to get the family together when they were just students,” I sighed. “Now they have all these responsibilities and it’s even harder for them to set time aside for us.”


 


“Life was a lot simpler when they were younger, wasn’t it?” Night Light said, walking up behind me and gently rubbing my shoulders.


 


“At least we can have some luck with Twilight every now and then, but it’s near impossible with Shining Armor these days,” I lamented, picking up the family photo of us outside of his castle. “The Crystal Empire is so far away, and he has his wife to think about on top of an entire kingdom.”


 


Night Light brought his face over to mine and gave me a loving nuzzle. “I know the kids couldn’t be here this year, Velvet, but I promise to make this the best Mother’s Day ever,” he vowed, ending with a soft kiss on my cheek.


 


I laughed lightly, appreciating his effort.  “I’ll hold you to that promise.”


 


With a smile, Night Light gently grasped my hand and said “Let’s head downstairs before your breakfast gets cold, okay?” I nodded, letting him lead me out of the bedroom and towards the stairs. I noticed that there was a strange skip in his step, and he was humming to himself as we walked down the hallway.


 


My muzzle contorted into a sly grin when we reached the staircase. “You must be really proud of what you prepared for me.”


 


“Eh, a little bit,” he shrugged. “You’ll be really impressed this time.”


 


I giggled. It was cute, the way Night Light tried to outdo himself every year. “I’m sure it’ll be delicious, whatever it is.” His poorly hidden excitement was adorable, but to be completely honest, my husband’s cooking was… oh, what’s a nice way to put it… below average. Still, I always kept a smile on my face, and he was getting better each year. Who was I to make him feel bad? As they say, it’s the thought that counts, and besides, his cooking was nowhere near as bad as my mother’s.


 


A chill runs up my spine whenever I think about it…


 


As long as my Night Light doesn’t drop to that level, I’m good.


 


When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the sweet aroma of a freshly prepared breakfast wafted up my nostrils. I was surprised at how good it smelled, and I wondered if Night Light had been practicing behind my back. “This smells really good, honey.”


 


A prideful chuckle escaped him. “If you think it smells good, wait until you see it!” His pace picked up to the point where he was borderline pulling me, and it only made me more eager to see what he had in store, and when we rounded the corner to the dining room, I was taken aback by what I saw.


 


“SURPRISE!”


 


A green flame flew upwards, spelling out the word “surprise,” and I followed it down to see that it was coming from a familiar purple dragon, accompanied by three even more familiar ponies.


 


“Happy Mother’s Day!” they all cheered, and I was rendered speechless, leaning on Night Light for support.


 


Twilight, Spike, Cadance, and Shining Armor.


 


My kids… they all came to see me…


 


I continued to stare at them, happiness welling up inside me and a huge, permanent smile plastered onto my face. “Um… I think we broke her, Twilight,” said the dragon.


 


“Well, she wasn’t exactly expecting company over, Spike,” my daughter giggled. “It’s only natural that she’d be-”


 


“MY BABIES!” I screamed, rushing over and practically tackling as many of them as I could with a hug, tears running down my cheeks. “I missed you guys so much! I thought you weren’t going to be here!”


 


“Well, surprise!” Cadance said, wiping my tears away with her wing.


 


“You guys told me that you’d be too busy to visit this year. How did you all plan this?” I asked.


 


“We didn’t,” Shining Armor answered. “Dad did.”


 


I blinked and turned to look at Night Light, who had averted his gaze from me. “You planned this?”


 


He shrugged nervously. “Well, I didn’t really do much. I was just worried that the kids would be swamped with work, so I asked them to make plans six months in advance.”


 


I tuned back to my children and gave them a stern look “So all that talk about not being able to come over?”


 


Twilight blushed and scratched her cheek. “Sorry, Mom, but Dad wanted it to be a surprise, so…” Her voice trailed off, unsure of how to finish that thought.


 


“Humph. If you were living under my roof, I’d have you all grounded for lying to me.”


 


“Ehhh… I wouldn’t call it lying…” my oldest son spoke up.


 


“Oh, really? Then what would you call it, Shining Armor?”


 


“Misdirection?”


 


I shook my head with a smile. My little Shiny had always been terrible at making up excuses.


 


Night Light walked over to the rest of us, putting an arm around me. “Well, now that we’re all here, let’s eat!”







Breakfast had been served and we were all gathered around the dining table, with me sitting at the head.


 


“So, be honest with me, Night Light. Who made all this?” I asked.


 


“Well…”


 


“She’ll know if you’re lying, Dad,” Cadance warned before he could answer.


 


She knew me so well.


 


“Okay, I didn’t make the breakfast,” he admitted. “Spike and Cadance took care of it.”


 


“That sounds a little more realistic,” I said, pouring some syrup on my pancakes. “If that’s the case, though, just how long have you all been here?”


 


“We actually got here late last night while you were sleeping,” Spike explained. “After we spent the night, Cadance and I got up early to make breakfast.”


 


“Well, that was very sweet of you two.”


 


“Don’t mention it, Mom,” said my daughter-in-law. “We were more than happy to do it.”


 


“Do you like it?” Spike asked, eager to hear what I thought of the meal that he helped make for me.



I took a moment to swallow a hashbrown before answering. “It’s delicious.”



“Well, we couldn’t let Dad cook for you again,” Twilight chuckled.


 


“I’ll have you know that your mother loves my cooking.” Night Light grunted with folded arms before turning his head towards me. “Don’t you, Velvet?”


 


There was a short pause. “Yes, dear,” I answered, immediately taking a sip of orange juice afterward, and the kids looked at each other incredulously.


 


Shining shook his head. “And she wanted to ground us for lying-OW!”


 


“I heard that,” I said with narrowed eyes, my son rubbing his shoulder where the little spark of my magic hit him.


 


I loved my son, but he could sometimes have a smart mouth.


 


My daughters giggled at his small misfortune, and he slouched in his chair as he continued to eat. “Sorry,” he muttered.


 


“Could be worse,” Spike shrugged. “We could be eating Grandma’s cooking.”


 


A collective shudder ran through all of us. “Please don’t mention that at the table, Spike,” I groaned, then my attention focused on my daughter-in-law. “So, Cadance, how’s Project Grandfoal coming along?” I asked with a grin.


 


I heard Twilight spit out her juice. “Project what!?”


 


“Eh… not so well, really,” Cadance admitted.


 


I let out a disappointed sigh. “You’ve been making good use of the books you requested from me?”


 


“Oh, yeah. Trust me, we may not have gotten much luck so far, but it’s not from lack of trying.”


 


“My royal guard training helped with my stamina,” Shining said proudly.


 


Twilight on the other hand, was growing agitated. “Really, guys? At the table? Spike is here, you know!”


 


“It is a little inappropriate, Velvet,” Night Light agreed.


 


I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “You two are so alike. Don’t be such prudes. Spike is a growing drake. We can’t just shelter him all the time.” I took another sip of orange juice and sighed. “Besides, I already had ‘The Talk’ with him the last time he and Twilight came over for a visit.”


 


“What!?” my daughter shouted, and she immediately turned to Spike. “Why didn’t you tell me this?”


 


“I didn’t think it was important to tell you,” he shrugged.


 


“Honestly, Twilight, you shield him too much,” I told her. “I know that big sister instinct wants you to keep him safe, but you aren’t doing him any favors.”


 


She groaned in defeat, knowing that she couldn’t argue with me. “Well, you already told him, so I guess there really isn’t anything I can do about it now.” She looked at her big brother. “So, aside from… Project Grandfoal… what else have you been up to, Shiny?”


 


“Not much. I’m just waiting for Killer Kombat 10 to come out next week,” he answered.


 


My ears perked at the mention of that game.


 


“Aw, yeah!” Spike cheered. “I’ve been waiting since last summer to get it!”


 


“Who says you’re getting it?” Twilight interjected. She then glanced over to me and I gave her a look. “Oh, come on, Mom! Have you seen the stuff in that game? It’s way too violent for someone Spike’s age to be playing.”


 


“More violent than your fight with Tirek?” he grumbled.


 


“He’s got you there,” Cadance snickered.


 


“That was totally different!” Twilight defended. “I was fighting for the sake of Equestria! That game is just violent for the sake of shock value!”


 


“Oh, what’s the harm in it?” Shining asked. “The kid’s smart enough to know the difference between reality and a video game.”


 


“I’m still not letting him buy it.”


 


My young stallion rolled his eyes and looked over at the little drake. “Don’t worry, Spike. I’ll let you play my copy of the game whenever you visit me and Cadance.”


 


“Shining!”


 


“Really?” Spike asked, a glimmer of hope in his big, green eyes. “You’re the best, Shining Armor!”


 


“Anything for my little bro,” he said with a thumbs-up.


 


Twilight folded her arms, letting out an audible growl of dissatisfaction, and I giggled a little at that reaction. She could only shield Spike so much, but I suppose that’s a lesson she’ll have to learn on her own eventually.


 


Hopefully she’ll learn it before she becomes a parent.







“Thanks for the lovely breakfast, kids,” I sighed, rubbing my belly as I slouched in my chair.


 


“No problem, Mom,” Cadance smiled. “That’s just the beginning, though. We’ve got a lot more planned for you.”


 


I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really?”


 


Twilight stood up and nodded her head excitedly. “Cadance and I are taking you to the spa this afternoon, and then we’re all taking you out for dinner tonight!”


 


“That sounds great, girls,” I laughed lightly as I stood up slowly, not wanting to upset my full stomach, “but before I get ready to go, I need to talk with Shining for a bit.”


 


My oldest son looked at me with widened eyes. “Um… okay,” he said, unsure of what I wanted, but obediently standing up as I motioned for him to follow me.


 


I led Shining Armor down the hall towards the door leading to the basement, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see the hairs on his mane and tail standing on end. “What’s wrong?” I asked, looking at him with a concerned frown.


 


“Nothing… just a little nervous,” he answered. “Usually, when two ponies head to a basement by themselves, it’s usually not for something good.”


 


I rolled my eyes as I lit up my horn, undoing the magical lock on the door. “Somepony’s been watching too many horror movies.”


 


“Well…” he murmured guiltily.


 


“Either that or you’ve been watching some kinky ‘adult’ films with Cadance,” I teased.


 


“Quit it, Mom!”


 


“Oh, relax, Shiny. You know I’m just joking. It’s all in good fun.”


 


“Hmph. Fun for you, maybe.”


 


I narrowed my eyes at him again. “Excuse me?”


 


“Nothing.”


 


“I thought so.”


 


With the door unlocked, Shining Armor and I headed down into the basement, and I felt around the wall to my left, looking for the light switch.


 


“You know, you and Dad never let me and Twilight down here. Was there ever a reason for that?” he asked.


 


“It was mostly because your father kept a model replica of the first EUP guard base,” I explained. “He’d always come down here from time to time and fiddle with it, sometimes reenacting important events from their history.” I chuckled. “You’re a lot like him that way, what with all the action figures you collected when you were a colt.”


 


“They’re action figures.”


 


“That’s what I said.”


 


He paused. “Oh, sorry… I’m just conditioned to correct somepony ‘cause they’d always called them dolls.”


 


“That’s the second thing you have in common with your dad.”


 


“You actually keep count of the things I have in common with him?”


 


“Why not?” I asked. “There’s only three.”


 


“So little?”


 


“Yeah, there’s the action figures, your sensitivity to having them referred to as dolls, and of course,” I looked over to him and ruffled his mane, “your hardheaded bravery.”


 


He laughed and grabbed my hand firmly, yet gently and removed it from his head. I couldn’t help but mess up his mane every now and then, even if he did end up growing to be three inches taller than me.


 


“Are you trying to say that I’m more like you than Dad?” he asked.





I smirked. “You have no idea how alike we are.”


 


We reached a door at the far end of the basement, and when I opened it, I switched on one of the lights to reveal something that would prove my point.


 


“An old arcade cabinet?” he asked with a confused look. “Does it still work?”


 


“Mm-hm,” I nodded. “Why don’t you look and see what game it is?”


 


Shining walked up to the ancient machine and examined the game logo at the top, only for him to turn around and look at me with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.


 


“This is the original Killer Kombat!” he exclaimed. “You played this game!?”


 


“Eh, I dabbled a little,” I admitted modestly.


 


“How in Equestria did you get this!?”


 


“I knew a guy. He collected old arcade machines, and he owed me a favor, so he gave me this.”


 


“I can’t believe this…” Shining said, trying to process what he just learned. “But… why are you showing me this?”


 


I walked up beside him, dusting off the controls with my hand. “Well, it is Mother’s Day, so I was wondering if you’d treat me to a match,” I paused. “Don’t expect it to be like the newer games, though.”


 


My son puffed his chest proudly, unfazed by what I said. “I’ll have you know, mother, that I have the original Killer Kombat on my Neighstation 4, so I already know how the game works. Who did you think you were dealing with?”


 


“Don’t get ahead of yourself, youngster. This isn’t some cheap console port. This is the original genuine article. You can’t replicate something like this.”



“We’ll see about that, old mare.”



“I would zap you for that comment, but the flank whupping that you’re about to get should be a fitting punishment.”


 


“You doubt my skills, mother dearest.”


 


I reached around the back of the cabinet, feeling around for the power switch. “Well, I’ll just have to put those skills to the test.”


 


“And I’m gonna get an A-plus-plus.”


 


“Or fall flat on your A-S-S,” I quipped, flipping the machine on and the screen lit up for the first time in a long while.


 


By “long while,” I meant about a week.


 


“KILLER KOMBAT!!!” the in-game announcer yelled as the title screen appeared, then it faded to black and a new screen showed up. “SELECT YOUR CHARACTER!”


 


I hummed musically to myself as I went through the character list. “Let’s see… Who shall I serve you with?”


 


“Well, I know I’m going with my main guy!” said Shining.


 


“TIMBREWULF!” yelled the announcer.


 


Timbrewulf, huh? I know just who to use against him.


 


“DEADLY GUST!”


 


“Here we go,” my son said with a fire in his eyes as he gripped the joystick, his eyes to the ground as he mumbled to himself. I could tell that he was mentally going over all of Timbrewulf’s combos and special moves.


 


“I’m disappointed, Shiny. If he’s your main guy, you should have all his moves committed to memory.”


 


“Good luck, sweetie,” I giggled.


 


“ROUND ONE!”


 


Our eyes focused on the screen, as our characters walked onto the stage. Timbrewulf let out a loud roar, his half-pony-half-timberwolf body tearing most of his clothes to shreds, while Deadly Gust readied her bladed fans.


 


She may have looked like a dainty pegasus, but she packed quite the punch, as my dear Shiny would soon find out.


 


There was no room for mercy. Shining Armor was precious to me, and he always will be, but I still had my pride. Deadly Gust was my best character, an extension of myself. She and I go way back, and I wasn’t about to go easy on Shiny just because he was my son.


 


“READY… FIGHT!”


 


Immediately, Timbrewulf charged at me, his tremendous speed being no surprise, as he was one of the fastest characters in the game.


 


I, however, had a trick up my sleeve.


 


With a quick quarter-circle on the joystick, I teleported behind the wild hybrid and threw a fan at him, the bladed weapon eliciting a pathetic howl from him on impact as pixelated blood spurted from him.


 


“You know, Shiny, just because your character is a mindless beast doesn’t mean you have to play like one,” I laughed.



“You think that’s funny, huh?” he asked. “Well, let’s see how ya like this!” Timbrewulf jumped into the air, trying to come at me with an overhead attack.



“I wouldn’t telegraph your moves like that if I were you.” I pulled another quick command and waved my fans in front of me, the wind generating a vortex that caught Timbrewulf before he could reach me. I chuckled as he flailed about helplessly.


 


In a brief moment of panic, Shining wiggled the joystick and pressed every button he could to try and escape, only for it all to be in vain. With his character immobilized, I hit him with an uppercut, and as he fell down, I caught him with several kicks, starting up a combo.


 


“No, nonononono!” Shining shrieked as he could do nothing but watch as I showed him absolutely no mercy. “C’mon, just let me fall!” he pleaded.


 


“Ha! And break my chain? You wish!” I continued my combo as more pixels of blood came out of Timbrewulf, his health bar getting lower and lower while mine didn’t have a scratch on it. I ended the combo with a kick to the chest, sending my challenger flying with a tiny bit of health left.


 


“36 HITS! GODLIKE COMBO!” The impact when Timbrewulf hit the ground was enough to bump off that last bit of health, and the announcer yelled “DEADLY GUST WINS! FAULTLESS VICTORY!”


 


I took a moment to get the kinks out of my fingers before putting them back onto the controls. “Still hoping for that A-plus-plus?”


 


Shining’s face grew red in a combination of anger and humiliation. “W-whatever! You just caught me off-guard, that’s all. Trust me, the next two rounds are all mine!”


 


“If that helps you sleep at night…” I shrugged.


 


“ROUND TWO! READY… FIGHT!”


 


Once again, Timbrewulf charged right at me, Shining Armor obviously not learning a thing from the last round. Nothing a simple fan throw couldn’t fix. I flicked the joystick and pressed the “light punch” button, launching both of my weapons toward him.



“Nice try!” Shining said as he made his character slide under my fans and into me, knocking me off me feet and then catching me with a flurry of claw slashes. I cursed under my breath as Timbrewulf’s claws tore into me, ending the combo with a jump kick to the stomach that sent me flying across the stage.



“20 HITS! BEASTLY COMBO!”


 


Hmm… rather fitting considering who pulled that combo off.


 


I grunted as I waited for Deadly Gust to get up. “Don’t think you’re safe just because you have distance.” Without another word, I teleported over to Timbrewulf, immediately closing the gap between us, and I started up another combo, his health dropping as my hit count rose.


 


Five… ten… fifteen…


 


“I should keep this combo short before he tries to do a-”


 


“C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BUSTER!!!”


 


I slammed my fist against the tabletop as TImbrewulf broke my string of hits, pushing me away from him and taking a bite out of my health in the process. Shining Armor took advantage of his character’s speed and caught me in the air before I hit the ground, staring up another combo.


 


“11 HITS! EXTREME COMBO!”


 


Sweat began to roll down my forehead as I tried to maintain my distance and regroup, but when I looked at my health bar, I barely had any health left. It was too late to go on the defensive. With a defeated sigh, I stood motionless as Timbrewulf took me out, winning Shining Armor the round.


 


“TIMBREWULF WINS!”


 


“See? I’m a lot better than you give me credit for,” Shiny boasted, looking at me with a cocky grin.


 


I glanced over to him, opening my mouth to say something back, but I was surprised at the fire I saw in his eyes. His breathing was heavier than usual, and he was sweating even more than me. He was trying not to show it, but I could tell that he was being pushed. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to beat me. It had been decades since I saw that fire in another player. It was perfectly fine, though, because my desire to win was just as strong as his.


 


While this wasn’t the most challenging match I’ve had, it was definitely turning out to be the most fun.


 


We both looked back at the screen. Both of our fighters were up and ready to go, and I let out a deep breath as the announcer yelled “FINAL ROUND! READY… FIGHT!”


 


Most of that last round was a blur to me. All I could think about was keeping my combos up and breaking Shining’s whenever he got one started. Neither of us could get a combo of over 5 hits before having it busted. I lost count of how many times the announcer yelled “C-C-C-C-C-COMBO BUSTER!!!”


 


Our eyes were getting tired, particularly mine, as my vision began to blur a little. The sweat on my palms made my controls slippery, and I started to suffer for it. Shining started to land longer combos, my health was dropping fast as a result. For a moment, I thought that I was going to lose, but then I heard a dreadful sound.


 


“DANGER! DANGER!”


 


My eyes widened when I saw how low my health was and I looked to see Timbrewulf charging at me.


 


“Okay, Velvet,” I thought, “There is no way you’re going to lose this match. The foal gloves come off now!”


 


I took a split second to wipe my hands on my robe and put them back on the controls with Timbrewulf mere steps away from me.


 


Shining Armor smiled devilishly. “Gotchta!” he said as his character’s claw made contact…


 


but his expression turned from cocky to horrified almost instantly.


 


With a quick command, I grabbed Timbrewulf by the arm and threw him across the stage, sending both of my fans after him. While my weapons tore into the beast, I teleported over to him and gave him one last hit for good measure.


 


“Nonononono!” Shiny yelled as his health dropped to zero. “I was so close! I was gonna win!”


 


I let out a labored chuckle as I relaxed my arms, my victory finally secured.


 


“END HIM!!!” The announcer commanded, and I grabbed the controls one last time with malicious intent.


 


“Down, back, down, forward, heavy punch,” I thought as I did each input.


 


A sinister tune played as the stage darkened, my son and I watching as Deadly Gust jumped back and threw her fans at Timbrewulf, one going for his head and the other going for his legs. He let out a howl as he was chopped to pieces, the fans returning to their wielder as she struck an intimidating pose.


 


“DEADLY GUST WINS! FATAL BLOW!”


 


“Shit,” Shining grumbled, but then he looked at me with nervous eyes. “Oh, sorry.”


 


I chuckled. “I’ll let it slide.” I put an arm around him and pulled him close to me, giving him a loving nuzzle. “Good game, Shiny.”


 


He smiled and hugged me back. “We ‘youngsters’ say ‘GG,’ Mom.”


 


“Well, sorry I’m not up-to-date with the latest gamer jargon. Up for another match?”


 


“No, I… I think I’m good,” he said, scratching his cheeks with his eyes looking away from me. “How did you get so good at this game, though? I mean, it’s surprising enough that you’re even into it, but to think that you had this much skill…”


 


I looked over to the light switches and turned on the lights at the back of the room, revealing a set of framed photographs on the wall, along with a shelf lined with trophies. “Does this answer your question?”


 


I saw stars in my son’s eyes, and he rushed over to the photos to take a closer look at them. “No way!” he said excitedly, paying particular attention to a young mare wearing a red hoodie. “Is this you?”


 


I sighed in reminiscence as I walked up to his side. “It sure is. I played Killer Kombat competitively in college. I was known as Crimson Sickle.”


 


“But… didn’t you go to the Canterlot Literary University? That’s one of the last places I’d think of that would have a gaming scene.”


 


“Ha! Who said I played against students from there? On the weekends I went down to the community college and played there.”


 


“Really?” He paused. “Why did you go that far?”


 


“Well, you know that your grandparents on my side of the family are pretty strict,” I told him, and he nodded in agreement. “They wanted my focus to be solely on my studies, but a part of me knew that if I didn’t find some way to blow off steam, I’d go crazy, so when the first Killer Kombat game came out, I gave it a go and I’ve been playing ever since. In a way, it was my first love,” I snickered. “Don’t tell your father I said that, though.” Shiny made a zipping motion in front of his mouth, silently promising to keep his lips sealed, his silly gesture making me giggle. “Thanks for playing against me, son. This was definitely the most memorable Mother’s Day I’ve ever had.”


 


“Well, I’m glad you enjoyed beating the snot out of me, Ma.”


 


“Actually, you did better than I expected,-” I admitted. “I thought it would’ve been easy to beat you, but you put up a good fight. A few more months of practice and you’ll be as good as me.”


 


“Does that mean you’re gonna let me have the game?” he asked, ears perked up and a smile on his face.


 


I scoffed. “Not in a million years.”


 


“Aw, come on!”


 


“Tell you what,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. “The next time you come to visit, we’ll play again, and if you beat me, then I’ll let you have the game.”


 


My son groaned. “Well, I guess that’s fair. I can practice at this game before Killer Kombat 10 comes out.”


 


“Maybe I’ll invest in a Neighstation 4 so I can kick your ass in that game, too.”


 


“We’ll see, mom. We’ll see,” he smirked. “Now, let’s head upstairs. You have to get ready for your spa appointment. Mother’s Day isn’t over yet. Maybe we could play another match after we get home from dinner tonight?”


 


“I’d like that Shiny, and maybe I’ll teach you how a real player uses Timbrewulf,” I said as we walked out of the room and towards the basement stairs, my son wrapping his arm around me was we made our way up, “We could probably have Spike join in, too. Two protégés are always better than one.”


 


“Sound good,” Shining agreed. “Just don’t tell Twilight.”


 


THE END