A Stranger Love
“So.” Spike sprawled out across the royal chaise lounge, his head dangling off one armrest and his legs off the other. “Got any plans for Mother’s Day?”
Twilight froze, hunched over a stack of paperwork. She blinked, turned to face Spike, and then blinked again. The gears in her head turned, slowly churning the tax information out and Mother’s Day plans in. “Yes.”
Spike chuckled, a deep throaty noise halfway to a growl. “Had to think about that for a second, huh?”
Twilight smiled in return, pushing her chair over to sneer at Spike. “Well! Given how rarely I get anything from Mother’s Day, it took a little bit of time to remember.”
Spike scoffed, placing the back of his clawed hand and draping it across his forehead in a mimicry of high class dramatism. “You wound me! Is a basket full of gems not a good enough Mother’s Day present?”
Twilight could only maintain her scowl for a few moments before breaking down in a wide grin, sticking her tongue out in indignation. “Anyways, it’s the same thing as last year. I’ve basically got standing reservations at Eleven Maredison Park for every Mother’s Day for the next like, two hundred years. It’ll be me, mom, dad, Shining, Cadance, Flurry… Yeah, that’s everypony.” Twilight waved a hoof dismissively through the air as she turned back to her work desk. “Anyways! I’m sure it’ll go just like last year.”
“What do you mean you have to cancel?” Twilight gripped the phone in her magic, trying to steady her panicked breathing.
Night Light’s voice sounded thin, worn down by stress. “I got called out to do some work in the Griffish Isles and Flurry isn’t feeling well so… You know how she can be.” He chuckled, sucking in a breath before continuing. “It would just be you and your mom, if that’s alright. If you want to cancel just tell me and I’ll find an excuse.”
Twilight took a moment to respond, still trying to regain her composure. This was fine. Everything was fine. She could hold a conversation with her own mom for a few hours, right? That shouldn’t be an issue. She just… was hoping for a little more backup. A little more support. Maybe an opportunity to dip out of the talking and read for an hour or two.
“No, no. It’ll be fine. Besides, I wouldn’t want to do that to mom. Tell her I’ll be there, at least.” Twilight let her forehead hit the desk, sucking in a deep breath as she willed her nerves to steady.
“What about Spike? Is he free?” Night Light was trying his best and Twilight appreciated that. Even after being the Princess of Friendship for years, she still liked to fade into the background when she could. Family gatherings and big parties were pretty much the only time she had that opportunity anymore.
“No, Spike won’t be able to make it. He’s got plans. Ogres and Oubliettes; you know how he is with that.” Twilight brought herself upright again, staring blankly at the wall in front of her. It was covered in charts and graphs — years of kingdom finances, of treaties and declarations and redactions laid out.
To anypony else, this would be an indecipherable sprawl of paperwork; the work of a mare possessed. To her it made perfect sense! Everything was where it was supposed to be. Everything connected. Everything was carefully arranged to provide the most amount of information in the smallest footprint possible.
She understood paperwork. She understood math and science and magic and yes, friendship. She didn’t really understand her mom.
Twilight pawed at the cobblestone street as she waited for her mom’s carriage. She idly checked her reflection in a nearby window for the seventeenth time this hour; nothing had changed. She didn’t know whether she should be relieved or terrified at that idea. What if her outfit looked weird? What if the colors she picked clashed with what her mom was wearing? What if she smiled too big or laughed too loud or used the wrong fork?
Twilight was so wrapped up in her disasterizing that she didn’t notice a carriage arriving. She didn’t notice a mare with a pale gray coat step out of the said carriage. She didn’t notice the mare clear her throat as she approached. She only noticed any of these events had transpired when she felt somepony tap her on the shoulder gingerly.
The sound that followed was one Twilight was intimately familiar with. It recalled thousands of memories across the years — birthdays, weddings, everyday in Canterlot and Ponyville. It was a sound that provided comfort and healing and levity when Twilight needed it most. It was her mother’s laughter.
“Mom!” Twilight immediately threw her forelegs around her mom’s neck, pulling her into a hug. Twilight remembered when she had to crane her neck to see into her mothers eyes. Nowadays she was nearly twice her size. Alicorn growth was both a blessing and a curse.
“Twilight! I thought you were ignoring me for a second.” Velvet smelled like patchouli and dusty books and had a voice like petrichor. Twilight couldn’t help but feel small in comparison, even as she towered above her.
She tried not to think too hard about it as they walked past the line to enter that snaked halfway around the block. “I was just caught up in my thoughts. You know how I am.”
Velvet nodded, a polite smile on her face as the waiter led them to a private dining room. The quiet awe in the main room was palpable, all eyes on the two of them as they made their way through. “Oh trust me, I know. I swear you’re more your father's kid than mine — always getting lost in your daydreams. The two of you get so wound up that it’s a wonder you can even walk straight!”
Twilight giggled. To her it sounded like glass shattering on marble floors or like a magic bolt sailing through a window. She flinched unconsciously, trying to maintain her composure as they took their seats. “I uh… Yeah. I’ve always been jealous of your more adventurous side.”
Velvet opened her menu, though her eyes remained locked on Twilight. “Jealous? Please. I wish I could be happy staying home and reading. It’s a much cheaper hobby.”
“You’d be surprised!” Twilight took a drink of water, coughing as she nearly choked on it. She took a few deep breaths, trying to ignore her mother’s concerned gaze. “Books are very expensive, you know.”
“I do! Believe me, I do.” Velvet took a sip of her own water in kind, managing to avoid nearly drowning herself. “I married your father and then raised you, remember?”
Twilight buried her snout in the menu, fighting off the claustrophobia that was mounting. The warm maroon walls surrounded her like an opposing army and the dim yellow lighting glinted off the silverware in front of her like the sun on a thousand bayonets. She was sweaty, too tall for her chair, and painfully aware she had no idea how to talk to her own mom.
“Right, no, yeah. Totally. You… you definitely did both of those things.” Twilight coughed into her foreleg. “How’s work?”
The only response from Velvet in regards to her erratic behavior was a cocked eyebrow followed by a softening of her eyes. Her mom had this way about her when she was worried; on any other occasion it would’ve warmed her heart. Today? Today it felt patronizing. “Work is fine. Some unknown beneficiary in the Equestrian government keeps making my job very easy for me, strangely enough. How are you? Handling the stress okay?”
Twilight froze when she felt her mothers hoof brush her own. Her foreleg extended across the table like a lifeline, pulling Twilight out of the murky depths of her adolescent anxieties and into the reality of her adulthood. She was handling the stress well, all things considered. She made time to visit the School and her friends, wherever they may find themselves at the time. Twilight was also balancing half a dozen love lives on top of everything else.
She could manage this.
“I am, actually! It took a bit of adjusting but I’ve finally really settled into everything. Spike helps out a lot; more than he knows I think. It’s funny — I’ve caught him keeping lists like I do! He tries to deny it but his office is full of them.” Twilight allowed herself to smile, feeling her pulse recide. No longer was it a dull roar of blood rushing past her ears; what she felt now was the gentle push and pull of the tide on a lazy day at the beach.
“Like mother, like son. For everything that happened in your lives, you did a wonderful job raising him.” Velvet slathered a piece of bread with butter, biting into it with ardor.
Twilight had no idea when the bread basket appeared between the two of them but she appreciated it for the lull in conversation it afforded. The growl of her stomach indicated that she had not, in fact, gotten any better at remembering to eat as she grew older. “It was more like we raised each other, really,” Twilight talked around mouthfuls of bread. “I wouldn’t be half the pony I am without him.”
“Princess Sparkle! Talking with your mouth full… Where are your manners?” Velvet pointed her snout upwards, taking the daintiest bite of bread she could possibly manage.
Twilight snorted in mirth. “Why don’t you tell me? I got them from you!”
Velvet pressed a hoof to her chest in mock offense, pausing her charade to mouth a ‘thank you’ to the waiter that came by to refill their water. “You have some nerve, talking to me like that! I brought you into this world and I’m just as capable of taking you out.”
The pair froze, suddenly painfully aware of the server hovering just inside their peripheral with the first course of the night. They dined in relative silence for a few courses after that, only exchanging pleasantries between carefully measured forkfuls. Twilight found herself missing the energy, the spark that was coursing between them prior.
Not that she didn’t love this restaurant or getting to spend time with her mom like this! It just felt… stuffy. Like another state dinner. Like her mom was some foreign dignitary and Twilight was just doing the song and dance routine that her Empire expected of her. She didn’t want to entertain, to perform, to dazzle; she wanted to be herself.
She wanted to go on a date.
That thought haunted Twilight even as the night dragged on. It followed her all the way outside, clinging to her thoughts like a parasite as she sheltered her mother from the brisk spring air. It sapped any enjoyment she could’ve derived from the evening, draining the color from everything around her until all she could see and feel was an oppressive gray. The skyline stretched above her like jagged teeth and here she stood, a dumb animal in the mouth of a predator waiting to devour her whole.
This was wrong, wasn’t it? It had to be. If there was anything she had learned without needing to be taught, it was that daughters didn’t fall in love with their mothers. Not in this way, at least. Daughters were not meant to feel that familiar tightness in their chest, that hypnotic tug at their heartstrings that only love could evoke. Real, true romantic love.
Daughters were meant to look up to their mothers, to aspire to be or surpass them in the ways that only blood could allow. Twilight had done just that, hadn’t she? She had assumed her mothers adventurous spirit. She had raised her own son in the model of her mother, imparting upon Spike the same lessons she had learned from her parents.
Why, then, did she desire something more? Something beyond the bonds of familial love? Why did this feel so good?
Why did any of that matter?
“Twilight? Is everything okay?” Velvet was concerned. Of course she was; Twilight had been acting strange ever since the realization hit her hours ago. It was like a mother to be concerned for her daughter.
“Kind of. It’s complicated.” Before Velvet could press for answers, Twilight carried on. “Did you… want to get something else to eat? I’m still pretty hungry and I... I guess I don’t want tonight to end just yet.”
Velvet paused, thinking the offer over for a brief moment before smiling. Stars, could she smile. Twilight wanted to kiss her then and there. She did not. “I was just thinking the same thing. It’s been really nice, getting to spend time with you like this. I know this great pizza place down by Fifth and Long; I swear the guy who runs it is with the mob. Makes a damn good pie though.”
Twilight smiled, her horn glowing as she charged a teleportation spell. Her mom gave her a pointed look, one eyebrow cocked. “What? It’s cheaper than calling a cab.” With a crack they were gone, reappearing moments later in front of a sleazy looking bar. “Bitey’s Late Night Slice.”
Velvet stepped out from under Twilights wing, ushering her forward. “The guy's name is Bitey.”
Twilight ducked as she entered, feeling suddenly very out of place in the best of ways. The patrons, all working class creatures, turned to look for a moment. If any of them were surprised to see the ruler of Equestria inside a dingy pizza place, none of them showed it. “What do you think he did to get the name Bitey?”
A gruff voice from behind the counter caught Twilight off guard. Slouched over it was a tired looking diamond dog, a mouth full of gold teeth barely visible past his jowls. “Welcome to Bitey’s. Whaddya want?”
Velvet spoke first, seizing the initiative. “Lemme get two extra large cheese pizzas with extra cheese aaaaaaand…”
“...And a pitcher of beer.” Twilight interjected, finishing the order succinctly. Flashing her mom a wry smile, she stepped up to the counter and sat down a bag of bits. She considered counting out total for a moment but decided against it, opting to simply slide the entire thing towards whom she could only assume was Bitey. “Keep the change.”
All she got in reply was a grunt in affirmation. The pitcher of beer was first, drawn from a squeaky old tap tucked away in the corner. They grabbed a booth and poured the first real drink of the night. Twilight took a few strong gulps. It was definitely beer; that much was certain. It was cold and hoppy and had just enough alcohol content to not be liquid bread.
“How’d you find this place?” Twilight turned to her mom, who had already polished off one cup of beer and was midway through pouring her second.
Velvet blinked, affecting the demeanor of a burglar caught in the act. She sipped carefully at the second cup. “I was young once, y’know. This used to be the place to go after studying all night — more than enough pizza and beer to wash away whatever we took those days to keep ourselves awake.”
Twilight reached out with her magic, levitating two pizza boxes over to their table. Bitey only rolled his eyes at the flashy demonstration. “I can’t even begin to imagine the sort of trouble you got into when you were young. Did dad have to domesticate you before he could marry you?”
“Domesticate me? HA! I had to domesticate him!” Velvet sank her teeth into a slice of pizza, closing her eyes in the sort of bliss that only cheap greasy bar food could provide. “I’m still shocked they let feral unicorns into university. Don't get me wrong — he was always a nerd. He just had the social skills of a timberwolf and the social awareness of one too. I’m still impressed that he realized I was flirting with him.”
Twilight couldn’t help but chuckle into her beer at the mental image. “So that’s where I get that from…” She leveled a piece of pizza at her mom, taking a generous bite out of it before continuing. “I only realized Rarity was in love with me when she delivered a hoof-made collar to me. In person.”
Velvet coughed in response, nearly choking on pizza. “She got you a WHAT?”
Twilight refused to elaborate, instead focusing on stuffing as much pizza into her mouth as possible. She thought for a moment about Rarity and about how much she loved her. She thought, then, about Twilight Velvet. About how much she loved her. About kissing her, about taking her to somewhere romantic for dinner, about buying her gifts for Hearts and Hooves Day. About a lot of things, really. Most of all? She thought about how much she wanted this.
Twilight was snapped out of her reverie when a hoof collided with her leg. In front of her was her mom, still in her formal evening wear. Her mane was messy, her eyeshadow a little smudged at the corners and her lipstick all but gone. Most important of all was the fact that she had stacked two pieces of pizza on top of each other and was currently absolutely demolishing them.
“Where are your manners, young lady?” Twilight stuck her tongue out as Velvet could only scowl, chewing laboriously through a mouthful of greasy junk food.
“They left me two pints ago,” Velvet replied back, her voice cut with equal parts snark and affection. “The pretty mare in front of me doesn’t mind, does she?”
Twilight flushed red, trying and failing to suppress a bashful smile. “Not in the slightest. From one pretty mare to another, I’m glad we ended up here tonight. The atmosphere is a lot nicer than Maredison Park.”
Velvet giggled, a bright and bubbly sound that made Twilights heart soar. “I wasn’t gonna say anything if you didn’t. I definitely appreciate a fancy night out as much as the next mare, but this feels a lot more…”
“Intimate?” Twilight ventured.
“Appropriate.” Velvet finished. “Intimate sounds good too though.”
“I blame Rarity! She’s got me reading these trashy romance novels and I just—” Twilight froze as she felt a hoof caress her foreleg.
“I’m assuming Rarity taught you the working definition of the word ‘intimate’?” Velvet batted her eyelashes at her daughter.
“That… Is private information. A lady does not divulge the secrets of her love life without good reason.” Twilight stuck her nose up, trying desperately to defend herself from her mother’s charm.
“Well.” Velvet withdrew her hoof, looking out the window with disinterest clear across her face. “I suppose there’s no accounting for taste.”
Twilight sputtered, scrambling for a reply. She decided the best course of action was to take a few more gulps of beer and cram her hoof directly into her mouth. “I’d be more than happy to start a few new secrets with you, if you’d like.”
Velvet blinked, turning to face Twilight. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen — there wasn’t a single trace of emotion visible on her mother’s face. “Are you coming on to me, Twilight Sparkle?”
Twilight swallowed a lump. “Just… working off a hunch. Trying to reciprocate.” Twilight nearly jumped out of her seat as Velvet took her hoof and pulled her across the table.
“Let me show you how Sparkles reciprocate.”
Twilight Sparkle didn’t expect a kiss. She didn’t mind, either, but she certainly wasn’t expecting one. All she could do in response was give herself over to the flood of endorphins that washed over her, melting into her mother’s lips. She tasted like cheap pizza, cheaper beer, and lavender. It was divine.
Twilight Sparkle definitely didn’t expect tongue. Surprise gave way to heady bliss as their tongues danced, carefully exploring the confines of each other's mouths for a few perfect seconds. Finally their kiss broke, the two of them breathless and stunned beyond words. They stood up in silence, gathering their trash and throwing it away before stumbling out into the streets of Manehattan.
“Hey, m—Velvet,” Twilight started. “That was real, right?”
“I. Yeah, I think it was.” Velvet nestled up to Twilight, who wrapped her up in a wing reflexively.
“Can we do this again?” Twilight couldn’t help but let cautious optimism creep into her voice.
Velvet nodded enthusiastically beside her. “Though you say ‘again’ as if tonight is over, young lady. I seem to recall somepony promising they’d show a pretty mare some secrets.”
With a crack of magic they were gone, standing in a deserted street one moment and an empty bedroom in Canterlot the next.