Whom I Hold Dear

Chapters

Alone
Torn
Ache
Regret

Alone

Whom I Hold Dear

Chapter 1: Alone

Twilight lay on her back staring up at the ceiling of her bedroom. She couldn’t even say how long she had been there. The world outside was bustling with the midday rush, but in her room, it was static. Nothing had changed, and time was standing still around the young mare. The only way she knew time was still passing was the soft ticking of the clock on her nightstand.

For a brief moment, she struggled to inhale. Her body fought her just trying to breathe. As soon as the air filled her lungs, she choked out a sob. Her vision became blurry once more, and she felt a trickle roll down her cheek. She thought her tears had long run dry, but every time she thought that, she was proven wrong.

The pain would stab at her, tearing open the fresh wound every single time she thought it had finally dulled. When she thought she might start to move on, she would feel the hurt well up once more. She thought she might be able to at least stop crying, but it wasn’t any use. As soon as she would stop sobbing, the pain would rear its ugly head once more, driving her to tears again. Never had she cried this hard in her life. Never has she felt this awful.

It had only been two days since he passed. Two grueling days of mourning that left a physical and emotional toll on her. Only a single night where she finally passed out from sheer exhaustion when she couldn’t cry any longer. She was a wreck. Twilight had barely been able to even leave her room to fulfill basic needs such as food and to relieve herself, but at least it was more than her mother was capable of.

As Twilight sniffled, she could hear the distant sobs of her mom, Twilight Velvet, in her own bedroom. It was only her bedroom now, since she would be sleeping there alone from now on. Her husband was gone—taken in a freak accident. Twilight flashed to the officer who came to their door only a few days ago. The stallion told them that her father had been killed when a carriage was speeding down a road. It had hit an uneven brick, and broke its wheel. The carriage itself flipped, and hit her father. He died on scene without even a chance to survive. He was gone before the paramedics even arrived.

Twilight sobbed again. Just like that, her father—the pony she relied on the most—was taken from her. Fate, or whatever it may be, came into her life, and in seconds changed it forever. It carved out a hole in her and her mother’s lives; a hole that could never be replaced. The thought that he would never see her graduate school, or never see if she got married, or meet his possible grandchild if she had one haunted her. She would never see his face again. There was so much he would miss in her life, it simply wasn’t fair.

She rolled off her bed, and onto her hooves. “It’s not fair…” she said to herself as she climbed onto all fours. Her legs wobbled under her, making her almost fall to the ground. Twilight braced herself against her bed until she could stand once more. Her stomach let out a low, deep rumble making her feel utterly disgusted with herself. “How can you be hungry at a time like this…” she muttered. Another grumble from her belly was her only answer.

Reluctantly, she left her bedroom, and made her way to the kitchen. She glanced outside, seeing it was already getting dark. Time had lost its meaning to her at this point. What felt like an eternity of sobbing for her was mere minutes to the rest of the world, and what felt like seconds as she lay there motionless was hours for the outside. Nothing matched up anymore.

She levitated down a box from the cupboard. The unassuming box read Vegetable Bouillon, the perfect thing for a pony too grief-stricken to eat. Twilight levitated over a pot from another cupboard, and filled it with water. She placed it on the stove and started to prepare some simple soup. As much as she hated that she had to feed herself when all she wanted to do was wallow in her own sadness, she knew she would have to eat.

Her mother’s distant sobs grabbed her attention as she waited for the water to heat up. That sound didn’t help her feel any better either. Hearing her mom crying so hard only hurt her more. Twilight sat on the floor, and covered her face with her hoof. Her father was gone, and the other important pony in her life was just as grief-stricken as her, if not more so.

Her hoof slid down from her eyes, and she looked out at the kitchen around her. Everything was as it had been. Nothing was out of place aside from what Twilight herself had moved. Her mom hadn’t left her bedroom since she heard the news. That meant she hadn’t eaten at all since she locked herself inside. Twilight looked over at the boiling water on the stove. It was a disgrace to his memory that she would allow her mother to cry alone.

Twilight sniffled as she levitated over another bowl from the cupboard. She couldn’t just leave her like that; she had to be strong for her mom. Her brother wasn’t at home anymore to be strong, so she would have to fill that role. She would have to be there to support her like her dad did.

After she had prepared the broth, she put some in a bowl, and took it to her mother’s bedroom door. Tentatively, she knocked. Twilight didn’t really expect a reply, and after a few seconds, she considered just opening the door herself. But just as Twilight was about to use her magic to turn the handle, she heard a click from the lock, and the door opened. The magenta aura around the door handle faded, and Twilight walked into the darkened room.

The first thing she saw was her mother lying on her side, wiping her tears. The older mare looked up in Twilight’s direction with puffy, bloodshot eyes as she tried to put on a strong face for her daughter. Try as she might though, Twilight knew she couldn’t be strong, not now. She walked up to the bed, placing the bowl of soup on the nightstand.

“Mom, I made you something…” she said softly.

“Thanks, dear, but I’m not very hungry right now…” she replied, swallowing down her urge to burst into tears once more.

“Please, Mom, you need to eat something…It’s been a few days…” Twilight placed a hoof on the bed as she pleaded with Velvet.

“I’m really not hungry, Twilight.”

She stared at her mom, noticing that her eyes were buried in the corner of the room. She wasn’t looking at Twilight. It was clear that she was too hurt to even look her own daughter in the face. Twilight realized because she probably reminded her of him. The younger mare lowered her head. She knew this was where she should say something. Twilight needed to stand up, and be the support her mother needed through this, but it wasn’t that easy.

“Mom…I…” She stopped herself, unsure what she was even saying. Nothing came to mind. What could she say to convince her mom to eat? How could she be that pillar of support? She was still too upset herself to properly console someone. “I…I can’t say it will be fine…” A tear rolled down Twilight’s cheek. “None of this will be fine…”

Twilight’s words drew Velvet’s eyes to her for the first time since she entered the room. “Twilight?” she asked, a growing concern in her voice.

“I miss Dad…” she said softly. “I miss him so much…but…we have to take care of ourselves too…” She brought her hoof to her eye, and wiped the water from her soggy fur. “He would want us to…”

Velvet stared at her for a moment. The daughter she had so much pride in was crying, and she couldn’t do anything to take away that pain. She moved her hind legs so she was laying horizontally across the bed. With a small sigh, she used her magic to bring a tissue over to her daughter’s face, gently drying her still running tears. “You’re a mess…” she said with a small, forced laugh. She stared at her for a moment with a gentle smile. “We’re both a mess…” she added finally.

“Mom…”

She tapped her hoof on the bed, beckoning Twilight to join her. The younger mare slowly climbed onto the bed with Velvet. She was still crying as she settled, but being next to her mom made her feel a little better. The warmth of another pony could comfort an aching heart. The older mare placed a foreleg around her daughter, and pulled her in close for a hug. “It hurts…but…one day, it won’t hurt as bad…” she said softly.

“It will still hurt though…” Twilight rest her head against Velvet’s shoulder as they lay there.

“It always will…because you love your father…” She lay her head on her daughter’s, trying to comfort her.

“I just miss him so much…”

“I know, sweetie. I miss him too…” A tear rolled down both their cheeks as they laid there with one another.

“He was always watching out for me…Like when those bullies were picking on me at school because of my condition…”

“And he threatened to beat all those kids to a pulp for picking on his daughter.” Velvet laughed while still crying.

“And how he was always cracking down on Shining to study so he could get into The Royal Guard like he wanted…”

Velvet let out a small sniffle. “He loved you kids so much. You were his world.”

“I…I can’t believe he’s gone!” Twilight buried her face in her mom’s chest as she burst into tears. She couldn’t hold back anymore. Just talking about him hurt. Remembering all the good things he had done for them only reminded her that she would never see him again. Every treasured memory felt like a knife stabbing into her, painfully shoving it in her face what she would no longer have.

Velvet placed her other hoof around her, and cradled Twilight as she cried. The distant sounds of her mother softly sobbing pulled her back to the room from her grief-stricken mental state. She had come in here to be her mother’s support, not burden her further. She choked a bit as she tried to rein in her crying. Her sobs softened, and the sounds of her mom’s grew louder. She placed her hoof on her mom’s, gently stroking it to coax her through her grief. Twilight knew she could be strong if she tried.

It took a few moments for Velvet to calm down a bit. Her sobs died down, and her tears slowly stopped flowing. Her breathing slowed back to its normal pace as she gained control over her emotions again. When her mom finally calmed down, she sat up on her own, breaking her mother’s hug on her. Though she wasn’t being embraced, she stayed close enough because she knew first-hoof the warmth of another was comforting.

“I think I’ll have some of that soup now…” Velvet levitated over the bowl sitting on the nightstand. It was lukewarm at best by this point, but regardless she still sipped the broth.

“Mom…can I sleep with you tonight? I don’t want to be alone…” Twilight said without making eye contact.

Velvet looked down at her daughter. She gave a weak smile, unable to do anything else for her child. “Of course, dear…”

Days turned into weeks, and the pain eventually dulled to the point that they could continue with their lives again. Though it was still hard for them, their tears had been shed. They still felt the hole left in their lives in the wake of this tragedy. Death was tricky that way. A single brief incident could drastically change one’s life forever by taking away someone who was precious to them.

When the funeral came around, Twilight’s brother had come home for the service. She had never seen her brother cry before, but that day she saw him vulnerable for the first time. Her strong, military trained brother was crying, like she and her mother had. For the young naive mare, she was starting to grasp just how strong the pain of loss was.

She knew it hurt for her and her mom, but it was an expected result from them. She wasn’t strong like her brother; she didn’t have the training or the discipline he did. But to see him cry too only stood as a testament to how heavy the weight of loss could be.

Shining Armor only stayed in Canterlot for a few days after the funeral. He was quickly called back to duty. If she had known how short his visit would have been, she would have spent more time with him. But as his career was calling, so too was her own life. The world does not stop for the dead, as cruel as that may seem. She had to return to school, and her mother to work.

When two months had passed since her father’s death, Twilight and her mother were slowly accepting his passing. It was a long road to acceptance, but a road everyone must travel at some point in their life. They were accepting, not moving on is what Twilight told herself.

Twilight awoke that morning like she had every day since the accident. Her alarm went off, and instead of hopping out of bed like before, she simply stared at the ceiling. She used her magic to silence the ringing bell, and slowly sat up. She looked down at her blanket, seeing her sheet raised up between her hind legs like a tent. She sighed heavily. “Why have you been so...active…lately?” she asked herself.

Twilight pulled the blanket down to see a dark purple shaft starting to soften. “Why couldn’t I have been born a normal filly?” she asked herself for probably the millionth time in her life. She already knew the answer, but that didn’t mean she liked it. With a sigh, she lazily climbed out of her bed. Since her father’s death, she felt sluggish when she woke up, but that was because her father was a morning pony. He would always try to cheer everyone up for the day by being upbeat. She no longer had that positivity in the morning, so her days felt slow to start.

Her attention turned out her bedroom window, where she saw the sky was grey with cloud cover. Every day felt dark and gloomy since his passing, but that was just because she noticed them more. She walked towards the window, and with a small sigh she said, “I’ll make you proud today, Dad…And I’ll make sure Mom is taken care of too…Like everyday…” Twilight forced a smile, and gathered her books for the day.

When she opened her bedroom door, it was as though she walked into a huge wave of negativity. The whole house felt saturated in a depressing sense, something Twilight had not felt since she heard the news about her father. Something was wrong about today, she could feel it.

She walked into the kitchen to see her mother sitting at the table. The older mare sat there with a dead expression as though every happy thought had been sucked out of her. Twilight opened her mouth to greet her mom, but she was cut off by a weak and dry, “Good morning.” Velvet continued to stare lifelessly at the table in front of her.

“Good morning, Mom…” she said, a bit of concern creeping into her voice. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“It’s nothing, Twilight…” she said with a small sigh. She still hadn’t made eye contact, or even looked up from her staring contest with the kitchen table.

Twilight glanced at the calendar on the wall. She noticed a date circled on it in red, which jogged her memory. Immediately she understood the cause of her mother’s depression. She found herself looking at the floor, a little upset at herself for forgetting what today was. It was their anniversary.

Slowly, Twilight walked over to the kitchen table. Instead of sitting down, and joining her mom, she instead stood next to her. “I know today is going to be a hard day…” she said, looking up at the older mare. “But I’m sure we can get through this, Mom.” She didn’t hesitate to lean in and wrap her forelegs around her. She wrapped her mom in a tight, loving embrace, hoping it would bring her from her dark mood.

Twilight heard her choke a bit as she fought the urge to cry then and there. Shakily, her hoof rose until it rest on Twilight’s foreleg. “Thanks, dear…” She blinked a few times as Twilight pulled her forelegs back, and sat down on her hind legs. “I needed that,” she said with a small smile.

Twilight could see the tears already forming in her eyes. She smiled back at her mom, as she took a seat adjacent to her at the table.

Velvet took a deep breath to pull in some positivity into her body. “So, how have your studies been?” she asked, wiping her eyes clear of the forming droplets. It was a quick change of topic, but one she knew was for the best.

“Fine…” Twilight replied, levitating over a plate with a piece of bread on it. “The princess has been pretty busy, so I’ve been taking normal classes at the school for the past week.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Velvet asked. She didn’t understand most of the things Twilight was studying with the princess, but when it came to taking an interest in her daughter’s life, she always tried to make an effort.

“Because, they’re really boring…”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sweetie…” Velvet looked over at the counter, and levitated a slice of bread onto a plate as well.

“These classes aren’t as engaging as the ones with Princess Celestia…”

Velvet stared at her for a moment before levitating over a knife and a jar of jam. “The princess hasn’t been teaching you everything, has she? I thought you were only studying magic from her.”

“I still attend classes for math, and a few other subjects, but the magic classes I’m in now are just too simple compared to what I’ve been learning.”

“I’m sure you’ll be studying with Princess Celestia again in no time.” She took a bite of the piece of bread with jam spread on it.

Twilight smiled at her weakly. “I still don’t like these classes. The other students try to pick on me because I’ve been taking special lessons from the princess…”

“They aren’t still picking on you because of your medical condition, are they?” she asked fearfully.

“No, they seem to have forgotten about that, at least for now…”

Velvet stared at her for a few moments, contemplating what she could do for her daughter. She wanted to help, but she also knew Twilight most likely didn’t want what help she could offer. “I wish I could do something for you, sweetie…but I don’t think you want me to go talk to the teachers like your father would, do you?”

“No, I’ll be fine, Mom.” Twilight shook her head. “It’s just normal hazing, I’m used to it.”

Velvet sighed as she took another bite of her breakfast. “I wish I knew what to do…like he always seemed to…”

Twilight sat silently for a second. Hearing her mother say something so self-demeaning stabbed at her sense of duty. A promise she made to herself and her father came to mind. She promised she would keep her mother happy, and take care of her. Twilight placed her hoof on the table. “You’re doing fine, Mom…” she defended.

“I don’t feel like I’m doing fine. These past few months I’ve just felt worthless.” She placed her hoof to her forehead as she rest her elbow on the table. She sniffled. “I feel like we’re losing what makes us a family, Twilight…”

“Don’t say that…” Twilight said, setting down her own slice of bread.

“I can’t help it. You and your brother are slipping away from me, and…I don’t want that…With Shining in The Royal Guard, and you studying so much, I just feel so alone…”

Twilight looked at her mom with hurt, almost frantic eyes. “I-is it because I didn’t tell you about my class changes?” she asked, unsure how she should proceed. There was a sense of desperation in her voice as she tried to find out what she did to make her mom feel this way. “I’ll tell you these kind of things from now on, just don’t be sad, Mom…”

“It’s not just that, Twilight, it’s everything. Soon you’ll grow up, and move out on your own. You have a bright future ahead of you, and I…” She placed her hooves over her eyes as she started to cry. “I was supposed to have your father here with me when I dealt with you kids growing up.”

Twilight felt her heart rate slow down when she realized it wasn’t something she had control over. Her desperation faded, leaving only the hurt remaining. She looked around the table in front of her, trying to find an answer lying there on its surface, but there was none. With quivering lips, she spoke, “It’s your first anniversary without him…I know this has to hurt…”

“But?” she asked shifting her hooves so she could see Twilight. She was hoping she had something more to offer—something else to make her feel better than just stating the obvious pain she felt.

Twilight bit her lower lip when she saw her mother’s expectation. She knew she couldn’t meet it, but she still tried to calm her down. “There was no but…I just know this has to hurt,” she said with a heavy heart. “Just as you wish you knew how to help me, I wish I could take away this pain you’re feeling…” Twilight placed her hoof on her mother’s shoulder, comforting her. This seemed all she was capable of doing, was placing a comforting hoof on her until she could calm down. She didn’t have any other way to help her but physically being there.

Velvet wiped her tears, and gave a small smile to Twilight. She was such an honest, earnest filly. Even if she didn’t know what to say, she would still try, and that in itself made her feel better. Suddenly she felt silly having placed such a burden on the young pony. “You’re a good daughter, Twilight,” she said softly.

“We’re still family, Mom, and I won’t let that change. I’m not going anywhere.” She smiled back at Velvet.

The older mare pulled her in for a hug. “You’ve grown up so much in these past few months…” she whispered to her. “You remind me so much of him…”

“Thanks, Mom.” Twilight placed her forelegs around her mom, and hugged her back. The two shared that mother–daughter embrace for a few moments. It was what they both needed at that time. Twilight needed to feel that validation of her claim, and Velvet needed to feel her daughter’s sincerity. Both needed to still feel that they were family, and that nothing would change that.

After a few moments, she pushed Twilight away. She gave her daughter a smile as she did. “Now, you need to get to school, or you’re going to be late.”

“Right,” Twilight said with a small laugh. “I’ll see you when I get home, alright?”

“Yeah,” she gave her daughter a small kiss on the forehead. “Have a good day, sweetie.”

Twilight stared down at her notebook as she scribbled what her professor was lecturing on. It was an almost mechanical process at this point in her life. Taking notes, and absorbing the information was almost subconscious to her, and she didn’t have to dedicate much attention to what was being discussed. This way of learning was interesting in itself, and while she may seem like she isn’t listening, she could regurgitate information back if called upon. It was a talent she was thankful for as it made her mindless retention-based classes easy.

When her professor paused, she looked back over her notes, giving them a quick glossing through to make sure she understood what today’s topic was. She sighed to herself when she noticed she had been taking notes on early Equestrian history, a topic she learned about second hoof from the princess. Celestia varied her curriculum based on her student’s development in a given subject to keep the classes engaging. If Twilight had hit a wall in magic, Celestia would change to history for a day or two to let her distance herself from the problem. Given that her teacher had lived these events, today was another day she could essentially tune out her professor.

Twilight glanced up from her notebook seeing the teacher sorting through his lecture notes. It only garnered another sigh from her as she looked back down at her paper. If she appeared like she was busy writing, he wouldn’t call on her, and she wouldn’t draw attention to herself. If she didn’t bring attention to herself, the other ponies in class might let her be today. Twilight used her magic to put her quill in the ready position.

As the teacher began his lecture once again, Twilight let her mind wander. Immediately her thoughts turned to her mom. With how depressed she was earlier, Twilight was still worried about her. It had only been two months since her father had passed, and while they were adjusting to his absence, today would be a trial for her mother. It hurt to imagine her crying, a sight she had seen far too much of lately.

“If only I could do something special for her…” Twilight tapped the tip of her quill against her notebook. “Something to take her mind off things, and give her a bit of joy for even a brief moment…” An idea started to formulate as the young pony continued scribbling her notes. She remembered that her father would make dinner for her mother on their anniversary each year, and buy her some flowers.

Twilight could do that. She remembered that she had a few bits on hoof, and the flower shop wasn’t out of her way either. She wasn’t a gifted chief so dinner might be a tad on the simple side, but it was manageable. “It might cheer her up for a bit of tradition…or it could just remind her of him…”

She tapped her quill tip again. “It’s a positive association, so it should cheer her up,” she decided. “I’ll buy her favorite flowers on the way home, and make dinner for her. It’s the least I could for her today.

Twilight left the flower shop with a small smile. She placed a bouquet of azaleas into her saddlebag taking care not to smash the flowers as she secured them. It was a small gesture, but Twilight was confident her mother would cheer up when she brought them in the door. With the flowers purchased and safely in her bag, Twilight started her walk home. She just needed to go home so she could prepare dinner. What that would be she hadn’t quite decided on yet, but she knew whatever it was, her mom would be thankful. The more her plan came together, the more she felt confident that this would cheer her up.

“Dad would be so proud of me,” she thought. “I’m sure Shining would be too, since I’m trying my best to take care of Mom while he’s away.” As she walked, her thoughts fell to her brother. Shining Armor had left home when he joined The Royal Guard. He had said it was his dream, but Twilight had a sneaking suspicion that he was driven by something other than ambition. She guess that it was because in The Royal Guard, he would be assigned to work in close proximity with the princess—though it wasn’t Princess Celestia Shining had his eyes on.

He left home to serve the crown, and while his initial reason might not have been so noble, Twilight knew he was serious about his job. After he worked so hard to join, he wouldn’t have slacked off. “It’s a dangerous job after all, and a pony could—” Suddenly she felt her heart seize. It took a moment for her mind to catch up with what she was just about to think. Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. She didn’t know why it caught her off guard, but suddenly it hit her like a ton of bricks. “Being in The Royal Guard is dangerous…Shiing could get hurt at any moment…” Twilight looked down at the ground as she swallowed a forming lump in her throat. “Or worse…”

Images flashed before her of another funeral. Her mom was crying, and everyone was wearing black. She sharply inhaled as more terrible thoughts started coming to mind. At this funeral it was her brother in the casket. Twilight’s hooves started to shake as she imagined lowering her brother into the ground. She couldn’t bury another family member—she wouldn’t. It would just be her and her mom left. Her heart started racing in her chest as her hooves trembled more. The morbid imagery simply wouldn’t stop, and soon her vision was blurry.

“If Shining were to…Mom might…” Twilight’s eyes shot straight up. She looked down the road in front of her, eyes locked ahead with sheer dread. ”If Mom died too…” she whispered to herself. “I can’t be alone…” Twilight took a small step forward. “I won’t be alone…” she muttered to herself. A cold breeze brushed across her back, sending a chill up her spine.

Without any warning, Twilight dashed down the street. She ran past ponies all looking at her like she was crazy, but she didn’t care. All she knew was that she needed to get home. Her racing heart, the pain in her chest, these tears; she was utterly terrified. She had to see her mom, she had to know she wasn’t alone in the world right now.

Twilight closed the door behind her as soon as she was inside the house. In a panic, she looked around, but she couldn’t find her mom. The living room, dining room, kitchen; all were empty. Today was her anniversary, and Twilight knew she scheduled this day off work months in advance. She should be here. A sudden noise drew Twilight’s attention to the ceiling. It sounded like a cry of pain.

A terrifying thought popped into her head. A thought so horrible, she felt like her heart had just been stomped on. Before she even knew what she was doing, she threw off her saddlebag, and rushed up stairs. She found herself in front of the door to her parents room. It was closed, and muffled cries came from the other side.

Twilight, still feeling that pain in her chest, found it hard to knock. The door was shut, and probably locked. With all of the terrible imagery running through her head, unspeakable horrors were all she imagined on the other side. The young mare only stared at the door in front of her, her vision blurred with tears. A steady stream pouring from her eyes even though she wasn’t sobbing. This felt worse than when she was crying over her father. This was a panicked cry that she had no idea how to even deal with. Twilight swallowed a building lump in her throat, and gathered her courage.

“Mom…” she said weakly. No response came from the other side, only the continued muffled noises. Her voice had been low, and cracked as she spoke, nearly cutting her off. Yet, knowing she wasn’t heard, she still waited for a response. Twilight struggled to hold in a sudden sob as she tried to speak once more. “Mom…” she said louder.

The sounds suddenly stopped. “T-Twilight? I-I need a moment…” Velvet said from the other side of the door.

Twilight stared at her hoof as it started shaking again. “I-I know you probably want to be alone right now…but…I-I can’t—” The sob she was holding in squeezed out, stopping her for a second. She felt like she was choking on their air as she tried to breathe. “I-I can’t be alone…” she finally managed to squeeze out softly. She stared at her own hoof in desperation, hoping some way to deal with this string of emotions would present itself.

Twilight opened her mouth again. “I can’t be alone…” she repeated for herself. “Mom, I’m scared, and…I-I can’t be alone right now…” she said one final time as she fell to her hind legs. Her desperation from earlier was leaking into her voice. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around herself, hoping that by holding on, she might calm herself down.

A soft click was heard as the door unlocked. Twilight looked up to see her mother standing in the doorway. Her fur was damp and matted, and a peculiar smell drifted from her room. Twilight didn’t care though. If she hadn’t been so worked up, she might have realized what her mother was doing.

Twilight jumped up, and wrapped her forelegs around her mom’s neck. “P-please, don’t leave me!” she said, on the verge of crying hysterically. She couldn’t keep it in anymore. Twilight burst into tears, holding onto her mother like she would vanish at any moment.

Velvet fell back onto her hind legs when her fully grown daughter jumped at her. She was taken off guard, but seeing how distraught her daughter was, she placed her foreleg around Twilight. Her hoof gently stroked Twilight’s back as the young mare hugged her tightly. “I-I’m not going anywhere, sweetie,” she replied.

“I-I’m scared…” Twilight sobbed. “I don’t want to lose anypony else!”

“Twilight…” she said, squeezing her daughter back. Velvet sat silent as she continued to stroke her daughter’s back. It felt like the best thing to do until Twilight calmed down enough to properly comfort her. Though she wasn’t sure what she could do for her, she was struggling herself. In her forelegs she had her daughter crying her eyes out. Any parent would want to make those tears stop, but she felt like she couldn’t. She sniffled as she held the younger mare, fighting her own urge to cry. All she could do was be there physically until Twilight stopped. She had to let this work itself through her system.

When the hysterical sobbing slowed, Twilight took a sharp breath; her breathing was coming back under her control, and her heart had stopped pounding in her chest. The young pony finally loosened her panicked grip on her mom, and sat back on her hind legs. “I-I’m sorry, Mom…” she said softly.

Velvet gave a small smile as she placed her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Twilight. Why don’t you come over to the bed, and we can talk this out. Talking…will make us both feel better.” She paused for a moment, knowing they both needed this, not just Twilight.

“Alright…” she said, wiping away her tears.

They both climbed onto the bed, like they had when her father passed away. Though a little wet like her mom’s fur was, the soft pillowy surface was a step in the right direction for Twilight. Being in her parent’s bed, lying next to her mom seemed to calm her down. It was like when she had a nightmare as a filly, and would come here for comfort—though her fears now were much more reasonable than the imagined monsters lurking in her closet or under her bed.

Velvet sighed, mostly for herself. “I know you’re upset because your father isn’t here anymore, Twilight…” she said.

“It’s not just that…” Twilight said softly.

Her mom tilted her head slightly. “Then what is it…” she asked with a comforting tone. When she looked at her daughter, she saw her hooves were still trembling.

“I’m scared…On my way home from school, I just felt terrified…I was terrified I might lose you and Shining…” she carified.

She stared at her for a moment before she proceeded. “Honey, we’re not going anywhere…”

“Dad’s gone, Mom…I only have you left at home, and Shining’s career isn’t exactly safe. I don’t want to lose you too…I-I just…” Twilight swallowed a lump that was forming in her throat. Her breathing was starting to quicken, and the familiar pounding in her chest started once more. She was having another panic attack just thinking about it.

“It’s okay, Twilight.”

Her mom placed a foreleg over her, which made her relax. She didn’t feel scared anymore, and her breathing was calming before it got out of control. She looked up to her mom. “Thanks…”

Velvet gave her a gentle smile. “You’re scared of being alone, and that’s natural…” she said softly.

Twilight only nodded. She couldn’t explain why, but her mind took a fear and ran wild with it. Suddenly, the thought being alone in the world felt very real for her. Her dad was taken so abruptly, and Shining could die the same way. As irrational as it was, She felt like she was only a step away from complete isolation. Twilight looked down to see her hoof trembling. She couldn't let that happen. “I just can’t face the thought of not having you.” She could feel her eyes watering up again.

“I felt the same way when your father passed. But believe me, Twilight. I’m not going anywhere.” Velvet pulled her in close. She held Twilight, and rest her head against her daughter’s. “I know how you feel…”

Velvet sighed again. The feelings she had thought she moved past were coming back. “It scares me too…I don’t want to lose you, Twilight. If I...” She swallowed a forming lump in her throat. Twilight looked up at her mom. She was staring off into the distance with a strange kind of detached looked. The most subtle squinting of her eyes and a slight frown gave all the hints Twilight needed to know what she was feeling.

Twilight brushed her cheek against her mom’s neck. “I’m not going anywhere, Mom…” she said softly.

Velvet blinked a few times, pulling herself from her trance. She rest her head against Twilight again. “I’m sorry, Twilight.” Her eyes started to water up again.

“You don’t have to be sorry…” She could feel a small trickle roll down her cheek, melding with her already soggy fur. “We’ve got each other…We’re not alone…” Her voice nearly gave out on her as she spoke.

There was no response. She hadn’t really expected one though. Her mom being there was enough for her, and Twilight being there was enough for her mom. They just needed to feel that they were not alone. But Twilight also knew she wasn’t over this new found fear. She could still feel the doubts lurking in her mind, waiting to make her panic once more.

“Mom?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

“Can I sleep with you tonight? I…I don’t think I can be sleep by myself…”

Velvet sat silent for a moment, staring off into space. A small, gentle smile spread across her face. “Of course, Twilight.” she said softly with a soothing, motherly tone. Just hearing her voice put Twilight’s heart at ease—the voice that had always been there for her through her entire life. It was just what Twilight needed at that moment.

Twilight felt strange. It wasn’t a bad feeling, in fact, it was quite the contrary. Her lower body felt delightfully numb with a familiar sensation. There was a certain stiffness in her loins that immediately gave away what this sensation was. She couldn’t help but let small mental flashes of various erotic imagery pop into her mind, amplifying the delightful feeling between her legs. “I must have fell asleep…” she thought to herself.

She let out a soft moan as she enjoyed the pleasure her mind was supplying her with. It had to be her mind, because Twilight knew this wasn’t real. Her eyes were closed, and her body felt immovably heavy. She was having a sex dream. “Strangely lucid for a dream though…”

Suddenly it hit Twilight like a ton of bricks. She was in her mom’s room, sleeping right next to her. She couldn’t have this kind of dream tonight. This would be terribly awkward if her mom noticed Twilight’s erection. As Twilight fought to wake up, she tried desperately to move her legs. Every inch of her body was completely numb, and impossibly heavy. Mentally, she continued to scream at herself to wake up so she could try and cover up this little embarrassment.

Twilight let out a pained moan as her eyes finally opened. The room was mostly dark, save for a faint purple glow. As she looked around, she could see soft shadows cast from the mysterious purple light, giving faint outlines of distant features in the room. She was awake—she knew that—but even though she was awake, that sensation didn’t stop. She could still feel that pleasure radiating from between her hind legs.

The numbness of her body faded, and she was finally able to move. Her eyes followed the glow to its source, which strangely enough, was down her barrel. When her eyes looked down her body, Twilight saw a sight she couldn’t have prepared herself for. Between her hind legs was her mother, and inside her mouth was Twilight’s dick. The older mare’s horn was glowing as she bobbed her head up and down her daughter’s length. “M-Mom?” she asked, her eyes going wide for a moment.

Hearing a voice made her stop immediately. Slowly, she turned her eyes up to the source of that voice. As soon as their eyes met, Velvet’s eyes went as wide as Twilight’s. She released her daughter’s length from her mouth, and wiped her lips with her foreleg. “T-Twilight! T-this isn’t what it…” she started to defend herself, but quickly she realized there wasn’t much she could defend.

“W-what are…Why?” she asked, scootching back up the bed away from her mom.

“L-listen, Twilight…” She held out her foreleg. She had to keep Twilight calm before she utterly freaked out—understandably so—from seeing her mom fellating her dick. “I’m sorry…this is…” She looked around the room, trying to find the words as though they were scattered in the darkness. “This is hard to explain…” Finally, her eyes fell down at the sheets, and her cheeks turned a darker shade in the purple light of her magic. With the way her daughter was looking at her, she felt utterly disgusted with herself.

Twilight stared at her mom for a moment. It was clear her mother was conflicted. While this was a shock, she wasn’t one to immediately jump to anger. There had to be a reason why the pony she trusted the most would do something like this. “Could you try?” she asked, hoping her mother could at least shed some light on this situation.

Twilight’s mother sighed. “There’s a few reasons…” she started. It took her a few more moments to work the up courage to look Twilight in the eyes again, but she finally managed to meet her daughter’s hopeful gaze once more. “As you know, today was your father’s and my anniversary. This is hard to tell you, Twilight, but we were…very active…”

Twilight looked away from a moment, wishing she hadn’t heard that. “Okay…”

“I’m afraid that’s not all of it. Today was a day we would…” She sighed again, cringing as she did. “We would really go all out on our anniversary. We tried to make it special…”

“I guess that makes sense…” The more the conversation went on, the less Twilight wished was hearing.

“It’s my first anniversary without him, so…” Her eyes started to well up. “I’m sorry, Twilight…It’s been two months since I was intimate with somepony, and when you were crying today, it just brought back all the pain from your father’s death…I…I just needed something to take my mind off things for a bit…”

“So…you just decided to…with your daughter?” Twilight asked, trying to keep calm. It wasn’t easy for her given the situation. She was confused, hurt, and even felt a little betrayed. The pony she cared for most in this world had been doing something inconceivable to her in her sleep.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. I lost control over my emotions. You interrupted me earlier today when I was—and when I felt you poking me in the back as I was falling asleep, certain…” She paused as she struggled for the appropriate word. “Certain thoughts…started filling my head, and I started thinking about your father, and our more intimate moments together…”

“Wait, poking you? With my…” Twilight trailed off. Her eyes dropped down to her softening dick. She could feel her face flush with heat, but as worked up as Twilight was, she knew what she wasn’t angry. Her heart was pounding again, like it had earlier that day. She was scared. She was scared that she might lose her relationship with her mom because of this little incident.

“Yes…” Velvet looked back down at the bedsheets. The older mare’s face turned a brighter shade of red too.

Silence filled the air as Twilight looked at her mom in complete disbelief. “So…it’s my fault…” she said softly. She drove her mother to do this without even realizing it. She was the one who brought this situation on them, whether she was aware of it or not. Now her mom thought she was angry, and this would destroy their relationship. She didn’t want that.

“No, Twilight. I let my better judgement get away from me.”

“But you wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for me!” Twilight protested desperately.

Velvet looked down at the sheets again. “Twilight, I’m sorry for doing this. Let’s just go back to sleep, and try to forget this ever happened, alright?” She crawled next to Twilight, giving her a small, almost empty smile. “This was a horrible mistake,” she thought as she lay next to Twilight.

That smile felt like a buck to her heart. That empty, soulless smile was the sign that she had just ruined her relationship with her mother. Twilight couldn’t let that happen. Her mom wanted this, or else she wouldn’t have acted on it. She had to make it right. “Mom…” Twilight started but paused when she realized what she was about to say.

“What is it?”

“If you…” She stopped herself again. Twilight was honestly considering the unthinkable for a moment. She couldn’t tell if it was the adrenaline, her fear, or her own lust getting the better of her, but she was seriously contemplating whether to ask her mom or not. Slowly, with a shy glance, she looked over at her mother. “If you need an outlet…I don’t mind…” she said weakly.

“T-Twilight?” The younger mare immediately shirked her mom’s gaze when she heard her voice. “Are you being serious?” she asked, almost laughing in sheer disbelief.

“Yes…” Twilight said, meeting her mother’s eyes for only a brief moment before looking away again.

She only stared at her, letting her offer actually sink in. Her little girl was actually offering her sex. In an instant her mind buzzed with all the arguments and reasons she shouldn’t do this. It was incest, Twilight was still too young, this was taking advantage of her, she was supposed to be a positive influence on her— but through all those arguments, her daughters meek, innocent eyes kept bouncing back to her. As she looked into the young mare’s eyes, glinting in the purple glow of her magic, she saw something.

Behind that look of innocence, there was a sexual need in her daughter’s eyes. She brought this upon Twilight by doing something so inappropriate, and now that Twilight was offering, it was only proper that she should give her relief. Helping her child was what a mother would do after all. Besides, it wasn’t as though she hadn’t gotten herself worked up as well.

She lifted a hoof to Twilight’s cheek. The younger mare didn’t flinch from the soft brush. Instead she lovingly nuzzled her mother’s hoof, showing her she wasn’t angry. Her daughter—her only flesh and blood left; family had become such a fragile thing over the past two months. She wouldn’t let that slip away from her. She smiled at Twilight, no longer empty, but heartfelt. “Twilight…”

“Mom…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she replied with a nod.

“Then lie on your back, sweetie.” She gently pressed her hoof to her daughter’s chest and guided her back to the mattress. Once Twilight was on her back, she slid her hoof down her chest. Her slow, purposeful touch made the young mare squirm in anticipation, but Velvet knew better than to rush into this. What younger ponies like Twilight didn’t know was the subtle art of excitement. She would build the tension for her daughter until she couldn’t take it anymore. She watched as her hoof traced a visible line in the younger mare’s underbelly fur.

Twilight’s body tensed as her mother’s gentle caress trailed down her body. Her skin was tingling from the tip of her mom’s hoof gliding across her fur. The soft, subtle touch was unlike anything she had felt before. No one had ever touched her like this, and it made her heart race. Her entire body went stiff as soon as she felt her mom brush up against the head of her dick. She watched as the older mare’s hoof elegantly slid along her length, and onto her shaft. When she felt the warm, soft fur on the underside of her mom’s hoof touch sensitive flesh, she turned her eyes to the pony touching her. Twilight looked at her with wide, pleading eyes.

Velvet only smiled at Twilight as she slowly moved her hoof softly along Twilight’s shaft. She stroked the sensitive member, building up her daughter’s arousal once more. The dick under her hoof stiffened, and was throbbing once more with only a few strokes, but she wasn’t done. Her hoof continued to stroke Twilight as she relished in the look of sheer pleasure on the younger mare’s face as she squirmed.

Velvet slid her hoof over the tip, getting her fur soaked with her daughter’s pre. She then spread that slimy goo along her length. Twilight moaned as she rubbed more and more lubrication along her shaft. Finally, her daughter looked up at her with almost pained eyes.

Velvet lifted her slick hoof up to her nose. She paused for a moment, giving her thoroughly soaked fur a tentative sniff. It was difficult for her because she knew it was her daughter’s, but months without such a wonderfully pungent smell left her wanting. It felt like ages since she had smelled something so masculine—despite coming from a mare. Her dissenting thoughts were silenced as that scent filled her lungs. Velvet closed her eyes before licking her daughter’s pre off the underside of her hoof.

When she opened her eyes, she looked down at Twilight. The younger mare’s eyes were full of uncertainty and lust. It was a peculiar mix of emotions Velvet hadn’t seen in years, though couldn’t she say when she last saw it. But, she also noticed the impatience and yearning inside her daughter’s gaze. She smiled at Twilight after she cleaned her hoof. “You look like you’re ready,” she said softly.

Twilight only gave a soft nod. Her hoof—still shaking, though for a different reason now—found its way to her mouth. The hoofjob her mother gave her was close to putting Twilight on the edge. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could last. Suddenly the purple glow in the room grew brighter when her mom’s horn sparked to life. Around her colthood she felt the warm tingle of unicorn magic lifting her shaft up. Twilight’s eyes grew wide when she saw her mom climb on top of her. She swallowed hard—this was it.

Twilight felt an almost burning heat mere inches away from her cock. Her whole body tensed again just from the thought of what was so close to her. Seeing Twilight’s pained expression, her mom leaned back a bit, and a wet warmth touched the tip of her shaft. Twilight couldn’t help but buck her hips forward a bit to try and delve into the promised land laid before her. As she pushed forward, her dick slipped past her mother’s slick entrance and slid between the older mare’s hind legs. Twilight whimpered in dismay when she saw her dick looking back at her again.

Velvet let out a small laugh at her daughter’s feeble attempts to slide inside her. She brushed Twilight’s mane with a loving hoof. “Don’t rush it. I’ll take care of it, sweetie,” she cooed in a soft, sweet voice. Velvet lifted her hips once more, and realigned Twilight’s dick. She rubbed her daughter’s member against her slit once more before lowering herself onto Twilight’s shaft.

Twilight hissed as she sank deeper into her mom’s folds. A burning, slick heat enveloped her. It took every ounce of willpower not to thrust forward as hard as she could to end the slow, tortuous descent into her mom’s pussy. She needed to feel her entire length buried in that wondrous warmth. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. As soon as Twilight’s hips met her mom’s, both mares let out a high pitched moan.

“It’s been so long…” Velvet said with an almost laugh.

Their eyes locked and Velvet gave her a small smile. Twilight looked up at her, panting desperately. “Oh my goodness…” she muttered softly. “I-I’ve never felt anything like this before…”

Suddenly, Velvet’s eyes opened wide. She realized where she had seen that look in Twilight’s eyes before. It was from her husband on their first night together—the night they lost their virginities together. “Twilight…was this your first time?” she asked, almost scared of the answer to come.

Twilight nodded weakly.

She stared at her daughter as Twilight pressed her hoof to her quivering lips. She put her own hoof on Twilight’s chest, staring at the back thoughtfully. “I’m sorry, Twilight. I’m sorry your first time was with your mother…”

Twilight shook her head. “Don’t be sorry; I’m not. I wanted to do this…” Twilight pulled her hoof away from her mouth, and gave a reassuring smile. She offered this, and she would have no regrets. “As long as you’re enjoying this, I’m happy.”

Velvet gave a small, heartfelt smile. “No, Twilight. It’s your first time, so I have to make sure you enjoy this.” Her hoof slid off her daughter’s chest and onto the mattress below. She closed her eyes, and lifted her hips from Twilight’s. As she rose, she could hear the younger mare whimpering below her. A pair of hooves found themselves on her haunches, desperately holding her. There was an almost jolt running through her whole body as more and more of Twilight slid out of her marehood. Her sex desperately squeezed the thick shaft inside her, begging it not to leave.

Just as the tip of Twilight’s dick was about to slip free of her confines, she slammed back down onto Twilight’s member. Velvet could feel Twilight shivering below her from the sensations running through the inexperienced mare’s body. The pained look on her face as she struggled to process all the feelings going through her was simply precious. “Just like her father…” she mused to herself.

Velvet closed her eyes. Twilight acted so much like her father at times, she couldn’t help but be reminded of him. As she continued to move her hips, she started to push everything out of her mind. All of the voices in her head she had yelling at her—telling her this was wrong fell silent as she focused on the sensations. She could drown out her conscience and sorrow if she just let this primal need absorb her for the night.

“Mom…” Twilight said weakly from behind her hoof. She still couldn’t believe this was happening to her. No sexual pleasure in her life could compare to this; masturbation simply paled in comparison. Her entire member was engulfed in a blissfully warm heaven, stroked and squeezed expertly with each pass. The constant stimulation was enough to drive her crazy. It took every ounce of willpower she had to not start bucking her hips wildly.

She could feel a familiar sensation starting to boil up from within her. Each time her mom bounced along her shaft, she could feel her orgasm racing closer. It wouldn’t be long: Twilight wasn’t particularly sexually active. She rarely clopped, so she was incredibly sensitive to begin with. Every single twitch of her mom’s pussy sent a jolt running through her. With such an experienced mare, it was a miracle she had lasted this long. As she lay there, Twilight could only look up in awe, marveling at how her mom moved.

She watched Velvet as she continued to brace herself on the bed as she bounced. The older mare’s usually well-combed mane was a tousled mess, and she was panting like crazy. She had never seen her mother like this before. Velvet was a complete wreck, but she looked so blissful. Twilight had never been especially attracted to mares, even though she had both sets of equipment so to speak, but seeing her mother like this, she realized how beautiful she looked. For a moment, she understood why her father took interest in her in the first place.

Such a beautiful mare was actually having sex with her. It was so unreal. Twilight continued to watch her mom bouncing on her hips, and she starting to question if this was reality. Her mom was actually having sex with her—this simply couldn’t be real. She had to still be dreaming. Even though she had been there, Twilight couldn’t quite wrap her mind around how they went from comforting one another, to having sex. This had to be some perverted, stress-induced dream. But, as unreal as this was, it wasn’t a dream. A building sensation inside her told her otherwise. No dream felt this real. Twilight was about to cum, and her mom showed no signs of slowing down.

“Night Light…” her mother called out in ecstasy.

That cry hit Twilight hard. Her eyes went wide at the realization for a moment only to dull with lust once more. Suddenly, she remembered why they were doing this. It was simply relief. This was a distraction for her mom—and though Twilight didn’t want to admit it—for herself as well. They were doing this for some comfort. This was their way of escaping their pain for a while, and for her mother, that mean imagining she was with her father. Twilight could understand that.

“I-I’m going to cum…” Twilight tried to speak loud enough for her mom to hear, but she was too absorbed in riding her dick that she didn’t hear. Velvet only continued slamming down onto Twilight as hard as she could. The younger mare felt her mother tighten around her, squeezing her as hard as she could. It was almost torturous how wonderful it felt. Every time their hips met, Twilight’s mind grew more and more hazy with lust. Her release was the only thing filling her mind now.

“Night Light!” Velvet cried again.

Twilight could hold on any longer. She was about to cum. Instincts took over, and she pushed her hooves into her mother’s haunches, pulling her as close as she could. In an instant, Twilight’s member was completely engulfed in a silky warmth that squeezed her—begging for her to cum. The muscles around her coaxed her building orgasm out, and she erupted inside her mother’s pussy.

Velvet opened her eyes when she felt two hooves grab hold of her. She looked down to see her daughter squeezing her eyes shut from the sheer pleasure. “I was so close…” she thought to herself. But just as she finished that thought, she felt a surge of sticky warmth fill her. Twilight’s twitching member, her quivering body, and the warm seed she was filling her with sent Velvet over the edge.

The darkness around them faded as a purple glow overtook the room. Both Twilight and her mother’s horns were glowing as their orgasms took them. Twilight whimpered, almost unsure how else to express this feeling. No orgasm before in her life had ever felt so good. The warm, massaging walls around her continued to coax more and more cum from her until she finally couldn’t take it anymore. Her hips started wiggling to get free from her mom. The sensations became too much for her to bear.

Her mom fell down onto the bed next to her, letting Twilight slip free of her confines. She collapsed next to her daughter, utterly exhausted and panting for air. She weakly looked at Twilight who was in much the same shape. Velvet smiled at Twilight, and let her eyes slip closed. She was too exhausted to think or grieve. For the moment, her pain was the farthest thing from her mind, and she could sleep.

Twilight couldn’t keep her eyes open either. As the glow in the room died, she drifted off to sleep too. Though she knew what they had done was immoral and wrong in just about every sense of the word, she found some solace in the fact that she was not alone. She had her mother, and she would do anything to make sure that the one whom she holds dear in her life would not suffer.

Author's Note

Well this was an interesting story. I came up with this when I happened upon a very NSFW picture, and my mind just went from there. The idea of Twilight and her mom being alone in the world, and deepening their relationship because of how isolated they felt because of tragedy was actually an early part of this concept too. Anyway, look forward to future chapters to see how their relationship progresses because it's going to get a lot worse...or better if you're into this kind of stuff. A full blown romance is on the horizon, and it's of the forbidden kind.

Thanks to Azure Blackstone for a quick once over as well.

Torn

Whom I Hold Dear

Chapter 2: Torn

Twilight’s eyes popped open as soon as she was awake. Though the sun was up, the room was dim due to the shades over the windows. Her eyes bounced around for a moment as she became more aware of her surroundings. Slowly, she sat up, letting the blanket slide off of her. There was a distinct lack of warmth in the bed with her; her mother already gone.

Twilight lowered her head down into her hooves. “What in Celestia’s name have I done…” she muttered to herself. Mental flashes of what they did the previous night came flooding back. All the sensations she felt became real in her mind for a moment, causing an unwanted tingle in between her legs. “On their anniversary too…” she said softly.

“I’m horrible…” Her heart sank in her chest. Twilight felt as though she had just betrayed her father. She betrayed his memory, his trust, and her promise to him all in one fell swoop. She raised her head to look around the room once more. She was indeed alone. After what she had done, she deserved to be alone. Twilight had taken advantage of a recent widow’s sexual urges simply because she wanted it. She took advantage of her mother at her weakest.

“No, that’s not true though…” a dissenting voice in her head reminded her. Her mom had made the first move, so Twilight didn’t take advantage of her. For the briefest of moments, Twilight almost thought her mom had been the one taking advantage of someone, but she silenced that thought immediately. She couldn’t bring herself blame her mom for what happened. In the end, Twilight had made the offer.

She placed her hooves to her forehead as she stared down at the blanket covering her lower body. “That was just an accident…A way of coping…” Twilight whispered, just for herself to hear. “I was upset yesterday, and so was Mom…” She tried to swallow the panic that was building inside her, but it wasn’t working. “We weren’t thinking clearly…”

Twilight lay back down. She went over the series of events that lead her to this bedroom last night. Her mom had managed to calm her down some after she came here, but it had taken a few hours. She was tried by that point, and all she could think of was going to bed. She still felt that fear inside her, so she slept in her mom’s bed. The next thing she remembered was waking up to her mom sucking her dick.

Twilight’s whole body shuddered. “I’ve ruined my relationship with my mom…” Twilight laid there just staring up at the ceiling. As bad as she felt, she couldn’t even cry—her mind was racing too much to cry.

There was a knock on the door, which drew Twilight’s attention. She struggled to swallow so she could speak. “Y-yes?”

“I’m making breakfast…” her mom replied. Twilight didn’t hear her mom’s hoofsteps leading away from the bedroom door, telling her she was still on the other side. “I’ll send a letter with you to school tomorrow excusing you so you don’t have to go today…”

“Okay…”

“Just…” Her mom paused. “Just come down when you’re ready.”

Twilight could feel her forelegs shaking. She placed her hoof to her mouth, struggling to keep herself calm. The faint sounds of her mom leaving didn’t put Twilight’s heart at ease. Just imagining how this conversation with her mom would play out felt like it might kill her. How would she talk to her? How could she talk to her? After what she had done, Twilight didn’t feel as though she could explain herself. For comfort or whatever—she shouldn’t have done what they did. She shouldn’t have offered to sleep with her mom.

She sat there silent for a few minutes before finally climbing out of bed. Without any answer to her problems, she had to face the inevitable. Twilight decided the best thing to do now would be to just go talk with her. As strange and terrifying of a conversation this would be, it was still her mother—the pony who raised her. That bond still made them family, even if she had crossed a terrible line.

Twilight silently stepped into the kitchen. Her mom was busy cooking pancakes, a dish she only made when she was feeling motivated. Twilight became cautious as soon as she smelled that familiar aroma when she left her mother’s bedroom. That breakfast mixed with what had happened last night didn’t add up for the young pony. She quietly took a seat at the kitchen table, before softly clearing her throat.

She noticed her mom jump slightly at the sound. She turned to look at Twilight, and gave her daughter a small, hesitant smile. “Good morning,” she said softly. Twilight could see the older mare’s eyes weighing heavy with guilt, but there was something else about her eyes that she couldn’t quite place.

“Morning…” Twilight responded before quickly looking down at the table.

Velvet turned back to stove, levitating a perfectly golden brown pancake free from the skillet. She set it on a plate, and turned off the stove. After breakfast was plated, she levitated a dish over to her daughter before joining her at the table.

A small syrup dispenser and a dish with some butter were set down gently between the two of them by Velvet’s magic. She occasionally glanced up at her daughter to see her fixated down at her plate. It was as though her eyes were glued there. Silence overtook the room as they stared at their respective breakfasts, but neither one of them started eating.

She didn’t know what to say to Twilight. After what she had done the previous night, how could she talk to her? After what they had done, the mare sitting across from her didn’t feel like the daughter she raised. She swallowed a forming lump in her throat, knowing that it was her fault that their relationship wasn’t the same.

Twilight glanced up, just barely missing her mother’s gaze as she went back to staring at her own breakfast. The older mare’s eyes, though showing clear signs of guilt over their actions last night, held something that Twilight felt might make this situation not as horrible as she thought.

“The bags under your eyes don’t look as dark today…” she finally said, making her mom’s head snap up to her.

The sudden compliment made her relax slightly. “Thanks…” she said softly. Now that one of them has spoken, they both felt that the tension dissolved just enough to start eating. Twilight levitated her knife at the same time her mother did. She paused for a moment as the older mare took some butter before getting enough for herself. As she went about covering the golden surface of her breakfast, she could help but keep looking up at her mother.

“She doesn’t look as exhausted as she has over the past few months…” she thought as she levitated the syrup. As she poured the amber liquid over her pancakes, her mind felt a little at ease. “Even after what we did, she at least got a good night’s sleep last night…” She smiled softly to herself.

“Twilight…” her mom said, pulling the young mare’s attention for her plate.

“Yes?”

She opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated. She closed it again, and her eyes fell down to her daughter’s breakfast. A pool of syrup was forming around the base of her pancakes. “You’re using too much,” she replied on motherly instinct.

Twilight looked down, and immediately stopped pouring. She blushed a bit out of embarrassment. “Thanks…”

Velvet smiled at her daughter. In that moment she realized it was still Twilight she was talking to. She was still the same clumsy, bookish filly she had known since she was born. No matter what they had done last night, the mare across from her was still her daughter. She breathed a small sigh of relief as she finished the last bite on her plate.

“We…have a lot to talk about…” she said softly.

Twilight nodded silently as she levitated a small bite of her breakfast to her mouth. She chewed slowly, trying desperately to hold off having to speak.

“Twilight…last night was a mistake, and I’m sorry for doing that to you…” The older mare’s voice was quiet, only barely above a whisper. Her words were heavy and heartfelt.

Twilight saw her mother’s ears fall flat and her eyes told of her pain. Twilight swallowed the bite in her mouth. “It’s my fault though…” she replied, feeling a sense of desperation climbing its way into her voice. “I’m the one who told you we could…”

Her mom shook her head. “I was the adult, Twilight, and I should have had the sense to tell you no!” Velvet’s voice jumped in volume, but only barely louder than her normal speaking voice. Compared to their earlier levels though, she was practically shouting. “I took advantage of you, and I’m sorry…”

“I don’t feel that way, Mom!” Twilight slammed her hoof on the table. The loud thud grabbed her mom’s attention, stopping the older mare from continuing to blame herself. “I don’t look at it as though you took advantage of me! I’m old enough to make that decision!”

“No, you’re not, Twilight!” Her mom put her hoof on the table, standing up in her hind legs. “You may be old enough as far as the law in concerned, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re not…” She stood tall over her daughter, making the younger mare shrink down. Velvet glared down at her in anger, though she knew it wasn’t Twilight she was angry at. She was defending her when she didn’t deserve to be defended, and that was what she was upset over. She could feel her glare shift to a near tearful expression. “If your father was here, he’d kill whoever touched his little girl…and I’m the one who did it…” she said before dropping back down onto her hind legs. “I’m a monster…”

“I told you it was okay…I told you we could…I offered…” Twilight held her ears flat, and kept her posture small. Although she was showing submissiveness to her mother’s authority, she still protested.

Velvet shook her head slowly. Her jaw clenched as a small tear slid down her cheek. “Why can’t you just hate me for this…Why are you so dead set on blaming yourself!”

“Why are you…” Twilight retorted back softly. She kept her eyes down at the floor, and her ears still flat as she avoiding eye contact.

Velvet looked at her daughter for a moment, letting her words register. She couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of this conversation. After what they had done—the taboo they had broken and their relationship destroyed—they were arguing over who was at fault. Each blamed themselves rather than the other. “Why did you have to take after me in all the wrong areas?” she asked barely holding in a hysterical laugh.

“Mom?” Twilight looked up with a confused look.

“I don’t want this to ruin our relationship, Twilight. With your father gone and your brother away, you’re all I have left here in Canterlot.”

“I don’t want this to ruin it either, Mom. So, can we just not let it?” Her ears finally rose up as she posed the question.

“How?” she asked, wiping her tears from her cheeks. “Can you honestly tell me that you won’t think about this? Can you honestly look at me with the same way?”

“I can try…” Twilight’s face went red.

Velvet sighed. “Trying and doing are two different things…” She placed her hoof on her forehead again, trying to hide her face as she thought. “We can never speak of this again if we want to move on. We can just pretend this didn’t happen.”

Twilight looked down at the table again. In some twisted way, she was upset to hear that. Deep down, she didn’t want to pretend this didn’t happen. Her mom was closer to her old self that morning than any morning since her dad’s death. She was up early, she made their favorite breakfast, and as far as Twilight could tell, she had a good night’s sleep. This was the best she had seen her mom in months. She couldn’t let her just go back to how she was before. “Mom, do we have to pretend this didn’t happen?”

Velvet’s eyes shot to Twilight as her hoof slid down to the table. “What are you saying? Of course we have to!”

“I’m just saying that you slept well last night for the first time since Dad passed.You also made your favorite breakfast too—something else you haven’t done since Dad passed…” She slowly levitated her fork up as she tried to avoid the urge to look her mom in the face. She could still feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment over what she was about to suggest.

“I wanted pancakes this morning, and I was exhausted after last night.” She paused for a brief moment. “I suppose I did sleep well, but at what cost?” Her mom shook her head at the notion.

“You only make pancakes when you’re in a good mood, Mom…”

“No, Twilight. I always made them after I had sex with your father…That’s why we had them a few times a week…” Velvet’s cheeks turned red over admitting something so private.

“Not every time…” Twilight muttered.

“And how would you know that?"

“I can hear you. Your room is just on the other side of a wall from mine…” Twilight said just barely above a whisper. Both mares’ faces went red. “I know you’re not satisfied by yourself either,” she added. Velvet only answered her with silence. Twilight took a small bite of her cold breakfast while she had a chance. When she swallowed the sticky, cold piece of pancake, her eyes bounced to her mom’s only briefly. “I’m just saying that I don’t mind…”

As soon as it was uttered, Velvet shut down. She could only stare at her daughter, utterly dumbstruck over what had just left the young mare’s mouth.

Twilight paused for a moment to gather her courage. After she saw how much better her mom was feeling after this, she started to feel that perhaps in some way, this was keeping her promise to her father. This was a way of keeping her mom from being depressed. “I don’t mind being Dad’s proxy if you need me to be. I won’t be bothered if you call his name or anything…” she added.

She simply continued to stare at Twilight in complete disbelief over what her daughter was saying. After a moment she blinked a few times to pull herself back to reality. “T-Twilight, we can never do this again,” she clarified.

“I’m just saying that if you need it, I don’t mind is all…”

“You can’t be serious…”

Twilight looked around the table for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. When she finally pieced together what she wanted to say, she looked at her mom again. This time, she kept her eyes locked on Velvet’s. “Mom, I never told you this, but when Dad died, I promised myself that I would do whatever it takes to keep you happy.” She paused again to swallow down a nervous lump in her throat. “You had a small reprieve from your grief last night, and I’m saying that if you ever need something to take your mind off Dad again, I wouldn’t mind being your partner. It’s just for comfort rather than actual intercourse…like masturbation…” Twilight felt as though she might die from shame.

Velvet let out a small laugh at the absurdity. “Masturbation? Twilight…no…” She shook her head. “It’s nothing like masturbation. You’re my daughter, and I’m your mother. That’s incest—it’s something we should never do again!”

“We’ve already crossed the line, Mom.” Twilight’s courage wavered a bit, and she soon found herself staring down at her breakfast once more. Her tone was still firm, which stood out against her submissive demeanor though. After a few moments of awkward silence, she slowly looked back up at Velvet. ”I’m not saying we should do it often, but we’re not doing anything worse if we do it again. And if it makes you feel better…” she trailed off. Her eyes looking almost tearful as she imagined her mom crying again.

Perhaps it was the absurdity of the conversation, or maybe Twilight had a point, but Velvet found it hard to argue against her. “It’s a line I would rather not cross again!” she blurted out. Velvet shook her head as she tried to make sense of what Twilight was saying. “I’m your mother, Twilight. Are you saying you would be fine doing that again?”

“I’m saying it’s an option…I would rather we do this than see you hurting again…”

Velvet took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Last night was a moment of weakness on my part. I won’t let our relationship, or my family be endangered by something like that again.” She paused for a moment. “I won’t let my selfish desires get the best of me anymore.”

“I don’t want to let our family be destroyed like that either, Mom, but at the same time, I can’t leave you to hurt like you have been for the past two months. I don’t think it’s selfish to want a little gratification either…”

“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you…” she placed her hoof on her forehead again as she rest her foreleg on the table.

“I just want to make you happy…”

She stared into the fur on her foreleg for a moment as she struggled to find an answer. “I”ll be fine, Twilight,” she finally said after a few moments. She lowered her leg, and sighed when she saw her daughter’s eyes filled with worry. “Thanks for your concern, but…sex isn’t everything. I’ve told you before, time will make things better.” She forced a small smile on her face.

The concern didn’t leave her daughter’s eyes, even when she gave that small smile. “I’ll keep what you said in mind,” she added to put Twilight at ease. She had no intention of acting on it, but if it made Twilight stop worrying, she would say it. “Now, eat your breakfast. It’s still early, so if you want to go to school, you can attend your afternoon classes.”

“Okay…” she replied softly. Twilight’s ears still laid flat.

After Velvet cleaned up her plate, and took care of the syrup and butter on the table, she looked at Twilight. The young mare was moping as she ate her breakfast. She prodded the cold, soggy pancakes on her plate with her fork, only taking a bite every so often. With a sigh, Velvet walked up to her daughter, and placed her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder for reassurance. “I’m not mad at you. I hope you know that…”

“I know…” Twilight didn’t look up. Her gaze stayed fixated on her plate as she continued to poke her mess of a breakfast.

Velvet continued to look at her daughter with motherly concern. “With all of this, I haven’t had a chance to ask how you’ve been feeling. Are you still scared like you were yesterday?”

“I don’t know…I haven’t thought about it.” Twilight leaned into her mom’s touch, showing she wasn’t afraid or scared of her after what they had done.

“You were still pretty shaken up when you went to sleep last night, that’s why I’m asking.”

Twilight sighed. “I guess I was still scared when I woke up…” She paused for a moment. “You weren’t there, and after what we did, I thought you might hate me…”

Velvet pulled Twilight in for a hug. “I don’t hate you, dear.” she said softly. Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her mom too, returning her affection. The two hugged for a moment, reassuring one another they still loved each other. “If you want, you can sleep in my bed again tonight,” Velvet said cautiously.

Twilight nodded. “Thanks…”

The days after the incident were hard for them both, Twilight found herself struggling with a newfound phobia of being alone. She didn’t have panic attacks like she had that day of the incident, but she was far from alright. If she was alone, nervous thoughts about the safety of her brother and mother would start to wear on her. The young mare’s mind would concoct terrible scenarios, and her heart would start racing shortly after. Getting through her day was hard sometimes, but Twilight managed. She had to constantly remind herself that things were fine.

Twilight rushed home after school each day, from either concern or fear. As soon as Twilight came home, Velvet was there waiting with open forelegs. After a week, she had come to expect this as a routine. Twilight rushed into her mom’s forelegs and hugged her tightly. She softly comforted Twilight for a few moments to get the young mare to calm down. When Twilight realized her mom was safe from whatever horrible fate she imagined, she would finally let go.

“Sorry, Mom…” Twilight said with a small blush.

Velvet only smiled at her. “It’s alright, Twilight.” Velvet sighed as her daughter left to set her things down after school. Her daughter’s sudden irrational fear was a cause for concern. Velvet was worried about Twilight, but she also understood her reasoning behind this fear. With her father gone, and her brother’s position, Twilight felt like anything could happen. As silly as it might sound, Velvet had the same concerns for her son. These were the type of thoughts that kept a mother up at night, but Twilight wasn’t a mother. She was too young to be worrying like this.

Velvet sighed again just before Twilight came back to the living room. As soon as the young mare rounded the corner, Velvet tried to wipe all worry from her face. She was at a loss for how to help her daughter, but Twilight didn’t seem to want help for now. The way she acted, she was perfectly happy with how things were.

“No homework today?” Velvet asked.

“No, the princess didn’t give me any tonight.” Twilight levitated a book out of the bookcase as she took a seat on the couch. She casually flipped it open to a page marked with a bookmark, and began reading.

Now that her daughter was calmed down and happily reading a book, Velvet could get back to work—or at least try to get back to work. She looked at a small stack of papers on the table next to her, and levitated the pages into the air apathetically. It was a manuscript she had to go over for her job, but she didn’t feel like it. Her mind was miles away from work at that point. She sighed once more, this time from disappointment in herself. A certain distracting heat had been interrupting her focus all day. Velvet placed a pen to her lips as she debated taking care of this need of hers, or to ignore it and finish her work.

She glanced over at Twilight reading her book. She was home, which made this situation even more awkward for the older mare. It had been a week since she and Twilight crossed that line, and a week since she had an orgasm. Though she had been busy with work, she had tried to make time for herself while Twilight was at school and she wasn’t at the office. It hadn’t been a very fruitful endeavour though. She simply couldn’t cum. At this point, sex was never far from her mind, and with Twilight still sleeping in her bed each night, it made it almost impossible for her to have some alone time once her daughter was home.

“Twilight?” she asked, pulling the younger pony’s attention from her book. “I’m going to go work on this upstairs, alright?” She levitated her stack of paper up for her daughter to see.

“C-can I come with you?” Twilight asked, stepping off the couch.

Velvet shook her head, which made Twilight’s eyes go wide for a moment. “I’ll just be upstairs, dear. You can manage while you’re at school without me, I’m sure you can handle being downstairs alone for a few hours while I finish going over this manuscript.”

“School is a different story…and I still have a hard time there…”

“We need to start to wean you off this attachment, Twilight. It’s not healthy.” Twilight’s ears went flat as her mother spoke. “Small steps, okay? I’ll still be in the house.”

“Mom…” Twilight said again.

Velvet gave her a small, apologetic smile. “This is for your own good…” she replied in a gentle, motherly tone.

Twilight stared at her for a moment longer, pleading with her eyes. Finally, she broke her begging stare, and mentally argued with herself. Velvet could see her daughter’s head bouncing in nods and shakes as though she were having an actual conversation. It was much like her father did when he was thinking. When the debate ended, Twilight sighed. “Okay…” she said, defeated.

“If you really need to, come knock on my door, okay?” she said gently. Twilight nodded to her suggestion. It wasn’t much, but it was a way out for her in case she felt trapped. It put the young mare at ease to know she could get her mom’s attention if it became too much for her. “Just read your book, and I’ll be down before you know it.” Velvet slipped out of the room with her manuscript.

She let out a small sigh of relief when she finally closed her bedroom door behind her. “I don’t like lying to her, but I don’t want to talk to my daughter about this…” She set the stack of papers down on her desk. “Even after what we’ve done…”

Velvet plopped down on the bed. “A week since I’ve had any kind of relief…” she muttered to herself as she slid her hoof down her body. A few gentle caresses against her marehood was enough to get her fire lit. A familiar sensation started to tingle in her lower body as her hoof traced over her slit. She let out a low moan.

She felt a little silly about having to lie to Twilight just to get away for a bit, but Velvet had been struggling with this for a few days now. As much as she tried to push these sexual desires out of her head, she found herself thinking about them more. Each day was a struggle to focus on her work, and it only made her unproductive. Then, before she knew it, Twilight was home, and her chance at relieving her pent up desires would be gone until her daughter left for school the next day.

Velvet rolled onto her back just as her horn lit up. Her magic teased her sex, and she let her hoof fall to the wayside. The mare let out a small eager whimper when her magic slipped inside her pussy. Immediately, she felt a pulsing aura stimulate her, sending waves of pleasure through her body. Velvet closed her eyes and relaxed, letting her magic do all the work.

But something wasn’t right. No matter how much power she used, no matter how hard she thrust her magic inside her, no matter how much she played with herself, she was left wanting. It was as though her orgasm wouldn’t come. She let out an almost frustrated groan as she amped up her magic further, throwing subtly to the wayside. She used her hoof to tease her clit as a thick magical phallus began thrusting in and out of her pussy. She could feel her bed rocking from the force of her own magic fucking her, squeaking with each thrust. Velvet moaned in desperation, as she tried harder and harder to make herself cum.

“It’s no use…I need an actual dick…” she thought. It had already been two months since her husband’s death, and though she had masturbated since then, this past week it was not working for her. It wasn’t as though her magic hadn’t been enough before either. Then, the thought of what her and Twilight had done came to mind. “I was getting used cumming without her father until we did that…Until we had sex…”

A sudden, frantic knock came from the door. “Mom, are you okay?” Twilight’s voice carried her panic. “I heard some noises…”

Velvet froze immediately. Her magic quietly died down, making her body ache with desire. It took a moment for her to register what was happening, but when she did, she sighed. “Y-yes, Twilight. I-I’m fine…” she replied, trying her best to not sound like she wasn’t doing something so inappropriate.

“You sound out of breath, are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes. Twilight, I’m busy, dear. I’ll be downstairs in a bit…” She tried to brush off her daughter, but it didn’t seem to work. There were no hoofsteps implying the younger mare had left.

After a moment, Velvet finally heard Twilight speak again. “It’s just you sound a little worked up, are you sure everything is okay…”

Velvet closed her eyes in frustration. Before she spoke, she reminded herself it wasn’t Twilight’s fault. With how she had been feeling lately, she was just concerned over the noise. “I’m fine, Twilight. I’m just taking care of something real quick…”

“Okay…”Twilight replied after a moment.

Finally she heard her daughter leave. The sound of her hoofsteps getting farther away was like music to her ears. She slowly started rubbing her aching marehood again only to feel like she was miles away from her climax. That knock had startled her so much, she went cold. Velvet let out a small groan of irritation. “I wouldn’t feel like this if I hadn’t had sex with her…”

Velvet lifted her hoof up, and stared at the soaked fur on the underside. “Maybe I could take Twilight up on her—no…” She shook her head, pushing the thought from her mind. “You promised you wouldn’t do that. Besides, it’s not right…” she muttered to herself. Velvet rest her foreleg over her eyes as she laid there. “I really need something other than my hoof or magic to help me out…dildos never did the trick for me either…I need a real dick, and the only one in the house is willing, but it’s my own daughter…what the hell is wrong with me…”

Velvet lazily looked over at the nightstand next to her. On its top rest a picture frame of her and her husband. Velvet frowned as she stared at the image. “Night…what’s wrong with me?” she asked the picture. There was no answer, but she didn’t expect one. “She’s our daughter, so why am I even considering this?”

“Maybe it’s because we’ve already crossed that line…” she thought. Velvet sat up in her bed. She stared across the room, silently. Slowly, she gathered the courage to ask herself the real questions she was scared to ask. “We’re still family, I’m not worried about that now…” she reassured herself. “But, is it fair to Twilight?” She looked back at the picture on her nightstand. “Is it cheating if I’m thinking of you?”

Her eyes fell down to the bedsheets. “It’s just for a bit of release right? A bit of stress relief…We’ve already done it before too…”

Twilight and Velvet both took a seat at the kitchen table for dinner. Two plates levitated onto the table, and set down in front of them. The food was already on it, and waiting for them to start eating, though Twilight hesitated for a moment before digging in. Velvet looked up at her daughter, finding her acting a bit more reserved than usual, which concerned her.

“What is it, Twilight?” she asked.

Twilight gave her a confused look as though she didn’t know what her mom was talking about, but Velvet wasn’t fooled. “You’re awfully quiet tonight.”

“It’s nothing…”

“You can tell me,” she said taking a bite of her dinner.

Twilight pushed her steamed carrots around on her plate. She didn’t know how to say what was bothering her, so she hoped by stalling, her mother might drop the issue. She glanced up to see Velvet still waiting for her to answer. Her strategy clearly wasn’t going to work. “I’m sorry for interrupting you earlier today…” she muttered.

Velvet swallowed the bite in her mouth. She couldn’t help her cheeks getting a little red. “I told you I wasn’t mad. You just broke my chain of thought while I was editing is all…” She had tried to push the incident out of her mind after it happened. Her body was still wanting even now, but she had to show some self-restraint. Twilight bringing it up sent a familiar tingle through her lower body, begging her for some relief. She shifted her hind legs back a forth, trying to quell the need between her legs. But, what worried her most wasn’t this lust she was feeling, it was the fact that she was honestly considering taking up Twilight’s offer earlier.

Twilight looked back down at her carrots. “After I went back downstairs, I realized what you were doing…” Twilight muttered.

Velvet’s fork came to a stop mid-stab. That was exactly what she didn’t want to hear. She stared down at her carrots like her daughter was. Her cheeks felt like they were burning with how red her face was. Twilight knew she had been indulging her desires, but instead of just admitting what she had been doing in her room, she chose to dance around the issue further with a rather generic response. “Well, regardless what I was doing, I told you I’m not mad at you for it.”

“I just thought I should apologize…” Twilight slowly levitated her fork to her mouth, this time taking a bite of her salad.

The older mare slowly looked up at her daughter, seeing her still refusing to look up from her plate. She couldn’t help but smile and laugh in this situation. Twilight was treating this like some great transgression—like she had just broken a family heirloom. While Velvet certainly wasn’t proud of what she had been doing and was even embarrassed her daughter knew, she found it rather silly Twilight was so worked up over it. “I meant it, Twilight. You don’t need to apologize because I’m not upset with you. There’s no need to sulk,” she said, trying to sound cheerful.

Twilight slowly looked up to meet her gaze. “I feel like it’s my fault that you were doing that though…” she said softly.

Velvet rolled her eyes. “It’s not your fault. Everypony has urges…Even me.” Velvet brought her fork to her mouth, taking another bite of her dinner as she continued her smile to put her daughter at ease. “I would have dreaded having this conversation a week ago, but after what happened, this just doesn’t seem so bad. I’d rather talk about this than the conversation we had last week…”

“I kind of know that…” Twilight replied, her own cheeks lighting up as she did. “I know we said we wouldn’t talk about it, but…if I’m the reason why you needed to go do that, I could—”

Velvet cleared her throat loudly. “Would you like desert?” She quickly changed the subject.

“We’re still eating dinner though…”

“After dinner.” Her mom was staring down at her plate as she ate. Her fork quickly picked up a bite of carrot and stuffed it into her mouth so she wouldn’t have to speak again. She couldn’t even glance up to look Twilight in the eyes for a brief second she was avoiding her so much.

The younger mare stared at her mom for a moment, unsure how to proceed. Clearly, she wasn’t going to discuss this; Twilight knew that much. She looked back down at her plate. “No, thank you…” Twilight replied. The room fell silent after that. She decided it was best to just sit there quietly and eat her dinner.

When Twilight started eating again, Velvet couldn’t stop her jaw from clenching. She was dodging the issue, but she was only because she felt she had to. The older mare was at wits end after a week. They had already done it once, so would doing it again change anything? Twilight had offered in the first place, and here she was offering again. Velvet swallowed a bite of carrots when she finally looked back up at Twilight. “I shouldn’t even consider it, but…”

Twilight timidly looked up to see her mom staring at her. “What?”

“Nothing…” she replied, sounding more tired than she intended.

Twilight tilted her head to the side as she tried to imagine what her mom was thinking. That tired tone of hers raised concerns, but Twilight didn’t want to push it. This had been the most awkward dinner they had all week, and she didn’t want to keep pressing her mother on an issue she clearly didn’t want to discuss. Instead, she chose to go with something more safe. “Dinner’s good,” she said giving her mom a sincere smile.

“Thanks.” Velvet cracked a smile herself. With a small sigh, she decided to change the topic from something so awkward to more normal. “So, how was school today?”

“It was good. A little overwhelming, but good.” Twilight continued to eat her dinner as she described her lessons that day in detail. Her mom nodded, every so often. Twilight knew that her mom was intelligent, but she wasn’t as knowledgeable in a lot of the areas Twilight took an interest in. While Twilight loved learning about math, science, and magic, her mom enjoyed language and literature more. That wasn’t to say that Twilight didn’t have her fair share of interest in literature as well.

“So, how is the book you’re editing coming along?” she asked her mom.

“Tedious. It’s a new author, and she’s got a thing for adventure stories. She needs a lot more work though.” Velvet said with a small laugh.

“A new author? Can I read it when you’re done?”

“It’s a first draft, Twilight. I doubt you would enjoy it much.”

“Another set of eyes might catch something you missed though.”

“Maybe later,” Velvet replied with a teasing smile.

This was much how their conversations had been this week. Twilight wasn’t sure if her mother was aware of it or not, but she was talking to her differently. Velvet had been talking to her more like an adult than her child. It worried Twilight at first since she thought that they might be drifting apart, but she realized quickly that they weren’t.

Perhaps they had even grown closer, either out of fear of drifting apart or because they had shared something so intimate. Velvet talked to her not just as her mother, but as a friend. Even though she had been such an inconvenience for her over the past week, her mom had been understanding and supportive. It put Twilight at ease knowing that. Fears she had about pushing her mother away with her clinginess were slowly dying the more they had conversations like this. These moments made her feel like she hadn’t lost her mom—she hadn’t lost her family.

“I just wish I could help her with all of her problems…” Twilight thought as she finished the last bite on her plate.

Twilight climbed into bed with her mother later that night. As soon as she was under the blanket, she closed her eyes, and readied herself to go to sleep. “Good night, Mom,” she said softly.

“Good night, Twilight…” Velvet sighed when she set her head down on her pillow. As soon as her head hit the soft surface, she rolled onto her side facing away from her daughter. The two slept on complete opposite ends of the bed to give one another space—at least that’s what Velvet told herself. In reality, she knew it was because she was scared. Part of her was still terrified that Twilight was upset at her, so she gave her space.

As Velvet lay there, she felt her jaw clench. This was the moment of truth—she and Twilight were in bed, and if she was going to do it, this was the perfect time. She swallowed hard to calm herself down. The aching need inside her body still hadn’t subsided since that afternoon, which only pushed her forward with her decision. With a small frown, she glanced at the picture on the nightstand. She closed her eyes, and turned her head away from the image of her husband. “Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“I…” Velvet took a deep breath as she readied herself further. “I was thinking of taking you up on your offer earlier…” she said softly.

“W-what?” The younger mare rolled over onto her side to look at her mom.

Velvet still had her back facing Twilight. “If you still don’t mind…If not, forget I said anything…” Velvet kept her eyes closed, too ashamed of herself to even look at the darkness of her bedroom.

“You mean you want to…Tonight? Right now?” Twilight asked with a growing panic in her voice.

“If that’s alright…”

“We…we can…If you want to…”

Velvet’s horn lit up, filling the room with a soft, purple glow. Slowly, she rolled over to her other side. As soon as her eyes met her daughter’s, she gave a weak, apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I’m so pathetic, Twilight…”

“Please don’t say that, Mom. You’re not pathetic—I don’t think you are at least.” Twilight slid closer to her mom, placing her hoof on her shoulder. “You said it yourself, everypony has urges.”

“Yes, but…they shouldn’t act on those urges with their children…” Velvet looked down at the sheets in disgust at herself.

Twilight paused for a moment, trying to think of the right thing to say. It was never easy to comfort someone, especially when they were so down on themselves. Twilight remembered how she phrased it last week, when they first did this. “Don’t think of it like that then. It’s like masturbation; I’m just helping you out…” Twilight gave her own weak smile, hoping she conveyed her thoughts properly. “That sounds weird doesn’t it…”

Velvet looked up at her, giving a small laugh. “Nothing about this situation isn’t weird, Twilight.” She stared at her for another moment. The brief spark laughing brought to her eyes died down quickly, replaced with that self-disgust from before. “I don’t want to think of it like that though. I don’t want to use my daughter as just a dildo…”

Twilight looked down at the sheets. “It’s weird if it’s us having sex, and weird if it’s masturbation…” she muttered to herself. Nothing seemed to put her mom at ease with the situation. Last time she was lost in the moment, but now they were making the conscious decision to do this. Twilight looked back at her mom. “Just imagine I’m Dad, like you did last time.”

Velvet blushed. “I kind of planned on that…” she muttered barely loud enough for Twilight to hear. “It still doesn’t seem right though. I don’t think we can frame this in a way that I would feel comfortable with…” She sighed again. “Maybe we really shouldn’t do this…”

“I’m the only pony around who can help you out though…”

Velvet looked up at her daughter with sad eyes. “That doesn’t mean we should…”

“We’ve done it before. We’re not doing anything new,” Twilight reminded her. “It doesn’t matter if we’re having sex or if it’s masturbation, it’s to help us both feel better.” Twilight gave her mom a small smile, hoping she would understand.

“So are you saying we should just forget the consequences?” she asked with a heavy voice.

“We’ve already dealt with the consequences. I just want you to know that I won’t get angry or hate you if we do this again.” Twilight slid closer to her mom, putting her forelegs around her in a hug. “I just want to make sure you’re happy.”

Velvet wrapped her forelegs around Twilight before cracking a smile herself. Feeling some sort of affection was just what she needed at that moment. Knowing now that Twilight wouldn’t hold this against her—even if she held it against herself, she felt some sort of relief. She felt that even if they did something wrong like this, her daughter wouldn’t think less of her for it. “Thanks, Twilight,” she said softly. Velvet let out a small chuckle to herself as she felt a small tear work its way down her cheek. “Why did you get stuck with such a lousy mother.”

“You’re not lousy. You’re the best mom I could have ever hoped for. Besides, you’ve been helping me deal with my separation anxiety, so I can do this for you at least…”

Velvet gently pushed Twilight back, keeping her smile on her face as she did. “Lay down, dear. I’ll take care of everything,” she said softly. She pushed Twilight back, carefully guiding her onto the bed like she had the last time they did this.

With Twilight on her back, Velvet’s hoof slid down to her daughter’s sheath. She could see the head of Twilight’s dick already poking free, begging for attention. The older mare licked her lips with a mixture of anticipation and nervousness. This was the second time she was going to have sex with her daughter, and she still wasn’t sure this was right. She glanced back to see Twilight giving her a small nod in approval. Velvet swallowed her building anxiety, and pushed her doubts from her head. This was what Twilight wanted—no—this is what they both wanted.

She stroked her daughter. Her hoof’s gentle caress coaxed Twilight’s cock out from it’s sheath, until it was fully erect. Velvet lowered her face down to Twilight’s member. As she drew closer, the young mare’s thick scent filled her lungs. It was a strange mixture of masculine and feminine aromas that blended nicely. The young mare’s member was obviously the source of her more masculine smell, and was what Velvet was yearning for.

She stuck out her tongue. A small gasp came from her daughter as she touched the tip of her tongue to Twilight’s sensitive flesh. Slowly she licked up the length of her daughter’s dick, savoring the flavor. She paused at the head of Twilight’s dick, running her tongue around her urethra. Her lips closed around Twilight’s cock, and she slowly swallowed down the young mare’s length.

Twilight let out a hiss of pleasure when she felt her mom’s mouth around her. The slick warmth of the experienced mare’s mouth felt utterly divine. She couldn’t enjoy it last time due to her being barely awake and then the shock of the situation. She let out a low, soft moan as her mom took half of her dick, easily. The sharp jolts running through her made her eyes roll back for a moment.

Just as she was enjoying the blissful warmth around her length, she felt an icy chill as her mom slid off of her. Twilight fought every urge running through her to buck her hips forward. Her whole lower body screamed at her mother’s tortuous retreat. Velvet was slow with every agonizing move, driving Twilight crazy with each purposeful lick and suckle. She couldn’t help but whimper.

Then the warmth engulfed her again. Her mother was just too good at this for Twilight. She looked down her barrel to see Velvet looking up at her. She had a devilish gleam in her eyes, showing she was enjoying the sight of Twilight on the edge. The younger unicorn felt a little exposed under her mother’s watchful eyes. It seemed a little unfair that Twilight was the only one to squirm from the attention while her mom only got to dish it out.

When she pulled her mouth from Twilight’s dick, she gave a small smile. “Sorry, Twilight. You were just too adorable with the way you wanted it.”

“Don’t tease me…”

“Sorry, but I can’t have you climaxing on the appetizer, Twilight. We’ve still got the main course.” Velvet climbed on top of Twilight. The older mare was like a completely different animal in the heat of the moment. Her movements were smooth and sensual. The way she climbed onto her made Twilight’s cock twitch in anticipation. She sat on Twilight’s belly, pausing with a smile before lifting her hips. Velvet loomed over her daughter, her hips shaking perfectly as she raised herself up to be speared. Twilight didn’t even mind the small drip of her mother’s juices landing on her fur. They both wanted this more than anything now.

Twilight felt her mom’s warm slit brush against the head of her cock. A small trickle of the older mare’s juices slid down her sensitive length, causing Twilight to buck forward a bit. Her mom giggled a bit at Twilight’s impatience. But, rather than mention it and tease her daughter a bit more, she indulged Twilight, and sat down on the thick cock below her. Velvet couldn’t deny she was just as impatient as her daughter at this point, so teasing her didn’t feel right. Velvet and Twilight both let out high-pitched moans.

When their hips met, Twilight placed her hooves on her mother’s haunches. Her eyes pinched closed from the sensation. She held Velvet down, letting her mom’s warm, tight walls squeeze her member. Each small spasm of her mom’s pussy felt divine. Twilight could only sit in awe of the sensation. Though she had felt it before, she still couldn’t believe just how good it was. Suddenly, she felt her mom place her hoof on her chest. The young mare fought to open her eyes. Her mom was looking at her, panting slightly from her own lust.

“You need to let go so I can move,” her mother said softly.

Twilight gave a weak nod. She let her hooves fall from her mother’s haunches. No longer being held down, the mare rose from Twilight’s hips. Her mother’s pussy greedily tried to suck her back in as she slid out. Then just as she was about to pop free from her mother’s welcoming confines, she was thrust back inside. A sudden rush of divine bliss rippled through her body when she delved back inside. Twilight let out a weak gasp.

Her eyes looked to her mother’s, only to find them closed. She was already retreating into her fantasy, but Twilight expected that. As her mom moved her hips she saw in the tinted light of her magic that her cheeks were flushed. Each time she lowered her hips back down to Twilight’s, she let out a soft, sultry moan. It was hard for Twilight to picture her mother like this, but in the bedroom she was so very different. Her movements were seductive, and the way she spoke even turned her own daughter on. “I never imagined her like this…” she thought.

As her mother bounced, her sultry moans only spurred Twilight forward. She started bucking her hips into her mom’s as she lowered herself. The first thrust made Velvet’s eyes pop open in surprise. The older mare looked down at her for only a moment, before smiling and closing her eyes again. She worked with Twilight’s thrusts, letting her push in as far inside as she could.

The slick walls of her mother’s sex just continued to stroke her, pushing Twilight closer and closer to her orgasm. The young mare was panting like crazy, and her hooves found their way back onto her mother’s haunches—though this time she was guiding Velvet rather than holding her down.

Part of her felt guilty for enjoying this so much when she offered just to help her mom relieve some stress, but when she looked up, she saw her mom completely lost in bliss. In that moment she pushed her guilt aside. She couldn’t feel guilty when her goal was accomplished, could she? Her mom was enjoying this, and Twilight enjoying this as well didn’t change that fact.

“Night…” Velvet murmured.

Her mom tightened around her. Twilight gasped as her hind legs stiffened for her impending climax. “I-I’m cumming…” she said, tightening her hold on her mother’s haunches. Twilight’s head pushed back into her pillow as her release was just about to take her. But, just as she was about to surrender to that bliss, it came to an abrupt hault. All the building pleasure stopped in an instant.

Twilight’s eyes shot opened. A dimming glow from her mother’s magic filled her vision for a moment. She looked up to her mother, finding Velvet still sitting on top of her, though now still. The older mare was panting heavily. “S-sorry, Twilight, but…I need you to hold on for a bit longer…” she said weakly. Velvet gave her an apologetic smile as she resumed riding her daughter’s cock.

Twilight let out a sharp, agonizing moan as soon as her mom started moving again. She felt like she was on the edge, only mere moments from reaching her climax, but no matter how much her mother fucked her, she still couldn’t cum. Velvet placed her hoof on Twilight’s chest, stroking her fur lovingly. Twilight only looked back at her with questioning eyes.

“I’m sorry, Twilight. You can’t cum until I do. Your father was a bit of a quick shot too, so I had to use this spell with him quite often. I’m almost there though, so please bear with it for a little longer.”

Twilight bit her lower lip from the sheer frustration. But, she gave her mom a small nod. As much as she wanted to cum, this was a whole new level of pleasure she had never experienced before. Being held on the edge of ecstasy was torturous, but also heavenly at the same time. Her whole body felt like it was numb from the surging sensations running through her.

Her mom threw her head back in an instant. Twilight suddenly felt her mother’s walls clamp down around her dick, and all the built tension put on hold inside her burst. Twilight let out a long, high-pitched cry as her body twitched helplessly. Everything in that moment was lost in a haze of bliss. A sense of pure, undiluted pleasure washed over her as she came inside her mother’s pussy.

When their orgasms subsided, Velvet slowly crawled off Twilight. As she slid off, she left a small trail of Twilight’s cum across the young mare’s belly. Exhausted, she lay down next to Twilight. She gave her daughter a small smile. “I’m sorry about that spell, Twilight.”

“It’s fine…It would have been a little selfish of me if I climaxed by myself…Besides, It felt kind of good…”

Velvet let out a small laugh. She slid next to Twilight, and pulled her in for a hug. “Thanks for doing this, dear. We shouldn’t have, but—”

“No, don’t. Mom, if you need some sexual relief again, you can ask me. I’ll help out.” Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her mother’s chest.

Velvet stared into the darkness of her bedroom for a moment. As wrong as this was, it didn’t feel like it was wrong. Twilight was fine with it, and it didn’t change their relationship like she thought it would have last time. She gave a small sigh. “I’ll ask you if I really need to, alright?” she offered as a small compromise—mostly with her own lingering reservations rather than her daughter.

Twilight gave a small nod. It was then that the two finally gave into their exhaustion, and drifted off to sleep.

Author's Note

And thus this continues. I know it's been a while since I've had an update for this, but I had some motivation issues with writing for about the past month. I can't say the next chapter will be any quicker. Hopefully you all have enjoyed this chapter.

Thanks to TheGreatEater for a pre-read on this chapter.

Ache

Whom I Hold Dear

Chapter 3: Ache

Twilight stared down at her breakfast, a bowl of hot oatmeal and a glass of orange juice. She let out a listless sigh with her head propped up on her hoof as she stirred the lumpy paste. Breakfast was probably the furthest thing from her mind that morning. Something else had been bothering her—something she couldn’t quite place.

For weeks she found it hard to focus, either at school or even at home. There was always a thought or feeling that would pop into her head, usually concerning someone close to her. Perhaps it started when she began this bizarre relationship with her mother, but she couldn’t quite place the exact beginning. Twilight pulled her eyes from her breakfast to the pony standing at the kitchen sink.

Her mother stood there, a plate and a rag hovering in her magic. She stared out the window as the clean dishes piled up to one side of her at a breakneck pace. Her eyes slid from her mother’s beautiful face down to her haunch. But it wasn’t the whole picture that Twilight found herself looking at. Specifically, her eyes fell to her mother’s haunch. The older mare’s tail swished back and forth, briefly exposing herself to Twilight.

She swallowed hard, unable to tear her gaze away from the gorgeous white, silken coat and three purple stars which adorned her mother’s picturesque rear. Her face flushed, and soon she felt a stiffening in her nethers. A small movement of Velvet’s head out of the corner of her eye and the distinct feeling of being watched snapped Twilight back to reality. She cleared her throat forcing herself to stare down into the bland mush in front of her. The clatter of spoon-on-bowl rang out, and her mother turned to face her.

“Is everything alright?” Velvet asked, putting a tired smile on her face.

“Fine!” Twilight replied through a mouthful of food.

Velvet raised an eyebrow, and Twilight almost withered. She felt the heat radiating from her cheeks. To an astute observer—like the one eyeing her—she knew it was clear. The soft ring of her mother giggling pulled Twilight’s gaze up.

“Sorry, dear,” Velvet said from behind her hoof.

Twilight’s ears perked up. She held up a hoof, defensively. “I-I wasn’t—” She cut herself short when she saw the knowing look in her mother’s eyes. Instinctively, she shrank down, ears lying flat. “Maybe I was…”

The older mare’s smile fell slightly, and her eyes shifted towards the ground. “I know I’ve been having you help me a lot lately, but I was thinking we should take a few days off.”

Twilight looked up with wide eyes, her lower lip trembling as she opened her mouth to speak. “What do you mean?” she asked with a quivering voice. Her heart sank as numerous thoughts ran through her head. Had she upset her mom? Or maybe made her feel guilty again? Or perhaps they had been doing It too much? Twilight’s hoof began to shake, rattling the spoon on the table.

Then Velvet glanced up and, when their eyes met, swooped forward to crouch next to her daughter. “It’s not your fault, Twilight.” She glanced pointedly at the calendar hanging on the wall. “It’s just…” Velvet swallowed a growing lump in her throat. “It’s his birthday in a few days, and I don’t quite think it would be right to do what we’ve been doing on his birthday…”

Twilight gave a shaky nod; something grabbed hold of her heart and pulled it down harder and harder by the second. She struggled to breathe, and it wasn’t long before the familiar tinge of fear started creeping up her spine.

Then a sweet voice cut through all the anxiety. “I’m not going to kick you out of my bed,” Velvet said, pulling Twilight’s attention from the tabletop. She looked up to see her mother smiling warmly, that same smile that told her everything would be alright just so long as she didn’t give up. A comforting hoof soon came to rest on her shoulder. “We’re just going to take a break from the other…things.”

The fear crawling up Twilight’s spine stopped. She breathed a small sigh of relief as her mom’s hoof moved from her shoulder to her cheek.

“We’ve been doing it a lot the past few weeks,” Velvet added, “so I thought I should tell you.”

Twilight responded with a shake of her head. Her mom’s hoof was warm against her cheek, warm and comforting; after a moment, she moved her own hoof up as well. At the contact, she felt her heart thump loudly.

“I understand,” she managed to say. She pressed her mother’s hoof close; the touch alone kept the anxiety at bay. “I’m here whenever you need me, Mom.”

“That’s my girl.” Velvet stared into Twilight’s eyes for a while longer.

Finally, she managed to pull herself from Twilight’s eyes to glance up at the clock. “Finish your breakfast. You have to get to your lessons with the princess.”

“Okay,” Twilight replied as she let her mom’s hoof go.

Twilight sprawled out on a large, intricately designed purple carpet. Sewn on the silky weaving were golden threads circling an enormous sun styled after the owner’s cutie mark—a less than subtle reminder to those who used the room just whom they owed the luxury to. In the generously sized study stood three huge glass windows that rose to the towering, vaulted ceiling. The rug on which she laid rested perfectly in the afternoon light as it shone through. To her side, a cozy fireplace sat a comfortable distance away, but dim. The free walls were lined with bookcases twice as tall as she was. Along the wall with the windows was a small desk, free for her to use should she wish, stocked with quills and parchment. And finally, behind Twilight, on the far side of the room stood the door.

But as grand as it might seem, the room around her had lost its awe-inducing power on her long ago. Instead, her gaze focused on the open book in front of her, though her eyes only ran idly across the page. It may have appeared she was reading to the casual observer, but her thoughts dwelled on more pressing matters, particularly what her mother had said to her that morning. The discussion had brought their recent activities to the forefront in her mind, for which Twilight was thankful she was laying down on a rug in the chambers Princess Celestia set aside for their studies. It made a certain telltale sign a bit easier to conceal.

Originally, she had felt some unease sleeping with her own mother. In the back of her mind she felt like a monster, taking advantage of her mother’s pain and abusing her sympathy, but she came to realize that wasn’t the case. Twilight was helping her mother cope and her mother was comforting her in return. Certainly, it had been awkward at first. She had trouble looking her mom in the face on a normal day without thinking of her with her mouth slack and her eyes rolled upwards in ecstasy. But, she managed to deal with it. Seeing her mother in that light was a bit disturbing, but it didn’t hurt their relationship. If anything, they had grown more affectionate than ever. She felt closer and closer to her mom every day. A few nights without sex wouldn’t change that.

Twilight’s mind lingered on that thought for a moment. Her mother’s soft, pliable haunches popped into her head. For a moment, she could feel the warm flesh against her hooves mixed with the silky sensation of her fur. She imagined Velvet’s lustful cries, begging her daughter to massage her haunches in that low, throaty voice that got her anything she asked for. Twilight felt a tingle surge through her hind quarters. She cleared her throat as her face flushed with heat.

Nervously, she laughed to herself just as the door opened. The sound of the handle turning and the subsequent squeal of the hinges pulled her from staring at the opened book in front of her. Inside walked Princess Celestia, towering with her impeccable posture and calming serenity.

“Good morning, Twilight Sparkle.” She cast a radiant smile down at her faithful student.

Twilight raised her neck up as straight as she could and returned the princess’s smile. Quickly, she pushed the thoughts of her mother to the back of her mind. She hoped Celestia wouldn’t notice the lingering heat in her face. “G-good morning, Princess.”

Celestia tilted her head quizzically as she approached Twilight. Her gaze fell upon the open book, and she frowned. “Twilight, didn’t we cover that topic last week?”

Twilight glanced down at the book and slammed it shut. She let out a nervous laugh before looking back up at Celestia. “J-just going over it again.”

Her hopes of throwing off Celestia’s suspicions fell flat when the princess raised an eyebrow, smile faltering. Twilight squirmed under the scrutiny; if the princess pushed for more information, she might learn that Twilight had been lost in thought, and if she learned that, then she might also want to know why. Would she be able to come up with an excuse? What if the princess didn’t believe her?

Celestia let her student sweat for a few more seconds, then closed her eyes, freeing Twilight from her torment. When the princess’s lids went back up, she stopped with a half-lidded gaze.

Daintily, she lowered herself down on the rug. “Well, since you seem to have last week’s lesson well in hoof, how about we take a small break from magic and talk about history, today?”

“Certainly.” Twilight took a deep breath to clear her head. Deflecting the princess always left her in a daze. “Though, if you don’t mind me asking, why the change of curriculum?”

Celestia’s lips curled into a sly smile, one that Twilight had seen before; it was a smile that told her Celestia knew everything that Twilight knew, and then a bit more of top of that. “You seem to be a tad distracted lately. I thought we might change our plans to let your brain put whatever is bothering you on the bookshelf, so to speak.” Her horn lit up, pulling a book from the shelf across the room over to the two of them. The soft cloth cover showed a picture of a griffon and a pony facing each other. “Though I’m not sure your distraction is the type to be solved by a change in lesson plans.”

Twilight blinked absently for a moment before looking up at her mentor. “What do you mean, Princess?”

“What, indeed,” Celestia said so only she could hear, accented with a small laugh. Her eyes met Twilight’s before giving a proper answer. “It’s nothing, Twilight. Let us focus on today’s lesson, the griffon concessions after the war with the pegasus tribe.”

Twilight’s quill hung still in her magical grip, hovering just above a mostly blank sheet of parchment. She scrunched her nose at the unassuming page. For some reason, she couldn’t wrap her mind around the essay Princess Celestia had assigned her. But Twilight knew the assignment wasn’t the cause of her duress. She sighed after a short while and glanced up at the clock. It had already been an hour since she sat down to start.

Homework was the farthest thing from her mind. Like earlier that day, she found her thoughts wandering. For whatever reason, her heart felt unsteady. It was almost as if she was standing on a cliff, teetering on the edge, staring down at the crashing waves while wondering when and how she had ever gotten there in the first place. Why did she feel like that? Why all of a sudden was she unable to focus her thoughts on things that were easy, things she enjoyed?

Velvet had been on her mind a lot lately. At home, at school, on the go—no matter where Twilight was, she would always find her mind veering towards what she and her mother had done, what they would do later, picturing them talking, reading, being close to one another. It was certainly a distraction at first, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Now, though, she felt like this. She felt scared.

Twilight looked back to her would-be essay. She remembered the princess earlier that day and how she had been acting strange as well. It was almost as if Celestia knew something that she wasn’t telling Twilight—something she expected Twilight to know, but wouldn’t say.

“Why are things getting so difficult all of a sudden?” she asked her empty bedroom, looking to the ceiling. “Just when I was getting a handle on these abandonment issues—I was feeling safe—I’m starting to get scared again…” She paused, glancing to the side just long enough to snag a tissue with her magic. She brought it to her eye and dabbed away a forming teardrop. “It’s not that I’m scared she or my brother will die anymore, but it’s like I’m scared that I won’t be with them.” Twilight took a deep breath to calm her heart. She then tossed the tissue in the garbage. “Mom’s really helped me cope with your death, but why do I feel like this, Dad? Why do I feel so anxious now?”

There was no response. Her ears fell flat as her eyes drifted down. She didn’t expect an answer, but would have appreciated one nonetheless. Just as Twilight resigned herself back to her assignment, she heard the downstairs door open. Her ears immediately perked up and the weight in her chest was gone for a fleeting moment before it came crashing right back down on her. She turned her head towards her bedroom door, and then back to the paper in front of her.

“I should probably go see how her day was,” Twilight mumbled before standing up from her desk.

As she opened her bedroom door, the soft, melodic sound of someone humming came drifting from downstairs. She followed the sound down the steps and into the kitchen. Standing at the table was her mom with a bag of groceries.

At the sound of her daughter’s soft hoofsteps, Velvet glanced up. She flashed a smile at her daughter as she pulled a loaf of bread from the brown paper bag sitting on the table. "Hi, dear. How was school?"

"It was fine," Twilight replied, a tinge of uncertainty creeping into her voice. Tentatively, she stepped further into the kitchen, eyes darting around as she did so. "How was your day?"

"Good, surprisingly." Velvet’s smile widened. It was warm—pleased, in a sort of way that seemed disjointed from how they had parted that morning. "I went to place some flowers at your father’s grave for tomorrow."

Twilight nodded, though her mother had already returned her attention to the groceries.

"Just as I placed the flowers against his headstone, and when I felt like I was about to start crying, the clouds parted." She paused for a moment, taking a sharp breath. “It was then that a warm ray of sunlight touched my cheek, just like your father used to." Her hoof paused partway through lifting out a block of cheese. A bead of liquid grew in the corner of her eye as she stared past the paper bag. "For a second, it was almost like he was there with me again."

Without realizing, the corners of Twilight’s mouth tugged down. She fought to swallow for a second, trying to bury the frown that had forced its way onto her face.

"I spent an hour just sitting there with him. It was nice." Velvet turned back to Twilight, blinking away the tears forming in her eyes. "It was nice to visit…"

A dull ache had tugged persistently in Twilight’s chest from the second her mother started telling her this story, but just then, it yanked hard on her heart. For a moment, she thought she might throw up. Her shoulders jolted as she fought the urge, with a single thought resonating in her head. Why?

The jerking motion in her peripheral nabbed Velvet’s attention. She tilted her head, questioningly. "Something the matter?" She took a step towards Twilight, eyes growing wide with concern. "Don’t tell me it’s another fit. I shouldn’t have brought your father up, I’m sorry—"

Twilight shook her head. "No!" She cleared her throat, despite not needing to. "I just swallowed wrong is all." Forcibly, she plastered an awkward grin on her face, but her kinked eyebrows didn’t sell her facade.

Velvet raised an eyebrow, taking another step towards Twilight as she did. Without any warning, she placed her front of her hoof against Twilight’s forehead. "You don’t feel warm," she muttered. "You sure you’re okay? You’re acting a bit strange." Her hoof moved from Twilight’s forehead down to caress her cheek, gently goading the younger mare into looking at her.

Reluctantly, Twilight complied. Their eyes met, but she still forced her emotions down, deep inside her. Her brow smoothed enough to make her mom give a small smile.

"If anything’s wrong, you can tell me."

Twilight shook her head. "I would if anything was." As the hoof fell away from her cheek, her head fell. Her mouth had started to open, words forming, but she cut herself off before uttering a single syllable. She had stopped herself from speaking the rest of what came to mind, realizing it was inappropriate, but still put it into words in her head. "I don’t have a reason to hide anything after what we’ve been through."

Velvet tilted her head to the side, eyes scanning her face. She paused for a second, as if anticipating more from Twilight, but the younger mare stood silent. After a moment, Velvet cleared her throat and turned her attention towards her groceries. "W-well, I’ll make dinner soon. I’ll call you when it’s ready, okay?"

Twilight gave a weak nod before turning and shuffling out of the kitchen with her head hanging low. Velvet furrowed her brow as she watched Twilight leave. "Something’s with that girl," she muttered to herself.

Suddenly, she realized where her eyes had fallen—directly on her daughter’s backside. Twilight’s cutie mark shifted as her muscles moved. Her tail swished instinctively once, giving Velvet a view of her slip and supple balls before disappearing once more. The older mare blushed and quickly turned her attention back to the nearly empty grocery bag.

She was left with the mental image of her daughter walking away, unintentionally flashing her. The image soon was superimposed over an image of her husband’s rear end in her mind. After visiting her Night Light’s grave, she now found her daughter’s ass stuck in her head, juxtaposed with her late husband’s.

Velvet bit her lower lip. As much as she didn’t want to focus on it, she found it difficult to push Twilight’s ass from her thoughts. The slight, subconscious feminine sway, her soft cheeks, her slit. She felt her stomach lurch at the fact that the sight intoxicated her so.

But, just below, captured perfectly in her image was he younger mare’s heavy sack. That part thrust their recent activities back into the forefront of her mind. The way they hung perfectly framed by her hind legs actually reminded Velvet of her husband, but not in a way that invoked sexual feelings. It was the resemblance rather than calling upon memories of nights past. Her eyes closed in a vain attempt to get the thought of her daughter’s balls out of her head.

Unfortunately for her, it only grew more vivid. Twilight’s swollen testes, swaying with her hips, almost hypnotically. Velvet blushed and kinked her eyebrows.

"What’s wrong with me?"

Twilight let out a soft sigh as she stared down into the book before her. In the background, she heard the melodic voice of her teacher droning on about something that—unfortunately—was probably rather interesting to her. But, she couldn’t focus, and not for the same reason as before. Whatever the feeling that assaulted her senses yesterday hadn’t left.

Twilight knew she wasn’t sick. She still had an appetite, wasn’t sluggish, and her mind was certainly still active despite the gross, sticky sensation that clung to her skin and throat. She felt, whatever it was, pulling down on her gut until she wanted to vomit and hopefully feel better. But, alas, it never came. Whatever this was, she hated it. It was like her heart was being ripped in two all while she drowned slowly in a pit of tar.

Twilight scrunched her nose and looked to the window, despite being in the middle of a lecture. "Ever since mom came home yesterday," she muttered under her breath.

“And why, exactly, do you say that?” a gentle voice asked from just behind her ear. A subsequent twitch and Twilight jolting back away from the source confirmed the suspicions that Celestia was the cause.

Immediately, Twilight straightened her back, and perked up. Slowly, a sense of dread crept up her spine. She hadn’t even noticed the princess stepping behind her, let alone stopping her lesson. "P-Princess!"

"I didn’t mean to startle you,” Princess Celestia said as she daintily strode next to Twilight. “You seemed a bit out of sorts during our lesson."

"I-it’s nothing. I just forgot myself."

"It seems like there’s a lot of ‘nothing’ on your mind as of late, Twilight." She took a seat next to her student. Close, but still a comfortable distance away. Twilight shrank down, trying to make herself as small as possible. Her face felt like it was on fire, and all she wanted to do was bury her head under her forelegs. "I don’t enjoy prying into my students’ personal affairs, but your concentration has been suffering from all of this nothing."

Celestia extended a majestic, ivory-colored wing like an umbrella, lowering it softly so the downy feathers just barely caressed Twilight’s fur. At the comforting touch, Twilight felt some of the tension slide away. Some.

"I’ve been giving you some liberty with your homework and studies for the past few months,” Celestia went on, “but something tells me your recent troubles are entirely new."

Twilight gave a loud gulp. "I’m just—" She paused. Through the many years of their relationship as mentor and student, Celestia had always seen through her. She might chalk it up to experience or wisdom, but Twilight was practically an open book as far as Celestia was concerned. She could always tell what Twilight was really feeling, if not necessarily the particular details, but this wasn’t something she wanted the princess to see. This disgusting feeling she was too ashamed of to let it be found out.

Yet, Twilight knew she needed advice. She needed to deal with this sickening sensation sitting inside her. It wasn’t exactly easy to ask for help though, especially from her teacher of all ponies. But, it was only getting worse. If anyone knew how to help, it would be Celestia. That very wisdom that saw right through Twilight was also her best hope for salvation. So, she took a deep breath. "I’ve been having some…issues."

Celestia leaned forward, a smile teasing her lips. "What sort of issues?"

"Well, I…" Twilight dry-swallowed. "I guess you could say I feel…odd.” She chewed on her lips as she stared out the window in front of her. When she finally stopped chewing on her lips, she said, “It’s like my heart is trying to leap out of my chest—"

A small laugh from Celestia stopped Twilight mid sentence. Her ears twitched as she managed to catch the princess raising a hoof to cover her mouth. "Forgive me," Celestia said, the linger of her laughter still inside her voice. “I don’t mean to make light of this, but I’ve seen this sort of thing countless times.”

"You have?" Twilight looked up at Celestia, hope filling her eyes.

Celestia couldn’t hold in the smirk any longer. It finally broke free. "Love is a strange thing, my dear Twilight," she replied with a hint of teasing in her tone. “It’s perfectly natural for a mare your age to be interested in a young stallion.” Celestia’s eyes closed slightly.

Immediately the hope Twilight welling up in Twilight’s breast withered. Her ears fell flatter than a sheet of paper. “I—” She stumbled over her words for a bit before finally managing to squeak out a single, hoarse word. “Love?”

Celestia’s eyes widened upon seeing Twilight’s reaction. The teasing grin that had worked so hard to break free vanished in an instant. Once the small shock cleared however, her smile returned, though more gentle. She tightened her grip around Twilight, pulling her in closer. “Oh, you poor dear. You didn’t even realize?”

“Realize?” Twilight still had that look of dread on her face.

“Of course,” Celestia said. “The distant looks, the constant distractions, the listless sighs—I’ve been around long enough to tell when somepony’s in love, Twilight.”

Twilight’s gaze drifted slowly down to Celestia’s mouth, vaguely catching her lips moving but not quite registering her words. It all faded to white noise. Her focus continued to fall down to Celestia’s neck, then her regalia, her chest, and finally down to the floor. She stopped there, her eyes locked on where Celestia’s foreleg met the carpet.

The world around Twilight faded into obscurity. Her own heartbeat drowned out the sounds of the world in her ears, and her eyes trembled as she stared down into nothing. It hadn’t occurred to her, the reason why she felt the way she had. She simply assumed it was just a coincidence or a symptom of her separation anxiety. It wasn’t even in the realm of possibility for her, so she didn’t think of it. Why would she? How could she? While studying, while in class, on the way home, at lunch, even in her dreams—the reason why she had been thinking about her mom so often had been sitting there in front of her face the whole time. Yet, here it was, catching her completely off guard. Goosebumps ran up her spine, making her shiver sporadically.

It also explained this disgusting feeling drowning her now. It started when she found out where her mom had been the night before. She was visiting her father’s grave, and it had left Twilight feeling disgusted. She was jealous. She was jealous that her mother was visiting her dead father. Jealous that her mom was still in love with another. For an instant, Twilight almost felt like she was going to throw up. She lurched forward, just barely managing to keep her stomach in check. “Oh, what have I done…”

“Twilight?” Celestia’s voice cut through the pounding in her ears. Twilight looked around, her vision slowly coming back into focus, despite the quivering. She realized that she was still in the castle, still in the office, still with Celestia’s wing around her. She looked up to see a very concerned princess leaning over her. “Are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine!” Twilight managed to spit out after another dry-swallow. “I’m perfectly fine!”

Celestia raised a concerned eyebrow. “You don’t look fine.”

“I am! I was just caught off guard is all.” Twilight’s face flushed red. "I wasn’t expecting you to…uh…" It was now sinking in to whom she was speaking to about love. Not just about love—something already embarrassing to a mare her age—but about a love that shouldn’t ever happen in the first place. And one that certainly can’t be known.

She saw Celestia’s face relax. “That’s a relief.” As she breathed a sigh of relief, her smile returned. "So, about the young colt?"

Twilight’s body froze.

The jerk from Twilight’s muscles all tightening at once resonated through Celestia’s feathers. "Oh…" She was taken back slightly. "Maybe I was being presumptuous." She let out a slight nervous laugh. "It’s fairly common these days, I’ve heard."

"I-I’d rather not talk about it." Twilight’s face felt like it would ignite any moment from the heat in her cheeks. Shame and embarrassment consumed her. All she wanted to do was disappear.

Celestia nodded. There was a brief silence before she spoke again. "Love is an awkward subject. However, with your concentration slipping lately, I was concerned. I simply wanted to make sure you were feeling alright."

"I am…" Twilight said. Nausea had settled in at the back of her throat. What she had originally hoped would be a fruitful conversation only left her feeling even more leaden than before. Now, on top of it the confusion, nausea, and anxiety, she had to live with guilt, shame, and disgust. “I’ll try to focus more, Princess.”

She had managed to hold true to that much, at least for the rest of the day. As soon as she left the castle, however, Twilight’s mind and body betrayed her. The walk home was an eventful one between the panic attacks, near uncontrollable urge to cry, and pit stop to empty the contents of her stomach in a bush. The images of ponies staring at her as she walked past hung in the back of her mind, but that was the least of her concerns.

As soon as the front door closed behind her, Twilight called out for her mom, but no answer came forth. She didn’t know what was stronger between the disappointment and the relief, but at least, her heart let up on its relentless pounding inside her chest just a little bit. She climbed the stairs and immediately went to her bedroom. After she closed the door behind her, her strength gave out. She collapsed onto her back haunches and leaned against the door, trembling.

“What is wrong with me?” she yelled.

Tears made it look as though she was underwater, drowning in a roiling hot ocean, miles below the surface with the crushing weight above her. But just as she looked up, the veil of water broke, leaving a scalding stream running down her cheek. Her jaw clenched and she pinched her eyes closed as hard as she could. “She’s your mother!” With a loud thud, she slammed her head back against the door. “She’s the woman who gave birth to you, raised you, cared for you!” She hit her head again, forcing a dull pain to shoot through her skull all the way to the tip of her horn. “You’re disgusting!” Despite her best efforts, the tears continued to flow, cutting furrows in her coat.

“You said you’d take care of her,” she said between clenched teeth. “How could you be so stupid to fall in love with your own mother…”

Her jaw went slack, and she sucked in a lungful of air. After a few fast, uncontrolled breaths, Twilight managed to open her eyes. The room was blurred, but at least it didn’t seem as suffocating. She could only make out the glare from the light of her window amidst the sea of color.

“You promised him…” Twilight managed to pull her composure enough to swallow some saliva for her dry throat. “How could you betray him like that? You weren’t supposed to fall in love with her.” She shook her head, rolling the back of her skull against the door. “Like I had a choice. She ended up taking care of me more than I did her. I’m so worthless.”

“Twilight?” a voice called from downstairs. Her eyes shot open and her whole body froze. Immediately she recognized it—her mom. “Are you home?”

Twilight frantically wiped at her face to hide the evidence. “I’m upstairs!” she replied, trying carefully to keep any indication she had been crying out of her tone. Of all the times to come home, Velvet had to pick now. Twilight sat there against the door, mentally preparing herself. She breathed slow, reigning in her emotions once more.

But, just as her heart had begun to slow its breakneck pace, she heard the clip-clop of hooves coming up the stairs. She nearly choked on the air in her throat at the sound. Her whole body tightened with each approaching step until they came to a stop outside her door. She gulped again, terrified that if she said a word she would break into tears again.

"Are you okay?" she finally heard from the other side.

Twilight inhaled a shaky breath. Slowly she pulled herself forward, onto unsteady legs. After a moment, she stood, taking a step away from the door. "Yeah."

A glow soon appeared on the handle. The hum of magic hit her ears, causing a chill to creep up her spine. She turned around and forced a smile on her face just in time for Velvet to open the door. "H-hi."

As soon as Velvet’s eyes fell on her, Twilight knew that the ruse was over, be it mother’s instinct or just Velvet’s ability to read her after all these years, There wasn’t any doubt that Velvet knew. Without even a pause, she walked up to Twilight and pulled her in for a hug. "What happened?"

"N-nothing!" Twilight replied, much louder than she meant to.

Velvet pulled back from Twilight, fixing her with a stern gaze. She scanned the younger mare’s bloodshot eyes, her still damp fur on her face, and even took note of her quick, shallow breaths.

"Who was it?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

Seeing that look in her mother’s eyes made Twilight’s heart fluttered even as it throbbed painfully. She kicked herself for the former and tried to ignore the latter. "Nopony. I just… felt sad." She couldn’t muster the courage to say why.

“Oh.” Velvet’s expression softened. She pulled Twilight to her chest again. "I know. I’ve been trying not to cry myself."

Though her mother was speaking, Twilight’s thoughts weren’t focusing on what was being said. Each breath she took was filled with her mother’s sweet scent, a mixture of lavender and chamomile. The scent mixed delightfully with her body heat, evoking a nostalgic calm in her. At the same time, her heart danced, reveling in the wonderful embrace of the mare she loved.

She barely kept her body from locking up. Part of her fought to pull away in disgust over these feelings surfacing while another desperately wanted to act upon them.

"It’s still so hard to believe it’s his birthday…" Velvet said.

Twilight snapped back to reality. "Of all days," she thought as another pit formed in her stomach. At the very least, she could keep this unnatural attraction to herself; as good as she was at seeing through Twilight’s attempts to disguise her true feelings, Velvet couldn’t read minds. That was the one thing Twilight could take some sort of solace in.

"I miss him too, Dear." Velvet rubbed her cheek into Twilight’s mane before loosening her grip. "How about we go see him before dinner?"

For a moment, it almost felt like Twilight’s heart was going to fall right out of her chest. But, she managed to swallow the pain. After a deep breath, inhaling the guilty pleasure of her mother’s smell, she nodded.

“Okay.”

She had been quiet. Through the walk to see her father’s grave, through the visit and the subsequent walk home, and even through dinner, she had been quiet. Twilight simply couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her mother’s questions were answered with nods or shakes of her head. Even when she stood in front of her late father’s grave, no words came. All she felt was the crushing guilt as she stared at the still-pristine headstone. Guilt from how she had failed her father, failed her mother, and even failed herself.

The mattress shifted beneath her, snapping her back to reality. Vaguely, she recalled climbing the stairs and getting into bed—her mother’s bed. The entire evening blurred together in her memory, passing in a single, agonizingly slow instant. All she wanted to do was go to sleep, and perhaps these disgusting feelings would disappear. But as she closed her eyes, she sincerely doubted that.

Soon, she felt a hoof touch her shoulder, and slowly trail down her foreleg. A tingle ran up her spine from the subtle touch against her fur. Twilight pinched her eyes closed and swallowed.

“Not tonight,” she thought as her mother’s warmth pressed against her back. The gentle caress of her breath against Twilight’s neck made her shiver slightly.

A hoof traced a line from Twilight’s foreleg down around her barrel, pulling her into a hug. “I know we agreed we wouldn’t, but I think you could use some stress relief tonight,” Velvet whispered into Twilight’s ear.

“N-no, I’m fine,” Twilight replied.

“No you’re not.” Velvet’s tone was gentle, but firm. “I know something’s wrong, Twilight. I’ve known you for your whole life. I can tell when something’s bothering you. And I know it’s not just because it was his birthday today.”

Twilight inhaled sharply. “I-I’m just—”

“Hush now.” Velvet’s hoof slid down to find Twilight’s cock already stiff. “At least some part of you can be honest.” The short, bristly fur just above the frog of her hoof rubbed along the length causing the member to twitch in response. Velvet rubbed her muzzle into Twilight’s neck. “Even if you won't tell me, I think I know how to help you.”

Twilight cursed her body for betraying her. This wasn’t right. Deep inside, she feared she couldn’t separate herself anymore. Distance had made this easy at first, but now that she knew what these feelings were, that was out the window. If she let herself do this, she couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to stop. It scared her more than anything, that she wouldn’t be able to snap herself out of this infatuation with her own mother. Her heart was pounding at the thought. Their already twisted relationship would only get more messed up if she didn’t put a stop to it.

But, that wasn’t so easy. A surge of pleasure running through her caused Twilight to open her eyes. “M-Mom,” she whimpered. Her body knew what she wanted. As soon as her mom had touched her, she felt the blood surging through her member, stiffening it to its full length.

“Today I thought of him so much,” Velvet whispered. “I don’t know what’s bothering you, but let's forget the pain for now. What do you say?”

That was all it took. A request from the mare she had promised herself—and her deceased father—she would devote herself to. She would make her happy as best as she could, no matter what. Her mom needed her. Even at the cost of her own feelings, Twilight knew what she had to do.

She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, trying to bury the self-disgust for a moment. “Do it for her. It’s just like always. This doesn’t mean anything. It’s just sex. You can do it, Twilight.” She opened her eyes again, and then reluctantly, she nodded.

Velvet smiled. “Just let me take care of everything. And whatever else is bothering you, forget about it for now,” she whispered into her daughter’s ear. She pulled the blanket off them with her magic. Twilight rolled onto her back as Velvet lifted a leg over her to straddle her daughter. A wiff of the mare’s arousal hit Twilight’s nose surging more life into her already painfully erect cock.

She continued to smile down at Twilight, a sympathetic, weak smile. “Are you really sure?” she asked.

It almost wasn’t fair. Twilight grit her teeth. Every ounce of sense she had told to quit now, but other parts wanted to scream at Velvet to get on with it. Her heart pounded relentlessly, anxious to feel her mother’s embrace once more, and her dick was still rock hard, pleading for attention with small spasms. Despite knowing what she should do, despite knowing this was even more wrong now than it ever had been before, her chest fluttered. She had a chance to get out of this. But, her heart won out. "I want to…"

Velvet leaned down and pressed her forehead to Twilight’s. "Thanks, sweetie."

Her rump raised slowly, letting Twilight’s member slip past her tail and nestle itself between her plush cheeks. Searing heat and moist lips pressed against the base of her member. She pushed back into her daughter’s painfully erect cock, rubbing her ass long the length. With a small hump, Twilight had managed to wedge herself between her crevice. Velvet’s ass rose steadily as she squeezed Twilight with her muscles. Once she was at the top of her cock, Velvet released her grip, causing Twilight to exhale sharply.

She moved her hips back, placing her sopping slit just above her daughter’s cock. Small dribbles of her arousal trickled down onto the flat head; every drip sent a throb of agonizing pleasure through Twilight’s sensitive shaft causing her to throb.

Velvet took Twilight’s meek form in. She lay there, under her, patiently. Her forelegs stayed firmly planted at her side, unwilling to move, a position she often took as Velvet rode her. Tonight was different though. She looked Twilight in the eyes. While her face was uncertain, the desire in the young mare’s eyes was apparent. It wasn’t just want for relief—she sensed more, almost as though there was something caged up behind her daughter’s otherwise innocent expression. She couldn’t say exactly what, but on some level it made her happy. It was almost as if that need in Twilight’s eyes validated something inside her—something familiar.

But there were more pressing matters. Literally, as she felt her daughter’s throbbing cockhead pressed against her folds. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, Velvet instead focused on the task at hoof. After all, she had a needy little mare to please.

She smiled and lowered her hips. Twilight’s head supported her weight for the barest of instants until it finally sank slowly inside. As Velvet descended upon her daughter’s length, hot, slick juices leaked out ahead of her, easing the journey down the plentiful rod. Each beat of Twilight’s racing heart caused her member to throb inside Velvet, rippling pleasure through her. Finally, her hips met Twilight’s.

The young mare tried her best not to squirm or start humping away. But, it was nigh impossible to resist the temptations of nirvana wrapped around her dick. The gentle contractions around her begged for her to give in and take the mare on top of her, but she didn’t. She weakly looked up to her mom, seeing the mare’s pleased look and closed eyes. She was simply savoring the cock inside her before continuing.

With a sigh, Velvet moved. Slow, steady strokes as she rode her daughter’s cock. The delightful bliss of sexual stimulation took hold, scratching the primal itch inside her. “She’s such a good girl. Always taking care of me, even when I’m being selfish.” Velvet soon let her mind fade into fantasy, focusing on the pleasure building.

Twilight struggled as it went on. As wonderful as it felt to be once again hilting herself inside her mother, she also hurt. Her chest ached knowing what this was—that the mare she loved was simply using her as a dildo while fantasizing about her father. While physically it was bliss, she only felt regret for bringing this pain onto herself. Regret that she would only ever be a toy, regret that she couldn’t share her feelings, regret that those feelings could never be returned.

As she stared up at her mom, her vision started to grow blurry. She watched as the mare bounced on her length, bracing herself against the bed with one hoof and another on her own chest. When she blinked, she felt the water building in her eyes. She pinched them closed, hoping to stop the tears from building anymore.

“Twilight,” she heard muttered. Velvet squeezed Twilight’s length as she sped up her movements.

Twilight’s eyes popped open to see her mom rocking back and forth on her lap. She still had hers closed, completely enthralled in her fantasy. She panted and had even moved her hoof from Twilight’s chest to daintily cover her mouth. She was close. Twilight tried to open her mouth to respond, but stopped when she heard her name murmured again.

“Twilight,” Velvet groaned, voice raspy.

Suddenly the dam broke. All the pain and frustration she had been keeping inside since she left school screamed to be let out, and here was the perfect opportunity to make it happen. Her mom was fantasizing about her. She was thinking about her instead of her father.

Velvet’s pussy tightened. A deep, lust-filled moan escaped her lips and came to a stop with Twilight hilted inside. She threw her head back, completely absorbed in the moment of bliss. It was then that Twilight couldn’t stop herself. Without even thinking, she sat up, almost knocking her mother back, but catching her as she wrapped her forelegs around her. She squeezed her tight, causing Velvet to open her eyes mid orgasm.

Twilight’s mind went blank. For a moment, she thought she had climaxed herself, but it wasn’t the same. Her body was completely numb but for a surging sense of joy flooding through her entire being.

Velvet managed to glance down despite her body still tingling. She only saw Twilight’s mane melding into her chest. The hot breath of her daughter flooded her fur. With her free hoof, she petted Twilight’s mane. “What?”

Her world was suddenly flipped. She went tumbling down into the sheets as Twilight swung her onto the bed, her cock still deep inside her. Before she was even able to respond, the warmth of her daughter’s breath against her chest vanished. Soon, her shoulders were pinned onto the bed. Twilight was over her, panting like mad. Her eyes were bloodshot, the fur on her cheeks soaked. She had been crying.

“Twilight, what’s the matter?” She tried to lean up to comfort Twilight, but the young mare’s body weight kept her in place.

Twilight didn’t respond to her question. Instead, she only shifted more of her weight onto her forelegs. Velvet sank deeper into the mattress, even hissing from the pressure of the hooves against her skin. She met Twilight’s gaze, questioningly, but only found her to be staring at her, panting, barely containing herself. “Mom…” Twilight muttered.

Fear climbed up Velvet’s spine. “Twilight?” Suddenly, her body shuddered. Twilight pulled her dick nearly out of Velvet’s still sensitive sex. She hissed again from the surprising withdrawal. “Y-you’re scaring me, dear.”

Twilight shook her head as she licked her lips. Without warning, she slammed her length back inside with all her might. The bed shook from the force, and Velvet yelped. A sensation so strong she couldn’t tell if it was pleasure or pain racked her body as her daughter’s thick cock filled her in an instant.

Without any mercy, Twilight rammed herself deep into her mother’s defenseless slit over and over and over again with vigorous, deep, hard strokes. The bed creaked with each thrust, the sound of furry flesh slapping echoed off the walls, and the labored panting from both mares filled the air. Twilight hadn’t ever had control before when they had sex, but now she was completely in charge. She was finally able to show Velvet how much she cared.

At some point, the sensation solidified for Velvet. No longer between pleasure and pain, she knew now that this was utter ecstasy. Never before had she made love like this, not even with Night Light. Twilight was ruthless in her thrusting, slamming into her with full force until she couldn’t be pushed any further into the bed only to pull out and ram her again and again. Each thrust sent tidal waves through Velvet unlike anything she had felt before.

“I should’ve let her be on top before.” Velvet’s tongue lolled out of her mouth. On some level, she knew she shouldn’t have pushed Twilight into this, but between the pounding and how much Twilight was enjoying this, at least the young mare was finally able to relieve whatever was bothering her.

Suddenly Twilight collapsed on her. Her forelegs slipped from Velvet’s shoulders onto the bed. She felt the steaming hot breath of Twilight’s pants caressing her ears. Her thrusts were shallow now, barely pulling out. Velvet knew what was coming. She bit her lip in anticipation as her own body came closer and closer with Twilight. Just as she tipped over the edge, she felt Twilight bury herself in as deep as she could. Only a moment later, a warmth flooded her depths. She let out a low, pleased groan. Her forelegs instinctively reached around Twilight and squeezed her as she was filled with her daughter’s seed.

The two lay breathless for a moment. Velvet still felt Twilight’s cock pulsing, dribbling out the last of its load.

“That was certainly something…” She ran her hoof along Twilight’s back, stopping towards her rump. All she got in response was a grunt as Twilight gave a short thrust inside her again. Her senses cried out somewhere between agony and bliss. Suddenly Twilight started moving again, rocking her hips back and forth inside Velvet. Somehow, her dick managed to stay hard, ready for another round. Only Twilight’s soft, pained moaning with each thrust suggested that she was even close to finished.

Velvet found herself once more pressed into the mattress, this time held down by her daughter’s entire body rather than just her hooves.

“T-Twilight, stop! I need a moment!” she pleaded, but it only fell on deaf ears. Twilight buried the tip of her muzzle in her mom’s shoulder, moaning into her fur with each thrust.

Both were lost in a sea of excruciating pleasure. Their hyper-sensitive bodies screamed in protest, but Twilight either wouldn’t stop, or she couldn’t stop. Her hips continued to thrust, forcing her cock deep inside her mom’s cum-drenched confines. All Velvet could do was hold on, wrapping her hind legs around the younger mare’s back as she humped.

Her thrusts were shallow and less forceful this time. Velvet even felt that Twilight’s dick wasn’t as hard inside her. Her heart fluttered as she pushed her nose into her daughter’s mane. She let out a weak cry muffled by Twilight’s hair.

Suddenly, Twilight hilted inside her again. Velvet inhaled sharply as another burst of warmth flooded inside her. She moaned weakly as the gooey heat caused a small surge of ecstasy through her, almost like a miniature orgasm. Her head fell back onto the bed, too exhausted to even hold herself up anymore.

“Twilight…” she muttered.

A pulse in Twilight’s shaft stiffened it for just a moment, but almost instantly it began to go limp. Finally, Twilight pulled it out. She pulled back away from her mother, a desperate look on her face. “No! Stay hard! Don’t go soft now!”

Weakly, Velvet raised her hoof to Twilight’s foreleg. “Twilight, stop. What’s gotten into you?” she asked as her eyebrows furrowed.

Twilight looked up. Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears that were just now leaking down her cheeks, her jaw firmly clenched shut, and the desperation barely contained behind her gaze. Her nostrils flared out with each panicked exhale. “B-but…”

Velvet managed to lean forward enough, bracing herself with her free foreleg. She moved her hoof from Twilight’s shoulder to her cheek, catching one of the droplets rolling over her fur. “It’s okay. Just tell me what’s wrong.”

“You—” Twilight sniffled, cutting herself off. “You said my name.”

It took Velvet a moment to process what she said. She tilted her head to the side. “What?”

“You said my name. You said my name instead of Dad’s during.”

Velvet’s eyes widened. Slowly, she leaned back. Her gaze broke from Twilight, instead staring down, past what was in her field of view. “I…What?”

Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her mom, tackling her backwards onto the bed. “You said my name.” She rubbed her cheek into her mom’s chest, smearing the wetness on her cheeks into her fur. “Mom, I love you,” she blurted out. It didn’t even register what she was saying—she didn’t care. All she knew was her chest didn’t hurt for the first time in days.

Velvet shook her head, bringing herself back to reality. She put her hoof on Twilight’s head, idly stroking her mane. “I love you too.”

Twilight pulled her head up, shaking it. “No! I love you.”

Slowly, the meaning sank in. Velvet’s eyes widened with the realization of what Twilight was actually saying. For a moment, her heart stopped in her chest. Now it made sense. Why Twilight had been so distracted the past few days, why she was crying today, why she took control during sex. It wasn’t bullying—the poor thing was lovesick.

Meanwhile, more tears had started to leak down Twilight’s face. "I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, but it just—" Her voice grew louder.

"No," Velvet said, cutting her daughter off. It took all her might to bring her gaze to meet Twilight’s. She was on the verge of hysterics. Just below the surface, all these emotions were about to burst out like a flood, and if that happened, she wouldn’t be able to communicate with her. Velvet placed her hoof on Twilight’s cheek once more. She put a smile on her face and softly caressed her. "It’s not your fault."

“But, I—” Velvet silenced her by placing her hoof over her mouth. Without even having to be told, Twilight took a deep breath. As she held it inside, she pushed her mom’s hoof out of the way and exhaled slowly. She paused to swallow. “I shouldn’t feel this way. I shouldn’t love my mom like this.” Her tone was more controlled, but it still sounded like it was about to explode.

Velvet’s smile shifted into a frown. “Sex complicates things,” she said softly. “I can’t say I haven’t been…” She sucked air in between her teeth as she struggled for the right word. “Indulging with this, myself. It started off as some stress relief, but lately it’s been different. I’ve been asking you to do it because I enjoy it.”

Twilight nodded. “Me too.”

“I can understand your feelings, Twilight.” Velvet closed her eyes. As she thought about their nights together, her heart fluttered. Even more, she realized that Twilight wasn’t just her daughter anymore—at least, she saw her as more. They did almost everything together. She was a great companion with whom Velvet was sharing her life. Slowly, her thoughts returned to that look she saw in Twilight’s eyes before they began. The validation she felt from her daughter’s gaze was indeed familiar. She had felt it from her husband when he was still alive. It was a recognition of the same feelings she felt. She felt the love in Night Light’s eyes when he looked at her, and now she felt that in Twilight.

If Twilight was being honest, Velvet knew she had to be as well. Both with herself and with her daughter. “Why do you have to take after me in all the wrong places?” She opened her eyes, staring deep into Twilight’s. The younger mare stared back at her, confused. “I love you too,” she said softly.

She watched as Twilight’s jaw fell slack. “Y-you…know what I mean, right?”

Velvet nodded.

“Mom!” Twilight tackled her again, only for a shorter distance. She squeezed her mom tightly. “B-but…” She sniffled, holding back the urge to burst into tears. “What about Dad? Isn’t this…like, cheating?”

Velvet furrowed her brow. “It’s complicated, I guess. I still love your father—very much. No pony could ever replace him.” She paused, to take a deep breath. Her heart slowed a bit and she wrapped her forelegs around Twilight. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t love you too, Twilight.”

The younger mare sniffled again. The room fell silent for a short while as they simply lay there in each other’s embrace. But even though she managed to say her feelings, and even though they were reciprocated, she still felt uneasy. Their relationship, as much as she tried to prevent it, had changed. “What even are we anymore?” Her voice grew soft, barely above a whisper. “Can we even still be called a family?”

“You’re still my daughter.” Velvet buried her muzzle in Twilight’s mane. “But now you’re just a bit more. It’s the same for you, isn’t it?”

Twilight sat silent. She took a deep breath, feeling her heart finally slowing down for what felt like the first time that day. “I guess it is.”

“Your place in my heart has just expanded a little,” Velvet replied.

There was a small pause. “It’s still not right though…” Twilight muttered as her eyelids grew heavy. “A parent and child shouldn’t feel like this towards one another.”

“Not much about what we do is right anymore.” She kissed Twilight on the head. “But I think we’ve both accepted that.”

“I suppose.” Twilight closed her eyes. Now that her heart and mind had a chance to slow down, she realized she was completely exhausted. “Good night, mom.”

“Good night, dear.” Velvet replied, softly. Her hoof fell on her stomach, gently rubbing her almost swollen belly as her daughter’s lust seeped from her sex.

Author's Note

After an incredibly long delay, I spent some time dabbling in the fine art of necromancy to resurrect this fic from the dead.

So, for those who thought it was abandoned, it wasn't. Just on a ~~little~~ long break while I finished some other stories. I now return you to your regularly scheduled incest.

Editing for this chapter provided by: Pegasus Mesa

Regret

Whom I Hold Dear

Chapter 4: Regret

Velvet stared at the simple white stick. The inside of her stomach felt like it was on fire. She tried to keep calm by pacing, but she could only do so much to hold off the desperate anxiety. As the clock ticked in the otherwise silent bathroom, her thoughts whirled faster and faster. She wanted to think it impossible, but still, she had to be sure. After all, the symptoms hadn’t gone away. Worse still, they were terrifyingly familiar. The sudden nausea, the fatigue, the lightheadedness, she had felt it all before—twice before. But this—this was different.

This was worse.

She stared at the small object held aloft in her magic, agonizingly waiting for it to change while hoping that it wouldn’t. Finally, the moment of truth arrived. The stick’s color began to change, and her heart sank. Two thin red lines appeared, faint at first but growing sharper over the next few seconds. Slowly, a shake started in her hoof. It trailed its way up her foreleg and into her chest until her entire body trembled. She fell to her haunches.

“Deep breaths,” she thought distantly, but her lungs refused to obey. No sooner had she sucked in a mouthful of air than her chest convulsed, forcing it right back out. Her body didn’t want to accept this any more than she did and was rebelling in the only way it knew how.

With a choked sob, she whipped the pregnancy test at the wall. It ricocheted off, missing the garbage can entirely, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was the damn thing out of her sight.

“How did I let this happen?” she asked the empty room, but if she expected a response she was disappointed by the silence. All she could do was sit there, alone, shaking as her already strained life crumbled around her. When she was pregnant with Shining, it was a shock, but she was still happy to have him. And when she found out about Twilight, she was immediately filled with joy. But this time she couldn’t be happy. If it had been with Night Light, she would have celebrated. She would have burst out to tell him the wonderful news. Too bad this wasn’t Night Light; this was Twilight. Her daughter. Her own flesh and blood. If news got out, it would destroy their family, not to mention the burden placed on the poor foal carried to term.

"This is a dream.” She wanted to believe herself, prayed that she would wake up next to her daughter to find that these past few days had been a nightmare.

A glance in the mirror, however, told her everything she needed to know. The mare staring back at her had puffy eyes and a messy mane. She could see the trails made by tears flowing down her cheeks. No, this was real. This was what she had been dealing with for almost a week, and now her suspicions were confirmed. As much as it shouldn’t be happening, it was.

"Damn it!" Normally, cursing left a sour taste in her mouth, but the word felt good to say.

Just as she gathered the courage to swear again, a soft knock came from the door. Her heart came screeching to a halt mid-beat, which was odd considering that her hooves wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how hard she tried.

"Yes?" she managed to choke out. Whoever stood out there, she hadn’t heard them come. How long had they been out there? How much had they heard?

"You weren’t downstairs when I came home,” came her daughter’s voice, sweet and innocent. It would be a shame to ruin that blissful naivete. “Are you okay? Or are you still feeling sick?"

Velvet’s stomach lurched. A mare Twilight’s age, father to an inbred foal. She already suffered through teasing, both for her condition and her status as Princess Celestia’s personal student, but that would be nothing compared to what would come. This foal would ruin any chance she had at a normal life.

Velvet took a slow, deep breath to rein in her emotions once more. "Y-yes." Her voice shook, so she coughed softly before continuing. "I think it’s done now, though."

"Are you sure?" In spite of the situation, a faint smile ghosted across Velvet’s muzzle. It was as if the ever-persistent Twilight sensed her mother’s unease. Maybe she could.

"Yes. I’ll be out soon, sweetie." Twilight didn’t say anything, and Velvet had just begun to wonder if she needed to assure Twilight further when she heard hoofsteps moving away from the door. She breathed a sigh of relief, but no sooner had she done so than her heart started racing again.

Again, she glanced into the bathroom mirror. Her shaking was so bad she could see it, even with her wavering vision. Tremors ran from her hooves to her shoulders. Inside her reflection’s face terror and worry screamed from just below the surface.

"For Celestia’s sake, keep it together,” she mumbled. “You have to. For Twilight."

Mentioning that name sent a sharp pang through her chest. The poor, innocent mare waiting downstairs—she deserved to know. As badly as this news would hurt, Velvet had to tell her. She had decisions to make, and Twilight should be a part of those. That meant Velvet had to seem strong, even if it was a lie.

Moments later she stood at the top of the stairs, staring down what seemed like a mountainside. Never before had that flight seemed so long—or dangerous, she realized. She eyed the steep incline; how easy it would be to make this entire thing go away. Just one small slip, one tumble even partway down the stairs could solve her problem so discreetly. All she had to do was—

Velvet gasped and shook her head. She was ashamed she had even considered that, even for a moment. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and then proceeded downstairs. Each step was a chore unto itself. She felt as though her hooves were made of lead, just another layer of discomfort on top of all the rest. Even worse than that, as she neared the end of the flight, she felt her throat tighten. The noose drew taught, trying to haul her back upstairs. Her hoof hovered just above the wooden floor at the end, shaking.

"Down!" she ordered herself. Her hoof planted on the floor loudly. The fears lurking in the depths of her mind loosened the rope, allowing her to breathe freely, and she planted all four of her hooves on the ground floor of her home. Though she had overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacle represented by the daunting climb downstairs, the heaviness in her legs, and the choking sensation, it was soon replaced by a sinking pain in her chest.

She sighed, unable to keep her back from slumping and her ears from falling flat. Heavy hooves carried forward to the living room. Painstakingly, she shuffled along the wooden floor, leaving scuff marks all the way. Ghostly echoes of time past when she scolded her children for not picking up their hooves as they walked resonated, but she ignored the foggy cry of her memory. After all, what was a scuffed floor? A blemish that could be fixed with enough time and effort. She could handle a few tiny scuffs.

As she reached the corner to the living room, she tried to pick herself up, but her shoulders carried boulders. Luckily, her eyes weren’t held down by those boulders. She locked onto Twilight, innocently humming as she lay on her back on the loveseat, hooves lazily stuck in the air. A book hung open above her, suspended by a simple spell. The way her eyes widened every time she turned a page tugged at Velvet’s heart, like a foal seeing the world for the first time.

Velvet opened her mouth to speak, but her throat seized up. Sticky, thick words clung at the base of her tongue, almost to the point she might have actually choked on them. She swallowed them down as she stood there, without Twilight so much as raising an ear to acknowledge her. Again she opened her mouth again, but much to the same result. Defeated, she closed her jaw and lumbered over to the couch adjacent to the loveseat. With the grace of a sack of potatoes, she tossed herself onto the cushions.

The thud of her mother’s body hitting the couch cushions finally managed to snap Twilight’s attention from her book. She gasped before looking around the room. The air in the once cozy living room was almost tangibly heavier than a moment ago. When she noticed her mom laying next to her with a foreleg over her eyes, she sat up. "What’s the matter?"

Velvet’s jaw clenched. That was the question she didn’t want to answer. She pressed her foreleg down onto her eye, feeling the pressure on her skull and the pain in her leg from her skull pushing back. "Nothing," she spat out on instinct.

Only the buzz of deadly silence filled the air. She peeked around her foreleg to see Twilight giving her a perplexed look, one she had seen many times, and not just from her daughter. Night Light would give the same pensive look as he examined something. She let out a sigh and she sat up. "Don’t look at me like that."

Twilight blinked. "Like what?"

"Like I’m a puzzle."

"I’m not." Twilight lifted a hoof in defense.

Velvet, wanted to stay angry, but this wasn’t her daughter’s fault—at least, not just her fault. She groaned and closed her eyes. "I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to snap; I’m a little on edge."

"Maybe you should go to the doctor," Twilight said.

Velvet cringed. The mere notion of going to a doctor right then made her blood run cold. What if she ordered a blood test? How would she explain the unexpected little surprise? A vise gripped her heart just thinking about it. "N-no, I don’t need to see a doctor."

Twilight leaned forward, almost till she was on the edge of her seat. "If you’re not feeling well, especially after a whole week, you should go see the doctor. Nopony’s sick for a week straight with a stomach bug, Mom. something could be wrong."

Again, Velvet cringed. There was something wrong. Something was seriously wrong. She desperately wanted to tell Twilight, but couldn’t. Even just thinking about saying anything made her stomach churn again. No, this wasn’t the type of wrong a mere physician would fix with a pill or spell. Her heart fought the vise grip around it, thumping against its bindings harder and harder. "There’s nothing wrong."

Twilight’s brow furrowed. "You should still go."

"Twilight, enough." She pinched her eyes shut as her heart raced ever faster, trying to snap the vise.

The young mare tilted her head to the side slightly. "Why don't you go just to be sure?"

"Because I know what’s wrong!" she snapped. Her eyes opened, immediately fixating on Twilight with a white-hot intensity. Her nostrils flared with each breath, and her lips twisted into a stone-cold scowl.

The slack-jawed Twilight simply stared back, looking much like a filly caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. The buzz of deafening silence quickly engulfed the room as Velvet continued to glare at her. After a moment, her eyes relaxed, but still she kept her gaze firmly fixed on her daughter. Under that look, Twilight shrank back into the cushion.

Velvet pinched her eyes closed again and collapsed back into the couch cushion. Her whole body felt like it was made of lead. On top of the nausea and heart-pounding, she was graced with self-disgust now too.

“I’m sorry, dear…” she muttered with a quivering voice. Just as she clenched her jaw, a trickle ran down her cheek. Soon the air felt frigid as a wetness spread across her fur.

“Mom?” The soft voice of Twilight came from right beside her. Velvet opened up her eyes. A blurred purple mass stood next to her, leaning close. “What’s wrong?”

Velvet wiped her eyes clear, finding her daughter’s worrying face hovering over her. She put on a smile as she sat up. “Twilight,” she almost choked. She had to tell Twilight. This wasn’t something she could bear alone. No, she had already resolved to tell her. Velvet swallowed. “The reason I’m feeling sick is because—” She paused, taking a slow, deep breath “—I’m pregnant.”

A long moment passed in utter silence, during which Twilight’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. Velvet searched her eyes, looking for a sign that she was still in there. Only the occasional blinks and ear-twitches told her Twilight hadn’t just passed out while standing up. After a moment, it was as if the lights turned back on, and her eyes sprang to life. She blinked rapidly before shaking her head. “What?” she asked, rather calmly by Velvet’s estimation. “B-but, Dad’s been gone for—”

Velvet placed her hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twilight,” she said firmly. “I need you to stay calm.”

“Calm?” Twilight’s voice cracked as a contorted grin spread on her face. Staring into her eyes, Velvet practically heard the terrified screams inside them. A subtle spasm of her lower eyelid came—a telltale sign she was on the verge of a panic attack. "Calm! I’m calm! Totally calm!"

"Come here," Velvet whispered with a practiced comfort in her tone. She pulled Twilight in with her magic for a hug.

"M-Mom, why are you—"

Velvet shushed her and affectionately caressed Twilight’s mane. "Take a deep breath."

The younger mare did as she was told. She wrapped her shaking forelegs around Velvet, squeezing back.

"Let’s take this slow. Neither of us want to have a breakdown." Velvet rubbed her cheek into the top of Twilight’s mane as she held her.

Twilight simply nodded back. After a quick tough squeeze, she pulled away.

She wasn’t perfectly fine by any stretch. Just looking at her, each breath was shaky, and her foreleg trembled. Her mind was clearly racing behind her frozen expression, but she wasn’t completely panicking. Velvet put on a smile, at least hoping that would comfort her. Maybe it would even help her feel a bit better as well.

"So, pregnant…" Twilight’s eyes stayed firmly glued to her mom’s chest, almost as if she was scared moving them would ruin the slight stability she had managed to muster.

Velvet tightened her throat and inhaled sharply. "Yeah."

"And it’s—" She cut herself off, inhaling sharply. "It’s—" Again she stopped. She let out a quivering breath. Her forelegs almost gave out on her, but Twilight managed to catch herself. Just then, her eyes locked onto her mom’s.

Velvet nodded.

Twilight’s hind legs collapsed, and she fell back on her haunches. "But how?" Her eyes fell to the floor. She stared for a brief moment before shaking her head. “I mean—” She dry-swallowed “—my doctor said I’m sterile, didn’t she?”

The emotions running through the younger mare were clear to Velvet. Just looking into her eyes, she saw each one bubble to the surface in the simmering pot that was her mind. Anger, confusion, disgust, fear—each caused the slightest shift in Twilight’s eyes that other ponies might not have even noticed.

“The results of your fertility test a few years ago were… complicated,” Velvet said. “It might’ve gone over your head at the time—you had a lot on your mind that day.” She took a deep breath, trying to keep her voice calm and reassuring. “But, when she told us the results, she said you were effectively sterile.” She bit her lip, finding it hard to force the words out, despite knowing what she needed to say. “Your body produces—” She cleared her throat “—very few viable sperm, is what she said. Not none, but not many. Which was surprising since most ponies in your situation don’t produce any at all.”

Twilight stared past her mom. Velvet could see the gears working behind the scenes, the subtle shifts as she struggled to remember the conversation. When Twilight’s gaze snapped to her own, she gave a small nod. “I guess I do remember.” She inhaled sharply, and closed her eyes. For a moment, she was silent. “She said something like only one out of twenty-five-thousand were viable.” Twilight looked back to her mother. “The odds of a successful insemination at that rate would be highly unlikely, bordering on practically impossible.”

Velvet started to smile, but stopped. While Twilight getting distracted by the science was always an entertaining sight, she couldn’t bring herself it enjoy it. The corners of her mouth had invisible weights that tugged down hard as soon as she tried to feel happy. “And it seems one of those found its mark,” she said somberly.

“But, what are we going to do about it?” Twilight jumped onto all fours and took a step forward. Her voice was loud, shaking as she spoke.

“I don’t know yet, Twilight.” Velvet raised a calming hoof, but Twilight pushed it out of the way with her magic as she took another step.

“I-I mean, scientifically speaking, the odds of inbreeding aren’t that high.” She leaned in, almost nose-to-nose with her mom. “We’ll be okay, right? The foal—it could be normal.”

As Velvet stared into Twilight’s eyes, she could see the silent pleading. Her irises quivered, longing for some answer that she didn’t have. Finally, she shook her head. “I don’t have an answer, Twilight. I’m still trying to get a handle on this myself.”

What little hope Twilight had in her eyes faded like a candle at the end of its wick. Slowly, she sank back down onto her haunches. Her eyes fell flat and her gaze dropped down to the floor. “But…”

“I just need some time to think.”

“Then why tell me at all?” Twilight glared at her. In the corners of her eyes, tears started to bud. “What was the point?”

The words sliced through Velvet’s heart. “Because I couldn’t keep it to myself,“ she muttered. Her ears lay flat against her head and her shoulders drooped. “I thought you deserved to know, but I—I can’t be alone on this.”

Twilight’s glare vanished in an instant. Without even thinking, she lunged at her mom, wrapping her forelegs around her body as soon as she was in reach. She squeezed her tightly, almost like she would vanish if Twilight let go. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it! I—”

“No,” Velvet cut her off. “You have every right to be mad. I should have made you use protection.” She slowly placed her hooves on Twilight’s back, squeezing in response.

She pinched her eyes closed and grit her teeth. “Don’t blame yourself. I didn’t even think to use it either.”

“I was the adult here. I should have known better.” Velvet patted Twilight on the back. “For now, I’ll think of something to fix this. Don’t worry. I just need some time.”

The grip around Velvet tightened. “You don’t have to do this on your own! I’ll do something—anything!” Twilight pulled back. She had been practically screaming, but Velvet didn’t begrudge her. The poor thing was in hysterics.

The sentiment was enough to put a weak smile on Velvet’s face, despite the invisible weights. She closed her eyes and pulled Twilight in for a hug. The warmth of her daughter’s body against her own was a somewhat comfort. It might not have made her feel completely at ease, but it was a start. She rested her head against Twilight’s and rubbed her cheek into the younger mare’s mane.

“Mom?”

“Yes?” Velvet raised an ear.

“With all of this, what are we going to do about Shining’s visit in a few days?”

As soon as that question hit her ear, Velvet’s heart came to a screeching halt. This time, it didn’t seem to start back up after a few seconds. She struggled to breath, and soon, she felt lightheaded. The world went dark around her. Next thing she felt was a bump to the head, and then nothing.

Twilight stared down at her mom’s still body as she lay on the couch. At first it had been a terrifying sight—one that played out in slow motion as Velvet abruptly tumbled sideways, slamming her head on the armrest behind her. But after checking to see if she was breathing, and there wasn’t any trauma, Twilight brought a damp, cool washcloth and placed it on her mother’s forehead.

Now, she simply found herself staring at the incapacitated mare. Her own thoughts buzzed, thick and suffocating like her head was stuffed with cicadas. Each breath was a chore, as if she forgot how to breathe every time. So many questions; so few answers. She placed a hoof on her forehead, and pressed hard. “Why did I have to bring up Shining?”

Her mother clearly hadn’t internalized this news yet, and Twilight was already jumping ahead. No, they had to slow down and think this through. More pressing questions needed answering before even thinking of how and when and where they planned to tell Shining. After all, telling him wasn’t just informing him about a new addition to the family. It meant telling him about their relationship—everything they had done together would be out in the open. Twilight’s whole body shivered. Glares, shouting, tears—it all surged to the forefront of her mind in an instant, making her stomach almost empty itself right there.

“We need to decide first.” She swallowed, then sucked in a lungful of sweet, cool air. “On a few things.”

A groan from Velvet snapped Twilight back to the real world. She watched attentively as her mom’s eyes fluttered open. Her foreleg moved to her forehead, and her gaze was unfocused. "What happened?"

"You passed out," Twilight stated plainly.

Velvet spent a long moment in silence before trying to sit up. Twilight’s horn sparked, holding her down with her magic. "Don’t get up, yet."

"I’m fine, Twilight."

Her mom pushed back, but she didn’t have the strength to fight against the spell. Twilight continued pressing her into the couch with her magic until Velvet finally sighed in resignation.

“Stubborn doesn’t suit you,” she muttered under her breath.

The room fell silent while the two simply rested there, but deep inside, Twilight knew it couldn’t last. There was too much to discuss—too much to figure out. They had to start soon while they still had the chance.

"Mom?" Twilight’s heart was racing. Anticipation for the big question—more important than the rest—looming on her mind.

"What is it?" Velvet replied weakly. She turned her head, dropping the wet rag from her forehead; it hit the ground with a wet slap. Her eyes sagged, clearly from the past few sleepless night. It almost wasn’t fair to bring it up in her state, but it couldn’t wait.

"Now that you told me, I guess we should talk about the real issue.” Twilight trailed her eyes down to the floor. In the corner of her vision, she could see her legs shaking. She inhaled sharply, almost gagging out the words. “D-do we keep it?" The quivering words seemed to fall flat in the air, which hung heavily between the two mares. Twilight couldn’t stop the shaking in her voice or her hoof. It was the only outlet she had for the anxiety. But, she had managed to ask; that was something, at least.

Velvet’s eyes widened for a moment, but within instants her lids drooped back down. “I don’t know…” she replied, sharing Twilight’s tone.

Twilight locked eyes with her mother. “Well, what other options do we have?” she said, voice rising as she spoke.

“I don’t know!” Velvet, again, matched Twilight’s volume, but her tone was firm. She stared into her daughter’s eyes for a second, causing Twilight to shrink down under the gaze. “I don’t have an answer for you. I just found out I’ve got my daughter’s foal inside me when I was upstairs. I haven’t had time to decide what we should do about it yet.” Her eyes pinched closed. A small tear drop started for form, slowly trickling down her muzzle.

Twilight ran her hoof down the opposite foreleg. “I-I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

“I wish I had answers for you.” Velvet glanced up, eyes bloodshot and watery.

Twilight sucked in a rattling breath. “Are we going to tell Shining when he comes home?”

“I don’t want to.” Velvet groaned at the thought; she flopped back and covered her eyes with a foreleg. “But if we don’t, we’re going to have to eventually.”

“He won’t take it well.”

Velvet couldn’t help but snort. “Would you if you were in his position?”

“No,” Twilight said after a moment’s thought. “No, I—probably not.”

Velvet peeked out from behind her foreleg to see Twilight sitting in a slump—her head was low, ears flat, posture a mess. She patted the cushion, pulling the younger mare’s attention from the floor. “Come up here, dear.”

Twilight rose to her legs and climbed on the couch with her mom. She nuzzled into her neck for what little comfort the physical connection could provide.

“Shining will be upset.” Velvet cringed inwardly, but made sure the reaction didn’t seep into her voice. “I raised him—I know how angry he can get—but he’s not what I’m worried about. You’re Princess Celestia’s personal student—not even out of school. We can’t let this ruin that for you.”

“But what about you?” Twilight said, looking up into her mother’s eyes. “I don’t want anypony saying bad things about you, either!”

Velvet pressed the side of her muzzle into Twilight’s mane. “It’s alright, sweetie. I’ll be alright. I’m a nopony who’s already put her life together. But you—you have a future to worry about.”

Silence fell over the two mares. Both simply let the situation sink in, but the lofty weight wouldn’t settle easily. Twilight’s heart and mind felt crushed under the severity; she broke the silence once more. “I don’t know if I’m ready for this.”

“I know, sweetie, but we have time. Let’s just try to get a grasp on it for now.”

Twilight quietly sipped from a cup of tea as her eyes bounced between the other two ponies sitting with her in the livingroom. On the couch adjacent sat her mother and brother, both also holding cups in their magic. The soft ticking of the clock was the only noise in the otherwise still and silent house. Her chest felt like a battered drum from the thumping of her poor heart. Each second was agonizing torture spent dreading the subject that had plagued her for days. When her mother glanced over Twilight immediately averted her gaze, instead focusing on the floor.

Finally, Shining cleared his throat and broke the silence. “That was a good dinner, Mom. Much better than what they feed us at the barracks.” He chuckled, but cut off almost right away when neither his mother or sister joined in.

Both simply sat quiet, emotionless, until Velvet finally jumped in her seat. She let out a barking laugh. “Yes, thank you! So, did you enjoy your dinner?”

Shining lifted an eyebrow. “Uh, did I miss something?” he asked, shifting his eyes between Twilight and his mother once more.

Twilight peeled her eyes from the floor. She inhaled sharply and took a sip of her tea.

“W-well,” Velvet began in a timid voice, “there was something, but—”

“No, there’s nothing!” Twilight blurted out after swallowing. “We’ve been great here. School’s great, work’s great, everything’s great, great, great!” A wide smile grew on her face as she spoke, her tone rising, culminating in a nearly hysterical laugh at the end. Her hoof was starting to shake, though luckily her tea cup was held in her magic. Twilight’s gaze moved from her brother to her mother, and then back again.

Shining stared at her for a moment, eyes focused on her twitching ear. “Great, huh?” he asked before taking a sip of his tea.

Velvet turned to face Shining. “What your sister means to say—” She glanced back to Twilight, irritation oozing from her words “—is that we have something important to tell you.”

“No, I didn’t mean to say anything!” Twilight interjected, slipping towards the edge of the couch.

With a deep breath, Velvet closed her eyes. When she exhaled, she had a deadpan expression. “Twilight, stop.” The words were soft, but the demand for obedience was clear.

Twilight sank back into the couch. Her hysterical smile had completely vanished, and she brought her shaking hooves up to cover her mouth. After a moment, and despite Velvet no longer looking in her direction, she gave a small nod.

Shining furrowed his brow when he saw Twilight’s reaction. He set down his cup on the table next to him and turned to face his mother. "Mom. What’s going on?"

"Shining, would you be upset if I was with somepony?" Velvet asked. The confident tone she had used on Twilight was gone, replaced by one laced with quavering uncertainty.

“With somepony?” He scratched his chin roughly, a sign of agitation that Velvet remembered him developing as a colt. "Are you serious? It hasn’t even been a year since dad passed, and you’re already dating somepony else?"

"It’s not like that," Velvet said, though she struggled to keep her eyes on Shining. As Twilight watched, she knew that her mother fought the same anxiety that she did;, it astounded her that Velvet was able to cope with it so well. Undoubtedly, she wanted to bury herself in a hole and hide out of sight, but she still managed to hold her ground without faltering. Twilight glanced at her own trembling limbs and grimaced.

"What do you mean?” Shining said. “Like, hypothetically then?” Some of the tension in his shoulder slumped away. “Is that seriously why you two are acting so weird?"

Velvet’s eyes shifted to Twilight. "It’s not a hypothetical." As she stared at her her daughter, she bit her lower lip. She wanted something, Twilight knew that much, but she was already paralyzed with fear herself. "Maybe I should just say it instead of easing into this." She turned her head back towards Shining, then added in a whisper, "After all, there really doesn’t seem to be a way to ease in."

"Okay,” Shining said, eyes narrowing, “what are you two hiding?"

"Shining, your sister and I have developed a close relationship since your father passed."

The softly spoken words struck Twilight’s ears like hammer-blows. For a long moment she squeezed her eyes shut, but after a moment passed without a peep from either her mother or brother, she dared peek out. She immediately wished she hadn’t.

Shining’s gaze bounced from Velvet to Twilight, shifting back and forth between confusion and fury. Twilight knew he wasn’t so stupid to let that loaded explanation slide; as soon as he recovered he would ask further, and then they would have to explain things. Shining certainly wouldn’t just let this go. The way he kept furrowing his brow and shifting his attention between the two of them, she could see he was searching for another interpretation.

At long last, his forelegs crossed over each other. "Alright,” he said, “I’ll bite. What do you mean?" He took a deep breath. Just as Velvet opened her mouth however, he spoke up. "Because it sounds like you mean to say you two are actually having sex. So, tell me this is some messed up joke, please."

"It’s not," Twilight squeaked out. She pressed herself deep into the cushion behind her. Her hooves covered her mouth, shaking visibly as she tried to hide herself.

"Shining," Velvet began. "Our relationship has become…complicated.” She took a rattling breath. “Very complicated."

Twilight watched, heart racing. She could already hear the coming storm. Yet Shining only sat silent. His gaze drifted down to the floor, brow kneading and jaw falling slack the whole way.

"You two are…" A sudden chill shook his shoulder, making him shudder. "Okay, seriously, it’s not funny. If this is some sort of sick joke, you two can stop."

"I know it’s hard to accept—" Velvet started.

"Accept?" he thundered. "I can’t even comprehend this—this—this!" He motioned frantically at both mares. "My sister and my mother? What do you expect me to even do with this?"

"I know it’s hard, and we’re aware how—" Velvet stared at Twilight for a moment. When their eyes met, Twilight immediately sensed Velvet’s struggle to put her thoughts into words. "—odd this is. But what we have works."

Shining's peal of laughter sounded almost hysterical. "Works? You two are family, and you think this works? She’s your daughter!" He flung a hoof in Twilight’s direction. After a short pause he shot a look at Twilight, somewhere in the crossroads of confused, hurt, angry, and delusional. Twilight found herself focusing on his piercing small pupils as they set their sights on her. The intensity froze her heart mid-beat. "And she’s your mother! Why the hell would you two think this is okay?"

"Shining Armor. Stop it!" Velvet snapped in the way only a mother could, but Shining pushed forward.

"I should stop?" He pounded his chest. The empty thud echoed in the small room. He stared at Velvet, eyes blazing and mouth slightly agape. His pupils still were still small, revealing the red veins emerging in the white around them, and making Twilight’s spine crawl.

Velvet took a breath. "Listen. It’s a shock, I know, but we’ve had this relationship for months. We’re already aware how unorthodox it is—how wrong it might appear—but your sister and I are happy like this." She looked to Twilight once more. Her eyes radiated that same motherly concern that had helped her these past few months. It immediately slowed Twilight’s pounding heart. She gave a nod as a small smile worked its way on her face. "It’s not going to be easy to accept, but I won’t be berated by my son for my choices."

Shining slammed his hoof onto the couch cushion, scowling at the soft thud. "This isn’t like a hairstyle, Mom!"

She shot a firm glare at him. Through her youth Twilight had seen that look often—usually aimed at her brother like it was now, and his inner colt must have sensed danger in that look, because he immediately stopped his protest. As he sank down into his seat, Velvet said, "I don’t expect you to accept or understand, but you need to at least know.”

“Just let us be happy, Shiny," Twilight pleaded. Her brother looked in her direction. The piercing gaze that terrified her moments ago was gone. Now his eyes were glassy, lifeless.

"Why are you two even telling me this? You think I’m happier knowing my mom and sister are—are—are—" He swallowed the lump in his throat "—romantically involved?" Suddenly, he lurched forward. A clear shudder wreaked havoc on his body for a short while before he quelled the shivers.

"We had to tell you because that’s not the biggest part," Twilight replied softly. A steady tremor started in her hoof again, shaking all the way up the foreleg and into her chest. Without thinking about it, she glanced at Velvet. Every ounce of sense she had told her to keep quiet, but they had come too far. Despite the dread creeping up her spine, sending tremors through her limbs, Twilight sat as still as she could.

Velvet nodded, mostly to herself—probably a gesture meant to steady herself—before opening her mouth. "Shining, you know about Twilight’s condition?" Her voice took on a raspy, dry quality. "Well, despite that, it would seem that…” She trailed off. After a second, she sucked air into her lungs and spat out the end of her sentence. “I’m pregnant."

“Pregnant?” Shining’s face twisted in confusion for a second, then took on a wide-eyed expression as what his mother said sank in. He shook his head sharply. "No way. No. No, you can’t be serious."

Velvet nodded. "It’s hers," she added, barely above a whisper.

Silence draped over the room. Twilight and Velvet stared at Shining, watching—waiting for him to do something. He pressed a hoof to each temple and continued shaking his head. "No," he repeated.

Velvet reached a hoof out to him. "Shining—" She was cut off by a violet shrug of his shoulders.

He jumped off the couch. Anger, disgust, confusion, and hurt all battled it out for control over his expression. Finally, his jaw clenched tightly, and he whipped around so his back was facing the two mares. Without saying a word or even glancing back, he stormed out of the living room. The heavy stomps of his hooves shook the floor and walls, to the point that Twilight felt the tremors in the couch she was sitting on.

"Where are you going?" Velvet called out as she took a step after him.

"Out," was the only reply she got before the slam of the front door echoed through the house. In its wake the deafening roar of complete silence fell upon Twilight and her mother.

A few agonizingly long moments passed, and Velvet sighed. "That went about as well as I expected," she muttered.

Twilight moved her still quivering hooves away from her mouth, placing them against her chest. "Stop shaking," she ordered them, but they didn’t obey. Even when she pressed them hard into her chest, they kept shaking.

"Are you okay?" Twilight glanced up to see Velvet standing over her, eyes warm and loving. The quivering came to a stop, and Twilight’s heart finally started to slow its frantic pace.

"I’m fine," she replied. "But I’m worried about Shining."

"He’ll come back." Velvet turned her eyes to the empty doorway Shining had stormed out through moments before. "He just needs some time."

Twilight followed her mother’s gaze. "Time for what?"

"That’s up to him," Velvet replied as she threw herself onto the couch, body going limp, and sinking into the cushion. Her eyes fell closed and she let out another long sigh. Slowly, she lifted an eyelid to glance at her daughter. “Honestly, it’s really up to him.”

Images continued to flash in her mind as Twilight lay in bed. Shining’s harsh reaction, the ensuing shouting, the controlled fear in her mother’s eyes—she could see it clearly, as if the scene played out in front of her once more. Just thinking about it caused her heartbeats to accelerate and her body to tremble once again. The tingle of fear trailed up her spine for what felt like the millionth time that day.

“Why am I so worried?”

Twilight turned her head. Velvet slept next to her, but not peacefully, if the older mare’s frequent tossing and turning was any indication. Even without that, though, her face told it all, even in the dark of the bedroom. Pained expression mixed with quick, shallow breaths. The sight stabbed Twilight right in the heart.

“Shining never did come home. And she’s been dealing with all this for longer than I have.” Twilight rolled over onto her side and brought a hoof to her mother’s cheek. “I just wish there was something I could do to take it all away,” she whispered.

Suddenly, Twilight’s ear swiveled around. The sound of a door opening in the still of the night—specifically the heavier front door—rang through the otherwise quiet house. She rose from the pillow, looking towards the bedroom door. Uneven thumps came from downstairs. She glanced back at the still slumbering Velvet, who hadn’t reacted to the noise.

Twilight climbed out of bed. Using her magic, she insulated the hinges of the bedroom door to keep them from squeaking while she pulled the handle open. As she snuck out, she glanced back to ensure her mother hadn’t woken up, then made her way down the hallway, and down the stairs. About halfway down, a grimace twisted her expression as she ran snout-first into a wall of stench that she recognized as alcohol. Her heart sank at the realization.

“Shining?” she called in an undertone, but the only response was a groan. She rounded the banister, and there he was, leaning against the hallway wall.

"Shining?" she asked again.

"I don’t really want to talk, Twily," Shining said in a slur. He pushed off the wall, and started towards the living room.

“Wait,” she said, hustling down the last few steps. "Are you drunk?"

"I wish," he retorted. His head whipped around, showing heavy, bloodshot eyes that shone eerily in the pale white moonlight that splashed across his face. "Some drunk knocked his bottle on me. I barely had three beers."

Twilight stopped short a few steps away. "So where were you, then? Mom was worried sick when you didn’t come home."

"I was out walking, trying to wrap my head around—" He flung his hoof wildly at her “—whatever this is."

Twilight’s ears drooped. "I get that it’s hard to—"

"Just shut up,” he snapped. “Stop saying that!"

She recoiled for a moment, but then something snapped. Where she had retreated before, she found footing, forcing her back straight. "You think it was easy for me?” Her voice grew harsh and bitter. “Did you even think what I went through when I realized I was in love with my mother?" Twilight took a step forward, ears shifting back as her eyes narrowed. "You think you’re the only one unhappy about this? We’ve been dealing with it longer than you have, and we’ve felt a lot worse than you do!"

"You got our mom pregnant!"

Twilight stomped her forehoof. "That doesn’t change how we feel!"

Shining smacked a hoof against his forehead, dragging it down slowly. "What’re you two going to do? You can’t get married, have kids, be normal—nopony can know about this! You’re going to ruin both your lives because what?"

"Because Mom was all I had left after Dad died!" Twilight’s face felt like it was on fire. The heat in her cheeks bled over into pooling tears that blurred her vision. Every breath hissed through clenched teeth as she fought to control herself.

Shining stared at her. The glare he had been giving softened as he took a step back.

"With Dad dead, you off in who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what, Mom was all I had left! And she was the only thing I had that kept me from losing myself." Her breaths quivered as she exhaled. For a moment, she felt good, like a huge boulder that had been hanging around her neck was just cut loose.

As the tears rolled down her cheeks, her vision focused. She found Shining burying his gaze in the floor with his head hung low. "I know I wasn’t around after Dad died," he muttered. "I’ve been living with that every day, but does this sound like a healthy outlet for the pain?"

"It’s the way things have worked out between us," she replied. Her tone was soft, even quiet. In the heat of it, she had probably yelled. It was a miracle her mother wasn’t walking down the stairs. Twilight let out a sigh. "Don’t worry about us, Shining. We’re still a family."

He rolled his eyes while pulling his head up. "I am going to worry about you two. Nothing good can come from this. And I don’t want either of you to be hurt."

"I told you, we’re fine. Mom and I have never been closer. And—"

He swung his foreleg out, cutting her off. "It’s not about you two, it’s about how everypony else would react! Your future could be gone in a second, Twilight!"

"This is what we want!"

"You’re too young to know what you want!" he boomed.

Twilight shrunk down. Any resolve she had shrivelled up in an instant. For a second, instead of Shining Armor, it was her father looming over her in the moonlight. Shining’s voice radiated authority in a way she hadn’t felt since she was scolded a filly. She fell back on her haunches, almost dumbstruck.

Then Shining’s eyes widened. After a moment, he shook his head and turned his back on her.

"What am I saying?” he muttered. “I’m not Dad.” He glanced back at Twilight. “You’re old enough to make your own choices, and you’re old enough to live with them, too. So do what you want. I’m not going to be around for that—that—” He waved a hoof vaguely in his mother’s direction “—that thing, so who am I to tell you two what to do?"

With that, he walked into the living room, leaving Twilight sitting by herself in the moonlit hallway with only that horrible sinking sensation for company. She stared at the darkness in front of her, almost expecting something—anything—to happen. A voice, a form, a light—anything to distract her from the chain tightening around her heart. But the formless dark remained still.

She couldn’t tell how many minutes passed before she mustered the resolve to move—maybe just a few, maybe close to an hour. It didn’t particularly matter to her right at that moment. Shakily, she climbed back onto all fours. With her head hung low, she climbed the stairs. Twilight couldn’t bring herself to look at anything besides her hooves, almost like a rock had been tied to her neck. But as she neared the top, she saw a pair of pale hooves in the darkness. Weakly, she lifted her gaze to see Velvet standing there, waiting. Twilight’s chest tightened.

As she walked past her mother, one of the white forelegs shot out in front of her, cutting off her path. Before she could even react to it, it curled around her neck and pulled her into a crushing hug. Soon, she felt another foreleg around her, holding her tightly, and a cheek rubbing into her mane. A fresh stream of tears came to Twilight’s eyes.

"S-sorry," she muttered with a sniffle. As soft hooves rubbed her back, she let it all out. Velvet’s chest was soon soaked in her daughter’s tears, but she didn’t say a word. The best she could do was simply be there as Twilight sobbed into her shoulder.

By the time they shambled back to bed, the sun had already risen to peek over the horizon.

Twilight and Velvet both sat at the kitchen table across from one another. The sunlight poured in from the window above the sink, spilling across the tabletop. Both ponies had their eyes fixed on the single, daunting piece of paper that lied on top of the checkered table cloth.

Twilight’s eyes trembled. The sunlight made the letter illegible from her perspective, but she already knew what it said. The words written on it had been flashing through her head since she had read it. Her heart sunk lower in her chest just seeing it again.

"He’s never coming back, is he?"

Velvet blinked, expression blank before she realized what her daughter had said. "H-he just needs some time, Twilight."

"He told me last night he wouldn’t be here for this foal!" Twilight tugged at her mane, a nervous habit she thought she had gotten over years ago. "Why did I have to say those things last night?"

"He’s in the royal guard, Twilight." Velvet sighed, placing a hoof on the table. "He hasn’t been home since he joined. He needs time to come to terms with it."

Twilight slumped forward. "But he said—"

"His letter said he’s sorry it turned out like this, and that he needs some time to come to terms with this."

Twilight felt her mother’s eyes on her. Her heart stopped sinking under that gaze. She cracked her lids open, and peeked up from the table to see the tempered concern on her mother’s face. "But, last night…"

"He was drinking and it got heated." Velvet shook her head dismissively. "Have some faith in your brother. I’m sure someday Shining will come to terms with us—maybe even accept our situation."

"This isn’t fair. Now I have to worry about him and this foal." Twilight sniffled, and dropped her forehead onto the table.

"Speaking of, Twilight,” Velvet said, glancing away, “I think I’ve decided something.”

Twilight lifted her head onto her chin. "What?"

“Well.” The older mare gazed out the window overlooking their small garden. "I want to keep this foal."

Twilight’s eyes went wide. "What?" She sat up, ears perked. "You want to keep it? But what about—"

"We can say it’s your father’s." Velvet looked back at Twilight. Her eyes were bloodshot, and tears pooled in the corners. "I don’t think I could go through with another option. And with the odds stacked against this foal, it’s found a way." She placed her hoof on her stomach.

"But Dad’s been gone for months. If anyone does some basic math, they’ll realize it can’t be his."

"It’ll be easy to lie, Twilight. Like we’ve been doing to the world since we started this. I can just say Night Light had some sperm stored in a bank. Then no one will question it." She cracked a small, heart-felt smile.

"So then as far as the world’s concerned, it’ll be my brother or sister?"

"As far as the foal’s concerned too. This has to be a secret from her too. Kids can’t keep secrets."

An odd mixture of hurt and relief settled in Twilight’s gut. Relief that one mess had a solution, but an ache from thinking about the difficulties they would face over the coming years. It added so much more for Twilight to worry about. The foal wouldn’t be able to know the truth, and neither would anypony else—Shining had been right about that much, at least. They couldn’t tell anyone, and now that it was sinking in, Twilight had the slightest bit of regret. Her heart sank lower still as she imagined the horrible life she might have caused the foal, her mother, and herself. And even if her child turned out alright, she wouldn’t be able to express her true feelings towards it. Everything would have to be a secret. Even if this was the right thing to do—and she knew that it was—it didn’t make it hurt any less.

"Is that alright, Twilight?" Velvet asked.

Twilight shook her head for a moment, blinking absently. Her mother’s voice pulled her from her own little world. Their gazes met, and she saw fear in Velvet’s eyes. Twilight bit her lip and nodded.

"Yeah, whatever you want to do," she replied softly.

Velvet’s gaze fell down to the table. "This isn’t going to be easy, but it’s for the best."

"I know." Twilight’s eyes fell down as well. “I know,” she repeated softer.

Even if it was for the best, it left her feeling hollow inside. A life she had helped create—now tearing hers apart. It wasn’t fair. All she had wanted was for her mother to be happy. Whatever this relationship of theirs had become had brought some happiness out of the tragedy. But at the moment, she realized that she would be living with the consequences of that small kernel of happiness. A new life that she realized she wasn’t ready for, nor entirely sure she wanted. And now she would have to put on a smile, and resolve herself to caring for this foal—whether she was ready to or not—and for her mother—for the one she held most dearly in her life.

"Twilight? Are you okay?" Velvet asked, pulling Twilight’s gaze up again from where it had fallen. "You’ve been quiet for a while now."

"No," she said, without even realizing. It was barely above a whisper. “I’m scared.”

Velvet closed her eyes and nodded. “I know, dear. I am too. But we have each other to help through this.” When Velvet opened her eyes, she smiled. “You know I love you, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded as she swallowed the lump in her throat. “I love you too, Mom.” The words rang true in her mind; her mother did love her, and she loved her mother.

And that would have to be enough.

The End

Author's Note

And that's a wrap. Sorry for the long delays. This story just kinda got left behind for a while. Either from a lack of motivation or other stories just seeming more enticing at the time. Anyway, it's finished. I hope you all enjoyed the ride.