"Twilight, are you ready?" I asked, searching her eyes for the much needed motivation to confront the situation with.
Twilight took a deep breath and slowly released it, "yes, I'm ready... I think. No, wait— what if they don't even listen?"
"It's fine, we have to make sure they do. We have to show them how much we want this." I knelt beside Twilight and gave her a light hug. "Don't worry, we can do this."
Twilight and I both stood at the doorsteps leading towards my house in Manhattan. I wanted to introduce her to my family and show them the relationship I have with Twilight. The problems that stood in my way were the various reactions to different aspects about our relationship and Twilight's species. It was weird, yes, I am in love and am dating a magical pony from another land and have no plans of ever severing the bond that we have. My family should accept her despite the clear differences because it was very clear that we both loved each other.
Sometime ago, I was sent to Equestria by some magical force and was forced to interact with ponies for my survival. During my time there, I met Twilight and began spending time with her, of course, just as friends. However, both of us just suddenly realized that we started enjoying each other's company more and more until one day, Heart's and Hooves' day came and we simultaneously confessed to each other. We've been together ever since.
While digging for books in the Royal Library, Twilight found a way to send me back to my own world. At first, she was reluctant to let me go. She tried to convince me that Equestria was a much better place to live in than Earth. Of course, she did this mainly because she didn't want us to be separated. To solve the problem, I suggested that we go together to Earth and come back to Equestria once I say my farewells to my family and show her around my world this time.
When Twilight transported us to Earth, I quickly called my parents to give them assurance that I was okay. On the phone, I told them all about Equestria and the adventures that I had in there. I also told them about the different cultures and species of animals that lived on its lands. Everything that happened to me I said over the phone.
Everything except my relationship with Twilight.
My parents invited me back to the house to have dinner with them the moment I contacted them. They were excited to see their son once again and be able to see how much he's grown in the few months that he'd disappeared. Normally, I would have been extremely delighted to reunite with my family around the dinner table, but right now the situation is a little bit different. I don't know how they'll take my relationship with Twilight. The idea of having a son that is romantically attracted to an equine is just... unthinkable, especially for a bunch like them.
Nevertheless, it had to be done. I have to show them how much I'm willing to sacrifice for Twilight and how much I love her.
I ran my hand up her mane and whispered into her ears, "I love you Twilight."
Twilight's ears perked up as she blushed a little, she placed her muzzle beside my ear and whispered back, "I love you too." She broke off from the hug and gave me a small peck on the cheek before facing the door to my house.
Standing up, I walked over small steps to the door and gave the doorbell three light pushes.
"He's here!" I heard my mom's voice from the other side. It was followed by a couple of footsteps approaching the door and the sound of the doorknob being unlocked.
The white door opened to reveal my mom, who looked exactly like how she did the last time I saw her. Her complexion, hair color, and the kind smile that's always plastered to her face.
"Max! It really good to see you again honey!" She quickly seizes me in a tight hug. "You know, I was the first one to realize that you were missing because you left the propeller-thingy open all throughout the night. You would never do such a thing, especially when the thing with the long wire is closed."
...Right, I think she was referring to the generator and my circuit board. Typical mom, she never could get used to technology.
"It's good to see you again too mom," I hugged my mother back, "Oh, and by the way, this is Twilight, she's from the place I disappeared into and—"
"Oh a new pet? You know Max, this house doesn't have enough room to house one more mouth, even if it is an...animal. But since you're asking and since it seems like this horse here is magical, I guess we can make exceptions. She can stay in the basement." My mom said. I looked over my shoulder and saw Twilight wincing at the thought of being sent to the dark basement of the house.
"No, that's not what I meant—" I was cut off by another set of footsteps coming from inside the house. This time, the halls reverberated the heavy sounds that came running towards me.
"Max!" My father rushed towards me and gave me a very suffocating bear hug. The air in my lungs escaped as he seemed to grab my back with the intention of breaking my spine.
"Hey...dad," I tried to speak, but his grip just closed the pathway between my lungs and mouth.
My mom, seeing my trouble, placed her hands over my father's arms, "George, I think the boy has had enough of your 'punishment hug'."
"He better, hehehe, after suddenly disappearing like that and making us really worried, I think he deserved it." My dad smiled and finally let me go. "Let's go, we can't keep the food waiting forever right?"
My mother nods in agreement, "Yes, yes, we have roasted chicken and potato salad. And believe me when I say this, but they both look scrumptious. I was drooling the whole time I was cooking them."
Mom and dad went back inside, leaving the door open for me and Twilight. I looked back at her and saw her face looking down at the ground with her hooves fidgeting.
"This is going to be harder than we thought," I said, giving a small chuckle.
Twilight nods and gives me a small smile.
*****
At the dinner table, four chairs were laid out around a square table. In front of each of those chairs lay a plate with a spoon and a fork neatly placed on the sides. The four chairs were for each of the four members of the family: mom, dad, me, and my little sister, Kate. At the center of the table was a large chicken, obviously roasted and steaming hot from the over, and a potato salad which had a white ladle sticking out of it. My mom was a very organized person and disliked things that were "out of place." The only exceptions she'd made were my room and the basement, which she believed were "beyond saving."
I grabbed an extra chair and set it beside me for Twilight to sit on. It would be very rude to her if she was treated inferior to us. I also prepared an extra plate along with a spoon and fork and laid it out for Twilight. As I pulled one of the chairs for her to sit on, my mother suddenly speaks up.
"Max! what on earth are you doing?" she asked while pointing her finger at the chair I was motioning Twilight to sit on. "it would be very rude to share the table with a pet right? Even if it is a magical creature, who knows how dirty it is and where it's gone through."
Twilight looked down and started to get off the chair. It hurt me to see her in such a submissive state, she was swallowing up her pride to prevent conflict between her and my parents. Twilight was doing that for me, pretending to be a worthless "pet" so tension wouldn't build up in the family.
I couldn't live with myself if I allowed this misconception to progress any further.
I put my arm in front of Twilight to prevent her from getting off the chair and sighed. "Mom, Twilight's not my pet."
Returning my look with a stern gaze, my mother replied, "Is that so? Then whose pet is she? Your friend's?"
"She nobody's pet," I paused, I looked at everyone around the table with lingering eyes, "s-she's my girlfriend."
There, I laid out the bomb.
The only sound that followed was the clattering of metal and glass as my mom and dad unintentionally dropped their utensils out of shock. Their eyes went wide at my bold confession and looked at me like I was making the worst joke in the world.
My dad was the first to speak up, however, his childish expression had long disappeared from his face. What remained was very tight frown and a pair of furious eyes. "Son, listen very carefully now. I'm going to ask you to explain to me what you just said like I'm a four-year-old, but this time, do us all a favor and don't include the jokes. They aren't funny." The way he said the last part gave me the idea that he was giving me a second chance to take back what I just said and resume the normal "moment" we had. But that would mean Twilight would have to be disrespected over and over again.
I definitely can't have that.
I cleared my throat and gently laid down my spoon and fork, "mom, dad,—" I looked at my little sister, who was busy texting with her phone, "—Kate, Twilight's my—"
"Stop!" my dad shouted, "Max, I am giving you one last chance to—"
"Dad, no matter how many chances you give me, I'm still going to say that I love Twilight," I tried to explain to him.
My father stood up and banged the table with his large hands, "How could you love that...animal?!" He points at Twilight, "She's— or he's, I don't know, a fucking horse!"
The hairs all over my body stood up as my dad cursed. He was a kind and gentle man who would never approve of that kind of word usage, however, when his anger overcomes his sense of morality, he begins cursing to express his anger. I knew that from this point onward, I would have to watch my every word or my father would murder me with his.
My mother started sobbing loudly and grabbed a napkin to wipe away her tears. "George, give him time to explain—"
"May! can't you see? Our son is saying that he loves a damn horse! And you want him to explain why he wants to love that...thing?!"He glared at me and my spine shivered at the murderous aura he was emanating from every cell in his body. "How can you even know what that animal's thinking? Are you a fucking psychologist— no, a veterinarian?!"
As my dad questioned me with words as sharp as daggers, I sat there, completely terrified at his approach. I would have gladly picked a fight with anyone, but against my dad, I felt so powerless. The urge to just grab Twilight and run back to Equestria was unbearable, I realized that if this was dragged any further I wouldn't be able to resist that urge.
My whole body was beginning to tremble when I felt a hoof land on my shoulder. Twilight grabbed my hand and gave it a light squeeze, after that, she let go and put both her forelegs at the dinner table. She gave me a look which showed concern for my well being as well as a reminder that this was our fight, not just mine. She saw how I had tried to defend her even against my own parents, and Twilight appreciated that effort. Now, she was asking me to let her do her part.
I smiled back, Twilight always had this look on her face when she tried to fight for something she truly wanted— like during the battle with Tirek and her attempts at stopping Starlight. Whenever I saw that exact same expression written all over her face, I knew I could count on her to stay by me no matter what.
My parents were now staring at the mare beside me. The atmosphere was heavy, silence surrounded the area as my dad examined every part of the undaunted mare. At the corner of my eye, I saw my mother slowly bring down the napkin from her face. Twilight, on the other hand, stood firm and looked around the table and glanced at each member of my family. Her eyes displayed the fiery determination of a creature fighting for its freedom.
"It's true that I'm belong to a different species from the rest of you humans, and from your conversation I saw that my species were treated inferior in this world— like animals— ruthless, uncivilized, and uncultured. I may be everything that a 'horse' means to both of you, but I am certain of one thing—" Twilight grabs my hand with her fore hoof and brings it to the table, refusing to let go of it, "—I love your son. And I think, therefore I exist. I am fully aware of my affections for Max and know the responsibilities of having those feelings."
Again, silence surrounded the room. This time however, it was accompanied with eyes wide with astonishment as the so called "animal" had spoken proper English. My father's body, although still rigid, relaxed a bit as he began to understand the situation more and more. I also fell back to my seat, silent as Twilight held on to my hand. This wasn't just me trying to get my parents' approval of Twilight, it was both me and Twilight's reaffirming certain feelings that we had for each other.
My father crossed his arms and stood up, facing Twilight with a face that could send lions back to their dens. "So, it seems like you can talk and think like the rest of us, unless Max here made you listen to a recorder for hours everyday until you could repeat every word."
"No sir," Twilight shook her head, "I am fully aware of my own words—"
"So what then? What does it change? You're a horse, you may not be as 'uncivilized' as the horses in this world but that doesn't change the fact that you aren't the same as everyone in this room. In short, you aren't...human" My dad squinted at Twilight.
Twilight looked down and closed her eyes shut, tears started forming at the base of her eyes as she laid out a question that made everyone flinch, "What does being human have anything to do with this?."
Twilight was right, what did being human even mean? We are different from all the other animals on Earth because we can think and act based on what we learned through language. What did it mean to "love" like a human? For us humans, we didn't view love as something that is accomplished for the sole purpose of "multiplying" around the world. Love is a special bond that only humans could have done because of our capacity to think. Animals can't do that because their way of thinking is much simpler and less complex than ours. So if Twilight could could overcome that barrier that separated animals form humans, then what was the difference?
"I understand that you don't approve of...this—" Twilight pointed at herself "—but that doesn't mean that my capacity to have feelings for Max are any less different from anyone is this world."
My dad just stared at her, I saw his eyes gleam from the passion that Twilight expressed in confronting both him and my mother. "Then tell me, Twilight, just how much do you really love our son?" This time, his voice lost all the vicious intent it once had and was replaced with a serious tone of judgement. "Show me— no, convince me that what you really feel is something far more humane than what I see in farm animals."
Twilight's horn glowed and a large blanket of magic appeared in the middle of the table right in front of my father and mother. It started projecting various scenes of our interactions in Equestria and an overview of the land itself along with its culture and norms. Mom and Dad watched in awe at both the wonderful land of Equestria and the activities that me and Twilight participated in. The Summer Sun Celebration, the Grand Galloping Gala, a trip to the crystal empire, they were speechless at the magnificent view that Twilight had weaved with her magic.
A particular scene where I woke up the the smell of burnt pancakes made by Twilight made my father chuckle, "look May, you and Twilight have something in common, you're both the worst bakers I've ever seen, hehehe." he whispered. My mother gave him a light slap at the shoulder.
"Dear, it's the thought that counts. Can't you see the effort of that girl in trying to make breakfast for our boy?" My mother replied.
My father simply smiled, "of course it's the thought that counts." I saw the corner of his mouth curve a little, like he was smiling.
"My, look at that," my mother said, pointing to a scene where Twilight and I were sitting on a table on our first date. She was opening a gift that I got her, to her surprise, it was a rusty gear. "Didn't you give me the exact same thing on our first date too? Very romantic. Looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." She laughed.
My father turned back in embarrassment, "but it's use was universal..."
Both of them carefully watched the days that Twilight and I spent together. However, they weren't the only ones who felt the "magic," I was staring with my mouth hanging open and a few tears forming at the base of my eyes as I reminisced the memories that both Twilight and I shared.
The projection suddenly shifted to a scene where Twilight had just come out of a shower. The steam had escaped from the bathroom and proceeded to surround the bedroom where I lay asleep. It was nighttime, and the glow of the silver moon served as the only source of illumination for the otherwise dark room. As the picture suddenly zoomed in on Twilight, it was obvious that there was something wrong with her at that moment. Her face was flushed, her eyes disregarded everything around the room except for the bed and the teenager who lay asleep in it.
She slowly walked up to the bed where I was sleeping and ran her hoof up my back, "Max..." she trailed off. There was an obvious tone of seduction in her voice.
No, Twilight has to stop the spell. I clearly remembered what happened that day, and it was something I could live without my parents seeing.
It seemed like Twilight had the same idea because a few seconds after I had "mentally" told her to stop, the blanket of magic disappeared and Twilight looked away from me, her face burning hot from the memory of that day. However, she wasn't the only one who felt extremely flustered, I could feel the heat rush into my face as I recalled in detail what had occurred.
"What happened to the movie?" my dad asked, "I'm sure we were cut off somewhere between the part where..." He paused, then rubbed his chin with his hand. He seemed to be thinking deeply about the situation in the projection before it was cut off.
"No..." he muttered.
Dad, don't do this—
"Did you guys just fuck that night?" he asked, but rather than sounding like a question, it sounded more like a confirmation.
Our silence probably answered his question.
At first, I thought he would suddenly fly into a fit of rage and then just disown me right here and now because I basically had sex with Twilight. I braced myself for the oncoming words that would come out of his mouth. I dared not look into his face in fear of seeing those vicious eyes again.
Still, I couldn't decide whether or not to feel terrified at the loads of violence headed my way or to feel extremely embarrassed as the memories of that night swept my brain. It felt truly wonderful, to be able to do it with somepony you love. There were countless emotions that rampaged around my whole body during the event, and some I can't even describe. But the most vivid memory during that time was the feeling of Twilight's soft back and the sensation wrap—
No, no, no, I shook the idea away from my head and faced my dad.
To my surprise, he was laughing. He and my mom her both holding their bellies while they laughed it off. It was either they had completely lost it or they've finally accepted my relationship with Twilight. Although I had a gut feeling it was the latter.
"Ha!" My father exclaimed, wiping a tear from his eyes, "you've grown up, Max." He said, walking over to me and giving me a nice pat at the shoulder.
"Huh?" I asked in surprise, They aren't angry?
"Son, had we known that you two did that earlier, my mother and I would have slapped you in the face just then and there. Well, I would have given you sucker punch right into the senses, but that's not the main point here." He placed his hand on my shoulder and continued, "but, after seeing what you and that girl have been through back there in Equestria, I would've wondered more why you wouldn't have done it."
"Wait, so you're not mad?"
"Mad? I'm going to admit that I lost myself awhile ago because I was trying to protect you, but now that I've seen through both words and images just how much that horse— ehem, pony loves you, I believe that there's no problem with it." He walks away from me and hugs my mother without looking away from me. "y'see here, your mother and I just want someone who can truly love you for who you are. Who will take care of you and simply accept any defect that you would have developed throughout your life. We both agreed that we would rather have Twilight be our daughter-in-law than a woman who simply loves you because of something you're probably not or only loves one aspect of your life.."
I stared in awe at the sudden change of attitude of my parents. Minutes ago they were condemning my relationship with Twilight, but now, they understood the essence of why I chose her and probably also why she chose me. I loved her because...she was Twilight. And I think that my parents finally saw that.
"Mom...D-dad..." I stuttered. "I don't know what to say..."
"Nothing honey, you don't have to say a word. Twilight here has already said all that's needed to be said," my mom said.
I ran to them and gave them both a really big hug, "thanks, for understanding my situation."
On the corner of my eye, I see Kate still texting with her phone like nothing ever happened. I realized that she had two earphones on her ears the whole time the conversation took place, which must have been why she didn't react at all to what was happening. Oh well, it would have been embarrassing anyways if she had heard it all.
"You don't suppose we could finish the chicken now right?" my dad said. "Would be a waste of perfectly good protein."
My mother and I simply laughed.
*****
Twilight and I sat at my room on the second floor of my house. My parents had allowed me to stay over for a week to show Twilight around Manhattan before we went back to Equestria. I'd decided to live the rest of my life with Twilight back at the world I met her in. It may be a little hard letting go, but I can always visit any time I want.
"So...we did it huh. Well, mostly you but I'd like to think I have a part in it." I told Twilight who fidgeting ever since she went inside my room.
"Yes, we did it..." Twilight said,
Twilight suddenly jumped down on my bed and started hugging my pillows. It looked like she was viciously rubbing her head on them... like she was trying to get my scent or something.
"Mmm, it smelsh sho much like yoo" Twilight's voice was muffled over the pillows.
"Umm, Twilight?" I put my hand on her back, but I couldn't keep it steady because she was squirming all around my bed. "we really should sleep now, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
Twilight stopped moving and dragged me onto the bed facing up. She straddled on top of me and brought her face close to mine. "Wanna do it?"
Oh no, this isn't good. Twilight's face was red, her eyes started exploring my body as she slowly unbuttoned my polo shirt.
"Twilight, my parents are right next—"
She suddenly brought her muzzle closer and locked her lips with mine, removing my capability to make sense of the situation.
Well, whatever, I brought my hands to her back and pulled her body closer to me.
