The First Real Mother's Day
Author's Note
So, I'm definitely a believer in the idea that we don't fully appreciate all the crap our parents went through raising us until we have kids. So I called this story "The First Real Mother's Day" because it's the first Mother's Day Shining has celebrated since becoming a father and finally having insight into just how much she did to care for him.
Dedicated to and inspired by my mom. Mom, I understand how much you did for me, how much you love me, and how much you've sacrificed for me over the years. I'm sorry I didn't appreciate it at the time, just how much you did, but I do now that I have a daughter. For all you do for me, and how much you've supported me, this story is for you so that I can say Thank you in the best way I know how, even though I will never in my life be able to say enough to tell you how much you mean to me. You're my hero, Mom.
Enjoy!
The First Real Mother's Day
Shining Armor sat in Flurry Heart’s nursery, as the sunrise reflected upon the crystals that made up the nursery his daughter slept in. As he looked at the sleeping baby Alicorn, he realized how quickly his daughter was growing up. Flurry was five months old now, already beginning to babble when she could once only coo, already flying and doing magic well beyond her years. It was Cadence’s first Mother’s Day with Flurry, and he had politely requested that they celebrate as a family the day before so that he could be with his mother on this sacred day. Cadence had said it was fine, because she had wanted to take Flurry to see Celestia and Luna to spend time with them. But as he looked at his daughter, he was filled with a sudden and deep understanding of just how his mother had felt all this time raising him.
When he was a little boy, and he hadn’t agreed with her decisions, she’d always told him that someday, he’d see how smart she was. He, of course, as a rambunctious colt and a teenager, had blown it off. But now, as a parent himself, he saw the wisdom in her words. He’d seen his mother proven right in so many little ways since his daughter was born, when he’d taken her advice and bounced Flurry when she cried or used a toy to keep her from squirming during a diaper change. And he realized with a painful sharpness that time was passing him by so quickly. It seemed as though yesterday Flurry had come into the world, and now she was five months old. It seemed like so long in actuality and yet it felt like a blip of time. His mother had always wanted to spend more time with him, but he’d had his own life and been incredibly independent. He hadn’t made the time for her. And now, thinking about that with his own daughter, he felt his heart sink into his stomach. Flurry was something he could never have enough of, yet he knew he would have to let go of someday, and the thought filled him with fear that twisted his gut. Is this what his mother had felt all this time? How had she made it so far?
He likened this new understanding to lighting a candle in a dark room. As the light expanded, so did the circumference of darkness around it. For every question she or her behavior answered, more popped up. And the biggest question that seemed to haunt him now was how he was going to thank her in a meaningful way to show her that he finally understood how she’d felt all this time, that her years of sacrifice to give him the best life he could were acknowledged and appreciated, that he realized just what an incredible mare his mother was.
He felt restless. What gift would be enough to show the depth of his new understanding? How could he possibly show her how much she meant to him with simple material possessions? A card was certainly going to be given, but could he really fill a measly piece of paper with meaningful words to express that when he had enough to fill every book in Equestria? He wanted to do something special, something incredible, something she would never forget. But what? What could possibly be enough?
He went out of Flurry’s nursery and went into his and Cadence’s room. Going to the bookshelf, he pulled out photo albums. Most of them were of his and Cadence’s life together, and their adventures as a family since having Flurry, but there were some from his childhood. Himself sleeping on his mother after a rough day of play, his mother, smiling at the camera as the sun shone behind her and made her look like an angel, himself holding Twilight as his mother looked on fondly. Those moments must have been so precious to her. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around how she managed to let these few pictures go, let alone letting himself and Twilight leave home.
But the pictures spawned and idea. He took the one of himself sleeping on his mother out from the album, closed it quickly, and tucked it into his saddlebags. Then, he got out a sheet of paper to make her a mother’s day card, as he had done as a little boy. He knew now that there were certain things money could not buy, and the time and effort in making a card rather than buying one was one of them. He sat down at a desk in his room, careful not to be loud and wake his wife, and began to write.
His mother was a writer. She’d been writing stories his entire life, even before he was born. Words were her medium, but she also knew how to make art out of writing. He could recall her writing things in calligraphy for him as a colt to make it beautiful, and how much he wanted to learn that. And so, she’d taught him how to write in calligraphy. It was painstaking work because his natural hornwriting was rather messy, but his mother didn’t deserve anything less. Carefully, one letter at a time, the front of the card came together. But it was what to put on the inside that he was really thinking about. The words he could cram into such a small space, that had to make more of an impact than a library full of books. What could he say to make her understand how much she meant?
Eventually, after over an hour, the inspiration struck, and he began to write, careful that his usual hornwriting was neater than usual so that she could read it. And when he finished with that, He stuck the photo inside with care. Satisfied, with the card at least, he formulated a plan for what her gift would be, and it would be perfect.
He gave his daughter and wife a kiss goodbye, whispering to Cadence that he would be home tonight to give her a massage, before he went to the train station and caught the Canterlot Express. As the train sped toward Canterlot, memories flashed before his eyes as the scenery changed. All the times he’d spent with his mother as a boy, all the times she’d been there for him and he hadn’t realized it, and he wondered how he’d missed all those little gestures of love all those years? When he’d gotten home from training in the Royal Guard, his mother had made his favorite meal. When he was in the hospital as a child, she’d stayed beside him all night long.
In all the times he’d gotten mad at her for whatever reason, in all those times he’d blown her off as a teenager, he’d forgotten those moments. He’d been young, stupid, and so focused on his own autonomy that he’d forgotten just how much she cared. No longer. He would never, ever forget how much she cared and how much she’d done for him again.
The train finally slowed to a stop, and he got off of it, going to Gustav Le Grande’s to pick up the Eclairs his mother loved so much, and coffee from Donut Joe’s- her favorite. Then, he teleported himself to his parents’ home. The house hadn’t changed too much over the years. In fact the only thing that seemed to change at all was the color of the lawn as the seasons changed. The house was a constant, something he could always count on. Much as his life had changed, the house never would, and there was cashmere comfort in that. As he walked up to the white house with ivy wrapped around the trellis on the side, he felt a deep sense of comfort and home. He took the items he already had into his magic, and knocked on the door. It was now ten thirty in the morning, and he knew his mother would be awake.
Sure enough, the front door opened, and Twilight Velvet stood there, smiling. Her smile made lines by the sides of her eyes. The lines near her eyes told the story of a hardworking mare who spent long nights and many hours working to give her family a good life. He’d never noticed those lines until today. They were a testament to the warrior his mother was, and they made him smile.
“Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!” He smiled.
Her laugh sounded, like the tinkling of a bell- beautiful and light. “Thank you, Shiny! It’s so good to see you! I didn’t think I would considering it’s Cadence’s first Mother’s Day.”
“I celebrated with her yesterday. I wanted to take today to spend with you.” He smiled.
“Oh how lovely! Come in, please, come in!” She said, gesturing him inside. He smiled. Even the scent of the house just in the doorway held the hallmarks of childhood comfort to him- his mother’s perfume, a hint of vanilla, and last night’s dinner. Last night was clearly hayburgers. And speaking of food…
“I brought us breakfast, Mom.” He smiled.
“Oh, Shiny, you didn’t have to do that! You’ve done more than I thought you would just by coming here today!”
“I know, but it’s your day, and I want to make it special.” He smiled.
“Well, I can’t say no to that.” She smiled, and they went to the dining room. His mother got out plates for the two of them, and he set out the Eclairs and coffee.
“Where’s Dad?”
“Daddy had to go into work early. With today being Mother’s Day, some of the shops in town need an accountant to handle the extra revenue. He’s going to be sorry he missed you.” She said.
Shining nodded. “You’ll have to tell him I said hi.”
“I will.” She said, and sipped her drink. Her son was being too quiet. “What’s on your mind, sweetheart?”
“What?”
“Don’t lie to your mother, Shiny. I know when something is bothering you that you aren’t talking about.” She said knowingly.
Shining stared into his coffee, unsure of how to broach the subject that was bothering him. Finally, he looked up at her. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t appreciate you enough before. Now that I have Flurry, and I feel what you’ve felt all this time… I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you enough how grateful I am for how much you do for me, or how much I love you. I didn’t understand then, but now I do, because with how fast Flurry is growing up, it’s frightening.”
Velvet looked on wisely. “I told you that one day you would see how smart I am. Those words were meant as both an encouragement and a warning. The price of you understanding how I felt came at the expense of your own fear. And for that, I am sorry.”
“I know now.” He nodded. “How did you deal with this feeling that there isn’t enough time?”
“I didn’t, really.” She chuckled, albeit nervously. “I really didn’t handle you and your sister growing up all too well. I didn’t necessarily show it to your faces but I would go to bed some nights and cry myself to sleep because I didn’t think there was enough time. When you went to train for The Royal Guard, I took your pillowcase and put it on my pillow so that I could smell you, and that it would feel like you were still there. It was the only thing that ever made me stop worrying. Stupid, huh?”
Shining reached a hoof out to her. “No. It’s not.”
“It’s not something you deal with or get over. You just… live with it. You won’t always make the best decisions because of it, but you just have to know you tried to do the right thing. It’s all you can do.”
Shining nodded. “Mom, you used to always tell me stories when I was little. Adventures and sword fights. And I think it really helped make me into who I am. But when I got older and you tried to tell me stories about myself when I was younger, I didn’t want to hear it. But I do now. Will you tell me those stories?”
Velvet’s smile was very slow in growing, and she nodded, eyes glittering like prisms as they were full of unshed tears. “I’d love to.”
He’d realized it on the train, that the best gift he could give his mother today was time. If he didn’t have enough words to show his gratitude, letting her use her words to show how much she loved him would have to do. The act of listening would be a gift in itself. She ate an eclair and began to think, but the first story she always thought of was the one that was the hardest on her to remember. But it was time she told him.
“I’ve told you throughout your life that when you were born, you were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.” She began slowly. “But I didn’t tell you- or maybe couldn’t tell you at that time, that I first saw you through an incubator.”
He looked at her, confused. “What?”
“Shiny, you were born eight weeks before you were due. After I had you, I didn’t get to hold you. The nurses took you straight to an incubator. I didn’t get to hold you for a very long time. My arms would hurt because they wanted to hold you. So when that happened I would walk to your incubator. It had holes in the side of it for the mothers who were allowed to touch their babies, but you were so at risk that I couldn’t do that for a few days. Through the holes, though, I could smell you. Just barely, but I could. I knew your scent within minutes. I loved the smell of my baby. It comforted me, calmed me down, and suddenly my arms wouldn’t hurt as much. Even though I wasn’t holding you, you were there, and you were fighting. From the day you were born, I knew instinctively that you were going to grow up to be somepony who never backed down from a fight, that you were going to handle whatever was thrown your way, and that you would be incredibly strong. And I was right.” She smiled.
“Why didn’t you tell me this, mom?” He asked after a moment of shock had passed, and he hugged her.
“It’s a painful memory, honey. You didn’t get the best start in this life, but you’re still alive now. It’s hard for me to talk about it because I still feel as though it just happened.”
Shining held her for a long time, and she held him the same. It felt so good, so heartwarming, to have him listen to this. And after a while, she spoke again. “Did I ever tell you about the time I caught you hiding food in your nursery?” She asked with a smile.
He shook his head. “No. But I want to hear about it.”
“Yep.” She chuckled. “You were a little older than two then. You hadn’t moved to your big boy bed yet because you were smaller and you still needed the crib bars to keep you in bed. But for a while, every morning, I’d smell this horrendous stench. But it always stopped after I got up. I thought there might have been an issue with the plumbing. But the pipes were all fine. Now, as far as I knew, you couldn’t climb out of your crib yet. So when I stayed up all night to finish a book, I thought you were safe and sound. I heard a noise in the kitchen, and found you getting a banana from the kitchen. I was so confused. I stood out of sight and watched you peel the banana, throw it away, and take it back to your nursery, and you dropped it into your toy box and the smell came out. As it turned out, you’d been doing that for a month. When I asked you why, you said it was because your toys were hungry. I threw out the box and I spent a solid four hours cleaning your toys.” She laughed by the end.
He laughed. “I was a troublemaker even back then, huh?”
“Oh, you were. But you had moments where you were so angelic that it seemed like you had two personalities. I think you’ll find that true enough with Flurry.” She smiled. “After I found out you could climb out of your crib, every Saturday morning when I was trying to sleep, you’d climb out of your crib, and get in my bed, and snuggle with me. Every Saturday, without fail.” She smiled.
“Is that how I got that nickname you gave me?” He asked.
She smiled and nodded. “Yep. That’s why you were my Shiny Snuggler.”
He smiled a little. “What other stories do you have?”
“Well, When you were three, I took you on a cruise from the South Luna Ocean to Luna Bay. It was a week long. It was a character themed cruise, and the theme was the pillars of Equestria. I surprised you with it. I don’t know if you remember, but you loved Flash Magnus and Rockhoof back then. And when they came down to greet you, your eyes went wide as dinner plates.” She smiled. “I could tell it really made an impact on you. And you proved it when we got in port a few days later. We spent the day on the beach, and you spent all of it making “sandcattles”.”
“Sandcattles?” He asked curiously.
“You couldn’t quite say “sandcastles” yet. But, you were three and it was a big word for you. But the thing that was special about that was that when the castle was done, you didn’t tear it down like you might think. You stood next to it to protect it from the tide. That’s how I knew your cutie mark would have to do with protection. Even if it got me a few bruises when you wouldn’t let me change your swim diaper because you had to keep the ponies in the castle safe.” She chuckled.
He looked at her. “I wasn’t potty trained yet?”
“Not because you didn’t want to be or wouldn’t listen, but because there was a developmental physical delay there. You had trouble with knowing when you needed to go. You weren’t fully potty trained until you were four because of it.” She said.
He was embarrassed by that, without question, but something else popped out of his mouth. “It must have been hard. I doubt I made it easy for you.”
“Taking care of kids is always hard. But it’s the best thing you’ll ever do with your life. You know that now.” She said, putting her hoof over his.
“Remember when I was little and you told me I could do anything and have it all? Even go to space if I thought I could? That was a total lie. It’s hard to be a parent.” He sighed.
“It’s hard to be good at anything.” She said. “But you’re doing just fine, baby. Flurry is on the right track, meeting her milestones like she should. She’s healthy and happy, and that’s all you can ask for.” She smiled.
He nodded. “I guess I just worry that I get so caught up in everything going on around me that I’ll miss the little moments that are important.”
“You won’t.” She said. “You take some advice from your old Mom. Those stories I told you? those are the memories you won’t want to forget with Flurry. Write them down or take pictures because it helps you remember the little things. And because someday, you’ll tell them to her, and she’ll tell stories like that to her children.”
He nodded. “I will.” Then, he remembered the card. “I almost forgot.” He said, and opened his saddlebag. “I made this for you.”
She smiled as he got out the card. “You haven’t made me a mother’s day card since you were little.”
“If there’s one thing I learned from Flurry, it’s that the small things matter the most.” He grinned, giving her the card.
Twilight Velvet took one look at the card, and tears came to her eyes. She’d taught him how to do calligraphy when he was seven, but she didn’t think he’d remembered. The “Happy Mother’s Day!” Written in flowing script on the front was proof that she was wrong, and she’d never been so happy to be. Then, she opened up the card to read.
Mama-
You raised me for twenty-six years. You fed me, bathed me, taught me, and made sure I had everything I needed to be successful. You worked so hard to give me a life you thought I deserved, but I already had more than I deserved because I had you for a mom. I didn’t understand then, just how hard you worked and how much you did for me, but now that I have Flurry, I understand. This card is for every thank you I forgot to say, to apologize for every time I got angry with you, to show you how much I understand you now, and to say I am the luckiest man alive to be raised by such an amazing Mare. You showed me what strong mares are supposed to be, and you are a great mother. For all the times I forgot to say it, Thank you for everything you did, everything you do, and everything you are. I am so lucky to have you as my mom.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Velvet felt tears running down her face as she looked to the other side of the card that held the picture of Shining falling asleep on her, and the caption he’d made under it that said, I will never stop leaning on you when I need you. No matter how old I get, I’ll always be your little boy and need you just the same.
Velvet choked on a sob, and wrapped her hooves her son in a tight embrace. “I love it! Thank you so much, Shiny. You always will be my little boy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. No mother has a greater son than I do. I love you.”
“I love you too, Mama.” He said, hugging her. “Happy Mother’s Day.”
