Author's Note

Apologies for the delay. Got half way through this one and ran out of words with David, lol.Hope you guys enjoy!

Chapter 14- Meet the Mother

After several weeks, dealing with Ace at the barracks and dealing with Shining Hoof, Spine’s nobile mannerism teacher, she relaxed across a table from Blueblood, blushing as she was dressed up in a sundress. “S-so… Um… How are your parents…?”

"May I present." He dipped his head, hoof going wide to point to a door just as it opened. "My mother, Sharp Statement." The noble mare stepped inside with a faint nod. "My father is indisposed. Responsibilities, you know. We can never be entirely free of them."

"As if we'd care to be." She settled in next to her son, eyes on Spine. Judging. "Now, hello. I hear you've learned quite a great deal. Would you care to demonstrate?"

Spine bowed deeply, giving a curtsy. “I would be more than pleased to, Madam Sharp…”

One could almost see the first tally mark being said. "Very good. Do have a seat, my child. Today is a grand day to enjoy one another's company for brunch."

Spine then sat down, smoothing out her sundress and crossing her legs, trying to be as proper as she could, still nervous. “Thank you, Madam Sharp…”

"This is a brunch," reminded the older mare. "Not an interrogation. You look… tense."

Blueblood leaned forward in his seat. "She's just overwhelmed by the presence of the family matron, mother dear."

"What fine words." Sharp booped him on the nose. "But I would hear her words, not yours, my talented little son."

“W-well, he’s not far off, honestly… I truly do not wish to disappoint you, Madam Sharp…” Spine answered, now even more nervous.

"If you would enter our family." Sharp leaned in, head over the table, well over the food. "You must be at ease. Refined without effort. You are a warrior, are you not? Surely you do not fear any attack from me." At least physically, Sharp Statement was outmatched easily.

Spine took a deep steading breath, letting it out just as slowly as she relaxed, letting the position become natural. She appeared to have relaxed as well, meeting Sharp’s gaze with her own now. “Sorry… Just… Where I once came from, Madam Sharp, Meeting the parents of one desired to court was, indeed, like that of an interrogation. On both sides…”

"Ah, this is true." Her horn glowed as she lifted a cookie to place on Spine's small plate, another moving for her own. "But it is my son that wishes to court you, not the other way around, is it not? That is the way of things. Really, a commoner courting a noble? How strange would that be?" Blueblood laughed nervously, but did not argue the assessment.

Spine shared the laugh, recalling what Blueblood had said several weeks ago. “Y-yes, how odd… I am sorry for causing you any trouble, Madam Sharp…”

"That all depends." She lifted the cookie she had just placed on her own plate, taking a delicate nibble from it. "Is the lady my son has set his eyes on able to comport herself? Let's see… Tell me more about yourself."

The brunch continued, tensely. The food was perfectly fine, but Sharp Statement's questions were less so, drilling into Spine's origins, and her motivations. "What do you see?" She inclined her head towards Blueblood. "Describe him to me, physically and mentally."

Spine looked to him, then back to her. “Being brutally honest…? When I first met him, he was a charming colt, though he came off a bit rude…" Blueblood huffed quietly, but kept his words to himself. "Though now that I’ve had some time to know him a bit more, I feel that was a front to turn down any potential gold farmers, if you will. Now though, I see a charming colt that would get along with others and one that would not hesitate to support those that he deemed worth his time, Madam Sharp.”

"And you." Sharp directed a fork that hadn't even touched a scrap of food at Spine. "You believe yourself worthy of his time. Why is that?" Blueblood opened his mouth, ready to butt in, only to have a hoof inserted lovingly. "Let her speak."

Spine looked down. “I didn’t want to bother myself with him when we first met… I thought he would be too much of a hassle to deal with, until he said I was joking about being somecreature related to Twilight Sparkle, let alone one that had come about this world in a rather unusual form… At first, I didn’t believe him worth my time, Madam Sharp." Sharp raised a brow high at the implications, but allowed Spine to continue. "But I thought, maybe, just maybe, I could help him remove that stuck up pride of his, or at least realize how rude he was being towards others when he did let it speak for him. It wasn’t until we had started playing together that I realized how I felt about him, and he about me… I have no illusions that if you willed it, I would likely never see him again.”

"It is good that you understand the situation." She moved the hoof that had been in Blueblood's mouth to his shoulder. "He is not yet a grown pony, and my word is the last in any matter regarding him. This is the duty, and responsibility, of any parent." She inclined her head faintly. "Surely your own have interceded in your own life when need be, hm?"

Spine blushed a little, but nodded as she conceded the point. “They do, Madam Sharp… And sometimes it’s annoying, though I can understand where they come from for the most part.”

"Then it should come to no surprise." She angled her head towards Blueblood. "You have spoken ill of him, as if you see him more of something you could make, rather than a thing to be admired as he is. Explain why I should be pleased by that."

Her eyes widened as she realized she had overstepped. "Ah… W-well… The way he was going, Madame Sharp, h-he would've been ridiculed, at best, and out right hated, at worst… I didn't mean any offense when I said it then, and I genuinely wish to see him grow," Spine said, trying her best to not anger Sharp any further.

Sharp set her hooves together, steepling them as a human might their fingertips. "You are assuming ownership." Her eyes darted to Blue. "Do you hear that? In her eyes, she is already married to you." Even as she chortled at the idea, Blueblood was darkening in shade rapidly. "Quite bold…"

"N-no! Nonono… I promise, I'm not…" Spine sighs as she leaned back. "I'm… I'm sorry, Madam Sharp… I didn't mean to come off in such a way… I just meant that I didn't want to watch Blueblood become hated by everypony outside of Canterlot…"

Sharp tapped her right hoof, just the edge, on the table. "Tell me and be honest. What are the positive traits you admire in him? What is he outside of a project you wish to sink your claws in?"

Spine blushed faintly as she replied, "W-well… He's charming, funny, and very easy to be around… N-not to mention the fact he has a good sense of humor, and taste for books…"

"Then allow me to give a bit of advice, dear." Her face came in closer, leaning over the table smoothly. "A spouse is not a work in progress. They will infuriate you. They will drive you mad at times. But this is what one gets, becoming involved with another person. They are not yours to shape. Even I, his mother, am limited in my influence." She suddenly glared at Blueblood. "But not by much," she sternly reminded him, in case he was getting ideas.

Spine nodded, still blushing. "Right… I… I'm sorry, Madame Sharp…"

"You are young." The hoof moved in to tap at Spine's snout. "Better to learn now rather than later, hm? That aside for the moment, if you were stuck with him just as he was, would he still be worth the time?"

She smiled and nodded as she replied, "Absolutely."

Blueblood looked quite happy about that answer, though he didn't try to speak again, 'lest he get a new taste of his mother's silencing hoof.

"Very good. Besides, we all have… traits… I feel certain, were I to ask him." She turned towards Blueblood. "He could name a few of yours he would change, had he the power. Go on."

Blueblood's ears twitched atop his head. "Oh, um… As much as I admire her fighting ability, I do not favor pain on my person. If that business could be left where it belonged, that would be nice. But it is her, as they say, passion. I don't want to get in the way of that."

Spine smiled and squirmed slightly as she heard him say that. "Thank… Thank you, Bluey…" Her eyes widened as she realized what she just said right then..

"Pet names," noted Sharp with a calculating gaze. "If I... No, we won't entertain that. This may continue, but I will be watching you." She tapped at that snout she already had under her hoof. "One thing about courting any creature is that you gain a new set of parents, for the good and ill."

Spine nodded as she knew what Sharp meant by that. "I understand, Madame Sharp… I'll make sure to avoid using that around the other nobility…"

"Private names for private moments." She smiled, a gentle expression. "That is what makes them special. Now…" She rose up to a full seated position. "I need to make one thing very clear. I will not tolerate any foals out of wedlock under my watch. Are we perfectly clear?" She looked between Blueblood and Spine with equal gravity.

A shame Blueblood had no idea what she was referring to. "Mother? I do not mean to contradict, but we are both foals. However do we avoid what we already are?"

Spine coughed into her claw, blushing profusely as she fully understood where Sharp was coming from. "Yes, Madame Sharp. I understand. And believe me, I would have waited until he, at the very least, understood what you meant before… offering such a thing to him."

She fixed her gaze on the smaller figure. Blueblood regretted that he was the target that time. "You are old enough to know what I speak of. You are almost an adult. It is time to approach things as an adult." She clopped the table firmly. "I will see this is addressed. "

Blueblood's pout was of no avail in changing her mind.

Spine winced slightly, feeling bad for having turned that withering gaze of a protective mother back on Blueblood. "Is there… Is there anything else you require of me, Madame Sharp…?"

"Follow my warnings, and remember that you are asking to join this family." She sat up, tall and proud. "Look like it, and act like it. If my judging bothers you, remember that countless others are doing the same. They're just being more subtle about it."

She nodded, taking a deep breath to steady herself as she, too, sat up straighter. "I understand, Madame Sharp… If I may be honest…? The other nobility seems to enjoy showing me just how 'uncouth' a dragon is. Usually when I'm on the way to a store with my family during one of my days off from training with Sir Far Sight." She squirmed slightly to try and get her tail more comfortable in the dress she was in. "And then there's the lower nobility that don't want to believe that me and my brother are related to ponies. They usually try to cause trouble until they see big brother, Sir Shining Armor, standing with us. Would I need to fear worse retaliations for being with Blu-Blueblood?"

"You have entered their field of view." She pressed her hooves together. "Stand as if you belong. Act as if you belong, and learn to be there. You both have learning to do. Now, off with you." She gently shooed away both Blueblood and Spine. "Go along and play."