A Mother's Day To Remember
Mother's Day was always a special day in Equestria, even in Ponyville where Twilight and her friends lived. And while only Rarity currently had the benefit of living in the same town as her parents (on the few occasions she was able to see them), all the mares kept in touch with their families: Both mothers and fathers (and for some siblings or relatives/in-laws). Even Starlight had started keeping in touch with her father, Firelight after years of having ignored him. Though her friends noticed that she didn't mention her mother, and as far as they knew Firelight didn't currently have a spouse.
They thought little of it and didn't pry. After all, the other mares rarely talked about family directly, and all were reserved when it came to making statements about each other's family situations.
But the long standing speculation about Starlight's mother, however quiet it might have been, was going to come to an end eventually. Not on just any Mother's Day, though, but on a truly special and unique Mother's Day that would be remembered for years and years to come.
It had all started innocently enough, several days before Mother's Day. Twilight had woken up one morning, and while going about her daily routine had received a letter from her mother: Twilight Velvet. It was a simple and formal letter, simply expressing her desire to come to Ponyville in the foreseeable future in order to spend a day with her daughter. Twilight initially hesitated on the obvious choice of Mother's Day, but upon contacting her brother and learning that he would unfortunately be too occupied on that day to come back to Canterlot, her decision was made.
When the response from Velvet came the following day, Twilight had a skip in her step and a smile upon her face as she circled the date on her calendar in unmistakable red ink. "It'll be so nice to just spend a day with Mom again! When was the last time we did that?" She thought to herself. And thinking about the activities she had her mom would take part in warmed her heart.
Starlight was the first to learn about the development, and her initial response was cheerful enough to not attract suspicion. "That sounds great, Twilight. Your mom is a truly sweet pony. I'm sure you two will have a great time together on Mother's Day."
Twilight eagerly nodded in reply. "Oh, I know we will! I've already got the whole day planned! Heck, Spike is gonna be part of it since he's my little brother, which means he's the baby of the Sparkle family."
At that Starlight frowned ever so slightly as her earlier, cheerful demeanor faded completely. "Oh, that's... great, for him. I was kind of thinking we'd just spend Mother's Day together while you and your mom got all caught up. But if he's gonna be part of the fun too then that's okay with me."
"You know, maybe you could go with Sunburst back to Sire's Hollow?" Twilight suggested. "I'm sure Stellar Flare would be happy to see you again. You said it yourself, she practically raised you because your mother was never around and your father was always busy."
But Starlight shook her head, rejecting the notion. "Sunburst isn't interested in going back to Sire's Hollow anytime soon, and neither am I. Besides, I wouldn't want to intrude if he already had plans," She fought back a sigh. "I guess I'll just... do some things on my own. Maybe I'll practice magic tricks with Trixie or see if Maud isn't too busy with Mudbriar to fly kites. Heck, I'll bet there'll be a need for me at the School of Friendship even though we're closed on weekends." And she trotted away without another word.
Spike (who had been nearby) couldn't help but notice what Twilight seemed not to. How Starlight seemed to almost be avoiding the subject of Mother's Day when it involved actual family. He briefly walked over to her and caught her attention. "Is there something you wanna talk about? Something you're not telling Twilight because you don't want her to feel bad?"
The unicorn with a grayish-purple coat almost defensively replied. "It's... nothing, Spike. Like I said, I'm sure I'll find something to do while you and Twilight enjoy Velvet's company. I just don't wanna intrude on a family thing is all." And she then trotted off.
Reluctantly, Spike decided not to press the issue further. "It's only for one day. I'm sure she'll be fine," The little dragon thought to himself. "She probably has her own way of celebrating Mother's Day, depending on what happened to her mom."
But Twilight was not the only one who had big plans for the coming Mother's Day. She would learn of this fact shortly after calling the rest of her friends together at her castle, so as to inform them that she wouldn't be available and was not to be disturbed. "So in case you're all wondering where Spike and I will be on Mother's Day, now you know," Twilight happily finished her debriefing. "I'm sure you all understand. Mother's Day only comes once a year, after all. And for Spike and I, it's going to be a very special Mother's Day indeed."
"Oh, that's perfectly fine, darling," Rarity was the first to comment. "Spending Mother's Day with your mother is simply divine. I too shall be spending the day in the company of my mother. I just hope her cooking and sense of fashion have improved since last we met, though I suppose I do owe her for teaching me how to sew all those years ago."
Fluttershy smiled and happily sighed. "I remember the same with my mother. And I'm glad she's having Rainbow's mom over for this Mother's Day. Our families knew each other so much when we were fillies."
"Well that's 'cause I kept coming over to your folks' place to get away from mine," Rainbow declared. If one looked closely they might have seen her trying to hold back a faint blush. "I mean, it's not like I hated my parents or anything. They're my parents. It's like I told Scootaloo, we have a delicate relationship, that's all. And Mother's Day and Father's Day are always the rare occasions where I can put up with a little embarrassment."
"Huh, that's funny," Pinkie Pie happened to speak up. "Here you all are, planning to spend Mother's Day with your moms, and I was just planning on doing the same thing with my mom! It'll be so nice to have her in Ponyville again. I just wish Maud and Mudbriar weren't busy so they could stop by for a visit. Oh well, having Mom visit with Applejack is just as good."
All eyes fell upon Applejack when Pinkie had finished speaking. While Starlight's family situation was still a little vague, all knew by now that Applejack's parents were dead and had been for many years. The farm mare had no effort to hide this fact, but hadn't taken part in many Mother's Day or Father's Day celebrations because of it.
The earth pony with a stetson seemed to realize what all her friends (minus Pinkie who obviously knew the reason) were thinking as they looked to her. "The way I see it, Ma and Pa wouldn't want me to be all glum and down in the dumps on days like Mother's Day. They'd want me to be happy and carry on like I do every other day," She tried to explain to her friends in as simple a way as she could. "And seein' as the Apples and the Pies are related through a fourth cousin twice removed, that means Pinkie's mom is technically my mother-in-law.... or somethin' like that. The Pies hosted the Apples for Hearth's Warmin' one year, then the Apples returned the favor another year, and now it's the Pies' turn to host the Apples. Or in this case, just an Apple."
"Wow!" Spike practically gasped in realization! "Aside from Starlight, we're all going to be spending Mother's Day with family! Funny how that works."
Just then, Pinkie seemed to get an idea as she jumped atop the throne room map and exclaimed with eyes widened! "Oh my gosh! I've just had the most brilliant idea I've ever had in my entire history of brilliant ideas! What's better than the seven of us visiting with our moms on Mother's Day?" Without even waiting for a reply she answered. "Bringing all our moms together for one super duper, extra special Mother's Day celebration! I mean think about it. We're all such close friends, and I'll bet our moms could become friends too."
"Well, I don't think it would take much convincing for most of our moms," Rarity appeared to agree. "But what about your mother, Pinkie Pie? You know your parents are rather... 'odd' to put it delicately."
But the pink party pony just waved a hoof. "I have a feeling my mom will find all of your moms to be enjoyable in their own odd ways. If my mom can get along with the Apples and even a Pear, I'm sure a few more moms won't be much of a challenge."
Despite some hesitation from the others, Twilight agreed to the suggestion. "If you can get your mom to agree, we'll try to get our moms onboard for the big day." She told Pinkie.
"Great! I'd better get to writing right away, and you should all do the same! See you girls tomorrow, or the next day if the mail's really slow!" Pinkie grinned and bounced away with even more of a spring in her step than usual.
Starlight happened upon the scene shortly thereafter. "What was that all about? I thought I heard something about bringing all of your mothers together?"
"You heard right, Starlight," Spike confirmed with a nod. "Pinkie thinks she can get her mom to agree, and everypony else is gonna try with their moms. Well, aside from Applejack since she's sharing a mom with Pinkie."
Starlight's response was a simple. "Oh.... I see." And without saying another word she abruptly turned and left the throne room. In her mind she was thinking to herself. "It's alright, Starlight. Just because you don't really care for Mother's Day doesn't mean you have to be a downer and make all your friends feel bad. It's only for a day, they deserve to be happy."
The next day came, and the six mares gathered at the castle again. This time to confirm that all of their mothers had agreed and would indeed come to Ponyville. Each also indicated they were looking forward to meeting the other moms (aside from Windy Whistles and Gentle Breeze who already knew each other).
Plans were soon set into motion for a Mother's Day that would be unlike any other, a Mother's Day to remember!
The choice of a venue with which to have most of the day's activities and bonding time take place was soon decided upon. There really was no better place to get away from it all and be away from prying, public eyes than Twilight's castle. Plus, there were a lot of guest bedrooms in case anypony wanted to stay the night.
Pinkie quickly decided that a special Mother's Day breakfast at Sugarcube Corner should be held, with Mrs. Cake presiding over it. As the pink party pony put it. "Mrs. Cake's a mother too. In fact, she's a double mother: She's a mother for her twins and she's like a mother to me!"
Rarity suggested the idea of a spa trip later in the day, claiming. "It's the absolute best way to relax and unwind at the end of a long day. Besides, we do spa dates all the time. Our mothers must be curious what those are like."
And Spike rightfully proposed the idea of a joint Mother's Day card that the six mares and the dragon would all sign. "Not all mothers like chocolates or flowers. But they do like getting cards in the mail for Mother's Day."
Days soon flew by in a hurry, as every waking hour was devoted to planning for the big celebration on Mother's Day. And because all involved were so busy, none of them really seemed to notice the absence of Starlight. Starlight, in turn, seemed to be going out of her way to avoid really confronting her friends. Whenever they did happen to notice her and ask her about their plans, she would always answer with something simple and generic like: "I think it's nice.", or "I think they'll like it, can't imagine any mother who wouldn't." But she never said more on the matter and didn't once say anything about her own mom.
Only Spike seemed to make a real effort to get the unicorn engaged and figure out what seemed to be bothering her. The day before the big celebration, after everything was set up and ready, he happened to spot Starlight by herself in the hallways. He pulled her aside and tried to talk to her. "Starlight, you've been awfully quiet these past few days. And I can't help but notice it seems to be related to this whole Mother's Day bash the rest of us are putting on for our families. Is there something about the holiday that bothers you? Like how you used to not like celebrating Hearth's Warming?"
Starlight immediately shook her head. "It's nothing like that, Spike. Besides, I learned my lesson about holidays. Even if I don't really care for them it doesn't mean others don't. If they're happy then that's fine by me. But not everypony celebrates Mother's Day or has a mother to celebrate with."
"Are you sure you don't wanna adopt a mother, even just for the day?" Spike offered. "If a dragon like me can be a part of Twilight's family even though I was never born into it, then you can totally be a part of anypony else's family. Heck, Applejack considers all of her best friends to be honorary family."
But Starlight only replied with an unhappy sigh. "Thanks, but it's not the same. I'll be fine on my own." And then once again trotted away.
Spike soon forgot about Starlight's noticeably withdrawn presence, as Mother's Day finally arrived and the big gathering was to take place.
The six mares and the dragon were up and about not long after sunrise, ready to greet the mothers that were coming from out of town (Cookie Crumbles lived in town, despite how often she was on vacation. And both Windy Whistles and Gentle Breeze were flying in): Twilight Velvet and Cloudy Quartz.
As Canterlot was a much shorter distance from Ponyville compared to the Pie family rock farm, Velvet was the first to arrive. And as soon as she had stepped off the train and onto the platform, she immediately threw open her hooves as Twilight and Spike came rushing up to greet her! "Oh, it's so good to see you both!" She cheerfully greeted! "I'm already looking forward to a Mother's Day experience I'll never forget! And I can't wait to meet the other moms," Then she giggled. "Gosh, it feels like when you were in magic kindergarten, Twilight. I used to have get togethers with the moms of your classmates all the time. And Spike, you're certainly getting to be a big dragon. Hard to believe you used to be so small."
Twilight and Spike blushed even as they nestled into Velvet's warm embrace. The attention was a little embarrassing, but for today it was something they were willing to accept.
Shortly thereafter, a second train arrived and out stepped Cloudy Quartz. Compared to Twilight Velvet, her entrance was a relatively subdued affair as she said hello to Pinkie Pie and all of her friends one by one. Then she trotted over to Twilight Velvet and introduced herself. "Greetings, Mrs. Sparkle. Thou shall know me as Cloudy Quartz. Tis an honor to meet thou."
Twilight Velvet couldn't help but giggle as she shook Cloudy's hoof. "There's no need for such fancy formalities. Just Velvet will do, Cloudy. And it's nice to meet you, too. I'm actually kind of impressed you were able to raise four daughters on a rock farm. They must have been quite the hoofful."
Cloudy Quartz seemed to adopt a rare grin as she adjusted her yellow spectacles. "Twas hardly a challenge, even with Pinkamina. And we motherly Pies have ways of keeping our children in line, while giving them space to be themselves. I hear thy children have been highly successful in their pursuits as well, one even has married and has fathered a child."
Velvet smiled. "Yup, that's my Shining Armor for you. And Flurry Heart is an amazing granddaughter, even though it seems she inherited her daddy's knack for getting into trouble. I'm actually feeling kind of inspired to write some new stories based on the little one's adventures."
Cloudy nodded. "Indeed. Pinkamina hast spoken highly of thy writing skills since learning of them. Makes me wish I had but only learned of thy works while raising mine children. Perhaps I would have thought to preserve the memories in somewhere beside my head."
"Well, that's what the baby pictures are for," Velvet giggled. "But we can discuss that later, we've got a whole day to spend together after all."
Cloudy nodded once again. "Indeed. But for now we shalt adjourn to Sugarcube Corner and meet the rest of the mothers. Tis is always an interesting experience to meet ponies from other walks of life."
Sure enough, the rest of the mothers were already waiting for Twilight Velvet and Cloudy Quartz at Sugarcube Corner. And many of them hit it off with each other almost immediately. Windy Whistles and Cookie Crumbles in particular became so close that one could've sworn they were sisters (largely over their shared nature of overly embarrassing behavior and overly embarrassing stories about their daughters).
Mrs. Cake presided over the big Mother's Day breakfast banquet, which consisted of warm cinnamon buns fresh out of the oven, toast, oatmeal and of course fresh milk. "I hope you all enjoy the food," She told the other mothers. "And I'd be more than happy to share my recipes with whoever wants to know them. After all, as Sugar Belle can attest, I'm a pretty good baking teacher."
"I might just have to take you up on those offers, Mrs. Cake," Cookie Crumbles commented in between bites of toast. "My cooking's never been anywhere near as good as this. I feel like it's my daughters who are giving me lessons in how to cook. Which is funny since I don't remember my cooking being nearly that bad."
Windy Whistles just grinned. "I remember the first time I tried to teach my little Dashie how to cook. She got herself covered in flour and cookie dough. Oh, she was such a mess. It took me hours to get her and the kitchen all cleaned up, especially because she absolutely hated baths. But that's my daughter for you. Never wanted to sit still no matter what."
Gentle Breeze nodded. "I think our daughters learned a lot from each other. Your daughter taught my daughter how to stand up for herself, and my daughter taught your daughter how important it can be to slow down and enjoy the finer things in life."
"My children were born adventurers, just like me!" Twilight Velvet boasted! "It was always much easier to just let them wear themselves out than try to stop them. Still, my husband and I did our best to keep them on the right track."
Cloudy Quartz simply remarked. "Even before the rainboom, I knew Pinkamina would be different from the others. But I'd be lying if I said she did not liven up the rock farm with her presence, or that we were not saddened when she left for Ponyville. Even Limeamina took it hard."
"It's never easy to see your children all grown up and leaving the nest," Gentle Breeze replied in a somber tone. "But now even Zephyr Breeze is starting to reach that milestone."
The breakfast banquet was finished in less than an hour, even as the five motherly mares spent a considerable amount of time talking and swapping stories.
Once it was complete, though, all bid farewell to Sugarcube Corner and followed their daughters through Ponyville to the magnificent crystal castle that Twilight called home. For all but Velvet and Cookie, this was the first time any of the mothers were seeing the castle in its all glory. And even they were surprised by the adjacent School of Friendship that they had only heard about from letters or word of mouth.
"No wonder your daughter's a popular princess, Velvet," Cookie couldn't help but comment. "She's just about done it all. And even after she's saved the world multiple times, she ain't content to just sit on her hooves and take it easy."
Windy smiled. "Sounds a lot like Rainbow Dash. Even now that she's achieved her dream of being a full fledged Wonderbolt, she's not gonna stop until she reaches the top. Heck, I think even that won't stop her. Nothing truly will. There will always be something else for her to conquer, some other record to set."
"I couldn't be happier to know my daughter's achieved her lifelong dream," Gentle Breeze chimed in. "One of these days I need to pay a visit to her sanctuary and see it for myself."
Cloudy just remarked. "Tis truly a remarkable thing to have pride in thy offspring for their accomplishments, to know that they have saved the world and are heroes. Yet whenever Pinkamina comes back to the rock farm, it's as if no time at all has passed since she left. That she is still the same Pinkamina she always was."
Velvet smiled back. "That's what it feels like for me whenever my children come home for a visit," She paused to wipe a tear from her eyes. "Sorry, I'm getting a bit sentimental."
"It's alright, it happens to the best of us," Windy reassured the unicorn. "Now come on, let's go inside! I can't wait to see if the rumors are true and this castle really is bigger on the inside!"
The quintet of mothers were ushered inside one by one, and they truly could not believe their eyes! The castle's interior was majestic, impressive, a feast for the eyes! Colorful shades of purple, green and even red on the carpeting stood out in bold detail. In front of them stood a nearby staircase leading up to upstairs balconies, and on either side were corridors that led to hallways full of rooms with identical looking doors.
And who should be waiting inside the castle for the gathered group but Starlight herself? The unicorn promptly cleared her throat in front of not just the moms but also their daughters (a.k.a her friends), making sure she had their full attention as she spoke. "Listen, there's something I think you all need to know. About why I haven't exactly been looking forward to this day, and why you may have noticed I've been kind of... quiet in the days leading up to it."
"You were kind of acting like I used to act all the time," Fluttershy commented. "But I didn't know what to say that wouldn't sound like I was confronting you."
Starlight just replied. "Look, I needed to be alone to do some personal thinking. And now that I have, I think you're all finally ready to know why I'm not a big fan of Mother's Day."
"Is it 'cause of your mom, sugarcube?" Applejack innocently asked. "How you don't really have any memories of her to remember her by?"
"...Sort of, it's a little bit more complicated than that," Starlight tried her best to stay calm and speak in a neutral tone of voice. "The truth is... I don't have a mother because," The next words to come out were probably predictable, but still stung all the same. "My mother died giving birth to me. I've known about it for a very long time."
Surprisingly, no one in the room gasped at this confession. All remained respectfully silent.
"It just never felt right knowing that others had a mom and I didn't. So Mother's Day, especially when I was a filly in Sire's Hollow, wasn't really celebrated in my household," Starlight went on to confess. "And it's been kind of the same since I came here. I was fine with it, until all of you started having plans to spend with your own moms. Or in Applejack's case, a mother-in-law or something. But I see now that, much like Hearth's Warming, I can't ignore the holiday even if I don't wanna take part in it. However..." She started to trail off. "After even Spike and Applejack started having someone to spend the day with, I've started to feel kind of left out. So I was hoping..."
But Starlight didn't need to finish. For Twilight Velvet came trotting forward, as did the other mothers. And Velvet spoke up by putting a hoof around Starlight. "That you could be part of our families, even just for today? You didn't need to ask. Family doesn't have to be defined by fur and blood. Family is more than just the ponies who give birth to you and raise you."
"Tis true," Cloudy Quartz nodded. "As my mother before me once said: The Pie family shalt extend beyond offspring and relatives. There is always room at the table for friends."
Windy Whistles agreed as she looked at Starlight. "We're all more than happy to welcome you into our families. If you want to borrow any of us for the day, you're quite welcome to."
"Any friend of my daughter's is a friend of mine," Cookie Crumbles declared. "And in this case, I'd say that makes you honorary family in my book."
Even Gentle Breeze nodded her head. "I couldn't have put it better myself. Rainbow Dash spent so much time around my husband and I growing up that she was practically family. And the same applies to you, Starlight."
Velvet was quick to add. "We're sorry to hear about your mom, and your friends are too. It's never easy when parent and child can't be together. I gave birth to Shining Armor more than a month before I was supposed to, and for the longest time I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to take him home from the hospital. Much as I'm embarrassed to admit it, I feared the worst and took a long time to recover from it. Things were much better by the time Twilight came along."
"The first child is always the hardest," Cloudy agreed. "Limeamina was definitely a challenge in the earliest years. But the experience from dealing with her served me well with Maudilina, Pinkamina and Marblina."
"So I guess that means that, in a way, the eight of us are kind of like one big family?" Spike commented. "Applejack has always been saying how friends are like family to her. And I've always wondered what she meant by that."
Applejack just grinned. "It's somethin' that you just have, sugarcube. You can't choose the family you're born into, but you can choose the family you want to belong to."
Pinkie Pie then shouted! "Come on, let's all gather together for one big family photo! Then this will truly be a Mother's Day like no other!" She promptly used her tail to produce a camera, and pulled everyone in the room close.
In that moment, everything else faded away. True, there was still an entire day of activities planned for the five mothers, including a spa date. But for the time being, all were content to just be a part of this happy memory. Though Starlight couldn't help but think. "Maybe I should write to my dad asking what my mom was like. And perhaps I should send a 'Thank You' card to Stellar Flare for helping to raise me almost from birth."
Author's Note
There are a couple of different headcanons utilized here: Mrs. Shy's name of Gentle Breeze is my personal choice since as far as I know there's been no official name given to her by any show related merchandise. Starlight's mom not surviving childbirth is technically an idea I had, but it's largely related to milesprower06's fic "A Glimmer of the Past: Daddy Issues" (I'm not linking to it here given the contents of the fic not being suitable for all ages). And Twilight Velvet giving birth to Shining Armor prematurely and having problems because of that is borrowed from the many works of FabulousDivaRarity, who has written stories related to Velvet and Shining.
The basic gist of this fic is sort of what a "Meet the parents" episode of the show would've been like, since while we did get individual episodes of each mane six family to varying degrees, we never got to see them all together. I decided not to include Pear Butter/Buttercup since I think it would be kind of a cop out to bring her back from the dead, even just for a little while. And it would cheapen the impact of her death on the Apple family.
And lastly, the exact timeline of this fic is up for debate. It could be at any point after "Sparkle's Seven" and "The Best Gift Ever" (which has been confirmed to take place during Season 9), or even after the events of "The Ending of the End" and before the coronation and time skip in "The Last Problem".
