"I must thank you again for helping Luna whilst I run court," Celestia says as she sets down her glass on the table. It is quite a nice table, as they had decided to upgrade after Twilight wrecked the last one.

"Don't worry; we are family, and family never lets you down," Cadence responds, smiling warmly. She sets her own glass down as she moves to fill it.

"Well…" an awkward second passes as memories of the thousand years flicker. Celestia's eyes flicker in pain. "Anyways, I must leave now," As Celestia finishes, a sobbing Trixie crashes into the table, apparently not noticing the change in scenery.

"-rthless piece of shit and Trixie doesn't like living or the pain the- oh..." Trixie shudders, then rights herself.

"Well then…" Celestia starts.

"S-sorry for taking your time," Trixie seems not to care that she was teleported. "You can kill her now…" Celestia looks shocked at the suggestion. Kill my ponies?!

Luna comes walking in from the living room. "It is you Trixie! Come here!" The blue mare gets up, visibly relieved, and the two embrace. "So… sounds bad…" Luna says, pulling away.

"Yeah… some random stallion called Trixie a 'stupid voodoo child', whatever that means…" Trixie leans into Luna

"Well, you don't do voodoo; even I know that much,"

"Um, sister… how do you know this… Trixie?" Celestia asks, confused.

"Well, Trixie and I were - are - in similar straits, so I contacted her," Luna admits. "It was fairly ea-"

Just then, Twilight touches down in the same place Trixie had. "Hey Trixie, you ok?!"

"I'm… here," Trixie replies mellowly. She looks down, towards the floor. "Not that that changes anything…" Seeing Trixie and Luna, Twilight moves to join the hug; it is an effective solution to friendship problems, after all.

"Aw, come on, you matter to all of us. Why, without you here, I'd be… not happy, that's for sure," Twilight says, not wanting to tell a lie. Even if it was a half-truth...

Cadence decides to bump in. "Twilight… do promise me you won't let Trixie go," Upon receiving a quizzical look, she grins.

"Um, yeah, ok…"

"Unless Trixie is a burden," Trixie herself butts in, getting a tighter hug from Twilight.

"Well, good thing that will never happen…" For a few minutes, the three mares hugged in the middle of the dining room which used to have a table. Eventually, Cadence moves to leave the room.

"I want to go make dinner… with Shining," she adds, staring at him. Sighing, Shining submits, and the two head to the kitchen. Once safe, Cadence starts whispering her plan to Shining, who only grins.

THIRTY MINUTES LATER

"Dinner's done!" A shout comes from the kitchen as Cadence comes out with a plate of fish.

"Ok…" Trixie still seems scared by most of the princesses, so she huddles close to Twilight. She is pretty warm, and safe, and… Upon seeing the sight, Cadence's face lights up.

"Oh! So you figured it out on your own…" Cadence begins, grinning.

"...figured what out?" Twilight asks. Though she may be oblivious, she could connect signs when she knew what to look for. What she found was… unsettling. "Wait a minute… are you telling me-"

"Well, uh," Cadence breaks into a nervous sweat, having unknowingly skipped over the most important part of a relationship. "Uhm… Oh, what the hell. Yes, it is true that Trixie loves you,"

"I… wait, I've read something about taking advantage of a-" Twilight starts, desperately trying to find a way out.

"You forget I only detect true love, Twi," Cadence grins.

"Oh…" Twilight sits down. Well, more of slams down, causing her to wince. Luna lets out a short laugh, attracting a steely glare from her step-niece.

"What? It was sort of funny," Cadence rips her gaze away as she settles a sorrowful look on Twilight and Trixie.

"Well… that explains my feelings,"

"And Trixie's, she supposes..."

"Wait… are you telling me that-"

"Yes… Trixie supposes she loves you, Twilight Sparkle,"

At this, Twilight wears a genuine smile. The mere sight makes Trixie happy. "Well… this does seem… rather sudden, but I can make it!" Trixie moves to hug Twilight, who gladly accepts.

"Erm…" Shining coughs. Blushing, the two mares split apart and look at him. "Dinner's still warm right now, and there will always be time after dinner for… uh…"

"Well, Trixie is hungry. She just hopes you have better cooking than Twilight," Trixie smiles, getting another laugh from Luna.

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Twilight protests, yet grins back.

"What part of a pancake could move?"

"..."

"Exactly," Trixie puts on a bigger smile. "Ooh, maybe Trixie can actually eat this food…"

The whole room, minus Trixie, is staring at Twilight. "You do know cooking is reading with extra steps, right…?" Shining offers.

"I'm sorry I'm imaginative and forgot how to properly work an oven," The estranged family sits at the table, laughing. Laughing through the pain. Laughing for someone else's sake. Laughing because everyone else was. Most importantly, it was all genuine laughter, a thing a certain mare had never experienced.

Author's Note

Short and sweet.

This one took a toll to write tbh. The next few are a ride, though, so get ready...