The Long And Short Of It

As much as Nocturnal Pike hated to do it, she’d left her companions behind in bed. By the end of last night, they were both completely out of it, so they needed their rest. Besides, Pike had told them where she’d be today, and if they forgot, she’d left a note on the kitchen table.

As the batpony made her way downtown, her mind was galloping at a million miles a minute. The familiar nervousness that crept in whenever her mother came to visit seemed to be hitting her much sooner—and much harder—than usual.

Thankfully, Pike had been planning for this meeting since she received her mother’s telegram. As she was with many things, Star Mapper could be very particular about restaurants. And since Pike did not want to disappoint her, she’d been rapidly scanning her memories for the perfect place that would fit her mother’s strict criteria. As she walked, Pike ultimately decided it would be the cafe on Seventh Street. It was a conclusion she reached with perfect timing, because as she did, she arrived at the hotel.

And it appeared Star Mapper was waiting for her.

“Nocturnal!”

It seemed she’d been standing outside for some time, braving the cold in a classic display of mareliness. As Pike drew closer to her, she noticed her mother’s mane was a different color than when she saw the mare last. Her once midnight blue mane had turned a much brighter, and honestly gaudy tone, one which contrasted harshly with her fading teal coat. A tacky shade that reeked of a poor dye job.

‘It was greying a bit the last time I saw her…’

‘But that’s absurd! Mom is way too marely to do something like dye her mane because it was graying! Dad must have twisted her hoof to get it done, and poorly at that.’

As Pike reached her mother, she went in for one of the hugs she’d grown so used to over the past few months—only for the mare to lean back and affix Pike with a disapproving gaze.

“Nocturnal, what are you doing?”

‘Oh! Right! Silly me. Mares don’t hug other mares!’

Awkwardly pulling back, Pike coughed into her hoof, hoping to make it look like she wasn’t doing what she was just doing. “Ahem. Sorry, Mom,” she said as she reached out a hoof for a hoofbump.

Seeing the shift, her mom smiled approvingly and met her bump. “Ah, that’s more like my favorite daughter!”

Despite herself, Pike sharply inhaled.

‘EEEEEE! If only filly-me could see me now!’

‘Grown-up-me is more successful than she could have ever hoped to be!’

Nonetheless, Star Mapper’s words put a strange tension in Pike’s frame.

Some... fear.

Oh well. All that mattered now was that the mare that she’d once looked up to as much as the Princess herself, was standing there before her.

‘I better put my best hoof forward!’

With a huff and what looked suspiciously like a shiver, her mother spoke up. “So where are we going?”

“Your food will be out in just a moment.”

Nocturnal Pike, and her mom had just placed their orders at the cafe on Seventh street. It was a quaint place, looking more like a bakery than a restaurant. Pike had asked for one of the tables near the back, and that was where the two of them were sitting.

“You know, Mom,” Pike began as the waitress walked away, “we actually have telephones at the guard offices now. You can just call me if you want to meet up.”

Her statement pulled her mother’s attention from the stallion a few tables over, and she scoffed. “What, you mean on that gizmo your father got me last Hearth’s Warming? Bah, you know it's just a fad he saw in one of his magazines.” She leaned back, rolling her eyes. “Only reason he even bought one is because the family next door got one too.”

Pike was fairly certain he’d explicitly said he got it to “make it easier for you to stay in touch with your own family,” but her Mom was a stallion expert.

Star Mapper frowned as she seemed to think about something. “I’ll stick to the tried and true methods of staying in contact, thank you!”

Pike was tempted to roll her eyes at the insinuation that telegrams were “tried and true” but she forced that feeling down.

‘Show a little respect! This is your Mom you’re talking to.’

Seeing that her mother’s mind was made up though, Pike decided to shift the conversation. “Speaking of staying in contact, did you get my last letter?”

The pride on her face was as plain as the moon. “We did! Your father read it aloud to the whole herd while he was bawling his eyes out.”

Pike chuckled a bit at the mental picture; her dad always was a bit of a drama king.

“I didn't, of course. I knew it was only a matter of time until a mare of your caliber found a stallion worth keeping around.” She cast a disgusted look towards a stallion at another table. Pike wasn’t sure why at first, but then she noticed his shield cutie mark. “I am proud of you though, Nocturnal. It’s sad to say, but it's no easy feat these days to find a stallion that’s not either just a slut worth a quick stick and kick or one of these new age stallionists.”

Pike chuckled a little more awkwardly than she would’ve liked at that, but her mother didn’t seem to notice. “So, is he a better cook than your father?”

Pike smiled. “Ha! N—”

That smile cracked just a bit. Her first instinct was to answer truthfully; this was her mother, after all. But she didn’t want the mare to think she was dating a stallionist!

“—ot exactly. I mean, how could any stallion beat dad’s home cooking?”

Star Mapper guffawed at that, leaving Pike to breathe a sigh of relief. “Haha! I’ll tell him you said that!”

‘Phew, dodged an arrow there.’

Her mom took a sip from her glass of water. “Your letter made it sound like things were going well. So, when are you making it a herd?”

That question made Pike grin ear to ear in satisfaction. “We already have!”

Star Mapper’s look turned intense and scrutinous. “With you as the alpha, right?”

That look triggered a reflex installed by years of foalhood scrutiny. It made a part of her want to wither away under her gaze. But, she resisted! After all, Pike was about to say exactly what she wanted to hear.

“Of course!”

Reaching around the small table with her impressive wingspan, she clapped Pike on the back in a rare show of affection. “That’s my filly! See, this is why you’re my favorite daughter! You’re the only one actually living up to my example.”

Her heart soared. This was everything she could have ever wanted. It was everything she’d hoped it would be. The doubts that had been lurking in the back of her mind were pushed aside by the approval she’d been constantly chasing since she was a filly.

But as the initial euphoria starts to fade, Pike realized there was a massive inconsistency in what her mom had just said.

‘How can I be the only one following her example if I’m not the only alpha?’

Pike had to ask. “What happened to Lucky Night?”

The sound of her sister’s name puts a look of disgust on her mom’s face that Pike was very glad was not aimed at her. “Don’t remind me, her prissy coltfriend demoted her. Something about how she was, “too emotionally distant” or some other nonsense.” She shook her head disapprovingly. ”I told her what she should do is leave him in the dust. It’s obvious that he just can’t handle an actual mare, and wants some sissy’s shoulder to cry on. But no. Lucky’s insisting they’re going to make it work.”

She punctuated the story with a long sigh. “I thought I raised that filly better...”

‘Aw jeez.’

Pike’s heart went out to Lucky. But was it really that big a deal that she wasn’t leaving her herd over that? It seemed like a fairly easy thing to work through, all things consi—

“Absolutely shameful.”

Pike mentally bit her tongue at her mother’s interruption.

‘C-could I leave Anon over something like that?’

‘No... No!’

‘That’d be absurd!’

‘I could never!’

“That’s why you’re my favorite daughter. I don’t have to worry about YOU doing something like that.”

Star Mapper’s comment struck a blow right to her heart, and those doubts she’d chased away came crashing back with the force of a dozen guardsmares.

‘J-just power through it, Pike! Put that perfect poker face of yours to use!’

“Thanks, Mom,” she forced out.

By Pike's own design, her mom smiled, completely oblivious to her daughter's true feelings. “Well, you’ve earned it.”

Little of note occurred after that. Pike and her mother finished their meal, said their goodbyes, and the two of them parted ways. As Nocturnal Pike entered her apartment building’s main floor, she was reminded why she didn’t like it when Star Mapper came to visit. She practically collapsed as muscles that had been tense for hours finally relaxed.

‘All I did was eat a nice meal and I feel like I just ran a marathon.’

This came as no surprise to her, though; she always felt like this after her mother came by.

As she started to slowly climb the stairwell, Pike found herself wondering...

‘Why do her visits always leave me feeling like this?’

Pike had met every expectation her mother set out for her since she was a filly! She’d given her every bit of resolve she needed to be a mare among mares: a sergeant of the guard! Even today, she just spent their meetup showering her with compliments. So why did she feel so... bad?

‘Because it's a hollow victory, and you know it.’

She was a hair’s breadth away from her pride vanishing like dew in the afternoon sun.

‘And you deserve to lose it.’

“Hahahahaha! That’s how you got your cutie mark? That’s amazing!”

The sound of Anon’s voice caused Pike to perk up. It appeared she’d been so lost in thought that she climbed the stairs near automatically. She’d already reached the floor her apartment was on.

“You shoulda seen the look on her face!” answered the voice of who Pike believed was Suck.

‘Hm, it seems Cut’s parents didn’t want to wait and came by early.’

Not that she minded. They seemed like good ponies.

Anonymous could barely believe what he’d just heard! When Barely and Suck showed up, he knew he’d be in for some good stories. But that’s how Cut got her cutie mark!? If it wasn’t for the photobook open in front of him, and Cut’s beet-red face, he honestly wouldn’t have bought it.

He couldn’t help his grin. “I love it!”

Although Cut was deliberately avoiding eye contact with him, he could still see her smile.

The sound of the door latch clicking and turning directed his attention to the entrance.

‘It must be... Pike!’

He waved to the mare as she walked in. “Welcome home, hon!”

Patting the spot on the couch to his left, Anon gestured for her to come over—something she did gratefully, hopping up to the seat next to him before leaning up against his barrel with a sigh.

“How was breakfast?” He asked.

“Not bad, Mom’s the same as usual.”

“Aw,” Barely piped up from his chair, “She didn’t want to join us today?”

Anon could feel Pike’s muscles tense.

‘That’s... an odd reaction.’

Despite the tension he could feel running through her body though, her face seemed unmoved. “Nah, she’s only in town for business. Had to get to a meeting.”

“Darn shame, I’d like to meet her,” said Suck.

Anon could tell Pike wanted to get off the topic ASAP, so he lent her a little helping hoof. “Hey, has Cut told you how she got her cutie mark yet?”

She nodded lazily. “Yeah, Barely told me about it yesterday.”

“Wha- Dad!” cried Cut from beside him.

Barely, who was in the process of sipping some tea Anon had put out earlier, proceeded to choke on it. “cough cough, Anonymous, sweetie, why don’t you, cough tell us how you got your cutie mark?” He asked, grinning sheepishly.

‘Dang, I’m handing out helping hooves left and right today!’

“Well, back when I was a young b-ahem colt, I—”

‘…’

‘Oh no.’

“I... um...”

‘Oh fuck no. I forgot the stupid cutie mark cover story I made up!’

Something had become incredibly apparent to Nocturnal Pike.

Anon had clearly forgotten his cutie mark story. He was floundering, desperately trying to either remember his tale, or to come up with something believable on the spot. Since he was kind enough to help her out earlier, she decided she ought to do the same for him.

“How about I tell my cutie mark story while you go look for a visual aid?”

Anon breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s a great idea, honey. You know how hard it is for me to tell this without something to demonstrate with.” Without another word, he hopped off the couch and disappeared into the bedroom, leaving Pike with Cut and her parents.

‘Time to really sell it.’

She struck a cocky pose with a grin so smug it was practically dripping off her face. “Leave it to a stallion to need a demonstration to go with his cutie mark story!”

Suck started laughing uproariously, while Barely looked like Pike had just said something revolutionary. “Why didn’t I think of that?” he said under his breath.

“So how did you get your cutie mark?” asked Cut.

Allowing herself to drift back to her younger days, Pike let the memory overtake her. “You see, it was a little after my tenth birthday...”

Nocturnal, the mighty and definitely-not-small, was being extra quiet; her parents were upstairs, and by the sound of it, playing. As long as she stayed quieter than those thumps, all would be well. After all, she was doing something Mom always said not to: play in the kitchen!

Dad had made something really good for dinner earlier, a sof-... a soffl-.... Whatever. It didn’t matter what it was called, all she knew was that it was so tasty! So tasty that she wanted to try to make it herself!

But Mom always said, “mares don’t work in the kitchen, that’s a colt’s place!”

Which was why she was trying now, in secret! If mom didn’t find out, Nocturnal wouldn’t get scolded for being “unmarely,” and that meant it was okay!

‘Hmmmm, let’s see, what did Dad do…’

Allowing her memories to lead the way, she began to prepare the dish.

‘Eggs, butter, milk, some spices…’

‘Oooo, he put spinach in right? That would be really good!’

Nocturnal went on like this for a while, oblivious to the passage of time. Eventually though, she finished mixing the ingredients to the point where she thought she’d replicated what he did, mostly. With a smile on her face, she placed it in the oven and got ready to wait.

Only for her heart to jump into her throat.

She’d been so lost in her work that she hadn’t noticed that the thumping coming from upstairs had stopped—and now, the owner of a familiar set of hoofsteps was making her way to the kitchen.

‘Oh no, oh no, oh no!’

‘If your Mom catches me in here, I’m dead!’

‘S-she’ll call me a wimp and not love me anymore!’

‘Oh Luna what do I do? What do I do?’

At that moment, the answer came to her from deep within her being. Something primal reached out from within Nocturnal’s soul, and the filly reacted on pure instinct. Stretching across the ceiling were several large beams that her parents would one day tell her were ‘load-bearing.’

She’d never given them a second thought. But tonight, Nocturnal’s soul knew that the distance between those beams was just her size.

Without any conscious effort on her part, the filly’s legs launched her into the air, at the perfect speed. A speed that slowed down enough so that when she reached the apex of her leap, she could kick all of her legs out and brace herself in between those beams. Which she did, leaving herself perfectly hidden on the ceiling as her mom walked in.

The sudden exertion left Nocturnal winded, but she resisted the urge to pant.

That would give her away.

Her filly muscles strained to support her weight as she stuck to the ceiling, and the voice of her protesting limbs left her only barely aware of what her mom was saying.

“Hmm, let's see what we’ve got to snack on...” she said as she walked around the room. “Huh? What’s this?”

Nocturnal’s breath hitched as she realized that the oven was on. Keeping her breath steady became an alicornean effort as the strain of her muscles mixed with the abject terror at the thought of getting caught.

“Hm, he’s making another souffle? Ha! That stallion. Alright, better not snack ‘till it's done or he’ll whine my ear off,” she muttered to herself.

Much to Nocturnal’s relief, her mom made to exit the kitchen after that.

“What a strange thing to make for an after-sex snack.”

As she vanished from Nocturnal’s view, it took everything she had not to drop down right then and there. She forced herself to stay up until she was certain she’d heard her hoofsteps retreat up the stairs.

Only once they had did she let out the breath she was holding and allowed herself to drop. As she did, her wings expanded, allowing her to drift silently back to the ground. Once Nocturnal actually landed, she immediately collapsed. The burn in her muscles exhilarated her as much as it pained her.

‘That was so cool, and I got away with it!’

It was just like she was in one of those spy books she’d stolen from her older sister!

‘Wow, I had no idea I could do stuff like that.’

‘Imagine if I could be that cool all the time!’

The thought puts a smile on her face as she lay there on the ground. A smile that quickly grew when she realized that a flash of light had just come from her flank. Weakly craning her neck up, Nocturnal saw what every filly wanted to see one day.

“My cutie mark...” she said breathlessly.

It had taken the form of the shadow of a pony doing a backflip in front of a full moon.

“So cool...”

‘Wowee! I can’t believe that just happened!’

The fear that had filled her heart disappeared as the fact she’d finally gotten her cutie mark set in.

First she got to play in the kitchen, then she got to perform a super cool spy movie move, and then she got her cutie mark! Best night—well actually it was day right then; she was up past her bedtime—ever!

“...and that’s how it happened.”

The Pike of the present had just finished telling that same story to the gathered ponies. With some details omitted of course, but generally, it was the same.

Barely turned to face his wife. “Now why can’t you do anything like that?” he asked.

Suck let out a deep belly laugh. “Ha! Come on babe, you knew exactly what you were getting into when you married THIS,” she said as she slapped her gut.

Barely rolled his eyes, but he was smiling the whole time.

“Okay, okay I’m ready!” Anon called from the other room.

Pike and all the other gathered ponies turn their heads toward the bedroom in anticipation. As they did, Anon stepped out. He was dressed head to hoof in his reporter gear. He was even wearing that funny little hat he had. As he stepped into the main room, he made an exaggerated show of reaching into his saddlebags. A show that served as Pike’s signal to close her eyes.

“Say cheese!”