Chapters Journey to Dodge Junction
Colder weather had arrived in Canterlot and everypony was in a festive mood as Hearth's Warming was only a couple days away. Twilight Velvet and Night Light too were in a good mood but not for the same reason as everypony else. Most ponies in the city were decorating their homes and buying presents for their families but Twilight's parents were preparing for a trip to Dodge Junction where they would meet with Twilight, who had relocated to Unicornia after running away from Celestia.
That morning while they were eating breakfast Night Light asked, "Honey, do you think Twilight will be happy to see us?"
*Velvet replied, "I'm not sure. You know she wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of leaving Unicornia just to come see us. I know if she could have it her way, we'd have to walk into that forest just to see her."
Night Light was more optimistic, "You never know sweetie. It has been a while since we last saw her and she might really miss us."
Velvet sighed, "I hope so but she seems awfully close to that Moonlight pony. I could see her bringing her with her because just the way they behaved, it feels like she sees Moonlight Tulip as a second mother." She then became sad, "Maybe even more of a mother than me."
Night Light could tell that his wife was sad over the prospects of this but wanted to try and reassure her, "Sweetie, yes Twilight may view this pony as a second mom but you have to understand, culturally they are pretty much the same but she'll always see you as her mom. She would never just forget about us."
Velvet gave him a slight smile as she hoped that he was right. Once they got done with their breakfast Night Light suggested, "How about we go down to Dodge Junction and wait for Twilight? I could see her arriving early so she could visit with us and then get back home."
Velvet sighed, "You're probably right there, I just hope she still remembers when Hearth's Warming is."
"Oh I'm sure she does. Twilight is the last pony I could see forgetting something like that!"
After finishing their breakfast, they headed towards the train station. Velvet in particular looked around at all the festivities going on and sighed in sadness. She thought back to when Twilight was young and would always get so excited when they would walk around the city and look at all the "pretties" as she would call them. She knew that Twilight was now a full grown mare but the fact that she didn't even want to set hoof in Canterlot did sadden her.
Once they got to the station they bought their tickets and as they waited for the train, Night Light saw the sadness on his wife's face, "Sweetie, I know you're sad but Twilight has her own life now and is culturally different than us."
Velvet grunted, "I know and it was that tyrant's fault. She is the one that molested Twilight and drove her away and ultimately made her into the pony she is."
Velvet was becoming agitated and her husband wanted to calm her down, "Honey, that is in the past. What matters is that Twilight got somewhere safe, she has ponies who care about her and she is happy."
Velvet sighed, "I know, I know but I'm still sad."
After a few more minutes of Night Light trying to get his wife to see the positives but it was not working all that well. Velvet knew that had Twilight remained in Canterlot or even stayed in Ponyville after the bad experience with Celestia that she would still go up to be with them on the holiday, or at least visit for them.
When the train finally arrived the two were quick to embark as there were many ponies wanting to travel that day and they didn't feel like having to wait six hours for the next train heading down south. During the train ride, many ponies were talking about the family they were going to see and the meals that would likely be prepared for them, along with the gifts they had bought for their families.
Velvet sighed, "They're all so lucky. The most we're going to get with Twilight is a meal at the local restaurant in Dodge Junction and what will hopefully be more than a brief conversation."
Night Light suggested, "You know, I know we can't walk all that far but we could see if she would like us to go to Unicornia with her. Queen Radiant Hope did say we'd be welcome to visit."
Velvet countered, "And if we can't walk that far, what are we supposed to do, just lay out there in the desert and hope we don't die?"
Her attitude was starting to frustrate Night Light. He was also disappointed that they had to travel out of town just to see Twilight but didn't have his wife's same negativity. He had a strong feeling that Twilight would meet them there, spend a fair amount of time with them and perhaps even bring them a gift from Unicornia.
Author's Note
* Throughout this story Twilight Velvet will be referred to as Velvet.
Several hours had passed and it was late in the day when they arrived in Dodge Junction. Unlike it was in Canterlot where the snow had begun to fall as they pulled out of the station, it was warm and sunny in the town. When they disembarked everything in the town seemed different. There were no Hearth's Warming decorations anywhere to be seen, well none that they were familiar with.
The community also didn't seem to have a festive feel to it at all. The two almost wondered if the community celebrated the holiday until they saw ponies buying gifts and wrapping paper but all of a sudden whether or not they celebrated the holiday fell on their priority list. They wanted to know if anypony there had seen a lavender unicorn. As they walked down the street, they were catching a lot of looks of shock and stares.
Velvet noticed this first and asked, "Honey, why do you think they're looking at us like this?"
Night Light knew a bit about the small towns in the south and how they are pretty much all earth pony. He replied, "Chances are they've never seen a unicorn before."
They finally bumped into a mare, a mare who seemed like she was wealthier so they thought they'd ask her. Velvet asked, "Ma'am, we're wondering if you've seen a lavender unicorn with a six pointed star for a cutie mark."
The pony replied, "To be honest, y'all are the first unicorns Ah've ever seen so no Ah haven't."
Night Light asked, "Ok but I do have a question, is there anywhere here in town to stay because we're expecting our daughter to come up from Unicornia to visit us for Hearth's Warming."
The pony asked, "Uni-what now?"
Velvet figured that she wouldn't know what he was talking about so she asked, "The forest that isn't too far away from here."
"Oh, that forest. Well we don't have any hotels 'round here but if y'all will help me out a bit y'all can stay the night over on the ranch."
This caused the two to then wonder who you are. Velvet asked, "I'm sorry but what is your name?"
"My name is Cherry Jubilee and Ah'm the boss over at Cherry Hills Ranch and if y'all are looking for a place to stay, Ah could really use some help sortin' cherries."
The two's jaws dropped in shock. Here was this pony who was expecting them to help her sort cherries just for a place to stay. The thoughts of it made Velvet cringe but Night Light was much more open to it. He replied, "Well you introduced yourself so I'll introduce myself. My name is Night Light and if that is the case, I will help you out."
He then nudged his wife and she replied, "Well my name is Twilight Velvet and I'll help you out too."
"Terrific! Let me show you to your quarters and then tomorrow morning after breakfast, you can help me sort some cherries!"
The two were frustrated that Twilight did not show up that day and that just to have a roof over their head for the night, that they were going to have to aid Cherry Jubilee in sorting cherries. Both of them were wondering if after helping Cherry sort the cherries tomorrow that they would have to walk out to the gullies and then walk from there to Unicornia.
Once Cherry showed them to their quarters she said, "Alright, here's where y'all are going to be sleeping. Now follow me down so we can have some supper and then cherry pie for desert!"
The two were happy that Cherry was going to not only be giving them supper but also breakfast but they were still frustrated that they were going to have to do something that no Canterlot pony alive would do, sort cherries.
After turning in for the night, Velvet sighed in frustration, "I can't believe it, I can't believe it. Nopony around has seen Twilight and if she doesn't show up by the middle of the day tomorrow, we're going to have to walk to Unicornia and neither one of us has ever had to walk that far before!"
Night Light too was frustrated but he wasn't the type to let his emotions get to him. He sighed, "Sweetie, we'll help Cherry Jubilee tomorrow morning, then we'll go see if anypony has seen Twilight and if nopony has, we'll just have to deal with walking to Unicornia."
Velvet let out a sigh of frustration. As they were laying there trying to get to sleep, Velvet had two things running through her mind. The first thing being whether or not Twilight would even show up and the other being that they would have to hide them sorting cherries from everypony in Canterlot. She knew that if they were to find out, their social status would plunge over them doing what the wealthier ponies there would consider uncouth, an activity that was beneath Canterlot residents.
When the following morning arrived Cherry Jubilee came and woke them up. "Up, up. Y'all want to be up if you want to have breakfast."
The two followed her down to the dining room where they would be surprised by what was being served. Unlike up in Canterlot, they were being served meat. They did know though not to say anything because Cheery Jubilee did allow them to stay the night in exchange for aiding her in sorting cherries.
After breakfast she led them out to the work area where a strong looking stallion was waiting. As they stood in front of the conveyor belt with two bins. Cherry said, "Alright, red cherries go in one bin and yellow cherries go in the other. It is easy as cherry pie!"
The stallion got to walking in this wheel thing and cherries began to come down the belt. Night Light decided he would take care of the red cherries so Velvet took care of the yellow ones. Night Light would never admit this to anypony in Canterlot but he was actually enjoying the cherry sorting. Night Light worked as an accountant and the cherry sorting seemed like a nice break from what sometimes was a stressful job.
After three hours the supply of cherries coming had been exhausted and Cherry Jubilee came into the room and said, "Well Ah'd like to thank y'all for helping."
Night Light replied, "The pleasure was all ours."
Jubilee suggested, "Before y'all get going, you want to join me with a mid-morning snack before y'all go looking for your daughter?"
Velvet replied, "That would be wonderful."
The two followed Miss Jubilee to the dining room where they enjoyed a slice of cherry pie. The two had only ate cherry pie once before in their lives and weren't fond of it. There was something about the cherries there though that made them taste better. After finishing their snacks Velvet commented, "This pie of yours is delicious."
Cherry blushed, "Aw y'all are just sayin' that. Y'all can tell me the truth."
Night Light agreed with is wife, "It is ma'am, I don't know what it is but this is the best cherry pie I've ever ate."
"Well thank you." Cherry had noticed that a fair amount of time had passed and suggested, "Well Ah've probably held y'all up for long enough but before y'all go lookin' for your daughter, how about y'all take some cherries for the road!"
Night Light replied, "We'd love that but we don't have any saddle bags."
Cherry Jubilee said, "Oh don't worry about that. We have plenty of saddle bags 'round here."
She then led the two into her office and gave each a pair of saddlebags before filling them with cherries, probably more than they'd be able to eat. Velvet was about to say something about it but didn't want to offend the pony who had been so kind to them. She then figured that Twilight could help them eat them and if they had to walk to Unicornia, there would be Moonlight there to help them as well.
Once Cherry Jubilee had got them everything, she escorted them to the edge of the ranch and said, "Well again thank y'all for the help, Ah hope y'all can find your daughter and that she is ok."
Night Light replied, "Well thank you for letting us stay on the ranch."
"The pleasure was all mine."
The two then left the ranch and headed back towards town hoping that Twilight would be in town waiting for them or would at least arrive soon because they didn't feel like having to walk so far just to see Twilight. The two didn't know much about Unicornia except that it was in a rather dense forest which was another thing that concerned them, they worried that they might get lost if they had to go there.
After getting done over at Cherry Hills Ranch, Night Light and Velvet headed back into town and began to walk around, hoping that they would run across Twilight. Like it was when they first arrived, they were catching a lot of strange looks and stares. This was something that neither one of them cared for but expected it this time. After several minutes of walking around and seeing no trace of Twilight they realized that wasn't going to work. They knew that they would have to ask somepony.
They then saw the town's lone restaurant off to their left so they figured that they would ask there. When they headed in they were immediately greeted by a younger mare, "Howdy y'all, table for two?"
Velvet asked in return, "Actually we're just looking for our daughter and I'm wondering if you've seen a lavender unicorn with a six pointed star for a cutie mark?"
The mare replied, "I'm sorry, I haven't. To be honest y'all are the first unicorns I've ever met."
Night Light said, "Well thanks anyway."
The two left and given that mid-day was already approaching, they knew they had only one option, they were going to have to walk east to the gullies and then south to the forest. Night sighed, "Well honey, shall we get going before it gets too late?"
Velvet replied, "We probably should." A thought then crossed her mind, "You know, they may not even keep track of what day it is there if it is in a really dense forest. They may view such a thing as pointless."
Night replied, "Maybe but I know how our Twily is, she would keep track of what day it is whether they use calendars or not! To be honest, I could see her getting them to use calendars if they don't use them already."
"You're right sweetie, let's get going."
It was late in the afternoon when the two finally reached the gullies. Both were hot, tired and frustrated. They knew that they had reached the path that would lead them to Unicornia but they had no idea how far away they were or how long it would take for them to get there. Another thing that bothered them, Velvet in particular, was that they might wind up having to sleep outside.
As they turned south Velvet sighed, "Hopefully Unicornia isn't too far away from here, I am in no mood to sleep out here in the open."
Night Light replied, "Sweetie, it is ok. When Twilight was on the run, she probably had to do it multiple times." He pointed down into the gullies and saw that there was a cave. He added, "Chances are she probably slept in those caves to hide from Celestia."
Velvet knew that he made good points and knew that Twilight did sleep in the caves while she was on the run but likely did so out of necessity. She looked down at the gullies and said, "Well I would rather us not have to sleep in a cave because that would kill our social status back home if they found out."
This was one thing that irritated Night Light, her obsession over their social status. He snapped, "Look, you need to stop being so obsessed over that. Besides, if we was to want to move down here to be with Twilight, that wouldn't matter anymore."
Velvet sighed in frustration because the thoughts of moving to a secluded area, especially one where it is dimly lit, did not appeal to her at all. She enjoyed the city life in Canterlot and enjoyed mingling with her friends. She wasn't sure if her husband was just saying that or was seriously thinking of relocating to Unicornia since the queen had stated that she would allow it.
A couple hours later the sun was setting below the horizon and finally the two saw a large dense forest off in the distance, they saw Unicornia. Velvet became a bit happier, "Well at least we won't be sleeping out in the open. I'd rather sleep under the forest canopy."
The two continued their journey south but when they got to the forest boundary, they noticed that they would have to jump down into the gullies rather than simply walking along them. Both of them were a bit concerned that they would sprain a hoof jumping down like that but reluctantly they did so. Once they crossed into Unicornia, they flared their horns up to provide some light.
Once they exited the gullies it was pitch dark in the forest. Even with their horns lit up all the way, they couldn't produce enough light to see where they were going. Night Light suggested, "How about we stop for the night, eat some cherries and then try to get some sleep. Once it gets light enough in the morning we can continue to follow this path because it will likely lead us to their community."
Velvet replied, "Very well. I was hoping to keep going but when we can't see where we're going, who knows where we would wind up."
After what was a much more peaceful night than they expected and eating more cherries, they continued their journey south. Unlike it was in the past, the gullies continued well into the forest. When they finally climbed out of the gullies, both breathed a sigh of relief knowing that they were likely closer to finding Twilight and that they likely wouldn't have to worry so much about injuring themselves by tripping over a rock or a hole in the ground.
After a couple of hours, they saw a pond off in the distance, a pond with two unicorns getting a drink from the far side of it. The unicorns had their horns lit up to provide some light and both Velvet and Night Light knew who one of them was. Night Light exclaimed, "Honey, it's Twilight!"
Velvet replied, "And I'm guessing that other pony is probably Moonlight Tulip given how close they are."
The two began to head towards the pond and this immediately got the attention of the two unicorns. Moonlight nudged Twilight and asked, "Those two, who do you think they are?"
Twilight knew immediately by the color of the auras. She replied, "It is my parents. I wonder what they're doing here?"
Moonlight added, "I'm not sure. I thought they didn't want to come into the forest."
The two lit their horns up brighter to provide more light for the outsiders. Once they got to the other side of the pond, Night Light rushed to her, embraced her and exclaimed, "Hi sweet pea, it feels like it has been forever!"
He released the embrace and Velvet embraced her, "Twilight, we were so worried about you when you didn't show up."
Twilight had a confused look on her face, "Show up? Show up for what?"
Both of her parents had a look of shock on their face. Both were wondering how it was that Twilight had no clue what they were talking about given how she had always kept track of pretty much everything. Night Light said, "Hearth's Warming, you said you'd meet us in Dodge Junction for Hearth's Warming so we could at least meet for the holiday."
Twilight then noticed a scowl forming on Velvet's face. She knew that her mother was not thrilled over her forgetting it. Moonlight could see a look of nervousness developing on her face and wanted to try and prevent Twilight's biological mother from saying anything that might hurt Twilight's feelings. She said, "You have to understand, we live in a place where the weather is always the same, the leaves never fall and the only thing we have to determine our days is dim light and the darkness of night."
Twilight added, "Yeah, to be honest none of us know what day it is and chances are none of us, save Queen Radiant Hope, even know how long we've been here or how old we are anymore."
Both of her parents' jaws dropped open. Here was their daughter who at one time was obsessed with little details not even knowing how long she'd been there, the date or even how old she was anymore. Night Light had a look of concern on his face, "Really, you don't even know how old you are anymore?"
Twilight sighed, "Dad, time is meaningless here. Our days consist of getting up, eating breakfast, social time, eating lunch, some of us head out and gather food, some relax, some go out on patrol, then we have supper and then those of us who do some night patrol, well we do that."
Moonlight suggested, "How about we head down to town, we can let the queen know you're here and then I do have a spare room if you want to spend more than a few hours here."
The two nodded in approval and they followed them south, further into the forest. By the time they finally reached town, the canopy was very thick and only a small amount of light was making it through, causing everypony out and about to flare up their horns to create light. They then saw a bright crystal that was providing some light too. From what they had learned when Twilight was up in Canterlot, that there was a crystal that increased their life spans significantly so they figured that was likely what it was.
When they got into town, Night Light and Velvet noticed something strange. They noticed that the trees were much bigger around and that the unicorns had actually hollowed them out and turned them into homes. They also noticed that there were several trees that had somehow been transformed into one and that it too was hollowed out. They figured that it was likely the residence of the queen.
Once they got into the center of the town square Twilight ordered, "You need to follow us so that you may meet the queen."
The two had a feeling that as they were meeting with the queen, that Twilight likely wouldn't be in the same mindset. Given what they had picked up just from how she and Moonlight were behaving upon running into them. Once they reached the castle door Shooting Star asked, "Princess Twilight, Moonlight Tulip, who are these ponies?"
Twilight replied, "They are my biological parents."
Velvet noticed two things. She noticed how Twilight referred to them as her biological parents and then they heard the guard refer to her as Princess Twilight. Night Light embraced her and congratulated, "Really sweet pea, you're a princess now?"
Twilight replied, "I am but we really need to get you before the queen, she needs to know you are here."
Velvet was not thrilled over the biological parents comment but figured that it would be best to hold her displeasure over the statement until they were away from the palace. After all, the last thing they needed was for them to yell at their daughter in front of the queen, especially given that she was royalty herself.
As they were led up to the throne of Queen Radiant Hope, the two bowed and in unison said, "Your Majesty."
Radiant gave the two a smile and asked, "Who are you two and why did you come to Unicornia?"
Night Light began, "We are Princess Twilight's parents and we have come to see her. I am Night Light, her father."
Velvet stated, "And I am Twilight Velvet, her mother." Velvet paused before continuing, "She was to meet with us in Dodge Junction a couple days back for Hearth's Warming but when she didn't show up, we had to come here." She then turned to Twilight and continued, "I still don't get it, how could you not remember when Hearth's Warming is?"
Radiant confirmed what Twilight had told them earlier, "Ma'am, time is meaningless here so we don't know what day it is, how long we have been here, our ages and we certainly DO NOT celebrate Equestrian holidays."
Night Light seemed more accepting of the idea but Velvet wasn't, "What? Why don't you celebrate Equestrian holidays and how is it that you don't even know your ages or how long you've been here?"
Radiant replied, "I'm certain that Princess Twilight, her mother......"
Velvet flared her horn up in anger and yelled, "What, mother?"
Twilight grabbed her in her aura and ordered, "Calm down."
Velvet calmed down and Twilight added, "Look, it is something that every young mare who comes here does. It was Moonlight who brought me before the queen, she took me in, we developed a mother/daughter relationship and on my coronation day, I simply viewed her as my mom."
Moonlight added, "And I viewed her as my daughter."
Violet again flared up her horn prompting Radiant to say, "Ma'am, such a temper is not allowed here. You need to calm down if you wish to stay and spend time with your daughter." She then turned to Night Light and added, "Sir, I am glad to see you holding your temper."
Night Light had always been a more laid back pony and could easily understand why this was the case. He replied, "Well it is your customs and if my daughter wishes to have two moms, I see nothing wrong with it." He paused before continuing, "Your Majesty, if I may ask, how is it that you have all lived so long?"
Radiant replied, "I'm not sure if you saw that crystal on the way in but it is what gives us our long life spans. It also gives us our pleasant weather, keeps the leaves on the trees and prevents the trees from dying. Basically, it provides us with the cover we desire."
While Night Light was having a calm discussion with the queen, Velvet and Moonlight were having a less pleasant discussion in front of Twilight. Velvet snapped, "Who are you to steal my daughter away from me? How is it that she sees you as her mother now?" She turned to Twilight and added, "Is that why you referred to us as your biological parents instead of just your parents?"
Moonlight was able to control her temper, "Look, every single mare who has ever come here, save the queen, has gone through this."
Twilight gave Moonlight a smile, "And mom, I hope we can remain as mother and daughter for the rest of our days." She then turned to Velvet and added, "Mom, you have to understand our culture." She pointed to Moonlight and continued, "She has been there for me when I first came here, when I felt vulnerable."
Moonlight figured she needed to tell Velvet more of how it was, "When I along with Sunset Shimmer found her in the forest, she was clearly scared. She was terrified that the tyrant...."
Velvet interrupted, "You mean Princess Cele......"
Twilight flared her horn up in anger and yelled, "Do not say that name here, ever. It is because of her and everything she did to us that we came here."
Moonlight then took back the conversation, "You must understand, the tyrant had chased after her as she was fleeing. Like we have brought up, I took her in, I provided her with the safety and comfort she needed at the time."
Velvet still wasn't overly pleased with the whole situation. She turned to Twilight and said, "We know what happened and why didn't you just come home? We could have protected you from her."
Twilight replied, "Look, she would have barged in, took me away and did unspeakable things to me." She saw that Velvet was about to say something and continued, "Look, there wouldn't have been a single thing you could have done to stop her. I came here for a reason, I knew that the tyrant was scared of this place and whether anypony else lived here or not, it would provide me with the cover and darkness that I would need to be safe from her."
Moonlight added, "Your magic would have been no match against hers, she would have come, she would have taken Twilight away and did who knows what to her....all I know is it wouldn't be good."
Velvet stood there for a moment as all that sank in. She was undoubtedly upset that Twilight would consider Moonlight a second mother but realized why she did. She could see that the two had formed a bond and that it was Moonlight who protected her. She approached Moonlight, embraced her and said, "Thank you Moonlight, thank you for protecting my, I guess I mean our, daughter like that."
Moonlight returned the embrace, "It is alright Velvet. I'm sorry if it seemed like I was acting like I was her only moth...."
Before she could finish her sentence Night Light joined them and said, "Well Queen Radiant is perfectly ok with us staying here to visit Twilight."
Moonlight replied, "That is great because I have a spare room for you two to stay in."
Night Light exclaimed, "That is great, thanks so much for going to let us stay."
Moonlight commented, "Well we don't have motels or anything like that here so it would either be that or you sleep out in the town square."
Twilight added, "Well let's get home and get them settled in and then we can get some supper fixed."
Night Light and Velvet nodded and followed the two to their home. Neither of the two were sure how a hollowed out tree would make for a decent sized home but figured that these ponies had been doing it for long enough that they likely had it down to an art form of sorts.
While they were headed to Moonlight and Twilight's house, her parents couldn't help but notice how close the two truly were. They were walking ahead of them and were talking about what they were planning on having for supper and then what they could do that evening since her parents were there. One thing that did frustrate Velvet though was that Twilight had called Moonlight "mom" three times while they were right there within earshot.
Once the four arrived at their house, Velvet was examining the tree and wondered how it was that they could have a spare room. She had a feeling that the unicorns had perfected the way they made their homes into an art of some sort but still, despite the tree being the largest residential one, there was no way it would have the room that their house did up in Canterlot.
When Moonlight opened the door Twilight said, "Mom, dad, welcome to our home. How about you come in and I'll show you to the spare room."
Velvet did smile some that Twilight was still calling her mom. The two headed in and Twilight led them to the spare room. The room was not huge by any means but the bed was large enough for them to sleep in. Once the two saw where they would be sleeping they thanked Twilight and then Velvet asked, "Twilight, where is your restroom? I really need to go."
Twilight led her directly across the hall and said, "Well there are two. This one has a shower in it while the one downstairs is just your basic bathroom, it has a toilet and a sink."
Both of her parents were shocked that they managed to have two restrooms in their tree home. Of course outside of the palace where the queen lived, it was hollowed out of what was the largest tree in the community. After Velvet finished using the restroom the two followed Twilight back downstairs. Moonlight asked, "Twilight sweetie, did you show them their room?"
"I did mom, I did."
Velvet sighed in frustration because while she knew it was the culture involving the mares that fled down there to have a mom there along with their biological mom, it wasn't something that was normal in Equestria. It was getting close to noon so Moonlight asked, "Night Light, Velvet, you are our guests. What would you like for lunch?"
Both of Twilight's parents knew that the choices would likely be very small and they knew next to nothing about Unicornian cuisine. Night Light asked, "I don't know? What do you have?"
Moonlight replied, "Well we could have plum sandwiches, sliced apple sandwiches, blueberry sandwiches, strawberry sandwiches or blackberry sandwiches."
The two gave her nervous smiles as none of that was part of an Equestrian's diet but did not want to hurt Moonlight's feelings because that would likely anger Twilight. The two looked at one another before Night Light said, "I suppose we'll go with the sliced apple sandwiches."
Twilight chimed in, "That sounds good and then we can have some cider with it."
Moonlight exclaimed, "That sounds wonderful Twilight." She then turned to the two and added, "I want to warn you though, our apples and our cider is more tart than your standard Equestrian apples."
The two gave them a nervous smile before they were led into the dining room and sat down. Once Twilight and Moonlight headed into the kitchen, Night Light asked, "So honey, what do you think of it here so far?"
Velvet responded quietly so she wouldn't be heard, "I'm going to be honest, the choices in food around here seem so small and for noon, it is not all that light. I know you're probably considering moving here to be with Twilight but I don't know if I could adjust here and besides, Twilight seems to see Moonlight as more of a mom than me and I don't think I could handle that, well that and I know she'd never move in with us."
Night Light agreed, "You're probably right. I have a feeling that they live in this big of a tree because Twilight is a princess and I will admit it, I would miss Canterlot after a while." He lowered his voice to a whisper, "To be honest, I'd probably rather live out the rest of my days sorting cherries than live here."
Velvet snickered, "You had fun doing that didn't you?"
"I did but I know in the end I'd rather live in Canterlot because we do have friends there."
Velvet was about to agree when Twilight and Moonlight arrived in the dining room with their lunch. Moonlight was levitating the sandwiches while Twilight was levitating the cider. Once they sat everything down Moonlight said, "Alright, lunch is served. I hope you two like it."
When Velvet bit into her sandwich, she scrunched her eyes closed and laid her ears flat. Never before had she tasted anything so tart before in her life. Twilight saw this and laughed, "You know mom, your reaction is the same as mine was when I first ate the apples here. I wasn't a fan of it at first but after a few months, I got used to it and now I love it!"
After finishing that first bite, she gave Twilight a smile, "I can imagine but thanks for fixing these Moonlight, we both really appreciate it." She then nudged her husband and said, "Right dear?"
Night Light finished his first bite and added, "Yeah and this is actually pretty good."
The two then tasted their cider and while Night Light only gave a minimal reaction to it, Velvet again gave the reaction to how one would for overly tart foods and drinks. Again Twilight snickered, "Don't worry, if you choose to move down here you'll grow used to it. If not that, there are other fruits down here that aren't quite as tart!"
Velvet gave them a nervous smile because from the way Twilight made it sound, it sounded like all the food in Unicornia was likely very tart, more tart than anything in Equestria. Moonlight then decided she wanted to know more about their lives, "So, what are your lives like up in Canterlot?"
Night Light began, "Well I'm an accountant and I make quite a bit of money off of that, especially during tax season. When I'm not working, I do catch the occasional buckball game...."
Velvet nudged him, "Occasional? Please, you go to every single home game and even some road games!"
Buckball had yet to become big outside of the remote desert towns when Twilight left so she asked, "What's buckball?"
Night Light replied, "It is a game that requires one earth pony, one unicorn and one pegasus. The earth pony tries to kick the ball into a basket the unicorn is levitating and the pegasus tries to stop the ball from going in. It is really fun to watch."
Velvet sighed, "For you and your friends." She paused before adding, "Well I mostly hang out with my friends. We'll go shopping, have lunch every day at one of the local restaurants and when I'm not spending time with them, I am at home cleaning up his messes and making sure the laundry and dishes get done."
Moonlight had a slight look of disapproval on her face as she asked, "I'm assuming you two are quite wealthy?"
"Well I wouldn't say wealthy but we can enjoy some things that other ponies can't afford to." replied Velvet.
Twilight knew about Moonlight's past and that her family was never able to partake in such activities and felt like her mother was boasting a bit about what she now viewed as a life of opulence. Twilight sighed, "You can but when I was in Ponyville, the not so well off ponies did enjoy their lives despite not being able to go out to the diner every single day or go shopping all the time."
Velvet felt a bit of hostility in Twilight's voice and realized that perhaps it was not the best thing to bring up their financial situation in the way that she did. She then wanted to know some things. "Moonlight, before Twilight came to Unicornia, what was life like for you?"
Moonlight replied, "Well when I first got here I was taken in by a mare named Iris Dawn until I had been here long enough that I felt like I could take young mares who fled here in myself. First there was Sunset Shimmer and then there was Twilight here." She gave Twilight a smile before adding, "And her and I grew closer than any other mother/daughter pair ever did and that is why I really hope she won't ever go through what I did, feel like she can take her own in."
Twilight got up, gave her a hug and said, "Don't worry about that mom. Unless you decide I should do what you did, I'm not going anywhere!"
Moonlight returned the embrace, "And I wouldn't have it any other way!"
Velvet watched their interaction and sighed in frustration. She knew that it was customary for the younger mares to be taken in but it seemed like Twilight and Moonlight were much closer than what sounded like was the norm. To her it seemed like they had bonded more in the way that a biological mother and daughter would. She couldn't say anything though because she didn't want to lose Twilight's love and knew that she might if she got upset.
Velvet did want to ask something though, "Twilight, I know you like it here but with the tyrant sealed away in limbo, could you ever see yourself moving back to......"
Twilight sharply cut her off, "No mom, I will not move back to Equestria. I told you this after we took care of the tyrant, Unicornia is my home, I see Moonlight as just as much of a mom as you and before you ask, I have no desire to go up there to visit. If you want to visit me, you'll have to come here."
Both Moonlight and Night Light could tell that there were hostilities flowing between the two and that was not something either wanted to see. Night Light nudged his wife and said, "Honey, you know Twilight loves it here and Moonlight means a lot to her so I don't know why you asked."
Moonlight agreed, "I agree with your husband and remember how she was when we got the tyrant sealed away? She wanted to get out of Canterlot so quickly because it brought back too many bad memories for her."
Twilight agreed, "It does mom and to be honest, despite me knowing the threat is gone, I still feel safer here. This is where my good memories are and who is to say Luna won't go back on her word and free the tyrant? If she did so, you know she'd come after me, especially once Luna learned the magic to restore her horn and heal her."
Velvet countered, "Twilight, I don't see Princess Luna doing......"
Twilight threw hooves up in the air, got up and headed up towards her bedroom. Moonlight gave Velvet a deep scowl, "Look, just drop it. Twilight went through a lot and she is clearly still scared that the tyrant could get her. I don't know Luna much of any but Twilight does and for all you know, she could feel bad for banishing her sister and free her and given that the tyrant was not only going after her when she escaped but dared come here to capture her, she knows she will always be safe here."
Velvet sighed, "Can't a mother hope?"
Moonlight replied, "Yes you can but Twilight is going to do what she feels is in her best interests." She then heard quiet sobbing coming from upstairs and added, "Now I need to go and check on our daughter because she is clearly upset."
Moonlight rushed upstairs and found Twilight curled up in a ball on her bed. She walked in and said, "Twilight, I'm sorry she upset you like that. I should have stopped her when I saw she was upsetting you."
Twilight reached her legs out for an embrace before saying, "It's alright mom, it is something that I really needed to hear. At least I know now that she would rather I be back in Canterlot and be scared that Luna would free her sister than be here where I'm safe....and with you, the pony I'm closest to, the one I think of as more of a mom than anypony else."
Moonlight embraced her and thanked her, "Well I'm glad you see me that way." She pulled back, looked into Twilight's eyes and asked, "What about your father? He seems really laid back and more accepting of our ways."
Twilight smiled, "Oh he has always been more laid back and before I went off to the school for gifted unicorns, I was always his little princess and chances are he is probably happy I ran off to safety."
Moonlight suggested, "I know you and your other mother have hostilities going on right now but how about we go back downstairs."
Twilight nodded and got off of her bed before following Moonlight back down. Her mother had upset her a lot but she then remembered how much strength she showed when they captured Celestia and thought to herself, "Come on Twilight, you have to be strong like you were back then. You can't let mom upset you like that!"
Once Moonlight headed upstairs Night Light sighed in frustration, "Honey, you can't bring up things like that to her. You know for a fact that she likes it here and that she will not leave Unicornia."
Velvet sighed, "I know but she could at least come and visit! Celestia has been locked away in limbo and I highly doubt Princess Luna free her. What she did was horribly wrong and Luna was very upset with her."
Night Light replied, "That may be true or it may not be true. All I know is that Twilight is happy here, she is a princess here and the last thing she needs is to be stressed out."
"Alright, I get it. Twilight is happy, safe and is a princess but I still wish she would come and visit."
Velvet was going to make an additional comment until Moonlight and Twilight returned to the dining room. Moonlight addressed Velvet, "Do you think you could just drop Twilight going back to Equestria? She is a full grown mare, she is happy here and who is to say Luna will keep the tyrant locked away?"
Night Light commented, "Honey, she does make a good point."
Velvet replied, "I know, I know." She then turned to Twilight and continued, "I guess I just miss the days when you'd come and visit. I miss the days when you, your brother, your father and I would go out and look at all the 'pretties' as you called them on Hearth's Warming Eve. I guess it hurts to see you living a life where we have to travel to see you."
Twilight gave her a smile, "Mom, you'll always have those memories and I'll always hold those old times dear but things happened that ruined Equestria for me, things happened that caused me to rather never return. I just wish you'd understand that."
Velvet sat their quietly for a good minute before replying, "Ok Twilight, I understand. I guess I can understand that you view Moonlight as another mom and would rather stay here." She saw Night Light giving her a smile and added, "I'm happy for you Twilight. I know it may not seem like it but I really am, I'm happy that you're safe and you have somepony who cares deeply about you."
Twilight got up and embraced her, "Thanks mom. That is all I wanted to hear, that you're happy for me."
Moonlight had a smile on her face as it seemed that Twilight and her biological mother had at least reconciled some. She then offered a suggestion, "Well now that this is taken care of and lunch is done, what do you say we go for a walk. I can show you two some of the places we go to gather food."
Twilight's parents agreed in unison as the four headed out into the deeper parts of the forest where the citizens went to gather food. That particular part of the forest was even darker than it was in town. That part of the forest unnerved Velvet quite a bit but as she watched Twilight and how happy she seemed to be strolling through it, she truly began to realize that Twilight was indeed in the right place, the place that made her happy.
Three days had passed and Velvet had calmed down significantly and had even went on a walk with Moonlight alone, a walk in which they did not fight or argue over anything. That day though was the day that Night Light and Velvet were set to depart so they could get home so Night Light could have a couple days to relax before returning to work.
That morning Velvet was the first to rise and wanted to do something she hadn't been able to do since Twilight was a filly, wake her up. She walked to Twilight's room, headed in and gently shook her. "Twilight sweetie, it is time to get up."
Twilight buried her face in her pillows and groaned, "Ugh, just a few more minutes."
Velvet wanted to encourage her to get up, "Come on Twilight, get up or you won't get any breakfast!"
Twilight grumbled, "Ugh, fine."
This confused Velvet a bit because she was never like that growing up. Even once she had become a full grown mare and she would say that, Twilight would immediately get up. She then figured that it was another part of how Twilight had changed. There didn't seem to be any kind of rush to society in Unicornia so Velvet figured that was likely why she had changed. "Well alright sweetie, just get up whenever you're ready."
As she exited Twilight's bedroom, she noticed that the door to Moonlight's bedroom was still shut most of the way too so she headed downstairs and sat in the living room waiting for the others to get up. She was surprised that Night Light wasn't up though because they both usually rose at the same time. Ten minutes after she got downstairs, Night Light headed down and found his wife sitting there, seemingly alert and ready to start the day.
She saw him and asked, "I wonder how late they sleep in until? It is already 6:30 and they're still asleep."
In the forest it was still dark for the most part while in Canterlot Luna normally already had the sun raised. Night Light suggested, "Sweetie, it is still dark outside. I doubt anypony here gets up before seven or maybe even 7:30."
Ponies being late to rise always had frustrated Velvet, especially when Shining Armor was always such a pain to get up but she could understand why, "True. There doesn't seem to be any rush to their culture and their mindset is likely that they'll wake up when they want to wake up."
They continued to chit chat until 7:30 when Moonlight first headed downstairs. She gave them a smile and asked, "You two have been down here for an hour again haven't you?"
Night Light replied, "Yeah, I guess when a pony has a set sleep pattern, you'll wind up waking up at the same time regardless."
Velvet noticed that Twilight was not with her and asked, "Where is Twilight? She usually comes down with you."
Moonlight replied, "She's in the shower, she is having one of those days where she just has to shower before breakfast instead of after."
Night Light asked, "Does this happen often?"
Moonlight replied, "Actually no. It is usually just a once every couple of months things."
After fifteen minutes of minor chit-chat Twilight came down and said, "Well that feels better." She then turned to Moonlight and asked, "Well mom, what shall we fix for breakfast today since my parents are heading out of town?"
Moonlight suggested, "How about we have blackberry sandwiches and cider."
There was one thing in Unicornia that Velvet didn't find overly tart and that was the blackberries so she enthusiastically agreed, "That sounds great!"
Twilight commented, "Then blackberry sandwiches it shall be."
One thing Twilight's parents noticed was that it seemed like her and Moonlight ate pretty much nothing but fruit sandwiches, which was something that simply didn't happen in Equestria. They did know though that the food available in the forest was limited and what they did eat was by far the most plentiful and figured that it was probably like this for everypony.
Once they got to eating Moonlight asked, "So what time do you two think you'll set out? It is a long walk to Dodge Junction to catch the train."
Night Light and Velvet looked at one another before he replied, "Probably right after breakfast. That way we shouldn't have to sleep anywhere along the way, especially not out in the open."
Twilight commented, "Yeah I can understand that, especially once you get away from the gullies and you don't have any caves to sleep in."
Velvet had a nervous look on her face because the very thoughts of sleeping in a cave were very unappealing to her and despite her husband telling her to stop obsessing over it, she still had her concerns over what doing such a thing could do to their social status.
Once they finished their breakfast, Night Light and Velvet were ready to get going. Once they got up from the table Moonlight and Twilight accompanied them to the door and outside. This moment was hard on the two, especially Velvet since she had finally come to terms with Twilight's decision she had made long ago about where she was going to live. She hugged Twilight and began to cry, "Well sweetie, I guess this is goodbye."
Twilight had a couple tears running down her face as well, "Mom, think of it as more of a see you later. You know the queen doesn't mind if you come to visit as long as you check in with her when you get here."
Moonlight suggested, "Or you two could always talk to Queen Radiant about relocating here. You two are unicorns after all and she said she'd be ok with you relocating here."
Twilight added, "That way you'd be able to visit me whenever you wanted."
Both parents looked at one another before Night Light replied, "We know she said that we could but neither one of us think that Unicornia is really for us."
With the way Twilight worded it, saying that they could come visit her whenever she wanted, Velvet knew that was Twilight's way of saying that she would continue to live with Moonlight Tulip even if they did relocate there. She however did not want to create a scene or make Twilight mad at her again. "Twilight," she commented "we're not like you. We love it in Canterlot and we like the city life while you like the isolation and solitude of Unicornia. Don't worry though, we will come and visit again."
Moonlight replied, "And you're always welcome."
Night Light said, "Thanks." He nudged Velvet and suggested, "Think we should get going so we'll get to Dodge Junction before dark? The days are shorter this time of year."
Velvet agreed, "Yeah, I think we probably should." She turned to Twilight and added, "Well sweetie I'm going to miss you but what matters is that you are happy and you have a second mom who looks out for you just as much as I would."
Twilight embraced her, "This is all I really wanted, for you to accept the fact that I see both you and Moonlight as moms."
Moonlight stepped forward and the three embraced one another. Night Light was watching with a smile on his face, hoping that his wife wouldn't be so down in the dumps over Twilight's closeness with Moonlight. After they broke the embrace, Night Light hugged Twilight, "Well sweet pea, we don't know when we'll get back down here but we're sure we'll probably run into you two when you're out on patrol."
Twilight laughed, "Yeah most likely. The northern part of the forest is kind of our territory."
Velvet nudged Night Light, "Well shall we?"
Night Light replied, "Yeah, we probably should."
As they began to walk northwards Twilight yelled, "Bye mom, bye dad!"
The two turned around and yelled, "Bye Twilight."
Once the two had got out of earshot Moonlight said, "Well Twilight, I'm glad that Velvet finally accepted your situation."
"I am too and I'm glad that it seems like they don't have any issues with coming to visit anymore either." She paused for a moment before adding, "Well mom, my parents really caused us to go through food quickly so what do you say we go out and gather some more."
Moonlight gave her a smile, "Sounds like a plan Twilight, sounds like a plan."
As they headed into a darker part of the forest where they normally collected their food, Twilight couldn't help but be happy. What had started out as a less than pleasant visit from her parents wound up turning out to go much better than she expected. She wasn't sure what the status was between her two moms. She was pretty sure that they weren't friends yet but she did know that during future visits, there would be no arguing and she knew that her biological mother knew she was happy where she was. She knew that Velvet would not be asking her about going back to Equestria.
