Twilight Sparkle awoke in a different, and much more pleasant, manner than she usually did. It was a Sunday after all, so she was used to sleeping in somewhat, but still, her alarm usually woke her up before she slept in too late. Today, however, instead of her shrieking alarm, a rather peaceful sound graced her ears to wake her up, accompanied by two wonderful smells – that of a fresh rainfall, and that of food cooking downstairs in the library. She lay in her bed, eyes closed, listening to birds singing. The sweet, clear melody felt as though it was emanating from every point in her room at once, and she soon began humming along with the tune. It felt surprisingly familiar to the mare, reminding her of another day she’d woken up in an unusual manner. In fact, it sounded like…
Oh, Spike, you don’t have to get up so early to make me breakfast, especially on a weekend. You do that enough for me during the week. And oh, how I love the smell of a fresh rainfall. Wait… why can I smell a fresh rainfall? Are these birds singing… the Winter Wrap Up song? I think they are! Fluttershy must have taught it to them. I wonder if she knows I love that song so much… but why does it sound like they're in my room… wait.
Twilight opened her eyes, suddenly afraid that she’d left the window open overnight, and that her private collection of reading materials was ruined by rain and birds. As soon as her eyes began to open, however, she regretted it – if it was truly midmorning on a Sunday, the sun would be shining right in her window. To Twilight’s shock and comfort, the sun wasn’t shining directly in her window, but was rather blocked precisely by a single cloud floating directly in front of the celestial orb. Her window was indeed open, but it seemed as though it had only been opened recently, as there were no telltale traces of dampness on the shelf beneath the window that would have been present had the window been open throughout the rainfall last night. Well that’s one thing I don’t have to worry about, Twilight thought to herself. Looking around her room for the next source of alarm, she noticed that there were indeed birds encircling her bed, all indeed singing the Winter Wrap Up song. However, much to Twilight’s shock, they seemed to be all sitting on temporary perches set up around her room, protruding from shelves or freestanding from the floor, all meticulously designed to keep the birds and their feathers away from Twilight’s precious books.
Well this is… definitely weird. Very nice, but definitely weird. Well, seeing as they’re not harming anything, I suppose I can let them continue while I bathe.
Twilight Sparkle pulled herself out of her bed, sleepily rubbing her eyes and smiling as the birds started the pleasant tune over. Her hooves hit the floor, and she magically pulled her bathrobe around her. She couldn’t explain why she did that, she never had before she’d moved to Ponyville. Perhaps Rarity is rubbing off on me… speaking of Rarity, something feels different about my bathrobe… Turning to examine it, Twilight did notice this was not her bathrobe – or perhaps it was. The soft, luxurious, silken cloth was colored the same as her coat, and her cutie mark adorned a location on the flank of the garment precisely where her actual cutie mark was. This morning is getting better and better yet weirder and weirder… I’ll have to ask Rarity about this later, it feels like something they’d have at the Spa…
Proceeding from her bedroom into the bathroom, Twilight’s pleasant surprises continued. There, steaming, sat a bathtub full of water, with more coat shampoos and mane conditioners than she’d seen anywhere but at Rarity’s or, once again, the Spa. I’ll need to talk to Spike, and Fluttershy, and Rarity… that cloud… Rainbow Dash? Call me crazy, but it seems like my friends are trying to set up the perfect morning for me. Well, if that’s their goal, they’re succeeding. Twilight giggled happily to herself, magically disrobing, and letting herself into the water. It was the perfect temperature for her – very toasty, but just barely cool enough not to burn. The shampoos and conditioners were simply divine, giving her a refreshed and rejuvenated feeling she’d never before experienced from a simple bath. Draining the water, she toweled off, and once again donned the silken bathrobe, before returning to her room and heading downstairs.
For everything that had been happening to her, nothing could have prepared her for what she saw on the table in the library. What could only be described as a breakfast feast lay before her, with all of her favorite foods. Hay bacon strips, daisy sandwiches, scrambled eggs with a little cheese mixed in, fresh apple pie, a jar of Zap-apple jam sat next to a loaf of bread that looked like it had been in the oven only moments prior. Waffles and pancakes of every shape, size, and imaginable topping were heaped on plates, with syrup and butter next to them. Cupcakes and muffins sat by the dozen in trays in any space not occupied by other food. There, amidst all of this, sat a single stool for Twilight to seat herself on, with a place set for her. A mug of hot cider, steam still wafting gently from the top, sat just to the left of a fork and a knife, were placed perfectly around a white, china plate, the likes of which Twilight knew had never had a place in her home. None of this concerned her, though – what Twilight was interested in was the scroll rolled neatly and sealed with wax, sitting atop a small, gift-wrapped box in the center of the plate. She slowly walked over to the table, and magically levitated the scroll to her face. She delicately broke the seal, unrolled the scroll, and took a seat. She recognized her number-one-assistant’s clawwriting immediately, and began to read.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
For some time now… there’s been something I’ve wanted to tell you. Something I’ve wanted to tell you for quite a long time now, actually, but I’ve never been able to actually say to you, so here it is in this letter.
I love you.
Not the same way I love Rarity, but I love you, probably even more than I love Rarity. I think it started with Rainbow Dash taking Scootaloo under her wing, and acting like a big sister to her. The more I looked around, I noticed ponies with families, siblings, parents, and children. I remembered the way you looked at the Princess all those years in Canterlot. I could see, even though I’m only a young dragon, I could tell that it was a different kind of love between them. I guess a little feeling of emptiness poked its way inside of me. You might remember that, the little funk I got myself into a couple years ago, that I just told you was growing up. I’m sorry Twilight, but I lied to you. I was searching for something, looking for love from somewhere, kind of like a big sister. I found you.
But you, Twilight? You’re so much more than a big sister, or a mentor, or anything like that to me. You hatched me, you raised me, you taught me everything I know – reading, writing, math, how to be nice, having good table manners, all of that.
Through years of talking with the Princess, and much of my own private correspondence, I’ve learned a lot about dragons from Princess Celestia. Did you know, Twilight, did you know why hatching me was your test on that fateful day all those years ago? I was there because… because if a mother dragon abandons an egg, the baby dragon in the egg will die. If not properly incubated and hatched magically at the proper time, the egg will die. Celestia regularly made trips to the dragons’ realm to check for abandoned eggs, which she would hatch herself. Eventually, she began to bring them back as an entrance exam for her school for gifted unicorns. She had the unicorns hatch the baby dragons, to save them, and then would let them back into their lands. If you hadn’t hatched me then and there… I would be dead, Twilight. You are literally the only reason I’m alive. However, as for why I wasn't sent back, that’s an interesting story. The amount of magic you released into me when Rainbow Dash’s first Sonic Rainboom startled you into overload left a permanent impression on my mind. Princess Celestia says that dragon mothers do that normally to imprint the fact that they are the baby’s mother into the child’s mind. When a pony hatches a dragon, normally the amount of magic they can muster is only enough to hatch the dragon. You managed to both hatch me and imprint on me. Princess Celestia just didn’t want to tell you because you were so young at the time. So no matter what, Twilight…
I love you and I will always see you as my mother.
Happy Mother’s Day,
Spike
P.S. If… if you’ve been wondering where I’ve been during the days these past few months, well… I got a job. A real one, that actually pays bits. Not that working for you isn’t everything I’ve ever dreamed of, but I needed money, not just a place to live and learn, to get this for you. I hope you like it. Rarity said you would.
Twilight set the scroll down, tears welling in her eyes. Barely restraining her sobs, she reached out with her hooves and picked up the small box that sat on the plate. Her hooves were trembling so much she could barely move them to undo the bow. The delicate, lacy gold ribbon fluttered to the floor, leaving the magenta box alone in Twilight’s grasp. She attempted to lift the lid, but found her hooves shaking too hard to hold the box. Setting it back down on the plate, she sniffled, a single tear trailing down her nose, as she had to use both forehooves for a job that she normally could have done in seconds with magic. After a good fifteen seconds of fiddling, she managed to open the lid. Set into the magenta velvet was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
It was a simple, elegant gold necklace, the chain alone of which must have cost hundreds of bits. Each link glittered like a diamond, the polished, glossy gold shining in the light like Celestia’s sun itself. However, what most amazed her was the jewel pendant hanging from the center of the necklace. It was an amethyst likeness of her cutie mark, a slightly asymmetrical six-point star, cut flawlessly, and set into a gold brace that also held an inverted padparadscha star, inlaid into the back of the amethyst piece. Surrounding the pendant were five white diamonds floated around the overlaid stars. There was no visible connection; it must have been a permanent enchantment.
Sweet Faust, this must have cost him thousands of bits! Where… where did he get all that money… and… that he would spend it on me… for something that must have been the same as buying the most delicious cookie in the world… and he just gave it to me. She set the gift box back down on the plate, next to the scroll, no longer caring to hold back the tears. And to think… I’ve been considering trying to settle down and have foals… when I’ve had one all this time. I’ve been treating… I’ve been treating someone who sees me as his mother like nothing more than a friend. I… how could I have been so blind…
The door to the library opened. Twilight didn’t bother looking up, she knew who it was. She tried to make words, but her throat refused to comply, and all she managed was a choked grunt. Two small, scaly arms wrapped around her.
“I’m sorry, Twilight. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, but I’ve never been able to. I at least wanted to be here when you read that. I hadn’t expected you to be up for a little longer, I was just out thanking Rainbow Dash for the cloud. I’m sorry, Twilight. If you don’t want me to be here anymore, that’s ok. I already talked to Celestia, she said she’ll take me back in Ca-”
Two purple forelegs wrapped around the small dragon and pulled him into a tight hug.
