Familia Short 1


                                            “Eat up, buttercups!” you say as you sling some pancakes onto the girls plates.

                                            >Celestia claps her hooves together and squeals while Luna sniffs her stack. “No butter -again-?” she whines.

                                            “Sorry sweetheart.”

                                            >The cows in the field nearby hadn’t been cooperative. It’d be awkward if they ever cognized…

                                            >”Now Luna.” Celestia begins to scold. “Daddy worked very hard to get us these, we should show him how thankful we are.”

                                            >”We would be more thankful with some butter.” The little Nighthorse said.

                                            “I’ll get it for you next time, sweety. Honest promise.”

                                            >Luna rests her head on her hoof on her face but smiles when she looks at you. “Thank you, Papa.”

                                            >You give her one back and the three of you enjoy a relaxing meal.

                                            >Until…

                                            >”Daddy?”

                                            “Yes, Celestia?”

                                            >”Did you have a mommy and a daddy before you had us?”

                                            >That surprises you enough that your pancake bite gets lodged in your throat and throws you into a coughing fit. You see Celestia and Luna’s eyes widen in panic, the older sibling races over to you and begins striking the your back as quick and as hard as she can.

                                            >”Sorry! Sorry! I’m Sorry!” she cries.

                                            >Once you cough the offending food from your windpipe, you hold a hand up.

                                            “It’s fine, sweety you just…surprised me is all.”

                                            >The little princess looks down at her hooves in shame. “I’m…sorry…you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to…”

                                            “No no, it’s about time I told you both.

                                            >You get up from the table and sit down on the couch, patting your lap in the universal dad-signal for “climb up” which both the girls quickly respond to.


                                            >You pet the girl’s manes in your lap as you think back.

                                            “To answer your question, yes I had a mom and a dad, everything alive has one.”

                                            >They both nod. “Were they nice?” Celestia asks.

                                            >You nod as a familiar smile crosses your lips. You can remember so vividly how they looked, their smells, even so far after the fact…

                                            “The best, Celly…I wouldn’t be who I am today without them.”

                                            >”Well what were they like?” Luna asks abruptly.

                                            >You muss her mane. “Good question!”

                                            >Leaning your head back, you remember as far bas as you can, like they’re standing right beside you.

                                            “Dad was…stern. Very stern. But he always had this innate sense of when something was really bothering you and in those moments he could be your best friend in the world. And he always learned from his mistakes.”

                                            >You smile and close your eyes.

                                            “And mom was always there for you, always helping you figure things out until you could do it on your own, and was always in your corner no matter what. She’d give me all the confidence I ever needed and more.”

                                            >Celestia and Luna sit quiet for a moment.

                                            >”Do they miss you? Since you’re here with us?” Celestia asks.

                                            >You had of course told your girls you weren’t native some time ago; it wasn’t a secret but what you were about to tell them had been.

                                            “No…no my mommy and daddy passed away before I came here.”


                                            >Saying that brought back the memories of those days shortly after their deaths, but all you felt was the feeling of picking at a healed over scab at this point.

                                            >The girls hang their heads in a mix of fear and sadness. One of the first lessons you had taught them was about the concept of death so that they could find the appropriate appreciation for life, but it still scared them as it should young children.

                                            >”O-oh…” Luna says.

                                            >You pet them both to comfort them.

                                            “Dad…got very sick one day and had to be in bed for a long time, and one day the sickness just…got too bad. Mom was very sad after that…the doctors say she died of a broken heart.”

                                            >You feel a sensation on your lap and look down to see Celestia hugging your leg as tight as she can while Luna buries her face in your stomach.

                                            >”D-daddy please stop…”

                                            >”That’s the saddest story we ever he-heard…”

                                            >You can hear the tears in their voices when you scoop them up.

                                            “Girls, girls, it’s alright. It was a long time ago.”

                                            >After the girls first arrived here, you began to entertain the idea that it was perhaps your orphaned status that was a reason you were brought to…this place. With no one to miss you, you could be given a new purpose.

                                            >You lift the girls up and feel them nuzzle your neck for a long time.

                                            “I think my mommy and daddy would be very proud of my little girls…”

                                            >”We love you, daddy.”

                                            >”Pretty please do not leave us.”

                                            >You hug them closer. “I love you too, girls.”

                                            >You sit there a moment to let the girls calm down.

                                            “Come on, the food is getting cold and we have a full day ahead of us!”

                                            >The girls smile at you when you take them back to the table and continue eating.

                                            >You sit down and feel a wave of satisfaction wash over you, knowing now as you watched the two of them what gave your parents the motivation to do all they did for you.