“Well?”

Twilight took a breath. “It was so cool!” she gushed. “You were wrong, Shiny!” She playfully poked her BBBFF. “High school is so fun!”

“And it helps that Princess Celestia teaches you a couple of classes during the day and after school,” Shining Armor said.

“Yeah,” Twilight admitted, “that does help.” She wrinkled up her snout in disgust. “But everypony keep asking me for autographs from the princess, or something from the palace, or for me to join their clubs, or if some ridiculous rumor is true.” The purple mare shook her head.

Twilight had come home from high school for a few days for her first vacation of the school year, and it was one of those rare times when Shining Armor was able to be on leave at the same time. They were currently sitting in front of the fire in the living room of the Sparkle Family’s large home.

After Twilight became Princess Celestia’s personal student and Shining Armor was accepted into the Royal Guard, they had to move closer to Canterlot and the castle so that both could do what they had to. When Twilight Velvet and Nightlight, Twilight’s parents, had found the house, Celestia had at first offered to pay for the whole thing. When the couple refused, she offered to pay for half; the Sparkle parents insisted that they could pay for the whole thing on their own, but the sun princess was steadfast in her decision.

Twilight hadn’t been home in what felt like a while; she stayed at the Royal Palace due to its proximity to the equivalent of a high school at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

She looked around, taking everything in: the heat and light smoke from the fire, Shining Armor beside her, the pillow she was sitting on beneath her hooves, the lingering peppermint taste in her mouth—

“Twily?”

Twilight jumped at the sound of her brother’s voice.

“You were quiet for a while there,” Shining Armor continued. “Are you alright?”

Twilight nodded. “I was just thinking about how I don’t see you guys a lot.”

“Come here.” Her brother enveloped her in a bear hug. Twilight gasped.

“Can’t! Breath!”

“Sorry Twily.” Shining Armor let go. “I guess sometimes I don’t know my own strength.” He flexed his forelegs with a ridiculous look on his face. Twilight giggled.

The two siblings jumped as the front door blew open and Nightlight practically flew in, his heavy coat drenched. “Hey kiddos,” he said. “It appears the pegasi scheduled a sleet storm.”

“You forgot to pick up the schedule again, didn’t you,” Twilight said flatly, but with a hint of amusement.

“Ye—”

He spun around wildly as a white-and-purple streak came into the house. Twilight Velvet stopped in front of the staircase and trotted primly back to the door.

“Ya owe me thirty bits, boys!” she yelled, and slammed the door shut.

“And you call yourself a lady,” Nightlight teased.

“Can’t a lady have some fun?” Velvet teased back. The two shared a short kiss, and Velvet turned to her two children. “Hello my loves!”

“Hi Mom,” the two said.

“In stereo,” their mother said in a silly voice as she gave them both a hug. “How was your day?”

“Good,” the siblings said together, again. They giggled (although Shining might say that he was doing a short, stallionly laugh).

“Have you guys eaten dinner yet?” their father asked as he shed his coat, causing it to fall with a wet THUMP.

“No, it’s only five o’clock.” Twilight rolled her eyes.

“Well, guess what today iiiis!” Velvet said in a sing-song voice.

Nightlight looked more than a bit fearful. “The weather team isn’t planning a hail storm, are they?”

The others burst out laughing as he became sheepish.

“No,” Twilight Velvet said after she stopped laughing, “it’s the day we go to a restaurant!”

Twilight and Shining Armor cheered.

“Aw, nopony likes my cooking?” Velvet said jokingly.

This time, everypony laughed.

Twilight sighed as she pushed her plate away. “Prench. My favorite.”

“And at a restaurant where nopony will keep coming up to us,” Shining Armor added.

The waiter came to the table. “Anything else, monsieurs and mademoiselles?”

“No thank you,” Twilight Velvet said. “However, my compliments to the chef on the escargot. Love the cheese.”

The waiter nodded and walked away with the dirty dishes he had picked up while Velvet was talking.

“Mom? You do realize that escargot is snail, right?” Twilight piped up.

“Yes. Not everypony has to just eat dandelion soup all the time. You’ve got to try new things and take risks. And speaking of risks,” Velvet said, a smile growing like she had added fertilizer, “how’s high school? I know you send us letters all the time, but I want to hear it from your mouth.”

“Well during music,” Twilight started, “Lyra complained about not being able to play some of the instruments, and that it would be better if she had hands like apes do.” She shook her head. “Why would anypony want them? Especially since she’s a unicorn.”

“Maybe she’s struggling with her ineptness to make music.”

“I thought about that, but she’s really good, so I have no clu—“

“Lyra?” Nightlight interrupted. “I think I knew her father. I believe he was extremely interested in mythology.”

“Well, anyways—“

“Hey Twily, got a crush on anypony?” Shining said, grinning.

“What? No!” Twilight was getting defensive and a little too loud. “I have to focus on my studies, I don’t have time to be in a relationship and or like anypony!”

“Calm down! I was just asking.”

The family sat quietly, sounds of eating and peals of soft laughter reaching their ears.

“Where’s Spike?” Twilight Velvet asked, breaking the silence. “Last time, you came with him.”

“He’s sick,” said Twilight. “I don’t have enough expertise, so Princess Celestia offered to take care of him during my break.”

“That’s nice of her.”

“But enough about me,” Twilight grinned, “what about you guys?”

“The princess came to the Observatory today to raise the sun,” Nightlight said.

Nightlight worked at the Royal Observatory in Canterlot as a Star Luminosity Measurer, created to ensure that when there was a new moon, the stars would be bright enough. It was a slightly ludicrous position, but it was a fulfilling job knowing that one was preventing millions of foals from being scared at night. When he had a day shift, Nightlight was an assistant to one of the higher-ups.

Nightlight sighed happily. “It’s much more beautiful from up high.”

“What about you, Mom?”

“Today I had to review an action movie,” the white and purple maned pony said. Twilight Velvet worked for Canterlot Daily. “There was this one character — he didn’t have a name — that was pretty funny. He was short, and a bit tubby. I would call him Short Tubby!” she declared with confidence.

“That… doesn’t seem to flow very well,” Shining said.

“Hmm… How about ‘Short Round’?”

“Much better,” said Twilight.

“And that movie gave me some ideas for that book I’m going to write.” Velvet’s voice turned dramatic and narrator-like. “A brave mare, going around the world, searching for the greatest treasures ever known to ponykind!”

“I would read it.”

“You would read anything,” Velvet said teasingly. “Even if it sucked and deserved a slap on the plot.”

“Mooom! Or was that a book pun?”

“Was it?” Twilght Velvet thought for a minute. “Huh. It was.”

Shining Armor coughed politely.

“Oh, sorry honey.”

“It’s alright Mom. Alright, so the other night I’m stationed near the kitchens. Everything’s quiet, the cooks have gone home for the night. Then, I see a white form walking slowly towards the kitchens. My buddy and I get our weapons out, but then we realize that it’s just Princess Celestia sleepwalking!” The family laughed. “We guided her back to her room, and in the morning informed her of what happened. She had apologized and said that it didn’t happen very often. I couldn’t quite tell, but I think she was kind of embarrassed.” He chuckled.

Twilight giggled and thought, Too bad I can’t do this with Princess Celestia often enough, sitting and having a meal with her.

Twilight Velvet and Nightlight led the family back into the house, levitating the leftovers over to the kitchen.

“Alright you two, time to brush and go to bed,” Velvet said.

“Awwww,” the siblings groaned good-naturedly.

“C’mon, get going.” She tried to slap the two on their flanks, but they raced upstairs.

Bedtime preparations didn’t take more than ten minutes. Soon the whole family was in their beds.

“Good night Twilight.”

“Good night Shining.”

“Good night Dad.”

“Good night Twilight.”

“Good night Mom.”

“Good night Shining.”

“Good night Dad.”

“Good night Shi—“

“EVERYBODY SHUT UP AND GO TO SLEEP!” Velvet shouted.

The others laughed, and Velvet joined in.

“Okay, ready?” she said. “One, two, three!”

“GOOD NIGHT!” Everypony said to each other, and they turned out their lights.

Author's Notes:

It kind of stinks that they don't have a tag for Twilight and Shining Armor's parents. It's kinda funny to look back at the time when we didn't have the tag