“Girls!” Twilight exclaimed as Sonata, Aria, and Sunset came through the door with Ascentia, “I wasn’t expecting you all until this evening!”

“Surprise!” Sonata grinned widely, opening her arms with flourish. “Asy picked us up!”

Cielle looked up at them, “...Oh my god, you girls were right. She’s like cotton candy given human form.”

“Hey! I thought I was cotton candy given human form!” Pinkie Pie pouted as she folded her arms.

“There are many different flavors of cotton candy, Pinkie Pie,” Cielle said haughtily.

Pinkie blew a raspberry, but smiled nonetheless, “But hey! Good to see you girls! Where’s Adagio?”

“Mommy’s delayed…” Sonata pouted, “Hasn’t called yet, though. Asy just got a message from her telling her to pick us up.”

“Yeah, something about having to interview another waitress,” Ascentia shrugged, “She’ll be by later on when she can close down the club.”

“Aww, that’s okay!” Pinkie went over and gave them all hugs, “Still glad you could make it! Look at you, you girls must be tired!”

“Nah, we’re okay,” Sunset waved it off with a smile.

“Does that mean you don’t wanna come snuggle with me?” Twilight asked, patting the cushion next to her as she gave a wink.

Sunset grinned, all but scurrying over to the couch and sitting next to her, “I never said that!”

Rainbow smirked over to Ascentia, “I think she trumps you on unabashed cuteness.”

Ascentia looked over and pouted, giving Rainbow her biggest, roundest eyes as she whimpered quietly.

“...I stand corrected, come here you big koala,” Rainbow chuckled, wrapping her arms around Ascentia’s shoulders, “So Sunny, we haven’t seen you since the wedding-”

“We haven’t seen her since the reception,” Fluttershy corrected.

“We haven’t seen her since the court hearing when Blaze went to prison,” Ascentia double-corrected.

“Anyway!” Rainbow cut across, “How are you girls?”

“We’re doing very well,” Sunset smiled, “We had a couple of messes to clean up, but it’s going over good.”

“Uh-huh,” Aria stretched and sat down on a chair, “Nothing too much to report, it’s the same old shit. Still, married life is pretty great.”

“It is!” Sonata giggled, then she paused. She frowned, holding her stomach and leaning back against the wall, “Urgh.”

“Something wrong?” Rainbow asked, glancing around.

“I don’t feel good for some reason,” Sonata said, “Like, it’s not stomach pain or cramps, I just… feel a bit icky.”

“Aw, poor baby,” Fluttershy pouted, coming over and stroking Sonata’s hair, “You want some soup?”

Sonata smiled a bit, “Sure. I’d love some soup.”

“All right, then,” Fluttershy smiled, patting her shoulder, “Do any of you want some soup, too? There’s plenty.”

“Sure, that’d be great,” Sunset smiled.

“Alright, sweetie,” Fluttershy smiled as she retreated to the kitchen to fix Sonata some soup.

“Great, you got her into Mom Mode,” Rainbow snickered as Spectrum crawled up onto her lap.

“And that’s a bad thing why?” Twilight teased, snickering.

“Mama!” Spectrum nuzzled her stomach and sucked his thumb, “...Whewe Auntie Dagi?”

“Auntie Dagi’s running late, kiddo,” Rainbow smirked as she ruffled his hair, “She’ll be here for supper.”

“Okay,” Spectrum smiled.

“Dont worry, little Spectrum! Mommy will be right here to scoop you up and give you all kinds of hugs and kisses!” Sonata giggled.

Spectrum smiled brightly and nestled against Rainbow’s stomach, drifting off into a nap.

“Oh Kitten…” came Twilight’s purring voice.

Ascentia looked up to Twilight, who was stroking Sunset’s hair and smirking at her.

“Come help me bring Sunset upstairs, would you?” she purred softly.

Ascentia gave a comical frown and saluted, before jumping up and helping Twilight lift Sunset into the air and hoist her toward the stairs.

“....Whoa,” Aria whistled, wide-eyed. “That was pretty cool.”

“Yeah, Asy’s pretty strong,” Rainbow snickered, cuddling Spectrum against her chest, “There was that one time she had a three-hour arm wrestle with AJ.”

“Three hours?! Whoa!” Sonata gaped, “Who won?”

“AJ did,” Rainbow shrugged, “Asy’s forearm gave out and snapped. Should have seen the look on AJ’s face, she was like ‘Dear god, what have I done?’.”

“Awww… wow, that’s so sad…” Sonata pouted.

“It was!” Pinkie agreed, shaking her head, “But it’s all okay! Asy was just fine after a few weeks of recovery!”

“That woman’s like Wolverine, she regenerates so fast,” Rainbow snickered.

Applejack frowned at Rainbow, “It’s still not funny!”

“Hey, Asy found it funny, so there!” Rainbow stuck her tongue out.

“Asy thinks her own scars are funny,” Applejack frowned.

There was the sound of Twilight shouting from upstairs, “Dammit, Kitten! Don’t make them talk, what is wrong with you?!”

Sonata cringed, whistling, “Um, so… how about those kiwis?”

“Kiwis?” Aria snickered, “The fruit or the bird?”

“Both?” Sonata smiled.

“I love kiwis! They’re soooo yummy!” Pinkie patted her stomach, “And I sure like those birdies! Their beaks look like spoons!”

“You should have the cutlery at your wedding made to look like them, then,” Cielle said with a smirk.

Pinkie gasped, wide-eyed. “Brilliant! Kiwi beak-shaped spoons!”

“You’re getting married?” Aria raised an eyebrow as she sat down next to Pinkie.

“Oop! I’m sorry, I just didn’t say anything yet because I’ve been a bit busy! But yep!” Pinkie grinned, ruffling her hair, “Discord and I are tying the knot this fall!”

“Whoa! Nice!” Aria gave a thumbs up, “What brought that on? Last time I saw you, you were talking about how you were never getting married?”

“Yeeaah… I was!” Pinkie giggled, winking, “For a long time, I felt that way! Like I could never want to get married, settle down and even have a family of my own. It just didn’t appeal to me!”

“Wow,” Sonata whistled, grinning, “That’s amazing! What made you guys change your mind?”

“Kind of a long story, buuut… For a long time, Discord was like my Sugar Daddy, if not moreso than that. We didn’t even really know, but it worked for us. As some time went by, I realized just how much I wanted him in my life. I couldn’t imagine him not being there, you know? And I just… I wanted to make it official. I didn’t want us to be some unidentifiable thing, you know? I knew then that I loved him. More than I think I’ve ever loved anybody… And so, one day I confessed how I felt…” Pinkie then smiled brightly, showing them her ring, “Turns out, he felt the same way! He proposed right on the spot!”

“Wow… that should be a book,” Aria smiled, leaning against Pinkie and wrapping her arms around her shoulders, “Certainly better than Flashlight or Fifty Spades of Soil.”

“Awwww, you’re sweet!” Pinkie nuzzled her and hugged her, “Thanks, Aria!”

“I agree, that’s soooo cute!” Sonata cooed, clapping her hands, “You guys make the older guy, younger girl trope so cute, too!”

“Right back at you, except an older woman!” Pinkie winked.

“Huh… I’m the only one who didn’t get away with it,” Rainbow remarked as she pondered the girls for a moment.

“...So then Sunny comes in holding a big, freaking spider, I swear it was a camel spider,” Twilight shuddered as the girls all sat around the dinner table, “And says ‘Mommy, can I keep him?’.”

“Whoa!” Sonata’s jaw dropped, her eyes going wide, “That’s… wow! She’s a plucky girl!”

“I’ll say…” Aria shuddered as well, “I freak at even the smallest spider.”

Ascentia leaned over and nuzzled Sunrise’s head, “That’s Mama’s baby girl!” she cooed.

Sunrise giggled and kissed Ascentia’s cheek, “Hee hee!”

“Wow,” Sunset sipped her drink, “Then what happened?”

Ascentia pointed behind her at the fish tank that was housing a big, yellow-brown spider that was watching them and seemingly whimpering.

“There’s too many bloody spiders in my house,” Rainbow frowned.

“Aww, come on, Dashie… they’re friendly and very sweet,” Fluttershy pouted.

Aria glanced warily at the tank, shuddering, “...Is… Is it… whimpering? It sure sounds like it.”

“Spiders are just big, eight-legged puppies,” Ascentia grinned as she nuzzled Sunrise’s cheek.

“Ma would like that one,” Aria said, shaking her head, “She’s the spider catcher at our house.”

“Does she… kill them?” Fluttershy asked with a sad pout.

“Nope!” Sonata shook her head, “She just grabs them with a glass and paper, then lets them go outside. The only times she ever killed them was by accident.”

“Mom hates bugs. Hates them like you wouldn’t believe,” Sunset snickered, “She doesn’t hurt spiders because, and I quote, why would Mommy hate something that savagely murders every cockroach it comes across?”

Fluttershy shuddered, making a face, “Eww… Even I draw the line at roaches…”

“Except Hal from WALL-E, that one was adorable!” Sonata giggled.

“Pixar can make a middle-aged man going through his mid life crisis look adorable,” Aria scoffed.

“I can agree to that,” Twilight chuckled.

Ascentia pulled Sunrise closer and cuddled her, “Me and my girl love our spiders.”

“Yay!” Sunrise giggled, kissing Ascentia’s cheek.

“Aw, that’s just sweet!” Sonata grinned as she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, “Hang on, I gotta take this,” she smiled, pulling out her phone and retreating into the living room.

“So what freaky shit did you three get up to, anyway?” Rainbow asked, smirking at Twilight.

“I’d tell you, but the kids are here,” Twilight winked, “I’ll tell you after they’re put to bed.”

In the living room, Sonata sat down on the couch and answered her phone, “Hello?”

“Hello, this is Doctor Hartman from Canterlot Emergency Triage Center,” came the voice on the other side of the phone, “Am I speaking with a… uh what’s this say… Sonata Dazzle?”

“Yeah, speaking!” Sonata said, feeling her mood drop slightly, “Is… everything okay?”

“There was an accident out on Highway 42, involving Adagio Dazzle, do you know her?” Hartman asked.

All at once, Sonata felt a sense of dread in her gut, “Y-Yes! I do! She’s my wife! Oh, is she okay?!”

“Unfortunately, she didn’t make it,” Hartman said, “She succumed to her injuries a few hours after making it to the hospital.”

The phone fell from her hand.

Sonata felt numb. Her entire body was weakened, she could barely even move, let alone feel. All she heard were the doctor’s words replaying in her head. Over and over as if on loop. It was so final. No two ways about it. Everything around her seemed to cease existing, as she stared at nothing, feeling like she couldn’t see past the end of her nose. Even when her body began to tremble, even when tears streamed down her face, she couldn’t feel it. She let out a tiny whimper, having no strength to speak.

The last memory with Adagio was saying she’d see her later as they left. Their last conversation had been a casual parting of the ways.

Now she was gone. She wasn’t coming here later. She never would again. When they would make it home, they would be there alone. Without her. The woman she loved more than anything was gone. After all they’d been through together, after everything they’d built since making it to Baltimare, everything.

Letting out a pained wail, Sonata fell over and sobbed brokenheartedly, her entire body bursting with pain. “Mommyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

In the dining room, Ascentia jerked her head up in surprise, “What the fuck was…”

She looked over to Aria and Sunset, who both looked up at the door Sonata had left through, before jumping up and racing into the living room, finding Sonata sobbing on the couch. Aria and Sunset rushed in the help her up and hold her, trying to decipher what was wrong. Ascentia stooped down to pick up Sonata’s phone as the others poured into the living room.

“Hello? No, she dropped the phone. I’m a family friend, what’s…” Ascentia’s face grew white as she pressed a hand to her mouth, “Oh no… Thank you Doctor…”

She turned the phone off and set it down as Aria and Sunset looked up at her, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Cielle and Pinkie all sat down.

“That was the hospital,” Ascentia said softly, sitting down with the girls and laying a hand on Sonata’s knee, “Adagio got into an accident and she didn’t make it.”

A hush fell over everyone as the news sank in, heavily. The shock, the despair, it felt so thick you could cut it with a knife. Everyone looked at each other, their own moods dropping as they silently mourned. Pinkie’s mouth quivered as tears rolled down her face, Rarity sniffled before hiding her face into Applejack’s shirt, Rainbow looked grim and held Fluttershy as the latter of the two cried, and Twilight shuddered with despair. She reached over and placed her hand onto Sunset’s shoulder, squeezing it gently.

No one spoke a single word, barely even uttering a sound. All that was heard was Sonata’s sobbing. Sunset held her tightly, despite crying herself. Aria was hiding her face against Sonata’s hair, but it was clear that she was crying, too.

Ascentia took a deep breath and stood up, returning to the kitchen and setting the kettle to boil, dropping teabags in twelve mugs. She rejoined the group, sitting down next to Twilight and wrapping her arms around her shoulders.

“Mama?” Sunrise asked, coming out of the dining room, “You said Auntie Dagi was gonna be here for supper…”

Spectrum came in as well, looking confused and concerned. But the moment he saw his mother crying, he whimpered, “W-What’s… What’s happening?”

“Come here, Sunny,” Ascentia said, pulling Sunrise and Spectrum into her lap, “Do you… remember when you had that puppy? And he got out into the street and he got hit by a car?”

Sunrise nodded, whimpering sadly, “Y-Yes… You said… he went to sleep… and won’t wake up again…”

“I’m sorry sweetie but… that just happened to Auntie Dagi…” Ascentia said quietly, stroking Sunrise’s hair.

At that, Sunrise began to cry, as did Spectrum. The two of them huddled against each other, crying softly.

“Girls, I am so sorry…” Twilight took Sunset’s hand, squeezing it.

“We’ll… be okay… in time…” Sunset sniffled, wiping her eyes.

All of them turned to Sonata, who had her face buried in Aria’s neck. Her sobbing had devolved into practically screaming at this point, gripping Aria so hard that her knuckles had turned white. Ascentia and Twilight both started to tear up as they held their daughter and nephew. Fluttershy had crawled into Rainbow’s lap and squeezed both her and Cielle. Applejack was stroking Rarity’s hair, but from the looks of it, she was on the verge of tears as well. The only odd one out was Pinkie, who was sat in a chair watching everyone, before her phone blinked on the table.

‘I heard what happened. Do you need a hug?’

Pinkie typed back, ‘Yes...’

“Okay, thanks Sunset… okay, bye,” Twilight sighed as she put the phone down, “...They booked a flight. And they’re headed to the airport now.”

“How are they holding up?” Rarity asked softly as she sat back down with a cup of tea.

“Aria and Sunset are hanging in there… but Sonata’s a complete wreck,” Twilight sighed as she sat back down in Ascentia’s lap.

“Never saw anyone cry like that before…” Cielle admitted, wiping her eyes.

“The poor dear, I can’t imagine how she feels. She was destroyed,” Rarity murmured sadly.

“No kidding. Considering her bond with her…” Rainbow said sadly, but then managed a small smile, “Adagio sure was quite a woman… Heh… she always caught us when we got frisky in her club. Like we were kids with our hands caught in the cookie jar.”

Fluttershy giggled and leaned against Rainbow, patting her leg, “Whenever I saw her, she’d… always say I was too skinny and try to feed me.”

“She did that to me, too,” Cielle snickered.

“And me,” Ascentia nodded.

“And me,” Pinkie smiled.

Everyone turned toward her.

“...What?”

“I haven’t known her long, but she was quite a woman. I always admired her fashion sense. But moreso, just the way she held herself,” Rarity said with a warm smile, “It was quite amazing.”

Twilight nodded, “Adagio had this way of just… walking into any room like she owned it. If she was there, all eyes were going to be on her. She was so… mesmerizing.”

“Ah can second that,” Applejack murmured, sipping some tea as well, “Not to mention, her voice is like the best back rub you’d ever get, then some.”

“She was amazing with the kids,” Fluttershy wiped her eyes, smiling more, “I loved the way they would light up when they saw her. And the way she would just beam the minute she saw them, too. She played with them, loved them, and just treated them like her own. I don’t think we could’ve asked for better… Her motherly demeanour was inspired.”

“Oh yeah… Ada loved kids so much,” Twilight nodded, nestling under Ascentia’s chin as her wife cuddled her, “It was like taking care of the kids was her way of getting what… she couldn’t actually have…”

“Ah once had ta stop into that little town to fix mah truck,” Applejack smiled as she sipped her drink, “Didn’t have the bits to afford the only mechanic there, so she came out and helped me fix it herself. Spent a good four hours at that, and some of the funniest grease-talk Ah’ve ever had.”

“I remember that tale, when you told me over the phone,” Rarity giggled, “That was amazing of her to help you.”

Ascentia stroked Twilight’s hair as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Adagio's house was always... it was a safe place for me. At first, it was a safe place from Twilight, and then it became a safe place with Twilight. She never questioned why I stood by my wife, and she always knew that if I needed help, I could and would come to her,” Ascentia smiled, looking down at her drink with a sad sigh, “When I said I was fine, she trusted me. She didn't just make sure that Twilight was never violent in her home, she also made sure that nobody would ever hurt her. When we were there... it was like nothing had ever happened. Me and Twilight were always just a happily married couple hanging out with our friends.”

Ascentia wiped her eyes, which had grown red and shiny, “She was... the only person who ever understood me. Who ever trusted me to take care of myself... and I'm gonna miss her…”

They all made murmurs of agreement, looking downward for a few moments. In small and big ways, Adagio even touched their hearts, as well. Moreso than they could’ve imagined. They all then looked at each other and smiled, before raising their tea mugs.

“To Adagio Dazzle,” Twilight said softly, “A loving mother…”

She looked around at everyone else, sporting red, teary eyes as she lowered her glass ever so slightly.

“...To all of us,” she finished, taking a sip of her tea, “We’ll miss you.” Next Chapter: You're A Hot Mom Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 19 Minutes