“And then the slavering mutant dives into the helpless pedestrians like RAWR RAAAAR RAWR!” Sonata giggled with glee as they were driving home, Aria sat in the back with her knees to her chest and quivering.

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it, sweetie,” Adagio cooed, glancing back, “Next time we’ll let Aria pick.”

“Happy place… Happy place… Happy place…” Aria mumbled.

“Aria, if you were that sensitive to slasher movies, you should have told me,” Adagio cooed softly, reaching back and patting her leg.

“I thought I’d be over it by now…” Aria groaned, “I watched Night of the Living Dead in order to get myself tougher for films like these.”

“Ari! You’re supposed to say so!” Sonata pouted, turning back to look at her, “I would’ve said we could see something else if you didn’t want to!”

Adagio pulled into the parking lot behind the club and pulled out her keys to the back door, “C’mon, let’s get you upstairs and get you some tea.”

The moment Aria got out of the car, Sonata latched onto her and nuzzled her cheek.

“I’m sorry…” Sonata pouted.

“It’s okay… I’ll live,” Aria patted her head, “If I go clean the stockroom and start swinging the broom wildly at everything, please stop me.”

“Sure,” Adagio smiled, kissing Aria’s cheek as she led them upstairs, “You want Chai or Earl Grey?”

“Good ol’ Earl Grey,” Aria yawned.

“Chai for me!” Sonata waved her hand wildly as she followed.

Adagio retreated to the kitchen to fix their tea as Aria and Sonata laid back onto the couch, Sonata laying over Aria and snuggling into her neck.

“...What, Mommy’s busy so you come to me?” Aria chuckled.

“Maybe!” Sonata quipped, giving her neck a kiss and snuggling closer.

Aria smiled a little and wrapped her arms around Sonata’s waist, “...Alright…”

Adagio came back in with their tea, cooing at the sight of Aria and Sonata snuggled up together, as she turned the TV onto the News.

“...The house was damaged beyond reasonable repair in the riot, and the two families were forced to hold up in a single bedroom until Princess Celestia arrived on the scene with the Canterlot Guard.”

“What the fuck?” Adagio exclaimed, glancing down at the ticker to see if there was any context to be given.

“What’s going on?” Sonata looked at the screen with astonishment.

“Why the hell would they be rioting over there like that?” Aria frowned.

Adagio waved them both down as she saw the newscaster getting ready to repeat the report.

“For those of you just joining us, there has been a mass riot in Ponyville over the prevalence of sexual predators in Equestria. Just yesterday, Equestrian News Network provided a report on the recently deceased Twilight Velvet. Our sources revealed that Ms Velvet was a rampant predator of little girls and boys, including her daughter Princess Twilight Sparkle. After the report went live, a gathering of over fifty people were seen outside the house of one Rainbow Dash, who was recently released from Canterlot Psychiatric Hospital after spending six years under care for pedophilia. The gathering quickly turned violent as the mob began assaulting the house and the two families living inside. Over twenty of the rioters were killed in the attack. Both the Dash and Sparkle families suffered no deaths at this point, however one Ascentia Sparkle has been airlifted to Fillydelphia Triage Center in critical condition after fighting off half the mob in a single bedroom. We will have more at six.”

“Oh my goodness!” Sonata gasped, her eyes going wide, “That’s so terrible! First her mom dies, turns out she’s a pedo, and then their home gets rioted on! Whoa… I know Twilight said her friend Rainbow Dash had a high sex drive, but whoa!”

“Damn, this is heavy… Now Ascentia’s over in Filly,” Aria shuddered, “Poor girl. I can’t even think of what she’d gone through to help her friends and family.”

Adagio was silent as the grave for a few minutes, before she frantically dug her phone out of her pocket, hurriedly dialing Twilight’s number, “C’mon, pick up… pick up, Twilight…”

“Yeah…” Came Twilight’s voice moments later, sounding drained and cracked.

“Twilight! I just saw the news... “ Adagio exclaimed, “...I just… is she going to be okay?!”

Twilight sniffled, letting out a sigh, “Her condition’s stable, but she’s still unconscious… They don’t know yet. At worst, she’ll end up in a coma for a while.”

“Oh my god…” Adagio whispered, “How… how bad was it?”

“She… She was…” Twilight sobbed a little bit, “Shot… seven times in the chest… and just had one of her lungs and heart replaced… Surgery went fine, it’s just… who knows if she’ll wake up or not…”

Adagio pressed her palm to her mouth, “I’m coming up to see you two right away, oh you poor thing…”

“W-What? Oh, Adagio, no… Don’t do that, it’s okay,” Twilight said tiredly, “I couldn’t ask you to do that, but thank you anyway.”

“No no! I’m coming out there ASAP!” Adagio insisted.

“But I-”

“No!”

“I was-”

“No!”

“...Okay,” Twilight conceded.

“I’ll see you in a couple of hours,” Adagio said softly as she hung up, “...Girls, you don’t mind if we postpone the trip to Canterlot, do you?”

“No way! You have to go see Twilight!” Sonata insisted, shaking her head, “She needs you, Mommy!”

“Don’t even worry about it,” Aria waved it off, “We can go out there anytime. I think Twilight’s gonna need some more help than we do.”

“Thank you, girls,” Adagio kissed the top of Sonata’s head and Aria’s cheek, “Aria, don’t let Sona eat all the chocolate while I’m gone, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Hey!”

“Twilight!” Adagio exclaimed as she rushed up, seeing Twilight with her face pressed against the door to Ascentia’s room and hugging her, “Oh you poor thing… how are you feeling?”

“I don’t even know anymore…” Twilight moaned, clutching her.

Adagio hugged her tightly and ran her fingers through Twilight’s hair, “Oh, it’s okay, sweetheart…” she whispered.

Sniffling loudly, Twilight shook a little as she sobbed, “I can’t lose her, Adagio… not after all this time… not when we’re finally working this out… Sunny can’t lose her Mama… And I don’t want to lose my Kitten…”

Adagio whispered soft shushing sounds as she glanced up at the door and winced. Ascentia was lying asleep, hooked up to a respirator and a half a dozen other machines, “How did it happen? I heard the news report but… why’d they shoot her?”

“She was trying to… to save us… To protect us… She went into the line of fire…”

“Oh my god…” Adagio whispered softly, pulling them back to the chairs and sitting Twilight down as she held her, rubbing her back, “Where’s Sunny?”

“With my father and brother,” Twilight replied, nuzzling into her neck, “I didn’t want her to see her Mama like this.”

“And have you been here all alone this whole time?” Adagio asked in disbelief, kissing the top of her head.

Twilight nodded, “Yes. I want to be here when Kitten wakes up.”

“...Do you have any idea when that will be?” Adagio asked, gently nuzzling Twilight’s hair.

“No…” Twilight whimpered, “Like I said, the doctors don’t even know… But if she does, I have to be here…”

Adagio’s heart broke hearing all of this as she gently cuddled Twilight to her, “Oh you poor thing. It just doesn’t stop with you, does it?”

“No…” Twilight sniffled loudly, “I deserve to suffer… But not Kitten! Not my Kitten… I don’t want her to have to pay for my mistakes anymore… I can’t let that happen!”

Adagio was tempted to ask what she meant by that, but didn’t press the question, “No, you don’t deserve to suffer, sweetheart. Nobody deserves this…”

“After what I did, I do…” Twilight sniffled, “I just want Kitten to wake up…”

“Twilight, I’m sure she’ll-”

Adagio was drowned out when the alarm over Ascentia’s door went off and two orderlies rushed in from down the hall. Adagio and Twilight sprang out of their seats and pressed their noses to the glass as they watched the orderlies run the defibrillator against Ascentia’s chest a total of four times before the heart monitor stopped throwing a shit-fit and the orderlies set her back against the bed and left. Adagio reached out and grabbed one by the arm.

“What the hell was that?!” she demanded.

“Mrs Sparkle’s new heart,” the orderly explained, “While the arteries are still healing, there’s a constant risk of it stopping.”

“Is that why the doctors are saying they’re unsure if she’ll make it?” Adagio asked.

The orderly nodded as Adagio let him go, returning to Twilight’s side and wrapping her back in her embrace.

“Her new heart does give her problems…” Twilight sniffled, “They’re not even sure if they can replace it if they have to…”

Adagio nuzzled her hair, “Are you allowed to go inside?”

“Not yet… But maybe later,” Twilight nuzzled her neck.

“How long have you been out here, anyway?” Adagio asked, wondering if Twilight had eaten or slept at all.

“I don’t even know, now…” Twilight sighed, blinking tiredly, “Two or three days… Maybe more.”

“Oh my goodness, Twilight you need to get something to eat and have a nap, sweetie!” Adagio exclaimed.

“I’m fine…” Twilight pouted, “I ate. ...Yesterday… I think.”

“C’mon, I’m going to take you to get some lunch,” Adagio whispered as she grabbed another orderly, “Be a dear and put another bed in Ascentia’s room so her wife can sleep without having to leave.”

“Ma’am, that’s against protocol and-”

“I’m sorry, did I prefix that with ‘If it pleases your highness’?” Adagio asked, cocking an eyebrow and giving the orderly a glare that seemed to make him shrink down.

“Yes Ma’am!” the orderly said hurriedly as she rushed off to find another bed.

“C’mon, we’ll get something in your belly and then you can take a nap next to your… Kitten was it?” Adagio asked.

“Yes, my Kitten…” Twilight nodded, wiping her eyes.

“That’s cute…” Adagio smiled as she guided Twilight away, “C’mon. You like burgers?”

“I love burgers…” Twilight managed a tiny smile, “Haven’t had one in forever.”

“Atta girl.”

“...My goodness, she did all that alone?” Adagio whistled in amazement, “That girl’s a trooper! Why has she been a housewife all these years? She’d make an excellent cop or guard.”

“That’s what I told her,” Twilight gave a little smile as she finished another burger, “She’s had a lot of various sorts of training in combat and defense from her father growing up, so it’s no wonder.”

“So why’s she never done anything?” Adagio asked, “You guys were married for… what, seven years before you had little Sunny.”

“She just about… kind of refused to do things like that,” Twilight frowned slightly, “It was only recently that I had the idea of her working for me once I eventually get back into the swing of things.”

“And how did she take that?” Adagio asked, biting into her burger and tearing off another chunk.

“She seemed nervous at first, but I think once I put her to work, she’ll do just fine. She knows me so well and how I operate with my work organization skills. Plus, she knows how to deal with folks who can be rough and rude,” Twilight smiled.

Adagio nodded, “Yeah, Asy loves you more than anything else. She’s like my little Sona that way. But still, nervous? What is it about working that puts her off so much?”

“I’m not even sure,” Twilight admitted, “I’ve tried talking to her about it, but she didn’t seem ready to do that yet.”

Adagio hummed softly in contemplation, “Has that ever bothered you?”

“A little,” Twilight nodded, “But I told her that we could talk about it when she’s ready.”

Adagio nodded, “What about Sunny? How is she with her?”

“Wonderful! She’s an amazing mother. I mean, I’m not surprised, she’s always been so doting and nurturing with her. I knew that Sunny was in perfectly safe hands,” Twilight smiled at this.

“Aww!” Adagio cooed, grinning widely, “Nothing’s better than having two wonderful Mommies!”

Twilight’s face fell slightly.

“...What’sa matter? What did I say?” Adagio asked, tilting her head.

“I… never mind,” Twilight waved it off.

“No no, don’t do that. What did I do?” Adagio asked, a little firmer this time.

Looking at her, Twilight exhaled, then averted her gaze, “I haven’t… been a good mother or a good wife at all.”

Adagio reached over and laid her hand over Twilight’s, “...What happened?”

“I… I was… I was an abuser. Physically, especially. I abused Kitten… Soon after we got married…” Twilight took a few deep breaths, “I hit her, scratched her, broke some bones, shoved her, you name it.”

Adagio resisted the urge to withdraw her hand and instead squeezed Twilight’s fingers, “...Do you know why?”

“For a long time, I didn’t. Something triggered, and when I got angry, I got really angry. I let it all out on her, all my rage, and everything,” Twilight explained, her voice cracking, “I justified it because she said she liked the abuse. Of course, I know now that she only said that to keep the peace, so to speak. I felt powerful. Like I could get her to submit, like I had power of her. When we dated, it was the opposite. Her wearing the pants, I mean! Not abusing me! No, she never lay a finger on me in anger. But looking back, I realize what triggered it. It was what my mother put me through in my childhood. I tried repressing it for a long time.”

“They mentioned that briefly on the news,” Adagio squeezed her fingers tighter as she came around the booth to sit next to her, “What was that about?”

Twilight took a few deep breaths, closing her eyes, “My mother molested me when I was little. In secret… She made me swear not to tell. ‘It’ll be our little secret, sweetheart’ and all that. It was imbedded into my head that it was normal. That mothers and daughters did this all the time. So while it made me feel weird back then, I didn’t question it. I didn’t take into account that I was scared. Then… when I was in high school, we were watching a program in health class. It was about catching child predators, and… when I saw all that, I realized the truth.”

Adagio put a hand to her mouth and wrapped the other around Twilight’s shoulders, squeezing her tightly, “Oh my god, Twilight… oh you poor thing,” she wrapped both arms around her and pulled her into a warm hug, gently stroking her hair.

“I guess all the anger, fear, and resentment built up since then,” Twilight murmured, “And eventually… translated into the abuse I struck on my poor Kitten… It doesn’t excuse what I did, it doesn’t make it right. I still made the choices… I still lay my hands on her in anger. There’s no going back from that.”

“Did Ascentia… know about what your mother had done to you?” Adagio asked softly, kissing the top of Twilight’s head.

“Well, when I truly found out, she was with me at the time…” Twilight wiped her eyes, “So, yeah. She did…”

“Alright class, quiet down,” Cheerilee sighed as she wheeled the television in, “I’m supposed to show you this special on child predators and-”

“AW!” the glass all groaned in exasperation.

“Quiet!” Cheerilee barked as she fiddled with the buttons and dimmed the lights, “Now behave yourselves and we can all get this done as quickly as possible.”

Twilight leaned over to Ascentia, “A special on what?”

“Child predators,” Ascentia whispered back, “You’ve never heard of them before?”

“Vaguely,” Twilight sweat dropped, “I mean, I know they’re out there, I just haven’t focused a lot of attention on them.”

“Pfft, sheltered Canterlot girl,” Ascentia snickered as the TV finally lit up properly.

The special was, like the class had anticipated, incredibly boring. There was always a talent for TV documentaries to make any topic, no matter how dark or interesting, as dull as watering rocks. Ascentia herself had shifted her desk closer to Twilight’s so they could cuddle in the safety of the dark. Twilight, however, was paying attention with her eyes peeled.

‘...despite popular belief, the abusers of a child are very rarely strangers. Recent statistics have shown that those who do abuse are often very close to their victims. A friend, neighbour, or even a child’s parents have been the most common reports and convictions.’

A loud noise interrupted the class, to which everyone snapped their surprised gazes to the source. Twilight had stood up swiftly from her desk, shaking and letting out choked gasps. Before anyone could speak, or even move, she darted toward the door and hurried out into the hall. All while screaming in agony.

Everyone stared at the door, including Cheerilee, for a solid ten seconds before Ascentia jumped up and ran for the door as well.

“Miss Kortai! Sit back down!” Cheerilee barked.

Ascentia looked at her for a single second before uttering, “Fuck you,” and running out into the hall.

Turning in every direction to see where Twilight had gone, she caught a glimpse of her turning the corner to the stairwell. Realizing that this was probably only going to exacerbate the situation, she tore after her in a full sprint, hurtling down the stairs like a freerunner. Following Twilight down to the basement floor, she finally caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm, pulling to slow her down.

“Twilight! Twilight, what’s wrong? Why are you screaming?” she exclaimed over Twilight’s screeching and crying.

“No! NO! NO!” Twilight squealed, “No! Let go! Don’t touch me!”

Knowing Twilight was just going to run off again, Ascentia pulled her to a stop, “Twilight, calm down!” she said firmly, placing her hands on Twilight’s shoulders, “It’s me, Ascentia. What’s wrong?”

Sinking to her knees, Twilight began to sob, shaking hard, “Make it stop… oh god, make it stop! Make it stop!”

Ascentia dropped to her knees as well, looking increasingly worried as she watched her girlfriend having a complete breakdown in the hall, “Make what stop? Twilight, what happened in there?” she asked, her eyes darting all over her to try and deduce what was wrong as she gently squeezed her.

“Don’t make me go home! Don’t make me go home!” Twilight wailed, clutching at her, “She’s evil! Evil!”

“Who? Who’s evil, Twiley?” Ascentia asked as she pulled her closer and stroked her back, “Twilight, you’re scaring me!”

“Mother!” Twilight screeched, sobbing harder.

“You’re mother? What on earth did she…” Ascentia trailed off as she mentally put the pieces together, “...Oh Twilight, no…”

Twilight cuddled against her, sobbing loudly and sniffling, “Don’t make me go…”

“Shh…” Ascentia said softly, “You won’t. C’mon, you’re gonna come stay with me for a few days.”

“Th-...Thank you, Ascentia…” Twilight whimpered, “I don’t want to be alone…”

“You won’t, don’t worry,” Ascentia whispered as she helped Twilight to her feet, “Your big, strong girl’s gonna protect you.”

“Kitten let me stay with her for over two weeks before my parents started demanding I come home,” Twilight explained softly.

Adagio smiled a little, “Ascentia’s always had your back in case you fell, didn’t she?”

Twilight nodded, giving a little smile, “She did. She always did. Even when… she really shouldn’t have.”

Adagio was quiet for a minute before she spoke again, “...She killed your mother, didn’t she?”

“...You figured that out, huh?” Twilight sighed a bit.

Adagio nodded, “How… do you feel about that?”

“.... I don’t know,” Twilight admitted, wiping her eyes again, “It’s hard to pinpoint how I feel about it.”

“What do you mean?” Adagio asked softly, hugging Twilight tightly.

“Like… you know, I want to be thrilled and glad the monster in my life is gone. Yet, I just don’t know. Like something is holding me back from being happy. Like I shouldn’t be happy about it. That’s the best I could describe it,” Twilight snuggled against her.

“I can only imagine-”

“Ma’am?” the waitress asked as she approached their table, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but… Fillydelphia Triage Center called for you. They said… she’s stirring, if that means anything?”

Adagio nodded, “Thank you, miss,” she said as she paid the bill and left a thirty-bit tip, “C’mon Twilight. Ascentia’s stirring.”

“Really? Oh… thank goodness…” Twilight smiled even brighter, now, “We should go! I want to be there when she wakes up!” Next Chapter: How Much She Misses Mommy Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 47 Minutes