I felt my hand slowly clasp over my face, hoping that I was just seeing things. I felt Rainbow’s arms slowly begin to let go, sending a cold shiver down my back at the bare areas they left behind. I sensed the shocked stare that my mother was probably still giving us both, and as I let my hand fall to my side and grip Rainbow's arm, that’s exactly what I saw.

My mother wasn’t usually completely shocked; when she was surprised she’d smile and laugh. However, things like birthday parties didn’t equate to the magnitude of what she was seeing before her. I stared back at my mother for a time, Rainbow exchanging awkward looks between us.

“M-Mom I… I don’t know what to-”

“N-No dear, please, it’s alright,” Velvet began to stutter as she backed away from the door. My heart raced as my mind went through all the terrible outcomes that could be unfolding any moment from now.

“We were going to tell you,” I replied almost dejectedly, my mother stopping in her tracks. A few more tense moments let themselves pass by before anyone made a move, but slowly my mother began to step forward again, tilting her head in confusion.

“Tell me what, exactly?” Velvet asked curiously. I would have thought with the scene it’d have been pretty obvious as to what was going on, but I looked past that and simply bowed my head in shame. Not sure whether I myself was comfortable telling her the truth.

“Rainbow Dash and I are... dating,” I began finally, “I wanted to tell you and Dad at dinner tonight, but I guess we both got carried away, huh?” I jested a little, hoping to clear the tense air.

My mother remained silent as she came up with a reply; I wanted to hold on to Rainbow as the nerves slowly began creeping up my body, sending pin-pricks up my spine. I felt utterly helpless at this moment, I had laid all the cards were on the table now, and not in the way I’d wanted to reveal them.

Silence still filled the room, I opened my mouth to say something, that I it was nothing but a simple jok-

“That’s wonderful.”

Wait, what?

I immediately looked up to see my mother surprisingly wearing a proud yet warm smile across her face. My heart felt like it was swelling up as I began to feel a little bit relieved at the sight of her not freaking out at the current situation we were in. I felt a smile of my own begin to spread across my cheeks as I replied.

“You sure you’re not… um… disappointed?” I asked, hesitant.

My mother raised an eyebrow at that before shaking her head vigorously, “No dear, trust me I’m more than happy for you two just… surprised is all,” she answered slightly nervous, but nowhere near to the degree I was currently experiencing

I breathed in a shaky but slightly calmer breath, quietly thanking Celestia herself that my mother was at least okay with the dating aspect of it. I felt Rainbow relax slightly too now, her tensed muscles seeming to soften a little in my tight grip. After another awkward pause, I began to find the strength to move once more, taking my hands off my lover with slight hesitation before pushing myself up and back onto my rather shaky legs. Rainbow watched me with slight worry before I was able to regain my balance, my eyes averted back to my mother's gaze as I began to walk slowly over before she grabbed me in a soft but caring embrace. I felt my eyes began to tear up as I just held her, for what seemed like forever before we broke apart. I saw my mother smile at me before looking over my shoulder, to which I turned around to find Rainbow standing not too far behind me with a smile as well.

It was clear that there had been nervousness before, but thanks to the acceptance of my mother, her cocky smile returned to show everything was okay. My heart was already beginning to beat faster once again, blood rushing to my cheeks as I looked between the love of my life and my own mother.

After another short while I was getting tired of the constant silences. Taking another breath, I looked to my mother with a smile, “S-should we head for dinner then?” I asked, hoping to at least change the subject. Mom nodded happily before rushing back down the stairs with me nearly following before I felt Rainbow grab my arm. I turned back to her with a raised eyebrow. Her cocky smile had disappeared, and it came to me that it was just for show. She would always do this when others were present around us, putting up a tough act until they left. Once they were gone she would show her true feelings and I would be there to help the best I could. I looked into her deep magenta eyes as I studied her.

“What’s wrong?” I began.

Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck as she tried to form some kind of response for me, “I-I know this might sound weird, but… do you think that maybe sounded a little too good to be true?” she asked, her face showing an expression of disbelief as we stared at one another.

I nodded in understanding as I took her hand, “I can’t say for sure Dash, but I think my mom was probably the more likely of the two to be okay with this,” I replied, trying ever so hard not to get onto the topic of my father, but I knew that was exactly what was on her mind. Rainbow looked like she wanted to reply, but as much as I’d love to have sat and chatted further with her about the whole issue with this again, my mother shouted up from the rooms below.

“Twilight! Dinner’s ready!”

I sighed and turned, looking to Rainbow as we headed down the stairs, “We’ll deal with it together, okay? This night could have already been worse,” I affirmed before hearing her snicker behind me.

“Yeah, ‘cause getting caught making out in front of your mom wasn’t bad!” she teased, I felt myself getting red once more as we descended the staircase, choosing only to shake my head in embarrassment before we entered the hallway. I showed Rainbow over to the back of the home where the kitchen was located, the cooking area itself opened up into a dining area, there both my parents were already seated waiting for the two of us. My mom was smiling pleasantly along with my father, who thankfully unlike my mother was completely oblivious to the situation at hand.

“Well, here goes nothin’,” I heard Rainbow whisper behind me as we got to the table.

I tried to keep my cool, the air already seeming to get tense. Moments ago I had felt relief from my mother’s acceptance, but seeing my father sat from across the table, even if he was showing nothing but affection at this point, scared me to the absolute core. I felt my stomach tighten, my face forcing a pleasant smile from my mouth, “Sorry for being late, I hope we didn’t keep you both waiting.”

My father waved his hand dismissively as he continued to smile. “You didn’t keep us waiting long. You also brought along a friend, so I can assume that you both were just lost in whatever it was you could be talking about.”

My heart sped up as I shifted uncomfortably. While he was true that Dash and I had been talking, he was most definitely nowhere near what the topic was about. I stayed frozen in place as my mother set the table. I was made to take the first step when I felt Rainbow give a gentle nudge. Taking a deep breath, I moved towards the table and pulled out a chair. I offered the pulled out chair to Rainbow who took the seat. I took the one next to her and looked at my father who was now staring at us.

“I guess you’re both really good friends if you’re pulling out her seat,” my father joked, a grin spread across his lips.

I blushed a little from this, knowing that my father was going to make jokes about this like he did everything else. I looked over to my mother who was still smiling, but her eyes gestured towards my father. I knew what she was saying wordlessly to me, but that didn’t make it easier. I wanted to forget this whole things and let my father believe that Rainbow and I were just really close friends. Then my mother would be able to explain the situation between us, but it didn’t seem like that was going to happen as my mother spoke.

“Night Light, I believe our daughter has something that she would like to tell us,” my mother said calmly, her smile never leaving her features as she tried her best to help me along.

“Oh, what kind of news? Has she finally learned the balance between getting proper rest and staying up late to read books?” my father openly joked, his laughter filling the room.

I slunk my head, shaking it at him for trying to be funny. It wasn’t that he was always bad at telling jokes, but most of the time they were just cringy. Although, last time I thought about it, I always went to bed at a reasonable time, even with a book that held my interest. He only thought I stayed up late reading because he caught me ten times when I was a child reading under the covers of my bed.

Giving a harsh shake, I brought my mind back to what was really important. Sadly, I still couldn’t bring my head back up to look at my father, his laughter still echoing around the room as he probably told another joke. I lifted my head a little when I felt Rainbow grasp my hand in her own. I felt the firm grip of her hand encouraging as I looked up at her. There was a smile adorning her face, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

Nodding my head, I lifted it as I looked back at my father. He was wiping his face clean and seemed to stop halfway through as our eyes locked. My features seemed to freeze as my mind almost felt like it was stuck on autopilot, “A-Actually Dad, t-there’s something… important that I need to tell you.”

My father gave me a strange look now that he had noted the way I was speaking. My Dad wasn’t a child, so I could think of the worries already spilling into his thoughts as he looked between the both of us.

“And what would that be?” he asked, the jokes seeming to be a distant memory with his change of tone. I swallowed in an attempt to reply, but all of a sudden I heard Rainbow answer for me.

“I’m in love with your Daughter, Sir,” Rainbow replied politely, holding my hand tighter as I sat there almost as shell shocked as my mother by the abrupt change of events. I had never even comprehended that Rainbow would go out of her way to speak for me on her behalf, especially after seeing how concerned she had felt about my father knowing moments prior to the confrontation. I sat there with my mouth shut tight, my lungs almost screaming for air as my father and Rainbow stared at one another mutually as if they were just waiting for the other to play their next move. I felt ready to vomit as my father turned to me, his expression showing all the signs of the words ‘spill it’

I sighed, swallowing hard before speaking up for the final time. Before coming here I was certain this would have turned out a lot cleaner than it currently stood, but part of me knew that it was never going to be this easy. I took a last look at Rainbow before saying my piece, the one I’d been rehearsing in my head from the first day I contemplated revealing my hidden secret to my own flesh and blood.

“I-it’s true Dad, m-me and Rainbow are dating one another. I-I don’t know if either of you are truly okay with it, but it’s the whole reason we came here tonight to talk with you about it.” I began, taking another slow and patient breath before continuing, “I love Rainbow, I want you guys to get to know her instead of us hiding from you.”

After I finished speaking I watched my father intently, his features had not faltered once from his stoic stare. I almost felt completely disconnected from the fun loving, joke making Dad I knew from all my years growing up. My heart felt ice cold, and my stomach had seemed now to be twisting one too many knots within me as I lowered my head from his gaze.

“What are your intentions with my daughter?”

My ears perked up as I stopped my movements, did my father really just say-

“Uhm, w-what do you mean?” I heard Rainbow answer as I raised my head again, looking to a rather bewildered girlfriend of mine as she stared back at my father confusingly.

“I mean, do you have anything else planned? Trust me when I tell you this, Rainbow Dash. I’m an easy going father, but when it comes to my little one, I can either be a good person to be around or someone that haunts your nightmares,” my father explained, adjusting himself in his seat before continuing. “So do you wish for your relationship with my daughter to be simple, or do you have future plans with her?”

As I watched the conversation unfold between them, my mind was telling me something was up with the way my dad seemed to be talking, then it suddenly hit me as to what it was he was trying to get at. My face flushed in embarrassment, but went un-noticed by Rainbow who was still oblivious to what my father was up to.

“W-Well future wise we plan to move in with each other, and maybe stay a little more rooted to Ponyville in order to build a better life for the two of us,” Dash responded.

My father reached across the table and grabbed knife, inspecting it as he spoke. “Ponyville is a wonderful place to live. I hear from a few work friends about how that town is very rustic, but maintains enough modern living to be a beautiful place,” my father said, grabbing a spare napkin and cleaning the knife off with a small smile.

It was after this I tried to contain my laughter, completely forgetting about the tension that was once in the air as I felt happy for the first time since I had sat down at the table. Rainbow was still completely unaware of the trap she was wandering into as she pulled a confused yet fearful look at my father, “Uhm… I guess so,” she answered, slightly unsure.

My father gave a slow nod as he placed the knife down, straightening it for several seconds before staring back at Dash. Silence filled the space between as he judged her. I could hear my mother clear her throat, apparently getting tired of this long game that my father had started. Hearing his wife, my father replaced his stoic expression with a large smile, chuckling as he spoke.

“Then I wish you both the best together. Hopefully neither of you will forget to invite us over for dinner at some point when you find a house to settle down in,” my father said happily, nodding his head at Rainbow Dash. “I also expect a big wedding between the two of you.”

In the amusement it took me a moment to realise the situation at hand… my father had agreed to my relationship with Rainbow Dash, and a wedding that Celestia only knows how far away it is. Although, looking over at Rainbow, she was staring at my father with her mouth agape, unsure of how to respond with what just happened. She could take a good joke like everybody else, since it’s the only way to fully handle Pinkie, but I don’t think she was prepared for this. Laughing silently, I pat the back of her hand as my mother finally spoke up.

“I think now that your father is finished giving the poor dear a heart attack and a headache, maybe it’s time to finally eat before the food gets cold,” my mother began with a smirk spread across her features as she levitated a few plates with helpings of various meals across to us.

I smiled widely back at both my parents and my lover as we began finishing up the most wild night of my life. I grinned to myself as I dug into my own food, remembering to make a little note for myself for later life.

Whatever you do…

Author's Notes:

Thanks for waiting so long to read the ending to this short fiction! It's been a long time since I've updated anything, but now I'm back into the swing of things I thought it best to finish of fictions like these as well as continuing a few of my others!

I hope I didn't disappoint, but please don't hesitate to point out any errors.

~Rumble