Twilight looked across the table at her wife with a smile as she watched her meticulously sip from a coffee cup and thumb her phone placed on the table in front of her. She had gone out and got the larger model to make it easier to flip through the news when she sat at the breakfast table. Sunset had endured the regular size iPhone for long enough and felt it just made more sense to go with the Plus model for her own convenience. The two had talked about it for eons, but always put it off.

That week though, they had gone to the Apple Store and Sunset had finally made the plunge, and it seemed to be paying off. No longer was she squinting and leaning down to the table to see what she was reading, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy in knowing she had finally convinced her beloved to just get it over with already. There was a certain satisfaction in being able to tell stubborn-as-a-mule-Sunset-Shimmer “I told you so.” This was likely because Twilight got to do it all the time.

Sunset kept her eyes on her phone for a few more seconds before she caught a glimpse of Twilight staring at her. At first, she ignored it, but after about eight glimpses up, noticing she was still being observed, Sunset raised a curious brow.

“What?” She asked, her hand raising with her “#1 Mom” coffee mug to her lips.

Twilight noted how her hair was still a wild mess from the night before, she giggled internally thinking of how they had made love so viciously, and the effects of it were still visible on the girl, a hickey could still be seen on her collar bone as her robe drooped. She was only wearing a lacy black bra and panties underneath her bathrobe, which Twilight was enjoying sneaking peaks at. She was always astounded when morning came around at how she managed to acquire such an attractive woman as a wife.

She herself had gone through some changes and definitely upped her own sex appeal, but Sunset just seemed naturally attractive, like she didn’t even need to try to cause arousal.

“Just... Admiring you...” Twilight sighed contently as she rested her head on her hands, staring at her wife.

A small blush crossed Sunset’s face as she rolled her eyes. “I’m a mess, Twilight.”

“A hot mess,” Twilight corrected.

“You can’t possibly still be horny after last night...” Sunset deadpanned.

“I can’t help it around you!” Twilight pouted.

Sunset giggled and rolled her eyes once more. “How did you go from being a shy timid girl to this sex fiend? It’s truly remarkable.”

“You have had adverse effects on me! I blame you!” Twilight teased.

“So it’s my fault?” Sunset smirked.

“That’s right, you should go up to our room and think about what you’ve done!” Twilight fake scolded.

Sunset sighed and shook her head. “At least you’re in a good mood. So what’s on the agenda for today?”

Twilight blinked and tried to rub out the perverted thoughts in her mind and refocus on what to do for the day. “Well, I figured, I’d get Horizon up in a few minutes, we can feed her, then spend some time with her before I have to go to school?”

It sounded like such an ordinary plan to most, but to Twilight, it was perhaps the most exciting thing she had ever done. The reality that she and Sunset had started a family together was still breathtaking. She could hardly imagine herself in this same position years ago.

Sunset’s face turned into a bright smile as she nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea actually... Wanna go get her up together?”

Twilight nodded and came to a stand, pushing her seat out offering her hand to her wife. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Sunset took the offered hand and allowed herself to be assisted up. Once she was in a proper stand, she adjusted her bathrobe to better conceal herself, much to Twilight’s disappointment, but the bookworm chose not to comment as the two made their way out of the breakfast nook and toward their child’s nursery. The trip up the flight of stairs was made with laughter, giggles and a few playful kisses.

When they made it to the top of the steps, Twilight took Sunset’s hands in her own and smiled as she looked into her wife’s eyes. “You make me so happy, you know that?”

Sunset blushed and looked away bashfully. “Come on... Why so sappy this early in the morning? You know I’m not good at this stuff...”

“You liar! You’re flirting all the time!” Twilight giggled and tapped the redhead’s nose.

“Yeah, flirting, that’s different than being sappy,” Sunset pointed out.

“You wrote me that cute letter once, remember?” Twilight reminded.

Sunset’s blush only grew as she rubbed her neck. “I... had Rarity help me...”

Twilight covered her mouth and gasped. “You actually were willing to say all of those gushy things in front of Rarity? That was brave of you! I’m even more impressed.”

Sunset chuckled and looked away. “Yeah, well... She teased me for it for like a month after that. You will not believe the kinds of texts I got. Then she started acting like we were in some kind of cutesy sharing club where we shared adorable things our spouses did... I was getting texts from her every day.”

Twilight remembered Sunset getting a lot of texts when they had just gotten married, she now was privy to what was transpiring.

“Oh wow... That’s... kind of cute though.” Twilight fawned.

Shrugging, Sunset squeezed her wife’s hands. “You will not believe how many little romantic gestures Applejack does. She picks flowers for that girl almost weekly, and the amount of cheesy letters I’ve read that Rarity sent me with squealing emojis. For a farm girl, that Applejack is... prolific.”

“That’s so sweet, I would have never imagined Applejack of all people would be so romantic.” Twilight grinned.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate that I’m keen to most of her gushy love letters to Rarity though...” Sunset giggled.

“You should write to me more!” Twilight suggested happily.

Sighing, Sunset nodded. “Alright, I’ll try, but I’m not very good at that stuff.”

“It’s the thought that counts, sweetie,” Twilight reminded.

As Twilight led the two of them down the hall, Sunset laughed noticing the bounce in her step. “Wow, babe, you’re in a good mood.”

Babe. It still brought a smile to Twilight’s face when she heard it. It was more than just a term of endearment or an appreciation of Twilight. It was her word. The term that Sunset reserved only for her. Every time she heard it, she was reminded of this fact. Twilight had somehow fallen onto “sweetie” for Sunset, though she had tried a few before settling on that one. Though she jokingly tried “pookie” once to annoy Sunset. It didn’t seem to bother her tremendously, but there was a visible cringe. Though her greatest effort which actually got a very “stop” from Sunset was the most ridiculous of pet names that Twilight could think of. A name that she couldn’t even finish getting out of her mouth now without Sunset covering her mouth to cease her from speaking.

It had become an inside joke between the two women, but one that Twilight could always giggle at just thinking about it. Even now, she was trying to withhold her laughter as she thought about it. Snookie Wookie Snuggle-Wuggle Bear.

Making their way to the front of the nursery, they noticed two dogs eagerly wagging their tails that sat next to the door. Twilight giggled as she reached down to pet Spike, and then Moon shortly after. Both of the canines leaned into her petting and yipped happily.

“Our little protectors keeping watch it seems...” Twilight cooed.

Spike lifted his muzzle proudly. “Moon and I have been extra vigilant!”

Sunset giggled and nodded. “We’re sure you both have. There’s a bone in it for the both of you when we get downstairs, alright?”

Moon barked in appreciation and Spike’s tail wagging sped up to alarming speeds as they both raced downstairs to eagerly await when their masters made it down. Sunset chuckled as she watched them run away. “Our boys really are great, aren’t they?”

“Just a couple of good boys.” Twilight winked.

They both laughed before opening the door to the beautifully decorated nursery. They had chosen to go with pinks, oranges, and yellows, to match the motif for which their daughter was named after.

As expected, when they entered, the girl was still fast asleep, which was unsurprising. Horizon so far had proven to be a very non-fussy baby, which was to the advantage of both of the inexperienced parents. Sunset reached into the cradle and gently retrieved the small girl, holding her gently in her arms rocking her. The small child opened her eyes and looked up at her mother with intrigue.

“What’s up, kiddo? We are gonna get you fed, and then you’re going to spend some time with mommy and Twilight before she has to go to school,” Sunset explained.

As expected, the child didn’t understand her words and instead just looked up at her with a curious face which made Sunset giggle.

Twilight and Sunset both noticed that their daughter was definitely the curious type, which was to be expected given the nature of both of her parents. With DNA from both of their families, it was a predicted outcome.

Stepping forward, Twilight presented her finger to the baby in Sunset’s arms which Horizon grabbed with her tiny appendages, gripping it tightly. “Look at that, strong like her mother.”

“Yet cute like you,” Sunset replied.

A blush came to Twilight. “You’re already getting better at the mushy stuff, I see.”

“Just don’t expect me to become Applejack about it.” Sunset giggled.

Twilight nodded and laughed.

Sunset extended her arms with the child still carefully held in them to Twilight. “Would you hold her for just a second? I need to go get my phone, I left it downstairs and I’m expecting a call from the doctor about setting up her shots in a few months. Wanted to get a head start on all of that, especially after my little incident in high school...”

Twilight hadn’t forgotten the time where Sunset had nearly died from an illness she refused to treat back in their high school days. Had Shimmer not pressed the matter, Sunset and Shimmer may have traded places, and Twilight likely wouldn’t be standing in that mansion holding a daughter in her arms. She shuddered to think of that scenario, but she was curious about what a different world would be like. A world where Shimmer didn’t get shot eight times in the back, and where Sunset actually was not able to make it back to Equestria in time for her life to be saved.

What would have become of her then? What would she have done? A part of her imagined she would have gone through the turmoil that Moondancer did when she lost Shimmer.

She cleared her mind of the thoughts and nodded as she took the baby from her wife, who leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on Twilight’s nose before running a hand along her cheek. “I’ll be right back, okay?”

Twilight nodded as she held Horizon, watching her wife leave the room. She stared at the doorway for a few moments. Time passed, and before she knew it, what was intended as a few seconds had grown into eight long minutes. Something was wrong in Twilight’s mind, and it wasn’t just that Sunset was taking too long.

Contemplating it a bit longer, it finally occurred to Twilight that this entire morning had happened once before. She recalled it from memory now, everything transpiring down to the exact note was a repeat of another morning from her memories. The only problem was that at this point the memory was behaving differently.

Sunset was supposed to have come back only seconds after leaving with a phone in hand, but instead, she was still gone. Was Twilight’s mind playing tricks on her? Did she imagine this entire memory had taken place before? No. It wasn’t possible. She definitely remembered all of it, it wasn’t merely deja vu, but something else.

Carefully, she reached for the doorknob to the room and turned it, cracking the door open to call out to her wife. “Sunset? Where are you, sweetie!?”

There was no response.

Gulping, Twilight pushed the door open carefully, the baby still in her arms as she stepped out of the room, noting that she didn’t recall the hallway extending as far as it appeared to, and after getting a good eight feet away seemed to stretch into a never-ending pit of blackness.

“Sunset!? Where are you!?” Twilight called out.

She was given her answer in the form of silence.

Twilight gulped once more and with the baby still carefully wrapped in her arms, Twilight held the child close as she walked down the hallway. The blackness never seemed to let up no matter how far she got down the hallway, and before she knew it, she couldn’t see anything, she was standing in a void, a void the stretched endlessly. Turning around, Twilight noticed the void had swallowed the pathway back as well.

“Sunset!” Twilight called out but was still given no answer.

She fell to her knees, holding the baby closely as she closed her eyes and whimpered, hoping in vain that something she could do would bring her wife back, that something would make her appear again and tell her that everything was going to be okay.

When she opened her eyes, she could hear an alarm clock. Reaching for her face, she realized she wasn’t wearing her glasses anymore, nor was she carrying Horizon in her arms. Instead, she was wrapped under a quilt in an expensive bed with her morning alarm clock on her phone going off to wake her. It took a few seconds, but Twilight then realized that she had been dreaming, reliving an old memory from when Horizon was only recently born, but the memory getting cut short every time.

She sat up and reached to end the alarm, missing it about eight times before she managed to get it. She noted the time, 8:08 AM. She wasn’t running tremendously late, only a few minutes.

“It keeps happening...” Twilight thought out loud in regards to the dream. She had been having the same nightmare for some time now, and it felt like a good decade had passed since it started, but the reality was she could still remember the first night it had occurred, that was over three years ago.

That morning three years ago still haunted her. She remembered going to bed the night before, happier than she had ever been. She looked forward to another day with her wife and her daughter. She wanted to see about making pancakes for them and had set everything up the night before to surprise the redhead who no doubt would appreciate it after her morning work out. Twilight would sneak a few peeks at Sunset exercising, admiring her physique, and they’d dine together with their baby.

It was all supposed to be perfect, the perfect morning. Everything was going to be flawless, it was going to be a memory that they both would carry forever. Sadly though, those pancakes never got made, Twilight never got to watch her beloved work out that morning, and the memory that was supposed to be formed was instead replaced by a somber one.

When Twilight awoke that morning, she felt a strange emptiness in her bed. She rolled over to snuggle up to her wife only to find she wasn’t there. Instead was just a pillow that she grabbed onto. She frowned at first thinking that perhaps she had gotten up early and thus spoiled her plans. She would search the usual spots for her, the bathroom, her office, her gym, the kitchen, but nowhere she looked did she find the redhead.

Resourceful as she was, Twilight knew enough to check the garage and sure enough, one of the cars was missing. She tried to call her wife asking if she had realized they needed something from the store, but there was no answer.

She wandered back up the stairs and tried calling again, realizing there was a ringing coming from the bedroom. It didn’t take long to realize the ringing was from Sunset’s iPhone which was still left by her bedside. Twilight blinked; Sunset seldom forgot her phone and usually turned around to get it, more so now that they had a child and needed to be ready to receive a message from the other at a moment’s notice.

At first, Twilight chalked it all up to Sunset merely being forgetful, everyone had off days, after all, however, the nagging feeling in her mind only grew as Twilight approached her daughter’s nursery. Horizon was still fast asleep, making Twilight smile, but she noticed something she had not expected taped to the side of her crib, an envelope with her name on it, obviously Sunset’s handwriting.

The first thought in her mind was that it was Sunset trying to be romantic, but when she tore it open, her heart sank.

The letter inside was short, but it got its message across quickly.

Dear Twilight,

I’m sorry. I don’t expect you to understand. I love you so much, and I’m really sorry for what I am doing.

Love,

Sunset

That was three years ago now. And in those three years, Sunset had not returned. That letter was the last communication that Twilight had received from her. She recalled those first few nights waiting for her to come home, but after a good eight days, it had sunk in that she wasn’t returning any time soon.

It was difficult during those first few weeks, Twilight could hardly sleep and she refused to meet with anyone. Many nights were spent just holding her legs close to herself with her phone close by waiting for Sunset to call.

After some time had passed, she eventually found herself keeping busy to keep her mind off of it, but never truly forgetting. The thought always crept its way to the front of her mind, the thought of “what did I do wrong?” She wished she knew, she wished that whatever it was that made Sunset leave she could undo. Had motherhood intimidated her to the point of running?

Three years was a long time, but Twilight had utilized it to bury her emotion on the matter, to keep it hidden, to keep it locked away. She couldn’t afford to be weak anymore, she had a daughter now that counted on her. A little girl who needed a parent to be there while her mother was not. Regardless of what happened to Sunset, regardless of her reasoning, Twilight knew that she had to keep herself together for Horizon’s sake.

Getting out of bed with a yawn, she wandered over to her window and opened the curtains. The line shined in, causing Twilight to shield her eyes. The plaid button up shirt that she had stolen from Sunset’s wardrobe shined in the light. It was a size or two too large for Twilight, but she occasionally wore it as a nightshirt over her underwear.

Meandering out of her room, she found her way to her daughter’s bedroom, and there on the floor stacking some blocks was a girl with muted purple hair, with red tips at the end of her wavy, messy strands. She had already gotten herself dressed in a black spaghetti strap dress from her dresser and was entertaining herself while Twilight woke up. Horizon had somehow developed into a fairly self-sufficient girl without much intervention. She was a fast learner, like Twilight, but she was odd to most. Her personality was very reserved, very laid back, very calm. It was odd that both of her parents were known for over-stressing tiny situations, yet Horizon was virtually stress-free.

Twilight knelt down to the girl’s level and examine’s her as she didn’t even take her eyes off of her blocks. Her freckles were always so adorable to Twilight, and they were even cuter with the pair of glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.

“Hey, kiddo,” Twilight spoke softly.

“Hello,” Horizon replied plainly.

“How long have you been up?” Twilight asked.

She just shrugged.

Nodding, Twilight picked up a block and offered it to her, which Horizon accepted and placed atop of her growing tower.

“So, I have school today, so I set up a little play date with Jasper for you, is that okay?” Twilight explained.

“That’s fine,” Horizon said.

Twilight was relieved that Horizon was far from a fussy girl, she wasn’t even a fussy eater as far as Twilight could tell, she’d eat virtually anything offered to her.

“Alright, well I’m going to shower really quick and then we can go okay?” Twilight proposed.

“Okay.” Horizon nodded.

“I love you, Horizon.” Twilight smiled, kissing the girl’s forehead.

Horizon looked up at her with her pink eyes. “I love you too, Twilight.”

She pet the girl’s head before standing up and heading to take the aforementioned shower, by the smell of her armpit, she definitely knew she needed it.

Twilight made her way to the shower, hoping that she could forget about her nightmare and move on with the rest of her day. She didn’t have much time to think about the past, she needed to focus on the future.

Class was tedious, which was an odd admittance for Twilight Sparkle, the girl who loved school, learning and all things education. Her mind was elsewhere though, and she longed to get home to spend time with her young daughter. In her mind, the teacher’s lesson drawled on, and Twilight was finding that it was more and more difficult to stay completely interested in university these days. She pushed through by the encouragement of her family and her desire to finish what she started, but it did annoy her that she had gone from a girl with hopeful dreams of getting her doctorate to a girl who needed motivation just to get out of bed and go to class.

While it troubled her, it didn’t trouble her as much as she would have imagined, which she supposed troubled her more that she wasn’t troubled. What really troubled her though was thoughts of Horizon. Her daughter was obviously a clever child, but not a very emotional one. Horizon was almost purely logical, she was the kind of kid that asked why they were called “black” people when they were actually brown. Smart kid, not the most politically correct though.

Horizon was good with animals, but Twilight worried she might be too understanding of them. She once caught their girl licked herself after she had seen Moon and Spike do it.

Still, regardless of her oddities, Horizon was her daughter, and Twilight took much pride in her.

Her thoughts on her child had distracted her long enough to hear the bell ring. She blinked as she realized she had completely drifted off into space during almost the entirety of her class. Her face turned a bit red at this realization, but she adjusted her checkered button up blouse as she came to a stand.

She had opted to wear a pair of dark grey skinny jeans today, and a rather stylish belt with silver studs upon it. Twilight was starting to feel a bit more proud of her fashion sense which was less like that of a librarian now. Gone were her thick-rimmed, large glasses and in their place squared off smaller ones that had a bit more style to them. She had even started wearing proper eyeliner when she went out.

Checking down at her watch, she smiled when she realized that classes were over and she could head home.

She scooped up her Macbook and textbooks, throwing them into a messenger bag before she turned around and yelped when she came face to face with a tall male. She took a step back and observed the blonde with black tipped hair. He had a genuine smile about him, and with his hand on his hip and his other to his side, he cocked his head at Twilight.

“Oh, Banker... I didn’t see you there... You scared me half to death...” Twilight admitted sheepishly.

He chuckled and shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll try and be more careful next time.”

Twilight shook her head back at him. “No, it’s my fault. I’m always staring off into space, I’m hardly paying attention to what’s going on around me, you know? I have a very bad habit of doing that...”

“Yet you still manage to be at the top of every class, how does that work?” Banker raised a curious brow, wondering if Twilight would reveal her secrets to him.

She shrugged, not quite sure anymore. Being on top of every class was just the person Twilight Sparkle was. She never stopped to question why the name Twilight Sparkle had to be at the top of every class, she just always knew it to be true.

“I wish I could tell you there was a magic trick to it, but... I don’t really do magic...” She paused at the end of that sentence, thinking it over. She wanted to add “anymore”, but decided it was best not to.

It was true too, since Sunset’s departure, Twilight tried to avoid magic as much as she could. It didn’t feel right using it without her around, nor did she want Horizon to know about it. It was for the best that she kept it a secret that she and her friends used to go around beating up magical villains with superpowers.

She would be lying though if she said that she didn’t miss the feeling that magic gave her. There was a certain exhilaration that came from using magic, a certain elated feeling that only it could give. That feeling was amplified when Sunset and she performed it together.

“Well, you’re quite the girl, Twilight... Beauty and brains...” He nodded, his eyes drifting across her figure suggestively before arriving back at her gentle face.

It was strangely true. Twilight had finally filled out a little, turning into more of an attractive woman. She had acquired a bit of a behind, nothing compared to that of Rarity’s but definitely respectable, and she had started taking care to make her best features shine. Her wardrobe change probably helped tremendously.

“I’m not really that great...” Twilight spoke bashfully.

“Modest too, I see.” He chuckled.

“You flatter me,” Twilight replied.

“I noticed you got a new piercing on your ear, did that hurt?” He gestured to his own ear.

She reached up and touched the new hoop that sat just underneath her industrial piercing and shrugged. “Not any more than normal.”

“It’s kind of odd... You seem more like a timid girl, yet you get piercings like that...” He chuckled.

“Would it shock you to know I got a tattoo done almost three years ago?” Twilight grinned.

“You with a tattoo? Where?” He blinked in astonishment.

She laughed and unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt and pulled it down revealing just above her left breast was a symbol that she herself had seen many times before. It was the same emblem that Sunset often wore, the emblem that she understood back in Equestria to be her “mark” so to speak. A shining red and yellow sun.

He blinked and tilted his head. “What is it?”

Buttoning her shirt back up Twilight smiled. “It’s to remind myself that Sunset is always in my heart. She might be gone, but this reminds me of the happy memories we had...”

“Speaking of... I was wondering if maybe you wanted to get something to eat now that class is over? My treat?” He gave her another smile.

She sighed and shook her head. “Sorry, Banker... I just... I’m not really ready for another relationship. It’s not that you’re not a great guy or anything, it’s just... I had just gotten married to this woman, she was the love of my life and then she just...” Twilight closed her eyes and then opened them as she composed herself. “There’s a lot of baggage in my life.”

“How long has she been gone now?” He asked.

“Three years.” Twilight gave a plain reply, she had it almost down to the minute of when Sunset left. A part of her wondered if she’d ever be satisfied unless she knew what happened to the redhead. It wasn’t even entirely that she was gone, it was that Twilight didn’t have a clue of where she went or how to find her.

“Don’t you think it’s time to move on? See other people? When’s the last time you went on a date, Twilight?” He asked. His voice didn’t suggest he was being pushy but concerned instead.

She shook her head. “I haven’t since she left...”

“Maybe it’s time?” He suggested.

Twilight shook her head once more and placed a hand on his shoulder before squeezing by him. “Maybe, but I have to go pick up my daughter. Right now, that’s the only thing I care about, sorry Banker. I hope I’m not coming off as a bitch.”

He didn’t seem too offended with his response. “Not at all, Twilight. You gotta take care of you, after all. The offer is always on the table. I can’t promise I’ll be better than Sunset, but I can promise I’ll do my best to show you a good time if you want to take a chance.”

Twilight found herself smiling at the fact that she was still desirable to someone at least. A part of her wondered though if she’d ever feel as wanted as she did with Sunset around. That woman was head-over-heels for her; Sunset brought her breakfast in bed, she showed her off around town, she bought sexy outfits for her, she had even stopped at sex shops on a weekly basis to bring something “new” to the bedroom to impress Twilight with. Never in her life had she met someone that went through such extended efforts for her.

It made her happy to think that someone loved her so much, but sad at the same time when she realized that that person was gone, and she didn’t know why. She wanted to believe there was a good reason for Sunset’s disappearance, but it was getting harder and harder as time went on. If there was, surely she’d be back by now, right? She’d have come home to her years ago, wouldn’t she?

Time was a terrible burden, and it was one that she had to fill. With nothing filling Twilight’s time, she began to think of all the worst case scenarios, so she had to always find a way to keep herself distracted.

“Thank you, Banker. I don’t know why you put up with me though, I’m pretty confident other girls would be more worth the pursuit than me...” Twilight blushed.

He shrugged. “I guess there is just something about you that makes me want to make you happy. Is that weird?”

She paused as a memory came through her mind.

It had been sometime after Twilight and Sunset had started dating. They had had some big argument about something or other, and Twilight had locked herself in her room upset. She wished she could recall why they were fighting, but she supposed it wasn’t that important if she couldn’t even remember the reasoning.

Sunset had stayed outside her door for nearly eight hours, stopping only to use the bathroom. She didn’t say anything, but Twilight knew she was there. It was a fight so big that she was confident they were going to break up after that. Sunset never gave up on her though.

After those eight hours passed, Twilight finally opened the door and the only words that came out of her mouth still rang in her mind, along with Sunset’s response.

Why do you even bother putting up with me?

There’s just something about you that makes me want to make you happy. Is that weird?

Maybe it is, but I’m glad you said that.

Twilight had frozen again before shaking her head and smiling at Banker. “Maybe it is, but I’m glad you said that...”

He raised a brow, confused as if there was a conversation going on that he was only getting half of. “Huh?”

She shook her head. “Nothing, thank you for being there. I guess I needed to hear that today.”

“Sure, no problem.” He blinked, unsure of what just happened as Twilight took her leave.

A phone was pressed to the ear of the woman who had mothered and raised Moondancer. She was trying to give yet another call to check up on her daughter. The girl’s sleep pattern had gotten completely unpredictable since she left home, and thus it was uncertain when one would be able to get a hold of her.

After the phone rang a good eight times, she was about to give up until she heard someone pick up on the other side. A grumbling noise was heard at first followed by a “hey, sorry.”

“Well, there you are!” Moondancer’s mother stated.

The voice of Moondancer came through the phone between yawns. “Sorry, been up pretty late with this project.”

“When are you coming home?” Her mother asked a question that seemed to get asked nearly every day these days. The answer of course was predictable and the same one she had been used to receiving over and over. She didn’t even fully know why she bothered asking.

“As soon as I can, mother.” Moondancer yawned.

Her mother lamented at how she wished she could get a better answer from her only child but decided to leave it at that. “How are things over there?”

“Pretty good, anything new over there?” Moondancer asked.

“Well, I recently got into training for a marathon that is going to happen next year...” Her mother began.

Moondancer replied immediately. “I’m proud of you, mother.”

“I was hoping you could watch me run...” Her mother finished her thought, her words growing quiet toward the end.

There was a long sigh on Moondancer’s side followed by silence.

Breaking the silence, her mother spoke up. “Moondancer?”

“Yeah, I’m still here. I promise mother, when I get out of here, I’ll watch you run. I won’t miss it for the world,” her daughter stated, confidence filling her voice.

Those words alone were enough to reassure her, she knew her daughter well enough to know she never backed out of a promise. Just like she was raised.

Twilight arrived at Applejack and Rarity’s home in her Range Rover, parking the fine vehicle out front. It was a far cry from the Mazda Rarity drove or the truck that Applejack had. Rarity had a respectable car, but nothing extremely exotic. Still, it made Twilight smile to see that Rarity had enough success to her to be driving something attractive.

Stepping out of the car, Twilight could already see Applejack waving to her from the porch of their cozy farmhouse. She waved back as she approached, stuffing the keys in her pocket.

Passing the small pen of chickens, Twilight giggled as she remembered that Rarity voluntarily stayed at such an uncouth place for Applejack’s sake. She worked mostly out of home, but she had a shop in town where she stopped in a few times a week to check on things. Her name was at the point where all of Canterlot knew of her designs, perfumes, and products. She had just signed a deal with a small shipping company to expand to other towns nearby. Her dream was coming true, even if it wasn’t in the way she imagined. Rarity was always compared to a flower by Applejack, but Twilight imagined her more like a garden weed: stubborn and unable to be fully stopped from blooming.

Once Twilight reached the steps where Applejack stood, the farmer offered a hand and used it when taken to pull Twilight into a tight embrace. Applejack still gave the firm hugs that Twilight remembered from only days ago, though her large breasts at least made them softer.

When Twilight was released she shot her friend a genuine smile. “Thanks for watching Horizon for me... I’d rather she spend the time with you guys and her friend Jasper than with some babysitter.”

Applejack shook her head. “Ain’t no trouble at all! Y’all are like family. Horizon is always welcome here and so are you, Twilight.”

Twilight laughed and nodded.

“Horizon Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle are always welcome in the Apple home.” Applejack winked.

“Technically it’s Twilight Shimmer now...” Twilight corrected.

Applejack rubbed her neck. “Right, I keep forgetin’ y’all changed it. Guess we all go so used to Sparkle that we have a hard time adjustin’.”

“It’s okay, a lot of people still call me Sparkle. I don’t mind.” Twilight giggled.

Applejack opened her front door and gestured for Twilight to enter. “Come on in, ‘Ah think they’re in the livin’ room.”

Nodding, Twilight followed the taller woman inside, stopping as she noticed a young blonde haired boy donning a fake foam sword in one hand and a shield in another. Next to him was Horizon sporting a wizard hat, and a foam staff as the two of them did fake swings with their “weapons” at Rarity who was wearing a ridiculous dragon mask.

Twilight found herself snorting and giggling with Applejack as they both witnessed Rarity making (poorly) sounds that she likely believed sounded like what a dragon would as the two kids tag-teamed on her, taking extra care to not hit her for real.

“My my... What’s happening here?” Twilight asked between snickers.

Jasper looked over and waved with the sword in his hand, his freckles contorting as she smiled at Twilight. “Hello, Miss Twilight! We’re fighting a dragon! I’m the warrior, and Horizon is the wizard!”

“Technically, I’m an arcane mage...” Horizon corrected as she pushed up her glasses, her expression rather neutral on the matter.

Twilight sniggered and nodded. “Well, do hurry up, I have to take Horizon home soon.”

“Got it!” Jasper saluted as he pointed his sword at Rarity triumphantly. “Now beast! With my wizard friend’s magic-“

“Arcane mage,” Horizon corrected once more.

“With my friend the arcane mage’s magic, we shall combine our powers and defeat you, beast!” Jasper roared as he held his sword in the air and made whooshing noises as Horizon pretended to charge up his sword.

Rarity made a fierce growl but then covered her heart and made a pretend dramatic fall as she went down from the “attack”.

Fake wailing noises filled the air as Rarity laid there in defeat. “You have bested me, young heroes! You may take my treasure, but my brothers will avenge meeeeee!”

Jasper placed his hands on his hips and stood proudly. “And so, the day is saved once again, thanks to Jasper and Horizon. The greatest pair of adventurers in the kingdom!”

Applejack rolled her eyes and coughed. “Alright, enough play y’all. Horizon has to go home.”

“Awww... Ma’ can’t she stay fer’ dinner?” Jasper pleaded.

Applejack shook her head. “No can do, kiddo. Miss Twilight has to get home and get her to bed soon, ‘Ah reckon.”

“Awww, shucks.” He frowned before turning to Horizon and smiling. “Until next time then, my arcane mage friend!”

Horizon merely nodded, before turning to Twilight and looking up. She wore that same plain face she always had. No smile, no frown, just a look of complete neutrality. That expression summed up the girl’s personality flawlessly, Horizon was an agreeable girl, who seldom showed much of her emotional thoughts. As a baby, she cried very little, and the older she got, the more Twilight noticed she was merely a child who went with the flow. Not that Twilight minded, she’d much rather have an easy child than a difficult one.

Reaching down, Twilight scooped Horizon up and held her in her arm before looking at Applejack and Rarity. “Thanks again for watching her.”

“Ain’t a problem, as ‘Ah said,” Applejack reminded.

Rarity took the mask off and stood up with a smile to Twilight. “Darling, you and Horizon are both very important to us. There isn’t a moment where you’re both not welcome here. You needn’t thank us all the time.”

“Still, it’s the right thing to do... So thank you.” Twilight nodded.

“You both have been so good to me since...” She paused and looked at Horizon before biting her lip. “Well... you know.”

Rarity nodded, her smile turning somewhat into a frown. She wanted to speak, she wanted to ask about Sunset, but she knew it was a bad idea in front of Horizon. Instead, she just kept nodding, unsure of what else to do.

“Drive safe, Twilight,” Applejack commanded.

Twilight nodded back before turning to the door. “I will, I’ll see the both of you in a few days. It’s on me.”

“We’ll be there.” Applejack gave a thumbs up as the woman left with her daughter.

After the door closed and a few seconds passed, Rarity reached over and gripped Applejack’s shoulder in worry. “That poor woman...” Rarity lamented.

Applejack nodded. “Ain’t never seen anyone hold in how badly they was hurtin’ like Twilight...”

That evening, Twilight was able to get her daughter bathed and dried off. She slipped the girl’s purple pajamas on and smiled as she brushed her hair gently, taking special care not to press too hard with the hair brush. Horizon had thick messy hair, similar to her mother’s. Twilight was having small flashbacks of getting her fingers tangled in Sunset’s hair. She hoped Horizon didn’t plan on having long hair as well, otherwise Twilight would be cleaning out drains in her bathroom for eternity, that or the cleaning staff would.

Finishing with the young girl’s hair, Twilight smiled and turned Horizon to face her. Horizon’s mouth was an O as she looked up at Twilight who offered the girl’s glasses back. Horizon took them in her small hands and placed them back on her face before looking back up at her kneeling guardian.

“You look adorable.” Twilight smiled.

Horizon just nodded. “Twilight...” She began.

Twilight blinked and tilted her head. “Hm?”

“What’s school like?” She asked.

Twilight chuckled and rubbed her head affectionately. “It’s different for everyone, but it’s a place you go to learn.”

“Jasper says his moms finished school years ago,” Horizon pointed out.

It was true too. Applejack finished high school and finished a trade school program early in, and Rarity had taken online courses for some time and finished up her degree quickly to get started on her home business. The two of them were determined.

Twilight, on the other hand, had finished her BA and was working on her Masters at the moment. She had spent her entire life in school at this point, but she never thought much of it. The money left behind by Sunset made it possible to focus on school for half of the time and being a parent the other half, so she had the luxury of not having to struggle.

In her free time, Twilight learned and played the stock market some to make sure money was still rolling in. After some practice, she had hired some people to handle it from there and checked up on them on a monthly basis. They did incredible work, and before she knew it, she had turned Sunset’s fortune of $300 million into $80 million more in only a matter of three years through smart investments.

“Yeah, most people finish when they’re eighteen.” Twilight nodded.

“How come you’re still in school then?” Horizon asked.

Twilight blinked and thought about her answer.

“Well, I am studying for a long time because I want to do something to change the world, to make the world a better place, and that takes a long time,” Twilight explained.

“Is the world bad?” Horizon tilted her head curiously.

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “No, but some places on it are not that great. I want to use science to make the world a better place for everyone so that everyone gets to have an amazing life.”

“Did mommy want to do that as well?”

Twilight paused. She wasn’t expecting such a question. For a long time, Horizon rarely asked about her mother. She knew that she was gone, but she didn’t really ask much after that. Perhaps she was too young to understand when she was told about a year ago.

She was careful with her answer. “Your mother... She... She couldn’t ignore people being hurt. She would go out of her way to help them.”

“Did she leave to help people?” Horizon asked.

Twilight bit her lip and sighed. “I don’t know, sweetie. I wish I did. All I know is that she loved us both very much, and I’m sure if she could be here, she would. You should have seen the look in her eyes when she held you.”

“Me?” Horizon gestured to herself with her small finger.

Twilight nodded, a tear forming in her eye. “She wouldn’t let you go. She said that you were the greatest thing that ever happened to her in her entire life. She was prepared to do anything for you.”

“Why did she leave then?” Horizon tilted her head.

Shaking her head, Twilight scooped the girl up and wandered toward Horizon’s bedroom. “I think that’s enough stories for one night, don’t you? We can talk about this some other time, alright?”

“Okay.” Horizon nodded.

Again, Twilight was thankful for such an agreeable daughter.

Reaching the bedroom, Twilight placed the girl onto her bed, and pulled the comforter over her and kissed her forehead. “You get some sleep and tomorrow we’ll see about getting a chance to go to the zoo, okay?”

“Okay.” Horizon nodded once more.

Twilight chuckled and nodded as she headed toward the doorway, flicking the light off. “I love you, Horizon.”

“I love you too, Twilight,” she replied.

Nodding, Twilight stepped out of the room and left the door open a crack. She could already see Moon racing to slip in and likely curl up next to the soon-to-be sleeping Horizon, likely to get snuggled up to like a teddy bear. He was so affectionate to the girl that it made Twilight chuckle a bit. If there was anyone who was a father figure to that girl, it was Moon.

Wandering toward the kitchen, Twilight looked at the Ninja coffee maker, and pressed “brew”. She had preemptively set it up the night before so she could just brew and go.

She decided to stand there at the machine when the sound of small paws made her turn her head to the entryway to the kitchen. There with a bow in his maw was a familiar canine companion. Twilight smiled at him and nodded.

Spike dropped his bone and approached with his tail wagging. “Hey, Twilight.”

“Hey, Spike. Just making some coffee.”

“Shouldn’t you be heading to bed soon?” Spike asked.

She shrugged. “I’m not really in the mood to sleep just yet. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Like what?” Spike questioned as he approached his master.

“Horizon might be at that age where she’s going to start asking a lot more questions about Sunset soon,” Twilight said plainly, her voice showing how tired she truly was.

“What are you going to tell her?”

Twilight shrugged. “The truth, I suppose. That I have no idea why she left, where she is or even...” She paused and found herself widening her eyes and refusing to say the last bit. Spike did it for her, instead.

“If she’s even still alive?”

“She has to be alive,” Twilight defended.

Spike frowned. “I’m not trying to be mean, Twilight but there is a possibility that she’s... You know... She hasn’t called, written or even been seen in three years. People don’t just up and vanish, Twilight.”

“She could have gone back to Equestria...” Twilight frowned.

“We went to the portal remember? It’s not working anymore. We tried it many times, and it wouldn’t open,” Spike reminded.

Twilight shook her head. “Can we please not talk about this? I’m stressed out enough.”

Spike sighed and nodded before curling up at her feet. “Yeah, sorry...”

Twilight watched her coffee brew with only one thought in her mind.

Sunset.

Kind of sad to see poor Twilight like this. :c

Let's talk about something more in-depth though. As you all know, we are on Act VI of VII, so we're closing in on the territory of the final part of the story. That being said, there's a lot of elements that have been being "gathered" since earlier points getting ready for their payoffs soon. I'd like to take the time in these sections now to talk about characters and character elements regarding them. We'll start with little Horizon here:

Horizon we can clearly see is a very reserved girl; lacking a lot of the general emotional outbursts that most kids seem to have. She is clearly sporting a more impressive vocabulary than most her age, but then again her mother IS Twilight, so no doubt there was some teaching there.

I never really had a specific for this, but it's very possible that Horizon could be somewhere on the autism spectrum, possibly leaning more toward Aspergers, which would explain her odd behavior. This could also just be poor social conditioning as well. Twilight is a busy parent, juggling school, the money and being the sole parent to this child in a mansion. A lot of the conditions that create the environment Horizon grows up in means that Twilight cannot give her as "normal" of a life as most kids. No matter what she does, the reality is, Horizon is a wealthy child, and that would tend to make one a target for bullying, which Twilight likely shields her from. On top of this, Horizon is awkward, which is painting a bigger target on her.

At its core though, Twilight has always been somewhat poor at socializing and making friends, Sunset was her crutch for that, and without her, she's at a loss on how to teach her daughter to do the same. Fortunately for her, a bond of great connection seems to have formed with Jasper, which I am sure all parties involved are more than thankful for.

All and all, she's clearly the kind of kid who is at least low effort in caring for, a godsend for our stressed and overworked Twilight.

Also yes, the fact that she doesn't call Twilight "Mom" is intentional, but we'll get on that later.