The sounds of forks and knives clattering on plates fills the room.  Vinyl, Bluebelle, my father and I are all having a pleasant lunch together.  Father is currently telling a story about an arrogant student of his that thought he could slack off just because he was apprenticed to a powerful unicorn.  

Surprisingly, he’s not talking about Moondancer.

“So I called him into my office one day to discuss his poor grades and overall lazy attitude.  And do you know what he tells me?  He says, ‘Whatever, man.  I’m like, the apprentice to a Chronomancer… and they do, like, time stuff.  I’m just gonna turn back time and get A’s on all those test whenever I feel like it.’  The next day, I went to his master, and he was kicked out of the Apprentice Program." He sighs.  "How he ever got in there in the first place is beyond me.”

“Ahhhh, yeah!”  Vinyl says enthusiastically, “Way to kick some ass, papa!  Show those prancy spellheads what it is!”  She pauses to take a bite of some fruit.  “So, do you have an apprentice?”

Father waves his hoof.  "Oh heavens no, I’m no wizard!  I’m just a unicorn with a knack for history and music.”

Bluebelle smiles at him.  "Come now, Arpeggio, you’re great at magic!  Why, I’ve seen you cast spells I could never do!”

Father smiles back.  "Oh, Bluebelle you flatter me.  I’m no stronger than the apprentices that I teach." He pauses to take a bite.  "My power is in the lessons that those great unicorns that came before have given us, not the spells that I cast." He chuckles.  "It's not like I’m some all powerful Mage from a legendary bloodline—that would be silly!”

Bluebelle laughs with him.  "I’d think you’d make a great Mage.  And having your own personal apprentice to teach directly too sounds like fun!”

Father rubs his temples.  "I can barely handle a few hours with the small classes I already teach, but having one follow me around all the time?  I don’t think I’ll live to see my grandchildren.”

I blush, and I think Vinyl does too at the mention of kids.  We didn't tell anypony the news yet, considering it is more of an idea than anything.  But it did remind us of our, hehe… little experiment.  

Father wipes his mouth with a napkin and stands up.  "Speaking of teaching, I must get back to the school." He looks at Bluebelle with a smile.  "Thank you for such a lovely meal, as always.”

She giggles.  "You’re welcome, Arpeggio.  I have some leftovers you’re welcome to take with you if you get hungry later on.”

Father grabs his stomach.  "Oh, Bluebelle, please stop tempting me!  I’m an old man; my metabolism is not what it used to be!  Any more food and I’ll have to get my favorite coat re-fitted!”

Bluebelle blushes and looks down at her plate, idly poking a piece of broccoli with her fork.  "O-oh!  I’m sorry!  I-I didn’t realize I was!”

Father merely laughs her comment off, placing his arm around her shoulders and lightly shaking her.  “Oh don’t worry about that none.  I’m just being a silly old man." He lets her go and trots over to Vinyl and I.  “Goodbye, my darling daughters." He ruffles up our manes and proceeds towards the door.

Meanwhile, Bluebelle is blushing with such intensity that a neon light would be jealous.  She sits still with a napkin covering her mouth, her eyes wide and staring at her plate.  It takes her a few seconds for her to come back to reality, where she stands up and takes her plate to the sink with a small smile on her face.

I inwardly chuckle at the display.  It’s so nice to see Bluebelle being so comfortable around father.  It seems that she’s finally gotten over her fear of stallions.  Although, while in public she still keeps her distance and stutters when she comes into contact with other stallions.  It’s still a nice change from being a nervous wreck around him.

Bluebelle stays in the kitchen to finish washing the dishes while Vinyl tugs me away to the backyard porch.  “Did you just see that?!”  She whisper-yells.

Taken aback momentarily by the suddenness of being yanked out here and yelled at, I quickly collect myself and answer.  “See what?”

Vinyl looks around as if to make sure nopony else is nearby.  "Your dad and my mom… they were flirting!”

I slap a hoof over my mouth to stop myself from laughing.  “Flirting?  That’s ridiculous Vinyl!”

She waves her hooves dramatically at me.  "Did you see how they were acting towards each other?  Did you see the way she was batting her eyelashes at him?  And that hug!  Knowing how mom gets, they might as well have gotten to first base!”

I don’t try to stop myself from laughing.  “Vinyl, do you even hear yourself?  Look, your mother just got over her fear of him!  That’s all.  She’s gotten to the point where she feels comfortable, or maybe even safe, around him.  And that’s a really good thing!  There’s nothing romantic going on here!”

Vinyl frantically looks around until she just groans and drags me inside again.  Stopping at a wall before the kitchen, she motions for me to subtly look around the wall.  There, Bluebelle is smiling and humming to herself while washing dishes.  

I still don’t get it.  There’s nothing wrong here.  There’s nothing hinting at—wait.  Is Bluebelle… oh my she is.  Bluebelle stops washing to stare out the window for a moment with a giddy grin on her face.  She whispers to herself, “He hugged me”, and then wrapped her forelegs around her body, giggling like a school filly.

I round the corner, retreating to my room with Vinyl in tow.  We slam our backs against the door, breathing heavily, as if we just escaped certain death.  “V-Vinyl?”

“Mmhmm…”

“Did she just…?”

“Mmhmm….”

“So… you were right.”

“MMMHMMMM!”

“Oh, for goodness sake, will you stop that!” I punch her shoulder.  “This is serious!  I think?”  I groan,  "Alright, just because your mother is acting like a middle-schooler with a crush doesn’t mean anything!”

She looks at me incredulously.  "What do you mean, ‘doesn’t’?  That’s, like, a dead giveaway!  She even said ‘he hugged me’!”

I hold my hooves up.  "Listen just… just calm down for a moment!”  I take deep breaths, slowly… calmly… controlled.  “We need more evidence.”

“More evidence?”

I nod.  "Yes, and I think I know just how to do that.”

(\/);,,;(\/)

“Tavi… this is literally the worst idea you’ve ever come up with.  It's so cliched it's practically the definition of cliche!”

“Oh shush, you!  It’ll be fine!”

“Yeah… if we were in an 80s movie, maybe.”

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to...”

“Grrrr.”

“Tavi, it itches!  Where’d you even get this stuff anyway?”

“Not important, just pay attention to them.”

“Kinda hard when I can’t see!”

“Shhhh!”

It had been a few hours since we had eaten lunch, and Vinyl and I had camped out in a restaurant that we followed my father and Bluebelle to, assuming the best disguise that I could get at a short notice.  The plan is fool-proof!  We observe them from a reasonable distance, disguised, and–“Vinyl, stop playing with your mustache!”–listen in to see if anything relationship related is said.  If not, then we can all rest happily knowing that my father isn’t getting together with my fiancé’s mother.

So far, nothing worth noting down has occurred.  “Vinyl, put your wig back on!  That flipping blue hair of yours will get us noticed!  And tighten up your trenchcoat more, I can see your tail!”

“But it itches!”

“Mare up, then!”

“But–”  

“Shhh!  The waiter is coming!  Act natural!”

I plop the menu up in front of my face, whistling a happy tune.  The waiter stops in front of our table.  "Hi there!  How are you two doing?  Are you two, uh… Stallions?  Ready to order?”

In the gruffest voice I could muster, I say, "Oh uh… no, not quite yet!  Just, uh, gives us a few minutes, would ya… dude?”

“Sure thing, uh… dude?”  He replies, slowly trotting away.

Vinyl hits me with her menu.  “‘Dude?’  Really?!”

I glare at her, but say nothing.  Instead, I focus on tuning into father and Bluebelle’s conversation.  Still, nothing interesting.  Just talking about how his day went at the school, a few more trouble making students, and things of that nature.

I should feel relieved, but for some reason, I feel a little disappointed.  In some weird, sick, twisted way I feel as if they should get together.  I think… I think it would be good for them.  Father is the only stallion Bluebelle has opened up too.  She feels comfortable around him, and is no longer afraid of him.  I think he’s the best thing for her right now.

As for father, he hasn’t had a stable relationship in… well… since mother passed.  Yes, I’ve seen him try a few times, and they were all nice mares, but he just couldn’t stick with them.  I’m not sure if he felt like he was wronging my mother by pursuing another relationship, or if he just kept trying to look for the ‘perfect’ mare.  Everytime I tried talking to him about it, he would weave around the subject, or just say some generic excuse to justify why he couldn’t continue dating any of the mares.

Honestly, I’m on the moral fence here.  I don’t want to tear them apart if they are attracted to each other, but at the same time the prospect of the parent of my future wife being my mother was, well… Strange.  If they were to get married, hypothetically speaking, that would legally make Vinyl my step-sister.  Would our marriage be illegal or something?  I don’t know if there’s a law or not about that.  I sure hope there isn't.  I shake my head.  I’m getting ahead of myself, though.  It's not like they’re gonna get married… At least, not for a while.

Alright, time to to focus.  Investigate first, contemplate life later.  I try to tune in on them again, but some other ponies from a nearby table are currently having a loud conversation.  Bloody hell!  I can’t hear my father, you blooming idiots!  Curses.  I guess I’ll have to rely on body language.

My father says something, his face in a smile as he waves his hooves in front of him for emphasis.  Bluebelle giggles at the comment, putting her hooves to her mouth to block her spreading blush.  I see my father’s smile widened just a little more, his hooves finally settling down on the table, grabbing Bluebelles.  She blushes deeply, and keeps her eyes focused on her held hooves.  Father says something, and lets her hooves go.  She smiles, looking away and sipping her drink.

“Taaaaaaaaaviiiiiii!  They were holding hooooooooves!  That’s, like, second base for them!”

I gulp and cover my face back up with the menu.  “Yes, I know!  Look, that could’ve meant anything!”

“Bullshit.”

“Okay, maybe it could have meant something… but that’s all I’m giving it, just a ‘maybe’!”

“Denial, Tavi, is always the first step.”

“We still need more evidence!”

She groans.  “Alright, but if we’re going to stay here, can I at least get some food?”

I sigh, “Fine.”

(\/);,,;(\/)

“Really, Tavi?  Camouflage pith helmets?”

“It’s the perfect disguise for terrain such as this.”

“It’s a park… we could have just used binoculars from further away…”

“But then we couldn’t hear them!”

”We’re so close that I'm surprised that they can't hear us!”

“That is counterintuitive to your point by yelling!”

“Don't you bring your fancy words out on me!”

“Um, Arpeggio… did you, uh, hear something?”

My eyes go wide and I pull both Vinyl’s head and mine back behind the bush, my hoof pressed tightly against Vinyl’s muzzle, holding my breath.  

“Hmm?  Oh, probably a squirrel or something.”

I release my held breath.  “See Vinyl, this is why you should stop yelling at me.”

She crosses her hooves.  "Fine, but can we at least do something I want to do when we prove that i'm right?”

I roll my eyes.  “After I finish panicking, then yes, we can.”

“Sweet!”

“Shhh!!!”

My father and Bluebelle trot down the stone and dirt path set into the middle of the city, a small safe haven for all who wanted to escape the gripping vise of the city for the peace and freedom of nature.  After they had eaten, Bluebelle and my father had, after a few detours, made it to the park, making my impulse buy of these hats actually useful.  

They both eventually stop to sit down on a small, two pony bench besides the large pond that sat in the middle of the park, my father and Bluebelle having to sit extremely close to actually fit.  Fillies and colts played around the water's edge, while ducks and even small fish enjoyed water.  It was a peaceful and relaxing setting, one that almost distracted me from my mission.  But, I soon caught myself staring and returned my focus to my two targets.  We were currently situated in a few bushes to the right of the bench.  Far enough away not the be easily noticed, but close enough to just barely hear their conversation, if they would actually have one.  It was strange, the longer my father and Bluebelle were together, the less they actually spoke.  It was as if the more time they spend together, the less need they had for words.

“They’re not doing anything." Vinyl says.

“Shhh…”  I reply, too focused on them to pay attention to her.

Bluebelle opens her mouth, but no words come out.  She looks around her as if trying to figure out what exactly to say.  Eventually, she doesn’t say anything, and proceeds to snuggle close to father, resting her head on his chest with his foreleg wrapped around her shoulder.

“Aaaaaand we’ve reached third base." Vinyl says.

I’d have to be an idiot to not agree with her.  It’s official, my father and Bluebelle are an item.  Or, at least, as close as you can get without them directly saying it.  All room for doubt has been thrown out the window, then run over by several passing ponies, and finally flushed down a storm drain.  

My heart starts racing, I curl down on the grass, panicking.  

“Is this incest?!” I whisper-yell to Vinyl.

“How should I know, Tavi?!”

“I don't know how to feel right now!”

“Me neither!!!”

“I'm freaking out, Vinyl!”

“Holy crap… I think I could possibly have fucked my sister!”

“Don't you say that!!!”

“I don't know what to believe now!!!!”

I slap her.  "Get a hold of yourself!  It’s not like they’re getting married!  We’re not sisters, yet!”

She grabs me by the shoulders.  "Then we must have as much sex as physically possible before that happens!  Starting now!”

“Exhibitonism?  Really, Vinyl, I thought you were better than that.”

That… that was not my voice.

Every muscle in my body locks up.  I can feel my blood running cold.  I can feel the color draining from my coat.  I can feel the chill of death looming in the shadows, waiting to take me.  Through absolute force of will, I slowly turn my head.  I can feel my bones creaking, the sound all but echoing through my skull.

And my fears come to light.  Sure enough, father and Bluebelle are standing there.  Curiously, they don’t look mad.  In fact, I say they look happier than they’ve ever been.  A practical glow radiating around the two.

“Heeeeeyyyyyyy…."  Vinyl lamely says.  “Funny running into you two here!  Wow, small world, amirite?”

I bonk her on the back of the head.  “Smooth, Vinyl… real smooth.”

“Sorry…”

After a short, awkward silence, Bluebelle decides to speak up.  “I um… I-I know this might look quite… shocking.”

“Very." Vinyl inquires.  

Bluebelle gulps.  "Yes, I would assume so.  We’ve, umm… Arpeggio and I, have talked about this.”

“And we’ve decided to give it a shot." Father says, “I know it’ll be a little strange at first, but I think we’ll all learn to live with it.”

Speak for yourself…

Vinyl shutters.  "Our family’s so weird!”

“Tell me about it,” I say, “And not to mention how much of a field day the media will have if this ever gets found out.  Talk about scandalous!”

Father nods.  "We all know about that fact." He pauses, looking me in the eye.  “Octavia, my darling daughter, I just wish to know: are you okay with this?”

I look at the two of them, looking past the awkwardness of the situation, and only just them as a couple.  I see two ponies, one lost his love too soon, and the other never truly having one to begin with.  But, when I look at them now, I don’t see the hidden pain.  It is not covered, or masked, it is just… gone.  As if a hole that was void for so long was finally filled.

They’re just two ponies, both broken in their own way.  And now by being together, they found a way to fix each other.

I take a deep breath and look father in the eye.  “Yes, father, Bluebelle, I think I will be okay with this.”

They smile at me, then turn to Vinyl.  “Vinyl, sweetie?”  Bluebelle says desperately.

She, too, hesitates.  I can see the cogs working in her head, calculating, assessing the situation.  Her eyes bounce between all three of us, until she finally groans in defeat.  “Yeah yeah, sure, I’m fine… I guess?  I don’t know.  We gotta set up some ground rules first!”

The new couple laughs together.  I look at them, and my heart melts.  They look happy together, relieved, even.  The more I think about it, the less awkward it becomes.  Bluebelle was already going to be my mother-in-law after the wedding.  What’s so bad about dropping the ‘in-law’ part?  For some time now, I’ve seen Bluebelle as sort of a mother figure to me, and I think I can say the same for Vinyl with my father.  Considering she calls him ‘papa’ quite often.  I think they’re going to be just fine together.

Bluebelle continues to chuckle, shifting from normal laughter to high pitched, giddy giggling.  She clings on to my father and nuzzles him.  “Ohhhhh, I’m so happy!”    

Vinyl shutters.  “Yeah, this is gonna take some getting used too…”

She stops nuzzling in favor of just leaning on him.  "I’m sorry, Sweetie, but I’m just too excited right now!  I’ve… I’ve never had a stallion genuinely love me!  Since… since he started being in my life I..I-I never knew what to think.  I was broken, beaten, my hopes and dreams seemingly crushed under his single hoof.  I couldn’t run.  I couldn’t hide.  I couldn’t even protect my own daughter!  I… I felt useless.  I was useless.  For most of my life I have been running from anything that even reminded me of him, when he was here and when he was gone.  

“But now… Arpeggio helped me see past all of that.  He opened himself up to me, and… and I was too scared to do the same.  It took a while, but I started to trust him.  For once I felt like I mattered again.  He gave me the greatest gift of just being genuine." She hugs him.  "I have a stallion who truly loves me for who I am, now.  Somepony I can love back.  I’ve never felt this way before… and I love it!” She looks down, pawing gently at the ground.  “He… he will never leave my head, though.  What he has done… what I have gone through… it will stay with me for the rest of my life."  She perks up, her fear filled face now gleaming hope.  “But, now I feel like I finally have someone who can help me live with it.  Somepony who reminds me that I am not alone.”

My father puts a protective hoof around Bluebelle, and for the first time, I see her accept the touch without hesitation, fear, or anxiety.  My father looks down at her, smiling.  “I may not know her pain, but I do know about loosing someone.  I lost the only pony that I thought I could ever love.  I… I tried to put myself out there, I really did.  But none of them felt right.  Each one never seemed to fill the void that was created when she… when Melody left our world.  For a short time, I just felt as if I would be wronging her by pursuing other mares... as if I was replacing her.  It took me a little while to realize that that wasn't true.  I… I know deep down that Melody would want me to move on, find somepony else.  For so long I've tried to find that pony, that special mare that would bring me out of my stupor and bring light back to my life.  I soon realized after trying for so long that it just wasn’t possible.  None of them were special or unique.  They didn't have anything that really reached out to me; nothing that made me want to be with them."    

He turns to Bluebelle, smiling.  “But you are special, Bluebelle.  You are different.  You open up a new area in my heart, mending that which was broken, and making room for you.  You are the kindest, most gentle-hearted, compassionate, and, most importantly, the strongest mare I’ve met.  That strength, that willpower to overcome and overpower him... that's what made me want to be with you.  You deserve a pony that can appreciate who you are and give you all that you deserve.  I don’t know if I can ever truly give that need justice, but you make me want to try as hard as I can.  I know that I will never truly be whole again, but now… I want to try and make you whole again.  And, at the same time, I know that you will do the same for me.”

Bluebelle’s tears flow freely down her cheeks.  She looks up at my father with wide eyes and a beautiful smile that tells the whole world that she couldn’t be happier.  This moment, right here, will be the definitive turning point in her life.  No more will she be a victim of domestic violence, a slave to her husband, trapped within her own home with nopony to reach.  No, she had found her savior.  Even when he wasn’t there, his deeds and actions still haunted her, but now she has a pony who can help her move on.  

As for father, I believe he’s long overdue to find another love in his life.  For too long has he wallowed around in despair, believing he could never love again.  His spark had been put out, and he accepted the fact that he will probably just trudge through the rest of his life alone.  But something about Bluebelle re-ignited that spark.  And honestly, I don’t think I can see anypony better for him.

Bluebelle lunges forward, hugging my father with such force that he nearly falls backwards.  My father returns the hug, and seems to struggle with the tiny mare’s unexpected strength.  

I smile and bring Vinyl close to me.  “Vinyl, I think everything’s going to be just fine, don’t you think?”

She hesitantly nods.  "Yeah… I’m… I’m happy for them, but if they start making out I’m leaving.”

“That’s probably a good idea; they look like they want some alone time."

“No arguments here.  Let’s go.”

I nod, and we both quietly leave our parents to their endeavours.  We didn’t get very far, however, as Vinyl stops dead in her tracks.  I look  back at her.  "What’s wrong?”

“Oh I just realized something: what if they have kids?”

I shake my head.  "Vinyl, they’re old... my father is 52.  I don’t think they want to at this age.”

She looks back.  "Well… maybe.  I mean, mom’s only 37.”

I shrug.  "Well if–wait, 37?  Goodness how old was she when she had you?”

Vinyl looks away, "Fifteen."

Oh my... poor Bluebelle, having to raise Vinyl basically by herself at such a young age.  I shake my head again, the past is the past.  "Anyway, I doubt they’ll have kids.  It would seem more of a hassle at their age, assuming they wait till after they’re married… assuming they get married… putting all that time into consideration, I’m guessing the right moment to have kids would be about two or three years down the road.  Besides, It’s already kind of weird for them being together for us… imagine if we, as in both of us had a brother or sister half related to us.”

Vinyl shutters.  "Yeah… yeah you’re right.  Let’s go home.  I’m too tired to think about the future right now.  It’s been a long day.”

I slide up next to her, leaning against her body as we walk through the streets of Canterlot.  “You and me both.”