Pudding's Scare
(Story below)
"You never spend time with us anymore!"
Pudding Pop's ears twitched as she heard her mother's voice echoing the castle halls where she played
"Well, I'M sorry, Pinkie, that I get caught up with all of these new Princess duties since Celestia asked me to keep in touch with the leaders of the Changelings, Griffins, and the Dragons, I had forgotten about some simple baking lesson!
Pudding's expression saddened as she snuck towards the voices, growing wide eyes as she watched her parents from the corner of the door.
"It wasn't a lesson, it was baking with our daughter! You promised you'd come by the kitchen and make cupcakes and cookies with us!"
Twilight groaned.
"Why do you always get like this!? It's just baking, we can do it tomorrow!
"That's not the reason and you know it!"
Pudding's eyes welled up with tears.
Her moms had never fought before, and she feared only the worst. Unable to say anything or announce her presence, Pudding backed away from the screaming mares and ran out of her Twilight's castle. --------------------------------------------------------------
"Wait, so, what happened, exactly?" Marmalade asked a teary-eyed Pudding.
"C'mon, sis, let her catch her breath first," Burst Rush added.
After a few seconds, Pudding wiped away some stray tears from her eyes and calmed herself down. She had ran over to visit her best friends in Sweet Apple Arcers, foals that she knew she could talk with about anything.
"I...I saw my moms yelling at each other. They were fighting a-and it sounded bad."
"Wait-You ran all this way here-"
"-Because you saw your parents fighting?"
"Yes?"
The twins looked at each other briefly before uproaring into a fit of laughter. Pudding couldn't believe her eyes.
"Hey-c'mon, guys, this isn't funny!" She yelled, the tears wearing up in her eyes once more.
Burst Rush calmed himself down in order to tend to his friend, but Marmalade still might need a minute.
"Sorry Pudding, but, I'm sure it was no big deal," The colt said, placing a hoof around his friend in comfort.
"How could it not be a big deal? They've never fought before."
"Maybe in front of you, but mom says that every parent out there fights."
"Ooooh, yeah, especially our moms," Marmalade chimed in with a chuckle.
Pudding looked confused.
"But, aunt Dash and aunt AJ always look so happy."
"And they are happy, but that doesn't mean they don't fight."
Burst nodded.
"And it doesn't mean they love each other, or us, any less."
Marmalade rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Yeah, they tell us that every time we see them fight. It's gotten annoying at this point."
Pudding couldn't help but crack a small smile herself.
-------------------------------------------------------------- As Pudding walked back inside the castle, she heard her parents continuing to yell, but this was a different kind of yelling than before.
"You're sure you checked every room!?"
"Yes! She's nowhere in the castle! Oh, where could she have gone-she's never run off like this before-she always tells us where she's going before she leaves-"
"-I know, Twi, but it's okay. We'll find her, I promise."
Pudding walked further inside the castle, noticing her parents comforting each other in their room, and it didn't look like it took them much time to notice her.
"PUDDING!"
Both mares rushed over to their daughter, wrapping her up in a loving hug, Twilight wrapping her wings around the both of them.
"Where were you? We were worried sick!" Pinkie stated.
"Why didn't you tell us where you were going? What happened!?"
Pudding felt her tears welling up again as she spoke softly.
"I...I saw you two fighting earlier, and I...I got scared and went to aunt AJ's farm to see my friends...please don't be mad."
Pinkie and Twilight both exchanged shocked and worried looks before turning back to their filly with concerned faces.
Twilight wrapped her wings around her wife and her daughter as she spoke.
"Oh, Pudding, we're so sorry you had to see that. We always try to take our arguments elsewhere so you don't have to see, but I guess we didn't do a very good job this time."
"Your mom and I do fight, sweetie, but it doesn't mean we love each other or you any less," Pinkie stated.
Pudding sniffed, wiping away some of her tears.
"So...parents really do fight all the time, then?"
Twilight shrugged with a small smile.
"Some more than others, but it doesn't mean we can't talk things out and work through our problems."
"Yeah, even though we can drive each other crazy sometimes, Twi and I could like, be apart for more than a week without going through withdrawal!"
"A week?" Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow. "C'mon, give us more credit than that."
"I dunno, you were awfully invested in writing me letters every day while I spent the week in Yakyakistan last year," Pinkie stated with a smug smile.
Pudding giggled as her purple mother blushed.
"Okay, okay, fine, you got me there."
Pudding's smile lessened slightly as she thought back to the conversation at hoof.
"So, even though you fight, you don't ever...hate each other?"
The mares laughed at the statement.
"No, Pudding, I could never hate your mother," Twilight stated as she pulled Pinkie closer to her with her wing. Pinkie snuggled up against her wife.
"Yeah, even though we can get on each other's nerves, we always talk to each other about them, and always feel better in the end."
Pudding's smile grew back, placing herself in between her parents and hugging them tightly, Pinkie and Twilight, of course, returning the embrace.
After a few seconds of silence, the hug was released and Twilight spoke with a softness in her voice.
"Now let's head over to the kitchen, I owe some very special ponies a baking session."
