A Ray of Sunlight

Getting Through

Twilight entered the living room after Sunset dropped her off. Her parents were sitting on the couch watching TV. She waved to them with a grin.
     "Hey hon, how was your night?" Velvet asked.
     "It was great! We had so much fun!" She sat in the arm chair to talk with her parents.
     Spike came bounding in from the other room at the sound of her voice. The pup yipped and tried to hop onto her lap before Twilight picked him up and was assaulted with puppy kisses.
     "Did everyone enjoy the snow soccer idea?" Her father smiled.
     Twilight was brought back to Sunset's outburst. "Yeah, it was definitely a hit. Everyone had a lot of fun."
     "I told you everyone would love it." He said returning his attention to the screen as he recounted the creation of the idea.
     Velvet thought she saw a look she recognized cross her daughter's face. She focused her attention on Twilight to see her already looking in her direction. Velvet and Twilight proceeded to have a silent conversation that only a parent and child can have.
     Velvet raised her eyebrows. "Is everything alright hon?"
     Twilight gave a weak shrug and twitched the corner her mouth. "I dunno, something weird kinda happened."
     Velvet's brow furrowed. "Do you want to talk about it?"
     Twilight nodded.
     Velvet looked from the television to Nightlight. "Once the show ends we'll talk."
     Twilight nodded again with a slight smile. She stroked Spike's head, who yawned. It had been a while since she'd had a one-on-one talk with her mom. She was happy with the way she and her mother had grown closer in the last few months. It was funny to think that  this time last year she wouldn't have believed she'd be asking her mother for relationship advice about her girlfriend.
     The show ended a few minutes later. Before Nightlight could start another episode Velvet placed a hand on his knee.
     "Twilight and I are going to step out for a bit."
     "Is everything alright?" He looked between the two women in front of him.
     "Yeah, just some girl talk." She said reassuringly.
     "Alright, I'll be out here if you need me."
     Velvet walked with Twilight to the master bedroom. Once inside they both sat on the bed.
     "So tell me what happened."
     Twilight hesitated, trying to figure out where to start. She told her mom about the date leading up to when Sunset went to retrieve the ball.
     "When she had the ball, the guy from our Psych class started saying something to her. I couldn't make it out because we were too far away. I could tell she was getting upset though." Twilight paused, remembering how shocked she'd been for the next part. "Then all of a sudden she turned and shoved him."
     Velvet's eyes widened at this revelation. It seemed very out of character for the Sunset she'd come to know.
     "He and his friends left by time the rest of us got over there. She said he was being a jerk, but I don't know." She trailed off. "That might have been what happened, but I just feel like something else is going on."
     "What do you mean?"
     "Well, like she said, she's been getting dirty looks and the occasional comment, but it just seems like something bigger is going on. I try to talk to her, but whenever I bring it up she shuts the conversation down or changes the subject. I'm worried that she is being bullied by that Adagio girl, but she won't talk to me. What should I do?"
     Velvet smiled knowingly at her daughter. "Be patient with her. I've found that usually if something is bothering someone, they want to talk about it. Sometimes it takes time for them to be comfortable enough to bring it up. I know it can be hard to watch them hurt from what they're keeping to themselves. Sometimes the best thing to do is just be there for them and let them know you're there if they want to talk."
     Twilight chewed her nail in thought. "But what if it gets really bad and they still won't talk to you or anyone else that can help?"
     "That's something different altogether. Sometimes you have to make them talk. I've had to basically lock your father in a room until he talks to me. He's pretty good most of the time, but there are times that he keeps something bottled up inside because he doesn't think I need to be bothered with his problems."
     "Sunset does the same thing. But I want to hear her problems! I might not be able to help but she won't have to deal with them alone."
     Velvet chuckled. "You're a lot like me, you want to share your feelings and Sunset seems like the 'go it alone' type. It can be frustrating when someone you love won't let you in or help, but everyone is different. You'll find the right way for you both to communicate with each other. You're both still young and figuring these things out though."
     Twilight took this all in and was silent for a moment. After some time passed Velvet spoke up.
     "Did any of this help?"
     Twilight hugged her mother tightly. "It did. Thank you, Mom."
     Velvet returned the hug. "You're welcome sweetie." She kissed the top of her daughter's head.
     Twilight thanked her mom again and wished her a good night. She left the room to do the same with her father. She went to sleep feeling calmer about the events of the day.