“Alright kids, I guess it’s time we tell you about that mare.”

The living room was filled with ponies, all gathered for a family meeting. A slight hint of tension lingered in the air, but the four adults felt surprisingly at ease with what they were about to share.

“Candy, would you like to start?”

The unicorn mare smiled at the encouraging glances from her family members, holding up the picture that had caused so much drama not long ago. This time, with more confidence. “This is your grandmother, children. My and Aunt Lulu’s mother. Her name was Galaxy Guard.”

“She was a bi-“

“A bit of a meanie,” Holly interrupted, shooting a warning glance at Firefly. “She had…a lot of issues.”

“Like what?” Balletomane asked.

“You see, her father died when she was a little bit older than Ollie,” Turq explained. “Because of me.”

Hydie gasped. “YOU killed her dad?”

“You knew her?” Ollie asked.

“It was an accident. I made a mistake in firing. It happens all the time in the guard, but this time ended badly.” Turq recalled. “And yes, I did know her. She was my best friend before it happened.”

“And after that, she just became so hung up on her dad dying, so obsessed with hating Turq, she wouldn’t think about anything else. It was all I ever heard out of her,” Firefly continued.

“Because she missed her dad,” Candy added. “She loved him, and he was gone. Of course she was sad and angry.”

“But she sure let her anger get the best of her. Y’see, she had this huge grudge against yer Grandma, but yer Mommy and I loved each other despite both o’ them tryna keep us apart.” Holly shot a knowing glance at Turq.

“Even you, Grandma?”

“Yep…” Turq nodded somberly. “I shouldn’t have. But I did.”

“It got to the point where we decided to follow our hearts and run away together!” Candy snuggled into Holly’s fur. “It was like a dream come true! Until…”

“Yer grandmother kicked her out,” Holly finished the sentence, wrapping a comforting arm around her wife. “Said she didn’t want to see her ever again as long as she ‘associated with her daddy’s killer’ or however she put it. She chose her grudge over her daughter.”

“What kinda mom is she?” Hydie spoke up. “It looks like she’s the one who needed to get outta there, not Mommy!”

“That’s basically what I said,” Firefly smirked slightly. “I wasn’t gonna let her treat our kid like shi—like dirt. So I told her to get out of my house. She wouldn’t put her kid first, but I did.” She wrapped a wing around Candy.

Candy chuckled slightly at this, then continued. “We didn’t want to cut her out of our lives like this—at least, I didn’t. I hoped she’d come back and realize she was wrong, and apologize. If she did, I know I’d give her a chance, but…I don’t think that’s likely to happen.”

“That makes sense, I guess…” Ollie pondered. “But why didn’t you tell us about her? Why do you only have one picture of her?”

“I burned-“

“We didn’t want to hurt you,” Candy interrupted her mom. “We didn’t want to burden you in knowing that you have a grandmother who isn’t in your life, and that she wasn’t the best pony. I kept a picture because she’s my mother and I love her, but…we didn’t want you to deal with the bad feelings that we did. And we especially didn’t want you to try to look for her. It’s…best that you never meet her.”

“I don’t think I want to meet her,” Ollie admitted.

“Me neither!”

“She sounds like a meanie!”

“But thanks for telling us about her. Now we don’t have to wonder anymore. And I can finish my project!”

The four adults chuckled at Ollie’s childlike innocence, gathering around to watch him color the last pony into his family tree. They thought they’d never have to think about that pink mare again, and normally they’d hate to bring her up again. But this time felt…relieving, like they could finally move on. For real this time.

Galaxy Guard had her place in each of their lives, even the kids’, but she was only that: a small part of their narrative. A small part that had to be acknowledged in all its goodness and ugliness in order to finally achieve closure. And they had done just that.