“KILLER!”
 
”ASSHOLE!”
 
”Psst. How long do you think they’ll be at it?” Holly whispered. She and her girlfriend Parasite hid behind a bush, listening to their mothers brawling. They cringed slightly every time one of them delivered an especially harsh blow. Gripping each other’s hooves, they waited for the fight to die down.
 
”I don’t know, probably until Great-Uncle or Commander Tempest splits them up. I heard they refused to retire just so there would be somepony to keep our moms from killing each other,” Parasite chuckled softly. “I love Mother, but she can be really stubborn sometimes.”
 
”You mean all the time?” Holly laughed. “I know how that feels. My whole family is stubborn. Ma, Mum, Fafa, even Granny and Grandma. But we’re close as can be. At the end of the day, we all love each other. You know?”
 
“Yeah,” Parasite nodded half-heartedly. She couldn’t deny that she loved her family. But she couldn’t help but envy how close Holly was to hers. She loved her parents, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that her Mother was…vaguely disappointed in her. It had been that way ever since she befriended Holly. Mom was more supportive, but Parasite never felt like she took things seriously enough. And, of course, Sparkling Armor was too busy trying to be a “perfect princess” to build a relationship with her sister. Parasite was snapped out of her thoughts by another smack.
 
“You BITCH!”
 
”Do you WANT to lose your other eye?”
 
WHACK!
 
Listening to the fight, Holly grew solemn. “Do you ever wish you could…run away? Just for a little bit?”
 
”Yes.” More than she’d care to admit…
 
”I love my family, I really do, but…I’m tired of always feeling like we have to hide from them. You know my Ma and your Mother don’t like us being together.”
 
”They really don’t,” Parasite agreed. “But what would running away accomplish? Your family would only miss you. Our parents are never going to make up. Not after…what happened.”
 
“I know that, but isn’t it worth a try?” Holly was still hopeful. “Even if they don’t make up, they’ll realize how silly it is to keep us apart just because of their fight. Then they’ll welcome us home with open hooves. What’s the worst that could happen?”
 
Parasite paused, pondering the consequences of running away. There was a lot at stake here—their relationships with their families, their friends…hell, wouldn’t their mothers only hate each other more? But it would be worth it, if it meant she could spend the rest of her life with her true love without fear of separation. Who knows, maybe their mothers would learn to be more tolerant, at the very least.
 
”How does tonight at midnight sound?”
 
”Perfect!” Holly beamed, embracing her lover. “We’ll write notes before we go. Trust me, it’ll work out just fine, as long as we’re together.”
 
Parasite smiled softly in Holly’s embrace, but as she heard her Mother screaming at her enemy, she couldn’t shake the feeling that maybe this wouldn’t turn out as well as Holly said it would. Still, if they wanted to be together, there were no other options…