//------------------------------// // 24. The Truth Is... // Story: Raising Rainbow // by Pizzema Forte //------------------------------// The stallion chewed on the edge of his pencil as he stared at the assignment below him. Again, he had to plan weather. The daily routine of coming in at ten at night and not getting home until early the next morning was never fun. Over the years, it had grown into a bigger pain, especially for Dash, who constantly complained about always having to sleep in the uncomfortable sleeping bag and never in her comfortable bed. Rainbolt had been dealing with the same problem longer than she had. However, Rainbolt didn’t hate his job. He made decent bits doing it, and there were so many other worse jobs he could be doing… like grave digging or something… Even though Rainbow hated staying those late hours at night and considered her sleeping bag uncomfortable , she still managed to fall asleep within very little time. In the back of the room, she’d snore quietly with her face in a pillow. Drool would stain the side of her face and drip down her cheek. Dreams would circle within her mind and cause her to occasionally grunt or mumble in her rest. Her father thought it was adorable, even though she’d been growing up, and was losing her cuteness in exchange for beauty. It almost hurt Rainbolt that his little girl was growing so quickly. Before he knew it, she’d be out of the house with her own kids to care for… Pushing the thought out of his mind, the stallion went back to work. The last thing he wanted to think about was Dashie growing any older. It was rather hard, however, considering her tenth birthday had just passed. Come on, Buddy… he thought to himself. Just get back to work… You can do this… Now, let’s see… You’ve already figured out that you can put ninety clouds in Canterlot… It’s supposed to be less wet, so try to keep things at a minimum… Hmm… But then you’d have to put forty clouds over Ponyville…could that be too little…? Maybe… Then again, Ponyville is pretty small… The stallion continued to chew his pencil. Wait, okay… don’t do that… Rainbolt erased some of the marks he’d made over Canterlot. Now… Just relocate a few and- The stallion’s trail of thought was disturbed by a door slamming opened behind him. Rainbolt hadn’t even flinched. He simply turned around and met eyes with his boss. Her blue eyes didn’t seem pleased in the least bit. They were stern and emotionless, but glistening with something more. Her mouth was at a frown. Lately, her mood wasn’t that great. Rainbolt never really asked why. He just assumed it was a mare thing or it was none of his business. “Good evening, ma’am…” “Hey…” Her tone was boring and unpleasant. “How’s work going?” “Umm…well. I’ve got some stuff down and I don’t think it’ll take much longer for me to get this all done…” “Good…” was the only word that came off his boss’ lips. “Alright… I hope you have a nice evening…” “Doubt it…” Silently, the mare flew out of the room with no more words. She’d abandoned her employee, leaving him a bit confused. Maybe… you should have asked her what was wrong this time… it’s getting worse… It was then Rainbolt’s office door creaked opened again. He looked back, only to see his boss again. She was still as down as she had been before. She’d only put her front hooves, head, and chest into the little office. “Hey, Rainbolt…” “Ma’am…?” “Can you do me a favor?” This time, Rainbolt turned around completely in his chair, facing her and staring her in the eye. “Of course. Anything for you, ma’am.” he replied, trying to sound as sweet to her as possible. “Can you cover a shift tomorrow?” “Tomorrow…? But that’s Saturday!” The mare shot him a look of disdain. It was then Rainbolt cleared his throat. “I mean, it’s the one day I get off, so I’ll have plenty of time to do whatever shift you need covered… What time is it?” “Umm…” she thought for a moment. “I don’t know, ten am? Yeah… Just come in at ten… You have cloud bustin’ duty at…” she thought for a moment. “Ponyville… Yeah, Ponyville… Go clear the sky or whatever….” “Umm… Okay…” He then internally scolded himself for the screw-up. “I mean, yes ma’am…” “Good…” She sighed. “Eventually I’m going to have to expand this dump! We need sections in different parts of Equestria… I can’t have a business in Cloudsdale, and then send my employees out to areas miles away!” Dump. Mrs. Skies had never referred to The Weather Factory as a dump. Not even once… Her increasingly negative change of attitude was not only concerning, but bothering Rainbolt. “Ummm… Okay…” “Well, have a nice night, Kid… I’ll see you some…other time…” With that, the stallion’s boss backed out of the office and closed the door. This time, the stallion rose from his seat and followed her outside of the office. He opened up his door and saw Mrs. Skies trotting away. Quickly, she turned around. Her previously emotionless eyes seemed to be shimmering with salt water. As soon as she noticed Rainbolt, she blinked madly, trying to shoo her vexations away. “Umm, ma’am… I’m not trying to be disrespectful or anything, but…are you okay…?” The green-coated mare huffed, as if she took it as an insult. “Of course I’m fine! I don’t pay you to worry about my personal problems!” “Miss… I’m concerned… You aren’t usually like this… Are you sure there’s nothing you don’t need to talk about…?” “Oh, come on! I’m not always going to be sunshine ‘n’ rainbows, okay! What? Is it a crime for me to be upset or something?” The periwinkle stallion shrunk down before the anger in his boss’ tone. His ears flopped against the back of his head and his heart clenched within him. “I… n-no, ma’am… I’m sorry… I just wanted to know if there was something I could do to make you feel better…” “You wanna make me feel better, huh? Go do what you’re good for! I pay you to work, not comfort other ponies! Jeesh!” With that, the mare stormed off. She held her tail high but her head low. There, Rainbolt was left baffled at everything that had just happened. He watched as his boss flew out of the area and into the lobby, only to leave completely. It took the stallion a minute, but he finally turned around and left, still confused. Slowly, he made his way back into his office. He closed the door, leaving the little lamp on his desk with the responsibility of keeping the room illuminated. “Dad…?” he heard a weak voice mutter from the corner where Dashie slept. “Yeah, Sweetheart…?” “What was all that screaming about?” “I…don’t know… Aunty Skies is in a really bad mood, but she doesn’t want to talk about it…” “She’s been that way a lot lately…” Dash pondered. “Yeah… I have a shift at ten tomorrow…. I have to fly all the way to Ponyville, though…” The little filly lifted her head up and gaped in shock. “Wait… You’re not going to make me stay here the entire time, are you?” “Well… I don’t know where I’d be able to find a babysitter on such short notice. Rainbow looked up at her father in disbelief and raised an eyebrow. They stared at each other for a good moment. Their eyes widened and neither blinked. “What…?” the stallion said at last. Rainbow’s pink eyes circled to the back of her head. “Surprise!” Rainbolt grew rather nervous as he approached the mare’s front porch. She’d added an arrangement of yellow flowers on her windowsill. Pink curtains blocked anypony from seeing the insides of her home. Asking for her to watch Dash on such short notice seemed a bit rude, but necessary under the circumstances. Although the stallion trusted Surprise, he was a little unsure about leaving Dashie with her. She didn’t exactly seem like the most… responsible pony around kids. “Are you sure you want to do this, Rainbow…? I’ve never left you alone with Surprise… Besides, she might not even be up for it…” “It’s worth a shot!” his little filly encouraged. “Besides, anything’s better than spending in all day in that old factory!” “Hey, be nice to the factory! You may be working in weather one day!” “Doubt it…” Rainbolt simply rolled his eyes. Doing mathematics in the late hours of the night wasn’t his dream job. “Whatever. Let’s just do this… I have to be back at work soon…” With that said, Rainbolt lifted a hoof to the door and gave it three loud taps. Unsurprisingly, he heard a familiar, feminine voice sing, “Coming!” cheerfully. It took a long minute of waiting, but at long last, Surprise opened the door. Her yellow mane was sopping and wet. Instead of its usual bounciness, it was drooping in front of her face in beautiful lumps of curls. There was still water glistening off her neck and cheek. Rainbolt blushed heavily as his wings sprung up. The wet mane actually looked rather…sexy on her. “Heya, Rainbolt!” the mare smiled and threw her hooves around his neck. The stallion hesitantly returned the hug as her wet mane dampened his coat. “H-hey, Surprise…You’re wet….” “I know!” she chimed with a smile. “Just got out of the shower!” She put her hooves up to her mane and twisted her blonde locks. Slowly, water fell out of her absorbent hair and onto her porch below. “Sorry about that…” “Oh, no problem…” He smiled and cleared his throat. “Anyway… I was wondering if maybe you could watch Dashie for a little bit… I have to pick up an extra shift at the Weather Factory….” “Oh, no problem! I don’t go in ‘til five today!” Rainbolt’s golden eyes lit up at the mare’s enthusiastic answer. “Awe, thanks! Do you want me to pay you or something?” Surprise chuckled. “No, no, no! Don’t worry about it! You’re old pal Surprise has got this completely taken care of!” Her white face then lit up a light shade of crimson. “But if you really wanted to make it up to me….” Rainbolt blushed as well and put a hoof up to silence her before he sentence continued. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll get you something or whatever… Just….” He smiled at the mare. “Make sure she’s safe and happy, alright? I can trust you with my child… right?” Surprise raised her forehoof to her forehead and smiled. “Of course you can! I used to babysit my cousins when I was a teenager!” “Well…alright… You sure you don’t want me to pay you?” “Pay me with your friendship!” she said brightly. The stallion chuckled. “Alright… I will…” Even though the mare seemed confident, Rainbolt still wasn’t that convinced. He never felt comfortable putting his only daughter in the hooves of somepony else, but at certain times, it was necessary. Surprise was trustworthy… he just didn’t know how trustworthy she was with children. If she were telling the truth about her past experience there was nothing to worry about…. Right…? “Well… I’ll see you later, Dashie…” He quickly gave his daughter a hug, who accepted it with red building in her cheeks. “I love you and hope you have a nice time without me.” “I will….” She looked away from Surprise and spoke as quickly as she could. “And I love you, too….” “Awe! Isn’t that sweet!” Rainbolt smiled at the pegasus’ comment, but Rainbow scolded her with her eyes momentarily. “Alright, Sweetheart. Be good! I’ll see you later!” With one final goodbye, Rainbolt flew off, leaving Rainbow with Surprise, who seemed rather pleased to be watching the filly on such short notice. “Alrighty!” Surprise chimed the second the stallion was out of view. “Let’s get you in and settled.” The white-coated, psychotic pony marched into her home with Rainbow Dash following closely behind her. The moment they entered the room, the fresh smell of vanilla and tropical fruits reached the ponies’ nostrils. Dashie even took a moment to deeply inhale the delicious scents. The house itself wasn’t too, too big. When Dash entered, she was immediately greeted by a staircase that led into a hallway. To the left of the staircase was a small kitchen, and to the right of it was a tidy, little living room with a coffee table, loveseat, and radio. In contradiction to Surprise’s personality, her house was extremely mellow. “Nice house.” Rainbow commented as Surprise closed her front door. “Thanks! I put everything in it!” She beamed with pride at her neatly arranged home. “Well… If you’ll excuse me, I still need to dry myself off….” The little pegasus spread her wings and flew upstairs. Rainbow tagged along, following her closely. “Hold on! You’re just going to leave me in this house with no supervision?” The white mare instantly halted at the young filly’s words. She turned to make eye contact with the little pony. “Hey, come on! It’ll only take five minutes! I just need to dry my mane and I’ll start playing with you again!” Rainbow smiled. Honestly, she hadn’t perceived being left alone for a few minutes as a bad thing. Heck, she’d even get an opportunity to explore the unfamiliar home. The few times her dad had brought her to Surprise’s humble home, she’d only seen the kitchen and the living room. Even if it weren’t a real adventure, it would still be more of an adventure than anything she’d done recently. “That’s okay! I’ll wait here!” With a smile and a nod of approval, `the mare went off into the restroom, leaving the filly with no supervision. That pleased Rainbow Dash very much. With a mischievous grin, she wondered further down the hallway. There were only two rooms at the very end. One was a closet, and the other was the bedroom of the mare who owned the house. Assuming the door to her right would be more interesting, she opened the door. Inside was a small, twin-sized bed, a lamp, a drawer, and a window with closed blinds. She looked around in wonder. The bedroom itself was no bigger than Dash’s. Slowly, she entered. She left the door behind her wide opened and approached the desk. On the surface of the wooden desk was a whole bunch of photographs. Each one of them was framed as if it was the most amazing picture ever taken. Rainbow scanned her eyes past them. The first one was displayed in a purple frame. The ponies in it were Surprise, an old stallion, and an old mare she’d never seen before. The stallion was light pink with a bouncy, yellow mane. His eyes were teal and reminded Rainbow of Fluttershy’s. The mare was snowy white. She too had a mane full of curls, only hers was pink. Her eyes were a dark shade of magenta. Rainbow assumed it was Surprise’s parents and move on. The next picture clearly depicted a very young-looking Surprise. She must not have been fifteen yet, and her mane was even puffier back then. Her purple eyes were brightly shining at the camera as she held up a set of frizzy pom-poms. “Surprise used to be a cheerleader?” Dash asked aloud, staring at the picture. She shook her head and moved on. The next photo was of her and Rainbolt hugging in a red frame. It didn’t shock Dashie that Surprise would hold onto that photo. It was even obvious to Rainbow that she’d been crushing on her father. Although she wanted to think it was icky to imagine them together, a little part of it told her it was cute. She stared at the photo a moment and smiled inevitably. They’ll get married one day… Rainbow then moved to the next picture. That one was rather… odd to her. It showed a young version of Surprise with a small group of ponies. Dreamscape was there. He looked much older than the rest of the teens, but much younger then he was at the time. There was also Dewdrop. She looked so shy and quiet… just like Fluttershy. Next to Surprise was Dash's father. He was very young, and in his arms was… a mare. The mare Rainbolt had his hooves wrapped around looked extremely familiar. She had a rough, blue mane tied back in a ponytail and deep, purple eyes. Her coat was a soft shade of pink. She was smiling widely along with her father, whose happiness seemed so genuine and amazing… She’d never seen his eyes glitter they way they were in that photo. The mare had the same sparkle in her eyes… ”Who is she…?” _______________________________________________________________________________ “Oh, yeah, well you’re a bitch!” “Ass!” “Cunt!” Mrs. Skies was taken back in shock at the insult spewed to her. The fire behind her eyes was glowing madly as she gaped at her husband. “How dare you say that to me! I’m the one who makes all the damn money around here! The least you could do is show me a lick of respect!” The teal-coated stallion spoke in a rude, mocking tone. “Oh, well I see somepony’s taking their work with them again. Just because you’re the boss of everypony at the factory doesn’t mean you’re the boss of me!” The mare glared angrily at the stallion. “I never said I was the boss of you! But seriously, all you do is sit on your lazy ass all day while I’m the one providing for the damn family!” “Oh, wow, you provide a roof for two ponies! I’m so impressed!” The mare stared at her husband in disdain as his tone drowned in sarcasm. “Coming from the pony who doesn’t do shit!” “Hey! I’m trying, okay? You think I like being unemployed?” “Okay, but you could at least help around the house once in a while!” She huffed angrily and growled at her husband. “I swear, ever since you got laid off you’ve been nothing but an ass!” Her husband’s purple eyes went wide. “Maybe because I’ve had to spend more time with you! That’s something that would get anypony in a bad mood!” The mare gaped. “Ugh, you know what, buck you! I am so done with your shit! I’m being honest, while you’re just being an asshole for no reason!” Mrs. Skies turned around and left the leaving where her and her beloved had been arguing. “Can’t even having a damn lunch break without you trying to start something!” Angry and upset, the mare trotted out of the living room, holding her head high as if she still had all her dignity. She arrived at the front door and took a breath, knowing she was only going back to work. Before opening the exit to her disturbed household, she looked at a picture displayed next to the entrance. It showed her and her husband on their wedding day, fifteen years before that one. They were smiling and holding each other in their arms. They looked so, so happy… Mrs. Skies felt tears swelling up in her eyes. What happened…? _______________________________________________________________________________ Rainbow continued to stare at the picture before her. Where had she seen that mare before? She looked so, so familiar… Rainbow couldn’t place her tongue on where she’d seen the mare… Somewhere in the back of her mind, a memory of her lingered. Where, though? Why was she holding onto her dad like that…? Could that have been her…mother…? No, no… It can’t be… Rainbow looked at the mare once more. Maybe she could… I don’t know… Well, if she wanted an answer, she’d have to ask somepony a question. Fortunately, there was an adult around who would most definitely have the answer she was seeking for. Rainbow Dash left the room with the picture in her mouth. She galloped down the hall and to the restroom Surprise was in. She lifted her hoof and applied four knocks to the restroom door. “I’ll be out in a minute! It takes a long time to get all the water out of this mane!” “Surprise, I need to ask you a question!” The mare poked her head out of the restroom. Her mane was still soaking wet and dripping onto the cloud layer below. “What’s up?” Rainbow held up the picture for Surprise to see. The mare’s eyes went wide and she felt a sudden sense of guilt. If she would have known ahead of time Dashie was coming over, she would have removed every picture with Firefly in it. “Who’s that?” the filly asked, pointing to Firefly. “I, umm… J-just an old friend of mine…” Rainbow cocked her head. “Why is my dad holding her like that?” Oh, crap! She’s onto you, Surprise! How to deal with this? How to deal with this..? “I, umm… M-maybe you should ask your daddy… He’d know the answer better than I would…” “Okay…So… can I borrow it?” “Borrow what?” “The picture… To show him?” “Oh…. Well… I… S-sure! I’m sure Rainbolt would be thrilled to tell you about it…!” Surprise put on a fake smile, looking down at the little filly. Rainbow sent her a more sincere smile and put the picture under her wing. “Thanks, Surprise! I wonder when Dad gets off work…” The mare shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sure he’ll be really happy to see you again…” She nervously chuckled, thinking about the inevitable fate that was sure to come. She was completely sure her little crush wouldn’t be all that pleased with her…. “So, uh…” Suddenly, getting her mane dried wasn’t a concern. She stepped out of the restroom, flicking the light off behind her. “You, uh… Wanna make some popcorn…?” Rainbow cocked her head. “Popcorn?” Ah, yes, food… The perfect way to change any subject. “Yeah! I have this huge bag of kernels that we can pop over a stove! It tastes like, a million times better than regular popcorn!” Dash smiled. “Awesome!” “Oh, yeah! So, let’s go!” With that, the mare raced down to the kitchen with Dash following closely behind her. Instead of flying like she usually would, she simply galloped, having to carry the picture under her wing. She ran awkwardly, stumbling over the stairs beneath her hooves. She usually never had to worry about stairs with the convenience of wings. When the multihued filly approached the kitchen, Surprise was already down there, tearing opened a sac of popcorn kernels. She smiled as she set the ripped bag on the counter and reached in a lower cabinet for a pot. Surprise’s kitchen wasn’t at all messy. It was very neat, clean, and sweet-smelling. She had honey-colored tiles for flooring and clean, white counters. She had a row of cabinets above her counters, and a row of cabinets below. There was a table arranged for four in one corner of the room. “So… How do we cook it…?” Rainbow asked. “We just put some oil in the pot, put the kernels in, and then put ‘em on the stove, put a lid on the pot, and wait for ‘em to pop!” “Oh… seems simple enough…” Surprise smiled with a nod. “And when we’re all done I’ll let you put butter, salt, cinnamon, whatever you like on it!” “Alright…” The cyan filly set the photo down on the dining table and made her way over to Surprise. The mare smiled at the filly, but kept her purple eyes locked firmly on the photo the filly set down. “What can I do to help?” “Oh, umm…” The mare thought for a moment before flying up to the cabinet. She got down a large bottle of vegetable oil and gave it to the little filly. “Just put a couple tablespoons of that in the pot, and then put it over the burner on high…” Quickly, the pegasus fluttered her wings and saluted the older mare. “Got it!” she beamed with a grin. The mare nodded to the filly, but continued looking at the framed picture on her dining table. I’ve got to get her to forget about the thing… Before her father gets back... _______________________________________________________________________________ Mrs. Skies marveled the framed picture of her and her hubby at her desk. For nearly the fourth time that day, she felt her eyes watering over that picture. Her mind had abandoned her work to look at the picture before her. Look how happy we were… We used to be so close… Look at that smile on your face… Look at the love in your eyes. Look at how happy you were… The day we promised to share with each other a lifetime… I still want to keep that promise so, so bad…The mare picked up the picture and looked at her past self with tears blurring her vision. Oh, Mr. Stormy Skies… Please don’t leave me… I still love you…I hate how much we’ve been arguing lately… I’m terrified we’re going to split… We’ve been together fifteen years, though… We can’t split… We wouldn’t split. There’s no way you’d divorce me… She frowned and felt tears rolling down her cheeks. Please don’t go… I just wish there was some way I could go back in time when you were happy… When we were happier together. I just want you to be happy… I want us to be happy…. The mare hugged the picture like a newborn foal and tried not to think about her love. It hurt her so, so bad to know that any day he could get sick of it all and file for divorce… What if there was no way to save her marriage? It was then, Mrs. Skies heard three loud knocks at her office door. She quickly brushed away the tears from her cheeks. “Come in.” she said as stoically as possible. Her office door opened to reveal another stallion that seemed to be more argumentative lately. His mane was every color in the rainbow, and his coat was a soft shade of periwinkle. “Rainbolt…” “Yes, ma’am?” “I don’t know… Why are you here?” “Well… I just finished cloud busting in Ponyville… I was wondering if you needed anything else before I go…” “Nope, you’re dismissed. Have a good day…” “Umm… alright…” Slowly, the stallion headed for the exit. As soon as he met with the door, however, he stopped in his tracks and turned around. Don’t push your luck, Rainbolt… Mention it again and she’ll blow your head off… Just mind your own business and turn around… Rainbolt stared at the mare for a good minute. She glanced up from her work occasionally, looking him in the eye, and then glancing back down. For the longest moment, nothing was said. There was only silence. At long last, the stallion disturbed the silence. “Umm… Ma’am…?” “Rainbolt?” The pegasus felt a shiver rush up his spine as his boss’ dark, scorn-filled eyes leered at him. Maybe, it would have been better to just walk away at that moment… “Are you… feeling alright…?” It was at that moment, the mare looked up at him with an anger-filled expression. “I mean, I… I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just… I’m-“ “I thought we discussed this last night! It is none of your damn business and I’m perfectly fine!” “But you’re not!” Rainbolt argued, not sure of what to say. “You called the factory a dump, you’re yelling at me for being concerned, and you’re not your high-spirited self! You haven’t been for weeks! Something is wrong!” “Oh, so you know my life now, huh? You think you know everything about me? What I do? Where I live? What I like to do on my free time?” “Well, I… umm… n-no, ma’am… I just know you’re not acting your usual self… You’re not as happy, and bossier, and-“ “Bossy?! Really? You just had to say I was ‘bossy’? Ha!” She growled at her employee. “You’re no better than my husband!” There was a moment of silence that proceeded after that statement. It was at that moment, it all clicked in Rainbolt’s mind. She always, always loved her husband. She had a picture of him on her desk, always talked about him on their anniversaries, and came to work very happy when she had plans with him… There she was, with the picture in her hooves, stating Rainbolt was no better than him for calling her bossy. “Ma’am… It’s…. It’s your husband, isn’t it…?” Mrs. Skies was taken into shock by the question. How did he…? She just sat there, not knowing what to say. It was Rainbolt who again broke the silence. “I can’t force you to tell me about it, but if you need to talk about it… I’m here…” It was then, the mare ignored the stallion and opened her drawer. Rainbolt stared curiously as the mare pulled out a piece of parchment from her desk. She took a pen from the cup on her desk and scribbled down something on the top. Using her hoof, she gestured Rainbolt over, who obediently approached her desk. He was a bit nervous, but would have seemed like a child to question why. The moment Rainbolt was close enough. He flinched when the piece of paper was slammed on the desk in front of him. “Rewrite ‘I will mind my own business’ one thousand times! Give it to me tomorrow!” Rainbolt’s expression went into shock. She couldn’t have been serious… could she? He wasn’t a little school colt or anything…. “Don’t give me that dumbfounded look! Go! Now!” Although the stallion was still in shock, he managed to say a quiet, “Yes, ma’am…” and head for the door. Slowly, the stallion walked away with the sheet of paper. He didn’t even know what to think about the whole thing. Before he could make it out of the mare’s office, he was stopped once more. “Oh, and Rainbolt, if you don’t turn it into me tomorrow, you’re fired.” _______________________________________________________________________________ “And… there we are!” Surprise smiled as the mixture of popcorn, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon mixed together. The sweet smells of the delectable desert rose from the popped kernels. Steam rose to their noses and made them deeply inhale. Both pegasi were drooling over the delectable scent. “So…” Surprise started. “Who’s gonna taste it first?” Rainbow smiled at the mare. “I don’t know… Whoever gets to it first…” Dash slowly moved her hoof closer and closer to the bowl of freshly made popcorn. The pegasus giggled. “Go ahead. I’ve tried it millions of times!” Given permission, Rainbow stuck her hoof in the bowl and picked out a piece before popping it in her mouth. She noisily chewed on it with a smile. “That’s good!” “I know, right!” she chimed brightly. The two pegasi stopped when they heard a few, loud knocks at the door. Both looked at each other with a smile. “Dad’s back!” Before Surprise could even speak a syllable, Rainbow dashed off to the front door. Without even checking to see who it was, she opened the door. There, her dad stood with a not-very-amused expression on his face. He walked into the house, holding a piece of paper and wearing a frown. Both ponies stared at him. Why was he so… sad-looking? “What’s wrong?” the white mare asked. The stallion let out a long sigh. “Mrs. Skies is a bitch.” Surprise didn’t seem the least bit shocked, while Dash was agape. “Yeah… she’s been kind of… on edge lately.” The mare admitted. “You noticed, too?” Surprise nodded affirmatively. “The other day I saw she was kind of upset, so I tried to comfort her. She sort of yelled at me and made me write sentences…” She blushed, knowing she sounded like a school filly in trouble instead of a full-grown mare. “Yep, same here…” The stallion held up a piece of paper with a single sentence written at the top. He then turned to his daughter. “Rainbow, don’t talk to Mrs. Skies… I don’t want you to get in trouble with her, too…” “I won’t….” Rainbow seemed rather disappointed to have to disconnect from her adopted aunt. “Good… Sorry about this, Dashie, but it’s for the best… When she eventually gets better, I’m sure you can talk to her again…” “Okay…” was Dash’s only response. Surprise looked at the filly, then back at Rainbolt. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten the chance to hide the picture, and it was still out on the kitchen table. Maybe, Rainbow would forget… Maybe they would both go home. Maybe… Everything would turn out awfully and she’d have to explain the picture and feel awful for exposing the truth Rainbolt had always tried hiding. “Hey, Dad…” Rainbow spoke up after a brief moment of silence. “Wanna try some of the popcorn I made with Surprise?” The stallion sighed and nodded. Sure, he had a crappy day. His boss yelled at him, his back ached from cloud busting, and he was given a punishment that would have been more affective on a young colt, but that was no reason to not try to make the best out of e rest of the day. The little filly rushed into the kitchen for a moment, leaving Surprise and her dad alone. “So… how was your day besides troubles with Mrs. Skies…?” “Umm… mediocre… I had to go to Ponyville for cloud busting…” He stretched out like a dog and felt his back pop. It felt good, and even relaxed his muscles. “Oh, man… I hate physical activity…” Surprise rolled her eyes. “Says the stallion who used to be amazing at sports…” “Yeah… that was me before I had a kid…” The two looked at each other a moment. Nopony spoke. “Speaking of Dash, thank you so, so much for babysitting her today… It means a lot…” “You’re welcome… Actually… there’s something I need to tell you about…” Her eyes grew sad as she spoke. “Don’t be afraid to yell at me or anything… Just… please forgive me… I didn’t mean for it to happen…” “Surprise…what are you talking about?” Before the mare could answer, the little filly came popping back with a large, steamy bowl of delectable treats. “Try a piece!” Rainbow encouraged her father by nudging the bowl closer and closer to him. Slowly, Rainbolt took a piece out of the bowl and popped it in his mouth. The delectable taste of cinnamon filled the stallion’s mouth and made him smile. “Wow…that’s really good…” “Thanks!” the filly chimed happily. She set the bowl down before her dad. “Have some more if you like…” Rainbolt smiled happily and accepted another hoof-full of popcorn. It was then Rainbow sprung up with joy. “Oh! Wait! There was something I needed to ask you!” Rainbolt cocked his head and glanced at Surprise, who was giving him the most innocent look she could force. Rainbow flew back into the kitchen and retrieved an object from the dining table. Surprise’s heart filled with dread, while Dashie ran back to the room. She wore a bright smile on her face as she lifted the photo of him, Surprise, Dreamscape, Firefly, and Dewdrop from many years back. His eyes went wide as he looked at the picture. “Who’s the mare you’re holding in your hooves?” Rainbolt blushed and instantly went dumb. How was he supposed to answer that…? Surely, he couldn’t tell her that it was her mother, but…What other option did he have? She was ten years old, and she would have to find out the truth one day. It would be best to just get it over with, but at the same time… “Rainbow, I…I, umm… She was….” “Was she my mom?” When those words left his daughters lips, Rainbolt felt tears swelling in his eyes. She knew… She knew and there was no way to hide it. There was nothing more he could say. “Rainbow…the truth is….yes… She is your mother…” At that moment, Rainbolt’s eyes met the floor. He didn’t want to make eye contact with his daughter, who had just discovered one of the biggest mysteries of her entire life. Surprise looked away from both of them in shame. Rainbow did nothing but stare at the photo for a good minute. “Dad…?” “Yeah, Sweetheart…?” The little filly looked up to her father. He looked at her as well. To his shock, her eyes didn’t seem to be that sad. “How’d you get such a sexy mare?”