What It Means To Be A Mother

by FabulousDivaRarity

Will To Power

Night Blues sat on the couch with his wife and newly adopted daughter. It was their first night really spent together as a family. Rainbow sent Scootaloo off to brush her teeth and sat next to her husband, spending a few minutes talking before going upstairs to tuck in her little peanut. Night Blues followed her. It was their first time tucking her in together. Rainbow went over to her and gave her a big hug and kissed her forehead. Night Blues gave her a hug, and went to the door. It wasn't until he was about to leave that he saw the pacifier and blanket. He shut the door, and his eye began to twitch in irritation.

His secret had always been kept well hidden. Even Rainbow didn't know about his severe Disorder. He wanted the perfect family, but seeing that pacifier besmirched the image of perfection that he so desperately tried to uphold. His quest for outward perfection was the result of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He was in love with himself. The trouble was, that he was unaware of it. It had become so ingrained in him that it sunk beneath the surface of his awareness. As he walked down stairs, he swore to himself that his first mission as a father would be to take that pacifier away. Subconsciously, he knew how to manipulate his wife to get his way. Most of what he did was unintentional, because he wasn't even aware that he was sick. There were always those few exceptions, though. This was one of them.

Rainbow was in the kitchen, cleaning some dishes when her husband came up behind her and kissed her cheek.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Hey yourself."

There was a silence that stretched over the space of a few seconds. It gave Rainbow the impression that something wasn't quite right.

"Everything okay?"

"I'm fine, I just had a question for you."

"Okay, shoot."

"Why didn't you tell me that Scootaloo still slept with a pacifier?"

Rainbow sighed, and stopped cleaning.

"I wanted her to tell you herself. It's her bedtime crutch, and I promised to keep it between us."

The look of betrayal lasted only a second, but it was enough to make Rainbow to feel guilty. Night Blues put a hoof around his wife.

"I just wanted to know, because it can do real damage to her teeth, not to mention her emotional health."

Rainbow paused. "How so?"

"Well, think about it. If she doesn't give it up now, she won't be able to until she's eighteen. The addiction should be long gone by now. Has it caused you any serious problems?"

In a flash, Rainbow recalled the tantrum her daughter had thrown at Rarity's. "Well..."

"I'm not telling you you have to do something, I'm just stating facts. Do you think that maybe part of the reason you let it go on this long is because you don't want her to grow up?"

Rainbow felt the sting of the words right in her heart. She had been so selfish... She shook her head. Night Blues kissed her gently.

"We all make mistakes, babe. It isn't too late for you to fix it."

"You're right. Tomorrow's the day I'm going to get rid of her pacifier."

"It's going to be tough, but I'll be there with you every step of the way."

She leaned into him. "Thank you."

He kissed her. "Of course."

They retired for the night with the knowledge that tomorrow would be a battle, and the night would be an all out war.

Rainbow got up early and made all of Scootaloo's favorites for breakfast. It was Saturday morning, and Rainbow was determined to have her off of the pacifier by school on Monday. When her little peanut came down the stairs, she almost choked on her guilt. But she swallowed it, determined to complete her task. Scootaloo hugged her mother tightly, and then went to eat her breakfast. Night Blues came down halfway through the meal, determined to support his wife. They shared a look as Scootaloo came near the end of her meal. Night Blues cleared the table, still watching out of the corner of his eye, and Rainbow called her daughter to come and sit with her on the couch. Once Scootaloo sat, Rainbow took a deep breath and started talking.

"Listen, peanut, today is a very big day for our family. Remember how I told you that pacifiers were for little foals that needed them?" Scootaloo nodded.

"And you're not a little foal anymore, are you?" Scootaloo nodded again. Rainbow paused a moment, trying to gather her thoughts.

"Peanut, today's the day that we're going to take your pacifier and give it to tiny baby foals who need it."

Scootaloo was floored, and didn't even know what to say. While Rainbow was talking, Night Blues had snuck upstairs and hidden the pacifier somewhere where Scootaloo wouldn't find it. It would leave the house as soon as possible.

Quickly, the shock turned to tears as she cried into her mother's coat. As Night Blues heard the crying, he knew he should feel guilty. Deep inside, a part of him did. But his conscience was able to rationalize away the guilt with the simple statement "It was going to happen sooner or later."

He sat next to his daughter, who was crying her eyes out and screaming. He looked at his wife, who had appeared to have aged a thousand years in the space of five minutes. He put a hoof on them both, trying to offer what little comfort he could. He knew this was just a drill- the full-scale war would break out at bedtime. When it seemed he could help no more, he offered to get the mail and quickly flew down to get it. He stayed down there for only a minute or two, trying to enjoy the relative quiet. As he thumbed through the mail, he saw that there was a letter addressed to him. Curious, he opened it. It was from the fine arts coordinators at town hall. The entertainment they had scheduled for that night wasn't able to make it, and they wanted him to sing in their place! Night Blues was stunned, but flew back up to the cloud home in the sky.

What could he do? He couldn't leave his wife during a time like this. Scootaloo was still sobbing into Rainbow when he returned. He paused. There was one thing he could do.

That night he left with the promise of being back in two hours. Not ten minutes later, a hot air balloon parked itself in their driveway. Fluttershy, Twilight, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack stepped out of the balloon, ready to support their friend. Rainbow led them to the couch, feeling her friends moral support bolstering her confidence.

From the moment the clock struck nine, Rainbow knew she was in for a big night. She tried to keep a clear head as she had her daughter go brush her teeth. She felt her breathing get shallow, but tried to keep it under control. She walked her daughter to her room, hoping that she would be able to handle what was going to be thrown at her.

Scootaloo started acting up the minute she was set in her bed. Rainbow gave her a hug and kiss and got ready to leave, and listened to her daughter start to scream and cry. She went out of the room and was followed by Scootaloo. She put her back in bed again, only for her to escape again.

The tedious process was repeated again and again, until the filly stayed put in her bed.

Even then, that did nothing for her screaming and sobbing.

She went downstairs to four sympathetic faces. She smiled weakly and sat on the couch.

The constant screaming of "Momma!" Tore at Rainbow's insides.

It was torture. She grappled with her guilt, but for the most part kept herself together.

Hours passed, and during the ocean of time before her, Night Blues came home and sat with her.

During the first two hours she'd held out well. She'd focused and reminded herself why she was doing what she was. The third hour was more challenging. She had begun to hear nothing but the screaming. Her iron will was starting to rust. When the fourth hour rolled around, her shell of defense had begun to crack. Every minute seemed like an hour, every second like a day.

At hour five, she crumbled under the immense pressure. She buried her face into Night Blues' coat and cried. She couldn't keep going like this. She was committed to the cause, and refused to give in. If she did, it would have meant she would have been torturing her daughter for no reason.

The night went on.

The next morning no pony had slept, but they hadn't caved. Although it seemed like a failure, it was a success. The next night was sure to be easier. They all walked around in a haze of exhaustion, just waiting for nightfall to come so that they could go to bed. Time moved even more slowly than before.

At last, night had fallen. It was time to see if their waiting was worth it.

Both Rainbow and Night Blues tucked the filly in. Although she cried at first, she had learned quickly that sleep was far more important than comfort. Within twenty minutes, she had fallen asleep.

Happy and exhausted, the newlywed couple went to bed together and slept peacefully. When Rainbow awoke the next morning, she slipped out of her husband's embrace and went to write in the journal.

Sometimes it takes Somepony else to point out when we're not setting up our kids for success. It can be really hard to take, even when it's Somepony you care about. As a parent, it's your job to help your child be the best they can. As is often the case, we can be so obsessed with what we want that we can't draw the line between what's best for them, and our own
Desires. Every parent wants to keep their children little- it just comes with the territory. If you really love your kids, you let them grow up. That will make you closer with your kids than ever before.

Author's Note:

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Unfortunately, school is starting. I want to give this story the time and attention it deserves. That being the case, this will be my final piece in this story. I may come back to it someday, but for now it's au revoir. Thank you all for being such faithful readers. I truly appreciate your support and encouragement. You are the best fans. Keep on reading.

Many Thanks,
Holly

Comments

[BronyPonyMan]

i hate this new character. i'm so hoping he becomes a problem in the future so that he get's kicked out.

[Matt11]

I really don't trust him

[Triaxx2]

And you've lost it. It was going so well, then bam. Manipulative abuser. Really? The standard relationship plot twist Cliche?

[SoralTheSol]

The really sad thing here is that by changing one paragraph in this chapter you could have Night Blues coming across as a stern but caring parent. Obviously you are planning some downfall with him. You have dropped a couple of hints already but really it seems like added drama that isn't really needed.

[Vermillion Prose]

I was riding the high of feelings, then BAM!, plot twist, narcissism disorder. It's easily been good enough so far for me to see where this goes, so I'm looking forward to more regardless.

[Mother3Forever]

....that guy's an asshole....even if he didn't know Scootaloo's circumstances, he had no right to do that. After all, I'm pretty sure he isn't a Doctor, which RD visited to ask about this.....dammit, now I'm mad. That's strike one on his chart. Strike two means he's a terrible pony. Strike three means he gets a new asshole.

* A comfort/security blanket has nothing to do with your age...I have a stuffed mouse doll that's even older than I am...I had him since I was 5. Mom's tried to get rid of him (yes I know he's not real, it's just force of habit to refer to him as 'him') and everytime I talked her out of it. I sewed him up countless times, and I plan to never lose him. Basically what I'm saying, is if he goes that ONE STEP TOO FAR*, he better get a new orifice.

*i.e. getting rid of her security blanket without her permission

[TheGroundedAviator]

Are you going too do a sequel? I can see the potential, Night Blues getting over his issues... or loosing himself too them and him bonding with Scoot's and the like.

[Noctis Prism]

Beautiful and so sweet!

[Valtyrian]

I love this story save for one thing... Rainbow's choice in mates. but then I'm partial to TwiDash. but like I said. good story