“I want to move her home with me,” Rainbow said.
It was late spring. The blossoms had begun to fall from the trees, and the barest hint of summer heat was in the air. The mid-morning sun streamed through the windows of the Carousel Boutique. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were both at school—but gathered here, in their absence, were Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Mr. Stable, the representative from DFS. Each of them sat on cushions in a rough semi-circle, facing Rainbow Dash, who sat, calm and collected, on her own cushion.
“Yes, well,” Rarity said into the sudden silence. “I mean, that’s always been the goal…”
“I want to do it Thursday,” Rainbow said.
All of them turned to stare.
“T-thursday?” stammered Rarity.
Rainbow nodded firmly. “Yes. I’ll have finished my community service hours on Wednesday, and that would leave enough time to get her settled in a little before the weekend.”
Rarity glanced helplessly around the circle. “But, surely,” she said, “This… this isn’t something you just do. There’s all the paperwork, and—”
“Already done,” Rainbow said. “Filled out, in triplicate, all the inspections done, all the fees paid. Have been for months now. Right, Mr. Stable?”
Mr. Stable cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. “Well… yes,” he said carefully.
“And she was accepted?” Twilight asked, incredulous. “With a child negligence conviction? Trying to move a flightless pegasus into a cloudominium?”
“Yes, she was,” Mr. Stable said mildly. “As Miss Dash indicated, she has been faithfully doing her public service—as an assistant coach at the Ponyville Colts & Fillies Club, I should add, which speaks to her abilities with children.” He showed a vague smile. “Additionally, she has taken all the required steps to ensure that her home is safe for a flightless pegasus—she has lowered it to thirty feet off the ground, and installed safety railings and a rope ladder, all in accordance with EDA standards. In the eyes of DFS,” he said, “she is worthy of adopting Scootaloo.”
Twilight glanced at Rainbow. She was sitting up straight, a small, prideful smile on her face.
“Except…” Mr. Stable continued.
Everyone turned to look at him now. If he noticed the attention, he did not react.
“There is the matter of Scootaloo herself,” he said. “As I understand it, she is not yet wholly willing to reconcile.”
“That’s right,” Rarity cut in quickly. “She’s been warming up, but they’re still a long way off. Scootaloo is being… well, a little stubborn—”
“A courtesy,” Rainbow interrupted.
Everyone turned back to stare at Rainbow.
“A courtesy,” she repeated. “You said it yourself, Mr. Stable: as a ten-year-old, Scootaloo’s consent is ‘a courtesy to the child.’ It’s not a requirement.”
Twilight’s mouth fell open. “Rainbow,” she said, delicately, almost as if she was afraid her words would break. “Are you suggesting—?”
“I am,” Rainbow said. She looked around at the others, then sighed. “Don’t give me those looks,” she said. “You know I can’t do much with an hour twice a week. I need to be able to spend more time with her. Plus,” she said with a little smile, “I’ve been working hard on her room. When she sees how much work I’ve put into things, that will have to help. Won’t it, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy glanced up at her, but bowed her head. “I’ve seen it,” she said carefully. “It’s… nice.”
Rainbow nodded triumphantly at Fluttershy, as if she had proved her argument. “Not to mention,” she added, “all the work I’ve done on the house, and with all that paperwork. No slacker is going to go to all that length.”
Twilight swallowed once, then again. She took a deep breath, then looked Rainbow in the eye. “Rainbow Dash,” she said, “I know that you’re in the right here… but… are you sure this is a good idea?”
For the first time, Rainbow looked uncertain of herself. “O-of course it is,” she said, with a faint stammer. “I mean, I’d be giving her a stable home. That’s miles better than what she’s got now, sleeping in a bag in a guest room—sorry, Rarity,” she added with a crooked smile.
“Yes,” Rarity said slowly, “but—”
“A-and I can help her,” Rainbow said quickly. “I still have some connections with the Wonderbolts. I can get her in to see their physical therapist. I don’t know that she’s ever seen a real flight doctor, not when she’s been living with earth ponies and unicorns. Maybe—maybe, with the right help, her wings—”
“Rainbow,” Twilight interrupted gently. “I—”
“Not to mention,” Rainbow continued, her eyes starting to glisten, “She’d be with family. For the first time in her life, she’d have a mother. A home. And I can—”
“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy barked, her voice hard and sharp.
Rainbow fell silent, and turned to look at her. Fluttershy glared back at her—but then, her look softened.
“Rainbow,” she repeated, her voice normal again. “I know you’ve gone to all this work… but, do you really think it’s in her best interests to uproot her again? Especially when she doesn’t seem to want to go?”
Rainbow opened her mouth, then closed it again. She looked around the circle, then looked away—and a tear ran down her cheek.
“No,” she said. “No, but—” Rainbow took a deep breath. “I don’t know how much more I can take,” she said, her voice quavering. “I… I’ve wanted to hold her for so long… To… to know who she was… to make her mine…” she sniffled. “And… and now… knowing she’s right there—right there, but I can’t…”
She looked down, trembling. “I’ve been dreaming about her,” she said. “Six months. Ever since I knew, I’ve been dreaming about her…”
She looked up, her eyes deep and hungry. “Please,” she said. “I… I know it might not be best… but, I can do it,” she said. “I can do it. And I want it—need it—need her—so badly…”
Twilight sat back. For a long time, she said nothing. Then, without a word, she glanced at Mr. Stable. He stared back at her impassively, his expression unreadable—but with the merest hint of acquiescence. Twilight then looked to Fluttershy. She licked her lips, then gave the slightest nod. Twilight then glanced at Rarity, who rolled her eyes and sighed.
“Alright,” she said dramatically, “I suppose...”
Rainbow’s face cracked into a wide, trembling grin—and then, she buried her face in her hooves and began to sob.
“Thank you,” she gasped, her chest heaving. “Thank you, thank you, thank you..."
Author's Note, Parte Deux:
From here, we had one of a couple different ideas. My personal favorite:
Scootaloo reluctantly moves into RD's house. RD is trying really hard to be a good/cool mom, but the two of them keep fighting about everything--Scootaloo, who feels powerless, is being a pill, and Rainbow, who's genuinely trying her best, is beginning to lose her patience. Eventually, they fight, and both of them go to bed angry.
That night, both of them have strange dreams: In Scootaloo's case, hers is all about how badly she wants a mother-figure, and, in Rainbow's,
hers is about how much her realization of how badly she's failed Scootaloo is tearing her up inside.
The next morning, they wake--and find themselves, not in their respective bedrooms, but in the living room rug, dead-asleep in each others' arms. There's a beat, and then they both start screaming, which leads to a fight.
Later, over breakfast, Scootaloo and RD finally have a quasi-normal conversation about their daily schedule, etc. They both go quiet, and, after a moment, Scootaloo clears her throat.
"Sorry," she says.
"Don't worry about it," Replies Rainbow.
And, from that point forward, their relationship begins to heal. They're still not close--at least, not mother-and-daughter close--but they at least learn to tolerate each other.
UNTIL...
Well. Maybe we'll see next time.
Also, wanted to point out: Fluttershy, you'll notice, is reluctant to praise Scootaloo's bedroom. The reason why is that she's seen it--and seen that it's all decorated in wonderbolts merchandise. Fluttershy knows it's a bad fit, and, given Scootaloo's flightlessness and bad blood with Soarin', may make her even angrier--as it, eventually, does.