"No. Absolutely not." Spark Storm glared angrily up at his mother. He didn't need to speak to convey the anger he felt. "No!" She reitterated. "I don't care if your teacher agrees to let you go, I'm still saying no!" Spark took off down the hall and out the door faster than Cherry Joy had ever seen him move, his wings propelling him along the floor. He'd been getting better about using his wings when he ran.
Spark Storm walked aimlessly through Ponyville. His mother was denying him permission to go up to Cloudsdale with Rainbow Dash to find his biological parents. He wanted to know what they were like, what they looked like, what they did for a living...and more importantly, why they gave him up. Well, really he knew why, but...he wanted to know what was going through their heads when they'd given him up.
He was in such deep thought that he nearly didn't register the dark pink mare in front of him. He did notice, however, when she brought up a hoof to his chest to stop him. He looked up at Cheerilee, and felt his anger return. "What, are you gonna tell me to do what your mom says?" His older sister bristled at the way he said that. He was making it sound like...She brought up a hoof like she was going to strike him. He braced for it, closing his eyes. The slap never came. Instead, he felt himself being pulled into a hug.
Spark didn't care that they were in the middle of the town square, where everypony could see him. He melted against his sister's side, his eyes filling with tears. "Stupid..." He looked up at her in response to her whisper. Her eyes were filled with tears as well, and she still looked like she wanted to slap him. "Stupid!" She put her hoofs on his shoulders and held him at arm's length to look at him. "Don't you know? She said 'no' because she she doesn't want you to go up there and find your parents and forget about her...about us..."
Spark scoffed and looked away, his forelegs crossing over his chest. 'That's so stupid, of course I wouldn't...wait.' He looked up at Cheeriliee. It became apparent to him that she was really trying not to cry. It occured to him just how much his family meant to him. For the last four years, Cheerilee and Cherry Joy had largely been the closest thing to a family he'd ever known. Then, two years ago, he was officially adopted. Cheerilee's brother, and Cherry Joy's son. Thinking on it, he wouldn't trade this life for anything. To think of leaving them for his original family was just crazy.
Without another second of thought, Spark Storm jumped into Cheerilee's forelegs and hugged her tightly, nuzzling his face into her mane. Cheerilee erupted into tears and held him tight. "Cheerilee, I'm not gonna leave you guys, no matter what I find up there. I don't care what they say or what they do. You and mom are my family now, and nothing is gonna change that, not ever."
There was a light knock at the door. Cherry Joy sat up groggily, her soft, usually perfect mane a mess. Her face was stained with tears, and she looked like she'd lost a week of sleep. With a tired sigh, she called, "Come in." In walked her son. He looked like he might have been crying, too. He had every right to, after the way she treated him. But she had her reasons, and she had every right as a mother to deny him to seek out his original family.
It was in the mother's handbook.
"...Hey." She croaked quietly. Spark Storm said nothing as he approached and hopped up onto his mother's bed. He sighed, taking in her disaster of a mane. After a moment of thinking how to move forward with this, he laid down in her lap and pulled the covers over the both of them. Surprised that he even wanted to be this close to her anymore, it took her a moment to react. She wrapped him up in her forelegs and squeezed. He didn't mind; he squeezed back and let out a contented sigh.
They laid like this for an hour, both nearly falling asleep in the other's warm embrace. Finally, Cherry decided it was time to say something. "Sparky, look, I-" She was cut off by a hoof on her lips.
"Nope. It's my turn to say something." She couldn't help but smile at this. Her little colt really was getting older. "Look. mom...You're my family now. You're my mom, and just because I want to learn about my real parents doesn't make you not my mom anymore. I have questions and I want answers, and that might change how I feel about a lot of things. But not the way that I feel about you or Cheerilee. Not ever."
Cherry Joy smiled warmly at her son's maturity. She'd been in the wrong, of course. And she was being pretty immature about the whole situation. But Spark Storm was the one of the brightest parts of her life, and the thought of losing him to his real parents had made her panic. Her fears were completely unfounded of course, as her son was making her see. And he was growing up. She couldn't keep him in the dark for her own personal greed.
"I know, Sparky...I knew that earlier today, it's just...You talked about going to see them, and I got scared. I don't want to lose you to them. You're so important to me, and you're important to your sister. You're our family. and we just..." she choked on a bit of emotion, threatening to spill out of her eyes. "I just love you so much. So...You have my permission to go to Cloudsdale with your friends."
Spark perked up at this, sitting up. "R-really? I can go?" She frowned and sat up as well, giving him a stare-down. "You have to be careful! You know you can't fly, and if you fell, I would never forgive you!"
The stare his mother was giving him was terrifying, and he wondered for a moment if all ponies were capable of such terrifying stares. He gulped and swallowed hard. "Of course! I'll be careful! I'll have Sapphire, Ditzy and Rainbow Dash with me, promise!"
His mother considered this for a moment, then nodded, seeming to accept his word. "All right...You're going to have to introduce me to this Rainbow Dash sometime. She does sound like an interesting filly."
He nodded and smiled happily. He would finally be able to get some answers, and he had his mother's support. His friends would be with him, too. This was going to be an adventure in itself...