After a moment of breathtaking silence, Rainbow Dash finally managed to snap out of her stupor a bit. “What…what do you mean by ‘near-perfect’?”
Twilight smiled softly. “It just needs adjustments every once in a while to make sure the pony is hearing as perfectly as possible. Other than that, the pony is able to hear just as well as those without any form of hearing loss. It’s as if they were never deaf to begin with.”
Rainbow Dash hesitated, expecting to hear more. “That’s it?”
Her friend gave a little nod, a grin creeping up her face. “If the surgery is successful, Scootaloo would be able to hear.”
Immediately, Rainbow’s defenses went up again. “If it’s successful?”
Twilight blinked, then gave a calming smile as she tried to reassure Rainbow Dash. “The surgery only deals with the inner workings of the ear. If the surgery is unsuccessful, the worst that could happen is she’s never able to hear, or the hearing gets worse. But she’s already stone deaf, so…”
Rainbow relaxed a bit, stepping up to her filly and tracing her name-sign. “So it couldn’t get any worse for her, anyway…”
“Exactly,” Twilight breathed.
Rainbow let the idea sink in as Scootaloo nuzzled her hoof, reaching her cube toward Rainbow, a strange hope she never thought about creeping its way into her heart. She met Twilight’s gaze. “She’d…be able to hear my voice?” she squeaked.
Twilight nodded excitedly, tears pricking her eyes. “It’s nothing short of a miracle, Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow rubbed at her eye, gaze falling to the little filly excitedly showing off her Rubit’s Cube, telling Rainbow all about Twilight fixing it, Rainbow trying to return with her own excitement through her confounding shock. “I’ll, uh…I’ll talk to her about it. Do you have something about it I can read first so I know everything?”
“I’m so glad you asked,” Twilight beamed. Her horn lit up, and a stack of papers several inches thick was levitated over to Rainbow Dash. As Twilight’s magic placed them within Rainbow’s saddlebags, she explained. “Here’s a news article, a scientific journal, a brief explanation of the inner ear and what the surgery does, and a manual for how to take care of the device once it’s been implanted.”
“Wha—Twilight…” Rainbow Dash chuckled, “we haven’t even decided anything for sure, yet. I don't even know anything about this thing you’re talking about.”
“It’s called a cochlear implant, and there’s no reason you shouldn't be as prepared as possible from the very beginning,” Twilight returned.
Rainbow found herself silenced, unable to argue with her logic. Still, she couldn’t stop the strange resignation she felt at the prospect, her confusion for her hesitation already making her doubt herself. She bit her lip before she could voice such objections though, feeling the final tug of Twilight closing her bags. With a thanks to Twilight for watching Scootaloo, she loaded her charge onto her back and took to the sky, asking her filly about her day.
Rainbow Dash hovered up and down her room, head swimming with thoughts that refused to give her any reprieve of landing. Her heart thundered in her ears as she looked back down at the spread of papers Twilight had given her.
In an understandably unusual bout of hyperfocus, she had read the entire scientific article, her intrigue easily able to trump her usual boredom at reading something so…egghead-ish.
Her chest convulsed, and with a start, she sucked in a lungful of air, not even realizing she had stopped breathing for a moment. Tears blurred her vision for the umpteenth time that night, her heart at war with itself.
“She…she’d be able to hear…” she lamented to herself. “She could hear your voice. She could…learn how to talk…” a breathless giggle billowed from her throat, and she fell silent once more, her smile fading as she thought of other parts of the article.
“But…the surgery would take a while to recover from…she might be in pain…would she even want it?” She began her pacing again. “What if…we get it, but it doesn’t work…and then…the chance is blown…?” Tears stung the corners of her eyes once again. “She’d be devastated…”
Sniffling, she came to a stop once again, her heart longing for somepony to talk to about the predicament that Rainbow never thought in her wildest dreams she’d be having with herself. She bit her lip, tears slipping down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
“Why can’t I just…?”
‘Just what?’
“Decide!”
‘Is it even your decision to make?’
“No, it’s Scootaloo’s.”
‘Then let her decide.’
“I don’t even want to bring it up until I’m more confident with it!”
‘Then talk to somepony who’ll make you more confident.’
Her internal conversation finally came to a standstill, letting her wade in her emotions and criss-crossing thoughts. Through all the chaos inside her, a single line of thought gave her an anchor of clarity. She chased it, becoming more and more sure of its destination until it arrived, instilling a deep need into her chest. At first, she tried to fight against the solution her mind was presenting her with. However, with each thought she tried to create for herself, only more chaos appeared, chasing her back to the clarity within the eye of her mental storm.
Finally, she took in a shaky breath, swallowing the lump in her throat as she addressed the still, silent dead of night.
“I need to find Foggy.”
The next morning, Scootaloo quietly ate her cereal. With a stressed puff of breath, her mind still racing and reeling, Rainbow Dash trotted into the kitchen.
Having just got off the phone with Applejack, she had managed to secure a last-minute playdate for Scootaloo with both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle for the afternoon. Snagging an apple from the counter, she forced herself to eat something as she mentally raced through year-old memories.
‘You know where the orphanage is, you can start there. If she’s not there, you can always just go to the agency. They have to know something. You can talk to Sage Note! He’ll know! He’d know everything!
…Right?’
A hum from her little sister drew her attention; and she tossed her unfinished half of apple and trotted over, her ears nearly ringing as she asked, “All good?”
Her heart and soul nodded, beaming up at her and asking, “What are we learning today?”
A nervous smile found Rainbow’s face. Though it was the end of the week, they had planned on making up the schooling Scootaloo had missed yesterday today.
‘Guess that’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow now,’ she mused to herself.
“Actually,” she finally tapped back, “I need to go somewhere today. I had something come up suddenly last night. I’m gonna take you to Fluttershy’s so you can spend the afternoon with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, okay?”
What began as a look of mildly shocked confusion turned into one of foalish glee, Scootaloo at once giggling happily. “Okay! How long will you be gone?”
Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief as she took the bait. “All day. I should be back to get you before sundown, though, okay?”
Scootaloo hummed softly, nodding with a grin before reaching for Rainbow Dash. The mare obliged her, scooping her up into a near-strangling hug as she kissed her temple. The little filly returned in kind, kissing her guardian’s cheek and wiggling to get onto her back.
The cyan mare waited for her filly to settle down before she scooped up the abandoned bowl, moving into the kitchen to deposit them into the sink. The task completed, she made for the door.
“Thanks a lot, Shy, I owe ya,” Rainbow uttered as she helped Scootaloo off her back with her little saddlebag, giving her filly a quick nuzzle.
“Oh, no, it’s not a problem at all,” Fluttershy objected, taking Scootaloo’s hoof and drawing her name-sign, meeting the little pegasus’s nose in a gentle nuzzle, making her giggle. “When should I expect you back?”
Rainbow smiled sheepishly, “I’m planning on mid-afternoon, depending on how things go. I don’t know exactly how long it’ll take.”
The light yellow pegasus pushed aside a stray strand of pink mane. “Oh, that’s not a problem at all. I wasn’t planning on going anywhere out of my cottage today, anyway; and she loves the animals. I don’t mind letting her help out today until Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle come over.”
Cyan shoulders relaxed at her friend’s sincerity. “Still, thanks again, Fluttershy.”
Fluttershy simply smiled and nodded as her friend flew off, taking Scootaloo’s hoof and guiding her to her favorite spot under the tree surrounded by burrows, gently scooping up a snowflake-patterned hedgehog as Scootaloo giggled at the brush of rabbits. “Guess who wants to see you!”
Instantly, Scootaloo knew, offering up gentle hooves as the most fascinating animal she ever met was gently placed in her hooves, the chunky critter instantly clambering up her foreleg and situating himself into the crook of her neck, his tiny nose tickling her jaw.
Fluttershy’s eyes briefly wandered to the sky, unable to stop the troubling feeling in her heart as she watched Rainbow become nothing more than a dot in the sky, before Scootaloo’s hooves pulled her thoughts back to the present as the little filly asked about George the hedgehog.
Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop the heartwrenching nostalgia from flooding through her as she soared for Baltimare, eyes watering from a little more than just the wind.
Lost in thought not unlike the way she was the previous night, she startled slightly when her eyes suddenly found the orphanage. In a stunned state of nostalgia, Rainbow gazed down at the familiar courtyard in a hover, her desperate mind almost swearing she could make out Foggy Day still sitting on the top step, watching her fly away with Scootaloo.
With a catch of breath, she blinked, shaking her head as her mind began racing, reminding her of the directions to the agency. In a flash of rainbow, she was off, twisting down the roads, cutting corners and sailing over buildings to finally land of the familiar steps, the sign to her right reading:
Baltimare Adoption Agency
She swallowed hard, her heart pounding as she pulled open the door, stepping through.
Rainbow Dash found the receptionist, her hooves practically trembling as she stepped up to his desk. “Uh…hi.”
The young stallion looked up, blinked at her. “Yes? Can I help you?”
The cyan mare could hardly contain herself any longer. “I’m looking for Sage Note. Is he here?”
The stallion blinked again, this time in confusion. “Uh…yeah, he is. But you can’t just walk in and see him, he’s a very busy pony.”
Rainbow clenched her jaw. “I know he is, and I don’t wanna bother him if he’s really busy, but it’s really important that I see him! Is there any way for me to see him today?”
The receptionist hesitated, his eyes conflicted. “Let me go ask him.” He stood, trotting away from the desk and around the corner into the main area of the agency.
A frustrated, nervous breath escaped Rainbow Dash, the mare beginning to pace as she waited.
Movement caught her eye, and she looked up to see a familiar pegasus stallion walking along the wall, his wing brushing up against it as he held a couple files against his chest. A bright red scarf now hung around his neck, sticking out against his yellow fur. Rainbow blinked as his name finally lit up her mind. “Onyx Star!”
The stallion’s ear twitched, and he paused, his head turning to tilt in her direction. “R…Rainbow Dash?”
Rainbow couldn’t help the smile that split her face, rushing up to him, part of her thankful for the distraction. “Hey! It’s really good to see you!”
Onyx gave her a cool, wry grin. “I’d say the same, but…you know…”
The mare blinked, suddenly remembering. “Oh…yeah!” She managed a little laugh. “So…are you…?”
A little, thin-lipped smile graced Onyx’s face. “Yeah…it’s…it’s all gone now. Hundred percent.”
A wave of secondhoof pain and disappointment passed through Rainbow’s chest. “I…I’m really sorry, Onyx.”
The stallion shrugged. “Eh, what can ya do, right? I don’t mind too much. Just means I can’t see the ignorance anymore, huh?” The chuckle that escaped him was unaccompanied by a laugh from Rainbow, ending far too early as his face seemed to shift, and his hoof went to his scarf, rubbing it.
“Is…that new?” Rainbow asked, trying to change the subject.
“U-uh…yeah,” Onyx replied, a smile finding his face once more, albeit a bit forced. “My mom made it for me this past Hearth’s Warming. I…I know it’s summer and all, but…well, it…it sounds stupid, but it’s really helped me stay calm…you know?”
Rainbow nodded at once, only to cringe at herself. “Yeah, I get it. Nothing wrong with that, it actually looks really good on you!”
Onyx chuckled. “Thanks. So…what are you doing here? Haven’t talked to you in a year.”
Instantly, Rainbow’s current predicament, and all anxiety surrounding it, suddenly rushed back to the forefront of her mind. “Uh…actually, I—“
“Miss Rainbow Dash.”
The voice snapped her attention to the clay-colored earth pony she’d been there to see all along. Her breath caught in her throat, and she rushed for him.
“Sage Note, please help me,” Rainbow practically begged. “I’m trying to find Foggy!”
Silence and stillness suddenly fell over the immediate area, all that could hear Rainbow’s voice stopping to stare at the sudden outburst. The stallion’s eyes hardened at the exclamation, flicking to the side at all now watching the scene before he glared at Rainbow once more.
His face drew closer to hers, his voice lowering as Rainbow felt a familiar sting of fear toward the stallion as he growled, “In my office. Now.”
He turned, pushing open his door and holding it for Rainbow Dash. The mare swallowed hard, forcing her hooves forward and into Sage Note’s office.
Sage Note closed the door. “Sit down.” Reluctantly, Rainbow complied, sitting in the chair in front of his desk as he stepped around it and sat in his own chair, almost glaring at Rainbow Dash as he did so. Rainbow felt the familiar fear course through her under his gaze, though this time, it felt a bit more genuine.
He sighed heavily as he settled into his chair, looking up at her with a deadpan glare. “Miss Rainbow Dash, if you must know, Miss Foggy Day no longer works for our agency. She quit the same day Scootaloo’s case was closed, and we are now no longer in contact with her.”
Rainbow felt her heart collide with her stomach, her mouth floundering a moment before she sputtered, “S…So it’s true?! She really did quit?!”
The dusty clay stallion’s brow furrowed. “You were told otherwise?”
Blood drained from Rainbow’s face, the mare feeling as if she had just been caught in a lie. “W-well…I, uh…” Catching Sage Note’s gaze, his hardening eyes sent a wave of fear through her; and she, for the first time, crumbled under his gaze, her face falling like a chastised filly. “Y-yeah…I…I was told the official answer was she retired…but that there were rumors that she actually quit.”
Silence fell between the two of them, part of Rainbow preparing for some kind of reprimand, only for none to come as Sage Note let out a heavy sigh, Rainbow’s ear twitching as she picked up a deep sadness in the expulsion of air.
“It seems,” he finally said, “that some certain employees need to be reminded to keep work gossip at work.”
Rainbow’s heart skipped a beat, her eyes alight with worry as she looked back up at Sage Note. “She won’t be in trouble, will she?”
A waving-off hoof calmed her nerves momentarily. “I will give a generalized announcement reminding everypony to maintain professional relationships with the clients. As for the rest…” Sage Note leaned against the table, his voice lowering as his eyes shine in a sadness that almost seems to border regret. “I am painfully aware of every rumor surrounding Miss Foggy Day in this agency, Miss Rainbow Dash.”
His words were met with an incredulous blink from the cyan mare before him. “Th…there are more…rumors about her?”
Sage Note pulled in a deep breath through his nose, letting it out again as he sat back in his seat, his hooves resting on his desk as he leveled a serious look at his conversational partner. “Miss Foggy Day is a very private pony. Not even I know everything about her, and I have known her for 25 years now. Unfortunately, such personality traits in a pony tend to lead others to fabricate stories in order to fill the gaps. I wish I could say that is where rumors surrounding her begin, but the truth of the matter is…Miss Foggy Day has been followed by rumors for most if not all of her life.”
Rainbow Dash’s jaw clenched, her hooves gripping the seat. She struggles to swallow as she pries her mouth open to ask, “What…what kind of rumors?”
Another breath whistled through Sage Note’s nose, the stallion’s face gaining a strange exhaustion Rainbow never expected to see on the tireless agent. A moment passes before he finally speaks again. “No pony should be burdened with such knowledge, Miss Rainbow Dash. To give you an idea, the most ridiculous I have ever heard pinned her as a changeling in disguise who was feeding off the love of the orphaned foals.”
A cyan jaw dropped at the revelation, her heart sinking that such a thing could be said about one of the kindest ponies she knew, its cruelty keeping it from being laughable. “But…why? Why would ponies say things like that about her?”
Sage’s face fell. “I wish I could say that I knew, truly.” A heavy sigh escapes the stallion, his shoulders slumping as his eyes close as if to pay reverence to the life he speaks of.
Finally, he looked back up to Rainbow Dash, a deep longing sorrow etched across his brow and filling his eyes as he spoke. “Miss Foggy Day is a beautiful soul who has seen the absolute worst ponies can become. She carries heavy burdens no pony should ever have to deal with.” His brow creases, a weight in his eyes making Rainbow think he himself had seen said burdens personally. “She has a darkness, Miss Rainbow Dash. A darkness that follows her wherever she goes. A darkness that has built up over the course of a very difficult life and has led her to believe ponies do not want her.”
At the mention of darkness, Rainbow’s pulse quickened, her mind instantly reminding her of the fever-induced night terror she’d had months ago. Flashes of a dark, sinister entity dragging Foggy down into the gorge crossed her mind and felt suddenly far too fresh. Almost desperately, Rainbow looked into Sage Note’s eyes, feeling as if the one line she had to Foggy was slipping away before her eyes. “But…but, I do want her. I want her to keep being a part of Scootaloo’s life. S-Scootaloo wants to see her!”
The desperation in the mare’s voice was enough to send a pang into the stallion’s heart, and he met her with a heavy sigh. “I understand that, Miss Rainbow Dash, more than you know.”
“S-so…don’t you at least know where she is? Can’t…can’t you tell me where she is?”
Despite the sympathetic look in his eyes, Sage Note quipped, “I’m afraid I cannot. Even if I knew where she was, that would both be a breach of privacy for Miss Foggy Day, and would kill whatever trust I have been able to gain from her.” Sage Note closed his eyes a moment, mulling over his next words. “Miss Foggy Day is a pony who knows how to disappear when she deems it fit for her to do so. If she wants you to know where she is, she will tell you. If such information is not made known to you, then I am sorry to say, but no pony will find her until she deems it time for her to be found…no matter what those who care about her may think.”
The tears Rainbow Dash so desperately held back before suddenly sprung to the surface, her crimson irises beginning to wade in her clenching heart as she met his eyes, a silent message passing between the two.
Sage Note had, perhaps multiple times, tried and failed to reach Foggy Day.
Rainbow deflated in her seat, the air stolen from her lungs from the new information. The rope slipped from her hooves, the dark wisps disappearing into the depths, any and all hope Rainbow had of finding Foggy again evaporating into smoke.
A pulsing shock of emptiness radiated from her heart with each pump, and she closed her eyes against her welling tears. She sniffed, rubbing them away the best she could. “I…I’m sorry…I was just…really hoping I’d find her again.”
Sage Note gave an understanding, sad sigh. “Is there anything else I can do for you today, Miss Rainbow Dash?”
The mare in question sat in silence for a moment, debating her next words. Finally, she could no longer ignore the nagging at the back of her head as she looked up at the head stallion of the Baltimare Adoption Agency.
“What happened the night Scootaloo was born?”
The question made Sage Note pause, an imperceptible wave of shock and panic, followed immediately by disappointment pulsing through his chest. Yet another sigh escaped him, his voice tense as he resolved, “I suppose Miss Foggy Day isn’t the only one with rumors on her back.”
He rubbed his temple, reaching into a desk drawer and pulling out a file, placing it in the perfect center of his desk. An unreadable, hard shine overtook his eyes as he looked back up at Rainbow Dash, his hooves resting astutely on his desk.
“I will not tell you you are not within your rights to know, Miss Rainbow Dash. Such a thing would be untrue at best and illegal at worst. Miss Scootaloo is your foal, and you are within your every right to know everything about her.
“However…I will also not lie to you.” He tapped the manilla folder resting in front of him. “The truths that lie within this file—within the first twenty-four hours of Miss Scootaloo’s life—are quite the heavy burden to carry, and should not be taken lightly. That being said, it is still your right to know; but I would like to ask you something, Miss Rainbow Dash.” He leaned into his desk, his head hovering over the file.
“Is it worth viewing her differently?”
The strange question sent a bolt of shock through Rainbow’s chest, waves of emotions crashing over her heart and mingling in unprecedented ways as her mind desperately tried to grasp what he could possibly mean. “Wh…what? What do you mean…?” An odd dizziness threatened to send her head swimming a she desperately tried to piece together what he could be implying. “I-I’d never see her any differently! She’s my little sister, I love her too much to see her as anything else!”
Sage Note met her panic with a hard determination, and he spoke slowly. “In that case…allow me to ask a different question:
“Is it worth her viewing herself differently?”
The new pronouns made Rainbow pause, her head tilting. “Wh-what…?”
A sigh escaped the stallion. “There comes a time in every foal’s life where they want to know more about themselves. Such questions often lead to their origins, particularly in orphaned and adopted foals. The information held within this file, Miss Rainbow Dash, could damage her if it is not presented in the proper way. So, I ask again: Is this” he gave the file a definitive tap “worth possibly hurting her?”
Any and all attempts for argument died at Rainbow’s throat, whatever she could have possibly thought to say only being shot down as her mind conjured image after image of her beautiful little filly. The storm within her ran aground on the love in her heart, slowly but surely dying away into silence. Though the desire for answers remained, they stayed in the back of her mind, quieting down until the day they would be needed, not wanted.
Finally, Rainbow Dash let out a defeated sigh. “No. It’s not worth it.”
Sage Note paused, a small, sympathetic smile gracing his lips before he plucked the file up and replaced it in his desk drawer. “The information is still readily available to you,” he vowed. “When the day comes that she wishes to learn, I will make her the same offer. Should she accept, I will explain it as delicately as I can.” The drawer ‘clunk’ed closed. “To both of you.”
Rainbow hesitated, giving Sage Note a nod. “Right…yeah, thanks, uh…Thanks for…letting me know, at least…”
The earth pony nodded, standing and moving around his desk to his door. “Feel free to stop by again whenever you please, but I do ask that you refrain from making a habit out of it.”
Rainbow couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her as she stood. “Yeah, no worries…this’ll probably be the last time before I bring Scoots so you can explain stuff to her.”
Sage Note nodded once more. “Of course.” He opened the door for her. “I wish you luck, Miss Rainbow Dash.”
Before she could turn around and thank him again, the door shut behind her. Rainbow’s heart dropped, rooting her legs to the spot as her mind raced, her heart and mind at war trying to figure out what to do next.
“Uh…Rainbow Dash?”
The mare in question looked up to find Onyx Star a few steps from her, the yellow stallion looking a bit awkward as he faced her, unseeing brown eyes flicking about nonsensically.
She blinked, closing the distance between them and putting a hoof on his shoulder. “Hey, Onyx. I…I guess…I, uh…”
The stallion seemed to understand, offering her a little smile before offering:
“You wanna go for a walk?”
On the street a couple blocks away from the agency, Rainbow helped Onyx find the bench, the two sitting beside each other, Rainbow feeling the tickle of deja vu as she looked over at him, his eyes flicking about, no longer able to see any sources of light. Despite her own tugged heartstrings, the stallion grinned. “So, you came all the way over here just to get some advice?”
Rainbow couldn’t help big chuckle to herself, having told Onyx of her predicament on the way over, rubbing the back of her head. “Heh, yeah…feels kinda stupid when you really think about it.”
Onyx waved his hoof dismissively. “Nah, you’re fine! It’s great that you want to get a second opinion on everything; and honestly, I can’t think of many better ponies to ask advice from than Foggy Day.”
The pegasus mare smiled. “Yeah…she always felt like she’d know some good sage advice…that, and…I was…really hoping she could be there when it all happens. If it all happens.”
Onyx nodded to himself, a huffed chuckle escaping him. “Yeah. Knowing her, she’d absolutely freak once she heard what’s got your mind racing.”
Rainbow snorted. “Yeah…” She fell silent for a moment. “What…what’s your take on it?”
The stallion hesitated, his face falling in thought. As he ruminated over his thoughts, an odd, sad look overcame his countenance. Before Rainbow could ask what was wrong, he spoke:
“My sister just had a foal a few weeks ago,” he breathed. “A little filly.” Rainbow Dash blinked, but before she could offer any form of congratulations, he added, “I…can’t…see her.”
Rainbow Dash’s heart dropped, instantly cracking for the stallion. “I…I…” her words failed her as she could only give him an unseen look of sympathy.
Onyx let out a sigh through his nose. “But…I can hear her.” The tiniest of chuckles caught in his throat as tears wet his eyes. “I heard her laugh for the first time last week, and…it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard in my life.”
The stallion sniffed, his fetlock scrubbing away his tears before they could fall. “I…I don’t know what I’d do if I lost my hearing, too.” The very thought seemed to be almost too much for Onyx, his tears escaping down his cheeks despite his hooves’ fight.
Rainbow Dash stayed silent a moment, letting the stallion let out his sorrows for a moment as he gathered himself. After a deep breath and a clearing of his throat, he continued:
“If…if it were me…I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d put her down for the surgery as soon as possible. Getting the opportunity to give her the gift of hearing…it wouldn’t even be a question for me.”
Rainbow nodded to herself. “I just…don’t know how to bring it up to her. I…Of course she needs to know about it, but…I don’t want to get her hopes up and then…it not be able to happen. You know?”
Onyx nodded, humming as he thought over the predicament. “Maybe…you could wait and see if it would work, and then tell her before it actually happens? That way you can just play off any appointments as just a checkup, and then hit her with the news once she’s approved.”
The mare blinked, the idea sparking in her mind and instantly easing away all her tension. A single chuckle jumped to her lips, making them twitch in half a smile. “Heh…Actually? That doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” She nudged Onyx gratefully, the stallion smiling sheepishly as the mare accepted his advice. “Thanks, Onyx.”
“No problem,” Onyx beamed, his face easily filling with teasing once again. “Now, whenever that filly learns how to talk, feel free to bring her to me and I’ll teach her all the blind jokes I know.”
Rainbow couldn’t stop her snort, breaking out in a fit of laughter as she playfully pushed Onyx’s shoulder. “And give her your sense of humor? Yeah, right!”
Onyx grinned. “Hey, forget smell and taste making up for my eyes, I’m all charisma and wit!”
The two pegasi broke out into a fit of laughter, worries beginning to alleviate from the speedster’s heart, though one remains, a hopelessness being put in the backburner of her mind as she prioritizes her foal, waiting for another day to find who she was looking for.
Tired azure eyes gazed at the two familiar ponies sitting on the bench not three steps away, a teal face frozen in surprise as a deep, aching longing filled the eyes of the solitary, silent mare.
A flash of worry sparked through her chest, though it was quickly snuffed when she did not sense any sadness or worry from the two. Instead, the hope that seemed to light up the cyan mare’s face kept her rooted in her spot, a painful truth settling into the back of her mind as they erupted in laughter.
Rainbow Dash was happy, and seemed to be getting happier.
She…was not…needed.
Foggy Day stared at the mare, entranced by the rainbow mane that seemed so vibrant next to the shades-grayer surroundings, her hopeful heart sinking further and further as her mind reminded it what happens when she lets ponies get too close.
Feeling something akin to a crack deep within her, the world around Rainbow Dash gained a shade of gray, tears threatening to choke her as it only made the rainbow-maned guardian appear even brighter.
Closing her gaping mouth, her longing giving way to sorrow, Foggy Day tore her eyes away from Rainbow Dash, and trekked down the familiar road, two roses gripped in her magic as she melted into the crowd, disappearing from sight.