//------------------------------// // A New Member of the Family // Story: Northern Lights // by MysteriousStranger //------------------------------// “Is she going to be okay, Doctor?” Twilight asked. They were at their cottage now, in Spike’s room. The dragon had gladly given his bed up for the young Unicorn to rest. Fluttershy was by the filly’s side, as well as the young dragon and Angel Bunny. Twilight and Doctor Hooves were at the door of the room. “Yes.” He said. “Luckily, you brought her here as soon as you found her. She must have passed out shortly before you saw her. She’s just sleeping now. But I must say, I've had many different patients, but I've never seen this filly in particular.” “Neither have I... What about you, guys?” The lavender Unicorn looked at the gang surrounding the bed. “I haven’t…” Fluttershy said. “I've never seen her.” Spike said, shrugging. Angel Bunny shook his head. “Well, we have to know who she is to contact her family.” The doctor pony said, looking at the sleeping Unicorn. “Let us take care of that. You should go home, doctor. You've done enough. Thank you for coming.” Twilight said. “I couldn’t refuse when the life of a pony was at risk! Call me if you need me, okay?” “We will Dr. Hooves. Let me take you to the door.” The bookworm pony said as she and Doctor Hooves disappeared into the other room. Twilight got back minutes later and approached the filly. She was covered by blankets and breathing slowly. She didn’t suffer any serious damage since she wasn’t in the cold for long. “Do you think she will be fine, Twilight?” Fluttershy asked, still looking at the filly Unicorn. “You heard the doctor, Shy, she’s out of danger. What we need to do now is to find out who she is and where her family is.” “Maybe there’s something in her bag that could help?” Spike said as he approached to the bag laying on his table. “Let’s check it out!” Twilight said, following the young dragon. They opened the bag and began their search. The lavender Unicorn found something solid and took it out to see. It was a photograph of a happy couple with the same filly that lay on their bed now. Twilight smiled when she saw the photo and took it to her wife. “Look, honey, those must be her parents.” The timid Pegasus examined the photo and smiled too. “They look so happy… I wonder where they are. We have to take their daughter back to them.” “If we don’t find any directions in her bag, we can ask Princess Celestia. She must know what to do.” “I know where they are… but you won’t like it." Spike said as he brought a piece of paper and a frame to the mares. Twilight took the frame first and read the text in it. “Oh no… It’s a certificate from the Cemetery of Hoofington… Is she…?” “Yes…” The dragon gave the piece of paper to Twilight. “It says 'Orphanage of Hoofington.' there.” “Poor little thing… What was she doing so close to Ponyville then? Why was she alone?” Fluttershy said as her vision began to swim. “Those are questionwe can ask her once she wakes up…” Twilight said as she trotted over to comfort her wife. Fluttershy hugged her and cried into her chest. "We’ll take her back once she recovers, Fluttershy. Don’t worry…" “But she needs parents, Twilight! What if she was unhappy there… What if she escaped?” “Fluttershy… How can you even think that…?” “Think about it: Hoofington isn't far from Ponyville, she was carrying a bag and she was alone. What other explanation could there be?” Twilight thought for a few moments, but she couldn’t come up with another explanation. Fluttershy had a solid argument. “We need to adopt her…” “What!?” Spike and Twilight yelled at the same time. Fluttershy covered their mouths with her hooves. “Shh… You're going to wake her up!” She whispered. “But, Fluttershy… adopt her? Do you really think that it's a good idea?” Twilight whispered back. “Yes, I’m sure! I think we're ready, Twi... We have love to give to a poor filly in need, and she needs parents who love her! Twilight Sparkle… I want a filly, a family.” The lavender Unicorn never saw Fluttershy so sure of herself before. Twilight glanced at the filly Unicorn, still resting despite the yelling. She took a few steps closer to the filly and gently put a hoof on her forehead, caressing her. She couldn’t help but smile when little Ynicorn smiled on her sleep. Twilight, then, glanced back at her wife again. “Alright, Flutters, We’ll adopt her…” Fluttershy grinned widely and hugged her wife tightly. “Thank you, thank you!” “But only if she wants to. We’ll ask her when she wakes up.” “Yes, You’re right; it’s her decision too… She must like us…” Twilight was about to say something else but they heard weak moans. They looked at the filly and saw her yawning and her eyes barely opened. But she opened them widely when she saw that she was in an unfamiliar place. She looked around and realized that she was also surrounded by unfamiliar ponies. “What happened!? Where am I!? Who are you!?” The filly asked in alarm. The couple, Spike and Angel noticed something about her eyes. Her left eye was yellow and the right one blue. But they acted as if it was nothing for now. “Calm down, We found you unconscious outside. You're safe now.” Fluttershy said soothingly. The little Unicorn calmed down a little, but she kept breathing fast. "You… Saved my life…?” Twilight smiled warmly. “Yes… You could have frozen out there if we didn’t happen to find you. What’s your name?” “A-Aurora… Thanks for saving me. Where am I? Who are you?” “You're in Ponyville. I’m Twilight, and this is my wife, Fluttershy. Those two are Spike and Angel.” Only then did Aurora notice the dragon and the bunny. She jumped in surprise. “W-What is he?” She pointed at the young dragon, shaking. “I’m a dragon… A baby dragon… You've never seen one?” Aurora shook her head. “No… I've never left the orphanage… I only saw Pegasi and earth ponies besides Unicorns… Wait a minute, are you two married?” The couple nodded, smiling. “I didn’t know that mares could get married to each other…” “As long as two ponies are in love, there’s no reason why they can’t get married.” The timid Pegasus said. “Forgive me if I was rude, but, this is all new to me…” “What were you doing all alone, so far from your hometown?” Twilight suddenly asked, unable to keep the question to herself anymore. Fluttershy eyed her, surprised that Twilight went straight to the point. Aurora sighed, and without looking at anypony, she spoke. “I… Escaped…” “Why did you do that?” This time Fluttershy was the one who spoke. “I was unhappy. None of the other orphans liked me; they were always bullying me…” “Why?” Fluttershy asked again. This time Aurora looked at them. “Because of my eyes… They called me Eye Weirdo… I-I couldn’t stand it anymore, so, I took my stuff and ran away… I didn’t have a sweater and didn’t think that it would be so cold…” “It’s winter and it's snowing. Not a good season to run away.” The lavender Unicorn said. “I know, but… I really wanted to leave. I couldn’t stand being there for another second! I really hate that place and I won’t go back ever again!” The filly hit the bed with her hooves to prove her point. Twilight hugged her. “Calm down, we understand… Fluttershy,” she glanced toward her wife who was strangely silent. She seemed to be thinking about something. When Fluttershy heard her name, she blinked before speaking. “How can some ponies be so mean? There’s nothing wrong with your eyes. They’re beautiful; you have nothing to be ashamed for.” “Y-You won’t make fun of them?” The filly asked in confusion. Twilight looked into her eyes, still holding her. “There’s nothing wrong with them and nopony should be making fun of you for having heterochromia iridum…” “Hete what!?” Everybody in the room but Twilight asked. "Heterochromia iridum is a result of the relative excess or lack of melanin. It’s rare and it can be inherited or be caused by genetic mosaicism, chimerism, disease, or injury… I came across it some time ago while I was studying.” “Back at the orphanage, they told me that my eyes were already different when I was left there. I was told that my… my parents… died by a strange disease when I was a foal not long ago. They believed I was old enough to know the truth… ” “Oh, I'm Sorry, Aurora…” Fluttershy climbed onto the bed and hugged the little Unicorn. Twilight used her magic to show her the photo of Aurora and her parents. “We found this when we searched the bag to see if we could contact somepony you know. Both your eyes are blue here… Maybe you got heterochromia iridum when your parents were ill…” “It makes sense.” Fluttershy agreed. “Whatever got to your parents… It just made your eyes change color. You were lucky…” “I don’t know… sometimes I wish I died with them… Nopony cares about me. I was given less food than the rest of the orphans and I only had one blanket… I have nowhere to go, just memories… horrible memories…” “Don’t say that, we care about you!” The bookworm pony exclaimed. “You do? But you don’t even know me…” “We’ll get to know you… If you want to stay here, that is…” Fluttershy said. “Are you offering me your… home?” “Yes, we want to adopt you. You deserve a family and love. We have plenty of love to give, if you accept us… We understand if you don’t want to--” Fluttershy was cut off by Aurora’s voice. “Yes, of course I accept you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” The young filly hugged both mares tightly. “We’ll take good care of you! But now, I’m sure that you need a good sleep.” Twilight said as she put Aurora back on the bed and covered her with a blanket. The filly yawned. “I’m so tired… But I don’t want to be alone…” “I’ll give you company!” Spike finally spoke. “Good idea, Spike!” Twilight said. “What do you think, Aurora?” “You won’t hurt me…?" Aurora asked in a worried tone. “I wouldn’t hurt a fly. Don’t worry!” “Then, okay!” Spike jumped on the bed and covered himself with the blanket. Angel Bunny also hopped on the bed and laid at the feet of the bed. They quickly fell asleep. “We should do the same, love…” Fluttershy whispered to her wife and both of them left to their bedroom. “We’ll need another bed. We can get one tomorrow after we get the paperwork to adopt Aurora done.” Twilight said as she laid on her bed. “Good idea. I hope that Spike doesn’t mind sharing a room…” The timid pony said as she embraced Twilight. “I don’t think that he'll mind. The room is big enough for both of them.” The Unicorn kissed Fluttershy's forehead. “Good night, honey.” “Good night, love…” Both of them fell asleep moments later. *** The next morning, Fluttershy woke up first. She lifted her head from Twilight’s chest and leaned up to her lips, softly kissing her and waking her up. “Good morning, love.” Fluttershy said, smiling. “Good morning, honey… How did you sleep?” “Like a foal. Speaking of which, we should wake Aurora up for breakfast. I’ll wake her while you make breakfast.” “Oh yeah, Aurora!” Twilight exclaimed. “Don’t tell me that you forgot about her…” “It takes me a few moments to fully wake up, Shy, and you know it!” “I’m just teasing with you.” Fluttershy said, kissing her forehead. “Let’s go.” They left their bedroom together, but they took separate ways moments later. Fluttershy went to Aurora and Spike’s room whereas Twilight went downstairs. When the Pegasus opened the door, she found Spike, Aurora and Angel Bunny in the same spots as last night. They all looked so peaceful and cute that Fluttershy didn’t want to wake them up. But she had to. She gently used her hoof to wake them up. “Morning’s here, time to wake up!” They all half-opened their eyes. Spike stretched his claws, Aurora yawned, and Angel Bunny reluctantly stood up, annoyed at being woken up. “Good morning, Fluttershy.” Spike said as he jumped off the bed. “Good morning, Spike. Angel Bunny, you should stop doing that, you can’t sleep all morning!” The rabbit got off the bed and turned his back to his owner, crossing his arms. “Angel!” “Leave it to me, Fluttershy.” The young dragon said as he approached the bunny. “Are you hungry, little buddy?” Angel Bunny widened his eyes and started to jump out of happiness. “Then let’s go to see what Twilight's making us!” The bunny rushed out the door, opened it and left. Spike smiled proudly and looked at Fluttershy. “We’ll see you downstairs, Fluttershy!” And he left too, leaving Fluttershy and Aurora alone. “Are you going to get up, Aurora? Twilight’s making a nice breakfast. Are you hungry?” The filly kept her eyes on her hooves, which were placed on her lap. After moments of silence, Fluttershty spoke again. “Aurora?” “I-I’m a little confused… Please clear my doubts, F-Fluttershy…” “What is it? Something’s wrong?” The Pegasus was starting to get worried. “I wasn't dreaming, right? When you told me that you wanted to adopt me? It seemed too perfect to be real and I’m afraid that it was just a dream…” “Of course it was real! We really want to adopt you. In fact, we're going to the orphanage today to sign the papers and make it official.” “Really?” “Yes, but you’ll have to come with us. Do you think that you'll be able to step in the orphanage one last time?” The filly Unicorn jumped off the bed toward Fluttershy, hugging her. “Yes, I will survive as long as I’m not alone!” “You won’t be alone ever again… We’ll be there for you, always supporting you. Now, let’s head downstairs and get something to eat!” Aurora kept looking into Flutterhsy’s eyes. “Can I… You… Can you carry me on your back?” “Of course, dear.” Fluttershy helped Aurora get on her back. “Hold tight!” And both of them headed downstairs happily. After breakfast, Twilight, Fluttershy and Aurora headed to Hoofington. Aurora was on Fluttershy’s back, wearing a sweater and covered by the Pegasus’ wing. The couple had their tails intertwined. They didn’t tell their friends where were they going to surprise them. If any of them went the cottage, Spike would say that they went out to walk in the snow. The way to the town was silent, Aurora curled up under the wing. Twilight and Fluttershy didn’t say anything; they would let the filly be the first to break the silence. They knew that she didn’t want to go to the orphanage again. They finally arrived at Hoofington after a long walk and Fluttershy could feel the filly’s heart race. The town was almost empty, and not many ponies were in sight. It looked as if it had been abandoned for many years. Some stores and houses were covered with wooden planks. “T-The orphanage is… around that corner…” Aurora sounded nervous. No surprise there. The couple nodded and went to where Aurora told them. The place was at the end of the street. They trotted faster, wanting to leave the town as soon as possible. When they got to the front door at last, they knocked on it three times. After moments of waiting, the door opened, revealing a pink pony using old robes. “May I help you?” She said. “Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle and this is my wife, Fluttershy. We want to adopt a filly.” The pony looked from one mare to the other before letting them in. She headed to a desk, took some papers out and sat down. “If you'd be so kind as to wait a moment, I’ll be showing you the orphans shortly.” “That won’t be necessary. We've already decided which one to take.” Twilight said. The pony looked at them, surprised. “How is that possible? You haven’t even seen them!” Fluttershy moved so one of her sides were facing the pony and lifted her wing. The pony jumped in surprise. “We found Aurora close to our home in Ponyville. After talking with her we decided to adopt her. She agreed so we came here to sign the papers.” Fluttershy explained to her. The pony kept staring at the filly. “But how…? We were looking for her everywhere… Do you realize how worried we were for you, Aurora?” “I’m sorry… But, I had to leave. I was very unhappy here… Nopony loves me…” Aurora said, nervously. “Of course you are loved!” “No, I’m not! Everypony teased me, I’m always served less food than the others and I only have one blanket… I don’t regret leaving, because I found two incredible ponies who love me for who I am and are willing to accept me. For the first time since I was a foal, I’m happy. I finally have a family.” Aurora spoke in such a serious tone that everypony's jaws droped. When Aurora realized this, she hid herself under Fluttershy’s wing. The owner stared at the filly for several moments before looking at Fluttershy and Twilight. “If you follow me, I’ll give you the papers necessary to adopt her.” “Thank you!” Twilight said as they followed the pony. Aurora didn’t move from under the wing, causing Fluttershy to get worried. The pink pony wrote something in a certificate and then passed the paper to the couple. “Sign here, and Aurora can leave with you.” They signed the paper. “Now, sign this one. It will stay achieved.” They signed another piece of paper. “Congratulations, Aurora is now your daughter.” “Thank you so much!” Fluttershy said as she tried to approach the helpful mare, but she backed off. “Now, if you excuse me, I have a lot to do. Have a nice day.” She turned and left the room, leaving the new family alone. “I can’t blame you for leaving, Aurora… Let’s get out of here…” The lavender Unicorn said as they left the orphanage. When they were making their way back to Ponyville, Fluttershy couldn’t keep quiet anymore. “Aurora, Are you okay?” “Yes…” “You're really quiet…” “Can we visit one more place before we go? I don’t know if I’m ever coming back here…” “Sure, dear, just tell us where to go.” The couple, guided by Aurora, arrived at a church. They went behind it to where a graveyard was. The filly asked to be alone for a few moments as she headed to two gravestones. Twilight and Fluttershy waited at the door for her. The Unicorn rested her head on the Pegasus, who covered her with a wing. Tears started to escape from their eyes. Aurora didn’t come back until several minutes later, looking up at the mares with Her eyes wet. “I… wanted to say goodbye to them… I wish I could've met them… But I have a new family now. I know they would be happy for me; they would have wanted me to move on…” The filly, then, hugged Fluttershy. “I love you, both of you…!” “We love you too, Aurora… We will always be there for you, as we promised yesterday.” Twilight said as she hugged her daughter. “We should get going, though. We have friends to introduce you to!” “Really!? What are we waiting for then, let’s go!” The filly was jumping from happiness. “Stay still Aury, I’m trying to get you on your mommy’s back!” The lavender Unicorn said as she giggled. The filly obeyed and stood still, and Twilight used her magic to levitate Aurora onto Fluttershy’s back. “Wow, can I do that too?” “Yes, you can. I’ll teach you how to use your magic soon!” “Yay, I can’t wait!” The family looked back one last time at the graveyard and started their way back to Ponyville, talking happily about the new life they'd just begun.