A large block of hot twilight covered the little filly’s back as she slept quietly. Her cyan hooves gently hugged her stuffed bear. Warm drool ran down her cheek and onto her pillow. Her eyelids twitched and she moaned in her sleep. Suddenly, her bright eyes slowly opened. She instantly took a moment to check the time on the wall clock above her dresser.
“Noon?” She muttered quietly to herself. Her eyes then went wide and gleamed with a new-found joy.
With a large smile, the little filly shot out of her bed and straight out of her little chamber. She landed on the cloud floor in the hallway with beaming eyes. Without any consent, she then opened her father’s room door and shot in with a wide grin. A large, sheet-covered lump remained dormant in her father’s bed.
“Daddy!” The little filly cried as she jumped onto her father’s bed. “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”
The stallion grumbled to himself and turned over onto his side. He remained to keep his eyes closed and he shooed away his vexation.
“No…” He mumbled softly. “Go away…”
Rainbow climbed into her father’s chest and looked up at his drool-stained face.
“But Dad! It’s the first day of Hearth’s Warming break, and you promised to make pancakes!”
Rainbolt responded with an annoyed grunt. He turned his face into his pillow. Unfortunately for Rainbolt, he had a very persistent daughter who didn’t plan on giving up that easily. The cyan filly climbed onto her father’s back and started poking at his wings with her hooves.
“Wake up… please…”
“What time is it?” Her father grumbled through the pillow.
Rainbow’s pink eyes met the alarm clock's. “Noon… almost.”
The stallion sighed and rolled over slowly. Dash dismounted her father's back and leapt onto the bed before Rainbolt met eyes with her. He forced a smile and grabbed the little filly before pulling her into his chest.
“Rainbow, Sweetie…” He kissed his daughter’s head sweetly. “Daddy works a very long shift at night…. He gets home at seven, and needs his sleep. You’ve had nearly ten hours of sleep total… Daddy’s had half that…”
“But… I’ll be lonely…”
Once more, the stallion shoved his head in his pillow and sighed. “Just thirty more minutes?”
“But-“
“Please?”
Rainbow stared at her father with sad eyes and Rainbolt looked back with an equally pitiful expression.
“Okay…” Rainbow said at long last in defeat. “But if you don’t wake up then, I’ll pour water on you!”
Rainbolt giggled. As many times as she threatened to do that, she never actually through with the actions. She loved her daddy too much to soak him in cold water.
“Okay, Sweetheart.” He said with a mumble and forced his head back into his inviting pillow.
With nothing more to say, Rainbow quietly left her dad’s room. She flew into the hallway and gently closed the door behind her. She hated the idea of spending her first day of break alone. She knew she wouldn’t be alone long, but she hated even going a minute outside of somepony’s company.
Dashie slumped into the living room and onto her father’s recliner. He would always sit in it and read the newspaper or mail in the morning. Sometimes he’d even pick up a fictional novel to dig into. He seemed to have quite a lot of books piled up in random places around the house. Who knew he was such an egghead?
Rainbow sat and stared mindlessly at the wall before her. Her thoughts drifted into the break, and how wonderful Hearth’s Warming would be that year. Her dad normally got her a few little things along with spending the day however his little filly pleased. She’d usually request to go to a park and get ice cream at her favorite shop. For the most part, Rainbow simply enjoyed being away from school; away from homework, away from bullies, away from teachers, away from everything.
After a few minutes of being in a land of thoughts, Rainbow was rudely awoken by loud knocks at the front door. She stood from the seat and raced to answer it. She pulled back the stubborn doorknob and smiled before a cream-coated stallion. He had beautiful blue eyes and a shaggy, white mane. He had a white saddle bag and a sweet smile. He was holding an eggshell envelope with pretty, blue cursive on it along with a magazine.
“For Rainbolt.” He stated simply.
“I’m kind of like Rainbolt.” She said with a smile and held her hoof out.
The mail-stallion giggled. “You’re his little spawn, I presume?”
Rainbow cocked her head. “Sure…?”
The pegasus simply laughed and handed the little filly the letter and heavy magazine. She stared at it and the stallion spread opened his wings before taking off.
“Have a nice day, Kid!”
Rainbow didn’t reply and stared at the unfamiliar griffonage scribbled on the letter. How had the mail-stallion even been able to read the address? Rainbow untwisted her face, and decided to open the mysterious message. She ripped opened the paper container with her teeth and unfolded the white parchment inside. Despite the odd cursive on the outside, the inside was written in a neat print. Rainbow’s eyes scanned it. She wasn’t the best reader, but she had learned how to basically read in school. Maybe going through that never-ending torture on a daily basis was getting her somewhere…
The little filly cleared her throat and made an attempt to read the letter aloud.
“My dear Rainbolt… As you are… Aw-are…. We haven’t had a family re-un-i-on….”
The flabbergasted filly stopped a moment and tried hard to decipher the odd words to no avail. She raised an eyebrow at the words fallowing that one and decided to take it to her dad for further investigation.
The cyan filly flew into her father’s chamber and bounced on his bed with a smile.
“Daddy!” She chimed. “Wake up!”
Rainbolt moaned loudly and lifted his head. His multihued mane was sticking to his forehead and he turned to the clock. Only ten minutes had passed. “Why, Rainbow…?”
“Daddy, the mail came.”
Rainbolt shook his weary head and sat up. “Guess I should just get up now…”
Without a word, Rainbow handed her father the little pile of received mail. Rainbolt accepted it and looked at the letter.
“Sweetheart… Don’t open the mail without me, please…”
“Sorry, Dad…”
“It’s fine…I just don't want you losing anything important...”
Rainbolt’s yellow eyes scanned the paper and his mouth turned into a smile. His eyes widened and he gleamed at his little filly.
“Looks like we’re going to your aunt’s this Hearth’s Warming Eve…”
Dash cocked her head. “Why?”
“Family reunion… This’ll be your second one. The last time you went you were only two…”
“Family reunion?”
“Yeah…” Rainbolt started with a smile. “Like a big get together with family. It’s sort of rare for our family, but still.”
“I don’t remember that…”
Her dad chuckled. “Of course not. You were way too young…”
The stallion removed the letter and then his smile grew much, much larger as he laid eyes on a the magazine.
“Oh yeah!” He said to himself happily.
“What is it, Daddy?” Dash hadn’t paid much attention to the magazine at first, but now her curiosity was growing.
Rainbolt blushed heavily and smiled.
“I, uh… You know…” The stallion cleared his throat and choked out the answer. “Whittling Weekly…”
Rainbow giggled. “Daddy, you’re so silly!”
Rainbolt blushed. “Hey! It’s not silly!” The stallion scanned his hooves through the pages of the unique magazine and stopped at one. He turned it to his daughter to reveal a large sculpture of a regal pony made of soap. “You see this? This is a life-size replica of Princess Celestia made entirely out of soap! They used over four hundred bars combined and it was all done by hoof! It took three whole months to sculpt!”
“Daddy…? How do you know all that? You didn’t even read the article!”
“It was featured in Modern Art Magazine…” He stated quietly. “The edition that came out last week…”
“Dad…” Rainbow started quietly. “You’re an egghead, aren’t you?”
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Rainbolt took in a deep breath and smiled as he approached his sister’s porch. On his back was a saddle bag full of different things. His eager daughter followed behind with a large smile plastered to her face.
“You’re going to meet a lot of relatives you’ve never met before in your life. I know you’ll remember your grandparents, and maybe your aunt. Do you remember your aunt Sunshine Blue?”
Rainbow thought for a moment. “Hmm… I don’t know.”
Rainbolt smiled thinking back on all the joyous (and occasionally not so joyous) memories about his dear family. The stallion’s heart beat faster as he approached his sister’s door. He lifted his hoof to the door and was quickly stopped by his excited, little filly.
“No, Daddy! I want to ring the bell!”
Rainbolt giggled at his little daughter’s anxiousness. “Alright, Sweetheart.Be my guest!”
Dashie smiled and flew up to the button beside the door and pressed it three times before landing on the ground and patiently waiting. Despite having a cloud house, her aunt’s front porch was made of a smooth stone. How it didn’t fall through the cloud layer, she had no idea. Sometimes, Rainbow feared her furniture would fall straight through the cloud floor. She especially got those thoughts when she was sleeping in her bed at night.
Finally, the front door was answered by a pretty mare who looked no older than Rainbolt. She had a very light blue coat. In fact, it was so light it was nearly white. Her mane was a beautiful arrangement of seven different shades of blue, and her eyes twinkled a beautiful yellow. She smiled at seeing her brother.
Out of his three siblings, Sunshine was by far Rainbolt’s favorite. She was sweet, sheepish, and calm for the most part. Rainbolt was the youngest in the family, and his older siblings would give him a hard time quite often (especially his older brother). Sunshine, however, was rather sweet to him. She’d help him with homework, comfort him when he was sad, and stand up for him when his other siblings were mean. She was only two years older than him, which helped them get along better at times.
“Rainbolt….” She started. “Gosh, it’s been too long… Please, come in.”
“Thank you, Sunshine…” Rainbolt smiled as he trotted into his sister’s home.
Rainbow fallowed her father in. She felt a little awkward when her eyes rested on a living room filled with ponies she didn’t know. There must have been at least twelve ponies gathered around. They were all chatting, drinking, laughing, and snacking. The house carried the scent of savory foods such as fried asparagus, seasoned potatoes, brown rice, boiling spaghetti and fresh tomatoes and herbs, rolls, mashed potatoes, simmering vegetable soup, and the particularly sweet smell candied carrots. Rainbow’s mouth began to water among smelling the delicious scents. She inhaled through her nose deeply and sighed.
“Hungry?” Sunshine Blue asked her niece with a giggle.
“I am now!” She replied.
“So cute…” Sunshine complimented in her usually soft tone. She then turned to Rainbolt. “So… How’s parenthood been treating you?”
“Well… It’s had its ups and downs… She’s a challenge, to say the least, but I love her more than anything…”
“One day maybe I’ll choose to have a kid. I’m still sort of shy around stallions, though…”
“Come on, Sunny! Any stallion would be lucky to get a mare as pretty as you!”
Sheepishly, the mare blushed and smiled at her younger brother. “Thanks, Rainbolt…Now, I think you should be introducing the little one to some of the family.”
Rainbolt turned his attention to his daughter. “Would you like to meet some more of your family, Dashie?”
“Sure….I guess.” Dash answered hesitantly.
“Don’t worry…” Her father encouraged. “It’ll be fine!”
With that, Rainbolt took his daughter by the hoof and led her into the living room where the majority of the ponies were chatting happily. Rainbow felt more nervous than she should have been. They were just family… they wouldn’t bite.
The first pony Rainbow was introduced to was a pink mare with bright, blue eyes. Like Rainbolt, her mane was an arrangement of beautiful colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. She wore a pretty smile and looked at the young filly welcomingly. She had been sitting on the couch, speaking to seemingly nopony.
“Rainbow, this is your other aunt, Prism Streak.”
Prism Streak was the eldest sibling in the family. She’d occasionally give Rainbolt a hard time when he was growing up, but always loved him in the end. She was a good five years older than him. She would always look out for him, but often got annoyed when she was forced to watch him with little or no pay.
The pretty mare smiled.
“This is the first time I’ve met a niece before. Your father was the first of us to have a kid.”
Prism Streak was correct at that point. If she wanted a child, she would have had some difficulty having one, considering she wasn’t interested in stallions as companions. Sunshine was far too shy to socialize with stallions, and his brother… he wasn’t the sanest of stallions.
Dashie smiled. “My daddy is special.”
“I know.” The mare stated nonchalantly. “He was quite the colt to grow up with… Hey, maybe if you’re lucky, Mom’ll show you some pictures of your daddy when he was your age!”
Rainbolt’s face lit up and he frowned. “I… Come on, she’s not interested in seeing pictures of me…”
Dashie smiled widely. “Yeah I am!”
The stallion sighed. If his mom brought her photo album, that day was going to be a long one.
“If you’re really lucky, you’ll get to see when he was a teenager and he had braces and the goofiest manestyle!”
“I wanna see!”
Prism giggled. “Go ask your grandma, Hun…”
“Daddy?” Rainbow asked cutely. “Can I go see Grandma?”
Rainbolt blushed heavier. If she did bring all those old photos, unbearable embarrassment would be inevitable, anyhow. He let out a long sigh.
“Fine… Just don’t laugh at me too hard, okay?”
Rainbow beamed. “No promises!"
With that, the little ran off and met with her grandmother on the other side of the room. Rainbolt smiled slightly as he saw her interact with his very own mother. He started off to see if she actually had brought the photo album. Unfortunately, Rainbolt was stopped in mid-step by a familiar voice.
“Well, well, well… look who we have here.”
Rainbolt flinched and turned around to meet eyes with the source of the voice. As Rainbolt expected, the baritone vibrations belonged to the white coated stallion no more than a foot behind him. Unlike the rest of his family, his mane was a single shade of blood red. He had dark purple eyes and a smile that never faded, even at the worst of times. His emotions were often hard to detect, which always made Rainbolt quite nervous.
“Oh… Hey, Moonstruck… n-nice to see you’ve been rehabilitated…”
His brother –and second oldest sibling- smiled a bit wider.
“Nice to see you’ve got a child on your hooves.”
“Yeah… I… she’s a sweetheart, really… She’s a bit shy around strangers, though…”
“Such a shame. Too bad I love meeting new members of our family. I sincerely hope I don’t frighten her away.”
“Yeah…” Rainbolt agreed. “I hope you don’t either.”
Out of all Rainbolt’s siblings, Moonstruck was the worst. He was mean, intimidating, and he had a rather… unsound mind. He remembered constantly being terrified of him as a little colt. When Rainbolt was only five, his brother once put him in a tree and left him there for an hour when his parents were away. When he was seven, Moonstruck locked him in a closet for a full two hours when his parents were celebrating their anniversary at a restaurant in Canterlot. When Rainbolt was ten, his brother volunteered to wash his goldfish’s tank, but ended up boiling the poor thing to death. Rainbolt nearly punched his brother in the face when he continued to smile at his sorrow. When he was eleven, Moonstruck covered his entire bedroom with terrifying images that gave him nightmares for weeks. Some included dead ponies, ponies with hallowed out eye sockets, and foals with stitches as their mouths and buttons as eyes. When he was thirteen, and Prism Streak moved out, Moonstruck gladly took on the responsibility of watching his two younger siblings. That same year, Rainbolt awoke with tons of spiders crawling up his limbs and all over his face. Above him he remembered his brother smirking and laughing over his terrified screams. When he was fourteen, he “accidentally” broke Rainbolt’s wings. Although he claimed to have accidentally broken them by shoving his brother against a wall, Rainbolt clearly had memory of being held down and having his wings forcefully bent backwards with a wrench. He knew better than to tell his parents the truth, though. Fortunately, Rainbolt’s parents at long last realized how out-of-control his brother was, and sent him to a home for the criminally insane when Rainbolt was seventeen. Rainbolt had to spend hours filling out paperwork describing all the things he’d been put through. In the end, it was worth it.
Moonstruck giggled. “You know I’ve missed you Bolty. You were my favorite sibling growing up. I was going to pay you a visit after I was released from the Home for the Criminally Insane, but you seemed to have abandoned Mother’s house. She told me about a shabby little apartment you moved into, and then a whole cloud house.”
“Yeah…” Rainbolt said with hesitation. “After I had Dashie, I needed a bigger place to live.”
“Dashie? How cute…”
“Yeah… thanks…”
“Listen, Rainbolt. I know we didn’t exactly get along as brothers when we were younger, but after long years of being locked in a prison full of lunatics, I think we can set aside everything in the past. I’ve been on a special medication a while now, so I should be alright.”
“Well..I mean… you only emotionally scarred me a little… and, well…”
“Yes, yes. I apologize. Really, Bolty, you act as if I did something really awful to you!”
“You held me down and ripped my braces off with a whole bunch of tools when I was fifteen.”
“Oh, come on! That was long ago and you looked so much better without those pesky things!”
“When I went with mom to visit you at the criminally insane home you threw a chair at me…”
“It’s not my fault their sandbags aren’t heavy enough! Besides, I was going through a tough time.”
“It was at the end of your stay when they thought you were getting better…”
“Well, I apparently wasn’t!”
“Apparently…” Rainbolt muttered under his breath.
“Listen, Bolty… I love you very much and I’ve been going through a lot of changes lately… trust the medicine, and all will be fine.”
Rainbolt gulped. Even if he were on the most advanced medicine in Equestria, he still knew that deep within his mind, heart, and soul was the stallion he feared growing up. He was inside of that shell just waiting for the perfect moment to come out.
“I… I hope you’re right…”
“Of course I am… Now, I was just about t-“
The stallions were cut off by a squeaky, cute voice. “Daddy!”
Rainbolt turned his attention to his daughter and forced a smile. Out of all his relatives, he never had any intentions to introduce Dash to her infamous uncle.
“Hey Rainbow…” Rainbolt greeted. “You, uh… You don’t know your uncle, but h-he’s pretty cool…”
Dashie held out her hoof in a friendly manner and Moonstruck gladly shook it.
“Nice to meet you, Uncle! My name is Rainbow Dash!”
“Ah…” Rainbolt’s brother broke the shake and smiled. “The name’s Moonstruck. Wouldn’t suppose your father ever mentioned me?” Rainbow cocked her head before shaking it. “Doesn’t surprise me. We never got along as little colts.”
“Why?” Rainbow asked curiously.
“We just didn’t!” Rainbolt answered quickly. “If you had a sibling you’d understand…”
“Oh… Can I have a sibling?”
“No, Sweetheart… Daddy doesn’t need any more foals…”
“Not that anypony would find him appealing enough to make foals with.” Moonstruck interrupted with a smirk.
Rainbow cocked her head before her father had a chance to respond. “How do you make a foal? I thought they just appeared or something.”
“No…” Rainbolt started in an uneasy tone. If he hadn’t feared his brother so much, he would have dragged him into the next room and lectured him. “It’s a bit more complicated…”
“Oh… “ Rainbow looked towards the cloud ground before her ears perked up and she smiled at her dad. “Explain!” She demanded.
Rainbolt blushed. “I… Later, Sweetheart. When you’re a tad bit older.”
“But Dad I-“
“Enough, Dash.” Her father cut her off. “I don’t want to have to explain it. Trust me. Some things are better left unknown.”
Dash grunted and stomped her hoof to the ground. It made nothing but a phomp! sound and was actually quite cute instead of threatening. Rainbolt giggled.
“Alright, Dashie… How about we go meet other relatives?”
“I already introduced myself to everypony….” Rainbow responded quietly.
“Thought your filly was shy around strangers?”
“I…Well…” Rainbolt rubbed his neck nervously. Even as a grown stallion, he didn’t want to be caught lying to his brother. Last lie he told his sibling resulted in a fork through his ear. “I… Guess she’s more comfortable around family.”
Before Moonstruck had a moment to respond, he heard his aunt’s calm voice speak up.
“Alright everypony… have a seat in the living room.”
Rainbow giddily smiled and flew to the living room, which was only a few feet away. Rainbow parked herself on the floor. There were large amounts of adults sitting in chairs. There was only one other foal, and he was a colt much younger than Rainbow. He was cuddling into his mother’s chest and sucking on a sippy-cup. Rainbow Dash was a big girl and didn’t need a sippy-cup. She hadn’t for years. Rainbolt sat on the floor next to his daughter. With a smirk, Moonstruck sat next to him. Rainbolt wanted to move so desperately, but forced his hindquarters to stay in contact with the floor. Rainbow’s great aunt, Raindrop, smiled at her family. She cleared her throat as all ponies laid eyes on her. Her mane was a soft shade of purple and blue. Her coat was a light blue and her eyes were silver as the moon.
“I’d like to start off by saying how proud I am to be a part of this family… Over the recent years we’ve gained some members.” The mare speaking in the center of the living room glanced towards the little colt sipping on his juice, and Rainbow by her father. “We have some relatives we haven’t seen in a while…” Everypony’s eyes glanced at Moonstruck. He felt insulted when he took notice. Raindrop decided to change the subject. “Well… I’m just so, so happy to call you all my family. You’re all amazing, kind, sweet, and dear to me. Although we haven’t got together like this in years, I hope this family only expands and grows. At this point, it’s rather small. Spectrum…” She started. Rainbow’s grandfather looked up. “We know you spent all your life as an orphan, and we’ve never really found out your origins, but… we have you to thank for this wonderful family. After you married my sister, a lot changed. You guys had children, and well, it all went from there. You passed on your glorious rainbow mane to not one, but two wonderful children. And as we see now, your grandfoal has been lucky enough to inherit it, as well…” The mare raised her cider-filled glass with a smile. “To the very first generation of a family founded by Spectrum! I love you all, and I hope one hundred years from now this wonderful family is thriving, blossoming, and bigger than I ever hoped!”
Spectrum’s white face lit up read as the whole room did a toast to the small family. Rainbolt smiled at his father with pride and joy in his heart. He truly was a brave stallion, and he taught him everything he’d known. He loved his father and mother dearly, and was beyond proud to call them his parents.
“Alright!” Raindrop continued. “That is all from me!”
The mare stopped where she was and the room instantly lit up with conversation once more. Rainbolt looked to his daughter. “Come on, Sweetie. I want to chat with my mom and dad a bit…”
Rainbolt flew from his hooves and approached his parents who were talking in the corner. His mother was aging fast. Little wrinkles were forming at her eyes and temples. Her gray roots were migrating further and further back, and at that point, only the last few inches of her mane were its natural, vibrant colors. His father’s rainbow mane was dulling, but not graying at all. He smiled as he noticed his son approaching him.
“Rainbolt!” He greeted with a warm smile.
“Dad!”
The two pegasi wrapped their hooves around each other and Rainbow watched the two embrace. The two stallions pat each other’s backs and broke away after a good ten seconds of hugging.
“Mom!”
Rainbolt put his hoof around his caring mother and she lovingly returned the affection with a smile. They embraced for a few more moments before separating.
“I brought you something…” He started with a smile.
“Oh, Sweetheart…” His mom started. “You didn’t have to get me anything…”
“No, don’t worry.” Rainbolt opened the flap on his small saddle bag with his wing. “It’s just a little something for all the wonderful things you used to get me for Hearth’s Warming.”
Rainbolt’s mother blushed as he held a small box before her. She smiled and tears of pride swarmed her eyes.
“Honey, you really didn’t need to do this.”
“You never needed to give me all the wonderful stuff I got on Hearth’s Warming, but you did anyway.”
Shyly, Rainbolt’s mom took the little, block box from the hooves of her son. It was shiny with a pretty, red ribbon tied around it. Slowly, she undid the ribbon with her teeth and opened the small container. Her heart melted at the object inside.
Quickly, the mare flipped the box upside-down and marveled the beautiful present within her hoof. It was a beautiful rose carved completely out of soap. The details in the petals were accurate and ravishing. The scent of roses filled the soap as well, and caused her to take in a small whiff.
“I love it…” She stated with a smile.
“Thanks…I made it myself..."
Once again, the son and mother embraced warmly. They loved each other very much, and had a strong connection ever since Rainbolt was born.
"Just...thank you so, so much! I love it!"
“Anytime, Mom… It just reminded me of that little garden you used to have when we were growing up…”
“Awe…” His mother cooed softly. “I love you, Bolty…”
Without warning, his mother came inward and planted a long smooch on his cheek. His face lit up as he resisted the urge to wipe off the sticky residue.
“I love you, too Mom….”
Rainbolt sighed and looked around. Surely, Dash would have found humor in a forceful kiss from his mom. To Rainbolt’s surprise, his little daughter was nowhere to be seen. That filly just couldn’t stay in one place for one moment, could she?
“Ugh, where’s Rainbow?”
“Don’t worry, Rainbolt…” His father reassured him. “I’m sure she’s fine as long as she didn’t leave the house.”
“I know, I know… I just don’t feel comfortable if I don’t know where she is at any given moment.”
“She’s in the same house as the rest of her family.”
“I know, Mom… but she’s also in the same house as a criminally insane stallion!” He whispered, and his mother seemed shocked.
“Rainbolt!” She snapped. “We know Moonstruck isn’t the most sane pony, but he spent years and years locked away! We should at least be trying to let him back into the family with open arms!”
“I know… but that doesn’t make me any more comfortable with him socializing with Dashie… I mean, I was his primary target growing up and-“
“Stop acting like he was against you!” She snapped, but maintained a whisper. “Your brother loves you! He was just a little nutty, and did things he really didn’t want to…”
Rainbolt sighed. Why his parents always treated him like he was an innocent angel, he hadn’t the slightest idea.
“Okay Mom… I’m sorry… It’s just, the only version I remember of him wasn’t all that good, and it kind of makes me trust him less…”
“We know, Sweetheart…” His mother spoke. “We love you very, very much. Please don’t feel bad about it. We understand how you feel… We just want to mend up this family…”
Rainbolt sighed. “I know, Mom… I’ll try my hardest to be welcoming…”
“That’s my boy…”
Lovingly, Rainbolt’s mom gave him another wet kiss and his face lit up a bright crimson.
“Alright, Mom… I love you…” Rainbolt tried to separate from his mother, not wanting another wet stain on his face. “I, uh... I think I should go see what Dashie’s up to…”
His mother nodded with a smile and Rainbolt dashed into the other direction. The moment he was out of sight, he wiped remaining residue from his cheeks. His sister’s house wasn’t that big, so finding Dashie would be a breeze! He trotted into the kitchen area where a few more of his relatives were hanging out and saw it. His yellow eyes shot small and his mouth went agape. His daughter was smiling, giggling, and chatting up a storm with… Moonstruck…
Rainbow’s pink eyes landed on her father after she stopped laughing. She smiled at her dad and waved to him from the few feet away.
“Oh my gosh, Daddy!” She started, still a giggling mess. “You’re brother is the best!”
Rainbolt’s tongue went numb with confusion and bafflement. His heart sunk and he grew slightly angered. The only thing forcing him to keep his cool was the advice his mother told him just moments before.
“Yeah…he’s great…”
Rainbolt rarely got jealous. Occasionally, he’d have his moments if somepony was receiving more credit than him at work or if an employee of a lower level got a raise or promotion, but he’d never get jealous over attention. Especially not attention from his daughter. He loved seeing Dash make new friends and socialize. However, when she was socializing with somepony he’d hated most of his life, but she seemed very fond of, that became a problem. He despised seeing her talk to him, laugh at his jokes, and tell Rainbolt how “Absolutely amazingly awesome” he was. Even at dinner that night, Rainbolt was pissed off over his daughter choosing a seat next to her favorite uncle over him. Dinner itself was good, but having to hear his daughter giggle at the thing he hated more than anything in life was beyond awful.
“Can you tell me more about when you and Daddy were colts?” Rainbow asked.
Rainbolt rolled his eyes and let out an angry huff.
“Oh, your father used to have braces, you know?”
Yeah… I remember all the times you jammed silverware through them and forcefully removed the brackets… Rainbolt thought to himself.
“Yeah, Aunty Prism told me. And Grandma showed me a picture of him.”
Rainbolt’s ears perked up as he listened to the conversation three feet away from him. His silverware clanked against the bowl of soup he was eating. Well, sort of eating. He was far more concentrated on the conversation behind him.
“What else do you know about Dad?”
“Did you know his mom didn’t stop tucking him in until he was nine?”
Rainbolt blushed heavily as he heard his daughter giggling with the usual squeaks in her voice.
“Really?”
“Oh yeah! And once, when he was eleven, he came crying out of his room because he had a nightmare…”
Rainbolt felt heat rising to his face.
Yeah! No thanks to you you freaking plothole! Rainbolt growled within his mind.
“Wow! I never knew that!” Rainbow commented with a giggle.
As the little conversation continued, Rainbolt removed his spoon from his bowl of steamy, hot soup and started bending it to let out his frustration.
“Umm…Rainbolt?” He heard a gentle voice come from behind him and turned. He laid eyes on his beautiful sister.
“Oh… Hey, Sunshine…” Rainbolt spoke in a quiet tone with his ears flopped down.
“Something wrong, lil’ bro?”
He sighed. “I don’t know… I just feel strange about Rainbow and Moonstruck hanging out like that..”
Sunshine only nodded. “I…I know how you feel. I know he’s been rehabilitated a while now, but still… It hurts after knowing all he did… You and I had it the worst since we were younger…”
“I know… Mom’s pretty serious about trying to welcome him back into the family…She was always sort of in denial about the whole thing.”
“I know…” Sunshine peeked back up from the table she’d been staring at. “How’s the food?”
“Good…” Rainbolt muttered. “You always had a way of cooking…”
“Thanks…”
“Hey, Dad!” A cute voice interrupted from behind him.
Rainbolt turned around to see his little filly hovering at his eye-level with a large grin on her face.
“Hey, Sweetheart…”
“Is it true you didn’t stop bedwetting until you were eight?”
Rainbolt blushed heavily and looked towards the ground. “Sweetheart, listen… I want you to stay right here… I need to talk to your uncle for a minute…”
“Okay, Daddy!”
Rainbolt got up from the seat he’d been sitting in with a sigh. Telling Rainbow foalhood stories were okay, but revealing his personal secrets was not. He flew up and over to his dreaded brother, who was sitting at an individual table. His usual smile remained and had formed into an mocking smirk.
“Something wrong, Brother?” He asked after setting his glass of fizzy apple cider down.
“Yeah…listen…I…” Rainbolt looked into the eyes of his brother. Those deep, purple eyes he feared to make contact with. Those eyes that belong to the biggest bully he’d ever met. The eyes he feared to see looking down on him…taunting him…smiling at him in his most miserable state. “I… I-I don’t mean to be disrespectful or a-anything but… I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell my daughter embarrassing stories like that… Y-you can do what you want I’m just asking….”
“Oh, Bolty, you really haven’t changed much, have you? So polite…So indecisive… So afraid.”
Rainbolt wasn’t quite sure how to respond. He was afraid. He was terrified of that colt, and always would be.
“I…I’m just trying to be polite…”
“Of course you are… And what would you honestly do if I denied your request?”
“I…I….I, uh…”
“Exactly! You wouldn’t do a damn thing!”
Rainbolt sighed. “Why can’t you just leave me alone? You’ve already done so much to make my life worse than it needed to be…”
“I’m changing.” He reassured his brother. “There’s really no harm in telling a few true stories.”
“But you’re leaving out the important details!” Rainbolt argued. “Like how you caused a lot of that stuff!”
“Rainbolt, Rainbolt, Rainbolt…” His brother said in his calm tone. “When are you ever going to learn to take responsibility for your own actions?”
“What?” Rainbolt grew angrier and his dynamic grew louder, attracting the attention of a few family members. “I…you… You’re the one not taking responsibility for anything! How about you stop blaming your little ‘mental condition’ and just admit you’re just a sadistic freak?!”
The room around them was all ears, including little Dashie who was in nothing but shock.
Moonstruck remained calm. “I’m not a sadistic freak. Ever since my medication kicked in, I’ve been feeling beyond normal, and have never been so satisfied with myself.”
“Oh, yeah. I totally believe you!” Rainbolt went on sarcastically, getting louder each syllable. “You ruined my childhood, scared me half to death and now you-“
Rainbolt was cut off by a sudden, sharp pain in his left ear. His head remained frozen but his eyes darted behind him. The sudden grasp of his ear was a familiar feeling, and one he thought he’d never have to feel again. The pinching sting of his mother’s hoof grasping around his floppy outer ear made his body become overtaken with paralysis. A bright blush overtook his face as his angered mother guided him out of the kitchen as if he were a little colt in trouble. Rainbow was most intrigued by the unusual scene displayed before her.
Rainbolt had humiliation consuming him as his mom dragged him by the ear down the hall, and into a separate room where nopony was able to see them. The whole time the stallion didn’t fight nor argue nor speak a word until they entered the private room. The moment his mother slammed shut the chamber door she released Rainbolt from her grasp and stared at him with motherly disdain. Rainbolt massaged the aching tip of his ear.
“Are. You. Serious?” She asked, punctuating every word. “You haven’t seen your brother since you were seventeen, and you…. YOU RUDELY ACCUSE HIM OF USING A MENTAL CONDITION AS AN EXCUSE?”
The sudden volume in his mother’s voice was intimidating, and made him bring shame upon himself, even if he hadn’t felt guilty about what he did specifically.
“I…I…he… I-I was just…” Rainbolt cut himself off before he’d say something that’d really get her temper going. Not that he had any idea of what he was saying...
“There are no excuses, Rainbolt! Your brother has been trying to change! He’s been trying hard to get a fresh start! And what do you do? You remind him of everything he was trying to forget! You inconsiderately yell at him and now he probably feels awful! Honestly, Rainbolt, I expected a LOT more out of you. How old are you, son? Huh?”
Rainbolt blushed and gulped. “I…I’m twenty-six…”
“And how old were you acting?”
Rainbolt’s blush grew heavier. “I…I was acting… dumb.”
“That’s not what I asked you!”
At that moment, Rainbolt felt like he was a seven year-old. He may have acted like one, but he most certainly didn’t feel his actually age. The same feeling of dread and regret filled his heart that reminded him of being a bad colt in trouble. That’s all he was at that moment. A seven year-old trapped in a grown stallion’s body.
“I acted seven…” Rainbolt’s face was burning and he looked up at his mom. “I-I’ll go apologize… I promise.”
“You will apologize! After being locked up in a crazy home for years, you’d think you’d have a little sympathy! He may not have been the nicest pony in your foalhood, but the past eight years you’ve been free as a bee, while he’s been locked up! Has holding a grudge this whole time helped you at all?”
Rainbolt’s eyes again lowered. “N-no, ma’am…”
“Now, Sweetheart…” Rainbolt’s mother put her delicate wings to her son’s chin and tilted his head back so their eyes met. “I’m not that mad at you… You just embarrassed me today, and I’m disappointed about how you acted. I know getting over things in the past can be hard, but moving on will only do good for you. I know it’s hard… Actually, I couldn’t possibly imagine what you’re going through, but… I think it’s better to leave the past in the past.”
“Mom…I love you… I just don’t think it’ll be easy to just forget about everything… I’ve had a lot of feelings bottled up over the years…”
“I know, Sweetheart…” His mom now spoke softly. “Now, you should go apologize to your relatives, your sibling, and take the rest of the day to maybe bond. I hated seeing you to fighting when you two were younger…”
Rainbolt sighed. “I know, Mom…I’m sorry you had to see me act like that…”
The stallion’s mother smiled at him. “Maybe next time you’re having a personal problem with him, you should take him into a separate room and talk to him…”
“But… I’m scared to be in a room alone with him.”
The mother and son stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. Their loud laughs filled the air and shattered any harsh feelings that had entered the room with them.
“Alright, alright…” Rainbolt started as he finally got a grip on himself. “I’d better go get my apologies done and over with…”
“Make sure it’s sincere!” His mother reminded.
“I will, okay?”
Rainbolt took in a breath and opened the bedroom door slowly. He wasn’t even surprised to be immediately greeted by his daughter.
“Daddy!” She cried with a grin. “Did you get in trouble?”
The hot crimson reinvaded Rainbolt’s face. “Yeah... Daddy got in trouble...”
“Why were you being mean to Uncle Moonstruck?” Rainbow asked curiously.
Rainbolt sighed. “I don’t know, Sweetheart… It was a lot of things… most of it had to do with the past, though. I’m sorry you had to see me make a, uh... mule of myself.”
“That’s okay, Dad. It was kind of funny to see Grandma pull you by your ear.”
“Yeah… not for me, though.” Rainbolt forced a smile and rubbed the top of his ear once more as he remembered the pain it’d went through.
“So…” Rainbow started. “I know you don’t like Uncle too well, but… can I be his pen-pal?”
“What?” The stallion asked in genuine shock.
“Yeah…” Rainbow said. “I mean, he said he wanted to write me. He even gave me some parchment to start off and his address…”
Rainbolt thought for a moment and let out a long sigh.
“Oh, brother…”