//------------------------------// // A Feeling of Rebirth - 2 // Story: A Feeling Of // by Nuke //------------------------------// "March, get up." I groan and grab Speck's pillow as I roll over and cover my face. The curtains fling open, allowing for the sun's bright morning light to pour into the room. With a hiss, I bury my face deeper into the pillow. "I don't want to. It's my day off, and I just want to sleep in." My assailant shoves her nose under the pillow and against my face. Reflexively, I hug her around the neck. She is incredibly soft and warm. "We have urgent business to take care of, March." "Speck, shh. It's a Saturday. Nothing urgent ever happens on a Saturday." "Come, March. We have things to do!" In this very moment where I am flung out of bed, whilst I soar through the air, I realize something important. Speck does not sound like Princess Luna, nor does Princess Luna sound like Speck. As Luna leaps over the bed to stand over me, just as I land on the floor, I look up at her. Or rather, past her, at the clock on the nightstand. It is some thirty-odd minutes past nine. The sun rises promptly at six every single morning. "How long have you been here?" "A little over three hours." "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Of course. What else would I do?" "Not watch me sleep. That's an option that's much less creepy." "If I hadn't watched you sleep, how would I know when you awoke?" I grab Luna's face and squeeze her cheeks together. "Why are you here?" "The child. Are you ready to go to her?" I just woke up, haven't eaten or showered or changed out of my pajamas. What kind of question is that? "Yeah, let's go." Of course, I want the day to be over with already. I already know today is going to be stupid, but if everything works out right, the kid will end up in a safe place, and Speck and I can carry on with our lives. "Something troubles you more than just this child and your little Speck. What else is there?" "I've already told you pretty much everything. I guess, specifically... Speck wants to adopt a kid." "So adopt the child." "That's why I asked you to come here. I'm not ready to have a kid, given the short time I've known Speck. I want the kid to be safe, but I don't think Speck and I would be able to provide a healthy environment for her." "I understand, March. We shall see what the alternatives are as they come up." We leave the house and start walking through the town. *** Ponies bow as Luna and I pass them. They quickly offer her a 'good morning, princess,' or a 'fine day for a walk, isn't it?' She greets them in turn, somewhat disengaged. "You okay, Luna?" "Mmm. Just thinking. I did a little bit of prying last night. The foal's parents are alive and well, but they are separated. One lives in Hollow Shades, the other is, surprisingly, one of the Canterlot guards." "Is it Pingpong?" "It is not Pingpong. The foal is one-hundred percent bat-pony." "Did you track her parents down?" "Sort of." "Are you going to? Maybe try to get them back together?" "Well... no. I tried to approach the foal's mother in Hollow Shades, but was stopped by a friend of hers. It has been a few years since they separated, so they have likely distanced themselves for a reason. The foal has also been away from them for the same length of time." "And how many years is a few?" The princess mumbles and coughs. "Didn't catch that." "Eight." I stop walking. She stops a few feet away, but doesn't turn to look at me. "Eight years. This filly has been alone for eight years, and you, the all-knowing Princess of the Night, that I honestly wouldn't doubt knows the exact location of each and every bat-pony, and quite possibly every pony, in Equestria, at any given time, knew. You can walk through the dreams of ponies. You can fight off their nightmares. You had to have known about this filly." "I did." "You knew, and you didn't do anything?" She turns to face me, and I almost instantly regret opening my mouth at all. She bears one of the most heart-wrenching frowns I've ever seen. Her eyes are glazed over with tears that threatened to fall down her cheeks. All she can do is shake her head slightly. "I could not. I am weak, and I have no excuse, but... maybe with your help, all of this can be set right." "I'm sorry." I approach her and place a hand on her shoulder. "Come on. We have a filly to find a home for." "You are right, though. I have neglected my duties. Let us make haste." Luna nods back toward where we were walking before she attempts to race me. I quickly sprint after her. I skid to a halt not long after we start as something in front of Sugarcube Corner catches my eye. The princess continues running, and soon makes it out of earshot of me. I'm surprised she isn't as observant as I am, considering I've usually got my head wracked with thought. ~~~ Speck was awoken to a soft, prodding hoof. She groggily sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Miss? The patient is ready to be released." "Released? From -" a yawn cut her off. "Ugh... From where?" "The hospital." "Hm?" The bat-pony mare groaned softly as she stretched her forehooves and wings. As she settled back in her seat, her eyes caught the snoozing Sirocca. "Oh, right." From the looks of things, the filly was completely fine. A few small scratches, and her wing in a cast, but her eye was back to normal. "I'm assuming you're her mother? If you'd just sign a few papers, she'll be right and ready to go." "Oh, no, I'm not..." An idea popped into Speck's mind just as quickly as she opened her mouth. She quickly nodded as the doctor set a pen and clipboard down on the bed. Hastily, Speck took the pen up in her wing and scribbled her name at the bottom. The doctor nodded, smiled, and left the room. "Good morning, miss Speck." Speck jumped a bit as the filly spoke up through a yawn. Sirocca smiled softly as Speck looked up at her. "Well, good morning, little one. How are you feeling?" "Hungry," she said shortly after her stomach roared. "Sounds like it." The older mare giggled as she tapped the filly on the nose. "Let's get out of here. I know the perfect place to eat." Speck nodded to Sirocca for her to climb onto her back. She carried the filly out of the hospital, and in the direction of Sugarcube Corner. The filly clambered to stand up on the mare's back, her front hooves placed on the mare's head. She gasped softly as she pointed at the giant cupcake on the roof. "I've heard about this place! They have all kinds of cakes and treats!" "And cupcakes, muffins, pies. You name it, they've got it. Do you like pineapples and mangoes?" Sirocca nodded slowly, almost apologetically for getting overly excited. "I prefer blood- I mean, blood oranges, though." Speck looked up at the filly, only then noticing the little one's fangs. They were quite pointy. "That's okay. I'm sure the Cakes will have something. How often do you need to drink?" "Oh, um... N-not often. Just whenever Matron Cherry can get something for me." "Well, I know someone that I don't think would mind feeding you every now and then." A gentle breeze passed through the town as the two ponies entered the building. Mr. Cake stood at the counter, browsing through a baking magazine. He looked up and furrowed his brow. "Where's yer humen?" Speck hummed for a moment as she tilted her head. "He isn't here?" "Neh, fig'red he'd be with you." He looked down at Sirocca as she hopped off of Speck's back and approached the glass display. "Who's this little one?" Sirocca quickly backtracked from the glass counter to Speck's side and covers her face with her good wing. "This is Sirocca. She got hurt yesterday, so I've been looking out for her. She's an orphan." "Oh, poor thing." He waved a hoof with a smirk as he turned from the counter. "Wait just a minute. Think I got som'n just for the little one." He trotted into the kitchen. "That's weird. He never smiles." Speck tilted her head and looked up to the ceiling in thought. The stallion's gruff voice could be heard from the lobby. It was accompanied by a second, much sweeter voice. Mr. and Mrs. Cake both trotted out of the kitchen carrying a pair of plates. On one laid a slice of peach cobbler, a chocolate raspberry cupcake, and a few slices of mango. On the other, a piece of pineapple upside down cake and two banana bread muffins. "You know me so well." "Of course, dearie. As often as you come to visit, you might as well be family. It's a nice day, so why don't you two eat outside?" Speck and Sirocca nodded and followed the Cakes outside. Both plates were set on a table on the patio, and both bat-ponies took their seats. The Cakes loitered for a short while. "So, what's yer name?" Mr. Cake's gruff voice scared Sirocca a little bit. "S-Sirocca," she muttered as she hid behind her wing again. Mr. Cake frowned and turned to trot back inside. Mrs. Cake took a seat beside Speck. Sirocca glanced at Mrs. Cake guiltily. "Oh, don't worry about him. He's just grumpy." "Why?" Speck piped up, completely curious. "I mean, as many times as I've been around here, I've only seen him smile today." "He's always been fond of children. We've always wanted a foal of our own, but some of our parts don't work, y'know?" "What?" "Nothing," she said with a wave of her hoof. Both bat-ponies shrugged. "Why don't you adopt?" Sirocca spoke up confidently. "We'd love to. We just don't have the money to afford a foal." "Oh." Sirocca fell silent as she glanced up at Speck. "I'll leave you two to eat. Can't have Eccles doing all of the work." Mrs. Cake trotted back into the bakery with a giggle. Speck and Sirocca sat quietly as they ate and watched the clouds roll by. "Hey, wanna see a trick?" ~~~ Neither Speck nor Sirocca notice me as I approach them. Speck has Sirocca's attention captured as she performs a trick involving a slice of cake balancing on her nose. I pick the slice of cake up from Speck's nose and sit beside her. Sirocca giggles and hides behind her wing as Speck starts screeching at me. "Put it down, March!" She swats at my hand as I put the cake back on her plate. "You don't have to be afraid of him, Sirocca. He was with us yesterday, remember?" Speck reassures Sirocca as she looks up to see the filly hiding. "I'm not afraid of him. We-" "Speck, we need to talk." I cut Sirocca off. She huffs. "We'll be right back, Sirocca." She nods. Speck and I leave the table and walk around the corner of the building. We sit down against the wall. Speck looks up at me. "So?" "So, I've been thinking about this adoption thing." She sighs and places her head in her hooves. "Okay, first," she pauses for a second and holds her hooves out in front of her, "I just want to say that I've really been enjoying my time with Sirocca, and she's grown on me. Second, I really don't like the idea of her being at that school, or even at the orphanage. It isn't safe for her. Third... Come on, March. I know you. I know you care. You took me in and took care of me, made sure I was safe. Are you going to turn Sirocca away?" "Luna knows where her parents are. One of them is a guard in Canterlot, and the other lives in Hollow Shades." "Well... The Cakes can't have kids." "Mrs. Cake mentioned that a long time ago. What's that got to do with anything?" "I saw Mr. Cake smile for the first time today, when he saw Sirocca. Mrs. Cake said that he really likes kids." "I doubt that. Eccles doesn't like anything." She scoffs at me. "What does that have to do with anything, anyway?" "What if we convinced them to adopt Sirocca, and we helped them take care of her? Mrs. Cake said they don't really have the money, and I figured, with the Princesses' help, we could work something out. It would make them happy, it would make you happy, and it would make me happy. Because, you said it's really early in our relationship to consider something like that, but if the Cakes took her in, I could still see her, and we could still be together and build our relationship." Speck has matured, and she definitely values our relationship enough to give this kind of thing time. Despite the short time we've known each other, she's changed my mind on this whole situation. I think the filly would definitely be safer with us. "Are you sure about that?" I give her a confused look. She nods solemnly. "Absolutely." "A hundred percent sure?" She nods again. "Okay. I was going to say I wouldn't mind adopting her, but if you've made up your mind..." "I have." I stand up and start to round the corner, but glace at her just as she makes the realization. "Wait, what?" She blinks twice and looks up at me. "I said I wouldn't mind adopting her. You changed my mind." "It was that easy?" "Yes and no. You have a point about me taking you in, but I wanted to take this whole thing slow. You know, to let you and Sirocca get to know each other, and see if she actually wanted to come live with us." "I'm confused now. What are we doing?" "We should probably find Luna and the matron. Let them know what the plan is now." "Yeah. Oh, by the way, she drinks blood." "I know. We'll figure something out for that." Speck blushes a little bit and shrugs. "I told her she could probably feed off of you." "No." "But-" "No. We'll get her animal blood or something. Or donations from the hospital. Anything except her feeding off of me." "Um... Excuse me? Mister March, miss Speck? Matron Cherry says I have to go back to the orphanage." "The matron's here?" "She just got here about a minute ago." "Tell her we'll walk you back there. Give us a minute, okay?" "Okay." Sirocca smiles at us before trotting back around the corner. Speck and I exchange a glance and a smile. We both know we probably aren't ready for any of this. But we're going to try. And, if anything bad happens, we have the support of the princesses and the Cakes. At the very least, Sirocca will come out of all of this in a better place. "What are you thinking about, March?" "Just thinking about how we should put on an act for the kid. You know, ruffle the matron's feathers. A good, old-fashioned prank." "Okay, I got it. You pretend you don't want to adopt her, alright? We'll improvise from there." "You're cruel. Already trying to play the favorite parent." Speck giggles and leans against me as we walk back around the corner of Sugarcube Corner. *** The walk to the orphanage felt like an eternity. I had to play disinterest in adopting Sirocca, while Speck feigned attempts to convince me. Both the matron and Sirocca were, understandably, upset by me. Matron Cherry turned to me and Speck as we finally reached the front door to the orphanage. Sirocca ignored us and sat on the front step, just out of earshot. "Well, here we are. Thank you two so much for looking after Sirocca." Sirocca won't look up at me. I almost consider breaking the act. "It wasn't a problem at all! She's a little bundle of joy." Speck smiles and ruffles Sirocca's mane with a hoof. "It's such a shame she hasn't been adopted yet." "It really is. She's such a sweetheart. It's too bad the tall jerk over there wants to be mean." She huffs and turns her nose up at me. "You can stay upset, Speck." She is about to say something, but stops as a little purple hoof prods her leg. "Miss Speck?" Sirocca sits on her haunches and looks down at the ground. "Yes, little one?" "If it's okay with you, and with Matron Cherry, do you think I could come home with you?" "I'd love for you to, but... The big tall jerk absolutely hates everything good in this world." "Oh." Sirocca starts to trot away, but turns around and runs up to me. "Mister Jerk?" She knows the game. She's going to play it. "You know my name. Calling me names isn't going to help." "Sorry." I almost break character as she looks down at the ground. She sniffles a little bit, but looks back up at me. "C-can I come home with you?" "Tell you what. If you can get Speck to stop being mad at me, you can come home with us." Her eyes light up and she turns and bounces at Speck so quickly that she almost knocks her over. "Miss Speck! He said if you stop being mad at him, I can come home with you!" I'm going to be the favorite parent, one way or another. "Please?" Speck rolls her eyes and sighs as she looks from Sirocca to me. "Fine, I guess." She trots up to me and hugs me around the waist. I scratch her ear as the filly gasps and starts screeching excitedly. She says words, but the only ones I can catch are 'adopted,' 'home,' and 'family.' The front door of the orphanage slams open as Sirocca barrels through it to gather her things. "So, where are the papers?" "In my office." "For once, you don't have them on you? That's a surprise." The matron shrugs as she leads us into the building. Speck and I follow her through the door to the right of the front desk, and through a door immediately to our left. Matron Cherry shuffles through a stack of folders until she finds one with Sirocca's picture paper-clipped to it. She pulls a few sheets of paper from it and slides them across her desk with a quill. "Just sign on the lines, and you'll be good to go." "You don't have to see our house to make sure we're capable of raising a filly?" Matron Cherry shakes her head and smiles. "Not at all. It's not like the standard of living is low in Ponyville." "That's true." I scribble my name where I need to and pass the papers to Speck. She holds the quill with her wing and signs everywhere she needs to. She passes the papers back to the matron, who looks them over, nods, and holds them over a candle on a small table behind her. "That's that, then. She's yours now." The papers burst into a cloud of magical smoke and get sucked up through a vent in the ceiling, where they presumably travel to some bureau somewhere. The office door crashes open as a small army of foals come rushing in, screaming and shouting. They are led by Sirocca, who they congratulate on being adopted. A few of them ask if they can come home with us. "We can't take all of you home. But I know a couple that might be looking to adopt. I'll have them come by tomorrow," Speck says, causing an uproar among the foals, who run out of the office, screaming and arguing over who's going to be adopted next. I stand up from the chair and pick Sirocca's bags off of her back. "Ready to go?" She nods, hops off of the desk, and bolts out of the room. Speck and I follow her out of the orphanage and start leading her to our house. Speck stops me as we reach the front step. Sirocca starts to climb the steps to the door. "March?" "Hm?" "Thanks. This really means a lot to me. I'm really happy, because of you." I kneel down and hug her as tight as I can. She leans into me and sways a little bit. "I feel the same way." Sirocca jumps from the steps onto Speck's back and hugs both of us. "And, of course, this little one's the happiest." Speck tips her head back to lean against Sirocca. "She sure is." I ruffle Sirocca's mane as she starts to giggle. She clings to me as I stand up, ready to go inside. "You know, after all of this, I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something." "What's that?" "Well, I wrote to Luna last night. She came to visit, but she ran off as soon as we reached Sugarcube Corner." "Luna?" Sirocca asks softly. Speck and I ignore her. "Maybe she got distracted?" "Maybe. She ran off towards the hospital, so I think she was looking for you two. Guess she didn't notice you sitting in front of the shop." "Makes sense." Speck shrugs. We climb the steps and I open the door. A cacophony of noisy horns, and a storm of streamers, confetti, and ribbons cascade over us. I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. So are Speck and Sirocca. I rub my temples as I try to fend off the incoming headache, but I can only do so much as Sirocca's high-pitched, excited screeching pierces my brain. Three regal princesses of the sun, the moon, and the book, or friendship, or magic, I don't know which, stand in the foyer wearing party hats. "Today'sthebestdayeverIgotadoptedandnowIgettomeetalloftheprincessesandhaveapartyeeeeee!" Sirocca bounces between the princesses before clinging to my leg. "March, did you plan this?" I glare at Speck. I glare at her so hard, I can only hope my piercing gaze lights her on fire. "No." "You left your door unlocked, March." Celestia bats at me with a hoof as she giggles. "You're still trespassing." "The guards won't do anything." I grumble and shove my hand into her face, pushing her out of the way. Sirocca hops off of my leg and rushes into the living room as Speck and the princesses decide to go party. I decide to walk upstairs and start preparing a place for Sirocca to sleep. I walk over to the linen closet, next to the third, vacant bedroom, and start pulling blankets and pillows out. Maybe she'll be better off sleeping with us, given how lonely she was at the orphanage. Shoving everything back into the closet, I sigh and close the door. I almost jump out of my skin as Twilight appears from behind the door. "Why aren't you joining the party?" "I was going to get a place set up for Sirocca to sleep. Why are you and Celestia here?" "Luna mentioned you were in a bit of a tight situation, so we decided to come check up on you." "Sounds reasonable. I'm going to guess Luna saw us walking over from the orphanage, so you magicked up a party?" "Sure. So, where is she going to sleep?" "She's been alone at the orphanage, so I guess she'll sleep in our bed. Is that weird?" "I suppose not. She could sleep in her own bedroom, you know." She jabs a hoof into my hip. "She doesn't have a bedroom yet." "You really are horrible at planning." "All of this happened pretty quickly, so yeah. I am bad at planning." "It's a good thing you have us princesses to watch your back." She trots over to the third bedroom. "Otherwise, you might find yourself in a bit of a pickle." "Twilight, there's nothing in that room." "Oh?" She pushes the door open. I walk over to her, dumbfounded, and close the door. "March?" I open and close it a few times, completely shocked. This can't be real. The walls are freshly painted, and already dry, with beautiful murals of the starry night sky. The floor has brand-new, soft-gray carpeting. A pony-sized bed rests in the corner, nestled between the wall and a large bookshelf stocked with books. In the middle of the room, scattered around a Canterlot-Castle-shaped doll-house, are six dolls based on heroes of lore. Two earth-ponies, two pegasi, a unicorn, and a familiar purple alicorn, all wearing necklaces, or in the alicorn's case, a crown. "Why?" I have to choke down the lump in my throat so my voice won't crack. The tears welling up in my eyes are still a dead-giveaway. "It was Luna's idea. She feels like it's her fault the filly was alone for so long. You don't have anything to worry about, March." "She didn't have to." "She just wants to help out." I close the door and hug Twilight as tight as I can. I don't think any of the princesses have ever seen me like this. Twilight is the first. "Thank you, so much." Before she can say anything, I run downstairs, into the living room. I grab Luna as she trots by me and hug her, too. She doesn't say anything. She already knows. Sirocca pokes at my leg, a worried look on her face. "Are you okay, mister March?" "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Everything's fine..." I kneel down and hold Sirocca, pressing my forehead to hers. "Everything's perfect."