//------------------------------// // Family // Story: Three Gems and a Scooter // by RaylanKrios //------------------------------// Scootaloo pranced home from her first dance lesson, a faint sparkle in her eye as she tried to get in a few practice steps on the journey, and deciding to adopt Scootaloo was an easy choice. Rarity watched Scootaloo fall asleep, her young mind momentarily free of worry for those few blessed moments between awake and unconscious, and deciding to adopt Scootaloo was a hard choice. Scootaloo didn’t say much at dinner, opting to pick at her salad wordlessly, and deciding not to adopt Scootaloo was an easy choice. Scootaloo adamantly refused to put her dishes in the sink, and deciding to not to adopt Scootaloo was a hard choice. The week continued in that fashion with Rarity going back and forth bewteen the two choices, not unlike she did when she just couldn’t decide if a dress needed a touch of purple or a touch of blue. All too soon, it was Sunday night. Autumn’s one week deadline loomed, and Rarity was no closer to knowing what she wanted then she had been at the beginning of the week. She found herself at her parents’ house, hesitating before she knocked on the door. That she was visiting on a Sunday night wasn’t in and of itself unusual, but the reason for her visit obviously was different than the other fireside chats she had over the years. “Rarity! Come in, dear,” her mother said with her usual cheerful demeanor.  Pearl may not have been Pinkie Pie when it came to having a smile on her face, but she could come close. And even if she wasn't having the best day she always had a smile for her family. Rarity made small talk with her mom for a few minutes, hearing about a new bread recipe she was excited about and talking about her plans for her upcoming winter line of gowns.  Eventually, a natural lull in the conversation invited a brief silence, and Rarity opted to fill it with the main reason she had come over. “Mom? How did you know you were ready to be a parent?” Pearl’s eyes went wide and a smile crept across her face. “Am I going to be a grandmother?” Rarity sighed as she realized that her mother was suffering the same misconceptions as Spike had. “Why does everyone assume- never mind. I’m not pregnant, but I am considering adopting Scootaloo permanently.” Rarity paused as she considered that, in a way, she wasn’t just making a decision for her and Scootaloo. She’d be inviting Scootaloo into her parents and Sweetie’s lives as well. Not that she expected any protest, but it was still something to consider. “So, I suppose that, yes, you would be her grandmother.” Her mother looked at her, slightly bewildered, so Rarity quickly filled her in on everything that had happened over the past few weeks, including her present dilemma about whether to go through with the process. When Rarity finished her story, Pearl’s smile had returned. “That’s wonderful, dear, and very generous of you, but that’s not really a surprise.” “Thank you, but I don’t even know if she wants to stay with me. All my hoofwringing may prove to be for naught.  But if I may ask again, how did you know you were ready to be a mother?” Her mother smiled a comforting sort of smile, the kind that mothers everywhere were well-versed in. “No one is ever ready to be a parent, dear. One day you wake up, and by the end of the day you have this tiny foal who you can’t imagine your life without. And then you just muddle through the best you can.” Her mother smiled again, an attempt at reassurance. “Your experience might be a little different then most mothers, but it’s still the same.” Hearing that there wasn’t some magical moment wherein the universe gifted a pony with the knowledge and judgment necessary to be a good parent made Rarity feel a little better about her uncertainty. “No, that makes sense. Thank you.” Rarity offered her mother a hug as she reflected on the idea that, no matter how old she was, a hug from her mother helped make everything just a little more bearable. “Is Daddy home?” she asked breaking away. “He’s in the den.”   “Marshmallow!” “Hi, Daddy,” Rarity said smiling at the one pony who could possibly get away with nicknaming her after a puffy food product. “What brings you by tonight?” Hondo asked, taking the time to pause the hoofball game he had been watching moments before. “Daddy, did you enjoy going to my tea parties?” Hondo’s head jerked back in surprise. He had been to a lot of tea parties but the last one of Rarity’s that he attended was ages ago. It seemed to be a little late to be worried about how it went. “Of course I did. I got to accompany the prettiest filly in all of Equestria,” he said with a large grin. Rarity blushed slightly. “Thank you, Daddy, but seriously, I can’t imagine that you would choose to spend your free time sipping pretend tea and wearing a bow in your hair.” Hondo chuckled audibly at the memory. Rarity could have been referring to any one of a number of tea parties she had insisted on getting him ready for, but it didn’t matter. He also wasn’t dense enough to think that Rarity was really feeling some sort of residual guilt for taking away his free time with tea parties. “What’s this about, Marshmallow?” Again Rarity found herself telling the story of how Scootaloo came to live with her, her subsequent struggles in trying to make her happy and her present dilemma about adopting her. Then she arrived at the reason she had sought her dad’s particular insight. “I’m thinking of adopting Scootaloo, and well…we really don’t have very much in common. I was just wondering if she’d be happier with a family with whom she shared at least some interest with.” “Would you have been happier if I knew more about dresses and tea parties?” Hondo asked with a tilt of his head. Rarity responded with a shake of her head. “No, I wouldn’t want you to be anypony other than who you are.” Hondo didn’t say anything, he just raised an eyebrow until Rarity came to the conclusion that they both knew was inevitable; families didn’t have to have anything in common other than being family. Rarity offered her father another nuzzle before leaving him to his sports.   Her first two family members had offered their support, now there was only one more voice she needed to hear from. Sweetie’s brow furrowed in concentration. A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead and the pink tip of her tongue jutted out from the side of her mouth as both her horn and a book on the other side of the room radiated a green light.  However, despite Sweetie’s considerable efforts, the book only levitated a few inches off the table before the green glow flickered and disappeared, causing the book to crash back down and leaving Sweetie gasping for breath. “Hello, Sweetie.” Sweetie Belle wheeled around and smiled at her big sister. “Hi, Rarity!” Sweetie said in between pants. “What are you doing here?” “I realize that we haven’t been able to see each other much as of recent, and so I wanted to see how you were doing.” “I’m still not very good at magic,” she said rather glumly. “How are things going with Scootaloo? She seems a bit happier, sometimes. But either way I’m trying very hard to be the best friend I can be, just like you said.” “I know you are, dear, and I’m sure Scootaloo is very grateful for your efforts.” There was no good way to broach the next part.  Sweetie’s opinion mattered to both her and Scootaloo, and that meant Rarity needed to phrase her next question carefully.  “While we’re on the subject, how would you feel if I…well… if I adopted Scootaloo?” Sweetie’s face lit up like a Hearthswarming tree, but then the expression quickly turned almost fearful. Finally a resigned determination asserted itself over the smaller unicorn’s features. Rarity could only watch, completely unaware of the thought process behind the rapid transformation. “Sweetie?” Sweetie took a deep breath. “I guess if you adopt Scootaloo we won’t get to spend as much time together,” she said looking down at the floor.  “But that’s okay. If it means Scootaloo gets to be happy, then I want you to do it,” Sweetie said softly. “Oh, Sweetie… c’mere, darling,” Rarity said, scooping her little sister into a hug and sitting down on the floor. Keeping her little sister snuggled close she continued. “You know, dear, I remember having a similar conversation with Mom and Dad when they told me I was getting a little sister.” Sweetie’s face lit up again. “That was me!” “Yes, it most certainly was.” Sweetie shifted around so she was more comfortable, but still snuggled firmly in the embrace. “So what happened?” “I’m afraid I wasn’t as magnanimous as you just were. I was so worried that Mom and Dad would be so busy with the new baby they would forget about me. I made up my mind right then that I was not going to like you, no matter what.” Sweetie’s face fell. “Oh, did you change your mind?” Rarity playfully nuzzled her little sister. “Yes, dear. You were the most adorable foal ever, with your big green eyes and little, chubby hooves,” Rarity said playfully pinching Sweetie’s still-squishy hoof. “I fell in love with you instantly.” Sweetie giggled and playful yanked her hoof away.  “Anyways, Mom and Dad promised me that even though babies demanded a lot of attention they would always make time for me, and they did.” “That was nice of them.” “Yes, dear. So I am going to make you the same promise. No matter how busy I get, I will always have time for my precious little sister.” Sweetie rested her head against Rarity’s soft chest fluff unable to think of anything else to say. Rarity returned home much surer of herself then when she left.  It wasn’t that her family had told her anything she didn’t already know, it was that they reminded her that the important thing was that  family was there for eachother; and while she wasn’t sure about a lot of things related to motherhood, she was sure that she could be there.   The next morning, Rarity found herself at the Foal Services office. The fact that Scootaloo had spent the night insisting that she was fine and didn’t need anyone for anything did nothing to effect Rarity’s decision. The receptionist escorted through the now familiar hallways back to Autumn’s office where the stallion was sitting at a desk covered in papers. Rarity wasn’t sure if any of the files near the top  were Scootaloo’s but she wouldn’t have bet against it. Autumn looked up at her expectantly, waiting for her to speak first. “I owe you an apology.  The other day I was rude. You were just doing your job and, even if you weren’t, you were a guest in my home. That I treated you so coarsely is unbecoming of me as both a lady and a host.” Rather than accept her apology with any sort of grace, Autumn started laughing. “You think that was rude?” Another round of laughter escaped his throat. “Sorry, but I’m used to ponies kicking me out in far less ambiguous language.” “That still does not excuse my behavior,” Rarity said tersely. Autumn got his reaction under control and nodded, stifling one last guffaw. “Very well, I accept your apology.” “Thank you.” “So, why are you here?” The question was loaded with enough weight to let Rarity know that Autumn was not merely making small talk. “I’d like to adopt Scootaloo.” It wasn’t the first time Rarity had uttered those words, but it was the first time she said them fully aware of the weight they carried.   Autumn pulled a notepad out of his desk and grabbed a pen. “Why?” “Because I think she might be happy with me. And if you, or Lily, or her disagree, then that’s fine. But I should at least be allowed to make the offer,” Rarity said reciting her planned response to the anticipated question. "When we first met, you said very plainly that you had no interest in adopting her. What changed?" Rarity anticipated this question too. "I got to know her better. And I learned somethings about myself too, one of them being that the idea of being a mother isn't as scary as I thought it would be." “What about your career and your friends? Have you considered how they would change if this goes forward?” Autumn asked, not looking up from his notes. “I imagine that my entire life would change quite a bit, though I suppose that would be true irrespective of this decision.” “Are you prepared for that?” “As well as anyone can be. I’m sure no one is completely ready to be a parent when they first start out.” Autumn nodded, accompanying the gesture with a quiet “hmm” while continuing to take notes. “What would you do if one day Scootaloo came home with drugs?” For the first time that morning Rarity balked at a question she was not expecting. “She’s eight! I don’t think I have to worry about that quite yet.” “Just answer the question, please,” Autumn responded calmly. Rarity fumbled around for a response, having not consider that drug use would be a question she was expected to know the answer to. “I would…I don’t know what I would do,” she finally said, giving up.  “I’d like to say I‘d sit down and have a calm rational talk about why drugs are bad, but it’s entirely possible I’d freak out. So if you’re asking if I have a contingency for every mistake I might possibly make, then the answer is no.” Autumn looked up from his notepad and smiled. “You passed,” he said finally putting down his pen. “Passed what?” “The two biggest mistakes I see prospective parents making are thinking they have all the answers, and believing that a child is going to fix something wrong with their lives. You seem to be avoiding those critical pitfalls. I’ve already done your background check; we both know it’s squeaky clean, and Scootaloo seems well cared for so far. So if you’d like to adopt her, you’re a strong candidate.” While Rarity was inwardly glad that she had passed whatever preliminary screening Autumn had just threw at her, she also knew that that wasn’t her biggest obstacle. “What happens now?” “Well that’s kinda up to to Scootaloo.” "So how do we tell her?”