Rainbow Dash rolled over, only to be greeted by a faceful of orange mane. As she fluttered her eyes and blew out to clear her snout, the knowledge of just how sore she was permeated her consciousness. Of course she was sore in the best possible way, but her muscles still ached.
She couldn’t quite remember the name of the mare attached to the fiery mane, but she had vivid memories of what the two had spent the night doing. “Hey babe,” she faux-whispered poking the sleeping beauty’s muzzle with her own.
The mare lying in Rainbow’s bed let out a long, drawn-out moan and Rainbow felt her wings stiffen a little bit.
“Hey yourself.” What's-her-name languidly stretched her forelegs as far above her head as they could reach, the sight of the lithe, taut body giving Rainbow more than a few ideas.
Rainbow shivered as she felt a single feather travel from her neck to the base of her wings. “Y’know for someone who pretends to be so tough, you sure do melt into a puddle when I touch your wings,” the mare purred seductively.
Rainbow moaned and smirked, climbing directly on top of her nameless partner letting the full weight of her body press against her latest conquest.
“Me? I seem to remember you saying some pretty puddle-y things last night. Mostly involving the phrase “don’t stop’.” Rainbow punctuated her remarks by taking a nibble of her new friends ear.
“Mmm, careful there babe, I’m still tender,” the mare beneath her giggled.
Her point made Rainbow suggestively writhed, letting her body coax a few more moans out of whats-her-name.
All of the sudden, Rainbow found herself on her back staring up at the pony she had previously teased. The pony slowly smiled an almost devilish smile. “Let's see who melts first.”
***
Rainbow found herself humming a happy tune on her way to the market, and why shouldn’t she have been? She was finally a fully fledged Wonderbolt, she had great friends, and even though she wasn’t in a relationship she had no problem finding a willing stallion or mare for some company pretty much whenever she wanted. She felt a tinge in the back of her mind reminding her that her promiscuous attitude once had a serious consequence, but ever since then she had always been carefull.
It was one of the reasons she prefered taking mares home over stallions.
Besides, everything had turned out okay in the end.
***
Eight years ago
“I want this to be a closed adoption.”
A grey-maned stallion sat across a sparsely adorned wooden desk. Despite the gravity of the situation, he wore an infuriatingly neutral expression. Had he been condescending, Rainbow could have handled that, probably by pushing back. And had be been sympathetic Rainbow probably would have pushed back too, because she didn’t need anypony’s pity, but this wall of passivity was something Rainbow wasn’t sure how to respond to.
“I think you mean sealed,” the stallion corrected her.
“Yeah sealed, whatever. I don’t want her to know that I’m her mother. She can have my medical history in case she needs it, but that’s it.” The baby nestled in Rainbows forelegs started to stir and Rainbow rocked her back and forth.
“I understand that you feel this way now”, the stallion nodded. “but you should know that if you ever change your mind we'll keep her contact information on file.”
Rainbow shook her head. “I'm not going to change my mind. I made a mistake and she’d be better off with a family that will care for her. It's best for everyone if we don't see each other again.”
Rainbow found those words easier to say then she thought they'd be. When she was pregnant all she heard was how she'd instantly fall in love with her little bundle of joy, but looking down at the little orange lump in her forelegs Rainbow felt nothing even approaching the overwhelming emotions she knew she was supposed to feel.
It wasn't that she didn't like the foal who was presently sound asleep. It was appropriately adorable and even though she only had her for a few nights, so far little Scootaloo had proven surprisingly good about sleeping through the night.
But every time she looked into those purple eyes all she could think about was all the things she would miss out on by being a single mother. She’d have to wait to audition for the Wonderbolts, no more staying out late, no more adventures. The tradeoff just wasn’t worth it.
A calm baritone snapped her out of daze. “She’s going to have questions about her parents.”
“Tell her...tell her they died in a train wreck.” Almost as if she understood the baby let out the beginnings of a cry. Rainbow gently shushed her, brushing the purple mane away from the baby’s matching eyes. Thier eyes met and for a moment Rainbow almost changed her mind. “It’s easier that way,” she said, glancing away.
“We won’t lie for you Ms. Dash, but if you want to seal the adoption papers we can do that.”
Rainbow took one last look at the form in front of her. For a legal paper it was surprisingly straightforward. “What are you going to tell her when she asks?
“That her mother dropped her off when she was only a few days old, and we don’t know why but we’re glad she did.”
That answer was enough to placate Rainbow’s lingering doubts. The ponies here would care for her daughter and then they’d find a real family to do the same. Then both of them could live the lives they deserved. “Good. I'm leaving Cloudsdale anyway.”
***
And that had been that. For years afterward Rainbow let herself think about the foal she'd given up only in the most solitary of moments. And every time, without failure, she told herself that she'd done the right thing, that Scootaloo was better off wherever she was and that Rainbow was happier then she’d be if she was a single mother.
Then Scootaloo showed up in Ponyville two years ago. The first time she saw Scootaloo her instinct had been to run home, pack up everything, and get the heck outta Dodge. Even though Scootaloo was now a filly, not the foal she had been when Rainbow had last seen her, there was simply no mistaking that mane, that orange coat and those eyes. And when Rainbow learned that Scootaloo was adopted and her parents moved from Cloudsdale, well that sealed it.
So yeah it was time to run... but then she remembered that conversation and signing those papers. There was no way Scootaloo could possibly know who her birth mother was. And only one other pony in Ponyville knew she even had a daughter and Fluttershy had never met Rainbow’s foal. As far as Fluttershy knew, Rainbow’s daughter lived in Cloudsdale.
And Rainbow liked her life in Ponyville, so she didn’t particularly want to leave.
Thankfully Scootaloo seemed to take more after her father; a guard who was being shipped out the next day the night he and Rainbow met. Rainbow didn’t know how to contact him and even if she could, she doubted he'd be thrilled to know that he had a daughter. They had both been perfectly clear that they were only going to be together for one night.
So between not looking like Rainbow Dash and the seal prohibiting anypony from even looking at the adoption forms without her permission, nopony was any wiser that Scootaloo and Rainbow were more than just honorary sisters.
At first Rainbow had avoided Scootaloo: After all she was just another filly in a town filled with them, it wasn’t hard. But every time she saw Scootaloo - usually scooting about, on her scooter, wind in her mane and a smile on her face, Rainbow grew a little more curious about who her daughter was. What was she like? What were her hobbies? Was she even curious about her birth mother?
After a few months of seeing each other around town, Rainbow worked up the nerve to say something. It was a simple “Nice moves kid”, but that had been all that was needed.
When she asked if they could camping together Rainbow was thrilled, and ever since then the pair had fallen into a rhythm. Rainbow would give her flying lessons and take her for ice cream, and in return Scootaloo looked at her like she was the most awesome pony ever. It was the best parts about being a family without all the hardships that usually came with it.
For the past couple of years Rainbow had periodically received a requests from the adoption agency to open the file - apparently sealing a file didn't prevent the agency from forwarding mail.
The first had been a boilerplate form letter, initiated at the behest of Scootaloo's adoptive parents, requesting permission to release Rainbows name and contact information.
The second time there was a letter from Scootaloo’s foster parents included; assuring their wonderful little girl just wanted to know more about where she came from and that they certainly didn't expect anything from her. If anything they only wanted to say “thank you” for bringing their daughter into the world.
The third form included a message from Scootaloo herself. With meticulously scrawled hoofwriting she told Rainbow all about her life, how she liked to ride her scooter and how awesome her friends were. The last paragraph was a heartbreaking plea to just meet her mother once, please - not because she didn't love her parents or because she was angry, but because ever since she found out she was adopted there was a small piece of her that felt incomplete and maybe meeting her birth mother could help make her feel whole.
Rainbow almost said yes to that one. But rational thought won out before she could put the letter in the mail. Scootaloo already knew her mother, and so what if she didn't realize it? The system they had stumbled onto was working - Rainbow got to be involved in her daughter's life and cared for her, in a manner of speaking, and Scootaloo had a loving family for everything else. It really was the perfect arrangement. She checked the “No” box and sent it back.
Since then she received the same standard form letter a few times a year. Evidently there was no limit to how often a family could request the documents unsealing. And every time she checked the same box.
***
“You're my mother?!”
It was a Saturday morning and Rainbow found herself being woken up by a repeating chime of her doorbell. With bleary eyes she opened the door only to find Scootaloo waiting for her.
“You’re my MOTHER?!”
Rainbow could only stammer an unintelligible string of gibberish. It took her a moment before she was finally being able to articulate a coherent sentence. “What are you talking about Scoots?”
Scootaloo thrust a piece of paper at her and Rainbow instantly recognized it as the form she filled out eight years ago. “Where’d you get this?” she asked in a daze.
“My parents gave it to me! They said the adoption agency finally sent over my adoption papers. And your name was on them!”
“They shouldn’t have done that!” Rainbow growled, too stunned to deal with her world crashing down around her to worry about her more immediate problem. When she did realize Scootaloo was still there, she turned her attention back the very angry looking orange filly.
Scootaloo just stood there, glaring at her with a white-hot fury. “Go to hell.”
The words sounded wrong coming from Scootaloo’s mouth. The profanity, the venom behind them - all of it felt wrong. Rainbow felt the air rush out of her chest. “You don't mean that, Scoots.”
“Yes I do. You can go rot in Tartarus for all I care. I never want to see you again.”
***
Rainbow flew to Cloudsdale angry - clearly the orphanage had violated their agreement. She burst into the main hall demanding to see whoever was in charge. After a moment a blue mare with a yellow mane came down the stairs.
“I’m the matron here,” she said cautiously.
“What the hell were you thinking! You told me the adoption papers would be sealed!”
“I’m sorry who are you?”
“I’m Rainbow Dash.”
“Okay. And how can we help you?”
Being treated as though she was an unruly child only enraged her further. “I dropped a-Scootaloo- off here years ago and you all told me that she’d never find out I was her mother!”
“So you sealed the adoption papers?”
“YES! Except then you sent her a copy.”
The matron walked to a file cabinet. “You said her name was Scootaloo?” Rainbow nodded, barely able to contain the anger boiling inside her. After a moment searching for the appropriate folder the matron pulled an old looking file out of the drawer.
“It says here that you authorized the release.”
Rainbow emphatically shook her head, causing her mane to whip back and forth. “No way! I am going to sue this place eight ways to Sunday!”
If the matron was worried about the threat to sue a non profit entity that helped orphaned children she didn’t show it. Instead she just handed a piece of paper to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow looked down at the familiar form - it was one of the letters she periodically received and mailed back. She was about to shove it back until she noticed the horrible mistake. Instead of the “x” being in the box marked “No”, it was in was in the box to the right. The one marked “Yes”. And at the bottom, was her signature, complete with stars and a lighting bolt. “I didn’t do this,” she said quietly.
“Are you saying someone forged your signature? Because we checked it against the one we had on file, it was a perfect match, and the return postmark was from your address.”
“No,” Rainbow whispered. For the first time since Scootaloo’s visit, reality began to set in. She made a mistake and now she had a daughter who knew who her mother was and that Rainbow had been keeping it from her. And it was nopony’s fault but hers.
***
The trip home took much longer without her anger to fuel her. She found herself ruminating on a story she heard a long time ago.
According to the myth, once upon a time there was a young pegasus who was scared of the dark. Every time the sun set he would grow nervous. One day, rather than confront his fears, he flew to the west, chasing the daylight. Eventually exhaustion overcame his fear and he was forced to stop, only now it was still dark and he was miles from home.
Before today Rainbow never wondered what happened to the colt in the story.
It was late when she got back and between the physical strain of flying long distances and the emotional turmoil she passed out as soon as her head hit the pillow.
When the sun rose the next morning it’s warmth only served to further mock her. Scootaloo enjoyed a nice sunny day - it made for good scootering. With nothing else to do Rainbow let herself wonder how she got into this mess. Somewhere between flying lessons and being idolized Rainbow had stopped considering Scootaloo as her daughter, and that meant she stopped worrying so much that Scootaloo might find out. But now, thanks to her carelessness it appeared she had lost both her sister and her daughter.
As she was sitting on the couch, drowning in self pity, she heard a faint knock on her door. For the second time in two days she was surprised to find Scootaloo on the other side. Scootaloo spoke first, before Rainbow could say anything. “I'm sorry for what I said,” she said, her voice raw, her eyes red from tears.
Rainbow smiled softly, relief gently washing over her. “It's okay.”
“No it's not. My parents taught me better than that.” Scootaloo let that statement hang in the air. My parents - the ponies who took me in and cared for me even though they had no reason to. “You’ve done a lot for me. You gave me up so I could have a better life, I know that. And you've been a great big sister.”
Rainbow didn’t dare move, Scootaloo’s tone made it clear that she was building up to something. “That’s all I was trying to do.”
“But you're not my sister. You're my mother and you knew it. You knew it and you didn’t tell me!” The small voice, that only a moment ago had been hesitant grew more forceful. “You didn't care how much it hurt every time I checked the mailbox hoping to finally get a letter, anything that might tell me something about my parents.”
“Scoots-”
“I wrote you a letter! You must have thought I was so stupid, telling you things you already knew. How long did you spend laughing at me before you sent that back?”
“It wasn’t like that Scoots.”
Scootaloo was now shouting in earnest. “What was it like then huh? Tell me! For once in your life TELL ME!”
“I just thought that what we had was working. I...”
“No!” The little filly took several deep breaths, quivering as she did. “You don't get to decide what kind of relationship we have, not anymore. You didn't want me to know you were my mother, well I don't want you to know me at all.”
The prospect of not having her little si-...no, daughter, around hit Rainbow square in the chest harder then she would have thought possible. She felt the wind rush out of her. “You don't mean that,” she whispered, desperately hoping it was true.
“Yes I do.” Scootaloo took a deep breath and her next words were decidedly softer. “I don’t hate you Rainbow Dash. Mom always says that half the ponies you hate don’t know it, and the other half don’t care, so when you hate you’re only hurting yourself. I’m glad you gave me up for adoption. It’s because of that I have wonderful parents.”
The absolution only served to make Rainbow more nervous. In her experience it was the kind of thing ponies said right before they delivered really bad news. “Scoots-”
“I came here to say goodbye, Rainbow.” Scootaloo sniffled loudly, wiping away a fresh set of tears. “If you want to say sorry, you can write me a letter and maybe I'll forgive you in the future. Or maybe I won’t, I don’t know. Maybe you’ll learn how much it hurts to be rejected by your own family. And then maybe you’ll remember that we could have had some kind of relationship if you didn’t ruin it by being so selfish.”
“Look Scoots, I’m sorry, okay!” Rainbow blurted out in a desperate attempt to salvage whatever relationship she could.
The apology caused Scootaloo’s glare to disappear, but only for a moment. “You’re only sorry because you got caught. Don’t lie to me Rainbow Dash, were you ever going to tell me?”
The intensity of Scootaloo’s stare was unnerving and Rainbow didn’t have enough strength left to lie. “Probably not. I mean, one day I might have...” she said weakly.
“Yeah that’s what I thought. Have a nice life Rainbow.” Instead of leaving though Scootaloo continued to stand on the porch, the tension growing even more palpable. “I really mean that. I hope you end up happy,” she said softly.
And with that Scootaloo turned and walked away, leaving Rainbow alone in her giant empty house.