A Good Home

by Crimson Enjoyer

Prologue

The lights were dim in the Headmare’s office, and the only sound was the ticking clock on the wall. The five ponies seated around the room all waited patiently for the arrival of a sixth.

The doors swung open, and the ponies turned their heads to see Twilight walk in, an odd expression on her face

“Alright, well, the good news is,” Twilight started as she sat down on her chair and rested her forelegs on her desk. “I was able to talk Luna out of sending her to Tartarus.”

“Tartarus?!” said Rarity with a gasp. “That seems rather-“

“Like extreme overkill for a filly? Yeah, I agree. Luna apparently saw it differently.” Twilight’s face turned a bit sour. “And still does, actually.”

“So…What’s the bad news?” asked Applejack. Twilight sighed.

“The bad news is we still have absolutely no leads. No birth certificate, no identity records, nothing. Which means we still have no way of figuring out where she came from.”

“Well, she couldn’t have just like, memorialized out of thin air,” said Rainbow Dash, prompting everypony else in the room to stare at her incredulously. “What?”

“Ah think the word yer looking for is ‘materialized’, hun,” said Applejack, putting a hoof over her wife’s shoulder.

“Oh. Right, yeah, that… that makes more sense,” Rainbow blushed in embarrassment, then noticed Pinkie Pie snickering.

“You got something to say, Pinkie?” she said accusingly.

“ANYWAY,” Twilight spoke up, getting the conversation back on track, “since we don’t know where she’s from, we don’t have any place to send her.”

“Maybe we can send her to an Orphanage,” suggested Fluttershy. “She’d have a place to live, would always be under supervision, she might even get adopted!”

“I’m not certain putting her somewhere with so many other foals would be so smart,” said Rarity. “With how easily she was able to turn the adults and teenagers to her side, Celestia knows what she could do with a mansion full of ponies her own age.”

“Get ‘em to tie up the nuns and make a mess of the place?” Applejack smirked.

“Well, it’s a definite concern.”

Twilight shook her head. “Rarity’s right; an orphanage is too risky. We need to send her someplace we can keep an eye on her. Someplace where she can’t manipulate anypony into doing her bidding.”

Noticing the contemplative frowns all of her friends had, Twilight stood up and adjusted her tone. “But it also needs to be someplace where she can learn how to be better. A place with ponies who’ll teach her what friendship is really about, and who can keep her from continuing to go down this path in life.

Her voice grew a new level of conviction. “She needs ponies who’ll care for her, and make her see the value in caring for others.”

Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. They held uneasy expressions, and communicated silently. Applejack’s face softened as Rainbow’s did, and she turned to Twilight.

“What if, um… What if we took her in? Rainbow an’ I, ah mean.”

Everypony except her wife stared at her like she had grown three extra heads.

“Applejack…” Twilight began carefully. “I know you and Rainbow Dash have been thinking about adoption for a while, but-“

“Ah didn’t say “adopt”, jus’…ya know, taking her in, keeping an eye on her… givin’ her a good home. That sorta thing, ya know?”

“That sounds an awful lot like adoption,” said Pinkie.

“Well, there wouldn’t be any paperwork or whatever,” said Rainbow with a shrug, before turning to AJ. “Right?”

She nodded. “Nothin’ official. As far as the law goes, we’re just a couple a good Samaritans takin’ in a filly without a home.”

“That’s all fine and good, darling, but-and I hope you don’t think me rude for asking this- why?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Whaddya mean ‘why’? Ain’t everythin’ we just talked about enough of a reason?”

“What I think Rarity means, Applejack-” began Twilight. “-is why do you want to take her in? Are you really sure you want to add ‘looking after a disturbingly clever and conniving foal and putting her on the right path’ to your lives?”

She turned her attention to the Pegasus. “And Rainbow Dash, are you certain you’re equipped for something like this?”

Rainbow glared. “And just what do you mean ‘something like this’?”

“I just mean that, well, taking care of a foal isn’t something everypony is meant to do, and-“

“You think I shouldn’t be a mom, don’t you?” Rainbow exclaimed, standing up in anger.

Twilight winced at her friend’s outburst, and tried to backpedal. “That’s… I didn’t say that!”

“It certainly seemed like you were,” said Rarity, furrowing her brow. The other ponies in the room seemed to agree, judging by their expressions. Applejack especially was glaring daggers at the Alicorn

“Rainbow, look, all I was trying to say is-“ she was interrupted when the Pegasus raised her hoof.

“Just be honest, Twilight. Do you think, that I’m fit to be a mom?”

“I-“ Twilight bit her lip and looked away, sighing.
“No, Rainbow Dash. I don’t think you’re ready to be a mother.”

There was a long stretch of silence. Applejack reached a hoof over to Rainbow and spoke softly. “Dash, i-“

Rainbow suddenly spun around to face her other friends. “And what do you all think? Huh? Do you agree?”

“Dash.” Applejack put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder “We’ve talked about this before, ya know ah think you’d be a great mother-“

“I know, I know. But I want to know what you all think,” she gestured to Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy. “Just tell me if you agree with Twilight or not.”

"Nopony dared to answer, or even look her in the eyes. But just as Rainbow was about to make some kind of scathing comment, Fluttershy spoke up.

“I don’t agree.”

Everypony turned to look at the yellow Pegasus, but she did not wince or shrink under their gazes. Instead, she carried on.

“I know Rainbow Dash might not be the most ‘motherly’ pony at first glance, but I also know how determined she is. If there’s something that she wants or needs to do, she’ll put everything she has into it. She never stops at ‘you tried your best’, she just goes and tries harder.”

Fluttershy got up from her seat and walked towards her blue friend, a confident look on her face. “I also know how loving she can be. When she really, truly loves something, or someone, she’ll talk like it’s the greatest thing in the world. I have no doubt that any colt of filly being raised by our Rainbow Dash would always know just how loved they are.”

She turned to her oldest friend, and smiled. “That’s what I think, at least.” Applejack gave a modest little chuckle.
“Ya took the words right outta my mouth, Shy.”

Rainbow breathed a heavy sigh, and her expression finally softened. “Thanks, Fluttershy.” She gave a small smile of her own and sat back down next to her wife, who draped a foreleg over her neck.
Fluttershy simply nodded, and went back to her seat.

“Now, to get back to your first question,” said Applejack, turning to face a very visibly conflicted Twilight. “If ya wanna know why I wanna take Cozy Glow in, the reason is quite simple…”

She licked her lips, and breathed in through her nose. “From what you’ve said, it sounds like this filly doesn’t have anything she can call a family. Now, y’all now there’s nothing more important to me than family, and if I have a chance to give one to somepony who clearly needs it… well, I’d be going against my own nature to not take it.”

Once again, there was silence. Twilight and Rarity were contemplating quietly, Pinkie glanced back and forth at everyone in the room, and Fluttershy seemed content to wait for someone else to speak. AJ and Rainbow simply sat in embrace, waiting for an answer.

---

Nearby, in Starlight’s counsellor room, a filly sat on the floor, eyeing the locked door with growing impatience.

She grumbled and pouted. This was technically her first time being sent to “detention”, so to speak. She could see why other foals talked so fearfully of it.

She kept looking at the door. Nothing.

With a loud groan, Cozy Glow let her head fall to the ground. She stared up at the ceiling, and found herself actually starting to count the tiles.

Maybe I should just go to sleep, she thought to herself.

Just then, the door was unlocked. Cozy got up to see it open, revealing Twilight Sparkle with an unreadable facial expression.

“Good news, Cozy Glow. We’re sending you to the farm.”

Oh my lord, they’re going to kill me.

Author's Note:

This idea, like most ideas i have, is one that came to me randomly while was out walking.

I want to try to really take my time with this story, so updates to it will probably be less frequent than my other ones. That being said, expect Chapter one sometime fairly soon.

As a side note, i'm currently looking for a proof reader. If you're good at spotting minor spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, hit me up.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Applejack and Rainbow Dash have been married for some time, and after Cozy Glow nearly stole all of Equestria's magic and took over the school, they decide to take it upon themselves to insure the evil filly stays out of trouble. By taking her into their home, and raising her like their own child.

All the while, Rainbow sets out to prove she can be a good mother, Applejack sets out to show Cozy the value of caring for others, and Twilight sets out to mend a strained relationship.

How do the Cutie Mark Crusaders feel about this?

[asdtroi8895]

Interesting premise. I do love some more common sense way of dealing with Cozy.

“I-“ Twilight bit her lip and looked away, and then sighing. “No, Rainbow Dash. I don’t think you’re ready to be a mother.”

I don't know. I think she would be surprisingly good at it.

[Skyshy]

“Good news, Cozy Glow. We’re sending you to the farm.”

twilight phrasing

[Ciphers]

11853263
Your sister and your idol belong to ME
Applebloom and Scoot: *gasp*

[Ralanost]

I'm a fan of Cozy Glow stories, so I'll give this a shot.