“I’m so glad you decided to take my up on my offer on coming over,” Andrew said happily to Warm Smile as she entered his home.

“Well, as much as I love the kids at the orphanage, they can be a bit of a hoofful at times,” She admitted. “It’s so nice that Fluttershy and Rainbow offered to look after them for a while.”

“Yeah, they're good mares,” Andrew responded as the unicorn took a place on the couch. What Andrew neglected to tell her was that it had been Rainbow’s idea to get the two alone to better their chances of adoption. Inviting the sweet, but lonely mare over for tea was an ideal option.

“So how would you like your tea? With milk or without? One lump of sugar or two?” the human called casually from the kitchen.

“Oh, milk and three lumps please!” the mare called back.

“Figures. Of course she would like it sweet,” Andrew chuckled inwardly to himself.

“The kettles gonna be ready in a bit,” Andrew pointed out as he returned. “So tell me, what's been going on with you?”

“Oh, not much,” Warm waved a hoof casually. “The same old, you know. Though Feathered Quill has been going through far more paper and ink than I can afford. I swear that filly is going to be a great writer one day,” she smiled.

“Oh? Looks like I’ve got some competition then,” Andrew smirked.

“Huh?”

“Well, I’ve been dabbling in writing too. Nothing concrete yet, I’m still working on fleshing out the storyline and making sure there’d be no kinks or bits that the readers wouldn’t like.”

“Wow, I didn’t know you were into writing.” The mare smiled.

“Yeah, I’ve always liked a good book. So you’re saying this filly is running out of paper?” Andrew inquired.

“At an alarming rate. She’s in one of her ‘modes’,” Warm responded, using her hooves to punctuate the statement.

“Huh. Wait here,” Andrew motioned for her to stay as he made his way upstairs.

He returned a few moments later with a sizable bundle of paper, with a few inkwells sitting on top.

“A present from the big scary alien,” Andrew chuckled, setting the pages down on the small coffee table in front of the seat.

“Oh, thank you!” Warm smile beamed. “I’m sure she’ll be very appreciative.” She finished with a sure tone.

“Don’t worry about it. I’d get her a typewriter too, but those things are a pain to keep working,” He grumbled, remembering how the typewriter sitting on his desk upstairs had a dodgy enchantment on it that liked to start a new paragraph on a whim.

The sound of a shrill whistle chimed from the kitchen. “Ah, that’ll be the kettle,” Andrew confirmed as he made his way back over to it.

The unicorn continued to smile warmly, until the human had disappeared from sight. When he had, she let out a sad sigh and slumped back into the soft lounge.

While she had come over to drink tea with her friend, and was very much looking forward to doing so, there was another reason for her coming over.

Warm Smiles may not have been a genius but she certainly wasn’t blind. It was obvious, especially to her, that Andrew and Rainbow had been dropping hints and gestures of adoption. It was most obvious on the mornings when scootaloo came home, commented on how they kept calling her ‘their little girl’.

The unicorn found it so heartwarming to see the young couple, finally deciding to take it further. Which is why it broke her heart to have to tell Andrew what she knew.

Andrew soon re-entered the living room, carrying two porcelain teacups, two fingers wrapped around the handle of each. Now that she saw how the human used the handles, it made their purpose far clearer.

Magically snagging the cup which Andrew had indicated was hers, she brought it up to her muzzle, and began to lap at the sweet brew delicately.

Lapping up a beverage was not considered animalistic in Equestria. Though it wasn’t something you would ever find a higher-up doing. Seeing as it was just a casual meeting between two friends, Warm Smile didn’t worry much.

It was apparent that Andrew cared little too. Content to alternate between sipping and gulping the drink loudly. Casual conversation kicked up once more, lulling them both into a relaxed state.

Though as the unicorn’s tea drained, so did her confidence about telling Andrew. She didn’t want any part of this, but the aforementioned higher-ups cared little about feelings or families.

She didn’t want to do this. She was Warm Smile, the friendliest, most loving unicorn under Celestia’s sun. She couldn’t do this to a fledgling family. Especially one as nice as this. But keeping it from them would be just as cruel. They would find out sooner or later.

‘Why do I have to be the bearer of bad news?” She moped to herself.

“I uh- I’ve got something to tell you Andrew,” Warm said, putting the cup down as she had finished it.

“You’re not pregnant are you?” He chuckled aloud, until he saw that she did not return the humour, only looking at him with a sad expression.

Shutting up quickly, he allowed her to continue.

“Listen Andrew. I know you are seriously thinking about adopting Scootaloo,” She said, causing Andrew to nod in confirmation.

“Now believe me when I say this, but I would love for her to live here. She just seems so much happier when she's around you two,” the mare sighed sadly.

“What’s this about Smiles?” Andrew said evenly. His tone dead serious.

Warm Smiles shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but directly at the human. With an almost sob, she looked to the floor and shut her eyes.

“You can’t adopt her,” she said weakly, before adding.

“Or any other foal.”

Rainbow Dash stormed angrily around the room, as Andrew sat, hands rubbing at his temples. Sadly, the information that the unicorn had given him hadn’t gone down well with the pegasus. Andrew was just glad that by the time Rainbow came home, Warm Smiles had already left.

After all, neither were in the mood for tea after that.

“I can’t believe this! Who gives them the right to say you’re not fit to parent!” Rainbow shouted angrily, eyeing the small, battered table in the corner of the room that frequently became an outlet for her rage.

“I’m an alien, Dash. There’s no way they’d let me adopt, they barely know anything about me! I can’t believe we didn’t think of this,” Andrew moped into his hands. Once again, he had put his new life on the rocks simply by being him.

Anger welled within him. Since coming to Equestria, he had tried so hard to shield the ponies from humanity’s darker side. But twenty thousand years of anger and hatred was hard to suppress, and occasionally slipped free.

“This is fucking bullshit!” He bellowed, standing and delivering a hugely powerful boot to the small table that Dash had been contemplating doing the same thing.

The small article of furniture skyrocketed upwards, straight into the brick mantelpiece. Unsurprisingly, it survived. The table had an admirable tolerance to damage, despite its abused body.

While it was frightening to see the big human angry, Rainbow never felt scared. She knew he would never ever hurt her.

“Hey come on now,” Dash said softly as she fluttered up behind him and draped her forehooves over his shoulders, around his neck, while she nuzzled the back of his head with her nose. While it was rare for the pegasus to be the one to comfort the human, it did happen.

Andrew loosened beneath her. the feeling of her amazingly soft fur around him soothed him like nothing else. If he wasn’t so upset with the government for not allowing him to adopt, he would have found Rainbow’s sudden switch from angry to calming funny.

“We’ll work something out,” she reasoned, whispering it into his ear from behind.

Andrew didn’t respond, only letting loose a powerful exhale, and rubbing back against his mare’s face as best as he could.

“I’ll make dinner tonight, you just sit down,” Rainbow said softly, though her tone indicated that she was not to be argued with.

“Thanks, love,” Andrew smiled, reaching up to scratch her behind the ear.

Eventually, she peeled off, flapping over to the kitchen. Letting Andrew collapse into the lounge and bring his hands up to his face, with a groan.

Out of all the things that could have happened, this was one massive kick to the gut. Andrew had always prided himself on being two steps ahead, how he failed to see this was beyond him.

What hurt him the most was that he was once again, reminded that he was still an alien. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to have the fact that you’re different to everyone else so plainly thrown up in front of you.

He bristled with anger, they hadn’t even given him a chance. They had just flat out assumed, that he would be unfit to become a parent. What evidence did they have to support those claims? Sure, he may have been less than emotionally stable when he arrived in Equestria, but he had calmed since then. Thanks to the loving courtesy of one gorgeous blue pegasus.

He was sure that all his friends would encourage him to appeal to the day and night courts. If he could win them over, he would likely be able to sway the adoption agency’s mind.

But he just didn’t have the drive to do so. He didn’t want to have to deal with the princesses and their lackeys anymore than he had already. It was no secret that Andrew plainly didn’t like them. But then again, when they lock you up in a laboratory and rip memories from you just to try to learn about your past, one wouldn’t have a high opinion of them either.

So Andrew just lay there, his mind churning at a thousand miles per hour. He and Rainbow had known each other for three and a half years now, and had been dating for over a year.

Some might say that that was a little early to have kids. After all, they weren’t even married. But this is what they both wanted. Besides, Rainbow’s parents had High Ace when they had known each other for just fourteen months. Which is funny considering that a pony’s gestation period is eleven of those months.

Rainbow had quite frequently commented that her brother was an accident after all.

Andrew was at a loss. They couldn’t adopt, and Rainbow very strongly opposed the idea of being inseminated, claiming that it wouldn’t be their child, and it would be like she had cheated on him with some random stallion.

Of course, Andrew respected her wishes, but now it looked as if they would never have a child of their own. It wasn’t as if he could get her pregnant…

...Could he?

Andrew’s eyes shot open. Playing god couldn’t be that hard when you’ve got magic right? The basics were there, and Twilight was the most powerful magic user that he knew of, would it really be that hard for her to alter a few million single celled organisms into something more pony friendly?

He’d seen her turn oranges into frogs, and levitate entire fields of apples at once, all without breaking a sweat. She had even time travelled and claimed that it was ‘nothing much’.

The more and more Andrew thought about it, the more the pieces began to fall into place. Maybe there was hope yet. A smile teased its way across his mouth.

“Rainbow!” He said jovially. Springing up and running into the kitchen.

“I’ve had a thought.”

Author's Note

Hopefully, people find this one more suitable