Sprinkle stood outside of the door and let out a heavy sigh. This is it. She thought. I have to ask them. It's now or never. She pushed the door open, haring the familiar creak as the old hinges struggled to take the weight of the door. Sprinkle signed again, this time with relief. Okay, I'm in. Now to ask them.
"Mom? Mom?" She called. "I'm home!"
After a short pause, a sweet voice replied from upstairs. "Coming, Sprinks!"
Mom and her nicknames... Sprinkle thought with a slight grin. "Can you get Mom to come down here, too?" She asked. "I have to ask you guys something."
"Sure thing, sweetie." Her mom called again. "We'll be down on a second."
"Okay, thanks, Mom!" Sprinkle called, followed by a sigh of relief. Well, that's step one down... now to actually ask them. Sprinkle trotted over to the couch and sat down, mimicking her Mother's signature style of sitting; a way that was much more comfortable than the way everypony else in Equestria sat. She couldn't help but smile a bit at this; it was one of the only things she'd ever really picked up from them... and now she knew why.
Suddenly, Sprinkle heard the creaking of the floor ahead of the stairs. She wiped the smile off of her face and straitened herself up. She couldn't look uncaring; this was the biggest question she'd ever had to ask them, and she had to portray her emotions as she felt them. An emotional facade was not what she needed.
Her moms came into view, and Sprinkle took a deep breath. It's time. I cat back out now. "Hey Ly, BB," Sprinkle hesitantly said. "Can you guys sit down? I have something to ask you."
"Sure, honey," Bon-Bon said, sitting down in the easy chair. "What is it?"
"Well, you guys know that we've been taking those classes at school, and..." Sprinkle paused to look at her moms' faces. They knew where this was going, she could tell. "And we've been talking about... those things, and... and they said that two mares can't have kids, so..." Sprinkle buried her face in her hooves. They knew what she was going to ask; they could fill in the blank on their own.
She felt a weight on the cushion next to her, and an arm on her shoulder. "Listen, Sprinks," It was Lyra. "Your mom and I... we love each other. Very, very much. And, when you love someone, you marry them. And often, part of being married is raising a kid. And you're right. Mares can't have kids."
"So what am I, then?" Sprinkle said through her hooves, not looking up.
"Well, since your mom and I couldn't have kids, we had to find another option," Lyra continued. "And so we went to an adoption agency." Lyra stopped speaking here.
Sprinkle looked up during the silence. "And?"
"Well, we found you there," Now it was Bon-Bon talking. "You were the sweetest little filly I've ever seen. And so we signed the papers, and we took you home, and... and we adopted you."
"So I'm not really your kid?" Sprinkle asked. She could feel tears welling up behind her eyes, but she refused to let them go. She didn't want to cry over this.
"You are, Sprinks," Lyra said. "You are."
But you guys didn't give birth to me," Sprinkle replied, "So I'm not."
"Look at me, Sprinks," Lyra said. Startled by the urgency in her adoptive Mother's voice, she looked at the mint green unicorn. Her mother's face was stained red with tears. "I know exactly how you feel, Sprinks."
"How?" Sprink demanded. "How could you know how I feel? How could you understand how it feels to call someone your mom for thirteen years, only to learn that they just picked you up from some building and claimed you as their own?"
"Because I am, too, Sprinkle!" Lyra shouted. "You wanna know how I know what it feels like? I'm adopted, too, okay? My sister Skyra and I were dropped off at the adoption agency the day after we were born, and picked up by some other family a day later! And they didn't tell us until we were your age, okay? They kept us thinking that they were ou parents, when they really weren't, okay? I know exactly how you feel! You feel abandoned, unloved, and like your whole life is a lie!"
"Then why did you let me go through it?" Sprinkle sobbed. "Why didn't you tell me when I was younger, so I'd take it better and I'd be used to the idea? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I don't know!" Lyra cried. "I don't know, okay? I would rather have not ever had to tell you! I didn't want to ever let you go through this! I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to hurt you!"
"And so you just let me live in ignorance, waiting for somepony to tell me so you wouldn't have to?"
"Sprinkle, Lyra, stop it," Bon-Bon interjected. "We're not getting anywhere with this. Stop arguing and listen, both of you. We only adopted you, Sprinkle, because Lyra wanted us to. Lyra wanted a kid much more than I did. And I think part of the reason she didn't tell you is because of a subconscious longing for somepony who understands."
"But she has Skyra for that, doesn't she?" Sprinkle asked.
"There's a difference between a sibling and your daughter," Bon-Bon answered.
"But I'm not your daughter!" Sprinkle cried.
"Yes, you are!" Bon-Bon replied. "You're our daughter Sprinkle, and we love you. I've never felt as attached to anypony, save Lyra, than I have to you. I love you, and it kills me to see you this sad."
"Then why didn't you tell me earlier?" Sprinkle demanded.
"We're going in circles here," Bon-Bon sighed. "We never wanted to tell you in the first place. We kinda figured, as you got older, that you'd figure to our for yourself; and that you'd understand why we adopted you. We thought that you'd be older, but things happen so fast nowadays, and... and I'm sorry."
"And so am I," Lyra added. "I never wanted you to go through this. I should have told you sooner. I'm sorry."
"But you guys aren't my parents, though..." Sprinkle repeated.
"Listen, Sprinkle," Bon-Bon said. "We don't have to be biologically related to be your parents. Legally, we're your parents. But it's nowhere near that shallow. We love you, Sprinkle. We truly do. You are our daughter, and we love you with all of our hearts. We wouldn't give you up for anything in the world."
"So what you're saying is, you treat some random kid you picked out of a place chock-full of them and spend a while with it and then you decide you love it?" Sprinkle replied. "That doesn't count as love. It's not a parental, biological love, it's just a way of saying you don't want to have to go through all of the legal things with letting me go."
"Sprinkle, do you remember the day I broke my leg?" Lyra asked.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Sprinkle replied.
"Just answer me, Sprinks." Lyra responded.
"Well, yes, I do," Sprinkle answered. "But what does it matter?"
"Do you remember why it broke?" Lyra asked.
"Yes, you got hit by a carriage," Sprinkle replied.
"A carriage that would have hit you," Lyra said. "That carriage was careening straight towards you, and I just had time to push you out of the way before if flattened you. Do you think someone who didn't love you would risk their life to save yours?"
Sprinkle sat there in silence. "No," She finally said. "No, I don't think they would. But... it's just going to be hard to come to terms with this, you know? Figuring out that the mares I've called my parents aren't really my parents... it's just really, really hard to deal with, and... I just need some time to think. Okay?"
"That's fine, Sprinkle," Bon-Bon said, standing up and enveloping her adopted daughter in a hug. "That is perfectly fine. I love you."
"And so do I, Sprinks," Lyra said, joining in on the hug. "Can you forgive us?"
"Yes," Sprinkle replied. "I can. I just need to think, that's all."
"And you can," Lyra replied. "You can."
