Darkened Sky and Firetrail were in the hospital room with Sparks. River stepped quietly out, wanting to give her fiance a few minutes alone with her parents. She stared down the empty hallway of the maternity ward, then flicked her ear at the sound of a happy sob from inside the room. River smiled ruefully. Darkened Sky was such a sap.

She sighed and rested her head on the wall, feeling a burning disappointment somewhere in her belly. When her eyes slid over Darkened Sky and Firetrail as they cooed over the baby, she felt jealousy start to eclipse the disappointment, but she forced the feeling down and turned away. It wasn’t Sparks’ fault that her parents were supportive, and River would never want anything less for her fiance.

A flash of blue light sparked somewhere behind her, then Starlight walked up and peered into the room.

“How’re Sparks and the baby?”

River smiled slightly, tears still wetting her eyes. “They are perfect. We named her Melody Gold.”

Starlight nodded, then slid her eyes sideways to look at Running River. “So listen...I know you told me not to, but your parents deserve to know they have a granddaughter…”

The fur on River’s back prickled and she whipped her head around to snarl at the unicorn. “You told them??”

Starlight took a nervous step back, then squared her shoulders and furrowed her brow. “Y-Yes! You may not like them, but they deserve to know your daughter!”

The blue earth pony’s green eyes blazed. “Not like them??? They kicked me out Starlight! They disowned me and refused to let me come home!!!”

Advancing on Starlight, River felt her voice rising, but she didn’t care. “THEY ABANDONED THEIR TEENAGED DAUGHTER JUST BECAUSE SHE LOVED ANOTHER MARE!!!!”

Tears began to spill down her cheeks as River felt the lump in her throat cut off her next words. Gritting her teeth, she spun and turned away from the startled unicorn. “They don’t deserve shit in my life.”

River clenched her eyes shut, feeling the hospital lights burn through her eyelids. Rhythmic beeping, wheel rattling, and pony voices made her ears ring as she felt suddenly unsteady on her hooves.

“River...I-I’m so sorry. I had no idea…” Starlight reached out a hoof to the blue mare’s shoulder, but before she could comfort her friend, the earth pony had fled down the hall. Sighing, Starlight knocked on the doorframe to the hospital room and winced at Sparks’s delighted smile as she gestured her inside.

oOo

Running River made it just outside the hospital door before she collapsed to her haunches, breath coming in short ragged gasps. Her vision swam with tears and panic as she tried to steady the anxiety attack that was raging through her. Her forelegs shook uncontrollably and she wrapped them around herself, trying to hold all her pieces together. Sobbing, River felt the crushing waves of sorrow, anger, and bitterness wash over her again after all these years.

“River?”

Her breath caught in her throat as the familiar soft voice echoed behind her. River turned, stricken to see her mother standing there. Whitewater had her ears laid back and a measured look in her eyes.

“I-....Starlight told us that Sparks had the baby.”

River could hardly breathe. Her mother was standing right there, in front of her, speaking to her. Whitewater rubbed the back of her head with her hoof. “Um. I...I know you probably wouldn’t want to see me, but I wanted to meet her.”

Her daughter spun back around, refusing to let her mother see the tears running down her cheeks. “Where’s dad.” She asked flatly.

The white mare grimaced. “He uh… He’s busy.”

“Bullshit.”

“River…”

“Look, Whitewater, we both know why he’s not here.”

Whitewater winced. “You can call me mom.”

“I don’t know if I agree. A mother wouldn’t abandon her daughter because she’s gay.” River snarled over her shoulder.

Sighing, the white mare stepped towards her hurting daughter. “Running River, I am sorry for that. Your father and I...we just…” She sighed again, not finding the words right for what she wanted to say.

River laughed ruefully. “It’s too late for apologies.”

Whitewater sat heavily on her haunches. “I know we hurt you. I know I hurt you. I just wanted to meet my grandfoal.”

“Her name is Melody Gold. She is a coral pink unicorn filly with pink, orange, and red in her mane and tail. She’s beautiful and feisty and perfect and Sparks is fine thanks for asking.” River hardly took a breath as she let all her frustration and pain pour into her words.

Whitewater closed her eyes. “Right. I’m sorry. How is Seeking Sparks? How was the birth?”

“Well she gave birth last night in the middle of Ponyville.” River said with a snarl. “No one around to help or offer any support. Suppose that’s just how the mares in this family are meant to be treated.”

“River…”

“No!” The blue mare spun on her heel and stared at her mother, green eyes burning with fury. “You kicked me out! You abandoned me!!! You don’t get to just walk up here and ask to see my perfect new daughter and act like everything is okay!!”

“I...I want to be in your life again…” Whitewater whispered meekly.

“Then you are going to walk away right now and give me so fucking time to think about this!!!” River’s chest heaved as she fought to speak through the tears. She fought against the part of her that wanted to just collapse into her mother’s forelegs and let her tears fall like when she was a filly. Whitewater didn’t deserve that forgiveness yet.

“If you really want to be in my life, then you are going to work for it. You are going to prove to me that I can trust you again!!” River turned towards the hospital door, turning her back on her mother. “And you are going to figure out what to do about my father.”

“Darling…”

“NO!” River stamped her hoof and refused to turn back to Whitewater. “No. You do not get to walk up here like everything is okay and ask for a place back in my life. You and father DISOWNED ME!!!”

Taking a shaking breath, Running River looked slightly back over her shoulder, still not making eye contact. “If you want to be my daughter’s grandmare, then you are going to prove to me that you won’t hurt her like you hurt me.”

“River....”

“Goodbye mother.”

River walked back into the hospital on shaking legs, but she never once looked back over her shoulder.

oOo

Firetrail was the first to notice the tear tracks on River’s fur and the redness of her eyes. She angled her head towards the door as soon as River walked through it, and the blue mare reluctantly followed her out to the hallway.

“What happened?” The peach colored pegasus reached out and brushed a tear from River’s cheek.

The earth pony leaned into the caring touch, feeling the ache in her heart ease just the slightest bit. “Starlight told my parents. I ran into my mother outside.”

Firetrail felt her wings bristle. She had always been protective of River, ever since she had been forced to move into their home as a teenager when her parents kicked her out. There was no doubt that Fire’s feisty attitude fit her name well, and her husband often joked that Sparks was just a smaller version of her rambunctious mother.

“You are under no obligation to forgive her.”

River smiled sadly. “I know. And I told her as much. But it’s hard to turn your mother away when she’s finally trying to make amends.”

Firetrail pulled River into a tight hug, wrapping her forelegs and wings around the young mare she had long thought of as another daughter. “You know you have a family right here who supports you always. A beautiful fiance, and a perfect new daughter.”

River returned the embrace, feeling her broken pieces starting to stitch back together. “Sparks told you about the proposal I guess?”

Laughing, Fire rubbed her back soothingly. “Yes she did. And I can’t wait to walk you down the aisle.”

“What?” River pulled back and looked quizzically at her soon to be mother in law.

Firetrail smiled at her. “Well, if Darkened Sky is going to walk Sparks down the aisle, then I think it is only fitting if I accompany you.”

Tears welled up in River’s eyes again. “Shit Fire you’re gonna make me cry again.”

The pegasus smiled and cocked her head back towards the hospital room. “Why don’t you go hug my daughter and tell her what happened?”

River smiled, feeling a soothing warmth flow through her as she looked in at her girlfriend and their new daughter. “I love her so much.”

Fire nudged her and watched as River walked into the room, her eyes shining as she climbed into the bed next to Sparks. Sky kissed his daughter’s forehead, then walked into the hallway to join his wife.

“She’s incredible.”

Fire laughed at him. “Sparks or Melody?”

Sky grinned, pride showing in his eyes. “Both!”

“She certainly has come so far from that little filly in a wing brace.” Firetrail fluffed out her feathers and leaned against her husband’s shoulder.

“Do you ever think about what our lives would be like if she had never hit that flag pole?” Sky asked quietly.

Fire looked over her daughter and her beautiful girlfriend and their perfect new baby. “I think we are all exactly where we are meant to be.”

Sky nodded slowly. “I suppose a broken wing could be a good thing.”

Smiling, the peach pegasus closed her eyes, remembering the look on Seeking Sparks’ face after her first summer at Camp Friendship. “That wing will always be a reminder of her pain and what she can’t do, but it’s also a reminder of everything she has now and all the ponies and experiences she’s known since she started camp.”

“And camp certainly is the reason she is who she is today.” Sky wrapped a foreleg around his wife. “And the reason we still have her with us.”

The two pegasi watched from the doorway while their daughter and her fiance comforted one another and marveled over their new daughter.

Melody Gold, the first magically conceived foal in all of equestrian history, had an entire life to look forward to, and no one knew how her magic would manifest or what her future would be. But one thing was for sure, Equestria would have to watch out, because any foal of Seeking Sparks and Running River was certain to be a force to be reckoned with.

Author's Note

Thank you all for reading!! Melody's story will continue at some point in the future, I promise. We will also get to see what Leaning Oak wrote to River, and how Whitewater tries to make up with her daughter. You can look for all of that in my next story!

Thanks for all the views, comments, and support! I hope you have enjoyed this journey as much as I have.