Author's Note
A Mother's Love
Sunlight peered through the curtains of Rainbow's room, beginning its daily process of rousing her from slumber. She squeezed her eyelids tightly, using her hoof to wipe away the sand. She groaned, stretching to relieve the tension in her muscles. She thought about preparing a pot of coffee, but before she could do so, there was someone she had to see. She rolled off the mattress, landing firmly on her hooves. While not a morning person by nature, it felt relaxing being up at a reasonable hour.
"Don't worry, bud. Mama's comin'."
Rainbow chuckled softly. Who she was now was such a far cry from her youth, yet somehow, she felt closer to that rambunctious part of herself than ever. She was always up for a challenge. What greater was there? Still, she never thought the decision to nurture another life would play out so meticulously. She exited the room, opening the door to the right of the hall.
Rainbow reached into the crib, stroking her son's mane.
"He looks so peaceful. I'll let him sleep in a bit longer. Should probably get his formula ready just in case."
She leaned down, kissing the foal's forehead.
"This'll be interesting. That's for sure."
Rainbow made breakfast while her son slept. She tidied up the house while listening to the radio. The rock station played old hits from the early 2000's. It reminded her of her fillyhood. On the days her parents couldn't find a foalsitter, her mom would take her to work. It was her earliest exposure to rock and metal. She fully intended to raise her son the same way. Once the food was ready, she awakened him from his rest.
"Morning, buddy. How ya doin'?"
The colt's response of indecipherable baby noises melted Rainbow's heart. All the toughness she projected as a young, vitalic mare seemed meaningless in the face of his innocence. A new kind of strength took its place, filling her with a desire to protect and cherish the life cradled before her.
"See what you've done to me? Hope you're proud of yourself."
The colt giggled. Rainbow nuzzled him tenderly. She wondered if this was how her parents felt when she was born.
"Mom's gonna feel so old when I tell her. Maybe it's not so bad, though. She always wanted grandkids. Figures I'd only understand why now."
Rainbow thought about ways they could kill time until they were ready to leave. She decided on a movie she knew they would both enjoy.
"They say TV rots your brain, but it's a critical component of child-rearing these days. Funny how that works, isn't it?"
Her son blew out a raspberry in reply.
"Two can play at that game, squirt."
The Pegasus followed suit, blowing onto the colt's tummy. He laughed even louder than before.
"Ya think that's funny, wait 'til ya meet Applejack."
Rainbow snuggled the colt, allowing him to recover as the film went on.
When the time came to leave, Rainbow attached a safety harness to the side of her jeans. She placed her son inside, making doubly sure it was tight enough to hold his weight.
"How 'bout it, kiddo? Ready for a horsy ride?"
The colt did an awkward dance to express his excitement.
"Least I have an idea what you'll be like hopped up on ice cream. Remind me to keep an exorcist on speed dial."
Rainbow locked the door, concealing the key in her opposite pocket. She spread her wings. Age might've slowed her down somewhat, but she was far from frail.
"I should write a book. I know just what to call it, too: Foal's first Flight."
The colt clapped his hooves together in agreement.
"Knew you'd like that. Come on. Let's go see your aunties."
Rainbow hovered into the air. She calculated the altitude and velocity for safe passage.
"Let's rock!"
"Dah!"
Rainbow met up with her friends at the park in the middle of town. She hadn't told them the specifics of who she was bringing along. Needless to say, they were absolutely floored by the revelation.
"You take up a foalsittin' gig?" Applejack asked.
"Nah. This little guy's mine."
Her companions stared in shock with wide eyes and open mouths. There was no way they'd heard that correctly.
"Excuse me!?" Rarity exclaimed. Rainbow grinned.
"Surprised?"
"Surprised!? I'm absolutely bewildered! This is the first we've seen of you in ages, and now we're finding out you have a child!?"
"That's weird," Pinkie pointed out, "He doesn't look like you."
"Pinkie senses are sharp as ever. I adopted him a few weeks ago."
"Now I'm even more confused." Rarity voiced.
"We're all gettin' older, Rares. I couldn't go through life bein' a carefree jock forever."
"Well...I suppose...But still...You're the last person I ever expected to take up the mantle of motherhood..."
"What? You don't think I'd make an awesome mom?"
"You know that's not what I mean."
"Truth is, I didn't wanna be left alone with my thoughts. My head goes to some pretty dark places if I'm left alone too long."
"I'm not so sure that's a good reason to assume this sort of responsibility."
"I think I've been doing okay so far."
"Well...Yes...I suppose so..."
"What better reason is there? Without someone around to force me to shape up, I probably would've gone crazy sooner or later."
"I see..."
"The first couple days were a bit rough, but after you learn how to communicate, it's not so bad."
"What's his name?" Twilight inquired.
"Raiden."
"That sounds familiar."
"I thought so, too."
"We'll look into it another time."
"Yeah. Right now I just wanna chill out and show off."
"That's the Rainbow I remember."
The group settled down to lunch.
Over their meal, Rainbow elaborated on her reasons for adopting Raiden.
"Twilight mentioned a long time ago there were a lot of kids in foster care. I wasn't interested in trying to pursue a relationship, and the pain of childbirth is something I can do without."
"You were lonely." Fluttershy realized.
"I had so much love to give, but no one to give it to. I thought having someone depend on me would pull me out of this rut I've been stuck in. I feel better just having him around, ya know...?"
Rarity was moved to tears. This side of Rainbow was something she'd never seen before. Her heart was unequivocally touched by her friend's display of vulnerability.
"I'm honestly a bit jealous," Twilight admitted, "I've been so busy I haven't had time to consider starting a family. Now I know how Celestia and Luna must have felt."
"We all need companionship." Rarity acknowledged. She wiped her nose with a handkerchief. "I never realized how critical it was to our survival."
"Without the things that mean something to us, we would all be hanging by a thread. How didn't I see it sooner?"
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Rainbow comforted, "We drifted apart. It happens. We can't just stop living because we have doubts."
"Then I've decided. I'm going to do what makes me happy."
"Guess it was my turn to teach you something, huh?"
Twilight smiled.
"Guess so."
"I'm gonna play with Raiden for a bit. I'll leave you guys to figure out what you wanna do."
"Sounds good. Have fun."
"We will."
Rainbow squished her face against her son's. She carried him over to the swing set. The others watched on without so much as a word...
