//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: But I'm here for you now // by Dashzilla93 //------------------------------// ***Yesterday since the talk between Rainbow Dash, Big Macintosh and Scootaloo*** Rocky Road stood inside his lettuce tent as his last customer gave him the right amount of bits for five heads of lettuce and walked away, smiling from having such good service. "Have a great day. Come back anytime," Rocky said in a friendly tone as he sat down, sighing a little in relief once he took the chance to relax. He was just about to pack up and close for the night. He thought that a nice nap would do him some good after a day like this. He was about to turn around when a familiar cyan pony dove straight down out of nowhere and landed in front of him and his lettuce stand, kicking up a good amount of dirt and gravel. Rocky winced and covered his face from the flying gravel before he lowered his arm to see the pony rise up with a face of anger and determination, "Rainbow Dash?" He said as he wiped the dirt off his apron, and made sure what was left of the produce wasn't too covered in dirt, "Warn me the next time you do that! You'll spoil the veggies!" Rocky said in a bit of frustration. He didn't want to make his customers sick with dirty vegetables. He calmed himself before asking, "What's with the sudden dramatic entrance?" The hot-tempered mare approached the stand, and sternly asked, "I'm looking for somepony who works here. I have a bone to pick with him, Rocky." She made sure Rocky got the message. She would've loved to say hi to him, but she wasn't in the mood for distractions. She scowled as she leaned over the tent to try and spot who she's looking for, speaking angrily, "I know he's in there." Rocky wasn't scared of Rainbow Dash, but he did understand the look in her eyes and tone in her voice; he got the message real quick, but he had to ask, "Yeesh, what the heck did he do to make you so angry?" He was kind of confused as to what she meant. He had five employees who are all males that work in his lettuce shop, and Rainbow Dash wasn't being specific on who she was talking about. "And mind being a bit more specific? I have five employees working for me, Dash – so details matter right here." "What did he do?!" She put a sarcastic hoof on her chin and said, "Let's see, hmm, oh yeah!" She glared at Rocky as she listed off, "He hurt my best friend, knocked her up, abandoned her when she was pregnant and refused to even speak to her. Shall I go on or is this perfectly clear?" She said in a tone so serious and furious Rocky widened his eyes in shock from the aggression Rainbow Dash had shown him. He's never seen her so angry before but he nodded anyway. "Oh, I see. I think I know who you mean. Lucky for you, he's in the back putting some stuff up. Want me to fetch him?" he asked with a small bead of sweat on his forehead. He's going to feel sorry for his employee when Rainbow Dash sees him. No doubt nab him and strangle him until his throat is nothing but a thread. Rainbow Dash nodded with an angry glare, "Do it fast. I don't have all day." She said as she waited. She had to do it. She had questions that needed to be answered. Rocky walked away and opened the curtain that lead to the back of the tent. Rainbow Dash watched shadows of Rocky and another pony. She heard glimpses of them talking, but they were just mumbles; she was going to say something until she heard shouting inside. "What?! How did she know where I worked?" a confused, frightened voice emitted from inside the tent. "I don't know, and I don't really care. She's impatient and she's also in a really bad mood," Rocky shook his head, "Might as well go out there and talk to her unless you want a trip on the pain train, and the conductor is out there waiting for you," Rocky suggested as he pointed outside. "She mentioned something about you hurting her best friend." The employee let out a loud, grunting sigh complete with an exaggerated eye-roll before responding, "Fine, I'll talk to her. And you know who her best friend is; I've told you a thousand times," he talked rather assertively to his boss. "Hey! Don't you take that tone of voice with me, buster!" He narrowed his eyes at his employee. "Talk to me like that again and you're out of here. Got it?!" Rocky retaliated, promising to fire him should he disrespect him again before the stallion nervously nodded – he needed this job and Rocky was generous when he hired him, and it wouldn't be a good idea to cross him today. "I know who it is, but I am not going to get involved in it. This is all on you!" 'Wow, Rocky doesn't mess around when managing this place,' Rainbow Dash thought as she watched and overheard him talking to his employee like an actual boss. 'Spitfire should take some lessons.' "Sorry, boss," He dipped his head before walking away and peeling back the curtain, approaching Rainbow Dash who still had a stern look on her face. "Long time, no see, Rainbow Dash," he said in a bitter tone, narrowing his eyes at the cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash blinked and snapped herself out of her thoughts before she gave a cold glare to the stallion before her, "Oh, spare me your formal greetings, pal," Rainbow Dash snarled, "You have tons of explaining to do." She replied in an equally bitter tone. ***Present time*** A heavy storm kicked in during the night. Raindrops crashed onto the roof as thunder woke up half of the animals who were staying in Fluttershy's cottage. Lightning occasionally brightened up the night sky now and then accompanied by thunder afterward, naturally frightening the little defenseless critters, spooked by the danger of the stormy nights. Yet, throughout the booming, scary noise brought from the storm, Fluttershy slept soundly in her bed, giving off a gentle snore. She snuggled her head close to her pillow as she slept during the storm. A sudden boom of loud thunder erupted and woke up Scootaloo. She let out a quick gasp before panting softly. She sat up on the edge of her bed and looked out the window and watched the rain pour down and splash outside the window. It was too dark for her to see anything, yet she was able to see her reflection. She then thought she was dreaming the whole thing about Fluttershy being her real mother and figured she was still in that crummy orphanage; life was a cruel deity. She blinked a few times and narrowed her eyes down in depression, anger and exhaustion from being woken up. She sighed to herself, thinking she had no parents and that she'll always be an orphan until the day she dies. She laid back down and rested on her side before closing her eyes to try and get some sleep, again. Lightning shined through the window and thunder crashed into the earth, causing Scootaloo to jump up back on her haunches from the shock; that felt closer than usual. She looked out the window, again, only to feel two soft arms gently wrap around her in a hugging motion and easily pulled her back down, but she didn't fight back. Confused, she looked down at what was holding onto her. Being it was dark as a cave, her mind clouded her to realize that and she calmed down long enough for her vision to slowly adapt and adjusted to the darkness as she was able to see what was grabbing her. She saw two yellow arms coiled around her in a cozy hug. Scootaloo widened her eyes a bit before feeling something touch her back and tiny wings. It felt like soft fur. Scootaloo turned her head and looked up to see Fluttershy holding her close in her arms. Scootaloo's eyes grew wider and her jaw locked open. It wasn't a dream, she wasn't in the orphanage; it was all real, and she was with her real mother. Her mind just gave her a sick, twisted illusion! Her surprised look turned into happiness when she realized all of this was real and that she was finally back in her mother's arms and in the pajamas she gave her earlier. Okay, life may not be as cruel, but it loved to play dirty tricks. "Don't be scared, sweetie," Fluttershy said as she held her daughter close and placed her head on top of hers, smiling lovingly as she comforted her little one as best she could. "I'm not scared, mom. I was just startled," Scootaloosaid as she smiled, trying to act tough, but the warmth of Fluttershy's arms felt like a blanket to her as she slightly snuggled close to her chest. The tough act really didn't last long as a joyful, relaxed smile embedded on her face as she closed her eyes. Fluttershy looked down to see her daughter snuggle close to her and nuzzle her head against her fur. She smiled warmly and nuzzled her head against Scootaloo's head as she gently tightened her hold a bit. Scootaloo looked up at Fluttershy only to have a tender, motherly kiss pressed against her forehead. "I'm so happy I have you back home and in my arms, my precious little baby." Fluttershy said warmheartedly to her daughter as she kept nuzzling her child, glad to finally have her home. Scootaloo smiled and nuzzled under Fluttershy's chin as a small tear slid down from her eye, "I'm happy I finally found you. I missed you so much, mommy," no more nightmares, no more worries, no more anguish. Scootaloo couldn't be at any more peace. The storm raged on, but that didn't stop them from snuggling close to one another. They laid down with the covers over them while Scootaloo nestled in her mother's arms. Fluttershy smiled warmly as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She softly caressed her daughter's head and gave her another gentle kiss on the forehead, "I missed you so much too, my little baby," she said as she enjoyed this moment with her flesh and blood. She couldn't ask for any more than this. "Mommy…" Scootaloo softly called out, drawing Fluttershy's attention. "Yes, sweetie?" she responded softly to her. "I… I love you," Scootaloo softly said as she fell back to sleep. And at that moment, Fluttershy was at a loss for words. Her eyes widened only slightly. She bit her lip to prevent them from quivering and tried her best to hold any hiccups that wanted to come out, but the tears from hearing her daughter say those three words begged to differ. Her heart filled to the brim with warmth and love. If there was any goal in life she never thought of expecting until now, this was it. It didn't occur to her of that very thing and she couldn't be more prouder of herself. She smiled softly down at Scootaloo and nuzzled her motherly, holding her close in her soft, loving, comforting embrace as she slowly drifted to sleep after her daughter. "I love you too, Scootaloo."