//------------------------------// // Venus and Mars Part Two // Story: A Message to Rainbow Dash // by AlliePastel //------------------------------// “H-huh?” The young mother questioned, yawning as she opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was the room’s dimness; it was still early in the morning. She looked around the room, noticing the kitchen light on in the distance. “M-Mrs.Cake?” She called, looking down at her child. Scootaloo looked so beautiful. Between her messy hair and the small bit of drool that rested below the child’s blushy cheeks, it was almost certain she was still fast asleep. The Motherly Baker raced into the living room leaving a trail of loud thumps as she went. She made her way up to Fluttershy, looking down at the fuchsia haired girl’s refreshed expression. “Are, you alright dear? Did you sleep well?” she asked grabbing Scootaloo and bringing her close to her body. She helped guide Scoots’s hands around her tummy and rested her own hands around the child’s backside and back. Taking a moment to stretch, Fluttershy shook her head. She blinked a few times and looked up at Mrs.Cake with an excited expression, “I’m actually really awake. Are you sure I shouldn’t handle Scootaloo?” “Oh, no problem dearie.” Mrs.Cake cooed, patting the child’s behind, “This little tyke needs a diaper change and maybe some more time in her crib, baby’s need a good eleven hours of sleep.” Fluttershy stood up and ruffled her baby’s hair, “I suppose so, but did she really have an accident?” She looked at her baby concerned; it was weird for Scootaloo to have an ‘accident’; although, she could’ve just meant wetting. “Well, there’s always a way to find out…” The women said raising the child in the air. She turned her around and sniffed her bottom. Her eyes opened wide as she turned the child back in the position she’d been in moments ago. “Yeah, some wittle baby made messies!” she giggled, kissing the child on the forehead. ‘Well, that’s concerning.’ The young mother thought to herself, as she watched her own mother figure walk away with her baby. It seemed a bit peculiar how well Mrs.Cake handled things. It seemed even more peculiar that she was so eager to change Scootaloo’s diaper, diapers are not fun to change to matter how cute the baby. Ignoring the other two, she walked over to where her boyfriend rested. She looked down on his chest, noticing his chest rise and fall instinctually as it pumped oxygen throughout his body. He looked so peaceful, like a little country angel. She got on her knees and smirked. Giving him a quick peck on the cheek, she watched as he ruffled his nose a little bit. His eyes opened and met with his girlfriend’s. “Hello, good morning sweetie.” She giggled. “Oh wow.” Big mac said in his deep southern drawl. He smiled, looking at his girlfriend. He’d forgotten where he was, but any situation with her seemed like a good one. “Mind explaining what’s going on?” He asked, curiously. He sat up on the warm leather brown leather couch. His arms stuck the exterior, other than that nothing posed much of an opposition to him taking a seat. He scooted to one side of the couch and patted the other cushion with his hand. Taking a seat, Fluttershy leaned her head on his shoulder. She grabbed his arms clenching onto them tight with her tiny hands and looked up at him, “Well, you’re at my house right now. It’s probably about nine in the morning, Mrs.Cake made something in the kitchen, and my daughter is probably going to wake up a cranky baby any second now.” She sighed, rubbing her eyes with the back of her knuckles. Looking over at her boyfriend’s bemused grin, she gave him a sheepish smile. She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. She still wasn’t used to the prospect of kissing yet. “Hehe, you’re still the same sweetheart ah knew you were.” The farm boy chuckled, turning his head and pecked the girl on the lips. He watched his friend’s face light up red as she leaned back unto his shoulder. She was always so easily flustered, sort of like Applejack during her childhood. The young lady stood up and dusted off her night gown. She nodded her head at Big Mac, “I gotta head upstairs and get changed. Feel free to help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen!” she said, jogging towards the rickety wooden staircase. Each step she took up the hallowed wooden steps left an unsettling creaking sound that split her eardrums. She winced, hopping up the top of it and towards her bed. Taking a quick peak around the room, she lifted the gown over her head and tossed it unto the ground beneath her. Her hands quickly moved towards her dressing drawer as she pulled out a similar pair of jeans like the ones she had on yesterday; these ones just a shade darker. She slid on a tight black t-shirt over her top and slid a leather bangle unto her wrist. Smiling, she scampered over to the nursery door that was open clear across the room. She made her way into the nursery, stepping unto it’s fuzzy white carpet. Looking down, she realized her socks were still covering her feet. She raised her knee into the air and pulled off the white booty socks with the tip of her index figure. “Shh…” Mrs.Cake sounded as she walked over to Fluttershy. In her arms, she cradled the young child giving her light bounces every second or so to keep her feeling relaxed. “She’s sleeping, really sleeping at that.” She giggled, nudging her friend’s shoulder a little bit. Fluttershy rubbed her shoulder, the nudge actually hurt a little. Ignoring the slight stinging, she gave her daughter a curious gaze as she analyzed what was wrong with her. Her eyes immediately went to her backside, “You changed her already I’m guessing?” she questioned. Walking past Mrs.Cake, the young mother looked over the nursery to observe every small detail of its interior. Nothing was out of place, it looked regular as usual. The thought struck her; she just called the room a ‘nursery’. It might really be a nursery, but it’s still Scootaloo’s bedroom above anything. She couldn’t keep letting her daughter use the room forever the way she had been. Still. “She certainly had a change and a big one at that. Poor baby, I didn’t think she really had it in her to use a diaper the way she did…” The motherly women said, giving the child a few more pats to her bottom. “You know, I never thought someone as old as Scootaloo would adjust so easily to a life style like this.” “I-I know…” The younger mother said, folding a yellow striped sleeper and hanging it off the side of the crib. Taking a deep breath she ran her hand across the crib’s top railing, “This isn’t easy for me, all this babying stuff you know? I feel like this sort of thing would shoot Scootaloo’s self-confidence but she’s really enjoying it. I just don’t know.” Mrs.Cake smiled looking down at the young girl in her arms, “Baby, you’re over reacting…” she ran her head through her perky orange hair, “the thing you’ve got to learn about raising children is it’s not whether or not they’re feeling what you want them to feel but that you’re supporting them all the way. Scootaloo is feeling good as a baby and when she wants to be a big girl again we’ll let her be a big girl. But until then, she’s just a little girl who needs some love and care.” Fluttershy walked up to Mrs.Cake and held her arms out to her, “I guess you’re right. I really outta get her changed into something new though. I have too many sets of clothes to keep her in the same tights all day. Poor baby, I probably should have given her new tights earlier to be honest.” Handing the child off to the younger women, Mrs.Cake watched as her friend took the child and sat her back on the changing table, “You think you outta dress her in something warm today sweetie? I heard it’s supposed to be even colder than usual. Maybe another long sleeve outfit. She watched as Fluttershy pulled the leggings down around Scootaloo’s ankles and undid the white onesie’s buttons. The child was astonishingly sound asleep, especially for all the movement she’d been through this morning. “What do you think Lynn? You have two children of your own?” Fluttershy asked, scattering to the room’s dresser. Mrs.Cake followed behind the girl and started searching through the clothes herself, “Oh, how about that.” She said, pointing at a skirt and onesie combination; it hadn’t had the tags removed yet. She grabbed it from the hook and held it up to the young mother, “It’s perfect for a little one like Scoots.” Fluttershy grabbed the onesie and pulled it over her baby’s head, snapping the bottom shut around the diaper. Lifting her baby’s bottom, she laced her legs through a pleated purple skirt. She looked down at her baby’s feet and made a quick effort to pull a pair of ruffled socks over top of them. “Ooh, that does look good. You think she still needs tights? What if someone notices her diapered bottom? Actually, what am I saying? You two would be lucky to make it out of here by lunch.” She admitted to the baker, while she brought her daughter close to her chest. She ran a hand through her baby’s hair, “Baby. It’s time to get up. Momma has to give you nom-noms.” Smiling, she looked over at Mrs.Cake before she stared at her daughter’s dazed expression again. It was adorable how Scootaloo always balled up her fist when she rubbed her eyes; the blush on her face was even cuter though. “I’ll be right back, I need to feed Scootaloo a little bit before whatever you made gets cold. Oh yeah, I forgot!” she said, turning and running for the mini-fridge and grabbing something from it; a bottle of milk she made earlier. “Remind me to pump more breast milk some time later today, I’ll be right back!” she said, waving her hand as she dashed out of the room, down the stairwell, and into the kitchen. “Hmm, Big Mac!” She called, looking for a place to set the child. She looked around the kitchen, it’s white polythene counters all looked pristine despite Mrs.Cake’s preparation. She’d made toast and waffles, two plates were already eaten. No doubt they were Big Mac and Mrs.Cake’s plates, a bit rude of Big Mac to eat without asking but he was probably just hungry. Running into the room, loud thuds being made with every step he took, Big Mac look worried, “Is everything alright, why are ya shoutin’?” “Hold her...” Fluttershy said, handing her child to her boyfriend. Big Mac smiled, giving the tired child a peck on the forehead as he brought her into a cradle. He watched in curiousity as his girlfriend pulled something out of the side closet. “A high chair?” he said looking down at the child, she might be small enough to use one. “Yep, it is…” Fluttershy said, patting the styrofoam white frame of the highchair. She grabbed her child and set her on the poufy jungle printed material that padded the seat. Smiling, she strapped her daughter around the chest and tummy. Dropping the tray over her daughter’s lap, she pinched the child’s cheek “Hehe, she’s such a cute wittle girl! Of course she’d fit.” Scootaloo smiled, pushing herself back in her chair to get more comfy. Her head sank into the soft backing of the chair, “What’s for breakfast.” She questioned, kicking her feet lightly. She looked around the room, she didn't see much food. For once, she didn't feel like she was starving; everything felt so warm, like she'd never need to eat again. Fluttershy nodded at Big Mac, “Go make yourself comfortable in the living room honey; I gotta feed my baby her breakfast.” Her head panned back over to her baby, “As for you, Mrs.Cake and your mommy made you lots of food. Specifically…” she trailed off, grabbing something from the big fridge. She kicked the door closed and raced back to her baby, “As I was saying, specifically we made you toast, some yummy banana pudding, and some milk from mommy!” Walking over to one of the drawers, she picked out a spoon with a short colorful handle. She gathered all the different foods and set them on the stained white tray, “Ready baby?” she questioned as she uncapped the jar of baby food. Blushing, the child raised an eyebrow at the jar of food, “Baby food? Like, for babies? That won’t upset my tummy will it?” “Not really.” Fluttershy said, scooping a bit of the banana goop unto the spoon and pushing it towards her baby’s mouth. She waited for her baby to take a bite of it, “It’ll hopefully improve your muscle mass and make you all big and strong. I can’t imagine Rainbow Dash taking much time to do these things with you, she doesn’t care about people the same way I do.” Scootaloo looked up frowning as she took in a few more bites of the mush, “I don’t know Mommy, Rainbow Dash seemed like she cared. S-she just didn’t like doing this stuff with me, like she was embarrassed to be a mommy. I-I always felt more like a sister than anything.” She crossed her arms. Giving her daughter an empathetic smile, the young mother reached below the serving tray and pulled something off a small hook; it was a cute white bib with a pink outline, very simple in design. She leaned in tying it around her daughter’s neck. “Sorry baby, I didn’t want to ruin one of your outfits. I do understand what you mean though baby, Rainbow Dash is just a little bit too insecure and sometimes I get insecure too. The thing is, I care about you more than myself. I know you have a lot of potential and I know you’re a wonderful little girl.” Fluttershy said, digging her spoon back into the jar; there was no more food. The child looked up at her mommy with glassy eyes, “You really mean it.” Fluttershy nodded, “Of course sweetie, you’re the most perfect child I could ever have.” She finished off by ruffling her daughter’s hair. Smiling, she tossed aside the toast. “Babies don’t eat toast; it’d taste yucky to you anyway.” Fluttershy giggled, bringing the bottle to her baby’s lips. Opening her mouth as wide as she could, the child smiled latching onto it with her lips. Her eyes lit up bright as she formed a small smile around the bottle’s amber nipple. She felt the milk enter in her mouth and cool every bit of her breath. Her heart pounded warmly in her chest. “You’re such a cutie…” *** “Well Rainbow Dash, I’m no longer upset. I’m never going to be upset again; At least I’m not going to be upset with you. At first I thought you leaving Scootaloo was cruel, but now I realize the only thing more cruel than leaving Scootaloo is you staying with her. She’s a smart kid Rainbow Dash and a rough life turned her into the wild dark recesses of her mind. You don’t know what it’s like to be in a place like she’s been though, to be so deeply introverted to the point that your own flaws become your motivation to do well in live, to prove to yourself that you’re not just a flawed individual…” Fluttershy crumpled up the piece of paper she etched on and sighed. She was going out on a tangent again. She hated going out on tangents, they always become weirdly resonated in her thoughts. Subjectivity is the flaw of all authors really. “Hello?” A voice questioned, coming closer at a loud *knock* on the door. It was Big Mac. The country boy walked over and sat on the girl’s bed, “It’s been a while since breakfast ya know? Mrs.Cake fell asleep in the nursery; she’d been watching too much television with your kin. Scootaloo is sleepin’ in her playpen; at least she was looking awful relaxed.” “That’s good to hear…” Fluttershy said, pushing herself away from her table. It’d been a while since she started writing drafts for her letter. It was a difficult letter to write. She turned her spinney chair around and stopped when she faced her boyfriend. “It’s probably best that Scootaloo is sleeping. Little babies need lots of sleep, even if they’re nearly seven. Poor baby, I don’t even know how much sleep she got yesterday.” Big Mac raised an eyebrow. He looked at his boots, “I dunno, a lot of hours. I know you two slept a good ten hours or so. Bout’ what Applebloom sleeps. Bout’ what Applejack sleeps if she ever gets a chance.” He said with a smirk on his face. “Hmm, that worries me a little. You didn’t even see the sleep she got beforehand, between her first nap and the second one, she’s gotten nearly what amount of time? I think she’s been asleep for about fourteen hours in the past day. That’s a bit concerning.” The mother said, looking a bit paler. “Why’s that, aren’t children supposed to get a lot of sleep?” The guy questioned, tapping his foot anxiously. It was always a habit of his, his body was always moving. “Well, most children her age need around ten through eleven hours of sleep; even toddlers only need up to thirteen. Scootaloo might just be tired, still…” Fluttershy walked over to her bed and sat down next to Big Mac, “Maybe she’s just enjoying her rest a little too much. I suppose its winter break anyhow. She’s got plenty of time to spend doing whatever she wants.” Relaxing a bit, the farm boy once again looked to her side where Fluttershy was grabbing his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her waist and smiled, “I think you’re thinkin’ too much Shy. You need to just let Scootaloo grow up the way she needs to, whatever way she needs to. I ain’t no expert with life, everything is different in some way or another.”