The glowing moon hung high up in the sky, basking Ponyville in a soft glow of moonlight. Most ponies at this time of evening were already tucked away in their homes to sleep the night away. The only residents along the countryside now were the crickets singing their tunes to anyone who might be listening. At the far end of town, close to the neighboring dark woods, there was a warm looking cottage sitting alone on a hill. Its windows shone brightly with the signs of some pony who wasn't ready to end the day just yet. In fact, there were two ponies who were both still very awake: Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. They lounged on the couch together, talking to each other.
"I can't believe it's been an entire year" Fluttershy stated in disbelief. "Where does the time go?" Rainbow Dash reclined in her seat with hooves resting behind her head.
"Time sure flies like that. Flies real fast. Probably faster than me" she laughed, before pointing a hoof at her. "That's why this date has to blow all those other dates out of the water. I'm talking inside jokes that we'll still be laughing about five years down the line levels of awesome!" Rainbow's nostrils flared.
"Goodness. Do you think we'll still be together after that long?" Her question was answered when Dash leaned forward and wrapped a hoof around her withers.
"Well I sure hope so. Who else am I going to fly with above the clouds to find the perfect spot for cuddling?" Shy was about to say something, but Dash held her hoof up. "That was rhetorical, Flutters."
"Oh! Sorry" she tapped her hooves together in thought. "So for our date…what if we did something you wanted to do first to get our blood pumping, and then we end it on something I want to do?"
"Hey, that's not a bad idea" Rainbow exclaimed, jumping into the air to hover in a excitable buzz. It was clear she had something in mind. "How about we fly to the mountains and find some dragons?" Fluttershy froze in place at the mention of dragons. Before she could speak up, Dashie continued. "And then, we'll find the biggest one there and steal some of its treasure! Then, we'll fly as fast as we can all over Equestria, trying to outrun a whole horde of dragons as they chase us for their gold back! We'll have to dodge their fire, and their vicious claws, and their sharp teeth!" The longer this date idea went on, the lower Shy sunk in her seat. "But in the end it'll be worth it. We'll have huge stacks of gold and jewels that we can nap on, and every dragon in Equestria will have been humiliated by two little ponies who got away with it their loot!" By the time she was done, Shy's face was frozen in terror. It took her a good few moments to speak up.
"W-Wow" she swallowed the fear that still hung in her throat. "I…I don't know what to say. That sure is an adventure. I don't…I don't know if I could ever-" before she could continue, Rainbow Dash flew down and bopped her on the nose.
"Just kidding" she sung with a playful grin. The wave of relief that washed over her face was incredibly satisfying. After having her shoulders playfully shoved by Shy, she took a seat and started again. "Okay, so my real idea for a date was to go flying around Equestria. You know, do some sightseeing and reminisce on all the adventures we've had. Maybe do some tricks or fly low to the ground."
"That could be fun" She perked up once she'd regained her composure. "Then, maybe we end our journey somewhere that has a really big tree?" As she continued speaking, Rainbow looked around the room.
During the day, the house would be swarmed with all sorts of different birds and rabbits and mice. Now, with the sun having gone down hours ago, the house was looking considerably more empty. The only sign of life now besides them were Angel bunny, who was sleeping in his basket, and a cat with its kittens. The kitten closest to the mother cat was begrudgingly having its fur groomed. At the first chance it got, the kitty tried to get away. Its mom reached out and pulled her child back to continue grooming it. That made Dash chuckle as she continued watching them.
"Rainbow? Rainbow Dash?" She waved a hoof in front of the distracted pony's face, which brought her back to the conversation. "Were you listening to me?"
"Oh! Um, uhh…" she bit her lip and thought about the last few seconds. "You…wanted to stop at a large tree with a meal and spend the rest of the night there?" her chuckle was dripped in doubt. Fluttershy smiled.
"Oh good. You were listening. I was worried you might have zoned off again" she admitted, to which Rainbow responded with another nervous laugh. That's when there was a startlingly strong knock at the door. Even the brave Dash whipped her head toward the sound. "I wonder who that could be…" Fluttershy got off of her couch and walked up to her door, undid the lock, and creaked it open. "Um…hello?"
Suddenly, the door burst open as one pink pony pounced on her, making her squeaked loudly. The two went rolling back before the intruder pinned Flutters to the ground.
"P-Pinkie Pie!" She shrieked as she felt her new guest's hooves push down on her chest and abdomen.
"Hiya Fluttershy!" Pinkie greeted loudly, much to the irritation of Angel Bunny who was trying to sleep. She stepped off of Shy when she noticed her face looking a little blue. "Oops. Sorry" she laughed sheepishly.
"What are you doing out so late, Pinks?" Rainbow Dash asked as though nothing had happened.
"Right! I came all the way over here because I need a super duper huge favor from Fluttershy. It's really important. Like, really really important. See, I was just minding my own business in my room when Owlicious tapped on my window and handed me a scroll! Can you believe it? So I took the scroll and opened it, and that's when I gasped!" she gasped. "Just like that. Twilight wrote a letter to me, and Cheese Sandwich is going to be in Canterlot to host a really huge party! There's going to be cake, and lots of music, and piñatas the size of yaks, and and and and-"
"Um…Pinkie?" Surprisingly enough, Shy's quiet voice was enough to get Pinkie to stop rambling. "If you don't mind, do you think we could get the short version?"
"Right, right! Short." Pinkie took a deep breath. "Twilight invited me to go to Canterlot for a party tomorrow evening, and I need someone to babysit Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake while I'm gone because Mr. and Mrs. Cake are out of town for the weekend."
"Tomorrow? As in, tomorrow tomorrow? Oh, I wish I could, but I have plans tomorrow night." She'd barely gotten her words out before Pinkie threw herself down at her hooves and made her squeak.
"Oh please, Fluttershy! I don't know who else to turn to, I've asked everypony else! AJ's too busy that night, Rarity got really angry at me for waking her up in the middle of the night, Carrot Top has guests, Time Turner has to deal with a cockroach infestation...You were my last hope."
As Pinkie was begging for help, Rainbow sat in the background and watched them with a contemplative, thoughtful expression. Her eyes narrowed. "Hey Pinks. Why didn't you come check with me?"
"Well I did check to see if you were home, but you weren't there!" she stated, turning her head swiftly toward Rainbow.
"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" Before Rainbow Dash could continue, Shy looked over.
"But Rainbow, our date-"
"Is still on. It's just…going to be a little different. We could babysit those two together, and then we can spend the rest of the night afterwards doing a light version of our original date." she looked a touch too impressed with her proposal.
"Well…" Fluttershy paused. On the one hoof, this sudden change of plans for their special day was upsetting. However, it was kind of nice to see Rainbow Dash willingly volunteer for something like this. She turned to Pinkie and smiled. "Okay. Rainbow and I would love to babysit Pound and Pumpkin". Squealing happily, Pinkie Pie reached out and pulled the two over into a life squeezing hug. "Oh thank you thank you thank you! I'll get you guys back for this, I Pinkie Promise!"
"Are you sure you're up for this, Dashie?" Fluttershy asked as they walked through the roads of Ponyville.
"Sure I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well…" she hesitated. "I don't mean to offend you or anything, but…I didn't think you knew what it took to care for a child. I mean, remember when Pinkie tried to take care of the twins for the first time? If her story was anything to go by, then she was completely overwhelmed." Rainbow Dash snorted.
"This'll be different, I swear!" confidence dripped from her raspy voice as she ruffled up Fluttershy's mane playfully. "Okay, you're right. I've never taken care of a foal before, but it shouldn't be impossible. I mean, Pinkie did it just fine!" Rainbow threw her hooves in the air. "And if she can do it, then why can't I?"
"Are you so adamant on babysitting because Pinkie didn't ask you to when she couldn't find you?"
"Uhh…" an awkward tension filled the air between them. Fluttershy rose an eyebrow in suspicion. "Hey look! Sugarcube Corner is just up ahead!" Dash's poor attempt at changing the conversation didn't go unnoticed, but Shy didn't say anything. After all, it Sugarcube Corner actually was pretty close.
The two walked inside to what was usually a very crowded lobby. The store was closed early, apparent from the lack of any baked goods in the display case. At the sound of the bell above the door jingling, Pinkie Pie hopped down the stairs with a comically large backpack straddled on her back.
"Ooooh you guys! I can't thank you enough for covering for me!" She sung joyously and stopped just a few inches away from them. She pulled out a huge bag of supplies and handed them to Fluttershy. "Here's a huge bag filled with all the things you'll need to take care of the Twins! Right now, they're upstairs in their cribs. I just got done playing with them." When Shy took the bag, it almost pulled her to the floor with its unusual weight. "Anyways, I put a lasagna in the fridge for you to have for dinner, so after that, give them a bath and have them in bed by eight. I'll be back by nine or ten. Toodles!" She gave Shy and Dash a quick hug before going through the door. However, her bag got caught in the frame, and she couldn't get out.
With an eyeroll, Rainbow Dash turned around and gave the bag a swift buck. Pinkie popped out of the frame and bounced into the streets.
"Thank you!" She called out before bouncing out of sight. Rainbow Dash closed the door and sighed.
"Well, lasagna does sound good." Dash looked up the stairs with the confidence coming back to her. "And hey, Pinkie said she played with them earlier. They should be all tuckered out now. How hard could this be?" As if being punished for tempting the fates, the sounds of crying foals echoed from upstairs and shot down into the room below.
"Come on Dashie. It sounds like they need us". They made their way upstairs and into the room where the piercing screeches of Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake bounced wildly all throughout the room. "Oh dear." Fluttershy set the care bag down and picked Pound up to cradle him in her wings. "There there. What's the matter, Pound Cake?"
"Um…" Rainbow Dash picked Pumpkin up awkwardly, who cried and squirming around in her hooves. "H-hey there, squirt. What's got you down?" Her eyes widened when the young baby slipped out of her hooves. She gasped and caught Pumpkin by her legs. Not crying anymore, she was laughing at being held upside down. When Fluttershy looked over, her heart nearly stopped.
"Rainbow be careful!" She rushed over and took Pumpkin into her wings. "You have to hold them carefully, like this. Support their heads". She rocked the twins until they were considerably less upset.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Rainbow Dash bowed her head and extended her wings. "Can I try again?" Shy looked a little concerned, but she nodded her head anyways.
"Okay" she paused. "Here, I'll show you" she gently handed Pumpkin back to Dash, who tried following Shy's actions exactly.
Rainbow rocked Pumpkin Cake in her wings, watching as the young child gurgled and giggled. She looked back at Fluttershy with a smirk. "You're really good at this, ya know?"
"Well, besides taking care of all the animals, I used to do a lot of babysitting when I was younger, before moving to Ponyville." Flutters walked over to Dash and nuzzled Pumpkin's head. "There. Feeling better?"
Pumpkin Cake cooed in her cyan winged bed as she reached up and touched Fluttershy's face. A growling noise came from her tummy, which caught her attention.
"Sounds like someone's hungry" Shy giggled. Before she turned to the door, a strange scent got caught in her nostril. She sniffed the air to locate the smell, bringing her nose down to Pound Cake. After a few sniffs, Fluttershy recoiled her head back. "Phew! Someone needs their diaper changed."
"I thought they were past their diaper phase" Rainbow Dash questioned, holding Pumpkin in one wing as she carefully transported the child onto her back.
"I did too" Fluttershy made her way over to the changing station and set Pound Cake down on his back. "Maybe they had an accident?" She reached down to undo the straps before Rainbow sauntered over.
"Can I change the diaper?
Well, Dashie was just full of surprises today. But, after the way she carried Pumpkin earlier, it might be a good idea to question her first. "Do you know how to change a diaper?"
"It can't be that hard, can it?" Dash's attempt at easing Shy's very obvious skepticism didn't look like it was going over so well, so she shifted gears. "You could go feed Pumpkin and put the lasagna in the oven, and I'll take care of the diaper. I can handle it, I promise!" she pled. It wasn't often that she got to see Rainbow Dash pull her puppy eyes out, but it was adorable. How could anyone say no to that face?
"Okay" Fluttershy sighed in defeat, scooping Pumpkin up in her wings and placing her on top of herself. "If you need any help, please don't hesitate to yell for me." After getting a nod from Rainbow, she hesitantly stepped through the door and out of sight.
"Okay! Here we go…" Now that she was alone with Pound Cake, Rainbow felt a rising awkwardness trapped in her chest. "I can do this." She stood in place with her eyes glued to him. Time crawled to a halt with an air of uncertainty creeping up through her neck. Shy was right to question her. She hadn't the slightest idea how to change a diaper. What if she did it wrong, and it somehow affected his health? "No no, I got this! If I can pull off a sonic rainboom and save Equestria several times, then changing a diaper should be super easy."
One thing's for sure, he probably didn't enjoy sitting in a soiled diaper. It'd probably be a good start to take the dirty diaper off. She reached down, undid the straps, and pulled the gross smelling ball of cotton away from Pound. Holding it stretched out in front of her with her two front hooves, she awkwardly hobbled over to the nearby garbage bin to throw it out. Okay, that's the easy part taken care of. What came next?
"Oh, right! I think they clean the baby's butt next?" Dash said to herself, searching the shelves underneath the changing table and finding a bundle of cleaning wipes. She took one, and began wiping Pound down as best as she could. Once he was all clean, she threw out all the used wads. Now it was time for the tricky part.
Next to the cleaning wipes were a bag of diapers. Rainbow Dash took one out looked at it with a determined gaze. With Celestia and Luna as her witness, she was going to get this foal in one of these even if it killed her! She picked Pound up and placed him in the clean diaper before grabbing the ends and tying them together.
"There we go! I did it…oh wait, no. It's backwards" she groaned. After undoing the knots, she tried again to put the diaper on the right way. And then she tried again. And then again. And again. Soon enough, one of the diaper's leg holes ended up through one of his forelegs. Rainbow wanted to scream as loudly as she could. "What am I doing wrong?" she shouted, taking the diaper off again. "Hey wait. Pinkie gave us that care pack! Maybe she left instructions!"
She trotted over to the care bag on the floor where Fluttershy left it, and dug through its contents. Her face scrunched up in confusion as she knocked it over. Several bags of flour tumbled out onto the floor in front of the her.
"Seriously, Pinkie? What am I supposed to do with all this?!" Noting the sudden shift in atmosphere, Pound began to whimper and fidget where he lie bare. "Oh wait, no! Please don't cry again! Come on, Pinks had to have left something here!" She searched through and under all the heavy bags of flour in a frantic rush. One bag that she picked up was ripped and weak. So much so that the minute she lifted it, the bottom tore out and dumped its contents all over herself. She gave a surprised yelp as her fur, mane, and tail were now completely covered in white flour.
This was incredibly amusing to Pound Cake, who was laughing as hard as his baby lungs would allow. Rainbow was feeling a better about the situation despite being covered head to hoof in baking flour. Actually, this might work to her advantage. With Pound Cake distracted, she grabbed a new diaper and quickly wrapped it around his legs. Finally, the diaper was on. With a chuckle, the proud rainbow mare turned to put the flour bags away, but found she'd wrapped the diaper over her hoof. "Ah!" she jumped, accidentally flinging Pound out of his diaper and up into the air. She screamed again.
Once he stopped rising, Pound Cake opened his wings and started gliding through the room giggling. Rainbow Dash panicked and chased the gliding foal around the room to catch him.
Back downstairs, Fluttershy was pushing the cold lasagna into the oven to reheat it. She had already taken care of Pumpkin's hunger, the foal sitting in her high chair and drinking from her bottle. "Goodness, it's stuffy in here" Shy stated, opening the window to the darkened evening streets before taking a seat next to Pumpkin.
"Something's different about Rainbow Dash, don't you think?" she asked Pumpkin, who just stared back at her with beady eyes as she drank her bottle. "Other than Scootaloo, I didn't think she was too fond of children. Now she wants to babysit on our first anniversary and change diapers suddenly. Is this really because Pinkie didn't ask her to babysit?" After finishing her bottle, Pumpkin cooed and made a few baby noises, banged her hooves on the side of her chair. "You're right, Pumpkin. I'm probably just over thinking things."
Fluttershy lifted Pumpkin Cake out of her seat and patted her back to burp her. Just as she felt like Rainbow might have a handle on things, she heard a racket coming from upstairs and the distinct sound of Dash's panicked shouts. "Oh no…" Still holding Pumpkin, she briskly made her way back upstairs.
She pushed the door open, and Pound flew right past her mane. Rainbow Dash, who was covered in flour and had a diaper clenched in her teeth, bumped right into Shy. "R-Rainbow Dash?!"
"I'll explain later! Right now, we gotta catch Pound Cake first!" Dash barked, running past her very confused partner and leaving a trail of flour along the floor beneath her hooves. Once the situation sank in, Fluttershy ran in the direction Dash had gone.
Gliding down the stairs, Pound Cake perched on a side table on the first floor with an amused grin on his face. Rainbow, who had been close behind, rushed down the stairs while keeping her eyes trained on him. Just when it looked like she'd get to him before he could escape, she missed a step in her hurry and fell forward. She tumbled down the steps before crashing into the table and knocking Pound through the air again. He opened his wings again once he was up high and glided through the rest of the house.
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy panicked as she got to the bottom of the stairs and helped an incredibly sore Rainbow Dash back to her hooves. "Are you okay? Did you hurt anything?" Dash, putting a hoof to her head and wobbling where she stood.
"Just my pride, Flutters" she grumbled before moving again. "Come on, he still needs his diaper! I think he flew into the kitchen."
"The kitchen?" she mused, moving briskly alongside Dash. That's when she remembered something. Her eyes went wide. "Rainbow, the window! I left it open! What if he flew out?!"
"I'm on it!"
"Honey, wait!" but it was too late. Dash leapt through the air, flying in an incredibly shaky line through the kitchen and toward the open window. From the corner of her eye, however, Pound Cake was sitting on the table next to the high chair. He watched as she sped through the room and right out the window. She dived head first through the opening and hit the streets outside. Several of the still active ponies outside had gotten out of the way as Dash bounced her way down the streets, leaving splotches of flour roughly in her shape as she went.
"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy shrieked. Pound Cake was incredibly amused by the silly pony who'd flown out the window. While he laughed, he was scooped up in Shy's wing and held alongside his sister. With babies in tow, she ran outside and followed the white powdery smears until she found her poor dear crashed into some pony's rosebush across the street. The elderly mare who owned the house didn't seem too happy to find Dash lying in the prickly bush.
"Get outta my roses, you! Get!" she ordered, prodding Dash's woozy head with her walking cane. Rainbow groaned, turning her head toward Shy who now stood there looking at her.
"Um…I could use some help."
"Hold still, sweetie" Fluttershy asked a disoriented Rainbow Dash. She pulled another thorn out from Dash's side, eliciting a sharp breath from her, and wrapped the spot tightly in bandage. Pound and Pumpkin were put in the playpen just a few feet away from them. "It's not that bad. Just a few bruises and scratches…and thorns. You're lucky you didn't break anything."
"I know" Rainbow groaned, her head lowered and ears drooped.
"Why didn't you ask me for help like I asked? I could have helped, then none of this would have happened!" Flutters emphasized her frustration by pulling the next bit of bandaging extra tight on Dash.
"Ow! I-I know, I know…"
After Fluttershy applied the last bandage, she put a hoof on Dash's cheek.
"What's going on?" when she was met with silence, she turned Rainbow's head toward her. "Is this really just because of Pinkie? Honestly, Dash, it's not like she didn't think to ask you. She even said she stopped by your house and-"
"It's not Pinkie Pie" Rainbow mumbled, looking away the first chance she got.
"Then what's wrong? Please, I can't help you if you don't open up to me"
"I…I…" She closed her eyes and pushed Shy's hoof off. "I wanted to see if I could do it."
"Do what? Care for a child?"
"Yea…I guess?" Rainbow turned the faucet on and splashed some water on her flour dusted face before continuing. "Look…last night before Pinkie showed up, I was thinking about some stuff." She sat on her haunches and looked at Fluttershy before speaking in a low, raspy voice. "We're not going to be young forever, and I thought it would be really, really awesome if I could pass off everything I knew to someone younger. Someone blood related. Someone who had the potential to fly just as amazing as I could. I'd show them the ropes, and they'd be the next best flyer in all of Equestria. Kinda like a passing of the torch. But then I thought if I had a child to call my own, would I be a good parent? When Pinkie asked you to babysit, I just jumped at the chance to see if I had what it took. And now…well, not only would I probably be a lousy parent, but now I've also ruined our date night. I got carried away." After finishing her thoughts, she turned away in shame. "I'm sorry."
A few eternal seconds passed where neither of them said anything. The silence really dug into Dash's back. She just wanted her to say something, anything that would tell her that everything was okay. Then, Fluttershy started giggling. She couldn't help but laugh, much to Dash's disdain. "Yea, I know. It's super silly" she murmured before feeling that familiar soft mane brush up against her back.
"No no, I'm not laughing at you Dashie" Shy insisted through giggles. She wrapped her hooves around her waist and pulled her close into an embrace. "Sorry. I'm just happy you told me the truth. I think it's very sweet that you thought about all that. I mean, you may be just a teensy bit rough around the edges, but you know what?" Rainbow looked back at Shy.
"What?"
"When I was babysitting for the first few times, I made a lot of mistakes too. I'd never tried taking care of another baby before. But, with enough practice, I became more comfortable with it." she stroked Rainbow's shoulder with a reassuring look in her eyes. "I'm sure you'd make a great parent. I mean, you're brave and loyal, always there for us when we really need you. And you're so good at flying. They would be lucky to have someone like you teach them how to fly. They'd be lucky to have a strong parent like you" she ran her hoof along Dash's face, then leaned in to share a sweet, tender kiss.
"Thanks, Shy" Rainbow Dash sighed into her shoulder. "I needed that. I was starting to get a little weird there."
"That's okay. I'm glad you told me" Shy brushed off a tiny bit of flour from Dash's chest. "You know, the thing about parents is that there are usually two of them. That means you could both help each other out. Please, don't feel like you have to take on that burden by yourself." Rainbow Dash nodded, looking up into her eyes.
"We've still gotta give them a bath. Do you think we could do that together?" she asked, earning a warm smile from Shy.
The next few minutes were spent in the bathroom, the Cake twins in hoof. Fluttershy instructed Rainbow Dash to follow her lead as they washed them in the soapy water. No longer feeling nervous about screwing up, Dash had a much easier time taking care of the giggly Pound Cake. Of course, that might have only been because she was following Shy's instructions so very closely, but she felt that it was better this way. After they finished bathing the two, they took them back into the baby room and set them into their cribs.
"Good night Pound Cake. Good night Pumpkin Cake." Shy leaned in and gave them kisses on their foreheads. "Sweet dreams."
"Yea. Night, squirts." Rainbow Dash leaned in too, hesitantly giving the both of them kisses in the same spot. As they quietly left the room and turned the lights off, Dash let out a sigh in relief that the kids were in bed now.
"You did good, Dashie" Shy patted her on the back. "Now then, the lasagna should be heated through now. How about we have a bite?"
"Sounds good." The two made their way into the kitchen and got the lasagna out of the oven. "You know, I didn't think Pinkie could make actual food" Rainbow mused.
"Did you think she lived off of candy and cupcakes?"
"Maybe a little"
They both cut their slices out of the pasta dish, then took their seats at the table and started eating. Rainbow remembered Applejack once saying something about a meal being really good when the table goes silent. Sure, there were only two of them, and one of them was normally quiet anyways, but this food was really something else.
"This is really good" Rainbow had a bit of spinach stuck in her teeth. When she looked up, she saw Shy smiling before leaning in and opening her mouth. With a chuckle, Dash cut off a piece of pasta on her fork and guided it into her mouth. Watching her chew her food sent shivers up her spine. "Mmm…this is probably as close to a date as tonight's going to get. I think I need to take a rain check on flying around Equestria. I'm…still kinda sore."
"That's okay" Shy scooped some lasagna on her fork and guided it into Dash's mouth, who happily accepted it. She chewed the piece of food just as slowly. Shy swallowed to speak. "I'd say this was a pretty memorable date. And hey, even if you're new to it now, I'm sure you'll be a great parent by the time we have our kids."
Rainbow Dash almost choked. She coughed up a bit of zucchini and cheese before grabbing a glass of water and drinking it whole. After a few deep breaths, she stammered. "O-Our kids? That's…I mean, that'd be great, but we've only been dating for a year, and that might be too fast, and-" She was cut off when Fluttershy reached over and bopped her on the nose.
"Just kidding."