//------------------------------//
// Parents, part 2 
// Story: Unromantic 
// by Storylover-Vodhr 
//------------------------------//

When this had all started, Rainbow Dash had told herself that it was better to do this sooner, rather than later. She thought that, yes, it was a tad sudden, but that her future self would thank her later.

And yet, as she caught the panicked, worried look in Twilight's eyes just before she teleported away, she wished that she could sock past Rainbow Dash in the jaw. Yes, She definitely should've seen this coming. After all, not only was Twilight terrible with unexpected and stressful situations, but Rainbow's own parents were coming off of their own emotional high, right after they found out that she had become a Wonderbolt.

Of course they would jump the gun, especially after they found out that she was dating a princess. And, of course they'd immediately set an unattainable expectation right from the start. 

They couldn't have done worse. Twi was still very sensitive to her place as Princess, and she still had confidence issues. And yet, here they were, basically telling Twilight that she wasn't a good enough Princess.

Too bad they didn't mean anything by it. That fact removed Rainbow's option to simply explode on them. 

Nope, it  was just their nature. And now, they had just given Twilight a taste of what made her distance herself from her parents in the first place. Their ability to, without malicious intent, ramp up their own expectations until they crushed you with them.

Their ability to be completely, entirely supportive, and yet, make you feel like you could never live up to what they expected you to be. 

"Mom. Dad."

She couldn't let Twilight become a victim to that. But, on the flip side, she couldn't just blow up on her parents, either, even if she really wanted to. She had just gotten over her last blow up, after all, as well as all the apologies and stuff she had to do to make it up to them. 

Besides, the squirt was here too. She couldn't fight some more with the folks, right after having went through so much effort to apologize to them in the first place. She was stuck between protecting Twilight, and not being a flankhead to her parents while doing so.

It was times like this that Rainbow wished that she was actually any good at conflict resolution that didn't involve yelling or hitting things. That would make this so much easier.

She still had to try, though. And, hey, worst comes to worst, she could still use her fire and brimstone method. Her parents were in the wrong here, after all. She'd just have to tone it down a bit for Scootaloo. 

Ah, who was she Kidding. She was probably gonna mess this one up.

"You guys know I didn't get with Twilight because she's a princess, right?"

Great, now her parents were looking at her. As if she wasn't nervous enough as it was. 

"Psssh, yeah duh, like Rainbow Dash could even be that shallow."

Oh, Scootaloo, you precious little filly. The gesture was sweet, but now, Rainbow really had to doctor how she told the story about how they got together.

Scoots must never know.

"Of course she's not. But it would take someone amazing to catch our little Dashie's heart. She's a catch, darn it!"

Rainbow grimaced a bit at that, as the significance of the statement hit her. It had taken her a long time for her to tone down her own narcissism to a bearable point, and she still struggled with it. 

And Twilight had been a big part of what success she had. Well, her and Fluttershy. They were the ones who knew how to point out her ego in a gentle, non-conflictive way. The ones who never gave up, and the ones who always helped and listened when she needed it.

"No, I'm not."

There was a moment of silence after she said that, as her mom, her dad, and even Scootaloo stared at her incredulously. 

"If you kinda haven't noticed, I'm a loud mouthed jerk. I brag a ton, always gotta have the last word, and can't ever be wrong. I always gotta be the best. Especially when I'm not."

Her parents just sat in silence, staring at her, and Rainbow Dash sighed. 

"Twilight's the great one. I'm just the lucky girl she chose to be with."

There was even more shocked silence, and Dash was quickly reminded why she hated sharing.

But, after a couple seconds, Rainbow got impatient. "So, yeah, Twilight is the Princess of friendship. Deal with it."

There it was. She hopefully got them to stop their ragging on Twilight. 

Now, to keep them from putting her on a pedastal. 

"Oh, and don't-"

Before Rainbow could finish, there was another bright flash, and Twilight reappeared, this time with a somewhat excited if crazed expression on her face. 

Oh dear. She had to cut her off, before she did something crazy.

"Back! So, uh-"


"Already explained it, Twi. You know, princess of friendship and all that. They're cool about it."

Twilight, to Rainbow surprise, didn't relax at that. No, if anything, she seemed even more tense. But, for the life of her, Dash couldn't determine why.

"That's good. So, uh, who's hungry?"

Eh, she'll figure it out soon, without a doubt. Besides, it was, without a doubt, going to be impressive.

Plus, in all honesty, she was starving.

"I am!"