//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 - Family Is Where Love Is Pt. 1 // Story: The Story Of Rainbow // by thedarktome //------------------------------// A few weeks after Scootaloo's birthday, things were back to full business for the Princess of Nature. Such as meetings with animal lovers all over Equestria. Including their local kennel, vets, and more. Not to mention, Rainbow had to meet with a few conservatives who were trying to have a region created as an animal reserve. She didn't mention she was already creating one in Ponyville in the land that was unoccupied. It was practically a big hoofball field that was not being used yards away from the Everfree Forest. Just as she promised Fluttershy. Who was currently tending to the animals in her cottage. How she was able to go from the castle to her cottage everyday confuses her. It would make her eyes change color if she had to do that everyday. Literally. Rainbow sighed and poured another glass of water into her cup. She was cutting down on her wine intake. It didn't do anything to her except bask her taste buds in cool relief. But she just didn't want to get addicted to it. It already didn't look good for the ponies who it actually affected both mentally and physically. Just thinking about that made her shiver. How could her ponies live like that? She took a sip of the water and set it back down on her desk before going back to reading another report in the "Office of Nature". It was still her same office, she just put a few "Natural Things" inside and on items. On the tall bookcases, there were a bunch of flowers on top of the books. Just a bunch of lillies. On the floor there were roots and pinecones. And in front of her desk, instead of chairs, there were tree stumps. Mostly just to make the person who would visit her uncomfortable for her own amusement. Of course when they'd voice their displeasure she would change it to a pillow. But if they didn't she'd keep it as is. A little to the right of her, there was a birdbath for when Fluttershy would bring a bird or something. As well as for Philomena, her mother's pet, who could actually take a bath and not be subtle about it. Like, she's washing everything. Rainbow would laugh hysterically when the Phoenix and her mother's around. Thus earning a pop on the head. Speaking of Celestia, she hasn't been around as much lately. Due to some heavy traffic in the her own office. Rainbow's is simple compared to hers. OR Luna's. Cadance she doesn't know about. HER wedding's coming up in two weeks, so she should be attending that. Of course she would, it's her cousin's! The runes outside her door made her look up from the document she was signing before yelling, "Come in!" She went back to her work as it opened and fluttershy walked in with, Rainbow guessed, Mr. Sparrow on her back. "Hello, Rainbow," she said sweetly, making the Princess look up. Her voice always made her smile. "Mr. Sparrow wanted to say hi." "Aww, and YOU don't want to?" She teased her girlfriend while the bird landed on Rainbow's mane and settled down. Fluttershy chuckled as she made her way over. She walked behind the desk and captured Rainbow Dash's lips in her own, pulling back a few seconds later. "That is my hello. Still working?" "Yep," she responded as the bird flew off her head to go to the fresh water-filled bird bath. "A princess never sleeps." She went back to her work while Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Luna, Celestia, and Cadance heavily disagree with that." "A Princess of NATURE...never sleeps," she corrected. "Uh huh. You slept in the same bed with me and your daughter last night." "A Princess of NATURE never sleeps between ten o'clock in the morning and eight o'clock at night. Try to beat that." "Sure. You stayed up until you had an orgasm that yesterday when Scootaloo had a sleepover at Rarity's until twelve at night." Rainbow lowered her paperwork and looked over at Fluttershy with a smirk. "Touche, Flutters. Now.....what do you really want? I know that look in your eye. We've known each other forever, you can't hide that." Fluttershy walked over and gave the princess a little nuzzle. "I've been thinking...." "Uh huh." The Princess grabbed a stamp with her magic and placed it on the request, leaving a big ol' 'DENIED' on it. Crazy nobles. "You've been working so hard to keep everypony happy in Ponyville, let alone Equestria." "Yeah..." She turned her chair around to give Fluttershy her undivided attention. "And you have not received anything in return. So I want to...." "...give me sex, a massage, and-" "No. Actually.... Yeah, no," she replied, shaking her head. "I mean I want to take you on a vacation. Take all of us on a vacation. Scootaloo, you, and myself." rainbow was just staring at her for a moment. "Uhh...Fluttershy? Babe? I have so much I have to get done here, I can't just up and leave it. I have to talk to the...ugh...nobles about their land disputes, as well as collect the last bit of money from Filthy Rich. He still owes the court, remember?" "I do, and Celestia can handle that." "Mom isn't-" "She already said yes, Rainbow. Come on, your daughter wants to go on a vacation too." Fluttershy reached down and grabbed Rainbow's free hoof while she looked her in the eyes. "Please?" Rainbow looked at her girlfriend in the eyes before she sighed and bit her bottom lip. After a moment she sighed again and nodded. "Fine. Fine we can go to a beach and relax for awhile or something." "We're not going far, just Manehattan," Fluttershy told her as she gave her a gentle nuzzle and kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, Rainbow." "Who's going to look after your pets? And how are we going to pay for this?" "Twilight and Cherry Berry volunteered to look after them with Angel's assistance. They're in good hooves." Twilight hectically looked through the cabinets in Fluttershy's kitchen in her cottage, trying to find something that would let her know which food goes to which animal. "How can you tell which goes where?!" She yelled in frustration. "Everything is color coded with stickers! There's not even a legend!" She opened another cabinet and screamed at seeing another row of brown and labeless cereal boxes with a yellow stickers on them. "I don't know how to control these animals!!" Cherry yelled from the living room. She was covered with animals ranging from birds to rabbits all over her. "Angel! Help us!" The rabbit was just sitting back in a beach chair wearing sunglasses underneath a sunlamp. He put his paws behind his head and let out a relieved sigh. Felt good having somepony else handle his troubles for once. "Yeah, I'm sure Twilight could handle it," Rainbow agreed. "I'm not so sure about Cherry though." "As long as Twilight's there, she will be fine. Now I'm going to get packed. Are you going to finish up here?" "Yep," Rainbow sighed. She grabbed another sheet from off the top of the stack of one hundred and put it in front of her. "Celestia goes through two hundred of these a day. I timed myself, five hours for one hundred. That means ten for Celestia on these documents alone. Some of these aren't even requests, they're just summons for meetings with other ponies that hold positions in congress. I have to be present along with a few other Royalty soon. Including a certain few from..." She froze and glanced up at Fluttershy with a smile. "Saddle Arabia." "Haakim and Amira?" "The very same." She looked at her current sheet while she continued to speak. "I'll see you in a little while." "Okay. Just don't stay in too late, Scootaloo's obviously looking forward too this." "How do you know that?" Before she could respond, the door burst open. The two looked towards it as Scootaloo trotted in briskly with a large bag on her back, filled with dresses and other items. She also had her scooter on the top of it. "Mom! Mother! Why haven't we left yet, I'm looking forward to this!" She yelled, stopping in front of Dash's desk. Rainbow was just staring wide-eyed while Fluttershy was chuckling on the side. "THAT'S how I know. Scootaloo, your mother is currently in the middle of paperwork. We'll be leaving in a few hours. Why are you buckled down with things, sweetheart?" Rainbow chuckled and shook her head before getting back to her work. Scootaloo was prepared before she was? What has Equestria come to? Celestia looked at a stack of papers like it was menacing to her. Just asking her to incinerate it to atoms and quarks. All she had to do was light her horn and fire away. So tempting, so easy. Yet, she sighed and went back to reading and reviewing the one hundred sixty five packets, notes, news, letters, and requests for Equestrian Funding. So many ponies wished to have a piece of Equestrian Government Bits. Not everything is free. If we give you the bits, you must deliver. "Thinking about destroying the stack of two to three hundred again?" Celestia glanced up and grinned as her daughter walked into the room. Rainbow walked behind her desk and gave her a hug and a nuzzle. "Hi, mom." "Hello, sweetheart," she replied, returning the gesture. She pulled back a moment later and looked her over. "You look like your father almost everyday." "So he had the long hair that moves on its own, too?" She replied, running a hoof through her mane. "Huh. Guess dad had it in him. I certainly can't contain this when I get upset. I mean, it goes everywhere. Like....like....like THAT." she pointed to a set of drapes on the wall that held Celestia's cutie mark on them. "It looks something like that except much more dominant, think of it that way." Celestia laughed before focusing again. "Why are you here, Rainbow? Are you here to say...." Rainbow just stared at her nonchalantly. "Still too stubborn to say it huh?" Rainbow sighed before she muttered something. "I'm sorry, what?" "Thank you." "You have to speak up, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow bit her bottom lip and groaned before turning to her mother. "I said thank you. Thanks for taking over my workload while me and my family can go on a vacation that I didn't even know about." Celestia chuckled. "You're welcome, sweetheart. And it won't be only me. It will also be Princess Luna. She offered her own services because you are her favorite niece." "I'm her only niece," Rainbow commented as she rolled her eyes. "But tell her I give her my thanks. Yoymu know where my stuff is." Rainbow turned around and made her way towards the doors. "Will do. Have fun. Try not to buck around your daughter." Rainbow turned around and looked at her in disbelief before Celestia's magic closed the door. But before it did, Celestia winked. "So we're going to a hotel?" Scootaloo asked. She was on her mom's back looking at the buildings of Manehattan. They arrived and landed a few minutes earlier at the outskirts of the city to walk instead. Following and near death expeience and the height in security, Princess Celestia advised her to bring her personal security detail. Sergeant Cloudstorm and his team, including Special Agent Sweetie Drops, who was leading Scootaloo's personal security. Just three more royal guards and her. Not too much. "Yep!" Rainbow Dash said as they turned a corner. She and Fluttershy were wearing a relaxing dress. Rainbow was wearing a rainbow colored one that was thin enough to be see through, while Fluttershy was wearing a simple blue on of the same design. Courtesy of Rarity. "It's a fancy hotel. We'll drop our stuff off and look around. I barely come here, so I really don't know what to do." "I'm pretty sure they have something here that we can do," Fluttershy responded to Scootaloo on her back. "Something simple that we can all enjoy. But more specifically, your mother can enjoy." Rainbow looked over at her while she explained. "You've been working so hard, that we think this vacation should be for you. Not just for us. Scootaloo even agreed. Right, sweetheart?" "Uh huh!" Rainbow chuckled while she nuzzled her daughter. "Thanks, squirt. But remember. I...." "You have nothing for this one, mother." "Eh. At least I tried." "You didn't even do that your highness," Sergeant Cloudstorm chuckled from beside her. "You barely attempted." "Well.....fine." They laughed before they walked into a building that had Manehattan Regional above the doorway in big bold letters made out of metal. A guard walked forward and opened the door for the family, allowing them inside first. The lobby was empty at this moment, so no gawking and whatnot. A receptionist was sitting at the desk before she spotted them. She gasped and walked out, bowing in front of them. "Your highness!" She greeted. "I was told you were vacationing here." "You can rise now," Rainbow ordered. The receptioninst quickly did as told while she continued. "And yes, we are vacationing here after Fluttershy insisted." She shot her girlfriend an annoyed glare, making the Pegasus chuckle and poke her cheek. "You're adorable when you're mad." "Anyway, do you have our room key?" She said, ignoring Fluttershy's comment. She'd get her back later. "Yes, ma'am." She walked back behind the desk and towards a board. She grabbed it in her mouth before walking back over and holding it out to her. Rainbow took it in her magic while she explained the location. "It's on the top floor, in the Princess Suite." "Thank you very much." She turned and made her way towards the elevator, her guards right behind her. After they arrived on the floor, Rainbow passed the key to Cloudstorm to unlock it for her. "Fluttershy, you are going to pay." The Pegasus looked at her confused. "You know how I hate looking mushy in public." "If you look mushy in public with your family it'll earn you some points," she added, giving her a wink. The sergeant opened the door, allowing them in. "Where are you sleeping Sergeant? We never asked you." "We're sleeping a few doors down, Lady Shy," he responded. The family walked in, or in Scootaloo's case ran in. It was like a little house. Separate bedrooms, bathrooms, and apparently a balcony on the other side that had a great view of the city. Scootaloo ran into the farthest room with her mouth wide open. "Whooooaaaa!" She gasped, taking in the sight of the chandelier suspended in the air by magic. There were a few bottles of wine by the bedside, a table nearby, and another balcony. The bed was large and colored red. What did Rarity call it? Velvet sheets? Eh. She tossed her bags on the floor, got on the bed, and started jumping. "Yeah! Whoo! Finally! Awesome!" She'd scream with each jump. Rainbow sighed and shook her head. She was about to tell her to get down before Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder, letting her know not to start. "Fine. Alright, Squirt, ready to head out? There's a pool downstairs." "Pool? I like pools!" "Have you ever been in a pool before?" Fluttershy asked. She grabbed Scootaloo's bags and set them in the corner with everyone else's stuff. "No, but I've seen what they looked like." Rainbow and Fluttershy shared a look before they shrugged. The princess grabbed her daughter in her magic and placed her on her back. "It's a start. Come on." They walked out of the room and made their way to the front door again where the guards were waiting. After walking through, they walked back to the elevators. Heading to the pool. When they arrived, Scootaloo immediately ran out screaming, "Cannon Ball!" The other ponies in the pool looked at her right before she made the big splash, soaking them. They laughed before she revealed herself, mane totally soaked, including the rest of her. Rainbow chuckled while she and Fluttershy made their way to two unoccupied beach chairs. "Sweetie Drops, watch over Scootaloo while in the pool please," Fluttershy ordered. The agent saluted before she settled down by the pool, keeping her eye on the giggling and laughing filly who was chasing around another pony. Rainbow and Fluttershy relaxed underneath a sunbrella that was over their chair, sighing relief. "Fluttershy? Good call," Rainbow credited. "You're welcome." "Now...about dinner..." "Are you about to duck out on us? Because if you are, I will lock away those other notes you brought with you in my suitcase." "I'll get them back out." "Rainbow....." Fluttershy warned, giving her girlfriend the stare. The alicorn held up her hooves in self-defense. "Whoa there, bear hugger, I meant I'll take it out, and put it back in my stuff." Fluttershy kept her stare going on. "What I was going to say about dinner was whether we should include Scootaloo or it could just be us two. What do you think?" Fluttershy blinked before she relaxed into her chair once more. "Well...it seems Scootaloo has made a friend. So she'll probably want to hang out with them for a little while." Rainbow looked towards her right to see a Pegasus filly with a light blue mane and tail along with a silver coat and light blue eyes. The two were talking and mingling in the pool, making Rainbow Dash grin. "i'm surprised she's made a friend already," she commented as she put on a pair of shades. "She's usually shy around other ponies. Sometimes rude if she gets 'A bad vibe'." "Well at least she's enjoying herself." Rainbow sighed and nodded, going back to relaxing. Which meant sleep on a bed out in the open. While her parents were rejuvenating in the sun, Scootaloo was getting to know the young filly in front of her. "My name is Scootaloo!" She introduced. "I'm Silver Lining!" The other introduced. She waved a hoof, sending water all over Scootaloo. "Where'd you come from?" "Ponyville! My parents and I are on vacation since school's out for summer break. And mother needed time from her work. So mom and I planned to give her a vacation." "Oh, cool-wait.....I don't get it. Mom and mother? Aren't those the same ponies?" Scootaloo shook her head. "Nope! My mom and mother are over there." She pointed a hoof over to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who both had their heads leaned back, sleeping peacefully. Rainbow's mane was still moving though. Not to mention twinkling. Silver Lining let out a gasp. "Your parents are royalty?" She whispered in disbelief. Scootaloo nodded. "Yeah, but I like to think I'm not," she responded with a shrug. "I believe I'm-" "So you're a princess," she interrupted. Scootaloo shrugged. "I guess. I never asked about it. I'm adopted so I don't know how that works." "Oh," she said, recoiling back a little. "Do you know where your real parents are?" Scootaloo bit her bottom lip and rubbed the back of her neck. "I take it you don't." "No I do...I mean....They're not exactly....ponies anymore. They're....gone, if you see what I'm saying." She gave a sad chuckle. Silver gasped, realizing what she meant. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you sad! Do you need a hug?" "No, no, I just.....it's just...it's not easy for me to talk about, so....and ponies don't usually ask about my real parents. Since they already know what happened. Well those from Ponyville anyway." "Well....this just got awkward," Silver said to the side. "Hey, Squirt! Who's your friend?" The ponies looked over and gasped at Rainbow. Scootaloo looked past her to the beach chair she was just at a few seconds ago. "Uhhh...mother, how did you get here so fast?" "Teleport." "In water?" "I'm the Princess of Nature, expect the unexpected when I'm around. Now who's your friend with her mouth open? She's gonna catch some mosquitos or something around all this water." Scootaloo looked towards Silver who was staring at her mother with her eyes wide and mouth open. "Oh! This is Silver Lining! That's all I know. Silver, this is my mother." "Nice to meet you kid." The filly didn't move until Rainbow splashed her face with a little water. She blinked and shook her head before gasping again. "P-P-Princess?!!" She said. Rainbow shrugged. "Eh, I prefer Rainbow, Rainbow Dash, Dash, awesome Dash, the Dashtacular, anything that's a synonym to fast or awesome. But I guess Princess can work this time." "Should I be bowing?" "Well....I don't know where, we're in the middle of the pool." She looked around her at the waves and other ponies conversing and drinking on the side. "I can go underwater!" "Yeah, let's not do that. Scootaloo, your mom and I were wondering if you'd like to go venturing with your friend for awhile, since you made a new one already. Besides that, we haven't had any us time lately. You know, dating and intimate moments. I barely said hi to anypony and you're already collecting a thrall." "Well, I don't-" "Of course we would, your highness!" They looked up to the side where there were two adults wrapped in towels looking at them. One of them was a light yellow unicorn while another was a dark green pegasus. "We would be honored to look after your daughter!" Rainbow teleported out of the pool to right in front of them, looking them over. Once she was done assessing them, and finding them harmless, she gave them a smile. "And you are?" "I am Green Grass, Princess Dash," the dark green pegasus said, bowing in front of he. "And I am Golden Heights, your highness," the light yellow unicorn said to her. "Rise, ponies," she said softly. "Oh my stars, I sound my mother. Do you live in Manehattan?" "We actually live in Cloudsdale, but we are on vacation right now," the unicorn explained. "I am Silver Lining's father." "And I am going to take an obvious guess and say you are her mother," Rainbow guessed pointing to Green Grass. "Yes, ma'am." "Alright. Well, I usually don't just leave my daughter with anypony. And Fluttershy doesn't either. But Sweetie Drops kept insisting that she could take care of anypony willing to hurt her, kidnap her, or anything like that. And she is my top guard. SWEETIE DROPS!" A light yellow pony with a dark blue and pink rose mane, that had a scar on her left eye zipped right over, saluting. "Yes, your majesty?" She said. "I want you and your team to keep my daughter safe during the tour. Do whatever is necessary if something does happen. understood?" "Yes, ma'am." Rainbow looked towards the shocked faces of the family while her Scootaloo waved to Sweetie Drops. "Hey, kid. How's the pool?" "Cold." "Eh, you get used to it." "i'm entrusting you with my daughter," Rainbow told the family. "If she returns safe and sound, I will help you with anything you may need at the best of my ability. You have my word. I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on anyway." A splash of water hit her flank, making Rainbow yelp and turn around. Fluttershy was glaring at her in the water. "No. Paperwork, Rainbow Dash," she scolded. "We are here to relax, not sign, schedule meetings, or argue with nobles. Relax. Now come in the pool." Fluttershy grabbed her ankle and dragged her in, ignoring her protests. "Is....is this normal?" Silver Lining asked. "Oh yeah, all the time," Sweetie Drops and Scootaloo responded. They continued watching the royal couple before they eventually ran out of steam and were just floating on the water. "On with the tour?" "Yep."