‘’You…you’re serious?’’ Fluttershy asked, astonished by what she had been told. Not in a million years would she ever think that Rainbow Dash would suggest such a thing.
‘’Yes! It makes perfect sense!’’ Rainbow said, lightly gripping the timid mare’s shoulders. ‘’We’d both be perfect for it!’’
‘’Oh, I…I don’t know, Dashie. It’s a big responsibility!’’ Fluttershy said, tentative about the entire proposal and all of the hardships that it was sure to endure. It wasn’t something that any regular pony would be able to accept overnight.
‘’I know, but we’re both responsible ponies, aren’t we? I know we can both pull it off if we try! Will you at least consider it? We’re all she’s got, you know!’’ Rainbow Dash reasoned, pushing the conversation further. Fluttershy sighed at knowing that she wasn’t going to be getting out of this one without a fight.
‘’Foals are not as easy to care for as animals, Dashie. Yes, they may both require care, food and water expenses, but it’s nothing as easy as taking care of a baby bird or a little woodland critter. There’s insurance, doctor’s bills and immunisation shots, school plans…’’
‘’Pfft! Details!’’ Rainbow blew a raspberry. ‘’Besides, if we do adopt her, money won’t be an issue for us, Fluttershy! I mean, you do realise that I live inside of a cloud palace, right? I make more than enough for all three of us, so don’t worry too much about it!’’
‘’I still don’t know, Rainbow Dash. I couldn’t ask you to spend your own money for us both, it wouldn’t be right,’’ Fluttershy said, although, she was touched by her friend’s offer. ‘’And, aside from everything else, adoption takes months, sometimes years, to get all of the paperwork finalised! It wouldn’t happen overnight, Rainbow!’’
‘’I know that, Shyster! Please, help me help her! Fluttershy, you’re my best friend, and I know that you’ve got a way with any creature, including ponies! Scootaloo adores you as much as me. Well, maybe not as much as me, but you get the point,’’ Dash said, and she held Fluttershy hooves tenderly, giving them a light squeeze. ‘’Fluttershy, you’re the sweetest, most caring pony that I’ve ever met, and you’re so motherly when it comes to your animal friends that it never ceases to amaze me. Trust me, there’s nopony more perfect or suited for this job than you. I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t think you had it in you, and you know it.’’
Fluttershy didn’t speak, move or breathe. Her cheeks flushed, tinged with pink, flattered at her words. Nopony had ever told her that she was sweet and motherly before, and it was the last thing that she expected to hear from Rainbow Dash’s mouth! Even still, despite what she might be told, Fluttershy wasn’t sure if this was going to be a good idea.
In the past, Fluttershy had once thought about what it would be like to have foals of her own with a stallion, curious to experience motherhood at a front row seat. She loved any and all creatures, but she knew that children were not like the woodland creatures and other critters that she was used to caring for on a daily basis. After her experience of having The Cutie Mark Crusaders for a sleepover that one time, she knew how much of a handful they could all be, but all Rainbow Dash was proposing was to adopt only one of those three.
One child was still a massive responsibility and a burden to bear, especially given that she was still a pre-teen. As kids get older, they tend to go through phases and periods of rebellion, disobedience, angst, mood swings, adaptations and growing pains. Scootaloo was still far from scraping near any of those phases, but it was still an event that needed to be prepared for.
‘’Scootaloo has settled in quite well, I suppose,’’ Fluttershy reasoned. ‘’And she does seem to enjoy staying here with us,’’ She then gave a long, drawn sigh and she faced Rainbow Dash worriedly. ‘’But what about her parents? What happens if they come back into town looking for her?’’
‘’Then they’ll have me to deal with! I’m sure that everypony else will back us up if that does happen, but they’ve been out of the picture for so long that I wouldn’t count on it, Fluttershy,’’ Rainbow said confidently. ‘’But if they did, I doubt that they’ll care, but if they decide they want their daughter back, we can easily take the matter into court and get them locked away!’’
‘’Rainbow Dash, that’s a terrible thing to say!’’ Fluttershy said disapprovingly. ‘’Look, no matter where they are or what anypony else says, Scootaloo is still their child and not ours, so we wouldn’t have any chance of gaining custody.’’
Oh, dang, she’s right about that one. We’re only friends of Scootaloo, so it’s true that we wouldn’t have a single chance or a hearing.
‘’Well, maybe, but you didn’t see her house, Fluttershy! When the ponies at the courthouse hear about her living conditions and how they treated her, then I’m sure they’ll all listen to us! Heck, we might even be able to persuade Princess Celestia to side with us! If she’ll listen to Twilight, then she’ll listen to us!’’
Fluttershy blinked. She knew how badly Rainbow Dash wanted this case to pull through in her favour, how much she cared dearly for the little filly who’s life is in shambles. She hasn’t given herself the chance to rest since when she first discovered her all on her own inside of the hospital with a broken leg. It would kill Dash inside if anything should happen to Scootaloo that could bring her harm or misery, and she wasn’t going to stand by and let anything happen to her.
Fluttershy was moved by how much she cared for her, and she herself cared for the little filly, too. She was a sweet, caring, smart young girl with a potentially bright future. She had so much talent and love inside of her, but she never had anypony in her life to encourage her to show it or express it. Perhaps Rainbow Dash was right in trying to file for adoption. If they were her legal guardians, then they would have full custody of her and they would always be able to be there for her if she needed them at any point in her life.
‘’Rainbow Dash,’’ Fluttershy began slowly. ‘’You really love her, don’t you?’’
‘’Of course I do, Fluttershy! I’d do anything for her in a heartbeat, and I’d do the same for you, too!’’ Dash said confidently.
‘’And…I’m still not entirely sure, but, if you’re willing to try and give her a better life, then I’ll be more than happy to stand by you all the way,’’ Fluttershy said, and as soon as the words left her mouth, she found herself locked in a bearhug from Rainbow Dash, tackled onto her back and pinned against the bedsheets.
She squeaked in surprise as Dash buried her face into her cheek, nuzzling her and pushing herself so hard into her body it felt like she was trying to merge their bodies together to become one in the same. She was hugging her so tightly that Fluttershy’s lungs were getting choked and restricted by her friend’s strong hooves.
‘’Oh, Fluttershy, you beautiful mare!’’ Rainbow Dash said, pulling away from Fluttershy for a moment and raising herself so that she was above her, grinning with wide, excited eyes. ‘’You’ll really help? You’re serious?’’ She asked enthusiastically.
‘’Y-Yes, of course I will,’’ Fluttershy replied, still riding out through the surprise tackle. She was even more surprised when Rainbow Dash leaned down and kissed her on the cheek in a grateful gesture before she hugged her yet again, loosely this time.
She didn’t know what to say or what else to think about what Rainbow Dash had proposed. As a matter of fact, the idea to one day be a potential legal guardian or a parent was simultaneously exciting as it was frightening, and Fluttershy didn’t do well with holding it together under scary or nerve-wracking circumstances. Becoming a parent is no joke, and it doesn’t matter if it’s your child or another pony’s, it is equally as challenging.
On the other hand, being able to raise a pony with the help of Rainbow Dash eased her nerves significantly, knowing that it wouldn’t be as much of a challenge if it was only herself doing most of the heavy lifting. Scootaloo was sure to have a bright, happy future home life with them both, and getting to share the same roof along with somepony she idolises such as Rainbow must be an exciting thing to boast about!
‘’So, do you want to…?’’ Dash began, motioning to the bed with her eyes. Fluttershy’s eyes became confused for a moment but then they widened for a split second as she realised what Dash was hinting at.
‘’Oh! Sure, it’s getting a bit late,’’ Fluttershy said, and, as she was lifting the sheets up to gingerly slide herself beneath them, Rainbow Dash grinned mischievously, her tongue lolling outside of her mouth as an idea came to mind.
Out of nowhere, Rainbow wrapped her hooves around Fluttershy’s waist and she practically threw herself under the covers with her, making the butter mare give a big, girly squeal at the sudden contact. Rainbow cackled all the while, giggling and tickling the mare in her hooves as if she were a mere teddy bear.
‘’D-D-Das-Dash! S-Stop! It ti-tickles!’’ Fluttershy pleaded, giggling herself and fighting in vain to fend off Dash’s onslaught of tickles and pokes and prods. She would have stopped, but Rainbow was having too much fun losing herself in Fluttershy’s spout of uncontrollable giggles to hear her.
Man, her giggles are like hearing angels sing! She’s got such a beautiful voice, even when she’s laughing or giggling! It always makes my heart sore to hear her!
Rainbow Dash couldn’t lie to herself - she undeniably and undoubtedly loved Fluttershy’s vocal tone. She was always left swooning for days afterwards after she spends time with her, unable to get it out of her system. Sometimes, Rainbow Dash didn’t only tickle Fluttershy, prank her or tease her for the sake of it, but she rather did it on purpose, just for an excuse to hear her lovely, angelic voice and to see her adorable face.
If she had the chance to live with her under having custody of Scootaloo by order of the court, Rainbow would spend almost every waking minute and hour intentionally teasing and pranking Fluttershy to lose herself in her reactions and voice. She had always been so dreamy and beautiful to her, and she couldn’t hide it.
Eventually, she ceased in her barrage of tickling, her lungs deprived of oxygen and rendering her rasping for breath. Fluttershy’s face was red and frozen in a smile, her cheeks like cherry tomatoes from uncontrollable laughter, her eyes bright and shimmering with tears. Even under the darkness of the sheets, her eyes were still so very radiant and gorgeous, mesmerising, even.
Rainbow Dash was over the top of her, her hooves planted on either side of her head while Fluttershy’s had come to a rest on Dash’s shoulders. They both stared at each other while they panted, occasionally giving a breathy chuckle, getting it out of their system.
Although her cheeks were glowing and red from heat and laughing, Rainbow Dash’s trained, keen eyes detected signs of blushing, and she also noticed that Fluttershy’s eyes had become dreamy and entranced. The tow of them stared at each other, lost in each other’s eyes, completely lost to the world.
Rainbow Dash’s eyes are so beautiful, Fluttershy thought to herself while she was pinned by the rainbow mare. I can’t believe that I’ve never noticed them before. And she’s so close to me, too. She…She’s so warm…
Fluttershy couldn’t help herself become lost in a world of her own. She didn’t have it in herself to deny that she had been somewhat arrogant towards Rainbow Dash’s beauty and sleek bodily curves and angles until sometime in the previous two months. She had been unable to resist her own temptations against checking her out, and it made her feel ashamed on the inside.
I wonder what she’s thinking about, Rainbow Dash though. I wonder if she’s thinking the same about me as I do about her. Oh, man, that’d be so awesome if she was! And she smells really good, too! Is that…cinnamon?
‘’S-So…’’ Rainbow Dash began slowly, not really wanting to move off of her. The bedsheets all around them were ruffled and unkempt from their wrestling, the pillows creased and the mattress cover wrinkled and pulled out from beneath it. But neither of them cared about that. They were too lost in the moment and each other’s eyes, gone.
‘’So?’’ Fluttershy asked back, her breath shaky as her lungs did their best to replenish themselves of fresh oxygen.
‘’So, come here often?’’ Dash used the cheesy pickup line mockingly, causing the mare beneath her to erupt into a fit of raspy giggles. ‘’Need a hoof, missy?’’ Dash brought up one of her hooves as an offer, placing it above Fluttershy’s own.
‘’If you’d be so kind,’’ Fluttershy accepted her hoof and they both rolled onto their sides, facing each other as they laid on the mattress together.
Fluttershy’s long pink mane was so dishevelled and stuck on end that it was cute and alluring, melting Dash’s tender heart. Whenever Dash saw her mane like this, it always sent her innards aflutter. She wanted so badly to caress it and run it through her hooves, to brush it over and around her ear.
I love her mane when it gets ruffled, Fluttershy thought as she took in the state of Rainbow’s own mane. I wonder if she’d mind if I brushed it? Probably. I’ve always loved her mane colour and how it gets when she gets it sweaty and messy during her training exercises.
‘’Hey, um, Rainbow Dash?’’ Fluttershy began delicately, glancing down for a moment to see that her hooves were still intertwined with Dash’s, holding them firmly but loosely.
‘’Yeah, Flutter-Butter?’’
‘’I wa-was wondering…’’
‘’Yeah?’’ Dash asked, slightly pushing her face closer to Fluttershy’s. She did the same.
‘’And it’s al-alright if you say n-no,’’
Dash leaned in closer to her.
‘’Yes?’’
She gradually grew more excited.
‘’If you’ll, um…’’
Is…is this really happening?! Rainbow Dash wondered. Like, am I dreaming right now, or is she really about to ask what I think she’s going to ask?!
‘’Yeeeees?’’ Dash stretched, now only a centimetre away from touching Fluttershy’s snout.
‘’Talk to Twilight tomorrow about adopting Scootaloo?’’
Oh, yes, Fluttershy, I…oh. Wait, what?!
‘’Uh…’’ Rainbow Dash trailed off, trying to fend off her perplexity. ‘’S-Sure, Fluttershy…’’
Dang! DOUBLE dang! I seriously thought that she was going to ask me something else! All of that build up just for THAT?!
A mix of crushing disappointment and sadness coursed through Rainbow Dash’s mind as she felt shut down, very positively expecting Fluttershy to pop a bigger question than the one she came out with. Once again, Rainbow found herself let down by her more dominant emotions taking ahold of her mental reigns, and she kicked herself internally for it. She now felt very badly hurt and crushed on the inside, but she didn’t allow it to pierce through the surface so that Fluttershy was able to see it.
She then quickly turned away from Fluttershy and faced the opposite direction, not wishing for her to face her tears that were slowly leaking out, dribbling down her cheeks. Behind her, she felt movement on the bed as Fluttershy shuffled around and lightly touched her shoulder.
‘’Rainbow? Is something wrong?’’ She asked upon noticing the sudden mood change of the pegasus.
‘’No,’’ Dash said quickly. Thankfully, she managed to hide the tears in her voice. ‘’I’m alright, don’t worry about me.’’
‘’I…Oh. Okay,’’ Fluttershy said, taken aback as she retracted her hoof. ‘’Well…goodnight, Rainbow Dash.’’ And then Dash heard her turn around, facing the wall, much like herself.
‘’’Night,’’ Dash said numbly in return. She clenched her eyes a few times as she attempted to cut off her tears of hurt, wanting to actually cry out loud, but her pride abolished her from doing so.
Little did Rainbow Dash know, she was not the only one with their thoughts plaguing them to no end, for Fluttershy was also sharing her same mindset as she was facing the wall. Fluttershy wasn’t crying, though, she was simply concerned and contemplative.
Phew, I nearly slipped, Fluttershy thought. I’m sorry, Dashie, I was nervous. And was she about to kiss me?
Fluttershy bit her lip as her thoughts trailed off. She felt the bed shudder as Rainbow Dash gave a wracked, shaky breath, what she knew from experience was a stifled cry. She felt terrible for rejecting her true question and letting her down like that, but she was afraid to speak up. She’s never been one for romantic confessions or public speaking, and when it’s a touchy subject like this, that goes double.
Hmm, I wonder if Rarity is free tomorrow? She might be able to help me solve this. After all, she reads all of those romance novels, so she might know a thing or two more than me. I think I’ll head around and see if she’s free.
And, like that, giving one final glance over her shoulder to see the cyan mare behind her, Fluttershy sighed inwardly and she felt her eyes slide closed. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day for both of them.