//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Taboo // by Hooves Like Jagger //------------------------------// 1 "How did this all start?" Princess Celestia's voice floated through the empty throne room, winding around the ivory pillars and echoing off the panels of stained glass. She sat atop her throne, accompanied only by her sister, the Princess Luna. Specks of dust could be seen floating about in the colorful shafts of light that came through those tall, colorful windows. Standing in the light was an equally colorful pegasus mare who cradled a foal swaddled tightly in a Wonderbolts blanket. Between the foal's dingy, grey coat and matted, purple mane, she looked just like any other sleeping foal. Only a few long, tufts of hair sticking up from her ears made her appear any different from any other foal; however, they did not do the depth of her difference justice. "We just found her and then I said I would take care of her for the time being. I had no idea what I was getting myself into," Rainbow Dash said. She gazed down at the foal. "Has she been troublesome?" Luna asked. Rainbow Dash's head jerked back up at the Princesses as she quickly shook her head. The difficulty of caring for the foal for the past week did not come from the foal herself. The sleepless nights and feelings of isolation came from an entirely different, but not unrelated, source. "She's been great! Taking care of her has been the easy part," she explained. She took a moment to pinpoint what the hard part had been. "When we found her, we didn't care what she looked like; we just wanted to make sure she wasn't left alone. We didn't care what kind of wings or eyes she had... but everypony else didn't think that way." Rainbow Dash took the blanket between her teeth and unwound it until the foal's little wings unfurled from beneath. The wings were not the feathered, soft wings of a pegasus, but the violet, leathery wings of a bat. Even from high on their thrones, both Princesses could determine the difference. The foal stirred, prompting Rainbow Dash to secure the blanket around her once more. The Princesses took the moment to glance at one another, both hoping their sibling knew how to proceed. "Twilight said something about ponies with wings like hers in your guard, Luna. We were hoping you could shed some light on who her parents might be," Rainbow Dash said. When Luna first learned from Celestia that Twilight and the others had found such a foal, she knew she'd be put on the spot like this. She had told herself over and over in her head to just come out and explain everything when the moment came, but now that the moment had come she found herself hesitating. "My sincerest apologies, Rainbow Dash, but I am afraid I cannot help you in that regard. My servants, the Fellwings, are transformed by magic so they may appear as they do. Never in years past have I even heard of a pony have that appearance without the aid of magic. Again, I apologize for being unable to satisfy any queries you might have." Luna cast her gaze to the ceiling, still wishing for even one nugget of information that might help Rainbow Dash. "Is that true, Princess Celestia?" Dash asked. The Princess of the Sun nodded like only the wisest of sages can; she nodded knowing Luna's speech was one hundred percent true. "The motif Luna used for her guards was meant to emulate bats, that's all. As far as I know, which is very far, there has never been a pony born with wings like the one you hold," she said. Rainbow Dash looked back down at the bundle in her hooves while she processed what she just heard. The silence in the throne room dragged on for what felt like an hour before Celestia finally spoke up again. "Rainbow Dash, I need you to explain everything in more detail: how you found her, how the ponies in Ponyville reacted to her. I need to know as much as I can before I decide how to proceed." Rainbow Dash swallowed, hard. She brushed a bit of the sleeping foal's mane out of her face, recalling with fondness how they had first met. "We were heading home after visiting a friend of ours in the Everfree when Applejack heard her crying. We followed the sound until we all found her in a clearing. Once we calmed her down, we talked about what we should do next. We decided it would be best for one of us to take care of her until we could talk to you about her, so I volunteered to take her in for the time being. The girls were nothing but helpful. Applejack lent me Applebloom's old foal stuff, Twilight gave me a bunch of books on foalcare, Rarity made her a doll, and Fluttershy and Pinkie said they could watch her for me if I was ever too busy. We had a sort of 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for her at Applejack's that night. We all just ended up sleeping at her place." "Nopony acted strange around her that night?" Celestia asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head. The next part of the story was far from a fond memory. "Everypony thought that her ears, her eyes, and her wings were odd, but nopony acted like those things bothered them. Even Applejack's family seemed okay with her, so when I took her into town I didn't expect things to go south so quickly." Rainbow Dash stopped there. Princess Celestia had said she wanted to know as much as she could, but Dash did not want to go any further into detail. "Please go on, Rainbow Dash. This part is very important to me. I can't help you if I don't understand what the problem is," Celestia said. Despite her prodding, Rainbow Dash continued to hesitate. She tried to distract herself by looking down at the foal, who she was surprised to find was wide awake. The little filly stared back up with her with two, golden irises and two, slitted pupils. "Does she have a name?" "H-huh?" Rainbow Dash looked up at the sound of Luna's voice. She suddenly became aware of the tears that were threatening to well up in her eyes, causing her to blink more often than usual. "Have you given the little one a name yet?" Luna asked again. Rainbow Dash sniffled involuntarily and nodded. Luna smiled gently. "What is it?" "Taboo, her name is Taboo," Rainbow Dash said. "Aboo!" the filly responded at the sound of her name. Rainbow Dash chuckled, dislodging a few tears from her eyes. One of them fell right onto Taboo's nose. The filly crossed her eyes in an attempt to look at it, but started fussing when she could not determine what was touching her nose. Dash laughed a little more before wiping the droplet away. Before she could take her hoof away, Taboo reached up and grabbed it with her own little, stubby hooves. "Aybo," she giggled. Rainbow Dash reached down and tickled Taboo's stomach, enticing more shrieking giggles from the foal. The ivory pillars and stained glass windows slipped out of her mind for a moment. The Princesses and all the ponies in Canterlot or Ponyville became distant memories. The Princesses could tell she was comfortable in some state of mind miles away, which made Celestia hesitant to interrupt the tender moment. "Rainbow Dash." Princess Celestia brought Rainbow Dash back into the present. She looked back up at the monarchs, but continued playing with the foal. "You need to share the story with us, for her sake." Dash's previous anxiety tried to rear back up, but she took a deep breath and remained calm. "The trouble started when we went back into town that morning..." "Stinky, stinky, stinky," Rainbow Dash held the loaded diaper as far away from herself as she could. She quickly flew over to the waste bin and plopped it in. She quickly dusted her hooves off, as if that were enough to remove any traces of the little filly's business from them. "We're mighty lucky Pinkie Pie had some diapers on her. Celestia knows what we would've done without 'em," Applejack said. Pinkie beamed brightly as she continued repackaging the foal into a clean diaper. The sun had hardly risen when Taboo woke up and began crying, but the Apple family house had already been abuzz with activity. Even the guests were up and about, save for Rarity who insisted on getting a little more "beauty sleep". "You never know when you'll need one!" Pinkie finished putting the diaper on Taboo. She promptly scooped the foal up and deposited it into Rainbow Dash's hooves. "There we go, nice and clean for mommy!" "Pinkie Pie, I'd appreciate it if you'd just drop the whole 'mommy' bit," Rainbow Dash said. She had reiterated the point several times last night as well, but, just as she'd done back then, Pinkie Pie responded with with the same canned response. "I still think you should keep her forever!" As excited as Pinkie looked, Rainbow Dash couldn't consent to that. She was only babysitting the foal until they could ascertain the whereabouts of her parents. Her agreement to take care of her depended heavily on the assumption that it was not a permanent arrangement. "We've already discussed this Pinkie Pie," Twilight said, emerging from the kitchen with a tray of apples levitating beside her. Applebloom followed along behind her, balancing an ambitiously large tray of apples on her head. "We need to get her back to her parents. I'm writing to the Princess right when I get back to the library; she'll know what to do." "That's right," Applejack said. "I can't stand the thought of that little filly's parents runnin' themselves ragged over their little girl." Everypony nodded in agreement as they gathered around the table. Big Macintosh lumbered in the front door and took a seat between Applejack and Applebloom without a single word. "Well, Mac, did ya get all the stuff out towards Dash's place?" "Eeyup." Without saying anything else, the massive earth pony grabbed an apple and started eating, an action which prompted everypony else at the table to follow in suite. "Alrighty then. Rarity, get in here an' have some breakfast!" Applejack called. It wasn't too long until the bedraggled form of the white unicorn emerged at the top of the stairs. She plopped her rear end down between Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy and then let her head drop onto the table. "Well, good mornin' to you too sunshine." "What kind of crazy pony wakes up at this unruly hour?" Rarity asked as her hoof blindly searched for the food on the table. Fluttershy showed her friend some mercy and scooted an apple within her reach. Even then, it took her a moment to locate it. "It ain't 'unruly' an' I'm up at this time everyday!" Applejack replied. Rarity lifted her face off the table and stared at her friend through bloodshot eyes. "Case in point." Rarity levitated the apple and took a dainty bite out of it. "Choo choo!" Pinkie Pie shouted, causing Rarity to nearly jump out of her seat. "Open wide, here comes the train!" The unicorn scowled at her friend, but Pinkie couldn't see her with her back turned. She continued inching a spoonful of applesauce closer to the foal squirming in Rainbow Dash's hooves. "Lighten up, Rarity," Applejack said. "Y'all wouldn't be so tired if you went to sleep when the rest of us did. What were y'all doin' anyway?" Rarity took another bite of apple, but then smiled triumphantly. "Oh, just making some adjustments to one of those old dolls you were lending Rainbow Dash," she said. Before anypony could ask specific details, Rarity went ahead and levitated the fruit of her labors over the table. The adjustment Rarity had made was quite obvious: she had added bat wings to the faded, tan pony's back. Twilight was the first to speak up. "Wow, that was pretty thoughtful of you." Rarity beamed, soaking up the compliment. "Aww, that's adorable," Fluttershy said. "Eeyup." Big Macintosh covered up having said anything with a few feigned coughs. "It's the least I could do, but I do believe it's a necessary possession for little Taboo." Rarity levitated the doll over to the foal, who automatically forgot all about eating to snatch up the floating doll before her. "And once again, I need to remind you not to call her that," Twilight said. "Her name isn't Taboo, nor should it be Taboo." Twilight had insisted on that fact ever since Rarity had coined the name last night. Both Pinkie and Rarity had been discussing what to call the foal when Twilight pointed out they were in no position to name the foal and therefor the subject of what to call her was, quote, "taboo". The name stuck. "Aw, c'mon Twilight! I like it!" Pinkie Pie said as she tried to reinvigorate Taboo's interest in eating food and not her doll's head. "She already has a name, the one her parents gave her," Twilight stated. "Well we can't just keep calling her 'the foal' or 'the filly'. I don't see the harm in just giving her a temporary name," Rarity said. Twilight rolled her eyes and took a large bite off an apple. Rather than argue her case again, she continued to slowly masticate the apple in order to excuse herself from speaking. In her stead, Fluttershy spoke up. "Well, foals are very impressionable, so if we call her something else she might, uhm, think it's her name," she said. Rarity's eyes drifted away from the table. "Well... what if her parents didn't name her?" Rarity asked. The table became quiet, save for Taboo who was gurgling happily with her doll's head mostly in her mouth. Rarity heaved a sigh and put her hooves on the table. "I think we've overlooked the possibility for far too long, girls. I don't think anypony forgets their daughter in a neat little basket out in the woods. What if she wasn't forgotten? What if she was just... left?" "That's ridiculous!" Rainbow Dash shouted, slamming a free hoof onto the table. "Why would anypony do that?" Rainbow Dash's' question is answered only by awkward silence. Everypony knew the answer was very simple, but none of them wanted to say it. No one wanted to be the one to say that anypony would abandon the foal because of her ears, eyes, or wings. No one at the table believed leaving the foal because of her anatomy was excusable, but they didn't want to believe it was even a possibility. "Rarity's right, y'all," Applejack said, breaking the silence. "We've gotta account for the possibility that her parents aren't lookin' for her, for one reason or another." The comment didn't do anything to dispel the awkward air around the table. "Well, we can't stick around here forever!" Rainbow Dash suddenly stood up and made towards the door with Taboo in tow. She strapped on the carrier that was waiting for her next to the exit. "Wait, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity got up and followed after her with the rest of the group following closely behind. "You can't just fly off yet." "Yeah! Taboo hasn't finished breakfast yet!" Pinkie Pie said. Dash finished putting on the carrier and placed Taboo inside. The foal whimpered under the stress of being moved so quickly, but clung fast to her doll. "I've got to get busy putting all the kid stuff in my place, so I'd better get a move on," Rainbow Dash said. She opened up the door and walked out, but her friends kept on following. She spread her wings and took a few experimental flaps, checking to see if the carrier's harness got in the way of her wings. "We've still got a lot to discuss," Twilight said. "If you wait a little longer, we could all go to your place together and help you." Rainbow Dash didn't turn to acknowledge the presence of her friends. "I'd just feel better if I headed home now." Before anypony could protest further, Dash was already airborne and soaring away. Rainbow Dash didn't even hear Applejack call after her to take it slow. She streaked across the sky and, after a few minutes of soaring over Ponyville, landed outside her front door. She wandered over to the edge of her cloud stoop and peered down at the ground. Big Macintosh had indeed placed the cart of items she'd be needing under her home. Rainbow Dash looked down at the foal strapped to her chest. Taboo was still clinging to her doll and looked pretty windblown, but she was smiling and giggling all the same. Rainbow Dash decided it would be best to try a quick experiment while she had control of the situation. She removed Taboo from the carrier and slowly lowered her towards the cloud floor. When the filly's behind was in contact with the fluffy surface, Rainbow Dash carefully removed her hooves. She let out the breath she'd been holding in when the foal rested on the cloud without falling through. Dash chuckled to herself. "See, you're just like any other pegasus," she said, picking Taboo back up and heading into her house. Dash's house was a cozy little place. Anypony who knew her well would say it's strangely well kept and clean, but that's only because Rainbow Dash didn't have too many worldly possessions. She had quite a few Wonderbolts posters strung about the rooms and the odd piece of Wonderbolt paraphernalia on a table or sitting on a windowsill. She kept her more personal affects in her closet upstairs. There was also her bed and her bookshelf where she kept all her Daring Do novels, but that was all there was upstairs aside from the bathroom. Downstairs her den and kitchen were pretty standard, keeping with the minimalist theme that ruled the rest of the house. "Okay, stay here, Taboo," Rainbow Dash said to the foal, setting her down in the den. "Great, now Pinkie and Rarity have me doing it too." "Aboo," Taboo replied. Rainbow Dash groaned and brought a hoof to her face. "Aaaand now we've got you doing it." "Aboo!" she squealed again. Dash pointed a hoof at Taboo. "Right, stay here." Rainbow Dash zipped out the front door of her house and down to where Big Macintosh had put the cart. One by one, she started carrying the various items in the cart up to her house: a highchair, a crib, a playpen, a chest filled with Applebloom's old toys, and a bag containing various items such as diapers and food. Once she'd brought everything up, she moved everything to the spot it needed to be in her house. Once everything was in place, she returned to the den where Taboo was wrestling with her doll. Rainbow Dash glanced up at her Wonderbolts clock and noted that the task used up only ten minutes. "See, I didn't need any help with that," she said as she flopped onto her couch. In reality, taking care of the foal stuff was just an excuse to get away from everypony. Rainbow Dash didn't want to explore the possibility of Taboo's parents not wanting her back. It was a reality that made her jumpy. Being unable to return Taboo to her parents didn't mean she automatically had to take care of her, but she was a candidate. She looked over to where Taboo was playing on the floor. For a moment, she tried to imagine herself as the foal's mother. When she thought about her future, she had never envisioned things like having kids or getting married. All she wanted was to be a Wonderbolt. Something like starting a family would make it hard to follow that dream. She was still four years too young to be a Wonderbolt, but she still wanted to spend every moment up until that point training. "It'll be fine. This is just for a week or so," Rainbow Dash said to assure herself. She continued to watch Taboo play from the couch, still curious about the filly's fate and history. There was a knock on Rainbow Dash's door. "It's open, come on in!" she shouted. She had just gotten Taboo to start eating lunch, so she didn't want to stop while she was on a roll. The door opened just as a spoonful of applesauce was about to go into Taboo's mouth. Curious, the filly suddenly turned towards the source of activity, causing the spoon to deposit part of its payload onto her cheek. Dash grunted and looked towards the door herself. "Sorry to interrupt," Fluttershy said as she closed the door behind herself. "I see you moved all the stuff in." "No big deal," Rainbow Dash said. She tried to reinvigorate Taboo's desire to eat, but the filly just kept staring up at Fluttershy. Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash didn't relent. "So, what's up?" "Oh, well, the girls sent me. Princess Celestia responded to Twilight's letter," Fluttershy replied. Rainbow Dash slipped the spoonful of applesauce into Taboo's mouth. "Really? That was fast," she said. She retracted the spoon and reloaded it while Taboo swallowed what was in her mouth. "What did she say?" "Well, not much, really. She said she would put out word that a peculiar, lost foal was found outside of Ponyville, but nothing else," Fluttershy explained. Rainbow Dash deposited more applesauce into Taboo's open mouth. "So the Princess didn't put anything in her response about why she might look the way she does?" Rainbow Dash asked. Fluttershy shook her head. "Maybe it's not as big of a deal as we think. Twilight said Princess Luna has ponies like Taboo in her guard, right? They'll find her parents in no time." "Yes well..." Fluttershy shuffled her hooves. "Twilight wants to talk to you and, uhm, Pinkie Pie wants Taboo to come and play with the Cake twins, so Twilight said you should both come down to Sugarcube Corner." Rainbow Dash couldn't figure out what Twilight might want to talk about at first, but it only took a brief moment of reflection for he to come up with a good guess. Twilight probably wanted to talk more extensively about Taboo being an orphan. As much as she wished she could just waltz around that possibility and avoid it, Twilight wouldn't let that happen. "Fine, just let us finish up here," Rainbow Dash said as she fed another bit of applesauce to Taboo. "And since when have you been calling her Taboo?" Fluttershy grinned sheepishly and shuffled her hooves a little. "I just, well, it's catchy and it just slips out. Even Twilight used it once or twice after you left," Fluttershy replied. Dash smiled as she scooped up more applesauce for Taboo. "I bet Rarity's feeling pretty proud of herself." Rainbow Dash moved the spoon towards Taboo, who eagerly leaned forward and engulfed the spoon and its contents. After a few more spoonfuls, Rainbow Dash strapped the carrier back on, loaded Taboo in, and walked out the front door with Fluttershy. They were about to take off for Ponyville, but Taboo started crying all of a sudden. It only took one whiff of the air to determine what was ailing the little foal. "I should probably change her first," Rainbow Dash said as she headed back into her house. "Good idea." Fluttershy remained outside while Dash went inside and put Taboo into a clean diaper. Changing the squirming foal took all of five minutes and then it took Rainbow Dash another fifteen minutes to get her to stop crying. Rainbow finally exited her house and rejoined Fluttershy. "Did everything go well?" Fluttershy asked. Rainbow Dash grinned and patted Taboo on the head. "Nothing I couldn't handle. I had to foalsit worse brats back in Cloudsdale. C'mon, let's get going," Rainbow Dash said, spreading her wings and launching herself from her house. Fluttershy tripped off afterwards, struggling a bit to keep up with her more athletic friend as they headed towards their destination. Knowing that there would probably be a lot of ponies out near Sugarcube Corner at this hour, the pair of pegasi found a much less congested stretch of road a block away from the confectionery. They trotted the rest of the way from that point. During the short walk to Sugarcube Corner's front door, Rainbow Dash couldn't shake the notion that everypony was staring in her direction. She confirmed with just a few glances to the side that the eyes of everypony around were following her as she walked. She shook it off, chalking it up to the fact that she had Taboo with her. She could understand why everypony would want to know what she was doing with the foal. Rainbow Dash pushed the door to Sugarcube Corner open, chiming the bell and alerting the shops patrons to her entry. "There you are! We've been waiting forever!" Pinkie Pie said as she materialized right in front of Dash. Without another word, she picked up Taboo and hopped off with her to the upper floor of the shop. Dash and Fluttershy stood in a bit of a daze until Mr. Cake approached them from behind the counter. "Sorry about that," he said. "Pinkie's been pretty excited since I casually mentioned that the new foal should have a play date with the twins." "Oh, it's no biggie," Rainbow Dash replied. She glanced absentmindedly over her shoulder. Some of the other ponies in the shop looked somewhat subdued. They talked amongst each other in hushed tones, occasionally looking over at or gesturing to the stairs Pinkie had just left by. "If you're looking for Twilight and Rarity, they're sitting over by the window," Mr. Cake said. Rainbow Dash thanked him and trotted over to the table in question with Fluttershy. Twilight and Rarity looked up as the two pegasi approached. "Where's Tab-I mean, the foal?" Twilight asked. Rarity failed to repress a smug smile and snicker, causing Twilight to shoot her a glare. "Pinkie took her upstairs," Dash replied. "Did she now?" Rarity said. "I wanted to see her before Pinkie got her hooves on her. I've prepared another little gift for her." Rarity levitated a blue headband over the table. "What's that for?" Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity smiled and got up from the table. "I just thought it would look cute on her. I'm going to find out how I'm right," Rarity said as she started towards the stairs. Twilight cocked her head to the side. "Don't you mean 'find out if I"m right?'" she asked. Rarity just laughed. "Darling, there is no 'if' when it comes to my judgements on fashion." Rarity smiled even wider as she took the stairs one dainty step at a time. Twilight rolled her eyes and turned to Fluttershy. "You should go with her. I'd like to talk to Rainbow Dash alone," she said. Fluttershy nodded and trotted off. Sighing, Rainbow Dash got out of the carrier's harness and took a seat across from Twilight. "Did you get all the stuff moved in?" "Yeah, I got it done," Dash said. The store's bell rang as a few ponies trotted into the store. "Do you wanna tell me why you were in such a hurry to get out of AJ's this morning?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash looked away and waved the question off with her hoof. "I don't know what you're talking about. Where's Applejack anyway?" Rainbow Dash tried to divert the conversation, but Twilight was already wise to her ways. "She has work to do. Listen, Rainbow Dash, we need to talk about what we're going to do in the event we don't find the foal's parents," Twilight said. The store's bell rang once again as another group of ponies sauntered in. The idle chatter at the store's tables grew louder. "But we're gonna find her parents, right?" Rainbow Dash asked, attempting to discourage the conversation once more. Twilight forged ahead anyway. "In the event that we don't find them, we need to have a plan of action ready. I think you know what that means for you as her current caretaker, right?" Twilight leaned in closer and furrowed her brow to let Dash know she wasn't getting away from this conversation. Twilight couldn't pin down exactly what was bugging Rainbow Dash, but she figured it would be better to lay it out on the table right now. Already though, Rainbow Dash was looking pretty nervous. "Uh, I dunno what you mean Twilight," Dash lied. She knew exactly what Twilight meant. "Well, allow me to elaborate," Twilight said as she leaned back into her seat. "It could take us a while to find Taboo's parents. When you agreed to take care of her, you said you understood that it could take anywhere from a few days to a few months. No matter how long it takes, you're ready to take care of her, right?" "Yeah, of course!" Rainbow Dash replied. She knew full well what she was getting into when she agreed to take care of Taboo. Especially now that the foal was in her care, she wasn't about to kick the little foal to the curb if the search for her parents was taking too long. The store's bell kept ringing as the sound of the surrounding voices grew to a dull roar. Dash notices Twilight glancing over at the unusually large group of ponies in the store. "So, what do you plan on doing in the event that, for whatever reason, we're ultimately unable to return Taboo to her parents?" Twilight asked. Rainbow Dash had trouble hearing the question over the hubbub the crowd was raising. The unusual spectacle was drawing her attention away from her own conversation, and she could tell Twilight was wondering what's going on as well. "Settle down, everypony!" Mr. Cake said. "What's all the commotion about?" The question caused the crowd to clamor even louder and bunch up around the counter. Mr. Cake kept shouting for them to quiet down and talk one at a time, but it wasn't doing any good. Before the situation could escalate any further, Rainbow Dash flew out of her seat and landed on the counter. "Be quiet!" she shouted. The roar of the crowd turned into a murmur as the pegasus took control of the situation. "Does anypony care to explain what's going on here?" "We wanna know what that thing was," somepony said. Rainbow Dash leered into the crowd and flicked her tail. "What thing?" she asked. The crowd murmured a little more, but Rainbow Dash could hear the things they were staying. Everypony was having trouble coming up with a description for what they'd seen, but somepony finally stepped forward with an answer. "We wanna know what that thing you came in here with was!" the pony said. Rainbow Dash figured they weren't talking about Fluttershy, so that left only one pony. "You mean Taboo?" Rainbow Dash's question reignited the crowd. All at once they shouted out different questions. Dash yelled back, but this time her voice was lost in the din of the multitude. It looked like there was no end to the shouting match, but a voice far louder than anypony else's sliced through the noise. "Enough!" Everypony fell silent as they turned to see the white unicorn descending the stairs. "I don't know what's going on, but you all better clear out of here!" Once she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Rarity began herding the crowd towards the door. There was a chorus of protests, but Rarity wouldn't have any of it. Slowly yet surely, each pony who wasn't in the store to buy pastries was forced out. Rarity slammed the door behind them with a huff. "Wow, good job," Twilight said while she wandered over to her friend with Rainbow Dash. Through the windows, she could see the crowd hadn't dispersed yet. Their loud chatter could be heard through the walls of the store. "Honestly, what was all that? All the noise was bothering the foals," Rarity said, still fuming with anger. The best Twilight could offer as an explanation was a shrug. "I think it had something to do with Taboo," Rainbow Dash said. "They asked me what 'thing' I came in here with." Rarity got awfully quiet. Her rage subsided all at once. "Dash, did they use that word, 'thing'?" she asked. Rainbow Dash didn't know what was going through Rarity's head, but she went along with it and nodded. Rarity took a shaky breath in through her nose and slowly let it out. "Oh, I was worried something like this might happen." "Something like what?" Rainbow Dash asked. Rarity's concern was written all over her face. "I was worried the other ponies in town might not be very... receptive of Taboo," she said. Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and cocked her head. "That's ridiculous. Why would they get so worked up over her?" Dash asked, but she didn't give Rarity time to answer. "If they want to meet her so bad, I'll just take her out there." She turned and started off towards the stairs, but Rarity cut her off. "Hold on Rainbow Dash, I don't know if you want to do that right now. Let me go out there and talk to them first!" Rarity said. Rainbow Dash grunted and trotted on past, but found Twilight Sparkle standing in her path. "I think you should listen to her, Dash. You know how some of the Ponyville citizens can get about these things," she said. Once again, Rainbow Dash didn't pay her friends any mind. She went on past them and up the stairs to where Pinkie and Fluttershy were watching the foals play. "Hey Dashie! Did Rarity take care of all those shouting ponies downstairs?" Pinkie asked. "Yeah, she did. I need Taboo for a minute or two," Dash said. Pinkie Pie didn't have much say in the matter as Rainbow Dash scooped up the filly without another word. She turned and left the room with the filly in her foreleg. Rainbow Dash showed very little concern for the Taboo's whimpers and squirms of protest. She didn't stop to admire the navy headband she was wearing or notice how nicely she'd been playing with the cake twins. Rainbow Dash just marched back down the stairs with Taboo, out the front door of Sugarcube Corner, and into the jaws of the crowd. "So, what happened then?" Celestia asked. Rainbow Dash didn't respond. She cast her eyes to the floor and shook her head. "That bad, huh?" Rainbow Dash nodded and spoke up. "I couldn't believe some of the things they said. They called her a monster, a freak. They told me I should've just left her in the Everfree. Since then, I can't show head or hoof in public without getting ridiculed." Rainbow Dash fought back more tears. Princess Celestia looked over at her sister for a moment. Luna had a hoof to her mouth, a sign that she was deep in thought. Celestia got up from her throne and approached Rainbow Dash. "I understand it's a painful memory, but we need to know whatever you're willing to tell us." Celestia placed a reassuring hoof on Rainbow Dash's shoulder. She looked down at Taboo, who had slipped back into a peaceful sleep during the story. Rainbow Dash sniffled a little, but collected herself to say a little more. "Rumors about Taboo spread faster than we could hope to suppress. They all said the same thing: Taboo is some sort of monster who'll grow up and just cause trouble. Some of them think she's already capable of causing trouble. They don't give her a chance and they treat me like some sort of villain for defending her.," Rainbow Dash said, her voice wavering as her explanation grew. Luna rose from her throne and joined her sister before Rainbow Dash. "Is it only words those ponies use?" Luna asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head. "None of the vendors in town will give me any business, not that it really matters. I don't have any money since I got kicked off the weather patrol. Without my friends' help, I'd be sunk. They can't stop the pegasi that come around my house just to jeer. I thought after the first few days they'd just get tired of it, but they only got worse as the week wore on. This morning I heard the voices of ponies I didn't recognize outside my door. I panicked. I grabbed Taboo and just flew out my bedroom window. I didn't have a destination in mind, so I ended up coming here. Again... sorry for just barging in." Celestia and Luna processed the story for a while. The siblings looked to one another for advice on how to proceed. They knew it would be unwise to descend upon Ponyville and simply force its citizens to comply because that would just stir up more unrest. Celestia, confident in her wisdom, was the first to speak up. "We can't force the citizens of Ponyville to change their opinions, but we can discourage them from harassing you and Taboo. I'll assign a pegasus in the Royal Guard to keep watch over you during the day." "And I will lend you a soldier from my own guard to keep watch over you in the night," Luna said. "You need not fear the scorn of the other ponies." "However, the task of showing the world that they don't need to fear Taboo falls upon whoever decides to raise her. Normally, that would be the filly's parents, but we still haven't found them," Celestia said. She made sure Rainbow Dash was making eye contact with her before asking her next question. "Can I trust you with that task for the time being?" Rainbow Dash thought back on the past week. She never knew the ponies in her own hometown were capable of hating so fiercely. There were so many things about her daily life she had taken for granted. She missed the days she could walk through town without feeling everypony's eyes watching her. She never knew how convenient it was to be able to go to the market and buy what she needed herself. On the other hoof though, she learned a great deal more about her friends. Even at the risk of their own reputations, they defended her and helped her out. They loaned her money, they brought her food, and they just stopped by the house just to have an idle conversation. Even if it was only to silence the constant pleas from Pinkie Pie, The Cakes still let Taboo play with Pound and Pumpkin, but only behind closed doors. Rainbow Dash never saw the end of the lengths her friends were willing to go for her. She was certain she wouldn't have made it through the week without them. She didn't strive to make it through for herself, though. For whatever reason, she did it for Taboo. In the small amount of time she'd known the little filly, Taboo had managed to steal Rainbow Dash's heart. Perhaps it was the contrast of the innocence inside innocence against the overwhelming avarice coming from outside that made her so endearing. Rainbow Dash would give anything to see little Taboo grow up and be happy. "I'll take care of her. Even if you never find her parents, I'll take care of her until she's ready to take care of herself, and she will be ready to take care of herself. I'll make sure of it." Rainbow Dash maintained eye contact throughout her declaration. There wasn't a doubt in Celestia's mind that Rainbow Dash would ever think of abandoning Taboo now; that would fly in the face of the very element of loyalty Rainbow Dash was meant to represent. "Then for the time being you are Taboo's legal guardian." Princess Celestia lowered her head and touched her horn to Rainbow Dash's forehead. It was only a ritualistic gesture, but it made the whole thing a little more real for Rainbow Dash. Princess Celestia backed up and smiled warmly down at her. "I'll arraign for a carriage to take you back to Ponyville along with your escort." "Uh, wait a sec," Dash said. She looked down at Taboo a moment. "If I'm going to be taking care of Taboo, there's some ponies who need to know about it." Rainbow Dash knocked twice on the cloud door of the quaint little cloud home she knew so well. She was a little worried she'd draw attention to Taboo on her way through Cloudsdale, but the escort Celestia had prepared managed to speed her to the quieter, rural side of Cloudsdale before they bumped into any large crowds. Standing at the doorway of her destination, she only anticipated seeing two other ponies. "Who is it?" somepony said in a female, sing-song voice from inside the house. The door swung in, revealing an older pegasus mare with the same mane and tail as Rainbow Dash. The two would have been mirror images if it weren't for the older mare's indigo coat. Upon seeing Dash, her eyes lit up. "Dashie!" "Hey, mom," Rainbow Dash said, smiling back up at her mother. Dash's mother smiled even wider. She ducked back inside and called into the house. "Birdie! Come down here. We have company," she said. "Not now, Palette! I think I'm onto something here!" a male voice replied. "It's your daughter, Birdbrain," Palette shouted back. The effect was instantaneous. After a series of bangs and crashes, an older pegasus stallion came galloping frantically down the stairs in a streak of blue. He skidded to a halt in front of the door. A huge grin crossed the stallion's moustachioed visage. "Hey dad," Rainbow Dash managed to say in the moment before she was smothered with a bear hug from her father. "Oh, how I've missed you Rainy! You've gotten so big since I last saw you! How long has it been? Two months? One month? My, your mane is longer too, or at least it's longer than your mother's. You look like you're in good shape, are you still working out regularly? Have I told you I love you?" The stallion continued to rattle off questions until he detected there was something off about the hug he was, or rather wasn't, receiving. He backed off momentarily and examined his daughter. He noticed that she was clutching something close to her chest. When he realized what that something was, his brain shut off. "Oh my... who's this?" Palette asked. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat and shifted Taboo so her parents could see her more clearly. "This is Taboo and... well, she's technically your granddaughter." After Rainbow Dash retold her story for the second time in a day over a cup of tea in her parents' den, things weren't near as tense as they were previously. Dash and her mother had fallen into idle conversation while her father played with an increasingly nervous Taboo. Rainbow Dash decided to intervene before her father had her bawling. "Dad, could you play with her normally?" she asked. Her father didn't move from where he was crouched on the floor with Taboo sitting before him. "What're you saying, Rainy? I used to play with you like this all the time!" he said. He proceeded to demonstrate the game once more. He extended one of his wings just within reach of Taboo's little hooves. While she was busy focusing on that, he extended his other wing and tickled the back of her neck. Taboo would then direct her attention to the other wing, but Dash's father would then tickle the back of her neck with the original wing he was teasing her with. Thusly, the cycle continued. The flustered Taboo could not wrap her head around what was touching the back of her neck. "Aww, poor baby. C'mere." Palette intervened and scooped up Taboo. "Did mean 'ol Birdbrain upset you? There, there." She soothed the foal as she rocked it back and forth. Taboo whimpered and snuggled closer to the mare's breast. "Please tell me you didn't actually do that when I was little, dad," Rainbow Dash said. Her father got up and gave her as innocent as a smile as he could manage. Rainbow Dash just chuckled and shook her head. "So, what's new with you?" "Ah, nothing new, really. Teaching at Cloudsdale University is the same as ever and the world of mathematica is just as it's always been," he said. Rainbow Dash grinned. "Didn't you say you were going to stir things up in the world of mathematica? Whatever happened to that?" she asked. Her father rolled his eyes and grunted like he always did before he started one of his speeches. "I'm trying my hardest, I really am. I've still got classes to teach and meetings to attend, so I don't have much time to riddle out the mysteries of the world. I wish I had more time, but there's not much a stallion can do. I could quit my job, but then I wouldn't have anyone to show my findings to. I could show them to you or your mother, but I neither of you appreciate the beauty of mathematics quite like I do." "Birdie, no one appreciates the beauty of mathematics quite like you do," Palette said. "Now, I won't have you spoil Dashie's visit with stuffy university talk. There are far more important things to talk about, like if there's any stallion back home Dashie has her eyes on." "Mom?!" Rainbow Dash hadn't seen this avenue of conversation coming, but she wanted to see it gone, quickly. "I think I'd rather have stuffy university talk." "Oh, come now Rainy. Your mother and I were just about your age when we met," Birdie said as he walked over to join is wife. "I almost feel bad for saying it, but your mother being bad at math is the best thing that ever happened to me." Palette giggled as Birdie gave her a playful nuzzle. "Mmhmm, yes. All those nights alone in my room... studying." Palette nuzzled her spouse back as they shared a knowing giggle. Rainbow Dash wanted to throw up. "If you two are going to be all lovey-dovey, at least let me hold Taboo," she said. Palette complied and handed over the now sleepy foal to her daughter, but went right back to cuddling up against her husband. Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh as she cradled Taboo back and forth. "Ugh... why the sudden interest in my love life?" Dash asked. "Well, usually ponies get hitched before they have kids," Birdie replied. "Now that you're going to be responsible for Taboo, you may find yourself inadvertently wondering if the stallions around you would make good fathers." "Believe me, Dashie," Palette said. "If there was ever any doubt that your father was the colt for me, I forgot them all when I saw how good he was with you. There's something incredibly attractive about somepony who treats your child right. Who knows? Maybe you'll see somepony playing with Taboo, but you'll be wanting them to play wi-" "I'm going to have to stop you right there, mom," Rainbow Dash said. "I wasn't looking to adopt a foal; I just ended up with one due to some pretty wild circumstances. I'm not looking for a stallion." "Well, having a stallion around might help you raise Taboo," Palette said. Rainbow Dash snorted and flicked her tail. She had been expecting one of them to say something along those lines. "I don't need a stallion to help me. My friends are all the support I need," Dash said. Her parents smiled and just stared at her for a little while. Rainbow Dash starting feeling a little uncomfortable. "W-what?" "We're proud of you, Dash," her father said. "And we love you very much," her mother added. Rainbow Dash's mouth scrunched up as she tried to hold back a smile. The foal in her hooves yawned and snuggled in closer to her breast, sleeping just as sound as she always would. For just a little longer, the family basked in silent serenity. It was late when Rainbow Dash returned home. She was relieved to find her house just as she left it aside from a note her friends had left her. It said that Princess Celestia explained what had happened in a letter, so they waited up for her to return home; however, it got too late and they all returned home. The letter insisted that they all get together first thing tomorrow. Rainbow Dash folded the note up and left it where she found it in her den. She took off the foal carrier and put Taboo to bed. She wasn't quite ready to go to sleep herself, so she wandered back into her den and flopped onto her couch. She stared up at the armored pegasus standing in the middle of the room with a stoic look on his face. "So... you're the guy who's supposed to protect Taboo and me?" she asked. The guard nodded. "Just you? You aren't going to get swapped out or anything?" "No, ma'am. I'll be here from sun up 'till sundown. Princess Luna has assigned one of her fliers to keep watch from sundown to sunup," the guard said. Rainbow Dash glanced out the window. The sun was just about under the horizon. "Alright, cool. In the future, though, you don't need to call me ma'am. Rainbow Dash or Dash is fine. I don't really care for all the formalities," Dash said. The guard nodded slowly. "Very well, if that would make you more comfortable," he said, speaking in a way that sounded much more free to Dash. "Do you have a name?" she asked. "Hastae," the guard replied. "Uh, also, my shift is pretty much up. I've got to get back to Canterlot, so I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." The guard turned and started out the door. "How quickly will your replacement get here?" Dash asked after him. Hastae stopped and scanned the sky for a moment. "Very soon. Good night." With his good-bye, Hastae closed Rainbow Dash's door behind him. Dash heard him as he spread his wings and took off. The sun finished setting over the horizon, throwing the inside of the house into darkness. Rainbow Dash heard something land outside her house. She listened to the sound of wings beating for a moment, but then she caught a glimpse of something golden shining outside one of her windows. It's sudden appearance and disappearance made her heart almost jump out of her chest. She had to remind herself that it was just the night guard sent by Luna. Part of her wanted to go out and examine the guard. According to Twilight and Luna, he should have the same features as Taboo. He should have the same wings, the same ears, and the same eyes. Even if it was just a sort of magical disguise, she wanted some sort of idea about what Taboo would grow up into. Rainbow Dash dismissed herself from looking, telling herself she'd better get to sleep. She told herself there would be plenty of opportunities to sneak a peek at the night guard. He would, in theory, be there every night until things in Ponyville calmed down. Rainbow Dash decided there were more important things to focus on than the similarities between the guard outside and the foal she was caring for. She curled up into her bed, but as she did so she had to admit felt a little more relaxed knowing that there was somepony out there making sure she and Taboo were safe. Even so, somepony threw a rock through her window that night. "No news? Is that so?" Rarity didn't look up from the dress she was hemming. Rainbow Dash continued staring up at the ceiling from Rarity's fainting couch. "Yeah. Twilight wrote the Princess, but there still hasn't been any progress in the search," Dash said. She glanced over to where Pinkie Pie, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were playing with Taboo. "Can you say your name, Taboo? Taaaboooooo." Sweetie Belle prolonged the consonants to aid the foal. "Aboo." "Tuh-Aaaah-Booooo," Applebloom said. "Aboo!" Taboo insisted on her own pronunciation. Pinkie Pie hoisted her up as high as she could reach and smiled up at the foal. "How about Pinkie Pie? Can you say Pinkie Pie? The Cakes can, can you? Pinkie Pie? Pinkie Pie?" she asked faster than Taboo could process, but the filly just smiled and giggled. "Piiiin-kuh-eeeeee Puh-aaaaaaaye." "Ee-aye!" Taboo replied. Pinkie Pie set her back down and tried a few more times to get her to say "Pinkie Pie", but Taboo soon became too amused with the mare's delivery of the word to reply. She rolled onto her back and laughed merrily. "Well, that's just too bad," Rarity said as she finished what she was working on. She levitated the dress over to one of her mannequins and admired her work. "You'd think after a month of searching that something would turn up." "You'd think." Rainbow Dash turned onto her belly so she could keep a closer eye on Pinkie Pie and the fillies. She noticed Hastae watching them too as he stood guard by the boutique's door. His vigilance stood as a constant reminder of why Rainbow Dash was so tired: just being in town was a labor. Even if nopony said or did anything with Hastae around, she could feel them staring at her and Taboo. It made her worry, and all the worrying she was doing was wearing her thin. "You guys aren't teaching her any weird words, are you?" "We're not," Applebloom said. "But Ah think Pinkie is." "Can you say pumpernickel? Puuum-puh-eeeeerrrrnnniiiii-kuh-eeel! Pumpernickel!" Pinkie stared at the filly expectantly. Taboo thought a moment before responding. "Aboo!" Taboo raised her stubby hooves in victory. "I think Taboo's vocabulary is safe for now," Rarity said. "By the way, Sweetie Belle, where's Scootaloo? If I remember correctly, she hasn't come to see Taboo yet. Did you or Applebloom tell Scootaloo Taboo would be here today?" "We did, but she said she had to go do something," Sweetie Belle replied. Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. "Just 'something?' Any idea what that something is?" she asked. Sweetie Belle shook her head, but Applebloom spoke up and offered a suggestion. "She's been goin' off with Rumble 'n Featherweight, so Ah reckon it has something to do with flyin'." Rainbow Dash smiled and turned onto her back again. "It's good to see she's finally getting some help. Most fillies her age are already flying." Rainbow Dash stared up at the ceiling and thought for a moment. "Do you think I could make money giving flying lessons?" "I don't think the mothers of Ponyville would be too keen on that right now," Rarity replied. "Do you have enough to get through the week, darling? I could always le-" "Rarity, I've got enough, really," Rainbow Dash said, cutting yet another offer of money from her friend. Although she'd never explicitly said so, it was no secret that Rainbow Dash really didn't like having to relying on her friends for money so much. She didn't like having to rely on them so much period, but for Taboo's sake she spent the last month swallowing her pride. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, but until we can find some sort of job for you this is the way it has to be. I know Applejack has been asking around, so all we can do is wait." Rarity removed her work from the mannequin and brought it back to her workbench. "Seems like all I do is wait!" Rainbow Dash said, too tired to care if she was complaining. "I want to stop waiting for something to happen and just have something happen!" The door swung open and the boutique's bell rang. Rarity spun around with an award winning smile, but faltered before she could extend her warm greeting due to the unusual nature of the pony at the door. "Big Macintosh? ... Is it safe to assume you're not here to buy a dress?" Rarity asked the farm pony as he stood in the door. "Eeyup," he answered. "Then why are you here?" Applebloom asked. Big Macintosh stepped aside without a word and let the pony who was behind him step into the boutique. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The rosy maned mare walked with her head low and with a weak smile on her face. The moment she crossed the threshold, Rainbow Dash got on her hooves and advanced on her. "You've got a lot of nerve coming here right now, Roseluck." Rainbow Dash scowled at the mare, causing her to shrink even lower to the floor. "Your chums Lily and Daisy look like they're having a lot of fun when they're telling me to get out of town. You should have brought them with you, you know? We could've made a whole party out of this." Nopony else dared speak up. Not even Pinkie Pie perked up at the mention of a party. Even Taboo quieted down to watch the two mares. Roseluck mumbled something. "What was that?" Rainbow Dash took another step towards Roseluck. She almost heard a second, but stopped when she heard Roseluck sobbing. "I'm sorry!" Roseluck said, rearing up all of a sudden and wrapping her forehooves around Rainbow Dash. Dash's brain went into overtime trying to figure out what was going on, so all she could do in reaction was reluctantly pat the sobbing mare's back a few times. She continued to apologize, but until she calmed down she wasn't able to clarify what she was apologizing for. Rainbow Dash and Rarity led her over to the fainting couch and let her sit down. After a minute more of sobbing, Roseluck finally got around to explaining herself. "I came here to apologize for all the things my friends said about you or the filly. It didn't feel right to me... in fact, I know it wasn't right. It was just easier to just follow the crowd because I was afraid of what would happen if I sympathized with you when my friends were against you so strongly," she said. Rainbow Dash shuffled on her hooves nervously. She had always imagined the moment a pony confessed like this would be a moment of triumph for her, but right now she didn't feel like gloating about anything. "Hey, the things your friends said weren't your fault," she said, but Roseluck shook her head. "No, no, no. I should have spoken up. I should have done something about it right from the start, but I didn't raise a hoof. I knew it was wrong, but I still let it happen. I could have done something to stop them, but I just allowed them to make your lives miserable. I'm so sorry, and I'm ready to do anything to make it up to you, to both of you. I can't go on pretending like I don't know what's going on." Roseluck looked up into Rainbow Dash's eyes as she started to well up with tears again. Dash wanted to yell at her a bit, tell her that she didn't have a right to cry right now. Roseluck wasn't the one who had to endure all the taunting and intimidation. Roseluck wasn't the one who would have to keep putting up with it all. Rainbow Dash stole a glance over towards Taboo. Taboo was watching her intently. "If you're really sorry... then I forgive you." No sooner had the words left Rainbow Dash's mouth than their effect became apparent on Roseluck's face. Her eyes lit up and a smile flew across her face. "Really?!" she asked, jumping off the couch and placing her hooves on Rainbow Dash's shoulders. "Y-yeah." Dash found herself pulled into an awkward hug as Roseluck broke into a fit of sobbing gratitude. Rainbow Dash returned the gesture the best she could. She glanced over at Rarity, searching for confirmation that she'd done the right thing. Rarity, reading the terribly obvious look on Dash's face, smiled and nodded. After a few more seconds of the awkward embrace, Roseluck wiped away her tears and put on a resolute face. "Don't worry, Rainbow Dash! I'm going to make it up to you! Big Macintosh told me how the weather patrol just booted you out. That was the last straw, so I'd like to offer you a job," she said. Rainbow Dash's eyes lit up. "Seriously?" Dash asked. "I'm completely serious." Roseluck's confirmation caused a small squeal of joy to escape Rainbow Dash's mouth. "Ever since I won that flower competition in Canterlot a few months ago, I've been getting delivery requests from several different places. I've been mailing them the old fashioned way, but I've had an astounding increase in broken flower pots since I started using them. If I had my own delivery pony, that would save me a lot of worry. You're honestly the fastest pegasus I know, so if you're willing-" "Oh I'm willing alright!" Rainbow Dash said, breaking right into Roseluck's speech. She flared her wings and puffed out her chest. "Say hello to your new delivery pony." Roseluck giggled and nodded. "Then it's settled." Rainbow Dash flew up in the air and whooped. "Congratulations on your new job Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. Rainbow Dash swooped down from the ceiling and landed next to her friend. "Thanks! I'll pay you back every last bit soon enough, I promise!" Rainbow Dash said. She sealed her promise with a defiant stamp of her hoof. "Just focus on feeding Taboo, alright?" Rarity replied. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom circled around Rainbow Dash and smiled up at her. "That was amazing Rainbow Dash!" Applebloom said. Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the fillies. "What was amazing?" she asked. Sweetie Belle began jumping up and down as she squeaked out the answer. "You were wishing something would happen to help you out, and then it happened! Do you think you could do that with our Cutie Marks?" Sweetie Belle asked. Both fillies huddled up at gave Rainbow Dash the biggest puppy dog eyes they could manage. For a brief second, Rainbow Dash tried to riddle out how she'd done it before she remembered she didn't actually know any such magic. She was about to clarify that for the two fillies, but Pinkie Pie bounded in front of them with Taboo in her forehooves. "Congratuuuuuuulations, Dashie! I'm gonna throw a big party to celebrate your new job! I'll invite everypony!" Pinkie said. Rainbow Dash chuckled while she gave Taboo a pat on the head. "I don't know if everypony will show up, Pinkie," she said. Pinkie Pie considered that for a second, but dismissed it as nonsense. She hoisted Taboo up to eye level with Rainbow Dash. "Say congratulations to mommy, Taboo!" Pinkie said. Rainbow Dash stopped her before she could say "congratulations" phonetically. "Pinkie Pie, I keep telling you to stop calling me-" "Mommy!" All the ponies in the boutique fell silent. It was a few seconds before Rarity finally spoke up. "Did Taboo just call you 'mommy'... Rainbow Dash?" she asked, vocalizing the question on everypony's mind. "Nonononono! She was just repeating what Pinkie said! She doesn't think I'm her-" Rainbow Dash was cut off by Taboo's little hooves grabbing her face. "Mommy!" Taboo said once more. Rainbow Dash stared back into Taboo's little eyes while Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Roseluck gave three resounding "awws." The wheels in Rainbow Dash's head stopped turning as if the hamsters running in them had all suddenly taken ill. "Is that her first word?" Roseluck asked. Rainbow Dash managed to nod, but Pinkie gave a much more animated answer. "It's her first reeeeal word, but she's said plenty of made up ones!" Pinkie pulled the foal in close and spun around. "Her second real word has to be Pinkie! Can you say Pinkie?" Pinkie stopped spinning and looked down at Taboo. Instead of parroting her words, Taboo groveled and squirmed in her hooves. "Mommy!" Taboo called out to Rainbow Dash. She managed to squirm all the way around and reach out for Dash. Rainbow Dash quickly trotted over and took Taboo into her hooves. Taboo wiggled up against her chest, letting out a little yawn once she got comfortable. All the mares "awwed" in unison, but quietly as not to disturb the tender scene. "Eeyup," Big Macintosh added. Rainbow Dash had already tuned everypony around her out. She was far too preoccupied with the bundle of fur and thin wings in her hooves. "Well... I hope your real mommy doesn't mind," she said.