Flurry was sitting down in the middle of the floor of the playroom. Rainbow Dash kept most of the kids’ toys in this room in boxes for them to have fun with throughout the day. She had a Power Ponies play-set in front of her as Stormy flew around with some Power Ponies action figures in his hands, pretending they were fighting each other in midair.
“PEW, PEW, PEW!! YOU WON’T GET AWAY THIS TIME, MANEIAC!!” he shouted. “MUAHAHA! WE’LL SEE ABOUT THAT, MASKED MATTER-HORN!!”
“BUT I’M FILI-SECOND! I’M FASTER THAN YOU, MANEIAC!” said Flashy, bringing in another action figure to join in with his brother.
Flurry giggled at Stormy and his brother as they continued playing with their toys. She then had an idea to join in. She reached over and grabbed a larger action figure.
“Speed won’t be enough, Fili-Second!” she said. “I’M SADDLE RAGER! DON’T MAKE ME ANGRY!”
“HA! YOU’RE DONE FOR, MANEIAC!” added Flashy.
Stormy dropped his Maneiac figure to the ground as they all started smacking her with the Power Ponies figures. Before declaring victory, Misty walked over and used her mouth to throw a little squishy spider on top of her.
“GAH! SPIDEY!” she said.
“Uh…NOOOO, MY WEAKNESS!!!” cried Stormy, imitating the Maneiac in pain.
“We did it, Power Ponies! We’ve defeated the Maneiac once again!” Flurry said, putting her figure in the air.
“Oh hey guys, what’d I miss?” Spike said as he put a small figure of Hum-Drum in front of them and the kids began to laugh.
In the doorway, Rainbow Dash watched as Flurry and Spike played with her kids. Spike then started taking some stuffed animals and piling them on top of the Maneiac toy as the kids joined in. Flurry walked away towards Rainbow Dash but continued laughing.
“They’re something else, aren’t they?” Dash asked Flurry.
“They sure love their Power Ponies.” Flurry replied. “I’m just sorry I forgot to bring my Radiance action figure to Ponyville. I had no idea Stormy loved them so much.”
“Yeah, he’s been begging me to get him the Radiance figure lately to complete his collection, but I keep telling him Heart’s Warming Day is coming.”
“I’m guessing he really loves Zapp since you turned into her thanks to that magic comic book a while ago”
“I got him a figure of her for his birthday, but he always wants me to use her when we’re playing since I was Zapp in that weird little adventure. He even lets me keep her in my room. Hehe. I guess he’s judged me worthy.”
Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Dash’s ears perked up.
“Oh, that must be Scoot! Kids, get ready! Scootaloo’s here!” she called to Stormy and the others.
“SCOOTALOO’S HERE!!!” Stormy shouted.
They all rushed past their mother to answer the front door. Stormy got to the door first and pulled it open. A full-grown orange pegasus mare with purple hair appeared in the doorway with a big smile on her face as she looked at Stormy. Flurry had met Scootaloo briefly a few years ago during one of Twilight’s monthly Council of Friendship meetings along with her friends, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. They were now employed at the School of Friendship and Scootaloo was a gym teacher for the sports teams. In her spare time, she would babysit Rainbow Dash’s kids when she had the chance. She had clearly grown very fond of them and had been watching over Stormy since he was a baby.
“STORM STREAK! How’s my little, blue speedster doin’?!” she said, giving Stormy a big hug.
Flash and Misty came in to join the hug. After they were done, she walked over to give Rainbow Dash and Spike a hug too.
“Flurry! Haven’t seen you in a while!” Scootaloo said, patting Flurry on the head.
“Great to see you, Scootaloo!” Flurry replied.
“Glad you’re here, Scoots.” Rainbow said to her old friend. “I haven’t been able to hang out with Mom and Dad for a while and they really wanted to see this Wonderbolts show, so if you wouldn’t mind just watching after them for the next few hours, that would be great.”
“No problem, Rainbow Dash. These two little trouble makers aren’t goin’ nowhere!” Scootaloo said, pulling in Stormy and Flashy while she gave them noogies.
“Alright. I just gotta get some things around for Misty and then I’ll take her with me to Cloudsdale.”
“Mommy, I love when Scootaloo babysits us, but can I come? Pleeeease?” Stormy asked his mother.
“Storm, I told you: I really wanted you to stay here to meet Flurry, but next time the Wonderbolts have a show, we’ll go see them together. Kay?”
“Okay.”
Stormy was a bit disappointed at what his mother said, but seemed to quickly shrug it off. Rainbow Dash then went into her kitchen to get her baby-care bag for Misty. Scootaloo stayed behind with the rest of them.
“So guys, did you hear about what Flurry did the other night?” Scootaloo asked Stormy and Flashy.
“Spike said she found out Gallus and the gang were the new Elements of Harmony!” Stormy replied, enthusiastically. “They shot the big red monster with a rainbow and he went all like BLOOOOOSH!!!”
“And he was a changeling all along!” Flashy joined in.
“True story. Flurry and I were there.” Spike said proudly, standing next to the alicorn princess.
“Boy, Flurry’s had quite an adventure so far in Ponyville!” Scootaloo added. “Well hopefully things don’t get too adventurous here today. Time to relax and get to know Dash’s family. Thunder’s coming over tonight too and we can all watch the Power Ponies Movie!”
“Aw yes! I never got to see that movie in theaters earlier this year cuz of school!” Flurry said.
“You’re gonna love the movie, Flurry! It’s the coolest thing ever!” Stormy whooped as he hovered around her.
“Alright, alright, don’t spoil anything, Pipsqueak.” Scootaloo said, putting her hoof on his head as he returned to the ground.
“Well I’ve got everything ready guys!” Rainbow Dash called to them as she was preparing to go out the door with Misty in one of her arms. “I’ll be back later with Grammy and Grampy! Take care, and you behave, alright Stormy?”
“You got it, Mommy!” Stormy said, saluting to his mother.
Everyone else bid farewell to Rainbow Dash as the door closed and she took off with Misty to Cloudsdale.
“So guys, did you get to show Flurry around the house already?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash’s kids.
“Yeah! We showed her our Power Ponies figures! Flurry has a Radiance figure back at her home in the Crystal Empire!” Stormy said.
“Awesome! Well hey, I stopped at Sugarcube Corner and got you guys some cookies! Wanna go eat them in the kitchen?” Scootaloo said, pulling out a bag of treats from her knapsack.
“COOKIES!” Flashy shouted.
“Aw yeah! Snickerdoodles!” Stormy joined in.
“There’s a few for you in there too, Flurry. And for you Spike: a giant gem-chip cookie!”
“Oh Scootaloo, you shouldn’t have!” Spike said as his eyes widened and he began to lick his lips.
Scootaloo lead Stormy and Flashy in to the kitchen as Flurry and Spike followed close behind.
A few hours passed and Lightning Flash was taking his afternoon nap. Stormy was old enough to not need to nap anymore but would rest if he needed to. He obviously still had enough energy to move around today. Flurry noticed how he would pace around the house, check the clock and look out the window every so often. When he noticed she was watching him, he would pretend to be distracted by something else like his toys, or he would just fly around in the house. She was a little worried he was sad about not being able to go to the Wonderbolts show, but Spike thankfully kept him busy by playing with him. Meanwhile, Flurry was having a conversation with Scootaloo in the living room.
“So after hearing about what happened just outside of Canterlot with the ‘Trio’, my confidence sort of grew.” Scootaloo said as she told Flurry about the time she finally learned to fly.
“How did you finally do it?” Flurry asked.
“I asked Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to help me out. We made a little catapult and launched me off a big rock over a pond just in case I fell down. After a few failed attempts, I finally decided to jump off of a small cliff that had a lake right below it. They were uneasy to let me do it, but I told them I wasn’t afraid. I sat there at the top for a few minutes, breathing deeply, and then finally I let myself fall off. I started flapping and suddenly I felt myself moving like I could control my direction. When I was about to hit the water, I angled my wings just right and started moving upwards. I kept flapping and before I knew it, I was flying!”
“So all it took was jumping off a cliff?”
“I figured if I put myself in a more frightening spot, it would make me more likely to do it, and it worked! I only needed one try! I went over to Rainbow Dash while she was practicing with the other Wonderbolts and surprised her when I just started flying around in front of her. You should have seen the look on her face!”
“I’ll bet she was so happy for you!”
“Oh she was! I haven’t seen her freak out that much since she BECAME a Wonderbolt!”
“Well I’m glad you learned to fly eventually, even if it was a little later than it is for most pegasi.”
“Yeah, I’m still envious of you, Little Miss Learns-to-Fly-the-Day-She’s-Born!”
“Hehehe!”
“By the way, did Dash show you the rest of the house yet?”
“I saw some of Stormy’s room earlier. He has a few of his favorite toys set up in there so he wanted to show me a few of them.”
“Did he show you Rainbow Dash’s display room?”
“I don’t believe so? Is that where she keeps all her Wonderbolts memorabilia?”
“Sure is! You wanna see it?”
“Definitely!”
Scootaloo hopped down from the couch she was sitting on and walked Flurry up to a room across from Rainbow Dash and Thunderhead’s bedroom. It was a guest room but had some space for a large display cabinet and some mantles. The cabinet had a glass door with several Wonderbolt flight suits inside. There were a dozen or so trophies on the mantle and some medals hanging around the wall. To the left were some photos of her with the other members of the team.
“Whoa!” Flurry said, as she stared at the display. “She’s got quite a collection!”
“This is from all the time she had being a Wonderbolt. I watched her when she won this trophy right here.”
Scootaloo pointed to a large golden trophy with a statue of a pegasus pony flying and wearing goggles. There were several other trophies with the same shape. They all seemed to be going in an order of progress that Rainbow Dash accomplished over the years. Her times for each one got better as time went on.
“I think I was at the show she won this one at!” Flurry said, pointing to another trophy.
“Yup, that was a big one! Thunder and the boys saw her there too.”
“So how did she meet Thunder?”
Scootaloo then turned to some pictures taken of Rainbow Dash with her husband, Thunderhead. The photos progressed from when they were dating to their wedding photo to when they first had Storm Streak.
“Well he was flying around just outside of the WB headquarters when she spotted him and really admired his flying. They had a little chat and got to know each other better and then when the Trio attacked, he showed up and helped the other pegasi distract Tirek. They started dating not long after that and they quickly fell in love. They were married a year later and then Stormy came along and the family was started. Dash turned into one awesome mother.”
“And she quit the Wonderbolts before Misty was born?”
“Yup. She was going to start maternity leave anyway, but that was when she quit.”
“Glad to hear she enjoyed all of it. Must feel great for her kids to have a mother that amazing.”
As Flurry and Scootaloo were talking, they didn’t notice that Stormy was behind the doorframe, listening to them as he peeked his head in. He looked happy to hear them talking about how his parents met, but when he heard them mention Rainbow Dash quitting the Wonderbolts, his expression changed. He looked slightly miffed at the mention of his mother not being in the Wonderbolts anymore. He moved away from the door and looked around suspiciously until he flew off downstairs. Scootaloo continued to talk about Dash.
“The great thing about Rainbow Dash is that she really matured after meeting Thunder. Even she admits she was a bit cocky in her youth, but I think becoming a mother was just the thing she needed. She quit the Wonderbolts to make time for her family. That alone makes me so proud to say how much I always looked up to her. Her kids are so lucky to have her as a mother.”
“They sure are.”
Flurry looked at one of the family photos of Rainbow Dash with her husband and all her kids. She felt so happy to see them together like this. Her experience in Ponyville was great so far because she got to see what it’s like when families get to live happily and don’t have to worry about the enormities of royal life like she did back in the Crystal Empire. As boisterous as Stormy was, she knew it must have been because he was so happy to have her as his mother. He got to hear all the awesome stories she could tell him of her life, not just as a Wonderbolt, but an Element of Harmony.
“Hey Scootaloo?” Flashy called from downstairs. “I’m awake now. Can we do the hoof painting?”
“Sure, Flashy! I’ll be right down!” Scootaloo called back. “Well, looks like Flashy’s ready for some arts and crafts time. He loves showing me how he draws. You wanna come join us?”
“Sure! Does Stormy wanna do it too?”
“He’s not as into it as Flashy is, but who knows, maybe he’ll wanna give it a try this time.”
“Good idea. I’ll go ask him.”
Scootaloo flew downstairs to get things ready for Flashy while Flurry flew off to find Stormy. Little did she know, Stormy was already waiting for her in the toy room, but he wasn’t in the mood for hoof-painting. He had big plans, but he needed Flurry to help him out.