//------------------------------// // The Foalsitter // Story: Guardian Angel // by Mayhem Darkshadow //------------------------------// Written by: Mayhem Darkshadow Edited by: psychohooves and Avatar of Shadow Chapter 7: The Foalsitter Twilight walked up the steps of Sugar Cube Corner. She had received a note yesterday telling her to come to the bakery after she dropped Scootaloo off at school. She was able to recognize Pinkie Pie’s sloppy penmanship almost instantly. Twilight had no idea what was in store for her. As soon as she stepped inside the building, she was hit with a blast of confetti. "Oh Happy Two Monthiversary! Happy Two Monthiversary! Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Two Monthiversary!" Pinkie Pie sang at the top of her lungs. Twilight was pleasantly surprised. Looking over at a nearby table, she saw all her friends sitting and staring at her. "Hi girls," Twilight said as she sat down. "What's going on? Applejack opened her mouth but Pinkie Pie, before Applejack could even get a single syllable out, popped up out of nowhere and shoved her face into Twilight's. "Well we're having a party silly! We have to celebrate your Two Monthiversary!" Pinkie blabbed. "My two month what now?" Twilight asked, utterly confused. Pinkie remained pressed up against Twilight. "You're Two Monthiversary silly. You've been a mommy for two months, and we need to celebrate." Pinkie disappeared in a flash, and all the ponies at the table shared a laugh. "Okay, so what is the real reason I am here?" Twilight asked. Applejack, after checking around to make sure she wouldn't be interrupted, spoke up. "Well it's really just to see you Sugarcube. You've been so busy with your new responsibilities that we all felt like we needed some time to catch up." Twilight felt a flood of emotions surge through her body. "Aww, thanks girls. I have been rather preoccupied with Scootaloo lately, but I really do miss our time together." The instant Twilight shut her mouth, Pinkie Pie burst out of the kitchen carrying trays of cupcakes. "Alrighty girls! Let's party!" They each took a cupcake and engaged in some small talk. "So um...how has everything been Twilight since...the incident?" Fluttershy asked quietly. Twilight swallowed her mouthful of cupcake and spoke up. "Really well. It was rough for the first week, but it's much better now." "How bad did it actually get?" Applejack added. "She would have nightmares each night, sometimes even more than one. Scootaloo's taking a sleeping potion now so it's been much better," Twilight explained to Applejack. Pinkie, her mouth full of sweets, mumbled something. "IbechayuenjybinammyTliht." "Um... maybe you ought to swallow first Pinkie," Rainbow Dash snickered. Pinkie Pie strained a bit but managed to get the massive mouthful of food down. "I said... I bet you enjoy being a mommy Twilight!" Pinkie said excitedly. "Well, I haven't been a mother for that long, Pinkie," Twilight replied. Pinkie couldn't seem to comprehend that sentence. "Huh? You adopted Scootaloo two months ago Twilight. That definitely makes you a mommy for a while." "Yes Pinkie, I did, but Scootaloo didn't start calling me ‘Mom’ until a few weeks ago. Before that, she only called me Twilight," Twilight explained, speaking slowly to ensure Pinkie Pie would understand. Pinkie Pie cocked her head sideways and gave the blankest of stares. The rest of the ponies at the table could see steam beginning to pour out of Pinkie’s ears. The silence was broken by Rainbow Dash breaking into a fit of hysterical laughter. Soon, the rest of them joined in on the laughter, with the exception of Rarity. She had not taken her eyes off of Twilight since she showed up. "Something wrong Rarity?" Applejack asked. "Ya have been rather quiet." Rarity took a small nibble from her cupcake and cleared her throat. "Well, a little birdie told me something, and I've been waiting for a chance to speak." “Well then speak your mind then drama queen!" Rainbow Dash snorted. Pinkie Pie joined her in more laughter. Rarity rolled her eyes and then turned her gaze to Twilight. "Keeping secrets from us are you Twilight?" Rarity asked rather sourly. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "S-Secrets?" she stuttered. "I was under the impression that we were friends Twilight. Friends tell each other when important things happen," Rarity said coldly. "Rarity... I don’t see where this is going..." Twilight said rather impatiently. Rarity took a deep breath and moved a bit forward in her seat. "Your date with Thunderlane? You plainly decided not to tell us something that was so important!" The silence was unsettling. Twilight was rather annoyed by the comment. "It's not really that important Rarity," Twilight told her friend, "So anyway Applejack how did the fall harvest go?" Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but Rarity cut her off. "Not important? Not important!? Twilight the importance this matter holds is astronomical!" Rarity cried in disbelief. Twilight groaned. She was hoping Rarity, of all ponies, would not find out about her plans tonight. "It really isn’t Rarity. I have more important things on my plate now," Twilight shot back, feeling rather annoyed. "So Fluttershy how-" "Twilight! I am taken aback by what I'm hearing. What could be more important than what is most likely your first date?" Rarity sputtered. Twilight took a deep breath and held her composure, though struggling to. "Oh... I don't know Rarity... Perhaps my daughter and her wellbeing." Rarity's cheeks went pink in embarrassment. The tension in the room built with every passing second. Luckily, Applejack decided to break it. "Well girls this was fun but I gotta get back to Sweet Apple Acres and help Big Mac finish the winter preparations," Applejack said hastily. The rest of the ponies felt it was best to leave as well. Rainbow Dash was about to take off and head home when Twilight called her. "Hey Rainbow! I need a favor!" called Twilight Rainbow Dash halted her take off and turned to face her friend. "Sure Twilight. What is it?" "Are you free tonight?" Twilight asked. ********** Scootaloo paced back and forth in the main room of the Ponyville Library. She was amazed how fast Friday had come. Tonight Twilight was going on her date, and she was going to be at the mercy of her foalsitter. The worst part about all of this was that Twilight wouldn't tell her who that foalsitter was but instead said that it was a surprise. This had been eating away at Scootaloo's brain for days. She wanted to know who it was. Her initial guess had been Spike, but Twilight said she wanted someone a bit more mature to take care of her. Spike actually pulled Scootaloo aside shortly afterwards and said he actually was going to be her sitter originally, but Rarity had asked him to help out with a party she was throwing for some of her esteemed clients. This hadn't helped Scootaloo get an answer to her question. In fact, by the time Friday had rolled around, she was actually a bit angry with her mother. "Why won't you tell me?" Scootaloo complained to Twilight, who had just came downstairs. "I told you it's a surprise," Twilight replied quickly, "In fact they should be here in a few minutes." With that, Twilight left Scootaloo to continue her pondering. Scootaloo gave up trying to figure out who it was and started going through the possible ponies. It would be cool if it was Rainbow Dash, but Scootaloo knew Rainbow Dash was too cool for that. She kind of hoped it wasn't Rarity, though if it were, she'd probably bring Sweetie Belle. Pinkie Pie would be fun, and they'd probably spend the night making delicious treats. She also kind of hoped it wasn't Fluttershy because it would probably mean she'd be entertaining herself for the evening. Finally, there was Applejack who would probably bring Apple Bloom. Honestly there was no clear choice. It could be any of them at this point. Scootaloo had actually thought it was going to be Dinky's older sister Sparkler, and that's only because Dinky said Sparkler was foalsitting on Friday. It turned out Sparkler was not foalsitting Scootaloo. Ah the wait is killing me, Scootaloo moaned to herself, I just want to know who my foalsitter is. That answer came immediately with the knock of the door. "Scootaloo, can you get the door? That's probably your foalsitter." Scootaloo bolted straight to the door and opened it. Her body nearly exploded in excitement when she saw who was standing in the doorway. "Rainbow Dash!" The rainbow maned pegasus gave her a smile. "Hey squirt. Are you ready to have some fun?" Scootaloo was lost for words. She couldn't believe that the coolest pony in all of Equestria was going to be her foalsitter. "Cat got your tongue, pipsqueak?" Rainbow Dash snickered. Watching the little orange filly gawk at her was quite amusing. "I guess she liked the surprise," Twilight said with a laugh as she came out of the kitchen. The two older ponies chuckled at the filly’s expense. Scootaloo was still speechless. "Yeah, I guess she did," Rainbow Dash replied. The laughter died down to a snicker, and Twilight pulled Scootaloo into a hug before leaving. "Be good for Rainbow sweetie. Listen to everything she tells you to do." Twilight then turned to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, I have a list for you on the table. There is pasta salad in the fridge and ice cream for dessert in the freezer. Don't let Scootaloo convince you to let her stay up. She needs to be in bed by eleven." "Sheesh Twilight, calm down. Scoots n’ I are gonna have some fun," Rainbow Dash said jokingly. Twilight smiled at her friend and gave Scootaloo a kiss and nuzzle then departed. Just before she left, Twilight whispered something to Rainbow Dash. "Scootaloo has been taking a sleeping potion. It's in the fridge. She's pretty embarrassed by it, but she needs to drink it." Rainbow Dash nodded and shut the door as Twilight left. She then flipped around to face Scootaloo. "Alright Squirt, what do you want to tonight?" Rainbow Dash asked the filly. Scootaloo scratched her chin with her hoof. "Um...well I don't really know. Mom didn't tell me who was going to be my foalsitter, so I didn't really make a plan for the night." Rainbow Dash joined Scootaloo in some pondering. They stood there for a solid five minutes looking off into the distance in deep thought. Finally, the pseudo light bulb went off above Rainbow Dash's head. She had come up with a brilliant idea. "I got an idea. It's been a while since we did some flying practice. Why don't we step outside and do that?" Scootaloo's eyes lit up in excitement. She and Rainbow Dash had worked on flying some time ago, but Rainbow Dash became so busy that the two of them forgot about it. Scootaloo instantly became nervous when Dash asked her next question. "I know you and I haven't done this for a few months, so I need to ask Scoots. Did you practice at all on your own?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously. Scootaloo gulped nervously. "Well...n-not r-really." Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and let out a sigh. "Well that may or may not be a problem," explained Dash, "Let's just step outside and find out." Scootaloo gritted her teeth nervously and followed the older pegasus outside. Her head immediately began to fill with thoughts of her failing and Rainbow Dash giving up on her bitterly. Scootaloo immediately wrote those thoughts off as crazy. Rainbow Dash would never do that to her. "Alright Pipsqueak, I think this is fine," said Rainbow Dash after they had walked about ten feet from the front door of the library, "Let's see if you remember anything I have taught you." Scootaloo smiled nervously and fired up her wings. They buzzed to life and she slowly began to lift off the ground; however, didn't get far before falling back to the ground with a thud. In fact, she only got about three feet into the air. Determined though, she jumped right back up and tried again. She didn't get any higher than the first time. After three more tries, Rainbow Dash had her stop. "Hey... I don't want you to hurt yourself Squirt. Twilight will kill me if you do," said Rainbow Dash, panicking slightly. Scootaloo pouted and crossed her arms. "Why don't my stupid wings work? Why am I the only pegasus in all of Equestria that can’t fly? For Celestia’s sake Pound Cake can fly, and he's a foal." Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to say something but closed it. She didn't want to say anything to make the little filly angry. She knew though that not practicing was probably why Scootaloo's performance was, to be blunt, terrible. "The only thing I can say is that you need to keep working at it. You probably lost the muscle built up from all our practicing," Rainbow Dash explained. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash with a sour but hopeful face. "You think so?" Rainbow Dash nodded and rustled Scootaloo's mane. "I'm sure of it. I promise that if you practice every day, you will soon be able to do it," Rainbow Dash replied with a smile. Scootaloo, filled with new determination, jumped up from the ground and continued to try. Rainbow Dash sat there and watched her. Every once in a while, she'd give the filly a pointer, but for the most part she let Scootaloo go on her own accord. Rainbow Dash only called an end to the practice when the sky turned crimson, letting them know that evening was upon them. By that time, Scootaloo was sweaty and dirty. She was also quite drained of her energy. "Ready for some dinner then?" Rainbow Dash asked as they walked inside. Scootaloo gave a nod and followed her idol into the kitchen. Rainbow Dash pulled the pasta salad Twilight made out of the fridge and grabbed some plates. She gave herself a fair amount of pasta and then gave Scootaloo a mountain’s worth. "I'm sure you worked up quite the appetite," she said. Scootaloo nodded and dug in. As they ate, they were both completely silent. Neither Scootaloo nor Rainbow Dash could come up with any small talk. Finally Dash came up with some questions for the filly. Most of them were about her new situation. "So Squirt...do you enjoy living with Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked curiously. Scootaloo finished chewing her mouthful of food and spoke up. "Yeah, I do. Twilight is an awesome mom." "She seems like she is a good mom. Twilight also has been really happy since she adopted you," Rainbow Dash replied. "Yeah, we've had some rough patches here and there, but we've taken care of them," Scootaloo mentioned. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "Problems?" "Oh nothing big. Just conflicts of personality," Scootaloo told Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash took a bite of pasta and asked another question, one that was more serious than the first. "So why didn't you tell me that you were in such a bad position before Twilight found you? You know... I could have helped you." "Well...I...I didn't really think about that. I suppose it just never crossed my mind," Scootaloo responded nervously. Rainbow Dash reached over and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane playfully. "Hey, it's all good Scoots. Honestly it was probably better that Twilight took you in as opposed to me." Scootaloo let out a laugh. Her idol was probably right about that. "Hey if you want, though, I could be like your awesome big sister," Rainbow Dash mentioned. "That's only if you want me to." Scootaloo's face formed into a huge smile. "That would be awesome, Rainbow Dash. I kind of thought of you as a sister anyway." They two pegasi shared a laugh. Scootaloo couldn't believe how awesome of night this was so far. To be honest, she really wouldn't have cared who her foalsitter was, but she was ecstatic that her mom had thought about her when picking. "Alrighty squirt, Twilight said she wanted to make sure you had a bath before you went to bed. Why don't you go upstairs and get that started? I'll be up in a moment," Rainbow Dash said as she was cleaning up the kitchen. Scootaloo gave Rainbow Dash a smile and trotted upstairs to the bathroom. When she got upstairs, she found a bottle of glowing pink liquid sitting on the tub. It also had a note on it. Scootaloo picked up the bottle and read it. Scootaloo, I whipped this up the other day so you could use it tonight. In this bottle is a special Bubble Bath Potion. Put five drops into the tub and have fun relaxing. Be careful though. Don't put more than five drops in the tub. Just in case you do though, there is a potion under the sink labeled “Bubble Away.” Put it in the tub immediately and it will dissolve the bubbles instantly. Hope you have a fun night with Rainbow Dash sweetheart. Love, Mom Scootaloo smiled and started the bathtub. Being extra careful Scootaloo put five drops of the potion into the tub. As soon as the potion hit the water the tub filled with thick, white foam bubbles. Scootaloo jumped into the tub and was immediately filled with bliss. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but there appeared to be a special chemical in the potion that made every muscle in her body feel like they turned into Jello. As Scootaloo fell into a slight snooze Rainbow Dash walked into the bathroom. "Enjoying ourselves?" Rainbow Dash giggled. "Mhmm," Scootaloo mumbled quietly. Rainbow Dash held a hoof to her mouth to suppress the giggles and took a better look at the tub. She then saw the bottle sitting on the counter top and realized why Scootaloo was so zoned out. "Ah. I see Twilight made you some of her special bubble bath potion. That stuff is amazing," Rainbow Dash exclaimed. Scootaloo looked up from the mountain of foam at her foalsitter. "It feels like my body's turned into mush." "Yeah, that's the best part about it. Twilight gives us a bottle every year for our birthdays. She won't tell anypony how she makes it, but oh Celestia it's like heaven in a bottle," Rainbow Dash explained to Scootaloo. Scootaloo let out a blissful moan and slowly sunk into the water. Rainbow Dash gave the filly a playful smile and splashed water into her face. "Gah! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo sputtered. Rainbow Dash only smiled and continued to splash playfully. Scootaloo decided the only thing to do was to fight back. It didn't take long before the two ponies were having a full on water fight. Everything was going fine, but in an instant, things began to go horribly wrong. "Ah! I think I got soap in my eye," Scootaloo cried as she covered her left eye with her hooves. Rainbow Dash went straight into a panic and pulled the filly out of the tub. "Let me see Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash told her. Scootaloo whimpered and moved her hooves. Her eye, however, remained glued shut. "Come on squirt, open up and let me see," Rainbow Dash grunted as she tried to pull Scootaloo's eyelid open. Scootaloo continued to whimper and slowly opened her eye. It was bloodshot and watery. Rainbow Dash immediately picked up Scootaloo and brought her over to the sink. "Okay Squirt I know this is going to be uncomfortable but we need to flush that eyeball out with water," Rainbow Dash explained. She put Scootaloo's head into the sink, tilted slightly, and turned on the water. The filly immediately began to struggle. The water didn't hurt but it was really bothersome. "Rainbow Dash, please! I don't like this," Scootaloo whined. Rainbow Dash wouldn't let her go and even went so far as to hold Scootaloo's eyes open. "I know it sucks Pipsqueak, but it's the only way to get the soap out. Besides Twilight would kill me if I left this alone." They kept at this for a solid three minutes. Scootaloo struggled for the first half but eventually gave in dealt and with the slight inconvenience. When Rainbow Dash was finally satisfied, she moved Scootaloo over to the toilet and wiped her eye with a clean towel. "Sorry about that Scoots," Rainbow Dash apologized. "I know that was really annoying, but it would have been bad if we left that alone." Scootaloo rubbed her eyes and looked up and the older pony. "It's okay Rainbow Dash." Rainbow Dash gingerly dried Scootaloo off and then the two of them went to Scootaloo's room. "Alright Squirt, it's almost bed time. You want me to read to you or something until then?" Rainbow Dash asked awkwardly. Scootaloo's eyes lit up in excitement. Was her idol asking her if she wanted story time? For some reason though this made Scootaloo rather timid. "Um...yes please Rainbow Dash. M-Mom has been reading me the latest Daring Do book," Scootaloo said quietly. Rainbow Dash rustled Scootaloo's mane playfully. "Alright, that's a good one. I just finished that yesterday." Scootaloo gave Rainbow Dash a smile and crawled into bed. Rainbow Dash pulled up a chair, pulled the book off of the bedside table, opened it, and cleared her throat. "Ah, you stopped at a good part here. Well, let's keep going then," said Rainbow Dash. She started reading, and it didn't take long before both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were engrossed in the book. Rainbow Dash spoke with her most dramatic and theatrical voice while Scootaloo jumped out of bed and began pretending she was Daring Do. After about an hour of reading, though, Scootaloo was staring to doze off, and Rainbow Dash stopped for the night. She was about to tuck Scootaloo in when she forgot something important. "Your potion!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, "Totally forgot about that. Give me a second to go get that." Scootaloo sort of nodded and snuggled under her blankets a bit more. Rainbow Dash trotted downstairs and went to the fridge. She was happy that Twilight had labeled the cup. Grabbing the cup in her mouth, Rainbow Dash carefully left the kitchen and was about to go upstairs when the front door opened. Twilight and Thunderlane walked in mid conversation. "That was one of the best comedies I've ever seen. I'm generally not one for slapstick but...oh Rainbow Dash how did it go?" Twilight asked after seeing her pegasus friend. Rainbow Dash put the cup down and spoke. "Not bad. I was just about to give Scoots her potion." "Oh is she still awake?" Twilight asked curiously, "I can give it to her and tuck her in if you want." "Sure Twi, go ahead she's still awake," Rainbow Dash told her friend. Twilight smiled and took the potion bottle from Rainbow Dash before trotting upstairs. This left the two pegasi co-workers alone. Thunderlane did not like the look Rainbow Dash was giving him. "Something wrong boss?" he asked in a rather worried tone. Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and spoke to Thunderland quietly and sharply. "Listen hot shot, I just want to say something about all this. I don't particularly mind you dating Twilight, but I just want to lay something down. Don't you dare do anything to hurt Twilight or Scootaloo. Twilight is one of my best friends and that filly means a lot to me. Just know that if you do anything at all, even just making one or both of them even a little bit sad, you're going to have to answer to me. Got it?" Thunderlane gulped nervously. Despite the fact that he was a whole head taller than the cyan pegasus Thunderlane knew that Rainbow Dash meant was she said. He also knew that she would easily exercise her "Boss" title and it probably wouldn't end up well for him. "G-Got it Rainbow Dash," Thunderlane stuttered, "Don't worry though I don't plan to do anything stupid to ruin this." Rainbow Dash gave Thunderlane an aggressive snort. "Sure thing Hot Shot." "Is something wrong?" Twilight asked as she came downstairs. Thunderlane and Rainbow Dash both quickly regained their composure and pretended as if nothing happened. "Oh nothing Twi," Rainbow Dash laughed nervously, "So is Scoots asleep?" Twilight got to the bottom of the stairs and nodded. "Yes, and she told me to tell you thank you by the way. She had a really good time with you. Thanks for doing this for me Rainbow." "It's no problem Twi. I enjoyed spending some time with the Squirt too. We actually mostly worked on flying, and if you don't mind I'd like to keep doing so." "I think she'd love that Rainbow Dash, and I'd love it if you would. Also, I might be calling on you again to do more foalsitting," mentioned Twilight. Rainbow Dash gave her friend a smile. "Sure thing Twilight. Well I'll see you later then and I'll see you in the morning Thunderlane." Rainbow Dash made her way to the door but Twilight stopped her. "Wait Rainbow, let me pay you before you leave," Twilight called. Rainbow Dash turned around and shook her head. "Getting to spend time with Scootaloo was enough payment Twilight. Seriously, you don't need to give me any money," Rainbow Dash replied. Twilight frowned and continued to insist she pay her friend for her trouble. After a few back and forth comments though, she realized she wasn't going to win. "Fine Rainbow, you win this time, but I'm going to pay you in some way," Twilight shot playfully. Rainbow Dash laughed and gave her friend a smile. "Yeah yeah Twilight. We can talk about it later. Anyway I need to get home and feed Tank. See you two later." Rainbow Dash opened the door and took off into the sky leaving Thunderland and Twilight alone. "Well...I had a really fun night Thunderlane," Twilight said timidly. "I did to Twilight," Thunderlane responded, "I'd love to do it again sometime. Maybe next Friday or Saturday?" Twilight's cheeks went pink and she nodded. "I'd love to Thunderlane." Thunderlane's face lit up with a huge smile. "Okay, that's awesome Twilight. Well...I'll see you later then. Night Twilight." They exchanged a hug and then Twilight let Thunderlane out. Once he was gone, Twilight locked up and let out a huge yawn. Wow, what a night. I think tomorrow, though, it's time for some mommy daughter bonding. Twilight gave another yawn and went upstairs. Rather than go straight to her room she walked into Scootaloo's and crawled in bed with her. Before falling asleep Twilight zapped her teeth clean with magic and gave Scootaloo a nuzzle. "Good night my sweet little girl," Twilight whispered.