//------------------------------// // Chapter 26; Kicking, Cooking, And Cheesiness // Story: Working Towards The Future // by Dasponi //------------------------------// When Rainbow Dash had finished showering, and sufficiently worked out her frustration under the cover of the sound of running water, she joined Star Shine and Scootaloo in the living room once more. Her time in the shower had also given her time to think and she had come to see that Star Shine was probably right when he said it would be better to deal with Rarity in the morning. She would go see her during one of her breaks at work while Scootaloo was in school. For now she was resolved to just put it out of her mind and not let it get to her. There wasn’t much she could really do about it without causing more unnecessary upset and worry. “All better?” Star Shine asked as she entered the room. “Loads. Thanks.” Rainbow Dash said hoarsely. From the sounds of it she was losing her voice after managing to shout it hoarse. Losing her voice had also helped her come to the conclusion she should wait to talk to Rarity. “You okay Rainbow?” Scootaloo asked after hearing how Rainbow Dash sounded. She was more than a little concerned. “I’m fine Scoots. Just feeling a little...don’t make me say it.” she said, deciding no force in the known universe would actually make her say she was feeling a little hoarse. “I don’t get it. Feeling a little what? What’s wrong?” Scootaloo asked, looking between Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. In her concern she couldn’t pick up what Rainbow Dash was about to say. “Hoarse.” Star Shine replied, stifling a giggle. “She’s feeling a little hoarse. Which may be one of the most unfortunate phrases known to Ponykind.” he added. Scootaloo laughed at the unsaid joke while Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’s hilarious to you but it’s not to me.” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo stopped laughing and looked downcast, afraid she had hurt Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash sighed and wrapped a foreleg around Scootaloo. “Don’t worry about it Squirt. I’d be laughing if it happened to Shine over there.” Rainbow Dash reassured her. “Celestia forbid I should ever lose my voice.” Star Shine said, rising to his hooves. Rainbow Dash personally thought it might not be such a bad thing for him to lose his voice. Even if he had made her see reason he was still a little too smug for her tastes at times. Scootaloo had no real opinion on the matter. Star Shine walked to the kitchen and returned a minute or so later with a cup of water balanced on his wing. He walked over to the table and slid it down in front of Rainbow Dash. She drank it and coughed a few times. “Thanks for that.” Rainbow Dash said, her voice getting a little closer to normal. “Still hurts to talk.” she added, rubbing her throat. “Then don’t talk. As hard as that might be for you.” Star Shine commented, sitting back down on his chair. Rainbow Dash leaned in close to Scootaloo and whispered something in her ear. “Can I really do that?” Scootaloo asked, surprised at what Rainbow Dash had asked her to do. Rainbow Dash nodded. “Just this once.” Rainbow Dash said, nudging Scootaloo into action. Scootaloo walked over to Star Shine. “Hey Shine, can you lean down? There’s something I want to ask you.” Scootaloo said, giving her most innocent look. Nopony ever suspected a child. “Hmm? What is it?” Star Shine replied, leaning forward so he was on Scootaloo’s level. “Sorry about this.” Scootaloo said quickly before turning around and bucking Star Shine in the face. Luckily for Star Shine Scootaloo wasn’t very strong, but a good bucking still hurts, no matter the size of the pony who gives it. “Owwwww, what did you do that for?” Star Shine asked, rubbing where Scootaloo had kicked him. All his teeth were intact and the initial pain caused by shock soon subsided to a dull ache. “She still likes me more than you.” Rainbow Dash answered weakly. Her voice was still fading. Scootaloo puffed her chest out proudly. “Well here’s something for you both to consider. If you, Dashie, can’t talk, and if you, Scootaloo, breaks my jaw...who’s going to read Scoots a bedtime story?” he asked. Rainbow Dash was tempted to tell Scootaloo to give him another kick but internally she knew he had a good point. There was no way she was going to be able to read Scootaloo a bedtime story in her current condition. “You know I can read right?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash allowed herself a small laugh. “I know you can, but you must admit it’s better to have somepony else read to you.” Star Shine countered. “I guess.” Scootaloo conceded. “Anyway that’s not for a few hours yet. Dash’s voice might come back in time.” she added, keen to not just lose the argument so quickly. “Scoots do you know how long she was in the shower for?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo shrugged and Rainbow Dash looked away nervously. “Neither do I, but I do know she was in there for a while. I don’t think she’ll be talking again properly until morning.” Star Shine said. “What does being in the shower have to do with her voice?” Scootaloo asked. She was confused and couldn’t see the connection. Star Shine could guess that the real reason Rainbow had jumped into the shower was to vent her frustration away from Scootaloo and she had pretty much confirmed it for him when he talked to her before. That her voice had gotten worse meant she had continued venting her frustration after then. He also knew that telling Scootaloo Rainbow Dash had been screaming and shouting in the shower probably wouldn’t be a good thing either. Rainbow Dash would have shouted herself hoarse all over again if he did that. “No real reason. Now who’s hungry?” Star Shine said quickly to try and steer the conversation away from that subject. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo looked up at the clock and saw it was coming up on dinner time. “You gonna cook?” Scootaloo asked him. Star Shine nodded and moved towards the kitchen. As he passed Rainbow Dash she gave him a hard nudge in the sides. She didn’t want anything. She just wanted to poke him for teasing her. “Yes? Something you want dear?” Star Shine asked her, smiling. This was one of the only chances in his life he would get to be sarcastic with Rainbow Dash and not face her wrath. He was not about to waste it. He also wanted to try and keep the mood light. He saw Rainbow Dash lacking a voice as a giant sign saying “I can’t possibly yell at you.” Rainbow Dash gave him a harder nudge in response and began pushing him into the kitchen. It was her way of saying “I might not be able to yell, but I can still hurt you.” Luckily for his own sake, Star Shine got the message and decided it would be in his best interests to not mess with her right now. There was also always the chance she would buck him herself after seeing him recover so quickly from Scootaloo doing it. Even when she was younger Rainbow Dash had been powerful and he had no interest in having those hooves shoved into his face at speed. “What are you going to do about Rarity?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash while they waited. Star Shine could only distract them while he was in the room. “I don’t know. Talk to her I guess. Ask her why she did it, and who she talked to.” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug. Her voice was weak and still going but she wasn’t about to leave Scootaloo hanging when she asked a question. “What about your friends?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo looked down at the ground. “I’m trying not to think about it. But I guess the same. Do you think we’ll find out who did it?” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow Dash gently stroked Scootaloo’s mane and Scootaloo looked up at her. “I don’t care what Star Shine says or thinks, I can’t just let this go. If he won’t help then I’m gonna find out on my own.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning down to nuzzle Scootaloo. The two stayed curled up together for a little longer. After about an hour Star Shine called the girls into the kitchen for their dinner. He wanted what he had made them to be a surprise so he had stayed in the kitchen even while it was cooking. He was used to spending time on his own so it hadn’t really bothered him much. When the girls were seated Star Shine served them their dinner; a delicious looking vegetable lasagne that he had made. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo tried it and Scootaloo gave the comment that Rainbow Dash couldn’t thanks to her lost voice and possibly her ego. “This is delicious! Where did you learn to cook?” Scootaloo asked. “I’ve been living alone for quite some time really. I had to get good at cooking.” Star Shine replied, smiling. “You live on your own?” Scootaloo asked, curious. “Yeah. I never really found anypony special or anything. Didn’t you think it odd I could just up and move here at the drop of a hat?” Star Shine replied. Living alone did have some benefits. He didn’t think if he had a special somepony they would be too happy about him moving out for a while. “I never really thought about it. I’d never really had anypony special until Rainbow Dash came along.” Scootaloo replied, looking up at Rainbow Dash and smiling. Rainbow Dash smiled back, partly at the sweetness and partly because Scootaloo didn’t get that Star Shine meant he’d never had a marefriend. “Oh she’s something special alright huh?” Star Shine said, winking at Scootaloo. He half expected to be hit by Rainbow Dash but the blow never came. He risked a glance over at her and saw that instead of looking angry, she was still smiling. “She sure is.” Scootaloo replied, giggling. She started eating her dinner again and Star Shine ate his too. Rainbow Dash had never really stopped eating hers, being unable to even talk properly anymore. When dinner was all taken care of, and all the washing and cleaning up had been done, the trio of Pegasi passed the time left until bed playing board games. Even when she couldn’t talk Rainbow Dash was a fierce competitor and won every game bar one. She only lost because she let Scootaloo win. Star Shine was left feeling a little less than spectacular. After Scootaloo and Star Shine were done playing a game of Battleclouds (Rainbow couldn’t participate thanks to her voice, and Star Shine still lost) Rainbow Dash tapped Star Shine on the foreleg and pointed at the clock. He saw that it was getting late and got the message. “Come on Scoots, it’s getting pretty close to your bedtime.” he said, packing the game away. Scootaloo groaned but it turned into a yawn halfway through. “Do I have to go to bed?” Scootaloo asked. “Seeing as you can’t even groan without yawning, yes you do. Come on, I’ll read something to you.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo sighed and made her way up the stairs and to her room. After finding out which book Rainbow Dash was reading to her, and where in it she was, Star Shine began to read to Scootaloo. He couldn’t really do any different voices for the characters but his voice was still soothing and soon enough Scootaloo was sleeping soundly. When he was sure she was asleep Star Shine put the book away and walked towards the door, where Rainbow Dash was waiting for him. A frown crossed Scootaloo’s sleeping face. “Is she okay?” Star Shine whispered to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash thought for a second what the problem might be and then it occurred to her. She crossed the room and planted a small kiss on Scootaloo’s forehead. A smile crossed the face of all three ponies in the room. “Thanks.” Rainbow Dash managed to say as she walked past Star Shine and towards her own bedroom. As she passed Star Shine she gave him a small kiss on the cheek. “Don’t...don’t mention it.” Star Shine replied slowly as he watched Rainbow Dash enter her own bedroom. He stood there for a few minutes before bringing himself back to reality and heading downstairs to the couch. He had some things to think about. Once again he was going to have some trouble sleeping.