Fluttershy helped Soarin's mother set the large table in her dining room and couldn't stop herself from smiling. She and Dazzler had been getting along perfectly, all while cooking and talking about animal care, Soarin', Spitfire, and even her own friends and Ponyville. Dazzler had enjoyed the fact that she was friends with the Apple family. She called them 'good, kind ponies with a healthy work ethic.'
"Fluttershy, would you place the steamed veggies on the table as I ring the food bell?"
The yellow pegasus nodded and did as she was told. She stood in the dining room and took a look around. She never had seen a table set for so many ponies like this. Sure she had been to parties and formal dinners but never a family meal with this many places set. The thought that she was going to be a part of a family this large made her feel warm, and safe.
She walked back out to the hall as she heard a bell ring near the door. She stopped in from of the wall of photos as Dazzler shouted to her family that food was ready. The yellow mare gazed at the photos until her eyes focused on a picture of a young Soarin' floating in the air, a huge smile on his face. She could tell that from the way he was looking at the camera that he was thrilled about something, but she couldn't tell what it was.
Maybe he got his mark, he looks young enough for it, and very happy about whatever it is that has him smiling like that.
Fluttershy smiled and looked at some of the other photos. Most were similar to the one with Soarin' but with his siblings or parents instead. She could almost feel their happiness from all the pictures smiling at her. She walked along the hall and stopped at the end of it to see a more recent picture of all of Soarin's family smiling, but there was also a flame maned mare standing with them and smiling at blue stallion next to her.
"That one was taken a few years ago. Spitfire was a very nice mare."
Fluttershy looked over from the photo to see the elder mare looking at her. Dazzler smiled and walked next to her and looked at the photo.
"We all thought they were dating with the way they talked to each other and were so comfortable around each other." She chuckled. "When we finally asked them when they started dating they threw a fit and were so funny in denying it. We all thought they were a couple for a year before we finally realized that they weren't dating." She let out a content sigh. "It only took an article about Spitfires many coltfriends to drive the point home."
The yellow mare smiled. "Well, they are very good friends. Soarin' told me he thinks of her like a sister."
A warm smile was on the elder mares face. "He has a wonderful heart." She looked at Fluttershy and beamed at her. "I'm certain that you both love each other dearly. After all, bringing a mare home for a reunion is a pretty big step in the relationship."
The pair walked back into the dining room and Dazzler sat down. Fluttershy was about to sit down, but the older mare stopped her.
"Trust me; we are a very hug happy family. You best be standing and get ready for a lot of hugging, especially from my husband. He's a very cheerful stallion, and very physical."
Fluttershy processed the information for a moment as she heard the front door open. A deep voice reached her. "Where is she? I need to meet the mare that has my colt’s attention and love!"
Fluttershy felt herself brace and swallow nervously. A large stallion walked into the room with a warm smile on his face. The first thing she noticed about him was that he was as large as Big Macintosh, the second, was that he was easily three or four times Big Mac's age. The stallion walked up her her and smiled down at her.
"So, yer the mare he loves huh? Pretty thing and you have lovely eyes." He hugged Fluttershy and picked her up. "Yew have a soft mane as well. So, what is yer name darlin'?"
"Fluttershy... can you put me back down please?" She smiled sweetly at him. She enjoyed the hug, but it was a little tighter than she was used to.
"Alright. Hooves on the ground then." The stallion placed her back down and smiled at her. "So, Fluttershy, are you ready to meet the rest of my family?"
The yellow mare nodded and smiled. The stallion stepped to the side and let in the rest of the ponies behind him. Soarin' stood in front with his sister on his back. The little pink filly smiling at her and whispering to Soarin'. The stallion chuckled and nodded.
"That's why I'm dating her." Soarin' winked at the yellow mare and helped the pink filly off his back. The filly walked up to Fluttershy and hugged her with a large smile on her face. She leaned up to whisper to yellow pegasus
"You're really pretty... please keep my big brother really happy."
Fluttershy returned the hug and nodded. "I plan to, because he makes me happy. You're pretty cute as well."
"Thank you. I'm Sparks."
Sparks gave the yellow mare another quick hug before she walked over to her mother and nuzzled her. Fluttershy turned to see two ponies that she could only assume were the twins. It was a colt and filly just short of adulthood age, both smiling at the yellow mare. The colt was a deep purple with a light red shaggy mane and tail, and the filly was the opposite buy her mane had a little more care put into it.
The filly hugged Fluttershy. "Hi, I'm Raspberry." She let go and the colt hugged her. "And I'm Blackberry." Together they smiled at her and hugged her as they spoke in unison. "It's nice to meet you!"
The yellow mare returned the hugs and smiled at them both. "I'm Fluttershy; it’s nice to meet you..." She looked at the both for a moment unable to remember which one was which. She just smiled at them and hugged them both. The pair walked over to the table and sat down.
The final pony that walked into the room was just as massive and identical as Soarin's father, but was much younger. He gave pegasus a stern look for a few moments that made her scared that he wouldn't approve. She swallowed and gave a tiny smile to the giant of a stallion. He intense gaze scanned her for a minute then broke into a smile.
"Hey there, I'm Strawberry Jam." He gave the yellow mare a small bow and hugged her with a surprising gentleness. His voice was very deep but very soft as well. "A pleasure to meet you."
She returned the hug and smiled at the stallion. "Wonderful to meet you as well." She leaned in to whisper. "Thank you for not crushing me..."
The large stallion chuckled and motioned towards Soarin'. "As long as you keep feather brain happy, then I’ll be nice." He gave her a soft smile to show he was joking.
As the large stallion walked off and hugged his mother, Soarin' walked up to Fluttershy. He nuzzled her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"So, how was cooking with my mother?"
Fluttershy looked behind her to see all the ponies sitting at the table looking at her. She felt her cheeks warm as she smiled at them then looked back at Soarin'. "It was very fun. She told me a couple of stories about you."
The blue stallion smiled and looked at his mother. "I hope it wasn't any of the really embarrassing stuff."
His mother smiled at him and chuckled. "Would I be doing my job as a mother if I didn't tell the really embarrassing stories?"
Soarin' smiled and nodded. "I guess you have a point..."
Fluttershy and Soarin' sat down at the last two spots at the dinner table, and joined the family in eating the wonderful lunch. Talk turned very quickly from light topics, such as the state of the crops, to how Fluttershy and Soarin' met. The blue stallion smiled at the yellow mare apologetically.
"Should I tell them, or do you want to?"
Fluttershy smiled. "I think we can share telling that story."
As evening fell over the farm Fluttershy found herself sitting in the living room of the Berry family home with a cup of tea with Dazzler and Sparks. The elder mare was cuddling with her daughter as she and Fluttershy talked.
"So, Spike is a dragon that works for Twilight, Twilight is the student of Celestia, Rarity is the dressmaker, and Rainbow Dash is the pegasus that is trying to become a Wonderbolt."
The yellow mare nodded and smiled. "That's right. That finishes up my close friends, and most the ponies I know from Ponyville."
Dazzler nodded and was about to speak but the filly cuddled up to her interrupted her. "What about your family?"
Fluttershy froze with the tea to her lips. She swallowed as she tried to think of something to say, but she was saved by Dazzler. The older mare nuzzled her daughter and spoke softly.
"Honey, it's getting close to when Gold is supposed to get here. Why don't you go check the path to the house for your older brother?"
The filly nodded, nuzzled her mother, and ran out of the room to the front door. Dazzler smiled as she watched her daughter then looked at Fluttershy.
"Soarin' warned me that you and your parents are... not on speaking terms. He said it was a touchy issue, and not to press on it, so I won't."
The younger mare smiled and nodded at the older mare. "Thank you. So, um... is Gold supposed to be here soon, or was that just a reason to get Sparks out of the room?"
"A little of both." The older mare giggled and sipped are her tea. "So, your friend Dash is single right? Would she like to date Strawberry?"
A moment of silence passed before Fluttershy started laughing, followed quickly by Dazzler. The pair laughed for almost a minute before Soarin' walked into the room.
"I hope whatever started this isn't about me..."
Dazzler smiled at her son and chuckled. "No, but it was about Strawberry, and your new cadet, Rainbow Dash."
The blue stallion smiled. "What, you two planning on making them date or something?"
The mares looked at each other than at him and nodded together. Dazzler chuckled as Fluttershy answered him. "Yeah... actually we were joking about that..."
Soarin' thought about it for a moment. He knew Dash pretty well, from flying with her, talking to her, and hearing about her time at the academy from Spitfire. He knew that she was brash, boastful, stubborn at times, but a good friend. He also knew that his older brother was almost exactly the opposite. He was quiet, humble almost to a fault, and willing to talk things through to find the best solution, but was very protective of his family, and loved them deeply.
"You know... I think that actually might work..."
The three ponies looked at each other for a minute before bursting out laughing. The image of the prism colored pegasus, and the large stallion was amusing to them all. The group settled down and Soarin' sat down and cuddled up to the yellow mare.
Dazzler watched the pair as the nuzzled each other and shared a small kiss. "So, you two move in together yet, or are you waiting for that a little farther down the line?"
The couple looked at each other for a moment. There was a silent conversation between them, as they both knew that moving in would be a big step. The blue pegasus was the first to speak.
"Well... we haven't really discussed that, but I think we will wait for that a little farther down the line." He looked at Fluttershy for a moment. She smiled up at him. "We might move in together in Cloudsdale... it's the best option due to my commitment to the Wonderbolts, but I'd be willing to make the commute from Ponyville if I need to."
The yellow mare nuzzled the stallion and placed her head on his chest. "Either way, I'm happy to be with you."
Dazzler smiled at the pair and sipped her tea. She had seen the looks they were giving each other in the eyes of her husband and herself when they were that age. She knew the pair were going to be together for a long time, and was glad that her son now had somepony to go home to after a long day. The elder mare gave a happy sigh at the sight of the young lovers and smiled.
The pleasant silence was broken with the sound of the front door opening and Sparks running into the room. "Mom! Gold is home!"
The three older ponies in the room got up as a stallion of a deep red with a hay colored mane that shimmered, which is what Fluttershy guessed gave him his name sake, walked in. He smiled at Soarin' and Dazzler, and quickly hugged the latter.
"Great to see you mom, you look great. How have you been?"
Dazzler kissed her son on the cheek. "I've been doing fine. You look wonderful, how is business going?"
Gold shrugged. "It's been going very well." He smiled and looked over at Soarin'. "Hey there little brother, how is flying with Spitfire going?"
Soarin' smiled at his brother. "It's been going pretty well. Get to do fun stuff for a living. Don't even have to do paper work either." The Wonderbolt looked into the hall for a moment then back to the red stallion. "Did you not bring Glimmer with you?"
The golden maned stallion shook his head. "You know him. He needed to stay at the house and finish up all the paperwork tonight. He'll be here tomorrow, and bring our foal with him."
The red stallion shifted his attention to Fluttershy. He looked at her for a moment then looked to his younger brother. "Who is the lovely mare?"
Soarin' smiled. "Gold, this is my marefriend, Fluttershy." He gave the mare a small grin. "Fluttershy, this is my brother Gold."
Fluttershy walked up and hugged the stallion. "It's a pleasure to meet you Gold."
The stallion looked her up and down then hugged her warmly. "You are a pretty mare. Have you considered modeling?"
A giggle came from the yellow mare. "I actually was a model for a little while. It wasn't my thing. So, you're married and have a foal?"
Gold nodded and smiled proudly. "Been married to Silver Glimmer for nearly ten years, and he's been the greatest thing in my life. We adopted a foal about a year ago, and she's such a sweet little filly." The stallion chuckled and gave a content sigh. "We're going to adopt a brother for her soon as well."
Dazzler nuzzled her son and smiled. "That's great to hear. How about I go get you a cup of tea?"
Gold nodded and nuzzled his mother then sat down on the couch next to Sparks. Fluttershy and Soarin' settled back down on the sofa they had been cuddling on. Gold quickly took advantage of his spot next to Sparks by tickling his little sister. The little filly began squealing and laughing as her brother began a merciless tickling.
"Soarin'! Save me!"
The blue stallion watched his siblings for a moment then looked at Fluttershy. "But that would require me to get up... and that's a lot of work..."
The filly gave him a begging look. "Please! He's going to tickle me to death!"
Soarin' grinned at the filly. "Oh no! I need to save you then!" He got up and ran across the room to tackled the pair. "I must save my sister!"
The trio of ponies fell to the floor as a tangle of hooves, tickling each other and laughing happily. Fluttershy watched from her safe spot on the sofa for a few minutes as she sipped her tea. However, when she placed the empty cup back down on the table she noticed that Soarin' was looking at her. A moment later Soarin' grabbed her hoof and dragged her into the pile.
The four ponies started wrestling and tickling each other, laughing and having a lot of fun. They didn't even notice Dazzler walk into the room, around them, and sit down on the couch and sip at her tea.
She watched the ponies playing and shook her head. "And they say you have to mature as you grow up." She chuckled and enjoyed her tea.