With the air of a proud general surrounding her and a sash across her chest that held many buttons on it that clanked when she walked, Scootaloo marched into the clubhouse and past her two friends. Said friends could only look on in amazement at the little orange filly as she made her way to the podium that stood before a large whiteboard with many pictures on it. The look of determination never leaving her face, the little pegasus turned to her friends and spoke with a deep voice, “All right Crusaders, listen up! Before we begin our talk about the next plan, lets recap! Our first date was the dinner one, which FAILED!”
“On the bright side, we got all of the free spaghetti we could eat,” Applebloom said as she continued to work on four little model ponies.
Scootaloo rolled her eyes at this before adjusting her four-star general helmet and continueing, “Next, the dance date, which also failed!”
“And we sadly got Rarity and Applejack banned from the club for life,” Sweetie said with a down look in her face.
“Third, the rescue romance,” Scootaloo said, before letting out a sigh, “which sadly failed as well.”
“Yeah, sorry about not helpin ya with that one Scoots,” Applebloom said.
“It’s ok,” Scootaloo said before turning to the board, “but this next plan is sure to work. One I will dub ‘Operation: Meet the Parents’’” Reaching behind the podium, Scootaloo pulled out a small rod and slapped the stick against the board, “As you may not know, Rainbow Dash’s mom and dad,” she began, pointing to the very masculine Rainbow picture with a beard and a motherly Dash with an apron on, “are coming over to visit us. Apparently, they are very busy and don’t always get time to see Dash, but they heard about her adopting me and have decided to come over and see their new granddaughter. This is phase one, meeting my new grandparents. Phase 2: I trust that while you two were in solitary that you two fulfilled your part of the job.”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom turned to each other and nodded, “Yep! While Ah was stuck back at home, I snuck some messages out to Pipsqueak so he could write a letter to Fluttershy’s parents saying that she wanted to see them.” Applebloom said.
“While I had Dinky look up where the parents lived so we could mail the letter to the right address,” Sweetie said, a smile on her face.
“Good, now in phase two,” Scootaloo said, looking at the four dolls in Sweetie’s hooves, “I’ll try to get Rainbow Dash to where Fluttershy and her parents are. Naturally, Rainbow and Fluttershy will be happy to see each other, but when Fluttershy’s parents see how happy she is to be near her, Sweetie Belle will exasperate on the scene.”
“Elaborate,” Sweetie said with a smile.
“Whatever,” Scootaloo said as she pushed her helmet back into place.
“Well, when Fluttershy’s mom and dad see how happy Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are together, her father will be like,” Sweetie said, lifting up the stallion doll, mare doll, and a doll that looked like Fluttershy, “‘Young lady, we do not approve of you hanging out with this mare. She is a horrible ruffian that does not deserve you. We forbid you from ever seeing her again.’ Her mom will then be ‘I agree, she is uncouth and will only bring you tears.’ Fluttershy will then tremble and hide behind her parents, feeling weak and helpless.”
“Then Rainbow will puff out her chest heroically and be all like,” Scootaloo said, bringing out a small Rainbow doll, “‘Hey, you can’t tell Fluttershy who she can or can’t see! She’s one of the kindest and sweetest ponies out there! What’s more, she’s my best friend and I love her! There’s nothing that you guys can say that’ll change that and I’ll do everything I can to stay with her!”
Sweetie Belle joined in, bringing the Fluttershy doll away from the dolls that represented Mr. and Mrs. Fluttershy, “And then Fluttershy will be like, ‘Oh, Rainbow, you’re right! I shouldn’t let my parents decide who I can and can’t see, thank you for letting me see the light. You are so brave and strong.”
Scootaloo smiled as she put the Rainbow Dash doll with the Fluttershy doll and spoke in a deep voice, “I know, babe! Now, come let me take you away from your evil and abusive parents and to somewhere where we can be free.’”
“Yay!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed in a perfect rendition of Fluttershy’s voice.
“Then they’ll fall instantly in love, get married, and we’ll all live together happily,” Scootaloo said as she held the two dolls in the air.
Applebloom sat there watching the plan unfold with her hoof to her chin, “Ah don’t know girls, are y’all sure about this? What if Fluttershy’s parents are nicer than that?”
“Oh please,” Scootaloo said, putting the dolls down, “Didn’t you read all of those books Rarity has? Everypony knows that the bride’s parents are always evil monsters that just want to ruin the bride’s happiness. It happens all the time in these books, the father’s parents are usually the fun and loving ones while the wife’s parents are monsters.”
“Well, its just that Ah met Cheerilee’s parents, and they are not only the nicest ponies I could meet, but they all love Big Mac.” Applebloom argued.
“It’s probably a front, you know, to hide the trauma of family squabbles from young innocent eyes,” Scootaloo said.
“Seriously?” Applebloom asked, an eyebrow arched in utter disbelief.
Scootaloo let out a sigh of desperation as she made her way to where her scooter helmet was stored, “Look, its how it works in the books and we are gonna do everything BY THE BOOK! Now,” she added walking to the door of the clubhouse, “you girls head home for now, I am going to meet up with Rainbow Dash so we can get ready to meet up with my grandparents!”
Applebloom noticed the big grin on Scootaloo’s face, “Excited to meet them aint ya?”
“You better believe it,” Scootaloo said with a big smile, “My other grandparents died before I was born, so this will the first time I get to have some...and they’re the parents of RAINBOW DASH! How cool is that?!”
“Yeah, but you’re other grandparents are going to be monsters,” Sweetie Belle said as she walked next to Applebloom.
Scootaloo’s ears drooped at the realization, feeling down at what was said. Shaking her head to remove some of the doubt that entered her mind, she gave a soft shrug, “Ah, it’ll be fine. You’ll see. I’ll see you girls tomorrow to let you know how brilliantly the plan works.” A smile crept along her face as she rode off towards her home.
As Scootaloo drove her scooter along the dirt paths of Ponyville, her mind began to think over the details of her plan. One the one hand, she was excited to be meeting her grandparents; however, on the other, she was scared to be meeting Fluttershy’s mom and dad, “This was going to happen sooner or later. Might as well get meeting Fluttershy’s mom and dad out of the way now so I can figure out if I should hate them. But still,” a small sigh escaped her lips as she looked down at the ground as it rolled under her scooter, “I hate to get a fight going...NO!” She mentally yelled as she focused on the road ahead, “I knew how bad this was going to be when I came up with this plan and I can’t change it now, besides its better to get it out of the way now...Right?”
A soft little whisper that could barely be called a scream was heard from the inside of a cottage outside of the Everfree forest, “Oh my gosh! My parents are coming over,” Fluttershy yelled as she looked over the letter.
“That’s terrific, Fluttershy,” A grey pegasus said as she ate a muffin and stood outside of the door.
“No it isn’t Derpy,” Fluttershy said as she frantically fluttered and flittered about her home, “It’s simply horrible. I’m so unprepared and not ready to recieve my parents. This is going to be a horrible disaster; my mother is a stickler for perfection and father is very tidy, there is no way that they’ll approve of this mess.”
“They can’t be that bad, right?” Derpy asked as she walked into the house, eager to help.
“They can be,” Fluttershy squeaked in utter fear, “Mother one time scared a stallion white because he didn’t keep to a schedule and father...I don’t want to think about it. Oh, its going to be simply horrible when they get here and see that my home is a mess”
“I could help,” Derpy said, walking to a broom.
“Oh, thank you so much Derpy. I appre-” she was about to show her gratitude when she heard the door knock.
“Fluttershy? Sweetie? We came to visit,” said a voice from behind the door, as Fluttershy fainted.
A loud cheer was heard through the streets of Ponyville as Scootaloo drove her scooter along the ground at high speeds. Though it would always bother her that she wasn’t able to fly yet, the moment she was on the scooter that bother was all forgotten. A fierce smirk came to her as she bobbed and weaved through the streets of Ponyville, dodging each pony that was brave enough to get in her way. The feeling that she had on the bike, the way that the wind blew through her mane and coat, and the way the wind blew by her wings was the closest that she would ever get to true flying.
This was something that she took with pride, that this was something that only she could do. The only pegasus in the world who could master the ground as well as she could, and the only one in the world who had total mastery over the scooter. She let out a few laughs as she began to perform maneuvers on the ground that was as good as any Wonderbolt, and could weave pass other ponies as easy as a water drop through the ground. Without missing a beat, she turned to face her personal ramp and charged at it, buzzing her wings to propel herself to it.
As soon as she hit the ramp, she felt herself launched high into air and then she let go of the scooter for a few moments to spread out her wings to let herself float for a few moments in a free fall in the sky. It was a trick that she had performed many times, and it was one of her favorites for it allowed her, just for a moment, to feel like a real pegasus. No longer the speed goddess of the land, but an aerial acrobat. Taking in a deep breath, she allowed herself to enjoy the feel of the warm air flowing past her splayed out limbs, as if a kind pony had swooped in and held her in the air for the time that she was up there, holding her close and telling her that, “It’s all right, I’ll care for you.” A soft smile came to her as she relaxed in the comforting air, before looking down at the ground below, curious as to why she had not landed yet. As she lowered her eyes downward, she noticed that a pair of blue legs were now wrapped around her waist, holding her to a similarly colored chest, “RAINBOW DASH!” Scootaloo squealed as she turned around in the grip and nuzzled her sister’s neck, returning the hug.
“Hey there, squirt,” Dash said as she put the little filly onto her back.
“I thought you were back home, getting ready?” Scootaloo asked.
“I was, but then I got bored waiting for ya, so I decided to pick ya up instead,” Dash said, a smile on her face as she flew off to the waiting cloud house, “So are you excited to see your grandparents?”
Scootaloo nodded very enthusiastically, “Yes! So,” she began as they landed on the threshold of the cloud home, “What are your mom and dad like?”
“What do you think? If they raised me, then they must be some of the most awesome parents in existence,” Dash said, a confident look on her face, “they needed to be. Dad was one of the best aerial aces out there, always competing in some sport or another. And mom...well, she was so close to becoming one of the best wonderbolts ever, but stuff happened.”
“What happened?” Scootaloo asked as she walked into the house with Dash.
Dash softly smiled as she walked to the table next to the couch and picked up a photo of her and a pink pegasus with a blue mane, “I happened to her.”
It took Scootaloo a few moments to figure out what Dash had meant, “Oh, she had to give up being a wonderbolt to raise you.”
“Yeah,” Dash said with a soft smile as she ran a hoof along the photo of her mom, “ Mom said that she wanted to do her best to raise me. Sometimes I would ask her if she ever regretted her decision, and she would always tell me that if she had to...she would pick me over anything else, every time. Besides,” she let out a small chuckle as she put the photo away, “She helped to teach me everything she knew about stunt flying. Heck, she probably forgot more than I ever learned, so it worked out. Now, did you fix your mane?”
Scootaloo shook her head, “Nope.”
“Wings preened?” Dash asked.
“Nope,” Scootaloo said.
“Tail combed?” Dash asked.
“Nope,” Scootaloo said.
“Good!” Dash said, leaning in and nuzzling Scootaloo’s nose, “You’re ready to meet mom and pop. Let’s go outside to meet them.”
With a quick nod, the little pegasus ran out the door with her mother to watch the skies for the two visitors. For a few moments, they sat on the threshold of the front door keeping an eye on the empty skies until two little dot appeared on the horizon. A smile crept on Rainbow’s face as she could make out the two dots as they came closer, taking the shape of two pegasi. On the right was a dark blue stallion with a rainbow mane and tail much like his daughter’s. To the stallion’s left was a pink mare with an electric blue mane, flying at his pace. With a joyous glee, Rainbow Dash waved her hooves frantically to wave her parents down, “Hey, Scoots, I should warn you, mom can kind of get...excited to see little foals.”
“What do you mea-ooof!” Scootaloo asked, only to get tackled through the the doorway and into the living room by a pink and blue blur.
“OH MY GOSH! SHE IS SOOOOOO CUTE!” Squeed the pink pegasus as she held the little filly close to her in a big bear hug, “Rainbow, if you didn’t tell me that you had adopted the little gal I could’ve sworn she was your own daughter! Look at her, she looks just like you did when you were that age.” The mare looked at the little filly in her legs and smiled warmly, “I am your grandmother but you can call me grandma.” She then gave Scootaloo a couple of quick kisses on the forehead before hugging her tightly again.
“Firefly, sweetie, if you keep this up you’ll smother the poor little gal,” the stallion said as he walked over to where his wife and new granddaughter were.
“Then at least she’ll die knowing the she was loved.” Firefly smiled as she let go of her granddaughter.
The stallion simply rolled his eyes at his wife’s antics before holding out his hoof, “My name is Spectrum Burst, and this is my wife, Firefly. But, you can call me grandpa.”
“Hi,” Scootaloo said, holding out her hoof.
“Well then, now that the introductions are over” he said, taking Scootaloo’s hoof and then immediately pulled her into a big warm hug, “ welcome to the family, my little Scootaloo.”
“Please to meet you, grandpa,” Scootaloo said, nuzzling into the chest of the dark blue stallion.
Getting up from the hug, Spectrum turned to his daughter, “So Rainbow, did you make us anything to eat? We kind of...skipped breakfast.”
“What?!” Dash yelled, looking at her parents as they smiled sheepishly, “Didn’t you tell me to NEVER skip breakfast because that was the second best meal of the day?”
“Well, we were excited to see you again and wanted to get here as soon as possible,” Firefly said, walking up next to Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash facehoofed in response, “Ugggh, fine. I’ll go make us some grub and then we’ll go on the town.”
“I’ll help ya, Dashie,” Spectrum said as he followed Dash into the kitchen.
“Oh no dad, you know how you get when you are in the kitchen, you’ll turn the entire place into a stage show. I’ll make it faster.” Dash objected.
“Oh come on, you love my cooking,” Spectrum said as he moved Dash to the side, “Now let me.”
Firefly giggled to herself softly, “Come on, squirt. Your mom and grandpa will be at this for a while, so how about I show you some embarrassing photos of your mom?”
“Rainbow Dash doesn’t have any embarrassing photos. She’s too awesome to have those,” Scootaloo said as she followed her grandma to the couch.
“Rule 1 kiddo,” Firefly said, getting a photo album from a saddle bag, “Mothers always have cute and embarrassing photos of their children.”
Scootaloo let out a small giggle at the thought before gulping, “Does Rainbow?”
Firefly nodded, “Yep, she’s just waiting to spring it on ya. Now let’s see, oh...” Firefly smiled as she showed a picture of Rainbow Dash on a rug, nibbling the ear of a blue wonderbolt, “Here’s Dashie on a rug, with her favorite plushie. And this one is when we first brought her home,” she said, showing a photo of a yawning filly Rainbow Dash laying curled up next to her mom, “We had to watch her mid-yawn. Oh, and this,” She said with a sheepish chuckle as she showed a picture of a very wet Firefly, looking at an equally wet Rainbow dash with a frown, “Was when I tried to give a defiant Rainbow Dash a bath. And this...is the sequel,” She then show a photo of Spectrum, just as soaked and the wet Rainbow, winking at the camera.
“Wait, grandpa would help you out?” Scootaloo said.
“Of course dear,” Firefly said with a smile as she looked at the next photo of her, Spectrum, Dash, and Fluttershy in a hospital room, “That’s what good partners do, they help to raise the children, help the other when the other is feeling down or sick, and help lift each other up; although,” she chuckled as she she looked at a photo of Dash on top of a fallen Spectrum, a victory flag in her mouth, “I was the better flight teacher.”
“Mom! What are you two doing in there?” Rainbow Dash asked, poking her head into the room, “You aren’t showing Scoots embarrassing photos of me are ya?”
A slick smile came to Firefly’s face as she said plainly, “No!”
Dash could only arch an eyebrow in disbelief as she went back into the kitchen, “Ok then.”
Firefly then turned to look at her young granddaughter with a wink and then went back to the photos, “Now, here is a picture of when we took Dashie to meet Santa Hooves for the first time. Oh, did she cry the entire time,” she added, pointing a pink hoof to the photo of a crying filly Rainbow Dash.
“MOM!” Dash yelled as she came into the living room with a plate full of sandwiches on her hoof, “You were showing her embarrassing photos!”
Firefly smiled at her daughter as her husband offered a personal plate of food to her, “Call it a mother’s prerogative sweetie. Just wait until Scootaloo starts dating or has foals of her own and lets see how long it takes you to bring out her photo album.”
Scootaloo let out a small sigh of relief as she knew that Rainbow dash probably didn’t have the appropriate picture album to embarrass her. Then, almost as if Dash knew of Scootaloo’s relief, smirked as she sat down on the couch next to Scootaloo, “Oh...about 10 seconds. Sunny told me a lot of stories,” she then chuckled smugly as she rubbed Scootaloo’s mane.
Scootaloo let out a small gulp of fear as the thought hit her while her grandpa took his seat on a love cushion next to his wife. As the early afternoon wore on, and the food became smaller, the discussion around the table turned to the things that families usually discuss. There were talks about what Rainbow’s parents were doing, Dash’s training in the Wonderbolts, and if Dash was in any relationships, “Not yet at least.” Was Scootaloo’s thought at this. The conversation also turned to Scootaloo’s life, her friends, and the adventures that the little filly went on. They discussed at length of the various subjects that were important and the ones that weren’t so important in the greater aspect of life.
As the discussion carried on, Scootaloo couldn’t stop smiling a heartfelt smile at the scene before her. The way that the four talked amongst each other, the ways that they joked with each other, and the way that they would joke with one another gave her the feeling of being in a real family. She wondered to herself if this is what her life would’ve been like if her mom and dad were alive, and with her at that moment. Looking down at her plate, her mind began to envision this to be what life would become once she had gotten Fluttershy and Rainbow together. The two lovers talking about their day, Dash with her training and Fluttershy with her animals. Looking up from her plate and at the two pegasi in front of her, Scootaloo asked, “So, grandma and grandpa...how did you two get together?”
“Oh, now that is a story, let me tell you,” Firefly said, drinking a small cup of soda, “You see, it happened a few years ago...”
I was busy resting at my home after doing some practice drills for the Wonderbolts.
“Wow! You were a wonderbolt?” Scootaloo asked.
“One of the best,” Dash said, a proud smile on her face.
“Where do you think your mom got most of her talent from,” Spectrum said with a smile as he looked at his wife.
Anyway, as I was in the kitchen getting myself something to drink, I heard a loud crash coming from my living room. I quickly ran into the room to see what had happened and there, with his head in the cloud floor and his legs sticking up, was Spectrum. Curious as to why a stallion crashed into my house, I went over to him and pulled him out from the floor. When I asked him what he was doing there, he told me that he was fixing a few thunderheads for a small thunderstorm in Ponyville when a worker shocked him from behind sending him crashing into my house.
Well, I couldn’t let him fly out with a hurt head and wing so I invited him to rest on my couch and drink some soda. We spent the next few hours talking about our lives, what our hobbies were, and our flying styles. Well, soon it was time for him to leave and we said our goodbyes.
About a week later, I was doing some of my own flying tricks when my good friend, Masquerade, accidentally hit me in the head with a ball and sent me crashing into Spectrum’s house.
“We later found out that Masquerade found out about our little meeting and wanted to play matchmaker,” he then smiled at Firefly, “I think it worked. I guess she must of also heard about me sneaking a peek at your grandma’s fine flank.”
“You still sneak peeks, only now you are much more obvious,” Firefly said with a smile.
“I can’t help it if you are still hot after all this time my dear,” a smile came across his face.
“Oh, ewewewewewwe, need to repress that image!” Screamed Rainbow Dash.
After Spectrum was nice enough to take care of me and give me something to drink, he offered to take me to a small little diner for supper. After the date was over, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
Until...he fell through my roof again, and again we went out on a date. This was the way our dates went for a little while. I would fall through the roof of his house or he would fall through mine and it would always end in a date or a snuggle-fest. At one point, I had enough and the next time he fell through the roof I looked at him and said, “Spectrum, I love ya and all, but would you mind not falling through my roof so much?”
“Well then,” he said, pulling out a small box from behind his wing, “I guess I’ll just have to start making this our house.”
“The look on your grandma’s face when I proposed was priceless,” Spectrum said.
“ So you said yes right away, right?” Scootaloo asked.
Well, actually, I had to think of it for a few moments, but really...he looked so adorable at that moment that I just couldn’t say no to him. So, in a few months we were married and then a little while after that, we had Dashie.
“When Rainbow was born, that was when you stepped down from being a Wonderbolt to take care of her. Wasn’t it?” Scootaloo asked, finishing her soda.
“Not completely,” Firefly corrected, “After I had her, I asked to become more of a teacher rather than a flier. I just enjoyed teaching so much that when I was ready to come back into service I chose to stay a teacher. Though,” she added, a smirk coming to her face as she walked to the front door, “I can still outfly the pants off of any rookie.”
Rainbow Dash could only look at her mother with a confident smirk, “Is that a challenge?”
“Not a fair one, after all...you would be carrying the squirt the entire way,” Said Firefly as she stood outside.
“Says you!” Rainbow Dash said with a smirk, “I can fly rings around ya, even holding onto the squirt.”
As Scootaloo and Spectrum walked up to the two girls, the stallion smiled, “I should’ve known they get like this. Birds of a feather, oh well. Makes for some great exercise.”
“But, I can’t fly yet, grandpa. I’ll just be following you on the ground.” Scootaloo said, frowning a little.
“HEY! None of that, this is a family flight and I mean a family flight,” Dash said, taking the little filly in her forelegs before stretching her wings, “Contact?”
“Contact!” Spectrum said, straightening out his wings.
“Lets do this,” Firefly said, smiling as she began to get ready to take off.
“And GO!” Dash said as they took off.
From Rainbow’s house, the four ponies took off and allowed the winds to glide them across the cloudless sky. To the passing-by earth bound ponies who would happen to look up, they would see a flying V comprised of three pegasi and would think it was a new aerial team, but it wasnt. It was a family of pegasi who had helped each other through each others lives, and knew each other well enough to keep in perfect synch with each other.
With Rainbow Dash in the lead of their V formation, the family of four soared and sailed through the sky. Moving back and forth, allowing the winds to blow softly through their feathers and to caress their wings, the group would only move enough to dodge an incoming bird or cloud. Turning her head to look behind her, she gazed at her mom on her left and then to look at her dad, Rainbow Dash could only smile happily at being able to share this with her family. Looking down at the little filly laughing in her hooves, Dash smirked at Scootaloo and held her close to her barrel as she put a small bit of distance between her and her parents to perform a loop. Without missing a beat, the parents of Rainbow Dash joined in performing the maneuver.
Firefly turned her head to Spectrum and smirked at her husband before putting on some speed in her flying and raced to fly next to Dash. As she flew under her daughter, Firefly performed a small barrel roll and leveled off just underneath Rainbow’s left side. Looking up at her daughter, she put on a confident smirk and winked at her. At Rainbow’s right, her father came up quickly next to her, making a few small air gallops before leveling off at his daughter’s side.
Looking down at Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash watched as the little filly giggled a little at some of the cirrus clouds passing by her stomach and tickling her. Still keeping a good grip on her ‘daughter’, Rainbow Dash began to lower her legs so Scootaloo would be at legs length away from her body. Turning her head up to look at her protector, Scootaloo looked at the signs of trust and love that graced Rainbow’s face. Feeling that she would not fall or be dropped, the little filly let out a cheer as she thrusted out her hooves and assumed a flying position like her family around her. She then stopped her cheering and closed her eyes, taking in the warm feeling of the wind around her, the warmth of her family, and the memories of taking similar flights with her mother so long ago. Her eyes then opened in shock when she felt Dash let her go and became afraid that she was in freefall. That was when she felt two hooves below her.
Looking down, she saw that Spectrum and Firefly held the little girl up with their two hooves, as if she was the victor in a big race. Smiling at the two grandparents as they held her above their heads, she continued her faux flying all the way until they landed in the market square. Smirking, Rainbow Dash set her young daughter to the ground, “Think we gave the ponies a good show?”
“Dash, sweetie,” Firefly said with a smile, “That was just a pre-show, just wait until we really get started. Then they’ll see a show.”
Rainbow Dash let out a small chuckle as she gave her mother a high hoof in response. Turning around the four ponies began to walk around the marketplace when she heard a small voice calling out, “Rainbow Dash.”
Perking her ears, she turned quickly to the sound of the voice, “Fluttershy!” Dash said happily as she saw Fluttershy walking up to where her and her family was. As the buttery pegasus came closer, Rainbow Dash immediately began to remember the events of the previous evening and of the long deep kiss that she shared. That thought, and the warm memories of the embrace that they shared under the moonlight made her blush and turn her head a little, “What brings you here?”
A soft smile came to Fluttershy’s face as she began to remember the events of the previous evening, trying her best to hide behind her mane to hide her blush, “I was doing some small shopping with my-”
She was then interrupted by Firefly, who immediately came up to see her, “Well, if it isn’t Fluttershy Firewing! It’s been year since I saw your adorable face!” She then gave Fluttershy a big hug. “Aw look at you, you haven’t changed at all.”
“Hello, Fluttershy,” Spectrum said, walking up with Scootaloo in tow who was nibbling on a cookie, “Still as shy as ever I see.”
“Hello Mr. Spectrum and Mrs. Firefly, it is good to see you again,” Fluttershy said with a smile.
“Oh, stop it with that Mr and Mrs stuff, you’re making us sound old,” Firefly said, rolling her eyes.
Scootaloo chuckled, when she suddenly felt the stomping of very large hooves, “What was that?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention, my parents are here as well,” Fluttershy said as she felt the hoofsteps come closer.
“Your...parents?” Scootaloo asked as she began to tremble, her plan beginning to crumble in her mind. Now, instead of Dash saving the day, it looked like it was going to end with her mother as a pasty smear at the end of somepony’s hoof.
As Fluttershy nodded, a very large yellow mare walked up behind her. At first glance, all of the muscles, tone of her body, and the way she held herself would make one think that this was a stallion, but a good long look at her would say otherwise. The large pegasus glared at the four ponies before her, focusing on Firefly in particular, “Well, if it isn’t Firefly,” she said with a growl in her voice, “HOW HAVE YOU BEEN?!”
Without warning, the pink pegasus was wrapped up in a big bearhug by the muscular pony, “Great to see ya again, Posey.” Firefly managed in between gasps for air.
After letting go of Firefly, Posey turned her head to look at Spectrum, “And you brought your big softy of a husband with ya? How is it hanging Spect! Keeping an eye on my best friend right? Not planning on breaking her heart are ya?”
“Nope, not at all, and its more like she’s keeping an eye on me,” Spectrum said, sheepishly laughing.
“And Rainbow Dash,” Posey said, looking at the multicolored mane, quickly grabbing her and ruffling Dash’s mane, “Glad to see you have been keeping up with a good training regime. Though if you ask me...you’re way too good for a bunch of showoff wannabe fliers. The guard’s wheres it at.”
“No way!” Dash yelled, slipping out of her grip, “I’d rather not be spending my time guarding a princess all day, give me the open air anyday of the week.”
“Can’t say I didn’t try, but if you change yer mind...I’ll make you a comm. on the spot,” Posey said with a smile before turning to Scootaloo, “and who is this?”
“S-S-Scootaloo ‘mam,” Scootaloo said, quite intimidated by the large pegasus. Meanwhile, in her head, she watched as the plan that she had crafted was now destroyed by several tons of C-4 and a well organized construction crew.
Posey smiled softly and placed a hoof onto the filly’s head, rubbing the mane, “Heh, you look like a good kid. I trust yer watching over yer big sister nicely, the runt needs it.”
“You...know Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, shocked and a little sad as she continued to watch her plan crumble down to its foundations.
“Of course I know her, the little scamp would sometimes come to the trainin grounds to do some endurance runs, most of the time during class,” Posey said with a scowl, before turning around to yell, “HEY, STORMCLOAK! GET YER FLANK OVER HERE, FIREFLY AND HER BROOD ARE HERE!”
“Y-yes dear,” said a soft and kind voice as a green pegasus with a pink mane came out from one of the stalls.
“Oh, father, there you are. I was afraid you gotten lost,” Fluttershy said, her voice being a little louder than her quiet father.
“Oh, no I wasn’t lost,” Stormcloak said, turning his head away shyly, “I was just talking to this mare selling apples and she offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse and then I had to buy some extra carrots to show that I wasn’t being unfair. Oh I do hope the cabbage merchant doesn’t feel too bad.”
“Your dad?” Scootaloo asked, as the plan was now bulldozed into a parking lot and the remains put somewhere else.
“Oh yes, I know he can be kind of shy and quiet and Mother can be kind of intimidating. But, once you get to know them, they can be really nice.” Fluttershy said, “And mom can’t resist being kind to little foals.”
“That’s nice,” Scootaloo said, as she watched the remains of her plan turned into pudding by Discord, then the pudding was eaten by her, Sweetie Belle, Twist, Applebloom, Dinky, Pipsqueak, and a hyped up on sugar Pinkie Pie. In short, she put the plan under: COLOSSAL FAILURE.
“Hey, Posey, we were just about to spend the day together, want to join?” Firefly asked, eager to spend time with her friend.
“Sure,” Posey said as the group began to walk away together.
Scootaloo let out a small sigh as she followed the group, thinking to herself, “Well, that was a failure. On the other hand,” a soft smile came across Scootaloo’s face as she listened to the discussion that the six ponies were having, “It’s great to have such an awesome family.”
As the group of ponies walked through the small town, Scootaloo walked up next to the strong yellow pegasus, “So, Posey, how did you get together with Stormcloak? You two seem so...”
“Different? Yeah, we kinda are,” Poesy said, smiling, “Well you see...”
Several years ago, I was a young private in the royal guard and I was busy training to do my job of protecting the city. One day, I noticed this cute little stallion taking a few peeks at me whenever I passed by. I didn’t think anything about it, until I noticed him doing it more often, sometimes in the mess hall, out on the grounds, or sometimes when we pass each other at the campus. Well, at first, I wondered if I had a stalker, a cute stalker, but a stalker nonetheless; so I went to some of my friends and I found out that this guy had a crush on me. It’s just that he was afraid to ask me, so I waited for him. And I waited, and I waited, and I waited. Well, after a month of waiting, I had enough, went over to him at the mess hall and picked him up by his collar and said, “YOU. ME. DATE. NOW!”
He let out a squeak of, “Ok.”
Well, after the date, we had another and another and eventually, we found out that I had loved him as much as he did me. And I had hoped he would pop the question soon, and he didn’t. Well, finally I had gotten tired of waiting, found him outside out favorite place in the rain and grabbed him by the collar and told him, “YOU. ME. MARRIAGE. NOW!”
He held out a ring and squeaked, “Ok, my darling.”
We were married a few months after that and when I came into season and wanted children, I looked at him in the eyes and told him, “YOU. ME. BABIES. NOW!”
“Yes, dear.” he told me, before giving me the kiss of my life.
“And then 11 months later, we had little Fluttershy,” she smiled softly as she watched her daughter and Rainbow Dash walk somewhere to talk for a bit.
“Wow, thats...something,” Scootaloo said, eyes wide in shock, making a mental note that would definitely not be one of the dates she would use.
As the afternoon rolled down, and the ponies found a park to relax and play in; Fluttershy went over to her mother, “Mother?” She asked, “Could we go somewhere private to talk?”
“Sure,” Posey said as she walked with her daughter to a small patch of flowers, away from the others.
Fluttershy laid on all fours next to her mother, cuddling up close to her as she looked down at the flowers, “How did you know that you were in love with father?”
Putting a comforting wing over her daughter, a sly smile came to Posey’s lips, “Why? Do you have a certain mare in mind?”
Fluttershy immediately blushed and hid behind her pink mane, “W-what makes you think that its a mare?”
“Because my little flower,” Posey chuckled as she nuzzled her daughter’s neck, “I’ve known that you were into mares for quite a while.”
“Oh, I see,” Fluttershy said as she giggled at the gentle nuzzle.
“Now, about your father,” Posey said with a sigh as she looked at the field where her lover talked with Spectrum, “Well, I guess I figured it out when I had started to notice that he added something to my life. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my friends-Firefly is the best ‘sister’ a gal could ask fer and Masqurade is a riot; however, it was a different feeling with him.”
“Really?” Fluttershy asked, “How so?”
“Well, it was like,” Posey put a hoof to her chin in thought, “everytime he was with me, he brought something new to my life. Drills became more fun, outings with my friends became even better, old things seemed new again, and he brought something out in me.”
“Something new?” Fluttershy asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.
“Mmmmm,” She said with a smile, “Helped make me become a little softer and nicer. He showed me it was ok to be nice once in a while, and I would help bring out the best in him. He loved me as much as I loved him, because to him...I helped make everything brighter.”
“I see,” Fluttershy said, nodding.
Slowly, Poesy got back up and stretched her wings, “Well, I think it’s about time for me and Stormcloud to be heading home. Take care of yourself my little flower and by the way,” she said, lowering her head to Fluttershy’s ear, “I think Rainbow Dash would make a great daughter-in-law.”
Fluttershy felt her face redden in embarrassment, “WHAT? How did you know?”
“Kid, youse always would talk about her when you were young. Youse kept on and on about the things you and she did that I felt like I knew her before I even met her. If she makes you feel any way like I do with Stormcloud, I approve.”
“Thank you, mother,” Fluttershy said, smiling softly as she watched her mom and dad fly home.. She then walked up to Rainbow Dash’s family, “I should be going myself. Thanks for inviting me and my family to spend time with you.”
“Hey, it was no problem at all,” Dash remarked, confidently putting her hoof through her mane, “See ya later, Flutters.”
Fluttershy nodded in response and flew off in the direction of her cottage, while Spectrum looked at his granddaughter, “Hey, Scoots. Speaking of home, how about I fly you there personally?”
“I would love to!” Scootaloo said with a big smile on her lips as she was picked up by Spectrum and flown off.
As Firefly and Rainbow Dash watched the two fly off, the pink pegasus stood next to her daughter, “So, about you and Fluttershy?”
“W-w-what about us?” Dash asked defensively.
“Hun, I am 24 years older than you, I have far more experience in seeing this than you,” Firefly said, shaking her head and putting a hoof onto Dash’s shoulder, “I have seen the way you two have been looking at each other, it was the same way that me Spectrum would look at each other when we were dating. Are you falling for her?”
“Well, I uh...”Dash said, stumbling over her words.
“Let me help,” Firefly said, putting her forehead onto Dash’s and rubbing her nose with hers, “Do you feel like you can perform better with her around.”
“ Well, yeah, but that’s how it is with all of my friends,” Dash said.
“Are there things you do with her alone, things that you could never see yourself doing with your other friends, even a princess? How about when you two are alone, you let her see a side of you that rarely would get seen, or that when you two are alone you feel like she brings something special to your day and you seem to know better when she’s around.”
“Yeah,” Dash said softly, looking away and blushing, “sometimes, she makes me feel like a better pony.”
“Then that’s the way I feel with your dad, kid,” Firefly said, giving her daughter a hug, “Even before we were married, he made me feel better and stronger. When he was around me, I felt better, felt faster, and he made me feel like a better pony. That’s what loving somepony does to you, you feel like you are better with them. And I have to say, if you do take that step with her, I approve.”
Dash smiled back as she returned the hug, “Thanks mom. See you later, love ya.”
“Love ya too, kid,” Firefly said before taking off to follow her husband.
“Love ya too, mom,” Dash said, smiling and then turning around to fly off. As she flew off, she began to think back to one night, a year ago.
“Wow! Rainbow Dash, what a great dinner you made,” Sunny said, smiling as she finished the meal.
“Hey, Scoots invited me to dinner and I thought that helping you out was the least I could do,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile.
“That’s what you seem to be best at, helping,” Sunny said, looking down and smiling, “You know, you never had to-” she was then interrupted by a hug from Rainbow Dash.
“Hey, your Scootaloo’s family, and since she’s my sister,” she smiled as she looked back at the orange filly, “That makes you my family too.”
“And I’ll anything for friends and family,” Dash said as she walked into Scootaloo’s room, seeing her little sister nicely tucked in, “Hey squirt. Had fun today?”
“Are you kidding? I had a blast,” Scootaloo said as she hugged a plush of Rainbow Dash close to her, “They were both so awesome.”
“Told ya,” Dash said with a smirk, running her hoof along Scootaloo’s mane, “Now, time for bed.”
Scootaloo nodded, before looking into her sister’s eyes, “Hey Dash? Did grandma ever sing you any lullabies when you were a kid.”
“Why, want me to sing one to you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Quickly, Scootaloo nodded before hiding under the sheets a little, “Only if it doesn’t make it sound like I’m a baby.”
“Hey, nothing wrong with singing a lullaby kid.” Dash said, kissing her sister on the forehead.
Little dreamer
Sleep now
And prepare yourself for the days ahead.
Little dreamer
What are your dreams
Will you dream of heroes and glory
Little dreamer
What are your dreams
Will you dream of love and joy
Little dreamer
Know not to fear the dark
Dream of light
Know that I will always
Be there to watch
You and to make things right
Know that I will always
Be right here
To wash the darkness in light
Sleep my little dreamer
Sleep well through the night
Fluttershy opened the door to her cottage and smiled at the sight of all of her animals walking around the house. Smiling softly, she began to tuck each little creature into their beds, kissed them goodnight, and walked towards the stairs. As she walked up the stairs, she began to sing,
My sweet dreamer
What are your dreams
Tell them please
My sweet dreamer
What are your dreams
Let me know them, please
My sweetest dreamer
I want to help you
to achieve the skies
My sweetest dreamer
I want to help you
and see the world through your eyes
My sweetest dreamer
Can I watch you grow
into what you dream to be
As Fluttershy made her way to the last step, her singing had reached a pitch and tone that seemed to match Rainbow Dash’s beat for beat. As the two began to sing the final part of the song, it was as if they were singing to Scootaloo together in perfect harmony.
Dearest dreamer
I will always be
There for you
Dearest dreamer
I will always
Watch over you
Dearest dreamer
I will always
Watch your dreams
Help you
[
i]Love you
Never fear my dearest dreamer
I will always be there,
To love, to care
Never fear my dearest dreamer
I will be there, to see you grow
to be there to love you
and to see you become
all that you are
My dearest dreamer
I love you.
Softly, Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her little kid’s mane, listening to the soft snoring that came from her. Walking out the door, she could hear faintly Scootaloo saying, “love you, mom.”
“Love ya too, squirt.” Dash said softly, walking back to her room. As she made her way to the bed, she looked at a photo of her and Fluttershy that was taken just after Twilight’s coronation. She ran a hoof along the picture of her and Fluttershy hugging each other, “Night Flutters, I love you.”
Meanwhile, back at Fluttershy’s cottage, the demure pegasus ran a hoof along a similar picture, “Goodnight Rainbow, I love you.” She then gave the photo a small kiss before falling asleep.
Addendem:
Sweetie Belle walked home from her meeting with the other crusaders, hoping that the plan that they had come up with would be successful. As she skipped along the dirt road, her mind began to think of new songs that she could sing at her cutecenera, trying to decide between a ballad and a dance beat. Smiling and skipping, she opened the door to the Carousel Boutique, “Hi, Rarity!”
“Oh, there you are Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said as she turned away from a group of four ponies, “Mother and Father have come over to see you, as well as Mother’s mother and father.”
As the words hit Sweetie Belle’s ears, her eyes opened wide in utter horror, “M-mom’s’ mom and dad?”
“Oh please,” Scootaloo said, putting the dolls down, “Didn’t you read all of those books Rarity has? Everypony knows that the bride’s side of the family are always evil monsters that just want to ruin the wife’s happiness. It happens all the time in these books, the father’s parents are usually the fun and loving ones while the wife’s parents are monsters.”
As Sweetie Belle remembered the words that her friend had said that morning, she took a few steps towards the stairs and screamed, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! MONSTERS!” Then she ran up the stairs in a white, pink, and purple blur.
“Now, what is her problem, eh?” Asked the Canieghdian brown stallion with the hockey puck cutie mark.
“Oh, I don’t well quite know,” Sweetie Belle’s mother said, “Maybe it just that she’s nervous, huh mom and pop?”
“Mais, oui!” Said the mare with a bouque cutie mark, “Your daughter is just like you were when you were zat age.”