//------------------------------// // On The Twelfth Day Of Christmas // Story: Dashing Through The Stroke // by WritingSpirit //------------------------------// "Rainbow Dash!" "F-Five minutes, mom..." "Rainbow!" "Just five more... f-five more..." "Rainbow Dash, wake up now or I swear your flank's going back to the hospital!!" With a groan, Rainbow poked her up from the blanket, eyes straining their best to open with her mane a gloriously colorful heap of a mess. She really hoped her mother would just let her nap for at least five minutes like Taciturn would, but it seems the morning wouldn't last long in the Dash household. Put the blame on the family's love for speed, she said to herself with a sigh. "Look at you!" her mother exclaimed. "You look like a darn piece of trash!" "Well, what did you expect? I just got woken up by a blow horn." "Oh, that? No, that was just my feather falling onto the floor! Perhaps it was a little too soft to wake you up? Now, get yourself ready! You don't want to be late on your wedding day!" Firefly gruffly left the room with a snort, leaving Rainbow to sigh, a smile edging up her lips. Today was her wedding day, the day she was going to get married after only eight hours of being engaged to Taciturn. She sighed to herself, chuckling quietly; perhaps they were actually taking it all too fast, but she didn't want to wait, and neither did Taciturn. Gleefully, she jumped from her bed, prancing out of the door happily to see her parents outside at the dining table. Her father, Rainbolt Dash was there, munching greedily on his breakfast with a hoof raised, welcoming her in. Her mother looked more annoyed than happy instead to see her out of her bed, knife sawing rigidly into the toast she had prepared for herself and for the family. Giggling, Rainbow jumped onto the open chair, hooves pattering in place as she licked her lips. "Hey there, kiddo," Rainbolt said, grinning proudly. "Better chow your toast down quick! Today's your special day!" "Whoa there! I'm not going to clean up if she messes up the table, Bolt." "If you're not, then I'm not going to give you that massage you wanted tonight." Rainbow held back her laugh once she saw her mother's darkening frown, before the older mare's lips formed a smirk, her eyes literally glaring daggers at the smug grin etched on Rainbolt's face. The cyan mare never knew how her father was so good at pacifying her mother with his words, which made it all the more entertaining for her to see her parents engage themselves in a disagreement. She remembered Firefly telling her about how her father was a coward, but from what she was seeing right now, it didn't seem like it. Her breakfast was a quick yet clean guzzle; in a split second, Rainbow hopped off her seat, trotting happily back into her room with her mother following right behind, sighing quietly while she closed the door behind her. The younger mare was already digging into her closet, picking out from the clutter a special attire that both mares had decided the night before, after the Wonderbolts' show was finally over. The wedding gown. It was, like all wedding gowns, white, with the hem painted in the colors of rainbow, descending from red to purple at the very bottom. The waistline was a bright magenta, with the portion above it sprinkled with golden glitter, sparkling in the sunlight like stars in a night sky. Rainbow soon slid herself in the garment and started to twirl about it, a little excited as she settled back down onto her messy bed. She looked over her shoulder at her mother, who was leaning against the door, crossing hooves with an eyebrow raised inquiringly. A jerk of her daughter's head made Firefly elicit a sigh, the pink mare trotting up towards her and reaching for the brush. "You're lucky it's your big day." "It's not a big deal to brush my mane, right?" Rainbow retorted, feeling the bristles smoothing the wayward hairs down on her mane. "Plus, you used to do it all the time when I was a filly, remember?" "Yeah, until I decided you looked weird with a clean mane and that you should stick with the messier hairdo." "Not my loss, that's for sure." Rainbow watched patiently from the mirror her signature mane being shaped and shifted into a ponytail by her mother's surprisingly delicate hooves, held tight by a white ribbon. Of course, she was only one halfway done as Firefly split her hair into an equal two, starting to intertwine one over the other and forming the beginning of what the cyan mare realized to be a braid. "You sure he's not going to leave you this time, right?" Firefly asked suddenly. "I don't want my daughter to go diving into another snowstorm just to make sure he comes back." "He wouldn't leave me again, mom. I'm sure of it," Rainbow clarified, sighing once she saw the reflection of her mother giving a look, finishing the last knot of her braiding. "Look, he sorta asked me about what happened to my wings and I told him the truth. After that, he promised to not simply leave me and that was it. Also, since when were you this concerned about me?" "Hey, I'm your mother, for Celestia's sake! I have every right to be concerned about you!" "Alright, alright!" Rainbow chuckled, putting two hooves up. "I'm just joking. Don't have to take things that seriously." "It ain't a joke to me, y'know. I nearly lost you in that storm." Before Rainbow could muster up an apology, Firefly hushed her, her hooves firmly placed on her daughter's shoulders. "But bygones be bygones, right? All that matters now is that you get ready for the wedding to get to. He's back, he gave you the hoop and you gave the yes. Now it's your turn to seal the deal." Both mother and daughter hugged each other, the former taking care not to squeeze Rainbow's wings. "Thanks, mom," Rainbow whispered into her mother's ear. "Go knock 'em dead for me, silly filly," Firefly said, kissing her daughter's forehead and letting her go. "Twilight said she'll meet you at the entrance. Said you wouldn't miss her balloon from here." With a parting wave, Rainbow quickly galloped out of the house, Firefly watching from the door, smiling warmly with crossed hooves. Her husband soon came out as well, his hoof placed around her shoulder as they watched their daughter rushing to her wedding, the gown flailing about. "All grown up, huh?" Rainbolt remarked. "Man, just yesterday, she was a little baby filly." "Kids grow up fast these days, Bolt," she muttered. "Sometimes a little too fast..." "We could've gone with her to the wedding, y'know. At least send her off like proper parents would." "You know we can't. I have the Wonderbolts to manage and you have a reputation to maintain." A moment of silence, before the stallion spoke: "Okay, maybe I screwed up a little bit on the snowstorm schedule--" "I would sue you for hurting our daughter if I wasn't so happy now," Firefly said, frowning. "Calling in sick from managing the weatherponies while your wife and daughter gets stuck in the storm... man, sometimes I don't even know how you became the boss of the factory." "Simple, really. I worked my way up to the top of the mountain!" Rainbolt held his sheepish grin when she shot a glare, brushing his mane back and keeping his cool. "It might be better this way," he remarked, earning the confusion of his wife. "You know, the two of us not being at our daughter's wedding? Just give the kids some time alone by themselves and stuff like that while we old ponies hang around here." "Anything could happen to her, Rainbolt. Anything." "But we know she's in safe, responsible hooves," Rainbolt added, a sly grin starting to form on his face. "Just like how you are in mine. Come on! Admit it, you know you are!" "S-Shut up." The stallion let out a deep laugh, just as his wife started blushing a faint red. "But honestly speaking, I trust that Taciturn can take care of her," he said. "Even if he couldn't, she's at the age where she could take care of herself. She even saved the world a few times with her friends, just like you did back then. Protecting Equestria from all the monsters in the world... she's doing the same thing that you did. I'm sure she can handle it just fine." A smile crept up to Firefly's face once her husband's words sank in, the mare holding his hoof hopefully. She didn't really called her actions back then protecting Equestria, but she did battle with creatures that were considered a threat to the glorious nation. The fact that her daughter was doing it made it feel like Rainbow was continuing the legacy she herself started... certainly a chip off the old block, she chuckled to herself. "Yeah..." she muttered. "Of course she can..." "Are we almost there?" Taciturn Bleach nodded happily, cradling the blushing Rainbow Dash in her hooves like a little filly as he flew back up to their airborne home underneath the glowing moon, taking care not to injure her bandaged wings. She didn't want to get carried about like that, yet with her wings in its current state, she didn't have much of a choice. Both of them were still wearing their wedding attire, Taciturn in a black tuxedo and Rainbow in her dazzling gown, ever since this morning; the fact that they were still in them while he carried her back home only made it a little more humiliating for the mare. Gently as he could, the colt soon settled his new wife down, smiling happily once she let out a sigh of relief, planting a small kiss on his cheek. With a giggle at his reddened face, Rainbow pranced back to the bedroom, laying herself down onto the bed with a relieved sigh. It's good to be back home again. She was soon out of her wedding dress, hanging it with a grin up in her cupboard before strutting towards the shower. It was certainly a stuffy dress, yet however glad she was when she got out of it, it would certainly be a memorable experience of their crusade throughout Ponyville; after all the preaching, the kiss, the cake, the bouquet throwing and other wedding stuff, both of them went around town, flaunting as they were congratulated in their 'Just Married' status. There will never be a chance that might happen again, so why not make the most out of it? Of course, the ceremony itself was anything but boring. All of her friends were there to congratulate them: there were her fellow Elements of Harmony, along with Spike, Big Mac and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Shining Armor and Princess Cadence were present as well, mainly to bless their love be everlasting. Aside from that, Spitfire was there (she had somehow convinced her mother that she could skip practice for their next show) as well as the sisters Cloudchaser and Flitter. Doctor Martingale was surprisingly invited as well, finally reuniting with Taciturn and giving him a big, congratulatory hug. It was certainly a memory worth cherishing, Rainbow thought to herself. The sprinkling of warm water on her skin made her hiss out of satisfaction, her eyes closing with her hooves running across her mane. She hummed in pure delight, letting herself immerse in the feeling of the water crawling down her skin, cleansing her of her problems away. A pair of hooves wrapped around her from behind, surprising her with a gasp as Rainbow looked over her shoulder, smiling when she saw Taciturn's innocent looking face staring back at her. He was panting lightly, his cheeks red, which was all the mare needed to know. Turning herself towards him, Rainbow immediately mashed her lips into his, water running down their faces in a passionate tango of mouth to mouth, both wrestling for control in the shower. The heat of the moment made Taciturn's wings flare out, wrapping around her as the kiss grew deeper, his tongue eventually breaking in. Instinctively, the white stallion slowly pushed her towards the wall, continuing the fiery kiss with one hoof now running down his spouse's trademark mane, his head brought closer by a hoof around it. "T-Tassee..." Rainbow moaned lightly once she could gasp for air. "You have no idea how much I love you..." "Dashie..." With a giggle, the mare couldn't help but let out a single tear leak out of her eye and crawl down her left cheek, making no effort to wipe it away. At first, Taciturn thought it was just one of the water drops from the shower, but when she started sniffling, his eyes quickly widened. He nudged her hoof, whimpering softly, though all the mare did was chuckle. "N-Nothing, Tassee," Rainbow said with a dismissive wave of her hoof. "It's just... I can't believe we're married already..." Taciturn let out a sigh of relief, before nodding amicably. With a lighter, quicker kiss, the pair soon exited the shower, wiping themselves dry with their respective towels. Rainbow followed Taciturn out of the room, settling down onto the couch and watching as he picked up the paintbrush, trotting back to the easel where his unfinished painting still stood, unmoved for five days already. Silently, he continued from where he left off, each stroke leaving its mark. All she could do was watch in awe when it reaches its completion, her jaw dropping in a quiet gasp. It was a painting of the both of them, their cheeks playfully yet tenderly nuzzling against each other with grins wider than the expanse of the night sky. Both their eyes were glittering with only joy and happiness inside, which Rainbow could feel from a slight tingle in her heart. She soon started to giggle as well, letting it all overcome her as she settled onto the couch, her gaze turning to the hoop she had been wearing since the ceremony. Taciturn scurried to her side, staring into Rainbow's eyes with his dandy little grin on his face. "You really are a charm, you know that, buddy?" Rainbow remarked, playfully skimming his mane with her hoof. All he could do was squeal at her touch, purring lightly once he felt that hoof ran down his back, stroking it gently as if he was a kitten. Snuggling closer into her embrace, Taciturn rested his head onto her hoof, the newlyweds relishing once again the moment of silence enveloping their home. "Hey Tassee?" The colt looked up at her marefriend, black eyes glimmering with curiosity. "You ever thought about it?" "Dashie?" "Having children?" she answered, to which Taciturn just blinked. "You know, me and you, walking side by side with a colt or filly getting ahead of us." Another blink, before he gave a shrug. "Would you prefer a colt or a filly?" she asked. "If I had a colt first, I would want to have a filly next. Don't want the little guy to get lonely, y'know. He would have somepony to play with and, well, we would have more weight on our hooves, but I hope we'll manage... maybe I'll have to ask mom about this..." Taciturn just stared blankly at her, unsure about the idea of children. He nudged her hoof, earning her attention just as he glanced away, shuffling about out of discomfort. It was only after a moment of thinking that Rainbow finally realized what he meant, her cheeks dashing a faint scarlet. "Oh, I-I'm not s-suggesting anything, Tassee!" she declared, chuckling sheepishly. "It's just... I'm kinda interested about what would happen if we have foals. Like, for example, what do we name it if it was a filly? I mean, as much as I want to, I can't just name them all Rainbow, can't I?" The stallion just pondered for a moment, before he finally said: "K." "K?" "K." "Tassee, what are you talking about?" Rainbow asked. "I'm thinking of a few names here and all you give is a 'K'?" Taciturn shook her head, instead pointing at her mane. Upon seeing her blank expression, he rolled his eyes, rushing off and coming back in a split second. Rainbow cocked her head, bewildered when she saw him holding a carrot in his hoof, pointing once at her mane and down to her carrot. "Uh... you want to color a carrot?" she guessed. A frustrated shake of his head. Taciturn then raised the carrot to his right eye, almost as if looking through it like a telescope, then stopped midway to point at her mane, then at the carrot. "Um..." came her second guess. "You... want to paint the inside of the carrot?" The white colt just snorted. Once again, he placed the carrot in front of his right eye, this time rotating it slowly and firmly, his face making a mock expression of awe. For the third time tonight, he then pointed at her mane, then at the carrot, repeating the one letter just as everything clicked together in her head. "K." "Oh!!" Rainbow exclaimed, hooves tapping excitedly onto the couch. "K for kaleidoscope! K! I get it now..." A nod. "So that's what you want to name our foal?" she asked, to which she received an enthusiastic nod. "Kaleidoscope Bleach, or Kay Bleach, for short... huh! Not bad, Tassee. Not bad..." Taciturn gave a wide, proud grin just as Rainbow petted his head, smiling jovially while the name attached itself in her head. Of course, when it comes to naming her foal as her whole, she was basically only half done. "What if it was a colt?" she asked, making him think. "You know, I was thinking Chrome... Chrome Bleach... sounds a little modern, don't you think?" The colt just wrote his suggestion out on a piece of paper; he didn't want to go through all the frustration of the charades he had to put on to make her get a name all over again. Immediately, Rainbow nodded thoughtfully once she saw the name he wrote, a little amused and drawn in by it. "Panorama Bleach," she read it aloud. "Or Pan, as in Peter Pan... both this and Kaleidoscope sound pretty sophisticated to me. Then again, you are one sophisticated pony to understand, aren't you?" Taciturn nodded happily at that, almost treating it as if it was a compliment. With a chuckle, Rainbow Dash rested her head on the couch, sighing with delight as her new husband draped his large, cozy wing over her, the warmth making her hum out of satisfaction. She let out a brief yawn, realizing for a moment that they were on the couch once again; it was becoming quite a habit for them to do so, it seems. Nevertheless, when it comes to comfort, she wouldn't mind, as long as Taciturn was there. "You know, don't you?" she asked suddenly, wanting to tease him again. "Who's my most favorite painter in the world?" Instinctively, Taciturn began to open his mouth, though he stopped suddenly to ponder, instead giving a different answer. "Tassee?" "Yep!" Rainbow declared, hugging him tighter. "It's certainly you, Tassee, and it will always be you." With a grin that could light up three Equestrias at once, Taciturn snuggled a little closer towards Rainbow, her head comfortably buried in her chest. She felt his hooves wrapped around her form, treating her like his favorite doll with extra care when his hooves meet at her bandaged wings, the thought of him doing so sketching a smile up on her face. In the tranquility of the night, the two laid there, dreaming about their past, their future and of course, their promise at being together. It had been a year's length of a journey, where they both hit the summits and chasms of life, yet their love still stood strong. Rainbow dreamed a sweet dream that night, where she and Taciturn were trotting down the street together, with a small foal prancing ahead of them. She couldn't tell if it was a 'Panorama' or a 'Kaleidoscope', yet she could see their foal inherited Taciturn's trademark grin, warming her heart all over again. Perhaps that sweet dream may one day come true, as the couple silently hoped. Or perhaps Taciturn may not like the idea and ran away again, prompting Rainbow to travel into the Badlands just to rescue him from the clutches of a few dragons. If it did come true, perhaps their child would wonder why Taciturn behaved as he did or wonder why Firefly was so harsh when treating them, with both parents struggling to explain why. Perhaps then, that Rainbow would be a full-fledged Wonderbolt, performing alongside Spitfire and the rest of the team while Taciturn would be a world-class painter, sought after by many for his intricate works and his smile voted as 'The Face Of Equestria' or something along those lines. They would then travel the world together, seeing sights not many had seen, or they might stay in Ponyville, continuing the lives they were already living. Nevertheless, there were so many endless possibilities that could happen to both Dashie and Tassee, though from all of them, one can agree that they all shared one thing in common: That is another story.