//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7 
// Story: Taboo 
// by Hooves Like Jagger 
//------------------------------//


7


“Eeyup.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Yeah.”

The three stallions all stood around outside of Sweet Apple Acres drinking hot cider.  Despite the tranquility of the occasion, they still felt like something was missing.  At least, Big Macintosh and Pokey Pierce could feel the slightly off resonance.  Time Turner was too busy smiling like an idiot.  It was not uncommon for him to do this in recent days, but there was something especially strange about it today.

“So… I guess congratulations are in order,” Pokey said, raising his mug.  “To Big Macintosh Junior, for his no doubt tireless work to extend the Apple Family tree.  May this foal be the first of many.”

“Eeyup.”  Big Macintosh raised his own mug and toasted his achievement.  Now that his wife had a bun in the oven, she and his mother couldn’t pester him about foals until this one got born.  Now he could go about his life without them breathing down his back.  Big Macintosh would just walk out the door with a kiss from his pretty little wife and come home to a hot meal full of love.  He took a long draught of cider, noting that the only drawback was the times after dinner were significantly more tame.

“You’re so darn responsible,” Pierce said after drinking a little more of his cider.  “Getting married, having kids, and working the farm.  It’s good you’ve doubled your outstanding citizenship seeing as Time Turner over here has got a few gears out of place.”

Time Turner still wasn’t listening.  In fact, he was humming a light tune to himself while dreaming in his own little world.  He was just asking for somepony to ask him what he was so happy about.

“Hey Turner… nice sweater.” Pierce made sure it was incredibly clear that he was being sarcastic.  Any sweater with an enormous, pink heart on it surrounded by little smiling bunnies was ripe for poking fun at.  

“Oh Pierce, you’re so funny,” Time Turner replied, not so up in the air that he couldn’t pick up on the attitude coming his way.  Nevertheless, his smile persisted.  His sweater was warm and it reminded him that the most beautiful mare in Ponyville was in love with him.  “Besides, you’re just jealous because your marefriend makes clothes for a living and yet she hasn’t ever knitted you a sweater.”

Big Macintosh hid his chuckling by sticking his face in his flagon of cider.  Pierce on the other hoof decided to take a drink and act like he hadn’t heard Time Turner.

“You two are seriously the most obnoxious couple in Ponyville,” Pierce said, determined not to make this conversation about his own relationship and all its quirks.  “Ever since Nightmare Night, Fluttershy has literally been hanging off of you every hour of the day.  I could maybe put up with her constant baby-talk and spontaneous public displays of affection, but I have to draw the line at her dressing you up like my grandfather.  

“Meanwhile, you’re just so much putty in her hooves, Timey Wimey.  She’s got you so whipped you’d think she’s preparing to put you on a pie.  I don’t think you even realize it.  Now I won’t fault you for helping her with her animals or around her house.  That’s gentlecoltly stuff, but nowhere is it written that a stallion has to buy his mare fresh cut flowers every morning or carry her every which way about town.  Man, if I walk into your shop and trip over one more of those creepy love poems you can’t seem to stop writing, I’m going to vomit.  Oh, I also heard from Rarity that you went to the spa.  I know you didn’t just go there.  No, you went to the spa.  I feel like I don’t even know you anymore.”

“Love changes ponies, Pierce,” Time Turner said, not caring for his friend’s attitude.  He could just as easily ridicule this unicorn for being at Rarity’s beck and call at every hour of the day and carrying out any task under her order without dispute.

“Well, love sure did a number on you.” Pierce went in for another long draught of his cider, but it was cut disappointingly short when he ran out.  He gave his empty cup over to Big Macintosh in order to have him refill it from the keg.  “The biggest travesty is that I know you aren’t getting any for all your trouble.”

“You know my stance on that, Pierce.” Time Turner was even more old fashioned that Big Macintosh, and he was quite happily so.  “That would be irresponsible.”

“You two are already irresponsible, with the way you carry on.”

“You’re absolutely right.”  Time Turner got strangely stern and took an uncharacteristically long drink of his cider.  “I’m going to make an honest mare out of Fluttershy.”

“Well, nice to see some initiative on your part,” Pierce said.  He received his cider back from Big Macintosh, foaming high and making vapor rise into the cold winter air.  “So, you saving up for a ring?”

“Already bought it.”

“What?  Dude, are you serious?” Pierce was glad he hadn’t taken a drink yet or he would have done a spit-take.  “You two have only been really going steady for two months.  Are you sure you’re ready to get married?”

“Timey, could you help me with this?  Oh, that’s my big, strong stallion~!”

“Hey, Turner.  Equestria to Turner.”

“I hope you’re hungry because I made soup for us!  Say aaah~!”

“Great… I think we lost him, Macintosh.”

“I knitted this for you, Timey Wimey!  My!  You look so handsome in it~!”

“Eeyup.”

“I’ll be back at lunchtime with some yummy treats for you!  Buh-bye!  Mwah~!”

“This is why shy ponies shouldn’t be in relationships: they get all weird.”

“I get so embarrassed when everypony is watching… but I guess one little kissy is fine~!”

“… Eeyup.”

“I’m confident I’m making the right decision,” Time Turner said, finally returning to the realm of the awake.  He smiled and took a sip of his cider.  “Yeeowch!”  For some reason, his cider was a lot hotter than he remembered it being.  He stuck out his tongue, now raw from being burned by the steaming beverage.

“And that’s why you stay here on the ground, Turner,” Pierce said, shaking the cider he was holding at the earth pony.  “Or somepony might pull a switcheroo on you.”  

“You burnt my tongue.”

“You burnt your own tongue, brother.  Gotta look before you leap,” Pierce said, feeling no regret for his friend’s plight.  “And you’re about to take a huge plunge.”

“I am a successful pony with plenty of disposable income and a beautiful mare by my side.  Marriage is the next, logical step.”  Time Turner sounded much more like himself.  In an ironic twist of fate, cider had made him sober again.  “It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been dating.  Establishing a romantic relationship with somepony is essentially telling them you are interested in marrying them.”

“For you, maybe.”

“Oh?  Should I tell Rarity you’re only dating her for the benefits?” Turner asked, effectively turning the tables on the conversation.  Pierce had forgotten how sharp and cruel Turner normally was.  

“That isn’t true!”

“You’ve been dating her longer than I’ve been dating dear Fluttershy, so when are you planning on getting married?” Turner asked, getting right at the heart of the matter.

“I don’t know.  I’m not getting that signal from her yet.”  Pierce drowned his uncertainty with more cider.

“Oh.  ‘That signal’, hm?”  Turner raised an eyebrow at his friend, but Pierce just kept on drinking.  He turned to Big Macintosh instead.  “Big Macintosh, did you wait for Roseluck to put out a ‘signal’ before you proposed?”

“Nnope.”

“I rest my case.”

“Aww, you two don’t know what you’re talking about!” Pierce could claim that, but he couldn’t back it up.  He just wanted to throw the focus off of himself and get out of this conversation.  “I’m just waiting for signs that she’s ready to get married.  I haven’t seen any, so I’d rather not take her by surprise.  I’m just gonna hold off on it for now.”





“He’s going to propose any day now!  I just know it!” Rarity said, beside herself with excitement.  “Please don’t tell him I know because I think he wants it to be a surprise.  Oh, I bet he has something extravagant planned out!  In fact, we’re going to that fancy restaurant up on the hill on Tuesday.  You don’t think he’s going to propose then, is he?  Oh dear, that’s sooner than I expected.  I’m not sure I’m ready!”  In true Rarity style, she levitated her fainting couch over to her so she could fall over onto it.  The others had become strangely accustomed to this.  Even in Twilight’s treehouse, they didn’t question how or when the couch got inside.

“Calm down, Rarity,” Twilight said, trying to comfort the frantic mare.  “You’re always singing Pierce’s praises and we all agree he’s a sweet stallion.  He loves you and you love him, so I’m sure things will be just fine.  It’s perfectly normal to be apprehensive about such a big decision like getting married.”

“Oh, I know all that drivel, darling,” Rarity said, composing herself in half an instant.  “I just have no idea what I’m going to wear.”

“Wouldn’t a mare normally wear a weddin’ dress to her weddin’?” Applejack asked.  “I mean, shucks.  Cadence wore a weddin’ dress, Roseluck wore a weddin’ dress, Cup Cake wore a weddin’ dress…”

“Applejack, it’s never just a wedding dress!  This is probably the single most important dress I’m going to wear in my life!  I can’t just wear any old dress for this occasion of occasions!  Oh, but what to wear?”

“Rarity, you an’ I both know yer just gonna wear somethin’ you fix up yerself,” Applejack said what was on everypony’s mind.  That is, it was on everypony but Rarity’s mind.

“Oh my goodness, darling.  Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Because yer panickin’.”

“You’re right, I must compose myself,” Rarity said, doing just that.  It wasn’t clear if she was worried about getting married or completely gung-ho about it.  Either way, she wasn’t stable.  “One day you’ll all fall in love and know how I feel.”

“That’ll be the day,” Rainbow Dash said, turning the page of Taboo’s picture book.  The filly was paying a bit more attention to Rarity than reading, still interested in weddings and the like.  “If I’m ever a nervous, mushy wreck like Rarity or Fluttershy, please tell me somepony is going to be a good friend and put me out of my misery.”

“What’s ‘out of my misery?’”

“Nothing, squirt.”

“Oh Rainbow Dash, you’ll find love someday,” Fluttershy said, happily humming to herself while knitting at the library’s center table.  “Love might be closer than you think.”

“Can we not talk about this right now?” Rainbow Dash said, secretly pointing to Taboo; however, it was far too late.

“Mommy already has daddy,” Taboo said very matter-of-factly.  She scrunched up her face, frustrated that nopony seemed to understand that.  There was only one other matter she was slightly more frustrated with.  “Mommy, you need to marry daddy so everypony knows.”

“Ah-ha… someday, squirt.  Someday,” Rainbow Dash said, patting Taboo on the head.  The other mares in the room gave her disapproving looks.

“Who knew charades could be such a dangerous game,” Twilight said, turning back to her book.  She pretended to read while indirectly lecturing Rainbow Dash.  “It would probably end faster if a stallion got involved.  If things keep going like this, it won’t end well.”

“I’ve been in some bad games of charades,” Pinkie said, missing the point entirely.  “They were brave ponies, and they will be remembered.”  She saluted and gazed up at the ceiling.  It was such a solemn gesture, everypony felt obligated to join in the moment of silence.

“What’s charades?” Taboo asked, ever curious about the strange flow of the conversation.  “It sounds like food.”

“Are you hungry, Taboo?” Twilight asked all of a sudden.  Before Taboo could even answer, she called Pinkie over.  “Could you take Taboo into the kitchen and fix some snacks?”

“I’d be happy to!” Pinkie Pie galloped off in a blur of pink, scooping up Taboo somewhere along the way.  The door to the kitchen slammed, leaving Rainbow Dash alone with four, very serious looking mares.

“Uh… why are you all looking at me light that?” Rainbow Dash asked, but they all kept staring at her.  All four dropped what they were doing, except Fluttershy who continued to knit at a menacing pace, and formed a semi-circle around her.

“Rainbow Dash, this has gone on long enough.”  Rarity was the first one to speak up.  “We trusted you to be responsible and clear this all up, but we’ve decided we need to intervene.”

“You need to explain to Taboo who Thunderhead is,” Fluttershy said, her voice stern and even.  “If you don’t, it’ll only confuse her.”

“It might upset her, but the truth needs to come out,” Twilight said, seconding the motion.  “Just make sure she knows that Thunderhead doesn’t love her any less for it and everything should be fine.  The longer you play this out, the harder it’s going to be on her.  We all agree that this is the best course of action.”

“I don’t.”  All eyes turned to Applejack.  “If you tell her now, it ain’t gonna be pretty.”

“Applejack, I said we all agreed on the best course of action,” Twilight said, scolding her friend for going off script.

“I never said I agreed,” Applejack told her.  “Look, Taboo is a smart little filly.  She’s made the connection that everypony has a ma and a pa.  If we tell her Thunderhead isn’t her father, she’s gonna wanna know who is.  We don’t have an answer for that, not one that’s pleasant.  She’s still too young to come to grips with the whole reality of her situation.”

“I guess that makes sense.”  Twilight hadn’t considered that.  Nopony had thought of that.  Applejack may have saved them from making a big mistake.

“So then what should I do?” Rainbow Dash asked.  She had planned on clearing things up by revealing the truth, but now she didn’t want to do that at all.  There wasn’t an alternative available.

“Well, it ain’t exactly a for sure solution, but you could give Thunderhead a chance.”

“Applejack, are you serious?” Rarity asked.  “That seems like a rather drastic measure.”

“I didn’t say she had to go an’ marry the fella right now, but why not give him a chance?  Taboo likes him, so why not?”

“Taboo’s confusion might not be stemming from the kindness, Applejack,” Rainbow Dash said, taking a more active role in the conversation.  “He has that armor that makes him look like her.  He’s the only pony she knows like her.  Without the armor, she probably wouldn’t even recognize him.”

“Well… that seems unlikely Rainbow Dash.”  Fluttershy spoke up, still knitting away.  “Not the recognition part, that makes sense, but Taboo wouldn’t assume Thunderhead is her father just based on that.  Animals will put their trust into anything that shows them kindness, especially the younger ones.  If their real parents aren’t present, they will truly believe their strongest sources of love are their real parents.”

“Fluttershy is right,” Twilight said.  “Thunderhead has been helpful to you and supportive to Taboo.  I mean, he’s certainly doing more than that day guard of yours.”  Everypony took a moment to think about the wishy-washy guard who hung around in the daytime.

“You know, I heard a rumor that he’s been sneaking off with that hussy Cloudchaser when we’re not looking,” Rarity said.  “Those two are just terrible.  You should write Celestia and request a new one.”

“Uh, maybe I should,” Rainbow Dash said, casting her eyes to the ceiling.  She had to pretend she wasn’t at all an enabler of Cloudchaser’s antics.  “But, that’s not the point.  Without the armor, the whole daddy thing goes out the window.”

“I’m still with Fluttershy on this one.”  Applejack turned to the others.  “I mean, I personally think Thunderhead seems like a nice fella.”

“Oh, he is very charming,” Rarity said, winking at Rainbow Dash.  “I saw you dancing with him at Roseluck’s wedding.”

“Well, that’s the first I’ve heard of that.” Twilight grinned at Rainbow Dash.  “Maybe you wanted him to play daddy all along?”

“H-hey!”

“Oh, she’s blushing.”  Fluttershy started giggling uncontrollably, something she’d been doing a lot of recently.  “You like him a teensy bit, don’t you?”

“How couldn’t she?  The stallion is practically perfect for Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, getting behind the pegasus and placing her hooves on her shoulders.  “He’s big, strong, and he wears that armor so well.  He’s a military pony, right up your alley.  Oh, and he is just so darling with Taboo.  I noticed him teaching her how to dance at Roseluck’s wedding too.”

“Uh-oh, sounds like you’ve got some competition, Dash,” Applejack said, prodding her friend.  “But really, Taboo already loves the fella.  Why not give him a chance yourself?”

“It’s the armor,” Rainbow Dash said, growing frustrated with her friends.

“Darling, it’s not the armor,” Rarity told her, refusing to relent when they had Rainbow Dash backed into the corner.  “I think she really does love him.”

“No, that’s not it!”

“Why is that so hard to believe?  Rainbow Dash, this isn’t about the armor.”

“But it is!” Rainbow Dash shouted, having already snapped.  “I don’t want Taboo to know the armor comes off!”

“But why?” Twilight asked.

“Because she doesn’t know she’s different!” 

The truth settled in the following silence.  The real danger had been staring them right in the face all along.  Taboo was too young and too sheltered to possibly know how the rest of the world saw her.  It was right then that everypony felt the weight of what Rainbow Dash had been carrying.

One day Taboo would notice all the things that made her different.  She would realize her mother isn’t the one who gave birth to her.  She would find out that the one pony similar to her wasn’t what he appeared to be, but somehow it is exactly what she is.  She is that thing, but what even is that thing?  Were her real parents like she was?  Where were they?  Why did they leave her behind?  Why hadn’t anypony told her?

Even without Thunderhead and even without the armor, the truth would have come to light.  From the moment the six of them found her, she became a ticking time bomb.  It wasn’t like they hadn’t realized these things would be an issue, but only now was it clear how much of an issue.  

Rainbow Dash could protect her from everypony, but she couldn’t protect her from the truth.

“… We got a little carried away,” Rarity said after the silence had gone on long enough.  She released Rainbow Dash and gave her a little space.  “I guess it wasn’t our place to intervene.”

“No, it’s fine.  I know you guys mean well.”  Rainbow Dash needed their council and their prodding, no matter how much it bugged her.  She didn’t have the luxury of turning down any help given to her.  “… Look, I’ll talk to Thunderhead.”

“You will?”

“Yes, but just about Taboo.  I think he should know about what’s going on.”  Rainbow Dash meant it this time.  Once Taboo was down for the night, she would talk to Thunderhead.  “It’s hard to say how he’s going to react.”

“I doubt he’ll be angry or upset,” Rarity replied.  “Just make sure you tell him.  You can worry about dating him until afterwards.”

“Ugh, all everypony talks about nowadays is love and special someponies and marriage and dating!  When is it going to end?”

“Don’t blame us, sugarcube.  You started it when you got yerself a kid,” Applejack said, tossing the blame onto her friend.  Rainbow Dash looked to her friends for a little support, but the looks on their faces said the same thing.

“You did start it.”  Fluttershy put down her knitting needles and examined her finished product.  “Do you think Timey will like his new hat?”  Rainbow Dash didn’t answer.  She just slumped to the floor in misery, cursing herself for bringing this all upon herself.

“He’ll adore it simply because you made it,” Rarity said, but not without rolling her eyes afterwards.  Fluttershy’s insistence on using enormous pink hearts in her clothing was too cutesy for her tastes.  Rarity wouldn’t be caught dead knitting something like that for Pierce.  She would rather design him a tuxedo in preparation for their no doubt impending wedding. 

“Oh, I do hope so.  He’s coming over for dinner tonight, so I wanted to give it to him,” Fluttershy said, snuggling the hat she’d just made as if he were already wearing it.  “He said there was something we needed to talk about, but he wouldn’t say what…”





Rainbow Dash stared at the inside of her own door.  She raised a hoof to open it, but then drew it back.  She told herself there was no need to be hasty.  Taboo was going to be asleep for a long time to come and Thunderhead would be out there all night.  There wasn’t any need to go and talk to him right this very second.

Then again, Rainbow Dash wanted to get it over with.  She just wanted to rip the bandage off quick, so to speak.  She didn’t know exactly what this was supposed to accomplish, but she had already said she was going to do it.  She said she would do it tonight.  What is she if not a mare of her word?

“I could always be a chicken.”

She opened the door and stepped out into the cold night air.  Down below the clouds it was surely snowing in Ponyville, but up above there was nothing but cold air and wind.  Cold without snow seemed pointless, but that’s how living up in the sky worked.  

“Hey… hey, are you out here?”

Thunderhead hovered into view, flying out from the side of her house.

“You mean me?”

“Who else could I mean?” Rainbow Dash asked, staying in her doorway.

“I don’t know.” Thunderhead landed in front of her.  “That’s why I was asking.”

“Okay, sure.”  Rainbow Dash reminded herself not to be standoffish with him.  She wasn’t frustrated with him, just her situation.  There wasn’t any point in sublimating her anger onto him.

“So… was there something you needed?” Thunderhead asked after the pause got too awkward for him.  “I’m here to help.”

Rainbow Dash still hesitated.  Even if she’d said she would do it, that didn’t mean she knew how to go about it.  There hadn’t been a moment in her life that prepared her for the situation she found herself in.  As a result she wasn’t exactly sure what the best way to lead into this was, so she decided to just go right for the direct route.  It was going to hurt, but it was better than nothing.

“Taboo thinks you’re her father.”  Despite how long she’d been letting Taboo say it, saying it out loud to the stallion in question felt absolutely gut twisting.  She wanted to just slam the door, go back inside, and then die of embarrassment.  She found herself stuck to the spot she stood in.  There couldn’t possibly be a way to diffuse the tension now.

“… Uh… I kind of already knew that.”  Thunderhead stared out over his shoulder, avoiding eye contact.  “She called me that when I showed up to help her on Nightmare Night.”

“… You knew?!”  Rainbow Dash punched him in the shoulder.  She glared up at him, trying to come up with something else to say.  When she couldn’t, she punched him a few more times and then continued to scowl.

“Ow.”  Thunderhead thought of making a “is that how you treat the father of your child” joke to lighten the mood, but he wisely refrained.  If there was one thing he knew about mares, it was that you had to ride their anger out.

“Do you have any idea about how much I’ve been stressing over this?” Rainbow Dash asked, her voice cracking from frustration.  She punched him again.  “What am I supposed to do about this, huh?  What are you going to do about this?  This is your fault for being so nice to her!”

“I’m not going to apologize for being nice to her.”  Thunderhead’s voice was flat.  Unlike the mare in front of him, he was keeping his cool.  She punched his other shoulder this time.

“Well I wasn’t asking you to apologize!” Rainbow Dash wasn’t really sure what she was angry about anymore, but she punched him a few more times because it did make her feel better.  “She knows that it’s a mommy and a daddy that have a kid and she thinks the daddy is you!  If you aren’t the daddy, then who is?  What am I gonna do about this?  What am I supposed to do?”

“I… can’t say I know.”  Thunderhead had puzzled over this himself, and he’d already figured out what he wanted to do.  It was clear that Rainbow Dash wasn’t currently thinking what he was thinking.  She punctuated this by punching him.

“Well… figure it out!” Rainbow Dash slammed the door and went back inside.  Thunderhead just stood there, confused as anypony could ever aspire to be.  A breeze blew past, chilling him to the bone.

“Sorry Luna… but getting inside isn’t going to be that easy.”





Thunderhead couldn’t keep his armor from rattling.  For some reason, Ponyville was having a particularly cold winter this year.  As a soldier, he couldn’t let the bite of the cold bother him.  Winter would get wrapped up here in a few days anyway, so he sucked it up and kept his watch.

Nowadays, he didn’t have much to look out for.  There were times early on where he would spot somepony who looked like they were up to no good, but at time went on these incidents became fewer and farther between.  Even when they went out at night, nopony hassled them.  Still, he couldn’t relax.  There was the ever present notion that somepony was waiting for him to disappear so they could move without fear.  He was constantly aware of the looks they received and the hush of a crowd they appeared in.

Although, Thunderhead still wanted to be guarding from inside the house.  Everypony in town knew he was around, so even if he wasn’t visible his influence should still be felt.  If he was inside, he could try and get a little closer to Rainbow Dash or at the very least spend a little time with Taboo.  For some reason, Thunderhead felt like an estranged husband who lost custody of his kid.  

It was only the early evening with the moon merely hovering above the horizon, but Thunderhead was already feeling the night’s grind.  Ever since Rainbow Dash had slammed the door in his face a few days ago, he had become like this.  It had gotten so bad, he asked for advice from Sprout of all ponies.

“Mares?” he had said, perfectly surprised by the spontaneous question.  “Do you even have time for a relationship?”

“Eh, well, I would have time for this one.”  In retrospect, Thunderhead wished he had been more ambiguous.  Out of all of his friends, Sprout is the best at remembering the little details.  Even if Thunderhead hadn’t explicitly stated what he was doing for the Princess, Sprout knew enough to connect the dots.

“Are you thinking about dating the mare you’re protecting?” Sprout always looked worried, but at that moment he had looked completely mortified.  “What would the Princesses do to you if they knew-”

“They do know.”

“… And you’re still alive?”

After that, Thunderhead spent more time defending his desire not to explain himself.  It probably would have been quicker just to spill the beans, but Sprout gave in eventually.  Thunderhead pleaded with him for just the smallest bit of insight to his problem, but Sprout didn’t have anything to say that he wanted to hear.

“There’s no secret to getting a mare to be interested in you,” Sprout said, nodding his head sagely.  For some reason, his young appearance made the mares fawn over him constantly, so he wasn’t a total dud in the dating department.  Neither was Thunderhead, but he’d been out of the game for a while now.  “No two mares are alike.  There are mares out there that don’t really care for the strong, military type of stallion.  Heck, some of them don’t even care for stallions, but that doesn’t mean all is lost.  Nopony really knows what it is they want when it comes to relationships, so just make yourself available and appealing.  I guess that’s the secret.”

“That sounds manipulative.”

“Love is a game, buddy,” Sprout had told him.  “If you’re playing for keeps, it pays to play dirty.”

Standing out in the cold shivering and rattling in the wind, Sprout’s advice didn’t seem helpful at all.  He couldn’t very well play if he wasn’t even invited to the competition.  For all he knew, Rainbow Dash was perfectly content to be single for the rest of her natural life.

The worst part was that the more he thought about her, the more he started to like her.  By the time he noticed this was happening, it was too late.  Now he couldn’t stop.  Like a nervous colt back in school, he had a crush on the filly seated next to him.  She wasn’t out of reach, but the need to reach at all was exactly the problem.

Thunderhead jumped when the front door of the house opened up just a sliver.  He could hear voices behind it, one strong and one tiny.  They talked rapidly while the door opened up a little wider.  Out popped Taboo’s curious head, with her eyes and ears trained right on him.  She didn’t look happy.

“See, he’s cold!” she said, opening the door the rest of the way.  Her little frame shook a little in the cold wind, but she trotted over the cloud to him anyway.  Rainbow Dash followed shortly behind, looking less pleased than Taboo.

“He’s fine,” Rainbow Dash said, hurrying after Taboo.  “Now get inside before you catch a cold.”

“But he’s cold!” Taboo insisted.  She grabbed Thunderhead’s hoof and began to tug him towards the door.  The guard was at a loss for who to obey at the moment.  He looked to Rainbow Dash for a verdict, but it was clear from her face that he was to remain outside the house.

“She claims she can hear you rattling out here,” Rainbow Dash said, raising an eyebrow.  “I don’t even hear you rattling now.”

“But he is!” Taboo’s ears perked up and honed in on Thunderhead.  “Let him come inside, please!”

Rainbow Dash had to admit it was a cold night to be standing in the dark outside the house.  There probably wasn’t any danger of Thunderhead freezing to death, but if she didn’t get Taboo to come back inside the little filly might catch the sniffles.  It pained her, knowing that caving once meant she was caving for good on it.  She decided just to pretend to be a good role model.

“Fine, he can come in for a while.” Rainbow Dash gave her approval, turning around and heading into the house.  “So hurry back in already.”  

In an unbelievable turn of events, Taboo had given Thunderhead the vital opportunity he needed.  He followed the filly into the warmth of the cloud house.  He shut the door behind himself and looked around, recalling the last time he’d been invited inside.

Rainbow Dash flew over to the couch and flopped down, returning to her book and actively ignored Thunderhead.  He wanted to try and talk to her, but there was another girl calling for his attention currently.

“Come and sit,” Taboo said very seriously while motioning for him to sit on the floor.  He did as he was told as Taboo ran off to the back of the couch.  When she returned, she was towing a blanket behind her.  Taboo attempted to drape it over Thunderhead’s back, but she was much too small to reach his shoulders.  She kept trying, but finally succeeded with a little help from the stallion himself.

“Thanks,” he said, patting Taboo on the head.  She smiled in triumph and sat down next to him.  She cuddled up to his leg through the blanket and relaxed.

“I’ll keep you warm too!” she told him, looking up at him.  “Mommy says ponies shouldn’t stand around in the cold.”

“She’s a smart mare,” Thunderhead said, glancing back at Rainbow Dash.  “You should listen to her.”

“I do!” Taboo always listened to mommy.  She found it hard to believe that daddy would doubt that she’d go against mommy.  Taboo wasn’t too keen on getting in trouble, and whatever mommy told her to do kept her safe.  There were only a few exceptions to her orders.  “But mommy said you couldn’t come inside the house.  She said you have to stay outside.”

“Well, I have to watch the house,” he replied, being honest with her.  “I want to keep you and your mommy safe.”

“You can watch from inside,” Taboo said with the utmost certainty.  She didn’t want her daddy staying out in the cold all night every night.  “You should be inside the house with us more often.”  Taboo’s gaze dropped as she lied down to put her chin on the floor.

“I would if I could kiddo, but my place is outside.”

“No it’s not,” Taboo said as an expert on the matter.  “Mommies and daddies are in the same house.  Pumpkin and Pound’s mommy and daddy have the same house.  Grandma and grandpa live in the same house far away.  How come you’re only at our house at night?  I wish you were here always with us.”

“Ah… well,” Thunderhead started to say, but he wasn’t sure what to say.  He glanced over at Rainbow Dash momentarily.  Over the top of her book, she was watching him.  There was very little indication that he was trusted with this very delicate situation.  He didn’t dare say anything that would contradict something Rainbow Dash had told Taboo, but there was no way of knowing what any of that was.  He hadn’t exactly been brought up to date on all that information.

“Mommy says you don’t live here because you’re not married.”  Taboo continued on her own.  “Why don’t you marry her?”

“Marry her?” Thunderhead didn’t mean to sound quite so opposed to the idea.  He didn’t dare look back at Rainbow Dash right now.  It’s true that he thought she was a great mare and all, but he couldn’t propose right then and there.  There was no way he could even slightly insinuate that the two of them might get married.  He collected himself and tried to recover.  “Marriage is complicated, kiddo.  You can’t just jump into it all of a sudden.”

“Auntie Fluttershy and Mr. Turner are getting married,” Taboo said perking up a little.  “Me and mommy are gonna go to her wedding.  Are you going to come?”

“I’ll certainly try to come.” Thunderhead was glad to see the conversation moving to a much safer topic.  “I’ll definitely be there after sundown.”

“Good, because you have to come,” Taboo said with a short nod, shocking Thunderhead with how adamant she sounded.  Before he could recover, Taboo got on her hind hooves and got as close to his ear as she could manage.  “That way you’ll know what to do,” she whispered before plopping back down.

“Yeah… I’ll keep my eyes open.”

“Speaking of keeping eyes open,” Rainbow Dash said, her book thumping closed.  “It’s somepony’s bedtime.”

“But I want to stay up with daddy!” Taboo said, keeping herself parked next to Thunderhead.

“Well, he’s big and you’re tiny, so lucky you gets to go to sleep.”  Rainbow Dash got up off the couch and approached Taboo.  The little filly sidled up closer to Thunderhead, determined to try and stay up.  “Say goodnight.”

Taboo refused to say anything.

“Didn’t I say you should listen to your mother?” Thunderhead said, getting Taboo’s attention.  “It’s too late for little fillies to be up.”

“… But I wanna stay with you.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow night,” he told her, putting his hoof around her.  “I promise, so go to bed.”

“You promise you’ll come back?”

“Tomorrow night just like every night.”

“And you’ll be inside?” Taboo got up and turned to her mother.  “He can come in, right?”

Rainbow Dash blew some air out of her nose.  She didn’t want to say yes, but she couldn’t say no.  She decided it was best not to acknowledge the question.

“C’mon, it’s bedtime.”  Rainbow Dash tapped Taboo on the rear and got her moving.  Reluctantly, Taboo complied and started up the stairs with her mother following right behind her.  She only stopped once along the way to sneeze.

Taboo disappeared into the upper room, but Rainbow Dash stopped short of the upper landing.  She turned back and looked right at Thunderhead, cocking her head to the side to indicate it was time for him to leave.

Just like that, he was back where he started out.  He stood out in the cold by himself, unsure if he’d even made any progress.  All he had managed to do was reaffirm that Taboo thought of him as daddy, but Rainbow Dash was another story.  The only thing colder than the whipping winter winds was that mare’s attitude.  He could figure out why she was treating him so harshly when his greatest crime was being too kind.  Thunderhead felt his flame of hope suffocate, leaving him to shiver.





Sprout stared dismally at the massive dent in his helmet.  He trotted double time back to the barracks, in desperate need for a replacement before inspection.  It was much too early in the evening for this kind of thing to be happening to him, a pony who hadn’t done anything wrong his entire life.  Why should a misfired arrow strike his helmet of all helmets?  He couldn’t believe his luck.  This is exactly why he thought night guards should be exempt from archery.

Nopony in his patrol squad was willing to lend him a helmet, so he was stuck fending for himself.  There were still a few minutes before inspection, so if he hurried he could remedy this situation.

Sprout hurried into the barracks, casting the broken helmet aside.  He made a beeline to his bunkroom and threw the door open.  He was surprised to see Thunderhead staring at the ceiling in the dim candelight.  He was usually long gone by this time in the evening.

“Hey,” Sprout said, still in a rush.  He threw his equipment chest open and began to root through it, looking for something to put on his head.

“Hey.”  Thunderhead’s response was barely audible.  He didn’t move from his position.  Sprout didn’t have time to care, seeing as he had his own problem to attend to.  Unfortunately, all he had were spare horseshoes and an extra cuirass.  

“Shoot!” he slammed the chest shut.

“Problem?”

“I need a helmet or I’m sunk.”

“Take mine,” Thunderhead said, tossing his own helmet at Sprout.  The hurried pegasus managed to catch it and pull it onto his head.

“It’s kind of big for me…”

“Do you have the luxury of being picky?” Thunderhead asked, his voice still distant.  Sprout would have stopped and asked what was obviously bugging him any other day of the week, but right now was not the time.

“Thanks, I owe you one,” Sprout said, turning to leave the barracks in a hurry.  He figured he should offer at least one word of council before heading out.  Before closing the door behind himself, he said the one thing he could think off.  “You’d better get a move on.”

The door shut and Thunderhead was alone again.  He could go, but the purpose behind going felt empty.  It was a selfish frustration, but he couldn’t get around it.  It was easy being the guard outside the door, but truly becoming daddy was difficult.  The larger part of him didn’t want to keep going after such a thankless pursuit.  His presence just confused Taboo and frustrated Rainbow Dash.  They had enough to worry about without the problems he added.

Somehow, he mustered up the vigor to put on the rest of his armor and head out to Ponyville.  It was still his job, and it was a job given to him by the Princess of the Night.  He couldn’t very well disappoint her.  He also promised Taboo he would come back, and he’d be crushed if he disappointed her.  Rainbow Dash could have a fit for all he cared, he told himself.  He had to shake off this blue funk and get back in the game.

He’d done some thinking, and he’d realized why he’d been cut so deep last night.  It was completely foolish and totally childish, but he was hurting from the pain of being rejected by Rainbow Dash.  He’d overthought his future with her to the point that he could not extricate her from the role of his special somepony, from the role of his wife.  He’d grown fonder of her than his actual closeness merited, and that made him vulnerable.  Although his head protested against thinking that way, his fickle heart wasn’t something he could control.

Thunderhead flew over Ponyville quietly sleeping on a clear, winter night.  Little ponies tucked into beds with their loved ones, down the hall from their children.  That’s all he saw down there, something he lacked and envied.  If Luna had told him this job came with all kinds of conflicting emotions and thoughts, he probably would have turned it down.  All the turmoil would only be worth it if he could achieve his ultimate goal.

His greatest obstacle remained the same: he hadn’t a clue where to start.

As he approached his usual post, he sensed something was off.  More specifically, something sounded off.  It sounded like somepony was shouting in his general direction.  As the front of the house became visible in the darkness, he noticed Rainbow Dash standing in the doorway.  Thunderhead’s heart sunk as he realized she was doing the shouting.  

He considered all the things that could’ve possibly transpired while he was busy brooding.  Taboo may have run off in search of him, or perhaps somepony who intended harm used his absence as an opportunity to snatch her away.  He beat his wings as hard as he could flying down to the cloud like a line of hot lightning.  When he arrived before Rainbow Dash, he finally realized what she was shouting.

“Where have you been?” Rainbow Dash shouted at him, both fuming and shivering.  “Get in here, now!”

Thunderhead followed her inside without a word, trotting behind her briskly.  He only paused to close the door behind himself, but he got a surprise when he turned around.  He found Fluttershy sitting on Rainbow Dash’s couch, looking quite cross herself.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, unable to endure the suspense.

“This is all your fault!” Rainbow Dash suddenly turned about and punched him in the shoulder.  “You had to stand outside in the cold and then Taboo went out to get you!  Now she’s got a cold… and it’s your fault!”

“A cold?” He tried not to sound underwhelmed, understanding that a sick child is never a small deal for a mother.  Even if it was the common cold, he had to treat it like a deadly illness.  That meant shouldering the blame.  “Sorry about that, but there was nothing I could’ve done.”

“Well, you kept her waiting!” Rainbow Dash shouted, punching him a few more times.

“Waiting?”  he asked, but Rainbow Dash refused to respond.  She scrunched up her face and averted her gaze.  The mare didn’t even punch him this time.  Fluttershy had to break the silence.

“Taboo has been asking to see you,” she said, revealing the source of Rainbow Dash’s frustration with the guard.  “We’ve been taking care of her, but Taboo started asking where you were during the afternoon.  She’s been pretty upset about it.”

“Who, Taboo or Rainbow Dash?”  Thunderhead received a punch to the shoulder for that quip.

“Both.”

Rainbow Dash could’ve punched Fluttershy for that one; however, friends do not give friends black eyes right before their wedding.  Instead, she just punched Thunderhead again, but she looked at Fluttershy while she did it.  There were more pertinent matters to attend to anyway.

“Get your butt up there and say hello,” Rainbow Dash demanded, pushing Thunderhead towards the stairs.  The stallion hardly needed any coaxing as he trotted his way up to the top floor.

“I’ll just see myself out,” Fluttershy said, picking herself up and heading towards the door.  Neither of the other ponies heard her, but that was pretty typical for Fluttershy.  

Rainbow Dash and Thunderhead cracked the bedroom door open.  Taboo’s bed sat vacant, but in Rainbow Dash’s larger bed Taboo was set up against pretty much every pillow in the house.  Swaddled tight in three blankets, the little filly slept fitfully.  They moved silently to the bedside, fearing that even the slightest noise would wake her.  They spoke to one another, but only in whispers.

“Seems kind of serious for a cold,” Thunderhead said, noting the apparent severity of the situation.  Beads of sweat lined Taboo’s forehead and her breathing was heaving, indicating she was struggling with particularly nasty virus.  “Shouldn’t you take her to see a doctor?”

“I don’t trust the doctors.”  Rainbow Dash was very frank with him.  She didn’t need to explain exactly why she couldn’t put her trust in Ponyville’s doctors to help.  The reasoning was pretty obvious to Thunderhead.  “It’s not the same, but I called Fluttershy over to get her opinion on the matter.  She takes care of sick animals all the time, so I figured she would probably know her way around taking care of a pony too.”

“What was her diagnosis?”

“… Not a word of this to Taboo,” Rainbow Dash said, her warning piquing Thunderhead’s curiosity.  “Taboo’s probably got the same cold that’s been going around town, but she’s hit harder because she’s vulnerable to the sickness.  Wherever she comes from, the ponies there probably don’t catch colds all that often.”

“That’s what she told you?” Thunderhead asked, thinking that explanation was a bit farfetched.  “How could a whole population be isolated from something as common as the common cold?  It would probably take generations for something like that to develop among a population.”

“And nopony has ever seen a pony like Taboo, ever,” Rainbow Dash replied.  “I can’t say for sure, but it looks like wherever she came from is pretty inaccessible.  If the common cold couldn’t travel there, how did she travel here?”

“How sure are we that it’s just a cold?”

“We treated it like a cold and it got better like a cold.  She was a lot worse off this morning,” Rainbow Dash said.  She took a cold rag soaking in a basin next to the bed and wiped Taboo’s forehead off.  Her gaze fixed on her daughter as she forgot Thunderhead was even around.  “It’s just mystery after mystery with you, isn’t it?”

Whether from the cool, moist feeling on her forehead or the low voice of her mother, Taboo stirred awake.  She blinked her half lidded eyes, her brain hot and not quite lucid.  She groaned and stretched a bit, constricted by all the blankets she had.  At first she didn’t focus on anything, but as the figures in the dark room became clearer she could see there was somepony other than her mother with her.

“Hey kiddo,” Thunderhead said when he was sure she could listen and comprehend.

“Hi daddy,” Taboo responded, her voice quiet and hoarse.  It was hard to talk through her sore throat, but she fought on valiantly against it.  She moved like she was about to get up, but Rainbow Dash tittered at her.

“You’ve got to sit tight, squirt.”  Rainbow Dash made sure she was still tucked securely into the bed.  Despite her condition, this wasn’t the first time Taboo had tried to get up.  “You’re not in any shape to be up and about.  Besides, it’s time for you to be asleep anyway.”

“But I’ve been sleeping!” Taboo protested best she could; however, it was no small task considering her current state.  The pain in her throat rose with a raw burn as a sob made its way through.  “Why do I have to be sick?  I wanna play with daddy!”

“I’m sorry, please don’t cry,” Thunderhead asked, without much of a result.  He got down on Taboo’s level and put a hoof on her head.  Her entire body was hot to the touch, which just worried him more.  For the little filly’s sake, he put on a brave smile.  “You just focus on getting better.  Once you’ve done that, we’ll have plenty of time to play.”

“But I want to now!” Taboo tried to shout, but it hurt too much.  “I don’t wanna be sick.”

“Then rest,” Thunderhead said, imploring her.  “Rest and get better.  I kept my promise and came back to see you tonight, so now you’ve got to promise you’ll go back to sleep for me, okay?”

“… Okay,” Taboo mumbled, already tired from all her activity.  Despite her strong desire to stay awake and be well, her weakness and need to sleep couldn’t be conquered.  She sunk fully into the covers and got as comfortable as she could manage.  Thunderhead backed up, glad to see she was settling down.

“Good girl,” Rainbow Dash said, placing the rag back in the basin.  She leaned in and gave Taboo a peck on the forehead and nuzzled her.  “I love you, goodnight.”

“Goodnight mommy, I love you.” Taboo closed her eyes.  Like a tiny angel, her resting expression was a serene smile.  Despite her fever, a heavy sleep was starting to cover her like fourth blanket.  She was warm and safe at home, protected by her parents.  “Goodnight daddy, I love you.”

“… Sleep tight, kiddo.”

Rainbow Dash nudged him towards the door.  The two of them moved like weightless ghosts out of the room, managing not to make a single sound.  Rainbow Dash left the door cracked behind them and led Thunderhead back downstairs.  She flopped down on the couch and buried her face into the arm, seeing as the pillow was elsewhere at the moment.  Thunderhead stayed around, unsure of what he should be doing.  His ears perked up when he heard Rainbow Dash let out a strained groan.

“I can’t believe how stressful this is.”  Rainbow Dash spoke in a way that was clearly audible for Thunderhead, which made him wonder if she was actually speaking to him.  Whether or not this was true, she went on nonetheless.  “Taboo is sick, Fluttershy’s wedding is in a few days, I’ve got work, and I’ve got to fit in practice somewhere in my day.  I’ve got all this stuff to do, but all I want to do is lay on this couch and not do it.  You know what I mean?”  She ended on a question, clearly indicating that she was indeed talking to him.  He recovered from the shock and mustered up a response.

“Doesn’t sound easy,” he said.  “I don’t know how you do it.”

“I’m just awesome,” she replied, finally cracking a smile.

“I’ll say.”  It was only two little words, but Thunderhead immediately regretted saying them.  He should have just laughed or said something that couldn’t be so easily misconstrued.  He kept scolding himself on the inside, rattling off the millions of things that Rainbow Dash could be thinking he meant.  In fact, he wasn’t sure what he meant.  It just kind of came out.  He had just got her to treat him normally again, so he did not want her to return to alienating him.

For her part, Rainbow Dash rolled over and looked at him.  Each one tried to get a read on the other, but they both wore passive, neutral expressions.  They were still in stalemate, one not wanting to move out of spite and the other too scared of the other’s spite to move.  Something had to be done.  They were in this pickle together, so Rainbow Dash had to admit she would rather be his friend than his enemy.  She took a deep breath, told Twilight Sparkle to eat her heart out under her breath, and then proceeded.

“What are your intentions?”

“My intentions?” Thunderhead raised an eyebrow.  It wasn’t exactly what he had expected her to say.

“What is it that you want?”

He wanted to be the real father, but it still wasn’t appropriate for him to come right out and admit that.  Thunderhead wrote that off as his end goal, his ideal goal.  For now, he needed to focus on what was within his ability to do.  He trusted that if it was meant to be, it would be.

“I just want Taboo to be happy.”  He couldn’t make his desires much more bare bones than that.  His main job, both professionally and purposely, was to ensure her safety, wellbeing, and happiness.

“So you’re okay with being ‘daddy?’” Rainbow Dash asked, moving towards the point she wanted to make with this stallion.  He gave her a nod, as if shrugging the weight of his assumed responsibility higher onto his shoulders.  She wondered if she could trust him not to back down.  “We’re probably going to drag out this façade whether we want to or not.  You do realize it’s going to blow up in our faces one day, right?”

“It doesn’t have to be a terrible explosion,” Thunderhead said, assuring her.  “If we prepare ourselves and Taboo, it’ll be alright.  She’ll understand.”

“How can we expect her to understand when there’s so much we don’t understand ourselves,” Rainbow Dash replied.  She got up from the couch and stood before him in order to make eye contact.  It was just to ensure he was paying attention, but all Thunderhead could think about was how pretty she was.

“What is it we don’t understand?” Thunderhead was just a bit behind on the issues that needed sorting out.  Rainbow Dash heaved a sigh, not wanting to labor over explaining everything to him.  She would rather just keep moving forward to make progress.

“Can you take off the rest of your armor?”

“… The rest of my armor?”

“You’re not wearing a helmet.”

Thunderhead reached up and touched his exposed mane.  He had forgotten that he’d loaned out is helmet to Sprout.  He still had the most important piece: the cuirass.  He didn’t know why he needed to remove his armor, but he started to do so anyway.  He was feeling pretty pliant tonight.

The armor over his flank dropped off first as he loosened the straps, and next he removed the cloth covering in order to expose the straps that held the front of his cuirass in place.  He fussed with them a little, but after a bit of struggle the final piece fell to the ground.  He kicked his hoof armor off and stood bare as the day he was born.  

Except, he still looked like he was the same as Taboo.  Rainbow Dash twisted her head and examined him, expecting the illusion to fall off of him at any moment like a tattered bag caught in a fence on a windy day.  Thunderhead did not change, but just stood there watching her watch him.

“Aren’t you supposed to go back to normal?” Rainbow Dash asked, kicking herself a bit for using the word “normal,” but it was all she had at the moment.  It should at least be normal for Thunderhead.

“Oh, right.” Thunderhead reached behind himself to where he cutie mark should have been.  He put a hoof on his blank flank and then drew it back, which cued the start of his transformation.  As his hoof moved, something came along with it.  Like a purple, ornate band-aid, Thunderhead peeled off the talisman that altered his appearance.  As soon as it was off, his whole body appeared to swish and then snap back to normal as if he was a towel somepony had just shook.  He rolled up the parchment talisman and put it with his armor.  “Uh… ta-da?”

Rainbow Dash looked him over.  The most drastic changes were that he had feathered wings and round pupils now, but other things had only changed slightly.  His mane and tail had gone from a strong, dark blue to a faded, lighter blue.  His grey coat had turned somewhat golden, but a faded and weathered gold.  His coloring lacked the brightness that was common among most ponies, but Thunderhead’s colors were so dull it was hard to spot the imposing storm cloud bristling with lightning on his flank.  

“It’s the color, isn’t it?” Thunderhead asked after Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything for a while.  “All the guards who use the talisman have this happen to them.  It’s a little like poison; it darkens you.”

“Poison?”

“It certainly isn’t pathogenic, but it isn’t all that healthy.  The first time you put it on it makes you feel… different.”  Thunderhead, like everypony who had ever gone through what he had, struggled to find the words to describe the experience.  “After that, we all experience a whole slew of symptoms.  We get irritated by bright light, our ears get sore, and food loses its taste just a little bit.  It all goes away after a few months, once you grow accustomed to it.”

“So that’s how it works,” Rainbow Dash said to herself, looking the stallion over.  She was trying to get a feel for him outside of his armor and outside of his disguise, but at the same time she was wondering if there was any way she could pass this version of Thunderhead off as the version Taboo was familiar with.  She hoped it wasn’t the case, but Rainbow Dash had to admit that she wouldn’t have known Thunderhead if she passed him on the street looking like this.  “… We have a responsibility to set Taboo straight, but the last thing I want to do is upset her.  Will you do something for me?”

“If it’s within my ability,” Thunderhead replied, saluting to her.  It felt kind of odd without his armor on.

“Taboo needs to see this.”  She gestured to the stallion she was addressing.  “I don’t know how she’ll react, but we can see where it goes.  We can wait until she’s over her cold, but we’ve got to take care of it.”

“If that’s what you want to do, then I’m all for it.” Thunderhead turned around and started putting his armor back on.  He wasn’t really supposed to take it off while he was on duty, but he figured there could be special exceptions.  “I hope she gets better soon.”

“You and me both,” Rainbow Dash said with a sigh, dropping the former air of urgency.  There was no better way to derail her train of thought than to bring up Taboo.  “I don’t want to deal with this during Fluttershy’s wedding, and Taboo would be crushed if she missed it because she was too sick.  This is turning out to be a big mess, and I hope you realize it’s all your fault.”

“So I’ve been told.”  Thunderhead fixed his cuirass back onto his body and secured it.  He didn’t feel quite right without his armor on.  It used to just be something that kept him safe, but now it was something far more complicated.  It might just make or break his relationship with Taboo.  There was plenty of blame on his shoulders, but he was ready to bear it.  “If she misses the wedding, I’ll make it up to her somehow.”

“How are you going to make up a wedding?”

Thunderhead had a pretty good idea of how to do that, but he refrained from saying it.  Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, hurry up and think of something,” Rainbow Dash said, turning her back to him and heading up the stairs.  It was time for her to retire for the night.  The day had worn her thin, but she didn’t let it show.  There was no way she could afford to let it show.  





“By the power vested in me, I pronounce you mare and colt.”

Applause broke out as the newlyweds trotted side by side back up the aisle.  The bride was blushing maybe a bit too much and the groom looked like he had just successfully diffused a bomb.  The crowd was modest in size, but those in it poured their hearts out to wish the couple good luck.  Their smiling wedding party followed right behind them, one mare carrying an extra pony along with her.

“You holding up okay?” Rainbow Dash asked Taboo was she trotted.  The filly lay on her belly on her mother’s back, but her eyes were still alert.  “If you feel like you want to go home, this would be the time to go.”

“But I want to go to the next part,” Taboo said, referring to the reception.  She sniffled and rubbed her nose with her hoof.  She still wasn’t a hundred percent, but neither Taboo nor Rainbow Dash could imagine missing Fluttershy’s wedding.  Sick or not, there was no way Rainbow Dash could’ve let her friend get married without her there.

“If you feel up for it.”  Rainbow Dash felt Taboo nodding her head.  “Okay, but tell me if you feel like you need to go.  I don’t want you pushing yourself.”

“I’m fine.”  It was a lie, but Taboo really, really, really wanted to go to the reception.  She wanted to see everypony dancing together again.  

The reception was being held right out back of Fluttershy’s cottage, right in the neat little meadow separating her property from the Everfree forest.  It had always been a lovely little place, and in the light from the lanterns hung about the clearing there was even a hint of romance in the air.  The sun set against the winter landscape, but only a mild cool hung in the air.  Spring was just begging to enter back into the world that evening.

Thus, the reception started.  Food was served and a bunch of hungry ponies chowed down after having no food for what felt like an eternity.  They should have been eating hours ago, but the wedding got delayed and postponed due to nerves more times than what should have been acceptable.  The pair went through with it in the end, and as they shared their first meal as husband and wife there wasn’t a trace of regret to be seen.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, was starting to feel some regrets of her own.

“I’ve got to say, this is quite possibly the most putridly cute wedding I’ve ever been to,” Discord said, cutting himself another dainty piece of the fine china and taking a careful bite.  He savored the taste before swallowing it down.  “Granted, I’ve only ever been to one other wedding.  Nothing quite says matrimony like a meteorite, black eyes for all the bridesmaids, and an impromptu alligator rodeo!  Those things were all provided by yours truly, but that’s a different story.”

“Yeah, sounds like a real page turner,” Rainbow Dash said, downing some more champagne to try and numb the pain.  It was her great fortune to be in the company of Discord in the wedding party.  Time Turner had only included him after much coaxing by Fluttershy, despite the avatar of chaos stating several times that he would rather the couple just send him a postcard from their honeymoon.

“What’s a meteorite?” Taboo asked, ever curious even when under the weather.

“Meteorite is what the moon is made of, dear Taboo.  It’s mostly cheese, but partially rutabaga paste.”  Discord never had a shortage of strange things to fill Taboo’s head with.  Rainbow Dash didn’t approve.

“Don’t listen to him Taboo,” she said for the thousandth time.  “He’s absolutely crazy.”

“Well, I might be absolutely crazy, but I’m just trying to stimulate a young mind,” Discord said, poofing a mortarboard onto Taboo’s head and handing her a diploma.  “Just stick with your Uncle Discord and he’ll show you the ropes.”

“Ropes?”

“If you’re interested in ropes!” Discord snapped and turned Taboo’s scholarly attire into a bunch of ropes.  “Tell me, what interests you?”

“I’d just like to stop being sick,” Taboo said.  At this age, not much more than the immediate bothered her on any sort of deep level.

“Well, I hear apples are good for that,” Discord said, stroking his beard.  “I can’t really say because I don’t tend to get sick.  I only caught disco fever that one time, and the only cure for that is more cowbell…”

“Which is why you should keep quiet,” Rainbow Dash said, snorting hot air at the draconequus.  Upbeat music started to drift through the air, ushering in a change in mood at the reception.  Bellies were full, so the true festivities could begin.

“Well, if you’re not going to entertain me, I’m going to go cut a rug,” Discord said, levitating up out of his seat and towards the dancefloor.  “And this time, I am speaking figuratively… mostly.”

“Yeah, see if I care!”

After about ten minutes, Rainbow Dash found herself caring.  She found the situation painfully familiar.  All of her friends had somepony to dance with while she was left alone with Taboo.  While the filly was enjoying herself enough, Rainbow Dash was grinding her teeth to the nub over this.  For some reason, she was even more peeved about it than she was at the last wedding she attended.

There at the center of all of it was her oldest friend.  She looked just like a bride should: beautiful in flowing white.  She was smiling, happy.  She was with that stallion who was once a complete stranger, but now she said she loves him.  Even with all her nerves, hang-ups, flaws, and imperfections, Fluttershy found it.  She did it, and what’s more is she did it pretty much on her own…








“How is she doing?”

“I got her to come out from under the bed, but she won’t stop shaking.”

“Well, it’s progress.  Need any help?”

“Thanks, but no thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said, whispering through the paper thin opening of the door.  “She’s still pretty jumpy, so it’s probably best we keep this one-on-one for now.”

“If you say so.”

“How’s Taboo?” Rainbow Dash asked, hating herself from being away from her daughter when she was still feeling a bit sick.  She realized Fluttershy’s plight was a bit more pressing, but a mother had to have priorities.

“She’s behaving just fine, but Discord is really starting to worry me,” Twilight said.  “I hate to say it, but he knows the way into a young child’s heart.  It’s probably because he has the brain of a foal himself.”

“You do what you can, and I’ll do what I can.”

“I’ll check back soon.  Good luck.”

“Thanks.”  Rainbow Dash closed the door carefully, making not a single noise.  When it was securely in place, she turned back to Fluttershy.  The mare was still staring catatonically into the mirror.  She held her bouquet before her, but it shook like a cheerleader’s pompom in the middle of the state competition after two cups of coffee and a powdered donut.  There were more petals on the floor than the flowers.  “How’re you holding up?”

“I’ve never been so afraid in my life.”

“That’s saying something.” Rainbow Dash took a seat next to her, slowly.  “You want to talk about it?”  Despite her offer, Rainbow Dash had no idea what she was doing.  She was flying blind into a world she had little authority to talk about.  As much as she’d like to pat her friend on the back and then deliver the magic advice that gives her the courage to walk down the aisle, there was no way Rainbow Dash could do that.

“What is there to talk about?  Everything is pretty clear to me,” Fluttershy spoke, with a smooth and even tone.  She was so freaked out it looped back around into calm.  “I’ve known him for two months, Dash.  Am I really ready to marry somepony?  How do you even know you’re ready?  I hadn’t even dated somepony up until two months ago.  My parents knew each other for over a year before they got married, and they got divorced.  Do we even stand a chance?”

“Ah… well… you’ll never know unless you try!” Rainbow Dash had to try to bring her around whether or not she thought she could.  All she knew is that she should not admit that Fluttershy’s reasoning was pretty solid.

“So many marriages end in divorce, Dash.  I looked it up because I was curious.  It’s half.  Half of them end in divorce.  That’s not even the scary part.  Do you know how the other half end?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“Death.”

“Oh…”

“Don’t you see?” Fluttershy turned and looked her friend in the eye for the first time since her nerves started kicking in.  “I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him.  It won’t be over until one of us is dead.  Mares usually outlive the stallions in marriage.  How am I going to deal with that?  I’m just going to wake up one day and he’s just going to be there dead?  What do you even do when that happens?”

“Fluttershy, I think you’re thinking a bit far into the future.”

“Maybe so, but there are plenty of things in the near future to worry about.”  Fluttershy turned back to the mirror and stared at herself.  “We talked about it, you know?  About having foals together.  I want them, he wants them.  We’re going to start a family.  I’ve taken care of foals and baby animals before, but they were never mine.  Can I even handle that?

“And forget about even taking care of or having a foal.  If that’s going to happen, I’m going to have to have sex with him.  I know it’s supposed to be a wonderful and intimate experience, but I’m absolutely terrified.  I’m not ready for this at all.  I jumped right into this without preparing even a little bit.  I’m such a fool…”

“Ah… jeez, Fluttershy.”  This was a bit heavy for Rainbow Dash.  “If you’re not ready, you don’t have to go through with it today.”

Fluttershy turned on her, with eyes wider than dinner plates.  She clutched her bouquet close to her chest, and for a moment she was soundlessly still.  She stayed transfixed for an eternal three seconds, but then she started to slowly shake her head.

“No… today is the day.  Ready or not, here we come.”  Fluttershy managed to laugh at what she’d said, which Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure was a sign she was panicking more or less.  “Maybe I’m not ready, but I do love him.  I’ve never loved anypony like I love him, and he loves me.  Goodness, he asked me to marry him, didn’t he?  He didn’t ask because he thought I could be a perfect wife, but just because he wanted to show his love for me.  I shouldn’t be cowering in here, making him wait.”

“Yeah… yeah, that’s the spirit!” Rainbow Dash realized it wasn’t anything she’d said, but the fact that Fluttershy was fighting fit made that irrelevant.  It was looking like there really would be a wedding today.  “If that’s how you feel, I’m going to go tell the others and we can get this show on the road.”  Rainbow Dash started towards the door before Fluttershy could change her mind.

“Yes… that is how I feel.  I just need a few minutes to… compose myself.”

“Take all the time you need… even though you’ve taken plenty already.”

“Did you say something?”

“Stay positive!” Rainbow Dash closed the door behind her and let out a sigh she’d been holding in for around an hour now.  After all the stress she’d undergone over whether or not she’d be able to come to this wedding, Rainbow Dash wasn’t about to let it not happen.

Fluttershy really didn’t need Rainbow Dash in order to go through with this.  She could see this clearly now, even if her presence helped speed things along.  At one point today, somepony would have posed the question of whether or not she wanted to actually go through with it today.  Anypony could’ve been the catalyst.  Deep down, Fluttershy knew what she wanted to do.  Deep down, the girl had at least just enough in her to go through with this.

Rainbow Dash was suddenly aware of marriage and all its implications.  She loved her friends and family, but there was something about how Fluttershy and Time Turner loved each other that was noticeably different.  Perhaps there was no difference in the strength of the bond, the solidity of the love, the legitimacy of the relationship, but its mode of expression was something alien to her.

She had never wanted to express her love for somepony like that.  She had seen plenty of ponies who wanted to, and she called them mushy, lovey-dovey, or annoying.

“Ponies are generally afraid of what they don’t understand.”  Her mother had told her this long ago when she was just a filly, but she wasn’t yet mature enough to appreciate it.  It pained her to acknowledge, but Rainbow Dash realized her mother might be more right than she realized.  If there was nopony to push her towards it, would she end up in a romantic relationship all on her own?  Was she like Fluttershy, ready to seize the opportunity when it arrived?

Rainbow Dash didn’t know the first thing about romance.  She understood the general idea, but the practice was completely beyond her.  It was just like she could understand the concept of raising the sun, but she wouldn’t know where to begin in attempting it.  Now here she was, thinking about how she might end up with a special somepony.  She would have to put herself out there in ways she didn’t exactly feel comfortable with.  She might have to say or do things she could not currently even imagine without feeling embarrassed.  Was it really supposed to be so scary?

“If you’re not doing what you think is right, then you’re not doing it right.”

“… I’m overthinking this,” Rainbow Dash said, calming herself down.  Fluttershy had even said there may be no way to know you’re ready, and that didn’t just apply to marriage.  Rainbow Dash puffed out her chest and went on with her business.  If the day was going to come, then the day would come.








“Rainbow Dash?” Applejack said, snapping Rainbow Dash out of her trance.  “Golly.  Y’all look so depressed I wasn’t sure if I should come over or not.”

“Sorry.  I was just thinking,” Rainbow Dash said, not ready to admit what she was thinking about.  Luckily, Applejack wasn’t in the kind of mood to pry.

“Well stop thinkin’ about whatever it is yer thinkin’ about.  One of our best friends just got hitched!  It’s time to be celebratin’ and dancin’ and whatnot.”  Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a few good nudges, but the pegasus didn’t liven up any.  Still, the farmpony wasn’t about to let her gloom be infectious.  “Be frumpy if you want, but this mare is goin’ back to the dancefloor.  Wanna come along Taboo?”

“With you?” Taboo smiled and turned up to her mother.  “Can I go?”

“Sure, just be careful.”  Rainbow Dash said this, but then had to wonder briefly what kind of dangers could possibly be involved with being on the dance floor of the most tame wedding in Equestria.

“I call this one the wormhole!” Discord flopped onto the ground, which started to slurp him in until he completely disappeared along with a portion of the dancefloor.

“Don’t worry,” Applejack said to the now very worried Rainbow Dash.  “I’ll keep her away from him.”

“That’d be great if you could,” Rainbow Dash said, waving the two off.  She watched them go, disappearing into the crowd of dancing ponies.  Now she really was alone, and that was dangerous considering how introspective she was feeling.  She wasn’t always like this.  She used to fly ahead without thinking overmuch about what was waiting for her or what got left behind, but now she had somepony else to look after.  There wasn’t as much room for taking risks, not when she had somepony else counting on her.  She was loyal before, but these days she felt ridiculously loyal.

“I thought this was a wedding, not a funeral.”

Rainbow Dash turned around.  It took her a good moment to recognize Thunderhead standing behind her.  He had forgone his armor for a collar and tie, but more than that he was in the appearance of a regular pegasus.

“Feeling lonely?”

“I most certainly am not!” Rainbow Dash got angrier than she intended to.  She cleared her throat and collected herself.  “Maybe just a little.”

“You did relinquish Taboo to your friend,” Thunderhead said, taking a seat next to her.  “I take it she’s feeling better.”

“Yeah, she’s better.” Rainbow Dash took another look at how he was dressed.  “No armor today?”

“I decided it couldn’t wait,” Thunderhead said, tugging at his tie.  “I need to clear the air with Taboo.  Maybe we can play this off while she’s still young and naïve.”

“Gutsy move.”

“Thanks… I think.” Thunderhead tugged some more at his tie, becoming increasingly frustrated with it.  “I hate these things.”

“Not a fan of dressing up?”

“I’m not a fan of ties,” Thunderhead said, clarifying his stance.  “Who thought this was a good idea?  I don’t get fashion.”

“Me neither.”  Rainbow Dash wondered if Rarity could explain how the tie came into being.  There had to be some kind of history or logic behind it, logic that escaped Rainbow Dash.  “It’s just a piece of cloth around your neck that hangs down.”

“All form and no function,” Thunderhead said, finally giving up on adjusting the accursed thing.  “I thought napkin might be a good application, but I learned that was frowned upon when I was little.”

“Is that why you like armor?” Rainbow Dash asked.  “It has a function?”

“Yeah, but I don’t think I’d wear it if it made me look absolutely ridiculous,” he replied.  “Unless I absolutely had to.  I think I’d have trouble trusting armor that looked silly.  I dunno.  I just wear armor; I don’t think about the design all that much.”

“Fair enough.”  The conversation hit a wall.  Rainbow Dash wondered where to go from there, but nothing seemed natural; however, she wondered why she cared all of a sudden.  If she wanted to talk to Thunderhead, she could just open her mouth and speak.

On the other hoof, she realized she could do more than just talk to him.  He had only just arrived, but her loneliness was nowhere to be found.  He was a capable dancer too, meaning she could move out to the dance floor and actually participate instead of glaring the crowd down.

“Hey, do you want to-”  Rainbow Dash cut off when she realized she didn’t exactly have Thunderhead’s full attention.  For some reason, he was a whole lot more absorbed with his tie than he was earlier.  She looked down and noticed that Taboo was hanging off the end of it, smiling up at the stallion she was slowly suffocating.  “Taboo, get off of him!”  She plucked the filly up and set her in her lap, but Taboo fussed and struggled.

“I wanna say ‘hi’ to daddy!” she complained, jumping out of Rainbow Dash’s chair and onto Thunderhead’s.  She gave him a big hug and smiled, flapping her little wings merrily.  “Hi daddy!  I got better!  *sniffle*”  Taboo wiped her nose with a hoof, trying to make sure mommy didn’t notice.

“So I see,” Thunderhead said, still catching his breath.  “Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah!  It’s lots of fun!” Taboo said, bouncing up and down.  “Can we go dance, daddy?  Please, please, please?!”

It took a moment to click with Rainbow Dash and Thunderhead, but they realized there was something slightly off: Taboo still recognized Thunderhead.  Even from the dancefloor, she had picked him out and come over here to greet him.  For all their stressing and sweating over this, they found it hard to take solace in such an anticlimactic resolution.  They looked at one another, wondering how they should go forward.

“Uh, yeah.  Let’s hit the dancefloor,” Thunderhead said after a beat, a smile spreading across his face.  If Taboo didn’t think anything was off, then there was no reason for him to act like there was anything wrong.  He got up and let a giggling Taboo lead him out onto the floor.

Rainbow Dash could see the way forward had been decided for her.  It looked like they weren’t going to discuss this further with Taboo, but instead they were going to go on as they always had.  That being said, she also realized she was left all alone again.  She put her chin in her hooves and furrowed her brow.  She had let her chance slip away.

“Whoa, Rainbow Dash?  You okay?” Applejack returned from the dancefloor to find Rainbow Dash in a deeper funk than before.  “I saw Taboo run back over here.  Where is she?”

“She went back to the dance floor with Thunderhead.”

“You don’t say,” Applejack said, turning to look for herself.  She squinted, but she didn’t find who she was looking for.

“He’s not wearing his armor.  He’s just in his normal form,” Rainbow Dash explained, revealing why Applejack couldn’t find the guard in the crowd.

“Wow.  And Taboo still recognizes him?”

“Yeah.”

“And she still calls him daddy?”

“Yeah.”

“… Rainbow Dash?”  Applejack got a mischievous grin on her face.

“What?”

“Are you jealous?”

“I am not!”  Rainbow Dash retorted.  Her friend rolled her eyes and strolled back to the dance floor, leaving the steamed pegasus on her own again.  Rainbow Dash, for her part, just kept telling herself she wasn’t jealous.  Thunderhead devoted a lot of time and energy towards making Taboo happy, but he hardly paid any attention to Rainbow Dash.  The mare just felt underappreciated is all.  At least, she snorted and kept telling herself something along those lines.





“I am not tired!”

“You sure look tired,” Thunderhead said, sitting on the floor with a quickly fading Taboo.  “You’ve had a long day, so you should go to bed before you get sick again.”

“I’m fine,” Taboo said, insisting she could stay up.  Rainbow Dash didn’t say anything, watching from the couch.  Her tail swished absently.  Thunderhead and Taboo had been carrying on and goofing off ever since they encountered one another at the wedding.  

“You’re fine?  Then what’s this?” Thunderhead said, poking her belly.  Taboo giggled a bit.  “This is telling me you need to go to bed.”

“I’m not tired.  I’m just ticklish.”

“Really?” Thunderhead said, continuing to prod her and make her laugh.  “I’m not so sure.”

“Ah-ha-ha!  Stop it!  Ah-ha-ha!” Taboo tumbled over in a fit of laughter while Thunderhead continued to tickle her.  

“If you’re not tired, I’m just going to have to tire you out!”

“Ah-ha I’m n-not tired ah-ha-ha!”

“Well, I’ll just have to keep tickling you.” Thunderhead made good on his promise, continuing to assail the poor filly as she laughed uncontrollably.  Rainbow Dash looked on, still not saying anything.  She wondered when she just became a fixture in the room.  They couldn’t possibly ignore her all night.  He wouldn’t give her all the attention all night.

“Okay, okay!  I’m tiiired!” Taboo finally gave in, which brought a stop to the tickling.  Once she was able to catch her breath, Taboo righted herself and began to pout.  She gave him a little push on his hoof in retaliation.

“Ouch,” he said, feigning injury while still smiling.

“That didn’t hurt,” Taboo said, still trying to be cross with him; meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was rolling her eyes.  She knew Thunderhead could take a whole lot more abuse without complaint.  He was tough, well built.  He’s just being nice to Taboo.  He’s always nice to her.

“No, you hurt me for sure,” he replied, but Taboo wasn’t having it.  “C’mon, it’s time for bed.”

“… Will you tuck me in?” Taboo asked, grabbing on the the hoof she just attacked.

“Sure thing,” he said, picking her up.  She giggled as he lifted her in a high arc onto his back.  As a guard, he was more than strong enough to pick up a little filly like Taboo.  Even so, Rainbow Dash was biting her lip for some reason.    “Say goodnight to your mom.”

“Goodnight mommy!” Taboo said, waving as if she were about to go on a long trip.  “I love you!”

“I love you too,” Rainbow Dash said, recovering from wherever she just was.  Slowly, she slipped back into it as Thunderhead ascended the stairs with Taboo.  She stayed on the couch, thinking.  From her expression, it would’ve been hard to tell what was on her mind.  She just sat there, absently flicking her tail.  Thunderhead took note of this when he came back down.

“You still in a bad mood?” he asked, half joking and half not.  He certainly wasn’t in a bad mood tonight.  Things were actually going well for once.

“Sit down.” Rainbow Dash patted the vacant space of couch next to her.  Thunderhead felt like he may have spoken too soon, but even so he complied and sat down.  “You’re really nice to Taboo.”

“Uh… I guess I am.” Thunderhead had no idea what was going on.  There were certainly no clues to be found in Rainbow Dash’s expression still.  She kind of looked mad, but she didn’t really sound all that mad.  He was treading dangerous waters.

“Are you that nice to everypony?” Rainbow Dash asked without any warning.  The odd question caught Thunderhead off guard.

“Well… probably not.”

“What does a pony have to do to get treated like that?” These were not ordinary questions and Thunderhead was having trouble figuring out where she was going with this.  He had hoped revealing his true nature to Taboo would diffuse some of the tension between them, but she’d been acting strange all night.  Rainbow Dash should currently be in a very good mood with all current events considered, but instead she was sitting there with a passive expression putting Thunderhead through a gauntlet of bizarre questions.

“I don’t really know.  I don’t think anypony has to do anything… maybe.”  He didn’t know how to answer.  If there was a right and wrong way to do it, he hadn’t the slightest idea which was which.  He didn’t feel like standing trial like this for any longer.  “Is something up?  You’ve been kind of distant all night.”

“Yeah, that’s a good word for it,” Rainbow Dash said, putting a hoof to her chin.  She was staring right at him, which made him all kinds of uncomfortable considering their close proximity and current solitude.  It was already bad enough considering his attraction to her.  “I guess I am jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Everypony was right, and I really hate that.” Rainbow Dash leaned in close and batted her eyelashes.  “I am so jealous right now.”

“Uh.”

“Can I try something?”

“W-what?”

Rainbow Dash pounced on Thunderhead, pinning him down on the couch and roughly locking lips with him.  Thunderhead, for his part, was incredibly pliant considering how confused he was.  The fact that he was currently making out with a very attractive mare was enough to make him just say “screw it” and get into it.  He could tell Rainbow Dash was a very novice kisser, so he diverted all his attention to showing her how it was done.

He flipped their positions, putting her on the bottom with him over her.  He kissed her like he was absolutely certain she’d never been kissed before, and he got the best response he could have hoped for.  She hummed happily and wrapped her forelegs and his neck, holding on for dear life.  She never really understood the deal with kissing up until this point, and she could feel herself getting hooked on it.  Reluctantly, they parted to catch their breaths. 

“You’re good at this,” Rainbow Dash said after a few pants.

“Yeah, well.”  Before he could say anything else, he got pulled down for another round.  He realized Luna wasn’t kidding when she said Rainbow Dash liked to go fast.  He normally had to take a mare out on one or two dates before they kissed, so it was hard to believe his tongue was in Rainbow Dash’s mouth without having to even ask her out.  The situation was getting awfully hot, and at this rate he could see it escalating into-

“Mooooommy.”  

Without warning, Thunderhead found himself face down in the couch.  He bolted upright to see Rainbow Dash lightly winging her way up the stairs.  He wondered if what just happened actually happened at all, considering how quickly it ended.  It was possible he fell asleep face first on Rainbow Dash’s couch and was now just waking up.

Rainbow Dash stopped at the top of the stairs.  She turned her head, sending a sultry look Thunderhead’s way.  She splayed her wings out and then strutted away with her butt wiggling behind her.  The time for simply dreaming had come to a close.