//------------------------------// // Building Blocks // Story: A Message to Rainbow Dash // by AlliePastel //------------------------------// “I’ve got to say Rainbow Dash, of all the low things you’ve done in your life. This has to be one of the top three.” Fluttershy eagerly tapped her pen on her room’s study table. Between the hollowed arid sound of white crystallized rain water gently whisping the background and the gentle pounding of wood in the room adjacent to her own, the constant shifting between high and low frequencies was giving her a headache. She planted her pen back on the well decorated ornate paper, she had to finish the letter. Perhaps giving Rainbow Dash a piece of her mind would help alleviate her circumstance; as if venting would really help her. “Let me give this to you straight Rainbow Dash, I’m in no way satisfied-“She crumpled the paper and tossed it to the side, revealing the new blank one from underneath. Her pen met with its soft surface as she etched more words into it, “Rainbow Dash, you’ve done things all your life that concerned me. Between the parties, all the reckless driving, flirting, and joining the R.A.F. But abandoning your sister…” she paused as she heard more banging of wood from the other wood. She sat back in her chair and listened for a moment. Nothing ever prepared her for what had happened this week. She might have been a vet for several years now, but she was no natural born mother. Perhaps her experience babysitting Pinkie Pie’s god children softened the situation a bit, but there was never any discipline involved in babysitting. “I hate to say this Rainbow Dash, but-you disappointed me. No, you disappoint me. Of all the careless, mean, cruel things you could have done, you give me your only dependent without a second notice. You just leave her alone in your apartment and expect everything would be okay?” The banging in the other room side tracked her thoughts again as her attention turn towards the wall. She rubbed her temples, trying to regain her focus. She took a quick glance at the paper and let out a small sigh as she wrote the next line. “Well, it’s not okay Rainbow Dash. Nothing about what you did is okay. Of all the disloyal things you’ve done in your life, for the first time I know you won’t make it up. It’s really bloody hard taking care of a child while you’re enjoying life some 2000 miles away. What were you thinking? I don’t have the space for her, you know my cottage is a two story studio and you know what the only spare room I have is. Right?” Another wave of loud banging rang in her ears before a loud series of similar banging increased in volume and seemed to shake the floor a bit. “I don’t know what you were thinking Rainbow… honestly. I’m just really in no mood to talk to you now. Enjoy the Big Apple. I hope knowing all this won’t tear away at you too much. I still love you though, so does Scootaloo. And If it helps at all, I can at least say that Scootaloo has warmed up to me. I’m still getting used to being a ‘mommy’ though. ~Fluttershy” Fluttershy closed her eyes, folded the paper and sealed the envelope. The letter wasn’t exactly ‘poetic’, but at least it was a decent portal to her thoughts. Her hands moved over to the envelope and she stuck the paper inside. Picking the paper up, she glided one of its folds across her tongue to moisturize the adhesive. It tasted a bit off, but she liked the taste for some reason. It was pleasantly sweet. Standing up, she pushed back her computer chair and stretched her arms a little. A subtle breeze startled her as she felt a cool draft on her belly. She adjusted her yellow t-shirt down, and pulled her jeans up. She was never one for dressing ‘fancy’. The time she’d been spending with Applejack had taught her a thing or two about dressing casually. Looking over at her oak colored bed stand, her eyes took a quick peak at her digital clock. It was nearing nine in the evening; it was Scootaloo’s bed time. Fluttershy reached over to her bed stand and grabbed her wrist watch. It was a small black leather strap with a simple dial table made of quartz. It was a gift she’d gotten from Rarity. She’d said keeping time was important when raising a child. The comment made sense to her, someone like Scootaloo was all the evidence she needed to prove the theory. Everything was always thrown off in Scootaloo’s scheduled, between her meals, her bathroom breaks, and her fun time, there always seemed to be an unbalance. She took a quick glance at her wood paneled walls, they seemed to share a boarder with the spring colored seasonal walls that complemented each other so well. She owned a retro house. As quickly as she scrolled out of her door, she just as soon peaked open her adopted child’s bedroom door. Smiling, she slowly budged open the door and caught the attention of the girl playing on the ground. Swallowing hard, Fluttershy looked down at her child. A sheepish grin on her face, she tapped her watch, “Come on Scootaloo, it’s time for bed.” The child spread her legs, leaned forward on her hands, and pushed herself up to a clumsy stance; it was actually pretty impressive for someone as small as her. Scootaloo stood and gave an annoyed look as seriously as a seven year old could give one. She looked clean compared to when she first arrived several weeks ago. She wore an oversized white t-shirt that she’d found in her closet, it served as more of a gown than a top, it was at least four times too big. “Oh come on Fluttershy, I’m not a baby! Just because you stuck me in this stupid jail for babies doesn’t make me any less of an adult. I don’t need a bed time.” “Now now…” Fluttershy said, pacing over to the child. She lifted her hands and pulled the t-shirt right off her body. Taking a closer look at the shirt, it’s light blue text indicated it was from some sort of construction company; “Build-Dozers” to be correct. She tossed the shirt to the side of the room, “I don’t mean to baby you Scoots, I’m just in a tight spot financially and It’s too costly to get you knew furniture at the moment. Especially when you’ll be out growing it in a few years. Pouting, Scootaloo crossed her arms over her white tank top. She hated when people mentioned ‘outgrowing’ things. She hadn’t grown at all since the day Rainbow adopted her, that was nearly four years ago. She was more likely to grow wings than to outgrow her bed. “Come on Scoots, let’s get you in your jammies…” Fluttershy said, scattering to the opposite side of the room. She pulled several things out of the dresser, all with the same purple/pink princess overtone that made Scootaloo die a little bit every time she bore witness to them. Walking over to her child, Fluttershy got on one knee to be on an eye to eye level. She gestured for the girl to raise her arms in the air. A top and a pair of socks later, only one last part of the outfit had to be decided. “Do you wanna wear the pants without uh, ‘security’?” Fluttershy said, blushing a bit at her own remark. No matter how many times she tried to prep herself for the question, she never felt comfortable asking it. Poor Scootaloo must have been petrified on the inside. If she was anything like her ‘big sister’, she was most definitely prideful. The kid’s face turned beet red as she shook her head. She never wanted to wear her ‘pants’, no matter how practical they were. Pull-ups was just another term for diapers and she wasn’t a baby. ‘She wasn’t pottying every night, it was just a onetime thing.’ She reassured herself in her thoughts. “C-can I not. I promise I won’t pee!” Scootaloo pleaded, looking away from her caretaker nonchalantly, The corners of Fluttershy’s mouth tuned up as she heard Scootaloo’s response. It was a bit adorable seeing someone as tough as her id to act insecure for once. It probably wasn’t a good thing she found Scootaloo’s insecurities a bit amusing, but perhaps that was just one of those benefits of being a mother. “Of course you don’t have to wear your ‘protection’…” she said, walking over to Scootaloo’s bed. It’s white wooden surface was raised high off the ground. He hands clung unto a railing as she adjusted it a little, “Are you ready for beddy-bye?” On the inside, Scootaloo melted at the phrasing of that question. Something about Fluttershy’s tone made everything she’d been doing lately seem more secure. Her extroverted self still got the best of her as she rolled her eyes; it’s hard breaking old habits. “Hehe, I’ll let you stay up for a little bit longer I guess.” Fluttershy giggled as she pulled up the blankets to Scootaloo’s bed. The majority of Scootaloos’ room’s bedding and interior all had a basic pastel based picnic pattern; an occasional white bunny or brown bear being used to compliment the blanket’s design. Her hands adjusted the surface of the blanket to make it flat and smooth, “Are you excited to sleep in your bed tonight.” Scootaloo set one of her blocks on the ground and crossed her arms, turning away from her ‘mom’, “I don’t wanna.” “Now scoots…” Fluttershy stated more sternly as she walked over to her daughter. She squatted beside Scootaloo and placed her hand on her shoulder, “I know that you’re not used to your new bed, but I need you to get used to living with me. I’m trying to offer you some independence, I’m even letting you wear your regular undies to bed, but I need you to be more willing to do things my way.” “But I don’t want stupid railing on my bed.” The little girl complained, dragging her voice out it a loud drowned out moan. “Mmm…” Fluttershy said, lifting her daughter into the air and cradling her, “I’m sorry about the railing. It was either the railed bed or the crib…” she said pointing over at a similarly white crib. Scootaloo blushed, “Stupid baby stuff!” she yelled rubbing her eyes closed. Sighing, Fluttershy walked over to the baby swing and grabbed a pair of pajama pants off its tray. It'd been forever since she'd use the swing, it’d been forever since she had to babysit any kid; let alone one that was big enough to use the swing. She baby sat for the cake twins quite often, but they weren't nearly big enough for the thing. She set her daughter down and helped her leg by leg, step into her pants. Pulling the fleece leggings up, she adjusted the shirt to make sure it was a snug fit on her daughter. Perhaps it was a bit short on the waist, but it still looked cute. Scootaloo hated the help, but it felt right to help her for some reason. She always loved to help people after all. “All good?” Fluttershy questioned, stepping back to check the outfit. The young child let out a small groan; she really did dislike her mom patronizing her. It was embarrassing, maybe even more embarrassing than sleeping in the railed bed. Maybe if she just shut up than Fluttershy would leave her be, she thought to herself. “Mmm…” The women said, raising her child into the air involuntarily, “Maybe I shouldn’t make you sleep in your bed tonight. I don’t want you to sleep on the couch again, you’ll get another bad back. Do you want to sleep in bed with me tonight? We could turn on the tele, or I could just sing you to sleep like at that one sleep over. Oh, it’ll be fun!” “Yeah… fun. I guess that’d be cool.” She said blushing a little as she was set back unto the ground. She grabbed her mom’s hand as she was lead out of the room. Fluttershy looked back at the mess Scootaloo had made in the nursery; she was curtain she could take of it in the morning; as little as her daughter wanted to admit it, she really did love playing with the baby toys. Then again, maybe she just didn’t know. Best not tell her. She hit the lights to the nursery off and stepped out of the doorway and walked into her own room. It was a studio floor, minus the bedroom of course, so the whole floor was her room. On a raised platform sat her bed, it was queen sized. The blankets on top were soft and there were a dozen pillows; way more than she actually used. Sitting down, she pulled the sheets down the surface of the bed and crawled in with her child in her arms. She wrapped an arm around the child’s back and used her spare hand to pat the child’s bottom. Closing her eyes for only a second, she embraced the child with a light squeeze, enjoying the serenity of the quiet ambience around them. Scootaloo was tempted to say something, but didn’t. As much as she said she hated being coddled, she never really put up much of a fight. There was something about Fluttershy in specific that gave her an added sense of security that no other person could provide. Burying her face into Fluttershy’s chest, she let a small grin appear on her face. Hopefully no one would ever see her like this. “F-fluttershy?” Scootaloo questioned as she adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. Her mind felt empty like the night sky in London. The mother, rubbed her hand up and down her baby’s back. It wasn’t uncommon for kids to get tired. A child’s energy was like a pipe valve, it could be stopped as quickly it can be opened. “Yes dear?” she replied, slowing her hand’s motion. “N-Nothing I just…” Scootaloo paused, “I’m sorry I didn’t want to sleep in my bed tonight. It’s-dumb, I know. B-but I don’t wanna look like a baby.” She said, blushing as she nuzzled her head against Fluttershy’s chest again. “You don’t say?” The mother figure smirked, enjoying the irony of the situation. Scootaloo and her friends were always doing wacky stuff to ‘prove’ their maturity. She’d only been taking care of the girl for about a week now and she’d already had to tape one too many scraped knees, let alone kiss boo-boos. Poor child, of all her faults her equilibrium seemed to be one of the biggest ones. She really did enjoy cuddling with Scootaloo though. What was really nice about it was the peace of mind, enjoying a hug meant that her daughter was safe, which is just what she wanted for her; no matter what the cost. She’d already threatened to take away Scootaloo’s scooter, had it not been for a small tantrum she would have done it too. Covering her mouth, Scootaloo lifted her head for a second before setting it back on Fluttershy, closing her eyes and smiling. “You know Scootaloo, you really shouldn’t be rushing growing up. You’re only seven and you’ve already done so much stuff. Just take it easy and try not to hurt yourself. I do care for you baby and I’m not going to let you get hurt. Trust me, you’ll start warming up to your room. Tomorrow, I’ll tuck you into your bed and I’ll be sure you fall asleep sound alright?” The mother whispered in her child’s ear. “Oh…” she giggled looking over at her child. The poor thing fell asleep. She leant her head over the child’s forehead and pecked Scoot’s bruised forehead. She laid her head into her pillow and dozed off. *** “H-hello?” the child questioned, sitting up in her bed. The sudden realization of morning made her roll unto her bottom and check the bedding around her; it was dry. A smile lit up her face as she made a fist with her hand in victory. Looking around, she noticed her mom had already left the room. Hopping out of the bed, she crashed onto her knees, but that didn’t stop her. She ran out the door and downstairs to where her mother was found making breakfast. “Mom!” she ran up to Fluttershy and hugged her around her knees. Looking up, she gave her mom a big grin, “Momma! I didn’t wet the bed!” Fluttershy stared down blankly at her child be realizing what Scootaloo was saying. She matched her daughter’s eager smile as she lifted her up and cradled the child close to her chest. She landed a kiss on Scootaloo’s head and sang, “Oh, that’s great baby! You make me so proud!” Scootaloo didn’t respond to her mom’s words, she simply delved back into the hug, enjoying the warmth of her mom’s embrace. Her vision caught up with her thoughts as she looked at her the shirt her caretaker had been wearing. “Hmm? Dress already?” she questioned. Fluttershy giggled, setting the child back on the ground. Smiling, she brushed a hair off of her forehead, “Hehe. Yeah I am I guess. I mean, I usually try to wear pajamas, but I was really getting tired myself. I cooked you some oatmeal and I got juice on the table already.” Walking over to the table, Scootaloo crawled unto the chair and sat herself up properly. Curiously, she watched as her mom brought over the oat meal and set it on the edge of the table. Her face grew red as she was lifted her mom’s lap. “Alright honey…” Fluttershy said, spooning some of the oatmeal into Scootaloo’s mouth, “I’m going to drive you to school and head over to Sugar Cube Corner with AJ. I’ll be sure to pick you up in time okay? Also, sorry about the spoon feeding. We’re kinda running late, I’m sorry I lost track of time. Just open up….” Opening her mouth wide, the child took a big bite of the cinnamon sprinkled oatmeal as her mom nervously bounced her with one knee.