//------------------------------// // Laying Plans // Story: An Imperfect Paradise // by Ximer //------------------------------// "Okay Daniel, you can do this, just like you did with the doll." I said to myself as I looked down at Stormwalker on the changing table. The foal's copper eyes studied me intensely, as if he was as unsure of the situation as I was. He had stopped wiggling, save for his small tail, which swished against the soft fabric occasionally. His tongue snuck out of his mouth as I prepared to do what I had done with hands until now, disarming my determination with the cute expressions in his arsenal. "Staring at it isn't going to make it go away." Scootaloo reminded me. "I know, you might want to look away." I replied, pulling back the diaper with the caution of a heart surgeon. "Aaand I'm gone!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she left the room, once step one was complete; abandoning me to my fate. "Oh come on, it's not like you never had it done to you when you were a foal." I called as I rolled my eyes. "Well what about you?" Scootaloo shouted back as I removed the soiled diaper. "I wasn't born a pony, remember?" I replied. I received no response to my answer. I had expected a retort of some nature, like how I was a baby at one point too. While true, we were discussing foals. I found the silence a bit unusual, and proceeded to finish changing Stormwalker to find out why Scootaloo might have fallen so uncharacteristically silent. I checked on his back briefly as I laid him in his crib, two small protrusions were beginning to press against the small lumps on his back. It wouldn't be long now, I was thankful he was developing normally so far. With my mind at ease about Stormwalker, I flew to Scootaloo's room to find her sitting on her bed, looking down at the rug. She had a serious expression on her muzzle, one that indicated deep thought, and I was prepared to leave her be until she looked up at me. "Daniel," Scootaloo never called me by name unless something serious was on her mind. "Can you tell me about m-my real parents?" I wasn't sure how to respond to that question, or what brought it on. Had it been on her mind for a while, and only now she had found it in her to ask me? Or perhaps something I said or did made her think about them? Whatever the case was, she looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "Uh, yeah, I guess," I replied taking a seat next to her. "Did the orphanage never talk to you about them?" "A little, but not very much." Scootaloo sighed. "Well, I don't have a whole lot of answers myself, only the copy that the caregiver gave me. I know your mom was a unicorn, and a very talented one from what I read, while your father was a member of the guard." I said, summoning up what I could remember about them off the top of my head. "Oh, okay." Scootaloo said dejectedly. "What's the matter Scoots?" I asked, wrapping a wing around her. "What brought this out all of the sudden?" "It's just," Scootaloo hesitated. " I remember you telling me how you tried before I was your adoptive-" "Daughter." I interjected. "-daughter, right." Scootaloo finished. "You're right, it is something that I had wanted. I was brought up with the mentality that not having a kid wasn't natural," I shrugged. "I couldn't be happier with you in my life." "I know." Scootaloo said leaning against my leg lazily, something I had learned long ago that ponies did when they had a deep trust with another individual. "Then why the long face?" I asked. "Do you like Stormwalker more than me?" Scootaloo mumbled. I was a bit stunned by this question. Scootaloo seemed like the protective big sister, why would she even think about such things? I tried my hardest to recall anything that might have been said to put her in such a mood. "Scootaloo, do you really think that I like Stormwalker more than you?" I cocked an eyebrow at her as she looked up at me. "Do you think your mother or I could ever love one of you more than the other?" "...no." Scootaloo replied with puffed out cheeks. "Not buying it." I smirked, as I hopped off the bed. "Hey! I said I didn't really believe it!" Scootaloo huffed. "Uh huh." I walked out of her room, a mischievous plot in mind to get her out of her funk. I could hear the little filly grumble and growl as she hopped off the bed after me, her wings buzzing with frustration. I was pretty confident that this would pass once my plan was in motion. I was also confident there would be hell to pay for it later, but that bridge would have to wait to be crossed for now. "Hey, where'd you go?" Scootaloo called out. I silently chuckled to myself as I heard her get closer to Stormwalker's room, which I had snuck into. She was about to walk right into my trap, completely unaware of what was about to befall her. Stormwalker was looking up at me, tilting his head slightly at I quietly hovered above the doorframe. The second Scootaloo walked into the room, she was showered with a decent amount of baby powder. Her coat and mane were instantly dyed a partial white due to the substance, reminding me of a pony shaped powdered doughnut, if doughnuts could talk and give you dirty looks. Scootaloo's cheeks became red with what seemed to be a mix of anger and embarrassment for falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book. I responded with an eyebrow wiggle and smirk as I landed. A baby powder shower was a different twist on the trick though. I regretted my decision to land though, for as soon as I did, I was hit by a puff of the stuff. It made me sneeze, dispersing the particles into the air, making Scootaloo roll about in laughter. This resulted in the powder on her falling off and onto the floor and rug of the room, making an even bigger mess. Well, if Cloudchaser's going to kill me for something, it might as well be this. I thought to myself as I squeezed the bottle again, giving Scootaloo a fresh coat of the stuff. "Oh you're going down now!" Scootaloo exclaimed as I fled the room. Stormwalker simply observed the conflict as the powder he was so used to seeing be applied to him was now applied to...just about everything in the house. One could only imagine what was running through his mind as he observed our unusual bonding behavior. Time seemed to fly by, as we turned our house into a miniature warzone. Scootaloo and I sat on the couch. Stormwalker was contently drinking from a bottle as he surveyed what we had done with his baby powder. Just as our energy was returning to us, our ears perked up at the sound of the door jiggling. All of our heads turned in unison to see Cloudchaser walking in with her back to us. I had a feeling this would not end well for any of us. "Guys, I'm ho-" Cloudchaser stopped, mouth agape as she observed the evidence of our father, daughter activities. "Hi mom." Scootaloo chirped, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Cloudchaser narrowed her eyes at me with a look she had given me only a few times during our life together. I smiled nervously, causing the powder around my cheeks to flake off. I had patches of my regular blue coat peeking out from beneath the white dust that coated me and most of the rooms of our house. “H-hi honey…” I said quietly as my ears drooped. “Who started it?” Cloudchaser asked. “Dad did it.” Scootaloo pointed to me without hesitation. “Turncoat.” I mumbled. Cloudchaser took in a deep breath, releasing it as a sigh before making her way towards Stormwalker’s room. Her expression had shifted to a neutral one, displaying little emotion as she disappeared into the foal’s room. She reappeared in the blink of an eye with a bottle of the white dust that now covered parts of the house. Cloudchaser’s blank expression slowly twisted into a mischievous one as she flapped her wings a few times to lift off of the hardwood floor. --- Cloudchaser smiled affectionately at Stormwalker, the only member of the family that was currently incapable of getting into mischief, on his own anyway. She herself was now covered in his baby powder, as her daughter and husband stood in line at the store beside her, receiving the expected odd looks from other ponies. The mare observed her daughter as she road on her father’s back. The two looked like two half powdered doughnuts that were stuck together, but there was little question about how much Daniel cared about her. Even before they had adopted her, she had been his “little buddy” as he called her. Cloudchaser could see both of them through their daughter, even though she wasn’t tied by blood. They had filled the gap left by fate so long ago, and it had in her grades and social life over their first year with her in their hearts. “So, what happened to you guys?” the cashier asked. “Bonding.” Cloudchaser sweetly replied. “So does this mean we’re not in trouble?” Scootaloo asked. “You’re father certainly is for instigating things,” the mare replied with that same sweet innocent tone. “It’s a punishment I’m sure he’s willing to answer to though.” “Viva la resistance.” Daniel replied. “We’ll see how long that last.” Cloudchaser whispered into his ear. --- Impulse stared intently at his sketches; without a doubt, replicating a wing would be the hardest part of this project. Making it fly, bend, and fold like a real pegasus’ wing would involve a great deal of tinkering, and with the charity race only a few weeks away, he would need to work fast. It didn’t have to be perfect, yet. Impulse only needed his creation to fly and amuse the simple crowd that gathered. Even if he didn’t win, if he could prove his little invention worthy, all sorts of doors might open for him. This would be a byproduct of humiliating Daniel, of course. “Ponies might not be too eager to see a metal pegasus walking around...you might need a suit.” Impulse mumbled to himself as he studied the head he had already constructed. Unblinking glass eyes stared back at him, emotionlessly. The pupils were dark and lifeless, much like the monstrosity he was making. “Lightweight…lightweight...” Impulse mumbled to himself as he wracked his brain to come up with a material that was light enough for flight, but strong enough that the speeds it would be reaching wouldn’t cause it to tear itself to shreds. Impulse finally settled on a material and started to work on the right wing. He crafted each artificial feather individually, and after its completion found that they were razorblade sharp, despite their flimsy, feather like makeup. He made a mental note to avoid the dangerous edges of the replicas. With the first milestone of his project completed, Impulse Spark slumped into a chair; staring thoughtfully at the incomplete replica. He already had one of the more serious issues worked out, how to bring an inanimate object to life. This would require magic of course, but a steady supply of it, one that no unicorn could apply to any object moving at such extreme speeds for an extended amount of time. “We’ll have to see if the crystal can hold out,” Impulse said in idle conversation with his creation. “Hopefully it will run you until the end. Nothing personal or anything, you’re not like the others is all.” --- Night had fallen, and Cloudchaser was snuggled up against me; her head resting beneath mine in the crook of my neck. My wing was draped over her tired, but happy form; after we had shared some much needed quality time together. Stormwalker had been put to sleep, the scheduled storm aiding in lulling the little colt to sleep. We both found it amazing at how peacefully, and easily he had dozed off with the rain and rolling thunder in the background. “So does this help make up for the baby powder war?” I asked. “Mmhmm, mostly,” Cloudchaser replied, rolling over and scooting away a bit so she could face me. “Though I think it’s going to take a little more than that before I completely let it go.” “Says the mare who took part in it.” I teased, gently nipping her ear. “Details, details.” Cloudchaser giggled. “So what did you have in mind then?” I raised an eyebrow at her in the darkness of the room, save for the glow from the moon from outside our window. “That’s up to you, I'll let you know if it's good enough." Cloudchaser hummed playfully. I quietly stroked her mane, as best as one can with hooves, as I mulled over the possibilities. I knew she was playing around, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized something that I was now kicking myself for not noticing sooner. All of the fun activities we had done, had just been the two of us, we had never really taken Scootaloo anywhere other than the Crystal empire, and that was part job, part leisure, so one couldn't really count it. "We've never gone to the beach as a family, have we?" I asked nonchalantly. "We...haven't, actually. Oh, wow..." Cloudchaser mumbled as she came to the same realization as I had. "I've got a few weeks before this charity shindig, and before Lean Streak jumps on my case again." I whispered, kissing her ear. "You sound like your daughter when she's trying to barter for something." Cloudchaser laughed. I don't know what it was, but what Scootaloo had asked me about earlier had settled in the back of my mind during our fun, only to resurface now that all was calm. The topic of her past was fresh and ready to go, despite my exhaustion, which did little to help detox my being from the anticipated cries of Stormwalker. It was a miracle that he had stayed asleep for as long as he had. "What's wrong?" Cloudchaser asked, picking up on my distress. "And be honest this time." "Scootaloo asked me about her parents today," I replied quietly. "Her birth parents." "Oh, well, what did you tell her?" Cloudchaser's expression shifted to one of concern as she lowered her voice as well. "I could only tell her what I could remember from the file, I wish I knew more, but a lot of their records were destroyed in the fire." I sighed. "...does she know how they-" Cloudchaser started to ask. "No, I haven’t told her. I wasn't sure if she was ready for that." I stopped her mid-sentence. "If she's asking questions, maybe it's time to give her some answers. I doubt she'd be asking...or are you afraid that her feelings will change?" Cloudchaser petted my chest as she scanned my eyes for the truth. "Maybe a little." I admitted. "Telling her about her dad isn't going to make her love you less. I promise, she's your little filly, and nothing can change that." Cloudchaser said as she nuzzled me. "I know, it's just me over thinking things." I sighed. "Try not to dwell on it," Cloudchaser said before rising from the bed. "I'm going to go check on Stormwalker, I think it's weird how peaceful he gets when it starts to rain." I nodded, not that she could really see my response, but it was the thought that counts right? I hoped so anyways, as I settled in for the night in preperation for my wife's return. Despite her wishes, Scootaloo's questions still occupied my thoughts. She was one of my first friends in Equestria turned family. She was coming to me now not as a friend in need, but as a child, my child, for an answer to a question. It was an answer I had little hope of giving...on my own anyways. A smile crossed my face as I thought back to Brave Banner's occupation. He was a soldier, and I had a pretty good friend among their ranks. Perhaps it was time I had another chat and see if I could gather anything. --- “REALLY!?” Scootaloo asked with the brightest smile I had seen in a long time. “Yes, really,” I replied with a small laugh. “Your mom and I were talking about it last night.” “Are you sure you’re not pulling my wing?” Scootaloo pointed a hoof at me. “No wing pulling here munchkin, we haven’t really had a family outing before,” Cloudchaser replied, lifting the filly off the ground in a hug. “One that didn’t involve work anyways.” “Hey, that almost sounded like I was being accused of something,” I raised an eyebrow at the mare. “I suggest a trip to the beach and I’m accused of working too much?” Cloudchaser and Scootaloo looked at each other before turning to me with deadpan expressions, opening their mouths in perfect harmony with one another. “Yes, you do sometimes.” “It’s fun work though...” I mumbled. “All fun aside, it has put your life in danger, twice.” Cloudchaser said. “And the free falling from high altitudes at alarming speeds isn’t life threatening, Miss Blue Angel?” I chuckled. Whatever response the mare had in store for me was silenced by the high pitch screams of our foal. These were not the usual cries for attention, food, or mandatory change. These were cries of pain, which in flipped a switch in my brain from processing things with a calm, level head straight to daddy t-rex mode. The cries had a similar effect on Cloudchaser, the two of us sparing each other only the briefest knowing look before bolting for the foal’s room. Scootaloo followed after us, her hoof beats echoing behind us on the floor. “Shit!” I exclaimed, upon once we were inside Stormwalker’s room.