My Little Rainbows

by The PatioHeater

3 and a half

“So then we take all the elephants from all over the world, and put them in the zoo,” Shine said instructively to her mother, signalling the moving of elephants with her forelegs.
“Right,” Rainbow said with a little giggle. “Then what do we do with them?”
“We will have to look after them very carefully,” she added extra emphasis on the last two words. “They need a lot of food because they’re so big and fat, and they get very dirty and so need to have baths at least every other day.”
“Okay then, that’s the elephants sorted.” Rainbow adjusted her position on the sofa. “But what about the monkeys?”
Shine burst out into hysterical fits of laughter. “Don’t be so silly, Mummy. They live in the trees!”
“But why can’t they live in the zoo with the elephants?”
“Because there are no banana trees in the zoo so the monkeys won’t have any food!”
“Ah, I see.” Rainbow nodded along to her daughter’s plans. “What would we do next?”
“Then comes the dangerous part,” she said in hushed tones. She looked side to side and gestured for her mother to come closer, who happily complied. She started whispering into her ear.
“Speak up, Shiny. I can’t hear you,” she sang.
Shine giggled and spoke at normal volume. “We move the lions in with the elephants!” she said triumphantly, throwing her hooves upwards victoriously.
“Hm.” Rainbow rubbed her chin as she thought about this. “That sounds very dangerous. And I don’t think they would get along with each other very well.”
“Nah.” Shine dismissed her mother’s doubts with a wave of her hoof. “We will send them to the naughty step if they do anything bad.”
“Aaah,” Rainbow said as the epiphany came to her. “That’s sounds like a plan. But how would we get them to the zoo?”
“Now that’s the clever bit,” she said proudly. “What we do is send all the lions invitations to go on holiday and have a big, humungous party! And then, when they arrive, we lock ‘em up! And then we give them food and drink and throw the party so they will be happy.” Shine sat back with a smug look on her face.
“I see, the old fake invitations trick. But don’t you think that would be mean? Tricking them like that then locking them up? I'm pretty sure the lions wouldn’t like being tricked like that.”
Shine gave her mother a very stern look. “They’re only lions, Mummy. They are not as smart as us. They probably wouldn’t even notice.”
“But they notice when they’re having a party?”
“Of course!” Shine shouted in reply. “Everything like parties!”
Rainbow felt rather foolish now. “Okay, I see your point. But my next question is: what are they going to eat?”
“Well duh, grass!” she said condescendingly.
“Don’t say ‘duh’, Shine, it’s rude. But lions don’t eat grass.”
“We can teach them.”
“But how? I only think they like eating other animals.”
“EWW!” Shine exclaimed. “That’s disgusting!”
“I know, but they do.”
“Hmph,” she sighed. “I guess we’re going to have to make them lots of fancy meals to make them like grass. Eventually they will eat it off the floor like sheep and cows and giraffes.”
“But I thought giraffes eat from the trees?”
“I thought I told you not to be so silly, Mummy,” she said angrily. “If giraffes ate all the trees, where would the monkeys live?”
Rainbow’s brow furrowed with concentration, she couldn’t argue with that. “Good point. Now what’s next on your plan?”
“That’s all I got at the moment,” she said ashamedly.
“Well it’s a good start.” Rainbow affectionately rubbed her daughter’s mane, making her giggle like only a child could do. “I can’t wait to hear the rest of it.”
“Me neither!”
Rainbow hung her head down and breathed a quiet sigh of relief now that her daughter her stopped talking her ear off. She enjoyed her conversations with Shine, sure, but after half an hour of hearing a plan about a zoo it just got tiring.
“Mummy?” Shine started shyly.
“Yes, Shiny?” Rainbow winced as she awaited the reply.
“When’s lunch?”
Rainbow sighed again, although a little too exaggeratedly, as she heard the question. “Lunch?!” she asked in disbelief.
Shine nodded excitedly.
“But you only had breakfast an hour ago.”
“I know but I'm huuuuungry,” she moaned, rubbing her stomach to emphasise her statement.
“Hmm,” Rainbow hummed as she concentrated, with her lips pursing with thought. She took to the clock on the mantelpiece. “It’s too early for lunch now.”
“OH!” Shine whined.
“But I tell ya what,” Rainbow whispered mischievously.
Shine moved in closer. “What?” she whispered back with intrigue.
“Why don’t you have a yoghurt?”
Shine gasped and beamed with childlike glee.
“Go on. Go help yourself. But remember, save the last strawberry one for Rainbow Dash.”
Shine jumped of the sofa and trotted excitedly to the kitchen.
“I don’t tell your sisters!” she called after her daughter, who entered sneak mode as soon as she heard her mother’s words.
Rainbow chuckled to herself as she watched her daughter crawl into the kitchen, with her stomach tight against the floor and a mischievous smile on her lips.

Rainbow fell back on the sofa with a loud, tired sigh, her head fell against the soft, cloud armrest and she shut her eyes.
She rested in the mid-spring sun as it shone through the windows, with her mind swimming of animals thanks to her animal loving daughter.
She heard the clattering of cutlery coming from the kitchen and smiled.
Her mouth opened and released a loud yawn. She decided she could risk a little nap. Dash was in her room, most likely fast asleep, Swirl was sat in the dining room with her crayons and Shine was eating a yoghurt. She was certain they would wake her when they wanted something, most likely feeding.
She adjusted her position on the sofa until it became more comfortable, and drifted slowly from reality.

“Mummy?” Shine called from the kitchen.
Rainbow groaned and stirred awake with her daughter’s words. “Yes, Shiny?” she asked with a pained voice.
“Mummy?” Shine said a little louder.
“What?” Rainbow asked with a little more annoyance.
“MUMMY!” Shine screamed harshly.
Rainbow’s eyes opened instantly as she heard the small filly scream. She flicked herself up and over the armrest and galloped into the kitchen.
“Rainbow Shine! What’s wrong?!” she asked with sheer panic. She saw her daughter in the kitchen, standing on a stall by the sink, looking into the garden.
“Rainbow Dash is in the tree!” she shouted.
Rainbow spun around and darted through the door into the garden.

Swirl was standing on the edge of the small patio, looking up into the large oak tree with anticipation.
Dash stood on a high up branch, one that was slightly higher than the house, trying her best to look dramatic. Her short, almost colt-like mane blew back in the gentle breeze and her face pouting in a dramatic fashion.
“C’mon Dash,” Swirl cheered her. “JUMP!”
“NO!” shouted Rainbow as she stormed out behind Swirl. She looked down at her first filly. “Swirl, stand over there and be quiet.”
“Bu-.”
“Don’t you dare talk back. Go over there and stay quiet. I will talk to you later.”
Swirl’s eyes dampened after hearing her mother’s strict voice and then quickly followed her orders.
Rainbow watched her to make sure she was doing as she was told before turning her attention back to the high up filly.
“Rainbow Dash,” she shouted up to her.
“Hi Mummy!” Dash replied enthusiastically, waving a hoof and nearly losing her balance.
Rainbow gasped as she saw her daughter nearly fall. “Come down here now!” she shouted authoritatively.
“Okay!” Dash shouted back happily. She pushed her legs bags and ruffled her wings. She was about to jump when her mother realised her mistake a second later.
“NO DON’T!” she commanded. “Stay there. I’ll get you!” Rainbow jumped up and quickly reached the branch on which Dash stood. She grabbed Dash roughly and flew back down again, setting her down angrily on the patio after reaching it moments later.
She stood tall above her daughter, looking incredibly intimidating as she usually looked so calm and happy.
“Rainbow Dash,” she said in a calm voice that just oozed anger.
“Sorry Mummy,” Dash whimpered, now feeling terrified about her mother’s elusive wrath.
“What have I told you about the tree?” she asked her calmly.
“Sorry Mummy,” Dash whimpered again, too terrified to even say anything more.
“Dash, what have I told you about the tree?”
Dash cowered away from her mother, starting to cry.
“Dash. Look at me,” she ordered.
Dash looked up, if not hesitantly.
“What did I tell you about the tree?”
Dash’s lip quivered as she tried to speak, eventually she managed to formulate words. “We’re not allowed in the tree until we can fly.”
“That’s right. So what were you doing in the tree?”
“I-I flew there.”
“Don’t lie to me Rainbow Dash.”
“But she did!” Swirl interjected.
“Don’t interrupt, Rainbow Swirl,” she said angrily to the filly, combining the words with an angry expression.
She turned back to Dash after a few seconds of angered staring at her slightly eldest.
“Don’t lie to me, Dash. How did you get up there?”
Rainbow whimpered and started to properly cry.
“Alright, naughty step. Go.” She ordered, pointing in the direction of the staircase.
Dash looked up with pleading eyes.
“Naughty step. And I'm not going to ask you again.”
Dash looked hopefully at her mother for another moment, but saw no break in her cold, angry expression, and so she turned around and did the slow walk of shame to the step.
Rainbow followed her to the first step to make sure she did as she was told, with Swirl following her closely.

Dash reached the staircase, and gave one last, hopeful look to her mother.
“Sit,” she ordered.
Dash tensed as she heard the death sentence. She turned back to the step of shame and sat on it. She rested her head on the step above it and started crying loudly.
“I’ll be back later,” Rainbow said menacingly and left the hallway to leave her daughter to think.
Swirl laughed mockingly and blew a raspberry at Dash.
“Rainbow Swirl!” shouted her mother from the living room, being made angrier after hearing her daughter do such a rude thing.
Swirl froze with panic and fear.
Dash smiled with teary eyes and stuck her tongue out at her as her sister left to receive her sentence.

Rainbow was sat on the sofa, waiting patiently for her daughter to arrive.
“Sit down,” she ordered and gestured to the floor in front of her.
Swirl sat down obediently.
“I'm not happy with you either, Swirl.”
Swirl looked around, apparently clueless as to why.
“What you did was just as bad as Rainbow Dash.”
“But I didn’t do anything!” Swirl stated angrily. “She was in the tree, not me!”
“But, instead of coming to find me, like you sister did, you told her to jump. That is very naughty, Swirl. She could have really hurt herself, but you didn’t think of that, did you?”
Swirl stared blankly at her mother.
Rainbow sighed. “I thought as much.” She stood from the sofa and started circling the filly. “Now, you can redeem yourself if you tell me how she got in the tree.”
“She flew,” Swirl said quickly.
“Don’t lie to me. How did she get in the tree?”
“She flew! She really flew!” Swirl reiterated determinedly.
“Did you saw her fly?”
“YES!”
Rainbow scowled at her daughter as she contemplated this; Dash was at the right age to start flying.
“Fine. How did she fly to the tree?” she asked doubtfully.
“From the bedroom window.”
Rainbow considered it, it sounded plausible; the tree was at the back of the garden, and the branch she was on was high up and had no way to get to from the ground. There was no easy way to get there from the ground, so flying from a window seemed reasonable.
Rainbow decided she had to concede.
“Alright Swirl. You can go.”
Swirl jumped up excitedly and started to trot away quickly.
“But one more peep out of you, and you will go on the naughty step.”
Swirl nodded. “Can I have a yoghurt?”
“No. It’s almost lunch time.”
“But shine got one,” she said with pleading eyes.
“What did I just say about peeps, Swirl?”
Swirl quickly shut her mouth tight and continued to walk away.

Rainbow walked back into the hallway and to the staircase. She hated seeing her daughter like that; bawling her eyes out at the trouble she was in.
Rainbow sighed. She moved towards Dash, who looked up at her with fear in her eyes. She knelt down beside Dash, ensuring she was at the same level, and placed a hoof on her back and started rubbing gently.
“Dashie,” she started affectionately. “Stop crying.”
Dash ignored her and continued to cry, if anything she was now crying harder.
“Dash. Stop it. I want to talk to you.”
Dash sniffed and managed to hold back the tears enough for Rainbow to talk. She looked up to her mother and saw her loving face, which helped calm her slightly.
“Thank you, Dash. Now, tell me, how did you get in the tree?”
Dash looked away hurriedly.
“Dash. Tell me. I want to know.”
Dash sniffed again. “B-b-b-but you’ll shout at me again!” she said before starting to cry again.
“Dash, stop crying and listen.”
Dash stopped crying for her mother.
“Swirl told me you flew into the tree from the bedroom window. Is that true?”
Dash didn’t answer.
“Dash, let me tell you what’s going to happen. If you didn’t fly into the tree and got up there by some other means, you won’t be in any more trouble than you already are, and Swirl will be in lots more because she lied to me.”
Dash smiled at the idea of getting her sister into trouble.
“But, if you really did fly, and you can prove it, I will let you off the hook and give you a present.”
Dash looked intrigued. “A present?”
“Yes, a present. A Pegasus’ first flight is a very important thing, and it’s something that needs to be celebrated.”
Dash smiled bigger. “I flew up there!” she shouted proudly.
“Prove it,” Rainbow retorted while raising her eyebrow.
Dash stared at her blankly.
“If you can’t prove it, and you just lied to me, you will be in lots more trouble.”
Dash wiped her eyes and nose on her hoof. “Just wait right there,” She requested and quickly clambered up to the top of the stairs. She stood there, catching her breath after her tiring ascent.
“I'm waiting,” Rainbow sang impatiently.
Dash took a breath and prepared to jump. She unfolded her small wings and raised them high. She bent her legs and raised her flank, ready to jump. She flapped her wings as hard as she could, and launched herself off the stairs.
Rainbow gasped and prepared herself to catch her daughter, but she didn’t need to.
Dash’s face was screwed up in the effort to keep flapping. She hovered in the air, a little higher than her mother’s head, with one eye open as she tried to control herself into a slow descent.
Rainbow watched with a huge sense of pride and glee as she watched the first of her daughters fly. Her eyes followed as Dash descended to the ground before her eyes.
Dash landed delicately on the floor at her mother’s hooves, panting heavily and letting her wings fall down by her sides.

Rainbow squealed with joy and scooped Dash up in her hooves, giving her a large kiss on the cheek which Dash promptly and vigorously wiped off.
“Oh Dashie! That was awesome!” she shouted ecstatically. She pulled her daughter tight against her chest in a loving hug. “I'm so proud!”

A few moments later, Rainbow put Dash down on the floor again. “Okay Dash,” she said with a voice that shook with excitement and pride. “Tomorrow, I’ll get you a present. But for now, what do you say to ice cream for lunch?”
Dash’s face lit up and her smile grew huge. “Ice cream? For lunch?!”
Rainbow nodded excitedly.
“YES!” Dash shouted and jumped in the air, maintaining a small altitude with her wings.
“And you can have the biggest ice cream you can eat!”
Dash squeaked with joy.
Rainbow became serious for a second. “But Rainbow Dash, I'm still a little mad at you.”
“Why?” Dash asked sadly, floating to the ground again.
“Well, you terrified me when you were in that tree. I didn’t know you could fly, so I thought you were really going to hurt yourself. That’s why I was shouting, because I was scared, not because I was angry.”
“I'm sorry, Mummy,” Dash said in a very sincere voice.
“That’s okay, Dash. I forgive you. But don’t go in that tree again without me being there. You might be able to fly, but you’re not strong enough yet to go it alone.”
“Okay, Mummy, I promise.”
“Good. Now, get your jumper, it’s a little chilly today. I’ll get your sisters.”
Dash smiled happily and darted back up the stairs, pausing halfway up to fly the remainder of her ascent.
Rainbow watched and giggled before turning to rally the troops. “Girls! Who wants ice cream?!” she called out into the house.
She giggled once again after she heard their excited gasps and the sounds of hooves thundering closer to her.
Swirl and Shine stopped at her hooves, hopping eagerly on the spot.
“Go get your jumpers, my little Rainbows, and then we can go have some ice cream.”
“YAY!” they cheered as they charged up the stairs, tripping over their excited hooves.
Rainbow walked into the living room and found her handbag, returning to the hallway moments later to find her daughters, all wearing huge smiles and jumpers, waiting patiently.
Rainbow chuckled. “Alright, let’s go and get some ice scream!”

They arrived at the ice cream parlour, with the little fillies bouncing with anticipation.
Dash ran up to the counter. She flew up so she could lean on it and look at the frozen treats under the glass. She looked at it all longingly. She wanted it all.
Rainbow chuckled and stepped behind her.
“Good afternoon, Miss,” said the friendly, fairly young colt behind the counter. “How can I help?”
“Hi. I'm here for some ice cream, obviously. It my little girl’s treat for her first flight” She ruffled Dash’s short mane. “And so I said she could have the biggest ice cream on the menu.”
“Oh really now?” he said intriguingly. “Well that would be…” He took a few slow steps to the side with a raised hoof, ready to dramatically reveal the picture of what was effectively an oil drum of ice cream.
Rainbow glared at him, hoping he would understand what she was telepathically telling him.
Fortunately, he did, and so he kept moving along the line of pictures. He paused at one and looked to Rainbow for confirmation.
She nodded slightly.
He sighed. “The six scoop bowl!”
Dash gasped. “Six scoops!” She turned to her mother. “Really? I can have all of that?!” she asked excitedly.
“I did promise you didn’t I? Now tell the nice colt what flavours you want.”
Dash pressed her nose against the glass. “Err… I want… strawberry… chocolate… toffee… raspberry… mint and… pista… pisat… that green one there!”
“Alright, coming right up!” He began to eagerly fill a glass bowl with flavours she wanted.
Dash watched in awe as he piled the bowl high with ice cream.
“There we are.” He slid the bowl forward on the counter. “Is there anything else?”
Rainbow turned to her other daughters. “What do you two want?”
“I want the same as Dash!” Swirl shouted excitedly.
“I'm sorry, but I promised Dash she can have the most. But you can have five scoops.”
Swirl sighed. “Okay. Can I have the same as Dash but without the mint?”
“You sure can.”
Rainbow looked to the cashier and nodded. He nodded in reply and began filling a second bowl.
“And what about you, Shine?”
“Err… five of chocolate!”
“Are you sure? Because you can’t change your mind later.”
“Err… three chocolate and two strawberry.”
“Okay.”
Rainbow looked to the cashier who had already begun filling the third bowl.
“And I will have… a sundae, please.”
“Sundae’s take a few minutes. I will bring it to you when it’s done.”
Rainbow was confused as to why a sundae would take a while to be ready, but she didn’t question him.
She took her daughters’ ice creams to an empty table and sat down with them.
She distributed the ice cream to her children. “Tuck in, girls!”
The fillies went in with much childlike enthusiasm.

The cashier came over there table with a tray on his hoof, on which sat Rainbow’s sundae. He placed it in front of her.
Rainbow looked at the desert with slight puzzlement. She had not expected it to be that tall, or look so delicious. And the sparkler seemed a tad unnecessary, Rainbow thought.
Shine looked at it longingly, with her ice cream covered mouth which hung open in awe.
“Mummy?” Shine asked.
Rainbow sighed heavily, knowing full well what Shine was about to ask. “I asked if you were sure, and you said yes. So, no, you can’t have any of mine.” She stared at her sternly, not faltering in her look of certainness.
Shine frowned slightly, but quickly remembered the ice cream in front of her and returned to it with the appropriate amount of gusto.

“Dash, slow down,” Rainbow said for the fifth time, growing ever more annoyed with each time. “You’ll get a brain freeze!”
Right on cue, Dash dropped the spoon back into the bowl, her face contorted and she pressed her sticky hooves against her temples in the hopes to combat the pain.
Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “I told you, didn’t I?”
“Mummy?”
“Yes Swirl?”
“What’s wrong with Dash?”
“She ate her ice cream too quickly. So you two better slow down as well or the same will happen to you,” she warned, pointing a hoof accusingly at her other two daughters.
Swirl and Shine slowed down considerably to a snail’s pace with a frown.
Rainbow chuckled. “You don’t have to slow down that much. The ice cream will melt.”
The two fillies regained their smiles and sped up again to an appropriate speed.
Dash recovered from her crippling brain freeze and went back to her ice cream, but going at the slow pace of her sisters, as she did not want that to happen again.
Rainbow was now able to enjoy her sundae in peace, now her children were no longer in danger, when a mare approached them.
“Hello?” said the stranger in a friendly manner.
Rainbow looked up at her, and after less than a second of trying to recognise the Pegasus she gave up and smiled sweetly.
“Hi!” she said in a chipper tone.
“I'm Sun Beam,” the stranger introduced herself and offered her hoof for Rainbow to shake.
Rainbow took it. “I'm Rainbow Swirl. May I help you?”
“Oh, I was just walking past and saw your children, and how eager they are with their ice cream, and wanted to say hello. They are pretty adorable.”
“Why thank you,” Rainbow said proudly.
“Do you think you can introduce me to them?” Sun asked politely.
“Sure thing! This one is Swirl,” she said as she pointed to her fist child who didn’t even register anything other than her ice cream. “Named after me of course,” she added arrogantly.
She turned to her second daughter who, too, only focused on her treat. “This one is Shine.”
She turned to the filly beside her. “And this one’s Dash,” she finished with a fond smile. “Dash here flew for the first time today so we thought we’d come here to celebrate.”
“Aww, that’s nice,” Sun said. “It’s always nice to see a family all enjoying an achievement like that. How old are they?”
“Three and a half. They’re triplets, you see.”
“Oh,” Sun sounded amazed. “That’s a little peculiar to see two fillies and a colt to look so identical.”
Rainbow sighed exasperatedly.
Dash dropped her spoon with a clatter and looked up from her bowl, with her mouth covered in ice cream and an angry expression on her face. “HEY!” she shouted angrily. “I'm not a colt I'm a filly!”
“Oh.” Sun started blushing wildly. “I'm sorry. I just thought that… she has short hair like a colt,” she said sheepishly, trying to regain some respect.
“That’s because she was born with no hair, and it’s taking a while to grow,” Rainbow had repeated her well practiced speech. She hated how nopony could tell she was a filly, even though she was clearly filly shaped.
“I-I'm sorry,” she said awkwardly. “I’ll just be off then. I have to… go.” She immediately turned and walked quickly away from the scene.

Rainbow watched her leave the shop and turned back to her children.
“That was awkward now, wasn’t it?” she asked with a sarcastic smile.
Swirl and Shine laughed, making Rainbow giggle, while Dash just sat there, angrily pouting at her family.

Comments

[The PatioHeater]

I swear, I will start saying more about Swirl in the next/one after next chapter. Just a couple things left to write before then...

[ArcaneTrex]

dawwwwwwwwwwwww
dashie's first flight :D
great work
keep it up

[Literature]

Dashies first flight!

[blazeice9967]

First flight~! WOOHOO

[Stryker12324]

YEA BABY! Dash's first flight!
*HOOF PUMP*

[ThePinkazoid]

What Shine ordered sounds like something I would of ordered too xD

[octavia1997]

Would it be OK if I used you story as a base for a story. It is time travel and I need a past for her to change.
Please PM me,