• Published 13th Feb 2015
  • 7,659 Views, 251 Comments

A Bright Little Shadow - Princess OtakuGeek



Life in Twilight's new castle becomes even more intresting as she becomes a mom.

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Snow

When he woke up the next morning, Sombra was pleasantly surprised by the presence of his pets in his bed. Smiling, he scooped up Onyx and held her up in front of himself.

"How'd you get here in my bed?" He asked. "I thought Twilight made sure the cage was secure." For a moment, Sombra almost thought he saw the black ferret smirk smugly.

At that point, a movement from the corner of his eye had Sombra jumping out of bed and rushing to the window. While Sombra had already seen the snow, it was a new experience to see it gently falling from the sky like it was now and his eyes filled with wonder at the sight. When he heard the sound of the door opening, he couldn't help but cry out in excitement at whoever had entered.

"Twilight! Look look look!" He squealed at the mare as she trotted over. "It's snow! The snow is falling!"

"Uh, yeah it is," Twilight said. "This is actually how it's supposed to fall you know. Even though winter came a little early and a little unconventionally, there's still scheduled snowfall for the next few days."

"It's so pretty," Sombra said in wonder. Twilight paused a moment to look out the window and smiled slightly.

"Yeah, I guess it is." She admitted. "Now its time for breakfast, so let's get going."

"Okay, Twilight!" Sombra said cheerfully as he jumped down from his stool that he'd been using to look out the window. As they went down to the kitchen, Twilight trotting, and Sombra skipping, there was a knock at the door. When they reached the entrance hall, Spike had already opened the door to let in Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

"Morning Twilight." Rainbow greeted as she shook the snow off her coat and shed her winter wear. Fluttershy waved shyly and followed the other pegasus' example.

"Good morning to you to Dash." Twilight returned the greeting as she trotted up. "What brings you here so early?"

"Well, I told the kid here that I'd help him learn how to take care of his new pets." Rainbow explained. "And I figured that since Flutters here is an animal expert, it would be a good idea to bring her."

"Doesn't Fluttershy have other animals to take care of?" Twilight asked and Fluttershy shook her head.

"Most of my animals are either hibernating or have flown south for the winter." She said. "So there's not a lot of animals back home. I've already fed everyone and there's no one that needs constant attention, so I've got time to spare."

"Well alright then," Spike interjected. "We were about to eat breakfast, but I made plenty of food so you two can join us."

"Oh, breakfast," Rainbow said. "I was out the door before I could eat, so thanks, Spike." Rainbow then trotted after the dragon into the dining room with Sombra behind. Twilight and Fluttershy trailed behind and the purple alicorn leaned towards her friend to whisper to her quietly.

"She's still a little upset about Tank isn't she?" She whispered so Rainbow couldn't hear. Fluttershy nodded.

"It will take a little adjusting, but on the bright side, she isn't trying to stop winter anymore," Fluttershy whispered with a small humorous smile.

Twilight returned the smile and they continued to the dining room in silence. For breakfast, Spike had pulled out the waffle iron and there was now a tall stack of still warm waffles. There were also things to put on the waffles like butter, fruit, whipped cream, chocolate chips and more. The moment she sat down, Rainbow Dash scooped up a stack of waffles and began putting fruit and whipped cream on before digging in. Upon seeing how much the pegasus took, Spike sighed.

"I'll go get the waffle iron and mix some more batter." He said as he started to leave the room. "Could somepony help serve Sombra?"

"Of course Spike." Fluttershy volunteered and she got the colt a smaller stack. By the time the dragon returned with the batter and magic waffle iron, the colt had taken his first bite of waffles.

"Mmm. It's warm and yummy. Thank you, Spike!" Sombra said cheerfully.

"You're very welcome kiddo," Spike said a little affectionately.

"The kid's right. These are some great waffles. Thanks, little guy." Rainbow Dash added, speaking around half a mouthful of food.

"Um, Rainbow? Don't talk with your mouth full." Fluttershy said from her spot at the table. "It's very rude for the people sitting with you."

"Ah, right. Sorry." Rainbow apologized. After that, Rainbow minded her manners and, aside from some light conversation, the rest of the meal went by in silence.

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After breakfast, Sombra led Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike up to his bedroom while Twilight went to attend to some business. After Rainbow's stunt yesterday, there was plenty of paperwork to sign. Upstairs in Sombra's bedroom, Fluttershy demonstrated how to properly feed the ferrets, how to treat them, how to play with them and all sorts of things. They spent an hour playing with the ferrets before they started to slow down.

"Huh, they're acting a little tired." Rainbow mused. "Just a few minutes ago they were just fin- *gasp* they aren't going to go into hibernation too, are they?!" She asked in a panic as Fluttershy leaned away from her when she found her friend in front of her in an instant. The shy pegasus was actually surprised she didn't break the sound barrier in that instant. Putting that aside, Fluttershy smiled kindly.

"Oh no, nothing like that." She assured the pegasus. "In fact, ferrets are very well equipped for the cold weather. They just need some rest and they'll be up on their feet."

Rainbow Dash sighed in relief as Sombra and Fluttershy tucked the ferrets into their cage. With her relief settling in, Rainbow now tapped her chin in thought.

"So how long will they be napping?" Dash asked.

"Only for a little while," Fluttershy answered. "They do need a lot of sleep."

"So what now? Are we going to wait around for them to wake up? Booooring!" Dash declared.

"What do you suggest we do?" Sombra asked.

"Well, we've got plenty of snow on the ground, a frozen lake and snowfall for the next few days. I say we have a snow day!" Rainbow announced.

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"And then we put the head on top, add the eyes and mouth and it's done." Fluttershy finished. As she spoke, she helped Sombra add the head to their snow pony. Two pieces of coal, four branches, a scarf, and a hat later and it was done.

"Yay! We did it, Auntie Fluttershy!" Sombra cheered then threw his forelegs around the snow pony. "Let's name him!"

"Okay then. Let's see, how about Snowflake?" She suggested.

"Hmm, nuh-uh. It doesn't fit." Sombra answered with a shake of his head.

"Oh, well then how about Icey?" Fluttershy threw out another name.

"It sounds too cold for him." Sombra rejected with a shake.

"Oh, well then let's see....." Fluttershy hummed in thought.

"What about Sparky? Or Flurry? Or Flower? Or Tom?" Pinkie Pie suddenly appeared next to Fluttershy, making the pegasus shriek in surprise, and began listing possible names. Sombra jumped at Pinkie's sudden appearance, but then he giggled.

"No no, none of those is right." He said.

"Huh, then this just got harder." Pinkie said as she plopped down in the snow with a thoughtful look and a hoof to her chin.

"My, what a handsome snow pony." Rarity complimented as she approached.

"Thanks, Auntie Rarity!" Sombra greeted the elegant unicorn. "Fluttershy helped me and now we're trying to figure out his name."

"Well then, what about Snow Bell?" Rarity asked. Sombra shook his head.

"No, that doesn't sound right either." He said.

"No? Then how about Platinum Ice?"

"Hm-mm." Sombra rejected with a shake of his head then he tapped his chin in thought. "What about Frosty?"

"Frosty huh? It's a little simple, but now that I'm looking at him, he's definitely a Frosty." Rarity approved.

"Frosty is a lovely name for him," Fluttershy added her two bits. Pinkie Pie suddenly leaped up from her position and scooped up Sombra.

"Then Frosty it is!" She declared.

"Hey! Are you done now?" Rainbow called as she rushed forward. "Let's go do something fun!"

"Okay then!" Sombra said. "Like what?" Rainbow smirked competitively.

"Ever played ice hockey before kid?" She asked.

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Twenty minutes later, the entire group was at the frozen pond getting ready. At some point, they'd run into Applejack and invited her to join them. Rainbow Dash had wanted to play without shoulder or rump pads, but since Sombra would be playing, it was unanimously decided that they wouldn't do that. Of course, to sooth Dash's hurt feelings, Applejack promised that they'd play without pads when Sombra wasn't in the lineup.

Then came Sombra's first time on the ice. At first, he was a little shaky, but he managed to stay on his hooves until it came time to hit the puck. The little colt slipped and went shooting across the ice and into the net with the puck.

Pinkie Pie giggled as she skated over to Sombra, who'd gotten his skates a little tangled in the net. "Ahehe That was a great first try." She said as she helped him get untangled. "That was better than Twilight's first time. Keep practicing, and I'm sure you'll skate as good as me!"

"Really Auntie?" Sombra asked with excitement as his eyes sparkled. Pinkie finally got the last blade free and was now pulling him up.

"Of course!" She answered cheerfully.

"Ya know, since this is Sombra's first time skating, I'm not so sure if ice hockey is really the best." Applejack said to Rainbow Dash. The pegasus frowned.

"Uugh, fine! But what else can we do?" She demanded.

"Um, I think I have an idea," Sombra spoke up.

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<Crystal Ponies are amazing. Due to the Crystal Empire being surrounded by snow and ice, the Crystal Ponies have found a myriad of games and activities to do in the snow. Snow critters, ice sculptures, bird feeders, snowy scavenger hunts, and snowball target practice are all just a few of the things which I've seen and participated in. They even have a Snow Fair in winter. It's the second biggest celebration in the Empire. The first, of course, being the Crystal Fair.>

Cadence smiled. She'd already discovered this part of her subjects lives and had found it so much fun. She turned the page to read more.

<My favorite is the Frosty Toss. Basically, they make a circle in the snow and everyone tries to throw a snowball into the circle while standing aways away and without the aid of magic. That was a rule that I suggested to make the game fair for non-unicorns. They hadn't really thought about that because not a lot of Equestrians come this way and aside from the odd Crystal Pegasus, a majority of the Crystal Ponies are earth ponies.>

Cadence was familiar with the Frosty Toss and it's no magic rule. But when she asked where they got the idea for that, she'd been told that they didn't remember. Well, there was one mystery solved. She was almost halfway through the book and there was no evidence of dark or evil thoughts. And that confused her. When did Sombra become a tyrant? So far there wasn't even a shadow of darkness. Perhaps further in she would find the answer to that mystery.

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At first, they played the game that Sombra had suggested. The colt couldn't remember what it was called, so Pinkie Pie had dubbed it, The Snowball Toss since that was the point of the game. Of course, when you mix Rainbow Dash with snowballs, the game didn't stay that way. One snowball toss in the right direction (Applejack's face) and just like that, there was now a snowball battle.

"Now this is more like it." Rainbow Dash said hunched behind the walls of their snow fort. On her side, she had Fluttershy and Sombra. On Applejack's side, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, who were doing a good job at pinning them down. Rainbow Dash turned to her team with a look of serious determination.

"Alright troops, listen up!" She said in a voice like a general. "They may have us pinned, but we are not beaten. Not by a long shot. By the end of this day, we shall be the victors!"

"YAY!"

"Yay."

Rainbow Dash nodded at her troop's cheers. "Good to see you two on board. And from now on, you will call me Captain Rainbow Dash or just Captain. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Captain!" Sombra cried out with a salute.

"Heh. I like your spirit kid. But your salutes on the wrong side." Rainbow said while hiding a smile at how adorable he was. The colt quickly fixed the mistake.

"Sorry Captain." He apologized with his salute now on the right side. Rainbow Dash blinked and turned back to the enemy fort.

'Gosh darn it, kid. Stop being so darn cute.' She thought to herself. "Alright troops, we need to get out of here and strike a blow to the enemy." She addressed her troops. She then spun back around and pointed hoof at Fluttershy. "Private Fluttershy!"

The pegasus in question let out a 'yeep!' at Rainbow's sudden shout. "Y-yes Captain?" She asked.

"When I give the signal, we're all going to jump out of this fort and charge the enemy." Rainbow Dash laid out the plan. "You and Sombra are going to divert the enemy's attention and hopefully take down one or two of them. While you're doing that, I'll sneak up behind and nail them. Then victory will be ours! Now let's start making as many snowballs as we can carry!"

Once they were loaded with as many snowballs as they could carry, Sombra, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash crouched down behind their fort and braced themselves.

"Steady men.....NOW!" At Dash's signal, they lept out and charged.

Fluttershy and Sombra took on Pinkie Pie, who was throwing snowballs like some sort of machine. It took a bit of doing, but soon enough, one of Sombra's snowballs hit Pinkie right in her chest.

"Oh no!" She gasped, grabbing where the snowball landed. "I've been hit! I can feel myself.....weakening. Rarity! Applejack! You....must....go on without....me." And on that note, she collapsed dramatically into the snow. No one knew how or where she got the lily she was now currently clutching at her chest.

Sombra giggled at her antics. "Auntie Pinkie, you're funny." He said. Pinkie instantly sprang up like a jack in the box.

"I know, right?" She said happily. "Now shush. I need to go back to playing dead." And with that, she slumped back into her pose. Rarity rolled her eyes.

"Well, there goes our heaviest hitter." She commented to Applejack, completely forgetting that the enemy was now in the fort. She was quickly reminded of this fact when a snowball landed smack dab into her mane. The culprit, a certain butter yellow pegasus, blinked.

"Um...I got you." She said softly. A moment later, Rarity started fussing over mane. It wasn't as bad as it would've been if she'd been hit with mud or dirt. But it was still enough to prompt an eye-roll from Applejack.

"Fer Celestia's sake Rares, it's just a little frozen water." She said exasperatedly. "It ain't like its gonna bite ya."

"But the point is she's out." Rainbow Dash said as she landed in front of the earth pony and grinned. "Which means it's just you and me."

Applejack's grin matched the pegasus' and she hefted a snowball. What followed was an epic snowball battle. The two mares were throwing and dodging, each trying to cream the other while not being creamed as well. Eventually, Rainbow managed to get close enough to hit Applejack, but the downside was that Applejack was also able to hit her. An advantage that AJ took in an instant. Before the snowball could hit, however, there was a blur of grey and black and the next thing either mare knew, Sombra had taken that snowball instead. Not asking questions, Rainbow threw her own snowball, nailing the still surprised Applejack.

"I win!" The pegasus cheered and was instantly in the air. With that declaration, the game was over and Pinkie Pie 'returned amongst the living' with a leap.

"Game over!" She said cheerfully. "So who wants to warm up?"

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Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Sombra were now at Sugarcube Corner warming themselves up with hot chocolate. Fluttershy had gone home to take care of her animals, Rarity wanted to fix her mane and Applejack had chores back on the farm. So it was just the two mares with Sombra. When they were warm enough, Rainbow turned to the colt who was enjoying his hot chocolate with marshmallows.

"Hey, kid." She said and Sombra turned to her. "Why'd you do that? Take that snowball for me I mean."

"Twilight says that you're really competitive and you like to win," Sombra said honestly. "And I wanted you to have fun too. And if you'd lost, you wouldn't have been having fun. So I helped you win and everyone had fun."

As he returned to his drink, Dash mulled this over. Sure it was a philosophy that Pinkie embraced (to say the least) but that he would do something so selfless so she would have fun really struck a cord. True it wasn't an extreme situation where he took a crossbow bolt or something of the like, but to her, it held some weight. Enough so that she began to think that he wasn't so bad.

"You know what kid, you're alright," Rainbow said. "And do you know what I'm going to do something for you. What do you want to do? Just name it, and I'll do it."

Sombra set his now empty mug down and hummed in thought. "I kinda wanna try sledding." He said after a minute. "I haven't gone sledding and from what I've heard, it sounds like fun. So I wanna go sledding."

"Sledding huh....?" Rainbow Dash hummed thoughtfully as she trailed off. True there were some pretty big sledding hills, but none of them were high enough. For his first time, Dash wanted it to be as awesome and memorable as possible. Then, like a light bulb going off, she had an idea. She smiled at the sheer awesomeness of it.

"Alrighty then kid, let's go sledding." She announced. "But for your first run, I'm going to do something totally awesome. Be right back."

And just like that, she flew out the window so fast, she was a multicolored blur.

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"Are you sure this is safe?" Sombra asked as he clung to Dash's back.

"Pfft, who do you think you're talking to, kid?" The pegasus asked as she flew them upwards. "I'm not just a professional weather pony, I'm also a pro at stunts. Of course, I'm sure. I've taken every precaution I can so that your first run won't be your last."

"Uh, okay," Sombra said as he looked up at the cloud construct that they were flying up to. About an hour after she left, Rainbow Dash returned and showed Sombra, Pinkie Pie, and the newly arrived Rarity what she'd been working on. A huge hill with a small ramp at the end made of snow clouds packed together so tightly that non-pegasi could set hoof on it. Rainbow Dash had moved the cloud lower to the ground and to the top of a large hill and was now flying up to it with Sombra on her back and a sled in her hooves. At the top of the hill below the cloud, Pinkie Pie was cheering the two on while Rarity watched worriedly. Upon landing, Rainbow set the sled down and Sombra slid down onto the cloud. Upon finding that his hoof didn't fall through, he jumped down fully.

"Huh, so this is what a cloud feels like." He said and then began jumping up and down a little. "It's so soft and bouncy."

"Hehe. It feels much softer and bouncier when it's not this concentrated." Rainbow said. After positioning the sled, she scooped Sombra up and set him in front then dropped a helmet on his head.

"Anyways, helmet up kid. Safety first you know." She said as she helped him strap it on. When it was sufficiently secured, she settled herself onto the sled as well and strapped her own helmet on. When her own helmet was ready, she wrapped her forelegs around the colt then using her hindleg, pushed them over the edge.

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When Twilight finished her paperwork, she went out to look for Sombra and the others. She found obvious evidence of a snowball fight and very easily guessed that they'd been here. Figuring that they'd want to warm up after covering themselves in the snow, Twilight then went to Sugarcube Corner. Only to find that she'd just missed them. Fortunately, Mr. Cake was able to point her in the right direction by telling her that they'd mentioned going sledding. Figuring that with Dash around, they'd be going to the tallest hill in Ponyville, Twilight headed in that direction and arrived just in time to see Rainbow and Sombra push off on a huge cloud hill. Her expression quickly morphed into horror.

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The rush of going down the cloud hill was exhilarating and Rainbow couldn't help but let out a whoop. And Sombra whooped with her. That's how they went down the cloud. Whooping and hollering in excitement. When they reached the end, they flew up the ramp into the air and flipped around before landing on the snowy hill below. By this point, they were going so fast that everything only registered as blurs in her peripheral vision. Even when they reached the bottom, they kept going. Even skidding and swerving across the lake below. The sled finally stopped on the other side of the lake when they runners snagged on the shore and sent them both flying into a snowdrift. The two ponies at first just lay in the snowdrift laughing.

"Hahaha, oh gosh." She sighed as she sat up with Sombra still clutched in her forelegs. "Now was that awesome or what?" She asked with a grin. But before Sombra could answer, somepony else did. Someone who was definitely not a colt or even male.

"How about 'or what'?" The familiar female voice said it a not to pleased tone. Rainbow Dash whirled around and found herself face to face with a certain purple alicorn who was giving her a glare.

"Oh hey Twi." Rainbow Dash greeted casually and the mare's eyes narrowed a bit more. The pegasus was very familiar with this particular look in her friend's eye and knew exactly what was coming. Lecture time.

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Spike shook the pan a little more to make sure all the kernels got popped before dumping the fluffy white corn into the bowl Sombra was currently holding. Nestling in his mane was Onyx with all the other ferrets mulling about around him. With an expert flip of his claws, the baby dragon drizzled popcorn oil and shook salt into the bowl with a professional grace that had Sombra in awe. When he was done mixing and seasoning, he then held out the bowl.

"Ta-da!" He announced proudly with a puff of his chest. "And that my friend, is how you make a perfect bowl of popcorn."

Sombra stomped his hooves on the crystal floor in applause. "Wow, that looks so good Spike."

"Tastes good too," Spike said as he grabbed a clawful and began eating. "Try it." Taking the dragon's advice, Sombra sampled a kernel and smiled widely. Seeing this, Spike grinned as well.

"Good right?" He asked.

"It's wonderful!" Sombra agreed and took some more. In a room not far away from where they were, there was the sound of shouting. The pair couldn't hear the specific words, but they did know what was going on. Twilight was lecturing Rainbow Dash. Sombra flinched guiltily at the shouts and he looked at his hooves.

"Spike? Is Rainbow going to be okay?" He asked. Spike instantly caught on.

"Hey now, don't worry." He soothed. "Dash is going to be alright. If I know one thing about her, its that she's tough and this isn't the first time she's been on the receiving end of a Twilight Lecture. She can handle herself."

'Though I must admit she hasn't gone off like this before.' Spike added to himself privately. There was no need to worry about the colt more than he already was.

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"-reckless and the worst idea you've ever had!!!" Twilight finished her rant and began to breathe heavily. Rainbow Dash, however, while she had been paying attention, she had remained completely relaxed the whole time.

"Are you done?" She asked calmly and Twilight was hard pressed to not yell at her friend's face point blank.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?!" She said in a barely contained shout. Rainbow shrugged.

"I'm sorry?" She said in a not at all convincing manner and Twilight almost went off again. Before she could, the pegasus continued. "Look, you know me. I may be a reckless daredevil, but I'm also a professional weather mare and stunt pony. I took all the necessary precautions. I had the cloud in a wide open space and as low to the ground as possible. Not to mention we were both wearing helmets and I was there. If something did happen, I could've easily flown us out of there no problem. I may take risks, but only when it's my neck on the line."

Rainbow then grinned mischievously. "Besides, why are you freaking out like this? You don't normally go off like this when I do stuff like this. Could it because I had Sombra with me~?" She asked it a teasing, sing-song tone. Twilight instantly stumbled backward.

"W-wha-? I....you....he....." Was all she stammered, the alicorn having suddenly lost the ability to form coherent sentences. Dash grinned victoriously and lept from her seat.

"I'll bet that's why you totally wigged out." She said triumphantly as she booped her friend on the nose. "Now is that popcorn I smell?"

And like that, the pegasus zoomed out of the room in search of the snack. Leaving Twilight to her thoughts. It couldn't be true, could it? It wasn't the first time she'd freaked out at her friend over a stunt, but this was the first time she'd ever freaked out to this extent. It couldn't be because Sombra was there, could it?

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Rainbow Dash hung out with Sombra and his ferrets for the rest of the day. It wasn't until after dinner that Rainbow left the castle. Full and satisfied, Rainbow now stood at the doorway pulling her coat on. Sombra stood not too far away with his ferrets.

"I had lots of fun today." He said.

"Yeah, me too kid," Rainbow said as she wrapped her scarf around her neck.

"I enjoyed the sledding too." Sombra continued. "It was so awesome! Maybe sometime, we could go again."

"Nah, don't think so kid," Rainbow said with a shake of her head. "I'm pretty sure Twilight will blow a gasket if I try that again. Maybe when you're a little older."

Sombra looked a little disappointed for a moment before brightening. "You'll come back tomorrow though, right?" He asked hopefully. "We could have some more fun then and we can bring my ferrets. I'm pretty sure that Tiger Eye is mostly upset because she couldn't do the cloud sledding thing."

"Oh is she now?" Rainbow asked while examining the ferret in question, who nodded with a chattering sound. Dash grinned with a light laugh. "Looks like you've got a little daredevil on your hooves. Don't you worry kid, I'll be back tomorrow. I've still got to keep my promise to help you figure out pet ownership and they didn't call me the Element of Loyalty for nothing." As she spoke, she stepped into her boots and opened the door to step out.

"Okay. See you tomorrow Rainbow Dash!" He said with a wave as she walked out. Midway down the stairs, she paused and turned to look at him.

"Actually, if you want, you can call me Auntie Dash." She said. The colt paused and smiled wider.

"Okay, Auntie Dash!" He said enthusiastically as he waved her off. Rainbow Dash smiled to herself as she made her way home. He really was a good kid.

Author's Note:

Yes! Finally! I get to give you guys a new chapter. Sorry it's been a while. I've sorta had writers block. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and Happy Thanksgiving!