A Sleepover

“Where did I leave that bottle of lemonade?” Dash muttered to herself as she searched her home for the errant beverage. The day had moved by rather quickly and it was now almost time for the sun to set over the horizon, giving the interior of the house a warm orange glow despite the cold temperature outside. Rainbow had only just come back from town, having bought a box of cupcakes from Sugarcube Corner. The mare was now heading around the home, making sure everything was prepared for that night’s sleep over. Dash had every confidence that Scootaloo would show up, though a small part of her was uncertain as to whether she would come with a note. She shook her head in an effort to clear her mind of any uncertainty, and went on busying herself with preparation.

Still unable to locate the elusive lemonade, Rainbow checked around the living area for the missing bottle of soda, eventually finding the item placed near the television screen. For a moment, she questioned what her motive may have been in leaving it there. She then took the bottle and gently placed it on the coffee table in the middle of the room, before quickly heading upstairs to retrieve some Daring Do books, should the pair get bored.

As Dash entered her room to source out some suitable volumes to read, a smell filled her nostrils. She took another few sniffs to identify what the smell was, her mind quickly coming to the conclusion of cooking food.

Apple pie? I never put in a pie.

Confused, Dash cautiously made her way back downstairs. Part way down, her eyes instinctively looked over to the open plan kitchen from which the smell was coming. She quickly took a glance at the front door, finding it to be in the same position as she left it when she came home. Dash completed her descent of the stairs, quickly trotting over to the kitchen. She began to check everywhere for some sign of life. Rainbow reflected for a moment. Her mind darted back to the note she’d received the day before, and then to what she’d smelled upstairs.

Of course...

As Rainbow’s mind suddenly clicked, she felt a pair of hooves wrap themselves around her midsection. She quickly turned to meet the soft fur of someone she knew very well.

“Should’ve known it was gonna be you, big guy,” Dash said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head playfully.

Soarin chuckled as the pair finally locked eyes again, “Well, I saw an opportunity, but I couldn’t help noticing…” he started, glancing at the various foodstuffs on the coffee table. “Did I step into a surprise party or something?” he asked hesitantly, raising a curious eyebrow. Rainbow at first didn't register the question, getting a little lost in the moment before she finally came around.

"Oh!" She giggled. “No, you goofball, I promised Scootaloo I’d have her over tonight. I didn’t know you were gonna show up until last night when I got your letter,” she explained as the pair shared a nuzzle.

“Scootaloo?” Soarin repeated, pulling away from the act of affection with a look of surprise. He knew that the filly was very close to Dash, but given the time of year it felt rather odd. “You’d think a little filly would be with her family around now,” he asked quizzically.

Dash shrugged. “She joined in at the hoofball match yesterday, and when I talked to her, she just seemed… off. I just felt wrong to leave her without talking it out, that's when she asked me if she could stay over for the night."

Soarin shared his marefriend's concern, "That does seem off..." He pondered. "Did she say anything else to you?"

Rainbow shook her head, "Not really, I told her that if she got a note from her parents that I would let her stay the night. After that I took off back here. If somethings wrong I kinda hoped she could talk to me about it tonight, but I don't want to force it out of her especially if there isn't anything wrong.”

Soarin smiled knowingly. He wasn’t going to deny he’d been wanting to spend the night with Dash, but he wasn’t going to spoil Scootaloo’s night either. He could respect that she was just trying to look out for the filly, but he knew deep down if it concerned Scootaloo that Dash would do anything. Pushing those thoughts away for the time being though, he kept his smile, “So tonight’s gonna be fun, then?” he asked curiously, hoping to lighten the mood as the two finally eased a little in their embrace.

Dash smirked in return. “Why wouldn’t it be? I’m here, aren’t I?”

"Never change, Dashie."

The two shared a quiet laugh in each other’s embrace. As silence descended, they gently leaned forward to share their first kiss in a long while, and they continued until the beeping from the oven made one of them pull away.

“Pie’s ready!” Soarin gleefully said, untangling himself from Dash as he headed over to the cooker.

“You know,” Dash said with a snicker, “that was meant to be for later,”

Soarin’s ears flopped at the words, looking back at his marefriend with the expression of a foal who’d just been denied chocolate, “Can’t I have it now, though?”

Dash couldn't help but giggle, nodding happily while Soarin eagerly went back to taking the pie out of the oven. She'd missed having him around, Soarin's foal-like moments always seemed to hit a soft spot that Rainbow never knew she had until she started getting to know him more. She was about to laugh at Soarin's well known lack of table manners when it came to eating pie, before a muffled voice caught the attention of both ponies in the room.

“That must be Scootaloo!” Dash responded happily, heading towards the door. “Don’t mess up the place, Soar,” she warned. Turning around to point an accusing hoof at him.

The stallion looked over at the mare with a confused stare. “You’ll only be gone a few seconds,” he replied.

“Exactly,” Dash said with a smirk, letting Soarin go red in his own embarrassment before opening the door to her home. She spread her wings and took off towards the ground, only taking her a few seconds to spot the orange filly waiting impatiently on the snow covered field near the home.

“Hey, Scoots!" Dash greeted happily, spying the note Scootaloo happily held in her mouth.

“Heysh Rainbow Dsh,” Scootaloo replied in a muffled sound as she offered her the letter in question. Dash kindly took the envelope into her wing. “So, can I stay over?” the filly continued with hopeful eyes. Rainbow looked over the contents of the letter. Feeling satisfied by the words of approval as she nodded.

"‘Course you can, Scoots! Come on, I’ll help you up there,” The mare lowered herself down so Scootaloo could catch a ride. The filly secured herself to Dash by throwing her forehooves around her neck. The mare put the note between her teeth as she spread her wings once more and took to the sky, returning to her home within seconds. Landing softly at the front of the building, Dash took the note into her hoof as she breathed out, “There... Ten... Seconds... Flat!” she boasted happily to the excited filly as she opened the front door, “Come on in, Scoots!”

The filly happily entered in front of the mare, and Dash shut the cold out behind them. Scootaloo began to take a few steps around the front of the house, admiring the interior of the home. Meanwhile, Dash took the note and placed it on the counter in the nearby kitchen, before cantering back over to the filly.

“Likin’ it?” Dash asked with confidence as she came up to the filly.

“It’s awesome,” Scootaloo said in awe.

Dash motioned for the her to follow into the front room. Soarin was lounging on one of the couches casually watching something on the television, not having noticed their presence as the two trotted in. Rainbow hadn't introduced Scootaloo to her coltfriend as of yet, so now seemed the perfect time to get them acquainted to one another.

“Soarin!?” Scootaloo blurted out when she saw the stallion reclining casually in the sofa, making him jolt in surprise as the mare in the room shared a quick laugh to his misfortune.

“Y-Yep, sure is,” Soarin replied hastily. “Scootaloo, right?” he asked, getting up from the couch to greet the filly while Rainbow tried to keep the adorable comedy from letting her laugh any further.

“Yes, sir!” Scootaloo replied as she saluted the stallion in true Wonderbolt fashion, Soarin smiling as he saluted the filly back before ruffling her mane while she smiled excitedly. Rainbow noted the filly's change in mood from yesterday, perhaps there wasn't anything wrong now that she'd had a night to rest it off. Despite this, she was still going to keep an eye out for any more changes.

"So I hear Dash is letting you sleep here tonight! Pie's already been eaten I'm afraid, but we have more snacks if you're hungry!" Soarin beamed as he sat back down on the sofa. Rainbow rolled her eyes at him as Scootaloo raised her brow curiously.

“So, why are you here?” She asked bluntly. The foal's lack of subtlety piqued her confusion when Soarin ruffled the back of his neck, not giving any answer besides his slightly rosy hued cheeks. Rainbow hadn't expected that kind of talk to come up so quickly, she exchanged looks between Soarin before clumsily choosing to make an excuse.

“Soarin is just… staying over here for the week, he just got back from a tour in Fillydelphia!” Rainbow said with a hesitant smile, at least some of what she said was true, but she hoped that it would be enough as she looked down to the confused filly. Scootaloo remained silent for the first few moments, only serving to make Rainbow grow hotter as time went on.

“Oh,” Was all Scootaloo finally replied, seeming too innocent to take the conversation any further, much to the other two ponies’ relief.

“So,” Dash began, letting out a breath of tension, moving the conversation forward as she hopped up on the opposite couch in the room. “I got us Pinkie’s new recipe for rainbow cupcakes and an awesome movie for us to watch! Couldn't get much else together with the short time, but I've got some other tricks up my hoof!"

“Cool!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she beamed up at the mare, clearly eager to get the sleepover underway. Looking towards the filly, Dash patted on the space next to her, showing pocket of space for her to join. She could see a small blush form on Scootaloo’s cheeks before she hopped up and sat close to Dash’s side, the mare draping her wing over the filly as they settled down.

“Comfy?” Dash asked as she looked down at Scootaloo.

“Mnhm,” Scootaloo mused as she rested her head on Rainbow’s fur. The mare smiled down at the foal, before looking back up at the television to see Soarin grinning at her knowingly. Dash stuck her tongue out at the stallion while admittedly trying to fight the oncoming blush, making Soarin snicker and shake his head playfully in return.

He turned the movie on with the remote he held in his hoof while the three of them got a little more comfy. As time progressed, the movie held a lot of promise for the three ponies, with it being about a daring pony heading into space with his trusty crew. Some moments made them laugh, and others making them grip the fabrics of their respective sofa. At one moment, the screen went dark, reflecting the three ponies back at them. Just for a moment, Dash saw what looked like a happy family sitting on the couch together. While the moment was indeed short, she almost felt something feel warmer inside.

It hadn't seem like much time at all when the end credits began to appear on the TV screen, Rainbow looked between the two other ponies in the room with a smirk, "Well? Was that awesome or what!" She asked, the two other ponies nodded eagerly. Dash got up and poured each of them a glass of lemonade from the coffee table, before sitting down next to the two once more.

Scootaloo smiled, taking the cup of soda. "I loved the ending, I wanna go to the moon! It looks so cool, but is it really made out of cheese?"

Soarin laughed almost immediately, nearly spilling his drink while Rainbow just smiled and ruffled her mane, "I don't think so squirt, but I guess we'd have to ask Princess Luna, she'll know."

Scootaloo nodded in return, not seeming phased at all by Soarin's lack of confidence, "Well she must have been able to eat something while she was up there!" She exclaimed. Rainbow began to giggle as well from the reply, with Scootaloo finally joining in with the group. After a few moments to let them all get it out of their system, they all settled down again.

“Thanks for having me over, Dash,” Scootaloo began before taking a sip of her drink.

“It’s no problem, Scoots. It’s good to have you here,” Dash replied, genuinely happy Scootaloo was enjoying her time so far, "So, was it hard getting the note from your parents?” she asked with a smirk.

Scootaloo stopped drinking at those words, taking a few moments to respond. “I-It wasn’t that bad, why do you ask?”

Dash shrugged, she wasn't wanting to press to hard into the issue that had been at the back of her mind since last night. She brushed it off casually “No reason, just that my Dad never used to let me over to other ponies houses that often,” she continued. “I could always sneak out when he was busy, though,” she finished, winking to the filly. “But don’t go trying that yourself, okay?”

“Y-Yeah, I promise Rainbow,” Scootaloo replied with a hesitant laugh, taking another sip of her drink.

“So, are your parents pegasi too?” Soarin asked obnoxiously as he entered himself in the conversation.

“Well, of course not. T-that’s why I haven't learned to fly, of course,” Scootaloo replied, again little hesitantly. Dash saw the filly’s eyes drop after she replied and felt a little twinge in her chest.

“Well, I could talk to your parents tomorrow after I take you back." Rainbow began, coming up with a plan, "If they accept I’ll teach you how to fly,” She finished with a reassuring smile. Soarin nodded in agreement in hope that it would cheer the filly up. A few moments of silence passed as both adult ponies waited for an answer.

“Do you have to see my parents?” Scootaloo asked all of a sudden, it was another wall that Rainbow was a little stunned by and only further served to make her paranoia worse. She continued on however, intent on finding out what was causing Scootaloo to swerve such simple questions

“Well… I can’t just take you up there, Squirt. I need to know your folks are cool with it,” Rainbow replied, keeping her smile.

Scootaloo sighed, looking down at the ground in a defeated posture. Rainbow bit the inside of her cheek as she waited, hoping that she hadn't upset her.

“I-I think I’m more tired than I thought I was,” Scootaloo began.

Dash nodded in acceptance. She knew better, but not wanting to push her sister off the edge she kept her cool, for now at least. “Okay, Squirt, you go get ready upstairs and call on me when you’re ready to go to bed, alright?”

Scootaloo nodded in reply before getting off the couch and trodding off towards the staircase. Rainbow looked back at Soarin, the two sharing a concerned look with one another. As the hoofsteps got further away, Soarin leaned over to Rainbow. “Hey, Dash, have you ever seen Scootaloo’s parents?” he asked, keeping his voice down so the filly wouldn’t hear.

Rainbow thought for a moment before replying. “... No, I’ve only ever seen her by herself,” she replied, her ears flopping down as she continued, “She seems just as odd as she was yesterday now... do you think I should write her a note to take back to her parents?” Soarin nodded firmly in reply.

“I’m ready!” Scootaloo called from above. Dash smiled as she got up and trotted up the stairs to the filly.

“Okay, Squirt,” Dash said, motioning for the filly to follower her down the hallway once she'd ascended the staircase. ”I kept the sleeping bags we used on our trip out to Rainbow Falls so you can—”

“C-Could I sleep… w-with you?” Scootaloo asked, making Dash stop in her tracks as she turned to face the filly. This was becoming a regular occurrence now, her brain was yelling at her by this point. Something was up.

"Why wou-"

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Soarin began with an amusing smile as he reached the top of the stairs, cutting any chance of Dash getting to know any new information. Rainbow turned to Soarin, he simply gave her knowing look before the mare then nodded towards the filly.

“Come on then, Scoots,” Dash said, leading her to the room as Soarin made his way back to the living area. When Dash opened the door to her room, Scootaloo was presented with a large space filled with Wonderbolt and other flying memorabilia. The centerpiece was, of course, the giant, semi-circular cloud bed centered in the middle with a television that sat close to the foot of the bed. Rainbow had forgotten to move it back after the hoofball game the previous day.

“Wow,” Scootaloo said as she cantered around. Dash, who was now laying down in her own bed, smiled as she watched the filly admire all the items on the shelves and cabinets, looking at the many trophies and pictures from Dash’s foalhood. Once Scootaloo was done showing herself around the room, she looked over at the mare in the same inviting position that she was previoisly on the sofa. Scootaloo jumped up onto the bed and huddled herself into the warmth of Rainbow, the mare sniggered slightly, making her look back up with a questionable look.

“You planned this, didn’t you?” Dash asked jokingly with a smile. Scootaloo didn’t respond, only giving a sheepish grin. A few moments of silence fell before the pair burst out in giggles.

“Tonight’s been really fun… could I stay over some other time?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow smiled again, happy that Scootaloo had seemed to drop her odd mood once more, but inside she was still concerned.

After taking a few moments to decide, She answered, “Course you can, Squirt," ruffling the filly’s mane. “But… only on one condition.”

Scootaloo looked up with a smile, “Anything!”

Dash sighed. This wasn't going to be an easy thing to say. “You gotta stop acting so odd for me, kiddo, it’s getting me worried when you get all upset,” the mare ended truthfully.

Scootaloo looked back down for a moment as she seemed to figure out something in her head, but she soon nodded silently in reply. Rainbow smiled in return as she reached for the light. “That’s good to hear, Scoots. You know I’m always here if you need me,” she said, turning back at her before turning the light off.

“I know Dash, t-thanks for being my sister… it means a lot,” Scootaloo admitted, not knowing that in the darkness Rainbow was smiling widely at the filly. Dash threw her wing around the filly and pulled her close.

“Night, Dash,” Scootaloo finished with a small yawn.

“Night, sis,” Rainbow whispered as the filly drifted off to sleep, letting Dash’s mind ponder for a moment as she looked over the sleeping foal cuddled to her. She hoped that Scootaloo would keep her promise and hopefully open up about what was making her act so odd. Part of her felt more confident now Soarin was back, but the two of them were going to have to come up with something to figure out what was going wrong in Scootaloo's world.

Rainbow sighed. "I Just hope you'll tell me what's wrong, kid," She muttered quietly before laying her head down, letting her own sleep come to her.