More Like Wonderquads

“Achoo!”

Oh, there was a sound that had gotten real old, real fast. Sighing, Lightning Dust pulled out yet another handkerchief and wiped Rainbow Dash’s nose for her.

“Thnk ‘ou” said the pegasus, her voice muffled by both the handkerchief and her own blocked nostrils. She was tucked into bed, wrapped up so tightly she was pretty much just a head sticking out of a bundle of cloth. Sniffling, Dash tried to sit up, but Dust just picked her up and adjusted her so that the limbless pony was sitting upright against her pillows.

“This sucks.” Said Rainbow.

“Yeah. It kinda does.” Agreed Dust. “Stuck indoors looking after your sickly butt is not my idea of an exciting weekend.”

“Could be worse-Achoo!”

“Yeah, that’s fair I suppose.” Dust, who was sitting on the side of the bed, leaned forward again and dabbed the pegasi’s nose once more, throwing away the used items into a conveniently placed bin to her side. It had been a few days ago that Dash had first started coming down with something. She had tried to get through Wonderbolt training anyway, but once it had been brought to her attention, Captain Spitfire immediately put her on sick leave, citing the risk of it infection. Dash had been devastated at the idea of being stuck at home, but Spitfire’s word was final.

“Classic rookie mistake.” She had said to the both of them, as Dust was getting her sickly charge changed out of her gear. “First time you get injured, or get sick or whatever, you always try to power through it. Some want to show how tough they are, some are just scared of losing their spot. But they always pay for it.” Lightning Dust could tell that Spitfire was right, and that it was the best thing to do. But it did mean condemning her to…well..

“Achoo!”

“Hey, you want me to make another cup of tea or something?” asked Dust. Rainbow made a face.

“I’d prefer coffee.”

“Hey, Fluttershy made this especially for you. It’s good for you!”

“It tastes grody.” Insisted Rainbow, turning her head and pouting. “I’d rather still be sick than drink that stuff.”

“You’re getting more tea and you’ll thank me, miss.” Said Dust, standing up and crossing her arms. “Imagine that poor mares face when I tell her what you said about her extremely healthy tea?” Dash’s features softened slightly. She said nothing, but that was good enough as far as agreement went. Dust went off downstairs, happy just to have something to do.

As she made up the tea, Dust thought about Fluttershy and the rest of Dash’s Ponyville friends. It had been two or three weeks since that day, which still resonated happily in her memory. Dash had insisted on going into town nearly every day since then, save for the odd time when her job required her to be training or preparing for a show. While Lightning still considered herself an outsider in their group, she had grown a little closer to each of them. She went wherever Dash went, whether that was hanging out with Pinkie, visiting Fluttershy’s cottage, talking her day over with Twilight…

Dust bit her lip. Seeing Twilight always made her feel a little weird. The way she could just hang out with everyone, like she was just another one of them, even with just a cursory glance in her direction made it obvious that the purple alicorn was anything but normal. No one in town seemed to blink an eye as she squeezed her massive frame through doors, her sweater bulging as it tried to contain her beanbag-sized boobs. Dust wondered if the day would come when she got used to it, too…

After pouring the hot water in and letting the golden tea brew, Dust carried the cup back upstairs and leaned in close to the miserable looking Rainbow Dash.

“Ok, chin up, you don’t want this spilling on to you.” Instructed Dust, slowly bringing the steaming mug up to Rainbow’s face and letting her take a tiny sip.

“Blergh.”

“Oh stop moaning you big baby, you.” Smiled the turquoise pegasus, keeping the mug in place until Dash had drank some more before placing it on a nearby surface. Dash immediately started fidgeting around, wings furling and unfurling. There was one part of her that wasn’t moving as much as usual, though. Dust had noticed that, while Rainbow was usually pretty shameless about her marecock, she had barely bothered with it since getting sick. Lightning assumed that she just didn’t have the energy for that kind of thing right now. Dash hadn’t even asked for any “tension relief” in a few days. Just when Dust had started to get used to that…

“Achoo! Urgh, this tea better work.”

“Let’s find out.” Said Dust, grabbing the mug again. “So, what’s your plans for tonight? I was thinking soup, then if you want I can try to finish reading the rest of that Daring Do book for you.”

“Sounds good to me. Not like we can do much else.” Answered Rainbow Dash, huffing. “Man, I think I was really starting to get in with the other Wonderbolts as well.”

“You were. And that’s good, you’ve been killing it.” Said Dust. “You can keep on killing it when you’re recovered. Just suck it up until then, OK?” She stood up and readjusted Rainbow, who had begun to slide off her pillow again without noticing. “Who knows, maybe they’ll come visit? See how you’re doing and all.”

“Nah, you heard Spitfire. No Wonderbolt worth their wings would-Achoo-‘scuse me, would risk getting sick if they know they can avoid it.” Dash said, her ears drooping as her carer wiped her nose clean once more. “Same with the girls. Except for Fluttershy coming up to drop off that tea of hers.”

“Which we are both very grateful for, of course.”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess.” Dash sniffed her nose a few times, blinking her eyes as she stared up at the ceiling in thought. “Nah, the only ponies who’d be crazy enough to visit me would be-“ She paused.

“Yes? Would be who?” asked Lightning Dust, looking slightly concerned at the look on Rainbow’s face. The amputee pegasus’s eyes went wide as a knock came from the door downstairs.

“Oh no. Me and my big mouth.” She said in a half whisper. “How could I have forgotten? Of course they’d come see me! And of course it would be now of all times!” The knocking intensified, as if whoever was outside was desperate to get inside. Dust stood up.

“Who in Equestria are you talking about?” she asked.

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“Oh my poor little girl! Don’t worry, we’re here for you!”

“Be strong, Rainbow Dash! You’ll get through this! I know you will!”

Standing close to the doorway, Lightning Dust had to suppress a laugh at what she was seeing. Huddled around the prone form of Rainbow Dash stood three different pegusi: two mares and one stallion. It was obvious who the first two were, both from their appearance and how they had immediately went into full Mom and Dad mode the second they had heard that Dash wasn’t feeling well. They had been close to knocking the door down when Dust had finally answered it, and had even come wearing flu masks, so someone must have tipped them off about Rainbow’s health.

The father, who had introduced himself as Bow Hothoof, was a large, muscular stallion with a pale blue coat of fur. He wore a short sleeved green shirt, khaki cargo shorts and sandals. His mane was very short, but it had the same rainbow colouring that Dash’s man had; it was strange seeing it on a different pony. The mother, Windy Whistles, was a pretty looking mare with a blue coat that was slightly closer in tone to Rainbow’s own than Bow’s was, as well as short, reddish manecut. She was wearing a buttoned up yellow shirt that concealed a pair of well-endowed breasts-something which surprised Dust a little, given Dash’s relative flatness. On the upside for Dash, it seemed as though she did have something over her mom, judging by the respectable but by no means massive bulge in the front of Windy’s tight jeans.

“We brought you medicine!” said Bow. “Here, take it!” They had indeed brought medicine: boxes and boxes of the stuff piled up in a massive bag. They shoved some of them into Rainbow’s face, and the bedridden mare rolled her eyes.

“Mom, Dad, you’re way overreacting. I’m just a little sick, I’m not dying.” She said, croakily. Windy turned her head away, distraught.

“Oh honey, did you hear her voice? She sounds just awful!” she wailed.

“It’s just a sore throat! You guys do this every time, it drives me nuts!”

As the family talked, Dust looked over to the third newcomer. Unlike Rainbow’s parents, Dust had met this mare before during one of her trips to Ponyville. Her name was Scootaloo, and in her own words she was “Rainbow Dash’s official number one fan”. She looked young, with a small height and frame, but apparently she was in her late teens if Rainbow herself was to be believed. Scootaloo’s fur was a bright orange colour, with a tomboyish purple mane resting on her head. Her purple eyes were staring intensely at Dash as she stood on the opposite side of the bed than the parents, hands resting on the edge of the mattress, but compared to the two older ponies who were pretty much close to tears, she seemed a little less worried. Noticing Dust looking at her, Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck.

“Heh, sorry. I kinda told them that Dash was feeling a little unwell. They, uh, didn’t take it very well.” She said.

“Since when have-achoo!- you known my parents, Scoots?” asked Rainbow, managing to peek out from over a wall of medicine boxes.

“Since this morning!” answered the orange mare, as Dust produced another handkerchief. She told them both how she had visited Cloudsdale as part of a personal project of hers, and had ended up meeting Bow and Windy completely by chance.

“Your parents are way cool! They have a museum and everything!”

“A museum? “asked Lightning. Windy and Bow perked up at this.

“That’s right!” said Bow “Our own little museum dedicated to the greatest flier in all Equestria…”

“Our daughter, Rainbow Dash!” finished Windy, throwing her hands up and inadvertently sending medicine boxes flying everywhere. The two proud parents started to list off what they had in their collection. On her bed, Rainbow covered her face with a wing and groaned.

“…and when we heard that our amazing daughter had finally achieved her lifelong dream and been made a Wonderbolt, why, we just had to visit.” Said Bow, hugging his daughter hard against his chest.

“Dad, you’ll get sick too if you do that.”

“Daddy knows…but daddy can’t help it! He’s too proud!”

“Me too!” Both parents gave Dash a massive hug, lifting the limbless mare out of the bed altogether. This made Lightning kind of wary; partly because of Dash’s warning about healthy, and partly because she had only been wearing a baggy old pink pyjama top with the sleeves cut off, which did essentially zero to cover her floppy junk.

“You just look so great without any arms and legs! Like you were born to be like that!” said Windy, her eyes sparkling over her white face mask. Dust noticed Scootaloo staring intently at this, her own wings unfurling behind her back.

“Ok, thanks Mom. Can you-achoo!-put me back in bed now?” said Rainbow, looking embarrassed. Once she was back in bed, she sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys earlier. I was waiting for the right moment. Things have been kind of hectic.”

“Oh, that’s OK, honey, we understand.” Said Bow, warmly. “How bout you tell us all about it tonight over dinner?” Rainbow blinked.

“Uh…you guys –do- get that I’m kinda sick right now, right?” she said. They both kept staring at her anyway, until the wonderbolt sighed once again.

“Fiiiine. But don’t blame me when you’re both in bed all next week. Hope you like soup.”

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Dash insisted on eating at the table rather than around her bed. At least with Lightning Dust around she didn’t have to expend any energy moving down from her bedroom to the dining room. After getting Dash dressed into more suitable dining wear (aka shorts and a t-shirt), Dust got her seated and heated up the big pot of soup she had made the other day. She’d probably have to make more, not having expected guests round, but it wasn’t so bad really. It was nice to feel productive when you spent most of the day sitting around wiping a runny nose.

When dinnertime came, Rainbow’s parents took their own seats to the left and right of Dash, leaving Dust sitting a little bits away from her, next to Scootaloo. Dash had privately asked that she be allowed the dignity of eating unassisted when her parents and Scoots were present; given that her wing dexterity had come on leaps and bounds in the last few weeks, Lightning agreed. After filling everyone’s bowl, the guests of the house thanked Lightning for her hospitality.

“Oh you look after Dash so well” said Windy, as she took a sip of her still hot chicken soup. “I’m sure she’s grateful for your help.” Dust looked over at her charge, who was avoiding her gaze a little.

“I’m sure she is too.” Said Dust, smiling.

“How did you two meet?” asked Bow. Again, Lightning looked across at Rainbow, who was again looking a little uncomfortable at this line of questioning, sneezing and sniffling in her chair. She clearly hadn’t told her parents much about their past together. Lightning decided to be mostly truthful.

“Well, we met at Wonderbolt training, but uh…I didn’t make it in.” she said, with as straight a face as she could manage. “But I got offered a job as a Wonderbolt carer, and as luck would have it I got paired up with Rainbow Dash again.” Everyone nodded sympathetically.

“That’s a shame you two couldn’t be wonderbolts together, though.” Said Windy, a look of genuine disappointment in her face.

“Yeah, how cool would that have been? Two friends from camp making it all the way to the top!” added Scootaloo, raising her spoon high into the air.

“Hah, yeah…it would have been nice.” Said Dust, smiling whistfuly as memories of training came back to her. She shook them away. “But I think things turned out better this way. I kinda…” she hesitated.

“Yes, dear?”

“…kinda like this. Taking care of her. Being with her. That kind of thing.” The words started to come out like water from a tap, and before she could stop herself, Dust found herself letting her guard down. “It’s strange though. Sometimes it reminds me of my own folks.”

“Huh? You’ve never mentioned them before.” Said Dash, her head leaning to one side as this new topic came up. Dust thought about that-she was right, she hadn’t really talked about her parents before now.

“Hah, weird. Thought maybe Spitfire would have told you.”

“Told me what?”said Dash, taking a sip of soup, daintily sipping from the spoon held in her wing.

“That my parents were Wonderbolts”

Dust felt thankful that her parents had insisted on sitting next to Rainbow, as it meant that the spray of soup that shot from Dash’s lips missed her entirely.

“What?!” cried Dash, dropping her spoon onto the table as everyone else either stared at Dust, wiped soup off their face, or did both at the same time.

“Yup. Wonderbolts Cloudburst and Morning Dew.” Said Dust, and for a moment it seemed as though her face darkened. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, nearly fell out of her seat.

“No way! Cloudburst and Morning Dew?!” she said, as her mother steadied her limbless torso with one hand and pushed her back into place.

“Oh, so you know them, Dash?” asked Scootaloo.

“I remember those names, actually!” said Bow, tapping a hoof thoughtfully against his temple. “They were a little before your time, Scootaloo. Windy and I were just out of our teens when they were flying.”

“They were meant to be amazing! I’ve read all about them!” enthused Dash. “They….” She narrowed her eyes and stared at Lightning. “Actually, going by photos, your coat is kinda similar to Dew’s..”

“Heh, yeah. I got Mom’s coat and eyes and Dad’s mane. And both of their flying talent.”

“No kidding. Huh. Sure explains a lot about how good you were in training.” Dash said, smiling. “Hey, you should invite them round! I’d love to meet them-“

“Ain’t happening. We’re, uh, not on the best of terms.” An awkward silence filled the room as Dust took another sip of her soup. No one seemed to want to ask more, but Dust pressed on, carried by emotions long buried, but now rising back to the surface. “It’s my fault, really. I couldn’t handle the pressure. Everyone just assumed I would be a Wonderbolt-my parents, their friends, my friends…and me, of course. It was destiny. You seen what that did to me, Dash.” The guests looked at each other, confused by that remark, but said nothing as the turquoise pegasus continued to express herself.

“But then they retired.”

“Yeah, really not that long ago.” Said Dash. Just before I met Twilight, I think.”

“Why did they retire? Did they get hurt or something?” asked Scootaloo. Lightning shook her head.

“They just fell out of love with it. With flying, the commitments involved, being celebrities. All of it.” Lightning started to tap the edge of her bowl with her spoon, punctuating her thoughts with tiny, angry taps. “I had spent my whole life training for that, for that moment when I could look at my own limbless body in the mirror and know I had made it, and they turn around and tell me that being a wonderbolt “isn’t making us happy”? I was so mad at them. It was like they were telling me I was wasting my time, my talent, my destiny. So I said some pretty lousy stuff, and moved out. Not seen them since.”

“Oh…” said Windy, who’s eyes were glistening now. “That’s terrible to hear. I’m sure they’d want to hear from you, though!”

“Mmm…” Lightning stirred her rapidly cooling soup, shaking her head again. “I dunno. Maybe.”

“Definetely! Mom’s right, you should go-achoo!-go tell ‘em your sorry.” Said Dash, sniffing as her dad offered a hanky. “It was just a stupid argument.”

“Alright, alright, maybe in the future. Point is”-and at this point Dust looked over towards Dash and smiled. “Taking care of you, it kind of reminds me of some nice times in my life.” After saying this, she suddenly looked rather embarrassed and quickly took a drink. Her parents, in perfect synchrony, gave out an “awwww” sound and looked at each other.

“That’s a-dorable!” said Bow, grinning wide. Really, I’m so glad someone as thoughtful as you’s dating our little Dashie.”

For the second time that night, someone found themselves doing a spit take.

“Mooom!” cried Rainbow, her wings unfurling and flapping furiously as she rocked back and forth on her chair. “We’re not dating, she’s just looking after me!” As a mini argument ensued between an embarrassed daughter and her parents, Lightning Dust buried her head in her arms and tried to ignore the warm feeling in her face. She did, however, catch Scootaloo staring at her, with a look that didn’t look altogether pleased at Windy’s suggestion…

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The guests had left soon after that awkward moment. Rainbow had done her best to let it slide and not make things weird, but the second the two mares were alone with each other, an unnatural silence seemed to fill the room. Given that it was getting a little late, and Rainbow’s lack of energy after so much activity, they decided to call it an early night.

“Here, let me carry you up.” Lightning asked to the still seated Rainbow. The blue pegasus tried to fly up and move on her own, but it was obvious that she was feeling tired, and soon Lightning was holding her into her chest. Suddenly she was aware of the warmth charge, how she dug herself ever so slightly deeper into Lightning’s chest when she was carried like this, how her cock seemed to have a weight of it’s own-

No, she needed to stop thinking about that. She was just a carer after all. Yes she might of maybe jacked her off once or twice. Yes maybe some tongue was involved, and yes maybe the processes was no longer what she would considered a chore. But that didn’t mean anything, right? She was just doing her job. Like right now, as she carried Rainbow upstairs to her bed. A bed which Lightning would be sharing with her.

See? Totally normal.

It was perhaps poor timing on Dash’s part that she chose to speak up once Lightning had stripped her naked on the bed.

“Hey, Lightning…”she said, slowly. Dust froze.

“Uh…yeah?”

“You don’t…I mean…” The amputee squiggled on the bed, face screwing up in thought, before suddenly going limp. “It’s nothing. Achoo!” There was another awkward silence. “Heh…my parents sure are something, aren’t they?”

“Oh yeah, sure are!” agreed Lightning. “Um, in a good way, I mean. They’re nice.”

“They’re a pain. But…yeah, they are.” Lighting picked Rainbow up and tucked her in. “Scoots too. She’s, well, almost like a little sister to me.”

“Yeah? She seemed kind of quiet compared to when I saw her down in Ponyville.”

“Huh, really? I never noticed” said Dash, looking thoughtful. “Wonder why that was?” She looked at a now undressed Lightning, who shrugged, before getting into bed as well. “Still wearing underwear to bed?”

“Uh, yeah? That’s how I always sleep.” Said Lightning, turning onto her side so that she was facing Rainbow. “Why?”

“Oh, just…no reason. I guess it’s more comfy for you than it is for me.” Replied Dash, the covers above her shifting slightly as she spoke.

“Fair point. Night, Rainbow.”

“Night, Dust. Achoo!” Silence fell once more, although there was a more peaceful air to this silence at least. It didn’t last long, though.

“Haha. I just remembered something.” Said Rainbow, giggling. “Remember me telling you how well prepared you seem for all of this? Guess I was right, you really were!”

“Heh. I guess you were right, huh.” Chuckled Lightning Dust. It was dark, but she could see Dash’s smile just across from her, her chest rising and falling as she tried to settle herself into a sleeping pattern. The air seemed cool, so Dust scooted closer towards the blue mare. She had to admit that, in these conditions , she found Dash to be pretty darn-

“Achoo!”

Lightning automatically went to find a hanky, then realised that Dash hadn’t been the one sneezing this time.

“Uh oh…”