Author's Note

ANOTHER CHAPTER! WOO! This one too came along easily. Thank Celestia. I had so much fun with this it was almost criminal.

Thank you, Pip for your opinions and reviews for this chapter. You rock. But you knew that.

Hope this one makes you smile like it did me!

Family

Spitfire was in shock. There was no other way to describe it. Her mind was blank, her body standing but not truly alive. It lasted for half a minute before rational thought returned. Did… Did Rainbow Dash just call her…? She shook her head a tiny bit to clear it. No. That was just ridiculous. Why would she…? Nah. That must have just been her imagination. Finally, she made herself move. She walked over to Rainbow Dash. Dash barely looked up from her play when she saw her come.

“Hi Mama.” She said, not looking up from her plushies interactions.

Okay, so maybe she hadn’t been imagining things.

“Mama?” It slipped out in surprise unthinkingly.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Mama.” She repeated.

“Me?”

Again, She nodded. “Yeah.”

Spitfire blinked. “I uh… don’t know what to say. That’s really nice, but won’t it make your mommy sad?”

Rainbow shook her head no. “Mommy says dat famiwy is who ou cawe ‘bout. Dun hafta be bwood. Ou wewe aways my hewo gwoin’ up. Like a Mama is. Ou took cawe of me at camp, and ou keep me safe. If that dun make ou a Mama, I dun know what does.”

Spitfire was stunned into quiet. The logic in the argument disarmed her. She wasn’t sure how to reply to that. To know that Rainbow Dash felt that way… It changed her. There was a fluttering in her chest, one she could not name. But she smiled. A true, genuine smile. She sat down next to Rainbow Dash. “What have you got there, little bolt?” She asked. There was a slight lilt in her voice, one that had never been there before.

“Dis Snuggles an’ Wightning. We goin’ on an aventure.” She said, Holding up a bear and a tiger.

“Really?” Spitfire gasped phonily. “Where are they going?”

“We goin’ to fin’ tweasuwe on da sea!” She said. “We gotsa be cawefuw. Der’s a monser in dere.”

“A monster? Oh no! What kind of monster is it?”

“’S a sea monser!” She said.

“Oh my!” She said. “Do you all want some help?”

“Yeah, Mama! Pease?” She begged.

“Okay. You got it.” She said. “Where to first?”

As Rainbow instructed her on where they were going, Soarin and Thunderlane watched with wide eyes. They had never seen this side of their Captain before. Spitfire was a hard-flanked drill instructor, who wasn’t afraid to get in somepony’s face when she thought they needed it. She was tough as nails, brash, blunt, and straight up harsh. That was their captain. She knew when somepony needed a kick in the flank, or when they needed some sort of tough-love pep talk. She was very hands off for the most part, only needing to get involved when she thought the situation called for it. That was who she was. That was who they knew.

This Spitfire was not that Spitfire. She was kind, interested, and gentle. This wasn’t to say she couldn’t be kind or gentle per se, but they were so used to her being an authoritative figure that to see that in her was strange to say the least. Not only that, but she was so reserved with her emotions, with the exception of her anger. That she let flow through her unrestrained. But now she was so open. She smiled, she laughed, and she seemed so much more… the best word that came to mind for them was vulnerable. They never expected that to be a word associated with Spitfire.

As much as they saw change in Spitfire, it was even more pronounced in Rainbow Dash. She giggled, smiled, and was so much less inhibited. She was confident in her usual way, but yet it was somehow different. It was a foalish confidence, one that seemed not natural to her, but yet it fit. They took her in. Her diaper, her pacifier, her plush toys. And they started to see her in a new way. They began feeling guilty for laughing at her. They quietly conversed with one another, and decided to give this a chance, and went to join in the fun as enemy pirates who boarded the ship in search of the treasure they already had.

“Argh! We’ve come for your treasure!” Said Captain Soarin.

“Aye, and we won’t leave until we’ve found it!” Added his first mate Thunderlane.

“You’ll never take us alive!” Said first mate Spitfire. “Captain Dash, what are your orders?”

“Fight! Win!” Came the simple command.

An epic sword battle ensued. Captain Dash and First Mate Spitfire took on Captain Soarin and his First Mate Thunderlane. Metal clashed against metal as they parried, thrust, and swung from rope to rope. Captain Dash took on First Mate Thunderlane, Their swords clashing. Thunderlane thrust his sword at the Captain, who dodged easily. With a flick of her hoof she forced his sword down, and went in to thrust the sword in his chest. He blocked her quickly, then grabbed hold of a rope and swung to the other end of the sail. Captain Dash followed him.

Meanwhile, Soarin and Spitfire were engaged in a battle of their own on the stern of the ship. Their swords clashed in a battle of wills, first overhead, then below. Soarin tried to swipe at Spitfire, but she jumped and dodged it. Then she thrust his sword out of his hoof for just a moment, but he caught it before it got far. As soon as it was in hand, he tried to slice her with it, but she ducked. The sword instead hit a rope and cut it, and then, a giant beam came swinging down halfway. She quickly took advantage of Soarin’s momentary distraction by the beam, she cut the other rope with her own sword, and then hit the deck. The beam swung down fully, passed over Spitfire, and sent Captain Soarin flying backward off of the ship and into the sea. Nodding in satisfaction, Spitfire set off to help her Captain.

The two of them took on First Mate Thunderlane, and quickly battled him toward the bow of the ship. With a final strike of a sword, Thunderlane went overboard.

Just as they were about to celebrate their victory, Pinkie popped up.

“My turn, My turn! Let’s play Hide and Seek!” She cheered.

Dashie facehoofed. “Pinkie, we wewe pwayin’ piwates!” She whined.

“Well, you defeated the pirates. Now let’s see if you can find me!”

A devilish grin crept up on Dashie’s face. “How ‘bout I chase ya instead?”

“OH I love a good chase! You’re it!” Pinkie said and began to bounce away. Dashie started to run. She chased Pinkie all the way around the room, occasionally garnering the attention of some of her friends. But they quickly went back to their own playtime. As she chased Pinkie around the nursery, she made one fatal error. She forgot about the rug in the center of the room.

As she chased pinkie toward the center, She tripped over the edge of the rug. She stumbled, falling forward. She tried to use her wings to lift herself up, but only succeeded in flipping herself over once. When she tucked them back into her side, she tumbled twice before crashing into the wooden tea table, slamming her muzzle into one of the legs. For a few seconds she was in shock at the impact. Then, she sat up, and wailed. Blood was coming from her nose, and her muzzle was throbbing with pain.

Several ponies came rushing over, But Spitfire raced over first. The instinct to protect came out of her, and she had noticed that Windy Whistles was out of the room. Said Mare was in the kitchen with her husband, preparing the final bottles for the night. The rest of the mothers were getting Pajamas, Story books, the occasional plushie, snacks, and to help rearrange the room for the evening ahead. Said rearranging was why the tea table was where it had been in the first place, rather than in one corner as it had been.

Spitfire went over to her, sat down and wrapped her wing around her. “Oh, baby bolt, it’s okay. You’re okay.” She cooed. “Let me see.”

Rainbow whimpered, and turned her head. To the best of Spitfire’s knowledge, nothing seemed broken. Somepony handed her a tissue.

“This might hurt a little.” She warned, and then went to wipe the blood away. Rainbow let out a squeak of pain at the touch. Then a low moan. Spitfire pulled her into her lap and hushed her. “There. No more yucky blood.” She said.

Rainbow sniffled. “Mama…”

“I’m right here.” She paused. “M-Mama’s right here.” It felt so strange to say that. But it felt so right. The way Rainbow fit in her lap, her head on her chest, the closeness between them, it all melded together in the most natural of patterns.

“Kiss it, Mama.” Came the small request. Spitfire half smiled to herself at the request, and gave a gentle kiss.

Rainbow gave a small sigh of relief, and then leaned her head on Spitfire’s chest. She felt safe. She felt loved.

Thunderlane and Soarin came over to her and knelt beside her. “You okay?” Asked Soarin.

“You crashed pretty hard, there.” Said Thunderlane.

Rainbow wiped at her eye. “I ‘kay. Tanks.”

“Anytime. You did really great against those pirates.” Said Soarin.

“Yeah, you were amazing.” Thunderlane added.

Rainbow smiled. “Tanks.” She said. Abruptly, she gave them both a hug. “Tanks, broders.”

Thunderlane and Soarin looked at each other, then to Rainbow Dash, and finally, at Spitfire. The captain just smirked and nodded at them, and suddenly she looked just like she normally did, but more pleased. They looked back at one another, then smiled.

“Guess it would be nice to have a little sister instead of a little brother for once.” Thunderlane remarked.

“I agree. Much more fun too.” Soarin nodded.

Rainbow giggled. She hugged the three of them.

She loved her family.