Author's Note

THE SEQUEL IS HEEEEREEEEE! WOOT! Not gonna lie, I'm super excited I managed to get this out within a few hours of The Mom 6 (TM6) being finished. And I'm doubly excited because I have had this idea in my head ever since I posted my Wonderbolts chapters in TM6. Getting to post it at last was such a relief.

Major thanks to Twinkie Hoof and his story The Crinkle Cadet, which is basically the entire reason this fic even exists. If you haven't read it yet, GO! DO THE THING! It's literally the best Mama Spits fic I have ever read.

Special thanks as always to Raevyn, Josh, and Pip for their unending support and inspiration. I love you guys!

Enjoy the story!

Sleep, Pretty Darling

Rainbow Dash, best flier in Equestria (at least in her opinion), took off from her cloud home over Ponyville and flew at a supersonic speed to the Wonderbolts barracks.

It had been a month since that wonderful playdate in the castle with her friends, and so much had changed, not just for her. After their “Foal Day”, Pinkie Pie and Twilight ended up taking to this like a duck to water. Usually they reserved this time for when they were with their mothers, but on occasion, the three of them would hold a playdate in the Castle Of Friendship. Fluttershy, for her part, hadn’t changed very much, although she was able to relate to her baby animals a lot better and feed them more easily. Rarity had only a few days ago met up with her mother and discussed the finer details of a mother-daughter day similar to their “Foal Day” but without the diapers or bottles. There were certain aspects of being an adult foal that she enjoyed, but those two, along with the horrid fashion, would not be missed. And Applejack had simply had more bonding time with her parents- and a good laugh or two when her mother took on her chores for a week as promised on that day when she won their wager.

That left Rainbow Dash. For her part, she hadn’t changed very much. After her parents came home from Manehattan, life had been pretty much the same. She flew home more often to visit her parents, usually on the weekends when she and her friends didn’t have plans. The only thing of note that had really changed for her was her room in her parents home. It had been completely redecorated for her to be a nursery. The crib, changing table, rocking chair, and high chair had all come from the nursery she and her friends had shared, and served as a reminder of that wonderful day.

The one thing that hadn’t really changed that she had thought would, was Spitfire, Soarin, and Thunderlane’s treatment of her. She wasn’t exactly sure what she had expected, but she had thought something would. But nothing happened. Spitfire was still a hard-flanked drill instructor, and Thunderlane and Soarin had continued just being teammates. Her little self had yet to surface around them again, but now she found herself wondering if she had just imagined everything. Maybe they weren’t okay with being her Mama and brothers. The thought scared her more than she wanted to admit.

As much as she wondered, she hadn’t brought things up with them. There were always other ponies around, for one thing. Putting aside the obvious embarrassment that could be heaped upon her if word got out, she knew that were she to discuss this on the grounds, she likely wouldn’t get an honest answer. Just in case somepony happened to be watching or listening. The most communication she ever got from Spitfire outside of instruction was a nod or a glance. It was more than she would give other bolts, though. Maybe that meant something. And as for Soarin and Thunderlane, well, they were boys. She didn’t expect much from them. At least, she didn’t hold them to the same level of esteem that she did Spitfire, for obvious reasons.

Now, She raced through the skies to the Wonderbolts grounds and threw her saddlebag on one of the beds in the barracks. She changed into her uniform, put on her goggles, and went down to the mess hall. She grabbed a few vegtables from the food line and ate a small plate. She had already eaten breakfast this morning, but she figured she could use the extra energy after her flight, just to keep herself energized. When the food was done, she put her plate in the dirty dishes and then trotted over to the runway.

She arrived a few minutes earlier than needed. Fleetfoot and Soarin were already there too, and she struck up a conversation with them. Misty Fly and Blaze arrived soon after, and then everypony else arrived. Spitfire flew down and began instructing. When she finished, they all nodded, and began to fly.

They began with the Icaranian Sun Salutation, in honor of the Princess, who was expected to attend their next show in Canterlot. Then they did a barrel roll. They made a star formation, and used smoke to make it look like it was bursting forth. They flipped, dived, and tumbled through the air with the grace attainable to only the best of fliers. Finally, it was finale time. The Wonderbolts formed themselves into the shape of a lightning bolt. Rainbow Dash was at the very bottom of the bolt. She broke apart from the pack, streaking downward as fast as she could. The rest of them filled in the gap where she had been, then moved as one down toward their teammate, but much slower.

Rainbow sped forward, flying as fast as she could. Her singular focus was getting this finale right, even if it was just their first rehearsal. She expected that of herself. The ground was encroaching, faster and faster, and she just knew she would make it happen.

And then, it happened.

The muscle in her right wing spasmed and cramped harder than it had in a long time, messing up her flight. The barrier she was trying to break suddenly flung her back like a rubber band that had been stretched too far. The snap back was so sudden that she didn’t have much time to react. She tried to right herself, but the wing itself would not cooperate. She whizzed backward, and her fellow Wonderbolts scattered aside to avoid impact. For a split second, she thought she was back in the academy, being thrown off of the dizzitron. Despite being able to right herself that time, she was unable to now. However, there was one important difference between the academy and here.

Here there were no nets.

Rainbow careened backward and down. She tried to turn herself over, hoping to land on her hooves, even though she knew it would hurt, but she ended up spiraling. Eventually, she made impact. But instead of hitting the ground, her head smashed into a tree. It wasn’t hard enough to break the tree, but it was enough to form a small crack and dent. Her body slid down the tree and landed on the ground with a thud. Stars were dancing in front of her eyes, and she could feel herself weakening, the blackness growing closer and she knew fainting was immanent. She heard the sound of hooves galloping toward her, and she looked up, to see her fellow Wonderbolts standing before her, Spitfire leading the pack. Her captain looked down at her, her expression one that Rainbow could not name in her current state. But at that moment, she felt relief. She was here. Rainbow gave a dreamy, half-lucid grin.

“Mama.” It was a whisper, faint as a gust of wind, but Spitfire heard it. Rainbow took in a little breath.

Then, The world tilted sickeningly, blurred for a second, and was consumed by darkness as Rainbow Dash finally passed out.