Author's Note

Chapter! Yay! This one was alright. It didn't want to write itself because I had appointments, and like a dozen distractions, but it got done.

Friendly reminder to all you lovely folks out there that I will likely not be posting from the 13th-16th because I will be on vacation. So sorry! I will do my best to continue updating as regularly as possible. But if I'm not posting, you know why. Just don't forget about this little fic in the meantime!

Okay, now then, ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

I'm In Between

Dashie was frozen, quiet, looking at her fellow teammates with an expression that bordered the line between hope and fear. Hope that they would accept her as she was, and fear that they wouldn’t for whatever reason. Spitfire felt her still, as did Thunderlane and Soarin. Spitfire looked up to see them, and understood. Thunderlane and Soarin took a longer time to look, but eventually they did. For a beat, maybe two, no pony said anything. Then, Fleetfoot came forward.

“Hey cutie. Don’t worry about a thing. They all know. I told them everything I knew.”

Rainbow Dash looked at her, blinking slowly. Then, she gave a tiny, nervous smile.

“‘Kay?” It came out more as a question than a statement, as she intended it. Fleetfoot, however, was a master of interpretation. She understood what it was meant to be, but also why it turned out that way.

“It’s okay with them.” She said.

It always amazed Rainbow Dash how well ponies understood her when she was like this. I mean sure, it didn’t shock her that her Mommy and Daddy could understand her since they had actually heard her speak this way before. But Mama and her brothers and now Auntie Fleetfoot? And maybe even the rest of the Wonderbolts? That was pretty shocking, at least to her. Okay, maybe all of them but Thunderlane. Since he had a little brother, he was probably used to it too.

Auntie Fleetfoot was smiling warmly at her, and it made her smile back. It helped ram the truth of it all home, the truth that no matter what every other Wonderbolt thought, she would always have those four, who accepted her no matter what. Plus, Mama would punish anypony who made fun of her, like she did Wind Rider, and it turned that smile from a weak, uncertain one, to a genuine one. She found herself giggling.

“Awww. There’s a smile.” Fleetfoot said.

“Hi Auntie.” She said.

“Hey little one. How are you feeling?”

“I dun know.” She said.

“Well then, How’s your wing?”

“Huwts a wittle.” She said.

“I bet. You were a superhero back there. Did you know that?”

“Me?”

“You.” Fleetfoot affirmed.

It took a little more than a second to sink in, then Rainbow grinned brightly. She reached her hooves to Fleetfoot and the other mare grinned and wrapped her in a hug. Rainbow let out an involuntary coo at the feeling, and she was happy.

When the hug ended, after about a minute, Rainbow moved her head and looked at her fellow Wonderbolts. Each of them were staring at her. She did a quick sweep over their faces. She saw a mixture of Confusion, surprise, and even resolve. But no expressions of outright disgust. Nothing to blatantly say that she would be rejected by them. She moved just a bit to one side, and Fleetfoot responded by stepping to the other side. Rainbow was in plain view, now. Nothing blocking her view. Or rather, their view of hers.

Her diaper was on display for all to see, but she didn’t seem to mind anymore. Her usual confidence was back in a flash. And the Wonderbolts who had looks of resolve- or better put, acceptance- went over to her. Those were Blaze, Misty Fly, and Surprise. They were able to perceive quicker than the rest that she was happy with what she had. And if their captain accepted it, and several of their other Wonderbolts and friends did, who were they to judge.

The three of them struck up a conversation with Rainbow Dash, while the rest of them worked on coming around.

The ponies who were surprised were the next to understand. Actually, they had understood everything that was going on since Fleetfoot told them. Initially they had been very accepting of this, and they still were, actually. But hearing about something from somepony and then actually witnessing it caused a bit of a disconnect. To imagine something was one thing, but to actually see it was… well, surprising. Not in a bad way, though. But seeing it happen in reality and not in your imagination made it real. Concrete. Something more than just a game of pretend.

But as the surprise and initial shell shock faded, it was replaced with acceptance. If Everypony else was happy, they would be too, and they all joined those who had come to her thus far.

The last ponies to come around were those who were confused. It wasn’t that they weren’t accepting, it’s that they didn’t quite understand what they were seeing. The interactions, the diaper, the baby talk. It was so… odd. What confused them in all of this, was the question of why this all had happened. Oh, Fleetfoot had explained the precipitating events that led to all this, but it was never explained what allured her to this afterward. It took them a little while to realize that they would likely never get an answer, namely because they assumed that she may not have had one for them in the first place.

Once they accepted that, they were able to accept her. It was something they would indulge in themselves, but they saw now that it wasn’t about them. It was about the feelings and emotions of their teammate. And if there was one thing Wonderbolts knew how to do, it was support their teammates.

Though the confusion wasn’t completely cleared, it was pushed aside for the time being. One by one, the last few ponies stepped forward, and showed in their own way that they would be supportive of their teammate.

Rainbow Dash was cocooned in the thick of her family, her friends. It calmed her immensely. Their acceptance, their love, their support, all of it wove itself into a blanket of comfort that wrapped around her and warmed her like a scarf on a cold winter morning. And she knew, in that beautiful moment, that this was the start of a whole new family for her to love and play with.