Author's Note

CHAPTER! WOO!

Somehow I did manage to get a chapter done while I was on the plane. It was damn near impossible because these were the SMALLEST tray tables I have ever seen. Like my phone barely fit across it and putting it lengthwise it hung off the edge. So yeah. Not a fan. But, there is chapter! So HUZZAH!

Enjoy the wee bit of fluff. I did!

From Where I'm Standing

Rainbow looked around the room at the faces smiling at her. It was breathtaking for her, to be accepted this way. All that time spent worrying about rejection was wasted for nothing. She smiled, a content smile, and felt somepony wrap their hoof around her. It was Mama, smiling at her. She looked at Rainbow with an expression that seemed to say, I told you it would all work out. And Rainbow nodded, because, as usual, Mama was right. Rainbow gave her a hug, feeling safe and loved. This moment was amazing for her. Her guard was down completely, no trace of her bigger counterpart in sight. She was as much a foal right now as she had been as an infant. Just bigger in size. When she pulled away, she began talking excitedly.

“Mama, can we aww pway a game?” She asked.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “Sure. But what game would be big enough for all of us?”

Rainbow considered this. Mama had a good point. “We can pway wed wight gween wight?” She offered.

Spitfire shrugged. It was about the best thing that could probably be done at the moment, considering her baby bolt was supposed to be resting. She looked over at her fellow Wonderbolts. “Who’s in?”

Thunderlane was the first to agree. “I’m in.”

Soarin was next. “Sure.”

Fleetfoot came after. “Sounds like fun!”

The others looked a bit hesitant, but after seeing the other three go for it, some of the others had decided to play. Blaze, Misty Fly, Surprise, and others. In the end, everypony in the room had decided to play. Unsurprisingly, Spitfire took charge.

“Everypony, fall in!” She commanded. They all scrambled to form a straight line, which was exceedingly difficult considering that there was only so much space in the room and far too many of them. But somehow, they managed to fit in one single file line. Though that line came with the price of no pony having any personal space. But it was a sacrifice they were willing to make on behalf of a teammate. Spitfire ushered Rainbow back to her bed before joining the ranks.

Rainbow looked excited. “Weady?” She asked. With a practiced skill, they all nodded simultaneously. “Kay!” She said, and waited a few moments before speaking again. “Gween wight!” She said, and they all began walking forward. Two seconds later, she called, “Wed wight!” They all stopped in a uniformed fashion.

She figured none of them would get out on the first try, or even the next few. But she knew her patience would be rewarded, likely with hilarious results. But, as it often was, her patience with this was quite thin. So, she made it a bit more interesting. She sped it up. Not two seconds after she called green light, she called red, and she was rewarded when Surprise wobbled and eventually had to put her hoof down to keep her balance.

“Ou out!” Said Rainbow, smiling. Surprise just rolled her eyes, but a smile still graced her face. The line spread to give each pony a smidge more room, and the game continued.

It was about five rounds after that. Two ponies had been eliminated, and Rainbow had changed tactics, alternating between going super fast between them and slowing between them, just to throw everypony off of their game.

“Gween wight!” She called, and those remaining came forward. Just as she felt they were getting comfortable, she spoke again. “Wed wight!”

It was Soarin who eventually fell victim to his fate. His hoof had been raised high enough in the air, and his weight improperly shifted between legs, that he was about to fall. He reached to try and right himself, but only ended up falling to one side. The ponies beside him- and there were quite a few, perhaps sixty percent of those who were left- toppled like dominoes in a chain reaction Rainbow didn’t think even an egghead like Twilight could have replicated. They all crashed into a gargantuan heap, like bowling pins knocked over in a strike. They all mumbled to one another, wether in protest or pain remained to be seen.

Rainbow, so deep in her foalish mindset, couldn’t do anything but laugh in delight. She didn’t think she could ever see something like that happen and not laugh. She may have garnered the nickname Rainbow Crash, but it was nothing compared to what they had just done. Spitfire smiled at her daughter’s delight, but remained stock still otherwise. Even if it was a foalish game, she played to win. Yet another thing she and her baby bolt had in common.

After a few more rounds (and unfortunately for Rainbow no more hilarious falls) it came down to Thunderwing and Spitfire. Rainbow felt her muscles tense at the heightened sense of competition in the air. One thing about her Mama and Brother were that they played for keeps. Bragging rights were all important, even in a game like this. Although, Rainbow had a feeling that even if either one of them lost, it wouldn’t matter too much. The loss would not be lorded over them- that honor belonged to Soarin for his dramatic and utterly hilarious accident. Rainbow peppered them both with rapid fire instructions, to see whom would break first, while her teammates watched in interest.

About four more rounds of rapid fire orders came around, until finally, one of them faltered. One hoof was in the air, and it ended up shaking a bit from holding it long enough with no action. Conditioned at that point to expect a rapid response, they were ready for anything. The trembling was just visible enough to attract Rainbow’s attention.

“Ou out!” She called.

“What? Why?”

“Ou move. So ou out.”

There was a bit of muttering.

Rainbow giggled. “Sowwy. I dun make da wuwes. I jus fowwow dem.” Then, she went over to the winner.

“Dat means, da winnew is… Mama!” She called with pride.

Spitfire finally broke her stance and smiled. She had figured that that was how the game was going to end. In her endless training to become Captain of the Wonderbolts, she had learned how important posture could be. Her muscles were fine tuned to stop on a dime, her back always ramrod straight, and her joints at the mercy of her responsive and quick mind. She grinned even wider as Rainbow pulled her into a hug.

“Mama, ou won!” She cheered.

Spitfire felt a fluttering in her chest, one similar to the first time her Baby Bolt called her Mama. She was lucky to have such an energetic, fun, competitive, and thoughtful girl for a daughter. She didn’t think Rainbow understood the magnitude of the gift she had given her, and she likely wouldn’t until she had kids of her own someday. She decided to save the discussion about everything between them for another time. Instead, she just curled over Rainbow, and whispered,

“Yes I did.”