Finding Your Family

"Come along, dear, we don't have all day..."

Rainbow Slash was trailing quite a distance behind Lofty, almost encouraging the mare to walk backwards for how often she needed to turn around and look behind her.

In truth, Rainbow Slash was afraid of Lofty. Not the same way she had been afraid of the doorbell, where the fear had come from a sudden onset and lack of understanding, but something deeper. It was as though the look on her face was cruel in itself. She didn't know why her parents trusted this mean-looking mare, but something about her just seemed... wrong.

Lofty held out her hoof to Slash. "Come, now. My bark is far worse than my bite," she joked.

Slash approached, but did not take her hoof, merely walking alongside her, a bit more than an arm's length away. Even if her bark was worse, she didn't want to be bitten.

"So, what do you like to do for fun?" asked Lofty, resuming their walk.

Slash just shrugged, teeth chattering too much to answer.

"I've spent a fair bit of my spare time quilting," offered Lofty. "Have you ever done any quilting?"

Slash shook her head.

"I suppose not. Being a dragon, you probably have other ways of staying warm..."

Slash swallowed.

"Are you scared of me, little one?"

Slash nodded.

Lofty sighed. "I'm not as mean as I look. If I was, do you think your mom would allow you to come out with me?"

Slash shrugged silently.

"Do you have so little faith in your mother? Isn't she the one who raised you? Place some trust in your mother. She's had a difficult life. Did you know, for example, that she was born with a disability that made it so that she was unable to fly?"

"But... she can fly," answered Slash, the first words she had actually spoken in Lofty's presence.

"She can, yes," nodded Lofty. "Your father saw to that, unintentional as it may have been. You see, she was born a pegasus, just like me." She flapped her wings as they walked, glad to finally be making progress. "She didn't turn into a dragon until much later. She was even older than you are."

"Really?"

Lofty nodded. "And her parents weren't really around to help her with it. So cut her a bit of slack; she's earned that much."

"Huh..."

They turned and headed into a shop; one that sold clothing and fashion accessories. "Be right with you!" called a voice from the back.

Slash looked around and saw all of the pieces. The store was divided up into three sections, with the largest being pony fashion. Off to one side, there was a collection of yak-centric goods, and on the other side, the setup was all hippogriff. There wasn't really anything befitting a dragon for sale.

After a minute or so, a rather large yak made her way forward. "Sorry about that. How can Yona help you?"

Lofty stepped forward. "I need a new sundress and a shady hat. Doctor's orders. And something for my grandniece, too."

Slash waved shyly.

Yona rubbed her hoof against her chin. "I don't know if we have anything for a dragon of your size, but we can probably throw something together. Would you like a simple sundress like your great aunt? We can have you set up and wearing it out within the hour."

With a bit of trepidation, Slash slowly nodded.

"Let's find your measurements," smiled Yona. "Sweetie Belle?"

A unicorn walked out of the back, shimmying her shoulders as she drummed her hooves to an inaudible beat.

"Sweetie!"

"Hm?" The mare looked up. "Oh, right. How can I help you today?"

"Measurements," answered Yona, ushering Slash forward. "She needs to be fitted fo--"

"Rainbow Slash?!" gasped Sweetie Belle. "Is that you?!"

Slash trembled a bit, slowly nodding silently.

"If you're here, it means Scootaloo's probably here!"

"She is," confirmed Lofty. "We were just over the-- hey!" As Sweetie tried to bolt out the door, Lofty caught her with her wing. "Scootaloo is still sorting things out with Spike, and is probably busy right now. Why don't you wait a few hours, and just pop in for dinner?"

"Punch!"

Slash took several steps back, not wanting to be struck.

"I'll bring punch!" clarified Sweetie Belle.

"In the meantime, can you take her daughter's measurements?" suggested Lofty.

"Oh. Yeah, sure." Sweetie pulled out a measuring tape and started quickly checking Slash's measurements while Yona went to the back to select her fabric colours. "I should probably send a letter to Rarity, too..."

After taking her measurements, Sweetie ushered Slash back into the back room, where Yona was setting up. Using a white light to check that her fabric matched Slash's colour scheme, Yona expertly stacked the swatches and cut them all at once.

"So, how is your mother these days?" asked Sweetie Belle.

Slash shrugged, watching Yona work.

"Does she mention me, ever?"

Slash shrugged again.

"You don't say much, do you?"

"She's new in town," explained Lofty. "Lots of new ponies. She only just met me this morning. Give her some time to adjust, would you?"

"Okay, okay, sorry..." Sweetie folded her front hooves. "I'm just trying to gather some information on the situation."

As promised, Yona worked very quickly, and before the hour was up, she'd sewn together a quick sundress. The top was the same colour as Slash's scales, and the skirt below matched her spines. It was a pleated skirt, as well, meaning it would flow outward as needed. A simple pair of shoulder straps held it up, making it an easy, breezy slip-on, and the ribbon in her straw hat matched her eyes.

Lofty just bought something off the rack, a smooth lavender dress and a floppy straw sun hat to protect her skin. After paying for them both, they left. For the first time since she'd left the house, Rainbow Slash was feeling pretty good, and as they continued through town, she was walking closer and closer to her great aunt.

"Thanks for the dress," she finally said, after having passed a few blocks. "It was very nice of you to buy one for me."

"Oh, it's no trouble," waved Lofty. "You're my grandniece. That's almost a granddaughter. This is something grandparents are supposed to do, so being analogous to that, I may as well."

"Still, thank you for this. It's a lovely dress..."