When the clock chimed seven, a crack of thunder scared Scootaloo off the couch. "W-what? Thunder?" Scootaloo headed over to the window and saw an overcast sky blocking Celestia's sun. "How'd I miss those?" Scootaloo headed upstairs and opened the door to her room. To her surprise, Rainbow Dash was gone. "How'd she get past me? I never saw her leave the house."

"It's called a window Scoots." Scootaloo spun around, a hoof on her hammering heart.

"Rainbow! Stop scaring me!"

Dash just laughed and said, "You set yourself up for these Scoots. It's not my fault." Scootaloo rolled her eyes and stepped out of the way to allow Rainbow to step into the bedroom.

"So what time did you leave?"

"About...five thirty-ish I think. Now...if you excuse me...I'm gonna head back to sleep. All that work really tired me out."

"But you slept from...ten until five or so."

"Trust me...it's tough work." With that, Dash plopped down onto the bed.

"Hey, wait a sec...I thought the storm was scheduled for last week?" Scoots asked in confusion.

"It was, but there were a few mishaps and we ended up pushing the storm back because of them." The young flier nodded and turned to leave the room. "Have fun learning." Scootaloo couldn't tell if Dash was being serious or if she was just kidding around. She wanted to ask, but before she could even open her mouth, Scootaloo heard the tell-tale signs that Rainbow had fallen asleep.

The purple-maned pony chuckled and quietly shut the door and headed downstairs. Even though it had yet to rain, Scootaloo grabbed her umbrella just in case and headed for school. As she walked, Scootaloo watched the thunder and lightning with a smile on her face. The young pony loved the rain and wished the pegasi would bring rain to Ponyville more often.

Sadly, more rain would have a definite effect on the many crops surrounding the town. "Maybe I can just take a few rainclouds every now and then and make it rain in a small secluded spot just for myself..." Scootaloo grinned as the image of herself sitting under a pouring cloud popped into her mind. The grin was short lived as Scootaloo arrived at the school and saw Rumble sitting outside.

"Well well well, if it isn't Scootaloo."

"What do you want Rumble?" She asked, trying to walk past her classmate. However, the young stallion pushed her back and denied her entry.

"Who said you could come in here? Only smart ponies are allowed in school."

"Really? Then why are you here?" She replied with a scowl.

"Ha! Nice try but nothin' you can say is gonna get to me this time." The young stallion sneered, his wings flaring up from his sides.

"This time? So you're saying that I've gotten to you every other time we've fought?"

Rumble frowned and said, "No! What I meant was that-"

"That I outsmart you every time we fight like this, I know. Such a shame really. Wish I could help you out but apparently, I'm not a smart pony." Rumble was fuming by now and it was obvious he wanted to lash out. "Do us both a favour and just leave me alone Rumble. You aren't gonna get anywhere if you just keep making fun of me."

Scootaloo took a step forward and like she predicted, Rumble shoved a hoof out to push her back. However, since the young pegasus had foreseen his reaction, Scoots dodged to the left and the pegasus stallion fell to the ground. His face burned in rage as Scootaloo smirked and walked past him, leaving Rumble to be laughed at by his peers. The orange pony took her seat and waited for Burnt Oak to arrive. However, a few seconds later, Scootaloo heard something behind her.

"Hey chicken!" Scootaloo turned and before she could do anything at all, a hoof smashed itself into her muzzle, sending her onto the floor. "That'll teach ya!" Scootaloo tasted blood in her mouth as she turned to see Rumble sneering down at her. "Oh, and if you say anything to Burnt Oak, that'll only be the start of your problems."

Scoots was about to leap off the floor and attack the stallion, but the sound of an older voice stopped her, and instead she just got off the floor and slid back into her seat.

"Alright students, take out your pencils and get ready for the quiz." He said, writing the subject of the quiz on the board and proceeding to hand out the tests. "Seeing as how the today's storm was delayed from last week, the pegasi have informed me and every other school instructor that the storm is going to be more powerful than usual. So if you finish early, you will be allowed to leave early to get home before the storm. However, if not, then you'll probably be picked up by your parents."

As she was preparing, Scootaloo looked around for her fellow Crusaders but saw neither hide nor hair of them. Scootaloo sighed, wincing in pain as she grabbed the pencil in her mouth. A fresh wave of pain rushed across her face and for a moment Scootaloo saw a flash of white jump across her eyes. She felt her face scrunch up in irritated pain as she waited for her vision to return. "Is something wrong Ms. Scootaloo?"

"Uh...no...I just um...thought I had to sneeze. It's all good now." The instructor watched her for a moment before heading back to his desk. Since Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle weren't at school, Scootaloo held nothing back. While her writing was a little sloppy due to the pain her her mouth, she finished quickly nonetheless.

Scootaloo held her hoof up, letting the older stallion know that she had finished. Everypony let out a quiet gasp; Scootaloo the slacker had finished first. Burnt Oak however was unsurprised as he took her paper and nodded toward her, letting her know that she was free to leave. As she walked past Rumble, she stuck her tongue out at him as she continued out the door.

The stallion growled but stayed silent. The mare let herself smile as she headed out (ignoring the fresh pain that flared up). "And it's only nine! Guess I can get some extra hours in for money!" With a slight hop in her step, the young pegasus headed for her workplace.

~~~

When she arrived, Roseluck was swarmed behind the counter. Scootaloo wasted no time in rushing behind the counter and grabbing the lists of orders. She then ran into the back and started grabbing the flowers that were asked for on the lists and put them on the front counter for Roseluck to distribute.

When the rush had ended, Roseluck took a large breath and plopped down on the chair behind the counter.

"I'm glad you came when ya did Scoots." The pegasus smiled and hopped up onto the counter.

"Kinda strange for a rush on Wednesday...as well as right before a large storm." Scootaloo said, staring out at the clouds and watching the occasional bolt of lightning rush through the darkened clouds.

"Well...it's kind of romantic. I mean think about it; you're trapped inside with your lover, the sky is a soft grey from Celestia's sun shining down onto the clouds from behind, the sound of rain hitting the roof, the sight of distorted light as the rain pours down the windows, the way the cool air somehow finds it's way into your home to make you cuddle together..."

With every image the earth pony planted within Scootaloo's mind, the younger pony imagined herself with Rainbow Dash cuddling on the couch of Scootaloo's home, the two of them happily content as shadows danced across the floor from the rain-slicked windows.

"I love ya squirt."

"I love you too Dash." Scootaloo imagined the pair closing their eyes and bringing their lips together.

"Umm...Scootaloo? Equestria to Scootaloo?" The pegasus in question shook her head to rid herself of the fantasy image and look over at Roseluck.

"Huh?" Roseluck couldn't help but laugh at the quizzical look on Scootaloo's face.

"Maybe I should quit the florist business and become an author if my words can do that."

Scootaloo smiled and said, "Then where would I work?"

"You could...be my editor!" The pegasus laughed and headed into the back to water the flowers.

~~~

"Are you leaving Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, looking up from her book and at her pegasine friend.

"Yea, but I'll be back. I just want to make sure that some of my animal friends are going to be fine during the storm. I'll be right back." Fluttershy headed out of Golden Oaks Library and quickly made her way from small little animal homes that were around the town. Each place she stopped at was given her approval.

Halfway through her inspections, the timid pegasus felt drops of rain lightly fall upon her coat. "Oh my..." Fluttershy knew that she needed to hurry lest she be caught in the storm. However, it swiftly became apparent that she wasn't going to make it. The rain was getting heavier faster than she could move. So, the yellow pegasus looked around for somewhere to take shelter.

However, by now everypony was in the safety of a building or shelter. "Oh no..." The roar of thunder made Fluttershy scream and shiver on the ground, closing her eyes as she tried to wish the storm away. Normally Fluttershy loved the rain, but this was a storm, not a light rain. She shakily got off the ground and looked around once again, moving her rain-soaked mane out of her eyes.

"Fluttershy?" The shy pony turned and saw Scootaloo standing in the doorway of the flower shop. "C'mon! Get in here!" Fluttershy ran as quickly as she could, tackling the pegasus to the ground in an embrace.

"Oh Scootaloo, thank you so much!" Fluttershy could feel the pony under her become a bit warmer, signaling a blush.

"Er...no problem Fluttershy. C-could you please get off?"

"Sorry." The older pegasus stood up and helped the younger pony up. Scootaloo caught herself staring into Fluttershy's calm cyan eyes while rain slid down her yellow coat and matted down her pink mane.

"You can look into the pretty pony's eyes later. As far as I can tell, you're still on the clock." Scootaloo snapped out of her trance and looked away, trying to fight back the blush on her face.

"R-right! I'll be in the back." Scootaloo headed into the back with her face down, leaving Roseluck and Fluttershy alone in the front.

"Hold on a second and I'll get you a towel."

"Thank you." Fluttershy couldn't help but shiver as she waited in the shop area of the building. Seconds later, the creme coloured earth pony returned with a dark purple towel.

"What were you doing out there? Surely you knew about the storm."

"I had to make sure that my animal friends would be alright since they live more in their own homes rather than in mine." Roseluck nodded and waited while Fluttershy dried herself off. When the pegasus was comfortably dry, she handed the towel back. Roseluck hung the towel up and offered a seat to Fluttershy in her office.

The two sat in silence as Roseluck did paperwork. However, the earth pony slowly became unnerved by the silence. She was used to noise, not silence. She needed the sound of another pony's voice. "So..." Fluttershy looked up with an absolutely adorable look on her face. 'Sweet Celestia she's cute! If I wasn't already hooked up with my darling little dentist...'

"Yes Roseluck?"

"Uh...I...Oh! So you got a thing for my little flower girl?" The florist nearly died laughing while Fluttershy nearly passed out from the amount of blood rushing to her face. The timid pegasus tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth were cute little noises that hardly resembled words and it only egged Roseluck to laugh even more.

When Roseluck had wiped the tears from her eyes, she waited for Fluttershy to come out from behind her mane. "Seriously though, don't try and deny it. I could see it in your eyes when you were getting lost in her's."

"I-"

"Like I said, don't deny it. We earth ponies are good are reading ponies. Just ask Applejack." Fluttershy remained silent. She knew full well about the strange "sixth sense" earth ponies used for reading ponies with scary accuracy. Fluttershy had already had this discussion with Applejack a few years back when the pegasus was dropping Winona off after her bi-weekly check-up.

Fluttershy had been staring at Scootaloo and Applejack pulled her off to the side and Fluttershy thought she would go deaf in one ear after the orange earth pony got finished lecturing her.

~~~Flashback

"Ya can't go on lovin' a young mare like that Fluttershy! Don't get me wrong, lovin' a mare's all well and fine but she's barely left her filly years behind!"

"I know...but there's just something about her...please don't look at me like that. I know she's too young for me but I can wait...I can't explain it Applejack, but whenever she visits, I just feel a huge rush of happiness rush through me." Applejack gave her friend a sideways glance as she turned her head to watch the Crusaders before speaking again.

"Ah dunno Flutters...ah mean, it's understand the feelin' of love. Look at me and Rainbow: We're both really competitive and fight alot, but we still manage to get by. But this...this is different." Fluttershy sighed and looked down at the ground, finding that she had dug a small rut into the earth. Applejack could see the hurt in her flying friend, so she steppped closer and wrapped a hoof around her friend.

"Now listen sugarcube, I'm not sayin' that you gotta give up right here and now. If ya'll're serious 'bout waitin'...than ah think you could have a shot. She seems to take a right shinin' to ya."

Fluttershy looked up to her friend and said, "Mhmm. She seems to come over more often without the other girls."

"Oh? What for?"

"Well...she has a little friend that she likes to see and help take care of; a little fox she named Star."

Applejack smiled and said, "Well that's good. Now c'mon, the girls're waitin'."

~~~Flashback end

"Well...yea. I have for awhile but I wanted to wait until she got a little older in case some ponies would have trouble with me dating a younger pony..."

"Yea. You've got to be at least...five years older than her right?" Fluttershy answered not with words, but with a blushing nod.

"Heh, that's pretty cute Fluttershy. Well, I honestly wish you the best of luck because I honestly don't think that Rainbow Dash can take care of her like you could. Don't get me wrong, Dash is a successful mare...but something tells me that she'd be better with you." Fluttershy's blush just became more pronounced as Roseluck spoke.

"T-thank you."

"Just tellin' the truth my friend and believe me when I say that the truth can work wonders in the kind of situation. It worked for me and Colgate, so I know that it'll work for you two as well." Fluttershy nodded but was otherwise silent. "So tell me, how're you gonna win her over?"

"Oh...I can't do that."

"What?! Why in Luna's name not?" Roseluck asked, nearly leaping out of her seat. Fluttershy however, cringed in fright at the sudden movement.

"I-it's because I d-don't want to ruin her dream. She wants to be with Rainbow so badly...I'd feel horrible if I took her away from that."

"So you'd rather just let her get her heart broken?"

"Of course not! It's just..." Fluttershy stopped, taking a few light breaths. Roseluck sighed and moved around her desk to hug Fluttershy. "I have to give Dash a fair chance...even if it means that Scootaloo may never look for romance with a mare ever again." It twisted Rose's heart to see such a deserving mare shot down before she she could even get a chance.

"No. There's gotta be something we can do! I mean..." Fluttershy looked into the florist's eyes and it took all of Roseluck's will for her not to cry. "C'mon Fluttershy...you're gonna make me tear up here." Fluttershy lowered her head and Roseluck could feel the silent sobs that racked the older pony in her arms. Rose could do nothing more but offer Fluttershy the comfort she needed.

~~~

Scootaloo sighed as she watched the rain pour down the large windows of the greenhouse area of the flower shop. "Maybe I should've went home first so I would've got stuck with Dash..." Her mind drifted back to the image that had been painted in her mind when Rose was describing the romantic-ness of a rainy day. 'Soon, it will be more than just a hopeful thought in my head.'

Through the distorted glass, Scootaloo saw an empty town and it struck her as weird. Scootaloo expected to see a few ponies, despite the downpour but had yet to see any. Instead, she saw an empty Ponyville. The town always had something going on and to see it completely devoid of life was rather odd. She was about to turn around and go back to watering when she saw a pony.

However, what surprised her was that the pony was off the ground...and had no wings. "What in Celestia's name?" She rushed up to the window to get a better look. "Is that...a unicorn?" The pony was wrapped in a lavender aura that only seemed to darken his grey coat. His mane (a mix of grey with blue streaks) was all wet and clinging to parts of his face. Scootaloo squinted, trying to get a better look at the pony since he didn't look familiar.

He turned his head and looked straight at her. The unicorn smiled as he waved nonchalantly while continuing to float along. Scootaloo waved back, unsure what to think. She wanted to see the pony even closer to get a more detailed look, but the rain distorted the window and only allowed for basic colour and outline. She continued to watch the strange pony until he floated around a corner and disappeared in the torrent of water. "Wow..."

Scootaloo couldn't help but laugh at the strangeness of the random event she had just seen. "Definitely gonna have to ask the other Crusaders about this. Oh! Maybe Roseluck or Fluttershy has seen him around!" The young mare headed into the front area of the store, but saw it abandoned so headed into the office. Inside, she saw Fluttershy holding a small glass of cider in her hooves while Roseluck had her glass sitting on her desk.

"Heya Scoots. Care for a glass?" The young pegasus nodded and took the small glass filled with the beverage with a smile.

"Hey, I got a question for you two."

"What'cha got for us Scoots?" Scootaloo began to tell the other mares about the short encounter she had with the floating stallion and asked if they had seen him. "Don't know his name but I've seen him floating around...literally. Makes a good number of ponies stop and stare. Kind of funny really." Roseluck said with a smile before taking a sip of her cider.

"I've seen him too, but never floating. When I see him he's sitting around the outskirts of Ponyville reading or just...sitting there. He seems nice and he looks nice too." Fluttershy said, taking a small drink of the sweet beverage.

Roseluck laughed and said, "Yea...he is kind of pretty...in a feminine sort of way." The two pegasi couldn't help but laugh. As the rain poured on, the three mares continued to talk and drink cider and enjoy each others company. However, it was interrupted when Scootaloo yawned and lightly groaned, moving a hoof to her muzzle.

"Are you alright Scoots?" Roseluck asked, taking a closer look at her employee.

"Yea. I just got sucker punched earlier today and it's still a little sore."

"Why'd you get hit?" Fluttershy asked, her voice switching from relaxed to concerned as she inspected Scootaloo's face.

"There's this jerk in my class named Rumble who just won't leave me alone about my inability to fly. He thinks he can bug me by insulting me but I always manage to turn it around on him-"

"You show him." Roseluck said suddenly, making Scootaloo smile before she continued.

"Anyways, he tried to push me out of school but I dodged and he fell on the ground because of it. Well, after I got in and sat down, somepony said something and when I turned around, he sucker punched me. I couldn't retaliate because Burnt Oak walked in the door so all I could do was sit down."

"Oh you poor girl." Fluttershy said, moving over and pulling Scootaloo into a hug.

The young pony blushed lightly and said, "T-thanks but it's fine. I'll get him back eventually." Both Fluttershy and Roseluck spoke at the same time.

"No!"

"Yea!" The older ponies looked at each other. "If she doesn't do anything, he'll just keep it up." Roseluck explained.

"But she can't just hurt another pony!" Fluttershy replied, worry in her eyes.

Roseluck sighed and said, "I guess...but she can't just let it slide. Like I said, if she doesn't do SOMETHING at least then he's just gonna keep attacking her like that. That's how bullies work."

"She could tell her teacher." The timid pony suggested, tenderly rubbing Scootaloo's muzzle. The orange pegasus winced occasionally, but otherwise was relaxed and even leaned into the gentle massage.

"That'll only make it worse unfortunately. This Rumble kid will get in trouble and take it out on Scootaloo." Roseluck said quickly.

"I'm not some defenseless filly you know." Scootaloo mumbled.

"We know sweetie but we just don't want you to get in trouble." Fluttershy said to the young pony.

"And I'm grateful but I agree with Roseluck. I've gotta do something or else he'll never leave me alone. And I know exactly what I'm gonna do."

"What?" Fluttershy and Roseluck asked, both leaning a bit closer.

"I'm gonna fly." The older ponies smiled and leaned back in their chairs, with Fluttershy reluctantly letting go of the young pegasus. It wasn't long before the trio settled back down into a relaxed stated and laughing about various things. About an hour later, Scootaloo got off the chair she was on and stretched. "I'll be right back. I gotta use the little filly's room."

As soon as she was out of the office, Roseluck turned to Fluttershy and said, "Please Fluttershy, you're killing me here. I know you don't want to make a move or anything but please...at least allow yourself a little indulgence. It's tearing me up to see this." Fluttershy answered with silence as her gaze moved down to the floor. "If you don't, I'll MAKE it happen."

The pegasus's gaze shot up off the floor as she stared at Roseluck. Before Fluttershy could voice any objection, Scootaloo came back into the office.

"Any idea when the rain is supposed to let up? It still coming down pretty heavily."

"Well...since it was pushed back for so many days, it'll probably last until tomorrow morning." Fluttershy said, looking through the office door and out into the downpour. Roseluck looked out the window as well and nodded before she spoke.

"Seems that way. Tell ya both what; since it's obvious that nopony is going to go out into this rain, other than that strange floaty stallion, why don't you let me close up and we'll head into my home instead of hanging out here in the workplace."

"Are you sure? I mean, if you want I can leave." Fluttershy said quietly. However, a particularly loud burst of thunder made her leap out of her chair and into Scootaloo's chair, clinging to the younger pony.

"That's what I thought. Gimme a second and we can head on up." Roseluck walked out of the office and Fluttershy sheepishly let go of Scootaloo and got back onto the floor. Moments later, the creme coloured earth pony returned and ushered them into the door on the opposite side of the office. Roseluck opened it, revealing a staircase and ushered them to head up, where they walked through another door. "Welcome to my humble home." Roseluck said with a grin. "Honey? You off work yet?"

"I never opened up." A feminine voice called out from somewhere inside the home. The timid pegasus felt the urge to jump at sudden answer, but managed to hold her fear in check. Roseluck disappeared for a moment and returned with a light blue unicorn beside her.

"Girls, this is my marefriend of three years. Colgate, this is my employee Scootaloo and my friend Fluttershy."

The blue mare smiled, showing well cared for teeth and said, "Nice to meet you both. Can I get you two anything?"

"Can I have some apple slices?" The young pegasus asked, jumping on the chance for food. Colgate laughed and looked over to Fluttershy.

"I'm fine. Thank you though." The unicorn disappeared around the corner. "She's very beautiful." Fluttershy said.

"Flattery will get you everywhere." Colgate said, handing a few apple slices to the orange pony with her magic.

"Thank you." Scootaloo said, taking them into her mouth before looking for somewhere to sit down.

"Let's go into the living room." Roseluck said, leading the way.

The group all moved into the living room and as soon as they were all seated, Scootaloo immediately turned to Colgate and asked, "You seen a floating unicorn stallion before?" The whole group was silent as they turned to Colgate.

The dentist put her hoof to her chin in thought for a moment and said, "Well yea. He floats by the office every now and then as if he's a pegasus. It IS a little annoying because the pony I'll be working on will move their head to watch him and that makes it a little hard to continue doing whatever it is I'll be doing." They all laughed and conversation carried on like normal. Several hours later after Celestia's sun had neared the opposite end of the sky, the four mares moved into the kitchen to make dinner.

~~~

When dinner had been cooked and eaten, they all agreed to bake cinnamon rolls. However, after one too many "accidents" of frosting ending up on a pony's nose, a small war broke out and frosting began to fly. By the time a cease-fire had been called, the damage had been done.

Frosting was slowly crawling down the walls, manes were sticky and clinging to their faces, and there were large sticky patches of fur. The four ponies looked at each other...and fell to the floor laughing.

When the group could breath again, Roseluck said, "Okay...let me go get the tub full of water and Fluttershy and Scootaloo can wash themselves off while we stay out here and clean." Both pegasi were about to object, but Colgate cut them off.

"Hey girls, try this." Her horn flared up with magic and stuffed part of an already glazed cinnamon roll in their mouths, effectively stopping any protest. As they chewed, Fluttershy and Scootaloo looked at each other, both blushing lightly.

A minute later, Roseluck reappeared with a smile and said, "Alright, it's ready for you." As the pair walked past Roseluck, Fluttershy blushed darker when the earth pony winked at her. The two walked into the bathroom and both swallowed a huge lump in their throats.

Author's Note

Now, before you say anything about me posting another chapter so early, lemme explain.

*Clears throat* I'm in a mood. Don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but meh. So, I was like "Eh, why not?"
Besides, you get a new chapter, so it's a win-win right?

Also, I've decided to put Roseluck on the Character Tags because I think she's gonna play a bigger part in the story than I had thought so...yea. That, and because she's just so devious XD