June 2nd, 993 Domina Solaria

“Bam!~”

“Dood!~”

“Bum!~”

“Dood!~”

“Bam!~”

“Dood!~”

“Bum!~”

“Doo-do!~”

Fluttershy and Doug jog down one of the many paths through the White Tail Woods, footfalls and hoofsteps in time to their lively song. Doug alternates between high and low while Fluttershy stays fairly constant. Every once in a while a squirrel will break in with a quick-

“Dat-doot, doot-de-doot, do-do-de, do-do, de, de, det-de-loo~”

-at which point the two drop or raise an octave. Other times B-Jay chirps in with a few out of time cheeps. Fluttershy can’t even bring herself to correct the bird. She’s having too good a time; the song is easy enough, she can focus on the surroundings, and every time she’s out of breath and can’t keep up the ‘dood’s they slow to a walk. She wishes she could keep this up for hours, but dinner will be ready soon and they are already on the return leg to Sweet Apple Acres.

At least, until Rainbow Dash nearly crashes into them as she comes to a screeching halt. Her hooves dig a furrow into the ground, throwing dirt on each of them.

“Doug!” Rainbow Dash exclaims wildly.

“Dash, I’m with Fluttershy,” Doug says sternly. “This couldn’t wait?”

“Oh, um,” Fluttershy says as she cautiously backs up and shakes the dirt off. Even though it’s been almost a month she still feels like she should be the junior mare, and deferential to every mare above her. At least, that’s the excuse she gives to do what comes naturally to her, no matter how many times the others insist they are all equals and they don’t hold herd order to be any consequence. Other than a tiebreaker when it comes to who gets ear scratches first.

Rainbow Dash ignores Fluttershy as she takes back into the air and waves what might have been a piece of paper in Doug’s face. She’s barely keeping herself together, her mane disheveled and voice distraught. “You gotta help me!”

Doug sighs as the birds around chirp loudly. He snatches what he thinks is a letter, now torn and dirty. He doesn’t read it, instead huffing as he glances at Fluttershy. A quick flick of his head gets her to tentatively walk next to him, and he turns back to Dash as he rests a hand on the back of her head. “With?”

“Well, um,” Rainbow Dash says, regretting that she interrupted Fluttershy and Doug’s time together. He’s trying to spend time with them equally, and given that he works most of the day with either Applejack or Rarity - and spends a good chunk of most evenings with her - he doesn’t get to see Fluttershy nearly as much. “You know how you’ve been helping me with the weather scheduling?”

“I-it’s okay,” Fluttershy says as she tries to back away, except Doug’s hand rubs at her mane, encouraging her to stay.

“Apparently,” Rainbow Dash stretches the word out, rubbing her throat nervously, “they think something is, um, isn’t right.”

“They?” Doug asks, sighing. “Can you be more specific?”

Rainbow Dash points at the letter. “Cloudsdale’s weathercrafters. The same ones that teach the classes also check what each town submits and compile what the weather factory needs.”

“You know what compile means?” Doug says offhandedly as he reads through the letter.

“I know,” Rainbow Dash mourns loudly. She snaps out of it quickly, glaring at Doug and Fluttershy, “But you better not tell anypony I’m an egghead!” Her worried look returns as she furtively scans the skies, “The Wonderbolts will think I’m not aerodynamic! Or, even worse, they’ll nickname me Egghead Dash!”

“I thought eggs are fairly aerodynamic,” Doug says, drawing a glare from Rainbow Dash.

“For birds, the better the flyer the more elliptical the egg,” Fluttershy says with the slightest of grins.

Rainbow Dash stares at Fluttershy for a second. “I don’t get it.”

“Because you have a long face!” Fluttershy chortles, the many birds in the nearby trees chirping merrily.

Rainbow Dash chuckles, glancing at Doug. “Pony, you’re a bad influence on her. Still, though, props for trying.” She takes a deep breath. “Still, those eggheads must have taken one look at what I submitted and figured that it, um, wasn’t my work.” She coughs nervously. “Probably because I... didn’t pay much attention in their classes.”

Doug reads through the letter. It says pretty much the same thing, only with more words. “I thought I wrote that alternate schedule for you to use as a reference guide, not to submit.”

“Well, you did,” Rainbow Dash draws out, landing and trying to shrink down. “I-it’s, just, it was kinda hard to just slot in just one little piece, so…”

“You submitted the entirety of mine?” Doug massages his temples as he closes his eyes exasperatedly.

“Hey! I was busy!” Rainbow Dash stamps a hoof on the ground.

“Um, girls,” Fluttershy says quietly.

“You know how hard it is to make sure all those clouds get to the right place?” Rainbow Dash grits her teeth as she motions to the south, “We’ve got two newbies and I practically have to hold their hooves while we fly! Especially whenever we get close to the Everfree! I’m sorry I don’t pick this stuff up instantly like you!”

“Instantly?” Doug spits out. “It’s not my fault you slept through half our reading sessions.”

“Excuse me,” Fluttershy tries a little louder, her ears folding against her head. The prospect of standing up and being heard is daunting, far more than she’d ever take on her own. Except it’s her herdmates - well, herdmate and stallion - arguing, and she hates to see this!

“Yeah, ‘cause your stupid bucking foal is sapping all my strength, and-”

“That’s enough!” Fluttershy bellows. She stands up, shrugging Doug’s hand off her as she whirls on the two.

Rainbow Dash’s ears splay back just a fraction. Fluttershy’s outburst stalls her own rant, and she meekly smiles at her friend.

Fluttershy continues, “I do not, I repeat, I do not want to ever hear you talk about your foal like that again!”

“Yes’m,” Rainbow Dash whispers.

“And you!” Fluttershy whirls on Doug. “You need to be more understanding, and listen to what Rainbow Dash is going through! She clearly distraught and needs encouragement, not blame!”

“S-sure,” Doug says, taken aback. A cheeky grin crosses his face not a moment later. “Will I see this assertive Fluttershy later tonight?”

“You’ll be lucky to not sleep on the couch,” Fluttershy sternly says, though her hard expression softens. She pets him with a wing. “If you are, I’ll be sure to bring you blankets and a glass of milk.”

“Right.” Doug can’t help but smile at the change in the junior mare. He turns to Rainbow Dash. “Sorry I was giving you a hard time.”

“Yeah, um, me too.” She sighs as she pats her belly. The foal she’s carrying is starting to become obvious, but more on her sides than downward: her tight stomach muscles keep her belly from drooping, and the excess mass pushes her sides almost in line with her flanks. “This whole foal thing has been hard on me. A lot harder than I thought. And with this-” she motions at the letter “-on top of all my weather duties, it’s been almost overwhelming.” Her head drops down, a devastated expression as she snorts back a sniffle.

“That’s why you have friends,” Fluttershy says as she nuzzles Rainbow Dash. “So they can help you with your problems. A cart isn’t as heavy when two ponies pull!”

“Exactly,” Doug says, sitting down next to Rainbow Dash and rubbing into the cool colors of her mane. “Besides, do you fly by yourself when you’re a Wonderbolt?”

“Well,” Rainbow Dash says with a hint of a smirk, “nopony else flaps their wings for you.”

She groans as Doug’s fingers dig into her neck. “Okay, okay, Wonderbolts fly as a team, too. Happy?”

“Almost,” Doug says, loosening his grip. “What were you worried about happening?”

“Well,” Rainbow Dash says slowly, “Captain Spitfire gave me this assignment, right? I’m supposed to be head weathermare. Not me and Clear Skies, or me and you. Just me. How can I prove to her I can do the job if I pass the hard work to somepony else?”

“Did you?” Doug asks bluntly.

“I took advantage of your work,” Rainbow Dash says after a moment’s thought.

“But not until you had done the work yourself,” Doug continues. “I wouldn’t fault you for putting the well-being of the Ponyvillians above your own interests.”

“Oh, now you’re a better weathercrafter than me, huh?” Rainbow Dash exclaims with mock indignation. Then she winks at Doug, snuggling next to him. “I just hope whoever comes sees it that way, too.”

Doug glances back at the letter. “And whoever they send is coming tonight, huh? Not a lot of time to get your facts straight.”

Rainbow Dash chuckles nervously. “Yeah, I, uh, think that’s intentional. They’ll be coming up to the Cloudominium after dinner.”

Doug stands, the other two following. “Well, we might be running a little late. Wouldn’t want to make Applejack worry.”

Next Chapter: Ch. 95 - Headhunter Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 54 Minutes