Summary: Raising a child is never easy and of course it has its challenges, but they'd be lying if they said it wasn't rewarding. Series of stories about Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's experience as parents.
The two ponies sat in silence in the small office, both in their own world. Rainbow Dash lightly tapped her hoof on the ground as she leaned on the table propping herself on one hoof. Her eyes started to wonder and fell upon her wife who was visibly very anxious. Fluttershy looked at the ground worry clear on her face as she was playing with her hair a sign of anxiety Rainbow Dash has picked up on all the years she's known Fluttershy.
Rainbow extended a hoof and placed it on Shy's shoulder giving her a genuine smile
"Hey" she spoke softly "It's going to be okay."
Fluttershy looked up at her cerulean eyes staring deeply in to crimson ones.
"I know." Fluttershy looked down "It's just..."
"Just what?"
"Well..." she took a deep breath "What if they tell us no? This is our last resort and I don't want it to be unsuccessful."
"What makes you think they'll tell us no?"
"Well what if we're not fit to be parents? What if..." Fluttershy closed her eyes "What if I'm not fit to be a parent."
"Are you kidding me?" Rainbow Dash chuckled loudly slightly startling the shy mare "We'd make awesome parents! Shy I see the way you treat your animals. They're practically your babies! And if that reflects anything of what you are like as a parent I'm confident you'll do an amazing job." Dash smiled sweetly at her.
Fluttershy looked back in to Rainbow's cherry eyes and smiled, placing her own hoof on top of Rainbow's. The couple's tender moment was soon interrupted by a door opening and closing revealing a silver unicorn trotting in to the room
"Good morning, dearies!" She started as she sat down at her desk, using her magic to tidy up her papers she was carrying with her. She seemed old, but a kind soul at heart. A silver coat with white curly hair that danced as she bopped her head. She fixed her glasses as she looked down at her papers "You young fillies must be..." She squinted "Retro dam and flintersheep." She looked up at the two with a grin.
"Um actually it's Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, ma'am." Rainbow Dash laughed nervously gesturing towards her wife as she rubbed the back of her neck
"Oh goodness me sorry about that! If you're as old as me the'ol peepers don't work like they used to!" The old unicorn giggled sweetly. "You can call me Silver sweet and I'll be helping you today!"
"It's very nice to meet you. We've thinking about this day none stop and to be honest our nerves are a bit wrecked. Both of ours." Rainbow Dash added the last bit as she rubbed the shoulder of Fluttershy who was back to playing with her hair.
"Well then I can see you two are very eager to start, so let's dive right in, shall we?" Silver Sweet turned a page and she examined it holding the paper closely to her face adjusting her glasses "Well this is an easy one! What are your occupations?"
"Well I'm a wonderbolt." Dash flicked her mane as she smiled smugly, giving a wink at Fluttershy who giggled softly.
"Oh my a Wonderbolt! How exciting! Now ain't that just a hoot and a holler!" Silver Sweet laughed "And what about you, Darling?" She turned to Fluttershy
"I help out the local Ponyville veterinary clinic by taking care of sick, or hurt animals." Fluttershy added, pushing her hair out of her face
"Oh that's wonderful! You must be well equipped to take care of other ponies too I assume?"
"Well I do help out at the old ponies home from time to time, but I don't care to brag."
"Bragging?" Rainbow Dash scoffed "Fluttershy is awesome at taking care of creatures of every kind! If there's a pony more capable of taking care of a younger pony it's Flutters over here!" Rainbow Dash started flapping her wings out of excitement placing a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder. Fluttershy blushed, trying to hide her face the best she could.
"I can't take all the credit." She laughed nervously "Rainbow Dash has her way with other ponies too. She always gives the best pep talks." Dash looked over at Shy with a genuine smile
"Oh how sweet! You two think so highly of each other! Great attributes to have as parents! That will definitely count to your advantage" Silver Stream said with a wink" What made you two decide to adopt? Surely with all the new breakthroughs with modern magic you could carry a little filly yourself?"
Rainbow Dash winced and looked over at Fluttershy who had her head lowered. She placed a hoof on Fluttershy's leg and turned back to Silver Sweet
"Well we sorta tried all of that magic stuff, but we found out Fluttershy can't exactly get pregnant..." Silver Sweet nodded her head "...and with me being a wonderbolt I can't exactly afford to get pregnant. So this is sort of a last resort type of thing. Not that it's a bad decision! It's just the only choice we had left."
Silver Sweet looked over at Fluttershy with a comforting smile who was currently trying to hold back tears. She used her magic to levitate a box of tissues and sent it to Fluttershy's direction. Fluttershy took a tissue and wiped her tears away
She sniffled "We wanted to raise a pony of our own, but we also figured that adopting would be just as wonderful."
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash added "No matter where the pony is from we will love them no matter what!" Dash cradled Fluttershy's cheek forcing her to look at her. She sniffled but gave a small smile, placing a hoof over Rainbow Dash's.
"Well I can see it's a very sensitive subject matter, but don't you threat! Plenty of ponies have been in your position before and I can reassure you they're very happy with their new families!" Silver Sweet spoke. She went through the papers again checking back and front. "Well..." she spoke putting her papers down "I've seen all that I needed to see. Two ponies who love each other dearly with a great future ahead. Can't think of better candidates for parents."
Both Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's eyes widened
"You mean...?"
"Yes!" Silver Sweet exclaimed excitedly "You two can call yourself official parents!"
Fluttershy got so excited she flew in to Rainbow's arms as Dash was still processing the good news. But her shock soon turned to sheer joy as she hugged Flutter's back grinning
"Oh Rainbow Dash we're going to be parents!" Fluttershy spoke in an excited whisper
Silver Sweet laughed "Congratulations my dears! Of course we still need to go through the process of meeting your future child, but your credentials check out! All that's left to do is a visit to your home to make sure it's up to code, but I'm sure that won't be a problem would it?"
"No of course not!" Rainbow squeaked "Fluttershy's cottage is animal proof, so I'm sure it'll be toddler proof too." She joked
Silver Sweet gave out a genuine laugh "Well then shall I take you down to the orphanage to meet your future child?"
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other before getting up and trotting after the unicorn.
"You'll find that our little institute is highly prestiges with our fillies and colts being top priority!" Silver Sweet spoke with confidence trotting down the stairs. She reached towards a door at the bottom and continued to speak "In fact we don't like using the word 'orphanage' around here. We prefer the term 'temporary family'. It makes the ponies feel safer." She opened the door and waited for Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to walk through. "You'll see that we have little ponies, but with big smiles!"
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash watched in awe at the little ponies going about their day. Some were drawing, some were playing, and some were reading quietly in a corner while some where running up and about. So many different personalities in one space. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other and then over at Silver Sweet who was grinning in their direction.
"I know right? So many lovely faces!"
"So how does this whole adoption thing work?" Dash asked
"Well normally you tell us what age range you're interested in and we pair you up with a pony who matches your likeness. You know like coat colour, breed of pony, height and what have you. But a lot of ponies find that too political, so we offer the option to meet the ponies themselves to see who clicks well with them the most!"
"Wow there's so many ponies here I don't know how we'd ever be able to choose." Fluttershy spoke bringing a hoof to her chest feeling a bit overwhelmed
"Oh trust me, my dearie. You'll know the moment you meet them! Now I have to leave for just a few minutes to sort out some admin stuff. How about I leave you two to explore? Be back in a jiffy!" and with that she left leaving Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash alone to themselves and all these children.
"Shall we start, I guess?" Rainbow Dash asked looking over at Fluttershy who nodded at her.
They trotted among the countless young fillies and colts. Some glanced at them and continued on with their activities while others sheepishly watched them clearly too shy to approach them while a few gladly walked up to them to greet them.
"I like your hair! Can I touch it?"
"Where's your horn?"
"Where's the daddy?"
"You smell like strawberries!"
Both Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy laughed at the little ponies waffling. They answered all their questions respectfully, sitting down with them and telling the children a bit about themselves
"You live with a bear?" Their eyes were like dinner plates with a twinkle of amazement and a childlike wonder.
Fluttershy giggled "Yes and he's very friendly!" Her response was met with oohs and aah's
One pony lightly tugged at Fluttershy's hair "Can we meet him, Mrs. Fluttershy?"
"Maybe next time when we visit I'll bring him with." She smiled down at the little pony
"That is if he doesn't gobble you up first!" Rainbow Dash made a silly growling noise which was greeted with screams and then a fit of laughter. Fluttershy couldn't help, but laugh along. It was then that something caught her eye. A pony sitting alone in the corner of the room despite all the ponies being preoccupied with Flutters and Dash which Fluttershy found very strange. She got up from among the crowd and carefully stepped toward the pony's direction except... it wasn't a pony? On closer inspection she realised it was a young griffon.
Her coat was a golden colour with white feathers covering her head She was playing with a small doll all by herself she hadn't even notice Fluttershy moving towards her direction.
"Hello there." Fluttershy spoke softly, trying not to startle her.
The griffon's feather's puffed up as she was startled by Fluttershy quickly hiding her toy behind her back.
"It's okay, little one. I'm not going to hurt you." Fluttershy extended a hoof, but the griffon dodged it, avoiding eye contact.
Fluttershy retracted her hoof and smiled at the griffon sitting down next to her. She's worked with enough animals to pick up on skittish behavior and knew exactly what to do in this situation She spoke softly again
"I'm Fluttershy. What's your name?"
The griffon remained quiet.
"It's okay you don't have to tell me. It's very nice to meet you." She very gently extended a hoof again, but this time eye level to the griffon. She tilted her head like a bird would, eyeing Fluttershy's hoof. She cautiously placed her claw over Fluttershy's hoof and looked up at her. Fluttershy gave her a very genuine smile. She noticed the doll the Griffon was holding. "Is that your doll? She's very pretty. Can I see?"
The griffon looked at the doll and back up to Fluttershy
"I won't hurt her I just want to see."
The griffon cautiously held up the doll for Fluttershy to see
It was a small griffon plush toy clearly quite old as it had a couple of stitches loose as well as it having some stains on it. Despite its sorrowed look Fluttershy smiled upon seeing the doll
"Oh she's lovely!"
The Griffon smiled a small smile up at Fluttershy, but quickly retracted when she heard Rainbow Dash's voice bellowing from afar
"Fluttershy you gotta come see this! This pony can fit his entire hoof in his mouth!" Rainbow Dash flew towards Fluttershy, but stop mid-sentence when she saw the little Griffon
"Who's this little fella?" She was about to ruffle the Griffon's crest, but stopped when the she pulled her head back
"Oh just a new friend I made. She's very shy."
Rainbow Dash chuckled "Not something we're not already used to at this point, right Flutters?" She nudged Fluttershy with her elbow while looking at the griffon with a grin. Fluttershy hid her blushing face, but couldn't help but smile herself.
"So a griffon, hey? I bet you're a super-fast flyer." she winked at the griffon who eyed her carefully
"Anyways I hate to ruin your fun, but I sorta promised the kids we'd talk about our friendship adventures with Twilight."
Fluttershy nodded her head and got up
"It was very nice to meet you, dear." She smiled. They were just about to make their way to the crowd when they heard a small voice
"It's Chloe."
They both turned around to look at the griffon
"M-my name. You asked what it was? It's...Chloe."
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other
"Chloe is a wonderful name!" Fluttershy spoke causing Chloe to smile sheepishly up at her
"Hey Chloe we're just about to tell the rest of the kids about our awesome adventures. You want to join us?" Rainbow Dash grinned. Chloe looked at them and then at the group of children who were eying the three from afar. She smiled
"Yah I would like that." She followed Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy to the crowded ponies and sat by their side during the entirety story, starry eyed and amazed by the ponies brave antics.
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash was just about to finish up before Silver Sweet walked in
"Well well well looks like things are going well!"
She walked up to the crowd of ponies who all greeted her with a smile. "I hate to break up the fun, but I'm afraid it's lunch time soon so the youngins need to get ready. Plus we have a lot to talk about! Shall we head back to my office?"
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy nodded before getting up and Following Silver Sweet. They followed her to the office they were in previously and made themselves comfortable.
Silver Sweet looked at them with a smile sitting down behind her own desk. She propped her head up on her hooves before speaking
"So anypony that you liked?"
"They're all awesome!" Dash spoke
"Yes and they're all so lovely! I don't know where to even start."
"Ah yes well nopony said it was going to be easy, unfortunately." Silver Sweet sat back in her chair "But surely there's somepony that stood out?"
"Well...there is one pony..." Fluttershy trailed off. She looked over at Rainbow Dash who eyed her carefully. Growing suspicious. She knew Fluttershy well enough to know that she was about to say something she might not like
"...who's not really...a pony..." Fluttershy finished. Rainbow Dash's ears perked up as she looked over at Fluttershy
Dash's eyes widened
"You don't mean..."
"The Griffon?" Silver Sweet asked with a confused look on her face
"Um...yes...?" Fluttershy smiled sheepishly at Rainbow. Rainbow scratched the bottom of her chin as she started thinking
"You know what now that I think about it she did really stand out to me too. Took some time to warm up to us, but that's expected I guess. Plus she's kinda cute too." Fluttershy felt a sense of relief wash over her as she took a deep breath
"Oh Dashie I'm so glad to hear that. All the other ponies were great really, but I just feel a real connection with her."
"And with those wings I bet she's an awesome flyer too. Would be nice to have a flying buddy that can actually keep up."
Fluttershy nodded "And I'm sure she'd get along well with the animals! Especially the birds!"
"Ladies, are you sure about this?" Silver Sweet interrupted "Ponies raising a griffon, it's…well… a big responsibility."
"Well I mean, isn't raising any child a big responsibility?" Rainbow added
Silver Sweet looked at the two ponies before clearing her throat "Fair point. If you ponies are completely sure about this I support you!" She smiled at them "Just be aware that interspecies adoption is a bit...tricky. We're going to have to get the Immigration and Naturalization Services involved so she can get a visa. And then you're going to have to do your research on raising Griffons because they're very different from ponies, but everything is not at all impossible!"
"She doesn't have a visa yet?"
"Well it's a bit complicated" Silver Sweet started "She's originally from Griffonstone, but because the orphanage was so over crowded she was relegated to Canterlot for the time being until room opens up of course. We didn't expect anypony to adopt her, but I guess life is full of surprises!"
Silver Sweet opened her drawer and pulled out some papers. She held them in the air as she continued speaking "Now what I have here is the adoption papers. Once I sign them it's a done deal. Are you two confident in your decision?"
Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked at each other one last time and smiled
"What do you think, Shy? You ready to be a parent?"
"With you by my side I'm confident we will be the best parents we can be." She placed a hoof on top of Rainbow's as they share a tender moment.
And with that they signed the papers, knowing their lives were going to change, but for the best. As long as they have each other they knew they could do this.
First chapter of my Chloe series! I'm planning on continuing this series for those who are interested. Feedback is greatly appreciated! I'm quite new to this writing thing so I'll take the help where I can find it!