Rainbow Chaos

"What?! You mean my wings, my cutie mark?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, her mouth wide open and her eyes huge.

"Yes," Discord said.

"Well then, what took ya so long to tell me? C'mon, do the spell!" She wiggled her wing stubs, and looked eagerly up at him.

"Dashie, that's not all there is to it."

"What? Will something else happen to me if you do?"

"Well, no, but if I restore your old body, it will hurt. A lot. I mean, super duper hurting. It could be worse than when you lost them in the first place." Her smile disappeared.

"Oh. That much huh? Could it. . . kill me?"

"No. It's just really painful. But, if I do the spell, you would have your wings and cutie mark back," Discord told her.

"Wait, how would you know all this? Have you done this spell on somepony before?" Dash asked, slightly suspicious.

"I'm not careful, let's just say that. But what I'm saying is true. And now you need to make a decision; do you want to go through the immense pain to be healed, or do you want to live without your wings and cutie mark for the rest of your life?" He grabbed her still wet shoulders. She looked him straight in his different sized eyes, and nodded.

"I want my wings. I want what makes me special again. I want what Pinkie took away from me those months ago. I want them. No, I need them," Rainbow stated firmly, her eyes focused in a stern gaze.

"Okay, I'll perform the spell. But we need to go back to your house. We don't want anypony hearing you screaming, if you do," Discord advised. Dash nodded, and she turned in the direction of her home. Thoughts raced through her mind at a million miles an hour. Oh my gosh! I'm getting my wings back! And my cutie mark! But he says it'll hurt a lot. . . I hope he's not lying about this. But then again, why would he have a reason to? He is reformed. But what if he's been secretly plotting to get revenge on all us ponies?! He already caught Pinkie Pie. Maybe. . . maybe keeping me alive without my wings is my punishment?! And now he's just leading me on, making me think I'm being healed?! But why would Discord do that? Relax Dash, this'll work out, just you wait. Faster than she even thought they would be, they were at her house.

"So, how are we going to, you know, do this?" Dash asked him nervously as they entered her cloud abode. She tapped her hooves together, sweat running down her face.

"Well, I'll have to be touching you, so just let me grab your wings," Discord said, leaning downwards to put his paws on the stubs. Before he could, she jerked away. "Are you okay? Do you need a drink before we start?"

"Uh, yeah, maybe that'll calm me a little." A glass of water appeared in Discord's talon, and he held it out to the cyan pegasus. "Thanks." She took it and swallowed it quickly, and the glass disappeared as swiftly as when it had first arrived. She sat down in front of him again. Discord placed his paws on her healed wings. He closed his eyes, and the stubs on Dash's back started glowing with a golden aura. They shook a little, and a very itty bitty blue feather poked out from the broken wing. Rainbow grunted, biting her lip. They were only a minute into this and already the pain was coming! The skin broke as a bone protruded from her wings. But no blood came out. The bone grew longer, forming the shape of a wing. Rainbow's face twisted, and she started breathing more heavily. She wanted to cry, scream, do something, but it would be worse. Why waste her breath? At this point, skin crept up from her wing base, covering the bones. As soon as both of them were completely covered, muscle knitted itself together underneath it. It hurt like nothing she had ever felt before. Discord was right; this was worse than it being chopped off! Tears started running down her face, but she made no sound. Meanwhile, the spirit behind her was sweating profusely, his chest heaving with the difficult spell.

"How- how far are we into this?" Dash grunted, one eye squinted shut.

"Not much left on your wings. But we still have to get your cutie mark," Discord responded through clenched teeth.

"Uuuhhh. . ."

Now, Dash felt the muscle finish. Feathers began sprouting up everywhere like weeds. A tingling sensation spread over her wings, but it didn't hurt that much compared to the earlier parts. The few final minutes seemed to take hours as the feathers grew. At last, Discord lifted his paws off the wings. Rainbow cracked open her eyes and looked back at them. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew huge. A smile spread over her face, and she leaped up in the air, but immediately fell to the ground.

"Ouch! What the-? Why can't I fly?" Dash asked. She rubbed her head, looking at him confusedly.

"It'll take a little bit for your wings to get used to being working again. But don't worry, it won't take that long," Discord replied breathlessly, laying on top of a huge ice cube he had summoned.

"Oh. Okay. But, are you? Did that spell hurt you?"

"No, just really tiring. And it makes me hot, like sweaty hot. Are you fine? It doesn't hurt anymore does it?"

"Only a little. More of an aching feeling though, so yeah, for all that pain earlier, I feel pretty good."

"You ready for me to do your cutie mark?"

"Yeah. Will it hurt as much as the wings or not as bad?" Dash looked over at him from where she was standing at the window, watching the sunset.

"It shouldn't hurt as much. But it still will," Discord told her, sliding off the already halfway melted ice cube.

"Okay, I'm ready then." Rainbow sat down in front of him again and he shook the ice water off him, and got rid of the ice cube.

"I'm not trying to make a move or anything like that, but I have to do this for it to work." Dash felt Discord's paws on both of her flanks.

"Whoa! Don't get too close, Discord, or we'll have a problem," the blue pegasus warned. He smiled awkwardly and blushed. She rolled her eyes; this better be part of the process. The spirit closed his eyes again and his paws glowed. The prickling sensation spread through her flanks and the skin around the scars wavered slightly. It pulled over the scars, covering them, and stretching the skin painfully. Dash gritted her teeth. But before she knew it, the scars were no longer visible. Fur began growing, tickling the pegasus. At least this didn't hurt as much as her wings. A cooling sensation spread over her. A bright flash behind her told Rainbow that her cutie mark was there. She stood up as Discord's paws left her flanks. As Dash turned, the mismatched creature fell to the floor with a thud. Surprised and worried, she shook his shoulder.

"Discord? Discord? You all right?" Rainbow asked, lifting his eyelid up and waving her hoof in front of it. She took his ear and wiggled it. She stood on his stomach. Then she turned him onto his stomach. Nothing. Dash tapped her chin thoughtfully, thinking of some way to wake him. A loud snore snapped her from her thoughts. He was just exhausted!

"I should let him sleep. He needs it," Dash laughed to herself, and shot out the window.

When Discord woke, his head throbbed painfully. Rubbing it with his paw, he glanced around. No sign of Rainbow Dash anywhere.

"Where could she be?" he wondered aloud. Standing up, he stretched, his back cracking loudly. "Ah, that felt great." Discord tiredly opened the door and stepped out, intending to look for Dash. But instead, after a few steps, he fell straight down.

"What the-?!" Discord shouted, the wind whistling past him. The cloud house was floating! What? How? He spread his wings, and the wind caught under them, sending him shooting back up the clouds. Shaking his head, he landed on her cloud. And then Discord noticed that the rainbows were pouring out of it again. When had they gotten in the air? The spirit looked around for the cyan pegasus. A streak of rainbow shot across the sky above him. A boom closely followed. Discord grimaced, flattening his ears against his head as the sound barrier broke.

"Hey! You're finally up sleepyhead!" Dash exclaimed, landing right behind him. Discord quickly turned around.

"Whoa! You scared me for a second there. That boom was you, I'm guessing? And why are we floating again?" he asked.

"Well, you were out for a while, so I decided to lift it back up as it should be. And yes, it was me. My sonic rainboom! It felt so good doing one again! Man, it was so awesome!" She reared up on her hind legs, kicking her forelegs into the air excitedly, eyes closed in glee.

"How'd you get down here so fast?"

"Oh, please. That was easy. The hard part was not going straight through the cloud when I landed."

"Oh. Nice. So, they feel okay, no problems-"

"RAINBOW DASH?! YOU HAVE YOUR WINGS?! YOU'RE ALL BETTER!" Fluttershy's excited voice rang through the air, and she appeared on the cloud with a balloon in her mouth, bearing her friends inside of it. She dropped the floating carrier and sprinted with all her speed towards the blue pegasus. Tackling her, she turned her on her stomach and happily played with her wings. Discord sprang away when Rainbow was shoved to the floor. He stood there with a confused and slightly creeped out look out on his face, The yellow pegasus's attention changed when she saw the lighting bolt cloud cutie mark on the pony beneath her flanks. "Cutie mark too! How did you get healed?!"

"Well, Dis-"

"Rainbow Dash! I can't believe it! You're all better!" Twilight exclaimed, grabbing her friend's wing as Fluttershy was and wiggled one too.

"I never thought you would be able to fly again! How did you do this?" Rarity asked, poking Dash's cutie mark.

"How? This is so, well, amazin'!" AppleJack yelled, touching the pegasus's cutie mark on the other side.

Rainbow sat, annoyed, underneath Fluttershy. Rolling her eyes, she said, "really? Get off!" The ponies scooted away from her, allowing Dash to stand up.

"Gosh, if you want to know just listen next time instead of tackling me and touching me! Jeesh! Ever heard of something called personal space? You might want to respect that. Anyways, you want answers? Well, I'm not into making a whole speech about this, so I'm just gonna come out with it. Discord healed me," Rainbow said plainly.

"WHAT?!" the ponies exclaimed incredulously in unison.

"You heard me."

"How?! Why don't I know of this spell?!" Twilight shouted.

"Uh, hello, God of Chaos, I can do more spells that heal than you. Besides, you won't find any book on it, so you'll never know. You would never be able to do it anyway; only I can," Discord told her, putting his paws on his hips and hovering above the cloud.

"But-"

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! I saw your sonic rainboom! That means you're healed right?!" Scootaloo gasped, coming over the edge of the cloud. Balloons were tied around her waist, and her little wings were buzzing desperately. As she saw her idol, her purple eyes lit up and she kicked herself free of the balloons and sprang across the cloud, hugging her.

"Scootaloo! How'd you know I was up here?" Rainbow asked, stumbling back slightly under the force of the filly's grip.

"I told you! I saw your sonic rainboom! And I knew I couldn't wait to see if it was you, so I got some balloons, and came up here! It was hard work, but I had to see you!"

"Well, that was sweet of you, Scoots. Why don't you stay up here with me then?"

"Oh, I'd love to! Thanks Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo let go of the older pegasus and stood next to her.

"Anyway, that still makes no sense! Why wouldn't I be able to do that spell?" Twilight snorted. Discord sighed and ran his paw down his face.

"I already told you, Twilight, that only I can do the restoring spell," Discord said, rather annoyed, as the fact he was still tired from doing the spell.

"But why?" the purple unicorn argued.

"Oh sweet Celestia! Do I need to spell it out for you? I'm much more powerful in magic, and besides, my magic bends the rules of physics."

"Pinkie does too!" Scootaloo objected. Six pairs of eyes flew to the orange pegasus. Crouching closer to the ground, she asked, "what?"

"You really don't know? How did she not know?" Applejack asked incredulously.

"You don't know, Scoots? Did nopony ever tell you?" Rainbow asked her.

"Tell me what?"

"Scoots… Pinkie Pie was the one that did that to me."

"What?! Why?!"

"We don't really know. But she did. Why did nopony tell you?"

"I-I. . I avoided everypony afterwards. I didn't talk to them. I was scared somepony was going to tell me you were dead."

"But I'm not."

"Is that why Pinkie is gone?"

"Yes."

"Oh. I thought she left; moved away or something."

"She's in prison. For the rest of her life."

"Oh." Scootaloo looked down and fell quiet.

"So, are you guys hungry? Wanna grab a bite to eat?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm famished; let's eat. Where should we go?" Rarity asked.

"Apple Bees?" Fluttershy suggested.

"Ok, I'm good with that," Twilight agreed.

"Are we all okay with that?" Dash asked.

"Yup," Applejack said.

"Discord?" Fluttershy turned to the spirit. He was floating in the air, sound asleep.

"Ha, guess we're not taking him," Rainbow laughed.

"Why is he so tired?" Twilight asked, still giggling a little.

"The spell really wore him out," Dash explained. The unicorn nodded and the others got in the balloon.

"Can I come with you guys?" Scootaloo asked her idol.

"Of course Scoots. In fact, why don't we get the other Crusaders and we all have one big party over there?"

"Yeah! Cool! Hey Rainbow, can I help you fly the balloon back down?"

"Oh, sure! You know, I think you're strong enough to pull it the whole way, don't you think Fluttershy?" the blue pegasus said, sneaking a wink at her yellow friend. Fluttershy seemed to pick up on it.

"Oh, of course! You are strong! We'd never be able to get it down without you," Fluttershy announced.

"Oh cool!" Scootaloo grabbed the rope, and waited until all the ponies were in the hot air balloon, with the exception of the pegasi. "Where do I put it?" she asked, looking back at them.

"Oh, wherever you want to land. Anywhere's fine," Dash told her. Scootaloo buzzed her wings excitedly, and jumped off the cloud. Rainbow and Fluttershy immediately flew under it, holding it up.

"This is so awesome! Don't you think, you guys?" Scootaloo tried to see them out of the corner of her eye, but didn't see them. Oh well, she knew they were there. She flapped her wings, and let the balloon sink ever so carefully towards the ground.

"Yeah Scoots! You're doing great!" Dash yelled up to her. "Be careful on the landing! You don't wanna bounce everypony out of the balloon!"

The balloon hit the ground and Scootaloo stopped. They came to halt.

"That was great!" the blue pegasus exclaimed, flying up to her little follower and hugging her. Fluttershy came right after her, looking quite pleased. The duo had zoomed out from under the balloon right before it landed, letting Scootaloo do it herself.

"Yeah! That was very good of you Scootaloo," Rarity praised, jumping out of the balloon.

"Can I go and get the others now?" Scootaloo asked, pushing Rainbow Dash off her and dusting off her mane.

"Ah don't think that'll be necessary," Applejack said, looking at the end of the street.

"Did you just land that balloon Scootaloo? I can't believe it!" Sweetie Belle shouted excitedly, bouncing up to her friend with Apple Bloom behind her.

"Yeah! We both saw that! Did you get your cutie mark because of it?" Apple Bloom asked, running around Scootaloo, looking at her flanks.

"No. It wasn't that special to get one. But it was super awesome! Just like Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo finished with a happy look on her face, hovering in the air for a few moments.

"Anyways, silly fillies, we were going to eat now. Are you girls going to come or not?" Twilight interrupted their chitchat.

"Yeah!" the Cutie Mark Crusaders yelled at the same time, slamming their hooves together in a circle.

"C'mon, let's go," Dash said, rolling her eyes and smiling.

"So just like that you got your wings back?" Apple Bloom asked, her eyes wide and staring.

"And your cutie mark?" Sweetie Belle put in.

"Yup. Exactly," Rainbow said, taking a drink of her cider. They had arrived at Apple Bees and had already ordered, sitting in a long, horseshoe shaped booth.

"Awesome! Do you think if something ever happens to me like that Discord will heal me?" Apple Bloom asked, looking at Applejack, who was next to her.

"Heck no! Ain't nothin' like that ever gonna happen to ya!" AJ exclaimed, putting her hoof around her sister's shoulder.

"Hey, why don't you hand me that crayon Scoots?" Dash asked the pegasus filly, who was coloring. She handed her the pink one she wasn't using. Dash took it and grabbed a napkin. Scribbling something on it, she handed it to Rarity, who rolled her eyes and sent it to her boutique with a flash of blue. After that Rainbow tried to hand the crayon back to Scootaloo but only managed to drop it on the floor. "Crap." The pegasus placed one hoof on the table to steady herself and reached under it to grab the crayon.

"So, Rainbow. . . what's up with you and Discord?" Twilight asked innocently, looking away. The colorful maned pegasus shot up, only managing to slam her head on the table on the way back up and not getting the crayon.

Rubbing her head, Dash looked at Twilight. "What?"

"You heard me. What's up with you and Discord?"

"Nothing!"

"Oh please, I wouldn't believe that if you paid me," Rarity laughed.

"Yeah, you two seem to be getting rather close," Fluttershy smirked.

"We are not!"

"Riiiggghhhttt. . . He saved you, he brought your home down, he calms you after nightmares, he even sleeps with you in your bed, and he gave you your old body back. How is that not close?" Twilight snorted, giving her a look like 'well? We're waiting.'

"Well, maybe I am warming up to him a bit, but that doesn't mean I'm dating him or anything!" Rainbow objected.

"Pft, warmin' up? That's the biggest understatement of the century!" AJ exclaimed, trying not to laugh.

"If you're getting married Rainbow, can you guys adopt me?" Scootaloo asked.

"We are not getting married!" Dash slammed her hooves on the table, drawing the attention of half the restaurant. Seeing all the stares she was getting, she smiled sheepishly and lowered herself. "We are not getting married!" she hissed quietly at the surrounding ponies.

"You like Discord!" Rarity poked, sticking her tongue out at the cyan pegasus, who gasped in surprise, then glared at the white unicorn, mouth locked in a snarl.

"Shut up! Besides, our food is here," Rainbow grumbled, digging in right away when the waiter set it in front of her. They ate in silence.

Rainbow Dash sat in her bed, staring up at the ceiling. After that conversation, she thought about what they had said.

Maybe they were right. Discord had been extremely nice and caring these past few months. Maybe he did care more than she thought he did?. . . what was she talking about?! Of course she didn't have a crush on Discord!

But then why did she feel like something was missing?

Rainbow had never really thanked him properly for getting her back to normal. Maybe she should do something nice for him so that he'll know how much she was grateful.

But what?

"Uh, Dash, you're running yourself ragged! I'm sure he already knows how thankful I am that he did it!" Dash said to herself. "Uh, I really should stop talking to myself." The pegasus rolled over in bed. It was probably almost three in the morning, but she just could not sleep at all. "Usually Discord's here; maybe that's why I can't sleep." Processing… "Seriously!? Why am I still talking?! Shut up mind, think inside of my brain, not outside! You're making me look like an idiot! . . . And here I am, still saying stuff out loud." Dash groaned and slammed her face into her pillow. Repeatedly. Where was Discord anyway? Was he still asleep outside? "Well, since I have nothing better to do than talk to myself, I might as well check." Rainbow rolled out of the bed and walked outside. Of course. She floated over to the sleeping and snoring spirit. "Get up, you lazy lump." Dash nudged him in the side, making him stir.

"Hmm, what? Oh, hhhey, Rainbow Dash. I was, you know, catching up on some z's. Whattda need?" Discord mumbled sleepily, looking up at the pegasus above him. She just bit on to the end of his tail and dragged him inside. "Huh?"

"It's… uh…" Oh come on, I got him in here; I need to think of a reason! "It was gonna rain tonight, so I thought I'd get you. .?"

Discord stared blankly at her. Then he shrugged. "Okay, thanks. Night." He curled up in a ball and fell back asleep. Thank goodness, he bought it! Rainbow Dash hopped into bed beside him and quickly fell asleep.

"So, Discord, what're you doing today?" Dash asked, trying not to sound desperate. He shrugged, falling into a chair at the kitchen table.

"I don't know. I don't really have any plans. I should go and see Celestia. I was going to see her the day, ya know, that we found out Pinkie Pie went crazy, but I ended up busier than I thought for the last few months," Discord said lazily, scratching his mane.

"Oh, yeah. I wanted to, like, thank you for being there with me. It's helped a lot."

"No problem, Dashie."

"And I was thinking. . Well, um, I could do something for you, in like, return. Ya know, repay the favor. Do you a solid. Something of the sorts." Dash rubbed the back of a leg with a foreleg awkwardly. Discord cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Why? It's fine. You don't need to repay me."

"But you've done almost everything for me! I think I owe you!" Rainbow pushed her face into his.

"I'm good, Dashie," he said, pushing her back with his tail. "You don't need to repay me."

"Why?"

"Because, I. . . does there have to be a reason?! I just don't think you owe me, so please, let it drop." The spirit turned away from the pegasus, intending to stop the conversation.

"We'll talk about this later. I have to get to work," Dash grumbled, grabbing a piece of toast and hurrying out the door.

"Work?" Discord asked into the empty air.

"Yeah, I have a job. Clearing clouds; taking care of the weather."

Her voice scared him, and he fell out of the chair and onto the floor. She was hovering in the window, a totally innocent look on her face.

"Do you mind giving me a little warning first?" he exclaimed.

"It would still have scared you. After all, I was still ta-hawk-iinngg!…" Rainbow sang, leaving the spirit on his back in the clouds.

"That pegasus."

Rainbow Dash worked busily, moving the clouds evenly throughout the sky. A storm was scheduled for this afternoon, and she wanted to make sure everything was shipshape. Moving the last cloud into position, she wiped sweat off her forehead. Instead of going so fast she was a blur, Dash had decided to relax and enjoy the work that she had never really thought she would miss. About to head home, a commotion behind her changed her mind. Spinning around, she saw the clouds being destroyed in a tornado. Other pegasi were frantically trying to stay out of the way of the swirling vortex; some were trying to gather the remaining clouds. After consuming nearly every single cloud, the tornado stopped. A little grey pegasus was left in the middle.

"Derpy!" Rainbow shouted angrily, running a hoof down her face in exasperation.

"I just don't know what went wrong," Derpy said sheepishly, flying clumsily towards the infuriated cyan pegasus.

Sighing, Dash put her head in her hoof and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "What. What, were you doing with that tornado, Derpy?"

"Uh…"

"Exactly. Just, uh, take the rest of the day off, okay?" The grey pegasus nodded and flew back down to the ground, where Doctor Whooves was standing. Rainbow looked up at the other annoyed pegasi around her. "Are you guys ready for some hard work? Because now, we have to get all those clouds from Cloudsdale again and arrange them. . . again."

Groans went up through the group of pegasi.

"C'mon ponies. Let's just get this done. Again."

Heads down and sweaty, the pegasi went to get more clouds. Rainbow was about to leave when somepony called her name.

"Rainbow Dash! What're you doing?" Scootaloo called.

"Just getting the weather done. . . AGAIN!"

"Oh. 'Cuz I was wondering if you could teach me how to fly."

"Really? I don't know, I'm pretty busy right now…"

"Pleeeeaaasseee?"

Seeing the pleading look on the young filly's face made Dash give in.

"Fine. But only for a little bit, okay?"

"Okay!" Scootaloo agreed, buzzing her little wings.

"You ready?" Rainbow asked.

"Ready!" Scootaloo shouted, putting her goggles on. They were standing over a huge gorge, and Dash was going to fly with Scootaloo for a little while before letting her go.

"Okay! Here we gooooo!" She flung herself and Scootaloo off the edge. Flapping her wings, Rainbow let go of the orange pegasus. She immediately dipped towards the ground. Rainbow gasped and shot downwards into the fog of the gorge. "Scoots?! I'm coming for you!" But just as Dash thought she was going to miss her, Scootaloo appeared from nowhere, soaring over the blue pegasus.

"I'm flying Rainbow! I'm doing it!" Scootaloo cheered, looking down where she was.

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE FLYING!" Rainbow shouted, and Scootaloo looked forward just in time to see a giant rock sticking out from the rock wall. She stopped flying for a few moments, letting herself drop under it.

"You see that? That was awesome!"

"Just land!"

Scootaloo pulled up and landed on the grass. Rainbow landed beside her.

"That was awesome! I can't believe I did it! I mean, I didn't think today of all days I would be able to do it 'cuz I never did it before maybe your methods finally worked I still am in total awe of that I just flew and I know it was only because of you that I did it and thank you thank you thank you and now that I can maybe we can fly together a lot more often now and you don't have to hold me up anymore so I can fly on my own and we can be fly buddies just like, more awesome, and so yeah maybe we should go and tell everypony that I can fly now so they can know just how much more awesome you are than they are and that I joined you in the awesomeness club and I know I'll never be as awesome or cool as you but it was a start right and that makes you happy that I can fly now and I still am so amazed that I finally did it and it was like so cool and all and now my wings will be like yours someday and I want them to be that big and now I'm going to get them strong so I can fly as fast as you but nopony can fly as fast as you so maybe I'll have to like almost as fast as you but that's still good and all so I'm pretty happy still-"

"Breathe, kid," Dash said. Scootaloo sucked in a huge breath and stood there panting for a few moments before she said anything more.

"IT WAS SOOO AWESOME WASN'T IT RAINBOW DASH?!"

"Yeah Scoots! You better bet it was awesome! It was- 20% cooler," Dash finished seriously, her face totally serious, and a pair of sunglasses had appeared out of nowhere on her face.

"You mean it? I'm 20% cooler now?" Scootaloo's eyes grew huge and she looked at her idol as if she were a god.

"Yup. Seriously."

"YYYEEEAAAHHH! All the others will be so jealous! Hey Rainbow! How about we race to your house?"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I think I can at least get second!" Dash face hoofed. "So, how about it?"

"You are on!"

The pegasi got into position beside each other, making sure they were even. They raised their wings with a ruffling sound.

"Okay. . On your mark, get set, go!" Dash counted off, and shot into the sky. Scootaloo followed closely, trying to keep pace. Her little wings buzzed, sweat dripped off her forehead, and her face was creased in a look of concentration. Rainbow was obviously going to win, she was so far ahead now.

Got to go faster… c'mon Scoots, you can do this! At least get right behind her! Then she'll really believe you can do it!

Pushing her limits, Scootaloo started getting faster, closing in on the quick as lightning pegasus in front of her. She was only a short ways behind her! Then she was gone. What? Where was Rainbow Dash? A huge cloud came right in front of her. Rainbow was already sitting on it.

"Hey Scoots! You were pretty fast! But you'll need to be faster to beat me! But you were actually only a few clouds behind me," Rainbow told her, a huge smile on her face as Scootaloo landed next to her.

"Thanks! I was really trying!" Scootaloo breathed, sitting down. "I didn't really do that great though.."

"Didn't do that great? Tell that to the mark on your flank!"

"What!?" Scootaloo's eyes shot to her flank. A tire with a lightning bolt inside of it with a flame trail coming off it on both sides was now imprinted on her flanks. It was so new it was still glowing a little. "Oh my gosh! I got my cutie mark! I-I. . . I can't believe it! So many good things on one day!"

"Great job kid! I always knew you would do it," Dash praised, pulling the little pegasus closer with a wing.

"I. . . I love you Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo whispered. Rainbow jolted in shock. Then she relaxed.

"I love you too, Scoots." The duo sat there in silence, watching the sunset, as the light cast bright reds and oranges over the world.

"Can I tell you something, Rainbow?"

"Sure. What is it?"

"I'm not sure how to say this, but. . . I don't have a home. I live in an orphanage. They're not that strict, so I get out a lot. But I hate it there. That's why I want you to adopt me. Because you're so awesome and nice, and I've always watched you from the windows. And I know you probably don't want me, but-"

"I will."

"What?! Adopt me?"

"Yeah, of course. You're like a little sister to me Scoots, but I'm open to being a mom to you, also."

"R-really? You would do that for me?"

"Yeah. Because I love you kid. And you remind me of myself. Daring, adventurous, totally awesome. And, I have to admit it, but smarter than I was. I was never the school type. I hated it. But you, you've got something special laying ahead of you."

"Thanks. So, this thing. .?"

"We can do it right away tomorrow. Where is the orphanage?"

"It's just south of Ponyville."

"Cool."

"Yeah."

"Why is Scootaloo here?" Discord asked Rainbow as he made breakfast.

"Oh, uh, she wanted to stay here tonight, so I let her," Dash replied casually.

"So you just flew her up here?"

"No, we raced up here. She flew on her own. And she got her cutie mark. It was a pretty awesome day."

"Wow! Really? Nice. You helped, I'm guessing?"

"Eeyup. And guess what I'm doing today!"

"Um, flying to the moon?" he asked, taking a drink of something.

"No. I'm going to the orphanage, and I'm going to adopt Scootaloo," Rainbow replied matter-of-factly.

Discord spit chocolate milk all over the pegasus. "WHAT?! You, a mother?! You have got to be kidding me!"

"No, I'm not. And seriously, I just took a shower!" She grabbed his tail and wiped her face off, only to earn a glare as she did, and falling on her face as he yanked it away from here. He summoned up her patented 'rainblow dry,' meaning, he just made a rainbow tornado appear and she was quickly dried off. Her mane frizzed out and she gave Discord a look. Shaking her mane back to normal, she slapped him in the face with her tail, causing him to fall out of the chair.

"Anyways, I gotta get Scoots up, so why don't you get breakfast made, hmm Dissy?" Rainbow teased, walking into her bedroom to wake the sleeping filly.

"Scoots. Scoots. Scoots, get up. We have a big day ahead of us! So why don't you get ready and we'll set out!"

"Urg, hmpf? Wha?" Scootaloo grumbled tiredly, taking her face off of the pillow. Seeing Rainbow Dash above her, she instantly remembered. "Oh yeah! I'll get ready right away!" The pegasus shot out of bed and into the bathroom.

Giggling, Rainbow left the filly to tend to her needs.

"So, you're really going to be a mother?" Discord asked, now serious.

"Yeah. I mean, I know it'll be hard, but Scootaloo's a sweet kid. She shouldn't be that difficult to handle. Besides, at least she isn't a little foal that's two years old," Rainbow Dash said.

"True, true. But kids still need stuff. Will your job support her?"

"Really? We have the God of Chaos with us and yet you are worried about my job? Seriously, think about that." Dash rolled her eyes and sat down at the table.

"Well, I can't stay here forever can I? I mean, I should be leaving soon. You seem to be having no more nightmares, and you look fine."

"Yeah, I know. But, she does need a. . . father."

With that, Discord jumped up and teleported, leaving the cyan pegasus alone.

"Wow, can nopony take a joke?" Dash asked to the empty air.

Ha, right, a joke. You are such a kidder, Dashie. You're so see through. Even your mind knows that's a lie. You know you like him.

"What! I do not! Shut up! And stop making me say stuff out loud!"

Pff, lies, all lies. You know you like him. You've started noticing him even more since the others said something about it. You just never thought about it that much.

"SHUT UP!" Rainbow shouted fiercely.

"What?" Scootaloo asked, coming into the kitchen, looking puzzled.

"Oh, uh, nothing. Why don't we eat now?"

"Okay," she said, sitting down at the table. They ate in silence for a few minutes.

"So, what do you think about this?" Dash asked.

"Um, really super duper duper happy! I mean, my dreams are coming true! Flying, my cutie mark, getting out of that orphanage and living with you as my mom! Best week ever!" Scootaloo pumped her hooves in excitement. "Oh, and I have to tell the others about getting my cutie mark! They'll want to know right away!"

"Don't worry, we'll do that as soon as we're done with getting you out of there."

"Cool!"

"So, your information seems okay, no jail time, no debts, you have made lots of records, it seems, and all in all you look like you're in great health. Congratulations! You're all set for adoption! Just sign here. . . and here. . . and one final signature right here. . . and all done! Scootaloo is all yours!" the adoption pony said happily, handing Rainbow Dash her birth certificate and some other papers. Waving goodbye to the nice pony, the duo left the adoption center.

"It's finally happened! I'm part of a family! And I can fly, have my cutie mark, and I have the best mom in the whole entire world! BEST WEEK EVER!" Scootaloo exclaimed, buzzing around Rainbow Dash's head.

"Calm down Scoots! I know it's legit, but just hold your horses!" Dash told her. Scootaloo landed and walked beside her new mom.

"Can we find the other Crusaders now though? I really REALLY REALLY want to show them my new cutie mark!"

"Okay, okay, we can find them," Rainbow said, giving in. Scootaloo cheered and started walking a little faster. Dash sped up to keep up with her, but then the filly took a sharp corner, and Rainbow crashed into a light pole when she tried to turn. She landed on her back, dazed, imaginary butterflies flying around her head.

"Whoa! Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Twilight asked, standing over the dizzy pegasus. The two Twilights sliding into one, Rainbow sat up.

"Yeah, I am. Just trying to find Scoots," Dash told her.

"Wasn't she just with you?"

"Yeah, but I lost her in the crowd." She stood up.

"Well, I'll help you."

"Okay. Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah sure, what?" Twilight asked.

"Get the girls together; I need to tell you guys something." Twilight nodded. They walked around the corner where Scootaloo had turned. There she was, sitting there telling Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about everything that's happened the last days. Both of the other filly's eyes were locked on Scootaloo's new cutie mark, admiring it with huge smiles on their faces.

"Scootaloo! You got your cutie mark?" Twilight asked, surprised, pointing at it with a hoof.

"Yeah totally! Rainbow helped me! And I can fly, and-" Scootaloo was cut off as Dash shoved her hoof into the filly's mouth.

"Yeah! We raced and she got it!" Rainbow said, winking at Scootaloo with the eye Twilight couldn't see, telling her to not tell her yet. The filly nodded.

"Oh nice! Well, I better go get the others rounded up! Where she we meet? Library okay?" Twilight asked, head tilted.

"Oh, yeah, sure Twi'."

"Okay, see you later!" The unicorn waved and walked away.

"A father? What was Rainbow talking about? Me?!" Discord asked himself, pacing back and forth upside down in his 'house.' Because, it really didn't look like a house. It floated and was basically giant ball of cotton candy. Everything was on the ceiling, so nopony really liked coming to it. When they did, they usually brought their boots and coats. Pinkie Pie ate it. But oh well, hadn't really cared if she did. It was easily replaceable.

"Still, what did she mean? Surely not me! Rainbow doesn't like me! . . . does she?"

"Girls, I've gathered you here tell you something very, very important," Rainbow announced to the ponies in the room. Sitting there was Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. "You probably all know Scootaloo has her cutie mark, and that she can fly now. But there's one more thing. I've adopted her."

"WHAT?!" the ponies cried in unison, their eyes going wide in surprise.

"Really? Oh my, that's wonderful! We should have a party right away!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Oh yes! A welcome to the family party!" Fluttershy said.

"Definitely! And I'll make some beautiful dresses for you two! They will be just simply amazing!"

"And it can be at your house, Rainbow Dash! It'll be great!" Twilight beamed, taking out a scroll and quill, writing something down on it.

"Yay! I'm so happy for you two!" Fluttershy cheered.

"Finally! Ah knew somethin' was gonna happen between you and Discord!" Applejack said.

"I'm sorry, what?! Discord had no part in this!" Dash yelled.

"What! Hay feathers, why not? You two seem close enough!"

"But we were never together! I never said that, did I?"

"We know what's goin' on! Don't play that on us! We know you two are in love!"

"We are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are t-"

"Enough, enough! Applejack, stop teasing Rainbow Dash. And Rainbow, don't reply to it, okay?" Twilight said.

"Fine, fine, but Ah'm right." AJ turned away from Rainbow and sat next to Fluttershy, grumbling.

"Whatever. Anyways, I agree with this party thing! Let's do it!" Dash shouted enthusiastically.

"All right!" The ponies put their hooves in a circle.

"You having fun Scoots?" Dash asked, dancing next to her new daughter, who was wearing (albeit reluctantly) a cute red dress with some purple feathers on it. Dash was wearing a turquoise dress with rainbow streaks down it.

"Yeah, totally! All my friends are here, all my favorite foods, and all my favorite colors! This is great, Rainbow! Thanks so much!" Scootaloo said, bobbing her head to the music, played by Vinyl Scratch, who was the dj.

"I'm glad ya like it! It was short notice, but everypony's still here."

"Hey Scootaloo! Wanna try a new dance move with us?" Apple Bloom came up to her and asked, with Sweetie Belle behind her, who was holding a blindfold, some eggs, and a. . . raccoon?

"Sure! I'll be back, mom!" Scootaloo giggled at the use of what she would now mostly be calling her idol.

"Okay!" Rainbow told her, and the three ran off to try their new 'move.'

"Wow, you guys really throw parties!" Derpy shouted over the music.

"Yeah, we do! Nopony rocks like Rainbow Dash!"

"Except me!"

The whole room of ponies stopped abruptly, the music scratching to a halt as Vinyl's sunglasses came off her eyes, raised to see if what she was seeing was true, and everypony's eyes looked at the pony who spoke.

Pinkie Pie.