My Mother is a Wonderbolt

by Rumble

Rating: everyone
Tags: Scootaloo, Spitfire, Main 6, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Sad, Original Character, Rainbow Dash
Length: 27533

Spitfire spends a day with Rainbow dash and scootaloo only to find herself getting more and more attached to the little orange Pegasus. How far will she go to make sure the filly gets the good childhood that Spitfire only dreamed of having?

Spitfire has everything she wants in life, like good skills and a good job. However, no pony knows about Spitfire's past.

After spending a day with her good friend Rainbow Dash and her surrogate sister Scootaloo, Spitfire finds herself getting attached to the little orange Pegasus. When Scootaloo reveals the truth about her being an orphan, how far will the Wonderbolt captain go to make sure the little filly has a childhood she could only dream of?

Editing: Enderstorm & Macho Madness
Cover art on Chapter 10: Liquid Flames

Published 2013-08-16 20:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-09-01 10:08:18 UTC

Chapter 1: A Fun Outing

Chapter 1 - A Fun Day Out

Thanks to Macho Madness for editing!

Leadership is defined as “A process of social influence in which one pony can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task"

In Spitfire's world there was no such thing as 'a common task.' She is one of Equestria's elite flying aces and head of the famous aerobatics team known as, the Wonderbolts. Of course there are some slight downsides to this: sprained wings a few gashes here or there, the occasional concussion. That never stopped Spitfire really.  She doesn't know how to live any other way.  After all, when you have no family, you have to make your own life.

It was a secret Spitfire had kept from everyone, including her best friend and co-worker Soarin' who had been working with Spitfire since they were back in the academy. Spitfire had never found the need to tell anypony. Nor has she ever been confronted about her past, but today that was all about to change.

Spitfire had just preformed at their main stadium in the great sky city known as Cloudsdale. The yellow Pegasus was now in the main V.I.P hall which was the gathering for all the rich pegasi who had paid to see the Wonderbolts personally. The thing Spitfire didn't like about these events was that the rich ponies in Equestria only talked about one thing: 'Business'. There was never any normal conversation. Just lots of ponies talking about how much money they're going to make by letting the Wonderbolts advertise for them. Spitfire hated every minute of it.

The leader of the Wonderbolts casually walked around the cloud hall, trying to spot out any ponies who she could at least talk to without getting into a business proposition.Then out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of rainbow. She turned around to see a rainbow maned Pegasus at the v.i.p entrance, arguing with the guard at the entrance to the hall. Her ears perked up as faint words floated to her over the din of the party.

"Come on, I just need to speak with Spitfire!" The rainbow maned pegasus pleaded, the guard shook his head firmly.

"Sorry, but if you don't have a pass you don't get in," the stubborn security guard said as he held his position in front of the red rope, Spitfire approached the desk and tapped the security guard on the shoulder. The large grey stallion turned around to face Spitfire.

"Can you let my friend in please?" Spitfire asked, giving the stallion one of her captain glares which would even give Fluttershy's a run for its money, the stallion guard gulped before nodding and undoing the red rope to let Rainbow Dash in.

"Heh, thanks Spitfire" Rainbow Dash said as she turned to look at the guard

"You just better hope that if you ever fall off the Cloudsdale Colosseum I'm there to catch you" Rainbow Dash replied with a smirk. The two fast flyers made their way back into the Hall, Spitfire turned to see Rainbow Dash open her backpack and see a little orange pegasus jump out. She checked her mane and then turned to look at Spitfire with widening eyes.

Rainbow Dash smiled, "Spitfire this is Scootaloo. She's my sister and it's her birthday today" Rainbow said with a sheepish grin on her face, Spitfire looked down at the filly.

"Never knew you had any siblings Dash," Spitfire said ruffling Scootaloo's mane making the filly giggle.

Rainbow shrugged, "She's not my sister by blood, but I did agree to take her under my wing." She looked down at Scootaloo with a grin. "Didn't I, squirt?" Rainbow asked Scootaloo who nodded with a smile a mile wide.

"Yeah! Rainbow Dash is awesome" Scootaloo said jumping into the air and flapping her small wings, Spitfire giggled.

"Well then you need to come with me. Let's see if we can't get you a few birthday gifts"  Spitfire said as she turned and led the two pegasi to an abandoned table which spitfire had used only a few moments ago to do her autograph signing for her fans.

Spitfire picked up a bold pen and took a poster off the stack of papers and flyers and wrote down something on it before handing it to the filly. Her eyes widened as she looked at what she just got.  Spitfire's autograph! She thanked Spitfire for it with a wide grin and couldn't even take her eyes off the poster. Spitfire thought she needed something more though.  She looked up and remembered she had left her goggles on her head.  She took them of and signed the strap before handing it to Scootaloo.  The little filly gasped with excitement, and Rainbow's jaw  hit the floor.

"Are you sure Spitfire?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked at Spitfire in astonishment at what the mare had just done.

Spitfire nodded, "Heck yeah Dash, we get new goggles each time we go out on stage. It's not a big deal" Spitfire said casually. The tiny filly rushed up to Spitfire and wrapped her legs round her hoof since she wasn't big enough to hug her properly.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Scootaloo said squeezing Spitfire's hoof tighter, Spitfire found her self giggling again at the little filly's antics. Scootaloo eventually let go of Spitfire's hoof and Spitfire ruffled her mane. Spitfire then looked to Rainbow Dash who had a slight blush on her face.

"Sorry I need to use the fillies room," Dash explained.

Spitfire smirked, "Second door on the right." She pointed out the appropriate corridor and Dash sped off down the hall nearly knocking the punch bowl over.

Spitfire looked down at Scootaloo who was now wearing her new goggles around her neck and staring at her poster star struck by this whole evening.

"So then do you live in Ponyville?" Spitfire asked, Scootaloo nodded

"Yeah It's a nice town" Scootaloo replied with a smile on her face. Spitfire leaned over and saw Scootaloo's wings which were very small, even for Scootaloo's frame. Spitfire didn't want to ask the question, but she couldn't think of anything else

"So." She paused for a moment, uncertain.  "Can you fly?" Spitfire asked hesitantly. She felt her heart sink slightly when she saw the filly's head sink low 'Well done there Spitfire.  You've known her 10 minutes and you already made her feel like crap,' she thought to herself. Spitfire put a hoof on the filly's back and leaned down to meet her at eye level.

"Hey it's okay if you're a bit late," she said nervously. "I-I was too!" She added without thinking. Scootaloo looked up at Spitfire with wide eyes, "Really!? You?" she asked.  Spitfire ruffled her mane "Sure, I wasn't much older than you are probably." She leaned in and whispered into Scootaloo's ear, "Don't tell anyone, but I was 11 when I first did it."  She drew back and Scootaloo looked at her with amazement in her eyes. "No way,"  she said.  Spitfire shrugged, "Yeah. I flew first when I was 11. Then I first crashed soon there after." she chuckled at her own misfortune. Spitfire then suddenly remembered 'I've never told anypony about that.' She thought. Just then Rainbow Dash returned.

"Hey is this place just full of rich ponies Spitfire?" Rainbow Dash asked raising an eyebrow at the yellow pegasus, She just nodded as she got back up onto all fours and looked around the hall. Then an idea popped into her head and a sly smirk tugged at her lips.

She looked down at Scootaloo, mischief in her eyes. "Hey Scootaloo, you wanna have some fun?" Spitfire asked, Scootaloo looked up and nodded, Spitfire leaned down and whispered into her ear.

Five rich pegasi where standing in a circle with their drinks in hooves. Scootaloo looked back at Rainbow Dash who gave an encouraging nod, Scootaloo grinned and walked up to the ponies standing around, she tapped the stallion's hind leg to which he and the other four mares in the group turned to face the orange filly, Scootaloo put the plan into action and widened her eyes as she put on her most innocent tone

"Hi" Scootaloo said as she looked to at the stallion. The four mares around him aww'd and said hello to the young Scootaloo. Meanwhile Spitfire silently moved up behind the rich snobs who had now put their drinks behind them as they leaned forward to look at the adorable sight, Spitfire could hardly contain the laughter as she switched the drinks that where on the small plates and casually walked away, Spitfire winked at Scootaloo, telling her the job was complete, Scootaloo then looked back up at the mares before smiling and taking off.

Spitfire, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash burst out laughing when one of the mares tried what she thought was her original drink before spraying the contents all over the stallion in front of her.

"Hahaha, great job squirt!" Rainbow Dash said, as Scootaloo rolled on the floor giggling. After the three recovered from their prank, Dash sighed and looked at the clock in the hall before turning back to Scootaloo who was still talking to Spitfire.

"Come on squirt, we've gotta get going," Rainbow said. The orange filly's ear's drooped as she moaned, "Can't we stay longer?" Spitfire felt her heart sinking again.  She smiled and put her hoof under the small filly's chin, lifting her head up.

"Hey Scoootaloo its okay. I'm sure I can come visit in Ponyville some time," Spitfire said in a happy tone, Scootaloo cheered and pumped her hoof in the air again just like when she first met Spitfire before making her way back over to Rainbow

"So when can you come over Spitfire?" Scootaloo asked in a hopeful tone.

Spitfire pondered for a moment before saying, "I can come over next weekend. How does that sound?" Spitfire asked.

Scootaloo beamed with excitement. "That sounds awesome!" Scootaloo replied, Spitfire leaned down to ruffle the filly's mane again, but this time Scootaloo hugged her neck. Spitfire felt a warmth of happiness wash over, she hugged the filly back as she felt a new connection towards Scootaloo, soon though the hug ended and the two pegasi waved goodbye to Spitfire before leaving.

After a few more hours the v.i.p hall soon dispersed and a worn out Spitfire made her way to her room. Spitfire opened the door to her hotel room and collapsed onto the bed. She had been thinking about Scootaloo since she had left. She felt so happy around the filly, but something told her that Scootaloo was hiding something. 'No, it can't be anything' Spitfire thought wiping the idea from her mind as she got under the covers and shut her eyes.  As visions of the day went past her, one thing in Spitfire's mind shone through: She couldn't wait for next weekend.

Chapter 2: A Weekend to Remember

Chapter 2 - A Weekend to Remember (part 1)

Thanks to Enderstorm for editing !

Spitfire had been waiting for this day since her last performance at the Cloudsdale arena, it was the day when she got to spend time with her friends.

It had been the first time in a long time since Spitfire had ever wanted to go anywhere for any reason, she would always spend her weekends at the race circuit or at the training facilities at the Wonderbolt headquarters. But for the first time in a long time she had something different planned.

Spitfire soared over the skies of Equestria when she saw the little earth pony town known, ironically, as Ponyville. Spitfire smiled before heading down towards the spec on the ground.

She landed on the main streets of the small town, she hadn't bothered bringing her Wonderbolts uniform and she didn't really want to either as she didn't want a crowd of ponies circling her, wanting autographs and what not.

Instead Spitfire had opted for a simple blue and white scarf since it was now in the Autumn season for Equestria, a season in which Spitfire enjoyed, as she loved the colours of the leaves and the burnt smell that wafted through the air at that time of year. She started to walk down the main street of the earth pony town as she made her way to where Dash had told her to meet them, it was a blue bridge which was at the outskirts of the village. Spitfire was amazed that she had only gotten a few looks and not even a single pony coming up and asking her something. She just shrugged it off not wanting the extra attention today.

However Rainbow Dash had warned the fiery Pegasus that her friend by the name of Pinkie Pie would throw a party if she knew that Spitfire had come into town, and so Spitfire had opted to keep her head down as she passed Sugarcube corner. She spied the small wooden bridge at the edge of town and saw two ponies casually waiting, she made them out to be Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo and decided to quicken her pace not wanting to be too late.

"Hey guys, what’s up?" Spitfire said as she closed in on the pair.

Scootaloo gasped, "Spitfire!" and ran up and hugged her foreleg again, Spitfire giggled and ruffled Scootaloo’s windswept mane.

"I can see you're excited!" Spitfire said with a smile and Scootaloo nodded rapidly while Rainbow Dash came up to the pair

"Yep! I promised her I'd teach her to glide today as well so she's been up all night." Dash said with a smirk as she punched the filly lightly on the shoulder as Scootaloo tried to hide her embarrassment, Spitfire not wanting to see Scootaloo so red spoke up.

"Well, I would be the same if I had a day with a leader of the Wonderbolts, and I do recall a certain cyan filly who won the best flyers competition, and got to hang out with us. She spent the whole day squealing and asking for a spot on the team." Spitfire said with a grin as it was Rainbows turn to start going a shade of crimson as Scootaloo muffled a giggle.

"So, can we get started?" Scootaloo pleaded in excitement after Rainbow Dash regained her composure.

Spitfire shrugged, "I don't see why not." Spitfire said looking at Rainbow Dash who nodded in approval and glanced down at Scootaloo jumping in excitement.

Rainbow helped Scootaloo onto her back and the three pegasi took off into the air. Once they were at a good altitude,

Rainbow Dash turned to Scootaloo who had a tight grip on her neck. Spitfire soared over the top of the two pegasi and leaned her head down to talk to Scootaloo.

"Okay, Scoots. You're gonna want to spread you're wings out as far as they can go and then angle them so you can feel the wind under your wings, OK? Remember to keep a tight grip on Dash until you’re ready to let go." Spitfire said. Scootaloo nodded, but she didn't seem all that confident. Spitfire remembered back to how she had comforted Scootaloo at the Cloudsdale performance and rested her forehoof on Scootaloo's back. Scootaloo looked up to see Spitfire with a reassuring smile plastered on her face.

"It’s okay Scootaloo. It might sound scary, but trust me, you’re gonna love it!" Spitfire said in a calm almost motherly tone. Scootaloo smiled up at Spitfire before spreading her wings out as far as her muscles would allow and began to adjust them so they could catch the wind.

Spitfire watched on as Scootaloo finally let go of Dash's neck and flew off her back. Spitfire glided in beside Scootaloo quickly so the little Pegasus didn't feel scared. Scootaloo smiled as she began to turn and began giggling when she dived down and up slightly when she adjusted her wings, though the fact was she was still falling which meant that soon Spitfire had to soar underneath the filly and catch Scootaloo on her back. The pegasus filly giggled some more and wrapped her forehooves tightly around her neck as Spitfire and Dash soared back up into the sky again.

The three pegasi happily played in the sky for the most of the morning. Spitfire was only too happy to give the filly tips and exercises to help her glide better. Scootaloo had loved every minute of the day so far and felt happy around Spitfire and Rainbow as they flew all around her giving her help whenever she needed it.

After some more glide tests the three worn out pegasi landed on one of the grassy hills next to where the apple orchard was located. There was a big tree that sat on top of the grassy structure and a view of the small earth pony village. Celestia's sun was still up, but had passed its peak and was now on its way down. Spitfire turned around and smiled as Dash hugged the filly tightly.

"That was amazing, Scootaloo!" Spitfire exclaimed, beaming with pride as she walked up to the pair and ruffled the fillies purple mane as Scootaloo blushed slightly from the praise that she was getting.

"Yeah, squirt that was awesome! You’re nearly as good as me now!" Dash said, winking at the young Pegasus in her forehooves. When Dash released the embrace Scootaloo ran over and to Spitfire and they also shared a hug.

"Thanks for coming to hang out with us today, Spitfire!" Scootaloo thanked her happily as Spitfire nuzzled the top of her mane.

"Thank you for asking me to hang out with you Scoots! I'm glad I was here too, I'm so proud of you!" Spitfire said as Scootaloo giggled and hugged her tighter.

"I bet your folks will be proud too!" Rainbow chimed in with a chuckle. Spitfire expected Scootaloo to say something, but what happened instead shocked Spitfire to the core. When the word 'parent' left Rainbows mouth she looked on as Scootaloo's eyes constricted in size and she felt Scootaloo shudder slightly in her forehooves, she knew that look. Spitfire remembered when she used to do the same thing whenever someone would mention the word 'parent' or anything similar.

'But she can't be. Can she? She looked so happy, so carefree.' Spitfire thought to herself as an awkward silence fell over the three pegasi. Scootaloo opted not to reply to Dash who just stayed silent worried that she might have upset her surrogate sister. Spitfire came back to reality and quickly resorted to breaking the silence.

"Well then, what say we go to Sugarcube Corner, my treat!" Spitfire said, breaking the ice as she looked down at Scootaloo, who, upon hearing the words of the famous bakery, burst back into life and nodded rapidly.

Spitfire knew the filly was eager to get going and so she let the filly down and the orange pegasus began running off in the direction of the sweetshop as Spitfire and Dash began trotting of after her.

"What was that all about?" Dash asked in a confused tone, Spitfire shook her head.

"I have an idea, but I don't want to say it." Spitfire said in a worried tone, Dash looked at her friend and idol concerned.

"What do you mean?" Dash asked curiously as she leaned in closer.

"I-I can't say I need to know a bit more before I'm totally sure." Spitfire replied truthfully.

Dash sighed and nodded before she leaned back and continued trotting after the filly.

Meanwhile Spitfire's mind was a blur. 'Could Scootaloo really be an orphan?' Spitfire thought as she pondered on the idea.

She hoped she was wrong, but that look the orange filly had given her had doubted those hopes, she knew Scootaloo was at least distressed about something, but she would need to try and squeeze some more snippets of information from the filly before she could be totally sure. So she shook the thoughts out of her mind for the time being and tried to focus on those pastries as she took off after her two friends eager to make the rest of the day a happy one.

Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed

Chapter 3 - A Weekend to Remember (Part 2)

Thanks to Enderstorm for editing!

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire made their way inside the famous sweet shop to find a little orange pegasus at the counter.

Scootaloo licked her lips as she looked at the delectable treats behind the glass cover. Suddenly a pink mare jumped out from behind the counter and startled the pegasus.

"Hey, Scootaloo!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she looked down at the pegasus. Scootaloo hastily recovered and smiled at the pink mare.

"Hey, Pinkie Pie" Scootaloo greeted the pink mare, whilst jumping up and flapping her wings. Pinkie looked up from Scootaloo to see Dash and Spitfire, and needless to say her jaw fell to the counter below with an audible smack. Spitfire had forgotten completely about Dash's warning earlier about the pink mare and resisted the urge to facehoof in her stupidity.

Pinkie Pie, on the other hoof, was ecstatic.She sucked in air like a jet turbine and valiantly proclaimed, "OH MY GOSH! SPITFIRE, I TOTALLY NEED TO THROW YOU A PARTY!"

When Pinkie was done shouting in the direction of the yellow mare, she sped off in a pink blur. Spitfire exchanged a worried glance with Dash before the pink mare returned with a cannon in tow. Spitfire's eyes widened in shock as she thought to herself, ‘She’s a frigging nutcase!’

Suddenly a light blue hoof pushed the cannon away from the Wonderbolt captain.

"Pinkie Pie, what have I told you about using the party cannon inside?" Mrs.Cake asked, glaring at the pink mare. Pinkie's ears flattened as she muttered “Don’t do it…”

Dash put a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder to comfort her. "Hey, Pinks! It’s okay, just give us a round of cupcakes." Dash asked, Pinkie Pie lit up like a firework and nodded rapidly before disappearing again in another blur. Dash just rolled her eyes at her friend’s antics.

Soon enough though the three pegasi were happily seated eating a batch of freshly baked cupcakes. Though Spitfire was enjoying the treat, the idea of Scootaloo being an orphan just seemed to gnaw away at her mind. She couldn't think of anything else and soon her eyes where fixated on the small pegasus, whether she wanted to look or not. There was nothing to focus on, except her weight. Spitfire could tell from her Wonderbolts dietary program that Scootaloo was underweight, and it even seemed like she hadn't been fed in a while. She knew though that she was staying at Dash's house and was probably getting proper meals, but from what she knew Scootaloo had not told Dash anything about her parents. Finally she decided to ask a few questions.

"So, Dash. How long has Scootaloo been staying with you?" Spitfire asked in a casual tone as to not worry the already concerned pegasus.

Dash looked up from her cupcake as her eyes shifted to Scootaloo and then back to Spitfire."Uhh, it's been about two weeks, I think. I took Scoots under my wing after we went on a camping trip with Applejack and Rarity and the other two Crusaders. She's staying with me until her folks come back from their business trip. Ain't that right, squirt?" Dash replied as Scootaloo nodded cautiously.

Spitfire watched as the filly slightly shuddered again when she heard the word 'parent.' Spitfire started to become surer that Scootaloo was indeed an orphan, but first she would have to be a hundred percent sure before she asked the filly anything on the subject, so she would need to talk to Dash about it first in private and go from there.

The rest of the time went without a hitch the three traded off between stories about their adventures. Some of the best surprisingly came from Scootaloo (to the Dash’s dismay) but soon it was time for Spitfire to go back to Cloudsdale.

Spitfire looked over at the small filly who had stuffed herself full of chocolate cake and was now holding her stomach from indigestion. Spitfire tapped the filly lightly on the head, Scootaloo groaned and looked up to see Spitfire adjusting her scarf and standing up.

"Aw, do you have to go already Spitfire? Can’t you stay?" Scootaloo pleaded with big, puppy dog eyes as she completely forgot to acknowledge the fact that Spitfire had spent the full day with her anyway. Spitfire felt her heart wrench at the filly's pleading, but she knew she had to get home before it became too cloudy to fly. She nodded and ruffled the filly's little fuchsia mane.

"Sorry, Scoots, but I have to go before the night clouds roll in." Spitfire said trying her best to give the filly a happy smile. Scootaloo nodded and as Spitfire started to head for the door, she then felt something on her hind leg and looked down to see Scootaloo with her forelegs tightly wrapped around her.

"C-can you hang out with us again?" Scootaloo asked, Spitfire pondered even though she wouldn't miss it for the world to just do something normal again. After a few seconds Spitfire nodded.

"Sure I can, Scoots! How about at this Fridays derby in Canterlot?" Spitfire said in a hopeful tone, all eyes then moved to Dash who was still finishing off the box of cupcakes. She looked utterly confused for a second, and tried to remember the conversation before nodding.

Spitfire started walking to the entrance again, she pushed open the door and took one last look inside. Scootaloo was sadly watching Spitfire leave. Spitfire sighed and rolled her eyes playfully as she smiled and opened her forelegs out and Scootaloo ran over and hugged Spitfire one last time.

"Thanks for teaching me to glide today, Spitfire." Scootaloo said, Spitfire smiled and ruffled the filly’s mane.

"No problem Scoots! But it was mostly you, anyway." Spitfire said as she let the blushing filly down.

Spitfire gave one final wave as she trotted out of Sugarcube Corner. She looked up into the night sky and saw Ponyville was now covered in a thick layer of cloud. 'Great…' Spitfire thought. She saw a patch of sky that had opened up, but it was across Ponyville.

Spitfire sighed as she began trotting across the village. 'For a place that seems so small it really does take a lot of time to walk through it.' Spitfire thought to herself as she kept trotting through the streets. She looked up and saw the opening, but she had to go to the next street to be able to fly straight through it.

Spitfire looked around and noticed an alleyway that entered the street so she began trotting through the alley when she heard something fall on the ground behind her. Spitfire turned around and found a blue scooter on the ground. Spitfire sighed and picked the scooter up, she leaned it back against the brick wall and noticed a red wagon placed next to it. There was a large cardboard box that was placed in the wagon and Spitfire threw a confused look at the inanimate objects as she thought, 'Why would somepony leave their valuables here. I mean, it's not like… they’re…' Spitfire suddenly stopped when the idea of Scootaloo being an orphan again entered her mind. She felt fear well up in her gut and sweat coming from her brow as she stepped closer to the box and reached out to open it. She hesitantly opened the lid of the box revealing its contents.

There was a yellow back pack along with a few accessories like a hairbrush and small bag of bits, but in the middle was a Wonderbolts poster and a set of goggles.

Spitfire leaned down and reached out a shaking forehoof and picked up the goggles. She turned them around as her hopes were shattered. Etched into the fabric was the letters that seemed to break Spitfires heart. 'Happy birthday Scootaloo from Spitfire!'

Spitfire felt a tear make its way down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away turning a determined look at the goggles as she gripped them tightly in her hoof.

"I'm not going to let her make the same mistake I did." Spitfire said to herself as she put the goggles on her head and closed the box up before making her way back out onto the next street, and took off into the patch of sky that was slowly being closed up by the clouds.

Once she had passed through the opening she looked around the night sky and saw Cloudsdale in the distance, so she flapped her wings and sped off in its direction with only one thought going through her head.

‘I am going to make this right.’

Chapter 4: Facing The Boss

Chapter 4 - Secrets Revealed

Thanks to Ederstorm for editing !

Spitfire trotted through the hallways of the Canterlot race circuit as she held a pair of goggles in her hoof, and she rounded a corner to see Rainbow Dash leaning against a wall. Spitfire had sent a letter earlier in the week to tell Dash about her discovery along with two tickets to the derby.

Dash looked up to see Spitfire and trotted over to her.

"Where's Scoots?" Spitfire asked, Dash looked down the hallway before looking back at Spitfire.

"I told her to wait while I came and got you. I-is this true? You know, about Scootaloo being a… a…" Dash stammered on the last part of her sentence as Spitfire nodded solemnly. She held up the goggles as Dash took them in her hooves and inspected the strap, once she did that she let out a slow sigh as she handed them back to Spitfire as an awkward silence fell over the pair.

"So, what now?" Dash asked Spitfire, the leader of the Wonderbolts took a few moments to respond.

"I honestly have no clue, Dash." Spitfire replied truthfully as she bowed her head. Another silence passed over the two great flyers.

"T-this is bad, Spitfire." Dash said as she put one of her hooves to her head and began moving it in a circular motion as the cyan pegasus tried to calm the panic and realization that was swimming through her body. Spitfire saw this and put her hoof on her friend's shoulder.

"Dash, what's wrong? Why are you so stressed all of a sudden?" Spitfire asked in a concerned tone as Dash looked up at Spitfire.

"I-I can't adopt her." Dash said in a worried tone. Spitfire was a bit stunned at this.

"But you've taken her in, haven't you?" Spitfire asked, Dash nodded as she wiped a tear from her face.

"Yeah, but I can't let Scoots stay with me permanently… I-I can't afford it." Dash replied as she shook her head.

"How so?" Spitfire asked as Dash looked at the fiery mare with a sorrowful look.

"I'd have to pay for things like her medical and her food, and I'd need to get her a bedroom…” She sighed. “It's just too expensive Spitfire, my job lets me get by comfortably on my own, and even that’s pushing it." Dash explained to the Wonderbolt.

Spitfire was faced with a choice, she could adopt Scootaloo with the money she had, but she would lose her dream job, not mentioning having to move house. Spitfire tried to think of an option, something that could make all of this go away. She really liked Scootaloo and would hate a filly such as herself to have the same troublesome childhood that she experienced.

Spitfire glanced down at the goggles, they were still tightly grasped in her hoof. She turned the strap over as she looked back down on the engravings marked on the fabric. Dash just looked at Spitfire wondering what was going through the yellow mares mind, and finally after a few tense moments she spoke up.

"I'll do it." Spitfire decided, looking at Dash who went wide eyed at what she had just heard. Dash looked on as a smile started to cross Spitfire's face as she kept looking over the goggles, then Spitfire spoke again.

"But first, I think I need to have a talk with Scoots." Spitfire said as Dash nodded approvingly and left to go and retrieve the orange filly.

"Hey, Spitfire!" Scootaloo said as she trotted up to the yellow pegasus, Spitfire smiled and knelt down to Scootaloo and embraced the small filly.

"S-so what is it you wanted to talk about Spitfire?" Scootaloo asked hesitantly, a quivering fear in her voice. Spitfire looked up at Dash telling her if she could give them a few minutes, the cyan pegasus nodded and left down the hallway. Spitfire kept embracing Scootaloo as she began to speak to Scootaloo about something neither of them wanted to talk about.

"Scootaloo, remember how I hung out with you and Dash last week?" Spitfire asked and the filly nodded.

"Yeah, that was awesome!" the filly exclaimed, Spitfire smiled down at the orange pegasus, but it quickly faded.

"Well, I took a quick stroll through town that night and I found a blue scooter." Spitfire said as she watched the filly gasp in her arms and she could feel Scootaloo's breathing start to go out of rhythm, but still Spitfire continued.

"And next to that scooter, I found a box." Spitfire said as she felt Scootaloo's heart beat increase as she stayed tightly embraced on the filly.

"And in that box, Scootaloo, I found these." Spitfire finished taking the goggles from behind her and holding them in front of the orange filly. Scootaloo looked away from Spitfire and continued to stare down the empty hallway, she cursed herself silently for not checking the contents of her box in the alleyway over the week and had been completely oblivious to the fact that Spitfire had taken them. She thought it was just Diamond Tiara trying to play a prank on her.

Spitfire sighed, this was going to be the hardest question she'd ever had to ask, she put a hoof on Scootaloo's chin and turned the fillies already shame ridden face towards her own.

"S-Scoots, are you an orphan?" Spitfire asked as she felt a lump swell in her already dry throat.

By now Spitfire had released the grip on the filly, and Scootaloo got off the Wonderbolt and walked a few feet away from her with her back turned and her wings hung limply from her sides. After a few tense moments Scootaloo let out a sigh and turned her head to look at Spitfire, she kept her back turned as she slowly and shakily nodded. After another few seconds of silence Scootaloo mumbled something that was nearly inaudible.

"You don't know what it’s like...” Scootaloo said in a whisper. Spitfire sighed. 'I've never told any other living pony about this…' she thought, but determination overtook her mind again.

"Come over here, Scoots. I want to tell you something." Spitfire said opening her forelegs out again, Scootaloo was hesitant at first, but eventually came over and embraced the yellow mare. Spitfire smiled and looked down at the little filly again, the smile quickly fading from her face.

"Actually, Scoots. The truth is… I do know what it's like. You see… I-I was an orphan too…" Spitfire managed to choke out, revealing her secret once and for all. The little filly's eyes widened at this as she stared at the Wonderbolt leader in shock, but still Spitfire continued her tale.

"You see Scoots, I wasn't just like you, I was exactly like you. I was the last in my class to earn a cutie mark, I had the smallest wingspan, I even had an idol just like you do." Spitfire said as she began to explain to the young orange pegasus.

                                                             -Flashback-

A young Spitfire landed on top of one of the many clouds that surrounded the Cloudsdale's weather factory. She turned around as a pink mare with an electric blue mane landed behind her and ruffled her mane.

"That was a great first flight, Spit." Firefly praised the yellow filly as Spitfire giggled, blushed and hugged Firefly's hoof.

"Thanks for taking me under your wing, Firefly." Spitfire said hugging the mare tightly

"Sure thing kiddo, I've got to go do some more Wonderbolts training at the Academy. I'll see you tomorrow!” Firefly replied giving the filly another quick hug before the two parted ways and just as Spitfire was about to take off, she heard her idol speak up again.

"Hey, Spit?" Firefly asked as she turned back around to face the filly. Spitfire gulped and turned around to see Firefly with a concerned look on her face.

"You know there are rumours going around that you stole a bunch of food from Sky Rocket's store the other day. Is that true?" Firefly asked in a worried tone. Spitfire stood there in shock and she stammered slightly.

"Uhh, n-no of course n-not, Firefly!" Spitfire said in an innocent tone, and she was relieved when Firefly's lips turned into a smile.

"I knew a filly like you wouldn't do that. Anyway, I've gotta fly! Say hi to your folks for me, OK?" Firefly said before taking off into the sky. Spitfire felt a shudder in her body when the word 'parent' reached her ears, but she calmed down quickly though and breathed out a sigh of relief.

Spitfire reached the alleyway where she had been living for the past few months. She changed alleyways every once in a while so ponies didn't get suspicious and report her to the orphanage.

She walked down the alleyway to see a blanket that covered a small mound on the cloud surface. Spitfire took the blanket off to reveal a small shelter that she had managed to sculpt from a couple of cloud bricks that she had found lying around at the dump. She sighed and crawled under the small structure before pulling the blanket over herself and squeezed her eyes shut hoping to at least get some shut eye for the night.

                                                                           -End of Flashback-

Scootaloo looked up at Spitfire stunned at what she had just heard, and Spitfire let out a sad sigh. "I made a big mistake back then Scoots. I've never told anyone I was an orphan until now, and you know what? I-I’m glad I did." Spitfire said as she looked down at the filly who now had glazed eyes as the impending tears where starting to take over her small frame.

Spitfire started stroking Scootaloo's mane in an attempt to calm the filly, and after a few moments Spitfire released the embrace again and watched as Scootaloo looked back up at her.

"So, what now?" Scootaloo asked. Spitfire gave a reassuring smile as she patted the filly on the head.

"I don't know for sure yet, Scoots, but I promise. I'm going to make this right." Spitfire said as the pair shared a final embrace.

“Now Come on, Scoots! We’re going to miss the race!” she said energetically as the two got up and raced down the hallway.

From the corner of the hallway Dash had a proud smile adorning her face, as she heard the whole thing from behind the wall.

"Well done, Spitfire." Dash said in a hushed whisper.

Chapter 5: Meeting old Friends

Chapter 5 - Facing the Boss

The weekend that followed the Derby went by quicker than Spitfire had expected, but now came the ultimate decision. She was now walking down the corridor in the Wonderbolt headquarters to face the only person that Spitfire completely disliked. It was her boss, his name was 'Broad Skies' but everyone called him Brian for short, not many people knew why, but Spitfire dared to tell him it was her that came up with the nickname.

Spitfire trotted up to the cloud door which had a small plaque saying 'Wonderbolts manager.' Spitfire breathed in a lung full of air before knocking on the door, she waited for a moment until a voice spoke from inside.

"Come in" the voice said, Spitfire opened the door to reveal a dark blue stallion with a black and white mane, he currently had eyes fixed on a sheet of paper. Spitfire guessed it was a contract for another set of shows, she sat down and the noise from it was enough to get Broad Skies to look up.

Broad smiled, "hay if it isn't my number one flyer, how are ya Spit" Broad Skies said, Spitfire fire resisted to roll her eyes, she knew that Broad Skies only cared about making money, he was just like the rest of the rich pegasi in Cloudsdale. Still Spitfire kept a straight face.

"Hello Brian" Spitfire said knowing full well that Broad Skies hated that nickname, she was quite surprised when Broad shook the name off and managed to keep smiling, she was soon given her answer.

Broad Skies leaned over and grabbed a sheet of paper, "Well I've just managed to get a contract for big bucks at the Manehattan and Fillydelphia Stadiums" Broad said proudly.

Spitfire smiled 'i knew there was a reason why he was happy' Spitfire thought to herself. Broad then pushed a piece of paper over to Spitfire, she read the index and found that it was her contract for the performances, Spitfire sighed and looked up to Broad who had a smile as if expecting for Spitfire to already have signed it.

"Um Broad i think there's something you should know." Spitfire said as she pushed the paper back in his direction whilst rubbing the back of her neck with a forehoof.

Broad Skies raised an eyebrow, "and that is?" he questioned.

"I'm adopting a foal." Spitfire said, as she watched Broad Skies expression changed to look like he had been slapped across the face.

"Spitfire you do realize that I'm going to have to request that you drop that idea" Broad Skies said plainly.

Spitfire though wasn't going to budge on her decision, "I've already made my choice Broad, I'm afraid you'll have to find a new leader for the team." Spitfire said getting up and making her way to the exit. She put her hoof on the door, but Broad Skies spoke up stopping her actions.

"You do realize if you walk out that door, your days of being a Wonderbolt are over" Broad Skies warned the yellow pegasus.

Spitfire turned her head to meet her now former boss, "It's a sacrifice I'm willing to make" Spitfire said plainly, with that she opened the door and left the room leaving a very shocked and confused Broad Skies.

When Spitfire heard the door close behind her she sighed, she had lost the one job that meant everything for her, but she knew it was for the better and she also knew that Rainbow Dash or Firefly would have done the same thing. She smiled at that thought, but there was one more pony Spitfire needed to see before she headed for the Orphanage.

As spitfire made her way out of the building she thought more about the decision she had just made, though she wasn't happy with the rule book she had to except that, but she knew that she wanted this more now than she wanted to be a Wonderbolt. She smiled when she thought about Scootaloo becoming a Wonderbolt later on in life, even though it was only a dream she smiled proudly and trotted off towards her friends house.

                                              -Meanwhile at Rainbow's House-

Scootaloo was getting ready to go to school, she had just finished breakfast with Dash and was now waiting in the living room for Dash to finish cleaning the table. Her mind had been recently bogged up with what Spitfire had said to the filly at the Derby the words 'I'm going to make this right' didn't settle well in a panicked mind and Scootaloo was coming up with all sorts of idea's that only made her feel worse inside

Dash walked in not to long after to see Scootaloo looking down at the cloud floor, her small body shaking slightly ,she put a hoof on her back and leaned down to her level.

"Hey squir- I mean Scootaloo, whats wrong" Dash asked changing her tone, the filly looked up at her surrogate sister.

"It's nothing rainbow" Scootaloo said sighing again as she looked back down onto the floor

Dash frowned "Scoots please tell me whats wrong, your never down about anything" she said in a worried tone as she rubbed the filly's back calming her shaking body.

Scootaloo sniffed before speaking "It's just that I-I don't want to go back to the orphanage" she said truthfully as she let out a sad and worried sigh.

Dash smiled "Hey your not going to go back to the orphanage" she said reassuring the filly.

Scootaloo though still protested, "b-but what if Spitfire's trying to send me back" Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow shook her head, "Trust me squirt I know that Spitfire is doing the best she can for you right now" Rainbow replied as she embraced the filly.

"So have you got everything for school?" Rainbow asked, Scootaloo nodded, Rainbow was going to leave it there but decided to ask something that had been in the back of her mind since the Derby

"Scootaloo, can I ask why it was that you run away from your orphanage?" Rainbow asked hesitantly. She cautiously waited for a reply from the filly, when none came rather than dropping the question Dash found herself elaborating on it instead.

"you know did they ever.." Rainbow trialed of at the end. Dash was relieved when she felt Scootaloo shake her head as Scootaloo was currently buried in her fur so Dash couldn't see her eyes.

Scootaloo finally spoke, "no they never did anything like that it's just, I was really lonely." Scootaloo explained sadly as she started to return back to her depressive state, Rainbow resumed rubbing the filly's back again.

Dash raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean?" Dash asked.

Scootaloo sighed "I-I was always lonely there, I was the only one who couldn't fly so I had to go to an earth pony school to be taught, no one really stayed in the orphanage for long either, it was always in one minute and gone the next, when I got moved to Ponyville's school I really like the town and everpony in it besides 'Diamond Tiara' and 'Silver Spoon.' So one day I just decided to stop going back there." Scootaloo explained.

Dash couldn't say she wasn't relieved to hear that nothing bad had happened to Scootaloo in the Orphanage but she still wasn't happy that Scootaloo had been staying on the streets as an alternative. However Dash kept a smile on her face knowing the filly was safe now and she kept the filly embraced in her arms a little while longer.

Dash looked over at the clock. Her eyes widened, "ooh no, you're gonna be late for school" Dash said as she Ran and got the filly's back pack, Scootaloo strapped it on before jumping on top of Dash's back and holding onto her neck as Dash bolted out of the doorway.

Chapter 6: The Greatest Gift of Life

Chapter 6 - Meeting old Friends

Spitfire stood in front of a large cloud home much like her own, she knocked on the door a few times and waited , soon she heard muffled noises from inside and the door swung open revealing a pale blue stallion with a midnight blue mane

"Hay Soar" Spitfire said, the stallion smiled

"Hay Spit, i-is this about practice?" Soarin' inquired.

Spitfire rolled her eyes, "Can't two old friends just have a normal conversation?" Spitfire asked, Soarin' gave Spitfire a weird look

"What?" Spitfire asked.

Soarin' shook his head playfully, "It's nothin really It's just we haven't spoken normally in a while so I'm guessing this conversation involves something really serious, not that I mind" Soarin' said walking back into his house and inviting the mare in.

Spitfire closed the door behind her and hung her scarf on the rack before making her way into the living room, Soarin' was already sitting down and patted next to the cloud couch, Spitfire sat down.

"So whats on your mind friend?" Soarin' said in a happy tone, Spitfire jabbed him in the side, the stallion stopped his antics

Spitfire breathed in before revealing the news "Ya well here's the thing, I-I'm adopting a foal" Spitfire said

Soarin' raised an eyebrow and a smirk tugged at his lips "you see what i mean about being serious?" The stallion said giving a slight chuckle, Spitfire scowled and jabbed him in the side again

"Come on soar this is serious I don't know if what I'm doing the right thing" Spitfire said , the worry in her voice was evident. The stallion stopped chuckling and opted for a smile.

Soarin' rested a hoof on Spitfire's shoulder, "Well then tell me about this foal, is it a colt or a filly?" he asked

"It's a filly" Spitfire replied.

Soarin' nodded, "So what is it you like so much about her ?" he said.

Spitfire shrugged "I guess she's just so fun and energetic, not to mention the fact we share a lot in common" Spitfire explained to her friend.

Soarin' raised an eyebrow "so whats stopping you?" he asked.

Spitfire sighed, "It's just I don't know if I'd be any good at it, I've never even been in care of a foal for more than 3 minutes" she explained.

Soarin' shook his head playfully, "Well answer this question for me, do you care about this filly?"

Spitfire nodded, "of course I do" she said flatly

Soarin' smiled "Do you love this filly?, in a motherly way of course" he added chuckling again, Spitfire lifted her hoof to meet his gaze. Soarin stopped his joking again and returned to being silent

Spitfire nodded "yes, but I don't see where you're going with all this?" spitfire questioned.

Soarin's smile returned to his face "What I'm getting at Spit is that you'll pick it up naturally, how do you think first time mums handle that type of commitment" Soarin said plainly.

Spitfire was dumbfounded "Since when did you know all about this stuff?" She asked.

Soarin' rolled his eyes, "I have a friend called Derpy hooves. She's a single mum who lives in Ponyville" the stallion answered.

Spitfire was still slightly confused, "since when did you have friends in Ponyville?" she asked.

Soarin' chuckled before responding, "When was the last time you had a nice normal conversation with somepony?" he said leaning closer to Spitfire with a grin, Spitfire reddened slightly.

Soarin' chuckled again, "Well I'm guessing your heading off to the orphanage now" he said.

Spitfire nodded, "I guess so, thanks for the help Soar, I knew i could count on you" Spitfire said embracing her friend in a quick hug.

Soarin' nodded, "Always happy to help Spit" he said patting the mare on the back.

Spitfire and Soarin' made there way into the hallway and Spitfire grabbed her scarf from the rack and put it around her neck. Soarin fumbled with the lock to his door and finally managed to unlock it and opened the door for Spitfire.

Soarin' smiled "So I guess I'll see you at Wonderbolts practice tomorrow then" he said, but to his surprise Spitfire shook her head.

"I'm afraid not soar, I'm off the team" Spitfire said in a sad tone.

Soarin' gasped, "you quit?" the stallion asked

Spitfire shook her head, "nope , Broad Skies fired me" she explained.

Soarin' scowled "he kicked you out for wanting to adopt a foal?" he said.

Spitfire nodded "yeah It's in the rules Soarin'"

Still Soarin' continued to scowl, "I still don't think it's good Spitfire you trained your whole life for this job" he said in an annoyed tone.

Spitfire sighed "Soar It's okay, I'm not all that fussed about it and besides I'm adopting a foal" she added trying to calm down her friend.

Soarin' huffed, "I'm still going to have a word with Broad about this" he said as Spitfire was walked out of his house

Spitfire shook her head playfully as she turned around and faced Soarin' who was still leaning on the door frame "well okay Soar , just promise you wont work yourself up about this" she pleaded.

Soarin' smiled "I'll let you know when your back on the team" the stallion replied as he winked towards his oldest friend. Spitfire sighed, she knew there was no turning Soarin' from a fight, especially when it involved a friend. The pair shared one final hug before Spitfire began trotting off towards the orphanage.

Spitfire looked at the building with great sense of terror. She was entering the same orphanage that she had resided in when she was a foal. That was however until she ran away and never looked back.

Spitfire hesitantly opened the red door which read the words 'Cloudsdale orphanage' and walked inside. There was a desk not to far in front of her and white walls which surrounded the hallways and room that she currently stood in. Spitfire gathered up her courage  and started to walk into the plain looking room, she slowly walked up to the desk where she saw a grey mare sitting just behind it reading a magazine with a look of utter boredom plastered across her face. Spitfire gulped loud enough to alert the mare, she lazily looked up towards the Wonderbolt with her near lifeless face.

"Hi there" Spitfire said with a slight grin, her voice nearly cracking.

The grey mare raised an eyebrow "can I help you?" she asked with a sigh clearly just wanting to be somewhere else right now just like the mare standing in front of her.

Spitfire nodded almost shyly, "yes I um, I'm here to adopt a foal, her name is Scootaloo"  she replied.

The mare sighed again this time though a hint of annoyance came across her face. she took a set of keys from the desk, the sound of the metal scraping against the wooden surface made Spitfire wince. Once the grey mare was up she turned around and started to unlock a cloud cabinet which was behind the desk.

Spitfire started to look around the establishment, besides the new lick of paint the place hadn't changed a bit, but that only troubled Spitfire. She started to remember back to when she was at the orphanage and the reason why she had fled.

Spitfire was one of the few pegasi who couldn't fly at her age which was around 6 at the time, she was always shy around those times too because of her wings and there was also a pegasus colt by the name of 'purple heart' who bullied and tormented Spitfire relentlessly for her defect of being a late bloomer in flying. days before she ran away the colt had been relentless in the insults and never stopping until one of the mares of the orphanage would come over and take Spitfire to her room.

"um hello ?" the grey mare said waving a hoof in the yellow pegasi's face. Spitfire jumped when she heard the voice. She shook her head as her vision came back. The grey mare was now holding a folder out in front of Spitfire with an eyebrow raised

"well are you gonna take it?" There mare asked slightly annoyed, Spitfire nodded and hesitantly took the folder from the mare.

"Well have fun" the mare said as she slumped back down on the chair and took the magazine off the desk as she started to read again.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow in confusion "Wait don't I need to do some stuff first?" she asked curiously.

There mare gave a slight look of confusion herself "what do you mean?" the mare spat.

Spitfire shuffled her hoofs as she felt her heart thump in her chest "I-I um thought you had to um do signatures and stuff" she asked her voice nearly cracking again as Spitfire tried to regain her composure.

The mare sighed again with her annoyance boiling over from her short temper, "Look Miss Spitfire I know who you are and I think its safe to say your not a foal napper and besides if that runt gets any parents she'll be lucky" The mare said in a causal tone but with the annoyance evident in her voice.

Spitfire was shocked by the mares outburst. She wanted to ask how the mare knew her without her Wonderbolts uniform on and at the same time she wanted to buck the mare into next week for calling her future daughter a 'runt'. Eventually though Spitfire just let out a sigh and nodded before leaving quickly not wanting to spend another second in the building that haunted her memory.

Spitfire breathed in a lung full of air as she opened the red door into the outside world. She smiled when she looked down at the folder, she would need to go home and get her saddlebags before she went to Rainbow Dash's house to give her new daughter the biggest surprise in her life.

With a flap of her wings Spitfire sped away from the orphanage with great excitement eager to meet Scootaloo and start her new life.

Chapter 7: School Rush

Chapter 7 -The Greatest Gift

Rainbow Dash was relaxing in her home after an afternoon of cloud busting, she was currently lying on the couch and trying to get some shut eye before Scoots returned from school. Suddenly she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

Dash got up off the couch and made her way over to the door, she undid the lock and opened it to reveal a yellow mare with a fiery orange mane.

Dash gasped "Spitfire what are you doing here, haven't you got bolts training" she asked.

Spitfire grinned, "Can I come in Dash there's a lot I need to talk to you about" she said.

Dash nodded and let Spitfire in and closed the door, Spitfire took a seat and began to tell Dash about her current day so far. Dash was quite shocked at what she had to say.

"Are you sure you can do this Spit?" Dash asked in a concerned tone.

Spitfire gave a confident nod, "Yeah and besides It's not like I wont have any help" she said with a grin.

Dash smiled, "Heck yeah I didn't know you'd be asking" she said rubbing the back of her neck with a forhoof.

Spitfire got up and went over to her saddlebags which she had left by the doorway and took out a folder before she walked back over to Dash and sat the folder on the cloud table.

Dash's smile grew "I-is this what I think it is?" she asked in an excited tone.

Spitfire smiled along with her friend, "You better believe it, I got it after I went to see Soarin'" she explained.

Dash opened the folder and read its contents, "I-I can't believe this, Scoots is going to be so happy!" she exclaimed

Spitfire laughed, "I hope so Dash" she replied truthfully. Just then there was a knock at the door, Dash got up and walked over.

Dash opened the door to reveal Scootaloo and Fluttershy, who had picked the orange pegasus up from school which was an arrangement Dash had made earlier this week.

Scootaloo smiled "Hey Dash!"

Rainbow smiled in return, "come on in out of the cold Scootaloo" she said letting the pegasus inside, she thanked Fluttershy before closing the door. Scootaloo walked into the living room and saw Spitfire.

Scootaloo held back a squeal "Hey Spitfire!" she said running up and giving the yellow pegasus a hug.

Spitfire giggled "Hey Scootaloo how was school?" she asked

Scootaloo smiled "It was okay I guess, so are you here to hang out with us again?" the filly said with a hopeful voice.

Spitfire chuckled, "Sit down Scoots there's something me and Dash need to tell you" she said as Dash took a seat next to excited yellow mare.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow "What is it ?" she asked curiously.

Spitfire looked at Dash and grinned as she looked back to Scootaloo and pushed the folder on the table towards the small filly. Scootaloo took the item in her hoof and read the contents.

-Cloudsdale Orphanage System-

I Spitfire choose to adopt the one known as Scootaloo on the terms and conditions of Equestria's Law and order act of 1523 by Princess Celestia of Equestira.

I agree to take care of said filly/ colt and make sure she is given the basic necessities of life {e.g} School and Medical.

I agree to love and cherish this filly/ colt and make sure they have the best outcome in life possible

signed by -    Mother/ Mothers                                                                     Father/ Fathers

- Mrs  Spitfire Florenza.                               N/A

A few tears of joy hit the sheet of paper as Scootaloo looked at it with the biggest smile she could muster. All the years the filly had spent hoping and praying that a day like this would turn up, she had spent months on the streets just looking for someone to take care of her and today was that day.

Scootaloo looked up at Spitfire who had a warm smile spread across her muzzle, her arms stretched out, Dash was smiling next to her

"Come and give your mummy a hug" Spitfire said with a happy yet soft voice. Scootaloo got up onto the cloud table and leaped into Spitfire's arms and wrapped her small forelegs around her neck. Spitfire embraced Scootaloo tightly and wrapped her wings around the filly as a few of her own joyful tears leaked out.

After a while Scootaloo stopped nuzzling her mothers neck and turned to see Dash watching the two, she giggled.

Dash raised an eyebrow "What are you laughing at" she asked giggling along with her

Scootaloo stopped giggling and spoke up "ha, i made 'The' Rainbow Dash cry" Scootaloo said as she and Spitfire burst out in a fit of laughter

Dash's eyes widened as she quickly wiped her cheeks with a forehoof "I did not!" Dash tried to protest as she felt the wetness on her hoofs

Spitfire shook her head playfully, "yeah you just keep under that illusion Rainbow" she said as she kept laughing.

Dash huffed facing her defeat, but she quickly smiled again as she leaned over and ruffled Scootaloo's mane before joining in with the hug.

Spitfire smiled at Scootaloo as Dash joined the embrace "Welcome to the family Sweetheart." she said leaning down and lightly kissing Scootaloo's forehead. Scootaloo smiled and nuzzled into her family, this was defiantly the best moment in her life and it was a moment she would never forget.

After the three pegasi had finished there long embrace they enjoyed there first meal together. Spitfire and Dash attempted to make pasta to the best of their abilities and sat three plates on the cloud table before seating themselves in front of them.

Scootaloo being the most hungry after having a school day, dug in before either Spitfire or Dash could, Spitfire rested a hoof on the shoulder of the orange filly

"Hey now don't go eating it too fast sweetheart" Spitfire cautioned. Scootaloo smiled and nodded, she started eating at a slower pace.

Spitfire was half way through her meal when she turned around to face her daughter, "So sweetie i don't think I've ever asked, what do you like doing besides flying?" Spitfire said looking towards her daughter.

Scootaloo looked up at Spitfire and smiled "Oh i love to go crusading!" the filly exclaimed.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow, "Whats crusading ?" she asked. She turned to dash who made her presence by letting out chuckle

"Hehe you don't want to know" Dash said plainly, but smirked when she saw Spitfire looking at her. Before the yellow pony could open her mouth her daughter spoke up again.

"I'm part of the cutie mark crusaders !" Scootaloo continued happily. Spitfire didn't respond and just nodded hoping to get all the information she could about her daughter.

"We crusade to find our special talents and get our cutie marks!" the filly continued as she completely forgot about her meal, letting the fork rest at the side of the plate

Spitfire smiled "That sounds great sweetheart" she replied ruffling her daughters purple mane. The three went back to eating again until Scootaloo spoke up again.

"Mummy what do you like to do besides flying?" the filly asked curiously earning a chuckle from her mother.

"Well Mummy likes to... um" Spitfire started but was stunned when she couldn't think of anything else on the subject, the only thing she enjoyed was flying and it had been her life for the best part of 8 years since she had joined the Wonderbolts and even before that it had been years more full of training, "I-I uh , I'm afraid i don't know sweetie" she finally said with a shocked tone

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean mum ?" she asked

Spitfire shook her head from the shock, she almost forgot to reply to her filly "oh um its nothing hunny, It's just mummy doesn't really do anything else but fly" she replied in astonishment at her own words realizing what she had been doing for so long in her life.

Suddenly Dash spoke up, "wow Spit, i didn't know you where that overworked" Rainbow said.

Spitfire shook her head "no, it's not that I work a lot, it's the fact I rarely have anything else to do" the former Wonderbolt replied in a sad tone.

The kitchen table fell into silence after Spitfire spoke. Soon though Scootaloo spoke up again eager to have as many conversions as possible with her new family.

"well what if i showed you some things mummy?" Scootaloo asked in an innocent tone. Spitfire stopped eating and faced her daughter. She couldn't help but chuckle at her willing to help out with something so minor, but Spitfire thought of it as the ample opportunity to spend time with her newly found daughter.

Spitfire smiled, "I think that would be a wonderful idea sweetie" she said as she got up and collected her plate and took it over to the kitchen sink.

After dinner was over Spitfire insisted to help dash clean the place up before she left for home. Scootaloo was now in the living room reading one of Dash's Daring Doo books and Dash was in the kitchen with Spitfire as they cleaned the table up.

Dash looked up from drying the plates and looked at Spitfire who was putting the ingredients to there previous meal back in one of the many cloud cupboards, "Hey Spit, what are you gonna do now that your out of the Wonderbolts. Are you gonna need to move house?" she asked the orange maned pegasus. Spitfire looked up at Dash and nodded.

Dash took a few hesitant steps towards Spitfire before leaning on the kitchen's worktop, "You know Spit , you could always move in here ?" Dash inquired causally.

Spitfire stopped her actions and looked at dash with a smirk "I guess I could, but if your next question is if I can train you to become a Wonderbolt by next Tuesday then I'm afraid I'll have to decline" she said. Spitfire had to stifle a giggle when Rainbow blushed and looked away.

Spitfire started picking the packets of food back up and putting them away as she continued "Well sure Dash but do you even have another bedroom?" Spitfire asked.

Dash nodded happily, "Yeah, me and Fluttershy actually shared this house before she bought the cottage down in Ponyville and I have another room encase either one of our parents wanted to come and stay" she explained.

Spitfire closed the cupboard door and looked at Dash with a smile "Well then I guess I can stay then if its no problem" Spitfire said in a cheerful tone.

Dash smiled, "Really Spit having a former Wonderbolt captain staying at my house, the pleasure's all mine" Dash said as she turned around and walked back into the living room. Spitfire let out a chuckle before following the cyan mare back into the cloud home's living room.

Scootaloo looked up from her book to see her other family members walk into the room. Her face turned a sad expression as she faced her new mother

"A-are you leaving already?" Scootaloo said as Spitfire entered the room. The yellow mare grinned before pouncing on the filly and hugging her tightly

"nope mummy's moving in right here" Spitfire said as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane, the filly squealed before tightly hugging the mare back.

Spitfire smiled as she looked over to Dash who was sitting on another couch with a grin, she then noticed the clock that hung by the wall not to far away from her.

Spitfire looked down at the filly, "I think it's time we got some shut eye" She said.

Scootaloo groaned "do we have too?" she whined.

Spitfire rolled her eyes, "If you do then i'll tuck you in before you go to sleep" she replied.

Finally Scootaloo gave in and left to go and get cleaned up before going to bed. Spitfire and Dash still stayed in the living room for a little while longer talking about various things but they too went upstairs after awhile. Spitfire opened the door of Scootaloo's bedroom to see the little filly just getting under the covers. Spitfire walked over and started puffing out the cloud pillow and tucking in the sides around her filly.

Scootaloo looked up at her and smiled, "Thanks for adopting me mummy" she said as she reached up and hugged Spitfire. The yellow mare returned the embrace tightly before gently leaning the filly back down onto the bed and ruffling her mane

Spitfire smiled "goodnight my little one" she said kissing Scootaloo on the forehead once again. Scootaloo didn't respond and just snuggled into the cloud bed. Spitfire got up and walked to the end of the room. She put a hoof up to turn the lights off when she heard Scootaloo speak again.

"goodnight mummy, I..love you" Scootaloo said under the muffled sound of the cloud pillow. Spitfire smiled and turned off the light.

Scootaloo was unsure of why she didn't get a response 'maybe it was too soon' she thought to herself. She sighed into the pillow and let her eyes fall over as she started to drift off to sleep.

Suddenly Scootaloo gasped and her eyes snapped open as she felt a hoof the wasn't her own wrap itself around her mid section and pull her across the cloud bed. Scootaloo didn't stop moving until she was rested up against something soft and warm. She turned and looked up to see an outline of a pony with only the slightest shade of yellow that could be seen in the lack of light. Scootaloo then saw another figure which she soon found out was a wing which wrapped itself around her small frame and tightened itself so it couldn't move. Scootaloo then felt another kiss on her forehead before a soft whisper entered her ear.

"goodnight my little daughter, mummy loves you too."

Chapter 8: Since When Was Pink Ever a Bad Color?

Chapter 8 - School Rush

Spitfire looked up from her bowl of cereal to see Rainbow groggily enter the cloud home's kitchen, the cyan mare didn't notice Spitfire and walked straight passed the mare in a zombified manner and attempted to open a cupboard door in the cloud room.

Spitfire giggled "Having struggles Dash?" she asked. Rainbow groaned and turned round to face the mare that was annoying her sensitive eardrums, soon she regained her vision slightly and realized who it was.

After a few shakes of her head Dash regained enough conscious to talk "Hey Spit, w-where's Scoot?" the mare asked still a little groggy as she turned the kettle on to make herself a  caffeine drink that was sure to perk her up.

Spitfire shook her head playfully, "She's upstairs getting ready for school" she replied.

Dash nodded "sounds good" she said as she let out a yawn

Spitfire raised an eyebrow "I can help you out today if you want?" she asked the rainbow maned mare.

Dash waved a hoof dismissively, "there's no need Spit , you enjoy your day off" she said picking up her coffee and downing the caffeine drink as to get her kick start to the day.

Spitfire sighed but still smiled at Dash's enthusiasm "Well at least let me take Scoots to school" she said as she picked up her empty bowl and headed to the sink in the kitchen

Still Dash protested, "Are you sure Spit. I can do it in 10 seconds fla-" Rainbow started but was cut off by Spitfire

"Dash I insist I take my own daughter to school" Spitfire insisted further as she turned round from the sink to face the mare

Dash sighed "fine, we can go together then." the mare concluded as she started to feel the after affects of her morning coffee.

Spitfire smiled as she walked past her, "Well I guess I'll go get ready, you okay down here?" she asked curiously

Dash nodded whilst propping herself onto a chair in the kitchen, "yeah I'm good" the cyan mare replied.

Spitfire then made her way up the cloud stairs to the upper floor where the other bedrooms and bathroom where situated. She peaked into the bathroom to see a little orange filly trying to straighten out her windswept mane.

Spitfire smiled "do you need any help sweetheart?" she asked leaning in from the doorway.

Scootaloo looked up and nodded, "yeah I can't seem to get this part of my mane down and if I don't Diamond Tiara's just gonna make fun of me" she explained with a groan as her mane bounced back up to its previous position.

Spitfire walked into the small room and picked the brush out of Scootaloo's hoof as she started to sort her mane out. it took a few moments but soon Spitfire managed to start straightening her daughters mane.

"So sweetheart, tell me about this Diamond Tiara girl, she's not giving you any trouble is she?" Spitfire asked curiously as she continued to sort her filly's mane

Scootaloo shook her head "no mum, she just teases me sometimes" Scootaloo said slightly lying as she knew full well that Diamond Tiara had being picking on her and her friends since she joined the school, but she didn't want to make a big deal out of it and besides she felt like she could handle the occasional insult.

Spitfire nodded her head at the small piece of information that her daughter had given her, "Well mummy had to deal with those kinds of ponies too when she was a Wonderbolt" She informed her.

Scootaloo was shocked "y-you did?" the filly asked as she looked up at her mother brushing her mane

Spitfire nodded "yeah, but mummy had a special way of getting rid of them" She continued as she put the brush to one side and nuzzled the space between her filly's small ears on top of her newly straightened mane.

Scootaloo looked at her mother through the mirror that they where both standing in front of "Really, how did you do it mummy?" she asked curiously

Spitfire smiled "Well when mummy used to meet those kinds of ponies she would think about flight routines in her head to block them out" She explained to the now surprised filly.

Scootaloo was stunned by this, "thats it?" was all she could say.

Spitfire gave a confirming nod, "sure is sweetie , it might not sound much, but trust me when you think about something in your head it blocks out the world around you" she explained further. Scootaloo thought this over for a few moments before nodding and making a mental note to try the new trick when she met Diamond Tiara again.

Spitfire looked down at her filly, "well go get ready sweetie, me and Dash are taking you to school today" Spitfire said as Scootaloo trotted out of the bathroom

Scootaloo smiled "okay mum" she said causally as she trotted back down the stairs.

Spitfire turned round to look at herself in the mirror, she realized her mane was also spiked in places where it shouldn't be. She let out a sigh before grabbing the brush in her hoof again and starting on her mane.

After some time the three pegasi were at the doorway, Rainbow Dash was checking her mane just before they left.

Spitfire snickered "come on then Dash" she moaned as she stood outside the house with Scootaloo who was sitting on Spitfire's back.

Rainbow rolled her eyes "hey I need to look my best, I have a reputation to keep up you know" Rainbow said with a smirk as she made her way out of the door and onto the edge of the cloud home where Spitfire and Scootaloo were waiting for her.

Spitfire grinned "Care to put your reputation where you mouth is Dash?" she asked flaring her wings.

Rainbow was stunned, she was getting to race with her idol. She held back a squeal and quickly regained her composure as she stood in her starting position flaring her own wings ready for action.

Scootaloo held back a jump of joy, but the excitement on her face was enough evidence to suggested she agreed with the

idea.

Spitfire nodded, "Okay then Rainbow, first one to the schoolhouse wins" she explained to the cyan mare.

Rainbow nodded "you are so on!" she said gritting her teeth with a grin still tugging at her lips.

Spitfire made sure Scootaloo was safely secured to her neck before turning to Rainbow "okay then hotshot..3...2...1....GO!" she exclaimed.

In a flash of cyan and yellow the two pegasi bolted from the house and into the sky. Spitfire pumped her wings fast as she could as she gained altitude into the blue sky above her.

Scootaloo had her eyes opened just enough to see what was happening, she looked over to Rainbow Dash who was neck and neck with Spitfire and had a determined look on her face as she strained her muscles as hard as possible as she continued to speed up.

Spitfire could see the flash of cyan out of the corner of her eye as she kept focused on the town ahead of her. There was a number of clouds that had accumulated over the night and where circling around the small town, Spitfire looked over to Dash and saw the mare starting to inch forward, Spitfire knew she wouldn't last long at top speed, so instead she changed tactics and dived down.

Rainbow was stunned at Spitfire's sudden decrease in speed as she dived down just in front of her. She looked down to see that Spitfire was heading to the large clouds below them, she didn't want to chance Spitfire getting ahead and so she too dived down after the former Wonderbolt captain.

Spitfire raced into the first cloud rounding its fluffy contents perfectly as she continued to flap her wings in long heavy strides. Rainbow Dash was stunned by the skill of the former Wonderbolt but still she too managed to round the first cloud as perfectly as her idol.

Spitfire knew she was close to the schoolhouse now as she passed under another small group of clouds that had accumulated over the town center as she sped through the village. Dash meanwhile was so concentrated on Spitfire that she hadn't noticed the big grey cloud ahead of her. When she turned to focus in front of her, it was to late and she dive bombed into the clouds and was sent shooting back a few feet before grunting and speeding off after Spitfire again.

Scootaloo was ecstatic by this point and her morning so far, she could see the famous trademark trail of Rainbow Dash behind her as the cyan mare tried with all her strength to catch up. She looked down at her mother through her flowing orange and yellow mane. She could see that she was tiring and started to get nervous to see which of the two great flyers would win the race.

Spitfire finally saw her target which was a red building that stood on top of a grassy hill just on the outskirts of the earth pony town. She put all her strength into her wings as she continued to drive herself towards the finish line.

Dash put all the energy she had into herself as she strived for her goal. she could see Spitfire just in the distance and she could also see that she was gradually catching up, a smile tugged at her lips as she kept pumping her wings faster and faster as she closed in on her idol.

Spitfire was close to the finish line. She quickly glanced a look behind her to see Rainbow Dash very close behind, she also checked to see if Scootaloo was still on her back, she looked down to see a pair of orange forehoofs still wrapped to her neck tightly. suddenly the all to familiar feeling that Spitfire knew came over her as she started to feel her muscles give out and she struggled to keep her distance ahead of the rainbow maned mare.

Dash meanwhile was still flying at max speed, she was now closing in on Spitfire at a very fast rate, However Spitfire was within touching distance of the school. Dash put all her strength into her now screaming and aching muscles as she came side by side with her idol. Suddenly the two collided to the finish line with a 'boom'. The three pegasi tumbled along the ground as they came to a halt in front of the school gates.

Spitfire unfurled her sore wings to reveal Scootaloo who had been protected by them in the tumble. She smiled and ruffled the filly's mane. She then heard groans from behind her and whirled her head round to see Rainbow getting up of the ground with a hoof stuck firmly to the back of her head as she massaged her sore temple.

After a few moments Dash spoke, "so uhh did I win?" she asked hopefully

Spitfire chuckled, "I think we'll call that a tie" she said laughing wholeheartedly

Scootaloo suddenly jumped up in the air and landed next to her mother, "try calling it totally awesome!" the filly exclaimed bouncing around, suddenly the school's bell rang and the three pegasi turned around to face the building to see a maroon mare come out of the schoolhouse and wave towards them.

Spitfire turned back to her daughter, "Well sweetheart you have a good day at school. Mummy will be here to pick you up afterwords" Spitfire said as she gave her filly a peck on the cheek.

Scootaloo smiled as she had only ever dreamed of someone saying that sentence to her. she hugged her mother in return before galloping off towards the school.

Spitfire watched Scootaloo enter the school before she turned to Dash who was still looking slightly out of breath from the race. "So Dash you um.. want to help me move out of my house in Cloudsdale?" she asked plainly.

Dash nodded "sure thing Spit, I guess cloud busting can wait" the cyan mare replied as she winced from a shock of pain that went through her head at the thought of the strenuous task.

Spitfire nodded with a smile and the two took of into the air slowly as the made there way into the blue morning sky.

Suddenly dash spoke up "heh I guess thats what Rarity and Applejack meant by the 'School rush'" she said flatly. Spitfire smiled before she broke into a fit of giggles as Dash joined in with her.

laughter could be heard across Ponyville as the two great flyers found there wings again and shot off in the direction of the great sky city.

Chapter 9: A Complicated Afternoon

Chapter 9 - Since When was Pink a Bad Colour?

Scootaloo made her way into the schoolhouse that she had been going to since she had arrived in Ponyville. The school was very small and could only hold one full class of foals at a time, still the school's teacher was very good at her job and was able to teach all the foals across Ponyville which was massive help to the community.

Scootaloo made her way down the small corridor that led into the classroom, the door was slightly ajar suggesting that other foals  where already in the class. Scootaloo peaked into the classroom to see a white unicorn with a purple and pink curled mane and a yellow earth pony with a pure red braided mane complete with a pink bow.

Scootaloo smiled "Hey Sweetiebelle, Hey Applebloom." she said as she trotted up to the two ponies

Sweetiebelle and Applebloom perked up at the sound of their incoming friend, they turned around to see her, "Hey Scootaloo!"  they said in unison as the small pegasus trotted up to them.

Scootaloo saw that Sweetiebelle and Applebloom were working on a piece of paper that was propped up on Sweetiebelles desk, however when Scootaloo looked at the sheet of paper it was blank.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "what are you guys up to?" she asked in an innocent tone.

Applebloom smiled, "We're workin on our next crusade!" she exclaimed happily.

Scootaloo smiled back, "cool, so what should we do next then?" she asked curiously.

The room fell silent as the three fillies pondered. They had tried so many different things that coming up with new idea's regularly was a hard task.

Finally Sweetiebelle spoke up, "why don't we try water skiing, we could use the lake ?" she asked looking at her two friends and waited for their verdict.

Scootaloo was next to speak, "didn't we try that last week?" she replied curiously.

Applebloom shook her head playfully "Na that was parasailing ya dummy" she said with a light giggle.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "Okay then lets give that a try" she said happily agreeing with the idea.

The other two fillies gave a nod and the three slammed there hoofs together whilst saying, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS WATER SKIERS...YAY"

"Oh please like you three could be good at anything" a voice spat in the filly's direction.

Scootaloo's eyes turned to see a pink earth pony standing at the front of the class. She was proudly wearing a Diamond Tiara on her head.

"oh Celestia please not this" Sweetiebelle mumbled before laying her head down on the table with a soft 'thump'

Applebloom stood in a defensive stance, narrowing her eyes, "What do you want Tiara?" she asked.

Diamond snickered, "well you know me blank flank just being early for class" she lied.

Applebloom huffed as Diamond continued, "you know it must be so hard being uncool" the pink earth pony said trotting up to the three with a smirk.

Scootaloo was trying her mothers advice and happily it was working some, but what Scootaloo didn't count for was the surge of anger that flowed through her as Diamond Tiara continued her attack

"You know it must be even harder not having as good a family as me" Diamond sneered looking at the orange pegasus knowing full well that Scootaloo didn't like it when she talked about her wealth.

Scootaloo however went wide eyed at the statement but quickly recoiled, "hey i do have a good family" she said still somewhat shocked from Diamonds comment.

Diamond smirked, "oh really loserloo, I've seen you in the alleyways around town not to mention that no pony in this town has never even heard about your parents, but i guess if you have such a good family you wont mind telling me who they are" Diamond replied with a grin half expecting Scootaloo to come back with no answer.

This was hardball for Scootaloo, She couldn't just tell the bully that she had a famous mother, even she herself thought it sounded to far fetched. Scootaloo finally sighed in defeat and just mumbled something under her breath to inaudible for anypony to hear. Diamond Tiara's smile grew when she knew Scootaloo wasn't going to answer her question.

Applebloom took a step towards Diamond blocking her view of the pegasus "I think its about time ya'll left Tiara before I get Miss Cheerilee " the farm pony warned.

Diamond just giggled and shook her head as she made her way back to the front of the class. Before she left she turned to Scootaloo and her friends, "have a nice day blank flanks" she sneered before leaving the room.

Applebloom calmed down after the bully had left and turned to face Scootaloo, "y'all alright Scootaloo" she asked hesitantly, Scootaloo nodded.

"What was all that about ?" Sweetiebelle asked still confused from the bully's random visit

All eyes went to Scootaloo, she cleared her throat, "I-I don't know" she finally said with a sad sigh.

Applebloom and Sweetiebelle exchanged worried glances before moving over to their friend, Applebloom rested a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, "ya sure ya'll are alright" she asked again.

Scootaloo sighed, "yeah I'm sure, but c-can I tell you guys something, but you have to promise to keep it a secret" she insisted. her two friends nodded and they gathered around the orange pegasus as she whispered the secret in there ears.

After she told them Sweetiebelle was the first to speak, "wow I was not expecting that" she said with wide eyes.

Applebloom had a baffled look on her face "what so special about her?" she asked with a confused tone. Sweetiebelle was stunned by the yellow earth pony's lack of knowledge.

"She's the captian of the Wonderb-" Sweetiebelle started but was cut of by a hoof making contact with her lips. She saw the Scootaloo glaring at her

"please try and keep it a secret sweets" Scootaloo said slightly annoyed at her friends antics. Sweetiebelle nodded and She retracted her hoof. Just then the second school bell rang signalling the start of class.

Scootaloo went and sat down at the front where her desk was. Applebloom sat next to her and after a recent complaint from a student in the class Diamond Tiara now sat opposite her. The pink filly once again trotted into the room and sat next to her. Scootaloo sighed and just looked towards the front of the class.

Finally a mare trotted into the classroom, she had a two tone pink mane and a maroon coat with three daisy flowers that adorned her flank, each had their own smiling face. "Good morning class" the mare said happily.

"Good morning Miss Cheerilee" the class replied in a mix of energy and boredom.

Miss Cheerilee smiled at the response and turned around to write something on the chalk board.

Suddenly Scootaloo was hit by an incoming piece of scrunched up paper, she through a look of disgust at Diamond Tiara who was holding back the laughter from her desk. Scootaloo tried to keep working but was again pelted by another piece of paper

"Will you stop that already?" Scootaloo said a bit loudly as she looked over at Diamond Tiara again with more anger and annoyance than before.

"Scootaloo please pay attention" miss Cheerilee said.

Scootaloo sighed again before looking down at her work for a second time 'this is gonna be a long day' she thought to herself as the class soon fell down into more silence as the day went on.

It was now lunchtime at the school and Scootaloo had spent the rest of the morning unaffected by Diamond Tiara's wrath. She was now sitting on the swings with Sweetiebelle whilst Applebloom leaned on the swing's metal frame.

"So Scootaloo, is it really true that your mum is you know who?" Sweetiebelle asked.

Scootaloo nodded "yeah, to be honest I still think I'm dreaming" Scootaloo said with a smile as she kept swinging.

Applebloom smiled, "well I'm happy for ya Scoot" she said happily.

Sweetiebelle nodded in agreement "yeah so am I, having a family is one of the best things ever" she exclaimed

Scootaloo smiled at her two friends "so you guys want to come over some time ?" she asked hesitantly.

Sweetiebelle and Applebloom started to giggle, Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "what is it?" she asked curiously

Applebloom shook her head playfully, "encase ya'll haven't forgotten scoots we cant fly" she said pointing out the obvious.

Scootaloo blushed slightly from her brash actions, "oh yeah i forgot about that" she said sheepishly

Sweetiebelle smiled warmly, "well maybe we can get Twilight to do that cloud walking spell ?" she suggested.

Scootaloo nodded, "that sounds good" she replied causally, again Scootaloo smiled on the inside as she never thought she would ever ask that question to her friends.

"What sounds good blank flanks?" Diamond Tiara suddenly spoke up interrupting the three fillies on the swings.

Scootaloo just felt as if something inside her snapped as her temper boiled over, "why cant you just leave us alone" She said jumping off the swing bench and facing the pink bully angrily. Diamond Tiara was now accompanied by a second earth pony, she had a grey coat with a silver mane and wore a set of blue glasses. She also looked to be of similar wealth to the pony she was standing next to.

Diamond huffed, "no reason" she said looking off into no where.

Scootaloo still stood her ground, "then why don't you just leave" she said. the anger in her voice was now evident.

Diamond snickered "woah hold on there, don't blow your wings off just because your mother is so lame that your to afraid to even say her name" she said not realizing the full power of the insult that she had just said.

Scootaloo felt tears but they burned in her eyes from the anger that overwhelmed her.Without hesitation she jumped at the pink earth pony and the two where sent tumbling onto the grass as the two fought. Scootaloo having the upper hand with her athletic skills soon had Diamond Tiara pinned on the ground with a few light bruises that now adorned her pink face.

"How dare you say that about my mum" she shouted at the pink pony below her as she raised a forhoof ready to strike the bully.

Diamond winced at what was about to happen, but then she saw something out of the corner of her eye and her trademark grin came back onto her face,

"Go on then, do it" Diamond said confidently. Scootaloo was surprised by this sudden change. She stopped her advancing foreleg and held it in the air as the confusion of why the bully wanted to be beaten racked her brain, but then a light bulb went off in her head but by then it was too late.

"Scootaloo what are you doing" a voice said.

Scootaloo felt her limps go numb and a lump rise in her throat at the sound of Miss Cheerilee's voice. She turned around to face the mare who was giving the filly a hard stare.

"Scootaloo in my office now" Miss Cheerilee said before Scootaloo could even open her mouth. She looked down at Diamond Tiara to see she was now grinning from ear to ear. Scootaloo desperately wanted to finish the job, but it was too late now.

With a sigh Scootaloo got herself up off the ground and made her way back into the Schoolhouse with Cheerilee.

Chapter 10: The Golden Tickets

Chapter 10 - A complicated Afternoon

Spitfire looked around her now empty house, all the walls had been striped of there trophies so only bare shelves remained. The sighed autographs had been taken down as well, only to leave a black outline from where they once resided.

Spitfire let out a sigh of relief as she could see that the task was now complete, she was also happy that she didn't have too much stuff to pack and only had a few cardboard boxes waiting at the entrance to the house.

Rainbow trotted into the empty room where Spitfire was standing, "hey Spit thats all the boxes packed" she said happily.

Spitfire nodded as she continued to stare at the empty room. Rainbow's smile faded slightly as she saw the ghostly expression on Spitfire's face.

Rainbow hesitated for a moment before resting a hoof on Spitfire's shoulder "you okay Spit" Rainbow asked

Spitfire nodded, "yeah I'm good, just never really thought I would be leaving this place so soon" she explained to the cyan mare.

Rainbow nodded, "well we should probably get back to my place and drop this stuff off before we pick Scoots up from school" she said happily as she trotted back out of the empty room leaving Spitfire by herself again.

A smile tugged at the former Wonderbolt's lips as she walked out of her old bedroom. She touched the side of the door frame just before walking out as she said 'thanks for all the good times' she said before leaving the room and heading down the cloud stairs to the front of the house where Dash was already waiting.

                                                     -Back at the Schoolhouse-

Scootaloo fumbled with her hoofs in Miss Cheerilee's office as the maroon mare sat down in front of her.

"Scootaloo, this isn't like you to be hitting pony's" Cheerilee said resting a hoof on her shoulder with a worried expression.

Scootaloo sniffled slightly from the lump in her throat, "b-but she just wont stop" was all Scootaloo could say causing Cheerilee to raise an eyebrow in confusion

"who wont stop Scootaloo?" Miss Cheerilee asked with a concerned tone edging the filly on.

Scootaloo sighed and began to tell Miss Cheerilee the events of her current school day so far. Cheerilee listened to Scootaloo as she explained how Diamond had insulted her and had been bullying her and the other two cutie mark crusaders.

After Scootaloo finished her short story Cheerilee nodded, she now had less of an worried expression which was replaced with a blank face, after a few moments she spoke, "give me a moment Scootaloo" she said calmly before she got up and walked out of the office and into the classroom of foals who where all working quietly on an assignment. After a few moments the mare returned with the pink filly in tow.

Diamond Tiara sat down next to Scootaloo as Miss Cheerilee again sat in front of the two fillies.

"Miss Cheerilee why am I here?" the pink pony asked confused. Miss Cheerilee glared at her

"So Diamond would you mind telling me what happened this morning before class?" she asked staring down at her pupil.

Diamonds eyes widened as she gulped hard, "I-I um" she started but Cheerilee cut her off

"This is the third and final complaint Diamond, I'm going to inform your father about this" Miss Cheerilee said sternly.

Scootaloo held back a giggle as Diamond tried to plead to the teacher, but Miss Cheerilee was not budging on her decision

"I don't want to hear it Diamond" Miss Cheerilee said sternly as she took the letter and went out into the class for a few moments

Diamond turned to Scootaloo "this is all your fault" she spat.

Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin as she pondered the question over like she actually cared, after a few seconds she spoke up, "um no actually, in fact if your hadn't opened that big mouth of yours you wouldn't be here" the orange filly replied as she got up of the chair and faced the pink mare.

"What are you doing blank flank?" Diamond said without thinking, after she saw the glare from the orange pegasus it was to late. Scootaloo hit the evil pink filly in the face

"thats for earlier!" Scootaloo said as she walked back to her chair and sat back down. Diamond got herself up and was about to retaliate before Cheerilee came back in.

"Diamond I told you to stay in your seat" Miss Cheerilee said as she trotted back to her seat. Diamond sighed and sat back down whilst Scootaloo giggled.

Miss Cheerilee spoke up "okay Scootaloo your off the hook today, but next time come to me if this happens again, I don't want to see you in here again for fighting" she said. Scootaloo nodded in acceptance.

Diamond was shocked at the sudden switch in sides, "but Miss Cheeri-" Diamond said trying to protest but her teacher cut her off again.

"I don't want to hear it Diamond, as for you I have already sent a letter informing your father of what you have done today and I am also giving you an extra assignment" Miss Cheerilee said only making Diamonds jaw drop lower than it already was.

"Your assignment is to wright a thousand words on School behavior for the end of this week, and if I catch you doing this again it will be two thousand, are we clear?" Cheerilee said sternly. Diamond sighed knowing she could no longer argue and just opted to nod her head.

Cheerilee smiled, "you are both dismissed" she said as the two fillies got off their seats and made there way to the door. Just before they opened it Miss Cheerilee spoke up again

"Diamond, I want you to swap seats with rumble as well" She added. Diamond nodded again before following Scootaloo out of Miss Cheerilee's office and back into the classroom.

                                                                 -Back at Rainbow's House-

Spitfire wiped her brow as she finished putting the last item on her shelf. She smiled at her prized possession which was not a autograph or any of her trophies, it was a picture of her, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash after the Derby in Canterlot.

Fan Art by the very kind Liquid_Flames

Spitfire's smile grew when she thought back to all of her memories since she had met the orange pegasus at the show in Cloudsdale which surprisingly was the last performance she had ever taken part in.

'I think I'm going to like this new life' Spitfire said silently to herself as she walked out of the room and down the stairs to see Rainbow throwing the last of the cardboard boxes in the trash.

"Hey Spitfire, you all set ?" The rainbow maned mare asked.

Spitfire nodded, "sure Dash" she said happily as she walked to the edge of the cloud home.

Spitfire flared her wings as she grinned towards the cyan pegasus, "you up for another race hotshot?" Spitfire asked.

Rainbow looked at the former Wonderbolt with a matching grin, "okay Spit just don't be mad when I beat you" she said as she joined the yellow mare at the edge of the cloud layer.

Spitfire rolled her eyes playfully, "heh in your dreams Dash" she said winking at the mare

Dash flared out her wings ready to start. Spitfire started the countdown "3...2...1...GO!"

                                                       -Back at the Schoolhouse-

Scootaloo was sitting in her seat. her eyes had moved from Cheerilee and were now fixated on the clock that hung just above the classroom door 'Just a few more minutes' she thought.

To the class's relief the final bell for school rang and Cheerilee wished all the foals a good day. Scootaloo made her way to the coat rack and collected her back pack. When she turned around she jumped at the sight of her two friends

"Hey Scoots what happened with DT ?" Applebloom asked curiously.

Scootaloo smiled, "lets just say I don't think will be seeing a lot of her any more" She said with a smirk. The three fillies then made there way down the narrow corridor to the entrance of the school.

"So are you gonna come crusading with us today Scoots?" Sweetiebelle asked.

Scootaloo shook her head "sorry girls, I'm spending the day with my mum" She said as she put her hoof to the entrance doors and opened them to reveal lots of grown ponies waiting for their kids. Scootaloo smiled when she saw Spitfire and Dash standing next to her friends sisters.

"Hey sweetheart" Spitfire said as Scootaloo rushed up to her and embraced the mare.

Spitfire giggled, "I take it you had a good afternoon" they yellow mare asked

Scootaloo smirked, "It's complicated" she replied.

Spitfire couldn't say she wasn't surprised by the response but shook it off as she held her filly tightly.

"So do you want to do some flying lessons ?" Spitfire asked after a while, she grinned as Scootaloo nodded vigorously.

"can we go now mummy?" Scootaloo asked excitedly. Spitfire nodded

"Sure why not" she said nuzzling Scootaloo's snout. The three pegasi then waved goodbye to their friends before heading off.

As Spitfire and Dash walked to the School gates Scootaloo sat on her mothers back. She spotted Diamond Tiara in the crowed, she was getting a scolding from her father by the looks from his angry face. The pink filly glanced a look up and went wide eyed when she saw Scootaloo on Spitfire's back. Scootaloo smiled and stuck her tongue out as she went by.

When the three pegasi reached the school gate they took off into the sky again. Scootaloo hung on tightly as she was whisked into the air with a great smile adorning her face. 'Today had been a good day'.

Chapter 11: An Afternoon In The Clouds

Chapter 11 - The golden Tickets

Thanks to Mikea491 for editing !

Celesita's sun rose over another day in Equestria. In the Wonderbolts HQ a pale cyan stallion walked through the corridors to a door. Not bothering to knock he pushed through the cloud layer and was face to face with the boss of his job.

Broad Skies looked up at the stallion, "Hello Soarin' not bothering to knock I see" he said looking back down at his paperwork.

Soarin' didn't reply and just sat down in front of the stallion. Broad Skies sighed and dropped the quill he was using and faced Soarin', "so I'm guessing there's something on your mind bolt?" he asked the stallion.

Soarin' nodded, "yeah, it's about Spitfire" he replied plainly.

Broad Skies sighed and mumbled something to himself before speaking up, "You know I cannot let her back in unless she dumps that foal" Broad Skies said flatly as he picked his quill back up and started writing again.

Soarin' still sat there refusing to budge, "can you tell me why ?" he asked raising his eyebrow.

Another loud sigh passed through Broad Skies mouth with a hint of annoyance, "Something tells me you already know the answer to your question" he said looking back up to meet Soarin's gaze.

The light blue stallion had a confused expression on his face, "but why is a rule like that in the book sir?" Soarin' asked.

Broad Skies looked at the stallion in the eye before getting up off his seat and facing the window that looked out onto the streets of the great sky city.

After a few moments he spoke up, "Do you remember the first rule of being a Wonderbolt lieutenant?" Broad Skies asked without turning his head from the window

Soarin' nodded,"yeah it's 'a Wonderbolt must always for fill their duties', but what does that have to do with anything?" he asked.

Broad skies shook his head, "It means Wonderbolt's must always be ready wherever and whenever they're needed, this is why the Wonderbolts cannot have huge family commitments" Broad skies finished as he stared of with Soarin'.

To Broads surprise Soarin' started to laugh, "you took that from the Wonderbolt regulations guide" Soarin' said chuckling.

Broad Skies frowned, "Look it doesn't matter anyway, Spitfire is not coming back on the team and thats final" he said continuing with his work.

Soarin rolled his eyes, "well good luck finding a new captain" he said getting up and walking back to the door.

Broad Skies immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up to the stallion, "what do you mean bolt?" he asked somewhat shocked at this latest revelation.

Soarin' smirked, "I might have said a few things to the team, long story short no pony is going to want the job" Soarin' said as she opened the door and left leaving a shocked Broad Skies.

Broad hit the cloud table when Soarin' left the room. He sighed heavily as he thought about his options, 'its all because of that stupid brat. Who does that foal think she is taking my captain' Broad Skies thought to himself. Then an idea struck him and a smirk tugged at his lips as he thought.

"If Spitfire's foal were to suddenly disappear, then she'll have nothing else to do but join the bolts again" he said to himself quietly.

Broad thought about his plan and set on writing on a piece of paper. After he was finished he then put two golden tickets

inside and sealed the envelope shut before walking out of the office to post it.

                                                         -Back at Rainbow's house-

Scootaloo woke up to the blinding light of the morning sun. She winced and turned round in her covers so she was facing away from her bedroom window. Just then a knock came at the door and the groggy filly managed to move her head to see her mother come in.

Spitfire quietly moved up to her filly with a warm smile, she put her hoof on Scootaloo's back and massaged it softly as she whispered into her ear, "Come on sweetheart, It’s time to get up for school" she said. Scootaloo only replied with a groan but opted not to move as her mothers hoof massaging her back was lulling her back to sleep.

Spitfire thought and smiled as she decided to use a different tactic, "Please sweetheart I'll make you sugarcoated waffles with whipped cream" she whispered into her foals ear.

Suddenly like a firework Scootaloo jumped up and hugged her mother tightly as her tiredness washed away from her.

"You're the best mum ever!" Scootaloo said nuzzling into Spitfire's shoulder as she cradled her foal in her arms.

Spitfire rolled her eyes, "well mummy needs to make it first" she said knowing full well that she couldn't deny the filly her treat now.

Spitfire let Scootaloo down and told her to get ready whilst she made her breakfast. Soon the yellow mare was in the kitchen as she made homemade waffles. She moved from the cooker to the fridge and got some whipped cream and then turned around to see Dash leaning on the entrance to the kitchen.

Dash smiled, "since when did you become such a good cook?" she asked slightly astonished at her idols work.

Spitfire smiled, "how would I not be able to make my favorite food?" she replied as she took the waffles from the cooker and laid them down on a plate and pouring the thick whip cream on top, the product started melting from the warm heat radiating from the treat. Spitfire sighed pleased with her masterpiece, She then looked back at Dash who was now drooling at the sight.

Dash stepped closer to the fluffy treat but Spitfire stopped her, "whoa there Dash this is for Scootaloo" she said with a smirk causing Dash to pout and cross her forelegs.

Scootaloo walked in on the two mares to see the delectable treat on the table she gasped and hugged her mother for a second time. Spitfire ruffled her mane before leaving the filly to enjoy her breakfast.

Rainbow Dash ate a bowl of cereal whilst Scootaloo sat next to her eating her stack of waffles, there was no conversation in the room, but Dash was keen to start one.

The cyan mare turned to the filly, "So Scoots what's it like having a new mother?" she asked randomly and slightly blushing from her random outburst.

Scootaloo smiled, "It’s the most awesome thing ever!" she exclaimed looked at Dash with excitement.

Dash smiled and ruffled the filly's mane,"heh glad to hear it squirt" she said happily

Scootaloo nudged Dash with a wing, "you’re still an awesome sister too" she said with a grin.

Dash smiled as a warm feeling rushed over her, However she didn't want to say anything too sappy and so simply opted to say, "thanks Scoots." The two smiled at each other happily before going back to their meals.

After a while Spitfire made her way down the steps to get Scootaloo to go to the schoolhouse when she noticed a letter at the front door, she picked it up and realized it was addressed to her.

Spitfire tore open the letter and saw two flashes of gold as two tickets floated to the ground, she leaned down and picked them up. Turning the gold tickets she saw the words 'Grand Galloping Gala entry' Spitfire was stunned by this and so read the letter.

Dear Spit,

Hey Spitfire I just wrote to say I got your old job and I was awarded two extra tickets to the gala, hope you can make it and hopefully i'll see you there

your best friend Soarin'

Spitfire was a still stunned by this, but she liked the gesture none the less, She turned to Rainbow and Scootaloo who were just heading out of the kitchen.

"Hey Dash look what Soarin' gave us" she said handing the two tickets over to Dash. The cyan mare inspected the golden paper and a smile spread itself across her face.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" Dash exclaimed. Spitfire smiled.

"Hey this means Scoots can come too" Dash added ruffling the filly's mane. Scootaloo smiled as she jumped up and down with joy as she buzzed her wings like a humming bird.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow, "but we only have two tickets" she asked concerned. Scootaloo's ears fell at the news, but Dash was quick to interrupt.

"Its okay Spit, Twilight gets the hook up from Celestia so I get a ticket every year" She explained. Scootaloo smile returned to her face again as she looked to her mother

"Can I go mum?" she asked politely. Spitfire smiled and embraced her filly.

"Of course you can go sweetheart" she said nuzzling Scootaloo's mane. She then looked over to the clock.

"But first you need to go to School" Spitfire finished. Scootaloo let out a groan but complied and got her backpack before

leaving with her mother to the edge of the house as they took off towards town.

Chapter 12: Adjusting to a Normal Life

Chapter 12 - An afternoon in the clouds

Thanks to Mikea491 for editing !

Scootaloo trotted out of the schoolhouse with her friends. Today had been a lot different than most, on the account that Diamond Tiara hadn't spoken a word to the pegasus or her friends for the entirety of the school day. She had passed a few glares in the playground, but nothing Scootaloo or her friends weren't used to.

Scootaloo stepped out into the open world and saw her mother standing in the crowed that were surprisingly oblivious to the fact that a former Wonderbolt captain was standing within a few meters of them. Scootaloo giggled to herself at this, she trotted up to the yellow mare and gave her a warm embrace.

Spitfire smiled "hello sweetheart, was school good?" she asked her foal.

Scootaloo nodded, "yeah it was good" she replied with a smile as she let go of her mother's neck.

Spitfire then turned to the small white unicorn looking around for her sister, she spoke up "hey um Sweetie Belle is it?" she asked. The white unicorn turned to see Scootaloo and Spitfire and trotted over.

The filly smiled, "thats me miss" she said politely.

Spitfire chuckled, "just Spitfires fine kid, Rarity asked if I could walk you home, she had a big order to make up" the yellow pegasus explained.

The white unicorn nodded finding the excuse to be good enough, "okay, I didn't know she had any big orders" the filly replied as she started walking with the other two to the gate

Spitfire smiled sheepishly, "yeah sorry about that kid, It was actually me who gave her the big order" Spitfire said as she trotted with the two fillies down the dirt road towards the town.

Sweetiebelle giggled, "I don't mind at all, I think my sister likes making lots of dresses at once anyway" she replied.

Spitfire felt a sigh of relief that she hadn't troubled the filly's day and a warm smile came to her face as she continued to trot.

Scootaloo was next to speak, "Mummy ?" she asked the yellow mare.

Spitfire  smiled and leaned down to nuzzle her daughter's cheek, "what's on your mind sweetheart?" she asked happily.

Scootaloo smiled sheepishly, "c-could we maybe go flying today ?" she asked hesitantly.

Spitfire continued to smile. She leaned down again and picked the orange filly up before putting her squarely on her back, she then turned around and gave her filly a quick peck on the cheek before saying, "of course we can sweetie" she said.

Scootaloo cheered before hugging the mare tightly, Spitfire smirked, "but first" she said interrupting her filly as she waited to see what the mare was going to say. Spitfire continued, "you're going to have to try on your dress for the gala" she finished.

Scootaloo groaned, "do I have to mum" she asked. Spitfire felt a wrench in her gut as her filly pleaded.

Spitfire sighed, "please Sweetie, for mummy?" she asked kindly turning to face the filly.

Scootaloo smiled and nodded as she hugged her mother. Spitfire smiled warmly as the three trotted through Ponyville. They soon came upon a towering purple building which had a wooden carousel carved into its features. Spitfire opened the door to reveal a shop full of many multicolored dress designs. Sitting on a chair in the middle of the line of clothes was none other than Rainbow Dash.

Spitfire, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle all held back giggles as they saw there cyan friend wearing a bright pink dress. Rainbow tried to hide her embarrassment as best she could. Suddenly another voice spoke up.

"It's simply gorgeous darling" Rarity said as she trotted in from behind one of the changing booths.

Dash kept going a deeper shade of crimson from embarrassment, "um yeah I don't think its really me Rares" the cyan pegasus replied sheepishly.

Spitfire couldn't contain the laughter anymore and fell over in her own hysterics. Rainbow frowned, but it only made her already reddened cheeks even worse.

Rarity put a hoof to her chin as she pondered. After a few moments of tense silence she spoke up, "I guess I could do give you something a bit less.. pink" the unicorn said as she walked back over to the racks of clothes.

Rainbow spoke up, "can’t I just wear my gala dress from last year?" She asked.

Rarity shook her head, "absolutely not Rainbow Dash that old garment is too out of fashion for you to be wearing it again, I simply must find you a new dress" the unicorn stated as she pulled out another dress and inspected it.

The white unicorn smiled, "Ah this dress is simply magnificent for a pony like you Rainbow, you simply must try it" she insisted as she pushed Dash back into the changing room without argument. When Rainbow was behind the booth Rarity turned to the three ponies at the front door.

"Hello everypony" Rarity said as the three trotted further into the shop.

Rarity smiled, "Well miss Spitfire I have finished little Scootaloo's dress, as for yours I'm afraid I am still working out the kinks" she explained.

Spitfire nodded, "It's okay Rarity we don't need them until the weekend, but its nice to see that you're doing it so quickly" She said with a smile.

Rarity waved a hoof dismissively, "It’s no trouble darling, any friend of Rainbow Dash is a friend of mine, besides the few exceptions" Rarity said rolling her eyes playfully.

The white unicorn then trotted over to a sewing table that resided in a corner of the boutique, she took the piece of clothing and showed it to the orange pegasus.

Scootaloo slowly trotted over to it. The dress was purple in colour, darker than her mane and was lined with small stars towards the back in sways of different designs. towards the front of the purple dress was a strap which had a winged lightning bolt symbol which would rest on the fillies chest.

Scootaloo smiled, "I love it!" she said, her eyes gleaming. Though she hated dresses she would make an exception for the gala.

Scootaloo took the dress and trotted over to another changing booth whilst Rarity went back over to the sewing machine and took out another dress.

Spitfire trotted over and looked down to see a dress which was a royal navy blue with lines on gold running through them, it was much like Spitfire's uniform. A smile tugged at her lips as she looked up and down the garment.

Rainbow Dash trotted out of the booth wearing a multicolored dress that looked like a direct copy of her mane, she was also wearing a Rainbow necklace.

Spitfire smiled, "looking good Dash" she said with a smirk.

Dash blushed slightly, "thanks Spit" she said smiling. Rarity got up and moved over to the dress and looked around it. After a few minutes of inspection she smiled

"I think this would be perfect for the gala, I will keep the dress here until the big day with the rest of the clothes" Rarity said.

Dash nodded in approval. At that moment Scootaloo returned wearing her dress. Spitfire smiled as she cantered over to the filly.

"So sweetheart, do you like it?" she asked hesitantly.

Scootaloo smiled and nodded "Its awesome" Scootaloo said as she looked over the purple dress.

Spitfire smiled and hugged her filly. "Well if you're happy then I'm happy" Spitfire said plainly as she released the embrace.

Rainbow turned round to the two pegasus's, her dress was now in the magical aura of the white unicorn.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow, "Hey Spit, wheres your dress?" she asked curiously

Before the yellow Pegasus could even open her mouth, Rarity spoke "well I should be another day on it, but since you don't need until the weekend I guess there's no worry, you can come back later on and try it" She said happily. Spitfire nodded and helped Scootaloo take the dress off so Rarity could store it for the big night.

With that the three pegasi left the shop after waving goodbye to Rarity and Sweetie Belle. Spitfire turned to Scootaloo, "So sweetie, do you still want to go flying?" she asked smiling.

Scootaloo nodded furiously as her wings buzzed, Spitfire giggled. The yellow pegasus leaned down so Scootaloo could get on her back before the three pegasi bolted into the sky above.

Scootaloo smiled as she looked at the world around her. She leaned over and saw the small town below her and then looked up to see the globe of fire that was Celestia's sun setting in the distance.

Spitfire turned her head to see her daughter, "so sweetie, do you want to do some more gliding?" she asked over the sound of rushing wind. Scootaloo nodded and Spitfire waited until her daughter let go of her neck, she then dived down to meet her. Dash flew down the other side of Scootaloo as she glided.

Spitfire turned to her daughter again, "Scootaloo, when you feel your wings lift up from the wind try and flap them" she instructed.

Scootaloo nodded and tried to find a point in the wind where she could flap her wings. Spitfire thought for a moment before she spoke up, "try closing your eyes Scootaloo" she said softly. Scootaloo tensed up as she felt the nerves of flying blind run through her mind.

Spitfire saw this and she held out a foreleg to hold Scootaloo's, she gave the filly a loving smile. Scootaloo felt the nerves suddenly leave her body from the older mares touch. She slowly let her eyelids fall, when she did she suddenly felt the wind underneath her wings as they flowed through her feathers as the tingles sent nerves to her brain, suddenly she felt the wind lift them and she pushed down on her wings. She then felt another pulse of air and she flapped her wings again until she found herself getting into a rhythm.

Suddenly Scootaloo felt a light squeeze in her foreleg as she opened her eyes to see Spitfire and Dash flying in front of her, big proud smiles adorned their faces. She looked down below and realized she wasn't falling, she was flying. It may have been at a very slow speed and she might have not gained any altitude, but she was still flying.

Scootaloo felt like squealing at her excitement, but decided to focus on her flying rhythm instead, that is until she started to feel her wings strain from the tiredness of pushing down on the wind. Spitfire saw this and gently flew back to catch the filly before her wings gave out.

Scootaloo let her wings fall to her sides when she felt her mother's embrace. The warm feeling seemed to lull the filly into a state of unconsciousness as she drifted off, slowly letting her eyelids fall as reality  faded.

Spitfire suddenly noticed her filly had fallen asleep and so made the mental note in her head to congratulate her in the morning. She turned to Dash who smiled.

Not saying a word as to not wake the filly the two mares slowly floated to Rainbow's house as the sun faded from the horizon of Equestria.

Perched on the top of a lone cloud sat a pink and blue pegasus who had just happened to be passing by when she reconised the yellow mare caring the foal. She had a huge smile adorning her face

"Well done kid, I'm proud of you." With that the mare shot back off into the air. She would be meeting her again very soon

Chapter 13: A Cloud Home Dinner Party

Chapter 13 - Adjusting to a Normal Life

Scootaloo's eyes slowly opened to the world around her. She found herself wrapped in the usual comforting embrace of fabric and pillows, she also noticed that she had managed to turn away from the light that was advancing through the shut curtains on her bedroom window.

As she slowly regained her conscience she started to remember the previous day, however one thought came into her mind and her eyes widened, 'did I actually fly?' she thought to herself.

Scootaloo decided to ask that question to her mother and set to the task of finding her hooves. She soon had all four planted on the cloud surface of her bedroom and the filly happily trotted out of the room silently closing the door behind her. It was then Scootaloo heard noises from downstairs, it sounded like her mother and sister.

Scootaloo raced downstairs to see the yellow and cyan pegasus's eating breakfast on the kitchen table, their conversation had stopped when they heard Scootaloo come down the stairs of the cloud home and both their faces shared equally large smiles.

Spitfire got up and went over and hugged her filly, "Well done on your first flight sweetie, mummy's very proud of you" she said with a big smile.

Scootaloo gasped, "you mean it wasn't a dream?" she asked slightly shocked.

Dash smirked, "yep, when those wings of yours grow you'll be flying like a Wonderbolt!" she exclaimed as she trotted up and joined in with the hug.

Scootaloo grinned at the thought, "does that mean I can have some more waffles ?" she asked. Spitfire and Dash started laughing, Scootaloo started to giggle before joining with the bigger laughter.

After the laughter died down Spitfire shook her head playfully and ruffled her filly's before saying, "maybe after dinner sweetheart" she said before letting the orange filly back down onto the cloud layer and trotting back into the kitchen.

Dash smiled at the orange pegasus, "so are you ready for school squirt?" she asked as she headed over to the cloud stairs.

Scootaloo nodded, "yeah, I don't think I had any homework" she replied as she put a hoof to her chin, after a few more minutes she shook her head again confirming her thoughts. Dash smiled and trotted up the cloud steps.

Suddenly Scootaloo felt a hoof on her back, she turned around to see her mother. Spitfire smiled, "breakfasts's on the table sweetie" she said happily before trotting up to her room.

Scootaloo trotted into the kitchen to see a bowl of oatmeal sitting on the table, she smiled and sat up to eat. When she started to gulp down the first few mouthfuls she started to think how fast her life had changed since Spitfire had adopted her.   Scootaloo could only have dreamed a few months back that she would be having a life like the one she was living, and she felt even more lucky that she was being able to share it with her two biggest idols. Scootaloo then started to think about the first time she had met the yellow pegasus face to face on her birthday and how Rainbow Dash had been nice enough to bring her along. She chuckled when she remembered what happened with those drinks that Spitfire and her had swapped. It was then the filly released she had completed her breakfast. she sighed happily as she took the bowl and put it away in the sink before trotting up to her room to get sorted.

A little while later Spitfire opened the door to her daughters bedroom to see her just packing the rest of her books into her back pack.

Spitfire smiled, "hey sweetie you ready for school...again" she said smirking.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "yeah I think I'm ready" she said with a smile. Spitfire trotted over and inspected her foal to make sure she was presentable.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "hey mum, you didn't spike your mane up" the filly said noticing her mothers more natural style.

Spitfire nodded running a hoof through her newly styled mane, "yeah I let it down today, do you think its okay?" she asked hesitantly. Spitfire was slightly relieved when the filly nodded her head and smiled

"yeah I like it, makes you look more... motherly I guess" Scootaloo said smiling sheepishly.

Spitfire giggled as she ruffled her dauther's mane, "So is school still okay ?" she asked politely. Scootaloo nodded happily in response

Spitfire raised an eyebrow, "how's Diamond Tiara?" she asked sitting down on her daughters bed as Scootaloo climbed up to sit beside her mother.

Scootaloo again smiled happily, "Its okay I guess, she doesn't give me any troubles now so I think me and my friends are finally of the hook" she replied.

Spitfire nodded and hugged her filly. No words were spoken, but Scootaloo returned the favor as the pair sat there for a few moments together smiling happily as the sun radiated of the faces from Scootaloo's open window. Suddenly the warm silence was shattered by the sound of a third voice

"Hey come on you two, the clouds aren't gonna bust themselves" Rainbow whined from the front of the cloud home.

Spitfire and Scootaloo giggled at Dash's impatiences and soon left to go downstairs to join her.

           -  an hour later -

Spitfire was now trotting through the market side of town, she had dropped Scootaloo off at the schoolhouse and left Dash to manage the weather team. She was now trotting through the small town looking at all the stalls that were stacked up with endless amounts of fruit and vegetables.

Spitfire then recognized a certain orange mare who was managing the stall to her far right. She raised an eyebrow as she pondered who the mare could be. Spitfire couldn't seem to jog her memory for anything on the country pony, but she did manage to remember that she needed some apples for tonight's dinner.

Spitfire trotted over to the stall. The orange mare smiled at Spitfire as she came over, "well howdy there partner, you lookin for some apples?" she said smiling at the mare.

Spitfire nodded, "yeah I just need a few for tonight" she replied. The orange mare nodded and started taking some apples of the stall. Spitfire felt the question burn a whole in her head and finally gave in

"um, I hate to ask this but have I seen you somewhere before ?" she asked leaning closer to the mare.

The orange mare also leaned in and inspected the mare in front of her before shaking her head, "sorry cant say I have miss" she said continuing with the order.

Still Spitfire persisted with the matter, "Well I know this sounds weird but imagine me with a spiked mane and a blue and yellow jump suit" she asked.

The orange mare stopped her actions and again pondered slowly scrunching her snout as she tried to envision the idea, suddenly her eyes widened, she looked both ways before leaning forward and whispering, "is it you Spitfire?" she asked not wanting to give away the game to the rest of the town.

Spitfire grinned and nodded, it was then the orange mare smiled, "well of course I know ya, I was at the best young flyers competition last year in Cloudsdale" she said reaching out her hoof and continuing, "the names Applejack, pleased to meet ya" she said as Spitfire gladly shook the farm ponies hoof.

Spitfire gasped, "now I know who you are, you're a friend of Rainbow Dash right?" she asked curiously.

Applejack nodded, "sure am sugarcube, pleasure to finally meet ya, so may I ask why it is that your here ?" she said raising an eyebrow.

Spitfire smiled, "I um adopted a foal" she said.

Applejack's eyes widened, "wow sugarcube, wasn't expectin that one" she said smiling as she finished putting the apples on the counter and pushing them towards the yellow mare

"that'll be 10 bits Mrs Spitfire" Applejack said kindly. Spitfire smiled and handed the mare ten gold coins as she started putting the apples into her saddlebags.

"Well it was nice meeting you again Applejack, will i be seeing you at the gala this weekend?" Spitfire said as she put the last few apples in her bag.

Applejack smiled, "darn tootin, all though I might think twice about sellin my apples at that place again" she said with a wink. Spitfire smiled and waved goodbye to the farm pony as she walked the rest of the way back to the cloud home.

'I think I could get used to this' Spitfire thought to herself sighing happily as she walked along the dirt road.

Since Spitfire had moved to Ponyville she never once had to think about anything else other than herself and her daughters lives, she smiled as she realized that she didn't have to worry about planning shows or practicing flight routines or even having to shout at people back in the academy.

For the first time in years Spitfire felt something she would never want to give up. 'Freedom'

    -meanwhile in a dark and unsuspecting room-

A stallion was furiously working on a new project in his study, he wouldn't rest until it was complete and he even felt his own mind going slightly insane from the endless work.

Suddenly a knock came at the door and with a flash the stallion hid the paper in his desk draw as a mare walked in with a cardboard package.

"Here is your order from ponyzon Mr Broad" the mare said walking back out of the room.

The stallion said nothing to the mare as she left the room. He then looked back to his desk and took the piece of paper back out from under it as he continued to write, "I will make sure that you'll be begging for mercy when I'm finished with you" he said quietly as he started laughing evilly as he drew a red circle around a picture of an orange filly from cloudsdale orphanage.

Chapter 14: Meeting Your True Idol

Chapter 14 - A Cloud Home Dinner Party (part 1)

Thanks to Mikea491 for editing !

Spitfire opened the door into the empty cloud home that was usually occupied by a cyan mare, she was slightly confused by this, but she shrugged it off knowing she was probably taking a nap outside. Making her way into the kitchen, she set the apples and a few other items on the kitchen worktop before heading into the living room.

Spitfire sighed lazily as she looked around for something to do. She looked over to the clock and saw that it was another hour before she had to pick up Scootaloo. She was about to turn towards the cloud steps when a pegasus smashed into the cloud home and hit the wall close to the kitchen entrance.

Spitfire looked over to the groaning pegasus. It was Rainbow Dash.

Spitfire trotted over to the cyan mare with a concerned look on her face, "are you okay there Dash?" she asked curiously.

Dash groaned but managed a nod. Spitfire held out a foreleg and helped the fallen pony from the ground.

"So, you mind telling me what just happened?" Spitfire asked slightly confused.

Rainbow smirked as she remembered her previous memories, "Heh, I was trying that double speed helix move that you pulled off at your last show....guess it didn't work out so well" she said with a chuckle

Spitfire rolled her eyes playfully, "well do you wanna help me get dinner started, theres not much else to do" the mare said as she started trotting over to the kitchen.

Rainbow shook her head, "sorry Spit but I would be as much help as Twilight would be at holding a normal conversation" Rainbow said with a giggle.

Spitfire stopped when she heard the name. She knew that pony but had not had a chance to meet her. Spitfire turned to face Dash and said, "do you think we should invite your friends over for dinner, I don't think I've met them all" she asked the cyan mare.

Dash put a hoof to her neck as she thought about the idea, a smile grew on her face, "yeah, Its a cool idea, I'll see if anyone can make it" she said. With that Rainbow Dash ran for the open window and flew off into the sky again.

Spitfire shook her head playfully at the mares antics. She made her way into the kitchen and started preparing dinner.

As Spitfire cut the apples and various other items she couldn't seem to push the thought of the cyan mare out of her mind. She and Dash had become really good friends since they had met for the first time after the blue mare had won the best young flyers competition. Spitfire saw a younger self in the rainbow maned pegasus, even though Rainbow Dash was only four years younger than Spitfire herself.

Spitfire put the items of ingredients in a pot as she thought more about the rainbow mare. She thought about how Dash had always seemed to eye her in a way she had only seen few ponies do. Spitfire stopped all her actions when she thought about this. She then started to shake her head giggling at the thought of Rainbow Dash thinking about her in that way. As she put the pot of food in the stove she leaned on the kitchen top and found herself just looking at the window in front of her. She didn't understand it but she felt lonely without Dash, even though Soarin' had always been a great friend to her, there was something about Rainbow that just made Spitfire want to smile.

Spitfire stopped all thoughts when she heard the door open and the sound of conversation wafted through the walls of the home. Spitfire trotted out of the kitchen to see six mares, five of which she had already met.

Five mares looked over towards Spitfire and smiled, the sixth mare which happened to be none other than Pinkie Pie gasped and smashed into the yellow pegasus tackling her to the ground.

"Hey Spitfire I haven't seen you in weeks and it so great to see you again, I'm so happy!" she exclaimed holding Spitfire tight until her eyeballs nearly came out of their sockets.

Either it was a gift from Celestia or just the fact that Spitfire had a very clean soul that Pinkie Pie let go of the embrace just as Spitfire was about to slip into unconsciousness.

Spitfire saw the blackness from the corners of her eyes slowly ebb away as she stood back up and held a hoof to the sore spot on her chest, she finally found the words to speak, "Its um, nice to see you too Pinkie Pie" she said almost sarcastically.

It was then that Spitfire noticed the clock and her eyes constricted, "oh no I'm going to be late to pick up Scoots" Spitfire said as the panic shocked through her body.

Spitfire quickly said her goodbyes to the mares telling them that she would be back soon before diving off the edge of the house to pick up her daughter.

                                                                      -  A  few moments later -

Spitfire soared through the skies of Ponyville eager to reach the destination in time. she looked over to the sun that was slowly descending across the sky and pumped her wings as fast as they would allow as she plowed through the air.

Spitfire felt like it took forever before she reached the red school building. She started to feel a mix of nerves and fear take hold as she saw the empty playground which at the time she usually arrived was normally bustling with parents. She gulped hard when she saw her little orange daughter sitting by the steps of the schoolhouse with a maroon mare waiting patiently behind her.

Spitfire hit the ground hard as she entered the schools deserted playground. She galloped over to Scootaloo who smiled when she saw her mother.

Spitfire embraced the filly tightly as she said, "mummy's sorry she's late sweetie, I lost track of time" she explained as the fear of her filly being angry with her still powered through her mind. She was relieved when Scootaloo nuzzled her neck

Scootaloo looked up at her mother with a grin, "It's okay mummy, I'm just happy you're here" she said hugging back just as tightly.

Spitfire smiled at her filly, she looked up to see the maroon mare with a warm smile spread across her lips, "so you must be Scootaloo's mother, my names Mrs Cheeriliee I'm Scootaloo's teacher, and you are?" she asked leaning closer to the pair.

Spitfire grinned, "I'm Spitfire its nice to finally meet you Mrs Cheeriliee" she replied shaking the mares now outstretched hoof as the mare was dumbfounded in shock.

Spitfire giggled at the mares expression, but Cheeriliee quickly regained her composure and stood more formally.

Cheeriliee smiled, "well you were only late by five minutes, so I'll let you off the hook this time" she said as the pair laughed playfully.

After a short while of conversation Cheeriliee waved goodbye to Spitfire and Scootaloo as they flew back to their house in the sky. As the pair flew through the air Spitfire looked over to Scootaloo who seemed if anything a bit worried.

Spitfire didn't like it when Scootaloo was anything but happy, she decided to take the more direct route. She flipped herself over so Scootaloo was lying on her tummy so she could see her face to face as she slowed her pace down to talk to her filly.

Spitfire smiled gently, "are you okay sweetie ?" she asked hesitantly.

Scootaloo sighed, "yeah I'm okay mum" she said in a slightly depressed tone.

Spitfire lifted a hoof and stroked the filly's purple mane, "please sweetie tell mummy what's bothering you" she asked more pleadingly.

Scootaloo finally gave in to her mothers pleads, "I-I thought you were never going to come" she said a bit quietly.

Spitfire quickly checked behind her to make sure they weren't going to hit anything before speaking softly to her daughter, "I'm sorry for scaring you sweetheart, but I want you to always know that I would never abandon you, do you understand that?" she asked.

Scootaloo smiled as she felt the kind words melt in, she found herself now fully trusting the mare in front of her, she could feel the tears at the corners of her eyes but she blinked them away and just opted to hug her mother.

Spitfire smiled and flipped back around again as she sped back up and continued her flight feeling more happy than she was before. But then her heart melted at the four words that came through her ears as she flew.

"I love you mummy" Scootaloo said in a hushed whisper.

Spitfire smiled as she leaned back and kissed her daughter on the forehead before saying, "mummy loves you too" she said with a wink as the two came into sight of the cloud home.

Spitfire shut the door to the cloud home and left Scootaloo to trot up the stairs to her room. Suddenly she heard muffled sounds coming from the kitchen.

Spitfire trotted over to the closed door and opened it slowly to reveal six ponies who were positively blackened from the stove which was pouring a thick black smoke from its entrance. all eyes went on Spitfire as no words were spoken.

Spitfire sighed as she felt the need to facehoof.

'this is going be a great dinner party' she thought to herself.

Chapter 15: The Grand Galloping Gala

Chapter 15 - A Cloud Home Dinner Party (part 2)

Spitfire blinked a few times as she took in the scene around her. She sighed when she had realized what had happened.

Rainbow Dash looked around awkwardly for a few moments before hesitantly moving towards the yellow mare and resting a hoof on her shoulder as she spoke, "hey Spit, its not all that bad I mean, it could of been worse right?" she said as the other five ponies behind her looked cautiously between one another.

Spitfire smiled at Dash and nodded, "Yeah I'm okay its just, ain't gonna be much of a dinner without the food" she said chuckling a little at the end.

Every other pony started laughing and soon set to cleaning up the stained kitchen. Spitfire was surprised at just how many black stains had managed to find there way around the kitchen as she and the other six ponies attempted to clean up the blackned room.

Once the black stained kitchen was finally back to its original fluffy white, the seven worn out ponies made there way into the living area of the house. Spitfire and Dash slumped down on the couch whilst most of the other ponies opted for the floor since it was as comfortable as the furniture.

Spitfire was the first to speak, "So um, what do you guys want to do for dinner ?" she asked as she looked at the other ponies expressions.

Dash shrugged, "I don't know" she said truthfully.

Pinkie Pie then shot of like a bullet as she spoke, "how about we go to sugarcube corner !" she said excitedly.

At that point another voice made itself known, "oh yes, please can we go mum!" Scootaloo asked just as excited as Pinkie Pie as she stood on the steps of the cloud home.

Spitfire smiled, "well....I guess another day at that place wont hurt" Spitfire said cautiously.

The other mares and filly in the room nodded their heads in approval and after a few more moments of rest and conversation they started to make their way to sugarcube corner with Dash, Spitfire, Scootaloo and Fluttershy taking the air whilst the others took their towns signature hot air balloon.

It didn't take them long to arrive at the sweet store in the center of town. Pinkie Pie was the first to enter the establishment and raced towards the kitchen to make something edible. Meanwhile the other seven seven ponies found an exceptable table to accomodate all of them.

Scootaloo sat down next to her mother as the other ponies started their own conversations with one another. Spitfire didn't want to leave her daughter out and so leaned down so she and Scootaloo could have a conversation of their own.

Spitfire smiled warmly as she spoke, "So how was school sweetheart?" she asked polietly.

Scootaloo pondered for a moment as she thought about her recent day, after a few silent moments she spoke, "It was alright as far as school goes I guess" she said giggling.

Spitfire smiled, "and are you looking forward to the gala?" she asked curiously.

Scootaloo nodded, "yeah, I cant wait!" she said with a beaming smile. Spitfire giggled and ruffled the filly's mane.

Just then Pinkie Pie rushed out of the kitchen with a tray of freshly baked goodies. she sat the tray of pastries and delectables down on the center of the table before saying "everypony dig in!" and with that Pinkie launched herself at the choclates whilst every pony else grabbed what they could.

As the eight ponies dug into there treats around the table Spitfire caught Dash's eyes, she could tell that Dash had been wanting to speak to her.

Spitfire grinned and spoke up, "what seems to be the problem Dash?" she asked.

Dash shrugged, "nothin much, just wanted to see what you've been doing lately" she replied leaning slightly across the table like a pony would do during a date.

Spitfire felt her cheeks burning slightly but kept her cool, "well Dash I've been living in your house for a little while now so I think you already know the answer to that" she said with a giggle.

Dash blushed slightly from embarrassment, atleast thats what Spitfire thought anyway.

As Spitfire turned back to talk to Scootalooo, Dash couldn't help but mentally kick herself for her poor choice of conversation. She hadn't liked embarrassing herself before, especially in front of her idol.

It was then that Dash started to think more about the yellow mare. She had been a good pony to hang about with, and nearly as awesome as her in terms of flight. Dash then started to ponder on how much her home had come alive since Spitfire had moved in, how the kitchen and other places that where never normally used were now bussling with life. Dash liked that feeling of company, it made her feel as if she was back at home as a filly with her parents and she liked Spitfire for making that possible. 'she liked Spitfire', Dash started to ponder further into the former Wonderbolt, she wondered if Spitfire felt the same way. Rainbow smirked and silently shook her head, she knew that would only ever be a fantasy if that were to happen.

Suddenly Rainbow brought herself back to reality to see most of the ponies round the table with full stomochs and tired looks spread across their faces.

Dash grinned, "well I guess I'm gonna hit the hay" she annouced slowly moving up from her chair as all the other ponies followed suit, except Pinkie Pie who was now lying on the table asleep. Twilight lit her horn and took the pink mess to her bedroom in the sweet store.

Soon the rest of the ponies were outside saying their goodbyes. Spitfire was happy that she had been able to finally meet everyone in Dash's close circle of friends.

Spitfire trotted over to Fluttershy, "well it was nice seeing you again Fluttershy" she said kindly as she held out a forehoof.

Spitfire felt a wash of relife when Fluttershy didn't shy away and opted to shake her outstretched hoof whilst saying, "It was um nice to meet you too miss um Spitfire" she said shyly.

Spitfire waved goodbye to the shy pegasus and then trotted over to Twilight who had just come out of the sweet store, she smiled, "Hey Twilight it was fun meeting you" she said repeating her hoof motion.

Twilight smiled at the gesture and gladly shook her hoof, "It was fun meeting you too Spitfire" she said wholeheartedly.

Spitfire nodded happily and watched the lavender mare trot off in the direction of her home. It was then that she felt something tap her shoulder and she turned around to see Dash with Scootaloo sitting on her back snoring softly.

Dash smiled, "I'll carry the package for tonight" she said with a wink, Spitfire smiled back as the two took off into the air.

Spitfire and Dash soon reached the cloud manner in the sky. Dash opened the door and led the sleeping filly up to her room, Spitfire followed and soon the pair had the sleeping orange pegasus in her room under the warm covers of the cloud bed.

Spitfire leaned down and kissed her lightly on the forehead as she said "Goodnight sweetheart, mummy loves you"

After she had said those words a small smile crept up on the filly's face. Spitfire smiled as she tucked the filly in before leaving the room in silence as the filly slept peacfully.

After Spitfire had finished preening her wings, she got under the warm covers of her bed and sighed warmly as she let the fabric lull her to sleep, she smiled softly to herself as she closed her eyes thinking about her daughter, her cyan friend and the new life that she was happy to be living.

Chapter 16: Epilogue

Chapter 16 - Meeting Your True Idol

The long await had finally arrived. It was the night of the Grand Galloping Gala and everypony was excited to be going even after last years event which ended in a riot and one very ruined castle.

Spitfire was getting Scootaloo ready for the night whilst Dash checked herself over in the mirror, Suddenly to their surprise there was a knock at the door.

Spitfire left Scootaloo and got up off the floor to open the door. When she did her eyes widened and her throat became dry as she tried to find the words that didn't seem to come out.

"F-Firefly?" Spitfire said in an astonished tone. The pink and blue mare at the door smiled

"Hey Spit, its uh been awhile hasn't it" she said with her trademark smirk. Spitfire smiled and embraced her idol. Firefly was only too happy to return the favour.

"I thought I'd never see you again, why are you here ?" she whispered as she held the old friend close.

Firefly smiled "well I got a new job" she explained.

Spitfire raised an eyebrow, "what could be a better job than the manehatten's air force commander?" she asked chuckling slightly.

Firefly laughed in return and shook her head playfully,"Its not that Spit, its just I'm getting a bit bored of it" she said jokingly. She had actually left because she felt to old for the job, but she wasn't going to tell anypony about that.

Spitfire giggled as she relaesed the embrace to face her idol, "So what job is it?" she asked curiously.

Firefly grinned, "I'm cloudsdales new weather manager!" she said happily.

Spitfire smiled, just then Scootaloo and Dash walked up behind her.

Dash was just as surprised as Spitfire when she saw the pony at the doorway, "Spit, is this who I think it is?" she asked.

Spitfire smirked, "yeah, guys this is Firefly, she's.... well my idol" she said happily.

Rainbow's mouth dropped slightly, "You mean the greatest Wonderbolt Captian in History!" she asked in shock, trying hard to keep herslef from squealing like a school filly.

Firefly giggled, "Yeah, thats me, but I think I still left with a great successor to take my place" she said getting Spitfire in a headlock and ruffling her mane.

Spitfire smiled, "It was a shame I never got to see you at the Wonderbolts though" she said with a slight sadness in her tone.

Firefly stopped grinning and nodded her head solomly. Just then Scootaloo spoke up, "So wait is this the pony you talked about when you said you where an orphan?" she asked.

Scootaloo didn't realise what she had just said and quickly moved a forehoof to her mouth, but it was too late. Spitfire lowered her head as Firefly's jaw dropped.

Firefly looked over to the yellow mare who was once the energetic filly that she used to know, "S-Spitfire, you were an o-orphan" she asked astonished. Spitfire nodded her head slowly.

Dash was still in shock from the entire thing but managed to find a few words, "You never told her did you" she said in a quiet tone. Again Spitfire replied with a small nod.

Firefly tried to find the words to speak, "Kid, this is.... why didn't you tell me?" she asked curiously.

Spitfire sighed heavily as she let the truth finally come out, "I-I never had anyone who liked me when I was little, I didn't even know who my own parents were. At my orphanage, I was bullied and thats when I became homeless. You were the first pony who actually liked me, you actually cared for me and I didn't want to tell you because...beacuse" she couldn't finish the rest as she closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears inside.

Spitfire didn't expect for Firefly to embrace her and muffled a squeak as she was pulled into the hug. Firefly nodded in understanding, "becuase you were afraid that I would abandon you didn't you" she whispered finishing Spitfire's story. The yellow pegasus wiped a few lone tears from her cheeks as she nodded in approval.

Firefly sighed as she looked over to the other two pegasi in the room, "Could you give me and Spit here a moment please?" she asked kindly. Dash nodded and picked up Scootaloo before heading out of the room. Firefly closed the front door and brought Spitfire over to the couch in the living area.

Firefly looked over at Spitfire, "Spit, I'm gonna tell you something okay, do you remeber on the last day you and me were together and you brought me a peach from the orchard just down the road" She asked.

Spitfire looked at Firefly as she remembered the day clearly in her head

                                                           -Flashback-

The little yellow filly galloped up a small grassy slope to an old oak tree that looked over a small lake. She had been brought there that day by Firefly and she wasn't sure why, but took the opertunity to spend time with her idol.

Sitting at the base of the tree was the pink and blue mare. she had her Wonderbolts uniform on but her head piece was left to the side of her hind leg revealing her face.

Spitfire smiled as she trotted up to the mare. Firefly turned to the small filly and smiled, "Hey kid, come and have a seat" she said patting a hoof on the ground next to her.

Spitfire trotted up to her assigned spot next to her idol and sat down as she passed a peach into Firefly's lap. The mare smiled, "Thanks Spit" she said ruffling the filly's mane as she giggled.

A few moments of silence passed between the two as they listened to the sound of nature whilst they ate there fruity snacks. Firefly sighed and finally felt the need to speak up, "Kid" she said making Spitfire quickly turn to face her. The yellow filly stared at her idol intently as she waited for the words to come.

Firefly continued, "Kid, I-I'm moving away" she said plainly but with sadness in her tone.

At that moment Spitfire's heart snapped, tears just seemed to start leaking out as Firefly continued to explian, "I um, I'll be moving away for a little while okay, and um I-I'm not sure when I'll be back" she said.

Spitfire just exploaded into a mass of tears as she cried, her insides were screaming at her, forcing her to tell the truth, but somehow she managed to keep her voice at bay and just simply cried.

Firefly leaned over and embraced the filly as she balled into her chest, matting her fur, "shhh hey, its okay Spit" she cooed trying to get the filly to stop crying.

Firefly smiled warmly, "Its okay Spit, I'm sure your mum or dad will teach you the rest of your basic flying lessons" she said as Spitfire continued to cry.

Spitfire's insides were on fire, her inner self was forcing her to say something, anything. Still she managed to keep at bay, but it only made more tears as she continued to ball.

Firefly sighed, "Kid, I want you to look at me" she said plainly  as she set the filly on the ground.

Spitfire looked up at Firefly through her waterlogged eyes. Firefly wiped away some tears from the filly's eyes before she spoke, "Spit, I will never abandon you okay, If you ever need anything you tell me, even if its something stupid like I cant reach the top droor in my kitchen" she said as they started giggling.

Spitfire nodded, "okay Firefly" she said as a ghost of a smile tugged at her lips. Firefly smiled back and hugged the filly tight as silence fell over the hill top once again.

                                                                       -End of Flashback-

Spitfire nodded, "yeah I remeber it" she said as the last few images left her mind.

Firefly nodded, "Me too Spit, I remember it clear as day and everything I said to you on that day" she said as a lone tear made its way down her cheek.

Firefly breathed in a lung full of air before continuing, "and now that I know the truth..... I feel like the worst pony in history" she finished meeting Spitfire's eyes.

Spitfire was quick to respond, "hey Firefly its not your fault, I never told anyone until a month ago Its my fault for not telling you" she said plainly as she pulled the older mare into a warm embrace.

Firefly sighed, "I'm sorry Spitfire, I should have been there for you when you needed me, I'm going to make this up to you somehow, I promise" she said truthfully as she metally kicked herself for all the times she should have been with the yellow pegasus throughout her life.

Firefly wrapped her wings around the yellow pegasus as she sighed into her shoulder. Spitfire smiled, "well I'm glad you found out, even if it was in a way I didn't expect" she said. the two mares let out a chuckle.

Firefly nodded, "yeah, but promise me you wont lie to me anymore though" she said meeting eyes with the mare again.

Spitfire nodded, "I swear" she said truthfully. The pair shared another embrace until they heard a voice.

"Mum, Dash says its time to go" Scootaloo said as she looked up towards her mother. Spitfire smiled and leaned down to pick up the filly as she nuzzled her gently

"Okay then, are you ready sweetie?" she asked. Scootaloo nodded and Spitfire let her down before she turned to Firefly

"Are you coming to the gala aswell?" she asked her idol curiously.

Firefly smiled and nodded, "yeah, I'm ment to meet the mayor of cloudsdale there tonight actually about my new job" she says rolling her eyes.

Spitfire got up with Firefly as they made there way to the door. Firefly spoke up, "So um is she your daughter?" she asked refering to the little orange filly.

Spitfire giggled, "its a long story, mind if I tell you on the way?" she asked.

Firefly smiled, "Sure" she said, and with that the four pegasi left as they headed towards Canterlot for the biggest night of their lives.

                                                               -Meanwhile at the castle-

A stallion trotted up and down the hallway as he patiently waited for the gala to start. He quickly glanced a check at his bag of 'things' when the guard wasn't looking, he smiled as he thought 'I hope you enjoy this night Scootaloo, for it will be the last you ever see of it" he said before chuckling darkly to himself.