Life's Lessons

Chapters

It starts with Action
Dream a little Dream
A Morning With Rainbow
Froo-Froo and Flight Lessons
The Morning and the Evening
Sealing the Deal
The Talk
The Inspection
Ending

It starts with Action

A lone and frail leaf detached itself from a tree and made its way down to earth in the burnt autumn sky. Many others did the same as the cold breeze blew them over the hill’s edge, down onto a small dirt road that was completely lifeless at this time of evening. The quiet sound of the sunset breeze also worked its way across the small dirt road on the outskirts of a small earth pony village, far out in the land of Equestria.

Within this quiet part of the village, the soft sounds of hoofsteps made themselves known. The hooves belonging to a small orange filly who was quietly making her way over the fallen leaves, trotting to her final destination. To any normal pony it would seem as though the filly was just enjoying a stroll around town, but in her mind she was contemplating her final actions. Whether she wanted to or not, she couldn't back out now, this was going to be her final stand… she just wished somepony cared.

It was all the filly had ever wanted in her life, she found it a mockery that most ponies took it for granted. She'd always longed for that sense of care...that sense of security... that sense of love, that's all the filly wanted; yet it was something that was always out of her reach. The little filly slowed down her trotting, she stopped and turned to the dirt road behind her. She sighed heavily when she couldn’t see anypony coming after her... she wished they were. Lifting her eyes slightly she spotted the distant town through the low clouds; a lone tear made its way down the fillies cheek before she turned back to the road and started trotting again, knowing it would all be over soon.

...Meanwhile

Rainbow Dash was flying across the small earth pony town known as Ponyville as she finished off her evening weather duties, leaving Flitter and Cloudchaser to finish off the rest of the cloud moving around town. She was now heading off to meet with her friends at Twilight’s library for their weekly get together. The cyan mare dashed through the town merely dodging market stalls and various buildings, not taking long for the tomboyish mare to reach the famous Golden Oaks Library near to the center of town.

Landing squarely on the front step of the large oak tree house, the mare put on her trademark smirk before knocking on the door a few times and waiting for a response. The library door was suddenly surrounded in a purple aura, opening to reveal a lavender mare with purple and magenta mane. She smiled warmly at her friend. “Hello Rainbow Dash, come on in.” she said happily, as she let the rainbow maned pony into the library.

Dash walked in and saw the rest of her friends sitting in various places around the main living area of the tree house. She smiled, turning back to the unicorn. “Thanks Twi, I thought Spike would be opening the door?” she asked quizzically, before looking back and making her way over to the wooden couch to sit next to her friends.

Twilight nodded. “Yeah, he’s out helping Sweetie Belle and Applebloom with something,” she replied, coming over to the five other ponies in the living room of the library.

Dash threw a questionable look towards Twilight, “Why is Spike helping them?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The lavender mare was quick to respond. “Well they came over a few minutes ago to ask if we’d seen Scootaloo. When we said we hadn’t, they told us that they needed help on some crusade,” Twilight explained with a grin as she sat down next to Pinkie Pie on the floor; who was currently occupied with the cake tray that had been placed on the small wooden coffee table.

Dash was confused by the mare’s words. “You mean Scootaloo’s missing?!” she asked with a slightly worried expression.

The purple mare shook her head quickly; trying to calm her loyal friend down. “Not that I know of, she’s probably been ill or something.” she answered, hoping her rationalism could tame the cyan mare.

To Twilight's relief Rainbow nodded understandably. “Yeah she probably is… just hope she’s okay though.” Rainbow said trailing off the last few words. She felt her gut swell, almost screaming at her to go and find the orange filly and make sure everything was okay. However, her mind kept her straight as she returned to her original posture and continued her conversation with the group.

...On the outskirts of Ponyville

The little orange filly continued on her way down the path until she came up to a red building, which was surrounded by foliage and had a golden bell at the top. The word Schoolhouse was engraved above the doorway. The orange filly trotted next to the side of the building and ran a hoof along the slightly worn wood. It didn’t take long before the filly arrived at her final destination - the School playground. The filly sighed and trotted over to the bench, where she would sit with her friends during school lunch times, the place where many happy memories were made. The orange filly took the time to sit on the bench and contemplate her thoughts and feelings. Looking up to the fading sky as it made way for night. She had a feeling that this day would come and a part of her asked why she didn’t get it over with, but one last glimmer of hope stopped her from completing her final mission, forcing her to wait in hope that maybe somepony would care - she sighed again and sat there waiting for the inevitable…

...Back in Ponyville

Laughter could be heard from inside the Golden Oaks Library as six ponies conversed over drinks and food, Rainbow Dash had long since forgotten about her previous worries, although she still had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind about her number one fan.

A sudden knock startling the mares in the room, making them turn towards the red oak door. Twilight used her magic to opened the door which revealed Spike accompanied by two fillies; one with a white coat and the other with a yellow coat. They all looked completely worn out and were breathing heavily, this brought concern to the six mares in the room.

Applejack was first to speak. “Now why ya’ll are runnin’ round like a bunch of headless chickens?” she asked quizzically.

Gasping for breath Spike held up a hand, begging for a moment. Taking a couple more gasps of air he spoke, “We found...this...in the treehouse...it's for you Rainbow…. Dash.” the dragon explained before running out of air again as he returned to his heavy breathing and held out the letter. Twilight helped her assistant by levitating the letter from Spike to Rainbow, who eagerly took the letter which was indeed made out to her. With great speed the cyan mare ripped the top part of the letter open revealing its contents; she took out the letter and read the crudely drawn words on the parchment.

Dear Rainbow,

My life has been nothing but hollow and dark since I was born, I never got the things that most normal ponies take for granted. I wish I had normal wings and a normal life and a normal home, but I don't have any of that. If anything all I have is my friends, but they don't know the truth. Why you may ask? Because they wouldn’t care if I told them, just like any pony who wouldn’t care... no pony cares about me. I’m writing this because this is going to be my last words, I’ve had enough of this horrible world which has no love and no care for a pony with no purpose in life. I know I’ll probably never find my cutie mark because of these stupid wings and I know I’m never going to come home after being bullied by Diamond Tiara and get at least some sort of comfort, but before I go I wanted to give you this letter to tell you that you are the only pony who made me feel wanted, you gave me hope and inspiration and someone who I felt I could talk to, but you never had time for me and every day, I feel more like an annoyance to you rather than a friend. But with you I hold my best memories and that's why I wanted you to know the truth.

I’m an orphan, I’ve been one ever since I was born. I lived in Trottingham’s home for girls, but I was heavily bullied because of my wings. So I ran, hoping I could find someplace nice, someplace I could find that special pony who would make this all go away. My legs finally stopped one night and then I woke up just outside Ponyville. I enrolled myself into school and that's how I got here, not that you probably care at all. I get money from bits I find scattered around town and I live on the alleyway behind Mr and Mrs Cake’s store.

I guess that leaves you with my whole life story, kinda ironic I'm only seven years of age and my life's already been that bad. So why haven't I ended it already you may ask? Well it was you Rainbow, you brought me the closest to the security and love that I wanted and it kept me going every day because I got to see you every day, but that was just it, I was to close yet not close enough. I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, I loved the time we spent together. It was just like having a sister, but times have changed and I’ve made up my mind... I just hope you can all forgive me.

Scootaloo

Staring at the letter in utter shock Rainbow Dash scanned it over again quickly; spotting the visible tear marks that had stained the page and seemed to wrinkle the paper. Looking up to her friends she noticed they were all staring at her in shock. Rainbow soon realized that the tear marks hadn’t been from Scootaloo, but had been from herself. She quickly turned to face the two fillies. Seeing that they hadn’t moved from their position at the door she quickly spoke up, “Girls, is there anywhere at all that Scootaloo hangs out by herself!?” she asked, her voice now in a pleading tone.

Both fillies pondered quickly as everypony - and dragon - in the room waited tensely for their answer. Finally, after a short while Sweetie Belle broke the silence, “I think she likes going to the school playground sometimes, usually when she’s waiting for one of us to meet her.” the little filly said knowingly as Applebloom nodded in agreement.

Before anypony could argue there was a loud boom and a shattering of glass as a blaze of cyan and rainbow blasted out of the library’s window obliterating it to pieces as the cyan pony darted into the sky. Twilight turned to the rest of the ponies all looking at the broken window in awe. “So what do you think that was?” she asked in a concerned tone that was for a few reasons. One, because Rainbow Dash never cries and two, because Rainbow never panics. This caused all the ponies to wonder what the problem was.

Fluttershy was the first to speak up, “Do you think Scootaloo’s in trouble… they are like sisters um.. kinda.”

Everypony gasped as the realization of the orange filly being in trouble hit them; both cutie mark crusaders looked at each other in distress, while Pinkie Pie burst out in wails. Soon the whole library was sent into a fit of chaos when Twilight suddenly shouted, “Quiet!” This sudden outburst caused everypony in the room to come to a halt as the lavender mare continued. “Okay, everypony lets just calm down.” she said lowering her tone as everypony started to relax. She soon started up again, “We just need to calm down and wait for Rainbow to sort things out.” Twilight said as everypony became silent; leaving the intensity in the room to rise again as they waited eagerly to see what had happened.

Rainbow Dash flew high above the clouds before hovering around; as she desperately searched for the location of the little filly. She spied the bell of the school building peeking out of the low cloud layer as she dashed off in said direction. “Please be okay Scoots.” Dash whispered to herself as she pushed her wings harder; blazing through the night sky.

...A few moments earlier

The school playground was utterly silent, Scootaloo watched the moon rise in the night sky for one final time. She felt another tear etch its way down her cheek as the realization struck - no pony was coming for her. Feeling her stomach swell as a large part of her brain started to worry about what she was about to do. The little filly pulled herself up from the bench as she made her way over to the red building. There was a green hose pipe which was used for watering the school plants, it had been left next to the water pipe. Taking the item in both hooves Scootaloo examined it before gripping it tightly and walking away from the building. Once again, she trotted up to the swing set at the far side of the playground. Scootaloo’s whole body began to tense up as the fear of death crept in, she felt the journey to the end of the playground take for what seemed like forever. When she finally got to the swings she checked the night sky a final time for any signs of life. Seeing there wasn’t anything she turned back to her task and set to climbing up to the top of the swing set.

Once the orange Pegasus had climbed the short distance to the top of the swing set, she wrapped the hose tightly around the top bar of the swings before making a noose for herself. The filly stopped before looking at the circular shape. She felt more tears escape her eyelids. Scootaloo never wanted it to come to this in life, but she wasn’t going to stop now, ‘no pony cares about you, your a no pony!’ a distant yet memorable voice at the back of the small fillies mind spoke as she put the makeshift noose around her neck and tightened it, bracing herself for the inevitable.

“Goodbye world.” Scootaloo said to herself, she was about to take her hind legs off the top bar when a noise caught her attention.

Rainbow Dash soared over the dense fog as she made her way to the schoolhouse, bracing herself for what she might find as she landed just outside the entrance of the school. The entrance that was barely visible from the layer of mist that covered the ground. The cold burnt breeze made its way into the cyan mare’s nostrils as she gingerly made her way to the side of the school. She could feel her breathing start to shake as she trotted up to the school playground.

Checking for any signs of Scootaloo, Rainbow moved over to the bench and put her hooves on the wood. Feeling the warmth that radiating from it meant that somepony had been here very recently. Suddenly, a sound in the distance made the cyan mare turn to see a black figure in the mist. Quietly, she trotted closer until the moon rose behind the cloud layer, like a big shining beacon it shone down on the playground, lighting the world around the rainbow maned mare. Her eyes widened when she saw the filly standing on top of a set of swings with a some sort of object wrapped tightly around her neck.

Dash shouted, “Scootaloo!” This caused the filly to turn around to face the cyan mare.

Scootaloo turned to the voice and saw the shocked and slightly distressed cyan mare standing not to far away from where she was positioned. “Rainbow Dash?” she said silently. Just then Scootaloo felt her hind leg slip on the iron bar - she screamed.

Rainbow Dash launched herself forward as she felt time seem to slow down. She watched the filly fall - flaying her hooves in the air. Scootaloo then looked towards her idol, Dash felt a wrench in her heart. She needed to get to the filly, the filly that meant so much to her, the filly that meant more to Rainbow than she would ever know.

Suddenly, Scootaloo felt time stop, she saw darkness and felt numb. Slowly, but surely, she felt time speeding back up. She opened her eyes to see the Rainbow, her idol and the one she felt the closest bond with holding her tightly in an embrace. Scootaloo could feel tears rolling off the side of her shoulder, looking up she saw Rainbow Dash’s muzzle buried deep within her fur as the cyan mare let her tears fall. Scootaloo felt her heart soar as she came to terms with what had just happened. Rainbow did care for her, she was concerned about her… she loved her. It was at that point Scootaloo felt her own tears well up, as she too started to cry and nuzzled into Dash’s chest.

After a few seconds Rainbow spoke, “Don’t you ever think of trying that again Scoots!” she said in a shaky voice as she held the filly close. Rainbow took the makeshift noose off Scootaloo’s neck and threw it away in disgust before going back to holding the filly tightly. The two Pegasi cried their hearts out until both their furs were matted together.

Scootaloo smiled beneath Dash’s fur as she cried tears of joy. She finally felt the feeling of being loved, that feeling she had been searching for all of her life, and now she finally had it. Slowly but surely she let go of the cyan mare and trotted back a few paces before wiping a few tears from her muzzle then spoke, “Rainbow Dash, d-do you-”

She was cut off as a wing suddenly wrapped itself around her and pulled her in tighter as Rainbow Dash spoke up, “Of course I do kid, Of course I care for you. I-It’s just I didn’t know the truth.” Rainbow explained.

Scootaloo started to feel the guilt in her chest. “I’m sorry Dash-” she said before a hoof made contact with her mouth. Dash grinned. “You don’t need to be sorry for anything Scoots, I-I should have seen it sooner; from now on I’m gonna be there for you Squirt, and those bullies better start runnin’ when they see me!” the cyan Pegasus said proudly as she ruffled the little filly’s mane.

Scootaloo smiled hugging her idol back as the overwhelming feeling began to tire her out as she felt her eyelids slowly come to a close once more.

Rainbow Dash smiled when she realized the filly had fallen asleep. leaning down to softly nuzzle the filly’s cheek she whispered in her ear. “Don’t you worry Scoots, we’re gonna do this together, my little sister.” she said before putting the snoozing filly on her back as she launched off into the air.

Rainbow knew that taking on this task would be easier said than done, she knew there were going to have to be many changes to her current role in life and her current dreams; but if she was anything like her element she knew that this came first. She would do everything to give her little sister the valuable lessons of life.

Dream a little Dream

Rainbow Dash soared through the cold night sky significantly slower than usual, mainly because of the sleeping cargo which resting on her back - wrapped up in a ball of orange and purple. Rainbow smile wavered as her mind back to previous thoughts. The multi-colored mare had been thinking about her previous actions, she knew taking the filly in was going to be a lot easier said than done. But before that, she still had to tell everypony... she just wasn't sure how all this would work. She was still debating on whether or not to tell everypony about what Scoots had just tried to pull off. Soon though, the cyan mare’s thoughts drifted back to the orange filly. Right now, she didn’t want the content filly to be disturbed from what could possibly be the best nights sleep she’d had in a long time. Rainbow instantly began to scan the small town below until she spotted a house just on the edge of town. The mare smiled as an idea quickly sprung to her mind. Taking one last look at the filly on her back, she dived down towards the house.

The rainbow maned mare landed in front of a pony-made building with a thatched roof. It looked similar to the other houses around it except for the dull grey paint that surrounded the exterior of the house; making it stand out from the rest. Dash slowly trotted over before knocking on the door and waited for an answer. The door soon swung opened, revealing a small light purple unicorn with a blond mane. She looked up happily at the cyan pony. ”Hey miss Rainbow Dash!” she said happily.

Rainbow smiled. “Hey kid is um… Derpy home?” she asked hesitantly. The small unicorn nodded before trotting inside the house for a few moments before a memorable voice called from inside, “Come in Dash, I’m in the kitchen.”

Dash trotted in, closing the door behind her as she made her way to the homes cooking station where a dull grey mare was positioned in front of the stove. Dash raised an eyebrow, “Hey Derpy, what's up?”

Derpy looked up from the stove to see her old flight school pal. “Hey Rainbow Dash! Haven't seen you for a while.” she said with a smile as she trotted over to the mare. Derpy noticed the sleeping filly on the cyan mares back and threw a confused look at the rainbow maned pony. “Hey Dash, who’s that?” she asked pointing a hoof to the mares back.

Dash looked at Scootaloo and then back to Derpy. “Yeah, about that...” she said rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof nervously as she thought up an excuse. After a few moments she continued, “She’s with me this weekend because her parents are in… Trottingham and we were um... training today so she’s all tired.” the Pegasus explained, hoping her excuse would fool the grey mare. Luckily Derpy nodded, which brought relief the the fast flyer.

Dash smiled. “But I need to run a quick errand so... do you think you could watch Scoots for me?” she asked hesitantly. Again Derpy nodded, “Sure thing Dash, I can do that!”

Suddenly, a smell reached both mare’s nostrils. The pair instinctively began to look around for the source. Derpy’s eyes widened when she realized where the smell was emanating from and gasped before screaming, “My muffins!” She then dashed to the stove and brought out a plate of slightly burned muffins. Dash put a hoof to her mouth to stop her laughter as the grey mare lifted one of the muffins and tasted it before cringing slightly.

Dash muffled another giggle before a slight moan caused the mare to turn back to her sleeping passenger. She then trotted through the small house and into the living room. She then went over to the couch and set Scootaloo down gently before leaning down and whispering, “I’ll be right back Scoots, I promise.” She then nuzzled the filly’s ear softly. Dash could feel her heart warm when she saw the filly’s lips curl into a smile. Making her way out of the room the mare gave her goodbyes to Derpy before heading off to Twilight’s library.

It didn’t take long before Dash had made her way back to the front of the Golden Oaks library. She took the folded letter from her wing and looked it over once again before shaking her head and putting it safely back in her wing. It was too soon for the truth and she didn’t even know all of it yet. Taking a deep breath she knocked on the library’s door a few times and waited until the door was opened by a small purple and green dragon.

Dash smiled. “Hey Spike, is everypony still here?” she asked looking behind the dragon. Spike nodded. “Yeah, they’re still whining about what happened earlier.” he explained rolling his eyes before letting the cyan mare into the library. Dash trotted into the tree house and saw the five mares and two fillies all waiting anxiously in the living area, they all looked towards at the cyan mare as she trotted towards them.

Twilight was the first to speak, "Hey Dash, what happened?” she asked as all the other ponies gathered around the multi-colored mare. Dash sighed. “I... don't know everything yet, but she’s cool for now.” she said, putting on a fake smirk. She saw Twilight giving her a confused stare which made her nerves start to rise; but to Rainbows relief she backed off. But Twilight wasn’t going to leave without at least knowing one thing. “So you're sure she’s okay then, what was that letter about anyway?” Twilight asked, leaning towards Dash.

Rainbow gulped; she could felt the nerves rise once again and began to stutter as she spoke, “Oh that well um...i-it was nothin, she’s fine guys trust me.” the cyan mare persisted as she looked at all the ponies with a cautious smile.

Luckily, all the ponies in the small room nodded happily. The intensity started to seep out the room as one by one the ponies started to leave until it was just Twilight and Rainbow left in the living room of the library. The cyan mare was about to get up and leave when Twilight spoke, “So... where is Scootaloo?” she asked walking over to the bookshelf at the far side of the living area.

Oh, she’s at Derpy’s right now,” Rainbow replied casually. Twilight raised an eyebrow as she looked over to the mare. “Why is she at Derpy’s? Shouldn’t she be with her parents?” the lavender mare replied with a confused tone. Rainbow began to tense up again. “Oh, she is there because her parents are in um...Trottingham!” she said slightly trailing off at the end when she heard the other mare muffling a giggle.

Twilight grinned. “You're a bad liar Dash.” she said shaking her head playfully at the mare. Dash mentally kicked herself before sighing as she spoke, “Okay Twi, you got me...but I-I can't...I don't-” she began before being cut off by her friend.

“It’s okay Dash, if you don’t want to say anything then that’s fine, just so long as you don't keep it a secret for too long, especially if its something serious. We can help Dash, we’re here if you need us.” the purple mare said. Dash nodded happily. “Thanks Twi, I knew you would understand!” she said with a smirk as she got up to leave.

Just before Rainbow made her way out of the library a book was levitated in front of the mare along with a set of saddlebags. Dash took the items in her hooves as she read the title of the book ‘Taking care of small ponies: a reference guide’. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Again with the books, Twi!” she said sarcastically as she put the book in the saddlebags and took off into the night sky.

Rainbow Dash landed in front of Derpy’s house and knocked on the door and waited for a response. A few moments later the door was opened by the dull grey mare. “Hey Dash! Come on in.” the mare said happily as she let the cyan mare into the house. Dash looked into the living room to see the orange filly still snoozing happily on the couch.

Derpy rolled her eyes as she came into the room. “She’s been out like a light since you left, that must have been some pretty hard training Dash.” she said with a grin.

Rainbow smiled. “Yeah, you could say that.” she replied whilst leaning down to pick up the filly. She gently laid the orange pony onto her back and making her way to the door.

Dash stopped at the doorway and looked back to the dull mare. “Thanks for the help Derpy!” she said happily as she waved to the mare.

The wall eyed mare smiled back. “No problem Dash, anytime!” she replied before the cyan mare took to the skies once again and made way towards her home in the sky.

A few moments later the cyan mare landed on the front steps of her cloud home. In the day the house was quite a sight with its rainbow waterfalls and sculptures. But during the night most of it was just barely visible. Dash unlocked the door before opening it and trotted into the home. She then set the saddlebags down in the main hallway before trotting up the spiral stairs to her bedroom.

The mare opened the door to the master bedroom of the home; which was littered with Wonderbolt memorabilia and a few other things that currently occupied the floor of the room. Rainbow carefully maneuvered herself past the objects before laying the filly down onto the bed. Suddenly, the filly started to awaken. “Dash?” she said in a groggy voice as her eyes adjusted to the world around her. The cyan mare smiled and nodded. “Sure is squirt.” she said getting into the cloud bed with the filly and pulling the covers over them.

Scootaloo smiled. “Thanks for not being mad at me today Dash.” she said as she cuddled up next to the mare. Dash grinned. “How could I could ever stay mad at my little sister?” she asked, muffling a giggle. The little filly’s smile grew wider. “S-sister?” she said dreamily; still only half awake.

Dash nodded before nuzzling the filly’s neck and wrapped a wing around Scootaloo’s small frame; hugging her tightly. “You sure are Scoots, you're the best sis I could ask for!” she said wholeheartedly before laying her head down on the cloud pillow and let her mind drift off to sleep. That was until she heard the small filly say something which made her mind stop.

“I love you, big sis.” Scootaloo said, trailing off as she went back to her deep sleep. Dash was shocked at this, but her lips soon turned into a smirk and she held the filly tighter in her embrace and whispered, “I love you too kid... more than you know.” She then layed her head back down onto the pillow as she too fell into a well needed rest.

Dash hoped everything would be okay with Scootaloo now, but she still needed to do a lot more before she could be totally sure. She knew her friends could help her if she needed it, but she wanted to first make sure her sister was okay with everypony knowing about the truth. She still needed to get the filly enrolled into school properly which brought round a lot of work in itself... she just hoped it would all be okay soon.

A Morning With Rainbow

Scootaloo’s eyes slowly opened to a sea of sky blue colored feathers as her senses started to return. She felt the warmth and snugness that they provided, it was the most awesome blanket she could ever ask for. She had surely just had the best night sleep she’d had in a long time. It had sure beat the flanks off of sleeping out in the alleyway behind Sugarcube Corner. Scootaloo rolled onto her stomach as she became more awake. She then looked forwards to see her idol and big sister still snoring heavily on the cloud pillow. A playful smirk spread across the filly’s lips as an idea reached her head. The filly looked back up to the ocean of blue feathers. She quickly found a loose feather at the edge of her sisters wing and carefully took the feather in both hooves and plucked it from the wing. Scootaloo quickly checked back to the cyan mare to make sure she hadn't awoken - to her surprise, she was still sleeping soundly.

The orange filly put her plan into action and slowly crawled forward along the cyan wing until she could reach the older mares muzzle. With a devilish smile she took the feather and gently began to wave it across Rainbow’s nose. Suddenly, Dash started to move and wrinkled her muzzle slightly before moving it side to side. The cyan mare soon after began to make a noise. Scoots started to crawl away when she saw the mare sneeze hard before opening her eyes in a flash and scanned the room.

Dash looked around the dimly lit room as she came back to reality. She then tried to figure what could have woken her from her slumber, this was until the sound of muffled giggles made its way over the cyan mare. Dash looked down and noticed the little orange filly holding a cyan feather in one hoof and clasping the other hoof over her mouth - trying to muffle her giggles. Scoots stopped once she noticed the older mare staring at her with a evil smirk.

Immediately Scootaloo started to apologise but at the same time still trying to hold in the laughter, “I-I’m pfft sorry Rainbow... haha!” she said, falling over on the cloud bed in hysteria. As the filly rolled onto her stomach Rainbow Dash launched into action and dug her hooves into the filly’s sides, causing the filly to burst into laughter and try to squirm out of the cyan mares grasp.

“I hahahehe pleasahehehe stophehehe!” Scootaloo squeaked out whilst trying in vain to get the older mare to stop. Rainbow only quickened her speed as she moved her hooves over the filly’s sides, which made Scoots to elect more squeals as she attempted to break free.

Rainbow grinned. “Who’s best pony?” she asked knowingly as she leaned down over the filly.

Scootaloo’s face was now starting to grow red from the lack of proper breathing. “Hehe you haha are!” the filly replied as she continued squirming.

Dash kept a tight grip on the filly as she persisted. “And who is the best pranker?” Dash said as Scootaloo kept laughing.

The filly tried to calm down her rapid breathing as she kept laughing, “You hahaha, you are!”

With that Dash accepted her victory and relinquished her hooves from the filly, letting the orange pony calm down from her laughter as she breathed heavily. Dash smiled and lifted the filly onto her chest as she laid back down onto the cloud surface. “So kiddo, what you wanna do today?” she asked.

Scootaloo took a few more deep breaths before responding. “I guess I wouldn't mind doing some flight lessons.” she said, moving a hoof round Dash’s chest in a circular motion.

Dash quickly glanced out of the cloud window at the far side of the bedroom and saw the slightly fading fog from the night as the sun rose above the clouds. She turned back to the small filly before nodding happily. “Sure thing Squirt! But it’s gonna be cold out.” she said knowingly.

Scootaloo was confused. “How is it cold?” she asked while looking out off the small cloud window. Suddenly a small gust of autumn wind came past the two ponies, which sent the little filly into a fit of shivers.

Dash laughed before wrapping her wings around the filly again, heating her back up. “Yeah, we might need to get you a flight suit or somethin’.” the cyan mare said as she pondered.

After a few moments a smile appeared on Rainbow’s face as she came up with an answer, “I can get Rarity to do one!” she said knowingly and smiled at the idea. Suddenly her smile dropped before she let out a sigh. “You're gonna have to stand there while she does all that froo froo stuff though.” she pointed out, rolling her eyes and waiting for her little surrogate sister to respond.

Scootaloo put a hoof to her chin as she weighed her options. But after a few moments she nodded happily. “Sure, I guess I could do that if its not for too long.” she said, rolling her eyes.

Dash giggled. “You might just have to do that kid.” she said with a smirk as she let the small filly crawl off her chest. Before she got herself up off the bed, she stretched her wings out and sighed as she felt the relief of her joints settling and turned back to the filly on the bed, who was clearly annoyed with having to get out of the soft world she currently inhabited. Dash muffled a laugh before she spoke, “Come on Scoots you have to get up sometime.” the mare said as she went over to the small cloud window and looked out to see the white clouds over the small earth pony town.

Scootaloo groaned and made her way out of the bed and trotted slowly over to the bathroom at the far end of the corridor whilst Dash made her way downstairs to make some breakfast.

Scootaloo made her way down the small spiral staircase, her mane in a lot better shape than it was a few moments prior. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked around the living room. She noticed a few cloud objects like a sofa, coffee table and loads of more Wonderbolt's items which adorned the walls. The room was a lot cleaner than the top floor, but it still had the odd Wonderbolt magazine thrown around here or there. Scootaloo then looked over to the kitchen to hear the sound of annoyed groans emanating from behind the cloud layer. The little filly trotted over to the room and put a hoof on the door before pushing it open.

Scootaloo was met with a wave of smoke, making her choke slightly on the the foul air. As Scootaloo looked around she saw the sky blue mare behind the kitchen counter, taking out a burnt plate of eggs from the stove. Dash facehoofed at her failure before she attempted to clear the smoke filling the room. After a few moments Scootaloo was introduced with the cloud kitchen which had a few basic necessities like a sink and stove that where at the far side of the kitchen. Rainbow Dash trotted over from the open window with a sheepish grin. “Yeah sorry about that squirt...” she said, rubbing the back of her neck with a hoof.

Scootaloo giggled. “Yeah I can see that you can't cook either.” she said with a grin.

Dash blew a part of her mane out of her face before going over to the counter and taking out a box of cereal. “I’ll get Derpy to teach me some day.” Dash said whilst Scootaloo made her way over to the small cloud table in the kitchen.

Soon the older mare came over balancing two bowls of cereal on her wings. She leaned down and set them onto the table before she to sat down and dug into the morning meal. Scootaloo only ate acceptable mouthfuls and giggled slightly at Rainbows attitude to eating. Soon both ponies were finished and Rainbow decided to break the silence, “So kid, do you know anything about flying?” she asked putting the bowl to one side.

Scootaloo pondered for a moment before she replied, “Um nothing much, besides that it's super awesome!” she said with a confident smile.

Dash nodded happily in agreement before speaking, “Well in that case we’re going to have to check what your wings are like.” she said, motioning for Scootaloo to spread her wings. The filly did so as the cyan mare got up and inspected the appendages. “Yeah well first you're gonna need a good preening, but that's not too bad.” Rainbow said as she lifted one of the small wings and checked them.

After a few tense moments Rainbow trotted back over to the seat with her usual smirk. “We’ll have to work on a few things, but I’m sure you’ll be able to fly!” she said confidently.

The little filly smiled excitedly, “Y-you mean I could really fly!” she said joyfully bouncing on her chair.

The cyan mare gave a nod. “Sure you can, anypony with wings can fly, but only some can become a Wonderbolt.” she said proudly looking at her own wings.

Scootaloo smiled dreamily as she thought about the day that she may become part of the amazing flying team, but the smile slowly faded. Dash was concerned by this and went over to the filly as she placed a hoof on her shoulder. “You okay squirt?” she asked the downcast filly.

Scootaloo looked up towards the blue mare. “Oh... it's nothing.” she said hesitantly as she shifted on her chair uncomfortably.

Dash wasn't going to leave it there, “Come on sis, what's bothering you?” she said, smiling when she said the word she knew meant most to the little filly.

Scootaloo smiled at the mares words and spoke, “Well… you remember how I told you in the letter about…. that home.” she said cautiously as she fumbled with her hooves.

Dash nodded, letting the small filly continue. “Well they always bullied me because I couldn't fly and rumors went around that it was the reason why I was dumped.” the filly said with a sad tone as she lowered her head.

Dash however did the opposite, taking a more determined posture as she lifted the little filly’s chin up. “Hey Scoot that's the past and besides, you don't have to worry about that anymore.” she said happily, ruffling the little filly’s mane.

Scootaloo smiled and hugged her sisters neck tightly as she spoke, “Thanks Dash, you're the best” she said returning to her usual fun and energetic attitude.

Dash smiled back as she held the tight embrace for a few more moments before speaking, “Right then, I think its time we go and get ready for some training!” she said in an excited tone. Scootaloo pumped a hoof in the air before dashing off towards the stairs to get ready.

Dash smiled as she watched the filly ascend the set of stairs. Scootaloo didn’t know but this morning had actually been really fun for her older sister and she felt a lot more enjoyment taking care of the filly than she previously thought. Dash put the bowls in the sink as her mind buzzed with excitement about her day and she dared say it was as good as meeting the Wonderbolts themselves. She turned around at the sound of hoofsteps on the cloud surface and saw the little filly descending the stairs once again, Dash smiled.

“You ready to go kiddo?” Rainbow asked making her way with the orange filly to the entrance of the house.

Scootaloo nodded happily. “Heck yeah I am! I can’t wait!” she said excitedly as she buzzed her little wings. Dash smiled and leaned down motioning for the little filly to hop onto her back.

Once the pair where ready to go Dash pushed her hoof on the cloud door and opened the cloud layer revealing the vast sky over Equestria and the small town below them. Dash turned back to the small filly on her back as she flared her wings fully as she said, “You ready Scoot?” The little filly nodded, and with that the cyan mare bolted from the home in a burst of Rainbow and cyan as the pair made their way to the small town for a very hectic day.

Froo-Froo and Flight Lessons

Rainbow Dash powered through the sunny autumn skies of Ponyville with the little orange filly strapped tightly to her back as she held her sister’s neck tightly. She soon spotted the famous dress shop near the outskirts of the main streets. Dash smiled and dived down. She landed softly on the ground, careful not to hurt her living cargo.

Scootaloo grinned. “That was awesome Dash!” she said happily as she hopped off her older sister’s back.

Dash smirked. “Plenty more where that came from kid!” she said confidently before folding up her wings and walking with the small filly towards the purple and white building - which had a mural at the top which was carved to look like a carousel.

Dash opened the front door ringing the little gold bell at the top signalling the shop owner. She let Scootaloo walk in front as they trotted into the store. Dash looked around the store and saw a white mare working at the sewing machine not to far away from the shops stage.

Dash trotted over to the mare who turned around at the sound of the hoofsteps. “Oh hello Rainbow darling, what can I do for you?” she asked getting off her seat and facing the rainbow maned mare. The white unicorn assessed the mare in front of her before speaking up again. “I’m guessing you broke you’re wing again and you want a more comfortable bandage?” she said tilting her head to one side.

Dash muffled a giggle before replying, “Not today Rares, Scoots over here needs a flight suit and I was wondering if you could make one?” she asked hesitantly.

The dressmaker looked over to the small orange filly in the center of the shop and then back at the rainbow mare. “Hmm I guess I could,” she said putting her hoof to her chin and using her magic to take out a few rolls of different fabric as she made her way over to the stage.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened when she saw her body be enveloped in a aura of blue magic before she was levitated over to the store’s stage. Before she could say anything she was immediately assaulted with different fabrics and other utensils.

Rainbow Dash trotted up to the white unicorn as she worked. “So how long do you think it will take?” she asked quizzically.

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Rainbow Dash, you know you can never rush perfection,” she said knowingly as she moved a few more things over to the filly.

Dash shook her head playfully as she watched her little sister try many different things for very long periods of time.

After a few hours Rarity finally stopped her work. Scootaloo collapsed on the stage exhausted from standing still for to long. Dash looked over to the white unicorn as she trotted over to a Desk at the far side of the shop next to a set of mannequins. Rarity took a quill and began to draw on a piece of parchment as the two other ponies made their way over to her.

Dash peered over the mares shoulder as she watched the mare work. Scootaloo jumped up onto her older sisters back and looked down to see her flight suit being drawn out. Soon the white unicorn was finished with her design. She levitated the finished product over to the pair as they looked at the prototype.

Scootaloo was the first to speak. “It looks awesome!” she said with joy. Dash nodded in agreement.

Rarity just smiled. “Well that's great! It will take me about three days to make the suit though, so you’ll have to give me some time,” she pointed out as she walked over to one of the mannequins and stuck the design on it.

Scootaloo looked up at Dash. “Does that mean we can’t train today?” she asked in a sad tone.

Dash shook her head dismissively. “Of course not you silly filly, we can still train,” she said ruffling the filly’s mane, making her giggle.

After giving the unicorn their thanks Rainbow and Scoots made their way to the shops entrance, but they left Rainbow was stopped by the white unicorn. “Hey Dash, can I speak with you?” she said motioning for Dash to come over. The rainbow maned mare nodded and trotted over.

Rarity leaned in. “So how is the filly?” she said motioning to the little pony at the end of the shop.

Dash smiled. “She’s great! She was at my place last night and it was the best time I’d had in a while,” she said happily as she looked over to the orange filly.

Rarity smiled. “Well that's great to hear darling, it's good to know the poor dears not in any trouble,” the white mare said happily as she trotted back over to the other side of the shop and began to sew once again.

Rainbow said goodbye to her friend once again before leaving the shop with Scootaloo. The pair then started to trot towards Ponyville’s central park.

The two Pegasi trotted through the main street in the small town. Many stalls and market places lined the road as the pair walked by seeing their apple friends selling their famous treats at one of the many stalls. At the moment, the yellow filly was currently trying to sell apples whilst the older mare in and orange coat tried to stop customers from running away. The two Pegasi laughed at this as they made their way further down the wide open street.

The pair soon passed by the famous sweets store in the center of town not to far from their destination. Suddenly, a pink mare appeared out of nowhere to greet the two ponies. “Hey everypony!” she hollered as she bounced around the two Pegasi happily.

Dash rolled her eyes playfully. “Hey Pinks, how's it going?” she asked as the pink mare came to a stop in front of both her and Scootaloo.

Pinkie smiled a mile wide. “Juuuuust great!” she said joyfully before continuing, “Today I got to bake Mr. and Mrs. Cake’s new recipe for apple pie and I got to play with Spike when he was getting more quills for Twilight!” she said happily before she began bouncing around again.

After a few moments Pinkie spoke up. “So what fun things are you doing today Dashie!” the party mare asked quizzically as she looked at the cyan mare.

Dash grinned. “I’m gonna train Scoots here to fly,” she said winking at the small filly next to her.

Pinkie grinned, “That sounds like so much fun! I wish I could be there, but I need to start planning for Scootaloo’s party,” the mare said before trotting off towards the sweets store.

Dash and Scootaloo looked at each other with equally confused before speaking in unison, “A party?”

Pinkie turned around and nodded happily. “Yeah it's a ‘Yay Scootaloo’s not in trouble' party,” she said before bouncing away.

Dash looked at Scootaloo and shook her head playfully as the small filly giggled at the party mare’s antics.

After a few more minutes of trotting Dash and Scootaloo both made their way to Ponyville’s central park, which was miles of green land accompanied with a colorful bridge and a few other features. The sun was now shining high above the town as mid day rolled around.

Dash and Scootaloo found a clear space away from the other ponies enjoying the fine autumn day. The cyan mare turned around to face the filly. “Okay squirt, first we’re going to do some exercises to get you all warmed up,” the mare said before she started to do particular stretches with her wings.

Scootaloo copied her actions as the pair did all types of warm up exercises, ranging from wing press ups to hind leg stretches. Soon however Dash stopped the filly, the exhausted pony could feel the sweat on her brow as she looked back up towards the cyan mare.

Rainbow smiled. “Great work Scoots, now lets start flying!” she said flaring her wings. Scootaloo smiled back as she spread her own wings. Dash smirked. “Okay first you're going to learn how to glide or at least that's what I did first,” the mare said as she thought back to her first flight lessons.

Scootaloo nodded. “Sounds awesome!” she said happily as she buzzed her wings. Dash grinned and motioned for the little filly to jump onto her back before the cyan mare jumped into the air a few feet from the ground.

Dash looked back to the filly. “Okay Scoots, you're going to stretch out your wings and jump,” she said. Although to Scoots this was easier said than done, she hesitantly stood up on the mare’s back and flared her wings. She took one last look at Dash who smiled casually. “It's okay squirt, trust me just act like a kite,” she said pointing over in the distance at a kite which a father and son where playing with in another part of the vast park.

Scootaloo watched the kite for a few more moments before turning a determined look at the ground below her. After a few more tense moments, she jumped of the mares back. Scootaloo saw the ground advancing towards her and closed her eyes as she waited for the impact of the unforgiving ground. But none came.

Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes and was greeted by a sea of cyan fur. She looked up to see Dash with her famous smirk as she held her tightly.

Dash rolled her eyes playfully. “You silly filly, next time remember to spread your wings,” she said pointing to the filly’s currently folded and shaking wings. Scootaloo blushed slightly from embarrassment.

Dash muffled a giggle and set the filly down on the grass before leaning down to her level and speaking, “First kid, you’ve gotta relax, don’t stress about it,” she said ruffling the filly’s mane before continuing, “You gotta let your wings carry you, they ain’t gonna work folded up like that,” she said looking at the filly with a playful smirk.

Dash smiled. “Stretch your wings squirt,” she said. Scootaloo did as requested and stretched her wings, Dash shook her head. “More,” she said. Scootaloo stretched her wings out to the point where her muscles began to strain.

Dash looked at the wings before nodding. “That's right, now keep them like that when you jump off my back, okay?” she said before letting the filly jump up onto her again as she made her way into the sky once again.

Dash looked over at the filly. “Okay, just remember what I’ve told you, and don’t sweat it, I’ve got you,” she said with a warm smile. Scoots brightened up at this and nodded before getting up on the mares back and got ready to jump.

Scootaloo closed her eyes as she jumped off the mares back. She waited for the inevitable "splat", but again, it never came. Scootaloo opened her eyes expecting to find herself in the arms of her sister. But to her shock she was gliding across the towns park.

Scootaloo squealed in excitement as she glided along the sky. She looked over and saw her older sister gliding next to her with a huge smile adorning her face. Scootaloo smiled along with her as the joy of feeling the wind rushing through her became a reality. Sadly, like all great things it had to come to an end and the small filly soon landed on the ground, although her excitement didn’t leave her.

Dash quickly landed next to the little filly who was currently bouncing around in excitement. Dash too was also full of joy as she picked up the little filly and hugged her tightly before saying, “Well done Scoots, I’m proud of you.”

Scootaloo smiled with content as she heard those words. although she hadn’t actually flown she felt like she had just seen that little bit of what it was like to fly and she hoped she would be able to feel that joy again.

Dash smiled happily at the filly below her before releasing the embrace and speaking up. “So squirt you wanna try that again?” she asked curiously but with a hint of excitement. The filly nodded rapidly before she jumped on the mares back again as the pair soared into the sky once again.

After a few more hours the two worn out Pegasi left the park as the sun began to drop behind the horizon. They trotted along the path as they went back through the small earth pony town. As they walked Dash spotted the famous eatery at the center of town. The mare remembered her earlier attempts of cooking and turned to the little filly. “Do you want something to eat?” she asked motioning to the bakery.

Scootaloo lit up at this and nodded. Dash smiled and the pair began to make their way over to the bakery. Dash opened the door to the sweet shop and let the filly in before wandering over to the counter which was currently occupied by a light blue mare.

Dash smiled. “Hey there Mrs. C,” she said happily.

The mare perked up at the arrival of the cyan Pegasus and smiled. “Why hello Mrs. Rainbow Dash, what can I get for you this fine evening?” she asked curiously.

Dash scanned the lower half of the counter which was lined with delectable goodies. She put a hoof to her chin as she pondered. “How about... two chocolate chip cupcakes,” she said happily, handing over a few bits.

The light blue mare nodded as she took the money and swapped them for a bag full of treats. Dash smiled and thanked the mare before making her way out of the door with the little orange filly.

Dash and Scootaloo made their way down the small steps leading from the store as they munched on their food happily. In her daize Dash accidentally dropped a bit, the round coin dashed off down the side if the store.

“Crap,” Dash muttered under her breath as she trotted down the side of the shop. Meanwhile Scootaloo waited patiently at the side of the building.

Dash wandered up to the coin and recognized the object that had stopped it. She glanced back at Scootaloo and spoke, “Hey squirt, isn’t this your scooter?” she asked pointing to the contraption. Scootaloo hesitantly trotted over to where Dash was positioned and nodded when she saw the famous scooter.

Dash then remembered the letter and looked around the slightly lit alleyway behind the shop. It was then that she found what she had been looking for, on the ground was a giant slightly worn cardboard house complete with a few items like a yellow backpack and a few other utensils. Dash couldn’t refrain from letting a tear fall from her eye at the sight, she slowly began to trot over to the small home.

Scootaloo walked up beside the mare as she looked around the place she had been sleeping in only a few days ago. She went over and took her backpack from the box; she would need it for tomorrow’s day at school.

Dash however was frozen in place as she looked over the scene with slightly glazed eyes. She couldn’t believe that a filly like Scootaloo, a pony who she always saw with a smile and was always up for doing anything, would be coming home to something as horrific as this.

Scootaloo put her school backpack on when she heard two words come out of the mare behind her which shocked the filly. “...I’m sorry.”

Scootaloo turned around to face her older sibling. “What are you talking about Dash?” she asked slightly confused.

Rainbow turned to face the small filly, “I said I’m sorry” she said more clearly to the filly.

Scootaloo opened her mouth to speak but Dash stopped her. “Look squ-Scootaloo...I’m sorry that I was a jerk to you sometimes...I’m sorry I always left you when you wanted to play...but most of all….I’m sorry I never got to know you better,” she said before letting more tears fall as she lowered her head in shame.

Scootaloo looked up at the mare and she too felt her emotions well up inside her. “Dash...I don't need you to be sorry,” she said in a slightly assertive tone. The mare stopped her sobbing slightly and looked down towards the filly.

Scootaloo took a step towards the mare and continued. “Dash...the time I spent with you was awesome...I don't want you to be sorry...y-you're the best and most awesome pony in Equestria and… I’m so happy to be with you sometimes... even if its only for a little while... you make my day Dash… I-I don’t need anything else,” the filly said letting a tear of her own leave her eyes.

Dash smiled and leaned down to pick the filly up in her hooves as she held her tightly. Scootaloo smiled as she nuzzled into Dash’s chest happily as the pair let their feelings flow.

After a few moments the cyan mare spoke up. “I promise Scoots, from now on I’m going to be the sister you deserve...I’ll always be there for you and help you from now on. I promise you that Scoots,” she said as she nuzzled the top of the little filly’s head affectionately.

Scootaloo nodded as she felt her eyes start to close and yawned contently as she nuzzled closer to the rainbow maned mare. Dash smiled and put the filly on her back as she spread her wings and took off into the night sky towards their home.

Dash felt as if today she had bonded hugely with the small filly she had now come to truly love. She now started to wonder if she could really make this work with Scootaloo and become the pony she’d been searching for all these years. She just hoped she could do the right job and help Scootaloo when ever she needed it… she just hoped that it wouldn't suddenly crash.

The Morning and the Evening

Rainbow Soared through the cold night air in the skies above Ponyville as she made her way towards her home with the filly - who was now sleeping soundly - on her back just like the previous night. Dash knew that tomorrow things would really start for caring for the filly, but for now she had more important matters to take care of.

Dash landed back on the doorstep of her floating home in the sky, she pushed opened the door before trotting into the home and going up the spiral stairs to her room. She trotted over to the large cloud bed and set the filly down gently. She took the covers and put them over the filly and tucked her in before quietly leaving the room and turning off the lights.

A few moments later the rainbow maned mare soon found herself on the couch in the living room of her home. She stared at the ceiling as her mind churned in her head. She had found that today had been one of the best and most memorable days she’d had in a long time. She loved teaching Scootaloo how to fly, she liked how enthusiastic the filly was too. It all made the reality of what she did just few days ago seem like nothing at all. But something remained in the back of her mind... and it was still a concern. Dash knew that she would stick by the little filly... it was her element. But the main fear for the sky blue Pegasus was that she was too scared to lose her.

When those words processed through Dash’s brain she stopped all other thoughts. She realized that she cared for this filly… she couldn’t lose her. Dash started to think about all the times she now wished she’d helped the filly, and she knew from now on she would always help her when needed. But what if something was to happen or something was to go wrong?

Dash knew she currently had no legal citizenship over the small filly, and what she was technically doing was classed as foalnapping. She knew it wouldn’t last forever like this and especially with her reputation word would get out very quickly. Dash sighed, could she really be the one to take care of the stricken filly.

The rainbow maned mare turned her head to face the coffee table where the note that the filly had written sat. She leaned over and picked it up and held it tightly as she read the letter that had broken her heart. But this time when she read it, her spirit seemed to rise.

Dash smiled when she read the letter, for the first time she felt how much the filly really did love her and how she loved spending time with her… it also talked about her dream, a broken and crazy dream but to her it was everything.

Dash turned a determined look at the paper as she spoke quietly to herself, “I’m gonna be your big sis Scootaloo… for real.” The cyan mare then looked around the floor and found what she was looking for. She sprung from the couch and leaned down to pick up one of the Wonderbolts magazine that littered the floor.

Dash went over to the table in the kitchen and opened the magazine. She quickly flipped to the last page and tore it out. She then looked at the words on the piece of paper before grabbing a quill and writing on the parchment. She put a few bits in the letter before setting it down on the table and smiling. She looked back over to the magazine and flicked back to the front page which showed a picture of Cloudsdale’s colosseum.

Dash grinned. “And this is where I’m gonna make that happen,” she said confidently before turning away from the kitchen table and walked back into the living room, thinking about her newly devised plan. But then she heard a scream come from upstairs.

A few moments earlier

Scootaloo was walking through a dirt trail somewhere in Equestria, the sun was shining and everything seemed perfectly normal. Suddenly a dark shadow started to creep up behind the small filly. Scootaloo saw the darkness and turned around in horror to see a pony ten times her size towering over her, blocking out the sun.

It grinned evilly before speaking. “Well hello there looserloo, you going to try flying again. There's no point, you’ll always just be a useless chicken,” it said before giggling as more noises of insulting rhymes came through the world, reverberating off the walls.

Scootaloo started to gallop away from the large pony but the shadow only got bigger until the pony blocked out the sun fully leaving the entire world darkened and left nothing but black. Scootaloo watched her entire world go dark and looked around for any signs of life in the pitch black. Suddenly a flash of cyan came out from the corner of her eyes.

Scootaloo looked over to the rainbow maned mare and smiled. “Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed as run over towards the mare. But just as suddenly as she appeared the mare vanished into dust before the orange filly could reach her. It was then that the evil giggles started again. Scootaloo’s eyes shrink at the voice before she backed into a wall. The giggles though persisted and the little filly saw the dark outlines of ponies faces before they appeared as the little fillies from her old home, to her left appeared Diamond Tiara from her current school. The fillies started to advanced on the orange pony with menacing grins.

Scootaloo watched in horror as they closed in on her. She tried to escape but some magical force was now keeping her locked in place. Scootaloo looked back before all the fillies jumped at her.

Scootaloo suddenly woke up with a scream. When she stopped she quickly gazed around the room for any signs of her recent dream, feeling that they were gone the little filly buried her head in her hooves as she sobbed quietly.

Then the sound of hoofsteps came from outside of the room. Scootaloo’s heart started racing and she dashed under the covers as her body shook.

Rainbow Dash burst into the master bedroom and instantly started searching around. She then saw the shivering ball underneath the bed. She quickly took the covers off the cloud bed revealing the small crying filly.

Scootaloo looked up and a flood of emotions built up when she saw the concerned a worried look on the mares face. She instantly jumped up and hugged the mare tightly as she cried heavily into her.

Dash quickly wrapped the filly up and started to hush her loud wails as she comforted the crying filly. “It's okay Scoots, everything's fine,” she cooed to the small pony as she kept her firmly in an embrace.

Scootaloo finally started to calm down from her crying to a few sniffles as she hugged the older mare. “I-I’m sorry Dash, I-I should have been m-more strong,” she said looking at the mare with shameful eyes.

Dash shook her head. “No Squirt I'm not disappointed, everyone has their own fears," she said ruffling the filly’s purple mane.

Scootaloo smiled at the statement.

Dash smiled. “So what was it that got you so worked up on?” she asked curiously trying to keep a happy tone as to not worry the shaken filly.

Scootaloo looked downwards. “I-I had a nightmare,” she said in a sad tone.

Dash wiped a few tears from the little ponies muzzle. “Can you tell me what it was about?” she asked hesitantly, worried that this was somewhere Scootaloo didn’t want to venture.

The little filly fumbled with her hooves as she spoke. “When I was little I was always bullied...even now I am…and it's all my fault,” she said looking downcast.

Dash was confused by this. “What do you mean all your fault?” she asked looking down at the filly.

Scootaloo sighed. “My wings… it's my fault I’m stuck with them,” she replied.

Dash was now not only shocked, but slightly mad. She released the embrace and set the filly down on the bed before turning a determined look at the orange pony. She leaned down so she was muzzle to muzzle with the pony before she spoke. “Scoots, don’t you ever tell yourself or let others convince you its your fault. You're an awesome Scoots...you don't need to have great wings to show that, so what if you were never taught to fly...but don’t even think about blaming this on you Scoots, you're better than that,” she said poking the filly in the chest to emphasize her point.

Scootaloo smiled at the mare with slightly glazed eyes. Dash smiled back and picked up the filly again as she held her in an embrace.

After a while Scootaloo spoke up disrupting the peaceful silence. “Thanks... sis.”

Dash smiled. “No problem kiddo and remember I’m always here if you need me,” she said confidently. Scootaloo felt a flurry of new emotions at this and she felt the happiness lulling her back to sleep.

The cyan mare felt the filly nod and laid down on the bed as she wrapped the filly up in her wing as she watched the little pony drift off to sleep with a content smile. She leaned down and kissed her on the forehead affectionately before whispering, “I’ll always be with you Scootaloo... I love you, little sister.”

Dash then laid her head on the cloud pillow and looked down at the small filly knowing she would always stick true to those words.

The next day

Dash was dreaming peacefully in her own world until a voice seeped into her skull. “Dash...wake up.” Still the cyan mare ignored the sound and went back to her peaceful silence... this was until the voice called again but a lot louder.

“Come on Dash! I need to go to School!” the voice shouted. Dash then started to feel her body as it woke up and groaned at the pain of an unscheduled wake up. Her eyes slowly started to open to the sight of a slightly panicked filly with a yellow backpack. She had her hooves on either of the mares shoulders and was shaking her in an attempt to wake her.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the sleep out of her eyes with a free hoof as she spoke. “Scoots...what's the time?” she asked curiously looking out the small bedroom window trying to asses the time of day.

Scootaloo groaned in annoyance. “It's time to go to school Dash or I’m gonna be late!” she said shaking the mare again, waking her a bit more.

Dash nodded in agreement. “Okay, Okay, I can get you there in ten seconds flat,” she said stretching out her tired muscles.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “School started a few minutes ago Dash,” she said slightly annoyed of her older sisters heavy sleeping. Dash sighed and trotted downstairs with the filly to the entrance as she made sure the filly had everything she needed.

Dash opened the door and made her way outside. She looked over to the filly on her back. “You all set Scoots, this is gonna get fast,” she said smirking at the last part as she flared her wings. Scootaloo hunkered down on the Pegasus back to be more aerodynamic. Dash grinned and turned back to the skies as she bolted from the house and into the vast sky.

Dash knew she would now start having to really be the caring pony which was something she wasn’t entirely good at doing. She hoped her plan to adopt Scoots would work out but for now she would just be there for her whenever she could or whenever she was needed.

Sealing the Deal

Rainbow Dash flew through the sky at great speed. It didn’t take her long to reach the school building on the edge of town. She landed on the dirt road at the entrance to the school and let the little orange filly jump off her back.

Rainbow smiled. “Have a good day Squirt, I’ll be here to pick you up,” she said with a smile.

Scootaloo nodded and hugged the cyan mare quickly before galloping into the schoolhouse. Dash watched the filly before shooting off towards the Golden Oaks Library, she had a few things to discuss.

Meanwhile Scootaloo threw open the door to the classroom where a maroon mare was standing at the front of a classroom with her hoof pointed to an item on the chalkboard. She gave an annoyed look towards the small orange filly. “Scootaloo, late again?” she said raising an eyebrow.

Scootaloo nodded. “Sorry, Mrs Cheerilee.”

The maroon mare shook her head. “I don’t want to see this happen again, okay?” she replied before turning back to the black board. Scootaloo gave another nod before trotting over to her seat next to her two friends.

Both fillies look at the orange pony and smiled. Applebloom then leaned over and whispered. “Hey Scoots, where have ya been all this time?” she asked curiously.

Scootaloo sighed. “I’ll tell you later,” she replied with a slightly sad tone in her voice. Both her friends gave each other worried looks but went on with their schoolwork hoping they would get an answer soon enough.

Rainbow Dash landed outside the Library in Ponyville and knocked on the door before it was opened by Spike.

Rainbow smiled. “Hey Spike is Twilight home, I really gotta speak to her.”

Spike nodded. “Yeah, she’s here alright. She’s studying those death traps she calls books,” he said while motioning for the cyan mare to follow as they walked into the library. In the center of the home sat the purple unicorn who was in a sea of multiple history books.

Dash’s eyes widened at this. “Um, Twi ,how long have you been reading?”

The lavender mare blushed slightly at this.

Spike rolled his eyes. “About three hours after you left,” he said before walking into the kitchen.

Dash muffled a giggle at that whilst Twilight got herself up from the wooden floor and turned around to face the mare. “So what can I do for you, Dash?” she asked.

Dash pondered for a second as the whole scene had made her forget the whole reason why she had come here. After a few seconds she replied, “Oh um...I have a question to ask,” she said hesitantly.

Twilight nodded. “Sure thing Dash, ask away.”

Dash fumbled with her hooves. “What do you think of me as a good...carer?”

Twilight threw a confused look before speaking. “What do you mean Dash?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

Dash continued to fumble with her hooves. “Like do you think I’m good at taking care of ponies?” she asked.

Twilight’s face changed to a smile as she turned back to her books. “I think Tank’s probably as much as you can handle Dash.”

Dash shook her head. “Wait no, not pets…I mean… I wanna adopt, Twi,” she said finally letting the truth pass.

Twilight dropped the book she was levitating and turned back around to face the cyan mare. “Don’t tell me what I think you're doing,” she said with a worried tone.

Dash turned an annoyed look. “What do you mean!? I’ve got what it takes!” Dash retorted.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “No, it’s not that Dash. It’s just adoption is a lot harder than you think it is and that’s not just in the long run,” she pointed out.

Dash nodded. “I know, but that doesn’t matter,” she replied

Twilight sighed. “So I’m guessing Scootaloo’s the one you're wanting to adopt?” she asked trotting over to far side of the library.

Dash nodded. “Yeah.”

Twilight sighed. “Okay, Dash, but remember adoption processes take a while to complete as it has to go through town hall and somepony has to inspect your house,” she warned as she wrote something down on a letter.

Dash firmly nodded. “Fine by me, Twi,” she said happily.

Twilight nodded before going back to writing on the letter, once finished she shouted, “Spike!”

Moments later the little purple dragon came into the living room. The lavender mare handed the purple dragon the wrapped up letter, he took the parchment and blew it to ashes as it was sent on its way.

Twilight turned back to the cyan Pegasus. “Well, now that’s done any other life changing moves you want to make?” she asked sarcastically.

Dash shook her head playfully. “Nah, but could you get the others around for tonight?” she asked.

Twilight pondered before nodding. “Yeah, sure thing. But why?”

Rainbow smiled. “You’ll see,” she said before heading out the door.

Rainbow closed the door to the library before looking round at the midday sky. She sighed happily before flaring her wings and heading towards the outskirts of town for her cloud duties.

At the schoolhouse the fillies and colts had just been let out for lunch break. Scootaloo felt like a zombie after enduring all those math questions as well as the history of earth ponies. But since that was over and done with she could finally could have some fun… or so she thought.

Scootaloo made her way over to the bench where her friends were already seated. She sat down as her friends smiled. “Hey Scootaloo.” they said in unison

Scootaloo smiled. “Hey guys, what’s up?”

Sweetie-Belle sighed. “Nothing much. We’re still trying to figure out what to do for our next crusade,” she said putting a hoof to her chin with a glum look.

Scootaloo nodded and then looked over at Apple Bloom. “So what are we going to do for a new idea then?” she asked curiously.

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to speak but another voice cut her off, “Well well well if it isn’t Scootaloo. Haven’t seen you around, blank flank,” Diamond Tiara snorted as she approached the three fillies with Silver Spoon not far behind.

Apple Bloom turned an angry look towards the pink filly. “Leave it, Tiara,” she growled.

Diamond turned a glare towards the farm pony. “Shut up dweeb! I’m too busy talking to looserloo,” she said before turning back to the now slightly cowering pony

Diamond smirked. “So where have you been then, face down in the bottom of the gutter, living in a cardboard box?” she asked.

Scootaloo was trying to keep a straight face but it was slowly fading as her fears started to come to the front of her mind.

This time it was Sweetie-Belle to speak up. “Just leave her alone, Diamond!” she said aggressively.

Diamond only needed to repeat her glare for the white unicorn to back away.

Diamond then turned back to the orange filly and continued. “So where have you been then, blank flank?”

At this point Scootaloo had her head buried in her hooves. Diamond laughed. ”Ha, the worthless runt can't even respond. Probably gets it from a relative that she doesn’t have!”

Just then a loud thud came from behind all the fillies. Diamond turned around and her eyes widened when she saw Rainbow Dash towering over her with an angry look on her features as she stood on all fours defensively.

Rainbow spoke with a voice that of an angry dragon. “Leave. Her. Alone!” she shouted in a death gripping voice.

Diamond Tiara gulped hard as all the other fillies besides Scootaloo looked up in shock to see the furious rainbow maned mare.

The cyan mare leaned in so she was muzzle to muzzle with the pink bully. “How dare you say that to my sister!”

By now Rainbow’s usually calming magenta eyes looked liked the burning sun itself. She continued, “From now on you’re gonna stay far away from my little sis, you got it!?” she said raising her voice at the end as she flared her wings.

Diamond nodded frantically before galloping away, that was until she was caught by the rainbow mare. “Oh no you don’t! You’re coming with me to Miss Cheerilee,” she said before trotting off with the filly towards the schoolhouse.

Scootaloo watched as her sister carted the bully away. She turned back to her friends who had equally large grins. Sweetie-Belle was first to speak. “Did you see that, Rainbow was all like BOOM and then she was like WHAM and it was soo cool!” she said with a girlish squee.

Scootaloo smiled at her friends she then felt a soft, gentle, hoof on her shoulder. She turned around and looked up to see the cyan mare in question.

Rainbow smiled and leaned down to the little filly. “Hey Scoots, you okay?” she asked nuzzling the fillies cheek softly.

Scootaloo nodded.

Dash grinned. “Okay then, I’ll see you after school,” she said trotting away, but then the cyan mare felt something on her hind leg. She turned around to see Scootaloo hugging it tightly.

Scootaloo looked up to her older sibling, “Thank you, Dash.”

Rainbow smiled and picked up the filly as she hugged her tightly. ”I always keep my promises,” she softly whispered in her ear before letting the orange pony down as she started trotting away again. Scootaloo looked at her sister in pure awe. Dash turned around and smirked at the little filly. She gave her a wink before darting off into the clouds again.

The rest of the day for Scootaloo went by quickly, she hadn’t seen any sign of Diamond Tiara since lunch break and Silver Spoon wasn’t the pony for starting the teasing. Soon after a few more moments Scootaloo found herself watching the clock as it ticked down the last few seconds of school.

Scootaloo watched as the seconds reached the top number of the clock and relief poured over her as she heard the ring of the school bell.

Miss Cheerilee smiled. “Have a great day, class. I’ll see you all tomorrow!” she said waving the foals off as they all rushed outside.

Scootaloo smiled when she opened the door of the school-house to see Rainbow Dash in the crowd of parents giving the filly a smile. She galloped from the building as she ran up and hugged the mare tightly.

Rainbow ruffled the fillies mane. “How was your day squirt?” she asked happily.

Scootaloo smiled. “It was awesome! Thanks for getting rid of Tiara again” she said, nuzzling the mare under her chin.

Dash smiled and nodded in acceptance before two more mares turned up. Dash smiled. “Hey Rarity, Applejack you guys coming over to Twilight’s?” she asked.

Both mares nodded as Apple Bloom and Sweetie-Belle came over from the schoolhouse. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow with a quizzical look. “Why are we going to Twilight’s?” she asked curiously.

Dash smiled. “It’s just a little...get together,” she replied happily as the filly got onto her back.

Scootaloo nodded in response.

Dash turned to the other ponies who were all still standing next to them. “You guys ready?” she asked. Both mares and fillies smiled and nodded.

Dash grinned and flared her wings, ready for action. “Then lets go!” she said before soaring into the air with Scootaloo tightly holding her neck as they made their way towards the library.

Dash was still hesitant about all of this...she hoped that Scootaloo would accept telling everypony the truth. But it was the only way she could make this work...she knew everything with the adoption would work out soon...she just hoped what had happened at the school earlier wouldn't cause more problems.

The Talk

The sun over Ponyville was now starting to dip from its peak in the light blue sky. Rainbow Dash and the rest of the cutie mark crusaders as well as the main six made their way to the Golden Oaks Library.

Dash knocked on the door and was soon granted entry by Spike. He soon lead the group of ponies into the main room of the library which by now had been cleared of the mountains of books that it had possessed earlier today.

Twilight entered the living room from the stairs and smiled when she saw all her friends in the room. “Hey everypony,” she said happily motioning for all of them to take a seat.

All the ponies in the living room took a seat whilst Rainbow Dash kept standing in the center of the room. She breathed in shakily before speaking. “So... I gathered everyone here because I think you all need to know the truth about what's happened lately,” she said looking at Scootaloo.

The little filly looked around the room, she could feel the nerves start to build up inside her. But when she turned back to the cyan mare she felt all those feelings leave her as she saw her sister with a comforting smile and holding her hooves out for her.

Scootaloo turned a determined look and got up before trotting over to the older mare in the center of the room. She took the Pegasus’s hoof and turned around to face all the ponies in the room who were eyeing both ponies eagerly.

Scootaloo sighed before she spoke up. “Well first off.. I-I’m an orphan,” she said starting to let the truth out. All the ponies in the room besides Dash dropped their jaws at this in utter shock at the first bombshell of the day. Scootaloo continued, “I’ve also been living in the alleyway behind Sugarcube Corner for a few months now,” she admitted as she heard all the ponies gasp. Scootaloo started to feel her nerves rise, but she felt Dash gently rub her shoulder with a hoof spurring her on.

Scootaloo rubbed the back of her neck hesitantly before speaking up again. “I’ve been… homeless for quite a while and… and just a few days ago... I got really depressed after Diamond Tiara had bullied me and I-I…” Just at that moment Scootaloo hiccuped as her body was forcing her not to tell everypony about that day.

Scootaloo then started to feel her eyes water, she could still feel Dash’s hoof but it was too much and Scootaloo started to sob. Dash realised this and quickly picked the small pegasus up and embraced her gently.

However the shocked ponies on the floor and around the library were still slightly confused. Applejack spoke up among the silent curiosity. “She did what a few days ago?” she asked curiously, but with slight fear in her voice of what the answer might be.

Rainbow Dash looked over to the orange filly currently resting on her shoulder as she calmed down from her sobbing. Scootaloo knew what Dash was asking and nodded in approval.

Rainbow then turned back to the other ponies in the room and spoke, her voice still quite shaky. “A few days ago Scootaloo…tried to kill herself.”

Everypony in the room was now utterly speechless. Dash could see on the expressions of each pony there was immense sorrow and guilt. Dash could also feel the same nerves welling up again inside her as she hugged the orange filly tightly.

After a few moments of silence Twilight spoke up her voice was quiet but audible, “...I’m sorry Scootaloo.”

The little orange filly turned around to face the lavender unicorn with stunned eyes. “Y-you’re sorry?” she asked slightly confused at the sudden apology.

Twilight nodded and so did every other pony in the room. ”We’re sorry we didn’t notice,” she said sadly. Scootaloo then noticed all the guilt ridden faces in the library as her mind started to come to terms with reality itself.

Dash let Scootaloo down onto the library’s floor before the little filly was tackled to the ground by her two friends in a group hug. Rainbow Dash and the rest of the group smiled warmly.

Scootaloo finally felt at peace in her troubled mind, she knew now despite her actions she would always have ponies which loved and cared for her no matter what. She kept this thought close as she smiled and hugged her friends in return.

Suddenly there was a knock at the entrance of the library breaking the silence. Twilight used her magic to open the door to reveal a white alicorn standing behind it.

Twilight smiled. “Princess Celestia,” she said happily trotting over and embracing her mentor.

Celestia smiled. “Hello Twilight, I read your letter and thought I would come as soon as I could,” she said happily.

Twilight smiled. “Great, now we can speed this adoption up,” she said turning to Dash with a smile.

Scootaloo looked over to her idol with wide eyes. “A-adoption?”

Rainbow smiled and nodded happily. Scootaloo smiled hugely before she ran up and hugged the mare tightly.

Celestia smiled at the affection. “I think we should start the house inspection immediately,” she said to the lavender mare who nodded in approval.

Scootaloo stopped nuzzling the rainbow maned mare when she heard this. “What do you mean by house inspection?” she asked curiously.

Twilight was first to speak, “Well somepony will come to Rainbow’s house and inspect it to see if you can live there,” she answered happily.

Scootaloo’s face turned to one of worry. “and what happens if they don’t like it?” she asked hesitantly.

Twilight lowered her head not wanting to answer the question. Celestia just kept a warm smile as she turned to face the two Pegasi in the room. “Lets get started shall we?” she asked politely before trotting out of the library.

Rainbow let the small filly hop onto her back before she followed the alicorn princess out of the library. All the other ponies watched on nervously as the three ponies took off towards the floating home in the sky hoping everything would be alright.

Rainbow looked at the filly on her back, she knew Scootaloo was beyond scared of what might happen if the princess did not approve of the home, she could also feel her own nerves rising as they made their way to her home...she just hoped it would all be okay.

The Inspection

The day over Ponyville was starting to come to an end as the sun started to make it’s way towards the horizon when the three ponies reached the small cloud home overlooking Ponyville. Princess Celestia pushed open the cloud door and trotted into the house, Dash looked at Scootaloo as the small filly jumped off her back and onto the cloud surface below. She looked up at the cyan mare with the same nervousness that Dash was feeling herself. The rainbow maned mare held out a hoof which Scootaloo gladly took a hold of as the pair walked into the cloud home with the sun goddess.

Celestia trotted into the home and first checked the main room of the cloud home with great detail as she levitated items and photos from the room. Dash felt the grip from the filly’s hoof tighten as they watched the alicorn inspect the home, then a knock came from the door.

Dash looked over at the entrance with a quizzical look before she trotted over to open it. When she did she saw a purple stallion with a dark blue mane standing behind it, on his flank adorned a checkerboard and a quill. Dash raised an eyebrow and was about to open her mouth when Celestia interrupted, “Oh hello purple check, I see you received my note,” she said with a smile.

The stallion nodded and looked down towards the filly. Scootaloo stepped back slightly as the stallion entered, she didn’t feel a nice vibe from him and that didn't bode well for her current fears.

Dash tried to keep a straight face as the ponies entered the kitchen to see the burned breakfast from yesterday still visible next to the kitchen sink as well as torn up scraps of magazine paper from the night before when she was planning her day out with the little filly.

Purple Check already had a quill and paper out and was already writing things down as he and Celestia inspected the place. The stallion went over to the sink and looked down to see the burnt food, he turned around to face Dash with an eyebrow raised. “Miss Dash, how would you value your...cooking skills?” he asked.

Dash could feel sweat forming on her brow. “Oh um...average?” she said hesitantly as she rubbed the back of her neck.

The stallion nodded before writing down on the piece of paper.

Scootaloo looked around the kitchen as she watched the two ponies inspect the room. She could feel her nerves and heart pulse rising with every second as they continued to search every fine detail, she just hoped it would all work out.

Soon all the ponies moved onto the upper floor of the cloud home. Rainbow almost face-hoofed when Celestia entered the bathroom to find the remains of last nights bath-time which ended in a splash fight between Rainbow and Scootaloo. The bathroom floor was covered in water and soap from the bath tub. Purple Check looked around the room with utter shock. He turned around to face the cyan mare. “You think this is safe?” he asked with a quizzical look.

Rainbow Dash lowered her head slightly. “No, but I was going to clean it up”, she pointed out.

Purple Check nodded before writing down on the parchment once again.

Scootaloo started to feel a lump start to swell in her throat. Things didn’t seem to be working out so far and that only made the intensity rise as the four ponies walked around the home.

After a few more moments the four ponies reached the last part of the home. Purple Check opened the door to reveal the master bedroom of the house.

The room was a mess with items littering the floor and books over filling the nightstand. The bed was acceptable but wasn’t even made and the wardrobe was full to the brim with Wonderbolt memorabilia.

Celestia was next into the room, she looked around the space with a blank expression as she levitated certain items in the room. Dash and Scoots stood at the threshold of the door nervously.

After the inspection was complete everypony made their way back to the outside of the home before Purple Check delivered his verdict.

The purple stallion sighed as he looked towards the two ponies. “Okay so on inspection of the house the quality is poor and slightly on the health hazard side with all those rotten apple cores..and the eggs,” he said raising an eyebrow at the cyan mare as she lowered her head.

Purple Check continued, “On safety aspects of the house its poor as well mainly because looking at Scootaloo’s records she cannot fly and this home is sky based plus what I found in the bathroom isn’t really child-proof either,” he said writing a few more things down on the parchment.

Everything that had been said so far was like a kick in the chest for both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Still Purple Check continued unaware of the internal pain he was bringing with each syllable, “On inspection of the house as a whole I’m afraid to say I cannot permit this house to be fit for child upbringing as it is too dangerous or healthy to be used,” he said writing the last few words on the paper before handing it to Celestia.

That's when Scootaloo felt her heart rip into pieces. She felt the warm flood of tears make its way to her eyes as she was on the verge of breaking down then and there. Her grip on Dash’s hoof was now tighter than ever.

Dash could also feel her heart tearing slightly at the words of disapproval from the purple stallion. She felt as if her world she was building with the filly was crashing down by the second, she knew the filly was thinking the same when she realized the tight grip on her hoof. She gripped the filly’s hoof harder showing her she was still by her side.

Celestia took the parchment in her magic and read over it before looking down at the three ponies. She could tell that Purple Check was wondering why she hadn’t signed it yet. She then looked over to the two pegasi holding their hooves, she saw Scootaloo mouthing the word ‘please’ again and again as she kept her eyes shut trying to stop any tears from exposing themselves. Meanwhile Dash was looking straight back at her with a slight glint of hope in her deep magenta eyes.

Celestia smiled warmly at them. “I think differently,” she said bringing slight shock to the three ponies.

The alicorn princess continued, ‘While you think that the home is unsafe. I could tell a lot of love had been shared throughout the entire home, and I could also tell by the way you two ponies walked around the home that you wanted this really badly. That tells me all I need to know that you will love and cherish this filly and that is more than enough for me to accept your adoption Rainbow Dash.”

The cyan mare’s jaw dropped in astonishment as Scootaloo squealed in excitement pumping her hoof in the air before hugging Dash tightly. Once the rainbow maned mare regained her senses she returned the hug with the same force as the feeling of utter joy washed over them.

Celestia smiled as the two Pegasi embraced, but Purple Check was far from pleased. “Celestia how can you approve this, this house is clearly unsafe?” he said in utter shock. Celestia was about to speak when a voice cut her off.

“Just leave it to us Mr,” Pinkie Pie said as she sat in Ponyville’s signature balloon with the other mares who were all armed with paint brushes and other tools. Dash and Scootaloo smiled at their friends arrival as Celestia held back her own laughter.

After a few hours of hard work Twilight Sparkle collapsed onto the cloud home’s living room sofa with all the other worn out mares and fillies. They looked round the new home with equally big smiles. All the cloud walls had been reinforced, the Wonderbolt memorabilia replaced with pictures of Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash on their days out. The whole home also had a few more items which had been the handy work of Applejack and her little sister. Finally the house looked like a real home, one that two ponies could share happily.

Rainbow Dash sighed happily as she held the little orange filly around her neck as the filly kept looking round the room in awe.

Applejack was the first to break the peaceful silence, “Well ya’ll, I think it’s time we all headed home,” she said taking the now sleeping Applebloom on her back.

Twilight and the others nodded as they all got up and made their way to the balloon at the edge of the cloud home.

Dash and Scootaloo waved goodbye to the ponies as they descended back through the clouds to the earth pony town below. Rainbow yawned before turning to the orange filly. “Well sister, you wanna hit the hay?” she asked whilst ruffling her mane with a smirk as she trotted back into the home.

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah right behind you sis,” she said happily as she followed her new guardian into the cloud home, closing the door behind her.

Scootaloo followed the cyan mare into the master bedroom. Rainbow turned around to face the smaller pony with a quizzical look. “I never asked this squirt, but would you like your own room? I mean I’m down if you want to but it might take some time to do,” she said.

Scootaloo pondered on this for a moment before shaking her head. “No, I prefer being with you...If that’s okay,” she said circling her hoof on the cloud surface, her face slightly flushed with embarrassment.

Rainbow Dash smiled and nodded as she picked the smaller Pegasus up in her wings and cuddled her tightly.

Rainbow put a wing over Scootaloo as they laid down on the cloud bed. “So Scoots...do you feel better now, you know since you did before?” she asked curiously.

Scootaloo looked up at the cyan mare. “I do, I feel like the luckiest filly ever because I have the most awesome sis who’s there for me,” she said happily as she hugged the mare tightly.

Dash smiled. “Well squirt if you’re happy, then so am I,” she said to the orange filly giving her a gentle squeeze. The little filly gave out a yawn before snuggling into Dash’s soft fur. Dash smiled and kissed the filly’s forehead gently before whispering into her ear.

“You will always hold a special place in my heart Scoots...and I will always be your sister.”

Ending

It had now been 2 weeks since Celestia had approved of Rainbow’s adoption over Scootaloo and since that day the pair had been living happily, although there were still some recurring nightmares as well as School where a certain bully was yet to return.

Today however was another bright Sunday in Ponyville, but as much as the day seemed normal to a certain rainbow maned mare today was the day she would make the biggest step of her life.

The sky blue mare yawned lazily as she awoke from her slumber. She looked down to see the orange filly still nestled in her wing, she smiled at this before leaning down and softly awaking the filly by nuzzling her cheek.

With a slight yawn similar to Rainbow’s, Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes to see her big sister and it was a sight she wouldn’t trade for the world.

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Hey Scoots, come on, we need to get to Cloudsdale today,” she said getting up of the bed.

Scootaloo groaned, “Can’t it be just five more minutes?” she said rolling back under the soft cloud covers.

Dash shook her head playfully. “Jeez kiddo, you’re worse than me," she said with a slight giggle.

Rainbow went over to the window and saw the sun slowly rising into the morning sky. She liked the feeling of the early morning breeze floating through the home.

After a few moments Rainbow turned back to the cloud bed and lifted the covers up to find a sleeping Scootaloo. Dash rolled her eyes and picked the foal up before trotting downstairs.

Once she was in the living room, Dash picked up two tickets from the coffee table and put them into her saddlebags before securing them to her back. She checked to see if her sibling was still asleep and muffled a giggle when she heard the filly snore.

Dash trotted over to the entrance and opened the door to reveal the cast sky above. She smiled and flared her wings before shooting off in the direction of Cloudsdale for a very special day…

Scootaloo woke up for a second time, though she wasn’t in her usual surroundings. She looked around and gasped when she saw the famous sky city known as Cloudsdale. She was then taken from her thoughts when a memorable voice spoke up.

“Finally woke up then?” Rainbow Dash said with a giggle.

Scootaloo was confused. “Dash, why are we in Cloudsdale Dash?” she asked curiously.

Rainbow smiled. “Well... I thought I’d do something special for you today Squirt,” she said happily.

Scootaloo searched around and her jaw fell from its place when she saw the giant stadium towering over the two pegasi with a Wonderbolt symbol proudly adorning its walls. Rainbow Dash flew to the entrance of the stadium where a crowd of ponies were already waiting.

Dash landed in the sea of ponies and let the little filly of her back. Scootaloo looked around the place in wonder.

Rainbow smiled. “Come on Scoots, don’t get lost,” she warned as she trotted over to the entrance of the stage. Scootaloo followed the cyan mare until they came up to the front entrance of the stadium where a few guards were stationed.

One of the guards turned round to face the cyan mare and the filly. “Sorry but you can't come beyond here before the show,” he said.

Rainbow smirked. “Yeah, can you tell Spitfire that Rainbow Dash is waiting here for her?” she asked.

The stallion threw a sarcastic smile at the cyan mare as the other guards tried to hold back their own fits of laughter. Rainbow rolled her eyes and waited for the stallion to trot off.

The guard turned and trotted into the stadium as he said, “Don’t feel bad if the captain of the Wonderbolts isn’t up for seeing fans right now.”

Rainbow shook her head at the stallions sarcasm as he walked off. A few moments later she was proudly wearing a smug grin when the surprised guard came out of the arena with none other than the fiery pegasus herself.

Spitfire smiled as she cantered over to the two ponies. She was wearing her Wonderbolts uniform but she had her headpiece removed. “Well if it isn't miss Rainbow Dash,” she said with a casual tone.

The guard was speechless, “Wait!? Miss Spitfire, you know this pony?” he asked curiously.

The yellow pegasus turned round to face the stallion with a slight glare. “How would I not now the creator of the best stunt on the planet and the top student at the academy?” she asked.

Rainbow smirked. “Yup that's me, but um...Spit could I ask a favour?” she asked hesitantly.

Spitfire turned around to face the mare with an eyebrow raised. “What kind of favour,” she asked smirking.

Dash motioned for Spitfire to lean in so she could whisper something in her ear. Spitfire smiled as the pony spoke and looked between the little filly and the cyan mare as she let out slight giggles for certain parts of the secret message. After Dash finished Spitfire nodded. “Sure thing Dash ,I can do that!” she said happily. Dash smiled in return and gave the mare a package, Scootaloo couldn’t quite tell what it was but she was still curious about what it was her sister was asking.

Just then the announcement for the start of the show boomed round the stadium. Spitfire turned to the entrance. “Guess that's my cue,” she said before trotting back into the stadium.

After a few minutes Rainbow and Scootaloo found themselves sitting in amongst the vast crowd of the stadium as the famous aerobatic team soared overhead with great speed

Dash felt happy that she now had somepony to help warm the crowds and chant their favorite songs as the Wonderbolts performed many tricks and various stunts around the stadium. Scootaloo felt like she was having the time of her life and she gave all her thanks to her older sibling, but little did she know that there was more to come.

After a while the show came to an end, Spitfire and two other famous Wonderbolt performers took the center of the arena.

Spitfire took a microphone before speaking to the crowd, “Hello everypony, did you enjoy the show?” she asked to which she was met by a roar of stamping hooves.

The captain smiled and hushed the crowd back down before continuing, “Now today I have a special announcement for you all,” she said as everypony in the crowd looked at the Wonderbolts eagerly.

Spitfire continued, “Today I heard about a certain little pony who two weeks ago got the gift of a lifetime, In one hoof I hold that gift and in the other I point to the little filly who deserves it."

Spitfire held up her free hoof and moved it about the crowd as all the pegasi watched in anticipation. Spitfire’s hoof glided across the stadium until it reached Scootaloo.

Spitfire smiled. “You there, with the purple mane,” she said.

Scootaloo was shocked she looked up at Rainbow Dash who nodded motioning for Scootaloo to get up. The little filly trotted over to the center of the arena in front of the whole crowd.

Scootaloo walked up to Spitfire and looked at her with wonder. The yellow pony smiled and handed the filly the same package she had seen Dash give Spitfire earlier.

Scootaloo took of the packaging around the item and gasped when she saw the object.

It was a sheet of paper that had been framed but what it read was something Scootaloo would remember for life.

Equestrian Adoption Agency

This form hereby states that the pony Rainbow Dash is now in

rightful custody of the filly named Scootaloo and has agreed to the

terms of adoption in loving and caring for said filly as her new _______

Scootaloo was slightly confused why the last line hadn’t been filled out. She then felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked up to see the rainbow maned mare. “Dash?” Scootaloo asked curiously.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Yeah kid?”

Scootaloo pointed to the last part of the adoption certificate. Dash smiled and leaned down to the filly. “I couldn’t decide so I wanted you to choose who you wanted me to be,” she asked stroking the filly’s mane softly.

Scootaloo felt a wave of tears reach her eyelids as her heart and mind burst out of theirselves in pure happiness and joy. Scootaloo launched herself at Dash hugging her tightly as she said…

“I love you… Mommy.”

Rainbow felt a wave of warmth come as she heard those words drift through her mind. She smiled and felt her own wave of emotions reach her features.

In the crowd a mare started clapping which was then followed by more as the volume rose to ponies standing on their hooves and cheering.

Dash smiled a mile wide as she heard the cheers. She knew there was more hurdles to overcome in this journey but she knew that through thick and thin, through rain or shine she would always be by Scootaloo’s side, not just as a carer or a guardian or an idol… but as a mother.

The End.