Welcome to the World, Scram Jet
More than ten months had gone by since that eventful Hearth's Warming Day, when Rainbow Dash had announced that she was expecting a foal of her very own, and things had been rather hectic in the weeks leading up to her due date. Pinkie Pie had thrown her a somewhat lavish foal shower, and Soarin had been running through the house with a fine-toothed comb, day after day, making sure that they had everything they needed for this newest addition to their family – crib, toys, diapers, food, clothing, baby sling, reservation of a birthing suite at the hospital...
Scootaloo, their adopted daughter, had been feeling rather anxious about the whole series of events. On the one hoof, she was happy for Rainbow Dash and eager to meet her new sibling; but what if it all ended up distracting her legal guardians' attention away from her altogether? These newborns did need a lot of care, after all.
All these concerns were still smouldering away in the back of her mind as she brought her scooter to a halt beneath the imposing cloud structure that served as her and her adoptive parents' home. She had been staying over at Rumble's house that night, and since most of the other Cutie Mark Crusaders were either busy or away on vacation, the two young Pegasi had decided to go for a swim in one of the nearby lakes, which meant that Scootaloo had to return home to collect her swimwear.
“Sure was good of you to have me round, Rumble,” the little orange Pegasus filly mused as they dismounted the scooter.
“Ah, don't mention it,” smiled Rumble modestly. “It was good of you to come round in the first place.”
Scootaloo returned the smile in kind. “Yeah, well, there's just been so much going on at home, what with Rainbow Dash's new foal, so I just figured I'd need a bit of a break,” she replied.
“Yeah, and I don't blame you,” sympathised Rumble. “Thunderlane says he found things pretty stressful himself in the month before I was born, so he just did everything he could to keep away from it all so that he didn't have to worry...” He broke off as he noticed a solemn, distant expression on his fillyfriend's face. She was gazing vacantly up at the clouds, and barely seemed to notice him at all. “What's wrong?” he asked anxiously.
“Oh...nothing,” muttered Scootaloo half-heartedly. “Just thinking, that's all.”
“Thinking about what?”
“Nothing in particular.” Scootaloo gently flew herself up to the landing outside the house, seemingly eager to drop the subject.
But Rumble wasn't convinced, and followed the orange-coated filly as closely as he could. “C'mon, Scoot,” he encouraged. “You know you can tell me anything. Please talk to me.”
At last, Scootaloo relented. “I...I'm just so nervous is all. I mean, what if Soarin and Rainbow Dash don't have any time for me after that foal's born? What if they send me away to a different family? What if......what if the foal doesn't want me as an older sister?” The barely noticeable tears in her eyes spoke volumes for her fears.
Rumble was most dismayed. “You're...really scared about all that?”
“Yeah,” faltered Scootaloo. “I didn't want to say anything to Rainbow Dash in case she got all mad at me, but...oh, Rumble!” Without warning, she flung her arms around her coltfriend and sobbed hard into his shoulder. “I don't wanna go through all that again! I just can't!”
“Go through what?” asked Rumble.
“The whole reason they adopted me in the first place,” clarified Scootaloo tearfully.
Only then did Rumble realise what Scootaloo was getting at – all this business with the new foal had brought back old memories of the neglect she had suffered under her biological father, Slate Shard, and was sowing seeds of dread in her mind that Rainbow Dash and Soarin, the very ponies who had saved her from such a distressing way of life and helped clear up all the misunderstandings between them, would no longer be there for her. His heart went out to his distraught fillyfriend, and he drew her into a soothing, caring hug, running a gentle hoof along her back as she cried into his light grey fur.
“Take it easy, Scoot,” he whispered. “There's no way Dash or Soarin would even think about turning their backs on you. It's kinda like the way it was with Slate Shard; he never wanted to either, and it really broke his heart when he found out that he had. We've had him round a number of times since......since that day...” He shuddered as the memory of Scootaloo lying cold, wet and unconscious on the bridge flashed before his eyes. “...and he still regrets it. He really does.”
Scootaloo remained silent.
“Besides, you're forgetting that Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty,” Rumble pointed out. “She cares a great deal about you, Scoot, and if she ever let you down, I bet you a thousand bits she'd feel the same as Slate Shard, but ten times worse. As for her foal...I'm sure he or she will love you just as much as they do.”
“You really think so?”
“I know so,” asserted Rumble softly, pulling back slightly so that he could gaze into her eyes. “Even if Soarin or Rainbow Dash found they couldn't care for you like they used to, they'd spare no effort to ensure you'd move to a good home here in Ponyville.”
Scootaloo smiled in reply – and this time, it wasn't merely a feeble attempt at looking as if she had nothing to worry about. Instead, it was a warm, fond, grateful smile that spoke volumes for the love she had always felt towards the grey Pegasus colt. “Thanks, Rumble,” she murmured. “Really, you've no idea how much that means to me.”
“You're welcome, Scoot, as always.” Rumble smiled back, and the two Pegasi shared a deep, meaningful kiss before heading indoors.
Once inside the house, however, the two foals couldn't help noticing how quiet it was. During the last three weeks, Rainbow Villa had echoed to the sounds of Soarin trotting back and forth, attending to Rainbow Dash's needs here, taking stock there and Celestia knew what else; but today, there wasn't a single sound to be heard.
Scootaloo looked around, confused. “That's funny,” she remarked. “You'd think Soarin and Rainbow Dash would at least be awake by now.”
“Yeah, it does seem a little too quiet for my liking,” agreed Rumble uneasily.
“Well, I'm gonna go upstairs anyway; I might as well go check on them before I grab my swimsuit,” decided Scootaloo.
“You want me to check and see if they've left a note?”
“Yeah, good idea,” conceded Scootaloo. “For all we know, her foal could be coming right now,” and taking care not to make too much noise, she ambled away to see what Rainbow Dash and Soarin were up to. Rumble, meanwhile, began searching for any evidence as to where they might be at this very moment.
He didn't have to look very hard.
As he was checking the dining room, he noticed a rather hastily written note sitting on the table. Curiously, he trotted towards it and read it as carefully as he could – but no sooner had he finished than his eyes widened in realisation. Snatching the note from the table, he dashed over to the staircase just as Scootaloo was returning with the kitbag containing her swimwear.
“No sign of them, Rumble. Did you find anything?”
“I sure did,” Rumble blurted out. “Seems you were right about the foal. Just take a look at this!”
“Huh?!” Scootaloo took the note and read out loud:
GONE TO HAVE FOAL. MEET US AT HOSPITAL.
SOARIN
Without a second glance, the orange-furred filly dropped the note and her kitbag and ran towards the front door. “Come on, Rumble!” she shouted. “Let's get over there, fast!”
“Right with you, Scoot!” called Rumble, galloping after her.
Scootaloo gazed up at the clock for the umpteenth time. Upon arrival at the hospital, she and Rumble had found her aunt Spitfire and several of Rainbow Dash's other friends and fellow Wonderbolts waiting anxiously outside the maternity ward, since when she could nothing but sit around and fret. It was now late in the afternoon, and the suspense was becoming far too much for the orange-coated Pegasus.
“Seven hours!” she burst out in frustration. “Seven hours we've been waiting out here! How much longer is this gonna take?!”
“Cool it, Scootaloo,” soothed Applejack. “It ain't easy givin' birth, ya know, even fo' the toughest mares. Ah should know,” she went on sagely; “Ah was there when Ma gave birth to Apple Bloom, after all.”
“Yeah, turn that frown upside down, Scoot!” cajoled Pinkie Pie, exuberant as ever. “You've got a brother or sister about to join the family – how awesome is that?!”
“Maybe it would be if I didn't have to put up with all this waiting!” muttered Scootaloo under her breath.
“Careful, Scoot!” quipped Thunderlane. “You yourself might end up going through the same thing as Rainbow Dash someday, and then you'll be eating your own words!”
Memphis Belle glared at him. “That's enough, Thunderlane!” she chided. “Scootaloo's going through a really tough time right now; the last thing we need is to exacerbate this situation still further! And need I remind you,” she added, “that foaling is no laughing matter. It's a really painful process, more painful than you could possibly imagine, so you do well to use a little more tact, young stallion.”
Thunderlane grinned nervously. “Sorry, Mom.”
“Try not to worry, Scootaloo,” comforted Spitfire, giving her niece an encouraging pat on the withers. “Rainbow Dash is a really strong mare, and I'd be very surprised if, Celestia forbid, anything bad was happening in there.”
Scootaloo looked down at the floor, still frowning. “I sure hope not.”
Rumble smiled sympathetically as he came up next to the agitated Pegasus filly. “This is really getting to you, isn't it?”
“Not half, Rumble,” mumbled Scootaloo wearily. “I dunno if I can take much more of this.”
“It'll all be over soon, Scoot. Any minute now, the doctor's gonna come out and tell us that...” Rumble paused. How long did it normally take for a mare to give birth anyway, he wondered? “...well, at least he'll tell us if there are any problems,” he finished.
Scootaloo nodded, and leaned in for a comforting nuzzle from her coltfriend. Just as they came apart again, almost as if on cue, the door swung open and one of the midwives came out into the corridor. The orange-furred filly sprang to her hooves. “Well? How are they doing in there?”
“Congratulations, my little pony,” smiled the midwife. “Your legal guardians are now parents in their own right. ”
Scootaloo's eyes began filling with tears of joy. “You mean...I'm an older sister now?” she stammered.
“Indeed you are, dear – indeed you are.”
“YAAAY!!” Pinkie Pie let out an ear-piercing cheer and began bouncing around the corridor in delight. “I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE NEW FOAL! PLEASE LET ME IN FIRST! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE WITH FROSTING AND SPRINKLES AND CHOCOLATE POWDER ON TOP!!!”
“Now hang on, Pinkie Pie!” interrupted Twilight promptly. “This is Scootaloo's adoptive family and two of the finest Wonderbolts we're talking about here. I say we let Scootaloo go in first, then Spitfire, and then the rest of us.”
Still overwhelmed with emotion, Scootaloo looked back towards her aunt, who nodded her wholehearted approval. “Go ahead, Scoot,” she encouraged. “Your sibling's waiting for you.”
With that, Scootaloo cantered eagerly into the suite to find Rainbow Dash lying on the bed on the far side of the room. The rainbow-maned mare's fur was far scruffier than normal, but her obvious exhaustion was more than offset by the broad smile on her face and the tears of joy that were trickling out of her eyes. Soarin too was beaming with a deep fatherly pride as the two Pegasi gazed lovingly upon the small bundle wrapped in blankets that lay in Rainbow Dash's arms.
Rainbow Dash was the first to notice the little orange filly. “Hullo, Scootaloo,” she said with a weary smile.
“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” called Scootaloo softly. “Is that...”
“It sure is, squirt,” affirmed Rainbow Dash proudly. “You wanna see him?”
“You bet!” Scootaloo trotted over as quietly as she could, whereupon Soarin got up from his chair so that she could climb onto the bed and settle herself down next to Rainbow Dash.
As soon as the orange-furred filly had made herself comfortable, Rainbow Dash carefully lifted away part of the blanket to reveal a small blue Pegasus colt. The shade of his coat was something of a halfway house between his parents, and the rainbow colours of his mane were arranged more randomly than those of his mother. Up to this point, he had been sleeping peacefully in his mother's embrace; but as soon as Scootaloo had started to climb onto the bed, he had slowly woken up to find her gazing upon him in awe. The newborn colt gazed back at her curiously – and then, after a few seconds, he gave her a soft smile.
Scootaloo placed a hoof to her chest as she felt herself tearing up again. It had only been a few minutes since this little foal had been born, so by rights, he should barely even know who she was, let alone whether he wanted her as a sister – and yet, in spite of all this, he had already begun to look up to her just like she herself had done to his mother......to their mother. This touched the orange-coated filly deeply, and in that instant, she no longer felt afraid of being neglected or disliked; all she felt was a sense of sisterly love towards the newborn Pegasus.
Soarin smiled fondly as he too gazed upon his little infant. “Isn't he just the sweetest thing you ever saw?”
“He sure is,” murmured Scootaloo, brushing her tears away. She then reached out a hoof and gently brushed it through the foal's mane, earning a small giggle from him in the process. “And so soft too.”
“I'll say,” agreed Rainbow Dash, unashamedly shedding tears of her own. “This little fella's the best thing that's happened to me since we took you in, Scoot. He's just so...perfect is what he is – and there was I thinking I'd never be happier than when Soarin and I got married.”
“You and me both,” mused Scootaloo. “You thought of a name for him yet?”
“We sure have,” smiled Rainbow Dash. She then held her foal close and nuzzled him affectionately as she whispered into his ear;
“Welcome to the world...Scram Jet.”