The Most Important Pony In Your Lifeby ColeTrain4EVERChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 5Chapter 6Chapter 7Chapter 8Chapter 9Chapter 1Chapter 1: Rain washed down her face and coat. Her wings flapped furiously, almost like the wings of a humming bird. But as hard as she tried, Scootaloo couldn’t stay off the ground for very long. She tried again and again, determined not to give up, but all she achieved was failure after utter failure. The storm was picking up, but Scootaloo wanted one last chance, just one more chance to show her worth. She didn’t have anyone to prove anything to; the field was empty except for her and the few animals trying to find shelter. She began to flap her wings, faster and faster. She got off the ground slowly and she soon began to flap faster. “I’m gonna...do it,” she panted, "I’m...not gonna…fail...” She pushed and pushed and just as she thought that she had it, her wings gave out. Scootaloo plunged to the hard, wet ground. Her entire body was covered in mud, and so was her mane. But she didn’t care about that; Scootaloo just laid there in the storm, thinking of only one thing. “Failure. Failure. I’m such a failure.” If the storm hadn't been raging, her loud cries would probably have been picked up by tons of ponies passing by the field going to and from Sweet Apple Acres. She couldn’t move: she could only cry, thinking only of her family and friends. She hadn’t just failed herself; she failed her parents too. "Mom…Dad…why couldn’t you be around to teach me how to fly?” she cried out. Soon after, she got up and began to charge as fast as she could to the Ghastly Gorge. The storm pounded her and she was beginning to feel numb. She didn’t care; it would all be over soon. She looked for the spot she had been to over the past couple of days. Soon, she found it: the tall cliff with jagged rocks at the bottom. She wanted this to be the place where she finally learned to fly. After all that training, it would be one test; either fly and live, or fall and die. She knew that day would never come and just wanted the pain and misery to go away. She wanted all of the insults and ridiculing to go away. She wanted it to all stop. Her face was a mix of tears, mud, and rain. Her body was shivering and filthy. But she didn’t care. “I’m never going to be a true pegasus...I don’t deserve to live.” Scootaloo straightened her body and calmed her breathing. Then...she jumped. Above the clouds, the sun was out and the young pegasi were playing on their giant temporary park. The young colts played rough, getting wet as they fell into the dark cloud under them, while the young fillies played tag, jump rope, and practiced their flying. As the young children played, one blue mare flew over them, proud of the work she and the rest of the weather team had done. She loved seeing all of the children happy. After playing with a few of the kids, Rainbow started back for Ponyville and her home. Feeling a little daring, she decided to fly under the clouds. She loved the feeling of the rain on her face as she zoomed by, the thrill of flying. Rainbow had been a gifted flyer from the start. Her parents had seen her potential and sent her to a flight camp for the summer. The camp had classes for young, inexperienced fliers, but it also had advanced classes for those who showed the potential and the heart. Rainbow was one of those fillies. She and a group of other foals learned the techniques for how to achieve the most speed, how to approach the ground at high speeds and stop without slowing down in the air, and how to create the weather. All pegasi had to learn about the weather, but Rainbow’s class learned how to move the clouds perfectly and the conditions for making certain events like tornadoes and such. When she wasn’t in class, Rainbow raced many of the other campers. She also had a couple of friends, such as Gilda the Griffin, who was troublesome. There was also Fluttershy, who was almost Rainbows complete opposite. She had trouble flying, was quiet, and was very shy (shocker). Rainbow had met Fluttershy after she helped defend her from a group of bullies. The two had been friends ever since, helping each other overcome certain shortcomings, such as Fluttershy’s flying problem. During her time at the camp, Rainbow won the Best Young Flyers competition, and had a great future ahead of her, but she dropped out of flight school and went to work for a weather team in Ponyville. To this day, no one, not even Fluttershy, who lives in Ponyville, knows why she did it. All they know is that she couldn’t be happier. As she dipped below the clouds, Rainbow tried to look at her surroundings. Through the storm, she could tell she was a fair distance from Ponyville. She decided she could take the path along Ghastly Gorge to save time. Although it would cost her cover from the powerful rain, if she hurried, it wouldn’t matter. As she flew over the gorge, she thought she saw somepony in the rain. It seemed weird for someone to be out in such a bad storm, especially in Ghastly Gorge, so she decided to slow down and do a double take. From her height, she saw a purple mane and an orange coat running up the cliff of the gorge. She knew immediately who it was: Scootaloo, her biggest fan and president of the “Rainbow Dash Fan Club.” The filly idolized her, and Rainbow appreciated her loyalty. Rainbow secretly cared for the little filly a lot. Being an only child, Rainbow never had any siblings. Neither did Scootaloo, to the best of Rainbow’s knowledge. She had never heard much about Scootaloo’s family. She tried to watch out for her the best she could, but tried not to get involved too much, for both Scootaloo’s sake and hers. Rainbow stopped in the rain and watched and Scootaloo got to the top of the cliff of the gorge. Rainbow noticed her shaking body and her face covered in tears. Before Rainbow could decide what to do, she saw Scootaloo do something that took the color out of her mane and the breath out of her lungs. She saw her jump. Rainbow froze in fear, not knowing what to do. But in a matter of microseconds, she snapped out of it and plunged after Scootaloo. As she chased after her, tears began to roll down/up her body. No thoughts ran through her head except one: “Save her. Save her, Celestia dammit!” Rainbow caught up with her as they neared the ground. She grabbed her and tried to pull up, but the rain and the speed that they were going at made it difficult. Rainbow thought only of Scootaloo, and after getting out of the range full of jagged rocks, rolled over onto her back, bracing Scootaloo on her belly hugging her, and came to a sliding stop on the ground. The pain was terrible. The ground was hard. But she would live. More importantly, Scootaloo was alive. Chapter 2Chapter 2: As Scootaloo began to regain consciousness, she realized that she was somewhere completely foreign. It was soft, like a bed. How could the bottom of Ghastly Gorge feel like a bed? She slowly opened one eye to try and look at her surroundings. She opened her other eye in disbelief as she realized where she was. She was on a cloud. Well, it was a cloud home at least. Scootaloo looked around in the room. There was a bed, couple of drawers, a mirror, the usual stuff. She looked at the ground; it was cloud. She took the covers off of her and slowly got out of bed. She took her first step onto a cloud……and it felt amazing. She thought she must have died, because there was no feasible way she could be on a cloud and be alive. So Scootaloo enjoyed the feeling of the cloud and began jumping around. It was so soft and plush, but surprisingly stable. After she finished playing around, Scootaloo went outside the door into the hallway. She looked around, and it seemed like nopony was there. Wasn’t there supposed to be somepony waiting for you when you got to Heaven? She walked down the hallway and found a staircase that led to a lower floor. She a balcony near the end of the hall and decided to look outside, and gasped in awe. The clouds looked so different from above and all of the ponies looked like ants. She backed away and headed for the stairs and tried to figure out exactly where she was. As Scootaloo walked down the stairs, she looked around in amazement. The main room of the house was huge. It seemed to have some couches, a fireplace, a bookshelf, some framed photos and posters, and a few other things. Scootaloo was left speechless, even though there was nopony there to talk to, by the sheer magnitude of the house, but one question slowly filled her mind; Whose house was this and why was she alone? Actually, that was two. But in a few moments, she wished she had never asked. From outside, Scootaloo heard a whooshing sound, like a pegasus landing. She stood in a mix of intrigue and fear, staring at the door. She heard the hoofsteps getting closer and closer to the door. She felt a trickle of sweat race down from her mane across her face. She waited, and the door opened. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she noticed the mare coming through the door. She stepped back in fear, just staring at the blue pegasus with the rainbow mane before her. Rainbow Dash noticed her and almost immediately dropped the grocery bags she was holding. She just stood there and stared at the orange filly with the purple mane before her. She saw the fear in Scootaloo’s eyes, along with the tears. She took a step forward, and Scootaloo backed away. “P-Please,” she pleaded with tears in her eyes; “I’m sorry. D-Don’t be angry at me. Oh C-Celestia I’m sorry!” She put her head down and closed her eyes. “I-I-I’m not worth it!” She began to cry loudly. “Please don’t f-feel bad for me! I-I’m n-not even a real p-pegasus!” At this point, Dash quickly ran over and crushed Scootaloo in a large hug. With tears falling down Rainbow’s face, she tightly hugged the little filly to her chest. Scootaloo began to weep into Rainbow’s stomach, but she didn’t care. Dash took one of her hooves and ran it through Scootaloo’s mane. “It’s ok, just let it all out. I’m here.” Tears were now streaming down Rainbow’s face at a constant pace. Using her wings as extra hooves, she wrapped them around the little orange body before her and held her even closer. They stayed like that for about ten minutes before Scootaloo’s crying began to subside. Scootaloo looked up into Rainbow’s eyes as Rainbow did the same. Both pegasi faces were covered in tears, but neither really cared at that point. “You Ok?” Rainbow asked. “…………No, not really.” “You wanna talk about it?” Rainbow wasn’t the best at these situations, but she wanted to try. Scootaloo just pressed her head into Rainbow’s chest and shook her head. “Alright, but if you do want to talk about it, let me know.” Rainbow took her hoof and put in under Scootaloo’s chin. She raised her head so she was staring at her eye to eye again. “Alright Kiddo?” she asked with a small smile. “Ok……” she said quietly. “Good, I just have one question. Is there any way I can get in contact with your family?” Rainbow immediately knew something was wrong as she saw the filly begin to shake again. Scootaloo was starting to resume her crying and Rainbow was unsure about what she should do. So she stayed as calm as she could. “You don’t have to tell me now. Its fine, it’s ok. Why don’t I just take you to the bathroom and help you clean up?” Rainbow led the shaking orange filly to the bathroom. She started a warm bath and waited for the tub to fill up. Then she helped Scootaloo get in and get used to the water. The water was warm, but not to hot. Scootaloo felt her body immediately feel better as the warm water relaxed her muscles and she began to feel her mind empty. But she didn't fall back onto the side of the tub. She sat in the water, in the center of the tub. She was too entranced in thought to move. “Do you need my help with anything?” Rainbow asked. “No…” Scootaloo just stared into the water, almost in a daze. “Ok, I’ll be outside if you need me.” Rainbow began to walk out of the room and had just put her hoof on the door when Scootaloo spoke up. “It’s a long story.” “What?” asked Rainbow in confusion. “You asked about my family……..it’s a long story.” Scootaloo continued to look into the water. “I have time,” Rainbow replied as she took a seat on the floor next to the tub. “But only if you want to talk about it.” Dash didn’t want to upset her even more. “Ok,” Scootaloo began; “I’ll start from the beginning.” Chapter 3Chapter 3: Scootaloo grew up in a small town outside Fillydelphia. It was a good life, and though she didn’t have many friends, she had a loving family. She had her father, Cloud maker, her mother, Sunny Day, and her older brother, Speedy Day. Her parents worked at the weather factory, and her brother was their apprentice, so to speak. Her family loved to help make the weather, and Scootaloo wanted nothing more them to make them proud. The family took pride in their work at the factory, whether it was her mother creating clouds with certain amounts of rain exactly measured three times over, or her brother sweeping the halls or running errands for people. The work, big or small, made them all happy and made them close as a family. But her parents saw right away that Scootaloo was not going to be in the weather business, and they just wanted her to be happy no matter where her life took her. So her parents tried to show her things to help her find her interests. They tried books, art, swimming, fashion, and so many other things, but nothing ever seemed to appeal to her. But one day as the family was walking down the main street of their small town, Scootaloo’s eyes latched onto something brand new to her in the store window. As soon as her parents saw that look, they knew this would be different. So, the next day, Scootaloo was seen zooming around on her brand new blue scooter. The engine would have cost her father a lot more then he had, so Scootaloo told him she didn’t need it. She soon found out how right she was, when she realized her small wings could be used as propulsion device. She still hoped one day that her wings would be more than just an engine and she would be able to fly with her family, but for the time being this was perfect. Both of her parents were so proud of her ingenuity and thought that their little girl would be able to go anywhere in that scooter of hers. But all things, no matter how small, came with a price. Her father, as loving as he was, got too obsessed with his work sometimes, and his family saw the wear and tear on his body and personality. So, whenever her father told her that they were going on a family vacation, she couldn’t be happier. Each year, the family would go away using her parent’s vacation days, and each year would be better than the last. Every year the family did something different. Every year, her family would be together for a week and become closer. Their next trip was something her father had been planning for a long time. A trip to Manehattan. Scootaloo couldn’t believe her ears. A trip to the city that never sleeps! A place where big famous ponies live and work! And most importantly, she would be with her family. There was just one problem. Their small little town was just outside of Fillydelpia. The distance from there to Manehattan was a day fly/walk at least, without including stops and such. That would destroy their time in the city and Scootaloo’s father didn’t want that. So after studying the map over and over again, he found out that he could cut the travel distance in half if he took a few “shortcuts.” These shortcuts included going past a mountain and over the Everfree forest. The mountain was usually not a problem, except the mountain was known to house dragons from time to time. Her father assured them that the dragons wouldn't be there during the summer time. Scootaloo believed him; he was her dad after all. When were dads ever wrong? The family departed their house on a Sunday morning, hoping to at least be in range of Manehattan by late afternoon or very early evening. The family had shifts of who flew in the air guiding the group and who stayed on the ground with the luggage cart and Scootaloo. Occasionally, she would hop on her mother’s back and go up into the sky with her and just enjoy the view. She liked the way the ground looked from all the way up there. She loved the gentle breeze against her face. It was so nice that Scootaloo found herself drifting asleep. “Get some rest Scoot; you woke up very early today. I’ll wake you when we get there.” her mother assured her. Scootaloo nuzzled her mother’s mane as she felt herself drift off. Then it was quiet……. Authors Notes: Thank you guys for all the love! I'm working on the grammer, it just slips and when you reread it seems fine. Stuff hapens, but know I'm really lookin. Also FYI: If the names stnk, I don't blame ya. I'm not the best at pony names. This chapter is a little shorter then the others, but there is a good reason, don't worry. Thank you all again! -ColeTrain4EVER PS: Keep up the criticism, I need it sometimes. I also have another story I may upload that needs critiques. That one would be on Hiatus until this one is done, but I have 5 chapters done already. Stay tuned to my page! Chapter 4Chapter 4: The rapid movements of her mother woke Scootaloo up. Still drowsy, the scream really got her up as she looked around. What she saw turned her blood to ice and her heart into a drum. Off in the distance, her father was being chased by a large red dragon. And she couldn’t do anything about it. She, her mother and her brother flew into the forest below to hide from the large ferocious monster. The three landed and Sunny immediately tried to think of a plan, crunching numbers in her head. “Is Papa gonna be ok?” Scootaloo asked her mother, scared out of her mind, but Sunny was too busy with her planning. She was mumbling to herself: a warning sign to Scootaloo that she was nervous. Soon she felt Speedy’s hoof on her shoulder and she turned around. “Of course he will Scoot.” her brother tried his best to reassure her. “Has Pop ever done something he couldn’t han¬-.” Speedy’s words were cut off as a loud roar sounded from above. Her mother finally finished her thinking and called a huddle. “Ok, I’m going to go help your father.” She looks at Speedy, “I need you to stay with Scootaloo and keep her safe.” “Let me come with you!” Speedy argued, “I want to hel-!” “This is not the time to argue with me Speedy!” She screamed, “Stay with your sister and that is an order!” She looked at the two of them and realized what she just did. ‘Please Speedy; I can’t put anyone else in danger.” “Ok, Mom, just hurry back, ok?” “I will,” she grabbed the two of them and held them in a hug; “I love you both so much.” Then she released them and took off flying in the direction of the roar. There was an awkward silence. It just hung there for a few seconds, but it felt like hours. “Why does papa need help?” Scootaloo asked. “Huh?” Speedy was taken back from the question. “Papa never needs help. He always has things handled.” “Oh, uh,” He tried to think of something quick; “Well, Dad is kicking that dragons flank so much that he needs Mom to hold him back. Or else the dragon could get really hurt.” “Really!?” Scootaloo asked; “Dad can do that?” “Eyep, he’s really strong.” Speedy continued; “I once saw him take on an Ursa Major, and win!” Scootaloo’s eyes went big. “No way, not even dad could do that.” “Well sure, he didn’t do it alone.” he continued, “Mom was there to help.” “Mom and Dad stopped an Ursa Major!?” Scootaloo asked in disbelief. “Dad and Mom have done a lot of cool things together. They’ve told me all the stories. Wanna hear them?” Scootaloo couldn't nod her head fast enough. “Ok ok, well there was this one time in Canterlot…….” The two of them spoke for an hour or so, about all of the “stories” of their mother and father’s past. Then, just as Speedy finished the story of their parent’s adventures in the diamond mines, another loud roar was heard, coming from the same direction that their mother had gone. “Speedy…” Speedy grabbed his little sister tight in a hug and held her close. He looked in the direction of the sound and knew what he had to do. “Scootaloo,” he began; “I need to go check up on Mom and Dad. I need to…….” He tried to find the right words; “make sure Dad isn’t hurting the dragon to bad!” He placed a hoof on Scootaloo’s head and ruffled her mane. “But Mom said that-.” Scootaloo’s words were cut off by a hoof on her mouth. “Mom didn’t know what she was saying.” Speedy smiled; “She was under a lot of pressure and didn’t think about all of her options.” “But what should I do?” Speedy looked around and saw here Scooter next to the luggage cart. “Why don’t you practice on your scooter and show us all when we get back. Can you do that?” “Sure! Hey big bro?” Scootaloo asked. “Yeah?” “I love you.” “I love you too.” The two embraced in a close hug. Speedy then went over to the luggage cart, dug into his case, and put on his pair of authentic Wonderbolt goggles. He always told her they brought him good luck whenever he needed it. Then Speedy flew up in the direction of the roar. Scootaloo watched him disappear and then started on her tricks. “Alright you guys, time to show you all what I can do!” she thought to herself. Scootaloo practiced for an hour or so. She jumped over rocks, stumps, and the small little creek near where the group landed. Then she tried to do it all in one run. It didn’t go well and she ended up in the water. But she tried again and again, until finally…… “Step 1, go at rock at full speed and put weight on back of scooter. Gain air and clear rock.” Done “Step 2, lower speed while going at the stump or else lose power at the river. Put weight on back and gain air.” Done “Step 3, use extra space from the low power jump at the stump to make it across the creek. Put weight on back and jump.” Done After four tries and a similar number of times in the water and dirt, Scootaloo did it. She was thrilled. “Just wait guys! Mom and Dad, you're gonna be so proud! And Speedy will be proud! It’ll be awesome!” It was then Scootaloo heard the roar for a third time. She looked up and realized how long her family had been gone. She wondered what they were doing, so she leaned her scooter against the luggage cart and she began to trot toward the area where the roar came from. She walked alone in the forest. It was kind of dark, and kind of scary, but Scootaloo knew her parents would be around here somewhere. Scootaloo began to smell something as she walked along; it was a very strong smell. Almost like a fire, but different. While she was distracted by the smell, Scootaloo tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. “Stupid rock.” She mumbled to herself. As she got up, she noticed something on the ground. She picked it up and looked at it very closely, and soon realized what it was. “Dad’s bit case? Why would he drop this?” She put the case against a tree and hoped she would remember where it was to tell him. Soon the sun began to vanish in the trees and Scootaloo was scared. She looked to the treetops to find someplace where the sunlight could get through. During her search, she saw something else that caught her attention. Hanging from a tree branch, she saw... “Mom’s necklace?” she thought; “That was a present from Grandma to her when she was a little filly. She would never lose that.” Scootaloo really began to worry now. She walked along into another clearing. The smell of fire was getting stronger, along with another smell. Scootaloo couldn’t figure out what the other smell was though. In this clearing, Scootaloo saw a large crater in the ground. She approached it carefully. In it, she saw something that sent shivers down her spine. “Speedy’s goggles!” she thought. The band that goes around a pony’s head was snapped and there was a crack in one of the eyes. “Speedy would never lose these. He wouldn’t ever let anything happen to these, I know it!” Scootaloo placed the goggles down and made her way closer to the source of the burning smell. “What’s going on?” She asked herself; “Where are they?” Soon, she wished she never asked. Authors Notes: I tried to work on my pacing problem. Tell me how I did. Sorry about the wait, I'll see about a chapter by Thursday. But no promises. Chapter 5 Chapter 5: As Scootaloo walked alone in the forest, she noticed another light in front of her. Except, this one was different. This light wasn’t from the sun at all, it was from a fire. “Oh my...” Scootaloo looked around and observed the destruction before her. The trees were on fire. The bushes were on fire. The ground was all torn up. The sky was full of thick black smoke. But all of that destruction couldn’t compare to what was in front of her. The motionless body of a pegasus, lying under a fallen branch. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she recognized the pony and started to run to her. “Mom!” she yelled. No response came. When she got up to her mother, Scootaloo began to tear the branches off of her. When they were finally off, she began to frantically shake her motionless mother. “Mom!” she yelled again, “Mom, please wake up!” still nothing. At this point, Scootaloo tried to turn her mother on to her back, but she couldn’t do it from the angle, so she went around the other side to try and pull her onto her back. What she saw still haunts her today. Her mother’s right wing had been torn off. Not cleanly, the void was jagged and ruffled and…..and…. Scootaloo turned away; she couldn’t look. She just wept and tried to make the image go away. It wouldn’t. Scootaloo went around to the other side; she couldn’t bear to look at it any more. She looked at her mother and just stared at her for a while. Her trance was then broken by the sound of flapping wings. Only they didn’t sound like normal pegasus wings; it sounded larger. She knew what it was: it was the dragon responsible for all this. Terror filled her mind as she looked for a place to hide. She jumped into a bush to try and hide from the dragon. Scootaloo watched in horror as the large beast flew over the burning forest. The dragon was huge and had sharp claws on his feet. Its wings made loud “whoosh” sounds whenever they flapped. Its scales were dark red and his underside was yellow-ish. Scootaloo normally wouldn’t remember small details like these, but the images of that day have been burned into her mind. The dragon flew in a circle a couple of times around the burning area and then flew towards the mountains to the south. Scootaloo carefully exited from the bush and watched as the large beast flew away. She didn’t know what to do. She was alone, it was getting dark, her mother was dead, the bushes were rustling, the- Scootaloo turned around as the bushes shook with something inside of them. She stepped back about to run, but she summoned all of her courage and stood her ground. “Scootaloo?” a familiar voice called, “Is that you?” Her eyes widened has she recognized the voice. “D-Daddy?” Cloud, scratched up and body covered in burns emerged out of the bushes to the loving embrace of his daughter. He ran a hoof threw her mane as the two embraced each other tightly. “What are you doing here?” He asked. “I-I got scared and I wanted to find y-you…….and-and Mom…” Tears began to flow down Scootaloo’s eyes. “Shh-Shh….Mom’s in a better place now.” He pressed his daughter’s face into his chest as she began to weep. She wept loudly and tears soon began down Cloud’s face too. “Listen,” he began; “We need to get out of here. There’s a small town named Ponyville just outside the forest if we go north from here.” He pointed his hoof north to show Scootaloo. “We need to go now.” “But, w-what about Speedy?” Scootaloo asked Cloud’s eyes shot open. “He wasn’t with you? Damn that boy!” He thought for a moment; “I need to get you out of here. Then I’ll come back for Speedy. He can watch out for himself while I get some help.” Scootaloo wanted to argue, but she realized that her father was serious and just nodded in agreement. The two began to walk in the direction that was supposed to lead to this Ponyville place. As time went on, Scootaloo began to talk. “What happened to Momma?” Cloud sighed and looked at his daughter. “She……She sacrificed herself to help protect you and Speedy.” “But Momma had an answer for everything. How could this have…?” Scootaloo’s voice began to trail off and she felt tears coming on. She looked down to the ground as they walked. “Sometimes,” her father began; “There are things in life that have no right answer. We try to find an outcome that works out for everypony, but we find that all that matters is helping those we love.” He put a hoof under his daughter’s chin and made it so her eyes were looking into his. “Your mother knew that and I can guarantee she would do it again just so that you and Speedy could be safe.” Scootaloo smiled and the two continued to walk. Just then, the sound of large flaps was heard over head as Cloud grabbed his daughter and both of them jumped into a nearby bush. The dragon appeared and circled the area; he knew they were there. Just then, a loud yell was heard over head. “Hey you fire breathing loser! Try and catch up!” A voice called from above. “Speedy!” Scootaloo quietly said from inside the bush. Her brother was ok, and he was trying to help them. Speedy wasn’t a wonderbolt, but he still was pretty fast. He evaded the dragon’s claw swipes, tail swipes, his fire breath, and was even courageous enough to get near the mouth of the beast and almost get bitten. A dangerous move, but when it was done properly, it confused the monster giving everypony a little time to think. The father and daughter in the bush got out and began to run in the direction they hoped was north. Everything was fine, until they heard Speedy scream from above. The two looked up and saw a huge fireball and coming out of it was Speedy, badly burned and plunging towards earth. “Speedy!” Scootaloo screamed, but he fell faster and faster until a “thump” was heard. That noise had been burned into Scootaloo’s memory. “We have to help him!” Scootaloo yelled to her father. “No, I need to help him. You need to keep going to the town.” Cloud said with worry in his voice. “No,” Scootaloo yelled; “I’m coming too! Every time somepony leaves me alone they-” “That’s enough!” Cloud yelled; ‘I’m your father and you will do as I sa-.” “Pa-Papa…” The two looked up from their argument to the direction of the noise; “Mama…..somepony……help…..” The voice trailed off and both ponies knew whose voice it was. Cloud looked down to his daughter. “Please,” he began; “Just head towards the town. I can’t stand to put you in anymore danger.” “Ok” She looked down. “And no matter what you hear,” He continued; “You keep going north, understand?” “Ok, but promise me something.” “What?” “That you and Speedy will come back safe.” Cloud hugged his daughter and whispered in her ear, “I promise.” With that, the two released each other and Scootaloo continued north while Cloud headed towards the voice. Scootaloo picked up the pace as she ran through the forest. She knew her father and brother would be alright. They were smart ponies. “Look out!” A voice from behind her yelled out Scootaloo almost stopped, but her father’s words ran through her head about stopping. “Father look out!” She picked up the pace. “No Speedy, don’t do it!” She ran even faster. A loud roar was heard Even faster. Finally, two loud screams were heard behind her and with tears streaming down her face, Scootaloo kept running. Her vision became blurry as tears flooded her eyes. She didn’t see the large object in her path until she tripped over it. She looked down and found that she was back at the clearing with the luggage cart. Looking back, Scootaloo grabbed a backpack and filled with all she could get from the cart, she took some food, some medicine, her spending money, and the picture of her family. Then she grabbed her scooter and headed for Ponyville. Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay. Exams coming up. Rangers losing to Devils in the playoffs. I've had a lot going on. Things will get better, just I don't know when. Chapter 6Chapter 6: Rainbow Dash listened quietly as Scootaloo told her story. She didn’t want to disturb her, but she wanted to be close in case Scootaloo needed a shoulder to cry on. Scootaloo just sat in the tub through the whole story, just staring at her reflection in the water, not moving at all. Dash knew the little filly was tough and resilient, but she never knew that she was this tough. Dash had always had friends and family to be by her side when she needed it. Scootaloo only had her family, and to have them taken in such a way… Dash’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of water hitting water. She looked at the faucet and when it didn’t drip, she realized where it had come from. Scootaloo began to cry, not weeping loudly, just a small steady stream that was enough to make Dash want to intervene. “Ok kiddo, why don’t we get you out of the tub? We don’t need you getting sick.” “Ok” Scootaloo got out of the tub and took the towel from Rainbow Dash. She wiped herself dry and gave the towel back to Dash, who put it on the towel rack. The two moved down to the living room and both sat down on the couch. Scootaloo was silent through the whole thing, never raising her gaze from the floor. “I’ll be right back.” Rainbow said has she dashed off to the kitchen. Scootaloo looked around and was in awe of Rainbow’s house. She was on the weather team, sure. But how did she afford all this? The sports stuff, the paintings, the furniture, so much stuff! Her thoughts were interrupted as Dash came back into the room with two cups of some brown liquid. Dash handed one to Scootaloo and took one for herself. “It’s chocolate milk. I thought you might be thirsty.” She said before she took a sip out of her cup. Scootaloo looked at the cup and took about one third of the drink out the glass before looking back at Dash embarrassed. “Sorry,” she said looking back up at Dash, “I’m just really thirsty.” “Its fine,” Rainbow laughed, “I would be too.” Scootaloo smiled and laughed a little with Rainbow Dash. This was the first time Dash had seen Scootaloo lighten up since she woke up and was not going to ruin the moment. Scootaloo looked up at Dash and nuzzled against her side. Dash took the cue and wrapped her closer with a wing “Can I ask you something Dash?” “What is it?” “Why do you care about me? All I do is annoy you and get in your way.” Rainbow was taken aback from the comment. “You don’t annoy me. Why do you think that?” “Cause all I’m doing is weighing you down.” Scootaloo confessed; “You have the most amazing friends in the word, you’re an element of harmony, you’re an amazing flyer, and look at me! I can’t even fly and I look up to you!” Dash held her closer. “You have amazing friends too! You have all of Ponyville if you need it.” Scootaloo didn't respond and the house was silent for a couple of minutes. Eventually, rain outside broke the silence. Dash needed to know something, whether she ruined the moment or not. “Scootaloo, be honest with me. Where have you been sleeping?” “The Crusader club house.” “Before that.” Dash knew that the clubhouse had only been completed a short time after the three of them began 'crusading.' Scootaloo was silent but then finally said, “Nowhere. I moved from place to place a lot. Sometimes behind Sugar Cube Corner, sometimes in the Apples' farm when Big Mac forgot to lock it.” “Would you like to stay with me tonight?” Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and a huge grin appeared on her face. “You mean I get to stay here with you!?” “Sure, I have plenty of room an-umph!” Rainbow was cut short as Scootaloo grabbed her in a large hug. Rainbow hugged her tightly. She couldn’t believe some of this. Scootaloo was so normal, so energetic, so friendly. How could she be through so much and never seem sad ever? Why hadn’t she come to somepony for help? Did she get it from her? Was her over confidence and “I can do this by myself” influencing to hide it? What if-. “Um, Dash? You’re squeezing me to tight.” Rainbow’s thoughts were interrupted. “Hehe, sorry.” Dash then realized that Scootaloo had never eaten since she woke up. “Hey, you hungry, pipsqueak?” She was about to speak when her stomach grumbled loudly. “Maybe a little.” The two giggled and Dash took her into the kitchen and whipped up some dandelion sandwiches for the two of them. It wasn’t a five star dinner, but Dash wanted to get her food quickly, and this worked out perfectly. Scootaloo gobbled down her first sandwich, but was more paced on the second one. Dash ate her sandwich slowly, staring at Scootaloo, thinking about the same things as before. She wondered about what she could do to help the little filly. After the two of them finished, they went up the stairs and Dash brought Scootaloo back to the room where she first woke up. She helped her into the bathroom and told her she should brush her teeth before bed. Afterwards, she helped the filly into bed and covered her up. “Hey Dash?” Scootaloo asked with her eyes closing and sleepiness in her voice. “Yes Scootaloo?” “Thank you, you’re the best.” The words warmed Dash’s heart and she kissed Scootaloo on the forehead. Then she quietly left the room and made her way to her bedroom. She got into bed and tried to sleep, but couldn’t. She tossed and turned, but to no avail. She was too busy thinking about what she would do. Rainbow looked at her pet turtle next to her bed and sighed. “What do I do, Tank?” The tortoise blinked slowly and fell asleep. “You're alotta help.” Dash tried to sleep again, it would be a long night for her. Chapter 7Chapter 7: As Scootaloo dreamt, she dreamt of her family and the trip. She dreamt of her family calling out to her for help. She looked and looked throughout the forest, but couldn’t find them. The cry’s got quieter and quieter, and before long, their voices faded away. Scootaloo was alone and scared, she started to cry. However, her cries were cut short when she heard a loud roar behind her. She looked behind her and saw the Red Dragon swoop down onto the ground near her. Scootaloo tried to crawl away, but the dragon’s large mouth came down on top of her before she could get away. She screamed. Scootaloo jumped up in fright from her sleep. She was covered in sweat, she was breathing heavily, and her covers were ruffled and messy. She regained herself, and began to calm down. *BOOM* Scootaloo jumped at the loud noise that came from outside. She looked out the window and saw the rain had intensified. The lightning and thunder had started to come out. “The stupid thunder woke me up.” Scootaloo thought to herself, denying the truth. She looked at the clock, it read 4 AM. “It’s too early to be up.” She grumbled as she fell back onto the bed. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the fright had spooked her awake. Scootaloo could only stare back at the ceiling as her thoughts zoomed through her head. She tossed and turned on the sheets as the rain poured down outside. Rainbow Dash was having even worse luck then Scootaloo. She had been tossing and turning since she had gotten into bed. Her thoughts had plagued her mind with tough questions, questions that no pony could sleep with unanswered. “What am I going to do with her?” She thought; “I can’t just hand her over to the Filly Protective Service, she would be taken away from her friends and her life here. What little of a life that was.” Dash sighed; she wasn’t good at these types of things. Give her a race course and a time to beat and she was golden, but not this type of stuff. Dash sat up in bed, she didn’t know what to do. She got up and trotted over to her dresser; she looked at herself in the mirror and just stared. “I can’t let her go back to the streets, she could die out there and I can’t let that happen to her.” Tapping her hooves against the dresser, Dash couldn’t think of any plausible options, until a thought finally crossed her mind that got her thinking. “Maybe I can…No.” Dash didn’t think that it was a good idea for Scootaloo. She knew that there were people in Equestria who specialized in this sort of thing. She would have to find them tomorrow. But that idea stayed with her, in the back of her mind as a reminder. Dash laid back down and found herself actually falling asleep. “Maybe…..Tomorrow…will…” Her thoughts were interrupted as she fell into a deep and much needed sleep. Scooatloo awoke the next morning groggy and tired. Her sheets were ruffled even more then when she woke up before. She must have had a rough night of sleep. She wanted to lie back down, but that was before she smelled something. Someone was cooking, and it smelled delicious. Scootaloo sat up and decided to go investigate. She got up from her bed and walked down the large stair case. She followed the smell into the kitchen. “Duh,” she thought to herself; “Where else would it be coming from?” When Scootaloo walked into the kitchen, she was greeted by a cooking Rainbow Dash, who quickly turned around and saw that her guest had finally woken up. “Morning Scootaloo, sleep well?” Dash asked with a grin on her face as she returned to the stove. “Not really.” Scootaloo yawned and rubbed her eyes as Dash giggled a little. “What’s so funny?” Scootaloo asked. “Your face looks so funny right now.” Dash giggled some more and Scootaloo grabbed a nearby spoon and looked into it. Her mane was a mess, and she had bags under her eyes. Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle at her face either. “Maybe a few pancakes will help wake you up.” Dash quickly grabbed a plate of Pancakes and put it in the center of the table. Then she got two clean plates and some utensils and put them out at two seats. “Eat up, squirt. You could use the food.” Scootaloo didn’t even argue, she needed the food badly. She sat down and began to put butter and syrup on her Pancakes. But before she pigged out, she remembered her manners. She began to eat slowly and calmly, fighting against her primal urges. Dash sat down and began to eat as well, that thought from last night was still with her, but she ignored it. “There must be a better option for her.” She thought. “So any plans for today?” asked Rainbow. Scootaloo had forgotten she was there and jumped at the question. “Oh um, me and the Crusaders are probably going to do something today.” “Alright!” Dash said with some enthusiasm; “You’ll get that cutie mark in no time!” Scootaloo pushed and continued to eat. The rest of the meal continued on with some small talk here and there. The two finished their meals together and Scootaloo decided to help Rainbow with the dishes, it was the least she could do. “Hey Dash?” She asked “Yeah?” “Can you give me a lift into Ponyville? I would but…” she flapped her wings; “you know.” “Sure, let’s get going.” The two exited the house and Scootaloo jumped onto Rainbow’s back. Soon, the two took off. Scootaloo found herself nuzzling herself into Rainbow’s back, falling asleep. Dash giggled and decided since it was a ten to fifth teen minute flight, she would let her rest. The two reached Ponyville and Dash woke up Scootaloo from her nap. “OK, I’m going to go help out with some things around town. Meet me here at about six-thirty and we'll go back home.” Scootaloo froze, “I can go back?” “Sure, you can crash with me for a few days if you like.” Scootaloo hugged Rainbow Dash and ran off to tell her friends the news. Author's Notes: Hey guys. Listen, I am thinking about submitting this fic to EQD, but I have a problem. I may have some grammar issues and the guys at EQD rib stories up for that. I have tried to correct the stories, but I don't see the errors until someone shows them to me. I probably just know what I meant and my mind ignores that I misspell things. So would you guys be willing to help? Just PM me the Chapter,the paragraph, and the misspell, and I'll fix it. If you guys helped I would really appreciate it. Or put it in the comments, your choice. Chapter 8Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Scootaloo was exhausted after all the crusading she and her friends had done. They had tried banjo playing, meditation, tight rope walking, and so much more, but still no cutie marks. She and her friends had tried countless things to get their cutie marks, but nothing ever seemed to work. But no matter what had happened, her friends were always there to comfort her. But that wasn’t the case with flying. She didn’t have anyone to count on, she was alone, and it got to her sometimes. “But now Rainbow Dash will be there for me!” she thought to herself as she walked the streets of Ponyville. Soon, she arrived at the town square, but Dash was nowhere in sight. Scootaloo looked at the clock in the center of town, it read six forty-five. Scootaloo found it odd that the fastest flyer in Equestria was late, but she wrote it off and assured herself that she would come soon. Scootaloo decided to walk around the town square and look at some of the stores. There was the Quills and Sofas store, the Sweet Apple Acres stand, a flower shop, and a café to name a few. As Scootaloo walked by the café, she saw through the window that there were two ponies talking at one of the tables inside. ...one of which had a rainbow mane and a cyan coat. Scootaloo ducked under one of the tables. She looked at the other pony. He was a Earth pony stallion, with a white body and a dark brown mane and was wearing a black trench coat. Something seemed fishy to Scootaloo, and she wanted to know more. Scootaloo crawled up to the door of the café and quietly opened the door. She crept in; luckily the place was pretty empty since most ponies were heading home at this hour. She looked and saw the two ponies at the table next to the door. She was also lucky that the café had a wall between the front door and the tables. Scootaloo didn’t know why there was a wall, maybe it was for the heat or to keep people from seeing others enter, but she didn’t question it. Scootaloo listened closely as the two ponies talked. “You say the child is still a filly, yes?” the stallion asked. “Yes, she’s still in school.” Dash answered. “Can she fly?” “What? Why is that important?” “Answer the question ma’am.” Dash sighed and put a hoof to her head; “No, she can’t. I was going to teach her.” “Alright, any birth de-.” “That’s it!” Dash slammed her hoofs to the table. “What is this? I’m trying to help Scootaloo and you just keep asking what’s wrong with her! Why do you need to know that!? “Its standard procedure Miss Dash.” “Well buck the standard procedure! Why does the government need to know about every one of Scootaloo’s little flaws?” Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Rainbow Dash was talking to the government about her! She had heard stories about this. She would be sent away to some home far away, away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders! But what scared Scootaloo most was the fact that Rainbow Dash was selling her out. She had trusted her, she had idolized her, and now she was being given away by her. Scootaloo wasn’t going to let that happen. She ran out the door and began to run out of the town square. Dash heard the door slam in the front of the café and looked out the window. She saw Scootaloo running as quickly as she could through the town square. Dash quickly concluded the obvious. Scootaloo wasn’t thinking straight, Dash had to find her. “What is it?” The stallion asked. “It’s Scootaloo, she must have heard us! We need to find her!” “Well, why would she get upset?” “I don’t know! Maybe she thinks….” She trailed off. “What?” Dash shook herself out of it, she needed to catch Scootaloo. “Nothing, we need to go!” The stallion nodded and Dash grabbed her saddle bag, then the two of them raced out the door. He agreed to check the outskirts of town, while Dash tried to get an aerial view of the area. Dash flew high into the air; she needed to find the filly quickly. Dash knew that Scootaloo must have thought that she was giving her up. She didn’t blame her. Her own experiences taught that living on your own makes it hard to trust other ponies. She didn’t want Scootaloo to be alone anymore. Dash circled around Ponyville, but she saw no sign of the orange runaway. She decided to fly over Sweet Apple Acres, and she still didn't find anything. However, a thought ran through Rainbow’s mind and she angled toward the CMC clubhouse, the tree house Scootaloo and her friends used as a headquarters for their crusading. Dash approached the tree house. She heard weeping coming from inside. She flew to the balcony and knocked on the door. “Go away.” The voice coming from inside was filled with anger and sadness. “Scootaloo,” Dash began; “It’s me.” “What do you want?” The anger was beginning to take over her voice. “I want to talk.” “Like how you were talking to that colt about me?” Dash sighed, it was what she feared. “Scootaloo, it’s not what you-.” “Not what I thought!?” she yelled from behind the door; “It’s exactly what I thought! I should never have trusted you! You should have let me fall off the cliff if this is what you were going to do to me!” “I-I…” Dash was at a loss for words. She never thought she could hear such things from a filly’s mouth. “If that’s what you think,” she reached into her saddle bag and took out a piece of paper and slipped it under the door; “then read this.” “What’s this, some paper about how foster….families…-.” Scootaloo’s voice trailed off as she began to read the paper. Dash waited quietly outside as Scootaloo read. Not even the sound of her breathing could be heard. Soon the door opened and Scootaloo stepped out, paper in hoof. “What is this?” “It’s a…..adoption form.” “But-but you want to adopt me?” Tears began to swell up in Scootaloo’s eyes. “Because Scootaloo,” Dash went to her level and put a hoof on her shoulder; “I never want you to be alone again. I want to be there for you, no matter what happens. I want to teach you how to fly. I want to help you get your cutie mark. I want….you to be safe.” It was too much. Both of the pegasi embraced each other in a large hug, tears running down both of their faces. Scootaloo finally had a home for herself, and now she had a family again. Dash knew that Scootaloo would grow up safely, and that’s all she wanted. The two of them hugged for a while, until hoofsteps were heard coming from the forest. They turned and saw the stallion from the café come from the tree line into the clearing. For some reason, he was wearing sunglasses, even though the sun was going down. Dash smiled and turned back to Scootaloo. “Come on, I want you to meet somepony.” The two of them walked down the ramp towards the stallion, who removed his sunglasses and placed them in the pocket of his coat. “Scootaloo, this is Norman Neighdon. He works for the EBI.” Scootaloo looked up at the stallion, who smiled down to her. “Hi there Scootaloo. Miss Dash asked me to look into your past to see if we could recover anything from your old life. Money, family items, etc, you get the drift. Sorry about the misunderstanding before.” “It’s ok, I over reacted anyway.” Norman nodded and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Miss Dash, I’ll contact you whenever I get something.” Dash nodded and looked down to Scootaloo. She hopped she could get something for the little filly. “Ok, shall we walk back into town?” asked Norman. The ponies agreed and the three of them set off back to Ponyville. Author's Notes: New chapter, tell me what you guys think and if there are any errors. Also a little announcement. I have a new project I'm thinking of doing. Although, It would take more then one writer to do it. You see, you guys know about that Dr Whooves Radio show that's floating around YouTube? Well, after watching a Walking Dead marathon this weekend, I want to make a Walking Dead Radio program with ponies. Maybe Human, maybe not. I wouldn't worry about casting or recording yet, but I would need some writers to help me in a Google docs to make a script and to talk in Skype. Also, they would need a knowledge of the show, so if you want to help, go watch the first season on Netflix and find the Second Season somewhere. So, if your interested, PM me your Skype name. If you don't have one, make one. and if you don't have a mic, just make an account and use chat. This would be me and like four other people, so I want good writers. If your interested, I don't want someone who won't do shit but wants credit. OK, that's it. Any questions, Put them in the comments. Chapter 9Author's note: Sorry this took so long. I was thinking of just ending my story, but I had dug myself into a hole with one certain part. I was stuck, I couldn't think of a way to fix it. I hit writer's block, lost the will to write, then got really sick. After all that passed me, I decided to try again, this is what I got. I think for my situation, I did pretty god. I like my story. I want to thank everyone who likes this story. Also, thank my pre-reader (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/bronzewolf78) and all the readers who helped me correct things.This one my first real story on here, and I'm glad so many people liked it. So thank you all, thanks for waiting, and enjoy the final chapter. Chapter 9: Two weeks had passed since Scootaloo found out about Dash’s plan to adopt her. Scootaloo had begun living with Rainbow Dash permanently, and life was looking up for the little pegasus. Norman had begun looking into Scootaloo’s past as well. He hadn’t found much yet, but he had found some pictures of Scootaloo’s parents, which he sent to her. Scootaloo appreciated every little thing she got from him. The days continued to go by. “Come on, keep your wing speed up!” Dash encouraged. “Control speed, keep control.” Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she flapped her wings at a quick steady pace. Soon she began to rise from the ground. “That’s it, keep steady.” Scootaloo closed her eyes in concentration, she didn’t want to open them and get freaked out by the height. “You know,” Dash yelled up, “it looks a lot better when you can see it.” “But what if I fall?” “Then I’ll catch you.” Dash said encouragingly. “Trust me.” Scootaloo thought about it for a moment and slowly began to open her eyes. What she saw was herself, a few feet up in the air, on her own. “I-I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” “Good job kid!” Dash yelled out. “Just keep focused.” Scootaloo tried to stay focused on the task at hand, but her mind was racing from the fact that she was flying! Soon, her wings began to flutter and she started to lose height. Before she could correct herself, she found that she was on the ground, flapping her wings to no avail. “Don’t worry about it!” Dash encouraged; “You’ll get it eventually. You need to remember to keep focused and keep your wing speed up. Then your pose needs to be improved too, but we can worry about that later.” “Ok Dash!” Scootaloo said with a smile; “Hey, why is this so hard for me?” she asked. “Well, everypony is different.” She answered; “Fluttershy had trouble flying at first. So did Derpy, and I’ve heard Soarin was a terrible flyer before he learned the right way.” “What about you?” “Me? I didn’t really have trouble. It just sorta came naturally I guess.” Scootaloo thought for a moment. “Hey Dash?” “Yeah?” “If you’re such a great flyer, then why are you a weather pony for a small town like Ponyville?” Dash looked at Scootaloo and smiled; “That’s a long story, I doubt you would want to hear it.” “Please?” Scootalo’s intrigue was growing and she wanted to know. Dash laughed a little; “Ok, ok. Well, it all started back at flight camp….” Dash’s days at flight camp went by without any worry. Her special classes went by with a breeze, and her actions had made everypony realize that Fluttershy was not to be messed with. But as the days went on, Dash became more and more quiet. It was eerie to her friends, who were used to the loud and boastful Dash who never declined a challenge. She had just started to go with the flow, started to become like everypony else. One day after class, Dash and Fluttershy gathered at their usual spot to do homework, but Fluttershy had other plans. “Hey Dash?” She asked. “What’s going on with you?” “Nothing,” she mumbled. “Hey, what does the wind speed equal if the tornado’s going in the opposite direction?” Dash tried to change the subject. “Please Dash, you're acting strange. Tell me what’s going on.” Dash sighed after a pause. “They want to send me to Manehatten.” “That’s great! You’ll get to go to the big city and have a great job as a weather pony there!” “No it’s not! It means that I have to leave my friends!” Dash yelled. Fluttershy had never seen this before. Rainbow had never showed this much care for her friends. Sure, she had defended them, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity she was giving up. “You know that little town, the one on the ground near the Everfree Forest?” Fluttershy nodded. She remembered she fell near that town when the butterflies had saved her life. She liked it: it was quiet, had a lot of nice ponies, and plenty of critters for her to take care of. “Well, I’m gonna ask to be transferred there instead.” Fluttershy just looked at Dash. “But why?” Fluttershy asked. “You can to the big city and become a big shot! Maybe the Wonderbolts could draft you from there!” “Fluttershy,” Dash sighed. “I don’t care about that stuff if I’m away from the ponies I care about. I mean, I’d be leaving Mom, Dad, you, Gilda... I don’t think it’s worth it.” Fluttershy looked at her friend and smiled. “I don't think anypony can change your mind. Well, whatever you do, we’ll be there for you.” “Thanks Fluttershy.” Dash smiled back. “But um...” “My lips are sealed.” “Thanks.” The two laughed and continued on with their work. It would be a few weeks before Dash left the academy. The instructors couldn’t believe what she was asking, but knew they could not stop her. Dash left before she finished all of her work, but that didn’t stop Ponyville from hiring her instantly. It’s not every day a pony with her skill comes along and offers herself as a new weather pony. Her parents also knew that they couldn’t stop her, so instead of fighting her, they decided to support her from a distance. They offered to help her and the town of Ponyville whenever they needed it. Dash’s life seemed to fit perfectly into place. “…And that’s about it.” Dash finished her story as she laid back down on a cloud. Scootaloo had been listening to the whole story, beginning to end. Now that the story had ended, she was deep in thought. Dash saw this and perked up. “Something wrong, Scoot?” “Well, I was just thinking if I could do that.” She replied. “Give up something like that so I could be with my friends and…”she trailed off looking at Dash. “…family.” Dash smiled. “Look squirt, you gotta remember this: no matter where you are, your friends and family will be with you. Say when you become an expert flyer one day and get offered a job in Las Pegasus or Baltimare, you’ll have to make a choice. When I was younger, I thought that if I left, that I would be all alone, and I hated that thought. But now ever since I became friends with the rest of the elements, I’ve realized that no matter where I go, my friends and family will always be with me, here.” Dash put a hoof over Scootaloo’s chest. “I know that your family has been with you throughout everything. Now I know I will be too, and so will your friends.” Scootaloo thought for a moment, all of this as making so much sense to her. She looked back at Dash and smiled. “Thanks Rainbow.” “Anytime Scootaloo.” Scootaloo looked back up at the sky. “Can we try again?” Dash followed her gaze, then looked back to her and smiled. "Sure thing Scootaloo; let’s go.” The two of them began to train once again. Rainbow finally felt that Scootaloo was going to be ok. ColeTrain4EVER: Thank you All Again!
Chapter 1Chapter 1: Rain washed down her face and coat. Her wings flapped furiously, almost like the wings of a humming bird. But as hard as she tried, Scootaloo couldn’t stay off the ground for very long. She tried again and again, determined not to give up, but all she achieved was failure after utter failure. The storm was picking up, but Scootaloo wanted one last chance, just one more chance to show her worth. She didn’t have anyone to prove anything to; the field was empty except for her and the few animals trying to find shelter. She began to flap her wings, faster and faster. She got off the ground slowly and she soon began to flap faster. “I’m gonna...do it,” she panted, "I’m...not gonna…fail...” She pushed and pushed and just as she thought that she had it, her wings gave out. Scootaloo plunged to the hard, wet ground. Her entire body was covered in mud, and so was her mane. But she didn’t care about that; Scootaloo just laid there in the storm, thinking of only one thing. “Failure. Failure. I’m such a failure.” If the storm hadn't been raging, her loud cries would probably have been picked up by tons of ponies passing by the field going to and from Sweet Apple Acres. She couldn’t move: she could only cry, thinking only of her family and friends. She hadn’t just failed herself; she failed her parents too. "Mom…Dad…why couldn’t you be around to teach me how to fly?” she cried out. Soon after, she got up and began to charge as fast as she could to the Ghastly Gorge. The storm pounded her and she was beginning to feel numb. She didn’t care; it would all be over soon. She looked for the spot she had been to over the past couple of days. Soon, she found it: the tall cliff with jagged rocks at the bottom. She wanted this to be the place where she finally learned to fly. After all that training, it would be one test; either fly and live, or fall and die. She knew that day would never come and just wanted the pain and misery to go away. She wanted all of the insults and ridiculing to go away. She wanted it to all stop. Her face was a mix of tears, mud, and rain. Her body was shivering and filthy. But she didn’t care. “I’m never going to be a true pegasus...I don’t deserve to live.” Scootaloo straightened her body and calmed her breathing. Then...she jumped. Above the clouds, the sun was out and the young pegasi were playing on their giant temporary park. The young colts played rough, getting wet as they fell into the dark cloud under them, while the young fillies played tag, jump rope, and practiced their flying. As the young children played, one blue mare flew over them, proud of the work she and the rest of the weather team had done. She loved seeing all of the children happy. After playing with a few of the kids, Rainbow started back for Ponyville and her home. Feeling a little daring, she decided to fly under the clouds. She loved the feeling of the rain on her face as she zoomed by, the thrill of flying. Rainbow had been a gifted flyer from the start. Her parents had seen her potential and sent her to a flight camp for the summer. The camp had classes for young, inexperienced fliers, but it also had advanced classes for those who showed the potential and the heart. Rainbow was one of those fillies. She and a group of other foals learned the techniques for how to achieve the most speed, how to approach the ground at high speeds and stop without slowing down in the air, and how to create the weather. All pegasi had to learn about the weather, but Rainbow’s class learned how to move the clouds perfectly and the conditions for making certain events like tornadoes and such. When she wasn’t in class, Rainbow raced many of the other campers. She also had a couple of friends, such as Gilda the Griffin, who was troublesome. There was also Fluttershy, who was almost Rainbows complete opposite. She had trouble flying, was quiet, and was very shy (shocker). Rainbow had met Fluttershy after she helped defend her from a group of bullies. The two had been friends ever since, helping each other overcome certain shortcomings, such as Fluttershy’s flying problem. During her time at the camp, Rainbow won the Best Young Flyers competition, and had a great future ahead of her, but she dropped out of flight school and went to work for a weather team in Ponyville. To this day, no one, not even Fluttershy, who lives in Ponyville, knows why she did it. All they know is that she couldn’t be happier. As she dipped below the clouds, Rainbow tried to look at her surroundings. Through the storm, she could tell she was a fair distance from Ponyville. She decided she could take the path along Ghastly Gorge to save time. Although it would cost her cover from the powerful rain, if she hurried, it wouldn’t matter. As she flew over the gorge, she thought she saw somepony in the rain. It seemed weird for someone to be out in such a bad storm, especially in Ghastly Gorge, so she decided to slow down and do a double take. From her height, she saw a purple mane and an orange coat running up the cliff of the gorge. She knew immediately who it was: Scootaloo, her biggest fan and president of the “Rainbow Dash Fan Club.” The filly idolized her, and Rainbow appreciated her loyalty. Rainbow secretly cared for the little filly a lot. Being an only child, Rainbow never had any siblings. Neither did Scootaloo, to the best of Rainbow’s knowledge. She had never heard much about Scootaloo’s family. She tried to watch out for her the best she could, but tried not to get involved too much, for both Scootaloo’s sake and hers. Rainbow stopped in the rain and watched and Scootaloo got to the top of the cliff of the gorge. Rainbow noticed her shaking body and her face covered in tears. Before Rainbow could decide what to do, she saw Scootaloo do something that took the color out of her mane and the breath out of her lungs. She saw her jump. Rainbow froze in fear, not knowing what to do. But in a matter of microseconds, she snapped out of it and plunged after Scootaloo. As she chased after her, tears began to roll down/up her body. No thoughts ran through her head except one: “Save her. Save her, Celestia dammit!” Rainbow caught up with her as they neared the ground. She grabbed her and tried to pull up, but the rain and the speed that they were going at made it difficult. Rainbow thought only of Scootaloo, and after getting out of the range full of jagged rocks, rolled over onto her back, bracing Scootaloo on her belly hugging her, and came to a sliding stop on the ground. The pain was terrible. The ground was hard. But she would live. More importantly, Scootaloo was alive.
Chapter 2Chapter 2: As Scootaloo began to regain consciousness, she realized that she was somewhere completely foreign. It was soft, like a bed. How could the bottom of Ghastly Gorge feel like a bed? She slowly opened one eye to try and look at her surroundings. She opened her other eye in disbelief as she realized where she was. She was on a cloud. Well, it was a cloud home at least. Scootaloo looked around in the room. There was a bed, couple of drawers, a mirror, the usual stuff. She looked at the ground; it was cloud. She took the covers off of her and slowly got out of bed. She took her first step onto a cloud……and it felt amazing. She thought she must have died, because there was no feasible way she could be on a cloud and be alive. So Scootaloo enjoyed the feeling of the cloud and began jumping around. It was so soft and plush, but surprisingly stable. After she finished playing around, Scootaloo went outside the door into the hallway. She looked around, and it seemed like nopony was there. Wasn’t there supposed to be somepony waiting for you when you got to Heaven? She walked down the hallway and found a staircase that led to a lower floor. She a balcony near the end of the hall and decided to look outside, and gasped in awe. The clouds looked so different from above and all of the ponies looked like ants. She backed away and headed for the stairs and tried to figure out exactly where she was. As Scootaloo walked down the stairs, she looked around in amazement. The main room of the house was huge. It seemed to have some couches, a fireplace, a bookshelf, some framed photos and posters, and a few other things. Scootaloo was left speechless, even though there was nopony there to talk to, by the sheer magnitude of the house, but one question slowly filled her mind; Whose house was this and why was she alone? Actually, that was two. But in a few moments, she wished she had never asked. From outside, Scootaloo heard a whooshing sound, like a pegasus landing. She stood in a mix of intrigue and fear, staring at the door. She heard the hoofsteps getting closer and closer to the door. She felt a trickle of sweat race down from her mane across her face. She waited, and the door opened. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she noticed the mare coming through the door. She stepped back in fear, just staring at the blue pegasus with the rainbow mane before her. Rainbow Dash noticed her and almost immediately dropped the grocery bags she was holding. She just stood there and stared at the orange filly with the purple mane before her. She saw the fear in Scootaloo’s eyes, along with the tears. She took a step forward, and Scootaloo backed away. “P-Please,” she pleaded with tears in her eyes; “I’m sorry. D-Don’t be angry at me. Oh C-Celestia I’m sorry!” She put her head down and closed her eyes. “I-I-I’m not worth it!” She began to cry loudly. “Please don’t f-feel bad for me! I-I’m n-not even a real p-pegasus!” At this point, Dash quickly ran over and crushed Scootaloo in a large hug. With tears falling down Rainbow’s face, she tightly hugged the little filly to her chest. Scootaloo began to weep into Rainbow’s stomach, but she didn’t care. Dash took one of her hooves and ran it through Scootaloo’s mane. “It’s ok, just let it all out. I’m here.” Tears were now streaming down Rainbow’s face at a constant pace. Using her wings as extra hooves, she wrapped them around the little orange body before her and held her even closer. They stayed like that for about ten minutes before Scootaloo’s crying began to subside. Scootaloo looked up into Rainbow’s eyes as Rainbow did the same. Both pegasi faces were covered in tears, but neither really cared at that point. “You Ok?” Rainbow asked. “…………No, not really.” “You wanna talk about it?” Rainbow wasn’t the best at these situations, but she wanted to try. Scootaloo just pressed her head into Rainbow’s chest and shook her head. “Alright, but if you do want to talk about it, let me know.” Rainbow took her hoof and put in under Scootaloo’s chin. She raised her head so she was staring at her eye to eye again. “Alright Kiddo?” she asked with a small smile. “Ok……” she said quietly. “Good, I just have one question. Is there any way I can get in contact with your family?” Rainbow immediately knew something was wrong as she saw the filly begin to shake again. Scootaloo was starting to resume her crying and Rainbow was unsure about what she should do. So she stayed as calm as she could. “You don’t have to tell me now. Its fine, it’s ok. Why don’t I just take you to the bathroom and help you clean up?” Rainbow led the shaking orange filly to the bathroom. She started a warm bath and waited for the tub to fill up. Then she helped Scootaloo get in and get used to the water. The water was warm, but not to hot. Scootaloo felt her body immediately feel better as the warm water relaxed her muscles and she began to feel her mind empty. But she didn't fall back onto the side of the tub. She sat in the water, in the center of the tub. She was too entranced in thought to move. “Do you need my help with anything?” Rainbow asked. “No…” Scootaloo just stared into the water, almost in a daze. “Ok, I’ll be outside if you need me.” Rainbow began to walk out of the room and had just put her hoof on the door when Scootaloo spoke up. “It’s a long story.” “What?” asked Rainbow in confusion. “You asked about my family……..it’s a long story.” Scootaloo continued to look into the water. “I have time,” Rainbow replied as she took a seat on the floor next to the tub. “But only if you want to talk about it.” Dash didn’t want to upset her even more. “Ok,” Scootaloo began; “I’ll start from the beginning.”
Chapter 3Chapter 3: Scootaloo grew up in a small town outside Fillydelphia. It was a good life, and though she didn’t have many friends, she had a loving family. She had her father, Cloud maker, her mother, Sunny Day, and her older brother, Speedy Day. Her parents worked at the weather factory, and her brother was their apprentice, so to speak. Her family loved to help make the weather, and Scootaloo wanted nothing more them to make them proud. The family took pride in their work at the factory, whether it was her mother creating clouds with certain amounts of rain exactly measured three times over, or her brother sweeping the halls or running errands for people. The work, big or small, made them all happy and made them close as a family. But her parents saw right away that Scootaloo was not going to be in the weather business, and they just wanted her to be happy no matter where her life took her. So her parents tried to show her things to help her find her interests. They tried books, art, swimming, fashion, and so many other things, but nothing ever seemed to appeal to her. But one day as the family was walking down the main street of their small town, Scootaloo’s eyes latched onto something brand new to her in the store window. As soon as her parents saw that look, they knew this would be different. So, the next day, Scootaloo was seen zooming around on her brand new blue scooter. The engine would have cost her father a lot more then he had, so Scootaloo told him she didn’t need it. She soon found out how right she was, when she realized her small wings could be used as propulsion device. She still hoped one day that her wings would be more than just an engine and she would be able to fly with her family, but for the time being this was perfect. Both of her parents were so proud of her ingenuity and thought that their little girl would be able to go anywhere in that scooter of hers. But all things, no matter how small, came with a price. Her father, as loving as he was, got too obsessed with his work sometimes, and his family saw the wear and tear on his body and personality. So, whenever her father told her that they were going on a family vacation, she couldn’t be happier. Each year, the family would go away using her parent’s vacation days, and each year would be better than the last. Every year the family did something different. Every year, her family would be together for a week and become closer. Their next trip was something her father had been planning for a long time. A trip to Manehattan. Scootaloo couldn’t believe her ears. A trip to the city that never sleeps! A place where big famous ponies live and work! And most importantly, she would be with her family. There was just one problem. Their small little town was just outside of Fillydelpia. The distance from there to Manehattan was a day fly/walk at least, without including stops and such. That would destroy their time in the city and Scootaloo’s father didn’t want that. So after studying the map over and over again, he found out that he could cut the travel distance in half if he took a few “shortcuts.” These shortcuts included going past a mountain and over the Everfree forest. The mountain was usually not a problem, except the mountain was known to house dragons from time to time. Her father assured them that the dragons wouldn't be there during the summer time. Scootaloo believed him; he was her dad after all. When were dads ever wrong? The family departed their house on a Sunday morning, hoping to at least be in range of Manehattan by late afternoon or very early evening. The family had shifts of who flew in the air guiding the group and who stayed on the ground with the luggage cart and Scootaloo. Occasionally, she would hop on her mother’s back and go up into the sky with her and just enjoy the view. She liked the way the ground looked from all the way up there. She loved the gentle breeze against her face. It was so nice that Scootaloo found herself drifting asleep. “Get some rest Scoot; you woke up very early today. I’ll wake you when we get there.” her mother assured her. Scootaloo nuzzled her mother’s mane as she felt herself drift off. Then it was quiet……. Authors Notes: Thank you guys for all the love! I'm working on the grammer, it just slips and when you reread it seems fine. Stuff hapens, but know I'm really lookin. Also FYI: If the names stnk, I don't blame ya. I'm not the best at pony names. This chapter is a little shorter then the others, but there is a good reason, don't worry. Thank you all again! -ColeTrain4EVER PS: Keep up the criticism, I need it sometimes. I also have another story I may upload that needs critiques. That one would be on Hiatus until this one is done, but I have 5 chapters done already. Stay tuned to my page!
Chapter 4Chapter 4: The rapid movements of her mother woke Scootaloo up. Still drowsy, the scream really got her up as she looked around. What she saw turned her blood to ice and her heart into a drum. Off in the distance, her father was being chased by a large red dragon. And she couldn’t do anything about it. She, her mother and her brother flew into the forest below to hide from the large ferocious monster. The three landed and Sunny immediately tried to think of a plan, crunching numbers in her head. “Is Papa gonna be ok?” Scootaloo asked her mother, scared out of her mind, but Sunny was too busy with her planning. She was mumbling to herself: a warning sign to Scootaloo that she was nervous. Soon she felt Speedy’s hoof on her shoulder and she turned around. “Of course he will Scoot.” her brother tried his best to reassure her. “Has Pop ever done something he couldn’t han¬-.” Speedy’s words were cut off as a loud roar sounded from above. Her mother finally finished her thinking and called a huddle. “Ok, I’m going to go help your father.” She looks at Speedy, “I need you to stay with Scootaloo and keep her safe.” “Let me come with you!” Speedy argued, “I want to hel-!” “This is not the time to argue with me Speedy!” She screamed, “Stay with your sister and that is an order!” She looked at the two of them and realized what she just did. ‘Please Speedy; I can’t put anyone else in danger.” “Ok, Mom, just hurry back, ok?” “I will,” she grabbed the two of them and held them in a hug; “I love you both so much.” Then she released them and took off flying in the direction of the roar. There was an awkward silence. It just hung there for a few seconds, but it felt like hours. “Why does papa need help?” Scootaloo asked. “Huh?” Speedy was taken back from the question. “Papa never needs help. He always has things handled.” “Oh, uh,” He tried to think of something quick; “Well, Dad is kicking that dragons flank so much that he needs Mom to hold him back. Or else the dragon could get really hurt.” “Really!?” Scootaloo asked; “Dad can do that?” “Eyep, he’s really strong.” Speedy continued; “I once saw him take on an Ursa Major, and win!” Scootaloo’s eyes went big. “No way, not even dad could do that.” “Well sure, he didn’t do it alone.” he continued, “Mom was there to help.” “Mom and Dad stopped an Ursa Major!?” Scootaloo asked in disbelief. “Dad and Mom have done a lot of cool things together. They’ve told me all the stories. Wanna hear them?” Scootaloo couldn't nod her head fast enough. “Ok ok, well there was this one time in Canterlot…….” The two of them spoke for an hour or so, about all of the “stories” of their mother and father’s past. Then, just as Speedy finished the story of their parent’s adventures in the diamond mines, another loud roar was heard, coming from the same direction that their mother had gone. “Speedy…” Speedy grabbed his little sister tight in a hug and held her close. He looked in the direction of the sound and knew what he had to do. “Scootaloo,” he began; “I need to go check up on Mom and Dad. I need to…….” He tried to find the right words; “make sure Dad isn’t hurting the dragon to bad!” He placed a hoof on Scootaloo’s head and ruffled her mane. “But Mom said that-.” Scootaloo’s words were cut off by a hoof on her mouth. “Mom didn’t know what she was saying.” Speedy smiled; “She was under a lot of pressure and didn’t think about all of her options.” “But what should I do?” Speedy looked around and saw here Scooter next to the luggage cart. “Why don’t you practice on your scooter and show us all when we get back. Can you do that?” “Sure! Hey big bro?” Scootaloo asked. “Yeah?” “I love you.” “I love you too.” The two embraced in a close hug. Speedy then went over to the luggage cart, dug into his case, and put on his pair of authentic Wonderbolt goggles. He always told her they brought him good luck whenever he needed it. Then Speedy flew up in the direction of the roar. Scootaloo watched him disappear and then started on her tricks. “Alright you guys, time to show you all what I can do!” she thought to herself. Scootaloo practiced for an hour or so. She jumped over rocks, stumps, and the small little creek near where the group landed. Then she tried to do it all in one run. It didn’t go well and she ended up in the water. But she tried again and again, until finally…… “Step 1, go at rock at full speed and put weight on back of scooter. Gain air and clear rock.” Done “Step 2, lower speed while going at the stump or else lose power at the river. Put weight on back and gain air.” Done “Step 3, use extra space from the low power jump at the stump to make it across the creek. Put weight on back and jump.” Done After four tries and a similar number of times in the water and dirt, Scootaloo did it. She was thrilled. “Just wait guys! Mom and Dad, you're gonna be so proud! And Speedy will be proud! It’ll be awesome!” It was then Scootaloo heard the roar for a third time. She looked up and realized how long her family had been gone. She wondered what they were doing, so she leaned her scooter against the luggage cart and she began to trot toward the area where the roar came from. She walked alone in the forest. It was kind of dark, and kind of scary, but Scootaloo knew her parents would be around here somewhere. Scootaloo began to smell something as she walked along; it was a very strong smell. Almost like a fire, but different. While she was distracted by the smell, Scootaloo tripped on a rock and fell to the ground. “Stupid rock.” She mumbled to herself. As she got up, she noticed something on the ground. She picked it up and looked at it very closely, and soon realized what it was. “Dad’s bit case? Why would he drop this?” She put the case against a tree and hoped she would remember where it was to tell him. Soon the sun began to vanish in the trees and Scootaloo was scared. She looked to the treetops to find someplace where the sunlight could get through. During her search, she saw something else that caught her attention. Hanging from a tree branch, she saw... “Mom’s necklace?” she thought; “That was a present from Grandma to her when she was a little filly. She would never lose that.” Scootaloo really began to worry now. She walked along into another clearing. The smell of fire was getting stronger, along with another smell. Scootaloo couldn’t figure out what the other smell was though. In this clearing, Scootaloo saw a large crater in the ground. She approached it carefully. In it, she saw something that sent shivers down her spine. “Speedy’s goggles!” she thought. The band that goes around a pony’s head was snapped and there was a crack in one of the eyes. “Speedy would never lose these. He wouldn’t ever let anything happen to these, I know it!” Scootaloo placed the goggles down and made her way closer to the source of the burning smell. “What’s going on?” She asked herself; “Where are they?” Soon, she wished she never asked. Authors Notes: I tried to work on my pacing problem. Tell me how I did. Sorry about the wait, I'll see about a chapter by Thursday. But no promises.
Chapter 5 Chapter 5: As Scootaloo walked alone in the forest, she noticed another light in front of her. Except, this one was different. This light wasn’t from the sun at all, it was from a fire. “Oh my...” Scootaloo looked around and observed the destruction before her. The trees were on fire. The bushes were on fire. The ground was all torn up. The sky was full of thick black smoke. But all of that destruction couldn’t compare to what was in front of her. The motionless body of a pegasus, lying under a fallen branch. Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she recognized the pony and started to run to her. “Mom!” she yelled. No response came. When she got up to her mother, Scootaloo began to tear the branches off of her. When they were finally off, she began to frantically shake her motionless mother. “Mom!” she yelled again, “Mom, please wake up!” still nothing. At this point, Scootaloo tried to turn her mother on to her back, but she couldn’t do it from the angle, so she went around the other side to try and pull her onto her back. What she saw still haunts her today. Her mother’s right wing had been torn off. Not cleanly, the void was jagged and ruffled and…..and…. Scootaloo turned away; she couldn’t look. She just wept and tried to make the image go away. It wouldn’t. Scootaloo went around to the other side; she couldn’t bear to look at it any more. She looked at her mother and just stared at her for a while. Her trance was then broken by the sound of flapping wings. Only they didn’t sound like normal pegasus wings; it sounded larger. She knew what it was: it was the dragon responsible for all this. Terror filled her mind as she looked for a place to hide. She jumped into a bush to try and hide from the dragon. Scootaloo watched in horror as the large beast flew over the burning forest. The dragon was huge and had sharp claws on his feet. Its wings made loud “whoosh” sounds whenever they flapped. Its scales were dark red and his underside was yellow-ish. Scootaloo normally wouldn’t remember small details like these, but the images of that day have been burned into her mind. The dragon flew in a circle a couple of times around the burning area and then flew towards the mountains to the south. Scootaloo carefully exited from the bush and watched as the large beast flew away. She didn’t know what to do. She was alone, it was getting dark, her mother was dead, the bushes were rustling, the- Scootaloo turned around as the bushes shook with something inside of them. She stepped back about to run, but she summoned all of her courage and stood her ground. “Scootaloo?” a familiar voice called, “Is that you?” Her eyes widened has she recognized the voice. “D-Daddy?” Cloud, scratched up and body covered in burns emerged out of the bushes to the loving embrace of his daughter. He ran a hoof threw her mane as the two embraced each other tightly. “What are you doing here?” He asked. “I-I got scared and I wanted to find y-you…….and-and Mom…” Tears began to flow down Scootaloo’s eyes. “Shh-Shh….Mom’s in a better place now.” He pressed his daughter’s face into his chest as she began to weep. She wept loudly and tears soon began down Cloud’s face too. “Listen,” he began; “We need to get out of here. There’s a small town named Ponyville just outside the forest if we go north from here.” He pointed his hoof north to show Scootaloo. “We need to go now.” “But, w-what about Speedy?” Scootaloo asked Cloud’s eyes shot open. “He wasn’t with you? Damn that boy!” He thought for a moment; “I need to get you out of here. Then I’ll come back for Speedy. He can watch out for himself while I get some help.” Scootaloo wanted to argue, but she realized that her father was serious and just nodded in agreement. The two began to walk in the direction that was supposed to lead to this Ponyville place. As time went on, Scootaloo began to talk. “What happened to Momma?” Cloud sighed and looked at his daughter. “She……She sacrificed herself to help protect you and Speedy.” “But Momma had an answer for everything. How could this have…?” Scootaloo’s voice began to trail off and she felt tears coming on. She looked down to the ground as they walked. “Sometimes,” her father began; “There are things in life that have no right answer. We try to find an outcome that works out for everypony, but we find that all that matters is helping those we love.” He put a hoof under his daughter’s chin and made it so her eyes were looking into his. “Your mother knew that and I can guarantee she would do it again just so that you and Speedy could be safe.” Scootaloo smiled and the two continued to walk. Just then, the sound of large flaps was heard over head as Cloud grabbed his daughter and both of them jumped into a nearby bush. The dragon appeared and circled the area; he knew they were there. Just then, a loud yell was heard over head. “Hey you fire breathing loser! Try and catch up!” A voice called from above. “Speedy!” Scootaloo quietly said from inside the bush. Her brother was ok, and he was trying to help them. Speedy wasn’t a wonderbolt, but he still was pretty fast. He evaded the dragon’s claw swipes, tail swipes, his fire breath, and was even courageous enough to get near the mouth of the beast and almost get bitten. A dangerous move, but when it was done properly, it confused the monster giving everypony a little time to think. The father and daughter in the bush got out and began to run in the direction they hoped was north. Everything was fine, until they heard Speedy scream from above. The two looked up and saw a huge fireball and coming out of it was Speedy, badly burned and plunging towards earth. “Speedy!” Scootaloo screamed, but he fell faster and faster until a “thump” was heard. That noise had been burned into Scootaloo’s memory. “We have to help him!” Scootaloo yelled to her father. “No, I need to help him. You need to keep going to the town.” Cloud said with worry in his voice. “No,” Scootaloo yelled; “I’m coming too! Every time somepony leaves me alone they-” “That’s enough!” Cloud yelled; ‘I’m your father and you will do as I sa-.” “Pa-Papa…” The two looked up from their argument to the direction of the noise; “Mama…..somepony……help…..” The voice trailed off and both ponies knew whose voice it was. Cloud looked down to his daughter. “Please,” he began; “Just head towards the town. I can’t stand to put you in anymore danger.” “Ok” She looked down. “And no matter what you hear,” He continued; “You keep going north, understand?” “Ok, but promise me something.” “What?” “That you and Speedy will come back safe.” Cloud hugged his daughter and whispered in her ear, “I promise.” With that, the two released each other and Scootaloo continued north while Cloud headed towards the voice. Scootaloo picked up the pace as she ran through the forest. She knew her father and brother would be alright. They were smart ponies. “Look out!” A voice from behind her yelled out Scootaloo almost stopped, but her father’s words ran through her head about stopping. “Father look out!” She picked up the pace. “No Speedy, don’t do it!” She ran even faster. A loud roar was heard Even faster. Finally, two loud screams were heard behind her and with tears streaming down her face, Scootaloo kept running. Her vision became blurry as tears flooded her eyes. She didn’t see the large object in her path until she tripped over it. She looked down and found that she was back at the clearing with the luggage cart. Looking back, Scootaloo grabbed a backpack and filled with all she could get from the cart, she took some food, some medicine, her spending money, and the picture of her family. Then she grabbed her scooter and headed for Ponyville. Author's Notes: Sorry about the delay. Exams coming up. Rangers losing to Devils in the playoffs. I've had a lot going on. Things will get better, just I don't know when.
Chapter 6Chapter 6: Rainbow Dash listened quietly as Scootaloo told her story. She didn’t want to disturb her, but she wanted to be close in case Scootaloo needed a shoulder to cry on. Scootaloo just sat in the tub through the whole story, just staring at her reflection in the water, not moving at all. Dash knew the little filly was tough and resilient, but she never knew that she was this tough. Dash had always had friends and family to be by her side when she needed it. Scootaloo only had her family, and to have them taken in such a way… Dash’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of water hitting water. She looked at the faucet and when it didn’t drip, she realized where it had come from. Scootaloo began to cry, not weeping loudly, just a small steady stream that was enough to make Dash want to intervene. “Ok kiddo, why don’t we get you out of the tub? We don’t need you getting sick.” “Ok” Scootaloo got out of the tub and took the towel from Rainbow Dash. She wiped herself dry and gave the towel back to Dash, who put it on the towel rack. The two moved down to the living room and both sat down on the couch. Scootaloo was silent through the whole thing, never raising her gaze from the floor. “I’ll be right back.” Rainbow said has she dashed off to the kitchen. Scootaloo looked around and was in awe of Rainbow’s house. She was on the weather team, sure. But how did she afford all this? The sports stuff, the paintings, the furniture, so much stuff! Her thoughts were interrupted as Dash came back into the room with two cups of some brown liquid. Dash handed one to Scootaloo and took one for herself. “It’s chocolate milk. I thought you might be thirsty.” She said before she took a sip out of her cup. Scootaloo looked at the cup and took about one third of the drink out the glass before looking back at Dash embarrassed. “Sorry,” she said looking back up at Dash, “I’m just really thirsty.” “Its fine,” Rainbow laughed, “I would be too.” Scootaloo smiled and laughed a little with Rainbow Dash. This was the first time Dash had seen Scootaloo lighten up since she woke up and was not going to ruin the moment. Scootaloo looked up at Dash and nuzzled against her side. Dash took the cue and wrapped her closer with a wing “Can I ask you something Dash?” “What is it?” “Why do you care about me? All I do is annoy you and get in your way.” Rainbow was taken aback from the comment. “You don’t annoy me. Why do you think that?” “Cause all I’m doing is weighing you down.” Scootaloo confessed; “You have the most amazing friends in the word, you’re an element of harmony, you’re an amazing flyer, and look at me! I can’t even fly and I look up to you!” Dash held her closer. “You have amazing friends too! You have all of Ponyville if you need it.” Scootaloo didn't respond and the house was silent for a couple of minutes. Eventually, rain outside broke the silence. Dash needed to know something, whether she ruined the moment or not. “Scootaloo, be honest with me. Where have you been sleeping?” “The Crusader club house.” “Before that.” Dash knew that the clubhouse had only been completed a short time after the three of them began 'crusading.' Scootaloo was silent but then finally said, “Nowhere. I moved from place to place a lot. Sometimes behind Sugar Cube Corner, sometimes in the Apples' farm when Big Mac forgot to lock it.” “Would you like to stay with me tonight?” Scootaloo’s eyes went wide and a huge grin appeared on her face. “You mean I get to stay here with you!?” “Sure, I have plenty of room an-umph!” Rainbow was cut short as Scootaloo grabbed her in a large hug. Rainbow hugged her tightly. She couldn’t believe some of this. Scootaloo was so normal, so energetic, so friendly. How could she be through so much and never seem sad ever? Why hadn’t she come to somepony for help? Did she get it from her? Was her over confidence and “I can do this by myself” influencing to hide it? What if-. “Um, Dash? You’re squeezing me to tight.” Rainbow’s thoughts were interrupted. “Hehe, sorry.” Dash then realized that Scootaloo had never eaten since she woke up. “Hey, you hungry, pipsqueak?” She was about to speak when her stomach grumbled loudly. “Maybe a little.” The two giggled and Dash took her into the kitchen and whipped up some dandelion sandwiches for the two of them. It wasn’t a five star dinner, but Dash wanted to get her food quickly, and this worked out perfectly. Scootaloo gobbled down her first sandwich, but was more paced on the second one. Dash ate her sandwich slowly, staring at Scootaloo, thinking about the same things as before. She wondered about what she could do to help the little filly. After the two of them finished, they went up the stairs and Dash brought Scootaloo back to the room where she first woke up. She helped her into the bathroom and told her she should brush her teeth before bed. Afterwards, she helped the filly into bed and covered her up. “Hey Dash?” Scootaloo asked with her eyes closing and sleepiness in her voice. “Yes Scootaloo?” “Thank you, you’re the best.” The words warmed Dash’s heart and she kissed Scootaloo on the forehead. Then she quietly left the room and made her way to her bedroom. She got into bed and tried to sleep, but couldn’t. She tossed and turned, but to no avail. She was too busy thinking about what she would do. Rainbow looked at her pet turtle next to her bed and sighed. “What do I do, Tank?” The tortoise blinked slowly and fell asleep. “You're alotta help.” Dash tried to sleep again, it would be a long night for her.
Chapter 7Chapter 7: As Scootaloo dreamt, she dreamt of her family and the trip. She dreamt of her family calling out to her for help. She looked and looked throughout the forest, but couldn’t find them. The cry’s got quieter and quieter, and before long, their voices faded away. Scootaloo was alone and scared, she started to cry. However, her cries were cut short when she heard a loud roar behind her. She looked behind her and saw the Red Dragon swoop down onto the ground near her. Scootaloo tried to crawl away, but the dragon’s large mouth came down on top of her before she could get away. She screamed. Scootaloo jumped up in fright from her sleep. She was covered in sweat, she was breathing heavily, and her covers were ruffled and messy. She regained herself, and began to calm down. *BOOM* Scootaloo jumped at the loud noise that came from outside. She looked out the window and saw the rain had intensified. The lightning and thunder had started to come out. “The stupid thunder woke me up.” Scootaloo thought to herself, denying the truth. She looked at the clock, it read 4 AM. “It’s too early to be up.” She grumbled as she fell back onto the bed. She wanted to go back to sleep, but the fright had spooked her awake. Scootaloo could only stare back at the ceiling as her thoughts zoomed through her head. She tossed and turned on the sheets as the rain poured down outside. Rainbow Dash was having even worse luck then Scootaloo. She had been tossing and turning since she had gotten into bed. Her thoughts had plagued her mind with tough questions, questions that no pony could sleep with unanswered. “What am I going to do with her?” She thought; “I can’t just hand her over to the Filly Protective Service, she would be taken away from her friends and her life here. What little of a life that was.” Dash sighed; she wasn’t good at these types of things. Give her a race course and a time to beat and she was golden, but not this type of stuff. Dash sat up in bed, she didn’t know what to do. She got up and trotted over to her dresser; she looked at herself in the mirror and just stared. “I can’t let her go back to the streets, she could die out there and I can’t let that happen to her.” Tapping her hooves against the dresser, Dash couldn’t think of any plausible options, until a thought finally crossed her mind that got her thinking. “Maybe I can…No.” Dash didn’t think that it was a good idea for Scootaloo. She knew that there were people in Equestria who specialized in this sort of thing. She would have to find them tomorrow. But that idea stayed with her, in the back of her mind as a reminder. Dash laid back down and found herself actually falling asleep. “Maybe…..Tomorrow…will…” Her thoughts were interrupted as she fell into a deep and much needed sleep. Scooatloo awoke the next morning groggy and tired. Her sheets were ruffled even more then when she woke up before. She must have had a rough night of sleep. She wanted to lie back down, but that was before she smelled something. Someone was cooking, and it smelled delicious. Scootaloo sat up and decided to go investigate. She got up from her bed and walked down the large stair case. She followed the smell into the kitchen. “Duh,” she thought to herself; “Where else would it be coming from?” When Scootaloo walked into the kitchen, she was greeted by a cooking Rainbow Dash, who quickly turned around and saw that her guest had finally woken up. “Morning Scootaloo, sleep well?” Dash asked with a grin on her face as she returned to the stove. “Not really.” Scootaloo yawned and rubbed her eyes as Dash giggled a little. “What’s so funny?” Scootaloo asked. “Your face looks so funny right now.” Dash giggled some more and Scootaloo grabbed a nearby spoon and looked into it. Her mane was a mess, and she had bags under her eyes. Scootaloo couldn’t help but giggle at her face either. “Maybe a few pancakes will help wake you up.” Dash quickly grabbed a plate of Pancakes and put it in the center of the table. Then she got two clean plates and some utensils and put them out at two seats. “Eat up, squirt. You could use the food.” Scootaloo didn’t even argue, she needed the food badly. She sat down and began to put butter and syrup on her Pancakes. But before she pigged out, she remembered her manners. She began to eat slowly and calmly, fighting against her primal urges. Dash sat down and began to eat as well, that thought from last night was still with her, but she ignored it. “There must be a better option for her.” She thought. “So any plans for today?” asked Rainbow. Scootaloo had forgotten she was there and jumped at the question. “Oh um, me and the Crusaders are probably going to do something today.” “Alright!” Dash said with some enthusiasm; “You’ll get that cutie mark in no time!” Scootaloo pushed and continued to eat. The rest of the meal continued on with some small talk here and there. The two finished their meals together and Scootaloo decided to help Rainbow with the dishes, it was the least she could do. “Hey Dash?” She asked “Yeah?” “Can you give me a lift into Ponyville? I would but…” she flapped her wings; “you know.” “Sure, let’s get going.” The two exited the house and Scootaloo jumped onto Rainbow’s back. Soon, the two took off. Scootaloo found herself nuzzling herself into Rainbow’s back, falling asleep. Dash giggled and decided since it was a ten to fifth teen minute flight, she would let her rest. The two reached Ponyville and Dash woke up Scootaloo from her nap. “OK, I’m going to go help out with some things around town. Meet me here at about six-thirty and we'll go back home.” Scootaloo froze, “I can go back?” “Sure, you can crash with me for a few days if you like.” Scootaloo hugged Rainbow Dash and ran off to tell her friends the news. Author's Notes: Hey guys. Listen, I am thinking about submitting this fic to EQD, but I have a problem. I may have some grammar issues and the guys at EQD rib stories up for that. I have tried to correct the stories, but I don't see the errors until someone shows them to me. I probably just know what I meant and my mind ignores that I misspell things. So would you guys be willing to help? Just PM me the Chapter,the paragraph, and the misspell, and I'll fix it. If you guys helped I would really appreciate it. Or put it in the comments, your choice.
Chapter 8Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Scootaloo was exhausted after all the crusading she and her friends had done. They had tried banjo playing, meditation, tight rope walking, and so much more, but still no cutie marks. She and her friends had tried countless things to get their cutie marks, but nothing ever seemed to work. But no matter what had happened, her friends were always there to comfort her. But that wasn’t the case with flying. She didn’t have anyone to count on, she was alone, and it got to her sometimes. “But now Rainbow Dash will be there for me!” she thought to herself as she walked the streets of Ponyville. Soon, she arrived at the town square, but Dash was nowhere in sight. Scootaloo looked at the clock in the center of town, it read six forty-five. Scootaloo found it odd that the fastest flyer in Equestria was late, but she wrote it off and assured herself that she would come soon. Scootaloo decided to walk around the town square and look at some of the stores. There was the Quills and Sofas store, the Sweet Apple Acres stand, a flower shop, and a café to name a few. As Scootaloo walked by the café, she saw through the window that there were two ponies talking at one of the tables inside. ...one of which had a rainbow mane and a cyan coat. Scootaloo ducked under one of the tables. She looked at the other pony. He was a Earth pony stallion, with a white body and a dark brown mane and was wearing a black trench coat. Something seemed fishy to Scootaloo, and she wanted to know more. Scootaloo crawled up to the door of the café and quietly opened the door. She crept in; luckily the place was pretty empty since most ponies were heading home at this hour. She looked and saw the two ponies at the table next to the door. She was also lucky that the café had a wall between the front door and the tables. Scootaloo didn’t know why there was a wall, maybe it was for the heat or to keep people from seeing others enter, but she didn’t question it. Scootaloo listened closely as the two ponies talked. “You say the child is still a filly, yes?” the stallion asked. “Yes, she’s still in school.” Dash answered. “Can she fly?” “What? Why is that important?” “Answer the question ma’am.” Dash sighed and put a hoof to her head; “No, she can’t. I was going to teach her.” “Alright, any birth de-.” “That’s it!” Dash slammed her hoofs to the table. “What is this? I’m trying to help Scootaloo and you just keep asking what’s wrong with her! Why do you need to know that!? “Its standard procedure Miss Dash.” “Well buck the standard procedure! Why does the government need to know about every one of Scootaloo’s little flaws?” Scootaloo couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Rainbow Dash was talking to the government about her! She had heard stories about this. She would be sent away to some home far away, away from the Cutie Mark Crusaders! But what scared Scootaloo most was the fact that Rainbow Dash was selling her out. She had trusted her, she had idolized her, and now she was being given away by her. Scootaloo wasn’t going to let that happen. She ran out the door and began to run out of the town square. Dash heard the door slam in the front of the café and looked out the window. She saw Scootaloo running as quickly as she could through the town square. Dash quickly concluded the obvious. Scootaloo wasn’t thinking straight, Dash had to find her. “What is it?” The stallion asked. “It’s Scootaloo, she must have heard us! We need to find her!” “Well, why would she get upset?” “I don’t know! Maybe she thinks….” She trailed off. “What?” Dash shook herself out of it, she needed to catch Scootaloo. “Nothing, we need to go!” The stallion nodded and Dash grabbed her saddle bag, then the two of them raced out the door. He agreed to check the outskirts of town, while Dash tried to get an aerial view of the area. Dash flew high into the air; she needed to find the filly quickly. Dash knew that Scootaloo must have thought that she was giving her up. She didn’t blame her. Her own experiences taught that living on your own makes it hard to trust other ponies. She didn’t want Scootaloo to be alone anymore. Dash circled around Ponyville, but she saw no sign of the orange runaway. She decided to fly over Sweet Apple Acres, and she still didn't find anything. However, a thought ran through Rainbow’s mind and she angled toward the CMC clubhouse, the tree house Scootaloo and her friends used as a headquarters for their crusading. Dash approached the tree house. She heard weeping coming from inside. She flew to the balcony and knocked on the door. “Go away.” The voice coming from inside was filled with anger and sadness. “Scootaloo,” Dash began; “It’s me.” “What do you want?” The anger was beginning to take over her voice. “I want to talk.” “Like how you were talking to that colt about me?” Dash sighed, it was what she feared. “Scootaloo, it’s not what you-.” “Not what I thought!?” she yelled from behind the door; “It’s exactly what I thought! I should never have trusted you! You should have let me fall off the cliff if this is what you were going to do to me!” “I-I…” Dash was at a loss for words. She never thought she could hear such things from a filly’s mouth. “If that’s what you think,” she reached into her saddle bag and took out a piece of paper and slipped it under the door; “then read this.” “What’s this, some paper about how foster….families…-.” Scootaloo’s voice trailed off as she began to read the paper. Dash waited quietly outside as Scootaloo read. Not even the sound of her breathing could be heard. Soon the door opened and Scootaloo stepped out, paper in hoof. “What is this?” “It’s a…..adoption form.” “But-but you want to adopt me?” Tears began to swell up in Scootaloo’s eyes. “Because Scootaloo,” Dash went to her level and put a hoof on her shoulder; “I never want you to be alone again. I want to be there for you, no matter what happens. I want to teach you how to fly. I want to help you get your cutie mark. I want….you to be safe.” It was too much. Both of the pegasi embraced each other in a large hug, tears running down both of their faces. Scootaloo finally had a home for herself, and now she had a family again. Dash knew that Scootaloo would grow up safely, and that’s all she wanted. The two of them hugged for a while, until hoofsteps were heard coming from the forest. They turned and saw the stallion from the café come from the tree line into the clearing. For some reason, he was wearing sunglasses, even though the sun was going down. Dash smiled and turned back to Scootaloo. “Come on, I want you to meet somepony.” The two of them walked down the ramp towards the stallion, who removed his sunglasses and placed them in the pocket of his coat. “Scootaloo, this is Norman Neighdon. He works for the EBI.” Scootaloo looked up at the stallion, who smiled down to her. “Hi there Scootaloo. Miss Dash asked me to look into your past to see if we could recover anything from your old life. Money, family items, etc, you get the drift. Sorry about the misunderstanding before.” “It’s ok, I over reacted anyway.” Norman nodded and looked at Rainbow Dash. “Miss Dash, I’ll contact you whenever I get something.” Dash nodded and looked down to Scootaloo. She hopped she could get something for the little filly. “Ok, shall we walk back into town?” asked Norman. The ponies agreed and the three of them set off back to Ponyville. Author's Notes: New chapter, tell me what you guys think and if there are any errors. Also a little announcement. I have a new project I'm thinking of doing. Although, It would take more then one writer to do it. You see, you guys know about that Dr Whooves Radio show that's floating around YouTube? Well, after watching a Walking Dead marathon this weekend, I want to make a Walking Dead Radio program with ponies. Maybe Human, maybe not. I wouldn't worry about casting or recording yet, but I would need some writers to help me in a Google docs to make a script and to talk in Skype. Also, they would need a knowledge of the show, so if you want to help, go watch the first season on Netflix and find the Second Season somewhere. So, if your interested, PM me your Skype name. If you don't have one, make one. and if you don't have a mic, just make an account and use chat. This would be me and like four other people, so I want good writers. If your interested, I don't want someone who won't do shit but wants credit. OK, that's it. Any questions, Put them in the comments.
Chapter 9Author's note: Sorry this took so long. I was thinking of just ending my story, but I had dug myself into a hole with one certain part. I was stuck, I couldn't think of a way to fix it. I hit writer's block, lost the will to write, then got really sick. After all that passed me, I decided to try again, this is what I got. I think for my situation, I did pretty god. I like my story. I want to thank everyone who likes this story. Also, thank my pre-reader (http://www.fimfiction.net/user/bronzewolf78) and all the readers who helped me correct things.This one my first real story on here, and I'm glad so many people liked it. So thank you all, thanks for waiting, and enjoy the final chapter. Chapter 9: Two weeks had passed since Scootaloo found out about Dash’s plan to adopt her. Scootaloo had begun living with Rainbow Dash permanently, and life was looking up for the little pegasus. Norman had begun looking into Scootaloo’s past as well. He hadn’t found much yet, but he had found some pictures of Scootaloo’s parents, which he sent to her. Scootaloo appreciated every little thing she got from him. The days continued to go by. “Come on, keep your wing speed up!” Dash encouraged. “Control speed, keep control.” Scootaloo mumbled to herself as she flapped her wings at a quick steady pace. Soon she began to rise from the ground. “That’s it, keep steady.” Scootaloo closed her eyes in concentration, she didn’t want to open them and get freaked out by the height. “You know,” Dash yelled up, “it looks a lot better when you can see it.” “But what if I fall?” “Then I’ll catch you.” Dash said encouragingly. “Trust me.” Scootaloo thought about it for a moment and slowly began to open her eyes. What she saw was herself, a few feet up in the air, on her own. “I-I’m doing it! I’m doing it!” “Good job kid!” Dash yelled out. “Just keep focused.” Scootaloo tried to stay focused on the task at hand, but her mind was racing from the fact that she was flying! Soon, her wings began to flutter and she started to lose height. Before she could correct herself, she found that she was on the ground, flapping her wings to no avail. “Don’t worry about it!” Dash encouraged; “You’ll get it eventually. You need to remember to keep focused and keep your wing speed up. Then your pose needs to be improved too, but we can worry about that later.” “Ok Dash!” Scootaloo said with a smile; “Hey, why is this so hard for me?” she asked. “Well, everypony is different.” She answered; “Fluttershy had trouble flying at first. So did Derpy, and I’ve heard Soarin was a terrible flyer before he learned the right way.” “What about you?” “Me? I didn’t really have trouble. It just sorta came naturally I guess.” Scootaloo thought for a moment. “Hey Dash?” “Yeah?” “If you’re such a great flyer, then why are you a weather pony for a small town like Ponyville?” Dash looked at Scootaloo and smiled; “That’s a long story, I doubt you would want to hear it.” “Please?” Scootalo’s intrigue was growing and she wanted to know. Dash laughed a little; “Ok, ok. Well, it all started back at flight camp….” Dash’s days at flight camp went by without any worry. Her special classes went by with a breeze, and her actions had made everypony realize that Fluttershy was not to be messed with. But as the days went on, Dash became more and more quiet. It was eerie to her friends, who were used to the loud and boastful Dash who never declined a challenge. She had just started to go with the flow, started to become like everypony else. One day after class, Dash and Fluttershy gathered at their usual spot to do homework, but Fluttershy had other plans. “Hey Dash?” She asked. “What’s going on with you?” “Nothing,” she mumbled. “Hey, what does the wind speed equal if the tornado’s going in the opposite direction?” Dash tried to change the subject. “Please Dash, you're acting strange. Tell me what’s going on.” Dash sighed after a pause. “They want to send me to Manehatten.” “That’s great! You’ll get to go to the big city and have a great job as a weather pony there!” “No it’s not! It means that I have to leave my friends!” Dash yelled. Fluttershy had never seen this before. Rainbow had never showed this much care for her friends. Sure, she had defended them, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity she was giving up. “You know that little town, the one on the ground near the Everfree Forest?” Fluttershy nodded. She remembered she fell near that town when the butterflies had saved her life. She liked it: it was quiet, had a lot of nice ponies, and plenty of critters for her to take care of. “Well, I’m gonna ask to be transferred there instead.” Fluttershy just looked at Dash. “But why?” Fluttershy asked. “You can to the big city and become a big shot! Maybe the Wonderbolts could draft you from there!” “Fluttershy,” Dash sighed. “I don’t care about that stuff if I’m away from the ponies I care about. I mean, I’d be leaving Mom, Dad, you, Gilda... I don’t think it’s worth it.” Fluttershy looked at her friend and smiled. “I don't think anypony can change your mind. Well, whatever you do, we’ll be there for you.” “Thanks Fluttershy.” Dash smiled back. “But um...” “My lips are sealed.” “Thanks.” The two laughed and continued on with their work. It would be a few weeks before Dash left the academy. The instructors couldn’t believe what she was asking, but knew they could not stop her. Dash left before she finished all of her work, but that didn’t stop Ponyville from hiring her instantly. It’s not every day a pony with her skill comes along and offers herself as a new weather pony. Her parents also knew that they couldn’t stop her, so instead of fighting her, they decided to support her from a distance. They offered to help her and the town of Ponyville whenever they needed it. Dash’s life seemed to fit perfectly into place. “…And that’s about it.” Dash finished her story as she laid back down on a cloud. Scootaloo had been listening to the whole story, beginning to end. Now that the story had ended, she was deep in thought. Dash saw this and perked up. “Something wrong, Scoot?” “Well, I was just thinking if I could do that.” She replied. “Give up something like that so I could be with my friends and…”she trailed off looking at Dash. “…family.” Dash smiled. “Look squirt, you gotta remember this: no matter where you are, your friends and family will be with you. Say when you become an expert flyer one day and get offered a job in Las Pegasus or Baltimare, you’ll have to make a choice. When I was younger, I thought that if I left, that I would be all alone, and I hated that thought. But now ever since I became friends with the rest of the elements, I’ve realized that no matter where I go, my friends and family will always be with me, here.” Dash put a hoof over Scootaloo’s chest. “I know that your family has been with you throughout everything. Now I know I will be too, and so will your friends.” Scootaloo thought for a moment, all of this as making so much sense to her. She looked back at Dash and smiled. “Thanks Rainbow.” “Anytime Scootaloo.” Scootaloo looked back up at the sky. “Can we try again?” Dash followed her gaze, then looked back to her and smiled. "Sure thing Scootaloo; let’s go.” The two of them began to train once again. Rainbow finally felt that Scootaloo was going to be ok. ColeTrain4EVER: Thank you All Again!
