Rainbows on Wheels

Chapter 4: Scoot Along

Is it my fault? Is it my fault that Dash went away? She sent Applejack here to look after me. Did I upset her? Was it something I said? Ohhhh..... I feel sick. My idol, she flew away. AGAIN. But I'm not as upset this time. I just want to know what I did. AJ said Rainbow was just upset because of some memories, and even though she IS the element of Honesty, she sugar-coats things quite a bit sometimes. Memories... what kind of memories could I have brought back to her?

~~Scoots

Rainbow read the make-shift diary page that Applejack had ripped out of the hospital notebook Nurse Redheart gave Scootaloo. It wasn't her fault, nothing was! Heck, she wasn't even alive when...

She felt terrible. Why had she gone away? AGAIN? She's hurting the kid, when that's the exact OPPOSITE of what she wants to do! Oh, dear Celestia, why?

Crumpling the note, Dash flew out the door of her cloud home and over to the hospital. She hovered outside Scoot's window, watching her read Daring Do, the book Rainbow had read in the hospital. She knocked, ever so slightly, on the window, and Applejack told Scootaloo something along the lines of, "Ah need some fresh air 'n here" and opened the window for Rainbow.

"Scoots! Kid, look, I'm sorry. It's just... I've been hurt a lot in my life. Knowing about YOUR family made me think of MY family... and I try not to do that, you know? See... my dad was really abusive" By now she was crying. "And he beat me and my mom. She tried to stop  him, and so did I, but he just hurt us more. It's hurt me for so long. I woke up in the hospital once, the last time he beat me.

"You see, I never really lost hope. Applejack and her whole family were there for me the whole time. And you know what? I had never even met them before. They took me in, and loved me like I was their own. Especially AJ." Dash turned and smiled at the orange mare.

"See, Scoots, I've been able to love again. And I just... I want that for you, too. I don't want you to be scared. You deserve the best, kid. You really do."

Scootaloo broke down into tears, horrified yet touched by Rainbow's story. The two held each other and cried, both of happiness and sorrow.