Chapters It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. Pinkie Pie was bouncing around being her usual joyful self, Fluttershy was tending her animals, Derpy was delivering the mail. So to most ponies, the day was perfect, but not to Rainbow Dash.
Rainbow Dash was nervously pacing her room in her cloud house, high above Ponyville. Should she tell her friends or not? Should she continue on living her life pretending nothing had happened when indeed something had happened? What could she do? She knew she couldn't keep on living a lie, but she had no solution to her problem. Throwing herself on her fluffy cloud bed with a huff, she picked up her favorite Daring Doo book and began reading, soon forgetting her internal struggle.
Knock, knock, knock. "Come in!" she yelled at whoever was at her door before becoming completely engrossed in the exciting tail. (Haha, pun intended.)
"There you are, I've been looking all over town for you! Has nopony told you what happened!" yelled Twilight, looking a bit flustered. After waiting a second with no response from Rainbow Dash, she decided to take matters into her own hooves. "RAINBOW DASH!!!" she yelled, this time right into the afore mentioned ear.
"Huh, oh hey Twi, what's goin on?" Rainbow Dash, not really caring what the response was.
"What's going on! What's going on! I'll tell you what's going on! YOU were supposed to take the CMC skydiving today, but since you never showed up, the CMC took it up on themselves to skydive, and alone too and-"
"Oh no!!! Twilight, I'm so sorry!!! I had an incredibly awesome day planned out. Something came up and I've been rather busy," apologized Rianbow Dash profusely, cutting off Twilight. Then, trying to remedied the situation, she asked, "Did they have any fun?"
"No, they did not have fun. Would you like to know what happened? Do want to know where they are now? In the Ponyville Hospital, that's where." Twilight finished her raving just long enough for her words to sink into Dash's thick skull.
"Wait, did you say Ponyville Hospital? What happened?" asked Dash, mentally kicking herself for forgetting, and, thinking back on the day previous, she did recall that she had promised Scootaloo to take the CMC skydiving and had completely forgotten after finding a letter in her mailbox the previous day...
Mail? Weird, I never get mail. Rainbow Dash thought to herself after finding a single letter in a Manila envelope in her mailbox. I wonder who it's from. After thoroughly searching the envelope for any sign of an address or a name and finding none, she ripped it open and began reading the letter inside.
Rainbow Dash, Hello Dashie, remember me? If I recall correctly, today is exactly ten years ago from when we first met. You were still a school filly then I believe; just a freshman. Do you remember me? Dark orange coat, dark purple mane, scateboard cutie mark? I believe you do. I was just writing to say, Happy Tenth Anniversary. How's Scootaloo doing? From, Your You Know Who
After receiving that letter, her sense of time and all promises associated with it had gone out the window. She had been pacing and trying to figure out what HE wanted all night. It wasn't that he'd had said anything offensive, it was that he HAD said anything in the first place. She had done her best to cover up her tracks but he always seemed to find her. What DID he want? In all of her aggravated worrying and pacing, she had completely forgotten her promise.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, is Scootaloo okay?" Dash asked worriedly. "I mean, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle. Are they okay?"
"They'll be okay, well, at least Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle will be," Twilight answered. "Thankfully Apple Bloom only sprained her ankle and Sweetie Belle only bruised her right foreleg," then looking at Dash sadly, she continued, "Scootaloo wasn't as lucky, she jumped and did everything correctly but her parachute didn't open-" a sudden gasp from Rainbow Dash startled her but she continued, " Scootaloo landed hard and broke several ribs and her left foreleg..." she trailed off.
"Twilight, what happened to Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I need to know."
"Oh Dash, you are so close to her, I don't want you to be hurt, but I'll tell you," said Twilight, tears forming in her eyes. "When Scootaloo landed, she hit her head hard on a stone jutting out of the path. The doctor's believe it caused brain damage and she's been in a coma ever since."
"No! She has to be okay! She just has to!" yelled Dash, startling Twilight. Before Twilight could say anything else, Rainbow Dash had already taken off, presumedly on her way to Ponyville Hospital.
"I hope Rainbow will be okay. She's acting rather strange," thought Twilight. Then, she noticed that, in the wake of Rainbow's mad dash a letter had fallen off her bed. "Hm, I wonder what this is," she said to herself, picking it up. Although she felt a bit guilty, she picked it up anyway and read it. "Maybe this is what caused Rainbow Dash to forget, she usually never forgets. I'll have to ask Dash about it sometime."
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was bee lining towards the Ponyville Hospital. As soon as she arrived, though out of breath and panting, she managed to find the CMC's room. "Where's Scootaloo?" she yelled as she burst through the door.
"Darling, shh, the girls are resting. I am so very sorry to hear what happened," began Rarity, who was standing next to Applejack while the girls slept. "I had no idea that the girls would even try to go skydiving by themselves. I just do not understand why they insist on trying new things although they already have their cutie marks."
"What Ah don't understand, is how you could forgit sump thin so important as to watchin a few little fillies. If ya'd been there, none of this would of ever happened in the first place," Applejack said crossly. Then seeing Rainbow Dash'a upset face, she changed her tone. "Ah really am sorry bout what happened though, but Scootaloo's not in here. They've got her in sump thin called the ICU so they can monitor her Ah think.
"Girls, I'm so sorry, none of this would have ever happened if I hadn't forgotten. I was so stupid to forget something so important," Rainbow said, hanging her head low in shame.
"Darling, I believe I can speak on both of our behalf..."then after receiving confirmation from Applejack, continued, "mistakes happen dear. I have forgotten things plenty of times before. Although, I must admit, they weren't this important-"
Quickly stopping Rarity there, Applejack continued, "You're probably wantin ta see Scootaloo, Ah'll lead ya there." Applejack briskly trotted out the door and headed down a corridor to another room labeled Room 139 ICU.
Before going in, Rainbow turned to Applejack, "Oh Applejack, I don't think I would ever be able to manage without friends like you and Rarity." Then, after giving Applejack a quick hug, she braced herself and opened the door. The sight inside made tears immediately swell up in her eyes. Scootaloo was lying in a bed with her front left foreleg and chest both wrapped in a cast, but the sight that upset her the most was the heart moniter machine that was monitering Scootaloo's heart rate. "Oh my poor baby," she whispered to herself.
"What's that, Ah didn't quite catch what ya said," Applejack said after hearing Rainbow Dash mutter something.
"Oh, I said 'My poor baby sister', yeah, that's what I said," Rainbow said nervously. "Um, when are the doctors coming to check on her?"
"Ah'm not sure, Ah'll see if Ah can go find one," answered Applejack before leaving the room.
As soon as Applejack was gone, Rainbow Dash walked over to Scootaloo's bed. Looking downs the little orange filly wrapped in casts, she brushed some of her mane away from her face. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but start crying. "My poor baby, my poor baby," was all she managed to say before falling into a fitful sleep next to Scootaloo's bed.
Author's Note
Hey y'all, I hope you guys like my story so far. This is my first FimFiction/FanFiction of any kind so I hope you like it!
Jolting awake, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and saw a white ceiling above her. "Huh, where am I?" she asked nopony in particular. Then, sitting up, and looking around, it all came flooding back to her: skydiving, letter, Scootaloo, hospital. The one thing she didn't understand was why she was in a hospital bed herself. Hearing the door open, she saw Applejack and Rarity coming in.
"Hey sugar cube, how ya doin?" asked Applejack, "you were in pretty bad shape yesterday. After Ah found a nurse, Ah came back and found ya crumpled on the floor asleep. Nurse Redheart let us put ya in the bed so we wouldn't have to try to get ya home since ya were just plain conked out."
It took Rainbow Dash a minute to comprehend what was going on before she let out a big yawn and a sleepy, "I'm feeling better."
"That's good darling. I suppose you would like to see Scootaloo?" asked Rarity. "The doctor said she may have a good chance of waking up. Thankfully, the brain damage was to a lesser extent then the doctors originally thought. I was talking to Sweetie Belle this morning and she said that she was able to cast a small levitation spell on Scootaloo before she hit the ground which caused the impact to be less severe."
During Rarity's speech, Rainbow Dash had gotten out of the bed and was now standing next to Applejack. "What are we waiting for!" Dash yelled. "We gotta go see Scootaloo."
"Ah know that ya are excited, but take it down a few levels. Not everypony wants to hear ya this early," shushed Applejack, although she was smiling, glad to see Rainbow Dash back to herself again. Unfortunately, her happiness ended abruptly as the trio walked into Scootaloo's room.
"Scootalaloo, Scootaloo, are you awake yet?" whispered Rainbow Dash while tapping her good foreleg. All she got as a response was the monotonous sound of the heart monitor beeping. "Aw man, I was really hoping she would be awake," sighed Dash, "but I guess I was wrong." Tears started forming in her eyes as she realized that Scootaloo wouldn't wake up for a while. "All I want to know is that she is okay, I was supposed to protect her but I had to go and break my promise. How does that represent the Element of Loyalty?"
"Darling, don't worry, we've all messed up before," said Rarity. "There have been times when my old selfish nature took over and I had to ask a certain pony for forgiveness. The Elements represent our qualities that allowed us to bear them in the first place. Twilight explains it way better that I can, so you may want to talk to her about it."
"Thanks Rarity," said Dash, "I'll go see her now. Promise me that you'll stay here and get me as soon as Scootaloo wakes up. Please. I need to talk to Twilight."
"Go ahead sugarcube. We'll make sure to get you the moment Scootaloo wakes up," promised Applejack. "Now go see Twilight."
Rainbow Dash flew out the window in a tornado of colors and quickly made her way to Twilight's castle. When she arrived, she flew through the open balcony doors and straight to where she knew Twilight would be, the library. "Twilight!" she yelled, startling the lavender pony.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, where'd you come from?" Twilight said, trying to compose herself. Once she recovered from the scare, she continued, "How's Scootaloo?"
Immediately Dash's face fell, "She's still in a coma right now."
"That's terribly, I thought she would have already woken up," Twilight said with a frown. "Wait a second, I think I have a spell that might wake her up."
"You do!?" yelled Dash, who quickly realized her question about the Elements could be asked later. "Can it heal bones too," she asked, "because she broke one of her legs and quite a few ribs."
"I'm not sure why I didn't think of it before. But it's honestly just a healing spell, but I'm sure that if combined with a rousing spell, it might work. The healing spell on its own requires quite a bit of magic. Combined with the effects of the rousing spell it will make the spell rather trying. Even if I am the Element of Magic AND an alicorn it doesn't mean I have an endless supply of magic. Magic runs through everypony even if-"
"That's real neat and stuff (not), but can we get going? The sooner the better," said Rainbow Dash, having become antsy during Twilight's lecture.
"Oh, sorry," Twilight grinned sheepishly, "I just need to let Starlight and Spike know what's going on."
After briefly explaining to Starlight and Spike what was going on, and firmly denying Spike's pleas to come, both ponies were soon on their way to Ponyville Hospital. Upon arriving, Rainbow Dash led Twilight to Scootaloo's room and they went in together.
"I'm back," Rainbow greeted Applejack and Rarity who had been watching Scootaloo. "I brought Twilight too. She said she had a spell that would wake Scootaloo up."
"That's great! But are ya sure that it's safe Twilight?" asked Applejack. "Ah'm glad ya found something that will wake Scootaloo up, but what about the brain damage? Will the magic affect it at all?"
"If my calculations are correct, and they almost always are, then it should do partial healing to most of the injured areas, but I can focus on the brain being the main area to receive the healing," Twilight explained.
"Okay, if ya say so," Applejack reluctantly agreed.
"Yes darling, as long as it's safe it's okay," added Rarity. "What about you Rainbow Dash, what do you think?"
" I agree that you should do what's safe, but can you do it faster?" Dash said, getting a bit impatient.
"Okay then, here goes," said Twilight, enveloping Scootaloo in her magic.
Slowly raising Scootaloo, and being as gentle as not to disturb the broken bones, Twilight charged her horn up. The next instant, a white flash nearly blinded them all. As they blinked away the white spots lingering behind, and, seeing no change whatsoever, they all sighed.
"I-I'm so sorry Rainbow Dash, I-I thought for sure that it would work," panted Twilight, who had sat down as the use of the large quantity of magic took its toll.
"What was that?" asked a startled Nurse Redheart who had just happened to walk in.
"Well," panted Twilight, "I just performed a healing spell on Scootaloo, but it didn't appear to work. Though I'm not sure why."
"I'll check Scootaloo to see if your little 'spell' did anything," stated Nurse Redheart, obviously doubting the ability of the spell. But after a lengthy examination including x-rays and brain scans, she turned to Twilight. "It appears that your spell actually was of some help," she said. "It managed to mend her ribs and almost completely heal her foreleg which only has a slight, slight crack now. As for Scootaloo being in a coma, it appears that she is now sleeping. Although I'm not sure why she didn't wake up when you first performed the spell."
Frowning, Twilight pondered why her spell didn't work and, finally coming up with a conclusion after much contemplation, said, "Maybe it's because-"
"Ughn..." Scootaloo moaned, cutting Twilight off before she had a chance to finish and causing Dash to dash over to the bed.
"Scootaloo, Scootaloo, Scootaloo. Can you hear me?" asked Rainbow Dash, barely speaking above a whisper.
"Rainbow Dash...?"
Author's Note
I hope ya'll like cliffhangers ;)
Wait, where am I, thought Scootaloo, I thought that when we all jumped, we were supposed to land in the field near Sweet Apple Acres. Looking around, she saw that, instead of being in a field, she was in Cloudsdale. How in the world did I get here? Then, seeing a rainbow maned, cyan blue pony talking to another pony, she ran over to her. "Hey, Rainbow Dash, how did I land in Cloudsdale if I was skydiving in Ponyville near Sweet Apple Acres?"
"Hey, can you not see that I was having a conversation here!" yelled a Rainbow Dash in a higher pitched voice than usual.
"Rainbow Dash? It's me Scootaloo? Don't you know me?" asked Scootaloo, confused by Rainbow Dash's weird behavior.
"Never met a Scootaloo before, so can you please just buzz off?!" yelled Dash.
Hurt by Rainbow Dash's outburst, Scootaloo took a few steps back before taking a closer look at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked different, she seemed shorter and her voice had been more high pitched then it usually was. Getting a better look at her surroundings, Scootaloo realized that, not only was she in Cloudsdale, but she was also at a school, most likely a flight school. Glancing back at Rainbow Dash, she noticed, for the first time, the stallion standing next to her. He was a dark, dark orange color and had a mane so dark purple, it almost looked black. His eyes were gray, the same gray as his cutie mark which was a skateboard. Because he was taller than Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo guessed he was older. As she watched, she saw Rainbow Dash walk away, and once Rainbow Dash was out of the sight, the orange stallion began walking over to her.
"Hey Squirt," he greeted her, "let me introduce myself, I'm Skeeter." After a moment of awkward silence, he continued, "I would just like to apologize for Rainbow Dash's behavior. She can be a little rude at times but usually she means well."
"I''m Scootaloo. And it's okay, maybe Rainbow Dash is just having a bad day." Then, to find out where she was, she asked, "What school is this?"
"What school is this?' he echoed, obviously thinking she was crazy. "It's Cloudsdale High School of Flight. How can you not know that?'
"I'm not familiar with this area, so I wasn't sure," Scootaloo quickly answered, not wanting to appear like she was senseless.
"I thought you seemed a tad small, even for a freshman. Rainbow Dash is a freshman so I have some means of comparison. Though, I'm a senior which means anypony else seems rather small," Skeeter chuckled. Then, hearing a bell sound, he went on, "Well, it was nice to meet you, I gotta go." And with that he quickly flew to the front of the school and went in.
This just keeps getting stranger and stranger, Scootaloo thought to herself. First, I land in Cloudsdale, and now Rainbow Dash is a freshman? This seems like some joke. Maybe Discord? But before she could continue her thought, Discord himself appeared.
"Well Scootaloo, I would never have thought you would blame something on moi. Though I do admit, this does seem like a joke of some sort. Maybe it was that slightly above average illusionist Trixie using one of slightly above average illusions," pondered Discord. Then, conjuring a black magicians cap he reached inside and pulled out a very bewildered Trixie.
"Ahhh!!! The Great and Powerful Trixie has been dragged through a magicians hat by Discord!!!" And with that she promptly fainted which caused Discord to shove her back through the hat.
"Hm, how odd. I thought we had become friends on our journey to the Changeling hive," Discord wondered aloud, looking into the magician hat's black inkiness.
"Discord?" asked Scootaloo, finally finding her voice.
Discord, who has been observing his magicians hat for any magic flaws looked up. "Yes Scootaloo?"
"Well, a minute ago I was talking to-" then correcting herself she continued, "I was TRYING to talk to Rainbow Dash but she just yelled at me to 'buzz off'. Then after I walked some ways away, I turned back to look at her and I noticed that she was shorter and her voice was higher pitched. Discord, I'm beginning to think that we are in the past, but I'm not sure how."
"That would explain a few things. Especially how Trixie reacted; if we're in the past, Trixie would have never met me, which excuses her behavior. But I still would like to know why you're in the past. Seeing how you were skydiving in the present. Or wait, would that have been the future and would now be the present or would we be in the past and skydiving be in the present?" Discord asked, seemingly confusing himself.
"I think that we would be in the past," said Scootaloo, who had been thinking about it herself. "If we're in the past, do you think we could find my parents? I've never met them."
"You have parents?" asked Discord. "Oh wait, everypony has parents, well everypony except me, being the Lord of Chaos and all," chuckled Discord. "Well, it would't hurt to look would it? If Rainbow Dash is a freshman this year, it would make it ten years into past. How old are you Scootaloo?"
"I'm only nine," sighed Scootaloo sadly, "which means that I wouldn't even have been born."
"How unfortunate. How about instead of looking for your parents, we look for a way back to the present," said Discord, trying to be practical. (Which was surprising for the Lord of Chaos, who had probably never been practical in all of his life.)
"Yeah, I guess that would be the sensibly thing to do," agreed Scootaloo.
While they had been speaking, a gray fog had rolled in, which was odd considering how they were literally standing on clouds already. After taking a startled glance around, Scootaloo turned to talk to Discord, but was only met with the sight of the thick, gray fog.
"Discord? Where did you go?" Scootaloo asked into the fog.
''Scootalooo, Scootalooo,'' said a voice into the fog.
"Discord? will you stop please, you're scaring me,'' Scootaloo whispered into the fog, which had seemed to closer around her, pressing tighter and tighter around her.
''Scootalooo, Scootalooo," the voice from the fog once again, this time tapping her on the flank.
"Please stop," Scootaloo whimpered, curling up into a miserably ball on the now cold, hard ground.
"Scootalooo, Scootaloo," the voices taunted. "Scootalooo, Scootalooo-"
"Stop," A voice rang out in the darkness, "this is wrong.''
Startled, Scootaloo looked up and saw that the fog had diminished and a Princess Luna was walking toward her.
"Scootaloo, are you okay?" Princess Luna asked compassionately. "You're dream got rather carried away."
"Dream, this is only a dream? But it was so real. Rainbow Dash, Discord, Trixie-"
"Scootaloo," Princess Luna cut her off, "it is only a dream, though it was accurate. You did see into a small portion of the past. How? Even I am not sure. Discord was really in your dream though. The real Discord. How he got here is a mystery to me, but most of his doings are exactly that, a mystery." Then pausing for a breath, Princess Luna continued. "Scootaloo, you were in an accident, a very big accident. Your parachute didn't open and you hit your head on a stone, placing you in a coma."
"A coma? Then how am I dreaming?" Scootaloo asked, quite confused.
"Most coma patients don't dream, though for some reason you are an exception. In the waking world, Twilight cast a spell upon you to wake you up and partially healed you. It didn't immediately wake you, it only caused a nightmare. I will be leaving you momentarily, but don't be afraid of things to come Scootaloo. Always be brave." And with her final statement, she walked back through the moon and out of Scootaloo's dream.
"Scootaloo, Scootaloo! why aren't you waking up?" she heard, though the voice was far away. It kinda sounded like Rainbow Dash.
Letting out a groan, she heard the voice calling her again. "Rainbow Dash?'' she asked, cracking her eyes open but immediately regretting it. The bright light from the sun shining in the window was overwhelming.
"SCOOTALOO!!!'' Rainbow Dash yelled, grabbing Scootaloo into a bear hug, causing her to wince in pain.
She fully opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash laying on top of her crying. "Rainbow Dash?" she asked, her voice sounding dry and scratchy. "Rainbow Dash, could you please get off me?''
"Scootatoo, you're okay. Oh thank Celestia, you're okay," said Rainbow Dash, her tears slowly drying up as she let go of Scootaloo. "Squirt, don't you ever scare me like that again," she scolded, though it was hard for her to be harsh at the moment so her scolding was accompanied by a smile.
"Sorry Rainbow Dash-"
"No, don't you apologize." Rainbow Dash said, cutting off Scootaloo. "It was my fault. If I hadn't forgotten to take you skydiving, you would be just fine right now and none of this would have ever happened."
"Well, Scootaloo darling, I know your friends will be delighted to see you once you are back on your hooves," said Rarity, kind of cutting into the two's conversation.
"Yes, Ah agree, the girls were downright worried about ya," added Applejack.
"I am just glad my spell worked," Twilight said, though she was still wobbling slightly on her hooves. "Applejack, Rarity, would you mind helping me home?" she asked with a little smile, "I don't currently trust my magic to teleport home, and I'm too tired to fly back."
The two mares nodded an agreement and the trio left the room. Leaving Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo in the together.
"Rainbow Dash," said Scootaloo, once the mares were gone.
"Yeah Squirt, what's wrong?" asked Rainbow Dash, worried that Scootaloo was more hurt than they previously thought.
"I'm still kinda tired. Would it be okay if I go back to sleep?"
"Squirt, you don't have to ask to go back to sleep, if you're tired then sleep," said Rainbow Dash, glad that nothing was seriously wrong.
"Okay then," Scootaloo said with a yawn. She turned over and was soon fast asleep.
Rainbow Dash sat down in the chair next to the bed and, as a promise to herself and Scootaloo, thought, I will never let anything or anypony come between us again.
Author's Note
Well, I finally wrapped up another chapter. I could have just kept on writing and writing and writing. There seemed to be no end to this chapter! I'm glad it's finally done though and I hope ya'll enjoy it.
A tap, and then another tap, and then another and another and another. "Come in!" yelled a sleepy Rainbow Dash, at the mystery pony who insisted on tapping the door of the hospital room.
"Um, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy said timidly, after letting herself into the room. "I, uh came to check on you and Scootaloo. I saw Nurse Redheart in the hallway on my way here and she let me know that Scootaloo can be discharged at any time as long as she wears a leg brace."
Rainbow Dash, who had her back to the door, turned around for the first time, allowing Fluttershy to see the bloodshot eyes and dark grey bags of somepony who had not slept in hours.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash," whispered Fluttershy. "You should probably go home and get some rest. You look like you have been up for too long."
"Must. Watch. Scootaloo." mumbled Rainbow Dash, nodding off with each word.
"No, I'm taking you home this instant," said Fluttershy firmly, her firm side finally making an appearance.
"Where is she going?" asked Scootaloo, who had woken up during the tail end of the conversation, and was wiping the sleep out of her eyes.
"I'm going to take Rainbow Dash home so she can get some sleep. Nurse Redheart said you are free to go, as long as you take it easy for a few days," said Fluttershy.
"Yes!!!" yelled Scootaloo, hoof-bumping the air, causing Fluttershy to wince at the sudden outburst and nearly drop Rainbow Dash who she was helping out of the room.
Glancing over her shoulder back at Scootaloo, Fluttershy said, "Um, don't forget the leg brace. You don't want to, um, hurt yourself again. Uh, bye."
And with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash's departure, Scootaloo got out of the bed and grabbed the leg brace from the table next it. After putting the leg brace on and tightening the straps, she limped out of her room and went to the front desk to check out.
"All ready to go Scootaloo," asked the receptionist. After a confirmatory nod, the receptionist slid a clipboard to the little orange filly. "Sign here and you'll be ready to go," he said, pointing to a dotted line.
Scootaloo quickly signed the paper and pushed the clipboard back to the receptionist.
"Well, you're all set and free to go," said the receptionist after he checked the clipboard.
With release final, Scootaloo turned and walked out the door and into the fresh air, only to be bombarded by a pink whirlwind.
"IT'S TIME FOR A 'SCOOTALOO'S NOT IN A COMA AND OUT OF THE HOSPITALY' PARTY!!!" yelled Pinkie Pie, causing all the heads within almost a mile's radius to turn.
Scootaloo, who was trying to regain her sense of hearing, only nodded in agreement.
"OKEY DOKEY LOKEY!!!" Pinkie Pie yelled again, though not as loud this time. "I'll go get the party rea-"
"Wait," said Scootaloo, cutting off Pinkie's torrent of words. "Can we do it tomorrow, Rainbow Dash was really tired after sitting by my bed for hours and not getting any sleep. I really want her to be there."
"Oh, okay I guess. Tomorrow then," sighed Pinkie, whose mane was starting to deflate. "Ooo, whose that?" she asked, looking past Scootaloo. And, before Scootaloo could respond, she took off bouncing towards the afore mentioned pony.
Watching Pinkie's now retreating figure, Scootaloo tried to sort the information she had just learned. So a party tomorrow at Sugarcube Corner. And, if Pinkie saw somepony new, there may be a party today too. Life has been made complicated.
Wanting to go think by herself where there was a slim chance of being inturrupted, she began walking towards the CMC's clubhouse, hoping nopony was there. Upon arrival, she was relieved to find the building vacant for the time being. She quickly went in and began trying to process everything that had happened in the past few days by making a mental list.
1. I was in a coma for roughly a day before Twilight's spell. 2. I dreamed about the past and met a pony named Skeeter that Rainbow Dash was friends with. (Remember to ask Dash about him.) 3. I now have a party tomorrow that is being hosted by Pinkie Pie.
"Is there anything I'm forgetting?" she asked aloud.
"What about your parents?" asked a voice, startling Scootaloo out of her wits.
"Discord?" she asked, trying to figure out where he came from.
"Hm, I believe a proper entrance is needed," and with this statement, Discord conjured his magicians hat and pulled out a mini-self, who, in a tiny little voice, announced, "Discord, Reformed Lord of Chaos!!!" and promptly blew his tiny little trumpet.
"That. Was. Awsome!!!" squealed Scootaloo.
"Why thank you," said Discord bowing. "Now, the reason I came. I had a little chat with myself about our meeting in the past and concluded that you must have parents somewhere. I was rifling through Rainbow Dash's past and found that she and that Skeeter fellow may have history." Leaning over towards the the little filly, he whispered into her ear, "You should ask about it sometime."
Before she could respond, Discord had already disappeared. I guess it's time to go talk to Rainbow Dash about that Skeeter guy, thought Scootaloo.
As soon as she stepped outside, low and behold, a pink blur appeared.
"You'll never believe this!!! There's a new pony in town and he said he knows Rainbowdash!!!'' Pinkie yelled excitedly.
"What's his name?" asked Scootaloo, curious about this new pony since new ponies weren't common.
"His name is Skeeter."
Author's Note
Well, I feel terrible. I totally forgot my authors note last night. I had meant to apologize for the week of zero updates. School got busy. Anyway, I'll try to update more frequently.
"Skeeter?" asked Scootaloo hesitantly.
"Yep, his name is Skeeter and his 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY' is in...'' and looking at her wrist where a watch SHOULD be, Pinkie Pie continued, "in about an hour and a half." And with her declaration, Pinkie bounced away, presumedly to tell everypony else about the party. She quickly stopped short as if remembering something and yelled over her shoulder, "Don't forget to tell Rainbow Dash!!! "
Well, I guess I'll get to meet this Skeeter guy in real life. Then remembering that when she had met him, just in the past, Scootaloo spent the rest of her walk to Rainbow Dash's house wondering if he would know who she was because she met him in the past or if the dream aspect of the whole ordeal meant that only she remembered the encounter.
Thwonk, "Ow, that hurt," said Scootaloo out loud as she looked at the offending tree that she had just walked in to.
"Are you okay?" asked a soft voice behind her.
Turning around, Scootaloo saw that Fluttershy was walking up to her. "Yeah, I think so. I just ran into a tree." Then, realizing what she had said sounded pretty dumb, she continued, "I mean, I was thinking about something and I wasn't paying attention to where I was going."
"I'm glad you're okay. I was on my way home and saw you run into a tree," said Fluttershy, looking relieved that Scootaloo was okay. (Her initial concern coming from the fact that Scootaloo had just gotten out of a come the previous day.)
"I was actually on my way to Rainbow Dash's to invite her to a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party at Sugarcube Corner," explained Scootaloo. "Pinkie told me to invite her since Skeeter, the guy the party's for, said he knew her."
"Skeeter? Skeeter is here in Ponyville?" asked Fluttershy, looking rather worried.
Is there something wrong with Skeeter? Scootaloo thought to herself, but answered differently than her original thought. "That's what Pinkie told me."
"Oh, okay,'' Fluttershy responded. Then, looking at Scootaloo curiously, asked, "How do you plan to get to Rainbow Dash's cloud home if you can't, um, you know, uh..."
"It's okay, I know I can't fly. But now that you mention it, I'm not sure how I'll get up there," Scootaloo said with a frown.
"Um, I'll fly you up there if you want," offered Fluttershy.
"That would be great!" yelled Scootaloo, causing Fluttershy to jump.
As the two walked towards Rainbow Dash's home, Pinkie Pie, being her usual self, was ~~interrogating~~ asking Skeeter about his life.
"Sooo, where did you come from?" asked Pinkie Pie as she bounced around making cupcakes and decorating for the party.
"Well, I used to live in Cloudsdale before I moved to Canterlot," Skeeter said with a sigh.
"Ooo, you sighed. Why?" asked Pinkie, oblivious to her own nosiness.
"Well, I uh, had some issues with one of my friends. But I'm here to make amends for what happened. You did say that Rainbow Dash was coming?" he asked, randomly changing the subject.
"Yep, so are Scootaloo and Rarity and Applejack and Twilight and Spike and Starlight and Applebloom and..." the earful that Skeeter got was more than enough to fill an entire book. Meanwhile, Fluttershy had flown Scootaloo up to Rainbow Dash's house and was saying her goodbye.
"I guess I'll see you at the party in a little while," said Fluttershy.
"Okay, see you later," agreed Scootaloo.
"Rainbow Dash, you in here," she yelled after letting herself into the house.
"In the kitchen Squirt,'' yelled Rainbow Dash back.
Scootaloo quickly trotted into the kitchen to see Rainbow Dash, who looked more awake then earlier, drinking a mug of coffee.
"Are feeling better?" asked Rainbow Dash, still concerned for Scootaloo's well being.
"Yeah, I feel way better than I did yesterday. Anyway, Pinkie Pie told me to tell you that you're invited to a 'Welcome to Ponyville' for a pony named Skeeter."
Up until Scootaloo had said Skeeter, Rainbow Dash hadn't been paying much attention, but once she heard the name Skeeter, she went as white as a sheet.
"Uh, Scoots, did you just say Skeeter?" asked Rainbow Dash shakily.
Scootaloo, noticing Dash's pale face for the first time, just nodded.
"This can not go well. At all,'' said Dash, more to herself than Scootaloo.
"What can't go well?" Scootaloo asked, puzzled by seemingly everyponies worry about this pony Skeeter.
"Skeeter's party, that's what," answered Rainbow Dash.
"Why not? If he's a new pony, there should be nothing to worry about. Right?"
"Well, Squirt, Skeeter and I go waaay back, back to when I was in flight school. Things went sour my freshman year his senior year, we haven't really talked since. If he's here, the only reason would be to see me so we can 'talk'. The last time we tried to talk, nothing good came from it," explained Rainbow Dash. "But if I've been asked by him to a party being thrown by Pinkie Pie, I can't refuse. More for Pinkie's sake than his. Well, we better get going if we're going to be there on time. Feel like a ride?"
"A ride from my favorite Wonderbolt! How can I refuse!" screeched Scootaloo, hopping on Rainbow Dash's back before they dashed out the front door and began making there way to Sugarcube Corner.
Once they arrived and Scootaloo had hopped off her back, Dash began pacing nervously in front of the door.
"I'm sure it will be okay. If he's here to apologize, nothing can go wrong, right?" said Scootaloo, trying to comfort Rainbow Dash.
"Yeah, you're right Squirt, what could go wrong?"
As soon as the duo entered, Pinkie Pie was immediately at their side and running her mouth.
"Rainbow Dash! there's a new pony in town and he says he knows you and his name is Skeeter hey he kind of looks like Scootaloo if his mane wasn't grey are you going to go say hi?" said Pinkie Pie, never pausing for a breather in between all of her words while leading Rainbow Dash over towards Skeeter.
'Well, here he is. Where'd Scootaloo go? I'll go find her," Pinkie said, immediately bouncing off to find the little orange filly.
"Dash, it's soo good to see you. How long has it been?" asked Skeeter casually.
"Ten years," hissed Rainbow Dash. "Ten years."
Author's Note
Haha! I updated the day after! Score for me.
Anyway, for all of ya'll that are wondering why Skeeter's mane is now gray...you'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out. Enjoy the cliffhanger!
Parties Before Confessions
"Ten. Stinkin. Years. Skeeter."
"Calm down Rainbow Dash, isn't this supposed to be a 'Welcome' party? Not a 'Hater' party?' asked Skeeter with a smirk, leaving Rainbow Dash seething.
"I found her!" yelled Pinkie Pie, referring to Scootaloo who was standing beside her.
"Hey Squirt," greeted Skeeter.
Scootaloo, seeing Dash's upset face just kind of stared at the stallion in front of her.
"Scootaloo, we need to leave. Now," said Rainbow Dash, trying not to yell for the sake of the ponies around them. "I made a mistake in coming here. I thought that Skeeter here would actually talk, not mess around."
"Hey, hey, hey, I did come here to talk. Just not in a party setting," explained Skeeter.
"Then you can tell me whatever you want to tell me later. I currently am here trying to enjoy a party, and you're in the way of me enjoying it," said Rainbow Dash through clenched teeth.
Whether he was oblivious of Dash's anger or just ignoring it, Skeeter just shrugged and said, "Fine, I'll meet you somewhere tomorrow. Do you have any suggestions? I don't really know my way around town."
Rainbow Dash, who was trying to calm down, looked at Skeeter for a good long while. "We can meet at the library. It's the big crystal palace; pretty hard to miss if you plan on flying."
"Deal," said Skeeter. "Now tell me Scootaloo, what do you enjoy doing in this tiny town of yours?"
Glancing at Rainbow Dash and seeing that she had finally relaxed, Scootaloo answered, "Well, my friend's and I, we call ourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, go around town helping people get there cutie mark or helping them understand their cutie mark. If it's just me, I normally spend most of my time on my scooter. I've mastered a lot of neat tricks at the skate park too."
"That sounds like a lot of fun,'' Skeeter said. "Well, it was nice meeting you, I must go mingle."
As he began to walk off, Rainbow Dash called him, and, with a slight blush, asked, "Why is your mane grey? I mean, the last time I saw you, it was dark purple."
With a smirk, Skeeter walked back to where Rainbow Dash stood. (Scootaloo had gone off to find the rest of the CMC.) "Well," he began, with the look of one far off in space, "it was a pretty average day, about a year after we parted. I had just moved to Canterlot to start a skate park and I was getting ready to paint my new skateboard the same color grey as my cutie mark. When I was ready to begin painting, I realized that I had forgotten a paintbrush so I turned around to go get one. What happened next was not as anticipated. I slipped on the tarp I had laid down, slid about a foot, and landed face down in my tray of paint, getting all over my face, mane, and the tarp."
Here Dash couldn't help but snicker at the mental image she just conjured.
"Anyway," continued Skeeter, "I went to go clean up but I wasn't able to get all the paint out of my mane so I had to go to the store to get paint remover. I ended up asking a sales pony where it was but before he told me he said that he thought my hair was really cool looking. So, being the totally humble stallion I am, I thanked him before running off to the nearest restroom to check out my main. Turns out that the gray spiky look worked really. So I quickly found and bought the paint remover and flew home. Once I got back, I cleaned up the mess that I had left and got the rest of the paint out of my mane. After that I went to a mane place and had them magically change the color of my mane. Now it will always be grey instead of purple. As for the spikes, mousse is my friend."
"That sounds pretty cool," admitted Rainbow Dash. "Where di-"
"Cake time!!!" yelled Pinkie Pie, cutting off Rainbow Dash.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," and with his final statement, Skeeter went off in quest of cake, leaving Rainbow Dash feeling confused and flustered.
How is it that I still like him after what he did. I'm supposed to hate him! Ugh, why does life have to be so complicated? pondered Rainbow Dash as she ate a piece of cake that somepony had shoved into her hooves. After I wrote to him informing him of Scootaloo, I thought that he would be there for me, but he left me. What's changed? Looking around for Skeeter, Rainbow Dash realized that she had been in her own little world for a while and the party was over and everypony was leaving. After making sure that the CMS were, for sure going to their clubhouse, Rainbow Dash started flying home while trying to figure out when she should tell her friends about Scootaloo.
To her surprise, she saw all of them heading towards Twilight's castle. So being Miss Sneaky/Nosy, she hid behind a cloud and eavesdropped.
"Ah'm just not sure why she would be hiding anything," Dash heard Applejack say.
"You're positively right. It makes absolutely zero sense for her to hide something from her friends. Don't you think so Fluttershy?" asked Rarity.
"Well, um-"
Before Fluttershy could continue, Rainbow Dash quickly flew down to where her friends were. "Hey guys," she said nonchalantly, "what're you all up to."
"We were all just talking about how everypony thinks you're hiding something," said Pinkie Pie, unaware of the uncomfortable glances the rest of her friends gave her for her bluntness.
"Oh, that. I've been meaning to tell you guys for a while," sighed Rainbow Dash, finally ready to stop hiding her past from her friends. "Well, you guys all met Skeeter at the 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, right?" After a unanimous head nod from her friends, she continued. "He and I go way back, back to when I was a freshman and he was a senior. We were actually dating at the time. One day he was asked to a party by one of his buddies and since I was his marefriend his buddy asked me too. We went that night and his friend had cider as one of the beverages. Both Skeeter and I got quite a bit tipsy before the night was over. I ended up moving to Ponyville soon after and found out that I was going to have a little foal."
The shocked expressions on all of her friends faces only caused her to talk faster, wanting to be finished with her confession.
"Skeeter and I had been corresponding by mail. I wrote him and told him about the soon to be foal. He was super excited...at first; he even came to visit once or twice a month. Well, one month he didn't come and I wrote him asking why. He was very blunt. He wanted nothing to do with me anymore, he had a new marefriend. At first I was devastated, but with the up and coming foal to keep me busy, I let it go. A few months later I had the little foal and Skeeter came to see me for the first time in four months. Turns out, all he wanted was to keep the foal. After a long argument, we came to an agreement. I would keep the foal, which was a filly, if I let him name her."
Pausing for a breath, Rainbow Dash saw confusion and sympathy in her friends eyes, but before she could continue, Pinkie impatiently asked, "So what did he name her?!"
"He named her Scootaloo."
Author's Note
Bum, bum, buuum...
Her friends stared at her slack-jawed as Rainbow Dash finished telling about her and Skeeter's foal.
Applejack was the first to speak, "So you've been hiding Scootaloo for all these years and ya never thought to tell us, your closest friends? Why Rainbow Dash, Ah just can't believe it."
"Rainbow Dash darling, why have you never told us?" asked Rarity sympathetically.
"I-I don't know," Rainbow Dash said sniffling, ready to start crying.
"Rainbow Dash, we understand. We're not mad at you,'' said Twilight trying to calm her friend down. "We just want to know why you have never even so much as hinted to Scootaloo being your daughter. You do realize, that they're are several legal issues that will have to be dealt with.''
"So you're sure you're not mad?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at her friends.
"How could we be mad at you Sugarcube,'' said Applejack with a little chuckle.
No one had happened to noticed that Pinkie Pie was staring into space, absent from the conversation.
"Um, Pinkie Pie, are you okay?" asked Fluttershy quietly.
Pinkie Pie immediately snapped out of her daydream and looked around wildly. "WE NEED TO HAVE A 'SCOOTALOO IS RAINBOW DASH'S DAUGHTER PARTY'!" yelled Pinkie Pie, immediately heading towards Ponyville.
"Wait Pinkie," said Twilight, grabbing the pink party pony's tail with her magic. "There are still a few things we need to do. First," she said, turning towards Rainbow Dash, "you need to tell Scootaloo who her parents are, you and Skeeter. Then you need to get Scootaloo's birth certificate fixed to show her parentage. And finally, you need to take responsibility for Scootaloo and raise her the right way. Not as your sister but as your daughter.''
"Okay," said Rainbow Dash quietly. Then looking up, she addressed her friends, "Guys, I'm so sorry about the way I've kept this hidden for so many years. It was wrong of me. I don't deserve to be the Element of Loyalty; I don't deserve to be an Element at all."
"Rainbow Dash, that's not true," said Twilight. "The Elements chose us for who we are in our hearts. The Element of Loyalty saw that you were, in your heart, the most loyal pony ever. Even though you may have hidden Scootaloo's real relations to you, you still took care of her. You still loved her and treated her as your daughter. And, you finally told us about Scootaloo. It may not have been right to hide it, but you eventually told us. Even though you thought that we would reject you. If that's not true loyalty, I don't know what is.''
"You really mean it?" asked Rainbow Dash
All of her friends nodded in agreement.
"Wow, that means a lot to me. I was worried you wouldn't forgive me,'' said Rainbow Dash teary eyed. "Now, let's go find Scootaloo and tell her the truth.
"No, we're not going with you,'' said Twilight firmly. "This is something that Scootaloo needs to hear from you.''
"Shouldn't Skeeter be there too?" asked Fluttershy quietly.
"Yes, you AND Skeeter need to tell Scootaloo together," stated Twilight.
"Oh, I guess I forgot about Skeeter," said Rainbow Dash nervously. "Well, I guess I'd better get going."
"Good luck!" yelled all her friends in unison.
Wow, I'm so lucky to have such great friends, thought Rainbow Dash, shaking her head in disbelief.
After a quick flight into Ponyville, Rainbow headed toward's Sugar Cube Corner, the last place she had seen Skeeter. Upon entering the cafe, Rainbow immediately saw Skeeter in one of the booths reading a sports magazine of some sort. With a deep breath, Rainbow walked up to the booth and sat down on the un-occupied side.
"Hey Dashy, I didn't expect to see you so soon,'' said Skeeter without looking up.
"I told my friend's about us and about Scootaloo," said Rainbow Dash, quickly getting to the reason she was there.
"You told your friends?" asked Sketter, finally looking up. "I thought that we agreed to never tell anyone."
"Well, I got tired of hiding everything from my best friends. It wasn't fair to me, it wasn't fair to them, and it's not fair to Scootaloo. We need to tell her about us," explained Rainbow Dash.
"Uh, no. We're not telling Scootaloo," said Skeeter firmly, crossing his forelegs.
"Yes. We. Are. Whether you like it or not, it's time to tell her. I've felt so guilty never telling a soul. Now that I've told my friends, I feel better. But until we tell Scootaloo, I'm still going to feel guilty. Please Skeeter," said Rainbow Dash, looking for some trace of remorse in the stallion's face.
A deep sigh from Skeeter and his getting up startled Rainbow Dash.
"Hey! Where are you going!" yelled Rainbow Dash, confused.
"Well, if we are going to tell Scootaloo, we had better get it over with. No use staying here and arguing. I've seen you with your mind set on something before. Unless it gets done, you'll do everything in your power to make sure it gets done," explained Skeeter.
"Oh,'' was Rainbow Dash's quiet reply.
The two of them slowly made their way to the CMC's clubhouse to get Scootaloo. As soon as they arrived, Rainbow Dash walked up the ramp and knocked on the door.
"Oh, hey Rainbow Dash,'' said Sweetie Belle politely after opening the door. "What can I help you with?"
"Well, Scootaloo needs to come home for the day," said Rainbow Dash.
"Okay,'' said the little white unicorn. Then looking over her shoulder she yelled, "Scootaloo! Rainbow Dash is here for you!"
"Coming!'' was the muffled reply.
Scootaloo was out the door in a flash and tackling Rainbow Dash for a big hug.
"Hey Squirt, it's time to go home,'' said Rainbow Dash as she untangled herself from the excited filly.
"Okay," said Scootaloo. "Bye guys!"
"Bye Scootaloo!" yelled her friends.
"Here climb on my back and I'll give you a ride back home in style,'' said Rainbow Dash with a little grin.
Scootaloo squeaked happily and quickly climbed onto Rainbow Dash's back and, in just a few seconds, the two were quickly in the sky rocketing towards Rainbow Dash's cloud home.
"Hey Rainbow Dash. Why is Skeeter following us?" asked Scootaloo.
Rainbow Dash pretended not to hear, and thankfully Scootaloo thought that the wind was too loud for Rainbow Dash to hear her. The three pegasi were at Rainbow Dash's home in record time. After going inside, Scootaloo asked again, "Why is Skeeter here?"
"Well, that's part of the reason I came for you so early,'' explained Rainbow Dash as she led them all into the living room and onto the fluffy cloud sofas. "Scootaloo, there's been something that I've been hiding from you for a long time and Skeeter and I have finally agreed to tell you."
Scootaloo just looked from Rainbow Dash to Skeeter and back to Rainbow Dash in confusion.
"Scootaloo, I'm your mother."
Author's Note
Goodness gracious. I totally feel like a terribly person for not updating in so long. From now on I'll try and keep a regular schedule. But for now, read, like, and review!
"Scootaloo, I'm your mother."
The orange filly just stared at Rainbow Dash before standing up and walking out of the room.
"Well," said Rainbow Dash shakily, "she took that better-"
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
"Or not."
"Rainbow Dash, you did the best that you could, you told her the truth and that's all that matters," said Skeeter comfortingly.
"No! It's not okay! Scootaloo is MY DAUGHTER! I don't want her to hate me; I knew that she wouldn't take it too well, but I never expected that reaction out of her!" yelled Rainbow Dash before she broke down crying.
Skeeter just looked at Rainbow Dash aghast.
"Uh, you didn't tell her that I was her dad yet, maybe you should try," suggested Skeeter. "Even if she doesn't accept it, at least she'll know the entire truth."
Unbeknownst to the arguing pair, Scootaloo had overheard everything that they had said.
So, Rainbow Dash is my mom and Skeeter is my dad. I can't believe Rainbow Dash would hide something like this for so long. I thought she was going to legally make me her sister, not tell me I was her daughter last minute, thought Scootaloo to herself. She quickly trotted up the stairs to her "bedroom" and packed all of the things into her saddlebags before strapping them on. If Rainbow Dash kept that secret from me for so long, who knows what other secrets she has kept from me. I don't think that I can do this anymore. She quietly walked down the stairs and into the kitchen before grabbing a few apples and stuffing them into her saddlebags. She then proceeded to walk out the back door and jump off the grounds of Rainbow Dash's home, and, using her wings to stabilize her, glided to the ground. Thank goodness my scooter is here, I can totally use this, thought Scootaloo as she trotted towards it. Before long, she was on her way out of town; to where, she had no idea.
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash had finally stopped sobbing and had calmed down enough to talk civilly. "So, you think I should tell Scootaloo about you as well?" she asked Skeeter.
"I guess, that's the only thing I can think of right now," he said with a shrug.
"So you're just guessing what we should do?! Do you even care about Scootaloo? She is your daughter too remember. I let you name her," said Rainbow Dash frustratedly.
"I'll go upstairs and tell her on my own if you don't want to," suggested Skeeter.
"Fine, do that," Rainbow said, crossing her forelegs.
Skeeter just glanced at Rainbow before standing up and making his way upstairs.
"Uh Rainbow, she's not up here!" yelled Skeeter.
"What!" screeched Rainbow Dash before galloping up the stairs and into Scootaloo's vacant room. "Where could she have gone? She's just a little filly,'' said Rainbow Dash, sinking to her haunches.
"I, uh, don't know," said Skeeter, actually starting to worry about Scootaloo.
"Well," said Rainbow Dash as she stood up, "I'm going to tell my friends that she is gone and hopefully they'll help me look for her. In the meantime, you're going to start looking for her yourself."
With this declaration, Rainbow Dash was gone in a whirlwind of colors and was soon at Twilight's castle. Without knocking, she burst through the doors and yelled, "Twilight!"
"Rainbow Dash! Just a minute," yelled Twilight from some room in the castle, either her bedroom or her library or maybe her living room.
Rainbow Dash nervously bounced on her hooves in the throne room waiting for Twilight, and, as soon as she saw her, beelined to grab the princess; but, in the nick of time, Rainbow stopped and stared at her friend. Twilight was covered in a sheen of sweat and was covered in a slightly musky odor. Not to mention the disarray that her mane and coat were in.
"Uh, Twilight, I didn't interrupt anything did I?" asked Rainbow Dash, gazing at something on the ceiling awkwardly.
"No, you're fine," panted Twilight, "I was just-"
"Nope, I don't want to know," said Rainbow, interrupting Twilight.
"Rainbow, I was just organizing some old books I got from the princesses old castle," said Twilight, confused at Rainbow Dash's behavior. "I forgot that they smelled so bad. Organizing them, even with magic, is quite a task."
"Oh," chuckled Rainbow nervously. "Oh! Scootaloo ran away, I need every ponies help to find her. Skeeter is already looking, but the more ponies looking, the better chances we have of finding her. Will you please help me Twilight?"
"Oh Rainbow Dash, that's terrible! I'll go get the others and you go ahead and start looking," said Twilight.
"Thank you so much Twilight!" yelled Rainbow Dash who was already half way out of the castle.
I really hope she finds Scootaloo, thought Twilight. Within a few minutes, she was on her way to find everpony else and alert them of the situation.
On the outskirts of town, Scootaloo was conflicted, should she go into the Everfree Forest, or travel the road to who knows where. If I go into the Everfree, there's less chance of anypony finding me; if I travel the road to who knows where, there's a higher chance that I may be found, thought Scootaloo as she weighed the pros and cons of entering the Everfree. With a small little shake of her head, she turned her scooter towards the dark forest and entered into the woods. Immediately, the woods seemed dark and menacing. There's nothing here, there's nothing following me, Scootaloo tried to convince herself as she scooted down the trail. There's nothing here, there's nothing following me, repeated Scootaloo over and over. A sudden CRUNCH of a twig behind her caused her to squeal before scooting as fast as she could away from the sound. As she did her best to outscoot whatever was behind her, she failed to notice the root sticking out in her trail and, before she could stop herself, was flying head over heels. The last thing she remembered was a striped hoof lifting her up before she blacked out.
The first thing that Scootaloo noticed when she woke up was the almost overwhelming smell of herbs. Where am I?! she thought wildy to herself. "Where am I?" she groaned out loud.
"You are at my home Scootaloo, I brought you here after over your handle bars you flew," said a kind, familiar voice,
"You happened to take quite a tumble, What is it that caused you to stumble?"
"Oh, Zecora, I'm glad it's just you," said the little orange pegasus, "I was being chased by something and I didn't notice a root in the pathway and I hit it with my scooter." Then rubbing her sore head and finding a goose egg, she grimaced as a throbbing gave way to a full blast headache which made her cry out in pain as dizziness hit her in its fullest.
Zecora walked over to her and handed her a mug of greenish liquid, and seeing Scootaloo's puzzled look, explained, "Only some tea for an aching head, Either that or you'll need to stay in bed.
"I guess I'd better just take the tea, I'm leaving Ponyville and I don't want anypony to find me," said Scootaloo as she looked at the tea.
"Is there a reason for this flight? Maybe a family fight?
"Bu-but how did you know about my family?" sputtered Scootaloo with an shocked look on her face.
"I was there when you were born my dear, I helped your mother through quite a bit of fear." Then turning serious, Zecora looked at Scootaloo with a gaze that made her squirm. Rainbow Dash loves you Scootaloo, Maybe you should give her a chance and love her too. If you leave, you cannot perceive, how much hurt Rainbow Dash will receive. "
After taking a drink of the tea and finding it to taste pretty good, Scootaloo sighed. "I trusted Rainbow Dash, when she told me that I was her daughter, well, it really shook my trust. I can't trust her to not hide anything else from me.''
"Only you know you know you, Just be careful in what you decide to do. I am not the one to boss you around, But, do you really not want to be found? After you finish the tea you are free to go, Where? Only you know.
Scootaloo took one last drink of her "green" tea before standing up. "Thank you for your kindness Zecora, you gave me a lot to think about," she said, politely closing the door behind herself. Now, what should I do?"
Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was frantically flying over Ponyville, so distracted by trying to find Scootaloo, that she didn't notice Fluttershy hovering in front of her.
"Oooof-"
"I'm so sorry Fluttershy, I didn't see you there. Scootaloo freaked and ran away after I told her that I was her mother," frantically explained Rainbow Dash.
"Oh Rainbow Dash, I'm so sorry! Is there anything that I can do to help?" asked the usually timid pegasus. Not waiting for a response, she continued, "I could send a few of my animals into the woods surrounding my cottage to see if they can find her trail."
"Fluttershy, you have no idea how much that would help," said Rainbow Dash thankfully, "I've got to keep looking for her. Thank you!!!"
And with her final thanks, Rainbow Dash took to the skies once more to keep looking for her lost daughter. After hours of searching and not finding hide nor hair of Scootaloo in town, even with the help of her friends, Rainbow Dash sat in front of Twilight's castle as the sun slowly sank on the horizon. Her friends and Skeeter were doing their best (and failing) to comfort the weeping pegasus, that is, until a little white rabbit appeared.
After listening to the rabbit for a moment, Fluttershy spoke up, "Rainbow Dash, Angel says that one of his cousins saw an orange pegasus enter the Everfree Forest about three hours ago. Then one of his sisters saw her on her scooter in the Everfre-"
Before Fluttershy could even finish her sentence, Rainbow Dash was heading towards the Everfree Forest. Twilight slowly shook her head, "I really hope she finds Scootaloo, I truly do."
Scootaloo, after several hours of contemplation, found herself lost. Lost in the Everfree. Well that's just great. Instead of heading towards another town, I "had" to come into this stupid forest and get myself lost, thought Scootaloo to herself as she slowly trudged along in the pre-dusk. Seeing a random hill ahead of her, she quickened her pace up, not wanting to be surrounded by the menacing woods in the dark. I wish I had never left. I miss my friends, I miss my home, I-I miss my mother, she thought to herself as she sadly sat on the hill.
A sudden, strong wind rustled her mane, as if something had landed behind her in the dark. Scootaloo immediately stiffened, ready to move at the slightest sound.
"Scootaloo," said a very familiar pony on the verge of tears, "I found you, I finally found you."
"Rainbow Dash, I-"
"Sh, there's no need to apologize," said Rainbow Dash as she settled down next to her daughter.
"But I-I'm sooo sorry!" Scootaloo wailed into her mothers chest.
"I'm sorry too. I'm sorry that I kept your parentage a secret from you," said Rainbow Dash as tears trickled down her face. "Can you ever forgive me?"
"Yes, I forgive you," Scootaloo said a she sniffled.
The quit night was peaceful, the crickets were quiet, and the moon shone brightly. The mother and daughter sat on the hill enjoying the silence and snuggling together.
"Scootaloo," said Rainbow Dash quietly breaking the silence. "I love you."
Scootaloo looked at the mare that had been her "sister", her protector, her idol and finally, answered.
"I love you too, I love My Mother."
Author's Note
Whew, I never thought I would finish this story.
