Running into the kitchen of the large house, Scootaloo quickly filled a large bowl with water, grabbed a few hand towels, and hurried back upstairs. Entering the room, she came to a hault at the old mare's bed, quickly wetting the towels. As she pressed the cold towel to the mare's forehead, she sighed, but still breathed heavily.
"Thank you, Scootaloo.", the old mare barely spoke.
"Momma Foster..."
"It's alright Scootaloo, I'll be fine, just go and call Nurse Redheart before the fever gets worse. I'll be fien, I won't leave you."
Rushing back downstairs, Scootaloo grabbed the phone of the wall and used the tips of her hooves to dial nine one one.
"Nine one one hotline, please state your emergency.", the speaker crackled.
"Momma Foster collapsed! I need Nurse Redheart!"
"I'll connect you to the hospital now."
there was a long pause and the soft voice of Nurse Redheart finally responded, easily recognized, "Hello? Ponyville hosp-"
"Nurse Redheart!!! Momma Foster collapsed! she ahs a fever, and she's alone upstairs, I'm scared!", Scootaloo said quickly.
"Oh, Scootaloo! I'll be right there!"
"Please! Hurry!"
That was the last thing she said that night, thinking it over the day after. She didn't cry, she didn't need to, Momma Foster was fine. Most days, Scootaloo could mask the fear and sorrow, but now, she couldn't. she didn't want to anymore, but she didn't want to worry her friends. Looking up at the big red doors to the school house, she stood and turned around, walking away from them.
As she turned on the rooad, she felt a quick gust nearly blow her off her feet as Rainbow Dash passed over her, then stopped and back winged to in front of the orange filly.
"Uh...Scootaloo?"
"Yeah...?", Scootaloo looked up.
"Are you skipping school?"
"Yeah...", she hung her head, continuing on.
Rainbwo Dash flew in front of her, "Whoa, whoa! You can't skip school! You need to get an education!"
"I don't care anymore..."
Watching as the filly slowly passed by, Rainbow Dash stopped flying, landing on her hooves without a hassle. Trotting to beside Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash could see the sadness in the filly's large eyes.
"What's wrong, Scootaloo?"
"You wouldn't care, it's nothing cool."
Hurrying in front of the filly, Rainbow Dash stopped her.
"Hey. I may be obsessed with coolness, but it doesn't mean I'm not interesting in anything not cool."
Scootaloo sighed, "Momma Foster collapsed yesterday, had a high fever...They said she won't be able to beat it this time..."
"How long has it been going on?"
"For two years, as long as I was able to comprend everything on it."
"Wait, you mean comprehend?"
"Yeah...whatever...It's just...I can't hold it in anymore...I feel that..."
The feeling of a sudden breeze alerted the filly, and she looked up to see Rainbow Dash had left. Her ears drooped and she watched the ground as she walked on once more.
It made her think more of what would happen to her, as much as she cared for Momma Foster. Would she stay here? Would she even be able to see her friends again when she has to exchange to another orphanage? All the questions and possibilities scared her, and she nearly trembled at the though of losing her two best friends.
As she slowly walked up the steps of the old orphanage, she looked up and sighed, not able to make an ounce of happiness from any of it, thankful of a home or not. She was too depressed and scared. As she entered the large doors, pushing them open as hard as she could just to get in, she knocked herself over as the door slipped from her shoulder, and rolled into the hallway. Sighing again, she continued walking, not even noticing the bright colored mare in contrast to the dark interior of the old, vintage house.
After passing the door to the main office, Scootaloo stopped, her ears as stiff as the wood. Turning around, she hurried to the doorway and slowly peaked in, seeing that her eyes didn't lie to her. What was Rainbow Dash doing in the orphanage?
there was no conversation, and there was definitely some paperwork being done. As Rainbow Dash signed the last paper, she shook Nurse Redheart's hand and jumped from the stool, stopping before she put her hoof down.
"Oh, hey there Scootaloo.", she smiled.
"Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here in the orphanage?"
"Well, I flew here as fast as I could, cause, well, that's just me, but once I got here, I had to see it for myself. Nurse Redheart opened the door and greeted me in. Soon, I asked her to see Momma Foster, and she brought me to her. After a few surprising moments, she told me of you. So I decided to something that I know you'd love."
"You...what did you do?"
"I adopted you silly filly!"
Scootaloo was speechless. But as soon as her excitement peaked, it fell.
"but...But what about Momma Foster! I don't want her to...to..."
Rainbow Dash's smile faded quickly. Approaching the sniffling filly, she hugged her close.
"I'm sorry Scootaloo...I really am...But I adopted you...so I could take you away...So you wouldn't have to see her..."
"...Die?", Scootaloo sniffed.
"...Yeah..."
Scootaloo clung to rainbow Dash, crying into her cyan coat like a pillow. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and turned to Nurse Redheart, who stood in the doorway.
"You'll take care of Momma, right?"
"I have since you were a filly, I'll make sure she gets the best treatment a nurse like I can give."
"Thanks...It means a lot to me."
"Don't mention it. I still owe you from our foalhood."
Rainbow Dash smiled and picked up the weeping filly, setting Scootaloo on her back, between her shoulders to where she could still fly.
"Time to go Scootaloo, is there anything you want to grab before you leave?", Rainbow Dash asked.
Scootaloo shook her head, rubbing her eyes dry.
"I never had anything, really."
"That's a lie. You've always had something. Momma Foster."
Scootaloo was quiet.
Trotting out the orphanage, Rainbow Dash set the filly down and picked her up again, taking flight with teh both of them. Landing on a cloud high above the ground, Rainbow dash set the filly down, only to notice as she quickly sank through and fell out. Hurrying to catch her, Rainbow Dash laid down on the cloud and set the filly down on her, so she wouldn't fall through.
"...How could you be chilling at a time like this?"
"I'm chilling, because I don't want to stay in sadness, anger, or even envy, or whatever else, for a long time. So, I clear my head, kick back, and relax on a cloud. Which reminds me, you didn't freak out when you sank through just now."
"I knew you would catch me."
"Why did you sink through?"
"Cause I'm not really a pegasus. It was an old magic spell gone wrong. Twilight recognized it right away."
"Harsh."
"It was my real mom..."
"Scootaloo, I'd never do something like that to you."
"But my real mom would."
"No she wouldn't, Scootaloo, cause I am your real mom now."
Scootaloo pushed at the soft cloud, feeling her hoof slip through easily.
"Listen, it's not exactly easy all the time in life. But when it gets hard, don't indulge in it, take charge, and beat the pain. I used to be in that orphanage too a while back."
"You were?"
"Yeah, just like you, no family, no adoption. I was basically alone. Though, she helped me get around, being the unicorn she was. I would be in Ponyville one moment, and Cloudsdale the next."
"She did that for you...?"
"Yeah...The first time I met her was when I got out of the hospital. Wicked storm tore me from my mom a long time ago, never found her, dad, or whoever else I'm related to, again. Now...Come on.", Rainbow Dash picked up Scootaloo, "Let's go home."
