Waiting on a Rainbow

Waiting on a Rainbow

A Scootaloo Fan-Fiction by Foxvolt.

You can find the requested Clop Extensions here: http://www.fimfiction.net/story/27652/7/Write-ALL-the-Clopfics!/RDxDH%2FRDxDH-%28Derpy-%26amp%3B-Doctor%29

• Could be considered [Dark] or [Mature] -

--

-- Somewhere near Ponyville, in the Everfree Forest. --

The pouring rain carried the chill of the woods on it's every droplet, much to the dismay of the two ponies curled, shivering together in a collapsing shack on the outskirts of their mothers' property.

A young purple-maned, orange pegasus, Scootaloo, was curled in a small ball, enveloped by the warmth of her larger brother, Cloud Shaker. A meager shred of what was their blanket was thrown over them, retaining whatever precious heat it could for them.

The sun was just rising, and through the sound of rain splashing in puddles of mud around them, she sound of a rickety door slamming against it's frame made Cloud's ears perk, waking him instinctively.

The sound of somepony splashing through the puddles became louder as they neared. Cloud thought quickly, and slipped the blanket off himself, getting out of the bed, and made Scootaloo invisible with it, making her small sleeping form appear as a lump in the material.

As he turned to the doorway, ( For the door itself had long since fallen off, ) their mother, in all her shrewdness, strode into the room with a fierce look on her face, seemingly feral. Maybe she had finally gone overboard.

" Good morning moth- " Cloud was cut off by her hoof slapping him across the face.

" What have I told you to address me as? Because I'm sure I didn't give birth to something like you. " She spat viciously, gesturing to him with a disgusted hoof.

Cloud steeled his resolve, responding with a mechanical, " My apologies, M'am. " As he bowed his head in false respect.

She smiled, and laughed a bit too openly for the situation, and the smell of cider was potent on her breath.

Cloud wrinkled his nose. They couldn't afford food, but she still found ways to afford her morning drinks.

She looked down at him, snarling. " What are you laughing at, you little... " She paused, apparently trying to think of a word terrible enough to describe what was, by law and biology only, her son.

" I wasn't laughing, M'am. " He said gently.

She turned on him, and kicked him hard in the side, knocking him over, and taking his breath from him.

Leaning down close, she said sternly, " Now you listen here, ingrate, you're still on MY property, and you claim me to be YOUR mother, and I expect to be respected as such. You will not, under ANY circumstances, tell me that I am wrong, and that you may have some answer or solution that I may need. Do I make myself clear? "

Cloud, through swimming vision, saw their mother, once the very essence of a gentle, kind, motherly figure, standing before him, breathing down his neck.

Before he could think, he spat out the words, " This is dad's property... "

The look in their mother's face afterwords could have been described as shocked, angry, no, infuriated, all of the above, and still not come close to what a twisted, demented feature it held.

She snapped back to reality in a matter of moments, and began kicking and stomping him every which way she could.

" You do NOT TALK ABOUT THAT COLT! You DAMN UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SWINE! " Every word was emphasized with another blow to him in some way.

" No! " A small voice squealed from behind them.

The beating stopped, and their mother turned wildly around, and Cloud caught a glimpse of Scootaloo sitting up, wide-eyed with horror.

" Scootaloo! Dammit, run! Get out of here! Go, now! " Cloud yelled from the floor.

Their mother turned to Cloud again, and his suspicions were confirmed. Her eyes were wild, and unfocused. The alcohol and change in pace had finally done it, she had gone feral.

She bounded off of him, and ran for Scootaloo, hooves outstretched. Had cloud not chomped down on her tail, she probably would have smothered her. Instead, the demented unicorn was thrashing wildly against Cloud.

" Run! NOW! " He yelled to Scootaloo.

Something primal clicked in her brain, and she bolted out of the shack, running into the woods, crying profoundly hard, ignoring the screams of agony from behind her.

--

A few hours later, she finally collapsed of exhaustion. If only she could fly, everything would be so much easier... But it was so scary up there...

Looking to the sky, Scootaloo imagined herself free from everything on the ground, circling in loops, corkscrews, and all sorts of other tricks.

She sighed, and looked around her, remembering where she was; the Everfree Forest.

She looked around, searching for anything that might serve as a shelter. Looking to her left, she saw a small cliff-face, that seemed to have a gap to a cave in it.

Hoping it wasn't something's nest, she began to walk towards it. As she got closer, two mare's voiced could be heard from inside.

" But, I don't know wha' you're saying, Rainbow Dash! I thought we were out here to blow bubbles... " One said.

She creeped to the edge of the cave, and peeked inside. There before her lay two mares, a grey one, leaning back with her head resting on a cyan one's- who's mane suggested was Rainbow Dash's- stomach.

There was a small firepit before them with some small embers that were probably from the night before. Seeing it was nearly noon now, there was no need to restock it, the cave was radiating heat.

" Derpy, just forget it. We can start heading back tomorrow, if it warms up. " She responded.

The grey one, apparently named 'Derpy,' nodded in satisfaction of the answer, and nuzzled her face into Rainbow Dash's neck, making her blush. She just put a hoof across her body, and held her close.

Scootaloo remembered her mother holding her like that once, before her father died...

She shook her head free of the thought, and backed away from the cave mouth. Maybe when it was darker, she could sneak into the back of the cave and get warm, seeing she had no idea how to make a fire.

She sighed in content for a moment, and covered her mouth, hoping neither had heard. She waited a moment, and not hearing anything, sighed again at her luck, which was, for once, good.

--

Scootaloo shivered as the sun fell, and crouched closer to the wall in an attempt to catch any wisps of heat, from the now restoked fire, that spilled from the cave's mouth. Little luck was drawn from the attempt, but little was better than freezing to death.

Once in a while she poked her head around the cave lip to see what was going on, more than once forcing herself to look away quickly with a heavy blush.

About an hour after the sun had set, Scootaloo once more poked her head around the cave mouth, to see that they had finally seemed to have fallen asleep.

She wasted no time in scrambling over the rocky face of the entrance, and creeping past them to the back wall of the cave, where she could remain hidden behind a low cluster of stalagmites and stalactites that had formed, seemingly rarely for being above ground.

Though a rough fit, she mozied down in the small crevice between them and the back wall, where it was still surprisingly warm from the fire's heat being trapped in the cave. It was better, if not a bit more smokey, than being out there. And, before she knew it, she was fast asleep.

--

" Uhh, hello? " Some voice rang through Scootaloo's skull.

" U-huh? Clou- " She rubbed an eye and opened it, pausing mid sentence when she saw a pair of yellow-gold eyes staring back at her.

There was silence for a moment, and Scootaloo jumped back the few precious inches that the area allowed her, muttering an ' Eep! ' of surprise.

" Oh, I didn't think I was really scarry, sorry... Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said anything... " She said, falling back on her haunches, circling the dirt with a hoof with a frown.

Scootaloo followed the hoof with her eyes for a moment, then said, " Hi... "

Derpy looked up, apparently happy she had gotten a response.

" I'm Derpy Hooves, What's your name? " She said happily.

Upon closer inspection, Scootaloo could see that one of her eyes was slightly off from the other. Not too badly, but definitely noticeable.

" I'm Scootaloo! " She said, a wee bit loudly for the shy lump she was only moments ago.

" Well, what're you doing in the back of a cave? " Derpy asked, tilting her head.

Scootaloo thought. " Well, what are YOU doing in a cave? " She responded. Fair enough.

Derpy thought. And she thought. And she thought. She looked to the ceiling as if the answer were inscribed on it, then looked back to her and said, " A friend brought me here, so we could have some fun, and play games! But we only got to play a couple, but we played them a lot. "

' Man, she's really- Wait, is her cutie mark... Bubbles? She seems really bubbly... Wierd... '

" That's cool, I guess. " Scootaloo said, walking forward to sit in front of Derpy.

Dash's ear twitched, and a groaning sound resembling something dead being forced to wake up too early rang through the cave.

Scootaloo instinctively backed up a few paces, and Derpy turned happily in her direction.

A moment later, Dash stuck her head around the barrier she was hiding behind, and stared at Scootaloo, then at Derpy, then back to Scootaloo.

After a moment, she asked, " You weren't... Pregnant yesterday... Were you? "

Derpy laughed a little. " Nope! "

Dash's mouth frowned a bit.

" Then who's this? " She asked.

Derpy thought a minute, and some more, and a little bit more before throwing her head back and singing, " Scoooooooo-ta-looooooooo!~ " With a ditzy smile.

Dash slapped her hoof to her face, shaking her head for a moment.

" What are you doing in here, kid? " She asked.

Scootaloo braved up once more, and said, " Just getting warm, sorry to, uh, interrupt. " She said, getting up, and trying to trot past them.

" Not so fast, kidd-o. " Dash said, grabbing her with a hoof, and sliding her back to them. " Where are you heading? "

Scootaloo opened her mouth, and without thinking, said, "Home, a while east."

Dash looked at her for a moment, and sighed.

" Well c'mon, we'll fly you home. " She said.

Scootaloo's eyes widened quickly, and she shook her head fiercely, backing away from Dash.

" What, you can't fly? " Derpy said, flexing her own wings. " But you've got wings!"

" No, I can, I just... " Scootaloo looked down at the ground, mimicking Derpy's circular motion in the dirt with her hoof. " I'm... Scared of heights... " She finished, with a velvet blush.

Dash looked at her, and began to laugh. " What kind of pegasus doesn't like flying?! That's a good one, kid. Now c'mon, let's get you home. " She said, rising, and stretching her wings for the flight.

When Scootaloo didn't do the same, she looked back at her.

" You're not kidding, are you...? "

Scootaloo shook her head.

Dash groaned. " Well... Hop on my back, I guess, it'll beat walking. I'll fly low, for you. Now c'mon, we've gotta get back to Ponyville soon... "

Scootaloo protested, and backed away from them, but Dash scooped up, and took to the skies, with Derpy close behind, and Scootaloo stopped fighting instantly out of sheer fear.

After only a couple of minutes of flying, the hours of groundwork Scootaloo had covered on foot, her house came into view.

Had Scootaloo not pointed it out, Dash would have disregarded it as a run-down lot, but she didn't question it, and flew to the doorstep, in one fell swoop.

" Wait!- " Scootaloo said, but Dash had already knocked on the door.

Dash looked down at her, but reared back onto her haunches when something very breakable-sounding shattered on the other side of the door.

" GET OFFA' MY PROPERTY, YOU AIN'T GETTIN' BACK IN HERE! NEITHER IS HE, AND IF I CATCH HI IN THAT SHACK AGAIN, I'LL END BOTH'A YA! " A maddened voice screeched from inside.

Dash's eyes went wide as she processed the obscenities, and looked back at Scootaloo, who was looking down at the porch-step with watery eyes.

Derpy stepped up from behind her, and put a wing over her, rubbing the side of her face against Scootaloo's comfortingly. " She doesn't sound like a good mommy... " She said quietly.

" Cloud! " Scootaloo suddenly said, rushing from them, to the shack, a few hundred feet away, on the edge of the property, nearly hidden in the treelines.

She rushed through the open doorway, and stared at the ground in dismay, her heart sinking rapidly. Several streaks and small puddles of blood were smeared around the shack, and lead back outside.

As Dash and Derpy caught up to her, she rounded out of the house, following the trail of blood around the back of the shack, and into the woods.

" Kid, wait! " Dash called after her, having a difficult time keeping up on hoof.

Scootaloo jumped over a pile of rocks that had blood on them, and fell several feet to the ground below. The trail abruptly ended, but she turned around, and against the cliff-face lay her brother, breathing heavily, and cut deeply almost everywhere, his being coated in soil and blood.

" Cloud... " Scootaloo said, stepping over to him, as he cracked an eye open.

Dash and Derpy stopped just short of the jump, and looked down at her.

" Hey, kid, what- " Dash yelled, then she saw cloud.

Scootaloo disregarded them, and put her hoof on her brother, looking him up and down, shaking her head, and holding back tears.

" Hey, Scoots... Who's the company...? " Cloud said with a weak smile.

Scootaloo shook her head. " They... they were in a cave... And I went in there to sleep and... What did mom do to you?! " She finally cried out.

Cloud made a hacking sound, that was probably his attempt at a laugh.

" Man, what didn't she do... Magic's really unfair in a fight, I'll tell you that much..."
He said, closing his eyes again. " I'm just glad you got out fine. "

Scootaloo shook her head. " Come on, she said if she sees us she'll kill us! Come on, we've gotta go! " Scootaloo said, trying to pull one of his hooves with two of her own.

" Hey, hey... Scoots... I... " He sighed. " She already killed me, sis. I can't even move anymore. "

Scootaloo kept pulling his hoof. " No, come on, you can walk! You've walked to town tons of times! Come on, Cloud! "

He shook his head, smiling, and looked up.

" Not this time, Scoots... Not this time. " He said, his own eyes beginning to tear up. " Just... I just want you to know, I love ya', Scoots, I really do. I just wish I could help make you happier. "

" No! " Scootaloo yelled, finally dropping his hoof, to slam her own into the ground between them.

Derpy followed Dash around the side of the cliff, and they walked to the two, not speaking, ears low, tails dragging.

"Hey... You two... " Cloud addressed them.

They said nothing, but looked up.

" Can you two get her back to Ponyville, bring her to the north side, last house on mane street, she has an uncle there, goes by ' the Doctor' , has a mark of a timekeeper, I think... He's got access to whatever bits we have in the family bank that ma' can't touch... Could you get her there for me? " He asked.

Dash nodded her head solemnly, and Cloud returned his attention to his sister.

" Well, Scoots... I think this is it... I need you to... Promise me something... " He said, looking back up, his breaths coming in quick succession to the next.

Scootaloo looked up. " Yeah..? "

"... Try to make a couple friends... Will you do that? " He asked.

" I... I'll try... " Scootaloo said, sniffling once.

Cloud smiled, closing his eyes once more. " Good... That's good... " He whispered. For a moment, his body stiffened, then, he let his breath go, never to take another.

Scootaloo fell to her haunches, staring in disbelief at the body that was only a moment ago her brother, her only friend in the world, now just a lump of flesh, inanimate, unmoving, never to exist again.

Her mind flashed to her experiences with her brother. There were few, being that the family had always lived in poverty, but between him and their father, they had managed to pull through. Somehow, they held the loose stitches of a torn family together.

Scootaloo tucked her head down, covering her neck with her front hooves, and began to cry. It was all Dash and Derpy could do to sit by her side, and let her have time to mourn.

--

The flight to Ponyville was long and silent, take the wind rushing past their ears, or the occasional brush of a treetop from the low altitude.

Once in a while Dash could feel Scootaloo sniffing on her upper back, but otherwise no interaction took place.

The city's lining edge soon came into view, beginning with an out-of-the-way cabin, with several caged-in enclosures. Fluttershy's house.

They passed over it, getting a nice view of Sweet Apple Acres to the south.

Dash flew past that as well, heading for the north side of town; Mane road, precisely, the last house.

That took shortly any time at all in itself, it was barely past one by the time they arrived.

Scootaloo slowly clobbered over Dash's side, and forced herself to drag her body up the stairway to the door. Derpy knocked for her, in some happy-go-lucky pattern.

For a moment there was nothing, but after a quick shifting of papers was heard, a quick *ting!* and a deadbolt twisting, An average sized colt of a brown coat and mane stood before them, through a screen door.

" Who are all of you, then? Government? Celestia's, Erm, goons, as it were? " He asked, looking from Derpy, to Dash, to Scootaloo. " You don't seem like a very... How do I put this... Capable lot, now, do you...? And what are your names, then? And more importantly, what do you all want?"

"We're here to give you her. " Dash said, nudging Scootaloo forward a bit.

The colt looked from Dash so Scootaloo, stooping down and asking, " What's your name, then? "

" Scootaloo... " She said blankly.

He backed up a step, blinking rapidly for a moment before shaking his head in astonishment.

" But- No, is that really you? Why has Cloud Shaker not brought you here, and how are you this far from your mother? " He asked, once more stooping low to Scotaloo's level.

Scootaloo looked at the ground, her eyes watering up once more, it was all the answer he needed.

" Oh, dear... Oh, my apologies to you all, thank you for bringing her, I'll prepare the guest room, I think? Yes... The guest room... " He said, absent-mindedly, thinking hard about the situation.

He turned into the home, walking through the living room and kitchen, and up a flight of stairs to the second level, Scootaloo and company following close behind.

He turned right along the hall, and entered the first and only door on the right, his room. Collecting a pillow and thick blankets, he loaded them onto his back, mumbling something inaudible, and walked back past them, downstairs.

Walking back through the kitchen, he followed the right wall, opening the only door alongside it, and tossed the materials onto an average-sized bed against the far side of the room.

The room itself was painted a deep blue, usually setting a very passive atmosphere, but only reflecting the mood of the group at the moment. Though none of them spoke, they silently agreed to say as little as possible about it.

He turned back to them, and said, " Well... I suppose you're all welcome to stay for lunch, unless you have previous engagements. "

" Well, I'm going to go ask a friend how to get this filed. Derpy, just get back to... Whatever it is you do. " Dash said with a frown, walking out of the room. " I'll come back to check on you guys later, mister...? " She asked.

" Oh, I'm the doctor. " He replied.

" Doctor? Doctor who? " Dash asked.

" Precicely. " He responded, smiling.

Aggravated, and no patience, Dash stormed away, grumbling, " I'll just go get this on file... "

" That's not quite nessica- " Whooves called after her, only to have his voice cut off by the slam of the front door. With an awkward smile, Derpy quickly followed her lead, only closing the door much more softly.

And with that, Scootaloo and the Doctor stood awkwardly together for a minute or so, avoiding each other's stares.

" Well then, " he said. " Feel free to use whatever you need around the house, the fridge is usually stocked, so help yourself. I'm going to go finish a little project I have going on, then I need to go run a few... Errands, so make yourself at home, and... I suppose that's that. "

When Scootaloo didn't respond, he rolled his eyes and approached her, sitting beside her, and putting a forehoof around her shoulders.

" Listen, erm... I know how attached you two were... He told me several times. "

Scootaloo's ears perked slightly at the mention of her brother.

" He would fly by for the night when your mother kicked him out of the house, if he couldn't get to you before she locked the windows. He even brought you by frequently a couple years ago, when you were just a little foal, though you most likely wouldn't remember it. " He trailed off a moment, regaining his train of thought. " Point being, You definately meant quite a bit to him, and I know it. Your mother will pay for it, I promise you that. "

Scootaloo didn't show any signs of hearing him, looking instead at the floor with an unreadably blank expression.

Without another word, he stood, and left the room, leaving the door open. Without his comforting hoof, her shoulder suddenly felt a severe chill, making her shiver lightly.

Without a second thought, she jumped onto the bed, feeling it's cushioned fluff up around her, she crawled beneath the mound of blankets, and rested her head on the pillow, and fell asleep.

--

Dash flew away from the Weather Center as quickly as possible. Today, she wasn't just skipping work, her shift was actually over.

Heading in the direction she had taken her Co-Worker with previously, she flew alone towards the Everfree forest. Passing Fluttershy's house, she spared it a look, seeing the timid yellow Pegasus feeding an assortment of birds in their pens.

Passing, she kept her eyes open for the cave they had found Scootaloo in. Several minutes and miles later, she spotted it, and stooped into a low dive, rolling into the mouth of it. Looking around, she saw the remnants of their makeshift fire, which now resembled smoldering ashes, barely making smoke.

Turning back to the forest, she looked to the right, where they had taken off to bring Scootaloo home. Jumping out of the cave, she took to the air, and sped over the treetops once more, keeping her eyes open.

Only two minutes later, she saw the house, and flew into another roll in front of the shack. The area looked abandoned, and she trotted behind the shack. Looking to the ground, she saw the blood trail from earlier that day in the fading light, and followed it cautiously back into the Everfree forest.

Soon, she found the cliff that Cloud was lying against. She looked around, making sure no creatures were lurking about, and jumped down into a hover, landing in front of his body.

It was as they had left it, no flies, no deterioration, not even a smell.

Dash couldn't help but to frown at the sight. Such potential, a LIFE, ended. Just like that. A mare who could do that to her own offspring... It was sick.

She edged closer, and lifted a hoof of his with her own, letting it drop. Yup, definately dead.

She gulped, and pushed her head under his mid-section, and lifted his head and haunches with her fore-hooves. Once her head popped up the other side, she stood, carrying him on her upper back, above her wings.

Looking down at where he was lying, she saw the ground was slightly stained with blood, and she could only hope he wasn't still bleeding on her.

Looking back to the side of the cliff, and a unicorn with a crazed and hostile look was staring her down, eyes wide, smile twisted.

Dash jumped back with a gasp, this mare looked like she had gone through hell and then some. Her mane twisting this way and that, even showing signs of being ripped out in places. Her tail was half cut-off, the other half one big knot, and her coat was mingled with dirt and debris, including traces of blood.

" And just who are you? " She asked, seemingly skiddishly, shifting her weight from hoof to hoof as if the very ground were to collapse should she focus her whole weight on all four evenly.

Dash didn't respond, instead she unfurled her wings and slowly backed up.

" Who are you? " She asked again, stepping forward.

Dash felt something against her back hoof, it was the cliff-face. Her back was to the wall.

" I'm Rainbow Dash. Who are you? " Dash said, managing a confident tone, keeping the tremble out of her voice.

" I'm his mother, and it's time he came inside for lunch. I'm sorry, maybe you two can play tomorrow. " The mare responded, smiling lightly, gesturing to Clouds' body.

Dash looked confused, plainly so, and so the mare stepped forward, saying, " One more time, it's time for lunch- DROP HIM NOW!! " She suddenly screamed, crouching low as if to lunge, her eyes becoming wide, pupils dilated, and her horn sparking to life.

Just as suddenly as Dash's expression had turned to fear, the mare calmed, continuing as if nothing had happened.

" I was thinking we could make sandwiches. Actually, would you care to join us?"

' This chic's lost it... I've gotta get outta here before she goes nuts... ' Dash thought, surveying the area. She couldn't back up any more, and an insane mare was six feet from her, and only getting closer. She could take off, but the impeding weight of Cloud's body was making itself ever-apparent, weighing down on her shoulders.

Taking her chances, Dash jumped as hard as she could, and flew over the mare, who lashed out at her overhead. As she flew away, Dash saw a beam of magic whiz by her head. Looking back, the mare was shooting energy spikes in all directions in a fit of rage, stomping her hooves, screaming, and running around.

Most were easy to avoid, due to lack of aiming, and the rest she just dodged by dropping a bit lower, as she got further away.

Soon, they were out of sight, and heading back to Ponyville. Dash pulled west to go around the town rather than over it, lest somepony see her carting a dead body around on her back.

She eventually reached the cemetery, and she hovered around the back, and dropped Cloud to the ground, leaning against the wall.

Walking around the building, she bumped against a mare in long, black robes, with a golden chain necklace, and Dash fell to the ground.

" Oh, sorry, I wasn't looking.. I'm looking for... " Dash thought. " Whoever I need to see about burying somepony? "

The mare looked her over, raising a brow.

" How did they die? " She asked.

Dash shook her head, muttering, " He was killed. "

The mare widened her eyes, suddenly interested. " Killed? There hasn't been a homicide in Ponyville in years! "

Dash rose, and shook her head again. " He's back here. I just want him buried, no funeral or anything, he only has one- two relatives, I'll bring them over later... They don't know I got the body. "

She turned and began heading to the back.

" Got? Do you mean have, or you went and got it from somewhere? " The mare questioned.

Dash winced lightly. Oops.

" I'd rather not go into details about it, I still need to go and get everything on file at the station. " She said.

" And I'd rather not bury a body without knowing if I'm destroying evidence or not. " The mare said, approaching Dash rapidly.

Turning back to respond, the mare tackled her, and pinned her to the ground. Stunned, Dash struggled, but a blow to the head knocked her unconscious.

--

" Scootaloo, for Celestia's sake, get up! We've got to go bail that mare out of jail! Come on, then! There we go! "

Scootaloo groaned, groggily opening her eyes, and sitting up against the weight of the blankets. Looking out the window, she saw that it was nighttime, she must have been asleep for a few hours, at best.

" Jail...? What? " Scootaloo said, still waking up.

The Doctor walked to her doorway, waiting for Scootaloo to follow her, before continuing.

" That rainbow mare went and retrieved your brothers body, and went to have it buried, now they have her in jail, because the blokes think she killed him. Watch your step, stairs are just a bit loose, there. " he said, guiding her out the back door, locking it behind them.

Scootaloo thought it over as they walked, later asking, " Why would they think she killed Cloud? "

The Doctor sighed. " Think of it this way. Someone comes up to you with a dead body, claiming it was done by homicide. Not only is this suspicious in itself, being such a rare case, but why would you bring a body to be buried before letting others know about it, and how do you know it was a homicide? Why are you the one bringing the body, wouldn't the killer dispose of it themselves, or are YOU really the killer, doing that right now, before prancing off to the police station, to frame another poor soul for the crime? Either you are a criminal, or very, very shortsighted. Sadly, it was the latter. "

Turning onto the street, they began the short walk to the police station, operated by only one mare and colt, due to the small need for a police force. They soon arrived after an awkward silence, unsure if there was a need for anything to he said.

A mare behind the desk looked up expectingly. " You here for the colorful one? " she asked.

The Doctor took the lead, saying, " Yes, there was a bit of a mix-up, you see, she was retrieving a corpse and having it- erm, him, buried properly. I take it that she is under murder charges? "

The mare shook her head, laughing. " Celestia, no. We took a DNA sample on old Cloud, shame really, good kid. We just needed somepony to escort her. There are several warrants out for her arrest, we just needed the location, which Ms. Dash so kindly provided us. "

There was silence for a moment, and a colt walked up beside her, pushing a clipboard over the desk, saying, " Sign here, stating that you picked her up, and we'll bring her up. "

The colt turned away and disappeared behind a doorway.

The Doctor looked down helplessly at the pen and fourm before him.

After a moment, he attempted to lift it, only allowing it to roll off his hoof back onto the table.

The *Click* echoed rough the room, and the mare paused, looking up.

" Is there a problem? " She asked, raising a brow as he again attempted to pick it up, failing again.

" Erm, sorry... I'll just... There we goh- " He said, picking up the pen with his teeth.

Scootaloo looked at him just as quizzically as the mare behind the desk.

Looking back and forth between the two, the doctor smiled akwardly, brushing the back of his head with a hoof, shrugging, before slopping something resembling a signature in the paper.

" ... Okay then... I'll just... Okay... " The mare said, turning and walking behind the desk, mumbling something about lack of education nowadays.

They waited a few moments, and then the colt who had left them returned, leading a very disheveled Rainbow Dash behind her. When she was lead to the front of the desk, the colt returned to his position behind it.

Looking up, she stared at them for a moment, and slowly muttered, "Thanks... That- " She trailed off. "Thanks."

They looked at her for a moment, seeing a depressed look upon her features.

" Hey, are you okay? " Scootaloo asked, stooping down under her, looking up to look into her eyes.

Rainbow smiled a little bit, and fluffed her wings. " Oh, yeah! I'm great. Let's just get out of here, okay...? We can... We can talk later. "

The false cheeriness barely lasted the walk back to the doctors house, and by then, she had begun to walk with her head hanging, and her tail back between her legs.

Pushing open the front door, the Doctor stepped in, holding the door for them.

They sat themselves in the living room just to the left of the doorway, with a large window for peering out into the street. Dash laid herself on the floor, resting her head deep within the folds of her crossed forearms, reclusively.

There were several minutes of akward silence, and the Doctor rose from his chair, and sat beside dash.

" Well, what's all the down-and-frown's about, then? I mean, at least it wasn't prison. " He said, nudging her. She absorbed the movement, and rolled back to her original position, as if she had disreguarded it.

His eyes narrowed, and he leaned closer. " Did a... ? " He began.

Again, Dash did not respond, and Scootaloo stretched forward from the couch to try and read her.

" Scootaloo... " The Doctor said, looking up at her. She met his gaze, tilting her head. " Scootaloo, go to, erm, your room, I suppose we'll call it, if you wouldn't mind. "

" But- " She started.

" Room, Scootaloo. It's waiting for you. Go on, then. "

Seeing no room for debate, Scootaloo grumbled something inaudible, and walked past, into the next room, looking back at Dash. He was stroking up and down her back comfortingly, whispering something to her she couldn't hear, and Dash didn't seem to register a bit of it.

She passed the corner, and walked into her room, her line of sight broken. Flicking on the light, she had an idea. She slowly closed the door, flicked the light off, and opened it again once more, crawling out, re-rounding the corner, and hiding behind the side of the couch, listening in.

" If I may...? " He asked Dash.

What did she miss?

Dash did not respond, and the Doctor sighed. He stood, and walked behind Dash, who flicked her tail slightly.

The Doctor brushed it aside lightly with a fore-hoof, leaning in to examine her haunches, muttering an, " Oh, dear... "

He backed away, and reassumed his place beside her, putting his left forehoof over her body, saying, " I'm so sorry that happened to you... I suppose I'll just... make you something for dinner... And the youngling as well, yes, that sounds about right. "

Rising, Dash glanced up at him with a lost expression. It reminded Scootaloo of her mother, in the months after her father died. She was always so empty, so cold, but she wasn't so evil... Was Dash turning evil too?

" No! " Scootaloo cried, darting to Dash from her hiding place.

Their eyes darted to her, surprise clearly shown.

Scootaloo threw herself over Dash's front, crying, " Don't turn mean like mom did, please... "

Dash looked back at the small filly on her back, as did the Doctor, his mouth slightly agape.

" ... My goodness... She thinks you're going mental... " He said.

Dash kept staring at her. She was trying to cling to her, her tears were running through her own coat. Scootaloo genuinely was scared that she was going to be like her mother.

' What am I doing...? ' Dash thought to herself. ' I can't let this kid see me like this... '

Dash scooped Scootaloo up from her back, and laid her beside herself, putting a hoof and wing over her, waiting for her to stop crying.

When she finally quieted down, Dash began, saying, " Scoots, I'm not like your mom. I promise, I never will be. It's just... Sometimes, things happen. And I... I don't know, I'm not good at this stuff, but, I can promise you, you're safe with me, kid, and with him too. " She said, glancing at the Doctor, who smiled lightly.

Dash looked back to Scootaloo, and hugged her, rubbing their cheeks together in a silly way, making them laugh.

" Well... I think I'm just gonna crash, got a spare bed I can use? " She asked.

He looked at her, and raised a brow.

" What? Do- Oh, I suppose I'll shower first... " She said akwardly.

He nodded with a faint smile, and led her upstairs to the bathroom, drawing the stand-up shower.

Scootaloo trailed close behind them, and they occasionally smiled at each other.

" Thanks. Oh, and Doc, " Dash said, stepping to them.

" Oh, what could it possibly be- " He cut himself short as Dash pecked him on the cheek. " Oh. " He said, the red in his face breaking through.

" Well then, best let her get that shower, right? " He said, pushing Scootaloo out the door with him hastily. Once the door was closed. " Scootaloo, " He started, " Can you run down to the store and grab some egg- Erm, drats... Some lettuce? "

He opened a drawer beside him, and pulled out some bits, placing them in her hoof.

" Sure. " Scootaloo replied with a smile.

They descended the stairs, and Dash called down, " Hey Doc, could you get me a towel? "

" Cabinet beside the sink! " He called back up.

Scootaloo opened the back door.

" I don't want to get your floors soaked, could you come grab me one? " She called down.

The Doctor's eyes widened slightly, and he began talking to himself very quickly.

Scootaloo closed the door, and began the ten minute trip to the store.

" I wonder what's with him... " She asked to herself.

--

The Doctor opened the door, and was immediately assaulted by rolling waves of steam making their way into the hallway.

" I'm coming in, now, " He said.

Dash looked over her shoulder at him. She was now laying back against the wall, letting the warm water pelt her front.

The Doctor opened a nearby cabinet, and after several attempts, dragged a towel down, saying, " I don't see what's so bad about a wet slab or two... "

Dash grinned. " Oh, common', are you really gonna keep it up? " she asked him, laughing.

Working through his nerves, he said, " I don't quite understand your meaning- "

" The water's nice. " She said, cutting him off. " Care to join me? "

The Docter stumbled backwards, saying, " Oh, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I've- I, erm, "

" Oh, shut up and get in here! " She said with a laugh, pulling him in with her.

--

End part 1

(Yup, I did that at the end there. Deal with it, sirs.)

The End.