It was the 20th December, and Christmas was just around the corner. One of those happy places marking the holiday was Canterlot, and everywhere you went, happiness and merriment prevailed.
The halls had indeed been decked with merriment, and decorations hung from every conceivable home. There was holly, and tinsel, and lights strung from lampposts and homes. The lights were so bright that the entire town could probably be seen from outer space!
It was late, and the sky was dark that 20th day of December. The sun had long since set, and the snow was once again falling outside, as it did every day around this time of year.
In one such home, 17 Cloudsdale Drive, Rainbow Dash sat at the window watching the snow, holding a cup of cocoa in her hand. She loved Christmas-who didn’t? -as the world was just so happy at that time of year. The last few days had been those of nonstop fun with her friends, as they’d had a series of slumber parties over each other’s houses. She felt she was truly lucky to have friends like hers, and it seemed nothing could break them apart. OK, there had been Sunset Shimmer, but that was now a long time in the past, and she was friends with them now. Right now, she started humming an old Christmas Carol. Being a Christian, she knew practically all the tunes off by heart, and there was nothing better than the good old Carol Services. Canterlot was having its own tomorrow, and she would be performing alongside her friends in an acapella rendition of ‘I Saw Three Ships’, and not the Freudian version!
She immediately dismissed that thought from her mind. That had been embarrassing enough in rehearsal, let alone in concert! She wondered where the younger siblings of her friends Applejack and Rarity were. They were always involved in the festive spirit, more so than most others!
Of course, as everybody knows, the most important part of the whole festival was gift-giving. Rainbow had asked for a few things, but had put most of her efforts into what she was getting for others.
Little did she know, that the very best present that year, would be one she hadn’t even asked for.
“Rainbow honey! Time for dinner!” called her mother, Windy Whistles.
“Coming!” Rainbow called back. She put her mug on a mat on the side of the table, and walked into the kitchen, to see what had been prepared for the evening.
Barbeque ribs. What could possibly be better in these cold conditions? The three of them sat down to eat as a family. Rainbow Dash knew how important family was, as she owed her life to both of her parents. The company she spent with them was worth everything to her.
“So, what is the world’s greatest sport star doing tomorrow?” asked Bow Hothoof, her father.
“Dad, stop!” Rainbow said, going red. “You’re embarrassing me!”
“Well, nobody plays better than you do!” Windy laughed.
“There is such a thing as too much encouragement,” Rainbow answered. “Besides, me and my friends were gonna go to the mall before we went to the concert in the evening.”
“Hanging out?”
“Yeah, more or less. I wasn’t gonna buy anything given how close we are to Christmas.”
“Besides, this is gonna be the best Christmas ever!” Windy added. “Oh, when the snowman brings the snow...”
Rainbow looked at her father, with a look reading oh no on her face.
Bow laughed, and launched off with “Snow is fallin’, all around me...”
Rainbow shook her head, and went back to her ribs.
All was interrupted with a loud knock at the door.
“Who could that be?” Windy asked.
“We’re not expecting visitors,” Bow added.
Rainbow Dash got up from her seat. “I’ll go look,” she said.
Walking to the door, she opened it, and gasped in shock.
Standing before her was Scootaloo, one of the Middle School girls whom she was friends with. Her hoodie was absolutely soaking wet, and her hair was covered in snow which was quickly melting.
“What the?” she asked.
“Can I come in?” Scootaloo replied, in a raspy voice. She then fell forward onto the ground, but Rainbow caught her.
She dragged the younger girl inside, and called loudly to her parents. “Mom! Dad! Help!”
Bow and Windy ran to her position, and gasped in shock as well.
“Oh God,” was all Bow could say. “How long has she been out there?”
“We need to warm her up, fast,” Windy instructed, taking charge. “Dash, get her into one of the chairs and get the hoodie off of her. Her clothes look to be soaking wet so she may have hypothermia.”
“Understood!” Dash replied, wasting no time in moving the younger girl as fast as she could.
“Bow, get me water bottles, blankets, anything. I’ll prepare some tea; that’ll warm her up.”
Removing the hoodie proved to be quite the ordeal, as due to the cold, it was clinging to Scootaloo’s skin. Dash calmly wrapped her in the blankets provided by her father, and placed the water bottle in such a place that it would help the girl recover as soon as possible. But what was she doing out in the snow on a night like tonight? All Rainbow knew was that Scootaloo lived with her aunts, but beyond that information regarding her was limited, to say the least. All efforts to learn about her parents or backstory had returned blanks. What concerned Rainbow more was the bruises on Scootaloo’s body, some of them in odd places.
Suddenly, she could see the girl stirring. “Why is it so hot?” Scootaloo asked.
“Squirt, you’re awake!” Rainbow cried. “Hey, can you move your fingers for me?” The younger girl complied promptly, which showed that there was no permanent nerve damage.
“Good, so you haven’t got frostbite. Now your toes?” Scootaloo looked down to see her boots and socks had been removed, her feet clearly visible. She quickly wiggled her toes, to prove she had movement in them.
“It’s a relief to see you are safe,” Rainbow smiled. But the smile vanished. “What on Earth were you doing out there in the middle of a snowstorm without proper winter clothing? You could’ve frozen to death!”
“I got lost on my way home,” Scootaloo replied. Rainbow could see it was a lie, but chose not to push it.
“What are all the bruises about?”
“I slipped and hurt myself,” the younger girl answered.
There was no way she could have been bruised in that way from falling, but again it was clear Scootaloo didn’t want to talk about it.
“We’ve got some food prepared if you want it,” Rainbow said warmly. “It’s in the kitchen.”
Leading Scootaloo by the hand, Rainbow led her into the kitchen and indicated a seat. Letting the younger girl take the one by the radiator seemed fair, and Rainbow took the guest seat.
“Considering the weather, we’ll let you stay here overnight,” Bow said. “We’ll set you up with bedding, and of course let you stay in the spare bedroom. We’ll give you breakfast, and then return you to your aunts.”
“No!” Scootaloo shouted. The room fell silent.
“Sorry?” Windy asked.
Scootaloo began to plead with them. “Please don’t send me back! I’ll do anything but go back there!”
Rainbow looked stern. “You weren’t telling me the truth, were you?”
She immediately regretted it, as Scootaloo burst into tears. Rainbow rushed out of her seat to comfort the girl.
“I-I’m so sorry!” Scootaloo sobbed. “B-but Aunts Lofty and Holiday...they’ve been beating me.”
“Don’t your parents know about this?” Bow asked.
“My p-parents are dead!” Scootaloo answered weakly, still sobbing into Rainbow’s jumper. “So, please don’t send me back!”
“We won’t send you back,” Windy said grimly. “We’re calling the police.”
“Don’t hurt them,” Scootaloo asked. “After all, I was the one who misbehaved.”
“In what world is that sort of behaviour justified?” Rainbow asked. “People who resort to violence so easily should not be allowed to raise children.”
“What about me?” Scootaloo asked again.
“You’ll stay with us until we find you a family who will care for and love you,” Windy said.
Later on, after Scootaloo had showered, she prepared herself for bed. Rainbow had given her some of her old pyjamas to wear, which the younger girl really valued.
She then hopped into bed, pulling the warm sheets over her.
“They’re so warm!” she said, with a smile on her face.
“They’re some of my old ones,” Rainbow said. “I take it you like them?”
“Back at Aunt Lofty and Holiday’s home, I only had the same bedding all year round,” Scootaloo said sadly. “Which meant that in winter the loft was freezing.”
“They had you sleep in the loft?” Rainbow said, shocked.
“It was the only place,” Scootaloo said sadly. “They said that I didn’t deserve a bedroom, but last night they locked me in the shed as a punishment.”
“Why?” Rainbow asked.
“I broke a vase.”
Dash shook her head. “They beat you for breaking a vase?”
“And a number of other things. Taking painkillers without permission, for one.”
“If they hadn’t beaten you, you wouldn’t need to take painkillers.”
“That’s what I told them, and was left unable to sleep.”
Rainbow couldn’t reply. They’d beaten her so badly she couldn’t sleep? “Kid, we are definitely gonna find you a better place,” she said. She walked over to the door and switched off the light. “Good night.”
After shutting the door behind her, Rainbow Dash went to speak to her mother. “Mom, can we talk?”
“Of course, sweetie. What’s on your mind?”
“We need to do something about Scootaloo.”
“That we do,” Windy said, concerned. “The first port of call would be finding her foster carers, until somebody is willing to adopt her. But I’m calling the police first, so those despicable Aunts cannot hurt her any further.”
“Maybe-”
“Out of the question. We are not having another child. You’re enough of a handful.”
Dash looked horrified. “I don’t believe it,” she said. “You’d throw her out into the chaos of the foster system? I’m her sister, for God’s sake!”
“You aren’t biologically related,” Windy answered. “And you may go well together at school, but in a home? I’m not so sure.”
Dash simply gave up. “It’s clear you cannot be convinced. Please, if not for my sake, do it for Scoots! She’s suffered enough!”
After Dash had gone, Bow went to his wife. “Dear, we need to talk.”
The next evening, Rainbow and Scootaloo came in from the Carol Service. It had been confirmed on the Evening news that Aunts Lofty and Holiday had been arrested for child abuse, but were seemingly unrepentant.
As the two girls stepped in through the door, they saw Windy doing some paperwork.
“What are ya doin’ there, mom?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Tax returns, that’s all,” Windy replied. “Nothing to worry about.”
Rainbow indicated to Scootaloo, and they left the room. After all, they had multiplayer to engage in.
Christmas Day finally arrived, and Rainbow Dash jumped out of bed early, hearing the local branch of the Salvation Army was out in force. She went to the spare room and knocked on it. “C’mon squirt!”
“A few more minutes, please,” came the reply.
“But it’s Christmas day!” Rainbow answered, “and there’s presents to open!”
The door almost immediately flew open, and the two girls ran downstairs to see a mighty pile of boxes placed around the tree. Bow and Windy were already sitting there, and motioned to the two girls.
“Rainbow, yours are on the left, Scootaloo on the right,” Bow said. “Enjoy!”
After 30 minutes of unwrapping boxes, everything was open. But Windy had something left.
“I have something for you Scootaloo,” she said, handing her a brown folder.
“For me?” Scootaloo asked, confused. She opened it, and couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw it.
This document confirms that Scootaloo Collins has been lawfully and legally adopted by Mr Bow Hothoof and Mrs Windy Whistles, and has all the protections and legal rights of any children born naturally to them.
She looked up, her eyes full of amazement, and her mouth breaking out into a smile. Before anyone could stop her, she flew across the room and threw her arms around her new parents, saying: “Thank you so much!”
“Thank you so much what?” Windy asked, jokingly.
“Thank you so much, mom.”
Rainbow did a double take. “Mom?” Then she realised what had happened. “You-you adopted her?”
“Nobody wanted to foster care at this time of year,” Bow explained, “so we decided to take matters into our own hands.”
“But that means-” a smile grew upon Rainbow’s face. “Scoots and I are sisters...for real!”
Scootaloo broke from her parent’s embrace, and hugged her new sister. “This is the best Christmas ever!”
“Isn’t it just,” Rainbow laughed. “God bless us.”
“God bless us, everyone!” the family chorused.
For that year, the old saying was true; that the best presents of all are the ones we least expect.
Scootaloo’s life had changed for the better, and all it had taken...was a Dash of Love.
Author's Note
Here's another Christmas present for you.
I had this idea after reading Anon-a-Miss: A Wrinkle in Time, but made the decision to go down a happy route rather than a negative one. I've always found Scootadopt is one of my favourite genres, and as such I decided to try one.
Tomorrow will see something a bit different.
