The Pursuit of Pride

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Three years had passed since the defeat of Discord and the changeling army that had assaulted Royal Canterlot, peace was returning to Equestria and all had mostly forgotten it. Life had progressed as it always did. The bad events were forgotten and replaced with happiness, love and joy all across Equestria as the Princesses of the Sun and the Moon kept their vigil and provided their citizenry with light to frolic in and darkness to slumber in.

Princess Celestia had risen the sun once more and it cast its light upon all of Equestria so that ponies in all the little hamlets and havens they had set up across the map might see what they were doing and enjoy the warmth of her sun, her love and find their peace in the world.

It was a bright summer day in the tiny little Equestrian village of Ponyville, it was by no means a large community but it had a tight bond that seemed to echo through the streets. Everypony in this town had a job that helped the town and they did it gladly. It was a tight knit community that had become bonded together over many years together and they all cared for one another.

One of the places that this was most prevalent was the Ponyville school which at this very moment was bustling with activity, the brick red schoolhouse was full of fillies and foals of differing ages coming in and out of the twin front doors. Inside the school the sounds of teachers could be heard as well as hushed whispers of school fillies and foals trying to not pay attention to the teachers without getting in trouble.

Inside one of the school classrooms the bubbly, cheery voice of a teacher could be heard trying to get the classes attention. It was soon revealed to be a moderate cerise coated earth pony mare with triple sunflowers as her cutie mark and an air of experience, love and understanding about her. Her mane and tail were a pale, grayish rose color with a streak of light ceriseish gray running through the middle of them.

Her kind green eyed gaze scanned the classroom before with an amused smile she spotted a dark purple maned orange teenager with her head down on the desk, sleeping in class. The teacher mare walked over and called out in the same bubbly voice as she stared down at the teen.

“Scootaloo, are you sleeping in my class again?”

At the sound of her name being called and hearing the question the aforementioned orange coated pegasus teenager identified as Scootaloo shot straight up at her desk and found herself looking into the eyes of her teacher. She knew she couldn't fool her so she let out a chuckle and nervously smiled.

She spoke like somepony who had been caught and knew it because that is exactly what she was, her brash and cocky young voice answered the cool maturity at length.

“Crud, looks like I'm busted. Yes, I was sleeping in class again. Go ahead, send me to detention, its got to be better than this. Less boring at least.”

The teacher mare simply shook her head at that and sighed, Scootaloo was always her hardest student to deal with. She was a rebel, a delinquent and a rule breaker. She was a lot like her idol Rainbow Dash and to her this was not a good thing.

“Scootaloo, you can't face life with just being sent to detention. Do you want to be a delinquent for the rest of your life or do you want to get the knowledge to have a good life with lots of fun things and friends?”

The defiant young mare merely stared back, showcasing her defiance and not backing down from her teachers gaze. She took after Rainbow Dash a lot, even going so far as to start a Rainbow Dash fan club one time.

“Whatever Miss Cheerilee, I don't need school. I am gonna be a world class flier like Rainbow Dash one day and no stupid books or history lessons are gonna help me get there. And if they aren't gonna help me then why should I care?”

Cheerilee was getting exhausted, her and Scootaloo had been here so many times before but she figured she might as well try to get through the thick young mares skull one more time.

“And what if that fails Scootaloo? What will you do then? What are your plans if that fails and you can't become a world class flier like Rainbow Dash hmmm?”

Scootaloo seemed to think on that for a moment and with the tiniest hint that the words had affected her she scoffed and then flashed Cheerilee a cocky smirk.

“Oh please Miss Cheerilee, like I could not become a world class flier. I gained my ability to fly a year and a half ago and I have only improved since then. There is no way I am destined for anything less than greatness.”

Cheerilee shook her head and let out a sigh as she heard the other teenage colts and mares laughing at Scootaloo's defiance before going back to her desk, speaking out again to Scootaloo.

“Fine Scootaloo, you have detention for the rest of the week. I trust you already know the way to the detention room but I guess I will have to show you and take you there. Lets go my defiant young student.”

With that Cheerilee got up and started trotting to the door, the cocky and arrogant Scootaloo right behind her and she left the classroom momentarily, trotting through the alabaster hallways of Ponyville's school with the young mare in tow. Before they got to the detention room Cheerilee turned to Scootaloo and shook her head before speaking, she felt her neck getting sore from how many times she had shook her head from Scootaloo alone.

“Scootaloo, why do you insist on being so defiant? All I am trying to do is help you and yet you seem determined to fight me at every turn.”

*Scootaloo looked upon the familiar worn and chipped blue coated wooden door that she knew kept the worst of the school in. It was the door to the detention room that over the last three years she had become very familiar with since she was always getting into trouble for something or another. Soon enough she turned to Cheerilee and smirked once more.

“Because teach school bores me to no end and I always find myself sleeping in your classes now. I can take it from here. See you soon Miss Cheerilee.”

Scootaloo stepped through the blue door and was immediately greeted by the colts and mares in there like an old friend. She went over to a few of them and hoofbumped them, saying her greetings before taking her usual seat at the back of the classroom and waiting for the school bell to ring so she could get to what she actually wanted to do that wouldn't come until much later that day.

With a sigh and an eye roll she set her head down on her desk eager to get some sleep and pass the time till later in the day but she would have no such luck as the detention teacher came over and slammed his hoof down on her desk. He told her to pay attention and she knew she would get no sleep so she sat back in her chair and pretended to listen to the teacher while wondering what Rainbow Dash was doing right now.

At that particular moment the sky blue, rainbow maned pegasus mare named Rainbow Dash was over a bright green meadow on the outskirts of Ponyville. She was elevated very high in the sky and had her flight goggles on. She was floating in the air seemingly in deep thought about something and her wings were extended to their full length and flapping creating little vibrations in the wind current.

Then suddenly and without warning she bolted towards the ground, leaving her signature prismatic trail behind her as the ground got nearer and nearer. Forty feet from the ground she felt the Mach cone begin to form around her body and she pushed harder, determined to master the Sonic Rainboom. Right before she broke the sound barrier, about 20 feet from the ground, all air pressure stopped and she was violently hurled backwards into the air as the sound barrier snapped back into place and hurtled the pegasus who dared attempt to shatter it back into the upper parts of the sky that she had come from.

After about a minute of two of hurtling combined with a lot of disorientation Dash finally managed to find her bearings again in mid air. She sighed and looked down at the ground before stomping her hooves in the air angrily.

“Why won't this stupid trick work with me?! Ugh, this is SO frustrating! I thought I had it mastered and now it is trying to deny me my rightful place as the most awesome flier in Equestria!”

Dash then felt her determination rise at the thought of being denied something she wanted and righted her goggles on her face once more. She then dove back towards the ground again and soon enough felt the familiar Mach cone forming around her body. She kept pushing and pushing even as the wind screamed in her ears and the current fought back against her onslaught. She felt her body and the wind screaming at her as her rainbow mane was tossed back in the wind as she felt the barrier weaken and soon she felt it about to snap. This was it, she thought to herself the Rainboom is mine once more and then as quickly as her elation had come it passed as she was thrown back into the air once more when the sound barrier snapped into place.

She corrected her mid air trajectory once more and looked down at the ground but instead of a depressed defeated look she had a wide smirk on her sky blue muzzle. She had almost had it that time, she had almost broken it again. She had done it on command more than few times in the last three years, why was it giving her trouble now?

But Rainbow Dash was not scared off by her failures, no. It merely made her more determined to make the Sonic Rainboom do what she wanted it to. This was HER trick and she would master it or die trying.

Dash smirked, determined to master her greatest trick. Scootaloo waited for the school bell to ring so that she could go and enjoy her day and the sun found itself moving ever so slowly towards the horizon as the fine summer day was being lived by the orange coated pegasus teen who wanted nothing more than to be like her idol and her idol who wanted nothing more than to be the best of the best.

Chapter 2

The day passed agonizingly slowly for the impatient orange coated teenage mare. A little while after she had arrived the detention room teacher started going off on a long winded rant about what would become of their lives and some such, Scootaloo didn't know what he said as she wasn't paying attention.

She sat at a desk nearest to the window and sat there with her hoof under her cheek to prop her head up as she looked out the window, observing the wonders of nature. She wished she was out there with the wind in her mane, the sky beneath her hooves and her idol by her side but instead she was stuck in this boring classroom with her stupid teacher who thought she cared about what he had to say.

The detention teacher was a crimson coated earth pony with a white mane that had a light streak of jagged orange running through it, his name was Reform and it was his job to shape these young colts and mares up so that they may be productive members of society one day. His eyes were a light purple and his gaze always seemed unduly cold as he looked upon the delinquents in his classroom.

As he scanned the room as Cheerilee had earlier he too had his gaze fall on Scootaloo and soon he found himself angrily trotting over to her before slamming his hoof down on the table and meeting her own grayish purple gaze.

He spoke out in a deep, gruff and agitated voice as he glared the young filly down, determined to make the young foal listen to him or die trying.

“Do you find somepony trying to help you brighten your worthless future to be boring delinquent? Do you think you can make it out there?”

Scootaloo turned a cocky gaze back to her teacher, meeting his gaze the same as he met hers. She stuck her tongue out soon enough and once again, as she had done to Cheerilee, showcased her defiance.

“Whatever you say Reform, you aren't even a legitimate teacher. They put you in charge of detention because you don't have what it takes to be a good teacher. I am going to be a world class flier however so i don't need your help.”

Reform stared at the overly defiant young mare like she was insane, nopony had ever stood up to him like that before seeing as he was a very intimidating stallion. This brash, arrogant young mare was going to be quite the handful for all who met her in the future and after a few more minutes of arguing with the thickheaded student eventually he gave up and went back to his desk.

Scootaloo felt a triumphant smirk cross her young features before she went back to looking out the window until she saw the sun reaching a point in the sky she knew and she actually began to take some interest in the day. Her freedom was fast approaching and she knew it.

As soon as the school bell rang Scootaloo ran right past her detention teacher and bolted out the door, spreading her wings out and taking to the sky with an exhilarated whoop of joy. Once she had finished celebrated her freedom from the evil of school she took off towards where Rainbow Dash, her idol and mentor was.

Rainbow dash on the other hoof had been practicing this entire time, she was now purposefully using the sound barrier to increase her mid air trajectory and flight correction. Practicing what she would do if she ever got knocked off course in mid flight and learning to deal better with extreme wind pressure so that she could fly faster in those situations.

She had only started her serious training and was in the middle of a spinning nosedive towards when she saw the orange mare approaching and she righted herself in mid air, calling out to the fast approaching blot as it got closer.

Dash was waiting in mid air with her hooves over her chest as Scootaloo finally got close enough to hear her if she spoke and she had her usual arrogant smirk on her face that Dash had on hers.

Scootaloo spoke out in a voice that seemed to mirror Dash's as well a little but it was definitely her own, it had deepened considerably from her time with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She still hadn't found her special talent but she no longer cared, she got to train with her idol and that was all that mattered to her.

“Hey Rainbow Dash! I finally got out of that boring and stuffy classroom, i was so uncool in there. Got thrown in detention for not listening to the teachers.”

Rainbow laughed at this and extended a hoof for her young student to bump which she did before answering her student with her won voice which too had deepened but still had that overly self confident, arrogant, cocky and loud tone to it that had become, among other things, a Dash trademark.

“Hay yeah! Nice one squirt, those teachers don't know what they're talking about and you know I do. Now come on Scoots, I want you to show me how fast you can go so I can see how we can improve your flying.”

Scootaloo nodded and took off into the sky, she was flapping her wings fast as she flew but getting only about average acceleration since she was leaning her body weight backwards with her pace, most likely as a reflex but still Dash clocked her in at about 25 FPM (Flaps Per Minute) whereas Dash's max was around 60 FPM when she wasn't Rainbooming and most would have said Scootaloo would not be anything but Dash, she knew better than that.

“Alright Scoots! That's good, now get over here so I can tell you what you're doing wrong! That was an alright speed though kiddo, about average but you are not average and we both know it.”

Scootaloo heard her idol call her flying average and it hurt, she wanted to impress Rainbow so she was determined to hear what she told her and take it to heart. She was going to get good enough to impress Rainbow Dash one day, this she vowed.

“Thanks Rainbow Dash, I know I can go faster but I just can't seem to get there, something keeps holding me back.”

Good the kid at least knows whats holding her back or at least part of it, I know I saw something in her. Dash thought to and inwardly talked to herself as she spoke to Scootaloo about hat she had done wrong and how she could improve.

“Alright Scoots, I thought you had learned this before but you seem to have gone back for whatever reason. Don't fight the current by pushing backwards, e like a bolt and fly straight, pushing your chest into it and slicing through the air. Like this.”

With that Dash decided to show instead of say, bolting off from their position and leaving her signature prismatic trail in her wake, the love she had for flying and, though she'd never admit it, for her student always made training fun. She pushed her chest out as she flew, her speed easily going at around 40 FPM before she flew back to Scootaloo and smirked at her. She went over to her orange coated apprentice and asked if she was ready to try to which Scootaloo gave an affirmative “YES!” and took off into the sky.

As Scootaloo flew she imagined Dash watching her, poking her chest out as Dash said and soon reaching 30 FPM and climbing, she was doing it, she was really doing it and she felt great! Scootaloo soon began zooming around, going over the tree line and under the cloud line. She was doing barrel rolls and flips, she was becoming one with the sky and as she watched the mare fly Dash got an idea, calling out to Scoots. She got so enraptured with flying that she barely even heard Dash call for her to stop and return to her but she heard it and did it.

Once Scootaloo was close enough to hear Dash once more it was revealed that the bright orange mare was smiling and sweating, a sure sign of a good training session and Dash had one idea for them to finish up for today at least and a reward for a job well done.

“Alright squirt, last thing for today is you are going to race me. I am gonna be going at about half speed and I may speed up to see of you can catch up, don't worry about me as Rainbow dash your friend and mentor. Think of me as your rival for this and somepony you desperately want to beat and if you impress me then I am gonna treat us both to some ice cream at Sugarcube Corner, sound good?”

Scoot quickly nodded and assumed the racing position, extending her wings to her side and lowering her body in the air so that were she on the ground her chest would almost be touching it. The only thoughts on her mind were impressing her idol and the opportunity to spend some quality time with Rainbow outside of training.

Dash however kept her mid air position, her hooves crossed over her chest and pointed at a mountain that she and her friends had gotten rid of a Dragon at once. Her thoughts were on testing Scootaloo and seeing exactly what the kid could do, what better way to test that than a race?

“First one to the base of Dragon Mountain and back to this cloud behind me wins. Ready..........get set.........GO!!!!!!”

With the words GO said Scoot released the brakes and took off, her wings making a slight buzzing sound in the air as she flew, the wind in her mane and the sky in front of her was like magic to Scootaloo. This was a world high above the others at speeds that belonged only to her and her idol right now, Scootaloo was not the delinquent she had been in school. Instead she had become the eager young student that she was around Dash and she had a huge smile on her face as she looked back to see if Dash was with her.

As soon as Scootaloo had shot off Dash gave her a little bit of a head start and then bolted off after her, catching up very quickly and finding herself impressed with her student. She was flying rather fast for somepony who wasn't Rainbow Dash and the sky blue mare quickly caught caught up to her orange coated apprentice, both of them conquering the skyways. Nopony was around for miles, it was just them and the sky.

“Not bad squirt, lets see if you can keep up with me with a little more speed though. See you at the finish line Scoots.”

With that Dash increased her speed to about 35 FPM where as Scootaloo was going at around 30 FPM, Dash was going slightly ahead as the mountain grew closer and closer. She hoped that Scootaloo would push herself for more speed, Dash of all ponies knew that to surpass your limits first you had to find them.

Scootaloo eagerly accepted the challenge from Dash and pushed her body for more speed, finding out that 33 FPM was her maximum speed and pushing herself to go faster despite her body screaming at her that it was impossible as they reached the base of the mountain and then darted back towards the cloud that they had started near.

Dash was still a neck ahead of Scootaloo, so this was her max speed she thought to herself not bad. The kid would be great with some quality practice and training. Rainbow Dash would give her both and in big amounts. She would turn Scootaloo into the second greatest flier Equestria had ever seen, this she swore. Her apprentice would be second only to her.

After a few more minute of competitive they arrived at the cloud, Dash having gotten there before her apprentice. She wasn't even sweating but Scootaloo looked as if she had just run the entire Running of The Leaves. Which was good, it meant she had pushed her limits and would be able ti find them easier next time and push past them.

“Not bad Scoots. I am impressed and as I promised lets head to Sugarcube Corner and get some treats. You earned it kiddo, this was a great session.”

With that Dash flew down to the ground so they could walk the rest of the way, the orange coated mare right behind her. They made some mirthful and friendly banter as they made their way into Ponyvile Proper and headed towards the giant gingerbread house known as Sugarcube Corner.

Once there Dash ordered some rainbow ice cream for herself and Scootaloo ordered some orange sherbert, soon they found themselves sitting at a table and enjoying their frozen delicacies. At one point Scoot closed her eyes in pain from a brain freeze which Dash laughed at before falling victim to an evil brain freeze of her own which Scootaloo laughed at and then they both just laughed. Enjoying each others company like this it was obvious they were more than master and apprentice, they were friends. They were like sisters since neither had an y blood relatives that they could relate to.

Soon the weary sun began to retreat behind the horizon and made way for Luna's moon. With that Dash flew Scootaloo to her home where her parents greeted her happily and thanked Rainbow dash who told them it was no problem and hoof bumped Scootaloo before flying off towards Cloudsdale and her own home.

The orange coated pegasus mare went to sleep that night the happiest she had been in a long while and looking forward to the future, hopeful for what it would bring. Soon she drifted to sleep with thoughts of flying around in the open blue skies with a mare just as blue, together as a team.

The sky blue mare in question soon found herself at her own cloud home and after lazily feeding her pet tortoise Tank she hopped into her bed, eager to get some sleep and looking forward to the future as well. The most anticipated days of her life was coming in a few months and she already couldn't wait.

Chapter 3

The night passed uneventfully for rainbow Dash and soon the ever magnificent light of Celestia's sun shot through her windows. The sunlight illuminated the lazily sleeping sky blue mare who was currently sprawled out underneath her sheets, her limbs poking out from underneath them as she rested her head sideways against the pillow.

Soon a pair of blue eyelids peeled back to reveal the sleeping mare's rose colored cerise irises, highlighting her tiredness with their own personal droopiness before with a loud yawn Dash rose from her bed.

She made her way away from her rainbow colored bed and towards the shower, leaving her awesome rainbow colored bed behind her and stepping inside the shower. Turning on the hot faucet since she enjoyed hot showers more than cold ones she began to hear the soft pitter patter of water on tile echo through her bathroom.

As the comfortingly warm water ran through the cyan pegasus's mane and coat drenching them and laying them flat against her body she began to think of a very special day that came in a few months, letting out a little squeal of excitement, almost dropping her soap in the process.

Coming up in three months was a try out for the most prestigious team of pegasi the land of Equestria had ever known, namely, The Wonderbolts. It was Dash's dream to be a member of that team and her shot to try out was finally coming up, she could see it in her minds eye. The Wonderbolts, performing their well coordinated aerial missions in those awesome blue flightsuits with a certain rainbow maned pegasus mare flying right beside them.

As Dash washed and cleaned herself all over she swore that she would make it at the try outs. She needed to make it. This was her one shot or so she thought. The 'Bolts rarely held try outs and Dash wanted to impress them a lot.

Once she was finished and had turned the shower off she dried herself off and headed downstairs. Soon she found her pet Tank and gave him some food and water before heading to the kitchen and fixing herself a glass of orange juice. Applejack hated her for liking orange juice more than apple juice but Dash didn't care.

Soon she was flying through the air, enjoying the warm breeze of Ponyville in mid summer, her mane quickly drying out more from the wind as she flew over the town of Ponyville. She was busy just enjoying her day when suddenly she was stopped in her mid air tracks by the voice of a mare calling her name.

The sky blue pegasus looked down to see a dark yellow coated mare with slightly grey hair wearing glasses glaring at her and waving her down. With a sigh Dash descended towards the ground, landing soon in front of her and rolling her eyes.

“Yeah Mayor Mare, what do you need from me?”

Mayor mare fixed the arrogant pegasus with an angry glare and jammed her hoof up towards the sky which was filled with puffy white clouds

“Do you see that Miss Dash? Do you see all those clouds?”

“Yeah I see 'em, what about it? They're just clouds like any other.”

Mayor Mare bit her tongue to not lose her temper with the arrogant mare before explaining with a sig.

“Rainbow Dash, you are our weather patrol leader. Your only job around here is to keep the skies clear, why can't you do something so simple?”

“Hey! I can keep these skies clear, in fact I could clear them in ten seconds flat but my team is being lazy! Besides, I have been busy with my own stuff Mayor. If it is going to cause such a big hassle then I will deal with it, sheesh.”

With that Dash took off towards the sky and began using her speed to clear one cloud, then two, then three, then four and soon the whole sky was clear in record time before she flew back down and smirked at Mayor Mare, thinking her speed had once again saved her flank.

“I already know all about your speed Rainbow Dash and your ability to clear the skies so fast but do you realize that if you can't do your job I will have to fire you? This is your last warning Rainbow Dash, do not fail again or I will unfortunately have to find somepony who actually cares enough to do their job correctly.”

With that Mayor Mare turned and began walking towards town hall, leaving a wide mouthed and stammering Rainbow Dash in her wake. She was having problems processing what she had just heard, was she seriously being threatened with unemployment because she had been lazy? Dash didn't want to lose her job so she decided very easily that she had better start clearing the skies more frequently. Regretting her earlier actions Dash didn't even have a cloud to sulk on in the immediate vicinity.

Dash soon recovered from her shock induced stupor like state and took off for the skies that always seemed to welcome her with warmth and love. She needed to think for now and she had already cleared the skies for the day so she made her way over to her cloud home. She had nothing at all better to do with her day than to to spend it doing exactly what got her in this predicament. Being lazy.

Dash flopped backwards on her bed, she was still processing all the implications of the short conversation. She was being threatened with joblessness if she didn't start doing her job more frequently. She began to wonder what her future would hold if she got fired from the only job she had ever known since she arrived in Ponyville after leaving Cloudsdale and the day slowly began to work its way from early morning to noon in the town that bustled around without the sky blue mare to take part in it.

At that exact moment as Rainbow Dash was wondering what was going to happen to her future Scootaloo was back in detention once more being told what her future held if she kept up her current course of action.

Reform was towering over the teenage mare, staring down into her eyes with his own, shaking his head in disappointment as his stern, experienced voice spoke out to her

“Scootaloo, if you do not pay attention to me and Cheerilee as well as the rest of your teachers then you are going to have an unnecessarily hard life. You are effectively wasting your life by acting like a delinquent.”

As had become her standard response to the teachers who tried to run her life Scootaloo scoffed at him and chuckled, sticking her tongue out at him and smirking before mocking him. She spoke in a very arrogant manner to the teacher, making her voice as annoying as she possibly could on purpose.

“Ha, when are you silly teachers gonna learn? Scootaloo makes her own future, not you! I am going to be great just like Rainbow dash one day and neither you or Cheerilee will be able to stop me from soaring through the sky and making my dreams come true. And all your stupid book smarts and schooling isn't gonna help me be a world class flier so shove off.”

Reform opened his mouth to speak but gave up for the day, he already had a headache from Scootaloo and the arguing they had done since early this morning. All the other mares and colts were laughing their heads off at his failure to tame the free spirited and wild Scootaloo.

“Alright class, so the Great Equestrian Migration..............”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she droned him out, doing what had become a habit when she was in detention. She was staring out the window, surprised by the lack of the regular rainbow trail that flew through Ponyville belonging to her mentor and idol Rainbow Dash. This concerned Scootaloo far more than whatever it is that reform was talking about and she decided she would go see Dash after school was out.

After about 4 more hours and 3 more bickering sessions with Reform the school bell finally rung to signify the end of the school day and as she hopped out of her chair to leave the detention classroom Scoots was stopped by reform. She sighed and walked over to his desk, tapping her hoof impatiently, wondering what he wanted as she sighed towards her.

“Scootaloo I ma going to have to tell your parents about your behavior and hope they can make it through that thick skull of yours. I hope you don't let your bright future go to waste Scootaloo but I have done all that I can to try to help you, now it is in other ponies hooves.”

Scootaloo was inwardly not looking forward to talking to her parents about this, she knew that it would be harder to dismiss her folks than the teachers. Outwardly however she showed all that she had inherited from Dash and kept her cool, scoffing at Reform and laughing.

“Yeah okay, whatever teach. Am I free to go now or are you going to keep me here against my will?”

“No Scootaloo, you may go. And I hope you think on what I have said.”

Without another word Scootaloo left the school and a smile crossed her previously defiant face as she flew towards where she and Rainbow normally trained.

Dash had spent a good portion of the day sulking and talking to herself about what had happened early in the morning, silently kicking herself for letting it get this bad before she decided around midday that she would head to the field to train.

With her sky blue wings flapping Dash soon arrived at the training grounds with no thoughts of Scootaloo in her mind and no desire to fly, she simply hovered in mid air lost in her own thoughts.

Dash began to think of other things she could do if she got fired from her weather patrol job, she had no other job experience though. She had left Cloudsdale right out of flight school and came to Ponyville, wanting to escape her parents who wanted to make her something she wasn't. So the independent and free Rainbow Dash bolted out of Cloudsdale and rose to fame in Ponyville, becoming a hero and an icon as well as the best young flier in Equestria.

Still though, for all of her accolades and her pronouncements of awesomeness this job was all Dash could do without needing instruction which would ruin her rep and it was the only thing giving her enough bits to stay afloat. She simply couldn't afford to be laid off from her weather patrol duty and with that being at the forefront of her thoughts she began to go down a dark and dangerous mental path which she was pulled from when she heard the sound of approaching wings.

The source of the disturbance became known shortly as the orange coated, teenage apprentice of Rainbow Dash soon came to their training grounds and over to her mentor, smiling wide at seeing her before she noticed that Dash didn't seem herself and her face became a mask of concern.

“Rainbow Dash? Are you alright? You look a little down in the dumps.”

Dash gave her most reassuring smile to her young friend, nay, her sister and puffed her chest out in pride before jamming a hoof at it and proudly speaking to her.

“Ha! Are you kidding me Scoots? Rainbow Dash, down in the dumps? Never! I am feeling just fine today squirt, so you ready to begin training?”

Scootaloo entertained the thought that Dash wasn't telling her the truth for a second but since she had no reason to doubt her mentor she eagerly shook her head, happy to once again be training with Dash.

“Yeah Rainbow Dash! Let's do it!”

With a wide smile on her face and a boatload of eagerness Scootaloo waited to be told by Dash what she would be training on today and Dash decided to give her something simple that would leave her to her thoughts. She told Scootaloo to practice increasing her max speed and that she would be watching to which the orange teen gave a salute and took off like an orange and purple coated bullet.

As Dash watched Scoots push her body to the absolute limit desperately trying to increase her speed she once more returned to her thoughts. She was still watching Scootaloo and calling out the occasional compliment but for the most part she was looking as if were from a great distance away, her minds eye being elsewhere.

After about an hour of flying Scootaloo had reached her limit and made her way over to Dash who seemed lost in thought, her mind was elsewhere but that didn't stop her from giving Scootaloo some very impressed and deserved praise.

“Now that was some impressive flying Scoots, keep that up and you may be as good as me one day. I think that is enough training for today, you seem to have reached your limit. Lets get you home alright?”

“Okay Rainbow Dash!”

And so they left the site of their daily training, master and apprentice, heading towards the house that belonged to Scootaloo's parents. As they drew closer Dash got the distinct feeling something was wrong though. Smoke was rising from the area and she bolted ahead of Scootaloo to investigate and what she saw made Dash's heart leap into her throat, blocking her tears. She had an absolutely mortified look on her face and her body didn't move from it's position in the air.

Scootaloo soon caught up with her and fixed her with a questioning look noticing the stare and the terror on her face.

“Rainbow Dash? What's...........wro-”

The word froze in Scootaloo's mouth as she saw exactly what was wrong, her house was one fire and she couldn't see her parents. With tears in her eyes Scootaloo bolted towards the house, going to head right in. Dash quickly followed after her and tried to hold her back as the flames licked at the world outside, eager to consume any ponies foolish enough to get too close.

With some difficulty Dash managed to bring the teen back with her to the crowd and Scootaloo began making inquiries as to whether or not anypony had seen her parents come out, they all shook their heads that they had not. Apparently there had been a gas leakage in the house and it had caught fire with her parents inside.

Dash and Scootaloo hugged as they both watched the flames eat the house from the inside out until the fire ponies arrived to put it out and Dash took Scootaloo home with her. She knew that she of all ponies would need to be there for the young mare who stayed uncharacteristically silent through the entire trip to Dash's cloud home.

When they had arrived Dash took Scootaloo into the home and closed the door, she immediately began bawling as they arrived and Dash took a seat on her couch, bringing Scootaloo with her. They began talking with each other with dash trying her best to comfort Scootaloo.

“Why Rainbow. Why mom and dad? Why now? What did they ever do to deserve this?”

Dash had to force a lump down her throat as she hugged the young teen close.

“I don't know why Scoots but I do know that your parents didn't deserve what they got. I am sure they are ina much better place now, enjoying t=each others company forever and they will be watching over you forever from now on kiddo.”

*After her words had time to sink in Scootaloo dried her eyes and nodded resolutely to Rainbow dash, hugging the older mare tight as she spoke.

“I hope you are right Rainbow Dash, I hope you're right.”

With that statement said Scoot felt the stress and shock of the day finally get to her and fell asleep on the couch. Her eyes closed as tears rolled down her cheeks, her hooves around Dash and the older mare allowing it and hugging the mare she saw like a little sister close until sleep took her as well.

Scootaloo woke up with nightmares more than few times, only screaming the first time and only briefly until she realized that Rainbow Dash had her and she was safe. Dash for her part kept a constant vigil over Scootaloo, never breaking the hug that night and desperately wishing she could do something for her. Soon though after about the fifth time Scootaloo woke them both up they both fell into a fitful sleep that they would stay in till the next day.

Chapter 4

The sun soon rose over the land of Equestria once more and cast it's intrusive light upon the eyelids of the two ponies who were still sleeping their stress and sorrow away for the moment. When they felt the light intrude upon their sleep two sets of voices rang out, one was scratchy and brash and the other was young and hoarse from crying and both were groaning.

Rainbow Dash was the first to actually stir from her slumber instead of groan about it being interrupted. She decided to groan about it as she sat up instead of sitting down and groaning about it. Her memories of last night were, thankfully, dulled from the sleep. Though when she looked over to see the orange filly who was very like a little sister to her with dried tears on her face, clinging to Dash like a lifeboat amidst a stormy sea, it all came back to her.

Scootaloo for her part had been too worn out from crying and grieving to verbally argue about waking up though her eyelids and eyeballs had a different story to tell. She woke with a headache, the memory of her parents death fresh in her mind still and no more tears left to give.

Dash looked over and saw the normally upbeat and unconquerable spirit that Scootaloo had basically inherited from her seem to have flown completely away from the teen. She seemed like a broken shell and somehow the day had become more gray and Dash felt like she had lost some of her own color.

Now it doesn't need to be said as any who know her will tell you but Dash is not an overly affectionate pony by nature. A rare moment of affection that seemed to become increasingly common now that Scootaloo was in the same boat she was with no family left occurred as she offered something for them to do to get her teenage friend's mind off of the events.

“Come on squirt. We can't sit here all day. What do you say to some breakfast? Can be a world class flier on an empty stomach haha.”

The sky blue pegasus nervously laughed after she said that. She was terrible at this whole 'Cheering up ponies' thing, that was usually Pinkie's job. She shook that thought out of her head, she was Loyalty incarnate! Her friend who was almost like her little sister needed help and she was going to help her somehow.

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, in the literal sense now though she had looked up to Dash for all her life that she could remember, this time was different. In Dash right now she saw more than her idol, more than her mentor, more than her best friend, she was a big sister. She was the only family the lost teen pony had left and so with this in mind she nodded her head with a light sniffle, clearing away any sadness as she refused to appear weak in front of Dash anymore.

The older pegasus nodded at her orange coated young friend and picked her up gently, setting her on her back. Dash then proceeded to trot through the living room that they had decided to crash in and headed towards the alabaster tiled floor of her kitchen. Dash was by her very nature very lazy so there were no five star meals and nothing fancy. Mostly just cereal and more cereal. Grabbing some Zap Apple Loops from the top shelf she set the half empty box down on her dirty and worn out wooden table and proceeded to rummage around the fridge for some milk.

When the milk was finally located after sifting through all the junk food, expired food that she was too lazy to throw out, the protein shakes and energy bars that Dash ate and drank a lot she proceeded to head over to the table and pour them both some bowls of cereal. She went over to grab some spoons for them and a few swears came from Dash as she couldn't find any. She turned to the one thing she hated doing more than being slow, doing the dishes and let out a sigh of her own. She rolled her eyes and decided to do it since she had to.

Scootaloo for her part had lifelessly taken her place at the table and proceeded to wait for Dash to hurry up. Her stomach was growling from neglect but she was too out of it to care. She didn't want to do anything, she didn't want to eat, go to school, train, speak or move. She just wanted to lay there and wallow but one of many things she inherited from Dash was a never die attitude. As a result of this, even though she wanted to curl up and cry again, she stood straight and proud as she could manage at the breakfast table. Her stomach was fast winning the war against depression and she looked at Dash eagerly as her mentor proceeded to attack the dishes as if her life depended on it.

A little laugh, hollow but a laugh nonetheless, left Scootaloo as she watched this. Dash may not have been the most polite, well mannered, neatest or well groomed of ponies but to Scootaloo there was nopony better, not even the Wonderbolts and to see her idol go through all this for her caused her broken heart to lift a little and a half smile to find her young maw.

Dash finally managed to get two spoons clean after digging through the massive amounts of dirty dishes and finding two matching spoons. She had then proceeded to attack them with dish soap and her hooves until they were sparkling clean. Proud of herself as usual the smirking pony brought the spoons over and put them in the bowls, noticing her young protege's smile she decided to comment. She pointed a mock accusatory hoof at her and laughed as she spoke.

“What is so funny Scoots? I hate doing dishes, don't judge me.”

Despite the nature of her words the laugh made it obvious Dash was not mad at all, truth be told she was overjoyed to see Scootaloo smiling again. The older pony didn't handle depression well, being one of her many dislikes.

“Nothing Dash, nopony makes doing the dishes look as cool as you do. I was just smiling because of how lucky I am to have such an awesome mentor.”

The teenage pony resisted the totally uncool urge to hop across the table and hug Dash, extending a hoof for a hoofbump instead.

“Keep up the training squirt and one day you might just be as awesome as I am.”

Dash happily reached her hoof out and bumped the younger ponies hoof, after which she proceeded to dig into her cereal which was fast approaching the soggy point of zero edibility. She was not exactly a picky eater, soggy cereal was just a bad deal to her and she didn't have enough money to afford wasting food.

Scootaloo followed suit with a smile that had widened considerably being near Dash and soon the two ponies had finished their meals. When they were done the older mare spoke to the teenager she had basically taken under her wing almost like a daughter.

“Scoots, do you have anywhere to stay after what happened? I know you had only your parents for family but is there anypony who'd help you out?”

The sky blue pegasus asked with honest concern on her face. She knew what it was like to have nopony to help you, to have to make it on your own, her own parents having not been a big part of Dash's life for as long as she could remember.

At the question the smile left Scootaloo's face, her mood growing much more grim and a sad sigh leaving her. She didn't want to appear weak in front of her idol but she couldn't suppress the fresh wave of tears that threatened to break free of their confines in her eyes.

“No, I have nopony. Mom and Dad were the only ones who took care of me, I have family in Las Pegasus but that would mean abandoning everypony here in Ponyville and I don't want to leave my friends here behind.”

Silence descended for a few seconds, no sound coming from the two mares and no sounds coming from nature. Scootaloo was waiting for a response and Dash was thinking. After a while the silence was broken, Dash raising her head from looking down at the table in thought.

“Hey squirt, how would you like to live with me? My place isn't as nice as Rarity's and there's just me and Tank here but it's home to me and it can be home to you as well, if ya want.”

A hoof was brought up to the back of the older mare's neck, this whole sentimentality and maturity thing was really not her cup of tea and it actually embarrassed her to act this way.

If Scootaloo was embarrassed though she certainly didn't show it, her face lighting up like she had just won a million bits. She couldn't help but jump out of her seat, smiling brightly at the other pony.

“REALLY?!” She cleared her throat after that and tried to put on a cool front, adjusting her shoulders and smirking. “I mean, yeah. That would be pretty cool Dash.”

Rainbow Dash got up out of her chair and trotted over to Scootaloo, wrapping her right front hoof around the younger ponies neck and giving her a noogie with a happy smirk and a little chuckle.

“That's the spirit squirt. Now, you should get yourself used to your new home. I need to go out for weather duty today and I will stop by the school and tell Cheerilee why you won't be coming to school for a little bit.”

She released her grip after she finished speaking and began heading towards the front door of her house, Scoots right on her trail. As they made their was through the living room, the cupboards filled with trophies the younger pony stopped Dash by calling her name.

“Wait Dash! Before you go.......I just wanted say..thanks. Thanks for being such an awesome friend.”

She felt a little sappy after saying it and scuffed at the cloud floor of the home a little, not looking at Dash who had turned around as she shifted her gaze to the floor.

“No need to thank me Scoots. You're the only pony cool enough to spend time with me all the time.”

The sky blue pony made her way over to her apprentice and gave her mane a little ruffle, running her hoof all through it and messing it up. She couldn't suppress a little laugh as she did so though she spoke as comfortingly as she could.

The orange coated teenager's head rose at the playful ruffling and she combed her back with a hoof when Dash backed away towards the door again. By this point she was almost mirroring her mentor, smirking like she had just struck gold and waving a hoof at Dash.

“Yeah yeah Dash, just get out there and show everypony how awesome you are. Don't worry about me, I will find out where everything is here.”

Scootaloo gave her a playful smack on the shoulder though it wasn't a hard punch, intended as a friendly gesture and nothing more.

“Hahaha, alright squirt. I am outta here, see you soon. Bathroom and bedrooms are upstairs and the kitchen and living room are downstairs as you know. You get hungry there's food in the refrigerator and the pantry.”

She gave her one right back and made her way to the front door once again, opening it and spreading her wings when she was outside.

With that Dash bolted out the door, her departure leaving her signature prismatic trail behind as she tore through the sky, heading for the cloudy skies of Ponyville. Scootaloo on the other hoof watched in awe, reminded once again of her dream to one day be able to fly that fast. She shut the door and headed inside her new home, the home of her idol and she couldn't suppress the fangirl fit that overtook her, which she allowed herself since Dash wasn't home.

“Ohmigoshohmigoshohmigosh! This is SO awesome! I am living with Rainbow Dash!”

She jumped and skipped around the living room as she let loose the seemingly endless excitement coursing through her and in her hopping frenzy she came right up to the cupboard that housed many of Rainbow Dash's trophies.

Interested to see what her idol had won and having exhausted a good deal of her excitement, enough at least to calm down, she looked inside the cupboard and what she saw impressed her....a lot.

Inside were many 1st place trophies, ranging from small little tournaments to some major league ones. Dash had won first place in all of them and beside each was a picture of Dash holding the trophy though some were of Dash when she was even younger than Scootaloo. One thing was missing from the pictures though, something most of these should have had.......

“Where are Rainbow Dash's parents?”

She couldn't help but ask out loud and it was then that it dawned on her. Dash didn't have parents, just like her. She had been living and succeeding on her own for years. With nopony there to look uncool in front of and a new found sense of connection with Rainbow Dash as well as a fresh wave of tears for her parents death she put a hoof over her eyes and started crying where she remained for a good twenty minutes.

In Ponyville, a little bit away from the cloud home that Scootaloo currently resided in, near the library which was home to Twilight Sparkle Rainbow Dash was hard at work darting around the sky and clearing it of any clouds she could find.

It didn't take her more than a half hour to clear all the clouds from the sky though it was rare that she cleared them ALL, normally leaving one to nap on. This day though she had responsibilities to somepony who was fast meaning more to her than any other that she knew. It was with this in mind that she took off, through the, thanks to her, clear blue skies heading from Ponyville Library to the schoolyard where the lunch break was just starting. Counting her lucky stars she landed near the front doors and trotted up to the twin doors, opening the entry door she made her way inside.

Dash had been here a few times since she and Scootaloo had grown close, being called in each time the young pony acted up and the teachers had a problem since Scootaloo's parents were usually busy during the day and Scootaloo only really listened to her anyways. As such, it was a familiar trek for Dash to head through the painted hallways, passing many a schoolroom as she made her way towards the teacher's conference room where they would be during lunch.

When she saw the white painted door to the teachers room she took a deep breath and opened the door. Instantly she got some less than pleasant looks from quite a few teachers including Reform, all of them knew Dash's reputation as a troublemaker and they didn't trust her not to cause trouble. Disregarding the glares she soon found Cheerilee who looked up from her lunch to see probably the last pony she ever expected to see in the school without being called.

“Miss Rainbow Dash, this is a surprise. May I assist you with something?”

Cheerilee's bubbly voice called out the other mare, keeping her eyes on Dash's rose colored orbs when she spoke.

“Yeah Cheerilee. I am sure you know about Scootaloo's parents right?”

She didn't bother hiding the fact that she was in, as usual for Dash when in a schoolhouse, a foul mood. She wasn't one to show much respect with Miss or Sir on the best of occasions but with the glares it definitely wasn't happening.

Cheerilee lost her smile at that much like Scootaloo had earlier in the morning and when she learned of her parents death and her cheery tone changed to one that reflected a much more somber attitude. “Yes Miss Dash, I have indeed heard of that. It's very unfortunate, her parents were adored by many and though young Scootaloo was a bit of a troublemaker she didn't deserve to see that, nopony deserves that.”

“Yeah, I agree but I wanted to tell you that she will not be in school for a few days, maybe even a week or two. She was hit pretty hard by her parents death and she will be staying with me.”

Dash stood resolute as she said this, believing very firmly in her ability to be a good mother type figure to Scootaloo despite her inexperience taking care of anypony but herself.

“That is wonderful news that you will be taking care of her Miss Dash. She has always thought very highly of you, even going so far as to emulate you. As for her staying out of school, that is no surprise. She will need time to recover from this, the poor dear.”

“Thanks for understanding Cheer. I am going to head home now, I just thought I would tell you what's up. And with that, I am ditching this snoozefest.....”

She turned from Cheerilee to the other teachers who were still giving her the vile looks they had been since she came into the classroom and Dash didn't waste any time, shouting at them as she glared from one to the other. “YOU GOT A PROBLEM?!” Each one shrunk back individually from her anger and when she saw this she stamped her way out of the room with a snort of anger, slamming the door shut behind her.

The angry sky blue pony quickly made her way out of the schoolhouse and took to her skies, darting to and fro like a rainbow colored missile. She wanted so badly to kick something right now and after a little bit of flying around at her maximum speed, more than a few times having to remind herself that the trees were not the teachers and not plowing through them.

As the sun began to go down she realized just how long she had actually been out of the house, having left before noon and it was now late afternoon, it would seem she spent more time flying around than she thought. She looked up at the setting sun and sighed, another day gone by and one day closer to the Wonderbolt's try outs.

With a lot to think about and a great deal done in one day compared to her usual lack of doing anything during the day but lazing around hanging out with her friends she made her way towards her cloud home located in between Ponyville and Cloudsdale.

Scootaloo was waiting for her when she arrived home, having acquainted herself with the house while Dash was out. Learning where almost everything was. She gave her mentor a happy smile as she came through the door and wasted no time in asking her questions.

“Heya Dash, so how did it go? Am I cleared to be out of school and did you do awesome at your job as always?”

The energetic teenager almost bounced around Dash, eager to hear if she was going to be able to spend as much time as possible with her.

In a moment of maturity and surprising calm Dash gave a warm smile and pat Scootaloo's head though it was obvious she was worn out from the day's activities.

“Yeah Scoots, you are free from school for the moment and I will be getting paid for the job I did today. I am worn out though and I think I am going to call it a night early today.”

With that she walked past the orange coated pony who she would be spending Celestia only knows how long with and headed up the stairs, on the way to her bedroom. Scootaloo was right behind her and Dash assumed she was only following so she could go to her room despite the fact that Scootaloo had thoughts of asking Dash if she could sleep with her again.

No words were exchanged as they both entered their rooms other than a 'Good night.' Dash wasted no time in flopping down on her bed and falling asleep very quickly, Scootaloo however stayed up for about an hour, staring at the ceiling. A wave of conflicting emotions assaulting her mind, she was ecstatic to be living with Dash but still, the death of her parents weighed heavily on her mind. Eventually boredom sent her to sleep though the image of her burning house jolted her awake and like a filly she made her way to Dash's room and curled into bed with her, seeking solace which the half conscious Dash provided with a wing around her.

After this the first day of their new relationship was over and off to a pretty good start. They slept peacefully through the night and one dreamed of being a Wonderbolt while the other dreamed of the new life awaiting her. Both were eager for what the future held and more than ready to go towards the future together.

Chapter 5

The next day Rainbow Dash awoke to one of the dreariest days she had ever seen. The sun was shadowed by clouds despite the fact that she could have sworn that she and the rest of the weather patrol had cleared the skies not the day before. The room she was in was pretty grey for what she could only assume was almost midday.

With a groan the sky blue pony swung out of bed and stretched for a second, her half drooped gaze failed to notice the lump on the bed right next to her previously slept upon spot. Curious to the lack of light she trotted over to her curtains and drew them back.

Sure enough the sun was indeed shining though blocked a bit by some gray clouds but it wasn't just that. Something was wrong and to her it was like a churning, an uneasy feeling in her gut. It seemed as if the day itself had prepared itself for some kind of event but Rainbow Dash had no idea what it could be.

Shrugging it off she shelved her uneasy feeling for the moment and made her way from the window over to the bathroom where she did her normal morning routine. She brushed her teeth, took a shower, made sure her mane looked as awesome as always and stepped out of the shower around the same time the lump in her bed had shifted and started to awaken.

Scootaloo through the night had been able to sleep peacefully and surprisingly hadn't dreamed about her parents. It was a blank void, dreamless and without complication. It had left her feeling very rested and as such she waved to her older idol who had just stepped out of the bathroom and was running a towel through her prismatic mane.

“Heya Dash, good morning.”

As she wished her mentor a good morning the young teen hopped out of bed herself, literally jumping out from under the covers and onto the soft cloud floor. Her smaller wings made a light buzzing as she woke them from their sleep as well.

“Mornin' squirt. Sleep well?”

As she asked this Dash made her way over to the bed and sat down, ruffling her housemate's mane, messing up the already messed up bedmane of the brash teen. When she was done with drying her own mane the equally brash older pony simply tossed the towel into a corner clothes basket.

“Sure did Dash, I am ready for whatever today has to offer. Think we can train some more today?”

The eager Scootaloo made her way into the bathroom and looked herself over. A light cringe came when she saw the state of her eyes and her mane, her purple eyes were half drooped much like Dash's and her mane which was normally slicked back or cool looking was more akin to somepony exploding a jar of grape jelly .

“Sure squirt, just take a shower first.”

“Alright, thanks Dash! I will!”

And with permission granted she wasted no time in hopping into the shower. The warm, soothing water allowed her to clear her clarity of mind and she used this new clarity to war with the sadness that built inside her. She tried to act tough in front of Rainbow Dash and she felt much happier around her mentor but the death of her parents still weighed heavily on her and she was having trouble deciding which voice to listen to.

As Scootaloo waged her inner war of strength Rainbow Dash made her way downstairs to fix herself and Scootaloo some breakfast though the younger pony got the better deal. Dash made a bowl of Zap Apple Crunch for herself and gave a daffodil sandwich on a plate for Scootaloo's breakfast.

Eating her cereal in record time she headed out the door to check the mail. Inside were none of the usual things she was used to getting. Inside there was only one piece of mail and when she pulled the letter out of her mailbox it simply read on the front 'Please attend'.

Curious as to what it could be she opened it and skimmed the contents, reading as she flew and by the time she was done her wings had taken her to the front door of her cloud home. With a now saddened look on her face she entered and folded her wings.

Scootaloo had just finished her shower and was heading downstairs when she heard Dash open the door. Upon the sound she put on her best facade of happiness and trotted towards her mentor. The look on Rainbow Dash's face however quickly made her lose that fake smile and adopt a concerned look as she came over.

“Dash? Something wrong?”

The addressed pony said nothing and merely hoofed over the letter for her younger counterpart to read. Confused by her silence Scootaloo took the letter and began reading it out loud.

“Ms. Rainbow Dash, you are invited to attend the funeral of Swift Shot and Mayflower. The funeral shall be held today at midday and we sincerely hope you can join the rest of us in paying our respects for the fallen.”

The facade shattered as a fresh wave of tears flooded Scootaloo's face. She couldn't help but look up at Dash, tearing her eyes from the already tear stained letter.

“Th-those a-are my p-parents D-Dash.”

“I know Scoots. We should attend and say our final farewells.”

The older pony came over and put a wing around the side of her younger counterpart, hugging Scootaloo to her side which the orange pony proceeded to bury her muzzle into and cry.

A few tears boiled up under Dash's eyes as she watched her protege break down, she suppressed them as best she could. Scootaloo would need her to be strong right now.

“We don't have long Scoots. Get on my back, we will make it in time.”

The form of the sky blue pony almost touched the cloud ground of her home, sandwich forgotten in the light of this news. Seeing this and hearing the words the broken young teen clambered onto her back and simply stared ahead.

Knowing that nothing she could say at the moment would make it better Rainbow Dash merely opened the front door and flew out of the house. Unlike usual though she did not fly fast today. She flew very slowly towards the town of Ponyville in which there was a significant lack of the usual activity. The merchant's stalls were left where they stood, their products untouched. The lights were off and nopony roamed the street. Even Sugarcube Corner, usually the most bustling place in the world this time of day, was completely silent.

Around the few twists and turns of the town the two ponies flew, towards the outskirts of town where the entirety of Ponyville had gathered to pay their respects to Scootaloo's parents. It looked like they were the last to arrive and so it was that with a heavy heart and light wings that Rainbow Dash made her landing, Scootaloo sliding off of her, broken and dead to the world right now, gaze locked on the ground.

The two made their way to the circle around two pitch black caskets inside of which all knew lay the bodies of Swift Shot and Mayflower. Around the casket in a circle so all could watch the ceremony stood the population of Ponyville. Many of whom, including Scootaloo, had never dealt with such a violent death before. Most ponies died of old age around these parts, never a fire. As such, many of them were simply at a loss for words and those who knew enough about to speak knew better so all were silent.

A single, solitary pony made his way through the crowd and headed towards the altar near in between the two caskets which were right next to the graves. Two holes, identical in length and depth were lay down beside each other with the altar in the middle. Two gravestones headed each hole.

The pony, who's name was Mortorum, proceeded to speak to the crowd of ponies gathered. His face was covered and around his form he wore a pitch black hoodie so none knew what he looked like though he had given his name and been chosen to head the ceremony. His deep, raspy voice carried on the wind for all to hear as he spoke with an almost audible rattle in his tone.

“Welcome friends and families of the deceased. We are all gathered here today to say our final farewells to those who have been taken from us by death. All things that live must one day die and so the cycle continues as it has for millenia. Before we lower them to their final rest you all may come over and say your goodbyes.”

When he finished speaking the crowd of ponies began to line up in a file. One by one they all came to the caskets and said their goodbyes. Scootaloo had still barely shown any signs she was alive herself, the only thing that gave evidence to the contrary was her occasional broken step forward. Slowly inching her way closer and closer to the caskets that held her dead parents.

Soon the lined had almost come full circle and it was now Rainbow Dash's turn. She took a deep breath and made her way over to the casket of Swift Shot first and bent her front hooves down in almost a respectful bow and spoke softly.

“I promise you Swift. Scootaloo will be the best damn flier Equestria has ever seen or my name isn't Rainbow Dash. Rest In Peace, many will miss you.”

After she was finished she let the line go forward and Scootaloo came up, almost trembling and her orange coat seemed to have lost a great deal of it's vibrant color. Her purple eyes looked at the casket holding her father and blinked blankly a few times before she just slumped down on the top of the casket and cried.

Not far away and able to see it all Rainbow Dash was on her front hooves again and speaking her final words this time to Mayflower. She hadn't know either of them all that much and now wished she had but she said what she felt nonetheless and tried her best to stay strong with the sound of Scootaloo's crying not far away.

“Mayflower......I don't know what lies in the next world and I know we never spoke or knew each other but I will try my best to take care of Scootaloo for you. Rest In Peace Mayflower, you will be missed by many.”

Dash stood and made her way over to the crowd who all stood there and watched Scootaloo. Nopony rushed her, they all knew that this was something that she needed to do. She needed to say her goodbyes though a few ponies cried with her none cried harder than two ponies in the front row. One, a yellow coated, red maned teen and the other was a white coated, purple and pink maned teen of the same age group. The two of them watched intently, crying along with Scootaloo and all knew why. They were her best friends and they hated seeing her so hurt.

After around 20 minutes of crying Scootaloo stood. Her tears had all run out and she trotted to the middle in between the two caskets. Bowing her head she said four words and four words only before she turned around to go return to the the crowd. “Thank you and goodbye.” Her words were simple but carried great meaning and a few ponies in the front who had heard her words clapped lightly for her as she returned to Dash and rested her head against her shoulder. She was worn out, exhausted. She had nothing left but her friends and Dash now so she planned to hold onto them.

“Now that we have all said our farewells and our goodbyes it is time to lower the bodies, back to the earth where they can watch over us forever.”

Mortorum's voice rang out once more before the ponies that ran the moving company in Ponyville came over and four to a casket lifted the pitch black caskets up and moved them towards their final resting place. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash watched with rapt attention as the caskets were first lowered slowly into the ground and then covered in dirt, shoveled dirt pile after shoveled dirt pile until there was nothing but dirt, a gravestone and memories to mark were once there were two ponies.

After another thirty minutes of ponies either keeping a respectful silence or wishing Scootaloo well and telling her how much they too would miss her parents or were there for her to which she numbly nodded, the crowd thinned and thinned until there was just Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash there.

As a result of the weather ponies being there for the funeral a light drizzle started to fall, the rain dripping through the trees and onto Dash and Scootaloo. The rain dropped off Scootaloo's face and mixed with the tear trails to make it seem as if she was crying again and it was as if Equestria itself weeped for Ponyville's loss.

“Dash?”

The rain and tear stained face of the young pony turned to her mentor and best friend as she spoke, looking hopefully up to her with sad purple eyes.

“Yeah Scoots?”

The older pony turned her strong but sad rose colored eyes down to stare right back. Scootaloo still resting against her neck even as it rained.

“Will I ever see them again?”

“I am sure you will squirt. They are looking out for you somewhere and one day you'll join them but until then you gotta chase your dreams and follow your own path. They will help guide you from the next life, at least, that's how I would like to see it.”

Scootaloo nodded at the words and they seemed to comfort her, she turned her gaze back forward and nuzzled against Dash's shoulder. After a minute of silence she gathered her strength and forced a smile, speaking once more to her sky blue mentor.

“Dash?.”

"Yeah Scoots?"

"Let's go home."

Nodding in respect and understanding of her protege's courage she lowered her body to the ground and Scootaloo promptly hopped on her back. Rainbow Dash's wings unfurled and soon a rainbow trail cut it's way through the falling rain. Headed towards a home in the skies and a hopeful future for two young ponies.

Chapter 6

Over the next week Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had become even closer than they were before, like mother and daughter. Everywhere Dash went Scootaloo was right behind her and through all this they always seemed to either have a smile on their face or find some way to make themselves smile. Like two peas in a pod they did everything together and to Scootaloo it was a time of recovery, having accepted her parents death and embraced her new life with Dash by this point. For Dash it was nice to finally have somepony around who understood you instead of just accepted you, sure there was Applejack but it wasn't the same. For one she didn't have wings.

Though naturally ponies started asking questions about why Scootaloo was flying with Dash, who was known to be a solo flier. Why she was going home with Dash, who was known to live alone except for her pet. And to each of these questions Dash simply replied 'She's living with me.' and would proceed to take Scootaloo and leave, like an overly protective and angry mother. She didn't like others intruding in her business.

The Monday that would signal the start of Scootaloo's second week living with Dash, the aforementioned pony was on her way to check her mail. The sun was overcast by the gray clouds today and she knew her and the weather team would have their work cut out for them on this particular day though that was going to be the least of her worries.

When Rainbow Dash found her mailbox after trotting a short distance from her house she sifted through the usual stuff and even spoke out loud to herself as she sorted through it, tempted to toss what she wasn't interested in away.

“Junk, bill, junk, bill, junk,junk......what's this?” After sorting through a few of her mail letter there was one, stamped with a red seal and addressed to her from Ponyville. Only ponies who used red stamps in Ponyville were in.......

“The mayors office....this could be bad.” Dash trotted back inside, never taking her eyes off of the letter she had received from Mayor Mare. She absentmindedly closed the door behind her, still intently staring at the letter and not even paying attention as Scootaloo trotted downstairs.

“Hey Dash, whatcha got there?” The voice of the younger pony snapped her out of the reverie the letter had induced and she waved for Scootaloo to follow, making her way over to the couch and sitting down. The soft couch cushions gave under the new way though it was a soft give.

“I got a letter squirt, it's from the mayor and it looks like it's some pretty official news.” Once the younger pony had taken her seat Dash reached a hoof up and opened the letter, inside was a crisp white piece of paper written in unmistakable ink. This was definitely the Mayor's hoofwriting.

Rainbow Dash decided to read the letter out loud, loud enough for Scootaloo to hear it as well. The brash, scratchy voice of the older mare was not as formal as most letters like this decreed but it wasn't like either of them cared.

“Ms. Rainbow Dash, your presence is requested by mid afternoon in the Ponyville town hall. It has recently come to my attention that you have the young Ms. Scootaloo living with you and if this is to go on any longer we must verify that you are fit to take care of this young pony and you will have to sign adoption papers as she is not yet old enough to live on her own. I will be waiting in my office and I expect you soon.

Sincerely yours,

Mayor Mare.”

After she finished reading Scootaloo looked dumbstruck, already something was threatening to rip her newfound happiness from her. She trusted Dash but what if they wouldn't let her live there anymore? What if Dash was taken from her like....like her parents. By this point in her line of thinking Scootaloo was on the verge of crying but, almost like she sensed this, Dash reached a hoof over and ruffled the younger ponies mane with a laugh.

“Well squirt, looks like I can't be your big sister. Guess I'll have to settle for being your mom. I will be back soon, only some stupid paperwork before we get to spend more time together. Tell you what, while I am going to see the stuffy mayor you get yourself some ice cream. I doubt it'll be all that entertaining but it will be better than being bored here all day.”

When she finished speaking she quickly bolted upstairs and grabbed a jingling satchel full of bits in her mouth. When she had made her way back downstairs she gave the bag of bits to Scootaloo and then gave her another affectionate little pat on the head.

“But Dash, I wanna come with you!” The defiant and scared teenager couldn't help it, she felt like she was being tossed back into the storm and grabbed onto her liferaft, Dash. She didn't want to let go but it wasn't long before her mentor had a response, giving her the same warm smile as always as she pried Scootaloo off.

“Don't worry Scoots. I won't let you down. You should get some ice cream and go hang out with Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. They have probably missed you and this is going to be boring as hay, no doubt about that.”

It was obvious by this point that the argument wasn't going to be won so with a sigh Scootaloo nodded her head and tried her best to give Dash a smile who responded in kind with a pat on the head before bolting out the door. Left alone with the bag of bits and the prospect of seeing her friends Scootaloo decided to leave the house.

Heading out the front door she spread her wings and took off in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres. One of her best friends Applebloom lived in Sweet Apple Acres and she figured that it would be better than doing nothing to hang out with Applebloom.

Under her orange coated form, as the wind blew through her mane and soothed her mind, the normalcy of Ponyville thrived. As if her parents had never existed though Scootaloo knew better. She had seen them all pay their respects, seen most if not all of them cry like she had. Even Big Macintosh had cried so she wasn't upset.

This would be the first time she had seen her friend Applebloom since the funeral. She didn't know what she would say to her but kept her pace heading forward anyways. This wasn't what she had in mind for her day but she would be called on if Rainbow Dash needed her.

Soon her flight trek took her towards the barnhouse where her and her friends had spent many a day in their youth as the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The CMC was still around as none of them had yet gotten their cutie marks but had really stopped caring for the most part and went on with their lives.

When she got close enough she landed at the front door and knocked, the bits Rainbow Dash had given her tucked away in the satchel wrapped around her torso. From inside she heard a thick country accent call and tell her to wait just a minute.

“Like I have anywhere else I can be today.”

She rolled her eyes and waited. It was just like Applebloom to be late and around a minute and a half later the door swung open and the aforementioned yellow coated pony nearly barreled Scootaloo over in a massive hug.

“Scootaloo! It's so great to see you! Ah haven't seen ya since.....well ya know.”

Scootaloo for her part was not expecting to get barreled over and so when she got tackle hugged she fell flat on her back and was extremely thankful her wings were furled. After hugging back awkwardly she sighed and broke the hug.

“I know AB. It's alright. That was no fun at all and it's not why I came here so let's not talk about it. I came here to see if you wanted to get Sweetie Belle and go hang out, ya know like we used to. Go Crusading for cutie marks hahahaha!”

Applebloom's face lit up like a bonfire at that and she nodded her head at a million beats a minute. So fast that she made herself dizzy in fact. Once she had reoriented herself she spoke though she showed the effects of the dizziness a little in the form of a drawl on top of her accent for the first few words.

“That sounds like an awesome idea Scootaloo! You go get Sweetie Belle and ah'll meet ya'll at the library in oh......say thirty, forty minutes?”

“Sounds like we have a plan AB. See ya there.”

Scootaloo gave her friend a wave with her hoof and bolted into the sky, leaving behind a orange trail at a speed seconded by only one pony in Ponyville who was at that very moment in the Mayor of Ponyville's office..........

Rainbow Dash had entered the Mayor's building in the center of Ponyville not very long ago though seemed like an eternity of waiting for her. Taking a seat she waited to be called in and after a short time a young colt came over and asked her to come with him. She complied and began trotting alongside him as they slowly but surely made their way through the building and finally, after a few minutes of walking, they entered the mayor's office.

Mayor Mare was already waiting and she flashed Rainbow Dash a warm smile, trying her best to be uplifting and cheerful. She was currently seated in the back of her chair, pressing her spine to the chairs back and obviously in no discomfort at the fact that she was threatening to rip Scootaloo's new happiness from her.

“Ms Rainbow Dash, thank you for coming. We both know why I called you here today so I will not bore you with explaining, your low attention span is rather infamous.”

“Yeah yeah Mayor, let's just get this over with. I have better things to do with my time than sign some stupid papers. But if it helps Scoots then I will jump through the hoops.”

“Glad to see you are going to be so cooperative Ms Dash. Now, I am going to ask you a series of questions and I want an honest answer so we might determine if you are the best parent for Scootaloo.'

In the time they had been speaking Rainbow Dash had taken a seat on the other side of the Mayor's desk and was already at the point where she wanted to yawn but despite this she kept her gaze on the Mayor.

“Alright, fine. Ask away Mayor.”

“Thank you Ms Dash. Okay, the first question is this. What do you do for a living Ms Dash, how much do you make a day? We need to know to determine that you can indeed properly care for a young pony.”

“I work for the weather patrol and I make around 15-20 bits a day depending on the weather. I may have to work harder to provide for another pony in the house but I am more than willing to do so Mayor.”

“Excellent. Next questions is this. Do you have any other parental or mentor experience?”

“I do indeed. I have been Scootaloo's flying mentor and like a big sister to her for going on 4 years now. That good enough for you?”

“That is more than good for me Ms Dash. Here are the custody forms for you to sign though I will warn you, if we do not deem that Scootaloo is being properly taken care of we WILL take her under our custody.”

With that Mayor Mare extended three papers over which Rainbow Dash skimmed rather quickly but intently over the words and finding nothing she disagreed with she grabbed a nearby quill. Using said quill she dipped it in the ink well that was on the desk and quickly signed her signature before giving the papers back.

“Thank you Ms Dash. That is all I shall require from you. From now on Scootaloo is your foster daughter. Congratulations to the both of you.”

“Yeah, whatever. Thanks for the waste of time.”

With that said Dash stood up from her chair and rolled her eyes, walking right past the young colt who had lead her in. She angrily stomped her way out, the occasional pony there to see the Mayor gave her a confused glance but she ignored all of them.

After a minute of angry walking she was once again free to take to the sky and she wasted no time in doing just that. Her prismatic trail almost boomed behind her as she flew off towards one of the favorite cloud spots she usually lazed around on. She figured she would give Scootaloo some time to hang out with her friends and it would give Rainbow Dash time to nap, one of her favorite hobbies.

As she flew towards th cloud she would be sleeping on her ears caught the country accent of Applebloom. Following the addressing of the country accent Scootaloo could be heard groaning something about being late and Dash decided to go and give the good news herself, right now.

Changing direction she headed towards the town fountain where Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were currently all talking.

Ponyville itself was as alive as usual. Sugarcube Corner was as popular as ever, the market was full of ponies buying or selling their wares and Celestia's sun shone down on the world with it's warming but not harsh light. All had returned to normal and any who passed would never have guessed that just a week before there had been a funeral.

In the center of town a group of three teenaged ponies were gathered. The voices of the aforementioned group could be heard as Rainbow Dash got closer. The obviously irritated voice calling out was brash and slightly arrogant. One was thick with an accent and rather hard to understand at points though she seemed to be trying to keep everything organized and one was rather subdued as she barely spoke.

“It's been an hour and a half! What took you guys so long? Seriously, I could have been doing something fun for the last hour and a half but NOOOO I had to wait on you slowpokes.” The brash voice was revealed as Dash got closer to belong to Scootaloo.

“Come on Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle had to get herself ready, there ain't no shame in that. Now wha don't you just be a little patient for once and be nice to your friends?” The country accent belonged to her friend Applebloom who, as was guessed before, seemed to be trying to keep the peace.

“Sorry Scootaloo. I didn't know it was such a big deal. I didn't mean to upset you.” And the third, almost subdued voice belong to Sweetie Belle who was not used to her friend getting mad at her and shrunk back a little.

Right as Scootaloo was about to respond to her two friends a rainbow trail descended from the sky in the middle of the arguing group and Rainbow Dash chuckled, looking right at Scootaloo.

“Come on squirt. Sometimes you have to accept things about your friends that you may not agree with. But that's nothin'! I got good news for ya. You are hereby legally my foster daughter.”

She finished with a smirk, waiting for the response. The first response was from Applebloom and Sweetie Belle who's jaws dropped so far it looked as if they would hit the ground. The response from Scootaloo however was much more explosive.

Instantly she bolted forward and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash's neck. She proceeded to attempt hugging the life out of her new foster mother and long time friend who merely chuckled in response and awkwardly hugged back.

“No need to try and squeeze me to death Scoots. Now you get to hang out with me all the time and we can be awesome together. You should spend some time with your friends though. Just thought I would tell ya. I am going to be at the house when you're ready to come home. Enjoy your day squirt.”

With that Dash detached the hugging Scootaloo, gave her an affectionate little mane ruffle and spread her wings. Giving a smirk to the still dumbstruck Applebloom and Sweetie Belle she bolted into the sky, leaving three very surprised teens and a trail of rainbow behind her.

The three teens stood their in stunned silence for about a minute before Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both latched onto Scootaloo and hugged her tight.

“Scootaloo, that's awesome! Who woulda thought Rainbow Dash would adopt you?!”

“Congratulations Scootaloo. I am very happy for you and I am sure Rarity will be very surprised by this turn of events.”

“So will Applejack!”

The friends couldn't help but all be more than a little happy. For Scootaloo it was a dream come true and for her friends it was great to see a genuinely happy smile on her face. The three of them stayed in a group hug for about a minute, all silent before Scootaloo finally spoke up, her voice was almost breaking with happiness and she was about to tear up.

“Thanks you guys, this is officially the best day ever!”

Rainbow Dash watched from a cloud nearby and chuckled when she heard the same words she had spoken years ago from her young protege and with a happy smile on her own face she left silently, flying towards the cloud home that was now home to two.

Back with the Cutie Mark Crusaders though the group had broken their hug and was actively trying to figure out where they should go next.

“What do you think Crusaders? Ice cream from Sugarcube Corner or should we go and have some fun elsewhere?”

“Ah think ice cream sounds like a great idea!”

“I do too!”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders Ice Cream Eaters!”

They all bumped hooves and left the town fountain, heading towards the giant gingerbread house commonly called Sugarcube Corner. Home of the eccentric Pinkie Pie and the wonderful Cake family. They suspected that Pinkie would be there to greet them or to appear out of nowhere when they were on the way there but for some reason she was nowhere to be seen as they approached.

Even after they had entered, no sign of Pinkie Pie. Shrugging it off as luck the CMC went up to the front counter and were soon greeted by Mrs. Cake. When she saw the three young ponies she smiled happily and came over.

“What can I get you today?”

The group discussed it amongst themselves for a bit before deciding on sundaes for them all. Scootaloo was designated to choose the flavor for them all and to order the sundaes which she agreed to and made her was up to the counter.

“Hey Mrs. Cake. We will be getting three banana split sundaes. Sweetie Belle will be paying.”

Scoots shot Sweetie Belle an evil little smirk but she was the one with most money out of all of them and she agreed to it. Mrs. Cake thanked them for ordering and went to go and make their orders.

The group of friends gathered at a nearby table and they all had a bit to catch up on. Applebloom went first.

“Well, since we last saw each other the farm has gotten some business and Applejack has still gotten on me for not working as hard as ah should but ah swear that ah have been working as hard as I can. Other than that though nothing much has changed, how about you Sweetie Belle?”

“I have been helping Rarity around the shop. She keeps insisting that I follow after her and work in the shop but I am just not cut out to be a fashion designer. Still, it's valuable experience to have and so I am dealing with it for now. And you Scootaloo?”

“I have been spending time with Rainbow Dash, she has been teaching me to fly and letting me stay with her. Now she's my mom and things are only going to be more awesome now. Speaking of which, either of you know what time it is?”

Mrs. Cake came over with their sundaes at the question and chuckles, setting the three banana splits down on the table in front of the group.

“It's around 3 in the afternoon Scootaloo.”

“Thanks Mrs. Cake. I was just wondering. I should probably get home after this treat guys. We will definitely need to hang out more though.”

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom looked a little disappointed but agreed at length as the group proceeded to eat their sundaes. Sweetie Belle had to get back to the shop and Applebloom had to get back to the farm and help her sister out.

After a little while the group of teens had finished their treat and given each other farewell hugs. As they hugged outside Sugarcube Corner Applebloom spoke up.

“Ah think we should all hang out again sometime soon!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle quickly nodded their approval. After that Scootaloo took to the sky and headed home, eager to see her new foster mother and thankful that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle had things they needed to do.

It didn't take the speedy young pegasus long to reach the cloud home of her mentor and now mother. Trotting towards the door she opened it happily, expecting to find Rainbow Dash inside. However she was nowhere to be found, shrugging it off Scootaloo decided to do some practice laps around the house.

Rainbow Dash came by right as Scootaloo was exiting the house and flew over to her daughter. They exchanged a wing bump as the two were right next to each other and then proceeded to hoofbump before Dash finally spoke.

“Hey Scoots, you ready for practice? Gotta get you ready for the big leagues after all.”

“Sure am Rainbow Dash. Lets get to it.”

“I like that enthusiasm. Follow me.”

With that Rainbow Dash bolted away, towards the field that served as their training grounds. Here it was that they had done their first flying lessons and it was probably going to be where they did their last. Grass stretched on for what seemed like miles in front of them and off in the distance was the mountain that Scootaloo had flown to the day of her parents death but that was on neither ponies mind as they came to the field. Right now was all about training.

“Alright Scoots. I want to see what you can do if you have to absolutely push yourself to the very limit, for max speed. Show me how fast you can go. Fly like your life depended on it!”

With that said Dash crossed her hooves in mid-air and waited. Her rose colored eyes scanned her pupil who immediately donned a look of intense concentration at the words of her mentor and lowered her body into a stance that resembled a pony, if that pony was spring-loaded.

After about a minute of waiting Scootaloo exploded forward, leaving an orange trail behind her as she zoomed forward at around 47 WBPM. She was easily faster than anypony in Ponyville other than Rainbow Dash at this point but she could easily reach 70 WBPM and she wanted more out of Scootaloo so it was when Scootaloo came back she yelled out 'AGAIN!' and Scootaloo went right back out without complaining.

This continued for about an hour before Scootaloo was too tired to fly fast anymore. Her breathing was almost painful as her lungs begged for air and her wings felt like they were made of lead. Dash came over and put a comforting wing around her, giving a motherly smile which would have caught everypony by surprise had they seen it.

“You did good Scoots. Watch me fly and then we can go home alright? Try to pick up a few tips and tricks through observation alone.”

With that said Rainbow Dash easily matched the speed Scootaloo was going at earlier and for the next hour and a half she proceeded to do backflips, nose dives and even her Filly Flash at one point though she had long since perfected and improved that move. By the time she was done the sun had gone down and had been replaced by the moon.

Deciding that that was enough practice for one day Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo went side by side back to their house. Both were physically exhausted but couldn't be happier to have gotten a chance to spend quality time together.

As they flew they talked about the lessons, occasionally Dash gave Scootaloo a pointer on something but for the most part she listened to her pupil. As much of a hardflank as Dash was about Scootaloo's training she was deeply impressed with the young teen and firmly believe that she could be the best flier in Equestria one day. Along the way the two were silent for the most part though, their bodies sore and their throats dry.

It normally wouldn't have taken them long to get home but they were exhausted and as such it was even later than before by the time they got home and they lacked the energy to even eat or say goodnight, lazily making their way up the stairs before finding their individual beds and passing out. The sleep healed their aching bodies and so another day concluded for the new family who, despite the pain and unconscious state they were in, looked forward to more fun memories together.