Five more minutes. That was it. Then, Scootaloo was free. The week before, Rainbow Dash had told her about an awesome gift she was gonna give Scootaloo for her birthday. Four minutes. The time could not pass any slower. Come ON! I'm waiting around for NOTHING! she thought angrily. She put her head down to wonder what the gift might be, but that didn't help pass the time as she had been doing that for the past five days. She had no intention of keeping her idol waiting longer than she had to. She groaned after looking up at the clock; three minutes. She laid her head back down, crossing her hooves underneath into a makeshift pillow. She began to think about how awesome it would be if Rainbow decided to take her under her wing officially. They would get to be together all the time and hang out. Now that she knew how to fly, she could actually train with Rainbow, too. She still wasn't very fast, but she could stay aloft for more than an hour straight before getting tired. One time she almost broke her legs from a fall after trying to go as high as she could. Luckily, Rainbow Dash saved her. Yet another reason to love Rainbow Dash, she thought. Rainbow Dash. RAINBOW DASH! She startled herself awake, looking at the clock. Class had been over for five minutes.
"WHY DIDN'T ANYPONY WAKE ME!?" she shouted, grabbing her pack and running out the door. She put on her gear and got on her scooter, letting her wings propel her as fast as they could. Even though Scootaloo could fly, it still wasn't as fast as her scooter; at least not yet. She raced across town to the Orphanage, where Rainbow Dash told her to be after school. She got there, and quickly entered the front door. It was dark, very dark. She walked a few paces in before being blinded by sudden, bright light.
"SURPRISE!" said a cacophony of voices. As her eyes adjusted, she looked around. There were three ponies in the room with her; Applebloom, Sweetie Bell, and, most importantly, Rainbow Dash.
"How's it hangin', Squirt?" Scootaloo's eyes lit up. She ran up and hugged her mentor and idol.
"Oh wow, thanks everypony!"
"Yeah, now here is your cake!" exclaimed Sweetie Bell, putting the cake on the table next to the wall. There were twelve beautiful candles on it, bathing the vanilla icing in a warm glow.
"Y'all gotta make a wish now!"
"She's right, Squirt, and don't forget to wish REALLY hard for the thing that you want most in the world!" Scootaloo walked up to the cake, preparing herself. She thought for a moment about what to wish for; looking around her, at the building she was in, she knew exactly what to wish for. She inhaled deeply, and blew as hard as she could, extinguishing all the candles instantly. The three ponies behind her cheered. Rainbow came up behind her, and slung a hoof around Scootaloo's neck, getting really close.
"So, what did you wish for?"
"I'd rather not say," she said, turning away from Rainbow. When she saw this, she took her leg from around Scootaloo's neck and used it to guide Scootaloo's jaw so that they were looking each other in the eyes. Rainbow was giving Scootaloo a loving smile.
"Come on, you can tell me." Scootaloo looked at her friends, then back to Rainbow. She got really close to Rainbow's ear and whispered.
"I wished that I could have parents." She retracted and looked into Rainbows eyes again. Rainbow was smiling even wider now.
"Aw, there's nothin' to be ashamed of, lots of kids wish for that. There is one difference though." Scootaloo was now confused, and showed it.
"What do you mean?" Rainbow's eyes and face changed, becoming very strange. It was a smile, but it was nothing like anything Scootaloo had ever been given before. Rainbow reached into one of her saddlebags and pulled out a piece of parchment, rolled up tightly. She unraveled it, and handed it, along with a pen, to Scootaloo.
"Happy birthday, Squirt." Scootaloo took the parchment and read it aloud.
"I, Rainbow Dash, wish to take on full responsibility and accountability for the filly known as Scootaloo, to become her legal guardian." She stopped reading after that. She didn't need to read any further to realize that she was holding adoption papers. Scootaloo stared at the paper in awe, looking up to Rainbow Dash who was grinning proudly. She looked over to her friends, who shared Scootaloo's expression. She looked down to the bottom of the paper, and saw two lines for signatures. One of the was blank, and the other had Rainbow Dash's signature. She tried to fight it, but the tears just couldn't be stopped. Scootaloo took the pen in her mouth and signed her name on the line, tears dripping onto the paper. She put down the pen, and handed the paper back to Rainbow, who was also fighting against watery eyes. She put the paper down on the table and grabbed Scootaloo in a loving embrace, which Scootaloo promptly returned. Sweetie Bell and Applebloom looked on in awe, and they started to tear up as well, so happy that their friend now had someone to look over her, that she could now be a part of a family like she had always wanted. It was a long few moments before Scootaloo spoke again, but when she did, the gratitude and love in her voice was dripping like the water from her eyes. "Thanks for signing the papers.....mom." Against Scootaloo's bodily protests, Rainbow ended the hug, looking her daughter in the eyes once more.
"Go pack your things. Let's get out of here." With a huge smile and a quick nod, Scootaloo darted off to her room. Rainbow wiped her face, not wanting to look so emotional in front of the two other fillies in the room.
"Oh my Celestia, Rainbow Dash. Are you guys like a family now?" asked Sweetie Bell. Rainbow Dash thought for a moment, before answering.
"No, Sweetie Bell. We're not like a family." The two faces fell into a state of confusion. Rainbow let them think for a moment before adding the last part of her answer. "We are a family."
