Lucidityby Antisocial Ind.ChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4EpilogueChapter 1It was another blissful day. Scootaloo woke up to the smell of pancakes and honey, just like every Monday morning. She got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, ready to go feast on Rainbow Dash's pancakes. Rainbow sucks at cooking in general, but she had learned how to cook decently just for Scootaloo. And some dishes, she even cooked well, as in above some others. Scootaloo walked across the puffy cloud floors to the kitchen, yawning intently, her only motivation being the golden pancakes that she knew awaited her in the next room. She crossed the threshold to the kitchen, making her way to the table on the far side, which had a beautiful stack of golden pancakes on it. Shortly after her adoption, Scootaloo and Rainbow realized that they both had a deep hatred for Mondays. After weeks of combined griping and whining about it, Rainbow Dash had an idea to make things better: they intentionally make Mondays the best part of the week. They accomplished this by Rainbow making pancakes for them. They would both get up half an hour earlier than any other day to talk and hang out before Scootaloo went off to school, and then when she was back, and Rainbow got off of her sky-watching duties, they would hang out and eat at a restaurant. Afterwards, they'd fly through Ponyville, or somewhere nearby, and find something random and fun to do. They had one rule about Mondays: no repeating the same activity twice in a row. This was sometimes a less-favored rule, usually when they found something incredibly fun to do. "Morning, Squirt." Rainbow still called Scootaloo 'Squirt', even after she was in High School. However, unlike most parents, Rainbow had the sense to only call her that in private. Celestia KNOWS what would become of Scootaloo's social life if somepony heard Rainbow Dash call her 'Squirt'. "Morning, mom! How you feeling this morning?" "Not too bad. You tired?" "Nah, I could do a sonic rainboom," she replied jokingly. So far Rainbow was still the only pony to ever successfully pull of a sonic rainboom, and also happened to be able to pull one off at will. "Now now, calm down Scoot. We wouldn't want you breaking any of my records this morning, would we?" They both shared a lighthearted laugh before Rainbow brought the syrup and butter over to the table. Smiling, they ate and talked, sometimes both at once, enjoying their time together. After they cleaned up the mess, Scootaloo grabbed her backpack and prepared to fly to school. On her way out the door, Rainbow stopped her, gave her a kiss, and told her to have a good day. "I will, mom. Thanks!" She turned back towards the exit, and left. Rainbow waited for five seconds before following. She got to the edge of the cloud that her house sat on top of, and watched her daughter fly away, smiling gently; just as she did every morning, without Scootaloo's knowledge. Scootaloo was not entertained by this crap. Her teacher, a substitute, was this old, mean witch of a mare who was still living like it was 40 years in the past. She banged her ruler constantly to maintain the attention of the class, shouted at even the slightest hint of confusion, and could not stand argument of any type. Which was fine by Scootaloo, as she loved messing with these types of teachers. "So the Griffins, those blundering fools, attempted to take on the Equestrian Military, which had only the year before gone through a gigantic size and might increase to fend off the dragons. Those idjits thought that they could take us, but they were wrong! Hahaha. Yes, Scootaloo?" "Well, it sounds to me like they just wanted a little more freedom from Equestria. I mean, back then it seemed like they were our subjects just to be taxed and used for personal gain." This, of course, was complete trash. Scootaloo didn't believe it, and only did that to see if the teacher would take the bait; and take it she did. "WHAT!? Young lady, I shall have you know that the Griffin Tribes of that time were savage beasts who FED ON PONYKIND! How DARE you question our previous military engagements of the- STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Scootaloo wiped a tear from her eye. "Hahaha, sorry, I can't help it! You're HILARIOUS when you're angry, ma'am. AHAHAHA!" Scootaloo laughed at the sarcastic way which she said ma'am, finding the teachers face priceless. A few other students were laughing, none as hard as Scootaloo, but they still laughed. "Go to the Principles office, NOW!" Laughing, Scootaloo gathered her things and complied, glad to get out of her Equestrian History class. "Oh man," she started to herself, "if it wasn't for the constant substitute teachers I'd NEVER stay awake in that stupid class." She went silent for a few moments as she walked, then thought about what this would mean for Scootaloo; she'd get a referral, which would then have to be signed by her mom. However, that probably wouldn't be an issue, as Rainbow usually sided with Scootaloo, having done basically the same antics back in High School herself. Scootaloo smirked at the thought. Just another reason to love my mom. She's the freaking best! She shook off this thought when she reached the Principal's office. She opened the door and walked right up to a special chair, and sat in it. This chair was her chair. It was even given the colloquial name "Scoot Chair". Scootaloo sat with a bored expression as her Principal droned on about how she should behave better, blah blah blah, tell her parents, yadda yadda yadda, the same old. After a few minutes of this crap, she was finally able to get out of the room, but not without making her backpack heavier by one paper-that-needs-to-be-signed-by-her-parent(s)-or-guardian(s). At this point, it was time for lunch, and Scootaloo made her way to the cafeteria. She got her meatloaf, and joined her friends Sweetie Bell and Applebloom. "Hey, Scoot, that was hilarious!" said Sweetie Bell, patting her friend on the back. "Yeah, ya sure made her mad! Why she was redder an' Big Mac was by th' tahm y'all left tha room!" "Aw, shucks, guys, I was just doing what I had to. I mean, we gotta do SOMEthing in that class that's beneficial, right?" They all cackled at Scootaloos joke, and began to eat. Unfortunately for them, their loud, obnoxious good-time-having caught the eye of some rather....unwanted attention. "So, Scoots, I wan't impressed with your little joke there in History." It was Dart Strongwing. He and Scootaloo were rivals, and Dart always teased Scootaloo about how he could fly so much faster than she could, mostly because he played sports and trained. "Why do you always gotta be the center of attention? Does your mom not give you enough attention at home?" Scootaloo was starting to fume. "Oh, wait, that's right, Rainbow Crash isn't your mom. Your real mom didn't want you." Sweetie Bell and Applebloom looked at each other, mouths open, knowing exactly what was about to happen. But it was already in motion by the time they looked back at the two. Scootaloo had bucked him in the gut. Shed then pushed him over and straddled him, using this advantage to pound the crap out of his face. She didn't stop until a teacher pulled her off. Scootaloo shook off the teacher and walked right to the Principal's office, knowing she'd have to stay there until Rainbow Dash came to pick her up. Rainbow Dash opened the door and walked in. Her stern gaze fell upon Scootaloo, then to another pegasus boy with a messed up face, and an older, pudgy earth pony, the boys mother. She looked at her and her gaze softened. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry about this." The irritated mare got up unexpectedly and got close to Rainbow Dash, looking her in the eyes. "Sorry? Sorry!? LOOK at him! You need to control that crazy little loose cannon!" Rainbow was shocked, so much so that she didn't even register the flare of anger at her calling her only child a crazy cannon. "Well, I mean, it's not like she just attacked your son. She was obviously provoked-" "LIES! My little Dartanian would never say anything bad about anypony! Ever!" "That's a lie!" Scootaloo yelled, tears in her eyes. "He made fun of me for being adopted!" Rainbows eyes lit up, and she got an angry expression on her face. The Principal decided she had to act quick to fix the situation. "Look, I know we're all mad, but the school can take appropri-" "See? Your little Dartanian isn't such a little angel." The woman looked mortified. "How dare you!" she seethed, looking murderous. "She lies! You should have just left her back in the orphanage with all the other freaks and kept her away from the normal ki-" she didn't even finish the statement. Rainbow, quite literally, attacked her, beating the pompous mare in much the same way Scootaloo beat her son. "Oh my Celestia! Security!" shouted the Principal. "Yeah, get her mom!" Scootaloo cheered. Rainbow stayed at it until the Security Resource Officer dragged her off of Mrs. Strongwing. Rainbow broke the officers grip, called Scootaloo over to her, and they flew home. "And then you just like ATTACKED her, and it was so AWESOME!" Scootaloo praise. Rainbow Dash had a worried expression and didn't respond to her daughters praise. "What's wrong, mom?" Rainbow looked at Scootaloo sternly. "Listen very carefully." She did. "What you and I did was wrong. We should not have done what we did, especially not me. I set a bad example and I'm sorry for that. Scootaloo, I was exactly like you, but I realize now that that was not the right way to behave." Scootaloo was bewildered. She attempted, and failed, to understand how Rainbow Dash of all people told her that fighting was wrong. "Furthermore, what you did in History wasn't nice, either. Got it?" Scootaloo's mouth was ajar. "B-but, he, you, I just-" "No, Scootaloo. Beating someone up is never the answer. Unless you're in physical danger, you should never resort to violence. I learned my lesson back in Cloudsdale, and I learned it the hard way. I don't want that for you, OK? Promise me you won't get into more fights." Scootaloo began to protest, but a harsh look from her mother made Scootaloo concede. "Fine." The rest of the week passed without incident. Dart and his small gang kept away from Scootaloo, probably out of fear. Dart of course gave some crap about not caring, which was typical of people like him. Yes, everything appeared to be going well, until that Friday afternoon. Both of them were getting ready to go out and eat when they heard a knock at the door. Rainbow went to see who it was, as she wasn't expecting anypony. She was surprised to see two suit-clad pegasi, one grey, the other one darker and shorter. The shorter of the two spoke first. "Ma'am, are you Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo peered out at the two, visible in the hallway from the door. "Yeah, who wants to know?" The other one spoke this time. "Is that the filly known as Scootaloo?" Rainbow looked back at Scootaloo quizzically. Scootaloo just shrugged, and Rainbow turned back to the two gentlecolts. "Yeah, why?" "Ma'am, we're with Filly Protective Services. You have been declared an unfit parent, and until you can prove otherwise, we are required to take Scootaloo back to her Orphanage. This is only a temporary matter." No! "Yeah, listen, buddy, that's not gonna happen, right, Scootaloo?" Scootaloo had a sinister look on her face as she walked up next to her mother, unwilling to comply. "That's right. I'm staying right here. I am not going back to that place, and you can't make me." Her voice cracked on 'make', and tears were almost welling up in her eyes as she remembered how lonely and sad she felt. Rainbow would die before letting anyone touch her Scootaloo. "I'm sorry, but this is not for any of us to decide. She needs to be-" "Like HELL I'm letting you take her to that place. If she goes, I'm going with her." "I'm sorry, but you can't do that." Rainbow had murder in her eyes. "WHAT!? And just why the buck not!?" "Because the point is to remove her from your custody until fitness as a parent can be determined." "FITNESS AS A PARENT!?" Scootaloo screamed. "She took me in when I was 12 from an orphanage, fed me, gave me a great house to live in, and makes sure I am getting an education. How is she not a good parent?" "Listen, that will be determined in court, but for now, you have to come with us." As he said this he reached out towards Scootaloo. He was almost to her when Rainbow stuck out a hoof with lightning speed and pinned the mans arm against the door frame, almost breaking it. She put her face right next to his, eyes communicating all the horrible things she would do if he tried to continue. "Buck. Off!" On the second word, she used all her might to throw the stallion five feet backwards. His partner immediately took action, attempting to leap on top of Rainbow Dash. She turned, expecting a large weight to come crashing down on her. It never came. Scootaloo got between the two and bucked the stallion in the face, sending him falling to the ground, sputtering. "Yeah! You want some mooooahhh WOAH!" Rainbow grabbed her daughter, turning her so that they were face to face. She talked hurriedly and quietly so the two males would not hear her. "Listen to me, fly as fast as you can to the Apple Family Farm. Don't let ANYpony see you. When you see Applejack, tell her that you need to stay there secretly, and tell her I said 'We're even'. She'll know what it means. Now go!" Scootaloo began to question. "GO!" Scootaloo turned and flew as fast and hard as she could into the woods, making sure not to be seen. When she reached the treeline, she looked back up to her house and saw the two stallions guiding her mom away - in hoof-cuffs!? She wanted so bad to go and help her mom, but Rainbow's words still echoed in her head. She knew she had to follow them to the letter, and began her trek to the Apple Family Farm. She let the events that had just transpired wash over her, and she began to cry slow, bitter tears as she flew. She cursed Mrs. Strongwing under her breath, swearing to show that prissy bitch hell for this. But for now, she focused on follow her mothers instructions. It was a long time before she reached the farm using the route that she had chosen. When she finally arrived, it had gotten dark, and the lights were on in the Apple Family house. She could hear them having a good time at the dinner table, as Applejack was telling some funny story that had everyone all riled up. Nervously but quickly, she walked up to the door and rapped on it three times. Big Macintosh answered the door chuckling a few seconds later. He smiled at her. "Hey thar, Scootaloo. How are y'all doin' tonaght?" "Um, I'm fine, is Applejack here?" "Eeyup." "I, uh, need to speak with her, its urgent." Big Mac's face got serious. "Yeah, jus' a sec. APPLEJACK! Scootaloo's ehre, she needs ta talk with ya!" After a few moments, Applejack walked out onto the porch and closed the door. "Good evenin', sugarcube. What can Ah do fer ya? What's wrong?" she added, noticing Scootaloo's concerned expression. "Well, you see, Rainbow told me to tell you that I need to stay with you for a while. Secretly." Applejack was very confused at this news. Seeing her confusion, Scootaloo added the most important part. "She also wanted me to tell you 'We're even.'" Applejacks face adorned an expression of shock. "Go inside. Go on, git in there." Scootaloo rushed inside hurriedly. Chapter 2The entirety of the Apple Family that lived at that farm listened intently, mouths ajar. "And she told me to come here." They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Rainbow Dash? An unfit parent? "Woah," Applebloom said, unable to process this caliber of information. "So, like, they're tryin' ta send ya back to tha orphanage?" Scootaloo slowly nodded her head. "Well that's a load of rotten apples if Ah ever heard one." Scootaloo looked up. Applejack looked angry. "Y'all can stay here with us until this whole mess gets figured out, understood?" Scootaloo smiled for the first time since the agents showed up to her house. "Thanks, Applejack." Applejack smiled and walked over to the girl, putting a hoof around her neck, and pulled her into a familiar embrace. "Think nothin' of it, sugarcube. Y'all are always welcome in this here farmhouse." "Eeyup." "Ah wouldn't have it any other way ya whippersnapper!" came a voice from the rocking chair in the corner. Granny Smith was a frail old woman, but when she wanted to be, she was a fiery force to be reckoned with. If you were a respectable pony, that is. "Yeah, y'all can come here whenever ya want, Scoot!" The final confirmation from Scootaloo's childhood friends did the trick, and Scootaloo started crying again. Not out of sadness, but out of happiness. She knew that because of the generosity and kindness of the Apple Family that she would be spared the indecent horror of going back to that awful place where she had spent most of her childhood. "Where did you tell her to go?" "Shove it, assclown." Rainbow was not having it. First, they come up with this bogus charge of being an unfit parent, then they try and forcefully take Scootaloo away fro her and PUT HER BACK IN THE ORPHANAGE, then they think that she'd ever talk. It was honestly kind of pathetic. "Look, you can cooperate with us and make it end quicker. The faster we find Scootaloo, the faster we can proceed to trial and get her back to you, if indeed you are a suitable guardian." "Is she going back to the orphanage?" "At some point, she'd have to, yes." "Then no deal. Until I get a form or something guaranteeing that she can stay away from that place, you're just gonna have to keep paying to feed me and keep me here." She didn't want that, not at all, but it was better than thinking about her daughter, alone in the orphanage. "OK, wait here. I'll see what I can do." Four days later "They WHAT!? Spike! Take a letter, now!" Twilight Sparkle had a plan. This was complete crap, and she had to get Rainbow and Scootaloo out of this mess. She knew the mare, Mrs. Strongwing, as she used to live in Canterlot with her second husband, and she was always causing a fuss over something. Twilight also knew that she had connections. However, it's hard to beat having a direct line to BOTH Princesses. "OK, go." "Dear Princess Celestia, I am writing to you about something rather serious. It appears as though Rainbow Dash has been declared an unfit parent, and as such the Filly Protective Services attempted to remove Scootaloo from Rainbow's custody. Scootaloo fled, and her whereabouts are unknown, but Rainbow is being held in contempt for not disclosing Scootaloo's location. I would like you to please put some weight in our favor, as these claims are frivolous at best, and I fear that without some sort of royal intervention, Rainbow may lose Scootaloo for good. I cannot describe the immense happiness they have brought one another, and I believe it would be a crime to force these two apart. The claims are illegitimate, I assure you. Please put some thought into my plea. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." "Got it." Spike held up the letter, and set it aflame. The green flames and smoke traveled quickly out the window towards Canterlot. "Do you think she'll help?" "Ah sure hope so. Also, er, Twilight?" "Yeah, AJ?" "OK, I didn't tell ya this before because Ah didn't want the Princess knowin' in case she's obligated to tell or whatever, but Ah know where Scootaloo is, and Ah need your help convincin' Scootaloo to come in. It's been four days now, and after thinkin' about it, I figured it would be best if Scootaloo went in ta the trial an' stuff. One a the agent people talked ta us and told us that the faster Scootaloo is, er, found, the faster all this gets over with." "Actually you're right. The Princess is required to tell if she knows. But I don't see how I can help you at all." "Aw, come on, Twi! You're super duper smart, I bet y'all could talk Zecora into givin' up her stripes on a whim!" Twilight still looked skeptical. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. Spike, stay here and-" "Yeah yeah, man the library, I know. It's always the same when you go out on your adventures. Not that I'm complaining or anything." "OK, I'll see you later tonight." With that, the two mares walked out of the door. Rainbow laid on her pillow. She was allowed to go home, but she was to have a guard outside at all times to make sure she didn't try and escape her trial, and also to make sure that if Scootaloo tried to come back that she'd be taken into custody. However, the guard couldn't catch Rainbow even if he tried, but she'd rather just not make things more difficult. She got uncomfortable, and turned over. ALl she could think about was her little Scootaloo, out there, missing her. She knew that they would pull through. In hindsight, she should have just let them take Scootaloo for a little bit to sort this whole thing out. Then again, the look of horror on her face- no. Rainbow made the right call, It kept her daughter out of a place that she hated. She would do it the same way a thousand times. Still, she couldn't help the tears at the thought of losing her little girl Two days later My Faithful Student, Try as I might, the claims appear to be legitimate, and even as a royal Princess I am unable to dismiss such a serious case. To do so would be catastrophic for out system of law. I also cannot make an appearance as Luna and I are occupied with international diplomacy. I am so very sorry for not being able to aid you and your friends. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors. "NO WAY! I am NOT going back!" "But, Scootaloo," Twilight pleaded, "the Princess can't do anything about it, and the only way that we can get you back to Rainbow Dash is if you come along for the duration of the trial!" Scootaloo looked defiant, but she hung her head slightly as she weighed her options. She thought carefully for a few moments. "How long?" "A few days, max." Scootaloo walked around the library, feeling the books with a hoof, deep in thought. "Fine." She still couldn't sleep. At first she had been fine, but as the time dragged on Rainbow was constantly thinking about a myriad of topics that kept her up; Scootaloo, hurting Mrs. Strongwing in every way she could, how well Scootaloo was eating, the way Mrs. Strongwing's joints would pop as they were pulled from their sockets, whether or not she could overpower the guard in the event that she got tired of flying for some weird reason. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She got up lazily, trotted down the steps, and to the door. She sighed audibly, and answered the door. "Ma'am, we've found Scootaloo." Rainbow's first instinct was to kick the crap out of him and go to aid her daughter, but she thought if she played nice she could make a better case, so for now she decided to play it cool. "Where did you find her?" "She came to us." Rainbow was visibly surprised. "What!? No, you're lying. She would never do that! She knows she'd be taken to the orphanage. I won't fall for your tricks." "It's not a trick. She is currently at the Ponyville Orphanage, and she will be present at the trial tomorrow. I suggest you sleep. In your sleep-deprived condition you'd be at a disadvantage in court." "How do you know I'm not sleeping? You spying on me now, too?" "No, ma'am. You have circles under your eyes so big it looks like someone punched you in the eye." Oh. "Whatever." With that she slammed the door shut. OK, tomorrow I will see her. I hope she can make it for just one night. Don't worry, honey. Mommy's coming! The next day This is it. Once I go through those doors, I can finally see my little Squirt again. She walked quickly through the halls, and into the court room. It was bright, and everypony near and dear to her was there; the Apple Family, her friends, her parents, and, most importantly, Scootaloo. She walked over to her seat, staring at Scootaloo the entire way. She was so glad to see Scootaloo's smile. She wanted to sprint over to her daughter and embrace her, but a sudden movement like that would prompt action from the guard, so she calmly walked to her daughter and scooped her up in her forelegs. Scootaloo returned the hug tightly. "I'm so glad to see you again. Don't worry, in a few hours we'll be back at my house, chilling out and relaxing." She was yanked out of her hug by the guard, a rather large unicorn, who escorted Rainbow to her seat. She looked back in time to see Scootaloo mouth I love you. She mouthed the same back. Rainbow sat in her seat, and then she realized who she was sitting next to: Twilight Sparkle. Oh, HELL YES! With Twilight as her representative, there was no WAY she could lose! The judge came in and started the trial in the typical Equestrian fashion. The prosecution got up, and made his way to the front. Rainbow looked over to the other table, fuming at the sight of the two Strongwing's; the two ponies who had thrown a huge wrench in her life. She'd make them pay in some way or another. The judge banged her gavel with her magic. Rainbow was surprised, as she hadn't even noticed the judge come in. They all rose and sat on the command of the judge. The prosecution began. "Your Honor, it's not even a question that Miss Dash is a bad influence on her daughter. I mean, her daughter does the same things Miss Dash did back when she was her daughters age, not to mention their latest scuffle. Little Dartanian over here was assaulted by Scootaloo, and when confronted about it, Miss Dash proceeded to do the EXACT same thing to Mrs. Strongwing. The reflections in behavior is so obvious that, quite honestly, I have no idea why we are even at trial right now. But then, that is your decision." The judge was slightly skeptical of the prosecutions claims, but then again it was hard to believe this actually happened if you weren't actually there to see it. "Is this true, Miss Dash?" "Uh, yeah," Rainbow said, reluctantly. "BUT! She," she was now pointing to Mrs. Strongwing, "was insulting my daughter, and so I attacked. Yeah, she was being a complete bi- er, witch, and I realize that what I did was wrong, and I am sorry. As a matter of fact, after we got home I told Scootaloo that what she did was wrong as well and that violence is never the answer and that whole spiel about being in the wrong and blah blah blah. The point is, I was wrong, I admitted it, and I made sure Scootaloo knew it. I am not a bad parent, and I'm not gonna let some prissy Miss High Horse take my daughter away." "Why I never! You are simply upset about the fact that you not only taught your child ill, but also that you picked the one idiot that would actually learn that type of behavior!" The blood was boiling in Rainbows veins at hearing her daughter talked about like that. It was almost too much. Had there been no one around, the woman would have been dead before she realized that she had been attacked. However, they were in the courtroom so Rainbow had to deal with it. That's when Rainbow heard it; crying. She looked over to her left to where Scootaloo was sitting, and saw that Scootaloo was crying audibly, though softly. Her lips were moving. Rainbow's motherly instincts drove out everything, all sound, all the world, so it was just the two of them, and dead silence. Rainbow could hear her say it. "I'm not an idiot..." That was it. Rainbow didn't care. She jumped up and flew, quick as a pegasus naturally was, and landed beside her daughter, embracing her. "Shhhh, it's OK. She's just pissed that you're going to be a better pony than she is when you grow up. Come on, don't cry. Look at me." Scootaloo looked at her mom, accepting the hug. "I know it hurts to have someone speak so bad about you, it hurts me too. But you gotta remember that if they are willing to speak about you like that, then that's just their way of letting you know that they think you're better than them." She wiped away two tears on Scootaloo's face, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Th-thanks, mom." Seeing the perfect opportunity, Twilight stood up, and moved to the center of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen: Exhibit A. Rainbow Dash is an excellent, caring mother figure. Even in the formal and sophisticated environment of a courtroom, she placed her child's well-being first, coming to her aid to comfort her even though the gesture was fast and likely to elicit a reaction from the guard." Who is sleeping, I might add. "I hope that after seeing this, Your Honor, that you will see them as I know them to be: a small, happy family." The judge looked pensive. She was silent for a few moments. During this time, Twilight took her seat, waiting for the judge to come up with a verdict. I wish judges could come up with decisions faster. Or maybe if we had a new method we could let third parties decide. Eh, whatever. It was a few minutes before the judge spoke. When she did, all ears were immediately directed at her. "After careful consideration, I have decided to rule in favor of the prosecution. The defendant will pay for the cost of the injuries she caused, and Scootaloo will be removed from her custody and placed in the Manehattan Center for Juvenile Orphans." Bang. The guard awoke, and walked over to a crying and yelling Scootaloo. Rainbow immediately flew at them at full speed to kill the guard and get her daughter, but she was caught on something. She looked back, and saw that Twilight was holding her back with her magic. "Rainbow, stop! You can't just attack the guard!" She looked back forward, and Scootaloo and the guard disappeared in a flash of blue light. Twilight released the no longer struggling pegasus. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Chapter 3A/N Sorry about the confusion. If you missed it earlier, there was a chapter released that was I guess supposed to be a grimdark or sad ending, but that was one possible ending that Adam wanted to write, sorry about the confusion. This is the real chapter. Hours later "Rainbow, STOP!" It wasn't until Twilight shouted that Rainbow decided to give heed. "WHAT!?" She snapped, floating to the ground. She landed expertly, but her full attention was on Twilight. "Where are you going?" "Where do you freaking think? I'm going to see Scootaloo!" "Rainbow, you can't! You'll be imprisoned for violating the terms of custody, and then no one wins!" Twilight was convincing. "OK, then, Mrs. Egghead, what do you suggest we do? I mean, it's not like we can get another trial or anything!" Twilight suddenly grinned like she knew something. "What?" "Rainbow, we CAN! We can appeal for a retrial with Princess Luna! Princess Celestia may have been busy but that might not be true for Princess Luna! And she'll DEFINITELY sway in your favor!" Rainbow just looked at her with a blank stare, standing like a statue. "Uh, Rainbow, are you feeling OK?" Still no response. Twilight tried waving her hoof in front of Rainbows face repeatedly, but nothing worked. "YEAAAAAAAAH!" The sudden shout of glee caught Twilight off of her guard and she almost had a heart attack. "Sweet, so when is the retrial? Twilight, you OK?" Twilight still had a look of shock on her face. She shook her head for a moment, and resumed the conversation. "Yeah. We need to actually file for an appeal, then we wait for them to get back to us, then we wait for the appeal." Rainbow started frowning, but before she could speak, Twilight intercepted her. "Yes, I know, it's a lot of waiting, but if you're patient, I know for a fact everything will pay off. Besides, nopony said you couldn't," she pulled out a feather pen and parchment, "write to Scootaloo, did they?" She now had a sly grin on her face. Rainbow smiled widely. "I like the way you think, Twilight." Her smile softened. "Also." Twilight dropped her parchment and her feather pen in surprise. Rainbow Dash had suddenly embraced Twilight in a tight hug. "Thanks for helping me with this. I don't know what I'd do without you." She broke the hug, and quickly put a five foot distance between them. "I hope you remember that well, Twilight, cuz it probably won't happen again. Not to you, anyway." Twilight simply laughed at her friends pride. She wouldn't show that kind of affection towards anyone but her daughter, which means she must be really emotionally moved to perform a touchy-feely action on Twilight. "You're very welcome. Now, I'll tell you what: you go home and get some sleep, and I'll write up the appeal. Tomorrow, you can come to the library and we'll write Scootaloo a letter explaining everything. Does that sound good?" Rainbowe obviously shuffled her feet for about a moment before catching herself. She always kept calm and collected in front of her friends. She obviously wanted to write the letter right then and there. Luckily, Twilight was very perceptive. "OK, how about I write a letter explaining everything, and then tomorrow you can write her a more personal letter?" Rainbow perked up at the idea. "That sounds good, even though I'd prefer to do it tonight. Is there any reason why we can't?" "Yes, actually. See, Spike is already asleep, and if we try to make him send a letter while he's half asleep, it probably won't find its way to Scootaloo." Rainbow made a sour face. "Alright then. I'll get some sleep, but I will be at the Library first thing in the morning!" "Alright! I'll make sure to have Spike ready for your letter." "OK, I'll see you tomorrow." "Likewise." They turned and each began to walk their separate ways. Twilight stopped, turned, and called out to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, wait!" Her target stopped mid-flight and turned to face Twilight. "Yeah?" Twilight gave her friend a gentle smile. "Have a good night, OK?" "Yeah, sure. See ya." With that, she darted away. Twilight couldn't help but feel just a little worried about her friend. Hours earlier There was a flash of blue, and the courtroom disappeared. Scootaloo had no idea where she was. She looked around to her left and right, around the guards large body. She appeared to be on a sidewalk, which was next to a road made of asphalt. She looked up in front of her and noticed the words above the entrance; her heart sank. WELCOME TO MANEHATTAN CENTER FOR JUVENILE ORPHANS She barely read the sign before the guard gestured for her to go inside. She took two steps forward, and then bolted upwards into the sky. She climbed as fast as she could, speeding away from the guard on the sidewalk below. She was getting faster and faster, and felt her stomach churn as she ground to a halt in midair. Scootaloo issued a yelp of surprise and discomfort, just before accelerating towards the ground. She stopped suddenly, about four inches off of the ground. Her guard looked her in the eyes, horn glowing. He was frowning ever so slightly. "Don't do that again." With that, he dropped her, quite unexpectedly. She landed with a sharp rapping sound coming from the impact beneath her hooves. He gestured for her to go inside, this time being slightly more aggressive. Scootaloo's face soured, and she reluctantly walked inside. The walls and decor were far better and newer than that of the orphanage back in Ponyville. She walked to the front desk, where a rather nice-looking mare was doing Sudoku with her magic. She was rather small, even though she was an adult, only about two inches larger than Scootaloo. Scootaloo stood for a moment before clearing her throat. The mare looked up and smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. What can I do for you?" "I'm supposed to stay here." "Oh, you are Scootaloo, yes?" Odd. "Yeah." "Ah, of course, your things should be here soon from the other orphanage. Come with me and I'll show you to your room." She followed her guide, thinking only of how much she wanted to be back in her own bed at her moms house. They went up a few flights of steps to the fourth floor, and her was to sixth room on the left. Her guide opened the door, revealing a space devoid of furnishings except for a bed with a pillow and a nightstand with a lamp. She walked in slowly, taking in the surroundings. After a moment, she lept onto the bed. "Good night, ma'am." The woman was shocked. "Excuse me?" "I said good night." "B-but, it's only like 5 PM, have you even had dinner? "Nah, it's fine. Just please leave." The unfamiliar woman left the filly alone, not wanting to question her motives. Scootaloo sat in her room for a time, mentally burning the place to the ground. Sure enough, within a few seconds the guard had teleported all of her things to her new room and left. Eventually, it got late, and she turned off the lamp on her nightstand, bathing the room in a gloomy dark, illuminated slightly by the lights of the street pouring in through the slits between the blinds on the window. She rested her head on the pillow, closing her eyes and replaying the events of the day. She began to tear up slightly, not crying, but still sad; she knew she had to be strong to make it through this, just like Rainbow Dash. She remembered the court room, her mothers horror at the judge's verdict. And then, in the blink of an eye, she was here, being greeted by the woman at the counter. Wait. No freaking way. Her eyes shot open and she darted out of the door, flying down the hall at a breakneck speed. She sped down the steps to the first floor. She looked around, three hallways to go down. She saw the woman who greeted her coming out of the mare's restroom. Without missing a beat, Scootaloo flew angrily towards the woman, smacking into her at full force. The blow sent the woman to the ground. A few ponies popped their heads out of rooms to see what was making the noise. Scootaloo was now on top of the obviously powerless unicorn, anger pouring from her eyes like waterfalls. "How did you know my name, and why was my name on the list? How did the guard pack my things so soon, even when the judge hadn't even decided that I was going away? ANSWER ME!" The woman shook in fear, obviously spineless. "P-please, don't hurt me! I was just doing what I was told!" Scootaloo raised a hoof. "Unless you want to eat this foreleg, I suggest you tell me why all my stuff was already packed and why you were expecting me!" The unicorns eyes were wide in fear. "OK, OK! I'll talk, just please don't hit me!" Scootaloo smiled in satisfaction, until she heard whispers coming from around her. She looked around and noticed everypony looking at her. She quickly put on the tough demeanor that her mom had taught her. "What are you guys a looking at?" They all went back into their respective rooms, not wanting to piss off the tiny but capable pegasus. She looked back at the mare below her. She got up, and stepped to the side, looking at the mare expectantly. When she didn't get up, Scootaloo got a little angry. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm not gonna straddle you again, not unless you're gonna take me to a dinner and a movie first." The mare quickly got up and blushed, obviously not expecting such suggestive sarcasm from a child. "My room. Let's go." Scootaloo and the mare walked to Scootaloo's room, where Scootaloo began to interrogate her. "First off, what's your name?" "C-call me Clementine. Everypony does." "Alright, Clementine, just how in the hay did you know I would be here before we even decided it?" "I-I was just told to expect you, that's all, I swear!" Scootaloo's eyes narrowed as she took in the response. "Who told you?" Clementine's eyes went back and forth as she tried to decide who she feared more: her informant, so-to-speak, or Scootaloo. Scootaloo impatiently stomped her hoof, surprising Clementine into a stuttering reply. "I-it was a judge! I don't know his name, h-he just gave me a bag of bits and had me add your name to the r-roster!" Scootaloo's jaw dropped. The judge!? Oh man, when Rainbow finds out she'll be charged with much more than freaking unfit parenthood... The Next Morning Twilight awoke to a thunderous pounding on her door. She groggily opened her eyes to check the time; it was only 6:23 AM. She stretched her limbs before hurriedly getting out of bed. To go answer the door. She trotted down the steps, yawning the whole way, and jogged to the door. She looked out of the peephole, curious as to who it could be. Oh yeah. She opened the door hastily, before being buffeted to the side by a technicolor blur. The aforementioned blur raced into her house and the steps, right up to Spikes bed. Rainbow Dash stopped, hovering above Spike, who was sound asleep. She nudged him lovingly, using a tone of voice she usually reserved for Scootaloo when she spoke to him. "Spike? Spiiiiiiike. Hey, come on, it's time to wake up! Spike?!" She made a slightly sour face, then smiled as she had an idea. Twilight was just walking up the base of the steps. "Uh, Rainbow, what are you-" "SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Spike awoke with a scared yelp, turning over so fast his entire bed flipped with him. "Oh, hey, you're awake! Sweet, you wanna write a letter for me, Spike?" Twilight ran up the steps, picking up the bed off of Spike. "Are you OK, Spike?" Spikes eyes were rolling, but he shook his head quickly to clear his mind. "Yeah, I'm fine. But, why are we up so early?" he asked. "Oh, Uh, I needja to take a letter for Scootaloo for me!" Rainbow was smiling widely. "OK, here we go: Dear Squirt, I just wa-" "Wait wait I need the parchment and pen and stuff!" Rainbow was expressionless for a moment. "Oh, yeah." She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. Spike walked over to the table near the bed, and got the quill and ink and parchment, ready to write. "Alright, shoot." Rainbow orated her message while Spike hastily wrote. When she was done, Spike signed the letter, and set it on fire, the cloud of green smoke and fire flying out of the window. "OK, I'm going back to bed now." "So, uh, Twilight, I know I kinda was rude this morning, but, um, how long do you think it will be until I get a reply?" "Uh, from Manehattan? Probably 48 hours or so." Rainbows jaw dropped. "Wait, what?! No, I thought it was gonna be like, you know, a couple of hours! I mean, those clouds travel really friggin' quickly!" "OK, but Scootaloo doesn't have a baby dragon." Rainbow facehoofed. "Oh yeah, right. Well now don't I feel like a complete jackwagon." Twilight smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I know it's easy to forget that. I mean, the first month after Spike could do that, I was completely-" "DERPY!" Rainbow Dash was smiling widely. "Uh, what?" "I could probably get Derpy to help me speed up the mail progress!" Oh no. Whenever Rainbow wanted something done quickly, she would always go to extremes. "Look, I don't think it's such a good idea to-" It was too late; Rainbow Dash was gone. Five hours later Rainbow had been searching for over four hours, yet she could find neither Derpy nor the Doctor to which she was married. Ugh, she is ALWAYS in the background somewhere whenever she's not needed, but the second you need her, POOF! She's gone. Rainbow stopped in the middle of the market, her frustration boiling over. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" "What's wrong Rainbow Dash?" Of. Freaking. Course. Rainbow sighed, and turned around to see none other than Derpy, holding a bag full of mail. "Nothing, Derpy. I was just trying to find somepony and I couldn't find them." "Awww, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it might not do much good, but I got a letter for ya here. It was from some filly in Manehattan." Rainbow perked up. "Wait, what color was she? Was she a pegasus?" "Yeah, orange with a purple mane. It was really cool too because I got passed by a green flame that went to her, and she asked me to wait, so I did. I'm not about to argue with a girl who receives mail via fire." Derpy fished the letter out in her mouth, and handed the letter over to Rainbow. Rainbow greedily took the letter and tore it open, unfolding the parchment inside. She began to read it with apprehension and glee. The smile on her face faded ever so slowly, but consistently. Her face became very suddenly alarmed, and just as quickly as it had changed it became a look of pure hatred. Chapter 4Rainbow was standing in the middle of the marketplace when Twilight found her. Twilight approached her, just happening to be behind Rainbow, when she noticed her friend had her head hung. Twilight walked around to face her friends front. "Hey, Rainbow, I finally found you. Rainbow?" Twilight was staring at the top of Rainbows head, and she tried to see what Rainbow was looking at. She saw a piece of paper at the mares hooves, and opened her mouth to ask Rainbow about it. Before she could say anything, Rainbow raised her head and looked Twilight in the eyes, for a simple moment. Rainbow had a look of pure malice and hatred, so vivid, so livid, it scared Twilight. She was shocked into silence. This had barely even registered before Rainbow Dash took off, speeding away so fast that, on a normal day, would cause for celebration. But today was not one of those days. After flying for only half a minute, she was out of view in the sky. Or she was, until a huge circular rainbow blasted out of nowhere. It was quickly followed by a sonic boom. Rainbow Dash was not wasting time. After a few moments, Twilight recovered herself, and remembered the paper on the ground. She turned to it, picking it up with her magic. She opened the note, and saw that it was a letter from Scootaloo. Twilight was absolutely shocked at the idea of a judge being so corrupted and doing...this to a poor family like Rainbows. She reached then end of the letter, and turned as if to speak. She then remembered that Rainbow had taken off. Wait. That look. Oh Celestia please no! Twilight's eyes went wide when she realized what Rainbow was setting up to do. She knew she had to stop Rainbow Dash, but she had so little time with how fast Rainbow was flying. Twilight gasped. "That's it!" The wind had numbed Rainbow Dash's face a few moments after going supersonic. She had not slowed down since she gotten up to speed, wanting to get to her destination as quickly as possible. She estimated that she had another minute and a half of flying before she reached the judges house. When everypony knows everypony else, it's hard to keep your location a secret. She could imagine the look of surprise on the stallions face when he sees Rainbow Dash. The fear, the look of terror as he realizes that he got caught. He would probably beg to not be hurt or something lame like that. Either way, he was going to get it. She knew every place she would hurt him, starting with his disgusting face. Then she'd probably move down his body, breaking all of his bones until he cried, then break some more. She was about to continue her morbid thoughts when she finally reached his home in the neighboring village. He was lucky that there were no other judges, or he'd have a hard time affording a normal lifestyle. Judges were few, but that was because there was so little need for them. Had there been even one more judge in the area, this guys salary would be halved. Rainbow touched down in the front yard and trotted up to the porch. She politely knocked on the door five times, and waited. After thirty seconds, there was still no answer. So, naturally, she kicked the door down. She walked inside and switched on the lights. Apparently the judge was on the steps and roughly ten seconds from answering the door. Rainbow wasted no time, flying up to him and throwing his sorry flank down the steps. The stallion hit the floor with a loud thud. Rainbow then straddled him, getting ready to give him the same treatment she gave Mrs. Strongwing. "Daddy?" Rainbow looked away from her prey and up the steps. There, in cute little pajamas, was a little filly unicorn, staring at the situation before her. Rainbow was now painfully aware of how this looked to a child. She was almost surprised when she heard the judge speak. "Go back to your room, cupcake. Daddy is going to be alright." Rainbow took the hint and got off. She put a hoof in the joint of his shoulder and proceeded to drag him out of the house. In a heave of effort, she flung him five feet off of the porch. She then got next to him, and flew above him, aiming her hooves at his head. "Talk. Now. Or I'll hoof-stomp you into oblivion." "OK, I did it! I admit, I was paid off! Mrs. Strongwing paid me off! But please, you have to understand, there is so little need for a judge in a land this peaceful! I needed the money. I am a single parent, you saw my daughter! I am all she has please don't hurt me!" Rainbow squinted her eyes in fury. "Oh really? Did you know my Scootaloo was an orphan for twelve years? Did you know that I was all she had? Did you know that she still had nightmares about the orphanage for weeks after I took her in, and now you're forcing her back into an orphanage again!?" "No, I didn't, I-" "SHUT UP!" Rainbow dropped to his side, putting up both her front hooves. "Let's see how you like being separated from your child." She began to drop them, hard. The poor male closed his eyes in expectation. "MOMMY!" Rainbow stopped dead. She turned around, and was knocked off of her hooves by an orange and purple blur. She hit the ground hard, recoiling slightly. She opened her eyes to see the beautiful mane of her beloved child, and felt her crying into her coat. She realized that she was being squeezed very tightly, and instinctively returned it. "Scootaloo, what are you doing here?" "Ahem." Rainbow looked over towards the sound, and saw Twilight and Princess Luna walking to them. Rainbow looked back to her daughter, who was now smiling at her with watery eyes. Rainbows own eyes moistened, but she was going to save them for later. She reluctantly, yet gently, pushed Scootaloo off of her, and approached the Princess. "Hi, Princess. What's the occasion?" "Please, call us-" "Ahem," Twilight coughed. "Oh, uh, call me," Twilight nodded her head at the Princess, "Luna." "OK, Luna. So, why are you here, and why did you bring Scootaloo? Not that I'm complaining or nothin'" "Twilight here found Scootaloo's letter, and contacted me post-haste. I reviewed the letter and what documentation we had from the case, and found that the claims were accurate. This man has done wrong, and I believe that he has learned his lesson by enraging the wrong pegasus, yes?" She said the last word while looking at the still-cowering stallion. He opened one eye, then stood up quickly to properly address the Princess. "Oh, um, yes, Luna, I-" "That's Princess Luna to you." "Oh no, I am terribly terribly sorry, I just, I, when you said to her, I uh-" "Yes, yes I understand. Rainbow Dash, will you press charges on the judge?" Rainbow looked over to the stallion, seriously considering it. However, she thought immediately of the small child that almost witnessed her father get beaten to within an inch of his life. "No." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I-" "OHMIGOSH TAHNKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU-" The judge had jumped at Rainbow to hug her out of gratitude. Before he could complete the hug, she had slugged him across the jaw. "As I was saying, I'll forgive this loser, but there is a certain someone I would like to press charges against." "Oh?" Luna was genuinely confused. For the first time since arriving, Twilight piped up. "She knows what she's doing. Trust me." Rainbow sat with Scootaloo in the courtroom, both of them anxious to finally see true justice served. They could hear the woman who had tried to take them away from each other well before they saw her, as her shouts of anger were loud and proud. When she was finally wrangled into the courtroom, she silenced herself, noting the two pegasi in the room as well as a familiar alicorn Princess. "Y-your Highness!? I am honored!" She gave an admittedly crisp bow. "You may rise, subject." She did. "I am to be the arbitrator in this court case." Mrs. Strongwing looked nervous. Perfect. "You are being charged with bribery of a judge." She wasted no time in blabbering about innocence. "WHAT!? No, nononono I have never bribed a judge, I would never stoop so low to win, that's just despicable! I-" "SILENCE!" The roar of the Royal Canterlot Voice shook the halls of the courthouse, and shook Mrs. Strongwing to her core. Not only did she shut up, but she seemed as though she would not be able to utter a single peep for the rest of the trial. "Bring him in." Everypony looked to the entrance to the court room, and the judge came in. He avoided eye contact with the two pegasi, instead focusing on the lunar Princess. He came to the front, and sat in the booth reserved for those who were being questioned. Twilight Sparkle rose from her seat, and walked up to the judge. "Hello again, Gavel." "Hello, ma'am." "Now, is it true that you accepted a bribe from this woman during the trial questioning the fitness of one Rainbow Dash as a parent?" "Yes." "The prosecution rests, Luna." Luna smiled at the informality, as did Twilight. Twilight walked back to her seat, awaiting the defenses case. "Well, I never! These claims are false! He never-" "Then what is this, then?" Judge Gavel held up a piece of parchment, and handed it to Luna, who proceeded to pick it up with her magic. She then read it aloud. "'My dearest judge Gavel. Enclosed you will find two hundred bits. Rainbow Dash is unfit, and her daughter shall be sent elsewhere, away from that atrocious mare. Celestia Bless, -SW.' Is this not your signature?" She used her magic and literally shoved the paper into Mrs. Strongwing's face. The mare fell backward out of her seat, hitting the ground with a light thud, though it was drowned out by the sound of the chair hitting the floor as well. "OK, OK, yes! It's my signature! But she hurt me and her daughter hurt my son! What was I supposed to do! I can't just let her do things like that!" Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight all shared the same huge expression of happiness. They finally got justice for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. "Very well then. I, Princess Luna, do hereby decree that the results of Rainbow Dash's trial be annulled on the account of unfair trial. I also sentence the defense to ten years in prison for her crimes against this family." Twilight and her pegasi friends cheered. Scootaloo grabbed her mother, and Rainbow returned it. "Furthermore, Rainbow Dash shall regain permanent custody of the filly known as Scootaloo. Guard, take her away." "No! No, you can't do this, I-" She was gone. The very same guard who took away Scootaloo days before had now taken Mrs. Strongwing far far away. "Mrs. Dash, you and your daughter are excused. You may leave." Rainbow looked away from her daughter, and locked gazes with the Princess. Rainbow smiled warmly and began to tear up despite herself. "Thank you so much, Luna." At this, Luna could not help but smile back. "Anything to help one of my favorite subjects." Twilight put her hoof on Rainbows shoulder. "OK, you two ready to go home?" They nodded in anticipation. In a flash of light, Twilight teleported them to the space below their sky home. "Here we are, have a good night you guys." Rainbow and Scootaloo were already about to take off. Rainbow hesitated when she caught Twilights eye. "Hey, Squirt, go ahead and fly up without me. I need to talk to Twilight for a minute." "OK, mommy." Scootaloo flew up to the cloud above and let herself into the house. She relished its sweet scent, so familiar and welcoming, "Hey, Twilight, thank you so much for what you've done for me. I can never thank you enough." Twilight smiled genuinely at her friend. "Think nothing of it. It's what friends are for." Rainbow had finally let a tear fall down her cheek, a rarity for sure. At least, for her friends. It was a good thing Applejack wasn't there, or Rainbow would have never heard the end of it. "Well, anyway, thanks." With that, she sped up to the cloud home. Scootaloo was slowly walking down the hallway that led from the entrance when she felt a huge force knock into her and lift her up, squeezing her practically to death. "I freakin' missed you so much, sweetie. Mommy promises to never do anything that would get you taken away ever again, OK?" She relaxed her grip when she felt Scootaloo struggle, only to renew her squeeze when Scootaloo turned around and hugged her back. "It's OK, mommy. I forgive you, and it's over now. I'm just so glad to be home." By this point, they were both crying happily, so glad to be back in their home, in each others arms, letting the familiar feelings of parent-child love affect them once again. There was nothing that could take them apart, and they knew that they'd never have to suffer anything like that ever again. After what felt like hours of hugging and crying into each other's coats, Rainbow Dash broke the embrace. "Alright, that's enough mushy crap. You need to get to bed young lady." Scootaloo would normally protest, but instead she just nodded and flew to her room. Rainbow flew after her, and tucked her in, relishing at the experience of doing that which she subconsciously loved; she hadn't even realized how satisfying it was until Scootaloo was gone. She leaned over and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, honey." "Good night, mommy." With that, Rainbow exited Scootaloo's room and slowly shut the door. She walked halfway back to her own room before turning back. She opened Scootaloo's door and entered, taking a seat next to Scootaloo. She knew Scootaloo was a heavy sleeper and fell asleep quickly as well. In the thirty seconds she had been gone, Scootaloo was already sound asleep. Rainbow got into bed next to her, putting her hoof around Scootaloo's head and pulling her in close. Scootaloo instinctively hugged her mother, even though she had no idea what was going on back in the conscious world. Rainbow thought so very hard about the filly in her arms, and how much she loved her. She could not believe she would ever do something so reckless as to get her own daughter taken away from her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment, hoping, knowing, that she would have her little Scootaloo forever. "Forever." EpilogueSeveral weeks later "Dammit, dad. I told you not to work in the mine! I told you you weren't strong enough! But did you freaking listen to me!? NO!" The poor black-coated pegasus cried over his dads fresh grave. He cried for a good few minutes before resuming his dialogue to his deceased father. "No, I know it wasn't your fault. With mother gone, you had to do it in order to provide. It isn't your fault. It's.... IT'S.... IT'S HER FAULT!" A/N Holy crap, I am finally done with Lucidity. OK, I had a lot of fun writing this, and I can't wait to write some more. Thanks for all the support, I love all my readers!
Chapter 1It was another blissful day. Scootaloo woke up to the smell of pancakes and honey, just like every Monday morning. She got up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, ready to go feast on Rainbow Dash's pancakes. Rainbow sucks at cooking in general, but she had learned how to cook decently just for Scootaloo. And some dishes, she even cooked well, as in above some others. Scootaloo walked across the puffy cloud floors to the kitchen, yawning intently, her only motivation being the golden pancakes that she knew awaited her in the next room. She crossed the threshold to the kitchen, making her way to the table on the far side, which had a beautiful stack of golden pancakes on it. Shortly after her adoption, Scootaloo and Rainbow realized that they both had a deep hatred for Mondays. After weeks of combined griping and whining about it, Rainbow Dash had an idea to make things better: they intentionally make Mondays the best part of the week. They accomplished this by Rainbow making pancakes for them. They would both get up half an hour earlier than any other day to talk and hang out before Scootaloo went off to school, and then when she was back, and Rainbow got off of her sky-watching duties, they would hang out and eat at a restaurant. Afterwards, they'd fly through Ponyville, or somewhere nearby, and find something random and fun to do. They had one rule about Mondays: no repeating the same activity twice in a row. This was sometimes a less-favored rule, usually when they found something incredibly fun to do. "Morning, Squirt." Rainbow still called Scootaloo 'Squirt', even after she was in High School. However, unlike most parents, Rainbow had the sense to only call her that in private. Celestia KNOWS what would become of Scootaloo's social life if somepony heard Rainbow Dash call her 'Squirt'. "Morning, mom! How you feeling this morning?" "Not too bad. You tired?" "Nah, I could do a sonic rainboom," she replied jokingly. So far Rainbow was still the only pony to ever successfully pull of a sonic rainboom, and also happened to be able to pull one off at will. "Now now, calm down Scoot. We wouldn't want you breaking any of my records this morning, would we?" They both shared a lighthearted laugh before Rainbow brought the syrup and butter over to the table. Smiling, they ate and talked, sometimes both at once, enjoying their time together. After they cleaned up the mess, Scootaloo grabbed her backpack and prepared to fly to school. On her way out the door, Rainbow stopped her, gave her a kiss, and told her to have a good day. "I will, mom. Thanks!" She turned back towards the exit, and left. Rainbow waited for five seconds before following. She got to the edge of the cloud that her house sat on top of, and watched her daughter fly away, smiling gently; just as she did every morning, without Scootaloo's knowledge. Scootaloo was not entertained by this crap. Her teacher, a substitute, was this old, mean witch of a mare who was still living like it was 40 years in the past. She banged her ruler constantly to maintain the attention of the class, shouted at even the slightest hint of confusion, and could not stand argument of any type. Which was fine by Scootaloo, as she loved messing with these types of teachers. "So the Griffins, those blundering fools, attempted to take on the Equestrian Military, which had only the year before gone through a gigantic size and might increase to fend off the dragons. Those idjits thought that they could take us, but they were wrong! Hahaha. Yes, Scootaloo?" "Well, it sounds to me like they just wanted a little more freedom from Equestria. I mean, back then it seemed like they were our subjects just to be taxed and used for personal gain." This, of course, was complete trash. Scootaloo didn't believe it, and only did that to see if the teacher would take the bait; and take it she did. "WHAT!? Young lady, I shall have you know that the Griffin Tribes of that time were savage beasts who FED ON PONYKIND! How DARE you question our previous military engagements of the- STOP LAUGHING AT ME!" Scootaloo wiped a tear from her eye. "Hahaha, sorry, I can't help it! You're HILARIOUS when you're angry, ma'am. AHAHAHA!" Scootaloo laughed at the sarcastic way which she said ma'am, finding the teachers face priceless. A few other students were laughing, none as hard as Scootaloo, but they still laughed. "Go to the Principles office, NOW!" Laughing, Scootaloo gathered her things and complied, glad to get out of her Equestrian History class. "Oh man," she started to herself, "if it wasn't for the constant substitute teachers I'd NEVER stay awake in that stupid class." She went silent for a few moments as she walked, then thought about what this would mean for Scootaloo; she'd get a referral, which would then have to be signed by her mom. However, that probably wouldn't be an issue, as Rainbow usually sided with Scootaloo, having done basically the same antics back in High School herself. Scootaloo smirked at the thought. Just another reason to love my mom. She's the freaking best! She shook off this thought when she reached the Principal's office. She opened the door and walked right up to a special chair, and sat in it. This chair was her chair. It was even given the colloquial name "Scoot Chair". Scootaloo sat with a bored expression as her Principal droned on about how she should behave better, blah blah blah, tell her parents, yadda yadda yadda, the same old. After a few minutes of this crap, she was finally able to get out of the room, but not without making her backpack heavier by one paper-that-needs-to-be-signed-by-her-parent(s)-or-guardian(s). At this point, it was time for lunch, and Scootaloo made her way to the cafeteria. She got her meatloaf, and joined her friends Sweetie Bell and Applebloom. "Hey, Scoot, that was hilarious!" said Sweetie Bell, patting her friend on the back. "Yeah, ya sure made her mad! Why she was redder an' Big Mac was by th' tahm y'all left tha room!" "Aw, shucks, guys, I was just doing what I had to. I mean, we gotta do SOMEthing in that class that's beneficial, right?" They all cackled at Scootaloos joke, and began to eat. Unfortunately for them, their loud, obnoxious good-time-having caught the eye of some rather....unwanted attention. "So, Scoots, I wan't impressed with your little joke there in History." It was Dart Strongwing. He and Scootaloo were rivals, and Dart always teased Scootaloo about how he could fly so much faster than she could, mostly because he played sports and trained. "Why do you always gotta be the center of attention? Does your mom not give you enough attention at home?" Scootaloo was starting to fume. "Oh, wait, that's right, Rainbow Crash isn't your mom. Your real mom didn't want you." Sweetie Bell and Applebloom looked at each other, mouths open, knowing exactly what was about to happen. But it was already in motion by the time they looked back at the two. Scootaloo had bucked him in the gut. Shed then pushed him over and straddled him, using this advantage to pound the crap out of his face. She didn't stop until a teacher pulled her off. Scootaloo shook off the teacher and walked right to the Principal's office, knowing she'd have to stay there until Rainbow Dash came to pick her up. Rainbow Dash opened the door and walked in. Her stern gaze fell upon Scootaloo, then to another pegasus boy with a messed up face, and an older, pudgy earth pony, the boys mother. She looked at her and her gaze softened. "Ma'am, I'm so sorry about this." The irritated mare got up unexpectedly and got close to Rainbow Dash, looking her in the eyes. "Sorry? Sorry!? LOOK at him! You need to control that crazy little loose cannon!" Rainbow was shocked, so much so that she didn't even register the flare of anger at her calling her only child a crazy cannon. "Well, I mean, it's not like she just attacked your son. She was obviously provoked-" "LIES! My little Dartanian would never say anything bad about anypony! Ever!" "That's a lie!" Scootaloo yelled, tears in her eyes. "He made fun of me for being adopted!" Rainbows eyes lit up, and she got an angry expression on her face. The Principal decided she had to act quick to fix the situation. "Look, I know we're all mad, but the school can take appropri-" "See? Your little Dartanian isn't such a little angel." The woman looked mortified. "How dare you!" she seethed, looking murderous. "She lies! You should have just left her back in the orphanage with all the other freaks and kept her away from the normal ki-" she didn't even finish the statement. Rainbow, quite literally, attacked her, beating the pompous mare in much the same way Scootaloo beat her son. "Oh my Celestia! Security!" shouted the Principal. "Yeah, get her mom!" Scootaloo cheered. Rainbow stayed at it until the Security Resource Officer dragged her off of Mrs. Strongwing. Rainbow broke the officers grip, called Scootaloo over to her, and they flew home. "And then you just like ATTACKED her, and it was so AWESOME!" Scootaloo praise. Rainbow Dash had a worried expression and didn't respond to her daughters praise. "What's wrong, mom?" Rainbow looked at Scootaloo sternly. "Listen very carefully." She did. "What you and I did was wrong. We should not have done what we did, especially not me. I set a bad example and I'm sorry for that. Scootaloo, I was exactly like you, but I realize now that that was not the right way to behave." Scootaloo was bewildered. She attempted, and failed, to understand how Rainbow Dash of all people told her that fighting was wrong. "Furthermore, what you did in History wasn't nice, either. Got it?" Scootaloo's mouth was ajar. "B-but, he, you, I just-" "No, Scootaloo. Beating someone up is never the answer. Unless you're in physical danger, you should never resort to violence. I learned my lesson back in Cloudsdale, and I learned it the hard way. I don't want that for you, OK? Promise me you won't get into more fights." Scootaloo began to protest, but a harsh look from her mother made Scootaloo concede. "Fine." The rest of the week passed without incident. Dart and his small gang kept away from Scootaloo, probably out of fear. Dart of course gave some crap about not caring, which was typical of people like him. Yes, everything appeared to be going well, until that Friday afternoon. Both of them were getting ready to go out and eat when they heard a knock at the door. Rainbow went to see who it was, as she wasn't expecting anypony. She was surprised to see two suit-clad pegasi, one grey, the other one darker and shorter. The shorter of the two spoke first. "Ma'am, are you Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo peered out at the two, visible in the hallway from the door. "Yeah, who wants to know?" The other one spoke this time. "Is that the filly known as Scootaloo?" Rainbow looked back at Scootaloo quizzically. Scootaloo just shrugged, and Rainbow turned back to the two gentlecolts. "Yeah, why?" "Ma'am, we're with Filly Protective Services. You have been declared an unfit parent, and until you can prove otherwise, we are required to take Scootaloo back to her Orphanage. This is only a temporary matter." No! "Yeah, listen, buddy, that's not gonna happen, right, Scootaloo?" Scootaloo had a sinister look on her face as she walked up next to her mother, unwilling to comply. "That's right. I'm staying right here. I am not going back to that place, and you can't make me." Her voice cracked on 'make', and tears were almost welling up in her eyes as she remembered how lonely and sad she felt. Rainbow would die before letting anyone touch her Scootaloo. "I'm sorry, but this is not for any of us to decide. She needs to be-" "Like HELL I'm letting you take her to that place. If she goes, I'm going with her." "I'm sorry, but you can't do that." Rainbow had murder in her eyes. "WHAT!? And just why the buck not!?" "Because the point is to remove her from your custody until fitness as a parent can be determined." "FITNESS AS A PARENT!?" Scootaloo screamed. "She took me in when I was 12 from an orphanage, fed me, gave me a great house to live in, and makes sure I am getting an education. How is she not a good parent?" "Listen, that will be determined in court, but for now, you have to come with us." As he said this he reached out towards Scootaloo. He was almost to her when Rainbow stuck out a hoof with lightning speed and pinned the mans arm against the door frame, almost breaking it. She put her face right next to his, eyes communicating all the horrible things she would do if he tried to continue. "Buck. Off!" On the second word, she used all her might to throw the stallion five feet backwards. His partner immediately took action, attempting to leap on top of Rainbow Dash. She turned, expecting a large weight to come crashing down on her. It never came. Scootaloo got between the two and bucked the stallion in the face, sending him falling to the ground, sputtering. "Yeah! You want some mooooahhh WOAH!" Rainbow grabbed her daughter, turning her so that they were face to face. She talked hurriedly and quietly so the two males would not hear her. "Listen to me, fly as fast as you can to the Apple Family Farm. Don't let ANYpony see you. When you see Applejack, tell her that you need to stay there secretly, and tell her I said 'We're even'. She'll know what it means. Now go!" Scootaloo began to question. "GO!" Scootaloo turned and flew as fast and hard as she could into the woods, making sure not to be seen. When she reached the treeline, she looked back up to her house and saw the two stallions guiding her mom away - in hoof-cuffs!? She wanted so bad to go and help her mom, but Rainbow's words still echoed in her head. She knew she had to follow them to the letter, and began her trek to the Apple Family Farm. She let the events that had just transpired wash over her, and she began to cry slow, bitter tears as she flew. She cursed Mrs. Strongwing under her breath, swearing to show that prissy bitch hell for this. But for now, she focused on follow her mothers instructions. It was a long time before she reached the farm using the route that she had chosen. When she finally arrived, it had gotten dark, and the lights were on in the Apple Family house. She could hear them having a good time at the dinner table, as Applejack was telling some funny story that had everyone all riled up. Nervously but quickly, she walked up to the door and rapped on it three times. Big Macintosh answered the door chuckling a few seconds later. He smiled at her. "Hey thar, Scootaloo. How are y'all doin' tonaght?" "Um, I'm fine, is Applejack here?" "Eeyup." "I, uh, need to speak with her, its urgent." Big Mac's face got serious. "Yeah, jus' a sec. APPLEJACK! Scootaloo's ehre, she needs ta talk with ya!" After a few moments, Applejack walked out onto the porch and closed the door. "Good evenin', sugarcube. What can Ah do fer ya? What's wrong?" she added, noticing Scootaloo's concerned expression. "Well, you see, Rainbow told me to tell you that I need to stay with you for a while. Secretly." Applejack was very confused at this news. Seeing her confusion, Scootaloo added the most important part. "She also wanted me to tell you 'We're even.'" Applejacks face adorned an expression of shock. "Go inside. Go on, git in there." Scootaloo rushed inside hurriedly.
Chapter 2The entirety of the Apple Family that lived at that farm listened intently, mouths ajar. "And she told me to come here." They couldn't believe what they were hearing. Rainbow Dash? An unfit parent? "Woah," Applebloom said, unable to process this caliber of information. "So, like, they're tryin' ta send ya back to tha orphanage?" Scootaloo slowly nodded her head. "Well that's a load of rotten apples if Ah ever heard one." Scootaloo looked up. Applejack looked angry. "Y'all can stay here with us until this whole mess gets figured out, understood?" Scootaloo smiled for the first time since the agents showed up to her house. "Thanks, Applejack." Applejack smiled and walked over to the girl, putting a hoof around her neck, and pulled her into a familiar embrace. "Think nothin' of it, sugarcube. Y'all are always welcome in this here farmhouse." "Eeyup." "Ah wouldn't have it any other way ya whippersnapper!" came a voice from the rocking chair in the corner. Granny Smith was a frail old woman, but when she wanted to be, she was a fiery force to be reckoned with. If you were a respectable pony, that is. "Yeah, y'all can come here whenever ya want, Scoot!" The final confirmation from Scootaloo's childhood friends did the trick, and Scootaloo started crying again. Not out of sadness, but out of happiness. She knew that because of the generosity and kindness of the Apple Family that she would be spared the indecent horror of going back to that awful place where she had spent most of her childhood. "Where did you tell her to go?" "Shove it, assclown." Rainbow was not having it. First, they come up with this bogus charge of being an unfit parent, then they try and forcefully take Scootaloo away fro her and PUT HER BACK IN THE ORPHANAGE, then they think that she'd ever talk. It was honestly kind of pathetic. "Look, you can cooperate with us and make it end quicker. The faster we find Scootaloo, the faster we can proceed to trial and get her back to you, if indeed you are a suitable guardian." "Is she going back to the orphanage?" "At some point, she'd have to, yes." "Then no deal. Until I get a form or something guaranteeing that she can stay away from that place, you're just gonna have to keep paying to feed me and keep me here." She didn't want that, not at all, but it was better than thinking about her daughter, alone in the orphanage. "OK, wait here. I'll see what I can do." Four days later "They WHAT!? Spike! Take a letter, now!" Twilight Sparkle had a plan. This was complete crap, and she had to get Rainbow and Scootaloo out of this mess. She knew the mare, Mrs. Strongwing, as she used to live in Canterlot with her second husband, and she was always causing a fuss over something. Twilight also knew that she had connections. However, it's hard to beat having a direct line to BOTH Princesses. "OK, go." "Dear Princess Celestia, I am writing to you about something rather serious. It appears as though Rainbow Dash has been declared an unfit parent, and as such the Filly Protective Services attempted to remove Scootaloo from Rainbow's custody. Scootaloo fled, and her whereabouts are unknown, but Rainbow is being held in contempt for not disclosing Scootaloo's location. I would like you to please put some weight in our favor, as these claims are frivolous at best, and I fear that without some sort of royal intervention, Rainbow may lose Scootaloo for good. I cannot describe the immense happiness they have brought one another, and I believe it would be a crime to force these two apart. The claims are illegitimate, I assure you. Please put some thought into my plea. Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." "Got it." Spike held up the letter, and set it aflame. The green flames and smoke traveled quickly out the window towards Canterlot. "Do you think she'll help?" "Ah sure hope so. Also, er, Twilight?" "Yeah, AJ?" "OK, I didn't tell ya this before because Ah didn't want the Princess knowin' in case she's obligated to tell or whatever, but Ah know where Scootaloo is, and Ah need your help convincin' Scootaloo to come in. It's been four days now, and after thinkin' about it, I figured it would be best if Scootaloo went in ta the trial an' stuff. One a the agent people talked ta us and told us that the faster Scootaloo is, er, found, the faster all this gets over with." "Actually you're right. The Princess is required to tell if she knows. But I don't see how I can help you at all." "Aw, come on, Twi! You're super duper smart, I bet y'all could talk Zecora into givin' up her stripes on a whim!" Twilight still looked skeptical. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. Spike, stay here and-" "Yeah yeah, man the library, I know. It's always the same when you go out on your adventures. Not that I'm complaining or anything." "OK, I'll see you later tonight." With that, the two mares walked out of the door. Rainbow laid on her pillow. She was allowed to go home, but she was to have a guard outside at all times to make sure she didn't try and escape her trial, and also to make sure that if Scootaloo tried to come back that she'd be taken into custody. However, the guard couldn't catch Rainbow even if he tried, but she'd rather just not make things more difficult. She got uncomfortable, and turned over. ALl she could think about was her little Scootaloo, out there, missing her. She knew that they would pull through. In hindsight, she should have just let them take Scootaloo for a little bit to sort this whole thing out. Then again, the look of horror on her face- no. Rainbow made the right call, It kept her daughter out of a place that she hated. She would do it the same way a thousand times. Still, she couldn't help the tears at the thought of losing her little girl Two days later My Faithful Student, Try as I might, the claims appear to be legitimate, and even as a royal Princess I am unable to dismiss such a serious case. To do so would be catastrophic for out system of law. I also cannot make an appearance as Luna and I are occupied with international diplomacy. I am so very sorry for not being able to aid you and your friends. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors. "NO WAY! I am NOT going back!" "But, Scootaloo," Twilight pleaded, "the Princess can't do anything about it, and the only way that we can get you back to Rainbow Dash is if you come along for the duration of the trial!" Scootaloo looked defiant, but she hung her head slightly as she weighed her options. She thought carefully for a few moments. "How long?" "A few days, max." Scootaloo walked around the library, feeling the books with a hoof, deep in thought. "Fine." She still couldn't sleep. At first she had been fine, but as the time dragged on Rainbow was constantly thinking about a myriad of topics that kept her up; Scootaloo, hurting Mrs. Strongwing in every way she could, how well Scootaloo was eating, the way Mrs. Strongwing's joints would pop as they were pulled from their sockets, whether or not she could overpower the guard in the event that she got tired of flying for some weird reason. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at her door. She got up lazily, trotted down the steps, and to the door. She sighed audibly, and answered the door. "Ma'am, we've found Scootaloo." Rainbow's first instinct was to kick the crap out of him and go to aid her daughter, but she thought if she played nice she could make a better case, so for now she decided to play it cool. "Where did you find her?" "She came to us." Rainbow was visibly surprised. "What!? No, you're lying. She would never do that! She knows she'd be taken to the orphanage. I won't fall for your tricks." "It's not a trick. She is currently at the Ponyville Orphanage, and she will be present at the trial tomorrow. I suggest you sleep. In your sleep-deprived condition you'd be at a disadvantage in court." "How do you know I'm not sleeping? You spying on me now, too?" "No, ma'am. You have circles under your eyes so big it looks like someone punched you in the eye." Oh. "Whatever." With that she slammed the door shut. OK, tomorrow I will see her. I hope she can make it for just one night. Don't worry, honey. Mommy's coming! The next day This is it. Once I go through those doors, I can finally see my little Squirt again. She walked quickly through the halls, and into the court room. It was bright, and everypony near and dear to her was there; the Apple Family, her friends, her parents, and, most importantly, Scootaloo. She walked over to her seat, staring at Scootaloo the entire way. She was so glad to see Scootaloo's smile. She wanted to sprint over to her daughter and embrace her, but a sudden movement like that would prompt action from the guard, so she calmly walked to her daughter and scooped her up in her forelegs. Scootaloo returned the hug tightly. "I'm so glad to see you again. Don't worry, in a few hours we'll be back at my house, chilling out and relaxing." She was yanked out of her hug by the guard, a rather large unicorn, who escorted Rainbow to her seat. She looked back in time to see Scootaloo mouth I love you. She mouthed the same back. Rainbow sat in her seat, and then she realized who she was sitting next to: Twilight Sparkle. Oh, HELL YES! With Twilight as her representative, there was no WAY she could lose! The judge came in and started the trial in the typical Equestrian fashion. The prosecution got up, and made his way to the front. Rainbow looked over to the other table, fuming at the sight of the two Strongwing's; the two ponies who had thrown a huge wrench in her life. She'd make them pay in some way or another. The judge banged her gavel with her magic. Rainbow was surprised, as she hadn't even noticed the judge come in. They all rose and sat on the command of the judge. The prosecution began. "Your Honor, it's not even a question that Miss Dash is a bad influence on her daughter. I mean, her daughter does the same things Miss Dash did back when she was her daughters age, not to mention their latest scuffle. Little Dartanian over here was assaulted by Scootaloo, and when confronted about it, Miss Dash proceeded to do the EXACT same thing to Mrs. Strongwing. The reflections in behavior is so obvious that, quite honestly, I have no idea why we are even at trial right now. But then, that is your decision." The judge was slightly skeptical of the prosecutions claims, but then again it was hard to believe this actually happened if you weren't actually there to see it. "Is this true, Miss Dash?" "Uh, yeah," Rainbow said, reluctantly. "BUT! She," she was now pointing to Mrs. Strongwing, "was insulting my daughter, and so I attacked. Yeah, she was being a complete bi- er, witch, and I realize that what I did was wrong, and I am sorry. As a matter of fact, after we got home I told Scootaloo that what she did was wrong as well and that violence is never the answer and that whole spiel about being in the wrong and blah blah blah. The point is, I was wrong, I admitted it, and I made sure Scootaloo knew it. I am not a bad parent, and I'm not gonna let some prissy Miss High Horse take my daughter away." "Why I never! You are simply upset about the fact that you not only taught your child ill, but also that you picked the one idiot that would actually learn that type of behavior!" The blood was boiling in Rainbows veins at hearing her daughter talked about like that. It was almost too much. Had there been no one around, the woman would have been dead before she realized that she had been attacked. However, they were in the courtroom so Rainbow had to deal with it. That's when Rainbow heard it; crying. She looked over to her left to where Scootaloo was sitting, and saw that Scootaloo was crying audibly, though softly. Her lips were moving. Rainbow's motherly instincts drove out everything, all sound, all the world, so it was just the two of them, and dead silence. Rainbow could hear her say it. "I'm not an idiot..." That was it. Rainbow didn't care. She jumped up and flew, quick as a pegasus naturally was, and landed beside her daughter, embracing her. "Shhhh, it's OK. She's just pissed that you're going to be a better pony than she is when you grow up. Come on, don't cry. Look at me." Scootaloo looked at her mom, accepting the hug. "I know it hurts to have someone speak so bad about you, it hurts me too. But you gotta remember that if they are willing to speak about you like that, then that's just their way of letting you know that they think you're better than them." She wiped away two tears on Scootaloo's face, and pulled her into a tight hug. "Th-thanks, mom." Seeing the perfect opportunity, Twilight stood up, and moved to the center of the room. "Ladies and gentlemen: Exhibit A. Rainbow Dash is an excellent, caring mother figure. Even in the formal and sophisticated environment of a courtroom, she placed her child's well-being first, coming to her aid to comfort her even though the gesture was fast and likely to elicit a reaction from the guard." Who is sleeping, I might add. "I hope that after seeing this, Your Honor, that you will see them as I know them to be: a small, happy family." The judge looked pensive. She was silent for a few moments. During this time, Twilight took her seat, waiting for the judge to come up with a verdict. I wish judges could come up with decisions faster. Or maybe if we had a new method we could let third parties decide. Eh, whatever. It was a few minutes before the judge spoke. When she did, all ears were immediately directed at her. "After careful consideration, I have decided to rule in favor of the prosecution. The defendant will pay for the cost of the injuries she caused, and Scootaloo will be removed from her custody and placed in the Manehattan Center for Juvenile Orphans." Bang. The guard awoke, and walked over to a crying and yelling Scootaloo. Rainbow immediately flew at them at full speed to kill the guard and get her daughter, but she was caught on something. She looked back, and saw that Twilight was holding her back with her magic. "Rainbow, stop! You can't just attack the guard!" She looked back forward, and Scootaloo and the guard disappeared in a flash of blue light. Twilight released the no longer struggling pegasus. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Chapter 3A/N Sorry about the confusion. If you missed it earlier, there was a chapter released that was I guess supposed to be a grimdark or sad ending, but that was one possible ending that Adam wanted to write, sorry about the confusion. This is the real chapter. Hours later "Rainbow, STOP!" It wasn't until Twilight shouted that Rainbow decided to give heed. "WHAT!?" She snapped, floating to the ground. She landed expertly, but her full attention was on Twilight. "Where are you going?" "Where do you freaking think? I'm going to see Scootaloo!" "Rainbow, you can't! You'll be imprisoned for violating the terms of custody, and then no one wins!" Twilight was convincing. "OK, then, Mrs. Egghead, what do you suggest we do? I mean, it's not like we can get another trial or anything!" Twilight suddenly grinned like she knew something. "What?" "Rainbow, we CAN! We can appeal for a retrial with Princess Luna! Princess Celestia may have been busy but that might not be true for Princess Luna! And she'll DEFINITELY sway in your favor!" Rainbow just looked at her with a blank stare, standing like a statue. "Uh, Rainbow, are you feeling OK?" Still no response. Twilight tried waving her hoof in front of Rainbows face repeatedly, but nothing worked. "YEAAAAAAAAH!" The sudden shout of glee caught Twilight off of her guard and she almost had a heart attack. "Sweet, so when is the retrial? Twilight, you OK?" Twilight still had a look of shock on her face. She shook her head for a moment, and resumed the conversation. "Yeah. We need to actually file for an appeal, then we wait for them to get back to us, then we wait for the appeal." Rainbow started frowning, but before she could speak, Twilight intercepted her. "Yes, I know, it's a lot of waiting, but if you're patient, I know for a fact everything will pay off. Besides, nopony said you couldn't," she pulled out a feather pen and parchment, "write to Scootaloo, did they?" She now had a sly grin on her face. Rainbow smiled widely. "I like the way you think, Twilight." Her smile softened. "Also." Twilight dropped her parchment and her feather pen in surprise. Rainbow Dash had suddenly embraced Twilight in a tight hug. "Thanks for helping me with this. I don't know what I'd do without you." She broke the hug, and quickly put a five foot distance between them. "I hope you remember that well, Twilight, cuz it probably won't happen again. Not to you, anyway." Twilight simply laughed at her friends pride. She wouldn't show that kind of affection towards anyone but her daughter, which means she must be really emotionally moved to perform a touchy-feely action on Twilight. "You're very welcome. Now, I'll tell you what: you go home and get some sleep, and I'll write up the appeal. Tomorrow, you can come to the library and we'll write Scootaloo a letter explaining everything. Does that sound good?" Rainbowe obviously shuffled her feet for about a moment before catching herself. She always kept calm and collected in front of her friends. She obviously wanted to write the letter right then and there. Luckily, Twilight was very perceptive. "OK, how about I write a letter explaining everything, and then tomorrow you can write her a more personal letter?" Rainbow perked up at the idea. "That sounds good, even though I'd prefer to do it tonight. Is there any reason why we can't?" "Yes, actually. See, Spike is already asleep, and if we try to make him send a letter while he's half asleep, it probably won't find its way to Scootaloo." Rainbow made a sour face. "Alright then. I'll get some sleep, but I will be at the Library first thing in the morning!" "Alright! I'll make sure to have Spike ready for your letter." "OK, I'll see you tomorrow." "Likewise." They turned and each began to walk their separate ways. Twilight stopped, turned, and called out to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, wait!" Her target stopped mid-flight and turned to face Twilight. "Yeah?" Twilight gave her friend a gentle smile. "Have a good night, OK?" "Yeah, sure. See ya." With that, she darted away. Twilight couldn't help but feel just a little worried about her friend. Hours earlier There was a flash of blue, and the courtroom disappeared. Scootaloo had no idea where she was. She looked around to her left and right, around the guards large body. She appeared to be on a sidewalk, which was next to a road made of asphalt. She looked up in front of her and noticed the words above the entrance; her heart sank. WELCOME TO MANEHATTAN CENTER FOR JUVENILE ORPHANS She barely read the sign before the guard gestured for her to go inside. She took two steps forward, and then bolted upwards into the sky. She climbed as fast as she could, speeding away from the guard on the sidewalk below. She was getting faster and faster, and felt her stomach churn as she ground to a halt in midair. Scootaloo issued a yelp of surprise and discomfort, just before accelerating towards the ground. She stopped suddenly, about four inches off of the ground. Her guard looked her in the eyes, horn glowing. He was frowning ever so slightly. "Don't do that again." With that, he dropped her, quite unexpectedly. She landed with a sharp rapping sound coming from the impact beneath her hooves. He gestured for her to go inside, this time being slightly more aggressive. Scootaloo's face soured, and she reluctantly walked inside. The walls and decor were far better and newer than that of the orphanage back in Ponyville. She walked to the front desk, where a rather nice-looking mare was doing Sudoku with her magic. She was rather small, even though she was an adult, only about two inches larger than Scootaloo. Scootaloo stood for a moment before clearing her throat. The mare looked up and smiled. "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. What can I do for you?" "I'm supposed to stay here." "Oh, you are Scootaloo, yes?" Odd. "Yeah." "Ah, of course, your things should be here soon from the other orphanage. Come with me and I'll show you to your room." She followed her guide, thinking only of how much she wanted to be back in her own bed at her moms house. They went up a few flights of steps to the fourth floor, and her was to sixth room on the left. Her guide opened the door, revealing a space devoid of furnishings except for a bed with a pillow and a nightstand with a lamp. She walked in slowly, taking in the surroundings. After a moment, she lept onto the bed. "Good night, ma'am." The woman was shocked. "Excuse me?" "I said good night." "B-but, it's only like 5 PM, have you even had dinner? "Nah, it's fine. Just please leave." The unfamiliar woman left the filly alone, not wanting to question her motives. Scootaloo sat in her room for a time, mentally burning the place to the ground. Sure enough, within a few seconds the guard had teleported all of her things to her new room and left. Eventually, it got late, and she turned off the lamp on her nightstand, bathing the room in a gloomy dark, illuminated slightly by the lights of the street pouring in through the slits between the blinds on the window. She rested her head on the pillow, closing her eyes and replaying the events of the day. She began to tear up slightly, not crying, but still sad; she knew she had to be strong to make it through this, just like Rainbow Dash. She remembered the court room, her mothers horror at the judge's verdict. And then, in the blink of an eye, she was here, being greeted by the woman at the counter. Wait. No freaking way. Her eyes shot open and she darted out of the door, flying down the hall at a breakneck speed. She sped down the steps to the first floor. She looked around, three hallways to go down. She saw the woman who greeted her coming out of the mare's restroom. Without missing a beat, Scootaloo flew angrily towards the woman, smacking into her at full force. The blow sent the woman to the ground. A few ponies popped their heads out of rooms to see what was making the noise. Scootaloo was now on top of the obviously powerless unicorn, anger pouring from her eyes like waterfalls. "How did you know my name, and why was my name on the list? How did the guard pack my things so soon, even when the judge hadn't even decided that I was going away? ANSWER ME!" The woman shook in fear, obviously spineless. "P-please, don't hurt me! I was just doing what I was told!" Scootaloo raised a hoof. "Unless you want to eat this foreleg, I suggest you tell me why all my stuff was already packed and why you were expecting me!" The unicorns eyes were wide in fear. "OK, OK! I'll talk, just please don't hit me!" Scootaloo smiled in satisfaction, until she heard whispers coming from around her. She looked around and noticed everypony looking at her. She quickly put on the tough demeanor that her mom had taught her. "What are you guys a looking at?" They all went back into their respective rooms, not wanting to piss off the tiny but capable pegasus. She looked back at the mare below her. She got up, and stepped to the side, looking at the mare expectantly. When she didn't get up, Scootaloo got a little angry. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm not gonna straddle you again, not unless you're gonna take me to a dinner and a movie first." The mare quickly got up and blushed, obviously not expecting such suggestive sarcasm from a child. "My room. Let's go." Scootaloo and the mare walked to Scootaloo's room, where Scootaloo began to interrogate her. "First off, what's your name?" "C-call me Clementine. Everypony does." "Alright, Clementine, just how in the hay did you know I would be here before we even decided it?" "I-I was just told to expect you, that's all, I swear!" Scootaloo's eyes narrowed as she took in the response. "Who told you?" Clementine's eyes went back and forth as she tried to decide who she feared more: her informant, so-to-speak, or Scootaloo. Scootaloo impatiently stomped her hoof, surprising Clementine into a stuttering reply. "I-it was a judge! I don't know his name, h-he just gave me a bag of bits and had me add your name to the r-roster!" Scootaloo's jaw dropped. The judge!? Oh man, when Rainbow finds out she'll be charged with much more than freaking unfit parenthood... The Next Morning Twilight awoke to a thunderous pounding on her door. She groggily opened her eyes to check the time; it was only 6:23 AM. She stretched her limbs before hurriedly getting out of bed. To go answer the door. She trotted down the steps, yawning the whole way, and jogged to the door. She looked out of the peephole, curious as to who it could be. Oh yeah. She opened the door hastily, before being buffeted to the side by a technicolor blur. The aforementioned blur raced into her house and the steps, right up to Spikes bed. Rainbow Dash stopped, hovering above Spike, who was sound asleep. She nudged him lovingly, using a tone of voice she usually reserved for Scootaloo when she spoke to him. "Spike? Spiiiiiiike. Hey, come on, it's time to wake up! Spike?!" She made a slightly sour face, then smiled as she had an idea. Twilight was just walking up the base of the steps. "Uh, Rainbow, what are you-" "SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!" Spike awoke with a scared yelp, turning over so fast his entire bed flipped with him. "Oh, hey, you're awake! Sweet, you wanna write a letter for me, Spike?" Twilight ran up the steps, picking up the bed off of Spike. "Are you OK, Spike?" Spikes eyes were rolling, but he shook his head quickly to clear his mind. "Yeah, I'm fine. But, why are we up so early?" he asked. "Oh, Uh, I needja to take a letter for Scootaloo for me!" Rainbow was smiling widely. "OK, here we go: Dear Squirt, I just wa-" "Wait wait I need the parchment and pen and stuff!" Rainbow was expressionless for a moment. "Oh, yeah." She smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof. Spike walked over to the table near the bed, and got the quill and ink and parchment, ready to write. "Alright, shoot." Rainbow orated her message while Spike hastily wrote. When she was done, Spike signed the letter, and set it on fire, the cloud of green smoke and fire flying out of the window. "OK, I'm going back to bed now." "So, uh, Twilight, I know I kinda was rude this morning, but, um, how long do you think it will be until I get a reply?" "Uh, from Manehattan? Probably 48 hours or so." Rainbows jaw dropped. "Wait, what?! No, I thought it was gonna be like, you know, a couple of hours! I mean, those clouds travel really friggin' quickly!" "OK, but Scootaloo doesn't have a baby dragon." Rainbow facehoofed. "Oh yeah, right. Well now don't I feel like a complete jackwagon." Twilight smiled knowingly. "Yeah, I know it's easy to forget that. I mean, the first month after Spike could do that, I was completely-" "DERPY!" Rainbow Dash was smiling widely. "Uh, what?" "I could probably get Derpy to help me speed up the mail progress!" Oh no. Whenever Rainbow wanted something done quickly, she would always go to extremes. "Look, I don't think it's such a good idea to-" It was too late; Rainbow Dash was gone. Five hours later Rainbow had been searching for over four hours, yet she could find neither Derpy nor the Doctor to which she was married. Ugh, she is ALWAYS in the background somewhere whenever she's not needed, but the second you need her, POOF! She's gone. Rainbow stopped in the middle of the market, her frustration boiling over. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" "What's wrong Rainbow Dash?" Of. Freaking. Course. Rainbow sighed, and turned around to see none other than Derpy, holding a bag full of mail. "Nothing, Derpy. I was just trying to find somepony and I couldn't find them." "Awww, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, it might not do much good, but I got a letter for ya here. It was from some filly in Manehattan." Rainbow perked up. "Wait, what color was she? Was she a pegasus?" "Yeah, orange with a purple mane. It was really cool too because I got passed by a green flame that went to her, and she asked me to wait, so I did. I'm not about to argue with a girl who receives mail via fire." Derpy fished the letter out in her mouth, and handed the letter over to Rainbow. Rainbow greedily took the letter and tore it open, unfolding the parchment inside. She began to read it with apprehension and glee. The smile on her face faded ever so slowly, but consistently. Her face became very suddenly alarmed, and just as quickly as it had changed it became a look of pure hatred.
Chapter 4Rainbow was standing in the middle of the marketplace when Twilight found her. Twilight approached her, just happening to be behind Rainbow, when she noticed her friend had her head hung. Twilight walked around to face her friends front. "Hey, Rainbow, I finally found you. Rainbow?" Twilight was staring at the top of Rainbows head, and she tried to see what Rainbow was looking at. She saw a piece of paper at the mares hooves, and opened her mouth to ask Rainbow about it. Before she could say anything, Rainbow raised her head and looked Twilight in the eyes, for a simple moment. Rainbow had a look of pure malice and hatred, so vivid, so livid, it scared Twilight. She was shocked into silence. This had barely even registered before Rainbow Dash took off, speeding away so fast that, on a normal day, would cause for celebration. But today was not one of those days. After flying for only half a minute, she was out of view in the sky. Or she was, until a huge circular rainbow blasted out of nowhere. It was quickly followed by a sonic boom. Rainbow Dash was not wasting time. After a few moments, Twilight recovered herself, and remembered the paper on the ground. She turned to it, picking it up with her magic. She opened the note, and saw that it was a letter from Scootaloo. Twilight was absolutely shocked at the idea of a judge being so corrupted and doing...this to a poor family like Rainbows. She reached then end of the letter, and turned as if to speak. She then remembered that Rainbow had taken off. Wait. That look. Oh Celestia please no! Twilight's eyes went wide when she realized what Rainbow was setting up to do. She knew she had to stop Rainbow Dash, but she had so little time with how fast Rainbow was flying. Twilight gasped. "That's it!" The wind had numbed Rainbow Dash's face a few moments after going supersonic. She had not slowed down since she gotten up to speed, wanting to get to her destination as quickly as possible. She estimated that she had another minute and a half of flying before she reached the judges house. When everypony knows everypony else, it's hard to keep your location a secret. She could imagine the look of surprise on the stallions face when he sees Rainbow Dash. The fear, the look of terror as he realizes that he got caught. He would probably beg to not be hurt or something lame like that. Either way, he was going to get it. She knew every place she would hurt him, starting with his disgusting face. Then she'd probably move down his body, breaking all of his bones until he cried, then break some more. She was about to continue her morbid thoughts when she finally reached his home in the neighboring village. He was lucky that there were no other judges, or he'd have a hard time affording a normal lifestyle. Judges were few, but that was because there was so little need for them. Had there been even one more judge in the area, this guys salary would be halved. Rainbow touched down in the front yard and trotted up to the porch. She politely knocked on the door five times, and waited. After thirty seconds, there was still no answer. So, naturally, she kicked the door down. She walked inside and switched on the lights. Apparently the judge was on the steps and roughly ten seconds from answering the door. Rainbow wasted no time, flying up to him and throwing his sorry flank down the steps. The stallion hit the floor with a loud thud. Rainbow then straddled him, getting ready to give him the same treatment she gave Mrs. Strongwing. "Daddy?" Rainbow looked away from her prey and up the steps. There, in cute little pajamas, was a little filly unicorn, staring at the situation before her. Rainbow was now painfully aware of how this looked to a child. She was almost surprised when she heard the judge speak. "Go back to your room, cupcake. Daddy is going to be alright." Rainbow took the hint and got off. She put a hoof in the joint of his shoulder and proceeded to drag him out of the house. In a heave of effort, she flung him five feet off of the porch. She then got next to him, and flew above him, aiming her hooves at his head. "Talk. Now. Or I'll hoof-stomp you into oblivion." "OK, I did it! I admit, I was paid off! Mrs. Strongwing paid me off! But please, you have to understand, there is so little need for a judge in a land this peaceful! I needed the money. I am a single parent, you saw my daughter! I am all she has please don't hurt me!" Rainbow squinted her eyes in fury. "Oh really? Did you know my Scootaloo was an orphan for twelve years? Did you know that I was all she had? Did you know that she still had nightmares about the orphanage for weeks after I took her in, and now you're forcing her back into an orphanage again!?" "No, I didn't, I-" "SHUT UP!" Rainbow dropped to his side, putting up both her front hooves. "Let's see how you like being separated from your child." She began to drop them, hard. The poor male closed his eyes in expectation. "MOMMY!" Rainbow stopped dead. She turned around, and was knocked off of her hooves by an orange and purple blur. She hit the ground hard, recoiling slightly. She opened her eyes to see the beautiful mane of her beloved child, and felt her crying into her coat. She realized that she was being squeezed very tightly, and instinctively returned it. "Scootaloo, what are you doing here?" "Ahem." Rainbow looked over towards the sound, and saw Twilight and Princess Luna walking to them. Rainbow looked back to her daughter, who was now smiling at her with watery eyes. Rainbows own eyes moistened, but she was going to save them for later. She reluctantly, yet gently, pushed Scootaloo off of her, and approached the Princess. "Hi, Princess. What's the occasion?" "Please, call us-" "Ahem," Twilight coughed. "Oh, uh, call me," Twilight nodded her head at the Princess, "Luna." "OK, Luna. So, why are you here, and why did you bring Scootaloo? Not that I'm complaining or nothin'" "Twilight here found Scootaloo's letter, and contacted me post-haste. I reviewed the letter and what documentation we had from the case, and found that the claims were accurate. This man has done wrong, and I believe that he has learned his lesson by enraging the wrong pegasus, yes?" She said the last word while looking at the still-cowering stallion. He opened one eye, then stood up quickly to properly address the Princess. "Oh, um, yes, Luna, I-" "That's Princess Luna to you." "Oh no, I am terribly terribly sorry, I just, I, when you said to her, I uh-" "Yes, yes I understand. Rainbow Dash, will you press charges on the judge?" Rainbow looked over to the stallion, seriously considering it. However, she thought immediately of the small child that almost witnessed her father get beaten to within an inch of his life. "No." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I-" "OHMIGOSH TAHNKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU-" The judge had jumped at Rainbow to hug her out of gratitude. Before he could complete the hug, she had slugged him across the jaw. "As I was saying, I'll forgive this loser, but there is a certain someone I would like to press charges against." "Oh?" Luna was genuinely confused. For the first time since arriving, Twilight piped up. "She knows what she's doing. Trust me." Rainbow sat with Scootaloo in the courtroom, both of them anxious to finally see true justice served. They could hear the woman who had tried to take them away from each other well before they saw her, as her shouts of anger were loud and proud. When she was finally wrangled into the courtroom, she silenced herself, noting the two pegasi in the room as well as a familiar alicorn Princess. "Y-your Highness!? I am honored!" She gave an admittedly crisp bow. "You may rise, subject." She did. "I am to be the arbitrator in this court case." Mrs. Strongwing looked nervous. Perfect. "You are being charged with bribery of a judge." She wasted no time in blabbering about innocence. "WHAT!? No, nononono I have never bribed a judge, I would never stoop so low to win, that's just despicable! I-" "SILENCE!" The roar of the Royal Canterlot Voice shook the halls of the courthouse, and shook Mrs. Strongwing to her core. Not only did she shut up, but she seemed as though she would not be able to utter a single peep for the rest of the trial. "Bring him in." Everypony looked to the entrance to the court room, and the judge came in. He avoided eye contact with the two pegasi, instead focusing on the lunar Princess. He came to the front, and sat in the booth reserved for those who were being questioned. Twilight Sparkle rose from her seat, and walked up to the judge. "Hello again, Gavel." "Hello, ma'am." "Now, is it true that you accepted a bribe from this woman during the trial questioning the fitness of one Rainbow Dash as a parent?" "Yes." "The prosecution rests, Luna." Luna smiled at the informality, as did Twilight. Twilight walked back to her seat, awaiting the defenses case. "Well, I never! These claims are false! He never-" "Then what is this, then?" Judge Gavel held up a piece of parchment, and handed it to Luna, who proceeded to pick it up with her magic. She then read it aloud. "'My dearest judge Gavel. Enclosed you will find two hundred bits. Rainbow Dash is unfit, and her daughter shall be sent elsewhere, away from that atrocious mare. Celestia Bless, -SW.' Is this not your signature?" She used her magic and literally shoved the paper into Mrs. Strongwing's face. The mare fell backward out of her seat, hitting the ground with a light thud, though it was drowned out by the sound of the chair hitting the floor as well. "OK, OK, yes! It's my signature! But she hurt me and her daughter hurt my son! What was I supposed to do! I can't just let her do things like that!" Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight all shared the same huge expression of happiness. They finally got justice for Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. "Very well then. I, Princess Luna, do hereby decree that the results of Rainbow Dash's trial be annulled on the account of unfair trial. I also sentence the defense to ten years in prison for her crimes against this family." Twilight and her pegasi friends cheered. Scootaloo grabbed her mother, and Rainbow returned it. "Furthermore, Rainbow Dash shall regain permanent custody of the filly known as Scootaloo. Guard, take her away." "No! No, you can't do this, I-" She was gone. The very same guard who took away Scootaloo days before had now taken Mrs. Strongwing far far away. "Mrs. Dash, you and your daughter are excused. You may leave." Rainbow looked away from her daughter, and locked gazes with the Princess. Rainbow smiled warmly and began to tear up despite herself. "Thank you so much, Luna." At this, Luna could not help but smile back. "Anything to help one of my favorite subjects." Twilight put her hoof on Rainbows shoulder. "OK, you two ready to go home?" They nodded in anticipation. In a flash of light, Twilight teleported them to the space below their sky home. "Here we are, have a good night you guys." Rainbow and Scootaloo were already about to take off. Rainbow hesitated when she caught Twilights eye. "Hey, Squirt, go ahead and fly up without me. I need to talk to Twilight for a minute." "OK, mommy." Scootaloo flew up to the cloud above and let herself into the house. She relished its sweet scent, so familiar and welcoming, "Hey, Twilight, thank you so much for what you've done for me. I can never thank you enough." Twilight smiled genuinely at her friend. "Think nothing of it. It's what friends are for." Rainbow had finally let a tear fall down her cheek, a rarity for sure. At least, for her friends. It was a good thing Applejack wasn't there, or Rainbow would have never heard the end of it. "Well, anyway, thanks." With that, she sped up to the cloud home. Scootaloo was slowly walking down the hallway that led from the entrance when she felt a huge force knock into her and lift her up, squeezing her practically to death. "I freakin' missed you so much, sweetie. Mommy promises to never do anything that would get you taken away ever again, OK?" She relaxed her grip when she felt Scootaloo struggle, only to renew her squeeze when Scootaloo turned around and hugged her back. "It's OK, mommy. I forgive you, and it's over now. I'm just so glad to be home." By this point, they were both crying happily, so glad to be back in their home, in each others arms, letting the familiar feelings of parent-child love affect them once again. There was nothing that could take them apart, and they knew that they'd never have to suffer anything like that ever again. After what felt like hours of hugging and crying into each other's coats, Rainbow Dash broke the embrace. "Alright, that's enough mushy crap. You need to get to bed young lady." Scootaloo would normally protest, but instead she just nodded and flew to her room. Rainbow flew after her, and tucked her in, relishing at the experience of doing that which she subconsciously loved; she hadn't even realized how satisfying it was until Scootaloo was gone. She leaned over and gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead. "Good night, honey." "Good night, mommy." With that, Rainbow exited Scootaloo's room and slowly shut the door. She walked halfway back to her own room before turning back. She opened Scootaloo's door and entered, taking a seat next to Scootaloo. She knew Scootaloo was a heavy sleeper and fell asleep quickly as well. In the thirty seconds she had been gone, Scootaloo was already sound asleep. Rainbow got into bed next to her, putting her hoof around Scootaloo's head and pulling her in close. Scootaloo instinctively hugged her mother, even though she had no idea what was going on back in the conscious world. Rainbow thought so very hard about the filly in her arms, and how much she loved her. She could not believe she would ever do something so reckless as to get her own daughter taken away from her. She closed her eyes, enjoying the moment, hoping, knowing, that she would have her little Scootaloo forever. "Forever."
EpilogueSeveral weeks later "Dammit, dad. I told you not to work in the mine! I told you you weren't strong enough! But did you freaking listen to me!? NO!" The poor black-coated pegasus cried over his dads fresh grave. He cried for a good few minutes before resuming his dialogue to his deceased father. "No, I know it wasn't your fault. With mother gone, you had to do it in order to provide. It isn't your fault. It's.... IT'S.... IT'S HER FAULT!" A/N Holy crap, I am finally done with Lucidity. OK, I had a lot of fun writing this, and I can't wait to write some more. Thanks for all the support, I love all my readers!
