//-------------------------------------------------------// Rebuilding Memories -by TheJournalisticBrony- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: A Hit Head //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: A Hit Head It was a normal day in PonyVille. Peaceful as it always was and nothing seemed to be different. The sky remained the same turqouise color. The grass had its morning dew and it was abnormally quiet. So abnormally quiet that the sound of a twig being stepped on could be heard miles away. This, was the mornings in PonyVille. And a pony named Scootaloo was going to ruin that peace, for she was rushing on her scooter near town hall, making a lot of noise. Scootaloo enjoyed riding her scooter at these times in the morning, when not much was going on. Scootaloo zipped around corners, alowing the wind to blow through her mane. She continued on the same path and saw the golden opportunity to get some air. A tipped over cart had the shape of the ramp. Scootaloo smoothly flew off the cart into the air, performing a 360 degree spin. She landed it perfectly and continued to ride through the town, missing anyone in her way. I, Rainbow Dash, flew next to her. She looked at me happily and continued to ride next to me. I also made sure she didn't run into any pedestrians. After awhile, her and I stopped flying and riding. We both were a bit tired and were hungry, so we headed over to Sugarcube Corner to eat. On the way there, we talked a bit. Most of us was about how hungry we were and about how insane Scootaloo was on the scooter, She than asked me how my training as Wonderbolt was coming along. Once we entered Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie already had us seats. I don't know how she knew that Scootaloo and I were going to eat here, but that really didn't matter because Scootaloo and I were hungry. So we ordered some eggs and some apples on the side. We soon finished our meals and decided to go flying. Outside, Scootaloo and I took off and flew from Sugarcube Corner to where Fluttershy lived. I wanted to ask her if Scootaloo, her, and I wanted to go and see the Wonderbolts perform. I don't know if she would say yes or no. But I would think she would say yes because she would want to spend time with her friends. But she could say no because she doesnt like big crowds and loud cheering. I don't know what Fluttershy would say, but I hoped she would say yes. I noticed that the winds were a bit strong today and it was a bit dusty out. That was unusual for PonyVille. Scootaloo and I flew to Fluttershy's cottage. It took us roughly around 5 minutes to get there. On our way to Fluttershy's place, a dust storm came really close to us. Once I arrived, I looked behind me, and Scootaloo was gone. The dust storm must of delayed Scootaloo, for it was very close. I decided to wait a minute to see if Scootaloo would arrive. If she didn't show up, I was going to look for her. Which, I would have to for she did not appear in that time frame. Dust storms in PonyVille are not really strong, but they are powerfully enough to pull weak flyers towards the dust storm. Scootaloo must have been a weak enough flyer and probably was pulled into the dust storm. I started to search for Scootaloo more and more, for I could not find her. This was getting odd that I could not find her. So, I decided to call her name. "Scootaloo!" I called. Nothing. I called her name more and more every minute that went on by. I also started to get more nervous as time went on by. Soon, I called her name and heart a faint groan. The groan sounded like it came from Scootaloo! I flew toward the sound and continued to called her name. The sound of the groan got closer. But, I didn't like where the sound led me to. I found something that I didn't want to. I couldn't believe my eyes. For Scootaloo had her head, hit onto a rock. Now, I wouldn't be as nervous, but there was some blood in her mane. It was more than a little to make me very anxious. I picked Scootaloo up, with tears, "This can't be happening to me. Don't worry Scootaloo, I am getting you to a hospital." I flew quickly to the hospital and flew through the doors as fast as I could. "Somepony, please help me!" I cry. A nurse sees me and takes Scootaloo from my arms and I start to break down. I than follow the nurse into the other room, but one of the nurse keeps me from going into the other room. "Let me go in the other room," I stutter. The nurse than goes to explain to me that I can go into her hospital room once they get her set up in her hospital bed. I start to break down more that I can't see her. The more I break down, the harder I try to get into the room. This resulted in more nurses holding me back. They tried to explain to me that everything was going to be alright. But all I wanted was to see Scootaloo. Soon, my friends arrived and calmed me down, while also trying to make sure the Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't break down that their friend was in the hospital (and also trying to get their cutie marks in a possible "Operating on their Friend" cutie mark). After 5 hours, the doctors let us into a room with Scootaloo. Before we all entered the room, he explained that Scootaloo suffered some brain damage, particulary in the memory area of the brain. We all entered the room. She was just waking up. She asked, "What happened?" The doctor explained, "You hit your head. You're here in the PonyVille hospital." Scootaloo understood and than scanned the room. She saw her friends and had the biggest smile. "Girls! Do you think I could of gotten my cutie mark in 'Hitting my Head' and 'Hospitilization'!" she exclaimed. Scootaloo checked and found no cutie mark. Her eyes scanned the room. Scootaloo was happy to see all her friends there. "Twilight! Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Rarity! Fluttershy! You all are here!" she squeaked. I than looked confused. Twilight looked at me nervously and asked Scootaloo, "Aren't you forgetting somepony?" Scootaloo looked confused, "Ohh, Cherilee! Wait, she is not here." I than decided to speak up, "Aren't you forgetting about me?" She had a puzzled look on her face. She than asked, "Who the heck are you?" //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: Shattered Heart //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: Shattered Heart She then asked, “Who the heck are you?” I assumed that Scootaloo was playing a joke, to scare me a bit. My expectations of her remembering me were way too high. I looked back at her and said, “That is funny Scootaloo. Don’t try and pull a joke on me. I know you just want to freak me out.” The words I said that came out of my mouth felt false. Was Scootaloo playing a prank on me? Or did she lose memory of me? “Applebloom, why is this pony talking to me?” Scootaloo asked Applebloom. I started to get a bit nervous. “Scootaloo. I know you are fooling around. You know that I am Rainbow Dash,” I said, giggling, then turning to Scootaloo. Apparently, Scootaloo didn’t know who I was. I started to fret and freak out a bit. “I’m sorry, but, I don’t know you. If I did know you, you would be able to stay in this room. Sorry, Nurse. Can you get. Ummm, Rainbow..... The pony named Rainbow out of here,” she said. The nurse did as Scootaloo commanded, which I wasn’t happy about. I tried to fight to stay in the room. “Scootaloo!” I yelled. “Stop playing a joke on me! This isn’t funny!” As I am being dragged out of the room, my emotions take the best of me. The emotions that I am experiencing causes me to lose all strength in my body and I get easily tossed out of the room. The emotion I am expierence was sadness, a deep sadness. For I have never expierenced this deep of a sadness. This emotion was so powerful, I mourned. I knew that Scootaloo right now, doesn't know who I am. Maybe she might know who I am in a few days. I just will have to ask the doctor about how bad the brain damages are and when her memories of me will return. But until I knew about the damages, the only thing I could do is cry. And I cried a lot. I think I have never cried this much in my entire life. The funny thing is that nobody came to my side to tell me everything was going to be alright. Yet today is when I needed somepony by my side. My tears stopped as soon as Twilight walked out of that door. She saw me sitting down on the cold tile floor. "You alright Rainbow Dash?" she asked. "Yea. I am," I responded. "You know Rainbow, you don't have to hide your emotions from me. It's ok to cry around me. I am here right now," Twilight said. There was a bit of a pause. She then followed up, "Sorry, not the best with words. With what the doctor was saying and everything that is happening. It kind of puts me out of words." "What did the doctor say?" I asked. I tried to say those words without crying. I wasn't in any mood to be taking. Soon, I started to let my emotions go like a bomb. Twilight held me close, like how I used hold Scootaloo close. I normally would hold Scootaloo close when she was upset, and tell her everything was going to be ok. Now Twilight was doing the same to me. "It's ok Rainbow Dash. I am here," Twilight calmed me. I continued to sob in her arms, uncontrollably. Soon, I was hypoventilating. When that happened, Twilight held me closer and tried to calm me with a lullaby. Which was working. I started to stop crying and got up. After I calmed down, I said, "Thanks Twilight." "No problem," Twilight responded. As she finished the words, the doctor walked out. I walked up to him. "Will she remember me?" I asked the doctor. The doctor looked at me, and sighed. He shook his head. That shook was all that shattered my heart. I took off in tears to my house. For at that moment, all hope from me faded. All meaning from my life faded. The one pony I was thinking of adopting, didn't even know who I was anymore. At my house, is where my emotions poured out. I cried for what seemed to be days. I felt terrible that this happened to Scootaloo. I felt like it was my fault. I wished that I could take back the time and set it to before we flew to Fluttershy's house. I wish I could of been able to take Scootaloo always from the dust storm. I wished everything could of been back to the way it was. During the days I was crying, my friends were doing the same. They were worrying about me handling the news. They were worried if I was going to ever speak to them again. They were worried about me closing them off. I decided to come down from my house to talk to somepony about how I feel. I normally wouldn't, but I feel really bad about what happened. I decided to talk to all my friends about it at a little get together. Taking about it sure helped me. I felt better now. But, I am thinking, how can I get Scootaloo to know me again. I really want her to remember me. I want her to look up to me again. I want her to love me as much as I love her. I want things to be how we used to have them. I decided to try to restore those memories. I know that I can't restore her old memories, but I will build new ones. I hope that everything will go well and I just wished that I could have the old Scootaloo back. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: The Basics Again //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: The Basics Again I arrived at the hospital as quickly as I could. I walked through the front doors with a pained look on my face. When I walked up to the front desk, I sniffled and was asked by Nurse Redheart, “Hi Rainbow Dash. Hey, you seem to be upset, what is wrong?” I was in no mood to answer questions. “Long story. Can I see Scootaloo?” I asked. “Sorry dear, she, doesn’t want to see you,” she told me. “Why?” “Well, she says she doesn’t know you. Why would she...?” “I don’t want to go into much in the way of details. Listen, Scootaloo hit her head and lost all memories of me. Please, I need to talk to her. I want her to remember me.” “Rainbow Dash I’m sorry I can’t....” “Look, I have been trying to deal with the fact that she will never remember anything that we did together. It isn’t easy. Please let me see her.” “I guess I could make an acception. Follow me dear.” Nurse Redheart walked me to her room and opened it. The door creaked and Scootaloo woke up. “What is she doing here?” Scootaloo questioned Nurse Redheart. “She, will be talking to you about your previous relationship.” “Relationship? Nurse, I don’t know this pony.” “You did. You knew who she was until you hit your head.” “Right. Anyways, I really don’t want to talk to her.” “Just, talk to her for a few minutes. You are really important to her.” “Fine. I guess I will talk to her for a few minutes.” “Thank you Scootaloo.” Nurse Redheart closed the door. I turned to Scootaloo and saw that she did not have the smile she had whenever I would be with her in the same room. “So. Why did you come here?” she asked. “Was me not getting you to leave enough? Why do you even care about me anyways?” I sniffled a bit. “Hi, I’m Rainbow Dash” I said to her to try and start out the conversation is a basic way. I wanted to ignore all the questions. The reason why is because I didn’t want her to see me crying in front of her. I didn’t want to break down and get dragged out of the room again. “Whatever. Why do you care?” she asked. “Look. Can you please not ask questions and work with me. I am pretty upset that you don’t even remember my face. Look, I care because you were the one that mattered in my life. You were the only one that I could go to. You were the only one I loved. Look, without you in my life makes my life worthless. Just, could you help me out?” “I don’t understand why I matter to you? Look....” she started but was soon inturrupted. “Look Scootaloo. I loved you so much I was going to adopt you! I was going to, but, you hit your head. Now, you have no memory of me. I wish you could understand that now I have to start over again. I want you to remember me for who I was. If you can’t help me out, than what is the point of living. I need the old Scootaloo back. But if you can’t work with me and can’t help me, than life is not worth it. Right now, I need you more than I ever thought I would. I need you so badly, and now you know why. I want you back to the way you were, but sometimes, God has a different plan. God has a plan that will help me learn patience. Sometimes, I doubt Him. Sometimes, I feel like doubting myself. Sometimes, I feel like giving up. But, I don’t want to lose you. If this didn’t happen to you, life would be normal. But I learned that sometimes life isn’t normal. Life is something that will be a surprise. Look, can you please help me out. Can you please help me out and work with me. That is all I want. I’m sorry for going on and on. But I just want you to understand how much I care for you and love you.” I finish, with some tears. Scootaloo looked at me in a different way. She put on a smile and said, “Hey, cheer up Rainbow Dash. I will work with you and hopefully we could get my memory back, or build new ones.” The words that left her mouth gave me hope. It gave me a new hope that everything would work out well. I asked her, "So where should we start?" "Well. You could start on your childhood. That would be interesting." Scootaloo responded. "Well. I never thought to talk to you about my childhood when you knew who I was. I didn't want to go into those details because it is such a sad part in my life. I didn't want you to feel bad for what happened." "So, you want me to ask you about something else. If it bugs you, than I won't ask." "I am not minding that much about it. But I guess you can ask me about something else." "Ok. So, where do you work?" "I work at Cloudsdale Weather Control." "Wow! You get to control the weather! How is it like?" "Fun. I also can clear the skies in 10 seconds flat." "Cool. Hey, when I get out of the hospital, show me you clearing the skies in 10 seconds." "Don't worry. When you get out of the hospital, I will show you more than me clearing the skies in 10 seconds flat. I will teach you how to fly with power." "Wow! So, Rainbow Dash, I am feeling some of my memory of you is coming back right now. I think I know a few more things about you that you didn't tell me." "Like?" "You performed the Sonic Rainboom!" "Wait, you have some memory back now! You got that correct!" Nurse Redheart walked in, "Rainbow Dash. Time for you to go, Scootaloo needs her rest." "Come on, just a bit longer?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm sorry dear. But tomorrow your getting brain scans tomorrow. These are important to see how the brain is doing." "Ok. I guess that is important. I guess you have to leave Rainbow Dash. Bye Rainbow Dash!" "Bye Scootaloo. Tell me if you remember anything else about me tomorrow." I say before I walked out of the room. Today, me waking out of that room was great. For the first time in awhile, I felt hope. I felt hope that Scootaloo was soon going to remember me. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4: Many Days to Come //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4: Many Days to Come I woke up as early as possible. I was going down to the hospital, but it was too early. Plus, she was going to be getting the brain scans, so why did I bother deciding to be awake. I tried to fall back asleep, but could not. So, I decided to wait. It felt like forever for an hour to past on by. Waiting a few more hours, would feel like an eternity. While I was waiting, I sat on my piano that was collecting dust. When was the last time I used this thing? Playing music was something that I did in a time of sadness and anger. Ever since what happened to Scootaloo, I have gone through a lot of depression. I decided to write a song in Scootaloos honor. I was thinking of playing it for her after everything returns to normal. I decided to write some of the song. Those words were some of the thoughts I was having when she lost all memory of me. The song started in a C Key. After 30 minutes, I figured the song was going to have more of a slower pace that had a buildup to it. The buildup soon lead into the chorus. After some of the song was wrote, I wrote some lyrics. I didn't get to much, but I got something. These were hopefully the final words for the beginning of the song: Scootaloo I need your more right now than I ever knew I need your help, yes, I really do They say that God has a plan, but this does not seem like one Those were all the lyrics I got before not being able to come up with anymore. So, I got off the piano. I didn't like to spend too much time on it cause I have more to do in my life than being artistic. So, I just sat around for a few hours. I also had some breakfast before heading over to the hospital. Once I got to the hospital, I entered the building as quickly as I could and I rushed to Scootaloo’s room. Multiple doctors exited the room by the time that I arrived. I wondered what the issue was, and tried to head in. Quickly, I was stopped and the doctors told me that Scootaloo just suffered a seizure. They looked very worried and all I wanted to do was go into the room. But I had to keep my calm cool and wait for them to finish what they were doing. The wait seemed forever. All the time I was waiting, I had the terrible thoughts cross my mind. What if she is dead I thought. What if the seizure made her lose her memory of me again? What if this makes her unable to remember me at all? Soon, after roughly around 5 minutes of waiting, I was able to see her. So I walked down with the doctor. I looked at him and asked with a bit of sadness in my voice, “You ran the brain test right?” “Ya,”the doctor said. “And.” “Well, what would you like to know?” “What did her brain test show?” “I can’t answer the such a broad question.” “Well, is her brain fully healed?” “She is getting there.” “How much longer till her brain is fully healed.” “I don’t have an exact answer.” “Well, can you tell me how much longer.” “I don’t think that you would want the answer.” “Just tell me how long!” “I really don’t...” “Just please tell me! I need to know if she is going to get anymore seizures. For I am about to be her parent. Look, I was about to adopt her before her hitting her head. I am still going to adopt her. Just tell me how long.” “Ok, I will. Look. It is really hard to predict these things. I am feeling that she will not have her brain fully healed in around a few years. She hit her head really hard. If you are going to be her parent, you’re going to need to bring her in every other day for the next few months. Than you would soon need to bring her in every week and soon every month. It takes time to heal the brain. Anyways, you can talk to us about it a bit later, Scootaloo has been looking forward to seeing you.” “She remembers me?” “Yes, she does. She seems to have remembered you fully. You can go on...” “Thank you!” I thank happily. I dash into the room as quick as I can. Scootaloo is laying on the bed. She looks up and sees me. Her grin was the biggest I see in a long time. Tears stream from her eyes. Before she started crying a lot, “Dash!” “Scootaloo!” I cried and went to give her a huge hug. “Rainbow Dash. How could I have ever forgotten about you!” she continues to cry “Doesn’t matter. Your memory is back, we can leave this hospital and then you can become my daughter.” “Daughter!” “Ya. I mean, I know that was a bit soon, but don’t you want to be my daughter?” “YES!” Scootaloo cried. The doctor then walked in. She removed Scootaloo’s IV. Scootaloo looked at the doctor and asked, “I can go home?!” “Yes you can. Just, as long as you come back here twice a day for awhile, you can leave the hospital,” she said. “Finally, I can stretch my wings.” she said back. “Scootaloo, with you having your seizure, you cannot fly for about a month.” “What?!” Scootaloo asked. “I’m sorry Scootaloo, you just hit your head and had a seizure. You can’t fly when you brain hasn’t had anytime to heal,” the doctor explained. “But...” “I’m sorry Scootaloo, no flying. Do you want to end up back in the hospital with another concussion and end up dead?” “No.” “No flying then.” The doctor walked out of the room. He looked at me, “Make sure she doesn’t fly.” I nod my head as he walks away from the room. Scootaloo cried a bit and I comforted her. Soon, after she calmed down, we went to the front desk to sign her out and get our next appointment. While walking out, she asked, “So, when are you going to adopt me?” “Soon. I just need to fill out some paperwork, and you can live with me.” “Thank you so much!” “No, thank you.” “Wait, why are you thanking me? You’re the amazing one.” “Because I really had no meaning in my life till I met you.” “Thanks m-m-m... Can I call you mom?” “Of course you can. Or you can call me Dash if you want to. Or Rainbow Dash. Whatever makes you feel comfortable.” “I think I’m going to call you mom from now on.” she spoke. We got to the front desk. I asked to sign out Scootaloo. As soon as I signed out, she told me, “Tomorrow, we would like to see Scootaloo at 8 A.M and also 4:00 P.M for the next 7 days." "O.K," I say. Scootaloo head out of the hospital. I decide to take Scootaloo home, give her a tour, and than once it hits night time adopt her. After adopting her, I hoped for many days to come. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5: Last Memories //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5: Last Memories Trying to keep Scootaloo not to fly is like trying to stop Applejack from going to an Applebucking competition on her own farm. The minute Scootaloo got out of the hospital, she was taking off. I went quickly to stop her. “Oh, no, no no!” I hollered. I placed her on the ground. She was unhappy about what I did and attempted to fly. I stopped her, again. I went to explain, “Scootaloo. The doctor said no flying. I’m sorry Scootaloo, but I have to listen to what she says.” Scootaloo looks at me upsetly and asks, “Why can’t I break the rules? You have done it before.” “Well, do you want to have your memory of me and not lose it again?” I asked. She questioned, “Yes. But, as long as I don’t hit my head, I am fine, right?” “Not necessary. Look Scootaloo, the doctor said no flying. Now listen, flying is physical activity. I know you like to fly and scooter, but, could you avoid physical activity overall, for now?” I ask. “But I want to ride my scooter!” “Please, for me.” “I guess so. But, what will I do in my free time. I am normally outside, riding my scooter. Now that I can’t ride my scooter, what do I do?” “Well, you can hang out with me.” “Really!” “Of course you can, you're my daughter.” “But, what will we do? I mean, I always see you flying and I never see you doing something non - physical.” “I will think of something.” I finish talking and take Scootaloo to my house. She sees the size of the house and her mouth goes ajar. Since Scootaloo can’t fly, I pick her up and take her inside. She wasn’t happy that she got picked up and carried, but I told her that the only way she could get up here was to fly. So she figured that the only way of getting to and from the house is by me. We entered the house and I showed her around. I showed her the kitchen, the entire downstairs area, the basement, and upstairs. It took us some time to finish the tour of the house because my house is huge. I showed her to her temporarily room. Scootaloo thought the room was amazing. Too bad she wasn’t going to stay in that room forever. For after I adopt her, she gets a bigger room. Her room was a room that I told her was off limits for the time being. After the tour, we decided to do a bit of air hockey in my basement. We had a blast. Scootaloo was really good at air hockey and was surprised she doesn’t have her cutie mark in it. She beat me 11-3. We did a few rounds because I kept on thinking she cheated and I also didn’t want to lose against my own daughter. Dinner was soon around the corner after our air hockey matches. I decided to try to cook. But, things didnt work out well. I suck at cooking and burned the food, so we ordered some food from a local diner, which was excellent. Afterward, Scootaloo and I decided to watch the sun go down. It was something that was peaceful and fun to do. We talked for hours and enjoyed each others company. But soon, Scootaloo fell asleep by my side. So, I picked her up and carried her inside to her temporary room. Once she was sleeping under her covers, I flew quickly to the adoption center and adopted her. I decided to wake up early the next morning so I could place her in her new room. When I placed her bed, I noticed that she seemed so still. Too still. I decided to wake her up, to show her my room. She was not responding, or breathing. I checked her pulse and also checked to see if she was bleeding. Her head seemed to be bleeding. I than felt blood drip down the side of my head. Was I bleeding. Than I woke up, back in my room. Thank Celestia it was just a nightmare.