Revelations
Reappearing moments later in the main room of the library, Twilight looked around to get her bearings and noticed she was standing next to the kitchen door. She listened intently for any activity within the library, but silence met her ears.
“Spike, you there?” she called out, looking around for her assistant. Twilight blew a few errant hairs out of her face and trotted the few remaining steps into the kitchen, her head on a swivel. She checked around the corner, under the table, and even in the pantry.
Nothing.
She turned around, spotting the dirty dishes from last night still unwashed in the sink. She rolled her eyes in annoyance as she thought, Great, Spike isn’t up yet… Ever since he got his own room, that dragon has taken every opportunity to sleep in. Maybe I should get him his own alarm clock...
Twilight trotted back into the main room and went upstairs, fully intent on rousing her scaly assistant. She thought back to the day she had given Spike his own room. She had gone out of her way to make his bedroom special for him, installing floor to ceiling bookshelves along most of the walls to hold his favorite books. Taking things a step further, she had even gotten him his own full size bed, a matching nightstand, and a magical lantern so he could read at night.
Stopping in front of the shut door, Twilight rapped on it gently and called out, “Spike, you awake yet?” The ensuing silence told her he wasn’t. With a shake of her head, Twilight softly opened the door to find him still fast asleep, curled up under the covers. “Spike!” Unmoving, he slept on like a rock, so she quietly walked inside. With a small chuckle, Twilight poked him with a hoof and gently shook him awake. “Hey, little guy, it’s time to get up…”
“But I don’t wanna get up…” Spike groaned as he pulled the covers up over his head. “It’s too early…”
“Spike, it’s almost noon, and this is urgent…” Twilight said softly, gently tugging the covers off of him. “I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia right away.” When he didn’t respond, she kept rocking him back and forth, trying to get him up.
“Can I just have five more minutes?” Spike mumbled, still half-asleep. He pushed Twilight’s hoof away and rolled over, facing the curtained window. Using his tail, he snagged the corner of the sheets and pulled them back up, squeezing them tight.
Twilight sighed in mild annoyance. Oh, come on already… Glancing up, she noticed a few stray beams of light leaking out from around the edges of the closed curtains. Twilight cracked a sly smile as she lit her horn, focusing her magic on the curtains. “Hey, Spike, I’m going to give you one last chance to get up…” she said in a playful but still serious tone.
“G’way…”
“What was that?”
“I said gimme like... thirty more minutes…” Spike groaned, remaining in bed.
“Spike, this is important!” Twilight said urgently, stomping a hoof on the ground. When he just mumbled something incomprehensible back, she ripped open the curtains, allowing the bright morning sun to completely fill the small bedroom.
“Ugh... okay! I’m up, just close the curtains, alright?” Spike groaned, shielding his eyes with a claw. He pushed away his blanket and sat up. “You know my eyes are sensitive in the morning…”
“Were you up reading late again?” Twilight asked with a chuckle.
“Huh?” Spike asked as he stretched, spreading his arms wide. He fought back a yawn before saying, “Oh, umm… no! Of course not!” Furtively glancing over his shoulder, he quickly pushed an exposed corner of a book the rest of the way under his pillow. He looked back up and laughed nervously at Twilight’s perplexed expression.
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Well, your eyes are bloodshot, and you normally don’t sleep in this late.”
“Uhh... Nope! Nothing at all!” Spike stammered. Trying to change the subject, he asked, “Say, have you already had breakfast? I can make you something if you want.” Spike slid out of bed and rubbed his eyes again, hoping to lead Twilight away from the hidden book.
“I’m fine, I had something small earlier.”
“Oh, uh… okay. So anyways, where’s this letter you want me to send?” he asked.
“I haven’t written it yet. Come on, let’s go downstairs and do this already. I have to be somewhere right now, and I don’t have time to dilly dally.” Twilight lit her horn and placed Spike on her back. Trotting downstairs, she made a beeline to her writing desk. She lit her horn once more and set Spike down beside her as she cleared the tabletop. Pulling open one of the drawers, Twilight retrieved a piece of parchment and one of the many quills that she had stashed away. She dipped the feathery writing utensil into an open ink well and quickly wrote:
Dear Princess Celestia,
I wish that I was writing to you under better circumstances, but I feel that I must inform you of something unusual, something that I feel requires your knowledge and expertise.
Sometime late last night, Rainbow Dash found one of the local fillies, Scootaloo, walking through Ponyville’s annual winter snowstorm and provided her shelter with her own home. Through Rainbow Dash’s inquiry, she found out that Scootaloo has been both physically and mentally abused by her biological parents, and I have seen the evidence first-hoof. With such compelling evidence presented to me, I have placed them under house arrest.
Scootaloo is now in the Ponyville General Hospital being treated for a broken wing and other injuries. I must cut this short, as I need to get there as soon as possible to receive an update on her condition.
I cannot decide on what should be done about this, Princess, and I feel I need your guidance. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Your ever faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle
After she signed the letter with her usual flourish, she waited for the ink to dry. She rolled up the message, tied a piece of ribbon around the center of it, and then levitated it over to her assistant. Spike grabbed the letter, took a deep breath, and let loose his characteristic green flame, fully engulfing the parchment. The letter burned to ash, and the ash itself floated up and out an open window as if pulled by an external force. Spike yawned and asked, “Hey, can I go back to bed now? I’m still a little tired.”
“Alright, sleepyhead, but you better be up when I get back in a little while,” Twilight said. She gave him a quick nuzzle and opened the door with her magic, galloping out of the library. A few minutes later, Twilight found herself at the hospital and out of breath. She mindlessly chewed on her lower lip as she gazed at the double doors.
That wing… Can anypony really recover from that? She remembered how Scootaloo’s wing looked back when she had found her. There had been a clean break on the leading bone, and several of her feathers had been bent or torn out of place. Lifting one of her own wings in front of her, Twilight shuddered at the idea of how it would feel if her wing was broken like that. She swallowed loudly and steeled her resolve.
I have to be strong... Not just for myself, but for Rainbow and Scootaloo. Taking a deep breath, she walked inside the hospital and noticed a pegasus sitting down in front of a big desk. Figuring it was the customer service desk, Twilight walked up to it and looked down at the pegasus working on some documents. Several moments passed, each becoming increasingly awkward as she was ignored. Twilight cleared her throat politely to attract her attention.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be right with you in a minute, honey,” the mare replied in a monotone voice, not even giving her the common courtesy of a proper greeting or lifting her head from her work. Several more moments passed, and as Twilight listened to a nearby clock tick, she began to lose her patience.
“Excuse me. Can you tell me where I can find a filly named Scootaloo?” Twilight asked irritably. Her patience was running extremely dry with this mare, and she was still on edge from earlier.
“I’m sorry, but did you not hear me? I said I’ll be with you soon, sheesh…” the pegasus muttered, still not bothering to see who she was speaking to.
Twilight rolled her eyes. She was getting nowhere with the secretary, and she didn’t want to waste any more time. She still had not gotten used to people using her royal title all the time, and she never liked using her position of power, but it seemed today was full of exceptions. Twilight let out an irritated sigh, making sure it was loud enough for the pegasus to hear her.. “You know... Princesses don’t like being made to wait...” Twilight said, a hint of impatience edging into her voice.
The pegasus’ head shot up and her eyes darted all over her. “Princess Twilight!” She quickly stood up and made to bow, but Twilight stopped her with a wave of her hoof.
“None of that is necessary. Please, just tell me where I can find a young pegasus filly named Scootaloo. She was brought here by another pegasus, Rainbow Dash, a little while ago, and it’s urgent that I see them right away.”
“Yes, your highness!” The secretary scrambled to retrieve a specific sheet of paper under the mess on the desk. Finding it a few moments later, she said, “Umm… she should be up on the second floor, Princess Twilight. None of the operating theaters were scheduled to be used today, so… Scootaloo should be out in recovery pretty soon. Oh, and the stairs are on your right.” The pegasus bowed and used a wing to point down the hallway.
“Thanks,” Twilight said curtly. She turned made her way down the hallway and climbed up the small staircase. Trotting down the hallway, she rounded the corner to find Rainbow a little ways away, talking to a brown unicorn in a long white coat. As she walked up to them, she noticed that Rainbow was on edge. She couldn’t stand still and her wings were bristling restlessly.
Twilight, not wanting to miss out on the conversation, closed the distance to them as quickly as she could. “...had to put her under? For what?” came Rainbow’s indignant voice. It looked like she was about to keep going when suddenly the doctor bowed, making Rainbow look at him in confusion.
“Greetings, Princess Twilight,” the doctor said as Twilight came to stand next to Rainbow, keeping his head low.
“Please, you don’t have to do that,” Twilight said as she used a wing to gently guide the doctor’s head up. “And skip the formalities. I want to know what you are doing for Scootaloo.”
“Yes, your high– I mean, Miss Sparkle.” He shook his lengthy mane back into place. “Scootaloo should be coming out of the operating room any minute now. The procedure was relatively simple. All we had to do was set her radius and ulna bones and realign a few of her primaries.” Looking towards Rainbow, he continued, “As for why we put her under, no filly should go through that much pain, especially for the part when we set the bones. We gave her a strong sedative to dull the pain for the procedure, but there’s…” He paused as he scratched the back of his neck. “...there’s something else you two should know.”
“What?” Rainbow asked, shifting about nervously.
“Sco…” He checked his clipboard to make sure he had the name right. “Scootaloo’s wings are abnormally small for a pegasus of her age. Why was she never brought in for treatment when she was younger? This is something that we could have fixed with relative ease when she was a newborn foal, but now that she’s grown up…”
“Doctor, please, don’t beat around the bush. Say whatever it is you need to say,” Twilight said, bracing herself for the answer. She snuck a glance at Rainbow and saw that she was standing stock-still.
“If you insist, ma’am.” Glancing between the two of them, he continued, saying, “Due to her pre-existing condition, Scootaloo will never be able to fly like a normal pegasus. In fact, she’ll most likely never be able to fly at all. There aren’t any spells we can use except for black magic, but Princess Celestia has banned the usage of such magic for generations. Besides, no sane unicorn would ever attempt such a spell; the risks are much too high. She–”
The doctor was cut off when a nurse ran up from behind him. “Doctor, the patient in room two-oh-one is in respiratory distress. We need you now!” She turned and galloped down the hallway, dashing back into the room that she’d just come from.
“I”m sorry you two, but duty calls. You’re welcome to go check on your filly. She should be in room... two-one-three by now.” He slid the clipboard into one of his pockets and galloped down the hall, leaving the two of them alone with each other.
Twilight looked over at Rainbow to see that she had sat down, staring at the floor. Her front left hoof was twitching, which Twilight quickly noticed. Growing a little concerned, Twilight hesitantly asked, “Rainbow? You– are you alright?” When she didn’t respond, Twilight sat down next to her. She extended a wing and laid it around her friend. Her sensitive feathers feeling every twitch and jerk from her, she softly asked, “What’s wrong?”
Rainbow closed her eyes and looked away, fighting to keep her emotions in check. She took a couple slow breaths, and stuttered, “Re– remember when I had that bad ac… accident a while back? When I had to go to the hospital for my broken wing?” Twilight nodded. “When I lost control of that spin, I tried to recover but I couldn’t. As I saw the ground speeding up at me, I really thought I was done for good. Twi, when I hit right in front of you guys, I… I…”
“What?” Twilight asked softly, prompting her to continue.
“Please, please, please don’t tell anypony I told you this, but I was…” Rainbow looked away. “...I was scared. I was scared that I’d never be able to fly again, scared that I might not even make it. And when I woke up and saw all of you guys in the hospital, I acted all tough and made it sound like my accident was nothing, like that had happened a lot of times. But the thing was, that was the first time that I ever had a serious accident like that. I had had bad accidents before, but that was the first time that I was actually scared.”
“Rainbow… I , um–”
“When I woke up in that hospital bed, I knew I had broken the… whatever, the big bone in my wing, and…” Rainbow sniffled before continuing. “Twilight, injuries like that can ground a pegasus for life. Flying means the world and more to me. I can’t imagine living life stranded on the ground. It would… devastate me…” She turned away from Twilight again, hiding the tear she felt roll down her cheek. Rainbow quickly wiped her face clean of any evidence and cleared her throat a little too loudly. Stretching her neck, she continued, “I’m sorry, but when the doctor said that Scootaloo wouldn’t be able to fly, I… I…”
“He made you think of what happened to you,” Twilight murmured. Rainbow nodded silently and leaned against her, her head resting just below her chin. They stayed like that for a minute as Twilight let her friend pull herself together. She wasn’t quite sure how to continue, so she felt relieved when Rainbow pulled away.
“You… you know, I think Scootaloo’s room is down that way.” Twilight pointed down the hallway with a shaky hoof. “Come on, we should see how she’s doing.” As they started walking down the hallway, Twilight asked, “Are you gonna be alright?” Rainbow waited a couple seconds, then nodded. “You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, you can always stop by my place, night or day.”
Rainbow glanced back up at her with a small smile. “Thanks, Twilight, I think I might just do that.”
“No problem,” Twilight said, returning the smile. Gesturing down the hallway, she said, “So let’s go see if we can find her room.”
“Yeah… yeah, let’s go.” The two of them made their way down the hallway and stopped when they found Scootaloo’s room. Peering through the window, they saw her fast asleep in one of the two hospital beds in the room. Scootaloo’s splinted wing was held up by a couple wires connected to a small pulley system, completely immobilizing it so that she couldn’t flap it.
Just as Rainbow moved to go inside, Twilight came to the sudden realization that they knew close to nothing about Scootaloo’s parents. “Hey, hold on a second…” Twilight trailed off as she lost herself in thought.
“Yeah?” Rainbow asked, her hoof poised over the doorknob. Lowering it, she flapped her wings a few times and landed right beside Twilight. “What’s up?”
“Do we know anything about Scootaloo’s parents?” Twilight asked as she cocked an eyebrow. “Do you even know their names?”
“Yeah! Scootaloo’s parents’ names are… umm… huh.” Rainbow sat down, scratching her head as she looked off to the side. “I don’t think Scootaloo told me…” She glanced back through the window as she trailed off. “To be honest, today was the first time I even met them…”
“What? Surely we’ve met them sometime… maybe at one of Pinkie’s parties?”
“Nah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen them there or around town… Also, why the hay are they living all the way out there anyways?”
“I don’t know…” Twilight said. “You know, I’m pretty sure that City Hall has the answers we need. If you want to stay here and watch Scootaloo, I can run out there and see what I can find. And since Ponyville and its outskirts are now technically in my jurisdiction, I think it’d be a good idea to know as much as possible about them just in case we have to bring charges against them.”
“Sounds good to me,” Rainbow said, glancing over at Scootaloo again.
“Rainbow, will…” Twilight cleared her throat. “Will you be fine here for a little while? If we are going to legally take Scootaloo out of her parent’s care, we have to do it the right way. We can’t just take her out of her house and, uh... keep her, you know?”
“Yeah, I… I guess. So, um... I’ll see you later then?” Rainbow asked, placing her hoof on the doorknob.
“Of course. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Twilight said, turning away. “Oh, and if Scootaloo wakes up before I get back, tell her that she doesn’t have to worry anymore.”
“You got it, Twilight. Good luck with your, uh… the research stuff.”
“Thanks!” Twilight called over her shoulder as she trotted down the hall, heading back towards the stairs. As soon as she made it out the front door, she galloped away, heading straight back into town.
Yanking open yet another file cabinet, Twilight muttered, “Ugh… how do some ponies not understand the importance of proper organization? I could have found Scootaloo’s file ages ago if someone took a little time to sort these out!”
Twilight had been in the records room for the past hour and a half, flipping through file after file. None of the cabinets had been labeled and none of the files were in alphabetical order, leaving her flustered and more than a little angry. Because of that, she was left with only one option: to go through every single file cabinet in the room until she found her prize. At least the cabinets themselves were organized, neatly pushed up against the walls. The only space left between the two rows was a small table that sat below the only window in the room.
Well, at least it’s warm in here… Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes as she reached the back of what seemed like the hundredth drawer. In reality, she had only gone through seventeen of them, but each one took quite a bit of time to get through, especially since she had to open and inspect every file. Finishing what seemed like the millionth file, she tossed it back inside the drawer and slammed it shut. She sat down and let her shoulders slump as she looked around the room. She’d only gotten through about a third of the file cabinets, and she wanted to get done by a reasonable time. Glancing out the window at the other side of the room, she realized that she had only a few hours of daylight left.
She spent the next two and a half hours in silence as she kept going down the line of file cabinets, knowing full well that she would find what she was looking for eventually. She had finished the first wall long ago, and was now nearing the end of the second. Twilight closed the bottom drawer of the second to last cabinet and moved on to the last one, shaking her head irritably as she thought, I swear, if her file is in this last cabinet, I’m gonna… She pulled the top drawer of the last file cabinet open, grabbed the first file with her magic, and read the title.
Scootaloo: Relatives and– ugh! Twilight stomped the floor with her front hooves. I would have found this hours ago if I’d started on this side of the room! Swallowing her anger, Twilight trotted towards the other side of the room and threw the rather large file down on the table. She lit the area with her horn, opened the manila folder, and spread out the documents.
As she started to sort through them, she came across a series of hoofwritten documents titled ‘Foreclosure on: Brick Lump (PM) and Tranquil Breeze (PF)’. Oh, so that’s what their names are… Even though the area was well-lit, Twilight still struggled to read the sloppily-written documents. To her annoyance, she had to waste several minutes deciphering the bad hoofwriting. Rainbow was… A hoof shot up to cover her mouth. I can’t believe it, but she was right. She has to hear about this... Twilight put all of the documents back in the folder and made her way outside.
Night had fallen long ago and it was snowing hard, almost as hard as the night before. “Ugh, I knew I should have grabbed my scarf…” Twilight muttered, readying herself for the short trip back to the hospital. Placing a spell on the folder to make sure she wouldn’t lose any of the documents, she decided to bite the bit and tough it out.
Twilight galloped away from City Hall, letting the building quickly disappear into the torrent of snow flurries falling down around her. It was a quiet night, and nopony was out. The townsponies were probably all huddled close to their fireplaces on this cold and frigid night. Thankfully, it only took Twilight a few minutes of hard galloping to arrive back at the hospital. She shook herself off, using a quick heat spell to melt the snow that had accumulated on her back and mane.
Trotting inside, she turned to the right and walked upstairs. Upon reaching the second floor, she emerged back inside the hallway and hurried back to Scootaloo’s room. How am I going to tell Rainbow about this? Oh ponyfeathers, how am I going to tell Scootaloo? She stopped in front of the filly’s room and peered through the window. The sight instantly warmed her heart and she couldn’t help but take a few seconds to admire it.
Rainbow was already fast asleep, her head precariously perched on the edge of Scootaloo’s bed. Her wings twitched every couple of seconds and her ears flicked back and forth as if they were trying to swat a nonexistent fly. Twilight smiled and walked inside, quietly closing the door behind her. She walked up to Rainbow and listened to her snore for a few moments. I hope she won’t mind me waking her up… Besides, that position doesn’t look too comfortable... Twilight thought, cracking a small smile. Leaning forward, she gently nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek, trying to rouse her sleeping friend.
Rainbow groaned as she slowly sat up, shaking her head. “Ugh… hey, Twilight? Remind me to never sleep like that again. My back feels a little sore…” She arched her back, making a few joints along her spine pop loudly. Looking up, Rainbow fought back a yawn and quietly asked, “So... you find anything?”
“Yes, I… I did. But can– can we talk about this outside? I don’t want to wake Scootaloo up…” Twilight whispered nervously, nodding towards the door. And I don’t want her to hear what I’m about to tell you... Rainbow nodded back and they quietly walked back into the hallway, leaving the door cracked behind them.
“So… whatcha find?” Rainbow asked. She cocked an eyebrow at Twilight, noticing that she was looking around apprehensively.
“Rainbow, I…” Twilight sighed and set the folder down between them. “As much as I want to say otherwise, you were right about Scootaloo’s situation.”
Rainbow cocked an eyebrow. “Really? Which part?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.
“How Scootaloo has... her underdeveloped wings.” Rainbow’s eyes widened in shock. “Tranquil Breeze–Scootaloo's mother–” Twilight explained at Rainbow’s confused look, “had a drinking problem when she was pregnant; same with her husband. At the time, they were living near the southern part of town. Quite a few police reports show that even with a newborn foal, they continued to consume large amounts of alcohol, to the point where they were drunk all night and day. They had gotten several citations for public intoxication, disturbing the peace, stuff like that. Their tax returns show that they were very poor, so their neighbors had taken pity on them and had tried to help them out financially. Unfortunately, Brick Lump, Scootaloo’s father, went and spent that money on more booze instead of buying food and paying for the house, so they lost the house and had to move out of town.”
“Twilight… that’s just… yeesh.” Rainbow paused, struggling to take it all in. I knew things were bad, but… damn… She was about to continue when a small green blur caught her eye. Looking over Twilight’s shoulder, Rainbow spotted Spike running at them full speed, a scroll in his outstretched claw. “Spike?”
Twilight turned around just in time for Spike to slide right into her, making him drop the scroll. “Spike! What are you doing here?”
“Twilight… Celestia… sent… letter… Scootaloo… and you…” Spike panted, breathing heavily. He grabbed the scroll from the floor and held it up with a shaky arm, letting Twilight grab it from him. As she unfurled it, he sat down and relaxed, pressing his back against the wall. Twilight started to read the letter but was interrupted by Rainbow before she read the first sentence.
“Well, what’s it say?” Rainbow asked. She had heard Spike say Scootaloo’s name, and knowing Twilight, she was pretty sure that she had told Celestia about their situation.
“Well, if you would have waited a few more seconds you would have found out!” Twilight said, flicking her mane out of her eyes. She cleared her throat and read aloud:
Twilight,
This is indeed a delicate situation, one that I would prefer that I handle personally. I’ll be down in Ponyville with a squad of guards early in the morning to place Scootaloo’s parents under arrest. Seeing as the holidays are quickly coming upon us, they will be put on trial in roughly two weeks. Since Ponyville is not equipped with the proper judicial facilities, their trial will take place in the Grand Canterlot Courts.
There is also another matter that I wish to discuss with you. The only way for this filly, Scootaloo, to remain out of the foster care system is for two locals to step up to take care of her. If nopony can be found by the trial, she will be placed into one of the few foster care houses up here in Canterlot. I’m sure that she would find that being ripped away from her life in Ponyville would be jarring. With that being said, I’m confident that you’ll be able to find two gentle and caring souls to step up.
Until tomorrow,
Princess Celestia
“I’ll take care of her, Twilight!” Rainbow blurted out, a smile quickly growing on her face. “Now, who else could help me?” She brought a hoof up to her chin. “Hmm… Applejack? Nah, she’s already too busy taking care of Sweet Apple Acres and Apple Bloom. Pinkie Pie? Nah, she’s usually busy running Sugarcube Corner and taking care of the Cake’s twins, so she won’t work. Maybe Flutte–”
“I’ll do it,” Twilight spoke up. “I can take some time off of my studies, and besides, I–”
“Wait, what did you just say?” Rainbow’s eyes lit up in hopeful excitement.
“I said that I can help,” Twilight replied. “I’m sure Princess Celestia will approve of this. I mean, why wouldn’t she?” She was about to continue when Rainbow suddenly jumped up and pulled her into a hug, thanking her profusely.
“Alright!” Rainbow said a bit too loudly, pumping a hoof in the air and hovering in place. “This is going to be so awesome! Thank you so much!” A couple seconds later, she sank back to the floor and folded her wings, noticing that Twilight was staring at her pointedly, a small smile on her face. Confused, she watched Twilight point to a small sign on the wall that read ‘Quiet Area.’ “Oops, sorry,” she whispered with a slight giggle.
Twilight couldn’t help but blush. Her heart skipped a beat and she stuttered, “Oh, that’s, umm... that’s quite alright. I know how much Scootaloo means to you, and I think it would be fun to help you take care of her. We both know she deserves so much better, and I want to help you give her that. Do remember that nothing is set in stone yet, but I’m sure we’ll be able to figure something out.”
“Hey, I’m sorry to interrupt, but is it okay if I go back to Sweet Apple Acres?” Spike asked. “Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are still waiting on me to get back so we can finish our snowball fight. Hehe, I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when I melt their snowballs with my fire breath!” He stood up, took a deep breath, and let loose a small burst of flame to prove his point.
“Oh? And just what were you doing at Sweet Apple Acres?” Twilight asked playfully. “Did you finish your chores?”
“Yeah! I did all of them right after you left, including yours! I had just finished putting away the dishes when Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom showed up, asking if I wanted to help them build a snow fort! So can I go back? Please?” Spike asked, giving Twilight his best puppy dog look.
“Alright, you can go. Just stay warm, alright? I don’t want you catching a cold.” Twilight smiled gently and nuzzled him. “And also, be careful using your fire! We wouldn’t want anypony to get burned, right?”
“You got it, Twi. See you guys tomorrow!” he called out over his shoulder as he scampered down the hallway, disappearing around the corner.
“Wow, that little dragon has some speed,” Rainbow murmured, shuffling her wings. “So listen. About the doctor saying that Scootaloo will never fly…”
“Yeah?”
“I really think we should keep that part from her. If she ever finds out, it would ruin her. I know it would ruin me,” Rainbow said as she looked back at Scootaloo. Several moments passed before she spoke again. “You know, I think that I’m gonna stay here with Scoots overnight. I don’t want to leave her here by herself, you know? Waking up in a hospital with unfamiliar ponies might be scary to a filly. Besides, I think she’d like to wake up to a friendly face.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Twilight trotted past Rainbow and into Scootaloo’s room. “So that’s why I’m staying too! Two friendly faces are better than one!”
“You sure?” Rainbow asked with an uncertain smile, closing the door behind them. “You know you don’t have to.” Although, it would be really nice to have somepony keep me company…
“I know, but I want to. I need to make sure that she’s going to be okay. I just feel as if I should be here.”
“Heh, thanks… so…” Rainbow trailed off as she eyed the only other bed in the room. Sleeping in the chair had made her back hurt, and she didn’t want to spend tomorrow with an aching back. She really wanted it, but she also didn’t want to come off as selfish. The bed only had one pillow and was just wide enough for two ponies to lay on it side by side. She decided to offer it first in the hopes that Twilight would decline, saying that she could have it. “You know, you can have the other bed. I’ll just stay up the whole night. You deserve it, you know? Being royalty and all has its perks.”
“Rainbow, you know I don’t like being treated differently. I–” She paused when Rainbow started snickering, and quickly realized it was a joke. She cracked a smile and said softly, “Oh, hardy har har, you got me.” Looking towards the bed, Twilight did a little math in her head. “Say, why don’t we share it? It looks big enough for the two of us if we lay back to back.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Sure, that sounds good to me,” she said, hopping on the side of the bed facing Scootaloo. She held the covers up with a hoof and let Twilight slide in behind her. Even back to back, they barely fit on the bed, but barely was all they needed. She fluffed the sole pillow with a hoof, regretting that it wasn’t as fluffy or soft as the ones she had back home.
Oh well. This’ll have to do, I guess… “You all good over there, Twi?” she asked softly, feeling a tad bit weary. She pulled the blankets up past her shoulders and shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position.
“Mhm…” Twilight said. The warmth from the blankets and Rainbow was quickly lulling her to sleep, and she found herself fighting to stay awake. “Goodnight, Rainbow…”
“Night, Twilight.” Rainbow sighed as she finally let herself relax. It had been a tense day and she was glad that she finally had some respite. Closing her eyes, she felt Twilight’s body move slightly with each breath she took. She couldn’t help but crack a smile. The feeling of somepony else there with her was soothing in a way that she couldn’t describe. Rainbow wearily cracked her eyes open and saw that Scootaloo was still fast asleep. “I promise I’ll give you the best life ever, squirt,” Rainbow whispered as she tugged the sheets tight. Closing her eyes for the last time that night, she let herself fully relax as she drifted off. “I promise…”
Stats
Page generated in 0.086 seconds
Total duration
1,141 users online
1,847,644 hits today, 1,872,792 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
3866774
FIRST HERE! I'll be reading this shortly.
Is the drinking problem a reference to
"to kill a mockingbird"?
3867627 Nope. It's not a reference to anything.
3867632 ah because it reminds me of it
update faster please
How is it I new you were going to preaty much make her disabled oh well I balev she will fly in the show but it was good.
...... well fuck.....
3867648
Not Necessarily. Doctor said nothing short of Black Magic now could ever hope to fix her wings and that Celestia had banned Unicorns from using such magic... Twilight is no longer a Unicorn.
3867658 ugh ur right and I'm sorry I got really bad memory sometimes
3867658
To top it off Twilight can use Black Magic. It's cannon, and she did it as a Unicorn, meaning she's a lot stronger now, being an Alicorn.
Damn, right in the feels.
Hopefully everything will turn around for Scoots.
3867658
Yeah, that scene was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.
...Five bits says those two will wake up in a mutual wing-hug
Bonus points if Scootaloo sees them like that and starts asking embarrassing questions.
Anyway, the feels are strong with this chapter, especially Rainbow's moment. Seeing that little bit of herself in Scootaloo is...touching, to say the least. But even so, things are definitely looking up for Scoots, even if it's only the start.
And here's hoping for some righteous tranquil fury from Tia next chapter
Scootalove FTW
Don't make us wait so long next time it was unbareable
How did I not "like" this yet?
My money is on Twilight and Rainbow waking up facing each other in a really awkward way.
You're on.
I concur. It was worth the wait.
*crosses fingers*
Yay! Twidash Scootadoption! How is it that I feel both hollow and fuzzy inside at the same time? It's sad, but happy! Argh! My feelings are so confused!
Also, I like the accurate portrayal of how you get a marefriend: sleep together first, maybe date later. That more-or-less matches my experience.
And dark magic reference is super subtle. Eyyup.
Twidash with Scootadopt... my greatest weakness and an eternal reminder to the fic that I really should be writing right now.....
Anyway. Amazing. I'd say it was worth the wait but... I don't want to encourage you to take this long again.
Nah, I don't really mind the wait. As long as it's quality stuff it could take two years for all I care.
Don't have any nitpicks, also I'll leave you with some praise.
PRAISE
...
OKay fine. The Twidash is developing wonderfully. The bit with Rainbow connecting Scoots to herself was simply brilliant and this story has managed to actually make me truly angry (If there's one thing I hate more than anti-gay people it's child abusers). Bravo.
The words brought together created a vivid picture that was awe-inspiring.
I think the sentence for the two worse examples of parenthood should be
BANISHMENT TO THE MOON!!!!
I hope Twilight can find a potion or spell that would help Scootaloo's wings grow, she shouldn't be stuck with the consequences of that idiot mare's bad choices.
The TwiDash was adorable and needs to continue
why is it that the storyes with twidash shipping are some of the more intersting ones?
Retribution for the little filly at last.
About time for those two morons to get quite the wake up call, metaphorically AND quite literally. 
Twilight, go do black magic for Scoots! You ain't no unicorn anymore!
Also, fuck Scoot's parents. Fuck them to Tartarus.
Forgive me if I'm wrong, as I don't know the rules and guidelines for legally adopting a kid (foal), but it seems oddly specific to say that it needs to be two locals. Wouldn't just one do? And if it does have to be two, shouldn't they have to be married or something? Being adopted by two unrelated people (ponies) would just complicate things, I think. Other than that, I like where this is going. In disregard to my second question, I like the concept of Dashie and Twi adopting Scoots before they are in a relationship.
Very good story I can't wait until the next chapter. My only complaint is the twidash shipping. Top story.
3868173 I specifically said locals because Ponyville does not have foster care houses (as far as we know). Since Canterlot is the capital city of Equestria, it's pretty safe to assume that there are at least a couple of foster care homes up there, and that's where Scootaloo would have gone if no one stepped up to take care of her.
Oh I knew what was gonna happen to Scoots. But it adds to her story a great sad moment.
I love the sad stories sometides when they're done right like this.
For all 31 people who do not like this,
I banish you to the depths of Tartarus in which the demon lordz will slowly devour you alive.
And be cursed to hear only the My Little Pony theme song... From.....
GENERATION ONE!!!!!!!!
3867734 I love that sound that Twilight makes when she claps.
Interesting so far. I can already see a forthcoming situation where Scootaloo wants to learn how to fly later on, only for Rainbow to have to break it to her.
I'm looking forward to the court case upcoming too
Oh and one thing I suggest. The part where Twilight arrives at the hospital for the first time, I think, should be seperated from the paragraph before it by a page break of some kind.
Otherwise, awesome work so far!
DJRD
3868252 Should've gone with the Sea Pony song: even worse of an Earworm than It's A Small World.
1: Rainbow doesn't say that, Twilight suggests it.
2: What? Where did you get that idea?
3: Woah, hold on there, lover boy. Rainbow doesn't have feelings for Twilight... yet.
s2.quickmeme.com/img/1e/1ec985e6e1b24d0edd61e48c501d4b190508fb8e0d62084b870942ad3b564385.jpg
I have so been looking forward to this. I was kind of worried that there was gonna be a case of out of blue romance when Rainbow said she could kiss Twi. Dodged a bullet there. This was adorable and I will
patientlyquietlyenthusiastically wait for more3868095
With the way Abyss set this up, the only thing that can happen for Scootaloo to be able to fly is for Twilight to try to get permission from Celestia to perform black magic on her.
Report in the newspapers a few days later; Brick Lump and Tranquil Breeze died the other day when their cabin caught fire. Upon further investigation, it was decided the fire started when a bottle of particularly strong brandy fell onto an open flame whilst the two ponies slept. Due to the copious amounts of alcohol, the fire spread quickly and violently.
Brick Lump and Tranquil Breeze leave behind a filly, Scootaloo, who is staying with friends.
What really happened a few days ago;
fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/050/3/b/angry_princess_celestia___animated_gif_by_nicoboss143-d5vi6u6.gif
Love it, MOAR!!!
3867658 3867734 Unfortunately, just because Twilight can use it doesn't mean she should. That magic was probably banned for very good reasons and using it on Scootaloo, even for entirely altruistic reasons, seems like a terminally bad idea.
Two? Why two? What's wrong with sole guardianship?
3868646
It's probably just your bog-standard fleshcrafting and necromancy. Steep learning curve, significant power requirements, and high abuse potential are likely the reasons for it being banned, but that just means Twilight would need the proper licenses and permits (which as-yet do not exist, natch).
Stuff's gonna be going down soon. Better put on a serious face in preparation.
static3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140115174622/mlp/images/thumb/e/e1/Cheese_Sandwich_promotional_S4E12.jpg/640px-Cheese_Sandwich_promotional_S4E12.jpg
That should do it.
3868514
Sounds just about right.
Brick Lump...I...I just love that name. It's like another name for deadbeat.
3868797 I got my serious hat
th05.deviantart.net/fs70/150/i/2012/218/7/2/i_guess_it__s_just_me_and_you__chicken_hat_by_megbeth-d5a37n2.jpg
Scootaloo...
Goddamn those two. THEY DESERVE TO BE HUNG!
So...I know I said earlier I was holding out for Tia's tranquil fury, but I have since realized that Luna shouting them down with the Royal Canterlot Voice would also be positively delightful. I've got my fingers crossed for both.
I get the feeling that love is in the air.
fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/053/0/b/rainbow_dash_hugging_twilight_by_fureox-d5vfn8k.png
Or maybe in the next chapter.lol
Damnit, when will authors stop making stories that would make sense being canon!
You do realize thats a good thing.....right?
Yes, but it get's me so confused when I watch the show! DAMN YOU GOOD WRITING!!!!!
You alright?
Meh, I'm over it. Good chapter, mate.
Whoa, Scootalo's fathers really screw up things. Celestia will make them pay
3868252
Sweet pony Jesus that's... That's EVIL man...