Epilogue
“Rainbow!” Multiple ponies said at once.
“And you got Scootaloo back!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.
Slowly, the whiteness faded, and Scootaloo beheld the other faces looking at her. They were in Pinkie Pie’s room, but it was dark outside. Nine ponies and a dragon clustered around Rainbow and Scootaloo.
Both Rainbow and Scootaloo were openly crying.
“What happened?” Princess Celestia asked. “You went through the portal, and then you came back so quickly. And how did you find young Scootaloo?”
Rainbow Dash replied, “I’m … I’m not sure. I went in and saw … us.”
“Us?” Apple Jack asked.
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “Us, but older.” She sniffled. “I spoke to myself, and well… I think they were sacrificing themselves to stop the Bronies.”
Scootaloo wiped her face. “My mom and the others, they teamed up with the good Bronies to stop the evil ones, and they’re going to get erased from time so that the evil Bronies never come back.”
“The good Bronies?” Apple Bloom asked. “But I thought you said that the Bronies were monsters.”
Scootaloo took a deep breath and then explained what happened after the evil Bronies had pony napped her. She told them about the evil Bronies’ plans, Derek, about the time stuff, and about her reunion with her mom.
When Scootaloo had finally finished, Pinkie asked, “Is there anything we can do to help them? The good Bronies, I mean?”
Twilight sighed. “The magical frequency that the Bronies used to get here no longer exists. I can’t find it anymore, and there aren’t any more residual traces of it either.” She paused. “I think that they have already been erased.”
Scootaloo let out a few little sobs. Rainbow Dash wrapped a wing around Scootaloo’s body, but she didn’t embrace her yet. She just sat there, and peered at the orange pegasus.
“There is something that has been troubling me ever since you told us your story,” Princess Celestia said. She peeked down at Scootaloo. “You said the adult versions of your friends sent you back in time, right?”
Scootaloo nodded.
“If that is the case, am I to believe that you didn’t know any pony when you first arrived?” Princess Celestia asked. “Who have you been living with all this time?”
A great weight had settled in Scootaloo’s stomach, and all eyes fell on her. Perhaps it was the question that every pony wanted to ask, but were too afraid to. The silence was deafening.
Scootaloo swallowed hard. “N-no pony.”
Rainbow Dash screamed. “WHAT?!? YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU’VE BEEN HOMELESS THIS WHOLE TIME?!” She had relinquished her wing, and she stood over Scootaloo with the ferocity of a manticore.
The other ponies stared on in utter amazement, and it was not the kind of amazement that ponies showed at exciting magic shows.
Scootaloo’s tears fell on the wooden flooring at her hoofs. “I’m not homeless. I have a home.”
“Where do you live?” Rainbow’s voice still carried that direct, forceful nature.
No other pony spoke up, and they watched Scootaloo in anticipation.
She hung her head low. “In a cave in the Everfree Forest.”
No pony said anything.
Sweetie Belle got a little closer, and she met Scootaloo’s eyes. “Why didn’t you tell us you didn’t have a real home?”
Scootaloo sobbed harder. “I was embarrassed. Not only that, I wasn’t supposed to tell any pony about my mission because if I did, it would have alerted Evil Bronies. I had to do what was best for Equestria.”
Once more, the room became bathed in silence.
Apple Bloom said, “You should have told us. We would have helped you and opened up our homes to you.”
“Your darned right we would have!” Apple Jack said.
Scootaloo replied, “But I didn’t want to be a burden on any pony, and I-”
A cyan-hoof lifted her chin upward, and Scootaloo found herself staring directly into Rainbow Dash’s eyes.
“Never again,” Rainbow Dash said. “You will never have to endure that cave again. You’re coming to live with me because mothers are supposed to take care of their daughters.”
“Rainbow…” Twilight said softly.
Rainbow gripped Scootaloo in a tight hug, and she whispered into her ear. “I promise you’ll never be alone again. You’ll never feel unloved or unwanted, and you’ll always have a home with me. I love you, Squirt.”
Scootaloo’s only response was a soft kiss on Rainbow Dash’s cheek and the tightest hug she could muster. Her nightmare was finally over.
Scootaloo was finally where she belonged.
She was finally home.
The End