In the home of Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof, laughter can be heard as the said couple joked around with their guest, Scootaloo. They were in the living room, gathered around the coffee table, Scootaloo sat on one couch while Hothoof and Whistles sat across from her.
"I swear!" declared Hothoof, "I lost a bet to a card game with my pals. If it wasn't for that bet, I don't know if I ever would have gotten myself to talk to Windy here."
Whistles giggled, "It was out of nowhere. He flew to my house in the middle of the night. He was sweating enough to supply the weather factory with clouds. Not to mention his face was red enough to provide the room with some light."
"I wasn't that bad," Hothoof pouted.
Scootaloo laughed, "Then what? That's when you asked her to go out with you?"
Hothoof scratched the back of his neck, "Well no. Umm, I tried to ask, but the darn words wouldn't come out."
"Oh, words came out alright. I just never knew those kinds of words existed. 'IdatWhi-, I mean Ugh, My spepony,'" Whistles teased her husband.
"So? What happened?" Sootaloo asked, eagerly wanting to know.
"Well actually, I never got to ask her because her dad came knocking on her door. So I chickened out and flew out of there. I didn't know I was making so much noise," Hothoof blushed from embarrassment.
"I told my father that a lost pigeon flew into my room and it startled me," Windy Whistles explained.
"A pigeon up in the clouds?" Scootaloo asked with her eyebrow raised.
Whistles chuckled, "That's exactly what he asked. Then I said, 'Well I did say he was a lost pigeon, didn't I?'"
Everypony laughed with tears running down their cheeks. Whenever one of the ponies was finished, another would giggle, and the laughter would start all over again.
"Geez. I can hear you guys all the way back at the academy," a new yet familiar voice entered the room.
"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo smiled happily at the cyan pegasus. She immediately lept from the couch to embrace the pony she saw as a big sister.
"Haha. Hiya squirt. I hope my parents didn't bore you or anything," said Rainbow Dash as she returned the embrace.
"Bore me? Are you kidding? I always have fun with them," said Scootaloo.
Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof left the couch to join the young mares.
"Us? Boring? Did we ever give you a moment to be bored?" asked Hothoof.
"Actually, the way I remember it, I was the one that never gave you two the moment to be bored," joked Rainbow Dash.
"Hahaha. So you did," Hothoof agreed.
"Your parents are just as awesome as you Rainbow Dash. They had so many cool stories to tell," said Scootaloo.
"Oh come on. I am sure your parents have just as many stories," said Windy Whistles.
Almost instantly, the room went completely silent. Rainbow's eyes were wide and her jaw dropped. At that moment, she held Scootaloo much tighter in her sisterly embrace. Although Dash's parents felt the tension, they weren't sure what just happened.
Scootaloo broke the silence, still hiding her face in Rainbow's chest, "Umm... It is getting pretty late. I think I am going to go home now."
"Uh, sure thing squirt. I will take you home. Just wait for me outside while I put away my stuff," said Rainbow as she let her go.
Scootaloo then turned to Whistles and Hothoof with a smile, "Thanks again! I had a lot of fun today. I hope to see you guys at my birthday party in a couple of weeks."
"Oh, of course, sweetie," said Windy Whistles with a forced smile, "Wouldn't miss it for anything." Although the thought has come to her mind, she didn't want to think that she said something wrong that might have hurt Scootaloo. As Scootaloo gave her goodbye hugs to the pegasus couple, they returned the hugs with a more apologetic feel.
"I will see you both later!" Scootaloo smiled and waved goodbye.
Whistles and Hothoof waved and smiled in return, but they have known her long enough to know her smile wasn't the real thing.
"I'll be right there," said Rainbow as Scootaloo exited the house. She then turned to her parents with fire in her eyes. A fire that was much hotter than when she lost her temper with them in the locker room. "Mom, are you crazy!?" Rainbow shouted in a controlled whisper. "How can you ask her that?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything," apologized Whistles.
"Hold on there sweetie," Hothoof intervened, "Is this about Scootaloo's parents? Is she ashamed of them? Did we say something wrong?"
Just like that, the fire in Rainbow's eyes was nearly gone. "You mean, she never told you?" Rainbow asked confused.
"Tell us what dear?" asked Whistles.
Rainbow Dash sat down and took a deep breath. She then looked at both her parents with a rare and serious face, "Scootaloo doesn't have parents. Her home is the Ponyville Orphanage," explained Rainbow Dash.
The news came as a complete shock to her parents. Both Hothoof and Whistles didn't know how to take the news. For almost a year they have known Scootaloo and yet they never learned this about her. Then again, to their knowledge, the topic of Scootaloo's parents never came to mind until that point. "Oh sweet Celestia," said Windy Whistles as she struggled to say the words. Slowly tears began to form, "I have to apologize to her."
"No mom wait," Rainbow stopped her. "I know you feel bad about it, but I'm sure Scootaloo isn't upset with you or anything. I don't think she wanted the two of you to know about her current situation so just please pretend that this event never happened, okay?"
"Rainbow, you can't expect us to simply ignore this," said Hothoof.
"I never said to ignore it," Rainbow replied frustrated. "I only meant I am sure she didn't want to trouble you with the thought. Whenever somepony found out about her being an orphan, ponies treated her differently. Sure she gained attention and was treated nicely, but that was not the kind of attention that she wanted. She is afraid that if you two got wind of this then you would treat her like everypony else. So for Scootaloo's sake, just pretend this didn't happen and go on about your daily lives."
Both Hothoof and Whistles looked at each other with worry. Although they never agreed to it, Rainbow felt that they understood the situation.
"I am going to leave my stuff here. I will be back to pick them up later." Before leaving, Rainbow got back up to give both her parents a hug. "And don't worry about Scoots. She is a squirt, but she is one of the strongest pegasi I know." Her parents smiled and nodded in agreement with her statement.
"I love you guys. I will be back soon," Rainbow said as she left the house.
"Oh honey, what have I done?" Whistles asked with the hurtful tears returning. "I hurt that sweet little girl."
Hothoof wrapped his front legs around his wife to comfort her, "Oh no. It's not your fault hun. You and I had no way of knowing. It was just a slip of the tongue."
"I know I know," Whistles rubbed her face in his chest to wipe the tears, "But that doesn't make the situation any better. How can she be so strong when she had no parents to support her?"
"Well for one, she has good friends and I am sure our daughter played a huge part in that," Hothoof continued to comfort Whistles.
"Oh, I know Rainbow asked us to pretend that nothing happened, but how can we? I won't be able to look at her the same anymore," Windy Whistles admitted.
"Well, I would be lying if I said I could forget about everything," Hothoof agreed.
"I just wish there was something we could do for her. Something that can bring that wonderful smile back. Maybe then we wouldn't have to think about this so much," said Windy Whistles.
"Umm, honey, I have a confession to make," said Hothoof.
"Huh?"
"To be honest, I already had an idea. I am pretty confident that you would support it," he said as he looked into her eyes.
"What's that dear?"
"Well..."
*** 2 Weeks Later***
In Ponyville, Sugarcube Corner was lively as ever with young ponies celebrating Scootaloo's birthday. As usual, Pinkie knew how to throw a party; Music was lively, the games were fun, and the food was top notch.
However, Scootaloo was too distracted to enjoy her own birthday. In turn, this worried her best friends and fellow crusaders. "Scootaloo? Everything all right?" asked Applebloom.
"Huh? Oh yeah," said a surprised Scootaloo, "I just haven't seen Rainbow Dash or her parents."
"Maybe they are just running late?" suggested Sweetie Belle.
"Dash, maybe. But her parents are never late," replied Scootaloo. "I'm starting to wonder if..." Scootaloo's thoughts went back to that awkward night.
The words trailed off into nothing and this concerned Sweetie and Applebloom even more. "If what?" Sweetie asked.
"If-," Scootaloo was about to answer, but somepony literally crashed the party. A familiar gray mare pegasus came crashing through the doors, wearing a blue mail pony uniform, with a large heavy bag of letters. Luckily, she and nopony were injured.
"Oops. My bad," apologized Derpy, "I have a letter for uh... Ms. Oolatoocs?" The whole pony crowd looked at one another in confusion. Then Derpy looked back at the envelope and realized, "Oh. Hahaha. I had it upside down." She flipped the envelope and read it again, "What I meant to say was I have a letter for Ms. Scootaloo."
"Uh, that's me," Scootaloo said as she approached Derpy.
"Here you go," said Derpy as she gave the letter to her. "Oh, and happy birthday!" she said before leaving the party.
Sweetie and Applebloom gathered around Scootaloo as she opened the envelope. The letter read:
Dear Scootaloo,
We have a special surprise for you, but we can only show you in Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash will be waiting for you on the large hill past Sweet Apple Acres.
With Love,
Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof
"Huh? Rainbow Dash is waiting for you? Why didn't she just deliver the mail herself?" asked Sweetie.
"I don't know," said a confused Scootaloo.
"Well, it does say it is a 'special' surprise. Maybe this is part of it," said Applebloom. "Why don't we just go see?"
The crusaders ran out the door, leaving all the party guests befuddled.
***
To the letter, the crusaders ran past Sweet Apple Acres and ran to the top of the hill. Tired, they sat their plots down, but there was no sign of the rainbow pegasus. "I don't get it," said Scootaloo, "Isn't this the hill that was mentioned in the letter?"
"I would think so," said Applebloom, "This is the only large hill passed my house."
Then, the three mares began to hear a sound. At first, they couldn't figure out what it was as it was a whirring sound. However, only Scootaloo recognized what it was. She then looked up and saw three pegasuses flying in their direction. "Look!" Scootaloo shouted with her hoof pointed. Sweetie and Applebloom redirected their attention to the sky. All three recognized the Wonderbolt uniforms instantly.
As the three Wonderbolts flew down, they split up and began to release their cloud trails; an orange trail, a bright deep red trail, and a white trail. The orange and red trail swirled all around until the outlines resembled a familiar pegasus pony. Then the white trail created the signature Wonderbolt insignia around the pegasus outline. The girls below were in awe of the Wonderbolts well-known aerobatics. "Is that me?" asked Scootaloo with eyes shining.
The three Wonderbolts then regrouped in tight formation. Before flying off, they flew down closer to the crusaders. More recognizable up close, Scootaloo was able to see it was Soarin, Spitfire, and Misty Fly. "Which one of you is the birthday girl?" asked Spitfire.
"I am!" Scootaloo happily raised her hoof.
The three Wonderbolts gave a salute and said in unison, "Happy birthday!"
After saying those words, a loud boom was heard overhead. All the ponies looked up to see the legendary sonic rainboom. The large rainbow circle dispersed the cloud formation and in the center was a rainbow trail. It wasn't hard to figure out which Wonderbolt that was.
Rainbow Dash, not in uniform, flew straight down to the group. Any other pegasus would need to slow down before stopping. However, Rainbow Dash was able to stop with ease and hovered near her colleagues, "Thanks a lot, you guys."
All nodded in acknowledgment. "Anytime Crash," said Spitfire. They each exchanged salutes and flew off until they were out of sight. The only ponies left now were Dash and the crusaders.
The crusaders then began to cheer. "That was so awesome!" said Scootaloo, "Rainbow Dash, this was the bestest and coolest present ever!"
Rainbow laughed, "Hold on there Squirt. You still have one present left and I am pretty sure it is a lot cooler than this."
All the jaws of the young fillies dropped. "How could anything top that!?" shouted an excited Scootaloo.
"We have to see this!" said an eager Sweetie Belle.
"Umm... Actually, my parents asked that only Scootaloo sees this present. Sorry girls, but this is very important," said Rainbow.
The ears of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle drooped down in disappointment.
"What? Why can't they come?" questioned Scootaloo.
"I know I know, but trust me on this. They wouldn't ask you to do this if this wasn't important," said Rainbow.
"It's okay Scootaloo. This is your birthday after all. Besides, I'm sure you can tell us all about it when you get back. Right?" Applebloom looked to Rainbow for confirmation.
"Of course! But this surprise is so big, so epic that this can only be for you!" said Rainbow as she made loops in the air.
"See? So go on. We will just wait for you back at the party," said Applebloom.
Scootaloo then embraced both Sweetie and Applebloom in a hug, "I love you girls. I will tell you all about it when I get back."
"We'll be waiting," Sweetie said with a wink.
Not to waste any more time, Scootaloo jumped on Rainbow's back and began their flight to Cloudsdale.
***
Throughout the flight, there was slight discomfort on Rainbow's back, but it was mainly due to Scootaloo tightening her grip from excitement.
"Hey, could you ease up there squirt?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"Oh. Sorry! I am just too excited. Can you give me a hint?"
"Heck no! The suspense will build up until you pop," joked Rainbow.
"Oh," Scootaloo pouted, "Are we at least close?"
"Actually, we are there," Rainbow pointed out.
Rainbow went in for a landing right in front of her parent's house. Scootaloo hopped right off with a huge smile on her face. She found herself tip-toeing in place. "Follow me," directed Rainbow.
Once Rainbow opened the door, Scootaloo was sure she was going to get the biggest and loudest greeting from Windy and Hothoof. But to her surprise, the couple wasn't there. In fact, Scootaloo found the house to be uncomfortably quiet. "Uh, Rainbow? Where are your parents?"
"Don't worry. You'll see," said Rainbow as she ascended up the stairs. A curious Scootaloo continued to follow. Still, she couldn't help but wonder where the rainbow couple was.
Once they were up the stairs and down the hall, Rainbow stopped by the door and waited for the younger pegasus. Once Scootaloo caught up, she looked at the door and recognized it to be Rainbow's old bedroom. "Oh, did you need to get something from your room?" asked Scootaloo.
"What? My room?" Rainbow asked as if playing dumb.
"Uh, yeah? This room," Scootaloo pointed out.
"This isn't my room," Rainbow corrected.
"Huh? What are you talking about? I know this is your room. I did a project on it, remember?" questioned Scootaloo.
"Oh? Why don't you look and check again?" Rainbow asked, but Scootaloo was sure it was more of a challenge.
With confidence, Scootaloo reached for the door handle. She already knew what she was going to see as she memorized the layout. The first thing she would see was the rainbow bed, the tanned colored carpet, and the inspirational poster to the left with the basketball hoop. However, once she stepped inside, she realized she was totally wrong.
In front of her, there was a rainbow-themed bed, but the frame was different. Observing her surroundings, she then saw a lot of Rainbow Dash's belongings were missing. In fact, she noticed that some of the things were replaced with her own; her posters, toys, her scooter, and some pictures of her and the crusaders. Flabbergasted, Scootaloo wanted to ask, but the words wouldn't come out. "W-w-why are all my things in here?"
"Because it is your room now," Windy Whistles said as she entered the room. She was followed by Bow Hothoof and Rainbow Dash carrying a flat wrapped up present. "That is if you would like it to be."
"My... My room? What do you mean?"
"Well, we have been talking and have come to an agreement," said Hothoof. "Scootaloo, we have known you for a while now and we think of you as one of the family. We love you so much that we decided that we wanted to make it official." Rainbow Dash then gave Scootaloo the present.
Scootaloo had a very strong feeling at what they were saying, but she didn't want to get the wrong idea. Shaking, she struggled to unwrap the gift. Once she finally found an opening, she took off the bow and ripped off the wrapping paper. The present was a framed up certificate. She read aloud, "This is to certify that Scootaloo has been ad-," Scootaloo stopped. She choked at the word she was about to say. She wanted to say the word, but there was a lump in her throat that prevented her from doing it. She struggled and wiped away the tears that began to form.
"Go ahead dear," said Whistles, "Finish what it says."
"You got this sis!" Rainbow cheered her on.
Scootaloo took in a deep breath, wiped away any remaining teardrops, and started over, "This is to certify that Scootaloo has been adopted to Windy Whistles and Bow Hothoof from the Ponyville Orphanage."
"What do you say kiddo? Want to be our little girl?" asked Hothoof.
Unable to answer, Scootaloo nodded a "yes." She ran to her new parents and dug herself into Whistle's chest. She cried out all she had been holding in for years. For the longest time, she has dreamt about this day. For it to be in front of her, in her embrace, it was a dream she didn't want to wake up from. She wanted to be in that moment forever with her mom, her dad, and her big sister. She finally found her home.