MLP: Like Sisters
Rainbow Dash walked Scootaloo back to the ferry between Ponyville and Cloudsdale. "See ya soon, Scoots!" she said happily, wrapping her wing around Scootaloo in a pegasus hug.
"By Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said happily, cuddling into her idol and mentor's embrace. "I'll swing by soon!"
As Scootaloo headed for the ferry, Rainbow Dash suddenly brightened. "Hey, Scoots! Why don't I come with ya, huh? I've got the time free, and it would be great to meet your folks. Whaddayasay?"
Scootaloo smiled a bit nervously. "Umm...today's not a good day, Rainbow Dash. My folks are really busy, you know?"
Rainbow sighed. "Well, maybe some other time, then?"
"Sure, I'll let you know when's a good time!" Waving goodbye, Scootaloo got onto the ferry.
Rainbow watched as the ferry left, and - just before it was completely out of sight - she noticed Scootaloo breathing a sigh of relief. She sat back in thought. "Huh," she said to herself. "Does she not want me to meet her family or something?" She turned to head back into town. "I mean, I know how much she looks up to me. Heck, back in that camping trip, she told me she wanted me to be like her big sister, and I was happy to take her under my wing...but why would she want that kept so seperate from her home life?" Dash shook her head. "I just don't get it. ...maybe Twilight can help me figure this out. She's a smart pony." With that settled, she flew over to the library.
Twilight listened as she explained the issue, very thoughtful. "Do you know anything about Scootaloo's home life?" she asked finally.
Dash shook her head. "Not a thing," she replied. "Don't even know her adress, for that matter. We always meet up here in Ponyville."
Twilight nodded. "Well, I can see that you're concerned...but we shouldn't rush into things here. Scootaloo seems to not want to talk about this with you-"
"But maybe she's talked about it with the other Cutie Mark Crusaders! Maybe they can tell me what's up! Thanks Twilight!"
"That's not what I-" Twilight stared as Rainbow Dash flew out the window. "-meant."
It didn't take long for Rainbow Dash to find Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. They were still at the clubhouse. "Hey fillies!" she said happily. "Got a minute?"
"Sure Rainbow Dash!" Apple Bloom said happily. "Whatcha need?"
Rainbow Dash settled down next to them. "Well, I was wondering if you could tell me - without breaking any confidences - why Scootaloo doesn't seem to want me to meet her folks?"
Sweetie Belle tilted her head. "Where did you get that idea?" she asked in confusion. "She's always over the moon about you, and hasn't stopped talking about how you agreed to take her under your wing." She blinked. "Come to think of it, though, she NEVER talks about home."
"Yeah," Apple Bloom said, putting her hoof to her chin. "Whenever I start talking about the farm, or Sweetie talks about her folks or Rarity, Scoot just sits and listens. The one time ah asked her point blank about her family, she started talkin' about your latest stunts and how cool you were."
Rainbow Dash sat back on her rump. "Wait...she doesn't even talk about it with you guys?" The two fillies shook their heads. "But you three talk about everything, right?" They both nodded. "Then it can't be just me. She doesn't want ANYPONY knowing about her home life...but why?"
Sweetie Belle spoke up. "Well, I don't know, but I don't think it's good. We're all always happy to meet up, but Apple Bloom and I are just as happy to go home. Scootaloo is NEVER happy to be heading home." Rainbow Dash had gone very still. "Rainbow Dash?"
"...I think I may be getting a glimmering of something. I hope I'm wrong, but...there's one pony I can talk to to know one way or another." She shook her head. "I don't like prying into Scootaloo's privacy like this, but I said I'd be a big sister to her, and I meant it. Thanks, fillies. See you later." Taking wing, she flew off towards Cloudsdale. If she pushed, she'd make it there in time.
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Rainbow Dash calmly knocked on the door. This was a friend she hadn't seen or talked to in years, but when they'd parted ways they'd been close. She only hoped that was still the case...since she was about to ask a pretty huge favor, and she had no idea what reaction she'd get. She was glad they'd kept up on each other's news with letters, however.
The door opened, and a pink pony with purple eyes and blue mane stuck her head out. "Yes, can I help-DASH!" She quickly pulled Rainbow Dash into a tight hug. "It's been years! Why didn't you write that you were coming?"
Dash hugged her back. "Sorry, Firefly. I would have let you know I'd be here, but this was a kind of spur-of-the-moment thing."
As they parted, Firefly shook her head. "Dash, only you would fly over 50 miles on the spur of the moment. So what brings you here?" She sat down behind her desk and a mountain of paperwork. "Hope you don't mind if I keep working while you talk, but I've kinda fallen behind lately."
"No problem," Dash replied, wincing internally. After all, here she was, about to ask her already overworked friend to take on more work as a favor. She felt like a real heel just now. She decided to approach it obliquely. "So...what's new with you, Firefly?"
"Other than being overworked, not much." Firefly grinned. "As for you, nearly everything you do becomes news in one paper or another, ever since you became a Harmony Bearer. I've kept up." She gestured to an open photo album, the back pages of which were filled with newspaper clippings depicting Rainbow Dash's various exploits. "I don't always have time to read them when i find them, so I save them for later." She tilted her head down to stare at Rainbow Dash. "How about we cut the horse apples? You're sweating, which means you need a favor. If it's not too big, I'll see what I can do, so what is it?"
Rainbow Dash winced. She'd forgotten how perceptive Firefly was. "Well, I have this friend I'm a little concerned about. I get the feeling something pretty bad is going on in her home life, so I thought I'd ask if anything about her had come across your desk...since you work in child services and all."
Firefly smiled. "You certainly are loyalty, aren't you?" She shook her head. "I can't tell you any details officialy, of course, but a nod's as good as a wink at times, right? So what's her name?"
"Scootaloo."
Firefly dropped her pile of papers she was holding. She quickly stooped to pick it up.
Rainbow Dash blinked. "I take it that's a yes."
Firefly nodded. "What was it specifically you were concerned about?"
About to ask what happened to no details, Dash decided to plough ahead, hoping Firefly wasn't about to get herself in trouble. "Well, I was kind of wondering why, even though we've become as close as sisters, she doesn't want me to meet with her folks?"
Firefly closed her eyes, locked in some sort of internal debate. Finally, she stood up. "Let's take a flight, Dash." Spreading her wings, she flew out of the building, a confused Rainbow Dash on her hooves.
They settled on an empty cloud a good distance away from the city outskirts. "Dash," Firefly began, "a good portion of what I'm about to tell you you CANNOT act on, even though I know you'll want to. However, in this situation, I think you need to know. I'm trusting my old friend from our school days not to do anything that will cost me my job, okay?"
Dash nodded, putting a hoof over her eye. "It's a Pinkie Promise."
Firefly stifled a giggle. "I've heard of those." She sighed. "Scootaloo' folks...I can't tell you their names, but they're old blood, from the families that still keep track of bloodlines and all that. Racing pegasi. From Scootaloo's birth till she was one year old, they took her to every doctor who specialized in pegasi, and every single one gave the same diagnosis: in all likelihood, Scootaloo would never fly. ...for her first birthday present, they left her at an orphanage and never looked back."
Rainbow Dash stared, disbelieving. "...what? How could they-"
"Keep in mind, Dash, these are the same old blood families who still grumble about Celestia's ban on culling."
Rainbow Dash shuddered. "By the gods..."
"It gets worse." Firefly directed Dash's attention to a dillapidated building in the distance, hidden from view from Cloudsdale proper by a very pretty cloud formation, but visible from this cloud. "She was left at that orphanage, for disabled pegasi. I try to make sure the funding for the orphanages get spread around evenly, so all the orphans have everything they need, but...I have my suspicions that the current manager of that orphanage, a pegasus stallion by the name of Candy Cane, has been syphoning most of the bits into his own pocket, leaving the orphans in his care with the bare minimum to survive. Since...since almost nopony adopts from there, most of the department tries to pretend the place doesn't exist excpet on paper, where everything's a-okay as far as our responsibility is concerned." Firefly blinks away tears. "I keep trying to look into it, find proof, but I can't get anything since I've got no help. My supervisor says I'm an idealist, and should grow up and live in the real world."
Rainbow Dash stared at the building, her eyes hard as rubies and a deep cold slowly building inside her.
Firefly, oticing the change in her friend, rested a hoof on her shoulder. "Dash...the last time I saw that look in your eyes, you wound up in lockup and my abusive excoltfriend in ICU. Please don't do anything reckless."
Rainbow Dash slowly calmed down. "Right," she said calmly. "Excuse me a moment." She spread her wings and flew calmly down to the door of the building and knocked carefully.
The door opened slowly. The pegasus that stepped out...well, he classified as a stallion only because he wasn't gelded. He was overweight, had a smarmy grin, and a bushy mustache that he obviously thought made him irresistable. He was white with a pink mane, and his cutie mark was a smiling fan with an eye peeking out from behind it. "Can I...help you, my lady?" he asked, his voice oily smooth.
Everything about him put Rainbow Dash's dander up, but she knew she'd get nowhere with violence. "Hi, I was just wondering about the orphans here. How are they all doing?"
"A concerned citizen," the stallion said happily. "How wonderful." His oily smile rubbed Dash the wrong way. "Oh, where are my manners. I am Candy Cane. Now, I would oh so love to show you around the establishment but, as you no doubt know, the orphans here all have...special needs." The way he said that made Dash want to rip his face off, but she mantained her cool...barely. "They all just went to bed - they do get tired so easily - and I would oh so hate to disturb their slumber. Perhaps another time?"
Dash managed to keep her rage from her voice. "Yes. Perhaps another time." Turning, she took wing away from the building. She was pretty sure she'd seen enough right there to confirm Firefly's suspicions...and worse. Flying up to a cloud disconnected from everything else, she bucked it as hard as she could, scattering its lightning for miles. She flew towards Ponyville, pausing by the cloud where Firefly waited. "...I wish I could do something..." she muttered under her breath. She then flew for home.
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About a month later, Rainbow Dash was once again waiting at the ferry stop for Scootaloo. She'd managed to spend every moment she could with the filly ever since her discovery, and had managed to keep what she'd learned to herself as well, without telling anypony. She still racked her brains, wishing there was something more she could do. However, today she, Applejack, and Rarity had managed to plan another sister bonding camping trip, so hopefully she could get her mind off things for a while...as long as Twilight - who waited with her - didn't ask any pointed questions.
When Scootaloo got off the ferry, however, Rainbow Dash winced. "Scoots, what happened to your eye?"
Scootaloo blinked, struggling to see through her left eye that was well and truely blackened. "Oh, I fell down some stairs," she said, her voice full of feigned emberasment. "Can't believe I did that, huh?"
Twilight stepped forward. "That must hurt horribly!" she said, concerned. "Here let me-" She extended her glowing horn.
"No!" Scootaloo said, backing up. "I mean, Rainbow Dash never whimpered about no black eye, so I'm sure as heck not going to, right?" She grinned up at Dash.
Dash managed a smile. "Alright, Scoots, if you think you can handle it." Smiling, Scootaloo ran over to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
Twilight stared at Rainbow Dash. "Rianbow, what are you thinking?"
Before Twilight could say another word, Dash had spread her wing in front of Twilight, silencing her. Twilight noticed that the smile was gone from Rainbow's face, and her eyes were hard, a cold fury barely suppressed. Then the look was gone, and Rainbow Dash was smiling again. "Come on, fillies! Let's get a move on while the going's good!"
Twilight sat back as they left, totally confused.
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The first night of the camping trip, everything went down smoothly until everyone was asleep...except for Dash. She was watching Scootaloo sleep, putting together all the signs she'd seen before and never thought about. Scootaloo had always seemed a little hungrier than other ponies, always stuffing her face at Pinkie's parties, though Dash had shrugged that off as a little filly pigging out on something tasty. Other things began to come together, all the signs she should have seen. Her thoughts broke off as Scootaloo began to shake and thrash, obviously having a nightmare. Without thinking, Rainbow pulled Scootaloo close with her wing, wrapping the little filly up tight. Scootaloo settled, smiling. "Rainbow Dash..." she muttered in her sleep, her dreams turning peaceful.
Dash smiled as she looked at the sleeping filly...but although her body warmed Scootaloo from the outside, cold seeped into the pit of Rainbow's stomach, and the slumber that came to her was fitful at best.
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Dash held Scootaloo tightly in her wings, gazing around watchfully. Somepony was coming, she knew that. She had to protect Scootaloo. That was part of what she'd said she'd do, and she wouldn't fail her.
Monstrous shapes formed in the shadows beyond the tent, hunting. Dash stayed quiet, trying to slow the beating of her pounding heart, certain the creatures beyond the tent could hear it.
Suddenly, the tent blew off, and a monstrously expanded Candy Cane appeared, glaring down at them. "The pretty belongs to me," he said to Rainbow Dash, his hoof metamorphosing into a writhing mass of tendrils that reached for Scootaloo, slowly prising her from Dash's grip.
"NO!" Dash cried, struggling to hold onto Scootaloo. "Don't you touch her!" She continued to shout and scream, but as her grip on the filly weakened, her cries became less defiant and more desperate. "Please, don't hurt her!" As tears fell from her eyes, she could feel she was about to lose her grip. "Take me instead!" she at last gasped out, her voice and heart breaking.
A flare of blue starlight shot through the image of Candy Cane, and it dispersed into shadows. As Rainbow Dash regained her grip on Scootaloo, Princess Luna stepped out of the light. "Are you alright, Rainbow Dash?"
Dash held Scootaloo tight. "Luna? What are you doing here? Where am I? Wha-what's going on?"
"Rainbow Dash, you are dreaming. I felt the horror of your nightmare. As Princess of the night, it is my duty to protect you from such horrors in your dreams, to aid you in battling them."
Dash's shivering slowed. "Oh." She looked down at Scootaloo. "How...can you tell me how much of the dream...reflected reality?"
Luna looked down at Scootaloo, then at the shadows that slowly retreated. "All I can do is confrim your suspicions regarding the one you call Candy Cane. But you were already certain of that, weren't you?"
Dash nodded. "Yeah. I know the type." Her eyes hardened. "Believe me, I know the type." As she spoke, the dreamscape shifted, and a door appeared. As Luna glanced towards it, Dash spoke. "You won't like what you see in there," she said simply.
Luna approached the door. "It is not locked?" she said, surprised.
"Locking things like that away will only make it hurt worse in the long run. I deal with it, move on, and try not to think about it." She shook her head. "I was lucky that day. All I'm saying is, after that day, there's a reason i'd never turn my back on Fluttershy when she needed me. ...I owe ehr too much." Dash grinned. "Well, her and her old man."
Luna nodded, backing away from the door. "I can also tell you that no such door as yet exists in Scootaloo's mind."
"Thank Discord for that," Dash said bitterly. At Luna's shocked expression, Dash glared. "Well you and Celestia are Harmony, and true Harmony wouldn't allow a place like that to exist in the first place. So I have to assume it's only random chance that's protected Scoots till now, and that's part of Chaos."
Luna nodded. "Well I understand your bitterness, Rainbow Dash. The question is...what will you do about it? These nightmares will not leave of their own accord. Only by addressing the events of your lfie that cause them can you conquer them."
Dash nodded. "I know," she said quietly. "I intend to." She knew she couldn't protect all the fillies who needed it. Nopony could. But at least...if she were careful...she could protect one.
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One week after the camping trip, Rainbow Dash entered the library with a huge stack of papers and a letter. Twilight looked up at her in shock. "Rainbow Dash, what's all this?"
"My finances," Dash said, setting the papers down. She showed Twilight a set of numbers on the letter she'd gotten from Firefly. "I need help going through them, finding a way I can meet these numbers."
Twilight glanced at the rest of the letter briefly, then nodded. "Right. I'll call the others, and we'll get started. We should have this finished before too long."
Several hours later, the seven friends - including Spike - had poured over the papers and crunched all the numbers. Twilight finally addressed Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, I've got good news and bad news."
"Good news first!" Dash said immediately.
Twilight nodded. "Well, you can make the initial investment Firefly outlined for you with ease."
Dash pumped her hoof. "YES!"
"However," Twilight said, and here she got serious, "as far as the rest...you're short by 500 bits a month in the estimated expenses area."
Dash's face fell. "500...isn't there anything else I can cut? Anything?"
Twilight shook her head. "We've already cut everything to the bone to get this far. I...don't see what else we can do."
Dash hung her head, tears starting to fall from her eyes. So close...
Rarity suddenly spoke up. "Well now, we mustn't be like that." Pulling out some papers from her saddlebag, she quickly rifled through them. "I daresay I could spare an extra 100 bits a month out of projected profits."
Rainbow Dash's head shot up. "R-rarity?"
Rarity smiled. "This is for family after all, Rainbow Dash. And we ARE family, in our own unique way."
Applejack smiled. "Aw shucks, I reckon I can scrounge enough change to put in an extra 75 at least. Gotta crunch the numbers first, but I'm no good at those fancy mathematics."
"You can count me in, too!" Pinkie said happily, pulling out paperwork filled out in crayon. "If you can read mine, anyway."
"I can spare some bits, too," Fluttershy said, looking through her papers as Angel held them up for her.
Twilight quickly pulled out her own. "Well, if I start," she shuddered, "writting on both sides of the parchment, I can cut that expense in half..."
After a good amount of paper shuffling, number crunching, and bit juggling, the result was in. With all of them contributing what they could spare, Rainbow Dash's records would show enough to do what she wanted. Together, they were able to pull it off.
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When Scootaloo next came down to Ponyville to hang with everypony, Rainbow Dash contrived to have Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom keep her distracted for a time while she flew up to Cloudsdale. As she reached her destination, she knocked on the door, her paperwork in hand.
The door opened, and Candy Cane stepped out...although he looked quite different. He seemed shaken, his eyes darting this way and that, and there were bags showing he hadn't been getting enough sleep. "Y-y-y-y-yes?" he said, stammering. "C-can I help you?"
"We have business to conclude," Dash said flatly.
"Y-yes, of course. What manner of-" Candy Cane's voice failed as he stared behind Dash. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-y-your Highness? W-w-w-w-w-what brings you here by day?"
Princess Luna landed lightly on the cloud, glaring down at Candy Cane. "I was passing through, and thought I'd stop by to see my friend here. I thought perhaps I might aid her with any paperwork." While her voice was completely calm, the look she was shooting Candy Cane made the look Celestia had shot Discord on his release seem like a lover's flirtatious glance.
Candy Cane paled even further. "O-of course!" he said, shaking all over. "I'll see to it! It's just the one signature!" He ran back into the building as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.
Rainbow Dash glanced at Luna. "Why is he so scared of you? You'd think he were staring at Nightmare Moon."
Luna's gaze softened as she looked at Rainbow Dash. "It is our duty to protect the ponies of Equestria by night, seeing to it that they may dream pleasant dreams." She turned her gaze back to the building. "Sometimes, so that many may dream pleasantly...sacrifices must be made, some with more eagerness than others." Her eyes took on a dark look. "This past week, I have seen his dreams." She shuddered. "Would that I could unsee what I only had the power to alter...or destroy."
Rainbow Dash decided not to pursue the conversation any further. Within moments, she would have what she wanted...and it seemed Luna had taken steps to protect those Dash herself could not. Completing what she'd come there to do, she left, carrying with her a large box. Reaching her house, she set the box down in a room empty of decoration and stretched. "Time to get to work," she muttered under her breath.
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A few hours later, Rainbow Dash caught up to the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they made their latest attempt to get their Cutie Marks...in parkour. It hadn't ended well, as only Scootaloo ahd managed to make it across the course they'd set up without falling.
"Pinkie Pie hops across rooftops all the time," Apple bloom said grumpily, getting to her hooves. "Why's it so hard for us?"
Scootaloo glided down to where Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle ahd fallen. "Are you guys okay?"
They both nodded. "Other than sore, we're just fine."
Rainbow Dash settled down near them. "Still looking for your Cutie Marks?" she asked happily.
Scootaloo nodded. "That's right, Rainbow Dash!" They glanced at their flanks. Scootaloo sighed. "No such luck." She looked up at the sky. "And it's getting late. I'd better go catch the ferry..."
"Before you do," Rainbow Dash said, trying to make it sound casual, "think you could swing by my place? I've done some redecorating and I was hoping you could tell me what you think."
"Sure!" Scootaloo said happily. "Catch you guys later!" she said to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
Rainbow Dash carried Scootaloo up to her cloud house. "I redecorated a room over here." She guided Scootaloo towards the second floor, to a room right next to her own. "By the way...isn't today your birthday, Scoots?"
Scootaloo nodded. "It is! How'd you know?"
Rainbow Dash smiled. "A little bird told me. So what would you like for your present, huh?"
Scootaloo smiled. "An autograph would be great, Rainbow Dash!"
Dash grinned. "Well, I've got a special one for you, kid!" She pushed open the door to the room.
Scootaloo looked in and gasped. All her stuff from the orphanage was here, set up around the room, making it look very lived in. The bed looked so comfy, and the desk sturdy and well made. There was a piece of paper on the desk, and Dash pushed Scootaloo over to it. She looked down at the paper.
There was Rainbow Dash's autograph, along with her hoof print...on a line that read "Guardian." Scootaloo's name was written on the other side. At the top of the paper was a heading Scootaloo never thought she'd see: "Certificate of Adoption."
As Scootaloo turned to stare at Rainbow Dash, barely believing it was real, Dash smiled. "Like your present, Scoots?"
Scootaloo ran forward, throwing her forelegs around Dash in a tight embrace as Dash hugged her back just as tightly. After a time, as they held each other tight, Scootaloo spoke up. "Don't squeeze me so tight," she whispered, teary-eyed. "You squeeze my tears out."
"You're one to talk," Dash replied through her own joyful tears.
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Late that night, Scootaloo curled up in her bed, in her room. The certificate was hung on the wall, framed. In her forelegs was a rag doll Rainbow Dash had gotten for her. She was sound asleep after a long night of partying with Rainbow Dash and all her friends, celebrating her birthday, and the start of her new life.
Carefully, Rainbow dash pulled the cover up over her new little sister, tucking her in tight. She ruffled Scootaloo's mane as she slept. "Welcome home, Scoots," she said, love in her voice. "Welcome home."