//------------------------------// // Loyalty // Story: Rainbow's Parents: The Truth // by Songbrony //------------------------------// I flew to the Ponyville hospital as fast as I could. I didn't want to think about why she would be in there or what may have happened. I arrived and ran straight to the front desk. "Where's Fluttershy?" I asked quickly. The receptionist gave me a quizzical look. "Fluttershy?" she repeated as she looked at her clipboard. "Nope. Sorry. There isn't a Fluttershy checked in. And what are you doing here, all by yourself?" she asked. Before I could respond, there was a hoof on my shoulder. "Why, she's not by herself. She's with me." said a familiar voice. I turned around and saw that the Doctor was behind me. "I believe she meant Butterscotch. Can you check that name?" he said. The receptionist looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "And you would be?" she asked. "I'm the Doctor." he replied. "The Doctor of what?" the receptionist asked. "Nothing. Just the Doctor." he said with a smile and took me down the hall. We turned into a room where I saw Fluttershy teaching birds how to sing. "Fluttershy!" I exclaimed. The birds stopped singing and started to fly around the room fanatically. "Oh my. It's alright friends! She's a friend of mine." Fluttershy said calmly. The birds settled down at the sound of her voice. They perched themselves on the windowsill as Fluttershy sang a five note tune. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?" I asked. "Yes I'm fine." she said with a smile. "What are you doing here in the hospital then?" I asked confused. "Oh, well, you see, after you rushed off, my mother started yelling and screaming horrible things to me. I ended up having a huge panic attack. They brought me here so I could calm down and get away from it all." she explained. I gave a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're okay." I told her. "Her mother has been taken into custody. She'll be fine now." the Doctor said. I turned to him. "How did you get to my house? You aren't a Pegasus so how can you walk on clouds?" I asked him. He smiled at me. "Spoilers." he said, and walked out the door. I turned back to Fluttershy who looked at me confused. "Um. Rainbow Dash? What did you mean by your house being on clouds? It's on the ground like mine?" Oops. I thought. I had forgot to keep that part secret. "Oh...well uh..." I stammered. I guess I could just say Felix won it in a bet. It's the truth after all and it doesn't say anything about my parents leaving. I decided. "Felix won it in a bet. You know how he is." "Oh. What did he bet against it?" she asked. "I don't know. He didn't say what he bet and he didn't say from who." I told her. "Oh." was all she said. I felt a sudden pain of guilt. "I'm sorry for leaving you. I should have stayed and at least tried to do something." I said. "Oh no! I'm glad you left! If you hadn't, you may have gotten hurt! I don't want you to get injured because of me." she said. "I still shouldn't have left you alone with her. My mom always told me that family should stick together and that family is everything. We should stay loyal to each other no matter what. And I consider you family, Fluttershy." I said truthfully. "I swear, I won't leave a friend or family member hanging, no matter what and no matter where." She smiled at me. "Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I've never felt like I was part of any family." "Well you do now. Do you have a place to live?" I asked. She shook her head. "I'm to stay here until the nurses say I'm okay to leave. But I don't know where I'd go." she said sadly. "Well that shouldn't be a problem. You can live with me! It'll be like we're having sleepovers forever!" I said excited. "Oh no. I wouldn't want to impose." she said. "Don't worry, Fluttershy! It's nothing. Remember, you're part of my family now." I said and poked her shoulder. She smiled. "Well, I guess I could stay for a few days. You know, since we are family." she said as she looked at me. "Thank you." "No problem. " I replied. I stayed there for the rest of the visiting hours. We played some games and Fluttershy showed me her talent with animals. It was pretty cool that she could communicate with animals so well. After I left, I flew home. It was dark outside. I didn't realize I had stayed there for nearly the entire day. When I got home I flew into my bedroom window. I didn't know if Felix was home yet, but if he was it would be a bad idea to waltz in through the front door. But, looking back, that may have been a better idea. "Where did you go?" he asked as soon as I flew into my room. "Oh! Um... I went and visited Fluttershy." I told him. "Oh really? I went to her cottage to see if you were there and no pony answered. I've been here waiting for five hours." he said angrily. "Sorry Felix. I just lost track of time." I said. Note to self: Get a watch. He sighed. "It's fine. Just be careful." he said as he turned to leave. "Did you get the job at the Exchange?" I asked. He faced me. "Yeah. Wasn't too hard to get. Not many are able to do what I can. So from now on, I won't be home very often. I'll be gone most of the day so you'll have to look after yourself. Think you can handle it?" he asked. "Of course I can! I'm your sister, remember?" I said with pride. He smiled. "That's exactly why I want you to be careful." He left my room and went across the hall to his. I closed the door and fell on my bed. I laid there for a few minutes until I remembered that Fluttershy was going to live with us once she got out of the hospital. "Felix won't like that I didn't ask him first." I said to myself aloud. I got up and headed for Felix's room. I knocked on the door and he opened the door. "Yeah?" he asked with a toothbrush in his mouth. "So, uh...I was wondering if Fluttershy could stay with us for a few days." I said, hoping he wouldn't question anything. "Why? Like a sleep over kind of thing?" he asked. "Yeah, but it would be for a few days, not just over night. And since you'll be working, I'll be alone and bored. I figured it be a good way for us to have some fun." I explained. Felix looked at me with a raised eyebrow and took his toothbrush out. "I guess so. Just don't do anything you two shouldn't do." "Thank you, Felix!" I said and rushed back to my room. I leapt onto my bed and thought about what happened the past few days. First my parents left because of some strange ponies. Then Fluttershy's dad dies in a drunk flying accident, and then her mom is taken into custody for abuse. I fell asleep as I wondered about what could possibly happen next. I woke up to the sound of a knock on my door. "Rainbow Dash. I'm going to work. You know where the food is. I'll see ya' tonight." Felix said. I heard him walk down the stairs as he left the house. I looked outside my window. It had to be about nine in the morning. Visiting hours weren't for another hour. I groaned as I remembered that I had to go to school today. I hated school. Like, regular school, not flight school. In flight school you can actually feel the wind move through your mane and coats as you soar across the sky. In normal school, we sit in a stuffy room and learn about math, history, and Celestia knows what else. I hate being cooped up like that. I need room to move. I slowly got out of bed and headed downstairs. My mane was a mess. Just how I liked it. I opened the pantry and pulled out what I needed for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I made my sandwich and sat at the table. I took a bite out of the sandwich and looked at a note that Felix had left. "Don't eat the bread. It's old and I didn't realize it until I got home. Throw it away for me." I read aloud. I spit the bread out as soon as I finished reading the note. Well, there went my appetite. I threw the bread away and found a note next to the trash. "You ate the bread, didn't you?" I read. I crumpled the paper up and threw it away as well. I walked to the front door, grabbed my saddle pack, and headed out to school. As I started my fly to school, I remembered that Fluttershy wasn't going to be there either. Great. Now I have to deal with it alone. I don't know what I would say to those who asked where Fluttershy was. I'd probably just say that I didn't know. Take the safe route. I groaned. This was going to be a long day. When I arrived at school, there were a few officers standing outside talking to the principle. I walked over and found the Doctor standing there. "So you don't know what could have caused it?" he asked the principle. "No. There was nothing that I know of that could have caused it." she replied. I walked up next to the Doctor. "Caused what?" I asked. "Oh nothing, just a small gas leak. Nothing we can't handle. But school's off for today. You get an extra day off. If I were you I'd spend it with a nice cup of tea. Or some chips, I don't really know which." he said. I really didn't care about the gas leak, only that school was out, which meant no boring classes. I headed for the hospital with my saddle pack and waited in the waiting room for visiting hours to arrive. There wasn't anything to do there. There were some old magazines from months back, but I wasn't an egghead. I hated the idea of reading. Just why do I hate so many things? If it's boring, I want nothing to do with it. I need excitement and a fun time! Something regular school and books never gave me. I decided the only thing I could do to pass the time was to take a nap. I laid my head down on my pack and took a nice snooze. I was woken up by a nurse nudging me. "Excuse me miss. But if you want to sleep, you can't do it here." she said. 'Oh. I'm just waiting for visiting hours to begin." I said rubbing my eyes. "Well they started an hour ago." she said as she turned and went behind the desk. "An hour ago? Okay. Thanks!" I said as I left the waiting room. I dashed to the room that Fluttershy was at. "Fluttershy! Guess what?" I asked as I ran next to her bed. I stopped. She was laying on her side when I saw what was on her wings. She was crying softly and curled in her little ball again. "Fluttershy?" I asked, scared. "Go away!" she cried out. I stood there shocked at what I was seeing. Her wings were in casts and there were bruises on her back. "Fluttershy? It's me, Rainbow Dash." I said. She sniffed as she heard my name. "Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here? What about school?" she asked as she wiped her eyes. "It was closed. There was a gas leak so they sent everyone home. But what happened to you? You were fine yesterday." I said. She shrunk back again. "I can trust you, right?" she asked. I nodded my head. I knew she was putting on an act. I guess she saw me as a roll model. She was acting tough because I was here. She didn't want me to be disappointed in her. "Okay. I was sleeping when I got hit in the back. I don't remember much, only that I couldn't move my wings." she whimpered. I walked over to her and put it a hoof on her leg. "It'll be alright." I pulled her in lightly for a hug. She winced as I accidentally nudged her wings. "Sorry." I said quietly. I could tell she was holding back tears. I've known her for so long that I guess I can tell when she is acting tough. Then again, if it were me, I wouldn't be this calm. "It's okay, Fluttershy. It's okay." I said reassuringly. She sniffed again. "I'm definitely not leaving you now." "Thank you." she said. I pulled out of the hug when there was a knock on the door. "Excuse me miss. Can we talk?" an officer asked me. "About what?" I asked. "We just have to ask you some questions." he told me. I looked at Fluttershy. "I'll be right back okay? It's probably about the gas leak at school." I said. "Oh, okay." Fluttershy said. I walked out and went with the officer. "So what's this about?" I asked. "Well we have reason to believe that Fluttershy's mother escaped and is the reason behind her wings being injured." he said. "Why do you think it was her?" I asked. "The injuries match those of her mother's size. She was broken out by a group of ponies whose names we have yet to find out. We were wondering if you knew anything about her." the officer said. "All I know is that she is an abusive..." I started but caught my tongue. "She isn't a mother in my opinion." "I see. What about your parents? Where are they?" he asked. Ah crap. I thought. "They're, uh, working." I said. "Really? Where do they work?" he continued. "The Exchange in Canterlot." I replied. I was going to have to talk to Felix about this later. "And you live in Cloudsdale? Why don't you live in Canterlot? That's a long flight back isn't it?" he kept inquiring. "I guess so. We don't like the Canterlot way of living." I said trying to make something up. "Wasn't this supposed to be about Fluttershy's mother?" I asked. "It is. But that's all I needed. Thank you for your time." the mysterious officer said before he left. I went back to Fluttershy's room. She had been crying again. I felt awful. "Hey. I'm back." I said. "What did he want?" she asked as she wiped her eyes again. "Just if I knew anything about your mother and some questions about my parents." I told her. "Okay. Well I'll be out in a few days. That nice officer with the spikey mane came by and, according to him, 'soniced' my wings. He told me they'd be okay for me to leave. I won't be able to fly as well, but I never was a great flyer anyways." she said. "That's great!" I exclaimed. I was happy that she would be out soon and that the Doctor was helping her. I was confused by what he meant by 'soniced' but I didn't ask her further. I had also completely forgot to ask the officer if her mother had gotten away or not. I was just happy that she wouldn't be cooped up here any longer. After a few days I went and picked up Fluttershy with Felix. I had explained to him what had happened and he was perfectly okay with Fluttershy staying with us. In fact, I was able to let her live with us. We took her back to our house and she stood there flabbergasted. "This place is so big." she said as she gazed around. "I know right? It's going to be so awesome with you here." I told her. I took her up to my room, which I had Felix add another bed for Fluttershy. He even put an animal wall paper up on her side so she could feel more at home. "This is amazing. Did your brother do all this?" she asked. "Yep. I told him about your talent and we found this for you. I know you're going to love it!" I said, excitedly. This was going to be so amazing!