//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Rainbow Dash // Story: Runaway // by RedScootaloo //------------------------------// "You haven't seen her, either?" asked Rainbow Dash. Her voice sounded desperate. It hurt Twilight to see her friend like this. "I'm afraid no. Have you talked to the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" she suggested. "I could come with you, if you want me to." Rainbow thought about it for a second. "No, I need to do this alone." She knew how stupid it was. If Scootaloo was out there, all alone, she needed every help she could get. But her pride was stronger than her sanity. She sighed. "Are you sure?" "Yes, Twilight, I am sure. Thank you." That were the last words spoken between the two of them, and after she had let them out, the cyan mare flew away, towards Sweet Apple Acres. "No problem..." Twilight whispered for herself before she turned around and went back into the library. Rainbow knocked on the door. It wasn't such a long flight from the library to Sweet Apple Acres, but she had forgotten where between all those apple trees the clubhouse had been, so it had taken her half an hour to find it. She looked towards the sun, which she could barely see through the trees. 'Good thing they're in their fall holidays.' she thought. It was about 10 am, which would've made it impossible to talk to them during school time. "He-em" Applebloom cleared her throat to gain her attention. "What do ya want?" "Calm down, kid. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything important." "Ya aren't, really." "May I come in then?" Applebloom looked behind herself into the room that was hidden from Rainbow. She looked back and shook her head. "Ah don't think this would be a good idea." "Why not? Oh, whatever. Have you seen Scootaloo by chance? She seems to be missing." Applebloom winced at the name. "You might want to come inside now." --- "And that's the whole story?" Rainbow asked. Sweetie Belle was quietly crying in a corner of the room. "It is." "No wonder why she ran away. Have you ever thought about talking to me about it? You two know I've declared her my adopted sister, right?" Rainbow knew how wrong it was to wake guilt in them since it must've been tough for them, too, but in this moment, she just couldn't resist. Her little sister was somewhere out there, ran away because her friends told her that she was kicked out of their club because she stole. When Applebloom said that, something in her mind had become clear. The reason why Scootaloo stole. And the reason why Scootaloo had been looking for a big sister. And she stupid, useless fool had let her go... She knew she couldn't forgive herself if something happened to Scootaloo. It was all her fault. She should've known that Scootaloo was... 'Scootaloo is an orphan.' That thought burned itself on the back of her mind. 'She was all along and I was too inattentive to see the signs. How could she? She should've recognized them. She knew them so well, and as she looked back on it, they all became so clear. Scootaloo's cape, that was so much more outworn than Sweetie Belle's and Applebloom's. How she always resisted against anyone walking her home. How she never invited someone over without telling a reason. "Ah.. Ah dunno. We never really thought about it, I guess... Ah'm so sorry." Appleblooms voice brought her back. "You can tell that Scoots when we're back." Rainbow Dash somehow managed these words, even though she was still halfway in her thoughts. First she would search Scootaloo's ho... the place she had been staying in Ponyville. Maybe she left some kind of clue there. Without saying anything else, Rainbow Dash turned around and flew off towards the abandon part of Ponyville, where a few garages stood, filled with graffiti. She had gained new power now that she knew what happened. --- This must be it. She stood in an empty garage, which clearly showed that it was used for a shelter over multiple years. It was pretty clean, compared to the fact that it was supposed to be abandoned. A few droplets of wax were on the ground and a few stones marked the spot for a campfire right in front of the entrance. Scootaloo seemed to have been lucky to find a candle and something to light it with. And she had been smart enough to put the campfire near the door, where the smoke could escape so she wouldn't gas herself and the warmth could stay inside, at least for the bigger parts. This must've been the only reason she survived during the winter. This and the small box that lay in one corner of the room. The mare walked over to it. Maybe in there was something. She picked it up and turned it around. A small piece of paper slowly fell towards the floor. Rainbow dropped the box and looked at it. It seemed to be a note. Dear Rainbow Dash - if you're someone else please give it to her If you found this, than it means you know I'm an orphan. It is a long story I will tell you some other day, because this piece of paper is too small for everything. That was where it stopped. Rainbow turned it around. Scootaloo PS: I'm sorry I had to go, and I'm sorry that I stole. Please don't hate me. At least now she could be sure Scoots ran away. It didn't surprised her that she didn't give any clues to where she had gone. She probably didn't know herself as she wrote this, and of course didn't expect anyone to come after her. That silly, young brain. Rainbow Dash sighed, remembering the time when she was in her age. The sky was darker than everything the filly had seen before. It was a moonless night, but there were no stars, either. But she had no time to think about the endless darkness up there. She had to be gone before they came back! She sprinted through the alleys, using her wings to make her run even faster. But the bag she had in her mouth slowed her down. She just hoped it was worth it. She hated stealing. But the baby was hungry, and her friends relied on her. If she couldn't bring the food to them, all of them would probably starve. Orion... The colt was in a pretty bad state. He seemed to have a little fever, but she could think of no place she could easily get medicine at. She didn't dare to hope there was some in the bag. What would she do if Orion died? She loved him with all of her heart. He couldn't die... Not like... Aurora? Rainbow Dash shook her head to get the memory out of her mind. Aurora had died from the 'kissing disease'. A tear grew in the corner of her eye. Scootaloo would not have to deal with what she had to deal with. She would prevent that personally, if she had to. But first she needed to find a clue where she could've gone. The wind blew in the garage. Rainbow shivered. Something odd was in this wind. It blew a piece of paper up and let it land right on Rainbow's nose. Confused she picked it up. It was a ticket. A ticket to Manehatten. Now she realized what the odd thing in the wind was. When she was flying towards the garage, the wind came from the opposite direction. And even if it had turned, the alley in front of the garage was small and had a wall, that was about two meters high, directly in front of it. The wind couldn't get in like this. She shivered again, but this time it was not the cold.