//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Darker Times // Story: Sisters: Chasing a Happier Time // by lightfox lowell //------------------------------// Chapter 2: Darker Times By Lightfox Lowell Cloud Dream sighs. “I am here to take you to a orphanage in Cloudsdale.” Scootaloo’s brain flatlines. She does not know if what she heard was real or a sick nightmare from the deepest part of her mind. “W—what...” Cloud Dream hates this part of her job, having to take this filly from the place she calls home, but with Pin Puller dead she has no family and with that, no one to take care of her needs. “It won’t be so bad, Scootaloo, the flight camp is close by and the caretaker is very nice,” replies Cloud Dream, her voice remaining soft to keep Scootaloo in a stable state of mind. Scootaloo’s eyes go wide, and her legs feel weak, forcing her to sit down. Not only had she lost her father, but now she is going to be taken away from Ponyville, away from Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and away from Rainb— Rainbow Dash! That’s it! She does have family; a sister! Cloud Dream can see the sadness and depression in Scootaloo’s eyes when she sits down. ‘Buck me, I hate this job sometimes...’ Cloud Dream thinks to herself. But then suddenly she sees Scootsaloo’s eyes light up with fire, hope, and determination. ‘What in the name of the princesses made her turn around that fast!?’ “NO! Hold it! I have family here still! A sister!” Scootaloo says, her voice speaking with pride and confidence. This little outburst confuses Cloud Dream. She had been told that Scootaloo has no more living family. She even took the time to read Scootaloo’s family records. “Scootaloo, I have to say I do not know what you’re talking about. Your family records do not show a sister.” Scootaloo, now wearing a huge grin, has already won in her mind. There was no way Rainbow Dash would let her be taken away from Ponyville. “It’s Rainbow Dash! Just go and find her, she can explain everything.” Cloud Dream knows that name; it was hard to live in Cloudsdale and not know it. Rainbow Dash had become something of a local hero: Being an Element of Harmony, one of the only ponies to ever do a Sonic Rainboom, managing to save the lives of the Wonderbolts and soon to join them, and that is not even mentioning countless other deeds. Cloud Dream looks to Nurse Redheart for answers. “Well, Scootaloo has been seen with Rainbow Dash a lot these last few months. I am a bit out of the loop with that, but Rainbow Dash is listed under Scootaloo’s emergency contacts. Maybe getting her could not hurt,” Nurse Redheart states. Cloud Dream almost face-hooves. ‘If she is in the emergency contacts, why was she not called in the first place!?’ she screams to herself. “Yes, please get ahold of her. Scootaloo, let’s go to the lobby and wait for your sister.” Cloud Dream is not totally sold on Rainbow Dash being her sister. She is pretty sure that would be common gossip in Cloudsdale, but it could not hurt to have Rainbow Dash here. *** Rainbow Dash lets out a sigh, resting her head on her hooves, then rolls over on her cloud to rest on her back. Today was going slow. Too slow for her. It really started to go downhill after work. On a normal day Scootaloo would been around the second she was done working; then, they would do flight lessons or Scootaloo would watch her practice. But today that was not the case. Scootaloo was being a no-show, which really confused Rainbow Dash. ‘I wonder where she is.’ Rainbow then started to look around town from her cloud, trying, unsuccessfully, to see that orange coat of Scootaloo’s. ‘Maybe she went to go see Pin Puller?’ Being in the air all day, Rainbow Dash has managed to miss the news about Pin Puller. She does not know he was even hurt, let alone that he has passed on. Deciding to answer her own question, Rainbow Dash, flies off to the Ponyville Train Station. Getting there, she is dumbstruck by the scene where the guards have sectioned off the loading ramp. There is a very large crate close to the end of the ramp and a wall, but the part that concerns her is the blood on the wall and the ground near it. She thinks to herself: ‘I’m going to need to ask Pin Puller what happened.’ Rainbow Dash, walking up to one of the station workers, starts to get a bit uneasy. A lot of the ponies that work there are giving her some really surprised looks. “Um, hey? Have you seen Pin Puller and Scootaloo?” The station worker’s jaw almosts hits the floor. “You... You don’t know what happened?” “Um, no? What are you talking about?” The worker looks away from Rainbow Dash. “Um, Rainbow Dash... there has been an accident. A crate fell and went sliding down the loading ramp. It was going right for Scootaloo and Pin Puller. He managed to push her out of the way, but it slammed into him and then hit him against that wall. They both went to the hospital.” Rainbow Dash’s eyes go wide and her back legs almost give out on her. She does not ask anything else. She opens her wings and takes off at full speed to the Ponyville Hospital. She goes bursting into the hospital's main entrance, only to be face to face with Cloud Dream and Scootaloo. Scootaloo, to her credit, has managed to hold herself together until now. But when Rainbow Dash came in with her normal dramatic flare, she felt the need to keep her depression bottled up gone. Her sister was here, she would fight for her, she was going to be saved, but Dash could not have known that her father was gone. “Scootaloo! I’ve just heard. Is Pin Puller okay?” Rainbow Dash asks, her voice laced with fear and concern. Scootaloo just breaks down again and rushes to the arms of her sister. Rainbow Dash sits and holds the sobbing pony close. She could hear Scootaloo saying something under her cries of despair. “He’s—he’s gone, Dash,” her voice shaky and crackly. Rainbow Dash’s eyes start to fill with tears as well, holding Scootaloo tighter in her embrace. “It... it’s going to be okay, Scootaloo.” In Rainbow Dash’s mind there is a storm made of two parts grief and five parts of concern for Scootaloo. But as the two tried to take some comfort in each others company, Cloud Dream watched. She did not know if Rainbow Dash really was Scootaloo’s sister, but she could tell the two were very close and shared some type of bond. This sad scene continues until Cloud Dream interrupts to take them to a private room to discuss what is to happen with Scootaloo. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash sit alone with Cloud Dream in this room. Scootaloo, sits next to her sister, while Rainbow Dash has her wing over Scootaloo, keeping her close. On the way to the room, Scootaloo had informed Rainbow Dash who Cloud Dream was and what she was going to do with her before Rainbow Dash arrived. “Now, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo here claimed that you are her sister. I have to say I find that a bit of a shock, seeing as her file and family records don’t speak of you,” says Cloud Dream. “Yeah, that is a bit of a story...” Rainbow Dash then goes on to inform Cloud Dream of how she and Scootaloo got to their current state, her closeness with the family, and how their bond as “sisters” grew. “So while Pin Puller was away for work, you’re the one who watched after Scootaloo, as well as being her flight trainer?” asks Cloud Dream, who appears to be taking notes. “Um, yes, that’s correct.” Cloud Dream lets out a happy sigh. ‘Maybe I won’t need to take Scootaloo away from here after all. They may not be family, but they may as well be.’ Cloud Dream starts to fill out a form, but there was a line that made her happy thoughts stop dead in their tracks. “Rainbow Dash, I have to ask something. How old are you?” For some reason that question chilled Rainbow Dash to her core. “Sev—seventeen.” Cloud Dream’s face total of bad things to come. The happiness that was once easy to see on her face was now gone. “I see... Rainbow Dash, I can tell you and Scootaloo are close... and I think she would benefit from you visiting her. I cannot let her stay with you... Sadly, the minimum age for a non-relative guardianship is 23. So that means I will still need to take her back with me to Cloudsdale.” If a pony’s coat could change color, Scootaloo would have turned pure white at that statement. “Now hold on a second! I’m sure you can make an exception! I’m Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty, performer of the Sonic Rainboom, and savior and future member of the Wonderbolts! You can not just take my little sister away!” “Rainbow Dash! Your status does not make you above laws! As for exceptions, I am already making one by saying you can visit her! It’s not something we allow anyone to just go and do. You normally have to be of age to adopt to be visiting like that, and since you were already teaching her I would see nothing wrong with letting the ‘Rainbow Dash’ be a flight trainer for Scootaloo. But if you two resist, it’s only going to get uglier, to the point where a restraining order could be issued and you would never see her again.” Cloud Dream holds her head low, “I’m sorry, but there is nothing I can do.” Rainbow Dash is somepony that does not normally cry, and this day had already got her to do so once, but for the second time today she could feel tears going down her face. “No... Please...” Cloud Dream lets out a depressed sigh. “Look, Rainbow Dash, this is how it has to be. You can help get her stuff from her house and to Cloudsdale if you like. I am sure Scootaloo wants most to be with you today.” That was all there was to say on the matter. Rainbow Dash wanted to protest more but she and Scootaloo were backed in a corner right now. The only thing she could do for her was to try and make the move to Cloudsdale a bit less painful. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash started to slowly pack everything Scootaloo wanted to take with her. Cloud Dream had said Scootaloo would have her own room, so she should bring as much as they could carry today. Cloud Dream was waiting outside while they worked. Scootaloo, with tears still flowing down her face, stares into a box full of her things, her mind going wild trying to find a way to stay with Dash. “Dash... can’t we just fly away... She can’t keep up with you. I don’t want to go there.” Rainbow Dash pauses, and takes a moment to truly consider that. While, yes, that would be a way to make sure that she did not have to leave Scootaloo’s side when she needs her most, they would have to stay on the run... if they got caught, she would be taken to some type of prison, and then Scootaloo would truly be all alone... “Scoots, listen, I will figure something out. If it comes down to that, maybe, but let's first try to find a different way to fix this. I have some pull in Cloudsdale nowadays. “ Rainbow Dash then pulls Scootaloo into a hug. “You know you can trust me, right, Scoots? You know I won’t leave you alone.” Scootaloo hugs Rainbow and nods softly. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo then go back to work and load a few boxes into a cart waiting outside. Scootaloo rides inside this cart while Cloud Dream and Rainbow Dash pull it up to Cloudsdale. To Cloud Dream’s credit, the orphanage was nice looking. It looks like it was made so they can add new cloud rooms for the foals. Its name was “Feather Loft's Orphanage”, and is in walking distance of the flight camp Rainbow Dash went to as a filly. They get the boxes off and Cloud Dream leads them to a free room. “Well... I will leave you two alone. Dash, you can stay until 7:50 tonight. Scootaloo, it is lights out at 8:00. I know it does not mean much from me, but I am sorry about all this.” Cloud Dream then walks off to somewhere else in the building. Rainbow Dash, helping Scootaloo unpack, tires to think of something to say to Scootaloo. “You won’t be here long, Scootaloo, I promise.” “Okay, Rainbow Dash,” says Scootaloo. Rainbow Dash could see it on Scootaloo’s face: she did not believe that was true anymore. Rainbow Dash quickly takes Scootaloo into a hug. “I mean it, Scoots. Pin Puller would never forgive me if I let you stay here. I don’t think I would be able to forgive myself.” Scootaloo softly hugs the last pony she could consider family. While still hugging, Scootaloo was able to see the door and notices a group of foals all peaking in and then suddenly scrambling when they catch her gaze.Then the two break their hug and go back to work. By the time they get anything Scootaloo would need unpacked, it is 6:30. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo go outside to enjoy the view of sunset in Cloudsdale. Sunset in the clouds was always a wonder to see: the color shifted to an orange much like Scootaloo’s coat and the clouds almost appeared to be made of fire. While Rainbow Dash had grown up with this view, it was something rarely seen by Scootaloo and she normally loved every second of it. But with how today took everything away from her, and how she knew she would be alone tonight, Scootaloo could not find much, if any, joy in the moment. It was like all the happiness in her life had just been striped away in the blink of a eye. The only thing she could do is sit next to the last pony she had left, Rainbow Dash, and hope that this would all be a nightmare when she wakes up tomorrow. They sat there silently until Rainbow Dash had to leave. By that point, Scootaloo had managed to fall asleep leaning against her side. Rainbow Dash takes her sister onto her back and carries her back to her room, then lays her into the cover of the bed. The flight back to her home was not an easy one for Rainbow Dash. Leaving Scootaloo at that place went against everything she stands for. But she had no choice: it was either that or never see her again. Well, that... or be on the run with Scootaloo, which Rainbow Dash will admit is not looking like such a bad plan. When Rainbow Dash arrives home, she is mentally drained. All her normal energy and confidence is just gone. She collapses into bed and tries hopelessly to think of a way to get Scootaloo out of that place and where she belongs. *** Scootaloo sleeps soundly for a few hours until a loud thump came from inside her room. “Ow...” says one voice. “Shhh!” says another. Scootaloo sits up in bed at lighting speed to see two fillies near the door trying to sneak into her room. “Oops.. um, hi?” says one of them. The other one almost runs up to the bed and smiles. “Hi there!” she says in a overly happy whisper. Scootaloo a little disturbed from the sudden appearance of the two. “Um... hello?” “I’m Sunnyrain and this is Morning Dew,” says the overly happy one. “We had to come and ask why you were with Rainbow Dash! That was crazy seeing her come here.” Smiling maybe the first time she has all day. “Oh, Rainbow Dash is my sister,” Scootaloo tells them in a slightly cheery voice. “Yeah right! if she is your sister, why are you here?” Morning Dew replies. “That... is a bit of a long story,” Scootaloo says in a depressed tone once more. “Oh! Oh, I love stories! Please tell us!” Sunnyrain almost begs. Scootaloo sighed and started to explain everything to them: how she and Rainbow Dash came to be sisters and what happened to her father. “Hah! I knew you weren't her real sister. She likely let you be dropped off here just so you would stop slowing her down.” Morning Dew sneers. “Morning Dew, stop! You’re doing it again,” Sunnyrain says in a low whisper. “That. Is. not. True.” Scootaloo’s voice drips with malice and hate. Morning Dew Looks at Sunnyrain, who was giving her an angry look, then rolled her eyes at her. “Whatever, you’re not much of a threat after all. I was worried that you were like some family friend of Rainbow Dash, but no. You’re just some pity case.” She then walks out of the room and back to her own, leaving Sunnyrain there with Scootaloo. “I’m sorry... If it helps, I believe you. Morning Dew had it really bad before coming here. Don’t let her outside fool you. She is a lonely filly on the inside.” “She sure has a funny way of showing it... what did she mean by threat?” “To be adopted over her... but I don’t think you need to worry about that. I saw you with Rainbow Dash before. There is nooo way that pony is not coming back for you.” She then gives Scootaloo a smile. “How do you know?” “It’s my talent,” Sunnyrain says with a huge smile, “just like seeing the sun when it’s cloudy, I can see into the hearts of ponies.” Sunnyrain starts to walk out of the room. “You get some sleep. I need to go back before they check the rooms.” with that she trots out. Sunnyrain’s words did a lot to bat away the clouds that Morning Dew had put in Scootaloo’s mind. But was she right? Would Rainbow find a way to take her back to Ponyville... She had no way of really knowing. But, for now all Scootaloo can do is sleep, and hope her dreams take her to a better place.