Rainbow walked along the road through Ponyvile, enjoying one of her rare walks as she headed over to Golden Oaks. She had got a letter from Twilight saying the next Daring Doo book was in, so she was heading over to pick it up. But as she walked her ears perked up, catching the sound of a faint scream coming from a nearby ally. Curiosity and concern got the better of her, and she turned down the path, cautiously weaving her way through the buildings till she reached the source of the noise.
She peaked out from around the corner, catching the sight of two stallions kicking something on the ground, though she couldn’t see what. She steeled herself for a gruesome sight, knowing that some stallions around this part of Ponyville got their rocks off on beating up defenseless animals, and then she lifted herself into the air to get a better look. But the moment she got a good look at what they were kicking she froze, for under their hooves was a young filly…her filly.
Her mind started to race, several hundred thoughts racing from her brain. Why was she here, how did she get her, but they were all overridden by a single notion. Those stallions were hurting her foal, so with a primal yell she charged the two stallions.
* * *
Twilight and the other followed Pinkie as she prowled the streets, having been dragged out of her library due to the pink maniac.
“Pinkie why the hell did you drag us out here, I was writing the friendship report for Celestia.”
“no time pony in trouble,” said the pink mare, her mane and tail unusually straight as she kept moving down the path, her eyes scanning the street for the pony who was in need,
“But how can you know that?” asked Fluttershy, keeping her distance due to the way Pinkie looked.
“Tail twitch followed by gut pain followed by deflating mane means pony somewhere is in suffering.”
Twilight was about to ask Pinkie what she was talking about when they heard a yell from the alleyway they were passing and turned, recognizing it as Rainbow Dash’s. They charged down the alley, reaching the end of it and catching sight of their friend crouching over an injured filly and glaring at two unicorn stallions as they stalked around her. Twilight and the others leaped to her defense, managing to subdue the stallions and then turning to their friend, who slowly shook the protective fog from her mind and recognized her friends, but she held the protective stance over the filly.
“Rainbow what the heck, why were you…”
“No time, I need you to get us to the hospital fast, this filly is hurt.”
Twilight was about to argue when she saw the state of the filly and gasped, quickly to Rarity. “Can you teleport them to the hospital, I want to stay behind and make sure these brutes get taken to the proper authorities.”
Rarity nodded, getting herself ready for the taxing process of teleportation. The others gathered around her as she prepared, all save for Fluttershy, who watched as Rainbow as she knelt down to pick up the foal, her delicate ears catching what the others could not.
“Its ok Scootaloo, momma’s got you.”
* * *
The ponies appeared in the hospital, Nurse Redheart noticing the injured filly and running over to help. “What happened to her?”
“She got attacked by two stallions; I don’t know how bad they hurt her.”
“Ok I’ll need you to put her on the stretcher and fill out this form while we take her in, are you related to her?”
“I’m her mother.”
Their was a gasp behind her as Redheart handed her the paperwork, but before her friends could talk to her Fluttershy stepped in, waving for them to stay silent.
“Not here,” said Fluttershy, leading them away as Rainbow sat down to take care of the form. When they reached the next room, the others turned to Fluttershy with skeptical looks.
“Ok Fluttershy what the hay is going on here, why the hell did Rainbow just claim to be that filly’s mother?”
“Because she is that filly’s mother Applejack.”
Applejack opened her mouth to argue, and then closed it, shocked into silence. Rarity on the other hoof decided to speak up. “but…but dear that’s impossible, that would mean she would have had to have her in flight camp and we all know that didn’t happen, that would have been the gossip of all of Cloudsdale and Ponyvile if such a thing were to happen.”
Fluttershy sighed, turning around and closing the door so that no one else could hear them and then turning back to her friends. “I’ll tell you guys what you want to know, but to do that…I’m afraid I am going to have to break a Pinkie promise I made to Rainbow when after we all became friends.”
Everypony in the room gasped, turning toward Pinkie to gage her reaction to this news. But to their shock, she was staring calmly at Fluttershy, waiting for the older mare to continue.
Fluttershy nodded at that, knowing that Pinkie wanted to know as much as they did, then she cleared her throat to speak. “Almost eight years ago Rainbow hooked up with somepony, I won’t say who though, it’s…kind of complicated. After they hooked up Rainbow got pregnant, from what I can recall she disappeared during that time, though she never told me where. I don’t know what went down, but I know when she got back she didn’t have the foal with her, and from what I managed to get from her the other pony was mad about it when they found out.”
“But that doesn’t make any sense, that doesn’t sound like the Rainbow Dash we know,” said Rarity.
“Rare’s right, Rainbow Dash would never do something like abandon her own foal.”
“The Rainbow Dash you knew wouldn’t, but Rainbow was a different pony back when she was in flight camp, a very different pony.”
“But that doesn’t explain how she reacted!” said Rarity with a raised voice. “Why would she say she was her mother if she abandoned her, shouldn’t she want noting to do with her?”
“That would be true if she hadn’t spent the last few years trying to find her,” said Fluttershy.
They stared at her for a moment, and then Rarity started to stutter. “But…but she never said…she never told us…”
“She didn’t want anypony to know, the only reason I know is because she trusts me with that kind of stuff. She made me Pinkie promise not to tell you guys because of many reasons, but mostly…mostly because she is ashamed of what she did, and she didn’t want to see your faces if you found out.”
“But…but why?” asked Pinkie, “She could have asked us, she knows we would have helped her…”
“I don’t know Pinkie…that’s something only Rainbow can tell you.
* * *
Rainbow paced outside Scootaloo’s room, having finished the paperwork and now waiting impatiently for the doctor to exit. As she had paced she had begun thinking of what she was going to say to her, but really what could she say. Inside that room was the foal she had abandoned and then spent the next eight years of her life trying to get back, and from what she could assume from how she had found her Scootaloo hadn’t had a good life. What could she say to that filly to make those eight years of pain, misery and abandonment any better?
She turned around as the door opened, walking up to the doctor as he closed the door behind him.
“How is she doc?” Rainbow asked with concern, trying to keep from imagining what the doctor would tell her.
“She is lucky you found her when you did, luckily all she suffered was two cracked ribs, some slight damage to her wings and a broken leg, but otherwise she is fine. Now she will have to stay here for a few days to heal, but you will be able to visit her while she recovers.”
Rainbow nodded, “can I see her?”
“Yes, just make sure to keep quite, she is sleeping right now.”
Rainbow nodded again and then entered the room, walking over and taking a seat next to the bed, staring down at the little filly. She reached out a hoof, taking the little fillies in her own and clutching it softly, tears trickling down her face at the sight of her. She noticed that Scootaloo was tossing a bit, a tear falling down the little fillies face as a whimper escaped her lips, and Rainbow realized that she was having a nightmare, and without even thinking about it she softly began to sing.
“On the wind, across the sea
Hear this song and remember
Soon you‘ll be, home with me
Once upon a December”
Scootaloo slowly calmed down as she sang, breathing normally and returning to a peaceful slumber. Rainbow let go of her hoof, wiping the stray tear from the little filly’s cheek before getting up and heading to the door. But before she left she turned back, smiling sadly at the filly in the bed.
“Don’t worry kid, I’ll be back soon…I’m not leaving you alone again.”