//------------------------------//
// Ch 12: Meet the Parents 
// Story: Our girl Scootaloo 1 of 3 
// by Cozy Mark IV 
//------------------------------//


Our Girl Scootaloo


by Cozy Mark IV


Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan-made work of prose. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is the property of Hasbro. Please support the official release



Chapter Twelve: Meet the parents

The summer had been a largely enjoyable one but for the incident at the mall. Scootaloo's implanted pickup had taken beautifully, and she no longer needed the side panels on her prosthetic which she very much enjoyed in the heat of summer. What she hadn't expected was that her body also was able to use the output side of the chip to send signals to her arms, finally ridding her of the control hat she had always needed before.

She and Conner had continued dating, and Jayne and Kevin had talked it over and decided it was best not to object. Over dinner a few weeks after prom Kevin had broached the subject.

"Scootaloo, I think I owe you an apology. You were right when you said Conner was a good guy, and it's not my place to judge him."

Scootaloo looked surprised. "You mean it?"

Jayne spoke up. "We talked it over, and decided you're right. Conner isn't going to hurt you or get you into drugs or such. We wanted to apologize for judging, and remind both of you that you are always welcome in our home."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. "You mean you don't mind if we...?"

Kevin managed a laugh. "Yes, we don't mind; in fact we would prefer you bring him home when you want to have your way with him."

Scootaloo blushed fiercely, and he continued. "We brought you up telling you we wanted what was best for you, and yet we saw your boyfriend we made you feel unwelcome. That was wrong of us. We don't want you shacking up in the back of a car, or God knows where else. Our home is a safe place, and you should always feel welcome here."

Scootaloo smiled warmly. "Thanks Papa."

"Besides," Jayne added mischievously "it's no accident your bed is built to support a compact car without creaking."

"Daaad!"

Scootaloo had been spending more time with her new skater friends in the park downtown and she was slowly getting better on scooter and skateboard. Her habit of hovering when a trick went bad instead of falling like everyone else had earned her the nickname 'Glinda" among the group, though they only teased her in good fun.

As she picked up the basics she was soon the envy of everyone in the group because, as Curt put it; "You can choose which direction is down!" This resulted in some surreal tricks, even if they were obviously the work of a dedicated amateur.

It was also deeply confusing to the park maintenance staff who never did figure out how somebody ground black skateboard grease into the underside of the gutters on the second floor.

It was on a hot weekday afternoon that Betty and George, the Doctors Gregerson, were walking through the city park when they caught sight of Scootaloo. She drew their attention not so much for being a bright orange pony on a skateboard, but because she was planing her board across the pond like a jet-ski to the cheers of her friends on shore. As they stopped to watch, Scootaloo saw them, waved and lost her concentration on the board which slipped from her hooves and disappeared beneath the water.

"Crap!" In a flash she flipped forward and plunged her right hand into the water up to the shoulder grasping for the board while keeping the rest of her body clear of the water like a person reaching into a well. In a moment she smiled and pulled her board from the water.

One member of the crowd to Betty's left, a girl in leather and green hair with a lot of piercings was laughing as she called out: "Not bad, Glinda! Come on, we're going to get some lunch."

Scootaloo, board still dripping, landed on the edge of the lake. "Hey, wait up Gina! I'd like you to meet some friends of mine: this is Betty Gregerson and George Gregerson.

The older couple smiled warmly as they shook hands and introduced themselves to the somewhat confused teens with dyed hair. After introductions were made, Curt stepped in with the obvious question. "It's nice to meet you both, Scootaloo has told us so much about you." He intoned as he looked significantly at her.

"Oh! Sorry guys. Betty and George are the doctors who have been working with me to develop medical treatments from my biology. Doctors, these are the friends I've told you about who've been teaching me how to skate."

"Oh! It's nice to meet you all at last." Betty said as she leaned in conspiratorially. "We were wondering who talked her into getting her ears pierced. The way her father went on you would have thought she had gone full 'National Geographic' instead of those simple little diamonds. I have more elaborate earrings myself for cocktail parties."

Most of the skaters gave them confused smiles but Gina seemed unfazed. "Yeah, she was crazy cool with it, she just pierced them herself like it was no big deal. You should have seen the needle she used!"

George grinned at Scootaloo. "twenty four gauge?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "twenty."

Betty whistled appreciatively. "Yes, I could see how that would look impressive. Goodness knows she's taken larger then that over the years."

George was grinning at the group now as well. "And come to think of it, I have a grad student who owes you a thank you as well. Your experimentations were the inspiration for his paper; The Comparative Effects of Cannabis on Equines."

"Ugg, don't remind me." Scootaloo replied. "I got so hungry I cleaned out the fridge and most of the pantry. Have you ever eaten an entire bag of raw onions? Because you really shouldn't."

"Wait, you found out about that?" One of the younger, slower, kids said in concerned tones.

"With all the medical testing Scootaloo puts up with we could hardly fail to. Don't worry about it; it's been how many years since Colorado legalized pot?" He asked his wife.

"About a decade now I think" Betty answered. "And besides, who do you think taught Scoot where to get the best breeds? I'm told you rather enjoyed the hybrid we recommended."

Up till this point the group had been unsure how to deal with these two old people who inexplicably knew Scootaloo, wondering when they would start acting normally and yelling at them to get off the lawn. The realization that some of the best pot they ever had was a recommendation from these same two was a bit hard to process, and most of them were gawking openly.

Both Betty and George were grinning now and obviously enjoying this. "Oh dear, I think we scandalized them." Betty grinned as she took George in her arms.

"You naughty thing you. Corrupting the youth with no regard for their delicate sensitivities. Shame on you." George said as he pulled her in and kissed her long and passionately.

After several very awkward moments watching the wrinkly old couple snogging like teenagers, Curt was the first to recover.

"Okay, that was pretty cool. I got to admit I misjudged you guys."

"Well darling, we were teenagers during the 1960s. What did you expect?"

"Indeed. We've seen and done plenty things you never have and a few we hope you never will." George added.

Seeing some eye rolling he decided to make a point. "I got my medical degree under the GI bill. Served in 'Nam just towards the end. Nasty business. But I still have a few funny memories from those years. You kids ever seen a monkey fight?"

Gina gave him an incredulous look. "A what?"

"It happened one week when a guy came through town with a chimp and set up shop in a local bar. The deal worked like this: He and the bar owner would wait until things got rowdy, and once a bunch of guys were good and drunk he would ask who thought they could take a monkey in a fight. Now these were beefy GIs. They'd say they could take any stinking monkey and so on, especially after they saw the chimp in the cage was maybe a hundred fifty pounds soaking wet. So the owner and the handler would start taking bets, and somebody, usually somebody big and very drunk would walk into the cage and start swinging."

Reactions among the teen skaters ranged from awe to disgust. "The poor monkey!" Gina said with obvious concern.

George chuckled. "There's a reason they don't do this anymore, but it has little to do with the welfare of the chimp. The result was always the same. They guy would get in one punch and then the chimp would beat the everloving shit out of him. It's a miracle he never killed anyone. Most mornings we would all line up for inspection, and there would be this one guy who looked like he picked a fight with a cement truck."

"That's wicked! But didn't anyone ever complain?"

George gave the kid a look. "Let's say you were an officer in a war zone. Guys under your command are coming back in body bags on a weekly basis. Are you going to worry about some dumbass and his buddies who lost their money and got the crap beaten out of them by a monkey?"

There was a contemplative silence before he continued. "Anyway, I'm just glad you kids have it better than I did. The war paid for school, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone. About the only good thing to come out of all that was the music." He turned to Betty. "Remember what Woodsock was like, right after we got out together?"

Betty grinned and wrapped her arms around him. "I remember making love while _ played 'I get by with a little help from my friends." She smiled mischievously. "I didn't sit down much during Woodstock."

The sound of grinding mental gears was clearly audible from the group of teenagers, and Betty could almost smell the smoke coming out of their ears.

George sighed. "I always liked that song. After the long months of military discipline and no time for each other, to suddenly be free from it all... I'll probably remember that song for the rest of my life. He sighed and after a pause, changed the subject. "Now, how did you meet Scootaloo?"

Curt was the first to pick his jaw up off the floor, and he related the story of the night at the prom. When he was done Betty smiling at Scootaloo.

"That was very well done; I didn't know you had it in you. Any word on what happened to Larry, Moe and Curly?"

"I think two of those jocks were expelled. I don't know about the other guy." Scootaloo added.

"No loss there." Gina amended as the rest of the group agreed.

"Hey, you kids said you were going to eat: how about we get some hotdogs from the corner stand. My treat." Betty said.

"Do they have a veggie option?"

Everyone, Scootaloo included, looked at George.

"What? I've had heart problems for years and when the chance to fix it came around I jumped on it."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You mean you've got some of my synthetic cells too?"

The smell of hotdogs roasting on the grill was carried by on the wind, and while the rest of the group felt their stomachs growl, George grimaced at the smell which thanks to the treatment, now smelled like burning garbage to him. "Yup, I haven't felt this healthy in years."

"Oh come now. You haven't been this frisky in years either." Betty consoled him as she groped his butt openly. "Come on, this vendor has tofu dogs as well."

After ordering lunch and finding some park benches to eat on, the topic came around to skating, tricks and skills of skating, then sports in general and the prospects of various local sports teams for the season. It was in the middle of this the topic came around to the Tour De France and the bizarre events of the year's race.

The race was normally dominated by young career athletes, but this year the race had been won by an amateur in his 50's and several other people of similar age had overshadowed everyone else. They had tested clean for all known drugs and the only thing linking them all was that everyone of these older athletes had received treatment for a heart or weight condition. A very specific treatment.

"You're kidding me! They got my synthetic cell transfers and were able to outrun world class athletes?!"

George nodded. "It seems that some other doctors have figured out how to do rudimentary programming of your biology for physical fitness. Left to its own, your biology seems to make people as healthy and happy as possible, but it's becoming obvious now that it can be programmed to deliver an impressive boost to physical ability."

"Hey, I heard about this." Gina volunteered. "Did the race organizers disqualify those guys?"

"Yes, they did." Betty responded. "But that's where this gets interesting. The genetic alterations they got were a legitimate medical treatment, yet it made them so good they were able to leave everyone else in their dust. It's happening in other sports too; they just kicked out a basketball player who was reliably sinking baskets from the half court mark, and a baseball player who had played five consecutive games without a missed ball – every single one was a home run."

"Wait, but if this was a medical treatment how are they kicking these guys out?"

"Don't you get it?" Gina answered. "They didn't have a choice. If genetic modification can make somebody that much better then no one can hope to compete without the same treatment."

"You got it." Betty answered. "Now kids in high school are having to make a hard choice: Do they want to be a great athlete in perfect health and break world records in their sport, or do they want to be mediocre and compete with everyone else? The only way into the top ranks now involves choosing to suck at the game."

Curt, who had been thoughtfully quiet thought the discussion at last spoke up. "You realize what this means don't you Scoot?"

"What?"

"You broke sports."

"Wait, what now?!"

Curt was grinning from ear to ear now. "You broke all the sports. The mantra has always been 'be the best but stay healthy and natural'. Well thanks to you, 'natural' now means giving up any hope of being even mediocre, let alone the best, and it sounds like it translates into poorer health too."

George agreed. "That's a fair assessment. I've been involved in the clinical trials, and while the treatment doesn't mitigate the effects of aging, it seems to make the body function as well as it could possibly hope to at the given age. The old guard doesn't seem to realize this is a game changer. Forcing people to forgo life-saving medical treatment to be allowed to compete isn't going to work out long term."

Scootaloo face palmed, then looked at Curt with a bemused expression. "Seriously? I broke all the sports?"

The dreaded day had arrived at last.

Conner volunteered with the fire department, and more than once he had run into a burning building. Scootaloo had been facing down medical exams, needles, and procedures for years, and in the last few months she had begun learning the job of an EMT, training to save lives under conditions where a mistake could kill.

They were both scared, but it had to be done sooner or later.

They had parked the car across the street, and she held his hand as they stood before the door. He gently squeezed her hand and with a deep breath she reached up, put a happy smile on her face, and rang the doorbell.

The door opened revealing a middle aged couple in their mid forties.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Scootaloo."

"Hello, it's good to finally meet you. I'm Michael and this is my wife Nancy."

"It's nice to meet you. Please, come in."

No sooner then they all made their way into the living room then Nancy reluctantly made her apologies and returned to the kitchen to put the final touches on dinner. While they waited, Michael brought the conversation around to the events of the last few months.

"We both heard about what happened with you and your friends at the mall. Terrible, just terrible."

"It's kind of you to say so, sir, but it turned out Agent Tyler had things pretty well in hand, though it still gives me the creeps that he came after me."

"No doubt. That's why I never leave home without my 45." He said as he produced the handgun from its holster. "If I had been there, it would have ended differently."

Scootaloo felt distinctly uncomfortable and didn't want to talk about this, but these were her boyfriend's parents, so she tried to forget her unease and continue.

She deliberately avoided the question of what happens when you shoot a person carrying a dead-man switch.

"That's an old 1911 isn't it? May I?" She asked as she held out a hand.

He put the gun in her hand and she released the magazine, then pulled back the slide to eject the round from the chamber.

"I've learned a lot about these in the last few months. After the incident at the mall, Agent Tyler took me to the range and showed me the ins and outs of more guns than I can count."

"I'm glad to hear it! So what do you carry?"

Reluctantly, Scootaloo reached into a concealed pocket of her prosthetic and produced a plastic device with a pistol grip and rectangular end. "I have a special dispensation to carry, so I chose this one. It's more than enough to keep me safe from anyone who would want to hurt me."

Michael wore a confused look. "Isn't that a police Taser? What good is that?"

"It has a long range, three shots, and the biggest advantage is that it's not normally fatal. It delivers a nasty shock, but if something goes wrong, no one dies."

"You mean you don't have a gun of your own? Even after what happened?" He asked in consternation.

"I could have, but…" The memory of her first ride with the EMTs flashed to mind and she tried to think of a tactful way to explain herself. "I've seen firsthand what happens when you make a mistake with one of these." She passed the three parts of his gun back to him. "And I don't feel comfortable carrying something where the cost of my mistake is someone's life." There was an uncomfortable silence as both weapons disappeared back into their holsters, and he seemed to look her up and down as though thinking less of her.

"At least, that is, until I'm a better shot."

That seemed to satisfy him.

"So, you're a cheerleader."

"Yep."

"...That must be fun."

"Oh, yes."

Scootaloo couldn't think of anything to add, and apparently Conner's dad couldn't think of anything else to ask.

Before the silence could stretch too long, Nancy reappeared from the kitchen to let them know dinner was ready and Scootaloo and Conner jumped at the change of subject.

As they all took a seat at the table, Scootaloo took an appreciative sniff of her dish. "Oh, that does smell good! Conner has told me what an excellent cook you are."

"Oh, why, thank you, dear! I don't normally cook vegetarian food, but Conner told me all about your dietary needs, so I made that just for you."

"Thank you, it smells great!"

They all sat down and Scootaloo was just about to dig in when Conner tapped her on the flank below the table and silently nodded at his parents.

"Heavenly Father, we give thanks for all the provisions you have given us,"

Scootaloo bowed her head with everyone else and waited.

"Bless this food, and bless our friends and family who've come to dine with us today. Amen."

This time she waited until everyone else had begun before trying her own food, which turned out to be as good as Conner had predicted.

"It's good to have you here in our home." Nancy said as she passed a bowl to her husband. "We have been waiting so long for Conner to bring home some nice girl from school… Though I'll admit, you weren't exactly what we were expecting." She added with a self-conscious smile.

Scootaloo blushed. "Well, I know how some families feel about cheerleaders, but I have good grades in math and the sciences too. I'm just glad to have found someone as kind as your son. He's helped me get through some tough times recently."

"That's nice of you to say." Michael replied. "And I suppose you can't help what you are." He finished with a glance at Scootaloo's tail.

"Anyway!" Conner interjected, trying to change the subject. "Dad probably mentioned he works as a shift supervisor at the local plant. Mom; has anything interesting been happening with your work lately?"

"Oh, you know I just volunteer at the church. But actually, we did have some good news recently; Pastor Gray has just accepted a position at the local high school. I believe it's the same school you attend, dear."

"Oh that is good news, it's about time we put some morality back into our schools, and he's just the man to do it." Michael added. "Do you realize schools today actually teach our children how to have sex?"

"Yes, actually, I have heard of that." Scootaloo responded in a flat tone.

"Well now, dear, we could have really used-" Nancy was cut off as Michael barreled ahead.

"It's just not right, teaching children it's okay to have sex before marriage. I bet we could lay a lot of abortions at the feet of people like that."

"Yes, I actually do know of a case where that's exactly what happened." Scootaloo responded as she tried not to grit her teeth. "Turns out the girl in question came from a rural school that didn't teach sex-ed and she didn't know how to use birth control. It's almost as though if someone had taught her how, she might not have needed to visit Maggie Sanger's homegirls."

"Hmmf. Well if she couldn't keep her knees together it sounds like she got what she deserved." Michael added matter-of-factly.

The fork in Scootaloo's hand suddenly took on a much more pronounced bend.

"Yes, you know I've often thought that driver's ed should be taught the same way. Ban training of any kind, grant licenses based on marital status, not passing some silly test, and trust that everyone will just figure out the rules of the road and basic safety as they go."

Michael was giving her a hard look, and Nancy was shrinking back in her chair and looking uncomfortable as Scootaloo turned her attention back to her plate.

"Well, fortunately, under Pastor Gray I think we will see a lot less of these problems. That last principle, Ms. Baker I think? She was far too liberal for my liking," Conner's father growled.

"I never got the chance to know her, but I did hear that she had two nice boys from our church expelled at prom the other night. Something about carrying weapons on school grounds? Did you hear anything about that dear?" Nancy asked Conner.

Scootaloo and Conner both looked uneasy as he replied. "Well, I didn't see what they had, but I'm very glad of that."

"Oh, man up, son; those are good kids, active in the FFA and our church group. She had no right to expel them and I won't be sorry to see the back of her."

"I guess we never appreciated what she stood for." Scootaloo added with a worried glance toward Conner.

With some effort Conner managed to change the topic to school, classes, and other things less dangerous to the flatware. The dinner wound down more peaceably, and Nancy offered drinks and served up a delicious chocolate mousse over chocolate cake that was every bit as good as bakery fare.

Trying to stick to safe topics, Scootaloo soon found herself describing the merits and drawbacks to being a private pilot, and the various design attributes of her father's small plane. About the point Michael's eyes were beginning to glaze over, she relented and turned the conversation around to their hosts.

"But you've both been so patient to listen to my life story, what about yours? How did you two meet?"

Nancy seemed to perk up. "Oh, we met in high school. I was going to go to school for an education degree, and Michael was planning to study agriculture. We met in one of the school shop classes and we hit it off."

"Those were good times." Michael reflected. "I used to sleep till four and party till three. Never did get into college though. Life just kind of got in the way." He added with a smile at Conner.

"Lucky for you, your dad had an opening in the local plant. That job kept us going when I got married and pregnant with Conner."

The slight pause in her speech made Scootaloo wonder about the order of those last two events.

"That's sweet." Scootaloo replied pleasantly. "But why haven't you been using your degree? Goodness knows there is demand enough for qualified teachers."

"Oh, I never got to go to college either. After I met Michael, well... God had other plans for me." she finished lamely with an sad and downcast look.

Scootaloo's worked to keep her expression pleasantly neutral. "You mean you gave up your degree to have Conner?"

Michael answered for her. "Well of course she did. A good wife must be submissive to her husband."

Conner blushed red and Scootaloo couldn't help but smile. "Funny, I always thought it was better to take turns."

…

Eventually, even this uncomfortable evening wound to a close and Conner left to give Scootaloo a ride home.

"Arrgg. What a night. I hate it when Randy Milholland is right about something." Scootaloo grumbled.

"I know it was hard, but we made it through, and Dad didn't kick you out of the house. It could have been worse... Wait, right about what?"

"Oh, he did a famous eight page 'something positive' comic and my Dads have it framed on the wall. It's online, started October fifth, 2006. The punchline is 'The only time anyone's admitted they were a Christian before was when they were busy telling me why they're better than me.'"

She sighed. "Most of my friends are Christians, like Josie and Christina, and they don't make a big deal about it, but it never seems to fail that the loudest ones are... yeah."

"It's okay, Dad means well, and they did a good job raising me, didn't they?"

"Hey, your mom was nice, and I'd like to get to know her better. Your dad really seemed to take her for granted though, she barely got a word in edgewise all night." Scootaloo took his hand and gently squeezed it. "I won't promise to like him, but he is your dad." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "So I think I can put up with him if you can put up with all of my weirdness."

"I can live with that."

- Nine years later in Equestria -Dashie's homecoming – picks up where 'My little Dashy' leaves off.-

The huge castle chamber was empty but for two palace guards standing silently by the door and the palace doctor aimlessly trotting about. The Princess and her five companions had departed several hours ago on a dangerous mission, and those who seen them off were in other rooms of the castle, anxiously waiting for word of their return.

A light began to form at the center of the room, growing in intensity as it grew in size until it was a blinding white. One of the guards nodded and ran to carry the news, while the other remained to greet them and the doctor double checked his equipment for the hundredth time.

The light changed from white to orange then pulsed through the other colors of purple, yellow, white again, pink, and finally blue before fading away to reveal Celestia and the group of six.

Quite frankly, they looked like hell.

The doctor began inspecting them in turn, checking that all was well, and to a pony, they just stood there, tears staining their cheeks, still numb from what they had just been though.

Luna was the first to arrive, followed closely by Rainbow's father, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, and as they took in the group's drooping features and red eyes a feeling of dread crept over them.

It was Luna who spoke up first. "Sister, what in Equestria happened?!"

Rainbow's father had seen his daughter and ran to hug her, but instead of running to meet him, she backed away in concern. The two crusaders who had missed this, and both grabbed onto her legs, but Rainbow just looked down at them, not sure what to make of this.

As far as Rainbow could tell, this was all some kids' cartoon show, suddenly come to life and thrust upon her as her new life, whether she liked it or not.

"Okay, I've come with you, and I'm sure you're all nice ponies, but what about my dad?"

Her biological father looked hurt and confused, and Fluttershy quietly took him aside to explain.

Celestia wiped the tears from her eyes. "Rainbow, as I said before, your adoptive father cannot join us in Equestria."

Rainbow sniffled. "But why not? You saw him; he took care of me, raised me when no one else would. I owe him everything..." She sniffed, and it looked as though she might break down again at any moment.

Twilight joined in. "After what you told us about the human world I never thought I would say this, but... I agree with Rainbow. We should invite him to come visit our world, even if he doesn't choose to stay."

"Yeah, I could find space for him at the farm. He'd have no trouble earning his keep with a reach like that."

"And making clothes that fit would be an interesting challenge. I'd gladly help."

"Girls, I-" Celestia began.

"Oh! And I could throw him a welcome-to-Ponyville party to celebrate!"

Even Fluttershy looked up from her conversation. "I could always use a helping hoof taking care of all my friends."

"GIRLS!" Celestia shouted. They all looked at her and she hung her head and sighed. "I know you would like to invite Rainbow's adoptive father to visit, but it is simply not possible."

"Sister, I do not understand." Luna objected. "I should be able to bring this human here if you desire it."

A look of frustration crossed Celestia's features as she replied. "No, you don't understand. He must not come to this world."

Rainbow gave her a plaintive look: "But why not?"

"Because he could not survive here!" Celestia shouted in anger. "I wanted to bring him along as well, but I don't dare. Coming to our world would surely be his end."

The group looked shocked, as much by the content of her outburst, as by the fact that this was Princess Celestia talking so bluntly.

"But, how can you know that unless...?"

Celestia sighed. "Yes Twilight. Humans have come to Equestria before."

Twilight looked more startled then the rest of the group. "But I researched this before we left... I never found any record of humans having come to -"

"That's because I suppressed it!"

She sighed again and put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder.

"Humans have only come here twice that I know of. It was a long time ago, a little over eighty five years ago in both our time-lines, but after what happened..." She shuttered visibly.

"What happened to these creatures?" Luna asked.

Celestia looked like she wanted to make an excuse, but she could hardly keep this from her sister.

"They died. They died in the most horrible manner imaginable." Celestia actually tucked her legs under her and curled up on the floor with a shiver as the long dormant memory surfaced after more than eighty years. Twilight and Luna both took her in an awkward hug and she managed to continue. "They came in two groups of five and seven people, about a week apart. I couldn't speak their language, so I still don't know why they came here, but... something about our world destroyed them. They were healthy enough when they arrived, but over the course of a few hours, a day or two at most, they succumbed to a sickness the likes of which I have never seen in all my years." She shuddered again and held on to Luna and Twilight who shared a look of concern.

"It was too horrible to speak of, so I removed the memories of what happened from the few ponies in that distant town who ever saw them. More than once I have wanted to erase them from my mind as well, but however horrible, somepony must remember, to prevent it from happening again."

She looked up at Rainbow, who had fresh tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Rainbow, but I dare not bring humans to this world. I would not wish that fate on my worst enemy."

"But... I can still go and visit him in his world... Right?" Rainbow asked in a heartbreaking voice.

"Yes... Yes, I will be happy to help you visit him from time to time." Celestia managed as she regained her composure. "He is a good man, and we should see him again, just please understand that it is no small effort to jump between worlds like this. I will need time to recover before we can go again and I believe our next trip must be in search of Scootaloo."

The crusaders looked downcast at this. "You mean you didn't find her?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I'm sorry, it appears she was sent to a slightly different human world." She saw Twilight about to ask and held up a hoof. "It is complicated, but there are many close copies of the world we just visited, just as there are many close copies of our world. Under any normal circumstance it is an academic issue, but I will explain later if you desire."

"Now, Twilight, if you would please use your spell to restore Rainbow Dash's memory? I believe we are all anxious to complete our reunion." She finished with a gesture to Rainbows father who was listening to Fluttershy with an expression of shocked distress.

Twilight nodded, got to her feet and her horn began to glow as she approached Rainbow, but Rainbow took a step back and spread her wings. "Hey, wait a second! What about me?!"

"It's all right Rainbow, this won't erase any of who you are, it will just restore the memories of who you used to be before... the accident."

Rainbow still looked concerned, but she allowed Twilight to approach and use her horn. The magic flowed from her and enveloped Rainbow, lifting her from the ground and cradling her as she squirmed, then gritted her teeth, closed her eyes and held her head in obvious pain. It only took a moment for the spell to work and Twilight lowered her gently to the floor where she collapsed in a heap.

The entire room looked on expectantly as Rainbow panted and slowly opened her eyes.

"Um, Twilight? Are her eyes supposed to do that?" Fluttershy asked as Rainbow's father looked on in concern.

Rainbow's eyes seemed to be working independently, one looking around while the other focused on her father and Twilight. It looked... unsettling.

"Dad! Twilight! Oh are you two a sight for sore eyes!" Rainbow cried as she got up and hugged them. "I am so glad to be back! But... Where am I back from anyway? And what the hay happened to me?" She asked looking down at her body. "I haven't been this out of shape since I was a kid."

"Hey, who are you calling a kid?!"

Everyone stopped and stared. The voice had been Rainbow's, it had spoken with Rainbow's mouth, but from the bewildered look on her face, it was clear that Rainbow had not said it.

"Twilight... What's going on?" Rainbow asked in tones of growing fear.

Twilight tried to think of a gentle way to break it to her, but, unable to come up with one, she just blurted out the truth. "There was an accident and you were thrown back in time to another world. You grew up there, had a father who loved you, and after fifteen long years your time-line caught up with ours and we were able to rescue you."

Her left eye widened. "I... I think I remember some of that..." Rainbow closed her eyes in concentration. "But... there's more... It's like there's somepony else listening."

"No shit, Sherlock, that would be me."

Rainbow jumped and look of terror crossed her features. "Twilight! There's somepony in my head!"

"No, you're in my head!"

"Who are you!?"

"I'm Dash!"

"No, I'm Rainbow Dash!"

This rapidly degenerated into an outright argument as Rarity asked in bewilderment, "Twilight... What did you just do?"

Twilight looked as confused as everypony else as she answered. "I restored Rainbow's memories of her life here with us. I thought all the memories would merge together and she would wake up as one pony with two childhoods, but... it looks like the memories didn't merge."

Across the room, Rainbow Dash had actually come to blows with herself before quickly realizing the painful futility of trying to kick one's own ass.

"It appears the two memories were different enough to form two complete personalities." Celestia observed. "You know this spell Twilight. Will they merge together over time?"

"Oooh… I don't know, I have to look this up." She turned and galloped out the door. "I'll be in the library!"

"I hope Twilight is as good in reality as she is in the show. I'm not looking forward to doing this long term."

"Oh, and I am? I didn't ask for this either you know."

"How are we going to get along until then?"

"What are you talking about? We'll do all right as long as you don't start punching me again."

"You insulted me! Besides, that wasn't what I meant."

"Okay wise guy, what did you mean?"

"I meant how are we going to…"

Half of Rainbow's face blushed scarlet.

"Going to what?" She asked impatiently. There was an inaudible whisper as her right hoof gestured to the bathroom and the left half of her face immediately blushed redder then the right. She looked self-consciously around the room at all the startled expressions staring back at her.

"Why don't we go find Twilight."

"Good idea.

As Rainbow trotted out the door and tried not to trip over her feet, Pinky seemed to finally come to terms with what was happening.

"Now I can throw two welcome home parties! Or would it be a welcome home and a welcome to ponyville party? And should they be two parties, or one party inside another party?" Her face took on a look of intense concentration, and she pulled a rolling chalk board out of nowhere and began scrawling equations on it. "If P1 is equal to P2 then P1 plus P2 would be Px2 or one party twice as big, but if P1 is not equal to P2 then we -"

The rest of the group all looked away at this point for fear they would start to understand what pinky was saying.

"Princess?" Rarity asked. "If it's all right with you, I think we ought to set aside a few rooms in the castle were we can all stay until we figure this out."

Celestia nodded. "I will make the arrangements."

"But!... But aren't you goin lookin for Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You're not going to just leave her behind are you?" Sweetie Bell followed, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Of course not!" Applejack answered as she hugged the two of them. "But it takes a lot of strength to make the trip so it will be a little while before the Princess is strong enough again. But don't you worry, we'll bring her back."

"You really mean it?"

"Course I do. We'll bring Scootaloo back safe and sound, don't you worry. Now come on, it's been a long day and its well past dinner time. Why don't you two show us where the dining room is around here?

The two crusaders perked up and led the way as Applejack and Fluttershy shared a worried look. "Do you really think she's all right?"

Applejack simply nodded. "After what the Princess told us about the human world I was ready for some dark and evil things, but that's not what we found was it? I think humans might not be so bad as we've been told. I can't say for sure, but I've got a feeling our Scootaloo's doin just fine."