Twilight powered on, her wings held steady as they cut through the air, Luna the other side of the litter kept her gaze focused forwards, both alicorns watching their speed. As they soared through the night sky, Twilight noticed some pegasi in the air ahead, keeping their flightpath free and clear of clouds.
"This next ridge coming up has a sufficient ledge to allow us to switch places." Celestia called out. Both Luna and Twilight merely nodded, being careful as they banked to lose height, making sure not to overbalance the precious cargo between them. As they landed, they barely disturbed a pebble.
"Hold steady.” the doctor said from the litter, before he and Spitfire set to tending Scootaloo's bandages.
One of the bat-pony guards approached the Princess of The Night. "Highness, if I may ask, why are you carrying the little one to the hospital when it would be faster to simply teleport?" Luna looked to her guard with a small smile.
“Perhaps thou wouldst be better asking the Princess of Magic thy question.” she told him while nodding towards Twilight, who smiled slightly.
“Just give us a moment to change litter bearers and I’ll explain as we fly.” Twilight said as Celestia came up next to her. Cadance mirroring her actions the other side.
What happened next was the perfect synchronous use of levitation and stability spells the unicorn pegasus pediatrician had ever seen. The litter didn’t feel like it moved a millimetre as it was raised and held aloft by Luna and Celestia.
Cadance sent her magic to merge with Twilight’s, encompassing the whole thing with a stable field so strong they could be in the middle of an earthquake and anypony on the litter wouldn’t even feel the displaced air.
Once the litter was fully off, the princesses switched places and secured their harnesses. Just before take off, Celestia and Cadance gave their wings a last going over, mimicking their fellow princesses from earlier that night. They took to the air with such care that nothing on the ground was disturbed.
Twilight sped up taking her place in the slipstream formation between the curious bat-pony and Spitfire before turning her attention to the guard. “You asked why we didn’t teleport to the castle, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions first?” she asked.
The guard shook his head side to side, Twilight felt the smile on her face as she looked forward to passing knowledge on - more so using this to distract her from how worried for Scootaloo she was. Before she had the distraction of making sure her flight was steady, which she wasn’t as responsible for at the moment.
“Okay, first, where would you say most of a unicorn's magic in their body is channelled?”
The guard looked at her with a raised eyebrow before he answered. “Obviously their horn.”
Twilight nodded. “Okay, second question: where would you think an earth pony’s magic is concentrated?” The guard looked away in thought for a while before turning to her and shaking his head side to side in defeat.
Twilight smiled slightly. “Earth pony magic is distributed within their bodies pretty much evenly, but with a little extra being channeled to their hooves.” she told him.
“So you’re saying that mine and a pegasus’s magic is concentrated in our wings then?” he asked.
Twilight nodded once more before continuing on with her lesson. “Exactly, now with Scootaloo’s wing being amputated, the magic has a direct opening to leave her body too. If we were to teleport, then the ambient magic in the ether would draw out all Scootaloo’s inherent magic instantaneously. As you know, if a pony doesn’t have magic in their body, their body would shut down.” As she finished, a tear fell from her eye as she looked back to the litter, now between her mentor and Sister-in-Law. “Believe me, if we could teleport Scootaloo, we would.” she finished somberly.
The guard nodded before he turned to face the direction they were flying once more, cutting the air currents to allow a smooth flight for the litter-borne filly.
-o.O.O.o-
Luna flew above the formation to the rear, acting as formation watch - calling out whenever a pony drifted from their position.
Looking down to Scootaloo, who had started to call her ‘Auntie Luna’ in her dreams, the Princess of the Night cried quietly in her mind.
‘Why?! Why did she not tell me - and where were the nightmares so common to the abused? I do not understand, why did nopony notice? Why did I not notice?’
The questions flew through her mind like the wind flowing through her feathers. Ahead, however, trouble loomed on the horizon. Dark ominous thunderheads had rolled in over the mountains.
“Wonderbolts! Tear those clouds apart!” Luna commanded, before shooting forwards herself, noticing her bat-pony’s tightening formation to keep the litters flight steady. Twilight shot forward to help with the clouds; using all the tricks Rainbow had taught her.
It soon came to Luna’s notice as they entered the clouds that this was no ordinary storm. Looking to where the clouds originated, she spied the Everfree Forest and swore. Back-winging and flipping she made for the litter until she was able to draw alongside her sister.
“Everfree storm ahead! The Wonderbolts are doing what they can, but they need help, doth thou wish for me to fly back to Ponyville and assemble the emergency team?” Celestia looked towards the clouds as a dark expression clouded her features. Turning to the doctor on the litter, she spoke. “Can she survive the extra time should we fly around the storm?”
The Doctor looked up to the Solar Princess and shook his head. “No, your highness. We ran a big enough risk as it is transporting her - she needs the specialist equipment at Canterlot, but she doesn’t have long unless we get her there soon.” he said grimly, a jade green healing aura being suffused into Scootaloo’s body as he worked.
Luna watched as Celestia’s resolve seemed to harden to something palpable, with something else seeming to linger just beneath the surface. “Luna, we will not lose Scootaloo! You go get what help you need, I’ll see if I can erect a strong enough shield as we fly.”
Luna nodded as she flipped once more in the air and shot back towards Ponyville, faster than Rainbow Dash had ever flown. They needed the help and needed it now - once at a safe distance she surrounded herself with her magic and teleported back to stand in front of Ponyville Town Hall.
Using the full Royal Canterlot Voice she called out. “Pegasi of Ponyville, your aid is needed - an Everfree Storm doth impede our route to Canterlot! We have a litter-borne filly who hath lost her wing and can not be teleported! We ask thine aid to clear a path to safety!”
All around Pegasi dropped from the sky, bursting from their shops and, in the case of one grey pegasus with bubbles for a cutie-mark, extricated herself from a second story window... backwards.
Luna looked around, before nodding and calling. “Who amongst thou are the Emergency Response Team?” A dark Pegasus with a grey mane stepped forwards.
“Names Thundelane, Ma’am. All the Pegasi of Ponyville are trained in that regard; with living so close to the forest, we made it mandatory to be trained.” Luna looked out at the crowd of over one hundred Pegasi and breathed a sigh of relief, they may just manage.
Luna nodded. “Take to the sky, once all in the air I shell teleport us as close as is safe.” Luna told them.
Thundelane nodded before turning to the crowd and calling out. “TAKE WING - FORM UP!” At the call, Luna was amazed to see them all lift off as one, moving into formations as a unicorn thundered out the town hall with a box full of goggles and had them streaming into the air to their owners. All the while the Pegasi shifted in the air finding their wingmates.
Once they were all airborne Luna took flight and led them away from the town, before looking to the moon and drawing the energy she required from it. Her horn glowed almost incandescent as she manipulated a large mass teleportation field, one that wouldn’t disorientate those who were about to be moved.
A short shift of view later, they were a kilometer behind the two princesses carrying Scootaloo. Without a single command being given, Luna watched as the Pegasi streaked forwards; one lone gray mare flying higher than the rest, calling down to the rest.
-o.O.O.o-
Derpy shot out to her assigned position, normally her eyesight was a hinderance, yet with these storms she was able to see the swirls and eddies far before any other pegasus, and thus she would call out what was needed below.
Seeing a thunderhead about to literally slam down onto Thundelane’s formation, she called out. “GROUP 1 BANK LEFT BANK LEFT!” They dodged the cloud before turning into it and tearing it apart, Derpy spotted something that sent chills down her spine. The storm had encircled them and was slowly starting to spin.
“CYCLONE!!! WE’VE GOT A BUCKIN’ CYCLONE ON OUR HOOVES!!!” she called out, prompting the entire team to rise above the cloud. They split into two teams as they dove back in to tackle the storm once more - Derpy diving into the fray as well.
The strongest fliers would fly in formation using their wingpower to create a negative windforce against the cyclone, while the strongest built Pegasi - like Snowflake - would tear through the storm, breaking it apart.
As she dove she noticed the Wonderbolts taking formation about Scootaloo, destroying any clouds that got too close.
Twilight suddenly sped past her, leaving a purple trail and Derpy spotted what the lavender Alicorn must have noticed; a static buildup in the air, about to discharge through Scootaloo’s litter!
She watched in awe as Twilights wings flared and a solid purple bubble encompassed the group just as the discharge struck. Amazingly to Derpy, the bubble held before it was safely dropped as Twilight dived forwards back to destroying the storm.
Derpy caught sight of the Princess of magics face, and at that moment saw raw determination ponyfied.
On they battled with the storm, carving out a safe path for the slow moving precious cargo.
Until on one of Derpy’s runs above the clouds she spotted the edge of the storm at last.
“STORMWALL APPROACHING!!” Unlike most storms an everfree storm had a wall about it almost as solid as permacloud that took a concerted effort to punch through.
Shaking her head at this she dived back into the clouds, cursing that the winds above the storm were too unpredictable to make it safe flying Scootaloo above them - she had recognised the brace of orange fur against purple mane instantly; and had raged at what had ever caused the sweet innocent filly to lose her wing.
As they approached the wall she heard Thundelane’s voice below. “DERPY, WHERES THE WEAKNESS!” She scanned the wall, thanking her offset vision that allowed her to see these weaknesses in the storms.
Finally spotting a point where the wall seemed thinner to one eye than the other, she knew she had found what she was looking for. Taking a bearing on it from Thunderlane’s position she called down.
“11 O’CLOCK HIGH BY 10!” Instantly Thundelane’s squad turned and slammed into the wall punching a hole through, as the other well built pegasi forced it bigger and took positions pulling on the clouds, holding, forcing the tunnel open as Celestia and Cadence flew through; nodding their thanks as they headed off towards Canterlot once more.
Derpy looked back to the storm before cracking her neck. “Okay, Thundelane.” She said to the group leader. “I think we’re in for the long haul, this storms heading to Ponyville.”
Thunderlane turned back to her a smile on his face. “Come on then golden-eyes, lets beat this storm down, and after I’ll take you to the Golden Haybale if you’re interested. Bring Dinky too and I’ll bring Rumble.”
With that he shot back into the storm; while she flew back above to call out warnings and instructions, whilst a single thought flew through her head.
‘Did he just ask me on a date?’ Shaking her head before she turned her full attention back to the storm.
-o.O.O.o-
Twilight glanced back to the storm that they’d just fought through to see the Pegasi diving back in to tear it apart.
Shaking her head at the weather the Everfree Forest could send she was glad they were past it. When she’d sensed that lightning bolt about to strike, for a moment she hadn’t thought she’d get there in time.
Turning her thoughts from the could have beens she spotted a ledge that was big enough for them to land and change over; and banked towards it.
‘After coming through that Celestia and Cadance could do with a break’ Twilight thought as she landed and immediately set to preening her wings back into shape ready for her stint at bearing Scootaloo to the hospital.
Luna landed next to her before doing the same as Cadance and Celestia stood completely still as the doctor checked over Scootaloo. His face when he looked up was grim.
“Princesses, new flight instructions, do NOT drop below Mach 1 - we need her at the hospital NOW!” Twilight nodded and with her magic suddenly adjusted the litter so it could have four bearers in flight formation. Two in front and two at the side.
Quickly settling into the new harness she saw Luna doing the same, before she established a mild mental link between herself and the other Princesses.
‘Okay Princesses, are we ready?’ The others all nodded back in the affirmative before they took to the air - The bat-ponies and Wonderbolts adjusting their flight formation to create the smoothest, fastest slipstream possible until they were streaking through the air at a steady mach 2.5.
As Canterlot came into view in the distance, they rocked the Ponyville Express as they shot past.
The hospital coming into view Spitfire once more proved why she was the captain of the wonderbolts; as she rocketed ahead to warn the hospital of their imminent arrival.
As the landing courtyard came into view Twilight saw doctors and nurses streaming out of the doors, gurney’s at the ready.
No sooner had they landed than Scootaloo was taken from the litter and rushed into the hospital. It was then the work of the flight hit the four and they all collapsed to the floor in a state of exhaustion, as the adrenaline left their systems.
Twilight felt herself being levitated onto a gurney between Celestia and Luna.
A unicorn who she recognised from her time as Celestia’s protege stepped in front of her so she could see him properly.
“I’ve ordered the other Princesses to do the same - you are to sleep now. You need the rest. Your guards and the wonderbolts will not need as much due to their training.”
Twilight nodded as she only now noticed the sheen of perspiration coating her body.
As she closed her eyes her last thought was ‘We did it, we got her here in time’ Then darkness encompassed her vision as sleep claimed her weary body.
-o.O.O.o-
Applejack sat with her sister on the Ponyville express holding her close, trying to offer what comfort she could to little Applebloom. Looking about she saw Rarity doing the same for Sweetie Belle, while Pinkie sat with Fluttershy.
They weren’t sure how long they’d been on the train for when it was suddenly, and almost violently rocked from a pressure wave of something passing the train at high speed.
Looking out the window, Applejack spotted a small rectangle in the air going towards Canterlot in the distance, and somehow she knew, knew that was Scootaloo.
Without saying a word she sat back down as she looked around the car meeting the eyes of all the others as she nodded.
Rarity bowed her head and seemed to be forcing herself to hold the tears in, Pinkie Pie looked lost with no way to make anypony smile, Rainbow who had not said a word since they boarded the train got up and sat next to Pinkie, pulling her into a hug. As Pinkie finally broke and her tears started to fall it seemed to be the catalyst for the rest.
Though she could feel her own tears falling Applejack felt little Applebloom next to her shaking with suppressed tears. Applejack lifted her up and held her close. “It’s alraht ‘Bloom, let ‘em fall, ahm here.” That was all the words needed as Applebloom buried her little head in her sisters fur as she cried.
Sweetie Belle in an amazing scene of role reversal had jumped up to the backrest of the seat she and Rarity were sat on, and had pressed her head next to her older sisters - offering what comfort she could.
Even though their tears died down as time went on, their mood remained sombre.
When the train pulled into the station they all thundered out the carriage and along the morning lit streets, Applebloom holding tight to Applejack’s back, Sweetie Belle the same with Rarity. Rounding the final corner the hospital came into view.
Applejack lead the charge as they ran into the main reception.
“Where’s my daughter? Scootaloo” Rainbow all but demanded of the receptionist on the desk.
“Just one moment please.” The earth pony receptionist replied as she pulled up Scootaloo’s file before her eyes widened slightly.
“I’m sorry but she’s still in theatre, all this says is that there were complications en route, such that the ponies who brought her in all collapsed of exhaustion I ca-”
“Wait, Where’s the princesses! Ah ain’t movin’ ‘till you tell me!” Applejack demanded.
“I’m sorry miss, I can’t just tell anypony where the Princesses room is, I’m sure you understand.” The receptionist answered her.
“Nah you look here missy, ahv know Twilight since afore she were a princess, spend mah birthday’s and holidays with her - hay I battled DISCORD at HER SIDE! Celestia and Luna I count as a friends! They has a standard invite to stay at th’ farm! we were Princess Celestia’s guests at THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA! Finally, Princess Cadance? She’s the one we helped save the CRYSTAL EMPIRE! Now don’t you tell me you cain’t let us near our friends!” Applejack finished losing some control of herself.
“Now see here miss I can’t let you, scruffy, uncouth, uneducated ruffians just in to see the Princesses, I mean just look at you, you expect ME to believe the likes of YOU are friends with the PRINCESSES?! next you’ll be saying you know Spitfire Captain of the wonderbolts and Shining Armour Captain of The Guard. Now please leave and stop wasting my time!” The receptionist finished turning away.
“Hey I told you I WANT TO SEE MY DAUGH-”
“STAND DOWN LIEUTENANT!” Spitfire’s voice rang throughout the reception area, making the receptionist freeze, turning around to see Spitfire in the doorway.
-o.O.O.o-
Spitfire heard Rainbow’s voice half a corridor away and picked up the pace, this was a long corridor. Swearing to herself she wondered what the receptionist was playing at.
She had been informed that a group of ponies would be arriving to see the princesses and Scootaloo. If this turned out to be another case of a pony using their power to deny others Spitfire would soon be having words with them.
She ran into the room and saw Rainbow was just about to completely lose her temper and did the only thing she could. Calling out at the top of her considerable vocal range she got Rainbow to settle for a moment before striding forwards to the reception desk
“I believe I informed you we would be expecting more to arrive. Why did you not simply send them to me? I gave you their descriptions!” She demanded. The receptionist who had now gone pale spoke.
“I-I’m i-in charge of who is allowed on - the premises if, if, if they don’t need tr-treatment.” Noting that Spitfire hadn’t interrupted her the receptionist gained strength in her voice.
“You can’t expect me to allow these, obviously uneducated ponies in to-”
“QUIET!” Spitfire snapped out. “These ‘Uneducated Ponies’ have saved Equestria more bucking times than anypony else in this room. You are looking at the bearer’s of the Elements of Harmony for BUCK’S SAKE!”
“no...” The receptionist gasped out looking once more to the angry visages of the ponies she had decided were beneath the worth to be admitted and started trembling.
“I will certainly be having words with your supervisor.” Spitfire ground out before turning to the others, ignoring the sobbing mess that was the receptionist, she hated those that let their perceived authority get to their heads.
“This way.” she said guiding the others out the reception area and along the corridor.
She felt a little hoof nudge her and looked down to the little yellow face of the filly - Applebloom if she remembered correctly - she’d helped back in Ponyville.
“H-hows mah friend?” Applebloom asked her. Sighing Spitfire started to speak.
“Not too good I’m afraid, now I know most adults would try sugar coat it because of your age but I’m guessing you’ve been raised to know that no matter how bad something is, it’s better to know than have it hidden from you?” Spitfire asked.
Spitfire was not surprised when she heard Applejack reply of “Darn tootin’”, looking towards the other filly she saw the elegant white unicorn nod.
“Ok, when we were flying here the fastest, most direct route is along the mountains near the edge of the Everfree Forest.” Applebloom nodded.
“Well as we flew we came upon a storm - not a normal one, this had blown out of the Everfree” she said looking onwards, trying to suppress the shudder that went through her.
“Oh. Bucking. Hay.” Rainbows monotone voice said, the lack of emotion telling the others just how bad that was.
“Well, as we Wonderbolts and Princess Twilight got to work on trying to destroy the clouds in the path, Luna went back to Ponyville to get some help. I must say I didn’t expect a flight of over 100 Pegasi to suddenly descend on the storm, but it turned out necessary, it turned into a cyclone.” Spitfire noticed Rainbow’s face pale at this.
“How the buck did’ya get out of that mess?” Rainbow asked as they went into what was obviously a relatives and friends waiting room, that currently held Twilight’s parents, Shining Armour and Soarin’.
With a grimace she looked back to Rainbow. “We nearly didn’t, it was thanks to your cross-eyed friend spotting where the weakness in the storm wall was - I tell you now, she was brilliant at directing every single pegasus to where they needed to be. I don’t think nopony but Soarin’ noticed it was me at one point, but she even chewed me out when I lead the wonderbolts wrong, AFTER she told me where she wanted me. That mare is going to be offered a place as a weather-pony trainer if I got anything to say about it.” Rainbow smiled at this.
“Derpy might have issues flying near buildings, but put her on stormwatch and she’s the best.” Rainbow said voice tinged with pride.
Spitfire carried on to explain about how after the storm the Ponyville Pegasi went on to battle the ferocious cyclone without a second thought, but when they landed to change-over the doctor instructed them to fly as fast as they could safely.
“The princesses are all in that room there resting. They passed out as soon as they knew Scootaloo was with the hospital staff, I think they may have subconsciously been using their magic to keep them going.” Spitfire said pointing out the window to a room down the corridor.
“Scootaloo though” Spitfire sighed. “They think a lot of her magic got pulled out in the storm - they’re doing what they can to save her - that and some of her injuries decided to deteriorate on the way. They’re trying their best, but. . .” She trailed off as Soarin’ came up next to her, laying his wing across her back.
“Rookie, I don’t care how long it takes, You may be on full pay and a front line listed, but you ain’t gonna fly as part of the team until that little filly’s safe at home okay?” Soarin’ said in his gruff way. Rainbow nodded as she sat down and her shoulders started to shake as the suppressed emotion burst out now they were here and all she could do was wait.
Surprising everypony in the room except Spitfire, Soarin’ went to over to Rainbow and pulled her into his arms like a father would his filly and just held her as the tears fell.
“It’s ok Rainbow, She’ll pull through, you’ll see.” he whispered in her ear.
Spitfire had a small sad smile on her face, not many pony’s got to see this side of soarin’. Everypony thought he was this tough wall of granite, yet here was the side of him that made him perfect for the position of Second-in-Command. He saw all the flyers reserve and active, as surrogate children.
Rainbows shoulders shook with the cries tearing out her throat, had she not had her face buried in his shoulder Spitfire was sure Rainbow’s cries would be echoing down the corridor.
Spitfire moved closer as she heard Rainbow trying to speak.
“I… I’m a useless mother though! E-Even a-a-as a sister I didn’t spot the trouble! How can I protect her now!” Soarin’ just kept running a hoof through Rainbows mane, making shushing sounds as she cried her frustration and fears out.
*sniff-sniff* Spitfire looked down to Applebloom who was desperately holding in her own tears.
Gently extending her wing, Spitfire drew the tip down the filly’s deep rose red mane, catching her attention. “Hey, it’s ok to let go sometimes.” Spitfire said as she saw Applejack approach and rers a hoof on the back of Applebloom.
“bu - but I - I - What can ah do to help?” Applebloom asked. “Ahm just a little filly, an ah know she’ll need help.” She said quietly as a few tears fell. Applejack lay on the ground so her head was level with Applebloom and spoke quietly.
“Ah know yer only a filly at the moment, but you’ll always be there for Scoots and Rainbow wontcha?” Applebloom nodded looking into her sisters green eyes, jumping a bit when Spitfire spoke.
“Then that’s all you need to do.” before smiling a little.
-o.O.O.o-
Rainbow was lost, she’d managed to contain her fears, her doubts and worries on the journey but then her world crumbled. Scootaloo was back in surgery - they didn’t know if she’d survive. She didn’t know if she’d ever get to hear Scootaloo call her mum.
As Soarin’s words impacted her, the last shreds of control she had failed, her cries clawing up and out, she tried to stifle them, couldn’t be weak now.
When a strong stallions arms came around her, protecting her from the world, it felt just like when the Orphanage manager used to look after her. Strong, yet gentle, firm but kind.
She completely broke down, lost in her tears, all she could register was Soarin’s voice, not even the words, just that he held her through her despair. If she had ever known her father this was how she would have imagined he would hold her.
Soarin’ didn’t answer her self recriminating words, just held her, proving by his actions he believed her worthy of being a mother.
She registered that others were speaking but again not the words, completely lost to her tears as her eyes were clenched tight as she cried out, only Sorain’s shoulder muffling her cries.
Eventually the door opened and she heard an orderly speak. “Miss. Scootaloo is out of surgery, you can see her now.” Rainbows hear shot up as she looked to the door.
“Really? I can see my daughter?” The Orderly nodded with a small smile.
“Indeed. We’ve put her in the room next to the Princesses. Follow me.
He turned and led the way out the door and along the corridor, stopping outside a whitewashed door.
“She’ll be waking up any minute now so please, try not to start-” He was interrupted by a little fillies cry, a cry that caused Rainbow to ignore her own battered body, it was a cry of terror, despair and need all in one, It was Scootaloo’s cry, a cry Rainbow could not ignore.
“DAAASH! I WANT RAINBOW!”