The day after the unbelievable visit to Cumulus Court, Rainbow Dash was reclining on her favorite cloud-stuffed reading cushion in her living room, rereading the newest Daring Do adventure, when there was a knock on the front door. Setting aside her book and taking wing, she flapped down to the first floor.
Her jaw dropped as she beheld her visitor: a massive pegasus stallion with a dark purple-gray coat, eyes the color of steel, and a storm-gray mane and tail shot through with electric blue streaks shaped like jagged lightning bolts.
"Good afternoon, Miss Dash," he said in a rich baritone. "My name is Summer Storm."
"S-S-Summer Storm..." Rainbow took a step back, eyes wide. Shaking her head, she tried to straighten herself up, but the stallion's sheer presence made her feel small. "Um, it's n-nice to meet you, s-sir..."
Summer Storm smiled and laughed gently. "There is no need to be nervous, my little pony," he said. "May I enter?"
"Huh? Oh...y-yes, of course," Rainbow said, gliding away from the door. Summer Storm trotted casually into the foyer. "Can I get you anything? Sir?"
"No thank you," he said. "I wanted to meet you, and have a little talk...now that you know the truth about my daughter."
Rainbow gulped. "O-Okay..."
"I already said you don't need to be nervous," Summer Storm said, rolling his eyes. "Am I really that scary?"
"Hey, I'm not scared of anything!" Rainbow Dash said hotly, her usual confidence trying to reassert itself. She paused, then added, "But...you are a little...intimidating."
Summer Storm laughed. "I hear that quite often." Shaking his head, he paced around the room. "You have quite a nice place here," he said.
"It's nothing compared to yours," Rainbow said.
"True," Summer Storm said. "Sometimes I feel as if I went a bit too far when I built my home." He turned, stopped, and faced her. "First, I want to thank you for taking Sunrise under your wing. She has long lamented not having a sister figure to look up to. One or two of the maids have tried to be that to her, but...well..." He clucked his tongue. "Let us just say there have been...personality clashes."
"You mean how she's really rough around the edges?" Rainbow asked without thinking.
Summer Storm laughed. "Yes, exactly!"
Rainbow shrugged. "I like the squirt. She reminds me of me."
"Considering what I know of you, that honestly worries me," Summer Storm said. "Still..." He sighed. "May I sit down?"
"Of course!" Rainbow led Summer Storm into her living room, where they sat across from each other.
Summer Storm fidgeted nervously for a long moment. At length, he said, "I'm sure you've probably figured this out by now, but...Sunrise...will never be able to fly." He sighed. "We've encouraged her to keep hoping, but...my wife and I have had many private conversations with the finest doctors in Cloudsdale and Canterlot. The truth is, Sunrise was born with underdeveloped wings, and no magic or medicine in Equestria can cure her."
Rainbow sighed. "Yeah...I kinda noticed," she admitted. "I've watched her try to fly, and...her wing muscles are super weak, and the bone structure looks all wrong." She absently stretched out one of her own wings, spreading it wide. "I've told her she might fly one day if she keeps tryin', but..." She shook her head. "I don't really see it ever happening."
"It won't," Summer Storm agreed with a rumbling sigh. "And..." He closed his eyes. "That's...honestly one of the reasons my wife and I have indulged this whole...'Scootaloo' thing. Sunrise would never be truly happy in Cloudsdale." He gave a mirthless snort of laughter. "At least she could actually live in Cloudsdale, unlike our firstborn..."
Rainbow blinked. "Your firstborn?"
Summer Storm gave her a stern look. "Now, this is not to leave this room...at least, not for now," he said. "Morning Dew and I very carefully guarded the secret of our first child. Which...was a mistake, and one I severely regret. There is only one pony in Equestria who knows the identity of our firstborn, and she has been sworn to secrecy."
"Uhh...okay, but...why?"
"Because our firstborn child is a unicorn," Summer Storm said. "Can you imagine the scandal?"
Rainbow frowned. "Yeah, okay, I get how the bigwigs in Cloudsdale and the trashy gossip rags would go nuts, but..."
"Don't misunderstand!" Summer Storm said hastily. "We dearly loved our daughter. We didn't care that she was a unicorn and not a pegasus. I mean, these things happen. Pony genetics can behave quite strangely."
"Tell me about it," Rainbow said. "There's an earth pony couple right here in Ponyville that had twins a couple years back. One's a unicorn and the other's a pegasus."
Summer Storm raised an eyebrow. "That must be an...interesting challenge for them." He shook his head. "In any case...for obvious reasons, our unicorn daughter could not live in Cloudsdale. So we...made arrangements." He sighed. "If I'd known then what I know now, I'd have moved to the ground and...and..." He squeezed his eyes shut.
Rainbow shifted uncomfortably. "Uhh...did she die or somethin'?"
"No, she's alive," Summer Storm said. "But...it's complicated." He frowned. "You're a close friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, are you not?"
Rainbow nodded. "One of her best friends."
"Then perhaps you should join me when I meet with the Princess," Summer Storm said. "I...I have business with her...related to everything I've just said."
Rainbow blinked in confusion, but shrugged. "Sure. I mean, yes. I'd be honored. And...whatever's going on, you can totally trust me."
"Oh, I have no doubt in my mind you are trustworthy," Summer Storm said with a smile. "After all, I know everything there is to know about you."
Rainbow's eyes widened and her jaw fell slack. "Huh?"
Summer Storm laughed. "You're my daughter's favorite pony in all of Equestria, AND you've caught the interest of Captain Spitfire on multiple occasions. Do you really think I haven't investigated you thoroughly?"
"Oh. Uh. Yeah. Heheh."
"Well...if you wouldn't mind, I'd...I'd very much like to visit Princess Twilight Sparkle now."
"Oh! Yeah. Let's go."
* * * * *
The Cutie Mark Crusaders found a surprise waiting for them when they met up at the clubhouse late Sunday morning.
The pegasus maid, April Showers, stood next to a small table draped in crisp linen, upon which sat a silver tea service and three piping hot cups of tea.
Scootaloo's jaw dropped. "What the—?! April, what are YOU doing here?!"
"Now, Young Miss," April chided, "seeing as your little friends now know the truth about you, it is only fitting that in the privacy of this...ah...quaint little playhouse, you observe proper ladylike decorum. And take proper tea with your friends."
"You gotta be kidding me," Scootaloo groaned.
"Hey, sounds good t' me," Apple Bloom said. "Only, it ain't a good idea t' have much fancy stuff here in th' clubhouse."
"Yeah, every now and then we get barged in on by the very last ponies in Ponyville we want finding out about Scootaloo."
April frowned. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon invade your clubhouse?"
"You know those two?" Apple Bloom asked, eyes wide.
"Only by reputation," April said. "The Young Miss has made her dislike of those two fillies quite plain on numerous occasions." She smirked. "In my opinion, the fact that every single holding of both their families wouldn't be enough to buy one of the staircases at Cumulus Court is rather delicious irony."
Scootaloo giggled. "That's true."
"Oh, one other thing," April said, turning to Apple Bloom. "I don't know if she told you this, but the Young Miss has been using a rather out-of-the-way field to come and go from Ponyville each day. Now that you know her secret, would it be possible for Silverbolt to collect her in a less public area of Sweet Apple Acres?"
"Sure, it's fine by me. Umm...does this mean it's okay for my family t' know about all this?"
"As long as they can keep a secret," April said. "That goes for your family too," she added to Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie frowned. "I'm not so sure telling Rarity about Scootaloo's family would be a good idea," she said. "I mean..." Apple Bloom suddenly burst out giggling. Sweetie trailed off and stared at her. "What?"
"Ah just..." Apple Bloom managed to wheeze out between giggles, "Ah just pictured Rarity's reaction t' Scootaloo in that gold dress..." She sobered up, clutching at her ribs. "Ah'm sorry. It's just...y'all know how Rarity is about all that fancy stuff..."
Sweetie Belle giggled. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean." She gave Scootaloo a glance, one eyebrow raised. "What do you think?"
"I think if anypony else from Ponyville sees me all dolled up like that, I'll feed myself to a hydra," Scootaloo said, face scrunched up in the most unladylike expression possible. This just sent her friends into a fresh wave of giggles.
* * * * *
Twilight Sparkle opened the front doors to her castle to find Rainbow Dash and an unfamiliar stallion on her doorstep. "Hi Rainbow. Who's—?"
The stallion stepped forward and knelt. "Your Highness," he rumbled. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Summer Storm."
"This is Scootaloo's dad," Rainbow said.
Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh," she said. "It's...it's a pleasure to meet you. Won't you come in?"
The two pegasi followed Twilight into the castle. She led them upstairs to the library, where she invited them to sit at the large reading table. "I hope I'm not being presumptuous in taking up your time, Your Highness, but—"
"Oh, don't worry about it," Twilight said. "I'm just doing a little light reading today. Nothing important." She smiled. "What can I do for you?"
"Well..." Summer Storm took a deep breath, then told Twilight the same things he had told Rainbow: that Sunrise would never be able to fly, that she was actually his second child, and that his firstborn was a unicorn. When he was finished, Twilight looked sad.
"That's...a lot to have happen to a single family," she said.
"But...there is still more, and...I've been told that you are the one pony in Equestria who can help me."
Twilight blinked. "There's more?"
Summer Storm nodded. "You see..." He stood and began to pace. "After I entrusted my first daughter to my friends among the nobility in Canterlot, I learned that she showed an exceptional talent for magic. I was thrilled when I received a letter telling me she had been accepted into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Later still, I received even more wonderful news. I had never been so proud of her...even though I could not visit her and praise her accomplishments. And I so wanted to.
"But then..." Summer Storm's eyes became cloudy and sad. "I started getting letters from Princess Celestia. My daughter had become arrogant, demanding, cruel. She shunned other ponies. She developed a sense of entitlement. She began making more and more unacceptable demands of the Princess.
"And then...one day..." He bowed his head. "I learned that she had done the unthinkable. She had left Equestria. Gone to a place where I could not pursue her." He looked up at Twilight. "Princess Celestia was profusely apologetic. She seemed to believe she was to blame for driving my daughter away...
"By that time, we already had our hooves full with Sunrise, and..." He shook his head and sighed.
Twilight felt a cold pit forming in her stomach. "Summer Storm..." She swallowed heavily.
Summer Storm held up a hoof. "But recently, I was visited by Princess Celestia. She told me that...that after all this time, my daughter had returned, as cruel and wicked as before, and that...that you, Princess Twilight Sparkle, confronted her. That you changed her. That you showed her the error of her ways.
"And again, even more recently, I received word that my eldest daughter is happy, healthy, and has friends...everything I always wanted for her, and that she is once again somepony I can be proud of...but she is still beyond my reach."
Tears gathered in Twilight's eyes. "Oh Celestia," she whispered. "You're talking about Sunset Shimmer, aren't you?"
"I am indeed," Summer Storm said.
Rainbow's eyes widened. "Whoa."