//------------------------------// // Chapter 6: All Is Forgiven // Story: Oh Mother, Where Art Thou? // by Locomotion //------------------------------// Scootaloo paused for a moment, letting a small tear trickle down her cheek. After how she had nearly contributed to a sticky end for Spike, both he and his unicorn marefriend had spurned the unfortunate young filly like an ex-criminal who had just been released from prison, and now they were saying they had been wrong to hold it against her for so long. “Okay, Rarity,” she conceded at last, “it's forgotten.” “There's a good girl,” smiled Rarity, patting Scootaloo's shoulder in a motherly way. “Oh, and speaking of family, your father wants to come in and have a little talk with you.” The orange-coated Pegasus filly looked down at her untouched soup bowl. “Could he come back later maybe?” she replied, a tone of uncertainty apparent in her voice. “I need some time to think.” “Oh, but Scootaloo, he really wants to see you right now,” protested Rarity in a plaintive tone. “Hadn't Rumble and Sweetie-Belle told you how worried he was last night? He's lost so much sleep wondering if you were alright, and he didn't even want to go home.” “So?” “So that means he cares for you a lot more than you thought he did,” said Rumble. “Come on, Scoot – at least give him a chance. Forgiveness heals all wounds, so my Mom says.” Even Sweetie-Belle seemed to be on Rarity's side. She didn't say anything, but gave her friend the cutest, saddest look she could manage. This was enough to make Scootaloo relent; “Ugh, fine!” she muttered. “Go ahead and let him in!” “That's the spirit, Scoot,” encouraged Sweetie-Belle, as Rarity called out into the hallway. Scootaloo simply rolled her eyes and watched as Rainbow Dash and Soarin entered the room, followed by a rather uneasy Slate Shard. The orange-coated quarry-pony cautiously approached the bed and sat himself down next to it, unable as yet to even look upon his daughter he was so ashamed of himself. His mouth was slightly opened as if he was trying to speak, but he couldn't seem to find the right words. Scootaloo merely stared into space, pretending not to notice. At last, Slate Shard managed to break the awkward silence that hung over them. “So......how are you feeling, Scootaloo?” he asked nervously. “Well let's see – I nearly froze to death last night when I ran out of the house,” replied Scootaloo sullenly, “and now I'm stuck in bed with a bad cold and a stallion who's done absolutely nothing for me since Mom died. What do you think?!” Slate Shard hung his head with shame, mentally berating himself for being so insensitive yet again. “I'm so, so sorry, Scootaloo,” he faltered. “You had it way tougher than I ever did, and I never once realised that; all I ever did was bury myself in my work when I should have been there for you after your mother's death, even if only for about half an hour.” He paused, shedding a few tears. “I didn't mean to make life so tough for you. It's just that...well, slaving away in a slate quarry means a lot of back-breaking work for hardly any pay, so unless I put those extra hours in, I wouldn't have enough left over to feed a sparrow, let alone a growing filly like you.” Scootaloo stared at him in stunned disbelief. Rumble had definitely been telling the truth, she realised; but something still didn't seem to add up. “I don't get it,” she said quietly. “If you weren't able to provide for me without having to leave me at home alone, then why didn't you just give me away or something?” Another silence followed. Slate Shard gazed down at the floor, still unable to look his daughter in the eye, while Spike, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Sweetie-Belle, Soarin and Rumble all watched him anxiously. Finally, his emotions completely overwhelmed him, and he suddenly flung his forelegs around Scootaloo, sobbing hard. It was lucky that Rarity had had her eye on the soup bowl at that moment, for she only just managed to pull it clear before Slate Shard could knock it over and spill it all over the bedclothes. “I couldn't, Scootaloo!” he practically choked. “I just couldn't! You're all I have left – I couldn't bear the thought of sending you away to a family who would probably care way less for you than I ever could! I'd rather be killed by a Changeling than have that happen to you!” By this time, Scootaloo could no longer hold back tears herself. She gingerly wrapped her own forelegs around her father and, hugging him tightly, buried her face in his shoulder as she let them flow. Now that she understood the impossible position in which Slate Shard had been landed, she regretted being so angry with him the night before, and silently wished that somepony would just deliver a hard swipe round the side of her head for being so heartless. “You see, Scootaloo,” observed Rumble softly, “your Dad truly does care for you.” “I know,” stammered Scootaloo despondently. “If only I'd realised that earlier, I wouldn't have run away.” At that same moment, Slate Shard pulled back for air. “It's okay, Scootaloo,” he soothed. “I pretty much brought it on myself anyway. You're right; I'm not a good parent and you don't deserve to have somepony as incompetent as me looking after you.” “So what, are you going to look for some kind of foster parents or something?” asked Sweetie-Belle. Slate Shard shook his head gravely. “I'm afraid I can't, little miss,” he confessed. “I'd still need to work twice as hard at the quarry as I should be doing if I'm to pay for foster care. What I mean to say,” he added, staring down at the floor again, “is that I'm going to have to let her go.” Scootaloo, Sweetie-Belle and Rumble were mortified. They knew all too well what this could mean. “So...does that mean she's going to live in an orphanage?” faltered Sweetie-Belle despairingly. “That we never get to see her again?” “Oh, I wouldn't say that, Sweetie-Belle,” assured Rainbow Dash, making her way over to the bed. Gently moving Slate Shard to one side, she took Scootaloo's right hoof in hers and softly asked, “Scootaloo, how would you like to come and live with me and Soarin?” If Scootaloo had come across as being stunned earlier, she was now totally flabbergasted by what Rainbow Dash had just said. It was almost as if she had passed away in the night and was on her way to heaven, except that the pony awaiting her arrival there was in fact her idol rather than her mother – and yet it seemed so real! “You really mean it?” she breathed. “You and Soarin take me into your family?” “Sure do, tiger,” chuckled Rainbow Dash, directing a fond smile at her number-one fan. “I'd already spoken it through with your father – and your aunt Spitfire, by the way – and they're more than okay with it. Sure, Soarin and I might not be anywhere near as good at parenting as certain other ponies I can think of, but I'm sure we'll get used to it in time.” Despite her poor condition, the orange Pegasus filly was so overjoyed that all she could think to do was fling her forelegs around her idol and cry into her shoulder with happiness. She didn't need to say anything; the warm tears soaking into her fur was all the approval Rainbow Dash needed. Sweetie-Belle, Rarity, Rumble and Spike all looked on, touched and relieved that everything in Scootaloo's life was about to be resolved once and for all, while Slate Shard gave his daughter a somewhat wistful glance out of the corner of his eye, glad that he had been able to put things right in some respects, but still a little pessimistic. Eventually, Scootaloo resurfaced again, a broad smile of deepest gratitude plastered onto her face. “Does that mean I get to come back and see Rumble and the others every so often?” she asked hopefully. “Every so often?!” chuckled Soarin. “With the housing arrangements we have in mind, 'every so often' probably wouldn't be often enough. Ponyville isn't too far from Cloudsdale, so with Spitfire's consent, Dashie and I have chosen to carry on living in that cloud mansion of hers; we won't be using our suite at Wonderbolt base unless it's absolutely necessary. That way, you'll be able to visit your friends – and your father – whenever you feel like it. How's that sound, sport?” “That would be wonderful, Soarin,” beamed Scootaloo. “I'll say,” agreed Rumble, delighted. “Thanks, Soarin. Thanks, Rainbow Dash. That means so much to me – to all of us.” “Yeah,” chipped in Scootaloo softly. “Thanks, you two – thanks for everything.” Both Soarin and Rainbow Dash smiled back; but Slate Shard, whose guilt and sorrow still hadn't diminished over the last few minutes, was too ashamed to even try. “Well...I guess you won't need me anymore,” he sighed sadly. “I'm really sorry I ruined your life the way I did, Scootaloo, and I really do hope you fare better under Rainbow Dash's care,” and he stood up to leave. “Hang on, Dad, don't go.” This stopped Slate Shard dead in his tracks. He may have been Scootaloo's father, but after all that had transpired the night before, the last thing he had expected was for her to start referring to him as such again. “You don't need to distance yourself from me like this – really you don't,” pleaded Scootaloo. “Sure, my life was an absolute Tartarus after Mom's death, but I don't wanna lose contact with you altogether. No matter what you may have been in the past, you're still my Dad by the end of the day.” “So...you're not still mad at me? After all those years of neglect I put you through?” Slate Shard couldn't believe his ears. “But I failed you – both you and your mother! I couldn't give you the happy life she would have wanted, and to cap it all, I'm about to give you away for good! How can you possibly forgive me for all that?!” “Dad, you already said you had it pretty tough yourself,” insisted Scootaloo. “You actually did a pretty good job of looking after me, considering how little pay you got; nopony could ask for more out of you, and it was really stupid of me to expect it in the first place.” “Scootaloo's right, Slate Shard,” Rarity pointed out. “You knew all too well that you couldn't raise her alone, so putting her up for adoption would have been the only sensible thing to do under the circumstances. I, for one, think you're very brave to go ahead with it, considering how attached you are to your daughter.” “You really think so, Rarity?” “I know so,” said Scootaloo fondly. That was more than enough to convince Slate Shard that his daughter still cared about him too. Smiling warmly for the first time in years, he wrapped his forelegs around her once again and hugged her tightly, small tears trickling down his face. After that heart-wrenching outburst from last night, he had been so sure he had sealed the fate of his family forever, and although he knew putting Scootaloo up for adoption had been the right thing to do, it had broken his heart to come to that decision in the first place. Now that he understood how much she had suffered from being virtually “orphaned” for the best part of five years or so, and she herself understood why he had been unable to take as much care of her as he wanted, that proverbial coffin into which the ashes of his family life were about to go was no longer needed; instead, it had been saved from the brink of destruction to be lovingly rebuilt to its former glory, even if not to its original standard. And he had Soarin and Rainbow Dash to thank for it. The adoption process that Rainbow Dash, Soarin and Slate Shard had to go through was long and somewhat strenuous, with all three of them having to balance their work with various interviews over the course of the week. Needless to say, the quarry foreman wasn't best pleased with the amount of leave Slate Shard had to take in order to deal with all the legalities regarding the adoption, but was strangely quiet about it for some odd reason that not even Slate Shard could put his hoof on. As for Scootaloo, it turned out that her cold had left her rather nauseous, so her recovery took longer than even Rarity had expected. The other Cutie Mark Crusaders came to visit as often as they could, but even with their reassurance it took four days for Scootaloo's stomach to settle. True to their word, Spike and Rarity did everything in their power to nurse the ailing Pegasus filly back to full health, and within another week, Scootaloo had fully recovered from her illness and was back on her hooves once again. By then, the adoption papers had been processed and approved too, thus releasing her into Soarin and Rainbow Dash's care. Scootaloo was overjoyed when they told her later that day, and the smile never once left her face as her newly-appointed adoptive parents flew her back to her new home. Nine days later, Scootaloo, Slate Shard, Rumble, Blue Finch and Memphis Belle were at the Canterlot Arena to see the Wonderbolt cadets' final test. Rainbow Dash enthusiastically led the charge as she and the other cadets began their stunt routine, while Soarin, Spitfire and a few of the other senior Wonderbolts kept a watchful eye on them from the judging panel, carefully noting their performance. Slate Shard was completely awestruck by Rainbow Dash's speed and agility in particular; it was almost as if Typhoon had returned from the dead for one final Wonderbolt performance before passing onto the afterlife. He turned and watched with a hearty smile as Scootaloo hovered just a few feet above the bleachers, cheering Rainbow Dash on with joyous gusto. It had been such a long and admittedly painful time since they had done something like this together, and to see his little filly so excited warmed his heart. As the cadets dived for their grand finale, Rainbow Dash rapidly began to pick up speed, her forelegs pointing straight ahead of her. She knew that what she was about to do wasn't part of the routine, but she was still keen to throw it in for some additional entertainment for her audience. All was hushed as she rocketed faster and faster towards the ground, flapping her wings vigorously, the air pressure forming a cone just ahead of her – and suddenly, with a loud bang, the cone exploded into a ring of multicoloured light, and a rainbow-coloured trail began to emerge behind the rainbow-maned Pegasus. The crowd gasped and clamoured in amazement. “Holy Celestia!” exclaimed Slate Shard, goggling in disbelief. “Was that a sonic rainboom?!” Scootaloo didn't reply. She leaped into the air again and flung her forelegs up high. “GO, RAINBOW DASH!! WOOHOO!!!” she cheered at the top of her voice. Rumble and his family joined in, and the whole crowd broke out into a Mexican wave, yelling in delight as Rainbow Dash rose into the air once again and spelt out the word “WONDERBOLTS” with the trail she was creating from her supersonic flight. She came gently into land to a chorus of cheers and whistles from the audience, many of whom threw flowers and confetti in celebration of her achievement. “Fillies and gentlecolts,” announced Spitfire over the loudspeakers, “with the air display over, the results are: in tenth place, Thunderlane with 890 points...” Rumble cheered loudly for his brother, and his parents embraced joyously as the rest of the crowd applauded. “...in ninth place, Wild Fire with 902 points...” Further applause followed this announcement, and at all the others up until second place. “...in second place, Bulk Biceps with 955 points...” The crowd's jubilation was interrupted by a boisterous “YEAH!!” from Bulk Biceps, causing them to break out into laughter. “...and in first place, the first new Wonderbolt to score 1000 points in twelve years...” Spitfire paused impressively, “...Rainbow Dash!” The entire audience went wild with cheering and applause, and it took all of Rainbow Dash's willpower to restrain herself from leaping up into the air in her joy. Even as she and the other cadets returned to the changing rooms, she could hardly believe her achievement. After two long years of hard training, her foalhood dream had finally come true – she was now officially a member of the Wonderbolts air display team.