On the opposite side of town to Slate Shard's house, in the beautifully sculpted cloud mansion in which Rainbow Dash had lived ever since she first moved to Ponyville, Scootaloo let out a contented sigh as the rainbow-maned mare tucked her into bed. She had only been in her care for a few days, prior to which she had only seen Rainbow Dash as a sister at best despite her hero-worship, but already she was settling in with her and Soarin so well that they had become as close to her as true parents.
Looking back over the last few weeks, she was deeply grateful to have had Slate Shard as a father despite how much he had neglected her. He hadn't turned his back on her completely, he had had no real intentions of shirking his responsibilities for her, and he hadn't merely kept her out of spite either – he had tried his best for her, and upon realising that his best wasn't good enough, he had gone out of his way to make sure she would move on to a better family and a better life, for which she would never forget him no matter what happened.
“There you go, Scootaloo,” said Rainbow Dash as she gently pulled the blanket over Scootaloo. “Snug as a bug in a rug.”
“Thanks, Rainbow Dash,” smiled Scootaloo softly. “I really missed having somepony tuck me into bed like this; nopony's done that for me since I lost my Mom.” She stared wistfully out of her bedroom window, slightly downtrodden by the mention of her own mother. Rainbow Dash noticed her expression and rested a gentle hoof on her back.
“It's okay, Scootaloo,” she soothed. “You may have missed out on a heck of a lot of family time, but Soarin and I'll do our best to make up for it, I promise – and if there's anything upsetting you about your Mom or Dad, we'll be more than happy to talk about them with you.”
Scootaloo smiled warmly. “I'll remember that,” she promised. “Good night, Rainbow Dash, and thanks for taking me in.”
Returning the smile in kind, Rainbow Dash leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on the orange filly's forehead. “Good night, Scootaloo,” she whispered fondly, and after turning of the bedside lamp, she turned and walked slowly out of the room, leaving Scootaloo to drift happily away into dreamland.
As she passed into the hallway, gently closing the door behind her, she happened to glance out of the window at the moonlit night sky, from which the stars gleamed like pure diamonds on a bed of deep blue velvet. The rainbow-maned mare sat and stared into space, quietly mulling over the events of the last three weeks. It had been a real delight to finally become a Wonderbolt in her own right, but adopting Scootaloo had left her with a deep warmth in her heart, as if she and Soarin had been blessed with a daughter of their very own; and not even her acceptance into the Wonderbolts could rival that. For the very first time, she felt as though her life was complete – she was a member of Equestria's finest air display team, she had a very special somepony from said team to whom she would be married in a few months' time, but most of all, she had a family.
“Well, Typhoon, I may not have had the chance to meet you,” she murmured, “but I promise to do my very best for your daughter. I'm sure she'll never forget you.”
As the rainbow-maned mare got up and made her way back to her own bedroom for the night, the spectre of a lemon-yellow mare gazed warmly down upon the peaceful form of Scootaloo through her bedroom window from somewhere in the sky, beaming lovingly as she watched the slumbering filly's chest gently rise and fall with every breath. Many ups and downs had been faced by the family she had left behind after leaving the land of the mortals forever, but even now, she could see that the impossible crater that had been blasted in her beloved daughter's life was already being filled by the pony she looked up to the most – and not just as an idol or a sister, but as the mother that she used to have before fate extracted her spirit from her body and placed her among the stars.
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” she whispered softly. “I'll never forget my daughter either, and I wish you all the best with her.” She then turned her attention back to Scootaloo; “Farewell, my little pony, and stay strong; many challenges lie ahead of you, but I have faith in you to overcome them.” And with a final fond smile, she slowly faded away into the darkness.