//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: Broken wings and broken dreams // by Torroza //------------------------------// Scootaloo woke up with a scream and looked terrified in all directions. Both Twilight and Rainbow who had been sleeping on each side of her on the big bed woke up quite startled by their daughters scream. Twilight looked at the frightend filly. "Is everything alright sweetie?" The filly buried her head in Twilights mane and started to cry. Both mares hugged the little filly and tried their best to comfort her. After several minutes she managed to calm down a little. She looked at them with big, teary eyes. "Thank you, thank you both." Rainbow tilted her head a little to the side. "Thanks for what squirt?" Scootaloo smiled a little when she heard the nickname the pegasi used on her. "For taking me in, caring for me, giving me a new home and family. I never thought I would have a family again. Not since my parents..." Her voice broke down in sobs as she started to cry once again. Twilight brought her into a tight embrace. "Hush now sweetheart, it's alright. We are here, it's alright." Scootaloo stopped crying and sighed. "I guess it's time I tell you what happened for me to get homeless." Twilight looked at her with concern. "You sure you're ready for that Scootaloo?" The filly nodded. She looked at the mares who had taken her into their family. Who had taken care of her when she was in need of help. "It was around three years ago. I lived in Trottingham with my parents and my bigger sister. We had a nice house in the outskirts of the town. Both my parents were pegasi, so was my sister. But since neither me or my sister knew how to fly my parents decided we should live on the ground instead in one of the cloudhouses." She smiled a little of the fond memories the story brought back. "One day I was waiting for my sister to come and pick me up after school as usual, but she never showed up. So I decided I would walk home by myself. I knew the way afterall, it wasn't that far. But when I got closer to our house I saw a column of smoke rising up towards the sky. I didn't know why, but I got a bad feeling, so I started to run." She looked down onto the bedcover. She started fidgeting with a lose thread in it. "When I got around the last turn and saw my house surrounded by firework ponies and the house ablaze i froze. I just stared at the house for a couple of seconds in disbelief. Then I darted for the open outer door. The firework ponies tried to stop me, I heard them shouting to me to stop, that it was to dangerous. I ignored them, I just knew I needed to get in there. I needed to get to my family." A single tear fell down from her cheek onto the bedcover. She felt a wing being draped of her shoulder and herself being pressed comforting towards Rainbows chest. "When I got inside it was first hard seeing anything at all through the smoke. But I could hear somepony cough from upstairs. I know were the stairs were, so I carefully made my way there and then upstairs. When I came up I could see my parents laying in the corridor, unmoving. Beside them were my bigger sister trying to wake our dad up by shaking him and calling: Dad, come on dad, please wake up!" Tears were now dripping down onto the cover in a steady stream. "I ran up to her and said. Come on Midnight, we need to get out! She looked at me with teary eyes and said. But mom and dad? I looked at them and saw that they weren't breathing." Scootaloo once more broke down into sobs. Rainbow slowly rubbed her wing across the little filly back. "It's alright scoots, it's alright." She managed to calm herself once more. "I looked at her and said: We can't get them out by ourselves, we need the firework ponies help for that. She nodded and started to run towards the staircase, but just in that moment a support beam from the roof feel down and blocked of the stair and the living room." She took a deep breath. "She turned around and started to run for our bedroom. Grabbing me on the why and throwing me up on her back. She told me to hold on tight in her mane and so I did. She ran through the open door and towards the window. She stopped and opened the window. She looked back at me and asked: Do you trust me Scootaloo? I looked at her confused and said: Of course I trust you Midnight. She nodded and looked back at the window. I sensed what she was gonna do and tried to press myself towards her back and held on as tight as I could. She took a leap out from the open window and spread her wings. It slowed our fall a little. Enough for me to survive with a severe concussion and a few broken ribs. But my sister took most of it. Sh-she didn't make it." She buried her head in Rainbow chest and cried. Rainbow hugged the little filly tight. "Hush now scoots, it's gonna be ok. I promise you, it's gonna be okay." She looked up at Twilight who just joined the hug and quitly nuzzled the little filly's head. Twilight looked at her daughter and gave a little nudge. "Do you want some icecream or chocolate cake?" Scootalo's looked at her with big pleading eyes while trying to wipe away her tears. "Yes please."