Rainbow Dash slashed her sword through the pony's throat, causing the head to fall to the floor beneath her. Turning around, the pegasus kicked the pony behind her in the chest, sending it flying across the room. Rainbow then spread her wings and took to the air, only to bump her head on the ceiling.
"Ouch! Darnit."
"Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" Scootaloo asked as she watched her honorary older sister land on the mat beneath her. Dummies were spread everywhere across the dojo floor, all had meet a deadly fate at the edge of Rainbow Dash's katana.
"Yeah, I'm fine. That was my plan anyway." the cyan mare replied, trying to spare her pride. Scootaloo kneeled down and picked up the dummy head that Rainbow had sliced off moments ago.
"That was so cool! I didn't know you were such an awesome swordsmare!" Scootaloo looked up at her idol in awe. Rainbow Dash grinned and put her hand on Scootaloo's head, ruffling her short hair,
"Well that's just me, totally awesome. C'mon let's pick up these dummies." She knelt down and began to pick up the massacred ballistic dummies.
After all the dummies were properly stashed in a closet (and the headless dummy disposed of), Rainbow Dash placed the sword in it's sheath. She looked at her little sister with a smirk,
"Ready to head home, Squirt?"
"Sure," Scootaloo nodded.
"Then let's head out." Rainbow Dash looked up at the ceiling in thought, "Your mom's making tomato soup tonight, right Scoots?" Scootaloo nodded,
"Yup, and pecan pie for dessert." Rainbow Dash grinned,
"Pecan Pie huh? I might just have to stay for dinner."
******************
"And then you chopped that one dummies head off like a ninja! Swoosh!" Scootaloo made the sound a sword as she mimicked Rainbow Dash's practice earlier. The filly swung her arms and did spins as Rainbow watched her in amusement. The two ponies were walking through the Ponyville marketplace.
"Settle down Squirt, everypony's gonna think your trying to attack me." Scootaloo did one last mimicked slash and then walked beside Rainbow. She then crossed her arms and looked on in thought.
"Where did you get that sword anyway? You can't really buy one at the market."
"Your right there, you can't just go buy a weapon. Even guns and bullets are hard to find if your not a cop."
"Yeah. My dad has a gun locked in a safe in our basement, in case somepony breaks in and we need to defend ourselves. But it was almost impossible for him to get it, and he's a policecolt!"
"My Father was part of the royal guard, a captain. The katana was his, he was a master swordscolt and a hero."
"I've never met your mom or dad, why?" Rainbow Dash frowned and rubbed the hilt of her sheathed sword.
"My mom works in the Cloudsdale weather factory. My dad, well...he was...uh, he died a brave soldier. My mom financially supports me while I work here in Ponyville." A sad look took over Rainbow's face and Scootaloo frowned.
"Oh...I'm, uh, sorry I asked."
And as quick as it came, the moment was gone. Rainbow Dash's posture straightened and she was her cheerful self again.
"Don't worry about it Squirt. My mom's a nice lady, a great jokester too. She's visiting Ponyville in a week or so. You can meet her then." Scootaloo smiled,
"That would be awesome!" She pumped her fist in the air and her wings fluttered excitedly.
Suddenly the sound of sirens filled the air and ponies all around the market backed away from the main road. A large dust cloud filled the street as an ambulance sped by. The vehicle drove towards the Ponyville hospital training the looks of everyone in the market, including the stares of Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. Shaking her head, Rainbow said,
"There goes another one, this Patientia thing is getting to everypony. I still can't believe no on has died from this disease yet."
Scootaloo nodded in agreement, "I know, but if nopony's died, it means there's still a chance to find the cure. Right?"
"Yup, I'm cool with it as long as I or anypony I know doesn't get sick. I mean, some people go in there, and they come out fine a week later. I think most ponies will be able to take a fever for a few weeks."
"Yeah, I guess so." The two mares then continued there walk to Scootaloo's home.
*******************
"I'm looking fowards to this pecan pie your mom is making." Rainbow Dash said, elbowing Scootaloo in the ribs. Since Rainbow had excepted Scootaloo as her honorary sister, she had been visiting Scootaloo's house every week or so. She would have dinner with the family and get to know her little sister's parents. During these, dinners, Rainbow learned more about Scootaloo's family.
Bloom, Scootaloo's mother, owns a herbal shop in the Ponyville Marketplace. She was a unicorn mare with a dark pink mane (not unlike Scootaloo's) with a cream white coat. Her normal style was a casual T-shirt Rainbow Dash thought of her as a friendly mare who is always looking to help other ponies, her kind nature reminded her of Fluttershy.
Scootaloo's father Stormcloud is a muscular pegasus stallion who worked at Ponyville's local police station. He has a black mane and a dark blue coat. He and Rainbow would train together, improving each others' skills. It seemed to Rainbow Dash that these ponies weren't just Scootaloo's family, they were her's as well.
Scootaloo and Rainbow were now walking down the sidewalk in the Ponyville neighborhood. Scootaloo's house was only a few minutes walk away.
"Hey Scoots," Rainbow Dash looked at Scootaloo with a smirk, "I challenge you to a race." Scootaloo looked up at her cyan friend,
"What kind of race?"
"First one to make it to your house wins, we run. Are you up for the challenge?"
Scootaloo grinned determinedly, "You're on. Ready set go!" Scootaloo took off sprinting down the sidewalk. Rainbow Dash smiled and started to run,
"Hey!" She shouted playfully, "You can't choose when the race starts!"
.
"Why not? Eat my dust!" Scootaloo yelled over her shoulder as she sprinted towards her house. Rainbow Dash was already far behind her, but Scootaloo knew that her luck wouldn't last for long. Rainbow Dash was best at flying, but her running skills were just as sharp. If Scootaloo let off for even a second, her competitor would be yards ahead of her.
Just as Scootaloo suspected, Rainbow Dash sped by her only seconds later. A short rainbow streak was all that was left of the pegasus as she turned the corner to Scootaloo's street. Scootaloo smiled and pressed her legs as fast as she could go. This is what she loved about her honorary older sister, Rainbow Dash never went easy on Scootaloo. Rainbow always pushed her to be the best she could be. Scootaloo dashed around the corner, hoping to catch up with Rainbow.
"Ooff!" Rainbow Dash's left arm was held out to her side, stopping Scootaloo in her tracks as she ran into her arm. Her face was grim.
"Scootaloo, turn around. We're staying at my place tonight."
"What? Why? We're already my house. And Mom i-" Red and Blue lights caught Scootaloo's eye. A sudden feeling of dread overcame Scootaloo. She slowly turned her head to look at her house, her eyes widening. "N-no. That's not p-possible."
An ambulance was parked in front of Scootaloo's house. And her mother was being carted into the vehicle on a gurney. Medics and police were everywhere. Police-cars were parked all down the street. Scootaloo's father was at the door of the house, policecolts were talking to the stallion, trying to calm him down as he tried to force himself past the other ponies to get to his wife. Scootaloo looked on in horror, her body frozen in shock as her father continued to shout,
"It's not Patientia! It's only a fever! Get your gloved hands off my wife!"
As the horrible scene continued to unfold, Rainbow Dash knelt down and put her hands on Scootaloo's shoulders. She looked the filly in the eyes, Scootaloo's eyes were still trained on the frightening scene ahead of her. The poor filly's eyes were shining wetly, on the verge of tears.
"Listen, Scootaloo, you need to come to my house for the night. You shouldn't be here right now." Rainbow Dash stood up, holding Scootaloo's hand,
"C'mon, lets-"
Scootaloo ripped her hand from Rainbow's hold and pushed past her older sister. She started to run towards her house, only slowing down to tear through the police tape. Tears were now spilling from her eyes and falling down her face. Running to the ambulance, she pushed away medics and stopped beside the gurney her mother was lying on.
The mare was sickly pale, her ragged breath was continuously interrupted by hacking coughs. Scootaloo put her hand on her Mother's forehead, she was burning with fever.
"M-Mom..." Scootaloo's whispered with a shuddering breath. Her mother opened her eyes to look at her daughter, they were discolored and bloodshot. She lifted a shaking hand to her Scootaloo's cheek, wiping away her tears. Scootaloo grabbed her other hand and squeezed it gently.
"Scootaloo, please don't cry." Bloom's voice was ragged and weak. She weakly squeezed her daughter's hand in return. "Scootaloo, I can't promise you that I'll be okay," She coughed and shuddered, "But I want you to know that there is always hope."
"M-Mom," Scootaloo whimpered quietly, tears continued to flow from her violet eyes as she looked into her mother's discolored, green eyes.
"Remember, hope is never gone, no matter how bad things get, there is always a silver lining," Bloom took in a deep breath and shivered, fighting unconsciousness. "I love you, Scootaloo."
"I love you too, Mom." Scootaloo whispered in return. Bloom's mouth opened one more time, as if she had something more to say. But her hand went limp as she fell into unconsciousness. Scootaloo looked at her mother's closed eyes. She leaned over her mother, tears falling from her cheeks onto her mothers face, soaking into her white fur. Scootaloo began to shout, "Mom? MOM! C'mon Mom wake up!"
A policecolt came up from behind Scootaloo and pulled her away from the gurney. The filly struggled in his hold as her Mother was placed in the ambulance. Her eyes widened and she screamed,
"No no no NO! Leave my Mom alone!" She tore free from the stallion's grip as the ambulance sped away. Scootaloo looked at the house, her scooter was leaning against the side of it near the front door. She dashed for the house. She ran passed her enraged father, he was still trying to push his way past the police. His step faltered as he saw his daughter run past.
"Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo grabbed the scooter and ran to the sidewalk. She hopped on the deck of the scooter, spread her wings, and raced down the road towards the Ponyville Hospital.