The Filly by the Roadside
One year before the return of Nightmare Moon...
Rainbow Dash stretched out in her bed. Last night was her first night in her new home. It was a modest home, but she had plans for it. One of the best things about cloudstone was that, despite it being solid enough to hold furniture and non-pegasi, it was still easily molded. She planned on upgrading her small, three room house into a veritable mansion by the end of the year.
After a quick shower, Rainbow stepped out her front door and in the door belonging to her aunt and uncle, Snow and Thunder Kicker. Because she was still technically a minor, she couldn't really live on her own, so her house was attached to her aunt's. It didn't bother her, though. She loved her aunt, and her cousin Cloud was one of the few pegasi that could compete with her in terms of agility.
“Yo! Auntie S, I'm here!” Rainbow called.
“Breakfast is on the table!” her aunt replied.
Trotting through the large family home to the kitchen. There, she was greeted by the smiling face of her uncle, Thunder. He was a well built pegasus, light green coat with a darker green, yellow, and red mane. It wasn't the most attractive color combination, but he couldn't care less.
“Mornin, Munchkin. How was your first night?”
Rainbow groaned. “Do you have to call me that? I'm not five anymore.”
“Till the day I die,” he said with a hearty laugh. “Now eat up. We're leaving early so I can show you the ropes. I don't want you slacking the first day, you're a Dash.”
Rainbow snorted at that. “So, does that mean you'll be slacking?”
“Hey, I'm still a Dash in all but name,” he defended. “And as of today, I'm your boss, so you might want to be nicer to me.”
“Not a chance.”
“At'a girl.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Work was, surprisingly, enjoyable. Sure, it wasn't exactly 'fun' but Rainbow figured she liked it enough. Her uncle introduced her to a few of her co-workers. A few teased her a bit about her age, but all in good fun. Rainbow just took it in stride and fired right back. All in all, a great first day.
“Now, normally I don't do this,” Thunder said from behind his desk in the weather office, “but I'm giving you what you earned today along with a three day advance. Get some things for your new place and take a look around. Trust me, it's a lot friendlier than Cloudsdale.”
Rainbow huffed. “It couldn't be less.”
“Hey, even your friend Fluttershy likes it here.”
Just as expected, that brightened Rainbow's mood nicely. “Yeah, that's right! I should totally drop by!”
“She lives in a cottage bordering the Everfree. Just follow the road by the orchard, and look for all the animals,” Thunder explained.
“Thanks, uncle Thunder!” Rainbow gave him a hug and took off.
She rocketed above town toward the orchard, smiling at the thought of seeing her fillyhood friend after so long. She could just make out what looked like a home of some kind when something caught her attention. Something purple was laying by the side of the road. Her curiosity got the better of her and she came in for a landing. Her eyes shot wide as she saw the purple thing was a long mane attached to an orange filly's head.
“Uh... hey, kid? Are you alright?” she asked, tentatively.
No reply.
“Hey? This isn't a very good place for a-” Rainbow gasped at the sight of a streak of red trickling from the filly's head. “Oh my gosh!”
Rainbow wasted no time, scooping up the filly and taking off toward the nearby cottage. Critters and creatures scattered at her approach, but she paid them no mind. She landed on the porch and hammered on the door with a hoof, keeping the filly in place with the other.
The door opened to reveal a white unicorn mare with a rather irate expression on her face. Before she could speak, Rainbow barged in asking, “Where's Fluttershy?”
“I beg your pardon, madam, but you cannot just-”
“Fluttershy! I need your help!” Rainbow cut off the unicorn.
“R-Rainbow Dash?” a familiar voice asked. “Is that you?”
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow said, placing the filly on the couch. “You gotta help, I don't know where the hospital is and this filly needs help!”
“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy ran over to examine the filly. “Rarity, in my bathroom is a first aid kit. Bring it to me.”
“Of course,” the unicorn said and ran upstairs.
“Where did you find her?” Fluttershy asked.
“She was passed out on the side of the road just a little ways from here.”
“You really shouldn't have moved her. You could have made her injuries worse. No matter. Go into town, at the north-east side. The hospital is easy to spot. Go get a doctor.”
“Right!” Rainbow acknowledged and ran back out the door, taking to the skies as soon as she was clear.
Not exactly the reunion I imagined.
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
Rainbow Dash never left her side. She slept in the unoccupied bed beside her, aunt Snow bringing her food. Fluttershy had stopped by to check on the filly and to keep her friend company, catching up. Even that other mare, Rarity, stopped by to check on things. The unicorn had asked why Rainbow felt the need to stay, but she just replied, “Cause nopony else will.”
They had sent out a report to the guard, but her description didn't match any of the missing fillies on file. They weren't too surprised, having just been found the day before. They would just have to wait until the filly woke up to find out where she came from.
Rainbow Dash was still sitting in her chair beside the filly, looking through a three month old copy of Wonderbolt Monthly. It was an article about the newest member, Fleetfoot, and her rise to the the ranks of the greatest fliers in the world. She was about half way through it when she heard the first sound from the filly, a distressed moan.
Rainbow looked up to see the filly squirming and mumbling. A nightmare. Just as she got up to try to calm the filly down, she sat up quickly crying, “Cloie, help!”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down, kid!” Rainbow said, rushing to her side. “You're safe, now. It's okay. You're in the hospital in Ponyville.”
“Wh-where?” the filly asked.
“A small town about halfway between Canterlot and Cloudsdale,” Rainbow answered.
“What's Canterlot and Cloudsdale?”
Rainbow looked at the filly as if she had sprouted a second head. “A-are you serious? Where are you from?”
“I'm from...” the filly's little face scrunched up in thought. “I... don't know?”
“How do you not know where you're from?” Rainbow asked in confusion. “Well, what's your name? Maybe we can find your parents.”
“I...” She squeezed her eyes shut, pressing her hooves to the sides of her head. “I-I don't know?! I c-can't remember! Wh-wha-what's wr-wrong with me?!”
Rainbow rushed over, wrapping her hooves and wings around the filly, comfortingly. “Shh, shh. It's okay. You just bumped your head, is all. I once crashed so hard, I thought I was seven.”
“W-when was that?”
“Last Tuesday,” Rainbow said with a smirk. That was enough to earn a giggle from the filly.
Just then, the door opened and Doctor Hooves walked in, followed closely by a rather large unicorn stallion in the standard golden armor and helmet of the Royal Guard.
“Hello, Miss Dash,” greeted the doctor. “This is Lieutenant Armor. He has a few questions about the foal.”
“May we speak in private, ma'am?” the guard asked.
“Yeah,” Rainbow started for the door when a tiny hoof stopped her. She looked down into the fearful eyes of the filly and smiled down at her. “It's okay, squirt. I'll be just outside.”
Reluctantly, the filly let go and Rainbow followed the guard out the door.
Rainbow looked at the guardspony with suspicion after the door closed. “Why would they send in the Royal Guard for one filly? Isn't this supposed to be handled by the Town Guard?”
“Normally, yes,” the guard replied honestly. “Except there were traces of massive levels of chaos magic residue at the scene where the child was discovered.”
“Chaos magic? What the heck is that?” Rainbow asked.
“Simply put, it's a wildly unstable type of magic that requires one to obtain a license to learn its use. One's magic signature is also recorded when they are licensed, so they can be identified if a mishap occurs or a crime committed. As of now, only three unicorns are certified to use chaos magic, and the signature doesn't match up with any of them.”
“So... rogue magic user?” Rainbow perked up. “Cool! It's just like that one issue of Bat Stallion!”
“This isn't a comic book, ma'am, and I'm rather certain this is far worse than a crazy unicorn trying to exploit real estate.”
“Oh, you know that one?” Rainbow asked with a smirk.
“My little brother loves those comics,” the guard said. “Anyway, I need to ask you if you noticed anything else in the vicinity of the foal, like a suspicious unicorn?”
Rainbow shook her head. “No, just the kid. Is she going to be alright? This chaos stuff won't hurt her, will it?”
“No, it shouldn't affect her adversely, though there might be strange phenomenon around her for a couple days. They're usually benign without a pony to guide the magic, though. Are you sure there's nothing else you can tell me?” Rainbow nodded and the guard produced a card, giving it to the pegasus. “If you think of anything at all, channel a bit of magic into this, just like pushing a cloud, and someone will come by your home as soon as possible.”
“Alright. Is that it?”
“Yes, ma'am. Get back to to that filly. She needs you.”
“Right... Oh, wait!” Rainbow suddenly remembered something. “She said something when she woke up. I think she was having a nightmare. She woke up screaming, 'Cloie, help'.”
The guard's brow furrowed. “Cloie, huh? It could be the name of her mother. Thank you. If anything else comes up, contact me.”
--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---
It had been three days since Rainbow found the filly on the side of the road, and finally, she was being released. Rarity, the unicorn friend of Fluttershy, had spoken with a customer of hers about taking the child in. Naturally, the filly had taken to the multi-hued flier and was disappointed to learn that she couldn't take her in herself.
“B-but, what if they don't like me?” the filly asked as Rainbow escorted her through town. “What if they're mean?”
“Then I'll kick their flanks and find you some better ponies to live with,” Rainbow replied, catching a glimpse of the saddest face ever, covered by that long, Fluttershy-like mane of hers and her heart nearly broke. “Hey, why don't I get you a 'welcome to Ponyville' present?”
“R-really?” the filly looked up at her new hero with a much less sad smile.
“Yeah, c'mon.”
Rainbow picked up the filly and rocketed into town, the sounds of young laughter in her wake. Eventually, after asking for directions, they arrived at the local toy store, Tinker's Toy's. Rainbow opened the door for her companion and they walked in... Well, Rainbow did. The filly was a blur of excitement, shooting down aisle after aisle looking at everything she could. Rainbow watched the little filly go about without a care. She had to admit, she admired her, happy despite what the doctor had said.
“Chaos magic is, by nature, unpredictable. If that is the reason behind the memory loss, as is quite possible considering the head trauma was very minor, she may never recover her memories.”
The thought was... terrifying. Yet, this filly, the one that should be frightened, was grinning ear to ear as she came rolling up on a scooter.
“I want this one!” she said, excitedly.
“Sure thing, kid,” Rainbow said, her smile nearly matching the filly's. She turned to the shop owner and asked, “How much?”
Tinker replied, “It's on me.”
“What? Really?”
He leaned in and whispered, “If that scooter helps put a smile on that filly's face, it's worth it. She's been through enough.”
Rainbow looked at him perplexed for a moment, but realized that in a small town like this one, word travels fast. Everypony in town likely knows about the filly.
“Thanks. If you need anything, give me a shout.” With that, Rainbow and the filly left, the child on her new toy.
They walked through town a bit more, letting her get the hang of the scooter. After a bit, Rainbow had a thought. “Hey, why don't you try flapping your wings. Maybe it'll help you go faster.”
“Um... okay,” the filly said. She gave her wings a few slow flaps.
“No, no. You gotta flap 'em faster.”
The filly nodded and started flapping her tiny wings as fast as she could. In the blink of an eye, she took off, kicking up dust as she went, screaming at the top of her lungs. Rainbow reacted instinctively, rushing to catch up. Ponies dodged left and right, trying to avoid the two. One mare, arranging some planks on a cart, leaped to the side, the wood falling to the ground. The filly hit the makeshift ramp, sending her soaring into the air. Just as she began her descent, a pair of blue hooves wrapped around her.
Rainbow eased the filly and her ride down to the ground, both breathing heavy, the filly from exertion and Rainbow from panic. After a few seconds of catching her breath, the filly jumped back to her hooves and shouted, “Let's do that again!”
Rainbow chuckled at that. “I take it you really like that scooter, huh, kid?” The filly nodded vigorously. “Hmm. You know, I really can't just keep calling you 'kid'. You need a name, at least until you remember your real one.”
“Like what?”
Rainbow thought about it for a while. She still didn't know much about the filly, with her amnesia and all. All she knew was that she was a young pegasus and she likes her scooter... A smile broke out on Rainbow's face.
“How about... Scootaloo?”