Final Hours

by CountDerpy

5 Hours Remain

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5 Hours Remain

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As the second ring of the bell filled the air over Ponyville, the large cloud mansion that floated above the city was dark save for the single light in the dining room as Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash sat on opposite ends of a large table, looking over what would be their final meals. For Rainbow, a pile of hay bacon, a large hay burger, two pies and 4 mugs of the hardest cider she could find. For Scootaloo, a salad, a few strips of chicken tofu, a full loaf of banana bread, and her first and last mug of cider ever.

"Wow, Rainbow Dash. This all looks amazing." Scootaloo sighed as she looked over the arrangement of food on the table.

"Yeah, well not many ponies knew I could cook, so that means a lot. Just wish we could be doing this under better circumstances, huh Squirt?" Rainbow said giving a light nervous chuckle, which Scootaloo returned.

"Yeah I guess it's better than anything else I could have been doing. It's not like I have anypony to be spending my final day with." She said as she too a tiny bit of her salad, her obvious sadness causing Dash to sigh. Scootaloo took a quick drink of her cider then slammed it on the table. "I mean it would have been nice if somepony had decided to adopt me before they shut down the orphanage. It would be nice to be dying with something I could call a family."

"Squirt, don't beat yourself up over something like that. I mean look at me and Pinkie and everypony else. Hell look at the friends you spend every day of your life with. Don't you consider them your family?"

"I do Dash, I really do." She said taking another swig of her drink. "I just wish that I could have someone to call my mom or my dad, somepony that just straight out loved me unconditionally like I was their only kid. Just someone that I could cuddle up to without it being awkward as hell you know. But no, I was the foal that no pony wanted."

"Come on you know that isn't true."

"Isn't it?" Scootaloo almost snapped at Rainbow. "I never saw anypony come up to me and ask me if I wanted to go home with them. No pony ever came up to me with a certificate saying I was now part of a family, with ponies I could actively call my parents. It never happened, so why should I believe that anypony would ever want a pony like me?"

"Well I mean just look at you." Rainbow said walking around the table. "Who wouldn't want to adopt a teenage filly who just wants somepony to love her? You are smart, outgoing, funny, and hell you are killer at parties and stuff. Why would any...stupid pony...just ignore you like that."

"That's what I would like to know Dash, I really would. But what does it matter now? The orphanage is closed and we've only got a few more hours to be living anyways. Might as well just throw in the chips and go about my business huh? Die without a family."

Rainbow looked down at the floor and sighed. She turned her head towards Scootaloo as before walking into the kitchen. "Scootaloo, I have something that I have been meaning to tell you, but I could never come around to telling you."

Scootaloo looked up at her and watched as she pulled a black lock box from atop her refrigerator. "Huh? What is it?"

Rainbow walked forward and set the box in front of her. She reached behind her back and between the feathers of her wing, pulling out a small silver key that she kept locked in a vice grip on her at all times. She put the key into the lock and turned it, opening the box for the orange pegasus to see.

Scootaloo reached into the box and pulled out letter after letter, giving them only a brief glance over before reading a few lines out loud. "Dear Rainbow Dash.....thank you for you consideration....regret to inform you that....that....."

"That we find you un fit to care for the filly in question, Scootaloo." Rainbow sighed as she pulled her chair over.

"You...you actually tried to adopt me?" Scootaloo said as she started at her, digging through more and more of the letters.

"I tried anyways. Seems being a Wonderbolts reserve and constantly having to save Equestria wasn't a "good example" for trying to raise a filly."

Scootaloo was nearly in tears as she dug through more and more of the box, pulling out rejection letter after rejection letter, court appeals after court appeals before finally landing on a yellow envelope at the very bottom. Compared to the other letters and papers that littered the box, this package seemed to be in fairly good condition as if it had been put in here recently. Scootaloo pulled out the file and looked at Rainbow, who currently was staring at the floor with a look of regret on her face. Scootaloo turned her attention back to the folder as she opened it up and pulled out what was inside. There was only one thing inside, a piece of card stock embellished with fancy designs and a seal of approval, gasping as she read it from top to bottom.

Certificate of Adoption
Be It Known To One And All That
Scootaloo
Has Been Officially Accepted As A Child of Rainbow Dash
This 23rd Day of the 6th Month of the 1007th Year

"Rainbow Dash..." Scootaloo looked at her as tears streamed down her face, a hint of rage hidden behind her sadness. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I...I just couldn't Squirt. I only got that in the mail a few days before the news came. As soon as I heard it was all going to be over, I didn't think I could be a good enough mother to you through all of this crap."

"Rainbow, why the hell would you ever think that you would be a bad mother to me?"

"Look at me Scoots, even during this last year I was never around. I went off to do crazy things, explore and nearly get myself killed. I couldn't have been here for you and I didn't know how to deal with this myself." She said throwing her hooves up into the air. "Hell I still can't believe that it's already almost over! How could someone who doesn't even know how to handle herself throughout all of this shit be able to support you like an actual mother should?" Dash shouted as she started to cry into her hooves.

Scoots was taken aback by Dash showing so much emotion over something that she had never seen Dash do before. She slowly walked over to her and wrapped her small wings around the mare. "But Dash, think about everything you have done for me since that day."

"Yeah? Like what?"

"Would a pony who doesn't know what it would take to be a good mother take me in off the streets? Would she feed me every night and make sure I stayed safe despite all of it being pointless?" She took a hold of her hooves and looked up into her eyes. "Would she force me to stay in bed for two whole weeks because she thought I might have the feather flu? Cause I think she wouldn't, but Dash you did all that stuff for me."

"Y-yeah. Yeah I guess I did." She said wiping away the tears from her cheeks with the tips of her wings.

"Yeah, and just look at this dinner. You spent all day slaving in the kitchen to make us a nice final meal instead of going out and getting wasted or spending all your time with your friends. It's pretty damn clear to me that you would have made a great mother, Dash."

Dash couldn't help but let a giggle slip out. "Y-you really think so Squirt?"

Scootaloo nodded. "I know so."

Rainbow Dash sat there for a few moments before raising her head. "Scootaloo, bring me a pen."

Scootaloo's eyes lit up as she raced around the room to search for a pen. She dug through multiple draws of junk and searched high and low, only coming back when she found the next best thing to a pen, an ink pot. She sat the pot on the table and went to pull a feather from her wing, stopping when she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She looked up at Dash who shook her head before pulling out a feather of her own and dipping it into the black liquid. With careful precision, she moved her mouth around to sign her name in the small blank space that had been left for her. She spat out her feather and looked to Scootaloo. "It's done, now all we have to do is get Twilight to sign it at the meet tonight and then it's official."

Rainbow barely had time to react before she felt a wall of orange fur slamming into her. Scootaloo tackled her out of her chair and held onto her. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I finally have a mom! I finally have a family!" She sang as she cried into Rainbow's shoulder.

RD held her close for a few moments before she eventually tried to pull her off. "Scootaloo...still don't like ponies...you know.."

Scootaloo giggled and pulled herself up with a sheepish grin. "Hehe, sorry mom." She shuddered a bit as she said that. "Dear Celestia that is weird to say."

"Well it's really weird to hear." Rainbow sighed as she pulled herself off the ground and picked up her chair. "Let's just get back to our meal Scoots and try to enjoy our time, okay? Oh and please still call me by name, that mom stuff is weird."

"Hehe, whatever you say." She giggled before giving Rainbow a cheeky grin. "Mom."

Rainbow gritted her teeth a bit with a forced smile. "Don't push your luck Squirt, and eat your food."

Scootaloo nodded as the two took their places back at the table and ate their final meals in peace, stopping and looking out the window into the night as the tower bell rang it's third of seven rings. Although they couldn't see it or feel it, the world around them was already beginning to fall apart at the seams, but they didn't care as they ate one, swapping stories and reminiscing on old times.

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4 Hours Remain

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Comments

[Xarsor]

I shalt patiently wait for more.

[Hoops]

Love it!!

[CountDerpy]

6593128 more will be done tonight

6593189 thanks!

[Spongerobert]

This deserves to be on the front page.

[CountDerpy]

6593382 awww thanks but I don't think it will get up there..maybe the popular side bar though

[CountDerpy]

6594999 kind of, but more like this:

Majora's Mask - Final Hours Rock Remix

[DeeJay6400]

If I could cry, my tear ducts would have shriveled and fallen out halfway through the RD chapter. It was just so frickin beautiful

[CountDerpy]

6596118 thanks...but I bet this place will turn into a flame war of feels when the forth hour passes

[DeeJay6400]

6596224 (challenge accepted face) Okay. (Proceeds to execute safety protocol #970)

[Spongerobert]

Don't mean to rush but where is the next chapter?

[CountDerpy]

6641163 almost done. Sorry I've just had little time to write lately with getting ready for convention this weekend and projects due for college.

[Crystal Moose]

Interesting. I've had this on my RiL list for a few weeks. Will be following to see where you go.

[CountDerpy]

6644094 Thanks

[Frozen_CO2]

I've always maintained a little headcanon that the clock tower in either Ponyville or Canterlot sounds just like the one in Clock Town.
And this story is probably the closest you can get to being shot in the heart without actually taking a bullet.

[Jason_LeCrown]

Thanks for puting a link to the reading ^_^

[CountDerpy]

6661779 no problem