Whatever It Takes, I Love You

by Tatsurou

Adjustments

2. Adjustments

Rainbow Dash slowly shook herself awake. Yawning, she stretched her body and wings carefully, blinking sleepily at the moon that still hung in the air. It was much earlier than she normally woke up - so early, in fact, that before adopting Scootaloo she would have called it late - but she had prepped herself to wake up now. Carefully walking downstairs, she poured herself a cup of coffee and sipped, mentally reminding herself the plan for the day.

She would fly over to Canterlot while it was still dark. She would set up all the days weather there, fill out the paperwork for it, and then fly back. She'd make it back to Ponyville just in time to wake up Scootaloo, make her breakfast, and then see her off to school. Then she would handle the weather for Ponyville. By this point it would be around 11, and she would take a two hour nap somewhere.

When she woke up, she'd have lunch with her friends, catching up on whatever was going on, then practice her flying to keep in shape. While she still wanted to be a Wonderbolt eventually, that time frame had moved. While eventually used to mean "when I'm ready for the commitment," it now meant "when Scootaloo is safely in college." Thinking of, she needed to plan for Scootaloo's college fund.

After picking Scootaloo up from school, they'd spend some time with their friends, and Scootaloo would probably be spending some time with the other Crusaders. After that, they'd come home, have dinner, and she'd help Scoot with her homework. They'd spend some time together just doing whatever occured to them at the time, and then it would be bedtime for the filly. Rainbow would go to bed soon after.

It was a good plan. It was well thought out, left space for events for later days since each day could be based off it as long as Rainbow Dash was pulling double city duty, and it covered everything that needed to happen. As far as plans went, it was flawless. Rainbow Dash smiled as she wondered how long it would be until it got thrown out the window by real life.

Finishing her coffee, she slicked her mane back and took off for Canterlot. The night air was still and quiet, and she flew through the air with ease. She couldn't help but grin as she checked her speed against the ground. By train it took 5 hours to get from Ponyville to Canterlot. At a comfortable flying speed, Rainbow Dash would cover the distance in a half hour.

Reaching the Canterlot Weather Bureau, she glided in. It was mostly deserted, save for one of the bat winged pegasi that served Luna. He sat, shuffling through paperwork, jotting a few notes here and there, occasionally punching things into a strange looking device by his side with a lot of letters and numbers scrolling across it. He looked up as Rainbow Dash approached. "You're filling in for Fancy Feet?" he asked.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "Yep. So what's the weather plan for Canterlot today?"

"Well, you're not supposed to get started on that until after sunrise. That's when we set up the weather."

"Well, can I just get it done early? I also need to fly back to Ponyville and handle the weather there, too."

The pegasi behind the desk typed a few things into the device. After a few whirrs, clicks, and beeps, a paper extruded from a nearby slot. He tore the sheet off and handed it to Rainbow Dash. "This is what you should prepare the sky as right now. By sunup, the clouds will be in proper position and telemetry."

Dash examined the paper, reading all the technical details. This wasn't all that hard. She understood weather, and knew how to manipulate it. "Alright. Where's the clouds I can work with?"

"Most of what you'll need is already out in the sky. Anything else you can fetch from storage. Key's by the door." He turned back to his paperwork.

Flying back, Rainbow Dash started arranging the clouds as the paper dictated. It was easy enough to do, and went without interruptions. However, as she flew to the last cloud - based on position, this one would need to be bucked completely - a voice called from it, "It is interesting to watch you work, Rainbow Dash."

"Wah!" Rainbow Dash pulled back from striking the cloud with her hind hooves. The cloud was a much darker blue than it should have been, and Princess Luna was sitting on top of it. "Your Highness, I didn't see you there."

She smiled. "I noticed. So you are substituting for Fancy Feet as far as weather here in Canterlot?"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Yeah, since it will be some time till he recovers from that lightning strike."

Luna tilted her head. "Will you always be coming at this time?"

Dash nodded. "Yeah. It'll give me time to get back home before Scoot wakes up."

Luna smiled again. "That is nice. I hope we get a chance to talk while you work. I was hoping to get to know you a bit better."

Dash smiled, glancing at the moon. "Seems I've got an extra...forty minutes or so before I need to fly home." She settled down on the blue cloud as it extended out in front of her. "Anything in particular you want to talk about?"

"How are things going with you and Scootaloo? Have you adjusted to her being such a big part of your life now?"

Dash groaned. "Honestly, I had no idea what I was getting into when I adopted her. There's so much more I have to do to take care of her, and it all seems to have to be taken care of now. My whole life's on hold for her." She sighed.

Luna tilted her head at Dash. "Do you regret adopting her?"

"Not for a moment and never," Dash said quickly. "I didn't hesitate to take her under my wing, or take her in, and I won't hesitate to do whatever is neccessarry to take care of her."

Luna smiled, a slow shy smile. "You love her already, don't you?"

Dash averted her gaze, kneeding the cloud somewhat. "Yeah, I guess I do. She's easy to love."

Luna gently laid one wing over Rainbow Dash's back. "Rainbow Dash, though you took her in as your little sister...I am sure you will be an excellent mother."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "So that's in the job description, too?" She glanced up at the moon. "I'd better get back. I know Twilight set up enough alarm magics on my house to keep Scootaloo safe the Braeburn in Appleoosa will know if something happens to her, but it's my job to look after her." Flapping her wings, she lifted off the cloud as it dissipated. "See you alter, Princess!"

"Good bye, Rainbow Dash. I hope your life brings you much joy."

"I'm sure it will." With that, Rainbow took off for Ponyville. As the winds hadn't started to pick up yet, it was an easy flight, especially since she was losing altitude instead of gaining it as she had been on the way to Canterlot.

As she approached her cloud house, she noticed there was a light on. Curious, she glided gently into a room nearby and walked to the illuminated room to find Scootaloo sitting at a desk, some paper in front of her. "Scoot, what are you doing up?" Rainbow asked, coming in. "Celestia isn't even up yet. OOMPH!" She let out a wheeze of breath as Scootaloo cannoned into her, shaking. "Easy, squirt. What's wrong?"

Scootaloo looked up into Rainbow's eyes. "I...I dreamed you weren't there...that you'd dissappeared...that I'd never see you again. Then...when i woke up...you were gone..." Scootaloo was obviously struggling to not cry.

Rainbow Dash quickly wrapped the trembling filly in her wings, resting a comforting hoof on her back. "Easy there, Scoots. I just went to go take care of Canterlot's wheather a little early so it wouldn't cut into the time I could spend with you. I figured you'd still be asleep when I got back."

Scootaloo shook her head. "I...I don't sleep too deeply. Back...there, it was safer not to."

Rainbow Dash quickly suppressed the surge of anger from her heart, giving Scootaloo a soft smile. "Well, you don't have to worry about that anymore, alright? You're safe here, with me, and I'll always watch over you, okay? I might fly off to take care of things now and then, but I'll ALWAYS come back."

Scootaloo blinked away tears. "Promise?"

Rainbow smiled wider. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" she said, doing the hoof motions for the - unbreakable - Pinkie Promise.

Scootaloo smiled. "But you already fly, Dash."

Rainbow nuzzled Scoots mane, brushing one of her tiny wings with a hoof. "The hope's for you squirt...one day, you will fly with me. Then I'm gonna have REAL competition as far as being best flier Equestria's ever seen."

Scootaloo's eyes widened. "You really think so, sis?"

"I'd stake my wings on it!" As Scootaloo gasped in awe at Rainbow's confidence in her, Rainbow walked over to the desk. "So what were you doing, anyway?"

"Just some homework," Scootaloo said, hopping into the chair.

"Really? You're more studious than I ever was. Have you been spending too much time with Twilight?" As Scootaloo giggled, Rainbow glanced at the sheets. "Let's see...math, spelling, history...'The Happiest Day of My Life'?"

Scootaloo nodded. "It's not due for a couple of weeks, but since I know what day I'm doing, I figured I'd get started on it now. After all, we're gonna be reading it aloud."

Dash nodded. *Wonder how Cheerilee will feel about sitting through 8 renditions of 'How I Got My Cutie Mark',* she thought sardonically. Out loud, she asked, "So what day did you pick?"

Without a word, Scootaloo pointed to the framed certificate.

Rainbow smiled, pulling Scootaloo into a tight hug. "When'd you get so mushy, kid?" she asked, denying the possible existance of tears in her eyes as she ruffled Scoots mane with a hoof.

The filly's only response was a happy laugh and to return the hug.

----------------

One week later, the - slightly altered - routine had been established and worked well. When Rainbow Dash woke early to go do Canterlot's weather, she would also wake Scootaloo to let her know she was going. Since Scootaloo didn't sleep well unless Rainbow was in the house - understandable - she would spend the time working on her homework. The rest of the day went as originally planned, except that afternoon bonding time took the place of afternoon homework time, and bedtime for both of them shifted to an earlier hour so they both got enough sleep. This also eliminated the neccessity of Rainbow's midday nap...although if nothing urgent or fun were going on, she'd often take it anyway.

Each late night/early morning she worked on Canterlot's weather, Princess Luna would be out on a cloud, watching her work, and they'd take some time to talk. Generally, Luna's questions were about how Rainbow Dash was adjusting to taking care of Scootaloo, how Scootaloo was adjusting to her new life, or about Rainbow Dash herself. In return, Rainbow Dash asked Princess Luna a few questions about herself, her life in Canterlot, and relations with her sister and other ponies. One particular conversation - when Rainbow had told Luna about Scootaloo's first introduction to Tank, her pet tortoise - had been full ofmerriment. When Scootaloo had seen the propellor beanie Tank used to fly, she had asked Rainbow eagerly, her eyes shining, "Can I have one?"

While Rainbow had not gotten Scootaloo the propellor beanie, today was something a bit more important. She was taking Scootaloo to the doctor's office for a physical.

"It's nothing to worry about, Scoot," Rainbow Dash assured her. "The doctor's not going to hurt you."

Scootaloo was hiding on Dash's back, under her mane. "You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" she assured the scared filly. "I've been to the doctor tons of times. Nothing to worry about! Well, when they draw blood it hurts a bit, but that's nothing to be scared of, right?" Feeling the movement on her back, she brought her hoof down on the tip of Scootaloo's tail as she tried to flee. Looking at what had been left on her back, she smirked. "Where'd you get the chicken?"

Scootaloo's hooves made helpless running motions on the floor. "D-draw blood?"

Shaking the chicken off, Rainbow Dash scooped her little sister into her wings. "Don't worry about it, squirt. I'll be right there with you the entire time. And tell you what..." She lifted her tail. "If it really hurts, you can bite down on my tail to help take your mind off the pain. You can taste the rainbow."

Scootaloo smiled. "Really?"

"Really."

"...okay."

Inside the examination room, the doctor performed his examination, talking in a friendly voice to Scootaloo, although he frequently made 'tut-tut' noises as he gathered the data. When it came time to draw blood, Rainbow was as good as her word, slipping her tail into Scootaloo's mouth as the needle went in. She kept her face away as an expression of pain flashed across it as Scootaloo bit down, before turning back when the doctor was done, smiling. "That's my little trooper," she gasped out, trying not to visibly wince.

After that, the doctor sent Scootaloo with a nurse to get a lolipop "for being such a good patient." Then he turned to Rainbow Dash. "What, exactly, have you been feeding that filly?" he asked, somewhat coldly.

Rainbow Dash blinked, confused. "Well, on weekends I make her waffles, and I do my best to give her balanced meals with fruits, vegetables, and grains to keep her healthy."

"Really?" the doctor asked, clearly skeptical. "And her total absence of medical records?"

"What do you want doc? I only adopted her last week!"

"Adopted?" The doctor's disposition became much warmer. "I see. Then you probably aren't surprised to learn she is severly underweight and malnourished."

"I suspected as much," Rainbow confirmed. "How bad is it, and what can I do to reverse that?"

"Well, I can see where she iss tarting to fill out again, which is good. Also, I can prescripe a few supplements for the malnourishment. However, as far as her wings..."

"Stop," Rainbow Dash said. "The reason she wound up in that orphanage was because doctors told her folks she'd never fly. I'm not going to accept that. She dreams of flying someday, and I'm going to help her make that dream come true if it kills me, so don't you tell me it's impossible."

The doctor glanced at her for a time. "I was going to say that while there is nothing I can prescribe for her wings, I do know of one particular practitioner who might be able to help."

"You do? Who?" Rainbow Dash's initial wince from misjudging his words turned to eagerness that she could help Scootaloo.

"Well, few of my patients will actually go to see her, and she rarely leaves home except for ingredients. She specializes in holistic medicine, but-"

Rainbow grinned. "You're talking about Zecora, aren't you? You really think she can help with Scootaloo's wings?"

He smiled. "It's worth a shot." He wrote down the prescriptions. "You can pick them up at the pharmacy, and while I'd reccomend increasing her caloric intake, don't make her overeat."

Dash nodded. "Right." The nurse came back, Scootaloo at her side, a lolipop stuck in ehr mouth. "Come on Scoots, we've got one more stop to make before we head home."

"Really? Where?"

"We're gonna go see Zecora in Everfree Forest!"

"Awesome!"

-------------

A quick flight over the trees later, Rainbow Dash settled to the ground in front of Zecora's house. Scootaloo hopped off her sister's back as she knocked on the door. "Zecora? Are you in?"

The door opened. "My what a pleasant surprise appears before my eyes. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, what is it that I can do for you?"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "The doctor said you might be able to help with Scootaloo's wing development. Got any ideas? I'm hoping to teach her to fly within the month if things work out."

As Scootaloo could only squeel with excitment and joy, Zecora nodded calmly. "For this filly's dream we will see. It's good that you brought her to me. Step inside, we've nought to hide."

After a brief examination, a few mumbled chants, and other things neither Rainbow or Scoot really understood, Zecora turned to them. "I fear that my diagnosis is bleak, I do not have the answers you seek."

Scootaloo's face fell. Rainbow looked up. "There's nothing you can do?"

Zecora leaned over Scootaloo. "Little filly, why so blue? Yes I spoke the answer true, but what you seek is in no brew, for your answer lies within you."

Scootaloo looked up and responded with all the cleverness at her disposal. "...huh?"

Zecora smiled. "Your wings will grow and you'll fly free, when your true colors shine for all to see."

Scootaloo tilted her ehad in confusion. "I don't get it."

Zecora shook her head. "I have said all I can say, any more knowledge would just get in your way. But know the truth of what I see, one day you will truely fly free."

Rainbow picked Scootaloo up. "Well, if that's a guarantee, nothing to worry about, then. Thanks for your help, Zecora."

Zecora smiled. "Rainbow, you and I are alike in the end. We would both do anything for a friend."

As Rainbow flew back towards home, she tried to cheer up Scoot. "Come on, Scoot, I didn't really expect Zecora to have an instant answer."

"You didn't? Then why did we go?"

"Because she's very wise. I figured she'd set us on the rigth track, not give us a magic cure."

"Well, what track did she set us on?" Scootaloo seemed very confused.

"The one we're already on," Rainbow replied with certainty. "Don't worry. You'll fly one day, no doubt about it...any more than there's any doubt one day you'll have an AWESOME Cutie Mark!"

"Yeah...you're right!" Scootaloo stood up on Rainbow's back. "A Cutie Mark Crusader never quits! I'll get my Cutie Mark, my wings, and I'll fly!" With the last word, she leaped into the air...forgetting momentarily that she was not on the ground and that Rainbow Dash was still moving forward.

"Scoots!" Executing a pin-point turn, Dash swooped around and caught the filly before she could fall far. "Careful there, we're still in midair."

Scootaloo giggled. "Now you're sounding like Zecora!" she laughed.

Comments

[brad70505]

So cute!

[Tatsurou]

1869760
Thanks! I try.

[ShadowBrony]

[Fluttershyisacutegal]

a few minor spelling errors, but hey its a good story