A Hard Day's Night
With a clatter, Rainbow Dash stacked the few plates together and carried them over to the sink. Dropping them in, she turned to look at the disk rack. It was almost full, which meant that she wouldn't need to do these dishes until tomorrow. Well, that was one less thing to think about today.
“Did you enjoy dinner, Scoots?” she asked, turning around to face the orange filly sitting at the table.
“Uh... yeah, it was okay...” Scootaloo shrugged, taking a gulp of milk. “I like your cooking, Sis! I do, and it ain't poison like Sweetie Belle says, but I... I wasn't really hungry, I guess.”
“I kinda felt the same way, not gonna lie,” Rainbow sighed, flinching as her stomach squirmed uneasily. “Anyways, it's time, Scoots.”
Scootaloo looked up anxiously. “Already? But... can't I stay down here, Sis?”
Rainbow Dash breathed in deeply, an untraceable tingling in her extremities. “Sorry, Scoots... you're going to your room for the night.”
Scootaloo looked like she wanted to argue, but with a grimace, she pushed her chair away from the table and fell to her hooves, sighing. Rainbow walked out of the kitchen with her, moving down the hallway and beginning their slow climb up the stairs. Their steps were methodical, in synchronization with each other.
“Pretty lame day, wasn't it?” Rainbow asked the younger pegasus as they reached the upstairs hallway and turned left.
“Yeah...” the orange filly replied, reaching her bedroom door and frowning at the floor.
Dash placed a hoof against it and gave it a light push. As the door swung open, she could see that Scootaloo had been keeping her room tidy, just like her big sister asked. A smile creased Dash's face in spite of the day's events as a pride bubbled in her stomach, though it was quickly replaced with the same uneasy feeling that she couldn't quite place her hoof on. Moving into the room, she rose to her hind legs and leaned against the door, allowing Scootaloo to pass her.
“Alright. Go sit on the bed, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash said, doing her best to make her voice sound stern. She jabbed a hoof at the twin sized bed in the far corner of the room and waited until her charge marched across the rose-coloured carpet and climbed on top of the dark blue bedspread. “Keep your butt there, kiddo...”
As her ears drooped, Scootaloo put her head down. Dash felt a small twinge of regret for being firm with her. After all, she could empathize with how Scootaloo must be feeling. How often did she find herself confined to her bedroom as punishment when she was a filly?
“Do I gotta stay here all night?” Scootaloo asked, lifting her head to stare hopefully at the blue pegasus.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes, nodding while her sorrow increased. “Yep... no leaving that bed or this bedroom unless ya gotta use, alright? If you want, I'll come tuck you in at bedtime, since I haven't done that in awhile.” She dropped down on all fours and prepared to leave the room, pausing briefly to look back at Scootaloo sadly.
Scoot didn't notice her. She had given a tremendous sigh and laid back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, obviously resigned to a night of boredom. “Alright, I'm... I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash...”
Dash had to fight down the urge to rush back over and hug her. She had stayed quiet all through dinner, emulating Scootaloo's own example in not mentioning the day's events. Dash failed to talk to her about what happened then, so she had to make up for it by being strict now. Yeah, that makes sense, Dash reasoned with herself. Applejack told her to be strict.
'Okay, she's sent to her room, everything's cool now... I went and be'd strictish, so that's that! Well, that certainly sounded dumber than I thought it would, but whatever, I did what AJ said... Of course, Applejack also said to remember back to when... but... naw. I don't need to take it that far!' Dash thought, closing the door quietly on the guilty party and starting down the hallway. 'I've already got this way under control, open and shut! I'm Rainbow Dash, for pony's sake.' She wondered vaguely if these thoughts could ease that guilty feeling? 'After all, I didn't even need to yell at Scootaloo! Well... I did when she first told me, but...' Or, she thought with a sigh, they could increase her guilt. Pushing her squirming stomach from her mind, she walked to her own bedroom door.
Dash bumped it open casually with her forehead, revealing a positively chaotic scene. Unlike her adopted sister, Rainbow Dash was not as successful at keeping her room clean. Magazines and wrappers littered the floor as Rainbow cautiously stepped over plates and record player cords. Upon reaching her untidy bed, she frowned at the rumpled shirt sitting on it.
“I still can't believe I've gotta wear a shirt at that stupid job...” Rainbow sighed to herself, picking it up and staring at it. “I'll wear a dress to a party or something, but I hate uniforms.”
She wheeled around and threw the offending article of clothing into the little purple hamper on the floor, just inside of her closet door. Sadly, having to wear such an ugly thing was a necessary evil. How else was she going to afford this new house? She needed that second job. She collapsed onto her bed and shut her eyes briefly, breathing in the early evening air wafting in through the open window.
“So, whatcha think, Twilight?” Rainbow Dash asked the unicorn, gazing at the fillies playing on the floor of her cloud home.
“Well, you've got enough here for a down payment on a house, I think, but that's... more or less gonna be it, Rainbow Dash... I'm sorry,” Twilight Sparkle explained, magicking several stacks of bits back into a large leather bag. “I don't think you'll have enough left to get by without our help.”
“Y'all remember that factory we all went to when ya had that Best Young Fliers competition?” Applejack spoke up, causing Pinkie Pie to cringe.
“Oh, no! That's the one with the super spicy raunchy rampaging ragin' Coltcajin rainbows!” she shuttered heavily. “That was awful!”
“Yeah, that's the one!” Dash smirked, reaching across the table for the sack of bits. “So, what about it, AJ?”
“Can't ya get a second job workin' there? At least until ya get back on yer hooves. I mean, it won't be easy leavin' your cloud house and moving to the ground and suddenly actually havin' ta pay bills. Y'know, like a normal pony!”
“That certainly sounds like a fantastic way to earn some extra bits!” Twilight said happily, clapping her hooves together. “How about it, Rainbow? You can work at the factory part-time while you do your weather duties in Ponyville full-time.”
Dash frowned. The prospect of working two jobs was a terrible one to contemplate for a pony who loved her naps. However, as she gazed over at Scootaloo playing with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, she realized how important getting an additional source of income would be. After all, she had another mouth to feed.
“That's what I'll do, then! I'll apply there tomorrow.”
Returning from the memories of that very wonderful day, she thought a nice, uneventful evening would be just what the doctor ordered! That would definitely make her feel better. Maybe she'd even feel as good as she did on that wonderful, wonderful day when she changed Scootaloo's life forever. No, Dash corrected herself. 'She changed my life.'
Opening her eyes again, she twisted her head to stare at her alarm clock on the bedside table. The hour was approaching 7:00 PM. What in Equestria was she going to do until she went to bed? Her original plans for the evening involved hanging out with Rarity and Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres while the fillies had a sleepover, but that clearly wasn't happening tonight, given the day's events.
'I don't wanna write in the J-man,' Dash mused in her head, thinking about her diary, which she named Joey. 'I don't wanna watch something, I don't wanna read anything...' She stared at the ceiling. Maybe she did want to read? She did have that new Daring Do novel sitting on the coffee table in the living room, after all.
Rainbow Dash sat up quickly and stretched her hooves, flexing her wings. As she prepared to spring off her bed and head downstairs, she paused to stare happily at a poster she had hung up on the wall over the bed, illuminated by her lamp. It was a poster detailing the Wonderbolt, First Officer Soarin. He had signed one of the posters for sale at the Best Young Fliers competition and given it to her as a gift for saving their lives.
“'To Rainbow 'Sonic Rainboom' Dashie,'” Dash read aloud to herself, beaming up at it, “'keep being an inspiration to pegasai everywhere!'” She squinted at the signature, focusing very clearly on the small heart she had scrawled there herself.
”Is that... a heart?!” Scootaloo asked with a disgusted groan as Dash scribbled against the poster with a small pink crayon. “I want that back, by the way!”
“Alright, new rule: No coming into my room!” Rainbow Dash grinned back at Scootaloo, moving back to admire the effect.
“This isn't your room yet!” Scoot protested. “There's not even a bed in here...”
“The big room is mine!” Dash laughed, tossing the crayon for Scootaloo to catch in her mouth. “I put aaall my spare funds into the down payment for this place! I get the bigger room.”
“Yeah, okay, sure!” Scootaloo replied sarcastically, dropping the crayon into one of her hooves. “We'll see about that once those moving ponies get your stuff from your old place! Would be such a shame if I accidentally told them to put your bed in the smaller room, huh?”
“Keep that up, and Dashie's takin' the bathroom, too!” Dash warned jokingly, strolling out of the room.
“WE SHARE THAT, YA BIG BLUE DUMMY!” Scoot yelled after her in exasperation.
“Sweet Celestia!” Rainbow groaned to herself, turning away from the poster. That was the second time she had just vanished into the abyss of her own memories. She'd need to focus. “Gotta go downstairs, read that book...”
She walked across her room and back into the hallway. As she approached the stairs, she looked over at Scootaloo's closed door. That familiar feeling crept back into her. The truth was, she had never had to do something like this before. Aside from giving her what was more or less a pretend grounding for almost drowning on that camping trip to Winsome Falls, that was. Otherwise, she had never done anything when it came to punishing Scootaloo. It had been three full weeks since she adopted her, three full weeks since she had decided to rescue the filly from that orphanage, but she really didn't have a clue of what to do in this situation.
Was that why her stomach hurt so much? That feeling of uncertainty? Or, Dash rebutted to herself, maybe feeling guilty was the reason for the pain. Yeah, that's it! She was so guilty over having yelled at her earlier and she had told Scootaloo before they got home that she'd be sending the filly to her room for the night. Was that why she couldn't bring herself to discuss it further when they had sat down for dinner, because she felt guilty?
'Well, too late for that now...' Dash thought sadly, still staring at the door. 'Maybe I should just let her out? I think I botched this punishment thing. I know I had to be strict, but “raaah, no leaving this room, raaah” is a pretty garbage way to go about it! I didn't even talk to Scoots about it. I could go in and do that now, but... I've screwed this up enough as it is.'
She didn't like the concept of having to inconvenience her new sister with time-outs, corner time, or room lock-down. That was high level cruelty! She knew the fillies had crossed a line today, this was true, but all the same... Scootaloo's in her room now, no need to deal with this any more. The matter felt closed. It wasn't a perfect resolution, but Rainbow Dash was afraid of making things worse. She shut her eyes firmly and turned away from the direction of Scootaloo's door with her nose in the air, walking straight into the post at the end of the stair banister.
There was a loud, rattling bang. As she staggered away from it, clutching her snout and swearing under her breath, Scootaloo's door flung open and the younger pegasus walked into the hallway.
“What was that bang, Sis? Are you okay?” Scootaloo asked her with concern in her soft voice, raising one of her eyebrows. “Waaait, did you walk into the post?”
“The bang was nothin', Scoots! Now, flank on that mattress, young lady!” Dash said firmly, trying to hide her embarrassment with more strict words. For some reason, saying those things were causing her to feel very awkward, but Dash ignored these feelings. “And get that smirk off your face!”
“Yes, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said, still smiling slyly as she vanished behind her door again.
Dash felt her nose gingerly; she could already tell that this was not destined to be a fun evening. As she ventured downstairs and into the hallway, she twisted at the doorway into the living room, strolling in and fluttering down on top of her couch. Rolling up in a discarded blanket and reaching over for her newest book, she read the title with relish! Daring Do and the Tomb Raider of Gymkhana.
“Awesome...” Dash said happily, throwing her back hooves over the arm of the couch and crossing her legs, anxious to delve into this at last. “'Daring Do and the Tomb Raider of Gymkhana.' Chapter 1, 'The... Fire Temple of the Rocky Wastes'.” Dash paused for a moment, closing her eyes tight as an uncomfortable memory from earlier that very day flooded her mind.
The tips of the trees rippled as the rainbow-maned pegasus rocketed high above, wings beating furiously and the dry air of an unseasonably warm day tearing at her eyes. She could already see the smoke rising from the clearing. Derpy Hooves was right; that had to be the clubhouse. Whirling around, she studied the sky above her for any untapped rainclouds. Spotting one over the Everfree Forest, she pointing it out to Derpy.
“Go grab that cloud, quickly! I've gotta get 'em out!” Dash spoke clearly, fighting the panic in her stomach like bile. What if she didn't reach them in time? What if she busted through the wall of the clubhouse and found them—
“No. No. Don't think about it, Dash... Book. Read.” Shaking herself mentally, Rainbow Dash opened the eyes again and put them resolutely back on the page of her book. She moved on, starting the chapter. “Daring Do stood bravely atop the mountain of iron cages, a blaze in her chest as the rising heat of the burning pit below distorted her vision and—”
Her hooves were shaking as the book fell from them, hitting the floor with a small pat. She sat up straight on the couch and took a very deep breath, placing her head into her hooves and shaking it back and forth.
She circled around the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse. The fire was contained within the building, the cries of the screaming fillies billowing up with the smoke like a volcano ready to erupt. Diving low, Rainbow tucked her wings into her body and smashed into the door with an almighty crash and a blur of colours. Smoke filled her nostrils and lungs. She scanned her eyes across the room. The round table and stools blazed on one side of the room. On the other, there they were. The fillies were stranded in the corner, blocked from fleeing to the door or the window due to lines of flame burning along the floor. Apple Bloom had her eyes closed, curled on the floor and whimpering. Sweetie Belle was crying with her hooves around Scootaloo, who looked more frightened than Rainbow Dash had ever seen her.
No time to feel relieved when she saw them alive, though! If she didn't act fast, their condition wouldn't last. She climbed over the door she had knocked to the floor. With a great flap of wings, she parted the flames enough to jump through them. Landing next to the Crusaders, she wrapped them in her wings to shield them from the heat and the smoke. Now what, she wondered?
The ceiling was blackened and hazy. It was nothing short of a miracle that the fire did not spread to the corner they were hiding in, as it had already covered the other three walls and most of the floor. Unfortunately, it had also intensified by all of the exits, helped by the fact that Rainbow had to fan the flames with her wings in order to jump through them. Due to this, the fires had spread.
Praying she wasn't about to bring the entire building down, she placed her front hooves on the ground, made sure her wings were still shielding the fillies, and bent back her hind legs. She could still see the fear blazing on Scootaloo's face, but her eyes were filled with awe and wonder, even as they continued to spill tears. Giving Scoot a quick, reassuring smile, Rainbow bucked the wall as hard as she could. With another flap, she straighten out her wings, stiff as boards, like a protective canopy over the fillies. She couldn't risk the ceiling caving in on top of them.
A large chunk of the wall had been smashed away and salvation lay just beyond the splintered wood separating the outside from the inferno. Shepherding the fillies in front of her, she wrapped them tight to her body with her arms. Covering them once more with her wings, she jumped backwards. Clean air filled her chest and was immediately knocked out again. Crashing to the ground, she lost her hold over the girls. Three distinctive groaning voices reached her ears.
Wasting no time, she sprang to her hooves and leapt back into the air, spreading her wings to catch herself. She looked down quickly to double check, to make sure, make absolutely sure, that the fillies were all moving. Scootaloo was crying softly, staring up at her big sister. Apple Bloom was looking in horror as the clubhouse continued to blaze. Sweetie Belle was just shaking her head, eyes closed. They were all soot blackened, coughing from smoke inhalation, and shaking, but they didn't look like they had suffered any burns.
Looking skyward, she saw Derpy dragging the cloud along. Rushing up to meet her, Dash seized it and zoomed back into the clubhouse with it. Pulling the entire cloud inside, she beat the water out of it with furious punches and bucks, dousing every inch of the walls, floor, and ceiling with fresh rainwater. In an instant, the inside fell dark as the last of the flames were extinguished. With no more moisture to sustain it, the cloud quickly evaporated into mist.
Once back outside, she saw Derpy Hooves standing with the Crusaders. She jumped down from the softly smouldering clubhouse and pulled the grey pegasus into a hug.
“Derpy, if you weren't passing by... I don't know what... but it's because of you that I could save them!” Rainbow panted graciously, squeezing Derpy as hard as she could. Looking over Derpy's shoulder, she saw the familiar golden hair with the brown stetson perched atop it speeding over. “Go find Rarity, alright?”
“Okay, I will find her!” Derpy said, pausing a brief moment, appearing to work out what she had to do before flying into the sky.
“No, no, NO!” Applejack had tears in her eyes as galloped forward, looking with horror at the smokey remains of the once-burning building. “N-not Bloom, too! Oh, please, not my baby sister!”
“AJ, it's fine! I got them out, they're on the grass over here!” Dash called over to her. “They're okay!”
“Oh, thank Celestia!” Applejack moaned softly, her voice breaking with relief as she raced over, dropping down on the grass to pull her little sister into her hooves.
Rainbow sat down on the grass with them, wrapping a wing around Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to sweep them over to her. Examining them minutely, she confirmed her earlier observation that they had, indeed, avoided sustaining any burns. They both clung to Rainbow in gratitude as Apple Bloom clutched at her sister's fur, all three of them now crying softly.
“What coulda caused the fire, Rainbow?” Applejack asked, gazing sadly at the clubhouse. “It's dry out, but it ain't warm enough today to cause any sort of fire that could spread to the clubhouse. The surroundin' trees are fine, so it had to start there. Girls, what happened?”
“I'm sure they can tell us once they've calmed down. Anyways, no idea what caused it, myself. Derpy saw the smoke and came to get me. Broke down the door and busted out through the back wall with them, surprised I didn't bring the whole clubhouse down,” Dash explained, stroking the two sobbing fillies with her as her own relief continued to wash over her. “Derpy brought me a raincloud and I doused the flames, but... yeah, the clubhouse is in bad shape.”
“I owe ya my sister's life, Dash...” Applejack said with a watery smile.
“Ya owe me nothin', AJ!” Rainbow said firmly. “Derpy's the one who came to get me, and besides, I did what I had to do! Now...” Dash turned her attention back to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, “Scoots, Sweets, ssh, it's alright! You're all safe, don't worry. Don't cry, Scootaloo... Dashie's got you... and Derpy's gone to get your sister, Sweetie, so she'll be here with you soon!”
“Oh, no...” Sweetie Belle sniffled, sitting up and burying her face into her hooves. “Applejack, Rainbow Dash, please don't tell her what we did! Uh, she worries about me! Don't tell her, I don't want her to get upset!”
“What... happened?” Applejack asked the girls in a level voice. “What caused the fire, Sweetie? 'cause it sounds mightily like yer tryin' ta avoid a tanned hide, beggin' us not to tell your sister like that. Don't be so foolish, y'all coulda died! Accidents happen, sugarcube. Rarity understands that.”
“Sis, I'm sorry!” Apple Bloom sniffled into Applejack's chest. “'m so sorry, was my fault we were in the clubhouse to begin with!”
“What...” Applejack's voice was hollow with shock. “What... in tarnation did you three do? Why are y'all makin' it sound like this wasn't an accident?”
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, staring at the sweating hooves an inch from her face. She was now starting to appreciate how close this day had come to being on par with the worst day in her life: the day her mother passed away. She leaned back on the couch and looked up at the ceiling. Scootaloo's bedroom was directly above the living room. She almost lost her.
Three weeks since the day she strolled into the Ponyville Orphanage after three completely sleepless nights of pouring every essence of her mind into thought. This all came to a head that night she spoke to Scoot in the middle of the wilderness after saving the filly from going over a waterfall. She could have lost her that night, too.
Rainbow turned cold as she thought of what would have happened if she had not woken up from that weird dream in time to save Scoot's life. Weird dream, indeed, with herself strolling alone through the forest before seeing Princess Luna standing on top of a rock. As soon as they had caught a glimpse of one another, the alicorn had fired a beam of white light from her horn. It was this apparent attack that caused Dash to wake up in the first place to see Scootaloo missing from the cave. Leaping out of her sleeping bag, she had dashed off, leaving the others sleeping.
Scootaloo always had an impressive knack for getting herself into trouble of all sorts. To this day, Dash had no idea how she managed to get high enough to even fall into that river. Thankfully, Dash had caught her just as she sailed over the edge. It was only when Scootaloo tearfully confessed how much she wanted to impress Rainbow Dash by acting brave, and how she wanted Rainbow to be like a sister to her, that Dash herself realized the feelings were mutual. She loved showing off in front of Scootaloo to see the joy in the orphan's eyes and she had known the girl long enough to kind of want her as a little sister.
Rainbow Dash closed her eyes again, unable to stop herself from slipping into yet another vivid memory. She was happy to experience this particular recollection, of course. Entire days of constant debate and the aforementioned sleepless nights following the camping trip were what lead her to strolling through those doors.
”Uh, hey.” Rainbow said awkwardly, approaching the sand-coated, silver-maned unicorn as she looked up from a book she was reading. “I was by yesterday and scheduled an appointment for today. I've gotta meet a mare named 'Sunny Dawn', the matron of this orphanage. Would that be you?”
“Yes, I am Sunny Dawn,” the mare responded, inclining her head and standing up, placing the book on the chair she had been seated at. “You must be Rainbow Dash, then?”
“Yep!” Rainbow said, smirking. “So, how does this whole procedure work, exactly?”
“Well, would you like to first come see the children? They're out in the yard around the back of the building,” Sunny suggested.
“I've actually already got somepony in mind...” Rainbow Dash explained, feeling an excitement in her chest.
“You're... here for Scootaloo, aren't you?” the matron asked, fixing her with an almost knowing stare.
“Hmm, what makes you say that?” Dash asked curiously.
“Well, Miss Dash, you're something of a celebrity amongst the fillies and colts of Ponyville. Here at the orphanage, in particular,” the matron explained, leading Rainbow Dash down a hallway to her office. “You have a circle of fans here, you could say. To call Scootaloo the ring leader would be accurate. I'm aware that she's something of a close friend to you, too, if her stories are to be believed. I think she also has a 'Rainbow Dash Fan club' that meet outside of the orphanage.”
“I know all about it!” Rainbow admitted, sitting down at a chair in front of Sunny's desk. “And you guessed right. I am here for Scootaloo! I wanna adopt her.”
Sunny gave her a very warm smile. “I'm very happy to hear it. We've never had anypony express interest in Scootaloo in the three years or so she's been here. It's very difficult for a pegasus who can't fly. Pegasai want to adopt fliers and most folks choose an earth pony over a grounded pegasus.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Rainbow nodded, taking a deep breath. “But it's not something that ever bothered me. I've known Scoot for ages now, since she's best friends with the sisters of two of my own friends. It was never really my intention to adopt this early in my life, I admit...”
“It was always your intention to adopt, Miss Dash?” Sunny asked, rummaging her in desk for some paperwork.
“It was. You see, when I was five years old, I almost lost a pretty bad fight with pneumonia. Long-story short, the illness coupled with side effects of the medicine due to an allergy to one of the herbs used in it stunted some organ growth. I've had a poor liver up until about five years ago and I had an undersized bladder most of my childhood, but the most damage was done to...” Rainbow took a deep breath, sighing. “Basically, I grew up knowing that I probably wouldn't ever be with foal. The whole system barely works, I'm basically infertile.”
Sunny Dawn nodded, giving Rainbow an understanding smile. “Well, this is certainly the best alternative. You mentioned you never wanted to adopt 'this early', however. What did you mean?”
“Well, I'm twenty-two right now. I work as a weatherpony here in Ponyville and I'm able to do a full day's work in a few hours, so I put most of my spare time into training myself to join the Wonderbolts in a few years, once I finish additional courses at the Wonderbolt Academy. It was my plan to wait until I'm in my mid-to-late thirties, when my career as a performer was over, before I focus on raising a family. However, Scoot's seven right now. I don't want her to grow up without having a fun childhood. I know she and her friends get up to some ridiculous schemes, I'm sure you've heard of their cutie mark crusading, and that's gotta be fun, but...” Dash paused here a moment, looking straight into Sunny's face.
“Please, continue,” the matron urged her, standing up and walking around the desk to put a comforting hoof on Rainbow's shoulder.
“Let's just say that I was familiar with Scoot's mom before that mare disappeared. Old friend of my mom and dad. I don't think Scootaloo has known real love, or at least, love she can remember. And she has memories of her mother... I, just... I mean, I want to give that to her. I wanna show her that she can be loved. And not as an unofficial 'big sis' looking out for her from the sidelines... she needs a parent to care for her, and I may be the only one who can help, and I'll do it as a big sister if I gotta.”
Rainbow Dash found herself standing up, pacing around her living room, her emotions stirred and her mind racing. 'She needs a parent to care for her.' These were her own words. Did she really know how to truly care for a child? Okay, she can feed Scootaloo and stuff, but Scootaloo's a filly, not a pet. Maybe Applejack was right?
”I... I still can't believe it,” Applejack said, blowing her nose with one of the kerchiefs on the table. “Rainbow Dash, I'm so, so proud of ya.”
“Stop that, you're making me blush!” Dash laughed, allowing Applejack to pull her into yet another hug. “And get that snotty snout away from my hair, dude!”
“So, have you decided how you're going to handle the flight handicap?” Twilight asked her gently, looking over into the living room where Scootaloo was playing with her best friends, both of them overjoyed to hear the news of her adoption.
“Yeah, definitely. I obviously can't have Scootaloo living in this cloud house. The only way anypony can walk on the floor here without being a pegasus is with your magic, Twilight. And it's not safe, or fair, to have a house high in the clouds that Scootaloo can't reach or move around completely on her own. Nope, I'm moving outta here.”
“You could use this old house as a hideout! You could be a super hero!” Pinkie suggested earnestly.
“That actually sounds awesome, Pinkie!” Dash laughed. “I don't wanna sell it, I've lived here since I moved to Ponyville when I was sixteen. Of course, if I gotta for Scoots' sake, I will, but... yeah.”
“Gotta admit... I wasn't sure at first if you'd really be able to raise a filly, Dash.” Applejack said, seemingly deciding to take her time over her words.
“What do you mean, exactly?” Dash asked, a little defensively.
“You've grown up a heck of a lot in the last couple years, I've noticed. Like when ya wanted to quit the Wonderbolt Academy because you thought it rewarded recklessness, which was one of your own attributes a few years back! I'm jes' tryin' to say I'm proud of ya, 'n' when ya first said you wanted to adopt way back when, I doubted if you'd be able to pull it off. Now? I believe you definitely can. And one of the Crusaders, to boot! That's filly raisin' on hard mode.”
“I never had problems with the girls whenever they've had sleepovers or I've had to foalsit for them before!” Fluttershy said, as though this settled the matter. “I think you're going to be a wonderful guardian, Rainbow Dash. I don't think raising Scootaloo will be hard.”
“You'll have all of us there for support when you need us, Rainbow. Especially if you're moving down to the ground!” Rarity said, beaming at her. “I wish you the absolute best of luck, darling. But, tell me... will Scootaloo be calling you her sister... or her mother?”
“Well...” Dash said in a measured voice, thinking back to the matron leading Scootaloo inside to 'meet the mare who was thinking about adopting her', “when Scoots found out about the adoption, she cried for like twenty minutes and would not let go of me. I've never seen her so happy. She said she was afraid nopony would ever want her, because she was 'broken'. When she said that, I almost burst into tears myself. When the matron went to file the paperwork, I told Scootaloo that I'd be her big sister for real, but... if she wanted to, she could call me 'Mommy'.”
“And what did she say?” Rarity asked with lively interest, the rest of their friends listening intently as well.
“Nothin'! She started crying again and sorta... jumped into my arms. Like, girls, it was the sweetest thing... Anyways, I think she was just touched at the offer, but she still calls me 'Sis'. I think the idea of having a mom again might be painful to her, so I can't really see her calling me 'Mom'. At least, not for awhile... In the meantime, I'm happy to be her sister! We were always kinda like sisters.” Dash said, knowing that there was probably a big goofy grin on her face. She couldn't help it; this was the best day of her life. “I'm gonna just call myself 'Dashie' when I'm talking to her. I've already said it to her a few times, and it sounds like a good replacement for 'Mommy', so...”
“What would you prefer to be called, Dash?” Applejack asked her. “When you think about all of this and where your life is going now, what would you call yourself?”
Rainbow frowned, deliberating the question. This was going to tie her together with Scootaloo for the rest of her life. She was going to be there for the rest of Scootaloo's childhood. She'd get to watch her grow up and find her special talent and cutie mark, be it as a dancer, a stunt artist, somepony working with choreography, or whatever it ended up being. The Crusaders weren't going to be blind to their obvious natural talents forever, after all. What other amazing things could Scootaloo grow up to do?
Rainbow would be there for everything. She wanted to help Scootaloo train her underdeveloped wings and knew the filly had the best chances of success at singles' flight with Equestria's greatest flier by her side. She was going to be the loving parent that helped Scootaloo achieve everything she could.
“What would I call myself, AJ? That's easy enough,” Dash said, glancing over at the fillies. “I'll call myself the one who's gonna raise Scootaloo like a daughter with every bit of love and tenderness she deserves! Call me Scootamom!”
Applejack slapped a hoof over her face.
“Y'all had a very precious speech goin', there. Why'd ya go and ruin it? Jes'... go get your savings so we can count up how much you can dump on a house...”
Rainbow sat back on the couch, tapping her left hoof against her forehead. Why couldn't she make sense of all of this? She stared up at the ceiling again. Alright, she was going to start from the beginning: Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle caused that fire. Dash pulled them from the burning clubhouse and Applejack got there and Rarity later. So far so good. Rarity took Sweetie Belle home. Applejack took Apple Bloom home. Rainbow Dash took Scootaloo home. They ate dinner and she sent the filly to her room for the night.
“... why isn't this adding up? Why do I still feel like there's something horrible closing in on me?” Dash asked herself, twisting around and punching one of the couch cushions as hard as she could. “I mean, I did exactly what AJ and Rarity did! Or...” Dash sighed, falling face first against the arm of the couch. “No. I didn't do exactly what they did. And it's been at the back of my mind the whole night.”
Rainbow Dash stood up again and, for the third time, looked up at the ceiling. This time, she was able to make sense of something additional: The Cutie Mark Crusaders put their lives in danger. They started a fire in the clubhouse armed with nothing but watering cans to achieve firefighter cutie marks. The fire had barricaded them into that corner, and if it had spread any more, they would have died. Applejack and Rarity took their sisters home to be punished...
'... and I sent Scoots to her room. When the Crusaders finally explained what happened, I yelled at Scootaloo, but I didn't even talk to her about it at dinner, made no effort to see how this might have affected her.'
Rainbow Dash was right; she did feel guilty. How could she call herself a caring parent when her actions could arguably be labelled as indifferent? She nodded to herself as an idea struck her. She'll go up, see how Scootaloo is doing, and be a good big sister. She'll probably let Scootaloo out of the room and maybe they could curl up and watch a movie, or something?
She frowned to herself. Why did she feel like that wasn't a solution? She had to talk to Scootaloo about this. Every part of her agreed with that. And she was strict, so the punishment was correct, right? No, she told herself. Why, she asked herself? What was it Applejack had said?
The three fillies were sitting in the grass quietly. Derpy had just departed after Rarity and Applejack both expressed their gratitude. Dash motioned for the fillies to approach them, doing her best to keep her anger in check.
“Well, Sweetie Belle?” Applejack said sternly, frowning at the unicorn filly. “Tell yer sister what happened.”
Rarity looked at Applejack quizzically and then back to her younger sister. Rainbow Dash was glaring a hole straight into Scootaloo. The filly looked up at her and sunk low to the grass, her ears bent back and eyes averted.
“Rarity...” Sweetie sighed, apparently realizing she never had a choice. “We caused the fire.”
“Sweetie, darling! How can you not guess that I already knew that? Who else could have?” Rarity said, bending low and stroking her sister's face softly. “Accidents can happen sometimes, and nopony can help that. How could you possibly expect me, your sister, who loves you, to be belligerent with you?”
Sweetie Belle stared at the grass, closing her eyes. “... Uh. Probably because we... kinda... sorta did it on purpose.”
“Wait, you mean to say,” Rarity began in a hoarse voice, removing the hoof from Sweetie's face and standing tall again, “that you girls caused a fire? ON PURPOSE?!”
Rainbow tapped Rarity on flank and pointed to three melted plastic watering cans lying in the grass at the foot of the tree supporting the clubhouse.
“I pulled those out of the clubhouse while we were waiting for you to show up. Went to see if anything could be salvaged, and found those,” Dash said in a bitter voice, throwing up her arms sarcastically. “'Cutie Mark Crusader Firefighters! Yaaay!' Watering cans! We don't even know how they started the fire, but it doesn't even matter, because it must have been just as stupid as their plan!”
“But, Sis...” Scootaloo mumbled from her position low on the grass. “Water can put out fires, and...”
“Seriously, Scootaloo?!” Rainbow Dash said in a fierce voice. “DID YOU FILLIES REALLY THINK THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?”
“I cannot believe my own sister could act so foolish!” Rarity snarled, grabbing Sweetie Belle by the ear and glaring down at her. “Just wait until I get you home, young lady! How could you be so irresponsible? Sweetie Belle, I thought you had faaar more sense than this! You could have lost your life! You all could have! You never stopped to think about that, did you? Sweetie, imagine if I had to tell Mom and Dad that their little angel had died? Do you have any idea what that would do to them? DID YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU DYING WOULD HAVE DONE TO ME?!”
“But-but...” Apple Bloom spoke up, trying to defend Sweetie Belle. “We thought we had it all planned out, honest! 'n' it wasn't all Sweetie's fault, either! She said she thought it might be dangerous...”
“Who's idea was it?” Rainbow snarled at the three of them.
Scoot looked sadly into Dash's angry eyes. “It w-was... me...”
Rainbow Dash couldn't even remember the words she had yelled to that filly. Scootaloo was in tears again by the time she had finished. It was enough to snuff out her own anger, but...
Rainbow Dash started whack herself in the forehead with her hoof again. What if she had done mental damage to Scootaloo by not speaking calmly with her about the fire afterwards? She could not piece together the internal arguments necessary to dissect such a stupid lapse of judgement. Scoot was probably sitting on her bed right now, worried sick that Rainbow Dash hated her. And it was her fault.
Furious with herself, she allowed herself to drift back to her thoughts of that afternoon.
”We're going home, Sweetie. I am very disappointed in you!” Rarity said briskly, snatching her sister with levitation magic and carrying her away from the other two fillies, depositing her on the grass and dispelling the magic. “Get moving, missy!”
Sweetie Belle sighed heavily and threw a sad look back at her friends. Facing forward, she started to walk away with her head hung low near the ground. Rarity marched close behind her, looking back at Applejack and Dash herself and shaking her head in total exasperation.
“We're goin', too, Apple Bloom,” Applejack said. “The sleepover ain't happenin' tonight, I can tell ya that!”
“But—”
“'Buts' are for tannin'. Now, go sit on the grass over there with Scootaloo for a sec.” Applejack commanded.
Apple Bloom flinched and walked away from them, sitting where she was told. Rainbow gave Scoot a curt nod and the pegasus filly followed, ears still drooped.
“Can't believe 'em... jes' can't believe them Crusaders!” Applejack sighed, sweeping off her hat and sitting on the grass.
“Tell me about it!” Dash said, sitting down with her. “Wasn't happy I yelled at Scoots, but...” she shrugged. “Didn't really know what else to do. I still feel like I'm in shock, AJ!”
“I wouldn't be surprised, hun. You're the one who had to save them. What if you found 'em... like...” Applejack stopped speaking, holding a hoof to her eye. “I-I'm sorry. It's jes'... I thought, for a moment, that my baby sister went to Heaven with Ma and Pa. I... shucks,” Applejack said, slapping the stetson back on her head and wiping her eyes. “Dash, I love her so much...”
Rainbow had a cold feeling wash over her at Applejack's words. Once Applejack had finished, Rainbow spoke up. “I know, Applejack, I know... I dunno what I'd do if I lost Scoots... we haven't even been family for a month, but it feels like she's been my own blood since the beginning!”
Applejack continued to wipe her eyes. “Family is important, Dash... Sorry for almost breakin' down, there. Pa told me, before they left home for the last time... to take good care of Apple Bloom while they were away. When I got here and saw the clubhouse charred black 'n' smoulderin', I thought I had failed them...”
“It wouldn't be your fault. Not that that would make it any worse... augh, that was a stupid thing to say! Sorry, AJ...” Rainbow Dash said, brushing a few strands of crimson from her face.
“It's okay, hun!” Applejack said, smiling weakly. “Ya said nothin' wrong. So, how're you gonna deal with Scootaloo?”
“Uh...? I dunno yet!” Dash shrugged. “I still feel bad for yelling at her!”
“Y'all gotta be strict 'n' firm with 'em! Just think about what the three of them did today? They can't be puttin' themselves in danger like this!” Applejack explained, getting to her hooves.
“Yeah, but... what do I do?” Rainbow asked her, unsure where to go from here.
“That's not my place to tell ya, sugarcube. I can only give ya some advice. Know what I do? I punish Apple Bloom the same way my Pa woulda punished me at that age if the roles were reversed. I advise ya to do the same... punish Scootaloo the same way you would have been punished by your father,” Applejack said simply, turning to look back at the clubhouse. “If my pa was alive right now 'n' it was me who burned that clubhouse... he woulda told me what was comin' as soon as he got me home. After dinner, he woulda taken me out behind the barn, dragged by my ear if I was protestin', 'n' given me a switchin' over a cider barrel.”
“Yikes...” Rainbow Dash mumbled, frowning up at her.
“I know that's what Pa woulda done,” Applejack said, blinking away more tears, “'cause that's exactly what Pa did the last time that clubhouse caught fire.”
“... what?!” Rainbow gasped, looking quickly between the clubhouse and Applejack again. “That place caught fire twice? And it's still standing?! That is one mean clubhouse!”
“That clubhouse used to be mine. I was playin' with matches one day, and... yeah... So, that's what I'm gonna do when I take Apple Bloom home. I'll tell her what's comin' before dinner to give her time to face it. Lemme tell ya, I don't wanna, but it's gotta be done for her own good,” Applejack continued, closing her eyes and bowing her head.
Rainbow wanted to say something, but she knew Applejack wasn't done speaking. She gave her friend the time she needed to resist breaking down.
“W-when Apple Bloom was born, Pa planted a new apple tree in the orchard... said he c-couldn't wait for the day when he could sit under it with Bloom in his lap and help her read her first book... I'm g-gonna... I'm gonna get her to pull the switch from that tree. It's the only one she can r-reach and it's her f-favourite... I don't wanna hurt my baby sister, Rainbow Dash, but I don't want her to ever put herself in danger again... I only hope one day she'll thank me for it... she always a-asks me about her daddy...”
Rainbow looked sadly in Apple Bloom's direction. “I'm sure she'll understand. Good luck, AJ...”
Applejack swallowed hard, seeming to pull herself together. “Yep. Same to you, Rainbow. And... thank you again for my sister's life!” Applejack said, giving Dash a brief one-armed hug around the neck. “She's the most precious thing in my life. I'll do what I hafta in order to make sure she understands that the things they do for those silly cutie marks aren't worth the risk of losin' their lives.”
Rainbow Dash watched her walk over to the fillies on the grass. Applejack wrapped her hooves around Apple Bloom and hugged her for a moment before taking the filly by the hoof and walking her home. Scootaloo stood up and walked back over to Dash's side, head low.
“Alright, kiddo. Let's head home. You hungry, Scoots?” Dash asked, bending low on her hooves to allow Scootaloo to climb up on her back.
Scootaloo shrugged and obediently clambered on to Rainbow's back, moving just above her wings and wrapping her limbs around Rainbow's neck. Rainbow Dash threw out her wings and waited for the noisy, excited buzz of Scootaloo's wings, which she heard every single time she prepared to lift off with Scoot, but she didn't hear them this time. Scootaloo must still be scared from the fire, that's all, she thought.
“Listen... after dinner, Scoots, I'm sending you to your room, alright?” Rainbow said, fluttering into the air.
“Alright...” Scootaloo sighed from behind her head.
Rainbow was pacing back and forth again, staring at the floor. She knew, now, that she was on the right track. Instead of not knowing what to do, Rainbow Dash had one question burning in her mind: could she bring herself to do it? As she dwelled on this, another question sprang to mind: would it be justified?
“Punish Scootaloo the same way you would have been punished by your father.”
'Easier said than done, Applejack!' She knew exactly what her father would have done in this situation. Did she ever blame or hate her father for it? Of course not. She wasn't stupid, she knew why he had to do what he did. She was thankful for it. For all of it. However, would Scootaloo react the same way? Scootaloo wasn't stupid, either, but would she know why Rainbow Dash did it? Would she understand? Dash didn't know.
She shot her eyes ceiling-ward again, her mind buzzing. This was going to be hard. Very hard. Was this all part of being a parent, overcoming situations like this? What if she did the wrong thing? Rainbow walked out of the living room and into the hallway, stopping by the mirror near the kitchen to look at her own reflection.
Her hair was very dishevelled. Had she been running her hooves through it absentmindedly whenever she was lost in her thoughts and recollections? Her reflection lacked her trademark, confident smirk. Her mouth was almost straight, but the corners were bent down in a bit of a frown. She gave a tremendous sigh and looked into her own cerise eyes.
In her dejection, she bumped into the small table below the mirror. As she looked down at it, her eyes caught a single object and apprehension gurgled in her stomach. She reached down and picked it up, running her hooves along it as though she were inspecting it for imperfections on its surface. It was her hairbrush, and brushing out her frizzly mane was the last thing on her mind at that moment. Slipping her hoof through the little strap at the end, attached for easier hoof gripping, Dash stared down at it sadly, turning it over and studying the flat back of it.
“I must be out of my mind,” Dash said firmly, slipping her hoof out and dropping the brush back on the table.
She walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. Pausing at the fridge, she opened it and took out a carton of milk. Walking over to the sink, she picked a clean glass off of the dish rack, filled it up, and downed it in one. The cold milk felt wonderful on her throat, which had gone dry ever since she had stopped by the mirror. She returned the milk to the fridge and walked back to the sink, gazing out of the window.
“Well, Rainbow Dash... this sucks,” she told herself, throwing the window open and allowing the cool night breeze to breath through her hair.
She couldn't really say that she never thought a day like this would come along. She was sure the thought had occurred to her on the second or third day as Scoot's big sister. Heck, she knew it had crossed her mind when she rescued Scootaloo from going over the waterfall. But still.
'I don't think I'm the right pony to do it, even if I could bring myself to. I've already proved to myself that I'm not an expert at this.' Rainbow Dash told herself, drumming her hooves on the counter. 'What else have I screwed up as a mother? Oh, who am I kidding... I'm no mother. I can act like a big sister because I can get along well with Scootaloo and play with her and stuff, but I don't know how to be a mom. I feel like I'm too childish to even try to raise a child. Scootaloo's idea to start the fire, and what's my plan? Screaming at her in a rage and then putting her in her bedroom. I screwed this up...'
Rainbow buried her face in her hooves, leaning heavily against the counter with her elbows. Was she being too hard on herself? Maybe, but she couldn't deny that she made some mistakes today. And if following through with what was going through her mind was a mistake as well, she's going to risk spoiling her relationship with Scootaloo.
Yes, she could justify it. Scootaloo could have died. That was all the justification in the world, right there. But she would have to make sure the filly understood it. She would need to explain it properly. How was she going to teach her a lesson if Scoot didn't know why?
The original question swam hazily on the forefront of her brain. “Can I bring myself to do it?' That was not so easily answered. The fact of the matter was, she did not want to be the one to cause Scootaloo pain. She cared so much about that little girl, how could she possibly do anything to hurt her? And despite this train of thought, she was able to think about Applejack and Apple Bloom.
The orange mare's love for the yellow filly was so sincere, so powerful, so natural. She did not hold anything against her friend for whatever she had surely put poor Apple Bloom through by now. It would have been justified and done properly, completely out of love and necessity. A connection to their father that would be shared with his youngest daughter, all through love. A love she envied greatly.
Rainbow Dash glanced up at the clock over the stove when she heard it chime. Was it already 9 o'clock at night? She felt a nervous chill drip down her spine; Scootaloo's bedtime was in a half an hour. Had she been able to realize what she had to do earlier, she could have spared the poor filly a night of boredom. That was, of course, assuming she could have brought herself to do it. Even now, she wasn't sure she could.
“Y'know, for somepony who always told Fluttershy to be assertive, you're really passive, man...” Rainbow told herself, shaking her head. “But... ya gotta do it. You're all she's got, Dash. If you can't make the hard decisions, what's the good of ya?”
Well, she would have to try. It was as simple as that. She needed to talk to Scootaloo to see how she was doing anyway. She just had to grit her teeth and do it. It had been a horrible day, it was going to get a lot worse, but it was going to be a necessary evil. What if Scootaloo didn't learn from this? What if the fillies got themselves into danger again? Who's to say that Rainbow Dash would be able to save them next time? Scootaloo did something terrible and she would have to pay the pied piper, even if it destroyed Rainbow Dash to do it.