> Far Cries Of Hope > by Blueball-Blitz > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter 1 - Welcome Home > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Five years doesn't seem like too long when you think about it. For instance you might see yourself not changing so much in that time, but sometimes that little time away can do havoc to the world and the ponies around you. Rainbow Dash was one of those ponies who never really cared about anything more than friends, family and always aiming for the highest goals in life. Time didn't really matter so much to her, all she needed in life was purpose just like everypony or so she thought. For the past five years the pegasus had been away on active duty serving as one of the talented fliers known as the Wonderbolts to protect Equestria and the ponies she loved, but today she was coming home. Dash's rainbow mane flashed off Celestia's sun as she disembarked from the train at her home town, she smiled as she looked up to see the sign that was engraved into the stations banner which read the word 'Ponyville'. It was then that the steam from the train subsided as it left the station, the cyan mare looked over and smiled as she saw all her friends each with similar smiles waiting excitedly for her return. Of course Pinkie Pie was the first pony to notice the blue mares arrival and quickly leaped onto the rainbow mare as the pair fell to the floor in a fit of giggles. Pinkie smiled a mile wide as she said, "Hey Dashie I haven't seen you in forever!" she said excitedly as she squeezed her pegasus friend tight enough to squeeze her eyes out their sockets. Luckily for Rainbow Dash her friends came into to break up the death hug. Twilight Sparkle levitated both ponies away from each other in her purple aura before she turned to Dash and smiled, "Welcome home Rainbow!" she said happily as she hugged her old friend a bit more gentle than her previous encounter. Dash smiled as she looked at each and every one of her friends, she was astonished that they looked not a day older than when she had left them nearly five years ago. It was then that Rainbow noticed something, "hey guys, where's Scoots I thought she'd wanna come see her big sister after five years" she asked raising an eyebrow as she did so. Fluttershy was first to speak, "Well um she kinda um left" the pale yellow mare said in a quiet voice as she shied away slightly. Dash was slightly shocked by this sudden news, "woah left, what do you mean left?!" she said in a confused and slightly worried tone. Before any other pony could answer Applejack cut in, "well she said she had some problems and she didn't wanna us worryin none but she said she had to leave" the farm pony answered. Dash's mind was a blur, by her calculations Scootaloo was only just 17 years of age so why would she be in any sort of problem, the pegasus returned to her friends, "Well was there anything wrong with her?" she asked in hope that any of her friends would know anything about her missing sister. Rarity pondered as she put a hoof to her chin, "Sweetie Belle said it was something to do with finding a purpose, but besides that we know nothing else about it darling" the dressmaker said in a sad tone. Dash nodded, she knew she needed to go and find her little sister, but she didn't know where to start looking. Turning to her friends once again Dash looked to Twilight, "did she leave anything at all about where she was going or what she was doing?" she asked in a slightly worried tone. The lavender unicorn pondered for a few moments as she thought, then a light bulb went off in the purple mare’s head and a smile came to her face as she spoke, "well Scootaloo did leave a note for you for when you came back, maybe that has some answers" the unicorn replied with a hint of hope in her voice. Rainbow nodded in response and the 6 mares galloped off to the Golden Oaks Library hoping to find any information on the orange and purple pony. - A Few Moments Later - The red oak door to the famous library was surrounded by a purple aura before it was magically swung open as six ponies rushed into the library. Twilight dashed towards her desk in the corner of her living room where she wrote her friendship reports to the princess weekly. She opened a drawer at the side of the desk and levitated a note which was slightly worn and faded from its time away. Dash took the note and looked at the slightly faded words which spelled her name, she ripped the top of the letter of and pulled out the note from inside as she read. Dear Sis Hey Rainbow, if you're reading this then you probably know that I'm gone. Don't worry though I'm okay its just that there has been a few problems before you came back and well...I just needed some time away from all this I guess your little sister Scootaloo Dash kept reading over the slightly faded note and saw the crinkled parts of tearstains which marked certain parts of the note, she felt her own tears but blinked them away quickly as she glanced back down at the note. Dash knew Scootaloo and she knew that the orange filly she used to know would have left some sort of mark, she flipped the back of the note and saw a postal stamp on the back, she read the address and her eyes widened at what she saw. Just at that moment a Twilight spoke up bringing Dash back to reality, "So did you find anything Dash?" the purple mare asked curiously. Dash nodded, "yeah I did, but I think this is something she wanted me to do on my own" she replied as she took another glance at the note before safely putting it away in her saddlebags which she had yet to take off from her arrival to the town. Twilight nodded, "sure thing Dash, if theres any problems just let us know" the unicorn said with a smile, Dash nodded in approval before blasting out of the treehouse door blowing the slab of wood off its hinges as she shot off in the direction of her destination. Twilight sighed as she watched the blue spec leave the sky, Pinkie Pie sighed, "I hope everythings okay" she said as she kept looking on into the sky, Applejack smiled and put a hoof on her friends back as she said, "Don't you worry none sugarcube, I'm sure Dash will fix it" the orange mare replied confidently. The pink mare next to her smiled as she watched the spec leave the skies of ponyville as it blasted away from the town. - After a short while - The cyan mare powered through the skies of Equestria as she searched for her target, she soon saw the bustling city of Manehatten through the clouds in front of her as she flew over the big industrial city. She slightly worded the name of the address as she looked across various streets and avenues to find her location, it didn't take long for the mare to find it and she dived down towards one of the main streets of the city. She looked down an alleyway which had the street address plastered on a sign next to the alleyway. Dash gulped hard as she prepared for the worst to be found as she slowly started trotting down the alleyway leaving the bustling sound of the city streets behind. she came up to a door at the side of the alleyway which had the letters 'CMC' engraved onto the wooden surface which told Dash she was at the right spot. Breathing in a lungful of well needed air the cyan pegasus slowly leaned in and knocked on the door a few times before waiting for any sounds that came through the wooden entrance. After a few moments a voice spoke. "Just a sec" a raspy voice said as she started to hear hoofsteps from inside the apartment, Dash braced herself for what she would see. The mare heard a deadbolt unlock itself before the door creaked open slightly revealing one lavender coloured eye framed by its dark eyelids from their lack of sleep. "D-Dash is it really you?" the voice asked in a quiet yet hopeful tone, The cyan mare gave a smile and nodded happily before the lavender eye disappeared and the door closed again before the sound of more unlocking of locks could be heard before the flimsy door swung open to reveal the orange mare that Dash had been seeking for. Scootaloo stood at the doorstep of the apartment, though she seemed happy her features were a far cry from it, the bags under her eyes suggested a lack of sleep whilst her cracked lips and raspy voice suggested she hadn't drank in a while, all this information was worrying as Dash kept studying her little sister who was now her equal height and was wearing a pair of purple underwear and a hoodie to keep herself warm. Scootaloo smiled, "Dash!" she shouted before jumping on the mare with a gentle embrace, The cyan mare instantly felt the tears of joy on her neck as she hugged her sister tightly in return. The reunited sisters stayed like this for a while before Dash loosened the embrace so she could face her sister again as Scootaloo stepped back wiping a few strands of tears from her cheeks. Dash knew she had to start somewhere, "So um how have you been?" she asked before mentalling kicking herslef for her poor choice of words, Scootaloo was about to open her mouth before the sound of crying could be heard from the apartment behind them, Scootaloo sighed as she looked back into the home before turning back to her sister as she spoke, "Theres um something I need to show you Dash" the mare said as she ushered Dash into the apartment before closing the door quietly behind her. Dash looked around the apartment to see the pale walls and rough green carpet coupled with lightbulbs without shades and a makeshift living room that was linked next to the slightly dirty kitchen. She watched as Scootaloo trotted into a dark room at the end of the apartment and heard the loud crying come to a stop. The cyan mare trotted into the apartment and sat herself down on the couch as she looked around the empty house, 'how did she end up like this?' Dash thought to herself as she looked around the place in utter shock, just then Scootaloo came round the corner into the living room holding a bundle of wrapped blankets in her arms as she rocked it back and forth. She came over and sat down next to Dash as the cyan mare leaned over to get a closer look at the bundle, Scootaloo smiled and pulled down part of the blanket to reveal a cream coloured baby colt with a red mane. Dash's eyes became as large as saucers as she watched the baby babble before cuddling into the blankets as Scootaloo rocked him Dash felt her breath start to shudder as she spoke, "Scoots, who's that" she asked curiously. Scootaloo looked over to dash with a slightly blank expression as she spoke. "This Dash is Hope, he's my foal" > Chapter 2 - Finding out > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "This Dash is Hope, he's my foal" Dash blinked a few times as she came to terms with what she had just heard, "Wait this is yours Scootaloo?" Dash said, Scootaloo quickly shushed her and motioned to the now sleeping foal. Dash was shocked beyond words, but there was one thing that she did need to know, "h-how did this happen Scoots?" she asked in confusion. Scootaloo sighed, "This is a long story" she said getting up and trotting over to the crib at the far side of the living area, she gently laid the foal down before coming back over to Dash, the blue pegasus wrapped a comforting wing around her as she started her tale. "After you left the rest of the year was same old, we all had a good time as usual but of course it was never the same without you there, but I guess we all got used to not having you around after a while even if we didn't get the skies clear as fast on winter wrap as you could" she said as the the pair let out a light chuckle before Scootaloo continued the story. "Then the next year came around and thats when I moved into high school, thats when things went bad for me because when you go into high School you're already meant to have your special talent so you can be educated on it, but I never got mine" the mare said as she looked over to Dash with glazed eyes. She leaned down and pulled part of her underwear down revealing her bare flank. Dash was astonished at this, "you never got your cutie mark?" the older mare asked. Scootaloo shook her head, "Nope, I think it was something to do with flying since it was the only thing I couldn't do, thats why I wear these" she said with a slight annoyance in her voice. Scootaloo sighed, "So long story short high school for me was a waste of time, though Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom always told me to go so I went. Then after I turned 16 I met a colt named Firestorm, I never thought he would be interested in me but I was so happy when he asked if I could be his marefriend" she said in a happy tone as she smiled at the distant memories. Scootaloo continued, "We did everything together we talked, laughed, played, we went to clubs and parties and it was just like everything was finally turning up in my world" Scootaloo explained, her smile growing bigger as she remembered all the happy memories, but then as quick as it came the smile on her face faded being replaced with a more depressed look. Scootaloo looked down to the floor as she explained the next part of her tale, "but then we got drunk one night at a house party in Canterlot, a week later I found out I was pregnant after I went to the doctors for a routine check up" she said in a sad tone. Scootaloo's breathing hitched slightly as she continued "I decided just to go tell him straight, I thought what was the worst that could happen" she said as a lone tear made its way down her cheek. Scootaloo sniffled, "I never saw him after that" she said in a quiet tone before letting the tears fall, Rainbow wrapped both of her wings around the mare as they sat there on the couch whilst Scootaloo cried her eyes out. Still crying Scootaloo managed to get some words out, "I t-thought he was the o-one Dash" she said quietly as she continued to sob. Dash felt a silent tear etch its way down her cheek as she held her sister tightly, she was completely and utterly stunned by this news and she knew if she ever found that stallion he was going to wish he'd never been born. After a while Scootaloo calmed herself down before she spoke up again, "After that the fifth year rolled around and to my surprise the Ponyville orphanage was closed down something about lack of numbers, because I was sixteen at the time I was given the choice to either take residence in a city or town or go to the orphanage in trottingham, I still hadn't told a soul about my pregnancy, I couldn't face to tell anyone after what had happened so I saw this as a great opportunity to just be by myself, so I took residence here and a few months later I gave birth to Hope, I live off the benefits I get from the orphanage and from Celestia's child care program" the young mare finished as a few soft whimpers came from the crib at the end of the living room. Scootaloo got up and went back over to the crib. Dash was completely astonished by the story she had just been told, she couldn't even comprehend how all these events occurred whilst she was away, she reached up and wiped the lone tear on her cheek, she was going to make sure her sister got out of this one way or another, as Scootaloo came back over with the foal Dash spoke up, "Look Scoots you can't live like this, you need to get a job" the cyan mare said with a hint of worry. Scootaloo sighed, "I can't Dash, I'm not good at anything else besides my Scooter and I was never taught to fly so I don't even have a cutie mark plus I got zero qualifications at school so how's that supposed to help" she asked as she looked back down to the foal and held out a hoof for him to grab. Dash looked more determined now than ever, "Scoots what's your dream?" she asked plainly. Scootaloo didn't take too long to answer, "Joining the Wonderbolts of course" she replied. Dash got up off the couch and kneeled down in front of the younger mare before speaking, "first off we're going to go back to Ponyville, then I'm gonna teach you how to fly so you can have the life that my little sister deserves and the life that Hope needs to survive" Dash said before she stood up and held out a hoof. Scootaloo however was still hesitant about going back, "but what about Hope, I don't think I can tell anyone just yet" the orange mare said as she held the baby in her hooves close. Dash quickly glanced out the small window at the far side of the kitchen which showed darkness suggesting it was now night time, the multi coloured mare turned back to her sister and smiled, "we'll go now whilst its night time so no one will see you okay, come on Scoot my place is a thousand times better than this" she said with a smirk as she again reached out a forehoof to the younger mare. Scootaloo's eyes threatened to drop more tears as she took the hoof and stood up, she smiled and nodded, "Okay, I'll do it" she said with the same enthusiasm that Dash remembered the mare for. Dash smiled in return and the pair made their way out of the apartment, just before they left Scootaloo went over to another room in the apartment and came back with a certain item in her hoof as she made her way over to the cyan mare at the door. Dash raised an eyebrow, "what have you got there Scoot?" she asked curiously. Scootaloo smiled and held out her hoof to reveal a wonderbolts badge, it was the identical badge that Dash had given her on the day she had left nearly five years ago, the older mare was completely shocked. Scootaloo giggled slightly, "what you thought I would just throw it away?" she said. Dash shook her head playfully, "I knew I could trust you with my most precious item" she said happily, Scoots held her hoof outwards more motioning for the cyan mare to take it. Dash pushed the hoof back with a smile, she turned to open the door as she spoke, "thats yours for life now Scoot, you just keep it safe" she said with a wink. Scootaloo nodded and put the item safely in her wing as she went back to holding the foal in both hooves. Soon both mares were outside of the apartment and into the cold streets of the city, Dash looked up at the night sky and sighed happily, "well I guess we better get going" she said as she motioned for Scoots to sit on her back Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, "Don't you think I'm a bit too heavy now?" she asked. Dash smirked, "Kid I saved three Wonderbolts and Rarity by carrying them on my back, I think you and Hope will be just fine" she said flaring her wings ready for take off. "Come on then the Ponyville first class express leaves in 10 seconds flat" Dash said, Scootaloo shook her head playfully before she trotted over and clambered onto the rainbow mare's back and and secured herself and the foal to the cyan pegasus. Dash grinned before shooting off into the air as all three ponies blasted back to Ponyville under the cover of the night. > Chapter 3 - Stealth mode > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Light hoofsteps could be heard on a lone cloud just outside a small earth pony village in Equestria, a cyan mare peared over the edge of the fluffy mass as she scanned the area below for any signs of life, satisfied with the silence the mare looked back over towards her sister at the other end of the cloud with her foal tightly wrapped in her wings to keep the small pony from getting too cold from the night's breeze The cyan mare smiled, "All looks clear from down there now what's say we get you home Scoot" she said with a joyful tone as she scanned across the sky for the next available cloud before jumping over to it and motioning for Scoots to do the same, the orange mare sighed and put the foal securely on her back before jumping over onto the next cloud as they closed in on Rainbow's house Rainbow looked down again and saw the tall building in the center of town that was ironically named as town hall, the lights of the building were still operating, meaning there was probably a meeting taking place inside, Dash could only guess it was the town's weekly weather meeting. The rainbow maned mare then scanned the town to find the clock tower and gasped when she saw that it was only a few minutes before the meeting was supposed to end. Rainbow looked back at Scootaloo with a hint of worry, "we need to get moving" she said in a slightly panicked tone but still keeping it quiet enough to be a whisper. Scootaloo nodded, "okay,are you just gonna fly us over?" she asked Rainbow Dash shook her head, "I can't if I flew they'd hear me and I'm meant to be at that meeting right now" Dash retorted as she searched around frantically for the next cloud, she found another but it was a slightly larger jump, bracing herself the older mare pulled back slightly before jumping onto the next could as she was now directly above the town hall. Rainbow motioned for Scootaloo to make the jump the slightly younger mare was a bit hesitant about this, she took a few paces back before jumping onto the cloud she was about to make it when she suddenly began to drop.. Scootaloo quickly grabbed on to the edge of the cloud as Dash quickly made her way over to her. She felt Hope slipping down her back and gasped, she quickly reacted curling her tail up to catch the foal in its tight yet comforting embrace. Scootaloo and let out a sigh of relief as she glanced down to see that the little colt was okay. Dash looked over the edge and saw Scootaloo and Hope loosely hanging off the edge of the cloud threatening to drop down into town hall, Rainbow quickly leaned down and grabbed her sisters hoof as she pulled the orange mare and foal up and onto the cloud beneath them. Scootaloo looked at her foal and quickly held him close as she looked back over the edge of the cloud to think what might of been. Dash leaned over, "are you okay there squirt?" she asked hesitantly. Scootaloo looked over and nodded, "yeah I'm cool" she said leaning down to nuzzle the sleeping foals head gently whilst he slept. Dash smiled and looked around for another cloud before suddenly the sound of opening doors could be heard, the two ponies looked down and their eyes widened as they saw the towns people leaving the building as the bustle of chatter could be heard throughout the town. Rainbow took the opportunity and looked over to Scoot motioning her to sit on her back, the orange mare did so and Dash quickly shot up into the sky hoping that the noise of the towns chatter would be enough to haze out the sound of her flying as she sped off towards her house which was just on the outskirts of the village it didn't take them long to get to the humble cloud home floating in the air which hadn't been touched within five years since Dash had left. The sound of a door unlocking itself could be heard from inside the house before the cloud entrance was pushed open to reveal three ponies standing at the entrance of the home, Dash sighed happily as she looked around her humble abode to see that nothing had changed since she had last left it. She ushered Scoots and Hope in before closing the door silently behind them. Rainbow trotted over and switched on the lights as they flickered on to reveal the living area of the house which had a cloud shaped couch along with a coffee table and a few bits and pieces of things Dash had collected over the years the dust visible on nearly everything, the rainbow maned mare trotted through the living room happily as she relived the memories of the years she had spent in Ponyville before she had left. Scootaloo stood at the entrance in complete and utter awe as she glanced around the living area complete with its spiral staircase and doors leading into different rooms across the house, she smiled happily as she looked at all the photo's which adorned the walls of the home and saw a few of them were of her and Dash on days where the two of them had been out together. Dash turned back from the last room of the house pulling a crib out of the storage room. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at this,"Dash what are you doing with that?" she asked wondering why Rainbow Dash of all ponies cept a crib in her home. Dash pulled the crib into the living area before turning around to face the mare, "oh this, well I had nothing to put Tank to sleep in so Fluttershy gave me this, which reminds me I hope she took good care of him whilst I was away" she said as the mare pondered. Scootaloo looked over the crib to see it was just like any other, she took the sleeping foal from his secure spot in her tail and gently laid him down in the crib before tucking him in with a blanket, she smiled and leaned down to give him a soft kiss on the forehead before turning back to Dash who had watched the whole scene. The cyan mare smirked at her younger sister, "since when did you become all sappy?" she asked with a slight giggle. Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "since I became a mother" she replied flatly before walking over to the couch and laying down on it with a sigh. Dash gave her sister a quizzical look, "you're not sleeping on the couch are you?" she asked. Scootaloo turned a confused face to the mare, "why not?" she replied. Rainbow shook her head, "no Scoot my sister is gonna have a good night sleep tonight, you use my bed I'll take the couch" she said moving over to the cloud object. Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively, "na its all good and besides I don't wanna intrude" she said as she moved around on the couch to get more comfortable. Dash sighed annoyingly, "Scoots its fine okay just use my bed its much better than the couch" she said a bit more sternly than the last time. Scootaloo still protested, "I said its cool Dash" the mare argued Dash was going to reply when a thought came to her and a smirk tugged at her lips as she spoke, "you wanna do this the hard way, then lets do it the hard way!" she said before jumping on her younger sister in a fit of giggles as they wrestled on the couch. Soon enough Dash had Scootaloo pinned to the couch with a cyan feather ready to strike, "So are you going to take up my offer now?" she asked. Scootaloo still protested, "I said I'm finahahahaha" she was cut off when Dash started tickling her with the feather as she moved it around her exposed face, Scootaloo nearly cried from laughter but Dash didn't stop Scootaloo cried out, "Oaha okay I'll muhaha I'll go!" she said as she tried to squirm out of her sisters trap. Dash smiled and released the feather before getting off the cloud couch and letting Scootaloo walk over to the spiral steps leading up to the room before trotting upstairs to the bedroom. Dash sighed as she layed on the couch her mind still buzzing with recent events of the past day, she couldn't believe that all of this could happen in such a short space of time whilst she was away, she glanced over to the crib at the end of the living room she got up and silently trotted over to it. Rainbow peaked her head over the crib to see the sleeping colt wrapped in his blanket and snoring softly, Dash's mind began to wander as she thought about all the events that had led up to Hope and what it had cost her sister, her mind was locked and she knew that no matter how hard it was going to be she was going to teach her sister to fly, she also knew that she was partly doing it not because she felt sorry or because of her sister, she was doing it for Hope so he could live in a world with a family and never have to go through the same thing that Scoots did she could only think Sister felt the same way. It was then that sleep started to overcome the cyan mare after her hectic day and it wasn't a day she had expected at all, but at least now she could have some rest and sleep on her thoughts and besides it wasn't like it wouldn't be hard to teach Scootaloo to fly would it? The door to the master bedroom was swung open and an orange mare trudged into the room, she weaved in and out of clothes and assortments of boxes before landing onto the soft cloud bed in the middle of the room, Scootaloo sighed as she sank into the mattress, she started to think about what was going to happen now she was with Dash again. Scootaloo glanced down at her wings and sighed, she knew it would be hard to train and even more so to fly. Just then her mind drifted over to Hope, she smiled as she thought about the little colt and how much the foal meant to her, She wished she would be out of this mess soon, she'd been in it deep for many years now. Scootaloo let out a yawn before her eyes fluttered shut as she let go of reality to have the best night sleep that she had ever had in awhile. > Chapter 4 - Wake up call > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dash eyes slowly opened as she became aware of her surroundings, she glanced out the window to see the sun just rising above the cloud window, 'why am I awake at this time?' she thought to herself confused. It was then that the ear piercing cry of an infant reached Dash's ears, she quickly put her hooves to her ears as her head was racked with the vibrations of the screaming foal, she glanced over to the crib and saw an orange mare come down the spiral staircase to the crib, she leaned down and took the foal in her arms as she gently rocked him. Scootaloo glanced a look over to Dash as the foal calmed down and smiled, "Its okay Dash I've got it" she said as she made her way over to the saddlebags she had taken with her last night and pulled out a pack of baby formula and some milk before she headed into the kitchen with the foal still snuggled to her chest as she rocked him gently. Dash watched the mare go into the kitchen before lying back down on the couch as she tried to close her eyes and finish the rest of her sleep, however her brain denied her this and after a few moments of rolling around the cyan mare got up and looked towards the kitchen door, she sighed before she got up off the cloud couch and made her way towards the kitchen entrance. Dash opened the door and peered round the side of the cloud layer to see her sister waiting by the cooker playing with Hope as she cradled him in her arms, Dash wandered over to the pair still slightly sleep drunk, she trotted up to her sister's side as she took the bottle of formula off the cooker and gave it a small test before giving it to the foal who eagerly grabbed it before chugging down the contents of the bottle, Scootaloo smiled as she watched the colt drink. Dash leaned on the kitchen top as she spoke, "So you wanna start trainin today?" she asked in a hesitent tone. Scootaloo nodded, but her expression changed when she looked down at the foal, "Well yeah but who's gonna take care of Hope?" she asked curiously. Dash sighed, "Scoots I think now is the time that you gotta start letting ponies know so they can help you" she said knowingly. Scootaloo though wasn't budging, "its just to early yet sis" she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. Dash was stuck, she had to think of something, "tell you what, lets just take the foal to Fluttershy, she can be the only other pony to know and that means I can go see Tank too" the cyan mare said happily as she waitied for a reply. Scootaloo pondered for a few moments before responding, "Okay I'll do it" she said happily. Dash smiled, "great! now lets get going we've got a lot of training to get through today" the mare said as she trotted out of the kitchen Scootaloo sighed, she could already feel her wings aching as she put the empty milk bottle down on the counter before leaving the kitchen and following her sister out of the house. -A Few Moments Later- Dash and Scootaloo landed outside the peaceful cottage on the outskirts of town, some small creatures of all kinds surrounded the front garden as the two mares and foal walked through the small pathway to the front door of the humble home. Dash knocked lightly on the door and waited for it to open, after a few moments the door unlocked and a shy pegasus peaked her eye out to scan the area in front of her to find a cyan mare accompanied by an orange mare holding a wrapped up bundle in her hooves. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow as she opened the door wider to greet the two ponies Fluttershy smiled sheepishly, "h-hey um...Rainbow Dash and um.. S-Scootaloo?" said as she came to terms with the mare she saw standing on her doorstep. Scootaloo grinned as she saw the shy pegasus, "Hey Fluttershy, its been awhile" she said happily. The pale yellow mare nodded as she turned to Dash who had her trademark smirk plastered across her face, "hey Flutters, hows it hangin?" she asked the mare. Fluttershy pondered for a moment as she thought, she shrugged, "not very much, its getting late in the year and most of the animals are hibernating now" the pegasus said with a sad tone. Dash grinned, "well thats great cause me and Scoots need a favour from ya" the cyan mare said with excitement. Fluttershy's curiosity peaked, "what kinda favour?" she asked. Dash looked over to Scootaloo who hesitantly stepped forward with the tightly wrapped bundle, she motioned for Fluttershy to come over, when she did Scootaloo pulled down the blanket to reveal the foal. Fluttershy gasped before taking the foal off the orange mare as she held the little pony tightly, "Aww he's so cute" she said happily as she stared down at the babbling foal. Scootaloo smiled sheepishly as Dash continued, "Yeah well we need you to watch over him whilst I'm trainin Scoots for the day" she said as she rubbed the back of her neck hesitantly. Fluttershy looked up to the two mares and nodded happily, "I guess I can watch over him for a few hours" she said as she rocked the foal gently, Scootaloo smiled as she stood next to Fluttershy as she too watched over the little colt. Dash rolled her eyes, "Come on Scoots we need to go" she said motioning for the younger mare to follow. Scootaloo looked up to the cyan mare and nodded, "yeah coming Dash" she said as she made her way to her, but just then a cry came from the foal behind her making Scootaloo stop dead in her tracks. The mare turned around and went back over to the foal who was reaching out at his mother. It was then Scootaloo realised that she had never left Hope from the moment he was born, she sighed knowing he didn't want her to leave him and she felt the same way. The orange mare came back over to the foal to let him hold her hoof to which he held tightly to his chest, Dash sighed as she got slightly inpatient. Scootaloo closed her eyes in annoyance, she knew Dash was going to never stop talking about this. The young mare turned to Dash, "I'll meet you there Dash, this is gonna get sappy" she said knowingly. Dash was confused for a few moments before she worked out the situation, she smirked and nodded before taking off in the direction of the park. Scootaloo smiled and turned back to her foal, she leaned down and picked him up as she held him tight. Scootaloo leaned down and whispered softly in his ear, "Mummy's gonna be gone for a little while sweetie I promise I'll be back soon okay, Mummy loves you" she said giving the foal a kiss on the forehead before giving him back to Fluttershy who cradled the foal. Scoots turned to leave again when she heard a small whimper, she turned round to give her foal one last look, she smiled and winked at the foal, she was relieved when Hope smiled happily at the action and she turned round and began galloping off towards the park. Fluttershy watched the orange mare leave down the dirt trail before looking down at the foal, the little cream coloured colt played with his small hooves as Fluttershy cradled him. The yellow mare smiled and turned around and trotted back into the cottage closing the door gently behind her. > Chapter 5 - Training Starts > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo galloped across the many fields of ponyville as she came up to a cyan mare napping lazily on a cloud, Scootaloo spotted the rainbow coloured tail, she giggled knowing her older sister was napping and grinned evilly before speaking. Scootaloo breathed in before shouting, "Hey Dash I'm back!" causing the cyan mare to jump and nearly fall of the cloud she had been lying on, Scootaloo fell over in a fit of laughter whilst Dash turned around and gave an annoyed look to the younger mare below her before swiftly diving down to meet her younger sibling. Rainbow smiled, "There you are Scoots, thought you'd never show up" the mare said with a smirk Scootaloo rolled her eyes playfully as Dash let out a giggle of her own before continuing, "right lets get this thing goin, first I wanna see you do 100 wing press ups" Dash said as she revealed a whistle from her wing and blew on it loudly making the orange mare jump before starting her exercise. Scootaloo sighed as she got down into the first few press ups and she felt the stress already getting to her muscles, she decided to try and get away from the pain as she thought about what Hope was up to at this time... Fluttershy flew into the kitchen and set the cream coloured foal down on her kitchen table before she made her way over to the fridge to see what was available to eat. Fluttershy smiled as she found some of her emergency baby mixture at the back of the fridge, she leaned in and took the bowl of mixture out before setting it down on the table, but when she looked back up she realised the foal was gone. Fluttershy gasped in shock and instantly started her search for the missing pony, she quickly checked the entirety of the kitchen not finding a sign of the foal before moving into the living area of the house. Fluttershy saw her pet bunny angel currently lazing around on the couch in the living space, the pale yellow mare cantered over to the white bunny before speaking. "Angel bunny, have you seen a foal come past here?" the shy pegasus asked kindly as she leaned forward towards the small animal. The bunny looked up at the mare and pointed towards the slightly ajar door leading outside of the cottage, Fluttershy's eyes widened before she dashed off after the escaping foal that was currently crawling away from her house. The mare frantically looked around for the foal and was relieved when she saw Hope sitting on the grass watching all the creatures move around the garden. Fluttershy smiled and cantered over to him whilst saying, "you move very fast don't you little one" before she sat down next to the foal. It was then that Fluttershy began to wonder who's foal this was, she knew it wasn't Rainbows, but then she remembered Scootaloo whispering something to the foal before she left, it was then that Fluttershy looked down to see Hope and knew instantly who the mother was when she saw those large violet eyes looked around the place in wonder. Suddenly everything began to click with Fluttershy, she now knew why Scootaloo had ran off but she couldn't understand why she didn't tell anyone about the problem. Fluttershy sighed, she just hoped Dash would be able to help Scootaloo... ...Meanwhile Scootaloo could feel the sweat running off her forehead as she pressed up for the 100th and final time before collapsing in a heap on the ground below in a fit of heavy breathing as she let her wing muscles relax. Rainbow sighed as she looked over the orange mess on the ground, "well I guess thats okay for your first go, but next time we're gonna try for 1000" the cyan mare said as she watched her sister heave herself off the grass and wipe the sweat from her brow with a forehoof. Scootaloo sighed and nodded lazily, "yeah...sure" she said sarcastically, breathing heavily as she came down from her exercise Dash nodded happily, "well I guess thats us for today kid, lets go to Fluttershy's I wanna see Tank" the older mare said gleefully as she floated down to the ground and started trotting off with her younger sibling. Whilst the pair walked Dash couldn't help but not think about something that had been bugging her since she had heard about Scootaloo's troublesome years. The cyan mare gulped before speaking up, "So...Scoots I've been meaning to ask..what was Firestorm like?" she asked hesitantly as she looked over her shoulder towards the other mare. Scootaloo looked away from her older sister as she replied, "he was okay I guess, kinda thought I would be sharing my life with him...apparently not" she said with a sigh Dash nodded solemnly, but she still wanted some more information, "soo what did he look like?" she asked curiously as the pair continued to walk down the dirt path. Scootaloo pondered for a moment before speaking, "um...black coat, red mane... and yellow eyes" she said as she looked off into the sky thinking about distant memories. Dash again nodded, she wanted to leave it at that but she wanted to ask the vital question and it was something she didn't think her sister would be comfortable with answering Dash sighed as she made up her mind before she spoke, "Scoots...was there..you know a specific reason why he left you?" she asked hesitantly as they continued to trot. Scootaloo tensed up at this and held back from answering and instead pretended to ponder until luckily the cottage came into view. Scootaloo smiled as relief came over her, "Oh hey look there's Hope!" the orange mare said excitedly before galloping off to the small foal and the yellow mare accompanying him Dash let out a long sigh, the question could wait till later right now she had to focus on her little sister and her little nephew, the multi coloured mare smiled before galloping off after her sister towards the old cottage. > Chapter 6 - Telling the truth > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Scootaloo and Rainbow galloped towards their destination where two ponies were seated, the small foal in the grass turned around to see a familiar orange pony approaching and smiled and held out his hooves excitedly for her. Scootaloo smiled as she came up to Fluttershy and Hope; picking the foal up from the ground and hugging him tightly whilst the foal nuzzled her neck with a content smile. Scootaloo then took a chance to look around to see Fluttershy standing up and trotting over to Dash who had her usual smirk plastered across her face, she felt her cheeks burn instantly. Luckily, Fluttershy caught Dash's attention and the two mares went over to the small pond at the side of the old cottage where a small dark green tortoise was sitting, bathing in the afternoon sun. Dash smiled, "Hey Tank ya miss me!" she said picking up her pet, the tortoise slowly smiled and nodded as Dash gave her loyal old pet a quick nuzzle; making sure Scootaloo wasn't watching whilst she did. Soon afterwards all three ponies found themselves inside Fluttershy's humble abode. Scootaloo was sitting on the floor while she played with Hope. Dash was currently sitting on the couch next to Fluttershy whilst the pair talked. Fluttershy glanced over to Scootaloo; a question that had been lingering in the back of her mind about the previous events of the day came forth. She turned to face the orange mare before speaking, "so um...Scootaloo is this your colt?" she asked hesitantly as Dash too turned around to face the younger mare. Scootaloo nodded, "yeah he's mine" she said looking back down at Hope as he played with one of Pinkie Pies emergency rubber balls. The orange mare smiled as she ruffled the foals red mane, making him giggle. Fluttershy nodded as she went back to being silent again, Dash on the other hand was keen to try and pry more information from Scootaloo as to why she hadn't gone to anypony even her best friends to help her out. Dash braced herself for what might happen as she spoke up, "Scoots, can you tell me why you never told anypony, I mean there must have been another reason for not telling any other pony, even your best friends" Dash said as she awaited the mares reply. Scootaloo sat there for a few moments and did nothing but let out a long sigh as she thought about what she was going to say. Finally she spoke up, "I guess there was a few more things that might have stopped me from telling anypony," she said truthfully as she turned around to face her older sister. Dash leaned down and nodded, "okay what was the problem?" she asked. Scootaloo fumbled with her hooves as she mumbled something under her breath. Dash turned a confused look at the mare, "what was that Scoot?" she asked again leaning in closer. This time the orange mare mumbled something a bit louder, but Dash still couldn't work it out Dash sighed, "Come on kid just tell me what's-" Scootaloo cut her off, "I said I was scared alright!" she shouted towards the cyan mare making her jump slightly. The room fell silent for a few moments before the sound of whimpers could be heard. Scootaloo turned around to see her foal threatening to drop tears as he shielded himself away from the loud noise that had frightened him. Scootaloo gasped and instantly reacted picking the foal up and holding him close as she hushed the sobbing foal, who hugged her neck tightly in return. Dash was taken back slightly from the sudden outburst but knew from the start that it might have got slightly out of hand. Rainbow sighed and looked over to the mare cradling the foal as she spoke, "Sorry Scoots I guess I shouldn't have done that" she said sadly Scootaloo sighed, "no Dash its my fault I shouldn't have lashed out" she said quietly as she rocked the foal gently. Dash nodded understandingly before speaking up, "Well Scoots we all find stuff thats scarey, but that doesn't mean we hide it from everyone else" she said. Scootaloo and Fluttershy gave her confused looks. Dash grinned sheepishly, "okay maybe I do, but not about things as life changing as this, Scoots your a great um mother I can see that, but theres gonna be times when you need help and that time is right now and besides your friends need to know the real truth" she explained sincerely as she got up and trotted a short distance over to the mare as she rested a hoof on her shoulder. Dash smiled, "we will help you Scoots not just me but the whole town would if they knew, all you need to do is stop keeping this inside and just tell ponies the truth" the cyan mare said wholeheartedly. Scootaloo's breath shuddered as she weighed up her options, her mind was now at an all out war of hopes and doubts as she battled for a verdict. After a few very tense moments Scootaloo let out a long sigh as she finally came to an answer, "I-I'll do it" she said with a slight smile. Dash returned the smile and hugged the mare gently. Dash grinned, "I'm proud of you Scoots" she said as she held her sister close as silence overcame the cottage once again. After a few peaceful moments Fluttershy spoke, "So um..should we maybe go to Twilights ?" she asked curiously. Rainbow Dash nodded as she turned back to Scootaloo, "what do ya say sis, why don't we finally let everyone know?" she said with a smirk Scootaloo nodded happily and Dash released the comforting embrace as the three ponies made there way to the entrance of the cottage, Dash trotted next to Scootaloo as she placed a wing over the mare and the foal which she had put on her back who was now playing with the many cyan feathers that now surrounded his hooves. The three ponies trotted outside of the old house into the the afternoon world, the sun beginning its descent into the distance, Scootaloo sighed as she looked up at the sky she began to think if finally she was going to start fresh with her big sister and now her friends too.