> True Flight
>  by Dasponi
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> Chapter One; Dark Prelude
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Things had gone pretty well for Scootaloo over the past few weeks. The way she had been living for the past few years and her history had become known to those who loved her and, best of all, they still loved her. She had gained a surrogate mother and father in Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. Rainbow Dash had even gone on to adopt her and become her legal mother. Star Shine insisted he was demoted to simply being a big brother with weird and confusing feelings for her mother. In a way it was a good job that he never claimed to be Scootaloo’s dad. Scootaloo’s mother was long gone, as was her unborn foal. Depression had taken her after Scootaloo was given up and her body had just shut down on her. She never ate, she barely slept, she just didn’t want to live anymore. Scootaloo would never know it but her mother hadn’t given her up for selfish reasons. She had done it simply to protect Scootaloo from her father. She had always had Scootaloo’s best interests at heart. Just like her new mother; Rainbow Dash. Her father was a different story altogether. All the bad things that Scootaloo thought about him were very true. As was most of what Diamond Tiara had told her about him. 

He had loved Scootaloo at first. What parent wouldn’t love their child? To look into their tiny eyes and feel all the hope and wonder. To imagine what they would become when they were older. To think about what it would be like to raise them. Scootaloo could have become a great flyer. She could have joined the royal guards. It was hard to tell because of the armor but there was the odd female guard. Equestria was a very equal place after all. All the element bearers were female and no one was going to question their capacity. Not unless they wanted to be blasted with a hearty dose of harmony, which is a lot more powerful than most ponies realise. Scootaloo didn’t even have to have some kind of grand life. She could become a simple flight instructor, or work in the weather factory. Not everypony is the most important pony in the universe. All she had to do was fly.

Unfortunately it soon became apparent that she couldn’t. No matter what he tried, her father just couldn’t get her to fly. When he started the lessons he had been so happy that she was old enough to try to fly. He really did try his hardest. Then he became angry and frustrated when she failed to understand simple concepts. It was like she had no instincts or something. That was the case, but there was no way to know that for him. He saw her as a failure. An insult to his pride even. He, a mighty Pegasus stallion, had birthed a stupid chicken who couldn’t fly. That’s when his methods became a little more...extreme. She would fly, or she would die. It was the kindest thing to do. Nopony wanted to deal with a Pegasus that couldn’t fly. Then there was the incident. The time that she broke her legs. It wasn’t his fault. If she had just bloody flown then she wouldn’t have hit the ground. That excuse didn’t sit well with her mother. She was a Unicorn. She just didn’t get it. What it was like to have such an insult to your legacy right in front of your face. 

Scootaloo’s mother calmed down over time and the relationship continued. Eventually she fell pregnant again. That’s when he had got an idea. A brilliant idea. To give up the little chicken. To try again with the new foal. After much coaxing Scootaloo’s mother agreed to give her up. She knew what her husband was like and in the end, felt that maybe it was for the best. That’s when the depression had hit. Her body couldn’t take the stress of the unborn foal, and she lost it. She barely held on but she made it through the next few years. That was, until the day that the letter from the orphanage arrived. The letter that told them both that Scootaloo, their little girl, was presumed dead. She had ran away from the orphanage and made it all the way to the Everfree Forest. They cried out for her to stop before she entered but she didn’t listen and they didn’t catch her in time. They braved going in a little to try and find her but they never did. After a while she was declared missing and presumed dead. After she never turned back up for a few years, she was officially declared dead. Her mother had left her father after the first letter. She blamed him more than she blamed the orphanage. It was after the second letter that she had completely shut down and eventually perished. She had lost two children in her life and she just couldn’t take it. 

Her father had continued to live. He continued to resent Scootaloo and everything that she had done to him. He drank most of his days away and had spent more than his fair share of time in a jail cell as a result. He often wondered why he was still alive. Maybe his hatred was the only thing keeping him going. His hatred for a daughter who had let him down and, in his mind, cost him his wife and unborn child. Twisted, violent and drunk was hardly a good combination in anypony’s book. He felt barely anything but bitterness and resentment. Resentment towards a pony that was long since dead and out of his reach.

Imagine his surprise when he got one more letter from the orphanage. A letter telling him that not only was his daughter alive, but that she had even been adopted. The little chicken, the bane of his existence, was alive. 

Alive and living in a small town called Ponyville. He knew the place. It was only a few hours away from Canterlot. His old home. He had moved far away over time. The letter was dated about a week ago, and it would take him a week to get there. He could have his revenge on the little whelp that had ruined his life. 

He scraped together the money that he hadn’t spent on alcohol and dragged his flank to the train station. He bought a ticket to Ponyville. To his daughter. To this Rainbow Dash who had adopted her. He smiled to himself as he imagined what he was going to do Scootaloo. It was the first time he had smiled in a long, long time.
> Chapter Two; Returns
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Today was going to be a pretty awesome day. Of that Scootaloo was sure. Star Shine had sent a letter ahead of himself saying that he had finished his business in Canterlot and would be home the next day. He’d actually finished a bit ahead of schedule too. He was “just that good” in his own words. Rainbow Dash was pretty happy about his return too. She hadn’t really caught his hint a few weeks ago that she could, and should, come up with any and every excuse for him to pop back to Ponyville. As such, it had been a few weeks since either of them had seen him. Scootaloo was still wearing her brace. Star Shine had come up with the pretty smart idea of telling her to keep wearing it so that when he came back, she was quite a speedy flyer. She wasn’t too interested in doing that at first until Rainbow Dash had chimed in. She wanted Scootaloo to keep wearing the brace too, for Star Shine’s sake. She had told Scootaloo that if she had continued to wear it then she would get faster quicker and would be able to keep up with her sooner. Scootaloo had relished at the chance to be able to keep up with Rainbow Dash and kept it on. It was almost drained of power so they’d get their answers about her condition soon. Perhaps even by the end of the day if she did a fair amount of flying. It was a fine Saturday morning when Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo found themselves at the train station and waiting for him to return. 

“When’s his train comin’ mom?” Scootaloo asked Rainbow Dash. She was getting pretty used to calling Rainbow Dash “mom” and the magic was wearing off. She still smiled a little every time she said it. She had a mom. The greatest mom in Equestria. Rainbow Dash smiled herself and looked at the clock.

“In just a few more minutes…” she said as she noted the time. A train whistle blew in the distance and Scootaloo jumped up and down as she saw the train approach. Rainbow Dash giggled at the display as the train came into the station and stopped. Ponies unloaded from the train and while there were a lot of ponies, it looked like Star Shine was nowhere to be found. Scootaloo ran across the platform to try and find him but he wasn’t there amongst the crowd. She went back to Rainbow Dash as the crowd dispersed and it looked like he really wasn’t there. Rainbow Dash was looking around herself. Both of them were so busy looking that they didn’t notice the dark blue Pegasus colt that landed next to them.

“So...who are we waiting for?” Star Shine, for it was he, said to Rainbow Dash. 

“Star Shine, he’s due back today.” Rainbow Dash replied automatically. She wasn’t really paying attention so she didn’t recognise the voice, and she didn’t bother turning to see who talked to her. 

“That handsome devil? He flew out the train. Wanted to surprise you.” Star Shine replied, stifling a laugh. Rainbow Dash turned around and her eyes lit up when she realised it was him. “Surprise!” he called out when it finally clicked in Rainbow Dash’s brain. Scootaloo turned around at that. She jumped onto Rainbow Dash’s back and used her as a stepping stone to jump and wrap her forelegs around Star Shine’s neck in a tight hug. 

“You flew out the train? Why’d you do that?” Rainbow Dash asked as she hugged him too. Star Shine smiled and nuzzled against them both. 

“There was a drunk guy on there. It got a bit too annoying and so I thought I’d hop out early and surprise you guys. Come on, let’s go home and I’ll tell you all about it.” Star Shine replied. There was still a small crowd around them and Star Shine was looking forward to getting home. He never was very good with crowds. “How’s your flying?” Star Shine asked Scootaloo as they separated. Scootaloo flapped her wings and hovered in the air. 

“I’m doing pretty good. I’ll be as fast as you soon.” Scootaloo teased as she went higher into the air. 

“You’ve been around Dashie too long.” Star Shine laughed as he took off after her. 

“Hey what’s that supposed to mean?!” Rainbow Dash called out as she took off after them both. Star Shine laughed as he played games with both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Scootaloo was having a mock race with him and Rainbow Dash was trying to catch him to attack him. He would catch up to Scootaloo and then have to duck out of the way as Rainbow Dash came at him. All three of them also couldn't help but laugh. Rainbow Dash stopped trying to get Star Shine in the interests of a play fight and it became a matter of her trying to stall him so that Scootaloo would win the race back to the house. When she first started flying she couldn't move very well but a week's worth of lessons with Star Shine in Canterlot and then a few weeks with Rainbow Dash had definitely helped. She was nowhere near Star Shine or Rainbow Dash in terms of speed or ability but she was getting along quite well. Soon she'd be as far along as a filly would be at her age. After that she could move past that and become better than she should be. Not bad for a little pony who never thought she could fly and had only been flying for a few weeks. 

Back at the train station the crowd had almost completely dispersed. There were only a few ponies left now. Most of them were waiting either for the next train, or for a loved one that was supposed to meet them. One of them was waiting simply because he had no clue where to go next. Grey Feather was his name. He had been named after his dark grey coat. Now there was also grey strands in his once light green mane and tail. His mane was a little long and dishevelled these days. He'd never really taken care of himself much. He had three feathers arranged like a fan for a cutie mark. In a way the things in his life had come and even gone in threes. There were originally three members of his family and when the fourth one came along, they lost one. He even lost the other two over time. Nowadays he mostly drank in threes and saw three of things. He'd sobered up quite a lot on the journey over to Ponyville. He had drank a lot on the train and eventually they had stopped serving him more cider in the hopes he might be less of a nuisance when sober. He stopped arguing with passengers when they threatened to kick him out of the train if he kept it up. He still saw a blue colt Pegasus fly out of a door after becoming too irritated. This was the pony that Star Shine had mentioned to Rainbow Dash and he was, of course, Scootaloo's dad. Grey Feather looked around to find somepony to ask for directions. He had absolutely no idea who Rainbow Dash was and didn't realise that just about anypony he asked would be able to tell him where Rainbow Dash lived. His eyes found a pure white Unicorn with a purple curled mane and tail. He wasn't sure if she knew where Rainbow Dash was. She just looked very beautiful to him. She even reminded him a little of Scootaloo's mother. If his mind wasn't so focused on Scootaloo he might have tried something with her. As it was, he just casually approached Rarity like he knew exactly what he was doing. In a way, he did. 

“'Scuse me miss, but I don't suppose you could tell me where a Rainbow Dash lives could you?” Grey Feather asked Rarity. She turned up her nose at him before she could consider her reaction. He was quite odorous. He was smiling at her too and something about his smile unsettled Rarity. Still, help was needed and she could hardly ignore a pony in need. 

“Rainbow Dash? Whatever do you want with her?” Rarity asked. She'd learned a lesson or two about simply telling everything she knew immediately. Plus this was her friend. She was hardly about to send danger to her friend. Grey Feather's smile grew wider and unnerved Rarity even more. It was partly because Rarity obviously knew who Rainbow Dash was and where to find her, and also because she sounded like she was from Canterlot. She reminded Grey Feather of Scootaloo's mother even more. Perhaps after he was done with Scootaloo he could go and celebrate with this fine mare. His mind was still focused on the task. He found he had an odd level of sharpness in his sobriety. It had been just that long since he'd been this sober for this long. 

“I got a letter from the orphanage you see. I hear she's adopted my little Scootaloo and until now, I thought she wasn't alive anymore. I just want to see my little girl again, that's all.” Grey Feather explained. Work them with emotion, play with their heartstrings. Having a dead daughter had gotten him out of trouble before. Ponies tended to cut him a little slack when they found out about his past. There was just one tiny problem; Rarity, like most of Ponyville, knew the real truth about his past and missing daughter. 

“You're...you're Scootaloo's father?” Rarity asked, her eyes wide. She backed away a little which confused Grey Feather. Why would she react like that? Had the brat told ponies about him? There was no way that could be true or he'd have never gotten that letter in the first place. 

“Please, I just want to see my little girl.” Grey Feather pleaded. He almost looked like he was crying. Rarity would have fallen for it if she didn't know all about him. 

“Little girl? She's better off well away from you! I'll never tell you where she is! How dare you show your face again after everything you did to her?!” Rarity shouted at him. Grey Feather's face fell as he dropped the charade. They knew. Or at least this Unicorn did. So much for his plans for her later. He sighed and snapped his wings out wide. “What...what are you doing?” Rarity asked nervously as Grey Feather approached her. She didn't like the look in his eyes and the way he had just stopped pretending. If she wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know, then Grey Feather was going to make her talk. He pounced on Rarity and dragged her high up in the air while she screamed. He stopped ascending when he thought that they were high enough. 

“I'll ask you again; Where is Rainbow Dash? Tell me now or I'll drop you.” Grey Feather threatened, lifting Rarity up so he could look her in the eyes. She looked positively terrified. Good. She was also crying out of sheer fright and worry. She looked down and gulped. There were barely any ponies below them and it looked like none of them had really noticed what had happened. Even if they did none of them were Pegasi. The main population of Ponyville was Earth Ponies. She was alone. In the sky. With a mad pony. She didn't have a choice. 

“She...she must be with Scootaloo and Star Shine. I came to see if I could meet him but I guess I missed him. They'll be on their way home, I guess.” Rarity said quietly. 

“And where does she live?!” Grey Feather hissed. His eyes were wide with insanity. Rarity couldn't bear to look at them and she didn't want to look down. She'd had her fair share of bad experiences in the sky and falling. Rainbow Dash wasn't around to catch her this time like the time at the Best Young Fliers competition. She settled for looking off to the side. 

“It's a large cloud house, on the outskirts of town. You can't miss it.” Rarity said dejectedly. She'd sold out her friend. It being for her own safety didn't soften the blow much. She hoped he didn't ask her to point it out. Luckily for Rarity he didn't. Instead he flew them back down to the ground and dropped Rarity off. She didn't know it but he'd actually have never been able to hurt her. Other ponies, maybe, but not her. She reminded him too much of Scootaloo's mother. It might have just saved her life. Grey Feather flew off without another word and flew back up high to see out as far as he could. Rarity ran to Twilight's house as fast as she could.

“Oh forgive me Rainbow Dash. I'm so sorry.” she said quietly to herself as she ran, still crying and shaking a little. What she had unleashed on her friend was going to weigh on her mind for a while. 
> Chapter Three; Falling Stars
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Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash, and Star Shine landed safely outside Rainbow Dash's house. That was also the order they arrived in with Scootaloo winning the mock race. Rainbow Dash had given up trying to stop Star Shine when they got close and it became apparent he'd let Scootaloo win anyway. She had then settled on trying to get second place which was pretty easy for her. It was not zipping past Scootaloo by accident that proved to be the hard part. Scootaloo let out a small cry when Star Shine made an attempt to enter the house.

“Hmmm? Am I not allowed in?” Star Shine asked, turning to face Scootaloo. She shied away a little, thinking she had been chastised. She was also just slightly embarrassed by her reasons for wanting Star Shine to stay outside.

“I...just wanted to fly around a little more.” Scootaloo said, rubbing her foreleg sheepishly. Star Shine laughed and opened the door.

“Oh don't worry. I've been sat in a train for a while and want to stretch my legs, so to speak. I'll be out again in just a second. Why don't you fly around a little bit more with Rainbow Dash?” Star Shine replied. 

“I wonder what's up with him.” Scootaloo mused. 

“Probably just wants a drink or something. Come on, I'll race you to the other side of the house.” Rainbow Dash replied. She crouched low and shook herself a little, preparing to take off. Scootaloo jumped next to her and crouched down too. She had no way of winning but it sure would be fun to have a race with Rainbow Dash. Just flying with her had already proved to be excellent. Before they took off Rainbow Dash suddenly remembered something. She ran to the door of the house and poked her head inside.”Oh, before I forget, a letter came for you a few days ago. I left it on the table for you.” she called to Star Shine. He was stood by the kitchen door with a wet muzzle as he had indeed wanted a drink. She shut the door before he had a chance to respond and went back to the starting position where Scootaloo was. 

“Three...” Scootaloo started.

“Two...” Rainbow Dash continued. They both said “One!” together and quickly took off. Back inside the house Star Shine approached the table in the living room. There was indeed a letter on it, addressed to him too. He had sent a letter from Canterlot to a friend he had in Trottingham (he really does have friends all over Equestria) asking them to send a few more of his personal belongings to Rainbow Dash's house. It seemed he was here for the long run and there were a few things left behind. He opened up the letter and a picture fell out of it. He had told Scootaloo a bit of a half truth. The brace really was the last thing that his parents had given to him, but it wasn't all he had left of them. He also had this single solitary photograph. It was actually taken the day they died. The reminder and the questions he would be asked if it was seen was why he had chosen to leave it at home. Rainbow Dash's house was his home now. In the picture was his mother and father. They had their heads together and he was resting on top of their heads, spread out across both of them. All three of them were smiling, totally oblivious to the disaster that would occur later that day. Star Shine closed his eyes and a tear fell from one as he couldn't help but remember that day. 

Things had been going really well that day. There was a huge celebration in Cloudsdale to celebrate the anniversary of the town's founding. Cloudsdale had been founded after Ponyville. Star Shine's mother was a Unicorn but she was allowed to join in the festivities. She had married a Pegasus colt, had a Pegasus child, and could do the Cloud Walking spell. She was more than welcome there. If she needed help getting from one place to another then her faithful husband would have given her a lift. Star Shine's mother was a light pink Unicorn with a blonde and red two tone mane and tail. Both were slightly curved at the end. Star Shine's father had a light ginger coat with a brown and white straight mane and tail. A tiny little Star Shine was ever-present between the two of them, brace and all. He was flying a little at this stage but not very well. A lot of research had gone into making his brace and it had taken a while to make. He and his parents had gone from stall to stall and game to game. They had taken in as many sights and sounds as they could. This was how and why it had happened. They had gotten so caught up in the festivities and fun of the occasion that it had completely slipped their minds that the Cloud Walking spell would wear out. It was made for short journeys and lasted a few hours at best. Star Shine and his parents had been in Cloudsdale for quite a lot longer than a few hours. Star Shine still remembered what happened clear as day. His mother's Cloud Walking spell had failed and she had fallen through the cloud layer. It took his father a second to react. That second cost both of them their lives. His father had dove through the cloud as quickly as he could and sped towards his mother. Star Shine, all care abandoned, had jumped down after them both. He wanted to save his mum and dad. What child wouldn't? 

His father had flown as quickly as he could but it wasn't quite fast enough. He was too determined to stop and save himself when it became obvious he wouldn't make it. He didn't pull out of his dive in time and hit the ground shortly after his wife. Both of them died immediately on impact. Star Shine himself was right behind them both. He was flying so hard he actually drained the brace of all of it's power. It had a limited amount of power and so it would last much less time when used by a powerful Pegasus. He had been so determined to reach his parents, to save them, that he had begun to break through and much more of his inner natural Pegasus magic was slipping out. It was almost hitting the ground that had really brought it all out. He saw the ground coming towards him and could also see the mangled bloody mess his parents had become. He didn't want that for himself. He flapped as hard as he could to stay away from the ground. When he was about fifty feet away from the ground, and still going way too fast, he felt something in his body change. His eyes flashed white for just a split second and everything in his body called for him to give one last powerful flap of his wings and then spread them wide. His body had never told him how to fly before. He'd never had that flying instinct as it's loss was a part of Vacuus Medeis. He did what his body told him and managed to come to a screeching halt in the air just above the bodies of his parents. He dropped down to the ground next to them and collapsed to the ground. His energy was spent. He cried to himself and blacked out. He was found a few hours later and taken to the Cloudsdale orphanage. When the authorities investigated the deaths and tried to find out if Star Shine had any relatives he could be left with, the photograph that he was now looking down at in the present was found. They had carried on enjoying everything happening while the photo developed. Star Shine was found wearing the brace and had been allowed to keep it. He was later given the photograph. They were more than just the only mementos he had of his parents; they were the only two things in the world he possessed at that time. 

Back in the present, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were having their race to the other side of the house. Rainbow Dash was going at a much slower pace to let Scootaloo feel good about herself. They arched over the house and as they were descending towards the cloud layer something went wrong. Scootaloo was heading down to the layer when she felt it. Or rather, stopped feeling it. She felt absolutely nothing from her wings. When she flapped them it was like it was before she was flying. She felt the air move around them, but there was no give to it. Her wings were just moving through the air and not propelling her at all. She let out a small scream as she realised she was about to crash land. Rainbow Dash tried to grab her out of the air when it seemed something was wrong but she missed. Thankfully they were heading for the cloud layer and Scootaloo had a very soft landing. Rainbow Dash was next to her immediately.

“Scoots? What's wrong? What happened up there?” Rainbow Dash asked quickly, panicking and checking Scootaloo for injuries. Scootaloo looked back at her wings and frowned.

“I don't know, something just feels wrong. It's like I can't fly or something.” Scootaloo replied. She slipped out of the brace to get a better look at it. She wasn't entirely sure why she did that. Even if the brace was broken then why would that mean that she couldn't fly? A very, very tiny part of her mind had long since accepted that she could never fly. It was a part of herself that she never listened to. Enough of it was there to feel that maybe the brace had been helping more than Star Shine had let on. Rainbow Dash sighed. This was a conversation that she had wanted to hold off for as long as she possibly could. It was one she also hoped she never had to have. She hoped against hope that Scootaloo would be able to fly. It seemed that maybe she couldn't and some explanations were in order. 

“Scoots...there's something I kinda need to tell you.” Rainbow Dash said, fidgeting nervously. Scootaloo liked neither the tone of her voice or the way Rainbow Dash was looking at everything but her. Something was wrong here. “You see...” Rainbow Dash began, moving closer to Scootaloo. She was ready to hug her at a moment's notice. She never did get to explain Vacuus Medeis. Or even hug Scootaloo. Suddenly Rainbow Dash let out a cry of pain and was about ten feet above where she was before. Scootaloo looked up in worry and saw that there was something below Rainbow Dash. All the repression in the world couldn't burn that image out of Scootaloo's head. She recognised those three feathers, arranged into the shape of a fan. She hadn't seen him in years but she'd recognise her real dad anywhere. He had flown up through the cloud layer at speed and taken Rainbow Dash with him. 

“Damn, I missed.” Grey Feather commented drily. He'd been aiming for Scootaloo. He'd seen them from a distance but had only seen Scootaloo fall. He hadn't seen her fly at all and thought that Rainbow Dash was just trying to teach her to fly by dropping her. She'd even failed to catch her and done something that Grey Feather had dreamed of doing every flight lesson. He really had just wanted to “accidentally” miss her. Grey Feather threw Rainbow Dash up a little and moved to the side to allow her to drop. She was completely unresponsive; unconscious. Scootaloo watched in horror as Rainbow Dash fell down and continued to fall down through the hole that Grey Feather had made. Down towards the ground. 

“NO! RAINBOW DASH! STAR SHINE, HELP!” Scootaloo cried out. She shook her head and jumped through the hole after Rainbow Dash instead of waiting for Star Shine. She'd had her happiness taken away once. She'd lost her mother once. She wasn't going to let that happen again. She had a fear of falling but none of that mattered right now. Rainbow Dash needed her.

“That's right Chicken.” Grey Feather called out, laughing. Scootaloo had done his work for him. “Fall! Fall to your death and end your worthless little life!” Star Shine ran out the back door when he heard Scootaloo call but he'd still missed her. He looked around when he couldn't see either Scootaloo or Rainbow Dash. He looked up to see if they were In the sky but could only see Grey Feather, still laughing. Grey Feather was laughing so hard he didn't even notice Star Shine. Star Shine looked around more to see what was going on and his eyes came back down to the cloud layer. That's when he saw the brace was there. Next to a hole in the cloud. 

“Oh sweet Celestia no...” Star Shine whispered to himself. His brain went into overdrive and he dived down through the cloud after both Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. 
> Chapter Four; True Flight (I'm Lazy)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootaloo sped down towards Rainbow Dash. She flapped her wings as hard as she could in the hope of increasing her speed a little. She still felt little give in them, but she didn't care at this point anymore. Every little helped and she definitely needed help. Scootaloo tried her best to make herself fall faster and faster. She was filled with so much adrenaline the world seemed to slow down around her. Rainbow Dash was still falling. Scootaloo had no idea how but he was back. Her dad was back and now he'd done this. He'd tried to take her happiness away again and Scootaloo wasn't going to let that happen. She was happy now. She had even begun to forget about the old pain. Scootaloo shook her head to clear her thoughts. She could worry about how and why her dad was back later. What mattered most now was that she needed to help Rainbow Dash. She needed to drop faster than Rainbow Dash and end up underneath her somehow. She couldn't grab and support Rainbow Dash's weight but perhaps she could get underneath and push up to slow her down. Or try and glide and slow down her descent that way. Scootaloo narrowed her eyes and focused even more on reaching Rainbow Dash.

By sheer luck or fate she did it. She managed to slip past Rainbow Dash and end up underneath her. Scootaloo shifted her body so that she was supporting Rainbow Dash with her head and had room to spread her wings. She spread her wings and moved them so that she would be gliding. She felt the wind hit her wings and stay there at last but it didn't have any effect on their speed. Rainbow Dash was just too heavy for it to help much. That effort failed so Scootaloo was left with no choice but to try flying and to push herself upwards. She flapped her wings as hard as she could. She tried and tried and tried and strained herself with effort. 

Nothing happened. Her wings weren't working for some reason. Scootaloo shifted and held Rainbow Dash up with her forelegs. She looked back at her wings in panic. Why weren't they working? Why wasn't she flying? Rainbow Dash was about to say something to her when she was attacked. When Scootaloo was looking back she saw just how quickly they were approaching the ground and how far away it was. It was looking bad for her and Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo looked back up at Rainbow Dash and started to cry. Despite how badly she was hurt Rainbow Dash looked incredibly peaceful. She looked like she was sleeping; completely unaware of the death that was fast approaching her. Completely unaware of the danger that she and Scootaloo were in. 

“I'm sorry Rainbow. I'm so, so sorry.” Scootaloo whispered, hugging Rainbow Dash as tightly as she could. “I really, really tried.” she added. She was still flapping her wings, hoping against hope that something would happen. The mind does strange things when death is fast approaching. Scootaloo's found itself going back to that day over a month ago now. It was the day that she had given up and gone to Ghastly Gorge. She had wanted to die and Rainbow Dash had saved her life. Now Scootaloo couldn't return the favour and Rainbow Dash couldn't help her again. Star Shine was on his way towards them but Scootaloo didn't know that. It was just her and Rainbow Dash. Star Shine was moving as quickly as he could but even he was worried that he wouldn't make it in time. He was freaking out a little himself and remembering what happened to his parents and hoping it wasn't about to happen again. Scootaloo's memories continued to shift. She remembered all the time that she and Rainbow Dash and Star Shine had spent together after that moment. Her life had changed drastically after Rainbow Dash had saved her. She had a house and a home. Scootaloo's body, especially her wings, started to tingle as she realised something. Scootaloo had done more than save her life that day. She had given her a life. She had provided for her and made her happy. Her mind raced as she remembered all the fun times that she had with Rainbow Dash, both before and after the incident. Rainbow Dash really had done more than save her life; She had given her one. Along with Star Shine, she had given her a reason to live. 

“NO!” Scootaloo screamed. She had flown before and by Celestia she was going to do it again. She didn't care if she could fly or not. She didn't care about everything that her dad had done. The only thing she cared about at that moment was flying. Not for herself, but to save herself and most of all, to save Rainbow Dash. “NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!” Scootaloo continued to scream as she flapped her wings as hard as she could. She let out another scream as there was a sudden pain in her head and her eyes didn't just flash white, but they stayed white. A sudden outburst of magic like that was bound to hurt anypony. Star Shine hadn't felt that because his magic had come out at a steady pace until right before the end and there wasn't much left at that point. Scootaloo had no such luck. She convulsed as her body was wracked with pain and she fought through it. The pain passed and Scootaloo could tell something had changed. She felt different; her wings felt very very different. It was kind of like she was wearing the brace, but a much more powerful feeling. She looked down at her wings in awe and that's when she saw how dangerously close the ground was. She panicked a little and flapped her wings again. It felt much different this time. Her wings weren't just moving through the air; this time they were propelling her upwards like she wanted them to before. She could feel herself slowing down. She allowed herself to smile as she felt that she had a chance now. Her mind was still racing and she caught herself thinking of different ways she could move her wings to help slow her down even more. She had been so determined that she was unleashing as much as she possibly could. She wouldn't be able to fly like this again for quite a while and she'd be tired when she landed but that didn't matter. Saving Rainbow Dash mattered the most right now. Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were still approaching the ground too quickly but it wasn't at a deadly pace now. 

“I think we'll make it now.” Scootaloo whispered as her head fell back. She was absolutely exhausted after pushing her body to it's limits and the adrenaline was wearing off now she was aware that she was safe. Her eyes closed and she slipped into unconsciousness as another tear fell from her eyes. This one was born out of the happiness of saving Rainbow Dash. The pair of them hit the ground pretty hard and tumbled around due to hitting at an angle, but they survived the fall. They landed and settled curled up together. Scootaloo had done it; she had saved Rainbow Dash's life and gained the ability to fly. 

That would probably help her deal with the pain when she woke up and felt it. 
> Chapter Five; Bruised and Broken
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Star Shine continued to speed towards the ground. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were too far away for him to see so he had no idea what had happened. If Scootaloo had taken the brace off then that meant right now she couldn't fly. He might have thought that she was just flying with Rainbow Dash but the way that she had screamed for him, the hole in the clouds, that laughing pony...it all pointed to “not good”. Just who was that laughing Pegasus? Star Shine shook his head. It didn't matter right now. What mattered is that something had seemed to happen to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. If something happened to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo wasn't wearing the brace then things could be very very bad indeed. Tears streamed down his face and were lost to the wind as his mind was filled with the memory of his parents. 

Not that...please not that. Anything but that. Not again. Star Shine thought to himself. Repeated like a mantra as he continued down. 

He saw Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo well before he reached the ground. They were sprawled together on the ground. He couldn't make out much from the distance he was at but it didn't look good for Rainbow Dash. Her legs were at an awkward angle, a sign that they were broken. When Star Shine got closer he saw there was even blood on both Pegasi. He couldn't make out any more injuries than that. He was still struck by how peaceful they looked and he could tell they were unconscious. Or worse. He sped to the ground as fast as his wings would carry him and made sure to slow down in time to land safely. It wouldn't do any of them any good if he injured himself landing now. He ran over to Rainbow Dash and looked her up and down. Scootaloo was tucked into her forelegs so it looked like Rainbow Dash had taken most of the damage. He put his ear against Rainbow Dash's chest and breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he felt her breathing and heard her heartbeat. He looked over at Scootaloo and started crying even harder when he saw what had happened to her. She was breathing like Rainbow Dash but her wings were at odd angles. He'd seen more than enough broken wings to recognise them when he saw them. Scootaloo must have landed awkwardly on her back. Star Shine heard somepony land behind him and heard a familiar laugh.

“Oh I hope they're dead. Don't see why they won't be. Chicken can't fly and the other one looked dead. Bled when I hit her. Got blood on my face for that matter. I'll teach her a lesson.” Grey Feather muttered to himself as he approached Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo to check the damage for himself. He barely paid any attention to Star Shine and barely even noticed he was there. 

“You? You did this?” Star Shine asked, almost growling. He lowered himself to the ground and grit his teeth, preparing to charge at any second. Grey Feather stopped in his tracks and finally paid attention to Star Shine. He looked at him dumbfounded.

“S'what if I did? Little Chicken deserved it. Can't fly you know? Putting em down's the kindest thing to do.” Grey Feather replied. Star Shine was about to charge Grey Feather when he heard a light whimper from behind him. He turned around and saw Rainbow Dash slowly open her eyes. She let out a cry of pain when she tried to move one of her legs. Star Shine was quickly down beside her. 

“Rainbow! Oh thank Celestia!” he cried, nuzzling up to her. “Don't move your legs, I think at least one might be broken. Careful moving anyway, Scootaloo's hurt. She'll be okay though, promise.” Star Shine said hurriedly, hiding the extent of Scootaloo's injuries. He could hardly tell Rainbow Dash that Scootaloo had broken her wings. 

“Wha? Wha's going on?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly. She still hadn't completely come too yet. She understood what the pain in her leg meant though. She looked around and saw Star Shine looking at her. He looked so worried, and like he'd been crying. That was just like Star Shine, she thought to herself. Always so worried about something or another. Usually her or Scootaloo. He had mentioned Scootaloo, said she was injured. Rainbow Dash couldn't help looking. She looked down and saw Scootaloo curled up against her. There was clearly something wrong with her little wings. “Oh no. Not that. Please. Star Shine please tell me she'll be okay. Please.” she pleaded as she recognised the injury. Only one thing could cause a wing to end up like that. “I...I came too when we were falling...I saw what she did...Star Shine she flew! She saved my life! Please! Anything but that! Please tell me her wings aren't broken after that!” Rainbow Dash begged. Star Shine didn't know how to answer her. He was too shocked and trying to process everything Rainbow Dash had said. She had seen Scootaloo fly.

“She...she flew?” Star Shine asked quietly. Rainbow Dash nodded furiously. 

“LIES! That stupid chicken could never fly!” Grey Feather called out. He'd had enough of this display. “Can't believe you lived. Musta been an accident. Don' worry though. I'll fix that.” Grey Feather threatened as he approached Rainbow Dash again. Star Shine stood in front of her protectively. 

“Who...who is that?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking around Star Shine. 

“That drunk colt from the train. Didn't recognise him at first. That's all I know about him though.” Star Shine replied. 

“Me? I'm only the Chicken's dad ain't I? Way I see it, I've got a right to put her outta her misery. Who's heard of a Pegasus can't fly? I'll fix that.” Grey Feather explained as he approached. “Now get out my way.” he threatened when he ended up right in front of Star Shine. 

“Right? Misery? If she's miserable it's only because of what you did to her!” Star Shine shouted. 

“Guess we're doin' this the hard way.” Grey Feather said, disregarding what Star Shine had said. 

“I won't let you touch them.” Star Shine replied. He dug his hooves into the ground to steady himself in case Grey Feather tried something. He didn't have to wait long. Grey Feather gave a great gust of his wings and used the force to propel himself into Star Shine. Star Shine was pushed back a little bit but stayed on his hooves. He reared up and pushed Grey Feather away, unfurling and spreading his wings as he did so. Rainbow Dash was a little impressed by the sight. She'd never actually seen Star Shine genuinely angry and violent. He much preferred to use his words or preach inaction. Most ponies would probably see him as weak. Rainbow Dash was beginning to see that wasn't the case; he just cared too much. She watched as Star Shine charged at Grey Feather and tackled him to the ground. The tussle ended with Star Shine's front legs on Grey Feather's wings. “You think flying is a right? That if a Pegasus can't fly they don't deserve to live? Let's see how you like it.” Star Shine threatened. He lifted up a foreleg and prepared to bring it crashing down on one of Grey Feather's wings to crush it. This left him unbalanced and Grey Feather took advantage of the opportunity. He hefted his back legs up and used them to buck Star Shine away. Star Shine coughed as he laid flat on his back. Grey Feather ignored him and turned his attention back to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.

“Now, where was I?” Grey Feather asked menacingly, flashing a wicked smile. “Oh yea...s'right, I was gonna put down a chicken.” he added. Rainbow Dash did her best to protect Scootaloo with her wing but without her legs there wasn't much she could do. Grey Feather was knocked to the ground by Star Shine as he flew into him from the side. The pair rolled around on the floor and tried to hit eachother with anything they had. It ended with Star Shine on the ground and Grey Feather in a position of power on top of him, pinning him down. Star Shine tried the same trick Grey Feather had used to buck him off but it didn't work. Grey Feather was too low to the ground, anticipating the attack. “You want me to see what it's like not bein' able to fly? Tell ya what, why don' you go first?” Grey Feather said, grinning. He raised a foreleg and prepared to bring it down on Star Shine's wing. Grey Feather was sent flying again, this time by Rainbow Dash hitting him in the side at speed. Her legs were broken but she could still fly. Rainbow Dash let out another cry of pain as she tumbled to the ground. She wouldn't be trying to do that again in a hurry. Star Shine got up and hurried over to her. 

“Dashie? Dashie are you okay? Please be okay. I don't know what I'd do without you. Don't do something like that again.” Star Shine begged, checking Rainbow Dash over.

“Don't think I could anyway.” Rainbow Dash joked weakly. She coughed and a little more blood came out. From the looks of it she had some internal injuries that she'd probably exacerbated with her little stunt. 

“Don't move, you'll just make it worse. I don't want to lose you Rainbow. Not after all this. Not like this. Don't leave me Rainbow.” Star Shine pleaded with tears in his eyes. 

“You couldn't lose me if you tried, idiot.” Rainbow Dash teased. “Care about you too damn much to go leaving you now.” she added. She arched her body forward to lean towards Star Shine. He lowered himself down to her more. Partly to spare her the effort and partly to try and force her back down. 

“That's good. So stay righ-” Star Shine began before he was interrupted by the feeling of something on his lips. When he calmed down he could tell what it was; Rainbow Dash was kissing him. In the middle of everything that was happening, and with all the pain she was in, she had still reached up to kiss him. Star Shine slipped out of reality for a second and enjoyed the kiss as much as he could. Which wasn't much given the circumstances. Rainbow Dash broke the kiss and smiled at him.

“Good, shut you up. Now go help Scootaloo.” Rainbow Dash said quietly. Star Shine looked across to see that Scootaloo was left without anyone to protect her and Grey Feather was back on his hooves and making his way over to her. Star Shine looked back down at Rainbow Dash and saw that she had passed out again. Star Shine put her down gently and stood up.

“Get the hay away from her!” Star Shine called out as he charged at Grey Feather once more. Star Shine dived on Grey Feather and the pair tumbled to the ground again. Star Shine clamped down on Grey Feather's wing and pulled on it, hard. Grey Feather cried out in pain as he felt his wings being teared from their socket. Star Shine wasn't strong enough to tear them right off but he could still do some damage. Star Shine released the wing when he heard and felt it pop and Grey Feather screamed in agony. 

“I still...broke the...chicken's wing...she'll never fly...” Grey Feather taunted, defiant to the last.

“She's not like you. She's strong. I'll fix that broken body of hers and she'll fly again. Just like Rainbow fixed her broken mind and got her to fly.” Star Shine replied through gritted teeth. Bodies could be healed. He'd gotten Pegasi with broken wings to fly and he could do it again. “I'll be there for her, for both of them, every step of the way. Not like you...you'll be lucky if you see the light of day again after what you've done.” Star Shine threatened. He sighed and got off of Grey Feather. He'd done enough. The grizzled drunk wasn't a threat anymore. Star Shine made his way over to Scootaloo to give her any help he could and make sure she was still okay.

“You damn coward!” Grey Feather shouted after Star Shine.. 

“Every single time.” Star Shine replied quietly. Grey Feather got up and started charging after Star Shine again. 

“Why won't you stay down?! Do you hate Scootaloo that much?!” Star Shine shouted at him, steadying himself and preparing to move out of the way. Grey Feather didn't have time to reply. Star Shine watched in shock as he was suddenly encased in a large blue ball of magic.

“THAT. IS. ENOUGH!” Star Shine heard a loud and powerful voice cry out. He looked across where it had come from to see Shining Armor glaring at Grey Feather. He had Twilight on one side and Rarity on the other. Both of them were looking pretty scared as they surveyed the damage. Star Shine breathed a sigh of relief. He had no idea how, but help had arrived and Grey Feather had been subdued. 

It was over, and now Star Shine could work on making things right with a little help.
> Chapter Six; Know The Feeling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity had ran to Twilight's house as quickly as she could after Grey Feather had dropped her back down on the ground. Twilight had contacted Shining Armor as soon as Rarity had explained the situation, and then teleported all three of them to the field where Rainbow Dash lived when Shining Armor had appeared. He'd do anything for his little sister. If it turned out that they weren't on the ground, then Twilight could have fixed that with a handy application of Cloud Walking and more teleportation. Shining Armor could incapacitate and subdue someone from a distance and didn't need to be up close for it, hence the lack of Pegasi guards or help. That was how they had found themselves where they were now; with Grey Feather pounding helplessly against a magical bubble. Rarity saw Scootaloo and ran across to her. Twilight did the same with Rainbow Dash. Star Shine headed towards Scootaloo, trusting Shining Armor to follow his sister and take care of Rainbow Dash. 

“What's...what's wrong with her wings?” Rarity asked when Star Shine reached her. Star Shine looked Scootaloo over again and gave a deep, sad, sigh. Scootaloo looked relatively uninjured other than her wings but that was the worst injury she could have had on a personal level. 

“I'm afraid they're broken.” Star Shine said reluctantly. He didn't really want to face the reality himself. Rarity gasped and looked at the little filly in despair.

“Broken? She'll be alright though won't she? They can be fixed?” Rarity asked, panicked. Everypony knew that one of Scootaloo's biggest dreams had always been to fly. They'd even seen her do it not too long ago after the whole Diamond Tiara affair. She had looked so happy. To have it all taken away would be one of the cruellest twists fate could have imagined for her. 

“Definitely. I've got faith in her and know she'll try her best and I'll be there for her.” Star Shine replied with a reassuring smile. Rarity nodded but didn't really smile. She felt she could hardly smile given the situation. 

“Why can't she just be happy?” Rarity asked, starting to cry.

“She will be.” Star Shine replied. “Kinda hard not to be around Rainbow.” he added quietly, more for himself. 

“Hmm? What was that?” Rarity asked. She hadn't quite heard what he said and caught the word “Rainbow”. Star Shine shook his head.

“Nothing, nothing.” Star Shine replied quickly. “Say, think you can pick her up for me? We need to get her to a hospital straight away and picking her up physically might make it worse.” Star Shine asked. Distractions work wonders and he really was worried about making Scootaloo's injuries worse. It was much better for her to be carried by magic. Rarity smiled at last and picked Scootaloo up with her magic. She was glad to do something useful and be helpful. She still blamed herself a little for all of this happening. She had been the one who told Grey Feather where Rainbow Dash lived. She'd been far too afraid to lie or anything. Rarity followed Star Shine over to Rainbow Dash with Scootaloo suspended in the air next to her. “How's it look?” Star Shine asked worriedly when he reached Rainbow Dash. Twilight and Shining Armor were checking her over for injuries. 

“Not good.” Shining Armor replied bluntly. Star Shine gulped. “Her right foreleg is broken and I think a few of her ribs might be too. It'd explain the internal bleeding. She needs to get to a hospital as soon as we can get her to one.” Shining Armor explained.

“Same with Scootaloo. Broken wings.” Star Shine replied, motioning his head towards Rarity and Scootaloo. 

“You got another teleport in you Twiley?” Shining Armor asked his little sister. 

“I think so, yes.” Twilight replied. It'd take a lot out of her but she could probably get one more done. She could get them closer to the hospital than their current position at least. 

“Good, see to it they get help. I'm going to go straight back to Canterlot but I'll come visit them at the hospital when I'm done with everything.” Shining Armor said. He gave Twilight a quick hug goodbye. “I hope the next time you want me to visit it's just a social call.” he teased as he hugged Twilight. She gave a weak laugh and hugged her brother tight. They released the hug and Twilight watched Shining Armor walk over to Grey Feather for a few seconds before closing her eyes and concentrating as hard as she could. She had the magic to get them to the hospital. She smiled as she realised this and that her friends would be okay. There was a pop and then she, Rarity, Star Shine, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were gone. Shining Armor turned around long enough to watch them disappear and then continued to walk towards Grey Feather, still trapped in the bubble and pounding on it noiselessly. It was also completely sound proof. Shining Armor actually opened a small hole in the bubble so that he could talk to Grey Feather. 

“Let me out of here! Let me out of here right now!” Grey Feather demanded. Shining Armor glared at him which shut him up and put the fear of Celestia in him. He backed away as far as he could, which wasn't very far given his current location. 

“I'll consider it, if you tell me what happened here.” Shining Armor said stoically. “Rarity says you dragged her up in the air and threatened to drop her in an attempt to get information.” Shining Armor stated. Grey Feather nodded.

“Aye, that I did. I needed to know where Chicken lived.” Grey Feather replied to explain his actions. “Never would have hurt her though. Rarity you called her? Nah, never woulda hurt her. Just like her mother.” Grey Feather added in reference to Scootaloo's mother. 

“Rarity's mother? You know Rarity's mother?” Shining Armor asked. He'd met Rarity's mother. They were pretty similar. Like most parents and their children. If he had a pre-existing relationship with Rarity's mother then it was definitely useful information. Grey Feather shook his head.

“I dunno her mother. I meant Chicken's mother. Died young. Ever so young.” Grey Feather explained. “It's all that damn Chicken's fault!” he shouted, pounding on the walls of the bubble again in rage. 

“So what did you do when you found out where Rainbow Dash lived?” Shining Armor asked, ignoring Grey Feather's rampage. He was safely contained and not a threat to anypony. It was better to just let him work it out of his system and calm down on his own. 

“Well I'm here right now, so I'd say that means I came here, don't it?” Grey Feather replied sarcastically. Shining Armor was tempted to compact the bubble and squeeze Grey Feather a bit. He just barely resisted the urge. 

“And what did you do when you got here? How did Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo get injured? I have a hard time believing Star Shine would do something like that.” Shining Armor asked. Grey Feather started laughing in an almost unsettling manner.

“I don't know about that, he tore my wing out it's socket.” Grey Feather replied, moving just one of his wings. The other wasn't attached properly and couldn't be moved until it was put back into place. 

“Can't say I blame him if you're the one that did that to Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo.” Shining Armor replied. Grey Feather was starting to get on his nerves a little. He could totally understand why Star Shine would do something to hurt him. All the better if Grey Feather had legitimately earned it.

“Can you call her Chicken? Just for me?” Grey Feather asked, grinning wickedly and putting his face right up against the wall of the bubble. Shining Armor spun the bubble around so that Grey Feather was on the other side of it.

“Tell me what happened to Rainbow Dash! To Scootaloo!” Shining Armor demanded. This time he did shrink the bubble a little to apply some pressure on to Grey Feather and make him talk. 

“Alright, alright!” Grey Feather called out as the bubble got smaller and he ran out of room. Shining Armor obliged his willingness by expanding the bubble a little. “Yeah, it was me. No point hiding it is there? You're just gonna ask them if I don't tell you what you wanna hear and you'll believe them too. I didn't hurt the Chicken though. Honest. She jumped after that Rainbow chick.” Grey Feather explained. “See, I flew up and hit her, then she fell, then Chicken jumped after her. Then that other guy jumped after them both. Guess he's the one who saved them. Did a poor job though. Chicken's lost her wings. Not that she ever used them.” Grey Feather continued. 

“Her name is SCOOTALOO!” Shining Armor cried angrily. Grey Feather cowered in fright again. Shining Armor sighed and calmed down. The questioning wasn't quite over. “So why were you and Star Shine fighting? What happened when you got to the ground?” 

“That? I tried to fix my mistake. Guess he didn't take too kindly to me trying to take Chicken back.” Grey Feather replied.

“What would you have done with her? Rarity told me you're her biological dad. Even after everything you did you might have been able to get some rights to her if you could prove you changed and if she wanted it. Why do things this way?” Shining Armor asked. He doubted Scootaloo would have wanted anything to do with her father but the option was there. 

“I told ya. I wanted to fix my mistake.” Grey Feather replied as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

“And what mistake is that?” Shining Armor asked. He had a feeling he knew the answer. 

“That I missed, and that I let her live in the first place.” Grey Feather replied without a trace of emotion. For all his faults, he sure was honest. At least about his feelings towards Scootaloo. The bubble, and Grey Feather inside it, were suddenly hefted high into the air. The hole that Shining Armor created stayed there so that Grey Feather could hear what Shining Armor had to say.

“You've done a lot of damage today. To my friends, and their friends. Your actions almost ended two lives. You may have crippled a filly and robbed her of the one thing she's wanted more than a family. You almost took that away from her too. You're a dangerous and sick individual.” Shining Armor called up Grey Feather. “What Star Shine did counts as self defense but what I'm about to do counts as justice.” he added angrily. His horn lit up and the bubble Grey Feather was in disappeared. Grey Feather screamed as he fell to the ground. He flapped his one wing furiously but it did him no good. All he did was spin around in circles and make himself dizzy. He flailed out wildly but it did him no good. He continued to fall, and continued to fear for his life. Shortly before he hit the ground he felt himself hit something else instead. He was back inside one of Shining Armor's magical bubbles. Shining brought him back to the ground and glared at him with gritted teeth. “Death is too good for you. Twilight would never forgive me anyway. I just wanted you to know what it felt like. What you did to Scootaloo. I hope it hurt.” Shining Armor growled. Grey Feather was absolutely terrified and shivering in fright, curled up against himself. Shining Armor started the journey back to the train station, and then to Canterlot, with Grey Feather in tow.
> Chapter Seven; Nawwwwwww
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight appeared in the hospital foyer with a pop and then immediately fell to the floor, next to the still unconscious Rainbow Dash. Nurse Redheart heard the commotion and was with the plethora of ponies that had suddenly appeared in an instant. She was trained enough to go for Rainbow Dash and call for further assistance with Twilight. More medical ponies appeared with stretchers and took Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo straight to an emergency room. It wasn't everyday that an injured pony just popped into the place and given who the patients were, none of the other waiting ponies were about to lobby a complaint. The way Twilight had appeared and then suddenly collapsed unnerved a lot of them. Chief amongst which was Star Shine and Rarity. 

“Will she be okay? What's the matter with her?” Rarity asked in a panic. She and Star Shine had followed the medics into the emergency room and watched as Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Scootaloo were examined. It didn't take very long to work out what was wrong with Twilight.

“Poor dear's just exhausted, that's all. She'll be fine after some rest. Don't worry about her.” Nurse Redheart explained. Twilight had huge magical reserves but those teleportations had really taken it out of her. “Why don't you go take her down to ward 3 and wait with her until she wakes up?” she asked Rarity with a reassuring smile. Rarity nodded dumbly and followed Twilight's bed as it was pushed out of the emergency room. 

“Come see me later and tell me what happens!” Rarity called back to Star Shine, who was stood besides Rainbow Dash. Star Shine nodded at Rarity as she got shushed by the doctors pushing Twilight's bed. It was a hospital after all, and Twilight was trying to sleep. 

“It's Star Shine isn't it?” Nurse Readheart asked Star Shine. 

“Err...yeah. How'd you know my name?” Star Shine asked sheepishly. One thing in life he'd never wanted to be was famous. 

“Oh please, I think the whole town knows your name after that stunt a few weeks ago.” Nurse Redheart replied, smiling at the memory of Star Shine giving a speech to the whole town about Scootaloo and then taking them all to see her. Nurse Redheart sighed as she examined Scootaloo. It wasn't hard to tell what the injury was. “What...what happened to her? Who'd do something like this?” she asked Star Shine. 

“It was...her real dad.” Star Shine began. Nurse Redheart gasped. “Rainbow Dash got hit first. She fell through the clouds. Scootaloo jumped down after her without a second thought. Such a brave little girl. If the brace came off she probably knew she couldn't fly but she did it anyway. Scootaloo gave her wings to save the one thing she wanted more than them.” Star Shine explained. 

“What's that?” Nurse Redheart asked. She was also slightly confused about his comment about Scootaloo not being able to fly. Pretty much all of Ponyville had seen her fly. 

“Her loving mother of course.” Star Shine replied, giving Rainbow Dash's cheek a little nuzzle. Nurse Redheart could tell that he'd started crying. It almost sounded like he was mourning the dead. “Please...please save Scootaloo's wings. I don't even know for sure if they can be fixed but please, do your best.” Star Shine begged Nurse Redheart. He was crying harder now. Rarity and Twilight were gone and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were unconscious. There was no one around to witness him showing his worries and fears and so he felt no need to keep them bottled up. He had talked big in front of Grey Feather and he'd reassure everyone to the moon and back. It didn't mean he actually knew for sure if Scootaloo could be healed. He couldn't do anything for her if her wings weren't healed. Nurse Redheart went to put a foreleg around Star Shine to comfort him but he winced and recoiled when she touched him.

“You're hurt aren't you? Stand still and let me get a look at you.” Nurse Redheart commanded. A pony wasn't about to get away with being injured on her watch. She lifted up Star Shine's wing a little and saw a large bruise on his side where he'd been hit. He quickly retracted his wings and let out another gasp of pain as they hit his sides. 

“It doesn't matter. Just make sure Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash are okay. I'll be fine. What I went through is nothing compared to what they went through.” Star Shine replied. He stared down at the ground to steel himself and stopped crying, lest his tears be mistaken for a sign of physical pain rather than emotional grief. 

“They must really mean a lot to you.” Nurse Redheart said as Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were carted out of the room. They were on their way to the operating rooms now that their injuries had been ascertained. 

“The world.” Star Shine said quietly. The memory of Rainbow Dash kissing him was still burned in his memory. “Just wish I'd said something sooner.” He'd practically told the whole of Ponyville how he felt except for the one pony who really needed to hear. She was now fighting for her life and might never hear what he had to say. The thought was almost too much. Add to that the little filly whose dreams had been shattered along with her wings and it was actually too much. Star Shine collapsed to the ground. He was completely mentally drained. Nurse Redheart hurried next to him and talked to him but he didn't hear her or what she said. The world had gone just a little bit fuzzy. He barely felt her moving him around and trying to examine him to see what was wrong. She wouldn't find anything wrong. Nothing serious at least; maybe a bruise or two. Nothing to cause a collapse. He had just become completely unresponsive. He was barely aware that somepony was talking to him, asking him to do something. It sounded like they wanted him to lift his wing. He wasn't even aware it was still closed so tight against his body. Star Shine relaxed his wing and felt it being lifted up. A few seconds later it fell down and the process was repeated on the other side. This time after his wing was put down he was left alone for a few minutes. He heard ponies come back into the room and felt himself being lifted into the air. Part of him realised that he was being moved, most likely by a Pegasi. He'd essentially become dead weight and it would be tough to move him without aid. He was deposited on a bed and moved through the hospital into a room of his own. He wasn't too injured but they could hardly leave him lying around in the way. His ears barely caught somepony saying that he was in a state of shock. That sounded about right to him. 

“Is there a way to snap him out of it?” Twilight asked Nurse Redheart. Star Shine had been out long enough for her to have recovered. It had been a few hours now. She was leaning against Star Shine's bed and looking at him. His eyes looked incredibly vacant. He was alive, his chest was moving and he occasionally blinked, but for all intents and purposes there was no one home inside his mind. 

“'Fraid not. The best thing to do is to just wait it out, let his mind process everything.” Nurse Redheart explained. “Shouldn't be too much longer.” Rarity was leaning over the other side of Star Shine's bed and looked just as worried as Twilight about his behaviour. 

“There must be something we can do...” Rarity said quietly. She'd never seen Star Shine look so depressed. No matter how sad he got it, or what happened to him, he'd laugh it off and get others laughing too. He'd never admit it, but he was very much like Pinkie Pie in that regard. 

“Wait, how are Rainbow and Scootaloo doing?” Twilight asked, as an idea sparked in her mind. Nurse Redheart picked up on where Twilight was going with this.

“You know, I think he might like to visit them.” Nurse Redheart replied. Rarity blinked in surprise. She was sure that, just for an instant, Star Shine had smiled a little. Twilight used her magic to move Star Shine's bed to the recovery ward. Nurse Redheart insisted that Twilight not use her magic and Twilight insisted that she was fine now and would use magic as much as she wanted, or until she collapsed again. It was a case of whatever happened first would be what happened. They found Rainbow and Scootaloo and dragged Star Shine's unresponsive flank over to them. 

“Hey, Star Shine, look. It's your marefriend and Scootaloo.” Twilight teased, lifting Star Shine upward so that he could see them. Rainbow Dash had some bandages on her, as well as some that were covered by sheets and bedclothes. Scootaloo was a little bandaged up and her wings were in a cast. She was laid on her side to prevent her from applying unnecessary pressure to them. Star Shine recognised what Twilight said and was brought back to reality enough to process what he was seeing. Seeing Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo helped bring him back to reality fully.

“Are...are they okay?” Star Shine asked, slowly and quietly. They looked fine. That didn't make them fine. Nurse Redheart nodded at him and smiled.

“Both operations were complete successes. They'll both need time to recover but Scootaloo's wings are going to be fine, as is the rest of her, and all of Rainbow Dash.” Nurse Redheart said. Star Shine practically leapt out of bed. Rarity and Twilight giggled; partly at his behaviour and mostly at the good news about their friends. Star Shine hurried over to Rainbow Dash and started nuzzling her cheeks. 

“You're going to be okay. I'm so glad you're going to be okay. I love you, so damn much.” Star Shine said quietly, suppressing his joy to not make too much noise and disturb them. He was crying again too. This time out of happiness. Unfortunately for him, Rainbow Dash didn't really need him to be loud to be stirred from her slumber. The wetness on her cheek saw to that. She stirred and only caught him saying “love you, so damn much.”

“Who loves what now?” Rainbow Dash asked quietly, smirking at Star Shine. He gasped and pulled away from her. Rainbow Dash slowly and carefully pulled herself up and adjusted herself in the bed. Star Shine was too stunned to speak. In a good way of course. Not so much for Twilight and Rarity.

“Oh you didn't hear? Why he loves you of course!” Rarity exclaimed, rushing over and giving her friend a careful hug that would, hopefully, not cause further injury.

“So damn much.” Twilight teased in a faux Trottingham accent. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine looked away from eachother and felt their cheeks burn. 

“I'm gonna need more morphine...” Rainbow Dash said, burying her face under her pillow. “I can't believe I kissed you...” she added quietly, burying her face even more. Even Star Shine's ears turned a shade of red. Rarity was close enough to hear what Rainbow Dash said.

“She kissed you? Oh I knew it!” Rarity hissed, trying to contain her excitement. 

“What, they kissed?” exclaimed a magically appearing Pinkie Pie. If a doorway into a room counts as a magical portal. She had heard that Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo and Star Shine were in the hospital and came to see them. If they thought about it, they would have thought it took her far longer than expected to turn up.

“Oh no. Sweet Celestia no.” Rainbow Dash whimpered. 

“Awww shucks, ain't that just the cutest thing ever? Rainbow Dash went and got 'erself a nice little coltfriend.” Applejack teased as she entered the ward too in an explanation of what had taken Pinkie so long. 

“I...I don't think it's nice to tease her about it...” Fluttershy said timidly as she too entered the room. 

“We ain't teasin' her none.” Applejack said defiantly. The kissy faces and noises she made after that disagreed with her. The rest of the ponies gathered (minus Nurse Redheart who was accepting she had lost all control and was on the verge of going into a state of shock of her own) also started chatting away and teasing Rainbow Dash and Star Shine. Star Shine knelt down next to Rainbow Dash; he could tell that she was getting annoyed and even a little upset about the teasing. 

“Hey Dashie, are you okay?” Star Shine whispered. Rainbow Dash was still covered by her pillow but Star Shine could tell she nodded.

“I just wish it had been a little more private...” Rainbow Dash said with her voice muffled by mattress. Star Shine chuckled a little. 

“I can stop them if you want, but you won't like what I do to stop them.” Star Shine said.

“If it involves hurting them I think I'm all for that.” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine laughed again.

“Afraid not, but it will shut them up.” Star Shine said. He tore Rainbow Dash's pillow away from her and nudged her on to her side and, without waiting for any kind of permission, leaned in and gave her quite the kiss. 

“AWWWWWWWWWWWWW” chorused Rainbow Dash's friends. Even Nurse Redheart joined in. They were quiet after that, so Star Shine was proven right. Rainbow Dash reached her forelegs around Star Shine and pulled him into her chest. He was able to stop himself before he hit it and did any damage to her. Instead, he leaned in to it gently and smiled as he felt Rainbow Dash's chest move under him as she breathed. 

“I'm so gonna kill you for that.” Rainbow Dash threatened. “Later though...I need sleep.” she added, closing her eyes. “'sides...it wasn't that bad. This feels...nice...” she admitted reluctantly. She leaned back into her bed and gently fell asleep, unknowingly stroking Star Shine's mane a little as she did so. Star Shine stayed right where Rainbow Dash left him and smiled as he heard Rainbow Dash's heartbeat calm down as she fell asleep.
> Chapter Eight; Trust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootaloo came to in the evening, after all of Rainbow Dash's visitors had left. The room was still  lit in case of an emergency and so Scootaloo could still see around her. Her eyes flickered open and then she closed them again quickly. Her eyes were unused to the light after being asleep for most of a day. She risked opening her eyes again and did so more slowly this time so as not to aggravate her eyes. She looked around and saw that she was in a place she didn't recognise, not at first anyway. She was also laid on her side. After taking more of the room in, it wasn't hard to come to the conclusion that she was somehow in a hospital. There were other ponies in the ward besides herself and she could see the moon shining in from a large window. She tried to move something and winced in pain. Her painkillers were wearing off and she was incredibly sore. She laid back down and took a mental checklist of everything going on with her body. Everything felt fine, just a little sore. The only thing that really felt off was her wings. Thinking about her wings made her remember the day's events and how she had probably ended up in the hospital in the first place. Her dad had come back and something had happened to Rainbow Dash. Something really, really bad. Scootaloo snapped her eyes open and scanned the room for any trace of Rainbow Dash. Her eyes were beginning to adjust to the light and the vague pony shapes around her began to form features. The doctors had been kind enough to place her facing Rainbow Dash so the pair could talk when they woke up and to comfort Scootaloo. She looked across and smiled as she recognised who was across from her; It was Rainbow Dash. For some reason she had Star Shine laid across her too. Nurse Redheart had allowed Star Shine to stay there with her. Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief that Rainbow Dash was saved and her mind drifted to some of the better parts of the day. She smiled as she remembered something and realised something else. 

She had flown and if that wasn't enough the fact that Rainbow Dash was safe meant that she must have managed to save Rainbow Dash's life. Star Shine hadn't reached them in time. The last thing Scootaloo remembered was flying just before she passed out. She tried to move her wings to see if they felt any different and let out a cry of pain. Something seemed to be wrong with her wings. She turned her head around to try and look at them. She couldn't see much but they were wrapped up in bandages. 

“Try not to move them.” a voice close to Scootaloo said, making her jump. “Oh, sorry, sorry. Wasn't really thinking.” the voice added. Scootaloo calmed down when she recognised the accent. There was only one pony she knew who talked like that. Probably the only pony in all of Ponyville. Except perhaps Pip, but this voice was too deep to be Pip. 

“Star Shine? That you?” Scootaloo asked cautiously. She turned back around to face forward and saw it was indeed Star Shine who was smiling at her and suppressing a laugh. “Don't make me jump like that!” she hissed, aware of the other ponies around them who were sleeping. She didn't want to disturb them any more than she had done if she had woken Star Shine up. 

“I'm sorry.” he repeated, nuzzling Scootaloo. “Can you forgive me?” he asked, pouting a little. It was incredible how he could sound sincere and yet look so insincere at the same time. 

“Aww it wasn't that big a deal.” Scootaloo replied, looking away nervously. “Say, what's wrong with my wings?” she asked, changing the subject. Now it was Star Shine's turn to look a little nervous and shy away.

“Can it wait until the morning? I kinda want Rainbow Dash to be awake for that. She should probably be the one to tell you...” Star Shine replied nervously. It was obvious to Scootaloo that something was terribly wrong. Her wings were in bandages and Star Shine didn't want to talk about it. “I need you to trust me, okay?” Star Shine asked seriously.

“I thought I could, but you don't tell me everything...” Scootaloo replied, looking down and despondent.

“If I told you everything, I wouldn't need you to trust me.” Star Shine said. He'd heard that in a radio play. It sounded appropriate given the current situation. He couldn't resist giggling a little. The sad look on Scootaloo's face left him feeling pretty sombre again.

“Why didn't you tell me I couldn't fly? Properly? I stopped flying. That's why I took the brace off, and then I couldn't fly again when I caught up to Rainbow...” Scootaloo asked sadly. She didn't like that something had been hidden from her. Especially something that she felt was pretty big like this. 

“If I told you you couldn't fly, I'd be lying.” Star Shine replied. He didn't take a great many things seriously but he was deadly serious now. “You can fly, you know that. You flew in front of the entire town.” Star Shine said. He smiled a little at the memory. “Scoots, you saved Rainbow's life and I will never be able to pay you back for that one.” 

“I really did save her life?” Scootaloo asked, suitably cheered up. Star Shine nodded and kissed her on the forehead. 

“Thank you for that. You might have just saved my life too.” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo looked at him in confusion. “You two pretty much are my life now, no doubt about that.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo giggled a little before looking sad again.

“Doesn't change that I couldn't fly. Or that you didn't tell me.” she said a little more bitterly than she intended to. Star Shine wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one so easily. “Or that you're hiding things from me now.” she added, another nail to the proverbial coffin. 

“Maybe I should have told you, but I thought it'd be best if you didn't know. I'm sorry I made that call and decided things on my own, I really am. The brace I gave you to wear...it did a lot more than building up your wing strength to help get you to fly.” Star Shine explained. He was hoping to have this conversation under different circumstances, if just not at all. 

“What was it for?” Scootaloo asked. Star Shine let out a sigh. 

“Scoots...there's something I probably should have told you...” Star Shine began, mentally preparing himself.

“Mom said something like that...when it happened...” Scootaloo said as she remembered what Rainbow Dash had said right before she got hit.

“Huh?” Star Shine asked, confused.

“Right before my....dad” the word felt bitter on her tongue. No father could do what he did to their own child. “Right before he hit her, Mom said there was something she needed to tell me.” Scootaloo explained. Star Shine's lips curled into a slight smile. Perhaps he could get out of talking about this after all. 

“Then maybe she should tell you everything. She wanted to you know. It was my fault she didn't. I think you should let her explain it.” Star Shine said. It'd be easier coming from Rainbow Dash. Most bad news was to Scootaloo. 

“Again? Why won't you tell me anything?” Scootaloo asked. It looked she was about to cry because Star Shine just insisted on hiding everything from her. “I'm not a little kid you know. Why won't you tell me anything?!” she hissed. This time she really was crying. “Don't you trust me? You want me to trust you, but you won't trust me? Is that it? You think I'm weak?” Scootaloo asked, her tone getting more insistent and angry. Star Shine simply shook his head.

“You? Weak? Scootaloo do you even know what you did?” Star Shine asked. Scootaloo wasn't sure how to respond. She didn't fully understand the question. She didn't even know what he was referring to. “You jumped. You. You saw Rainbow Dash was in danger and you jumped. You said you stopped flying before it happened, and yet you still jumped after Rainbow Dash. With all that fear and doubt in your mind you shouted my name and you were gone before I even got there. The only thing that mattered to you is that Rainbow Dash was safe. Your determination to save her, your absolute will that she live, THAT is why you flew. You tried your hardest to save her life and you succeeded. You are one of the strongest and bravest little ponies I've ever known and I would trust you with my life. You saved hers, I figure you'd save mine too.” Star Shine said, leaning in close to Scootaloo. She absorbed every word he said and shied away a little when he was done.

“You...you really mean all that?” Scootaloo asked. There was a slight pink hue to her cheeks. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been complimented that much. Star Shine smiled, nodded, and nuzzled Scootaloo a little again.

“I'll tell you something else too.” Star Shine whispered in her ear.

“Hmm?” Scootaloo replied, wondering just what else he could possibly say.

“You can trust me when I say you'll fly again. You'll definitely fly.” he said vehemently. Scootaloo found she trusted him without question. “Let's just try and avoid making it the only way you can save either me or Rainbow Dash, okay?” Star Shine teased. “Now go back to sleep, we'll talk more in the morning.” he added. He gave Scootaloo one last kiss on the forehead and went back to his position on Rainbow Dash's chest. Scootaloo closed her eyes as she watched him go. Her little mind was full of questions but a few of them stood out amongst the others.

Why did he say that I'll fly again? Surely it's obvious I will? What didn't he tell me? Why won't he tell me? Wait...wait...wait a minute...

WHY IS HE SLEEPING ON RAINBOW DASH LIKE THAT?!
> Chapter Nine; An Abrupt Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


When Scootaloo next woke up it was bright and sunny outside. She stretched a little as she came too. Things weren't quite as sore this time and it didn't hurt so much. Just resting some more had helped a fair bit. She moved her legs around a little to see how they felt. They got less and less sore as she moved them around. Part of the problem was that she hadn't moved much at all and her body was getting a bit stiff. 

“Mornin' Scoots.” Scootaloo heard someone call cheerfully. She lifted her head up and saw that Rainbow Dash was awake and watching her fidget around to get some feeling back in her body. Star Shine was still asleep on Rainbow Dash. He was just below her chest so that he didn't apply any pressure to her already injured ribs. Somepony had been kind enough to get him something to sit on so he could lean across her comfortably. The bed was just a little too high for him to sit on the floor. 

“Mornin' Mom.” Scootaloo replied. She was happy to see Rainbow Dash was fine, or appeared to be. All of her bandages were covered by hospital clothes and bed sheets. Her cheerfulness was always infectious too, much like Pinkie Pie's. “He still asleep then?” Scootaloo asked, motioning towards Star Shine with his head. He shifted a little in his sleep, almost as if he knew he was being talked about. Rainbow Dash smiled down at him and stroked his mane a little. 

“He never was one for early mornings was he?” Rainbow Dash joked. Scootaloo giggled a little. 

“I kinda woke him up in the night too...” she said, shifting sheepishly. 

“You alright? You didn't have a bad dream or something did you?” Rainbow Dash asked, curious as to why Scootaloo was up during the night and a little worried about her. Scootaloo shook her head.

“I woke up and it hurt when I moved my wings. He woke up when I cried out a little is all.” Scootaloo explained. She didn't really want to admit to crying out in pain to Rainbow Dash. 

“Oh...right...” Rainbow Dash said simply, looking down. She was aware what was wrong with Scootaloo's wings and from the sounds of it, Scootaloo herself wasn't. This wasn't going to be easy.

“Is...is something wrong with my wings? Star Shine said there was but he wouldn't tell me. He wanted you to do it. What were you going to say before you...fell?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash sighed. 

“Trust that idiot to get me to give bad news...” Rainbow Dash said under her breath. 

“It'll hurt less coming from you, tha's all.” Star Shine mumbled quietly in his “sleep”. “So tell her already.” he added, opening an eye to look at Rainbow Dash. His lips curled into a smile at her surprised expression.

“How long have you been awake?” Rainbow Dash asked him. Star Shine lifted himself off of Rainbow Dash and had a good stretch before replying.

“Just a few minutes. If you two are going to talk loudly then I'm gonna wake up.” Star Shine explained. “Now I believe Scootaloo asked you a question.” he added. He gestured to Scootaloo with a foreleg, inviting Rainbow Dash to answer her questions. 

“Bad news? What bad news?” Scootaloo asked nervously.

“Don't worry, there's good news too.” Star Shine reassured her. Bad news is still bad news; Scootaloo was hardly reassured. 

“The bad news is...I'm afraid your wings are broken. You hurt them when you hit the ground.” Rainbow Dash said sadly. Scootaloo started crying. She'd just started flying and now it was gone, she wouldn't fly again. Her cruel father had succeeded in ruining her life and robbing her of her happiness. Rainbow Dash whispered something in Star Shine's ear and he obliged with a small smile. He very carefully moved Rainbow Dash's bed closer to Scootaloo's until they were close together. Rainbow Dash reached out a foreleg and stroked Scootaloo's mane gently. 

“What's...what's the good news?” Scootaloo asked between sobs. She didn't think there was such a thing as good news after being told something like that. 

“The good news-” Star Shine began before Rainbow Dash interrupted him. She wasn't going to let him make her say the bad news and be the reason Scootaloo cried.

“The good news is that they're healing, and you'll be flying again in no time.” Rainbow Dash said quickly before Star Shine had a chance to interrupt her. Scootaloo stopped crying and looked up at them both.

“You...you mean it?” Scootaloo asked, the news not quite having settled in yet. 

“I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it Scoots.” Rainbow Dash replied, nodding. 

“You won't even need the brace anymore either. You flew on your own and nothing can change that now.” Star Shine added. He could still get some good things in and earn some brownie points with the little filly. 

“So what did I really need it for?” Scootaloo asked. “You were gonna tell me something before...it happened.” she added, facing Rainbow Dash as best as she could. She wanted to just get up but wasn't sure if she was able to yet. Better to wait for a doctor or nurse to tell her she could than try it and risk injuring something else. Or worse, injruing her wings even more. Rainbow Dash sighed. 

“You had some kinda disease or something. Star Shine can explain it better than me. Basically you couldn't use magic, which you need to fly, and the brace gave you the magic you didn't have. When it ran outta magic, like it did then, you couldn't fly.” Rainbow Dash explained. Scootaloo wasn't really sure how to react. 

“A disease? Couldn't use magic? Oh I'm confused...” Scootaloo said, scrunching her face up as she tried to make sense of what Rainbow Dash had said. 

“Then this is where it gets technical and boring.” Star Shine said, laughing a little. “You see...” he started before going on to explain Pegasus flight to Scootaloo. How they use magic to fly even if the vast majority of them aren't really aware of it. He then went on to explain how a Pegasus could be born without the ability to call on this magic to fly, or even to stay on clouds. That had confused Scootaloo, as she could stand on clouds just fine. Between all three of them they were able to work everything out. Every question that they had at least. Scootaloo had been able to walk on clouds because she had been determined to fly enough to let some out, but not enough to fly. She was a fully functioning Pegasus, albeit one who wasn't able to fly. The reason her wingpower hadn't grown naturally and was so low despite her age was also because of this disease; Vacuus Medeis Star Shine called it. A Pegasi's wings naturally strengthen over time and because no magic was going to them, hers didn't. That was also why even though she wasn't exercising her wings much around the time of Diamond Tiara's arrest, she was able to fly. Her wings had naturally grown stronger just by being in the brace. 

“So why was I able to fly?” Scootaloo asked after a lot of the boring and technical stuff was out of the way. 

“That one's easy.” Star Shine replied, puffing out his chest. “You wanted to save Dashie here.” Star Shine explained, patting Rainbow Dash on the head. She didn't care too much for the patronising behaviour. “Your determination to fly, to save her, saved the both of you.”

“What about the Gorge?” Scootaloo asked quietly. She didn't really want to remember that moment but she was curious. Curiosity won out in the end. 

“The Gorge? What about it?” Rainbow Dash asked. 

“When I...jumped, I thought I really wanted to fly then. But it wasn't enough. I'd have died if Rainbow wasn't there to catch me.” Scootaloo said sadly. Rainbow Dash winced a little at the memory as she realised that's what Scootaloo was referring to. 

“I told you, your determination to save Dashie caused it. Your want to save yourself might have been enough too, which is why Pegasi train their young the way they do, but I don't know how much you really wanted to save yourself back then.” Star Shine explained. Scootaloo nervously laughed her agreement. She had been in quite a bad place then. If she wasn't then she wouldn't have done something like that in the first place. 

“Why...err...why were you...sleeping like that?” Scootaloo asked the pair of them, nervously shifting her forelegs under her sheets and playing with her hooves. It would have been cuter if either Rainbow Dash or Star Shine could see it.

“Oh...” Rainbow Dash said, her cheeks going a little red.

“That...” Star Shine added, his own cheeks doing the same. 

“We kinda had...a moment.” Rainbow Dash said, blushing a little harder as she remembered the kiss she had given Star Shine after she got hurt.

“Or two...” Star Shine added, remembering the second kiss in the hospital. The one he had given Rainbow Dash partly to shut her friends up. 

“Oh Celestia.” Rainbow Dash blustered, hiding her face as she remembered that one too. Scootaloo couldn't help but giggle at their embarrassment. 

“Awwwwwwwwwww.” Scootaloo teased, laughing louder as Star Shine also did his best to make himself as small as possible. They were almost too easy to laugh at. “So are you guys, like, together or something now?” Scootaloo asked. 

“I...guess we are yeah.” Star Shine replied, looking at Rainbow Dash. “I mean, we are aren't we? I think we are. We have to be after that. You don't go kissing random colts like that do you? Oh, I hope not. I'd hate to be with someone who does something like that. Assuming I'm even with them. I'd be way too worried. Unless I'm not with them. I wouldn't have any right to stop them then.” Star Shine blustered. Even the tips of his ears were going red at this point. “Oh dear, I'm rambling aren't I?” he asked when he realised that he was, indeed, rambling. Rainbow Dash laughed at him.

“Only a little. Now come here, I've got something for you.” Rainbow Dash replied. Star Shine leaned down, curious. Rainbow Dash gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and he almost fainted. Scootaloo laughed at his reaction. She'd told Rainbow Dash a while ago that he tends to break when she kissed him. 

“I'd like to be...together with you, yes.” Rainbow Dash said, giving Star Shine another kiss on the cheek. He made the most delightfully squeaky noise when she did that. He'd make many more in their time together. Rainbow Dash would make a few of her own too. The main thing was that they would be together. Together with Scootaloo. 

A great little family. The one Scootaloo had dreamed of having. The one Star Shine had dreamed of having. Both of them were even with the pony they'd dreamed of being a family with. It's funny how life can work out like that. The people who love you will always love you. The people who will always be there for you will always, always be there for you when you need them. The story may end, as all good stories must, but the world keeps turning and the universe keeps going. New stories come and go. Some are told, and some aren't. Every story is important though, as is every little pony. 

They laugh, love, and live. Star Shine, Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had laughed, loved, and now it was time for all three of them to really live. Time for this story to end, but for their world to keep on going.
> Epliogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash stayed in the hospital for the next few days before they were allowed to be released. Star Shine spent almost all of his time with them, with the occasional trip home if one of them thought of something they wanted. He would also head home briefly to make sure that nothing was missing from the place. One thing he'd had to come to terms with in the past month or so is that you really can't trust every pony. There was no telling who was secretly a sociopath or psychopath. Not that he was likely to ever really run into one again. The day before they left Shining Armor finally stopped by to visit. 

“Hey, it's about time!” Rainbow Dash teased him when he entered the room. If it wasn't for what was on his mind he might have responded or played along. He was all business today.

“Sorry Rainbow, Scootaloo, I've been kinda busy up in Canterlot.” Shining Armor said apologetically. He was about to explain what he had been busy with when the door opened again and Star Shine walked in, fresh from a visit back to the house. He had taken a few things back to the house now that the girls were set to be discharged in the morning. 

“Shining Armor? I thought it was you I saw come in. How's things?” Star Shine asked, taking his place between Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. 

“Things are going great, just busy.” Shining Armor replied, smiling weakly. He certainly looked a little tired. He had bags forming under his eyes. “I've got news about your dad Scootaloo. That's why I'm here. Well, that and a little social call I guess.” he explained. Scootaloo tensed up a little at the mention of her dad and then grabbed one of Star Shine's forelegs and held it close. She'd been allowed to sit up now, and just wasn't allowed to put any pressure on her wings. 

“Star Shine's my dad now.” Scootaloo said simply, causing Star Shine to laugh in mild embarrassment. 

“I told you, not yet. Geez, me and Dashie only just got together, give it a while okay?” Star Shine replied, patting Scootaloo gently. Rainbow Dash did her best to bury her face with her sheets. She couldn't believe this was happening. She popped back out when she realised what Shining Armor had said. If nopony else was going to take this seriously then she would just have to do it herself. 

“What happened to him Shining?” Rainbow Dash asked, pulling Scootaloo and Star Shine back into the reality they had been so happy to escape, if but for a moment. Shining Armor turned away from the childish display to face Rainbow Dash properly.

“It's the main reason I've been so busy.” Shining Armor replied with a sigh. He went on to explain what had happened to Grey Feather when he was in custody. He hadn't given them many problems as far as information and questioning had gone. He'd actually been surprisingly cooperative. He knew the evidence was stacked against him and didn't really see the point in trying to get out of what he had done. He'd still had, and started, a few problems however. The main one being that he wanted to press charges against both Star Shine and Shining Armor. Star Shine for tearing his wing out of it's socket, and Shining Armor for proceeding to drop him out of the sky. Shining Armor was able to explain away Star Shine and get everything settled without him even being there. Star Shine had acted out of self defense, and only incapacitated Grey Feather. Even when trying to stop him he had also tried to avoid doing too much damage. Instead of stopping Grey Feather permanently, or trying to rip his wing off totally, he had stopped at simply pulling it out of the socket. The injuries that Grey Feather sustained were nothing compared to the injuries he caused. His was also much easier to treat. Not that he allowed it to be treated. That was where what Shining Armor had done came in to things. 

Grey Feather had refused to have his wing treated and even now only had one fully functioning wing even though it had all been settled. He claimed that what Shining Armor had done was nothing but unnecessary brutality and that he was traumatised by the event and might never fly again because he wouldn't be able to handle it mentally. If indeed he, Grey Feather, was incapacitated, then why did Shining Armor feel it necessary to do further damage? Unfortunately for Shining Armor the courts were kind of on the side of Grey Feather. It was true that he was already incapacitated. It was also true that he had been psychologically scarred by his ordeal. At first it seemed like he was just playing it up to cause Shining Armor trouble but then it had become obvious he wasn't. After the initial investigation was completed and the doctor tried to fix Grey Feather's wing, he had cried out and begged to not have it fixed. He never wanted to be in the air again. He didn't even listen to the argument that if he was able to fly, then he would be able to save himself should he find himself in the air again. Over the course of the rest of his life, the injury would become pretty much permanent. It healed as it was and would have to be broken again to be fixed properly, and he refused to let that happen. As more about Grey Feather's past dealings with the law had come out, as well as the way that he had goaded and taunted all three Pegasi, favour started to shift towards Shining Armor. That came out after Rarity, Twilight, and the rest of the Elements discovered the truth through Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Star Shine. The Elements had sway, even if they never used it. Except maybe just once to help Shining Armor. He was eventually exonerated and all that remained was the sentencing of Grey Feather. 

“So, what happened to him?” Star Shine asked, breathing a sigh of relief that Scootaloo wouldn't have to go to court and face him again. 

“Life imprisonment. The doctor who checked out his wing checked out the rest of him too and said that probably wouldn't be very long. If he holds out long enough to be released, then he'll be confined to the city of Canterlot. I don't think you'll ever see him again.” Shining Armor explained. Star Shine smiled, finding it suitable. As long as he never saw Scootaloo again then that was enough for him. Scootaloo seemed to be content with it too. Rainbow Dash was a little more indignant. 

“Life imprisonment? After everything he did that's it? Confined to Canterlot? What kinda punishment is that?!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, stamping her foreleg down on the bed. 

“It's not up to me to judge him, or say what he should get. I think Celestia and Luna get things that we wouldn't be able to get, and know what they're doing.” Shining Armor replied.

“Celestia and Luna? The Princesses?” Star Shine asked in awe. Shining Armor nodded.

“They sentenced him personally after finding out everything. He nearly killed an Element. They take that kind of stuff seriously.” Shining Armor explained.

“Me? He tried to kill Scootaloo too! And Star Shine!” Rainbow Dash shouted. She didn't like the implication her life was worth more than theirs. Star Shine moved across to her and tried to hold her to calm her down. She struggled at first but eventually leaned into him and calmed down. 

“Think about it Rainbow; Luna tried to kill Celestia, Discord tried to kill them both. She chose to banish them instead. She felt awful about what happened to Luna, even though Luna had struck first. Sometimes she still cries herself to sleep over it even though Luna's been back for a while now. Luna still feels a lot of guilt about it too. They know the deep and burning pain that comes with guilt. They torture themselves over what they did to eachother. They know death would have been a sweet release from what they were feeling. I've...I've actually heard Celestia say that. During Luna's banishment there were several times she wished she could just end it all. She kept on going though, because she felt she hadn't been punished enough, and she knew that her sister would be back one day and that the ponies she cared about needed her. They know how much that stuff hurts and what it does to you.” Shining Armor explained. 

“He's right you know. Grief and guilt can cut sharper and deeper than any knife in the world.” Star Shine added his own opinion. There were plenty of things he felt guilty about and Rainbow Dash had seen it in his eyes at times. She'd seen the way he would punish himself too. 

“Even so...what if he doesn't feel guilty? What if he doesn't care?” Rainbow Dash asked. She saw what Star Shine and Shining Armor were saying. There were things she felt guilty about too. She'd punished herself a lot over Diamond Tiara getting her hooves on Scootaloo's suicide note. That kind of punishment only worked when somepony actually cared about their actions and showed remorse and feeling. To her, Grey Feather was nothing but a heartless and soulless thing who needed to be ended.

“He'll feel it...I'm sure of it...” Scootaloo piped up, surprising everypony. “I've been on my own before. Spent a lot of time by myself. Things get to you, no matter how much you don't want them to. I never blamed myself for my wings or anything until I was left on my own and it ate away at me.” she explained. Star Shine walked back across to her and gently patted her back, taking care to avoid her wings. He was also beginning to wish that he wouldn't have to keep walking back and forth between the pair. It would be much easier on his legs when he got them home. 

“To be honest I think it's already starting to get to him.” Shining Armor said, causing all three Pegasi to look at him. “He's a massive drunk and he's obviously not been allowed anything to drink in Canterlot, and won't now he's locked away in the castle. I think he drank to fight away those feelings. He's already started crying himself to sleep and saying one name over and over again.” he explained. That caught Scootaloo's attention.

“Umm...what name?” she asked nervously. She felt that it could only be one of two names, including her own, and hers wasn't likely to be it. 

“Dawn Star.” Shining Armor said simply. Scootaloo started crying almost immediately. That was a name she hadn't heard in a very long time. It was one she was surprised she remembered. 

“Scootaloo, what's wrong? What is it?” Rainbow Dash asked, worried. She reached out as far as she could and Star Shine got the message. He hopped over Scootaloo's bed and pushed it towards Rainbow Dash's so she could comfort Scootaloo. He'd gotten in trouble for moving the beds and would have to move it back later. A bit of trouble was nothing. Scootaloo meant the most right now. Rainbow Dash put a foreleg around Scootaloo's neck and she leaned into it for comfort. 

“It's...it...was...that's...that's my Mom's name...my...my...” Scootaloo said between sobs. She couldn't bring herself to say “birth mother” in case she accidentally made Rainbow Dash feel any less important. Rainbow Dash meant a whole lot to her. 

“That's what I thought.” Shining Armor said sadly, looking down at the ground. He almost wished he didn't have confirmation. It might have been better to not see Scootaloo crying like she was. It was at least confirmation that Grey Feather was probably going to torture and torment himself a lot more than any punishment could. The great and terrible threat to Scootaloo had become nothing more than a pitiful waste. Rainbow Dash and Star Shine waited until Scootaloo had calmed down on her own, aware that there wasn't much they could really do to help her. It was painful for both of them to see her like that. After a few minutes she managed to calm back down again. 

“Let's err...let's move on to happier things, shall we?” Shining Armor asked nervously once everypony had calmed down and they could move on. “When do you guys get out?” he asked. 

“We'll be going home tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash replied, still stroking Scootaloo's mane. Scootaloo herself was still not really in a position to talk much. 

“We gotta get Scootaloo's wings fixed up and get her flying again when we do.” Star Shine added. “It might be hard, but I know she'll be just fine.” he added. 

“I'll leave you guys to it then. Good luck with it all.” Shining Armor said, nodding a salute and preparing to leave.

“You too. Just do me a favour would you? Next time you visit, make it a social call?” Rainbow Dash teased. Shining Armor laughed as he opened the door.

“Hey that's not my fault. You guys need to stay out of trouble.” he teased back. With that he walked out the door, leaving the Pegasi thinking along the same lines as him, and hoping for the same thing. That this would be it for bad things, they wouldn't get themselves into trouble, and that the next visit would be entirely social. 

Well, two out of three ain't bad.