After finding out Scootaloo can't fly, Discord decides to help her out, in his own chaotic way of course. However his act of charity causes new problems for Equestria when he makes her an Alicorn, what will this mean for the future of Equestria?
Discord in a rare moment of charity decides to try and help Scootaloo fulfill her lifelong dream of being able to fly. The problem is he goes about it by making her Equestria's newest Alicorn Princess, which leads to some complications with the ruling princesses.
What will this mean for the future of Equestria? And will Scootaloo be able to control her new powers?
"My dear Fluttershy, it's good to be able to join you for tea again, it feels like it's been forever," Discord said with a smile as he sipped his tea.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, things have been busy around here since the Changelings were defeated," Fluttershy said with a gentle smile. "I'm glad to do this too, it would be nice to be able to do this more often."
"Yes, that would be nice," Discord says. "So is there anything new going on around here?"
"Well, Rainbow Dash found out that Scootaloo is homeless, so she's been taking care of her and looking into formal adoption," Fluttershy says. "Other than that it's been pretty normal around here."
"Well that's good," Discord said, after all it was because of the CMC that he had been released in the first place, so he was glad that Scootaloo was going to have a chance to be happy. Maybe he could do something to help her out too at some point. "I'm happy for them."
Fluttershy smiled a little bit at that, she was glad that Discord had changed so much since they had first met. He was still chaotic sure, but he had come a long way, she couldn't be happier to have him as a friend.
That's when they heard a knock on the door, Fluttershy blinked a little, she hadn't expected anypony else to visit today. She opened the door and was surprised to find Rainbow Dash standing on the other side with a worried look on her face.
"Hey Rainbow, what's wrong?" Fluttershy asked with a worried look on her face.
"It's Scootaloo, I took her to the doctor today for..." Rainbow started to say before she saw Discord who was listening to them. "Uh..."
"You can trust him, Rainbow," Fluttershy said reassuringly, Discord smiled and made a halo appear over his head. "So, you were saying?"
"Sorry, the Doctor that examined Scootaloo talked to me after he finished," Rainbow said with a sigh. "He said that she can't fly because her body can't produce enough magic to get lift. Fluttershy... I don't know what to do."
"Have you told her yet?" Fluttershy asked.
"Not yet, the doc said I should be careful with telling her," Rainbow said with a sigh. "I wish there was something I could do to help her."
"Rainbow, it's okay, we'll figure something out," Fluttershy said as she hugged her friend tightly. "We'll get through this, I promise. Your friends are all here for you and Scootaloo."
"Thanks Fluttershy," Rainbow said with a smile and hugged the yellow Pegasus back. "I know that, and it really means a lot to me."
Discord watched them for a long moment as he stroked his beard. There might be a way he could help Scootaloo, but it would be tricky to do. Plus if it backfired on him he'd get into a lot of trouble, but it might just be worth it.
"I should get going, thank you for the tea Fluttershy," he said and snapped a claw as he vanished in a flash of light.
Rainbow thought for a long moment before nodding. "I should tell her... she deserves to know the truth."
Fluttershy nodded and smiled before giving Rainbow a light kiss on the cheek. "I know you'll do the right thing Rainbow, good luck."
Rainbow nodded and headed out of the cottage.
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"Hey squirt, how was your day?" Rainbow asked as Scootaloo trotted into the living room.
"Great," the younger Pegasus said with a big smile on her face. "Diamond Tiara invites us to hang out at her mansion, so we went there. It was cool, her Dad was really nice, and we got to play around her mansion grounds all afternoon."
"That's great kiddo," Rainbow said as she ruffled the filly's mane. "I got pizza for dinner tonight, but there's something I want to talk to you about first."
Scootaloo tilted her head in confusion at her big sister/foster mother, what did she want to talk to her about and why did she sound so sad? Rainbow wasn't as confident sounding as she usually was, and that worried her all of a sudden.
"Are you okay, Rainbow?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at the older mare for a long moment. "Is this about my doctor's appointment today?"
"Scootaloo, I'm sorry but..." Rainbow said with a long pause and a sigh. "The Doctor said you have a rare condition that keeps your body from producing enough magic to gain lift..."
"You mean, I'll never be able to fly?" Scootaloo asked as tears started to well up in her eyes, she had been afraid of that but had been holding onto the hope that she'd be able to someday. "Ever?"
"I'm sorry Scoots..." Rainbow said as she started to cry too and hugged the filly. "I wish there was something I could do to change it..."
Scootaloo sighed sadly and kept the hug going, she honestly had no idea what to do. While she was glad that Rainbow had told her, if there was no way she was ever going to fly, then what was her purpose?
"Don't worry Scootaloo, I'm here for you, so are your friends," Rainbow said as she nuzzled Scootaloo gently. "I promise, this won't change anything, you're still the most awesome filly I know."
Scootaloo sighed and wiped her eyes, she didn't know what to do, but at least that made her feel a little better. She smiled and released the hug with a nod.
"Thanks Rainbow... that means a lot," Scootaloo said with a smile.
"Glad to help," Rainbow said as she ruffled the filly's mane again. "Come on, lets go get that pizza."
The two Pegasi got to their hooves and headed for the kitchen.
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"Good night my little pony," Rainbow Dash said with a smile as she tucked Scootaloo into her cloud bed. "You're going to be just fine, I promise."
"Thanks Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said with a yawn as Rainbow left the room.
Scootaloo looked out the window at the night sky and sighed, she saw a shooting star and closed her eyes, saying her wish quietly to herself.
"I wish I could fly.. or something cool..." she said to herself and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep as her dreams were filled with her flying with Rainbow Dash.
As she slept, Discord appeared in her room and looked down at the sleeping filly sadly. He honestly wasn't sure if this really would help her fly, but honestly he just wanted to at least give her a chance.
"Sleep well my friend," he said and snapped his claw and golden magical energy flowed around and flew into Scootaloo's body. "You'll wake up anew."
He snapped his claw again and vanished in a flash of light.
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"Come on Scoots, its time to wake up," Rainbow said as she poked her head into the filly's room.
"I'm awake," the filly said with a yawn as she stretched her forelegs and got out of bed. She trotted into her adjoining bedroom, still half asleep as she pulled herself up to brush her teeth, and then she froze.
In her reflection in the mirror there was a horn sticking out of her forehead that hadn't been there when she went to bed. She looked at herself, she had her wings still. Somehow she had become an Alicorn.
"Scootaloo, are you..." Rainbow said as she rushed into the bathroom and saw Scootaloo's horn and stopped on her tracks. "What happened to you?"
"I don't know, it was there when I woke up," Scootaloo said as she felt the horn just to be sure it was real, it was definitely real. "How did this happen?"
"I, honestly don't know," Rainbow said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Did anything strange happen last night?"
"Not that I know of, the only thing I remember is I could've sworn I heard Discord talking to me at one point," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "I thought I was just dreaming, so I didn't really think much of it."
"Well, that explains a lot," Rainbow said with a sigh. "Sounds like Discord has some explaining to do, but in the meantime, maybe we should talk to Twilight. If anypony can help is figure it out, I'm sure she can."
Scootaloo smiled a little and nodded as she hugged Rainbow Dash. She was glad that she had somepony who was willing to be there for her, she just had to hope that they'd be able to figure this out.
"Come on, lets go talk to her now," Rainbow said as they headed out of the bedroom and towards the front door. "How does it feel anyway?"
"Kinda weird honestly," Scootaloo admitted as she rubbed her horn. "I didn't actually think this would happen to me... what will Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom think?"
"They're your friends Scootaloo, they won't care, well as long as you don't let it go to your head," Rainbow said with a chuckle as she ruffled the filly's mane. "Try not to let it go to your head too much okay?"
"Darn it, there goes my plans for the weekend," Scootaloo said with a giggle as they left the cloud house, she looked back at her wings a little. "I wonder if..."
"We'll test it out later, come on, I'll give you a lift," Rainbow Dash said as she knelt down and Scootaloo climbed onto her back. "Hold on tight, okay?"
"Okay, lets go!" Scootaloo said excitedly as she held on tight to Rainbow as she took off and flew towards the Castle of Friendship.
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As Rainbow flew towards the Castle, Scootaloo sighed a little as she thought about what had happened. She also wondered what this was going to mean for her, was she going to be made a Princess like Twilight was? Or was she going to have to give it up because she had been turned into an Alicorn by Discord?
"What's on your mind squirt?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked back at the filly.
"Sorry, I'm just thinking about all of this," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Why do you think Discord would do this? I mean maybe to cause chaos, but this seems kind of, strange for him to do."
Rainbow Dash frowned a little, Discord was one of the few that she had told about Scootaloo's condition, was it possible in some weird way he was trying to help her out? Well, she'd have to talk to him about that as soon as she got the chance.
"Umm, Rainbow Dash, are you okay? We've been hovering outside the castle for like 3 minutes," Scootaloo said, which got Rainbow Dash to snap out of her thoughts.
"Oh, yeah, how silly of me," she said with a chuckle as she landed outside the front door and knocked on it.
After a few minutes Twilight opened the door and gave the two a smile. "Hey Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, how are..." She started to say before she got a good look at Scootaloo. "Wait, what? How did she..."
"Yeah, we're still kind of trying to figure that out," Rainbow said. "We were hoping that you and the other Princesses could help us."
"Discord might've had something to do with it," Scootaloo added as she explained what little they knew about it, Twilight listened intently, but wasn't quite sure what to make of it. "And that's all we know, what do you think?"
"That's not a whole lot to go on," Twilight admitted and shook her head. "Okay, I'll send a message to Celestia, come inside, I want to check her over, if that's okay."
"Sure," Scootaloo said and Twilight lead them inside.
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Twilight had to do a few tests to see what was going on with Scootaloo, they were fairly ordinary really, mostly checking her magical aura to make sure that everything was okay. Scootaloo looked at her nervously, she had no idea exactly what to make of this, while she wasn't unfamiliar with having things like this done, this was the first time they had been directed at her.
"Hmm, interesting," Twilight said as she took notes on a scroll. "have you felt anything different since you woke up?"
"Well, I've been feeling some occasional surges of energy, but I don't know if that's normal," Scootaloo admitted as she shook her head a little.
"Its okay, same thing happened to me when I ascended," Twilight said as she examined Scootaloo thoughtfully, prodding at her horn a little before shaking her head. "Well Scootaloo, as far as I can tell you're a normal Alicorn Filly, if Discord did this to you then there's no residual chaos magic or anything."
Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief, that was good news at least. Even if she was an Alicorn now, Scootaloo was going to be okay, that was all that really mattered.
"Though I have to wonder why Discord would do this in the first place," Twilight commented out loud. "Its not like he has any real reason to do this, except for maybe to cause some sort of chaos by creating a new Princess."
Rainbow was about to say something when Spike came in carrying a rolled up piece of paper with Celestia's seal on it. "Twilight, I just got a response from Celestia."
"Thank you Spike," Twilight said as she levitated the paper out of his claw and opened it, reading it out loud.
Twilight Sparkle,
This is a rather unusual development, it it has never happened before that a Pony became an Alicorn without ascension or being born one, so honestly I do not know how to proceed without seeing for myself. I will be sending a carriage to bring you, Scootaloo, and Rainbow Dash to Canterlot, it will be there within the hour.
It is imperative that for now we keep this a secret. We do not yet know the consequences of what has been done to Scootaloo, and until we do we must tread with caution. Until we are ready to go public with the existence of a new Alicorn, you should place an illusion spell on the filly when she has to be in public.
With luck this will only be a temporary measure, for now life must go on as normal.
Sincerely, Princess Celestia.
"Well, that helps a little," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Do you think Princess Celestia will be able to help us figure it out?"
"Well, she'll try to at least," Twilight said with a nod as she looked at Rainbow. "Now then, before we go meet with the carriage, is there anything else I should know?"
"Well, its possible that it was because Scootaloo can't fly," Rainbow said with a sigh. "I told Fluttershy yesterday, but Discord was there so he found out. I don't know why he'd do it, but he could've done it for that reason."
"Well, have you tried to fly?" Twilight asked Scootaloo who shook her head. "Well, for now I think that's best, I'm sorry Scootaloo, I know you really want to fly."
"Its okay, I can wait another couple of days if I have to," Scootaloo said with a sigh. "I just hope that everything will be okay, honestly I didn't think this would ever happen to me."
"I don't think anypony ever does really," Twilight said with a shake of her head. "Why don't you go talk with Spike a little? I want to have a word with Rainbow Dash before the carriage gets here."
"Okay!" Scootaloo says as she gallops away to go see Spike.
"Is everything okay, Twilight?" Rainbow asked as she looked at the lavender colored Alicorn. "I know this was a bit unexpected."
"A bit unexpected? That's an understatement," Twilight said with a sigh as she rubbed her forehead. "Rainbow, this could be a big problem, whatever caused her to become an Alicorn has started to shift the balance in Equestria. It means that its more important than ever to make sure that she is kept safe, and that's going to fall on your shoulders as much as anypony. Are you up for that? I know you didn't sign up for that when you became her foster mom."
Rainbow thought for a long moment, she knew that Twilight was right, but the fact is there really was only one answer that she could give. She cared about Scootaloo deeply, that was why she had agreed to take care of her in the first place, that wasn't going to change.
"She's still Scootaloo, I'm going to take care of her no matter what," Rainbow said with a determined look on her face. "I'm not going to give up just because she's an Alicorn."
"Good," Twilight said with a smile, she knew that's how Rainbow would respond. "And she's lucky to have you, admittedly this will make the adoption process complicated, but I'm sure we can get it worked out. Especially if Celestia and Luna back it up."
"Thanks Twilight," Rainbow said with a smile. "For everything."
Twilight nodded and Rainbow went off to find Spike and Scootaloo.
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The trip to Canterlot passed pretty normally after Twilight had put the illusion spell onto Scootaloo. Some ponies noticed them as they went past, but none of them really paid any attention to the young filly. Twilight lead them to Celestia's private offices where the secretary waved them in.
Scootaloo gulped a little nervously as she found herself standing in front of the Princess of the Sun who is looking at her closely.
"Do not worry Scootaloo," Celestia said with a smile before looking at Twilight and giving her a nod. "You may remove the illusion now, Twilight."
Twilight nodded and the illusion hiding Scootaloo's horn vanished. Celestia examined her and went over the details of the tests that Twilight had done and sighed.
"Yes, Discord was definitely behind this, which means he is the only one who would be able to undo it," Celestia said and shook her head. "But, I don't think that would be a good idea."
"Why not?" Rainbow asked curiously.
"Because we don't know what would happen if an Alicorn lost her status," Celestia said. "The results could be disastrous. So Scootaloo will have to remain an Alicorn, and when she's ready, become the sixth Princess of Equestria."
Scootaloo blinked a little, she had no idea what to say about that at all.
"Concentrate on the object, imagine moving it around with your mind," Twilight said as Scootaloo's horn glowed a light purple and she tried to use basic telekinesis on a ball. "Be careful, make sure you only use as much energy as you need."
"I'm trying..." Scootaloo said as she tried to focus on the ball with her new magic, Twilight had wanted her to get some practice in to get an idea of how powerful her magic was.
"Don't worry Scootaloo, take your time, you'll get it," Rainbow said, she was watching the two Alicorns work. "I have faith in you, I know you can do it."
Scootaloo smiled a little at that, it meant a lot that Rainbow Dash had faith in her. She took a deep breath and tried again, applying magical energy to the ball as she did, the light purple energy flowing around it and then...
It broke apart into tiny pieces.
"Uh, I think I might have used a little too much magic," Scootaloo said sheepishly as Twilight checked the gauge she had set up to check on the filly's magical power. "Did you get everything you needed?"
"I believe so," Twilight said with a nod, honestly she still had no idea what to expect from this, she had no experience with a filly Scootaloo's age becoming an Alicorn. "These readings seem to suggest you have a lot of magical energy, which makes sense of course. You've got a lot of magical potential, its just a matter of being able to use it, which will require training."
"Does that mean I'll have to stay in Canterlot?" Scootaloo asked, she was afraid of the answer because she didn't want to have to leave her friends behind in Ponyville.
"For a few days probably," Twilight said and Scootaloo breathed a sigh of relief. "And maybe I can talk to Celestia about letting Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom come visit."
"That would be great!" Scootaloo says happily, then paused a little. "Uh, are we going to have to put that illusion spell on me again to hide my horn?"
"We'll discuss it, for now lets just go join Celestia for dinner," Twilight said and the three ponies headed out of the room and towards the main dining area.
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"So, how did your first day of lessons go?" Celestia asked as the food was placed onto the table in front of them.
"Fine, Princess Celestia," Scootaloo said as she kind of poked at her food. "Well, if you call accidentally making a ball I was supposed to be practicing on fine."
"Do not worry Scootaloo, many young ponies have problems with their magic early in their studies," Celestia said with a smile. "In fact on her first day as my student Twilight got so frustrated she destroyed an antique dining set that my chef at the time had been setting up."
"Did you really have to tell her that?" Twilight asked as Rainbow Dash just broke down laughing at the idea. "Its not funny Rainbow Dash!"
"I'm sorry Twilight, but its just so funny," Rainbow said and Celestia and Scootaloo laugh as well, leaving Twilight a little annoyed. "Okay, so seriously I have a question. Every princess has some sort of sphere of influence right?"
"Of course, I have the Sun, Luna has the Moon, Twilight has Friendship, and Cadance has Love," Celestia said. "And well Flurry is a bit young to have any sphere of influence yet."
"Yeah, and you said Scootaloo was going to take her place as a Princess," Rainbow said, Celestia nodded in agreement. "So if I may ask, do we know what her sphere of influence will be yet?"
Scootaloo blinked a little at that, she hadn't actually given that much thought because she was still getting used to this whole thing. That was actually a good question, what would she be the Princess of? There were some things that felt like they would fit her, but she had no idea exactly which one it would wind up being.
"Honestly, I do not know," Celestia admitted. "It is something that is to be considered certainly, but its still too early to tell what it would be. That is something that she will have to discover for herself."
"And what about Discord?" Rainbow continued. "He's the one who made her an Alicorn, while you said that she can't be turned back into a filly, we should still talk to him about it. Don't we deserve some answers about why he did this?"
"You are right of course Rainbow Dash," Celestia said. "I will send a message to Discord to see if we can get him here to explain himself. In the meantime, we will continue with Scootaloo's training as long as you are okay with that."
"Me your majesty?" Rainbow Dash asked surprised that the Princess would do that.
"Of course, you are Scootaloo's legal guardian," Celestia said with a smile. "I was the one who helped speed along the foster process so you could take her in.I trust in your judgment about Scootaloo's education."
"Okay, well... since Scootaloo has to remain an Alicorn, we should continue her training," Rainbow said with a nod of agreement. "Especially if we could move it to Ponyville, it wouldn't be fair to her if she had to leave her friends behind."
Celestia smiled broadly and nodded. "Of course, Rainbow Dash I am really glad to see how you have grown since we first met so long ago. You have done well with Scootaloo, and for that I am happy, you are a great pony indeed."
"Aww, you're making me blush," Rainbow said sheepishly as she took another bite. "I'm just trying my best to help her out."
Celestia just smiled and they continued eating in silence.
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"Daring Do slowly creeped into the treasure room of the ancient temple, standing at its very center atop a pedestal was the golden idol that she had come all this way to get. Carefully, she took a bag of sand and in the blink of an eye switched the idol with it. All was quiet for a long moment and our hero breathed a sigh of relief, only to have it broken when the very ground under her hooves began to shake," Rainbow read from the newest Daring Do novel, Daring Do and the Sphere of the Gods, she then put the bookmark into it and closed the book. "And that ends chapter 1, we'll pick this up again tomorrow."
"Aww, do we have to?" Scootaloo asked with a pout. "Shouldn't I be allowed to stay up longer?"
"Scootaloo, you're still only just a filly, you still have a bedtime," Rainbow Dash said and ruffled the filly's mane. "I promise that I won't read any more of it without you, will that help?"
"Okay, but you better not read even a word," Scootaloo said.
"Yes oh great Princess Scootaloo," Rainbow Dash giggled as she nuzzled the filly gently, causing her to giggle too. "Sleep well Scootaloo, I'll just be in the next room with Twilight."
"Okay Rainbow Dash," Scootaloo said with a yawn as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
Rainbow smiled and made sure Scootaloo's covers were secure and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. She trotted into the other room where Twilight was sitting in a chair waiting for her.
"How's she doing, Rainbow?" Twilight asked, she looked a little bit worried.
"About as well as you can expect given what's going on," Rainbow said with a sigh as she took a seat. "She's a strong kid, she'll make it through this, I have faith in her."
"You really have done a great job with her," Twilight said with a smile. "I've been trying to work through the red tape with the adoption process, but you'll have to give it time."
"I know," Rainbow said with a nod, she sighed a little, ever since she had found out that Scootaloo was an orphan she had been working hard to help her out. She knew that the process would be slow, but for now she could just give Scootaloo a good home, that was all that really mattered to her. "Being her foster mom already took a lot of getting used to, being the foster mother to an Alicorn Princess... well, that's not something I really expected."
"I know how you feel, remember when Flurry Heart was born?" Twilight pointed out, which got a light chuckle out of Rainbow when she remembered that. "Don't worry Rainbow Dash, you're going to make a great mom, I can tell.
"Thanks Twilight, that really means a lot," Rainbow said with a smile as she leaned back in her chair. "Everypony has been really supportive since I took her in. You're all the best friends a mare could ask for."
Twilight just smiled.
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"Presenting, Scootaloo of Ponyville," a guard pony said as Scootaloo trotted down the aisle toward where Princesses Celestia and Luna were waiting for her with Rainbow Dash.
She looked out at the gathered crowd, seeing many of her friends from Ponyville like the other Crusaders, Rainbow Dash's friends, and her classmates from Ponyville Elementary. There were plenty of others of course, but she couldn't help but she was happy that her friends were here, that's all that really mattered to her.
She smiled as she reached the head of the room before Celestia and Luna and took a deep breath, giving the two elder Alicorns a nod.
"Scootaloo, you have been brought here to be named the newest Princess of Equestria," Celestia said. "This is a great honor and duty that is only to be bestowed upon the ponies that have earned it. Do you stand before the monarchs of this land and its inhabitants and swear that you will uphold the laws and represent Equestria to the best of your ability?"
"I do," Scootaloo said as she tried to sound more confident than she really felt, it felt more like she was being rushed into this role.
"Then I crown you Princess Scootaloo of..." Celestia started to say before the world around her froze, Scootaloo blinked as she looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.
"What bothers you, Scootaloo?" A soft regal voice asked and she turned to see Luna, she was moving and trotted over to Scootaloo.
"I, don't know to be honest," Scootaloo admitted. "I'm still kind of getting used to being an Alicorn and... really I'm afraid that everything will be forced onto me before I'm really ready."
"Did Celestia say that you will have to take on any responsibilities yet?" Luna asked and Scootaloo shook her head. "Of course not, she understands that you are still getting used to this so she's not going to force you into something you're not ready for. It is why she is doing her best to ensure that you are ready for that day."
Scootaloo smiled a little, she was glad that Luna had come to talk to her, when she did it always made her feel better. "Thank you Princess Luna... really I'm worried about this though, I mean, me a Princess? I honestly don't know if I'll ever be truly ready for that kind of responsibility."
"Scootaloo, I know how you feel," Luna said reassuringly as she put a wing around the younger Alicorn. "When Celestia and myself ascended the throne, neither of us were truly ready. We did it because we needed to in order to help Equestria. I believe that you will be a great Princess someday, but only when you feel you are ready to do so."
Scootaloo blinked a little at that, Luna really thought that about her? That meant a lot to her, she smiled and hugged Luna gently for a long moment and closed her eyes.
"Thanks Princess Luna," she said with a smile.
"You are welcome Scootaloo, and please, just call me Luna," Luna said as she stroked the filly's mane gently. "Now go on, enjoy your dreams, and your life. Tomorrow will be an important day for you."
Scootaloo smiled and let go of the hug before running off, the dreamscape around her changing.
Luna smiled and watched the filly for a long moment. "A great princess indeed," she said as she retreated back out of the dreamscape.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow, Rainbow," Twilight said and headed out of the room.
Rainbow sighed a little as she went to check on Scootaloo one more time before she went to bed herself. She smiled a little at the sleeping filly who was curled up under the blankets. She smiled and straightened out the blanket a little and smiled a little before trotting back into the other room.
She sighed a little as she took a seat on the bed she was sleeping in while they where in Canterlot. She sighed a little, it felt like things were just going to get crazier from here, she didn't want to admit to anypony it but she wasn't so sure about this whole thing. It felt like a lot was being heaped onto Scootaloo's withers at once. While she did feel that the filly could handle it, honestly she just wanted to be sure that she'd be safe and happy.
She smiled and laid back on the bed and closed her eyes as she thought back to when she first found out about Scootaloo being an orphan about a month ago.
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Flashback.
Rainbow Dash was lounging on a cloud above Sweet Apple Acres, it was getting pretty late in the day, and she had already pretty much finished everything she had to do, so she was just trying to relax before heading home. She yawned and stretched out, there wasn't really much to today.
"Talk ta yah tomorrow," a filly voice said from somewhere below her and she poked her head over the cloud to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders, they looked like they had just finished up for the day and were heading home.
"You too, have a good day," Scootaloo said with a smile as her two friends ran off towards home.
Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile, she was glad that Scootaloo had such great friends. The two of them had gotten a lot closer lately, and she was happy for the younger Pegasus. She was about to fly down to the filly in order to offer her a ride home when Scootaloo climbed onto her scooter and looked around nervously before taking off back towards the CMC clubhouse.
"That's weird..."Rainbow said to herself, for a moment she considered leaving Scootaloo in peace, but finally her curiosity got the better of her and she flew off towards the clubhouse.
She just hoped that everything was going to be okay.
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Scootaloo stretched her small wings out as she laid out her sleeping bag. She hated having to lie to Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, but she really didn't want them to have to worry about her. They were her best friends in all of Equestria, and she didn't want to have to impose on them.
She started to take out what food she had saved from earlier and ate it hungrily, she sighed a little, sometimes she wished she had a place to live with food that wasn't just glorified leftovers.
"Scootaloo, are you okay? A familiar raspy voice asked and she was shocked when she looked up to see Rainbow Dash looking at her through the window. "What are you doing here and not at home?"
"I'm, uh..." Scootaloo started to say as she tried to think of a plausible lie to tell her big sister. "My parents are, uh, out of town and the house is being... you know... that thing that they do to houses where ponies have to leave for awhile."
Rainbow Dash just looked at her with a shake of her head as she opened the door to the clubhouse and trotted in. "Scootaloo, tell me the truth."
"The family I was living with before was a foster family..." Scootaloo admitted sadly. "They were good ponies but, they couldn't take care of me anymore. I didn't want to have to go back to the orphanage in Cloudsdale and leave my friends behind so I kinda, you know..."
"Ran away from home?" Rainbow asked as she took a seat next to the filly and put a foreleg around her, Scootaloo just nodded. "You know you could've told me right?"
"Yeah, I know, but I didn't want to worry you," Scootaloo said with a sigh as she looked down at her hooves. "I'm sorry Rainbow Dash... what are you going to do now that you know?"
Rainbow stopped to think about it for a long moment, this was a big decision that would change both their lives depending on what she chose. But the truth is that she really only had one choice, Scootaloo meant a lot to her, and she knew exactly what she had to do.
"You're coming back to my house," she said with a smile as Scootaloo looked up at her with her eyes wide. "I have a guest room where you can sleep and you can get some actual dinner. What do you say Scootaloo?"
Scootaloo didn't say anything at first, instead she just hugged Rainbow tightly, crying into the mare's chest. Rainbow smiled a little and held her close.
"Thank you Rainbow Dash..." she said through her tears. "You really are the best big sister a pony could ask for."
Rainbow Dash smiled and helped Scootaloo pack up her things before they left the clubhouse. Scootaloo climbed onto Rainbow Dash's back and held on tight as the older Pegasus took off and flew off towards home.
00000
The next day after Scootaloo left to play with her friends, Rainbow knocked on the front door to Twilight's castle. After a few minutes Starlight answered and smiled.
"Hey Rainbow Dash, are you here for some more, chilaxing?" Starlight asked.
"I wish, but no, I need to talk to Twilight about something," Rainbow said with a chuckle, Starlight nodded and let her in and directed her to the library. Rainbow trotted into the library where Twilight was reading a book, she looked up at Rainbow with a smile.
"Hey Rainbow Dash, can I help you?" She asked.
"I think so," Rainbow said. "I found out last night that Scootaloo's been living homeless for a few months now since her foster family had to give her up, I was hoping I could maybe look into becoming her guardian, could you maybe help me out with that?"
Twilight smiled at that, Rainbow Dash really had grown a lot since when they first met. She knew that it was going to be a lot of work to take care of Scootaloo, but she cared enough to at least give it a try.
"It'll take a few days, but I could get you named her Foster mother," Twilight said with a nod. "You understand that you'll be taking on a big responsibility right? You won't be able to goof off as much as you usually do."
Rainbow thought on that for a long moment, but she nodded. "I understand, and I want to do this for her, or at least try to..."
"Okay Rainbow Dash, I'll get it taken care of," Twilight says with a smile. "I'm proud of you Rainbow Dash, this is a big step for you and I couldn't be happier. If you want to eventually adopt her, I'm sure I can get that worked out quickly as well."
"Thanks Twilight," Rainbow said with a smile. "And I'd like that, but lets see how things go first."
Twilight nodded and Rainbow left the room.
00000
A few days passed and things went pretty well in the Dash household. Scootaloo really did seem happy, and they had even started to plan how to decorate her new room. Scootaloo had told the other Crusaders the truth by now and while they had wished she had been more forthcoming, they were glad that she was happy now.
Finally four days after Rainbow Dash had found Scootaloo, a mare from Canterlot arrived to inspect the house and talk to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. After she was done she took Rainbow Dash aside to talk to her while Scootaloo went up to her room.
"Well Miss. Dash, everything seems to be in order," the mare said as she pushed up her glasses. "You fulfill all the requirements to be a Foster Parent. Though, there is one complication, is it true that the child, Scootaloo, currently can't fly?"
"Uh, yes ma'am," Rainbow said, she was suddenly very nervous. "Is that a problem?"
"Its not likely to be one, but until she can fly I would suggest moving the house closer to the ground, or even considering moving to a new house," the mare said with a shake of her head. "It may also be a good idea to bring her to a doctor to determine if she is capable of flight at all, just to be safe."
"I see," Rainbow said with a sigh before nodding, she had figured that she would have to make sacrifices but it was all worth it to help Scootaloo. "Okay, I'll do that then as soon as possible."
The mare smiled and took out some papers which Rainbow signed happily. "Congratulations Miss. Dash, you are officially Scootaloo's guardian, good luck to both of you."
"Thanks," Rainbow said with a smile as the mare left, Rainbow headed up to Scootaloo's room where the filly was reading a book, she smiled at Rainbow Dash when she entered. "Hey Squirt, its official, I'm now your Foster Mom."
Scootaloo smiled broadly and hugged Rainbow. "Thanks Rainbow... that really means a lot..."
End Flashback.
00000
Rainbow smiled as she looked up at the ceiling, that had been one of the best days of her life and she wouldn't have given it up for anything in Equestria. Sure things were getting kind of weird now with Scootaloo becoming an Alicorn, but ultimately she was still the same filly that Rainbow had taken under her wing so long ago.
She didn't regret anything that had happened, all she wanted to do now was help Scootaloo as best she could. They were family, and that was what really mattered right now.
Rainbow yawned as she woke up the next morning, she got to her hooves and trotted out into the main room when she found somepony she wasn't expecting waiting for her. Fluttershy was seated on the couch talking with Twilight.
"Hey Fluttershy, what are you doing here?" Rainbow asked.
"Oh, umm, well, Discord came here because Celestia wanted to talk to him about something," Fluttershy said softly. "And, well, I wanted to see you and Scootaloo, so I asked him if he could bring me here."
"We were just talking about what's been going on," Twilight said with a nod.
"Umm, is it true that Discord really turned Scootaloo into an Alicorn?" Fluttershy asked, Rainbow nodded, which caused the yellow Pegasus to blink. "Wow... that's... umm..."
"Yeah, I know," Rainbow said with a sigh. "She's handling it pretty well, but its not exactly going to be easy on her. I'm really glad you're here Fluttershy."
"Of course, I'm always here for you Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy said with a smile as she gave Rainbow a light kiss on the cheek. "You know that I'd do anything to help you, right?"
"I know, and that's why I love you," Rainbow said with a smile as she hugged Fluttershy gently before giving Twilight a nod. "So, has Discord said anything yet?"
"I don't know honestly, he's been behind closed doors with Celestia since he arrived," Twilight said. "I don't get it really, I think Celestia is still trying to keep this under wraps until Scootaloo is ready."
"Well, I'm glad she'll be okay," Fluttershy said. "Discord didn't really tell me that much, is it possible this is about, you know, what you told us about the other day?"
Rainbow just kind of shrugged at that as Scootaloo walked in with a yawn. "Morning Rainbow, Twilight, hey Fluttershy."
"Hey Squirt, how'd you sleep last night?" Rainbow asked as the filly got up on the couch next to her.
"Pretty good, had a kind of weird dream, but Luna helped me out," Scootaloo said with a smile. "So what are we going to be working on today, Twilight?"
"Well, we'll still have to work you through the basics," Twilight said then looked thoughtful. "I might have another idea, there is a pony who would be able to help you as well, I'd just have to send word to her."
"Who's that?" Rainbow asked.
"Princess Cadance," Twilight said. "She used to be a Pegasus too so she'd have experience learning how to use Alicorn magic from a Pegasus perspective. She might be able to help you out with that, I can send her a letter in a little bit."
Scootaloo nodded and they went to go and get some breakfast.
00000
"It seems that you have a lot of explaining to do, Discord," Celestia said, she and Luna were in Celestia's private quarters talking with Discord. "It is highly irregular for a new Alicorn to be created, let alone through chaos magic. What do you have to say for yourself, Discord?"
"Is it so hard to believe that I just wanted to help her?" Discord asked with a raised eyebrow. "She can't fly, and she and her friends saved me from my imprisonment, I was simply paying her back. I have no ulterior motives for what I did other than to help a filly fulfill her lifelong dream."
"Your reasons may have been pure Discord, but your actions have consequences," Luna said with a sigh. "You created a new Alicorn, and that is going to change the balance of things in Equestria. You have changed things, things that cannot be undone without doing a lot of damage to the filly who you wanted to help, and to Equestria."
Discord paused a little at that, he hadn't expected that. He had genuinely been trying to help, but he hadn't thought of the ramifications of his actions, at least not completely. Now he had no choice but to own up to his actions, and that wasn't going to be easy to do.
"Discord, we are not unsympathetic to what you tried to do," Celestia finally said. "Ponies like Scootaloo are a rare occurrence, but we are not blind to it. Perhaps given time we can figure out a solution, but we cannot just make every pony with the same condition an Alicorn. What do you suggest we do if more ponies start to want the same thing?"
"Of course you can't just give them all that," Discord said with a shake of his head, that would be a bit too much chaos even for him. "But what you can do is give Scootaloo a chance. She's a good filly, and what she needs is a chance to prove herself, perhaps she'll be able to help other ponies like herself."
"Discord, you are right of course, we have to make the best of what's happened," Luna said with a sigh and looked at Celestia. "What do you think, sister?"
"I believe you are both right of course," Celestia said before looking at Discord harshly. "Of course, for your actions Discord, you will have to be punished."
"I understand," Discord said as Luna looked at Celestia strangely for a moment.
"Good, because your punishment is that it will be your job to make sure that she is kept safe," Celestia said. "Along with Rainbow Dash of course, but you created this situation so you will have to take responsibility for it by ensuring that nothing happens to her. Do you understand, Discord?"
"I do," Discord said with a nod. "I swear as a god of chaos, that I will make sure that no being will hurt Scootaloo, no matter what the cost to myself."
"Very good," Celestia said. "I will hold you to that, and I suspect so will Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy."
Discord gulped a little and vanished with a snap of his claw.
"Do you believe him, Celestia?" Luna asked as she looked at her sister for a long moment. "I mean, you remember the last time an Alicorn was created through chaos magic..."
"Yes, I do," Celestia said with a sigh, it had been a long time ago before Luna became Nightmare Moon, one of her students had delved into the forbidden magic and, the results were unpleasant to say the least. "That was an act of evil though, chaos is not inherently evil magic any more than order is."
"Yes, I know," Luna said with a sigh, Nightmare Moon had been as much a being of order as she was evil. "I do not want any harm to come to the child, I hope that you are right in your decision."
"Me too Luna, me too," Celestia said with a sigh.
00000
Scootaloo sighed as she finished breakfast, she looked at the older ponies around her who were talking to each other. She really was only half listening to what they were talking about right now, which mostly seemed to be about getting Fluttershy caught up on what was going on.
She sighed a little as she tried to levitate the fork, it felt almost like she was trying to fly again, every time she tried to do it she would fail miserably. It drove her crazy, why couldn't she do something as simple as just levitation? That was a basic Unicorn spell from what Sweetie Belle told her, but she couldn't do it.
"Uh, Scootaloo..." Rainbow said and she snapped out of her musings and looked surprised to see that the fork was levitating in front of her with a light purple aura, the filly was so surprised that she dropped it. "You did great Scootaloo, I knew you could do it!"
"Well done Scootaloo, you've taken the first step towards mastering your Alicorn abilities," Twilight said with a smile. "You'll still need some work to gain control, but you're doing great so far."
"That's wonderful, Scootaloo," Fluttershy said with a smile as Rainbow hugged Scootaloo gently.
"Thanks," Scootaloo said with a smile as she hugged Rainbow back, she was so glad that she had been able to do it, no matter how tricky it had been to do. "I can't believe that I was able to actually do it... I didn't even realize that I was doing it."
"Well, who knows, maybe you can do some things without knowing it like I can notice things without paying attention to them specifically," Rainbow said with a shrug. "Don't worry about it, you did a great job, keep it up and you'll master your magic in no time."
Scootaloo smiled as a guard opened the door and walked in.
"Princess Twilight, Ladies Dash, Fluttershy, and Scootaloo, Princess Celestia wants to speak with all of you in her private quarters," the guard said with a salute. "You're to come with me."
"Of course," Twilight said and the four ponies got up and followed the guard out of the dining area.
00000
"How are you feeling today, Scootaloo?" Celestia asked the filly. "Luna told me about your dream and feelings this morning."
"Better I guess," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "I'm still kind of getting used to the whole thing, but I actually managed to levitate something this morning, that's something at least."
"That's good," Celestia said with a smile before frowning a little. "I had a word with Discord earlier... he explained his actions to myself and Luna, but I believe that you should hear him for yourself. Discord?"
Discord floated into the room and cringed a little at Rainbow Dash's glare. "I want to apologize, I did what I believed was right in order to help Scootaloo after learning she couldn't fly. I didn't consider the consequences of my actions at the time, and I acted without thinking."
"You, really just wanted to help me?" Scootaloo asked and Discord nodded at that, she looked at Celestia. "Your highness... I don't really know what to do..."
"Scootaloo, it is your decision whether or not you forgive Discord," Celestia said. "What I can tell you is that he's being honest, and while you are not ready to be made a Princess just yet, you will have to make many difficult decisions once you are."
Scootaloo looked back at Rainbow Dash who looked a little apprehensive about the whole thing, but she nodded. "Go ahead Scoots, besides if he's lying he'll have to answer to me and Fluttershy."
"And if that doesn't convince me nothing will," Discord says.
"Alright Discord, I forgive you," Scootaloo said with a smile, and Discord nodded with a sigh of relief. "I admit, this whole thing is taking a lot of getting used to... but I want to thank you for trying to help."
"You're welcome Scootaloo," Discord said with a smile and he vanished in a flash of light.
"Rainbow Dash, how about you and Fluttershy take Scootaloo to see more of the castle, I would like to speak with Twilight in private for a few minutes," Celestia said, Rainbow and Fluttershy nodded as they headed out with Scootaloo. "What do you think of her progress, Twilight?"
"Well, she's progressing well at least," Twilight said with a sigh. "I sent word to Cadance in hopes that she'll be able to help us out, but I don't know really. Do you have any ideas?"
"I might have one," Celestia said with a smile. "I will make all the arrangements, for now we should give Scootaloo a day to relax, she has been through a lot, and she deserves it."
Twilight nodded and went off to find the others.
00000
After awhile they were outside in the palace gardens, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were watching Scootaloo ride around on her scooter. Rainbow smiled a little as she nuzzled Fluttershy gently.
"She's doing great," Fluttershy said with a smile. "With all that's going on she deserves a chance to try and live a normal life."
"Well, as normal as you can get when your foster mother is Rainbow Dash," Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Do you think we should tell her about us?"
"I think it should wait at least until things calm down," Fluttershy said and Rainbow nodded in agreement. "I'm proud of you Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow smiled and held Fluttershy close to her.
In the meantime Scootaloo came in for a stop before she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.
Scootaloo turned to look at the voice and smiled when she saw Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom approaching her. They galloped over and hugged her tightly and she hugged back with a smile. She was glad to be able to see her friends again.
"When did you get here?" Scootaloo asks as she loosens up on the hug a little.
"Just a few minutes ago," Apple Bloom said. "Princess Celestia sent a carriage ta come pick us and our sisters up. How did yah become an Alicorn?"
"Uh, well, its a long story," Scootaloo admitted as she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "See, Discord found out that I won't ever be able to fly..."
"You won't be able to fly?" Sweetie Belle asked and hugged her friend again. "That's terrible, that's been your dream for as long as we've known you!"
"Yeah, I know... which is why Discord made me an Alicorn, in hopes that it would help me be able to fly," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Crazy isn't it? Apparently he felt he owed me since we freed him from stone."
"Wow, that's crazy," Apple Bloom said and blinked a little in surprise. "Ah wonder what he'd do ta repay me and Sweetie Belle."
"Probably not make us Alicorns, I don't think Celestia would allow that again," Sweetie Belle pointed out and Scootaloo nodded. "So, what's it feel like?"
"Well, other than trying to figure out how to use magic and controlling occasional magical surges, I feel, really about the same," Scootaloo admitted as she rubbed her horn a little. "I haven't even been able to do much magic, I've managed to explode a ball and levitate a fork, and that's about it."
"Hey, that's something at least," Sweetie Belle said with a smile. "Is Twilight helping you out?"
"Yeah, though she said she'd see about getting Princess Cadance to come help me since she was originally a Pegasus too," Scootaloo says with a shrug. "So I kinda have the day off I guess, I'm just glad they sent for you two."
"So does this mean you're going to be a princess?" Sweetie Belle asked and Scootaloo nodded. "Cool, I wonder what you'll be princess of, this is going to be great!"
"Yeah, we're still kind of figuring that out, or I am at least," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Celestia said that I was going to have to discover that for myself, so, honestly I have no idea."
"Heh, maybe yah will be tha princess of adventure," Apple Bloom says.
"Or Cutie Marks maybe," Sweetie Belle suggested.
"Destiny?" Apple Bloom continued.
"Okay, that's enough speculating on what I'll be princess of, can we just have some fun?" Scootaloo asked with a laugh, she was happy to have her friends here. "Come on, I'm still me."
Her friends smile and nod before they go to play.
00000
"So how are yah handlin' this, Rainbow?" Applejack asked as she and Rarity came over to where the Pegasi were sitting. "Ah know that if Ah was in yer situation Ah'd be goin' crazy."
"I won't lie, its been crazy, but we've been working through it," Rainbow said with a shrug. "Really, Twilight and Celestia have been a lot of help, but its really a matter of making sure that Scootaloo is okay."
"Well I'm glad that everything is fine," Rarity said with a smile. "Is there any word on the adoption process? Though, this probably won't make things much easier."
"Well, we're still kind of figuring it out, but Celestia said that it shouldn't delay the process," Rainbow said with a shrug. "I'm glad really, its been a good month, I just want to make sure she's safe and happy, Pegasus or Alicorn."
Fluttershy smiled and gave Rainbow dash a hug. "So, Pinkie Pie didn't come?"
"Oh she had to watch the twins again," Rarity said. "She sends her best, knowing our luck she probably knew this was going to happen."
Rainbow just laughed at that, while she was Pinkie's friend she couldn't help but admit that the pink mare was, crazy sometimes... okay a lot of the time. She did however have an uncanny ability to know what was going on before she was told. Honestly she had no idea how she did it, but she wouldn't put it past her to know what was going on.
"Which means of course she's probably plannin' ta throw Scootaloo a party ta celebrate her becomin' an Alicorn," Applejack added with a shake of her head. "Maybe ya'll should get ready fer that when yah head back ta Ponyville. Unless yah want ta get Pinkie here, although that might not be a bad idea."
"Yeah, might be fun to have a Pinkie Party, beats hanging around with a bunch of stuffy nobles," Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Might even get them to stop being so stuffy. Its something to consider at least, and honestly I think it would be good for Scootaloo to have some more fun."
Fluttershy smiled and nuzzled her gently.
00000
"Bringing them here was a good idea," Twilight said as she and Celestia watched the two groups of ponies. "Cadance sent a message back, she says she'll be here in a couple of days."
"That is good, it is unusual for anypony to become an Alicorn, let alone a Pegasus," Celestia said with a nod. "Though there is still the matter of her flight. It is hard to tell whether or not Discord was actually successful based on the information we currently have."
"I don't see the problem about whether or not she can fly," Twilight commented. "Sure its rare, but its not unheard of, especially if its just a natural disability. Wouldn't it be a good thing if Discord's interference helped her?"
"Perhaps, but it is possible that doing so interfered with her natural destiny," Celestia said. "We do not know all the consequences of his actions yet. As strange as it is, it may actually be best if she can't fly, it may depend on what her sphere of influence winds up being."
Twilight paused at that, Celestia did have a point as much as she hated to admit it. It didn't help that they didn't know what it would be yet, and they didn't really know when they'd learn it.
"What do you suggest we do then?" Twilight asked. "She's got to be wondering about it."
"You are right of course, I will leave it up to your judgement, but it may be best to find out sooner rather than later," Celestia said with a slight nod. "She is your student more or less, give her the chance to at least try and fly, and decide where to go from there."
"I will later," Twilight said with a nod and a smile, she was glad that Celestia was trusting her judgment in this matter. "I think right now she needs time to just have fun with her friends."
"Yes of course," Celestia said with a nod and then she looked sad for a moment. "It is a shame that her parents didn't live to see this."
"You knew her parents?" Twilight asked and Celestia nodded slightly. "What were they like? What happened to them?"
"I knew them yes, they were important ponies in Cloudsdale many years ago and they visited Canterlot on several occasions," Celestia said with a tinge of regret in her voice. "They were good ponies who just wanted to help out, sadly they died in an accident. Scootaloo is fortunate that she found a pony kind enough to raise her, her parents would be proud of her."
Twilight smiled a little, she hadn't ever heard any stories about Scootaloo's birth parents, but she could recognize the respect in her mentor's voice. She wished that she could learn more about them, maybe she would ask more about them at some point. Though really, there was one pony that deserved to know about them more.
"Maybe you should tell Scootaloo about them sometime," she suggested, Celestia looked at her thoughtfully. "I mean, she never really got to know her parents did she? So, you'd be able to help her know more about were she came from."
"I know," Celestia said with a nod. "If you think it would help her, I will make it a point to speak with her about it soon. Is there anything else?"
"No, that's about it, I'd like to go see my friends," Twilight said and Celestia nodded as Twilight walked off to meet up with the others.
She wondered if she had been making the right choice by doing this, Scootaloo had a long way to go before she was really ready to become a Princess. Twilight had the right idea by wanting to get Cadance's help, but she just wished that things had been different. Maybe if this had happened when Scootaloo was older...
"Cruising, Wild Wind... I wish you could see her now, she's become a wonderful little pony," Celestia said with a sigh as she thought about the two Pegasi that she had known so long ago.
00000
It was getting close to dinner time, so the group headed towards the main dining hall. Things were pretty normal now, other than the surprise that Scootaloo was an Alicorn, everypony seemed to just accept that for the most part and just treated her like normal.
"So Scootaloo, have you had a chance to test your wings yet?" Rarity asked as Scootaloo took a bite of her food.
"Honestly, not yet, Twilight said I should just keep things as normal for now," Scootaloo said with a shrug. "Though to be honest, I really do want to try, I mean, this might be my only chance."
"Well, its ultimately up to Rainbow," Twilight said which made Rainbow pause a little. "Well you are her legal guardian Rainbow, your judgment is what matters to me. I think she's ready, but its up to you."
Rainbow looked at Scootaloo for a long moment. "Scootaloo, its up to you, do you think you're ready?"
Scootaloo looked thoughtful for a long moment, was she really ready? Heck was she ready for any of this? This was her chance to fly, to do what she had always wanted to do, but was she ready to take that chance? She looked at Rainbow, then at her friends who all gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'll, at least try," she said and got down from her chair, moving into a more open space of the room, she took a deep breath and started to flap her wings.
For a brief moment it felt like she was about to get lift, only to have herself fall to the floor unceremoniously once more. It was no use... she still couldn't fly.
Scootaloo was surprised when she suddenly felt a pair of forelegs wrapped around her body, she looked up to see Rainbow giving her a hug and blinked a little.
"Its okay Scootaloo, we knew it was a long shot," she said with a reassuring smile and nuzzled her gently. "Don't let it get you down, you're still a great pony, you don't have to fly for that to be true."
"You really think so?" Scootaloo asked with a sniff.
"We all do," Twilight said with a smile as she trotted over to them. "Scootaloo, you don't have to fly to be a good pony or princess. Heck I can still barely fly and I'm an Alicorn."
"Thanks Twilight," Scootaloo said with a weak smile. "Still, I can't help but feel dissapointed about this... I'm going to go clear my head a little, I just need to be alone."
She releases the hug and walks off out one of the doors. Rainbow sighed a little as she watched her go before looking at Twilight.
"Should I go with her?" She asked.
"Honestly Rainbow, I don't know, maybe you should at least keep an eye on her, but she needs some time to think."
Rainbow nodded and after a few minutes went out the door, she just hoped that she'd be able to help Scootaloo, or at least that somepony would be able to.
"Is Scootaloo going to be okay, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at her sister with a worried look on her face.
"Honestly dear, I don't know," Rarity admitted. "Scootaloo is a strong pony, I'm sure that she'll be okay, but... I don't know to be honest,this won't be easy on her."
"Ya'll will just have ta make sure yer there fer her," Applejack added and the two fillies nodded.
00000
Scootaloo sighed as she walked down one of the hallways, while she knew that she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, some part of her had really thought that this was going to let her fly. She sighed as she looked around the hall, there were a few stained glass windows here and there, but she didn't pay them much attention. She wondered what Discord was going to say, he had done all of this to help her, but it hadn't helped as much as he had hoped.
"What bothers you Scootaloo?" A voice asked and she looked up surprised to see Luna looking at her with a worried look on her face.
"Well, umm... I tried to fly today," Scootaloo said as she looked up at the older Alicorn. "I just wound up falling on my face like I always do. I feel so useless, I can't even fly when I'm an Alicorn, what's even the point? I won't be able to help ponies or be a princess or..."
"Scootaloo, calm down," Luna said and put a wing around Scootaloo. "Just because you cannot fly, that does not mean you cannot make great contributions to Equestria. Many ponies have been able to do so despite such things, so do not let yourself get down just because of it."
"Many ponies?" Scootaloo asked as she tilted her head in confusion. "Like who?"
"Come with me Scootaloo," Luna said as she walked down the hallway, Scootaloo blinked a little bit before following her. She turned down another hall that had more stained glass windows with images of ponies and cutie marks.
"Who are all these ponies?" Scootaloo asked as she examined each of them in turn. "Are they great ponies throughout Equestria's history or something?"
"I suppose you could say that, many of them made contributions to Equestria, but all of them..." Luna started to say before drifting off for a moment. "They were ponies that were close to myself and Celestia over our long lives, that have long passed on."
Scootaloo looked up at her sadly for a long moment as she nodded in understanding. She wondered if she was going to be immortal now, would she have to bury Rainbow Dash and her friends too?
If she did, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to handle that.
They finally came to a stop in front of a stained glass window with a strange flower pained into it. Instead of the usual bloom it had ice crystals that resembled a snowflake. Scootaloo looked at it for a long moment as if she was trying to recognize it, she felt like she had seen it somewhere before, but she couldn't place it.
"Do you know the story of the first snowflake?" Luna asked as she looked at Scootaloo who just shrugged. "A long time ago, before I became Nightmare Moon, there was a filly who was not much older than you named Snowdrop. She was a Pegasus whose class was to create gifts for myself and Celestia for the Spring, but instead she created the first snowflake out of ice. She wanted to allow the snow to grant wishes like the stars could, so she brought the gift before us."
As Luna was speaking tears began to well up in her eyes as she remembered Snowdrop. Scootaloo looked up at Luna and realized what was going on, Luna had been banished before Snowdrop had passed away. Luna had never gotten to say goodbye, so she had been grieving for her lost friend ever since returning.
"I am sorry Scootaloo, it is hard to think about these things," Luna said and was surprised when Scootaloo hugged her and she smiled a little and hugged the filly back. "Thank you Scootaloo."
"You're welcome Luna," Scootaloo said with a smile, she was actually feeling a little better, though she had to wonder why Luna had brought her here specifically. "Umm, why tell me this though? If you don't mind me asking."
"Of course not, my apologies for not being more specific, you see Snowdrop was blind," Luna said as she released the hug gently. "She spent her whole life unable to see, but she didn't let that stop her from giving a great gift to Equestria. You do not have to be able to fly or see or even speak to make contributions Scootaloo, you are a good pony who has a lot to give to Equestria, you must never allow your disability to get in the way of that."
Scootaloo smiled at that and nodded in understanding. "Thanks Luna, that really helped a lot, you're awesome."
"Of course Scootaloo, you are going to be a great Princess one day," Luna said with a smile. "You do not need to be able to fly in order to do that, all you have to do is be the best pony you can be."
"I'll do my best," Scootaloo said with a smile as she started to walk back towards the dining room before looking back at Luna. "Luna... I'm sorry you didn't get to say goodbye to Snowdrop. I wish I could have known her, she sounds like a great Pony."
"She was, and I believe that you two would have gotten along wonderfully," Luna said. "Now go on, I'm sure your friends are worried about you, I will see you again later."
Scootaloo smiled and waved a hoof at Luna before running off again. Luna sighed as she took one last look at the stained glass window as she started to cry again. She was surprised to feel a foreleg wrapped around her neck and she looked to see Celestia looking at her reassuringly.
"She was a good pony Luna, she always believed that there was still good in you as well," Celestia said as she reassured her sister. "Even in her final days, her thoughts were of you."
"I just wish that I had been able to see her one last time," Luna said sadly as she shook her head. "She did not deserve what I put her through."
"No she did not, but she is still alive," Celestia said, and pointed at Luna's heart. "She's alive in you, as long as you remember her, she will never die."
Luna smiled and the two sisters parted again to return to their duties.
00000
"I'm glad you're feeling better," Sweetie Belle said as they got ready for bed, the CMC were spending the night together in Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash's quarters. "Are you going to be okay with, you know..."
"I'll be okay, its not going to be easy, but I'll manage," Scootaloo said with a smile. "Besides Luna helped me feel better about the whole thing, I'll be fine now."
"Well, Ah'm glad she helped yah out," Apple Bloom said with a smile as she and Sweetie Belle hugged Scootaloo. "Ah'm sure that yah will be able ta figure somethin' out."
"Besides, you're the future Princess of Crusading, you'll do fine," Sweetie Belle said and Scootaloo facehooved.
"Sweetie Belle, we still don't know what I'll be the Princess of yet," Scootaloo said as Sweetie Belle giggled. "And all this speculating isn't getting us anywhere, we'll find out when we find out."
"Hey, whatever yer gonna be Princess of, Ah'm sure it'll be somethin' cool," Apple Bloom said with a smile.
"Yeah, you're a cool filly, so that would make sense," Sweetie Belle pointed out and then chuckled. "Just wait until Diamond Tiara finds out, she's going to freak!"
Scootaloo laughed at the idea of Diamond Tiara's reaction, even though she was now their friend, she was definitely going to freak out as soon as she found out. They smiled and let go as Rainbow Dash came up to the three of them.
"Okay girls, its time for bed, you don't want to be tired tomorrow," Rainbow said with a smile, she was glad that Scootaloo was happy again as she ruffled the filly's mane.
"Aww, do we have to?" Scootaloo asked.
"Yes, you do," Rainbow said. "Now come on, get ready for bed and I'll read you the next chapter of Daring Do like I promised."
She smiled as the three fillies ran off to get ready for bed and went back into Scootaloo's room in order to get the book. It felt like everything was getting back to normal at least, she just had to hope that everything was going to be okay.
When the fillies came in and laid down on the bed, Rainbow took a seat next to the bed and started reading the book out loud.
"As Daring Do started to run away from the pedestal, there was the sound of crashing coming from behind her as a massive boulder came rolling right at her..."
00000
The rest of the night passed quietly, Rainbow Dash unusually for her was the first one to wake up. She wanted to make sure that everything was okay, so she checked in on the fillies. She couldn't help but smile as they were sleeping calmly, Scootaloo had a smile on her face, so not wanting to disturb them Rainbow went back to the main room.
She was surprised when there was a knock on the door, expecting it to be one of her friends she was surprised to find that it was the mare that had come to her home for the foster process.
"Uh, can I help you miss..." Rainbow said, she realized that she couldn't remember the mare's name.
"Silver Lining, I'm here to follow up on your foster work with Miss. Scootaloo," Silver Lining said as she looked Rainbow over. "We received a letter today stating that you don't want to be her foster parent anymore. I admit I was confused by this, so I wanted to speak with you about it before anything is done."
Rainbow blinked at that, what did that mean? Rainbow hadn't sent any messages to them at all, what was going on?
Celestia was waking and was just sitting down to drink her morning coffee when the doors to her office flew open and Rainbow Dash stormed inside. The Pegasus was angry about something, and given all that was going on lately, that probably wasn't a good sign.
"I'm sorry your Majesty, she wouldn't take no for an answer," one of the guards said looking frazzled.
"It is alright, I will see what the problem is," Celestia said with a sigh, this had been a very stressful few days, regardless she looked at Rainbow Dash with as much of a smile as she could muster without her morning coffee. "Rainbow Dash, is everything alright?"
"No, everything is not alright, I just heard from Silver Lining this morning," Rainbow Dash said angrily, it took Celestia a moment to remember that was the mare in charge of Scootaloo's case from Foal Protective Services. "Apparently she received a letter from me that said I didn't want to be Scootaloo's foster mom anymore. I never sent any such letter, I think somepony is trying to get me out of the way."
Celestia set her coffee down, that certainly was a problem. There were a lot of ponies that could benefit from having an Alicorn under their control, but not a lot of them that knew about Scootaloo.
"Well Rainbow Dash, this is certainly a complication, but not one that we cannot deal with," Celestia said finally. "I will talk with FPS of course, you do not have to worry about Scootaloo being taken away from you right now."
Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief at that, it was at least a good sign, having the support of the Princesses did have its advantages. That being said, she was worried that somepony was going to come after Scootaloo now. She didn't like that idea, especially now that she was an Alicorn.
"Who could've wanted to try and take her away?" Rainbow wondered out loud. "I mean, there's a lot of ponies sure, but how would any of them even know about her?"
"I wish I could tell you Rainbow Dash," Celestia said with a sigh. "The fact is that nopony really should know about her except for those we've allowed to. I highly doubt that one of your friends would do such an act either."
"So, that means we're back to square one," Rainbow said with a sigh. "Honestly though I'm scared, Scootaloo might have a big target on her back now."
"Do not worry Rainbow Dash, I will double the guard around her to ensure that she is kept safe," Celestia said reassuringly. "Between them, yourself, and your friends, she will be safe I assure you."
"Is there anything else we can do?" Rainbow asked.
"Perhaps, but it would be difficult," Celestia said. "We could speed up the adoption process, it is highly irregular but it would be easy enough to do. As myself, Luna, and Twilight all support your bid to adopt her, that would not be an issue. The only reason we have not done so already is to avoid showing favoritism towards you."
"Well, that explains a lot," Rainbow said, though she would be relieved when all of this was worked out. "It, means a lot that you have a faith in me. I promise that I won't let you down, your majesty."
"I know you won't Rainbow Dash," Celestia said with a smile. "Just keep up the good work and everything will be okay, I promise."
"Thanks!" Rainbow said and headed out again.
"I just hope that's a promise I can keep," Celestia said as she sat back with a sigh, it was probably easier to list who wouldn't want to go after a young Alicorn at this point. A lot of the nobility would want to do so in order to increase their own power and status, they probably saw her as an easy target.
Before she could muse on this any further, a scroll appeared in a burst of fire and smoke. She unrolled it and read it quietly to herself for a long moment. She finally set it down and called to one of her aides.
"Send a carriage to Ponyville," Celestia said. "We might have a hint about what's going on here, go and get this pony."
"Yes your majesty," the aide said as he read the note for a moment and went off to get it all arranged.
00000
"So, how long are these guards going to have to follow us around?" Scootaloo asked as she looked at the guards that were following them down the hall. "Its kinda weird really..."
"Its just a precaution until we're sure that nopony will go after you," Rainbow said as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "Don't worry Scootaloo, everything is going to be just fine."
"Who would want to break you two up anyway?" Sweetie Belle asked. "I mean, that's kind of strange since they would be going against the Princesses and one of the Elements of Harmony."
"Well, I'm sure with Rainbow Dash keeping an eye out, they won't stand a chance," Scootaloo said which made Rainbow chuckle a little. "Right?"
"Oh yeah, they definitely won't," Rainbow said with a smile as they entered the main hall where Twilight and the others were waiting. "So what's on the schedule today, Twilight?"
"We'll do some more work on the basics of magic today," Twilight said. "You're doing better Scootaloo, but you still have a lot to learn, are you ready for this?"
"I'm ready!" Scootaloo said confidently as she and Twilight started to get to work.
Rainbow Dash smiled as she watched Scootaloo work on trying to levitate larger objects to begin with. She wondered if maybe levitation was the answer, Scootaloo couldn't fly like a Pegasus, but was it possible that she could fly some other way? It was just a thought really, but it might be worth exploring at some point.
"She seems to be doing well," she heard a voice say from next to her and she looked over surprised to see one of the guards who had accompanied them. "Given all that's been going on I mean."
"Yeah, she's doing great," Rainbow said with a smile. "I'm very proud of her, she's a great kid and I'm glad that everything's going so well, even if its a bit weird."
"Yeah, well, I'm glad she found somepony like you, I know her parents would too," the guard said, Rainbow looked at him strangely for a moment as she tried to figure out what he meant.
"Uh, did you know her parents?" She asked, honestly she didn't really know a lot about Scootaloo's birth parents. She had been curious sure, but for some reason all records of them had basically vanished, it was almost as if they didn't exist.
"Oh, I should introduce myself, I'm Glider, I'm Scootaloo's cousin," the guard said.
Rainbow blinked in surprise when she heard that, she had no idea that Scootaloo had any surviving family, let alone one in the Royal Guard. What was going on here?
She needed to learn more about Scootaloo's family once and for all.
00000
"Wait, you're saying I do have surviving family?" Scootaloo asked as she looked between Celestia and Rainbow, they were in Celestia's office once again after Scootaloo finished her lessons.
"Yes, you do," Celestia admitted, she wasn't quite sure how to tell the filly this. "Wild Wind, your mother, was the eldest daughter of a noble family from Cloudsdale. She was a bit of the, black sheep of the family you might say, when she fell in love with a young stallion named Cruising she was more or less disowned by her family."
"Is it, possible that they were the ones that are trying to get Scootaloo?" Rainbow asked.
"It is certainly possible," Celestia said with a nod. "They are certainly ambitious, even if they've been on the decline in recent years, the Cirrus family may see Scootaloo as their chance to regain their lost glory. But I would not consider them our only suspects."
"Did you know my parents?" Scootaloo asked as she looked up at Celestia who nodded. "If I may ask, what were they like?"
"Your mother was a wonderful and adventurous Pony who had a tendency to get into trouble much like yourself," Celestia said with alight chuckle as she remembered back. "I lost count of all the times she got into trouble for one thing or another while visiting Canterlot as a filly. But she was also kind and caring, she always saw the good in ponies and wanted to do right by them. I think it drove her family crazy, they always wanted her to be a proper member of the nobility."
Scootaloo smiled a little at that, her mom sounded like a cool pony, it was really too bad that she hadn't ever gotten to know her. Actually, she sounded kind of like herself.
"Your father Cruising was a weather pony in Cloudsdale," Celestia continued with a smile. "He was kind, but had a bit of a strange sense of humor at times. Your mother's family didn't quite approve of him, especially since he was not of noble birth, but your mom had loved him from the moment they met. Even after Wild's family disowned her, they both worked hard to make a life for themselves. They were good ponies Scootaloo, and Equestria feels a bit less bright without them."
"I, had no idea," Scootaloo said and even Rainbow Dash had to admit that she was in shock about what they were being told. "I just wish I could have known them."
"I understand Scootaloo, but they would not have wanted you to dwell on the past either," Celestia said with a reassuring smile. "They would be glad that you've been able to find a wonderful new family."
"Yeah, I really did," Scootaloo said with a smile as she hugged Rainbow Dash.
"They'd be proud of you Scootaloo, I know I am," Rainbow said as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "I promise that I'll always be there for you, I love you Scoots."
"I love you too Rainbow," Scootaloo said with a smile.
An aide came into the office looking worried for a long moment. "Your majesty, there's a pony in the throne room that wants to speak with you."
"Who is it?" Celestia asked.
The aide paused a moment after looking at Scootaloo and rainbow Dash before walking over and whispering to Celestia.
"You two stay here, this won't take long," Celestia said and got up, following the aide out of the office.
00000
Celestia entered the throne room and frowned a little when she saw an elderly Pegasus mare with faded orange fur and a graying red mane and tail.
"Countess Seraphim, this is an unexpected surprise," Celestia said with a frown as she looked the elderly mare over. "Especially since the court is closed because of a situation, so unless you have an invitation then you should leave."
"Yes, well I'm here because of your, situation," Seraphim said as she looked at Celestia. "I'm here to talk to you about my granddaughter."
"Your granddaughter who you have spent her entire life ignoring after her parents died in that accident," Celestia said as she looked at Seraphim coldly. "Scootaloo already has a family, Family Cirrus gave up any right to her a long time ago."
"She has a foster mother, that's not exactly what I'd call binding," Seraphim said. "Especially if the foal has any surviving family and was not removed from her family because of issues within the family. My legal representative assures me that there is enough legal precedent for the foal to be returned to her rightful family."
Celestia frowned at that, she hated to admit it, but there was enough legal precedent to back up Seraphim's case. Thankfully she had an ace in the hole in the legal department, she just had to hope that it would get here soon.
"Seraphim, Scootaloo is happy where she is, do you really want to take that away from her?" Celestia asked. "Rainbow Dash is a wonderful Foster Mother that has been working hard to keep Scootaloo happy and healthy."
"Is it not more important for her to be with her family?" Seraphim asked. "I'm sure that this, Rainbow Crash did you say?"
"Rainbow Dash," Celestia corrected her, she was getting very annoyed with this mare.
"Whatever, I'm sure she's doing a good job, but she's just a foster parent, that's not the same as having a real family," Seraphim said with a frown. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to see my granddaughter."
Celestia was about to say something when the doors to the throne room opened up.
"Uh, Trixie was shouting really necessary?" A second mare's voice asked.
"Yes, it was totally necessary!" The first mare said. "The dramatic entrance is very important, especially when you're trying to make sure that something is stopped!"
"Seraphim, I believe you're familiar with Miss. Bellatrix Lulamoon," Celestia said with a smirk, she hadn't quite expected to hear from Trixie when she did, but here she was. She trotted up to them with Starlight close behind.
"Yes, I am, familiar with her, hello Trixie," Seraphim said with a frown. "What's it been, 3 years?"
"4 years actually since you tried to pay me off to get the charges against your nephew dropped," Trixie said as she rolled her eyes, which got a confused look from Starlight. "I'll tell you later."
"Well, it doesn't matter, we were just wrapping something up here," Seraphim said and turned back to look at Celestia. "So as I was saying, I would like to see my granddaughter."
"I believe Trixie has something to say about that, Seraphim," Celestia said as she looked back at the Unicorn. "You sent a letter to that effect did you not?"
"Of course your majesty, I believe this will be of use," Trixie said and levitated some papers out of her bags and cleared her throat. "When I heard from your nephew who was visiting Ponyville at the same time I happened to be there, that you were here for your granddaughter, I looked into these old case files from my mother's days as Chief Prosecutor."
Seraphim's eyes narrowed, she knew exactly what Trixie had found and she didn't like it. This was going to make what she wanted to do a lot more difficult, that's for sure.
"I'm going to have to have a word with August when I get back to the mansion," Seraphim said with a groan, her nephew had given her all sorts of trouble, not the least of which being the incident a few years ago. "So what "evidence" does our illustrious former prosecutor have to present to us today?"
"Your majesty, around 6 years ago, following an accident that claimed the lives of the Countess' daughter and son in law, Seraphim here officially filed to have her granddaughter, one Scootaloo, to be completely stripped of any ties she has to House Cirrus," Trixie said and looked at Seraphim with a smirk. "So in effect, you relinquished any chance you had to serve as the child's guardian 6 years ago."
Seraphim snorted a little at that, she had hoped that nopony would remember that particular decision, no matter she would have the filly no matter what.
"No matter, I am here to..." Seraphim started to say.
"YOU WILL DO NO SUCH THING!" Celestia Said in the booming Royal Canterlot Voice, causing the elderly Pegasus to recoil. "Family Cirrus has given up any legal right to the child, and I find it suspicious that you happened to come just now after the recent events. I suggest that you drop the matter or bring it up in the courts. Now leave my court or I will have you thrown out!"
"Yes, your majesty..." Seraphim said and bowed, but she wasn't happy about it as she walked back out.
"She'll be back," Trixie said with a shake of her head before turning to Celestia. "Your majesty, thank you for your time."
"Of course Trixie, but I am afraid that it was only a temporary measure," Celestia said with a frown. "Seraphim and her family still pull a lot of weight, and there is now a good possibility that they may go public with what they know. For now, we will have to approach the situation with caution."
"We'll keep it quiet," Starlight said with a nod. "Is Scootaloo going to be okay?"
"I hope so," Celestia said with a nod.
"Well, legally Seraphim has no chance," Trixie said with a nod. "I'd be a lot more worried about what she'd try to do illegally, and if she goes public with this , its not going to go over well."
Celestia sighed, she knew that was true, they were keeping this secret, and even if the ponies weren't angry about the cover up, Seraphim might be able to rally the nobles to her cause.
Of course as long as Scootaloo was under the protection of herself, then there wasn't much Seraphim could do. At least not legally, which worried her a lot.
Ambition was a dangerous thing among nobles, and House Cirrus had it in spades.
00000
"Is everything okay, Princess?" Rainbow asked as Celestia re-entered the office.
"Honestly Rainbow Dash, I am not sure," Celestia admitted with a sigh as she looked at Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo who looked at her worriedly, she wasn't sure if she should tell them the truth or not. "I just had some issues with the nobility is all, do not worry about it."
"Its not related to me, is it?" Scootaloo asked, she wasn't sure if anypony in the nobility had found out about her being an Alicorn.
"Don not worry Scootaloo, you will be fine," Celestia said with a smile. "How about you go find your friends? I'd like to speak with Rainbow Dash for a moment."
"Okay," Scootaloo said as she trotted off to find her friends, two guards following her.
"I did not want worry her, but you should know what's going on," Celestia said to Rainbow once she was sure that the filly was out of hearing distance. "I believe that Scootaloo's grandmother Seraphim is the one behind the attempt to get you removed as her legal guardian. She was the one I had to go speak with earlier."
"Oh geez, what did she want?" Rainbow asked, though she really didn't want to know the answer.
"She wants Scootaloo now that she knows she's an Alicorn," Celestia said with a sigh. "Seraphim gave up all legal rights to Scootaloo years ago, so legally she does not stand a chance. However, if she was to go public with this information, then she could use it to her advantage in order to get at Scootaloo."
Rainbow started to get angry, she couldn't believe that Scootaloo's grandmother would do something like this. Scootaloo deserved better than that, even if Rainbow couldn't necessarily give it to her, she still wanted to make sure that she didn't get scum like her grandmother instead.
"What are we going to do?" Rainbow asked.
"We, might have to consider going public with the fact that Scootaloo is an Alicorn before House Cirrus does," Celestia said with a sigh. "And, there is one other thing, it may be the only way to ruin any chance Seraphim has to do this legally. Rainbow Dash, are you sure you are ready to be Scootaloo's adopted mother?"
Rainbow froze a little at that, the usually confident mare wasn't actually sure how to answer the question. She wanted to do it yes, but it wasn't something she had expected to come up so soon. She wanted to make sure that Scootaloo was happy and safe, and this was the best chance she had to do it.
She just had to hope that she wasn't going to get into trouble because of it.
"Whether or not I'm ready? I don't know..." Rainbow admitted with a sigh. "I've been trying to do my best to help Scootaloo ever since I became her Foster Mother, I've been trying to help her for a long time. While I'm not sure I'll ever be ready, I'll do it to make sure that she's safe from anypony that would want to use her."
"Alright Rainbow Dash, I will speed up the process for you," Celestia said. "In three days we will make the announcement, in two days the adoption should be formally complete. Do not worry, she will be safe, I give you my word as the princess of Equestria."
"Thank you Princess, I promise that I won't let you down," Rainbow said with a light bow.
"I know you won't Rainbow Dash, I believe in you and in Scootaloo," Celestia said. "You can go now, I will see you again at dinner."
Rainbow nodded and headed out of the office.
00000
Rainbow sighed a little as she walked into the dining room, she was surprised to see that just Fluttershy was waiting for her.
"Am I early or something?" Rainbow asked.
"Well, umm, Celestia said that she wanted to talk with Twilight and Rarity and Applejack wanted to take the CMC on a picnic in the courtyard," Fluttershy said. "I guess it's just the two of us tonight."
"Yeah, I guess it is," Rainbow said with a smile as she took a seat at the table next to Fluttershy and nuzzled her gently as the food was served for them. "This is, actually really nice... we haven't really had a chance to have a proper date in awhile."
"Yeah, it is," Fluttershy said with a smile as she kissed Rainbow.
Rainbow smiled lightly, it was hard to believe that she could've found such a wonderful marefriend. She and Fluttershy had started dating after Rainbow had taken Scootaloo in when she needed help, and the two had gotten close. Of course between her taking care of a filly and Fluttershy taking care of her animals, that meant they didn't get to date much.
"I love you Flutters," Rainbow said with a smile. "I'm just glad I have such a wonderful mare who loves me. I know Scootaloo would be too, maybe we should tell her."
"If she doesn't already know," Fluttershy said with a light giggle.
"Yeah, this does feel like a bit of a set up doesn't it?" Rainbow said with a chuckle. "Well then, we might as well not disappoint them right."
Rainbow kissed Fluttershy long and passionately, causing the shy Pegasus to let out an eep before she kissed back. The two Pegasi wrapped their wings and forelegs around each other, continuing the kiss and not caring who might be watching.
Scootaloo and Celestia smiled a little as they gently shut the door. "Well, that went better than I expected," Celestia said with a chuckle. "Lets leave them alone."
Scootaloo nodded and the two Alicorns headed off to get some dinner.
00000
"Oh hey Rainbow, how was dinner?" Scootaloo asked as she looked up from a comic book she was reading when Rainbow and Fluttershy arrived at their room.
"It was, nice, sorry you couldn't be there," Rainbow said with a light blush. "Scootaloo, we should probably tell you that we've been dating for a few weeks now."
Scootaloo smiled and chuckled lightly, she had figured it out after Rainbow sometimes came home smelling like Fluttershy's animals, but she didn't want to say anything. "That's great," she said with a smile before yawning a little.
Scootaloo laid back in the bed after getting ready and smiled at Rainbow Dash.
"I love you Scootaloo, I'm going to be the best mom I can for you, I promise," Rainbow said with a smile as she pulled the covers over her foster daughter gently. "Stay strong my little pony."
"I will," Scootaloo said with a smile as Rainbow sat down and took out Daring Do and the Sphere of the Gods again and began to read from it.
"Daring Do had made it back home from her trip to the jungles, but she was starting to come to the realization that her adventure was far from over. What she had found was nothing more than a piece to a much larger puzzle, one that would have greater implications for the world at large..."
Scootaloo yawned as she woke up and stretched out her legs. It was quiet, and honestly that was a relief for her, with all that was going on lately it felt like one thing was happening after another.
She just laid back in her bed and looked up at the ceiling, it was still early and it felt like she finally was getting a chance to actually calm down and reflect on everything that had happened to her in the past few days.
Suddenly waking up as an Alicorn was certainly not something she had expected, especially after learning that she wasn't ever going to be able to fly. Becoming an Alicorn was, really something that she hadn't ever expected to happen to her, was she really capable of handling this much power?
She sighed and looked out the window at Canterlot beyond. Things had been so much easier before all of this happened when all she had to worry about was figuring out what her cutie mark was, but now she was going to have to take on way more responsibility than she had ever imagined.
And honestly, she had no idea if she was even ready for that, she just was glad that she had the help of Rainbow Dash and her friends so that she wasn't doing it alone. She got to her hooves and walked into the bathroom, propping herself up so she could look at her horn again.
"What am I going to do now?" She asked herself as she stared at the horn for a long moment before getting down from the sink and heading out into the main room again.
“Hey Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said with a smile as she looked over to see Scootaloo entering the room. “How’d you sleep?”
"Okay I guess," Scootaloo said with a yawn as she rubbed her eyes. "Honestly, I kinda want to go back home to Ponyville, its not bad here but..."
"You're homesick?" Rainbow Dash asked and ruffled the filly's mane as she nodded. "I'm sure we'll be able to go back to Ponyville soon, just be patient okay? Celestia and Twilight just want to make sure that everything will be okay before that."
Scootaloo smiled and nodded in understanding. "Okay, I just hope it won't take too much longer, you know?"
"I know," Rainbow said with a smile. "Either way I promise that I'll be here for you no matter what, you're the most important thing in my life to me right now."
"Even more important than the Wonderbolts?"
"Way more important than the Wonderbolts, you're family to me, and family is the most important thing in the whole world."
"Then why haven't I ever met your parents?"
"Umm... err... oh look at the time we should go meet everypony else for breakfast!" Rainbow said as she ushered Scootaloo out the door.
00000
"Ready or not, here I come," Scootaloo said as she started looking around the courtyard where she was playing with her friends. "Hmm, now where could they have gone."
She looked around the courtyard a bit before her ears twitched a little, hearing a soft breathing sound coming from behind one of the bushes. She grinned and her horn glowed a light purple, pulling the bushes open enough to see Apple Bloom hiding.
"Aw, no fair usin' yer telekinesis!" Apple Bloom protested with a giggle as she came out of hiding.
"Sorry, Twilight said I need to practice it as much as I can," Scootaloo said with a shrug as they started looking around for Sweetie Belle. "Who knows, maybe even if I can't fly I can use telekinesis or something to kinda fly."
"Yeah, that would be cool," Apple Bloom said with a smile. "How are yah handlin' that by tha way?"
"Fine really, its just kind of disappointing is all," Scootaloo said with a sigh before she smiled again. "I'm just glad I have such good friends like you and Sweetie Belle."
"Aw, we're glad you're our friend too!" A voice said from nearby and Scootaloo grinned as she poked her head around a statue to find the Unicorn filly hiding there. "Darn it, me and my big muzzle."
This just got a laugh out of the three Crusaders as they hugged each other. Scootaloo smiled a bit, it meant a lot to her that her friends didn't think of her any differently now that she was an Alicorn, they would always be her best friends in all of Equestria no matter what.
"Excuse me, girls can I talk to Scootaloo for a moment?" A male voice said as they looked up to see one of the guards that had been assigned to Scootaloo.
"Oh, sure," Sweetie said as she and Apple Bloom exchanged a look before moving off to let the two talk. "We'll be just over there Scoots."
"Okay," Scootaloo said as she turned back to look up at the guard. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, I..." the guard said and trailed off for a second. "I just wanted to meet you formally, my name is Glider, I met your foster mother before."
"Oh, you're my cousin!" Scootaloo said with a smile as she looked up at the stallion. "I'm glad I get to meet you finally, I didn't even know I had any family out there until, well, you know."
"Yeah, I understand," Glider said as he removed his helmet. "I, just wanted to say I'm sorry, I didn't really get to know your parents very well, and I don't agree with everything that's happened in our family. I'm just happy that you've found such wonderful friends and more."
"Yeah, me too," Scootaloo said with a happy smile as she looked over at her friends who waved to her. "So, we're from a noble family right? How'd you wind up in the Royal Guard?"
"Oh its actually not that uncommon for members of Noble families to serve in the guard for a few years," Glider said. "My father served for a few years too. Besides, I honestly find the whole life of a noblepony a bit boring, you're lucky you basically get to do whatever you want with your life... at least I hope so."
"You hope so?"
"Never mind, forget I said anything," Glider said with a shake of his head. "Now go play with your friends some more, okay? I'll be close by if you need anything."
"Okay," Scootaloo said, still a little confused by all of this as she went to where Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were waiting for her.
"What was that about?" Sweetie Belle asked curiously, looking back at the guard who returned to his post.
"Oh, he's my cousin, he wanted to meet me I guess," Scootaloo said with a shrug and a smile. "He seems nice, a bit strange, but nice."
"Well that's great," Apple Bloom said with a nod. "Come on, lets go have some fun before Princess Cadance gets here."
Scootaloo nodded and the three fillies ran off to play some more.
Glider watched the three fillies play and sighed, he just had to hope that he wouldn't have to do anything that put the filly in danger.
00000
After lunch Princess Cadance had finally arrived at Canterlot, she spent some time talking with Celestia and Twilight while Scootaloo waited nervously with Rainbow Dash and her friends. Finally Cadance came out with a warm smile as she looked at Scootaloo.
"Its good to see you again Scootaloo, how are you feeling?" She asked the filly as they shook hooves.
"Okay I guess, I'm still kind of trying to figure out what too do with this whole thing," Scootaloo said as she rubbed the back of her head. "Were you really a Pegasus before you ascended like me?"
"Oh yes, its kind of a long story," Cadance said with a nod. "Though, from what Aunt Celestia has told me yours is pretty unique in itself."
"Yeah, Discord turning a pony into an Alicorn can't be that common," Scootaloo chuckled. "I'm just trying to make the best of it that I can, but things haven't been easy."
"I understand, you're having to learn a whole new kind of magic in addition to figuring out what you'll be doing as an Alicorn," Cadance said. "Do you have any idea what your sphere of influence may be so far?"
"Honestly, I have no idea, I kind of assumed it would come to me when the time was right," Scootaloo admitted with a shrug. "Though it doesn't stop everypony from speculating."
"Princess of Awesomeness maybe?" Sweetie Belle suggested with a smirk.
"See what I mean?"
"Now, now girls, Scootaloo's sphere of influence will come in time," Cadance said with a laugh. "She has only been an Alicorn for a few days after all. It all ties into your virtue Scootaloo, what defines you as a pony and what you can do to help Equestria."
"My, virtue?" Scootaloo asked a little perplexed.
"Yeah, like I'm loyalty," Rainbow said with a nod. "Its something to reflect on at least, and you never know, you might find something out about yourself."
Scootaloo thought about it for a long moment, she had always been working hard to try and find her cutie mark or to help other ponies, that was her talent, but her virtue? That was something she honestly had never really thought about before, and she had to admit she was curious about how that would tie into this whole thing.
Of course it wasn't going to be easy to figure that out.
"Thank you again for coming Cadance," Twilight said as she came out of the room with Celestia as she gave the older Alicorn a hug. "So can you help us out with Scootaloo's magic studies?"
"I can certainly try," Cadance said with a nod. "Come on, lets go somewhere and work on them."
Scootaloo nodded and the group headed out of the antechamber.
00000
"So, you've managed to figure out telekinesis at least," Cadance said as she watched Scootaloo manipulate a small ball and move it up and down in her magic. "Have you tried anything larger than that?"
"Yeah, but with mixed results," Scootaloo admitted with a shrug.
"Have you tried any other spells?" Cadance asked and Scootaloo shook her head. "Okay then, normally a Unicorn or Alicorn would have spells based on her cutie mark, but..."
"You're not sure what that would be for me?" Scootaloo asked and Cadance nodded. "Do you have any suggestions about what I could try?"
Cadance thought for a long moment before taking out a spellbook and setting it in front of the filly. Scootaloo flipped through it, it was mostly simple spells that were fairly standard for Unicorns to know, but it was at least a start.
"Its how I got started, you just need to start with the basics right now."
"Thank you," Scootaloo said and she started to practice her magic skills.
Sometimes the magic fizzled out before she could perform the spell, but other times she managed to pull it off. Her horn glowed with the final spell that she was going to try, a truth detection spell.
"Okay, so to test this one we just need a simple lie," Cadance said and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Okay, my coat is not pink."
Scootaloo giggled a little at that as her horn flashed twice, indicating that it was a lie. "Looks like you're lying Cadance."
"Yes, very good Scootaloo," Cadance said with a smile. "Okay, I think that's enough for today, you've made some nice progress, just keep practicing and you'll do fine."
"Thank you," Scootaloo said with a smile as she hugged the older Alicorn a little. "You're a great help, I just hope I don't mess this up."
"Hey Scootaloo, you're one of the most awesome fillies in Equestria history, you're not going to mess this up," Rainbow said with a smile as she ruffled Scootaloo's mane. "You've already made amazing progress, and I know you'll be the best princess ever."
"But no pressure right?" Scootaloo said with a laugh.
"Yep, no pressure," Rainbow said. "Come on, we've still got a lot to do before tomorrow."
"What happens then?"
Rainbow paused a long moment, she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Scootaloo yet or keep it a surprise. She finally settled on telling her the truth, she deserved to know that much.
"Well since I took you in I've been looking into adopting you," Rainbow said and Scootaloo nodded in understanding. "Because of some, extenuating circumstances, Celestia has sped up the adoption process. She said it should be finalized tomorrow."
"You mean..." Scootaloo said, her eyes going wide.
"That's right, starting tomorrow you'll be my daughter officially," Rainbow said, wrapping her forelegs around the filly who started to cry a little.
"Thank you... mom..." Scootaloo said as she hugged Rainbow Dash tightly. "This means more to me than anything else."
"I know Scootaloo, I know," Rainbow said and the two just stayed there for a long while.
Celestia was in her throne room looking over the court papers from the proceedings on Scootaloo's legal status following the death of her parents. She shook her head a little, it was like Seraphim had gone out of her way to erase any trace of Scootaloo's ties to her family from existence, she was going to have to have a word with the judge that presided over the case at some point, she suspected they had taken a bribe.
Most of the proceedings were fairly standard, a lawyer had been brought in to represent Scootaloo and her parents' estate but the arguments had been shot down and the judge had agreed with Seraphim, which was how Scootaloo had wound up in the orphanage and foster system.
Something still bugged her however, what had happened to her father's side of the family? She seemed to remember that Cruising had an older sister who could've easily taken care of the filly, why hadn't she been put in their care?
That's when she found a reference in the files that made her frown:
"The foal's aunts Holiday and Lofty have been determined to be incapable of caring for her and not be allowed to take custody of Scootaloo or to maintain contact with her.
That didn't sound right, she went through the files again and found the report from Foal Protective Services on the trip to the aunt's home. She frowned a little as she read it, it looked like it had been heavily altered and an attempt had been made to match the original hoofwriting.
"Well, we'll see about that," she said and her horn glowed as she cast a spell that would return it to its original form as the writing on it changed and she started to read once more.
Subjects: Holiday and Lofty. Relation to the Foal: Paternal Aunt and her Wife.
The home is kept clean, there are no problems between the two mares and they pass a full background check. They expressed interest in taking the foal in and seemed to be generally interested in her well being. Given they are the foal's most immediate family, they seem to be the most qualified to take care of her.
Recommendation: Approval For Guardianship of Scootaloo.
When she was done, she had the answers she needed. The question now became how she was going to proceed with this information.
She called her aide and told them to get a message sent to Foal Protective Services and then to the two mares in question. She just had to hope she was doing the right thing.
00000
The next day Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash were waiting for Silver Lining to arrive so they could finalize the adoption process. Scootaloo looked a little nervous but smiled a little as Rainbow Dash put her wing around the younger filly.
"Don't worry, it'll be okay squirt, there's nothing to worry about," Rainbow said reassuringly as she nuzzled the filly gently.
"Are you sure? What if there's a problem with the papers, what if they lost them on the way here... what if..." Scootaloo said, she was trying not to be nervous but it wasn't helping matters.
"Don't worry, everything will be just fine," Rainbow said as she held Scootaloo close. "We'll be just fine, don't you worry, its practically a formality at this point."
The door opened and Silver Lining came in followed by Celestia and Twilight. "I apologize for the delay but I had to look into some things on request from Princess Celestia, is everything ready here?"
"Yeah, we're all set," Rainbow said as Silver Lining looked around in her bags and took out a stack of papers.
"Good, at this point there is no real reason to delay, but the Princess wanted you two to be informed of a recent, development involving Scootaloo's family," Silver Lining said with a sigh. "It seems that when the matter of Scootaloo's guardianship was being settled there was a bit of a, legal snafu."
"If you can call a gross miscarriage of justice that," Twilight muttered.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Scootaloo asked with a tilt of her head. "What happened exactly?"
"Your father had an older sister named Holiday, Scootaloo," Celestia said with a sigh. "It seems that while the whole thing was being worked out, they were considered for your guardians however due to some doctored reports..."
"They were deemed incapable of being your guardians by the court," Celestia said as she looked at Scootaloo. "I suspect foul play is at work here, and I apologize that the Equestria court system has failed you. A full investigation will be launched into this matter."
"Well, that's great," Rainbow said with a smile, then she frowned a little. "What does this mean for the adoption though?"
"Oh, don't worry, we have had a word with both your aunts and they don't want to interfere with the process any more than has already been done," Celestia said with a nod. "But they are interested in being part of your life again, if you'll have them of course."
"Can I meet them?" Scootaloo asked softly.
"Of course, they really want to meet you, I have already sent a carriage to collect them and they will be here soon," Celestia said with a smile. "While they do wish that they could have gotten to know you before now, they are good ponies and do not want you to give up what you already have."
Scootaloo smiled a little at that, she had never thought very much about the possibility that she might have aunts or uncles, and now she knew that she had two aunts who cared enough to want to put her needs and wants ahead of their own. Maybe in another life they could've taken care of her, but for now she was just happy with getting to know them.
Family was the most important thing in the world right now and the fact that she had a chance to not only have Rainbow Dash as her adopted mom but to get to know her real family was even better.
"I'd love to meet them," she finally said and looked up at Rainbow Dash. "I want you to be there with me, okay?"
"Of course, we're all family," Rainbow said with a smile as she hugged Scootaloo. "So, lets get these papers signed and go meet your aunts, okay?"
Scootaloo nodded and the two of them looked at the papers over and signed them. They hugged each other again, it was official, Rainbow Dash was now Scootaloo's adopted mother.
And they couldn't be happier about it.
00000
Rainbow and Scootaloo waited in the castle's courtyard in anticipation for what was to come. Scootaloo was more nervous than she had ever felt about anything, while she had met members of her mother's side of the family, okay just Glider really, this was her first chance to meet a member of her father's side of the family.
What would they be like? Would they be as happy to see her as Celestia had said? Would they be nice? Cool? Boring? Weird? What? It was driving her crazy just trying to think about it, and the more she thought about it, the more it drove her crazy!
"Scootaloo?" A mare's voice asked and she looked up to see two ponies approaching. One of them was a peach colored Earth Pony mare with an orange mane and the other was a stocky light blue Pegasus mare with a light purple mane, they both gave her a smile.
"Yes?"
"I'm your Aunt Holiday, this is my wife Lofty," the Earth Pony mare said with a smile as she offered Scootaloo a hoof. "You probably don't remember us, you were still just a little filly when we saw you last."
"You've really grown a lot," Lofty said as she picked Scootaloo up and hugged her. "And you're an Alicorn, when did this happen?"
"That's, kind of a long story," Scootaloo said sheepishly as she rubbed the back of her head and told her aunts what had happened.
"You can't tell anypony, at least until its time to go public with it, okay?" Rainbow asked.
"Okay," Holiday said with a nod of understanding. "You must be Rainbow Dash, Princess Celestia told us you were adopting Scootaloo and I must say I didn't expect her to be taken in by one of the Element Bearers."
"Yeah, Scootaloo's become like my little sister," Rainbow said with a smile as she ruffled the filly's mane. "When I found out that she was living on her own I took her in and we just signed the adoption papers a little while ago."
"Well that's wonderful!" Lofty said as she hugged Rainbow Dash tightly, catching the rainbow maned mare off guard. "When the courts told us we were ineligible to be her guardians it broke our hearts. Its even kept us from adopting other foals, but Princess Celestia said it would be dealt with quickly."
"I don't know why anypony would do that kind of thing," Rainbow said with a shake of her head.
"Its that Countess Seraphim, she never liked Cruising," Holiday said with a shake of her head. "We can't prove it of course, but I think she had a hoof in that."
"Who's Countess Seraphim?" Scootaloo asked.
"Oh, you don't know," Lofty said as she facehooved a little. "She's your grandmother and the head of House Cirrus, she's basically the reason you were stuck in foster homes. I'm sorry..."
Scootaloo paused for a moment, she honestly wasn't sure what to think of that. Her grandmother had clearly done this for some reason, but why would you do that to family? Was it possible this was all connected to what was going on earlier? She didn't like the implications, but she didn't have any other options at the moment.
"Well Rainbow Dash, I'm glad we got to meet you," Lofty said as she shook hooves with Rainbow. "You're doing a great job, I can tell."
"And if you ever need anything we won't be too far away," Lofty added as she gave Scootaloo a smile. "You're a better family to her than her mom's side would be at least. I'm glad she found a family that loves her, and I know her parents would be too."
"I certainly do," Rainbow said as she wrapped her wing around Scootaloo gently. "So, you pretty much know all about us, why don't you tell us about yourselves?"
"Yeah, like how long have you two been together?" Scootaloo asked curiously, she hadn't expected to find out she had two aunts like this and she was excited to learn more about them.
Holiday just laughed at the filly's enthusiasm. "We've been married for about 9 years now, your mom was actually my best mare at the wedding," Holiday said with a smile as she wrapped her foreleg around Lofty. "It was love at first sight when I met this wonderful mare, I knew she was the pony I wanted to spend the rest of my life with."
"Well, once she managed to actually get a coherent sentence out and talk to me at least," Lofty said with a chuckle as she nuzzled Holiday. "Other than that there's not a lot to tell, we live in Fillydelphia right now and have been working together to run a travel agency for awhile."
They talked awhile longer, Scootaloo was excited to learn as much as she could about her aunts. They were kind and exciting, talking about the things they often did. Inevitably the conversation went back to her parents though.
"Do you, think they would be proud of me?" Scootaloo finally asked.
"Scootaloo, you're a brave, strong, and kind filly, you have a lot of both your parents in you, I know they'd be proud of you," Holiday said as the three older mares hugged her gently. "I mean I think they'd be a bit surprised about the whole Alicorn thing, but that's understandable."
Scootaloo just laughed at that, yeah that would surprise about anypony wouldn't it? She just smiled and let the hug continue, this was her family, her adopted mother and her two aunts, even without her birth parents she still had a family that loved her and cared for her.
And ultimately that's what really mattered, she couldn't imagine it any other way.
.