> Sororal Instincts.
>  by Reptilicus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> That was the coldest winter ever.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Leap years and time management in Equestria were a bit of an oddball, even for the usual phenomena that often occurred in the enchanted countryside. Sliding timescales, weather geometry, keyframe errors and other confusing vague terminology meant that every so often one of the particular seasons of the year would fall short. Spring wouldn't last as long as it should or Fall would end up overstaying its welcome. For the various colorful horses of Ponyville this wasn't too big of a deal. They went about their lives content that the pegasi weather teams would sort out any issues.

And they would be right. Weather, and the handling and management of the weather, was a big deal in Cloudsdale, home to the winged pegasus horses. And on this particular day a rather interesting solution to a very short winter was about to commence. It was a brilliant idea, thought up by the captain of official Ponyville Weather Team herself. A brash and mischievous young mare by the name of Rainbow Dash. A girl with a lot of talent, a lot of confidence, and perhaps a small bit of a selfish streak. A champion to some, a hero to others, and a jerk to a few. But she was the best there was and she got the job done. And she did it well. Few could match Dash in terms of speed, agility and efficiency. And she knew it.

The idea was simple: Winter this year was going to only last about a month so to make up for it, the pegasi would juice up the power of the clouds and ensure that winter was even more "wintery" than the previous one. Less work overall then attempting to stretch out the weather and in theory, should produce roughly the same results. This meant packing the nimbus clouds with three or four times the usual amount of snowflakes and cramming far more sleet into the stratus clouds then was naturally thought possible. Doubling up on snowflakes, frost, and sugarplum dreams.

However as the team of Weather Ponies were given their orders to begin Winter, their captain was called back by Cloudsdale's lead meteorologist and current regional manager of the Ponyville Weather Department. She was not in trouble of any sort, far from it. In fact, the very opposite. And that is where this story basically begins.

****************************************

"So" asked Thunderlane, a rather large darkly colored stallion. "How did it go?"

"What'd the boss have to say to you that he couldn't say in front of the rest of us?" asked Flitter, a light violet mare who was craning her head forward at the team's Captain who was looking at the ground with an unreadable expression.

Rainbow took off her Captain's hat and slowly looked up at the small group of pegasi who were crowded around the main door to the weather office. Her face saddened with a look of utter devastation. Small tears  began to appear in her eyes. Her jaw clenched and her bottom lip pouted, trembling.

"Oh no, what's happened!" shrieked Flitter, her eyes wide with horror to see their brave captain in such an emotional state.

But the ruse could only last so long and Rainbow's sorrowful expression was quickly replaced by one of laughter as she laughed aloud at how easily she had spooked her teammates.

"Nothings wrong guys. I guess due to me working so hard and never taking a sick day they are giving me the next few weeks off work." said Rainbow as she proudly shoved her hat and whistle into her saddlebag.

"So like.....a paid vacation?" asked one of the other horses in attendance.

"Yeah apparently the last time I took vacation from work was like three years ago and that doesn't look good due to employee benefits or some other businessy stuff I don't care about." quipped Rainbow as she rolled her eyes and grinned. "So in short, while you guys do all the work on this 'SuperWinter' project, miss Dash gets to sit at home and sip hot chocolate. Don't worry I'll be thinkin' of you guys while I relax!"

"Oh you lucky sod!" shouted Thunderlane shaking his head in disbelief. "Well enjoy your days off I guess. Pay us a visit if you get bored down with all those earth ponies."

"Aw you know I will!" Rainbow said with a wink. And with a burst of energy she rocketed into the sky causing the entire weather office, which was made of clouds, to shift unnaturally from the gale. 

It was no secret that Rainbow was one of the fastest, if not THE fastest, flying sentient creature in Equestria. With her short cyan hair and rainbow-colored mane and tail she looked akin to some sort of colorful fireball as she soared over the landscape. She smirked to herself as she flew. It was nice to get a vacation once in a while. Rainbow enjoyed napping a lot and one would think the pegasus was lazy from mere observation, but in truth she was one of the hardest workers in Cloudsdale. She seemed to have an endless amount of energy when it came to concentrating on her work. But rules were rules and an employee HAS to take some days off every once in a while. It looks bad if they don't. Don't want to give the impression the Weather Office are a bunch of slavedrivers, right? 

The air was beginning to chill by the time Rainbow arrived at her home, the beginning of the Winter she had worked so hard to organize over the last month. And now rather than have to work further to execute it, she was going to enjoy it from the cozy inside of her warm cloud mansion. It was a rather elaborate house, looking like a floating white palace more than anything. It hovered several stories in the air, small colorful waterfalls adorning its gables as greek columns made up the foundations. And for the most part far too big for one pony. But it looked impressive and it gave Rainbow yet another thing to proudly brag about when someone new came to town. Showing off was perhaps her favorite pastime.

*********************************************

"This is boring!" Rainbow said aloud as she sat inside of her bedroom, staring at the bookshelf of comics and action novels she had reread countless times. Though only an hour had passed the weather had picked up violently. Snow and hail whipped by the windows of the cottages of ponyville as a fine layer of white began to cover everything. But it did nothing to alleviate the fact that Rainbow had nothing to do and was all alone in the house. That is, all alone with the exception of her loyal pet.

"Maybe I should go hang out with Pinkie." Rainbow thought as she tossed her copy of Daring Do and the Chamber of Malice onto a pile of comic books in the corner of the room. Earlier that day, one of Rainbow's longtime companions had invited her to a sleepover. Which Rainbow flatly denied. It wasn't so much that she didn't like sleepovers. It was more of an issue that spending more than eight hours in the company of Pinkie Pie would probably be taxing on Rainbow's already very short patience. 

Pinkie was a wonderful friend and one of the few ponies Rainbow felt she could really connect with besides her other friend Applejack. The three of them were all very athletic and enjoyed the boundless energy that came with youth. But Applejack was serious all the time preferring working all day over sillyness. She never liked pranks and as of late she and Rainbow's bickering was threatening to end their friendship. So the two had unofficially taken a break from hanging out with each other to cool off. Pinkie on the other hand had an adorable childlike demeanor with a bit of an evil streak she expressed via pranks and music. Her special talent was "throwing parties" but it was a rather vague description of all the things she was capable of. She could tell a joke, do impressions, improvise a song on the spot, act, and when it came to pranks she was wildly inventive. However she also consumed vast amounts of sugar at the bakery she lived at, which left her in a constantly hyper state. She never seemed to know when to "turn off" even if it annoyed those around her. And her natural clingyness seemed to be magnified tenfold whenever she was around Dash, making the pegasus somewhat uncomfortable at all the constant affection. Which was partly why Rainbow wasn't sure she wanted to spend too long of a time in the pink pony's company, despite Pinkie's ability to make Rainbow laugh.

But as Rainbow sat there thinking about her options it struck her that she'd rather be laughing and annoyed at Pinky then sitting at home being bored. If she didn't get out of the house and be social she'd end up being bored until the winter came to an end. Then she'd be put back to work helping Wrap-Up the season and get Spring started. So Rainbow grabbed her favorite scarf, knitted for her by another old friend, and wrapped it tightly around her neck.

"C'mon Tank we are going over to Pinkie's place." she shouted.

With a small shuffling a large wrinkly tortoise squirmed out from under one of the cushions of Rainbow's cloud couch with a piece of carrot sticking out of his mouth, chewing peacefully. Tank was a gift of sorts from Rainbow's friend Fluttershy, whose house was very nearly a zoo. Tank had saved Rainbow's life once, and she felt it was her duty to take care of the little guy as a pet. It had been beneficial for them both. Tank earned the right to be the pet of the coolest pegasus in town and Rainbow learned how to be patient and caring for a creature that depended on her. Tortoises seem like they aren't very capable of showing emotion but Tank often proved otherwise as his green beaky face twisted up into a dopey smile as he trudged slowly to his master.

"Whose a good boy, huh? Whose a good boy!" squealed Rainbow as she affectionately rubbed a hoof on Tank's flat scaly forehead.

He responded with a happy grunting noise and slipped his head into his harness. A small device with an enchanted propeller that allowed the slow and earthbound animal to take flight and follow his master around. He couldn't fly very fast but he could keep up with birds and Rainbow would never leave him behind. And that was enough to keep him happy.

Rainbow shut the door to her cloud mansion and peered over the edge. Down below were the now snow-covered hills of the Everfree forest. On the edge of which was the small wooden cottage of Fluttershy, where Tank once lived. Beyond that was Sweet Apple Acres where Applejack and her ornery kin lived, growing fruits and veggies of all sorts for the townsfolk. Then past that was the destination Rainbow was aiming for. The small village of Ponyville. It was a nice place. Full of old friends and new; a cornucopia of ponies, donkeys, cows, griffons, dragons, goats,  and other various creatures that lived in Equestria.

"Alright Tank. The blizzard is pretty bad down there. Let's get to Sugarcube Corner as quick as we can. Then we can just sit back and let Pinkie find ways of entertaining us. You know how she is. After the initial sloppy hugs and kisses she'll probably do whatever we ask her to. Heck we'll probably get a bunch of free food out of it. Want some free muffins, boy?" asked Rainbow. Tank nodded his head excitedly. Or at least as excitedly as a tortoise could manage.

With a flap of her wings and a buzz of his propeller the two animals leapt from the balcony of the cloud palace and dove down past the dark nimbus clouds right into the blizzard. Rainbow was immediately happy she was wearing the scarf Rarity had knitted for her. She looked over to see Tank's teeth chattering as he was buffeted around by the icy cold winds. Whirling snowflakes nearly enveloped them both as they spiraled downwards. 

"I guess we need Rare to make you a scarf too, huh?" said Rainbow to her reptilian companion. "Or maybe a whole sweater to go over your turtley shell thing."



A blob of snow to the mouth silenced Rainbow Dash and she and tank wheeled downwards through the sheets of wind and ice. For anyone outside of Ponyville, seeing a Pegasus diving towards an earth pony town wearing a rainbow-pattern scarf with a propeller-wearing tortoise chasing after would have been a bizarre sight. But for Ponyville this was a Monday. And for Rainbow this was like any other day. That is until she noticed a small orange form far below her near the edge of the Everfree forest. Was that a pony? Whats a pony doing walking around in this awful blizzard? Especially after Rainbow had painstakingly given pamphlets to everyone in town to let them know to stay inside on this specific day. Even going so far as to plaster up signs and stickers on fences and walls in town, specifically just to let ponies know not to be outside when Winter came to call. Apparently someone did not get the memo.

Well, despite wanting to rush to Pinkie's bakery house and devour all the sugary baked goods that no doubt waited inside, part of Rainbow's job was to be sure everyone was safe during weather phenomena, even when off-duty.

"Hey Tank. Head down to Sugarcube Corner without me. I'll catch up with you in a little bit. If Pinkie doesn't answer the door just fly in through her window. She always leaves it open in case I visit. Try not to freak out her pet alligator. He might seem friendly but he's kinda....eh."

And with that the two parted. The tortoise continued his descent over the rooftops of the many cottages of Ponyville while the cyan pegasus took off toward the edge of town and the orange pony mysteriously near the edge of the forboding Everfree forest.
> The color of infinity.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sugarcube Corner was a pretty recognizable landmark in Ponyville. Even amongst the various brightly colored cottages and businesses that already adorned the small pastel town. It looked alot like a giant Gingerbread House. Realistic enough to be edible, even. However those who attempted to taste the structure would soon fine it tasted roughly like drywall and concrete. Even the icing that coated the roof was expertly crafted bits of wood and caulk. The entire structure had been designed by a young stallion by the name of Carrot Cake as a gift to the mare he loved. This had been more than a decade ago and while the building had gone through a few redesigns and fixes over its years, as the occupants within aged gracefully, the Cake family who owned it still ran the business the same way they always had. Service with a smile. And nothing but top-quality baked goods. It was a fruitful venture even in a town with as many budding young chefs as Ponyville. Nobody could deny that BonBon's Sweet Shoppe and Carrot Top's Cafe were fancier places to dine with higher quality food. But one didn't go to Sugarcube just to eat. It was a bit of an adventure with an atmosphere like nowhere else in the town. It was more than lunch, it was an experience.

The inside of the restaurant was set up sort of like a bizarre cross between a toy store and a deli. Everything inside was hoofcrafted wood designed to look like cake, cookies, frosting. The support beams looked like cinnamon sticks with brown sugar sprinkled delicately upon them. A glass window out front showed some of the currently available desserts but special orders were always welcome and cooked fresh. A few tables inside and outside allowed ponies to sit and eat and chat with each other or the Cake family themselves. Carrot and his wife Cup were constantly trying to make sure everyone who left the establishment felt good about themselves. They went beyond the call of duty in trying to be sociable with their guests. Which is why Pinkie seemed to fit in so well. The pink talkative pony loved her life living in the attic of the bakery and helping with cooking, cleaning, or being a waitress on busy days. Nobody really knew exactly how it was that Pinkie came to live with the Cakes but from an outside observer one would think Pinkie was their daughter. The middle-aged couple certainly treated her as such. However they were not related by blood. Pinkie had come to them from a rock mine far outside of Ponyville. When asked about the subject, shushed answers were usually given. It was a sensitive topic for reasons the Cakes and Pinkie didn't enjoy talking about and kept a secret. But few asked anyway. With the arrival of Carrot and Cup's twins Pinkie had been taking on a lot more responsibilities around the shop. It took quite a bit of effort to keep such a popular eatery going but Pinkie had the energy and social skills to keep customers coming back, while still making time to babysit when she was needed. Parties, catering, even weddings had happened at the bakery over the years.

Today however the shop was closed due to the tremendously loud and violent snowstorm outside. Pinkie was in her attic bedroom listening to old swing music on her small wooden radio. She had built the radio herself out of spare parts. It seemed alot of ponies thought Pinkie wasn't too bright due to her somewhat ditzy personality and extremely short attention span. But underneath her wild neon pink curls and large blue eyes lay a very clever brain that seemed to be at constant odds with itself. As the storm raged outside, a similar storm was raging inside the mind of the pink pony. She was experiencing an emotion that she hated most of all: loneliness. Her adopted guardians had retired to their bedroom to take care of the twin infants and Pinkie was alone in her room listening to music. Her pet alligator Gummy was sitting on a pile of deflated balloons snoring quietly to himself. He was still a baby himself, with no teeth and an often vacant expression on his face. Pinkie glanced fondly at him as he slept then went back to moping.

Pinkie had invited all of her friends to come over for a sleepover on the night of the big blizzard. But every one of them had found a way to turn her down. Twilight Sparkle, who had recently moved to town, claimed she had too much studying to do. Pinkie wasn't sure what Twilight studied but trusted that the purple unicorn wouldn't lie to her. Rarity claimed she needed to take care of her little sister Sweetie Bell who was staying over for the season. Pinkie couldn't think of a reason why Rarity shouldn't bring Sweetie over as well but the white unicorn had made up her mind. Applejack wanted to keep the barns from taking damage during the blizzard. Fluttershy wanted to be sure all the animals in the forest had somewhere warm and safe to stay. Rainbow Dash was responsible for the winter that was exploding outside the Sugarcube Corner windows. So it was Pinkie by herself in her room feeling somewhat abandoned. Bitter thoughts floated to the surface of her mind wondering if her friends were trying to avoid her. Or even liked her. A small flare of childish anger reared up in her chest, but was quickly abandoned as she realized how ridiculous it was to be upset right now. She shook her head to clear her mind.

"Nope, not today." she thought. "I'm in control of my stinky emotions."

She remembered grimly what had happened last time she felt that her closest friends had purposely avoided her. A deep depression that quickly spiraled out of control into a feverish humiliating stupor where she had begun hearing voices and arguing with inanimate objects over the value of the ponies she cared about so much. Rainbow had been there to rescue Pinkie during this time and the two of them had kept it as a secret ever since. But sitting in the dark while the blizzard whooshed outside made it very difficult to not reflect on those malicious thoughts again. That part of her core that feared rejection and was paranoid of liars was still a part of her, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it.

"I need a distraction." Pinkie thought to herself as she felt her hair droop. "But what."

She sat back on her haunches and put a hoof to her forehead and stuck out her tongue. The perfect position for being in deep thought. She sure as hay wasn't going to walk out into the blizzard. Somepony could get hurt that way. She remembered the time a stray flying icicle had bopped her friend Fluttershy on the head, giving her a concussion. Pinkie winced at the memory. She didn't want to go through that. It had taken Fluttershy ages to pay for her medical bills. Luckily for the pink pony a distraction had arrived with a loud clinking sound at her window.

Pinkie turned her head abruptly to see a tortoise tapping the end of his sharp mouth on the glass of her window, large piles of snow collecting on his shell as he hovered. 



"Heya Tank!" Pinkie squealed as she wrenched the window open and the tortoise came to rest on her carpet. He did a small turtley dance to get his harness off and simultaneously shake off the snow.

"Whatcha doin' here huh huh huh? Is Dashie coming too, Tank? Did she reconsider?"

Tank nodded his head up and down and looked around the room. He'd never been inside of Pinkie's room before. It was a strange place. Party decorations, posters of old musicians, instruments, toys, candy wrappers and other objects lay on the ground, tacked to the walls, and dangling from the ceiling. And most of it was pink. Had the hearths-warming eve lights taped to the ceiling been currently switched on, all the pink would probably have hurt ones eyes. In a sense the room embodied the same sort of cute and happy chaos that embodied Pinkie Pie, herself.

"YEAH!" shrieked Pinkie. "Me and Dashie gonna have a sleepover yeah. I gotta go make cookies so we have something to eat and get a scary movie so we have something to watch. And find an extra mattress so she has somewhere to sleep. Hey Tank you want to help me cook, huh huh, do ya? We can make them shaped like turtles! Or is it tortoises? Or is it turtleses? I dont know what the difference is I guess its kinda like frogs and toads where they are the same animal. Or is it like butterflies and moths? Or newts and salamanders? I should talk to Fluttershy about this stuff. Oh yeah cookies!"

Tank slowly nodded. The jabbering pink pony in front of him had not fazed his casual demeanor one bit. Before he could step forward he quickly found himself lifted into the air by Pinkie's forelegs. She stood up on her back legs and trotted down the stairs to the kitchen, carrying the complacent tortoise.


**********************************************************************


Scootaloo trudged through the snow grumbling to herself. Out of nowhere some sort of large snowstorm had suddenly hit the area and with it had destroyed the small abandoned treehouse she'd found herself sleeping in lately. It hadn't been a great spot but it seemed much more secure than hiding out in the Apple Orchard cellar. As of late Applejack and her brother Big Macintosh had been stocking kilderkins of cider into the cellar often forcing Scootaloo to have to hide herself underneath some straw to avoid suspicion. The last thing the tiny filly wanted was to have someone discover she was hiding out in someone's basement. Causing others to worry about her. She enjoyed her independence and how well she was able to take care of herself, despite being a small child. She was smart. Smarter than her friends probably thought. She'd show them! One of these days anyway. But for now she was a girl on a mission. That mission? To fix the shambled splinters of wood that were once a small shack made of planks in the lofty branches of a short fat pine tree. The tree itself wasn't doing so hot either. The winter wills that whippoored in the wind had walloped the pine and sent it bending over. When it tried to whippoor back with a nice and chubby branch the whole thing snapped sending the small plywood house that sat in its branches crashing to the ground. Along with the small orange filly inside and several boughs of the tree.

Scootaloo sighed through her teeth as she approached the scene of accident. Somewhere in the back of her mind she was hoping the house would magically fix itself while she went into town to look for some wooden planks to borrow. When she hadn't found any she went back to where she usually tended to grab building materials from: The Apple Farm. She was sneaky and had managed to take a somewhat hefty amount of the extra firewood the Apples often have stacked near the chicken coup. Scootaloo didn't enjoy the chickens much. Often being called a chicken herself for being unable to fly had given the filly a small grudge against the fluffy white birds. Occasionally when in a sour mood she'd find herself throwing rocks into their pen then smiling as the chickens scattered, clucking in alarm.

A Wonderbolts poster, a large green pillow, a small white pillow, an oil lamp, a wind-up-clock, a small tattered red cape with a blue patch, and a small somewhat dusty doll of a brownish horse that wore blue polka-dot trunks with buttons for eyes. Scootaloo's belongings now sat in the ice freezing over. The poster was something Scootaloo had received from Rainbow Dash more than a year ago. She'd casually mentioned she thought it was her birthday to her friend Sweetie Belle and before she knew it, half the town knew via gossip. Scoot didn't enjoy the sudden attention or the somewhat intrusive questions that came with it. No, she didn't want to talk about her birthday. No, she wasn't spending it with family. No, she didn't want a party. No she wasn't really sure how old she was this year. She had found herself sitting in the clubhouse near Sweet Apple Acres, frowning at Sweetie for causing such a ruckus. Her mood brightened when Rainbow Dash had flown in through the window and presented her with a Wonderbolts poster. Even though it was a cheap gift (a single bit from 1-Bit-Store down the road) Scoot had cherished the gift. Rainbow signified everything Scootaloo wanted to be. She was successful, funny, athletic, and could perform incredible feats of athleticism. The filly idolized the adult pegasus.

The large pillow had, for some time now, served as a makeshift mattress. Scoot hadn't been growing much and her tiny orange body could still sit on a pillow designed for adult ponies heads and lay quite comfortably upon it as if it were a bed. The smaller pillow had simply been that it was. A pillow for Scootaloo to put her head on, or sometimes under if the thunder outside was too loud. The red-tattered cape was the official cape of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, a small club Scootaloo had helped co-found. It had only three members. Herself, Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom who was the youngest member of the Apple family. The club was really a backdrop for the three new friends to have something to do. While they often were trying to figure out their special talents, they spent most of their time just playing as children do. Sometimes worrying if they would still be friends when one of them eventually got her "cutie-mark" which was a rite of passage into adulthood. A sort of magical seal that appeared on a pony when he or she realized what their destiny was.

The small brown doll had once belonged to Big Macintosh, eldest sibling of the Apples. Scootaloo didn't know how Mac had gotten ahold of the doll that had once been seen in the company of Twilight Sparkle, but once he grew tired of carrying it around, Scootaloo had quickly snatched it. She didn't like to steal and she hated considering herself a thief. But a few wrongdoings seemed much better than the alternative which would involve getting people worried for her well-being. She shuddered at the thought.

Another thought soon passed through the young filly's mind as she surveyed the damage in the snow. She had no idea how to build a treehouse. Not from scratch anyway. And certainly not from triangular logs of firewood. Fixing an old Treehouse was easy. In fact her friend Applebloom seemed to have a real talent for fixing things. Scoot dearly wished that Applebloom was there now. A feeling of hopelessness started filling the air as Scootaloo realized she had no hammer, no nails, and certainly no knowledge of construction to try and fix this terrible mess. She might have to try sneaking into the Apple Farm cellars again. Not a pleasant thought. That place was creepy! And it was cold in there too! Scootaloo sighed sadly and sat on her haunches. She was so small the level of snow rose up to her chest. She was freezing but there were more important things to worry about right now than her temperature. She shoved the pile of wood she had dragged along and watched it topple over into the snow, quickly becoming covered by the falling flakes of white ice that were billowing down through the pine trees.

"Now what?" she whispered to herself. Soon so lost in thought she didn't hear the quiet flapping of wings as someone she knew landed behind her.

"Hey squirt! What the heck are you doing here sitting in the freezing snow in this kinda weather?" Rainbow shouted so she could be heard over the wind.

Scootaloo pricked her ears up and turned around. "Oh wow! Hey Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?"
Scootaloo turned around to face the cyan mare who was more than twice her size. Scootaloo beamed up at her hero, her small messy purple tail wagging in the snow like an excited puppy.



"Kid you need to get inside! It's not safe for you to be in a forest with the wind like this. What if like a branch falls off a tree and hits you and you get hurt? What are you up to?"
Rainbow tilted her head a bit to see past the tiny orange pony sitting in the snow staring at her with a look of adoration. A toppled tree and what looked to be a smashed treehouse sat in the snowdrift.

"Scootaloo you can't be thinking about sitting in a treehouse during a snowstorm right? That's so unsafe I can't even like.....there's no good analogy for how unsafe that is! You should be at home where its safe!"

Scoot glanced behind herself at the mess. "I can't go home yet." she said in a quiet voice. She turned back towards Rainbow smiling gleefully. What an honor! THE Rainbow Dash, the only pony who had done a Sonic Rainboom in almost a century, the most talented flier in Equestria, whom along with her friends had defeated not one but TWO evil Gods and a weird race of bug creatures. And this pony, this hero to so many, was for the first time in a long time sitting here in the snow worried about Scootaloo. This was the first real attention Rainbow had given Scootaloo since the long-gone days of the Rainbow Dash FanClub that Scootaloo had organized amongst the other children of Ponyville. She'd always hoped Rainbow would attend but it never happened. But instead here she was, covered in snow and looking down at Scootaloo with a stern and confused expression on her face, looking as brave and heroic as ever.

"Scootaloo you need to go home. RIGHT NOW." Rainbow crowed in what she hoped was a very commanding voice.

"Sorry, can't! I have to fix this!" replied the small orange pegasus fluttering her tiny wings slightly.

"Ugh." Rainbow put a hoof to her temple. "Here, Scoot let's make a deal. You come with me to Sugarcube Corner and we can hang out for a while and once the initial blizzard is over I'll help you fix this uh..... ugly thing. This treehouse thing. How does that sound?"

The small layer of snow that had nearly covered the tiny orange filly over the course of the last minute flew off in a spectacular cloud of white as she energetically leaped gleefully around.
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Let's hang out Rainbow Dash! I've always wanted to do that! This is gonna be so coooooool!"

Rainbow grimaced slightly trying to feign enthusiasm. She knew this small orange pegasus thought she was some sort of superhero, but Rainbow had never been fond of kids. They were hyper and messy and seemed to have all the negative traits of Pinkie Pie with none of the positives. During the occasional times Rarity or Applejack had asked if she wanted to babysit the Cutie Mark Crusaders she had managed to come up with somewhat believable excuses and since then, tended to dump the three kids on Fluttershy so they could have a night of peace. Fluttershy had managed to take care of them a few times and the three fillies adored her. She'll probably make a great mom one day was something Rainbow often thought to herself about her quiet friend. But never herself. It weirded her out how this small orange filly followed her around, watching her practice, and acting as if the pegasus was some sort of superhero.

With a small leap Rainbow took to the air unsteadily as the wind and snow buffeted her lithe body. With a tilt of her head she beckoned to Scootaloo to follow. Scootaloo's eyes glassed over a bit then her expression warped to something like fear and then confusion.

"Could we walk to Sugarcube Corner?" she asked innocently unable to look at Rainbow's face.

"Scoot why in Equestria would you want to WALK to Sugarcube Corner in THIS?" Rainbow shouted waving her forelegs around gesturing at all the snow and ice that was cascading around them.

"Uh....cause its really pretty and I want to see what the town looks like!" Scootaloo replied. It wasn't the whole truth of why she wouldn't fly but it was good enough.

"Oh for pete's sake. Fine fine. We'll walk. But if I catch a cold from walking through all this boring snow it's going to be YOUR fault, kiddo. I don't want to spend my vacation with the flu. I hate the flu!" Rainbow landed grumpily and began to trudge through the snow.

Rainbow was large enough that her legs could walk through the snow leaving deep holes and furrows as she went through the town. Scootaloo didn't have that luxury. After a few minutes of leaping to and fro between the hoofprints her large friend was trailing, Scoot quickly found herself exhausted and pushing her way through the ice. Her snout and eyes barely above the snow as she struggled to push it aside to keep up. Yet despite all this she was happy. Her idol was taking her to the best bakery in town and the two of them were going to hang out. This thought gave Scoot so much glee she didn't even notice just how cold she was and how the snow continued to pile around her.

"You alright back there, Scoots?" Rainbow asked. She hadn't been keeping too close of an eye on the filly over the last twenty minutes or so. She could hear the scrunching of snow and quiet giggling that let her know that Scootaloo wasn't too far behind. She turned to look behind her.

"Yeah I'm fine." Scoot mumbled. The cold was finally numbing her senses a bit and she felt a strange warmth coming up from her fetlocks. She stumbled slightly as a cold shiver ran up her spine. A strange tremor ran through her muscles. She looked up at Rainbow dash, the muscles in her neck aching and smiled as hard as she could at the rainbow-maned Pegasus. She wasn't going to look weak. Not today. And not in front of Rainbow Dash. She would be brave and weather this storm like a champion. Just like Dash was.

"Alrighty!" Rainbow grinned and turned back around. Trotting forward towards the buried streetcorner that would lead them onto the bakery. As she walked, a feeling of dread and relief began to come over Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo had been pretty quiet for the last few minutes. Maybe she'll be quiet at the bakery as well. That way Pinkie and Rainbow could engage in conversations and not need to look after a noisy kid too hard. That would be nice.

Thinking about things she hoped Scootaloo wouldn't say occupied Rainbow's thoughts to the point that she failed to notice the lack of noise coming from the filly behind her. Rainbow trotted forward for another minute before realizing something seemed off. The scrunch noises of her small companion had ceased. Perhaps even some time ago. 

Rainbow stopped and stiffened. Something wasn't right. Why wasn't Scootaloo making any sound? Rainbow whipped her head around backwards. She couldn't see the orange filly through the flakes of falling snow. Rainbow turned around entirely and followed her tracks. A good fifty meters from where she'd been previously was a large indent in the snow. A messy hole amongst Rainbow's large hoofprints. Panic started to creep into Rainbow as she dreaded what had made it.



"Scoot? Scootaloo?" she shouted. There was no answer just the whispers of the wind as it flowed through the town. Rainbow sped up. From a trot to a gallop and soon to a full run, using her large cyan wings to push herself faster and faster until she reached the hole.

"Scoo - " Rainbow began to shout but her voice caught in her throat. Inhaling deeply she peered into the hole in the snow and saw the most terrifying thing she'd seen in a long time.

Roughly two feel deep into the hole was the soaked body of Scootaloo. Her breathing was short and ragged. A sickly wheeze as her nostrils dilated. Her lips were blue and she was motionless. One eye shut and the other half open with a faraway lifeless look in it. Her tail and mane were covered in white as the snow had quickly sought to cover the small horse when her body had given up on her. Rainbow stared down in horror at the scene. This was her fault. Her mind raced with unpleasant thoughts. She should have paid more attention. She should have tried carrying the child on her back. Or taken her to Fluttershy's cottage. Stopped walking so fast. Anything. Anything that could have prevented this. Taken responsibility for someone who needed her.

With a hawklike shriek of terror, Dash grabbed the filly's small frozen form in her forelegs and took off at an unimaginable speed towards the nearest warm building leaving a small colorful scarf in her wake that fluttered delicately to the ground and within moments was covered in the beautiful white flakes that continued to drift, unabated, from the sky.
> The north wind doth blow.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was weird. Everything was weird. Objects, colors, sound, smell and touch all seemed to melt together into one sensation. A mind floating in a sea of turmoil and bewilderment. Awash in the torrent was the consciousness of a small orange horse with tiny wings bound to her back right above her shoulder blades. There was no shape loud enough or sound blunt enough to bring together the flurry of confusion in her head. It was weird. This sensation was weird. Like there was no more control over anything. It seemed mere moments ago she'd been after something. Chasing something? No that wasn't it. She'd been following someone. She was shooting stars in some direction. But now they're drifting way too fast. Who was she drifting to? Something colorful swam in front of the darkness. Colors twisted in the darkness. A sound played. It was familiar. Something she recognized. The colors gave way to one singular color. A deep red that softened to a light pink. The pink swirled around creating ornate designs. A similar sound played. Was it a voice? It was a voice! There were several. Two she recognized and one she did not. The pink was replaced with waterfall of white. She floated towards the white only to feel something. A sense had returned. Touch. Something was touching her snout. She moved towards the white again. The white hit her snout once again. It was warm. Everything was warm. Very warm nearly hot. The voices were clearer now. What were they saying? Why was she here? Who was she following? This white was like snow. But it was warm and hard to the touch. The opposite of snow? Why was snow so alarming all of the sudden? She had been in snow. Yes, that was it.

Snow was the answer. Why had she been in snow. She'd been following someone through snow. Someone colorful had lead her through snow. Yes the mystery was unfolding like a great trombone. Keep thinking it'll come back. Colors. Rainbows. A friend with rainbows. Rainbow Dash. She'd been following Rainbow Dash through the snow. She had wanted to spend the day with Rainbow Dash, her hero. She was following her and then felt strange and fell over and everything went black. Now she was in a sea of white hearing voices. Was that Dash's voice? Not it was too clear and high pitched. It was the pink. Who was the pink? Pinkie? Pinkie Pie was talking. The warmth felt uneven. As her sense of touch returned it dawned on her that the warmth seemed to be moving constantly. There was a tone playing. Like the sound of the ocean. Water? Why was water? Was Pinkie the water? She was in water, she realized. Water and white colors. The mind stirred.

**********************************************************************************

"So how long does she need to stay in there?" Pinkie asked as calmly as she could, clearly shivering in fear. Her pink cheeks had a few markings where frightened tears had crested down.

A pediatrician pony who worked down in the clinic was staring down at the body of Scootaloo. She had a small stethascope for a cutie-mark and sounded very serious as she replied, "The moment she comes to we need to pull her out and dry her off."

"Please be okay. Please be okay. Please, please, be okay Scootaloo." whispered Dash, trying her best to stay calm. Exhausted from the last hour of rushing through the snowy town to find a doctor while simultaneously terrified she'd done irreversible harm to the young pony she had lead away from the forest. Dash was trembling as she stared down at the small orange fuzzy filly who was drifting through the hot water pouring out of the faucet. The small eyelids of the filly suddenly moved and flicked open. Her lavender irises and pupils dilating as she looked quickly around at her surroundings, confused and still dazed.

"She's waking up!" yelled Dash pulling the doctor into a tight hug. "Okay now what do I do now, Doc? How do we fix this?"

"Let's make sure she's fully conscious before we move her too much." said the Doctor, leaning in to observe the foal in the sink.

"Scootaloo can you hear us? It's me Pinkie Pie! Dashie is here too and so is this nice Doctor Gladys pony. We've been so super-worried about you Scootaloo! Are you warm? Are you hungry? Can you move? How many hooves am I holding up?" Pinkie's flurry of questions seemed endless until Scootaloo finally spoke.

"Where.....is this?" she whispered. She placed her small front hooves below her chest and attempted to heave herself into a sitting position. But she lacked the energy to get onto her haunches and splashed down into the hot water. She flailed slightly as her head submerged below the surface, suddenly panicking at her condition.

"Whoa hey its okay! Don't panic, Scootaloo! We're here, you're going to be alright" said Dash as she put her foreleg under the small filly and held her above the surface of the water as gently as possible.

"Where is this?" Scootaloo repeated, struggling to use Rainbow's limb to get herself into a sitting position but lacking the strength to do so.

"You're in Sugarcube Corner, Scoots." Rainbow replied trying her best to get Scoot into a comfortable sitting position in the tub, so the foal would stop struggling.

"To be technical you are technically in the sink!" chirped Pinkie with a small smile. "We've been trying to keep you warm!"

Scootaloo looked around to see that Pinkie was indeed correct. Scoot was sitting in a porcelain sink full of hot water in the kitchen of the bakery she had been going to with Rainbow Dash. But the question was: why? She swayed slightly trying to figure out what had happened. The Doctor bent down to speak to the small filly.

"Listen, Scootaloo. You had a small accident earlier. A bit of hypothermia. You were in temperatures far colder than your body could handle. Partly because of this awful snowstorm and also because you seem very malnourished. What have you been eating lately, Scootaloo? What's your diet been like?" the Doctor looked over her spectacles at the small orange filly who continued to look around the room in a dazed and confused state.

"Scoots this all my fault. I shouldn't have made you walk in the snow. You seemed so happy to walk through it. Why didn't you tell me you were cold I could have carried you. I should have seen that I guess. I'm so sorry Scoots." Rainbow babbled apologies incoherently as the Doctor grabbed one of several warm sheets of cotton and carefully pulled Scoot out of the sink and laid her wet form on top.

She roughly dried Scootaloo off, placed her on another warm sheet and wrapped her tightly in it. Scootaloo meekly struggled against the limited movement the cloth cocoon offered.

"I don't like this." she wailed softly trying to free one of her limbs.

"Can you feel your hooves?" asked Gladys as gently as she could.

"No, not really." Scootaloo grunted as she attempted to wriggle away. Her efforts were in vain. She was simply too tired to escape all this attention.

"Alright well listen here, young lady. When you can feel the tips of your ears and your hooves again you may come out of that sheet. Until then you are to stay inside it. You, the pink one." the Doctor said, turning to Pinkie Pie with a serious expression. "Make sure she has a new hot sheet every time the warmth in the old one goes away. Keep her warm. She's far too young and weak to regulate her body temperature in this state so you two are in charge. Once she seems somewhat back to normal you can let her out."

"And as for you," said Gladys turning to Rainbow who was staring intently at Scootaloo with a look of utter despair on her face. "You need to take better care of your child, madame. If you need classes on Parenting I know they have some free ones at Ponyville University. She weighs far less than someone her height and apparent age should. This should never have happened. Get some warm healthy food into her. Preferably something high in fat and proteins. She needs fluids. Not soda. Orange juice or pomegranate would do well. Milk, even hot chocolate, would do her a world of good. Get her into some warm clothes. Especially for her ears and hooves. Keep her someplace warm. This is all basic stuff that I really should not need to tell a parent how to do."

"She's not......mine." Rainbow said with an awkward grin and blush that quickly faded. "But don't worry me and Pinkie here will keep her safe until we contact her folks."

"Oh I see! Well make sure you give them the same lecture I just gave you. And under NO circumstances should she go outside. I don't want to imagine the state her immune system is probably in at the moment. Poor thing would be lucky if she doesn't get pneumonia or something worse. Keep her indoors. If you need to move her to another building make sure she's wrapped up very warmly or take her in one of those electric carriages I see everyone tooting around in."  And with those curt words Gladys put her tools into her Doctor's bag, and trotted towards the door.

She wrapped her grey scarf around her black mane and adjusted her spectacles, then pushed the door open with a hoof. Before she let it shut she turned back and shouted, "I'm sorry this happened. I hope you all have a Merry Hearth's Warming Eve. Try not to let this spoil your holiday. You probably saved her life so think of it as something to be thankful for. If anything seems wrong find me immediately. If you know any unicorns have them send me a parchment and I will come back as quickly as I am able."

And with that the door shut and she was gone, the sound of the deafening wind outside being reduced once again to a quiet howl against the side of the building. Pinkie walked back to the counter that the cocooned Scootaloo was laying on with Dash staring at her looking worried. The orange filly seemed to have passed out again. The reality of the situation hit Pinkie again. Here she was with her best friend with a small sick child. A child whom belonged to someone neither of them knew.

"Dashie?" Pinkie began in a hushed tone. Dash looked up for a moment at Pinkie then back at Scoot. "Dashie we NEED to call her parents and let them know what happened. They're probably worried sick. They probably think she's stuck in the blizzard or kidnapped!"

"Yeah but we can't find out until Scoots wakes up. She dozed off again. I hope that's not a bad thing." Dash lay her cheek on the counter a few inches from Scootaloo's sleeping head. The child's breathing seemed normal. Maybe Scootaloo was going to be okay.



"Sorry I screwed up our sleepover, pal." Rainbow sighed as she stretched her wings and looked glumly around the room. "I didn't wanna hurt the kid I just wanted her to be safe, ya know? Guess I kinda suck at that."

"Aw, it's ok Rainbow Dash! You saved her from freezing horribly! If you had left her in the woods she'd probably never have gotten somewhere nice and toasty. When Mrs.Cake wakes up I'm gonna ask if she has any of my old winter clothes from when I was a little filly." Pinkie hugged her friend with the sort of affectionate ribcage-shattering strength only Pinkie Pie could manage. "Then we can have Scootaloo wear those until her parents pick her up."

"Yeah I guess." Rainbow said with little enthusiasm. "Wheres Tank by the way?"

"OH! When he heard you screaming he thought something horrible had happened. He ran upstairs faster than I've ever seen a tortoise go. I was impressed, really! I didn't think a tortoise could move like that. You should teach him how to do that in the air then when you join the Wonderbolts he can be like your sidekick or something. Oh that reminds me!" Pinkie stopped talking and reached into the oven. She pulled out a melted metal tray of small blackened bits of ash that smelled vaguely of cocoa.

"Would you like one of these cookies?" 

"That's a cookie?"

"Yes. Yes it is."
> Little memories, marching on.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The atmosphere inside of Sugar Cube Corner had mutated over the course of the last several hours. What had initially begun as a sort of glum clockwork guard duty for their sickly captive had devolved into the original intent of the visit: a slumber party. A special egg timer had been set up by Pinkie to go off every fifteen minutes so she and Dash knew to wrap the slumbering filly near the fireplace in a new warm sheet. For the most part she had remained asleep during the process. They would roll her gently as the blanket unwrapped to the floor. Pinkie had thought herself very clever when she mentioned how it was akin to making a giant burrito with someone inside. She made plans to create an actual food dish in honor of this joke called the "Burritoloo" that would use freshly sliced carrots and beets within the tortilla. On the odd times Scootaloo woke from the process she'd slur and mumble for them to go away or ask where her scooter was. Usually falling back to floor and quickly falling asleep again. Despite their worry, Dash and Pinkie both agreed it was sort of cute in a way.

As the time passed the two grew bored of doing nothing but watching the slumbering filly and eventually found themselves doing exactly what they had planned on doing in the first place. Watching old movies on Pinkie's dusty projector while munching on Pinkie's signature cinnamon kettle corn. The smell of the sweet popcorn filled the air with the raucous tinny piano music that came from the films the two were watching. Mostly black and white comedies that Pinkie adored. While Dash didn't exactly find slapstick to be her favorite form of comedy, the thrilling stunts and infectious giggles of her friend eventually had the both of them in tears. But that had been some time ago. At the moment Pinkie was lying in an awkward position on the couch, almost entirely upside down. Her legs were propped up against the headrest with her torso balled up next to her flank. Her head twisted around so her lower jaw could rest on the seatcushions. A bowl of kettle corn was clenched in a deathgrip to her side. A small bubble of snot wobbled unnaturally out the left nostril of the sleeping pony. Dash glanced over at her friend, somewhat grossed out by the snot while also morbidly impressed that her flexible friend could even sleep in such an ungainly position.

Dash yawned loudly and propped herself up. With the tip of her muzzle she flicked the switch on the projector turning it off, ceasing the small clicking hum that made. She grabbed the reel out of the film gate and carefully placed it inside the wooden crate Pinkie kept her movies in. Dash smiled looking at the other films inside the box. Pinkie wasn't exactly an organized pony. Far from it exactly. Everything for her was chaos and joy. But the box of films was immaculate. All the reels were organized alphabetically and by genre. Unsurprisingly a good majority of the box was comedy, followed by romance, horror, and finally documentaries. Each cleaned and kept in pristine condition. It was obvious these meant a great deal to the pink mare and Dash was very careful to gingerly place the reel of "The Three Cuckoos" where it was meant to sit inside the box.

With another yawn Dash curled herself up on the far end of the couch and felt sleep overtake her. It hadn't been an entirely bad day. She had gotten a vacation out of nowhere during the busiest part of the year. And even though she had nearly frozen a friend in the snow, she had gotten to spend the evening with Pinkie Pie having fun. A quiet ding entered Dash's eardrum as her eyes slowly closed. What was that ding? It seemed so important but a moment ago. Oh well, the sandman can worry about it. And if he causes any trouble he'd have the Element of Loyalty to deal with.

Rainbow Dash's eyes snapped open and she uttered a swear word not too quietly to herself. The eggtimer! That's what the ding was. She can't sleep, they had the eggtimer to mind. Dash quickly struggled and got up. The smell of kettle corn had subsided and this was quite worrying. How long had Dash been asleep? With another quiet curse the cyan horse rolled off the couch and galloped to the kitchen. A quick glance at the clock confirmed her worst fear. It was 7 a.m. She had been asleep for nearly two hours. Dash turned on her heel and ran to the dryer and washing machine. She pulled a warm sheet out of the dryer and galloped to the fireplace with the sheet clamped in her teeth. A look of horror passed over her features at what she saw.

Scootaloo was gone. Her previous blanket lay sprawled out on the ground with some small hoofprints imprinted on the velvety fabric. A few more swear words passed out of Dash's mouth as the blanket she was biting flopped to the ground. Where could the tiny filly be? Had she tried to leave the bakery? A quiet creak in the next room answered that question for her. Dash strode to the doorway from the kitchen and peered inside. The door to SugarCube Corner was being shoved open by the small orange filly who was having great difficulty. Partly because it was a rather large heavy door and simultaneously because a good five or six feet of snow had built up on the other side over the course of the night. With a large crunch the door slammed open and the snow began to pile in. Scootaloo flapped her tiny wings against the wind blowing in and started tentatively taking a step out into the elements. That is until two large hooves gripped her sides and dragged her back inside.

"What the hay do you think you're doing, Scoot!? You're going to get yourself killed if you go out into that." Dash shouted trying not to shriek in anger at the tiny horse wriggling in her arms. With a kick of her backleg Dash slammed the door shut and dumped Scootaloo on the blanket in front of the fireplace. 

"Seriously what are you thinking? It's freezing out there!" trying to keep her panicked voice calm Dash sat in front of the quivering filly on the blanket. "Why are you trying to leave?"

"I don't...." Scootaloo began. She was quiet for a moment unable to look anywhere but the ground in front of her. "I don't want to cause anymore trouble. And the snowstorm isn't as loud now. So I figured I'd just go. You don't have to keep me here. I'll be ok."

Dash furrowed her brow and draped the warm blanket on the floor over her small friend. Scootaloo glanced upward at Dash then quickly looked away feeling ashamed. She didn't enjoy the attention much. Particularly from her hero.

"Scootaloo, it's fine. I'm being honest here, it's fine. You didn't cause any real trouble you just scared me and Pinkie really badly. And Tank too, I guess."

"Who is Tank?" asked Scootaloo, wanting desperately to change the subject.

"Tank is my pet. He's a tortoise." Dash grinned at the confused look on Scootaloo's face. "Yeah I know its weird. The most awesome and fastest flyer in Equestria having one of the slowest animals on the planet for a pet. But I like the little guy. He's very smart for a tortoise. He's upstairs somewhere. Doin' turtley stuff."

Scootaloo smiled sheepishly and looked back at the ground. A minute or so of silence passed while the fireplace embers crackled quietly. A yellowish glow faintly echoing around the room.

"So, look here, Squirt. I need to ask you something kind of important." Dash asked, breaking the tension.

Scootaloo frowned. She knew the question that was going to be asked before Dash even said it. Her brain was already going through the list of pre-made excuses and responses she had made to such a question in the past. It was a rather elegant list. Every lie expertly crafted over a couple of years of honing her talent to fib. Each excuse so believable it had gotten her out of so many close calls to even the most scrutinizing of equines. Family nights, conferences, holidays, and other social events all had been avoided with this list. But as she looked up at her hero Scootaloo realized she didn't really have the moxie to lie to Dash. Not to her, the one person who inspired her enough to keep going.

"We need to contact your parents, kid. You've been here for a few hours recovering and I'm sure they are probably worried sick about you right now. They're probably freakin' out wondering why you didn't come home. Especially in the weather like this. I can't even imagine how awful they must feel right now. What's their address? Do they have a telegraph number we can signal with?"

Scootaloo sat quietly. Staring as intently at the ground as she could, hoping against hope that whatever magic allowed pegasi to fly with such small wings would somehow make the floor open up and admit her through. Saving her from this awkward exchange that threatened to reveal her biggest secret. Something she hadn't told anypony for a long long time.

"Maybe you could just give me directions to their house? Like tell me what your house looks like and where to fly so I can find them! Do they live in an apartment complex? A farm? Near the forest? Near that treehouse?"

Silence filled the air again.  Dash was growing antsy and impatient. Here she was trying to help this girl and all she was getting back was awkward silence. This was like dealing with Fluttershy only now someones health was seriously in danger. Dash stomped angrily and flared her wings trying to look as intimidating as a cyan horse with rainbow hair could.

"Hey! Talk! Say something so I can help you! I NEED to know where your parents are Scootaloo! Or whoever takes care of  you. They're probably crying their eyes out right now wondering if you're ever coming back! You NEED to tell me where they are RIGHT NOW."



A quiet mumble escaped the muzzle of the tiny filly. She was trembling slightly with a look of contempt on her face. Dash was confused. What was making this kid so upset and quiet?

"What?" Dash asked.

"I said I don't know!" shouted Scootaloo, raising her voice a bit louder than she'd wanted. She glanced up at Dash whose angry facial expression was melting away to confusion. Scootaloo's frown got even frownier as she realized her answer was not going to be good enough.

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know where your parents are?" Dash asked sternly, refolding her wings against her body. The child's reaction to this conversation was frightening Dash slightly.

Scootaloo looked away staring angrily at the nearest wall. The floor hadn't swallowed her and freed her from this conversation as she had hoped. Perhaps the wall would be more polite. She glowered silently at it. The wall did not care and stood as it always had. The wall was just like her family. Uncaring and unhelpful. Hot tears were beginning to form in her lavender eyes as she stared angrily at the wall. Blinking rapidly seemed to be having the opposite effect she desired of making the tears go away. Why eyelids? Why couldn't you work doing the ONE thing you were designed to do? What was the point of having them if they couldn't stop all this liquid from falling out? Had Dash noticed?

"You don't have any family.....do you?" whispered Dash as she slowly lowered herself to the ground, folding her forelegs under her torso so she could look the scowling youngster in the face. Scootaloo's jaw quivered, eyes averted, as she mouthed the word "no" but no sound was uttered. Small sobs were trying their best to escape from the orange filly's mouth and she was fighting a losing battle to hold them in. This was the one conversation she didn't want to have. And she really didn't want to have it with Rainbow.

This was a situation Dash had never been faced with. This girl she had dragged out of the snow. This girl she had known for some time now, who idolized her, worshipped her. Who visited her every day when she trained in the skies above the town. This little girl who followed Dash around wanting little else but some acknowledgement. She was all alone. This kid had been alone this entire time and not told a soul. And was now trying to look brave as large tears flowed freely down her orange cheeks. Dash's heart was breaking seeing this in front of her. She wracked her brain trying to find a way to save this situation from getting worse. What should I do? What do I do now? What would Fluttershy do? With that thought Dash arrived at the single conclusion she could make.

At this moment in time she was the only person on this planet who could help this orphaned filly in her time of grief. It was entirely up to her to make this moment suck a little less for a friend and a fan. And with that thought Dash tenderly and awkwardly reached forward and wrapped her forelegs around the trembling orange scruffy mass in front of her and held her close. Scoot elicited a small squeak as the sobs broke free of their ribcage prison and she found herself crying openly for the first time in a long time. Physical exhaustion and emotional pain burst free in a cry of despair. She buried her tiny head into the fold between Dash's arm and chest and wept. Dash felt terrible for the second time that day. This was her fault. First she had nearly gotten this kid frozen to death and now she had made the ordinarily tough little filly weep like an infant. The two of them were so similar, able to mask their emotions behind a bravado that they were more than happy to back up with actions. But now it was just one of them trying to look brave while the younger one wailed into the cyan fluff on her chest. Twice in a day, Dash felt she had managed to ruin this pony. She wasn't going to ever forgive herself if she didn't try to fix this situation.

As gently as she could manage Dash pried the crying Scootaloo from her, now rather soaked, arm and looked down at her. Scootaloo looked up, wiping the tears away her face with her hoof.

"Sorry." she said, looking away. "I didn't mean to cry all over you."

"It's ok, Scoot. Hey I got an idea! You remember how earlier I promised you we were going to hang out? And after the cold went away I would help you fix your treehouse?"

Scoot nodded vigorously, a small smile appearing on her tear-stained face.

"Well I'm still keeping that promise, Scoot. You can't leave this place since you have nowhere to go and we can't risk you getting sick or passing out in the cold again. I couldn't live with myself if I got you hurt again. So instead howsabout I stay here with you for awhile until the snow melts? We can hang out every day for the next few weeks while my vacation hours run out! It'll be fun. Me and Pinkie can keep an eye on you and make sure you stay healthy and you get the honor of hanging out with the coolest pegasus in Ponyville!"

That got the reaction Dash had wanted. Scootaloo's pupils dilated to the size of saucers and a large crooked grin crossed her face, erasing any signs that moments ago she'd been deep in the bowels of Crytown. Crytown was a place Dash didn't enjoy visiting. It was right next to Sadville and south of Weepsburg.

Dash affectionately rubbed the unkempt magenta mane that topped the small filly's head in front of her. With a yawn she took a look at the clock again. An hour had passed since she had first heard the ding of the eggtimer. Schedules were a thing for eggheads like Twilight and Rarity, but one thing Dash made sure she accomplished every day was at least 10 hours of sleep. These could be divided over the course of the day but presently Dash's quota for sleep was going unfulfilled. She yawned again and looked down at Scootaloo.

"Hey can you feel the tips of your ears and hooves and stuff?" Dash asked. A nod answered her. "Good then I'm going to sleep on the couch. You should stay and sleep near this fire for warmth."

A loud grumble suddenly escaped the midsection of the tiny filly nearly threatening to knock her over. Her cheeks reddened and she flashed as large and innocent of a smile as she could over the sound of her rumbling stomach. Rainbow frowned a bit. Sleep would have to wait.

"....or I guess I could go and get some brunch for us since apparently somebody is hungry."

"I could make us something!" Pinkie Pie yelled not one inch from Rainbow's ear.

"GAH! Pinkie, how'd you sneak up on me like that?"

"I dunno I heard a grumbly sound and figured someone had the grumbles. And I was RIGHT!" she said, beaming proudly. She bent down to get a good look at Scootaloo who was trying to lean away from the hyper pink horse. Pinkie was sort of scary in her own bizarre abstract way.

"How do you feel Scooty? Feeling any better from last night? Want me to make us some breakfast? I can whip us up some cinnamon rolls or blueberry pancakes if you want! Ooh! Or chocolate chip ones! Oh! Oh! Or choclate chip ones with blueberries that are filled with more chocolate! Those are the best."

A not-too-gentle nudge on the back from Rainbow's hoof silenced the chattering pony next to her. Pinkie leaned back from Scootaloo and looked at Rainbow with a perplexed expression. Rainbow sighed a little and threw an arm around her best friend's neck.

"Pinkie its great that you want to make us breakfast n' all but you remember what the Doctor said. We need to give Scoot something healthy and fatty. And everything in here is just....well....fatty." The three of them looked around realizing it was indeed true. It was a grand mystery in Ponyville as to how exactly Pinkie and the Cake family managed to stay so thin when their diets seemed to mainly consist of large amounts of cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and icing. By all accounts the three of them should have been fat as cows.

"No offense." Rainbow finished grinning awkwardly hoping she hadn't hurt Pinkie's feelings. Pinkie was rather sensitive, in her own bizarre abstract way.

"Nope! It's okie-dokie. I don't think we have much healthy stuff here unless you want some nasty bran muffins or wheat bread. You want some bran muffins or wheat bread, Scootalooloo?" Pinkie leaned back down. Scootaloo wrinkled her snout and shook her head defiantly under the blanket draped on her head. Anything made of bran HAD to taste horrible.

"Alright well that settles that, I guess. Hmm. Where can I get something that is healthy but wont taste like batbarf?" Rainbow sat in thought, her chin resting on one hoof with her other hoof akimbo, pressing onto her hip as she sat on her haunches. Pinkie adopted a similar stance. And feeling out of place, a moment later Scootaloo followed suite.

Mr.Cake entered the kitchen, saw the three ponies sitting identically in their odd sitting positions, looked around the room confused and then went back to the bedroom. Dash, Pinkie, and Scoot didn't even notice him enter.

"I know! Hey Pinkie aren't apples healthy? Like fruits and stuff?" Dash suddenly shouted.

"Yeah they say an apple a day keeps Nightmare Moon at bay. I'm not sure what that means. I think people thought Luna is allergic to apples. But I saw her bobbing for apples on Nightmare Night. Maybe I should ask her about that."

"No need, Pinkie. I'm going down to Sweet Apple Acres. You know how Applejack and her family are. They've probably been up for hours already, singing to the trees and other weird stuff."

Rainbow bent down and gave Scootaloo a small pat on the head.

"We'll talk more later, alright Squirt? Try to feel better ok? Tank is upstairs and I'm sure he's bored. You can play with him if you want."

Rainbow trotted towards the door. She looked around wondering where her favorite scarf had gone. The one that had been made for her by Rarity. She shrugged. Maybe it fell off during her panicked flight yesterday. She'd just have to brave the cold without it. Rainbow pushed the door open but was stopped by a pink hoof. Pinkie was standing next to Dash with a look of worry on her face, biting her bottom lip.

"Dashie." she whispered. "Did you find out where Scootaloo lives?"

Dash gulped audibly. She turned towards Pinkie with a blank expression. Scootaloo had wanted so badly for that information to remain secret. Should she tell Pinkie? Best play it safe and be vague.

"Pinks, I need to ask a favor from you."

Pinkie nodded with a soft smile.

"Would you mind terribly if me and Scootaloo stay here? For at least a little while? I kinda promised her. A Pinkie promise even!"

It was a lie, of course. Rainbow would never dare do such a thing. A Pinkie promise was a binding seal. Like making a contract for your soul to Discord, the prince of lies himself. You didn't break a Pinkie promise. Not unless you wanted bad luck and misfortune to infest your pathetic soul for all eternity. You bring great shame to your family, by doing so. SHAMEFUL DISPLAY.

"So you and Scoot are gonna stay here? Where?" asked Pinkie, her smile growing wider since she had guessed the answer.

"Your part of the house, maybe? Up in the loft? I promise you I won't make a mess and I'll clean up after Scootaloo if she makes a mess. I'd take her to my place but...you know....the cold n' stuff." Dash replied, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

"Oh of COURSE you can stay here for a while, Dashie! Why didn't you just say that in the first place? Oh oh we can be just like sisters! We can share secrets and argue about boys and throw pies at each other!"

"I promise I'll try not to make it a chore, Pinkie. I'll even help out the Cakes if they want. Wait, since when is pie-throwing....you know what it doesn't matter. Thanks, Pinkie. Until I say otherwise, Scootaloo is under my care."

"Is there a reason for that, Dash?" Pinkie asked, her face going from extremely overjoyed to a mixture of joy and worry.

"I can't talk about it right now, Pinks. There's a problem with the whole thing and I'm going to get to the bottom of it. Don't you worry about it, pal. I'm gonna fix it. Somehow."

And with that Rainbow took off into the sky leaving a trail of rainbow colors in her wake. Normally her rainbow trails disappeared into the air like a polychromatic mist. But due to the cold some bits of it froze in midair and fell to the ground like colorful pebbles. One large piece in particular hit the top of a small grey mailmare with a blonde mane who was trudging through the snow. Letters and postcards flew everywhere and sank into the snow as the crosseyed pegasus tried to figure out what the colorful object was that had struck her noggin. Pinkie stifled a giggle and closed the door.

She breathed in deeply the smells of the bakery then turned her attention to Scootaloo who had managed to wrap herself tightly in one of the two blankets near the fireplace and was currently lying down in front of what was left of the fire.

"Did you hear me talk about my burritoloo idea earlier?" Pinkie asked. Scootaloo shook her head. Pinkie trotted over to the small filly and snuggled next to her. The bakery was soon filled with the chattering of the pink pony as she regaled how Scootaloo's earlier sickly condition had inspired her to design a new festive treat. Scootaloo smiled outwardly, but inside her brain she was rolling her eyes.


> I want justice for a voice that can't be heard.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"So lemme try and get this whole tall tale o' yers straightened out." began Applejack. The peach-colored pony was sitting on top of the snow covered roof of one of the many barns at Sweet Apple Acres. Leaning against a snow shovel, Applejack chewed thoughtfully on a small piece of wheat with a look of bemusement on her face as she glanced at the annoyed pegasus sharing the rooftop with her.

"You, Rainbow Dash, are going to stay at Pinkie Pie's place for a few weeks. Not YOUR house. But HER house. After nearly destroyin' the town with that super winter o' yers. And at the same time y'all are also carin' for Scootaloo while you stay there because you yourself somehow got her sick or hurt or sumthin' which ya don't wanna be specific about. And now you want advice?"

"No, I don't want advice!" Rainbow spat, her temper rising. "I asked a simple question. Let's pretend it was Applebloom for a second. Let's say Applebloom needed to stay indoors and you were going to give her healthy food. What would you make? And could you make me some? I will pay you for it. That's it. That's all I need and want."

Applejack leaned a bit more against the shovel taking a small sniff of the air and passing the wheat from the right side of her mouth to the left.

"But it ain't Applebloom we're talkin' about here." she said nonchalantly. "This is Applebloom's friend. Applebloom is kin, and since Ma and Pa ain't here its perfectly normal for me to be takin' care o' her. However Scootaloo ain't your kin and I know this for a darn fact. Despite the similarities 'tween you two. So what kinda mess have y'all caused that lead to this odd situation where you, and Pinkie Pie are takin' care of a child that don't belong to neither of ya?"

"Look, AJ. Weird stuff has happened. The last 48 hours have been like some kind of nightmare and all I really need right now from you is a straight answer."

"You know of all the ponies I know you're definitely at the bottom of the list of ones I think would ever want to babysit a kid. Not just cause you don't like 'em but because you're kinda....flighty." Applejack raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Especially when it comes to concerns that don't affect you personally."

"What are you trying to imply, AJ?" Rainbow asked as politely as she could, shivering slightly from the anger building inside. The urge to kick the snow shovel out from under her so-called friend and watch her tumble off the roof was growing at an unprecedented pace. "Are you trying to find a clever way of callin' me selfish? Despite going out of my way to help someone?"

"I didn't say it. Though I do find it kinda odd that on the busiest day of the year, y'all managed to spend it layin' around eatin' sweets with Pinkie. Seems mighty coincidental. Wouldn't put it past ya to do this sort o' thing on purpose." Applejack went back to staring at the giant orchard of fruitless frozen apple trees buried in the snow that dotted the landscape around the barn.



Every conversation Rainbow had gone through with Applejack over the previous month had been like this. The subject would invariably lead to an argument of Applejack accusing Dash of being lazy or immature, where Dash would then round back that Applejack lacked the ability to relax and have fun. The two friends had stopped hanging out simply to avoid these unpleasant confrontations. It had been nearly a month and yet, here Rainbow was again. Listening to someone she tentatively still called 'friend' imply that she wasn't a good person at her core. It hurt, to tell the truth. Applejack sort of represented everything Rainbow wanted out of life. She was good-natured most of the time, got along well with nearly everyone, was gorgeous, had a large loving family, and had accomplished her life's goals. Being raised by her grandmother had also instilled a sage-like intelligence and common sense in the young pony. She always had advice for a situation. And it was pretty much always good and more often then not, correct. She was in a way, everything Rainbow wasn't. Nearly perfect in every way. What had originally been a mild case of jealousy had burned into a bitter wound for Dash who felt it was her mission to one-up Applejack whenever she had the chance. Prove she was just as good. Wipe that smirk off her face every once in a while. Sometimes the two of them got along so well, any passerby would think they were bff's. This was not one of those times.

"It was a mistake coming here." Rainbow choked out after a minute of awkward silence. She was doing her best not to sound as upset as she felt due to Applejack's lack of trust. She unsteadily rose to her feet and splayed open her wings. "Have a nice winter." she muttered aloud as she gritted her teeth and took to the air.

There was a woosh of air and a small cloud of white as Rainbow swooped into the air, her powerful back muscles easily propelling her skyward. She made it about 20 feet away before she heard a shout.

"Rainbow, wait come back!" the peach pony on the roof shouted. Reluctantly, Dash complied and landed expertly back where she had sat but mere moments ago. She kept her head tilted so her long rather frizzy rainbow-colored bangs covered her face and blocked her view of Applejack. If she had to look at AJ's condescending face again, Dash was certain she was going to say something she'd regret. Or possibly tear up. She hated either option.

Applejack pulled down the hoodie on her grey knitted sweater, allowing her blonde ponytail and floppy ears to become exposed to the elements. An expression of sadness in her green eyes.

"C'mere, Sugarcube" she said and dragged Dash toward her in a rather unwelcome bear hug. "Y'all know the only reason I scold ya is cause I care about ya, RD? You know that right?"

Dash wasn't quite sure what hurt more. The fact Applejack had moments ago tried not-so-subtly to insult her or the fact that her frienemy was now trying to make it up to her with a hug. Rainbow muttered something under her breath. She would never admit it but she enjoyed the affection. The farmer pony was one of the few citizens in town Rainbow felt she could truly trust. But she wasn't going to let Applejack win. Not this time. She stoically kept the frown on her face, adopting a stance to seem as apathetic as possible.

"It's been stressful 'round here, ya know? Applebloom keeps gettin' teased at school. Big Mac and I have to do everything around here. Granny's gettin' old an her health is startin' to worry me. We never seem to have enough bits. Seems like the world doesn't want us to be happy, sometimes. And I keep findin' myself takin' out mah frustrations on folks I love."

With that small confession Applejack released her friend and sighed. A large part of Rainbow's mind was dying to be empathetic and tell Applejack everything would be ok, maybe even return the hug, but the more logical part had a distinct suspicion doing so would cause another lecture from the earth mare. Neither would be comfortable situations for the pegasus to find herself in.

"If you care, then help me." Dash finally managed to croak out, trying her best to still sound upset over the earlier accusation. That seemed to do the trick. Applejack smiled, beckoned for Dash to follow her, grabbed the snowshovel in her mouth and kicked open the hatch to the barn's loft.

***********************************************************************



Sweet Apple Acres was a place of history in Ponyville. The town had been established by Granny Smith herself and her forbears nearly a century prior. Since then the Apple family had spread far and wide across Equestria. Most of them were farmers and earth ponies and generally had an extreme talent at growing things. Which seemed to include ponies since the family apparently bred like rabbits. There were a few hundred members of the Apple family around the various places of Equestria. Most of which had their own farms and crops. During family reunions the large barns at Sweet Apple Acres became almost like a convention of like-minded ranchers.

The original farm itself which Granny Smith still owned was a place of beauty. Nearly 2 square miles of fertile hills. Each one dotted with dozens of apple trees. Every hill seemed to house its own unique breed of malus domestica. Apples of all shapes, sizes, breeds and colors grew ripe from the large healthy branches of the trees. Or at least they did during the summer. With the sudden onset of cold most of the plants had been covered in a thick layer of white.

The plantation in the center of it all was where the Apple family of Ponyville lived. It was a large building that had been a barn at one point. It still resembled one as well. Bright red with magenta undertones, white balconies and a lavender roof. Decorative purple paintings of vines and tomatoes were etched across every wall of the establishment. It was rumored that Applejack, eldest daughter of the Ponyville clan, had painted these. But nobody had any proof and nobody really asked. Right outside the house were sectioned off terraces where veggies would grow in the spring. Carrots, cabbages, celery, eggplants, tomatoes, lettuce, and other delicacies were taken care of daily by the hard-working family. Beyond that were the livestock housing where the local cows, sheep, and pigs took up residence. They too, were considered family by the Apples themselves who treated them well. Beyond the pens were the vineyards and several silos where extra goods were often stored. Though during the winter these often remained empty.

The interior of the main plantation eroded any doubts that it was a house and not a barn. Sandstone walls, wood furniture, oak beams, and a very cozy sort of atmosphere pervaded the establishment. The Apple family had ten ovens in the house. While farmers by trade, they had found a great deal of extra business taking their most popular product, delicious red apples, and turning them into inexpensive baked goods. These were usually sold to Sugarcube Corner at a decent profit which kept the Apples themselves happy. It was also how Pinkie Pie and Applejack had grown to be good friends. Applejack couldn't help but grow fond of the erratic somewhat childish Pony who enjoyed running around the farm and probably had forgotten more about baking than most ponies ever knew. She managed to have fun AND get things done. Something Applejack respected a lot.

Anyone passing by the acres would be almost guaranteed see Big Macintosh himself, tilling the fields. Big Macintosh, or simply Mac for short, was a massive stallion. Easily three times the size of most of the other ponies in ponyville. Muscular and incredibly strong, Mac could kick a whole tree over as if it was nothing. He usually had a tired bored look on his face and his long orange mane was usually unbrushed. Anyone visiting the farm would probably feel intimidated by the colossal horse, but the townsfolk knew better. Mac was as sweet as an apple and as soft as a grape. He wouldn't hurt a fly, and upon the one time he had, gladly paid the costs to have the fly rehabilitated. He was also shy to a degree that rivaled Fluttershy. A stallion of few words and a blunt way of speaking. He also wasn't too bad looking. Muscular, brave, and a quiet gentleman. Quite a few fillies in town fawned over Big Mac, but he paid them no mind. He was perfectly happy with the farm. The earth was his bride and he wouldn't have it any other way. 

Of course this didn't stop folks from trying. Rarity would sometimes be seen patrolling the edge of the farm doing her best to let her long words and elegant way of speech woo Big Mac. It didn't work however. Partly because Mac didn't care about the beautiful unicorn and also because most of her long fancy words made absolutely no sense to him. He would nod politely and carry on with his work until Applejack would angrily run out of the house telling Rarity to quit pestering him while he worked.

Applebloom was the youngest member of the Ponyville clan. A tiny chubby filly with a bright yellow coat the same color as the core of an apple. She had a red coif of hair and a big pink bow that kept it from falling into her face. She was very close to her family. So close in fact that Applejack and Granny Smith used to find themselves chiding her away from the farm so she could make friends. Fortunately she had met Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo at a mortifying party hosted by a classmate, and now Applejack often found herself begging her younger sister to finish her chores before she escaped the farm to play with her two companions. 

******************************************

The inside of the house was a hum of activity. Big Mac was sitting at the main table with a large stack of waffles in front of himself, covered in glazed apples. He was humming quietly and chewing thoughtfully on the breakfast as he read today's issue of the Ponyville Times. Granny Smith was tending to one of the ovens, pulling out a hot tray of apple dumplings and setting them on the windowsill to cool. Though she immediately regretted it when snowflakes began to fall onto the pastries. She whirled around when the front door burst open, as Applejack and a frowning RainbowDash trotted into the house.

"Y'all finished gittin' the snow off the roof already, honey?" Granny asked, adjusting her spectacles.

"Nah, Gran. We got a bit of an emergency. Need to whip up a batch of that special soup we like when one of us falls ill. Ya know the one, with the black pepper and chili powder. Need it for Dash here and a sick young'un." Applejack pulled her grey sweater off and trotted gleefully up to Big Mac giving him an affectionate poke on the neck with her snout. "Well howdy, stranger. Anything o' interest in there today?"

Big Mac wrinkled his nose and pulled his head out from the newspaper. "Nope. Howdy miss Rainbow Dash."

"Hey." Dash responded quietly. She always felt uncomfortable when she was in the Apple family house. They were always so....cheerful.

Big Mac glanced at the cyan mare who shifting her weight from one hoof to another while staring around at the room. He swallowed his bite of waffle and turned to his younger sister.

"What's got miss Dash so glum-lookin?" he whispered.

"I was bein' a bug and I think I hurt her feelins a bit. Don't worry I think I already know how to make it up to her." Applejack whispered back with a small wink. She trotted out of the room.

"Why don't y'all have a seat at the table, Rainbow." Granny called from the stove she was tending to. "Want some waffles? They're real good. Lot of nutmeg and other stuff. Old family recipe."

Rainbow sat opposite Big Mac and before she could say no had a plate with an oversized waffle thrust into her face. It was a crispy golden-brown with steaming glazed apples piled generously on top with some raisins mixed in. Granny Smith watched with a big smile on her face as Rainbow craned her neck downward nervously and took a large bite. She chewed once, twice. Then her eyes bulged.

"Wow. Wow that is good!" Rainbow greedily crammed the rest of the meal into her cheeks. "Can I buy some of these waffles as well and take them back with me?"

"Think of them as on the house, dearie!" the old green mare replied. "If you want more gimme a shout."

"See? She's right here." Applejack replied as she re-entered the room with her little sister Applebloom in tow.

"Howdy miss Rainbow Dash! Applejack sez you got Scootaloo visitin ya today!" The filly hopped happily up and down, her pink bow flopping all over her head.

"She shore does. Hey, maybe we should go and visit Scootaloo later after you get all yer chores done. How does that sound?" Applejack looked up at Rainbow with a wink.

"Yeah that would be great, actually!" Rainbow said, smiling for the first time that day. "Thanks, AJ"

"Anytime, RD"
> The dust of a long sleepless night.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The early morning silence at Sugarcube Corner had long since been broken by the awakening of the Cake family. Carrot Cake had begun preparing the shop for opening, though they weren't expecting much business due to the snow. The "Open" sign was sitting against the window, barely visible over the deep snow on the other side. Carrot Cake had situated himself on the floor feeding a bottle of formula to his newborn son Pound Cake. The other half of the twins, Pumpkin, was riding Gummy across the shop as if he were some sort of mighty steed. Gummy didn't seem to mind, but then again his blank face made reading any emotion rather difficult on the small alligator. 

Pinkie had spent the morning awkwardly explaining to Mrs.Cake that Rainbow Dash would be staying with her in the upstairs apartment along with Scootaloo who was starting to sniffle and sneeze. Mrs.Cake had at first been rather reluctant to have two ponies she barely knew staying in the shop. Particularly Rainbow Dash, whom Carrot Cake had on more than one occasion deemed a "hoodlum" in conversation. Pinkie usually convinced him otherwise mentioning the times Dash had saved her or her friend's lives with an act of bravery. At the moment Pinkie and Mrs.Cake were looking through a very dusty cardboard box of young foal's winter clothing that she had brought up from the cellar. Most of these belonged to Pinkie Pie when she had been much younger. Browsing through its contents had been filling Mrs.Cake with a sort of sad nostalgia.

"Oh I can't believe you used to be this small. You were so tiny and you used to sleep curled up on my tummy. You would make little neighs whenever we burped you." tears had formed in Mrs.Cake's eyes as she dragged out the tiny sweaters and raincoats, socks and hats from inside the box. Each one bringing new memories of the days when her adopted daughter had been small.

"Awww!" Pinkie cooed as Mrs.Cake tearfully embraced her while pulling out all the child clothes.

Every article of clothing freed from the box almost immediately found its way into Pinkie's hooves and moments later draped onto Scootaloo in some way. Despite the knowledge this whole escapade was designed to keep her from getting sick, Scootaloo's face resembled that of a pony who had been forced to eat a lime: sour. Her original protests of not wanting to take any of Pinkie's old clothes had fallen upon deaf ears and now she found herself trapped in a frustrating game of dress-up. At the moment Scootaloo looked like some sort of deranged clown with all the mismatched garments on her body, which included 4 socks. One on each hoof and none of them matching. She growled under her breath, wishing Rainbow Dash would return and free her from this torture. 

Celestia must have been listening to her prayer because not a moment later the door burst open and Rainbow Dash came trotting in, a large bulging saddlebag strapped to her side and a heaving paper bag clenched in her teeth. Scootaloos sour mood disappeared instantly and quickly ran forward to see her friend.

"Hey there, Squirt. I see someone found some clothes for ya." Rainbow snorted, trying to suppress a giggle at the expense of the clownishly dressed filly. "Hey Mister and Missus Cake. Hope you guys don't mind me staying here for a bit."

"Oh of course not Rainbow. You're Pinkie's friend! You're always welcome! Right, dear?" Mrs.Cake shot a narrowed glance at Mr.Cake who hadn't bothered to look up. He rolled his eyes and muttered, "Yeah, you can stay Dash."

Pinkie pranced up to Dash and seized her in a rib-shattering hug.

"What'd ya get for Looloo?" she asked, trying to shove her snout into Dash's saddlebag.

"Looloo?"

"Yep that's my new nickname for Scootaloo."

"You ok with that name, Scoots?"

"No."

"Yeah I figured as much."

Rainbow picked Scootaloo up and placed her on the table, once again surprised at how light the filly was. She eagerly watched Dash, her tail wagging, which caused the floppy back end of her green and white polka-dot hoodie to wobble comically about. Dash pulled a large jug out of her saddlebag and placed it on the table, moving over to the the kitchen and grabbing three wooden bowls. One of which she placed in front of Scootaloo and one for herself and finally one for Pinkie. She then grabbed two mugs out of the sink and placed them next to the bowls. Pinkie was excitedly sniffing the jug with a curious expression.

"Okay so this stuff, according to Applejack is called 'apple noodle soup'" Rainbow began. "I'm not quite sure how a soup could be made of apples and not be considered a dessert but apparently its actual food. Also she claimed its got all the vitamins and nutrients and other gobbeldygook a young pony should eat. It also has shell pasta in it and carrots and a bunch of spices for clearing up the sinuses. Weird foreign spices I think Zecora gave her. It smelled pretty funky to me but Applejack's never made anything that tasted bad before so, let's give it a shot."

"What about the baked bads?" Pinkie asked.

"What are baked bads?" Scootaloo said quietly while glancing at Pinkie. Anything with the word 'bad' in the title was usually awful unless it was a television show about chemicals and bald dads.

"Ugh. Scoot a while ago Applejack and Pinkie managed to turn worms into like....cookies or muffins or something. Like actual living worms in the food." Rainbow shook her head.

"There aren't worms in this soup, right?" Scootaloo asked, backing away from the jug, glaring at it as though might try to launch an attack.

"I sure hope not!" Pinkie quipped, licking her lips hungrily and bouncing in her seat.

Dash tore the cork off the top of the jug then clenched her teeth around the handle, tilting and pouring a large amount of the steaming contents into Scootaloo's bowl. It gave off a pungent smell of apples and peppers. 

"Aren't you gonna have any?" Scootaloo asked as Rainbow sat back in her chair, watching intently.

"This stuff's mostly for you, kid. Plus I want to know if it tastes any good before I ....partake." The reality was of course, Dash was sure it would taste bad and wanted her friends to test it first.

Scootaloo put her forelegs on the edge of the large bowl, lifting her body so she could see into the shifting soupy contents within. The smell was heavenly. A pungent delicious aroma that filled her nostrils and made her salivate. She slowly began to tilt the bowl so that the soup flowed towards her muzzle. But all at once she stopped and set the bowl back in place. She sat back down and looked up at Rainbow with a guilty expression.



"How much was this?" asked Scootaloo.

"I dunno. A couple of bits. Granny Smith gave me a huge discount since I'm a friend of the family." Dash answered back.

"Oh." Scootaloo sank into a sulk. "I don't really....want you guys to spend money on me."

"Oh c'mon, squirt. It's the least I could do after nearly freezing you."

"I'll try to pay you back for the soup eventually."

"What? Scoot, you're like...you have to be around the same age as Applebloom and she's like seven or eight. You shouldn't be worrying about paying for your meals. You're a little kid. That's something we big ponies have to worry about."

"I am a big pony." Scootaloo growled looking away from the bowl.

"Go on Looloo! Eat some!" Pinkie chirped, nudging the bowl closer to the overdressed orange filly.

"No." Scootaloo muttered, turning her body away from the bowl entirely and sulking. A loud gurgle sound escaped from her hungry tummy. "It's not fair that you guys have to pay for me."

Rainbow sighed and leaned her head in her hoof. "So you mean to tell me, that after saving your life and bringing you inside a dang bakery, that you wanna just sit there and starve? Starving inside a bakery? Do you get like...all the irony happening here, kid?"

There was no answer. Rainbow bent forward and blew a stream of air gentley on the steaming soup. Tendrils of steam wafted around Scootaloo, filling her nostrils with the pleasant aroma of the food. A bead of drool escaped the filly's mouth but she refused to turn around and accept this charity. She had her pride to maintain.

"Ugh. Pinkie I'm going to go upstairs and sort out the bedding issues for me and this kid. I can't sleep on that couch again, my right wing feels like someone stomped on it all night."

Rainbow huffily walked upstairs to Pinkie Pie's room. She glanced around at the mess. Toys, party pieces, and other assorted bits of junk were everywhere. Somewhere under it all was Pinkie's own bed. Against the far wall was a doghouse with the word "GUMI" scrawled on it with crayon. Tank, the tortoise was sitting near it happily chewing on a candy bar. With a quick trot Dash sidestepped the room and began grabbing some large plush pillows from the hallway closet. Rainbow preferred sleeping on clouds to sleeping on a mattress. These pillows would have to make a cheap substitute. But there weren't nearly enough.

Downstairs, the Cakes came to the realization that the infant twins had never seen snow before and this would be a perfect opportunity to let them experience it. Mrs.Cake bundled them up while Mr.Cake grabbed his old crank camera. Pinkie gave them all a hug as the four ponies went out the front door and into the bright new snow day, leaving Pinkie and Scootaloo alone downstairs.

A minute or so later Rainbow came trotting back down with Tank slowly plodding after her.

"Hey Pinkie I'm gonna need more pillows and.......what?" Rainbow was staring at her pink friend who at the moment was rolling back and forth on her hooves excitedly biting her lower lip with a look of excited glee.

"Look, come look. You have to see this. It's so cute." she whispered while grabbing Dash's leg and pulling her into the dining room.

The first thing Dash noticed as she entered the room was that Scootaloo was gone.

"Um...Pinkie where's Scoots?"

Pinkie smiled so large it threatened to tear her head in half and waved a hoof at the bowl. Rainbow Dash walked forward and immediately smiled at what she saw. At some point in her absence Scootaloo had managed to eat the entire full meal of soup, and currently was curled up inside the bowl snoring quietly to herself with a small content grin. It was heart-melting to say the least and Rainbow made a mental note to place that image somewhere in the top ten cutest things she'd ever seen.

"Well I guess she decided to eat after all." Rainbow quietly said as she picked the sleeping filly out of the bowl and gently placed the sleeping bundle on her back. "Too bad she's covered in soup now. I'm gonna go wash her off. Pinkie I need way more pillows for upstairs. I can't sleep on a mattress for weeks. It'll kill me."

The two friends began their descent upstairs. Tank found himself eating the soup left from Pinkie's bowl. He enjoyed the flavor. A tortoise of refined tastes, his old war buddies had always called him.

"I wonder what changed her mind." Dash thought out loud.

"She started eating it the moment you and the Cakes had left the room. She slurped really really loudly so I think she musta liked it a bunch. I think she just felt embarrassed to eat your food in front of you. I ate some too. It's pretty good soup, I'm gonna have to borrow the recipe."

"Yeah but we're just trying to help her. She shouldn't feel embarrassed about that."

"I think its the same with how you don't like being told what to do and how Applejack doesn't like having ponies help her on the farm even when she's really stressed."

"How is any of that the same, Pinkie?"

"Well....... all three of you think it makes you look less tough. Which is silly, I already know you're the toughest ponies in Ponyville." Pinkie chirped with a quick nuzzle on Dash's ear.

"Huh, I never thought about it that way."

Dash smiled at her friend. Pinkie was a strange Pony who seemed to lack common sense, but every now and then some brilliance would eek its way out of her mouth. She was like a magic eight ball full of parties and sometimes ineffable wisdom. But mostly parties.

********************************************************************

Scootaloo's feverish dreams were once again invaded by water, rainbows, and a familiar voice talking from what seemed far away. Upon realization she was in water again the young filly immediately woke up and panicked.

"GAH!" she screeched, flailing her legs and stubby wings, fighting against the vast dark ocean that threatened to consume her.

"Geez calm the heck down, Scoot! You're getting everything wet." Rainbow rebuked as she roughly scrubbed the squirming filly in the tub with a soapy rag.

"What happened?!" Scootaloo was still shouting at this point as she glanced wildly about.

"Uh, nothing you little nutcase. You fell asleep in your soup. So now I'm trying to get it off of you. Now hold still you have tons of crud behind your ear. Soup and dirt and Celestia knows what else. Your feathers are a mess, too. When was the last time you preened all your downy fluff? Its all stickin out everywhere."

It had taken a few moments but a click went off in Scootaloo's brain as to what exactly was happening. She was sitting in a bathtub. A very pink bathtub with a large tortoise sitting on the sink nearby. That must be Tank. And next to the tub was Dash who was trying to scrub Scootaloo's head with a rough washrag. Scootaloo immediately frowned and tried to move away. Having Dash get her food was bad enough, now her idol was washing her, making the foal feel even more helpless.

"I can clean myself off" she protested, although she couldn't rid of herself of the thought that she was slightly happy that someone had taken an interest in caring for her.

"I dunno, squirt. This ring in the tub says otherwise. I found a whole twig in your mane a bit ago. There was a caterpillar on it. When was the last time you washed up?" Rainbow was trying her best not to smile but every small wince Scootaloo made the wash rag scrubbed her head was just far too amusing. "How do you even wash up when you live in a treehouse anyway? Do you just paddle around in a pond and call it a day?"

"Well ya kinda." the tiny filly grunted as the soapy rag went into one of her ears, emerging with bits of dirt and tree sap caked on it.

"Yuck. Scoot do you know how many horrible germs and things are probably in ponds?" Rainbow grinned starting to wash the front of Scootaloo's face. Apparently the filly had reached her limit on this sudsy torture and smacked the large hoof what was rubbing her face, sending the washrag flying into the air where it landed on Tank who blinked and slowly retreated into his shell.

"QUIT IT!" Scoot shouted, shaking herself off. Small bits of water splashed all over the bathroom.

"Fine. Have it your way." Rainbow turned and began to walk out of the room. "I thought you wanted to hang out but...."

A small quiet muttering behind her was all the answer she needed. She turned her head to look behind herself and grinned.

"Thats the spirit, kiddo!" and with that Rainbow grabbed the showerhead and rinsed the filly off. "Alrighty lemme take a look at ya."

She reached into the tub and pulled the very slick drippy Scootaloo out, holding her up in mid-air for inspection. Dash quickly eyed Scoot up and down before setting her down on the floor. She grabbed Pinkie's hairdryer and quickly flicked it on. Within a minute the young orange horse was entirely dry. The effects of the hairdryer were evident as the scraggly orange hairs were sticking out in every possible direction, giving Scootaloo a distinctly 'fuzzy' appearance.

"There. Nice and clean." Rainbow announced looking down proudly at her handiwork. Hoofiwork? Scootaloo gazed over at Tank who still had the moist rag on his shell, then turned to Dash who was looking down at her with a slight smirk.

"Thanks." Scootaloo said while shuffling uncomfortably. "and.....sorry."

"It's ok Scoot." replied Rainbow in the gentlest voice she could muster. "I'm just trying to keep you healthy and safe."

"I don't need...." Scootaloo began. She looked away at the floor.

Rainbow leaned down and gently rubbed the frizzy orange mane before her with a hoof, smiling the nicest smile she could. For the first time in the last two days she had a good feeling about the next words she chose.

"It's alright. I know it feels weird to have someone care about what you do after you've been going solo for so long. Heck, I used to be the exact same way when I first moved here."

"Really?"

"Yep. After I got kicked out of flight school I came here to Ponyville. If it hadn't been for my old pal Fluttershy I probably never would have stopped being such a hermit. Just training all day and never talkin to anyone. She pretty much forced me to get out of the house and socialize. Now I have quite a few friends, some really good ones too. Better than Gilda ever was anyway. And you know what? It makes me really happy."

Scootaloo's eyes were bugging out. This was the most personal information she'd ever been told by any pony. And it was coming from her hero. And the best part was, her hero honestly cared about her. It wasn't just guilt that was making her give Scootaloo special treatment. Warm emotions flowed through the surprised filly and she found herself hugging Rainbow Dash's leg before she could stop herself. She sneezed rather loudly, causing Dash to grin.

"Yeah, yeah." Dash chuckled. "Let's get you dressed in something warm before Applejack and Applebloom get here."

Scootaloo looked up, her mouth agape. Dash seemed confused then realized she'd never told Scootaloo about today's plans.

"They're coming over in a bit, squirt. We can chill with them. Listen to AJ drawl about apples for a few hours while I pretend I'm not bored."

Both ponies giggled slightly at the statement. Tank did not. He had lost the ability to giggle during the great tortoise war. Nah that's bull. The reality was he didn't understand why it was funny.  He is a tortoise.


********************************************

Rarity and Applejack stood on the freshly shoveled path to the front door of Sugarcube Corner. Rarity as always, looking her best with a striking violet coat with dark navy blue buttons. A matching violet toque on her head with a white band on the brim. Her younger sister, Sweetie Belle was wearing a similar but much smaller outfit with sky blue highlights. She was currently struggling with her own toque which was a bit too large for her head and was covering her eyes. Applejack was in the same grey hooded sweater she had worn earlier that day, seeing no reason to dress up for a casual visit. Applebloom had been bundled up by Granny Smith, whom as grandmothers tended to do, had overdressed the child to keep her warm. Appleblooms entire head body was covered in a large green parka, with a thick wool yellow scarf over all that. From far away she looked like some sort of deranged cloth slug that was slowly sliding its way down the road in the company of the three horses.

Mrs.Cake opened the door to the bakery as the four approached. Sweetie Belle's toque had successfully managed to block her vision as she scuttled into the doorway. Veering off from the other three, the small white unicorn slammed her head into the one of the support beams, and proceed to topple over rubbing her head.

"Nice hat, Sweetie!" Scootaloo called out from somewhere above. Sweetie pulled her toque off and tilted her head upwards. Scootaloo was sitting smugly on the backside of Rainbow Dash, who in turn was laying smugly across a truss below the ceiling. 

"Oh Sweetie, you aren't hurt are you?" Rarity cooed in her elegant voice, a look of concern etched on her beautiful and heavily powdered features. Her long purple curls flopped around before springing back into position as she helped her little sibling stand upright. A small spark of blue magic shot out from the end of Rarity's horn, levitating Sweetie's hat into the air where it folded itself quickly into a square and crammed itself into a pocket on her coat. 

"Hey Rarity!" Pinkie shouted, appearing seemingly out of nowhere and pulling the white unicorn into a rough embrace.

"My goodness! Hello Pinkie. Dear! Dear, you're wrinkling my coat. Oh goodness, Pinkie you look pale. Are you getting sick?"

"Oh Rarity, it's so pretty!" exclaimed Pinkie as she circled Rarity. "Did you make it?"

"But of course! I've made one for Fluttershy and Twilight as well. I've been making one for you too but I've been stuck deciding what color to make the trim. It's a very deep pink, you know. Almost red, really."

"I assume you didn't make any of those coats for me or AJ?" snickered Rainbow from above. Rarity raised her eyebrows, unamused.

"I know very well that neither of you would be caught dead in something as florid as this cozy number. However, it is Hearths-Warming Eve soon and I do have a small surprise for you!" she retorted. With another spark of magic a knitted beanie flew out of a small purse strapped to Rarity's coat. It zipped through the air landing on  Rainbow's head. It was a dark blue beanie with two holes on the top for a pony's ears to jut out of. It had two stripes of color along the base, sky blue and white. And in the center forehead area was a small yellow and red lightning bolt, very similar to Rainbow's own cutie mark.

"Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!" squeaked Rainbow. With a small leap she tumbled through the air from the truss, sending Scootaloo flying. With the sort of poise only a trained athlete could pull off, Rainbow landed perfectly on her back hooves in front of Rarity, extending one arm to hug her fashionista friend, and using the other to snatch the falling Scootaloo out of the air who giggled madly at the sudden excitement. "This is so perfect Rarity. I wish I could see it with the scarf you made me last year. I kinda lost it yesterday."

"Well ah 'spose its a good thing we found it on the way over here then ain't it?" said Applejack who had been busy trying to unwrap her nearly immobile sister from the massive parka that consumed her. Applejack tugged at something inside her sweater and with a quick flick her head tossed Rainbow's old colorful scarf back to her. "I think whoever was cleanin' the roads saw it and figured it belonged to someone. Just tossed it on the side of the road."

Rainbow set Scootaloo down and gleefully wrapped her beloved scarf around her neck. She then quickly darted to the nearest reflective polished table to admire it on the shiny wood finish. 

"Howdy Scootaloo!" cried Applebloom, finally free of her parka. She tackled the small orange pegasus, and was immediately followed by Sweetie Belle. Pinkie leaned down to the trio of little fillies. 

"Hey why don't you three go play with the twins? I'm sure they'd love to have three big sisters to have fun with!" Pinkie smiled as the three scampered off. Her smile melted away a bit as she noticed the look of concern on Rarity's face.

"Darling, Applejack has informed me that Rainbow is staying here with you for the winter. And for some reason you're keeping Scootaloo here as well? Her parents were fine with this? It strikes me as rather odd. Neither of you have ever babysat any of the three previously."

"Rarity," began Pinkie. "I'm not really sure myself. Rainbow saved Scootaloo from freezing but Scoot got really really sick. So she rushed here and I went and got a doctor to come over and we were both really scared cause Scootaloo wasn't moving. Then we got her to wake up and the Doctor told us we need to take care of Scootaloo. So I told Rainbow to find out who Scootaloo's parents were and then she tried but she wouldn't tell me what the answer to the question was. And so we've been keeping Scootaloo here and then Rainbow went to Applejack's house and got soup and then she came back and we ate the soup. It was really good soup, Applejack you need to teach me how to make it. Then after that Rainbow told me Applejack was coming over to visit so I started preparing a dinner and then you both showed up here with your little sisters and then Sweetie Belle bumped her head and then you gave Rainbow a hat and mphmdmdmmphh-"

"Alright dearie, that's quite enough." sighed Rarity who had put a hoof over Pinkie's mouth to stem the flood of dialogue that was spewing forth. 

"Rainbow we really need to talk about this." Applejack called to Rainbow who was still admiring her scarf and hat. 

Rainbow floated back, an innocent smile on her face. "Talk about what, AJ?"

"We need to talk about this whole situation you've gotten yerself and Pinkie into."

"You know you girls don't have to stand near the front door chatting all day." called Mrs.Cake who was coming out of the cellar with a large bag of flour on her back. "Feel free to use the den if you want. Nobody else is going to."

Rainbow sighed and looked at her three friends. Pinkie and Rarity both stared right into her eyes, a look of worry on both of their faces. Applejack's was more of a look of frustrated annoyance. As much as Rainbow had been wanting not to discuss this, she needed to tell her friends SOMETHING to try to clean up the situation.

"Alright. Fine. Let's go talk about this in the den."


> No mother ever cried for midnight.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"She knows, you guys." Scootaloo remarked as she tried to pry Pumpkin Cake off of Sweetie Belle's back. Sweetie turned  and raised an eyebrow. Applebloom who had been shaking a toy octopus with a tiny top hat in front of Pound Cake turned as well. Both fixed their eyes on Scootaloo who stared with an intense expression.

"Who knows what?" Sweetie asked.

Scootaloo edged close to the other two and whispered, "She knows my secret."

"You mean how yah can't fly?" Applebloom asked innocently, scratching her head with a hoof.

"No! Not that you goof!" Scootaloo hissed, glaring at her friend. "She know my OTHER secret."

"You mean how you don't have a real home?" Sweetie was currently struggling to keep Pumpkin from clinging to her again like some sort of needy desperate koala with a thirst for unicorns.

"Yeah that. You know what'll happen now! Dash is gonna tell everyone and then your sisters are gonna ask you if you knew about me all this time." Scootaloo frowned and shook her head, feeling defeated.

"What do you want us tah say? I aint gonna lie to Applejack!"

"I'm not asking you to. Just tell them the truth I guess." Scootaloo looked somewhat sad as she mumbled. "I just don't want a bunch of adults pestering me. Or trying to change things. Making me live with ponies I don't like. But I don't think there's any way around it now."

**************************************************

In the next room, the four adult ponies were engaged in a conversation revolving around the same subject, of sorts. Applejack was lying on her stomach across the couch cushions, with Pinkie's forelegs and torso propped up on her back. Rarity was slouched in a brown velvet rocking chair, stirring a small glass of tea with a candy cane Pinkie had given her. Rainbow wasn't sitting at all, but was hovering around the room looking pensive. Each flap of her large wings sending up small clouds of dust. Several pressed tomato sandwiches sat in a pile on a tray in the center of the table. The lone survivors of what had once been a much larger crispier pile.

"So she's unhealthy? And the doctor told you to keep her out of the cold after she nearly passed away? I can see how that would be frightfully upsetting." said Rarity, rocking gently back and forth. "I don't know what I'd do if I found Sweetie in such a state, buried in the snow."

"And y'all haven't taken her back to her folks because....?" Applejack asked.

"Because I can't take her back to them yet AJ." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the truth either. Rainbow started flying faster in her aerial circles.

"Why not, dear? Are they horrible? I always wondered why the Crusaders never wanted to have a sleep-over at Scootaloo's house." Rarity took a sip from her tea. "I've never met them, mind. But the subtlest clues are the loudest."

"No, it's not that." Rainbow was flying even faster in circles, feeling agitated.

"Then what in tarnation is it?" Applejack shouted.

"I don't KNOW alright." Rainbow partly lied. "Look guys all I have is some really basic info I got out of her. I'm trying to warm up to her to get more detailed stuff. I'll tell you everything I can when I really KNOW something."

Applejack sighed in exasperation. "Rainbow do ya need help? Do we need to get involved? This is a child we're talkin' about."

"No, darnit. I have the situation under control."

"Dashie has been taking really good care of Looloo." Pinkie suddenly piped up. She rubbed her cheek affectionately on Applejack's neck. "She's been feeding Scootaloo and washing Scootaloo and drying Scootaloo and keeping her happy doing all sorts of motherly things."

"That so?" Applejack grinned up at Rainbow who blushed while frowning and picked up more speed as she flew about the room looking annoyed.

"Well at least the poor dear is in good hooves." Rarity finished her tea and set the small porcelain cup that was decorated to look like a cake down onto the table. "I always thought the little thing looked sort of lanky and pale for someone her age. Is there a particular reason she is wearing a colorful sock on her head?"

"Those are my old foal winter clothes." Pinkie turned to Rarity with a large grin. "We wanted to make sure she was nice and cozy-wozy so she doesn't get any more sick."

Rarity grimaced slightly and took a bite of her candy cane. "Well. I shall just have to make her something more appropriate now won't I? Maybe I can give it to her at the party this weekend. That's still going on, right Pinkie?"

"Of course! Pinkie Pie would never cancel a party. That would be very un-Pinkie-like of me." replied Pinkie, looking as serious as anyone had ever seen her appear. Her face, a cold mask of grim solemnity. A scowl that could crack diamonds.

"Marvelous. It'll be nice to have all six of the Elements of Harmony together again. I always found it ironic how a holiday season based around spending time with the ones you love seems to draw all of us farther apart due to how busy it is. I haven't seen Twilight in ages." Rarity grabbed a tomato sandwich and took a large bite, chewing thoughtfully. "These are excellent Pinkie. Oh and Rainbow, you should probably share anything you learn about Scootaloo with Fluttershy and Twilight over the weekend. I'm certain they'd like to know what's going on as well. Pinkie whats in this heavenly sandwich?"

"Oh I let the tomatoes baste in some of that soup Applejack made. Then I put a little bit of honey mustard on the toast." Pinkie smiled proudly. It was rare she baked anything that wasn't some sort of ornate dessert and was happy her experiment into less sweet foods was proving to be popular.

"Speakin' a that soup, ya weren't planning on just feeding Scootaloo just soup for the next few weeks, right Rainbow?" Applejack raised an eyebrow suspiciously. She snickered when Rainbow completely stopped flying for a brief moment.

"I uh...." Rainbow hadn't really thought that far into the future.

"Thought as much. If ya wanna get her weight up I'll bring y'all something from the garden that should be good for her. Can't just eat soup all day. Cauliflower, broccoli, avocados, sweet potatoes. A lot of beans, too. Proteins n' such. I'll bring em over tomorrow."

"Thanks AJ." Rainbow replied as she reached for the last tomato sandwich. But it was quickly grabbed and devoured by Applejack. "Hey! What gives!"

"Thinka' that as payment for all that soup and waffles y'all got earlier."

"Granny Smith said I got those at a discount!"

"Yep. Ya did get a discount. From her." Applejack smiled mischievously as bread crumbs flew out of her mouth. "I think you and I are square now."

"I can make us some more sandwiches later Rainbow! We can-" Pinkie was suddenly cut off by a scream and loud crash coming from the room adjacent to theirs.

Rarity and Applejack immediately jumped to their feet and began making their way to the door. Rainbow's eyes widened in horror at the sound and she took off in a panic, leaving a colorful trail. The three of them arrived in the room, quickly followed by Pinkie.

"Scootaloo? Where are you? Scoot?" Rainbow flew frantically around, her voice raising in pitch. The last thing she wanted to see was the kid hurt again. 

"She's fine, dear." Rarity motioned towards the table next to the cabinet where the three fillies were sitting underneath, pretending to be asleep with loud obnoxious snores that would never have fooled anyone.

"What'd y'all do?" snapped Applejack.

The three fillies all opened their eyes and shuffled their hooves uncomfortably. Applebloom was the first to speak.

"Ah wondered if maybe Scootaloo could get her cutie mark from being sick."

"Then I said I'd rather get my cutie mark for doing something cool like backflips." Scootaloo seconded.

"And then all three of us tried doing a backflip and we knocked over one of the cookie jars. But we already put it back!" Sweetie sounded almost tearful. Her large eyes glistening with tears.

"Where are the cookies, then? Without cookies its not even a cookie jar. It's just a jar. A jar that feels empty inside. Poor jar!" Pinkie asked as she surveyed the cookie jar, just to be sure nothing on it was broken.

A quiet chewing sound behind her made her turn. Pound and Pumpkin cake were sitting on the floor, their cheeks stuffed full of cookies as they ate the crunchy treats greedily off the carpet. Pinkie frowned. She knew Mr. and Mrs. Cake would not be amused.

************************************************

A few minutes later, after some laughter and light scolding, Rarity and Applejack had left Sugarcube Corner with their sisters in tow. Pinkie set to work cleaning up the infant twins before the Cakes returned from cleaning out the cellar. Rainbow admired the pink pony as she worked. The two hazelnut-colored baby ponies absolutely adored her. They'd even learned to say her name, to an extent. It was more of a saliva-filled gurgle that sounded like 'pinkie' but it was obvious what they were trying to say. Rainbow felt a slight twang of sadness watching the display. Having a loving family seemed so....nice. Dash briefly thought about how she'd never gotten along too well with her parents. They'd never approved of her daredevil lifestyle and impulsive way of fixing problems. When she'd moved to Ponyville, Rainbow had stopped communicating with them entirely. And the feeling of having a real family had been mostly forgotten. At least until recently. Rainbow glanced fondly over at the small orange filly who was sitting on a chair, kicking her legs and looking somewhat lonely now that her two best friends had left the bakery.

Rainbow stared at her, lost in thought. Then she moved to the kitchen and started throwing together some tomato sandwiches. She was still hungry and was going to bet Scoot felt the same way. They weren't pressed or as nicely made as Pinkie Pie's versions. And they lacked the basted tomatoes that had made the previous snacks taste like a fine upper-crust delicacy. But these would be good enough and fill a hungry belly regardless. After eight sandwiches had been hastily made, she placed them on a plate and balanced it on her wing, moving over to where Scootaloo sat. The little filly brightened up immediately at the sight of Rainbow Dash and a stack of food.

"Hey Squirt. I was gonna go upstairs and eat some of these sandwiches. Maybe listen to some of the Wonderbolts telecast. Wanna come?"

Scootaloo gleefully hopped off the chair and followed her idol up the stairs, hungrily staring at the plate of food.

Pinkie sat in the velvet rocking chair Rarity had once occupied, slowly rocking back and forth to lull the twins to sleep. It worked a bit too well since in moments all three had passed out. Their snores were like a loud buzzsaw slicing its way through a cat. Tank the tortoise plodded next to the rocking chair and had a hefty yawn of his own and decided he too, would take a nap. Pound and Pumpkin dreamed mostly about food. Tank dreamed of a lover he had lost decades in the past. Pinkie had a nightmare where she had hit a pony-shaped pinata with a bat, only for it to grow very irate at its bloody injuries.

"What did you think was going to happen, Pinkamena?" the Pinata said as calmly and yet maliciously as possible. "Did you think you were going to hit me with that bat, and little chocolatey candies would come.....pouring out?"

Pinkie nodded shamefully in her dream. Unable to look the Pinata in the face. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

"I have to buy my candy from the shop." the Pinata rasped angrily. It turned to the crowd of other ponies who had come to witness the spectacle. "LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE."

The Pinata began to tearfully walk away with a crutch under one of its paper-mâché legs, leaving small bits of paper in its wake. It turned to cast an angry glare at Pinkie and the crowd.

"I'M JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE."

***********************************************************

Rainbow watched with a grin as Scootaloo devoured five of the eight tomato sandwiches with a rigorous sort of gusto. Such a small thing could eat so much. Like a bottomless pit. Or Pinkie. Eventually with a small belch, Scootaloo's feasting came to an end and she laid down quietly on her now-bulging stomach looking content and happy for the first time in a while as she stared at Pinkie's radio on the edge of one the blankets, her tiny downy-feathered wings fluttering excitedly. It was nice to see the kid in such high spirits.

Within the chaotic colorful mess of party supplies, streamers and decorative lights that had made up Pinkie's bedroom, Rainbow had managed to clear up enough space to create a sleeping area for herself and a slightly smaller one for Scootaloo. Several piles of various colorful pillows sat organized like sandbags, surrounded by a circular array of cushions and blankets and a few party streamers. It wasn't quite as soft or comfy as a cloud but it would be good enough.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air as Rainbow chewed on a sandwich, wondering how precisely she was going to be able to start this conversation without making Scootaloo feel uneasy. The wrong choice of words would stop the girl from trusting her ever again. With a small push, Rainbow shoved Pinkie's radio out of the way under one of the blankets with her tail. She then gently pushed Scootaloo in front of herself with a hoof so that she could look down at the filly directly. With a quiet gulp she swallowed the last of her sandwich and cleared her throat. 

"Scoot." she began quietly. "We need to talk about something kinda important here."

Scootaloo visibly tensed up, her large eyes darting around nervously. She didn't like the quiet serious tone coming from Dash. It was very uncharacteristic.

"So you've told me you don't know where your family is. And this is the truth, right? You wouldn't lie to me right?"

Rainbow stern gaze was met with a nod as she looked right into the child's eyes. There was only honesty to be seen there. Rainbow felt relieved inside. At least this kid trusted her even after she nearly froze her to death.

"Um. Did you used to know where they are?"

A nod.

"Okay. Did you run away from home?"

A shake of the head.

"Are they...you know....alive?"

A nod. And a small tic of the eyelids. A gentle shift of the wings. Scootaloo started to shrink away from Dash, trying to get away. This conversational train was heading to stations she wanted to get off at, soon as possible.

"Whoo." Rainbow sighed, relieved. One of her theories, the worst one in her mind, had been shot down. She quietly thanked Celestia. But this left one other theory in her head. One which made her blood run nearly as cold. Rainbow lowered her voice and tried to sound as gentle as she could.

"Scoot. Can you tell me why you separated from them?"

The orange filly reacted negatively immediately. Her brow furrowed as small tears began to build up in the corners of her eyes. Her tiny wings flared out, instinct kicking in, in case she needed to fly away. Rainbow regretted it as soon as she'd asked it, but this was something she was going to have to do. She placed a hoof on the filly's back and drew her closer, rubbing the shivering back as gently as she was able. There was a very quiet sob. Had there been any other sound in the room it would never have been heard by anyone. The small sound entered Rainbow's ears, and shattered a small piece of her resolve. This was too much. Time to lighten the mood.

"Hey. Hey c'mon don't get upset, Scoot. Please don't cry! Here let's do something fun. We'll swap secrets. If I tell you one of my secrets, would you tell me yours?"

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash and nodded slowly. Rainbow grinned. Scoot trusted her enough to try this. And at this point she was running out of options.

"Alrighty, Squirt. Ask me anything you want."

Scootaloo looked at the ground for a moment, thinking hard. Twenty seconds passed before she glanced back up.

"How did you learn to fly so fast?"

Rainbow snickered. "Oh c'mon it's my special gnarly talent, kiddo. Nature intended me to be this awesome. I'm just too cool for school. That's not a secret, ask me something else."

"umm.....is your hair really rainbow-colored?" The small filly reached up and tugged on one of Dash's bangs with her mouth, testing its authenticity. Somewhere in Equestria a baby bunny's dreams had been shattered, knowing it would never be as cute as this moment in Sugarcube Corner.



"Yep. It came from my mom's side of the family. They all had really wild colorful manes. Something about living in a tropical area does that to ponies. My uncle had black and red stripes in his mane. He was cool. Not as cool as me, though. Wanna ask another question?"

Scootaloo put her hoof to her chin and thought.

"You told me you got kicked out of flight school....."

"Oh THAT. Alright Scoot, lean in real close cause you are going to be one of the only ponies in Ponyville to learn this secret. It is the darkest secret I have and I will take it with me to the grave. And you can't tell anyone! Got it? Pinkie promise?"

Scootaloo nodded quickly as her eyes widened. A Pinkie Promise was serious business.

"When I was in flight school there was this one instructor that me and my best friend Gilda really disliked. He was a jerk and was always encouraging the other kids to pick on us. I was really small for my age and Gilda was a griffon so we got singled out alot. Same with Fluttershy since she couldn't fly right. This went on for a real long time. Anyway one year me and Gilda decided we had taken enough abuse from this guy so we made a plan to get revenge. And you'll never believe what we did."

Rainbow darted her eyes left and right to be sure there was nobody spying on her. She leaned down and began to whisper with an evil smile darting across her cyan features.

"We put a flaming bag of dragon poop on the front steps to his house. Unfortunately we put it too close and his whole house burnt down. You've probably never seen a cloud house catch on fire but....lemme tell ya....it is the coolest thing! Scary though. Gilda's parents managed to pay enough money to keep him from telling everyone in Cloudsdale what had happened but we still got kicked out of school. Banned forever."

With a quick motion, Dash had sat back up grinning broadly.

"And that, young lady is why I do not do pranks that involve fire anymore! Or poop for that matter."

Scootaloo giggled loudly and leaned against Dash's leg, elated she was one of the few ponies to know the real reason for Rainbow's controversial expulsion from flight school. With a gentle nudge Rainbow pushed Scootaloo off her leg and with a serious expression looked down at the little pony.

"Now you know, sport. So, it's your turn now."

The orange filly looked at the ground. Her breathing very shallow as her joyous smile disappeared. This was it.  She couldn't run anymore.

"Why did you split up with your family, Scootaloo?"

Silence filled the air once again as the small filly started to tremble. Dash put a reassuring hoof on her back, drawing her close.

"You can trust me."

"They left me..." the tiny voice managed to squeak out. "all alone."

Rainbow bit her lip. She'd hoped Scootaloo had just gotten into a fight with them. Run away, possible. But abandonment was far worse. She took a deep breath to keep calm as she continued.

"Do you know why?" asked Rainbow, though she had a fearful guess as to what the answer would be.

The small filly was choking tears back quietly. Her whole body convulsing as she tried not to cry. Dash wanted to weep as well, feeling an unnatural pain rising up to her chest from her stomach, but felt it'd just make the situation worse. She wanted to hug this kid, and tell her it was going to be alright. But pride kept her motionless. The two sat for a few moments before the filly shakily raised her tiny head to look up at Rainbow. Her eyes pink and moist with large tears dripping down her orange cheeks to the pillow she sat on. She gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw and squinted her eyes, summoning up the strength to speak.

"It was cause..." Scootaloo drew in a large breath. ".....I can't fly."

Dash sat up and grimaced. Delicately, she picked up the sobbing foal and held Scoot against her chest, high enough so the filly's head could rest on her shoulder. Dash cursed quietly to herself. It was as if the universe knew the exact thing that would upset her. Pegasi abandoning their slower children, thinking the child would never fly. The old savage warrior code that some clans still followed even though it was sick and backwards. Trying to trim the family tree. Scootaloo buried her face into Dash's shoulder, snuffling quietly. Dash sighed loudly. Both terrified and relieved and in grief for all the things she knew. This child was truly alone in the world. Alone and suffering privately against her own body, against her tiny fluffy wings that didn't have the strength to carry her. Rainbow felt like her chest was going to pop. Like someone had just kicked her in the stomach. With a tilt of her head she nuzzled the side of the small weeping pony who clung to her shoulder, doing her best to comfort the girl, not sure what to say or do in a situation like this.

Neither pony was sure how much time had passed in the room. It seemed like the world had stopped turning, just to mock them. Just to stretch the despair for as long as possible. After what seemed like an eternity Scootaloo finally had managed to stop crying and lifted her face from Dash's shoulder. She felt ashamed. Ashamed that she couldn't fly. Ashamed that her family had left her. Ashamed she lacked the ability to keep herself safe, even though she had tried so hard to take care of herself. Ashamed she had cried, for the 2nd time, like a dumb baby all over her hero and favorite athlete. She wriggled from Rainbow's grasp and sat back down on the damp pillow she had been on sometime earlier. The previous tears hadn't dried, leaving the cloth soggy. She wiped away the moisture on her face with her hoof and looked at the patterned felt, feeling like her pitiful world had ended as she sulked. Her private bubble had been shattered. But in moments it was ok. Everything was ok when Rainbow put her hoof on Scootaloo's back and said the most loving reassuring things anyone had ever told her.

"I'm sorry, Scootaloo."

Scoot glanced into the caring eyes of the cyan mare.

"I will never ever hurt you like they did. Ok? I promise."

Scootaloo nodded, feeling fresh tears spring anew.

"How long ago was this? Can you remember?"

"Mmm mm." she hook her head no.

"Well uh, how many birthdays have passed by since it happened, Scoot?"

"I... uh.....maybe four..."

"Geez Louise. You've been all by yourself for that long?"

"mm hmm." The tiny pony nodded solemnly.

"I.....I'm so sorry, kiddo. I can't begin to imagine what you've been through."

"It's ok."

"No, it really isn't Scoot."

Rainbow sat there in silence. She felt dumbstruck. Four years. Probably half of the filly's short life she'd spent all on her own with nobody to look after her. This filly who sat on a hill almost every day, cheering for Dash. Celebrating every mundane trick she had ever pulled off. This filly who looked up to Dash like she was a goddess, wanting little more than acknowledgement or affection. This filly who had been through an absolute nightmare just to be where she was today. This filly Dash had always taken for granted.

"Scootaloo, I just want you to know that you can trust me, ok? I will never abandon you and neither will any of my friends. So you don't need to be afraid of telling us things, alright?"

Scootaloo nodded slightly. She wasn't particularly open to the idea of telling everyone about her past. But she did feel slightly better knowing that Dash understood and sympathized.

"Still wanna see if we can catch some of the Wonderbolt's radio show, champ?"

Rainbow wiped her wet eyes and grabbed Pinkie's homemade radio out from under the bedsheet she had shoved it in previously. As it flicked on, small orange lightbulbs inside the device warmed up, causing the radio to glow with a warm and inviting light. The two ponies sat together listening to the radio announce the winners of the various sport contests throughout Equestria that day. Neither said a word, simply happy that they were in each others company as they listened intently and ate what was left of the tomato sandwiches.

********************************************************

An hour later as the Manehattan Symphony Orchestra played the national anthem, signaling the end of tonight's broadcast, Rainbow found herself staring down at the tiny orange pony whose head was resting delicately on her arm. She seemed so happy and peaceful. Her tiny chest rising and falling with each breath. Occasionally one of her back legs would twitch, reacting to something in her dreams. Dash smiled. This kid had opened up to her, and told her things she had never told anyone else. And all she wanted was someone to have faith in. Faith she wouldn't be rejected again. Faith that someone didn't think she was a failure because her wings couldn't carry her. Dash reached down with more patience and tenderness than she thought she was capable of, grabbed Scootaloo by the soft nape scruff of her neck, lifting her up in the same way an adult would have lifted an infant foal and with great care gently placed Scootaloo's slumbering body onto a pillow in her makeshift bed. A small affectionate nuzzle to the head followed by a smile. She draped a blanket over the dreamer and backed quietly out of the room, shutting the door behind herself.

She walked down the creaky stairs to the kitchen to be greeted by Mr.Cake who was in his nightrobe stirring a cup of hot chocolate. He looked up at Rainbow with a sly smile. Rainbow grinned nervously and walked past him to where Pinkie Pie and the twins were slumbering. Tank was in his shell near the foot of the chair. The sight of the three of them squeezed together on the velvet chair was enough to make Dash laugh. She managed not to though. Didn't want to wake up the infants.

"I'm proud of you, ya know." Carrot Cake called, looking over his shoulder with a smarmy look from the kitchen.

"You are? For what?" asked Dash, perplexed.

"Well on my way down to get my favorite pre-bed snack I thought I heard some sounds coming from Pinkie's room. I wondered if she and the twins were in there. I was pretty surprised when I peaked in and saw it was you and Scootaloo."

"Oh that. How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough."

He took a long sip from his mug and smiled, giving Rainbow a nod.

"I guess I had you pegged all wrong, Dash. I always took you for a lucky troublemaker but, I gotta say..."

He turned around and faced Rainbow.

"Hearing you comfort that crying foal was magical, actually. It was very mature of you, and you handled it pretty darn well. Like a responsible adult."

Rainbow blushed slightly and looked away.

"Thanks. Um. Could you not tell anyone about that, yet? It is Scootaloo's secret after all and I'm not sure how I should handle this whole......thing. Not yet, anyway."

Mr.Cake grinned and started to head upstairs.

"Oh I won't say anything. I think I'll let the very responsible miss Rainbow Dash decide what she feels is best for the filly under her care."

He flashed Dash a quick wink and was gone.

************************************************************

Rainbow woke Pinkie and the two of them deposited the sleeping cake twins into their crib. Dash noted that Pinkie was being entirely silent the whole time as the two of them made their way to her room for the night. Quietly, Dash began to push the squeaky door open and the two ponies tiptoed into the room. With a dazed expression, Pinkie wobbled over to her bed, flopping down in a rather ungainly position and was out like a light. A long strand of drool dripped from her open snoring mouth and puddled onto the floor. Rainbow smiled and shook her head at her friend.

With a quiet shuffle Rainbow flew onto her pillow bed, throwing her forelegs out in front and curling her hind legs up, the way she usually did on clouds. Her wings lay extended, splayed lazily out to her sides. Her eyes drooped and her vision clouded as sleep began to work it's magic. However she was suddenly awoken by a tug on her wing and a quiet panicked squeal. Dash shook her head and opened her eyes, allowing her vision to clear. She looked to see what had tugged her primary feathers. Scootaloo was sitting next to Rainbow's bed, pulling on the wing with her mouth, looking very frightened.

"What's the issue, Squirt? I need some dang shuteye." yawned Rainbow, withdrawing her wing and rolling over onto her side.

"Theres a monster in here." Scoot whispered excitedly. Rainbow immediately pricked up her ears. Monsters seemed to invade Ponyville alot ever since Twilight Sparkle came to town. Had one attacked the bakery?

"Wait, WHAT!?" 

Scootaloo pointed a hoof to where two small purple dots of light were gleaming in the corner of the room. Rainbow gave a sigh of relief and smiled, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.

"That's just ol' Gummi, Scoot. Pinkie's alligator. He's harmless. He's toothless too."

Scootaloo wavered slightly, casting a concerned glance at the blank alligator's face in the far end of the room.

"Tell you what, Squirt. You can sleep here next to me, and if Gummi tries eating either of us, I'll fling his scaly butt out the window. How does that sound?"

The small orange pony climbed into the pillow bed and curled up at the side of the larger cyan one. Rainbow watched her with a look of affection before yawning loudly and laying her head back down. She extended her wing protectively over the small warm body next to hers and closed her eyes. Almost immediately the shivering filly fell still. Sleep overtook them both. And eventually it overtook the vacant alligator as well. He dreamed of nothing. His mind as vacant as his face.

> Be the lightning in me that strikes relentless.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia's orb of brilliant fire rose slowly over the planet, casting long shadows across the land. It's iridescence sending life deep into the soil, the trees, the animals. Oh to be so grossly incandescent. The currents of ice that flowed through the channels of the mountains and hills soon changed with the colors of the sky. Their white tendrils giving way to the same warmth that the sun felt right to bless the land with. Life stirred in the morning, myriads of beings awakening, and a small few returning to the world of slumber, shunning the light. The empress of the night, Luna, goddess of the moon and empress of the stars had returned to the world of darkness from which she had emerged. Her time to sleep had come, and as the yellow rays pierced through the darkness, the stars themselves shied away. They were content to wait for the sun to finish its rounds. Once time had passed their time would come again, and one by one, they would politely blink themselves back into existence upon the eternal canvas that was ruled in tandem, by the Goddesses of the Cosmic Council.

On this jolly morning, the occupants at Sugar Cube corner were beginning to wake. In particular a cyan pegasus pony with a rainbow-hued mane and tale was desperately trying to wake her pink friend whose hair resembled that of cotton candy. Gentle prodding in the belly had become rough poking in the ribs and finally into rough shaking around the neck. Nothing in the world seemed to wake the slumbering pink baker. In fact it seemed also as if her snores grew louder with each attempt by her friend to break Luna's spell. Rainbow grew frustrated and decided to try one last thing. She placed her forelegs on Pinkie's side and bit down on her friend's fuzzy ear, giving it a harsh yank. Hoping that the sudden sharp pain and movement would finally wake her.

A happy whine escaped the throat of the pink mare, as she subconsciously kicked her hind leg and flicked her tail at her attacker. "Ooh...Dashie." she whispered in a far more sultry tone then was appropriate for this story.

Rainbow let go immediately, her eyes wide as cereal bowls as she leaped back two feet, her wings flaring out. "Oh geez WHAT!"

Pinkies eyes snapped open and she sat up, her pink coat bristling, suddenly realizing the tugging and biting on her ear was not part of a dream. Her normally cheery face contorted into a look of indescribable horror as she realized what she'd uttered aloud. She turned to see Rainbow Dash standing several feet away, her face pale with a look of shock tinged slightly with confusion and a bit of disgust. Pinkie clamped her hooves over her mouth as her face grew red, trying to shrink away. Her blue eyes darted around the room quickly as large droplets of sweat ran down her forehead. Dash sighed, exasperated and embarrassed for her friend and her vices.

"Pinkie. I'm going to walk out the room. I am going to smack my head against the floor until I forget this happened and we will never speak of this again. Ever. Sound good?"

Pinkie nodded quickly, unable to take her hooves off her mouth or look Dash in the face. Dash shook her head and made her way to the bedroom door, eager to escape this incredibly awkward moment.

"You should probably use an alarm clock, pal."

**************************************************************



Downstairs in the bakery, the Cakes were slowly setting up to open the shop for the day. The two middle-aged ponies hoped business would return in droves now that the initial terror of the snowstorm had died down over the last few days. The citizens of Ponyville felt safe enough to peek out their heads from their warm cottages, shops, and refurbished underground dens. Activity was finally returning to the itty-bitty town. And it could not have been timed better. Despite the citizens need to stay inside, public service workers had remained ever vigilante to make the town ready for winter. The mail carriers had delivered mail and packages every day, through wind and rain and sleet and snow. The mayor had gotten several ponies to clear out the snow from the roads and streets. If the town hadn't seemed abandoned due to all the ponies staying inside their homes, the entire place would have looked almost cheery. Like a winter wonderland trapped inside a delicate snowglobe.

"You guys need any help?" Rainbow asked the Cakes as she descended the stairs followed by a still embarrassed Pinkie Pie. Rainbow had on the beanie and scarf that Rarity had made for her, while Pinkie wore a floppy black sweater that was decorated with knitted pictures of lollipops.

"I don't think it's going to matter, dear." Mrs.Cake replied sadly. "Everyone's just going to go to the coffee shoppe down the street to warm up anyway. Or over to the Apple farm for warm pie."

"I never liked coffee much. Too bitter and keeps you awake." Mr.Cake was stirring a mug of hot chocolate with a chiseled rod of mint candy, a look of unhappiness playing about his square jaw.

"Well....what about that?" Pinkie asked quietly, pointing a hoof at the mug. The yellow earth stallion raised an eyebrow and adjusted his striped bow tie. "What about what exactly?" he asked, confused.

"Well why don't we advertise our hot chocolate and cocoa while it's still cold? We can give everyone candy canes and lollipops to stir it with! Oh and those tiny little marshmallows we save for the banana bread! Oh! Oh! And we can let them customize it with cinnamon and nutmeg and ginger and white chocolate chips and mints and whipped cream and sprinkles and candied pears and all the other stuff we keep here for desserts!"

Carrot and Cup Cake both stared at their pink protégé as she grinned winningly at them, hopping up and down in excitement. Their faces broke into huge grins as the brilliance of the idea dawned upon them.

"Oh Pinkie! Have I ever told you how smart you are and how proud I am of you?" Mrs.Cake said as she gave Pinkie a warm hug.

"Yes, many times!" Pinkie replied with a giggle.

"So where are you two nutters off to, anyway?" asked Mr.Cake as he began pulling out bags of candy from one of the cabinets.

"I'm gonna try to see if I can rescue some of Scootaloo's belongings from where I found her in the first place. They were sinking into the snow when I last saw them." Rainbow replied.

Mrs.Cake walked up to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. A motherly smile on her blue coat.

"Would you two mind if we let Scootaloo test some of the cocoa after she wakes up?"

"She'd probably love it!" squealed Pinkie as she and Dash exited the establishment and ran out into the white expanse of snow outside.

***********************************************


It seemed like a century had passed when Rainbow had last gotten to spread her wings and fly uninhibited through the air, even if in reality it'd only been a few days. She cartwheeled and spun laughing aloud to herself as the cold wind passed through her feathers and across her body, egging her to move even quicker. The beloved scarf she wore fluttered wildly around as it was buffeted by the currents of cold air. Pinkie ran through the streets of Ponyville giggling madly to herself as she tried to keep sight of her friend. Pinkie was not as powerful or fast as Applejack or Rainbow, but what she lacked in speed she made up for in sheer agility and boundless energy. She leaped from the street, to the top of a wagon, to the roof of a house, skipping happily across it and landing back on the slick street in moments, not even stopping to admire what she had just pulled off. These sort of feats just came naturally to the pink pony. Whether it was from her joyful spirit or the amount of sweets she ate was anyone's guess.

The two happily made their way through the town. Pinkie would pause on occasion to greet other folks as they went about their day. She knew every pony in town and considered herself the official Welcomer for any visitors. Anybody who came to Ponyville for the first time was usually visited by Pinkie who would greet them with some sort of improvised song and dance and usually a baked treat. True to Mr. and Mrs. Cake's fears, a sizeable crowd was indeed forming at Beanie Browns Cafe, where hot coffee and espresso awaited to warm even the coldest of hooves. The two friends nodded solemnly at each other as they passed by the cafe, continuing onward to the woods.

*************************************************

"Gosh darnit!" Rainbow shouted as she plodded around the forest scowling. "It was RIGHT here."

The two ponies were exploring the edge of the Everfree Forest, looking for any signs of the treehouse that had once stood within it. The trees were buried nearly up to their boughs in the white flakes. It had been almost a half hour of searching and they had yet to turn up a single thing. Rainbow was growing increasingly frustrated and was beginning to pace back and forth over areas they had already dug through, snorting angrily. Pinkie had long since lost interest in the search for things she was unaware of and was busy constructing a lumpy snowpony with candy for eyes.

"What was right here, Dash? All I see is snow and more snow."

"Scootaloo's stuff."

"That's silly! Why would Scootaloo have stuff all the way out here?"

"Because...." Rainbow stopped herself. She was still unsure how exactly to explain Scootaloo's situation to her friends. With a growl she continued her pacing through the snow. Pinkie took notice of her friends upset demeanor and decided the time had come to remedy it. She grabbed the head off the snowpony with her hooves and spun around. The snowpony quietly accepted its demise. It had lived a hard life.

"Hey, grumpy! CATCH!"

Rainbow turned in the direction of the squeal of delight only to see a large blob of white hurtling at her head. Her whole being was accosted by the massive blob of snow that slammed into her face. The two candies within the snowball that had once made up the eyes of the snowpony both flew off in random directions, ricocheting off several trees and scaring a sleeping bird that screeched loudly, poo'd into the snow and panicked, then flew as far as its wings could carry it. There was a moment of silence before Dash spat out a large blob of snow and glared at Pinkie.

"That was a cheap shot, Pinks. You're gonna get it now!" and with that Rainbow opened her wings to their full span, a rather impressive seven feet for such a small pony. She arched her back straining every muscle to flap her feathered limbs as hard as possible, causing a great gust of wind to send Pinkie tumbling into a tree, where a large amount of snow fell off its branches and buried her. Rainbow smiled at her victory as an uneasy silence filled the woods. Perhaps too uneasy. The smile faltered as Rainbow stepped forward.

"Pinkie Pie? You okay, pal?"

The pile of snow on top of Pinkie didn't produce a sound or even move. It was so quiet you could actually hear the water freezing. There are no words in the dictionary to describe aforementioned sound. Rainbow began to dig into the snow to rescue her friend.

"Pinkie you'd better not be hurt. I'm gonna be mad as heck if I have to drag you home." she yelled partly out of fear and partly out of anger, not noticing the small eruption of snow behind her as the pink pony tunneled out of the snow like a mole and readied herself to pounce like a jaguar.

"Ha! Got ya!" Pinkie squealed as she landed on Rainbow's back and pinned her to the ground in a fierce embrace. Rainbow frowned at the knowledge she'd been tricked, but she had a sure-fire way to get the upper hand.

"Is this what you were dreamin' about earlier, Pinks?"

With a speed that most would deem unnatural for a horse of any size, Pinkie had sent herself flying 10 feet into the air, a yelp of absolute horror escaping her throat. She landed several meters away, her whole face turning even pinker. Rainbow was laughing hard enough to be heard back in town.

"Ahahahahah! Oh man! That is the best! You are too easy, Pinkie!"

"That wasn't very funny Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie shouted, puffing her cheeks out in anger. Rainbow fell over from laughing so uproariously. "It totally was very funny." she managed to eek out between guffaws.

"What the heck are you guys doing?" asked a familiar voice.

The two ponies turned to see the scaly creature that had entered the clearing. It was Spike, the juvenile dragon who was a friend of both ponies. A newcomer to the town, Spike had moved into Ponyville along with his caretaker, Twilight Sparkle. He functioned as her assistant and at the same time almost like her son. Even though he was a dragon, he was family, and Twilight had taken care of him with Princess Celestia ever since she had hatched his egg with magic in her youth. He lived with her at the local library, where he and the studious purple unicorn kept track of the town's books. He was very small, even when compared to the little ponies themselves. Twilight often referred to him as a baby, even if at times he seemed even more level-headed than his guardian. It wasn't out of place to see him riding on Twilight's back, jotting notes onto parchment as she chatted about science and spells.

Dragons were considered fearsome unethical creatures in Equestria, often ornery, barbaric, and mean-spirited, but Spike had been raised in a proper household and was, for the most part, very well mannered. His body was covered head to toe with soft purple scales, with much tougher lime green plate-scales running from his chin, down his tummy, and all the way to the end of his spiked tail. Small fish-like fins adorned his cheeks and ran along his spine, and they often wobbled to and fro when he talked.



"Oh heya Spike!" Rainbow called. "We're trying to find some junk buried in the snow. Pinkie isn't helping!"

"I am too!"

"Oh, well hey maybe I can help!" said Spike as he waddled further into the clearing with the two ponies. "I am a dragon after all."

He shot a small flicker of green fire out of his nostril into the air as if to prove a point. His tiny fangs glittered briefly in the sun as he gave a confident grin.

"Could you melt all this, Spike?" asked Rainbow.

"Sure I can. You guys should back up a little tiny bit." And with that Spike reached into his pocket, pulling out a small container of mints. He popped one into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. If he was going to shoot fire out of his mouth, he wanted to be sure it didn't smell like the fish and gemstones he had eaten that morning.

With a step backward he inhaled a deep breath. Green flames flew from his mouth, arcing through the air before they hit the ground, swirling into a ring of yellow fire. White steam shot out of the inferno in the snow and within a few moments the area had been cleared. Scootaloo's belongings lay on the brown dead grass amongst the shattered remains of what had once been a soggy treehouse. Spike raised an eyebrow as he looked at all the items he considered garbage.

"This means alot to me. Thanks Spike." said Rainbow as she began to shift through the contents on the ground. "What are you doing out in the woods anyway?"

"Twilight got in a bunch of books about Hearths-Warming Eve and has been sorting them all day and wanted me to help. I'm going to go visit Zecora instead. Her magic is much more interesting!"

"And Twilight isn't gonna be upset at you for running off?"

"It's fine if she is. I'm not a baby, she can't keep telling me what to do! Heck I'm almost grown up already!"

"Is that so?" Rainbow raised her eyebrows and grinned at the tiny dragon.

"Yep, check it out." Spike turned around and stood still as if patiently waiting for a response.

"What am I supposed to be looking at here, Spike?"

"See those two little reddish scales? Those are my wings!"

"They look like pimples. Dragon pimples."

"Well they aren't grown in yet, but soon I'll be able to fly around Ponyville!"

"Oh Spike!" Pinkie squealed, "once you can fly we need to have a 'Spike Can Fly Now' party. I bet me and Rarity could make you a cake full of sapphires if you want! Or cupcakes full of rubies! Or a balaclava full of dumortierite!"

"I'd eat anything Rarity makes." Spike replied with a soft faraway look in his eyes.

"You didn't accidentally teleport all that snow to Celestia did you, Spike?" Pinkie asked.

"Aw shucks. I hope not."

And with that he was off, scuttling away on all fours with his spiky tail swinging to and fro, seeming to the world almost like a short chubby purple lizard as he made his way deeper into the Everfree Forest. Pinkie and Rainbow watched him go before turning their full attention to the belongings that lay scattered on the ground, now soaked through from the melted snow. Rainbow set about pushing it into a pile and stuffing it into a saddlebag. Pinkie helped at first but soon found herself drawn to the mysterious planks of wood. It took her only moments to recognize a doorframe, a ladder, and some sort of window. This had been a tiny house at some point. Like a shack or a shed. Had it been in a tree? Had Scootaloo lived inside this ugly thing? Was she.....

Pinkie stopped breathing for a moment as realization hit her. Scootaloo being alone in the snow. Rainbow deflecting questions and looking guilty. The lack of anyone searching for the orange pony. This broken home that lay in heaps under the ice. Scootaloo's angry demeanor when someone did something charitable. That lonely look in her eyes. It was all coming together. Like a big game of dominos, and Pinkie had the ace of hearts, all the checkers, and was crowning her battleship King of Park Avenue. But she didn't feel good about it.

Rainbow noticed Pinkie had grown very quiet as she surveyed the melted mess. It was weird seeing Pinkie be quiet. Normally she and her friends had a hard time getting the pink pony to shut up. Something was clearly bothering her.

"Pinkie, I'm sorry I made fun of you earlier." Rainbow mumbled with a grin. "I mean it's cool that you like me I guess although it's also really creepy but I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or whatever."

"Oh, it's not that." Pinkie whispered. She seemed intent at staring at the remains of the wooden shed.

"What's wrong?"

"Looloo's all alone, isn't she?"

Rainbow's breath caught in her throat. She stood silently for a moment, frowned a bit and nodded. "Yeah."

For a brief moment a new emotion burned its way across the pink pony's facial features. Rainbow had seen Pinkie upset before. She'd seen her depressed. Angry even. But this brief face she made seemed different. For a moment she looked very frightened and upset. It was very strange. Pinkie had literally laughed in the face of danger more times than Dash could count. Heck, Pinkie even had a whole song about laughing at your fears that she had sung far too many times whenever something was scaring her friends. Rainbow gulped a bit, wondering what was going through her friend's head.

"She has no family all?" Pinkies voice had grown very quiet. It had lost that luster that made her sound like she was on the verge of giggling all the time. Without it she sounded almost like the wind itself. She took a few steps back from the wood as if threatened by it.

"They left her, Pinkie." Rainbow replied, trying to hide the anger in her voice. She looked up at the trees, seeking answers. "They just dumped her. Like garbage."

Pinkie closed her eyes and inhaled sharply. Her coat and mane seemed to turn the lightest bit greyer. As if a shadow had suddenly passed overhead that only affected her. But within moments it was over with. She walked back over to where Rainbow stood and began placing the items on the ground into the saddlebag. The two sat in silence until their task was done, then began their trek back Sugarcube Corner.

They said nothing to each other until they passed a small family of griffons that were making their way down the street. Rainbow watched the small grey fluffy griffon chicks shout happily as they darted around their large golden-feathered parents, playing tag. Whatever troubles the griffons had were not affecting them right now. They were simply happy being a family and having each other. A sense of grief and longing washed over Rainbow. She missed that feeling.

"Pinkie when all this is over, I'm going to have to find someone to look after Scootaloo. She's gonna hate me for it but....she can't go back to that forest."

Pinkie bit her lip slightly, not knowing what to say next.

"You could probably do it, Dashie. I bet you'd be great at it." Pinkie gave her friend a sad smile, trying to sound as positive as she could. "She loves you so much."

The words, though innocent and hopeful, cut deep into Rainbow. Instinctively, she tried to hide it. Make a joke of it. Ignore it's implications to the best of her ability. Do the one thing she was good at when it came to things that hurt. So she chuckled loudly and obnoxiously at the notion.

"Nah! She needs to be taken care of by someone who knows what they're doing, Pinkie. I don't qualify!" Rainbow smiled as best she was able as the two ponies continued walking down the street. Pinkie's words, though innocent and hopeful had planted a seed of an idea inside of Rainbow. Deep in the small cracks in her psyche that had been left there ever since she'd stopped talking to her own parents, her old friends, and everyone who had meant something to her in the past when she had called the sky home. And without the cyan mare realizing it, the idea began to grow.

******************************************


"KUSTOM CHOKLAT AND COCO"


Mrs.Cake was not the best speller in Ponyville. Not by a long shot. Public education had only been set up in the last couple of decades and by the time the town had a school, she had been an adult. Her calligraphy skill with a paintbrush, however, was admirable. The misspelled words adorned a pink and yellow checkered cardboard sign that now sat proudly on the roof of Sugarcube Corner. Every letter curled and swirled, each a small piece of art. A lava lamp and a strobe light had been duct taped to the sign, hoping it would help it stand out. There was little doubt that it had indeed worked since at the moment Sugarcube Corner was almost overrun with ponies of all sorts who wanted to try out the Cocoa Bar where ingredients could be mixed or matched in a nice hot drink.

Mr.Cake, while slightly apprehensive at first to 'get out the good stuff' as the first tentative guests had entered, soon threw caution to the wind. Nearly every possible candy, sweet, and baking ingredient now sat in its own wood bowl along the counter, each with a small paper label describing what the content in the bowl was (with appropriate warnings in case of allergies). He was surprised at how some combinations of flavors that would normally sound disgusting, were turning out to be quite popular. Hot Chocolate with glazed orange slices was proving to be a favorite. As was Hot Cocoa with creamy hand-made peanut butter stirred in. For the first time in months, the Cakes needed to bring up a few more tables and unfold a few plastic chairs, just to accommodate the huge crowd. The cash register was literally overflowing with bits, the small copper and silver coins clattering to the ground, where they were almost immediately seized by the baby, Pumpkin Cake. And being a baby, she did the first thing that came natural to her when finding a small foreign object: she tried to eat it.

Scootaloo, after having downed several mugs of cocoa and taken a short nap was now assigned Official Baby Watcher. Her job was to quickly yank anything that Pumpkin Cake picked up out of her eager hooves before she devoured it. It had been a simple job at first, until the small pile of money surrounding Mr.Cake had grown into a veritable mountain. Now it was a constant struggle to keep the baby unicorn from levitating large amounts of money into her maw with small bursts of magic from her horn. Mrs.Cake was returning from Sweet Apple Acres with several large barrels of fresh milk, as the sudden popularity of the bakery had drastically bit into their dairy reserves.  It was a difficult job for a short chubby middle-aged blue pony, but she soon found relief as Pinkie and Rainbow arrived back home and rolled the tanks of milk to the back of the bakery. She thanked them both and quickly scooped up Pumpkin, relieving Scootaloo of her duties. And not too soon as the small filly was exhausted from trying to abstain the infant from devouring currency. She quickly ran from the kitchen and up to Pinkie Pie and Rainbow. Rainbow grinned at the small pony who was staring at her with a look of complete adoration. Dash reached forward and tousled her magenta mane.

Pinkie on the other hand was staring at Scootaloo with a mournful expression. She felt so much empathy for the small orange pony. Pinkie had been there. She knew how it felt to have the world turn away. A million thoughts were going through her head, which wasn't out of the ordinary for her, but these thoughts were full of regret and grief. Making ponies smile was pretty much Pinkie's one goal in life and she felt as if she wasn't doing it well enough. Pinkie was a bit impulsive and soon found herself grabbing Scootaloo and holding the filly up in the air with a sad smile.

"Looloo I want you to know we all love you and I'm sorry your family gave you away."

Rainbow cringed and frowned at her friends antics. Scootaloo's ears folded flat against her head as the smile on her face quickly faded. She turned her head to look at Rainbow with a face that screamed 'betrayal'. Rainbow sighed and glared at Pinkie who realized she had said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"Oh, oopsy! Was I not supposed to know about that?" She blushed slightly and gave Scootaloo a sad look. Rainbow prepared herself to try to find an excuse that would salvage this new faux-pas. But it was Scootaloo who spoke up first.

"It's fine." she grumbled. Her lavender eyes looking away from Rainbow and down to the floor, filled with shame. "Everyone's going to figure out I'm useless eventually."

A small pang of anger welled up inside of Rainbow and with quick reflexes she had grabbed Scootaloo out of Pinkie's embrace and held her aloft, staring right into the filly's eyes with a grave expression. Her wings extended and wrapped around the small filly, supporting her back.

"Don't you ever DARE say that, again. You are NOT useless." Rainbow found herself shouting slightly louder than she had wanted to.

"No family. No cutie mark. Can't fly." Scootaloo mumbled quietly. Her eyes squeezed closed and her jaw trembled. Waterworks were incoming, and it was up to Rainbow and Pinkie to barricade for the flood.

"Flying isn't everything...." Pinkie whispered. Scootaloo shot her a dirty look, which seemed to quell the sadness for at least a brief moment of time.

"Then why do I even have wings?"

"Scoot, you're probably just a late bloomer. Fluttershy was like that." Dash replied.

"She was?"

"Oh yeah she was awful at flying. She was a teenager before she even managed to fly back to Cloudsdale after falling off it in the first place. Everyone figured she was a cripple until she came striding into the city one day. I was pretty proud of her, getting over her fear of heights like that."

Scootaloo's glower softened slightly at these words, making a low pouting grunt. Dash nuzzled the filly's forehead and continued.

"Like, heck, you know Surprise, the Wonderbolt? She couldn't fly well until she was an adult, Scoot. She was the first pony in space. She didn't even take a rocket there, she just flew. Now she's the third highest decorated officer in the whole team."

There was a look of admiration on Scootaloo's face as these words sunk in. Her expression changed from one of anger to wonder. Nearly every pegasus respected the Wonderbolts. They were beyond athletes. Almost superheroes in their own way. Rainbow smiled and held the filly close, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Nobody can fly well at first, Scootaloo. Nobody is born knowing what it is they're meant to do. Some spend their whole lives wandering around wondering what it is they are good at. What they don't realize is they're the luckiest ones of all! They can do anything! Be anything! You are so special, Scoot. You can do anything you want! You're not a failure. No, no. You're full of untapped potential. You've been through so much and managed to take care of yourself. I've seen how you defend your friends against snobby bullies. How you don't let your wings slow you down. How you cheered for me even when I ignored you as hard as I could like a doofus. You're not a failure. You're a miracle, squirt."

Rainbow smiled slightly. It was the best speech she'd given since the night she had drank too much of Granny Smith's hard cider and toppled clumsily off the rooftop of Rarity's Carousel Boutique, causing massive property damage. Of course the speech she gave afterwards was slurred and full of swear words, but it was beautiful and honorable nonetheless. Either way, Scootaloo's large eyes were once again filled with joy and she hugged Rainbow, giggling softly.

Pinkie moved closer and decided to chime in as well. Her eyes gazing at the wall.

"Looloo do you remember the story of how I got my cutie mark?"

Scootaloo nodded and backed away from hugging Rainbow, turning her body to face the pink mare. Pinkie's cutie mark tale was one nobody could forget. It was a wild story, and no-one was sure how much truth it contained. How much was fantasy and how much was fact. As a child Pinkie Pie had apparently worked on a rock farm. Whether it was an actual farm or a slang terminology for a mineral mine was anyone's guess. It had been a miserable place to live and when Pinkie had learned her special talent was for throwing parties, represented by the colorful balloons on her flank, the tale had abruptly ended. Pinkie didn't enjoy talking about it, so to see her approach this topic again was something special and quite out of the ordinary. Both Rainbow and Scootaloo pricked their ears up, eager to hear more of this story.

"Well it wasn't long after that when I found myself alone, like you. My mommy and daddy didn't want me either and I decided to run away as far as I could and join the circus. I left my sisters behind and never saw them ever again."

Pinkie shuddered slightly and closed her mouth. Her brows twitched as if she were regretting telling more of her life story. It was a very unpleasant memory. She sniffed apprehensively and glanced up, with a crooked smile.

"But I'm OK now because I have a NEW family. And they love me very very much. Sometimes when things seem like they can't get any worse it's actually good thing. Cause it means things can only get better! It means the worst is over and you made it! Better times are on the way! And things always are better when you have someone to share them with. Nobody deserves to be all alone, Looloo."

She gently reached a hoof forward and placed it on the small filly's back, pushing the child closer to Rainbow, tightening their embrace. Scootaloo snuggled warmly into the cyan body. Rainbow stared at Pinkie with a look of shock, who smiled back in a way that seemed softer than the usual giant wacky grins she usually displayed. Her blue eyes looked right into Rainbow's red ones, grim and serious. She glanced down at the filly and back at Rainbow.

"Nobody."

And with that Pinkie was off, disappearing into the crowd of customers. She reappeared briefly in the kitchen, hugging Mr. and Mrs.Cake tightly. Nobody in the cocoa bar could see it but the pink pony was weeping happily as she held her two adopted parents close. They didn't always understand their protege but they hugged back, nonetheless. The twins crowded around Pinkie's back hooves, hugging her legs, not sure why everyone was hugging but wanting in on the action. The family embrace was quickly broken when a large grey stallion at the counter shouted about how they were running out of chocolate syrup at the bar. 

"What's her deal?" Scootaloo asked at the retreating Pinkie, confused at whatever had just occurred.

Rainbow coughed awkwardly and set Scootaloo on the ground.

"Sorry about that, squirt. She's been acting kinda...weird. Even weirder than her normal Pinkie Pie self. But hey guess what I got!"

Rainbow reached into the saddlebag she had dragged in from the cold. With a somewhat gallant tip, she emptied the contents onto the floor. A windup clock rusted and dripping, a soaked grey doll of a horse wearing blue shorts, and with a large clunk, an old blue scooter made of weathered wood and coated with chipped paint.

"YESSSSSS!!!!!!" Scootaloo shouted triumphantly grabbing the scooter with her hooves and immediately peeling out through the bakery, her small orange wings becoming a blur as they buzzed, propelling her quickly through the thirsty crowd. She darted in-between all the larger adults, treating them like large props for stunts. With a flip she landed on a table, grinding along its side before landing back on the floor, twirling in a circle and pushing her way towards the kitchen.

Dash observed the other two items on the floor, feeling strangely....nostalgic? Something about these items was tickling a distant memory locked somewhere deep in the filing cabinet of Dash's subconscious. Folding her legs under her torso, she laid on her stomach, her eyes narrowed, thinking hard. This doll and this clock were familiar. Dash knew them, somehow. These items had been near her or within her proximity before they had ended up in the abandoned treehouse Scootaloo had formerly called home. The doll in particular seemed to be of great significance. The memory faded into view as she stared at it and it's polka-dot boxers. Hit in the face? She had been hit in the face before when she was near the doll previously but why. Oh yeah, that was why.

Months prior, Twilight Sparkle had enchanted this doll whom was nicknamed 'Smartie Pants'. Nervous that she had run out of updates on her new living conditions to send to the princess, the purple unicorn had cast a spell on the doll, causing anyone who gazed upon it to become infatuated. Originally it was to simply cause a minor conflict of interest, wherein the unicorn herself would step forward, solve it as diplomatically as possible, and write of her endeavors to Princess Celestia. However the situation had grown violently out of hand, escalating into a mass riot through the town that eventually Celestia, the goddess herself, had to solve. Dash remembered glancing at the doll, wondering why everyone wanted it when Twilight had abruptly hit her in the face, shouting to not look so she too would not be snagged by the enchantment. In retrospect it was pretty funny. Celestia had been ticked off.

The clock remained. Dash felt like she'd seen it before as well. She'd been wearing something....fancy when it happened. That was it! This clock had been in Rarity's house on a day when Dash had been modeling clothes at the Carousel Boutique, where Rarity hemmed highly-regarded dresses for ponies. Not Dash's favorite activity by a long shot. So how had Scootaloo gotten ahold of these two items? Dash had a suspicion she wouldn't like the answer but wanted to hear it from the young filly herself. She scanned the room looking for the orange pony in the crowd. Scootaloo by some sixth sense, was already heading back toward Rainbow, screeching to a stop on the scooters small red tires in front of her idol. She seemed breathlessly happy.

It was amazing how well she rode that thing. Dash smiled wondering if perhaps riding on the scooter would be the filly's special talent. But for now there was a more important thing to attend to.

"Thank you for finding my stuff, Rainbow Dash! You're the best!"

"Ha! Well you're very welcome, I guess. But uh, Scootaloo. This doll used to belong to Twilight Sparkle and Spike. And I'm pretty sure this clock used to be Rarity's. So....? How'd you get these?"

"Oh um." Scootaloo looked at the ground. "Well Big Mac had the doll for a while and after the spell wore off he kept it in one of the storage barns. I thought he didn't want to play with it anymore so I kinda....."

"And the clock?"

"Well....one time when I had a sleepover with Sweetie Belle I noticed Rarity had alot of clocks and I needed one to know when to get up for school so...."

"Scoot, you know it's wrong to steal, right?"

Scootaloo looked ready to cry again as she nodded quickly. She knew what she'd done was wrong at the time, but it's not like she'd had any other choice. Rainbow couldn't get upset at that.

"I'm sorry." Scootaloo squeaked.

"Scoot, promise me you won't steal anything ever again."

"What if I get hungry?"

"Where do you go when you're hungry?"

"Well sometimes I take food from the Apple Family's cellar...."

"Aw jeez! Scoot, from now on if you really need something, or are in trouble, you ask me for help. And I will try as hard as I can to get it for you, alright?"

"Alright."

"Where'd you get this scooter from, anyway?"

"I earned it."

"Uh-huh?"

"I helped a big old pony move a bunch of boxes of scooters one day when he had hurt himself. So he let me have one!"

"Really?"

"...."

"You're killin' me here, Scoot. Promise me you won't steal ever EVER again."

"I promise."

It would be another six hours until the massive crowd at the Sugarcube Corner had finally had their fill of dessert and hot chocolate. In their wake they had left wrappers, garbage and several broken chairs. The floor was scuffed from the hooves that had clopped all over it during the rush. Half the supplies in the bakery had been devoured. All the milk had been drank and there was almost no chocolate. The Cakes had worked nearly eleven hours straight, and were exhausted. It was worth it however as they had made nearly eight times as much in one day then they usually did with a full week of business. Pinkie felt this accomplishment deserved a small party, and not a single pony in the bakery objected.

Luna's radiant sphere of the night rose slowly over the darkening landscape, casting long shadows as it passed. It's glow and refulgence sending life deep into the lakes, the caves, the animals. The high winds that had been warmed now chilled, whitened as the light struck upon them, casting cold to the earth they embraced. Life stirred in the night, myriads of nocturnal beasts knowing their time had come as many others lay to dream and rest, shunning the darkness. Celestia, empress of the light, and goddess of the sun had returned to the world of luster from which she had emerged. Her time to sleep had come, and as the red clouds sank blearily into the purple velvet of the night sky, a new order began. Every star blinked its way back into existence, caressing the moon as they had done for eternities. 
> The pale princess of a palace, cracked.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, you're certainly looking well."

Dr.Gladys was holding Scootaloo up in her hooves, observing the impatient foal as she squirmed trying to free herself, kicking her small legs and flapping her tiny wings and looking very annoyed. The doctor smiled and placed the small pony on the metal scale she had brought with her. It didn't appear much different from the scales used to weigh vegetables and fruit, but it was accurate and it worked well enough. Ninety-eight pounds, still underweight for someone of her age and breed, but far better than the state she'd found the foal in previously.

"I'm bored." Scootaloo grumbled as she crossed her forelegs and pouted angrily.

Gladys couldn't help but smile at the energy the filly was displaying. Despite her dislike of the checkup, she seemed to have recovered almost entirely from the health scare almost a week prior. Going from a near comatose state to a small hellion who refused to sit still for anything. The doctor reached into her rucksack and produced a small wooden medicine box, and next a silver key. Placing the key in her teeth, she inserted it into the small brass lock and tilted her head. A loud click signaled the box was open and the wooden doors that adorned the front swung open, revealing an inside full of small drawers, shelves, and hooks. Various elixirs, powders, dried herbs, syrups, tinctures, catlins, scalpels, forceps, and needles dangled, clinked, and clanked inside the box as its doors swung open. Scootaloo, Dash, and Pinkie all swallowed nervously at the sharp implements.

"What's that stuff?" Pinkie asked, her eyes resting on a particularly large needle as she went pale.

"Oh, just my tools. I had a good feeling I might need some antibiotics, so I brought a bit of everything."

Gladys gently grasped one of the smaller needles and removed the sterilized cap off the end of the syringe, exposing the thin sharp metal shaft. She plunged it into a bottle labeled 'clarithromycin' that was full of a murky green substance. Pulling back the plunger on the syringe until about an inch of it was full, then pulling it from the bottle. She tapped it lightly with her hoof, making sure any excess fluid and bubbles had dripped off. She smiled and turned to Scootaloo.

"After this, I think you'll feel a great deal better."

Scootaloo shrunk back, away from the large shiny needle, arching her back and flaring her wings out defensively. A small fearful whinny emanated from her throat as she continued walking away from the doctor. That needle was huge, and she was not going to let it stab her without a fight. Even if it was a doctor doing it.

"I don't want any!"

Gladys grinned slightly, adjusted her spectacles and turned with a knowing expression towards Rainbow Dash who was still cautiously roving her eyes over all the vials and test tubes of foreign substances that had sprung out of the medicine box. Dash was no fan of doctors either, though she'd been in enough mid-air collisions to have grown used to the procedures over the years. Didn't make it any less creepy, though.

"Ah-hem." Gladys coughed at Dash who lifted her head, perplexed. Gladys smiled and nodded, then tilted her head in the direction of the small orange filly who at the moment had crammed herself as hard as she could into the corner of the kitchen, flapping her wings and putting as much space between herself and the syringe as she could. Dash couldn't help but chuckle.

"Scoot, get over here and take your medicine. Then we can get out of this stuffy old bakery and do something fun!"

Obediently, Scootaloo cautiously walked towards the doctor, trembling slightly. It wasn't uncommon for children and even adults to be afraid of needles, and Gladys knew this was pretty run-of-the-mill. But the wise medical professional also knew the most painful part of getting a shot was the nerves leading up to it. In reality, a needle to the arm or leg was an almost painless process, provided the pony wielding the device knew how to be gentle.

"I promise it won't hurt. You can close your eyes if you want."

The orange filly lowered her body to the floor and covered her eyes with her hooves, not wanting to see the approaching needle as it gently made its way towards her. True to the doctor's word, it did not hurt. In fact by the time Scootaloo had opened her eyes, Gladys had already closed up her medicine box, packed it away and was accepting a few bits from Rainbow Dash before she exited through the door.

"See that wasn't so bad, was it?" Dash quipped as she picked up and cuddled Scootaloo who was still looking around her body trying to figure out where the needle had entered. "Believe me, I've been through FAR worse things, Scoot. What you went through here is nothin' compared to fracturing a wing bone or getting a plume feather yanked out. I've had needles twice as long as that go right into my bones. I still have nightmares!"

The three ponies walked out the door into the snow. It was Scootaloo's first time outside in quite a few days, and she was overjoyed to be able to see the sun and clouds again. Pinkie trotted happily down the road towards her favorite spot during winter: the frozen lake near Fluttershy's cottage. Rainbow followed behind, keeping an eye on Scootaloo as the small pony ran crazily around in the snow, unable to contain her excitement of being free from the cinnamon-crusted prison cell of food known as the bakery.

Their day was spent in an icy glade. Pinkie was ice skating around the frozen lake, performing small spins and flips as she made her way along. It was a very elegant sort of thing, for her. Her friends had always thought she could be a professional skater if she'd wanted to, but Pinkie had never pursued it. It wasn't her dream, no matter how good she may have been at it. But the display she put on was dazzling enough to draw a small crowd of onlookers to stomped the ground to applaud whenever she pulled off a new move. If anyone ever doubted the pink mare was an athlete in her own way, they needed only to see her on the ice for but a moment.

On the other hand, Rainbow Dash had managed to find a tin garbage can lid, and with a few power kicks of her hind legs, flattened it enough so it could serve as a makeshift sled for Scootaloo. She sat on a bench next to a mint-green pony who sat propped up on her back legs, calmly watching the filly climb upwards with her new 'sled'. Rainbow kept a close eye on her small friend as she slid giggling down the hill, and then would proceed to run back up it, dragging the 'sled' behind her, quickly hopping on top and sliding down the incline again.

After some time had passed, Applejack and Applebloom appeared with their own sleds and soon Rainbow herself joined in. The four spent hours racing each other down the hill, with Applejack accusing Rainbow of cheating whenever the mare used her blue wings to push herself down the hill even faster. As the sun began to set, Pinkie wearily dragged herself away from the lake and sat exhausted onto the bench watching Rainbow and Scootaloo sledding. She smiled as she watched them. 

The two had grown so close. Every night Rainbow would delicately place Scootaloo into the bed she'd made for her out of pillows and cloth, then Dash herself would stumble into her own larger pillow bed to try and fall asleep. And like clockwork every night, the little orange filly would make a frightened cry, wake up, climb over the pillows and snuggle into Dash under her wing, like a foal with it's mother. Pinkie loved watching it happen and found it difficult not to squeal "awwww!" each time. It reminded her how the Cake twins would sometimes climb out of their crib and invade their parents room at night, just to be with them. Just to feel safe.

At that moment a large dark grey pegasus descended from the sky, landing near the four ponies at the bottom of the hill. Small snowflakes were stuck in his silver mohawk of a mane. He grinned broadly as he stepped towards them, folding his black feathered wings. He was a frightening but impressive sight. Tall and sinewy with a devilish grin to match his bright mane and tail. Applebloom and Scootaloo hid behind their older companions.

"Helloooo oh Captain my Captain!" he said with a wink. 

"Oh hey Thunderlane. What are you doing down here in Ponyville?" Rainbow asked, not even looking up from the sled she was cleaning off.

"Me and the rest of the weather team were wondering how you were enjoying your vacation amongst all the earth-ponies. Speaking of, I do not believe we've met?" He said turning to Applejack.

"Oh howdy! Uh, well, I'm Applejack. And this here is Applebloom." she motioned to the small yellow pony hiding behind her who waved shyly.

"The Applejack? Element of Honesty? From Sweet Apple Acres?"

"Yup! That's me."

"Well well well! I was not expecting the creator of my favorite apple-based snack foods to be so beautiful." he knelt, taking Applejack's hoof in his own and giving it a slight kiss, then raising his eyebrows and gazing up with the cockiest smile he could muster. 

"Oh mah goodness..."

"For pete's sake Thunderlane, can you not go anywhere without flirting with someone I know?" Rainbow quickly moved between the blushing Applejack and smiling grey pegasus. "What is it you want? We're busy!"

"Oh not much, Cap'n. Just a bit of recognition, you know." He glanced around at the snowy landscape, his grin growing wider. He slyly winked at Rainbow. "Don't make me beg, your Highness."

"Ugh. Fine. You and the rest of the weather team did a really good job with the winter season. Couldn't have done it better myself. Happy, now?"

"That compliment will have to prove satisfactory for the rest of the team! They've been wondering where you vanished off to after all. You haven't been home."

"Yeah I've been staying with a friend. And I've had my hands full with this little one." Rainbow moved aside slightly, exposing Scootaloo who had been sheepishly hiding behind her back leg.

"Well hello there. Who are you?" asked Thunderlane, leaning down towards the filly.

Scootaloo narrowed her eyes briefly, studying the large grey stallion. Just as quickly she smiled.

"Hey I know you! You're Rumble's brother." she shouted eagerly.

"Ah! A fellow classmate of my better half, eh?"

"Yeah, he's really weird."

Thunderland laughed loudly at the comment. "Yes, yes he is! And now I'm off to try out this legendary cocoa I've been hearing about at Sugarcube Corner. Good day, Rainbow, Scootaloo, miss Applejack." He gave Applejack a wink.

With a flash of light and a crack of thunder, the grey stallion had sped off towards Ponyville, leaving a white vapor trail in his wake. Rainbow turned with a frown to Applejack who was smiling and waving at the departing stallion.

"Don't get any ideas, AJ. That guy is a flaky horndog."

"I can handle mahself, RD. Y'all needn't worry yerself none. Besides he's a mighty handsome feller."

Rainbow made a loud gagging noise at the notion as Pinkie Pie sauntered over from the park bench. The ponies discussed the get-together the six Elements of Harmony would be having the following day. Pinkie as usual would be in charge of music. She and Applejack would collaborate on food. It was decided that Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Spike should all attend the party as well. If just so a pre-Hearths Warming Eve party wouldn't feel complete without all family members present.

*********************************************

It was a particularly cold night when the party at Sugarcube Corner had finally begun to die down. The six elements of harmony had been happy to hang out for the first time in a while. Twilight Sparkle came with her small dragon assistant Spike, who spent the evening playing with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo while the adults talked in another room. The Cakes eventually put the twins to bed, which made the rest check what the time was.

"Oh wow it's eleven o' clock already? Spike! Spike!" Twilight called from the den. Spike waddled into the room, with Applebloom clinging to his tail, and Tank the tortoise clinging to her tail. "Spike it's way too late for you to be up."

"Aw c'mon Twilight, I'm not even tired." he groaned.

"I know Spike but remember our deal?"

Spike sighed wearily. Twilight's deal was he could stay up as late as he liked, provided he did all of his chores in the morning. An addendum had been added that he would escort all the other kids home from the party once it had gotten too late for them to be up. He wasn't looking forward to leading Applebloom and Sweetiebelle home through the cold night air, but it was better than sitting alone in his basket bed at home, waiting impatiently for his body to fall asleep while he flipped through one of the Library's books.

"Now Spike, I am trustin' you to take care that Applebloom gets home safe!" Applejack called from the other end of the den table. "This here's a big responsibility! If anything goes wrong y'all come right back here and let us know!"

"Yes, Spike. If you get lost, send Twilight a scroll so we know to go looking for all of you." Rarity sternly lowered her red spectacles.

"C'mon guys have a little faith in me. I know this town like the back of my hand. Heck, I think I know my way around town better than Twilight does."

"Can I stay up past mah bedtime like Spike?" Applebloom asked sweetly, fluttering her eyes.

"No." replied Applejack bluntly, taking a long hard sip of her cider.

"Oh, Spike!" Fluttershy called as she flew into the air and gently landed next to the small purple dragon. "Could you please check on Angel as you head back to the library? I just want to be sure he's ok without me there."

"Sure thing, Fluttershy. Uh, does anyone else want me to run any errands before I go back to the library? Anyone? No?"

"Thank you so much, Spike!" Fluttershy cooed, patting his head. Normally the yellow softspoken pegasus had a fear of dragons that sent her into hysterics. But she, like many in the town, had a soft spot for Spike.

Spike turned and dragged his tailgaters back into the kitchen. He puffed out his chest and gazed around with a commanding eye.

"Form a line gang. I have to take you all home now and if we don't do it fast I won't be able to feed Peewee before he goes to sleep."

"Who is that? Peewee?" asked Sweetie Belle as she began to put on her toque.

"My bird. So let's head on out." Spike kicked open the front door, adjusting his green scarf as he stepped into the snow, followed shortly by Applebloom and Sweetie.

"Bye, Scootaloo! Sorry we didn't earn our cutie marks for eatin cupcakes tonight!" Sweetie called as she exited, waving at her friend.

"It's fine. We can try my pogo-stick idea tomorrow!" replied Scootaloo as the door shut, leaving her alone in the kitchen. Her ears went flat against her head as she yawned. Within a moment she was leaning against Tank, dozing off, her eyelids drooping downwards. Rainbow Dash entered the kitchen to see the two huddled together, nearly asleep.

"Let's get you guys to bed." she whispered as she gently picked up both of her friends, carrying them upstairs to Pinkie's room. She placed Tank and Scootaloo on her bed and gently covered them with a blanket.

"I'm not sleepy." Scootaloo slurred as she drifted off. Rainbow grinned at the tortoise and pony and quietly backed out of the room. Twilight Sparkle was standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Rainbow, I'm not sure how I should put this but Pinkie mentioned something about how Scootaloo was living here for a while. And you've put yourself in charge? I find that kind of interesting." the purple unicorn's look of concern was evident through her dark violent bangs that hung over her eyes.

"Yeah I was gonna talk to you guys about that tonight, actually."

The two ponies trotted back to the den. Rainbow's expression had turned quite serious and she cleared her throat loudly as the other four ponies stopped chattering. Rainbow sat on one of the velvet chairs surrounding the table, with Twilight to her left and Mrs.Cake to her right. She took a deep breath, thinking about the best way to start this conversation. She'd gone over it a few times in her head, but it seemed a lot more off-putting now that she was here facing all her friends. Best just to do it as bluntly as possible right?

"Scootaloo has no family." Rainbow announced quickly. She took a sip from her cider calmly. Nailed it. Subtlety, thy name is Dash.

"Wait what? WHAT!? All this time?" Twilight yelped, her jaw hanging as her pupils dilated.

"Figured as much." Applejack sighed, proceeding to curse angrily under her breath.

"Yup!" Pinkie chirped, smiling at her friend's reactions.

"Oh the poor little thing." Rarity said sadly, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

"She's been alone for half her life." Rainbow muttered.

"Is that why she was all by herself in the woods?" asked Mrs.Cake

"I knew it." whispered Fluttershy darkly, which caused all eyes to immediately turn to her. She shrank under the gazes, hiding her face behind her extremely long pink mane that resembled the branches of a weeping willow. Rainbow coughed slightly on her cider and stared at her old schoolmate with a look of bewilderment.

"Wait, Shy. You KNEW she was an orphan?"

"Well I had a suspicion. She was always walking around the forest at all hours of the day and night, by herself. Sometimes at night she'd accidentally scare my animals. I'm sorry. I didn't want to meddle!"

"Fluttershy did you ever try talkin' to her about it?" Applejack asked.

"I....well..um....this one time I told her that if she wanted, I knew of a good shelter that would take her in. I mentioned the Sunnyside Orphanage down near Canterlot. She didn't react very well." Fluttershy went quiet.

"Well, what happened?" inquired Twilight, leaning forward as the shock wore off.

"Um... she started shouting. Well, uh maybe thats not how to describe it. It was more like screaming. She was very upset and told me she didn't want my help. And then she started screaming she was sorry for being so loud and started crying and ran away into the forest. I went after her but I couldn't find her. I didn't bother her about it after that."

The room went silent. Applejack frowned and looked up at Rainbow.

"Ah bet she's the one whose been takin' some of mah apples and carrots from storage, ain't she?"

"Yeah, AJ."

"Rainbow, you can't let her live like this. She NEEDS to go to an orphanage or maybe some sort of center for wayward foals or something."

"She's not a criminal, Applejack. She's a little kid." Rainbow could feel her cheeks growing hot as her temper rose.

"Then y'all need to treat her like one and put her somewhere they can care for her."

"I'm planning on it."

"Plannin' ain't the same as doin', Dash. Y'all have had her here for a couple weeks now!"

"If I rush, it's going to hurt her."

"It's gonna hurt more if she gets too attached to you."

"She already likes me way more than she should, AJ. I can't fix that now."

"I bet I can. I bet I could find someone right here in town who'd be willin' to take in a young'un! Someone who could keep a responsible eye on her so she doesn't get sick again. Someone more qualified than you. She'll get over it."

Pinkie instinctively reached out to hold Rainbow back. But she was too late, the chair was empty. Rarity yelled in surprise as Dash flew across the table, silverware, mugs of cider and napkins flying in every direction, shattering on the floor. Twilight attempted to grab onto the rainbow tail with her levitation spell at the last moment, but it was just a moment too late. Applejack found herself pinned to the wall by two powerful wings, with two hooves pressing down on her shoulders, staring into a cyan face twisted into pure hatred. Rainbow wheezed heavily as she clenched her teeth, large tears rolling down her face. She'd lost control of her temper but she didn't care anymore. Applejack's words sounded like a threat and Rainbow's resolve had finally snapped.



"Don't....you....DARE." she hissed, her entire powerful body shivering with rage.

"Whoa, sugarcube, whoa!" Applejack coughed out, frightened by her friend's angry strength. She raised her front hooves in a gesture of surrender. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Please don't do this, Dash!" Fluttershy flew to Applejack's side, trying to look into her friends eyes. "She just wants to help!"

"Then she should lay off and let me handle it!" Rainbow roared as she backed away, folding her wings and feeling a sense of shame slowly trickling in.

The anger was subsiding but the tears were not. She sniffed and wiped her face as she surveyed the room. Mrs.Cake was trying to clean the shattered cider mugs off the floor. A quiet sort of disappointment hung around her as the chubby middle-aged pony cleaned the bits of beloved porcelain from the ground. She glanced at Mr.Cake who seemed almost fearful of the blue pegasus. Applejack was on the floor, recovering from having the wind knocked out of her. Rainbow's friends were all looking at her, horrified. Dash choked a bit on her words as she tried to apologize. She was acting like a monster. The evening was ruined and it was all her fault.

"I'm so sorry, AJ, everyone. I just...." she went silent for a moment. "I'm sorry Mr. and Mrs.Cake I'll clean it up. And glue the mugs back together. Please...just...here." Dash started using her hooves to collect the small shards into a pile.

"Dash." Twilight spoke gently, as she walked up to her friend. "Dash are you alright? I've never seen you act like this."

"I'm fine."

"No you most certainly are not. I know you and Applejack don't always get along but attacking her? What are you thinking? Does having someone offer to help you with Scootaloo truly bother you THAT much?" Rarity was puffing up, quite upset now that the initial shock had worn off.

"Honestly, I'm a-ok. Bit scuffed, maybe." Applejack was dusting herself off. She smiled and walked over to Rainbow's side. The cyan mare clenched her eyes and shivered, keeping her head low, preparing for curt words. But instead felt Applejack's hoof wiping away the tears still on her cheek. She felt so ashamed. Applejack was her friend, and even after all this was still showing remarkable kindness.

"Rainbow if y'all wanna handle this on yer own, then I won't say nothin'. It's pretty obvious to me you've taken a shining to that lonesome lil' filly and don't wanna break her lil' heart."

"I'm sorry." Rainbow managed to rasp, emotions overtaking her. She leaned into Applejack, shakily hugging her friend. She could still feel the scuffed fur where her hooves had struck. "Applejack, I'm sorry. Please. I'm sorry!"

"Tweren't nothin, sugarcube." the peach pony whispered, patting her upset friend's back. "Besides y'all ain't very strong in the forelegs. Applebloom hits harder than you do."  Applejack gave Rainbow a friendly wink "C'mon now let's clean up this mess."

The mugs of cider were repaired swiftly with Rarity's magic. Each tiny porcelain piece cementing together in midair like a large puzzle. She had expertise at fixing small objects and repairing things that were broken. Especially when it came to materials and minerals. When she was young she had excelled at finding and maneuvering rocks and diamonds, but as an adult that power was much more refined. Twilight secretly suspected she could train Rarity to become an elemental mage, but never pressed the issue. Equestria had no need of such things anymore. The other ponies set about wiping the walls and floor of all the ruined cider.

Eventually the room was back to the way it was before and the eight ponies found themselves chattering again. All that is except Rainbow and Pinkie. Pinkie was watching Rainbow with an unreadable expression. It seemed almost like anger but not quite as strong. Rainbow hung her head slightly, unable to join in with her friends laughter. She had too much to think about. Fluttershy was the first to notice.

"Dash, are you ok? What's wrong?" Fluttershy fluttered over the table, kneeling so she could see her friend's face. 

"Y'all aren't still upset from earlier right? I already forgave ya, hon. No harm done." Applejack said as she trotted over, nuzzling the top of Rainbow's head.

"Rainbow if something is wrong you should tell us, we're your friends." Twilight joined Rainbow on the large velvety chair, putting a hoof on her shoulder.

"Darling, please! I don't want this evening to end on a bad note because of a fight. You're so mopey! Do tell us what's on your mind." Rarity elegantly trotted over to her friend, placing a perfectly manicured hoof on Dash's knee.

"Is it about Scootaloo?" Mrs.Cake leaned off her chair, trying to read Dash's expression.

An expectant silence filled the den as the ponies pressed closer to Dash who glanced up. Every one of them was looking at her. Their faces so caring, so nonjudgmental. She trusted these ponies more than she trusted her own family. Or herself, for that matter. She didn't need to hide from them.

"What am I supposed to tell her." Dash whispered. "When this is all over, what am I supposed to tell Scootaloo?"

"Just tell her the truth, sugar." Applejack sat on her haunches. "If she knows you ain't trying to hurt her, that you only want what's best for her, she'll understand. She trusts you doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she does. Alot. Maybe that will be enough, to keep this from upsetting her." Dash grinned hopefully up at her friends, trying to feign confidence.

"So was that the plan all along?" Pinkie suddenly spoke. Her voice sounded low, deeper than it's usual high-pitched octave. There was a sort of grey luster in her eyes. She hadn't said a word since Dash had lost her temper earlier.

"What plan, Pinks?" asked Dash, glancing at her pink friend.

"So you were just gonna get Looloo to like having you around, huh? Treat your biggest fan like she's someone special and then get rid of her like she's stinky old garbage? Love her like she's family and then just drop her off for someone else to worry about, huh? Just like her old family did? Just a stinky old garbageLoo!"

"Pinkie, I have to give her away to someone who can take care of her."

The pink pony stuck her nose in the air and with a small "hmmph"  huffily walked out of the room. Dash frowned as her friend exited. Pinkie still wanted Dash to keep Scootaloo, apparently. But Dash knew it was impossible. Children need someone who can love them, care for them, keep them safe. Someone who had the time. Dash was in charge of all the weather in Ponyville. Dash was going to be a member of the Wonderbolts one day. She was a hero, an athlete, a daredevil. A star. She was a busy mare. Too busy. Wasn't she?

The Cakes exchanged looks of worry as their eldest left the room.

The evening progressed as it had before, now with the absence of Pinkie who had retired to her room. It was the first time in the history of Ponyville that Pinkie Pie had left her own party first. Not having the pink pony around ruined what little enthusiasm the others had for conversation. One by one the other guests said their goodbyes and departed. The Cake's retired to their bedroom, though not before Rainbow apologized yet again for the evening. The two bakers felt no ill-will towards the cyan mare. They would have felt angry too, if someone had threatened the twins.

"You're much stronger than you think." Rarity had said curtly to Dash as she exited the bakery, tossing her curly hair. "And I don't mean with your muscles, dear."

Dash and Fluttershy sat together in the den watching the crackling wood in the fireplace. Old friends and schoolmates. The only two party guests who remained. Dash reminisced about how Scootaloo had lain there near the hearth, wrapped in a towel while she and Pinky sat nearby watching her and worrying for her health. How her small body had risen and fell with each labored breath. Fluttershy talked about how her pet bunny, Angel, had broken his leg a few nights prior in an attempt to jump from a bookshelf to a chair. The rabbit was currently at home with a large cast on his leg that Fluttershy had made herself. Dash grinned at the thought. Angel bunny was kind of a jerk to Fluttershy. Borderline abusive, even. The thought of him being hurt from his own stupidity tickled Dash's funny bone. But it was also touching to think about how Fluttershy was nursing the horrible rabbit back to health in her little lakeside cottage. She was such a loving, caring individual. Ready to sacrifice anything for others.

"Why couldn't it have been you, Flutters?" sighed Dash as she leaned against her old friend.

"I...what?"  Fluttershy gave Dash a confused look.

"Why couldn't Scootaloo have been your biggest fan instead of me? Why couldn't it have been you who found her in the forest?"

"Haha! I can't imagine having a fan!" giggled Fluttershy.

"You'd be perfect, ya know. As a mom or big sister. You wouldn't need to give Scootaloo away. She'd have been perfectly happy living with you."

"You don't know that! I couldn't possibly care for a foal!"

"Shy, you have like a whole zoo of animals in your house that you take care of. Most of which are smarter than half the ponies I know. You'd make a great mom, I'm tellin' ya!"

"Well thank you, Rainbow."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Fluttershy turned to Dash who was staring at the ceiling.

"But you don't think you could do what I do?"

"Do what?"

"Take care of someone."

"I can barely take care of myself, Shy. I nearly punched Applejack tonight."

"You two fight too much."

"She keeps finding ways of ticking me off."

"What was it she said that bothered you so much. I've seen you mad but that was different."

"I'm just.....I'm not ready to give Scoots away, Shy. I like having the kid around. I like feeling really important to someone. I like the feeling of pride when she hides under my wing, knowing I can chase the monsters away. Knowing I won't let anyone hurt her again. I like when she smiles at me with her little face like I'm the best person in the world and not just a big crummy jerk. I like taking care of her. I want to do this on my own, at my own pace, in my own way. Without AJ's help."

"Are you sure you even WANT to give Scootaloo away."

The question hung in the air like a particularly fat flying elephant. Rainbow closed her eyes, thinking of how to answer but once again, blunt honesty won over any clever excuse she could conceive of. 

"No, I'm not." Rainbow dropped her gaze from the ceiling and turned to her old friend.  "And it scares me, Shy."

********************************************************

The night grew darker as Dash finally decided she was ready for bed. She stumbled slightly, the cider still affecting her nerves. Fluttershy quickly rushed to Dash's side, supporting her body as the two made their way upstairs, around the corner and down the hallway to Pinkie Pie's room. Unsurprisingly the pink mare had heard them approach and opened the door and walked into the hallway. She walked forward quietly and gave Dash a small kiss on the forehead before speaking.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier, Dashie. I've been a big meanie."

"It's ok, Pinks. I probably deserved it. How has Scootaloo been?"

"She knows you aren't there. She keeps waking up and looking around for you then falling back asleep."

A quiet whimper echoed out of the cracked door behind Pinkie. Dash frowned slightly looking at the floor.

"I guess that's my cue. Goodnight Fluttershy. Thanks for talking with me." muttered Dash as she stumbled into the room.

"Oh anytime, Rainbow. Have a nice sleep."

Quietly Dash made her way through the darkened room, softly laying down next to the small whimpering orange pony and old green tortoise. She extended her wing outward as Scootaloo snuggled up to her, and soon was asleep. Rainbow wrapped her wing protectively around the tiny pony and placed her head on the pillow in front of her, thinking. Her mind wandered, questioning her life, her relationships with her friends and family, and her goals. These blurred together as sleep took her.

Pinkie and Fluttershy watched from outside the room as the foal and mare slept, one tucked under the wing of the other. Fluttershy smiled happily at the sight. She'd never known Dash to even tolerate kids, but to see her so protective of one, to care for one, it was precious. Fluttershy was very proud of her friend.

"See? They need each other." Pinkie whispered.

"I can tell just from the way the room is arranged." Fluttershy said back, not needing to whisper since her voice was already so quiet. She grinned at Pinkie, who looked on confused.

"What do you mean, Fluttershy? All I see is a big pillowy mess! Not that I dislike messes, my room is always a mess."

"Well, Pinkie doesn't the shape of the mess look familiar? Like something you've seen before?"

"Well...erm. I guess it's kinda shaped like a big donut. With blankets for sprinkles."

"It's a nest."

Pinkie's eyes grew wide as she stared at Fluttershy who giggled quietly.

"It's something we pegasi do with our brood sometimes, Pinkie. It's kind of an instinct, like when turtles come out of the sea to lay their eggs. Usually the nests are made of clouds."

"So does Rainbow even realize she made a nest?"

"Rainbow? Oh goodness no! She'd be so embarrassed if we pointed it out. She probably didn't even realize she was doing it. I never thought I'd see her nesting, oh it's so wonderful."

"You pegasuseseses are really birdy, huh Flutters?"

"Uh....well I guess we are a little bit like birds."

"Do you guys lay eggs like ducks?"

Fluttershy laughed so hard she nearly tripped down the stairs.


> Rest your head close to my heart.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	To an outsider, the arrival of Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville would have seemed almost like an omen. A harbinger of things to come. A herald of the various terrible and often amusing atrocities that now befell the town. Infestations, invasions, swindlers, entrepreneurs, false prophets, and occasionally even the cosmic beings that controlled the nature of the universe itself had all visited the quaint town since the arrival of the studious purple unicorn. She possessed a great talent in magic, but also seemed to be cursed by said talent. Wherever she went, disaster tended to follow. As long as she remained outside the protective graces of Celestia herself, trouble brewed. Was it coincidence? Bad luck? Or was it simply fate trying to prove a point to the equine bookworm? Nobody in Ponyville could really say. Partly because it was of little concern to them.

Despite these new grievances and problems, the ponies of Ponyville carried on in their happy lives as usual. Routine was still the theme of the day, as the citizens awoke, did their jobs, displayed their talents, and eventually turned in for the night. They knew their world was not as safe as it once was. The invisible bubble of innocence that had so long hung metaphorically above the town, warding off evil, was gone. Celestia was not as all-powerful as they had all thought and new threats loomed over the kingdom. They never felt as secure as they once had. Not anymore. But they did not change for it. Perhaps the citizens would look over their shoulders a bit more often than usual, but for the most part things continued as they always had. One would think the ponies were afraid of change. Perhaps afraid of that which is different. But this would be an incorrect assumption. The ponies of Ponyville knew that the longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us. And so, as happily as they could, they did not dwell.

Needless to say this particular philosophy was not universal among the citizens. In particular the mind of a small orange pony who at the moment was dwelling hard. Dwelling like it was going out of style. Dwelling like the world was coming to an end. Dwellin' like Magellan. Dwellin' like a felon. Her young mind preoccupied with the thoughts buzzing around her head like a particularly hungry parasprite that had found itself in an all-you-can-eat buffet. The thoughts in particular were simple, as she herself was a simple pony. But their implications were infinite. Was she happy? Why couldn't she trust the older wiser adults who frequently came forward to offer help? Why did their charity upset her so much? Did she relish her independence too much? Was she afraid of getting hurt again? Why did she feel so comfortable around Rainbow Dash? All she'd wanted was a mentor. But she was finding something much more. Someone she could trust. Did she like this feeling? Could Dash be considered family? Did she even want a new family? Why wasn't Dash ashamed of her when she cried? Like her old family had been. Why was Dash so much more caring than her parents had been? If she ran away from Ponyville, would anyone miss her? Would Dash miss her? Would anyone cry? Did her friends really like her for her personality? Did the three of them hang out simply because they all felt lost without their cutie-marks? Would earning them somehow vilify their fragile existences? Why is Pinkie so weird?

These errant thoughts floated around in her head, crashing into each other, causing thought pileups on the great thought highway. Their little thought drivers shaking their fists angrily at each other and threatening thought litigation. Trading thought insurance cards while the thought police showed up. Thought traffic slowing to a crawl as passerby's took photos of the disaster.

Scootaloo was laying on a snowy hill on her back, her front hooves pulled up to her chest to keep her hooves from getting cold. The warm scarf that had been given to her by Rarity served as a blanket of sorts. Much like the hat that had been given to Rainbow Dash days prior, the scarf was a dark blue, almost black, with white and sky blue stripes going down its length. On either end of the scarf as it tapered off was a large red "S" to signify the owner. She was not alone on the hill. The other two members of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were there as well, along with Twist who was an old dorky friend of Applebloom and a boy from their class named Snails. Twist had recently learned she was remarkably talented at making confectioneries and her cutie mark showed it off. Two small pale candy canes, arranged nearly perpendicular to form a small heart sat on her light beige flank. Snails was slow but honest. Whether he was honest BECAUSE he was so slow is yet to be known. He was a tall thin yellow lanky unicorn whom was currently at the unwilling mercy of early puberty. He had the innate ability to communicate with snails, slugs, and other small insects. According to him, they were very wise creatures. Nobody believed a word of this but he was loved by most of the other schoolchildren all the same. He wasn't too bright but he was friendly and enjoyed hanging out with Twist. Twist had been an outcast from the social in-crowd at school, much like the Crusaders, until she had discovered her talent. Now the rather geeky filly with the thick purple glasses had often found herself in the company of "the cool clique" of popular kids at the school. But she still found time to hang out with her old friends.

At the moment the five small ponies were happily lying in the snow staring at the clouds as they passed by, discussing what they thought each cloud looked like. All that is except Scootaloo who was, as mentioned before, entirely lost in thought. At least until the silence was broken by Snails.

"Aye uhhh Scootaloo? Did ya hear my question?"

Scootaloo's pupils dilated as she was brought back to reality.

"I was askin' if you knew what your folks were getting you for Hearths-Warmin's eve!"

Applebloom coughed loudly and shot Snails an angry glance. Scootaloo cleared her throat.

"I don't have any 'folks', Snails. They've been gone for a long time."

"Oh. Weird. Uuhhh? How can you not have folks?"

"I just don't, Snails. And I'm glad. Parents are dumb."

"Uhh well what are you doin' for Hearths-Warmin' then?"

"I guess I'm spending it at Sugarcube Corner."

"Do ya think you're gonna get any gifts?"

"Nah. I don't know anyone there very well. Other than Rainbow Dash. And Pinkie, I guess."

Sweetie Belle rolled over and looked  at Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo was your secret supposed to be under the restrict....uh...restrickon...um, like confidential to the Crusaders?"

"I guess. Everyone seems to know now. Even Snails knows now."

"What do I uhhh know?"

"Ugh, nothing."

Applebloom flipped over on the snow next, which was difficult with the oversized parka her grandma had made her wear. The large pink bow she wore in her bright red mane was coated with snow which fell in small bits as she spoke.

"Why don't y'all ever like talkin' about yer old family, Scootaloo?"

"I just don't. And I don't like you guys bringing it up." Scootaloo could feel a small pain in her throat. Like she wanted to scream but couldn't. Every time this issue came up it was like a punishment. She hated talking about it.

"Well....alrighty!" said Applebloom, satisfied with the answer. She flipped over onto her back again. "Hey Twist! What do you think yer ma is gonna get ya?"

"I'm not thertain but I think thee ith gonna let me help over at Mith Bonnie'th candy thop!" replied Twist, her lisp being simultaneously cute and annoying all at once. "What about you, Thweetie-Belle?"

"I think Rarity is getting me some sort of tape-recorder. She's been saying I should record my voice when I sing, but I'm not really sure why."

"You sing really well sometimes, Sweetie." said Scootaloo.

"Ya! Applejack says y'all have the voice of an angel!" chimed in Applebloom.

"My dad says I have the voice of a giraffe." finished Snails loudly as the other small ponies gave him curious looks.

The five youngsters grew quiet again, happily staring at the clouds for a few more minutes until the silence was yet again broken by Snails.

"Hey uh, Scootaloo? What's Rainbow Dash like? Is she really really really really really awesome and the coolest pony in Ponyville like we always said?"

"Yeah, Snails. She's really great. She's really kind and brave and she makes me feel like I'm special and... not broken and weird."

"Are we ever gonna re-open the Rainbow Dash Fanclub?"

"I don't think so. It seems kinda pointless now."

Snails looked disappointed. But his mood brightened when a small chubby blue pony with a brownish messy mane came running over the hill. It was his old friend, Snips, another young foal from the same school the others attended. Snips was not the most fit pony around, actually being quite fat, and it showed as he came wheezing up to where the others were laying. He stood for a fat moment catching his fat breath.

"Hey Snails! Me and Featherweight need more players for kickball! You in?" he managed to gasp out, sweat rolling down his fat blue face.

"Wuuhh oh yeah! Yeah I want in!" Snails shakily flopped over and raised himself up on all fours, his lanky legs seeming to wobble around with a life of their own. A keen observer would think he'd never walked before, like a newborn deer taking its first steps.

"Oh! Can we play?" asked Twist.

"Nope! Boys only!" quipped Snips in a somewhat matter-of-fact tone as if this was common information.

"You're just afraid cause you know I'd win!" Scootaloo snorted, a proud smirk on her face.

"You'll have to win another day, Squirt." called Rainbow Dash who had landed a few feet away in the snow, landing so delicately there had been no sound at all. All six of the little ponies turned their heads to gaze at the blue speedster with the rainbow-colored mane.

"Duhhh... HI RAINBOW DASH!" shouted Snails as awkwardly and loudly as possible, almost tipping over from the volume of his own voice.

"Hey guys!" replied Dash, waving a hoof at all the other small ponies. "I'm here for Scootaloo."

"What are we gonna do today, Rainbow Dash?" cried Scootaloo who galloped happily up to the large mare and immediately clung to her leg.

"Ever been to Cloudsdale, Squirt?"

Scootaloos eyes grew wide as she shook her head no. This elicited a small chuckle from Dash who rubbed the top of the small pony's head.

"Thought not."

After saying their goodbyes, Scootaloo found herself safely strapped inside a large saddlebag at Rainbow's side.There was a gush of wind and a flurry of snow as Dash rocketed into the air, sending chunks of the snowbank flying through the air. Scootaloo laughed happily at the speed in which they ascended. Small brown goggles adorned the filly's face as the two ponies soared higher and higher. Scootaloo peeked her head out of the saddlebag to glance down at the earth below. The snowy hill was gone. And Ponyville itself was becoming a small colorful mass of specks in a vast sea of white and green. Like a colorful shake of pepper on mashed potatoes. Clouds passed by, in small clumps at first, growing larger and more complex as the higher they flew. As the clouds grew more elaborate, shapes began to form on them. They went by too fast for the filly to identify. They almost seemed like structures, as if architecture was nestled on their surfaces, all made of the same white wispy material the clouds themselves were formed of.

Scootaloo closed her eyes. It was an sensation she had never felt before. The loud whistle of the wind as it rushed by them. The gushing it made as it entered her ears. The feeling of speed as her purple mane flew erratically around, buffeted by the currents. The air was crisp and clean and cold. Every strand of hair, every bit of fur, every feather on her body was being caressed by the air itself. She could feel the small muscles in her wings trying to adjust themselves to the movements in the air. It felt like freedom. True freedom. Here was an infinite space meant for her and her alone. It was blissful, to feel so buoyant, so weightless, so unleashed as they flew to and fro, over and under the great white masses, climbing ever higher into the heavens. Contentment washed over the filly. Being here in the air, where her species belonged, it felt like paradise. Like a place she never wanted to leave. And was a place she woefully realized she'd probably never be able to visit without help. This dark thought broke through the happy whirlwind of wonder in the filly's mind and all at once the feeling of joy was gone. The contentment was gone. Replaced instead by a feeling of queasy disappointment. She glanced at the small frail digits that jutted out of her small fuzzy body just below her shoulder blades. Her tiny excuses for wings. It wasn't fair. And with that thought Scootaloo crawled back inside the saddlebag, removed her goggles and decided she'd had enough of the world for one day.

The quiet beating of Dash's large wings slowed down as the two ponies found themselves on the precipice of a large cloud bank. Dash smiled at the sight before her. Her home, her birthplace, the great city of Cloudsdale. They said if you could make it here, you could make it anywhere. And if you couldn't? Join the club. It was a busy metropolis full of busy ponies and that was the way they liked it. The sights, sounds, and smells were overwhelming and Dash couldn't wait to show it to her small passenger. She removed the saddlebag and delicately placed it on the ground, frowning slightly when she noticed Scootaloo didn't seem to be attempting to climb out. Dash opened the flap on the top to take a look inside, finding herself staring at a tiny tear-stained face.

"Oh gosh! Scoot what's wrong? Did you get hurt? Did I hit you with my wing? I didn't break anything did I?"

"I'm fine." she squeaked.

"What?! Scoot don't lie to me I can tell you've been crying in there."

"No, I haven't!" the filly growled trying her best to sound angry.

"You're killin' me here Scoot! Just tell me what's wrong."

Rainbow put her head into the bag and gently nuzzled the top of the filly's head, trying her best not to panic at this sudden grieving on the part of her passenger. The last thing she wanted was this adventure to be ruined before it even started.

"Just tell me, Scootaloo. Please. I only wanna help."

"I'm never gonna be able to fly like you."

"Oh pffffffffttttt!" Rainbow blew a raspberry. "Scoot, your wings are just underdeveloped. It's part of being a kid. I promise you once they get bigger you'll be just as good as me. Maybe not quite as fast or awesome, but close enough."

"Really?"

"Heck yeah! I'll even teach you a few of my moves when you're a bit bigger."

Scootaloo smiled happily and shuffled quickly out of the bag, immediately coming to a stop when she realized she was standing on a cloud. She stared down in horror at the cold white fluffy substance, a completely foreign material to her. A material that for all intents and purposes seemed almost immaterial. Rainbow was trotting away as Scootaloo stood perfectly still, too frightened to move. A quiet fearful whimper came from the filly. Rainbow stopped and turned, grinning as she realized her small friend was scared of the somewhat smushy cloud surface.

"It's safe, Scoot. C'mon."

Another whimper. Scootaloo slowly reached out her back right leg and tried to push open the saddlebag flap. Using her forelegs she then attempted to push her body back into the saddlebag while touching as little of the cloud as possible. Her hasty retreat was not going unnoticed. Rainbow sighed and shook her head, trotting a bit closer.

"Scoot. I'm totally serious, here! Pegasi can walk on clouds fine. Even little pegasi can do it. Even on really thin cruddy clouds. It's what we do. You're gonna be fine, Squirt. C'mon we have lots of fun stuff I want you to see!"

"I don't like clouds."

"Well yeah, not right now you don't. Once you get used to them they'll be like your most favorite thing ever. I guarantee it."

Scootaloo reached out one of her forelegs, placing her hoof on the pearly white substance and pressing gently down onto it, afraid it might give way under her weight. She tested its viscosity with her hoof about twelve times as Rainbow watched, growing impatient while simultaneously trying not to giggle at this event as it unfolded.

"Just walk to me, Squirt. You're going to be ok. Trust me. I won't let you get hurt."

It took several minutes and a few awkward starts but soon the filly was crawling behind Rainbow Dash, keeping her body close to the surface in a still-nervous shuffle, hugging onto the misty surface. Scootaloo's small wings were buzzing fiercely, trying to propel her faster across the white mush. Rainbow was doing her best not to laugh at the antics of her tiny comrade, remembering the first time she'd set foot on a cloud.

"You know, Scoot, I remember when I got over my fear of clouds."

The small filly said nothing, continuing to shuffle forward while glaring at the cloud surface as if hoping she could hate it enough so it would turn into ground or a proper floor.

"I remember my parents put me on a little raincloud above a mountain once, and said I wasn't allowed off of it until I could fly. I was a lot younger than you at the time."

Scootaloo shuffled faster, eager to hear more of the story from Rainbow who was picking up the pace as they neared the city. Bravely, she pushed herself up off the springy surface, her movement becoming a panicked trot.

"I'm not sure how long I sat on that cloud. It kept getting smaller and smaller as it rained. I remember feeling it falling apart underneath me. I remember calling for help and crying."

Scootaloo broke into a gallop, not wanting to feel left behind.

"What happened?" the orange filly asked as she ran.

"I broke three ribs and both of my back legs when I hit the ground." Rainbow answered with solemn grimace.

Scootaloo's small ears folded flat against her head as she took in this information.

"That sounds horrible!"

"Yeah, well. There's alotta reasons I don't talk to my Mom and Pop much these days, Squirt. Anyway check out what's ahead."

Cloudsdale rose ahead, a glorious symbol of the former empire of the pegasi. A megalopolis of sheer gleaming beauty that rose from the arcing assemblage of cumulonimbus clouds that made up most of it's base. Each streaked with grey stratus which were adorned by multiple small tenements, each dotted with hundreds of tiny windows, lighting up the outer crust of the city like a million fireflies. Vast ziggurats rose from the center of the city, piercing the sky at an impossible height, each covered in lintels, their cornices dotted with minutely sculptured statues of winged horses, griffons, and hippogriffs from an age long ago. Weather-vanes, antennas, and a few satellite dishes dotted the numerous rooftops.  All the masonry was formed of various varieties of clouds, sky, marble, and rock, which merged together to create formations that would be impossible on the ground. It was the jewel of the sky, the pride of the heavens. Founded by the great grandson of Commander Hurricane, who helped found Equestria with the tribe of warlord pegasi who ruled the sky thousands of years in the past. In it's heart was the star MESARTHIM which had been placed there as a blessing from the sky goddess herself, Princess Luna.

As the centuries passed the star had long been covered by the great aggregation of buildings, skyscrapers, roads, and layers of cloud. However its presence was felt by all. It radiated pure warmth and love from it's core, and it's gentle gravitational pull ensured that the architecture that made up Cloudsdale would never, and could never float away without great effort. The city itself occasionally drifted from the winds, but by nature the pegasi were always able to find it. They were always drawn to the star. It was second nature to them. They were born from the sky, and so too did they always return. It was a hive and an empire and a metropolis of frightening proportions all at the same time.

All this made the billboard that one saw upon entering the city all the more ironic:

 "Welcome to Cloudsdale! The humble city in the clouds!"




"This is it, Scoot. This is the city. This is our city. Where we belong. Everything our race has ever achieved or done to alter history had it's beginnings right here, kiddo. Cool, huh?"

Rainbow glanced down at Scootaloo who was gawking wide-eyed at the colossal urban paradise, her jaw hanging open. 

"It's....so big." the tiny filly managed to whisper after many moments of shock.

"Yep. It sure is. And we're gonna see all the coolest parts of it today, Scoots. But for starters, let's get some grub! I'm starved!"

*************************************************

The two winged horses galloped their way through the streets of town, the small one turning her head this way and that to gaze at all the buildings and structures that seemed to expand infinitely in all directions around them. Pegasi of all sorts clopped quickly through the streets, eager to get to their destinations among the hustle and bustle. Chariots carrying the aristocrats and wealthier ponies soared through the air, stopping only to allow other ponies to cross the street in front of them. Great shadows were cast along the ground by great colorful airships, most of which were powered by magic, their small delicate fin-propellers eagerly spinning in the wind. Occasionally a small rope ladder would extend from one of the airships when it made its stop, allowing ponies to get on or off. This was their version of public transportation. A far cry from the humble few taxi wagons of Ponyville or carriages of Canterlot. A few of the dirigibles were adorned with intricate colorful designs, with rudders made of long metal digits, sinewy colorful cloth stretched betwixt these, giving them the appearance of giant flippers as if from a great sea monster. Large gondolas covered in fine art and pennants dangled from the bottoms. These particular zeppelins belonged to the royal family and large corporations of Ponyville. Some of which gleamed with gold trim, others with electronic screens made of tiny glass bulbs that sat on their undersides, broadcasting images and news to the ponies below. The air itself was full of as much life as the streets were. Pegasi of all shapes, sizes, and colors flew through the skies, many of which wearing tunics and robes, with the richer ones wearing elegant togas and various jeweled palliums and caligae, all made of the finest silks. Strange scaley birds, oversized butterflies, and fluffy multicolored bats sat perched on wires and roofs, some daring to hop around the cloudy streets in the hopes of finding food.

Rainbow and Scootaloo soon arrived at one of Rainbow's favorite diners. It was called the "The Hangar" and was two parts fancy restaurant and dive bar. Oldschool rock music from the great Eric Clopton played at a somewhat low volume through the loudspeakers duct-taped to the ceiling. It was a low-budget sort of place. Clearly independently run by someone who didn't care much for appearances. But what it lacked in beauty it made up for with a relaxed atmosphere and some of the tastiest greasy food in Cloudsdale. It was handled by an old bronco named Jet who often wore a stetson and jackboots while he sat behind the bar, his long grey beard decorated with with braids, his vest hiding the fact he was missing one of his wings. A painful memory of his days as a member of the Royal Guard. The Hangar did well for itself due to it's signature sandwich "The Wonderbrat" which was made with a veggie-sausage full of ground up jalapenos, pears, and pickles. This sausage was placed onto a grinder covered with hayseeds and delicately drizzled with olive oil and a homemade mayonnaise created with apple cider vinegar. It was the star of the menu and a favorite amongst many ponies, and often recommended by Jet himself for anyone who was new to the eatery. Scootaloo and Rainbow each had one, with Scootaloo remarking it was one of the best sandwiches she'd ever had.

The two exited the establishment after Rainbow paid for herself and her young friend, and found themselves visiting an ice-cream chariot that had been passing by at the moment. It was labeled "The Ice Cream of the Future" because it was created by taking snow clouds and separating them into tiny balls and then soaking them with flavored syrup. There was nothing really futuristic about it and had been around for more than a decade, as Rainbow had mentioned. It was still delicious however. Rainbow got a small bowl of strawberry flavor while Scootaloo had maple. They ate as they walked.

The list of places they visited during the wee hours of the day was quite lengthy. For starters their journey truly began when they visited the Weather Control Institute where Rainbow would occasionally report about the weather over Ponyville. It was a large modern sort of building, with dozens of small glass windows going up it's front. The top was a myriad of various types of antennae and radars that took measurements of the wind and humidity all the time. A few employees within the establishment greeted Rainbow when she entered, often asking if Scootaloo was her daughter or sister. Rainbow never really knew how to answer these questions and found ways of deflecting them each time. She proudly showed Scootaloo all the scientific processes that went into creating the weather. The vats that made snowflakes, the urns that made tornadoes, the conveyer belts that powered the big snow mixers and other such frivolities. After that the two ponies visited the colosseum where the Wonderbolts often performed their amazing pyrotechnic airshows. They were not there that particular day, having been called away to defend Canterlot against a group of bandits lead by a fiery wyvern. 

An annual race was taking place that day amongst many of the fastest pegasi in the city. Rainbow proudly mentioned she'd managed to beat all the contestants in races at least once in her life. She planned on participating in this particular derby at some point in the future to show these amateurs the true meaning of speed. The ponies moved at an incredible speed, some even breaking the sound barrier as they performed 100 laps of pure adrenaline. Scootaloo watched with amazement at their grace and agility as they tore through the air, a shriek of crackling air echoing over the cheering crowd whenever the racers passed by closely. Hats, popcorn, ticket stubs, and some togas were all tossed into the air as the crowd roared at the end of the race, the winner having won by a mere fraction of an inch, gratefully hugging his opponents as he excepted his medal and prize money.

Their next destination was the Commons, an area in Cloudsdale where all the main thoroughfares and highways that connected all the roads in the city met in one grand area. It was almost like a fair. Ponies pushing carts, selling odd knick-knacks and wares abounded. Street performers, choirs, gypsies, magicians, clowns, and inventors were everywhere with their own small tents, glad to show you their particular special talent for a bit or two. Carts full of elegant street cuisine were being hauled along by young chef ponies, eagerly hoping their edible creations would nab the interest of any elite aristocrats who were on the lookout for personal chefs. The place was packed and it was very easy to get jostled around by the incessantly swarming crowds who made their way through. Scootaloo climbed onto Rainbow's back, afraid of getting lost. Great gleaming billboards and screens adorned the large expensive apartment complexes that sat along the streets. Each advertising a product or showcasing some interesting new event happening in the city. Some of these floated around, supported by magical propellers that kept them aloft. A band of wandering musicians played a merry gypsy tune that floated through the air over the constant murmurs of the crowd. Next to them was a griffon, her feathers dyed purple and green, juggling small glass spheres. A small cluster of ponies were merrily dancing to the music, glad to have a place to let off steam. Nearby a barker was shouting into a megaphone, holding auctions on fine jewelry, some of which Rainbow recognized as formerly being pieces owned by Rarity. A few artists were on the streets as well. Some simply there to paint the town on their small canvases. Others there to paint ponies as caricatures, for a few bits each. A brass caravan covered in horns made its way through the streets driven by a changeling mime. A tinny tune played as it passed, every horn firing out a small collection of colorful bubbles shaped like musical notes. The Commons had originally started as a slum for poor ponies but had grown to become a melting pot of music, culture, ideas, and food. Rainbow loved every minute of it, and hoped her young ward was enjoying it as well.

As Celestia's sun set and the skies darkened, great glass spheres began to rise from under the surface of the cloud streets, floating via some ancient enchantment, a spark of white fire filling each ball as it rose. These served to illuminate the streets. Cloudsdale, like most large bustling cities, had a very active nightlife. For this reason it was a favorite destination of Luna, whom in the past was known to be fiercely jealous of the day and all the activities it brought. Although it was not late yet, Rainbow could hear the tiny quiet yawns of the small pony who had been silently sitting on her back for the last few hours. But before they turned in she wanted her to see one last thing in the city. The local park, known as "Apollo Acres" which was full of various birds, bats, and other flying creatures. Many of which had never seen the surface world, miles and miles below the city. Giant moths and dragonflies nearly as big as a pony sat nestled in the many colorful cycad trees that had evolved to draw moisture from the clouds, their roots gleaming with tiny dots of light as they veined into the white surface of the ground. Every night Apollo Park had a fireworks show, established nearly fifty years ago to date by an old wizard pony. Vast colorful pyrotechnics lit up the sky, typical explosions of sparks at first, growing more and more complex as the night went on. The latter ones formed shapes, words, and by some enchantments a few animated across the sky, appearing as great scorpions, bears, fish and cranes that swam and clawed their way across the night. The show was a favorite among citizens. 

"Clouds ain't so bad, huh?" Rainbow smirked, as she lay on her back staring up at the sky next to Scootaloo who just nodded happily, afraid to look away from the fiery aerial display in the sky on the chance she miss something.

Eventually the show came to an end with a large brilliant smattering of sparks that read "Have a Happy Hearths-Warming!" that spun off into space and faded away. The few ponies that had enjoyed the show in the park were now heading back into town. Some to go to bed and some to go to the various late-night clubs and bars that would remain open for the rest of the night. 

Scootaloo had flipped over and was laying on her belly, staring at the ground looking guilty. As if she'd somehow done something wrong. Rainbow was quick to notice the filly's mood.

"Hey. What's wrong?" she whispered gently. Scootaloo closed her eyes and buried her face in the cloud surface.

"I'm sorry."

"What? What're you sorry for, Scoot?"

"You've been so nice to me and spent so much of your bits and I've been nothing but cause trouble and take up all your time." 

"Scoot, it's ok." Rainbow rolled her eyes, amused by the misplaced selflessness of her ward.

"No it isn't. You shouldn't have to do all this stuff for me. You've saved the world twice and now have to buy me ice cream and medicine and stuff. You shouldn't have to do that stuff."

"I don't have to." Rainbow replied gently picking the sad filly up and placing the child delicately on her own toned stomach. "I do it cause I want to, Squirt. I like seeing you happy and I don't want to worry about if you're ok or not."

Scootaloo sniffled quietly and looked up at the sky. "I feel like I don't belong here."

"Why's that?"

"I can't fly or do anything special. I'm a freak of nature. I don't know anything about being a pegasus. I might as well be a dumb ol' earth pony."

"Hey now! Earth ponies aren't dumb! Well maybe Applejack is but don't tell her I said that and also that's besides the point." Rainbow petted the filly's small head. "Scoot, you have as much reason to be here as I do."

"How?"

Rainbow thought a moment and then gently lifted Scootaloo's arm, and had her press her small orange hoof against her own chest.

"Scootaloo, what's inside of your chest?"

"Um....ribs?"

"No, no. Past that part."

"My heart?"

"Yeah." and with that Rainbow gently put her hoof on the filly's back, gently pressing Scootaloo's ear against Dash's torso. "Now what do you hear?"

"Your heart."

"See? We're all the same, squirt."

In moments the the tiny filly found herself drifting off, the quiet heartbeat of her guardian lulling her to sleep and before long was snoring quietly, resting curled up on Rainbow's belly. The two lay there for a moment. Dash quietly watched the filly rest, her small round body rising and falling with each breath. This kid needs me, thought Rainbow. She was so perfect. It was so strange. This tiny being relied on her even though it didn't want to. They were so alike in so many ways. Rainbow slowly sat up, cradling the small pony in her forelegs, watching her slumbering body. Knowing she meant everything to this person. Knowing that if they were separated, things would never be the same. She felt a small lump in her throat.

It felt right. All of this felt right. Rainbow had dreams, goals, but they had always been things she wanted to achieve just to prove she was the best. And here was this kid, this little kid who thought she was the greatest person in the world. Rainbow didn't have to prove a thing. This little kid who thought of Rainbow as family, and Rainbow in turn felt the same way. She loved this child and wanted the best for her. To keep her safe and help her learn what she was meant to do in this life. To love and be loved. To give her a life better than the one Dash had grown up with. To help her achieve her dreams. And with that thought, Rainbow made a decision that would affect the rest of her life, and all those around her. As she held the filly close to her heart and hummed the Cloudsdale Anthem quietly, rocking back and forth gently on the white surface, she knew what she wanted to do.

She wanted to raise Scootaloo.
> Stop chasing shadows, just enjoy the ride.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twas the day before Hearth's Warming and all through the mountain, not a creature was stirring. Well that was a lie. Quite a few creatures were stirring. Bears, mountain lions, and a few timber wolves were loping around the base of the mountain, foraging for food amongst the snow. Closer to the summit of the mountain was a large cave. At one point this cave had been but a mere hole, but now was a somewhat curious house. A colorful green curtain on a brass shower pole that had belonged to a hotel room arched across the mouth of the cave, it's insides full of broken records, stolen goods, feathers, a guitar, and a cot that clearly had not been cleaned in some time. Some dried trout were tied to the ceiling, serving as food for the cave's main occupant. As for stirring creatures, two were on the cot right now, engaged in a conversation. A blue stressed-out pony and a large apathetic golden brown griffon.

"Please be serious about this, Gilda." Rainbow Dash sighed, growing frustrated at the direction the conversation was taking.

"I am being serious. You've gone real soft, Dash. Hanging around all those namby-pamby tea-guzzlin' earth ponies has turned you into a wuss."

"This has nothing to do with them, Gilda."

"Oh please. It has everything to do with them. First you're too lame to enjoy a good prank. Then you're so lame you hang around that pink clown..."

"Her name is Pinkie Pie."

"Yeah, whatever. And now you want to adopt a kid? THE Rainbow Dash wants to be a mommy? THE Rainbow Dash who is probably the most dangerous and speedy gal in the air in this country? Winner of the Equestrian Marathon five years in a row? Winner of the Best Young Fliers lightweight competition? The Darling of the Skies herself? Element of Whatever for the freakin' horse Princess? Please, Dash. Let's face the facts here, sister. You've changed."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Not if you want to be a big sad dork who is throwing her formerly cool life away. But if that's what you want, that's fine with me. Enjoy it. You earned it!" Gilda gave a large mock smile and thumbs-up as she finished this statement.

"Gilda just.....humor me and just pretend we're still friends. Even if it's just for this last time then I won't ever bother you again."

"Oh, roleplay huh? You and that Pansy Pie do that alot?" Gilda grinned evilly, snorting with laughter at her own dirty joke.

"That isn't funny, Gilda. You know I didn't have to come to you first." Rainbow growled, turning away to walk out of the cave.

"Fine, then. What was the question again?"

"Do you think what I'm doing is a good idea? This adoption....thing."

"No. But then again since when do you care about MY opinion?"

"If I'm doing this I need to be more open to other things, I think. I wanna be a good example. For her. If I do this that pretty much makes you her Aunt."

"Disgusting. Barf. Shame."

Dash frowned and walked out of the cave. She had visited her old friend Gilda in the hopes of getting some encouragement. She scolded herself for not thinking ahead. Of course Gilda wasn't going to help or have any good advice. Dash had basically chased her out of Ponyville when the griffon had gone too far with her brash personality and somewhat cruel pranks. Their friendship had pretty much ended that day and this was their first meeting in quite some time. In a somewhat weird twist, the day Gilda left was also the day Dash realized she really liked having Pinkie Pie as a friend, whom Gilda hated beyond all reasonable measure. One day someone would find a way to bottle the pure hate that seethed out of Gilda, and would sell it for money. That day was not this day.

The curtain that covered the mouth of the cave was pushed roughly aside as Dash trotted to the end of the cliff. She looked around trying to get her bearings for the flight back to town. It had been difficult to track Gilda down, and even harder to get to this mountain. Now Dash was heading back with a sense of regret and wasted time. She coiled her back legs and leaped into the air, spreading her wings to fly but immediately felt her body lose all momentum as she was flung backwards and slung into the ground. Dash coughed loudly as the dust settled, craning her head to see her tail was in Gilda's sharp yellow beak. 

The griffon's powerful feline hind legs pushed her forward into a pounce. Dash backed up against the stone mouth of the cave, suddenly feeling very frightened of her large ex-friend, especially now that said friend had her cruel razor-sharp eagle beak mere inches away from Dash's face, glistening in the sun. Gilda' golden eyes seemed confused and sad as her yellow scaly talons scratched on the rock on either side of the frightened pony.

"Look at me, dweeb!" she shouted, her tawny and violet feathers standing up.

Dash flinched and looked up into the eyes of her old companion. A yellow claw orbiting dangerously close to her neck.

"What do you care about more, Dash? This kid or wanting to be a professional athlete? Look me in the eyes and answer."

Gilda pressed her claw into the soft flesh of Dash's neck. There was no hesitation in the mare's voice as she spoke.

"I care about Scootaloo more."

Gilda grinned slightly and backed away, her fearsome appearance growing softer as her feathers relaxed. She sat on her haunches and began to preen her brown wings, as if nothing had happened. Dash pried herself away from the wall and cautiously walked up to her old friend.

"What the heck was that about, Gilda?"

"Just wanted to make sure you really wanted to do this. Figured you'd be honest if you thought I was gonna whomp your face in."

"Oh gee, thanks." Rainbow's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Ha, you're very welcome. Also Scootaloo is a terrible name for a kid, Dash. What were you thinking?"

"I didn't name her that. She's like seven years old, Gilda."

"What's this kid like, anyway?"

"She's like me, I guess. Only littler."

"Figures."

"Well thanks anyway." replied Dash annoyed, this time successfully taking off into the sky, turning in the direction of Ponyville. As she began to move on she heard a voice shout to her from below.

"Hey, Dash!" Gilda called from the cliffside. "Good luck."

*****************************************************

It had been quite some time since Rainbow had given her house a proper housecleaning. She didn't spend too much time within it anyway, preferring the sun and the wind to the confines of her home, nice as it was. On the rare occasions she did clean, it was little more than dusting and fluffing the clouds a bit. She never made a mess, there were never hooftracks in the foyer or stains in the carpet. Never anything that needed too much sweeping over. But today was different. She was a mare on a mission. The protocol? Get this house child-friendly and ready for a new occupant.

The first order of business was figuring out where the little pony would sleep and spend her days when at home. Dash's house didn't have many rooms to begin with, despite it's rather large size. Most of it was decorative. There was a kitchen, a living room, an attic with a overhanging porch, her own bedroom and one extra room. This particular room was where, for the last few years, Dash had been placing her trophies and marks of honor. The medal she had received from Celestia sat framed proudly on the wall. To it's right sat a trophy case, filled with things Dash had earned during her athletic exploits. The Manehattan Racehorse Derby First Place Ribbon, The Canterlot Gardens TrailRiding Expo Badge for Second Place, Best Young Fliers First Place tiara, Best in Show at the Wonderbolts Coliseum, San Flankcisco Steeple Chasing Award for Excellence, The Canterlot Endurance Run Quarterly Badge, and the International Polo Lightweight Division First Place Fleur-de-Lis. All awards Dash had won through hard work and endurance.

They had sat in this room for ages, collecting dust and rarely being seen by anyone. Dash preferred to travel and rarely invited others to her home. Meaning this display case had nobody to display itself too. Dash moved the trophies and placed them in the living room above the fireplace mantle. The display case was removed as were several boxes of old sports equipment. Her exercise equipment, barbells, weights, bench for pressing, cable machine and steel frame for chin-ups were all removed and placed in storage up in the attic. These devices were heavy and dangerous and Dash wanted to be sure Scoot couldn't go near them. 

Soon enough the room was empty and Dash set about placing a bed into the room. It was a small bed, barely a bed at all really. It was quite similar to the bed Spike slept in over at Twilight Sparkle's house. A large flat basket made of soft fibers with a wide circumference, with a large circular pillow to serve as the mattress and a smaller pillow for the head. Out in front of the house Dash began putting up a banner that read "Welcome Home Scootaloo" to hang above the door frame. She went back inside the house and began to fix up a few things. Getting a window for the former trophy room, plastering up new wallpaper that had pelicans as a pattern all over it. Setting up a bookshelf with some Daring-Do comics Dash hoped her young ward might enjoy. She stepped back to observe her work once it was all done.

The room still seemed empty, she thought. But she knew as time passed it would grow. Fill with objects, toys, papers and whatever else the child enjoyed. It was funny, she pondered, how this room had once been a place for her to keep her achievements that she showed off to so few and now she had made it into a home for someone else entirely. If someone had told Dash a month ago that she'd be preparing her house for motherhood, she would have laughed right in their face. Strange how much things had changed in what seemed like such a short time. But logically it made sense, didn't it? It wasn't right for a growing kid like Scootaloo to be living in the woods like a barbarian. She needed a home and Dash was prepared to give her one. What she wasn't prepared for was figuring out how she was going to tell her friends about her plans.

*****************************************************************************



On an ordinary day Sugarcube Corner looked like a large gingerbread house, with swirls of white icing lacing the rooftop. But the last couple of weeks had blessed the bakery with a shocking amount of bits. And to celebrate the Cake family had given the bakery a seasonal makeover. Holly, mistletoe, and thistles hung from every gutter. The cookie-like shingles on the roof were now given a dark chocolate coat of paint, with large fake cranberries nestled on each slat. The topmost room of the building which normally looked like a pink cupcake and housed Pinkie's bedroom had been retooled to look like a coffee-cake with light brown icing. The pink stairs, shutters, and mailbox had all been painted a festive green. Everything about the building screamed 'HEARTH'S WARMING EVE!'

And business for the small bakery continued to get better. The "hot chocolate bar" had grown so popular that an entire section of the dining room was now devoted entirely to it. The ingredients had been expanded to include some holly-jolly new items to mix into the hot mugs. Sugar plums, cranberries, tulips, and gumdrops now sat with the usual confectioneries. The popularity of the humble establishment had expanded lightning fast. Word of mouth had reached even some local celebrities and soon guests were arriving from as far as Baltimare and San Palomino just to try this so-called "best cocoa in Equestria."

Every morning and evening the small bakery was full of ponies who ate, drank, and made merry. The income had been enough for the Cakes to pay off all their debts, and even start up a college fund for their newborn twins. They had even begun hiring local musicians to play outside the bakery, lending some atmosphere and class to the chaos that surrounded the place. Sometimes the mere realization that they were suddenly wildly successful was enough to bring the Cake's to tears of happiness. Pinkie was happy she had made her caretakers so proud, as the two couldn't seem to stop thanking her and showering her with affection and gifts. They had graciously given her all of Hearths-Warming Eve off. Pinkie had spent the day doing last minute shopping for all her friends.

The pink pony found herself in a toy shop during the afternoon, trying to figure out what to get for Scootaloo. She knew what to get the infants. They were babies and very easy to please when it came to toys. For Pound Cake she had gotten a plastic wind up bird. It played a happy jingle when it flew and she knew it would delight him. For Pumpkin Cake she had gotten a large doll of a giant squid. It was soft and squishy and just the sort of thing she knew the baby would like. As for her parents Cup and Carrot, she had gotten them tickets for a live show of the Manehattan Symphony Orchestra. It had cost her a fair bit of bits, but no expense was too high for Pinkie to make someone happy.

Rarity would be receiving a very large quiche that Pinkie had tirelessly worked very hard on. It was full of egg whites, pecans, cream cheese, oregano and spinach, which Pinkie knew was Rarity's favorite vegetable. It would be arriving with a fine bottle of chianti. For Twilight, a ticket for a luxurious weekend vacation suite at the beach for her and a guest. The purple unicorn was spending so much time trying to learn about friendship that she was forgetting how to relax and enjoy having friends. Which was quite ironic in a way. Pinkie intended to solve that problem. Applejack was going to receive a packet of honeycrisp apple seeds. It was one of the few varieties of apple that didn't grow on her farm. Pinkie had to pull a lot of strings, call in a few favors, and probably broke a few trade laws, to get this bag of seeds imported from Applewood, a land far to the east. Applejack's whole family would also be getting a new motorized rotary tiller so that they could farm easier and give Big Mac a break more often. Fluttershy was going to get a quilt that Pinky had knitted herself (with a bit of help from Rarity). It was covered in various flowery designs and birds, in a checkered pattern of yellow and orange. A spell had been cast on the cloth so that it would always smell like roses and cinnamon. And finally she had found the perfect gift for her bestest best friend Rainbow Dash. A bass guitar covered in flaming designs and decals. She knew Dash had once played guitar and hoped having a shiny new instrument might inspire the speedster to take it up again. And even if she didn't, the relatively high "coolness" of the guitar was sure to impress the somewhat vain tomboy.

However this left Scootaloo with no gift still. Pinkie had grown very fond of the small orange filly and adored the way she snuggled up to Dash at night. Pinkie really hoped more than anything that Dash would invite Scootaloo to live with her in her cloud mansion. She certainly had enough room up there. They needed each other. Dashie was always flinching and impatient but when Scootaloo was around the older mare was so calm and happy. Scootaloo was all alone in this world, and had clearly latched onto the elder pony, wanting little more than to be around her. It just seemed right. But what do you get for someone like Scootaloo? What sort of gift do you give to someone who has nothing? And was moderately content with nothing for a long long time? The pink pony was unsure until she glanced over at the large toys section. And there it was, the Holy Grail of Hearths-Warming Eve gifts. The Red Ryder Range Model Electric Scooter. Great for any sized pony. It had a compass in the steering column and a thing which told time. It was perfect. It was beautiful. It would be very hard to wrap.

**********************************************

Night fell on Ponyville and the Elements of Harmony found themselves once again at Sugarcube Corner, ready for a night of thanks, partying and celebration. Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and RainbowDash found themselves sitting in a wagon that would soon be pulled by Big Mac. It had been Applejack's idea this year for the group of friends to go caroling. Mac tagged along in the hopes Rarity would flirt with him. Despite Pinkie begging, the Cakes refused to go. Having the infant twins sitting in a rickety wagon full of singing ponies on a cold winter night didn't strike them as the best idea. So they would stay at the bakery to close up shop and keep an eye on Applebloom, Scootaloo, SweetieBelle and Spike. At first Dash was somewhat hesitant to go. She hadn't gotten to spend any time with Scootaloo that day due to the Gilda visit and some other business matters she had attended to. Already she was missing hanging out with the tiny pony. 

Mrs.Cake blew a kiss to Pinkie as the cart began to trundle down the path deeper into town. The rest of the night was soon full of laughter and singing as the six friends made their way through the town, occasionally stopping in front of lit cottages to belt out a tune in the hopes of someone exiting the home with some sort of sweet treats. Much like on Nightmare Night, ponies were more than eager to celebrate. At a certain point the mane six found themselves in front of the cottage of a pony by the name of Berry Punch, who brought out a small tray of margaritas. A far cry from the baked goods the carolers had received thus far. Their singing was much more off-tune for the rest of the night. Even Fluttershy found herself singing aloud with some liquid courage running through her veins. Mac of course, did not partake of the drink. He was the designated driver after all.

Back at the bakery, the Cakes were cleaning up the mess of that particularly busy day. Chocolate stains and bits of candy littered the floor. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were more than happy to help, hoping perhaps to earn their cutie marks for cleaning and soon found themselves working together to push a large broom across the floor to collect all the garbage. Spike had long since grown tired and fallen asleep on top of a chair, curled up like a cat. Mrs.Cake shuffled across the floor of the establishment, with large soapy hard-bristled cleaning brushes strapped to the underside of her hooves. Everywhere the three small fillies went, she followed, soon turning it into a game of tag as they cleaned the inside of the shop. Mr.Cake sat nearby happily crushing sugared walnuts to feed to the twins. Soon the interior of the bakery was gleaming clean again.

"Well! That went much faster than usual. You've all been such hard workers!" Mrs.Cake exclaimed. "You deserve to be rewarded. And I know just the way!"

She produced six small dark-chocolate coated truffles out of her apron, each drizzled handsomely with strawberry icing and toffee crumbles, and presented them to the three eager fillies who happily snapped the delicacies up. Afterwards Mrs.Cake and her husband brought down Pinkie's movie projector and soon the whole group was merrily watching "A Hearth's Warming Eve Carol" which was a holiday favorite. It was a dark tale about a crotchety old bighorn ram named Ebesneezer Stooge who hated being nice to other creatures. He was cold and sharp as a flint. As solitary as an oyster. That night he was visited by three spirits! The spirit of Clover the Clever who shows him the error of his ways from back when he was a little lamb. The spirit of Starsong who shows him how his grumpiness was affecting his family and friends. And finally the spirit of Discord who informs him to grow a pair. Ebesneezer awakes that morning and turns his life around and helps to make the world a better place. It was a pretty good story and had been re-adapted countless times, but everyone agreed the version that used singing puppets was the best. It just was.

About an hour into the film the main gang arrived back at the bakery. Big Mac took a seat, happy to be relieved of pulling the heavy wagon. They had stopped caroling minutes prior to kicking open the entrance door but Fluttershy was still swaying slightly and humming to herself. She was a real lightweight when it came to drinking. Rather than interrupt the fillies and their film, the other adults decided instead to catch the last hour of the movie, joining the Cake family on the couch. As the credits rolled Mr.Cake stood up, yawning wearily.

"Well this has been a nice evening! I hope you girls have a nice Hearth's Day tomorrow but I think this old workhorse is gonna turn in."

"I'll join you in a moment, HoneyBunny!" Mrs.Cake murmured as she scooped up the twins whose eyes were beginning to glass over. She turned to the group of friends who were still sitting near the projector screen. "I hope you all have a very merry day tomorrow. And many more to come! Pinkie if me and Carrot aren't awake in the morning feel free to open your present early!"

Pinkie stood up on her back legs, wrapping her forearms around Mrs.Cake. "Thank you!" she squealed.

A few minutes later Twilight found herself nudging Spike. He made a loud snort and turned over, not eager to return to the waking world. Twilight frowned and nudged the small dragon harder until his eyes finally opened.

"What is it, Twi? Can't you see I'm busy." he mumbled, shuffling to his feet and scratching his spikey back scales. The large green quills on his head slumped over from weariness.

"Yes I can see you're quite busy sleeping, Spike." Twilight replied, doing her best not to laugh. "But I need you to do me a favor."

"Is Big Mac taking us home?"

"Yep!"

"Uuuugh why, Twilight? Can't we all just sleep here?"

"Spike I promise you it will be worth it when you see your present tomorrow!"

"It better not be another book." Spike growled.


Applebloom and SweetieBelle were the first to object.

"Can't we sleep over here with Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked, making her eyes seem as large and sad as possible, hoping to win over her sister. This never worked.

"No, Applebloom. We're gonna spend tomorrow with Granny and Mac, like we should." Applejack replied, her face very serious.

"Yup." Big Mac agreed from the comfy chair he'd been sitting in.

"It'd just be for tonight!" SweetieBelle whined.

"No, Sweetie. We need to be up bright and early so we can make the trip to Manehattan and spend the day with Dad and Mom. Won't that be fun?" Rarity gave her sister an apologetic smile.

"I....guess." Sweetie grumbled.

Rainbow glanced down at Scootaloo who was looking somewhat sad that her night of fun with friends was coming to a close. She decided now would be a good time to act like a responsible adult.

"C'mon, Squirt. Let's get you to bed. It's late."

"Can't I stay up a little bit longer?"

"Nope!" and with that Rainbow grabbed the scruff of Scootaloo's neck with her teeth and was soon carrying the frowning filly upstairs. Rarity and Applejack both looked down at their sisters who wore similar frowns. 

"Hey why don't y'all go and wish Scootaloo goodnight before we hit the road? I bet she'd like that!" Applejack mentioned, pointing at the stairs.

"Yes, go tell your little friend goodbye, Sweetie! You'll see her again soon enough." Rarity chimed in, nudging her sister with her snout.

"Fine," the two fillies mumbled at the same time, trotting to the upstairs hallway. 

They entered to see Scootaloo tucked under Rainbow's wing. The two were sitting in a nest of pillows and blankets, both listening quite intently to the small electric radio that sat on the edge of the nest. The Wonderbolts radio show was giving its final broadcast for the week, delivering the finishing scores for all the ponies involved in the Unicornia Triathlon. It was fading away to cheerful music as the radio host wished everyone a happy holiday. Tank the tortoise was lumbering his way across the floorboards, small goggles affixed to his green face, appearing as though he were about embark on an adventure.

Rainbow flicked a hoof to turn the radio off, glancing at the two small guests who had entered Pinkie's room.

"Hey, gang. Here to say goodbye?"

"Yeah." Applebloom sighed sadly. Even her large pink bow seemed to be drooping sadly.

"You're so lucky, Scootaloo." Sweetie grumbled.

Scootaloo flinched slightly at these words. Lucky was something she'd never considered herself to be. That feeling of wanting to scream was coming back. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she didn't want to know why Sweetie considered her lucky, but childish curiosity egged her on.

"How am I lucky?"

"You don't have anyone to tell you what to do. I wish Rarity wasn't around sometimes so I could do whatever I wanted."

A flare of outrage suddenly unleashed itself from deep within the orange filly's core. Years of pent-up self hatred and loneliness exploded in her mind, forcing her clumsily to her feet. Her sleepy mood and exhausted body making her too weak to hold it in as she suddenly began to scream, leaping out from under the caring wing of her mentor.

"DON'T SAY THAT. DON'T YOU EVER SAY THAT!" she bellowed. "I DONT WANT TO EVER HEAR YOU SAY THAT!"

Sweetie and Applebloom cowered, shuffling away from the bed and their hollering friend. Large tears of anger were streaming out of the filly's eyes as her whole body shook with passionate rage, orange stubby wings flailing wildly, stepping towards them like she was about to launch a brutal attack. Tank quickly ducked into his shell, hoping to flee from the loud noises. Rainbow attempted to put an end to the confrontation, wrapping Scootaloo up with her wing and holding the struggling filly close. She quickly shot a worried glance over at the other two Crusaders who were staring in fright at their friend's emotional tantrum.

"Hey guys, um, maybe you should head out. I think Scootaloo needs to go to bed like... right now."

The two fillies exchanged worried glances and hurriedly shuffled out through the door, their hooves clattering noisily as they descended the stairs. Rainbow tilted her head down to look at the small pony who was still struggling and coughing angrily while wrapped in the wing. Dash extended her limb, allowing Scootaloo to move again. The filly immediately crawled under a pillow and curled up, casting a darkened glance at the doorway her friends had recently exited.

"Hey." Rainbow whispered, lowering her body to lay next to the shivering filly. "Hey there. You know they're just kids, Scoot. They don't know any better. You don't need to get so upset."

Scootaloo sniffed angrily and wiped her face with a hoof.

"They're so dumb, sometimes." she hissed under the pillow. She shuddered, drawing in breath through clenched teeth.

Rainbow gently stroked the filly's side, trying to calm her frustration.

"They think I'm lucky. They have big sisters and parents who love them and care for them. Ponies who tuck them in at night and keep them safe. And then they complain! I don't have any of that stuff and I don't complain! They're the lucky ones." Scootaloo spat out. She coughed quietly, desperately trying to not lose her temper again.

"You know, Scoot, sometimes ponies don't realize how fortunate they are. Sometimes they don't realize how good somethin' is until it's gone forever."

"Do you ever miss your mom n' dad, Dash?" Scootaloo quietly asked. Rainbow had briefly mentioned the feud she had with her mother and father but Scoot had been too afraid to ask the question days earlier. Rainbow smiled softly and rubbed the top of Scoot's head. The tiny pony's body still ached from the earlier outburst.

"Yeah, sometimes."  Rainbow nuzzled the filly's side gently. "But sometimes even though ponies love each other, they can't live with each other, Scoot. They argue too much and can't agree on anything. And eventually they stop liking each other. I didn't want that to happen with my mom and dad so I stopped talking to 'em."

Dash sat up and removed the small filly from under the pillow and cradled her in an arm. She gently boop'd Scootaloo's snout with her free hoof.

"As for you, YOU need to go to sleep. It's waaaaay too late for you to be awake. And you are clearly very grumpy!"

"I'm not even sleepy." Scootaloo grumbled, crossing her forelegs obstinately. A small hint of a smile was playing around on her face, but she was quite determined to still seem upset from earlier.

"Well....." Rainbow put her hoof to her chin and thought for a moment. "What if I sing you to sleep? Like a lullaby or something?"

"You can sing?" Scootaloo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well sure. Not as well as like....Twilight or Flutters I guess. But I can sing."

Rainbow leaned back slightly, thinking to herself. Mentioning Fluttershy had given her a small bit of inspiration for what to sing, but she wasn't sure if she could even remember the words. It'd been years since she'd heard the song. Might as well try. It was now or never. She started to peacefully rock the small filly in her arms.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head...." Dash began. Her voice was rough but melodic all at once.

"How do you know this song? I heard Fluttershy sing it once." Scootaloo interjected.

"Oh! Well not long after I got here to Ponyville I hurt myself pretty bad and couldn't fly. I didn't want to go to the doctor cause I was so scared and I hated asking for help from ponies I didn't know in town. So I dragged my butt over to Shy's place for a while. Fluttershy took me in and sang to me so I could sleep, even though my body hurt. I liked it."

Rainbow cleared her throat and began to sing again.

"Hush now, quiet now, it's time to lay your sleepy head. Hush now, quiet now.....somethin' somethin' bed."

Scootaloo snorted and began giggling quietly at the rather poor rehearsal as Dash scratched her head trying to remember the rest of the words.

"That's not how it goes!" she said through her giggles. Dash made a face like she was deeply hurt.

"Hey now! It's been a long time since I heard that song. Besides who's singin' here? You or me? Anyway! I think I remember most of it now." Dash began rocking the filly again, her voice filling the room.

"Drifting, drifting, off to sleep. The exciting day behind you. Drifting, drifting, off to sleep. Let the joy of dream land find you."

Dash held the filly close, singing in a lower tone as Scootaloo's eyelids began to droop.

"Hush now, quiet now......it's time to go to bed."

The room fell silent as the lullaby came to an end. Dash thanked Fluttershy in her head for teaching her such a pretty melody in the first place. The small filly lay quietly, snuggled up to Dash's chest, snoring sweetly. Tears began to form in Dash's eyes as she continued to realize how much she loved doing this. How much she adored this feeling and this kid. Her eyes stung as she slowly bent forward and gently placed Scootaloo onto a pillow. Instinct bade the cyan mare to nicker quietly at the small foal she wanted to raise as her own. As silently as she could, Dash planted a gentle kiss on the filly's cheek and whispered, "Good night, squirt."



A few moments passed as emotions coursed through the mare. Tonight she was going to tell her friends what she wanted to do. Her plans for the future. She was excited and worried all at once. Unsure of how her old friends would react to such an announcement now that she finally had the courage to tell them. And it appeared it would be happening sooner than expected, as Dash looked up and noticed several sets of moist eyes peering into the room from the hall. Dash grinned sheepishly and tiptoed out of the room, gently closing the door behind her, her eyes locked on the sleeping filly until the door creaked to a shut. She turned to face her friends in the hallway, unable to speak. She felt so vulnerable at the moment, shuffling her hooves nervously and wiping away a stray tear.

"Dash, that was so beautiful." Fluttershy whispered, her eyes brimming. "I don't know what else to say."

"That there was the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time, partner." Applejack seconded, hiding her expression with her old stetson hat. Rarity was dabbing her eyes with a lacy green handkerchief. "Oh goodness." she managed to cough out.

"Oh Dashie! You and Looloo are so perfect." Pinkie excitedly whispered, keeping her voice down lest she wake up the whole house with her usual volume of: extreme loudness.

"Wow." was all Twilight managed to whisper. She looked pretty impressed while at the same time shocked that her ordinarily tough friend was capable of such matronly comfort.

Dash blushed a bit at the compliment, gulping slightly as her nerves began to work in overtime. "Thanks, guys. Hey uh, I need to talk to you all about something. Downstairs."
> A glitch in our good fortune.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The six Elements of Harmony sat in the den of a bakery in the small backwater town of Ponyville. Each representing a facet of friendship deemed powerful enough to change the world, titled by Celestia the Sun Goddess herself. Applejack, Element of Honesty. Rarity, Element of Generosity. Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic. Fluttershy, Element of Kindness. Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. And finally, Rainbow Dash, Element of Loyalty. They were powerful, they were weak, they were perfect, they were flawed. The six felt a connection on the day they met Twilight, knowing that no matter what, they would always be friends. It was written in the stars themselves. But even friends this perfect could sometimes find ways of hurting each other. Even friends this perfect had issues with trust. Sometimes, even friends this perfect could feel like they weren't friends at all. And that was the worst feeling of all. A feeling Rainbow Dash desperately wanted to avoid as she sipped on a bottle of iced tea, hoping it would drown the lump in her throat. 

Her friends sat around, watching her expectantly and feeling slightly worried. The cyan pegasus looked very out of sorts. Nervous, maybe even terrified. They'd seen her frightened before. When they had found themselves attacked by spooky trees in the Everfree Forest. When a dragon living in a nearby mountain had ferociously come to life. When Rarity had nearly guaranteed a loss for Dash in one of the few competitions she felt she needed to win. But every time, Dash came back. Bolder, stronger, more confident than ever. She never lost her nerve for too long. It was an admirable quality, but also a dangerous one. She was always the first one ready to throw herself headfirst into danger. Always the first willing to get hurt to help someone. Always the first ready to sacrifice her life for someone else. It was scary, at times. But this was not the Dash who sat before them now. What sat before them was a nervous wreck. Like Fluttershy in a rather accurate costume. What sat before them was someone terrified of something and unable to work up the bravery to face it, as she continued to calm herself with small sips of iced tea, bits of it dripping down her chin into her neck fur.

Rainbow finished her drink and set the bottle on the table. The distraction was over. It was time for action. She could do this. Take a deep breath. They were her friends. They'd understand. They would see how important it was for her to do this. Right?

"So uh....." Dash began, looking at the table as her friends leaned forward, eager to know what was troubling her. "I wanted to talk about Scootaloo."

Four colorful ponies nodded. And one pink one began to grin. She had a good idea what was about to happen. Something she had hoped would happen for weeks.

"You know when she first woke up......she tried to go out into the snow....back to her little treehouse. And I promised her that if she stayed with me and Pinkie that I'd help her rebuild it once the snow started to melt."

Dash unfolded and refolded her wings, struggling to get comfortable.

"But we know that I can't let her just live there by herself. She's a little kid and she needs a home. Someone to take care of her and teach her about....life...and stuff. And over these last couple of weeks I've started thinking.....um....well about alot of things."

The yellow hairs on Fluttershy's neck began to stand up. She glanced at Pinkie whose grin was growing wider by the moment. Was Dash about to......?

"I think.....that....um.....I want to adopt Scootaloo." 

A small ripple of shock echoed throughout the room. Five pairs of eyes widened, five minds processing what they had just heard from their friend. Dash, one of the bravest cockiest most wild ponies in town, had just informed them she intended to adopt an orphaned child. For a minute nobody said a thing. For a minute, five ponies wondered if this was some sort of dream, a stupor they had fallen into. For a minute Dash silently screamed at herself internally. Her friends hated the idea and hated her. She wished dearly she'd never told them. But only for a minute.

"Yes! Yes Yes Yes, Dash, Yes!" Pinkie shrieked happily dancing around the room and hugging her friend. "Oh Dashie this is so wonderful this is so great and wonderful and great!"

"Oh my goodness, Dash." Fluttershy had her hooves to her mouth, still gasping in shock even as a small smile was making its way across her delicate features. "Dash, I'm so happy you finally came to this decision."

"Whoa! Dash you really want to adopt Scootaloo? You're sure about this?" Twilight looked very worried. This was rather sudden and unexpected.

"Rainbow, you are the last pony I'd imagine to want to do such a thing. But it's heartwarming that you are! You have my blessings." Rarity hopped off her table and joined Pinkie in hugging Dash who was looking somewhat relieved. "And if you ever need any advice, by all means, ask!"

"How is this a good idea!?" Applejack suddenly barked. The glee and congratulations in the room ceased immediately as all eyes turned on the peach-colored earth mare. Her face seemed confused, sad, and angry all at the same time. "Dash! Y'all can't take care of a young'un!"

"Well, I certainly dont see why she can't Applejack. She's been doing it for quite a few weeks over here." Rarity replied, coming to Dash's defense. Pinkie released her hold on Rainbow, staring at Applejack with a look of despair. 

"Rainbow. Sugarcube. You aren't serious about this right? Right?" Applejack leaned closer, seeming almost frantic.

"Wh....whats wrong with the idea, AJ?" Rainbow said, fear creeping into her voice. Applejack was right pretty much all the time. And the very fact she disliked Rainbow's idea of adoption was rocking Dash to her core. Dash could feel her confidence leaving her, fast.

"What's wrong? What's WRONG?" Applejack's voice started rising. "Y'all spend half the day runnin' around in the clouds! Then you spend the other half sleepin'! You don't see how that might be a problem? Livin' like you do and trying to care for a child at the same time? Putting a youngster through the same misery THAT YOU put US THROUGH!?"

Applejack stood, glaring angrily at Rainbow who hung her head. The words hurt more than any injury Dash had experienced. Her whole life felt like a waste in mere moments. She watched as Applejack trotted angrily to the next room, shaking her head and muttering to herself. It was like a nightmare. Rainbow felt like for once she was doing something right and one of her best friends thought she was a monster. Indignation was building up inside Dash. Old bitter wounds were finding themselves re-opened. She glared at Applejack. Twilight seemed to be doing the same.

"Dash, I'm sure Applejack didn't really mean for that to sound so......harsh." Twilight turned to Dash and smiled. "Even though you're kind of impulsive, Dash, I know you mean well. I know you only want to help Scootaloo and if you want to do this you have my full support. And everyone else as well."

"Dash, do you really think you can do this?" Fluttershy asked, her face happy but also laced with worry. "Taking care of a filly is so much responsibility."

"I have to do this, Shy." replied Dash, glancing at Pinkie who had been silently staring at the floor.

"NO YOU DON'T." Applejack shouted from the other room.

"Scootaloo means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Twilight softly asked, putting a comforting hoof on Dash's shoulder. Dash nodded, unable to find coherent words to describe the fondness she'd grown for the little filly. Twilight smiled and used a small subtle spell toe straighten Rainbow's messy mane.

"Don't worry about Applejack, dear." Rarity whispered. "I'm sure she'll change her mind. She's just shocked you know. Poor thing can't deal with change well."

"I CAN HEAR Y'ALL YA KNOW." Applejack shouted again.

"GOOD!" Rarity shouted back as loudly as possible, clearly annoyed.

".....Dashie...." all eyes turned to Pinkie Pie. The bright pink sheen had gone from her lively coat making it a dull muted shade, the neon frilly mane slumped against her head, transforming into long straight locks of hair that dulled into a slate grey, hiding the majority of her features. Her normally round cheery face seemed gaunt and haggard. She slowly lifted her chin, her thin lips curved into a frown of anguish. Pinkie's radiant blue eyes were grey as well, the bright pupils now like windows into a world of only contempt, melancholy, torment, and loneliness.



They'd seen her in this state once before. The day that Pinkie had thought she was being kicked out of the group of friends. The day she thought the only ponies she could truly trust had betrayed her. She had crumpled that day, into a mess of a pony that could only weep and grieve. In her despair she had begun talking to herself, hearing voices. It had been a mistake. Her friends loved her, but seeing her in that state had made them realize just how sensitive the silly pony was. How fragile her optimism was. It took a while before she seemed entirely back to normal. They had made sure to watch what they said around her from that point on, hoping not to provoke this sort of reaction again. But it was too late, something had brought this dark depressed side of her character back. In a sad and tiny voice the formerly pink pony began to speak, barely above a whisper.

"I....really need you to listen to me. Please listen to me."

Applejack hadn't overheard Pinkie speak, but the sudden silence in the den had worried her. She peaked her head in, finding the others standing around a very grey Pinkie Pie. Quietly, Applejack sat down behind the rest.

"When I was....really little, my mommy and daddy didn't want me anymore. When they found out I was only good at making parties that wanted me to go. I'd never had a friend, they never liked the idea of having friends. When I saw Dash's rainbow, I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to make friends and makie ponies happy. That night I threw a party for my parents and my sisters. We were so happy. For one night we were really happy and everything seemed ok. And then my cutie mark appeared."

Pinkie convulsed suddenly, an unnatural sound escaping from her throat. She grit her teeth and carried on with her story, staring at the ground in front of her hooves. The room seemed as if it too was growing more grey with each passing moment, as though delirious lamenting pony was somehow drawing the very energy out of her surroundings.

"My mommy was so sad. She wanted me to be good at rocks, like daddy. He was upset. Really upset. But they tried to ignore it. I tried to ignore it. For a really long time I tried to pretend like it wasn't there. Like the party hadn't happened. Like I hadn't learned what it was like to laugh. And be happy. I.....when I was a little bit bigger I managed to throw another party. I had hoped enough time had passed that nobody would be upset. But I was really really wrong. They told me....they were ashamed. Disappointed. And that's....when they said....I should go."

There was silence in the room as Pinkie breathed in deeply, clearing her throat with an audible squelch. Her body was doing its best to stop her from speaking. But this needed to come out. To be heard. She had a point to make, no matter how ill it might be making her. She heaved backwards, her torso seeming to vibrate with short shallow breaths.

"I walked for a really long time and tried to join the circus. I had read about circuses in a book and thought maybe it was something I was meant to do. But I was too young to stay there and they sent me away too. So I kept walking across the desert until I started to see grass. And bushes and flowers. There was so much color to it all. It gave me strength to keep going even though I was feeling very sick. Even though the rocks told me I was stupid. And.....by the time I got to Ponyville.....I was.....it...."

A choking sob escaped the pink pony. Her body swayed, this was getting to be too much.

"Pinkie, maybe..." Twilight began to interrupt but was immediately silenced as Pinkie raised one of her front hooves into the air.

"Please....let me finish. I remember it so well now, so please. Let me finish. I remember. It was a really yellow day." Pinkie placed her hoof back to the floor, swaying slightly.

"I was really sick and....my mommy and daddy told me it wasn't good to take things that weren't mine so I didn't eat. Every time I woke up....everything hurt. My head hurt the most. Every rock and tree was telling me to stop but I couldn't. I kept walking farther into the town. I tried to stay away from the other ponies I saw. I was so scared of them. I didn't want them to hurt me and......I remember one day I felt like.....I knew that I was....fading. I knew that.....I was going to fall down and not get back up and so.....I decided I wanted it to happen somewhere quiet and far away cause....."

A hollow gurgle seemed to echo from her throat, as if her stomach were trying to escape through her mouth. A thrash and a dry gasp of pain followed as the pink pony squeezed her eyes shut and began to speak once more.

Pinkie writhed and sobbed. "....cause I didn't want to be a mess. I didn't want anyone to have to clean me up when I was gone so... I went into a.....an alley and I dragged myself to the garbage and I....found a wood crate and I......went....under it and....I just sat there waiting for it all to end. Wondering why....nobody wanted me. And....I could feel it getting darker around me and then....I woke up. And I was in someone's arms. Someone had saved me and loved me enough to keep me. That was the day I met Mrs.Cake."

Pinkie suddenly lurched forward, as if her body was attempting to move without need of it's legs. She was mere inches away from Dash when she finally came to a stop, her long grey locks sliding around her sweat-covered face as she tilted her head up. Her eyes looking huge and frightened as large tears rolled down them, the pupils searching Dash's face like a wild caged animal. Her brows arched downward, the expression of sadness quickly forming into anger, a red tint finding its way into the dark irises.

"Dashie...." she rasped out, her jaw quivering. "There is no.....worse....feeling than.....knowing that nobody cares about you. and knowing nobody ever will. And if.....if you make Scootaloo....feel that way.....I am GOING TO BE SO UPSET WITH YOU RAINBOW DASH!!!!!!!!!" the last few words became a sharp shriek as she screamed directly into Rainbow's face, repressed memories becoming an overwhelming soundwave of pure agony that split its way through the air like a thorn through flesh.

And just like that, it was over. Pinkie ran sobbing from the den, leaving large puddles of tears in her wake as she galloped clumsily into the kitchen, loudly slamming the door behind her. Rarity immediately followed Pinkie into the kitchen, hoping she could comfort the crying pony. Mr.Cake came rushing down the stairs a moment later looking bewildered at all the noise and soon found himself in the kitchen as well. Fluttershy had started weeping halfway through the story, and nervously stood up and made her way to join Mr.Cake and Rarity.

The others sat around looking at each other, unsure of how to react. Never had they seen a pony react this way. They knew Pinkie was a bit disturbed but this was a whole new level of despair than they'd ever seen expressed from the normally jubilant pink pony. Twilight swallowed, being the first to speak.

"Dash I, uh...."

"Nah, you know what? It's fine Twilight." Dash said in a bitter tone. She used her foreleg to wipe bits of Pinkie's angry spittle off her face. "Clearly all of this is the universe's way of letting me know this was not the best night to talk about this."

Rainbow grimly stood up and unfolded her wings, taking a glance at the nearest window in the den.

"Well, I think I'm going to go take a walk and get some fresh air." She said aloud, muscling her way past Twilight and shoving Applejack aside as angrily as she could.

"Wait, Dash." Applejack squeaked out briefly, reaching out a hoof as she realized Rainbow was about to take off.

"I said I am going for a walk."

And with a cold woosh of air, Dash had fled the bakery, loudly clattering the window open sending bits of snow from outside onto all the furniture. In moments her silhouette had been lost to the cloudy night sky and the drifting flakes of ice.

> We're swimming in the frozen sky.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Centuries upon centuries ago there had been a rather important argument. Perhaps argument isn't the correct word. A scuffle, maybe? A scrimmage? A brawl? A rag-tag hootenanny? Doesn't really matter, actually. It was bad. Having two omnipotent beings that controlled the climate and cosmos suddenly trying to kill each other tends to end badly. Nobody really knew the full story, since history is usually written by the victors. In this case Celestia and the Royal Guards. The legend was that at some point, the goddess of the night Luna got really jealous. For good reason, as few would admit. Back then ponies fled from shadows and the night, believing in superstitions and monsters. Ironically they were correct most of the time. These days modern ponies enjoyed a rather healthy nightlife. In some cases too healthy. But back then? The moment shadows started to stretch across the ground, ponies were diving into their houses, barricading the doors, curling into fetal positions, and such. It was embarrassing but that was how they lived.

Anyway, Luna gets fed up with this crud. Everyone hated her because she was the queen of the thing they feared most (the dark) and treated her like a monster. They loved Celestia though. They worshipped the ground that mare walked on. This made Luna jealous, and jealousy over long periods of time tends to turn into bitterness, anger, and eventually hatred. Luna grew to hate the only other being on the planet who could ever lover her: her big sister. And so, just to teach the cowering citizens a lesson in respect, she decided not to lower the moon one day. Not the best idea, but anger makes you do weird stuff. Celestia asked nicely to stop apparently, but it was a pretty no-can-do situation. Lore was they had a tussle of sorts. Meteors, moons, planets, etc all exploding and smashing into Equestria as the two Goddesses tried to annihilate each other. Pretty spectacular, most likely if you'd been alive to see it. Long story short, Luna got sent to the very same moon she once controlled. Celestia felt a thousand years would be enough time to cool Luna off. She ended up being wrong. Some ponies just can't let go of a grudge.

After that Celestia controlled everything. Her castle became the main mark of the city of Canterlot. A great shining beacon of white, yellow, and royal purple. Progress, science, cuisine, culture, literature and more; everything moved forward in a rapid pace there. Even today the place is pretty wicked awesome. On the other hoof, Luna's half of Equestria kinda....decayed. Her Royal Guard of fuzzy purple bat-ponies all fled to the moon to be with their queen and start over. And without anybody to take care of her place, the whole thing pretty much fell apart. Nature re-claimed the land that once had been hers and the castle became ruins. A hobo lived there briefly but found it too creepy to stay in. When Luna managed to break free of the moon and return, she immediately tried once again to get rid of the sun. Twilight Sparkle and her happily hued horse horde put a stop to that relatively quick. The twist was that the showdown took place in the very ruins that had once been Luna's part of the kingdom. It was in a rather sad state and once Luna had learned her lesson, in a moment described by any as 'touching', the place had been abandoned again.

Everyone figured Luna would try to renovate the place. Polish some of the uglies out of it. Make it nice again or maybe sell it off. It was still a decent piece of real estate despite the thousands of years of decay and overgrowth. But it never happened. Luna had made a new kingdom on the moon and no longer cared about her old castle or the rather sad memories it carried with it. Let's be honest, if you had to choose between living in your traumatizing childhood home where you lost everything you ever cared about due to your anger issues, OR living in a cool new world you crafted by yourself like a fine artisan on a giant floating space rock.....c'mon. You know what you'd choose. Don't lie to yourself. So that was that. Eight ponies now knew the location of the old castle. Celestia, Luna, and the Elements of Harmony. 

Two of which were there right now. One hoping she was alone and the other attempting to remedy the alone-ness. Will the two ponies make up? Will they engage in poorly-written drama unfitting of a story based around colorful toy horses? Will this story ever end? Find out next time on: Sororal Instincts.


*************************************************


Rainbow Dash swished her polychromatic tail angrily. She was angry at a lot of things at the moment. Angry her friends had so little faith in her ability to care for others. Angry she'd been embarrassing herself so much lately. Angry that it was so cold and it was her fault it was cold. Angry that one of her best friends was apparently completely bipolar and extremely depressed and had hidden it away for so long it was literally making her frighteningly insane. Angry that somewhere out there was a group of pegasi who had gladly abandoned their child because they thought she would never fly. Angry that her other friend felt the need to trash her every time they talked. But mostly she was angry it had all happened at once. Had any of these things occurred during separate time periods, it would have been easy to work through them. But everything was snowballing. Even in winter, everything snowballed.

"Dash! I need to talk to you!" cried a voice in the night. Dash picked up the southern drawl immediately. Here was Applejack again, either here with a half-hearted apology or a new lecture. Well she can go and talk to the snow. Dash had way more important things to think about

At the moment Dash was sitting on one of the ancient parapet walls of the ancient castle that had, at one point, belonged to Princess Luna. At the moment it was a musty filthy piece of architecture, still retaining a bit of its beautiful design through all the plants and weather that had piled upon it over the centuries. During the warmer months, what was left of the decrepit castle was usually covered in a thickets, vines, moss and jasmine. The vines stretched their way across the gables and over the battlements, almost making a sort of roof that kept the inside of the keep very dry. The rain and ice had turned all of these vines and thickets into sharp spears of ice and glass that felt no pity for any living thing. Any animal passing by would be wise enough to steer clear of this place. One wrong move could send you sliding into a sharp harem of frozen thorns, or bring an icy stalactite down onto your head. It was a gothic funhouse of danger.

The roof however was still somewhat safe, if quite slippery. It hadn't been the first time Dash had sat on this roof, contemplating things. She wasn't a very deep pony, barely literate actually. But she found the silent ruins soothing when her mind was troubled. A place to meditate for a while before her body grew weary of sitting still and she found herself lacing through the skies again. There would be no meditation tonight, however. Applejack was as stubborn as Dash and was determined to talk to the pony, even if it meant getting through the ancient maze of frozen stone.

"Dash, please." Applejack shouted. She could barely make out the wisps of rainbow hair peaking out over the pinnacle of the castle, almost invisible when framed by the moon. It had been more than an hour since Rainbow had disappeared from the den room of the bakery. After finding the Rainbow Pony in none of the usual spots she tended to sit in around Ponyville, Applejack had decided check the castle. The place that solidified that all six ponies would be friends for life. Whether they liked it or not.

"Go. Away." came the sharp reply from the roof, echoing through the catacombs of the old building. Even the brief soundwaves were enough to send small sprinkles of ice falling off the frozen vines and branches that had made their home inside the building. Applejack took a step back, not wanting to be in the danger zone if a small avalanche went down. She knew after what had happened earlier, Dash wouldn't be eager to rescue her.

"I know yer upset n' all. I just want to apologize to ya." Applejack squinted her eyes, trying to detect any movement. 

"I'm sick of your apologies."

Applejack nodded to herself. She knew she'd gone too far this time. She knew now she had angered Dash far beyond what the pegasus was capable of controlling. She rested on her haunches and folded her forelegs under her chest.

"I ain't leavin' til you come down."



Honesty was Applejack's thing and she kept her word. For a full hour she sat on the frozen floor waiting for Rainbow to come down. Two stubborn ponies, neither willing to admit defeat. Eventually there a quiet flutter of wings. Silence, then a quiet click as four hooves carried a pegasus out of the darkness of the castle, until she was a few feet away from the earthbound pony who was sitting diligently on the cobblestone. There was a gleam of resentment in her eye, and a subtle scowl dancing across her face.

"Hey, Dash." Applejack said as calmly as possible. Any emotion could provoke Dash into losing her temper and Applejack was determined to keep this civil. She was treading on thin ice, and this conversation could determine if she and Dash ever spoke again.

"I don't care about anything you have to say."

"I know, but I'm gonna say it anyway. I'm sorry."

Dash sneered, feeling anger broiling inside.

"No you aren't."

Applejack raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised at the answer.

"What do ya mean, no I ain't? 'Course I am."

"No. You aren't. If you were you would stop doing this. You would stop talking to me like I'm dirt. Like I'm some sort of idiot."

"Dash...I don't..."

"Shut up. I'm talking here." Rainbow flared out her wings, marching boldly up to Applejack. "You know I get it now. What your deal is, AJ. I disgust you. You hate my lifestyle, you hate what I do for a living, you hate my personality, and you hate the idea that I might feel the same emotions you do. You don't think of me as a friend. You think of me as a stupid animal."

"...."

"But you know what, AJ? I don't care anymore. I LIKE what I do. And I like me, as a pony. I LIKE that I'm not perfect. I LIKE that my family is broken. I LIKE that I'm not as friendly or pretty or smart as you and can show it off without even thinking about it. And you know what else? I LIKE taking care of that little pony. I LOVE caring for Scootaloo. And I'm going to keep taking care of her, AJ. We're gonna be a happy broken little family. And if you try to stop me, so help me Celestia...."

Rainbow coughed loudly, her wings shaking with anger. She wanted desperately to hit Applejack in the face. Some force of habit holding her back.

"Dash I don't want to stop you. I want you to be happy. I want you and Scootaloo to be happy. Together."

"Then what's your deal? Why do you hate everything I do? Why do you keep treating me like this? Why are we even having this stupid conversation?"

"You scare me."

There was a quiet roll of thunder that echoed across the night sky. Cold rain began to sprinkle down, freezing as it hit the snow. Dash was quiet, trying to understand what was going on around her. Scared? Applejack was scared of Dash? How could you be afraid of something you once called your friend? How could you be afraid of something you took time out of your day to scold? Dash sat on the ground, folding her wings back to her sides, the rain bouncing off her waterproof feathers.

"Dash you remember a few months back when you hit that tree?"

It was an odd question. Dash had hit a lot of trees in her life. A fact that often upset Fluttershy who was sure trees could feel pain.

"Depends."

"Remember when ya couldn't leave the hospital? And Twilight gave ya those Darin' Doodly books to read while you healed up?"

"Yeah." Rainbow was still too upset to correct Applejack on how badly she'd mangled the title of perhaps one of the finest written works in existence.

Applejack stood, her coat sticking to the ground a bit now that rain and ice were intermingling on the floor. With a few gentle steps she had sat down next to Rainbow Dash. For a few minutes the two sat in silence as rain and snow fell to the floor, like bits of frozen confetti, collecting on the brim of the brown stetson that Applejack always kept on her head.

"I remember that day really well. I remember hearin' Rarity scream real loud. I'd seen you, ya know. Fallin' out of the sky after doing some sort of fancy loop-de-loop. I figured you'd just landed clumsily. Went back to rakin' leaves. Thought nothin' of it. It was like a normal day. Then I heard that scream."

The two equines sat solemnly, neither looking at one another.

"Rarity never screamed like that before. I remember bein' real scared when I heard it. I remember runnin' real fast. Faster than I think I ever managed to. Rarity was stumblin' around like she was 'bout to faint. Fluttershy came runnin' up from the river wonderin' what the noise was. I remember askin' Rare what happened and she just pointed a hoof. I remember feelin' my skin gettin real cold as I got close to the tree. Like I knew somethin' real bad had happened. Twilight was just standin there, with her lil mouth just hangin open. Like she'd seen a ghost. And Pinkie was makin' these noises like she was trying to scream but they were comin' out too fast. She was tryin to climb the tree."

Applejack shuddered slightly and gulped. 

"Then I got to see what Pinkie and Twi had been lookin at. You were an awful sight, Dash. Yer neck was all twisted around in ways it shouldn't. Your legs were all....weak and dangling from the tree branch you'd hit. And that wing of yers was bent. Like bent in a way I can't even....it was like it'd been pulled backwards all unnatural-like. There was this white stuff pokin out from your feathers. I remember stoppin' and realizin' it was your bone. I've never been so scared."

With a flick of her head, and a shower of snow, Applejack adjusted her hat.

"Twilight pulled herself together and dragged you out of the tree with some magic. Put y'all on my back and carried you into town. I could hear your insides cracklin' from all your broken parts slidin around. We thought you were dead, Dash."

Dash turned over to glance at her peach-colored friend. This was a side of the story she'd not been familiar with. She'd woken up in the hospital feeling terrible, but the world seemed fine. In a way Dash had been thankful for that day. It had opened the gateway to a world of books that Dash would never have voluntarily experienced. It had helped her understand Twilight's vices more. She'd come to think of it all as a very positive event in her life, despite the injury.

"Rarity cried the whole way back to town. She was hysterical. Twilight kept trying to keep your head up as we ran. Pinkie was the worst. She just kept howlin' and shrieking and asking me if you were ok. If I could feel your heartbeat. Tryin to talk to ya and tell ya she was there and it was gonna be ok. She started losin' her lunch at one point and just laid on the ground and cried. Fluttershy didn't even come with us at first. She just sat there starin' at the spot where you'd hit the tree. Her eyes were like.....she wasn't even there. Like a part of her was stuck up in that tree."

Applejack's voice began to crack. The rough and tough farm pony was never the sort to get very emotional. She could count on one hoof the number of ponies who had ever seem her cry.

"I was so scared. I thought I'd lost ya. I thought I'd lost another pony I loved. When the doctors took ya in I just laid there on the ground next to Pinkie and we cried and cried and cried. Rarity had passed out by then, right in the lobby. Twilight started goin' through their books, seeing if she could fix it all with magic. Fluttershy wouldn't talk to anyone when she finally got to the hospital. She just sat on the floor and stared at the wall. She didn't say nothin' til ya woke up."

Rainbow's eyes conveyed an emotion of pure shock as she processed this tale.

"AJ. Why didn't you guys tell me about this?"

"We didn't want ya to feel guilty, Sugarcube. We spared the details so you'd keep doin' what you love. We knew you'd be afraid to fly for our sake and we didn't want that for ya. You belong in the sky. We wanted you to be happy even though you scared us so much. For a while there ya know we talked about askin you to stop training. Just cause every time you were in the air we all felt so uncomfortable. Just waiting for something bad to happen."

"I'm...."

"The others got over it, ya know. But I never did. Stuff never went back to normal for me. It reminded me of how things were after my parents were gone. Every time Granny or Mac went on a trip I'd just be worrying. Wondering if they'd ever come back. Even these days I still feel like that sometimes. Every time Applebloom is late comin' home from school I just can't....ya know...function. I can't think or eat or breathe proper. It's like someone is chokin' me."

"So....you're afraid I'm going to get hurt."

"I'm afraid that one day....Dash.......I'm gonna hear a knock at the door and it's gonna be Twilight or Pinkie lookin' at me and tellin' me you're gone. That you went down and didn't get back up. I.....I don't think I could handle that."

"I would never put you guys through that."

"I know, sugar. I know. That's why I don't say nothin' or ask ya to be safe or tone it down. But it's different with a child, Dash. What's gonna happen if Scootaloo finds out one day you got yerself killed and now she's got no mom again? What happens when she sees ya during one of those days where you strain yourself so hard you're coughing up blood? Those days where you collapse in my lawn makin them horrible wheezin' noises after doin' all them fancy moves for hours without rest. That's the stuff that makes me so scared, Dash. I've been there, before."

"I guess I kinda go overboard sometimes."

"I want you around, Dash. I want you and me and the others to be old nags one day. Where we just sit around and play cards and gossip like Granny does. Where we're just a bunch of looney old coots havin' the time of our lives bein' all wrinkly and dusty."

"I'm sorry I've worried you guys that much, AJ."

"Don't you dare apologize to me Dash. I'm here cause I want you to know I was wrong."

Dash blinked. Applejack was rarely wrong.

"When I was lookin for ya, after me and Pinkie scared ya off I started runnin' around town and the first place I looked was your cloud house. I had Twilight give me a little magic boost so I could walk around up there and Dash...."

Applejack shook her head, a small smile spreading onto her face.

"I....saw what you'd done. You made your house so nice and clean. You got rid of all yer dangerous flight trainin' equipment. I like how you made that little rope ladder down to the ground so that lil' filly can climb up and down it. I like how you added a whole section of yer house just for her. That little 'Welcome Home Scootaloo' sign hangin on the doorway. It was all just....perfect."

"Yeah I spent most of the day just trying to finish that. I've been workin' on it for a while." Dash grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I didn't really want you guys to see it til' I'd worked up the nerve to tell you I wanted to adopt."

"I'm sorry, Dash. I didn't have faith in ya. I didn't trust you to be responsible. And I let my old fears get the best of me and it's made me....just....be so hard on ya. Specially these last few months since the accident. I shouldn't have said what I said at the bakery. I should never have told ya it was a bad idea. I should never have acted like you mean nothin' to me and...."

Applejack turned and hugged Dash tightly. The peach-colored mare sniffled as she embraced her friend, knowing she'd hurt her.

"Sugarcube, don't you ever EVER think I don't love you. Don't you ever think for a moment I hate ya cause I don't. You're like a sister to me, Dash. You're kin. I could never hate my own kin."

The two separated as Applejack smiled and took her hat off to hide the tears threatening to fall from her emerald eyes.

"I'm so proud of ya, Dash. I know I don't tell y'all much how much ya mean to me. You've treated that filly like she was your own. Like a mother should. You and Scootaloo deserve to be a family and to be happy and y'all have my blessing. You'll always be mah friends."

"It's ok, AJ. Believe me, I'm gonna take better care of myself. For Scootaloo. And everyone else. I already asked for a new position at work today. I want to have more free time to raise Scoots. It'd suck if she was at home while I worked all day. I want to give her all the attention she needs. Give her what my mom couldn't for for me, ya know?"

"Who's boss of the weather ponies, then?"

"Thunderlane is the new smug chief."

"Oh, that mighty handsome feller."

"Ugh." Dash gagged loudly.

"I'm just havin' a laugh on ya, Rainbow. I saw him flirtin' fierce with somepony else a few days ago. That one green pony who likes to sit all funny in the park."

"Told ya he was a horndog."

The two horses wearily stood and made their way out of the frozen castle, their friendship repaired. At least for now. The rain had come to a stop and what little water had fallen to the ground had frozen immediately, making the surface very slippery. As they exited into the icy forest that surrounded the castle, Rainbow began to realize just how long she'd spent outside.

"Did everyone go home already, AJ?"

"Only Twilight and Rarity did. Twi wanted to make sure Spike was ok and Rare wanted to get plenty of sleep 'fore her trip tomorrow."

"How's um....Pinkie?"

" Mr. n' Mrs.Cake and Fluttershy calmed her down. She clung to the missus for a while there just sobbin' and snifflin'. Mewlin like a newborn."

"I feel really terrible, causing all this. I should have waited."

"Shoot, it's my fault it happened Dash. I think all my yellin' made her get real defensive of you. She's real sweet on you, ya know. Likes you somethin' fierce. Probably felt it was her duty to make sure you hadn't changed your mind and ruined everythin' thanks to me."

"She didn't have to.....do it like that."

"Panicked, probably. If I'd been through what she had, I 'spose I'd do everything I could to make sure it didn't happen to somepony else. Even if it meant hurtin' myself n' causin' a ruckus."

Rainbow fluttered upward. Before this night was over, she was going to get as much advice as she could gain from her friends. Applejack called to her from the ground.

"Where in the hay are you goin'?"

"Scoot's gonna be up soon, AJ. Before I do this I want to be sure I know whats gonna be best for her. I'm gonna go around and talk to everyone."

"At four in the mornin?"

"I'm losing control of my life here, AJ. If I do this I wanna make sure I do it right the first time."

*********************************************



Most of the time the Ponyville library was a calm and serene environment where anyone could walk inside, pick up a good book, and immerse themselves. Content in knowing they would never be disturbed or interrupted.

At the moment its silence was broken by the sound of a nerd looking for a glutton.

"Spike! I know you've been eating caramel corn even though I told you no more sweets! Why are you munching on junkfood at this time of night?"

"Oh yeah? Wheres your proof? You ain't got nothing on me, sister!"

"Spike, there are kernels of corn all over the floor. And it stinks of caramel in here! If you were trying to hide the evidence you've done an awful job."

"You have no proof those are my kernels! Maybe they aren't there! Maybe you are still asleep and this is a dream!"

"SPIKE! Get down here right now!"

With a small hop the tiny dragon leaped down from his perch on top of one of the bookcases. He was small enough that simply curling up on top of one of the oaken structures was enough to completely hide him. He walked forward looking annoyed. Falling to his knees, and sticking out his hands like a prisoner about be arrested, he gave Twilight one last defiant look.

"Okay, Warden. You caught me. I'll go quietly."

Twilight failed to suppress her laughter at the melodramatic dragon. Spike never failed to make her laugh.

"Oh, Spike. What am I going to do with you?"

"Let me eat more caramel corn?"

"Oh so you admit to it, now?"

At that moment, in a rush of colors, Rainbow Dash came sweeping through the tree limbs that made up the roof of the library. She landed delicately between Twilight and Spike, a small storm of leaves and snowflakes in her wake which fell to the ground amongst all the corn kernels. She grinned slightly at the perfect landing but soon noticed the mess on the floor.

"Aw geez. I'm sorry Twilight. I'll clean this stuff up."

"Don't worry about it. Spike should do it as part of his punishment."

"Where exactly is Spike?"

Spike was young and his education had consisted mostly of reading storybooks in the Canterlot library. However he possessed an infinite amount of cleverness and had taken advantage of Rainbow's entrance to slip out. He sat gleefully on the windowsill upstairs, glad that someone was providing a distraction for Twilight. He pulled a box of lemon mints out from one of the branches of the tree, taking note not to disturb all the other candies he had crammed into the abandoned birds nest near the window. If Twilight wasn't going to let him keep treats inside the house, then he was just going to have to bend the rules. It had worked for months and tonight had been a very close call. He chewed thoughtfully as the voices shouting his name from inside the house grew quiet. The search for the scaly fugitive was over. He had won. His prize? Small crunchy lemony candies that he loved so very very much.

"Sorry about that, Twi." Dash meekly said as she pushed a small broom across the hardwood, collecting all the leaves and seeds into a dustpan. "I just needed to talk to you about something."

"It's fine. Spike just keeps breaking the rules I've set up." Twilight lifted the dustpan with a bit of magic and flung its contents out the window and into the frozen grass under the tree.

"How do you do it?" Dash quietly asked, settling down into a chair.

"How do I do what?"

"How do you....well...like I was talkin to Applejack a little bit ago..."

"Oh good, so she did find you."

"Yeah, we made up I guess. Anyway she was telling me how whenever Applebloom is gone for too long or Mac or Granny are on a trip all she can do is worry."

"That's understandable."

"But Spike is gone for weeks sometimes, doing stuff for Celestia. And you don't ever seem to be bothered by it. How do you manage to not get freaked out wondering if he's ok or not?"

"I'm bothered by it. It bothers me a lot actually, Dash. But despite my worry I know he's ok and safe no matter where he is."

"How?"

"Because he's prepared. Spike's a much better fighter than I am. I can teleport away from danger but Spike can take it head on. He is a dragon, after all. Even large monsters know not to mess with a baby dragon. Even one as silly as Spike."

"That's it?"

"Well, no. Spike's responsible. Sometimes, anyway. Celestia trusts him enough to meet dignitaries and ambassadors and stuff. If she has enough faith in him to let him do stuff like that, then so do I."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Dash, you know if Scootaloo managed to take care of herself all this time and avoid getting hurt, you being there for her just means she's THAT much more safe in your care. She's smart, Dash. You're going to be fine."

"Thanks, um..." Dash climbed off the chair and trotted up to Twilight. "I actually need to ask you for a favor, Twi."

"Oh?" It was a rare event when Dash asked for anything.

"Yeah I was thinkin....that...if I wanna adopt Scoots I should make it...you know...like..... official. But I need papers and stuff. Like notaries and letters of recommendation and documents and egghead things."

"So you want to see if I could help?"

"You're the only pony I know who is into that sort of thing. I want to do this properly and legally."

"Well I'd happily help you, Dash but why are you asking me this now? At this time of night?"

"Well....." Dash grinned sheepishly. "I wanted it to be a surprise for Scoot. For Hearths-Warming."

****************************************



The door to the Ponyville Library creaked open as two ponies, one blue and one purple, galloped out into the cold night air. They didn't make it very far when a small yellow piece of lemon candy took flight from a library window, gracefully spinning through the air before it hit, with a small thud, the flank of the blue pony.

"Ow! Oh hey, Spike." smiled Rainbow as she turned around and glanced up at the third story library window.

"Hey Rainbow! Twilight told me you were gonna take care of Scootaloo."

"Spike! We are going to have a long talk about your snacking habits when I get back." Twilight shouted, stomping her hoof to try and signify she was being serious. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Rainbow, for the record, I think you're gonna be great." Spike flashed the two ponies a thumbs-up. He was glad he could since very few creatures in this part of the country even had thumbs.

****************************************

The two colorful ponies ran through the town, stopping briefly in front of Rarity's shop and home, the Carousel Boutique. Aptly named because it did indeed look like a carousel. It was one of the more decorated buildings in the town. Pristine in it's elegance, almost royal. The inside of it was often a whirlwind of flying bits of fabric and scissors as Rarity hemmed and sewed like a madmare, filling orders and such. However right at this moment she and her little sister were asleep. At least they were until  a hoof rapped sharply on the window outside their bedroom.

This prompted Rarity to awake, adjusting her nightcap. Well more of a night-beret really. Even when sleeping, the fashionista went to great lengths to look as good as possible. Extremely annoyed she kicked the window open and peered out at the two smiling faces in the darkness.

"Twilight? Rainbow? Do you have any idea what the hour is? Most civilized ponies are trying to sleep!"

"Sorry, Rarity, but me and Twi have a whole night of busy stuff ahead of us. And probably most of today. I wanted to wish you and Sweetie a nice Happy Hearths-Warming before we left." Rainbow smiled and flew off with Twilight sighing and following after her on foot.

"I'm sorry Rarity! I told her you'd be upset!" Twilight shouted, glancing behind her at Rarity who looked very sour.

With a loud hmmph the white unicorn slammed the window shut as her friends galloped into the night. The nerve of some ponies.

***************************************

The door to Sugarcube Corner was shoved open by Rainbow quickly entering the building, a mare on a mission. Followed shortly afterwards by a breathless Twilight and a minute later by a bemused Applejack. Despite it being late, and despite being in sort of a rush, Rainbow was determined to talk to one last pair of ponies before she set out on her journey: The Cakes. Rainbow glanced around the bakery, glad that some lights were still on and some ponies were still awake after the chaotic events earlier that night.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were in the den. An empty mug of cocoa was in front of Fluttershy while a cold mug still brimming with drink was in front of Pinkie. They had clearly been sitting there for quite some time. Fluttershy waved a yellow hoof wearily as her friends entered.  It had been a long night.

"Did Applejack find you, Dash.....oh there she is." 

"Hey there, sugarcube. How's Pinkie doing?" Applejack trotted over to where Pinkie sat. Her hair had returned to its curly neon state, and her bright pink sheen had returned. Yet the pink pony was still slumped somewhat lazily in her chair staring at the table. A sad expression plastered across her round features, still reeling from the earlier anxiety.

"She's....doing ok?" Fluttershy gave Pinky a small nudge in the shoulder with her hoof.

"I've been a bad pony." Pinkie muttered, staring at the table. She looked up at Dash who was slinking across the bakery, hoping not to provoke another emotional outburst. "I'm sorry, Dash!" she cried, in a voice laced with grief.

Dash sighed and backed up. She wasn't eager to get into any more conflicts with her friends. Particularly if they involved "feelings" and other unpleasantries. She'd already been through enough tonight with Applejack. But at the same time, Pinkie was Dash's friend. Probably her best friend. She couldn't just leave her hanging. Dash sighed loudly and trotted into the den and up to Pinkie who was slumping even further down into her chair then before. Dash gave Pinkie a small tender nuzzle to her ear, causing the pink pony to sit up straight immediately and blush.

"Pinks, you aren't a bad pony. Just a crazy one." Dash said with a small grin, but quickly adopting a serious face. "But if something is bothering you, REALLY BOTHERING YOU, don't let it get bottled up inside you. It just makes it hurt more when it comes out. I learned that with AJ, tonight. So promise me, Pinky."

"Promise what?" she replied, looking confused and cheerful all at once.

"Promise me you'll tell us about your problems from now on, Pinky. Let US know if you're hurting. We love ya, Pinks. It's what friends do. I don't want you making yourself sick or crazy again. Alright? Promise me."

"Alright, I promise!"

"Pinky promise?"

"Yup!" Pinky shoved her hoof into her eye. It was all a part of the ancient ritual of the Pinky Promise. Scholars would write great tomes for centuries on the various complexities of this particular ritual. Many would go mad trying to understand it and fathom its depths. Others would go madder when they did understand it.

"Y'all should try to get shut-eye, Pinkie. You'll feel better when ya wake up tomorrow and tear into all them gifts your gonna get." Applejack gave Pinkie a hug.

"Why are you here at this time of night, Twilight?" Fluttershy inquired. She yawned loudly, shattering the mundane and dark atmosphere with her ridiculous cuteness.

"I'm gonna have a chat with the Cakes, Fluttershy. Then me and Twi are going on a bit of an adventure."

"An adventure? For Hearths-Warming Day? At five in the morning? What?" the face of Fluttershy contorted from an expression of sleepiness to an expression of perplexity.

"It's...a secret, apparently." replied Twilight with a small roll of here eyes.

Dash gently tapped on the door to Mr. and Mrs.Cake's bedroom only for it to swing wide open, creaking loudly on its old hinges, its archway framing a very upset-looking Mr.Carrot Cake in his polka-dot nightgown. He darkly beckoned Dash to enter then closed the door behind her with a loud click.
> She's a rainbow and she loves the peaceful life.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Mr.Cake sat on his red velvet easy chair, rocking steadily in the dimly lit room. His jutting lower jaw clenched in a grimace of disappointment. The beady eyes that were barely visible under his orange lochs of mane were squinting in an expression of pensive thought. He sniffed quietly, drumming his hoof on the armrest of his chair. The seconds seemed to become hours as he stared, reflectively, at the cyan mare in front of him. Her gaze, one transfixed by both fear and confusion. Why was she here? Why was Mr.Cake so angry-looking? What had she done?

The tall orange stallion sat up, letting out a long strained sigh of disappointment. He pressed his forhooves together in front of his bony face, adopting an even grimmer expression as he prepared himself to speak.

"Dash....." he began calmly. "We here at.....Sugarcube Corner....we try to foster a loving, family environment. The sort of environment you can take your foals to, knowing they'll be safe, going home with good memories."

He put his hooves back on the armrest and leaned forward.

"Tonight, that sanctity....that....pureness.....was ruined by YOU, Rainbow Dash!" He pointed his hoof warily at her, turning his head to stare with one bloodshot eye.

"Well!? WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF!?" He failed his arms wildly around as he shouted. Were it not so frightening it most likely would have been comical.

"Oh for goodness sakes, Carrot, you're probably scaring the poor thing to death." came Mrs.Cake's voice from somewhere in the darkness. Carrot frowned slightly and flicked on the lights.

"Aw! C'mon! I think it was an elegant performance, don't you Dash?" Mr.Cake flashed a large smile, complete with massive underbite, at Dash who slowly grinned once she caught on.

"Oh wait, this was all a prank to scare me huh? That was pretty good, Mr.Cake. You could be an actor!"

"That's what I said! I think I have a real knack for it."

"Dash, what is it that you need, dear? It's so late." the disembodied voice of Mrs.Cake came once again out from somewhere on the other side of the wall.

"I actually wanted to talk to you.....both of you." Dash replied, glancing at Mr.Cake who bowed comically, his nightcap falling off his head to the floor, and pushed open the door to the bedroom with his hoof.

"But of course! Right this way, mademoiselle."

Dash smiled at his antics as she went around the easy chair. It was rather clear Pinkie learned to love pranking from this rather unassuming stallion. One of these days Dash would have to figure out which of the Cakes taught Pinkie how to come up with entire elaborate songs on the spot, complete with background music. Come to think of it, she'd never heard either of them sing. Must investigate later.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt end as she entered the bedroom. Much like the rest of the bakery, and the rooms connected to it, it had a very "confection" design to it. Beams in each corner that looked sort of like cinnamon sticks went up to the light mint green ceiling. The walls were a coral shade of orange with white designs of plates and forks going down to the fuzzy grey carpet, one of the few rooms in the house to even have carpet. A bureau, painted to have stripes like a candy cane, sat in a corner of the room, looking quite old-fashioned. The center of it all contained a circular green bed with stumpy legs.

Mrs.Cup Cake was lying on the cotton comforter covering the bed, her head propped up with an orange and white striped pillow. The twin infants, Pound and Pumpkin, were there as well. Each had their heads buried in the soft underbelly of Mrs.Cake, next to her haunches, suckling quietly. Dash's whole face went red at the realization that Cup was nursing, and immediately she backed out of the room, tripping over Mr.Cake's spindly leg.

"Aaa! Oh man, I'm sorry Mrs.Cake I didn't know...I...I...I just wanted to talk...oh gosh! I'll just go!"

Mrs.Cake cackled merrily at Dash's embarrassment.

"Oh Dash, dear it's nothing to worry about. Pinky has seen me do this a hundred times. It's just...you know...nature. Nothing to wind yourself into a tizzy for."

Dash cautiously re-entered the room, doing her best not to stare. Carrot sat down on the bed next to his wife and gave her a small kiss before turning to Dash.

"So, Rainbow. What'd you want to talk about? What is on your mind?"

"Must be pretty important, considering how it's nearly morning. You look like you haven't slept, sweetie." Mrs.Cake chimed in, giving Dash a pitiable look. The young cyan mare did indeed seem stressed out.

"This is about adopting Scootaloo isn't it, Rainbow?"

Dash grinned sheepishly. "I guess you guys heard about that."

"Well of course we did. Fluttershy explained the whole thing when Pinkie had her little breakdown earlier. Poor dear. I hope she's in better spirits for tomorrow. I'd hate for her Hearth's Warming to be ruined due to a bad mood." Mrs.Cake shook her head sadly at the thought.

"Does....Pinkie....like...has she had these before? I saw her have something similar once when she thought we didn't want to be her friends anymore. It kinda scared me. But after she saw the party we planned for her, she seemed ok. Until today." Dash frowned slightly, remembering the creepy conversations Pinky had with inanimate objects that day.

"Pinkie is really afraid of being alone, Dash. She's rather co-dependent. When she brought home that....crocodile or whatever Gummy is, we couldn't get her to give it away. We've been trying to sort of help her feel more confident when she does things on her own. That's why we let her run the shop by herself when its warmer. After tonight I'm wondering if its helped her condition at all." Mr.Cake shook his head, joining his wife.

"I actually kinda wanted to talk to you guys about her, about the day you first...uh...found her I guess." Dash gave a small grin to the couple on the bed, hoping to lighten the mood slightly. "Did you guys always want kids? Was Pinkie your first? What made you want to...you know.....keep her?"

Mrs.Cake sighed and laid her head against the pillow, her pink swirl of hair flopping across her blue-coated neck. "I still remember that day like it was yesterday, Rainbow. Carrot and I had just been married. Eloped, you know. Trying to make ends meet so we could get away from it all. I was still working as a saucier at Toola-Roola's bistro. Have you ever been there, Dash?"

"Um, honeybunches, that place has been closed down for well over a decade." Mr.Cake gave his wife another kiss. "Long before we ever saw Dash in town."

"Oh yes, sugarlumps, I forgot! It went down in that oven fire. It was making so little money at that point, nobody was really shocked when Toola-Roola said she wouldn't rebuild. She ended up opening an art gallery somewhere in Canterlot I believe. I should try to get in touch with her again. See how she's doing. Anyway, I'm getting off-subject! I remember the day we found Pinkie quite vividly. I was taking out the garbage into the little sidestreet all the bins used to sit on and I heard this sound. Like a sort of quiet sneezing noise. At first I didn't worry about it, until I noticed I seemed to be the only one in the alley. It was just me and some old boxes piled into a corner. So I tiptoed over to them and when I realized the sound was coming FROM them I got very worried. We didn't have any vagrants back in those days, you know."

Cup sighed wistfully and snuggled her head against her husband's side. His large yellow hoof, gently stroking the faded pink wisps of hair in her mane.

"She was so tiny. Would probably have fit in a peanut butter jar. I remember holding her in my arms and feeling how cold she was. Sunburned all over and freezing at the same time. So thin, too. Each tiny rib poking through her pink fuzz. Every beat of her little heart would make her whole body shake. I was in tears by the time I got her inside the restaurant."

"I remember coming home from the buttermilk factory, and finding out Cup had quit her job. I wasn't sure why until I saw the little pink bundle she was holding." Mr.Cake smiled a bit, but there was sadness in his eyes. "I didn't think she was going to survive, honestly. You could almost see through her."

"For the longest time, we thought we couldn't have children." Mrs.Cake continued. "We tried and tried but could never, you know, conceive. I was determined to help that foal. But so upset at the same time. It was as if Celestia had heard our prayers and answered them in the cruelest way possible."

"It took a year before we got her to say anything to us. We asked her for her name so many times and finally one day she said 'Pinkamena'.  Then we got the silent treatment again. When she saw the finished bakery, that helped a lot. Something about the catering, baking and parties seemed to bring her to life. After that she never stopped chattering!"

Dash smiled at the story. The Cake's really did see Pinkie as their daughter, even if they weren't related by blood. 

"Do you guys think....that....I'd be good at that? Taking care of someone?" Dash grimaced. That question was awkward even for her.

"Rainbow, you are going to be absolutely fine." Mr.Cake said with a small nod. "I think you've proven you're more than qualified."

"Dash, Carrot and I weren't prepared at all when we found Pinkie. We had no money, no real jobs, no home, and no real knowledge on how to raise a child. It wasn't easy. It never was or will be. But you will learn, just as we did. You'll be perfect, honey. Just have a little faith in yourself." Mrs.Cake nodded approvingly in Dash's direction.



Dash said thanks and turned to leave the room, ready to finish up business with Twilight. But before she left, she glanced at the twins, Pound and Pumpkin who were still suckling, their stubby tails waving excitedly. A new question popped into her head.

"Don't you guys have formula you give them?"

As if on cue, both of the Cakes shrugged.

"We try, Rainbow. They seem to prefer this." Mrs.Cake replied.

*********************************************************************



Dash marched back and forth in the hallway outside of the room Scootaloo was sleeping in. The last person she wanted to talk to before she set out to finish her business was perhaps the most important person of all. Dash was as serious as she was able. Her orders, quick and concise. Her rule, absolute.

"Tank." Rainbow began, turning a steely eye at the large grinning tortoise. "I have a very important mission for you, soldier."

Tank nodded slowly.

"I may be gone most of today, Tank. I have to get the right papers so Scootaloo can come home with us. Meaning I won't be here to see her open her gifts. Your mission is a simple one, Tank. But it is dire. I won't lie to you, soldier. This mission is dangerous. Deadly. It may scar your soul for life. Leave your mind in shreds. And leave you as a sad husk of a once proud reptile. Are you prepared, Tank?"

Tank, unfazed at the peptalk, nodded his head and made a low grunt that sounded sort of like "gufgh".

"Good man! That's what I like to hear from my second-in-command! Your job today? Make sure Scootaloo has the best Hearths-Warming she can until I arrive back here. Play with her. Help her open her gifts. Keep her occupied so Pinkie doesn't have to. Make sure Pinkie spends as much time with the Cakes as possible. Her family. I think she needs that. Also I know you've been trying to eat Gummi's tail. If I find out you've bitten him again, I will not hesitate to court-martial. Is that clear?"

The old tortoise smiled mischievously. He enjoyed taking advantage of the capricious alligator. Seeing Gummi go from a state of complete blank-faced quiet to suddenly squeaking in panic and running around in circles filled Tank with a cruel delight. 

"I said is that clear, soldier!?" Dash barked, looking as stern as possible.

Tank raised one of his stumpy legs and saluted. Being a tortoise, he soon found himself off balance with one of his legs so high in the air and flopped over to his side.

"Good!" Dash grabbed the tortoise, hugging him and rubbing the top of his head with her snout affectionately. "Good boy, Tank! I got you a gift too, you know. It's that lumpy green one with a turtle drawing on the tag. I can't really wrap gifts well. Or draw. But I know you'll like it!"

A look of glee slowly appeared on the tortoise's wrinkled features. He had no idea what this holiday was about or why it was so important to these horses, but he was going to have a darn good time regardless. And he was determined to bite Gummi's tail one last time before the day was over. And if Rainbow got upset...well....

So be it.
> I wish I may, I wish I might.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Hearths-Warming Day was, as usual and as it should be, a joyous event. The extreme winter coolness was not enough to keep the citizens of Equestria from enjoying the awesome holidays. Families, friends, and those who were once out of touch spent the time together. A day to celebrate camaraderie as a nation while also a day to give thanks for the things you were lucky enough to have. Appreciation and dedication rolled into one holiday. Special, in that it proved that while cultures may clash, and beliefs may be contrary, everypony was the same, inside.

There could not have been a more apropos example of the spirit of this holiday then the particular group of equines who were staying within the cozy confines of Sugarcube Corner, a charming bakery in the center of the tiny town of Ponyville. Some family. Some not. Some close friends. Some not. All as different as can be, but more than happy to spend the day in each others company. More than happy to give love and thanks to those who have shown them kindness over the years.

Cynical ponies would say that this holiday was a sham. A shameless ruse of what was once an honorable celebration of the day a nation came together. The day six ancient horses realized they needed each other to survive. The day Equestria was founded. Cynical ponies would say that all the fluff and stuff had ruined this one solemn day. The gift giving, the shopping, the singing, the dancing. That it was all too much. Too focused around objects and not emotions. Perhaps in a way they were right. The day had changed. It's meaning was different now than it had been thousands of years prior. But in a way, who could be a greater judge of the holiday itself then their leaders? The two mares that had adorned the Equestrian flag since the beginning of time? Who were more than happy to celebrate this holiday the same as many others did now. Gifts and subtle affections for those who worked under them, those who had helped them rule in peace for so long.

If they were fine with it, who could truly disagree with a straight face? If these two, of all ponies, embraced the changes so easily, then who could say otherwise? Who could define what it meant to celebrate this occasion in such a way? It's meaning may have expanded, changed, sometimes even been forgotten. But what it represented was still ever present in the minds of those who sat together, embraced together, and loved together. The ideal that love and friendship could overcome any conflict.

The shop had closed early that day, by mid afternoon. Pinkie had gleefully opened her gifts as soon as the doors were shut, laughing loudly at the reptile leash she had gotten for Gummy. Now she could easily take him outside without worrying if he was scuttling off without her noticing. It would mean less worry and less restraining orders for everyone! The Cakes themselves had been overjoyed with their gift from Pinkie, tickets to the Manehattan Symphony Orchestra, and had showered her with hugs and kisses. The shop had been doing so well that the Cake's had given something to the pink pony that she never would have expected to get in a million years. A fancy motorized carriage. It brought her to tears to think about how much it must have cost them, and was afraid to accept it at first, but her adopted parents were adamant. Had it not been for her brilliant idea and ever present support, the shop would not have  made nearly as much money this year. Or any year for that matter. They had enough for the carriage and far more in the bank. They wouldn't have to worry about finances for a long long time.

There was a condition to the gift, however. Pinkie would HAVE to take driving lessons before she could use the carriage. And she would promise to the Cake's that she would be responsible with it, and not drive it after partying or when sleepy. She still had to follow curfew as well. The pink pony swore up and down she would obey these rules. And she kept her word. That's what a Pinkie Promise is all about.

The Cake's had given Scootaloo a new red helmet and kneepads earlier that morning to go with the red electric scooter she had received from Pinkie. She was instantly delighted by the device and the first hour of the shop's closing had been filled with the 'put-put-put' of the tiny motor in the scooter as the pegasus gleefully drove it around the kitchen, performing wheelies and flips. It didn't take long for the adults to demand she take the vehicle outside since it was scuffing up the floor. Rubber tire treads are a huge pain in the flank to clean. Especially off untreated hardwood flooring. Scootaloo dearly loved the electric scooter, now that she had a mode of transportation considerably faster than her old wooden one. And this one didn't require her to exhaust her small underdeveloped wings. All one had to do was plug it into a power source for an hour and it would have enough power to drive the rest of the day.

As the day went on the other members of the Elements of Harmony came to visit Pinkie, now that celebrating with their own families had ended. Simultaneously to also thank the pink pony for her generous and often shockingly expensive gifts. The Apple Family were shocked to find a brand new 'Bronco Pride Rotary Tiller' being lowered from the sky by two pegasi handymen onto their lawn. This would completely change the way they did things on the farm. Fluttershy loved the magic quilt that Pinkie had made for her and had arrived at the bakery with the whole thing wrapped around her body like a shawl.  It kept her warm and smelled like her favorite flowers. As the day grew darker and the sun began to sink, Rarity eventually arrived with Sweetie Belle, thanking Pinkie for the quiche and wine that had arrived in a basket on her doorstep. The evening was spent with Rarity sharing amusing stories about her parents and how they had spent the day before the long train ride back to Ponyville.

In the corner of the room sat two gifts. The wrapped bass guitar for Rainbow Dash from Pinkie, and vice-versa, a gift for Pinkie from Dash. Pinkie had held off opening the present, feeling it would be more appropriate to wait for Dash to arrive back to the bakery with Twilight before unwrapping it. And so the day wore on. Scootaloo played outside with Applebloom and Sweetie-Belle, dragging them behind her in a small wagon that they hooked to her brand new scooter. Laughing and shouting with joy as they careened through the town, leaving small trails in the snow. It was a beautiful winter day and the three tiny ponies were just happy to be together. Happy to be friends again and in the company of those who cared for them. Isolation had brought them together once, and their oddities are what had made them friends.

It would be almost night by the time Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle arrived back at the bakery.


*****************************************************


As the sky reddened and the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the quiet laughter and chatter of Sugarcube Corner was interrupted by the small tinkling of the copper bell that hung over the front door. Several set of eyes glanced expectantly at the visitors who entered. They were long overdue to join in the celebration of the Holiday.

"Hey gang!" Rainbow chirped as she entered the establishment. She looked tired, as expected after a long day of filling out forms and having somewhat uncomfortable conversations with very important ponies. But the evidence of her completed mission sat packed into the two saddlebags that hung at her toned sides. Parchments and other objects within each bag.

A rousing welcome of 'hellos' and 'happy holidays' was soon cried out by the other ponies inside the building. Rainbow entered, followed closely by Twilight whom, much like Rainbow, looked tired. Twilight flopped onto the couch in the den, ready to take a quick nap when suddenly a small box wrapped in green silk was being shoved into her face by two pink outstretched hooves.

"You can't go to sleep yet, sleepyhead!" Pinkie pushed the box even closer. "You have presents to open!"

"Pinkie, can it wait til' I'm somewhat well rested? I've been on my hooves all day." Twilight yawned, flopping onto one of the couch pillows.

The sad look on Pinkie's face provided the answer to Twilight's question. With a small sigh the purple unicorn used her mouth to tear the silk wrappings off the small box. It was two tickets to the luxurious Mustang Motel on the beaches of Horseshoe Bay. Quite a swanky joint, indeed! It was the sort of place royalty and celebrities often stayed. Although part of the royal family, Twilight had never really considered herself famous, though she was.

"Now you can have a nice relaxing swimmy swim whenever you want! You seem like you could use one right now!" Pinkie hugged her friend, who was still shocked at receiving such a pricey but elegant gift. Twilight dearly hoped Pinkie would like the flat cap she had bought for her in Canterlot.

Dash entered the kitchen to find the Cakes watching Applebloom and Sweetie Belle play a game of checkers, in which the board of the game was balanced on the shell of the sleeping tortoise, Tank. As if spurred by a psychic connection, the tortoise woke the moment his master was near and walked (slowly) immediately up to Dash, spilling the checkerboard and all its pieces to the floor much to the laughter of Applebloom and dismay of Sweetie Belle.

"Hey there, boy! Did you like my gift?" Dash exclaimed, patting the tortoise on the head. He smiled and pulled his head, new scarf and all, into his shell, squishing his face against the warm downy fabric.

Dash walked over to Mr. and Mrs.Cake motioning for them to follow her through the door to the kitchen. The two elder ponies stood silently near the cyan mare, once she was sure nobody was watching.

"I wanted to thank you." Dash began, looking up at the ceiling. "For letting me stay here. You guys have been really generous and nice and I.....er...I'm not really sure how to like...express how much I appreciate your support over these last few weeks. You let me into your home and let me take care of Scoot and you've just been so much help."

"We're happy to help, dear." Mrs.Cake gave Rainbow a warm hug. "You're always welcome, you know."

"I wasn't really sure...how to thank you. You two are so dang nice. Pinkie is so lucky to have you both. I wasn't sure if I could find anything to repay you with." Dash frowned a bit. She'd hoped that while in Canterlot she might spy something appropriate to give to Pinkie's parents. But nothing seemed appropriate for the odd couple. It had seemed to be an impossible venture until she'd passed by the radio station. Then it had hit her! The perfect gift.

"Dash, really you don't have to worry about us. We're just glad to -" Mr.Cake was stopped by a raised cyan hoof.

"Nah! You're gonna like this. Like really really like this." Rainbow shoved her head into one of her saddle bags, pulling out a white cardboard box. It looked a bit worn and dusty. Dash hadn't really found the time to wrap it. She pushed it towards the two elder ponies. Cup delicately flipped the lid of the box with her small chubby hoof. The two seemed to gasp in sync.

"It's an eight millimeter tripod-mounted cinemacam. It'll let you guys record movies and then you can watch them on Pinkie's film projector. I also grabbed a bunch of blank film. Apparently color film is the next big thing so you can buy these older models now."

"We could record the twins when they take their first steps with this, Honeylumps!" Mrs.Cake said excitedly.

"Or record when Pinkie can officially drive her wagon for the first time, Sugarsquash!" Mr.Cake replied, looking into his wife's eyes.

"Or record the day we make our one millionth bit, Boogerbear!"

"Or record our trip when we renew our vows, Pepperpeach!"

Dash coughed loudly. She didn't want to seem rude and break up their romantic conversation, but the endless atrocious pet names these two had for each other was leaving deep wounds in her mind. They blushed and nodded at Dash.

"Thank you." said Mrs.Cake, dabbing at her eyes with her frilly yellow apron.

"You're very welcome. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta go talk to Pinks." and with that Dash left the kitchen. She steered around the mess of checkers on the floor that were being pushed into a pile by Applebloom who had apparently received a stetson much like her older sister's hat. It was too big for her head and covered most of her face but the small pony seemed determined to keep it on her head even though it impaired her vision. Pinkie was sitting stoically near the wall, holding Dash's small gift in her hooves, glancing eagerly up at her rainbow-maned friend.

"Can I open it now, Dashie?!" She seemed to vibrate with excitement.

"Sure thing, pal. Also you gotta stop calling me that."

Pinkie blew a raspberry at the request and set about tearing through the gift wrap like a rabid dog tearing through a particularly unlucky squirrel. Except the gift wrap was lucky to never be alive in the first place. Small pieces of it floated to the ground as Pinkie observed the small cardboard box, her torso pressed to the ground and her rump poised in the air, her snout sniffing the box in the hopes of guessing its contents before opening it. Her pupils contracted as she realized the scent from the box was unfamiliar.

"Is it candy?"

"Just open it already, Pinkie!" Dash threw her hooves up in exasperation. "I don't have all night!"

Pinkie smiled brightly and pushed the lip of the small box off with her hoof. Inside was a small piece of paper with writing on it. The poor spelling and scrawled penmanship made it plainly obvious that Dash had written her a note. She picked it up in the cuff of her hoof and held it up so she could read it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Pinkie.

I know it's kind of weird to get paper for a holiday but hear me out. Or read me out. Whatever. Pinkie when we first met I thought you were annoying and kind of weird. As I got to know you better I realized you're actually really annoying and really weird! But you're also the sweetest, funniest, best pony I know. I don't know what I'd do with myself if you weren't around, P. Every moment we hang out is like the best moment in the world. It's kind of hard for me to express how much I love having you as a friend. I'm not good with talking about this stuff. So maybe writing it will be easier? I'm not sure.

Pinkie you taught me to smile. To smile like you mean it. Not just fake smiles. You've taught me to laugh at myself when I was too big of a jerk to do it on my own. You've made me feel comfortable in situations I would normally hate. You've helped me understand our friends better. And you've kept me busy so I can't get into trouble like I used to do. You taught me not to run from my feelings and not be scared of hugs. I was so full of hate when I came to this town, pal. You and Fluttershy have transformed me. Made me a better pony. A happier one. 

So basically I made this note because there aren't enough gifts in Equestria that I can throw at you to show how much I care. Especially this year with you helping me house Scoot. So I guess one large gift at a time over the course of a long time will have to do. So here's the deal: next sunday night I want you to put on your favorite dress cause you and I are going to the live performance of the 3 Coocoos. They are performing with Sapphire Shores at the Canterlot Comedy Club and you are coming. There will be no excuses! I will not take no for an answer! This is final! Cause I bought the tickets already.

I think this is the most I have written ever, Pinkie. I'm in Twilight's library as I write this. Spike is helping me since I'm not good at this sort of thing. Spike wants me to mention he'd like to order a box of troufles. Oh wait it's spelled truffles.

Love you,
R.D.

p.s. don't crush my ribs when you hug me


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The addendum to the note was ignored. Geologists say that the force of Pinkie's hug actually caused one of the tectonic plates to shift unnaturally. Several dormant volcanoes went off on the other side of the globe. Many towns were destroyed in a fiery haze of molten terror, leaving their inhabitants screaming at the sky, looking for answers. All this caused by a small pink pony you was hugging the very life out of her bestest best friend and peppering her face with smooches. This was where Dash would draw the line. 

"Okay! That's enough of that, yuck!" Dash muttered aloud as she pushed Pinkie away with a leg and wiped all the slobber off her face with a napkin. It wasn't that Dash didn't appreciate the kindness, but some ponies just take it too far. "Pinkie you need to learn the definition of personal space!"

Pinkie cackled madly and hopped around the kitchen, eventually colliding with the pile of checkers that Applebloom had been fixing. The youngster had not noticed due to the very large hat on her head. In fact, she stood up and decided she felt like talking to Sweetie Belle some more and wandered out of the kitchen, leaving Pinkie and a mess of checkers in her wake.

"Did you get me a guitar, Pinkie?" Dash asked, observing the remaining wrapped gift. Pinkie's face of glee fell to a frown instantly.

"Rainbow! You spoiled the surprise! How did you know?!" She crossed her arms and pouted, sending more checkers flying.

"Well...for starters the package is perfectly shaped like a guitar. You even wrapped the strings. I'm not a detective or anything but yeah. Kinda obvious." Dash grinned at the gift. Only Pinkamena Diane Pie would be so immersed with gift wrap that she would wrap every piece of the guitar while it was still assembled.

Suddenly there was a loud clattering of hooves and a blur of orange from up the stairs.

"Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaash!" Scootaloo squealed, leaping into the air as she reached the bottom of the stairwell, her tiny wings buzzing at unheard of speeds, propelling her forward as she collided into her mentor, giggling happily. All she really wanted that day was to spend some time with her hero. Now she finally had the chance.

The force of the hug was similar to Pinkie's version. But with less volcanoes. Dash sailed backwards several feet, landing on her rump. She smiled lovingly down at the tiny foal who was burying her face in Dash's chest fluff and laughing happily. It felt good to be here. It felt like home. But the time had come to have some important words with Scootaloo. Hopefully in private.

"Heya there, Squirt! Did you have a nice holiday?" Dash lifted the small orange filly up, planting a small kiss on her forehead.

"Yeah yeah! Rarity gave me a scarf like yours and Pinkie n' her mom and dad got me a scooter!" Her small legs kicked in the air happily.

"Another one, huh?"

"Yeah but this one runs on its own when I push a pedal on it."

"Ah, so it's motorized. That's pretty rad."

"It goes so fast!"

"I bet it does. Thanks, Pinkie." Dash smiled at her friend. Pinkie nodded and winked.

Dash rubbed the back of her neck. It would be a lot less awkward to do this where there weren't so many eyes watching.

"Hey, Scoot, I know I've been gone all day and I'm sorry." She gave the filly a small nuzzle. "But I had a really busy day getting presents for you. So how about we go over here and we can talk a bit."

Dash walked into the main shopping area of the bakery where the cash register sat. She pulled the saddlebags off of her back and placed them at her side. Scootaloo happily galloped in after her, sitting in front of Dash and staring up with complete adoration. Whatever Dash had gotten her, it was probably going to be awesome.




****************************************

"It's happening!" Pinkie whispered excitedly, jabbing Rarity in her side. The white unicorn turned, nonplussed. Sipped her tea once, twice. Then it hit her as she saw the look on Pinkie's face.

"Oh my gracious! Girls! It's happening!" She clapped her hooves together getting their attention, spilling tea all over the chair.

As quietly as they could, the adults in the room adjusted their positions so they could see out into the main dining area. Fluttershy crept quietly up to the door frame, peeking around the corner to watch Dash and Scootaloo, an eager smile on her face. Pinkie and Rarity stood on their hind legs on the soft armchair Rarity had been sitting in, their heads poking out from behind the headrest. Twilight and Applejack stood on either side of the armchair, craning their heads and leaning, not wanting to miss a moment. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were too busy trying to build a castle out of blocks to notice the change in their sister's behaviors. It was a pretty impressive castle. Applebloom definitely had a talent when it came to building things.

Mr. and Mrs.Cake took notice of the odd antics occurring in the den. They put the camera back into the box and quietly tiptoed behind Twilight and Applejack.

"What's going on?" Mrs.Cake whispered, concerned with what was causing the deathly silence. Twilight pointed a hoof at the next room. The Cakes crowded to the door frame, opposite Fluttershy, curious to see how this would all go down.

"So this means she's going to do it, right?" Fluttershy whispered, her already soft voice nearly silent.

"Yes." Twilight whispered. "We spent most of today in Canterlot getting this set up."

"Canterlot?" Applejack asked a bit too loudly. Everyone shushed her.

"We wanted to register Scootaloo as a citizen of Ponyville, Applejack. She has no birth certificate or anything. So we needed to get all that stuff fixed up. And get some letters of recommendation to take to the adoption bureau. One of them was from Celestia." Twilight replied quietly.

"Shh! Something's happening!" Rarity frantically whispered.


************************************************

Two ponies sat quietly in the middle of the dining area. One large. One small. One blue. One orange. Neither said anything for a few moments as the larger one collected her thoughts and began opening the large saddlebag she had sitting adjacent to her on the floor. The smaller pony's purple messy tail was waggling happily, eager to see the surprise. The larger of the two cleared her throat and brushed her colorful hair back briefly with a hoof before smiling at the smaller one and beginning to speak.

"Scoot I wanted to talk to you a bit. About uh....well, you I guess."

The smaller orange pony frowned slightly. Every time the subject of herself had come up over the course of the last few weeks it had been painful and emotionally exhausting. She wasn't looking forward to talking about this again. The change in demeanor hadn't gone unnoticed.

"Scootaloo, you remember how I said I would help you rebuild your treehouse when it got warmer?"

The filly nodded.

"Well, I can't do that for you. Sorry. It's not healthy and it's not safe, Squirt. You can't go back to living in the woods."

The frown got deeper as the filly felt a small sense of fright building up. If she couldn't go back to her treehouse then that meant she was temporarily without a home. 

"Also I don't think it'd be a good idea for you to live in Applejack's cellar anymore. I'm pretty sure she doesn't like you eating their storage food."

Dash took a deep breath. This was going to be hard to express.

"Scoot. You've been through...well ALOT lately. You've told me so much about yourself. I know that it hurts to think and talk  about sometimes. About .....you know.....family stuff."

Scootaloo nodded slowly, looking at the floor. Her former family was not a subject she wanted to think about ever again, if possible. Every day since then had been a struggle.

"I know you've been by yourself a really long time, Squirt. I know what it's like to be alone. So does Pinkie. It hurts sometimes. Not having anyone there. But nobody deserves to be alone. And I know you don't like being by yourself. I can tell when you cry at night. You miss having a family. I do, too."

Dash cleared her throat again and reached into her bag, pulling out one of several parchments. Each was very important, but the particular one she had chosen was the most important of all. It had a small wax seal on it, in the shape of the Equestrian flag. It shook in her trembling hooves as she cautiously lowered it to the floor between her and the foal. Dash pawed at the wax with her hoof until the scroll unfolded, laying flat on the ground. This felt awkward.

"This...um paper here, Scoot. Well it's a ....uh, legal document. For adoption. Do you know what that means?"

Scootaloo shook her head innocently, briefly glancing at the parchment.

"Well basically it means that....if I were to sign this....right here." Dash pointed to a blank line in the paragraphs of writing.

"It means that....you and I would be like....a family. You wouldn't have to be alone anymore. You could come home with me, Scoot. And I would take care of you. I could be...you know... like a big sister or a....... ma.........m...mom." Dash stuttered slightly. This was ending up way more difficult to do then she had previously hoped.

A minute passed as the small filly stared up at Dash, her expression blank. She said nothing. Her mind processing all of this sudden information. Dash felt her heart break as the filly frowned slightly and looked back at the floor. Not the reaction she had expected at all. It had failed. It had all failed. The one thing she really felt was the right thing to do. Her dream. Her instincts. All had come crashing down. And so Dash did the one thing she was an expert at. She tried to make light of the situation.

"Well, anyway, it was just an idea. You know just a silly thought I had. Anyway don't worry about it, Squirt."

Dash pushed the paper aside, shoving it under the dusty oak podium that the cash register sat on. Every moment felt like agony. Every small crumple the paper made as it slid aside into the wooden crevice was like a pang of guilt, tearing its way through the cyan mare. She hadn't wanted to resort to a "plan B" but here it was.

"Anyways, I got you some other neat stuff while I was out today, Scoot." Dash shoved her head into the saddlebag, taking a moment to clench her teeth in a silent scream of grief. Ruined. Everything was ruined. She recovered quickly as possible, putting on a false smile and drawing out a gleaming golden pair of goggles, fastened with small brass rivets and tied back with black rubber straps. "These babies are official Wonderbolts gog...."

The filly was gone. Dash was confused as she stopped in mid-sentence. Scootaloo had been sitting right in front of her but a mere few seconds ago. Where had she gone? Had she run away? Did she hate Dash so much she no longer wanted to be present? Was she back in the other room with the others?


A quiet crinkle of paper caused Rainbow's heart to stop. She turned to look at the podium. A sliver of the document was being tugged on by the tiny orange filly as she dragged it from its hiding place. With her back turned she sat on her small haunches and quietly read the paper. It was full of big words and strange rhetoric. The sort of thing most adults can barely understand.

Dash held her breath and placed the goggles into her hoof, watching the filly intently with a worried expression. Scootaloo was bent over the scroll, quietly reading the parts that made sense. Her lavender eyes darting to and fro. The only other motion was the occasional twitch in her small downy wings. An expectant silence filled the air. The tension was palpable. Every equine in the building was stock still, afraid to breathe or even move a muscle. Bravely, Dash took a small breath and tried to break the uncomfortable quiet.

"Scoot?" she whispered, lowering her hooves and the goggles to the floor.

The tiny filly shifted slightly. There was a small sniff as she turned her head to look at the cyan mare. The one she trusted and loved so much. Her eyes pooled with tears as she turned to look at Rainbow Dash. This is what she wanted. A home, a real home. And a real family. Love. With a small cry, a yelp full of both joy and sorrow, the filly rose to her feet and ran, clumsily lowering her body and leaping into the outstretched arms of her mentor, burying her face into Dash's chest as she wailed happily.

It was as if time seemed to stop. As if the universe knew that this moment, if any moment was special. And it deserved to last as long as possible. Dash sobbed and choked slightly as she held the whimpering bundle close to her heart, doing her best to not let her tears fall onto the filly's head. Scootaloo's little forelegs wrapped around Dash's neck as she pressed her head into the mare's shoulder, muffling her cries into the cyan coat. The two rocked back and forth gently, as Dash nickered affectionately, comforting the weeping foal. Tank came trundling into the room and sat at his master's side, grunting happily.

Delicately, Dash pulled a small inkwell out her saddlebag with the cuff of her hoof. With no quill in sight, she outstretched her powerful wing and plucked from it, one of her lesser feathers, dipping it in the ebony ink. The blank line on the tear-stained document soon had two letters scrawled across it. "R.D." with a small drawing of a lightning bolt. It wasn't the most formal signature, but those who looked upon it would know immediately who the signature, and the filly in question, belonged to. 

"There." she whispered, wrapping her wings around her daughter. "You're my little pony, now."




***************************************






"Why is Scootaloo crying?" Sweetie-Belle asked, not entirely sure what was going on.

The small white unicorn and Applebloom had grown curious to what the adults in the room were staring at. They had abandoned their toy castle to seek out the reason for the room growing so quiet. All the big ponies looked so happy but at the same time their eyes were all so watery. It was a strange sight to see. Particularly on a holiday such as this.

Rarity reached down and picked up her little sister, hugging her tightly.

"Well, Sweetie, you see Rainbow Dash is going to be Scootaloo's mother from now on. Isn't that nice?"

Applebloom poked her head around the door frame to watch the silent spectacle. She smiled up at her big sister as realization dawned.

"So that means that Scootaloo doesn't have tah be all by herself now?"

Applejack adjusted the oversized hat on her sister's head, trying hard not to laugh at how it nearly covered her entire face.

"Yep. Dash is gonna take care o' her from now on, Bloom. Just like me and granny and Mac do wit you."

"Ah bet she's real happy about that!"

"I know they both are." Applejack replied. "I'm happy for 'em."

Mrs.Cake dabbed at her eyes with her apron, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek.

"This special moment is happening in our home." she choked out, trying to keep her voice down. Pinkie and Mr.Cake hugged her. It was a moment none of the equines in the bakery would forget.

"I kinda wish Dash had shown us that camera sooner. Would have been nice to record all this." Mr.Cake quipped with a sly grin.


"Well." Twilight began, resting back onto the couch and yawning. "I've got to admit. This is the most interesting Hearth's Warming Eve I've ever had."

****************************************


The two ponies sat in their embrace for some time. Occasionally the larger one would see if the smaller one was ready to be placed back down onto the floor, usually answered by a panicked squeak of dismay and a tightening of their embrace. Eventually they separated and moved back into the den to be with their friends. Tearful congratulations and hearty thanks were passed around by the various equines in the room. Glad that they were together on this, the most blessed of all nights. Glad to be healthy and happy and safe and loved.

As it got colder, darker and Luna's moon began to rise, the time had come for the company to break apart. Preparations for the yearly Winter Wrap-Up would begin soon. Everyone had a job to do in order to herald the new season. And now that Scootaloo had a home, a real home in the sky where her kind belonged, Dash was eager for her to see it. So, the room upstairs was cleaned. The nest of pillows dismantled. The blankets refolded. And soon it was back to being it's average messy candy-covered self. Pinkie was sad to see it gone. She had enjoyed the company so much.

Friends said goodbye as they headed home. Ready to rest for the night and experience the new day. Rainbow was the last to leave. She thanked Pinkie Pie and the Cake family one more time for their gracious hospitality and generosity. Pinkie gave Scootaloo a warm hug before they exited, wishing her all the happiness in the world, and then some. And so they parted, the pegasi and the earth ponies. It would be a few more hours before the earth ponies returned to bed. 

The cyan pegasus soared happily through the air. Bulging saddlebags on her sides. A loyal tortoise in one, and a new daughter in the other. As the three flew through the clouds, the dewy surfaces gleaming in the light of the full moon, they knew their lives had changed forever. For the better. Everything felt beautiful and perfect, because it was.
> (revised March17 2013)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I decided to revise this story a bit. I'm not a great writer. Heck I'm barely mediocre. However I could tell that this story had a lot of small spelling, grammar, and storytelling problems. Particularly when compared with Vaguely Familiar and Outlet, the other two stories I wrote. I wanted Sororal Instincts to at least read at the same level of "quality" of those. I use the term quality loosely here.

So for the last couple of weeks I've been going through this heap, chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, trying my darndest to make it suck less. That said, if you've read this story before, dont expect any huge changes other than a few changed lines of dialogue, a few extra paragraphs here and there, etc. If you haven't read this story before, then hey you can to read the far superior version now!

Anyway.

That's all I really have to say. Gonna sit back and wait for season 4 to roll around.

Ciao.

- reptilicus