Chapter one

"Promise you'll come back soon, Rarity?" Sweetie Belle pleaded as Rarity dropped her off at the door of Applejack's barn, Applebloom and Granny Smith inside holding the door. Behind rarity were her best friends in all of Equestria: Twilight Sparkle, the genius, Pinkie Pie, the party animal, Rainbow Dash, the athlete, Fluttershy, the shy one, and Applejack (whom they had just picked up) the one that liked farming.

"Of course darling," Rarity said, "It's just a little outing to celebrate my new line of dresses, that's all."

"An' we'll take good care o you!" Granny Smith piped up from her rocking chair beside the door.

"C'mon!" Applebloom yanked Sweetie Belle from her spot at the threshold."We've got some Cutie Mark Crusading to do!"

A wide grin spread across Sweetie Belle's face as she trotted off with the best friend and yelled, "See you, sis!" to Rarity.

"She's such a darling," Rarity said as they left the barn. Rainbow rolled her eyes. In Rarity's books, nobody had a name other than "darling". At the same time, she was so glad that Rarity was taking them out to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Not that Rainbow liked fancy restaurants. She would chose Sugar Cube Corner over one any day. Just the thought of those manners, knives and forks, and required decorum made her shiver.

The real reason that she was going was because of the Wonderbolts. The Wonderbolts. How they flew so elegantly through the sky, leaving a trail of smoke in their wake. How they made it looks so easy and graceful… when really it took months and months of practice. All her life, rainbow had dreamed of being part of them, to soar in the sky with that blue suit on, between Spitfire and Soarin'. Now was her chance to show them what she was made of- practically all of Canterlot had come down to Ponyville to view Rarity's new gowns. Now was her only chance….

"RAINBOW! WHAT THE HAY ARE YOU DOING?" Applejack's loud voice came bursting through her ears.

"Uhhhh…"Rainbow said, her daydream stopped. Rainbow glanced up. She was in front of blimp advertising carrot juice, flying in midair. Come to think of it, the orange did look a bit like Spitfire's hair….

Rainbow blushed, which she almost never did. The only time she had ever blushed before was when the super hot pony at the sports equipment store told her that her mane was "lookin' good" as he had put it.

She landed on the ground, still blushing furiously; because she had just noticed that the Super Hot Sports Store Pony had been walking by as she had been daydreaming.

"You OK, most valuable customer?" he asked, laughing slightly.

Aghhhhhh! He was so cute! Rainbow blushed even harder. "Ummm, yeah…"Rainbow just managed to get out.

"Hehehe! Rainbow, you look like a peppermint stick!"Pinkie piped up commenting on her redness. Rainbow whacked her in the face, and continued smiling at the Super Hot Pony. She wished she had her shades now… she just wanted to disappear.

After he had passed, Applejack let out a loud whoop of laughter. Twilight giggled a bit. "Somebody's gonna be asking someone out on Hearts and Hooves Day!" Applejack teased.

Rainbow whacked her in the face.

Chapter Two

Free of embarrassment, Rainbow walked calmly into Pasta House at Ponyville, the finest restaurant in town. She didn't want the Wonderbolts to catch her daydreaming, or something much more embarrassing. As she sat beside Twilight on the waiting bench, she crossed her legs primly and properly and grimaced at the very action of doing something ladylike. She set her hooves down in her lap politely, and looked over at her friends.

Rarity winked at her playfully. She gestured outside, to where the Super Hot Sports Store Pony was also waiting in line to be seated. "Go get him!" she whispered in her refined accent. In anger and frustration at her friends Rainbow sprang up, completely forgetting her polite and proper act.

"I DON'T LIKE HIM!" She screeched at her friends, who were taken aback in surprise. Rainbow fumed in midair, wings flapping ferociously. Why can't they just LEAVE ME ALONE? I never messed with Rarity when she was all obsessed over that Blueblood character! Fluttershy's the only one who doesn't mess with me!

"Ummm…Rainbow, someone wants to talk to you," came Fluttershy's sweet quiet voice from the corner of the bench. Still enraged, she turned her head, to find the….Wonderbolts?

The Wonderbolts?

THE WONDERBOLTS?!

THE WONERBOLTS?!

Rainbow quickly got her act together. "Hey," she said, trying to appear calm and cool.

"Hey, Dash. Ummm… this doesn't look like a good time," said Spitfire, glancing at rainbow, who still had her arms crossed. Noticing her gaze on them, Rainbow uncrossed her arms and put them behind her back.

"Weeeeeellll…gotta go! See ya around!" Spitfire said as she and the rest of the Wonderbolts flew off into the night sky. Rainbow put her head in her hooves. She'd just missed her chance at auditioning for the Wonderbolts and embarrassed herself infront of the Super Hot Sports Store Pony?

"Are you Ok, Rainbow," Fluttershy asked sympathetically. Rainbow managed a small smile. She looked at her friends, concern written all over their faces. They really cared. They did. They had just been teasing. And now Rainbow felt so awfully rotten for snapping at her friends like that.

"Uhhhh, sorry guys. I shouldn't have been overreacting. You guys were just teasing. I'm sorry,"

"It's OK, darling, we all know you have a cru-"

Rarity was instantly stopped by Twilight putting a hoof over her mouth. Rainbow gave Twilight a grateful smile.

"I mean, we all know you have a… have a…crumpet with you?" Rarity tried to finish the sentence without sending Rainbow into a fit.

"YOU HAVE A CRUMPET? Where? Where? Oooh! Is this hot and cold? Huh? Huh? Huh?"Pinkie bounced all around Rainbow, trying to find this mysterious crumpet. Rainbow grinned, as Pinkie searched up and down for that crumpet.

"Mares, may I show you the way to the table?" The tuxedoed pony asked, raising an eyebrow at Pinkie jumping off the walls. Fluttershy caught on immediately.

"Ummm… Pinkie… I don't think you should be doing that… I mean, you can if you want to,"Fluttershy said.

Rarity got the message and was irked that Pinkie might be destroying her reputation in a very fancy restaurant.

"What she means is, darling," Rarity said in a sugar coated voice, "SHUT UP AND STOP BOUNCING ALL OVER THE PLACE!" Rarity commanded. The bouncing and crumpet calling instantaneously stopped.

"That's better," Rarity said, as though nothing had happened, "Now you may show us to our table you handsome Gentlecolt."

The tuxedoes stallion blushed at being called a "gentlecolt" by Rarity, and Rainbow instantly wished she could call any stallion a "Gentlecolt" and they would instantly like her.

They were seated at a large booth with upholstered benches. Pinkie Pie bounced into her seat.

"Wheee! These seats are so bouncy, just like my bed!" Rarity cringed as she jumped up and down screaming "Whee! Whoopee! Yay!"

"Excuse my friend's….uh… informal behavior," Rarity said to the "Gentlecolt".

"Uhhh... right. Your server will be with you in a minute." He promptly left as the rest of the ponies took their seats. With Pinkie bouncing up and down on the bench, it was hard to start a conversation without getting whacked in the face with one of her arms or legs.

"Pinkie!"Twilight exclaimed, wiping her mouth after being smacked in the face by Pinkie's rather dirty hooves.

Pinkie giggled, and then snorted. "I can't help it Twilight! This is so much fun!" All of her friends rolled their eyes, except Rainbow, who was idly staring out the window.

"Is anything wrong Rainbow," Twilight asked, turning to her once she noticed she wasn't talking, which was very unlike her.

Rainbow managed a small role of her eyes, and she was at an angle, so Twilight couldn't see. No, I'm perfectly alright, she thought, I just humiliated myself infront of the hottest pegasus in all of Equestria and Spitfire, captain of the Wonderbolts! Isn't that JUST GREAT!

Instead she replied with a small, "Yeah. Ummm…I'm gonna go to the fillies room." Rainbow made her way out of the bench, and galloped at top speed (or at least as fast as you could go in a restraunt) to the fillies room.

When she got to the sink, she splashed warm water all over her. It ran down her neck, on her mane, and trickled down her body onto the floor. With the water, every last bad memory from that night washed away. They slid from all parts of her face to the floor, washed away, gone from Rainbow until she faced a day when the memories would resurface, and she would wash them out again, over and over and over again. Harsher memories, like the ones from Rainbows childhood, frequently needed washing, as they always resurfaced at the slightest bit of remembrance. When she turned off the tap, she shook her mane dry, making sure all the bits and pieces trying to cling to her were onto the floor. She glanced sadly at the pool of water on the floor. She wished her worst of memories would wash away. But they wouldn't. No amount of water would ever erase her childhood memories. No amount of flying, her favorite thing to do, that often calmed her nerves would help. Not even her friends, who were almost like family, could fill in the gaps of her life. Nothing. They were stuck with her forever.

Quit making yourself sad! You have some being awesome to do! Rainbow scolded herself, as she made her way out of the fillies' room, feeling more like the real Rainbow Dash. Fast, awesome, radical, and cool, future member of the Wonderbolts…that was the REAL Rainbow Dash!

Back at the table, she saw that an empty basket of garlic bread was sitting on the table. "Hey, I'm starved," Rainbow said as she took her seat.

"Huh, so are we. We wouldn't be if Miss Pinkie over here hadn't eaten all of our garlic bread," Applejack said. Fluttershy, Twilight, and even Rarity giggled.

"Whaaat? It was goooood!" Pinkie protested mouth still full with the buttery, fragrant bread.

Rainbow laughed. "Hey, no sweat. Just ask for another basket. They're free right?"

"Um, Rainbow? We've-I mean Pinkie - has gone through ten baskets while you were gone. I think they'll break our necks if we ask for another one," Twilight said jokingly.

"Oh my," said Fluttershy, "How violent and mean…..um… I mean they can do that if they want…." The table broke out into laughter except Pinkie who was still chewing and Fluttershy, who was confused.

"Huh? Why are you...?"

"Fluttershy dear, you simply must stop being such a pushover!" Rarity exclaimed. "Show them some strength!"

"Yeah! Show them how awesome you are! Of course, you're not as awesome as me but…."

Fluttershy giggled, and the waiter arrived. "Mademoiselles, may I take your orders?" he asked.

Twilight went first. "I'll take the Fettuccine Alfredo," she said.

"I will have the Eggplant Parmigan," Rarity declared "please."

"Ummm... I'll have some minestrone soup. If that's ok, of course…."

"Yes, it is perfectly fine."

"Good. I was just hoping…"

The waiter cut her off. "You, mademoiselle?" he asked Applejack.

"Ummm…. But… never mind…." Fluttershy tried.

"Uh, you got anything….normal? You know like not in written in fancy?" she asked.

The waiter looked puzzled. "It's Italian, "Rarity hissed from across the table.

"Yeahhh…. Talon…..whatever she said," Applejack pointed her hoof at Rarity who sighed exaggeratedly.

After a long, boring decision, Applejack finally settled on tortellini. It was even worse when Pinkie went, and kept asking if they had chimi cherries or cherry chongas. Much to Rarity's displeasure, Rainbow hade to bang her head on the table every few seconds to keep from falling asleep.

"I'll just have spaghetti. And the red sauce," Rainbow had waited so long to order, she practically had memorized the menu from cover to cover out of boredom. The poor, tired waiter left, and twenty minutes later showed up with their food.

"So, I was thinking," Rarity began, "Since you are all the best friends a pony could ask for, I've decided to create a new line of gowns called 'Diamonds are a pony's best friend'! Brilliant right!"

"Ummm, it's kinda corny," Rainbow said, but Twilight immediately shushed her.

"Great! Thanks a million ,Rarity!"

"Yay!" Pinkie exclaimed, mouth full of a strange concoction the chefs created to get her to shut up about the chimi cherries and the cherry chongas.

"Now why the hay is it called 'Diamonds are a pony's best friends'? It should be somethin' like apples or pigs, or somethin' that gals really like?!" Applejack said.

"Well," Rarity replied, "Most of us like diamonds here," she narrowed her eyes at Applejack.

Everyone paused to take a bite of food. Rainbow twirled up her spaghetti on her fork, but it kept slipping off, so she just picked up a chunk with her hoof and stuffed it in her mouth.

A cool breeze suddenly wafted towards her head. Rainbow and the other ponies looked up, and they saw that the window above them was ajar, curtains parted.

"Hmmmm…that's weird," Twilight said.

"Waiter! Waiter! Would you be a dear and shut the-"

Plop!

A small orange blob had clumsily crashed into their table, spilling marinara sauce all over the pristine table cloth. Rainbow rubbed her eyes.

"HEY! YOU SPILLED MY CHERRY CHONGA! Or is it a chimi cherry? Or what of it's a chimi cherry chonga cherry? Or maybe it's a berry bonga? Are cherries even berries? I don't think so 'cause otherwise they would be called cherry berries. Or maybe berry cherries. Or maybe…."

"What the hay?" she said, "Is that …"

"Hey Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo said getting to her hooves and standing on the glass table. She looked like she had been through a bad Italian- food throwing contest. "Aren't you impressed by my flying skills?" She puffed out her chest.

"Ummm….what flying skills?" Rainbow asked, totally confused.

"Didn't you see my do that wicked nosedive to your table? I was totally awesome, right?!"

That's flying? Rainbow thought. Instead she said, "Ummm, yeah….totally wicked. It was so wicked you nearly killed us"

"From a shock attack, you know, "she quickly added.

Scootaloo beamed with pride.

"Err, Scootaloo darling, what brings you here at this hour? It must be past your bedtime," Rarity said grimacing at the mess on the tablecloth.

"Yep it is! But when I heard YOU were at this restaurant Rainbow, I needed to get a souvenir!"

"A souvenir?"

"Yep. Can I have this piece of spaghetti," Scootaloo gestured to a floppy, long piece hanging off the edge of the table, dripping tomato sauce.

"Sure…whatever you say squirt," Rainbow replied.

Scootaloo tucked the spaghetti strand into a bag from Sugar Cube Corner that Rainbow hadn't noticed before. "Hey! Can I hang out with you? Please, please please please please?! With a cherry on top?"

"Ummm…. Don't you have to get back to your parents and stuff?"

Scootaloo looked down, the hype draining out of her. "I don't have any parents," she said glumly.

I don't have any parents. I don't have any parents. I don't have any parents. The words echoed in Rainbows mind, causing a lump to rise in her throat. She fought it back down.

"Why don't you go back to the ," Rainbow swallowed, "orphanage?" she asked, her voice a little softer and gentler this time.

"Fine," Scootaloo said, still looking blue.

"Hey, don't be so sad, squirt. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are having a sleepover, and I'd bet they wouldn't mind if you hung with them for a while," Rainbow said softly.

"Yeah, I'd bet ya'll would have a great time. Yer best friends after all!" Applejack said encouragingly.

"Ok!" Scootaloo suddenly brightened up. "See you later Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo flapped her wings vigorously and bent her hind legs. Fwoosh! Scootaloo was three feet off the table. "Bye!" she called as she propelled forward.

Crash! Bang! Shzzzz!

The table broke, and in the middle of it was Scootaloo. "Did you just see my awesome karate moves, Rainbow Dash? Huh? Huh? Huh?" asked Scootaloo, excited.

"HEY! NOW MY CHIMI CHERRY BERRRY BONGA CHONGAS ARE RUINED!"

Rainbow sighed. This was going to be a looooong night.

Chapter three

The gentle light from the sun tickled Rainbow's face as the sun rose among the pastel sky. When it reached her eyes, they groggily opened, and she saw that it was yet another day. Grumbling, she rolled out of bed, taking the blanket with her, and made her way to the adjoining bathroom. "GET UP TANK!" she called to her pet turtle who idly lay there in his terrarium. He didn't move a muscle. "OR ELSE…." Rainbow threatened stormily.

She was not a morning pony.

After a refreshing bath, Rainbow brushed her mane out and did some wing stretches while Tank watched her. Sometimes, Rainbow wondered what he thought of her. Every morning she stormed out of her bedroom, complaining about how much she wanted to sleep and other useless stuff. Sometimes, like today, she even took her anger out on Tank. Despite all this, he was still his same loyal self, and never was annoyed or angry with her. Maybe that was the point of pets…they love you even when nobody in Equestria does.

"Hey Tank," she said in the same voice she had used with Scootaloo last night. She wanted to apologize for all the bad mornings they'd had. "I'm really sorry I'm such a grouch in the morning. I just wanted to say… I just wanted to say… sorry 'cause you're always there for me and you never get mad at me or anything," she said quietly. Tank nuzzled her hoof (if it is possible for turtles to nuzzle). Rainbow smiled.

She picked him up out of his terrarium and carried him into the kitchen. There was a small mushroom table, set for only two. One seat had a huge box stacked on it, for Tank. The other was painted rainbow striped and was for Rainbow Dash. Rainbow plopped Tank down on the box, and she set to work making their morning breakfast. Even though Tank was a turtle he ate most of the food an average pony would. While she threw a bunch of berries in a blender, she thought back to her "talk"with Tank.

Why the hay were you talking to a turtle?!

I was APOLOGIZING!

I mean, seriously, Dashie you talk to turtles in your free time? What an egg-head.

I'm NOT an egg head! And Tank's the only one who loves me.

Loves you? Your friends love you!

You know..ugh! Like family and stuff. I mean friends awesome but….

Rainbow woke from her thoughts as strawberry banana smoothie sprayed all over her face. She obviously wasn't much of a cook.

Rainbow looked back at Tank.

"Ugh! Tank, let's just stick with cereal today, Ok?"

The turtle blinked. He let a small amount of yellow liquid and two brown pellets drop onto the box. Rainbow didn't care. She didn't EVER want to open that box anyway.

"I take that as a yes," Rainbow said as she flew up for the box of Pony Oats. In two bowls, she poured the cereal, and then added milk. Balancing the bowls on her wings, she slid one across the table to Tank. Since Rainbow didn't have unicorn magic to lift up a spoon, she just tilted the bowl back and took gulp after gulp of her cereal. After a while, she took a break and glanced up at Tank from across the table.

He was probably the closest Rainbow would ever get to being in a "relationship", and he was her pet.

Pretty pathetic Dashie.

Shut up!

Rainbow finished her cereal before she went crazy from talking to herself too much. She knew for a fact that there was a pony madhouse down the street from the Pasta House. It was a wonder Pinkie was never sent there….

"Bye, Tank!" Rainbow said as she headed out the door. With a kick of her hind legs, the door slammed behind her. Flying at record speed, Rainbow made it to the cloud clearing office in a matter of seconds. She flung open the door and rushed inside. Her boss Cloudy Skies was sitting at the desk up front. "Rainbow Dash," she said, like she had just eaten a cocroach.

"Heh. Heh. Heh. That's me," Rainbow stuttered. Rainbow and Cloudy Skies weren't exactly…uh, best friends. It wasn't exactly rainbow's fault that Scootaloo called her a bad word once. Or that she sat on a whoopee cushion accidentally. It just happened….sort of.

"Your assignment to day is," Cloudy Skies consulted with her notes. Probably trying to give me the worst job on the list, Rainbow thought.

Cloudy Skies cleared her throat. "Your assignment is clearing fog in Northern Ponyville. Understand?"

"Yeah."

"Don't use that tone with me young lady!" Cloudy said. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Keep that up and I'll have you fired!"

That made Rainbow get her act together.

"Good. Now GO!" rainbow rushed out of the office, putting as much distance between her and the office as possible. Rainbow knew Cloudy wouldn't fire her, she came to work everyday and was the fastest cloud clearer in all of Equestria. She could even do fog pretty fast, too.

Rainbow burst ahead, even faster than before, wind cool against her cheeks. She smiled. She liked that feeling. Now that she was flying she didn't have to worry about Tank. Or Cloudy Skies. Or "relationships". Or even the Wonderbolts. Ok, fine, she was kind of hoping Spitfire and Soarin' would fly by and see her awesome skills, but other than that, her mind was pretty clear. Rainbow forced herself to go even faster, and she felt as though she was a bullet, which made her grin.

As she made a turn to avoid a cloud, she saw…..Derpy? Falling off a cloud? "Eh," Rainbow said. That was the norm around here.

Then, something made her look to the sign to the left . ALTITUDE: 4,000 FEET the sign read in Glow in the Dark paint. Uh-oh.

Before she could think, Rainbow was plummeting downward, two hooves in front, going at what seemed like faster than the speed of light. The wind rushed against her cheek, feeling not cool but harsh this time. She felt a force building up ahead of her, and saw Derpy flailing her arms through air. She wasn't going fast enough. Faster,she thought. Or Derpy gets smushed on the ground. Gritting her teeth, Rainbow pushed her self to go faster, and focused on what lay ahead of her. She hardly noticed the crowds of ponies watching in awe as she flew. One more burst of speed and she few far ahead of Derpy. Rainbow kept going straight forward, but looked up. Derpy had landed on her back and was slowly getting up, and beginning to take flight.

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything to her, there was a loud BOOM! Color erupted from all directions, radiating from Rainbow, and spewing far into the sky, painting a rainbow. And suddenly Rainbow landed face first on the cobblestone road, and all she saw was a blackness, like it was the end of forever.

Chapter four

There was a faint light at the top. It was glowing. It was inticing. But in her gut, Rainbow felt like she didn't want to go in there.

Rainbow?! Rainbow Dash?! A voice called from below, It sounded like Scootaloo, but with the whack dreams she'd been having lately, Rainbow couldn't tell.

She felt a strong force pull her upward. Weakly, Rainbow let the force take her with it.

Rainbow Dash?! Where are you? I miss you!

That weird Scootaloo voice again. What the hay was it doing in this weird dream? Rainbow felt the force pull her up, and this time she tried to fight it, but her attempts were vain.

In the background, Rainbow heard sniffles. Please don't die! Are you going to die? Please don't! Then you can never take me under your wing and teach me to become awesome and stuff!

More sniffles. Rainbow felt confused.

Now you can never rescue me from the orphanage and become my sister! The sniffles increased to sobs, and Rainbow heard somebody in the background saying There there. It's not like she's your sister or anything.

But that didn't matter. Her mind seemed like it was stuck on replay. Now you can never rescue me from the orphanage and become my sister! The words echoed throught the caverns of her mind endlessly. And just as she was reaching the top, being sucked into the bright light, Rainbow knew what she had to do.

Won't. Leave. Scoot. Hangin'! through gritted teeth, she fought her way downward with every ounce of energy she had left. She wasn't certain if this was just a dream, or if this was real life, she knew nothing for sure. All she knew was that she couldn't leave Scootaloo hangin'.

Fighting the mysterious force, Rainbow Dash reached the bottom, and suddenly the force stopped pulling on her. And just as she was about to get up and dust herself off, she fell into a vast and open space.

Flailing her arms, no sound could escape Rainbow's mouth. She felt like she was in a black hole of some sort, never ending and pitch black. When she glanced down, all she could see was an ominous darkness. I'm gonna die, Rainbow thought, I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die and Scoot will be all alone without anyone to come and rescue her from the orphanage.

And before she could think, a sense of feeling returned to her body. She felt a hard mattress under her, and the rough, starched blankets covering her body. A beeping sound assaulted her ears, and the smell of cough medicine pierced her nose. Slowly, her eyelids opened, revealing vibrant her vibrant rose colored eyes.

And before she could say anything, or even think, Scootaloo had flung her arms around her.

"Wha…what happened? Scoot? Why are you here? Why are you hugging me? Why am I in…"

Rainbow paused for a moment, and she felt the warmth and love of Scootaloo melt through her bangages, into her skin, and right to her heart. She had never felt this way before. It was strange and unsual, and Rainbow couldn't tell exactly what it was. A feeling? A heart attack? All sh knew was that at the moment she felt like hugging Scootaloo.

So she did.

The warmth spread throughout her body, and she felt something strange in her eyes. Rainbow blinked, but the weird twitch or whatever just didn't go away. It was watery, and as it trickled down her mouth, she tasted its salty-ness and acidic-ness.. Was she… was she…crying?

Impatiently, Rainbow brushed the tears from her eyes. She had never cried since…well…since her mom had died, and she didn't plan on ever crying again. Quickly, she pulled away from Scootaloo's hug. Since when had things gotten so sappy?

"Oh, Rainbow Dash, I'm so happy you're alive, cause you fell while you were doiung this totally awesome SONIC RAINBOOM and then you were in a coma for like a week and I waited and waited and waited for you to wake up and you never did and then I was crying cause you could never come and rescue me from the mean old orphanage and you woke up, it was like you heard me or something and now I gotta go pee! Bye!"

Scootaloo dashed from the room across the hall to the little fillies room. Rainbow managed a shaky laugh as she looked at all of the bandages and monitors and needles hooked up to and on her body. She turned to the nurse. "Ummm….what was with…that?"

"Oh,"she replied, "You had blacked out for a few days after saving that pony who's name escapes me at the moment….uh…hold on….I'll remember…."

A vague image popped into Rainbow's mind of Derpy falling off a cloud. "Derpy,"she said, "her name was Derpy."

"Oh…yes…right. Anyway, most of Ponyville thought you weren't going to make but..uh…turns out, you did," she gave an exaggerated smile at the last part.

"Is Derpy Ok," Rainbow asked, geniuenly concerned.

"Oh, of course! Not even a scratch!"

Rainbow sighed. "Ummm….was Scootaloo here the whole time I was in the hospital?"

"Oh yes. She stayed here all seven nights. She even brought some games for you two to play in case you woke up. She stayed the night on that little cot over there,"the nurse guestured to a small cot, with springs poking out and sparse blankets. "We tried to get her to leave for the orphanage, but she just wouldn't go. So we ended up letting her stay the night. She kept talking about you two 'becoming sisters' and other things like that in her sleep. Beats me what that was about"

"How 'bout my other friends? Did they come?"

"Oh, no, they were all busy. They did leave you some cards though! I'll go downstairs to the front desk to get them!"

"Oh. Ok. Bye!" Rainbow said as she trotted from the room. Rainbow took in the room with one glance- the cot, unmade and messy, the piles of board games in the corner, the fake telephone (what purpose it served was a mystery to Rainbow), a brush, and a card. She had never seen the card before. Curious, Rainbow picked it up, straining all the wires and hooks attached to her. On the front, there was a small picture of two….what was it?...suns? Maybe. There was a heart around the suns (?) and the heart was rimmed with still gloppy glitter glue. Attached to the glitter glue was lace. Rainbow cringed as she got red sparkely glue all over her hooves. Judging by the amount of glitter glue, she could tell that the card had been drying for a few days now. Gingerly she opened it and squinted at he handwriting that read:

Deer Rainbow Dash,

You ar the awsomst pony in equestria. Evryone in Ponyville says you will di, even your friends, but i don't think so. i hop you recsku me from the orfanag and adopt me . i hope you live forever so i can be your sister forever and ever and always.

Your fewtchur sister,

Scootaloo

Again, Rainbow felt that wetness coming back in her eyes, but brushed the tears away. She really loves me. She really does. Like a sister. Like my family. If they were around…

Rainbows thoughts tumbled throughout her head, a jumbled mess. She glanced back at the card. "I hope you live forever so I can be your sister forever," she read in an almost whisper.

Rainbow really liked Scootaloo. She really did. She just didn't want Scootaloo to have the terrible past she did…

"Mommy, are you OK?," Rainbow Dash asked as her mother lay in the hospital bed, eyes tired, and body limp. She had been this way for the last few months, ever since she got diagnosed with a very serious case of wing cancer.

"Oh, Dashie, you know I'm fine," her mother said, managing a weak smile.

Still, Rainbow didn't believe her. "But what if… but what if… but…"

"Shhhh…It's gonna be Ok. Mommy's just going to take a loooong nap now,"

"A long nap!" Rainbow exclaimed frantically , "But what will I do when those mean stallions at school call me 'Rainbow Crash'?"

Rainbow's eyes were pleading and frantic.

"Listen to me, Dashie. As long as you know who you are and what makes you happy, those losers can't bother you."

"They can't?"

"Nope. But only if you do what makes YOU happy."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Like flying?"

"Just like flying. So, Dashie, as long as you fly, you'll turn out fine."

"I will," Rainbow echoed, more to reassure herself than to talk to her mother.

"Dashie, I'm feeling sleepy. I think it's time for my very long nap."

"Oh, Ok. I love you, Mommy! See you later!"

Her mother's eyes brimmed with tears on Rainbow's last words. "I love you too, my Dashie"

After that, things had just gone downhill. Her dad had started drinking shortly afterwards to cope with the stress. Nearly one month after hermother's death, he had died in a terrible drunk flying accident. And ever since Rainbow had been….well….incomplete.

The door to her room slowly creaked open and Scootaloo entered. Rainbow glanced up at her, and briefly remembered her flashback. She knew what she had to do.

"Hey, little sis, get your butt over here. I wanna give you a hug."

"LITTLE SIS! You really mean it?!"

"Why would I lie to my little sister?" Rainbow asked as she embraced Scootaloo in her bandaged arms, tubes in all directions. She felt that feeling in her eyes, the saltiness as the tears rolled down her cheeks, like a trickling stream.

And this time, Rainbow let the tears flow.

Epilogue

"HERE COMES THE SUN! HERE COMES THE SUN! AND I SAY, IT'S ALRIGHT!" Rainbow Dash was singing while she swept up Scootaloo's future bedroom. Singing for Rainbow was pretty rare, she almost never did it, only that one time when Fluttershy roped her into singing some dumb song about pets.

She had to admit, she was pretty good for all the years she had gone without singing (minus those stupid songs Rainbow half heartedly sang for Fluttershy. And just for Fluttershy! She only did it so Fluttershy wouldn't burst into tears!)

The doorbell suddenly rang out, it's sound bouncing off the fluffy cloud walls to Rainbow's ears. Hmmmph, Rainbow thought, It's way too early for them to be here. Still she flew over to the door and opened it to find…

Her neighbor?!

"Ummm…what the hay are doing here?"

Her neighbor, Creaky Staircase, was a pegasi as old and shriveled as one of those endangered tortoises you see on Animal Planet. She was probably even older that Granny Smith, and Granny Smith was OLD.

"Well, I was sitting in my bed, doing my knitting when I heard this sound like a strangled pigeon!" Creaky Staircase leaned in to Rainbow Dash, so her eyes were level with hers. And those eyes did not look happy. "And I came here to tell you Ms. Rainbow Dash –KEEP THE DARN NOISE DOWN! YOU HAVE NEIGHBORS AROUND HERE!"

Rainbow grimaced and held her nose while Creaky Staircase rambled on about Rainbow being a meanace to society and other stuff like that. From the smell of it, Creaky probably hadn't brushed her teeth for a long, long time.

"Ummm…Ok, got it. No more singing," Rainbow said, putting her hoof on the door. Creaky was staring to creep her out a little.

Creaky abruptly paused and looked Rainbow in the eyes strangely.

"That was singing?"

Rainbow just shut the door in her face.

Then she got back to cleaning. And cleaning. And cleaning. Rainbow usually hated cleaning, but she wanted to make a good impression on the adoption agency.

Finally, Rainbow shoved the last item from her Wonderbolt collection into the closet. There. The room was cleaned now. Then she sprayed some of Rarity's perfume she sto- um, borrowed all over the room, hoping it would cover up the scent of stale coffee still lingering in the air, since the time Rarity decided it would be fun to hype up Pinkie and Rainbow on coffee and see what they would do.

That did not end well.

Ring! Ring! The sound of the doorbell pierced Rainbow's ears. She hoped it wasn't Creaky, otherwise that would be downright freaky, and would confirm her suspicions that she was a total creeper.

Luckily, this time, it was the adoption agency ponies with Scoot by their side. She looked so ecstatic to finally be free of the orphanage. Rainbow gave her a grin.

After that, Rainbow signed a bunch of papers she didn't even read and took Scoot with her into the house. Rainbow liked reading and all, it was her secret hobby that she never EVER told anybody about, but when it came to stuff like that Rainbow would rather pass. That stuff was Twilight's thing.

As she walked through the door, Scootaloo at her side,she thought

Wow, Dashie, you're a big sister now!

Yeah. I cant believe it

Can you do it? I mean Rarity and Applejack are always complaining about how annoying their sisters get.

Well, they always make up in the end. Plus, I know I have to do this

Why the hay do you HAVE to do this?

Cause Scoot needs me. And I need her.

You need her?

Yeah. You know, we're gonna be like a sort of family together.

Yeah. You know what Dashie.

What?

Your mom would be proud of you.

With that thought, Rainbow dismissed the voices in her head. This time, when she thought about her mother, though, Rainbow didn't feel sad. She felt complete, actually, for once in her life. Whole.

Maybe Scootaloo was the missing piece- a sister, somebody who would always love her back.

The phone rang, and Rainbow dashed to get it.

"One minute Scoot!"

"Okay, Rainbow Dash!"

She picked up the kitchen phone.

"Hey. Dash here"

"Oh, it's just me Twilight."

"Hey, Twilight!"

"Hey is for horses," Twilight said, obviously irked at Rainbow's word choice.

"We ARE horses!"

"No, you're actually a wingedus pegausus, scientifically speaking."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. Why did Twilight have to be such an egghead sometimes? "Whatev. Why did you call anyway? Cause if you wanna chat, I can't 'cause I have a hungry little sis to take care of!"

"Oh, I was wondering if you'd like to come to Applejack's farm with us. She's made some cider, and wanted us to taste it."

"Uhhhh…." Rainbow glanced back at the door that Scootaloo was waiting behind. She had promised her hay smoothies this afternoon. Then she glanced back at the phone. "Sorry. Can't. I'm sure her cider's good though!"

"Oh. Okay. Good bye!"

"Bye!"

She hung up the phone, and Rainbow walked towards Scootaloo.

"OOOH! WAS IT THE WONDERBOLTS!? I'D BET THEY WANTED YOU TO JOIN RAINBOW DASH!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Uh, no. It was Twilight. She wanted me to come over to Applejack's"

"Oh. So I guess we're not getting hay smoothies then." Scootaloo looked down.

Rainbow smiled, and put a wing around her new little sister. "Hey, I said no to them. I would never leave my little sis hangin'"

The End

Author's Note:

So, when I typed the Latin translation of Pegasus into Google Translate, I realized the word pegasus IS latin. Then I tried to translate it into Greek, but I got a bunch of Greek symbol/letter thingimobobs. I can't read Greek (unfortunately, I'm not a demigod or anything), so I just added a bunch of 'us' es to the end of the words 'winged' and 'pegasus'. The finished word is a totally made up word! Don't try using it to impress your teachers or anything, otherwise they will think you are loco in the coco! That would be embarrassing!

You probably knew it was a fake word, but I wrote this just in case….

Please tell me what you think of my story! Please review! I would be SO happy if you did!

Merry Chrismahannukwanza; or anything else you happen to celebrate!:D