Owlicious flew high above Ponyville square, a single destination in mind. He breezed past the local Mail Mare and descended, weaving around busy carts and several ponies on the street. He was certainly proving to be faster than an emergency telegram, having no more than one place to be. The hospital was relatively close to the Library, and both Spike and Rainbow were easy to spot... he was confident he'd deliver his message in a timely manner. Using his keen eyesight, he zoomed right in on the pair who were mere feet from the door. He sped up...

"Hoo! Hoo!" He shouted, trying to get the attention of either.

All of his initial efforts fell on deaf ears... but still he tried, hooting as loud as he could:

"Hoo! Hoo!"

The door to the hospital opened wide and, as that happened, Owlicious sped up and closed his eyes...

He hit neither Spike nor RD, nor did he make it past them. He smashed into the door, hard. It had closed right before he reached them. The pain was sharp and he blacked out, but he would wake up pretty soon... the note having blown away in the breeze. He didn't know what it contained, and he wouldn't be able to find it soon enough.

Rainbow Dash and Spike entered the hospital. Dash belched loudly, covering up the sound of a loud thumb behind her:

"You know, Spike... that was a pretty good salad!"

"Thanks! Twilight says my citrus salads are the best, especially after a cold."

Together they walked up to the secretary's desk.

"Hey, do you know where Scootaloo's room is?"

Having located the filly's room twice that day it was easier for her this time around. She told them the number and they were on their merry way, blissfully unaware of everything going on outside the hospital.

"Are you nervous at all, Spike?" Rainbow Dash asked her dragon companion. "I mean, that Scootaloo's going to be in bad shape? I know she is, but... well, you're not worried she's gonna look bad, are you?"

"Twilight says she's seen better days... I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves."

"Yeah, I guess."

They approached her door, seeing the number the secretary had given them and her name.

"Alright, Spike," said Rainbow Dash. "This is it..."

Together they walked into the room. They found a nurse standing by the bed spoon feeding its occupant what appeared to be orange gelatin. Taking a few more steps they saw Scootaloo, her oxygen mask off. Her eyes drifted to the right, focusing on her approaching two friends:

"Rainbow Dash! Spike!" She weakly exclaimed, as the nurse shoveled in the last few bits of goop. "I'm so happy you came..."

"I'm happy to be here, Squirt," replied Rainbow, eying the devices and pulley systems. "This is quite an interesting room... kinda reminds me of an old video arcade."

Spike got close to a machine and examined it, but didn't touch it:

"Yeah, it kinda does!" He exclaimed.

Scootaloo laughed as the nurse took away the spoon and put the mask back on her.

"So, how are ya feelin', Scoots?" Spike asked, rocking back and forth on his feet.

Scootaloo answered the question while looking directly at her idol:

"I was brave just like you and me talked about." The filly chuckled. "I don't remember anything!"

Rainbow Dash unexpectedly lost her composure and turned away for a moment, grimacing. The nightmarish sounds of the day before were still fresh in her mind. Despite the fact that she was almost in tears, her voice sounded normal:

"You- you really don't remember anything, Squirt?"

Again, the filly chuckled:

"Nope! Not a thing."

Dash sighed, approaching the bed:

"That's good news." She reached down and ruffled her protégées' mane. "You look a lot better than you did yesterday... to be honest with you, Scoots, it was pretty intense. But that's all behind us now. You're gonna get better and things will go back to the way they used to be. Promise."

Scootaloo smiled up at Rainbow, knowing she could believe her cyan idol... if Rainbow Dash said something was going to be so, then it was going to be so. No ifs, ands, or buts about it! However, Scootaloo was still only a filly... a bit scared in spite of her trust.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash?"

The Pegasus chuckled:

"Yeah Scoots?"

"When I get outta here... can we do something fun?"

Dash smiled, ruffling the tiny Pegasus's mane again:

"Of course! Why wouldn't I want to spend time with my favorite filly?"

Once again, Scootaloo giggled... then there was a moment of silence.

"Hey Rainbow Dash?"

Again, Dash chuckled... fighting the urge to put a hoof to her face:

"Yes Squirt?"

The little Pegasus paused for a moment, gaining Dash's full attention. She looked down at the filly and smiled... yet remained ready to get out of the nurse's way if Scootaloo's silence was because there was a problem. The filly seemed to be hesitating, and Dash couldn't fathom why:

"Rainbow... I- I really like you."

The cyan Pegasus smiled:

"I really like you, too, Squirt. More than you can imagine."

"Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah?"

"Since we spend time together a lot and all..."

"Yeah we do, Scoots..." The Pegasus laughed. "And I wouldn't have it any other way! You won't have to worry about that changing anytime soon."

The filly took a deep breath under her oxygen mask, smiling nervously at her idol. She spoke quickly, blurting out her thoughts before she turned chicken. Her voice grew thin and strained by the end:

"Rainbow... can I call you mom? I'll be like everypony else in school... but I'll only have cool stuff to say about you. I really like you, Rainbow Dash, I really do... and I've wanted this for a really long time. Please say yes... I wanna be with you forever."

Taken aback by everything she'd just been hit with, the older Pegasus turned away and froze. Scootaloo had no idea what the word mom even meant, and neither did Dash, really. Trying to remain stone-faced, Rainbow looked over to her right at the nurse who suddenly became very, very focused on her paper work. She then looked over to the left at Spike, who was looking her way until she focused directly on him. Then he suddenly took an interest in humming a tune while looking at the pulley systems.

The orange filly took in a few deep breaths and asked, somewhat frantically:

"Rainbow, did I ask a bad question? Was it stupid? ... Are you mad at me?"

Dash sighed heavily:

"No, Squirt... you didn't ask a stupid question. You're fine." Again, she ruffled the filly's mane. "I like the idea and all, but... I don't know about the whole 'mom' thing. Makes me sound kinda old, don't ya think? How 'bout I be... your big sister? That way you still get to call me Rainbow and we can still go on adventures without me having to worry so much about you eating your lima beans or nagging you to do your homework. What'd ya say?"

"I'd like that."

Rainbow felt herself grinning ear-to-ear:

"I'd like that, too, Squirt." The Pegasus quietly kissed the filly on the forehead, checking to make sure nopony was looking.

Dash found herself blushing and wanting to leave, but she stayed all the same... she had a filly who looked up to her that needed some company, after all.

Spike, happy to see the filly was okay, remained quiet and out of the way... nearly falling asleep in the corner while Rainbow spent the next 90 minutes visiting with Scootaloo. They talked about everything they'd be doing after she got out. Dash was ready to take her to the movies, on a hike in the outskirts, on jet skies over the pond... and even flying over Ponyville. The older Pegasus was saying anything and everything she could think of to get Scootaloo excited and smiling... anything to see that look of joy in her eyes again. The only reason her visit ended so soon was because the filly needed her rest, per Dr. Stable's instructions. Rainbow said she'd be back the next day as early as she could.

The dragon and Pegasus were silent as they walked towards the exit. Rainbow Dash thought hard along the way.... about what it would be like to have Scoots every day. The filly couldn't fly yet, making getting up to her house in Cloudsdale pretty much impossible... but that would eventually change. Dash wasn't ready for motherhood yet by a long shot, but she was certainly ready to see Scootaloo a little more often, especially after that accident. In just a few short years things might be different, though, and she might actually feel a little stronger about adopting her protégé. Dash was definitely over thinking the filly's question, and putting herself first for once...

Rainbow and Spike were ready to enjoy a walk back to the library. She could've flown there she was so excited to know Scootaloo was going to be okay. Both of them were unaware that Owlicious was trailing them... having finally found the note.

"Hoo! Hoo!" He cried, finally catching up.

Rainbow perked an ear:

"Hey, Spike... did you just hear something?"

Owlicious flew over the two, dropping the note by Spike's feet. He picked it up, unwrinkled it, and read it aloud:

"Spike. Please come back to the library ASAP. Something's going on with Rarity. Twilight."

"That's kind of unsettling," commented Rainbow Dash.

Spike looked spooked:

"Yeah, I know! Twilight never sends me notes like this. Let's get back there!"

Climbing on to Rainbow's back and holding on to her mane, Spike rode Dash for all of 1200 feet. It was a spectacular ride, but over almost before it began, as they were there in all of 8 seconds.

Author's Notes:

This whole sequence of Scootaloo wanting to call Rainbow Dash mom... felt really corny when I was first writing it. It's the first time I've ever ran into that problem while writing fanfiction. It still does a little, just not as bad. It's an idea I had beating around my head for a while, so it's nothing new... but it didn't help that origonally Dash said "yes" and "I love you" without much reaction... those things seem really out of character for Rainbow Dash, unless under certain circumstances I haven't set up. I edited the bajeebus out of that scene, and it's coming off less rediclious now. Lol.

Maybe I'm taking this all too seriously ^^