Mid-morning... one week later.

On a cloud by Fluttershy's cottage, far from Ponyville and a reasonable distance from the Acres... Rainbow Dash slept. She opened her eyes periodically when she heard the sound of hooves and voices -- many voices -- on the dirt road below. She sleepily peered over the edge of her cloud and noticed a huge gathering off in the distance... at Sweet Apple Acres.

Another Apple Family Reunion, as usual, she thought, pulling a few blankets over her head and going back to sleep.

The nights had been long and chilly... but her friends were there to help take the edge off. Though Rainbow refused to stay with Fluttershy past the first week (saying she was totally stoked about camping in the clouds... all alone, getting some much needed peace and quiet), Fluttershy still gave her a few supplies -- a pillow and a few blankets. The timid pegasus had recently visited Rainbow and noticed she at least looked okay and sounded okay... as okay as she could be, given all that had happened. Dash's bandages were now gone and her hair was back... well, mostly. Rainbow's frizzy mane would make anypony think she had gotten into a fight with her barber, but in time it would grow.

The voices below didn't stop, but instead grew louder, even as they became more distant. Singing something about a barn. It was either an Apple Family tune about farm work or construction. After a while it piqued Dash's curiosity, but she was far too content just napping in the clouds to even care. She wasn't in the mood for noise, anyway. After about ten minutes of racket she started to think about moving her cloud further away from everypony... when suddenly she heard Applejack calling her from below:

"Hey Rainbow!"

The pegasus peered over the edge of her cloud... yawning:

"What is it AJ?"

The farm pony smiled at her.

"C'mere a moment!"

Rainbow shook her head.

"Maybe later. I'm...," she yawned a second time. "I'm kinda busy right now. Okay?"

Applejack rolled her eyes:

"The heck you are! Ah know just what you're doin' up there, sleepyhead." She waited for reply... but got none. "Sweet Celestia, just come down here a moment and talk with me already! Everypony's here. Aside from just the family, Ah mean."

Rainbow stretched, feeling pops in her sore joints.

"Okay, AJ... Maybe if you make it worth my while." She beamed a grin down at her friend. "What'll you give me then, uh... Farmer Brown?"

Applejack chuckled again.

"Come on down and find out! I'm orange, by the way... not brown."

Facing the Acres, Rainbow could see what looked like a party off in the distance. Objects were indistinct, mostly unrecognizable... the ponies all looked like Technicolor ants. There were a good forty of them. Whatever they were doing it sounded energetic and happy, and involved moving long planks in time to catchy a rhythm. The singing had a couple of instruments backing it up... a guitar, a fiddle, and a concertina (Dash would have called it an accordion). They sounded soft nearly a mile off, but she could make out a strong beat.

Hammers?

She slowly flew down as Applejack waited. When she finally touched the ground, smiling slyly, Applejack purposed a question:

"Well, now... should I tell ya or do I show ya?"

Rainbow Dash shook her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Huh? Tell me what?"

"Think maybe I'll take ya there..." Applejack winked, turning around and motioning for Rainbow Dash to follow. They both faced the long road to the Acres. "Walk with me, Rainbow. You won't believe what I've got to show you."

"What is it?"

Applejack didn't answer. She just turned back and grinned, motioning with her head while trotting on. Dash soon followed... curiously.

The two had been almost completely silent up to this point... Rainbow still feeling groggy. The noise grew louder and louder as they approached, causing Dash's breathing to pick up.

"Well, what is it already?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. "We've been walking for, like, six minutes!" Applejack kept her head down... hiding a tiny smile on her lips. "Come on, AJ! You're not normally the silent-type... Spill it already."

"Ain't about to, Dash," Applejack replied, glancing back at her friend. "Look, just come with me if you want or you can fly there... but I ain't gonna tell you. You'll appreciate it more this way." She pointed forward. "It's just over that hill."

Rainbow Dash looked on, towards the hill by flat stretch before the Acres... maybe a hundred or so feet ahead. She could easily have flown there, but instead she stayed by Applejack's side. This thing... whatever it was... made Rainbow feel like having Applejack nearby, mostly just to explain it. She was getting sick of surprises anyway... not at all scared of them. Nope! Not one bit. Whatever it was sat over the hill... not far from the Acres, not far from Ponyville... a hop skip and a jump from where Scootaloo had fallen.

Rainbow Dash went over the hill with Applejack and she finally saw it... but she still didn't quite know what it was. It was just a skeleton of a small building... a bit more compact than AJ's barn.

"You're building another barn?" she asked. "Why so far from your home?"

Applejack turned to her and grinned:

"That ain't a barn, Rainbow. It's a house!" In response to her excitement, Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. The farm pony went on, "I was thinkin' of becoming a land lord on the side... it's a tiny place, Ah know, but the Newly Wed's design's been long approved by Celestia for a couple on a budget. Gunna have three rooms, maybe bunk beds... its own working kitchen and shower, complete with a well. All the bells and whistles many cheap-o apartments here might be missin'. Heck, it's on a mighty fine piece of property, too... a place some ponies would just about kill for. If memory serves me right, it's not too far from that place you took Scootaloo on that hike of yours... isn't it?"

Rainbow Dash stared at the skeleton of a building. The ponies working noticed the pegasus on the hill and waved, continuing to sing while working. Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy were among them -- Twilight, of course, looking over blueprints; Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy helping sand some planks that would soon be the floor alongside Babs and Apple Bloom. All three stopped when they saw her and just watched... without being too obvious, of course.

Rainbow's eyes glistened in the sun. She wasn't crying, her face almost unreadable. She turned to Applejack. The farm pony bit her lip, nervous... sweating. The two were silent for a long moment.

"What'd ya say, Rainbow?" Applejack finally asked, forcing a chuckle. "Feel like bein' my tenant for a while? Gotta offer it to a friend first... s'only right, and Ah know you're looking. Have some bits left over from that donation you made... first month'll be free. After that, I think we can work something out."

Dash looked up at Celestia's sun and rubbed her eyes.

"Oh, gee, it's um... pretty bright out here, AJ. Kinda hurting my eyes." The farm pony took a breath, watching a tear fall from her friend's face. "You know, I've always wondered what it'd be like to live on the ground. Since it's here and all, I might as well try. This way I can take Scootaloo in, at least give her a place to hang until all this stuff blows over.... maybe teach her to fly, and be there for her, and... well, you know."

Dash took in a breath, now staring at her hooves. The Applejack watched the ground become speckled with her tears, the mare's breathing becoming staccato-like and shallow. She fought the urge to cry herself.

"Hey, hey now... isn't this what you wanted? Yer making it seem like Ah might've read you wrong. Can always give it to some other pony if you wanna stay in Cloudsdale."

Rainbow looked up and smiled, her eyes moist... but not tear-filled anymore.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, AJ! I'll take it."

Hearing this made the farm pony smile ear-to-ear. She sighed... now onto the next part.

With Dash in the sky they had rehearsed this part twice, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy there to critique how "Dash-like" Twilight was being while talking to Applejack. She could do a fairly good impersonation, and not just in the voice:

"In the meantime you are welcome to crash in ma guest room. If you want, that is." Applejack took a breath, choosing her next words carefully. "It's gunna take a couple weeks to fix this up at least. Would be nice to be near it... Watchin' it get built, maybe takin' part? Could be a lot of fun having ya work with us."

"Maybe a change of scenery wouldn't hurt," Dash replied, rubbing her sore flanks and eyes. She sneezed... her snout already dripping like a faucet. "I mean, since you're cool with it and all."

"Of course I am, Rainbow. You're one of my best friends! Why, I'd do anything for- ... well, that is to say Ah think we both know ponies tend to appreciate things better if they take part."

Dash nodded.

"Can't argue with that."

The farm pony grinned. Looking over at Twilight she nodded while Dash stared at the construction. The unicorn nodded back, looking over at the group of ponies sanding boards and smiling. Apple Bloom, Babs, Pinkie, and Fluttershy looked at each other and grinned... the last two going back to their jobs, working just as hard... but now a bit more relaxed. They had done it, they had all done it... and no pony had to lie anymore to make it happen.

"Well, then, Rainbow..." Applejack stretched. "We're about gettin' ready to break fer lunch soon. Big Mac and Braeburn were just sent off with carts to get Granny Smith's stew pots. They're gonna be pretty full. Those not on shift'll be drinking cider... the good stuff." She looked up at the pegasus and grinned. "Care to join? Maybe clang some mugs together with everypony? Y'all are honorary family members, after all."

Rainbow Dash was quick to answer:

"Sure, AJ!" Again, she sneezed. "I could never say no to your cider... You should know that by now!"

"Should've figured as much." The farm pony winked in reply. "I guess it's settled then!"

Not an hour later, the entire Apple Family -- big and small -- gathered at a block of picnic benches beneath a big collapsible gazebo Big Mac, Caramel, and Braeburn helped set up. They waited hungrily as Granny Smith presented stew pots full of rustic, traditional Apple family cooking. Beside them sat the three friends, a baby dragon, and the guest of honor... who has done so much and never asked for anything in return. She's why they had all come together. They had earned their lunch and were happy to welcome Rainbow Dash into their splendor. Voices rang out as they drank and chatted, while many Apples shouted their heartfelt appreciation to Rainbow, knowing not to say too much... even those who had more than their fill of cider:

"You saved ma cousin!" hollered Braeburn from the other end of the table. "Do us a favor like that, and we'll do one right back. Ya wanted to adopt a filly? Least we can do is make it easy fer ya."

"Ee-yup!"

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Rainbow," Babs Seed said, from across the table by Apple Bloom. "Can't imagine what it would be like if they all had to move away... might not be able to see 'em much outside of the reunion. That'd be no fun."

"It wouldn't be fun at all," said Apple Bloom, looking at her cousin. "Not one bit."

Dash smiled at them and they all smiled right back. Those with head coverings removing their hats out of respect before lunch was served. They looked like such a happy family, and she had genuinely helped make life better for them. She didn't need cider to feel good about what she had done, nor did she need to be alone or to go anywhere... she was happy right where she was, with her best friends all by her side. This was all Rainbow Dash ever needed to feel herself again... they had spared her pride, and yet they had still managed to help her.

"So, Rainbow," said Twilight, acting clueless alongside the pegasus. "I've been meaning to ask you... since Braeburn already mentioned it, is adopting Scootaloo something you still want to do? What we've done should make it really easy for you now."

"Duh, Twilight... That's totally what I want to do!" Dash exclaimed as a big helping of Granny's stew was set in front of her. The ponies all smiled. "I'll be honest, girls... I didn't know what I was going to do about that, but this... this is... so awesome."

"You know it, Dashie!" exclaimed Pinkie, beside the pegasus.

"I'm so glad for you and Scootaloo," said Fluttershy on the other side of the table. "You can be happy now."

"We're all glad, Rainbow," Twilight said, making eye-contact with the pegasus. "You don't have anything to worry about now. We've seen to that."

It would take some time... but Dash would soon be back to herself. On the ground, with her friends nearby, it would come sooner than later.

True to her word, except for work... Rainbow Dash stayed on the ground. With more to work towards than just seeing Scootaloo, Rainbow was a lot happier. She was, however, sick the first few days... but that didn't stop her from helping. Had she stayed in the clouds she might've ended up in the hospital again, but that didn't matter now. The closer they got to completion of the house, the fewer Apple family members stuck around. When finally all it needed was a coat of paint, only a hoofful remained... Babs and Braeburn among them. The last things to do were paint the interior and finish polishing the sunroof, so that each day the pegasai could look up and see what they both had to look forward to.

It didn't take Dash long to spill the beans to her protégé. With Applebloom, Babs, and Applejack by her side, she was the one to share it just a few short days before everypony started going back home:

"So, Scoots... remember that time I asked if you wanted to stay with me?"

"Yeah..." Scootaloo said, looking up into her idol's magenta eyes. "Is it going to happen soon?"

"Oh, yeah," Dash replied, coolly. "But here's the thing... the place were gonna in stay in it, uh... well, it kinda got burned down." She looked over at Applejack. "So me and these ponies here, well... we kinda had to build a new house outside of Ponyville. Hope you don't mind, it's going to be a bit small... but it'll be all ours."

Scootaloo's eyes lit up:
.

"Seriously?!"

Dash nodded.

"Seriously, Squirt."

"I don't mind at all, Rainbow! I've never lived in a house of my own before. But..." Scootaloo suddenly paused. "But what about your home in Cloudsdale?"

Dash swallowed hard. She answered with a calm, even voice:

"Let's not worry about that now... we've got a home on the ground, and that's all that matters, right?"

Scootaloo's excitement made it easy to move on:

"Yeah!"

"Must be pretty exciting, huh?" asked Applejack, helping to keep her thoughts on the ground. "We'll have to borrow Granny Smith's camera and take some pictures, so you know what it looks like."

The filly's eyes shone with excitement.

"That sounds awesome!"

Hearing this made Dash smile on the inside and out, because this time what she had told her was the honest-to-goodness truth. They had so much to look forward to.

"Well, now that's all behind us..." Rainbow looked at the group behind her. "We've got five ponies here and an entire afternoon to celebrate! What'd you say we scrounge up a board game so we can all play?"

"No need, Rainbow," Scootaloo sat up and went through the night stand by her bed. "Pinkie Pie gave me a stack of playing cards a couple of days ago. She told me to play them with you whenever I had something to celebrate."

"Well, this is somethin' worth celebratin'," said Babs.

"Totally!" Scootaloo exclaimed, pulling up the cards... the exact same set Pinkie had when she was in the hospital.

The two adult ponies looked at each other... and then laughed. Everything they needed was right there all along.

In the end, Rainbow Dash still had a job. She now had a house anypony could get to, and she never once had committed a crime. Adopting a filly would be easy as pie. Papers were personally approved by Celestia. Spike belched them up and that was that. Rainbow Dash now legally had a filly of her own... and Scootaloo a home to go to.

The sun became brighter and warmer as time passed. After Babs was long gone and the Boutique-turned-bakery began reconstruction, Scootaloo was released into Dash's custody. The five friends, plus Apple Bloom, Spike, and Dash's pet Tank were there to see her out. Dash insisted on bringing her tortoise along, because he was her pet after all, and it would make for a neat surprise... though he was motorized, fast, and that could have consequences Rainbow hadn't expected.

The filly was unbandaged and without blankets. Everypony noticed the scar running along her side where the rocks had sliced into her belly... hopefully that would fade in time. She was taken out of the hospital in a wheel chair by Nurse Redheart, but she didn't leave the grounds in it.

"Congratulations, Rainbow Dash!" exclaimed the nurse to the pegasus. " She's yours to take care of now. Make sure to bring her back next year for her inoculations!"

Dash saluted Nurse Redheart, then walked off... with Scootaloo by her side. Tank sped ahead, Scootaloo looking at him with look of awe on her face... remembering him, though not having seen him too often.

"He's yours now, too," Rainbow Dash said, with a smile. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Oh yeah!" Scootaloo replied, in a way that almost resembled her idol.

The filly limped through Ponyville as Dash once had, the adult ponies taking note. The cyan pegasus thought it was pretty bad, even though it was her first time walking any great lengths without anypony there to help her along. She shot a hoof out towards her protégé back as she stumbled, trying to keep up with Apple Bloom and Spike, the two racing to keep up with Tank who had flown a little bit ahead. Before she touched Scootaloo, Twilight put her hoof to Rainbow's side after the filly recovered and continued on... picking up pace.

"She's fine, Rainbow," the unicorn whispered. "You were walking much worse when you came out of there."

"I know, but I really don't want her to fall," Rainbow replied, her voice a bit harsher than a whisper. "She's only just out of there!"

"It's what fillies do," Applejack chimed in, picking up pace to catch up with her sister. "Still... doesn't hurt to keep a close eye on 'em!"

The ponies in the back watched Spike -- the durable baby dragon -- tumble and do a belly flop into the dirt. Scootaloo cantered right past him (hardly even limping as she picked up speed) as he picked himself right back up. They passed the burnt bakery, something Scootaloo had heard about in the hospital, but she was too focused on keeping up with Tank and Apple Bloom to even notice the construction going on. This is where Pinkie Pie broke off from the rest and went home.

"Just a heads-up, Scoots!" Dash said, watching the filly speed up towards the tortoise. "You'll only want to get hit by a flying Tank once... it really hurts!"

Although she was still recovering, Scootaloo did eventually catch up to Apple Bloom and Tank. The rest stayed in back with Rainbow Dash, until one-by-one the rest went home once the group hit the end of Ponyville. Eventually it was just Rainbow, Scootaloo, and the two Apples... they parted ways as Scootaloo looked up at the small blue house with the big gable roof.

"This is it, Squirt... our new home."

Rainbow Dash opened the door. Tank buzzed inside and Scootaloo entered. She saw her scooter and new helmet waiting for her by the door (courtesy of the Apples)... this home was really hers, it was hard to fathom. The house had only three rooms, but with bunk beds and a shelf stocked with new Daring Do novels off in the corner (all courtesy of the Golden Oaks Library), it felt like a real home. In the middle of the largest room, right under the beds, Scootaloo looked up and saw the sky through the panes of glass.

"Wow."

"Someday you'll be up there, too, Squirt... but for now we'll stay on the ground." Rainbow Dash stretched, motioning with her head towards the tiny kitchen. "Now 'bout I cook us up some soydogs for lunch, then maybe we can go outside and play with Tank? He's not a dog, but he can fly pretty high and he'll retrieve sticks. I tell you, it's something else to see! Just be sure have me around whenever you want to play with him... he can get stuck in the strangest places."

Scootaloo replied, both to the idea of playing with Tank and Rainbow not wanting him to get stuck:

"Um... okay!"

Dash smirked and slipped into the kitchen, leaving Scootaloo staring up through the skylight into the clouds... imagining all the fun things the two would do together. In just a short while, she wouldn't have to imagine anymore. It had all come true.