Note:

Alright guys, this is the final chapter. Sorry to say, but it's already at the point where, if someone who hasn't read this were to look at it, it'd seem a bit too long to get into.

Enjoy!

Scootaloo was awake.

Rainbow Dash was surprised at how she took the news. Of course she was overjoyed that her sister was up, but she was wary of how Scootaloo would react to the inevitable realization that it was her sister's fault in the first place. Dash's anxiousness showed in the crease in her brow, defensive position, and distant eyes.

Dash continued staring at the nurse until Twilight broke the silence.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she said as she looked to her blue friend. Saying that her friend was a just a little off-put would have been a joke. "Rainbow, aren't you happy?"

"Uhh…y-yeah," Dash stammered, "of course I am! But, there's just...something. I...I dunno, it's nothing." The mare attempted a smile, but the result was more than underwhelming.

"What is it?" asked Twilight, prodding for information.

Dash made eye contact with everyone at once. "I-I don't know how to tell her that this is all my fault. That…that I'm the reason she and all of us are even here."

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Rarity.

Rainbow Dash looked to the nurse. "Could you give us a minute?" she asked.

"'Course, hon.' Y'all call me in when you're ready to see 'er."

"Thanks," Dash said as she looked to the floor. Once the office door for the help desk was shut, and Dash had stared at the floor for a while, she began.

"I've been thinking," she started. Dash paused for long enough to elicit worry from her friends. The five moved in closer and opened their eyes wider to coax the rest of her answer out.

After much consideration, Dash's chosen words spilled. "I've been thinking... it's my fault she got hurt because... I mean if I would have adopted her instead of leaving for a month, something she didn't want me to do...then she wouldn't have been in the fire. She wouldn't have gotten hurt..."

Applejack scoffed. "Is that what you're fussin' about? You know you couldn't have foreseen that fire takin' place. It ain't your fault that she was there."

Rainbow Dash regarded her friend's encouraging words, but nevertheless couldn't get past her judgement. "But if I would have taken her outta there when I should have, then we'd all be just fine. Scoots might be a bit sad the the building burned down, but she would have been okay. And with her wing thing, I'm not sure if she will be okay..."

"Aw shucks, sugarcube, Ah'm sure she'll be just fine once she gets a bit of rest."

"No she won't Applejack!" Dash retaliated with a stamp of her hoof. "She's not gonna be okay! Her wing's gonna be busted forever, and she'll hate me for longer!" Dash fell to her haunches and hung her head with a huff.

Twilight walked forward and put her hoof on the Dash's shoulder. "Rainbow, listen. She'll be okay. Even if she isn't... well... you know she loves you, so why are you worried that she'll hate you?"

After another moment of thought, Rainbow spoke with her head still hung. "Do any of you know what it's like to have somepony tell you that you probably won't ever do what you're... you're supposed to do?" Dash looked to all of her friends for an answer. However, she received nothing but silence. Though Fluttershy had had that experience, she chose to remain quiet, not for her timidness, but for her consideration of her friend.

"It's terrifying," Dash continued. "When I was just about to turn six, I was told that I'd always have difficulty flying." Dash took a moment to let the information sink in. "Obviously," she continued, "I beat the doctor's diagnosis by a pretty huge margin. It was tough, but I was able to get past it. But Scootaloo won't get past this if that beam damaged her wing beyond repair." Dash stood up. "There's something you guys need to know. Right now, flight is everything to Scootaloo. It was something her and I could do together, and something that would allow her to truly feel like somepony worth noticing! There's no way she'd forgive me for taking that from her."

Dash flicked her eyes around to gaze among her five friends. Knowing there was nothing for them to say, Rainbow Dash continued. "Look, can you guys just promise me that you won't tell her anything about this? I want to do it myself."

"Alright," said Rarity. "We all promise not to say a word." The other four nodded in assent.

"Thanks guys" Dash said as she surveyed their faces. She reminded herself of an item she still held in her wing. With it came a thought that brought a sweet feeling. "I have one more thing to ask of you guys." She opened her wing slightly to show the folder. "Can all of you stay in here for a bit? I wanna take a moment alone with her. She is technically mine, after all."

The others nodded again and found seats quietly; Pinkie was an exception with her snort of laughter and notion of "Mama Dash." The blue mare scoffed and flexed all but one of the primaries on her free wing at Pinkie's back. Fluttershy gasped and put her hoof to her mouth, but again said nothing.

Dash went to the desk and rang the bell. As soon as the nurse saw the mare, she knew her intentions. Playfully, the olive green pony berated Dash.

"Girl, you been talkin' with them so long, I thought you was gon' stay in that room 'till that filly came out for you he'self."

"Sorry," she responded. "Sometimes with that crowd, it's a good idea to get the mushy stuff out of the way first."

"Well, prepare yourself, 'cause that foal has been askin' about you since the minute her lil' eyes fluttered open. I'm gettin' the feeling that you ain't outta the woods just yet."

"I really never thought I'd say this, but I can't wait until I get back to it."

The two ponies continued walking down the white-washed hallways until they stopped at a door with bold characters spelling "12-B" fixed to it. Dash had to suppress a chuckle, lest she elicit more sass from the nurse. "Would you look at that," she said under her breath.

"Wait here, hon'," the nurse said before lightly tapping at the door. She waited a second or two before walking halfway through the door. "Scootaloo, honey, Ah'm back."

Rainbow Dash strained her mind while she waited for the filly's response. When it eventually came, Dash was horrified.

"Is she here?" an unseen Scootaloo asked in an extremely docile voice that completely lacked emotion or thought. The mare wanted desperately to push the nurse out of the way and fly to the filly, but decided against it. To her relief, the pony blocking her way moved and allowed entrance to Dash.

Though she couldn't get the filly's words out of her head, Dash hoped to see Scootaloo bouncing on the bed as she entered, but was instead met with a very tired looking foal staring back at her. She lied under the covers with her hooves on the blanket. Both her eyes and head were sunken, the latter into a pillow. Both Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash smiled as the mare walked in. She quickly closed the distance between the door and the bed, then carefully wrapped her hooves around her sister's body. Dash did her best to cradle her, at which point the nurse allowed them privacy.

"How are you?" Dash whispered.

"Tired..." Scootaloo responded. The mare giggled at her optimism, then kissed Scootaloo's mane.

"That makes two of us."

They shared a laugh and sat in each other's company for a long while. Dash decided to keep the meager excuse for a conversation going. She lifted the covers and peered at her sister's bandaged wing.

"Does it hurt?" she asked.

Scootaloo squirmed a bit before responding. "Kinda."

"Well, it'll feel better soon. Just keep it still."

The conversation once again dropped off for another while before Scootaloo broke the silent air. "Rainbow Dash?" she said.

"Yeah?"

"...Thank you."

Dash looked down at Scootaloo. "For what?"

Scootaloo giggled at her sister's joke. "For saving me, duh."

The mare ruffled her sister's mane. "You don't have to thank me for that, kiddo." Dash went silent for a moment. "Comes with the job."

They sat in silence again, with the filly breaking it once more. "Rainbow Dash?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are the others?"

"Who, our friends?"

"No, I mean the others at Oakside. It burned down, so... do you know where we're going?"

Dash shook her head. "Yeah, it did. It's just a pile of ash now." To her annoyance with herself, the mare saw that Scootaloo had grown somber with the poorly chosen words. "Well, don't worry; wherever the others are going, you aren't going with them." She grabbed the folder in her mouth and deposited it onto the bed. Scootaloo stared at it, wondering what both it and Dash's words could mean.

Dash was more careful of her words. "How are you feeling? Like, on a scale of one to completely out of it, how good can you focus?"

"Why?"

"Just 'cause."

"Hmm... I guess about a three? Kinda tired."

"Well," Dash began, "I heard that a certain somepony decided to, well, take you under her wing. For good."

"R-" Scootaloo started. "Really?" She finished, her tone shifting from listlessness to pure delight. Her ears and back straightened up from excitement. Every part of her seemed to come back to life. There was only one pony who she could suspect would do such benevolent act. "Was it...was it you?"

Rainbow Dash brought her wings around to wrap around the hopeful pony. "You're not goin' anywhere, kiddo." She released a hoof and used it to flip open the folder. It revealed the adoption certificate, with Dash's signed name in big letters on the dotted line towards the bottom. Beautiful gold trimming bordered the thick, soft paper. A wax seal of approval was stuck to the left of the signature where Kindheart had made the document official.

Scootaloo simply sat there, unmoving as she made sense of what was happening. Soon, she slowly lifted her arms and wrapped them around Dash's waist. The weak, yet strong hug was met by Dash with a widening of her smile and further tightening. She landed in the golden zone between a gentle hug and a strong, loving, sisterly embrace.

Suddenly, there was a small tap at the door. Dash cast her eyes to it and gave permission to enter. Thinking the guests to be her friends, she began speaking as if it were them.

"Hey guys, how's-" She stopped when she saw who it was that had entered.

"Hello," said a beige coated stallion with a brown mane. Dash stared at this vaguely familiar and subconsciously disliked doctor.

She let go of her sister and got back on four legs. After searching for where she knew him from, she realized that this was the doctor that oversaw her own wing injury. "Oh hey, Doctor Stable!"

"Yes. I'd like to go over Scootaloo's condition with you now," said the doctor.

Dash looked at her sister's bandaged wing, and panic began to trickle in. It was slow at first, but soon it grew until it could not be willed away. "S-sure, what's going on?"

Stable pulled a large, clear, black and white sheet out of a carrier resting on the adjacent counter top and pinned it on a square light on the wall. The sheet featured an image of a young pegasus wing, with a rather large split just before the end of the bone. Dash was nearly overcome with dismay as she viewed the break.

"Now, as you can see here," said Stable as he pointed his hoof at the broken bone, "the humerus of Scootaloo's left wing has suffered a small fracture."

"Small?!" she said in her mind. "S-so…" Dash began shakily, "i-is that bad? Like, can it be fixed?" Rainbow Dash felt her heart racing and her muscles clenching at what could possibly be some of the worst news she'd ever hear.

Stable chuckled slightly at what he perceived as unnecessary worry coming from the mare. "Well, of course it can be fixed!" Stable began. "It already is, practically. What you had a few months ago, Miss Dash, was far worse than what we have here. I predict little Scootaloo will be checked out and back home this afternoon. Although she'll be home, it's absolutely imperative that she stays grounded until the bone has fully healed." Stable ended his diagnosis with a trained smile.

Waves of warm relief rushed over Rainbow Dash, who almost required support from the bed to keep from falling. She was nearly calm by the time the blood rush had subsided. Unfortunately, Dash was unaware of the fact that she was breathing just a bit too heavily, and shaking just a bit too violently.

"Um, Rainbow Dash, are you okay?" asked Scootaloo as she nudged her sister's side.

Dash breathed heavily a while longer before answering the question.

"Yeah…yeah…I'm okay…it's just…I thought your wing was broken really bad…and…and I guess I was kind of worried that you wouldn't be able to...well...fly anymore…" Dash put her front hooves up on the bed and nuzzled the orange filly. She told herself that it was for Scootaloo's comfort, but she knew that it had been for her own.

"She should be fine after a few days," said Stable, turning to Scootaloo. "But after the cast is off, you must remain out of the air for just a couple more." His interruption of the moment caused Dash to cast an annoyed glare his way. The doctor, unfazed, continued. "Well then, Miss Dash, aside from the problems in her wing, your daughter has nothing ailing her that's too different from what you have." He indicated the small bandages that adorned the filly in a similar fashion to Dash. When the mare spun her head back to him, he offered a knowing wink.

Stable exited the room, at which time Scootaloo looked at Dash. "Am I really your daughter now?"

The mare put her hoof to her chin and considered her new role. "Well...kinda, in a way. Officially, like on papers, you are, but we can stay sisters if you want."

Scootaloo giggled and pushed her nose through the fur on Dash's neck. "Yeah, let's do that."

Within the deep part of her mind, the mare felt relief. There was no way she could handle or be worthy of that title. Even saying the phrase "I'm a mom" in her mind made her cringe. Dash put her mind at ease and relished in the calm of the moment.

After some time, which the two had lost track of, there was a tap at the door. "Come in," Dash called.

Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, and the newly arrived other two Crusaders filled the spot left vacant by the doctor. Dash got out of her resting position and allowed Scootaloo's two friends to jump onto the bed to begin chattering about Celestia knows what. To occupy her own time, Dash got up and began conversing with her own friends. Time faded and blurred with their mutual good spirits and the overall wellness of everyone in the room.

Up in the most extravagant tower in Canterlot, the great Princess of the land and Sun, Celestia, sat on her poofy, purple cushion. She busied herself with going over some new bits of legislature from the Royal Court. Suddenly, a small, green-streaked cloud floated into her chamber through her window. It popped with a magical spark, and a scroll appeared in its place. Intrigued, the princess opened it and began reading. Her eyes slowly scanned the parchment, and as she read her already broad grin grew larger. Finally, as she finished the last line, she called down the hall for her sister to enter.

"Luna, come quickly! You must read this."

After a moment, the large door to the royal chamber slowly creaked open, and through the crack, the Princess of the Moon, Luna, poked her head inside.

"Yes, sister? What is it?"

"This touching letter from our friends in Ponyville. I think what it details might warm you."

"Let me see."

Celestia gave the scroll over, and Luna took it in her magic. She began reading aloud.

"Dear Princess Celestia, today I learned that if you have a problem or a secret, it's best to tell somepony so they can help you, even if you don't want anypony to ever know. Your faithful Crusader, Scootaloo. P.S., I'm really going to enjoy living at my sister Rainbow Dash's house."

Similarly to her sister, Luna's grin widened. She sighed a relief, and looked out the window to catch a glimpse of the bright, shining ball of light that she controlled.

"I've been wondering when those two were finally going to grow together. We've been watching them for so long."

Celestia smiled again and drew in closely to embrace her own sister.

"Even though it's been nearly a year, I'm still ever so grateful for your return," she whispered.

"Well, I'm still happy to be back," Luna giggled.

They stayed in their embrace for a while. Even though they themselves would live for an eternity, they felt their hug to last one itself.

Author's Notes:

I did that as a "middle finger" to all the people who break Scootaloo's wing in their stories and expect it not to heal. RAINBOW DASH BROKE HERS IN HALF AND SHE WAS HOME IN JUST A FEW DAYS. LIKE WHAT? If any of you disagree, just let me know. I'll be sure to take your input into consideration, but I probably wont change the story.

Also, about the Princesses, I mention either the sun or the moon in every single chapter.

See you in the sequel!