The cool nighttime air, accompanied by its signature ball of white light, enveloped the land as two pegasus ponies soared through it. Similarly to how she did earlier, Scootaloo was holding onto Rainbow Dash's neck and gliding on her own. The two sisters had spent a lovely three and a half hours at Ponyville's bakery shop, Sugarcube Corner, awaiting a certain pink pony's acclaimed sundae. However, the wait was worth the extremely well organized mound of ice cream, chocolate, candy, brownies, fudge, cherries, bananas, and, most importantly, rainbow sprinkles.

"D'ja enjoy your super...starter-sundae..." Rainbow Dash began, "uhh, do you remember..."

"Super-Special-Starter-Sundae-Spectacular," finished Scootaloo.

"Yeah! That's it," said Dash. "Did you like it?"

"Heh, did I ever!" Scootaloo's eyes widened and her mouth watered as she recalled the ingredients in the special sundae that Pinkie Pie made for her.

"Does she go over the top or what?" she asked, obviously choosing the former.

"Yeah..." At this point Scootaloo slipped into an unresponsive trance as she thought about the extra-sized dessert that she had just feasted on.

Dash felt something drip onto her nape. "Hey," she called, "quit your droolin' before I make it rain on you!"

As Scootaloo didn't respond, Dash decided to begin some nighttime flight practice. Without warning, the mare did a barrel roll. The filly instantly grabbed hold of her sister's neck to keep from falling. Dash leveled out and felt Scootaloo's panicked body shaking.

"Awake now, kiddo?" she giggled.

"Y...yeah," the filly managed between sharp breaths.

"Was the sundae good?"

"Heck yeah..."

Dash broke into laughter. "What was your favorite part?" she finally said.

"I can't really say, everything was amazing..." Scootaloo again slipped into a near catatonic state.

Dash scrunched her face and hinted at a second barrel roll. However, she stopped when the filly immediately clenched up around the mare's neck. Dash couldn't tell what hurt worse; the crushing squeeze from Scootaloo's hooves on her neck or the crushing squeeze from her own muscle spasms on her poor sides. Her laughing nearly caused the roll to happen, but luckily she collected her senses before the filly went overboard.

"That's not funny, Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo hollered into her sister's ear.

"It is for me, hehe..." said the mare through her giggles. Scootaloo grumbled enough to make Dash stop. "Sorry, kiddo, it's just so funny to watch ponies' reaction to Pinkie's sundaes."

"What, it was just so good!" the filly exclaimed.

"Yeah, they sure are." Dash thought about the filly's over-the-top sundae, and it's equally flamboyant presentation. "Do you think the sparklers she stuck in the brownies might have been a bit much?"

"No," the filly quickly concurred. "Everything was perfect!"

Dash reached up and mussed Scootaloo's mane. "That's good to hear."

In the distance, the large wooden building appeared behind a layer of cloud. Dash began her descent, and soon touched down onto the cobble path that lead to the entrance. She thought about simply flying the filly up to her room through the window, but decided against it. Perhaps another time. The mare pulled open the glass door and entered the lit room.

The climate inside the building had shifted. When Dash had first walked into it earlier in the day, she had entered a cooled haven from the hot sun. However, now that the outside temperature had dropped some, the orphanage's heating system kicked into gear to warm the rooms. A large furnace in the cellar was used to heat the home, and through the multitude of vents it kept the foals in a constant state of comfort. This design was wildly new and innovative when the building was first constructed, but has since been improved upon for more contemporary homes.

Dash nodded to Kindheart as she passed, then climbed the stairs. Making sure not to make the same mistake in directions again, she walked to Scootaloo's room seamlessly, as if she this route was the only one she'd ever taken. However, unbeknownst to the filly, quite the opposite was true. Luckily, the quick-witted mare had used the mishap as an advantage and made a mental map of the building during her travels. The Oak Side Orphanage was actually quite large. Huge expanses of crossing hallways with a myriad of rooms ensured that each and every foal would have a nice place to stay.

The mare stopped in front of the only door she cared about and let Scootaloo slide off her back. After the filly was firmly on the ground, Dash lowered her head to her eye level.

"So, Scoot, are you still mad at me for leaving...maybe?"

Scootaloo shook her head. "No, I know that you have to, and you'll be right back afterward. Plus, you're bringing me a signed poster from the Wonderbolts themselves, so I don't know how I'll be able to stay mad at you after that."

Dash laughed as quietly as she could. She ruffled the filly's mane again before turning the metal door handle in front of her. She pushed the door open, and again the well-greased hinges soundlessly allowed entrance. Inside, the room was exactly the way the duo had left it. There was nary a heartbeat, save the two that were in the doorway. Dash looked around the room.

"Does anypony else sleep in here?" she asked.

"Not anymore," Scootaloo replied with a yawn. She walked over to the once-made bed they had messed up in their earlier wrestling match. She began tucking the corners of the green blanket under the mattress. "A filly named Fuchsia slept here. She came here when she was three after her parents were arrested. They were bad ponies: drug dealers. We moved into these two beds together when we were five, and she slept here since then, but she got adopted like two months ago.

"Then a pegasus filly named Hot Streak slept in that one over there." Scootaloo pointed her hoof at the bed at the far wall. "She was 15, the oldest filly I've ever seen here. She never met her dad, and her mom abandoned her when she was just a few weeks old. She lived here until... huh, three weeks ago?" Scootaloo scratched her head and continued. "Anyway, Streak doesn't remember a whole lot about her mom, but she remembers enough to know that her mom 'never loved her,' that she abandoned Streak because she'd only keep her mom from 'finding her dream.''' After Scootaloo climbed into her own bed, she looked around the room. "And nopony's needed these other two beds, so I've just slept alone in here since Streak left."

The filly let a small breath of laughter slip as she reminisced. "I'll tell you what though, those guys were fun. Fuchsia was always nice to everypony, and she always followed the rules. Hot Streak never listened to any rules, but she was nice when you got to know her." She again yawned greatly, and lied down onto the pillow.

The mare walked over to the middle bed and offered a compassionate and apologetic smile. She lifted the covers over Scootaloo, and began pushing the fringes under the filly. After fully tucking her sister in, she gave her a kiss on the forehead. The filly let out another yawn as her reply.

"Goodnight, kiddo," she said softly as she nuzzled the filly's cheek.

"Goodnight, Big Sis'," she responded quietly as she nuzzled right back.

The mare once again gave Scootaloo a kiss, then slowly backed away towards the door. She looked back, and found that her sister had already closed her eyes; she was likely already asleep. Dash let a breath of laughter slip, and turned towards the door.

Her heart leaped into her throat.

The silhouette of a pony stood in the doorway, with the glowing florescent light casting its shadow into the room. Luckily, Dash hadn't made a sound. She let go of her breath as Nurse Kindheart's features became easier to make out. The mare looked back and saw that Scootaloo was still sound asleep.

Kindheart realized how eerie she might seem in her situation, and offered her apology. Dash accepted it, but still cursed the older pony under her breath. The blue mare walked out of the room and closed the door as quietly as she could. The nurse motioned for Dash to follow her.

"Well, hello again, Miss Dash," said Kindheart.

"Hey," she replied.

Kindheart looked at Dash with an accusing smirk. "You said you did not wish to adopt that filly. Yet here you are tucking her into bed."

"Of course I want to adopt her!" Dash rather suddenly retorted, a little more aggressively than she had anticipated. She immediately reeled her tone in. "I just...can't yet."

"You can't?" the nurse asked. "What possible reason exists that's keeping you from instantly improving the filly's life? I try to maintain a healthy, loving environment here, but, if you ask me, it just doesn't compare to sleeping in your own bed, in your own room, in your own home."

Dash thought about it for a moment. "Well," she began, "a couple reasons. For one, I'm probably going to be leaving for a few weeks sometime in the next couple of days, so I don't think it'd be very nice to adopt her, then turn around and leave for a whole month. Plus, I live in a house made of clouds."

Kindheart looked at the mare that walked beside her. "Why would that matter?"

"Because she can't fly yet, duh."

"My question still stands, Miss Dash," the nurse replied with an bemused chortle.

Dash paused for a moment to glare at the pony two hoofsteps in front of her. "It doesn't sound practical have me carry her to and from my front porch. If it's her home, then she should be able to come and go when she wants, not when I can take her."

The older mare shook her head. "I'm not sure that's the best policy, Miss Dash. She could be adopted at any time. We've been having an odd increase in adoptions of fillies and colts of older age lately, and she's currently one of the oldest fillies here. What's this big event you're expecting to go to?"

"The Wonderbolt Academy," Dash said matter-of-fact-ly.

The pair reached the stairs, and began descending. "So that's what you're planning on doing before you give that filly a family? That seems a bit irresponsible, don't you think?"

Dash looked at the mare in front of her. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"What I mean Miss Dash, is that giving her a home should be your top priority! It's as if you don't even care."

As the two reached the ground floor, Dash spun Kindheart around and pressed her muzzle into hers. "She is my top priority, so don't you stand there and tell me I don't care!"

The mares' eyes stayed locked for what felt like an eternity before Dash broke the contact and walked out the door.

Nurse Kindheart stayed looking at the door for a while before turning away. "I'm not certain of the fact, Miss Dash," she said, saying the mare's name like it was poison. She finally sighed to herself after an eon of thought. The two mares may have different ways of showing love, but it was still apparent to the nurse that Dash loved the filly deeply, and would do anything to ensure her happiness.

"Eventually..." the mare said to herself before continuing her work.

"Stupid matron!" shouted Dash to her living room as she entered through the front door. "What does she know? She is my top priority, and I'm completely responsible!"

The mare took a moment to try calming herself. Without Kindheart's smug face in Dash's eyes, she was able focus on what was in front of her. The first thing she saw was the absolute pile of pizza boxes on the table in front of her couch, some of which hadn't been emptied the night they were purchased. The mare winced after looking to Tank's normal sleeping spot. She could just about see the lines wafting upwards from it's smell.

The kitchen wasn't the cleanest either. Beneath the stacks of dishes probably sat the two bowls that she and Scootaloo used that first morning. "Ugh," she groaned to herself. The word "responsible" floated up from somewhere in her mind. She could laugh it weren't so ironic.

"Maybe," she said at the beginning of the thought, "maybe I'm not responsible enough." Dash slumped against a wall opposite the couch and thought about all of the times she had been irresponsible. She stopped after realizing that she'd be up all night thinking of everything.

"No," Dash said as she struck the floor with her hoof. "I'm not gonna be this way. I can't if Scootaloo's gonna stay here." The mare got up and began cleaning the area. She'd show that nurse what responsibility was. She'd shove it in her face and show her what Scootaloo meant to her.

Author's Notes:

Informative mini-chapter for those of you out there who wanted to see what the sundae was like. Sorry I couldn't describe it in the moment, so to speak.

Bonus Points: who is Hot Streak's mom?