It was cold.

Yeah, I'm not really sure what else I was expecting, I mean we were in what was left of the Crystal Empire after all. I swear, I could even feel it through my cold weather gear as the caravan we were traveling with headed north towards Crystal City.

I wound up talking with the head of the Caravan, a pony named Caps Stash, who told me what little he knew about the Crystal Wasteland.
Apparently this had been the first target of the Enclave Remnant when they came out of hiding almost 10 years ago. A General named Marigold had tried to take over but had been stopped by a cyberpony mare and the forces had been pushed out of the region.

More recently there had been the reports I had heard about the Changelings making their return in the Crystal Wasteland to attempt to take things over. Trade had pretty much ceased to the north out of paranoia over the take-over, but they had also been stopped, this time by a group of ponies calling themselves the Crystal Crusaders.

You know I had to wonder about that, did they name themselves after me and my friends or something? I made a mental note to learn more about them once I made it to Crystal City at the very least.

"You take me to the nicest places," Arc Light said sarcastically and I chuckled a little at that as I looked over at her. "How do ponies live in this place?"

"The same way they live everywhere else," I said with a shrug. "One day at a time and working together to survive."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Arc commented as she shivered a little bit. "Was it like this before the megaspells?"

"A little," I said with a shrug as I checked my PipBuck's map, we were still a little ways away from Crystal City. "Most of it was kept warm with the Crystal Heart, I wonder whatever happened to that."

"So what do you think Crystal City is like?" Arc asked.

"Who knows, maybe its made out of an old Buckball stadium or something," I commented.

"That's an odd thing to say..." Arc said and I just shrugged as we continued towards the city.

Crystal City was built around the old Castle at the center of the Empire's capital with a few more buildings being used as well as a wall constructed around the city.

When the caravan arrived we got out of the wagon and started out into the city as I adjusted my hat a little. I noticed that a lot of ponies were giving me weird looks and whispering to each other.

"Do I have something on my face or something?" I asked looking at Arc Light.

"No, maybe you're going to get punched again," Arc said. "Is that going to become a recurring thing or something?"

"I have no idea," I admitted and stopped to talk to one of the inhabitants. "Excuse me, we're looking for the mayor's office, can you tell us where that is?"

"Uh, just go to the old castle, its towards the top," the mare said looking at me strangely before heading off, muttering something to herself.

"Geez, what did you do to these ponies?" Arc asked.

"Honestly? I have no idea, the Stables in this area were relatively benign," I said in confusion. "Lets see if we can find the mayor."

Something about this city felt weird to me, it wasn't even hate or disgust that I saw when they looked at me it was almost... excitement? Like the ponies were happy to see me instead of angry or just ignoring me.

Something about this was strange, looking back I probably should've questioned it more when I arrived, but I just let it pass. It was probably nothing anyway, its not like I had been to this part of Equestria in the last 200 years.

"I'm going to go see about getting us somewhere to stay while we're here," Arc said as we entered the large castle. "Try not to cause any trouble, okay?"

"Hey, I don't cause trouble, it finds me," I said and rolled my eyes as I started heading up the stairs towards the mayor's office.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but Mayor Cream isn't in the city right now," the receptionist said without looking up at me. "She traveled to Ponyville with her daughter and the Crystal Crusaders a few days ago."

"Darn it, how long until they return?" I asked, I was a little disappointed, but I could wait if I had to.

"The train should arrive tomorrow," is the answer. "If you need to talk to somepony, you can talk with Butter..."

That's when she looked up at me and her eyes went wide when she got a good look at me.

"But... how? You left with... how are you here?" The Receptionist asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked confused, something about all of this was weird and I was going to get to the bottom of it. "Is this related to how everypony has been treating me?"

"I think I can answer that Scootaloo," a mare's voice said from the door and I turned to see a white Unicorn with a yellow mane with a pair of cybernetic hind legs. "Do you mind coming inside?"

I nodded and entered, it was a pretty nice office with a few pictures here and there of who I assumed was the mayor with other ponies. I took a seat across from the desk as the cyberpony mare sat down nearby.

"I'm sorry for the reception you've gotten, that had to have been confusing, my name is Butterscotch Candy," she said with a smile and offered a hoof which I shook. "So, what are you, a clone of the original Scootaloo?"

"No, I'm the real thing," I said, I was still a little confused but I told her my story and she listened and nodded.

"Can I see your hind legs?" She asked and I blinked a little but moved my coat so they were visible. "Okay, I need to explain something. The reason why ponies have been reacting to you like this is because you've been here before, well you from another world, you, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom stopped the Changeling Invasion."

I wasn't really sure what to make of that, it made perfect sense though based on the way ponies had been looking at me. This was the one place in Equestria where nopony would look at me like a villain.

And I had no idea what to think about that.

"So why are you looking for my sister?" Butterscotch asked.

"Its, a long story," I said as I told her how I had wound up here and the files that we had taken from the Enclave.

"I see, well I don't know what Vanilla is going to say to that," Butterscotch said as she looked a bit surprised. "Serenity is part of the family but she's a bit... wild, especially since the Changeling invasion."

"I guess some things run in the family," I said with a light chuckle.

"Oh you have no idea."

The next day I had come back to the Mayor's office to wait for Vanilla, but honestly, I had no idea what I was going to say.

I had traveled around Equestria for over a year now trying to find out what had happened to my family. After all this time here I was, waiting to talk to the pony who had taken in my descendant after the death of her parents, and I had no idea what I was going to tell her.

Was she going to be worried that I was going to take her away? Would she be afraid of how Serenity was going to react? I had come so far to try and find the filly, I couldn't take her away from the family she already had... I know that I wouldn't want the same to be done to me.

I wished that Rainbow Dash was here to help me, or Twilight or, anypony really that could give me some advice. I had worked so hard to get this far in my journey, I had friends and allies, but I wasn't sure how much help they'd be.

I closed my eyes and took out my earbuds and tuned into DJ Pon3's station and listened to music for awhile before the door opened.

"Butterscotch said you wanted to talk to me?" A mare said from the door and I looked over to see a yellow colored Unicorn with a white mane and a pair of cybnernetic wings and a metal spine looked at me curiously.

"Yeah, I'm, well its a long story," I said. "I'm looking for Serenity, I'd like to talk to her about... well its a long story."

"I see," Vanilla said as she looked at me strangely. "Why do you want to talk to my daughter?"

I paused for a long moment before removing my hat, if I was going to do this I might as well be completely honest. Vanilla gasped and covered her muzzle with her hoof when she saw who I was.

"I've been looking for her for awhile now... she's my descendant and I've been wanting to find any of my surviving family ever since I woke up."

"But, how?" Vanilla asked. "You are Equestria's Scootaloo right? How are you still alive?"

"Rainbow Dash saved me, she put me in magical stasis so that I would be healed," I said sadly. "I just woke up last year and I've been traveling around since then in hopes of finding answers about what happened to my family. I found genealogical records from the Grand Pegasus Enclave which said that Serenity was my descendant, I brought them with you if you want to check."

Vanilla took a look at the records when I gave her the holotape that Cipher had given me. She sighed lightly when she finished reading the files and gave it back.

"This is a lot to take in," she admitted. "I found Serenity when she was just a baby after the Enclave left her behind in Stable 81 and I've been taking care of her ever since. She's a good kid, but she's in a, fragile position right now because she had become close to the Crusaders and the other you."

"So, you're worried about how she'll react..." I said and nodded in understanding. "I, can wait if I have to, I don't want to hurt her."

Vanilla paused for a long moment before sighing a little. "Serenity has never really known her family... I can't promise that she'll want to meet you, but let me talk to her at her apartment."

"She has her own apartment?"

"Yeah, its a long story."

Vanilla lead me through the halls of the castle and stopped just before one hallway. She asked me to wait while she went to talk with Serenity. I closed my eyes and waited for her to return.

This was more nerve wracking than anything else I had experienced before, going into battle was a piece of cake compared to what I was about to do. It was weird, but this was what I had come here for.

Was I doing the right thing?

"She's ready," Vanilla said as she poked her head out of the room. "Come on in."

I headed into the apartment, it was actually pretty nice, the pony who lived here had made sure that it was all set up so a filly could get to everything easily.

"Scootaloo, is that you?" A small voice asked and I looked to see a gold Pegasus filly with a short messy red mane and tail looking up at me curiously. "I, thought you went back home, how'd you get back so fast?"

"Serenity... this is our world's Scootaloo," Vanilla said, which made Serenity's ears perk up in surprise. "There's, something she wants to tell you."

"What is it?" She asked looking up at me.

"Serenity, before I was exiled from above the clouds, I had a daughter," I said, rubbing my foreleg a little. "I've spent my time looking for any descendants she had and..."

"And, I'm one of them?" Serenity asked as tears started to well up in her eyes. "You're my ancestor?"

I nodded slowly as she looked between me and Vanilla. "I, need some time to process this," she said and walked into the adjoining bedroom.

I closed my eyes and started crying... I had no idea what to do now.

"So, it didn't go well?" Arc asked as we sat down for dinner.

"Yeah, I guess she's still recovering from the Crusaders leaving," I said with a sigh. "Honestly, I don't know what to do."

"Well, what if you were in her position, what would you want the pony to do?" Arc asked.

"I'd want to have time to adjust and process what they told me," I said with a light sigh as I took a drink of Opal Cherry. "That's what I'm gonna have to do I guess, I'm honestly worried about her."

"I know," Arc said with a sigh. "But if she's anything like you, then I think she'll be okay, just give her time."

"Yeah, I know," I said as I took a bite. "Honestly, I don't even know what to do when I'm done here. I might stay in Crystal City, but we still have to find your friend."

Arc paused for a moment. "Scootaloo, if you want to stay in Crystal City with your family, don't let me stop you. I can find Caramel Corn on my own, we can always come visit you or something."

"We'll see I guess," I said with a shrug. "Honestly, I'm still not sure about this whole thing with the Enclave still out there. I'd like to keep traveling with you, but we'll see I guess."

"Okay," Arc said. "So, why don't you tell me more about life before the war?"

"Oh the stories I could tell," I said with a smile as we finished eating and put our food away before we started talking.

We exchanged stories long into the night about our respective foalhoods. I couldn't help but smile a little at the stories of Arc and Caramel getting into trouble with their parents and the Overmare growing up.

I was starting to see why Arc wanted to find this mare so badly, they had been closer to each other than most friends ever could be. They reminded me a bit of me and the other Crusaders, best friends that could transcend time and distance.

It was actually nice to know that even if I hadn't given Stable 66 the best of conditions that they had still managed to thrive and be happy for a time. I knew that if anypony could track down the Enclave and find Caramel, it would be Arc.

Maybe, just maybe, my journey was finally over.

"Good night Arc," I said as I laid back on my bed.

"Good night Scootaloo," Arc said and drifted off to sleep, I smiled and closed my eyes and fell asleep not long after.

I blinked and looked around, it took me a moment to realize that I was back in my office at Stable-Tec. There was a few notes on my desk of possible experiment ideas for Stables and lists of ponies for various stables.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"Hey Scootaloo," a familiar voice said and I looked up to see Rainbow Dash walking in dressed in her Shadowbolts uniform. "Is this a bad time?"

"No, its fine," I said with a smile as I got up and trotted over and hugged her tightly. "I haven't seen you in forever."

"Yeah, sorry, I'm only back here for Eureka's experiment," Rain said, and I frowned a little.

Rainbow Dash had been the first of the Ministry Mares to supply her, genetic material for Project Legacy during the war. This was my memory of when she had come to talk to me about it.

Why was I dreaming about this all of a sudden?

"Oh yeah, Project Legacy, he said you had agreed to that," I said with a slight shake of my head. "I don't understand it honestly, it feels too much like he's trying to use eugenics or something, why did you agree to this?"

"Its hard to explain Scootaloo," Rainbow said with a sigh. "I've seen a lot during this war and I'm not immortal, as awesome as that would be. Project Legacy is going to give ponies in the future a chance to survive if the worst happens, to help ponies that need it. I'm not saying I agree with Eureka's ideas, but I understand that they're needed sometimes."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said and added with a chuckle. "Kind of funny really, guess this means I'll have a little sister out there somewhere."

"Yeah," Rainbow said with a light chuckle before giving me a hug. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you, but I'm proud of you. You and your friends have done great things for Equestria's future, a lot more than the rest of us have."

"If you say so, sometimes I wish that the war would be over tomorrow so this whole thing would've just been a waste of bits," I said as I hugged her back. "Do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, but that's not likely to happen," Rainbow said with a sigh. "Just promise me that whatever happens you'll keep yourself safe Scootaloo. I care about you and I want you to be okay."

"I promise," I said and released the hug.

"Just remember Scootaloo, family is the most important thing, no matter what."

I opened my eyes at that moment, Rainbow Dash's words still ringing in my ears. I laid back and smiled a little, glancing over at the sleeping Arc Light.

It was strange, but that dream felt like it was exactly what I needed, I smiled and closed my eyes, going back to sleep.

"Mmm... Caramel... right there..." Arc muttered in her sleep before I drifted off to sleep again.

I really didn't want to think about what she was dreaming about.

A couple of days passed before Vanilla said that Serenity was ready to talk to me again. I found myself standing outside her apartment.
I had to wonder a bit about that for a moment, how did a filly her age get an apartment and was living on her own? Did Vanilla approve of this, or did she just give Serenity her own space?

I was thinking way too much about this, was I trying to put this off? I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a moment Serenity opened it and looked up at me with a smile.

"Hey Scootaloo, come on in," she said and let me enter. "I'm sorry about the other day its just, it was strange to think about you as being family after all the time I spent with your human world counterpart. She, was like my big sister, and I've really been missing her a lot."

"Its okay, I completely understand," I said with a soft smile as we sat down on the old couch. "Serenity, I'm sorry for all of this I really am, I didn't think about how you might react when I found you."

"Its okay, I, kind of understand where you're coming from," Serenity admitted as she rubbed the back of her head a little. "After I found out I was adopted, I started thinking more and more about my family. I mean I didn't exactly go on a journey around Equestria looking for anypony, but I just, wanted to know."

"Yeah, I get that," I said with a sad smile. "What was she like? The other me I mean."

"She was brave and strong, but at the same time she was kind and caring," Serenity said with a sigh as she leaned over and picked up a picture of herself with ponies that looked like me and my friends. "She helped me a lot, gave me the confidence I needed to come out of my shell and help save Equestria from the Changelings. She ultimately just wanted to help keep Equestria safe, and she did."

"You miss them don't you?" I asked sadly as I wrapped a wing gently around the filly.

"Yeah, I do," she said with a sigh. "I know they're back home, but sometimes I wonder if I should've gone with them."

"What about Vanilla and Butterscotch? They seem to care a lot about you," I pointed out. "Wouldn't they miss you?"

"Yeah, probably..." she said with a sigh. "I don't know, sometimes it feels like Vanilla's too protective of me."

"Yeah, I had a foster family that tended to do that," I said with a nod. "But its just because she loves you."

"I know, but I wish she wouldn't treat me like a foal so much, I helped fight off an invasion, I have my cutie mark for crying out loud, but I'm still treated like a foal."

Yeah, she definitely reminded me of myself when I was her age. I guess that you had to grow up fast in the Wasteland, even if it meant that things weren't easy for your family. I had always been independent, you had to be when you grew up like me, but I had never done anything remotely close to what Serenity had.

I wondered what she would do later in life if she had already done this much when she was just a filly.

"You don't have to grow up so fast you know," I said. "Though I have to say, you've got a really nice set-up here."

"Yeah, this used to be the Crusaders Apartment so its kind of big," Serenity said with a shrug. "I know its a bit strange, but I just want to hold onto some part of them."

"I completely understand," I said with a smile as I ruffled the filly's mane gently. "You're lucky Serenity, you have ponies that love you and care about you, even if they don't always show it. I wish I had a family like yours growing up."

"You lost your parents too?"

"Yeah, when I was just a little filly, I had to be on my own for most of my foalhood," I said with a light sigh. "I made friends, good ponies who didn't care about me being an orphan or being flightless. When Rainbow Dash adopted me, it was the happiest day of my life, but I let it go. Family is the most important thing in the world, but its not about blood, its about the ponies that care about you and the ponies you care about. I know I'm not the same Scootaloo you knew before, but I promise you that I'll do my best to be there for you like she was."

Serenity looked at me thoughtfully for a moment before she smiled and nodded. "Thanks Scootaloo, that helped a little bit."

"You're welcome Serenity," I said and hugged her gently, Serenity waited a moment before she hugged back. "I couldn't be prouder of you for what you've done."

"Thanks Scootaloo, that really does mean a lot to me."

We just stayed there for a long moment as we held the hug. It felt right somehow, and I was just glad to have found her.

That night, the dream came back to me.

It had been months since I had last had the burning Ponyville dream, it had started to become more infrequent as I spent more time, but tonight it came back, with a vengeance. This time I saw the ponies I had met in the Wasteland, the ones I had made friends with, worked alongside... burning in a massive burst of energy.

I screamed as I bolted upright, it took me a moment to realize that I was in Serenity's apartment in Crystal City. She had asked me to spend the night and I had been willing to do so, and I was breathing heavily.

"Scootaloo, are you okay?" The filly's soft voice asked as she came into the room, looking at me worried. "I heard you scream."

"I'm fine, I'm sorry if I woke you up," I said, my heart was racing a mile a minute right now, but I was calming down.

"Its okay, I was awake anyway, I... sometimes have nightmares," she says, rubbing her foreleg a little.

"Its okay Serenity, come here," I said and pulled the filly in close, hugging her gently. "You can tell me about them."

"They're about the Changelings," she said quietly. "Its always about them, they try to grab me or my friends and family..."

I frowned a little as I wrapped my wings around the filly. Sometimes it was easy to forget that despite what she's done, she was still just a foal deep down, and even if she was strong enough to survive, the experience of fighting the Changelings had affected her more than she would want to admit.

The situation in the war with the Zebras had never gotten so bad that we had to use foals to fight each other. The fact that even foals had seen war in the Wasteland was distressing to me, but there wasn't anything I could do about it other than try and comfort Serenity.

After all, war may never change, but it will change a pony, in ways that you can never truly understand.

"I'm sorry Serenity," I said as I nuzzled her gently. "I promise that you'll be okay, its not going to be easy, but you'll get through this. I'll be here to help you as best I can."

"You really mean that?" She asked, her red eyes brightening a little.

"I do," I said with a smile as I pulled her in close. "Like I said earlier, family is important, and we're family."

"Does this mean you'll stay in Crystal City?"

"Well, I've really got nowhere else to go, Arc Light seems willing to go and do her own thing, so honestly... I might," I said with a nod and a smile. "I'd love nothing more than to stay here."

Serenity smiles and snuggles up to me, looking thoughtful for a moment before asking a question.
"Did you have a nightmare before?"

"Yeah, I did," I said with a light sigh. "I've been having them on occasion, usually of ponies I know dying in a Megaspell. Its, been hard on me ever since I woke up from stasis, but they're not as frequent as they used to be."

"Okay," Serenity said and yawned. "Tomorrow, there's something I want to show you, okay? Its really cool."

"Okay Serenity, I can't wait," I said with a smile and nuzzled the filly as she drifted off to sleep.

I smiled a little, Serenity reminded me a bit of myself when I was that age and of Cloudy. She was a sweet filly who ultimately just wanted to help others, which was why she had fought the Changelings.

When given the chance to save the world or live like nothing was wrong, it was the strongest of us who would put aside our own fear and do the right thing. I was happy that my family line had produced such a brave filly.

I laid her back on the bed and laid down next to her, draping my wing over her protectively as I drifted off to sleep.

I slept better than I had in years.

The next day we were heading down a street in Crystal City, Serenity was riding next to me on her scooter wearing a faded Crusader cape. A few ponies waved to us with smiles, after all the weird looks I got from the rest of Equestria, it was actually nice to find ponies that liked me.

"So that's one of my Red Racer scooters isn't it?" I asked curiously, I recognized the model, it had been one of the last ones my company had produced.

"Yep, that's right," she said with a smile. "The other Scootaloo fixed it up and used it during the Changeling invasion, she gave it to me before she left."

"Well, I'm glad its still working," I said. "I haven't been on a scooter since before the war, I admit I kind of miss it sometimes."

"Well, you never know," Serenity said as she did a trick, her wings buzzing a little as she propelled herself along. "So, how are you liking Crystal City?"

"I like it," I said with a smile. "Its one of the more interesting places I've been in the Wasteland, I'm glad its recovered so well."

"Yeah, but it seems to be a magnet for trouble sometimes," Serenity comments. "The Enclave, King Sombra, the Changelings... I'm almost afraid to ask what's next?"

"Wait, King Sombra came back?" I asked curiously, this was the first I had heard of that.

"Oh yeah, long story there, I was still little when it happened, but he tried to take the Crystal Wasteland over, but he was stopped, barely. We're still kind of dealing with all the aftershocks of that. Heck, even the Changelings was a result of them having made a deal with him years ago to help them recover from the Enclave."

The Enclave, it always seemed to come back to the Enclave no matter where I went. With two of their Generals now dead, it seemed like they were going to start to become more desperate to execute their plan.

What was their plan though? They had tried to take over several parts of Equestria by this point, but to what end? It almost felt like they were preparing for something big, but I couldn't figure out what it might be.

And somehow not knowing scared me more than anything else.

"We're here," Serenity said as we stopped in front of an old storefront that hadn't been re-purposed yet. "Come on, its just inside."

I smiled a little and followed the energetic filly in through the door. I was surprised a bit to find out that we were in an old toy store, some of it had already been cleared out but Serenity was heading towards the back.

I smiled a little when I saw what she was heading for, it was a set of old Red Racer scooters that had been set up on a display. They were old, but they actually looked like they were almost in working condition.

"I know its kind of silly but I thought, you might like one," Serenity said rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Is that okay?"

I smiled a little and gave her a hug. "Its more than okay, thank you Serenity, this means a lot to me."

Serenity smiled and hugged back, we let go after a moment before going to try and decide which one to use.

"So you and Serenity seem to really be hitting it off," Arc said as I was working on restoring the scooter I had picked.

"Yeah, she's a good kid, she kind of reminds me of myself when I was her age," I said as I kept working.

"I know, that's what worries me about her," Arc said with a light chuckle.

"Very funny Arc," I said as I rolled my eyes and kept working. "Serenity's a smart kid, she's not going to cause that much trouble... I hope."

"Where is she now anyway?"

"I think she said something about a patrol," I replied. "She said that she goes around town every so often just to check things out. Given what happened here with the Changelings I don't really blame her."

"Yeah, me neither," Arc said with a sigh. "I've been talking with Vanilla a little bit, it sounds like another train is set to arrive in a week to head back south. I was going to get a ticket, I figured you'd want to stay awhile longer."

"Yeah, just at least for now," I said. "Honestly, I'm thinking about settling down here permanently. I know we discussed it before, but I'm not sure what else there is for me out there."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Arc said as she levitated a wheel over to me. "Whatever you do, I'll respect your decision, I don't want you to be unhappy on my account."

"I know, that means a lot to me," I said with a smile as I fit it into the scooter. "Besides, I wouldn't want to keep you from finding your marefriend."

"She's not my... I just have a..." Arc said and blushed deeply, making me laugh at her reaction. "That's not fair Scootaloo."

"You really need to stop talking in your sleep then," I laughed as I finished tightening the screws on it. "Does she know?"

"No," Arc admitted with a light sigh. "And if I don't find her, I'll never get the chance to tell her how I really feel."

"Its okay, I get the feeling you'll find her," I said as I finished working on the scooter and tested it out. "I believe in you."

"Thanks," she said with a nod. "Come on, lets go find Serenity."

I nodded and wheeled it out, looking for the small Pegasus filly.

"Hey Scootaloo!" A gold and red blur said as it sped past me and Arc.

"Huh, so that's what that feels like..." I said, shaking my head clear. "Hey Serenity, hold on a sec."

Serenity came in for a stop and looked over at us and smiled. "Oh cool, you got it finished," she said as she came over to us.

"Yeah, I'm a little rusty to be honest, but I've got it all fixed up," I said with a smile. "Its as good as new now, so here's hoping it'll stay together."

"Yeah, it looks good," Serenity said as she examined it.

"So, what is it about scooters anyway?" Arc asked curiously. "It just seems a bit, strange to me is all to be so attached to them."

"Well with me it was always kind of an alternative to flight," I said with a shrug. "It keeps my wing muscles strong and honestly its fun, its just always been something I've been good at."

"Yeah, same here," Serenity said, flapping her wings sadly and my heart fell a little. "Vanilla thinks it might be something related to my body's magic or, something."

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Arc said, cringing a little. "That can't be easy for you."

"Yeah, but I'll be okay," Serenity said, putting on a brave smile that I knew all too well. "Though I admit, it would be nice to be able to fly."

"Yeah..." I admitted and hugged Serenity gently. "I've got an idea, how about we race? First one to the castle wins."

"You're on!"

I grinned and climbed on my scooter and the two of us raced off towards the castle, our wings pumping to propel us past startled ponies.
I didn't care who won at this point, it was exhilarating to feel the wind rushing past me as we weaved back and forth. I hadn't felt this alive in years, it was good to just be able to ride once more.

We finally pulled in for a stop right at the castle's front door laughing. It was the best experience I had since waking up as Arc trotted up to us.

"Hey, who won?"

"I did!" We both said in unison before laughing again.

It was the next day and I was seated at the local cafe reading my copy of The Book of LittlePip when I heard the sound of hooves approaching.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Vanilla asked as I looked up to see her.

"No, go ahead."

"Thanks," she said and pulled the chair out, taking a seat across from me. "I wanted to thank you, you've really been helping Serenity lately."

"No problem, helping ponies is what I do," I said with a smile as I put a bookmark in and set it back into my bag. "She's a good pony and I'm glad to help her out as best I can, I just wish there was more I could do."

"Its fine, you're doing great, Serenity hasn't been this happy since the Crusaders went back to their own world. She always saw them as family and... well, I know I'm not exactly the best mother in the world."

"You're doing fine, you raised a filly who couldn't stand by and let innocent ponies get hurt," I said reassuringly. "You should be proud of her."

"I am, its just, I don't know what to do," Vanilla admitted, she looked a little uncomfortable for a moment. "Honestly, I'm worried about what'll happen to her if... something happens to me."

"I know what you mean," I said with a sad nod. "The best advice I can give you is to make the most of the time you both have together. She cares about you, even if she doesn't always show it."

"I know, I know," Vanilla said. "Do you think I'm being too hard on her?"

"Maybe a little, I mean she's still only 10, but she's seen more action than most ponies her age have in the past," I said. "You can still worry about her, but maybe give her a little more freedom. You're still her mom, she'll always come back to you when she needs you."

"Thanks," Vanilla said, then added with a chuckle. "Besides, its not like I haven't gotten into my fair share of trouble, especially after I left Stable 81."

"Oh, why'd you have to leave?" I asked curiously.

"Uh, well, long story short you guys didn't give us enough material to repair our water purifier so I, wound up using the Stable door," Vanilla said sheepishly.

"You, used the Stable Door to fix the water purifier?" I asked in disbelief.

"Yep."

"The thing that kept the horrors of the Wasteland out of the Stable."

"That's the one."

"You know that was kind of a dumb idea right?"

"I'm painfully aware of the fact, yes," Vanilla said with a groan. "For a smart pony I sometimes do dumb things."

"Hey, everything turned out okay in the end," I said with a smile. "You're doing a good job from what I've seen, you've got nothing to feel sorry for."

"Thanks Scootaloo, that really means a lot," Vanilla said with a smile. "So, you're thinking about hanging around here for awhile?"

"Yeah, I don't really have anywhere else to go at this point," I said with a shrug. "I mean you don't mind do you? I don't want to impose."

"No, no, its okay," Vanilla said. "It would make Serenity happy, and that's all that really matters to me."

"Thanks Vanilla," I said and gave her a light hug.

"I'll leave you to read, it was nice talking to you again," Vanilla said and got up, walking off.

I smiled a little and opened the book back up. I put the earbuds back into my ears and started listening to DJ Pon3's voice again.

"In other news, reports from around Equestria are coming in about a new group of Alicorns calling themselves the Nightmare Society have been kidnapping ponies from settlements and Stables around the Wasteland. There are reports from the south of an Alicorn traveling around the area trying to take on the Society, but our information isn't very clear. Well, if you're out there listening, I wish you the best of luck in taking them down, the last thing we need is another Goddess around here."

I frowned a little, but at least it was being dealt with, I kept reading as the music filled my ears.

"Oh well I'm the type of buck who will never settle down
Where pretty mares are well, you know that I'm around
I kiss 'em and I love'em 'cause to me they're all the same
I hug 'em and I squeeze 'em they don't even know my name."

Seriously, did this song keep coming up on purpose or something?

A few days passed, I met Serenity's friends that still lived in the area, I was surprised to meet Ash who was... well he looked kind of like Sombra, but I didn't want to pry.

Then there was Vex, he was a Changeling, but he was nice enough, apparently he had decided to go against the leadership of the Changelings during the invasion and helped the Crusaders.

It was strange to think about it, if I had been here sooner I may have gotten to see Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom again, kind of. Then again I also would've met the other me, that would've gotten a bit confusing.

The night before Arc had to leave to go back to NCR territory we had a party, not a Pinkie level party, but a nice little party in itself. It felt like I was losing a member of my family, but I knew Arc was going to be okay.

I had no doubt she'd find Caramel someday.

That's how we all found ourselves at the train station to see her off. The train was set to leave soon and we were saying our goodbyes.

"Are you going to be okay out there Arc?" Serenity asked as she hugged Arc.

"Don't worry kiddo, I'll be just fine," Arc said with a smile as she ruffled the filly's mane gently. "You need to keep an eye on your grandma though, you know how old ponies get."

"Hey, I'm only 41!" I protested, which just got a laugh out of Arc and Serenity, I couldn't help but join in too.

"Take care of yourself Scootaloo, I expect to see you again someday," Arc said as she and I shook hooves.

"You too, and make sure I get an invitation to the wedding," I said with a smirk, making Arc blush deeply. "Seriously though, I can't wait to meet her, bring her home safe okay?"

"I will," Arc said with a smile.

As she was about to climb on the train there was a sudden sound that made us all pause. It was music, not like any music we had heard before, it was, almost militaristic in its melody, and it was coming from every radio and PipBuck within hearing distance.

"What in Tartarus..." Vanilla said as the three of us checked our PipBucks, there was no reason this should be going off right now.

The music stopped after another minute and a voice came over the radio. It was a mare's voice, cold, but commanding, as if every syllable was being peppered with confidence and charisma.

"Hello Equestria, this is President Winter Breeze of the Grand Pegasus Enclave, and I'm here to give you a message."

LEVEL UP!

Perk Received: Calming Presence.
Details: You have a knack for helping ponies calm down and telling them what they need to hear. You gain a boost in your speech and barter stat.

Author's Notes:

Vanilla Cream and Butterscotch belong to my good friend FaultyScrewdriver and appear in his fic Fallout Equestria: Surviving Light, check it out sometime, its great.