The last bell of school had rung some time ago. Fillies and colts had long since raced out of the confines of the school house, heading in all manner of directions. Many of them went straight over to Sugarcube Corner for an after school cookie, muffin, milkshake, and so on. Others were simply heading home to drop off their saddle bags before heading back out to spend some non-school time with their friends. Either that or they were staying home to do their homework either because they wanted to get it done and out of the way or that their parents were upset due to their poor grades.

Yet with all that said, there were three fillies who had stayed behind at the school. Two of them, an earth pony and a unicorn, were staring through the window as they watched the fate of their friend inside. Said friend, a pegasus pony, was still seated in her desk while her eyes were fixed on its wooden surface where a paper lay. In front of her was their teacher who looked at the smaller filly with a sad frown.

“Now Scootaloo,” said Cheerilee, breaking the moment of silence. “I hope you understand that I am doing this because I am worried about you. This is the third time you have turned in barely completed assignments this week. And your test scores have been dropping slowly over the last few months. If this keeps up, then I will have to call in Mrs. Foster for a conference and then…” Scootaloo looked up a bit to see that Ms. Cheerilee was biting her lower lip. “Well, we might have to talk about summer school or perhaps holding you back a year if this keeps up.”

If this bothered the filly, she didn’t show any signs of it. Instead she quickly glanced at the clock to see that class had been let out a half an hour ago before lowering her head to look at her desk again. That was thirty minutes where she could have been doing something cool like trying to hang out with Rainbow Dash, practice her flying, trying out new stunts, and so on. Instead she was here having to listen to this while doing her best not to groan out loud.

“But I am sure it won’t come to that,” continued Cheerilee as she pointed a hoof at the paper Scootaloo was looking at. “Because I’m going to be giving you extra assignments to help boost your grades starting today. Now I want you to have this completed and on my desk first thing tomorrow morning.”

Scootaloo gave a lazy nod as she took the paper and placed it in her saddle bag without looking at it or where it was being placed. When she closed her bag, Scootaloo strapped it on her flank while saying a quick goodbye to her teacher before heading out the door.

As soon as she was out the door, Scootaloo found herself being tackled by her two best friends in the entire world. Despite being pinned against the hard ground, a warm happiness grew inside of her upon seeing that they had waited this long just for her. It was enough to make Scootaloo grin up at them, forgetting the long conversation she had been forced to listen to. But that happiness lasted only a split second when she saw the worried and concerned expressions on their faces.

“Is everything ok Scoots?” asked Apple Bloom as she and Sweetie Belle got off their friend. As she got up, Scootaloo stole a quick glance towards the doorway to see if Cheerilee was standing there. Thankfully, she was not.

“Yeah, it’s fine,” she said, waving off their concerns with her hoof. She had hoped that they would take her word on this and dismiss the fact that she had been asked to stay after class like it was no big deal. Instead, however, her two friends gave each other a look that caused Scootaloo to frown.

“It didn’t seem like everything was fine,” said Sweetie Belle as she leaned forwards a bit. “Ms. Cheerilee never asks somepony to stay after class for no real reason.”

“And ya have been acting mighty strange lately,” added Apple Bloom with a raised eyebrow that matched her older sister’s. As Scootaloo let out an annoyed sigh, Apple Bloom continued. “Ya seem a bit more… distracted ah guess. Like today, Miss Cheerilee called ya three times an ya acted like ya were comin’ out of a daydream or something. If something is goin’ on, ya know ya can tell your fellow Crusaders.”

“I’m fine,” stated Scootaloo as she rolled her eyes and fighting the urge to stomp her hooves in frustration. She knew from past experiences that things like that would make them worry more which would result in them asking the same questions again and again. Best thing to do in these situations was to change the subject and hope the problem goes away. “Look, let’s get out of here. We’ve already spent too much time at school already. How about we head over to the clubhouse and figure out something fun to do!”

“Ahh,” said the two other fillies in unison as they gave each other another worried look. Frowning, Scootaloo lifted a hoof before continuing to press the idea of having fun. Maybe mention some things that they might like. Perhaps heading to Zecora’s so Apple Bloom could practice her potion making while she and Sweetie Belle assisted. Or going to Sweetie Belle’s place to listen to her show tune albums. Yet before she could utter a word the shadow of an older mare loomed over them.

“Oh, Scootaloo,” said Cheerilee as the pegasus filly’s ears flattened. “I would have thought you’d be off getting to work on that extra assignment by now.” While her tone was innocent, there was a powerful message behind it that all three fillies heard loud and clear.

“Well maybe we’ll hang out later tonight,” said Sweetie Belle quickly, causing Cheerilee to smile and nod approvingly. “Or tomorrow.”

“Might be for the best,” added Apple Bloom with a nod.

“Gee, thanks,” deadpanned Scootaloo as she turned to leave. With barely a word to any of them other than ‘goodbye’, Scootaloo went to the side of the school where her scooter lay. After undoing the lock on the front wheel she set off down the dirt roads of Ponyville while her friends waved at her from behind.

For the next several minutes Scootaloo rode around Ponyville aimlessly, just passing shops and ponies as she felt the wind blow through her mane. The small pegasus could feel her worries and annoyances take a back seat as she scanned the area looking for a ramp she could use to become airborne for a few wonderful seconds. Nothing to bother her since it was just her, the scooter, and the road. There was a sort of freedom in this, probably the most she would ever get until her wings became strong enough for her to truly fly.

It wasn’t until her second pass around town that Scootaloo began to wonder what she was going to do for the rest of the day. The rest of the CMC were out thanks to Miss Cheerilee. If she did try to catch up with them later they might ask about her homework and what that was about. Something that Scootaloo really didn’t want to talk about or lie about. If she did, then she might get them into trouble with Cheerilee. Scootaloo could just see it, Cheerilee looking at her two friends wondering why they distracted her from her homework or something to that effect. Then they would get mad at her for lying to them in the first place. That definitely wasn’t happening.

Scootaloo tried to think of other ponies who she could hang out with, but the results were not all that good. The first pony she thought of was, of course, Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t think of a cooler pony she would want to be around or to be more like. Whenever she wasn’t busy, Rainbow was willing to watch her as she tried her most wicked stunts on her scooter while giving her advice on how to get better air time. Or she would just relax with the filly. If there was one pony Scootaloo felt like she could confide her plans for the future to, it would be Rainbow. And she was sure Rainbow would understand. But the problem was that her big sister was not in Ponyville right now and hadn’t been for some time. Right now she was on a big tour with the Wonderbolts, heading from major city to city almost non-stop. There was no telling when she’d be back.

So that left Scootaloo with mostly fillies and colts her own age to hang out with. While she was on better terms with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon she doubted they were close enough to spent time like this. Snips and Snails were just out. Rumble was out because hanging around him would just remind her of all the things she couldn’t do. Pip might be a good option, but his princess obsession was a bit-

Scootaloo slammed on the brakes, coming to a screeching halt that caused many heads to turn her way. But the wide eyed happy filly didn’t care because a wonderful idea had just popped into her head. Princess Twilight! She could go and visit her to see if she had heard anything about Rainbow Dash. And if not, Scootaloo could send her a letter via Spike!

So, with extra vigor, Scootaloo sped off towards Twilight’s Castle of Friendship.

-x-

“Hey Scootaloo,” came Spike’s voice as Scootaloo walked into the library. Looking around she saw that the dragon had his head turned to look at her while his arms held several large books that were stacked on top of each other. She supposed he would have to have his head turned that way seeing that the size and number of books he held made it impossible for him to see anything in front of him.

“Hey Spike,” answered Scootaloo as she walked towards him. “Working hard?”

“This? Nah,” said the dragon, almost dropping the stack as he did. “This is nothing for a dragon helper like myself. I do it all the timmmmmeeeeeee!” It was as he said that last word that Spike had tried to continue to walk, only to trip or stumble (Scootaloo didn’t really see what happened) and dropping all the books in the process. For a moment, the two stared at the pile in silence before it was broken by the dragon. “I, uh, also do this all the time.”

“Do you need a hoof?” asked Scootaloo as she watched Spike begin to pick up the books.

Spike shook his head. “It’s alright. I got this.” Then, with a book in each claw, he turned to look at Scootaloo. “So what brings you down here?”

“Oh, I was just wondering if Twilight was around,” said Scootaloo, trying to play it cool. “I wanted to ask her if she had heard anything about Rainbow Dash. No big deal really.”

As she said this, Scootaloo spotted Twilight at the opposite end of the library. The purple alicorn was seated in front of a crystal desk with books piled up everywhere around her. The smaller piles were on the desk, stacked in threes and fours from what the filly could see. The larger ones, however, towered over the alicorn as she sat with her nose most likely in book. Normally this wouldn’t be anything too strange for anypony who knew Twilight. But Scootaloo noticed that these books had blotches of dirt on their covers and spines, something she had never seen on any book in Twilight’s possession before. They also looked far more worn and used than normal, making the filly wonder for a brief moment just how old they were.

“Well I haven’t heard anything,” replied Spike with a slight shrug, causing Scootaloo to droop slightly. “And Twilight’s busy looking for something in those old books she’s found in the old castle of the Royal Pony Sisters that she’s had me looking through all our mail.”

“Oh,” said a slightly disappointed Scootaloo. “Well, would you mind sending a letter to Rainbow Dash? I want to let her know what’s going on.”

“Well I can’t do it right now,” said Spike as he continued to stack books into his arms. “If I did that, it might fly into her face while she’s trying to fly. But if you want, you could leave it here and I’ll send it to her later tonight. How’s that sound?”

“Ok,” said Scootaloo, her smile returning as she took off her saddle bag and put it on the floor. “I still need to write the letter anyways. Mind if I stay here for a bit?”

“Sure thing,” said Spike as he walked towards the bookshelves while Scootaloo opened up her bag. From there she began to search for a blank piece of paper and pencil, shoving aside or tossing out everything else. After what seemed like ages, when in reality it had just been forty seconds, Scootaloo finally found everything she was looking for. Just as she was about to lie on the floor and write to Rainbow about everything that was going on Spike approached her again holding a very familiar piece of paper.

“Write a report on a famous pony in Equestria’s history that isn’t Rainbow Dash,” read Spike before lowering it. “Homework?”

“Sort of,” groaned Scootaloo, not wanting to be bothered with it. Sadly, she had a feeling that it was going to happen anyways.

“Well, if you need any help we have tons of books on famous ponies and I know every single one of them,” said Spike proudly as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

Scootaloo forced herself to smile. “T-Thanks Spike,” she said. “But, you really don’t need to go through the trouble-”

“Oh it no trouble at all,” interrupted Spike as he pointed upwards towards the ceiling looking all dramatic and important before zipping away. Scootaloo let out a sigh, ready to go back to something that really mattered to her when Spike returned holding several books smaller than the ones he had before. “These are some of my favorites. First we have Storm Crosswinds, the first mare in the history of Equestria to become Captain of the Royal Guard. She’s really awesome because back then, only unicorns from noble houses were given high positions like that. She really changed everything. Or maybe you would like to do something about some Wonderbolt history like Commander Easyglider or Admiral Fairweather. Oh, oh I know! Script Box! She helped create many of Equestria’s greatest comic book heroes and help make the medium take off!”

In that moment, Scootaloo could do nothing but stare at Spike. She didn’t want to do this stupid assignment. She really, really didn’t want to do it! But it felt wrong to turn Spike down after he had gotten her these books just to help her out. And some of them did seem interesting. Definitely not as interesting or amazing like Rainbow Dash, but then again who was? Maybe she could look into some of the other Wonderbolts or this Storm Crosswinds mare. They could be just cool enough to read and maybe do a report about.

Just as Scootaloo was about to reach out a hoof, a loud noise from within the library startled both her and Spike. “I don’t believe it!” Twilight had shouted. Both Scootaloo and Spike turned their heads in time to see Twilight dancing in place with a big grin on her face. “It really was there! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!”

“Ah, Twilight,” Spike said in a hesitant voice. Twilight, how had her eyes closed as she danced, opened one of them to get a good view that she was dancing for a small group. Almost immediately she stopped as her face changed from purple to scarlet.

“Oh, Scootaloo,” said Twilight as she put on an embarrassed smile. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“She’s been here for a while,” deadpanned Spike with a raised eyebrow.

“She has?” asked Twilight as she scratched the back of her head, her unnaturally large embarrassed smile growing a bit larger. Then, something odd happened. Twilight’s eyes went wide and her smile became more natural looking. “Scootaloo? Would you mind lending a hoof for a moment? I’d like to try out this old genealogy spell I found.”

“Gena-what?” asked Scootaloo, tilting her head as she said this.

Twilight beamed at the filly, looking happy to lecture somepony. “To put it simply, genealogy is the study of one’s family and their lineage. Ever since Pinkie Pie and Applejack found out that they might be related, I’ve been trying to help them find definite proof one way or the other in my free time. Unfortunately, the few documents I have managed to find haven’t been in the best condition. With such poor records, it looked like I would never be able to give a definitive answer one way or another. Current DNA spells are also out because, even if Applejack and Pinkie Pie are related, it will more than likely show up negative because of how far apart they are.”

Twilight then gestured towards her desk table. “Just when I was about to give up I suddenly got an idea! A long time ago, starting in the early days of Equestria before Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, there were ponies trying to get into the upper class by claiming to be a distant relative. They would approach a Duke or Count looking as finely dressed as they could saying something like ‘I’m your third cousin’ or ‘I’m your long lost nephew’. Many of the smarter ones would even come with things like forged documents or would have memorized enough names so that the family in question would buy it. Well, of course, this couldn’t go on forever since it just kept happening. Eventually, one of the noble families commissioned a great wizard to create a spell that would reveal a pony’s bloodline which would effectively end any deceit.”

Twilight gestured for Scootaloo and Spike to follow her with her wing, leading them out of the library and into the map room while continuing her lecture. “Unfortunately, none of the books that this spell appeared in ever named it making it very difficult to find. Most books claim that the last time this spell was used was about six hundred years ago so finding a copy of it has been next to impossible using the normal methods. Luckily, the old castle library had plenty of books from that period so it was all a matter of looking through them in order to find the right spell. Which I just did! And I believe that using the magic of the Cutie Map will help improve the spell! All I need is somepony to try this spell on while I make notes!”

“Uh,” said Scootaloo looking curiously at the book with a twinge of hope. For as long as she could remember, she had been left in the care of Ms. Foster who ran the orphanage in Ponyville. While she would never admit this out loud, because it might make her seem less cool, Scootaloo had often wondered where she came from. Who were her parents? Did she have any siblings? Any Aunts or Uncles who might wish to take her in? If she ever found them, would they welcome her with open hooves and wings? Or would she have to live with the hard truth that she had been unwanted?

Scootaloo shook her head to chase away the doubts and fears. Right now she had a huge opportunity before her. A chance to get the answers she wanted, no matter how much they might hurt. And there was a chance that she might be related to Rainbow Dash! Maybe a distant cousin or something like that! That would be the greatest thing ever!

“Alright, let’s do this!” said Scootaloo confidently.

“Ok then,” said Twilight as she began to charge the spell, beads of sweat rolling down her face due to the sheer amount of power it probably needed. “Let’s see if this works.” With that, the spell hit both Scootaloo and the map at the same time. After Scootaloo was hit her entire body began to glow lavender while the surface of the map seemed to ripple as if a large drop of water was landing in the middle of a circular bowl. All three individuals in the room waited with baited breath for a sign that the spell was working. Twilight seemed the most eager out of all of them, summoning a quill and a blank piece of parchment so she could most likely document everything that happened.

Then, after what seemed like forever, the glow around Scootaloo body began to gather around her cutie mark which a copy of it separated from her and floated right above the map. From there, her mark began to pulse for several minutes before a thin line emerged from its top. It shot upwards only to stop after three inches where it then forked out. Once the lines had stopped for a moment, small dots at the end of these lines appeared and began to grow like fruit off of a tree.

“I-It’s making a family tree,” said Twilight as she scribbled something down. But Scootaloo was barely paying her any attention. She had learned about family trees in school last year so she had an idea of what she was seeing. And if she was reading this right then it meant she was an only foal.

Then something strange happened. As the dot began to take on more of a shape, more lines appeared above them and branching off into every direction before the ‘fruit’ could even fully form. But that wasn’t what was strange. What was strange was one set of lines began to appear under one of the dots that belonged to Scootaloo’s parents! The filly’s eyes widened as this line moved to show that one of her parents had been with somepony else and, much to her amazement, had two foals with that pony. Scootaloo could feel her heart pounding in her chest as more dots and lines appeared right next to hers! She…she had siblings after all! Grinning madly, Scootaloo turned to look Twilight who expected her to be just as happy as Scootaloo felt.

Except she wasn’t. Twilight had dropped both her quill and parchment with her gaze focused on the family tree in front of them. Curious, Scootaloo did her best to follow Twilight’s gaze which looked like it was directed at the filly’s parents. The dots now were no longer dots but cutie marks. One of them was that of a wing that looked like it was made of clouds. The other looked like three stars. It was the star cutie mark that branched off to the other family. Once again, Scootaloo looked over at Twilight who was slowly shaking her head while mouthing the words “I don’t understand”. Scootaloo turned her head towards where Spike was standing; ready to ask him what the big deal was, but the dragon also looked shocked by what he was seeing.

Looking back at the magical family tree, Scootaloo turned her attention back to the family tree where she noticed that her sibling’s cutie marks were beginning to form. Then after several long agonizing moments the filly felt her jaw hit the floor. Slowly, she turned her head to look to her side finding that her sister was staring back at her with mirrored shock.

-x-

Night had fallen over the town of Ponyville, the moon shining brightly while surrounded by countless stars. Every light from every home and dwelling had long been put out as the town’s residents slept in their beds. No pegasus ponies were out for there was no need. The weather this night was perfectly cloudless and would remain like this for several more days making this a spellbindingly peaceful evening.

Yet while the town’s ponies were in their beds, that did not mean that they were all asleep. For within the tree castle that Twilight called her home laid the alicorn with bloodshot eyes who stared helplessly at the ceiling.

She had been in this state for some time now. After the spell had revealed that she and Scootaloo were half sisters, Twilight was sure there must have been some sort of mistake. It just wasn’t possible! But repeating the spell several more times as well as using a standard DNA testing spell which she had mastered several years before becoming an alicorn produced the same conclusion: Scootaloo was in fact her half sister.

To be honest, the idea of even having a younger sister felt stranger to her. Back when she was younger she never really cared about being around other ponies other than Cadence or Shining Armor. Well, and Celestia of course, but that went without saying. As she grew older however, finally interacting with other ponies beyond academic purposes showed her what she had been missing all her life. And she would be lying if she said she never felt a bit of jealousy when her friends were with their little sisters. She wondered what it would be like to be a BSBFF.

Twilight turned in her bed so she was now looking out the window. But Scootaloo? Whenever she pictured herself with a little sister she always imagined that they would be bonding over books or something scholarly. Heck, she could even see them playing a game of Ogres and Oubliettes. But then again, that was how she imagined it. Truth was that Scootaloo had a strangely similar addiction to extreme and high speed action stunts as her mother did. Not to mention that Shining Armor, while still a big nerd, also enjoyed training his body much like Scootaloo did.

But this wasn’t the issue that was keeping Twilight awake. What was doing that was a dark thought that scared sleep away from her and caused her mane to stand up in all directions. A thought that had caused her to pace for hours until her hooves hurt.

Her mother had had an affair.

Twilight shut her eyes for a moment as she shook her head back and forth. She didn’t want to believe it. There had to be another explanation! But every possibility that Twilight thought of seemed either insane to even consider (her mom having a long lost twin sister who had the exact same cutie mark which messed up the spell) or just so dark that it made Twilight cry just thinking about. In the end, this was the most likely way it could have happened.

Sighing, Twilight got out of her bed. As her tired hooves touched the floor, her mind showed her how it could have happened for the thousandth time today. She could see her mother bumping into a stallion one day and making a friend. The two of them going off for tea or something like that while Twilight’s father was none the wiser. Slowly the two of them became closer until one night…Twilight shuddered not wanting to image her mother in that sort of act. Her mind continued to play however, showing her Twilight Velvet when she found out she was pregnant. Not wanting to ruin her marriage, she looked up a simple illusion spell to hide the proof. And then, when Scootaloo was born, something…happened.

“This isn’t helping,” Twilight said aloud while placing a hoof on the side of her head. Letting out a yawn, Twilight slowly came to the realization that she had no idea what actually happened. And there was only one pony who could give her the answers: Twilight Velvet herself.

Twilight frowned. Normally, if she wanted to see her mother, she could easily make the trip to Canterlot and the two could go out into the city for some ‘mare time’. That would be the ideal situation that wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows and would have allowed Twilight to ask her mother everything she wanted to know away from her father. Sadly right now both her parents were in the Crystal Empire spending time with Shiny, Cadence, and Flurry Heart. Taking a two day trip up there, without giving them any notice, would seem out of place for her. Add to the fact that Cadence might want to tag along with their ‘mare time’ wouldn’t help the situation. Of course, Twilight could just wait for them to return to Canterlot…but she didn’t want to wait. Both she and Scootaloo deserved answers!

“I guess there’s only one option left,” said Twilight as she rubbed her eyes. Her horn lit up to summon some parchment and a quill. “Dear Mom,” dictated Twilight as the quill moved across the paper. “I wish I was writing to ask how your trip is going, but something very important has come up here in Ponyville. Do you remember a filly named Scootaloo? She was one of Cadence’s Flower Fillies. Well I was working on a genealogy spell and discovered that she’s my half sister.” Twilight paused to let out a yawn before looking at the parchment once again with half closed eyes. “Mom, I need an explanation for this. Scootaloo needs an explanation. I’m not going to tell Dad, not until I hear from you. Please write back soon.”

With the letter finished, Twilight let the quill drop to the floor as she slowly walked out into the hall and made her way to Spike’s room. With knocking, the Princess of Friendship opened the door so loudly that it startled Spike from his slumber.

“AH!” Spike shouted as he sat straight up in his bed. As Twilight made her way closer, Spike looked out the window before looking at his clock. “Twilight, what’s the big deal? It’s too early for…Twilight, are you ok? You’re not looking so good.”

“I just,” began Twilight only to pause so she could let out a loud yawn. “Couldn’t sleep. Could you send this letter to my mom real quick?”

“Ahh, sure,” said Spike as Twilight handed him the letter. Without asking what was going on, Spike took a deep breath before exhaling a large stream of green flame which consumed the letter. Once the flames vanish, the dragon gave Twilight a worried look. “Twilight, is everything ok?”

Twilight did her best to look him in the eye, but failed. “I…honestly don’t know,” she said with a sigh.

-x-

Elsewhere, Scootaloo found herself in a similar position as Twilight. She laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling where a poster of Rainbow Dash hung. Normally, staring at her honorary big sister’s confident smile helped to reassure the small pegasus that whatever troubles she was going through would be alright. It also made her feel better knowing that somepony who cared about her was watching her as she slept. And yet this time it didn’t seem to help her any.

Twilight was her real big sister. This new found truth had been the only thing she could think of all day to the point where everything else was a blur. She could barely remember how she got home or what she had for dinner. She remembered talking to Ms. Foster for a bit but the details were something she couldn’t put her hoof on at the moment. But now, for some reason, time was moving sluggishly as she tried her hardest to go to bed. Perhaps, if she did, she would wake up and this would have all been some sort of dream.

She didn’t want this to be true! She didn’t want Twilight to be her real big sister! Why couldn’t it have been somepony cool like Rainbow Dash?

A frown appeared on Scootaloo’s face as a sudden and massive wave of guilt hit her. It wasn’t that she hated Twilight. Hay, she didn’t even dislike Twilight in the slightest. She was friendly and would have been a good big sister…for somepony else. She just wasn’t the cool big sister she had always wanted. Twilight was a dork who enjoyed reading and practicing her magic while she was a mare who got her thrills doing stunts outside. Ok, Twilight did come in fifth place that one time during the Running of the Leaves but that was it. It seemed impossible for them to do anything she would consider sisterly bonding.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Scootaloo tried her best to image them teaming up for the Sisterhoof Social. She could see Twilight actually bringing a book with them, trying to use it to see if there were any tips. Scootaloo winced as the vision of Twilight tried to do the jump rope competition only to get tangled up by the rope in less than two seconds. Then, when she pictured Twilight trying to do the obstacle course race with no wings or magic, she just shuddered. By the end of that one, Twilight would be covered in mud, eggs, grape juice, and they still would have been in last place. It would be sooooo embarrassing.

As Scootaloo opened her eyes she felt her shoulders slump while looking up at her idol once more. What would this mean for her and Rainbow? Would Rainbow Dash still be her honorary big sister now that she had a real one? Or would Rainbow Dash stay away from her and let Twilight do all the things that they did together?

Gritting her teeth, Scootaloo shook her head before lifting the blanket up and pulling it over her face. NO! She would not accept that! Rainbow Dash was her sister NOT Twilight! There was no way she was ever going to accept this! So with that, Scootaloo turned over to her side and closed her eyes determined to fall asleep.

-x-

Elsewhere, far to the north…

“WOOHOO!” cried Twilight Velvet as she kicked the door to her suite open. Around her, water dripped from her messy mane due to the large amounts of ice and snow that was tangled within it. Her eyes and smile twinkled with life as she hurried over to the bed where she began to strip off her survival gear which was then dropped onto the floor. “Oh Night, we have GOT to come up here more often. Climbing glaciers, mountains, free falling off of glaciers and mountains, parkour through a glacial field. There is just so much to do here that makes me feel alive.” She then paused. “Oh, and seeing the family was nice too. Wish they could have joined us.”

“Y-Y-Yes,” stammered Night Light as he stumbled into the room. Despite the warmth that the city area that Empire provided, he was still looking bluer than normal and shaking all over. As his wife walked into the bathroom, he began to remove his attire before neatly folding them and placing them in a bin to be washed. Once that was finished, he crawled into bed while he heard the shower start up.

“May-maybe n-next time we s-should v-visit T-T-Twilight in P-Ponyville,” said Night through his chattering teeth as pulled the blanket tightly around him. “I-I mean, w-when was the l-l-last time we visited h-her.”

“Good idea,” called out Velvet. “I’ve been wanting to explore the Everfree Forest for awhile now. Maybe we coAAAAHHH!”

Instantly jumping out of bed, Night Light ran to the open bathroom door. “Honey!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. But before he could step one hoof in, a rolled up parchment held in his wife’s magical glow floated in front of him.

“Sorry,” said Velvet as she poked her head out from behind the shower curtain. “Spike just sent me a letter. Would you mind reading it for me?”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Night Light took the letter with a small smile. “Maybe she was getting a little jealous since we only ever seem to visit Shining Armor,” he said humorously as he opened the parchment. The paper was a little wet and the ink was a tad runny from being sent to Velvet in the shower, but he could still read it clearly.

“Maybe,” said Velvet as she turned off the shower and stepped out. “I know Shiny and Cadence need all…the…help…” Velvet’s words trailed off as she stared at her husband who was staring at the letter with an odd look on his face. “Night? What’s wrong?”