Four months. Four months of school for Bright, four months of recovery for Magenta, and four months of Therapy for Rainbow Dash. The latter trying hard to get over Scootaloo's death. Just like they promised, Fluttershy and Twilight primarily helped her out by distracting her from thinking about the incident. Like taking her out to see the Wonderbolts after Twilight informed Captain Spitfire about her predicament. Rainbow was extremely excited after shaking her hoof and flying with her personally.

Fluttershy took her out to the pet store to see the animals. She wasn't too excited about it but it did the job of keeping her distracted. Everything was looking well on their end. However, just like how Rainbow predicted, the events that had transpired have completely changed her. Even while she got to know Spitfire on a personal level, it was all still on her mind. If the group goes out to eat or something, Rainbow would tag along. But you'd have to ask her. Even then, she would barely say anything and stick to herself. Her own thoughts. A good instance would be now.

It was a sunny day in ponyville, the temperature at around seventy-four. A wonderful day for the group to have a pet day. Now that Rainbow Dash's wings had grown back, she was able to fly back up to her home. After grabbing Tank, she doubled back down to Fluttershy's cottage, who was waiting outside with Twilight, their respective pets with them. Owlowiscious was perched on Twilight's back, eyes trained on Angel Bunny who was relaxing on Fluttershy's head, nibbling on a carrot.

Rainbow flew down at a more casual speed, her familiar Rainbow trail non-existent as she neared them through the clouds. Her more common boastful and proud face now replaced with a more bored expression. A neutral expression with half opened eyes. She landed with Tank, cradling him in her right hoof. "Hey," she greeted as she set down Tank for a moment.

"Hey, Rainbow," Princess Twilight greeted. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." Owlowiscious hooted and flew off of Twilight's back. Then glided towards Tank and settled on his shell. Rainbow glanced down, then back up at the ponies in front of her. "You?" She asked.

Twilight answered appreciatively, "I'm great, thanks for asking. Are you ready?" Rainbow nodded. Then the group set about on their way to the farm where the rest were waiting. Rainbow saw them from the distance. Pinkie was bouncing up and down with Gummy on her head, Applejack was petting Winona, and Rarity was trying to pull that annoying cat off of her leg, constantly scratching her coat. Rainbow never understood why she never got rid of that cat. Twilight waved at them as they approached, "Hey, Girls!"

"Hello, dear!" Rarity sang while the cat swiped Winona away. "Hello, Fluttershy! Hello, Rainbow!" Fluttershy waved but Rainbow tightened her lips and nodded at her. "How are you dears?"

"We're okay, thanks for asking," Fluttershy responded. She stopped in front of Pinkie and bent low so Angel could hop off of her head and onto the ground. Then watched him bounce away. "Angel's been looking forward to today."

Tank flew towards the other pets while the rest of the mares talked and discussed. "Well that's good to hear," Applejack hooted. "Winona's been wanting to play for the longest but i never had the time to actually do it. It's good to see her get some air and run around again. What do ya' say, Rainbow? Wanna race?"

"No thanks," Rainbow responded as casual as she could manage. "I'm....I'm good."

"Oh......alright," Applejack responded with a nervous chuckle. She cast a glance with Twilight and shrugged with an unspoken question. Twilight shook her head in return. That was all they were ever going to get out of Rainbow Dash for now.

The play date went great. Well as much as it could get considering that Rainbow Dash was the only pony that didn't talk. Which is a serious deal. While everyone was on the ground talking and playing with their pets, Rainbow Dash was relaxing in the tree, watching Tank down below with a nonchalant look on her face. Applejack glanced up at her then back at Twilight. "So...how'd it go?" She whispered.

Twilight sighed and sat down in front of Winona, who was trying to reach up and grab the stick Twilight held in her magic. "Well...we did what we could for Rainbow. It's not like she's a lost cause or anything. But after an event like what happened hits your gut, it... I guess woke her up. She isn't so much that rowdy and boastful pegasus that everypony in Equestria knows. I think it's.... I personally think she's punishing herself." Twilight lowered the stick so Winona could finally grab it and carry it to Applejack.

"Why do you think that?" Applejack asked. She grabbed the stick and tossed it out back out onto the field. Winona ran over to grab it, but was beat to it by Owlowiscious, who had grabbed it in her talons, swooped back around and dropped it on Twilight's head.

"Well..." Twilight grabbed it in her magic and calmly gave it back to Winona, who happily took it and pawed Twilight's hoof, earning a rub behind the ears. "I think...laughing reminds her of when she laughed at you know who. And it caused her to get hurt. So she's punishing herself by never laughing again. Another theory is that she's still lightly mourning. The little filly was practically her best friend. It would destroy me if Spike had...you know. Imagine all of us losing Pinkie Pie." She and Applejack looked over at Pinkie Pie and shivered at the image in their minds of them carrying Pinkie Pie down to a graveyard.

Applejack shook her head and whispered downheartedly, "Yeah. Yeah, that would destroy me too."

"Exactly. The only thing we can do now is wait and hope for the best. We can't force Rainbow Dash to be happy. But we can at least try to find out what may serve her interests now than flying, which seemed to have gotten noticeably slower."

"Yeah... I noticed that too."

The lobby of East Manehattan Hospital was once again graced with Magenta Streak's presence as she walked through the glass doors and inside the cool atmosphere. Much cooler than it was outside. Today was the day. The day Magenta was going to have her bandages taken off permanently. She didn't feel anymore pain in her legs and she was moving as fast as Bright on a good day. Which was fast enough that the matron that had brought her here was begging her to slow down. Magenta slid to a stop and listened to the Matron huff and puff behind her. "Magenta, you can run all you want when you get your bandages off and we return to the orphanage," she told her. "But until then, please walk. I am exhausted. I might need to stay here for a few nights."

"Oh, sorry," she apologized meekly.

"Hello, Magenta!" Magenta turned and gasped, spotting Nurse Goldhoof trotting towards her. She stopped in front of her and nuzzled the top of her head. "It's great to see you running about! I'd thought you would take forever to heal and I'd never get to see this day."

"Ms. Goldhoof!" Magenta reached up and grabbed her muzzle, pulling it down into a hug. Goldhoof laughed and nuzzled her cheek lovingly. After a few seconds she let her go and then pointed to the matron. "She didn't want me running."

The nurse chuckled and stated, "We should probably wait until we assess everything underneath these bandages. Are you ready? I was sent down to wait for you." Magenta nodded eagerly. Anxious to get the itchy things off. "Okay, follow me." The group of three made their way to the elevator. Upon arrival, the nurse pressed the up button and waited for it to come down. Meanwhile she looked down at Magenta who was bouncing in place. "A little happy filly, aren't we?"

"Uh huh!" Magenta confirmed. She scratched at one of the bandages. "These things itch a lot."

"That means they are fulfilling their purpose in protecting any open wounds." The elevator door dinged, then slid open. The group walked inside and the nurse pressed for the top floor. Once the doors closed, the elevator ascended quickly, getting to the top floor within a good twenty seconds without any interruptions. The children's unit looked exactly the same. The same colors, the same happy nurses, and a bunch of fillies and colts running around. They walked down the hall, passing the room that Magenta occupied previously, now occupied by a pony named Live Lights. She cast a casual glance in there before they moved on. It looked like that pony wasn't in there right now. Soon, they arrived at a simple examination room that the doctor was standing in front of. Along with another nurse that Magenta recognized as the one who was taking care of Bright.

Once he spotted her, Maximum Gold smiled at her and waved. "Hey there, Magenta!" He greeted kindly. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she responded. "Everypony else is in school so I'm alone at the orphanage until I have to go."

The matron nodded and added, "Which may be soon if everything checks out here. There won't be a need for you not to miss anymore school." The doctor motioned for them to step into the room. Once inside the cold environment, Maximum Gold shut the door and walked with the rest of he staff towards the table.

The doctor set down his clipboard and motioned for her to step up to the table by using the stairs that were beside it. Magenta did as asked. Once on top, she settled down and waited, watching the nurses get prepared. The matron took a seat by the door and kept a close eye on everyone and everything happening inside. She couldn't be too careful. "Alright, Magenta," the doctor called. "I'm sure you know that today you're going to get these annoying bandages off and you get to see the full effect of whatever happened to you. Unfortunately, we still don't know what it was. Let alone your real name, birthday, age, origin, anything really. Only your alias, Magenta Streak. Hopefully we can find something. But until then, let's get started. Stand up for me a little." Magenta rose back onto her hooves and faced forward while the nurses put on some hoof covers. Nurse Goldhoof grabbed a stuffed bunny rabbit and placed it in front of her vision.

Magenta stared at it in confusion. Then looked up at nurse Goldhoof questioningly. The nurse pointed at it and clarified, "Most fillies find comfort in a doll or something if something goes wrong. This is here just in case, just within hoof's reach." The nurse turned back to her midsection while the doctor used his magic to remove the pin at the top. While the two nurses began to unwrap the bandages, Nurse Goldhoof added, "I also have something for you."

"Oh, really?!" Magenta squealed in excitement. "What is it, what is it?"

"Clothes. We both know what's underneath these bandages. So I bought you plenty that will help you cover up and still look good in the process. Okay, we're almost done with your midsection." Maximum gold softly removed the last piece of cloth and observed the massive amount of scarring as a whole. He and Nurse Goldhoof shared a look. Those were a lot of scars. They looked like someone just came in and just painted marks on her that reached up to her chest

"Ooohhh, that feels so much better," Magenta fawned. The Doctor looked at the scars that used to be where her wings were in the past. They were small but still noticeable amongst her orange fur.

"Okay," Doctor Sore Health announced. "Your ounds are healing up nicely. Everything here looks cleared up. Now it's time to look at your rear hooves and flanks." The nurses moved over when the doctor removed the pin and unwrapped the cloths, revealing the light amount of scarring there. There wasn't much, but he could already see that Magenta was going to be very self-conscious about all of then in the future. The one that had cut deep into her muscle was obviously the deepest on the body. As if somepony cut out a slice of her. "And we're done. You have the option now to see everything, or you can go ahead and—"

"I...I'd like to see," Magenta whispered. The nurses and doctor shared an unsure glance before Nurse Goldhoof stepped to the side, grabbing a mirror that was sitting on the counter. Ready for a situation that called for this. Everypony was silent as she made her way to the front of the bed, coming within the patient's peripheral vision. Magenta watched the mirror, shaking in her hooves with anticipation. Arriving in front of her, Goldhoof set the mirror down on the bed and waited. Magenta took a few deep breaths and rotated her body, revealing the ugly mass of scarring in her sides. At first nopony moved, nopony breathed. Nopony did anything except stare at Magenta for a reaction of some sort. Magenta blinked at it then lowered her gaze to the doll. She quickly reached out and grabbed it, pulling it into a deep hug that she could use right now.

Nurse Goldhoof sighed when she heard her sniffle. It was definitely a lot to take in. Literally. She walked around the table and calmly pulled Magenta into a hug. "Come here, Magenta," she whispered. The filly dropped the doll and quickly bounded into her hooves. Then let the tears fall into her shirt and sobbing to rise. Nurse Goldhoof pulled her into a tight motherly hug and whispered sweet things into her ear. "It's okay....it's okay..."

"I.....I-I look ugly!!" Magenta cried. "Hideous!!"

"No you don't dear," Goldhoof denied. She pulled back and looked Magenta in the eyes. "You look beautiful. You may be damaged, but in the end you are a beautiful little filly that I am proud to call my friend. I don't see ugly. I see beauty in you."

"I-I-I want clothes," Magenta replied. "Where are the clothes?"

The nurse sighed. It seems that Magenta was going to be hiding herself a lot from now on. She turned around and made her way to the door. "I'll go and grab them for you okay?"

Magenta nodded before Goldhoof shut the door and made her way down the hall, mind riddled with thoughts. There had to be some way to get the thought that she was ugly off of Magenta's mind. Maybe have Bright Snow talk to her. She and her were like sisters, it should help out. Speaking of which, Bright had a birthday coming up! Maybe she could help Magenta plan a party of some sort. She would have to ask Platinum Diamonds about it, but it should help out. Once she arrived at the nurse's desk, she walked behind it and grabbed a large bag of small clothes that she threw on her back. Then made her way back to the room. Once she arrived, she walked inside and towards Magenta, who had covered herself with a nearby blanket. She was back to hugging the doll, soaking in small tears.

"So I got your clothes," Nurse Goldhoof announced from the door. Scootaloo looked up as she made her way to the bed and set down the bag. Then started placing the bottoms on the bed, followed by the tops. "We can have you dressed in some clothes so you can leave. And then you can keep the rest." Magenta watched her pick up the tops and present them, letting her choose. She picked out a purple top. So the Nurse set the other ones down and helped her into that one. Once it was on, she did the bottoms next, which were a pair of black jeans. "I need you to take off the blanket though so we can get these on for you."

Scootaloo hummed and looked around at the others who were watching. Getting the hint, Nurse Goldhoof gestured to the doctor. "Oh! Okay, everyone, step out for a moment so Magenta's more comfortable," he instructed. Everyone except Goldhoof and Magenta stood up and made their way out the door.

Once it was shut, Goldhoof turned back to Magenta with a smile. "Okay, everypony's gone now. Nopony's going to judge you." Magenta bit her lip and slowly shrugged off the blanket. Once it was done, Goldhoof told her to stand up and lift her left hind leg. Then her right. Once she was settled, she smoothed her clothing and announced, "And...finished! You're covered!" Magenta took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thanks, Ms. Goldhoof," Magenta replied sadly.

Goldhoof sighed and rubbed her chin with a hoof, coming up with a way to word this right. Finding one, she glanced at Magenta with a sly smirk. "Say...I remember some little filly has a birthday coming up next week." Magenta's ear twitched as she turned to face Goldhoof once more. Her eyes were filled with curiosity as they met hers. "But I'm sure she doesn't even know it's her birthday. She's never mentioned it when I come over to the orphanage.

Magenta gasped and stood on her hind legs, buzzing the bones in her back by instinct. "Who is it, who is it?!" She asked impatiently.

Goldhoof chuckled and said, "Your little sister. Bright. Her ninth birthday is coming up. But this would be the first time she's ever had a birthday without her parents. So—"

"We can do it, we can do it! We can make her happy!! Huh, can we, can we?!" Magenta interrupted. She jumped off the bed and scampered towards the door as fast as her little legs could carry her. She started hopping, trying to grab the handle to open the door.

"Hold on, Magenta," Goldhoof stated, laughing at her sudden enthusiasm. She was as excitable as Bright. She walked towards the door and opened it while she explained. "We have to get Ms. Diamonds' permission first before we do anything, okay?"

"Okay! Okay! Can we ask her now?! Huh, Huh?!" The two walked out of the room. Or in Magenta's case, ran out where the other adults were waiting.

The doctor stared at her in confusion. She was so full of energy and was literally walking circles around him. It was great to see her walking again, but it was still a little unnerving. He glanced up at Goldhoof for an explanation. She pointed at Magenta and said, "She's excited because her little sister has a birthday coming up. And she wants to plan a party for her."

"Can we go now, can we go?!" Magenta yelled excitedly. "Come on, old ponies! We don't have time to waste!!" She trotted down the hall, leaving the matron who gasped and trotted after her, yelling for her not to run.

"Oh geez," Maximum Gold chuckled. "Somepony's going to be in for a ride."

"Literally." The doctor turned to Goldhoof and asked, "So how exactly are you going to get her....adopted? I heard you were looking to adopt her and Bright?"

"Actually, the planning's already underway," Goldhoof clarified. They closed the door to the room and continued after the two running around in the halls. "I spoke with Platinum about it and she said I would have gotten approved even if I didn't ask her. She just needs to look at my pay rate, my living situation, and take an assessment. A small questionnaire, not a really big deal. She said that she could already tell that I can support Magenta Streak and Bright Snow. But that I still needed to do the paperwork. But if that wasn't in the way, she would've handed them off to me."

"I wish you the best of luck," Maximum stated. "Bright can be sort of a handful. She likes to...do that." He motioned to Magenta who was ducking underneath cabinets, trying to get away from the exhausted Matron. "Among other things."

Goldhoof chuckled and called, "Magenta!" Magenta froze and turned to Goldhoof. "Calm down, sweetie. I don't think the orphanage is going anywhere, let alone Ms. Diamonds. Let's go and get you out of here so you can do your thing, okay? You have six hours until Bright gets back. So make it count."

"YAY!!!"

Magenta just turned into Bright Snow for a moment! Wow! Planning underway for the adoption. Directly after? The main story! Be ready! We just covered a bit of background. Be ready for a jump in time.