HS - Ch.3 - Pt.2

---

“Gosh. It sure takes some waitin' to do before you're up and runnin' again.”

Applejack sighed, staring at the ceiling above while lying down on the medical bed in one of the many rooms in the Ponyville Hospital. It had only been a day since she was rescued from the burning, crumbling farm, and as much as she wanted to be her apple-bucking self again, she still, indeed, needed to recover from the many burns that were inflicted on her coat.

A few seconds had passed. Suddenly, she heard the hospital's entrance doors hit their surrounding walls   loudly, making her jump a bit. A group of loud, chattering, alarmed voices was then heard, along with what sounded like a hoof stampede and somepony wailing on a high note, the tone of it sounding rather distressed and painful. Applejack recognized the wailing cry and knew who it belonged to.

“Scootaloo?” She lifted her head up to look at the open doorway ahead.

The stampede and wailing cry became louder and louder, and soon, she saw them. Like a train speeding through the railroad, a group of medical personnel ponies had run past, moving a stretcher carrying a crying Scootaloo along. Rainbow Dash followed them shortly, flying in the air as she followed.

“What in tarnation...? What in the hay happened to her?” Applejack wondered aloud, surprised by what she saw.

In the hallway, Dash continued to follow them in the air, distraught by the filly's constant wailing. A two-door entrance was fast approaching them, with a sign above it that said, “I.C.U.” Seeing this, she knew she had to stop here, as only patients were allowed.

“Stay tough in there, kid! You're going to be alright!” She exclaimed, slowing down her flight. “I know it!”

Dash came to a complete halt in the air, watching as the injured filly and the staff plow through the doorway, with the doors closing in behind them.

“At least, I hope so...” The pegasus stared at the doorway with a worried look on her face. Knowing that there wasn't anything else she could do for now, she turned around and began to slowly fly back in the hallway.

Soon, she came towards an open doorway leading into a hospital room, spotting Applejack on the bed.

“Oh, hey, Applejack.” Dash greeted, entering the room and landing in front of the bed, sheathing her wings.

“Rainbow Dash,” greeted the orange pony. “What was that ruckus just now? Is Scootaloo hurt?”

“Yeah, really bad. Her hoof ankle's been snapped. She was riding around in Ponyville on her scooter, doing stunts and dodging ponies, when she saw me in the air above. I tried to warn her of the ponies carrying a piano that was coming her way, but it was too late.”

“Huh, so that's what happened...”

“Yeah,” nodded Dash, still with a worried look on her face.

“Well, talk about being reckless, then. No doubt that the little filly's trying to be like you, Rainbow.” Applejack said. “The way she looks up to you and whatnot.”

“...yeah, I've kinda noticed for a while now,” added the pegasus, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof and looking away, smiling afterward. “I mean, she did put up and manage that big fan club about me a while back. It was quite awesome of her to do that.”

Putting her hoof down, she looked over to the window to her left.

“I think I oughta pay her back for doing that, really...well, when she's been fixed up, of course. Hmm.”

“I think you really oughta, Rainbow.” Applejack smiled.

“Eh, we'll see. I hope she'll be fixed up, though...” Dash frowned with the worried look again.

“She will. Don't worry, sugarcube,” reassured the orange pony. “After all, your wing got broken once and you've recovered from that, didn't you?”

The blue pegasus nodded. “Yeah, I did... Anyway, how goes your hospital stay, Applejack? Feeling better at least?”

“Yeah, a little,” replied Applejack. “But as much as I don't like it, it's gonna take a while for the hurtin' to stop. 'Bout a week, the doctor says. Honestly, I can't wait to get back to buckin' them apples out of them trees. But 'till then, I'm stuck in this gosh-darned hospital room.”

The pegasus chuckled, grinning a bit. “Well, guess you now know how I felt when I was in here last time.”

“I guess.” Applejack chuckled.

Just then, Dash was reminded of something. “Oh yeah. By the way, uh, about the Changelings that trapped you yesterday...”

“Yeah? What about 'em?”

“Well, it turns out that those bug freaks are out there planning something. I don't know what exactly, but it definitely isn't good.” Dash said, looking concerned. “All I know is that they're stealing love from ponies again.”

“...what?” The orange pony looked a bit surprised and alarmed. “But I thought Twilight said they didn't have that ability anymore?”

“They still do, apparently.”

“Gosh.” Applejack blinked her eyes a few times. “How do you know this, Rainbow? Did Twilight tell you? If she didn't, you've gotta tell 'er right away!”

“Already did this morning, A.J., and by now, she's likely informed Princess Celestia already. As for how I know, well, it's a bit of a long story to tell.”

The blue pegasus walked over to Applejack's left, stopping there and sitting down, facing her.

“So, yesterday, I received a letter from the Wonderbolts saying...”

---

After telling Applejack what happened last night at the Manehattan stadium, and getting applauded by the orange pony for being truthful and honest to herself, Dash left the hospital with the intent of coming back later to check up on the filly who idolized her.

A few hours had passed... The sun had done its usual rounds in the sky above, descending from it in order to pave the way for the shining, bright moon and the darkness of the night that it had brought with it. Ponyville was now illuminated in the night sky's shade of midnight blue and the white light of the moon that sat above it.

Some citizens could still be seen trotting along the town streets, walking to their destinations in order to do some last-minute activities of the night. But most of them were inside their own homes, the buildings from which their interior lights could be seen, lighting up the town in the darkness of the night.

Ponyville Hospital was no exception, sitting on the nearby hill with its lights on. Inside one of the lit rooms was the orange filly Scootaloo, lying on the bed next to the window to her right and wearing one of the hospital's patient gowns. Her mane had been ruffled a bit, thanks to the earlier crash, and her lower right hoof had been encased in a cast that immobilized it. Various bruises were seen on her, and a band-aid had been placed on the right side of her forehead.

The filly laid there, staring at the ceiling above with a bit of a sad look on her face.

“Man... I really should have paid attention earlier. If only I was watching where I was going, then...then Rainbow Dash wouldn't have seen me crash like that.” The filly sighed. “Now I got all her worried about me...”

Causing Dash to worry and be distressed about her was the last thing Scootaloo wanted. It was also a complete embarrassment for her, crashing into something that she could've easily dodged with her skill without getting distracted.

“I oughta say sorry to her for making her worried like that, and...I think I oughta tell the truth to her as well.” She said, her eyes downcast. “Hm...”

Just then, she heard somepony speaking outside in the hallway. A voice she instantly recognized.

“So how's she doing, doctor? Is she going to be alright after what happened?”

“Well, in addition to a few bruises here and there,” replied the doctor, speaking by the door. “Luckily, she's only sustained a fracture in her right hoof ankle as you saw. Nowhere else as far as I'm aware. So she's going to be fine as long as she stays in here for a few days, just as you stayed in here a few weeks ago when you were injured.”

“Right.”

“By the way, Rainbow Dash, I still can't believe you snuck into the hospital like that, all just for a book. You should've just asked the receptionist at the desk instead of doing that.”

“Uh, heh heh.” Dash nervously chuckled. “Yeah, sorry about that. Let's just say that I wanted to keep a secret.”

“Hm, right... Well...”

With his hoof, the doctor opened the door to the filly's room, looking at her in the bed.

“Here she is, then. Let me know if there's anything you need, by the way.”

“Alright. Thanks, doc.”

The blue pegasus proceeded to walk in while the doctor went down the hallways, resuming his duties.

“Heya, kid.” Dash greeted, smiling and walking over to her. “Feeling better after that bit of an accident?”

“A little.” Scootaloo replied. “I mean, it still kinda hurts, but not as much as before. I can barely move my hoof with this thing on.”

“Well, that's because it keeps it together, so that it fixes itself up faster,” explained the blue pegasus, stopping to the filly's left and facing her. “Otherwise, if that thing isn't on, it'll heal up very, very slowly, and you'll be stuck in here for weeks, instead.”

“I know.” Scootaloo sighed sadly, looking down at her cast.

Dash proceeded to sit on the floor, still smiling at her. “Hey, you'll be outta here, up and running, in no time, kid. Trust me, I had to go through the same thing as you a few weeks ago, staying in here 'till my wing fixed itself up. It was certainly a boring couple of days back then, that's for sure.”

“...it's not that, Rainbow Dash. It's...”

“What?” Dash asked, her smile fading away.

The filly opened her mouth to say something, but not a single word came out of it. She closed it and sighed sadly, looking away from the blue pony who she looked up to. Scootaloo was hesitating to make an apology to her and to tell her the real truth on why she was riding the scooter today. Doubts had clouded her mind, like an army trying to push into the enemy territory only to be held back by the enemy themselves. How would Dash react if she told her truth, of trying to be awesome like her? Would she be mad, or would she praise the filly for it? Would she take her under her wing and become her big sister, or would she promptly ignore it? Would she even accept her apology at all?

These questions continued to fog her mind...until she realized that these doubts of hers would not be confirmed or denied unless she tells her.

“What, Scoots?” Dash asked. “What is it?”

Finally making her choice, the filly closed her eyes and sighed sadly again. She opened them and gazed at the face of her idol.

“Rainbow Dash, I... I'm sorry.” Scootaloo said, calmly, with her eyes downcast.

“Huh? Sorry? For what?”

“For making a big embarrassment of myself by not paying attention on where I was going, and for making you worry like that,” clarified the filly. Her eyes gazed up at the pegasus again. “I really should have watched out for that piano, and if I did, I would've stopped myself or dodged out of the way...and maybe I could've continued, just to impress you.”

“Impress me?”

Scootaloo nodded. “All so, you know, you would take me under your wing and-and let me become your little sister and all... That was the real reason why I was out there riding the scooter, all just to get your attention.”

Hearing her, Dash was a bit surprised at this. A little orange filly who wants to become her little sister and be like her, following in her footsteps... Then again, as Dash realized, now smiling with a calm look on her face, it wasn't so much of a surprise after all, and it only confirmed her suspicions when she was talking with Applejack earlier.

“So that's why, huh?” The blue pegasus chuckled. “Scootaloo, my awesome little filly, there's no need for you to apologize like that.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Really.” Dash emphasized, leaning forward a bit and looking at her with an almost kind look on her face. “Oh, sure, you got distracted by seeing me and crashed into that piano because of that. But that was just a mistake, and everypony makes mistakes. We make mistakes all the time, rather. Even I do, from time to time.”

“You do?” asked Scootaloo, looking curious with a bit of a wide-eyed look.

“Well, yeah, but...don't tell anypony that.” Dash said, looking behind and all around her to see if anyone's watching them. “If you do, I'm gonna deny it.”

She looked at her and smiled calmly again. “So you're looking for somepony to take you under their wing, huh?”

“Yeah,” The filly nodded, smiling innocently. “Will you please, Rainbow Dash?”

Just as the blue pegasus was about to answer, suddenly, they heard something that seemed to be coming from outside. To them, it sounded like a couple of airborne jets that were heading towards their direction. A sound that Dash had instantly recognized, with a bit of a wide-eyed look on her face.

Gazing over to the window ahead past the filly's bed, the blue pegasus quickly stood up and trotted over to it, placing her front hooves on it and sticking her head outward to look.

“The Wonderbolts!”

Up in the air above, the blue-suited team of eleven pegasi were flying towards the direction of Ponyville at high speeds in a flight formation that resembled the shape of an arrow, leaving trails of storm clouds in their wake. As Dash watched them approach and pass over the hospital from above, her face slowly went from a surprised expression to one of sadness, frowning as she heard the jet-like, thundering roars fade away from the area. Her head tilted downwards as she couldn't help but be reminded of last night's events again.

“Whoa... Was that really the Wonderbolts?” Scootaloo asked, with her eyes a bit wide-looking.

Dash let out a sigh of sadness again. She still couldn't get over it. But she needed to, she just thought. Else, it was just going to bother her forever as long as she kept it inside of her mind like this.

“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo called, hearing her sad sigh and noticing her down-tilted head. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah... I just... Hmm.”

How? Dash thought. How can she truly get over it? After a few seconds of thinking, the answer popped up in her head.

“I... I'm fine, kid.”

Turning around and placing her hooves on the floor, the blue pegasus faced the filly and smiled with a kind look.

“About taking you in under my wing...yeah, sure, I might be up for something like that.” She answered, finally. “Besides...”

Looking at the bed to see if there's room for one more, Dash hopped up on it, causing the bed to bounce upward slightly and surprising the filly with it. She sat down in front of her, and the filly tried to sit up on the bed, feeling some slight pain in her hoof ankle and being careful with it as she sat.

“I oughta pay you back, anyway, for doing one great thing for me in the past.” Dash continued. “That fan club you were the head of, back then. It was definitely awesome of you to do that.”

“Wow, really?” Scootaloo asked, smiling.

“Yeah! I've never had something like that before, honestly. All those fans in there and the rainbow wigs you and them were wearing. Man, it truly was something else.”

“Wow, thanks, Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed the filly, happily. Hearing her idol praise her like that was  making her proud of herself.

Dash chuckled. “No problem, kid. And, well, even though you crashed earlier and ended up here, I still think you had some nice moves riding on that scooter, dodging other ponies and jumping over obstacles like that.”

Hearing that, the filly grinned widely, looking more happier than before.

“Soooo, yeah. I'm definitely up for becoming your big sister, Scootaloo.” Dash restated, unfolding her right wing and pulling the filly closer to her, leaving her wing on her. “But you got to promise me one thing, kid.”

“Yeah, Rainbow Dash?”

“Promise me that you'll never, ever crash into something again like that. In other words, try not to get distracted next time.”

Scootaloo giggled. “I won't next time. It's a deal.”

With that, the filly moved in closer to her and hugged her with her hooves, with Dash doing the same to her with her wing. Both closed their eyes happily as they shared the tender hug together, and with that, the two of them were now officially sisters.

Dash opened her eyes at the filly, with a kind look on her face again. If only to take her mind off of the Wonderbolts, she thought. That, and she truly wouldn't mind having an awesome little sister like this.

---

“Huh, that's really interesting.”

An hour had passed. The orange pony, Applejack, was quietly sitting up in her bed, reading a magazine that belonged to the hospital, smiling as her eyes went from right to left every second. The magazine she was reading was a news magazine, reporting all sorts of things that were related to farming in the world out there.

Soon, she heard the door opening in front of her, making her look at who just walked in.

“Oh, howdy, Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy.” She greeted, smiling.

“Hey, Applejack,” greeted Twilight. “Just thought we'd drop by and see how you were doing here.”

“Yes. We wouldn't exactly be friends now if we didn't visit you and care about you, would we?” Rarity said. “Especially after that awful fire incident and all.”

Applejack chuckled, putting the magazine down. “Nope, we wouldn't be. I'm glad that ain't the case, though, and I'm glad that you fellas care about me after what I've been through.”

“Most certainly, Applejack.” Fluttershy agreed.

The three pony friends stopped in front of the bed, with Applejack noticing that somepony was missing, making her look suspicious.

“Hey, uh, where's Pinkie Pie?” She asked.

“Oh, uh, Pinkie couldn't join us,” answered Twilight. “It seems she's been occupied tonight with the Cake Twins over at Sugarcube Corner.”

“Ah, that's why.”

Twilight nodded. “So how are you doing here, Applejack? Feeling better from yesterday?”

“A little, but I'm getting there. Still stings a lot, though... But I honestly can't wait to be back up and bucking again.”

The purple unicorn chuckled. “Of course. Well, you'll get there eventually. It's just a few more days after all.”

“Yup. I hope Ponyville can hold out on them apples by then, since I have no one else out there on the Acres at the moment.”

“Ah, don't worry.” Twilight reassured. “I just got a report from the mayor that we still have a lot of apples in stock, enough till you recover at least.”

“Ah. That's good to hear.”

Twilight nodded.

“Hmm. So, I heard from Rainbow Dash about the Changeling attack last night in Manehattan, and that she told you about it.” Applejack said, no longer smiling. “Have you got anything from Princess Celestia yet?”

“I did,” replied Twilight, looking a bit serious now. “She said she was going to investigate, and that should her scouts find anything, she'll let me know.”

“So those ruffians are still out there doing their petty thievery after all.” Rarity said, with a bit of an angry look. “I don't care if they have to feed. It's still wrong to steal the love from us like that!”

“Well, whatever they're up to out there, whatever they're planning now, we're most likely going to have to use the Elements of Harmony to stop them for good this time.” Twilight added.

“Right!” Applejack nodded. “We oughta. I mean, just forcing them to get out of the place like last time isn't going to stop them from coming back over and over.”

“Yeah. If only they didn't block us from getting the Elements last time... Hm.”

Fluttershy looked around, wondering about something. Then, she looked at Applejack. “Uh, not to change the subject here, but...speaking of her, have you seen Rainbow Dash lately? I haven't seen her in a while.”

Just as she asked that, suddenly, they heard a nearly-faint string of laughter coming from somewhere, followed by loud chattering. Sounding rather familiar to them, the two unicorns and the yellow pegasus looked in the direction it was coming from.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot.” Applejack said, smiling as she recognized the sounds. “Rainbow Dash told me earlier that she was coming back to visit her, and well, it looks like she's tendin' to her now.”

“Who?” asked Twilight.

---

“So Daring Do ran away from the bad guys after they fell into...pony manure?!”

“Ha ha ha! Yeah! Ohhh gosh!”

Dash let out a string of loud laughter, sitting back on the chair, wiggling her lower hooves, and laughing towards the ceiling while clutching the book close to her chest with both hooves. Scootaloo laughed aloud as well, sitting on her bed and having just heard a scene from the Daring Do book that her new big sister was reading.

“Oh man!” Dash exclaimed. “Ha ha ha! They fell into pony manure on the street below. How awesome! Ha ha ha!”

The filly giggled. “You got that right, Rainbow Dash. Hehe!”

After a bit, the blue pegasus calmed herself down, trying to regain her posture and taking a few breathers. Then, she looked down at the book she held.

“Oh man... Never thought I'd see that in here. I swear, these Daring Do books are awesome!”

“Hehe. So what happened next?” asked Scootaloo, smiling.

“Let's see.” Gazing down at the book, Dash re-focused her eyes on the words. “'With the two henchmen no longer chasing her, Daring Do stood there, staring at the shining Diamond of the Ancients that she now held with her hoof. Putting it away in her saddle bag, she then looked onwards to the vast, wide jungle ahead with the Temple in the middle of it, smiling with determination as she now knew that there was nothing standing between her and the long-lost treasure that it held...' End of chapter three.”

“Wow...” The filly looked amazed as she heard those last words. “So she's going to get that treasure now?”

“It looks like it.” Dash replied, shuffling through the pages. “There's only one chapter left in here, so I'm guessing that she goes inside the temple and tries to dodge all the traps and stuff, just like some of the other Daring Do books I've read. Hmm. Want me to finish it, or...?”

Before she could answer, Scootaloo's amazed look slowly changed into a tired one. The filly yawned loudly, with her eyelids now drooping downward.

“Nah, it's okay. I'm, uh, kinda tired now...”

The filly yawned again, louder and longer this time. Seeing her, Dash closed the book with her hooves and gazed at her with a kind look.

“Getting tired, eh, kid?” She asked, calmly. “Yeah, its getting kinda late after all. Here, let me tuck you in.”

With Scootaloo lying herself down and placing her head on the pillow, Dash stood up from the chair and stood closer to the bed. She grabbed the blanket with her teeth and pulled it up and over the filly, who fixed it up a bit with her hooves.

“We'll finish the book tomorrow, then.” Dash said. “But for now, it's sleepy time, I guess.”

“Yeah...” Scootaloo turned herself sideways, now facing her. “Can't wait to see what happens at the end.”

“Me too, Scoots. Me too.”

The filly chuckled. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash. For becoming...my...big...sister...”

Scootaloo's eyes had fully shut, and the filly went off to sleep. Hearing her last words, Dash smiled kindly with her eyes half-closed, with her heart being warmed up from within her by the innocent look of the now-sleeping filly.

“'Night, kid...”

Unbeknownst to her, however, somepony was watching her from the open doorway. Peeking in by a few inches, Fluttershy had just seen what had occurred, with a surprised look on her face.

Remembering what she said long ago when the six ponies were traversing the Everfree Forest in search of the Elements of Harmony and realizing it, the yellow pegasus then smiled at this, now knowing that even a tough pony like Rainbow Dash can show a little kindness towards somepony every now and then...

---

The kindness and generosity of Rainbow Dash, with her becoming Scootaloo's older, surrogate sister, had been unknowingly felt far away, as well as her laughing joyously with the young filly and making her happy in the end.

The Elements of Kindness, Generosity, and Laughter had felt their respective qualities from the blue pegasus, and now five of the Elements of Harmony were glowing brightly within the darkness of their box.

Only the Element of Magic remained dim...and little did everypony know that the Soul of Harmony was about to be awakened...