It was a beautiful day in Ponyville and Rainbow Dash was trying a new trick. She hadn’t yet named it because she hadn’t yet mastered it. The maneuver included an aileron roll nose dive before pulling up six feet above the ground immediately going into a full loop-de-loop and landing. She had done the trick successfully before at higher altitudes but, unfortunately for her, today just wasn’t her day. As she began her dive a bird suddenly flew into her path. She hit it. Blinded by feathers, Rainbow Dash crashed at nearly full speed making a sizeable crater when she hit the ground. She only felt the pain for a second before she blacked out.

Twilight was walking nearby and heard the crash. She ran to see what had happened and what she saw made her scream. There was Rainbow lying in a crater. Her arms and legs were bent at strange angles; blood trickled from her mouth. She wasn’t moving.

Twilight ran to see if her friend was still alive. Mercifully she was, but only just. Twilight knew that it would take too long to fly her to the hospital or to wait for an ambulance. Her only option was teleportation, even though she had never teleported that far (at least ten miles) with a passenger. She knew magical exhaustion was a risk if she pushed herself too hard, but she had no choice. She cast the spell.

As soon as she and Rainbow materialized at the hospital, the magical exhaustion hit. She staggered into the hospital and managed to tell the doctors what happened before she collapsed and passed out.

Twilight woke up in a hospital bed. Her pounding head caused her to groan with pain. A nurse walked in just then to check on her and change her IV bag. “How are you feeling Twilight?” she asked.

“Twilight responded in a whisper that could barely be heard. “Exhausted, and my head is pounding like someone is taking a hammer to my skull.”

“You’re very lucky that’s all you have. You had stage four magical exhaustion when you got here. If you would have teleported just a half mile more your organs would have started to fail.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide. “R-really, how? I had no idea. I was never that interested in the medical field.”

“Magical exhaustion is fairly simple to understand,” the nurse explained. It comes in five stages. Each stage is defined by how much time it takes to recover from casting a spell. Stage one and two recovery takes from a few minutes to about an hour. Stage three takes several hours. Stage four is really dangerous. Organs can begin to fail because the body used so much energy to power the spell, it has no energy left to make the organs work. Stage five is, unfortunately, terminal. In this stage, so much magic was used organs fail in rapid succession, the heart going last. But, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. You need to rest for about a month, and then you’ll be able to use your magic again.”

Twilight nodded and then remembered Rainbow Dash’s accident. How could I forget that? she asked herself. She knew it was probably due to exhaustion, but that didn’t make her feel any better. “Is Rainbow ok?” she asked.
“I’m not sure, but I can find out for you,” the nurse replied. At that she had finished replacing the IV bag and left the room.
Twenty minutes had passed before the nurse came back with a doctor. “Twilight, this is Dr. Longtail. He is the one who did surgery on your friend. He can tell you everything you need to know.” As the nurse left the room, Twilight looked at the doctor and asked, “Is my friend going to be ok, Dr. Longtail?”

After a heavy sigh, the doctor said, “To be completely honest Twilight, I really don’t know. Your friend is in critical condition right now. She’s very lucky to be alive.”

“What all is wrong with her?”

“Let’s see,” said the doctor, “your friend has many broken bones. She broke her femur, two legs, one arm, six ribs, collar bone, three vertebrae, and fractured her skull. She also suffers from massive organ damage that required a quadruple organ transplant including her liver, a kidney, most of her lower intestines, and her left lung that was punctured by one of her broken ribs. Mercifully, we had the organs on hand. After the surgery, however, she slipped into a coma that she is still in today. The fact that she’s alive is a true miracle.”

“A miracle?”

“I’ve worked as a surgeon for over thirty years. In all that time, I’ve never seen anything like what happened with Rainbow. She went into cardiac arrest as soon as we brought her in. We tried everything we could to save her, but after ten minutes of trying she didn’t respond. She was pronounced dead and taken to the morgue. Twenty-five minutes later we got a code blue which hasn’t happened here in a very long time.”

“What’s a code blue?” Twilight interrupted.

“A code blue is a medical emergency within the hospital that requires immediate attention. It was code blue in the rose cottage.”

“Rose cottage? What’s that? I’ve never heard of it,” Twilight asked quizzically.

“Rose cottage is what we sometimes call the morgue. The term is mostly used in front of children. After hearing the code blue, we ran to the morgue to find her on the floor breathing. The mortician was lying nearby dead. According to the camera footage, he was just about to start the autopsy when she opened her eyes and gave the poor guy a heart attack. He just managed to call out the code blue before he collapsed.”

“But how was she dead?” The dead just don’t come back to life,” exclaimed Twilight.

“Actually, in rare cases they can. It’s called Lazarus syndrome. For some unknown reason, the heart restarts on its own. There have been only thirty-eight cases reported in the last eighty years. Medical experts have no idea how this phenomenon occurs. We were able to stabilize Rainbow, rushed her to intensive care, and put her on life support so she could rest for an hour before a surgery that took thirty-two hours to complete.”

Twilight’s brow furrowed with a sudden realization. “Wait! If Rainbow was in surgery for thirty-two hours, how long have I been out?”

“You were unconscious for a week,” the doctor replied. Twilight’s eyes went wide. “My friends will be looking for me! They must be so worried! And I have to send a letter to the princess to let them both know I’m all right!” Twilight exclaimed as she tried to get up. The doctor gently pushed her back down.

“You’re far too weak to get up now Twilight. Relax. Everything is taken care of. We had a messenger notify your friends what happened, and they told the princesses. Your assistant Spike is staying with Rarity and they’ve been making sure the library is clean as well. You have nothing to worry about.”

“How much longer will I be here?”

“Two weeks at least. We have a few more tests to run and we need to get you into physical therapy to help you start walking again as your muscles have atrophied.”

“Atrophied?" She asked

“It basically means your muscles have severely weakened due to lack of use. I’m afraid you’re going to have to learn to walk again,” the doctor replied. “Don’t worry. I’ll send a messenger out to your friends and they can come visit you. How about that?”

Twilight’s eyes lit up. “Sure I’d love to see me friends. Thank you.”

“I’ll send the messenger at once.”

Twilight muttered a quick thank you as the doctor started to leave, and added. “Can I ask your first name, Dr. Longtail?
“It’s Samuel.”

Hours later, Twilight’s friends came to visit and were overjoyed to see her awake. “Twilight, I’m glad you’re ok. How ya feelin’?” asked Applejack.

“Exhausted and weak, but fine.” Twilight responded.

“Twilight!” Spike exclaimed as he ran to embrace her. Twilight hugged him back as Spike began to cry. “I was afraid I’d never see you again,” he said.

“I’m fine Spike. You don’t have to worry anymore.” Twilight lovingly nuzzled him.

“We were all worried about you, Twilight, especially Spike,” said Rarity. “As you can tell, Spike was worried you wouldn’t come home. Even after the doctor said you were going to be all right. He stayed by your bedside for three days and kept an eye on you. Eventually the hospital contacted me to remove him, because he was interfering with your treatment.” Rarity smiled.

“I was not! I just asked what they were doing. I just wanted to make sure you were ok,” Spike scowled.

“When we heard the news about what happened to you and Rainbow, we all came here faster than the shake of a lamb’s tail,” said Applejack. “Although, no offense to Rainbow, I’m not really surprised about what happened to her. With all those crazy stunts she does, something like this was bound to happen eventually. Still, I’m worried about her and hope she’ll be ok.” They all nodded in agreement. They talked for nearly an hour more before the nurse said visiting time was over.

Two weeks passed and Twilight was finally discharged. Before she left the hospital she went to see Rainbow who was in a full body cast. Her legs in traction, she was hooked up to at least half a dozen machines and a feeding tube. The only way Twilight could tell it was Rainbow was by her prismatic hair. She ran to her friend’s side and gently held her hand. Heartbroken at the sight of her good friend, and feeling powerless to do anything about it, Twilight prayed right then and there. After she was done, she kissed Rainbow on the forehead said, “I’ll see you again soon.” She gave her hand a gentle squeeze and started to leave the room when Samuel, who had escorted her there, pulled her aside. “Twilight there’s something you need to know about your friend’s condition. It has to do with her coma. Sit down please.”

Twilight sat in a nearby chair.
“I know how worried you are about her. You must try not to get your hopes up that everything will be fine. Comas are nasty things. The longer you’re in one, the harder it is to wake up. Not only that, but the longer she’s in a coma, the chance of brain damage increases. For all we know, she got brain damage when she crashed.”
“What kind of brain damage? Isn’t there a way to snap her out of it?” asked Twilight.
“Comas are not something you can just snap out of. She has to do it herself. As for brain damage, it can vary greatly depending on what happened. Best case scenario, she will end up like Derpy or possibly even better, if she’s insanely lucky. The worst case scenario is that she’ll wake up a vegetable meaning she’ll be helpless, not able to think and unaware of her environment or herself. She could be unable to speak or respond to voices. The only way she would be able to move would be from outside stimuli. There’s also the chance she’ll never wake up,” Samuel explained gravely. “How she turns out is completely up to the great Faust. Prayer may help, but it’s ultimately up to her.”

Twilight, crushed by the news, asked if she could come back and visit her friend the next day.

“Of course. You can visit anytime,” Samuel replied.

Later that night, Twilight addressed all of Ponyville. She told everyone not only what happened, but Rainbow’s injuries as well. She also implored everyone to pray for Rainbow’s health. Twilight didn’t sleep well that night due to worry. It was the first of two weeks of fitful, patchy sleep. After 15 days, Rainbow woke up! Three days later, she was allowed to have visitors. The first one to see her of course, was Fluttershy. The two were like sisters after all. Twilight went soon after. Samuel met her there. He pulled her aside and said he wanted to talk to her.

“Is there more wrong with Rainbow?” she asked.

“No, but I would still like to talk to you about her condition,” Samuel replied, as he led her to a private room. She noticed an excited look on his face as he began: “I’m sorry but must tell you this. In all my years I’ve never seen anything like this. A true miracle has happened!

We ran some basic intelligence tests on Rainbow yesterday afternoon. We were expecting some amount of brain damage as a result of her accident and coma, but there is absolutely none! On top of that, her body has healed four times faster than normal. The strangest thing is this,” he said as he pulled a huge feather out of a nearby desk and handed it to her. “We found this inside the corner of her window hanging from a strand of what we believe to be crimson hair.”

Twilight looked at it. It was nearly two feet long and a light tan. She could feel some residual magic coming from it unlike anything she had ever felt before. It was far too large to be any of Pegasi’s. It was even too large to be from either of the princesses. Besides that, it was the wrong color. The combination of the strand of crimson hair, the foreign residual magic, and the size and color of the feather led to one conclusion - only one being could be the owner - the great Foust herself, their creator. Samuel saw the look on her face and said “you look like you know who that belongs to.”

“I do.”

“All the evidence points to the great Foust herself,” Twilight answered. “Think about it. Four months of healing in only one; nonexistent brain damage after crashing hard enough to break most of her bones; death for twenty-five minutes; and a mysterious feather too large to belong to anyone we know, including the princesses. It has to be a sign that our prayers worked.”

Samuel simply nodded. He had to admit that It all made sense, “May I see her?” asked Twilight interrupting his thoughts.
“Yes of course. I was just thinking about what you said. It’s hard to believe Foust would come and heal her personally when she could have done it from paradise.”

“True. But I believe she did it this way to show us she not only she exists, but that she also heard our prayers,” Twilight said as they exited the room. Samuel led the way to Rainbow’s room “Thank you for telling me this,” Twilight said to Samuel.

“You’re welcome, Twilight. I’m glad your friend is ok.” He gave Twilight a gentle smile before walking away.

As she entered the door to Rainbow’s room, Twilight held her breath. She was nervous. When she saw her friend was awake, she began to cry tears of joy. She ran to Rainbow and embraced her gently thankful that she was awake and alive. Twilight wiped her eyes as she explained to Rainbow how happy she was to see her awake after everything that happened.

“What do you mean by ‘everything that happened?’ What happened to me?” Rainbow asked.

Obviously Fluttershy hadn’t explained to Rainbow all that had happened.

“It’s not going to be easy for you to hear, but I’ll tell you the truth,” said Twilight as she sat down and told Rainbow everything. Rainbow sat there trying to process what she had heard - a crash; a thirty-two-hour quadruple organ transplant; a coma for a month; and she had been dead for twenty-five minutes.

“T-thank you for telling me the truth,” Rainbow stuttered. “I’m going to need some time to think about what you said.” Her eyes stared blankly.

After good-byes, Twilight left Rainbow to process all that she had heard. When she arrived the next day, it was clear that Rainbow hadn’t gotten much sleep.

“Look Twi, I need to talk to you. I did a lot of thinking last night and have realized I came face-to-face with my own mortality. I’m different because of it. I used to take life for granted but this was a wake-up call I desperately needed. From now on I’m going to act differently. I’m going to be more true to myself starting today and I need your help. I’ve been wanting to tell someone something for about ten years now but I’ve always been too afraid they wouldn’t understand. After this accident, I feel like they need to know the truth.”

“Who is it?” asked Twilight.

“My daughter.”

Twilight was shocked! “W-what you have a daughter?”

“Yes my daughter. I know it sounds like some sort of trick, but I pinkie promise I’m telling you the truth,” Rainbow said. “You’re going to want to get comfortable. This is a long story.”

Twilight sat in a nearby chair and waited for Rainbow to begin.

“I grew up in a broken home. My mother died shortly after giving birth to me and my dad hated me because of it. Actually, hate isn’t the word I’m looking for. Loathed is more like it. He let me know it too. I was six years old when the verbal abuse started. It escalated to physical abuse when I was eight.”

“T-that’s horrible! You had no control over what happened to your mother! He shouldn’t have blamed you!” Twilight exclaimed.

“I know, but he blamed me anyway. He would beat me within an inch of my life nearly every night. Since I was homeschooled until I was nine, he could get away with it. There was no one to see the scars, bruises and welts. Once I tried to fight back. He broke my arm and didn’t fix it until the next morning. As a unicorn, he could have fixed it right away.”

Twilight felt tears stinging her eyes as Rainbow continued her story. “On my first day of public school, he warned me that if I so much as whispered about what he did to me, what I had already gone through would be nothing compared to what he’d do. He said, and I quote, if you ever tell anyone anything about this, I’ll make sure you won’t leave your bed for a week. In spite of that, I actually liked school because I was away from my dad. I even made a few friends, but if I got bad grades or got into a fight he would beat me more than normal.”

“Why didn’t you run away? Didn’t you have relatives who would take you in? ” Twilight asked.

“It wasn’t that easy. I didn’t know any of my relatives, plus my Dad told me he had placed a tracking chip somewhere in my body. He always knew where I was, so if I did try to escape, he could easily find me.

My fourteenth birthday was the best and worst day of my life. I woke up to a scent I had never smelled before. It was pancakes. My dad had made me pancakes! To say the least, I was shocked. He even said I could have a party and invite my friends. I thought I was dreaming! I had no idea why he was acting like this, but a birthday party? I couldn’t believe it!

I went to school that day the happiest I’d ever been. When I got home after school, I found our house decorated and my dad had even picked up cake and ice cream. A few hours later my first birthday party ever started. I got some amazing gifts from my friends and, for the first time in my life, I was truly happy. I still cherish the memories of that day, but later after the party was over…” Rainbow choked on her tears, “. . . he burned every last one of my birthday presents except for whatever clothes I received. He forced me to watch as my gifts burned. After that, he brought me to my room and gave me my gift.”
“What was it?” asked Twilight afraid to hear the answer.

“He raped me,” said Rainbow completely breaking down.

Twilight ran to her friend and held her close crying with her. She couldn’t believe the things one of her best friends had gone through. After they cried themselves dry, Rainbow looked at Twilight, took a few deep breaths and continued her story. “That was the first of many terrifying nights. He raped me nearly every night and always made sure I took the morning after pill so I wouldn’t get pregnant. On my sixteenth birthday, I woke up after another night of beatings and rape. I dutifully went to my father to get my pill. He was drunk. He told me to go to school and he would do it when I got home. I changed into dark clothes to cover my wounds and went to school.”

“Didn’t others see the bruises?” asked Twilight.

“No. He was as smart as he was cruel. He rarely hit my arms or legs during my beatings only doing so to make a point. If he had to, he could use a spell to make the bruises disappear. They were still there and just as painful, but no one could see them. While I was at school, Fluttershy asked if I wanted to go swimming at the lake. Of course I said yes. After school I went home to ask my dad for my pill, but now he was too hungover I told him I was going out with Fluttershy. He grumbled that I needed to be back by 6:00 or I would get it,” Rainbow explained

“He let you go out by yourself unsupervised?” asked Twilight.

“Yes. Tracking chip, remember.”

“I went to the lake and met Fluttershy. We hung out for a while, but I didn’t go swimming because of my bruises. She ended up coming over where I was sunbathing and said she wanted to show me something, and I followed her to a secluded part of the lake. When we stopped, she looked me in the eyes and asked who was hurting me. I gave her a bunch of excuses, but she saw right through them. “Look, I’ve seen you limping before even though you tried to hide it. I’ve seen bruises and saw you walking funny. I know someone’s hurting you. I’m worried about you, and I want to help you. Please, who’s doing this to you?”

“When I explained that I couldn’t tell her, she wouldn’t take that as an answer. Finally, she begged it out of me. I stripped and showed her my wounds. The look on her face was heart-wrenching. I put my clothes back on and told her everything. With tears in her eyes, she implored me to go to the police.

“I can’t. He’ll know. I’m taking a huge risk just telling you.”

“Look,” she interrupted. “I know you’re scared, but you have to tell the authorities. I care about you and hate to see my friend suffering like this. I can’t bear to know how you are suffering.” How could I explain my fear that if I told the cops, my dad would hurt her too? She was my only friend and I was not willing to lose her.

It was then that she told me about protective custody. After she convinced me that she would be safe, I agreed to tell the police. At the police station, a female officer came to take me into a back room. I refused until Fluttershy came with me. Once in the room, the officer closed the blinds and with her encouragement, I told everything.

The officer then left the room. A few minutes later, she returned to sit with us. About an hour later, another officer came and pulled the first one out. After a minute or two, the female officer re-entered the room. Looking grim, she sat across from me, looked me in the eyes and broke the news that my father had been killed.

Apparently, they had gone to arrest him. He fought back and shot and wounded one of the officers. In the chaos that followed, my dad was shot and killed. Their follow-up investigation yielded videotapes of our “sessions,” as well as toys he had used on me.

I remember crying and Fluttershy holding me close trying to comfort me. The officer then asked me if I had any relatives I could go to. I shook my head and explained that my Dad never told me of relatives. When she explained that I would have to go to an orphanage or into foster care, Fluttershy quickly told them that she would take care of me. In the end, (as she’s three years older than me) Fluttershy adopted me. For that I owe her everything.

A month later, Fluttershy adopted me. I began to notice some odd things happening to my body. I was gaining weight, and even though I worked out it didn’t stop. I was also nauseous in the mornings, my bust swelling, and even the smell of my favorite food cooking made me want to vomit. When I told Fluttershy about it, she explained that they were all symptoms of pregnancy. I didn’t want it to be true! I wasn’t ready to be a mother. Besides that, I couldn’t be a wonderbolt and have an infant to take care of. I didn’t have a job or even my own place yet. I explained this to Fluttershy and insisted that there was no way I was pregnant. The next day, she went out to the market to get groceries and came home with a pack of six pregnancy tests. I took the tests and every last one came back positive. That’s when it finally sank in. I was pregnant.

The first thing that came to mind was abortion. There was no way I was going to have my dad’s kid. I didn’t want a constant reminder of what my dad did to me. I went to Fluttershy and told her I wanted an abortion. Surprisingly she said ok but she wanted me to help with something. I followed her out to the backyard chicken coop of all places. She caught one of the chicks, rubber banded its legs together and set it down in front of me. She then looked me straight in the eyes and ordered me to step on it and kill it. Aghast, I asked her why.

She answered, “I have too many and need to get rid of one. It’s also a rooster and I don’t need another one because they’ll fight.” I walked up to it and raised my foot to end its life, but I couldn’t do it. It was wrong. I removed the rubberband from its legs and released it to run back to its mother. I then looked at Fluttershy and told her no.
“What does that chicken have that your baby doesn’t?”

“I mean you’re willing to let an unintelligent, non-sentient almost worthless animal live, but condemn your own child, an intelligent, sentient human being who has a heartbeat, can feel and hear, has its own likes and dislikes when it comes to food, and can even dream? The child also has the potential to change the world! What I’m trying to show you is that all life is precious and must be protected,” she explained.

I said nothing.

“Do you even know what happens during an abortion?” I shook my head.

“I’ll show you then.” She led me back into the house and we went into her room. After a few minutes, she came back with two DVDs explaining that she wanted me to watch them. She popped in the first one, which showed the developmental process of an unborn baby. It surprised me how much my baby was already developed.

As she changed DVDs, she looked at me and said, “this next video is about the abortion procedure itself and the multiple ways it’s done. I have to warn you, it’s not easy to watch, but this is something you need to see. It was only a half hour long, but it felt like an eternity. What I saw opened my eyes to the truth – babies being cut apart by miniature saws and being pulled out of the womb piece-by-piece or being shredded after being sucked out of the womb into a razor lined tube. It was sick and wrong. I will never forget what I saw on that DVD.

When the film was over, Fluttershy came back into the room and turned the TV off. She sat next to me and put her arm around me saying if I didn’t want my baby I could always put him or her up for adoption. I decided then and there that I would have the baby no matter the consequences. The months passed. My baby was born in Fluttershy’s cottage.

“Her cottage? Couldn’t you make it to the hospital?” Twilight asked.

“It was a dark and stormy night - no joke - it was a crazy bad thunderstorm with high winds. There was no way I could get to the hospital. Anyway, Fluttershy’s mom was there visiting when the storm hit, and was stuck there. At 10:15 that night, I went into labor. Thankfully, Fluttershy’s mom knew how to deliver a baby. Sixteen hours later, I gave birth to a nine-and-a-half-pound baby girl. When I saw my baby for the first time all wrapped up in a soft blanket so small and innocent my heart melted. As she nursed having her first meal in the outside world, the only thing that was going through my head was how beautiful she was. At that moment, I knew there was no way I was going to let anyone take her away from me. I also knew I had to name her something that meant beautiful. After a few days of looking at baby names, I almost gave up until Gilda came over to hang out and see the new baby. When she asked what the baby’s name was, I told her I couldn’t decide on a good name. I couldn’t find anything that suited her that meant beautiful. Gilda told me she would look for a book of gryphon baby names and bring it tomorrow.

True to her word, she came back the next day and dropped off a book of gryphon baby names along with an old gryphish dictionary. I went through the book of, but nothing really stood out. I went through the dictionary saying some of the words out loud until I found a word that meant “beautiful beyond measure” and said the word out loud. My daughter immediately perked up. When I said some of the other names I had in mind, there was no reaction. When I said the word again, she perked back up. It was at that point I knew I had found her name.”

“What was the word?” asked Twilight.

“The word was Scootaloo.”

Twilight looked shocked. “Scootaloo? I thought she was an orphan!”

“Nope. She’s mine. I never abandoned her, and I’ve always watched over her, so she’s not an orphan,” Rainbow explained.
“Rainbow, she lives in a dilapidated shack on the edge of town. How is that taking care of her?”

“Look Twi, I’m always making repairs to her house to make sure it’s safe. I wouldn’t let her live there if it wasn’t. I have been taking care of her. Everything she owns, I gave to her without her knowledge. I go to her place every week or so to check on her food supplies. If she’s low, I go to the market and pick up enough to restock her cupboards. I am also her mentor, and every Hearthswarming and birthday I’ve given her things she needs, as well as some of the things she wants. That scooter she rides everywhere was an anonymous gift from me because I knew she’d like it. I provided appliances and solar strips on the roof to power everything. Heck, she even has her own well and Fluttershy taught her how to use the oven to cook basic meals so she is well taken care of. I want to tell her the truth and have her live with me. I want to be there for her. I want to walk her down the aisle when she gets married. I want to be there when she has her own kids. I lost too much time. I don’t want to be her mentor; I want to be her mother.

“Since she has no official caretaker, even though her mother is alive, by law she is an orphan. You would have to adopt her. Not only that, but you’d have to get a new home as well,” Twilight explained.

“What do you mean get a new home? What’s wrong with the one I’ve got?” Rainbow asked frustrated.

“Simple,” Twilight said. “It’s up in the air and since Scootaloo is handicapped and can’t fly, it would be impossible for her to live with you. It’s far too dangerous for her. You would need to either create stairs from the ground to your house, or have you house pulled down and anchored to the ground,” Twilight explained.

“Alright then, I’ll sell my cloud house and have one built where her shack is,” Rainbow said

“You would really sell your cloud house?”

“I would do anything for her. She’s the only family I have left.”

“How’d you get the house anyway? It looks expensive and you’re not the hardest working person I’ve met, no offense" Twilight asked puzzled.

“First of all, no offense taken, and second, as for how I got it, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me, we’ve fought the embodiment of chaos as well as two shadow beings and a creature from Tartarus and that’s just getting started. Not much surprises me anymore, especially in this crazy town,” Twilight said chuckling.

“Well, I won it in a poker game.”

“That’s not so surprising; I’ve heard of stuff like that happening. It’s rare, but I’ve heard of it,” said Twilight.

“Anyway, how can I tell her? It’s not something I can just mention in passing.”

“I have an idea, but it’s a bit odd,” replied Twilight.

“What is it?”

“Before I tell you, do you have her birth certificate?” asked Twilight.

“Of course. I’ve got it locked up in a safe at my place along with her baby book. Why do you ask?”

“Well her birthday is coming up in two weeks. You could give Scootaloo her birth certificate as a present after the party. I’d stay behind with you for moral support if you want.” Twilight told her.

“That’s a great idea, but there’s a big problem. I’m stuck here in the hospital, and don’t think they’ll let me leave.”

“I’ll talk to the doctor and see if you can leave for a few hours to go to her birthday party. Do I have your permission to tell them the real reason you want to leave?” Twilight asked.

“As long as they keep it a secret.”

“I’ll make sure they do. Don’t worry about it,” Twilight replied. Just then a nurse walked in with Rainbow’s lunch. “I’ll talk to you later and let you know what I find out.”

Rainbow simply nodded. Twilight left the room, went to the front desk and asked to talk to Samuel. Eventually, led her to a private room where Twilight explained that she needed to talk to him about Rainbow.

“What about her?” Samuel asked.

“Is there any way you can let her leave for a few hours two weeks from now?”

“Can I ask why?”

“Her daughter is having her eleventh birthday in two weeks and she would like to be there,” replied Twilight.

“Daughter?” he asked “She has a daughter?”

“Yes she does,” Twilight replied, and told him a nutshell version of Rainbow’s past, and why it meant so much to her to be at her daughter’s party. At the end of the story, Samuel was misty eyed.

“Whatever it takes, I’ll make sure she can go.”

“Thank you, Samuel. Just please try to keep what I told you secret. Rainbow is really sensitive about it.”

Samual assured her that it would remain confidential and he would let her know what they decided.

Two weeks passed by like the wind, and in no time at all it was Scootaloo’s birthday. Twilight went to the hospital to pick up Rainbow with Scootaloo’s birth certificate and baby book stashed away in her backpack. Though Rainbow was confined to a wheelchair, she was happy to see Twilight. They talked about the happenings in town and equestria as a whole as Twilight wheeled her friend to the party.

The moment they hit town people noticed. Soon Twilight and Rainbow found themselves surrounded by people happy to see Rainbow out of the hospital. Twilight had to tell them that Rainbow was only out for a few hours, and that she intended to ask the doctors if she could leave once or twice a week from now on. Thankfully, they made it to Sugarcube Corner without any other incidents. After all, that’s where most of the town’s birthday parties took place. When Rainbow rolled in, Scootaloo was hanging out with the other crusaders. When she saw Rainbow, she was, to say the least, shocked. Twilight hadn’t told her that Rainbow was coming.

“Rainbow, I can’t believe you’re here!” she exclaimed.

“I wanted to be here for this. It’s not every day you turn eleven, after all. Besides, I have a special gift for you and wanted to give it to you personally.” Rainbow replied.

“What is it? Can I see it?” Scootaloo asked.

“Not until after the party. It’s very special,” Rainbow explained.

“Ok. I’m so glad you’re here! Just you being here is an amazing present!”

“You can thank Twilight then. She’s the one who made it possible,” Rainbow smiled toward her friend.

“Ok. I’ll go thank her” Scootaloo said, running off to thank Twilight.

Rainbow smiled, but she was nervous. What if Scootaloo didn’t accept her? After all, she hadn’t been part of her life for so long. No she thought, mentally kicking herself. She would accept her. After all, she sees me as her hero. But still, the thought of her daughter not accepting her was terrifying. She brushed away those thoughts. She couldn’t think about that. It was her daughter’s birthday after all.

The time for cake and ice cream had arrived. The cake was double chocolate and peppermint with brownie batter ice cream. All was hand made by Pinkie, of course and, as always, it was delicious. After that came the gifts. Rainbow loved seeing Scootaloo’s face as she opened them - new clothes, some new books on scooter tricks and more. The party lasted for several more hours and Rainbow loved every minute of it, but before she knew, it the party was over and the only ones left were Twilight, Rainbow and Scootaloo. “Hey Rainbow! The party’s over. May I have my gift please?” Scootaloo asked.

Rainbow chuckled. “Sure, but I want you to understand a few things first. What I have for you is very precious and something I’ve been wanting to give you for a long time. Second, what you will see is the absolute truth, and third I want you to promise me that you’ll keep an open mind and won’t judge your gift until I explain. Can you do that for me?”

“I promise,” Scootaloo replied.

“Alright then here it is,” said Rainbow handing her a scroll bound with a red ribbon. “What is this?” asked Scootaloo?

“Open it and see.”

Scootaloo opened it and looked confused

.
“Are you ok? You look confused?” asked Rainbow, concerned.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you’re my mom? Don’t you love me?” Scootaloo asked through tears.

“Of course I love you. It’s just that the events leading up to your birth are memories I’d rather forget. Sit down and I’ll explain everything,” said Rainbow with a heavy sigh.

Scootaloo sat, and Rainbow told her daughter everything - the abuse, the rape and everything else in between. At the end of Rainbow’s confession, Scootaloo was crying.

“I was always there for you, and I didn’t want to leave you, but I was afraid. You were always too young to understand. Not only that but I was always afraid of the question “where’s daddy?” I had no idea how to answer that, so I had Fluttershy take care of you. I took more of a backseat approach to your rearing out of fear, but not anymore. I want to be there for you. Would you be willing to accept me even though I haven’t been in your life for so long?” Rainbow asked.

“O-of course I will. I’ve always thought I was an orphan. Now not only do I have a mom, but the coolest one in all of Equestria as well!” Scootaloo said running up to and embracing Rainbow.

“Alright then,” Rainbow replied hugging her back. “Twilight can get the adoption papers set up and I’ll sell my house to expand and completely renovate yours so we can both live there together. How about that?”

“R-really I get to live with you?” Scootaloo asked with tears in her eyes.

“Of course you do! We’re family.”

“Well not yet officially, but this will help,” interrupted Twilight pulling a paper out of her backpack and setting it down. It was Scootaloo’s adoption papers.

“I talked to princess Celestia and this will make it permanent, no strings attached. All you need to do is sign, and you’re family again. There is one catch though. Scootaloo stays in one of the spare rooms at my place until the new house is built. Deal?” she asked.

Rainbow and Scootaloo couldn’t sign fast enough. After they had both signed, Twilight picked up the adoption paper and said, “I’ll make sure this stays in a safe place where it won’t get lost or destroyed. Ok?”

“I can’t believe it! You’re my mom! I can’t wait to tell the other crusaders! They won’t believe it either!” exclaimed Scootaloo gleefully as she ran toward the door.

“Wait, stop! You can’t tell your friends!” Rainbow yelled in a panic.

Thankfully Twilight stopped Scootaloo before she was able to get out the door.

“Why can’t I tell them?” Scootaloo pouted.

“If you do want to tell them something, tell them I’m adopting you. Please don’t tell them the whole truth. If anyone finds out you were an oops kid, you’ll never hear the end of it. Besides, if people find out the truth, they would treat me differently and destroy my reputation. It would be bad for both of us.” Rainbow explained.

“Ok,” Scootaloo replied

“Alright then, go hang out with your friends.”

Scootaloo smiled and ran out the door. Rainbow turned to Twilight and said, “could you tell the other elements the truth for me? I’m exhausted.”

“Alright then. Let’s get you back to the hospital” Twilight replied pushing Rainbow out the door. A half hour later, Rainbow was back in her hospital bed sleeping.

Four months’ later, Rainbow was completely healed. She and Scootaloo’s house was fully built, and the two of them promptly moved in. Scootaloo even eventually learned to fly, but that’s a story for another day.