(Updated 6/7/2018)

PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Same Day – 3:15 PM

Marie, in her pegasus form, walked up to Golden Tiara, who'd recently wrapped up a conversation with her brother. "Hey, Ms. Tiara? I've been thinking, and I'm curious about something."

"Oh?" Golden turned to face the girl. "What is it?"

"Remember how I told you about that one fictional – or so I thought – universe that your powers come from? Well, in that universe, in order for someone to use their Biotics to any meaningful degree, they need a special neural implant. According to the brain scan we did of you, you don't have that, and yet your Biotics are most definitely strong enough to be used practically. How is that?"

"…Hmm… Honestly, I have no idea" Golden said. "Maybe it's something related to Earth Pony magic. But really, I've got no clue."

"…Eh, whatever. So long as it works, right?"

"Right"

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Ponyville, Trixie was undergoing a medical scan from the recently-arrived Shamal.

"Well, your body seems to be recovering from malnourishment quite well" the mage-doctor said. "Your injuries have healed for the most part. And… Oh my, this is unexpected."

"What?" Teana (currently in her pony-form) piped up from nearby.

"Teana, do you remember that problem you used to have? How you had so much untamed, unfocused chakra in your system that it interfered with your ability to channel mana and use magic?"

"Wait" Trixie said. "Are you saying I've got the same problem? …And that's why, back when I was able to use magic, anything bigger than low-grade illusions always took so much effort with such little gain to show for it?"

"First of all," Shamal replied, "saying that you 'used to be able' to use magic implies something permanent, which isn't what you have. It's a psychosomatic block; we just need to help you work through whatever psychological issues are causing it. Second, yes that's what I'm saying. Your chakra reserves aren't quite as big as Teana's, but they're still fairly above the average."

"Well, I'll be" Teana said, grinning as she sidled up next to Trixie. "I'm thinking I should start teaching you the basics of chakra manipulation as soon as possible. That way, when you eventually do get your magic back, it'll be easier and stronger for you. Whaddya say?"

"Well…" Trixie was slightly unsure. "O-Okay. I guess it couldn't hurt."

"Great!" Teana smiled. "Swing by Flutter Field in half an hour; we'll figure out your elemental affinity and see where we go from there."

Elsewhere, the Cutie Mark Crusaders made their way through town, looking around at the beings they passed. Ponyville's population was already starting to get used to their extra-dimensional visitors, some of whom could be seen mingling, a few of them helping out here & there. Scootaloo was hanging back a little, her breath wheezing and her steps a little slow. Apple Bloom stopped and turned around.

"You okay, Scoot?" she asked.

"Huh?" the pegasus filly snapped out of her thoughts. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine" she replied, a bit of a rasp to her voice. "I'm just" she suppressed a cough "feelin' a little under the weather."

Sweetie Belle walked up to her, placing the back of a hoof against her forehead. "It feels like you're running a fever, Scootaloo" the unicorn said.

"I'm fine, I said" Scootaloo brushed Sweetie's hoof away. "I just caught a bug or something; no big deal."

"You sure you wouldn't rather call it a day?" Apple Bloom asked. "We could walk ya home and-"

"No!" Scootaloo interrupted with some panic, breaking out into a fit of harsh, wheezing coughs that wracked her whole body. After she'd caught her breath and gotten over the pain that the coughs had caused, she spoke again, calmer but still sounding nervous. "N-No girls, that's okay. I'll be fine, really. L-Let's get Crusading, shall we? We were gonna try to see if we can get Interior Decorating Cutie Marks today, right?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared a worried look, and then turned back to Scootaloo. "Alright, Scoot" Bloom said. "Let's get goin', then."

As the three walked along, Bloom and Belle made a silent agreement to keep a close eye on their sick friend…

-SCENE BREAK-

Ponyville General Hospital

Same Day – 7:15 PM

Seven ponies walked through the front door of the facility, heading for the waiting room; the "Mane Six" had all chosen to accompany Trixie for her follow-up appointment, meant for the doctors to check the progress of her recovery. So they were surprised to find two familiar fillies already sitting in the waiting room.

"Sweetie Belle? Apple Bloom?" Rarity asked. "What are you two doing here?"

The two fillies looked at the older ponies. "Scootaloo's sick" Apple Bloom replied.

"She's been coughing pretty bad for two or three days," Sweetie Belle said, "and I don't think she's been sleeping much. Her breath's all wheezy, and it looks like her coughs are painful for her. And she's been kinda weak and lethargic. We were working on our Crusading today, when she started coughing real bad, and she had a fever. We dragged her here about an hour ago. The doctors took one look at her and then took her in."

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash asked, worry creeping into her tone. "Have you gotten any word yet?"

Before the fillies could respond, a doctor stepped out. His eyes widened as he saw everyone.

"Are you all here for Scootaloo?" he asked.

"Actually, we came here with Trixie" Twilight gestured to the other unicorn "for her follow-up appointment. However, Scootaloo is a part of our core group. We didn't know she was sick, though, until we came here and found these two waiting for her."

"S-So what's wrong with her, Doc?" Apple Bloom asked. "Is she gonna be alright?"

The doctor sighed. "It seems that she's come down with a rather nasty case of pneumonia" he replied. "She's in no danger of death at this point, before you start fretting, but we're still going to keep her here for a day or two."

"But she's gonna be okay?" Sweetie Belle asked. At the doctor's nod, she let out a sigh of relief.

"There is an issue, though" the doctor said, grabbing everyone's attention. "Her parents need to be informed of this. However, when questioned as to their identities and address, Scootaloo gets… evasive, giving answers that aren't really answers, and such. Do any of you know if there's anything… going on with her home life?"

Everyone looked at each other, confused.

"Actually," Apple Bloom said, "Scootaloo never talks about her home or her family."

"Yeah, and we've never seen either" Sweetie Belle added. "She usually just meets us at our clubhouse or at school."

"Come to think of it," Rarity said, "I've never met them either."

"Me, neither" Pinkie Pie chimed in. "And I know everypony in Ponyville."

Worrying possibilities began to take root in everyone's minds.

"Let me talk to her, doc" Rainbow Dash said. "She looks up to me. I might be able to get some info out of her. And… I think I might have a theory…"

After a moment's consideration, the doctor nodded. He led Dash through the door, down the hall, to one of the rooms. There was Scootaloo, lying in bed, looking exhausted and miserable. The little filly's head turned to look, and her eyes lit up upon seeing her hero.

"R-Rainbow Dash?" she said, her voice a little breathless and rough. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to check up on you" Dash replied as she walked in. "So… pneumonia, huh?"

"Yeah…" Scootaloo let out a sigh that had a noticeable wheeze to it. "I feel awful."

Rainbow walked up to the bed, hopping up and having a seat. "Yeah, I know the feeling…" she said. "So, do your folks know you're sick?"

Scootaloo tried (and failed) not to visibly flinch. "U-Um, no…" she replied.

"Hmm… Well, that's okay. Just tell me where they live, and I can go tell 'em for ya."

Contrary to what most ponies thought, Rainbow Dash was actually pretty observant of other ponies' moods. Thus, she caught the flash of blind panic in Scootaloo's eyes, as the filly gave her a painfully-transparent attempt at a calm smile. "U-Uh, you don't need to do that for me, Dash" Scootaloo said, letting out a nervous laugh.

Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh. "Scootaloo…" she said. "You don't have any siblings, right?"

The little girl nodded.

"And I don't have any either" Dash continued. "And… when I'm interacting with you, I think that maybe that's what having a little sis is like. You really are like family to me. …So why can't I meet your family?"

Scootaloo said nothing, only looking down with a depressed expression. "…I've never me your family, either" she finally murmured.

"They live back in Cloudsdale – my mom, my dad. They're nice people, but they're kinda… enthusiastic about supporting and cheering me on in… well, basically everything. …Really enthusiastic…" she grumbled through gritted teeth

Scootaloo was quiet as she processed all this.

"So, kiddo…" Dash said. "What's your story? Why hasn't anyone I know seen your parents? Where's your home?"

Scootaloo closed her eyes and let out a long, slow, wheezing sigh as she made her decision. "I don't have one" she confessed. "My parents didn't want the responsibility of being parents, so they dropped me at an orphanage in Fillydelphia shortly after I was born. It was a terrible place – the building was old and drafty, the bedrooms were cramped with thin, lumpy beds, the staff-members were cold and distant or actively mean, the rules and prohibitions were like something a dictator would come up with… It was awful. No-one there – adults or kids – was nice to me. No-one who came ever even considered adopting me. A lot of the kids went out of their way to set me up, get me in trouble, and the workers never believed me when I tried to explain what happened.

"I got fed up. When I was six, I ran away. Two of the staff caught me sneaking out in the middle of the night, chased me, tried to catch me. They failed. I got away, and I got as far away from that place as I could. I made my way through cities, towns, empty plains and woods and mountains. I never stayed in any one place for more than a month. About a year and a half ago, though, I found Ponyville. This place is… I don't know the words to describe how I feel, but I knew right away that I never wanted to leave. I made a home out of an old rabbit warren near Flutter Field; that's my home. I… It's really hard sometimes, but it's worth it to stay here in Ponyville…"

Silence descended. Rainbow Dash quietly reached out and laid her hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. At that point, however, the door opened and the doctor walked in. He looked at Dash expectantly. Dash looked down, seeing the fear in Scootaloo's eyes, the filly silently pleading not to tell, not to have her sent away. The Bearer of Loyalty closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then looked to the doctor.

"Scootaloo's parents are out of town" she said, technically not lying. "She's been entrusted to my care for the time being."

The little filly's eyes lit up with surprise and hope.

"I see" the doctor replied. "Well then, if you would follow me and we could go over the necessary bits…"

"I'll be back soon, kiddo" Dash said to Scootaloo as she followed the doctor out.

As Dash and the doctor walked down the hall, he turned to her.

"She's an orphan, isn't she?" he asked.

"I won't let you take her from us, from her friends, from Ponyville" Dash replied with utmost seriousness. "It would destroy her. She has happiness here that the apparent run-down hellhole of an orphanage in Fillydelphia she ran from sorely lacked; you might wanna have the FPS over there inspect the orphanage facilities in that city. …She has friends here, a life, goals… And I am willing to provide her a roof over her head, so she doesn't end up having to go through what I did growing up alone."

"…Alright" the doctor said. "I'll keep it quiet from Protective Services for now, partly because you obviously have a rather well-developed support structure in your friends and their families. …You do realize that you're three years too young to legally adopt her, right?"

"Oh, I know I'm not mom material. I'm more of the 'Cool Big Sis' type. Applejack's our 'Team Mom', not me. …But, yeah; we can take care of her. I just gotta break the news to 'em first."

As Rainbow Dash returned to the waiting room, she turned to Twilight. "Twi, can you set up an anti-eavesdropping spell or whatever you call it around our group?"

"So outsiders can't hear us? Sure."

The spell was set up, and the others crowded around as Dash took a seat. And then she told them everything. It was a while before anyone could think of anything to say through the shock.

"Scootaloo's… homeless?" Apple Bloom said, her voice quiet and her expression one of shock.

"And family-less?" Sweetie Belle added.

"And she's been living in some… hole in the ground?" Rarity asked.

"I'm pissed at myself for not noticing before now" Rainbow Dash said. "Leaving that aside, though… Will you girls help me take care of her?"

"Of course we will" Pinkie replied.

"We'll do everything we can" Fluttershy said.

"You can count on us" Applejack said. "And so can she."

As the others added their agreement, Dash smiled. 'Looks like you're not on your own anymore, kid…' she thought.

-SCENE BREAK-

Two Days Later

Scootaloo was discharged from the hospital the morning after her admittance, and the entire 'Mane Group' was there to help her. Her few meager possessions were moved from the warren she'd been living in, up to a cleaned-up guest room in Rainbow Dash's Cloud Cottage that she would now be living in. She would have to rely on Dash, Fluttershy, Shion, or Marie to get to & from her new home, on account of her being unable to fly yet, but none of the four in question minded. The other Crusaders were a big help, assisting Scootaloo in getting used to her new situation. Just last night, Scootaloo had slept in a real bed for the first time in ages… Rainbow Dash's bed, to be specific, curled up with the elder pegasus in question, who was quickly falling into the big-sister role, giving the little filly a little extra warmth and company to keep the nightmares away.

Today, Dash had dropped her new charge off at school and then headed into town to get some supplies, meeting up with Mrs. Cake, Sarah, and Fluttershy, who would be helping her get what was needed to raise a child. The shopping went on for around an hour, when suddenly several cracking sounds filled the air. Sarah immediately turned to the direction they'd come from.

"Gunfire…" she murmured.

"All coalition forces in the area, this is Fireteam X-Ray!" a man's voice shouted over Sarah's comm. "Hostile forces attempting to gain access to the school! We have engaged, but are requesting reinforcements!"

"Fireteam X-Ray, this is Agent Carolina" the ex-Freelancer's voice came over the comm. channel. "Agent Washington and I are en-route."

"This is Gamma-7" Sarah added in as she took off running, shifting to her human form and summoning her gravity-hammer from one of the scrolls on her person. "I am on the way as well". She turned behind her and saw the two pegasi following. "Harmony-4 and Harmony-6 are accompanying me."

"Roger that, to all of you" Fireteam X-Ray's man replied, gunshots audible in the background. "Lookin' forward to the company!"

"This is Overwatch to all local forces" a new voice chimed in. "Dimensional translocation of unknown source has been detected. Two unidentified IFF tags have appeared and are heading for the school. One of them has an old Project Freelancer tag-code."

"North, York, Tex, and Florida are all off-world right now" Wash replied. "Whoever it is, it's not one of ours."

"Damn it" Sarah cursed. "So it might be another one sent by the Dark Voice. We could be dealing with South or Wyoming."

"All the more reason to hurry!" Carolina replied.

Halfway there, Sarah's group met up with Wash & Carolina. They hurried as fast as they could, breezing past buildings and surprised pedestrians, making for the schoolhouse. Soon it came into view – Cheerilee and several students caught outside, huddling together against a wall, with five UNSC marines frantically firing at the Demons and Unversed attacking. The fireteam leader, shotgun in hand, stepped forward, blasting two Type-Es. He took down two Scrappers with the butt of his weapon… and turned around to notice the Type-D flying right for his face.

(MUSIC: Red vs. Blue Season 10 OST – "C.T.")

Suddenly, a thrown hatchet came flying in, striking and killing the Type-D and knocking it aside. Several well-aimed pistol shots followed from out of nowhere, taking down several Unversed and a few Type-Es. A pack of Unversed that tried to rush around the soldiers and charge at the kids found themselves blocked off, as an armored figure dropped in from the roof, landing in a crouch between them and the civilians. Shiny brown armor stood up, two golden eye-pieces staring out at the surprised dark entities.

"Picking on kids?" she said to the dark creatures. "You really are monsters…"

And as the coalition personnel got close enough to see who it was, Carolina and Washington felt disbelief, surprise, and relief at recognizing her:

"C.T.?!" "Connie!"

The Type-Es charged, and Agent Connecticut ran to meet them, knife in one hand and M6D pistol in the other. As she came in close, she flickered as she sent out a hologram, distracting and disorienting the Type-Es for a split second, long enough for her to shoot one between the eyes and slash the throat out of another. The third Type-E ran at her, brandishing a dagger, only for a headshot from Wash to put it down as he charged into the fray, cracking a Scrapper's head with the butt of his rifle.

"How in the worlds are you here?" he asked.

"I'll explain when we aren't being attacked!" C.T. replied as she took down two Floods with her pistol.

A high-speed aerial tackle from Rainbow Dash took out three Unversed, while Sarah threw her gravity hammer at a Type-E, the weapon discharging and killing the demon on impact; she flash-stepped in, catching the weapon by the handle before it could hit the ground, and swung to kill four Type-Gs. Carolina ran in, plasma rifles firing as she gunned down more Unversed, and a Type-E's attempt to attack her from behind was foiled by a hatchet being slammed into its back. As the demon toppled over, the axe's owner – a man in full ODST armor with a pill insignia on his chestplate – pulled it free, having already retrieved his other weapon. He and Carolina looked at each other.

"Well, this is awkward…" Carolina said sheepishly.

"Tell me about it" 'Pillman' replied.

The two then simultaneously turned and opened fire on a pack of Scrappers that tried to get the drop on them, plasma rifles and M7 SMGs gunning the Unversed down. A Type-D tried to swoop in on them, only for Fireteam X-Ray's leader to blast it with his shotgun. Fluttershy took position helping Cheerilee protect the kids, while Rainbow Dash leapt in and started bashing Unversed. The presence of a Gamma Team member, three Freelancers, and a Freelancer-level soldier, along with the two pegasi and the already-present fireteam, meant that the enemy was quickly routed.

After the last enemy fell, and it was assured that none of the kids were hurt, the coalition personnel came together.

"So how are you two here?" Wash asked C.T. and 'Pillman'. "And why aren't you attacking us?"

"For starters," the ODST-armored soldier said, "that thing you guys have that lets you see events with camera angles, music, time compression for viewing, and stuff like that? Our group's got it, too. We're part of the 'other' multi-dimensional coalition that your higher-ups recently discovered the existence of."

"So we've seen everything," C.T. continued, "including Texas finding out the truth, and the Director's death. We know you guys are on the right side now."

"We came here to give something to your higher-ups" 'Pillman' said. "Information – dimensional-spatial coordinates, time, stuff like that – for a meeting between our people and yours."

"So who exactly makes up this 'other faction'?" Sarah asked.

C.T. grinned inside her helmet. "Now, now" she said. "No spoilers."

"Aw, c'mon. Just one?"

"Alright, alright. Ever heard of Galen Marek?"

Sarah's eyes widened. "The Sith-turned-Jedi who kicked Vader's and Palpatine's asses and became a martyr for the Rebel Alliance? And who was later cloned and his clone kicked Vader's ass again?

"Yep, that's him" 'Pillman' replied. "He's one of our heavy hitters. And… well, it's a clone body but the original soul. He's on his third body right now."

"Third?" Wash asked.

"He and his two buddies were on Alderaan" C.T. replied. "We had a Precursor-built 'Resurrector', too. That's how me and this big lug are alive right now. It also brought Marek, Juno Eclipse, and Rahm Kota back, as well as a few others from a different group, before it burned itself out."

"So are you two gonna stick around?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Wish we could, but we gotta get back to our guys," 'Pillman' replied, "let 'em know what happened and that we handed the data off to you. We'll see you guys again at the meeting."

As he said that, a slipspace translocation portal appeared behind them.

"Well, there's our ride" C.T. said. "See you guys later."

With that, the two stepped through the portal, which then closed. Carolina looked at the data-card now held in her hand, containing the relevant intel. She stored it in one of her armor's storage pockets, then turned and started walking in the direction of the coalition groundside facility, the others following her.

-SCENE BREAK-

Next Day

Trixie wandered through town, caught up in her own little world. Her once-malnourished body was already filling out again, muscle and (healthy) fat being built back up. Her self-esteem was still in not such a good state; she still had her psychosomatic magic block and her depression-induced Cutie Mark loss. But right now, she was in a reasonably good mood. She'd been determined to have a Lightning elemental affinity, and Teana had already started teaching her the basics of chakra manipulation and theory. She'd also been having a listen to some of the human visitors' music; she'd come to like one of little Erika's favorite bands.

"In my scarecrow dreams," she was singing to herself, "When they smash my heart into smithereens, be a bright red rose come bursting the concrete…"

She was interrupted suddenly as an odd-looking featherless bird went past at a respectable rate of speed. Seconds later, Twilight and Fluttershy came running past.

"Hi Trixie, bye Trixie!" Twilight shouted without breaking stride.

"Philomena, come back!" Fluttershy cried.

For several seconds Trixie just stood there, utterly confused. Then she just shrugged her shoulders and kept walking.

"Light a fire to light a spark, light a fire, flame in my heart…"

As she walked along, she again went over in her head the plans for Pinkie's upcoming surprise birthday party. Things were looking up, so long as things went well on the day of the party…

-CHAPTER END-

Next Time: The events of "Party of One", with a few twists.