“Wow, that didn’t take too long,” Dash said as Twilight walked back inside the hospital room. “You weren’t even gone an hour!”

She turned her attention back to the game of cards that she and Scootaloo were playing and asked, “Hmm… do you have any se…” Rainbow paused to inspect Scootaloo’s face for anything that would give her cards away. When her cocky smile faded slightly, Dash quickly asked, “Um… ya have any sixes?”

“Nope!” Scootaloo said cheerily. “Go fish!”

“Darn!” Rainbow chuckled as she picked up a card. Another seven? Well, if I have three of them now, then where’s the last one? She added it to the other two sevens in her grip. “Your turn!”

“Alright…” Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed as she examined Rainbow’s hoofful of cards. Knowing that Rainbow had probably changed her answer to let her win, Scootaloo gave her another cocky smile. She took one last glance at the three cards in her hoof. She had a four, an eight, and a seven. “Do you have any… sevens?”

“Ah, ponyfeathers, you got me!” Rainbow said, throwing her cards down in defeat. She looked back at Twilight, noticing that she had a smile on her face. “So what’s up, Twi? Everything go smoothly?”

“Of course! Everything went off without a hitch,” Twilight said, walking up to the bed. “I see that you two kept busy while I was gone?”

“Haha, yep! Scootaloo here just finished wiping the floor with me for the fourth time! Who knew she was so good at cards?” Rainbow said with a chuckle, gathering the deck. Throwing them all back in the box, she set it down on the small table next to her and slid out of her chair.

“Oh, I almost forgot, the doctor said Scootaloo can leave with us now!” Rainbow’s face lit up excitedly as she remembered the doctor’s visit. “Oh my gosh, Twilight, you should have totally seen the doctor’s face when he saw that Scootaloo’s wing was completely healed!” Rainbow popped a backflip in excitement, landing in the same spot that she’d been in.

As soon as Rainbow’s hooves touched the floor, the door opened to reveal a light pink mare pushing an empty wheelchair in front of her. “Alrighty miss, remember what the doctor said? We have to wheel you out; it’s the hospital’s policy.” She smiled warmly as she pushed the wheelchair up to the bed. The nurse engaged the locks on the wheels and helped Scootaloo slide onto the wheelchair.

“Ready?” After a small nod from Scootaloo, the nurse disengaged the locks and pushed her out of the room. She looked back over her shoulder and addressed Twilight and Rainbow. “If you’d be so kind as to follow me, we can get Scootaloo checked out!”

“Sounds good to me! After you, Twilight,” Rainbow nodded towards the door as she watched the nurse push Scootaloo down the hallway.

“Heh, thanks.” Twilight moved forward, followed closely by Rainbow. As the nurse and Scootaloo went into the elevator a few doors down from them, Rainbow and Twilight kept going, opting to go for the staircase. They walked downstairs, emerging on the ground floor just as the elevator doors opened. The nurse pushed Scootaloo up to the front desk and waited for the two of them to join her.

“Alright guys, I’ll grab the paperwork, have ya’ll sign a few things, and then you’ll be good to go!” the pink mare said, fixing her hat so that it sat properly on her head. She walked behind the counter and rifled through a small pile of manila folders, pulling one out a few moments later. Walking up to the counter, she opened it and pulled out the first sheet, laying it down for Twilight to sign. “Just sign here, here, and here, and then we’d be golden!”

“But what about the charges?” Twilight asked, levitating a quill into the air. She signed her name in a few different places and looked back up, placing the quill beside the documents.

“Ah, yes. You needn’t worry about that; Princess Celestia already paid it in full!” the nurse responded, pulling the signed document off the counter. She stowed it in a separate folder and placed it inside a small filing cabinet.

“Wonderful! So that’s it?” Twilight lit her horn and picked Scootaloo up in her magical grasp. She gently placed her on Dash’s back and turned her attention back to the nurse.

“Yep, that’s it! Scootaloo’s good to go!” The nurse leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Oh, and also, we included a copy of the document about her condition in the folder.”

“Got it, thanks.” Twilight grabbed the manila folder and closed it.

“Wait, wha–” Rainbow trailed off, her eyes widening ever so slightly as she suddenly caught on. “Oh, uh… nevermind.”

“Wait, what condition? What’s in that folder?” Scootaloo asked as she placed her front hooves on Dash’s head, standing up on her idol’s back. Peering down over her head, she attempted to get a glimpse of the folder’s contents, but to no avail; Twilight kept it shut tight with her magic.

“Careful there, squirt. We wouldn’t want you falling off, now would we?” Rainbow asked with a small, cocky grin. She gently tossed her head back, making Scootaloo sit back down. “It’s probably just some medical jargon about how Princess Celestia healed your wing so fast, ya know?”

“Yeah, probably… So anyways, can we get outta here?” Scootaloo asked, keeping her front hooves firmly latched around Rainbow’s neck. “I don’t like hospitals…”

“Yeah, me neither, squirt,” Rainbow said, shuddering slightly as she remembered her own trip to the hospital. Shaking the unsettling thoughts and feelings from her mind, she quietly followed Twilight outside, taking extra care to make sure Scootaloo wouldn’t fall off. Turning to look at Twilight, she asked, “So now what?”

“Well, if you two are hungry, we can all go to the Hayburger for a late lunch, and we can figure out what to do from there. Also, I’m buying!” Twilight said merrily, listening to her stomach grumble.

“Yeah, sounds great to me!” Rainbow said. Looking over her shoulder, she nearly pushed Scootaloo off her back with her muzzle. “Oops, sorry squirt…” Rainbow used her wings to help the filly regain her balance, then she asked, “What do you think? You up for a good ol’ hayburger and some fries?”

“Totally!” Scootaloo piped up, her wings buzzing with excitement.

“Awesome. I’ll grab Spike, and I’ll meet you two there!” Twilight said, opening her wings. She trotted a few steps down the road and flew off in the direction of the library.

“How’s your burger, Spike?” Twilight asked, taking a bite of her own.

“It’s pretty good,” Spike said as he glanced around the table, perplexed. While it wasn’t odd to see Twilight and Rainbow spending time together, what put him off was the fact that Scootaloo was between them, sitting across from him as she devoured her own burger. Twilight hadn’t told him much, just that they were meeting Rainbow and Scootaloo for lunch to talk about important things.

“So… what’s going on? You said we had to talk about something important?” Spike set his burger down, grabbed some hay fries, and popped them in his mouth one by one as he waited for Twilight to respond.

“Yes, that’s why we’re all here,” Twilight started, setting her own burger down. She took a small sip of her drink before saying, “I’m sure you’re wondering why Scootaloo was in the hospital last night, right?”

After a silent nod from Spike, she continued. “Right, well, Scootaloo can tell you all the details later if she wants to, but what happened was that her parents weren’t all that nice to her, and they didn’t treat her so well. So because of that, Scootaloo is going to be living with us and Rainbow Dash from now on.” She paused, wanting to see how Spike would react to this. She was a little uncertain of what he’d think of the whole situation, but she still gave him a chance to speak nonetheless.

“Wow… that’s just…” Spike murmured, nervously glancing up at Scootaloo. Shaking his head, he tried to play it cool. “Heh, so this is gonna be like one long sleepover?” He looked up hopefully at Twilight, sneaking a furtive glance at Scootaloo a second later. Noticing a similar expression on her face, Spike smiled inwardly and then looked back up at Twilight.

“Exactly,” Twilight said, visibly relaxing. She hadn’t realized that she’d been so tense. “She’ll be sleeping in the spare bed in my bedroom for now until we get things all figured out. After the trial, which is just under a couple weeks, we can–”

“Wait, hold on, a trial?” Spike asked, cocking a scaly eyebrow. “For what?”

“Well, Spike, you see, um… Rainbow and I volunteered to become Scootaloo’s legal guardians, seeing that her real parents aren’t responsible enough. The trial is just a legal thing to make our custody of her official,” Twilight said, smiling gently as she watched Rainbow playfully tousle Scootaloo’s hair.

“Really? That’d be awesome!” Spike exclaimed. “So does that mean Scootaloo will be my sister? Or, um… wait, what would she be, my half sister?”

“Technically, she would be…” Twilight started, trailing off as she realized that she had no idea what that would make Scootaloo. “To be honest, I’m not so sure… Rainbow? You have any ideas?”

“Uh… why’re you asking me? You’re the egghead, you should know!” Rainbow said, nudging Twilight’s side playfully with a wing. She finished off her own burger and took a sip of her drink. “Anyways, we need to hurry up; I’m already late for work today, and we still haven’t set anything up.”

“Oh! In that case then… How about she stays with me Monday through Wednesday, and then she stays with you Thursday through Sunday? And every other week we switch times, making it even for the both of us. Of course, exceptions can always be made if something comes up. That sound good?”

Rainbow nodded, shoving the rest of her hay fries into her mouth. “Yeah, sounds good to me. Sorry guys, but I gotta bail; I gotta do some work if I want to pay the bills, ya know? See ya later!” And with that, Dash bolted out of the restaurant, leaving the two front doors swinging back and forth in her wake.

“So, um… who’s place am I staying at tonight?” Scootaloo asked, finishing off her meal. She crumpled up her trash into a small ball and tossed it on the table.

“How about you stay at my place tonight?” Twilight asked. “I’m sure Spike would love the extra company, and besides, I need help setting up the tree!”

“Yeah! I was wondering when we were gonna go get one!” Spike said, not noticing Scootaloo’s perplexed expression.

“A… tree?” Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow, letting a silly grin form on her face. “But you guys live in one; why would you need another?”

“For Hearth’s Warming day, silly!” Twilight said, smiling. “How can you not kn– oh…” Her lips formed a small ‘o’ as she quickly realized that Scootaloo’s parents may not have given the filly presents all throughout the past holidays. Her heart rate sped up and her ears drooped as she felt a pit of guilt form in her stomach. Everypony, especially young colts and fillies, deserve to get presents!

“Tell you what, you two…” she trailed off, smiling excitedly as a plan formed in her head. “Dash and I are gonna make this the best holiday ever!”

Down at the bustling market, everypony was going about their business, buying decorations, holiday treats, and gifts for their loved ones, and that’s exactly what Twilight, Spike, and Scootaloo were doing.

“Alright, you two, all we need now is a star to put on top of the tree!” Twilight said, levitating a couple bags of decorations above her head as they all trotted through the marketplace for what seemed like the umpteenth time. “You two still warm?” Back at the library, she had been smart enough to throw on her saddle pad, using it as both a source of warmth and a cushion for her saddlebags.

They’d been out in the cold for quite a while, and she was starting to grow a little concerned about Spike. She felt fine, especially with the scarf that she’d grabbed back at the library, but reptiles were particularly susceptible to the cold.

“Yep!” Spike said, rubbing his claws together to generate a little bit of warmth. “Although I probably should have grabbed my gloves and scarf…” He blew a small stream of fire over his claws, trying to warm them up.

“Well, you should’ve listened to me!” Twilight chuckled. She opened her saddlebag and stowed her bags of supplies in them. A moment later, she lit her horn and grabbed her scaly assistant, placing him on her back, just in front of the saddlebags.

“Here, I think there’s a blanket in my bags…” She fished around in her saddlebag with a magical tendril, letting out a small ‘ah!’ as she felt it. Twilight pulled it out and unfolded it, quickly wrapping it around the shivering dragon on her back. “There! That should help.”

“Heh, thanks Twi,” Spike said, clutching the small blanket. It was big enough to cover him, but it wasn’t big enough to cover his frozen tail, which he quickly pulled under the blanket. He smiled as he started to warm up and he looked around, keeping his claws on Twilight’s neck to steady himself as they wove through the many stalls in the market.

“Hey, why do you need a blanket?” Scootaloo asked. “Sure, it’s a little cold, but not that cold!”

“Well, you see, Spike is a cold-blooded animal, which means that he takes on the temperature of his surroundings. If it gets cold out, his body temperature drops,” Twilight said, happy to spread her knowledge. “If he gets too cold, he could get sick, or even…” Twilight gulped visibly. “Celestia forbid, he could die.” She shuddered as she shook the thought from her mind.

“Hey, enough talk about me dying!” Spike spoke up, giving Twilight a playful poke. “How about we find a star? I think we need a new one, because I couldn’t find the old one anywhere in the attic.”

“Ooh! How about this one?” Scootaloo piped up. She trotted over to a vendor two carts down from them, pointing to a large pink star. “This’ll look so awesome on our tree!”

“Not bad, but it doesn’t match the rest of the decorations we bought…” Spike said as he inspected the cart’s wares from Twilight’s back. Stars of all sizes and colors hung from many strings. As he perused the items for sale, a shiny green one caught his attention, instantly reminding him of succulent emeralds. “Hey, Twilight, how about that one?”

“No, I don’t think a green star would look that good on a green tree,” Twilight chuckled, guessing that it reminded Spike of the precious gems he loved to snack on. “How about that one?” She pointed at a medium-sized golden one.

“Sure, that one looks good!” Scootaloo nodded, not even bothering to quell her unbridled excitement.

“Alrighty, you two! Now all we need is the tree!” Twilight said after purchasing the item. “I think I remember seeing somepony selling them on the other side of the market.” They turned around and made their way back towards the other side of the square, finally spotting their goal.

The three of them walked into the small tent, their shoulders slumping as they saw all of the empty slots where trees used to be, save for two in the rear. The air was stale and musty, filled with the overpowering scent of dried pine needles. They walked back there, and Twilight was both pleasantly surprised and relieved when Spike and Scootaloo both voiced their approval simultaneously.

“This is perfect!” Scootaloo piped up.

“Yeah, let’s get this one, Twilight!” Spike pointed to the one on the left.

While there was technically nothing wrong with it, it was a bit on the small side, but it mattered not. If it made them happy, Twilight had absolutely no problem buying it. She turned to the old stallion manning the cash register on the other side of the tent and called out, “How much for this one, sir?” She pointed at the tree that Spike and Scootaloo wanted and waited patiently.

The unicorn looked up from his magazine and noticed Princess Twilight. “Ah, greetings Princess! I’ll give ya’ll a good discount… Um… does seven bits sound fair?”

“Sounds good to me!” Twilight said, levitating the right amount of bits from her saddlebag to the cashier. Turning around, she found Scootaloo trying to lift their new tree up on her own.

Noticing Twilight’s concerned expression, Scootaloo said confidently, “No worries, Twilight, I got this!”

Before Twilight could respond, she stood up on her hind legs and grabbed several of the branches in her forelegs and pulled, trying to make it tip over so she could carry it out for them. Just as the tree started to lean towards her, the cashier spoke up.

“Now, hold on there, missy!” the old cashier called out, setting his magazine down with a knowing smile. “Lemme get that there fer ya!” He lit his horn and gently pulled it out of Scootaloo’s grasp. “We don’t want you gettin’ hurt fer the holidays, now would we?” he asked with a chuckle, setting the tree down beside Twilight.

Twilight felt a pang of guilt and immediately glanced back at Scootaloo. Catching the filly’s uncertain eye, she nodded towards the exit, silently praying for her to keep silent.

“Yes, um… thank you,” Twilight said, shifting nervously as she trotted forward. Without another word, she lit her own horn and grabbed the tree. Lifting it up into the air, she walked back outside before the situation got anymore awkward; she really didn’t want everypony to know about Scootaloo’s situation.

Stopping in the middle of the square, Twilight closed her eyes and teleported the tree into the library, right into the base that she had set up specifically for it a little while ago. Lighting her horn again, she focused her magic on the decorations in her bags and teleported those away too. She took a deep breath of fresh air, her muzzle twitching in mild irritation as the cold winter air bit at her nostrils. She was glad to be free from the musty tent. While a good Hearth’s Warming Day tree smelled good on its own, a small tent with no ventilation made the scent of many trees much too powerful to take in all at once, making Twilight wonder how the old unicorn could take it all day long.

Shaking her head, Twilight lit her horn once more and set Spike back down on the ground. “Hey, do you two think you can handle setting up the tree all by yourselves?” she asked, stuffing the blanket back in her saddlebag. “I have to go run some boring old errands, and I’m sure you two wouldn’t want to stick around.” Twilight hoped that she made her last sentence sound incredibly boring; in reality she was planning on buying them presents for the upcoming holiday, and she didn’t want the surprise to be ruined.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun!” Scootaloo said, having already forgotten the old unicorn. She and Spike started to scamper away, but Twilight spoke up, making them stop in their tracks.

“Hold on, you two!” Twilight called out as she caught up to them, pulling the flap on her left saddlebag open. She levitated two bits into Spike’s outstretched claw and smiled as she said, “Here’s a couple bits; you can go get yourselves some hot chocolate down at Sugarcube Corner if you want!”

“Thanks a lot, Twilight!” Scootaloo said, grabbing one of Twilight’s forelegs in a hug. She nuzzled Twilight’s breast for a couple seconds and pulled away, a small blush tinting her cheeks a light rose. “Oh, and also, if you see Rainbow later, can you ask her if I can borrow the quilt I used when I slept at her place the other night? It was really soft and warm, and I’d really like to sleep with it again.”

“Okay. I’ll be sure to ask Rainbow if that’s fine,” Twilight said, returning the gesture of affection. “Now you and Spike run along before you two become ice cubes, alright?” Scootaloo nodded and released her, taking a couple steps back.

“Hehe, alright. See you later!” Scootaloo said as she and Spike scampered away, turning down the street corner leading towards Pinkie’s pastry shop.

A small smile graced Twilight’s lips as she watched Scootaloo and Spike run away, laughing as they raced each other down the snowy road. Alright… Where to now? She pulled out her list of errands that she needed to run and unrolled it, holding it before her. Buy ornaments and other various supplies… Check! Buy tree… Check! Go talk to Rarity about making new scarves for Dash, Scootaloo, and Spike? Not checked. Twilight rolled up her list, stowed it back in her saddlebag, and began the short journey to the Carousel Boutique.

Thankfully, it was just a few blocks away, a fact that Twilight was grateful for. The sun was starting to make its downward journey, letting Ponyville grow colder and colder. Twilight approached the door and pushed it open, shivering as a blissful warmth flowed over her. She closed her eyes for a moment as she enjoyed feeling the cold be abolished from her coat, only opening them when she heard the familiar voice of her friend.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!” Rarity said, trotting downstairs from her workroom. “Where everything is–” She cut off her practiced routine when her gaze fell upon Twilight. “Ah, darling! How are you doing on this dreadfully cold day?” She daintily batted her eyes as she lit her horn, closing the front door.

“I’m doing quite fine, Rarity,” Twilight said, smiling as Rarity courteously took the saddlebags from her back, placing them on a nearby table. She followed her to the living room and hopped on the couch, Rarity laying down beside her.

“Listen, if it’s not too much trouble, and I know this is a little bit of a late notice, but is there any chance that you could make a set of special scarves for Rainbow, Spike, and Scootaloo?” Twilight asked. Her heart beat faster as she saw Rarity raise an eyebrow at the mention of Scootaloo’s name. “I think they’d make great presents, and… um…” she trailed off when Rarity’s face contorted into a confused expression.

Raising a hoof to stop her friend, Rarity asked, “I’m sorry, dear, but did you say Scootaloo?” Twilight nodded silently. “Why her in particular?”

“She, well, Rainbow Dash and I, um…” Twilight trailed off nervously as she let her nerves get the best of her.

After much gentle coaxing from Rarity, Twilight was finally able to tell their tale. Although she started off a little shakily, she grew more relaxed and confident as she confided in one of her most trusted friends.

“So… yeah, that’s about it,” Twilight said, sitting back. She’d just finished telling Rarity everything, from when Rainbow crashed through her door to earlier this morning. “Scootaloo is going to be staying with Spike and I at the library on and off throughout the week, and while Princess Celestia assures me that everything should go smoothly, I’m still a little worried about how the courts might interpret this rather unique situation.” Her front left hoof started tapping the couch on its own as she started imagining the judge proclaiming them unfit to become Scootaloo’s legal guardians.

“Twilight, I…” Rarity cleared her throat and shook her head. “I must say, what you and Rainbow Dash are doing for Scootaloo is truly wonderful.” She laid her hoof over Twilight’s and grabbed it gently. “So, tell me, did you have anything special in mind for them?”

Twilight told her exactly what she wanted, feeling relieved when Rarity told her that she’d be able to have them ready in time. After exchanging hugs and goodbyes, Twilight had bidden Rarity a nice evening and had walked outside, happy that she’d been able to finish her errands for the day.

As Twilight happily trotted back towards the library, she heard a familiar voice pierce through her thoughts, breaking her from her reverie.

“Hey, Twilight! What’s up?” Rainbow Dash asked, coming to an abrupt hover in midair. Not even giving her a chance to respond, she continued on, her voice cracking in her excitement. “Never mind that; come on! I got something awesome to show you!” Like before, she didn’t give Twilight a chance to respond as she picked her up in her forelegs. Effortlessly turning about in the air, Rainbow shot off towards her cloudhouse, blasting through the sky.

“Rainbow! You know you could have just asked me to follow you!” Twilight pouted, struggling to breathe as the cold, wintery air was forced down her throat. The speed at which they were going was much more than she was comfortable with; apparently what Rainbow had in store for her couldn’t wait. “Rainbow!”

“Hang on, Twilight, we’re almost there!” Rainbow yelled, her voice almost becoming lost in the wind. After dodging a few clouds, her house came into view and she put on an extra burst of speed, tearing through the sky. Her house came closer and closer, and at this velocity, they’d go straight through it and out the back if she didn’t slow down. As soon as she felt Twilight squirm in her grasp, Rainbow flared her wings, bleeding so much speed at once that she nearly lost her grip on her. Hovering now, Rainbow secured her grip on Twilight and gently lowered her onto the front porch.

“Heh, sorry about that, Twi… I get a little over-excited sometimes,” Rainbow said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of her head. “But anyways, now that we’re here, I have somethin’ to show ya!” She took off again, barreling through her front door. She flew inside, did a few loops around her living room to slow down, and landed next to the coffee table.

“Well? What’re you waiting for, a written invitation? Come on!” Rainbow yelled back at a dumbfounded Twilight, who was still standing outside. Prancing in place excitedly, Rainbow looked back behind her, making sure that her little secret was hidden from Twilight’s view. She couldn’t help but let a silly smile slip onto her face as she waited for the alicorn to come in.

Twilight trotted inside and closed the door behind her. As she walked up to Rainbow, she cracked a smile and giggled at her friend’s bubbly excitement; it was if she had somehow gotten Pinkie Pie’s level of enthusiasm.

“Rainbow, what is it that has you so excited?” She craned her head every which way as she tried to peer around her friend, but to no avail; Rainbow moved to block her every move.

“Alright, Rainbow, you got me,” Twilight said in defeat, sitting back on her haunches. “What’s the surprise?”

“This!” Rainbow proclaimed with an air of excitement. She jumped to the side and revealed her surprise: a brand new, top of the line scooter for Scootaloo. Judging by the look on Twilight’s face, she approved.

“Rainbow, this is…” Twilight trailed off as she found herself at a loss for words.

“Cool, huh?”

Twilight looked up into Rainbow’s eyes, a wide smile on her face. “Rainbow… Scootaloo’s gonna love this! Where’d you get it?” She walked up to the box and started reading all the details listed on the side.

“Oh, while I was killing time at the hospital yesterday, I saw an ad for a sports store in Manehatten that had these. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to get it for her! Besides, her scooter is just like, what, a plank of wood and some wheels?” Rainbow chuckled. “She definitely needs a new one, especially after all the stuff she’s been through.”

“B– but wait; if you saw the ad yesterday, then how did you…” Twilight trailed off as the answer suddenly clicked in her head. With a smug smile, she asked, “You didn’t have to work at all, did you? You just said you had to go work because you wanted to go and get this for Scootaloo, right?”

“Yep! So what do ya think? She gonna like it?”

“You kidding me? She’s gonna love it! This one is definitely a step up from what she has now; she’s gonna be able to do so many more tricks with this!”

“That’s what I was saying!” Rainbow’s grin faltered as she remembered something. “Say Twilight… any chance that you could help me wrap this up? I’m, uh… having a little trouble trying to figure it out…” Rainbow bashfully looked away, nervously tapping a hoof on the floor. She hated to admit it, but even she needed help from time to time.

“Sure, I’d be more than happy to help!” Twilight said. She glanced about and noticed that there wasn’t any of the usual present wrapping supplies laying around. “So, uh, where’s the wrapping paper?”

“Um… it’s right here…” Rainbow giggled nervously as she pulled out a large mass of crumpled-up wrapping paper from behind the couch. “I got a little angry trying to wrap it, and I… well, you know...” She trailed off, starting to feel embarrassed. She had gone and bought all the necessary supplies to wrap Scootaloo’s present back in Manehatten, but had quickly ran out of supplies as she kept messing up. The wrapping paper that she’d bought was dark purple with orange dots on it, and she had even bought a light blue bow to go on top.

“And you brought me here to help you wrap it.” Twilight giggled, finishing Rainbow’s sentence for her. “You know, all you had to do was ask, Rainbow. I’d never say no to a friend in need.” She lit her horn, focusing her magic on the ball of wrapping paper. Closing her eyes, she concentrated and used her magic to flatten out the wrapping paper, smoothing out all the wrinkles and joining all the edges to form one large sheet. Twilight set it down and opened her eyes, satisfied with her work. “Here, lend me a hoof and we’ll have this wrapped in no time!”

“What do you want me to do?” Rainbow asked, relieved that Twilight wasn’t going to tease her about her inability to wrap a simple present.

“Here, you hold onto the tape…” Twilight said, biting her tongue as she figured out the best way to wrap Scootaloo’s present. “Ah! Here we go.” Lighting her horn, she flipped the wrapping paper over and placed the box right in the center. She pulled all the sides up over the top of the box, folding the corners and extra material.

“Tape here, please!” Twilight nodded to the top of the box, where the wrapping paper’s edges met with the other side. She waited patiently, letting Dash lay a piece of tape across the edge. Humph… Not as precise as I would have liked, but it’ll have to do! “And here… and there… and lastly, right here,” Twilight said, pointing out the last few places to tape up. “Annnd done!”

Rainbow sat back and admired their handiwork, thankful that Scootaloo’s present was neatly wrapped in the wrapping paper. “Heh, thanks Twilight, I couldn’t have done it without you.” She gave her friend a small nuzzle in thanks. “Well, I mean I probably could have figured it out sooner or later!”

“Oh, I’m sure…” Twilight rolled her eyes with a giggle, eliciting a playful shove from Rainbow. “Oh, that reminds me, want to come over on the morning of Hearth’s Warming Day? You’d be more than welcome to join us, and I’m sure Scootaloo would love to hang out with you!”

“Really? Yeah, that’d be awesome!” Rainbow jumped into the air and hugged Twilight, wrapping her forelegs around her neck. She released her friend a few moments later and drifted back to the floor. “So, uh, should we, like, get this present to the library, then?”

“Sure, I think I might be able to hide it behind my bed…” Twilight trailed off as she thought about it. If I push that there, and then maybe wiggle that back there… “Yeah, I think that can work! I’ll just have to lay a blanket or something over it to make sure that Spike or Scootaloo don’t see it.”

“Alright, that can work, but how’re we gonna get it to your place without anypony seeing it?” Rainbow scratched the back of her head as she thought. “I don’t want to ruin the surprise, you know?”

She waited for Twilight to answer, but none came. She looked up and saw Twilight had her horn lit. “Oh, yeah, right…” Rainbow sat back and rubbed her eyes, letting out a tired yawn. “Anyways, I think I’m gonna hit the hay if that’s alright with you. So you’re good?”

“Yeah, I think I have it already well under control,” Twilight said with a chuckle, covering her smile with a hoof. Extending a wing, she pointed to just behind Rainbow. “See?” Her giggles grew a little louder when Rainbow jumped, noticing that the present was already gone. “It’s safe and sound in the library, hidden away in my closet… for now, at least. I can find a better place for it when I get back if I need too.”

“Sounds good, Twi… sounds good…” Rainbow yawned again, this time much louder than before. “Here, I’ll walk you out…” She opened a wing, gesturing towards the front door.

“Alright… Oh!” Twilight stopped just as soon as she started walking. “Scootaloo wanted me to grab a certain blanket, a quilt to be exact. She said she used it the night that she slept over here, and that she’d really like to use it again.”

“Heh, really? Alright then, gimme a sec and I’ll be back in a jiffy.” Rainbow trotted back into the living room and grabbed the quilt from the couch. Tucking it under a wing, she trotted back to the door and helped Twilight secure it in her saddlebags. “There! All set!”

“Thanks, Dash,” Twilight said, giving Dash a small nuzzle. “So I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

“Definitely. I’ll be around the library around noon; I gotta take care of a few things first.”

“Perfect. See you then!” And with that, Twilight lit her horn and teleported away, leaving Rainbow all alone.

Completely.

Alone.

Rainbow bit her lip and let her ears droop, listening to the wind blow outside her house. That’s all there ever was to keep her company; the wind and the occasional bird or two. Nopony ever really came by, and it had been really nice to hang out with Twilight, even if it was for a short while.

Rainbow turned around, sat down, and looked around her living room. She’d built her home to be very spacious, very open. She wanted her house to be that way so that she’d have the freedom to fly around inside if she needed to, but it was that very same openness that made her feel empty inside. Her heart panged with loneliness and her tail started twitching, lazily flicking from side to side as she looked around.

With a long, deep sigh, Rainbow stood up and kicked the door shut behind her. Her head hung low, she trudged through her house and slowly walked upstairs. Normally, she’d fly straight to her bed, but the pain of loneliness kept her grounded. With a heavy heart, she walked inside her bedroom and flopped down on her bed, letting herself sink into it.

She grabbed one of her pillows and clutched it tightly to her chest, pulling the blankets up over her shoulders. She couldn’t place a hoof on why, but now she felt lonelier than ever before. Maybe it was because Scootaloo was staying over at Twilight’s house, or maybe it was because she was now once again snuggling with an inanimate object. However soft it was, it still couldn’t replicate the feeling of a warm body that she so craved. Flicking her mane out of her face, she sighed pitifully as she closed her eyes, silently craving that which she did not have.