Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic or seek any profit from the below work.

Notes: Against my better judgment, I'm putting this one up before it's finished. Hopefully, we'll reach the end together. I think this one has more potential than the others.

Hopefully, you'll agree…or have some good criticism!

Lost and Found

Chapter 1: The Lonely Child and the Old Friend

Scootaloo rode alone the day before the Sisterhooves Social. She had wanted to talk Dash into attending with her, but it reminded her far too much of her only foal status and someone as cool as Rainbow Dash wouldn't want to be involved in something like that. So, instead, she spent her time around the playground. Snips and Snails weren't cool, but at least they didn't ask questions about her family and enjoyed playing games.

Still, those two ran off to do something stupid eventually.

Sighing, she headed back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders' Clubhouse. Maybe her fellow Crusaders would finally be done with whatever they were doing by adventure or two before sunset with her best friends would make this day way easier. Stopping her scooter and leaving it next to a nearby tree, she glanced up at the clubhouse.

The front of the clubhouse had a huge hole in it and the roof had fallen in on even taking her helmet off, she ran up the ramp and kicked the door in.

Inside, she found most of the roof. She expected to find a huge rock or something, but the rubble was all she could see. Still in shock, she thought of what the rubble covered…

Everything in the clubhouse was under that rubble, smashed to pieces!

She started digging through the remnants of the roof, frantically searching for anything that could have been hers. Before she could get very far, her hooves ran across a white feathered head.

A moan greeted her as the rubble slid off of a brown body.

The monster groaned as it rose to its full height.

Scootaloo recoiled in shock. Even before it started stretching its wings, it was easily twice or three times her size.

It shook its head and focused its wide, golden eyes on the pony. Its frame quivered, and an agonized mare's voice passed its beak, "Help me!"

The pony froze, unsure what to do.

Wincing, the beast nearly fell to its knees, gasping, "I'm going to die! Ah! Ah! Damn this hurts!"

"I'll get help! Uh…don't die!" Scootaloo ran out quickly, unsure what to do. Who would know how to help some animal who was hurt?

Fluttershy!

She threw herself back on her scooter and rode off as fast as she could. It was all the way across town, but she rushed as fast as she could and barely skidded to a stop as she dumped the scooter and started knocking on the cottage door.

The door was opened by a yellow pegasus. She barely got out a 'hi' before she was cut off.

The helmeted little pony frantically explained the situation, "Fluttershy! This bird thing is hurt and I don't know what's wrong with it and I think it's going to die! Come on it's at the clubhouse!"

Without waiting, Scootaloo took off running, almost forgetting her scooter.

The only indication that Fluttershy was following were the soft cries of 'wait!' and 'slow down please!'.

Scootaloo ran up into the clubhouse and heard Fluttershy not far behind.

A screech pierced the air as they arrived.

"Oh…my."

The monster was laying on its side and, when it looked up, its eyes were full of tears. It coughed, a little bit of blood slipping from the edges of its beak. Its stomach was swollen and covered in scars. A deep cut ran down its rear leg…a rather fresh wound.

The orange pony stared on, unsure of what to do.

"Scootaloo, take my saddlebags, get what I tell you to." Nervous as she sounded, Fluttershy managed to speak her whole piece without stuttering.

Shaking, she carefully pulled the saddlebags off of the older mare.

"G-Gilda, I know you're in a lot of pain, but you're going to have to listen to me."

"Anythi-ing! Just make it STOOOOOOP!" She never sounded more like a pony than in that moment as she shrieked and wept.

"Okay. I'm going to need you to be on your front. Everything is going to be fine." Fluttershy braced herself near the griffon and helped her up, "Now, I'm going to need you to take a deep breath."

Gilda complied, taking a long breath until her form expanded a bit.

"Now, I'm going to need you to bear down like you're relieving yourself. Hold that for about ten seconds..."

The child had never heard quite as much screaming and cursing before as she did now. The process was brutal to watch despite the lack of movement. She couldn't even imagine just how much pain would make somepony howl and roar like that even when their voice grew hoarse. Every time she finished pushing and wasn't breathing, some pained noise passed her beak. The clean air of the treehouse was desecrated by the stench of urine and sweat.

She did not know how Fluttershy could stand it all, in the thick of it. At one point, her talons grasped the pony's leg and tightened! If the yellow healer had done anything but stand there and continue whispering her quiet reassurances, Scootaloo would have jumped in to help her out!

Despite it all, though, she remained silent and still. A horrifying curiosity stilled her limbs and drew her eyes to the agonized beast. So deep in her labor was she that she could not spare a glance towards the orange-furred child watching her so closely.

It must have gone on for an hour at the very least. Maybe two. The most Fluttershy asked her to get was a few cloths and some minty-smelling herb. Still, at long last, a howl louder than all the others pierced the air and Gilda collapsed.

The room stood silent for a moment as the fallen was examined in the light from the setting sun.

"Fluttershy, is she-?"

The pink-haired pegasus stopped for a second and smiled tiredly at the filly, "She's a mother…and she's going to be all right. Once I have these wounds bandaged, everything will be fine."

"A mother?" Scootaloo stared in awe, even as Fluttershy strode past her and got the bandages and salve out herself. The process was finished carefully, but with all due speed. She was a bit slower on her own wound, wincing as she rubbed the salve onto her foreleg where the talons had found purchase. Still, the bandages were easily enough secured around the injury and she was able to proceed. A few cloths, now soiled, were tossed aside. Finally, she moved a rather large egg out from behind her and set it down next to the unconscious creature. It was as big as her head, at least!

Her voice grew softer and less commanding as she saw the child's awe, "I was surprised, too, but when I saw it happening, I knew. I'm just glad it's over. She laid very quickly, but sometimes young griffons take hours or even a day or two."

The younger pony didn't really know what to say. She had never seen anything like this before.

"Okay. We can't move her like this, but…it's pretty warm out. If she lays near her egg and we keep an eye on her, everything should be fine until she wakes up."

Scootaloo just looked around, unsure what to say to pass the time, "Why would griffons have kids if it hurts that much?"

"I…well, um, you see." Fluttershy floundered with that one for a while, before quietly admitting that she wasn't sure.

Silence reigned over them for a long while, until they heard a voice outside that was unmistakable.

"When I was a little filly and the sun was going dooooooown!"

They both called out at the same time, "Pinkie Pie!"

Instantly, the song stopped and that magenta maned pony peeked in the doorway of the clubhouse, "Hey girls!"

The gasp that pierced the air was a relatively tame noise compared to the shouting from earlier. The pink partier dashed over to the griffon, "What happened to Gilda? Is she okay? She isn't dead is…she-"

Pinkie stared blankly a moment. The pieces fell into place and she smiled, starting to hop up and down, "What's a new mother doing in a place like this anyway?"

"Well, I'm not really sure, but-"

She went on as if Fluttershy hadn't answered, "Well, it doesn't really matter what she's doing here. We should take her back to Sugarcube Corner so she'll have an actual bed to sleep in."

"But, Pinkie Pie, won't Mr. and Mrs. Cake be bot-"Standing up on her hind legs, she shook her head, "Oh no! I'll let her stay in my room, and the Cakes won't be back until the end of the week. They won't even know Gilda was there. Even if they did, they'd understand after I explain the situation."

"But Pinkie-"

Finally, the helmeted filly spoke up, "We can't leave her here, anyway. This is our clubhouse and Applebloom and Sweetie Belle will freak out if they find a griffon here!"

Pinkie Pie laid a hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, nodding, "And she can't hatch an egg in here! What if it rains? She'll be much safer up at my place!"Fluttershy didn't seem very assured, but she did help move Gilda through the town. Scootaloo had to carry the egg and her medical supplies, so her scooter got left behind. She left the helmet with it, under the clubhouse. Unless something else fell out of the sky, everything would be safe under there.

It was good that the sun was going down. Very few ponies took notice of what they were moving and those that did notice didn't bother to stop them.

Finally, they situated themselves upstairs in the bakery. Pinkie's bed was large enough for the griffon to be laid comfortably next to her egg.

"Jeez, she reminds me of how I was when I had that ten party marathon back during the Maredi Graz Festival." Pinkie Pie remarked quietly, amused.

Scootaloo barely caught that comment, though.

"Pinkie Pie, what are we going to do now?"

"Dash and I were going to have a little sleepover, but now I guess it's going to be a big sleepover." That smile on her face didn't fade as she gestured towards the stairs, "The Cakes won't mind us using their bedroom as long as we clean up afterward, and with the four of us it'll be like a mini-party!"

Scootaloo saw that Fluttershy wanted to say something and stopped herself, but the filly's mind was far from that, "Rainbow Dash is coming here? Awesome!"

"But Pinkie Pie, after what happened with Gilda…"

"Don't you worry your pretty head about Gilda and Dash, your niece-y Pinkie Pie has it all taken care of!" Pinkie Pie explained sprang down the steps, taking each step one hop at a time.

Scootaloo stared a moment, a little confused about the family tree between the two. Fluttershy just met her gaze with equal parts befuddlement and worry. A knocking from downstairs brought an abrupt end to that moment. Racing down the stairs, she knew it would be Rainbow Dash before the door opened.

"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo exclaimed as her idol came into view. There was the smallest frown on her face.

The best young flier in all of Ponyville smiled to quickly cover the frown, "I didn't know Pinkie Pie was making this a big sleepover."

"Something came up, Dashie. Fluttershy's here too."

Rainbow Dash shook her head at her friend's explanation, "Good thing I brought extra pillows."

"Help me get the cupcakes! Fluttershy's waiting upstairs for us."

Fluttershy had remained in the hallway upstairs as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie carried the cupcakes up.

They situated themselves in the Cakes' bedroom. It was rather plain, with a bed even larger than Pinkie's, but it had more than enough pictures of family and friends. Aside from that and the wardrobe sitting in one corner of the room, it was practically empty: the ideal place for a Pinkie Pie slumber party.

Pinkie Pie set down the tray of cupcakes on the bed, "Been a while since I had a party in here, let alone a slumber party!"

Rainbow Dash situated herself comfortably on a pillow from her saddlebags as she set those aside, "Hey, Fluttershy, what happened to your leg?"

"Well, um, that bear I do massage for…got a little mad, but it's okay. He barely broke the skin." She explained rather quickly, looking away.

Silenced filled the air between the two, only broken by the sounds of Pinkie Pie chomping down a cupcake.

"Oh yeah, he's a fighter! I remember when Applejack had a little too much of the spiked cider and decided to try to rodeo him!" The other pegasus chuckled at the memory, He nearly put her through the whole barn when he tossed her off."

Scootaloo just watched, glad she didn't have to lie to Rainbow Dash. She occupied herself by setting up a spot near Rainbow Dash with one of the pillows from the Cakes' bed. She brought two of the cupcakes over.

She passed Rainbow Dash the vanilla one and kept the chocolate one for herself. Most would be insulted by that gesture, but the blue pony grinned as she softly licked some of the frosting off the top.

Pinkie Pie finished her third cupcake, already, giggling as she licked frosting from her lips, "So, maybe we can have a little Truth and Dare, girls?"

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Truth and Dare sounds pretty awesome!"

"Yeah, Truth and Dare!" Scootaloo had only heard about it in school, but if Fluttershy thought it was too exciting and Rainbow Dash thought it was awesome, then it had to be awesome!

"Okay, I'll go first." Pinkie Pie jumped to the center of the room with alarming speed, "Somepony dare me!"

"Okay, Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash looked her in the eye, suddenly serious, "I brought some of this along just for the occasion: I dare you to chug one of my Rainbow Sluggers!"

"Oooh, that's a toughie, Dashie!"

A small glass was produced, along with a vial of liquid rainbow and a bottle of orange-ish liquid. A drop of the rainbow was mixed carefully with the other liquid until the small glass was full.

Scootaloo watched the strange alchemy with a curiosity. She had heard of this, too, but she had never seen it before.

Pinkie Pie upended the glass quickly, downing it in one gulp. In a flash, her face started to turn all different colors. Her lips smashed together and she winced as her face emulated all the colors of the rainbow at least twice.

Finally, she let out a hard breath and grinned, "Easy!"

Scootaloo was impressed. The last time someone had slipped her some rainbow, she nearly threw up. Maybe that liquid she mixed it with made it less spicy?

The pink pony wobbled a little, smiling as she ran a hoof through her magenta mane, "Yeah! That feels good!"

"Okay, Scootalooooooo!" She drew out the last letters of her name into a long and high note, "Truth or dare?"

The child hesitated for a moment, but knew she couldn't take 'truth' while Rainbow Dash was here, "Dare me!"

"Okay! Simple one, since it's your first time playing: eat a cupcake while standing on your head!"

The others stared weirdly, but the challenge had been declared.

It was weird to eat upside down, but it was easily enough done…once she actually managed to get up on her head.

She fell down onto her pillow suddenly.

"Okay, Scootaloo, now you ask someone."

"Rainbow Dash, truth or dare?"

Her grin fell away and she answered softly, "Truth."

That was odd, but Scootaloo thought quickly, "How hard is it to do a Sonic Rainboom?"

Her bravado returned quickly at the softball of a question, "It's easy once you've practiced it. My turn."

Scootaloo watched as her eyes fell on Fluttershy, who winced, "Fluttershy, truth or dare! I remember last time we played you wussed out of a dare, so if you pick dare, you've got to do whatever I want you to!"

"Truth!" She cried, suddenly alarmed at how far in her face the other pegasus had gotten.

Rainbow Dash grew quite serious, "Tell me what's really going on. You lie worse than Applejack!"

"Um…well." Fluttershy stalled, looking at Pinkie Pie and Scootaloo for help.

Scootaloo looked at Rainbow Dash and saw just how grave that look was. She closed her mouth.

Pinkie Pie finally sighed, smiling sadly, "It's not Fluttershy's fault, Rainbow Dash. I asked her to lie, but it's something important."

"Important? What happened?"

"Remember a year ago? A year ago today, in fact?"

"…no?"

Pinkie Pie frowned for a moment, but her smile seemed determined to resurge, "Okay, come with me, everyone, we've got to show Dashie just what's going on…after Dashie promises that she'll be okay with it, because we did what we did for a good reason, okay?"

That grave look stayed on her face and she failed at sounding much calmer, "Sure. I promise."

They all gathered upstairs.

Nothing could have prepared Rainbow Dash for the sight."G-Gilda?" She approached the griffon, shaking a little, "What happened?"

Fluttershy sighed, "Rainbow Dash, I-I didn't mean not to tell you, but, I didn't know how you'd take it."

"What happened?" She insisted loudly. Her gaze turned toward Fluttershy, who winced and backed away.

Scootaloo was scared of her idol in that moment and stammered out a response as quickly as she could, "S-she just…she was just laying in our clubhouse! The roof fell in and when I found her, she just started screaming! I-I-I thought she was gonna die, Rainbow Dash! Then I brought Fluttershy back and…she…"

Her eyes went wide at the thought of what happened in the room. Her mouth tried to make the words, but all she did was stammer worthlessly.

Fluttershy took it up from there, "And Gilda…laid her egg. I bandaged her injury…and-"

"I couldn't just leave them there all night! She was too heavy to move for one pony by themselves, especially with the egg! Don't be mad, Dashie. She's going to be all right!"

Finally, Rainbow Dash sighed, "I…it's not about you guys. I just thought that Gilda would go back to Cloudsdale. I didn't think anything would happen…not like this."

Pinkie Pie smiled wide, looking around, "But she's a momma, Dash. That's not bad…is it?"

"Pinkie, I just can't believe Gilda would…"

"Do the Pony Pokey?" Offered the earth pony.

"Become a mom?" Added the younger Pegasus awkwardly.

Rainbow Dash sighed again, "I guess things change, after all."

"Rainbow Dash, you couldn't have helped that, it was just so sudden and she flew out so quickly…"

"And the party didn't go as planned." Pinkie nodded sadly.

"I could have gone after her…even if she had been a grade-A jerk to you guys." Rainbow Dash shook her head, "…I've got a lot to talk about with her in the morning. If you don't mind, I'm going to sleep up here."

Scootaloo wanted to stay, but Pinkie Pie ushered her out of the room. The orange pegasus gave in, but she did grab a couple of pillows for her. A quietly muttered thanks was the last she heard of her heroine that night…