Teachings From Those Before Us

by TheChroniclerPrincess

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Princess Luna, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Random
Length: 3638

I certain wonderbolt remembers how she got her start and what made her the flyer she is today.

After a recent wing injury, a certain wonderbolt struggles with trauma and is forced to dig deep into her past to find the encouragement and strength to fly again.

Published 2013-06-24 02:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-06-25 20:51:49 UTC

The Incident

The air calmed for a moment. Only long enough for her to wipe the rain water from her eyes. A clap of thunder sounded and rang through the skies, but she felt no fear. She was strong, determined, and was taught by the best. The wind picked up again, and the rain grew heavier. She began to dive through the skies toward the falling earth pony, grabbing her by the torso and increasing her altitiude right before the frightened pony hit a nearby tree. She returned the now grateful pony safely to the calm ground as quickly as she could and lifted off again with a mighty beat of her powerful wings.

"Just one more!" she said to herself as she located the final falling pony in distress. The pale yellow unicorn screamed in horror as her very life began to flash in front of her eyes! "Dont worry! I'm coming!" With a sharp cloud busting turn and another wingbeat, she caught the unicorn safely in her hooves and began to head toward the ground. "Calm down, calm down!" The pony she had just rescued was still unsettled and had not yet acknowledged the fact that she had been saved. "It's alright. It'll be okay!"

The little unicorn finally opened her eyes to see her rescuer before her. Her eyes were wide with terror and awestruck wonder all at the same time. She closed her eyes again and opened her little muzzle to speak. "Th-thank y-you." She was still shuddering. "Thank you so much!" Small tears began to fall from the young pony's eyes, joining with the rain water as it gently kissed her face. She was returned to the gound after the most horrible hot air balloon accident that she had ever known. Looking up, she managed to squeeze out a small, "You're an angel!" Her face lit up in awe as she gazed upon the heroic wonderbolt who had just saved her from certain doom.

"It's my job." the heroic wonderbolt replied while taking to the skies once more. She felt a deep sense of liberation and happiness forming inside of her heart. She had only been a member of the wonderbolts for a short time and she was already saving ponies from disaster. She began to think to herself, "I hope this joy never en-" She was cut off by another clap of thunder that sounded very close to her position. She lowered her altitude just to be safe. Suddenly, she could no longer see. Her vision went black and the feeling throughout her body ceased to exist. There was overwhelming pain coming from every nerve in her body! The next thing she knew, she was falling from the sky, just like those whom she had just saved. Her thoughts suddenly came back to her and she was able to think clearly, but was still unable to move or feel anything. The feeling in her wings had finally returned, but it was too late. With a feeble attempt to stabalize her landing, she crashed head first into the rocky terrain below.

The pain was unbearable. She tore through the ground without it showing any kind of mercy to her. Both her wings were now broken. She didn't have to guess. She just knew. She finally stopped just before slamming into the trunk of a tree. Her head was spinning, and her body trembled uncontrollably. Tears filled her eyes and she let out such a mournful cry as could break the heart of anypony. "This is the end." she thought to herself while letting out a mournful whimper. "This is it." Her tears began to grow heavier as they now poured down her swollen cheeks. She gnashed her teeth for a moment, but stopped becaused of the intense pain of her fractured jaw. With a final twitch of her wings, and a heavy gasp of breath, Scootaloo passed out, laying in wait for any who might find her. . .

Am I Dead?

Light. Such bright light. Nothing else but a blinding essence of liberation. Scootaloo began to make out what looked like a narrow sliver of platinum radiating from what little vision she had at the moment. She was unable to feel, unable to speak, and unable to even know what this light was. Soon after came a faint tone in the distance. As her awareness steadily began to increase, the small pulsating tone grew ever so slightly louder with each second that passed. Every second felt like a day, and then an hour, and then a minute as her awareness increased more and more. The distraught pegasus attempted to take in a deep breath. The air filled her nostrils with a glorious wind of life. The atmosphere carried a heavy scent of fresh linen and flowers. "Am I dead?" was the only thought that she was able to form in her current state.

Everything seemed so surreal. The small tone that she had been listening to finally became a steady beeping sound. The light which she was looking upon started to come into focus. It was just a simple light fixture. She felt a small amount of feeling resonating from her weak body and springing up into a small alertness. She attempted to move her head when just then, there was a sharp pain that caused her ears to ring and her nerves to shudder. The beeping tone increased in speed and Scootaloo felt a cold sensation running down the sides of her face. She could hear yelling from a distance, but was scared and unsure of what it might be. Before another thought passed through her mind, there was another pair of saphire colored eyes right before her own.

"Listen Scootaloo!" the voice continued, "You need to slow your breathing! Don't move!" Scootaloo attempted to open her mouth to scream, but it was no use. Her mouth had been tied shut with medical wrapping. "Give her the sedative! Now!" Scootaloo felt a cold rush running throughout her body. Within seconds the beeping tone had slowed back to it's normal pace and she no longer felt nervous or frightened. "There. That's much better." Scootaloo could now see that she was not dead but only deathly injured. She noticed the red cross symbol on nurse cap that the mare in the room was wearing. She knew exactly where she was. Ponyville Hospital.

"You took quite a fall. It's a miracle that you survived being struck by lightning, let alone falling from that height" Scootaloo wondered in awe about what the nurse had just told her. Struck by lighting? That would probaly explain why her sight went dark and why she couldn't move before she crash landed. The nurse continued, "Even though your injuries are severe, the doctor says that you should still be able to make a full recovery." Scootaloo couldn't help but be relieved by these words. Her worst fear was knowing that she would have to give up flying. It scared her even more than death itself. "It looks as though your pulse is back to normal. In the meantime, try to get some rest and just push this button if you should need anything." Scootaloo drew her eyes to the red button with the white cross on it.

She felt her eyelids getting heavier and let herself drift back to sleep and began to dream. A full recovery. Flying again. Wonderbolt. "You're an angel." These words kept replaying themselves in her head as she delved deeper into her slumber. "The worst is behind me." she thought. She could not have been more wrong. . .

Foreboding Dreams

Darkness now filled the sight of the once strong wonderbolt. She wanted nothing more than to fly again. Her situation had reminded her of the time that her mentor, and now captain, had been grounded due to a wing injury. It was in that time that Rainbow Dash found another gateway to freedom. Reading. As Scootaloo's body began to sink further into her hospital bed, she felt more and more immersed in her forming dream. Her vision turned from sleeping darkness to blurry light. She was back in Ponyville as a small filly. The environment finally became clear and her dream became like reality.

She dreamed that Rainbow Dash was standing in front of her. Her muzzle pointed upward motioning Scootaloo to take to the sky. "I still can't fly yet big sister." Rainbow seemed unnerved and continued to motion towards the sky for Scootaloo to follow the pointed direction. An expression of frustration started to show on her adopted sisters face as she now motioned her head more violently back and forth. "I can't Rainbow Dash! I can't fly!" she cried. It was still no use. With one last violent motion Rainbow Dash's head flung toward Scootaloo's face and met her eyes with a burning stare.

"I always knew you were just a waste of time." Rainbow Dash coldly said as she stared angrily into the eyes of her adopted younger sister.

Scootaloo could not believe the agony in which her elder sister had just inflicted into her heart. It was as if a hot iron had been driven through her heart and mercilessly twisted into her very soul. Tears of cold sorrow swelled in her eyes and she started to cry out.

"I'm trying big sister! See?!" She flapped her tiny wings vigorously without any avail. She tried harder and harder still to lift her body off of the ground, but nothing happened.

Rainbow Dash broke her gaze with Scootaloo and turned away. She began to walk in the opposite direction slowly and without hesitation. She looked back only for a moment to give Scootaloo a stare that chilled her soul. It was such a stare of disapproval, dissapointment, and utter hate. The stare seemed to last forever. It was her eyes. Those large magenta eyes that scortched the very being of the little orange pegasus.

"Stop! Please!" Scootaloo shrieked as her wings flapped faster and faster. "I can do it! Don't leave me big sister! I'm begging you! I'll try harder!" Her insignificant wings locked up and gave out as she met eyes with her big sister. She felt the hate and resentment that came along with this brief glance. It had been within Rainbow's eyes that Scootaloo found her confidence. Where she found her motivation. It was in those magenta eyes in which she was finally home, and where she crafted her world. And it was with that stare, with those eyes, that her world shattered and crumbled. She felt her heart breaking as her sorrowful tears buried her face.

There was a swift flash. A shadowy figure that emerged from her blurred vision. The vague figure had a starlit mane and a black crown. Princess Luna! Scootaloo's eyes widened and her breathing halted instantly.

"Be still Scootaloo. I am here." The princess' horn lit up with blinding magic.

Suddenly everything dissapeared and there was only a small sliver of platinum in her eyes. A pulsating tone. The smell of fresh linen. She was back to reality in Ponyville hospital. Her forehead was soaked in sweat and her breathing was irratic.

It took her a few seconds to calm herself, but within a few minutes she had settled down. Remembering the horrible nightmare she had just experienced, Scootaloo began to weep uncontrollably. She let out wimpers of sadness and felt the lingering pain in her body while she was trembling there.

After a few days, her muzzle had been unwrapped and she could finally eat soft foods again, but the nightmares didn't cease. They occured several times each night, and each time had been vanquished by the princess of the night. Scootaloo had remembered her earlier encounters with Princess Luna when she was a filly just before adopting Rainbow Dash as her big sister. She even carried on a few conversations with her during her current nightmares, but for some unshakable reason, she was unable to let them go.

No matter how many times Luna assured her, no matter how many times she tried to forget, and no matter how much she tried to fight the fear, she just could not bring herself to do it. It vexed her completely. She did not know what was wrong.

It was only a few weeks after that that she had finally made a full recovery and was ready to get back to the outside world. This fact had given her the smallest sense of relief and seemed to ease the pain of her dreams just a bit.

"Today's the day brave wonderbolt!" Shouted the nurse cheerfully as she entered the room. "Are ya ready?" Before Scootaloo could utter a work the nurse interrupted. "Of course you are! Any wonderbolt as incredible as you shouldn't even have to think about a question like that!"

Scootaloo stood up and began to speak. "Th-thank you. Thanks for all your help. I'm ready to leave now." There was a slight longing in her voice.

The nurse sprouted another smile. "That's the spirit!"

The two made their way past the reception desk and everypony along the way gave their farewells and well wishes. The door to the hospital closed behind her, and as it did an emptiness had been filled within Scootaloo. She treasured each breath, smell, and touch she had with the outside world now. It was liberating. As she readied her wings to fly, something stopped her.

It was that unshakable sensation again. That feeling that she experienced in her nightmares. It grabbed hold again and did not let go. So she decided to just walk home to Rainbow Dash, softly crying as she went. Rainbow had not heard the news of Scootaloo's accident due to the fact that as captain, she was overseeing flight shows of her own in Manehatten. she would be returning today, and she and her little sister would have much to discuss. And so, Scootaloo walked. . .

The Talk

It was about 2:00 in the afternoon when Scootaloo had finally reached her big sister's cloud home. She felt a slight aching in her hooves what with her not flying that long distance and all. She looked up at that soft, cuddly mansion in the sky, but the sky blue pegasus that she was looking for could not be found.

She opened her mouth to call out to her elder sister, but the words would not come out. Her heart felt as though it had gone to her throat. "What is wrong with me?" she whispered to herself. First flying, and now this. She couldn't understand why she had been so overwhelmed with fear lately. She was a wonderbolt. A wonderbolt for ponies' sake! Able to fly through any obstacle that came her way. What was holding her back. She let out a long and exhausted sigh as she lowered her head to look at the ground.

"I knew it would take a heck of a lot more than lightining to keep YOU down." The voice seemed to come out of nowhere and startled Scootaloo. Although she knew not where the voice had come from, she knew exactly who it belonged to. "That's my little sis. Tough as nails."

Scootaloo raised her head and placed her gaze upon a nearby tree. Her startled look began to fade as she formed a gigantic grin. Up upon a high branch, she saw she who was her world, she who was her confidence and inspiration, she who was her beloved sister. "Rainbow Dash!" she exclaimed with overwhelming joy. The blue pegasus was now hovering to the ground as her adopted little sister ran towards her. They threw their hooves arond one another and felt the affection in one another's embrace.

"I missed you sis." said Rainbow Dash as she formed a smile. She tightened her grip around her sister pulling her in closer and nuzzling up to her face in a sweet and tender show of emotion. She let out a small tear as she began to speak again. "I was so worried about you."

Scootaloo let all of her tension and worries go as she felt her big sister's head rubbing against her own. It felt as though it had been so long since she had seen Rainbow. A hug from her felt like thousands of loving rose petals comforting her soul. "How did you find out?" Scootaloo asked with slight confusion. They both slowly released their grip as she continued. "I though you were out supervising shows in manehattan."

Rainbow Dash smirked. "It's gonna take a whole lot more than me being busy for me to know about what happens to my best flyer now isn't it?" Scootaloo felt a warmth inside of her. It was a feeling that had always welled up when Rainbow Dash called her "her best flyer." In that moment, it seemed as though all her nightmares had melted away, like all of her fears never existed. "C'mon! Let's get you home." Rainbow dash said as she began to hover only a few feet off of the ground. She was about to head right up to her home when she noticed a dampened look on her sister's face.

"What's the matter?" she asked confused. Sootaloo flashed back within her mind to her nightmares. "I knew you were just a wast of time." She shuddered and sat on the ground with her muzzle pointed downwards. Tears had began to form in her eyes once again despite the joy of seeing her sister after such a long time.

"I can't do it. I can't fly! I'm so sorry sister." Rainbow Dash looked more confused than ever. She wondered how such an enthusiasric flyer like Scootaloo would say such a thing. She lowered herself back down and trotted over to Scootaloo to sit down beside her.

"I know that you can fly. You're the best flyer I have on my team, so I know that what you're saying isn't true." She put her hoof under Scootaloo's chin and raised her head to where she was meeting her eyes. "What's really going on?"

Scootaloo took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "I've been having nightmares. They won't leave me alone." She brushed her mane back to uncover her eyes some more. "Every time I think of flying, I get this gut wrenching feeling that I am going to crash and lose again."

Rainbow scooted a little bit closer to speak. "You haven't had nightmares since you were a filly. And I thought Princess Luna had already helped you overcome them."

Scootaloo let out another sigh. "She still does. It's just. . . just."

"Just what?" Rainbow whispered lightly.

Scootaloo lowered her head again. Rainbow put on a small grin as she once again moved her sisters mane to uncover her eyes. "Do you remember when you first flew on your own?" Scootaloo turned her head and nodded in agreement. "You didn't know that I had let go of you. You just flew and thought I was still holding you up." Rainbow continued. "Do you remember what happened after?" Scootaloo raised her head.

"I always felt so much joy when you would fly with me. Like I was invincible. But when I looked and saw that your hoof wasn't holding me up anymore, I got scared." Scootaloo shed a tear. "I fell and crashed even though I was flying by myself."

Rainbow Dash gave a small chuckle. "Even though I took my hoof away, I never stopped holding you up. I never stopped cheering you on in my heart. I knew that you were going to be something that the world had never seen before." Scootaloo looked at Rainbow as more tears started rolling from her eyes faster and faster. "You have made me the proudest sister in the world. If I could search all of Equestria, if I could pick anypony to be my sister, I would still choose you. And I hope that one day, when other ponies look at my life, they won't think that being captain of the wonderbolts or being an element of harmony was my greatest accomplishment and pride." Rainbow let a small tear run down her cheek. "I hope they see that it was always you."

Scootaloo sat there, shocked to her core. Tears of utter joy had filled her eyes as she clung onto her sister with pride. She had never once known Rainbow Dash to cry, and seeing the glint of that tiny tear roll down her elder sister's cheek made her feel like the most loved pony in all of Equestria. "I love you big sister!"

"I love you too, best flyer!" Rainbow hugged her back. "Now go on and make me proud again."

Scootallo and Rainbow Dash took to the sky with a brilliant flap of their wings. They flew higher and higher, feeling the rush of the wind through their mane. They flew in perfect sync as they dug into each turn, dove with no fear, and soared with such grace through the clouds. It was a sisterly bond like no other. They felt eachother's spirit, guiding them, giving them life. Scootaloo's wings were Rainbow's wings and Raibow's wings were Scootaloo's wings.

Scootaloo looked over to her big sister, gazing upon those free magenta eyes. Those eyes in which she found her way, those eyes in which she felt her soul, and those eyes in which she had built her entire world. And with the love of her sister, she knew that that world would never crumble again.

The End

Author's Note

I hope you enjoyed this fic. Please leave suggestions for the next one as well as constructive critisizm. Kind regards, TheChroniclerPrincess