Today the Cutie Mark Crusaders were going to try and get their cutie marks in basket weaving, something that Scootaloo in particular wasn't looking forward to but she wasn't going to skip out on an opportunity to get a cutie mark, even if it was in basket weaving. Scootaloo made her way down the road that lead to Sweet Apple Acres. As Scootaloo came closer to the farm, she saw a familiar mare gliding over the main road.
“Hey Dash! Wait up!” called Scootaloo as she sped down the road after the cyan mare.
“What’s up squirt?” asked Rainbow Dash as she flew towards Sweet Apple Acres.
“Nothin’ much. So I was wondering,” said Scootaloo sheepishly.
“Go on,” Rainbow Dash encouraged.
“Could you possible help me try to fly? I’ve been trying on my own but I just can’t get the hang of it...”
“Uh… Sure kiddo, but not right now. I needed to head over to AJ’s to pick up some, uh…apples! Does next Saturday sound good? Okay cool! See ya then!”
“Can I help you-” Scootaloo began to ask when she was cut off by Rainbow Dash already flying away. “carry them…” finished the disheartened filly as she turned her scooter and continued heading toward the Cutie Mark Crusaders treehouse with a sad sigh.
“What’s wrong Scootaloo?” asked a worried Sweetie Belle as Scootaloo glumly pulled up the treehouse.
“Nothin’... Nothin’ at all…” replied the orange filly as she parked her scooter beside the treehouse. It was obvious she was having a little bit of difficulty leaning it up against the tree because it kept on falling over. Scootaloo eventually snapped.
“Stupid thing!” she cursed at the scooter as she picked it up and slammed it against the tree again and again until the front wheel broke off and Scootaloo began to half scream out in anger and half cry at the same time. All this time a shocked Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom quickly looked at each other then back at the crying filly.
“Scootaloo? Is everything okay?” asked an even more worried than before Sweetie Belle.
“No! Everything is not okay!” replied Scootaloo as she began to sob even more. Applebloom made her way over to Scootaloo and wrapped her hooves around her. Meanwhile Sweetie Belle made her way over to the now wrecked scooter laying on the ground.
“Come on, let’s get in the tree house. Then you’re gonna explain what the hay is goin’ on,” said Applebloom as she led Scootaloo towards the treehouse followed by Sweetie Belle holding the broken scooter.
After they got inside the treehouse, Applebloom sat Scootaloo down at the table as she sat down herself. After a moment of silence, Sweetie Belle placed the destroyed scooter against the wall and made her way over to the table and sat down.
“Mind tellin’ us what’s wrong?” nagged Applebloom.
“R-Rainbow Dash doesn't l-like me,” replied a dejected Scootaloo.
“What do you mean Rainbow Dash doesn't like you?” asked Sweetie Belle, placing a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder, “She loves you. You know that, right...?”
“Yeah how ‘bout all them times when you two went to the shows with the Wonderbolts?” added Applebloom.
“I-I guess you’re right…” replied the glum pegasus.
“So how come you think that Rainbow Dash hates you?” asked Applebloom.
“Well… You remember last week when me and Rainbow went to the Wonderbolt show?” asked Scootaloo in a cheerful voice. Being so close to Rainbow Dash had its advantages, like being able to go to Wonderbolt shows every week. All Rainbow Dash had to do was ask Spitfire if she could get a couple and, if they had extra, she would get them. Most of the time she invited Scootaloo to come with.
“Yeah… What about it?” responded Sweetie Belle.
“Me and Rainbow Dash went out to Joe’s Donuts after the show… Ever since she’s been avoiding me or something…” said a downcast Scootaloo.
“How do ya mean avoiding you?” asked Applebloom.
“Every time I try to talk to her, she ends up flying off because she’s always busy with something.”
“Well duh! Maybe she’s just too busy to talk!” said Sweetie Belle.
“No… This is different… It’s like she makes somethin’ up just so she doesn't have to be around me…”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s like that.” continued Sweetie Belle, her voice calm and soothing.
“Oh really? Since when has Rainbow Dash ever gone to get apples from Applejack? Or help Rarity with her dress making? Or help Twilight sort books!?”
“... She does have a point…” said Applebloom in a resigned-like manner.
“Go ahead and go pick a donut. I’ll be there in just a second, Squirt. Oh and go ahead and pick one for me as well!” Rainbow Dash had just had the best nights of her life. Not only had she been able to get first class tickets to a Wonderbolt show, but she also went with her favorite filly in the world, Scootaloo. After the show, they decided to go grab some midnight snacks. As Rainbow Dash put her Bit-pouch back, she heard someone whisper something into her ear.
“You know that flightless bird-brain is never going to fly right?”
Rainbow Dash turned around at this sudden outburst. Even though this comment caught her by surprise, she was enraged- No more than enraged, just outright pissed. When she looked back, she saw the face of someone she hadn't seen since the Cloudsdale Young Flyers Competition. Her old frienemy, Hoops.
The orange-brown stallion stood with a small smirk on his face. His brown mane and tail had gotten considerably longer, the mane obscuring his eyes more than they used to. He seemed to have grown slightly as well. The only thing that hadn't really changed was his cutie mark, three basketballs…
“And what would you know? As long as ponies keep encouraging her, she still has a chance!” countered Rainbow Dash with eyes full of rage.
“Just sayin’ that her wings are a bit, as you would say, under-developed if ya know what I mean,” said Hoops as he began chuckling to himself. This pushed Rainbow Dash over the edge and beyond. Her blood began to boil as her temper cracked like a shell. Before she could stop herself, her hoof made contact with the stallion’s face mid-laugh. Hoops went flying back and collapsed onto his side, knocking chairs down as he went. Even though he was now in a daze, Hoops spat a combination of blood and saliva at Rainbow Dash.
“Rainbow?” Rainbow Dash turned around to see a stunned Scootaloo starring in a mixture of awe and horror at what had just unfolded, dropping the bag of donuts onto the floor. Rainbow’s face softened slightly at the sight of the terrified filly.
“Everything’s fine. Come on, let’s go back to my place to eat…” Rainbow Dash said in a low growl as she stepped over the crippled pony on the floor. Scootaloo picked up the bag and made her way towards the door. Instead of stepping over Hoops, she cautiously stepped around and quickly made her way out of the door.
“Ready?” asked Rainbow Dash as Scootaloo hopped up on her back.
“Ready,” said Scootaloo still a little shaken up from the events that previously transpired.
“You still awake Scoots?” asked Rainbow Dash as she started descending from the sky. A cool wind blew through the air and ruffled the filly’s purple mane as she yawned deeply. She opened her eyes and took in the scenery around her. The sky was cloudless and every star shined like a diamond gleaming in the light. The moon was full and casted a blue hue across the land below. Rainbow Dash landed on the roof of her cloud home and Scootaloo jumped off onto the fluff. Even though Hoops about ruined Rainbow Dash’s night, she was determined to end it off on a good note.
“Still got the donuts right? Or did you eat them all?” teased Rainbow Dash as she gave Scootaloo a small playful nudge.
“Nope. Sorry I thought you didn't want any,” joked Scootaloo as she put the bag behind her back.
“Hardy-har-har, now hand them over.” said Rainbow Dash as she put out a hoof.
“Are you deaf? I said I ate them all!” responded Scootaloo as she began laughing.
“Think it’s funny huh? I’ll teach you funny! Come here you!” Rainbow Dash said as she scooped up the filly and started giving her a playful noogie.
“Okay okay! You can have them!” squealed Scootaloo in submission as Rainbow Dash snagged the bag away. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo sat down as they started eating their donuts. Rainbow Dash had a custard filled, rainbow sprinkled, chocolate donut; while Scootaloo had a double chocolate, rainbow sprinkled O-shaped donut, obviously trying to copy Rainbow Dash’s
but trying not to be so obvious about it. After a few minutes of silent devouring of donuts, Rainbow Dash looked over at Scootaloo. She was too interested in her donut to notice that she was wearing half of the frosting on her face.
“Hey Scoots, I think you have something on your face,” Rainbow Dash informed the filly. Scootaloo in turn ran a hoof over her face.
“Did I get it?” asked Scootaloo. She missed it by a long shot…
“Nuh-uh,” Rainbow Dash responded as she started to laugh at the filly’s failed attempt to wipe the frosting away. Scootaloo tried again and looked expectantly at Rainbow Dash, who started laughing even more.
“Gonna have to try harder than that if you want to defeat the all-mighty frosting!” teased the cyan mare.
Scootaloo tried again and again but all attempts were in vain. By this time Rainbow Dash was in a fit a laughter that seemed to have no end.
“Oh come on! Help me out!” cried out the filly as she tried, and failed, once more at wiping away the sticky vermin. Rainbow Dash got herself under control but immediately burst out laughing again once she saw the filly’s face. A few moments later, Rainbow Dash finally got herself under control and started helping get the sticky substance off of Scootaloo’s face.
“Ugh, now my face is all sticky,” complained Scootaloo as she grabbed another napkin from the bag.
“I can fix that. Watch this!” said Rainbow Dash as she tore off a piece of cloud and began wiping the orange filly’s face. A moment later, Scootaloo’s face was clean, as though the sticky monstrosity had never been there. The same, however, couldn't be said about the piece of cloud.
“The thing about dirty clouds is that you can send them off and, over time, they clean themselves.” stated the rainbow weather expert as she flicked the sticky remains of the cloud off into the sky.
“Woah… That’s really cool,” said Scootaloo as she released a yawn.
“You tired squirt?” asked Rainbow Dash as she got up “I can run you home really quick,”
“No thanks. My mom probably wouldn't mind if I stayed out a little longer,” the filly lied.
“You sure about that?” asked an uneasy Rainbow Dash.
“Pretty sure,” repeated Scootaloo as she motioned for Rainbow Dash to come back and sit down. Rainbow Dash reluctantly accepted the offer.
“Hey Dash, what was that thing back in the shop about?” asked Scootaloo as she looked up at Rainbow Dash.
“It was just some little argument some adult stuff. That’s all,” said Rainbow Dash, pretending that it was nothing.
“You punched him over a little argument?” questioned Scootaloo.
“Well… Not exactly… You get teased about you not being able to fly at school right?” asked Rainbow Dash as lightly as she could.
“Blech! Yeah by Diamond Tiara and Silverspoon all the time. What about it?” responded the orange filly.
“How did it make you feel?” asked Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, tread lightly. You don’t want to hurt her feelings, she thought to herself.
“It made me feel angry and sad at the same time… Sometimes it even makes me want to cry...” answered Scootaloo sadly.
“Well you see, some ponies are a lot like Diamond Teacup-”
“Tiara,” corrected Scootaloo.
“You get the point. Anyways throughout life these ponies don’t go away. They’re always there, waiting for their chance to throw insults at you and make you feel bad. Can you keep a secret?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Sure, I guess,” answered an unsure Scootaloo.
“I don’t want ‘I guess’ I want ‘Absolutely!’ got it?”
“Got it! Absolutely!”
“Well back in Flight School, believe it or not, I got picked on… A lot…” confessed Rainbow Dash as Scootaloo stared at her in disbelief.
“Why in Equestria would they pick on you? You’re the coolest pony in the world!”
“Well you see, back in Flight School I wanted to be a Wonderbolt some day so I pushed myself to go a little faster and then I’d end up spinning out and crashing. They would tease me about it constantly calling me names like ‘Rainbow Crash’ and ‘Spin-out Dash’... Over the years at school it only got worse and worse. I couldn't take it anymore… You know that pony back in the shop? Well that was one of my old bullies. Well anyways one day he challenged me to a race, almost as if he had already won. I was sick of there insults and accepted... This isn't a race where I won… I lost control around a turn and ended up flying into the side of a building… I got a scar to prove it as well,” said Rainbow Dash as she lifted up her wing and showed Scootaloo the scar that ran down her side.
"I'm luck I didn't end up looking like a smashed bug stuck to a wall, they'd have to scrape me off!" joked Rainbow Dash.
“But I didn't quit. After I got out of the hospital, I pushed myself harder than ever to try and prove I could fly without crashing. I practiced every minute of free time I had. A few months later, Hoops challenged me again to a race but his buddy, Dumbbell, was snickering behind him. They were both so confident that they’d win… I couldn't back down because that would mean that all the training I’d done was for nothing, so I took the bait and accepted. That was the day I got my cutie mark and performed the Sonic Rainboom. But, you see, I’m not done yet. I have one more goal that I want to accomplish. I’m going to be a Wonderbolt and perform in front of thousands of ponies and finally prove that I am the best flyer in all of Equestria,” Rainbow Dash said with confidence.
“The point is that the only reason why where I am today is because I shot for the stars and I’m almost there. Every dream is possible but the first step is aiming for your goal and shoot for the stars. Someday you might go further than me!” Rainbow Dash said as she hoof-bumped Scootaloo in the shoulder. Rainbow Dash laid back on the cloud roof as she looked up at the heavenly objects in the sky. Scootaloo did the same.
After a few moments of silent star-gazing, Scootaloo let her eyes drop and quickly fell asleep. Rainbow Dash looked over and sighed. Even though Rainbow Dash had said those things, she knew that it would be difficult for Scootaloo to even make it off the ground. Her wings just weren't big enough due to her 'condition'. She picked up the small filly in her wing and set her on her back. She took off from their perch and made her way inside.
Once inside, she laid the filly on her bed. Tonight she was just going to sleep on the couch. She grabbed her pillow and started for the door until she heard Scootaloo call her name.
“Hey Dash… Can you stay with me?”
“Okay I won’t leave you…” said Rainbow Dash as she lay down on the bed beside her Sister at Heart.
“Hey Dash?”
“Yeah Squirt?”
“I love you,”
“I love you to Scootaloo,” said Rainbow Dash as she wrapped Scootaloo in her wings. They ended up falling asleep in each other's embrace, feeling safe and warm, unprepared for what would happen the next day.