Rainbow Dash was well known as being a fairly laid-back kind of mare most of the time. Oh sure, her high-speed reputation might make one think of her as a fair active sort, but in her downtime she could usually be found simply napping or just letting things around her progress as it would. Under normal circumstances, that was exactly what she'd be doing today, if it wasn't for the fact that somepony very important to her was involved. If some fillies were to tell her that they were concerned about some friend of theirs, Rainbow would simply assure them that everything would be fine in the end. But today, the fillies in question were Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, and the friend they spoke of was none other than Scootaloo, Rainbow's number one fan.
The young pegasus filly had been very close to Rainbow for a good long while now, having looked up to her as a mentor and even a kind of adopted older sister. It was a position Rainbow took great pride in, hence why she was so willing to involve herself here. Scootaloo's fellow Crusaders had told Rainbow not long ago that something was up with her. She was, according to the two of them, spending more and more time on her own, missing out on a few of their Crusader meetings and just generally seeming distracted about something. Rainbow wanted to think everything was fine, but Scootalooo had a history of keeping things that bothered her to herself, much like her as-of-yet inability to fly. The rainbow-maned pegasus liked to think Scootaloo was above such things by now, but then, she would remember just how young she really was.
So, here she was now, just outside Scootaloo's home. The door was unlocked, as always. Ponies around here never really bothered with locking their homes, given how safe they felt amongst this community, even though that had led to some rather embarrassing moments in the past. Making her way up the stairs, Rainbow gained a look of slight worry, considering the possibility that the filly she cared for might actually be going through some trouble right now. She didn't like to think such things, but she had to make sure. When she was halfway up the stairs, she called out.
"Scoot? It's me, Rainbow!"
As the mare continued up the stairs, she could have sworn she heard something going on from within Scootaloo's room, some kind of rapid movement of sorts, which did little to alleviate her worries. So, once Rainbow was in front of the filly's room, she raised a hoof and knocked.
"Er...yeah?"
The voice within sounded very timid and unsure, not traits people usually associated with Scootaloo on most days. Rainbow, clearing her throat a little, called out again.
"It's Rainbow. Can I come in?"
There was a brief pause before the voice of Scootaloo could be heard again.
"Um...sure. Come on in!"
Slowly, the mare opened up the door and looked inside. Once inside, Scootaloo could be seen simply sitting on the edge of her bed, looking straight at Rainbow. Raising an eyebrow, the mare cast a glance around the place. Nothing out of the ordinary, at least as far as she could see. There was Scootaloo's scooter, a few toys here and there, some posters of famous fliers. Nothing to suggest that something was amiss with the young filly. Turning her attention to Scootaloo entirely, Rainbow took a few steps forward, and noticed for the first time the look on her face. There was a smile, certainly, but it looked like a rather nervous one, as though she was concerned for Rainbow being here. Changing her expression to one of concern, Rainbow spoke.
"You...doing okay there, Scoots?"
The filly nodded quickly.
"Yep! Couldn't be better!"
Rainbow knew that tone of voice well. It was the kind she'd often used herself whenever she was trying to convince ponies that she was okay. Raising a hoof, she gently placed it upon Scootaloo's shoulder.
"You know...your friends are worried about you. And so am I. Has anything happened to you? Something you, maybe, don't want to tell anypony?"
Scootaloo looked up at her idol, knowing she really did care for her wellbeing, but nevertheless simply shook her head in response to Rainbow's question. The mare wasn't satisfied with that answer. She knew the girl was keeping something from her. It was written all over her face. But even so, she knew what it was like to have something to yourself that you didn't want to tell others. Pushing to find out never led to anything good. And she knew here, looking at Scootaloo, that if something was truly bothering her, she might go ahead and tell her, once she was ready and not before. So, looking at the filly before her, and the uncomfortable look on her face, Rainbow merely sighed and nodded slowly, letting her know that she'd accepted her declaration that she was fine.
As the filly smiled in response to that, Rainbow turned and made her way for the door. However, before she reached it, something caught her eye. There, on the floor beside the door, was a school saddle-bag. It was Scootaloo's, coloured purple, the same hue as her mane. But beside it was, surprisingly, a second saddle-bag, this one a light blue in colour. Raising an eyebrow, Rainbow turned to face Scootaloo once more.
"Since when do you have TWO saddlebags for school?"
Scootaloo looked down to where Rainbow had been looking, and suddenly started looking very nervous. As her eyes started shifting from left to right, she began to answer.
"Well...um...I got given a lotta homework today, so...I guess I just needed two bags to bring it all home."
The way the filly said that made it clear that she was lying through her teeth about that, which Rainbow's expression made clear that she'd figured that out. The mare opened her mouth to say something, but a sudden sound stopped her from doing so. Turning her head, she looked upon the closet on the side of the room. The sound had come from within it, and had the distinct tone of movement about it. As Rainbow considered that, and looked down once more to the bags near the door, the pieces started to fall into place within her mind. The nerves. The secrecy. The out-of-character way she'd tried getting Rainbow to leave. Suddenly, all of it was beginning to come into stark contrast for the mare.
So, with a sly smile forming on her face, Rainbow started speaking to the girl yet again, as she began to slowly inch her way towards the closet.
"So...homework, eh?"
Scootaloo, seeing the look on Rainbow's face and the way she was moving, immediately hopped off her bed and started imitating her movement, now moving towards the closet herself. Her expression was a forced smile, as was the upbeat tone of voice she tried as she responded.
"Oh, er...yeah! Lots of homework! So, you know, you should probably go so I can get on with it."
Rainbow nodded a little as she took a step closer to the closet.
"Probably. So what's the assignment? Something important?"
Scootaloo chuckled a little as she took another step herself.
"Oh, you know...stuff."
Rainbow chuckled to herself in response.
"Hmmm, stuff eh?"
Scootaloo was starting to sweat now.
"Yep! Stuff! Like the ponies and, er...the places at...the dates!"
Before the young filly could stop her, Rainbow had reached the door of the closet. But rather than open it, she merely leant against it, much like she would against a wall.
"Well, I'd hate to interrupt such obviously important schoolwork. But, you know, I figure you and I just haven't been spending much time together recently. So how about I just, you know, stay right here and help you with your homework? All. Afternoon."
Scootaloo, seeing the writing on the wall, gave her idol a glance that made it obvious to everypony that she was annoyed with her right now. Rainbow, seeing this, merely widened her smile, knowing she'd won this little game of theirs. The young filly let out a sigh and walked up to the door of the closet, knocking on it a couple of times before speaking.
"It's alright. I don't think we're getting any more privacy today."
Rainbow moved away from the door and watched as it opened slowly, letting out a loud creak as it did so. The mare looked on as a young grey pegasus colt started moving timidly out of the closet, a massive blush on his face. Rainbow would, under normal circumstances, possibly laugh at this embarrassing moment, but thought better of it. Instead, she watched as the colt, whom she recognised as Rumble, one of Scootaloo's classmates, walked beside her and gave her an apologetic look, perhaps to try and make up for being unable to keep quiet. Scootaloo gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to Rainbow, who now spoke.
"Already bringing colts home with you, Scoot? You fillies grow up so fast."
The somewhat jovial tone did little to alleviate Scootaloo's feelings of embarrassment over this situation, as her rapidly-growing blush testified, so she spoke up.
"Pleeeeease don't tell the girls about this! I'll never hear the end of it!"
Rainbow chuckled at that.
"Relax, kid. I'm not gonna leave you hangin like that. You wanna keep this little thing of yours a secret? Fine by me. I was your age once. I know the feeling."
Scootaloo broke out into a massive smile and leapt forward, embracing Rainbow in a hug, which the older mare enthusiastically returned. However, as she broke away, she gave Rumble a rather serious look, prompting the colt to step back a little in fear. Rainbow approached him and looked down at the cowering colt before speaking.
"And as for you, I hope you realise you've got yourself a great filly here. Treat her right, got it?"
Rumble nodded frantically at that, just before Rainbow broke out into laughter, leading to a look of confusion on the colt's face. As her laughter died down, Rainbow looked down at Rumble and put a hoof gently on his shoulder.
"No worries, Rumble. You're gonna have a great time with her."
Rumble let out a sigh of relief at that. But it was short-lived as Rainbow regained her serious face from before and poked a hoof into his chest.
"But seriously, make her cry and her friends will eat you alive."
The colt's face lost whatever small amount of colour it had and looked utterly mortified at the mare's words. And all the while, Scootaloo was burying her face in her hooves, embarrassed at what her mentor figure was saying to her new coltfriend. Rainbow, chuckling once again, gave the poor colt a quick pat on the back before looking down at Scootaloo.
"Well, Scoots, it's been good. Have fun you two!"
Chuckling all the way, Rainbow began to walk away from the embarrassed couple before making her way out of the door and closing it behind her. Rumble, having finally recovered from this experience, shook his head frantically before looking at the now-closed door of Scootaloo's room. He opened his mouth to speak to her, but was stopped by a hoof from Scootaloo, who ran over to her nearby window and looked out. Sure enough, there was Rainbow, walking happily along the street and away from the house, her chuckling heard even from this distance. Now sure she and Rumble were safe from further interruption, Scootaloo leapt away from the window and walked over to him.
"Sorry about that. I promise she's not normally like this. I mean, she IS, but...you know?"
Rumble considered that carefully for a minute, opening his mouth to give some kind of response, before simply shutting it again and shrugging his shoulders. Scootaloo looked at him with great affection and she spoke.
"Aw! You say the nicest things!"
