"Hey, Dash- if you could have one wish- what would it be?"
I pause for a second, thinking. Usually I would just say "To be a Wonderbolt!" without a second thought. That had been my dream for so many years it had just become a part of me. Somehow I know that's not the answer she wants.
"Like, if you had one last day- what would you do?" She continues, still starring up at the lightly clouded sky.
"I..." I trail off, unsure how to answer. That's just not something I've really thought about before. I have a whole life in front of me.
"I want to see the world from the sky, like a real pegasus... like you." She says so quietly I almost can't hear her over the rustle of the grass.
"Don't get your hopes up too high kid, not everypony can be as amazing as me." I reply, brushing off the question and leaning back on the soft turf to watch the clouds pass overhead.
Make a Wish
By: Song
Summary: If you had one last wish, what would it be? Scootaloo wants to fly.
A/U: This is supposed to be vaguely "The Scarlett Ibis"-esque.
Today was one of those days that she used to love. The sun is bright shining down on Ponyville as the able pegasi had cleared the clouds for the day. Humidity hung in the air like the smell of rain before a storm. I haven't seen Scootaloo in... a long time. She lost the ability to walk a while ago as the disease progressed. Next will be her ability to stand, then sit and finally breath. If that hasn't already happened.
And then...
I'm not the smartest pony- that honor goes to Twilight, but I'm not dumb either. Even I know what's going to happen when it progresses. And I heard that its getting close.
Gathering up that courage I'm so famed for I set out to see Scootaloo.
I hate hospitals, but I would never forgive myself if I didn't make her wish come true. It is well within my ability- I'm not one of the best fliers in Equestria for nothing.
The white walls of Ponyville Medical wait ahead of me. The doors open and the unmistakable smell of hospital becomes overwhelming. I swallow and enter heading for the desk. "Scootaloo's room?" I ask the receptionist pony.
She looks at me sadly then tells me the room number. The hall is long, with her room at the very end of the critical care unit.
I open the door and step in hesitantly.
"Hi, Scoot." I say awkwardly. "Hi Rainbow." She replies.
"So, uh, what's up?"
She opens her mouth to say something but only a wheeze comes out. I am over to her bedside in an instant, my own insecurities forgotten. She doubles over in an attempt to smother the coughs that are coming from her very core. I pound her back with my hoof and a few globs of sickly yellow goo come up sticking to the white sheets.
She collapses back into the soft pillows once the fit is over, breathing deeply in apparent relief.
"I was thinking-"
"Gee Dash, don't hurt yourself."
"ABOUT," I continue ignoring her smart alec comment "what you said." She looks at me, confusion in her face "Your wish." I say flatly.
She thinks for a moment, eyes widening slightly at the implications.
"Really?"
I nod.
She makes to get out of bed but I stop her.
"Easy there, hotshot," I chide gently. "Today is your day. You just let me do all the work."
She nods. I can see how much she hates this. Being an invalid.
"Nurse Red Heart-? I was uh, wondering if I could take Scootaloo out for... y'know, one flight."
"I don't know Rainbow Dash, she's not in the best of health-"
"Please, Nurse Red Heart?" Scootaloo adds.
"Fine, just be careful not to over tax her." Red Heart caves. I can't blame her though.
She helps me arrange Scootaloo on my back. Taking a small exit we step out into the sun and take off.
For the first time since the diagnosis, a true smile graced her face. The wind roared in our ears and her mane whipped her face. Unfolding her wings she reveled in the sensation of air moving through her feathers. Her eyes finally have that precious spark of life back.
Scootaloo whooped loudly. We raced into the sky in a blur of bright colors. Below us lay Sweet Apple Aces, looking more like a quilt resting on a welcoming bed than the primary source of food for a small township. The Everfree Forest blanketed the surrounding area like a lush carpet to keep hooves warm in the cold winter.
In the higher elevations where the benches met the mountains the leaves were beginning to change to brilliant orange and reds. Farther beyond that the first soft touches of winter were beginning to embrace rocky mountain peaks. A crack of thunder broke as lightning in the distance. Looking back I see her nod enthusiastically. Scootaloo knows what I am thinking, for she is thinking it too. I know that if she had the ability, she would be right there flying into the storm next to me.
But she can't, so I have to do it for the both of us. That's alright with me though. Gravity flew out from underneath us as she clutched me with everything left in her frail little body. She knew I would never let her fall- but the reactions of her basal brain still brought forth that rush of adrenaline that she so used to love. I turned back and grinned which she met with a weak smile of her own. My powerful blue wings beat on either side of us as I dove again.
We're going so fast now that the droplets of water seem to hover. An expression of sheer joy is dances in her eyes as she looks on in wonder at the rain streaming from our feathers and marching on our coats.
We burst through the curtain of rain and into the sun. Beams of light catch the remaining precipitation symphony of colors refracting off the world around us.
I can tell she is tiring, though she conceals it well. Her grip is beginning to lessen and her eyelids droop.
With a wide sweeping turn I begin the flight back home.
As the sun begins to dip behind the horizon we reach the outskirts of our little city. We flew further than I thought and I knew I would be feeling it tomorrow, but I couldn't find it in myself to care.
My cloud home is approaching fast, illuminating in purples and pinks, contrasting the deep hues of red and orange in the sky as the sun sets. "Thanks Rainbow." Scootaloo whispered as I laid her down to rest in a bed of clouds.
"Not a problem kid." My voice is strained and cracks as the emotions I desperately tried to keep caged broke loose. It didn't matter though, none were there to hear my moment of weakness. Scootaloo had already been whisked away on the merciful wings of death.
Fin
