Scootaloo was ecstatic. The crowd in the stadium wildly chanted her name as Rainbow Dash took a few steps forward and bowed to the now slightly older filly.
"Congrats, squirt. You managed to beat all of my records… for now," Dash said proudly. "And for that…" She cringed as she lifted the heavy golden trophy. "Oh sweet Celestia! It's heavier than you! Want me to carry it?"
"Mooooom…"
Dash smiled. "Just kidding, Scoots. Well? How do you feel now that you won?"
"Are you kidding? Best day ever!" Scootaloo pumped her hoof. "Totally awesome!"
Dash snickered. "I know exactly how you feel. Like mother, like daughter, huh?"
Like mother, like daughter.
Scootaloo felt the words start to echo in the jam-packed stadium, gaining volume. It didn't take more than a few seconds before she had no choice but to cover her ears, rousing herself awake.
A quick look around her room revealed nothing out of place. The same shelves adorned her walls like they had the past few years.
She sighed and let her eyes focus on the dirty, dusty glass that resided on one of the old shelves, a trinket left over from before she was assigned into that room—a reminder that she was supposed to be happy with a room of her own. Yet even that didn't bring her the happiness that she sought.
Even though she happily spent a lot of time with her new friends, she dreaded coming back to a place she refused to call 'home' at the end of her day, as there was nothing really waiting for her. Instead of a meaningful relationship with her caretaker, she was given no more than a curfew and three meals a day. Aside from that, she was left alone to do what she desired.
This was not what she wanted. She wanted the affection of a parent—a pony who would cheer for her when she did stunts on her scooter, a pony who would be there for her, a pony who would love her for who she is. And she was sure that pony was Rainbow Dash.
She lost track of how much time they had spent together practicing and chatting about different things. Some of their conversations were small but important life lessons. Others were nothing more than silly gossip that made both ponies giggle like little fillies.
But through all this time, Scootaloo couldn't make herself ask Dash to take her in. Every time she thought about it, she felt like she would have betrayed Rainbow Dash's trust. In the end, she felt safer by not asking at all. She was just happy that Dash had spent so much time with her, teaching her all the little tricks and lessons.
But even that changed. Instead of spending most of her spare time with Scootaloo, Dash had started to spend more and more of it with one of her friends, making Scootaloo slightly jealous.
Regardless, it mattered not. She remembered Dash's promise that they would spend the entirety of Scootaloo's birthday together.
However, she was disappointed. For her, the day had already started, but Dash was not there like she had promised. She still smiled and curled in bed, hoping that she would hear the knocks on her door at any moment.
And so she waited, allowing seconds to turn into minutes, and those into hours, concern and disappointment growing with each tick of the clock. It was already midday when Scootaloo finally heard faint knocks on her door, followed by a familiar voice.
"Scootaloo?"
"Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo piped, a tint of disappointment still lingering in her voice. Regardless, she jumped off her bed and bolted towards the door, then opened it.
She was right. Between the door stood Rainbow Dash, scratching her mane, her face flushing red.
"Sorry, squirt," Dash muttered. "I had some errands, and I couldn't be here earlier."
"Oh." Scootaloo's smile widened as she started to wonder where Rainbow Dash would take her. Would Dash buy her a giant milkshake that she could share with her friends, or would she invite her to the carnival that was visiting Ponyville? Lost in thought, Scootaloo felt a faint nudge.
"You okay, Scoots?"
Scootaloo nodded. "So, where are we going?" she piped enthusiastically.
Rainbow Dash tilted her head. "What do you mean? It's Tuesday. It's your practice day. I hoped I'd be here earlier, so we would spend more time together, but I just couldn't make it."
"But…"
"But what, Scoots?" Dash sighed and sat down, lowering her voice. "We have to do this, remember? Your wings are still quite weak. If you want to fly, we can't avoid this."
Scootaloo hung her head and nodded, her excitement now almost nonexistent. She was well aware of the importance of their lessons, just as much as she was certain that her idol forgot about her special day.
Dash nudged the filly. "You okay, Scoots? You're usually a little bit more excited than this…"
Silence.
"Scootaloo? Is something wrong?"
Still silent, Scootaloo shook her head.
Dash comfortingly ruffled the filly's mane. "I know something is bugging you. What is it?"
"Nothing."
"Ah, come on, Scootaloo. You can tell me. Something wrong at school? Something happen between you and your friends?"
Scootaloo shook her head. "Not that."
"Then what?"
"I thought you'd remember… It's my birthday today."
Dash froze. Her expression was dumbfounded; she looked like she realized she was about to collide with a brick wall and there was nothing she could do about it.
"S-sorry, Scoots. My head's all over the place these days. I… uh… was absolutely certain that your birthday is next week." She sighed. "I'm really, really sorry."
"It's okay."
"But it's not." Dash tapped her muzzle. "Tell you what… I'll make it up to you. I have… something special in mind… After your training…"
Scootaloo groaned. "Only after?"
"You're not getting away that easy, squirt. You still need the practice." Dash ruffled Scootaloo's mane again. "Now, hop on. We have a lot of work to do."
~*~*~
The familiar stadium was empty. Rainbow Dash made sure of that, since she knew very well what Scootaloo was going through. She made sure that they would have the time for themselves. She also made sure that she pushed Scootaloo to her limits—and a bit more—often ending their day with an exhausted Scootaloo sleeping on her back.
Dash didn't mind. A long time ago, she had convinced herself that she was nothing more than a honorary sister and a coach—a pony who would do not much more than spend some time together.
But as time passed, the two ponies grew even closer together. Whether it was because Dash recognized the same daredevil that she was, Dash couldn't tell, but she was certain that the filly's enthusiasm and determination matched her own.
Dash felt a light nudge against her wing, rousing her out of her reverie.
"Rainbow Dash?"
Dash shook her head. "Sorry… I was just thinking about something…"
"Did it hurt?" Scootaloo replied in a playful tone, her face glowing in the most innocent of expressions that she had managed to pull off.
Dash quickly turned around, a devious smirk plastered across her muzzle. "Run," she said softly, a hint of mock malice in her tone.
Scootaloo grinned and spun on her hoof, sticking out her tongue. She was aware that Dash saw what she did; she bolted away from Dash in an attempt to escape, but they both knew that wasn't possible.
Regardless, Scootaloo diverted all of her energy to her tiny wings in hopes that she could gain flight. Once again, she failed, enabling Dash to catch her.
Scootaloo groaned.
"What's wrong, Scoots? You usually don't allow me to catch you that easily…"
Scootaloo stared at the cloudy ground. "I… Will I be able to fly at all? We've been training for a few months, and…"
Dash bit her lip. This was a question that she didn't want to hear. In the beginning, she was sure that Scootaloo's inability to fly was due to the lack of proper training. After months of trying, she wasn't sure anymore. Still…
She smiled. "Sometimes it can take longer, Scoots. I wouldn't worry about it much."
"Yeah, right," Scootaloo muttered. "I'm the only filly in Equestria who can't fly."
Dash sat down and gently wrapped her wing around the depressed filly. "I only told Twilight this, but… you know, I wasn't much younger than you when I couldn't fly, either."
Scootaloo tilted her head. "But you're Rainbow Dash! One of the greatest fliers in Equestria!" she cried in disbelief. "You were—"
"Really bad at flying." Dash smirked. "Really, really bad."
"But how—"
Dash shrugged. "Dunno. Every spare moment I had, I spent practicing. Eventually, I managed to beat every schoolmate, as well as other ponies who decided to challenge me." She smiled. "Hey, I even managed to beat all of the Wonderbolts. How cool is that?"
Scootaloo shrugged. "I guess…"
"I just…" Dash sighed. "Just don't give up, Scoots. And don't tell Twilight that I got all mushy, or I'll just deny everything, okay?"
Scootaloo grinned.
"Don't you even think about it, squirt," Dash reminded her in a deadpan voice.
Scootaloo groaned. "Fine."
"Feeling better now, Scoots?"
Scootaloo nodded.
Dash grinned widely. "In that case… You should run!"
Scootaloo's wings started to buzz as she bolted out of the sanctuary of the warm and welcoming wing of her idol. In a manner of seconds, she made a formidable distance, giggling like a foal.
Dash jumped up and waited for a moment, her body in attack position. She spread her wings and—
A pony clearing their throat made Dash quickly turn her head. She smiled when she saw a familiar silhouette approaching them both.
Scootaloo watched her idol speed away, almost crashing into the intruder. She knew both ponies very well, and knew that it wasn't an act of hostility, but instead, one of excitement. She smirked as she saw the affection between the ponies, but the foalish giggles quickly fell with disappointment.
She was sure that their time would be shortened by Twilight's visit, like it had many times before. The idea of her and Dash spending the entirety of the day together now completely vanished from her mind. She hoped to get a scoop of vanilla ice cream from Sugarcube Corner, but even that glimmer of hope started to dissolve.
She groaned. She hadn't realized Dash was back, now standing proudly in front of her, grinning.
"What's bugging you now, squirt?"
"Now that Princess Twilight is here, you'll have to leave, won't you?"
Dash shook her head. "Nope. She's here because I asked her to come. And… she brought something."
"For us?"
Dash looked at Twilight and back at Scootaloo, nodding. "Yeah."
Scootaloo's face lit up, disappointment and frustration vanishing into thin air. "Really? What is it? A super awesome cake? Or a giant ice cream sundae? Or maybe—"
"Maybe something even better?" Dash suggested.
Scootaloo's eyes widened in excitement and anticipation.
"Scoots? Would you like to move in with me?"
Scootaloo’s excitement was quickly replaced with silence. Her mind was racing, trying to figure out who was to be blamed for this piece of information leaking to Dash. She wasn't sure if it was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, or perhaps one of her school friends trying to embarrass her in front of her idol.
"H-how," Scootaloo answered after even a longer pause. "Wh-who told you?"
"You did, remember? I guess you just thought I wasn't listening." Dash paused for a moment, thinking. "Is that what's bugging you? In that case—"
Dash couldn't finish her sentence as an orange filly latched onto her chest.
"I'll take that as a yes?" Dash replied with a smirk.
Scootaloo nodded, nuzzling Dash's chest. "You never forgot about my birthday, did you?"
Dash wrapped her forehooves around the filly, returning the hug. "You really think that I would’ve forgotten my sister’s… I mean daughter's birthday? Not a chance, kiddo. I… um… just hope you won't mind sharing the house with… well…"
"A princess and a baby dragon," Twilight finished.
Dash smiled. "She offered to help, so… She already did so much already… I'm not really sure how to thank her… And…" She looked down at Scootaloo, realizing that the filly wasn't listening anymore. "Happy birthday, squirt."
"We really should be going now," Twilight added. "We were supposed to be at Sugarcube Corner eleven seconds ago…” Twilight smiled at the hugging pegasi. “But I think they can wait for a bit longer."
~*~*~
A sweet mixture of coffee and freshly-made pancakes wafted through the air, saturating everything in its wake. Slowly and surely, the aroma reached Scootaloo's muzzle, rousing her awake.
Scootaloo groaned. She refused to open her eyes and end the most wonderful dream she ever had, but it didn't help. She was sure that all of her senses were pulling a prank on her, trying to convince her that she was somewhere else.
She felt a light nudge. "Five more minutes, Miss Sugar," she muttered in a flat, groggy voice.
Dash laughed softly. "That's what Twi said."
Recognizing the voice, Scootaloo's eyes shot open. She realized that what she thought were dreams, weren't. Without a thought, she pounced Dash, tackling her to the floor.
Dash smiled. "Wow, I have to admit I've never seen anypony being so excited about being called for breakfast. And it's just pancakes, squirt."
Scootaloo paid no attention to what Dash said. She clung to her even tighter.
She was happy. She was home.
