Cryptic Lavender Advertising
Scootaloo stared up at a poster for the Sisterhooves Social, tacked to the side of a tree on the outskirts of Ponyville Park.
Scootaloo had never really given the event much thought. Sure, Apple Bloom always talked it up like it was the biggest thing since zap-apple jam, and even Sweetie Belle had taken interest ever since Rarity participated. If anything, competitions like this just took away time that could be better spent crusading. But now, of course, things were different.
Well, hopefully they were different.
Sighing, she turned her head each way, checking to make sure nopony was watching. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she stood on the tips of her hooves to examine the poster better—
“Scootaloo!”
—and slid down the bark chin-first.
With a grunt, Scootaloo fell to the grass and roots below. She gritted her teeth and spun around with wings flared, ready to take on whoever dared to sneak up behind her.
“Hey, Scoots,” Apple Bloom chirped with a wide grin.
“Oh, uh, hey, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo stammered. She relaxed her wings and cleared her throat. “What’s up?”
“Nothin’ much. Just picked up some sugar for Granny and saw you standin’ out here. Oh yeah!” Apple Bloom reached back into her saddlebag and pulled out a pair of cupcakes, sticking them in front of Scootaloo’s snout. “Pinkie gave me these. Want one?”
“No thanks,” Scootaloo said, pushing the treats aside with a hoof. She had more important things to consider at the moment, and the last thing she needed was a sweet distraction. “I’m actually kinda busy right now. Mind if we hang out later?”
“Sure thing,” Apple Bloom said with a nod before tucking the cupcakes away. “I need to get home soon anyway so me and Applejack can start trainin’ for the Sisterhooves Social.”
Scootaloo winced. Thankfully, Apple Bloom had already turned to trot off, so she couldn’t have noticed. Wiping a hoof across her brow, she breathed a sigh. “Sounds great. I guess I’ll see you later then—”
“Hey… hang on a sec.” Apple Bloom stopped mid-trot and looked over her shoulder. “What exactly are ya busy with, anyway?”
Scootaloo froze in place, eyes widening. She glanced back at the tree behind her. “Oh, uh, you know… just helping to put some posters up for the Social!”
“Oh, cool!” Apple Bloom continued on her way. “I’ll let you get back to it. See ya later!”
Watching her friend trot away, Scootaloo exhaled and slumped her shoulders. It only hit her now how lame of an excuse that was to offer on the spot. Putting up posters for the Sisterhooves Social? Who would’ve ever told her to do that?
Well, Cheerilee could have, perhaps. It was one of the events she promoted to her students – those who had sisters, at least. Maybe Apple Bloom thought she had asked her to help put some up around town.
Whatever the case, none of that mattered right now. What mattered was the event itself. Now that things were different, perhaps she too could—
Scootaloo blinked. She looked back at the poster, then to her friend in the distance, turning down a dirt path out of Ponyville Park. With another sigh, Scootaloo walked back to the tree. But instead of reaching for the poster, she rested her back against the trunk and sat on her haunches.
For the past few hours, Scootaloo had searched Ponyville for the answer to a single question: were non-family members allowed to compete in the Sisterhooves Social? The first place she thought to look was in the school’s newspaper, the Foal Free Press, but while it did mention the Social, it said nothing about who could or couldn't enter. She searched the town from one end to the other, looking for any posters that might have an answer – but no matter where she looked, she found nothing but a drawing of a mare, a filly, and a blue ribbon. It seemed kind of strange that they wouldn’t even give the date or time of the event, but Ponyville was a strange town, after all.
Her search eventually led her to the last poster she could find in town – the single lavender copy tacked to the tree behind her. Sure enough, it was the same as all the rest, and realizing that now, she wished she had thought to ask Apple Bloom about the event before she left.
Then again, that probably wouldn’t have worked either. After all, why would a filly without any sisters ask about the Sisterhooves Social? That would only make ponies curious, which was the last thing Scootaloo wanted. It was because of this that she refused to ask anyone about the event, and why she was careful to make sure nopony noticed her stopping to read each and every poster around town. Asking Apple Bloom wouldn’t have been any different. In fact, Apple Bloom probably would have been the first pony to question her.
Scootaloo slumped against the tree, just as a breeze blew through the branches above. She looked up for a moment, watching the afternoon sun break through the rustling leaves. Slowly, her ears perked up at the sound of the limbs creaking with the wind.
Somewhere high above Ponyville flew a pegasus, probably working hard right now to shape the weather that caused the breeze blowing through the leaves. It was this pegasus who had won her over long ago simply by being awesome – the same who took Scootaloo beneath her wing the night of that terrifying camping trip.
Scootaloo had realized a few days ago that ever since that night, things had changed. The Sisterhooves Social was no longer just some random event that her friends went off to attend once a year. Now, it was something even she could compete in – a special day she could share with somepony besides Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom.
Of course, for all Scootaloo knew, this was all in her head. The words Rainbow shared with her that night could have been pure fluff. The wing that wrapped around her after she escaped the river might have just been a way to calm a frightened foal. Instead of coming across as the cool, mature filly out of the group, Scootaloo had let everyone know just how big of a dork she truly was. And because of that, she had to wonder…
Could somepony as awesome as Rainbow Dash really consider her like a sister?
Scootaloo bit her lip and let her ears droop. The question echoed in her mind.
On one hoof, ever since the camping trip, they had spent more time together. Once a week the two of them would grab a bite to eat from Sugarcube Corner, and every now and then – perhaps Scootaloo’s favorite thing of all – they would head to the park to show off their latest stunts. There was little as exciting as being able to pop some new scooter tricks with Rainbow watching. The fact that Rainbow would take time out of her days just to hang out made Scootaloo feel like the luckiest filly in the world.
But on the other hoof, she and Rainbow didn’t do a lot of talking. Since most of the time they hung out together was spent showing off new moves or stuffing their faces, there weren’t a lot of chances to just sit and talk, so it was hard to tell what Rainbow really thought of her. Not to mention they had never said the word “sister” after that one night camping, which made Scootaloo wonder if thinking about the Sisterhooves Social was a dumb idea.
There had been a few times when she thought about using the word around Rainbow. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle often referred to their sisters as “sisters,” rather than by their names. But every time Scootaloo thought about calling Rainbow something like “sis,” the whole thing felt awkward. It didn’t seem right to have to think about it beforehoof – the way her friends spoke to their sisters seemed natural. Even worse, she wasn’t sure how Rainbow would react to being called sis. Would she laugh? Get angry? Tell her to stop?
Still, she wanted at least to find out whether or not the Social would accept “non-sister” sisters. It wasn’t like Rainbow Dash was a half-sister, step-sister, or even unsister, like Rarity had been to Sweetie for a while. And that made her even more nervous to ask anyone about the Social! If somepony were to find out why Scootaloo wanted to know, they would almost certainly make fun of her. ‘Rainbow Dash?’ she could hear ponies saying, laughing and scoffing all the while. ‘You want to bring Rainbow Dash – the most awesomest pegasus in all of Equestria – as your sister? Do you seriously think she’d ever go with somepony like you?’
As the voices played through her imagination, she closed her eyes and hung her head. The thought of being embarrassed like that… she hated it nearly as much as Rainbow hated losing. But she needed some sort of answer. If it turned out she could bring Rainbow, then she could face the next challenge: actually asking Rainbow if she would like to go.
Of course, it was this idea that kept a lump in her throat, that kept her stomach churning all through the day. Scootaloo knew that Rainbow probably thought the Sisterhooves Social was lame. Grape smashing and apple tossing didn’t exactly sound like her thing. Surely Rainbow had cooler things to do, and cooler ponies to do them with.
Realizing that now, Scootaloo slumped further against the tree. It seemed hopeless. No poster had any details, she wasn’t about to ask anypony, and there was no point in talking to Rainbow about it without even knowing the rules. She had wasted an entire day trying to figure something out that in the end, Rainbow probably wouldn’t even care about.
Maybe it was better this way. At least now Scootaloo could avoid being embarrassed, and keep from embarrassing Rainbow Dash by asking her to go. Besides, Rainbow might not have meant what she said the night of the camping trip. Maybe Rainbow hadn’t meant to call her “sister.” After all, it seemed like the only thing Rainbow ever called her was—
“Squirt!”
Scootaloo jolted at the sound of a raspy voice, jumping to her hooves to spin in its direction.
Rainbow Dash strode up to her side, her colorful mane flowing in the breeze as she held up a familiar lavender piece of paper.
“I’ve been looking all over for you!” She lowered the paper beneath a dusty beam of sunlight to examine. “So, check it out. There’s this thing called the Sisterhooves Social. I ran into Applejack and asked her about it. Sounds pretty awesome! Kinda like the Iron Pony competition – only, y'know, for sisters and stuff.” She stuck the paper out in front of Scootaloo. “And the best part? You don’t have to be related to join!”
Scootaloo stared in silent awe. Just like that, her first question was answered, and by the very pony she never expected.
“So, whadya say, squirt?” Rainbow Dash grinned. “Sound like fun?”
Scootaloo blinked. Every muscle in her body tensed as she continued staring at the pegasus with wide, unbelieving eyes.
After a moment, Rainbow Dash’s grin began to fall. “Uh… I mean, if you’re not interested, then that’s coo—”
Scootaloo leapt from her spot and latched onto Rainbow’s nearest leg with all her might, nuzzling against her chest. “Of course I am, Rainbow! That’s—” She flinched. Releasing her grasp, she took a step back and cleared her throat. “Ahem… I-I mean, yeah! That totally sounds cool.”
Rainbow Dash smirked. “Awesome. But if we’re going to do this right, we gotta start training early.” She bent down toward her with a serious expression. “And by early, I mean tomorrow morning, bright and early. Sound good?”
Scootaloo blinked once more before grinning wide. “You bet!”
“Well alright then! Make sure to bring some water and a snack too; we’ll probably be at it for a while.” Rainbow stood back up and gave her a cool smile. “Got a lot of exercises in mind to get us in shape – pronto. From what AJ told me, they do a bunch of stuff that involves coordination and whatnot, so we’ll probably pull some training strategies out of the ol’ Wonderbolts manual. Pretty tough stuff, just so you know.” She lifted her head and raised an eyebrow. “Still think you’re up for it?”
“Uh-huh!” Scootaloo squeaked without hesitation.
Rainbow chuckled and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane with a hoof. “That’s what I was hoping to hear. Anyway, gotta get back to cloud busting. Just figured I’d check in while I was on lunch break to see what ya thought.” She tossed her a salute and turned away. “I’ll meet you here in the park at sunrise. Don’t be late!” Stepping out into the afternoon sun, she spread her wings for take-off.
For a moment, Scootaloo considered asking her to answer one more question. Though she had been scared of the thought all day long, Rainbow’s sudden appearance gave her the strength to go for it. But as she opened her mouth to say the words, she realized something.
She already knew the answer.
Letting her muzzle fall into a soft smile, Scootaloo watched as her big sister took to the skies.
