Tuesday was Dash's favorite day of the week. Her shift on Weather Patrol usually ended early, and she had a few hours before she had anything else planned or scheduled. It was her longest, laziest break of the week. And she'd usually spend it lounging on a small cloud hovering over the outskirts of Ponyville. Sometimes she'd nap. Sometimes she'd idly listen to the conversations of ponies passing by beneath her. Or sometimes she'd just daydream. But no matter what she did during that break, she simply enjoyed the chance to be lazy and alone.
This Tuesday was no different. Dash had found herself a small cloud near the edge of town, and was lazily lying on her back, hooves folded behind her head, staring up at the clouds in idle thought. Her contemplations of Wonderbolt glory were suddenly interrupted, though, by several voices breaking her focus. Dash opened her eyes and arched an eyebrow, turning her attention to the voices beneath her. "Hm?"
"Watch where you're going!" one voice, a young filly, barked.
"Yeah, pay more attention next time," another filly warned.
Both of them sounded very... sophisticated. Arrogant and snobby, really. Blek. Dash recognized the voices from around town, though. She just didn't know the names of the speakers. Silver... Silver Tiara? Diamond Spoon? Wait, no, that wasn't right. Maybe it was the other way around.
"Sorry," a third voice muttered, not sounding entirely sincere.
Dash mentally groaned. Scootaloo. That voice she could easily recognize, as it belonged to her "Number One Fan."
Saying that Rainbow Dash loved attention was stating the obvious. One could say that the rainbow-maned pony was absolutely addicted to it. The cheering of crowds, the adulation of fans, the compliments and comments, the oohs and ahs of fixated audiences... She loved it all.
What she did not love, however, was actually interacting with the fans themselves. While she was a glutton for attention, Dash was actually not that big a fan of interpersonal communication and dealing with most ponies. Listening to compliments and encouragement or spending time with her friends was one thing. Actually having a real conversation with a random fan was something entirely different. It wasn't that she was an introvert or anything, really. She just wasn't that much of a "people-pony," so to speak. It was nothing personal.
And Scootaloo was no exception. It was no secret that the young filly was her "Number One Fan." The little pegasus had told her so on multiple occasions. And while Dash loved to hear her endless, somewhat-fanatical praise and compliments, she didn't really know how to deal with the orange pony herself. It wasn't that didn't like the kid; she just didn't really know how to interact with her, nor did she usually have much real interest in doing so. She typically had more serious or important things to do than actually talk to fans, particularly young ones, like weather patrol or flight practice.
So when she did have to put up with Scootaloo, she'd try to entertain her for a bit, before quickly finding some excuse to depart from her company. Politely, of course. No sense in hurting the kid's feelings, right?
Thinking that was the end of it and that the girls were all going to go their separate ways, Dash closed her eyes and tried to let her thoughts drift elsewhere again.
"You should be sorry," one of the fillies snidely replied. Diamond Tiara. That was her name, Dash idly thought, trying to tune her out.
"Yeah, you could have hurt one of us," the other one, Silver Spoon, added.
"Actually, my neck hurts a bit..." Diamond Tiara said, her whimper of pain obviously faked.
"Pffft, yeah right," Scootaloo scoffed. "Look, I said I was sorry, alright?"
"Well at least she admits she's sorry," Silver Spoon mused.
"Yeah, a sorry blank flank," Diamond Tiara giggled.
Dash's eyes opened as a scowl formed on her face. "Wait, what?" she muttered.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a blank flank, bla bla bla," Scootaloo replied casually, ignoring the insult. "You girls really need some new material. Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I need to be..."
The other two fillies giggled. "If you're in such a hurry," Diamond Tiara crooned wickedly, "Why don't you just fly?"
There was a moment of silence. "Eh, I need the exercise," Scootaloo casually replied after a few seconds.
Dash felt an odd sense of dread forming in the pit of her stomach. She didn't really like where this was going. Still, Scootaloo was a tough girl. She could take whatever those other two girls could dish out. Or so Dash figured, from what she knew of the filly.
"Flying is exercise, is it not?" Silver Spoon observed. "Most pegasi would just fly to exercise. Of course, most pegasi can fly."
"I can fly just fine!" Scootaloo snapped.
"She wasn't saying you couldn't," Diamond Tiara mused. "My, somepony is defensive... I wonder why?"
"Um, because she can't fly?" Silver Spoon bluntly answered. A split second later, both the snobby fillies burst into a fit of cruel laughter.
"I said I can fly just fine!" Scootaloo growled, frustration audible in her voice.
The other two fillies were silent for a few seconds. Dash was still staring at the sky, but when Diamond Tiara finally responded, Dash could mentally see her snide, cruel expression as she said: "Prove it."
"Nah," Scootaloo aloofly mused. "I'm feeling lazy. Plus, you're not worth the effort." Dash smirked. Nice save.
"But weren't you just saying you needed exercise?" Silver Spoon questioned her.
"Yeah, she's lazy alright. Too lazy to learn to fly right, hah hah hah!" Diamond Tiara giggled.
"Maybe she's too lazy to ask for lessons?" Silver Spoon asked.
"Are you done yet?" Scootaloo interjected, trying to sound bored. "This is getting old..."
"Or maybe she just doesn't have anyone to ask?" Diamond Tiara observed, ignoring Scootaloo completely.
"Well, it's not like she can ask her parents," Silver Spoon mused. She then stated factually: "After all, she doesn't have any!"
Again, the two bullies giggled. Rainbow Dash's eyes went wide with confused horror. "Did they really just...?" the blue pegasus asked herself. It was true she'd never met Scootaloo's parents, or heard anything about them. But that didn't mean they were actually gone, right? But, if they actually were... Rolling over on her stomach, she peeked over the edge of her cloud and surveyed the scene below her.
Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were both standing side by side in the middle of the road. A few feet in front of them, Scootaloo was standing legs astride, anger clearly written across her face. And there were no other ponies around, from what Dash could tell. No wonder they were being so cruel... "Hey!" the orange pegasus snarled. "That's not true! I do too have parents!"
"Oh? Where are they then? How come we never see them?" Diamond Tiara smirked.
Scootaloo's gaze shifted off to the side. "They're around. Just... busy. Away on business and stuff a lot."
"Like I said, no parents," Silver Spoon shrugged. Dash's jaw dropped at the sheer cruelty.
"Oh, I know!" Diamond Tiara suddenly exclaimed. "You could ask your hero Rainbow Dash for flying lessons!"
"Oh no..." Dash muttered, her ears folding back in worry. She had a horrible feeling about where this was going.
"If only she knew you existed..." Silver Spoon crooned, a cruel smirk forming on her face.
"That's not true!" Scootaloo snapped fiercely. "She does too know I exist! I'm her biggest fan! Her Number One Fan, in fact! She knows all about me!" she defiantly proclaimed.
Even from up on her cloud, Dash could see the look in Scootaloo's eye. The look that clearly showed she didn't fully believe her own words. Dash felt a harsh pang of guilt in her stomach.
"Hmph, keep telling yourself that," Silver Spoon replied, turning her nose up. "Maybe one day that will make it true."
"Well, it's been fun, but we've got better things to do than hang out with a blank flank," Diamond Tiara said, turning her back to Scootaloo. "Ta-ta!" And with that, the two bullies galloped off, giggling as they went.
To her credit, Scootaloo managed to keep a stern expression as they left, glaring after them. About three second after they were gone, though, the stern expression disappeared, and the little filly sat down and sniffed. Tears began to well in her vibrant purple eyes, a grimace forming on her face. "I'm not... I..." Scootaloo whimpered softly to herself. "I... I can fly... I do too have parents... I... They..." A single teardrop slowly slid down her face. "Rainbow Dash is..."
That did it. Without a second thought, Dash finally forced herself into action. She dove off the cloud and unfurled her wings, swiftly gliding down towards the crying filly. "Did somebody call my name?" the cyan pegasus asked dramatically, flashing the most heroic grin she could muster as she landed right behind Scootaloo.
"Rainbow Dash?!" the younger pony exclaimed in surprise and confusion. She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes, and coughed to clear her throat. It was obvious she didn't want Rainbow Dash to see her crying. "What... What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice still cracking slightly despite her best efforts to sound normal.
"Oh, y'know. Flyin' around, doin' my thing," Rainbow Dash aloofly replied with a shrug. "Thought I'd drop in on my Number One Fan."
Scootaloo grinned. But after a few seconds, the grin slowly faded. Finally, she lowering her head and gazed towards the ground. "How... How much did you hear?" she asked.
Dash's own smile faded. After a moment, she too looked down at the ground. "All of it..." she said softly. Scootaloo sniffed. She was about to start crying again. "Hey, hey..." Dash took a few steps forward, and gently placed a hoof on the little filly's shoulder. "It's okay..."
"No it's not..." Scootaloo whimpered, wiping a fresh tear from her eye. "I mean, they were wrong. I can fly. I... I just... I'm not..." her voice trailed off, her eyes filling with tears and pain.
Dash silently nodded in understanding. So that was it. It wasn't that Scootaloo couldn't fly. She just wasn't good at it. And her friendship with Fluttershy had taught Dash all about how painful it could be for pegasi to grow up not being able to fly well. The taunting of other kids, the damaged confidence, the shame and embarrassment...
After a few seconds of silence, Scootaloo softly said: "I wish I could be more like you."
Normally, Dash loved to hear other ponies saying that wanted to be like her. But right here, right now... it was the worst thing she ever heard. It felt like somebody had stabbed her in the heart with a knife made of guilt, then gave it a nice brutal twist for good measure. This little filly looked up to her so much... and Dash rarely bothered to pay her any sort of attention, unless it was for the sake of her own ego.
"I mean," Scootaloo continued, still staring at the ground, "I wish I had your talent. You've always been a great flyer, and-"
"Actually..." Rainbow Dash suddenly interrupted her. "That's not true."
Scootaloo instantly looked up. Raising a hoof to wipe the last few tears out of her eyes, she asked: "Wait, what?"
"I wasn't always this good," the blue pegasus smiled softly. "I mean, you should have seen me when I was your age. I could barely get off the ground, much less do a barrel roll or something."
That was, of course, a lie. A massive bald-faced lie, in fact. At Scootaloo's age, Dash had been one of the top flyers in her school. At Scootaloo's age, she could fly circles around many adult pegasi. And at Scootaloo's age... she'd done a Sonic Rainboom.
But Rainbow Dash wasn't the holder of the Element of Honesty. That Element of Harmony belonged to Applejack. She was the Element of Loyalty. And right now, she felt that lying to make her Number One Fan feel better was the loyal thing to do. Or the right thing to do, at any rate...
"R... Really?" the purple-haired filly asked, stunned by this earth-shaking revelation. "You... You couldn't... But how? How are you so good now?"
Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Practice," she replied aloofly. "I just kept practicing. I pushed myself. I never gave up. I didn't listen to the bullies, or that voice in my head telling me I couldn't do it. I just listened to myself, day after day, saying that I could do it. That one day I would be a great flyer. That one day, I'd join the Wonderbolts. That one day, I would be, without a shadow of a doubt, the best flyer in Equestria." She flashed another heroic grin, just to be safe.
Scootaloo stared, awestruck. Finally, a massive grin formed on her face. "Really?" she squeaked.
"Really," Dash lied with a smile. "And if I can do it, you can too. Right?"
"Right!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "You're right, I can totally do it! I can be an awesome flyer!"
"Don't be too awesome," Rainbow Dash smirked playfully. "I've got enough competition getting into the Wonderbolts as it is."
Scootaloo giggled. Then, with a small smile, she said: "Thanks."
"No problem," Dash replied, ruffling the filly's mane with a hoof.
"Well, I guess I better be going," Scootaloo shrugged, turning to trot away. "I mean, I really was just galloping around for exercise. And I'm sure you've got better things to do," she said with a smile. She'd managed to take two steps before Rainbow Dash suddenly flew in front of her, idly hovering in the air.
"Where do you think you're going?" the older pegasus asked with a smirk. "I was going to see if my Number One Fan wanted a flying lesson or two..."
Scootaloo's face played host to the biggest grin ever. "Really?!" she asked, incredulous.
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Really," she factually stated.
"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!" Scootaloo began to babble. In her excitement, she began to run in circles around Rainbow Dash.
Dash laughed softly. Why did that sound so familiar? "Save your energy. You need to be at the top of your game for this."
"Yes, ma'am!" Scootaloo replied, instantly stopping in her tracks. Her stance looked rather amusing; two hooves were still in the air, frozen in mid-gallop.
"Well, come on," Dash said, gesturing over her shoulder. "Let's get going!"
And so, off they went, Scootaloo trotting along cheerfully beside her idly-flying hero. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but smile wistfully as they went. Today was Tuesday. She still had several hours before she had to do something else. Several hours free, to help this little filly get better at flying.
Next Tuesday, though, she would have to change her schedule around a bit. She'd have to make sure her break was at a different, better time. From now on, this little chunk of her Tuesday would be devoted not to herself, but to her Number One Fan.
