Don't Bet On Sinking Ships

Scootaloo opened her eyes to the sight of her favorite pony in the world, but something was off. Trying to focus more reveled a sight Scootaloo hoped to never see. Rainbow Dash, the coolest pony ever, the most beautiful wonderful mare in Equestria, was sneering down at her with a look of pure disgust and hatred. “Wha-what’s wrong Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked barely above a whisper.

“You know what’s wrong Scootaloo.” Rainbow almost never used her full name, and even when she did, she never said it with such contempt. “Will you come clean, or do I need to say it?” Dash’s voice was raising and as Scootaloo was slowly backing away, Rainbow was advancing just as much so no ground was gained.

“I-I d-don’t know what you’re talking about!” Scootaloo shouted back, panic rising in her voice as her face contorted in fear.

“Stop lying to me!” Dash’s wings shot up as she crouched down in a show of aggression. In mere seconds, Scootaloo was pinned to the floor, Rainbow easily overpowering her. “I loved you! Celestia damn it, you were my sister! But that wasn’t enough for you was it? You sick freak!” Dash’s sneer morphed into a sick grin as she chuckled.

“As if I could ever see you as anything but a little filly! But now, you’re not even that! In fact, I never want to see you again! And not that you ever could, but just to make sure you never catch up with where I’m going, I’ll take those useless wings of yours!”

“No! Please, no! No no no no no! Please not my wings!” Scootaloo was wailing as tears blurred her vision. But nothing she said mollified the mare above her as she pulled out a hack saw. Just as she was about to make contact, Scootaloo woke up crying and in a cold sweat.

In seconds, Rainbow Dash was awake and holding Scootaloo in a gentle, yet firm embrace in her wings and hooves. All six of her limbs were curled around the orange filly as Rainbow attempted to calm her sister. “Shhh, it’s okay Scoots, I got ya. I’m right here, it was just a nightmare. Just let it out,” Rainbow gently cooed as Scootaloo’s tears seeped into her chest fluff.

After what felt like hours, Scootaloo finally calmed down enough to talk. “Ra-Rainbow D-Dash… I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. Please don’t hate me… I’m sorry, I promise I’ll be good, please don’t take my wings. Please…” Rainbow’s heart broke at those words and her eyes started stinging at their edges.

“Shhh, there there. Nopony is gonna hurt you Scootaloo,” Rainbow promised as she noticed a momentary tension in Scoots before she relaxed again. “Listen to me,” Rainbow said in a gentle yet firm tone, “I would never hurt you Scoots. I would give up my wings in half a heart beat before I would let anypony take yours,” she reassured as she felt Scootaloo calm down a bit. “Now, you wanna tell me about it?”

Scootaloo shook her head against Rainbow’s chest. Breathing in Dash’s scent helped calm Scoots down a bit, but she couldn’t tell her about that nightmare. She hated having to lie to the pony she loved the most, but Scootaloo knew that even if Rainbow didn’t hate her, she would defiantly reject her feelings, or even laugh them off. Then everything would be weird between them… it was better to just forget all this. This is gonna be a long week, Scootaloo thought to herself.

After she was done crying Scootaloo managed to fall back asleep wrapped in the wings of her big sister. This time she was blessed with a dreamless sleep, only after she woke up did Scootaloo wonder if Luna would intervene if she kept having nightmares. Would she tell Rainbow about her feelings? No, Luna isn’t a snitch. Hmm… could I ask Luna for advice on how to deal with my feelings? I do love Rainbow as a sister, I just also want her to shove her tongue deep insi- Scootaloo cut off her own train of thought out of fear her body would start reacting.

Looking around she saw Rainbow still asleep… buck, how is she so perfect just waking up? “Ow!” Scootaloo’s wings involuntarily filled with blood, puffing out her injured wing. This also had the unfortunate side effect of waking up the rainbow maned pegasus sleeping nearby.

“Huh? Scoots, you good?” Rainbow asked groggily, still half asleep.

“Y-yeah Rainbow Dash, I was just… trying to stretch my wings and it hurt a bit! Yeah, that’s it! Sorry for waking you up,” Scootaloo’s ears fell in shame as she looked away.

“Hey, it’s no biggie sis,” Rainbow soothed, now at least seventy five percent awake.

“Sis? You’ve never called me that before Rainbow,” Scootaloo questioned. Hearing that word gave her conflicting feelings. On one hoof she felt giddy that Rainbow felt comfortable enough to call her that, but on the other hoof, it meant Rainbow DEFIANTLY saw Scootaloo as a sister, and would think she was weird.

“Huh, I haven’t? Well it just felt natural, ya know? To be honest, I’ve always wanted a little sister or brother. Don’t go telling anypony else, but I’ve always been jealous of Twi, AJ, Rares, Pinks, even Flutters… to an extent. Zepher can go sit on a unicorn horn and spin, but at least Flutters has a brother, even if he’s the literal worst!” Rainbow’s wings started shifting in agitation as she finished her tangent.

“But enough about all that, I just want you to know how happy I am that you wanted me to be your big sister,” Rainbow said as her cheeks were slightly tinged pink. “I know I’m not always the best big sis out there-”

“-Yes you are!” Scootaloo interrupted on instinct. “You’re the coolest, most awesome, loyal, caring, amazing, best big sister ever!”

“Heh, thanks squirt, you’re the best little sister ever,” Rainbow replied, a look of adoration etched on her features. “So, what do ya want for breakfast?” At the mention of food, Scootaloo’s stomach gave a loud growl.

“Uh, can we have pancakes?” Scootaloo asked with a sheepish grin.

After a delicious breakfast in bed (courtesy of Spike) Rainbow gave Scootaloo a flying pony back ride to the library for some reading. While Rainbow had already read every published Daring Do book, Scootaloo was only about half way through the series, and Rainbow was more than happy to read aloud to the orange filly. They were about a dozen pages in when they heard a commotion in the next room.

They just looked up from their shared couch when the library doors slammed open just for two familiar fillies and an out of breath purple dragon to run in. “Huh, I’ve heard of ponies chasing a purple dragon but this is ridiculous,” Rainbow murmured almost too quiet for Scootaloo to catch, almost.

“Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom? What are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked, almost forgetting where she was and why.

“Scootaloo! We’ve been worried sick!” Sweetie Belle screeched out, panic evident on her features. “The last we heard you were heading to the school looking for Rainbow Dash, then you didn’t come to the crusader meeting so we went looking for you-”

“-Only for some creature at the school telling us they saw you get hurt doing one o’ your tricks, then Starlight tellin’ us you were staying at the castle, an’ we couldn’t see you ‘til morning!” Apple Bloom finished, almost as flustered as Sweetie Belle.

“I tried telling them to wait but, there’s no stopping them. Sorry Scootaloo,” Spike apologized after catching his breath. “In any case, did you want some more time alone, or are you feeling up to having visitors?” Spike asked with a sheepish grin, knowing there wasn’t anything he could do to keep the Cutie Mark Crusaders apart.

“It’s okay Spike,” Scootaloo waved him off before addressing her best friends. “Sorry I worried you girls, It’s not too big of a deal though,” she reassured them. “I just gotta stick with bed rest for a week or so and then I’ll have to take it easy for another month or so, but I’ll be fine! Don’t even worry about it!” the orange filly gave a cocky grin, mimicking her big sister’s trademark.

“Yeah, trust me, I’ve been through enough crashes to say Scoots here is gonna make a full recovery. Hay she’ll probably get over this quicker than the docs say, she’s just that tough,” boasted Rainbow, gently messing up Scootaloo’s mane, and reminding said filly of her current situation.

“Heh, well I don’t know about that Rainbow, I probably shouldn’t push it too much. I mean, not everypony is as awesome as you,” Scootaloo praised her big sister, hoping she could milk every second possible of her time with the Rainbow maned mare. With a grin and a shrug, Dash dismissed her worries as best she could.

“So… does this mean you’ll be feeling better by hearts and hooves day?” Sweetie Belle suddenly chimed in, surprising Scootaloo. “I mean, not that I had any plans, or I mean, we usually just spend the day together, but I know Apple Bloom is helping Big Mac with something for Sugar Belle, but I thought we could still spend the day together?” Sweetie Belle’s face was beat red as she was looking anywhere but at Scootaloo.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo’s head was off in another castle, thinking up ways her and Rainbow could spend the next week together, and maybe even spend hearts and hooves day together. While on the outside she looked contemplative, the white filly impatiently awaited an answer to a question never heard. “Does that sound like something you’d be up for Scootaloo?” Sweetie prompted, still refusing eye contact, but no longer sporting the same complexion as big mac.

“Huh? Yeah sure, sounds good…” Scootaloo answered on reflex before returning to her fantasies that were becoming more lewd by the moment, causing her own face to tinge pink for a moment.

“Great!” Sweetie screeched before calming down a bit, “I’ll come by later to check up on you, but I look forward to hearts and hooves Day!” Sweetie exclaimed before bolting from the castle.

“Huh, okay… I guess we’ll leave you to it then Scoots. Get better soon ya-hear?” With that, Apple Bloom made her way out, a bit confused at Sweetie Belle’s antics but nonetheless could tell her friend wanted to be alone with her big sister for now.

It took a few minutes and some gentle prodding from Rainbow before Scootaloo realized her friends had even left. “Hey squirt, you doing okay?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m good Rainbow! Wanna go back to reading?” Scootaloo asked without missing a beat.

“Sure lil sis, can’t blame ya, this is one of the better books in the series,” she said getting situated and making sure the filly in her embrace was comfortable before resuming her reading. So the two spent the rest of the day reading, broken up by meals, stretching breaks for Rainbow and a weather emergency from the Everfree that required a Sonic Rainboom to clear out.

“That was amazing Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo squealed at Rainbow as she came in from the room’s balcony, rainbow explosion still visible from behind her fading prismatic contrail. “How are you able to do that so easily anyway?” she asked, tilting her head slightly. “I thought you told me doing a Rainboom was super hard.”

Rainbow gave her trademark cocky grin saying, “Oh, it’s no biggie, Twi actually helped me figure that out,” Dash explained. Turning her head back and forth as if looking for ease droppers, she leaned down next to Scootaloo to whisper in her ear. “It turns out it’s a part of my special talent.” When her words only left a more confused filly, she tried explaining again in a less conspiratorial manor.

“Look, I don’t know all the specifics, but Twi said it has to do with my pegasus magic letting me go faster than any other pegasus whenever I need, but I have to like, clear my mind or something,” Rainbow explained. “By this point, it’s basically second nature to me.”

“Wow! So… do you think I could ever do a Sonic Rainboom?” Scootaloo asked, wonder in her eyes. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash’s grin morphed into a grimace.

“Huh, I mean, I guess anything’s possible Scoots…” Rainbow trailed off, not even believing her own words, “but hey, no matter what, you’re always gonna be awesome in my book! Who knows, maybe you’ll find a way to do your own version of the Rainboom on that Scooter of yours.” She tried to give her best reassuring smile.

“Thanks Rainbow,” Scootaloo mumbled, looking downcast. “I know I might never fly, but… I just wish I could know what you feel up in the sky, being in the middle of that rainbow explosion. I bet it’s amazing,” she finished, a wistful smile on her face.

“Yeah, it is pretty great…” Dash’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. “Scoots! I got it! When you recover, I can take you flying!”

“Uh, Rainbow? You know I’m not gonna get stronger wings after I recover right? I can’t fly,” Scootaloo announced, dejected.

“Nah Scoots, I’ll carry you while I fly, maybe get some kind of harness, or magic spell from Twi to get you to stick to me, but I could totally fly you through a Sonic Rainboom no problem!” Dash boasted, her bravado making a full comeback.

“Are you serious? That would be the coolest thing ever Dash! Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh Ohmygosh! I love you Rainb-” Scootaloo shouted from her bed before getting a pang from her injured wing. A moment later she realized what she just said. Looking to Dash in a panic, she just saw her with a face of adoration.

“Love you too Scoots,” Rainbow said as she gently enveloped the filly in her wing. “Come on, lets calm down and get some sleep. Remember, we can’t go flying until you get better,” She said, expertly climbing in bed to snuggle.

Meanwhile, Scootaloo’s heart and mind were at war. She now had a motivation to get better faster, but she also didn’t want to give up any alone time with the pony she loved most. However, her healing body demanded sleep, and so she was overtaken by it. That night, she was not visited by any nightmares, and although she didn’t notice anything amiss, Luna had monitored her sleep for the night, keeping her troubles at bay.

“We shall discuss this soon little Scootaloo, but for now, rest. I only hope I can council you properly,” Luna murmured to herself before moving onto another pony’s dreams. “Perhaps I can even assist you in your plight. Faust only knows the troubles I’ve had with my own sister.”