Stranded Wings

“Rainbow Dash!” hollered Scootaloo. “You ready to go yet?”

One of the windows opened, and a weary-eyed cyan pegasus pony peeked out.

“It’s the crack of dawn, Scoot!” said Rainbow Dash, looking down on the orange filly. “Why’d you wake me up so early?”

“Don’t you remember?” Scootaloo shouted. “You said you were going to take me to your place on the mountain and teach me all your awesome tricks!”

Rainbow Dash yawned. “Yes, but not at 4 o'clock in the morning!” she said sternly.

“Pleeeeaaassseee!” Scootaloo begged. “Pleeeaase Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Alright, fine. Just give me 20 more minutes…”

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow and tilted her head to one side. “Okay then, come and find me when you’re ready!” she beamed, and trotted off.

“Ugh” mumbled Rainbow Dash. She closed the window, got back into bed, rolled over and closed her eyes.

Rainbow Dash flew slowly over Ponyville, scanning the ground below. “Now where did Scootaloo get to?” she said to herself. She had been looking for Scootaloo all day since she got up, but she couldn't find her anywhere. She landed softly beside Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie was lying on the grass, enjoying the sun.

‘Maybe Pinkie knows where Scootaloo is?’ Rainbow thought.

“Uh, hey Pinkie Pie” Rainbow Dash said as she walked up to her.

“Oh hey Dashie!” Pinkie said enthusiastically as she jumped up to greet her. “You’re looking for Scootaloo!”

Rainbow Dash raised her eyes. “Uh, yeah, how did you know?

Pinkie Pie smiled. “She came in a couple of hours ago saying that she wanted something to pass the time while she was waiting for you to get up, so we decided to make up songs for Hearth’s warming!” Her smile turned into a frown. “Some of them didn't work too well…” She sat back down again. “Funny it hasn't snowed yet, huh?”

“Yeah, so, um, where is she?” Rainbow replied.

“Oh! She’s inside, still thinking…” she yawned and rested her head on her hoof. Rainbow turned and walked inside, where Scootaloo was sitting at one of the tables. She jumped up when she saw Rainbow Dash enter.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” she said happily. “You ready to go now?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and ruffled Scootaloo’s hair.  “Yes, I’m ready to go now” she said. “Sorry I’m a bit late, I, erm, overslept a little.”

“I don’t mind at all Rainbow Dash!” shouted Scootaloo. “This is going to be awesome!”

Rainbow Dash smiled. “Well, we better get going if we want to get there before it gets dark” she said as they walked outside. “There’s plenty of food and supplies in my cabin so we won’t need to bring anything.”

Rainbow Dash looked up at the clear blue sky. “This is perfect weather to fly in” she said cheerfully. She looked back at Scootaloo “Okay Scoot, you ready to go?”

Scootaloo nodded with a big smile on her face.

“Where did you say you were going again?” Pinkie interrupted from her patch of grass.

Rainbow Dash turned and looked at Pinkie. “I’m taking Scootaloo to my place up in the mountains, so I can see if I can teach her how to fly, and show her some of my tricks.”

“Oh cool!” Pinkie replied. “How long are you going for?”

“Only until tomorrow.” Rainbow Dash said as she scratched her ear. ”We were thinking about going for a few days, but it just seemed a bit excessive for a newbie like Scoot.” Scootaloo smiled.

“Okay! Make sure you come and tell me all about the fun you had as soon as you get back!” Pinkie shouted.

“Sure thing Pinkie.” She looked back at Scootaloo. “Okay Scoot” she took Scootaloo in her arms and got ready to take off. “Remember to hold on tight!”

Rainbow Dash shot off from the ground, soared high into the sky, and flew off north, a trail of rainbow left in her wake.

“HAVE FUN!” Pinkie Pie shouted after them.

Scootaloo was speechless. The world was flying past before her eyes. They flew over Ponyville, over the Everfree Forest, over places that Scootaloo had never seen before. The experience was overwhelming. Further and further away they flew. She saw huge lakes, majestic ground formations and glistening ice sheets. They flew on for what seemed like an age.

“How you holding up Scoot?” Rainbow asked.

“This is awesome!” Scootaloo beamed. All of a sudden she could not see the ground anymore, as they flew into a dark cloud.

Suddenly she felt sharp jerk to the right.

“Hold on Scoot, we’re just encountering some turbulence, nothing serious” Rainbow said as she sped on. The sky was beginning to darken and it had started to rain.

“This isn't right” said Rainbow Dash. “It can’t be this dark already”

There was another jerk, this time harder, and to the left. Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, who looked very worried. Nonetheless, Rainbow continued to fly through the ever-darkening clouds. They felt a few more hard bumps and jerks.

“Sorry Scoot, I can’t do anything about the bumps, but don’t worry, we’re nearly there” Rainbow said anxiously. Even after Dash’s reassurance, Scootaloo could not contain the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

‘Maybe I should ask Rainbow Dash if we can go home and do it another day’ she thought to herself. But she couldn’t ask her to turn around now; Rainbow Dash had already given up a large piece of her spare time for them to go on this trip. Scootaloo chose to remain silent, but she still felt anxious about the turbulence. She looked up at Rainbow Dash again, but this time she had a horrified look on her face. Scootaloo’s stomach tightened.

“Um, Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked, afraid.

Suddenly a powerful gust of wind knocked them off course. They span through the air, hurtling towards the ground. Scootaloo cried in terror, closed her eyes and held on for dear life. Rainbow Dash tried to regain control, but the sheer force of the wind had knocked the breath out of her and they fell through the air, helplessly. She held Scootaloo as tight as she could and curled her entire body around the terrified filly as the ground loomed closer and closer.