Falling into Place

by Celicam

Rating: teen
Tags: Scootaloo, Slice of Life, Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash
Length: 2408

Rainbow Dash has always been brash and a bit headstrong. However, after a traumatic event, Rainbow Dash questions her ability to be a role model for anybeing.

Rainbow has always been brash and a bit head strong, but this has never hurt anyone she cares for. That is, until it happens to somepony she promised to be like a sister to. Now, faced with the reality, will Rainbow Dash come to terms with the fact that she isn't exactly a good role model? Or will she attempt to change her ways and be better, for those she cares about? Only time will tell.

Published 2013-03-14 09:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-13 02:19:55 UTC

Prologue: The Fall

“C’mon Scoots, almost there!” said Rainbow Dash to the orange pegasus as they trotted forward. They were almost to the top of a particularly large hill. It was one of the biggest near Ponyville. The sun was just beginning its daily climb for the day, overlooking all of Equestria. The moon was slowly relenting the suns takeover, and eventually subsided.

“Rainbow Dash, did you have to wake me up this early?” Scootaloo whined, obeying nonetheless. She had been woken up early by Rainbow Dash that day to practice more lessons in flight, and Scootaloo been looking forward to it all week. However her excitement was overshadowed by her sleepiness in the early morning fog. They sooned reached their destination. The top gave a beautiful view of the sunrise, and a small glimpse of Ponyville in the fog.

The rainbow maned pegasus looked to the surrounding area. The conditions weren’t too good for flying, but she didn’t expect much trouble with it. After all, what was a little fog to someone as trained as her? “Alright, have you been practicing moving your wings really strong? And really fast?” she asked, knowing the answer before it left her muzzle. She was very predictable.

“Yep. I even did some exercises without my scooter!” she said, slightly regaining her enthusiasm. Even if it was early, and really foggy, she trusted Rainbow Dash and listened to her every word. It’s what sisters did after all.

Dash nodded her approval at her. “Give it time, you’ll be cruising so fast ponies won’t see you coming!” she said, confidently. She had grown fond of the little filly, whom she had promised to look over like a sister. And she had faith in what she was teaching her; which was to be more like her.

The young filly looked up to Rainbow, finally out of the morning haze, and eager to follow her mentor. “You really think so Dash??” she asks, eyes shining despite the lack of sunlight. Any praise she could earn from her mentor was as good as gold to the filly.

Lightly punching her shoulder, Rainbow smirked. “You kidding? With enough practice you could be the next Rainbow Dash!” she said, striking a pose. She looked to Scoots and to the sky. “In fact...I think it might be time for your first practice run!” she added.

Looking up nervously, Scoots gulped. “I don’t know Rainbow...It seems pretty foggy...” she said quietly.

Chuckling, Dash rolled her eyes. “Of course it’s foggy. The weather ponies aren’t up yet to clear the fog. Besides, your with the one and only Rainbow Dash. What’s the worse that could happen?” she asked, rhetorically. She then picked up Scootaloo with a hoof raising her to the sky.

The filly was about to object, before she was hoisted into the air. She looked downward to see the ground quickly fall away. She gave a quick sigh. “Eyes on the prize Scoots. Forearms out, keep balanced, and flap those wings!” said Rainbow Dash confidently. Scootaloo obeyed, knowing the procedure.

Scoots closed her eyes as she did this, focusing on beating her wings. She had been told it didn’t matter if they were a bit small for her size, and that they’d still work.

Dash was busy compensating for the weight. However, soon she found she needed to compensate less and less. Eventually Scoots was supporting her own weight in flight. Rainbow slowly slipper her hoof from under Scoots. She was flying in the usual pattern they flew. She slipped behind Scoots, not too worried about her now. As far as Rainbow was concerned, it was smooth sailing for Scoots.

The orange pegasus followed the route through memory. However it didn’t take long for her to realize that Rainbows hoof was gone. “WOoAh!” she said veering to the right, searching for Dash while losing altitude. Her fear had come true. “Rainbow Dash?!”

Dash saw her begin to panic. “Scoots! Don’t freak! Right behind you!” she said, hoping to comfort her enough to at least keep a level altitude. The worst thing somepony could do was panic on their first flight.

She had gone down a considerable ways, from Rainbow Dash. However, after hearing Rainbows voice she tried to calm herself, and let her natural instincts take over. She took a few deep breaths and after a moment or two, she giggled. She was actually flying. She had never imagined that it would feel this good or amazing. She fully embraced her new ability. She looked back to Rainbow Dash, a smile plastered across her face. “Rainbow I’m doing it! I’m flyi-”

*THWACK*

Scootaloo disappeared from Rainbows vision. She stopped immediately and quickly rushed to the spot she had last seen Scoots. She heard several cracks as something plummeted through a multitude of branches, before landing with a *Thud* . The silence was unbearable for the few moments it lasted.

The Cyan pegasus rushed to the ground, without a moment to spare. She looked through the trees, but they all seemed the same. The fog obscured everything within a few feet below the treeline.She wondered why she didn’t hear Scoots crying after a fall like that. She began to panic and called out Scootaloo’s name. “Scoots?! Where’d ya go?” she yelled into the forest. She got no reply. She began to fear the worse, that fear flooding through her body. She quickly rounded a set of trees. “Scoots? Scoootallooo?!” she yelled, still receiving no reply. Only a quiet echo from her own voice.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a reprieve from the silence.“Rmbw Dsh...” she heard faintly, as if far away. It came, almost as a whisper. She looked around frantically. “Scoots?! Where are ya??” she asked desperately, still unable to find her. Again came the faint whispering , sounding softer than before. “Dsh....”

Dash looked behind every tree, her hope waning that’d she’d ever find her adopted sister. Then, another sound. ”Dash...” it said more clearly, and much closer. Rainbow flew to the spot where she heard her name. Laying there, behind a tree, laid a figure. It didn’t look anything like the shape of a pony; it bent at far too many angles for a pony who was healthy. However, she was not healthy. And she was very much in pain.

The young filly, whose body was so mangled, managed to look up to Rainbow Dash. She couldn’t cry; she didn’t have the strength to. She was barely conscious. She said two words, before her body shut down. “I’m....Sorry...” she whispered, almost silent. Then her head fell flat, quickly losing any sensations to the world.

Rainbow couldn’t believe that this mangled pony was Scootaloo. And when she stared at her, and issued her apology, she began weeping. Deep wracking sobs filled her body as the realization of what had occurred dawned on her. She continued this for a few minutes until she realized she needed to do something to help Scoots. She looked to the sky and screamed like she had never before, calling out in desperation, for anypony who could help Scootaloo.

Author's Note

I'm sorry this Prologue is so short. I promise the next chapter will be longer, and have a bit more details. Hopefully, I can have the next chapter up in a few days. See you then. ^^

Chapter 1: The Hospital

The blue mare lay nervously in the lounge, looking around the sterile environment, still in a bit of shock from the events earlier today. Her body shivering from the cold, and her anxiety. A mare approached her in a Nurse's outfit. "Ms.Dash?" she asked clarifying. Dash nodded her head. "Y-yes?.." she asked meekly, staring at the mares eyes, looking for a hint telling her of the fillies fate. "Scootaloo will be alright, for the moment-" Dash interjected instantly. "Is she hurt permanently? Oh my gosh, did is she paralyzed?!" she asked in a craze. The nurse pushed her back, as she had driven closer to ask her questions. "No, nothing like that.. However, she received a massive bump on the head, and we aren't sure of its effects. She also has a broken forearm, and rear leg, but any mental damage is unclear for the moment. She's still unconscious, and we're not sure how long she will be." she said. Dash was nearly in tears, hearing the news. She couldn't believe it; broken bones and brain damage. She was the worst role model ever. "C-Can I see her?" she asked choking back her sobs. The nurse shook her head. "Not unless you are a parent slash guardian. You should alert her family as soon as possible, seeing as we have no idea who to contact ourselves." Dash became pale. She wasn't a guardian of any sort, at least in any legal manner. Scootaloo lived in an orphanage, from which she was free to do as she liked as soon as she was home by a proper time. Dash had met the owners on more than one occasion, who had tried to convince her to adopt the filly, however, the thought always filled her with dread. 'I'm not ready to be a mother.' she always thought, while giving one excuse to another to the owner. Another thought shot from her head, making her head spin. 'They'll never let me near her again.' Even thinking about it, was enough to make her vomit. "I-I'll inform them now!" she said, flapping as fast as she could as soon as she reached the door. This was quickly turning into the most Nightmare-ish day of her life.

The receptionist stood silently in the lobby. With a pearly coat and black hair, she fit the title to a T. She had seen the pair off this morning, as she kept track of the fillies and colts that entered and left the building. She wasn't expecting many of the children to wake up anytime soon, so now was the time for coffee and waiting for the early birds to return. However, she was greeted with an exasperated Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow? Where is Scoota-" but was interrupted by the out of breath mare. "She's at the hospital, she's been in an accident. I need to see Ms.Homes." she said. The cream mares eyes shot open, as she quickly paged the owner. "Ms.Homes, Rainbow Dash is here, it's an emergency." she said, calm but obviously shaken. "Send her in!" the voice returned, quickly. Rainbow already on her way to the office. She stepped inside, and orange hue as the sun was well into it's rise into the sky. An oak desk with plenty of interesting knick knacks scattered about. Despite the professional look a plain bed sat on the far wall, showing that these were indeed her living quarters. Ms Lovely Homes, a light orange coated mare, had been running the Orphanage since she was 16. Her gray streaks showing in her purple mane, the stress the many years had given. True to her name however, she was extremely faithful to finding homes for abandoned fillies, as well as setting them up once they were past the point of adoption. Rainbow didn't even bother sitting down. "Ms.Homes, Im so so so sorry!..." she said before finally unleashing a torrent of tears she had been holding back. She was barely understandable, until Ms.Homes said something. "Rainbow, calm down, I can't understand anything your saying." she said, motioning to a chair. "Sit, and please stop crying so I can understand." Rainbow obediently sat and took a few breaths before her tone turned into a shaky understandable tone. "I-I went flying with Scootaloo...She was finally flying on her own, and s-she..." she struggled to compose herself, recalling the horrific thud. "She flew right into a tree. She's at the h-hospital right now..And the nurse said she had a broken forearm, leg, and.." she cracked as this point , tears flowing freely down her face, as she struggled with the last sentence. "And they aren't sure how h-her brain will recover.." she finally sputtered, spilling into another desperate crying fit, littered with insults to herself, and her thoughts.

Ms.Homes remained calm, though she twitched as Rainbow degraded her self worth. She buzzed down to her receptionist. "Ms.Pens, would you please send the hospital our paperwork, and include an addendum that Rainbow may be a visitor during the appropriate hours?" she said calmly. Rainbow objected through her wet eyes. "Why would you do that?! She'll hate me forever, You shouldn't even let me near her!" she pleaded. Ms Homes held up a hoof. "Rainbow Dash, what you did today was reckless, irresponsible, and unbecoming of any potential parent I've ever met." she said, the harsh words stinging harshly at her heart. "But right now, that filly needs you far more than I. She will need all the support she can get." she added in a much more pleasant tone. Dash's heart melted, and she gave the mare a massive hug. "T-thank you.." she said her voice finally calming down. She wiped away her tears and nodded, slowly heading back towards the door. Ms Homes had one last thing to say however. "Ms Dash..." she said, her tone becoming more somber. Rainbow turned around nervously. "Although she needs you now, this was a serious infraction. If you ever expect to be a positive role model, or Celestia forbid, a parent, you better start re-evaluating how you act, and how behave around children. They can be fragile but at the same time quite strong. However, it is all meaningless if you act foolishly and make mistakes that affects them for life." she said, waving her off. Her lips neither a smile or a grimace. Almost as if this was an observation of the many years spent with children. Dash nodded and silently gulped. Was she setting Scoots on a bad path?..

Author's Note

Whats this? Finishing Chapter 1 on a fanfic I started years ago? Madness! :pinkiehappy:

What actually happened is I logged in today, and saw I had made a prologue, yet no chapter 1! I hate when stories do that! :twilightangry2:

So, if anyone is still following this story...Hi! It might only be 1 year for another chapter! :raritywink:
If anyones interested in how this was originally going to go, leave a comment! This on the spot version is far superior if I do say so myself.:ajsmug: