Shattered

Scootaloo woke up the next morning and flew into town, awaiting her idol. Then, when Rainbow Dash came walking through the town, Scootaloo jumped and waved at her. Yesterday's events still quite fresh in her mind. Every single minute of it, from the Double Sonic Rainbooms, to Rainbow Dash becoming a member of the Wonderbolts, everything was saved in her mind.

      "Hey! Rainbow! You were awesome back at Cloudsdale last night!"

      "Yeah, uh... thanks." Rainbow Dash said as she walked away

Rainbow held her head high and simply walked past the orange pegasus. Usually Rainbow's greetings were a lot warmer, maybe a noogie sometimes if she was feeling playful, but she'd never behave this coldly. Scootaloo faltered for a moment but immediately perked up again.

      "Rainbow must be busy, that's all. I'll go hang with her later."

Scootaloo sped off to go hang out with her two best friends, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. The three mares met up at their old clubhouse, going inside and remembering the memories they once had there. Then they went to a restaurant to have lunch and catch up.

      "So Scootaloo, how was Rainbow last night?" Sweetie Belle asked

Sweetie Belle hadn't changed much, other than the fact that now she helps out Rarity in the Boutique, and that she had become a skilled dress maker.

       "Yeah Scoots, how were y'all last night?" Applebloom asked

Applebloom had changed quite a bit too. She now had a fit body similar to Applejack's. She still wore her ribbon, no surprise there. Her mane was now much longer than it once used to be.

       "She was awesome! She did a Double Sonic Rainboom! A DOUBLE SONIC RAINBOOM!" Scootaloo said in excitement.

Her friends chuckled upon seeing their friend so ecstatic.

      "Hey Scoots, isn't ya' birthday a couple 'a days away?" Applebloom asked

       "Oh yeah! It's a week away." Scootaloo said

      "Well, who knows how it'll be like now that Rainbow's a Wonderbolt? She might invite a couple of big names over." Sweetie Belle said

      "That is, if she can make it. Y'all know how busy Wonderbolts are, have you ever SEEN or HEARD of Soarin' or Fleetfoot takin' a little off time?" Applebloom said

      "Gals, I'm sure she can make it. She'll do anything to make sure she makes it. She IS the Element of Loyalty after all." Scootaloo pointed out.

      "Ah guess y'all are right. And if worst comes to worst, we're still here for ya' Scoots." Applebloom said

      "Hey, don't forget about the party tonight. It's this evening if you've forgotten." Sweetie Belle said

      "Oh right! We're celebrating Rainbow's tenth win in a row, right?" Scootaloo said

      "Yeah we are. In the Apple family barn no less." Applebloom said

      "See ya' tonight then." Scootaloo said

The three fillies all finished up their lunch and headed back to their respectful duties, Applebloom to continue harvesting, Sweetie Belle to continue working on dresses with her sister Rarity, and of course Scootaloo to go manage the weather and occasionally practice on her moves. At the moment, all she was doing was lying down on a cloud because she couldn't do too much flying after she ate. Scootaloo was chilled and relaxed with not the slightest bit of a care in the world. Just like her idol, Rainbow Dash.

      "Wonder what it's like to be a Wonderbolt? How does it feel like to be famous? Doesn't matter, I'm gonna get there soon anyways. Right next to Rainbow Dash and all the other greats." Scootaloo said.

Scootaloo sighed as she stared at the empty clouds around her. Usually Rainbow Dash would be on a cloud just nearby, and the both of them would occasionally challenge each other to races, with both breaking even every race without fail. They'd clear the skies together; their coordination was the best Ponyville had ever seen. It was as if they could talk to each other telepathically, one would know exactly what the other was about to do.

      "Time to get to work, I guess." Scootaloo sighed

Over the past few years, Rainbow Dash had rubbed off some of her laziness onto Scootaloo, affecting and corrupting her usual enthusiasm. Scootaloo nor anypony else minded, as little to nothing had changed with her.

Scootaloo flapped her wings. It wasn't time for her to take flight, as she had just eaten and it hadn't even been fifteen minutes since she left the restaurant. Yet the orange mare prepared for take-off anyway, ready or not ready.

      "Well, you only live once right?" Scootaloo said

The orange pegasus took off, the cloud behind her dissipating from the force of her launch. She simply flew through the clouds, they would just burst as soon as Scootaloo sped through them. Clearing the skies was great considering Scootaloo could do what she loved AND get paid doing it. It was also incredibly easy, for her that is.

Scootaloo cleared the few clouds in the sky and landed on the one remaining cloud she had kept for her own personal use. Scootaloo stretched a bit and yawned. She hadn't even broken a sweat, not looking even the least bit tired or worn out, which was no small feat considering the speed she had been travelling at would've been enough to put any Wonderbolt through his paces.

      "Sometimes, I wonder if weather patrol is even a real job." Scootaloo said

The orange pegasus curled up and tried and go to sleep. Afternoon naps had also become a habit of Scootaloo's. Every time she cleared the clouds with Rainbow Dash or went flying, RD would take a nap in the afternoon; Scootaloo would have no choice but to do the same as she would have nothing better to do anyways. She had always prefered training with Rainbow Dash, but training alone just wasn't as good and fun. So, she usually took naps with Rainbow Dash since she would have nothing better to do anyways.

      "Wonder if Rainbow will ever clear the skies with me again. With her being a Wonderbolt and all, I wonder if she'll have the time." Scootaloo sighed

Scootaloo shut her eyes and dozed off to sleep. She hadn't done much to deplete too much energy, but last night she had not gotten enough sleep due to her staying up late just to see Rainbow Dash perform. That and the soft comfortable cloud made sleep no problem for the orange pegasus.

4 hours later...

Scootaloo woke up. She looked around and yawned. The sun was setting, and the sky was a shade of orange. Scootaloo stretched for a while before smacking her lips and gazing at the sun for a good 5 minutes.

      "Why do I have a feeling that I'm missing something?" Scootaloo said

Scootaloo squinted her eyes and realization finally hit her. She knew exactly what she had forgotten.

      "Rainbow's party!" Scootaloo exclaimed

She leaped off the cloud and sped towards the venue of their festivities, the Apple family barn. It didn't take her long at all, about four to five minutes later she had landed right in front of the barn. Technically she was still on time. Scootaloo opened the barn door and entered.

The barn had a large banner strung up that said in rainbow letters on a cyan blue background: "CONGRATULATIONS!", colorful streamers were everywhere, and every pony was walking around, taking a swig or two of cider. Applejack herself was giving out the cider, Rarity was chatting with Fluttershy, Twilight was reading a book, and Pinkie Pie was going around in typical Pinkie fashion, striking up conversations with other ponies.

      "You made it!" Sweetie Belle said as she approached Scootaloo.

      "Fer' a second there I thought y'all weren't coming." Applebloom said.

      "Hey gals, where's Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked.

      "She hasn't shown up yet." Applebloom said.

      "Whadya mean she hasn't shown up yet?" Scootaloo asked.

      "Relax Scootaloo, maybe she's running late." Sweetie Belle said.

      "Yeah Scoots, bein' a Wonderbolt ain't easy." Applebloom said.

      "I guess." Scootaloo said halfheartedly.

      "Hey chin up. It's only been 15 minutes, she could still make it." Sweetie Belle said.

      "Yea. You're right. I mean, she wouldn't just bail like that without even sending us a notice first right?" Scootaloo said.

      "Exactly. Don't y'all worry about a thing. She'll show up." Applebloom said.

6 hours later...

Scootaloo sat on a bale of hay, an empty mug in her hoof with only a couple of drops of cider at the bottom, with a disappointed look on her face. Applejack had left due to her having to wake up early tomorrow morning, Rarity was drawing pictures in a hay bale, Fluttershy was downing a mug of cider, Twilight had passed out with her face in her book, and Pinkie Pie was trying to cheer everypony up. To no avail. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle walked over to Scootaloo, sad expressions on their faces.

      "She's not coming, is she?" Scootaloo said as she tipped her mug upside down.

      "I'm 'fraid not Scoot." Applebloom said.

      "Cheer up, you have your birthday in a week, there's no way she would miss that! No matter what Rainbow Dash WILL make it." Sweetie Belle said.

      "I guess you're right." Scootaloo said.

      "Now don't go on and blame Rainbow Dash, it's not her fault she's got such a hectic schedule." Applebloom said.

      "I saw her this afternoon." Scootaloo said.

      "W-well maybe she had an emergency. Y'know how busy she is now. Y'know, celebrity and all." Sweetie Belle said.

      "If you say so." Scootaloo said.

Scootaloo placed the empty mug on a bale of hay. She let out a sigh and stretched for a bit, letting out a yawn in the process. She rubbed her eyes with her hoof and popped her spine.

      "Listen gals, I'm gonna call it a night. I'll just head on home now." Scootaloo said

      "See ya' t'moro." Applebloom said

      "Bye!" Sweetie Belle said

Scootaloo exited the barn. It was midnight by now, and Scootaloo was exhausted. She got into her take-off stance, flapped her wings once, then launched off into the night sky. It was nothing compared to the force of her launch during the afternoon, but the filly didn't care. She wasn't looking to impress anypony, that and the fact that she was incredibly tired.

Scootaloo lazily flew towards the large cloud home. She landed on the doorstep and pushed open the door. It swung open and Scootaloo walked in, not even bothering to turn on the lights. Instead, she opted to just walk straight to bed in the dark. Scootaloo shuffled across the dark room and up the staircase where a window allowed a beam of moonlight to shine in and illuminate the path to her bedroom.

Scootaloo walked up the stairs and arrived at the entertainment center of her home. There was a flat-screen TV with a Ponystation 3 hooked up to it. Scootaloo was in no mood to play any games at the moment. She pushed her room door and it creaked open. Scootaloo slipped in and made sure to close the door behind her. The room was dark with only a single window, bearing a beam of light that illuminated the bed. Scootaloo walked to the bed and climbed under the covers. She shut her eyes and slipped off into the welcome embrace of sleep..

The next day...

Sunshine shone through the windows, lighting up the room as Scootaloo woke up. She had a slight headache from last night, but other than that she was fine. Scootaloo stretched a bit and hopped out of bed. Her mane was a mess, and her eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep she had managed to get. Scootaloo walked towards the bathroom and gazed into the mirror. She sighed and whipped out her toothbrush, squeezed some toothpaste onto it and began brushing her teeth. Scootaloo spat out the minty, frothy white liquid into the sink, she rinsed her mouth, and spat out another mouthful of water. Clearing all remaining toothpaste.

Scootaloo then proceeded to step into the shower. She turned on the shower, causing a jet of hot water to come shooting out of the shower head and splash against Scootaloo's body. The filly picked up a bar of soap and began lathering herself.

15 minutes later...

Scootaloo had landed in front of the library. She opened the library door and walked in.

      "Hey Scootaloo." Spike said

Over the years Spike had grown, and was significantly taller than Scootaloo now. His voice was also notably deeper, his body skinny compared to his past body form. He now had fangs the size of small knives, and on top of that, somewhere along the way he had developed a way to send messages to anypony. Nopony was sure how, perhaps Twilight had cast a spell on him at some point.

      "I was wondering if you could send Rainbow Dash a message for me." Scootaloo said

      "Sure. Why not? Nothing better to do anyways." Spike said

      "Don't you have some encyclopedia Twilight wants you to study on?"

      "Naw. Well, she hasn't given me one. Yet. She's still asleep."

      "Got a scroll and quillI could borrow? And maybe some ink?"

      "Hang on a sec."

Spike rummaged around the library and came back with the items Scootaloo had requested.

      "Thanks." Scootaloo said

She dipped the quill in ink and proceeded to write her letter.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

Hey Dash, how's it going? Scootaloo here. Things are okay here in Ponyville, but the weather patrol isn't the same without you though. Was wondering why you were a no show last night. Everything alright? When can I see you again?

From, Scootaloo

Scootaloo blew on the ink to make sure that it dried before rolling it up and handing it to Spike. The purple dragon held the scroll and breathed fire onto it, igniting the paper. It was soon gone with the wind, making it's way to Rainbow Dash.

      "I heard about last night. Don't blame Dash, you know that if she could she would've definitely showed up." Spike said

      "You're starting to sound like my ex-coltfriend after he missed our date." Scootaloo asked

      "Is that a compliment?"

      "No."

Spike sighed.

      "Just, don't get mad at her alright? You know she's doing her best. If she could, she would've shown up."

      "Yeah, whatever.Tell Twilight I said hi.

Scootaloo then walked out of the library as Spike waved goodbye.

The rest of the day was uneventful, with Scootaloo clearing the clouds as usual alongside some practice here and there. But for the whole day, Scootaloo kept thinking to herself: "What if I'm right? What if Rainbow Dash really doesn't have any time for me?". Scootaloo was thinking about all of this when suddenly, she came up with an even more horrifying theory.

What if... Rainbow Dash doesn't care anymore?! What if she just forgets about all of Ponyville and never comes back?! Scootaloo thought to herself

Scootaloo thought about this for a good 15 minutes before brushing the thought aside.

Nah, I'm just being paranoid. That's not gonna happen. Rainbow Dash would never leave us!

The rest of the days were equally uneventful. With little to nothing exciting happening. Scootaloo's days were so linear and similar to the next one that waking up felt like a job. Her day was always the same, Wake up, Wash up, Get breakfast, train, have lunch, clear the skies, nap, followed by maybe a little gathering with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom before going to sleep.

There was only one thing that had changed in her life.

She would send Rainbow Dash letters every day, hoping for a response. And every day yielded the same results. Nothing. There was no response from the Wonderbolt at all. And day after day, Scootaloo was getting increasingly convinced that Rainbow Dash wasn't coming back.

Just a day before her birthday bash, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were having lunch together as usual.

      "Hey gals, do you think Rainbow Dash will show up in Ponyville ever again?" Scootaloo asked

      "Don't ya' worry Scoots, she's bound to show up t'moro." Applebloom said

      "She received your letters didn't she?" Sweetie Belle said

      "Yeah... but she's not responding." Scootaloo replied

      "Well, you're seeing her tomorrow aren't you?" Sweetie Belle said

      "I'm not even sure if she's coming tomorrow." Scootaloo said

After that, the trio finished up their lunch and resumed their daily duties.

The next day...

Scootaloo woke up and continued her everyday routine as usual. Except today was different.

Today was her birthday.

Not only that, but she was going to see Rainbow Dash again. Though she had never sent any confirmation letters saying that she was going, Scootaloo was quite sure that her idol would never miss this, even if it meant getting kicked out of her beloved Wonderbolts.

Scootaloo blazed through the day, a smile spread across her face. It seemed just minutes ago she had woken up, and now here she was, sitting on a cloud watching the sun go down. She would be celebrating her birthday at the local bar, the Frosty Mug. Scootaloo leaped off the cloud and headed over to the location of her celebration. She didn't have much to do anyways.

Scootaloo arrived at the venue of her party. Inside, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, among various other guests were roaming around. Some were drinking, Pinkie Pie was walking around again in all her randomness, Applejack was challenging Twilight to a chugging contest, Twilight was paying the orange mare little to no attention. Rarity hadn't shown up yet and Fluttershy was taking small sips from her drink. Scootaloo approached her two friends.

      "So, is Rainbow here yet?" Scootaloo asked

      "Course not! The party hasn't even started yet! You showed up fifteen minutes early." Applebloom said

      "Actually it's half an hour." Sweetie Belle said

      "Just relax Scoots, she'll be here." Applebloom reassured

The rest of the night was a blast. There was tons of fun, a bunch of drunk shenanigans from some of the party guests. All around it was a great party. But, the whole time Scootaloo only had one pony in her mind.

Rainbow Dash.

She hadn't shown up. There was nothing from her, not even a letter explaining why she hadn't been present. At the end of the bash, Scootaloo sat at the bar counter, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both occupying the empty seats on either sides of the now depressed mare.

      "So, uh-" Applebloom began

      "Save it. I know. She was a no show, and that's the way it's gonna be from now on." Scootaloo said

      "That's not necessarily-" Sweetie Belle said

      "Rainbow's schedule is too hectic for her to come back and hang out anymore. That is, if she even wanted to." Scootaloo said

      "Nonsense! Of course she wants to hang out with you." Sweetie Belle replied

      "Then why isn't she replying to my letters? Why didn't she show up for her own party?" Scootaloo said

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both stared at the ground and shifted uncomfortably. Scootaloo hopped off her seat and left the bar.

      "See ya' both tomorrow." Scootaloo grumbled

She exited the bar and stared up at the night sky. The stars were shining bright, the moon being a white disc of light, illuminating what the stars couldn’t. Scootaloo simply ignored the beauty of it all and headed straight home. Within just a short 5 minutes, Scootaloo had landed on the porch of her mansion. She gave the door a light push, swinging it open for Scootaloo to pass through. This time was no different from her experience a week ago. She simply walked past the light switch, not bothering to switch it on.

Once more, she climbed the stairs with only the moonlight guiding her path. Scootaloo didn't care. She knew her way around the house pretty well already. Scootaloo climbed the stairs and arrived at the entertainment center. Once again, she ignored it and went straight for her bedroom instead.

She pushed the door open and entered, kicking the door shut once inside. Scootaloo walked over to the side of her bed. There sat a small table. Atop the table sat a small portrait of Rainbow Dash, grinning and giving Scootaloo a playful noogie, Scootaloo herself was smiling from ear to ear.

She picked the portrait up and stared at it for a good 5 minutes. Scootaloo shut her eyes and threw the portrait out the window.

Glass shattered and spilled onto the floor as the portrait flew out of her home. Scootaloo stared out into the night sky before shedding a single tear that streamed down her face and dropped to the floor.