Spellbound Fireflies

Chapters

I: The Offer
II: First Day
III: The Sleepover
IV: Discoveries
V: More Discoveries
VI: Complications
VII: An Awkward Conversation
VIII: Brushed-Off and Busted
IX: A Fall Weather Get Together
X: Finding Strength
XI: Changes
XII: More Changes
XIII: The Speed Test
XIV: The Letter
XV: Finding Peace
XVI: Scootaloo's First Flight
XVII: The Wedding
Epilogue

I: The Offer

Chapter 1
The Offer

“Well that was a bust,” Scootaloo sighed, picking twigs out of her mane. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom joined her in knocking stray bits of tree from their bodies and patting the ground-in dirt out of their coats. They lay spread out in a ditch, the shattered remains of the rickshaw pathetically strewn around them, one wheel attached to a splintered beam still spinning in the air on its crooked axle. “Guess cutie marks in driving taxis are out of the question.”

Apple Bloom grinned before grimacing and pulling a thorn out of her side. “Don’t you worry none, Scootaloo. We’re bound to find somethin’ eventually!”

Sweetie Belle bounced to her hooves. “Yeah, Scoots.” She smiled warmly at Scootaloo, drawing a grin in return. “We’ve been trying for three years and we can’t give up now!”

“I know, I just thought for sure this would be the one.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “To be fair that rock did come out of nowhere.”

“An’ at the speeds we were goin’ there wasn’t anywhere else to go but down the hill.” Apple Bloom looked up the steep incline and cringed.

Smirking, Scootaloo wiped her forehead with a hoof. “It was a pretty awesome wipe-out, though.” Her friends giggled. “Maybe next time we should try something a little quieter. I’m gettin’ kinda worried one of these times we’re gonna end up with cutie marks for bein’ crash test dummies.”

Apple Bloom stood and stretched out her back, a quick shake dispelling a few remaining leaves and sticks. A small cloud of dust hung in the air around her body as she sighed in contentment. “Well, any other crusadin’ ideas for the day?”

Sweetie sighed, “Actually, I’m supposed to head over to Rarity’s soon. Mom and dad are on one of their trips again and my sis said somethin’ about a bonding sleep-over.” Her downcast expression brightened. “Oh yeah! I almost forgot; she asked me to invite you both!”

Apple Bloom bounced on her hooves. “AJ’ll say yes for sure! This oughtta be great!” Their excitement was interrupted by a heavy sigh from Scootaloo.

“Sorry girls, but I don’t think I can.” She cast her gaze around the ditch, her lip pouting out.

Apple Bloom winced in sympathy. “Yer foster folks givin’ ya a hard time again?”

Scootaloo bolted to her hooves, her eyes darting around to find something to focus on. “Nothin’ bad, or anything,” she said a little too quickly, “They just have a curfew now and I have to ask for permission a few days before I stay out at night.”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “What if I ask Rarity to ask for you?”

Her back a rigid line, Scootaloo stammered, “N-no, that’s okay.” She plastered a smile on her face. “You two have fun; we’ll plan somethin’ for next time, alright?”

“Well, darn,” Apple Bloom huffed. “I was lookin’ forward to a crusader’s sleep-over. Won’t be the same without ya, Scoots; we’ll haveta do somethin’ with all of us together next time for sure. How ‘bout I ask AJ if’n we can camp out on Friday in the treehouse? That way you can ask in time to come?” A small grin pulled at Scootaloo’s mouth and she nodded. “Alright then!” Apple Bloom scrambled up the steep drop back to the road, leaving her friends down by the wrecked cart. “I’m gonna gallop down ta the acres to ask my big sis. I’ll catch up with ya, Sweetie Belle!”

Scootaloo’s small smile faded as she sighed and reached out a hoof to grab onto a tree root for leverage. A soft grip caught her shoulder, turning her to face Sweetie’s eyes, shining with concern. “If you don’t wanna talk about it, it’s okay Scootaloo, but I’m always here to listen, alright?” The unicorn hugged Scootaloo around the neck.

Her smile reappeared. Tentatively, she returned the embrace. “Thanks, Sweetie. It really is okay.” She pulled out of the hug, biting her lip. “Mr. and Mrs. Taker aren’t mean to me or anything. It’s just…” Scootaloo’s eyes grew distant and her muzzle drifted back to a neutral line. Sweetie Belle was about to wave a hoof in front of Scootaloo’s face when she continued, muttering, “It’s not home.”

The unicorn raised a quizzical eyebrow. Her mouth opened before snapping shut again. She shook her head and rested a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Well, if you ever need an ear, I’m here, okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks.” She smiled again at her friend and grabbed the tree root, pulling herself back up to the road. She turned around and gave a hoof-up to her friend and with a parting wave she headed back towards town at a steady trot. Working her way through town square in the direction of her foster home, a shadow joined her journey, matching her movements on the cobbled street. A grin stretching across her muzzle, she looked up. “Hi Rainbow Dash!”

“Hey, Squirt.” The pegasus back-flipped as she landed, matching the filly’s pace with a cocky strut. “What’s new?”

“Oh, same ol’ stuff. Crusadin’. Breakin’ things. You know me.”

Rainbow snorted through her snout, a wry smirk on her face. “Boy, do I. What was it this time?”

“A rickshaw.”

“Nice.” The daredevil craned her head to the side and a loud pop discharged from the crick in her neck. Sighing in satisfaction, she boasted, “I musta broken just as much stuff when I was your age, flying into everything.”

“I can imagine. If I could fly, I’d probably smash twice as much stuff!” she giggled, “I bet cloud things aren’t as fun to break; you don’t get splintery bits everywhere.”

Rainbow’s strut faltered, her steps losing their rhythm. “Nah, just wisps of fog and a lot of water.”

“See? This’d be an awesome place to be airborne; everything crunches.”

“Yeah.” Her chuckle had a hollow quality Scootaloo puzzled over. Rainbow slowed her pace to a stop. “Hey Scoots, got a question for ya.”

Scootaloo halted and turned to face her honorary big sister, the excited grin she always wore around the mare in full force. “Sure, what’s up?”

Rainbow Dash glanced around, a small grimace of a frown on her face. When she spoke, she kept her voice low to stop it from carrying. “I know you don’t really like talkin’ about your parents, but you lost ‘em pretty young, huh?” Scootaloo’s throat went dry. After a pause, she nodded mutely and hung her head. Rainbow Dash gave her a pained smile. “Sorry to bring it up, kid.” She closed the small gap and rested a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “Only reason I did is because I was thinkin’ about you learnin’ to fly.” She sighed and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane. “Your foster folks are earth ponies, aren’t they?”

Scootaloo stopped boring holes into the ground with her eyes and raised her head to meet Rainbow Dash’s gaze. “Yeah.”

“…Then we’ve got a lot of work to do. If you’ll have me as a coach.”

Scootaloo’s throat worked uselessly for a moment, her wide eyes locked with her idol’s. “…You’re gonna teach me how to fly?”

“I’m not gonna lie, squirt. Most ponies start learnin’ when they’re toddlers. You’re really far behind and it’s gonna take a lot of effort for you to get where you should be. It’ll be really hard.” Her smile widened. “But I don’t think you’re a quitter. Whaddya say?”

“When do we start?”

Rainbow Dash chuckled and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane again. “Atta girl. We’ll get started tomorrow, alright?” She spread her wings and leapt into the air. “Meet me in the park when ya get outta school!” she called over her shoulder, sailing off towards the other end of town.

Scootaloo danced in place, a small squeal escaping her lips. A bounce entered her trot as she made her way back to the foster home. With the bright, well-kept center of town behind her, the houses shifted to a more understated and uniform construction. She finally arrived at the slat-constructed house at the end of the block. Her eyes were pulled, as they always were, to the patch of missing shingles on the lower left corner of the roof. It always brought a smile to her face; it was shaped like a duck.

Opening the door as gingerly as she could, Scootaloo crept into the living room, wincing at the soft whine the old floorboards made every few steps. The old creaky couch blocked the doorway to the kitchen and she made her way in front of it, aided by the faded carpet muffling her hooves. Hardly daring to breathe, she planned her stealthy advance; it was just a few feet to the stairs.

A soft voice called from the kitchen, “Scootaloo, is that you?” A shadow moved in and out of view against the bare patch of wall Scootaloo could see through the doorway. She could hear dishes and cutlery scraping against each other. Mrs. Taker did not enter the room, or even stop her work. Scootaloo expelled her held-in breath and hung her head.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Miss Cheerilee dropped by today. She said your homework is improving.”

Her voice squeaked as her expression brightened. “Really? That’s awes—”

“But it’s not an acceptable level yet.” The filly winced. Mrs. Taker never really scolded her and she didn’t sound angry now; Scootaloo thought she sounded flat, like she was dictating a letter. She hated that tone. “Complete your chores for the day, then homework. I’ll call for you when dinner is ready. Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” She trotted to the cleaning-supply cupboard in the corner of the room. As she reached for the knob, she paused. “Mrs. Taker? I was invited to camp out at the clubhouse with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle on Friday. Can I go?”

For a moment, the sounds of cutlery on a cutting board were all that broke the silence. “If you get all your chores and homework done, then yes.”

She pumped a hoof. “Great! Thank you!” The thunk of metal on wood filled the room as she pulled the cupboard open. “Let’s see,” she muttered to herself, “Wednesday means dusting…” She grabbed the feather duster in her teeth and stifled a sneeze. As she dusted the living room a bounce entered her gait, thoughts of soaring through the air next to Rainbow Dash dancing through her mind.

Rainbow Dash glided above downtown Ponyville towards Golden Oaks Library. She caught sight of the upstairs window, open as always for her, and drifted lazily through the frame. Hooves clacking down on the wood floor of the loft in Twilight’s bedroom, she cantered over to the unicorn sitting at her desk, muzzle deep in a hovering book.

“Hey Twi’,” she said, wandering over behind the unicorn. “What’s up?”

“Mm.” A page fluttered. Twilight’s head remained stock-still, her eyes darting rapidly across the book.

“So I saw Scoots today.”

“Mm.”

“…” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Twilight, if you want me to cover all your books in peanut butter an’ let Winona loose, say ‘Mm.’”

“Mm.”

Sighing in annoyance, Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings. With one quick sweep, her primaries raced across Twilight’s back. The unicorn shrieked, her magically floating book sailing across the room. She spun around, breathing heavily. Rainbow smirked. "Next time I try to talk to you, ya gonna listen?"

Jaw clenched and eye twitching, Twilight took several long, deep breaths. A lingering silence hung in the air. Rainbow took a step back, her ears lying flat. "Erm, I was just havin' fun Twi', don't be—eep." The daredevil found herself quite uncontrollably upside down, floating in a field of magenta energy. She hovered close to the glaring unicorn. "C'mon Twi', don't be—" Twilight inhaled sharply and shoved her face in Rainbow Dash’s belly. The loud, wet raspberry was nearly drowned out by her victim’s frantic cackles.

Twilight’s head shot up and she gulped in a breath, diving back into the sea of blue coat. Rainbow Dash squealed and writhed in Twilight’s magical grasp, beads of moisture springing from her tightly scrunched eyelids. Twilight’s assault broke as helpless laughter overtook her. She circled Rainbow’s middle with her hooves and slowly released her power. Strong forelegs slung around her neck as the magical glow faded and Rainbow Dash lay in her lap, curled up in a ball and wrapped in her hooves. Their chuckling gradually subsided and they grinned stupidly at each other.

“So what’d you wa—” Twilight’s question was halted abruptly when Rainbow’s grip tightened, pulling her down into a kiss. Their lips moved together and Twilight’s heart sped up, a fluttery lightness rising from the pit of her stomach and extending to the tips of her hooves. Her grip around the prone mare strengthened.

Their kiss broke and Rainbow Dash gazed up into Twilight’s shining eyes. She stroked long, straight mane with a contented smile on her lips. “How come I always end up in your hooves, instead of you in mine, Twi’?”

Twilight grinned. “You swept me off mine. Now I’ve gotta return the favor.” Rainbow leaned up and met their lips again, shifting her body weight and pushing. Twilight toppled over backwards to the floor with a small squeak, well-muscled forelimbs pinning her shoulders flat. Rainbow flashed a cocky smile down at her captive and licked the tip of Twilight’s snout.

“That’s better. You’re so cute under me.” Twilight flushed dark crimson and wriggled under Rainbow Dash’s iron grip. The pegasus’ smirk could be heard in her voice. “’Specially when you squirm.”

Sticking out her tongue, Twilight growled, “Oh knock it off.” Rainbow grinned and laid down, resting her head on the unicorn’s chest. She hugged Twilight tightly around the middle. “And get off me.”

“Oh, but you’re so comfy,” she whined. Twilight pushed against Rainbow’s shoulders, trying to squeeze her way out of the embrace like her marefriend was an ill-fitting saddle.

“I was—” a grunt of effort earned a few inches of freedom, “—in the middle of reading something…”

The pegasus lunged forward, regaining all of her lost ground and clamping back around her uncooperative cushion. “You can finish after I have a nap.”

Twilight groaned, “Rainbow…” drawing a chuckle from the daredevil, who sat up and caught Twilight’s gaze. She leaned down and kissed her marefriend again, a brief but fierce note of relent before standing up and offering Twilight a hoof. The unicorn shook her head slowly, a wide smile on her muzzle. “You’re really aggravating, you know that?”

“Only the best for my girl.”

Twilight sighed heavily, searching out the book she’d flung. She found it wedged inside a natural crease in the living walls of the tree, halfway up to the skylight. She gripped it in a haze of magic and tugged. “You make me want to both bang my head against a wall and kiss you silly. How do you do that, Rainbow Dash? It must be supernatural.” She dusted off the spine with a hoof and checked the cover for nicks.

Rainbow sidled up to her marefriend, sitting next to her and draping a wing over her back. “I’m just awesome like that.”

She smirked and leaned into Rainbow’s shoulder. “I should get my head examined for falling in love with such a frustrating mare.”

Rainbow nipped Twilight’s ear gently. “Love you too, Egghead.”

“Mmm…” She nuzzled into the mare’s neck. “So seriously, what’d you wanna talk about?”

“I saw Scoots today. I’m gonna teach her how to fly.”

“Oh, that sounds nice! She’s at the right age for that isn’t she?”

“Yeah…” Rainbow nuzzled against the top of Twilight’s head, her mouth a thin line. “She’s the right age, but she’s pretty far behind. The library has the ‘Foal Flight’ series of books, right?” Twilight nodded against her neck. “I’ll probably need to look through those again…It’s been a long time since flight school.” The unicorn’s ears flicked, picking up a low tremor nearly hidden in Rainbow’s tone.

“You’re worried about this.” Rainbow shrugged her shoulders against her. “Don’t worry, Rainbow. Scootaloo couldn’t ask for a better teacher.”

They sat in silence for a while, Twilight nestled into Rainbow’s shoulder wrapped in a wing. Rainbow’s voice was very quiet. “She’s a good kid.”

“…Anything I could do to help?”

Rainbow Dash started, her eyes sharpening from a far-away glaze. “Well…I could probably use your help planning a regimen. And I bet Scoots would like a cheering section.”

Twilight grinned and kissed her cheek. “I’d love to be there.” She stood, Rainbow following her up. “C’mon. Let’s go make some lists.”

As they cantered down the loft steps to the lower level of Twilight’s bedroom, Rainbow shook her head. “I dunno how you can say ‘make some lists’ and sound that excited.”

“Oh, hush.” Twilight flicked Rainbow’s snout with her tail.

“I love that about you.”

Twilight stopped her descent halfway down the stairs. She turned around, a small smile on her face and eyes half-lidded. “You…are the most aggravating, crazy, lovely mare in Equestria.” She met Rainbow Dash lip-first and pushed her way back up the steps. Rainbow stumbled backwards towards Twilight’s bed. Twilight leaned back long enough to whisper, “I love that about you,” before resuming their kiss.

There would be time for lists later.

II: First Day

Chapter 2
First Day

A buzzing filled the park, signaling the approach of a fast-moving scooter. Twilight’s ears flicked to follow the noise as she sat on the park bench. She snapped her book shut, floating it down into the saddlebag leaning against her. She directed her attention to Rainbow Dash, sprawled out over the other half of the bench, head resting on her lap, snoring loudly. Twilight gave her a solid prod.

“Hmn?” Rainbow snorted loudly and sat up, smacking her lips and blinking the sleep from her eyes. Twilight giggled. “Wha—whosat? Is Scoots here?”

“Almost.” The buzzing grew louder and Rainbow Dash hopped off the bench, stretching out her back with a satisfied groan. Twilight stared as intently and lewdly as possible, drawing a raised eyebrow from her marefriend. She winked slowly, making Rainbow color pink and stick out her tongue.

The little filly blurred into view and turned sharply, stopping with a screech. She pulled off her helmet and draped it over the handles. “Hi Rainbow Dash!” Her eyes flicked over to the bench. “And Twilight?” The unicorn grinned and waved.

“Twi’s gonna keep us company if that’s alright with you, Squirt.” Rainbow smiled at Twilight over her shoulder. “You gonna be alright, Twi’? This’ll probably be boring to watch.”

She gestured to her saddlebag. “I’ll be fine.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, a wide grin on her face. “Course ya will.” She turned back to Scootaloo and trotted across the path over to a small hill. “Alright Scoots, let’s get down to business.” Scootaloo cast a quick, questioning glance towards Twilight and followed Rainbow Dash, her wings twitching at her sides. “So I’ve seen you ridin’ around on your scooter and I know you use your wings to help you go faster. That’s good; means you’ve been working those muscles and not lettin’ ‘em sit. That’ll help us get ya up in the air. Even if you hadn’t been working ‘em out we’d probably get ya flyin’, but this’ll make it easier.”

Scootaloo frowned thoughtfully. She raised an eyebrow. “Can somepony learn to fly if they never used their wings?”

Rainbow Dash regarded the filly quietly, her eyes darting fretfully side to side as she came to a decision. “...I read a news article once about a colt who had his wings tied down ‘til he was twelve that still learned how to fly.”

“Why’d he have his wings tied down?”

Rainbow winced, gazing into Scootaloo’s questioning eyes, full of confusion and curiosity. For a moment she was lost for words. Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash settled on the blunt, but gentle truth. Most of it, anyway. “…Some ponies shouldn’t be parents, Scoots. That colt had a pretty rough life.” Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “But the point is he made it up in the air. The ponies that did that to him tried to rob him of something. When others found out about it they found him somewhere safe with ponies who loved him. He worked his flank off and it worked; he could fly, Scoots.” She settled a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “So when this gets tough, think of him. Think of him and remember that nothing’s impossible.”

Scootaloo bit her lip, her brow furrowing. “…What was his name?”

Rainbow Dash’s mouth set in a line. Her eyes darted quickly to the left and right again. “…I don’t remember. I’ll try an’ find that article somewhere so you can have a name to think about, alright?” Scootaloo’s expression remained remote. “…If it helps, I remember it said he had a lavender blue coat and dark yellow eyes. Just picture a colt about your age like that and think of his eyes when he was learning to fly. Not sad or scared, just determined. Like he was ready to take on a whole pack of timberwolves an’ two or three dragons with his bare hooves.”

Looking up to catch Rainbow’s gaze, Scootaloo’s eyes hardened. A smirk on her lips and brow drawn low and challenging, she nodded. Rainbow Dash’s voice caught in her throat for a moment and a grin broke across her face. “Eyes just like those.” She ruffled Scootaloo’s spiky mane, earning a playful giggle from the filly. “So before we get started, you got any questions?”

Scootaloo looked over her shoulder to examine her flared wings, wiggling them. She frowned and said, “My wings are kinda…small. I’ve tried more than a few times to get up even a little, but it’s like no matter how hard I flap nothin’ happens.” She turned back towards the mare, a frown on her muzzle. “I heard that Pound Cake gives Pinkie Pie a heck of a time foal-sitting ‘cause he can already fly. Is there maybe…something wrong with my wings?”

The daredevil threw a cocky grin and shook her head. “Pegasus wings come in all sizes, kid. Pound got lucky an’ has some whoppers, but big wings aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. He’ll be able to fly well enough and’ll be able to go long distances, but he’s never gonna be very fast or agile. Wings like mine are built for speed, and wings like yours are built for agility.”

Rainbow Dash leaned in close, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “You’ve met Snowflake before, right?” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “He works at the gym. Big white-coated guy with a blonde mane?” Recognition lit up her eyes and Rainbow’s wicked smirk grew. “You should check out the wings on that guy sometime. Makes you look like an albatross.” The filly giggled. “His wings get him around just fine; he’s a cadet at the Wonderbolts Academy. He isn’t gonna break any speed records, but he can make the sharpest turns I’ve ever seen. So don’t worry about your wings, kid. They’ll serve ya just fine.”

Scootaloo nodded sharply, the confident smirk back on her face. “Alright, so whadda we do first?”

Tossing her forelegs behind her, Rainbow Dash’s left wing shot down and caught her fall. Easing herself a bare inch off the ground, she pushed herself back up to eye-level with the filly. “One-winged push-ups.”

“Alright, squirt. Why don’tcha take a breather with Twilight?”

Scootaloo groaned weakly and dragged herself along the ground with her forelegs towards the bench. She pulled herself up on shaky hooves she collapsed next to the unicorn in a heap. Twilight shut her book and slid it back into her bag, offering the young pegasus a smile. “You looked great out there, Scootaloo.”

The filly pulled herself up to a sitting position and smiled weakly at Twilight. Her gaze drifted down to her hooves which she timidly tapped together.

“So how’s school going?”

“Fine,” she mumbled, eyes trained down.

“…How are Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom?”

“They’re good.”

Casting her gaze around, Twilight chewed her lip. Scootaloo continued to sheepishly tap her hooves together, shoulders rounded. Looking for something, anything to talk about, the unicorn settled on the filly’s scooter. “Your…scooter working well?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully for a moment until a light tinkling chime rung through the park. Brightening, she hopped to her hooves and cantered off towards the noise. When she came back, she had an ice cream cone floating in a glow of magic. Scootaloo’s eyes flew wide and a grin spread across her face.

“Here. Now will you stop acting like I’m about to eat your face and talk to me?” Scootaloo offered her a chagrined smile between licks. “Now what’s wrong? Did you not want me to come? I wanted to be here to cheer you on, but if it makes you feel uncomfortable…”

“N-no, it’s alright Twilight. Thanks.” She took a long slurp of her treat. “I don’t mind you being here.”

“Well, what’s with the silent treatment? You’re always so talkative with your friends.”

Scootaloo sighed, a guilty stare directed at her cone. “It’s…well, when it’s just me, most adults wanna ask about my parents.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “…I can see why you’d get tired of that and be a little nervous. Well, I promise I won’t bring it up unless it’s something you want to talk about, okay? This is about you learning how to fly, so you get to call the shots on this. Deal?”

Scootaloo smiled and nodded, slurping away at her ice cream. The filly still looked awkwardly reserved in her posture to Twilight. “Anything besides that?” Scootaloo flinched a little, raising a bewildered eyebrow. “I can tell you’re nervous. Tell me what’s wrong?”

The bookworm’s kind and understanding smile cut through Scootaloo’s nerves. Slowly scratching the back of her neck with a hoof, Scootaloo said, “Sorry…I dunno what to do around most adults. They always want me to sit still and stop fidgeting, or be quiet, or stop running around…y’know, that sorta stuff.”

Twilight smirked and pointedly darted her eyes across the sidewalk towards Rainbow Dash. The mare had started out practicing karate forms to pass the time, carefully working through choreographed kicks and strikes. At some point in her practice she had become lost in her own little world of imagination. Based on the exaggerated swings and personal sound effects she was making, Twilight guessed she was currently fighting a horde of ninjas on top of a mountain. “D’you think I’d ever tell her to sit still and stop fidgeting?”

Scootaloo broke out in a giggle. Rainbow Dash stopped mid flip-kick and quickly scrambled into a casual standing position, crossing her forelegs and eyeing the two with nervous suspicion. “…What?”

“Nothing, Rainbow!” Twilight chimed, winking at Scootaloo. The filly stifled her mirth with the last bite of her cone.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes darted back and forth and she cleared her throat. “Ready to keep goin’, Scoots?”

“You bet!” She hopped off the bench. Before crossing to the hill she turned and grinned warmly at the unicorn. “Thanks, Twilight. You’re pretty awesome.”

“You’re awesome too. Now go knock ‘em dead.” Scootaloo hurried back to the hill. Twilight grinned and pulled her book back out of the bag.

Laying on her back and hefting the small weights with her wings, Scootaloo quietly said, “I’m glad you asked Twilight to come. She’s nice.”

Rainbow glanced fondly at the mare intently reading on the bench. “That she is.”

“She gonna come all the time?”

“I’m not sure she’ll be able to come every practice, but she wants to be here when she can.” Rainbow Dash leaned in close, a slight edge of unease entering her tone. “Is that alright with you? Do you mind if she comes?”

“Sure, she can come,” Scootaloo said through grit teeth, pumping the barbells with slow and even movements. “Need someone to witness us being awesome, right?”

Rainbow Dash grinned. “Now you’re gettin’ it!” She settled on her haunches, spotting and counting reps for the resolutely working filly.

After an arduous two hours of exercise, punctuated by breaks to gulp down water and big breaths of air, Scootaloo collapsed in a sweaty and panting heap. Rainbow Dash dusted herself off and stood, a wide grin stretch across her muzzle. “You feelin’ the burn, Scoots?”

Scootaloo groaned incoherently.

“That’s the spirit. Now ya don’t wanna tear anything from workin’ too much without giving your muscles a chance to recover, so no training tomorrow. Saturday after lunch?”

Scootaloo’s moans took on an affirmative quality.

“Alright then. Time for cool-down stretches. Up on your hooves.” Rainbow cut across the filly’s protesting whines. “This is the most important part of the workout, kid. Your muscles are all warm an’ loose; stretching ‘em now means you’ll have more flexibility and range of motion. That’s really important in the air. It’s the difference between catchin’ a thermal and gettin’ thrown by a thermal. Plus, you’ll feel way better afterwards.”

Getting shakily to her hooves, Scootaloo followed along with Rainbow Dash, stretching out the muscles in her burning wings. When she was done, she sighed in relief. Folding her wings back along her sides, Scootaloo admitted Rainbow had been right; her limbs still ached but they felt loose and relaxed.

“Alright, so homework. Don’t give me that look; this is easy-peasy. Every night before you go to sleep, do fifty wing-jacks and then do those same stretches. The wing-jacks are to warm your muscles up before stretching. Don’t ever stretch on cold muscles, got it?” At a nod, Rainbow Dash continued. “It’ll hurt you before it helps. Stretchin’ every day is the most important thing you can do for this, so no skipping out. Deal?”

Scootaloo breathed out a tired, “You got it, Rainbow.”

“Alright then. You did good today, squirt. Keep it up and we’ll have you flyin’ loops in no time. I’ll catch ya Saturday.”

“Alright.” She gave her honorary big sister a tired smile. “Thanks. For helpin’ me.”

She grinned and ruffled Scootaloo’s mane fondly. “Any time, Scoots.” She turned and trotted to the park bench. “Need a lift back to the library?”

“That depends,” Twilight murmured coyly, “Are there any books you need to check out?”

“Need to check out somethin’, anyway. Now hop on, you.” Twilight giggled, slinging her saddlebag around her neck. She nimbly climbed onto Rainbow Dash’s back and the two took off, drifting lazily towards the library. Scootaloo gave them a weary wave as they left and hobbled to her scooter. Strapping on her helmet, she automatically opened her wings to push-start and nearly fell over.

“Ow…” she grimaced. Sighing, she kicked off with her hindlegs and slowly made her way through town. Grinning at the duck-shape in the shingles, Scootaloo leaned her scooter up against the wall and went into the foster house. She trudged over to the couch, collapsed face-first and groaned.

The sound of plates being set down merged with the voice emanating from the kitchen. “That you, Scootaloo?”

“Yes, Mrs. Taker.”

“Don’t forget your chores.”

The filly groaned. “I’m really tired. Rainbow Dash started teaching me to fly today. Can I get up early and do today’s chores before school tomorrow morning?”

Mrs. Taker stuck her head through the doorway, her bob-cut crimson mane framing the thoughtful frown on her straw yellow face. “Your school got the head of the weather team to teach flying? She seems too important for that.”

Scootaloo pushed herself up from the cushion. “No, Rainbow Dash said she wanted to coach me on my own.”

Her frown deepened. “Well, if this is extracurricular, it can’t get in the way of homework or chores. Or do you not want to go to that sleepover tomorrow?”

Sighing, Scootaloo dragged herself back to her hooves and cantered to the cleaning cupboard. “I’ll get my chores done, ma’am.”

“Homework, too.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Mrs. Taker returned to the kitchen. Scootaloo pulled the spray bottle and washcloth from the cupboard and slowly marched herself to the windows. She finished wiping the last pane, a small sigh of relief escaping her throat, when the front door opened. Mr. Taker stepped into the living room and set his hat on the coat hanger, running a dusky green hoof through his short-cropped salt and pepper mane.

Scootaloo recited, “Good evening, Mr. Taker,” in a drained voice, slowly trudging back to the cupboard. The stallion nodded once and cantered into the kitchen.

Mrs. Taker poked her head into the living room and said, “Dinner in an hour, Scootaloo. Homework now.” The filly nodded numbly and hoofed up the stairs. The burning pain in her wings and back had subsided to a dull throbbing, which only highlighted the tension and fatigue in the rest of her frame. She sat heavily at her desk and pulled the week’s worksheets front and center, grasping a pencil in her mouth. She blinked sluggishly and fought to focus on the math problems in front of her. She scrawled down two answers she was pretty sure were wrong when Mrs. Taker called her down to dinner.

Scootaloo made her way to the kitchen and took a seat at her small, personal table set in the corner. She ate in silence while Mr. and Mrs. Taker sat at the dining table and talked in low murmurs. The strenuous exercise suppressed Scootaloo’s appetite, but she forced herself to clean her plate; Rainbow Dash had warned her against eating too lightly and sabotaging her work-out. When she finished, she brought her dishes to the sink and washed them quickly, setting them in the drainer when she was finished and plodding from the kitchen. As she left to climb the steps, the Taker’s conversation jumped in volume. Scootaloo didn’t bother trying to listen in anymore; all she ever heard was shallow chit-chat.

Although the sun was barely halfway under the horizon, Scootaloo flopped onto her bed when she got back to her room. Just before her eyelids could drift all the way closed, they snapped open, bleary and bloodshot. “Right…” she grumbled, “Stretches…”

The pegasus pushed and pulled at her uncooperative legs, rocking back and forth on her mattress. With a grunt of effort, she thudded to the floor on her back. She whined wordlessly into her empty room. Rolling over to her stomach, she pushed herself to standing on shaky hooves. “C’mon Scootaloo, just fifty wing-jacks and some stretches. This isn’t too bad…” She opened her wings and felt sharp protests race up her spine in jolts. “Ow…”

She slowly turned her head, tentatively regarding her inviting pillow and imagining the sweet lullabies it would sing to her if she just put an ear to it. Her eyes wavered and she hung her head. “I’m just too tired,” she mumbled to herself, raising a hoof to pull back the blanket.

Dark yellow orbs, set and fierce in a sea of lavender blue, bore into her from her mind’s eye. Her head snapped back up and she firmly planted her hooves on the floor. Scootaloo set her jaw, spread her wings and began to jump. With each jump, spreading her legs out and drawing them back together, she pumped her wings up and down. She counted off to fifty through grit teeth, her violet eyes locked in a death glare with fierce, imaginary yellow ones.

III: The Sleepover

Chapter 3
The Sleepover

“Alright!” Apple Bloom shouted, pumping her hoof in the air, “I’ve been dyin’ ta do somethin’ like this!” The filly raced up the ramp to the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse, her hooves thundering across the wood.

Sweetie Belle grinned and bounced excitedly next to Scootaloo, keeping pace with the slowly cantering pegasus. “Aren’t you excited, Scoots?”

“Sure am,” she said, “Gotta make up for missing Wednesday.”

“Yeah, Apple Bloom’n I missed having you there. But you’re probably glad you didn’t come; my sister gave us make-overs.”

Scootaloo stuck out her tongue and made a retching noise, her eyes bugging out. “Yeah, maybe it was for the best.” Sweetie Belle giggled lyrically and the her friend grinned. They got to the ramp and Scootaloo sighed as her muscles ached in protest, going up the incline.

“You feelin’ alright, Scoots?”

“Yeah. I just hurt all over after yesterday.” She ruffled her wings and winced. “Rainbow Dash said It’ll get a little easier after I’ve been workin’ for a while.”

“It’s still so cool you’re learning to fly from Rainbow Dash,” the unicorn gushed, hurrying up to the landing. She turned and waited at the top, her eyes shining brightly. “I wish I had a magic coach. Mom and Dad are so busy I never really get a chance to learn anything from ‘em. Rarity’s the same way.” Sweetie huffed, but the smile didn’t leave her face. “Rainbow Dash is the best flyer around; it must be amazing learning from her.”

Scootaloo got to the landing and shook out her legs. The ache in her limbs had taken on a sharper quality throughout the day. When she was still she felt close to normal, but when she moved it was like she was trying to lift Big Macintosh off the ground. “So far all it’s been is painful.” She wrenched her head to the side and groaned in satisfaction as a ripple of pops ran up her neck. “Well, let’s go inside. Apple Bloom’s shaking the whole tree waitin’ for us.”

They joined the excitedly vibrating earth pony inside and sat in a circle, clacking their hooves together and shouting, “Cutie Mark Crusaders Sleepover!” in unison.

Apple Bloom asked, “So whaddya girls wanna do first? We got stuff for s’mores, we could tell ghost stories, play games…”

“It’s not even dark yet,” Scootaloo reasoned, “So let’s wait on the campin’ stuff. Why don’t we play a game?”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Wanna go play tag?”

The pegasus’ sore shoulders and hips groaned in protest. “How ‘bout something that doesn’t require moving?” She grimaced. “I’m sorry. I dunno how much fun I’m gonna be until I get used to all this exercising.”

Apple Bloom smiled apologetically and put a hoof on the filly’s shoulder. “That’s alright. Flyin’s really important to ya, Scoots; I know I’m not gonna give ya a hard time for workin’ yourself ragged for it.” Sweetie nodded emphatically in agreement. “I got some board games. We could play Basilisks and Ladders?”

Scootaloo smiled warmly at her friends. “You girls are the best.” Apple Bloom bounced to her hooves and hurried over to a shelf. She pulled out several board game boxes and carried them over to her friends on her back. The three fillies ran through the stack, pausing only to light their lantern when it got too dark to read the spaces, talking and laughing the whole time.

Sweetie Belle giggled, exclaiming, “You stung my bumblebee!” pulling the last piece from the board in a gentle glow of magic. “You win, Scootaloo.”

Apple Bloom boxed up the game and cantered over to the table, picking up the lantern in her teeth. She set it down in the center of the group and pulled the lid off. She turned up the flame until it was just licking the top of the lantern and grinned. “Y’all wanna make s’mores now?” At their nods she tossed Scootaloo a bag of marshmallows and hoofed over some sticks.

Scootaloo pulled the bag open and grinned maliciously. “So how ‘bout some ghost stories?”

Sweetie Belle shivered. “I’m still getting over the Olden Pony story. Is there somethin’ else we can do?”

“We could play Truth or Dare,” chimed Apple Bloom, squishing a marshmallow onto the end of her stick. “That’s always fun.”

Sweetie Belle beamed. “Okay!” Scootaloo shrugged and nodded, rotating her marshmallow over the small flame. “Who goes first?”

“Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo shouted, “Truth or Dare?”

“Dare!”

“I dare you too…” she cast her eyes around the clubhouse, her face lighting up with a grin when she spotted the broken wheel, all that remained of their ill-fated golden apple float, propped up against the wall. “…Ride that wheel like a unicycle with your forehooves!”

“That’s easy!” the earth pony hopped up and trotted briskly to the wheel. She grabbed onto the axle with her forelegs and kicked off the ground. Long red tail flopped onto the back of her head, Apple Bloom tottered around the clubhouse, zigging and zagging on the wheel. “See, what I tell ya? Piece a caa—!” Apple Bloom’s center of gravity teetered backwards and the wheel shot out from under her. It skidded into the wall and fell to an axle, wobbling like a top, while the filly fell to the floor with a thud. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hid their snickers behind forehooves while Apple Bloom rubbed her sore rump.

“Go ahead an’ laugh, girls,” she muttered. Her friends collapsed onto their backs, cackling madly. Apple Bloom’s frown slowly cracked and she rejoined the circle, laughing with them. Eventually the two sat back up, wiping the mirth from their eyes and grinning. “Alright, ya got me. Sweetie Belle! Truth or Dare!”

The filly rubbed her chin with a hoof, her lower lip pursed out. “Truth, I guess.”

Apple Bloom’s smile became predatory. “Between me an’ Scoots, who do ya like the best?”

Scowling, Sweetie Belle huffed. “That’s so not a fair question. Dare, then.”

Jumping back to her hooves, Apple Bloom grabbed Sweetie Belle by the shoulders and whispered into her ear. Scootaloo watched the unicorn’s eyes shrink to pin pricks. Her face lit up. “What is it?!”

Sweetie Belle opened her mouth, but Apple Bloom clamped a hoof over it. “You’ll see Scootaloo. S’mores first!” After they ate their treats, Apple Bloom turned the flame on the lantern down to a low flicker and skipped outside.

Scootaloo followed the other two fillies from the clubhouse, a questioning eyebrow raised as they quietly made their way through the orchards. They entered the farm yard and snuck towards the house, creeping over to a pile of hay. Apple Bloom surreptitiously peeked over their cover. The farmhouse lay dark against the evening sky, a lone beam of amber shining bright from an upstairs window.

“Perfect!” Apple Bloom chimed, her voice pitched in a low stage whisper. “Looks like my big sis is still awake. Alright, Sweetie Belle, go for it!”

The filly swallowed heavily, craning her neck around the hay before slowly crossing the thirty feet of open space between their hiding spot and the front porch.

Scootaloo’s raised brow grew higher. “What’s she—”

“Hush, Scoots. Just you watch an’ see,” Apple Bloom said with a small giggle.

The little unicorn, head low to the ground and tail tucked around her, took quick but tiny steps, closing the gap as quickly but quietly as possible. At the edge of the porch, Scootaloo could see her friend’s chest heave in and out with several deep and steadying breaths. A trembling hoof settled on the step up to the landing and slowly pulled Sweetie Belle onto the porch. With tiny, controlled steps, she made her way soundlessly to the house. She rose onto her hindlegs and grasped the pull-string to the brass bell hanging by the door in her teeth. Scootaloo’s grinning face, stained with mischief, turned towards Apple Bloom. “Ding dong ditch?”

“Yep,” she snickered, “Three times.”

“You’re evil.”

“Why, thank you kindly.”

Sweetie Belle’s chest heaved with a deep breath and she swung her head violently, bringing the bell to riotous life. She dropped the chord from her jaw and sprang off the porch, galloping with abandon across the yard. The jangling continued to roll through the air as she dived head first into the hay pile, wriggling out the other side to join her friends, stray bits of gold caught in her mane.

They peered around the edges of their cover, watching light flood out of the bay window. Applejack’s silhouette was framed in the open doorway. Her Stetson turned side to side as she searched the porch. The fillies heard indistinct muttering as Applejack shut the door. The downstairs window went dark a moment later.

Apple Bloom stifled a giggle behind a hoof. “Alright, now go do it again.”

“Wait a minute!” Sweetie Belle balked, “Let her get all the way upstairs first!” Scootaloo joined the earth filly in clamping hooves over muzzle, playfully poking Sweetie in the ribs. “Knock it off, I’ll go in a minute!” she hissed.

After several minutes of silence from the house, Sweetie Belle stepped with trepidation from their hiding spot, her trek across the yard even more skittish. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both had their hooves shoved tightly against their mouths to contain their laughter, tears springing to their eyes from the strain. The little unicorn got back to the porch, her small frame vibrating with nervousness. She grabbed the cord and rung the bell again, launching herself from the porch after two rings.

She tripped over her hooves and went sprawling in the dirt halfway to the hay pile. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom both lost the reins on their giggles as she scrambled back to standing and hurled herself the rest of the distance, collapsing against the two laughing fillies and taking large gulps of air. They quieted down, watching the light flood the yard again.

“Anypony out there?” The farm pony’s voice was tinged with annoyance. She thunked the door shut and cast the yard back into darkness. The three could hear the sound sound of tromping hooves going up stairs dully reverberating from the house.

“Aw man, she’s mad now, AB,” Sweetie Belle whispered with worry, “I did it twice, that’s good enough.”

“The dare was three times.” Apple Bloom smirked wickedly. “Or do ya want to tell us which one you like the best?”

The filly grumbled loudly. “Alright, alright. But I’m gonna wait a while, so she’ll calm down.”

They hunkered down to wait, watching the house around the hay. The adrenaline slowly worked its way out of Sweetie Belle’s system, her jitters ebbing away and her breathing evening out. After a while, she set her jaw and headed across the yard, her steps quiet, but bold. Easing onto the porch, she turned and waved with a grin on her face. As she grasped the string, the door swung open.

“Aha!” Applejack shouted. Sweetie Belle shrieked and scrambled backwards, taking off across the yard. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom joined her gallop back through the orchards, the mare’s cry of, "Apple Bloom! Y'all girls better knock it off, 'fore I tan your hide!" echoing through the trees. They giggled madly as they ran back to the clubhouse, flopping around the lantern’s tiny light and breathing heavily.

“Alright, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle said with a breathless chuckle, “Truth or Dare?”

The pegasus’ muscles screamed in protest when she sat up. “Ooh, better go with truth. And don’t you make me have to choose between you two or anything.”

Sweetie sat up, rubbing her face with a hoof. “I can’t think of any questions…You have any, Apple Bloom?”

Eyes lighting up, Apple Bloom leaned forward over the lantern. “I got a good one.”

Scootaloo groaned. “You’re gonna ask me somethin’ awful and make me do a dare, aren’t you? Everything hurts, AB!”

“Okay, how’s this? I’ll ask a question we all haveta answer an’ I’ll go first. That fair?”

Frowning and nodding appreciatively, Scootaloo said, “Alright, shoot.”

“Do y’all have a crush on anypony an’ who d’ya think’s the cutest colt in class?” Apple Bloom giggled, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. “I Pinkie Promise it’ll stay between us if’n y’all do, too.”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a wide-eyed glance. They turned to Apple Bloom and nodded mutely. The three mimed the promise’s hoof motions together before Apple Bloom gushed, “I got a crush on Rumble.” Her muzzle burned red as she bounced in her seat. “He’s such a cute colt, an’ he ain’t got his cutie mark neither!” She giggled and clapped her forehooves together.

Sweetie Belle smiled warmly. “Rumble’s a great choice! He’s really nice.”

“Yeah, he is,” Scootaloo agreed, “You gonna ask him to be your special somepony, Apple Bloom?”

The filly flinched, her blush darkening to match her brother’s coat. “I couldn’t do that!” she cried. “What if he said no? I’d be too embarrassed. I wouldn’t be able to show my face at school ever again!”

Frowning, Scootaloo placed a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “It wouldn’t be that bad, AB. Nopony would laugh at you about it. They’d all forgot it happened a week later, even if Rumble told his friends.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, her hoof settling on the other shoulder. “And I know if somepony I wasn’t interest in asked me on a date, I wouldn’t go around telling everypony about it and hurting their feelings. Rumble’s a nice colt; he wouldn’t do somethin’ mean like that.”

She gave her friends a tentative smile. “Thanks girls. But I couldn’t say anythin’ to him; I’d be too nervous. So how ‘bout you, Scoots? Who d’ya have a crush on?”

Scootaloo pulled her hoof away and bit her lip. She shrunk down in her sitting position. “I…don’t, really.”

“Aw, c’mon Scoots!” Apple Bloom chimed, the color already gone from her cheeks. “There’s gotta be somepony that caught yer eye!”

She shifted on her haunches, casting her eyes down. “Not really. I mean, Rumble’s nice and so’s Featherweight, but I haven’t thought about, like, goin’ on dates with them…I haven’t thought about that at all.” Her eyes wavered; she felt like a little foal.

Apple Bloom frowned. “I don’t believe it; c’mon Scoots we Pinkie Promised not ta tell. We won’t make fun of ya.”

“I believe her,” Sweetie Belle said gently, Scootaloo lifting her head at the tone. “I believe her, ‘cause I haven’t thought about it either. A lot of the colts at school are nice, but I just haven’t felt like that towards any of ‘em.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes were wide and her jaw was slack. “You mean neither of you’ve thought about dates or if somepony was cute?” Scootaloo shook her head. A frown creased Sweetie Belle’s muzzle and she opened her mouth, but quickly snapped it shut and shook her head as well. “Well, alright then…I guess it’s your turn now, Scoots.”

The game petered out after a handful of questions and dares apiece and devolved into idle conversation and laughter. When the flame of the lantern began to gutter from a lack of oil, they rolled out their sleeping bags and curled up to sleep. After getting comfortable, Scootaloo groaned and scooched her way out of the bag and ran through her fifty wing-jacks and stretches. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle bit their lips to keep from chuckling. Scootaloo hurried through the routine and to her relief found it easier than the previous evening. Once finished, she snuggled back into her bag next to her friends, and they talked in whispered giggles into the night.

A skittering squeak roused Scootaloo to wakefulness. She perked her head up and peered through the inky night towards the door. A lone branch from a neighboring tree rattled against the door frame in the wind, its bare ends dragging along the boards of the clubhouse. The filly rolled her eyes and flopped back against her pillow. The breeze ruffled her mane and she rolled away, facing Sweetie Belle’s quivering bag. She raised an eyebrow.

Before she could open her mouth to see if the unicorn was awake, Sweetie Belle rolled over and wrapped a foreleg around Scootaloo. The filly’s shivering subsided as she pulled Scootaloo closer in her sleep.

Scootaloo blinked rapidly, pressed up against her friend’s bag. She moved to pull away but Sweetie Belle’s grip tightened. Slowly, she nestled back into the bag’s pillow, wide-eyed and watching Sweetie’s face as she slept.

A smile spread across her muzzle as she quietly lay in her friend’s embrace. In the added warmth, her eyelids grew heavy and she slowly nodded off to sleep.

Author's Note

Howdy.

So do to a slight error on my end when this first went live, I didn't end up writing an Author's Note on the first update. Ah well.

This story is estimated to finish up at about 55,000 words, with around 40,000 currently drafted. With a chapter a week update planned on Monday, I should finish drafting well before I run out of chapters to put online. Once I'm done drafting, the updates will be expanded to chapters on Monday and Wednesday. I post weekly production blogs on Sundays, so you can always check in to see progress on this story and get an idea of when the update schedule will speed up.

Thanks very much for reading, folks. It's always wonderful to see your comments.

IV: Discoveries

Chapter 4
Discoveries

Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings. “Ready to go, Scoots?”

The filly nodded, dropping down to her belly and extending one wing to the ground. “One-winged, right?”

“Yep! Three sets of ten this time.” The older mare counted off as Scootaloo raised and lowered her upper body, teeth clenched tight. Scootaloo woke up feeling close to normal and after a relaxing morning and filling lunch, she arrived at the park ready to work. “Alright, one set done, left wing now.” As Scootaloo switched limbs, she turned and faced Twilight quietly reading at the bench. A contemplative frown spread across her muzzle as she pumped through the set. “Alright, thirty second rest.”

“Hey, Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said quietly, her belly pressed to the grass and small wings fluttering to shake out the strain, “I’m glad she’s here, but…why is Twilight here exactly?”

“Hmn?” Rainbow glanced at the stop-watch. “Next set, right wing again.” She continued to talk, counting out reps as she spoke. “Twi’ wanted you to have a cheering section and keep us company. Alright, next set on the left.”

Scootaloo pushed herself hard, moving past the strain, working to conquer the discomfort and render it a victory instead of a fear. Her frequent breaks were punctuated by breathless panting and massive consumption of water. Half the time, instead of talking with the filly on her breaks, Twilight thought Scootaloo would just pass out on the bench. Yet every time Rainbow Dash called her back, Scootaloo bolted up and charged in grinning.

An hour into the regimen, Twilight had stopped reading entirely. She marveled at Scootaloo’s perseverance; sympathetic winces crinkling her muzzle at the sheer amount of sweat and effort evident on the small pegasus’ face and body. Book forgotten in her lap, Twilight silently cheered the filly on through her strenuous undertaking. The breaks during the second hour were filled with Twilight praising Scootaloo’s work ethic.

“Alright!” Rainbow called, “That’s it for the day. How ya feel?”

“Like I got run over by an apple cart.”

“Perfect! Just lay there for a minute. I’m gonna go talk to Twilight. After that, time for stretches.”

The mare cantered off across the sidewalk and sat in front of Twilight. Scootaloo watched the two talk quietly from the ground. She couldn’t make out the words, but the bright grins they exchanged would have been clear to read at a hundred paces. Twilight’s body shook with laughter and she struck Rainbow Dash in the shoulder before the pegasus turned around. She swept her tail sharply as she turned, the colorful hairs raking across Twilight’s face. The unicorn bit down on the mare’s tail and tugged sharply. Stumbling backwards, Rainbow Dash planted her hooves and tugged back, almost dragging Twilight off the bench. Their laughter rang across the park as Rainbow trotted back towards Scootaloo.

Getting to her hooves, Scootaloo smiled warmly towards Twilight; the unicorn was beaming brightly, hindlegs swinging back and forth off the edge of the bench. “You and Twilight are pretty close, huh?”

“Well yeah,” the older mare chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Kinda goes with the territory.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Whaddya mean?”

“Scoots,” Rainbow deadpanned, “Twi’s my special somepony, of course we’re close.”

Eyes wide and wings flaring out of the stretch routine in surprise, Scootaloo gaped. “W-what?”

“You mean…you didn’t know?” Numbly, the filly shook her head. “Huh. I thought everypony knew by now. Err…sorry for not tellin’ ya sooner, squirt.” The daredevil shifted uncomfortably on her hooves.

“But…you’re both mares.”

Rainbow Dash inhaled sharply. She searched the younger pegasus’ face carefully. There was no revulsion or judgement etched into her features, only confusion, and Rainbow breathed a steady exhalation of relief. It was clear as day in her expression; Scootaloo had never heard of such a thing. The blue mare twitched her wings awkwardly. ‘This isn’t my job. I shouldn’t be the one talking to her about this,’ she thought. Her mouth opened and her throat worked, but she snapped her jaw shut again. ‘Whose job is it then?’

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “Scootaloo, do you know what ‘gay’ means?” she asked quietly, stiltedly picking over her words. At the filly’s slow shake of her head, she continued, “A gay pony is a mare who likes other mares, or a stallion who likes other stallions.” She sat down slowly scratching the back of her mane with a hoof. “And I mean like-like, not just as friends. There aren’t as many gay ponies as there are straight ones…Which, uh, that’s the name for, like, stallions who like mares. Anyway, it’s not as common…I think Twilight told me once that, like, one out of every four mares is gay. Stallions are different…she said it had somethin’ to do with how many mares there are compared to stallions, I dunno.” Rainbow Dash blinked and mentally admonished herself for rambling.

She shook her head quickly and refocused on Scootaloo. The filly’s eyes were still wide, but had filled with dawning comprehension. Despite the waver in her voice and sweat on her brow, she breathed in and steeled her resolve. “That’s what being gay is, and that’s all that it means. Some ponies have silly ideas about it and think being gay makes a mare more likely to play sports or a stallion like to play with dolls, but that’s wrong. It’s just about who a pony can fall in love with and it’s completely normal. Do, uh…” she coughed nervously, wanting the conversation to be over and hoping she hadn’t said the wrong thing, “Do ya have any questions?”

Scootaloo slowly sank to her haunches, her eyes distant and mouth slack. Her brow knit together as she vacantly said, “…That makes…so much sense.” She lifted her head, her bewildered gaze focused in on Rainbow Dash. “I’ve seen Lyra and Bon Bon sharing a milkshake together. I feel like an idiot!”

Rainbow Dash let out a breathless chuckle, the rigid muscles in her shoulders unclenching in a crashing wave. “Don’t worry about it, squirt. Just not somethin’ anypony talked to ya about yet.” She rested a hoof on the filly’s shoulder and they exchanged a silent smile. As she locked her gaze with Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo felt a squirming flutter in the pit of her stomach. The connection she felt with Rainbow was foreign and unfamiliar, but she cherished it, grasping at the feeling in her mind. She half-wished for the moment to last forever. Rainbow Dash ruffled her mane and said, “Now about those stretches…”

Scootaloo clambered back to her hooves and got to work, finishing up her stretches. She waved lightly to the two mares and took off on her scooter, wincing when her wings unfurled and opting to push it with a hindleg instead. Grinning, Twilight leapt onto Rainbow’s back and the two took to the air.

Flying into Twilight’s bedroom, Rainbow Dash clattered her hooves down on the wooden floorboards. Twilight hopped off her lightly and the pegasus turned around and buried her face in the unicorn’s chest, groaning miserably. “That was awful,” she whined.

Twilight stared wide-eyed at the pegasus currently tunneling face-first into her soft coat. “What’s wrong? I thought Scootaloo did terrifically today.”

Rainbow moaned loudly, hugging the unicorn close with her wings. “Twilight…I just had to explain gayness to Scoots.”

“Ooh, ouch.” She wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck, gently petting her windswept mane. “How’d that go?”

“Okay, I guess. Don’t think I messed up too badly.” She smiled vaguely up at Twilight, her cheek pressed firmly into the unicorn’s chest. “I mean, she didn’t become a Cutie Mark Holy-War Crusader and try ta burn us with torches, so that’s a bonus.”

Twilight grinned and planted a soft kiss on the mare’s forehead. “I’m sure you did wonderfully. You’re really good with her. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

“You’re good with her, too. She really likes havin’ you there,” she said, sitting up and smiling fondly at her marefriend. Rainbow leaned in slowly and their muzzles met, Twilight’s grip around her neck tightening and her wings around Twilight’s back pulling them close. She nuzzled the side of Twilight’s face and whispered, “I like havin’ you there, too.”

“Mm,” Twilight tousled the back of her marefriend’s mane, “I like being there. I thought I might be bored, but I didn’t even get two sentences read. You’re right about her; she’s a good kid. A great kid.” Twilight smirked, pressing her face strongly into Rainbow Dash’s nuzzles. “And ‘gayness,’ Rainbow? Hasn’t your vocabulary expanded even a little after all that reading you’ve done?”

“Now, Twilight, be fair. Most of the time I’m readin’ around you I’m actually staring at your ass.”

Twilight’s chuckle slowly faded to a frown. “…You know…I don’t understand why Scootaloo’s caretakers hadn’t given her ‘the gay talk’ yet.”

Kissing the base of the bookworm’s jaw, Rainbow stood and stretched out her legs, wings folding back at her sides. She cantered to the glass doorway leading out to the balcony and sat on her haunches, staring out into the blue afternoon sky. “Doesn’t surprise me. I know the type.”

“Oh?” Twilight levitated the saddlebag off her neck and dropped it on her desk, cantering over to her vanity and grabbing a hairbrush. “What type?”

“They’re there, but not really.” She frowned, tapping her chin. “Scoots has food and a bed and somepony to tell her to do homework and brush her teeth and all that junk, but they’re not there if that makes sense. They’re foster parents, y’know? Takin’ care of Scoots is their job. They’ll take her to the doctor if she gets sick, make sure she’s doin’ okay in school, all that sorta stuff, but for the rest of it Scoots is on her own.”

Twilight frowned into the mirror, straightening the flight from the park out of her mane. From her vantage point, she didn’t see the shadow cross over Rainbow Dash’s face. “Well…Scootaloo’s lucky then.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes refocused and she turned a raised eyebrow towards the unicorn. “Lucky?”

“She’s got you looking out for her.”

Rainbow Dash smiled affectionately and cantered over to the vanity. She extended her wing, holding up two of her primaries to give Twilight’s reflection a pair of sky blue bunny ears. “So what’ve you got goin’ on the rest of the day?”

“Go on; I saw your wings fidgeting all through that training. Go practice your stunts. I’ll be fine; I got an experiment to run in the basement.”

Rainbow caught the side of Twilight’s muzzle with a peck. “Love ya, babe. I’ll catch ya for dinner.” Twilight caught her quickly retreating chin with a hoof and gave Rainbow a proper kiss. Grinning, the pegasus flapped her wings and flashed out of the tree through her window. Twilight dropped her brush and cantered down the stairs.

Halfway to the main room she called out, “Spike!”

She heard a brief scrambling before Spike stuck his head out of the door to his bedroom. “What’s up, Twilight?”

Twilight grinned brightly. “To the basement, Spike! It’s time for science!”

“Alright, class,” Cheerilee chimed, setting her piece of chalk on the desk, “Time for recess!”

A rush of noise filled the small classroom as the foals rushed out through the door. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stopped midway to the door and turned expectantly towards Scootaloo. The pegasus filly blinked herself out of her thoughts and shook her head, leaping from her desk and bolting to join her friends, a sheepish smile on her face.

Apple Bloom frowned, holding the door open for the trio. “Everythin’ alright there, Scoots? You been awful distracted all day.”

Scootaloo zoomed past the pair and tackled a spare rubber ball before it could be snagged by any other foal. Smirking triumphantly, she cocked an eyebrow at Apple Bloom. “What was that?”

Smiling and shaking her head, Apple Bloom followed her friends over to the painted grid of a four-square court. Scootaloo took the serving square, Apple Bloom the second, and Sweetie Belle the third. Before Scootaloo could serve, she heard the sound of somepony clearing their throat.

Rumble stood just out of the court, a tentative smile on his face. “You mind if I join?”

Scootaloo glanced sideways, trying not to smirk at the pink dotting Apple Bloom’s cheeks. “Sure, the more the merrier!” Wings fluttering with excitement, Rumble hopped into the last square. “Alright, let’s get started!”

Scootaloo served the ball to Apple Bloom and the game started with little competition. Easy serves bounced merrily between the four, with a simple bump of a hoof or muzzle sending it onto the next pony. After a dozen passes the pace picked up, with harder hits sending the ball faster and at more difficult to return angles. A sharp smack from Rumble flew straight through Sweetie Belle’s hooves and the two switched places.

Dribbling the retrieved ball, Scootaloo grinned and said, “Okay, this round we’re playin’ Around-Equestria.” She served once again to Apple Bloom and the ball went around the grid in a clockwise pattern. Several serves in, Apple Bloom started giggling as she passed to Rumble. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and focused on the ball, intercepting Sweetie Belle’s serves to send them towards her goofy friend.

Scootaloo wasn’t certain, but she thought Rumble might have started picking up on Apple Bloom’s demeanor. He fumbled awkwardly and nearly missed a few easy passes, nervously darting his eyes to and from the earth filly. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged an amused grin, silently agreeing to give the two as much privacy as a four-square court would allow.

Rumble’s distraction caught up with him and he overshot a hit out of bounds. A line of foals waiting turns had formed and Rumble retreated to the back of the line. Shortly into the third round, Apple Bloom missed an easy pass and joined him at the back of the queue, leaving Sweetie Belle in the second spot and two colts making up the other end.

“Okay,” Scootaloo said with a smirk, “Double-taps.” Competition picked up with the new colts, despite the limitation of return serves bouncing in a player’s own square first. One of the colts overshot and rounds began to go rapid-fire, rotating the line and players at an exhilarating pace.

Two days fresh from a work-out and several days in a row of a stretch regimen, Scootaloo was a force to be reckoned with. Returning difficult serves and knocking other players out of the game without breaking a sweat, the filly held onto her serving position round after round. She noted with amusement that Apple Bloom once again missed immediately after Rumble, but kept her focus on the game. Sweetie Belle lost her place and made a complete circuit in the queue, playing and losing a turn again, before Scootaloo finally gave up her position.

Seeing her friend finally waiting in the line, Sweetie Belle let a few foals cut in front of her to stand next to Scootaloo. “You’re on fire, today.”

Grinning, the pegasus cleaned the back of her hoof on her chest. “I am pretty awesome like that.”

Sweetie smiled and struck Scootaloo in the shoulder. “And as modest as Rainbow Dash.”

“Well, duh,” she agreed with a wink. “Havin’ fun?”

“Sure.” She scanned ahead in line, catching sight of Apple Bloom laughing at something Rumble had said. She turned back to Scootaloo and dropped her voice to a whisper. “Think Apple Bloom’s gonna ask Rumble out?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Dunno.” She craned her neck around the line and watched the two with a contemplative frown. “She should. It looks like Rumble’d say yes.” The gray colt’s cheeks were pretty far away, but Scootaloo thought she might be able to detect some color even at her current distance. “Think we should gang up on her an’ make her ask?”

Sweetie Belle tapped her chin, peering around the crowd. “I don’t think she’d be keen on that. Maybe we should leave it alone.”

“But Rumble’s totally into her!” she ribbed the unicorn with a knee, “We at least gotta tell her he looks interested. Maybe she’ll get the guts to ask then.”

“Yeah, alright.” Sweetie frowned. “Let’s just not go all Cheerilee and Big Mac on them, yeah?”

A shiver ran down Scootaloo’s spine. “Yeah, definitely.” The two shared a small giggle as the line slowly advanced. As she watched Apple Bloom from the distance, her expression grew contemplative and a frown creased her muzzle.

Eyeing her friend, Sweetie Belle jabbed Scootaloo in the shoulder. “That’s the same look you had earlier. What’s up, Scoots?”

“Hmn?” Scootaloo shook her head. “Just thinkin’ about stuff.”

“What stuff?”

She huffed. “Just about the sleepover…” a nervousness stole over the filly, but as she looked at Sweetie Belle it eased away without a fight. She cleared her throat, speaking quietly, but with no hesitation. “Maybe it’s silly, but I kinda feel like a baby for not thinkin’ about special someponies yet.” Her frown deepened. “I mean, it’s bad enough I haven’t gotten my cutie mark yet. We started crusadin’ three years ago, Sweetie! Everypony else got their marks when they were nine! And now AB’s interested in colts…”

“Hey,” she set a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder, offering an understanding smile. “You’re not a baby, Scoots, and nopony thinks you are. None of us three have our marks yet, but we’ll get ‘em. And so you haven’t got a crush on anypony. Big deal. You’re learning how to fly from Rainbow Dash! That’s not something that babies get to do.”

Scootaloo smiled wanly, her eyes trained on Apple Bloom and Rumble, both playing in the four-square game. “I just don’t get it, Sweetie. I mean…Rumble’s a cool guy. But why? What’s she see? How’d she know?” She glanced around at the other foals across the playground, from colt to colt, confusion chiseled into her features. “How’d she pick him out of anypony else?”

The line parted in front of them, Sweetie Belle next in the game and Scootaloo directly behind her. The unicorn leaned in conspiratorially, her voice low. “She just did. When she looks at Rumble or thinks about him, she feels kinda fluttery and weird and she can’t help smiling. She couldn’t help it.”

The melancholy on Sweetie’s voice filled her with confusion. Brow furrowed, Scootaloo opened her mouth as one of the fillies in the game missed a pass. Sweetie Belle hopped into the court and Scootaloo closed her jaw again. The introspective shadow didn’t leave her face for the remainder of the free period and she never got back into the game enough to reclaim her serving position. She followed the rest of the class back inside with a frown on her face.

Rainbow Dash eyed her stopwatch as Scootaloo finished her fast warm-up. “Ready for the speed test?”

The filly shook out her fuzzy head, a little out of breath from racing through the exercises. “Why’re we doin’ this again?”

She fiddled with the watch. “Because. We spent a couple’a days training ta get you loosened up and your muscles in the habit of working hard. Now we’re gonna see your base level so we know where you’re at and where you need to get to.”

“Uh-huh,” Scootaloo nodded weakly, lowering down on shaky hooves.

Rainbow smirked. “Alright, go!” Her hoof clapped down on the stopwatch. The filly grunted, pushing through the discomfort, racing through the wing push-ups. Teeth grit and sweat pouring from her brow, she bobbed up and down at a rapid pace. Rainbow Dash’s eyes darted back and forth between her and the stop-watch. “That’s thirty, Scoots, keep goin’!”

“Ugh.” She pumped her wings, willing the tremors away, daring to keep her chest from getting any closer than a hair’s breadth from the tops of the blades of grass.

“Aaand time!” she called, switching off the watch. Scootaloo flopped onto the sod, moaning. “Fifty five wing-ups in a minute, Scoots! That was awesome!”

The little pegasus rolled onto her back, wiping at her forehead with a hoof. “That was awful…”

Rainbow snorted and shook her head. “No pain, no gain, right Squirt?” Scootaloo moaned in response. “We’re aiming for over eighty in a minute. Ya get up to that and you should be strong enough for some long-distance hovering.” She grinned, looming over the panting filly. “You keep working like this and we’ll have you up in the air in no time.”

Smiling faintly, Scootaloo struggled up to her haunches, facing the older mare as she puzzled over the timer. “You really think so?”

“Hard worker like you? No sweat!”

Scootaloo’s heart pounded and her eyes wavered. She looked down quickly, willing herself even keel. She fought to keep her voice even. “…Thanks, Rainbow Dash. It…I…I’m glad you think I can do it.”

Rainbow clapped her on the back, most of her attention diverted towards fiddling with the stopwatch. “Course you can do it.” She muttered under her breath at the contraption, flipping it around in the grip of both forelegs and a wing. She turned towards the bench, raising her voice to an irritated yell. “Twilight, how do you reset this stupid thing?”

“Third button on the side!” she called back.

Rainbow grumbled, “I knew that,” under her breath and tossed the timer, now reset, to the grass. She pushed the edge mostly out of her voice, shouting an almost pleasant, “Thank you, Twi’!” to the unicorn.

“You’re welcome, Fluff-head!”

Rainbow shot her a nasty look. Scootaloo started giggling and got the mare’s ire directed at herself. “Alright, squirt, back to work.”

Still snickering, Scootaloo followed along through an hour of exercising. Wings already complaining from the speed test, she set her jaw and fought through the routines. Taking the usual breaks with Twilight at the bench, she chugged water and pictured yellow eyes watching her to keep from trying to throw in the towel. The filly thought Rainbow was perhaps being malicious that day, slamming her through even more strenuous exercise than the previous sessions. When cartwheels got added, she was sure of it. Midway through relay sprinting, the clacking of hooves on cobbled sidewalk drew the group’s attention.

Mrs. Taker cantered briskly into the park, her muzzle pressed into a thin line. Scootaloo shrunk back from the look, swallowing heavily. She quickly trotted to meet her foster parent.

“Scootaloo,” she started, her tone flat and disapproving, “Ms. Cheerilee stopped by today. She said your math work was not completed last week.”

Scootaloo winced, recalling the haze of fatigue she struggled through the previous Thursday. “I, uh—”

“No excuses. Incomplete homework is unacceptable.” Rainbow Dash cantered over to the sidewalk, one brow firmly raised. Mrs. Taker turned her attention to the daredevil and offered a beleaguered smile. “Ms. Rainbow Dash. I appreciate that you’re taking an interest in Scootaloo learning to fly, but if this is going to interfere with her schoolwork, I must insist that it stop.”

Scootaloo sunk to her haunches, mouth agape. Her sore wings trembled at her sides, her mind working desperately to wrap her head around the situation. Her throat bobbed uselessly.

The thin line on Mrs. Taker’s face barely cracked as she said, “Now, back to the house, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo numbly got to her hooves. The small sounds of nature grew inscrutable over the thundering pulse in her ears. Three plodding paces to her scooter, Rainbow’s voice cut through the stillness. “Now hold on, learning to fly is really important for Scootaloo. You can’t make her quit.”

“Excuse me?” She turned to the pegasus, her brow knitting together. “I’m looking out for Scootaloo’s best interests, and falling behind further in her studies is not one of them, thank you.”

Rainbow opened her mouth, eyes drawn down in challenge and teeth bared, when Twilight talked over her, voice smooth and reasoned. “You really shouldn’t make her stop.” She stepped next to her marefriend, a firm frown on her lips. “Far be it from me to discourage study and academic achievement, but flying is an important aspect of pegasus culture; you’d be denying Scootaloo a vital part of her identity. It’s wrong.”

Mrs. Taker’s face battled between hard-set and surprised. “You’re…Twilight Sparkle, correct?” The unicorn nodded. “Well…I would have preferred to meet Princess Celestia’s protégé under better circumstances.” The surprise fled her features, replaced by indignation. “I appreciate your concern, but school comes first.” She turned to leave.

“School is very important, Mrs…”

Barely injecting any carrying strength into her voice, Scootaloo supplied, “Taker.”

“…Mrs. Taker, but this goes beyond just school.” The mare’s voice filled with passionate conviction, drawing a pause from the earth pony. Twilight glanced at Mrs. Taker’s cutie mark; the bud of a flower beginning to open adorned her flank. “Pegasus magic is very similar to earth pony magic. While you’re not a farmer, can I assume you have a flower garden?”

Frowning in thought, Mrs. Taker turned back to Twilight. “…Yes, I do.” The mare’s gaze turned distant and vague, lost in introspection. “I never had any luck at growing plants for food or flowers for bouquets, but I could always keep the frailest sprouts alive.” A reminiscent smile spread across her face. “That’s what my cutie mark means. I can nurture anything.”

Twilight stepped forward, the hard expression on her face and solid tone in her voice growing more insistent. “And how would you feel if somepony kept you from ever growing another plant again?” Mrs. Taker flinched. Twilight’s voice continued to grow in volume and vehemence. “Scootaloo deserves to learn how to fly. Denying that part of her life, that part of her heritage, is like stamping a flower to paste! It’s heartless and cruel!”

Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo gaped at the unicorn. Head lowered and nostrils flared, with legs widely planted apart, she almost looked ready to gore Mrs. Taker with her horn. They blinked at each other dazedly before turning to the earth pony.

Mrs. Taker did not seem fazed by Twilight’s aggression, but her expression grew puzzled. A thick silence settled over the afternoon air. Eventually, the mare said, “…I never thought of it that way…” She frowned thoughtfully at Scootaloo, sizing her up in the way that always made the filly feel like she was a tomato being squeezed to check for freshness. After a long pause, Mrs. Taker turned to Twilight and began again. “…I suppose you’re right.”

A smile spread across Scootaloo’s muzzle as Mrs. Taker readdressed Rainbow Dash. “If it’s as Ms. Twilight Sparkle says about pegasi,” Rainbow nodded fervently in agreement, “Then it would be just as destructive to make her neglect flying as it is her schoolwork.” She frowned again the filly. “This doesn’t solve your study problems, Scootaloo. You’ll have to make extra time for schoolwork.”

Twilight chimed in, “I can tutor her.” Three faces turned back towards the unicorn. Twilight’s calm and inquisitive face stood in sharp contrast to the challenging look from just moments before. “You said she’s struggling, right?” She looked towards Scootaloo, offering a small smile. “Maybe you just need somepony to talk you through things.”

Mrs. Taker’s eyes brightened. “The princess’ protégé! Now there’s a tutor!” Her eyes widened at the distinct greediness in her voice. She cleared her throat, dropping down into a more gracious tone. “If you’re offering, I’m accepting.”

Twilight’s eyes remained locked on the filly. “That alright with you, Scootaloo?”

Scootaloo’s eyes felt warm. She didn’t understand what had just happened, or why Twilight had offered to help her. She cleared her throat and forced out, “Y-yeah, Twilight. Thank you.” A pregnant silence filled the park.

“…Well then,” Mrs. Taker began, shifting uncomfortably on her hooves, “I suppose that clears everything up.” She extended a hoof to Twilight. After a brief shake, she thrust it towards Rainbow Dash. The pegasus cocked an eyebrow and shook hooves with the mare, her expression bewildered. Mrs. Taker nodded once to Scootaloo and trotted back the way she came.

Scootaloo sunk to her haunches, looking at the ground. She glanced at both mares, each smiling at her, and looked away quickly, embattled with the overwhelming emotion pulling at her chest. She bit her lip. The filly desperately wanted to ask why. Why they had both interjected themselves on her behalf. Why they bothered. But she didn’t know how to ask; the words failing to coalesce in her mind into a sensible pattern.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “So…sprint relays?”

Scootaloo nodded numbly, climbing back to her hooves. She followed Rainbow back onto the grass and poured herself into the workout. The strain of exertion acted as a catharsis on her mind, soothing away her war-torn emotions. When it was time to go home, she felt blessedly empty.

Twilight grinned as Scootaloo retrieved her scooter. “Come around to the library after you get out of school tomorrow. We’ll figure out what’s giving you so much trouble.”

Scootaloo nodded. “See ya then.” She hopped on her scooter and kicked off, clattering along the sidewalk towards home.

Rainbow Dash sidled up to her marefriend. “Well, that was awkward.”

“Mm.” Twilight watched the filly drift out of sight. “…I see what you meant about not really being there,” she muttered darkly. “I’ll bet you ten bits she was happier about the fact that Scootaloo is being tutored by Princess Celestia’s protégé than she is that Scootaloo’s being tutored at all.” She ran her tongue over her teeth, attempting to displace an imagined distaste in her mouth. “It wasn’t that flying was important to Scootaloo that got her to change her mind. It was the thought of leaving something out that got to her. She’s just going through the motions. I wonder if all foster parents are like that.”

Shrugging noncommittally, Rainbow wrapped a wing around Twilight. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

“Yeah…” Twilight frowned deeply, nuzzling into the pegasus’ neck. “…I get why you were so worried now. We’ve gotta do right by her. The both of us.”

Rainbow regarded her marefriend quietly for several moments in the still park. She lifted a hoof to Twilight’s chin and pulled her into a fierce and burning kiss. When she broke away, her wing tight around the unicorn’s middle and hoof stroking long and straight mane, she murmured, “Scoots’ lucky she’s got you lookin’ out for her.”

Twilight chewed her lower lip, willing the heat from her cheeks and her breaths to even out. “…She’s a good kid.”

Wordlessly, she climbed onto Rainbow’s back and they took off towards the library.

Author's Note

I'm unsure how 'universal' four-square is around the globe; Wikipedia assures me it's fairly common, but I'm sure it's not quite as expansively 'everywhere' as it is here in America. It's called a lot of other things, like hardball, boxball, king's corner, and dozens more, so maybe you played it but just didn't know it by that name. Here's the Wikipedia entry on the game if it's a foreign idea to you.

It was so quintessentially part of my childhood for recess time, I had to have it. So many variant rules I can't even remember any more.

V: More Discoveries

Chapter 5
More Discoveries

A tentative knock echoed through the main room of Golden Oaks library. Twilight lifted her head from the book floating in front of her and glanced at the clock. ‘Right on time.’ She cleared her throat, brightly chiming, “Come in!”

Scootaloo opened the door, her scooter propped up against the tree just outside, and smiled vaguely at the librarian. “Hi, Twilight.”

“Hi, Scootaloo. Good day at school?” The filly shrugged, hesitantly stepping further into the room. Twilight set her book down and grabbed a folder off her desk in a haze of magic. “So, d’you wanna start down here, or would you be more comfortable upstairs?”

A small wave of relief washed over Scootaloo’s face. “Upstairs would be nice.”

Twilight smiled knowingly. “Privacy it is, then.” They cantered up through the library’s staircase, passing Spike while he carried down a stack of books. “Spike, we’re gonna be up in the bedroom. Hold down the library.”

“You got it, Twilight!” He offered Scootaloo a warm smile, almost missing a step and spilling his armful of books. Scootaloo smirked, following Twilight up the stairs and into the lower level of her bedroom.

Twilight lifted several sheets of parchment from her desk in a glow of magenta and tidied them into a stack mid-air. Scootaloo climbed into the chair, a nervous frown on her face. Depositing the stack of papers on a shelf, Twilight gave the filly an encouraging smile. “Alright, so before we get started, I want you to know this is just to help you.” She stepped over to the desk and set a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “You don’t have to prove anything and I’m not going to give you a hard time. You’re struggling and I’m here to help. Alright?”

Scootaloo nodded weakly, her eyes on the empty desk. Twilight floated an extra chair over and sat next to the filly. She dropped the folder onto the desk and cleared her throat. “Now. What subjects are giving you problems?”

Sighing and scratching at the back of her head, she said, “Well, mostly math. I…kinda have trouble in a lot of things, though.” She dropped her head, ears folded back. “I mean…everypony who’s not a unicorn has pretty awful hoofwriting and I’m really good at science, but…Well, it feels like everypony else can read way faster than me. And I used to be really good at math, but nothing ever comes out right anymore…”

“Hey,” Twilight patted Scootaloo on the back, her eyes full of kindness. “It’s alright. Everypony has trouble once in awhile. Let’s start with math and see where you’re going wrong.”

She offered Twilight a weak smile and watched the unicorn open the folder to pull out a few sheets of math equations. She groaned.

Amusement colored Twilight’s voice. “Can’t work on math without doing math, Scootaloo.” The filly rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help smirking. “Just take your time; you don’t have to answer all of them, just pick three or four and we’ll go over them. Alright?”

Nodding, Scootaloo picked up a pencil from the desk in her teeth and scowled at the worksheet. Twilight stood up. “I’ll leave you to them for now. Let me know if you’re stuck, but just take your time. It’s alright if you get them wrong; this is about figuring out where to go, okay?” At a nod, she cantered off and grabbed an old Daring Do off the shelf. Light reading at its finest.

Twenty minutes or so of work later, Scootaloo cleared her throat. Twilight dropped her book and joined the filly at the desk, looking over the worksheet.

She frowned thoughtfully, looking over the scribbled mess of scratched out answers littering half the page. “Hmm…”

Scootaloo shrunk back in her seat, dropping her eyes to the floor. “I’m…I’m sorry…”

“Hey, don’t be sorry!” Twilight smiled at her, gently ruffling her mane. “You’re just messy. Messy’s fine, especially in math.” She turned back to the worksheet, looking through the few answered questions. The filly had bravely opted to answer at least one of each variety of equation. A frown slowly deepened across her lips, looking the answers over.

Portions of every problem were answered correctly, but somewhere in-between the different steps, Scootaloo was getting lost. Where exactly wasn’t clear to Twilight, but it was a start. “…Let’s start with this one; the long division.”

Scootaloo sighed. “I was always good at those when they were smaller…”

“I can tell; you answered the first part here right, and the second part here, but it didn’t get put together right at the end. When you’re answering a question like this, what do you do?”

Scootaloo went from puzzled to annoyed. “…This is one of those coconut things, isn’t it?”

“Coconut things?” Twilight blinked.

Grumbling, Scootaloo muttered, “Ms. Cheerilee always tells me to think about having a bunch of coconuts, so if it’s two thousand divided by five, I’m s’posed to think about it like ‘how many groups of five coconuts can I make outta two thousand coconuts.’” She scowled. “So I try, but all that happens is I get hungry for coconuts.”

Twilight chuckled, shaking her head. “That’s a trick that works for some ponies, but I just meant what steps you take to answer the question. Like that one; how would you start answering the question two thousand divided by fi—”

“Four hundred.” Twilight’s jaw snapped shut. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “What? That’s easy.”

Nodding, she said, “Alright, then how about three hundred and thirty-six divided by twelve?” Scootaloo rubbed her chin. “Just the first steps, you don’t need to figure out the whole ans—”

“Twenty-eight.”

Twilight’s jaw hung open. “…Well, you’re right. Now…what did you do to get the answer?”

She shrugged. “Well, three hundred and sixty divided by twelve is thirty, and three hundred and thirty-six is twenty-four less than that.”

Twilight smiled and gave her student a respectful nod. “You definitely have the basics down. Let’s go over one of these harder ones.”

Working on one of the unanswered questions drew out more confusion for Twilight. Scootaloo had a strong grasp of the mechanics and understood the steps for long division, isolating each section of the numbers into easier divisible segments, but as soon as the number was long enough she became confused, switching answer placements around and missing simple parts of the process. Twilight’s bewilderment grew when she tried talking them out with the filly; as soon as she said the numbers aloud, Scootaloo corrected her mistakes.

Twilight rubbed her chin with a hoof, scrutinizing the paper. She quirked an eyebrow at the filly, tempering the suspicion in her voice. “…You said you have trouble reading quickly, too?”

Scootaloo nodded briskly. Her nervousness had ebbed away over the course of working with Twilight, her tutor proving patient and kind. “It takes me a long time to read anything. Sometimes after I get through something, I have no idea what I just read…” She frowned, ears drooping again. “I just can’t get it to string together all the way in my head.”

“How’s your spelling?”

“Awful,” she giggled ruefully.

Twilight rubbed at her chin, glaring daggers into the worksheet. After a moment, she nodded and cantered towards the stairway down to the main library. “C’mon; we’re going to Sugarcube Corner to get you a milkshake.”

“Really?!” Scootaloo bounced out of her chair before her treacherous mouth added, “Why?” She clapped her hooves over muzzle.

Smirking, Twilight headed down the stairs. “It’s an apology in advance shake.”

“…An apology? For what?”

“For making you take a test.”

Scootaloo groaned loudly.

“I know; I’m the worst.”

Twilight scrutinized the hoof-written test, her eyes narrowed and muzzle crinkled in concentration. She referred back and forth between Scootaloo’s answers and her reference book, checking, double-checking, and triple-checking the patterns and styles of answers. The third time through, she was almost certain her theory was correct. The fourth time through, she was positive.

She sighed inwardly, a weight settling over her shoulders. She glared at the book for confirming her suspicions, and then glared at herself for having them to begin with. She glanced tentatively over her shoulder at the small filly, idly doodling at her desk. Setting her jaw and shaking her head, she thought, ‘Well, at least it isn’t the gay talk,’ and cantered over to the desk.

“So what was that test for?” Scootaloo pushed the sketchy drawing of herself and her friends hang-gliding to the edge of the workspace, glancing up at her tutor expectantly.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Well, it answered a question of mine. It also explains why you’ve been struggling with math and reading, even why you have messy hoofwriting and trouble spelling.” She sat gently on her chair, looking Scootaloo over. The pegasus’ eyes lit up at the thought of an answer and her fidgeting stilled. Twilight took a deep breath. “Scootaloo, have you heard of dyslexia?”

Scootaloo pursed her lips, tapping her chin. “Isn’t that when a pony doesn’t eat enough food so they can stay thin?”

Stifling a giggle, Twilight shook her head. “No, that’s anorexia.” She chewed on her lip, willing her thoughts to weave together into something comprehensible. “…Dyslexia is a type of learning disability. It’s something that some ponies have that makes it hard to read and write and can make math hard, too. It has to do with how a pony’s brain processes things that they see.” She flipped the doodle over, pointing at one of the math problems they had worked on together. “It’s like this one. You know how to do all the different steps to get the right answer, but the numbers got crossed up in your head. When the problem listed five, then two, you saw it as two, then five.”

Twilight placed the test on the desk and pointed at one of the reading comprehension problems. “And this paragraph is written to have a lot of words that have the same letters in different orders. That’s why it was so hard to understand; you kept switching the order of the letters around and making different words to the point it didn’t make sense.” Twilight turned to the young filly, searching her face for understanding.

Scootaloo stared numbly at the papers in front of her. A wave of shame crashed over her mind, driving her down into her seat and drawing heat to her face. Waveringly, she choked out, “S-so I’m stupid…”

“What?” Twilight’s spine straightened, alarm rushing to her tone. “No, no you’re not stupid at all!” She grasped her student by the shoulders, gently leading Scootaloo’s eyes to meet her own. “If I asked most foals your age the answer to three hundred and thirty-six divided by twelve without giving them any paper to work it out, they’d take three times as long to answer as you did and most of them would get it wrong.”

Scootaloo’s eyes wavered under her furrowed brow. She bit her lip, glancing around the room and avoiding Twilight’s gaze.

The unicorn frowned strongly, worry etching deep lines through her face. “You’re a lot of things, Scootaloo. You’re brave, you’re kind, you’re athletic, you love your friends, you’re funny, and you’re the hardest working filly I’ve ever seen. Of all the things you are, not one of them is ‘stupid.’”

Feeling overwhelmed, Scootaloo returned her eyes to Twilight’s. Her mind, swimming with doubts and fears, warred with her feelings of confusion, pride, and happiness. Bewildered, she held her breath and waited for Twilight to continue.

“Listen…” Twilight frowned, collecting herself, mulling over her words. “Having dyslexia doesn’t mean you’re not smart. It doesn’t even mean there’s anything wrong with you. You just…think differently than other ponies. That’s all it means. And different doesn’t mean bad, it just means that some things that others can do easily, you have to work on differently. That’s the key word there, not that you need to work harder to learn, just differently.”

She turned to the worksheet and floated a new sheaf of parchment onto the desk, grasping a pencil and scribbling quickly. “Here, look at this. This division problem here.”

Scootaloo leaned over, feeling like she had a large wad of cotton shoved into her head. She blinked at it. “Somethin’ that easy?” Twilight nodded encouragingly, hoofing over the pencil. Scootaloo quickly scribbled in her answer.

“Good. Now…” Twilight jotted down another problem that was just as easy, followed by three more. Confused and frowning, Scootaloo continued to answer them at a brisk pace. “Alright, so then…” Smiling coyly, Twilight took the five completed division problems and rewrote them together, lining up the answers in a staggered pattern. With a flourish, she moved the completed worksheet from earlier and set it next to the scrap questions. “See it?”

Scootaloo looked from one sheet to the next. Her eyes lit up with realization. “It’s the same question!” Twilight nodded excitedly. “And it was so easy! I can do that…” Scootaloo grabbed the pencil in her mouth and wrote out one of the problems that was scratched out and corrected to an almost unreadable mess. Breaking it up into pieces the same way Twilight had done before, she raced through it.

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. She watched understanding blossom to excitement on the young filly’s face, hurriedly scrawling out the answers. Scootaloo went from eagerly inquisitive to awestruck, the pencil dropping from her mouth. “It works!” She pushed the worksheet away and grabbed another one from the folder, poring over question after question, smiling broadly around the pencil. Twilight watched her silently.

Seeing the excitement, the raw joy on Scootaloo’s face, the tremors racing down her sides, the wild look of success in her eyes, struck Twilight deeply. The impact on the filly, the imparted understanding and joy of learning, gripped her heart tightly and squeezed. She took controlled breaths, wiping at her eyes.

At last Scootaloo dropped the pencil from her mouth. “I can do it! Oh, Twilight, thank you!” She threw herself around Twilight’s neck and hugged her tightly.

Twilight swallowed the lump in her throat and awkwardly returned the hug, willing her voice smooth and even. “That’s what I’m here to help with, Scootaloo.” The pegasus sat back, the grin on her face painfully big. It was infectious. “That’s what we need to work on now. You’re plenty smart and you can do the work,” she said, prodding the sheet of clean and complete equations, “You just need to learn how to approach the work differently.” She glanced over the worksheet. All of the answers were correct. “We found the answer for long-division. We can find similar things for other types of math. And we can work on your reading and spelling too.”

Scootaloo practically vibrated in her seat. “This is awesome!”

“Now, Scootaloo…” Her smile faded a little as she set her hoof on her student’s shoulder. “I think we can find ways for you to work around a lot of the math. You’re good at it and all you needed was a way to break things up into easier to read chunks. But it’s not going to be the same for reading and writing.” She looked the filly over carefully, her smile hiding a hint of sadness. “Some of this will be a struggle and it’ll probably always be difficult. But we’ll figure out ways for it to be less difficult than it is right now.”

Scootaloo nodded vaguely, the victory over division still fresh and strong in her mind. A notion struck her and she slowly frowned and sighed, glancing at the finished worksheets. “…How come I’m just finding out now? I wish I knew that trick months ago.”

Twilight shrugged, turning her head to hide the scowl that dug its way across her face. “…Sometimes ponies miss stuff like this. What’s important is that we know now.” She turned back and grinned, ruffling Scootaloo’s mane again. “We know now and we can work on it together. Deal?”

Returning the grin, Scootaloo nodded. “Deal.”

Twilight wriggled under the sheets in the dark room, attempting and failing to get comfortable. Whichever side she rolled towards proved to be the wrong one and she frequently found herself on her back, staring at the ceiling and muttering. She mulled over the day, second-guessing the words she’d used with Scootaloo on an endless loop. Just before giving up and retrieving a book, a swoosh of disturbed air rushed from higher in the tree.

The soft rustling of beating wings filled the room as Rainbow Dash descended from the window, settling gently on the bed. She smiled at her wide-awake marefriend. “Hey, babe.”

Twilight returned the smile, sitting up. “Hey. Wasn’t sure I’d see you today.”

“Figured I’d stop by.” She sat on her haunches, shaking out the flight from her wings. “Hopin’ there’s room for one more.”

“Always.” She yawned and stretched out her back, her hooves arching over her head.

Rainbow darted under the covers and snaked her forelegs around the unicorn’s middle mid-stretch. “Gotcha.”

Dropping a leg around the mare’s shoulders and resting her head against Rainbow, Twilight murmured, “Eep.” She nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek. “Rainbow’s caught me. What’m I gonna do now?”

“Be trapped,” Rainbow deadpanned, “Maybe scream a little.” She brushed a wing along Twilight’s sides, drawing a short fit of laughter from her captive. Giggling and kicking her hindlegs, Twilight turned and blew a raspberry into Rainbow’s neck. They rolled back onto the bed, laughing together and tangled up in each other’s hooves. Twilight rested her head on Rainbow’s chest and snuggled into the pegasus, sighing in contentment. Chuckles subsiding, Rainbow stroked her marefriend’s mane and asked, “So how was your day?”

“Mmm, alright. Usual library stuff mostly. I, uh…I did find out why Scootaloo’s been struggling in school, though.”

“Yeah?”

Twilight frowned, nuzzling deeper into the warm, soft hairs of Rainbow Dash’s coat. “She had undiagnosed dyslexia.”

“Huh.” Rainbow chewed her lip, mulling the information over. “Don’t they usually check for that or whatever?”

“Not really. I mean, if a student’s struggling a lot they might, but Scootaloo’s smart enough it was mostly hidden, I think. It’s only now starting to be a problem because she couldn’t get her math work to come out correctly…” Twilight sighed heavily, her voice trailing off.

“…There’s somethin’ else, huh?”

She shrugged against the pegasus. “It’s like you said. Nopony was really looking at her close enough to notice.” Her frown deepened. “I don’t like this, Rainbow. I’m worried about her. I can only do so much to help her, you know? Yeah, I can get the test notarized and delivered to Ms. Cheerilee so she can get some extra classroom help, but it doesn’t feel like enough.”

“Relax, Twi’.” She ruffled Twilight’s bed-headed mane into further disarray. “A kid that hard-workin’s gonna come out a winner.” A tone of playfulness crept into her voice. “I know what you need.” Sitting up quickly, Rainbow Dash rolled Twilight onto her back and leapt to the foot of the bed, flinging off the blankets and lifting her marefriend’s left leg. No time wasted, she pressed her forelimbs into the dainty hoof, rubbing and kneading.

“...Oh, dear Celestia.” Twilight groaned, scrunching her eyes tight and then opening them wide.

Grinning, Rainbow worked from the outside to the inside of Twilight’s hoof, digging firmly into the soft sole. “Like it, Twi’?”

The unicorn rumbled deeply, her head rolling back into the pillow. “Rainbow Dash…it is of the utmost importance…that you never stop doing that.”

Rainbow snickered, prying all of the tension from her marefriend’s limb. After several minutes of diligent kneading, she planted a kiss on the bottom of Twilight’s hoof and grabbed her right leg. “So what’s it all mean for Scoots? You gonna need to tutor her for a while, or is it somethin’ fast?”

“Guh.” She shook her head, clearing the dancing joy clouding her vision. “It’ll probably…umm…Dash, I can’t think straight when you’re…uh…” Twilight was losing words. What were words? “Oh, ponyfeathers, don’t stop.”

Rainbow was having trouble containing her laughter, her whole frame shaking. She doubled up her efforts in the massage, dragging satisfied moans from the unicorn. Twilight’s limbs officially stress and soreness-free in her expert opinion, she kissed the right hoof and curled up next to the mare. “Feelin’ better?”

“…You are just made of awesome.”

Rainbow lost all control over her laughter and hugged Twilight close, her mirth spilling loudly into the room. Twilight joined in, snuggling into her marefriend and giggling madly. She floated the blankets back over their bodies and huddled close as their laughter died down. Rainbow grinned warmly at her in their embrace and asked, “So really, what’s it gonna mean for Scoots?”

“Hmm…it probably won’t go quickly. Math shouldn’t be too big of a problem, since she’s good at it to start with. We’ll just need to figure out a few different tricks to make it go smoothly. Reading and writing will be a lot harder for her, but with some practice, she’ll get better at it.”

“Mmm, that’s good.” Rainbow nestled into the pillow, limbs firmly wrapped around the unicorn.

Twilight’s growing smile was filled with affection. “Thanks for coming over. You always make me feel better when something’s bothering me.”

Eyes fluttering between half open and closed, Rainbow murmured, “No problem, Twi’. I like stayin’ over here. This place feels more like home than home does.”

Snuggled together under the blankets, Twilight watched Rainbow Dash slowly fade from consciousness, her marefriend’s breathing evening out and the grip slowly slackening around her middle. As the daredevil neared the cusp of sleep, Twilight urgently whispered, “Rainbow?”

Startled from drowsiness, Rainbow Dash jerked and blinked at Twilight. “Hmn?”

“…Will you move in with me?”

Several breathless moments passed as the two mares stared into each other’s eyes. Wordlessly, Rainbow brought her lips to Twilight’s muzzle and pulled her marefriend into a deep and yearning kiss. They held each other close in the dark library, exchanging silent promises and unvoiced fulfillment. Every second of contact was a thousand screams of ‘yes’, and every ‘yes’ was answered with relief and joy.

When at last they broke apart, gradually surrendering to sleep as they laid tangled in each other’s limbs, both mares were thinking about the fastest ways to collect Rainbow’s belongings in the morning.

Author's Note

And with chapter five, we bring Act One to a close.

Act Two starts up next monday. See you then!

VI: Complications

Chapter 6
Complications

A gentle knocking drew Cheerilee’s attention to the classroom door; the smiling face of Twilight greeted her through the small window. She glanced up at the wall clock and smirked. ‘Punctual to a fault.’ “Alright class, time to go home!”

The squeaks of sliding chairs on wood filled the room, a babble of voices transforming the space into merry dissonance. The teacher stepped quickly to Scootaloo’s chair and leaned in close. “Hang back a minute, Scootaloo.” At the filly’s expression, she smiled warmly. “Nothing bad, don’t worry.” She glanced meaningfully at the door, drawing Scootaloo’s attention to Twilight. The unicorn stood aside to let the rush of foals past. She had a tentative vulnerability in her expression and body language that made Scootaloo want to giggle, so she busied herself with straightening her desk.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom got to the door and hesitated, glancing questioningly between Twilight, Cheerilee, and their third confederate. Twilight bent down and whispered to the two fillies, a small pouch of bits floating out of her saddlebag. Grins spread across their faces and they bolted from the room, money in tow.

Free of classmates, Scootaloo quirked an eyebrow at her teacher and tutor. Cheerilee smiled at Twilight. “I’m glad you could come down, Ms. Sparkle.”

Giggling, the unicorn said, “Twilight’s fine.”

Scootaloo scratched at her neck. “Uh…what’s goin’ on?”

Smirking, Cheerilee sat on her haunches next to Scootaloo’s desk and beckoned Twilight with a hoof. “Well, Scootaloo, Twilight told me she’s been tutoring you for about a month now and she wanted us to have a meeting to discuss your progress and see how you’re feeling about things now.”

Twilight sat next to the earth pony and nodded gently. “Don’t worry, Scootaloo. I won’t keep you from your friends or your flying lessons for very long.” She turned to Cheerilee. “How are things going?”

Smiling, Cheerilee flashed a conspiratorial wink at Scootaloo and trotted over to her desk. “I think the best way to answer that is to give Scootaloo a sneak peek at her last math test before everypony else gets theirs back.” She brought the sheet of paper back in her mouth and set it down on the filly’s desk.

Scootaloo’s eyes went wide. Bright red ink boldly proclaimed her score across the top. “I got a B plus?!” She pumped a hoof in triumph, practically vibrating in her seat. Cheerilee and Twilight exchanged delighted grins.

Cheerilee lifted the test back in her teeth and carried it to her desk. “Your math scores have improved considerably in the last month.” She eyed Twilight, directing her statements to both of them. “You still need to work on fractions; that’s your weakest area at the moment.”

Twilight nodded, clearing her throat gently. “How about everything else?”

Sitting back with the group, Cheerilee said, “Well, Scootaloo will have to fill us both in. Math was the only subject I had real concerns with, and she’s really turned that around.” She smiled proudly at the filly. “So how have you been feeling about other subjects, Scootaloo? Has getting the reading assignments earlier been helpful?”

She shrugged. “I guess. It still takes a long time; I just have a chance to read everything. I mean, sometimes I had trouble getting stuff finished before it was due, but now I can get through all of it.”

Twilight set a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll keep working on reading speed. In the meantime what’s important is that you’re not struggling to get through your subjects. Are there any times in class it’s a struggle?”

Scootaloo shook her head, but didn’t meet Twilight’s eyes. Cheerilee grinned in satisfaction, but as she went to stand Twilight raised a hoof. She frowned in concern and leaned in close to the filly, her voice low. “You sure?”

Raising her head, she searched Twilight’s face and took a steadying breath. “Well…It’s not really the work.” She glanced nervously at Cheerilee, then back at Twilight. “I get everything early and have extra time now and…and everypony looks at me funny. Like I’m cheating, or…” Ears falling as low on her head as they could and gaze drifting downward, Scootaloo sighed slowly and ran her hooves sheepishly over her desk. “…Or like I’m stupid.”

Twilight frowned, exchanging a worried look with Cheerilee. She opened her mouth, but Scootaloo continued before she could say anything.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can do about it. I’ve talked to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle about all this and they understand, I think…but I don’t wanna announce it to everypony. It’s bad enough that I still haven’t got my cutie mark.” She looked up from her desk, meeting Twilight’s eyes. Twilight saw a deep vein of frustration tunneling into the little filly in her features.

Scootaloo shook her head forcefully, glaring balefully at her desk. “It’s just like everything. Everything’s harder than it should be. I can’t do math without rewriting every question, I can’t read a page without going over it three or four times, I can’t learn to fly without making up for years of lost time, and I can’t find my special talent.” She stamped her hoof on the wooden surface.

Twilight and Cheerilee looked to each other, jaws slack. Twilight turned to her student and placed her hoof back on the pegasus’ shoulder. Scootaloo shrugged it off and then flinched. She grimaced, meeting the unicorn’s face with a pleading expression of apology. Twilight gave her a sad smile and Scootaloo hung her head in defeat. “…I…I’m sorry, Twilight.”

“Hey…” She lifted Scootaloo’s chin. “It’s okay. You have every reason to feel frustrated and angry. We’re all here to help you, though. Rainbow Dash, Ms. Cheerilee, and I are all rooting for you. We want you to succeed and we’ll do whatever we can to get you there.”

A half-hearted smile on her muzzle, Scootaloo nodded weakly. The classroom door banged open, startling the three ponies. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom bounded in, both with an ice cream cone to their muzzles and a third floating in a small field of magic in front of the unicorn filly. Scootaloo’s face lit up and she jumped from the desk. Smirking, she asked Twilight, “What’s with you and ice cream?”

“What? Everypony likes ice cream.”

Scootaloo giggled and raced to join her friends, heading out into the early afternoon. Twilight’s call of, “See you at the park!” barely reaching the trio as they rounded the corner towards the pegasus’ scooter.

“Alright!” Scootaloo chimed, chomping into her cone, “We’ve got about an hour before I’m s’posed to meet Rainbow Dash for my lessons, let’s get some crusadin’ in!”

Their cheer was cut short by Rumble tentatively peeking around the corner of the schoolhouse. When he saw Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, a shiver ran up his spine and for a second Scootaloo thought he was going to run for it. The colt shook his head and stepped slowly to the group. He cleared his throat and quietly asked, “Apple Bloom?”

Pink coloring her cheeks, Apple Bloom trotted up to him and offered a nervous smile.

Rumble rubbed at the back of his neck and looked at the ground. “My, uh…my brother was gonna take me to the lake to go swimming and I was wondering if, uh…if maybe you wanted to come?”

Apple Bloom, her face bright enough to light up a moonless night, looked back to her friends questioningly. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a knowing glance and waved her off. She turned back to Rumble and chimed, “Sure!” With a coy smile and a wave to the other two, Apple Bloom trotted off with Rumble.

Scootaloo shook her head, finishing off her ice cream cone and exclaiming, “’Bout time!” Sweetie giggled. “Well, there goes crusadin’. Call it a bust?”

“We could just hang out, Scoots. I hardly ever get to spend time with you anymore.” She stepped over to the scooter and looked at her friend expectantly. “C’mon, let’s go for a ride around town like we used to always do.”

Scootaloo grinned and hopped onto the scooter, Sweetie Belle climbing up behind her and grabbing onto her waist. She buzzed her wings and took off like a shot, careening away from the school and down the streets, weaving in between small groups of ponies and laughing. Further into town the hoof traffic picked up and Scootaloo dropped her speed down to dangerously fast, weaving indiscriminately through side streets and alleys.

“So how’re your flying lessons?” Sweetie asked over the rush of wind.

Scootaloo turned a sharp corner, making the unicorn tighten her grip to keep from sailing off. Scootaloo’s laughter slowly dropping and she pressed her mouth into a thin line. “Well…It’s hard. Like, really hard. I thought it’d be better when I stopped hurting for days after a workout, but Rainbow Dash just makes each one more and more intense. Half-way through I’m dizzy and feel like I’m gonna barf.”

Sweetie Belle frowned, at a loss for what to say. After a few moments she settled on, “Wow.”

“Yeah.” She weaved through a crowd in front of the vegetable stands in the market and launched down an alley way. “I trust Rainbow, though; she always stops me before it gets really bad and has me take a break. And it’s working, too. I’m way stronger now than I was before we started and I can run faster for longer, jump higher, and I’m even better at sports. I feel healthier most of the time, too. It’s just…”

Holding on quietly, Sweetie Belle felt the speed slowly bleed from their movements; the wind pulling at her mane a little less, the signs they passed becoming easier to read. “…What’s wrong?”

Scootaloo sighed, bringing the scooter to a stop in the middle of an alley. She turned to the unicorn, chewing on her lip. “…If…If I still had my parents, it wouldn’t be this hard to learn, Sweetie. I’d probably already be flying.” She slowly sat on her haunches, scuffing her forelegs on the cobbled ground. “Everything’s harder than it should be. If I’m not catching up on flying, I’m catching up on math, or reading, or…” She looked balefully at her bare flank. She turned back towards Sweetie Belle, her expression tired and drawn. "Or I’m catching up with figurin’ out who the heck I’m s’posed to be.”

Sweetie Belle’s mouth opened, her throat working as she searched Scootaloo’s face. She sunk to her haunches and curled her tail around herself, wracking her mind for something to say. “…I…I’m sorry about your parents.”

Scootaloo smiled sadly. “I know you are, Sweetie Belle.” She lowered her head. “I just wish it didn’t make everything so hard. I’d be flying already and…Sweetie, you should have seen how little time it took Twilight to figure out I have dyslexia. I would’ve known years ago if I had real parents.”

Brow furrowed, Sweetie scooched closer. “Are you having trouble with the Takers?”

She looked away, her eyes unfocused and introspective. She took a slow breath. “…You know how when Rarity’s in the zone or whatever and no matter how much you try you can’t really get her to pay any attention to you?”

Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “…Yeah, she gets like that sometimes.”

“D’you ever get so frustrated you feel like breaking something, just to get her to look at you, even if she’s angry?”

Sweetie Belle grimaced, looking away from the pegasus. “…Yeah.”

“…What if you did that and all she did was glance at you like maybe you were a bug and go back to work?” She turned back to Sweetie Belle, her face set hard. “And what if she was like that all the time?”

Gaping, Sweetie Belle shrunk back from her friend. “I…I dunno what to say…”

Scootaloo looked stricken and dropped her head. “I’m not tryin’ to make you feel bad. It’s just…Mr. and Mrs. Taker don’t give me trouble. They barely look at me.” She stood slowly, climbing back onto the scooter. “It makes sense that everything’s hard when nopony cares.”

Gentle hooves circled Scootaloo’s neck as Sweetie Belle nearly tackled her in a hug. “I care, Scoots.” Her voice wavered barely over a whisper into her shoulder. “So does Apple Bloom, and Ms. Cheerilee, and Rainbow Dash, and Twilight. We all care about you.”

Scootaloo’s heart jackhammered in her chest and a squirming lightness twisted her belly. She sighed into the embrace, hugging Sweetie Belle back. “Thanks,” she whispered, “I know you do. I’m just…tired.” The unicorn nodded into her neck and pulled back, her eyes alight with concern. Scootaloo couldn’t help but smile. “It’d be a lot harder without all of you there. Thanks for bein’ there for me.”

Briefly hugging tighter, Sweetie Belle stepped back. “Always, Scoots. C’mon, let’s keep going.”

They climbed back onto the scooter and headed through the town at a more subdued pace. Scootaloo was hyper-aware of Sweetie’s presence at her back, a comforting pressure of support and camaraderie. They drifted around in silence, bleeding away the remainder of the hour in leisure. Glancing at the clock tower, Scootaloo said, “I gotta head to the park soon, want me to take ya home?”

“I’m s’posed to help Rarity today, if you could drop me off at her place.”

Scootaloo swerved to change directions. “…Sorry for getting so mopey at you and ruining hang out time. We really don’t get much time anymore.”

“It’s alright. I told you I’d always listen, so I listened.” Her grip around Scootaloo’s waist tightened. “I wish I could do more than just listen.”

A contented grin crossed her muzzle. “I think all I needed was somepony to listen to me. Yeah, it’s hard, but it’s not like I’m alone or I’m the only one who’s having a hard time with stuff.” She glanced over her shoulder, the smile showing merrily in her eyes. “It’s so not fair for me to complain to you or Apple Bloom about cutie marks.”

Sweetie Belle giggled and shook her head, turning with her friend as they crested a hill and pulled in front of Carousel Boutique. “And you didn’t ruin anything; we got to hang out and that means we won the day,” she said as she leapt from the scooter, cantering a few steps towards the door and turning to face her friend. She gently poked Scootaloo on the snout with a hoof and said, “We should hang out more.”

Grinning and rubbing her muzzle in mock injury, she answered, “Totally. It’s good talking to you; I’ll try to remember that better. Thanks for bein’ there and putting up with me bein’ such a featherbrain.”

Sweetie Belle grinned and cantered to the door. Scootaloo kicked off towards the park as Sweetie Belle called over her shoulder, “You’re welcome, Fluff-head!”

Scootaloo skidded to a stop, eyes wide. She swung around on her scooter in time to catch the curly ends of Sweetie Belle’s tail whip inside the shop and the door swing shut. She stared at the purple paint coating the door, jaw hanging open and breath caught in her throat. Images of Twilight waving with a grin plastered on her face at Rainbow Dash flew through her head, that same line echoing and doubling over with the words from her friend.

Scootaloo forced herself to breathe evenly, feeling light-headed. Her face felt like it was on fire. A hoof drifted up to touch her cheek, confirming it might as well have been. Bewildered and wide-eyed, she jerkily turned her scooter back around and headed towards the park, barely seeing the ponies she was almost running over.

She coasted to a stop in front of the Twilight’s usual bench. In a daze she glanced around; she had beaten the pair to the park. She propped her scooter on the bench and sat on her haunches, willing her racing heart to slow.

She closed her eyes. Her mind leapt backwards half an hour to the alley and Sweetie Belle leaning back from the comforting hug, worry in her features. A smile cracked across the filly’s face, then fell to a confused frown. She opened her eyes again, scanning the empty park, looking for some sort of distraction.

Huffing, she pawed at the ground with her hooves and tried to make sense of her head. She was saved by a rush of wind as Rainbow Dash landed lightly next to the bench, Twilight sliding from her back and staggering on her hooves.

“You just had to start flying in loops, didn’t you?” Twilight dropped to the bench, rubbing her face with a hoof.

Rainbow chuckled weakly. “Guess I kinda got carried away.” She leaned forward and nuzzled the unicorn’s cheek apologetically. “Y’alright?”

Twilight groaned, but nuzzled back. “I’ll be fine.”

“Sorry for bein’ such a featherbrain sometimes.” Scootaloo blinked and shook her head forcefully. Rainbow turned towards the filly. “You ready to get started, squirt?”

Scootaloo nodded, trying to push her bewildered thoughts away. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

“Alright, well you’ve been workin’ so hard I thought we’d have a bit of a treat today.” She stuck her head in Twilight’s saddlebag before turning back and grinning around the Frisbee in her mouth.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “We’re gonna play with a Frisbee?”

Speaking carefully around the disc, she said, “We’re gonna train with a Frisbee.” She set off at a trot to their usual spot. “Now go long!”

Rainbow Dash did not go easy on Scootaloo. Every flick of her neck sent the Frisbee careening lightning fast just high enough over the filly to force her to leap, wings buzzing, to catch it. Every return throw was snapped quickly in the daredevil’s jaw and fired back with no time to rest. Scootaloo giggled through the whole game, her mane slicking to her forehead and chest heaving deep breaths of air.

Several bottles of water and a few pauses in the game passed by before Rainbow Dash held onto the Frisbee and trotted back towards Twilight, calling over her shoulder, “Alright Scoots, time for stretches.”

“Huh? That’s all we’re doing today?”

Dash nodded her head towards the distant clock-tower. Scootaloo’s eyes widened when she saw two hours had passed. A sheepish smirk on her face, she got to work stretching her wings. She watched her coach and tutor talking and laughing together. Twilight lifted a hoof and tapped Rainbow on the snout, causing the pegasus to reel back as if struck, igniting them both in a series of giggles. Scootaloo scrunched her eyes shut and shook her head forcefully again.

When she opened her eyes, Rainbow’s muzzle was pressed to Twilight’s in a brief kiss. Scootaloo had seen the two playful and close before, but this was the first time she’d witnessed actual romantic affection. Memories of Cheerilee and Big Macintosh under the influence of Love Poison rushed to the forefront of her thoughts and she contrasted them with the scene between her coach and tutor.

Scootaloo thought the difference was night and day. Where Big Mac and Cheerilee induced groans from the cloying and preposterous hyperbole of their words and actions, Twilight and Rainbow Dash’s display was understated and bare; a raw and exposed flash of emotion. In the short moment the kiss lasted, Scootaloo saw a depth of simple, confident, and effortless tenderness. She looked away and finished her stretches.

Rainbow trotted back to the filly as she shook out her wings. “All set?”

“Yeah.” She looked up to her mentor and smiled. “Thanks for today. That was a lot of fun. I, uh, kinda needed it.”

Smiling gently, Rainbow’s tone shifted from playful to sincere. “Twi’ told me about your math test and stuff. I thought you deserved a reward. Plus, you really are workin’ super-hard. I think in another couple’a weeks we can do a second speed test and see where you’re at.”

Scootaloo bounced on her hooves. “Really?”

“Totally.” She leaned in closer and dropped her volume. “Don’t let all this junk get you down, alright, Scoots? Just remember that colt. You’ll get through it just fine.”

The filly frowned, her brow knitting together. “…D’ja ever find out what his name was?”

Rainbow Dash glanced away quickly. “Haven’t found the article.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway, I’ll catch ya later. See ya, Scoots.”

“Bye.”

The mare cantered back to Twilight, bending low for the unicorn to climb onto her back. With a single beat, they were airborne and sailing towards the library. Scootaloo slowly retrieved her scooter and made her way through Ponyville towards her house, her thoughts intermittently cycling through the dark yellow eyes of a colt, the snapshot sight of Twilight and Rainbow’s embrace, the bold red mark of victory on her test, and Sweetie Belle’s face filled with concern, hooves wrapped around her neck.

Scootaloo kept her eyes trained on the paper on her desk. If she focused on it close enough, she wouldn’t glance over at Sweetie Belle. If she didn’t glance over at Sweetie Belle, she wouldn’t get that weird wriggling sensation in her belly that she’d been feeling for the last two weeks. She glanced away from her work.

Chewing on the eraser end of her pencil, Sweetie Belle sat at her own desk and rested her chin on her hoof. She stared at her own page flatly, her eyes half glazed over. Taking the pencil from her mouth, she blew a stray lock of mane from her eyes and furrowed her brow. The barest crease of a pout crinkled her muzzle as she wrote in an answer.

Scootaloo darted her focus back to her own sheet, a small smile on her lips and cheeks burning. She rubbed her stomach idly, attempting to coax it back to normalcy. Ever since the day of the Frisbee training, Scootaloo found her thoughts drifting to her friend, and with those thoughts came confusion and worry.

She looked up at the wall clock. Two more hours.

Sighing quietly, she bent over the page, carefully copying out the numbers in smaller sections on her spare sheet and working through the problems in stages. With a colossal force of will she got through half of the questions without her attention drifting. Pleased, she sat back in her chair. Suddenly she was looking at Sweetie Belle.

‘I gotta stop this,’ she thought as she whipped her eyes away, her face warm again, ‘I do not have a crush on Sweetie Belle.’ She glanced back at the unicorn. Sweetie Belle was scowling at her assignment, a grumpy frown on her lips. Scootaloo dragged her focus back to her assignment and rubbed her face roughly with a hoof.

‘When’d this happen?’ She scanned the room, drifting from colt to colt. They all looked normal to her. They were all nice enough foals; somepony to play sports with or have as a project partner. Unremarkable. She switched to the fillies. Plenty were just as unremarkable as the colts, but here and there…they were pretty. Scootaloo liked watching them, caught up in their own heads reading, or talking to each other. She’d catch herself staring and force herself to do something else and let the color drain from her cheeks.

She wasn’t sure when she first developed her staring problem. Thinking back, she realized she’d been doing it for months. It took Sweetie Belle to bring it to the front of her attention; she was having the same problem with her friend, only it was much worse.

Cheerilee cleared her throat, glancing up from her desk. “Ten more minutes.”

Scootaloo refocused on her math work. She copied down the next set of problems in her method of smaller, easier to read chunks and answered them quickly, breezing through the remainder of the page and signing her name to the top. She gave a cursory glance back over her answers, but didn’t really check accuracy; the longer equations switched around and got confusing if they weren’t broken apart. Nodding with satisfaction, she leaned back…and looked over towards Sweetie Belle.

The unicorn scribbled in an answer and pushed her sheet away, a silent sigh escaping her mouth. A small smile graced her face as she leaned away and looked towards the ceiling, her eyes growing distant and unfocused. Scootaloo watched her friend daydream, the mass of butterflies filling her belly and spilling into her head.

‘She’s just so…’ Scootaloo pursed her lips in a frown. She cycled through her muddy thoughts, looking for an answer to what it was about Sweetie Belle that had so arrested her attention. ‘Nice. And kind. And she gets me. I like talking to her. And listening to her. And…looking at her.’

Face painfully warm, the filly looked back at her finished work, feeling ashamed and frustrated. She didn’t want to be dealing with this.

She remembered a breathing exercise Twilight had taught her to help clear her thoughts when they became jumbled with letters and numbers. Continuous reading of difficult passages had a habit of backing up in her head into a twisting snake of symbols that grew more and more abstract and meaningless. She inhaled slowly and deeply through her snout and focused on a blank piece of paper in her mind’s eye. As she slowly released the breath she drew an imaginary pen across the page, filling the crisp and creamy sheet with careful and deliberate strokes. At the end of her breath, she could clearly see her name written across the page in block letters. Smiling softly, her mind free of distractions, her stomach feeling normal, and her face devoid of a blush, Scootaloo leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

She found herself transported back six weeks in time, the low light of the moon filtering in through the open doorway of the clubhouse and gently highlighting Sweetie Belle’s sleeping face. She felt the soft breeze of the wind on the top of her head, small hot breaths on her muzzle from the unicorn’s closeness, and a hoof holding her in place. She watched Sweetie Belle in the recollection. The tiny rise and fall of her sleeping bag, the little dancing jumps of her eyes behind closed lids, the insistent grip as Scootaloo tried to pull away. She remembered the sense of warmth and comfort she felt in Sweetie’s gentle embrace.

Scootaloo opened her eyes, not trying to dismiss the grin on her face. ‘Okay,’ she thought, ‘I totally have a crush on Sweetie Belle.’ She looked over at the filly in question and let her face grow warm. She frowned again, sinking her cheek onto her hoof and staring out the window. ‘So...what do I do about it?’

A quick look behind her revealed Apple Bloom discreetly passing notes with Rumble. ‘I could talk to Apple Bloom about it,’ she mused. Her frown deepened; her mind colored with worry about a reaction, not only over the fact that Sweetie Belle was a filly, but also that she was such a close friend to them both.

The image of Twilight and Rainbow Dash sharing a kiss in the park leapt to her thoughts. Inspiration struck; both of them were not only ponies she could confide in, but they were both together. It hadn’t really connected with her what that meant until she saw that kiss, but Scootaloo knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that her coach and her tutor knew what it meant to like another filly. They knew what it meant to be in love.

Cheerilee called the class to attention and gathered up their finished work. A collective murmur filled the room as the foals all switched over to the next activity. Scootaloo grinned in contentment, and she started planning just how to talk to Rainbow and Twilight about all this when she next saw them for flight training.

Author's Note

And we begin Act Two!

See y'all next week.

VII: An Awkward Conversation

Chapter 7
An Awkward Conversation

“Okay class, that’s it for today, have a wonderful afternoon!” Cheerilee began packing away her desk to the scuffing of chairs. Scootaloo left in a haze of determination, cutting resolutely through the crowd towards her scooter. She crouched low at the front wheel, checking the axle that had given her a little trouble in the morning. The soft sound of someone clearing their throat drew her attention.

Sweetie Belle pawed her hooves at the ground, a hopeful smile colored with apprehension on her lips. Scootaloo stood up a little too fast and knocked her scooter over. “Hi Sweetie Belle! What’s up?” Was her voice always that high-pitched?

“Can I talk to you for a minute, Scoots?” Scootaloo willed the heat rushing to her face away and nodded. Sweetie stepped closer, her mouth falling to a frown. “…I’m kinda worried about things…”

She quirked an eyebrow. “What things?”

The unicorn sighed and looked out over the playground. Apple Bloom and Rumble trotted slowly through the yard together, oblivious to those around them as they left towards Sweet Apple Acres. “We’re drifting, Scoots. The three of us.”

Scootaloo silently regarded their third, slowly trotting away with her coltfriend, and felt a wave of melancholy nostalgia. She sighed sadly, turning back to Sweetie Belle, listening closely.

“Apple Bloom’s off with Rumble all the time and you’re so busy…The last time I got to see ya was when we took that ride and talked…” Sweetie looked down, her eyes remote and mouth quivering. “I know it’s just that you’ve been really busy training with Rainbow and getting tutoring from Twilight, but I miss you, Scoots. I miss hangin’ out with you and Apple Bloom and going crusading…” She looked to her own bare flank and back to Scootaloo. “Is this what’s gonna happen? Are we just gonna drift apart and stop being friends?”

Scootaloo’s throat bobbed as she tried to piece the words together in her mind. “…No. No, ‘cause I don’t wanna stop being friends with you girls, either.” She wrapped her hooves around Sweetie Belle’s neck, pulling her into a hug. She felt her cheeks burn under her coat, but pushed it away, needing to convey how much she wanted, how much she needed to be there for the other filly. “I’m sorry I haven’t really been around. If I’m not runnin’ myself ragged with Rainbow Dash, I’m at the library with Twilight, or at home doin’ all the chores I’m s’posed to do. I’m tired and lonely, and I miss you, too. I wish there was somethin’ I could do to have more time, but…”

Scootaloo’s ability to form cognizant sentences, or even whole syllables, took a nose-dive when Sweetie Belle returned the hug, delicate hooves circling her middle and resting gently on her back just above her wings. A toneless buzzing entered her thoughts, warm and comforting, threatening to reduce her to stammering sputters. She shut her eyes tight, wishing desperately to have an answer, something to make Sweetie Belle smile at her.

Her eyes snapped open and she grinned broadly, pulling away from the hug to catch Sweetie’s gaze. A flash of a frown creased the unicorn’s muzzle before her expression evened out into curious neutrality. Scootaloo’s grin widened. “What if I ask Twilight if she can tutor you in magic? You said Rarity and your parents don’t really have time, right?”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened. “Y-yeah, I mean, they’ve all shown me a little, but…”

“A lot of my tutoring is just reading practice and fillin’ out homework stuff; Twilight could totally tutor both of us at the same time! We’d get to hang out way more often that way!” Sweetie Belle’s face brightened. “I’ll ask her today, alright? I’m sure she’ll say yes; Twilight’s totally awesome.”

“Th-That’d be great, Scoots,” Sweetie stammered, a blossom of pink on her cheeks. “I-I’d love it if you did that.” The pegasus scratched the back of her neck, sure her face was matching her friend’s in rosiness. “…I do miss Apple Bloom, too.”

Scootaloo’s smile fell a little as she turned to survey the empty schoolyard. “…Yeah, I do, too. It has only been two weeks since she an’ Rumble started going on dates, though.” She flashed a confident smirk at Sweetie Belle. “Give her a little time. She’ll come around again; things are probably just new and exciting for her.”

Sweetie nodded gently, looking at the ground. “I hope you’re right. Thanks, Scoots.” She pulled her friend into another hug, whispering, “Thanks for listening to me.”

“N-no sweat,” she muttered, trying to hide the waver in her voice, “You’ve been there to listen to me; least I could do is be there for you.”

The pleased smile on Sweetie’s face drove warmth to the tips of Scootaloo’s hooves. Sweetie Belle chimed, “I’ll see ya tomorrow then, Scoots,” and trotted out of the yard. Scootaloo watched her go, swallowing to clear the dryness from her throat. She shook her head, double-checked the front wheel on her scooter, and headed out towards the park. Her thoughts, filled with images of her crush, drifted towards the conversation she was about to have. Her smile gradually fell, replaced by a wobbly frown, as she entered the park’s path and spotted Rainbow and Twilight talking together. Scootaloo stopped in front of the pair, a nervousness keeping her eyes from meeting either of them. She propped her scooter next to the bench and smiled tentatively.

Rainbow winked at her marefriend before grinning at the filly. “Alright, Squirt, today’s the big day.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo’s wings fidgeted; did Rainbow Dash somehow know she needed to talk to them?

“Time for a speed test!” She flipped her mane out of her eyes with a hoof, smirking at Scootaloo. “Dependin’ on how ya do, we might be ready for long distance hovering. Ready?”

“Heck yeah!” Apprehension shoved to the back of her mind, Scootaloo leapt towards their patch of grass, but skidded to a stop. She turned back to Twilight, a sheepish grin on her muzzle. “Almost forgot, can I ask a favor, Twilight?”

Quirking a brow, Twilight said, “Sure, Scootaloo. What is it?”

“See, Sweetie Belle’s been telling me that she’s not getting a lot of magic training, ‘cause her parents and her sister are always so busy. I was thinkin’ that maybe while you’re tutoring me you could tutor her in magic?”

Twilight rubbed her chin as she sat at the bench and took off her saddlebag. “…Hmm…It shouldn’t be too difficult to make time for that during your lessons. I’d hate to think Sweetie Belle is missing out on developing her magic. I’ll need to ask permission first, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Scootaloo fought to keep the squeal of excitement out of her voice. “Thanks, Twilight!” She turned and hurried to the training grounds and started running through a set of wing-jacks to warm up her muscles. Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a lingering nuzzle in passing, dropping her face into the mare’s saddlebag and removing the stop-watch. She smirked at Twilight around the watch before turning and trotting up to the filly.

“Alright, we’re aiming for eighty or more wing-ups in a minute.” Scootaloo dropped to the sod and spread her wings, taking a deep breath. “Ready? Set?” Rainbow’s hoof snapped down on the timer’s button. “Go!”

Scootaloo thundered through the exercises. Wings pumping, dropping and lifting her small frame from the ground at a fevered pitch, she pushed herself to her comfortable limits and past them. Rainbow Dash grinned at her with glowing pride, her eyes jumping back and forth from the timer to her bobbing form. “That was fifty, Scoots! Twenty-five more seconds, keep goin’!”

Twilight’s voice, much closer than she was expecting, chimed in alongside Rainbow’s. “You can do it, Scootaloo! Twenty-five more!”

Scootaloo grinned through the sweat pouring off her face, pushing through the tremors in her wings, willing herself to not falter.

“Ten seconds!” Rainbow cheered.

“Only a few more to eighty! You can make it!”

Wings and sides burning, the filly grit her teeth and grunted to pull herself up. Tremors raced down her wings and across her back. With each successful rep being completed slower than the one before, her nerve began to waver, sure that with the next descent her weary limbs would give out and she’d thump to the grass. Holding herself up on wavering wings with only seconds remaining, she groaned out, “Can’t…”

Rainbow and Twilight’s voices melded together, a bright battle cry of, “Yes you can!” echoing through the park. Scootaloo closed her eyes, letting the words bounce through her head, and conjured the dark yellow gaze of the colt to her mind. She dropped low and pushed up again.

“Time!” Rainbow cheered, snapping the stopwatch off.

Scootaloo fell muzzle-first to the grass and released a slow whine. “…How many was that?”

Smirking at Twilight, Rainbow dropped her tone to reserved. “Well, it wasn’t eighty.”

Scootaloo weakly struck the ground with a hoof. “Dang it…” She released a breathless whinny in frustration.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash grinned at each other, exclaiming in unison, “It was eighty-four!”

Snapping her eyes open wide and leaping to her hooves, Scootaloo flashed them both a huge smile. “I did it? I did it!” The mares both smiled fondly, watching the filly prance in place. “This is awesome! So I get to do hovering stuff now?”

“Yep!” Rainbow Dash grinned at the filly, handing the timer over to Twilight. “Eighty-four in a minute should be strong enough to get ya hovering a bit. You’re not gonna be able to get any lift, but you’ll be up off the ground for a good amount of time.”

Scootaloo squeaked with joy, bouncing on her hooves. “Can we do it now?! How do we do it now?!”

Chuckling, Rainbow Dash nodded gently. “I think we can manage a quick one now, but we’re gonna need to start goin’ through wing motions before we do a real one.”

“Alright! So whadda we do?” She grinned brightly, leaning towards Rainbow with her wings splayed and fidgeting.

Rainbow leaned back and shared a conspiratorial glance with Twilight. “Well, Scoots…Flap!” she shouted, lunging forward and sweeping her forelegs under Scootaloo’s belly. Scooping the filly up in her grip, she swung around in a circle and tossed her high into the air. Scootaloo yelped, rapidly beating her wings as her legs kicked haphazardly to find purchase. She slowly opened her tightly-scrunched eyes and looked down. The park darted left and right, back and forth, and spun underneath her as she inexpertly jerked through the air, but she wasn’t falling. Rainbow Dash, hovering a foot off the ground, stayed directly beneath her with hooves outstretched to catch her.

A gigantic, foolish grin on her face, Scootaloo worked her wings with all she had and watched herself slowly sink back towards the ground inch by inch. No idea what to do with her wings exactly, she sputtered violently side to side, but Rainbow’s careful adjustments and smiling face put her entirely at ease. A few minutes into her giggling descent, she veered too sharply to remain upright and spun out, tumbling downwards. In a flash, Rainbow caught her and set her back on her hooves next to Twilight.

“Oh my gosh,” Scootaloo panted, “That was so awesome!” Rainbow and Twilight exchanged happy smiles, beaming with pride at the filly. “Can I do that again?”

“Let’s get ya started on wing positions first, that way ya don’t go spinnin’ out next time.”

Twilight turned and trotted back towards the bench. On her way, she said, “You looked great up there, Scootaloo.” The filly grinned at her before shifting her attention to Rainbow Dash.

“Alright, so ya got a couple of wing positions that are really important…” Scootaloo followed along with Rainbow, matching her wings to the daredevil’s examples and cycling through them to get used to how they felt. Rainbow corrected her at times with a gentle hoof, guiding her little limbs into the proper placement.

For half of an hour, they ran through wing placement, going for accuracy and then speed. After a short break, the mare led Scootaloo through a strength training regimen. At random points during reps, she’d call out a specific placement for controlling direction, catching updrafts, changing speed, and altering pitch. Scootaloo leapt up mid-rep and snapped her wings into position. Rainbow corrected any mistakes before they resumed muscle-building, burning through their workout time.

“Alright, time for stretches. You did really awesome today, Scoots. We’ll get you really hovering soon and then we’re in the home stretch.” Twilight cantered up to meet them as Scootaloo started stretching. “Hey Twi’. Good show as always?”

“Obviously.”

As the mares chuckled, nervousness stole back over the filly. Scootaloo hesitated, going over this plan she’d made in her head. She realized all she had actually decided on was talking to them. Feeling wholly unprepared, she decided it was probably best to back out and ask another time. She finished her stretches and glanced up with words of parting on her lips until she caught the look the two were exchanging. Warm and gentle affection radiated from both ponies, an all-encompassing contentment filling their eyes and brightening their smiles. Scootaloo changed her mind and decided to dive in.

“Hey…Rainbow? Twilight?”

Turning, Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, squirt?”

Picking over her words fumblingly, Scootaloo struggled out, “I was wondering…if I could talk to you about something. Both of you.”

Twilight stepped forward, leaning a little closer. “Of course you can, Scootaloo. What do you need?”

She glanced fitfully around the park, grimacing. “Maybe…somewhere else?”

The couple exchanged a confused glance. Frowning, Rainbow asked, “Is everything okay, Scoots?”

Steeling her nerves and inhaling slowly, Scootaloo closed her eyes and murmured, “I…think I might be gay.”

Rainbow and Twilight’s wide eyes met, a silent volley of panic passed back and forth in a matter of moments. Twilight raised an eyebrow and her marefriend nodded gently. The unicorn turned back to Scootaloo, who was sitting on her haunches and fidgeting in discomfort. “…Let’s go back to the library.”

Scootaloo nodded and the three set off at a trot, the filly walking her scooter alongside her. The silence growing thick, Twilight looked to Rainbow with pleading eyes. The daredevil gave her a bewildered shrug. Twilight opened her mouth, but no sound came out, so she glared at Rainbow. Rainbow voicelessly mouthed, ‘What am I supposed to say?’ with exaggerated movements. Twilight rolled her eyes.

Scootaloo trudged alongside the noiselessly bickering couple, trying to dismiss her embarrassment. In silence, they filed into the library.

“Okay,” Twilight breathed, “Why don’t you two sit down and I’ll make some coffee. Hot chocolate, Scootaloo?”

Smirking weakly, Scootaloo mumbled, “I’m surprised you didn’t say ‘ice cream.’” Rainbow failed to stifle her snort and Twilight giggled apprehensively as she headed to the kitchen. The daredevil sat on a floor pillow in front of the fireplace and gave the filly a guarded smile. Scootaloo joined her on a different pillow. “So, uhh…”

“…Yeah.” Rainbow’s smile turned forced and pained. Scootaloo returned the lock-jaw grin, scuffing at the floor with a hoof. Both of their gazes darted fitfully back and forth from the kitchen and each other. At long last, Twilight returned with three steaming mugs floating in a field of energy. Scootaloo gripped her hot chocolate in both hooves as Twilight settled down next to her marefriend.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Well…first thing, Scootaloo, Rainbow and I are glad that you felt comfortable enough with us to come to us about this.” She shot Rainbow Dash a testing glare that didn’t invite any arguments. Rainbow blinked in bewilderment. “So, what, uh, what makes you think that you’re gay?”

Staring down at her steaming cocoa, Scootaloo took a slow sip to buy herself some time. “…Well…” She scratched at her neck. “…I don’t really…look at colts. But, well…I do look at fillies.” She felt heat rush to her face. “N-not all of the fillies in my class, but some of ‘em…and, uh, one of ‘em more than others…”

Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, who pleaded with her eyes for the unicorn to take the lead. Twilight sighed and nodded. “Well, it’s important for you to know a couple of things first. It’s perfectly normal for fillies or colts to be curious about ponies the same gender as themselves, and that doesn’t automatically make them gay. Also, not being interested in ponies of the opposite gender doesn’t make somepony gay, either. You might just not be ready to be interested in colts yet...” She cleared her throat and took a long sip from her floating coffee mug. “…This filly that’s caught your eye—”

Scootaloo straightened on the pillow, her eyes darting nervously around the room. She took a large swig of her hot chocolate and burned her mouth.

Twilight stifled her nervous chuckle. “I’m not gonna ask you who, that’s between you and her.” Scootaloo sighed in relief and relaxed again, running her slightly scorched tongue over her teeth. “I was gonna ask you what it is about her that you like. Are you just curious about her?” Twilight’s face colored slightly and she willed herself to remain frank and open. “About…her body?”

Scootaloo thought her cheeks might burst into flame. “Uhm…” She cleared her throat a couple times, refusing to raise her eyes to meet Twilight’s gaze. Rainbow Dash was having a similar reaction, wishing she had a bucket of sand she could bury her head under until this conversation was over. “I…dunno…I mean…uh…I think about her a lot. And I really like seeing her happy. And when she looks at me or we hug…I don’t ever want it to stop. I…haven’t really thought about any of that…other stuff.”

Nodding, Twilight gently said, “Well, Scootaloo…You might be gay. Neither Rainbow nor I could know for sure, the only pony who can know is you. You’re still awfully young and there’s a chance that as you grow older you’ll find an interest in colts, but you might just be interested in fillies…like us.” She turned and smiled at Rainbow Dash, who attempted to return the gesture through her awkward fidgets. She turned back to Scootaloo. “...You should know, if you don’t already, that some ponies aren’t very...accepting of others being gay. You might run into ponies that will have a problem with it and give you a hard time. So, if you are gay and you ever need any help, you can always come to us. Okay, Scootaloo?”

Slowly drawing her eyes up to meet Twilight’s face, Scootaloo felt some of the discomfort bleed from the room. She nodded slowly at Twilight and asked, “How can I know for sure?”

Twilight frowned in thought. “…It depends on how you feel about this filly, or other fillies. You said you haven’t thought about…” she cleared her throat and took a swig of coffee, “…yeah, well, so these feelings you do have. Is it just that she’s a really close friend and you like being around her? Or is it more than that? Do you want to hold hooves with her…maybe kiss her?”

Scootaloo thought about it, picturing sitting next to Sweetie Belle with a white hoof in her grip. She thought about the unicorn’s smile as their eyes met, leaning in closer, feeling the gentle breaths on her muzzle…

She shook her head, feeling out of sorts. Her cheeks were warm and she seemed to be uncontrollably smiling. “I..maybe?” Furrowing her brow she leaned in closer. “I’m…pretty sure I do like her that way…”

Twilight smiled warmly. “You should make sure you’re absolutely positive, and straight or gay, you can always turn to us for anything.”

Scootaloo grinned at the two, feeling most of the pressure lift away from her chest. “…Should I tell her?”

With the tension out of the room and her bravado restored, Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Anypony would be dyin’ to go out with an awesome filly like you, but ya don’t need to rush into things. Take your time, make sure you know what ya want, and be cool about it.” She flashed a knowing look to the unicorn, exchanging a wordless conversation Scootaloo couldn’t follow. “All those movies and books about love are full of sappy junk. Goin’ out with other ponies isn’t this big, huge thing, so don’t try to make it something like that.” She leaned in closer. “When you’re ready, you should just ask her out. If she says no, things might be a little awkward, but you’ll both get over it and still be friends and there’ll be other fillies. If she says yes, then score one for Scootaloo! Just…take your time with it and don’t build it up in your head, alright? Trust us; gettin’ worked up about it just makes things awkward.”

“Okay…” She frowned in thought. “Was it really awkward when you two got together? How’d that happen, anyway?”

Rainbow looked to her marefriend, a small smile spreading across her face. “That’s…kind of a long story, Squirt.”

Twilight grinned back, a hoof drifting up to cup the pegasus’ face. “…I think we might have the time to tell it.”

They stared at each other for a moment and Scootaloo once again felt the primal connection between the couple on the air like charged electricity. Rainbow nuzzled into the hoof on her face and asked, “Who should tell it?”

“We both will. Why don’t you start?”

Smiling, Scootaloo hunkered down further into her pillow and sipped her cocoa. Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her mane, puffed out her chest with a cocky grin on her muzzle, and began to speak.

Author's Note

lol, cliffhangers. Also: the gay-talk has nothing on the 'I think I'm gay'-talk in awkwardness.

So, depending on how drafting goes this week, next week might be a double-update. We'll see how that goes. I'll let you know then.

Thanks for reading.

VIII: Brushed-Off and Busted

Chapter 8
Brushed-Off and Busted

A fine layer of party detritus coated every inch of Sugarcube Corner. The dwindling number of party guests moved slower than when the party was in full swing, a low murmur of tired voices the only soundtrack to the dregs of celebration. Pinkie Pie bounded tirelessly from guest to guest, refilling glasses with punch or offering hard cider to the few interested in really keeping the party going. Applejack, citing an early morning, had left as the sun went down, leaving Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash sitting and talking at a large table off in the corner.

A large yawn stretched Fluttershy’s face widely, drawing a hoof to cover her mouth and pinkness to her cheeks. “Oh, excuse me.” Her friends grinned and rolled their eyes. “It’s getting rather late…”

Rarity clapped a hoof gently on the mare’s back. “Oh, nonsense; the night’s still young.”

“For you, maybe,” Rainbow Dash said, rubbing at her eye with a hoof. “You an’ Twilight are up all hours, sleepin’ away half the morning. We got stuff to do every morning, right Fluttershy?”

Fluttershy nodded gently, shooting Rarity an apologetic smile. “I never really was much of a night-owl.”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. “I never pictured you for the ‘early to bed, early to rise’ type, Rainbow Dash, what with how often I see you napping.”

“Hey!” Rainbow glared at her friend, its effect ruined by a smirk on her muzzle. “I work hard and nap hard.”

Twilight giggled and scanned the room, watching Pinkie Pie see to the other remaining guests. Her brow drew together in scrutiny. “…Come to think of it, I’ve seen Pinkie Pie awake really early in the morning and really late at night. Does…does she ever sleep?”

Glancing with worry between the bouncing party host and Twilight’s critical expression, Rarity grimaced. “It’s…best not to think about it.”

Rainbow Dash yawned loudly, releasing a series of crackling pops from her spine as she stretched. She smacked her lips in satisfaction. “Heck of a party she threw, that’s for sure.”

Nodding gently, Fluttershy’s voice became reserved. “I’m sorry it didn’t start out so well, Rainbow.”

“Yeah…” Rainbow sighed, her attention shifting to the darkened window. Her eyes grew distant. “I still can’t believe Gilda did that…” Twilight looked to her other friends, searching for something to say. Before they could do anything more than frown at each other, Rainbow turned back with a confident smirk on her lips. “Anyway, it was a totally awesome party.”

“Well,” Twilight sighed, pulling herself onto her hooves, “Despite being a night-owl, I think I’m going to head home. Goodnight, everypony.” A murmur of parting words ran through the group as Twilight cantered to Pinkie to say her goodbyes. The bell over the shop door tinkling as she left, Twilight inhaled the cool night air deeply and headed down the street towards her library. Her silent walk was interrupted by the sound of beating wings.

Rainbow Dash clattered down on the cobbled street next to the unicorn, her brow drawn in worry and her smile hopeful. “Hey, Twilight…do you mind if I talk to you?”

Blinking, Twilight slowed her pace. “Sure thing. Everything alright, Rainbow?”

They made their way down the short road to the tree together, Rainbow Dash’s face forward and hidden from Twilight’s view. “…No.”

Twilight straightened in her walk, her eyes opening in surprise. Still new to Ponyville, she hadn’t been friends with anypony for long, but the level of weary sadness in the brash mare’s voice was strikingly out of place. Not fully over her shock, they arrived at the darkened doorway to Twilight’s home. In a glow of magic, the portal sprung open. “Would you like to come in and talk about it?”

Nodding, the subdued Rainbow cantered into the library. Twilight followed behind, lighting the lanterns in the main room and kitchen with a small exertion of will. Twilight smiled hopefully at her friend. “Want some coffee?”

Rainbow’s expression immediately brightened. “Oh man, I love coffee.” A slight bounce back in her step, she followed Twilight into the kitchen and sat at the table. Her brief flare of cheer drained quickly as she watched Twilight flit about the kitchen, boiling water and filling a coffee press with fresh ground coffee. After pouring in the heated water, Twilight floated the steeping press-pot and two cups to the table and sat opposite Rainbow Dash.

“So, what’s going on, Rainbow?”

The daredevil sunk in her chair, idly running her hooves along the table. Ears drooping, she picked through her words slowly and carefully. “I’m…not okay right now. I didn’t want to make everypony at the party feel worse about what happened, but…”

Twilight’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Glittering sparkles of light flashed off the tears growing in Rainbow’s eyes, threatening to spill down her face. “Rainbow…”

“…Gilda was my best friend, Twilight. I hadn’t seen her in a while, but I just told my best friend to get lost.”

Trails of wet raced down Rainbow’s cheeks, darkening her coat. Twilight stood roughly, her chair squeaking loudly across the floor. She raced around the table and wrapped her hooves around Rainbow’s neck. The proud mare stiffened in her embrace for a second before sniffling and accepting the affection, nuzzling her face into Twilight’s chest. Twilight soothingly murmured, “I’m so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I should have realized…”

“N-no, it’s fine,” she struggled out, pulling back from the hug and wiping her face. “Nopony here really knew her, and…and I’m not sorry I told her to leave.” She looked Twilight in the eye and smiled sadly. “If that’s who she is, I don’t want her in my life. It still hurts, though.”

Twilight nodded, her heart aching. She cantered back towards her seat, pressing the filter down through the coffee pot and pouring two steaming cups. “Cream? Sugar?”

“Nah,” she mumbled, “I like it black.”

Twilight smirked and nodded, floating her own black cup to her lips. “I’m truly sorry, Rainbow Dash. I can’t imagine needing to tell a friend to leave…” She looked into her mug, her gaze introspective. “…Needing to tell one of you girls to leave…” She re-sharpened, drawing her focus back to Rainbow. “Why didn’t you say something at the party? It must have been awful trying to have fun if you were hurting.”

Sighing, Rainbow took a sip of her coffee. As it touched her tongue, she smiled involuntarily, licking her lips in appreciation. Twilight stifled a giggle as the daredevil mumbled, “Good coffee.” She took a longer sip. “…I didn’t want to disappoint everypony. Pinkie went through all that trouble, and half the town was there, and I was hoping it’d distract me.”

A pained smile stretched across Twilight’s muzzle. She nodded slowly, looking down into her coffee. “…You’re quite the pony, Rainbow Dash. Listen…next time you’re somewhere like that and you need to get away…tell me, okay?” She looked up from her coffee, pleading with her eyes. “I’ll make an excuse for you. Don’t hurt yourself for our benefit. Please?”

Rainbow’s gaze dropped, heat rising to her face. She already felt better, just from seeing the concern on Twilight’s face and hearing it in her words. “Thanks, Twilight. I’ll get over it...I still feel awful, but I really just needed to get it off my chest. I knew you were the right pony to talk to.”

“I’m glad you came to me and that I could help, but…why me? You’re a good friend, Rainbow, but we still don’t know each other very well. I’ve only been here in Ponyville for a couple months.”

A small, genuine smile lit up Rainbow’s face. “Twilight, I’d be a fool not to come to you about somethin’ like this. You’re, like, the pony for friend stuff.”

Bewildered, Twilight took a long drink of her coffee. “But…surely Fluttershy would be your first choice. You said you’ve known each other since you were fillies and she’s just as understanding as me, more even, and—”

“Twilight, I’ve known Fluttershy for a long time, but before you came here I’d said maybe a dozen words to her in the last year.” Twilight’s jaw hung slack, her throat working but no sound coming out. “The only ponies I was really friends with before the Summer Sun Celebration were AJ and Pinkie…and AJ was ‘cause I like sleepin’ on her trees and Pinkie ‘cause she’s friends with everypony. And I didn’t really hang out with either of ‘em ever. I mean, I never really spent any time with Pinkie just the two of us until yesterday when we went pranking.”

Twilight swallowed thickly, opting to drink her coffee and process Rainbow’s words rather than say anything.

“You were the one to bring us all together. Before we met you, we were just five ponies who lived in the same town. We’re…way more than that now, though. Gilda was my best friend, and I hadn’t seen her for two years, Twilight. And I didn’t really care. It was cool to see her and she means…meant a lot to me, but it wasn’t a big deal to not ever see her…” As she spoke, her face fell and her expression grew confused. Talking it out helped bring the reality of her statement into full comprehension. She dropped silent, mulling it over and taking several drinks. Twilight remained quiet, watching her friend.

“…I’ve never been the friendliest pony in Equestria, Twilight. I’ve had a lot of kinda-friends, but I’ve always been on my own. Now…I can’t go a couple days without seeing at least one of you girls. I don’t want to try an’ go more’n a couple days without seeing somepony now. And it was you who did that, Twilight. To all of us. You brought us together.” Rainbow drained the rest of her coffee. “Thank you for that, Twilight. And for bein’ here to listen to me now.” She smacked her lips, her tone brightening. “And for the awesome coffee.”

Twilight smiled weakly, still trying to process everything Rainbow had said. “You’re very welcome…” She drained her mug and set it down on the table. “And thank you for being my friend. I couldn’t have asked for a friend like you.”

Rainbow’s face grew hot and she grinned at the unicorn. “I am pretty awesome.” Twilight giggled, shaking her head. “It’s getting really late now, so I’m gonna head home. Thanks again, Twilight. I feel a lot better.”

As she cantered towards the door, Twilight called after her, “Any time you need to talk, I’m always here for you.” Rainbow halted and gave Twilight a little grin, waving goodbye with a hoof. She opened the door and flared her wings, shooting off towards her house. From the time of her departure until her head hit her pillow, the smile never left her lips.

Leaning shoulder to shoulder with Rainbow, Twilight grinned indulgently and shook her head. “Rainbow, y’know I could listen to you talk for hours, but that was weeks before we got together.” She nuzzled Rainbow’s cheek roughly, drawing a chuckle from her marefriend.

“But that’s where it started, Twi’.” She smiled with affection at Twilight, her eyes tracing over the unicorn’s face. “At least for me. After that night, I kept thinkin’ about what I said to you an’ how you said I could always talk to you.”

Rainbow grasped Twilight’s forehooves in her own, drawing the mare to face her directly. “You always make me think more’n I normally do.” Her smile widened. “So I thought a lot about you and eventually about you an’ me together. I dunno when it changed, but I know when it started. It started when somepony I barely knew saw me hurting and almost knocked her chair over to hug me.”

Twilight lifted a hoof out of Rainbow’s grip and pressed it to her own muzzle, willing her lips to not quiver. She gave a tiny sniff and leaned forward to kiss Rainbow’s cheek. She whispered, “How could I not hug you?”

Nuzzling Twilight’s face, she whispered back, “That you’d say that is one of the reasons I fell in love with you.” Twilight smiled gently into the nuzzle, pulling away with reluctance. Rainbow grinned at Scootaloo, who was pointedly not watching them, before turning back to Twilight. “So that’s how it started for me. How about you?”

“Well…to tell you the truth, Rainbow…it sorta started when we met.”

Rainbow’s sat up straight in surprise. “Really?”

“…Yeah. Watching you clear the sky for the Celebration so quickly…it was amazing, really. I never saw anything like it.” Her face colored and she turned away, a coy smile on her lips. “You could say I had a crush on you in ten seconds flat.”

Rainbow snorted and ruffled Twilight’s mane, drawing giggles from the unicorn. Twilight patted her bangs back down with a hoof and said, “I tried to not think about it, because I assumed you wouldn’t be interested.”

Sighing with a rueful smirk on her lips, Rainbow shook her head. “It woulda been a whole lot easier if either of us just asked each other out, huh?” Twilight giggled again and nodded as Rainbow winked at Scootaloo. “So why don’t you tell the next part?”

Twilight nodded and smiled at the filly. She took a sip of her coffee, cleared her throat, and began.

Twilight’s smirk slowly faded as Snips and Snails cantered off to clean up the mess wrought by the Ursa Minor. She sighed to herself and headed back towards the library, weariness dragging her head down low and slowing her pace. She reached out with her will to grasp the doorknob and twinges of pain lanced through her horn, making her wince and shake her head. “Too much magic today,” she mumbled, pulling open the door with her hoof, trudging over to a floor pillow and collapsing with a groan.

A small knock sounded from the door. Casting a bleary eye, Twilight was greeted by Rainbow Dash, smirking with a hoof raised to the still wide open door. “Hey, Twilight.”

Rubbing her face with a hoof, Twilight sat up and tried to smile. She was interrupted by a sudden yawn. Color rose to her cheeks as her visitor partially stifled a snort. “Hi, Rainbow,” she greeted, rubbing an eye with her hoof. “What can I do for you?”

Rainbow tentatively stepped across the threshold, shutting the door with a gentle kick. “I just…wanted to check on ya.” She smiled sheepishly, pawing at the floor with a hoof.

Twilight frowned. “Check on me?”

“…Yeah.” The mare awkwardly cantered around the room, her eyes passing over the book-cases without really taking anything in. She quietly cleared her throat a few times, but didn’t say anything else.

Dragging herself back to standing, Twilight asked, “Why’d you want to check on me?”

Rainbow opened her mouth, her throat working but no sound coming out. She scowled and sighed, slumping her shoulders. “I’m…not good at this, Twilight. Talking about stuff. Finding…words.” She rubbed at her shoulder with a foreleg, looking down at the floor.

Slowly, Twilight nodded and she cantered closer to her friend. “Just say what you wanna say; I’m listening.”

Rainbow frowned deeper and looked Twilight in the eye. “This stuff tonight with Trixie…did you really think we wouldn’t wanna be friends with you?” Twilight’s ears fell back against her head and she looked away. “…S’what I thought. Twilight…” She stepped closer and put a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.

Twilight winced. “I’m sorry…please don’t be mad I doubted you.”

Straightening in her stance and blinking in confusion, Rainbow said, “I’m not mad. Why would I be mad?” She shook her head. “I was worried about you and thought maybe you needed a friend to talk to. Like, uh…Like I did. After Gilda. So, uh…yeah.”

Twilight turned back to Rainbow Dash, worry melting to relief, a small smile growing on her lips. “…Thank you, Rainbow.” She pulled the mare into a hug, both of them tensed and fidgety in the embrace. “I’m…thank you.” She stepped back, smiling weakly at her friend. “I should’ve known better. You girls are better than that. You’re…” She looked away and sniffed. Frowning, Rainbow stepped forward again, but Twilight shrugged her off. “I’m fine. I’m still getting used to what it’s like to have friends.”

Twilight wiped at her eyes and smiled at Rainbow a little brighter. “I can’t believe I went for so long without any.”

Rainbow grinned warmly and after a moment of deliberation drew Twilight into another, more fierce hug. “You’re totally awesome, Twilight. You don’t haveta prove anything to anypony here; we know it and you should know it. Your magic was…” She pursed her lips, mulling it over in her mind. “Radical. Totally radical.”

Twilight inhaled sharply to clear her snout, hugging Rainbow back. “Thanks.”

“I mean it.” Rainbow pulled back, a small hint of pink in her cheeks. “You’re awesome and powerful and totally amazing to see in action.” She puffed out her chest and narrowed her eyes in confidence. “Like me!” Twilight grinned and shook her head. Rainbow’s stance fell back to sheepish. “…So you’re okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She rubbed at her forehead, willing the blossoming headache away. “Just tired. That took a lot out of me.”

“Say no more; I’ll let ya get some sleep.” Rainbow turned towards the door. “See ya later, Twi’.”

Twilight waved gently as the daredevil took to her wings and sailed into the night, the force of her departure pulling the door shut behind her. The unicorn inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath, pulling herself up the stairs towards her bedroom on aching hooves. ‘Rainbow called me ‘Twi’,’ she thought to herself, a happy grin blooming on her muzzle. It sounded so…intimate. She flopped onto her bed and dug herself under the covers, grinning like an idiot.

Needling Twilight in the ribs with a hoof, Rainbow teased, “Now who’s talkin’ about stuff that happened weeks before we got together?”

Twilight giggled, ribbing Rainbow back. “Well, you said you didn’t know when it changed from thinking about me to thinking about us. I did know when that happened for me, so I thought I’d share.”

“Wait…that night after Trixie first came to Ponyville was when you…?”

“Yeah…” Twilight’s face flushed and she smiled radiantly at Rainbow. Rainbow arched an eyebrow and set her hooves on her hips. Scootaloo watched the mares quietly regard each other, wondering if they had forgotten she was even in the room. Twilight pawed at the pillow, clearing her throat. “Before then, I’d had a crush on you. I thought you were amazing, and pretty, and somepony to admire. Then…after that night…” Her blush darkened and she leaned in closer. “Well…the first thing was how you reacted to my magic; it reminded me so much of how I felt watching you fly. I used to think we were so different before then, so it must’ve been just a silly crush, but I realized we were the same; you with flying and me with magic. Does that make sense?”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat, and she started laughing. Covering her mouth with a hoof, she fell over backwards, kicking wildly in the air while attempting to stifle the brunt of her merriment. When she caught Twilight’s mystified expression, she forced away the worst of it and scrambled back to her haunches. “Sorry, sorry,” she choked out, “It’s just…I realized the same thing! Remember how I said, ‘Like me?’” Twilight nodded numbly. Rainbow almost lost control of her laughter again, a few choked snickers escaping her throat. “I remember thinkin’, ‘I bet this is what it feels like to watch me fly!’” She lost control of herself for good and flopped back over, howling into the floor pillow.

Twilight shook her head slowly and held her face in her hooves, giggling along with her marefriend. Scootaloo set her empty mug on the floor, attempting to keep her own laughter in check. Rainbow’s rather exaggerated physical display made it difficult.

Still snickering, Rainbow pulled herself back up, her voice dripping with mirth. “So anyway, besides us having the same idea at the same time about how we’re practically the same pony, what else?”

Twilight snorted and shoved Rainbow playfully. “Gimme a second; I’m busy rethinking every thought I’ve ever had around you.” Eventually, they both regained a modicum of composure and Twilight took a deep breath. “…Anyway…The other thing was how you acted like I was crazy for thinking you’d be mad I’d doubted you. It would’ve been perfectly reasonable to be hurt by that; I didn’t trust you, any of you girls.” She sighed, casting her gaze at the floor. “I still regret that…”

Frowning, Rainbow lifted Twilight’s chin, drawing her line of sight back up. She opened her mouth, but Twilight waved her off with a hoof.

“The point being it didn’t even enter your head to feel that way. You just wanted to make sure I was alright.” She grasped Rainbow’s still outstretched hoof in her own, squeezing the limb and grinning. “Suddenly instead of you just being pretty and fun, you were somepony I felt a connection to, who was kind and thoughtful. It stopped being just that I liked you and that I wanted to be with you.”

They looked into each other’s eyes for several moments, affection drilling into each other. Rainbow started and glanced over at Scootaloo. She coughed and cleared her throat. “Well…that’s the backstory, Scoots.” Her smile turned chagrined. “So, uh, onto what happened. Do you wanna tell it, Twi’?”

“Let’s tell it together.”

Author's Note

lol, more cliffhangers.

Don't fret too much, as I mentioned last week,there will be a double-update this week. Keep an eye out for chapter nine on Wednesday.

Thanks for reading, see ya in a few days.

IX: A Fall Weather Get Together

Chapter 9
A Fall Weather Get Together

Twilight inhaled deeply, fiddling with the number forty-two position tag in her hooves. There were lots of smells she enjoyed: the warm and yeasty headiness of freshly baked bread; the musty, dry crispness of new parchment; the murky, earthy unctuousness of an opened bottle of ink. But nothing quite matched the smell of autumn. The odor of dried sap, sweet and syrupy, mixed with the primal musk of fallow wood and the sharp, stark, coppery note of distant storms that always hung on the wind.

She sat back on the park bench and kicked her hindlegs idly. A few leaves remained resolutely clinging to the trees even after the day’s Running of the Leaves, and Twilight watched them sway in the evening wind. She smiled vacantly, twisting her running number back and forth, creasing and unfolding it randomly. She took another long and deep breath, savoring the cool scents and relishing the subtle bite of dryness on her throat, still slightly raw from the competition.

The sky above her head blossomed into a bouquet of yellows, reds, purples, and oranges as the sun moved across the horizon, painting the clouds into fallen leaves caught in a breeze. Her smile widened, her thoughts a jumbled mess of inarticulate contentment. The physical and mental fatigue from the run left her in a haze, so she sat silently and basked in the splendor.

The sound of slow hoofbeats lifted Twilight from her reverie. Rainbow Dash slowly cantered along the park’s path towards her, the meandering mare’s face lighting up as Twilight came into view. She picked up her pace. “Hey, Twi’. What’re you doin’ out here?”

Twilight smiled fondly, patting the bench beside her in invitation. “Hello, Rainbow. I was just enjoying the scenery.” She inhaled the lovely smell again, savoring the strong electric tang on the back of her tongue. As Rainbow sat down next to her on the bench and let out a long breath, Twilight’s eyes drifted back to the brilliant colors lighting up the sky. “Fall’s my favorite time of year. The clear sky’s never quite so blue other seasons. It never smells so clean.” Her grin widened as she continued to kick her hindlegs and fold her number over and over in her hooves. She turned to her friend.

Rainbow Dash, still dusty and frayed from the scuffle with Applejack hours before and now sporting an added layer of grime and sweat from rerunning the race, pulled off her own number eleven from her flank. She let out a sigh and leaned back into the bench. Twilight’s smile drooped. “You alright, Rainbow?”

Rainbow blinked slowly and shook her head. “Huh? Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” She rubbed at a kink in her neck. “I just ran the Runnin’ of the Leaves twice and feel like somepony dropped a mountain on me is all.” Her beleaguered smile made Twilight shake her head and smirk.

“I’m sorry you lost today.”

Rainbow shrugged noncommittally, leaning back and closing her eyes. “Me an’ AJ kinda earned it, ya know.” She grimaced and twisted her head to the side, discharging a loud pop. “Oh, Luna, I needed that.” Rainbow paused, her eyes refocusing on her friend. “Hey.” She sat up, catching Twilight’s gaze. “I never said congratulations to ya for gettin’ fifth place.” She frowned at herself and grumbled, “Too busy bein’ a jerk to AJ. And you.”

Twilight waved her off. “It’s fine.”

“No it isn’t.” Her scowl deepened and she leaned in closer. “I was a big ol’ jerk to you about this race, an’ when you placed, when one of my best friends placed in the race, all I could say was, ‘Twilight beat us!’” She sunk back into the bench, her grimace directed inward.

Twilight shook her head again, still smiling. “It is fine, Rainbow. A pair of athletes like you and Applejack would normally be sure to win, were you on top of your game. One of you should’ve won; I shouldn’t have placed at all. I would’ve gotten seventh place in a fair race.”

Rainbow bolted back upright. “Don’t say that!” She gripped the medal around Twilight’s neck, lifting it away enough for Twilight to easily look at it. “You earned this, Twi’. You ran smart and nopony can say you don’t deserve it.” Twilight felt her face grow warm as Rainbow gingerly dropped the medal back to her chest. “So congratulations, Twi’.”

A pleased smile on her muzzle, Twilight’s eyes drifted over her friend’s earnest face, settling on her dusty and disheveled mane. She smirked and clicked her tongue, attempting to straighten the unruly hairs with a hoof. “You are a mess, Rainbow.”

Rolling her eyes but not pulling away, Rainbow let Twilight futilely pat down her bangs. Giving it up as a bad job, Twilight’s hoof lowered and her gaze followed slowly, until her eyes locked with the mare. A hypnotic lull fell over both ponies as they sat side by side, looking into each other. Twilight’s already warm face grew hotter and twin blotches of pink sprung to Rainbow’s cheeks. Hardly daring to breathe, they sat in heavy silence.

A fat drop of rain landed on Rainbow’s snout, drawing a surprised blink. Both mares looked upwards. Inky black clouds blanketed half the sky, rolling swiftly towards the dying rays on the horizon. “Uh oh,” Rainbow muttered.

“I didn’t know it was supposed to rain today.”

Rainbow’s voice took on a hard edge. “It isn’t. This must be out of the Everfree.” Wet slaps sounded out around the pair, growing closer together and more insistent. As the random spats gradually transformed to a sheet of incoming water, they raised their hooves over their heads and looked around wildly for cover.

“The gazebo!” Twilight shouted over the growing din, taking off at a gallop with Rainbow following close behind her. They skidded to a stop in the small gazebo, wiping the running channels of water away from their eyes. They turned and watched the sky.

The raging storm blacked out the remaining light from the sun and cast the park into darkness. Sight hindered, the violence of the weather made itself known through other senses; the thundering downpour on the roof of the gazebo a staccato sheet of sound, the raw humidity plastering their coats to their skin, the metallic taste of charged air coating the back of their throats, but most of all the overwhelming scent of rainstorms invading their shelter. The park stood muted by the raging storm as Twilight and Rainbow Dash watched, feeling rivulets of rain roll off their backs.

Twilight turned to her friend, barely able to see the shine off her eyes in the dark. “…Do you need to go? Is this weather team stuff?”

Rainbow looked back to the clouds, squinting hard. “Nah. Sometimes the Everfree kicks up magical storms, but this is just rain. There isn’t any lightning, either, so there’s no worry about anything getting damaged. I’ll have some paperwork tomorrow to reschedule rains for a week or two to keep from overwatering any crops, but for now I don’t haveta do anything.”

Twilight turned back towards the storm, joining Rainbow in letting the rush of sounds and smells wash over them in wordless silence. The clouds moved briskly overhead in waves, but no end could be seen in the distance. A smile slowly grew across Twilight’s face. She tapped Rainbow on the shoulder. “Want to run for it? Back to the library?”

Rainbow turned and regarded her friend in the darkness. The impish grin on the unicorn’s face was infectious. Rainbow folded her wings carefully to her sides and turned towards the path leading out of the park, bearing down in challenge. Twilight stepped to her side and matched her stance. Rainbow’s grin grew wider. “Ready?”

“One…two…three!”

They flashed out into the downpour, instantly soaked to the bone. Hooves clattered over the cobbled path as muscles flexed and bunched, propelling them side by side through the dark. Water leapt high in splashes with every step, rain streaming across their eyes and snouts. They laughed breathlessly as they galloped, pulling ahead and falling behind each other in their mad sprint. Having trouble seeing ahead through the rain and dark, coupled with the exertion from earlier in the day, kept either from going all-out, transforming a potential race into a giggling rush through unending water.

They burst from the park and charged down the deserted streets of Ponyville, the amber light that spilled out of shops and homes shining off the soaked roads. They stole glances at each other in the flashes of light, glints of reflected gold bouncing off water droplets, eyes, and Twilight’s medal. With the market behind them, they rounded Town Hall neck and neck, the distant silhouette of the oak tree rustling against the darkened sky ahead of them. Sugarcube Corner whipping past in a blur, Twilight’s horn lit up their path and swung the door open ahead of them. They flung themselves into the library at a leap simultaneously, Twilight slamming the door shut in their wake.

They lay in a heap on the hardwood floor of the library’s main room, giggling breathlessly around heaving gulps of air. With a small exertion of will, Twilight sparked the fireplace to life, sending tendrils of warmth and light into the room. She pulled herself up to sitting on her haunches and turned to Rainbow Dash.

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. The grime from racing and fighting had been washed off her daredevil friend. Streams of water ran over her shining coat, darkened to a deeper blue by the moisture and smeared haphazardly in playful cowlicks. Her mane, dark and dripping, clung to her forehead and neck in a swirl of color.

Rainbow Dash stared back at Twilight. The unicorn’s mane, plastered around her face in a shining sheet of blue dyed almost black, framed her eyes and caught glints of orange from the fire along its smooth and dripping surface. Rain ran around her cheeks to patter from her chin to the floor.

‘Dear Celestia,’ they both thought, ‘She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

They turned away simultaneously, pawing at the floor. Rainbow cleared her throat, willing steadiness into her voice. “So, uh…is Spike here?”

“He was with Pinkie at Sugarcube Corner for the after party…he’s probably stuck there for the night in this weather.” A stifling silence fell over the room, the crackling logs in the fireplace providing the only noise. Twilight shakily wiped at her brow before straightening suddenly, the motion flinging droplets behind her. “Towels. I’ll go get us some towels.”

On unsteady and trembling legs, Twilight stood and numbly cantered to the bathroom, pulling several fuzzy towels off a shelf in a glow of magic. She re-entered, pointedly not looking directly at the pegasus, who was busy staring at the floor. She plopped several down in front of Rainbow and floated the remainder around herself, wringing the wet from her coat and mane. She took off her medal and levitated it over to her desk as she finished drying her tail. Satisfied that she was damp but not dripping, she chanced a glance at her friend.

A towel in her teeth, Rainbow awkwardly ran her forelegs over its surface to dry her chest, scowling in frustration. Twilight stifled a giggle. “Here, let me help.”

Not really sure why she wasn’t using magic to do it, Twilight lifted a towel in her hooves and wrapped it around Rainbow’s back, massaging the cloth against her coat and carefully around her wings. Rainbow went completely still, the towel dropping from her slack mouth and eyes locked straight in front of her as Twilight slowly dried her back and sides. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, willing the blush from her face as Twilight reached her tail and worked from her dock to the tips of her long hairs. Twilight dropped the saturated towel and grabbed another to circle Rainbow’s head. She ran her hooves along the towel, through Rainbow’s mane and down her neck with gentle strokes, her stance slowly drifting to directly in front of the stock-still mare as she worked. She sat on her haunches as she finished and pulled the towel back from Rainbow’s face.

She froze in place to match Rainbow as their eyes met, the pegasus’ mane sticking up in wild chunks around her head. Mere inches from each other, matching dark smears of crimson from snout to cheek on both faces, the hypnotic state at the park gripped them both again. Silence reigned in the library as the towel fell away, rolling down Rainbow’s back and crumpling on the floor. Neither could read the other’s expression as they sat, consumed by each other’s gaze. As if magnetized, their muzzles drifted closer, the small gap separating them slowly bleeding away.

With less than an inch of space left, Twilight’s eyes flew wide and she leapt to her hooves. “S-sorry! I’m—” her voice wavered and she swallowed thickly, darting her head wildly around the room like a cornered animal. “I’m…I…” She bolted up the stairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her.

Rainbow’s eyes lingered on the staircase, her jaw slack. It took a few minutes for her brain to catch back up with the present. Feeling dizzy and confused, she climbed to her hooves and headed up the stairs.

Rainbow could hear sniffling through the door as she approached from the darkened staircase, tentatively raising a hoof to knock. She paused, hoof held high, and stared at the swirling wood grain of the door, willing her heart to stop beating so madly and her mystified head to stop spinning. She took a deep breath and knocked.

“G-go away.” The raw throatiness of her voice told Rainbow that Twilight was crying.

“Let me in, Twi’. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“N-no. I-if you don’t go away…I’m…” Twilight trailed off into miserable whimpers.

Rainbow sighed, leaning her forehead against the portal. “Please let me in; whatever’s going on we’ll figure it out,” she pleaded.

“If I see you, I…I’m gonna do something stupid and you’ll hate me.”

Rainbow’s voice, still low and gentle, grew insistent and invited no arguments. “Twilight Sparkle, for as long as I live and breathe there is nothing you could ever do to make me hate you.”

Twilight’s sniffling stilled and Rainbow stepped back from leaning on the door as her steps grew louder. Bright light spilled from the room as Twilight’s reddened eyes peeked around the cracked door. Hesitantly, she stepped back and allowed Rainbow to enter. “Thanks, now tell me what’s…bothering…” Their eyes met again, just across the threshold.

In the brighter light, Rainbow Dash could read her friend’s expression. Below the guilt and quelled tears, she saw Twilight’s fear. She saw her confusion, her worry, her doubts. She saw the warring mix of that fright and some sort of desire; a desire to act, to be impulsive, to charge forward recklessly. Rainbow recognized it readily in herself, preparing for the thrill of a new trick.

Rainbow Dash thought it was breathtaking.

Trapped under Rainbow’s scrutiny, Twilight’s indecision rearrested her mind. Not trusting herself, she held her breath and willed herself still, even as Rainbow stepped closer, reducing their distance all on her own. Inches away, Rainbow lifted a hoof from the floor, timidly reaching up, skittishly lowering back an inch for every two inches raised.

The soft limb settled gently on Twilight’s cheek. Rainbow’s hoof, still vaguely damp and chilled from the rain, cupped her cool and goose-fleshed face. Past the surface layer of cold, heat emanated from the leg, cutting through the frigid dampness and radiating into Twilight to send a shiver up her spine and drive her eyelids shut. She unconsciously leaned into Rainbow’s hoof. Her eyes slowly opened again, swimming back into focus on Rainbow’s face. “Rainbow, I—”

The gap collapsed as Rainbow darted through the remaining space. A battering ram of relief bludgeoned Twilight’s fear and worry to pulp as Rainbow’s cupping hoof guided their muzzles together in a simple touch.

Twilight’s eyes fell shut again as she stood rooted in place, her mind desperately attempting to memorize the sensation of Rainbow’s lips against her own. She stretched the brief seconds of contact out to as close to eternity as she could, unable to think or act, just existing in the few and precious moments. Her eyes reopened in a haze as Rainbow pulled sharply away.

“I-I—I’m sor—I should go.” Rainbow scrambled backwards, her eyes wide and ears flat. She darted towards the door.

“Wait!”

Rainbow skidded to a halt at the call. She scrunched her eyes shut tight and she turned her head from Twilight. “I’m sorry, Twilight, I dunno what I was thinkin’, you’re just so beautiful, an’ you looked so sad, and, Oh Luna, I’m sorry, I—” Rainbow’s throat stopped working as she felt Twilight nuzzle into her neck; a long, lingering glide of coat to coat lazily grazing from her chin, down her jawline, and into her shoulder. Bewildered, she turned to Twilight, nestled into her. “…You?”

Twilight nodded against her and nuzzled in closer. A helpless, relieved giggle shook Twilight’s frame and she forced a deep breath, pulling away with heavy reluctance. “…I came up here because I was afraid I was gonna kiss you.”

Muscles Rainbow didn’t know she had been tensing released, nearly dragging the mare to the floor in a wave of evaporating apprehension. The two giggled in relief at each other, realization slowly spreading over the pair, transforming their moods from a simple absence of fear to giddy happiness. Rainbow Dash sprung forward again, pulling Twilight into a second, longer kiss.

This time, Twilight kissed back.

Rainbow gestured dramatically with a hoof, saying, “And that’s how it happened.” The look she exchanged with Twilight made Scootaloo think there was a bit more that happened afterwards than what they shared, but she opted not to push the point; some things were better left alone.

Scootaloo shook her head slowly. “Wow. That happened over three years ago. You’ve been together for that long?”

They looked at each other blankly. Somewhat mystified herself, Twilight said, “…Yeah, I guess we have.”

“I’ll admit, I was kinda dense for not noticin’ sooner, but you guys are way different now than I remember. I would’ve guessed six months if you’d asked.”

Exchanging another uneasy glance with Twilight, Rainbow scratched at the back of her neck. “…Well, it was like I was sayin’ earlier. We got all worked up over nothin’; if we’d just talked it out, it woulda been a lot less awkward. So we took it slow.” She shrugged.

Twilight nodded. “We started dating after that. We saw lots of movies, went to dinner at least once a week, that sort of stuff.”

“Sounds like you were just hangin’ out.”

They both frowned in thought and nodded. Twilight smiled wanly at Scootaloo. “That’s kinda what it was like. A big part of having a special somepony is they become as close as a best friend. Sometimes it’s romantic, but a lot of the time it’s just spending time having fun together.”

Scootaloo nodded, her mind wandering through dozens of scenarios of herself spending time with Sweetie Belle, at the park, in the movies, on her scooter, all very appealing. “I can see it. You two’ve always been close. But it’s been…different for a while now, hasn’t it?”

Rainbow scratched idly at the back of her neck while Twilight rubbed her chin. Their attentions drifted around the room as they sat, contemplating in silence. Their eyes met and they exchanged bewildered smiles. Twilight shrugged and Rainbow said, “I guess so.”

“What changed?”

After another long pause, Rainbow mumbled, “We did, I guess. Three years of takin’ it slow caught up with us.” She extended a hoof towards Twilight, who took it in her own. She grinned affectionately at her marefriend. “For such an awkward start, things turned out pretty awesome.” Twilight nodded.

Scootaloo smirked, her voice taking on a challenging tone. “That’s the other thing; whaddya mean awkward? That story was, like, totally adorable.”

Rainbow Dash snorted, shaking her head. “Scoots, we spent about a month each worryin’ and makin’ ourselves sick, then had the most awkward night ever. It ended okay, but it woulda been way easier for everypony if I just asked Twi’ out, or she asked me out.”

Stars shining in her eyes and a dopey grin on her face, Scootaloo marveled, “But then you wouldn’t have had that romantic kiss!”

Snickering, Rainbow shook her head. She absentmindedly squeezed Twilight’s hoof. “That kiss was so not romantic. Nothin’ that ends with somepony almost jumping out a window in a panic is romantic.” She turned to the unicorn, her smirk softening and her eyes shining. “’Sides. It’s not the first kiss that’s important, or hearin’ somepony say ‘yes’ to a date. It’s all the time afterwards. It’s growing closer to somepony else with each passing day until you can’t imagine a life without them there. It’s spending hours talking to them until you pass out, waking up the next day and doing it all over again and still not thinkin’ it’s enough.”

Rainbow’s smile gradually faded to a neutral line, her gaze emphatic and yearning in its connection to Twilight. The library fell silent around them as Rainbow breathed steadily. “…That’s what’s important.” A wry smirk spread across her muzzle and she shook her head. “You turned me into such a sap, Twi’.”

“Me?” she giggled, “I used to be so practical and wrapped up in research. You’re the emotional one.”

Scootaloo grinned at the pair as they chuckled, pushing each other with teasing shoves. While still ambivalent and questioning herself on her feelings for Sweetie Belle, watching and listening to the two adults that had involved themselves in her life be so together brought the filly several steps closer to ready.

“Thanks,” she said quietly, “Both of you. I’m…” she frowned, sorting through her emotions. “Well, still confused, but I’m not scared anymore.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, leaning into Rainbow’s shoulder. “Great. I’m glad, Scootaloo. Any time you need to talk, we’re here. Alright?” Scootaloo nodded as Rainbow’s wing unfurled and hugged Twilight closer. Their attentions shifted back to each other, their affection stoked bright and fierce from the long conversation. Twilight leaned forward and their lips met in a quick but emotionally charged kiss.

When they looked back up, they were greeted by the sight of Mrs. Taker, standing wide eyed in the open doorway.

Author's Note

lol, even more cliffhangers.

Well, at least Monday isn't a full week away. I'm also getting close to finishing drafting the remainder of the story here: just a handful more scenes to go. If I stay at my current pace, there's a rather strong chance I'll be done next week and this Monday/Wednesday update schedule will become a permanent thing for the remainder of the story. I'll let you know more then.

Thanks for reading.

X: Finding Strength

Chapter 10
Finding Strength

Rainbow Dash and Twilight sat up quickly, pulling away from each other. Eyebrow raised, Scootaloo looked back at the door and felt the blood drain from her face. Mrs. Taker’s throat worked silently a few times as she stared at the couple. Stillness flooded the library in a suffocating tide. Scootaloo’s shoulders and head drooped as she attempted to fold in on herself.

After a long and painful thirty seconds, Mrs. Taker found her voice. Her words were clipped and sharp. “Scootaloo. Home. Now.”

Casting a fearful glance back towards Twilight and Rainbow, Scootaloo climbed off the pillow and timidly cantered towards the door, avoiding her foster parent’s eyes. Rainbow Dash met Mrs. Taker’s gaze head on, reading revulsion pouring off her face in thick waves. The filly’s small, clacking steps were the only noise in the library as the three mares held their breaths.

Scootaloo slunk past Mrs. Taker and into the low light of early evening in Ponyville. She understood why her caregiver had come looking for her; the conversation had gone on longer than she had realized. Mrs. Taker shut the library door a little harder than necessary and set off at a swift trot without looking back. Scootaloo grabbed her scooter and rushed to keep up.

They walked in stony silence across the center of town, Scootaloo’s heart thundering in her chest. On the other side of Town Hall, she blurted out, “I’m sorry I was out so late, please don’t be mad! I had to talk to Rainbow Dash and Twilight and it took longer than I thought, I’m really sorry!”

Mrs. Taker grunted noncommittally, not slowing her pace. Scootaloo frowned deeply, her brow furrowed with worry. After several minutes of tense quiet they exited downtown Ponyville and made their way into their neighborhood. Scootaloo chewed compulsively on her lip. Unable to take the empty sound of hoof-falls any more, she pleaded, “I’ll do all my chores before dinner, I promise! I won’t let it happen again, please. It was a mistake, that’s all, honest!”

She fell silent again as Mrs. Taker turned down their block without a word. An antsy, crawling sense of panic clawed its way up her spine as their house came into view. Curfew was a hardline rule and she had broken it. She feared grounding and the loss of what little time to herself she still had. Following in silence up to their front door, Scootaloo set her scooter against the wall and followed Mrs. Taker inside.

The mare closed the door and sagged where she stood, expelling a long and deep breath. Scootaloo didn’t dare to move as Mrs. Taker cantered slowly to the old sofa and eased herself down, rubbing at her eyes. She brushed a lock of her mane away from her mouth and stared at the wall, her gaze remote. Scootaloo took a tentative step forward on the creaky floorboards.

“Scootaloo,” Mrs. Taker began, her voice flat and as distant as her eyes, “You’re not allowed to see either Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle again.”

Scootaloo lurched back as if struck. Her heart felt like a hummingbird trapped in her ribcage, fighting its way out. The extra pressure in her temples made her head swim. “Wh-what?” she stammered out.

Mrs. Taker began muttering more to herself than the filly. “I had no idea the weather team was headed by a—a degenerate like that.” Her eyes grew narrow, taking on a hard and mean cast. “And the protégé of the princess? Nopony can blame me for not suspecting…”

Shaking her head forcefully and swallowing at the dry lump in her throat, Scootaloo forced out a little louder, “What do you mean I can’t see them? What about coaching and tutoring?”

She flicked her attention towards Scootaloo. “No more of it.” She shook her head, staring back out into nothingness. “Never would’ve believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes…And in such positions of authority…” She scoffed, shaking her head again.

With several deep and slow breaths, Scootaloo fought to maintain control of her body. She had to talk this out. “Why?”

Mrs. Taker snapped back to the present, her face contorting in a snarling grimace. Energy rushed to her voice, low and venomous. “Why? They’re, they’re that way, Scootaloo. You can’t trust those types with foals.” Her eyes widened with sudden dread, her voice changing to as close to concern as Scootaloo had ever heard from her. “Oh Celestia, it’s been over a month now. They haven’t ever touched you, have they?”

Her trembling legs gave out under her and Scootaloo fell to her haunches. She stumbled over her words, unable to come to terms with the implications of the question. “Touched me? Touched me? W-why on Equestria would you think that about them?”

Mrs. Taker breathed a sigh of relief and backpedaled. “Well of course not all of those types do that to foals, but some of them do, Scootaloo.” Feeling her image was intact, she narrowed her eyes and spoke with authority. “It’s too dangerous for you to be in their care for any length of time. That’s final.”

Scootaloo felt the world crash down around her. She wanted to bolt from the room. She wanted to toss herself on her small bed and cry. Her body screamed at her to run. She inhaled deeply and planted her hooves. She couldn’t run. This was too important to give up on. She had to fight.

She scrunched her eyes shut and conjured the lavender blue colt to her mind. His yellow eyes wavered out of focus; a constructed figment of courage and determination with no tangibility. Wing-jacks while tired had nothing on this. A small whimper escaped her throat as her front hooves started pushing at the floor, commanding her retreat. Heat and moisture rushed to the inside of her eyelids.

Rainbow Dash leapt into her mind, replacing the colt. The daredevil smirked, eyes low in aggressive challenge, ready to buck a dragon in the face, ready to break the speed of sound, ready to catch a filly tumbling down a waterfall. Strength flowed into her from Rainbow’s gaze.

Scootaloo leapt to her hooves, legs planted wide. She set her jaw, narrowed her eyes, and thundered, “No!”

Mrs. Taker blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I said no. You’re not taking Rainbow Dash and Twilight away from me.”

An uncomfortable quiet settled over the room as Mrs. Taker stared disbelieving at her foster foal. Eventually she found her voice. “This isn’t up for debate.”

“I’m not debating.” She pawed the floor in challenge, ears down and tail flicking. “I’m not gonna lose out on flying and school just ‘cause they’re gay.”

Mrs. Taker expelled a forceful breath of air, her eyes re-hardening. “I know you’re disappointed, but it’s too much of a risk.”

Scootaloo’s glare narrowed. “Rainbow Dash has been lookin’ out for me for two years, Mrs. Taker, ever since she saved my life. She’d never, ever hurt me. She…she cares about me.” A swelling tide of anger and pain started to fill her chest.

“Well, Twilight—”

“Twilight Sparkle figured out I had dyslexia in ten minutes!” she screamed, the hairs on her neck standing on end. Mrs. Taker fell back into the couch, her eyes wide and jaw slack. “She’s the first pony who ever looked!” Wetness sprung to her eyes, her throat feeling thick and hot. “I-I can do math again ‘c-cause of her. I un-understand it again. I can read. I-it makes sense; school makes sense again!” She swallowed thickly, rubbing furiously at her eyes. Mrs. Taker leaned forward, but Scootaloo stomped her hoof back against the floor with an echoing clatter. “And-and, you accuse her of—How dare you? How dare you?!”

Scootaloo’s heavy panting was all that broke the silence for several moments while Mrs. Taker regarded her charge with total shock. “…You have to understand, it’s my job to make sure you’re safe, and letting you around ponies like them is too much of a risk.”

Resisting the urge to spit on the floor, Scootaloo shook her head forcefully and began pacing in agitation in front of the couch. “Yeah. Your job. That’s all I’ve ever been to you. A job.”

“Scootaloo…”

She whipped around, facing Mrs. Taker again, shouting, “Don’t pretend like you care about me! Like you ever cared about me! Like I was anything more than a mouth to feed to you or Mr. Taker!” Her voice lowered and her eyes shrunk to darkened slits. “I’m just a little sprout to keep alive.”

Mrs. Taker gaped wordlessly, staring at Scootaloo, really seeing her for possibly the first time. She tentatively extended a hoof towards the filly, but was rebuked as Scootaloo resumed her pacing.

“I’m sure the town would love to hear about this, huh? That’d help you with your job, if everypony knew you kept me from learning to fly from a Wonderbolt Academy Team Lead pony, or from being tutored by Princess Celestia’s student. Rainbow Dash’s coaching got me in the air a little today, did you know that? And I had a meeting with Ms. Cheerilee and Twilight; I got a B plus on my last math test! Yeah, the town’d love to hear about how you made me stop seeing a tutor that was getting results. I’m sure that’d make you look awesome.”

Mrs. Taker slowly crumpled in on herself against the back of the couch. Her dumbstruck expression grew distant and she stared out the window. After several minutes of Scootaloo’s frenetic pacing, she sighed out, flat and toneless, “Do whatever you want, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo grunted through her snout and stomped out the door, slamming it behind her. Mrs. Taker listened to the buzz of her scooter quickly fade away. She slowly sunk to her side on the couch and curled up in a ball, staring out the window. When Mr. Taker arrived home, she numbly went to bed without a word.

Scootaloo tore through town on her scooter, pumping her wings to their limits, weaving dangerously along the uneven road. She could barely see through the pulsing in her temples that sent tremors through her vision in waves of red. Her lungs burned from the exertion of her adrenaline-fueled race combined with the fast and shallow breaths of near hyperventilation.

She skidded to a crashing halt in front of the library, letting her scooter tumble away from her in a heap. She nearly yanked the door off its hinges as she barreled inside.

At the bang of the door, Rainbow Dash and Twilight jumped in shock, the pegasus leaping out of Twilight’s embrace. Scootaloo threw herself into Rainbow’s chest and hugged tight just as the mare turned to face her.

“Whoa, hey,” Rainbow stammered, her raspy voice raw and low. Frayed at the edges past her breaking point, Scootaloo began crying into Rainbow’s coat. Rainbow sniffled loudly to clear her snout and tentatively returned the embrace. “Scoots, I…I didn’t expect to see ya again…today.”

“Sh-she was gonna keep me from seeing you ever again,” the filly choked out around her exhausted sobs, “She s-said you were dangerous.” Scootaloo hugged the mare tighter. “I…I yelled at her. So much. I said all these awful things and…”

“Shh, it’s okay, Scoots, it’s okay…” Rainbow stroked Scootaloo’s spiky mane with a hoof. “Just tell me what happened.”

The filly talked fitfully, the helpless shaking of her frame joining her tears. “Sh-she said I couldn’t see either of you again, ‘cause…” She scrunched her eyes tight forcefully, acid rising in the back of her throat. “Since you’re gay, she said you might hurt me. I…I yelled at her. I got so angry that she’d say such awful things about you…” Frowning sadly, Rainbow glanced sideways at Twilight and beckoned her with a twitch of an ear. The unicorn, bewildered and out of sorts, haltingly stepped closer. Rainbow extended a wing and dragged Twilight into the embrace. Twilight awkwardly hugged them both.

Scootaloo’s panic slowly drained, held by the two mares. She took a long, deep, steadying breath. “…I said she didn’t care about me an’ only thought of me as a job. I said I’d tell everypony she made me stop seein’ you, even though you’re both helpin’ me with school and flying. I couldn’t let her take you away from me.” Her voice cracked on the last word and she tightly shut her eyes again. “Sh-she gave up after I was done, said I could do whatever I wanted, so I came here. I dunno what to do now…”

Rainbow sighed slowly through her snout, her eyes drifting shut. “S’alright, Scoots. We can deal with that later.” She hugged the little filly closer. “…I was afraid somethin’ like this was gonna happen when I saw her come in.”

Twilight leaned over in the hug and kissed Rainbow on the brow. “We’ll figure this out, Rainbow. And Scootaloo, whatever happens, our door is always open to you, got it?”

Scootaloo nodded weakly into Rainbow’s chest. “I’m scared.”

Rainbow’s other wing unfurled and joined her hooves in holding Scootaloo. “S’okay, Scoots. I’m here. You don’t haveta be scared.”

Sniffling miserably, Scootaloo nodded again. “When she told me I couldn’t see you guys anymore, I got really scared. I…I tried to use that colt, like you told me, to be able to talk to her even though it was really hard. It…it didn’t work. I almost gave up. But then…I thought about you, Rainbow Dash. I thought about you and I wasn’t scared anymore.”

Rainbow Dash lost words for a moment, looking down at the top of Scootaloo’s head. After a long pause, she came to a decision and set her jaw. She turned to her marefriend. “Hey, Twi’? I bet Scoots hasn’t eaten anything, mind findin’ somethin’ she can have?” She raised her eyebrows and flicked her eyes meaningfully at Scootaloo and back to Twilight.

Twilight nodded in understanding and extricated herself from the group hug, cantering to the kitchen to give the pair privacy. Rainbow let up on her hug and carefully guided Scootaloo away from her chest by the filly’s shoulders. She looked Scootaloo in the eyes for a moment. “…You’re a great kid, Scoots. You really are. It means a lot that I could help ya out like that, even if I wasn’t there.” She took a deep breath, as Scootaloo wiped at her eyes. She smiled sadly. “I wanna tell ya something. Something important about me. I haven’t really been honest about that colt with ya, but I think it’d be good for you to hear now. See…he wasn’t just some random pony I read about in an article once. I knew him.”

Scootaloo finished drying her eyes, her ears perking up in interest. “You knew him? Who was he?”

“…He was my dad.”

Gaze wide and jaw hanging open, Scootaloo gaped at Rainbow. “…Y-your dad had his wings tied up ‘til he was twelve?”

Rainbow nodded solemnly, settling back on her haunches. “His parents were both earth ponies, but somewhere back in one of the families somepony was a pegasus. And, y’see, his dad always thought he wasn’t really his dad an’ his mom had…y’know.” Scootaloo grimaced and nodded. “And his mom came from a family that didn’t like pegasi, so they fought a lot and took it out on him.” She sighed, her eyes growing pained and reminiscent. “My dad was one of the strongest ponies I’ve ever met. ‘Cause of what he went through, he fought for everything and pushed himself harder and harder, just to prove somethin’ to them. He was a good stallion. The best I’ve ever met.”

Scootaloo looked to the floor, hazy memories of her own parents, rendered indistinct with time, floated ephemerally through her mind. “…I can see why you’d pick him for somepony to think about during tough stuff.”

Rainbow smiled. “You remind me of what he was like.”

Raising an eyebrow, Scootaloo met Rainbow’s gaze. “Was?” Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and dropped her head. Scootaloo’s throat bobbed soundlessly in the stillness.

“…After the colthood he had, my dad had a lot of health problems. He worked so hard, but…” She sighed heavily, sinking lower. “I was a little younger’n you are now when he died.”

“…Oh,” she responded lamely, her ears drooping. “A-and your mom?”

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders. “I dunno what happened to her. Whenever I asked about her, all my dad said was that she loved me very much. I was so young when he died I never got to hear the full story.”

“That’s awful…”

Rainbow smiled faintly, lifting her head to look at the filly. She ran a hoof through Scootaloo’s mane. “After that I was in foster care for a long time. I didn’t have any other family, and…well, you know how nopony really ever adopts foals after a certain age.” Scootaloo sighed and nodded in resignation. Rainbow’s smile widened a little. “You remind me of me, too. S’why I’ve tried ta look out for ya these last couple years. You’re a great kid, Scoots.”

Twilight tentatively cantered back into the main room, floating three plates of sandwiches in a glow of magic. She raised an eyebrow at her marefriend. Rainbow nodded and she swiftly made her way closer. Scootaloo smiled and took her sandwich in both hooves, tearing into it.

Twilight giggled. “She eats just like you, Rainbow.” Rainbow shot her a mock glare over her half-devoured sandwich.

Wiping her face and sitting back to pat her belly, Scootaloo glanced out the window at the almost pitch sky. “…It’s getting late. I…I dunno what to do.”

Rainbow finished off her dinner and belched loudly. Picking at her teeth with a hoof, she said, “I’ll walk ya home. If there’s trouble, we got a spare room here for the night and we’ll get this figured out tomorrow. Sound good?”

Scootaloo grimaced, but nodded. Rainbow gave Twilight a quick peck on the cheek and headed out the door. Scootaloo grabbed her fallen scooter and walked it alongside Rainbow as they headed back through town. “Thanks, Rainbow. Thank you for tellin’ me that. And thanks for bein’ there for me.”

Rainbow smiled warmly. “’Course, Scoots. I’ll never leave ya hangin’.”

“I know,” she mumbled to herself, “You never have.”

Several paces past Sugarcube Corner, Rainbow frowned thoughtfully at Scootaloo. “We, uh, didn’t really talk about it inside, but…with all the other stuff you’re goin’ through I bet it hurt to hear all those things about me an’ Twi’. Are you...I guess okay is the wrong word.” She shrugged helplessly.

Scootaloo expelled a forceful breath through her snout. “Not really. I mean…I knew that not everypony is okay with it already. I hear it at school sometimes from other foals.” A bitter smirk crossed her face. “Seems like as soon as you told me about gay ponies I hear it everywhere now.” She shook her head. “I’ll be okay, though. I’m still figurin’ all this out.”

Rainbow nodded, letting the conversation lapse as they made their way past Town Hall.

As Scootaloo led her scooter beside Rainbow in silence, a notion struck her. Before, whenever she was around her idol, she needed to fill any gaps in their conversation, whether it was with words or actions. She felt exposed and self-conscious in the quiet. Walking slowly next to the mare down the dark and empty Ponyville streets, full of stress and quickly-eaten sandwich, she didn’t feel suffocated by the silence. She felt at ease and comfortable.

She glanced at the duck-shaped patch of missing shingles as they cantered to the door of her house. Scootaloo swallowed hard and tried the handle, swinging the door open into the dark and still living room. She turned back to Rainbow. “Guess it’s okay.”

“You need anything, anything, Scoots, you come find me or Twilight, ‘kay? I’ll see ya Thursday for more training.”

A smile cracked her muzzle. “You got it, Rainbow. And tell Twilight I’ll see her tomorrow. With Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo’s voice uncontrollably raised half an octave on her crush’s name. Rainbow carefully controlled her features to hide her surprise and sudden understanding. She nodded once and cantered back out of the yard, taking off into the sky once she was out in the street.

Scootaloo carefully stepped into her house, minding the noisy floorboards. She crept up the stairs and started down the hall towards her bedroom. The door to the Taker’s room at the end of the hall cracked open and Mrs. Taker peered out at her.

Scootaloo’s ears fell flat and she timidly stepped back. “H-hi.”

The mare stared at her blankly, her expression unreadable.

“…I…I’m sorry for what I said earlier. I didn’t mea—”

Mrs. Taker cut her off, her tone as flat as her features. “You can finish today’s chores tomorrow. Dinner at the normal time.” She shut the door with a click.

Scootaloo sat on her haunches in the hall, staring at the floor for a good, long while. Eventually, she mustered enough strength to go into her room, perform her nightly stretches, and collapse onto her pillow. Her face hot and sticky, she fell into a dreamless sleep; her tears for the day had been long since shed.

Author's Note

Ahh, sweet, blessed, not-a-cliffhanger. Okay, breathe.

So, we're officially moving to Monday/Thursday updates now for the remainder of the story. See ya Thursday for the last chapter of Act Two, and next Monday for the beginning of Act Three.

Thanks for reading.

XI: Changes

Chapter 11
Changes

As the rays of dawn streamed through her window, Scootaloo rolled out of bed and stretched out her back. She glanced around her bare room and sighed, dreading what might await her downstairs. She quietly opened the door and skittered down the hall to get ready for the day. Toothbrush in her mouth, she patted her mane into unruly perfection in the mirror. Her eyes scanned down and she turned to her side, standing on her hindlegs and extending her wings.

Rough and tumble to begin with, she had never had much extra weight on her frame, but after several solid weeks of intense physical training, she was starting to notice some definite changes to her physique. Ropy bands of muscle stood out across her back and twisted down her shoulders and hips to her legs. She smiled around the frothy brush. She thought she looked pretty damn good. Spitting into the sink, she checked her reflection one more time and flexed a foreleg. She smirked at herself and carefully left the bathroom, slinking down the stairs.

Mrs. Taker sat motionless on the couch. Scootaloo paused halfway down the stairs, watching her foster parent. After a minute of silence, she tentatively descended into the living room, carefully watching for any sign of movement. She stopped again, directly behind the couch, eyes trained on the back of Mrs. Taker’s head.

“I’m, uh…I’m goin’ to school now.”

Mrs. Taker didn’t indicate she even heard Scootaloo, staring forward at the wall blankly. Scootaloo bit her lip and inched her way towards the door. Once outside, she slowly swung the door shut, still regarding Mrs. Taker through the gradually shrinking crack. When it latched with a click, the mare still hadn’t moved. Scootaloo closed her eyes and hung her head, letting her forehead press up against the wood. After a moment, she resignedly turned and climbed onto her scooter, heading out to the street.

Cruising down the block, she perked up a little straighter on her ride and veered off away from the direct path to the schoolhouse, a small smile growing on her lips. She skidded to a stop in front of Sweetie Belle’s house just as her friend was closing the front door.

Sweetie Belle beamed brightly, bouncing over to Scootaloo. “Heya, Scoots!”

“Hey, Sweetie.” Scootaloo grinned at the unicorn, her painful evening and tense morning evaporating from her mind. “Want a ride?”

“Sure!” She climbed up behind Scootaloo, wrapping her forelegs around the filly’s chest. Scootaloo sucked in a breath sharply, admonishing her racing heart. She cleared her throat and began to kick off when Sweetie Belle stopped her. “Oh…Did you ask about magic lessons?”

Scootaloo craned her neck back to flash Sweetie a bright smile. “Oh, yeah! Twilight said she’d be happy for you to come!” Sweetie squeaked with joy, hugging Scootaloo tighter. Feeling heat rush to her cheeks, Scootaloo looked forward and bit down on her lip. Clearing her throat, she said, “I got a tutoring lesson after school today. Can ya come to that?”

Sweetie Belle hopped off the back of the scooter. “Lemme ask first. Mom and Dad said Twilight could teach me if she said yes, but I should let ‘em know it’s starting today.” She hurried inside, leaving Scootaloo to get her blush under control.

“C’mon, Scootaloo,” she muttered to herself, “Play it cool like Rainbow Dash said. Figure out what’s goin’ on in your head, ‘n then just ask her.” She scowled at herself. “You’re too cool to be all blushy, got it?” Unsure if her body was in agreement with her or not, she sighed and watched the door to her friend’s house.

After a few minutes Sweetie bounded back out, nodding happily. Scootaloo pumped a hoof in victory and stood still as Sweetie Belle climbed back up behind her. Her face behaved as the filly’s hooves grabbed back around her and she gripped the handles, preparing to kick off.

A distant clatter of hooves on cobblestones grew closer. “Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!” They turned to see Apple Bloom galloping all out down the road, an ecstatic grin lighting up her face. She skidded to a stop next to them as they climbed off the scooter, panting heavily. “I got it! I finally got it!”

“Got what?” they asked together.

“My cutie mark!” Apple Bloom spun to the side, revealing her flank. A red apple, cut into five wedges, was arranged in the shape of a pentagon with the pips facing out. She bounced in excitement, still heaving in large gulps of air.

“Oh my gosh!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both shouted, tackling their friend to the ground in a crushing hug. They rolled across Sweetie Belle’s yard in a giggling dogpile, transported mentally back a few years to when they were completely inseparable, the recent barriers of burgeoning romance stripped away. They roughhoused and cackled, pinning each other and being pinned in a whirling ball of foalhood.

Scootaloo’s intense training paid off when she arrived victorious on top of a heap of squirming hooves and torsos. “Hah!”

“You ain’t playin’ fair, usin’ your wings like that!” Apple Bloom scoffed through her giggles. “I’d beat ya blindfolded in a hoof-wrestle.”

“Oh yeah?” She smirked at the struggling filly, playful teasing lilting her voice. “Like how your sister beat Rainbow Dash at hoof-wrestling in the Iron Pony competition?” Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue in response.

“Guys,” Sweetie Belle groaned from underneath the two, “Can’t...breathe.” Chuckling, they climbed off the squashed unicorn and pulled her to her hooves. She took several deep breaths. “So what happened, AB? How’d you find your special talent?”

Her face lighting up again, Apple Bloom began talking a mile a minute. “It was so cool! I got home kinda early yesterday an’ AJ was prunin’ trees. She asked if I could help get rid of the dead branches, but y’all know how heavy Mac’s cart is, right?”

The two nodded, not willing to try and interrupt as Apple Bloom plowed on.

“So I had ta carry all them buckets ah branches myself, one at a time to the kindlin’ pile! Well, one of the trips, I got this idea! See, there was this scrap of wall from the ol’ barn that we replaced last reunion that’s just been sittin’ around in the yard. It was plenty sturdy and pretty square, so nopony wanted to chuck it or break it down for fire wood. Followin’?”

They nodded mutely.

“It was like I got struck by lightnin’ or somethin’! I ran as fast as I could back to where we smashed up that rickshaw, remember that? I grabbed the wheels n’ some other stuff, raced back home, took some tools, and started puttin’ everything together as fast as I could. When I was done, I’d turned that piece ah barn into a pallet carrier! Since it’s so wide an’ low to the ground, I could move it like it didn’t weigh a feather! AJ was mighty cross it took so long for me ta get back from that one trip, but when I loaded up the carrier with all them other buckets an’ hauled ‘em all away, I tell ya I ain’t never seen her look so proud!”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a happy grin, watching their friend’s face practically shine in the reminiscence.

“An’ just like that as I was carryin’ the buckets away, there was a flash on my flanks, an’ this baby was there!” She showed off her cutie mark again. “It looks like that ‘cause my special talent is makin’ stuff; takin’ stuff apart and puttin’ it back together into somethin’ new!”

Bouncing on her hooves, Apple Bloom leapt forward and hugged Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle around their necks. “I’m so excited!”

Sweetie Belle embraced Apple Bloom with one hoof, her other wrapping around Scootaloo’s back to hold them both. “I’m so happy for you, AB!”

“So’m I!” Scootaloo hugged both her friends, lifting them both off the ground an inch in her enthusiasm. She blinked and set them both down, grinning sheepishly.

Apple Bloom grew quiet in their group hug, shifting her gaze to the side. “…I…I’m sorry I haven’t been spendin’ time with you girls recently. I ran out last night ta tell ya both when it happened, but I couldn’t find ya. Got me thinkin’ about how I didn’t really know what y’all were doin’ anymore. I’m sorry.”

Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo with relief in her eyes. Scootaloo smirked good naturedly, nodding her head. The pegasus patted Apple Bloom on the back and assured her, “S’alright, AB. You started seein’ Rumble, and it was exciting! I get it.”

Nodding glumly, Apple Bloom squeezed them both. “Y’all are my best friends an’ I don’t wanna lose either of ya. Just ‘cause I got my cutie mark don’t mean anything. We’re crusaders through n’ through, right?”

A wide, pleased grin on her face, Sweetie Belle chimed, “Yep!”

Apple Bloom straightened, her eyes wide and hopeful. “Why don’t we all go do somethin’ after school today? Just like old times?”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle exchanged a glance and sighed. Shaking her head in disappointment, Scootaloo said, “I’ve got tutoring with Twilight and Sweetie Belle’s starting up magic training with her today, too.”

Apple Bloom pouted. “What about afterwards?”

“I, uh…I have chores I have to catch up on, ‘cause I didn’t get them done yesterday.” Scootaloo grimaced, her banished memories resurfacing. “Sorry, AB.”

“Tomorrow maybe?”

Scootaloo’s grimace turned to a cringe. “I got another training day with Rainbow Dash.” Apple Bloom gave her the most pathetic pair of sad eyes she had ever seen. “Friday?” she quickly offered, looking hopefully to Sweetie Belle.

“Friday works for me.”

“Well, alright then!” Apple Bloom chimed, bouncing up and down in their hug. None of the three quite wanted to let go, now that their ties, damaged by busy schedules and shifting priorities, had been reknit. They grinned and held each other, basking in the collective presence.

A distant ringing floated on the wind from the schoolhouse, signaling the start of lessons. They stared at each other with wide eyes.

“Ponyfeathers!” the three shouted, scrambling apart, clambering onto the scooter, and racing down the street as fast as Scootaloo’s wings could take them.

Twilight glanced up from her desk as the sound of buzzing and giggles grew louder just outside the library. She struggled to decide between smiling and sighing, wondering if she’d actually get anywhere tutoring both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle at the same time. She settled on a beleaguered smirk and swung the door open with her magic.

“Hi Twilight!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chimed, trotting inside the library.

“Hi girls. Pleasant day at school?” Twilight shut her book and stood as they nodded. She headed towards the kitchen. “Can I get you two anything? Something to drink?”

Sweetie Belle glanced hesitantly at Scootaloo, who smiled reassuringly at her, asking, “You like pineapple juice, right?”

Sweetie’s hesitation lessened and she grinned. “Mhmm!”

Twilight headed out of the room, calling over her shoulder, “Two pineapple juices coming up. Scootaloo, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure.” She headed into the kitchen, casting a sideways glance at Sweetie Belle. Her friend’s nervousness had jumped from being left alone and she glanced around the room with a small frown on her lips. Scootaloo turned back to find Twilight frowning at her with concern. “What’s up, Twilight?”

Twilight dropped her voice low. “Rainbow said you got home alright last night, but is everything okay? Any problems this morning?”

The filly tried to hide her wince and she sighed. “Yeah, everything’s alright. Mrs. Taker just...well, she’s letting me come over for tutoring and stuff, and she hasn’t, like, punished me or anything, but she’s been really quiet.” Twilight’s frown deepened and she put a comforting hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. Scootaloo smiled weakly. “I think...I think I really hurt her feelings and she doesn’t know what to say to me anymore.”

Twilight nodded sadly and ran her hoof across Scootaloo’s mane. “I’m glad things are at least mostly okay...She’ll probably come around eventually. Just know we’re here if you need us, okay? You don’t have to face this alone.”

Biting her lip, Scootaloo hugged Twilight around the neck. “Th-thanks, Twilight. I’m still kinda scared, but...” She shook her head. “Thank you.”

For once, when Twilight hugged Scootaloo back the unicorn’s usual awkwardness wasn’t present. The embrace was only comforting. “Always.” Scootaloo pulled away and smiled at Twilight. Twilight smiled back and said, “I’ll get the juice. Why don’t you girls head upstairs.”

Nodding, Scootaloo left the kitchen and gestured for Sweetie Belle to follow, boldly heading for the stairs with Sweetie Belle close behind. Nervousness held tight over the little unicorn and she chewed her lip. She dropped her voice so only Scootaloo could hear her. “I’ve never been in Twilight’s room. What’s it like?”

“Like a library.” Scootaloo smirked. “’Cept for Rainbow’s stuff; that looks like a poster shop.” They reached the top of the stairs and headed into the lower loft of Twilight’s room. Sweetie Belle glanced around, noting the many bookshelves built into the walls, cluttered desk, and reading area in front of the fireplace. Craning her neck to see the upper level, she noted the Wonderbolts posters plastered all over the walls. Scootaloo giggled, watching Sweetie’s expression. “Told ya.”

“So, uh…” Sweetie Belle pawed apprehensively at the floor. “What’re these like, Scoots? I really haven’t done a lot of magic…”

“Hey.” Scootaloo gently bumped her shoulder into Sweetie Belle’s. “Twilight’s nice. Remember that she’s tutoring me ‘cause I have trouble with stuff. She’s never gotten angry at me for not gettin’ something. Don’t worry, ‘kay?”

Taking a deep breath, Sweetie smiled weakly. “Thanks, Scoots. For…well, for everything.”

Scootaloo felt her cheeks burn and willed her heart to slow. “You’re welcome, Sweetie. This should be good. You’ll get to learn about magic, and we can hang out some.”

The apprehension flowed out of Sweetie Belle’s face and her smile widened. “I can’t wait for Friday, but it’s really good seein’ you more, Scoots.”

“Yeah…” Scootaloo murmured, dazzled by Sweetie’s grin. A little voice in her head demanded she find a way to always see that smile. She blurted out, “D’you wanna come to my flying practices? Twilight comes to watch an’ hang out, I’d like—err, I mean, if you wanted to come, it’d be pretty cool…” She bit her lip to stop her own rambling. ‘Wow, you’re smooth,’ she admonished herself.

“Sure, Scoots! That sounds like fun!”

Scootaloo’s smile matched Sweetie Belle’s in ferocity. A silence that was somehow both comfortable and awkward fell over the pair as Scootaloo debated between looking away and fidgeting, or continuing to stare at Sweetie's face.

The clack of Twilight’s hooves coming up the stairs came as both a disappointment and a relief. Their tutor entered with two glasses floating in front of her and she smiled as she floated them to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Alright, Scootaloo. I’m going to start Sweetie Belle off running through the basics, so why don’t you start today with reading practice.”

“Sounds good!” Scootaloo offered Sweetie a warm smile and trotted over to the fireplace with her juice. She cracked open the book that had been laid out for her and tried to focus on the words.

Twilight cantered over to her desk. “So Sweetie, I talked to your sister and parents earlier today about what you’ve learned so far. I thought we’d get started working on precise control and bulk power for levitation spells, since that’s the most practical and common form of unicorn magic.” She took the lid off a small box on her desk and floated out several balls of different sizes and materials. She beckoned Sweetie over with a hoof, who tentatively approached.

Scootaloo’s ears flicked and an amused smirk broke out on her face as Twilight’s voice fell into a warm and informative tone she had taken to calling ‘the lecture voice,’ saying, “These are called practice stones. Some of them are rather heavy.” She gestured to a series of iron balls ranging in sizes from a large marble to the size of a stallion’s hoof and floated them close to Sweetie’s face. She dropped them back in the box and brought a plum-sized ball that was lined with hinges and seams forward. “This one here is designed to crumple with a very small amount of pressure.” Sweetie watched as the ball collapsed to half its size and a small gasp escaped her mouth. Twilight’s smile widened. “The heavy ones will help you strengthen your levitation ability and the delicate one will help with control.” She sprung the collapsed ball back open and set it inside the box. “Does that make sense?”

Shuffling on her hooves, Sweetie mumbled, “So, the heavy ones are kinda like going to the gym and working out, right?”

“Exactly.”

Her voice growing stronger as she talked, the filly continued, saying, “And the other one is so I can hold stuff without worrying about breaking anything?”

“That’s a big part of it, but it will also help you with precise things.” Twilight took the hinged ball back out of the box. “Your sister does a lot of very fine needlework using levitation spells, which requires an extremely delicate and exact application of magic. I’d bet that not only could she hold this without collapsing it, but that she could collapse each section of it one at a time.” Twilight narrowed her eyes in concentration and half of the ball shrunk in on itself while the other half remained its normal size.

The lingering apprehension in the younger unicorn fled as she gaped at the ball. “Wow…”

Twilight chuckled. “I have pretty good control, but I’d guess Rarity is better than me. She’s had a lot of practice doing that sort of magic and she started out talented at it anyway.”

Her eyes still trained on the half-crumpled ball, Sweetie marveled, “That’s still so cool.”

Twilight shook her head, still grinning. “Well, cool or not, we’ll practice at precision until you can hold it without collapsing it. After that we can try controlled collapses like this. Sound like a plan?”

“Totally!”

As Twilight started walking Sweetie Belle through levitating some of the smaller balls, Scootaloo admonished herself when she realized she had been doing more listening than reading. She redoubled over her book and tried to not pay attention to the sound of her crush’s voice when she asked a question, or her tutor when she provided an answer that was more interesting than Scootaloo thought it had any right to be. ‘Stupid magic not being boring,’ she grumbled in her head.

A few minutes into Sweetie’s practicing, Rainbow Dash flew in through a skylight and landed gently on the upper loft. Scootaloo glanced up from her book and waved, getting a grin and a nod in response, and refocused. Rainbow cantered out of sight. At first, the sounds of rummaging drifting down from the mare were soft, but they gradually grew louder and were joined by grumbling.

Twilight looked up at her marefriend and quirked an eyebrow. “Hey Sweetie Belle, think you can keep this one floating for a few minutes while I go talk to Rainbow?”

Her eyes almost crossed from looking at the ball hovering just in front of her face and her tongue stuck out in focus, the filly grunted, “Mhmm.”

“Great, be right back.” Twilight quickly climbed the stairs up towards her bed. Rainbow Dash muttered darkly, tossing pillows aside and digging through drawers in the bedside dressers. “Rainbow?”

The mare glanced up in surprise, a guilty smile on her face. “Sorry, am I bein’ noisy?”

Twilight snickered. “A little. I wasn’t expecting you home for a few hours; everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said, waving a hoof dismissively, “A magical storm got kicked up outta the Everfree Forest and those are always a pain to break up, so I’m a little tired. Thought I’d relax for a bit until my hooves stop tinglin’, and do my flight practice in an hour or two.”

Twilight clicked her tongue in sympathy. “Aww, lemme see.” She cantered closer and lifted one of her marefriend’s hooves to her mouth. She planted a small kiss, feeling the dull hum of residual magic against her lips. “Wow, no kidding.” Rainbow chuckled as Twilight lit her horn, siphoning off the wild magic from the pegasus. “Better?”

Testing her legs with a couple small hops, Rainbow said, “Much. Thanks babe.” She kissed Twilight gently on the lips and ruffled the mare’s mane into messiness. “Still think I’ll take that break for a bit.” Sighing, Rainbow turned back to the dresser as Twilight patted her mane back into some form of straightness. “Now if only I could find it…”

“What’re you looking for?”

“I could’ve sworn I left Daring Do and the Wooden Mask right here…”

Grinning, Twilight cantered towards the balcony and nodded her head towards the fireplace. Rainbow looked down, seeing Scootaloo with her muzzle in a familiar-looking book. “Sorry, Rainbow,” Twilight murmured, “I didn’t know you were rereading it.”

Snorting and shaking her head, Rainbow said, “Scoots’ reading practice is Daring Do? You’re the best teacher.”

Twilight kissed Rainbow’s cheek. “Best way to get faster at reading is to read a lot, and the best way to encourage reading is to make it something fun.”

Amusement coloring her low tone, Rainbow pointed between the two fillies. “Too bad she’s not gettin’ much reading done.”

Twilight frowned in confusion and glanced back and forth between her charges. Her bewilderment grew when she saw Scootaloo furtively watching Sweetie over her book in stolen glances. “What—?”

Rainbow leaned in conspiratorially, dropping her voice to an unnecessary whisper. “She doesn’t know she gave it away to me last night, but Scoots is totally sweet on Sweetie.” Twilight’s eyes widened in comprehension and a smirk split her muzzle. Rainbow nodded, stifling a chuckle. She looked back down and whispered, “Be fair here; Sweetie Belle is totally adorable with her face all scrunched up like that.”

Twilight shook her head and chuckled. “I’m gonna have to rethink how to tutor them both if Scootaloo’s gonna get anything accomplished.”

“Oh, but it’s so cute, Twi’…Look at ‘em…Scoots pretending to read while she stares at Sweetie Belle practicing magic…reminds me of us.” She let out a mock wistful sigh. A sly smirk spread across her muzzle and she cupped her hooves around her mouth, shouting out, “Scootaloo! Bank left!”

With a yelp, Scootaloo threw her forehooves up in the air, sending the Daring Do book sailing over her head. She leapt upright, spreading her wings out and locking them into position. While her wings were solidly placed, her footing was not, and she scrambled along the floor before flopping to the ground. Sweetie Belle almost dropped the iron ball in her giggles. Face red as a tomato, Scootaloo got back to her hooves and stuck her tongue out at the two snickering mares.

Rainbow waved brightly down at the fillies and turned back to the bed, flopping down on her back and resting her head on her hooves. “Did, uh...d’you know if everything’s alright with Scoots at home?”

Twilight sighed. “Mrs. Taker has started really ignoring her instead of dealing with anything, I think. Scootaloo thinks it’s because she hurt her feelings, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on. Maybe it is, but I’m worried Scootaloo’s gonna get the silent treatment from now on.” She sighed again. “At least it isn’t as bad as we thought it might be. This is bad, and we should watch it closely in case it gets worse, but hopefully it is just ‘hurt feelings.’ Time will tell, I guess.” She ran a hoof through her mane and looked away.

Rainbow nodded and frowned. “Yeah, we’ll see. Least she’s not alone.” A shadow of old pain crossed her face. She shook her head and smiled weakly. “Well, I guess I’ll just nap, unless there’s somethin’ Spike could use some help with downstairs.”

Twilight shook her head. “Spike went out earlier. You know him; ever since he hit fourteen he’s been his own dragon. I hardly see him at all anymore.”

Rainbow’s ears flicked, picking up the melancholy just under the surface of Twilight’s voice. “…Wanna talk about it?”

Sighing, Twilight cantered over to the bed and sat on the edge. “It’s no big deal, really. It’s just…Spike hatched from that egg when I got accepted into school. He’s been there by my side for fifteen years now, Rainbow. When I was little, he was like a baby brother to me. Then I got older…he’s almost been a son.”

Rainbow rolled over on her side and gently stroked her marefriend’s back with a hoof, her voice dropping low and caring. “I know that, Twi’; I’ve seen the way you look at him. And you’ve done a great job with him. It’s good he’s settin’ off on his own a little, seein’ as he’s his own dragon now.”

Twilight turned and offered Rainbow a small smile. Rainbow had seen that specific type of smile only a few times before; once on Princess Celestia when she had decreed Twilight would stay in Ponyville and twice on her own father’s face when he related an old story about meeting Rainbow’s mysterious mother. It spoke of age and a rare form of happy regret. “It is a good thing. He’s just grown up so fast.”

Rainbow sat up suddenly and pulled Twilight into a gentle, but heartfelt kiss. She softly stroked Twilight’s mane and murmured, “I really love you, ya know that?”

Nuzzling Rainbow’s cheek, Twilight said, “I love you too, Rainbow…Not that I get tired of hearing it, but what brought this on?”

“You’re just…” Rainbow smirked and shook her head. “Every day you have some little way of remindin’ me how lucky I am.”

Twilight’s smile grew and she pecked Rainbow on the snout. “I’m the lucky one.”

A strained squeak floated up from the lower level. “Twilight—?” Sweetie Belle groaned, “—this is getting heavy!”

Blanching, Twilight leapt to her hooves. “Sorry, sorry!”

Scootaloo chuckled as Twilight rushed down the stairs to relieve Sweetie Belle of the weight. She refocused on her book and tried to get past the first paragraph. Rainbow’s snickering floating down from the loft made her grin and she lost her place again. She laughed at herself. ‘I’m never gonna get anything done here again,’ she thought, ‘Havin’ Sweetie here is either the best or worst idea ever.’

Scootaloo was more than happy to wait and find out which one it would be.

Mr. Taker shut the door behind himself and frowned thoughtfully at the couch. By his guess, his wife hadn’t moved the entire day. He cantered over slowly and rubbed her back with a hoof.

Mrs. Taker blinked herself out of her reverie and shook her head clear. “Oh, Under, you’re home,” she murmured, her voice rough from disuse. She brushed her bangs to the side and stood up. “I should get dinner started.”

Mr. Taker followed her into the kitchen, his frown deepening and brow creasing. “Care?”

The mare brushed a lock of mane from her face, briskly moving to the cupboards.

“What’s wrong?”

Pulling down her cutting board and setting an assortment of veggies on the counter, she trotted to the knife block.

“Care, please talk to me.”

She strapped a chopping knife to her hoof and began to mince with practiced speed.

Mr. Taker’s hoof settled on her shoulder. “You’ve barely said a word since yesterday.”

He stood there silently, feeling his wife’s shoulder rise and fall with each chop. Halfway through a carrot she stopped mincing, but her shoulder continued to jerk under his hoof. A strained sob broke her silence.

His voice rose to near panic. “Honey? Honey talk to me!”

She turned from the board and buried her face in his chest. She choked out, “I don’t know what to say!”

Bewildered, he stroked her mane gently. “Care, honey, what—?”

“It’s all wrong, and I don’t know what to say to her! I…I don’t know how to fix this…”

“What happened? Something with Scootaloo?” She tensed against his chest, sniffling loudly. “Do you want me to talk to her? What’s going on?”

“N-no, I-I need to fix this…This is my fault, I need to…Oh, Under, what do I say to her? How do you tell a twelve-year-old that…that you didn’t know you were blind?”

Completely at a loss, Mr. Taker shook his head and stammered wordlessly. Shaking his head again, he cleared his throat. “What happened?”

“I forgot,” she sniffled, “I can’t believe I forgot, but I did.” She pulled away and wiped at her eyes, turning back to the cutting board. “D-don’t worry, Under. I’ll…I’ll fix this. I just need time.”

“Honey,” he said, his tone growing even and direct, “I’ve always left Scootaloo’s care in your hooves, but if you need help, if things are hard and you need me to step up—”

“N-no, thank you.” She sniffed loudly to clear her throat, the tremor in her voice fading. “I can handle this…I just need to figure out how.”

When Scootaloo arrived home and set to work on her chores, Mr. Taker watched his wife intently, seeing her spine straighten and her throat freeze at every hooffall from the filly. As the silence in the house stretched out, his worry grew.

Author's Note

And here we are at the first official second update in a week for the remainder of the story, and the conclusion of Act Two.

Act Three starts up on Monday. See you then.

Thanks for reading.

XII: More Changes

Chapter 12
More Changes

“Okay, Scoots!” Rainbow shouted from the hill, “Try a slow spiral! Counter-clockwise!”

Twilight and Sweetie Belle watched Scootaloo shift her beating wings and begin to bank around in a circle a couple dozen feet above the ground, her legs tucked close to her body and a wide, devil-may-care grin on her muzzle. The pair of unicorns cheered as she finished her descent, landing gently on the hill.

Scootaloo turned as Rainbow trotted up to her and leaned in close. The daredevil had a wicked smirk plastered across her face and her eyes drew down in a conspiratorial leer. “Hey, Scoots. Guess what?”

Raising an eyebrow, Scootaloo asked, “What?”

Rainbow leaned in further. “You’re ready.”

Scootaloo sat down heavily. Her jaw fell open. “…What?”

“You’re ready. You got all your positions down an’ you can use ‘em in the air. Soon as your muscles are strong enough to handle take-off, you’ll be flyin’ like a pro.” Scootaloo gaped at Rainbow while the mare grinned. She ruffled her trainee’s mane. “You’ve worked hard these last few months, Scoots. Really, really hard. I’m proud of you.” She dropped her voice, her tone quiet but emphatic. “My dad would be proud of you.”

Scootaloo’s throat bobbed silently. She shook her head to clear it. “…What?”

Snorting and patting the little pegasus on her shoulder, Rainbow said, “Snap out of it, squirt.”

“I’m…ready?” Her voice was awed and quiet. Rainbow grinned at her. She shook her head again, feeling dazed.

“We’re in that home stretch, Scoots. You’ve got positions and control down, all that’s left is getting your strength all the way up. And you’ve been workin’ hard at that, too; remember how tired your wings got after we really started glidin’?” Scootaloo nodded numbly. “You were in the air twice as long this time. Do they hurt at all?”

Glancing over her shoulder at her still twitching limbs, she said, “…No.”

“Exactly. I’d say we’ve got a few more weeks of strength training left. We’ll put ya through one last speed-test, and if you make it, we’ll be ready to get you actually flying.”

Scootaloo felt a bead of wetness run down her cheek. She touched her hoof to her face and found she was crying. “I’m…I’m gonna do it…I’m gonna make it…” With sudden speed she lunged at Rainbow Dash and hugged the mare around the neck. “Oh, thank you, Rainbow!” she gushed, “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Beaming with pride, Rainbow hugged the little filly back. “Don’t thank me. You did this, Scoots. This is all you.”

Scootaloo sniffled and hugged tighter, uncontrollable and breathless giggles of relief shaking her small frame. Sweetie Belle turned to Twilight and asked, “What’s goin’ on?”

“Well, Rainbow’s been telling me Scootaloo’s getting close to being ready. I’d bet that last glide was it and Scootaloo’s ready for actual flight.”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes widened and a smile lit up her face. “Today?”

Twilight shook her head, musing, “Probably not. Rainbow said after Scootaloo was ready, they’d have two more weeks of strength building. But she’s almost done now.”

Sweetie Belle bounced with excitement on the bench, watching the two pegasi slowly pull away and Rainbow ruffle her friend’s mane. As they settled into a strength training routine, her expression slowly faded into contemplation. Without looking away from the pair, she asked in a low voice, “…What’s it like bein’ with Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight blinked and shook her head to clear it. She raised an eyebrow. “Come again?”

“You know…” Sweetie sat back on the bench, a small frown on her lips. “I know you’re both really happy…anypony who sees you together can tell that. But…do you ever get a hard time? Is anypony mean to you?” Her voice dropped lower. “…Did you lose any friends?”

Twilight’s attention shifted entirely to her student in magic. Her brow knit and she mulled over her words carefully. “Rainbow and I have…well, I can’t say we’ve not gotten any looks. It’s been…hard sometimes. Not everypony has understood, or accepted us.” She watched Sweetie Belle crumple in on herself a nearly imperceptible amount. She raised her voice and added more strength to her tone. “But most of the time it hasn’t been like that. I haven’t lost any friends, and neither has Rainbow. We’ve had a lot of support and the few times we’ve had problems has been from ponies neither of us really knew.”

Sweetie Belle’s ear flicked with interest at Twilight’s words while her eyes were trained on Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. Twilight glanced over at the pair and back at Sweetie Belle. She cleared her throat and continued, “It’s not always easy, but I think that’s true for everypony. Sometimes life isn’t very easy…” She looked back at her marefriend and a fond smile pulled at her muzzle. “…I wouldn’t trade Rainbow for an easier time, though. You’re right that we’re happy. It could be ten times harder, and I’d still be happy. We have our friends, we have our dreams, we have our jobs and our hobbies, and we have each other. The stuff a few close-minded ponies say doesn’t matter.”

Too focused on her marefriend leading Scootaloo through a set of one-winged push-ups, Twilight didn’t notice Sweetie Belle sit up a little straighter.

“And that’s ten; fifteen second rest,” Rainbow said, watching Scootaloo drop back to the ground and switch wings. She smirked pridefully; her pupil didn’t look like the three sets of one-winged push-ups were any strain at all. “Remember how hard these used to be?” Scootaloo grinned. “Okay, next set.”

As the filly worked, Rainbow’s mind wandered and her mouth fell into a frown. “…Hey, how’s stuff at home? Any change?”

Scootaloo’s smile changed to a scowl. “No. I don’t care, though. They don’t wanna talk to me, why should I care?”

Rainbow sighed sadly, shaking her head. “Scoots…”

“No, really. Why should I care?” she spat, “What do they do for me? I get food and stuff, but that’s not new. They never really did anything before; all that’s different is it’s quiet.”

“That’s ten, ‘nother break.” Rainbow closed her eyes, lowering her head. “I don’t want you to have a hard time, is all.”

“I don’t,” Scootaloo said simply, “Since school got out I get my chores done and spend most of the day with Sweetie or AB. What do I need the Takers for if I got them? Or you an’ Twilight? It’s just a place to eat and sleep.”

Rainbow swallowed thickly and for several moments she didn’t say anything. Her tone low and defeated, she finally said, “Next set. Ready?”

The pair worked through the remaining time for Scootaloo’s strength training in relative silence while Twilight and Sweetie Belle watched on, sometimes with keen interest, sometimes talking. Part of the way through, Twilight floated a few of the really heavy practice stones out of her saddlebag for Sweetie Belle to levitate. They left the bench and cantered over as Scootaloo began her stretches.

Twilight smiled as they neared, calling, “Hey girls, good practice?”

Scootaloo grinned widely, bending down low and stretching her right wing straight behind her. As the muscles along the hard-working filly’s side flexed under her coat, a rosy dusting of pink entered Sweetie Belle’s cheeks. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow and hid her smile behind a hoof. Scootaloo excitedly called, “I’m almost done! Once I’m all the way strong enough, I’ll be able to fly!”

Sweetie Belle bounced on her hooves. “Twilight said she thought that’s what happened! I’m so happy for you!”

Straightening up and fluffing out her wings before folding them to her sides, Scootaloo asked, “You’ll be there right?”

“Course I will!”

Still grinning, Rainbow said, “Alright, Scoots. I want ya doin’ fifty one-winged push-ups a day, both wings, plus all your stretches. If you do that, you should be ready to go for a speed test in a couple weeks. Also...” leaning down, Rainbow looked at the filly sternly. “I know you’re gonna want to go jumpin’ off of stuff and gliding around half the town, but this last bit’s gonna be pretty tough on your muscles. So hold off on any gliding without me there.” Scootaloo grumbled. “I know, I’d hate it, too, but it’s important. We got a deal?” She extended a hoof.

Scootaloo clacked her own hoof to Rainbow’s. “We got a deal.”

“Alright then, catch ya both later.” She waved as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle rushed back to the bench and clambered onto the scooter, quickly making their way from the park. As they disappeared from sight, Twilight nuzzled her cheek. She smiled wider, saying, “Hey, beautiful.”

“Mmm, hey yourself.” She turned so their sides were pressed together and Rainbow extended a wing over her back. She nuzzled in closer.

“You’re affectionate,” Rainbow teased, “Watchin’ me coach get you all hot and bothered?”

“Mmm, just something Sweetie Belle asked about. She wanted to know what it’s like for us as a gay couple. Reminded me how happy I am.”

Rainbow grinned and pressed her face into Twilight’s mane. “I’m happy, too. And Sweetie Belle asked about us? Like, if we were happy?”

“No…” she tapped her chin. “No, she was wanting to know if we’ve had problems. Funny looks, lost friends, that sort of thing.”

“Well!” Rainbow exclaimed, stepping away to shake stiffness from her wings and back. She cantered towards Twilight’s saddlebag still on the bench. “That settles that for me.”

Twilight moved to catch up. “Hmm?”

“Soon as Scoots is ready to ask her out, I’ll bet ya ten bits Sweetie Belle says yes.” At Twilight’s raised eyebrow, she snickered and winked. “You missed the blush on Sweetie’s face when Scoots was all bent over stretchin’.”

Twilight giggled and shook her head. “How come I never pick up on this stuff?”

“I dunno.” Rainbow lifted the saddlebag in her teeth and dropped it onto Twilight’s back. “Wish I picked up on it when we first got together.”

“Should we say anything? To either of them?”

“Heck no; it’s too fun to watch.”

Twilight laughed louder. “It really, really is.”

“We’ll make popcorn, and when they finally get it out in the open, we’ll crack open that bottle of wine we’ve been saving.”

“Sounds like a date,” Twilight agreed as Rainbow bent low for her to climb on. Her smile turned thoughtful. “Actually, instead of flying home…” She turned towards the pathway leading out of the park. “I know it isn’t raining this time, but…”

Rainbow darted to her side and lowered down. “You’re on. Ready?” Twilight crouched and they shared a challenging smirk.

They counted out together, “One…two…three!”

In a blur, they bolted down the path, their hooves a rumbling clatter barely louder than their mirth. Bursting from the park they thundered down the roads of Ponyville, between shops and homes, swerving around the few ponies milling about with eyes more on each other than where they were going.

As they galloped, they both found themselves mentally transported back in time. In flashes, the streets turned empty and dark, rain animating every surface in violent splashes of water leaping into the air from the impact. The sunlight shifted to flickering lantern light, reflecting off their soaked coats. Their traded grins were framed intermittently by plastered manes and the dazzling afternoon’s brightness. The phantom memory of a medal around Twilight’s neck reflected gold into Rainbow’s eyes.

In seemingly no time at all, they reached the library and Rainbow tackled the unicorn. They burst through the door, tumbling end over end in each other’s hooves with a flurry of giggles. Laughing breathlessly, Rainbow looked into the eyes of her marefriend, sitting on top of her and pinning her down. She wrapped all six limbs around Twilight and hugged her close. “I love you so much, Twi’.”

“I love you.” Their lips met and the world fell quiet around them; two ponies that had each other without any other cares or worries.

An embarrassed cough from the doorway snapped them back to reality. Derpy chewed her lip and blushed, pointedly looking several feet above the embracing mares. Or maybe directly at them. “I’m, uhh…real sorry to interrupt, but I got some mail for you.”

Clearing her throat repeatedly, Twilight clambered off of Rainbow Dash. She straightened her mane with a hoof and willed the heat from her cheeks. Her face refused to cooperate. “Erm. Yes. If you’ll excuse me…” She rushed up the stairs with her tail tucked between her legs.

Sighing and grumbling, Rainbow stood up. “I uhh…” She coughed. “Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Derpy said, scuffing her hooves on the floor.

They both looked away from each other for several moments. “So, uhh…you said you had mail?”

“Yes, mail,” she said quickly, pulling a mouthful of letters from her bag. “H’re y’ ‘o.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow mumbled, taking the letters and gently shutting the door after the mail mare departed. Sighing again, she dropped the letters onto Twilight’s desk and rifled through them. “Well, that wasn’t as bad as Mrs. Taker,” she mumbled to herself, “Gotta remember to close the door before make-outs…” She turned to follow Twilight upstairs and try to turn morbid embarrassment into amused embarrassment, then hopefully into more make-outs, before a letter addressed to her caught her eye. The familiar seal drew a raised brow and she grabbed a letter opener in her teeth.

Rainbow read the letter silently to herself. She lost all the strength in her hindlegs and fell to her haunches, stooping over the laid-out missive to read it again and again. The letter opener clattered to the floor from her open jaw.

After the tenth reread, Rainbow carefully slid the letter back into its envelope. She opened her personal drawer in the desk and unceremoniously stuffed it under a pile of papers, journals, and a small wooden box. Slamming the drawer shut, she closed her eyes and took steady breaths as her mind reeled.

The image of Twilight looming above her, smiling and giggling, pushed her jumbled thoughts aside and she opened her eyes. Grinning, she got to her hooves and climbed up the stairs, calling, “Twi’? You alright? Derpy’s gone now; no need to be embarrassed!”

Rainbow disappeared up the stairs, leaving the letter in its dark hiding place: out of sight, but only temporarily out of mind.

“Y’all’re kiddin’!” Apple Bloom’s mouth hung open in astonishment as she sat on the club house’s floor. “Two more weeks an’ you’re gonna be flyin’, Scoots?!”

Beaming with pride, Scootaloo answered, “Yep. Rainbow said if I make the next speed test, I’ll be ready for takin’ off.”

“You should see her in the air, Apple Bloom,” Sweetie Belle gushed, “I’ve seen full-grown mares who’re clumsier than she is. She was born to fly!” On the last word, she wrapped a hoof around Scootaloo’s neck and hugged her shoulder to shoulder.

Scootaloo grinned and shook her head. “It feels great to glide, and after the first couple’a times I knew what I was doing up there, but I can’t wait ‘til I can really cut loose. All this controlled hoverin’, slow spirals, and current control is baby stuff.”

Briefly tightening the sideways hug and then letting go, Sweetie quietly said, “You still look great up there, Scoots.”

Her smile widened. “Thanks, Sweetie.”

“I wish I coulda seen it,” Apple Bloom pouted, “I should’a been there ta see it.” She sat up straight and her eyes widened. “Wait a minute, why can’t I? We’re high up enough, you could glide right off the clubhouse! Whaddya say?”

Scootaloo groaned and stomped a hoof petulantly. “I promised Rainbow no gliding on my own until we’re done. This last few weeks is supposed to be really hard and I could hurt something...”

“Aw, c’mon, ya didn’t even hardly start on the new stuff, it can’t be that bad.”

“Sorry, AB, but I promised Rainbow.” Scootaloo sat down on her haunches as Sweetie Belle did the same, forming their usual circle. Her frown turned into a smile. “Don’t sweat missin’ the gliding, anyway. This stuff’s all practice still. You wanna see, just come watch when it’s time for me to really fly. That’s the real show.”

Straightening up, Apple Bloom’s tone brightened. “Oh, you better believe I’ll be there, Scoots. You can count on it!” The three friends beamed at each other. “So what y’all wanna do today? Ya wanna do some crusadin’?” She shifted slightly, eyeing her cutie mark with a small amount of guilt.

Scootaloo waved a hoof dismissively. “Nah, let’s just hang out. Sweetie an’ I’ll get ours eventually; hangin’ out’s been awesome without crusading since you got yours, AB. You girls’re my friends and that’s what’s important.”

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom nodded resolutely. Apple Bloom glanced around the small room. “So what y’all wanna do?”

A glint of reminiscence lit up Sweetie’s face. “You know, this is just like that sleepover we had right after Scoots started training.”

Grinning, Apple Bloom exclaimed, “It is, ain’t it? Ah man, I wish we could have another one.”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Why not?” She turned to Sweetie Belle. “Isn’t Rarity still up at the house talking to Applejack?”

“She should be. I could go ask. I’ll go ask!” She jumped to her hooves and bolted down the ramp.

A thoughtful frown settled on Apple Bloom’s face. “What about your curfew? Ain’t your foster folks gonna be cross?”

“Nah, it’s fine. S’long as I get my chores done, they don’t really care where I go.” Apple Bloom’s frown deepened. “Don’t worry, AB. I got my chores outta the way this morning and I’ll go get tomorrow’s done when we get up. They won’t say anything about it. I’ve missed dinner without askin’ a bunch of times stayin’ late at Rainbow and Twilight’s, or goin’ over to Sweetie’s. Heck, I didn’t say anything that time last week when your sister had us all over for the cook-out and we stayed up roasting marshmallows half the night.”

Relaxing a little, Apple Bloom nodded, tentatively mumbling, “O-okay…if you say so, Scoots.”

“It’ll be fine,” she assured, “This’ll be awesome! It’s like a book-end on all my training!”

A smile cut through Apple Bloom’s trepidation. “Book-end?”

Putting her hooves on her hips and giving her friend a mock glare, Scootaloo challenged, “What? You try hangin’ out in a library all the time and not say stuff like ‘book-end.’”

Apple Bloom giggled, covering her mouth with a hoof. “If’n you say so.” She smiled fondly at Scootaloo. “I still remember how plain tuckered you were that sleepover, an’ you only had a single day of trainin’. Now look at ya.” She smirked and shook her head.

Scootaloo stuck her snout in the air. “Yeah, I know I look good.”

Laughing louder, Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes mischievously. She stood suddenly and cantered to an upturned crate serving as a table. She faced her friend with a wide and challenging grin and brought a foreleg to the wooden surface. “Hey Scoots. Wanna hoof-wrestle?”

Scootaloo sneered playfully. “You’re goin’ down, AB.” She swung a leg around in a windmill, flexing and relaxing the muscles running from her fetlock to her shoulder in a rippling wave. She stepped with deliberate and teasing slowness to the crate and slowly drew her hoof up to meet her friend’s. “Ready?”

“Go!” They locked their limbs and pressed against each other, a tremor of strain shaking their entwined hooves, but neither side giving an inch. Apple Bloom grit her teeth while Scootaloo continued smirking. The earth pony put her weight into it and gained some ground before losing just as much. She narrowed her eyes fiercely, willing Scootaloo’s leg to give in.

A soft patter of hooves leading up the ramp signaled Sweetie’s return. “My sister said…yes?”

“Oh hey, Sweetie,” Scootaloo sing-songed nonchalantly. “I was waitin’ for you to get back before I did this.” All the muscles in her leg tightened instantaneously and she slammed Apple Bloom’s hoof to the crate in a single sweep.

Apple Bloom gaped at her friend, idly rubbing her shoulder. “Lan’ sakes, Scoots, you’re strong.” She shook her head and giggled out, “Ow!”

Leaning back and crossing her hooves behind her head, Scootaloo said, “Yeah, I’m awesome.” She glanced over at Sweetie Belle and raised an eyebrow; her friend was pointedly not looking at either of them, scuffing her hooves along the floor. Dots of pink had settled on the filly’s cheeks.

Looking at her friend, the thought struck Scootaloo that she should just ask Sweetie Belle to be her special somepony. Over the past several weeks, getting tutored by Twilight together, having Sweetie join in on watching her flight training, and just spending more and more time after classes broke for summer had put Scootaloo at ease around her friend once again. She didn’t blush uncontrollably, or lose her ability to speak in complete sentences anymore. Distancing herself from the stress and worry about ‘dating,’ she had followed Rainbow’s advice and just listened to herself.

After a lot of listening, Scootaloo was very sure of a two facts: colts held no interest for her, but fillies did. Factoring Sweetie Belle out of the equation, she had paid attention to what she looked for and at in the ponies around her. Despite watching herself, the level of ‘interest’ she found in fillies still managed to creep up on her and take her by surprise, making her cheeks burn with a combination of embarrassment and giddy curiosity. On a nondescript day without any fanfare internally or externally, Scootaloo quietly accepted as fact that she was gay.

With one of the pivotal questions in her mind answered, Scootaloo felt a weight lift from her shoulders and frolicked in the exhilarating freedom of not worrying about it anymore. ‘I’m gay,’ she would tell herself, ‘I’m gay, and that’s all there is to it.’

In the relief, she had put off the second question plaguing her: what to do about her feelings for Sweetie Belle. Rainbow Dash had said that once she knew what she wanted, she should just ask Sweetie on a date. That was a lot easier said than done, she found. As relaxed as she was around her pretty friend when they were just spending time together, the thought of asking Sweetie Belle out sent her pulse skyrocketing and her mind down a twisting tunnel of fears and worries.

However, every once in a while she caught Sweetie Belle blushing and trying not to look at her. When that happened, Scootaloo got the sense that they’d both be happier if she just asked. Frowning in contemplation, she opened her mouth.

“Well anyway,” Apple Bloom said, breaking Scootaloo’s train of thought and catching her attention, “What do y’all wanna do now?”

A memory of the previous sleepover drifted to the pegasus’ head. Her face paled and she stammered out, “N-not Truth or Dare.”

“Yeah, not that,” Sweetie Belle agreed vehemently. Scootaloo jumped at the force and barely hidden worry in the unicorn’s tone.

Not noticing either of her friends’ discomfort, Apple Bloom whined, “Aw man, y’all are no fun.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully and a smile pulled at her muzzle. “Well, last time we didn’t do nothin’ outside ‘cause you were so sore, Scoots. Feelin’ up for playin’ outside this time?”

Scootaloo glanced questioningly at Sweetie Belle, but found the filly recomposed and looking back at her expectantly. Flexing her wings and forelegs, Scootaloo smirked. “Wanna play tag?”

“She’s still out, Care, I’m getting worried.”

“She’s…she’s done this before. She’s at a friend’s house, I’m sure.”

“Honey, you said you’d fix this weeks ago now, please let me help, this is hurting you.”

“I…I just don’t know what to say.”

“Tell her the truth. She’ll understand; she’s a smart filly.”

“I know she is, Under…Why didn’t I see it?”

“You made a mistake. So did I. Now we just need to fix it. I’d help if you’d let me.”

“I…I think it’s too late. I don’t think I can fix it anymore. I don’t think she’d listen if I tried.”

“I’m tired of feeling like I’m wearing somepony else’s skin in my own house, Care. This has to change. Talk to her. Just try. Even if it doesn’t work, you have to try.”

“I…I just don’t know how…”

“Care…”

“I-I just need more time…”

Twilight stood from her desk and stretched out her back, opening the door in a glow of energy as her pupils knocked. “Hey, girls!”

“Hi, Twilight!” Sweetie Belle chimed, rushing past her friend. Scootaloo followed slowly, a wide, but tired smile on her face.

“I’ll go grab some juice.” Twilight cantered into the kitchen while the fillies headed up the stairs. Halfway to the top, Scootaloo paused, feeling a tremor of weakness run through her extended leg. She sighed and leaned against the wall.

Sweetie paused and turned back to her friend, her brow knit. “Y’alright, Scoots?”

Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo pulled herself up the next step with a wince. “Yeah. Rainbow wasn’t kidding about these last few weeks bein’ tough. Wing-ups are easy compared to liftin’ weights. An’ you’ve seen all the crazy stuff Rainbow’s made me do. I thought I was gonna hurl when she spun me around and let me go upside down and backwards yesterday.” She shook her head. “Ugh. I thought I was done bein’ sore. Nothin’ burns as much anymore, but it all aches.”

Sweetie Belle nodded in sympathy. “Least you’re almost done, right? ‘Nother week?”

“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed with an exhausted grin. “I can taste it, Sweetie.”

The little unicorn giggled and hopped back down a few steps, pressing into Scootaloo’s side and guiding her gently up the remaining stairs. Scootaloo’s smile turned warm and affectionate, and she tried to not lean too heavily on her slight friend. They made it to the top of the stairs and she sighed in relief, shaking out her legs. “This sucks. I won’t miss feelin’ like this.”

Rainbow snorted derisively from the loft. “You’re not gonna be one of those lazy pegasi that never trains, are ya, Scoots? Get used to the burn; it’ll be an old friend for ya soon.”

Scootaloo straightened, looking up, but not spotting her coach. “Rainbow?”

“Oh, no. If you want this Daring book, you’re gonna have to fight me for it, and right now I bet I could take ya with just my tail.”

Sweetie Belle covered her mouth to stifle her giggles and tried to give Scootaloo a supportive look.

“Har har, very funny,” Scootaloo mocked. She plodded towards her reading nook and dropped heavily onto a chair, letting out a long sigh.

“Is that whining I hear?” Rainbow sing-songed. “Might have to double the weight tomorrow.”

Laughing ruefully, Scootaloo called back, “You’re mean!”

Twilight arrived at the top of the stairs, floating a couple glasses of juice. “Stop picking on my student!” she playfully chided.

“She started it.”

Twilight chuckled and delivered the drinks to the two fillies, cantering to her desk and taking several weighted practice stones from their box.

“Actually, Twilight,” Sweetie Belle said, approaching the desk, “I was hopin’ I could work on the precision one today.”

“Alright, Sweetie Belle.” She dropped the iron balls back and removed the small, hinged one. “Although, last time you did pretty well at keeping it from collapsing. I think you’ve got it down.”

The filly’s voice dropped and became reserved. “…I wanna try to do those half collapse things.”

Twilight blinked. “You sure? That’s still pretty advanced.”

Sweetie Belle gripped the small sphere in her magic and floated it close to her face, glaring at it in determination. “I just need to get a little better at the detail stuff…”

Frowning and raising an eyebrow, Twilight opened her mouth, but was interrupted by a small snore. She turned her head to find Scootaloo splayed out in her chair, book open on her lap, and fast asleep. Sweetie Belle followed the mare’s gaze and a wobbly smile stretched across her muzzle. Her cheeks grew warm and she nearly dropped the practice stone.

“I’ll be right back,” Twilight assured, before cantering quietly to the snoozing filly and gently shaking her shoulder.

“Nza, what?” Scootaloo bolted to sitting, tumbling her book on the floor and producing a loud bang as the hardcover struck the bare wood. She glanced around apprehensively. “Oh…” She smiled sheepishly at Twilight. “Sorry.”

“It’s alright, Scootaloo,” she said with a smile, “I know you’re tired…” as she trailed off, Twilight’s brow knit and she frowned. “You know, you’ve been doing very well. You caught up on all your subjects and had great grades at the end of the school year. I don’t know that you really need tutoring anymore.” Scootaloo’s ears fell flat and she quickly added, “If you keep having trouble next year, we can start again, but I think you’ve got everything you need to succeed now. I’m proud of you, Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo smiled tentatively, dropping her gaze to the floor. “Thanks, Twilight,” she mumbled. “I’m…I did get everything in school…This really helped a lot, but…” She looked Twilight in the eye, an earnest sense of pleading in her expression. Her voice dropped to an even quieter level. “Do I have to stop?”

Twilight’s brow knit tighter with confusion. “…No, you don’t have to stop if you don’t want to.”

Feeling a knot untie in her chest, Scootaloo relaxed, slumping her shoulders. She caught her tutor’s confusion and smiled coyly. “…I like comin’ here and workin’ on this stuff, even if I don’t really need to.” She glanced around the room, her grin growing warmer. “…I like learning things and you never rush me. I can relax.”

Smiling and ruffling the little pegasus’ mane, Twilight said, “Alright. I’m not gonna stop you from learning.”

A small squeak of triumph pulled Twilight’s attention back towards Sweetie Belle. She trotted over quickly as Scootaloo picked the book back up. “Did you get it?”

“Look!” The filly floated the practice stone forward at Twilight’s approach, beaming with pride.

Twilight grinned widely at the ball, neatly crumpled halfway across. “Oh, perfect, Sweetie Belle! Now try to re-open it!”

Twilight watched intently as Sweetie Belle focused on reversing the controlled collapse, offering small bits of advice as her student worked. In their focus, several minutes flew by and the filly haltingly straightened and then re-collapsed the ball over and over. After ten tries, Sweetie Belle could crumple and expand either side of the stone independently.

“Excellent, Sweetie! That’s exactly the level of focus and care you need for precise levitation work. You’re a natural at this. With some more practice, you could be as skilled as your sis—”

A loud clatter interrupted Twilight as Scootaloo’s book fell back to the floor. The sleeping filly leapt awake clear off the chair from the noise and shouted, “Shit!”

Sweetie Belle dropped the practice stone to the floor. At the small plink of sound, three pairs of widened eyes turned to Scootaloo, two from across the room and the third over the edge of the loft. Scootaloo blanched ashen and sunk to her haunches, fluffing out her wings in a subconscious and instinctual display of protection.

“Sc-Scootaloo!” Twilight admonished with breathless surprise. “Did you just say—?”

A choked snort from above interrupted her for the second time and she shot a dirty look at her marefriend. Rainbow clamped both hooves over her face.

Scootaloo mumbled indistinctly, pawing at the floorboards.

Approaching, Twilight said sternly, “Now I know that was an accident, but that’s not appropriate language, young lady.”

A sputtering wheeze sounded from the loft and she whipped around to glare fiercely at Rainbow Dash. The mare’s face had turned crimson behind her limbs from the struggle to stay quiet and tears leaked from her eyes. Twilight ground her teeth and Rainbow disappeared from view, strained whimpers echoing down. Another snort brought her ire to bear on Sweetie Belle, who was doubled up and hiding her face.

“I’m sorry,” Scootaloo half whispered, “I didn’t mean to; please don’t be mad.”

Twilight turned back and forced calmness into her expression. She patted down her mane and cleared her throat. “I’m not mad, Scootaloo. I know you didn’t mean to. Just be more careful, okay? One should always mind their language.”

In an instant, Rainbow’s containment ruptured, her maniacal laughter echoing through the room. Loud thumps reverberated as she banged her hooves against the floor. Sweetie Belle failed at her own battle for self-control and exploded into giggles, rushing behind the desk in an ill-fated attempt to hide her mirth. Scootaloo’s face went from rosy to burgundy and she sunk in on herself further. Twilight grew angrier as her own desire to laugh started to get the best of her. “Anyway, Scootaloo,” Twilight calmly said, struggling to keep the waver out of her voice, “I think you’ve learned your lesson.”

Scootaloo nodded and miserably asked, “Is there a rock I could crawl under for a while?”

Twilight bit her lip savagely, but a squeaking grunt escaped her snout. The volume throughout the entire room jumped and Twilight hugged Scootaloo through her giggles. Eventually, Scootaloo couldn’t help but join in.

It took several minutes before all of the laughter died down. For the rest of the afternoon, none of the four ever quite managed to get back on track with their work.

Author's Note

Happy Monday, have an update.

We're in the final act now. Stuff's happening. Also, trying reprimand a kid for loudly cussing is the hardest thing in the world. I remember one time my step-daughter wasn't thinkig and loudly shouted 'BULLSHIT!' when she was about five. Soooo hard not to laugh.

Thanks for reading.

XIII: The Speed Test

Chapter 13
The Speed Test

Scootaloo buzzed into the park and hopped lightly off her scooter in front of Twilight and Rainbow Dash. Smiling at the two mares, her eyes settled on the empty spot next to Twilight on the bench. A flutter of disappointment settled in her chest and she looked back over her shoulder, searching for signs of Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow grinned. “Hey there, Scoots. Know what today is, right?” The filly turned back and smiled again. “This is it, kiddo. The final speed test.”

“You really think I’m ready?” As she talked, Scootaloo craned her neck around, seeking out her friend’s approach.

Puffing out her chest, Rainbow nodded resolutely. “You’ve been kickin’ flank and takin’ names, Scoots. You get through this today an’ take a couple’a days off afterwards to get all rested up, and we’ll have ya flyin’ before the week’s out.” She turned to face her pupil and raised an eyebrow; Scootaloo was barely paying her any attention, looking all around the park. “Everything alright?”

Scootaloo started and turned back to Rainbow, laying her ears flat. “Sorry. Have, uh…have you seen Sweetie Belle? I haven’t seen her all day…”

Rainbow smiled despite herself, catching Twilight’s eyes in a shared, knowing look. She dismissed the grin from her face and said, “Nah, I haven’t. We can wait a bit, if you want.”

Grimacing, Scootaloo tapped her hooves, warring between her excitement for the speed test and her desire to wait for Sweetie Belle. Her frustration was cut short at the clatter of an approaching gallop, but when she turned she found Apple Bloom racing up the path. She struggled to keep the disappointment out of her tone. “Hi, AB.”

“Heya, Scoots,” Apple Bloom said as she skidded to a halt. “Sweetie Belle wanted me to tell ya that she’s awful sorry, but she’s gotta miss your trainin’ today.”

“Aww.” Scootaloo’s ears drooped again. “Did she tell you why?”

“Somethin’ about needin’ to be at her sister’s. I was kinda busy fixin’ up my brother’s ol’ cart most of the day or I would’a told ya sooner.”

“That’s alright…” Scootaloo brightened, standing up straighter. “You wanna hang out and watch? I’m not gonna be gliding, but today’s the speed test!”

“Would I?!” she exclaimed, leaping onto the bench next to Twilight. Grinning, Scootaloo turned back to Rainbow.

“Ready then?” Scootaloo nodded bombastically. Chuckling, Rainbow grabbed the stopwatch out of Twilight’s saddlebag and trotted towards their hill with the filly by her side. “Alright, Scoots. This one’s a little different. Ya need to do two-hundred wing-ups in five minutes.”

Scootaloo froze. “Two-hundred in five minutes?”

Snickering, Rainbow beckoned Scootaloo onward with a hoof. “Relax. That’s, like, forty wing-ups a minute. You did over eighty that first time, remember? And you’re way stronger now. We just gotta do the test this way, since bein’ able to lift a lot really quickly just isn’t as important as bein’ able to stay up for a long time. You’ll see, Scoots.”

“Okay…” Scootaloo said with some trepidation. She frowned with worry and started her wing-jacks, wincing at the lingering soreness still present in her muscles. Warmed up, she sunk to the grass and extended her wings. “Alright, I’m ready.”

“You got this,” Rainbow said emphatically, “You’ve been bustin’ your rump, and I know you’re ready. Just pace yourself. I know you’re probably still sore from everything we’ve been doing, but you totally got this.”

Smiling weakly, Scootaloo nodded. “Thanks, Rainbow.”

“Okay, ready? On your mark…get set…” she slapped her hoof down on the timer. “Go!”

Scootaloo’s wings thundered. The lingering muscle fatigue fell away, as it always did, within the first ten wing-ups and she raced through the reps. She tried to measure her frequency and not overextend her strength quickly, aiming for a single beat of space between each descent.

“That’s fifty, Scoots. You’re doin’ great; keep goin’.”

‘Fifty?’ she thought, ‘But I just started!’ She smirked widely, holding her forelegs close and controlling her breathing. In her more relaxed mindset compared to the previous test, she noticed the soft patter of Twilight and Apple Bloom joining her and Rainbow. She glanced up and grinned.

“That’s a hundred! You’re at a minute; keep this up and you’ll make it for sure!”

“C’mon, Scoots!” Apple Bloom cheered, “You can do it!”

“We believe in you!” Twilight chimed.

As the reps continued, Scootaloo’s pace began to slow. Her wings held strong and didn’t shake, but each passing lift took a little more effort than the one before. A bead of sweat ran down her forehead, and dangled from the tip of her snout. She grunted, pushing herself up and down methodically.

“That’s a hundred fifty! Two and a half minutes left!”

“C’mon Scootaloo, just fifty more!” Twilight beamed.

Apple Bloom bounced on her hooves. “No wonder ya nearly tore my leg clean off wrestlin’! You’re a machine!”

Giggling breathlessly, Scootaloo soldiered on, lifting and dropping, feeling her coat grow damp with perspiration. Tremors entered her limbs and she grit her teeth against them.

“A hundred seventy-five!”

“You’re almost there!”

“You’re doin’ great!”

“You can do it!”

“We believe in you!”

The three voices melded together in a collective roar of support. Grinning around her clenched jaw, Scootaloo shut her eyes tight and let the sound wash over her in a wave. Her wings trembled violently with every extension and she marveled at each seeming brick wall she reached and crested.

Her body burned. Every muscle ached, every inch of her coat felt slick and sticky. Her eyes stung.

The cheers grew louder and her mind filled with images. The dark and piercing yellow gaze in a blue face, joined by a short-cropped and messy chromatic mane, filled her senses; the colt she never met, but knew she would spend the rest of her life looking up to, urged her on. He was flanked on either side by Rainbow Dash and Twilight, cheering her forward, adding their strength and faith to his determination. Apple Bloom swam into view in front of Rainbow’s hooves, beaming with respect and admiration.

“You’re almost there, Scootaloo! Just a few more!”

“Ten more seconds, Scoots!”

“You’re amazin’! Ya almost got it!”

Her wings wouldn’t stop shaking. No matter how much strength she forced into them, it wasn’t enough and each press to the ground threatened to tip her sideways. She feared the last wall had been reached; past her comfortable limit, past her perceived limit, right at the point of muscle failure: the will to move there, but the raw strength gone and replaced by lactic acid and micro tears. She knew she could do more, but not without resting, and she didn’t have time. She scrunched her lids tight enough to see stars as the three cheered on.

Next to Apple Bloom, just in front of Twilight, the image of Sweetie Belle smiled at her. The warm, understanding smile that told Scootaloo her friend would always be there to listen to her, always be there to lean against when the stairs were too hard or the days too long and lonely. A grunting cry of effort ripped from her throat as she forced herself up.

“Two-hundred!” they shouted in unison.

Scootaloo fell to her side and rolled onto her back, her little wings twitching and refusing to fold up. She panted heavily, tiny giggles of relief turning each exhalation to a squeak. She cracked her eye and beheld the overjoyed expressions looming over her. “I did it?” she croaked.

“You did it!” they thundered back.

She hauled herself onto to her hooves and was knocked back to sitting as Apple Bloom lunged at her. “That was amazin’ Scoots! I’m so happy for you!”

Rainbow and Twilight ruffled Scootaloo’s mane in tandem. With her shakes and exhaustion making it a struggle just to stay upright, Apple Bloom was the only thing that kept the gentle tussles from knocking her over. She grinned and grinned. “I did it.” She inhaled deeply and let out a long breath as Apple Bloom stepped back from the excited hug. She turned to Rainbow Dash and asked, “So what happens now?”

“Now,” Rainbow chimed with a smirk, “You take a break; let your muscles heal up, get nice and limber, and in a few days we’ll go flyin’. You earned it, and I’ll let ya in on why.” She leaned in and grinned mischieviously. “You were ready to actually be flyin’ last speed test.”

Scootaloo gaped at her mentor. “What?!”

Chuckling, Rainbow explained, “Yeah, you could’a gotten up in the air and done some real flyin’ at eighty a minute; if ya had all your wing positions down then you’d have done fine. But,” she prodded Scootaloo in the chest with her hoof, “I know you. ‘Fine’ isn’t your style. Goin’ over a tree or two and landin’ out of breath wasn’t gonna cut it, and you know it.”

Scootaloo blinked slowly as her heavy breaths from the exertion gradually evened out. Eventually she nodded.

“You’re like me, kid. If you’re gonna do somethin’, you won’t put up with just bein’ okay, or pretty good. You wanna be the best at it. If we got ya up just as soon as we could, you wouldn’t be the best; you’d be kinda clumsy, you’d get tired soon, and it just wouldn’t be that much fun.

“This test proved a couple’a things, Scoots.” Rainbow began pacing back and forth, her chest puffed out like a drill sergeant. Scootaloo could almost see a team lead pony uniform and badge on the mare. “We know you can handle a take-off, and not just any take-off, but a rough take-off. We know you can fly for a long time without gettin’ tired. We know your wings are strong enough to handle most weather that’d get thrown at you, and we know your body’s strong enough to handle heavy winds and altitude changes. It’ll take a lot of practice for you to be awesome in the air, but gettin’ there is gonna be a lot easier now than if we did the minimum and called it good.”

Scootaloo shook her head, trying to process everything Rainbow was saying. “All that from two-hundred wing-ups in five minutes?”

“That was just the last part,” she answered with a fond smile, “I’ve been keepin’ track of how much you can bench with your wings, how fast you can turn in the air, wing-position accuracy, all of it. Heck, that spinnin’ take-off thing we did last week was a G-force test. Everythin’ was there to measure somethin’, and you did it all with flying colors.”

Rainbow boldly extended her hoof towards the filly, who numbly extended her own limb. Rainbow shook it emphatically. “Congratulations, Scoots. You’ve passed the official Wonderbolt Required Fitness Test.”

Scootaloo’s mouth fell open. “The…Wonderbolt’s Test?”

Rainbow nodded solemnly. “If you were tryin’ out for the ‘bolts, you’d pass the physical. You’re not old enough of course, an’ there’s more to the ‘bolts than just bein’ able to fly. Gotta follow orders, follow flight patterns, memorize formations, all that sorta stuff. An’ ya need to be able to give ‘em a lot of your time…” A shadow passed over Rainbow’s face in a barely glimpsed instant. Scootaloo blinked, but it was gone and Rainbow was beaming at her again. “But all that aside? You could be a Wonderbolt right now, Scoots.”

Scootaloo felt her legs grow even weaker. She nearly sunk to the grass as the weight of Rainbow’s words settled over her. “I…” she breathed, “I don’t know what to say…”

“You don’t need to say anything,” Rainbow beamed, “I’m so proud of you.” She closed the small gap separating them and swept Scootaloo into a hug. “You take these couple’a days and relax. Do your stretches every night, maybe every morning, too, but take it as a victory, alright? Celebrate some, stop thinkin’ about all this trainin’ and have some time to just hang out.” She dropped her voice to a whisper meant only for her pupil. “Maybe talk to a certain filly you got your eyes on.” Scootaloo went rigid in the hug and Rainbow stifled a laugh. She sat back and raised her volume back to normal. “When you’re all the way feelin’ better, I’ll take you flying. We got a deal?”

“I…” Scootaloo’s voice wavered and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped her face with the back of her hoof and sniffed her snout clear. A wobbly smile spread across her muzzle and she nodded. “We got a deal.”

“Awesome.” Rainbow ruffled Scootaloo’s mane into further messiness and stood up. “I know you’re gonna want to go flyin’ as soon as possible, but give yourself a chance to heal up. I don’t wanna hear ya askin’ for at least two days, got it?” She grinned, warm and affectionate, and scooped the stopwatch off the ground. “I’ll see ya then, Scoots.” Turning, Rainbow winked at Twilight and cantered back to the bench.

Twilight stepped forward and hugged the filly, whispering, “I know you like the tutoring, but take a break anyway. You’ve earned it, Scootaloo. I’m proud of you, too.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

Twilight stood and quickly joined Rainbow Dash, drawing close and keeping her voice low. “You just made her day.”

“She made her day,” Rainbow corrected, lifting the saddlebag and dropping it around her marefriend’s neck. Her tone became reserved and tentative. “C’mon, Twi’, let’s go back to the library. I’ve…got something I wanna show you.”

“Oh?”

“You’ll see.” She lowered down and Twilight climbed onto her back. With a powerful sweep of her wings, the pair flew up and out of sight.

Apple Bloom’s smile was painfully big. “That was incredible! How’re ya feelin’, Scoots?”

Shaking the haziness from her head, Scootaloo moaned, “Tired. And sweaty.” Her friend giggled. “I think I’m gonna go jump in the lake now. Wanna come swimmin’?”

Apple Bloom started to nod, but caught herself. “…Aw, man. I almost forgot about Mac’s cart!” She cringed. “Sorry, Scoots. I was almost late comin’ here ‘cause I lost track of the time fixin’ it. I should really get back to it; he’s gonna need it in the mornin’. ‘Nother time, okay?”

“Sure, AB,” Scootaloo said with a tired sigh, “I’m probably not gonna be much fun anyway; I might fall asleep floatin’ on my back.”

Chuckling, Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo another hug. “Don’t you dare forget to tell me when you’re gonna fly, ya hear me?”

Scootaloo grinned. “I promise I’ll tell you.”

“Alright then. I’ll be seein’ ya, Scoots.” She smiled and waved, heading back through the park in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Scootaloo closed her eyes and flopped onto her back. A low and tired, but contented groan shook her chest and she tried to fold her wings back up. They moved in jerky spasms at her sides and it took far longer than it should, but eventually she managed the task. She mumbled incoherent complaints and debated trying to stand again or just crawl on her belly to her scooter.

After a pained and arduous journey rolling over, she seriously considered crawling, but decided a pony cut out for the Wonderbolts was better than that. Once she was on her tremulous hooves, wavering dangerously side to side, she wished she had been more humble. With tiny, controlled, and aching steps, she made her way down the hill and back to the bench. Throwing her upper body over the handlebars, she used the scooter as a crutch, half dragging herself along the path deeper into the park. Each minute turn in the path was a monumental strain across her shoulders to shift the front wheel’s direction, and every inch of incline was a mountain for her to climb.

At long last, the glittering sheen of the lake came into view and a beleaguered smile spread across her muzzle. Moving off the cobbled path, Scootaloo’s progress became slower, but less bumpy, and she resolutely pushed across the grass until she reached the shoreline. She dropped to all fours, letting her scooter tumble over, and haltingly waded into the lake.

Sweet, soothing, wonderful coolness rushed over her hooves, then her fetlocks, then up to her belly. Scootaloo lifted her legs from the mucky lake bed and half submerged into the lovely water, bobbing to just below her chin on the surface. “Ahhhh…”

She rolled through the water until she was floating face-up along the surface, all four legs spread widely away from her barrel and idly paddling her across the lake in meandering circles. She spread her wings underwater, feeling the gentle current flow through and around all her feathers. Gentle ripples splashed against her sides and winding channels ran along her wings and back, the tiny motions eroding Scootaloo’s pain and massaging her stiffness away. She closed her eyes.

Floating in serenity, Scootaloo drifted in and out of conscious thought. With her aches dulled to distant throbbing, her thoughts became a hazy cacophony of relief, happiness, excitement, and a lingering sense of melancholy that no matter what she had accomplished…that meant she was done. A queasy worm of discomfort pulled at her belly and she grimaced.

Training every other day with Rainbow Dash had become ingrained routine for the filly. She could set a watch by it if she ever wore one, and as hard as the sessions were, they had become the very structure of Scootaloo’s week. A couple days of a break before flying was something she could put up with. But never having another session again?

A small whimper of disquiet escaped her snout. She scrunched her closed eyes tight and shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it.

Flipping back to her belly, Scootaloo opened her eyes and sunk into the water halfway up her muzzle, watching the surface dance away in jittering cones with each exhalation. ‘If training’s over,’ she thought, ‘When am I gonna see Rainbow Dash?’

As soon as she thought it, Scootaloo felt silly. A self-deprecating chuckle made tiny waves in the lake as a flurry of memories passed over her mind. The hollow ghost of Rainbow’s voice echoed, teasing, ‘You’re not gonna be one of those lazy pegasi that never trains, are ya, Scoots?’ Scootaloo’s grin turned challenging and she shook her head, sending out a babble of rippling water. ‘It’ll take a lot of practice for you to be awesome in the air.’

‘I’ll take you flying.’

“That’s what she said,” Scootaloo murmured to herself, half the words being swallowed and turned to bubbles by the lake, “Take me flying. Not finish the training, not that I’ll be done; she’s gonna take me flying.”

‘’Course, Scoots. I’ll never leave ya hangin’.’

“I know,” Scootaloo beamed, “You never have.” Propelling herself up, she heaved in a deep breath of air and dived down into the depths of the lake, racing to the bottom and along the almost alien ground. Fish darted away at her approach in the hazy, shadowy, silent world of water. She felt her mane and tail swirl behind her and cool wetness between every hair of her coat. On a single breath, she lapped the lake bed and rose from the middle in a shot. When she exploded to the surface in a corona of thrown water droplets, she felt like she had been reborn.

Excitedly, she swam back to the shore. Her wings were on fire, but the rest of her—mind, body and spirit—felt fresh and new. She clambered onto land and shook the running water from her body like a dog. Grabbing her scooter and climbing on, Scootaloo kicked her way across the grass and back to the path, heading back towards town. She had a wild desire for adventure; an impulse to just go wherever her scooter took her.

“I did it!” she shouted to the world at the top of her lungs, “I’m gonna fly!”

“Scootaloo!” The distant voice, pitched high with excitement, answered her call and Scootaloo dropped her gaze from the sky to find the source. Sweetie Belle rushed up the path at a gallop, her giant smile plain across the fifty-odd yards separating them. Scootaloo kicked along the ground to meet her, watching her grow in clarity as they drew closer. Glittering specks of excitement made Sweetie Belle’s eyes dance with light as her curly mane whipped in the breeze. Dumping her scooter just before they met, she heard Sweetie Belle yell, “I got it! I got my cutie mark!”

Scootaloo’s wide eyes fell to Sweetie’s flank as the filly turned and skidded to a stop. A pair of beamed notes, the same shade of purple as the streaks in Sweetie’s mane, sat suspended in a glittering green cloud to match the unicorn’s magic. Scootaloo thought her face might split from her smile. “You did!”

“Oh, it was amazing!” she squeaked, “My sister got this new portable stage set-up for fashion shows that has a built-in sound system and she said I could be the first to test it!”

“So what happened?” Scootaloo leaned forward with interest, hanging on her friend’s every word.

“It had these portable microphones for it, and I really wanted to do somethin’ special, so I started practicing using a few at the same time and holding all of ‘em in my magic.” As she talked, she bounced in place. “I couldn’t hold ‘em right at first, but I practiced as hard as I could with Twilight until I got it down!”

Spinning in a circle, Sweetie crooned, “Oh, I wish you were there, Scoots! I got up on that stage an’ started singin’…I had all the microphone’s floating all over the place so I could move around an’ switch between ‘em without missing any notes, and I had ‘em dipping and weaving with the beat! It was exactly like I imagined it, and you should’a seen my sister’s face! She was so proud of me, like I was really on stage for a whole crowd!”

Scootaloo’s already painful grin grew even wider. “And you got your cutie mark?”

“Just as I finished, Rarity jumped up and stomped her hooves and there was a flash!” She turned again, beaming at her flank. “I use magic to help me sing; that’s my special talent. I’m so excited! I always loved singing!”

“I love your singing,” Scootaloo said plainly, no real thought passing through her head as it left her mouth.

Sweetie Belle’s throat stopped working for a moment. She turned back to face Scootaloo straight on, her eyes shimmering wetly above her pink cheeks. Breathlessly, she asked, “Do you really?”

Scootaloo blinked. “Of course I do.”

Shutting her eyes, letting the tears escape down her face, Sweetie Belle tackled Scootaloo around the neck in a hug. “Thank you!” she squealed, giggling in delight.

A rush of joy, light and transcendent, flooded Scootaloo’s mind. Her laughter joining in with her friend’s, Scootaloo hugged Sweetie Belle back. “I’m just so happy for you, Sweetie!” She lifted Sweetie Belle off the ground with her forelegs and swung her in a circle. Despite the long day, despite her soreness, Sweetie Belle could have been lighter than a feather. The little unicorn’s mirth grew louder as Scootaloo looped her through the air.

Watching the filly’s face over her head, dozens of images overlaid Scootaloo’s vision. Suddenly, she was in a stately ballroom with an orchestral score filling the air. She twirled Sweetie in time with the music, their matching dresses smart and refined. The hall was grand and glittered with polished marble, but she only had eyes for her dance partner.

She was in a nightclub. The dark and grimy floors reverberated violently into her hooves as the bass pumped, louder than she could comprehend, and she rocked out with the filly in energetic sweeps. With each pass, they stepped closer together, bobbing with the beat, reaching for each other’s hooves.

She was at a concert that had just let out, waiting backstage as Sweetie bowed to applause. The unicorn left the spotlight, beaming at Scootaloo with that same gigantic grin, those same wet eyes.

She was landing on a cloud, sliding the cowl back from her Wonderbolt uniform and wiping the sweat from her brow. Sweetie Belle rushed to meet her and leapt into her outstretched legs. She hugged the filly close.

She was in a park, laughing in celebration, full of fiery victory and endless joy, her hooves gently gripping Sweetie Belle as they cheered.

Scootaloo pulled Sweetie Belle close and kissed her.

Her eyes shot wide the minute her lips touched the delicate muzzle of her friend. ‘Aaaah!’ she mentally screamed at herself, ‘What am I doing?!’ Nearly every fiber of her being demanded she stop, but for a moment she was frozen in place, pressed against Sweetie Belle. The extremely small portion of her that wasn’t busy panicking never wanted to pull away.

Sweetie Belle felt so right. All her silly little imagined kisses with her pretty crush had a sappy, cloying, perfumed quality to them, closer to a mouthful of roses than anything else Scootaloo could think of. Actually kissing Sweetie Belle was a marvel of simplicity. A gentle warmth spreading from her lips down to her hooves, a plain lightness lifting from the pit of her belly, a heady buzzing between her ears. Nothing frilly, nothing saccharine, no fireworks, no sudden music. Just a bare and honest connection between her and another pony.

It was better than Scootaloo ever dreamed it could be.

Scootaloo set Sweetie Belle back on her hooves and stepped away quickly. She felt morbid heat rise to her already flushed face, reaching from the end of her snout to the tips of her ears in an inferno that could shame a dragon. She dropped her gaze and sunk to her haunches, swallowing dryly in an attempt to staunch the nervous guilt flooding her system.

Cringing and shaking her head, she forced herself to look back up. Sweetie Belle’s shocked eyes skittered away from her gaze, the filly’s rosy cheeks darkening and her whole body trembling. “I-I…uh…I…” Scootaloo stammered.

Sweetie Belle turned in place and galloped from the park, faster than Scootaloo had ever seen her move. The little pegasus sunk in on herself further, lowering her head, drooping her ears, and pawing at the ground.

It took her a very long time to find the strength to go home.

Author's Note

You know, I bet it's extremely difficult to hang off the edge of a cliff using hooves. Twilight managed alright in the premiere, but then again she did have AJ holding on. Sounds like a lot of scrabbling unpleasantness.

Ahahahaha....haha...ha...I'm a bastard.

See you on Monday.

XIV: The Letter

Chapter 14
The Letter

Rainbow Dash settled gently on the library’s balcony. Twilight slid from her marefriend’s back and patted down her windswept mane. When she turned to face Rainbow, her expression grew puzzled. Rainbow looked at her with a tentative uneasiness that reminded her of the night they had gotten together. The pegasus stepped forward and grasped Twilight’s face in her hooves, kissing the mare quickly and somewhat roughly. She pulled back and smirked, the smile not quite convincing, drawing Twilight’s brows further together in confusion. “Wait here,” Rainbow mumbled.

Opening the balcony door, Rainbow jumped into the air and sailed through the room and down the staircase. Still bewildered, Twilight tentatively entered her bedroom. The gentle clack of hooves on risers drew her to the staircase as Rainbow came back into view. Her marefriend had an opened envelope in her mouth. Smiling wanly around it, she leaned forward to present it to Twilight.

Lifting the envelope in a glow of magic, Twilight pulled the letter out and unfurled it in front of her.

Team Lead Rainbow Dash,

Your required two year Wonderbolt Academy enrollment is due to be completed by the end of the month. In light of your outstanding academy record in physical skill and leadership ability, a special deliberation committee was called to order last week, discussing you and your talents.

By unanimous decision, the Wonderbolts extend to you an official offer for placement on the team. A standard five year commitment contract pending your review and approval will be rendered available on Academy grounds in seven to ten business days. If you accept, a month-long team acclimation training period will be scheduled to begin the first of the month.

Congratulations, cadet.

With regards,

Captain Spitfire, WB

Twilight’s slack jaw gradually shifted into an enormous grin. She quickly moved the letter away from in front of her face and beamed at Rainbow. “Oh my gosh! You made it, Rainbow! I’m so excited for you!” Twilight rushed forward and swept Rainbow off the floor in a crushing hug, drawing a surprised wheeze. “You have your dream! Oh, this is such wonderful news!” Rainbow chuckled weakly as Twilight spun her around and set her back on the floor. Twilight hurried to her desk. “This calls for a Pinkie party! We need to tell everypony right away!”

Rainbow shuffled her wings without opening them and cleared her throat. “Yeah, that sounds like fun,” she said quietly.

Twilight halted and turned back to the surprisingly reserved mare. “Is everything alright?”

Rainbow waved a hoof dismissively. “Yeah, yeah…” She gave Twilight a small smile. “I’d kinda like to maybe do somethin’ with just you first, though.”

Twilight’s confusion melted and her expression grew warm. She reapproached Rainbow and hugged her marefriend more gently. “I’d love to do that, Rainbow. Let’s go to that new bistro, just the two of us.”

Grinning, Rainbow pecked the unicorn on her cheek. “Sounds great.”

Twilight hurried away again, bee lining for the bathroom. “Oh, I have to get ready!”

Shaking her head and smirking, Rainbow slowly descended the stairs to the main room of the library. She wandered to the fireplace and sat down, fidgeting her wings. She grabbed a book without looking at it and tried to read, finding herself glancing up at the stairs every few minutes.

After an agonizing amount of time for Rainbow Dash, Twilight came down to meet her, looking much the same as she had before, although her mane and tail were completely devoid of signs that they had flown home and her coat shined almost imperceptibly brighter than normal. “You’re not going to get ready?” She blinked and shook her head. “Of course you’re not going to get ready; you always look good. C’mon, let’s go.” She floated a saddlebag around her neck.

Snickering, Rainbow dropped her book and headed for the door. “You always look good, too.” She held it open for her marefriend with a smile.

“That’s because I work at it. Believe me, when I was studying for finals as an undergrad, there was a solid two weeks where the only thing I did was shower to get the ick off.” Rainbow shut the door behind them and they took off at a sedate canter towards downtown Ponyville. “If I’m remembering right, I was almost late to my last exam because a couple of birds tried to use my mane as a nest.”

Rainbow gently shoulder checked Twilight. “I’d pay to see that. Bet you’d look even cuter with Owlowiscious curled up asleep on your head.”

Giggling, Twilight shoulder checked back. “Couldn’t be cuter than when Tank falls asleep on your back.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me. That little guy’s heavy. Makes me feel like he’s a paperweight and I’m a stack of papers.”

They shared a chuckle. “Has he done well since the move, by the way? I don’t see him around the library very often, and you always read him better than me, anyway.”

“Oh, he’s been fine,” Rainbow said nonchalantly, “He just keeps to himself a lot. Loner type, ya know? Plus, I think he found a lady tortoise friend who lives in the White Tail Woods.”

“Aww…”

“Chicks dig flying tortoises.”

Twilight giggled and shoulder checked Rainbow again. “I certainly dig the owner of one.”

“See?” she teased, “He’s just doing his job.”

Twilight glanced up, catching sight of the sign hanging above The Nosh and Nicker Bistro. “Wow, we’re here already.”

Rainbow held open the door for her marefriend and they stepped inside the cozy restaurant. The rich, stained wood walls and floor held an intimate warmth that was accentuated by the flickering lantern lights set along the walls and in the center of each table. After a short wait for a place to sit to come free and be cleaned, they were sat at a two-pony table in the middle of the main dining room, surrounded by the low murmur of conversations occurring throughout the space.

Their conversation shifted to discussing dishes, and after they had ordered their meals, Twilight smiled fondly at Rainbow across the table. She watched her marefriend shift and twitch her folded wings. “You look like you’re itching to fly, Rainbow. I’m so happy for you. We knew this day was coming, but it’s still so exciting!” She blinked and shook her head. “Oh, gosh! Think about how excited Scootaloo’s gonna be!”

Rainbow snorted and shook her head, grinning.

“Think about it!” Twilight teased, “Especially if you told her right after her first flight! She’d explode!”

Laughing lightly, Rainbow reached across the table and cupped Twilight’s hoof. “She totally would.” She grinned at the unicorn, idly stroking the soft hairs of Twilight’s coat. “Thank you, Twi’. For helping me plan all the training.” She looked down at that table, her expression growing coy. “After that very first speed test, I stopped worryin’ so much. I was prepared for her to start off way worse than she was…” Her smile fell as a ghost of memory passed over her face. “…My dad told me he couldn’t do one wing-up at all when he started learnin’ to fly…”

Twilight moved her other hoof to the table and squeezed Rainbow’s limb.

Squeezing back, Rainbow continued, “But after that? After I saw she’d definitely be able to make it?” Her smile widened and she shook her head. “I never would’a been able to plan the ‘Bolts training without your help.”

The server arrived with their food and they sat back, providing room for their plates. Twilight turned to the server and smiled. “Thank you.” She turned back to her marefriend. “And you’re welcome. I was happy to help. I’m so glad I did, too; being there for the training and watching the two of you together has been wonderful.” She inhaled the aroma of her eggplant parmesan. “Mmm, this smells good.”

“I’ ‘astes ‘ood, ‘oo,” Rainbow mumbled around her enormous mouthful of noodles.

Giggling, Twilight took a modestly sized bite. “It does taste good. Anyway, I’ve been more than happy through all the training.” She smirked ruefully between mouthfuls, her speech slowing down with pauses as she ate. “I’ve always liked watching you fly, but helping with the plans and watching you and Scootaloo in action…I get it now. I mean, I understood before, abstractly, but I really get it now. How much work and effort you put into it. It’s really amazing. And seeing you with Scootaloo…” Her smile widened. “It’s cute. She adores you.”

Rainbow snorted derisively, shoveling another wad of noodles into her mouth. To her credit, she swallowed before saying, “It’s been great seein’ you tutor her. I know she was a little cold for a while, but she definitely warmed up to you. That’s cute. Scoots an’ me? We’re cool. Get it right.”

Twilight had to swallow quickly to keep from choking from her chuckles. “My mistake.”

“You’re cool, too, so I’ll forgive you.”

Waving a hoof in a playful dismissal, Twilight mused, “Fine, if you say I’m cool, I can be cool. But you’re cute.”

“Slander!”

They fell into giggles, working their way through the rest of their meals. Twilight’s grin gradually shrunk and became introspective. “…It’s been really great having Scootaloo around so much.”

“Yeah, it has.” Rainbow finished licking her plate and set it back down as the waiter approached. She quirked an eyebrow at her marefriend. “Dessert? I think I saw tiramisu earlier.”

“Mmm, coffee.”

The waiter nodded congenially and cleared their plates. A pleasant lull fell over their conversation as they waited, bellies full of food. Rainbow sat back and sighed in satisfaction, fidgeting her wings.

“There you go again,” Twilight teased, “Still wanting to fly. I’m surprised you actually walked the whole way here.”

“It was a short walk.” The waiter returned with their dessert and the check.

Twilight levitated a fork to the plate and grinned mischieviously. “Open up; tell me how it is.” She floated a bite past her marefriend’s lips.

Rainbow’s eyelids fluttered as she chewed. “Oh, man…” she murmured. Her voice grew serious. “It’s poison. I’m gonna have to eat all of it, just to protect you.” She grabbed a fork and dug out a large piece.

“I’ll take my chances,” Twilight struggled out through her mirth, bringing a bite to her mouth. “Oh, wow…” Her muzzle crinkled in satisfaction as she chewed. “We’re definitely gonna need to bring the girls here. They’d love it. The food is terrific and the atmosphere is—”

Rainbow cut her off, as much with the sudden downshift in tone as what she said. “I’m not gonna do it.”

Twilight froze with a forkful of tiramisu halfway to her mouth. Her eyes trained on Rainbow’s face, suddenly as serious and resolute as her voice. She set her fork back down. “What?”

“I’m gonna tell Spitfire no.”

Shaking her head hard enough for her ears to loudly flap against her head, Twilight marveled, “What? Why? We’ve been waiting for this for years!”

Rainbow shrugged noncommittally. “Not gonna do it.”

“But it’s your dream, Rainbow! You can’t get cold hooves now, just because it’s here! You’re the best flyer I’ve ever seen; you’ll do fine—fantastic even—you have to say yes.”

Taking a long and slow breath, Rainbow shook her head. “I know I’d be great. I know they’d love me an’ I could make a name for myself doin’ it. I could probably make captain after Spitfire retires.” She took another chunk of their dessert and chewed it slowly. “Still not gonna do it.”

Twilight stammered in disbelief. She shook her head again. “Why?! It’s your dream!”

“It was my dream, Twilight.” She sat forward and smiled wanly at her marefriend. “It isn’t anymore.”

Twilight gaped silently.

“Y’know what bein’ a Wonderbolt means, Twi’?” Her eyes dropped to the table, lingering over the sticky crumbs of the finished tiramisu. “Month long trainin’ at the academy, then I’d go on tour. Tours are three months, with two weeks off in between ‘em. Outdoor stadiums for warm months, indoor coliseums for cold ones. Couple’a weekends off here ‘n there, a break for Hearth’s Warmin’, and then I’d do it all again.” She sat back, shaking her head. “Five year contract to start. Then another, an’ another. Most ‘bolts stay active for twenty years.” Her eyes became hard set and she met Twilight’s gaze unwaveringly. “Twenty years, Twi’. Twenty years of me bein’ home for three months of the whole year.”

“Rainbow…” Twilight reached across the table and held her marefriend’s hoof. “We’ve talked about this before. We’ll find time. I can come to some of the shows and we can spend down-time together. Sure, we’ll be busy a lot, but we’ll make it work.”

Rainbow smiled sadly. “We talked about it when I went to the academy; that was two years ago, Twi’.” She set her other hoof over Twilight’s and squeezed tight. “So much has changed since then. For us. We were together then, yeah, but now…” She dropped her head again, her voice growing even more reserved. “I love you, Twilight. I love you with all my heart. I wake up every day with you right there next to me, and go to sleep every night curled up around you, and I don’t ever want that to stop.”

Twilight bit her lip and blinked rapidly. “Rainbow…”

“Goin’ away for a week regularly was one thing, but a whole month? Three whole months? Three months away, stealin’ little bits and pieces of time with you?” She shook her head, looking back up. “No. No, that’s not a dream of mine. I’ve got too much here. Too much of me here, in Ponyville, to leave like that. What’m I supposed to do with Tank?” Twilight opened her mouth, but Rainbow shook her head. “I know you’d take care of ‘im, or Fluttershy, but that’s not fair to the little dude. He’s got his home. With me. With us.”

“Rainbow, I—”

“—Hold on, I’m almost done.” Her small smile grew a little in strength, taking on a wry quality. “Tank’s hardly the biggest thing. What about the other girls? They’re not gonna be able to drop stuff to come to shows. I’ll hardly see anypony at all for years. And…and what about Scoots?”

Rainbow dropped her gaze again. “…Sure, she’s just about done trainin’, but you’ve seen what those Taker ponies are like. She needs us there. She’s spending more an’ more time at the library each week. I can’t get her flyin’ and then take off for the ‘bolts, Twi’.” She shook her head, vehemently, angrily. “I refuse to just take off. I refuse.” Her voice wavered with emotion on the last word and she paused, swallowing the lump in her throat. She extricated one of her hooves and wiped at her eyes.

Twilight’s voice grew concerned. “You okay?”

Sniffling and swallowing again, Rainbow answered, “Yeah,” her voice low and husky. She cleared her throat. “My…my dad died right after I got back from Junior Speedsters. He, uh…he helped train me right before I left for it. It was the last thing we really did together.” She sniffled wetly again. When she met Twilight’s gaze, her eyes looked haunted. “I can’t train Scoots an’ disappear from her life, even if it’s just most of the time. I can’t. And if I did, I’d miss so much.” She shook her head again. “I’d miss helpin’ her after her first crash, helpin’ her with her first trick, seein’ her first trick. I’d miss all of it.

“And I’d miss you, Twi’. Stolen weekends and off-hours stuff every once in a while on tour sounded okay two years ago, but it doesn’t anymore. Does it still sound good to you?”

Twilight paused for a long time, meeting her marefriend’s steady and saddened expression. Very slowly, she shook her head. “…No,” she whispered, “No, but I’d deal with it.”

Rainbow nodded. “I’d deal with it too, if that’s all it was. But it isn’t, Twi’. There’s too much other stuff.” A smile cut through her melancholy and she leaned forward, lifting Twilight’s hoof off the table and holding it fiercely. “Too much good stuff. I’m so happy, Twi’. I love my life. Weather stuff is fun most of the time, and even when it isn’t, I’m done so fast it doesn’t matter. I make just okay money, but uhh…” She flushed, her face and voice coloring with embarrassment. “...Well, we’ve been over the bills…I don’t need to make a lot, anyway. We’re comfortable as it is.”

Twilight stroked Rainbow’s hoof soothingly; she knew the subject was touchy for her marefriend. Rainbow smiled at her and a bit of the color drained away from the mare’s face.

Rainbow cleared her throat. “Anyway, so money’s not a problem, and I get to fly for fun all the time already, so who cares if it’s on a team or not? It’s all flying, an’ I get to do it as much as I want right now. And work stuff aside, I get to spend all this time with our friends, and trainin’ Scoots, and seein’ you. You’ve made me the luckiest mare in Ponyville.”

Still smiling, Rainbow squeezed Twilight’s hoof again. “Bein’ a Wonderbolt? That was the dream of a different pony; one who needed everypony to know who she was, ‘cause she didn’t have anypony at all. Before I met you, I was always on my own. No real friends, ‘cept Gilda who I never saw, goin’ from place to place, never droppin’ anchor. I could always be a ‘Bolt, ‘cause I never had a home, Twilight. My home died with my dad.” Her voice and eyes wavered. “You gave me a home again. And I’m not gonna give that up for a fillyhood dream that doesn’t mean anything to me anymore. Not when I have a new dream. A better one.”

Rainbow let go of Twilight’s hoof and stood from her chair. A pregnant hush fell over the restaurant as heads turned in curiosity to regard the striking pegasus. With deliberate and practiced slowness, Rainbow stepped around the table and lowered down in a half bow, half crouch. Her twitching wings extended from her sides, sweeping in front of her towards Twilight.

Twilight looked down at Rainbow’s feathery limbs with wide and bewildered eyes. In the crook of Rainbow’s right wing, hidden from view throughout the evening, she held a small, worn, wooden box. With the strange and innate wing dexterity that all pegasi seemed to have and which Twilight always puzzled over, Rainbow slid the box to the end of her right wing and grasped the lid with her left.

Rainbow’s voice, while gentle and bare, carried across the preternaturally still restaurant. “Twilight Sparkle. Will you make me the luckiest mare in all of Equestria?” She opened the box.

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat. The humble container, lined in old and worn burgundy velvet, served as a stark contrast to its contents: a single, tiny, blue feather, the sheen on its vane worn dull with time and the quill stained by age to a dirty yellow. She recognized it immediately: a molted pegasus feather. Rainbow’s first molted feather. She shut her eyes and tears rolled down her face.

“Oh, yes, Rainbow, yes!” Twilight leapt to her hooves. She cupped Rainbow’s face and pulled her up to standing, kissing the pegasus fiercely, emphatically, pouring the full weight of her acceptance into the act. She wrapped her legs around Rainbow’s neck as her fiancée gripped her waist. She felt the tears on Rainbow’s cheeks mix with her own.

In their embrace, Twilight’s horn began to glow. A shimmering field of magic surrounded both ponies and slowly, delicately, they floated off the hardwood floor. Suspended in space, enrobed in energy, they were two individuals cut off from the world around them. There, in the moment, they had each other and nothing else mattered.

Twilight had never felt so in love.

Rainbow Dash hadn’t, either.

When they eventually drew away, grinning broadly with happy tears trailing down their faces, Twilight’s magic slowly faded. As they drifted downwards, Rainbow whispered, “I guess we’ll open that bottle of wine early.” Twilight cupped Rainbow’s face and kissed her again. Still tightly in each other’s hooves, their hindlegs clicked down on the floor.

The entire restaurant roared to life in applause.

Hooves rhythmically stomping, cheers and whistles rebounding off the walls, the intimate venue became an overwhelming din of noise. Twin blushes spread across Rainbow and Twilight’s ecstatic faces, but despite the sense of embarrassed exposure, neither had the heart to let the other go right away.

Rainbow kissed Twilight once more and stepped away with lingering reluctance. Still smiling hugely, they nodded thanks across the room to the many calls of congratulations and sat back down. Eventually the restaurant quieted enough that they could hear each other speak, but for a while afterwards all they could do was grin stupidly at each other.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “So…”

“I love you,” Twilight said simply.

Rainbow paused, smiling fondly. “…I love you, too, Twi’.”

Her voice growing tentative, Twilight asked, “Are you really going to decline?”

“I mailed a letter saying 'thanks but no thanks' this mornin’.” She took one of Twilight’s hooves in her own again. “This is my dream, Twi’. This life we’ve made together. Might not be as flashy as bein’ a ‘Bolt, but it’s what I want. Just this…” Rainbow’s smile lost distinction and her eyes grew distant and introspective. “This and some other stuff I wanna talk to you about.”

“Oh?”

Rainbow refocused on her fiancée and grinned impishly. “Stuff about Scoots...but let’s go home and open up that wine first.”

Twilight removed a pouch of bits from her saddlebag to pay their tab and slid the wooden box inside to take its place. After shaking hooves with a number of well-wishers, they left the restaurant, Twilight occasionally pressing her hoof to the contours of the box inside her bag, assuring it was still there, relishing in its existence. Twilight and Rainbow took the winding way back to the library, pressed shoulder to shoulder the entire trip.

Once home, the bottle of wine disappeared quickly amidst excited conversation. Two more fell shortly after that. As the rays of morning peeked their way over the horizon, Twilight and Rainbow finally nodded off, nestled in each other’s hooves, staggeringly drunk, slightly queasy, and hopelessly in love.

“Ugh, Rainbow, my head…”

“C’mon, Twi’, I feel like mud, too. But we talked about this; it’s somethin’ I gotta do.”

“Can’t it wait?”

“Um…We kinda slept for fourteen hours…”

”What?!”

“Augh, not so loud, Twi’…But yeah, it’s the middle of the night. And you know Scoots is gonna say she’s ready to go—”

“—the first possible second, yeah.”

“So if we don’t leave now, we’re not gonna get back by tomorrow afternoon.”

“…Okay, Rainbow. Make some coffee.”

“Already did.”

“…I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Author's Note

We're in the home stretch here, folks. The remainder of the story is drafted, coming in at 17 chapters and an epilogue. Week and a half left for all of it to be online.

See you Thursday.

XV: Finding Peace

Chapter 15
Finding Peace

The gate squeaked wretchedly at Rainbow’s touch. She winced, lowering her ears, and forced the old, rusted wrought iron open the rest of the way. She glanced over her shoulder at Twilight for reassurance before stepping into the graveyard.

Working her way slowly and reverently through the overgrown weeds and worn gravestones, Rainbow traced the ill-used, but familiar path ingrained in her memory. Twilight followed closely behind, near enough to place a comforting hoof on her fiancée’s back if needed, but with enough distance for Rainbow to make the journey on her own.

Past old and gnarled trees, crumbly mausoleums, and faded markers, the pair wound through the cemetery until Rainbow spotted the small hill up ahead. That hill carried an almost palpable weight for the pegasus, steeped in years of ache. She took a deep breath and began the agonizing ascent on tremulous steps, her gaze locked on the single stone ahead of her.

Rainbow pulled open her saddlebag and gripped the bouquet of roses in her teeth. Bowing her head, she gently set it down in front of the gravestone. Her eyes traced back up over the well worn and faded contours of the marker’s missive, chiseled as firmly into her memory as they were into the rock.

With reservation in her voice, she read the stone out loud, as much from recollection as actually reading it. “Here lies Buckaneer Blaze. Beloved father, friend, and Wonderbolt.”

Twilight quietly marveled, “I didn’t know your dad was in the Wonderbolts…”

Turning from the stone, Rainbow smiled sadly at the unicorn. “When he was rescued from his parents, nopony thought he’d ever be able to fly. When he did, it was national news. The Wonderbolts made him an honorary member.” She drifted her gaze back to the gravestone. “Hey, dad…”

Twilight took a step back and bowed her head, closing her eyes.

“I’m…I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve been here. I, uh…I guess I could say I’ve been busy, but you deserve better’n that.” Rainbow sat on her haunches, her head and ears lowered. She ran her hoof over the fading words. “You deserved better’n you got. From the world, and…and from me.”

Rainbow inhaled deeply and let out a lingering sigh. “I’ve…I’ve been angry at you for a long time. I was so young, dad. All I had was you, an’ then you were gone. For a long time, I thought that’s why I was angry, and I hated myself for it. It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t want to die; I saw it in your eyes. It was so clear in your eyes that you were the first thought for me when I needed somepony for Scoots to look up to. I felt guilty for so long thinkin’ that I was angry ‘cause you died.”

Shaking her head slowly, Rainbow’s voice dropped lower. “But that wasn’t really it. It took me a long time to figure out why, but I got it now, dad. It’s ‘cause you couldn’t make up your mind about flying or family. That’s really what killed you, and more’n that, it’s what it did to me.”

Tracing her hoof down, she touched the waxed paper wrapping the bouquet. “You pushed me so hard to be a Wonderbolt…and you didn’t even need to; it was all I talked about, all I wanted to do anyway. So many days flyin’ that ended with me hurlin’ off the side of a cloud, so many fevers from workin’ too hard…but if that’s all it was? That you worked me too hard, livin’ a dream you couldn’t have? I wouldn’t even be angry.”

Rainbow shook her head gently. “If all ya did was push an’ push, I’d think you were just a jerk tryin’ to live through me. But every time I got sick from it...every time somethin’ made you think of mom…suddenly you didn’t want me to fly.” As she spoke, her voice grew more and more bitter. “You wanted me to make friends and have fun. You’d start talkin’ about the type of pony you wanted me to end up with. Somepony kind and thoughtful, who could slow me down a little.

“I thought…for a long time, I thought you were thinkin’ I was weak. That I couldn’t handle the trainin’, so I should give up. But then, after I got my cutie mark and came home from flight school…” Rainbow sighed again, stooping even lower. “I saw it. You were afraid. So afraid for me, an’ I didn’t know why. You didn’t think I was weak, you thought I was too strong.

“…I finally figured out why. It took me way too long, but you know I’ve never been the best at thinkin’ through everything.”

She raised her head and ran her hoof over her father’s name. “It was all about mom. It was all about why she left. Why you never told me why she left.” She swallowed heavily. “She left ‘cause she couldn’t put up with how much you put into flyin’. She didn’t get to see you ever, ‘cause you never stopped workin’ at it and she saw it was killin’ you. And it did kill you. Even when you slowed down to look after me, it still killed you. You were afraid I was gonna end up like you: a worn out pony pushin’ myself past my breakin’ point until nopony would have anything to do with me.”

A weak smile drifted across Rainbow’s face. “But mom was the wrong one, not you. She left both of us. You were there, dad, an’ you spent your whole life fighting for everything. You shouldn’t have been afraid I’d end up like you. I’m proud I ended up like you. One of the best ponies I’ll ever meet. You were so strong an’ you cared so much. You just wanted me to have everything. Everything you didn’t have, everything I wanted, everything you wanted for me. For so long I was angry at you and admired you at the same time. But…I’m not angry anymore. ‘Cause I understand now, dad.

“I understand, ‘cause…” She turned and looked at Twilight. The unicorn stepped forward and set her hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder. Rainbow cupped it and squeezed. “’Cause I found Twilight. She’s exactly the sorta pony you always wanted me to end up with, always tryin’ to get me to slow down and think things through first. I just know you’d love her, too.”

Twilight leaned down and kissed Rainbow’s brow.

Smiling before turning back to the stone, Rainbow continued, “I finally slowed down a little, dad. I asked Twilight to marry me, and she said yes. I…I wish you could be there for it, but I wish that about a lot of things. I’ve missed you, dad. I’ve missed you so much. There was so much we never got to say, so many ponies I want you to meet. You’ll never get to meet my friends; the type of ponies you always wanted me to find, but I was too busy livin’ both of our dreams. You’ll never get to meet Twilight and see me prove that I finally got what you were tryin’ to tell me. An’ you’ll never get to meet Scoots…”

Rainbow lowered her head again, her wavering voice barely above a whisper. “Scoots is just like the both of us, dad. But she’s better than us, too. She doesn’t need to be told to try and slow down and find somethin’ in the ponies around her. She knows already. An’ as hard as it is to know you’ll never meet her, it’s even harder knowin’ she’ll never get to meet you.

“You’re one of the best ponies I’ll ever meet, dad. I love you. I never said that enough when you were alive, but I love you. Thank you, for everythin’ you did for me an’ everythin’ you tried to do for me. I’ll never forget you, an’ Scoots’ll never forget you, either.

“You worked hard your whole life to prove to that trash of a family you came from that you weren’t worthless. Well, you proved it to me. You proved it to all of Equestria.” A tear ran down Rainbow’s face and she wiped it away. “You can stop fighting now, dad. We can both stop fighting now. We won.”

Rainbow stood and turned to her fiancée. She discovered that Twilight had been silently sobbing. They embraced each other tightly and cried together on the hill. The sun moved a noticeable distance across the sky by the time they pulled away.

Twilight sniffled loudly and rubbed at her muzzle. Smiling remotely, Rainbow kissed the mare on the cheek and mumbled, “I’m ready to go now.”

“Hold on,” Twilight whispered. She stepped carefully to the gravestone and bowed her head. “…It was an honor and a privilege to meet you.” Her horn lit up with magic and she pressed it to the gravestone.

Energy leapt from the unicorn, circling and spreading out from the marker in a blinding flash. Rainbow rubbed at her eyes, blinking the stars from her vision and watching the magic fade away. The bouquet stood tall in a porcelain vase next to the stone on the now well manicured grass. Chips and roughness had been healed across the granite surface of the marker until it was bold and new; as proud and solid as the pony it represented.

Rainbow’s eyes traced across the sharpened message. “Here lies Buckaneer Blaze. Beloved father, friend, and Wonderbolt. He will never be forgotten.”

Rainbow extended her wing and pulled Twilight close to her side, leaning into the mare. Together, they slowly turned and carefully made their way back to the gate.

“This is your chance; she’s been shut up in her room all day. Bring her lunch and talk to her.”

“...”

“Care, please, this is killing you.”

“...I can’t. Not yet. I need more time.”

“You’ve had months.”

“She’s not going to listen to me.”

“For Celestia’s sake, you’re afraid of a foal.”

“She’s not a foal, anymore, Under. That was the mistake I made.”

“And ignoring this is going to fix anything?”

“...”

“So what are you going to do?”

“...I don’t know.”

Scootaloo rolled out of bed and shook her head roughly to clear the fog of sleep from her mind. She popped a kink in her neck and fluffed out her wings. She hopped through a set of wing-jacks and stretched out the muscles in her feathered limbs, a satisfied smile on her lips. ‘Perfect. Feeling good today; just in time for flying.’ She shook her head again and cantered out of her room and into the bathroom.

Smiling thinly at her reflection, Scootaloo mussed up her mane and grabbed a toothbrush. She watched the muscles in her leg flex and relax as she moved the brush in her mouth. In some ways, she didn’t really recognize the filly in the mirror anymore. All the lean and powerful rippling under her coat looked more like Rainbow Dash’s frame than her own.

It was a change she knew she’d get used to.

Spitting into the sink, Scootaloo dug under the vanity and pulled a washcloth and cleaning spray bottle out. With practiced speed and ease, she sprayed down the bathroom’s fixtures and wiped them clean. A quick retreat to the upstairs utility closet to grab a mop, and soon the bathroom shone spotlessly.

Nodding in satisfaction, Scootaloo put away the cleaning supplies and headed downstairs. Mrs. Taker sat on the couch, reading a book. The filly opened the front door. “Chores’re done,” Scootaloo barked over her shoulder, her voice disinterested and flat, “I’m leavin’ now.”

Without waiting for an answer she knew wouldn’t come, Scootaloo shut the door behind herself and grabbed her scooter. A wan smile on her face, she buzzed through town, weaving between ponies and shops, headed for the library.

The past two days had weighed heavily on Scootaloo’s spirits. She hadn’t seen Rainbow Dash or Twilight since her speed test, nor had she seen Apple Bloom. She’d spent most of the time shut up in her room, or listlessly cruising through town on her scooter, trying to not think too much.

She hadn’t seen Sweetie Belle, either.

A sigh escaped her muzzle and she shook her head again, taking a sharp turn past town hall and aiming for Golden Oaks Library. She pulled up short at the door and raised her hoof to knock when she spotted a small note taped below the knob, labeled ‘Scoots’ in messy mouthwriting. Raising an eyebrow, Scootaloo pulled it from the door and unfolded it, reading aloud.

“Dear Scoots,

“Me and Twilight had to go out of town for a day. We’ll meet you at the park at four for your flight, since I know you don’t want to wait. See you then, kiddo. Bring your friends.

—Rainbow.”

Scootaloo sighed and shook her head. “Guess I’m predictable.” She glanced around, trying to figure out what to do with the note before shrugging and taping it back to the door. She stepped onto her scooter and took off again, heading towards Sweet Apple Acres. As she buzzed her wings, her expression grew troubled. “…I have to tell Sweetie Belle, too. She’ll still wanna be there, even if stuff’s kinda weird…”

She grumbled to herself, a petulant whine entering her voice. “Rainbow said it might be weird, but we’d get over it. She’s still my friend.” She slowed her pace as the cobbled road turned to dirt and she took a deep breath. She forced herself to focus on the big thing: she was really going to fly.

A lightness lifted from the pit of her stomach and her mouth broke out in a grin. “I’m gonna fly with Rainbow Dash today.” She turned down the road leading towards the farm and perked her ears, swiveling them around to catch sounds of working. The double thump of hooves against bark told her Applejack was working the western fields, and the single slams said Big Macintosh was to the north. As she drew closer to the barn, a melody of tools on wood and metal widened her smile. If they had ever shouted out, “Cutie Mark Crusaders mad tinkerers,” Scootaloo was convinced Apple Bloom would have gotten her cutie mark years ago.

She propped her scooter up against the barn and wandered inside. “Hey, AB.” She glanced up at the…whatever it was her friend was building.

“Well, heya, Scoots!” Apple Bloom chimed, pulling the welding mask back from her face and hopping down from the ladder. “Ya like it?”

“What, uh…what is it?”

Apple Bloom scrutinized the wild collection of boards and metal, bolted and welded together in a jumbled mess she was still discerning. “I…don’t rightly know yet. Whatever it is, it’s gonna be somethin’ nopony’ll ever forget.” A manic gleam entered Apple Bloom’s eyes.

Scootaloo’s voice took on a very uneasy quality. “That’s, uh…that’s great, AB.” She shook her head and dragged her gaze off the whatever it was. “So, today’s the day. Four o’clock in the park.”

Apple Bloom shouted, “You’re flyin’!?” She leapt over and hugged Scootaloo roughly. “Alright! I can’t wait to see ya in action, Scoots! It’s gonna be amazin’!” She stepped back and glanced at her creation, then looked out the barn door, catching the sun’s height in the sky. “Oh, man! I’m gonna be late!” She pulled off her welding mask and tried to straighten her mane with her hooves, leaving dark smudges of axle grease in her hair.

“Late?”

“I’m havin’ lunch with Rumble; I gotta go get ready!” She hurried about the room, unhooking her tools from the generator and picking up sharp and dangerous scraps from the floor.

Scootaloo’s ears fell at the mention of Apple Bloom’s special somepony. She willed her voice to sound natural. “Yeah…I gotta go find Sweetie Belle an’ tell her about it.”

“Oh, don’t worry none about that, Scoots,” Apple Bloom said, slamming her forelegs on the lid of an overstuffed toolbox, but failing to close it. “I’m supposed to meet Sweetie Belle on the way to Rumble’s and give her somethin’ I made; I can tell her for ya.”

Scootaloo warred between the relief of not being thrust into that bit of awkwardness, disappointment at not seeing Sweetie Belle, and unease concerning the fact that now she wouldn’t have a chance to talk to her crush before the flight. “Thanks, AB,” she said with some ambivalence.

“Welcome.” With one last leaping tackle, she got the toolbox to latch. “Anyway, I gotta go get cleaned up. I’ll see ya at the park, Scoots! I can’t wait!” She galloped from the barn.

Scootaloo sighed in resignation and slowly plodded her way out. She grabbed her scooter, but didn’t have the heart to climb on, so she led it slowly through the orchards. Lost in her thoughts and not paying attention to the path she was on, Scootaloo found herself arriving at a familiar clearing. She smiled vaguely at the old clubhouse, gripped by nostalgia. Setting her scooter against the ramp, Scootaloo slowly climbed up.

She stood in the middle of the single room and turned in place, her eyes drifting over the solid walls and floors, the table crates, odds and ends shoved into corners, old maps and plans tacked to walls or messily erased from their blackboard. A thousand days past lived and breathed in the wooden slats.

Scootaloo stepped carefully to the uneven blotch on the floor, made of dried glue and studded with fading bits of glitter, squished into the wood by the pegasus and left to harden when they made Cheerilee an oversized Hearts and Hooves Day card. She carefully set her leg down over the glue.

Her hoof didn’t fit anymore. Three years of growing left the hardened print a crystallized reminder of the past. Her past. Their past.

She circled around the room, running her hoof along the wall. Faint scratches marred the surface where Tank had bounced off during one short afternoon of pet-sitting. A still noticeable dent, hidden by a Rainbow Dash Fanclub poster, marked where Apple Bloom had hit her head during an attempt at cutie marks in pro wrestling.

She stopped briefly at the faded bullseye of the idea spot. She looked up and felt the ghost of the headache from when she turned on the lamp with her skull. Continuing on, she came to the old wheel from their parade float. She giggled remotely, remembering Apple Bloom thumping onto her rump just months before.

Her circling complete, Scootaloo cantered to her usual spot for when they sat as a group and sighed, sinking to her haunches. She could hear the phantoms in the walls. A thousand days. She closed her eyes and laid down on her belly.

Time slipped away from Scootaloo as she lay prone in heady reminiscence, a pleasant and buzzing lull of memories pinning her in place as she attempted to become unstuck in time. She barely noticed the thump of hooves on the ramp and only really became aware she was no longer alone when something heavy was set on the floor.

“Hey, AB,” she said, sitting up and shaking the fog of near sleep from her mind, “Thought you’d left for lunch alrea—” Scootaloo opened her eyes. Sweetie Belle stood at the door, a hint of pink in her cheeks and her expression tentative and skittish. “…H-hi…”

Sweetie Belle nervously cleared her throat, looking down. Scootaloo followed her gaze and saw Sweetie Belle had brought some sort of machine with her. On top of it sat four cordless microphones. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat again and half whispered, “Hi Scoots.”

A heavy stillness filled every inch of space in the room as they looked at each other and tried not to look at each other. At once, they both said, “I’m sor—”

An audible click sounded as their jaws snapped shut in tandem. Scootaloo shook her head harshly and talked over the silence, her words a rapid staccato. “I’m sorry, Sweetie Belle, I shouldn’t have kissed you like that, it wasn’t right for me to do it, I didn’t mean to make things weird, I know it’ll be weird for a while, but please don’t hate me, I don’t wanna lose you as a friend—”

“I’m sorry, Scoots,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, timidly sitting down and bowing her head. Scootaloo’s teeth clicked shut again. “I shouldn’t have run off like that…it was mean to you. You didn’t deserve that.”

Scootaloo’s throat bobbed silently.

“I, uhh…I wanted to make it up to you…so I asked AB to make this,” she tapped the contraption with her hoof, “Since you couldn’t be there when I got my cutie mark…”

“What—?”

Sweetie Belle gripped a pull chord with her teeth and yanked, sputtering a small generator in the machine to life. As it evened out, the noise dropped to that of a fan. The mesh screen facing Scootaloo crackled and buzzed.

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. “A portable amp?”

Sweetie Belle smiled faintly and lifted one of the microphones in a glow of magic. She mumbled, “Test,” and her voice sounded out through the speaker. She lowered the mic from her muzzle and said, “It’s not the stage, but…it’ll almost be like you were there.”

Nodding vaguely, Scootaloo let her posture relax. Sweetie Belle lifted the other three microphones and suspended them around the small room before sliding the amp back against the wall, just inside the door. Scootaloo, her heart thumping painfully from a mixture of bewilderment and shapeless hope that...something would happen, watched the little unicorn take several deep breaths and clear her throat.

Sweetie turned to the amp and depressed a button on the top; a soft lilting of guitar stringing hummed from the speaker as she turned back to Scootaloo and smiled thinly. She shut her eyes in concentration and the four microphones began to bob up and down in the air in time with the melody, weaving delicately around the room in an inscrutable pattern.

Stepping to the closest, Sweetie Belle gently closed her eyes and began to sing. “Can't you see?”

Scootaloo’s heart slowed immediately as her friend’s powerful, sonorous voice filled the room. The filly’s suspended microphones danced through the air. As a soft drum beat joined the music, Sweetie began to pace in a circle, dipping her shoulders with the music, her tail weaving side to side with each step. As one microphone floated out of range a second replaced it, its path alongside her muzzle fluid and natural. Scootaloo was mesmerized as her friend moved through the space, the exact words lost to her ears, but the strength and conviction striking her core.

Then, a quarter of the way around the room, Sweetie Belle kicked off to the center, sliding to a microphone waiting for her.

“'Cause I wanted to fly—” she opened her eyes and locked her gaze with Scootaloo, all ambivalence and fear gone, just a look of pure, honest connection, “—so you gave me your wings.”

Scootaloo’s breath caught in her throat.

“And time held its breath so I could see, yeah,” her voice dropped, rich and powerful, but gentle. It felt like it was directed straight at Scootaloo. “And you set me free.”

Sweetie Belle stood back up, resuming her strutting pace, rolling her shoulders and hips through the verse. Scootaloo’s heart was a hummingbird trapped in her chest, rattling against her ribcage. Her hooves trembled and she struggled to breathe evenly. The spinning cloud of microphones connected as almost a living entity to both the song and Sweetie’s movements.

At the second chorus, Sweetie slid into place at the far end of the clubhouse. Framed in the doorway and facing away, she looked over her shoulder to catch Scootaloo’s gaze.

“'Cause I wanted to fly, so you gave me your wings. And time held its breath so I could see, yeah—” She stood fluidly, slowly turning in place, never breaking eye contact as she sang. Her voice dropped again. “And you set me free.”

The flying microphones slowly drifted to the center of the room, weaving back and forth, forming a tunnel between Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. She strutted through the tunnel, her steps controlled and in sync, while microphones caught her mouth for every word and darted to the left and right in front and behind her. On the final chorus, she stopped mere inches in front of Scootaloo.

As her voice grew louder over the lyrics, she slowly closed the gap with the trembling pegasus. With each repeat, Sweetie’s voice expanded, washing over Scootaloo, consuming her, holding her in place with her jittery pulse, warm and perspiring face, and slackly hanging jaw.

As the music cut out from the speaker, Sweetie Belle was standing almost directly over her, eyes set hard and confident. The microphones floated to the amp and Sweetie whispered, ”And you set me free.”

Scootaloo had to force herself to swallow several times before her throat worked. She murmured, “That wasn’t the song you sang for Rarity.”

“No.” Lifting Scootaloo’s chin with her hoof, Sweetie Belle leaned down and their lips met.

Scootaloo’s eyes fluttered shut. The filly instantly knew exactly what Twilight meant, exactly what she had felt when Rainbow Dash had first kissed her. Free of the panic at the park, Scootaloo’s mind, so frequently a jumble of letters and numbers that turned to a confusing mess of abstract and meaningless noise, became clear and silent as she held onto every sensation, every moment, every heartbeat.

Sweetie Belle slowly pulled back, sitting on her haunches and cupping Scootaloo’s face with her hoof. Her face was stained scarlet and a smile that looked as happy as Scootaloo felt pulled at her lips. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I’m sorry I didn’t do that in the park.”

Scootaloo touched the hoof on her face with one of her own, holding it in place and nuzzling into it. Sweetie Belle was so soft. “I’m sorry,” she whispered back, “I should’ve just asked you on a date. Kissin’ you out of the blue wasn’t fair.”

“I was so scared,” Sweetie murmured, “For a while, I’ve wanted…but I didn’t think you’d want to. You were so unsure at the sleepover when AB asked about crushes.”

Scootaloo let Sweetie’s limb fall from her face, but held it tightly in her hoof. “So, even back then? But you said—”

“Apple Bloom asked about colts,” she giggled. “We’ve always been close, Scoots, but…” Her eyes traced over Scootaloo’s face, a mix of warmth and trepidation in her gaze. “Every time I’m around you, I feel…I feel like you’re the only pony who really knows me. You know what it’s like when nopony in your life really has time for you, and you always make time. And you work so hard, Scoots, at everything. Even when it hurts to do it. You’re so brave and strong, and when I’m around you I have so much fun, an’ you make me better than I am.

“Even before we met AB, you made me climb outta myself. Remember how quiet I used to be? I was always so scared…”

“I remember,” Scootaloo murmured, her mind flashing back, past the thousand days in the clubhouse, to the cuteceañera where they had met Apple Bloom. When Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon set upon the earth filly for being a blank flank, Sweetie Belle had dived under a table to tremble. Scootaloo climbed under after her friend, soothed away the terror, and somehow Sweetie Belle had found the strength to leap to their future third member’s defense. “I remember how strong you were underneath how scared you were.”

Sweetie Belle closed her eyes and smiled. “You’re the only pony who thought I was strong…and I was only strong ‘cause of you.” Swallowing thickly, Sweetie Belle squeezed Scootaloo’s hoof and whispered, “I feel like I’m a better pony around you.”

Scootaloo’s face felt like it would rip apart from her smile. She pulled Sweetie Belle close, wrapping her hooves around the filly, feeling warmth spread through her chest from the contact, feeling delicate legs hold her back, smelling vanilla shampoo. “I feel like I’m a better pony around you. Nopony can listen like you. I never have to be anypony but myself with you. I don’t have to fight so hard when you’re there.”

Sweetie Belle sniffled and let out a long, shaky breath, nuzzling into Scootaloo’s neck. “I’m sorry I got scared again at the park. You make me not scared, but I…What will other ponies say?”

“It doesn’t matter. Nopony we care about will have a problem. Just look at Rainbow Dash and Twilight.”

“Yeah…” Sweetie didn’t sound convinced.

“Are…are you too scared? Do you not want—?”

“No,” she pleaded, hugging tighter. “I’m scared, but I-I don’t—No, this is too big to just forget about.”

“When you’re scared,” Scootaloo whispered, “I’ll be here for you.”

Sweetie Belle hugged tighter, nodding into Scootaloo’s shoulder. For a while, they sat and held each other, relishing the closeness both wanted, but had been afraid to find. Eventually, Sweetie Belle broke the comforting silence, asking, “What…what do we do now?”

“Well…” A wry smile spread across Scootaloo’s face as she held Sweetie Belle close. “We take it slow. See lots of movies, go on dates. Just hang out and be like best friends. We’ll be cool about it.” She sat back from the embrace to catch Sweetie Belle’s questioning eyes. “Whatever this is, whatever it could be, we have plenty of time to figure it out.” Her smile widened. “Years if we want ‘em. And if not, we’d have tried. But I really wanna try.” She touched her hoof to Sweetie’s face, still marveling at how soft the filly was in her powerful limbs. “Whaddya say? You wanna figure out what this is with me?”

Sweetie Belle sniffled, pressing into Scootaloo’s hoof. “I’d love to.” She leaned up and their lips met for the third time, still as bare and simple, still as special as the other times. She opened her eyes again. “Right now I wanna watch you fly.”

Scootaloo grinned and they stood, glancing around the little clubhouse. A thousand days and a thousand memories echoed warmly in the space, dancing, moving aside to make room for thousands more.

They cantered outside and climbed onto Scootaloo’s scooter, taking off towards the park.

Together.

Author's Note

Happy Independence Day to my fellow chest-beating 'Muricans. Two more update days before we're all finished.

The song Sweetie Belle sang was You Set Me Free by Michelle Branch. Just listen to that chorus, it was like the song was tailor written for Sweetie Belle.

See ya Monday for chapter 16: Scootaloo's First Flight.

XVI: Scootaloo's First Flight

Chapter 16
Scootaloo's First Flight

A small crowd was waiting for Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle as they arrived at the park. Twilight, Rainbow, and Apple Bloom waved at their approach. Scootaloo stopped at the bench and Sweetie Belle hugged tighter to her back, nuzzling into her neck, before stepping off. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow at Scootaloo, who shrugged and smiled, pink dots coloring her cheeks.

“Alright!” Rainbow exclaimed, raising a hoof towards Twilight. Twilight clacked her own against it and giggled.

Scootaloo turned to Twilight and nearly fell off her scooter.

Small and bright, Twilight had a blue feather in her mane, braided into place with hair and magic, a permanent and glowing addition to her face. Scootaloo’s jaw fell open. She looked quickly back and forth between the two mares and blurted out, “Oh my gosh, congratulations!”

A pleased smile lit up Rainbow’s face and she took Twilight’s hoof in her own. “Thanks, Scoots.” She winked and said, “You too,” in a teasing tone.

Apple Bloom glanced back and forth from Scootaloo to the two adults, her expression bewildered. Sweetie Belle leaned close to her fillyfriend’s ear and murmured, “I’ll tell her.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. You’re right. Everypony important’s gonna be fine.” She cantered to the bench.
Rainbow turned to Twilight’s saddle bag and reached her head inside. When she turned back, she had a pair of flight goggles in her mouth and she turned towards the hill. “Time for a show,” she mumbled around the nylon strap.

“Good luck!” Twilight cheered.

Apple Bloom jumped off the bench and tackled Scootaloo in a hug, followed closely by Sweetie Belle. Scootaloo hugged them both, feeling their faces pressed to either cheek. Apple Bloom whispered, “You’re gonna be great. Good luck.”

Sweetie Belle kissed her on the cheek.

Grinning, Scootaloo hugged tighter, and then let them return to the bench. She beamed at the three before turning and following Rainbow.

At the top of the hill, Rainbow sat down and dropped the goggles into her hoof. She murmured, “C’mere.” Scootaloo stepped closer and Rainbow carefully strapped the goggles onto her face, gently brushing her mane out of the way and centering the lenses securely over her eyes. “There.” Her voice dropped low, warm and understated. “These are yours now.”

“Thanks.” Scootaloo grinned and touched her hoof to the goggles, feeling the durable weave of the strap, solid metal frames, and thick, scratch-proof lenses. She didn’t know much about flight accessories, but she could tell just by the touch and feel that these were high quality and designed to stand up to intense use.

“They were my dad’s. When he first flew, the Wonderbolts made him an honorary member of the team. This is what they gave him.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened. She ran her hoof back over the strap and found the small indentation of the lightning bolt, stitched tightly into the nylon. Her voice came out awed and hushed. “What? I…I can’t take these…”

“They’re yours.” Rainbow set her hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “You earned them. Every single bit of ‘em. You worked hard, Scoots. Harder’n I’ve ever seen anypony work. And not just here, with me. With Twilight, too. An’ all while you had a ton of other stuff on your mind, eatin’ at you. I could see it, but you never let it stop you. Every single day of trainin’, you brought your all.” She touched the frames of the goggles gently. “Everything these represent…the team and its ideals, the drive and strength, and most of all, the pony they belonged to. If my dad were here, I know he’d give you these himself.”

Rainbow’s voice dropped low as she swept Scootaloo into a hug. “I’m so proud of you, Scoots.”

Scootaloo closed her eyes, nestled into Rainbow’s chest. Part of her didn’t even need to fly anymore. Everything was already perfect.

Still holding the filly, Rainbow’s voice took on a warm and amused playfulness. “And I’m proud of you for finally talkin’ to Sweetie Belle. I’ve been waitin’ months.”

Scootaloo giggled and shook her head. “Was I really obvious?”

“Totally.”

She sighed and smirked. “Well, you were right about another thing. Kissin’ somepony without talkin’ about it first is really awkward.”

Rainbow sat back, regarding Scootaloo. At the filly’s exasperated and self-effacing expression, she snorted loudly. “Aw man. How bad?”

“Really, really bad,” she moaned. A warm smile slowly spread across her muzzle. “But...it’s all awesome now.”

Snickering, Rainbow clapped Scootaloo on the shoulder. “Well, don’t beat yourself up about it too much. Just somethin’ else we have in common.”

Scootaloo laughed ruefully and shook her head.

Rainbow leaned closer, a predatory glimmer in her eyes. “So...you ready to fly?”

“I’ve always been ready.”

“I know.”

The two silently stood and extended their wings, fluffing out their feathers in tandem and shaking their muscles loose. Scootaloo automatically raced through the plethora of wing positions and adjusted the Wonderbolts goggles on her face. Buckaneer Blaze’s goggles. Her goggles.

They traded a confident smirk and turned back to their audience. Twilight beamed brightly, swinging her hindlegs merrily off the bench. Apple Bloom, a blush on her face evident across the distance, hugged a giggling Sweetie Belle with one foreleg. Both waved enthusiastically.

“Alright, Scoots,” Rainbow murmured, “On the count of three?”

“One,” they both said, crouching down and spreading their wings.

“Two.” Scootaloo flexed her legs tight, ready to push off with all her strength.

“Three!”

Their wings dropped downwards and they leapt from the ground. Five beats later, with the wind in her mane and racing across her feathers, howling against her ears, and rustling the fine hairs of her coat, the filly knew one, undeniable, unequivocal fact.

She was flying.

A howl of joy filled the park.

She darted away from the upward ascent alongside Rainbow, curving off across the sky. She pumped her wings, catching the air, bending it, forcing it to her will, sending herself barreling through space. The air tugged at her mouth, stretching her smile even wider. The glass over her eyes kept her vision clear, or she surely would be squinting.

She discovered she was laughing.

She hit an updraft and spread her feathers wide, catching and shaping the warm air to propel her higher. She tucked and spun, whirling in a corkscrew, hearing her own mirth thunder over her shoulder.

A cage Scootaloo didn’t even know existed had been torn away, smashed to twisted pieces like a rickshaw at the bottom of a hill. She was free. For the first time in her life, she was free.

Scootaloo whooped, careening out of the spin and darting straight up. She caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash off to the side, watching her. A burning desire to show off spread through her body, and without slowing down she turned sharply, instantly parallel with the ground. She beat her small wings harder, pushing her speed, willing herself faster. She turned again. And again.

The force pulling at her threatened to crush the breath from her lungs. Each twist sent violent vibrations rattling down to her hooves. Aches ran to her spine each time her feathers bent away from the sudden shifts.

All the training with Rainbow was immediately apparent; without all that work, she never would have been able to move like she was moving.

Her laughter grew louder still and she aimed for a small cloud. At breakneck speeds her scooter couldn’t hope to reach, she careened through the puff, feeling the humid breath on her face as it exploded to vapor. She flew to another and whipped around it in a barrel roll, sending it into a lopsided spin.

Flinging herself upward, she arched across the park. Glancing over her shoulder, her eyes widened. She was going fast enough to leave a trail, thick and purple to match her mane, billowing like tongues of flame. She grinned maniacally, turning aggressively, watching her trail twist and bend to follow her hooves. With a devil-may-care laugh on her lips, she spun upwards, letting her speed bleed away, gravity slowly catching up and pulling her back towards the ground.

At the apex of her ascent, she hung suspended in the sky, weightless, wings spread and still, completely and utterly free. In the instance of absolute freedom, she touched the side of her goggles and an image leapt to mind. She smirked in challenge, spun to face the ground, and plummeted.

Wings a rapid blur and color bleeding into the sky behind her, Scootaloo turned sharply to the side and slightly upwards, feeling her bones rattle from the force, gritting her teeth to keep them from clacking. Twenty feet forward, she almost entirely reversed direction, aiming towards the ground back the way she came.

Another twenty feet, she sharply turned up again, then back down, heading almost straight for the ground. Fifty feet down and watching the blades of grass grow distinct, she slammed her wings and rocketed straight up. Back in the sky, she made four more violent and aggressive turns, drawing aches to her joints and ringing to her ears.

At her original height, she leveled herself parallel with the ground and raced to her starting point, catching the fading fire of her flight trail.

She flew away and flared her wings, eyes trained on what she had drawn in the sky.

Suspended in the air, outlined in shaky and crude flames, the angles off in places, and the whole thing slightly crooked, stood the Wonderbolt’s double-bend lightning bolt symbol. It was awkward and amateurish, and her trail was already fading from the first half. But it was hers. She had made it.

It was perfect.

As she looked, hovering in stillness and watching the mark fade, the determined gaze of Rainbow’s father, challenging and fierce, full of strength, full of pride, filled her mind. “This was for you,” she whispered.

A blinding flash lit up the sky.

Scootaloo whirled in place, looking for the source of light, finding it always behind her. She looked over her shoulder.

The glow faded slowly from her flanks. A lightning bolt with two bends made of purple fire raced down her leg.

Scootaloo whipped around in a blur to find Rainbow Dash, fifty yards away and slightly higher, hovering in place. She flapped with all her strength and exploded through the air, color pouring from her hooves, rocketing with all her might straight at her coach.

Her voice, full of endless joy, rebounded throughout all of Ponyville. “I got my cutie mark!”

She careened into Rainbow Dash at full speed. The pair tumbled away, a whirling ball of hooves, feathers, and giggles. Rainbow’s wings flared and she regained control, hugging Scootaloo to her chest. “That was awesome,” Rainbow marveled, “I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m so happy.” She hugged tighter, wrapped in Rainbow’s legs.

“Hey, Scoots,” Rainbow said, a hint of challenging mischief in her voice, “Wanna race?”

Scootaloo pulled away and immediately shot off, cackling. Rainbow darted to catch up and they blasted through the air, side by side, looping a giant circle over the park.

Rainbow was always a single beat in front of her. For every minute increase in speed Scootaloo could put on, Rainbow matched it, pulling forward, giving the filly a goal, the next limit to push through. Her small wings buzzed angrily in the more and more turbulent sky. Pockets of different air pressures, crosswinds, and temperature fluctuations battered Scootaloo’s body. Her back began to burn from the exertion, but she pushed on, compensating for the rough air, always increasing, always reaching for the mare just in the lead.

It was a hopeless battle. Rainbow’s larger wings, the perfect size and shape for speed and attached to a pony with over a decade of elite training, would always be a flap ahead of her. Scootaloo didn’t care. She was free, free of the ground, free of struggling, free of the words and numbers that jumbled up in her head, with an endless and open sky stretching away in every direction.

She hit her body’s limit. Her wings shuddered violently and refused to go faster. She strained her eyes forward, reaching for Rainbow with all her strength. Her flight path began to waver in the high, buffering winds.

Rainbow Dash fell back a foot and darted sideways, sweeping the flagging filly into her legs. Scootaloo grinned, feeling her aching wings pressed into Rainbow’s chest, watching the sky in front of them. Rainbow beat her wings faster. The very air began to bend as Scootaloo watched.

Five more beats and the world exploded.

The air was ripped asunder, fleeing from in front of the pair as sound, light, and color flooded everything. Scootaloo’s eyes vibrated in her skull and her ears rang. The massive, concussive, reality-destroying shred in the sky thundered all around them, staining the world with too much vibrancy, too much clarity.

Scootaloo was in the heart of a sonic rainboom, and it shook her to her core.

They blazed through space, faster than the filly had ever been, faster than she could imagine. And her mind was clear and blank, filled only with the raw, overwhelming magic of the rainboom. They circled back, slowly dropping in speed, watching the rough blur of Ponyville regain focus. Scootaloo twisted in Rainbow’s embrace and hugged her tight.

“Thank you,” she whispered over the wind.

Rainbow glided to a stable hover, holding the filly, stroking her mane. “I said I’d take you flying.”

“It’s more than I could ever dream!” she cried. Her goggles began to fog up from the inside, her eyes stinging from the pure exhilaration. She roughly pulled them off to hang around her neck and re-strengthened her hug. Her heart was bursting, her mind an inarticulate buzz of nothing and everything all at once. “It was perfect! Better’n perfect!” She squeezed with all her might. “I love you, Rainbow Dash!”

Scootaloo froze. Her eyes grew wide and she forgot how to breathe, trying to wrap her head around what she had just said. She mentally screamed at herself, she cringed, she shook with guilt and fear. ‘Nononono, I didn’t say that…’ Scootaloo pulled away to flee. She crossed a line, she knew she had, she needed to get away.

Rainbow’s hooves wouldn’t let her go.

She twisted and squirmed, blathering, “I’m sorry, Rainbow, I shouldn’t have said that, you’ve been so great, I wasn’t thinking, I—” In her struggles, she brushed her forehead against Rainbow’s cheek, and her brow came away wet. She stilled immediately and lifted her gaze, her eyes wide and disbelieving. She whispered, “Are…are you crying?”

Rainbow buried her face in Scootaloo’s mane, holding her close and sniffling loudly. “I cried for you, you know. When Mrs. Taker took you that day, I started crying as soon as the door shut, and didn’t stop ‘til you came back.”

Scootaloo couldn’t make herself breathe, so she held still against Rainbow’s chest.

“I thought I was never gonna see you again. If she had her way, it would’ve been the last time I ever saw you, Scoots. I cried and cried into Twilight’s chest. I was so afraid...and there wasn’t anything we could really do. Maybe, if things got really bad for you, we could’ve...It didn’t come to that, but it hurt so much to think you were gone.”

“Rainbow…” Scootaloo murmured.

“I love you, too, Scoots. With all my heart. You’re the family I lost.”

Scootaloo closed her eyes as tears streamed down her face.

“Listen,” Rainbow said, her voice rough, “Twi’ and me’ve been talking, and…if you want it...we want you to come live with us. We, uh, we’ll need some time to get it all set up, but we have a room for you with us. A home with us. You…you don’t have to call me or Twi’ mom, or anything, but we’ll take care of you. We can be a family.”

Scootaloo’s heart ached. She hugged Rainbow harder, as tight as her powerful little legs could squeeze, crushingly, desperately, maniacally hard. “I’ve never been so happy,” she choked out through her sobs. Rainbow stroked her mane slowly as burning, relieved tears fled her body, a ragged and infected wound in her soul slowly being ripped away piece by piece.

In the sky, Scootaloo found freedom. In Rainbow’s embrace, Scootaloo found a place where she belonged.

Sniffling loudly, Scootaloo whispered, “Rainbow?”

Rainbow’s voice wavered with her own tears. “Y-yeah?”

“Can I call you mom?”

A loud sob broke her voice and she strengthened her embrace, almost curling around the filly. “I-if you want to.”

“L-let’s go back down…mom.”

The two broke apart and beelined with nearly dangerous speed back to the ground. Twilight’s eyes widened from puzzlement to shock at their approach and they tackled her off the bench, holding her to the ground.

Her voice mystified, Twilight mumbled, “W-what? Scootaloo, you looked great up there, but what’s going—?”

“Can I call you mom, too?”

Twilight’s heart skipped several beats. She nodded her head in a daze and hugged the two roughly, holding them tight. Her own happy sobs soon joined those of her family’s.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle hopped down from the bench, eyes wide and bewildered. Apple Bloom cleared her throat. “What’s goin’ on? Is everythin’ okay?”

Scootaloo turned to her two friends in the embrace, eyes bright and wet, “I...I’m gonna live with Rainbow and Twilight. I...I have a family.” At their astonished faces, Scootaloo pulled a hoof away and beckoned, drawing her friends into the hug. “You’re both part of it, too,” she whispered.

“Scoots...” the two marveled, while being pulled in close.

“I have a family,” Scootaloo sobbed, squeezing with utter ferocity.

Sweetie Belle sniffled and hugged back, pressing into Scootaloo’s cheek. Apple Bloom bit her lip and closed her eyes.

For a very, very long time, all they could do was hold each other and cry tears of joy, wrapped tightly around each other in the middle of the park.

Twilight and Rainbow crossed the town center at a sedate pace, uneasiness slowing their steps. Twilight chewed her lip and adjusted her saddlebag as they passed out of downtown Ponyville and into the Takers’ neighborhood. “This is gonna be so awkward, Rainbow.”

Rainbow chuckled with unease. “It’s, uh…yeah, let’s go with awkward.”

“I mean, maybe if we’d seen her at all after…”

“Don’t…erm…Try not to worry about it, babe. I’m…sure it’ll be fine!” Rainbow’s cheery voice matched her lock-jaw grin in authenticity. Twilight rolled her eyes.

Cantering down the last block, they spotted Scootaloo’s scooter leaning up against the wall of the house and paused at the fence, each taking several deep breaths.

Twilight murmured, “I think I’d rather climb a mountain and ask a napping dragon to leave again.”

“Should we go get Fluttershy?” Rainbow teased without much conviction.

“Har har. Let’s just go get this over with.” She opened the gate and stepped into the yard.

“Hey,” Rainbow mused, “That patch on the roof kinda looks like a duck.”

“You would notice that, Fluff-head.”

Rainbow snickered nervously and raised her hoof to the door. She swallowed heavily. “You, uh…you ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” She raised her hoof next to her fiancée’s and they knocked simultaneously.

The door swung open and Scootaloo called, “You’re here!” She leapt up and hugged them both roughly around the neck. She leapt back and rushed up the stairs, calling, “I’m gonna get all my stuff! Mrs. Taker’s in the kitchen!”

The pair glanced around the living room with trepidation and made their way across the groaning floor, peering into the kitchen.

Mrs. Taker sat at the table, slumped over and sipping from a mug. She glanced up at the two mares and their eyes met.

Rainbow Dash mentally overlaid the last time she had made eye-contact with Mrs. Taker. The phantom look of revulsion was in sharp contrast to the dull and listless emptiness of her current expression. Rainbow blinked in surprise and shook her head.

Twilight frowned thoughtfully; she had never seen somepony who looked so tired, not even Rarity after staying up for days filling an order. After a moment’s hesitation, she settled on following formality. She cleared her throat. “Mrs. Taker? Rainbow Dash and I have made the decision to adopt Scootaloo, pending our wedding.” She stepped to the table and slid her saddlebag open. “We’ve both discussed this with Scootaloo, and it’s what she wants, too. I’ve drafted the paperwork necessary to transfer her into our custody as foster guardians.”

Twilight floated a folder from her bag, opening it and removing several sheets of paper. She spread them out on the table. “If you’ll sign these, it will make things go a lot smoother for everypony.” Twilight’s voice took on a hard edge. “Please sign them. It’s what Scootaloo wants and we will go through the necessary channels if you refuse.”

Mrs. Taker’s gaze drifted aimlessly from Twilight, to Rainbow Dash, to the paperwork. A heavy silence fell over the room, broken only by the sound of Scootaloo thumping back down the stairs. Rainbow poked her head out of the kitchen and murmured, “We’ll just be a few minutes, kay?”

“Okay…mom.” Scootaloo’s grin grew wide and her pulse jumped, calling Rainbow Dash mom, meaning it. She practically floated to the couch and sat down, fidgeting with excitement.

Rainbow turned back to the mares, the smile sliding off her face in the discomfort of the room.

A long, slow, deflating breath expelled from Mrs. Taker’s muzzle as she wilted in on herself. Her voice came out low and creaky. “…I’m usually a very good judge of character.” She looked back up, catching their gazes and making them almost step back in shock. Tired, dull, and listless didn’t do her justice. Mrs. Taker was broken. “I should’ve trusted my first impression of you both.”

Twilight extended a hoof towards the mare, her voice full of concern. “Mrs. Taker, are you okay?”

“…Care,” she muttered, “You can call me Care.” She looked back down at the spread of papers and scuffed her hooves along the table. “…I’ll sign.”

Twilight shared a bewildered and nearly frightened look with Rainbow. “Care, are you alright?”

There was a long pause as Mrs. Taker sat, bowed forward with her expression hidden by her bangs. When she spoke again, her words came slowly and haltingly. “…I never meant for any of this. All the other fillies and colts I’ve watched in this house were much younger than Scootaloo. I’d have them here for a year or two at the most and then they’d get adopted. Before Scootaloo, the oldest foal I had in my care was seven.”

She stood from her chair and turned towards the counter, taking plodding steps. “You have to understand…I didn’t…” She stopped halfway across the room and sagged where she stood. “…Scootaloo stopped being a foal I was just supposed to keep an eye on a long time ago.” She stepped forward again and opened a drawer, drawing out a pot of ink, a worn quill, and an envelope. She headed back to the table and sat down.

Uncapping the ink, she continued around the feather in her teeth, “These were always the happiest times in this house, when a new mom and dad…” She looked up at the couple and shook her head. “New parents came to take a growing colt or filly to start a new life. I was always just the in-between.” She dropped the end of the quill in the ink pot and drew the first sheet close. “When the new parents never came for Scootaloo…she didn’t need a custodian anymore.” She signed her name resolutely to the sheet. “She needed a mom.”

With careful attention, Mrs. Taker worked her way through all the paperwork in silence. When she was finished, she dropped the quill into the pot and leaned back. “…I was blind to what she needed from me. And when I saw it, it was too late…and I was a coward.”

The couple met Mrs. Taker’s gaze head on as her eyes traced over them, some of the emptiness drained and replaced by shrewd scrutiny. Eventually the mare nodded. “You won’t make the same mistake I did. You’re like any of the other parents that have come through my door. Scootaloo will have the mothers she needs…” She dropped her gaze. “The mothers she deserves. And she’ll grow to be a great mare.”

Mrs. Taker checked the ink for dryness on the paperwork and stacked it all together neatly. She carefully and reverently set her envelope on top of the pile and slid the bundle across the table to Twilight. “When you think she’s ready for it, please give Scootaloo this letter. It’s…what I should have said to her months ago.” Her head and voice dropped low. “No…years ago.”

Rainbow cantered to the table and lifted the envelope, tucking it out of sight under her wing, giving Mrs. Taker a firm nod. Twilight levitated the papers back into the folder and returned them to her saddlebag. She cleared her throat and said, “Thank you,” with as much grace as she could muster.

“Take care of her.”

“We will,” Twilight and Rainbow promised in tandem. With measured steps, they left the kitchen.

“C’mon, Scoots,” Rainbow said evenly, eyeing the single box by the door. “We’re all set. Let’s go home.”

Jumping off the couch, Scootaloo rushed to the door, bouncing in place. Rainbow smirked and shook her head, hefting the box off the floor and onto her back. “This it?”

“Yep!” The filly opened the door and grabbed her ride. She hopped on and buzzed her wings, lifting off the ground. Rainbow watched in amusement as her…daughter rode around on the scooter three feet off the ground, its wheels spinning lazily in the breeze. “C’mon, let’s go!”

Twilight shut the door behind them. “You want me to get that, Rainbow?” She prodded the box with a hoof. “Easy enough for me to carry it with magic.”

“Nah, it’s not heavy.” She set off at a brisk canter, the box bouncing on her back, following Scootaloo out into the street. The trip back across town went quickly, the couple practically skipping in their walk with Scootaloo flying around them in circles. Twilight opened the door to the library on their approach and Scootaloo dropped her scooter to the ground, flying in through the open portal. Twilight lifted the box in a glow of magic off Rainbow’s back and kissed her fiancée on the cheek.

Rainbow kissed Twilight back and mumbled, “You take her up first so I can put this letter somewhere.”

Twilight nodded and hurried in after the filly. Rainbow shut the door quietly behind herself and slipped over to Twilight’s desk, sliding open her personal drawer. Far more carefully than when she hid her Wonderbolt acceptance letter, she opened her wing and set Mrs. Taker’s note under a stack of journals. She tapped the drawer closed with a kick and climbed the stairs.

Passing by Spike’s room, she approached the second door, halfway up the stairs to her and Twilight’s room. A fond smile spread across her face as she thought of how many times she’d passed the spare room without giving it a glance. That would never happen again. The realization widened her smile as she entered.

Scootaloo bounced on the freshly made bed that was off to one corner, giggling merrily. “The springs’re way better on this one than my old one!” Twilight stood in the middle of the room over the box of their daughter’s belongings. A dresser was at the foot of the bed and a small writing desk sat along the opposite wall in the cozy room.

Rainbow sidled up to her fiancée, sliding her wing along the mare’s back. Twilight stared into the open box, a frown creasing her muzzle. Rainbow followed her gaze.

Inside the box, Scootaloo’s Wonderbolt goggles sat on top of a Rainbow Dash Fan Club wig, her folded up Cutie Mark Crusader cape, her talent show outfit, and a stack of old homework papers, quills, and ink bottles. Twilight’s frown deepened. “Is…is this all of your stuff?”

“Well, yeah,” Scootaloo answered, hopping off the bed. “What else would I have? I don’t have any fancy dresses or anything.” She stuck out her tongue in distaste.

Twilight touched the side of the box with her hoof and said nothing.

Spike wandered into the room off the stairs. “Hey, you guys’re here!” He scampered over to the filly and hugged her around the neck. “Scootaloo! Welcome to the family!”

“Thanks, Spike,” she said warmly, hugging back. “It’s awesome to have a…big brother, or whatever.”

Spike stepped back and puffed out his chest. “It’ll be great to have a little sister!” He gazed off into space and his tone grew wistful. “Imagine…somepony else to help me put away books.”

Rainbow snickered. “Spike! She’s not gonna be your number one assistant.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Spike waved a claw dismissively at Rainbow. “So, Twilight, did’ja need help getting stuff put together in here?”

Twilight slowly came out of her reverie, lifting her head with her expression set hard. “Yes, Spike, if you don’t mind.” She turned to the dragon. “Those books we talked about. Bring them.”

“Sure thing,” he said, turning to the door. “Which ones?”

“All of them.”

Spike paused, but Twilight’s tone invited no argument. “…Alright, Twilight, if you say so.”

“I’ll help,” Scootaloo chimed, following Spike downstairs.

“And bring up some spare wood while you’re at it, please.” She turned to Rainbow and dropped her voice. “You have twelve Wonderbolts posters, right?”

“Thirteen. Why?”

Twilight looked back into the box and then around the sparse room, her frown unsettled. She said in a near whisper, “Think you could part with a few of them? This…” She looked back into the box. “There’s nothing here, Rainbow. This isn’t a bedroom, it’s a guest room.” She turned her pleading eyes on her fiancée. “This isn’t right.”

Rainbow scanned the room slowly. With a single nod, she rushed from the room and up the stairs. Flying up to the top loft, she looked at the assortment of Wonderbolts merchandise plastered to the walls. Carefully, she landed on the floor and cantered around the room, letting her gaze linger over each and every one; the simple symbol posters, Fleetfoot’s rookie photo, the show commemorations, Spitfire when she was promoted to captain; a fond and nostalgic smile growing wider as she looked.

“…Which ones?” she asked herself.

After a long pause, she stepped to the closest and carefully removed the tacks holding it to the wall of the tree. She laid the poster across the bed and spit the tacks into a pile next to it. She moved to another poster. Then another.

Rainbow looked around in a circle. The sole remaining poster on the wall hung above the bed. Spitfire’s photo stared back at her, its caption boldly proclaiming ‘Live Your Dream.’ She nodded in agreement at her former captain and scooped the posters up, flying back downstairs to her daughter’s bedroom.

Twilight stood in the far corner of the space, floating several planks of wood and tools up to the wall. A pile of adventure books sat on the floor at her hooves. Rainbow hovered around the room, putting up posters, while Twilight hammered away at the boards, hefting tools in a soft glow of energy. Scootaloo and Spike filed in and out, adding to the steady growing stack of books. With the last poster up, Rainbow turned to find Twilight loading the books neatly on a freshly built set of bookshelves.

Spike tromped in carrying a small armload of more tomes. “Hey, Twilight?” he asked in a bemused tone, “I found this sock at the bottom of the pile.” He held a claw out to show a long, faded, and striped black and blue sock. “Why do you even own a sock? I’ve never seen you wear them.”

“Well, ya see, Spike,” Rainbow said, smirking wickedly, “Twilight left that out for you. See, you’re a free house-elf now, an—”

Spike cut her off, grumbling, “If you finish that Harry Trotter joke, I will end you, Dash.”

Scootaloo snorted loudly and clapped her hooves over her muzzle.

Giggling, Twilight floated the Rainbow Dash wig on top of the bookshelf. She set the remaining books into place and emptied the clothes from the box into the dresser. Smiling warmly, she took the paperwork and writing supplies and loaded up the desk, reverently setting Scootaloo’s goggles on the top surface as the final touch.

She stepped back and slowly spun in place. Wonderbolts paraphernalia plastered the walls and the overstuffed bookshelves loaded with all of Scootaloo’s favorites made Twilight’s smile grow. It wasn’t much of a bedroom yet, but it was a start.

Twilight turned to the filly. “Well, Scootaloo, what do you think?”

Beaming brightly, she jumped up and hugged them both, pressing their cheeks to either side of her face. “It’s perfect. Thanks, mom.”

“You’re welcome, Scootaloo,” Twilight said, hugging the filly back and closing her eyes.

Leaning back and grinning with amusement, Scootaloo said, “Now when’s dinner? I’m starved.”

Cantering from the room, Twilight murmured under her breath to Rainbow, “You sure she’s not actually yours?”

Rainbow snickered and kissed Twilight on the cheek. “She is now. Both of ours.”

Twilight glanced back at the room once more before going downstairs. In her mind’s eye, she saw Wonderbolts posters joined by new ones with future flyers, and band posters with rockstars, and movie posters, hugging every inch of space. The desk was now cluttered to bursting with a mayhem papers, ready to collapse at a moment’s notice. The bookshelves groaned in total disarray, their contents stacked haphazardly between baubles and keepsakes. The dresser drawers overflowed with winter clothes, flight suits, and ‘fancy dresses,’ the floor littered with art supplies and toys, the bed a disheveled mess of rumpled sheets and blankets. A growing filly’s bedroom.

Twilight’s smile grew wider. “That she is,” she mumbled to herself. She shut the door and followed her family to the kitchen.

Author's Note

Here we are, the penultimate update. *wistful tear*

Thursday brings Spellbound Fireflies to a close with chapter seventeen and the epilogue. See you then.

A dramatic reading of Scootaloo's First Flight has been expertly performed by Diarch! Listen to it Here.

XVII: The Wedding

Chapter 17
The Wedding

Scootaloo fidgeted in her fancy dress, eyeing the growing crowd of ponies. Near as she could tell, all of Ponyville had shown up at the park that autumn evening, slowly filling the available seating and spilling out into the grass on either side of the path leading up to the gazebo. Princess Celestia stood tall and dignified in the center of the structure, smiling warmly at the ever-expanding group of guests.

Rainbow and most of the wedding party flanked the diarch to either side, from Applejack in Rainbow’s Best Mare position and looking stunning in her dress, followed by Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, to Cadence as Twilight’s Mare of Honor, followed by Shining Armor and Rarity, with Spike just in front of the alicorn, glaring petulantly at the flower basket he carried. Scootaloo, standing just in front of Rainbow, looked up at the streamers lining the pathway leading from the gazebo and over the two seating areas that swarmed with guests. They rustled in the breeze, suspended from trees and posts, and held aloft by birds. The clear blue sky, slowly darkening as day turned to dusk, held the odor of the season, rich and thick.

Scootaloo scanned the crowd and caught a familiar set of eyes in the third row. Sweetie Belle grinned warmly at her and she smiled back, sharing a small wink. Her fillyfriend giggled and she was forced to look away before she started laughing, too. She told herself there would be time for that later. Apple Bloom grinned and waved from her seat between Big Macintosh and Granny Smith. Luna sat deep in conversation with Cranky Doodle and Scootaloo had a wild desire to know what those two were talking about.

Everywhere she looked, Scootaloo caught familiar faces, from as close to home as friends and neighbors, to as far away as Appleloosa. On a second pass, she noticed Babs Seed on the other side of Big Mac, snickering with good natured derision at her dress. Scootaloo glared at her with a smirk.

Sighing and twitching her wings against the restrictive fabric of her outfit, Scootaloo pressed at the small box hidden away in her dress, reaffirming its presence. She glanced obliquely at Spike, still silently grumbling about the flower basket. That was a fight she was glad she won, but would be careful to not gloat too smugly about at her older brother. Scootaloo looked to Rainbow, who was in a sleek and flashy white gown. Scootaloo had to admit that Rarity knew her mother well and designed the perfect dress to highlight Rainbow’s looks without being too girly. She also had to admit, rather reluctantly, that the fashionista had done a similarly spectacular job on her own dress. As good as Rainbow looked, Scootaloo could tell the mare was just as uncomfortable in the dress as she was in hers. Rainbow caught her eye and they shared a thin smile.

“Mom and her fancy dresses,” Scootaloo murmured.

“You said it, kiddo.” Rainbow’s grin widened. “We’ll go flyin’ after dinner, you an’ me.”

Scootaloo nodded and turned back to the crowd, visibly relaxing in her stance. Rainbow did as well, before tensing her back as the birds began to sing in tandem. She held her breath. This was it.

From the path leading out of the park, Twilight’s father came into view, the barest hints of flowing white fabric poking out around his frame. He stepped slowly and regally, beaming with pride. Rainbow caught Shining Armor’s goofy grin out of the corner of her eye, a combination of affection and adoration that reminded her of Scootaloo, and stifled a snort. Night Light turned with the path and Twilight, hoof in hoof with her father, came into view.

Rainbow’s breath caught in her throat.

Shimmering and white, smooth without frills, glowing almost gold in the evening light, Twilight Sparkle’s dress moved with her as if it was part of her body. The flower tiara, holding the veil over her face, was studded with lilacs and violets, setting off her eyes and coat. Her mane, styled to gentle swirls across her neck, shone shocking blue from the single feather woven permanently into place. Her smile lit up her whole face.

‘Dear Celestia.’ Rainbow’s face burned with the strength of her grin. ‘She’s still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.’

At the end of the aisle, they paused and Night Light lifted Twilight’s veil. The feather in her mane shone even brighter, dazzling Rainbow. She felt like a school filly, not sure what to do with her hooves, wondering why her belly was fluttering so much. Night Light kissed his daughter on the cheek and turned to Rainbow Dash, extending his hoof. Rainbow took it in her own and shook firmly. Night Light joined his currently crying wife in the first row, leaving Rainbow to stare into the eyes of Twilight. Her Twilight.

“My little ponies,” Celestia began, her calm and rich voice carrying a warm formality across the park, “We are gathered here today to join two mares very dear to my heart, and to all of Equestria. Ms. Twilight Sparkle.” She touched her student fondly on the chin with a hoof, drawing her gaze briefly. Twilight’s eyes resettled on her wife to be. “And Ms. Rainbow Dash.” She touched her leg to Rainbow’s shoulder, the contact widening the mare’s grin. “We shall begin with the reading of a passage.”

Celestia cleared her throat. “She was a lovely lady, with a romantic mind and such a sweet mocking mouth. Her romantic mind was like the tiny boxes, one within the other, that come from the puzzling East, however many you discover there is always one more; and her sweet mocking mouth had one kiss on it that Wendy could never get, though there it was, perfectly conspicuous in the right-hoof corner.

“He took Mrs. Darling’s kiss with him. The kiss that had been for no one else Peter took quite easily. Funny. But she seemed satisfied.”

The princess lowered her head, smiling at the two mares with glowing happiness. “When I first met Twilight I noticed she, too, had a kiss much like Mrs. Darling, waiting for the right pony to come along and claim it. And just as curious, so did Rainbow Dash.” She winked playfully at the couple. “It seems both kisses have gone missing. It is a rare romance where two ponies can claim each other’s hearts so completely; a unique gem that’s a blessing to all of Equestria. It is my great honor to join these two as partners, as confidants, as friends, and as lovers, for as long as they will grace us with their shining example.”

Rainbow and Twilight beamed at Princess Celestia, a silent conversation of warmth passing between their gazes. The diarch nodded gently and said, “The brides have prepared their own vows.”

Rainbow cleared her throat, shuffling on her hooves and looking at the wooden floorboards of the gazebo. She took a tremulous breath and raised her head. As her eyes met with Twilight’s, all nervousness fled her body and she raised a hoof, taking Twilight’s in her own. Her voice came out strong, even, and heartfelt. “I, Rainbow Dash, take you, Twilight Sparkle, to be my wife. I promise that for as long as I live and breathe, there’s nothing in Equestria that will make me stop loving you. You’ve given me a home where I belong and a life I want to live. You’re everything I want, everything I need in a partner, a friend, and a wife. I promise to be by your side, every minute of every day, as we grow old together.

“And I promise I’ll always slow down for you.”

Twilight wiped at her eyes and squeezed Rainbow’s hoof. “And I, Twilight Sparkle, take you, Rainbow Dash, to be my wife. I promise to be by your side every step of the way. Through the hard times and the happy times, through sunshine and through rainstorms. I promise to always remember the things that draw us together, that make us the same, that highlight our differences and prove to me over and over again how lucky I am. I promise to always be the home you not only need, but the home you deserve. You’re everything I could have asked for in a wife and more. I promise to cherish that always.

“And I promise I’ll always keep up.”

Scootaloo reached into her dress on cue and pulled out the small box, presenting it to Rainbow. Her mom grinned at her and opened the lid, removing the simple gold band. She turned to her bride to be and gently, reverently slid the ring into place around Twilight’s horn. She stepped back and smiled brightly, watching the ring glint in the setting sun like shop lanterns off a racing medal.

A hushed lull fell over the crowd as the couple shone resplendently in the evening light, broken only by quiet sniffles. Princess Celestia closed her eyes and nodded, warmly saying, “It is my honor and my privilege to pronounce these ponies forever bonded. May their love never dim and their happiness only grow. You may now kiss the bride.”

Rainbow stepped forward, raising a hoof to cup her wife’s cheek. They leaned together, their pulses slowing, their minds buzzing, a raw and tiny bit of contact, an action repeated endless times over countless days, just two ponies together. And they both knew in their hearts that it was neither a beginning nor an end, but a simple declaration, a pledge to each other and themselves, that they would hold close and precious forever. They parted, blushing like fillies and never wanting to stop grinning.

To sensitive ears, the distant rumbling of hooves in applause could be heard almost as far as Canterlot.

Princess Celestia failed to stifle a yawn, a small hint of pink rising to her cheeks. Twilight hid her smile, watching the sun complete its descent over the horizon. Celestia blinked rapidly and cleared her throat, quickly resuming her façade of regal poise. Twilight leaned across the table and said, “It’s getting late for you.”

Celestia slowly looked around the table, from Applejack and Pinkie Pie on her right, around to Spike, Twilight, and Rainbow, then to Rarity, Fluttershy, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle. She cleared her throat again. “That it is, Twilight.”

The princess smiled and rose from her seat at the table, turning heads from the guests seated across the park enjoying a Sweet Apple Acres catered dinner. She smiled benevolently at the crowd, raising her voice. “Good night, my little ponies. I wish you all a wonderful evening.” She turned back to Twilight and dropped her voice. “And congratulations again, my faithful student. You’ve come such a long, long way. From the day we first met, I’ve watched you, to see how you’d grow and what you’d do. And now that you’ve grown up and begun a new life, one with a pony who cares as deeply for you as you do for her, I know that everything I saw in that excited filly was as grand and wonderful as I thought it would be. The destiny you’ve chosen for yourself has made me so proud, Twilight.”

Twilight swallowed thickly and stood, hugging the alicorn around her neck. “Thank you, Celestia,” she whispered.

Celestia hugged Twilight back, turning her tired, but kind eyes on Rainbow Dash. “And you, Rainbow. I could not have asked for a better partner for my student. I have no need to ask you to look after her, because I know you will do more for her than I could ever put into words. You are a remarkable pony, Rainbow Dash.” She pulled the slightly startled mare into the hug. “You have made this very old mare very happy. Be kind to each other. I hope to see you both very soon.”

Letting go of the couple, Celestia nodded once and lifted into the air on her large wings. Above the park, a flash of pure sunlight lit up the sky and she was gone.

Rainbow and Twilight resettled in their seats, but didn’t pull the hooves they had around each other’s necks back. Instead they pressed in close, grinning.

Applejack chuckled at the pair, ribbing Pinkie Pie. “Y’all two are just the cutest things I ever did see.” Rainbow rolled her eyes, but didn’t pull away from her wife. “Now don’t be givin’ me that look none, RD. I’ve never seen a pair a’ ponies so darn happy together.” She dropped her voice, her tone a heartfelt and quiet note. “I’m so happy for you two. Today went off without a hitch an’ there wasn’t a dry eye in town.”

As Rainbow grinned at Applejack, nuzzling in close to her wife, Scootaloo looked obliquely at Sweetie Belle. Her fillyfriend was listening to the conversation intently. Scootaloo inched closer on her chair.

Pinkie Pie giggled and nodded. “It was such a super success! Nopony was a changeling or anything! And Fluttershy’s birdies were so perfect at holding up the streamers and their song was so pretty, and the decorations were perfect, and everypony’s dresses looked awesometastic, and the food is super-duper delicious, and—”

As Pinkie rambled, Scootaloo scooted and nonchalantly slid her hoof around Sweetie’s back. Sweetie started and glanced at the little pegasus. Dots of pink colored her cheeks and she grinned, leaning into Scootaloo’s shoulder.

“—and everything was just exactly right!” The table chuckled as Pinkie heaved in a gulp of air to replace her lost breath.

Fluttershy smiled at the party pony. “Your decorations really were wonderful, Pinkie.”

“And this food really is yummy-riffic, AJ,” Pinkie enthused.

Grinning, Applejack turned to Rarity. “An’ everypony looks mighty sharp in these duds, Rares.”

“And your birds were simply splendid, Fluttershy dear.”

“And we never would have gotten everything done without Spike helping on the planning.”

“And it’s a good thing Rainbow Dash had Cloud Kicker on sky duty. The weather was perfect!”

As the group babbled on about the ceremony, complimenting the couple on their vows and discussing who they had seen getting teary-eyed, Rainbow extended her wing around Twilight’s shoulders. Scootaloo spread hers across Sweetie Belle.

As the conversation lulled, a reminiscent smile lit up Fluttershy’s face. “That’s funny. Everypony had close to the same job as when we all met. It’s like we set up the Summer Sun Celebration again.”

Rainbow chuckled low. “It’s not funny if it’s on purpose.” She grinned indulgently and kissed her wife’s brow. “Twi’s all mushy like that.”

Scootaloo tried as nonchalantly as possible to kiss Sweetie Belle on the brow. The filly giggled and poked Scootaloo in the ribs. “You’re copying your mom, aren’t you?” she whispered.

Coughing in embarrassment, Scootaloo looked away quickly. Her gaze settled on the gazebo, trailing forgotten streamers and surrounded by chairs, some upturned in the rush to the reception seating. She followed the path back and from her vantage point caught sight of a familiar bench, one she had spent months sitting on and chugging water. She glanced back at the gazebo and then at Rainbow Dash, nuzzling affectionately into Twilight.

“Hey, mom?”

Rainbow turned with Twilight’s face still in her neck. “Yeah, Scoots?”

Glaring in scrutiny across the park, Scootaloo mumbled, “…That bench, where mom always sits when we train…” She raised her eyebrow. “Is it the same one from when you got together? When it started raining and you ran under the gazebo?”

Twilight giggled, nuzzling up the side of Rainbow’s jaw and nodding at the filly.

Scootaloo sighed, her expression one of beleaguered amusement. “You really are mushy, mom.”

Apple Bloom knit her brow in sudden confusion. “Wait a minute...Scoots calls both y’all ‘mom’ and I seen her do it for months now, but y’all always know which one she’s talkin’ about. How’re y’all doin’ that?”

The couple sat up straight and pursed their lips looking at each other. The table grew quiet, everypony there contemplating the question with growing curiosity. Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Is...isn’t it obvious which one she’s talking to?”

Twilight tapped her chin. “I guess it is sort of odd.”

Shrugging, Scootaloo said, “I dunno. Hey, mom.” Rainbow turned to her. “Wow, that is kinda spooky.”

A call sounded from a further table and interrupted them, a slowly growing chant of “Cake! Cake! Cake!” filling the air. Twilight and Rainbow stood from the table and cantered to the buffet line, headed for the multi-tiered cake. Twilight floated a knife to the colossal confection and sliced out two pieces.

They lifted a slice a piece in their hooves and brought them to their partner’s face. Twilight bit into her slice delicately with a glint of mischief in her eyes. As Rainbow leaned forward to bite, she smeared her wife’s muzzle with a long streak of crumbs and icing.

Rainbow laughed, bright and carefree, licking her lips. She squished the remains of the slice she held across Twilight’s face.

In a flurry of magic, Twilight carved the cake up onto plates as the crowd chuckled. A line formed as ponies stepped up to get a piece as Twilight carried back plates for the table. As Scootaloo lifted a bite to her mouth, Sweetie Belle grinned wickedly and lit her horn, pulling the fork forward and dotting her fillyfriend’s snout with icing.

As they finished their cake, Princess Luna approached the table, warmly saying, “Good evening, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash. It was a lovely wedding; it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my sister quite so happy. I offer you my congratulations and well-wishes.”

Twilight grinned. “Thank you, Luna. We both appreciate you attending.”

Luna’s smile turned playful. “Oh, I wouldn’t dare to miss it. Even if it meant being awake at such an unpleasant hour.” She shuddered theatrically. “And don’t tell me the party is over just yet. I dare say I saw some barrels underneath the catering tables.” She turned her mischievious glance on Applejack. “Have I correctly surmised that they contain Sweet Apple Acres’ famous hard cider?”

“That ya have, Princess.” Applejack stood and stretched out her back, turning to Twilight. “What’cha think, Twi’? Time to crack open some barrels and get the party goin’?”

“Sounds good to me.” Twilight turned to Rainbow. “You going to drink?”

“In a little bit.” She eyed their daughter. “I promised Scoots some flying, and somethin’ tells me I should do that now instead of after a few.”

Twilight giggled and looked at Rainbow’s dress. “You’re going to ruin that…”

Scoffing indulgently, Rarity said, “Of course she would, Twilight. That’s why I designed her dress to do this.” A light glow of magic lit up a zipper on Rainbow’s dress, hidden expertly within a seam. It slid down Rainbow’s back and the pegasus stepped lightly out of the garment, shaking out her wings. “Scootaloo’s dress as well. Come here, dear, I’ll get that off for you.”

While Rarity helped Scootaloo out of her dress, Rainbow ran a hoof through her mane, mussing it back to its normal perfection. “This alright?” she asked Twilight quietly.

“Of course, Rainbow.” She leaned forward and nuzzled her wife’s cheek, dropping her voice to a sultry whisper. “Tire her out plenty; this is our wedding night.” A goofy grin spread over Rainbow’s face and she nodded in confirmation with a wink. As soon as Scootaloo had ‘fixed’ her mane, Rainbow jumped into the air.

Rarity cantered over, asking, “Twilight, would you like out of your dress now, too?”

“No thanks, Rarity.” Her grin widened. “I think I’ll wear it as long as possible.”

Rarity batted her eyelashes, crooning, “Oh, how positively romantic!” Sighing wistfully, she muttered, “And here I caught that bouquet…” as she wandered towards the keg Applejack had started tapping.

Twilight turned to follow the others when spiky bangs lowered into her vision. Rainbow smiled at her upside down and pulled her into a kiss. Twilight could taste the cake still smeared on her wife’s muzzle and felt Rainbow’s chin against her snout. Kissing Rainbow while inverted was one of the oddest sensations she had experienced; everything seemed to be off about it. Rainbow’s tongue wasn’t quite in the right place, her lips didn’t match up with what she expected, and when she automatically raised a hoof to stroke the mare’s neck, she batted at a fuzzy ear instead.

It was absolutely delightful.

Rainbow pulled back and murmured, “This is the best day of my life. Thank you, Mrs. Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight grinned affectionately and stroked Rainbow’s mane. “This is the best day of my life, too, Mrs. Rainbow Dash.” She pecked her wife on the lips. “Now go fly. Have fun.”

Rainbow licked Twilight’s snout and darted away, catching up with Scootaloo in the air above the gazebo. Twilight’s eyes followed Sweetie Belle as she ran after the pair, back towards the seating for the ceremony to sit and watch them fly. Her gaze drifted up and she watched them, too.

Scootaloo was amazing in the air.

She had been amazing on her first flight, and as she trained with Rainbow Dash she grew more sure of herself, faster, and more precise week after week. Eventually when the two of them flew together they looked less like a student with a teacher and more like a team. Watching them again, rocket around in circles, blending their flight trails to fiery rainbows in swirls and knots, Twilight felt the same awe as the first time she saw Rainbow clear the sky. Slowly, she sunk to her haunches, caught up in the show.

Applejack held a mug under her snout. She blinked and grasped it in her magic. “Thanks, Applejack.”

“Not a problem, Twilight.” Applejack sat down next to the mare. “It really was a beautiful weddin’. I’m glad y’all asked me to be a part of it.”

Twilight took a sip, letting the bite of alcohol tingle her snout. “Thanks for being a part of it, Applejack. It wouldn’t have been the same without you all there.”

Applejack nodded resolutely, taking a swig of her own mug. They sat in silence for a while, watching mother and daughter loop and spin through the air. “It’s been a crazy couple’a years, Twi’. Ever since ya moved here, I’ve watched this whole town change, an’ I can’t help but think it’s all been you. Ponies ‘round these parts are happier’n I’ve ever seen ‘em. An’ don’t get me started on us six.” She smiled obliquely at Twilight. “I’ll tell ya, I ain’t never seen a pony change so much as RD. Once upon a time I didn’t think that mare could ever make a real friend.”

Twilight frowned thoughtfully. “Really?”

“Eeyup. First time I met her was a couple’a weeks after she moved here an’ I caught her catchin’ forty winks in one of my trees. She seemed nice enough, but she was always…” Applejack took another swig, her brow furrowing. “...She was cold, Twi’. Real cold. Friendly and polite enough when she weren’t showin’ off, but there was hardness there, just under her skin. Know what I mean? Always an acquaintance, never a friend, that sorta pony.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “Rainbow’s said as much, talking about her past.”

“Y’all changed all that, though. Within days she was different. Warmer. You really brought out somethin’ special in her, Twi’.” Applejack smiled brighter. “In all of us, really. Whole dang town.”

Twilight chuckled low. “I’m just a pony, Applejack.”

“Not to that one, you ain’t,” Applejack murmured, nodding at Rainbow as she danced through the dark sky with Scootaloo. “Not to any of us, neither.” She hugged Twilight around the neck with one leg. “I seen you change just as much, though, Sugarcube. Y’all used to be so wrapped up in your books, even after ya came here. Can’t imagine what’cha must’ve been like back in Canterlot. Rainbow’s changed you as much as you’ve changed her. It’s like ya were made for each other.”

A comfortable lull fell over the two, the only sound the murmurs and cheers from the party behind them and the distant laughter of the two pegasi in flight. After a while, Twilight mumbled, “It feels like that for me, too.”

“Ya certainly showed it. Havin’ this all here. I tell ya, I’m reminded of that Runnin’ of the Leaves, and it’s not half as special to me. I bet’cha Rainbow appreciates the heck out of it, even if she thinks it’s mushy.”

Twilight grinned conspiratorially. “Applejack, Pinkie Promise this stays quiet?”

“Eh?” Applejack raised an eyebrow and then shrugged, miming through the promise. “Now what’d I promise about?”

Twilight dropped her voice to just above a whisper. “Having it here was Rainbow’s idea. I’m taking the fall for it, though.”

Applejack snorted and shook her head. “Well don’t that beat all.” She took a long draught, watching Rainbow fly. “She’s so different now,” she marveled. “I still can’t rightly believe she gave up joinin’ them Wonderbolts. Even back before I knew her at all, she’d never stop yammerin’ on about ‘em.” Her gaze shifted to the filly soaring alongside Rainbow. “How’d Scootaloo take that, anyway?”

“Hmm?” Twilight finished her sip, frowning up at the pair. “She was...well, she was surprised. She blamed herself, too; thought it was her fault and she was keeping Rainbow from doing something. She came around after a while...Rainbow told her that sometimes dreams change, and as important as something is to somepony when they’re younger, life happens around them.” Twilight turned to Applejack, her smile thin. “Rainbow said, ‘Why would I want to fly on a team when I could spend every day flying with the greatest filly in Equestria?’ Scootaloo calmed down after that.”

Applejack shook her head slowly. “Lan’ sakes, how that mare’s changed...” She turned her attention skywards and they sat in silence while they finished their mugs. Applejack’s gaze drifted down and she began to watch Sweetie Belle watching the flying. “…What’cha think’s gonna happen between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?”

“Hm?” Twilight glanced at the filly, caught up in the flying show. “I don’t know. They’re awfully young still. Barely out of fillyhood, if you can even say that.”

“My li’l sis had a thing with one of the colts for a few months a while back. Sorta fell apart after a while, like most of them foal crushes tend ta do. I know I had my share as a filly. Still, though. My momma and my daddy started out right about their age, did’ja know that?” Twilight shook her head. “Eeyup. Barely had their cutie marks when they started goin’ steady. They lasted through the rest of their days, too.”

Smiling, Twilight murmured, “I just want them both to be happy.”

Applejack’s gaze drifted back to Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash, their flight slowing to a lazier circling and weaving, a warm sense of familial affection radiating from them across the whole park. Applejack’s smile grew reminiscent and her eyes went out of focus. “Back when my momma was still here, she used to tell me all these stories. Lotta ol’ earth pony legends and different sayin’s, you know. Well, one of the things she used to tell me about were these different names earth ponies had for relationships between ponies from different tribes.”

Twilight nodded appreciatively. “That’s interesting, I haven’t read about that cultural tradition.”

Applejack shrugged. “To be honest, a lot of ‘em were kinda nasty. We’re talkin’ some old stuff from back before the first Hearth’s Warmin’ and folks weren’t quite so keen on each other. Momma told ‘em to show me how silly hatin’ others for bein’ different could be, an’ they were supposed to make me laugh. Most of the time they did. But…” Her eyes refocused on the two in the air and her smile grew. “One of ‘em I always kinda liked. I didn’t think it was silly at all; I thought it was pretty an’ romantic soundin’. The name they had for a pegasus that had fallen for a unicorn. I guess it makes sense, since it was an earth pony sayin’ and it didn’t have any earth ponies in it, might as well make it pretty.”

Twilight looked up at the two pegasi in the air; the two most important ponies in her life. “…What did they call them, Applejack?”

“They called ‘em ‘spellbound fireflies.’”

Another lull fell over the two mares as they sat and watched the flight, mother and daughter slowing further, their night dance gradually coming to an end.

“…Thank you for telling me that, Applejack. It is very pretty.”

Applejack nodded and stood up. “Looks like they’re about done. I’m gonna go fetch RD a mug, you want a second?”

“Sure. Thank you.”

“You’re quite welcome, Twilight.” She leaned in close. “Looks like ya got yourself a pair of them lightnin’ bugs.”

Twilight smiled. “I guess I have.”

Applejack cantered away, leaving Twilight to watch her family. She and her wife planned to sign the papers to officially adopt Scootaloo in the morning, but as far as she was concerned, they had been two mothers and a daughter for months. Watching her family fly, reading with them, spending time together, making meals, laughing and talking, it all blended together into a fuzzy whirlwind of days. Days following weeks of major changes as Scootaloo settled into their lives, weeks following months of intense training getting the filly up in the air, months following years of dating that grew with a misleading slowness from casual to something so much more without either pony noticing how it happened.

In a little over three years, Twilight’s life had changed irrevocably. The lives that had changed her had been changed as well. Three ponies, so different yet so similar, thrown together by fate to forge a new one together. And as she lived that new life, she watched with cautious optimism as her adopted daughter started to tentatively seek one with somepony else. She had seen her family brought low by pain and high by triumph. Happiness, sadness, boredom, intrigue, laughter, tears, suffering, joy, and everything in between. Twilight had been in the center of a storm with two little fireflies lighting up her world, bright and mesmerizing.

Twilight knew the day was neither the beginning nor the end of anything. Just a marker they had placed in their lives in commemoration.

It was still the best day of her life.

Author's Note

If you're unfamiliar, the passage Princess Celestia read to start the ceremony was from Peter Pan. It has some sentimental value to me, plus it's such a playful and adorable idea of romance.

Onward to the epilogue!

Also, boom, title drop.

Epilogue

Pinkie Pie bounded tirelessly through the park, scooping up fallen streamers in her mouth, folding and stacking chairs with effortless kicks, and collecting fallen plates and napkins on her back. The few party guests left were in the slow and directionless conversations of incredibly drunk ponies, preparing to leave but unsure exactly how to get their hooves to work just yet. Applejack had already left for the night after cleaning up the catering, and Fluttershy had to be told to go home after falling asleep on Pinkie’s shoulder. Rarity followed behind Pinkie, floating everything together in neat piles.

Twilight and Rainbow attempted to help, but found themselves slightly too stumbly to actually get anything done. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle accomplished more, half-heartedly picking up the stray bit of garbage.

Rarity shoved a large, lumpy ball of plates and cups into a bin, sighing in satisfaction. She trotted up to the couple, both lost in some unfollowable train of drunken giggles. “I think we’re almost done with the clean-up, you two. I think it’s safe for you to head home.”

Rainbow shook her head to clear her vision. “You sure, Rares? We said we’d help…”

“You have been a wonderful help already, I assure you,” Rarity said, eyeing the single chair they had been struggling to fold up for several minutes, “But Pinkie and I have everything covered. Go home! This is your party anyway, you shouldn’t have to clean it up.” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle threw away their small loads of trash and turned to the three mares, unsure whether to continue cleaning or get ready to leave. Rarity frowned thoughtfully and dropped her voice. “Are you sure you want to take Sweetie for the night? You both have been drinking a bit heavily this evening.”

Rainbow scoffed, batting a hoof dismissively. “She’ll be fine. Those two never get into trouble. An’ I’m soberin’ up, anyway.”

Rarity looked unconvinced, but nodded gently. She darted her eyes around and leaned in, whispering, “They aren’t behaving because they’re misbehaving, if you catch my meaning, are they?”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as Rainbow snorted loudly, covering her mouth to contain her laughter. Twilight cleared her throat and briskly answered, “Absolutely not. They’re still in that puppy love stage. I, uh…” her face grew red, “I don’t think they’d know what to do, even if the thought had crossed their minds.”

“Yeah, Rarity,” Rainbow giggled, “What kinda house do you think we’re runnin’ here?”

Clearing her throat and straightening her mane, Rarity muttered, “Yes, well, they are both rather responsible, aren’t they? If Sweetie Belle won’t be any trouble…”

Scootaloo approached, raising an eyebrow. “What’re you guys talkin’ about?”

“Nothing!” Rarity chimed, turning back towards the remaining clean-up job. “Have a pleasant even—err, night, girls. I’ll see you in the morning, Sweetie, dear.”

“Night, sis!” Sweetie Belle called, falling in next to Scootaloo as they headed for the path back to town. Rainbow and Twilight took a stumbling lead, leaning against each other and giggling. Rainbow’s wing spread across Twilight’s back, rumpling her dress as they cantered.

“So, Scoots,” Rainbow called, slightly louder than necessary, “Didn’t get too bored, right?”

“Nah, it was fun,” she smirked, “It was cool to see everypony…” As they walked, Scootaloo’s smile fell and her eyes grew introspective. “…I didn’t see the Takers, though,” she murmured quietly.

Rainbow and Twilight straightened in their walk, some of the haze of alcohol tearing away from their minds. Twilight spoke evenly and controlled. “Well, they both sent a card and a gift ahead of time.”

Scootaloo grunted noncommittally.

Rainbow tentatively asked, “Would…did you want to see them?”

Shrugging, Scootaloo sighed. “I don’t know.”

Rainbow turned to Twilight in their close walk and a silent conversation passed across their eyes. They both nodded in tandem. Twilight turned back and smiled wanly at the fillies. “Let’s get home. How does some hot chocolate and another chapter of Daring Do and the Spear of the Windigos sound?”

Scootaloo nodded vigorously, before catching her fillyfriend’s blank expression. She smiled and murmured, “Mom’s been reading it out loud to me and mom sometimes.” Sweetie Belle smirked in amusement, rolling her eyes at Scootaloo’s sentence that somehow made perfect sense and no sense at all at the same time. Scootaloo leaned in and dropped her voice further. “Don’t laugh, she’s funny about it enough. She’s really good, though. You feel like you’re there.”

Sweetie Belle bit her lip and shook her head, but said nothing. They passed Town Square in silence, the soft clack of eight sets of hooves their only background noise. As they closed in on the library, Twilight opened the door in front of them and stepped forward, but Rainbow’s wing tightened and halted her progress. She turned to Rainbow with a confused expression. She grew more bewildered at her wife’s playful smile.

In a flash, Twilight was swept off the ground and onto her back, held effortlessly in Rainbow’s forelegs, flying a foot in the air. Rainbow smirked wickedly. “Gotta carry you over the threshold; it’s the rule.”

Twilight giggled and wrapped her hooves around her wife’s neck, nuzzling into the mare’s cheek. Rainbow floated gently through the door and set down noiselessly on her back legs, holding Twilight close. Twilight pulled back slowly and their eyes met.

Rainbow kissed her wife for all she was worth.

Sweetie Belle leaned close to Scootaloo and teasingly whispered, “Still wanna copy your mom?”

Scootaloo turned crimson.

Setting Twilight back on her hooves, Rainbow nuzzled her wife again. “Welcome home, Mrs. Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight chuckled. “I’ll make some coffee, Mrs. Rainbow Dash.” She stepped back and muttered, “First I’m getting this dress off.”

As Twilight cantered to the kitchen, magic lifting and unzipping the garment as she moved, Rainbow eyed the desk and cleared her throat. “Hey, Scoots…” As her daughter approached, she opened her drawer, pushing her journals aside. She turned to the filly, her eyes set serious and tentative. “Let’s go up to your room for a minute…” Rainbow pulled the envelope from the drawer and tucked it under her wing. “…I got somethin’ to give ya.”

Scootaloo frowned in puzzlement and looked back at her fillyfriend. “Can Sweetie come?”

Shrugging, Rainbow headed slowly to the stairs. “It’s nothin’ bad, but it might be somethin’ you wanna keep private. Up to you.”

Sweetie Belle shrugged silently, offering Scootaloo to go on without her with a wave of her leg. Scootaloo shook her head and turned towards the stairs, beckoning the little unicorn with a flick of her tail.

Rainbow sat on the edge of Scootaloo’s rumpled bed, patting for her daughter to join her. When she spoke, her voice was low. “…When me and Twi’ took you home for the first time…” she opened her wing, dropping the letter into her hooves, “…Mrs. Taker asked us to give you this when you were ready. I haven’t read it…I think you’re old enough, you deserve to read it all on your own if you want to. And I think you’re ready for it now.” She reverently placed it in Scootaloo’s hooves and stood. “I’ll be downstairs if you wanna talk about it. But…that’s yours, an’ you can do whatever you want with it now.”

Rainbow bent low and kissed Scootaloo on the brow. She whispered, “I know you were really angry at her for a long time, an’ you had every right to be. But she’s just a pony, and ponies make mistakes. If you’re still angry, don’t do anythin’ with that that you can’t take back, okay?”

Scootaloo nodded slowly, her eyes glued on the letter in her hooves. “…I’m still a little angry.”

Rainbow hugged her daughter gently and kissed her brow again. “Me too.” She stood back and smiled sadly. “I’ll see ya downstairs.” She turned and left the room, shutting the door with a gentle click.

Sweetie Belle glanced around Scootaloo’s messy room, from the overstuffed bookshelves, to the clothes and sport equipment all over the floor, to the overflowing desk, trying to find something to focus on. Frowning, she cleared her throat. “Do you, uhh…d’you want me to go downstairs?”

Scootaloo shook her head resolutely and pulled her fillyfriend close, resting her head in Sweetie’s mane. She took a deep breath and pulled open the back of the envelope, sliding the letter out and laying it flat in her lap.

Dear Scootaloo,

I’m sorry.

I’m sorry I didn’t see that you were growing up. I’m sorry I got so wrapped up in what I normally see, the types of fillies and colts I normally take care of, to notice. When a pony gets old enough, they start falling into patterns, and I fell into one a long time ago.

You’re a smart filly, so I won’t talk down to you in this letter, like I did for so long. You deserve to know this, even if it can’t change anything now. I’m sure you remember some of the other foals that lived in my house with us over the years. Sometimes they were older than you, most of the time they were younger, but all of them came into your life and left quickly. I doubt you ever thought of them as your brothers or sisters, they were just other fillies and colts that lived in the same house.

At some point, that’s what they were to me, too.

It’s hard to be asked to open your heart up to a filly when you know a new mom and dad family is waiting for them, waiting to take them home and give them a new life. I took care of all of you, knowing someday you’d leave and find a home.

But as time went on, your home never came. You’re such a smart and happy filly, I don’t know why it took as long as it did. Maybe the fates saw Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle and knew you belonged with them, and made life take a little longer than normal, just so you ended up where you were supposed to end up. I like that idea, and even if it isn’t true, I’m going to choose to believe it. Because a filly as wonderful as you deserves that to be true.

I forgot, Scootaloo. Now, I can’t believe that I did, but I did. I missed how long it had been, how long you’d been in my house, not as a foal passing through, but as a growing mare: somepony figuring out her place in the world and needing help and guidance to get there. For so long, I was never a mother to you, just a guardian, a name on a piece of paper to make sure you were looked after. I forgot that sometimes I needed to be more than that, and that as you got older what you needed wasn’t a guardian. You needed a mom. I could have been that for you if I noticed, but by the time I did, I think I was already too late. I had already hurt you.

I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t, not really, but maybe writing it down will get it out right. I don’t know how to express the idea that I had been blind to you, to who you are when you were right in front of me, hurting and looking for somepony to be there. I failed you, Scootaloo. I failed you, and I was too much of a coward to try and fix it in time.

It’s a downfall of all ponies who have gotten too old to really remember what it’s like to be twelve, to be growing into yourself, to have just found your cutie mark or still be looking for it. Time. Time bleeds away, and you don’t notice. I didn’t notice it going as you changed from a foal I was watching to a foal who needed me to be a mom, and I couldn’t hold onto it as I tried to think of how to tell you I was sorry.

I am sorry, Scootaloo. I’m sorry for what I’ve missed. What I could have been for you, and what I could have given you, if I only took the time to see it.

I won’t ask your forgiveness, because I don’t deserve it. I’m a silly old coward who hurt a beautiful, wonderful little filly, who is going to grow into a beautiful, wonderful mare and do great things with her life. I only hope that you understand.

If you ever want to talk, I’ll be here to listen. I spent too long not listening, and I’ll listen to whatever you have to say. I know I’ve missed the chance to be a mom to you, but if you want, I will be a friend.

Your friend,

—Care

Scootaloo quietly folded the letter up, sliding it back inside the envelope. She let it drop to her lap and stared at it silently.

Sweetie Belle hugged her fillyfriend around the middle, nuzzling Scootaloo’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“…Yeah,” she answered quietly, hugging back.

“What’re you gonna do?”

“…I don’t know.”

They sat together, wrapped in each other’s hooves, letting the minutes draw out. Scootaloo closed her eyes and buried her face in Sweetie’s mane, smelling vanilla, trying to wash away her jumbled thoughts. She found herself gently kissing the top of Sweetie’s head, stroking the filly’s shoulders and back, drawing peace from the contact. Her mind gradually silenced. “…I’m still angry at her,” she whispered, “But I think maybe I don’t haveta be. I think maybe I can stop.”

Sweetie nodded into Scootaloo’s neck and strengthened her grip. Scootaloo heard a small sniffle from Sweetie and her brow furrowed. “You okay?” Sweetie Belle nodded too quickly. “What’s wrong?”

Sighing, the little unicorn sat back, the parting slow and reluctant. “I just…I got kinda caught up in being held by you.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow.

She sighed again and kicked her hindlegs off the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor. “…We’ve been…dating for about four months now, right?”

Scootaloo turned, pressing her side into Sweetie and slinging a leg around her fillyfriend’s shoulder. “Yeah.”

“…That’s about as long as AB an’ Rumble lasted. Is…how much longer ‘til this goes away? Everypony keeps sayin’ we’re still just kids…I don’t want this to go away, Scoots.”

A quiet fell over the room as they sat together. Scootaloo gently turned to Sweetie Belle and raised her chin with a hoof. She closed her eyes and kissed the unicorn, the growing filly, the young mare, the pony on the cusp right alongside her, delicately soft, but strong and centered just beneath the surface. She pressed her forehead to Sweetie’s and opened her eyes. “Every time,” she murmured, “Every time I kiss you it feels just like the first one.”

“…What is this, Scoots?”

“...I’m still tryin’ to figure it out.” She kissed Sweetie Belle again. “I could spend the rest of my life tryin’ to figure it out.”

Sweetie Belle smiled, a small and contented smile, and hugged her fillyfriend. For a long and peaceful while, they held each other and ignored the world. Eventually they parted and silently stood.

Cantering out of Scootaloo’s room, they ventured downstairs and joined Twilight and Rainbow Dash sitting with their sides pressed together next to the flickering fire. “Need to talk?” Rainbow asked, glancing up from the Daring Do book propped open in her lap. Scootaloo shook her head, sitting down and leaning into Twilight’s side. Sweetie Belle snuggled into her shoulder.

They sipped their cocoa as Rainbow smirked dramatically. “Well then. Onto Daring Do.”

As she spoke, her energetic voice bringing excitement and power to the narrative, Scootaloo sat half transported to crumbling castles and fearsome dangers, and half rooted in the present. Despite Rainbow’s usual flair of recitation, she felt Sweetie’s breath slowly even out against her neck. She turned gently and watched her fillyfriend sleep against her.

Scootaloo’s eyes slowly trailed over the warm and familiar room, surrounded by the three most important ponies in her life. Mrs. Taker was right. Time was a funny thing. In less than a year, everything had been inescapably changed.

Twilight absentmindedly stroked Scootaloo’s mane with a hoof and the filly pressed more strongly into her mother, letting her gaze drift higher to the mantle. She stared at the portrait on the wall, grinning, lost in Rainbow’s words and her own thoughts, nestled into a warm body with a warm body nestled into her. Her gaze lingered on the portrait as her eyelids grew heavier and her mind gradually faded towards sleep.

Everything had changed forever, and Scootaloo couldn’t wait to see what the future could bring. But for the moment, not for the first time and not for the last time, she felt it.

At long, long last, Scootaloo was finally home.

(Image by Lostzilla, used with permission)

The End

Author's Note

Well, here we are. It’s finished. Writing Spellbound Fireflies was a labor of love and an experience I won’t soon forget. So much of what’s there in the text is my life, and the lives of people close to me. From my personal struggles to the struggles of my ex-wife, my friends, and my family, the only thing that could be said is ‘made up’ would be the exact situations and series of events. It’s also probably much happier than anything in real life. But I write happy stories, so that meant nudging things in that direction.

As it sits finished, it’s pretty much exactly what I envisioned in my head when I started it. I’m very happy with the end result. It’s not perfect, but nothing I write will ever be perfect. It’s what I wanted out of it, as a whole and down to so many individual scenes. I’m happiest overall with Scootaloo’s first flight, which was the soul of the story when I started writing it and changed very little at its core from the snippet scene I wrote from a prompt ages ago. I’m least happy with the beginning, simply because it took a little while to really get going while I put all the pieces into play. I don’t dislike it by any means, but it wasn't until act two that the story really started to move, one ‘augh, cliffhanger!’ at a time.

I don’t really have very much to say on it, because I think Spellbound Fireflies does a good job speaking for itself. Everything I wanted to say in it I think I said pretty well. I’ve said what I wanted to say about dreams, about love between two individuals, about love between adoptive parents and their children, about growing up both as a child on the cusp of adulthood and as a young adult on the cusp of real responsibility, about personal demons, about success and failure, and about time. It’s all there as I wanted it to be and I’m happy I could put it out in the way I wanted it to be put out.

I am also going to answer a question that has come up a lot the last few chapters and I’ve answered a number of times in comments vaguely. Sequel. Spellbound Fireflies is, at this point, finished. The story I was telling is told and any more would be the same as playing ‘and then what happened?’ at the end of a fairy tale. Then what happens is everypony lives happily ever after. That is, until the next thing happens.

So what’s the next thing? Well, Spellbound Fireflies is a story mostly about Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Twilight and Sweetie Belle are both in it, but the story as it unfolds is in reaction to the other two, the ‘spellbound fireflies’ of the story. A sequel should, naturally, center around the two unicorns, their personal relationships and how they grow, and whatever sort of relationship they have with each other. There’s a lot of room to explore there, and I believe I will explore it.

At some point. Right now, it’s a rather sizeable project to take on for something that’s just a kernel of an idea. Give it time and I’ll get it developed, and perhaps there will be a Spellbound Fireflies 2 on the horizon. It will not be for a while.

Thank you, everyone who has read this little pony novel. Scootaloo is probably my favorite character and it was wonderful to tell a story about her. The comments that I’ve gotten have been mind-blowing for me. From comparisons that left me speechless, to criticisms that show that even if the reader didn’t really like something, they were invested enough to be really affected by it. It’s not my most viewed, or most liked, or least hated, or have the best vote ratio, or anything like that, but this story is, at the moment, the one I’m happiest with and I’m glad so many people enjoyed it. For those that continue to read the things that I write, I hope I can continue to provide you with entertainment. This setup for writing and being read is odd and wonderful, where I can talk to people that read my work, see what they have to say within minutes, really workshop stories, etc. It’s truly helped me as a writer and I love it. I hope y’all love it, too, as readers or writers yourselves.

And now, the door closes on Spellbound Fireflies. Scootaloo is home, right where she belongs.

And personally speaking, I don’t know if it’s true either, but I’m going to choose to believe right alongside Mrs. Taker.

Thanks so much for reading.