She Would be Proud.
The day was finally here; she had worked so hard for this.
She could not help but feel nervous. The stadium was filled with ponies, all expecting to see her take off in a dash. She trotted in a fast pace back and forth in the big wardrobe. She was limping a bit, making the clicking from the floor as her hooves hit it a little uneven. She sat down on one of the benches to relax; she needed to calm down, or else she wouldn't be able to take off at all.
Scootaloo turned her head as she heard a small knock on her wardrobe door. She flinched a bit as she stood up, her knees not handling that motion particularly well. Behind the door a sight for sore eyes was to be seen, a figure she loved with all her heart.
“Fluttershy!”
Scootaloo embraced her friend in a hug, holding her tightly. She let go and took a step back. She looked at the yellow pegasus that stood in front of her. Her pink mane was tied in a braid so it didn't fall over her face anymore. Although... her mane started to get a few shades of gray in it. Nothing much, just enough to remind her that she wasn’t getting any younger as the years passed. Her eyes showed a lot more confidence than what it did a few years back. Those brilliant blue eyes shimmered from the sun as she looked around.
Her eyes landed on Scootaloo, inspecting her suit. It was blue, with small yellow details of lightning. She smiled towards Scootaloo as she handed her the goggles going with the suit.
“You finally did it, Scootaloo. Your entrance ceremony to the Wonderbolts is finally here.”
“Yeah... I did it, I only wish Rainbow Dash was here to see it...” Scootaloo’s head tilted towards the clouded floor, and she disappeared into thought.
Fluttershy looked over towards Scootaloo’s flank, where a mark had been sewn into Scootaloo’s suit. A small cloud with a tri-colored lightning coming out of it. Scootaloo looked at Fluttershy, who smiled a little while she was looking at Scootaloo’s flank.
“I see you added Dash’ cutie mark into your suit.”
Scootaloo’s cheeks tinged a faint shade of red, and she smiled towards Fluttershy.
“Yeah... it’s her dream, after all. I want her to be a part of it.”
A small tear trickled down Scootaloo’s chin, her lips started moving at an uneven pace. “Fluttershy...” Scootaloo halted her sentence, struggling to find the right words. Her voice was on the brink of cracking. “What really happened that day, Fluttershy?”
Fluttershy stared absently at her flank, slowly reacting to what Scootaloo had said. She smiled towards Scootaloo. With a graceful nod, she answered, “Follow me, Scootaloo. I have something to show you. I think now is the right time. On the way I’ll tell you what happened that day, and why.”
Scootaloo brushed her tears away, looking curiously up at her friend. Fluttershy did not say anything else; she just turned around and hinted that Scootaloo should follow. With a little frown, she started walking after Fluttershy.
She didn't really have time for this, but Fluttershy must have thought it was important, as she want to show her right before her ceremony.
*~*~*
A wave of colors embraced Ponyville. A barricade of light across its whole spectrum swept over the town. The sound that followed was deafening. Windows near the apple farm had been shattered by the immense pressure that had been generated. Shortly after, the sonic rainboom got distorted by a second one.
The second was much stronger, and it shone even brighter. The whole town was awash with colour and light, before it was followed by a wave of destruction. The shock wave shattered every window in Ponyville.
Fluttershy and Applejack were on the farm capturing squirrels when the boom tore through the air. Fluttershy held on tightly to Applejack in fear of getting flung away.
The second rainboom was centred right behind Applejack’s farm. They saw a beam of colors breaching through the centre of the bigger wave, crashing right into a small valley behind the farm.
The boom shattered great swathes of the Apple Family’s crop, leaving only splinters in little piles on the ground. Fluttershy and Applejack were barely able to stand against the huge force from all around.
Fluttershy looked at Applejack with a terrified stare. “W... what was that!” Her eyes shifted over and locked on to the cloud of dust coming from the valley that the beam had slammed into.
Applejack shook her head. “Shucks if I know... But I don’ like the look o’that cloud at all.”
Applejack put on her hat and helped Fluttershy onto her hooves. Fluttershy was shaking as they walked towards the valley.
The entrance to the valley was normally filled with plants and leaves and flowers of every colour, but now it was bare. Every single piece of life had been ripped up by its root and flung away.
As they entered, they were met by a wall of dust, making it impossible to see anything more than a hoof in front of them. Fluttershy started coughing violently, and gasped for air.
“Fluttershy... go wait outside, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Fluttershy looked at Applejack, still coughing, and nodded. She disappeared out of the valley, leaving Applejack alone.
Applejack walked on, one hoof stretched out so she could feel her way through the gloom. The further in she went, the more she could see as the dust started to settle.
In the middle of the valley a crater had formed. All plants were gone, ripped up or vapourised by the blast. The ground tilted downwards, marking the centre of the valley.
Applejack squinted her eyes as she saw something in the middle of the crater. She wasn't sure of what it was, but she could see some faint blue colors.
Applejack cringed as she heard a scream coming from behind her, one filled with terror and desperation. Applejack turned her head around, and saw Fluttershy standing behind her, tears freely flowing down her cheek. Her eyes were locked on the centre of the crater; her face lost all color, leaving it white and pale as a snowflake.
Applejack turned her head, trying to make out what got Fluttershy so scared.
Her heart stopped... her breath froze... the sight forced tears to press on. No matter how much she wanted to, she could not look away, or hold her panic at bay.
In the middle of the crater, a light blue pegasus lay. Her colorful mane and tail spread outwards from her body. The pegasus held something tightly in her wings, protecting it from any damage a crash like that would cause.
Fluttershy trotted over to the blue pegasus “... Rainbow Dash?... “ She whispered, nuzzling carefully against Rainbow Dash’s side. “Rainbow... please be okay. Y-you can handle that fall, i-it wasn’t that bad. You’re... You’re tougher than this, right? You’re fine, D-Dash... You’ve got to be.”
Fluttershy spent several minutes talking, pleading, nuzzling, begging, her desperation heaping ever more stain onto her voice.
No matter what she did, Dash did not move.
Dash did not breathe.
Fluttershy fought to ignore it, but eventually reality set in. Fluttershy let out a heartbreaking scream as she lay over her friend.
Applejack stood there frozen in shock for several minutes, listening to Fluttershy’s screams.
Her mind started to focus again. She saw Fluttershy nestled on top of Rainbow Dash, with tears streaming down her face.
Applejack had to use everything she had to move Fluttershy away from Dash. A task made a lot harder by the tears she felt coming to her own eyes.
A small pegasus filly with light brown fur was tucked into Dash’s wings. Her purple mane rose slowly; she was barely breathing. She was unconscious and badly hurt.
Applejack managed to gather her mind enough to pick the small filly up and head towards the hospital. She didn't know if leaving Fluttershy alone with Rainbow Dash was a smart idea, but she couldn't think of that now. She needed to save Scootaloo.
*~*~*
Scootaloo had to sit down; this was the first time she had heard of what actually happened to her and Dash. Her heart raced as she tried to gather her mind. So many thoughts came up. She had trouble breathing as she looked at Fluttershy, her chest stinging. No matter how much she tried to focus, she only mustered to say one word.
“Why?”
Fluttershy looked at her with a mellow face, saying nothing. Fluttershy walked over to a small locket at her nightstand. She stopped for a moment while looking at it, as if she was contemplating what to say. Eventually, she turned around and smiled.
“I have carried this with me everywhere I’ve gone since that day, waiting for the right time... After seeing you with Rainbow’s cutie mark on your suit, I thought that now is time for you to know the truth, and to have this.”
Fluttershy gave her the small locket. It had a wooden texture with golden details. At the front, a keyhole formed as Rainbow’s cutie mark prided it.
She opened it, revealing a soft silky inside of light blue. In the middle lay a gold necklace with a red thunderbolt-shaped gem, similar to Dash’s cutie mark. A tear fell from Scootaloo’s chin, she looked at the necklace for a while before she was able to talk again.
“This... this is Dash’s element, isn't it? Why are you giving it to me?”
Fluttershy looked at her with a faint smile. “What Rainbow Dash did that day was only to be expected of her. She set off a double rainboom to save you, almost destroyed the whole town to save the one person she held highest in her world, her very own daughter. She gave her life as a mother, not as Rainbow Dash, so her daughter could live on.”
Fluttershy smiled as she pointed towards Scootaloo’s flank. “Seeing how you have stayed loyal to Rainbow Dash’s memory, and loyal to your friends, it would only be right for you to carry the Element of Loyalty. If it accepts you, it is yours to bear.”
Scootaloo could not say a word, she stood there in shock. She felt Fluttershy’s hooves embracing her, holding her tight.
Fluttershy whispered into her ear. “And... I know that... today... Rainbow Dash would be proud of you. She’d be standing here right next to you, smiling, while you graduated as a Wonderbolt.”
Scootaloo couldn't do anything else than to cry while hugging Fluttershy. She hadn’t been alone; she’d had a mother all along. One who was always with her.
Fluttershy picked up the necklace and placed it on Scootaloo’s neck. The jewel gave of a bright red light, embracing her in a warm glow before fading out with a small spark.
Fluttershy smiled. “It seems that your mother’s element finds you fitting.” She gently kissed her on the forehead. “Now... go out and receive your graduate emblem. With this around your neck, Dash will be right there with you.”
While Scootaloo headed out towards the stadium, she contemplated as to why Dash didn't tell her, or why she left her alone at the start. She shook it off, Dash probably had a good reason. Right now Scootaloo needed to focus on her flying, just like her mother.
The sun gleamed over the stadium, fully lighting up every inch of it. Every single pegasus had come to see the new Wonderbolt graduate. The place was filled to the brim; some even had stay flying to see what happened. As Scootaloo stood ready to take off, she bowed her head down. A tear found a path down her cheek, casting out a rainbow thanks to the sun.
The commentator’s voice filled the stadium, explaining how rare it was that they had a Wondebolt graduation here. As Scootaloo’s name was announced, the stadium filled with cheers, and the eyes of every pegasus landed on Scootaloo.
She lifted her head and smiled towards the crowd.
“Mom... This is for you.”