The orange pegasus looked up into her sister's eyes. Dash wore a worried expression, but did not break the gaze they were sharing. Scootaloo adjusted herself in Rainbow’s lap, still frowning and looking completely oblivious. Dash was teetering on the verge of speech, but fear was holding her back. She simply held the filly close to her. As Dash closed her eyes, she focused on her sense of smell. The smell of the grass and the pond, the vanilla scent of Scootaloo's hair, remnant of the shampoo Scoot had used in her bath the previous evening, and the fresh scent on the air were all distracting her. Rainbow Dash found it all inexpressibly comforting. She could have just sat there on the grass with her child forever, just to keep the evils of the upcoming future at bay and to nullify her own worries.
“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo yelled, sounding impatient. “Why aren't you letting me go play? You're acting all weird! Uh... did I do something wrong, or something?”
“I... of course not, baby...” Rainbow said, giving Scoot a tight squeeze. “I just got distracted with my thoughts...”
“Well, spit it out!” Scootaloo huffed. “You said you had to tell me something, and we're just sitting here bored! I wanna play with Tank...”
She couldn't do it. Her resolution was failing her. She had to tell the filly about what was going to happen. She had to tell the filly about the potential of the upcoming conflict. She had to tell the filly about what Dash and her friends would be facing.
“... you go ahead, Scoots.” Rainbow spoke at last, releasing the girl and ruffing her hair and mane.
“Okay...” Scootaloo said, walking away and turning her head back to look at Rainbow Dash. “As long as you're okay, M-... Sis.”
Dash had barely heard her. She was inwardly cursing her own cowardice. She was ashamed with herself. Cheerilee was absolutely right; Scootaloo deserved to know something this important. 'But how in the ever-loving name of Celestia's socks am I gonna tell her without jolting the anxiety?' Dash thought, slapping her hooves to her temples and rubbing them, wings unfolded but laying limp on the ground. 'I can't act like I'm not scared... that's one act I'll never sell right now.'
Dash tried to think about what was causing her terror. She had certainly faced down evil before. Rainbow Dash remembered the moment when Nightmare Moon had appeared before Ponyville in the town hall. She had been the first one to speak out against the terrible mare who had caused Princess Celestia to vanish. She had not felt fear then, but rage. It was the same with Discord; there was no fear when facing the embodiment of chaos. Queen Chrysalis, again, gave her no fear. She was determined to help her friends reach the Elements of Harmony, desperate to take down an army of changelings all by herself if she absolutely had to.
It was only King Sombra who had caused the smallest tingle of fear. She could remember the way he traversed the tundra to chase after them when they had first arrived in the frozen wasteland surrounding the Crystal Empire. The form he had taken was a great shadow with horribly vivid green eyes, rippling across the snow like smoke. When the barrier surrounding the kingdom had fallen, the same smoke had surrounded them from all sides, closing in like nightfall.
She found herself shivering. It was the appearance of King Sombra when he was transformed into the smoke that had frightened her the most. Was that why she was afraid of The Shadow? Dash had already considered the possibility that The Shadow itself was King Sombra in some form. But she realized that that couldn't possibly make any sense; Sombra was dead. Once the Crystal Heart had been activated, the unicorn tyrant had shattered like a hammer to glass. Nightmare Moon had returned to her senses and once more became Princess Luna. Queen Chrysalis and her changelings had been blasted straight out of Equestria. Discord was a currently a stone statue sitting in Celestia's courtyard. Sombra was a shattered corpse. The only evils she knew of were certainly all accounted for, if Dash considered the Spirit of Disharmony to be evil.
What, then, was The Shadow?
“Chase me, Tank!” Scootaloo's voice floated up on the breeze from the pond and Rainbow looked over.
Scoot was swimming in the pond, giggling as the tortoise tore through the water after her. She was using her buzzing wings to propel herself through the water like a motor. Dash smiled as she watched them play. Did she really want to spoil the fun by telling Scootaloo about Saddle Arabia? Of course she didn't. But would she have to anyway?
“You won't be able to hide from this, Rainbow Dash...” She told herself, wrapping her arms around her chest and folding her wings in at last. The blue pegasus frowned, eyes locked on to Scootaloo. “Just... tell her. Confident or not! Just... do it. Call out... right now! Alright, in a second... go! Dammit...”
Hesitation, yet again! Dash stood up, eyes squinted as if she were trying to resist physical pain. She took a deep breath as if steeling herself, and threw her caution to the wind. With a great gallop, she took off running down to the water and jumped, wings outstretched to glide, and dived in just as Scootaloo zoomed beneath.
Dash swam a few feet down, brushing the dirt and clay with her hooves, and resurfaced again. She felt Tank bump gently into her and grinned at him, patting the reptile's head as he nuzzled her face with his chin. Scootaloo swam back over to them, beaming at her 'big sister'.
“Nice of you to drop in!” Scoot giggled, slapping a lily pad into Dash's face.
“You brat!” Dash laughed, pulling the plant out of her hair.
“Was staaarting to think you were afraid of water or something! I'm surprised you even take baths!” Scootaloo laughed, moving over to Tank and scrambling on to his shell.
“I only take baths with you!” Dash said, extending a wing out to Scootaloo and shoving her off the shell and back into the water, causing the filly to erupt in laughter again. “Big girls take showers on their own!”
“You're a 'big girl' now, are you?” Scootaloo teased, still roaring with laughter. “Coulda fooled me! Never seen a big girl afraid of getting wet!” Scootaloo splashed Dash and turned to swim quickly away.
Dash flopped forward and caught Scootaloo by the tail with her teeth. She pulled the filly back and into a hug, grinding her hair in a noogie. “Does Dashie look like she's afraid of water?! Besides...” She paused for the briefest moment, ready to finally start this conversation right. “I want to have a swim with you before I have to leave you.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Dash regretted saying them. Scootaloo turned quickly to face her, the smile slipping off her young face like rain on a window. Scoot's eyelids scrunched and she bit down on her lip. To complete the picture of misery, the filly's ears were bent as low as they would go. The change in the filly's behaviour was immediate.
“You're... gonna leave me?” Scoot asked in a suddenly choked voice, blinking as her eyes began to wet. “I'm n-not a good sister...?”
“No, no, no!” Dash said at once, horrified at what she had done and swearing to herself in her head. “No, Scootaloo! Not like that! I'm so sorry, baby, that was an awful thing for me to say!”
With a great splash, Rainbow Dash pulled herself out of the water by flicking the water from her wings and flapping them hard. Still holding Scootaloo in her arms, she landed on the water's edge and cradled her. She felt the panic rise like a flame in her chest as the realized the little pegasus was crying quietly. All of Rainbow's careful planning to avoid setting off Scootaloo's anxiety, and she tumbled down the staircase with her first movement.
“My Scoot...” Dash cooed softly, rubbing Scootaloo between the filly's wings. “I would never leave you forever. Your sister loves you so very much. Please, don't cry...”
“W-why did y-you say...” Scootaloo choked, sobbing into Rainbow's chest. “T-that you were l-leaving... that's what... that's what... the other one s-said! S-she said she had t-to leave me... she never... came back!”
Dash leaned back and tucked a hoof under Scootaloo's chin, tilting the child's head back so she could look into the dull purple eyes, streaming with their tears. Dash still felt like her chest had a gaping hole in it. She placed a kiss on Scoot's forehead. “That will never happen to you ever again! I'm so sorry, Scoots. Dashie should have realized... what I said was stupid! I said it very stupidly, Scoot!"
Scootaloo was still crying softly, taking erratic breaths and quaking all over. “I d-don't wanna be alone again...” Scoot whimpered, gasping as her breath caught in her chest.
“It's okay, Scootaloo.” Dash reassured, resting her chin on Scoot's wet hair. “Everything is fine. You don't have to be afraid. I'm never going to leave you. Why would I? You're a great little sister! Ssh, now... take a couple of nice, deep breathes for me, alright?” Rainbow asked her as Scoot started to choke and cough as her body heaved with sobs and distress. “Try not to let your tears fall, just breathe and remember how much of a brave little girl you are.”
Rainbow Dash felt Scootaloo nod under her chin and pulled the filly back in closer to her, one arm wrapped around the back of Scoot's head and one around her back. Dash was doing her best to stay calm herself, fear rising within her as she felt the younger pegasus shivering violently in her arms. However, as the seconds trickled by, the length of time between the spasms was increasing and Scootaloo's crying had grown silent as the filly regained more and more control over herself. It wasn't until Scootaloo's breathing felt and sounded normal did Dash lean back again so she could see the filly's face. She rubbed her arm, surprisingly well dried in the warm sun, across Scootaloo's eyes and then her nose. Tank had made his slow way over to them by now, and was resting his head in Scootaloo's lap. Scootaloo looked down and started petting him softly.
“That's my girl...” Dash said warmly, placing a kiss on Scootaloo's forehead again. “I'm so sorry I told you that, Scootaloo. I really am! What I meant to say... I've gotta go on a little trip soon. Me, and Applejack, and Rarity, and Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, and Twilight. We've all gotta go away for a little while, but we'll come back very soon...”
“How... how come you gotta go?” Scootaloo asked after a moment, her voice very hoarse as she continued to pet the tortoise's head as Tank licked her belly softly, almost like a dog would.
“Well... do you remember when Nightmare Moon came? The six of us had to band together to defeat her, so Princess Luna could come back to her old self and Princess Celestia could return and raise the sun again.” Dash explained, watching Scootaloo nod her head again. “Same thing with that Discord guy... remember when Ponyville went totally nuts?”
Scootaloo gave a tiny giggle. “Heh... yeah...”
“Your sister gotta go beat up the bad guys again with her friends, that's all! And we're gonna be with the Wonderbolts and Princess Luna!”
Scootaloo looked up at her, a small shiver of excitement in her reddened eyes. “Princess Luna too?”
“Yup!” Dash said, nuzzling Scoot with her face. “She's gonna help us. Isn't that cool?”
“Yeah... it is!” Scootaloo agreed, starting to sound cheerful again. “And you're gonna come back, right?”
Dash smiled down at the filly, rubbing her back again. “I'll make sure I do! I could never stay away from my favourite sister forever!”
“I'm your only sister!” Scootaloo corrected her, beaming. “Still your favourite, though!”
Dash placed an arm under either of Scootaloo's arms and lifted her bodily into the air, the filly's grin becoming a radiant smile. “You are, absolutely, my all-time favourite pony ever!” Dash said, smiling up at her. “Forever and ever!”
Scootaloo buzzed her wings gleefully, as if trying to pretend that she was using them to hover in the air. Scoot reached a hoof to her eyes and rubbed them quickly, gazing down at Rainbow Dash in total adoration and affection. “I love you, Sis...”
Dash lowered Scootaloo into her chest, wrapping her arms around the pegasus in another hug. “I love you more!”
“Nuh uh!” Scoot giggled.
“Are you gonna to be a big and brave girl for me while I'm away?” Dash asked, running a hoof through Scootaloo's light fuchsia hair and mane.
Scootaloo nodded into Rainbow Dash's chest. “I'm gonna try... when are you going? Actually, uh... WHERE are you going? How long will you be gone for?”
“I will probably have to go aaall the way across the ocean to Saddle Arabia! I dunno when we're gonna be leaving or how long I'll be gone, but I shouldn't be gone very long!” Dash explained, gently lowering Scootaloo on to the grass and standing up, stretching.
“How far away is Saddle Arabia?” The filly asked, standing up herself and looking alive with interest.
“It's across the water east of Manehattan. Maybe, eh... take the distance from here to Manehattan, and times it by, like... four or five. Saddle Arabia is right next to the ocean. It's really not that far!” Dash answered, giving a gesture to the turtle and wading back into the pond for another break from the sun.
“... how far away is Manehattan?” Scootaloo asked, frowning.
Dash gave a sigh, shivering slightly from the cool water. “Not that far away, I guess! You can get there by train in like six hours. Know what's crazy? The Wonderbolts just flew back from Saddle Arabia, in one go! Just with their wings! They got back early!”
“Wow!” Scootaloo exclaimed in amazement.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Dash said, seeing Scootaloo bending low near the ground and wiggling her rump as if she were a panther ready to pounce upon her prey. Rainbow pretended not to notice, and turned to face away from Scoot. “My friends and I will probably be taking the train and then a boat.”
“I WANNA GO!” Scootaloo yelled, giving a great leap in an attempt to tackle Rainbow Dash, as Dash had expected.
“Ha!” Dash yelled, crouching low in the shallows so Scootaloo would miss.
The filly dived into a deeper part of the pond and resurfaced moments later, her moderate cerise hair plastered all over her grinning face. Dash waded over to her, feeling warmth in her heart as she stared down at the little pegasus. A little splash behind them informed her that Tank had reached the water again.
“C'mon, Scoots! You know you're not allowed to go! There's gonna be dangerous stuff!” Dash said, parting the wet hair on Scootaloo's forehead with her hooves.
“Cool!” Scootaloo grinned. “C'mon, Rainbow Dash! Noting is dangerous to you! It sounds really fun!”
Dash smiled sadly back at her, plopping down in the water so it came up to her shoulders and throwing herself backwards with a splash. “It's not going to be like that, though...” Rainbow explained, floating along on her back. She was worried to explain why, fearing another surge of anxiety. Dash trudged carefully on. “It's gonna be a lot harder, I think. We're gonna have so many ponies on our side because the bad guys are a lot harder to beat. No little fillies allowed, this is grown-ups only! Yes, that includes me!” Dash gave a giggle, trying to prevent Scootaloo sassing her.
Rainbow drifted along peacefully, eyes closed. She felt very relieved that the conversation had gone much more smoothly than the disastrous first few minutes had foreshadowed. With a little bump, Dash felt Tank swimming alongside her and she rubbed her hoof over his head again. Her ears perked as she listened to Scootaloo zipping around in the water all around her, a constantly buzz from her wings, which seemed to be flapping fast enough to repel the water.
Dash sighed sadly. The little orange pegasus would have been such a great flier if her wings had developed properly. Rainbow Dash turned her head in the direction of the noise, opening her eyes and watching Scootaloo race by, blinking as the pond water splashed at her eyes. Really, though, it didn't matter that Scoot couldn't fly, Rainbow thought. 'You're perfect in every way already...' She closed her eyes again and breathed deeply through her nostrils, a great contentedness flooding her pores.
Oof!
Scootaloo must have dived down in the deepest part of the pond and breached the water like a seal, because she had landed hard on Rainbow's stomach, driving all of the air out of her lungs. Rainbow thrashed about as the filly roared with laughter.
“Brat!” Dash groaned, giving Scootaloo a quick tug on the ear. “Warn me next time!”
“Okaaay, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo grinned, speaking in a voice heavy with sarcasm. “I'll just tell you whenever I'm gonna jump on you out of no where!”
Dash rolled her eyes, placing a hoof on top of Scootaloo's head and pushing her down beneath the water, flopping backwards once more and drifting along again.
The rest of the day passed by in a blur of laughter and enjoyment. They continued to play with one another and Tank in the water for awhile before returning to Ponyville proper. Dash bought Scootaloo a large chocolate and strawberry sundae and a milkshake from Sugarcube Corner, a new doll and boardgame from the toy shop as a present for doing so well in her grades, and a couple of new books from the bookstore. Dash thought it was about time Scoot owned her very first Daring Do novel. According to Cheerilee, Scootaloo's reading level was quite advanced. Dash was sure Scoot could handle reading it by herself, but she had a better idea.
The pair of them rounded off the day with a nice and warm bath together. Rainbow could tell that Scootaloo was growing very tired, and knew the perfect way for the little pegasus to fall asleep. Dash dried the filly off, not caring to avoid messing up Scoot's hair or mane as she ruffled it with the towel.
“Brush your teeth, kiddo! Then come downstairs, 'kay?” Dash said, giving Scoot a quick peck on the cheek.
Once both were downstairs, Rainbow had curled up on the couch, wrapped up in a blanket with the child cuddled into her. She pulled the little book open for the first time, hearing a small crack as the spine bent. She began to read the adventure story to Scootaloo. She had one arm wrapped around Scootaloo, book in hoof as she turned the pages with the other. It was an exciting novel, starting off with Daring Do already exploring an ancient temple full of deadly traps. Dash could feel Scootaloo's wings quivering with excitement during tense moments. Scoot's own arms were around Dash's, holding it tightly against her chest.
By the third chapter, however, Dash realizes that Scoot had stopped exclaiming in joy or wondering aloud what Daring would do. Dash reached over to the coffee table and dropped the book, still open, on to it and lifted the covers slightly, allowing a wing to reach down and embrace the filly. Scootaloo had fallen asleep with her arms still clinging to Dash's own. Rainbow Dash made no attempt to get up, she merely closed her own eyes and sighed happily.
“I love you, Scoots.” She whispered to the sleeping girl, nuzzling into the filly's hair. “Please don't get worried when I have to go. You're such a strong girl.”
Even if this respite would only be temporary, it was the perfect ending to a very long day.