So yes, I survived. Vinyl was able to rain in Lightning Strike before she dropped kicked me from two hundred feet. Don’t worry, no Scootaloos were hurt in that last chapter.
Anyway it was a few days later that something happened which I think is worth writing about. To set this up, a bit about my new friend Lightning Strike is in order. Lightning has her moments of awkwardness, but also her moments of awesomeness. One of those moments of awesomeness is all about her training with Vinyl Scratch. A couple months ago she actually started doing concerts with Vinyl, but not as a DJ, instead as a kind of pyrotechnics pony. She can command electricity you see, and boy does it look cool when she calls down lightning as Vinyl drops the base.
Lightning’s shows gave me an idea. Actually it gave Rainbow Dash a good idea and I seconded it. Lightning wasn’t the only one good at showing off. I was capable of doing some sick moves on my scooter, so why not make a dare devil act?
Rainbow shut down my idea to jump Ghastly Gorge unaided, something about safety concerns and other lame stuff. Instead my death defying stunt was turned into a series of high flying scooter tricks. Rainbow Dash and I drew up a plan of how the act would go and once finished, I scooted off to go show my fellow crusaders, having them join me in a grassy field near town square.
“Ah thought yer ma said ya couldn't jump the gorge cause it wannint safe. Now yer jumpin' over houses?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Mostly I'm riding horizontally along the walls of the houses,” I corrected. “I only jump the one.”
“Oh... ah can't make head r' tales of this map.”
“You can do this?” asked Sweetie. I nodded.
“Can you show me how? Maybe I can do it with you... maybe?” asked Dusk. I was about to nod again, but I saw a glare from Lightning that made me believe it best to shake my head “no”.
“But it looks like you plan to be pretty high up on the houses when you skate on them, how are you supposed to get up there?” asked Sweetie.
“You can read this?!” demanded Apple Bloom. “How?”
“It's a vertical layout map Apple Bloom, the legend is right here,” Sweetie instructed.
“It has a legend? Wow... thorough.” Apple Bloom complimented, studying the map with renewed interest. “What's this?”
“The sun,” I replied.
“Why is that on the map?” Apple Bloom asked.
“Cause you always put the sun on the map,” I replied.
“I still want to know how you're supposed to get up so high,” Sweetie reiterated.
“Well fly obviously,” came the voice of Rainbow Dash as she landed on the other side of the map as we continued to study it.
“Exactly!” I shouted. “That's where you come in Lightning Strike.”
“Lightning?” Rainbow asked. “Um... really?”
“Yea. We'll make it an official Cutie Mark Crusaders... thing,” I said.
“What r' the rest of us supposed to do?” asked Apple Bloom.
“Cheer me on.” I replied. “You can be my cheer leaders, maybe you'll get cutie marks in that!” Sweetie smiled at this suggestion, however Apple Bloom lowered her eyebrows. “What?” She just shook her head in response to me.
“You'll need to practice,” Rainbow Dash pointed out.
“Right, Lightning you understand the layout?” I asked.
“Not in the slightest!” Lightning shouted with enthusiasm. “But I'm willing to try.”
“You sure you want Lightning to do this with you?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Yea, who else is there?”
“Well... me?” she asked in an odd way. I looked up at her with a slight grimace. I knew she was just being nice because I was her daughter, but I didn't like that. I wasn't charity any more on this, one of my friends could fly now. No way Rainbow Dash would have volunteered to help with a couple silly scooter tricks back when she was still my sister. Doubt she would have even stuck around to watch me do tricks before. “You don't have to do it with me,” Rainbow Dash said. I thought I heard her sigh, but I must have been hearing things. She kept smiling after all. I nodded and pointed at a spot on the map. “The first jump is over here Lightning, I'll meet you there.” I scooted off.
Lightning met me next to a large two story hay house. “You sure you don't want your mom to do this with you?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Rainbow Dash is way too cool to be just assisting me with scooter jumps.
“But I think she wants to.”
“I've known her way longer than you Lightning. Trust me, she's way too cool for this,” I looked at my scooter. “Maybe after I get really good.” I continued with a small sigh. I looked up to notice Lightning wasn't really looking at me. That seemed a little rude if you ask me. Here I was having this big sad moment and she couldn't even be bothered to look at me.
“Right, so where do you want me?” asked Lightning, looking up at the house.
“Where it says on the map. C'mon the other's are watching,” I said, waving a hoof at Rainbow Dash and the rest of the CMC. I started up my wings and shot forward circling around the house, waiting for Lightning to grab me around the waist and fly me around until we built up enough speed so I could ride along the side of a house, just like the notes on the other side of the map said. Did I actually show the others the other side of the map? Lightning flew up and started circling around. “Um...”
“Hold on,” she said, just circling up there, oddly looking at Rainbow Dash and not me. “Um... GOT IT!” She shot back down to me but she was a little off center in her decent and- WHAM! She crashed into the side of the house, her wing snapping like a twig. “OW!” she screamed. “OW, OW, OW! HELP!” I quickly turned my scooter sideways, it not stopping so I just rolled with the momentum. Finally coming to a stop I rushed over to Lightning, Rainbow Dash and the rest of the CMC there within seconds.
Lightning staggered to her hooves, looking at her busted up wing. “Ow,” she said again, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Guess me helping is out of the question then,” she hissed several times as she moved her wing. “Apple Bloom, can you walk with me to the clinic?”
“You sure you don't want me to carry you kid?” asked Rainbow Dash. “I broke a wing once, it's no fun. Twilight had to carry me in.”
“No... you just practice with Scootaloo, I'll just... stagger... to the clinic with Apple Bloom.” Lightning started walking away, Apple Bloom running over to her side and tucking Lightning's right foreleg over her shoulders. I watched them walk away. Lightning looked to be hurt pretty bad and with each uneasy step she took, I grew a little more concerned about my newest friend.
“She'll be okay right?” I finally asked Rainbow Dash. I didn't think she could know one way or another, but I was compelled to ask.
Without much explanation I suddenly heard Lightning Strike shout, “WHY AM I SO STUPID!?”
“They will need an adult to check them in,” Rainbow Dash said with a raised eyebrow. “Oh! Yea squirt, she should be fine in a few days if not sooner.” Thus we all visited the clinic for a few minutes checking in Lightning, rather than practicing.
Lightning however insisted that I go back out and practice. Once the nurses took her off to treat her, her brother staying behind to wait in the waiting room for her (she gets panic attacks if she doesn't know where he is, poor filly, hope they can fix that for her one day) the rest of us went back to the field.
I sighed. I knew Lightning would be fine, that wasn't bothering me. Just the very idea of asking my idol to be my sidekick... I knew she would so hate me for even asking but well... “Rainbow Dash?” I asked. She raised her eyebrow to me. “I mean, mom. Would you mind too much... I mean if it's not a problem... could you be my flier?”
I looked up at her I and swear I saw a grin, but it disappeared just that fast. “Well I did help you make the routine so I suppose it would make sense if I help out at least in practice right?”
I got back to my position. “Scootaloo! Scootaloo! Show us just what you can do!” shouted Sweetie Belle. I smiled.
Next to her Apple Bloom started studying my map again saying. “Needs work Sweetie.”
“It was good!” Sweetie objected.
“Eh.” Apple Bloom said with a shrug. “Not much into cheering anyway, however ah AM going to figure out this map.”
Sweetie shrugged. “Oh well. Those who can't do criticize.”
Deciding to tune them out, I started up my wings, beating them faster and faster until finally I shot forward. I zipped around the house once, twice and then was snatched up by Rainbow Dash, stopping my wings. She shot across the street and turned sideways, releasing me so I could skate along the side of a house. I zipped along the wall and off the other side.
As I came off the other side of the wall, Rainbow Dash caught me. She then flew over to a different house with me, moving quickly through the air. She dropped me onto a roof, the momentum from the flight letting me shoot forward even on the thatch. Rainbow flew two circles over me as I shot off the roof and she caught me just before I met the ground. She then flew those two circles in the air again, this time carrying me. I started up my wings again just before I was dropped against the ground. I shot forward along the street, zipping towards an overturned cart with a small board leading over it.
Zooming forward I aimed for the board and- accidentally applied pressure to the wrong part of the board, tipping it forward. I hit the board and went flying, crashing head first into the overturned cart.
“Scoots!” I heard Rainbow Dash shout. My neck ached as Rainbow Dash lifted me up and placed me on the soft hay inside the wagon. “You okay?” My neck hurt a little and I was a bit nauseous, but I was still able to slowly stand up. I stood for a moment, Rainbow Dash looking down at me, waiting for me to respond. Finally the world stopped tilting in my vision and I blinked a few times, the pain fading in my neck. I nodded. “Thank Celestia I had my helmet.”
“No kidding.” I looked back to where my friends had been. They hadn't run to me and I was starting to wonder why. Huffing and puffing, the two had apparently just returned. Now they both had pom poms and were wearing weird cheerleader outfits. “Um...”
“Scootaloo, Scootaloo... what the heck just happened to you?” they said in unison, doing a small routine.
“Um...” Rainbow Dash stuttered. She twisted her neck looking at them. “Okay, I know Sweetie loves singing.... so I guess cheering that makes sense but... AB... what's she doing?”
“Well you see,” I started. “Sweetie has this way of getting us to do things. It just sort of happens. She says a few words and suddenly we're doing whatever she wants... it's creepy sometimes...” I watched the two continued some strange cheering routine, something having to do with asking me if I was okay. “Yea I'm fine!” I shouted back.
Rainbow Dash shivered. “I'm glad she's on our side,” she noted.
“Ah am so much better than ya'll at this!” shouted Apple Bloom.
“Shake those pom poms!” shouted Sweetie Belle.
“Well, we have a cheering section,” Rainbow Dash commented. “You want to go again?” I nodded. She then smirked. “Just one thing. What's my name?”
“Rainbow- sh- ah- mom.”
“Try again.”
“Mom.”
“Didn't quite catch that,” she said, turning up her ear and leaning towards me. I smiled. “MOM, MY MOM IS RAINBOW DASH!” I yelled. I grinned. “And I love her,” I added quietly. Mom grinned back at me. Before I knew it was wrapped in a huge blue hug. “Are we gonna go again? We only got half way through.” I asked.
“In a minute, this is too awesome!” mom said, squeezing me tighter.