A Dream of Flight

by Tofazz

Clouds of Reminiscence

Clouds of Reminiscence

Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash burst through a cloud, leaving a funnel in their wake. The wind brushed harshly against their faces, making it hard for Scootaloo to keep her eyes open. But she had never felt anything like this!

Her mane was tossed back from the strong winds that blew up here. Even as she was fully focused on holding onto Rainbow Dash, she couldn’t help but feel a rush of joy and excitement as they dashed through some more clouds.

She easily understood why Dash enjoyed flying so much. This feeling… was unimaginable, like she was free of all things that bothered her.

They broke the top layer of clouds, stopping right over them. As Scootaloo looked around, she saw a landscape like no other. Mountain ranges of clouds going as far as she could see, small beams of light breaking through the cloud joints. The sun peeked up over the cloud layer, with a deep, orange glow. It almost looked like a brilliant gem far off in the distance.

“This is why I fly so much, squirt. This is the feeling of true freedom. And the sun looks kinda cool as well. Makes you think…”

Rainbow halted her sentence. It did make her think: about why she went looking for Scootaloo.

---

*~*~*

The door to Sugarcube corner opened up, letting out a small squeak. A light blue pegasus entered, looking around for something, or somepony. The pegasus made an angry frown towards the door as it creaked open.

The restaurant was unusually empty for this time of the day. A few colts sat around a small table in the corner, chattering loudly about some kind of sport. A couple sat near the window, looking at each other with deep fascination, sharing a few sips of a single drink while waiting for their food to arrive.

The light blue pegasus started to walk towards the back of the room; she had found who she was looking for. The sun was at its peak, streaming light down on the floor through the big windows, and she cast a great shadow through the restaurant as she walked through the squares of light. The sound of her hooves hitting the wooden floor could easily be heard over the low chatter in Sugarcube Corner. She stopped at the last square of light, looking at somepony in the shadows.

“Fluttershy, how come you’re sitting in the dark? Wouldn’t it be better to sit in the sun?”

The butter-yellow pegasus looked towards Rainbow Dash through her pale rose mane. It draped over her face, covering most of it. As she looked up, a beam of light hit her face, revealing the soft blue eyes that gave of what a timid creature she was. Her eyes darted around for just a second, looking for something that could pose a threat to her. Finally, she looked at Rainbow Dash with a sad frown pulling her face.

“Dash…” She halted her sentence, sighing before she continued. “We need to talk about her…”

Rainbow Dash took a step back, looking at Fluttershy with distrust and anger. “You promised you wouldn’t talk about her like that again!”
Dash stomped the wooden floor as she yelled towards Fluttershy.

Sugarcube Corner fell dead silent. Fluttershy cringed in her seat. She had expected this kind of reaction, but it was still terrifying for her. Her hoof scraped the floor as she thought how she was going to say what came next. Her eyes focused on the light blue pegasus standing in front of her.

She had realized a long time ago that the Dash everyone knew was just a shell; what hid beneath was known only to her. Dash was fragile, much like her. Fluttershy looked into Dash’s red eyes, her heart clenched as she saw how much the proud pegasus struggled to hold back her tears.

“Have you seen her lately? Haven’t you seen how much she wonders? Wondering why she’s down here with the earth ponies, instead of being up there with the pegasi? She’s struggling, Dash; she has no idea who she is or where she came from.”

Fluttershy stopped, looking for a reaction from her friend. Dash sat down on the floor, staring out in the empty air. A small tear fell on the floor from her chin. Fluttershy was uncertain how she was going to continue, seeing as her friend was at her breaking point.

“Dash…” she said with her smoothest voice, trying to put some comfort into her sentence. “You need to tell her. She has a right to know.”

Rainbow Dash started to shake. Her head was tilted towards the floor, causing her multi-colored mane to drape a shadow over her face. Small glimmers of sunlight reflected in the shadow as they hit her tears.

“You don’t understand, Flutters…” she said with a shaky voice, struggling not to have it break during the sentence. “Every time I see her, I get reminded of him... and what he did to me. I can’t handle that, Fluttershy, it’s too much for me.”

A small creak rang out as Fluttershy stood up and pushed the chair backwards on the floor. Her careful steps could barely be heard while she walked. She sat down in front of her friend.

“You’re right; I don’t understand. But it’s wrong to take it out on her.” Fluttershy grabbed hold of her friend and held her tight. She whispered into Dash’s ear, “But now… you need to wake up, she needs you. Wake up.”

*~*~*

Rainbow Dash snapped out of her flashback. The sun still gleamed orange over the skies. Some birds flew over her and Scootaloo, chirping happily, as if they wanted the two of them to join for a flight. Rainbow Dash looked behind her to see if Scootaloo was ready for a little dash between some clouds. Scootaloo looked up at the birds, her expression dreamy. Like she now was flying with them on her own. She looked towards Dash, nodded and tightened her grip.

They crashed through a few clouds, demolishing them completely. Small pockets of water inside the clouds splashed around them. Some of it landed on their coats, creating a shining shield together with the sun beams hitting them. Some got caught in the vortex behind them, leaving a small trail of mist. As the sun hit the mist it created a streak of beautiful colors in their wake.

While they flew over the cloud-tops of the sky, Dash was heavy in thought. Fluttershy was right, as usual. Dash looked at Scootaloo, seeing an innocent smile of joy. She knew nothing about her past, nor did she care at the moment it seemed.

How could Dash blame her for something a colt did so many years ago?

They slowed down and landed on a small hill of clouds that rose out of the others. Scootaloo clung onto Rainbow Dash’s neck even tighter; it almost stopped her breathing and caused her to cough vigorously. She understood her, though; even if she was a pegasus, she had never stood on a cloud before, and that could easily be scary for anypony. She looked back and saw Scootaloo’s terrified face looking down at the cloud.

“Don’t worry, squirt, you’re a pegasus! You’ll be fine, trust me.”

Scootaloo tilted her head to the side, looking at the misty cloud under them. Slowly, she let go of Rainbow Dash and stepped onto it with her eyes closed.

It felt like cotton under her hooves.

She opened her eyes and looked at Dash with awe. She shook like a leaf in the wind, not daring to move an inch, but she still smiled, overjoyed for finally feeling the clouds under her hooves. She felt like a real pegasus for the first time.

Rainbow Dash stood there, watching Scootaloo being overwhelmed with joy for something that seemed so trivial. A warm sensation grew inside her, spreading out to all limbs. A feeling she hadn’t felt for ages; she did really love this foal.

She realized that no matter what her past is, it wasn’t fair to take it out on such an innocent foal.

It was time to tell her. It would hurt, but it was the right thing to do.

“Listen, Squirt, even though you have trouble flying now, it will come to you. If you work hard with determination, nothing can stop you from becoming a great flyer like me. And I know one day you’ll make me proud, prouder even than I am today…”

Scootaloo leaped from the spot that she had earlier been frozen in place in and grabbed hold of Rainbow Dash. She got caught off guard by the sudden burst from Scootaloo. With a surprised look on her face she fell backwards onto the cloud they were standing on, and Scootaloo landed on top of her.

Lying there with the little pegasus on top of her, Dash was uncertain what to do in such a situation. With a hesitant motion Dash folded her wings, embracing Scootaloo within them. She looked at Scootaloo and felt a warm tug in her heart as she saw her smile. She grabbed hold of Scootaloo and pulled her into a tighter hug.

They lay like that on top of the soft cloud for quite some time. Dash opened her eyes with a tear running down her cheek; there was no doubt, it was time to tell her. Dash pulled Scootaloo away from her just enough so she could see her face.

“Listen... Squirt...”

Scootaloo placed a hoof on Dash’s mouth, shook her head while smiling.

“Before you say anything Dash... please... wake up!”

Comments

[SuperPinkBrony12]

I want to ask what some colt did to Rainbow Dash that has her so upset but I have a feeling I'm going to find out.

[brad70505]

What a twist.