Under Her Wing Reviews: Chapters 1 Through 5 · 8:00pm Jan 20th, 2017

Video made by Magicbiped.

I know this'll probably come as a shock to all of you, but I am a huge Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo fan.

Are you over the shock yet? Well too bad, I'll just get started.

I also really like alternate universe fanfics that are creatively done, and today's is one such example. Its an interesting alternate universe fanfic where, well actually there's a lot of differences, but the most obvious one is that Rainbow Dash is human in a world full of ponies.

How? Well, the fanfic explains it, so I'll let you find out over the course of the reviews, but it'll make sense I promise.

So lets begin Tinyweasel's fanfic Under Her Wing.

---Chapter 1: Dashing Into Action---

The fanfic starts out with Rainbow Dash daydreaming that she's flying as a Pegasus before her daydream is interrupted by Pinkie Pie who commented that it was really fun. The two of them are on a tandem hang glider watching over a Wonderbolts event so that they can show foals that can't fly that even the flightless can soar.

Below them on a cloud platform is a Unicorn along with six fillies and colts. The show goes pretty well, except for the fact that its a lot higher than she had expected them to be at since its at almost 9000 feet... I'm not going to make the obvious joke since its not actually at that point yet.

It seems that the two Pegasi and Unicorns that had been picked weren't exactly the best choices since they're not the rookies that where supposed to do it and the Unicorn seems to be afraid of heights. Yeah, great choices to watch kids! Pinkie tries to reassure Rainbow and tell her that everything will be okay.

With that they start the show, the clouds still getting in their way, the two of them having the cloud walking spell on them. It then turns out that for some reason the two Pegasi have turned their radios off, Rainbow of course isn't thrilled and Pinkie starts to reassure him when all of a sudden...

Video belongs to Hasbro.

Yep, something is about to fall, Rainbow doesn't even miss a beat as she starts to look for the pony team. They finally find them, but there is a problem, since, well, there's always a problem:

"Oh horse apples. Five, not six!" Rainbow shouted and in an instant she detached herself from the glider and swept her arms and legs straight back, plunging nearly straight down. She knew Pinkie would somehow get the attention of the others, then once the pegasi realized they were short one kid they would panic for a few seconds, try to fly down and forget they were tethered to the cloud. It would take a few seconds more for the equally panicked unicorn to release them, then they’d leave the unicorn and kids stranded on a cloud at 9,000 feet and begin flapping wildly trying to catch up, but they wouldn’t have a clue how to do it. They knew how to fly, but she knew how to fall.

Yeah, one of the foals has fallen off the cloud and Rainbow Dash goes in for a dive to save them. She scans the area ahead of her trying to see the falling filly, and she spots an orange shape tumbling somewhere beneath her. She works hard to maneuver herself to catch the foal, trying to get a straight line on it in her wing suit as she avoids the clouds, threading the needle between two of the clouds.

At the same time Rainbow is starting to get a strange rainbow effect in the corners of her vision and she's afraid that she's going to pass out from the G-forces, however she doesn't have time to dwell on that. They have about 45 seconds until impact, the filly is ahead of her flapping her wings furiously to try and get lift, she finally can make out the pony as a small Pegasus filly with an orange coat and purple mane and tail.

Yep, even when she's human Rainbow Dash will be there for Scootaloo, even if she doesn't know it at the time.

Rainbow Dash has only seconds to do this by this point, and as they pass 1000 feet she manages to reach out and take the filly. She manages to release her chute, and the filly manages to get out an I'm sorry before they hit the ground and everything goes black.

While its a bit short, its actually an amazingly done scene, and actually the fast pace lends to it well. It shows how tense it is for Rainbow in a way that a slower pace wouldn't be able to convey, its not done because of poor writing, its because of the situation, and I like it.

So, moving on.

---Chapter 2: Recovery and Answers---

So Rainbow Dash wakes up in the hospital to the sound of muffled voices, she remembers what a retired Wonderbolt had once told her about the four types of crashes:

1. Your friends gather around you and have a laugh at your expense while you dust yourself off.
2. Your friends and family gather around your hospital bed and have a laugh at your expense, but it's an awkward, uncomfortable laugh as they know it could have been much worse.
3. You wake in a hospital bed and your immediate family is at the far end of the room talking in whispers with the doctors.
4. They gather what's left of you and put you in a pine box.

Thankfully for Rainbow dash it seems to be a category 2 so she's fine.

Its also at this point that we become aware of one of the other changes in this alternate universe (yes, there are multiple ones), it seems that Applejack is instead named Apple Jewel, more on this later.

Anyway Rainbow manages to come into focus to find her friends gathered around her, her leg is in a cast but nothing else seemed to be broken at the time. It also seems that Discord is pretty much the same in this universe because he sent Rainbow a flower full of vases instead of the other way around.

Then Rainbow recalls exactly why she had crashed and is worried about the filly that she had rescued. Thankfully she's okay and just has some bumps and bruises so she'll make it. It seems that they had also salvaged the memory orb... err, I mean recording crystal from Rainbow's flight suit, and her friends are all glad that she is alive and also said that she was brave for risking her life like that.

Rainbow realizes that she has no idea where she is at this point it turns out that she's at the Canterlot Royal Hospital under the care of a gray Unicorn Stallion named Dr. Gray... he must've had very original parents. It turns out that when she had arrived, she had broken every bone in her body below her rib-cage in the crash, geez Dashie, not one of your better landings. At this point magic is pretty much the only thing holding her skeleton together, so she's going to have to take it easy for awhile.

Rainbow tries to protest, but she just gets some pain for her trouble, she gets some crutches so she can move around a little. She asks about her wing suit, but it had to be cut off of her so it didn't survive the crash. Then we get... this line that is a bit... interesting since it once again showcases a difference in the universe:

"I must say, it is always a big event when one of the royal sisters visits the hospital, but for all three of them to show up showed this was a matter of national importance."

Yeah, three royal sisters, this'll be kind of explained but honestly I'm still not 100% sure about why this is, we'll discuss this more when we get to that point.

We also learn that even though she's human Rainbow Dash does have a cutie mark that she earned at some point. There's no real explanation at the moment, but it seems that she's the only human with a cutie mark, which is interesting.

So then there's a knock at the door and the filly that Rainbow had rescued came in and hugs the still sore Rainbow. The filly apologizes for almost killing her and thanks her for saving her. Rainbow reassures her and asks her name, and even if I hadn't said it I'm sure you know who it is, its Scootaloo.

Like I said, even in human form Rainbow is there for her.

Apparently Scootaloo had gotten so caught up in the excitement that she had tried to fly and lost track of the cloud, and of course Rainbow Dash is angry at the Wonderbolts for letting this happen, and you can't blame her. Even if she doesn't know Scootaloo at this point, they had nearly gotten a pony killed because of a stupid mistake.

Tears were streaming down Scootaloo's face as she looked up at Dash, admiring. "That was the most amazing thing ever! I was sure I was gonna die, but there you were, flying towards me to save me, my guardian angel." She choked up as she relived the moment, leaning forward and this time very gently resting her head against her hero. Rainbow patted Scootaloo's head.

Its a very sweet moment between these two characters and very nicely done. Scootaloo is still freaking out, but Rainbow Dash calms her down and forgives her for the accident. Then Rainbow Dash is surprised by the arrival of a light brown Unicorn mare named Lady Golden Meadow that she recognizes. It turns out that Rainbow Dash spent seven years at the orphanage that Golden Meadow runs in Cloudsburg, where Scootaloo now lives.

It turns out that despite being human Rainbow Dash in this universe was raised by ponies, and speaking of which her Dad also decides to arrive at just this moment. He tells her that he's proud of her for what she did, and Rainbow introduces him as Fullbright Dash, interesting choice of names but okay.

I just like this sequence so here it is:

Fullbright reached down and rubbed the filly's mane. "Hey Scootaloo. Nice to meet you!" he said with a smile.
"But I nearly got her killed," Scootaloo protested.
"But she didn't die. So no worries, kid."
"This would be a lot easier if you two were mad at me."
Rainbow Dash laughed and rubbed Scootaloo's head again. "No such luck, kiddo. You're forgiven and you're gonna like it."

And that ends the chapter, a nice more relaxed ending to the chapter compared to the main character nearly dying like with chapter 1.

---Chapter 3: A Visit From Dad and the Power Over the Press---

Chapter 3 begins where chapter 2 left off of course with them in Rainbow Dash's room talking until Golden Meadow says that its time for Scootaloo to go. Rainbow Dash smiles and says that she's glad she got to meet Scootaloo and tells her that she's a cool kid, its a great scene that really highlights the connection these two characters have already started to form.

When Scootaloo leaves Rainbow seems sad and her dad asks what's wrong. It turns out that Rainbow sees a lot of herself in Scootaloo and is worried that the other foals pick on her. Her dad who is easily one of the coolest characters in the fic has this to say:

"Rainbow, that may be the case, but you gave her something special today—a role model. Somepony to look up to. For a filly who has nothing, that's everything."

Fullbright stays with Rainbow for awhile longer before he has to go, it seems that he had come to Canterlot with someone but doesn't go into any further detail, remember that for later. Rainbow wonders if this means that he's started dating again and chuckles a little at that.

The next morning Rainbow is awoken to find out that she has been invited to have breakfast with the Princesses if she's feeling up for it. She manages to get out of the hospital and into a flying carriage and soon finds herself on a balcony with the three Princesses. The youngest of which, Luna who is just a filly tries to hug her enthusiastically, only to be stopped by Nightmare Moon who insists that she is in no condition for hugs.

Okay, this is like the one change I honestly don't really know a lot about, Nightmare Moon and Luna are, two separate ponies somehow, and... well honestly I don't exactly know why this is a thing. Its an interesting idea to be sure, but I feel like I'm missing something, maybe it was explained later and I forgot, just blame Discord or something, I dunno.

Rainbow dash is seated by Celestia and Nightmare Moon says that they want to pay her homage for her bravery.

Huh, I thought Homage wasn't born for another 200 years or so.

Okay, Fallout: Equestria jokes aside, its a good scene with all three Princesses complimenting her for her bravery at the incident. Luna seems to have something special planned for Rainbow, and Celestia and Nightmare Moon have something they want to talk to Rainbow about.

It seems that they have been withholding most of the story from the press until they can talk to Rainbow about it. Rainbow tells the story and her concerns, and as it turns out the accident had been the result of the ponies that where supposed to be doing this sending their underlings to do it instead, compounded by an error in the notes that lead to it being 9000 feet instead of 900. Rainbow Dash responds about as well as you'd expect:

"We nearly died because some ponies couldn't be bothered to do their job?" Rainbow shouted in outrage.

Celestia asks Rainbow what she thinks should be done about it, Rainbow starts by saying that until a full safety overhaul of the system was done no more foals should be taken up like that, which Celestia agrees to and even offers to put Rainbow in charge of it so she can make sure its safe.

Then Nightmare seems to take a rather fiendish glee in the idea of punishing the ponies that should have been in charge of the whole thing and shirked their responsibilities. Rainbow dash instead of saying they should be punished majorly decides that they should have to do community service, and Nightmare Moon is obviously dissapointed about it so she asks why, and Rainbow Dash explains:

"Sorry, princess. I just don't want to make a big deal over it because of the filly I saved. If you make them an example to everypony, then everypony will know about Scootaloo. It’s got to be rough for her to begin with. She's an orphan, she can't fly and has no cutie mark. That's the trifecta of unfortunate for a kid. She'll be held up as a spectacle to the whole country. It would be so humiliating for her. If it’s possible, try to keep her name out of this mess."

Its a good character moment for Rainbow, it shows that even though she's human, she is still the element of loyalty. She just wants to keep Scootaloo safe and Celestia and Nightmare Moon understand that and agree to do so, with Celestia saying that she'd get the press to bury the story and does so, saying that it'll just be mentioned as a training accident.

Video belongs to Disney.

So we finally get to see what Luna made for Rainbow Dash, its apparently a portrait of Rainbow Dash's face, its actually pretty adorable, and I like this idea of Luna being a filly in the fic even if I feel like I've missed the explanation somehow. It also shows a bit of the dynamic between Luna and Nightmare Moon, that Nightmare Moon does care for Luna, even if she is a bit of a, in Rainbow Dash's words, "Draconian Mary Poppins."

Yeah, lots of pop culture references in this fic.

An hour later they get the newspaper, and indeed the story has been relegated to page 8, and of course Rainbow wonders what story Celestia gave them. I'll just let you read it:

Celestia turned the paper around so Rainbow Dash could see the front page headline: Griffins to perform in this year's Equestrian Idol.
Rainbow Dash burst out laughing, despite how much it hurt.

---Chapter 4: A Humble Wonderbolt and an Awkward Dinner---

Its the next evening and Rainbow is trying to read a book, but she keeps getting distracted by the fact that she's going to be discharged from the Hospital the next day. That's when there's a familiar female voice from the door as Spitfire comes in to check on her. Apparently she's just come from a meeting with the Princesses who are understandably mad at the Wonderbolts for the whole incident, but she's grateful to Rainbow that it was kept out of the papers, and of course Rainbow Dash reminds her that if it had ended the other way it would have been Tartarus to pay.

Apparently Nightmare Moon had wanted to bring back an ancient punishment called the Burden, while it doesn't go into detail, I'm gonna guess that its not pleasant based on Spitfire's reaction. After a discussion of the parachute, Spitfire asks Rainbow what she wants to do with the other Wonderbolts, and honestly I love Rainbow's answer:

“Well, I’m sure they’re feeling the heat too right now, so they all know they royally screwed up. What you guys really need to do is apologize to Scootaloo. She got the raw deal here and she’s the one who’s owed the bigger apology. Some ‘biggest fan’ treatment for Scootaloo from the proper Wonderbolts and I’ll consider that apology enough.”

Have I mentioned how much I love Rainbow Dash?

Spitfire agrees to this and says that she along with Soarin, Fleetfoot, and the two Pegasi that should have been running the whole thing will do that as soon as they can. We also get the first mention of the fact that Spitfire had saved Fullbright when he suffered a big crash when he was a Wonderbolt himself.

The next day Rainbow is discharged and sent to stay in the castle for a little bit so she can get a chance to see her Dad and his new Marefriend. Which is what brings her to the Fang and Claw, the only carnivore restaurant in Canterlot, where she's getting a steak... I assume that is imported from the human world since cows can talk in Equestria.

Does anyone else ever wonder what would happen if a horse from the human world came to Equestria?

Anyway, random thoughts aside, she finally spots Fullbright coming in accompanied by a Griffin, a very familiar Griffin, Gilda. Yeah, this is gonna get awkward. The waiter approaches, calling Gilda Miss. Deathwing, which leads to a rather funny moment when Rainbow asks why they said Deathwing when apparently her last name is Dunkleberger... no I'm not joking.

Instantly a claw clasped over her mouth. "It can be Deathwing if people who know different keep their trap shut."

Okay Gilda, its Deathwing, just keep those claws away from me!

So Rainbow asks the obvious question, why is Fullbright here with Gilda? It turns out that he's putting together an aerial performance team and Gilda is going to be the star, and also apparently Gilda has a nickname for him of Red, which will be explained later. So yeah, this is a pretty awkward dinner, especially because there definitely seems to be something going on between Fullbright and Gilda more than just a professional relationship.

Finally Gilda speaks up and apologizes for her behavior when she visited Ponyville before, and Rainbow Dash apologizes as well because of her own behavior. Its also at this point that its, pretty obvious that Fullbright and Gilda are a couple, and Rainbow is trying to be in denial about it to very little success.

Rainbow noted that her dad put a hoof on Gilda's arm and rubbed it gently. No no no, my dad and Gilda aren't a couple. This is just Discord playing a prank and I'm going to punch him when I see him next!

Somewhere Discord is wishing he had thought of this.

Its at this point that Fullbright and Gilda finally decide to admit that they're dating. Apparently Gilda thought that Rainbow would try to stab her with a steak knife when they told her, so its already going better than they expected. Rainbow is now thinking that she's still in the hospital and delirious, which probably makes more sense than Discord playing a prank on her.

Of course the obvious question is whether or not this is a mid-life crisis thing, but apparently the two had started to bond over the air show idea and one thing had lead to another. It, actually seems that Gilda is genuine in loving Fullbright and they want Rainbow to be okay with the whole thing.

So after another long awkward pause with the food arriving, Rainbow decides to change the subject and ask about the air show they're putting together. It turns out that its going to be a combination of a stunt show and a historical reenactment show to set it apart from the Wonderbolts, and that's actually a really interesting idea. Rainbow seems to be behind it, she even suggests talking to Rarity about getting the costumes. Apparently Rainbow is also in what's called the Wonderbolts Auxiliary, which is the closest she can get to being in the Wonderbolts as a human.

Also apparently Apple Jewel is a supermodel in this universe, I honestly don't know what's up with that either. Short version, the Apple family is a bit different in this fanfic, but we'll get to that in a later review.

So things finally get back to normal and they even discuss the idea of Gilda coming back to Ponyville... which of course will result in a party because Ponyville is apparently the Equestria version of Magnolia from Fairy Tail.

---Chapter 5: A Hero's Welcome and Unwelcome Memories---

So its time for Rainbow to come back to Ponyville on... apparently Celestia's airship... not sure why there are airships in Equestria. Rainbow being a thrill seeker of course briefly considers skydiving off the ship, but decides against it because of how badly she had been injured and was still recovering. We also learn more about where the portal is in this universe, apparently its in a building at the base of a mountain, its, pretty interesting to say the least.

When she arrives at Ponyville to a hero's welcome, she also remembers what happened when she had first visited the town in order to visit Fluttershy who she had known from Flight School. Apparently she got pretty much the same treatment as Zecora with ponies panicking and closing the town up to her.

So that's how she wound up sleeping in the Everfree forest, or at least trying to. She's understandably annoyed with the way she was treated and its keeping her awake. Eventually some ponies arrive, and they're not exactly well informed about humans as they're singing a song about all the destruction that they will bring upon Equestria.

"Okay, that's it," Rainbow said, then projected her voice. "I can totally hear you guys out there! Nice song, by the way. Out of curiosity, do you even know what nukes and Ebola are? And even if I had them, which I don't, what makes you think I'd use them in your town?"

You know this actually brings up an interesting question, can diseases be transmitted between humans and ponies in this universe?

Anyway, after they mention the other side of the portal, Rainbow informs them that she had actually been born and raised in Equestria and that she had only come here to see Fluttershy and get some supplies. That's when she hears somepony calling for help, and referring to her by name. Rainbow being Rainbow, doesn't hesitate and grabs her hiking stick and runs towards the sound of the voice.

She finds Pinkie Pie, Apple Jewel, and Rarity (though she doesn't know that yet) surrounded by Timber Wolves, so he runs to their aid. She takes out the timber wolves, throwing the bits away so they can't reform easily. The three ponies look at her frightened for a moment before bolting off.

When Rainbow goes back to her tent to try and sleep a strange thought occurs to her, how did they know her name?

She wakes up the next morning to find her tent surrounded by ponies with a sign that says "Happy Birthday, welcome to Ponyville" on it. They apologize for their rude behavior and ask Rainbow Dash if she'd be willing to give Ponyville a second chance. Rainbow agrees, saying that life's too short to hold a grudge. So of course given that Pinkie is around, this means that they start partying, I know shocking right?

But there's still something that bugs Rainbow Dash:

"So, Pinkie Pie, how did you know my name?" Rainbow asked.
Pinkie opened her mouth, raised a hoof and inhaled to speak, then seemed to get stuck there for a few moments. After several more false starts she just shrugged her shoulders.
"I dunno. You just looked like a Rainbow Dash," Pinkie replied with a smile.

Rainbow, don't question Pinkie Pie, you'll be a lot happier.

---Final Thoughts---

This fanfic is one of the best alternate universes that I've ever had the chance to read. Its creative and manages to portray Rainbow Dash and the other characters well while at the same time being original with the characters.

The idea of Rainbow Dash being a human living in Equestria is not quite something you'd expect to read, but this fanfic approaches it well and handles it beautifully. This is only the start, and you already can see Rainbow Dash's personality shining through in the way she helped Scootaloo without hesitation.

Another great thing about it is all the pop culture references, it gets fun to try and recognize them.

While I admit some of the shipping is a little weird like Dash's dad and Gilda, I let it pass because its a good story.

This fic is amazing and I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to read an alternate take on My Little Pony. And we're just getting started, I'll be reviewing this more soon enough.

Chapter 1 gets a score of 4/5, I have to ding it a little for pacing, but it handles it well enough.
Chapter 2 gets a score of 5/5, it has some genuinely good moments and sets up Rainbow Dash's backstory in the fic a little.
Chapter 3 gets a score of 5/5 because of further characterization being perfect, as well as original concepts being done well.
Chapter 4 gets a score of 5/5 because its handled well.
Chapter 5 gets a score of 4/5, it could be longer but a good chapter.

My Little Pony and all characters belong to Hasbro.
Under Her Wing belongs to Tinyweasels.

Original Fanfic

Well I'm changing my schedule to one a day instead of two, so tomorrow we're back on Finding Home.

Video made by Me.

Report RuinQueenofOblivion · 481 views · #Under Her Wing #Rainbow Dash #Scootaloo #Mane Six #Celestia #Luna #Nightmare Moon #Human Tinyweasels

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Tinyweasels

Tinyweasels #1 · Jan 20th, 2017 · · ·

Thanks for the story review! I really appreciate it. I'm glad you enjoyed the story so much. As for the airships, they are in the series. Watch Sweet and Elite again. :)

RuinQueenofOblivion