An Understanding Heart
By Alaborn
Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.
Chapter 4: Rainbow Dash In Thirty Minutes Flat
Open Book looked out the door. “Strange. It looks like my second appointment isn’t here yet. Let me walk you out, Applejack.”
“Thank you kindly,” the orange mare replied.
The schoolhouse was still after school. Everypony else had already headed home, so the hoofsteps of the two earth ponies were the only sound heard.
“I thought I’d at least hear her by now,” mused Open Book.
Applejack and Open Book stepped out of the schoolhouse. He was ready to see her off, but something caught his eye. A suspiciously low-lying cloud was hovering just outside the schoolhouse. A rainbow-colored tail dangled from it.
“Miss Rainbow Dash?” asked Open Book. “Excuse me, ma’am?” he called louder.
“Ah’m afraid you need to handle it with a bit more force, pardner.” Applejack stared at the cloud, and then inhaled. “RAINBOW DASH! GET YER LAZY FLANK DOWN HERE!” she yelled.
The entire cloud suddenly shook. The pegasus concealed within rolled around, two legs and a wing poking their way out of the cloud before she fully awakened.
The cyan-colored, rainbow-maned head of the pegasus looked down from the cloud. “Eh heh heh. Nice to see you, Applejack!”
“Miss Rainbow Dash? Are you ready for our session?” asked Open Book.
Rainbow Dash stretched. “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” She hovered in the air, and then kicked the cloud away. It dissipated into nothingness.
As Rainbow Dash followed Open Book inside, he said, “We don’t have a lot of time for this session. I want to learn as much as I can about Scootaloo in the time remaining.”
Rainbow Dash lowered her head. “Sorry about that. I should have been waiting inside,” she admitted.
The two ponies stepped inside the office. Open Book took his customary seat and picked up his notes. Rainbow Dash tried to find a comfortable position on one of the benches, and failed; she headed for the beanbag chair instead.
“Miss Dash, Cheerilee suggested that you would be a good pony to talk with, to learn more about Scootaloo,” Open Book said. “But she didn’t mention how you were related.”
“We’re not related,” Rainbow Dash explained. “Scootaloo is my number one fan, head of the Rainbow Dash Fan Club. I like her attitude, so I keep an eye on the squirt,” she said confidently.
“Normally, I like to speak with the parents,” Open Book said. Remembering Apple Bloom’s situation, he waited to see how Rainbow Dash would respond.
“Scootaloo’s parents live in Cloudsdale, so you don’t see them here very often,” Rainbow Dash said. “They both work in the weather factory.”
“Sending a foal away? That sounds unusual,” Open Book commented.
“A lot of pegasus parents choose to send their foals to Ponyville’s school when they’re young,” explained Rainbow Dash. “You know, to help with harmony among ponies and stuff. So the foal stays with volunteers, host families, for most of the time, normally until she’s ready for flight school.”
“I never realized that about Ponyville,” said Open Book. “Back in Canterlot, there’s a sizable pegasus population already living in town, thanks to the Guard. Are all the pegasi foals in school from Cloudsdale?”
“No, there are some who live in town. Mostly the foals from mixed marriages,” said Rainbow Dash. “A few pegasus families live in the area, like the weather team members.”
“It must be lonely for Scootaloo, being on her own,” Open Book said.
“I don't know. Being on my own never bothered me, and I don’t think it bothers Scootaloo,” said Rainbow Dash.
“But you’ve never asked her?” said the counselor.
“No. I’m not really a touchy-feely pony,” said Rainbow Dash.
“I see,” said Open Book noncommittally.
“Did you want to talk to her parents?” asked Rainbow Dash. “If you think it'll help, I'll take the message to them personally. I can fly to Cloudsdale in, like, ten minutes flat.”
“I'll keep your offer in mind, Miss Dash,” said Open Book. “But I think you'll have a better insight to what might be troubling Scootaloo.”
“So how can I help?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“Tell me more about Scootaloo,” said the counselor. “Other than being your fan, what does she like to do?”
“She zips around town on her scooter,” said Rainbow Dash. “She likes going fast, doing jumps and stunts and stuff. She's a little daredevil. Reminds me of me, when I was younger.”
“A scooter? Isn't that unusual for a pegasus her age?” asked Open Book.
“Yeah,” admitted Rainbow Dash. “But it's not her fault her wings haven't fully grown in.”
“Have you helped her with learning to fly?” said Open Book.
“I have, but there's not much to do before a pegasus can stay aloft for an extended period,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Are there any similarities between your history and hers? Were you also a late flier?” asked the counselor.
“Heck no!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “By the time I was her age, I had mastered flight school, earned my cutie mark, performed a Sonic Rainboom, and entered the Best Young Flier in Equestria competition!”
“Then why emulate you? Do you think she wants to be more than your fan?” asked Open Book.
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash responded.
“Do you think she might be hoping for something more like family? Someone to provide advice, someone to support her, in a more permanent way than these volunteer families can handle?” said Open Book.
“If she does, she's got the wrong pony,” answered Rainbow Dash. The counselor stared at Rainbow Dash, tapping his pencil idly on his pad of paper.
“Fine,” said Rainbow Dash. “I really want to help her, but I can't stand losing! Everything I do, I want to win, so I don't want to do something I'm bad at.”
“There's no first place in relationships,” said Open Book. “And nopony starts out good at them. The only way to lose is to avoid them entirely.”
Rainbow Dash shifted uncomfortably in her beanbag chair. “I thought we were here to talk about Scootaloo,” she said, changing the subject.
“We're here to help Scootaloo,” corrected Open Book. “I'll talk about what I think will help her. But if you would rather talk about Scootaloo, I have some more questions.”
“Okay,” said Rainbow Dash.
“It sounds like the filly really loves getting around on her scooter, even if she would prefer to fly,” said the earth pony. “Has she entered any competitions? Races, stunt shows, something like that?”
Rainbow Dash pondered, rubbing her chin with a hoof. “I don't remember her doing anything like that. She's, like, the only pony with a scooter, but I don't recall her doing any racing. Not even playground stuff,” she said.
“That doesn't sound like you,” said Open Book.
“Flying, running, swimming; if there's a competition, I'm in it to win it!” said the pegasus.
“Does Scootaloo know that?” he asked.
“Huh?” Rainbow Dash replied, again confused.
“Does she understand her favorite flier's cutie mark isn't just about flying?” said the counselor.
Rainbow Dash ran a hoof through her mane. “I remember telling her my totally awesome story about how I got my cutie mark, but yeah, she probably focused on my radical flying,” she said.
“I think this conversation has given me a lot to talk about when I meet with Scootaloo later,” said Open Book. “One more subject I'd like to discuss. Did you see the school talent contest a couple of years ago?”
Rainbow Dash laughed. She laughed so hard, she fell backwards in her beanbag chair. “Yeah, that was hilarious,” she said, once she finally caught her breath. The pegasus sat up.
“What did you think of Scootaloo's performance, then?” the counselor asked.
“Um, yeah. Singing's not her talent,” said Rainbow Dash. “But I admire her bravery. Going on stage like that, singing that song, wearing that atrocious fashion from back when I was twelve. She has guts.”
“Like you?” said Open Book.
“Better than me,” said Rainbow Dash. “And you can tell her that.”
“Hey, Scootaloo,” said Apple Bloom, spying her pegasus friend near the schoolyard. “Whatchya doin'?”
“Looking for Rainbow Dash. I heard she came to the school!” said Scootaloo.
“Why would she do that?” asked Apple Bloom.
“I don't know,” admitted Scootaloo.
“Hey, that reminds me, Applejack came by the school earlier, too,” said Apple Bloom.
“You think she's still here?” said Scootaloo.
“Let's find out,” said Apple Bloom.
The two fillies walked around the schoolyard, finding no sign of the two mares. As they were about to give up, Scootaloo raised a hoof. “Quiet, do you hear that?” she said.
Apple Bloom listened. “Hear what?” she whispered.
“I heard Rainbow Dash!” said Scootaloo. She looked around. “There!” she said, pointing to a window, high on the wall of the school.
Scootaloo flapped hard, rising into the air. She peeked into the window, and caught a glimpse of Rainbow Dash's distinctive mane. She flew back down quickly.
“Find out what's going on,” Scootaloo told Apple Bloom.
“How?” the earth pony filly replied.
“I'll boost you up,” Scootaloo replied.
Apple Bloom placed her forelegs against the school's wall. Scootaloo slipped under her haunches and lifted her friend up. Apple Bloom reached for the window's edge. Almost there....
“Hi girls!” What are you doing?” said Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie Belle’s interruption broke Scootaloo's concentration. Her rear leg slipped, and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo tumbled to the ground.”
“Oof! You're heavy!” said Scootaloo.
“Am not!” yelled Apple Bloom. “Ah'm just solidly built.”
“Quiet!” hissed Scootaloo.
Apple Bloom stood and staggered away. As she did so, she tripped on a vine. A branch twisted and whipped against her flank. Unfortunately, there were several overripe tomatoes on the branch. Somepony must have placed them there, since that wasn't a tomato plant. “Awww,” Apple Bloom moaned, looking at her stained coat.
“I bet that was Diamond Tiara's fault,” said Sweetie Belle. “I thought she had something planned for recess today, but then we didn't go.”
“No, it's your fault!” said Apple Bloom. “If you hadn't startled us, none of this would have happened!”
“What were you doing in the bushes anyway?” said Sweetie Belle.
“Uhhh...” the other two fillies muttered.
“Totally nothing,” lied Apple Bloom.
“Yeah, we weren't trying to listen to Rainbow Dash,” said Scootaloo, before Apple Bloom stuck a hoof over her mouth.
“Wait, why are you here?” Apple Bloom said to Sweetie Belle, hoping to change the subject.
“I have a message from my sister for Open Book,” she replied, showing off a sealed envelope.
“One last thing I’d like to talk about is something Apple Bloom mentioned,” Open Book said. “She recounted some advice you gave her, about trying a lot of things as fast as possible, to earn a cutie mark.”
Rainbow Dash thought back. “When did I say that?” she wondered. “The day she met Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash finally remembered. The pegasus smacked her hoof against her forehead several times and said “Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!”
“What is it?” asked Open Book.
“I’m the reason the Crusaders don’t have their cutie marks!” she replied.
“I’m afraid you’ll have to explain what you mean,” the counselor said.
“Apple Bloom really wanted her cutie mark that day, so I said she should try a bunch of things at once,” Rainbow Dash explained. “I thought it was obvious that you should only do this in that specific circumstance. How could I not notice they’ve been doing that all this time since?”
“Don’t blame yourself,” said the counselor. A knock came from the door to the office. “I think we're done for now, Rainbow Dash,” Open Book said. He stood up and headed to the door. Opening it, he didn't see the mare he was expecting, but the unicorn filly he already met. “Good afternoon, Mr. Open Book,” the filly said politely, offering the envelope. “My sister Rarity would like to invite you for tea at the Carousel Boutique.”