//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Sharing Secrets 
// Story: Truly Sisters 
// by Safaia Bara 
//------------------------------//

Thump.

"Oof...ouch..." Scootaloo stood up and rubbed her sore flank.

"Maybe we should cool it for now. That's enough practice for today."

"But, Dash!"

"C'mon,  Squirt, we've been at this for hours. You're doing amazing, but let's  not push it. We don't want you hurting yourself two days before the  performance, do we?"  When Rainbow "never say die" Dash, daredevil  extraordinaire and thrill seeker, says that it's time to take a break,  then it's time to take a break.

"But if I don't keep training, I'll never get this trick right," the filly whined.

The  two Pegasi were practicing their routine for the fair in a secluded  field a few miles north of Ponyville; they'd both agreed not to tell anypony about the performance, not even the other Crusaders or the  Elements.

Rainbow  walked over to her sister and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder,  "Sure ya will, Scoots. It just takes time. Do you think I got to be as  awesome as I am overnight? No way. You might not have it down pat by  this weekend, but you gotta admit that our backup plan is pretty  awesome."

Scootaloo looked up at her surrogate sister, disappointment clear in her eyes, but gave her a small smile.

"Let's go home, kiddo. I think there's a daisy and daffodil sandwich with your name on it."

The  grin that spread across the filly's face was contagious, and Dash  ruffled her mane before they trotted  through the clearing, back towards  her cloud-house overlooking Ponyville. While the orange Pegasus' flying  skills were growing in spades, she was still at the basic level, and  not yet able to travel such a long distance. Not to mention how sore her  wings were after such an intense training session.

But it wasn't the promise of her favorite food that had her beaming from ear to ear.

Home.

That  was the word Rainbow Dash had used. Home. And it was true. The time  she'd spent with her older sister, short as it was, had felt more like  home than the past nine years she'd lived with her parents. Sure, she  loved her parents. And, contrary to what she'd said the other night, she  knew that they loved her as well. 

But it wasn't enough just knowing, they needed to show her that they cared. And they weren't around often enough to do so.

But  Rainbow Dash was there. Granted, not so much before the camping trip,  but still more often than her mom and dad. And the last few days had  been amazing.

As the  two Pegasi meandered through the busy, bustling streets of Ponyville,  Rainbow Dash's thoughts followed along similar lines.

She  could never have dreamed of how wonderful it was to have a little  sister. To have somepony look up to her the way Scootaloo did was  somewhat of a humbling experience. Of course she'd always been Dash's  number one fan, but now it was so much more than that. Their bond was  stronger now. She still had to tread carefully, lest she disappoint her  sister so early on in their relationship.

Sister. It had a nice ring to it.


Dash  turned her head as they walked and noticed that, coincidentally, they  were passing right by Scootaloo's house. It looked so dark and  depressing, even in the broad daylight. Or maybe it was just her  imagination, knowing how upset the filly was living there. And she could  understand why. With parents like those...

No...that  wasn't fair. She didn't know much about her parents, she didn't even  know her father's name. That was definitely not enough to make such a  harsh judgement. Most of what she did know, however, she didn't like.

Perhaps  it was because she was the Element of Loyalty. Perhaps it was the way  she was raised. Perhaps it was how she'd seen her friends take care of  their little sisters. Or perhaps it was just common sense. But to leave a  nine year old filly alone in a house for up to two weeks at a time was  irresponsible and wrong.

Now  that she was Scootaloo's older sister, honorary or not, it was her  responsibility to take care of and protect her. 'I think I need to have a  talk with them.'


They  were so lost in thought that they nearly passed right by Rainbow's  house. Silently, Scoots hopped onto her sister's back and they easily  flew up into the clouds. They quickly landed on the front porch and  entered the house. Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash into the kitchen.

"Can I help?"

Dash  put a hoof to her chin and thought for a moment, "Hm...I know!" She  trotted over to the fridge and pulled out a few lettuce leaves, "Why  don't you go give Tank his dinner? He must be starving."

Scootaloo  gave Dash a salute, making her laugh, and took the leaves from her. She  cantered over to a corner of the kitchen where there sat a deep green  tortoise shell. Setting the lettuce in the bowl nearby, she gently  tapped the top of Tank's shell.

"Hey, Tank! C'mon out! It's chow time!"

Slowly,  very slowly, a small, wrinkly head peeked out. Upon seeing the filly's  smiling face, Tank pulled his head all the way out of his shell and  nuzzled her cheek. He licked he muzzle affectionately, making her giggle, before chomping down on his dinner.

Rainbow  smiled. Since she'd started staying at the cloud-house, Scoots had  taken it upon herself to be Tank's caretaker as if he were her own pet. A  few days after "moving in", she'd let it slip to Rainbow how she'd  always wanted a pet. But her parents were either too busy, or didn't  feel like she was responsible enough. The older mare snorted silently at  that. They didn't think she was mature enough to take care of a pet,  yet they let her stay home alone for two weeks at a time? That seems a  little backwards to her.

So she was more than willing to share her tortoise with her sister...but only her.

"Voila!  Dinner is served." Scootaloo full on galloped to the kitchen table and  hopped into her chair just as Rainbow was setting the plates down,  "Looks like somepony's worked up an appetite," Dash chuckled.

Scootaloo grinned sheepishly, "He he, I guess I'm hungrier than I thought," she said, blushing.

Dash just laughed and mussed up her mane, "No sweat, Scoots. You've earned it. Happens to me all the time."

The  young filly smiled and looked down at her plate. A daffodil and daisy  sandwich with the crusts cut off, a side of apple slices, and a cup of  ice cold lemonade.

Yum.

However,  after taking a single bite, her face contorted into a look of disgust  as she swallowed, dropping the rest of the sandwich back onto the plate.

Dash  arched a brow, "C'mon, I may not be the best cook in Equestria, but  even I can't screw up a sandwich," she joked. Scootaloo seemed to be  ignoring her, too focused on her dinner. Nudging the top slice of bread  out of the way, she began picking out whatever pieces of green she could  find.

"Whoa there, kiddo. What, exactly, do you think you're doing?"

Scootaloo looked at her sister in confusion, "I'm taking out the green stuff. It tastes weird."

Rainbow Dash smirked and shook her head, "Sorry, Scoots, but ya gotta eat your greens. I know they don't taste the best-"

"They're gross."

"-but  they're good for you. I used to hate them, too. I wonder...since you  haven't been eating your greens, maybe that's why your wings are a  little underdeveloped."

The orange Pegasus stares at Dash with wide eyes, "Do you really think so?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged, "It's a possibility. Diet really is one of the most important things a Pegasus needs to think about."

The  filly quickly threw her sandwich back together and took another huge  bite, her muzzle scrunching up in distaste as she chewed and swallowed.  Rainbow chuckled.

"Here,  try this." The mare took the sandwich and laid it open on the plate.  She placed a few apple slices on top of the green leaves, "it's a little  trick I learned when I was about your age."

Scootaloo  gave her a skeptical look and took a tentative bite. A huge smile  overtook her face as she inhaled the rest of her meal.

"Told ya so."

Scoots gulped down the rest of her lemonade before responding with a short laugh. 

"So,  Squirt, since you won't be eating with me, why don't you tell me what  you've been doing in school?" Dash took a swig from her own cup.

"Well,  Miss Cherilee's been teaching us a lot about music. Like, really old  music by Wolfgang Adrennais Mozart and Johann Sebastian Hock."

"Really?"

Scootaloo nodded, "Yup. Did you know that one of the most famous musicians, Ludwig van Beethooven, was actually deaf?"

Rainbow smiled, "No, I didn't. That's pretty cool."

"I  know, right? Miss Octavia is coming in tomorrow to give us a lesson on  the old instruments they used to use. The girls and I are gonna try to  get our Cutie Marks as classical musicians," Scootaloo chirped  enthusiastically, a fire burning in her lavender eyes.

Dash  reached across the table and ruffled her sister's mane, "That sounds  awesome, Scoots." Finishing the last of her sandwich, Rainbow Dash led  Scootaloo over to the couch to continue their conversation. They spent  the next hour or so catching up, telling funny stories about Scootaloo's  prior crusades or Dash's life up in Cloudsdale before moving to  Ponyville. Eventually, the topic of families popped up.

"Scoots,  I'm gonna ask you something, but you don't have to answer if you don't  want to. I just want to try to understand, okay?"

"Okay..."

"Scootaloo,  when your parents go on these trips, do they always leave you alone?"  She wrapped a comforting wing around her little sister when she noticed  the filly grow quiet and fiddle with her hooves."

"Not  always. My grandparents used to look after me. Before my parents came  to Ponyville, we used to live in a small town a few miles west of White  Tail Woods with them and my uncle.  After we left, they retired and  moved to Vanhoover. I haven't seen them in a few years.

"After that, my uncle would foalsit me since he stayed behind when my  grandparents moved. Mom and dad would drop me off at his place on their  way to Las Pegasus, then pick me up on the way home. But when I started  going to school, I couldn't keep staying with him 'cause he lived too  far away from Ponyville.

"He  tried staying in Ponyville with me, but he missed too much work and  lost his job. He ended up having to move to Canterlot to find a new one,  and that's way too far away from Ponyville. So I guess my parents gave  up on finding a sitter, and let me stay by myself."

"How long ago was that?"

"About two years..."

"And you miss him." It wasn't a question. The orange Pegasus nodded.

"He was my best friend. More like a big brother than an uncle, actually."

'Well,  with how old her parents are, I'm not really surprised.' Dash gave her a squeeze, "Well, now you've got your big sis to look out for you." The  rainbow-maned mare couldn't stop her grin when she saw the smile that  lit up Scootaloo's face.

"So," she continued, changing the subject, "will I be picking you up at Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow after your crusading?"

The  filly's smile widened even further as she shook her head, "Nope, Miss  Cherilee is letting us out of school early so we can get ready for the  festival on Saturday. I was hoping we could practice our performance  some more?" she asked hopefully.

Rainbow  sighed, "Maybe we can do one more run through, but I don't want you  overexerting yourself. How are your wings doing?" Scootaloo grimaced,  rubbing her aching muscles with one of her hooves, "Sore, huh? That's  what I thought. How about we do the routine one more time, then hit the  spa?"

Scootaloo looked at her dubiously, arching a brow, "The spa? Like hoofacures and mud baths and junk?"

Dash  narrowed her eyes, "I do not do hoofacures. I don't like other ponies  touching my hooves," her face split into a wide grin, "But Aloe and  Lotus are the best masseuses from here to the Crystal Empire."

"Masseuse?"

"They give wing massages."

"Oh, that sounds kinda nice."

"Believe  me, Squirt, it feels amazing," Rainbow assured her. The more noticed  her little sister's wings were beginning to droop. Rainbow chuckled,  "Well, I think it's about time to hit the hay. How about you?"

Scootaloo's  eyes, which had begun to slip shut, popped open, "No, no, c'mon, Dash!  It's not that late, and I'm not even ti...ti...tired," she said, trying  to stifle a yawn.

Rainbow  Dash arched a brow, "Oh, really?" The filly nodded vehemently, eyes half-lidded again. "Okay, I'll make a deal with you. You go get ready  for bed and I'll be in in a few minutes to finish that Daring Do book  that's waiting for us. Alright?"

Scootaloo squealed excitedly and all but galloped upstairs, soon followed by a laughing cyan mare.

"She likes those books almost as much as I do."