“Fillies and Gentlecolts, remember to check below your seat to see if you won a fabulous prize!” a voice boomed as Applejack, Apple Bloom, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Twilight Sparkle walked into the Wonderbolts stadium in Canterlot.
“Look Scootaloo; your friends are here!” Rainbow Blaze cheered and pointed towards the two fillies who had walked into the stadium with their mothers.
Scootaloo enthusiastically blew the dog whistle that Rainbow Blaze had given her to cheer Rainbow Dash with, and waved eagerly at her two best friends. To say Scootaloo couldn’t have been more excited, would be an understatement. Not only was the filly excited to see “The greatest air show ever” -- or at least that’s what her grandfather called it -- but this was her first chance for her to do an event with them. Eagerly Scootaloo gave each of her friends a warm hug.
“Is it really necessary to make that much noise?” Rarity asked with a noticeable wince as her ears pinned themselves back.
Applejack shrugged as she took a moment to curiously check under her seat to see if she’d won “a fabulous prize.” She then noticeably raised an eyebrow as she pulled up a small manila envelope emblazoned with the Wonderbolts’ insignia.
“Of course! This is Rainbow Dash’s first show! If anything we need to be even louder!” Pinkie Pie shouted eagerly, drawing all attention to her, as she made a point of equipping a foam “#1” finger onto her left hoof.
“Well, a fair amount of shouting does tend to be the traditional behavior at these sort of events,” Twilight Sparkle pointed out as she read from a book entitled “Parties and events.”
“Now that’s the spirit!” Rainbow Blaze cheered as he made a point to hand Apple Bloom a pair of cymbals, and Sweetie Belle a gong. “Come on girls; we gotta show Rainbow Dash just how awesome she’s doing!” Rainbow Blaze manically pointed out as he made a point to unpack his bullhorn.
“A don’t think I can cheer loud enough,” Fluttershy anxiously whispered as she looked downwards.
“Ehh don’t worry about it,” Applejack encouraged her yellow pegasus friend as she put the small manila envelope under her hat for later inspection. “Ah figure it’s the spirit that counts,” Applejack added before she reached down and gave Apple Bloom a small primer in how to use her pair of cymbals.
“Well, I shall simply clap politely,” Rarity grumbled before she reluctantly gave into the pleading look that Sweetie Belle was shooting her. “You just hit the golden part with the fuzzy part of that stick,” Rarity quietly whispered to Sweetie Belle as she pointed to the golden gong, and then to the stick with the fuzzy ball at the end of it.
The entire audience silently, and patiently sat in the stands waiting for the Wonderbolts to do their big entrance. Their silent vigil was eventually rewarded as five Wonderbolts quickly flew down from above the stadium, and made a point to fly along the front of the stands. Well, the audience was silent save for two specific ponies.
“Come on, Bolts! Let's start this thing!” screamed a deep blue stallion with yellow eyes, and a rainbow mane and tail as he spun his hoof in circles in the air. Rainbow Blaze boisterous enthusiasm was obvious to see. But not as obvious as his Wonderbolt’s commemorative t-shirt. Or, his flowing Rainbow colored scarf. Or the loudest of all, his Rainbow Dash Brim -- which proudly bore not just Rainbow Dash’s core colors, but also a picture of her face on it.
The chanting was quickly followed by the loud tweet of a dog whistle from the whistle held in the lips of a hyperactive four-year-old orange filly. She, like the stallion next to her, was decked out in Rainbow Dash paraphernalia. In her case, the Wonderbolt’s t-shirt was replaced by a simple dark blue shirt with a yellow v-collar. Finally, instead of wearing a Rainbow Dash brim, she instead bravely wore a beanie with purple eyes which looked like it was modeled after Rainbow Dash’s head -- complete with a rainbow colored mane.
The yelling, and the dog whistle were boisterously bolstered by Pinkie Pie waving her foam finger and giggling, and the sound of a gong and cymbals. The noise quickly being followed by the giggling of Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.
“That’s my granddaughter,” Rainbow Blaze cheered eagerly, as he patted Scootaloo on the head. “You’re doing great, girls. C’mon let Rainbow Dash know how great she’s doing!” Rainbow Blaze added encouragingly, earning an eager smile from Scootaloo, and her friends.
Scootaloo enthusiastically blew her whistle, and her friends played their instruments another time as Rainbow Dash, and the Wonderbolts plowed through the low-hanging cloud floor in the center of the stadium. Her eyes were wide and enchanted with the flashy display the Wonderbolts were putting on. “Rip it up and tear! It! Down!” Rainbow Blaze shouted, adding to the cacophony of Scootaloo’s whistle, Sweetie Belle’s gong, and Apple Bloom’s cymbals, as he reared up, and waved his forelegs up and then downwards.
Scootaloo’s eyes lit up brighter as the Wonderbolts finished their show by creating a replica of their insignia in the air using their contrails, and then busted it apart in a well-choreographed show of their synchronicity. And, with each new twinkle in her eye came a new blow of her whistle in her frantic cycle of whistling.
“Woo! Yeah! Uh-huh, uh-huh! Go go go! Yes! Go, Rainbow Dash! Best Wonderbolt ever!” Rainbow Blaze shouted as he dragged in his loaner cannon… He’d wanted to bring his personal fireworks cannon, but Rainbow Dash had gone and hidden that somewhere. But, that nice pink mare in Ponyville had been nice enough to give him a loaner to rectify the situation.
“Grandpa?” Scootaloo asked as she nudged Rainbow Blaze nervously, drawing him away from loading his loaner cannon with the special fireworks canisters Pinkie Pie had given him to use… She’d called them “Party canisters…” odd.
“What’s up Scootaloo?” He absentmindedly asked as he pushed hard on the pink and white striped canister with a bow on top into the cannon.
“Can you show me how to fly like that?” Scootaloo begged as she shot Rainbow Blaze her best puppy dog stare.
Rainbow Blaze froze in place. Quickly, his mind shifted from loading the cannon to answering this difficult conundrum. Rainbow Dash still stubbornly held onto hope that Scootaloo would fly one of these days. But, there still was the question about what to say if the doctors were right… “You’re still a little young to fly,” he elusively explained as his eyes darted to and thro. “But, if you’re really good...” Rainbow Blaze softly cooed albeit a little too slowly as he tried to come up with the best way to address the question. “... during our breakfast with my old and dear friend Windy Whistles tomorrow. Then, I suppose I could dust off that scooter your mom’s saving for you. It’s a great way to practice.,” Rainbow Blaze offered as he waited to see if he had successfully dodged the more difficult part of this question.
“A Scooter?!?!” Scootaloo shouted with a massive smile and wide eyes. Eyes that were almost as wide the look she had been giving Rainbow Dash’s performance earlier.
“You bet,” Rainbow Blaze said with a warm smile and a cocky laugh. “Now watch these fireworks,” he added as he pulled the string on the cannon, only to stare in shock with his mouth gaping as the cannon launched out a barrage of confetti and glitter high into the air… “Huh… I think this isn’t a fireworks cannon,” Rainbow Blaze admitted with a hum as he rubbed his mane nervously.
“Whoops… I gave you a party cannon,” Pinkie Pie admitted with a giggle as she looked over the stallion’s withers to see the confetti covering the ponies that had lined themselves along the railing.
Scootaloo rapidly bounced up, and down next to her two best friends, and in front of her cyan mother. “Mommy, that was amazing!” she shouted for the fifth time as she continued to pogo just in front of Rainbow Dash. Her face bore the biggest grin since her birthday. And, her eyes twinkled like a million stars. Finally, her small wings fluttered furiously as even jumping up and down failed to exhaust the pure levels of excitement that had built up in the small orange filly during Rainbow Dash’s first ever air show with the Wonderbolts.
“Yeah, that show was really good Rainbow Dash! You were like: zoom!” Pinkie Pie agreed as she made a quick lap around Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and their friends. “And then: Blam, right through the giant lightning bolt shaped cloud!” Pinkie Pie added as she took a small leap, only to land face first in the dirt.
“Well, I don’t like to brag,” Rainbow Dash retorted with a smug look on her face, and a foreleg stretching out to place a hoof on her chest. “But, that show was really good,” Rainbow Dash agreed as she reached down and ruffled her orange daughter’s fuchsia mane.
“That was the greatest air show ever!” Scootaloo insisted with more eagerness as she continued to bounce around. “Don’t you agree, Sweetie Belle? Or, how about you Apple Bloom?” Scootaloo asked her friends as she dashed a bit in front of Rainbow Dash, and then dashed back to continue walking with her mother.
Both Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom gave a happy smile and a big nod. However, it was Applejack who spoke. “That was pretty good Rainbow Dash,” Applejack agreed with a smile. “Ah’m mighty proud of you. It must’ve been a lot of work to get back into shape. What with your dad being so busy with work,” Applejack added with a hint of reverence.
“Non-sense. I had you, girls, to help me,” Rainbow Dash insisted as she made a point to stop, and shoot a smile at all six of her friends. She then turned back around and watched her daughter continue to bounce alongside her less springy friends -- who instead of bouncing, simply had a spring in their steps. “I don’t think I could have done it without you. Especially considering all of the things going on… I mean, tomorrow’s the big autograph signing in Canterlot,” Rainbow Dash conceded as she considered how difficult it was going to be to keep an eye on Scootaloo, and one on the various ponies coming down to Canterlot to see the Wonderbolts.
“Well, it’s a bit easier since Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo get along so well. It just means that we have three close friends to foalsit, and not three foals going off in three different directions,” Rarity encouraged as she smiled at how happy the three foals looked together. It was a miracle that their friendship hadn’t been affected by their apparent reset. “Speaking of which, you are still foalsitting Sweetie Belle today, aren’t you?” Rarity pressed. Her question, quickly, earning a nod of agreement from Rainbow Dash.
“Hey AJ, do you want me to foalsit Apple Bloom too?” Rainbow Dash casually asked as she looked over to her orange friend.
“Nah, Bloom and I will be working today,” Applejack pointed out calmly as she ignored the disappointed look on Apple Bloom’s face.
“But, you won a free lunch with one of the Wonderbolts? Why would you turn that down?” Rainbow Dash objected with a gobsmacked look on her face.
“‘Cause Ah don’t really care about that sort of stuff,” Applejack said with a casual wave of her hoof. “‘Sides, Ah don’t see any reason that eatin’ lunch with Soarin’ would mean anything to me,” Applejack pressed.
“Oh come on AJ,” Rainbow Dash pressed. “Lots of mares would love to…” Rainbow Dash continued only to be interrupted by Rarity.
“Just let it go Rainbow Dash,” Rarity stated sternly. “If she doesn’t want to go, she won’t go,” Rarity added. “But, if she changes her mind… well, she knows who will be foalsitting today,” Rarity added as she shot a subtle, almost sneaky smile, towards Rainbow Dash. “Anyway, I have a couple of things to talk to Granny Smith about before I drop Sweetie Belle off,” Rarity added as she made a beeline down a second path.
“Rarity, what are you up to?” Applejack called out as she watched Rarity migrate towards Sweet Apple Acres, and galloped off to catch the white mare.
“Speaking of dates,” Twilight Sparkle interrupted. “Are we still going to come by my castle in a couple of days? I really wanted to run some more magical scans on Scootaloo to see if her DNA has changed at all since conception. It’s so incredible that all three girls seem completely unaffected by any apparent environmental factors,” Twilight continued as she continued to contemplate some theory or another.
“Whatever you want Egg-head,” Rainbow Dash snarked with a playful smile. “Just as long as you are still going to look at her wings. Because, I know Scootaloo’s been dying to learn how to fly,” Rainbow Dash insisted as she ruffled Scootaloo’s mane again. This small gesture managing to regain Scootaloo’s attention. “You still want a flying lesson, don’t ya?” Rainbow Dash asked. After a few seconds, the fish-eyed stunned look on her face faded. Instead, she gave a hearty nod.
“Of course she does,” Pinkie Pie interjected gleefully. “Who wouldn’t want to fly like you --” Pinkie Pie continued only to interrupt herself with a playful snicker. “Exception Dash,” Pinkie Pie finished with a snort and snicker.
“Ugg, Pinkie… Why did you have to remind me about that dumb nickname?” Rainbow Dash huffed as she crossed her forelegs. “I mean, they make one itty-bitty exception to the rules… And then, they never let me forget it,” Rainbow Dash grumbled.
“I’m sorry they gave you a bad nickname,” Fluttershy whispered as she walked over, and tried to comfort Rainbow Dash with a gentle pat. “At least they didn’t call you Rainbow Crash,” she whispered.
“Don’t give them ideas,” Rainbow Dash shouted with comically large eyes. Earning a laugh from everypony, but Fluttershy -- who looked down with embarrassment, instead.
Rainbow Dash casually reclined under one of the fruit trees outside of her house. A small smile formed on her face as she watched all three fillies running around with butterfly nets trying to catch the butterflies that had settled outside of the grounded cloudominium.
“That had to have been the most awesome show ever!” Scootaloo eagerly mimicked her grandfather’s enthusiasm to her two friends as she brought the net down towards a butterfly, only to miss by a mile. “I’m going to be just like her someday. Watch me fly just like her!” Scootaloo continued as she and her friends slowly dashed out of earshot.
Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but give a playful giggle. Even now, she still adored it when ponies sang her praises. And, it only meant more when it came from the filly that meant the most to her.
Rainbow Dash continued to watch the three fillies intently, even as they dashed far enough away from her that she couldn’t make out what they were talking about. If Rainbow Dash’s home didn’t currently sit on the floor of a flat valley, she would probably have stopped them from running so far out. But, with the flat ground, she could see them clearly, even this far out.
Lazily Rainbow Dash kicked a hoof back and forth as she watched the three foals stop chasing butterflies, and then begin to talk animatedly. Scootaloo’s wings noticeably rapidly buzzed as she talked to her two best friends. Whatever they were talking about, had Scootaloo pretty excited.
Scootaloo then noticeably crouched, before she took a big hop forwards, and buzzed her wings frantically. What’s going on there? Rainbow Dash asked with a hint of concern as she got up so that she could walk over to the three fillies.
Something’s wrong! Rainbow Dash decided as she watched Scootaloo continue to hop around, and flap her wings. With each hop her smile seemed to fade more and more, her wings seemed to buzz that much faster and faster, and her movements seemed more and more frantic. Furthermore, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle’s faces dropped at approximately the same rate as Scootaloo’s smile was. With each frantic movement, Rainbow Dash’s walk slowly grew faster, until it was a slow trot.
“I can do it! I can be like mommy!” Scootaloo stubbornly insisted as Rainbow Dash trotted into earshot. “Pegasus’ fly, it says so in my bedtime book!” Scootaloo added through grit teeth, and a few tears. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle seemed frozen in fear, as both of the fillies’ young minds failed to figure out what to do about their friend’s growing distraught attitude.
“Scootaloo, stop.” Rainbow Dash commanded as Scootaloo took another jump into the air. The filly’s head turned to look at Rainbow Dash with a look of surprise. Then, she face planted into the ground, because her eyes were not on the landing.
“Ouch!” Scootaloo moaned as she rubbed her sore nose and Immediately began to bawl, her small eyes pouring tears. Rainbow Dash trotted over so that she could reach out and pat the crying filly. However, rather than being comforted, the filly seemed to cry more bitterly.
“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I fly?” She wept bitterly. Both Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle seemed to break down at the same moment, their eyes seemingly reflecting their friend’s pain and despair. In a way, it almost looked like they felt their friend’s pain.
“It’s ok Scoots...” Rainbow Dash insisted as she carefully scooped up the filly and placed her over one of her withers.
“Now... you’re going to hate me… Because… Fly!” Scootaloo continued to bawl, her words growing fractured and incoherent through the bitter tantrum.
“I don’t know who told you that horse….” Rainbow Dash started to say, only to interrupt herself with a cough. “...Urr nonsense. But, I will never hate you,” Rainbow Dash assured the filly as she made a point to motion for Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to follow her into the cloudominium.
After all four ponies were in the building, Rainbow Dash made a point of locking the front door and motioning for Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle to play quietly in the playpen, while she took Scootaloo into the next room.
Once they were in the kitchen, she carefully took a seat on the nice clean kitchen floor and patted Scootaloo gently on the withers. Several minutes seemed to fly by as the filly continued to bawl and weep. However, after a while, she seemed to calm down enough to talk coherently.
“Why can’t I fly? I just wanted to fly like you, mommy...” Scootaloo finally managed to ask through a soft sniffle.
Rainbow Dash frantically pondered whether she should try to tell the filly about her 90% likelihood of not flying... Or, her 10% likelihood of flying. Should she tell the filly that the world wasn’t always fair? Or, should she fill her with a possibly vain hope? “I don’t know,” Rainbow Dash decided to explain. “Sometimes a filly is like a butterfly,” Rainbow Dash explained as simply as she could to Scootaloo. “They take a long time to turn from a caterpillar into a butterfly… But, when they finally take flight, they are beautiful,” Rainbow Dash added with an encouraging smile. Scootaloo seemed to pause at that. Her young eyes blinked a couple of times as she considered the statement.
“And sometimes, the world is cruel, and it never lets a butterfly fly…” Rainbow Dash explained with a heavy, and sympathetic voice.
“Like that butterfly that Fluttershy was caring for when we visited her last?” Scootaloo asked. The poor thing had broken a wing or something… And, Fluttershy had been caring for it so diligently.
“Yes… But, either way. You’re a beautiful butterfly, who I love a lot,” Rainbow Dash encouraged the little filly with a tight hug. “And, I won’t stop loving. No matter what!” Rainbow Dash added as she wrapped Scootaloo into a tight hug. “So, don’t let anypony tell you otherwise,” Rainbow Dash insisted as she silently promised a painful retribution on whatever pony had told Scootaloo that she wouldn’t be loved without flight.
The crowds were lined up clear across the block as Rainbow Dash gently landed in her seat next to Spitfire, Fleetfoot, Soarin’, and Surprise. Rainbow Dash’s face bore a happy smile. Rainbow Dash loved events like this. She was, after all, twice the extrovert that even Pinkie Pie was.
And, that wasn’t counting the fact that not only did she have an audience, but her daughter and father had joined her for the autograph signing… Even if they had to stand a bit down the block to allow for autograph seekers to have room to talk to Rainbow Dash, and the present Wonderbolts.
However, Scootaloo’s new scooter -- the one that Rainbow Blaze had given her -- was making this a little harder to enjoy… What with the filly riding it in front of the crowd, like a little glory hound.
“Mommy! Look, mommy! Look at what I can do! Mommy!” shouted the persistent, repetitive calls of Scootaloo as she buzzed back and forth in front of the autograph table, almost knocking over the pink mare with the yellow mane that was next in line. Each word was coming out of her mouth being barely audible as they flew by at supersonic speeds. That, however, did not mean that Rainbow Dash didn’t get the gist of what the filly was saying: she wanted some attention.
“Doing good Scootaloo! Way to scooter! Scootaloo, best scooter rider ever!” Shouted Rainbow Blaze manically from somewhere off to the side, which added a significant bit more noise to the cacophony of Scootaloo’s persistent pestering for attention. “Rainbow Dash! You’re doing great with that autographing… Best autographing ever! But, you gotta see what Scootaloo’s doing! It’s awesome too!” Rainbow Blaze continued to shout… His voice was almost as persistent as Scootaloo’s nagging.
Rainbow Dash’s smile quickly grew rather forced as she struggled not to rub her muzzle. Deep breaths, Rainbow Dash mentally chanted as she recited that exercise Rarity had suggested she do whenever she had to deal with her noisy family.
With a couple of labored breaths, Rainbow Dash looked up to see Scootaloo racing by on her scooter… Or, perhaps racing was not a good way to put it. Her pace was laboriously slow as her small wings generated barely enough thrust to push the larger scooter forward at all. Furthermore, Scootaloo’s small body still didn’t have the good balance to keep her from teetering a little, causing Rainbow Dash to grit her teeth in concern. However, her fear was brief, as the filly quickly regained her balance.
“Looking good Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash loudly encouraged the orange filly, with a congratulatory pump of her hooves. “Now, be sure to stay close to your grandad. I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” Rainbow Dash sternly added, before she shuddered a little. When did I become such a fuddy-duddy? Rainbow Dash fretted as she realized how maternal that had sounded.
“You got a cute niece there. Fillies are just adorable at that age,” oohed and awed a third voice. Rainbow Dash looked back in surprise to see the smiling face of the mare in line that Scootaloo had almost run down with her scooter. “And wow, she’s a natural with that scooter,” the mare added in amazement. “My sister wasn’t that good until she was seven,” she concluded with a large smile.
“Niece?” Scootaloo mumbled as she froze in place. Her flapping stopping as a strangely haunted expression darkened her face. And, without Scootaloo’s weak thrust, her scooter quickly rolled to a complete stop. It almost looked like it froze in place to match Scootaloo’s deer in the headlights expression.
“Actually... she’s my daughter,” Rainbow Dash whispered conspiratorially into the mare’s ear, as she covered her muzzle with her foreleg. However, Rainbow Dash’s whispering was not quite quiet enough to not be heard by Scootaloo, who clearly relaxed at the statement. And, it was also heard by Spitfire who shot Rainbow Dash a sour expression.
“She’s your daughter?” the mare asked with a clear confusion in her voice, and an even more perplexed look on her face.
“Don’t worry about it,” Spitfire assured the mare, before she hastily wrote something on a piece of paper, and handed it to the mare. “Your autograph is free,” Spitfire added as she handed the paper to the mare, and then leaned over to whisper into Rainbow Dash’s ear. “Dash, we agreed to keep this matter to ourselves, unless we actually needed to talk about it,” Spitfire chastised her. “Don’t forget: the less controversy, the better.”
“That’s just Wind Rider being stupid,” Rainbow Dash whispered back bitterly into the yellow mare’s ear. Any pony looking could see that she was complaining, despite her attempts to be quiet about it. After all, Rainbow Dash’s crossed forelegs pretty much spelled out her disagreement.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” interrupted a white unicorn mare with a fuschia mane as she cut in front of the pony in the front of the line. Each pony in line eagerly stepping aside for the new mare. The whole crowd then formed a circle a few feat around the table, so that they could all gawk at the unicorn with expressions that looked like she’d just descended from the heavens themselves. “But, I was taking care of a couple of matters with my good friend Fancy Pants, when I saw the Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, herself, sitting here. Well, I just had to say hello,” the mare added with an award-winning smile, and a high-minded posture.
“Regal Sunbird?” Rainbow Dash growled through grit teeth, despite the warning shush Spitfire sent her way.
“Why yes, I’m glad to see you again as well Rainbow Dash,” Regal Sunbird added with a gentle flip of her mane. “Oh, and what a sweet daughter you have there,” she cooed as she pointed at Scootaloo, who was off to the side making small laps on her scooter around Rainbow Blaze.
“Well, she is a chip off of the old block. She’s going to amount to great things,” Rainbow Dash made sure to enunciate as clearly and slowly as possible.
“Why yes, I can see the family resemblance,” Regal Sunbird agreed with a lavish smile. “And might I add: it’s so honorable of you to keep her around, despite the fact that she’s obviously a flightless cripple,” Regal Sunbird whispered so quietly that only Rainbow Dash could hear. Furthermore, the words coming out of her smiling face were slow and carefully enunciated.
“She’s not crippled!” Rainbow Dash started to scream as she jumped onto the table and raised a foreleg in a clearly offensive move, only to yelp at the subtle pain of a hoof kicking her in the cannon. “I mean… You’d be surprised how much she’ll accomplish with the right amount of encouragement,” Rainbow Dash asserted slowly with a slight sense of warning in her voice.
“Well, I cannot wait to see what the daughter of The Rainbow Dash accomplishes,” Regal Sunbird chipperly added as she gave Rainbow Dash another pointed smile. “After all, you know what they say: actions speak louder than words,” she concluded with one final smile and a regal wave of her hooves.
“I’ll show you actions,” Rainbow Dash growled as she shook a hoof in the unicorn’s direction, only to be interrupted by a very peeved sounding “ahem” from Spitfire as the yellow mare pointed to the line of ponies which was slowly reforming as Regal Sunbird pushed her way through the circle of curious onlookers.
“Oh… right sorry,” Rainbow Dash mumbled as she jumped back down to the floor so that she could smile and stamp the next fan in line’s card.