Chapter 3 :: A Lesson in Futility
Rainbow Dash touched down in the middle of the Ponyville Town Square – that one place just next to the fountain where all the ponies gathered.
It was already the middle of the day, and Rainbow was feeling rather good about herself in many ways. She trotted down the street, merrily, Rarity's boutique coming up in the distance; a landmark of the small township.
No one could mistake those flags or the carousel motif – and for once, Rainbow Dash felt like she was ready to enjoy a short jaunt at street-level. Flying was for ponies who were in a rush, and Rainbow wasn't in any particular rush to speak with Equestria's number one gossipmonger.
She knew the talk was inevitable, sure, but at least she could enjoy herself momentarily in this rare boost of confidence that seemed to have come from nowhere.
But her eye twitched and her ears bowed down, and her haunches cringed upward at the sound of a piercing voice that shook the heavens and roared the Earth. It was a voice that, even more than Rarity's, she had no desire to hear at this point in her life. And suddenly, with just the calling of her name, the blood drained from her face and all her confidence disappeared in the twitch of an eye.
"Rainbow! Ooh, ooh! Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo yelled, racing up to her from behind, a soft grin plastering her face.
"H…hey Scoots." Rainbow chuckled, coddling the little filly. On a good day, Scootaloo wasn't really intolerable. She had Rainbow's energy, the little spark that made her 'cool', and she never said no to anything Rainbow asked her to do, which made her a very good minion indeed.
But without things to fetch or egos to boost, Scootaloo was now reduced to a hurdle in the way of the hundred meters to the finish line. And if anypony had a bigger mouth than Rarity…
Well, alright, it'd actually be Sweetie Belle. But Scootaloo was her friend, and she told her everything.
"Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow! Rainbow!" Scootaloo squawked, getting in step with the Pegasus as she trotted along. "What's up? What's up?"
"N…nothin'!" Rainbow stuttered, trying to keep her eyes forward. "What's… what's up with you, Scootaloo?"
"Oh, just… you know, just saw ya, and I came over to hang out, if it's okay with you! I mean, you're not down here that often, so…" Scootaloo shuffled her hooves, looking at a passing bug.
"Oh… um… sure!" Rainbow said, guiltily. "I... guess that'd be… cool."
"So, where're ya goin'? Scootaloo asked, raising her head up to look at her idol, as the both of them turned out of the town center onto the path that led to Rarity's boutique.
"To Rarity's," Dash said.
"Rarity's?" Scootaloo frowned. "You never go to Rarity's. What're you headed there for?"
Rainbow froze. She felt her mind heating up as she sought a reasonable explanation.
I'm going to pick up a new flying cape.
I'm going to ask Rarity out for lunch with the girls.
I'm going to pick Tank back up from his play-date with Opal.
"Uh… I'm going to have lunch with Tank's new flying cape," Rainbow said, as she quickly resumed walking at a quicker pace, her eyes flicking around.
"…what?" Scootaloo raised an eyebrow, now struggling to keep up. "Rainbow Dash? Is everything alright? You sure are acting weird today."
"Nopony's acting weird!" Rainbow squeaked. "You're acting weird!"
Rainbow groaned. She was just making this worse, wasn't she? Oh, why couldn't she play this cool? Why? She was the smoothest, most relaxed pony out there and she knew it! But this… this one thing was making her fall all over herself.
But it'd be alright. Just as long as she didn't let slip the real reason, she'd be alright. Scootaloo must never know… ever… that–
"So it's true then," the tiny flightless filly said morosely. "You really do have a new partner, don't you?"
Like a squeaking balloon, Rainbow dash stopped moving in mid-step and turned toward Scootaloo, her throat erupting with a constant high-pitched whine.
"Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo asked. "Why're your eyes so funny lookin'?"
"How… how did you know?" Rainbow whispered in hushed tones, her raspy voice getting even raspier under the strain.
"They're like ping-pong balls with dots drawn on 'em," continued Scootaloo, lost in her own conversation.
"Who to…told you?" Rainbow pushed. "Who knew? Who knew?"
"Um… Applejack told me, I think," Scootaloo said, trying to recall. She gave her fluffy magenta mane a little scratch. "I asked her why I wasn't seeing a lot of you lately, and she… well, she's your best friend, so I figured she'd know, and she told me you were busy with your new partner, that's all."
"Applejack did? She… she didn't even wait…! That little… I can't believe it!" Rainbow lamented. "How could she do this to me?"
There was now a mix of anger and embarrassment and shock all dancing together inside Rainbow's gut, and she had no idea what emotion to display first. But somehow, Scootaloo managed to help focus it on embarrassment.
"Um… it's no big deal," the filly said, shrugging slowly. "I mean… it was gonna happen sooner or later, right?"
"That is… but…" Rainbow cried, holding her front hooves to her head. "I…"
But what was even more troublesome was the fact that Scootaloo had suddenly changed her attitude. Fillies like her, they tended to wear their emotions on their cuffs, and when something started to bother them, it was plainly obvious.
Perhaps Rainbow was, herself, a little filly in that respect.
But Scootaloo shuffled dirt around as she kicked her front leg back and forth, sweeping soil away into two neat piles as she watched the dust billow up around her legs.
"Um…" she said, a more restrained tone edging into her voice. "So… how is she?"
"How… how is she?" Rainbow repeated, her mouth agape.
"Yeah, I mean… you know. Technique? Style? Endurance?" Scootaloo swallowed a lump in her throat. "You know… stuff that makes her… good, I guess."
"Uh… I… we haven't… done anything!" Rainbow flustered. "How… how the heck do you even know all these terms anyway?"
"I… I overheard some other Pegasi talking about you, Rainbow," Scootaloo admitted, digging her heels harder into the soft ground. "They said that's what you look for in a partner…"
"That is… totally… who are these Pegasi?"
But Dash never got her answer. Instead, she got yet another shock, as the toughest filly in town pulled back her head and opened her eyes up wide to her. They were moist from the tears, and they glinted in the light of the noonday sun.
It was clear that Scootaloo was putting on the bravest face she could, but she couldn't hold back the quivering lip as much as she could hold back her wavering words.
"I…is it me?" Scootaloo sighed, tiny sniffles punctuating each word.
Rainbow didn't even know how to understand this scene in front of her. What was going on? What was happening? What was wrong with today? How… how could she fix this? Maybe she should just take off and fly away. Maybe that would be best.
And leave a poor little filly alone and crying in the middle of town?
Right, Rainbow. That's the mature thing to do.
"U…uh… there… there?" Rainbow said awkwardly. She had no idea how to comfort others. I mean, her version of motivating Tank was to throw things at him until something bounced off.
"It's because I'm too young, isn't it?" Scootaloo continued, throwing her head away from Rainbow now, her shaggy mane covering the top half of her face. But it was clear from her trembling that something had hurt her deeply.
Rainbow swallowed. She was left speechless. There was no response… no words. She didn't even know any for this kind of situation. She almost wished Twilight was there to speak on her behalf. All she could do was stare while her guilt grew.
"Is it because I can't keep up with you? I…is it because I'm not exciting enough? What? What?" Scootaloo yelled, her sadness boiling over.
"I… I had no idea you liked me that much…" muttered Dash, the only thing she could think of at that point.
"Y…you're awesome!" Scootaloo yelled. "You're the best pony in the… in the whole world! So why… why won't you make me your partner?"
"W…well, you are a bit young…"
"But you always said to start young!"
"Well, that's true, but I… wait, what?" Rainbow caught herself in mid-sentence. Honestly, it was something she started saying before even registering what her conversational opposite had said herself. But when her brain caught up, it started to scream while it scrambled madly to make sense of this.
"Yeah! You… you said, you know, the best time to get stuck in is when they're still young! We learn quickly and we're easily mouldable! And we listen and we're always up for anything, and we never say no, and…"
"Wait! When did I say all this? I never said anything like this!"
"Yeah you did!" Scootaloo yelled back. "A week ago, at the announcement! You even said you'd prefer a filly!"
"The ann…" Rainbow stopped. Wait. Oh. Oh boy.
"My mentorship program?" Rainbow spat out, her whole head tingling. She had forgotten all about that. She did, in fact, make the announcement just last week that she was opening herself up to the personal tutoring of any one Pegasus who was interested in being as fast and good as she was, and…
"Yeah! And… I applied to be your partner, but I didn't hear anything, so I went to Applejack a few days ago and she said that you went with Cloudchaser, and I… I just wanna know why you wouldn't choose me!"
At least Scootaloo had stopped crying now. She was just more frustrated than sad at this point. Rainbow herself too, was drinking in another cocktail of emotions, this time made out of relief, a touch of empathy, and a tiny bit of the guilt that still remained.
"Kid…" Rainbow said, shaking her head incredulously. "I… oh, wow. You were… talking about the mentorship. Listen, Scoots, I actually haven't chosen anypony yet. I haven't been able to go through the applications. I've been… distracted by other things."
"Then… what about Applejack?" Scootaloo whined.
"I just mentioned I saw Cloudchaser's name on one of the forms! I guess she thought it meant I'd chosen her. But I haven't."
"Then… then you aren't going to Rarity's to pick up the customized flight jackets with your names embroidered on it?"
"Uh… nope!" Rainbow said. Best to keep this one simple.
"…oh," Scootaloo said, her head burning bright. "I… I guess I made a mistake then…"
You and me both, Rainbow thought.
"But… listen. You know what?" Rainbow said, smiling, and walking over. "It took guts to say what you said. And sometimes, having the guts to say what you really want can have its rewards. Tell you what, Scoots, you're my choice for the program!"
"R…really?" the filly screamed in reply. Her elation took over her sadness, wiping it out nearly instantaneously as she lifted herself up in a flit and tackled Rainbow around the torso.
"Argh!" Dash cried, as both of them went sprawling to the ground.
"Thank you! Thank you! Oh thank you!" Scootaloo cried, rubbing herself all over Rainbow. "I'll do a great job, you'll see! I know I can't fly very well, but that's why I needed the world's best flier to be my teacher! I promise I'll do a good job!"
"I… I know you will, kid. Now, could you get off me please?" Dash chuckled.
"Oh, sorry," Scootaloo apologized, rearing back and allowing Dash to get back to her hooves as well.
"Listen. Don't tell anypony else yet, alright? I'll have to make it official, so… do your best not to tell Sweetie Belle."
"How… how'd you know I was going to tell her?"
"Yeah… just don't. Let this be our little secret. Can you do that for me?"
"I'd do anything for you, Rainbow Dash!"
"That's great, kid." Rainbow nodded, meaning every word. That whole experience was just nerve wracking. She couldn't have asked for a better end. And hey, she made a special little filly a happy one, and that made her feel good as well.
She needed the boost.
"Ooh, ooh, I have something for you, Rainbow!" Scootaloo jumped around with a renewed energy, pulling a flash of colour out from… where'd she even hide that thing, anyway? But she dumped it unceremoniously onto Rainbow, leaving Rainbow blinking away at the intrusion. But she was polite, and she was in a good mood, and so allowed that thing to remain, as she bid farewell to her new apprentice.
Guess she'd have to stop thinking of her as a minion now.
Maybe.
But with a smile on her face, Rainbow continued on her way, walking the slow road down to Rarity's, as Scootaloo waved goodbye behind her.
And thoughts again arose in her solitude.
Being brave, huh?
Having the guts to say what you want…
And you might get your reward.
Was there a lesson in this somewhere? Rainbow had just said it herself, and something about it nagged at her, like an itch in her memories.
It couldn't possibly apply to…
"Nah," Rainbow said, out loud, as she approached Rarity's door. "Just overthinking it again!"
Chapter 3 :: End