//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: On the Wings of a Pegasus // by Jinzou //------------------------------// As Rainbow Dash flew toward the schoolhouse she idly thought of her own progress in school. She was never the smartest pony, electing to spend her free time focusing more on her physical prowess rather than mental aptitude. She frowned as she realized now that she was Scootaloo's guardian, she was probably gonna have to brush up on her knowledge, lest Scootaloo came to her for help on homework. But it couldn't be so bad, Rainbow Dash had already passed the year of school Scootaloo was currently in. There no doubt was nothing the awesome Rainbow Dash couldn't do. Rainbow Dash hummed softly as the schoolhouse came into view. "Hey Scoot, you wanna make an awesome entrance?" "Of course!" Scootaloo grinned. Rainbow Dash dropped into a dive, swooping up at the last moment and closing her wings. She dropped a few feet, landing on her hindlegs and stomping the ground with one of her forelegs. She was meet with "ooh"s and "aah"s from the nearby schoolponies. Scootaloo hopped off her back and gave her a grin. "Bye sis!" Rainbow called out. "See you after school!" Scootaloo waved at her and then set off to find her friends before school started. Meanwhile ignoring, but secretly reveling in the awestruck looks of the foals around her, Rainbow set toward the schoolhouse to find Cheerilee. She rapped quickly on the door, and a moment later the earth pony teacher opened it. "Oh, Rainbow Dash. I wasn't expecting you." She said, motioning for the pegasus to follow her inside. "Is there something I can do for you?" The inside of the schoolhouse was rather small. There were tan painted walls and windows with blue curtains. The desks arranged in columns of threes. On the walls were several pictures of famously smart ponies, and on the blackboard was an extremely long division problem that made Rainbow's brain hurt. Rainbow Dash handed the scroll to her. "I'm taking over as legal guardian for Scootaloo right now. Her parents are... otherwise occupied." Cheerilee's eyes bugged out as she read the scroll. "This is... This is signed by Princess Celestia herself! Usually these get signed by judge ponies." As the implications dawned on her, Cheerilee looked up in alarm. "Oh, is Scootaloo okay? This was signed recently, so what is... Was it a family member of hers that was put under house arrest on Saturday? What about-" Rainbow Dash held up a hoof to stop her. "Yes, it was her father. I really don't have time for questions, but what's very important is that if any pony but me and Twi- actually, if any pony other than an Element Bearer comes to pick her up, I need you to not let her go with them. Especially if that pony is a pegasus stallion. In that case, I want you to hide her in the schoolhouse, and wait until one of us shows up. Okay?" Cheerilee bit her lip. That brought up several very unfortunate implications. "What happened between her and her father?" Rainbow Dash quickly looked around to make sure nobody could overhear her. "He's been abusing her for years. She's been crashing at my place until we figure something permanent out." Cheerilee gasped sharply as she covered her mouth with a hoof. She'd known Scootaloo for years, and she was dealing with abuse all that time? And Cheerilee just didn't know? She bit her lip again as a wave of guilt and shame hit her. Maybe she couldn't have known, but she felt like she should've. "Of course." Cheerilee finally managed. "I'll also keep an eye on her during recess." Rainbow Dash breathed a sigh of relief and nodded her thanks. She pushed her way out of the schoolhouse and took to the skies, heading toward the town library. "Scootaloo! That was awesome!" Sweetie Belle yelled, running to her friend alongside Applebloom. Scootaloo gave off a cocky grin. She felt the admiring stares of the schoolyard colts and fillies come her way as soon as Rainbow Dash went inside with Cheerilee. It was a pretty good feeling to be admired by others. This must be what Rainbow Dash feels like all the time! "Yeah! It was super cool." She laughed. "Rainbow Dash is an awesome big sister!" Rainbow Dash knocked politely on the library's front door. Moments later, the door was enveloped in Twilight's magical aura as she swung it open. "Hello, how can I help y- Rainbow Dash? You know how to use doors now?" Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Ha ha, very funny Twilight. I was hoping you could recommend me a good cook book? I don't know how to make much, and since I'm caring for Scootaloo now, I figure I should learn a couple more things." Twilight smiled. It was nice seeing Rainbow Dash acting a little more mature while taking care of the filly. She gestured for Rainbow to follow her, then turned around and started scanning her shelves for a good book. "There's something else..." Rainbow trailed off. Twilight turned and looked at her quizzically. "Can I uh... Well..." Levitating a book down to Rainbow Dash, Twilight waited patiently for her to speak. Rainbow Dash looked down and rubbed one of her forelegs with the other. "Well it's just that..." Rainbow sighed. "Look Twilight, we both know I'm not the smartest pony. We also know Scootaloo lives with me and looks up to me and I was just thinking..." Rainbow cast her eyes off to the side. "I don't want to disappoint her, so maybe you could tutor me in some of the things she's learning so I can better help her? I mean, it's fine if you don't, and I know you could do a hundred times better just on your own..." Twilight walked up to Rainbow and lifted her chin to meet her gaze. "I would love to help you Rainbow. And for the record, I'm proud that you are willing to do so much to help her." Rainbow Dash chuckled awkwardly. "Thanks Twi. Heh, you tell me a month ago I'd be asking for lessons just to help the kid, I'd call you crazy. I guess Scootaloo's grown on me more than I thought. But enough sappy stuff, I still got lots to do today." Rainbow grabbed the cookbook in her mouth and nodded at Twilight. "Ehanks afain" She muttered through the book, before walking out of the library and taking to the sky.