Catch You

by PinkiePie35


Final Goodbyes

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!

Scootaloo awoke with a start.

Slowly, she opened her tear crusted eyes and stared at the ceiling, her eyes foggy and blurred.

After a few seconds, she sat up, and hit her alarm clock on snooze.

The clock read: 7:00a.m.

She lay back down, turned over, nustled her face in her pillow, and with the cruelty of being brought back into the reality of what had happened 2 nights ago, began sobbing again.

Why is it fair, she thought, that my only real family has to be taken away from me...

And it was honestly and painfully true.

Her mother and father had died when she was young, and she had no siblings, and apparently no relatives to take care of her, either...

She was abandoned, to say the least.

Scootaloo cried and cried; Rainbow Dash was her only real family, sure she had Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but those were only friends- Sweetie Belle had Rarity, and Applebloom had the whole Apple Family.

So who did Scootaloo have, then?

Well, now she had lost the one family member she DID have.

And it was like a knife to the chest for her.

Suddenly, she stopped crying.

She sat up once again, wiped her tears with her covers, and began to think.

No, she told herself. Rainbow Dash wouldn't want to see you like this. What did you promise her? That you would cry and mourn over her and not pick yourself back up?

No.

You promised her that you would be strong, that you would do your best- for her.

Scootaloo had made up her mind. With what seemed like an enormous amount of willpower and energy, Scootaloo got out of bed.

She stretched her wings and legs, and then, after a moment, slowly trotted towards her kitchen.

There, she made a measly breakfast of fried dandelion, toast, and sasparilla.

As she took her food to the table and began to eat, she looked around her house.

It was hard not to think of Rainbow Dash, whichever way she looked.

Rainbow Dash had gotten her the job down at Weather Managment, so that's how she was able to get her house.

Rainbow Dash was there helping Scootaloo unpack her things into her new house on that day, Scootaloo remembered.

She looked around more, and came across a picture of her and Rainbow Flying together.

Rainbow Dash had hung that picture up herself when Scootaloo first received her new home, and even now, Scootaloo could imagine Dash clumsily placing the picture on the nail stuck in the wall.

She looked away.

It hurt too much to look.

Wiping a few bittersweet tears out of her eyes, Scootaloo began to chew her toast, stuffing in bits of dandelion with it. She took a sip of sasparilla. It made her eyes water from the carbonation.

After taking the final bite of her dandelion and the final sip of her sasparilla, Scootaloo put her dishes in the sink, washed them, and walked to her door. She turned around one last time at the picture of Rainbow and her, smiled glumly, turned back around, and flew out her front door. She began flying through the sky.

She had been cooped up in her house for the past day in depression... and flying through the air, cutting the wind with her wings- it had rejuvenated her a little bit.

She looked in the distance and saw Rainbow's house.

Her heart came up to her throat, and she looked down and away from the house, a few tears escaping from her eyes.

How strange and saddening, Scootaloo thought, it would be to never again see a bright streak of Rainbow leave that house again in the morning...

Scootaloo held back her tears.

This day was not about her.

It was about Rainbow Dash.

Slowly, she focused her eyes on Ponyville, and slowly started descending towards it. After a few moments, she landed on the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. Sluggishly she walked, through Ponyville.

She passed Sugarcube corner on her left, and thought of Pinkie Pie.

Then she began to wonder: How well had Rainbow's friends been coping with this?

She could only begin to think about it, because the thought saddened her beyond belief.

Besides, she would be seeing Rainbow's friends very soon, anyway.

She left Sugarcube Corner behind and continued on through Ponyville.

She passed Twilight's library on the right, and kept walking.

Finally, she arrived at her destination.

The Ponyville Cemetery.

She looked around at all the headstones. So many fallen friends... so many lost ponies...

She looked around some more, and found an old pony in some religious robes, accompanied by Twilight and Pinkie.

She slowly galloped towards them, and when they noticed her, they both ran towards her.

Pinkie and Twilight both hugged her tightly, crying softly together. For a moment, it seemed like they would never let go. Scootaloo knew how they were feeling, and how sad it felt not to have a shoulder to cry on; so she let them continue to hug her and cry upon her.

"Hey guys..." Said Scootaloo.

"H-hey Scoot," said Pinkie.

"Listen, I know this is a really sad thing... but uh... I think Rainbow would want us to be happy, not sad, right?" said Scootaloo with a smile and a sniffle.

"R-right, you're right..." said Twilight.

"She would want us to be happy."

With that, the two gave Scootaloo a final squeeze, and let her go.

"So, where are the others?" Scootaloo asked.

She turned around, and as if an answer to her question, she saw Applejack and Rarity, each with their little sisters.

Knowing how upset Scootaloo must have been, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle both ran up to Scootaloo and hugged her.

Scootaloo returned the embrace as best as she could, and felt a little better inside; she was here with her friends, that cared about her. It wasn't the same as family, but it was warm; it was somepony.

She let them go and they went back to their sisters.

Scootaloo then embraced quickly with AJ and Rarity.

Not long after, Fluttershy arrived.

Her face was damp and wet. She walked up to all of her friends and squeezed them tightly, crying ever so softly as she did so. Poor Fluttershy must have suffered the most from the loss of Rainbow, Scootaloo imagined. After all, she had known her since she was just a filly.

Now that all of the greetings and emotions were out, they began walking silently back to where the old pony stood. Scootaloo had figured by now that he was the one who was taking care of the funeral.

He spoke.

"Good morning, all. Are you ready to begin?"

Twilight responded.

"Yes, sir, we're all present," she replied.

"Okay, let us begin then," he said with a firm but sympathetic voice, smiling back at Twilight.

"We are here today to recognize the passing of a great hero, a great friend, a great worker, a great athlete, and a great mentor- Ms. Rainbow Dash."

He motioned over to his left, where an altar lay.

Among the altar, there lay several things; pictures of Rainbow and her friends, things that her friends held dear to them that they had offered up to her, and most importantly, a cyan blue coffin.

Upon the coffin, there was a painting of Rainbow Dash's Cutie mark.


"Of course, the passing of such a pony comes with great sadness- but also, with great responsibility."

"I'm sure that, right now, she is looking down upon you, her friends, bearing you the best of lives, and I'm sure that she wants you to live your lives to the fullest, despite her passing- and so comes the responsibility of doing so in her name."

Scootaloo continued listening contently, not daring to shame her fallen friend by not paying attention.

"However, I am sure that Ms. Dash would like to be remembered. From what I hear, Ms. Dash's abilities were quite competent, were they not?" he said with a smile.

Everypony nodded their heads, some laughing a little bit, remembering the way Dash would boast about how awesome of a flyer she was- and indeed, she was.

"Precisely," he continued.

"So although we should not stop our own lives in the mourning of the passing of Ms. Dash, we should of course not forget to remember Rainbow Dash for who she was; for what she did."

The other ponies solidly nodded in agreement.

"So, at this time, I invite you all to do what Ms. Dash would have liked you to do most at this time- call upon the good memories that you shared with her, and forget the bad ones. Would anyone like to start off and share with us their fondest memories of Ms. Dash, and bid her farewell as she enters the afterlife of Celestia?"

At first, no one spoke.

Then a soft quite voice emerged.

"Um...*sniff*...I'll go first, if that's okay with you..." said Fluttershy.

The elder pony nodded, and stepped aside. Fluttershy stood facing towards the coffin.

She wiped her nose and face, sniffled, and began.

"Well, Rainbow Dash, I don't even know where to start... you were my best friend in Flight school... you made those big old meanies leave me alone, and ever since then, we've been such great friends over the years."

Fluttershy giggled sweetly.

"R-remember the time when you were in that silly race in flight school, and when you started, the wind you made when you darted from the starting line knocked me off a cloud?"

Everypony chuckled at this.

"Ah, yes, you were so fast Dash, and you never let anypony bring you down.... and I... admired you for that. I always wanted to be like you, to be able to stand up against people that only want to hurt me... and not let anypony bring me down..."

"Oh, and thanks for the cutie mark," she said shakily.

"If it wasn't for you... things would have been very different right now."

Fluttershy broke into tears at this point, but managed to continue.

"And so... Rainbow D-dash... please know that I loved you as a friend... more than you could ever know... thanks so m-much for all you did for me... I will never forget you... okay...? Pinkie Promise..." Fluttershy drifted off.

After this, Fluttershy got on her knees, rested her head on the coffin for a few seconds, smiling sadly, and whispered,

"I love you Dash. Stay fast."

Fluttershy got up, and walked back sadly, with a small smile on her face.

They all embraced her, the elder pony included.

"That was very meaningful, Ms. Fluttershy. I'm sure Ms. Dash is looking down upon you smiling right now," he said with a smile.

Fluttershy just nodded her head lightly and glumly.

"Would anypony like to go next?" he requested.

"I would," said Twilight.

"Very well," said the pony, as he stepped away from the coffin and made way for Twilight.

Twilight walked up to the altar and faced directly towards the coffin.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash," said Twilight.

"What's not to say about you? You were the 2nd pony I met here in Ponyville, and even though I was so grumpy when I first got here, you made it appoint to make me your friend. Not to mention, you came with me to fight Nightmare Moon when you barely even knew me."

"Rainbow Dash," said Twilight, beginning to tear up, "You were always loyal to me and never abandoned me. Friends like that come around once in a lifetime."

"Not to mention, I owe my cutie mark to you. Had it not been for your Sonic Rainboom, then I would have never become Celestia's understudy and I would have never even traveled to Ponyville... I would have never even met you."

"Rainbow, it's not hard to see that you were a great pony. But I want you to know that you have my respect, and my love. Forever. I will never forget you, okay? I promise."

Twilight smiled and, looking at the coffin, did the Pinkie Promise signal.

Then, just had Fluttershy had done, Twilight knelt down to the coffin, placed her head on the surface, and whispered to it.

"Thanks for everything. Rest easy. Stay strong. We love you."

Twilight stood up, turned around, and walked back to the group.

Though she was teary-eyed, Twilight was not crying; she seemed rather at peace.

She wore a sad smile upon her face.

The elder pony shook her hoof.

"Very sweet, Ms. Sparkle ,"he said softly to her.

"Who would like to volunteer next?"

Pinkie Pie was the next to answer.

"Oh, um, me please!"

"Certainly," he said, stepping aside again.

Pinkie Pie bounced rather quickly over to the coffin, and began talking once more.

"Hey Dashie, dunno if you can hear me, but here goes!"

"Rainbow Dash, you made me who I am today. And I'm not just exaggerating; if it wasn't for you, I would be mining rocks on some boring old rock farm, my personality'd be dull, and I'd have none you guys... my best friends! And I owe it all to you."

"I'll never forget watching you do a Sonic Rainboom in the Best Young Flyer's competition, and I'll never forget fighting changlings in Canterlot with you, and I'll certainly never forget that time when we went around pranking everypony!"

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped, and her voice became much less hyper and more quiet.

"And of course, I'll never, ever, ever, ever forget everything that you've done for everypony, Dash. You always made people's days brighter, even mine, when I went all loco and sad, and you took me to my birthday party to make me happy again."

Pinkie embraced the coffin in a hug, and gave the cutie mark a quick kiss.

"Be a good mare, Dashie," she said ever so audibly.

Pinkie turned around, wiped a few tears from her eyes, and slowly trotted back with the rest of the mane 6.

After a pause of silence, Rarity spoke.

"I'd like to go next, if it's too much trouble, sir," said Rarity in a respectful voice.

"Absolutely," he said, leading her to the coffin, and then moving aside.

After staring at the coffin for a few seconds with a light smile, Rarity began.

"Oh Rainbow, I have nothing but good to say about you."

"Why, we were best friends before we even knew each other, were we not? In fact, we all were, in a sense. We were all brought here together, by you, my dear, although indirectly. By fate, you and I became great friends. I'll never forget the time you saved me when I was falling because of my own arrogance at the Best Young Flier's competition. I owe you my cutie mark and my life."

Rarity sniffled a bit, a few drops of water falling from her eyes, and continued.

"After all... you are the Element of Loyalty... are you not?"

Rarity wiped her face, just so as to finish her speech while staying strong.

"Rainbow Dash. You had so much to give the world, and you gave and gave, and to this day, we are all thankful for what you gave us- your friendship."

Rarity sat on the ground and leaned her head against the side of the coffin.

"Dashie. We are forever in your debt. We love you and will never forget you."

"Pinkie Pie promise."

Rarity rubbed the side of the coffin at patted it gently, then got up and walked back.

She cantered speedily to twilight and rested her head on her shoulder, embracing her friend in her sadness.

Rarity felt as if no friend could replace Rainbow Dash, as did the rest of her friends.

The elder pony came to Rarity and began to pat her on the back.

"It is okay Ms. Rarity, she is at peace. I'm sure she would like you to feel the same."

Rarity stopped crying for a moment and nodded her head, but continued to rest sadly on Twi's Shoulder.

The whole time, Scootaloo appeared rather solid and had nothing but a few tear droplets in her eyes.

She was, in reality, extremely depressed on the inside, and she wanted to rip her heart out from her chest; it hurt so much to see her own hero like this.

As she recalled her fondest memories that she and Dash shared together, the bittersweet sadness punched her in the soul.

It hurt so much.

Still, Scootaloo let nothing but a few tears escape, and controlled her emotions.

She was determined on being strong and at peace for Rainbow Dash.

It was the least she could do to repay the pony who did so much for her.

Applejack was next to go up.

" 'Ah reckon 'ah should go now?" AJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes, of course, dear," replied the old colt.

Applejack walked slowly over to the coffin, examining the items on the altar as she passed by it. After looking at all the things lain out for Dash, she arrived at the coffin. She cleared her throat.

"Well, RD, 'ah can't say 'ah ever expected ta' see ya' like this so soon..."

She paused for a moment, and then continued.

"...but 'ah do know that life can be pretty unpredictable at times. So, that bein' said, 'ah'd like ta' let ya' know that you meant the world ta' me, ya' hear?"

"Each mornin' at Sweet Apple Acres, 'ah'd get up in the mornin' and start buckin' the trees, and at about noon, what do 'ah see? Why, it's you, dashin' across the sky, each and every mornin'."

Applejack sat on the ground next the coffin.


" 'Ah gotta admit, it's gonna be mighty strange not seein' ya' each mornin' from now on, but that's alright, I reckon. Besides, this is about you, not me."

Applejack got more serious.

"Rainbow, sure we had our differences, but I feel like you were one of the closest friends I had. When I was homesick in Manehatten as a filly, you led a rainbow straight back to ponyville, leadin' me back home to where I belonged; with my family and my friends... You may have not done so directly, but that doesn't matter, 'cause in the end it brought us all together."


"Listen, I'm not the best with words, but... I want you to know that I love you more than you will ever know. You got that?"

Applejack's speed of talking suddenly slowed down.

"Don't you ever... forget that... now... listen, I will ALWAYS remember you, sugarcube... you rest easy now... I love you.... Goodbye, Rainbow... Dash..."

She stood up and gripped the coffin in a tight embrace, not daring to let go of it too soon.

She took a few steps back, and when she was a few feet away from the coffin, she stared back at it, titled her hat towards it, and said ever so softly:

"See you around, RD."

Finally, she walked back to the group, who were all teary eyed as well.

They all embraced in a group hug, Scootaloo included, and even the old funeral colt was teary, which came as a surprise to the rest.

Finally, Scootaloo stood up very tall and proud.

After a few moments of silence, Scootaloo spoke at last.

"I would like to go next, please." Scootaloo said.

The elder pony responded.

"Yes, Ms. Scootaloo, please proceed."

Time seemed to slow for Scootaloo as she approached the coffin.

It felt so sadly strange to see her idol boxed up in a coffin; the mare she had looked up to since she was a very little filly, now lain before her, cold and not moving.

She looked at the Alter more closely as she approached the coffin. She noticed a picture of Dash and her friends in Canterlot, bunched together and laughing at the Canterlot Castle in some party. Twilight and Dash were dancing, Twilight performing her usual goofy dance, and Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie were nearby. Fluttershy was a few feet away, talking to a bunny.

To the left of the picture, Scootaloo saw another photo, and it nearly broke her heart.

The frame was a bright crimson, and the picture was of her and Dash, soaring through the sky together, smiles plastered on their flight-struck faces.

It was a copy of the one Scootaloo had at her house.

There was only two copies of this photo, one of them was the one in Scootaloo's house, and the other one belonged to Rainbow Dash.

So the photo that Scootaloo saw now was none other than the very photo that belonged to Rainbow Dash herself.

Again, another bolt of sadness swept through Scootaloo's mangled heart.

She tried to pull a smile at the memory that the picture told.

She arrived at the coffin, planted her hooves on the ground, and prepared to begin speaking.

Suddenly, her emotions overcame her.

She stared at the coffin.

A huge wave of sadness rushed over her, and she almost fell to the ground.

Just a few days ago, Rainbow Dash had been with Scootaloo, alive and helping her train for the Speedstars.

Now, just a few days later, she lay stiff and dead inside wooden confinement.

It didn't seem possible to Scootaloo that such a close pony could be taken away from her in such a short amount of time...

Scootaloo longingly wished that it could all be a dream, that she would wake up to Rainbow Dash, smiling over her head, calling her to be with her; she wished she could escape the cruel reality.

Scootaloo closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, she found it was all a cruel dream.

There she stood for a few seconds, her eyes shut loosely.

When she opened her eyes again, she found that nothing had changed; the sadness still remained in her heart, and she still remained standing in front of the coffin of her fallen idol.

It was all too real.

She could no longer hold in all of her sadness.

To do so would have been toxic.

Scootaloo let out a series of heavy sobs as she looked over her fallen idol, and collapsed to the ground.

She began to speak, breathing hard and crying hard.

"R-rainbow Dash.... why... why did you... have to go..."

Scootaloo, still sobbing uncontrollably, spoke through her hot breaths.

"I l-love you... and you... were the b-big sister I never had... I had... no one... as a small f-filly... my parents died... I only had two friends... and n-no one took care of m-me... until you came along... You... you were my inspiration, my sh-shoulder to cry on, my everything... my whole wide world..."

"Please.. come back... p-please, Dash..."

There she sat, crying and crying and crying.

After a few moments she began speaking again.

"Whatever you do... D-Dash... wherever you are... right n-now... if you can hear me... please... don't ever forget me... you meant and w-will always mean... so m-much to me... I promise... never to forget you... Just please... okay...?

At this, Scootaloo grabbed a blue cloth with her teeth that she had hidden in her wings.

It was lined in gold silk, and the pattern of a young pony lay on the front of it.

It was her Cutie Mark Crusader cape.

She lay it on top of the coffin.

At this, everypony began to cry, especially Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, as they knew how much that cape meant to Scootaloo.

"Rainbow... Dash..." Scootaloo muttered, still crying harder than ever.

"I want you to have this... I got my cutie m-mark... because you helped me get it... so I only think... it's only fit if... you have it..."

"Rainbow Dash... I'm sorry... that I didn't catch you... I know you told me not to b-blame myself..." Scootaloo paused, catching her breath from her lung blasting heaves.

"...but I j-just want you to know... that I will get faster... so that... I could have c-caught you, okay?"

Scootaloo continued sobbing, tasting the salt of her tears as they streamed down her face.

"Rainbow Dash... you meant everything to me... I love you... and I'll love you... forever... Dash..."

Even Pinkie Pie was crying rather hard now.

"I'll see... you... real soon... okay... Rainbow...Dash...?"

She received no answer, although she was not expecting there to be one.

She got up, pulled the Cape off the coffin for a moment, kissed, cloud of the cutie mark placed the Cape back on top of the coffin, and whispered:

"I love you."

Slowly, she turned around, head towards the ground, tears falling fast to the ground, and walked slowly back towards the group. They all embraced her with the biggest hug they could give. Together they all wept.

After they were finished, the elder pony began.

"And so," he said, "if there no longer are any final requests, we shall begin the burial now," he said with yet another sympathetic smile.

They all agreed and walked over to the coffin.

Together, the 9 ponies lifted the coffin, and carried it over to the hole which the elder pony had dug out for Rainbow.

Slowly, they lowered it on the ground next to the hole.

"Well," the colt began, "now would be the time for final goodbyes, my friends."

One by one, Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle all went and said their teary goodbyes to Dashie forever.

At last, Scootaloo went up to the coffin, sat on the ground next to it and looked up into the sky. It was a clear and beautiful day, the sun was out, and all seemed right in the world for once.

Scootaloo, as a single tear went down her left cheek, began to talk to Dash.

"Nice day, isn't it?" she started.

"Just the kind of day you would love to fly in. Don't worry though. I'm sure where you're going has plenty of sunny days to fly in," she said grinning up at the sun.

"Know that I appreciate everything you've done for me, since I was a filly, and to this day. I'll never forget it, nor will I forget you."

Lastly, Scootaloo leaned on the coffin, and embraced it in a hug.

She sat by it for several minutes, gripping tightly and not saying a word.

Her friends stared at her sadly as she did so.

At last, she looked up at and said:

" I love you, big sis. Be good."

Finally, she stood up, tear-less, and looked down at the coffin.

She was ready.

Once again, Scootaloo and her friends lifted up the coffin, and this time, placed it snuggly in the hole.

The old colt was just about to start burying it when Scootaloo said:

"May I?" she asked.

"Of course." he replied.

Scootaloo picked up the shovel, and after having one final look at the cutie mark crusader cape on the coffin, began piling the dirt atop.

It was a very sad moment, and everyone cried as they saw their beloved friend for the last time, even Scootaloo as she piled the dirt with her shovel.

After a few minutes, Rainbow was at last covered by the dirt, underneath the ground inside her coffin.

Scootaloo picked up the gravestone that lay on the ground and looked at it. It read:

Here Lies

RAINBOW DASH

LOVING FRIEND AND SISTER

MAY SHE REST IN ETERNAL PEACE

Behind the words, Dash's cutie mark lay emblazoned on the gravestone.

To Scootaloo, it looked just perfect.

She placed the gravestone right in the dirt above where they had buried her, and smiled.

The old funeral colt began one last time.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts, rejoice that your friend Rainbow Dash may now know eternal peace, and that your final deeds to her be done."

Still crying somewhat, the mares all nodded with great smiles.

"Now, go in peace, and bid Rainbow Dash farewell!"

They all said "Goodbye Rainbow Dash" together, and walked away together.

Everypony gave each other great hugs once more, and finally, they dispersed.

Scootaloo flew back up to her home in the sky.

She passed by Dash's house on the way.

She smiled.

She entered her house, and when she did, she was greeted by a picture on the wall.

It was her and Dash, flying together.







She smiled.