“Scootaloo? Scootaloo?”
“Huh?”
“It’s time for recess, Scootaloo.”
The orange pegasus filly blinked a trance from her eyes, and faced off to the side. In front of her, the trance-breaker prattled on with worry.
“Is everything alright?”
Scootaloo shook herself, and looked back. “Y-yeah!” She put on a smile that pinched at her cheeks. “All good here, Miss Cheerilee. No problems at all.”
“Well, okay.”
For a moment, they sat locked in their staring contest. Outside the window, the cheer of foals on break rang out. Over it all, the distinct sound of the swings creaked through like old boards. It was just enough to force Scootaloo into goosefeathers; her spine rippled with chilled discomfort. She yelped, and hopped out of her chair.
Seeing her victory, Miss Cheerilee tittered quietly. “Have fun with your friends, Scootaloo.”
“O-of course, Miss Cheerilee!” She whipped up a salute for her teacher, but it was wasted on a turned back.
Scootaloo trudged over to the door, hopped up for the handle, and broke free into the outside world.
Free as a flightless filly could be.
And there weren’t any friends waiting for her on the outside steps.
Because she didn’t have those.
Thankfully, one of the swings was unoccupied. Scootaloo was all too glad to clamber aboard her vessel, and push off for take-off.
It was a limited affair, but it meant the world to her.
She gazed down around the schoolyard as she swung in perfect crescendo. The wind whistled through her purple mane and tail in comfortable gusts. She didn’t feel harried in the slightest by the ever-widening pendulum she formed. In fact, as she soared across the swings, her tiny, fragile wings twitched.
Scootaloo dared not bare them to the open sky.
“Hey, Scootaloo!”
She blinked her eyes open in a flash. She held her hooves in and grasped tight to the swing as it slowed back to the earth below. Swing after swing, she passed by the gray colt stood awfully close to her activity.
The pegasus was as little as her, and really, not so different. Maybe, if she put in the effort, they could be friends.
Those thoughts helped to slow her as much as his working wings.
Scootaloo grumbled as the colt sheepishly folded his wings back up. His hoof was still pressed to the chain, until he dodged back from Scootaloo’s half-hearted swipe.
“What do you want, Rumble? I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
The colt blushed—which prompted another groan from Scootaloo—and cleared his throat. “Well,” he started with a squeak, “I was just wondering what you were going to bring to show and tell tomorrow.”
“That’s tomorrow?”
He blinked. “Yeah... so, does that mean you don’t have anything?”
Scootaloo glared. “Of course I have something!”
“Well, what is it then?” Rumble beamed.
The orange filly fluttered her wings at the question-riddled colt. “Why would I tell you? You’re supposed to find out... tomorrow.”
“I just wanted to make sure we didn’t bring the same thing, that’s all.”
Once more, Scootaloo soured. Her hooves’ grip on the swing’s chains grew taut. “What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t think I’m going to bring something cool?”
“Well... not really.” Rumble smiled sheepishly. “I hope it’s not another feather from Rainbow Dash like last year.”
“Rumble... I’m going to give you five seconds before I start pushing this swing again.”
“Okay okay, I get the idea!” The gray pegasus backpedaled slightly. While Scootaloo’s ire turned to a triumphant grin, he started again. “But maybe you should think about going to Vulture’s Cove!”
Scootaloo had been moments away from following through on her swinging threat. Now, she froze, and turned her thoughts back over to Rumble. “Vulture’s Cove?”
“Yeah, you know, because you’ll probably find something really neat, there!”
With a dismissive hoof, Scootaloo readied her hooves for a kick-off. “That place isn’t even real—”
“My brother says he went there when he was a colt.” Rumble puffed up with pegasus pride. “So, I know it’s real.”
Scootaloo’s reply was flat and dry. “Then why don’t you go there yourself?”
Rumble’s façade broke. “Well—” His eyes scanned the ground before he came back up with the proper retort. “You’re the one who wants to fly with the ‘coolest pony in Ponyville’. So, maybe you should prove yourself.”
“Hey! Don’t bring Rainbow Dash into this! She’s too awesome for stuff like that.”
“I bet she’s gone to Vulture’s Cove before,” Rumble happily bubbled out.
It took all of Scootaloo’s willpower to not scream. She loosened her grip on the swing, then hopped down. Rumble trot backwards with a well and truly concerned laugh. She crept right up to him, and leaned in until they were muzzle-to-muzzle.
“And I’ll bet that you’re wrong.”
“Totally real, squirt.”
“What?!”
“Oh yeah, tons of cool stuff there.” Up above her, Ponyville’s coolest pegasus rolled about on her cloud. Bits of her rainbow mane and tail drooped through the thin, white, mobile napping station. “You should definitely go to show and tell with something from there.”
“But it’s in the Everfree Forest.”
“That’s no problem, just f—” Rainbow Dash paused in a wingbeat.
Scootaloo’s stomach dropped. “Just what, Rainbow Dash?”
“Just, uh, just leave it to me.”
Scootaloo blinked. “Leave what to you?”
“Well, I can get you there. I think—er, I definitely remember how to get there. It’s just a quick flap over Saddle Lake, right?”
“Yeah,” Scootaloo nodded. “On the edge of Saddle Lake. Vulture’s Cove. In the Everfree Forest,” she recited.
“Yup! That’s the place. Should be plenty of neat stuff left after all these years. I think it even gets more stuff, somehow.”
“Really? How?”
Rainbow Dash rolled over from her barrel-up position, cresting the cloud. She idly tapped against the cloud with a thinking hoof. “I dunno. Probably some magic s’magic. What matters is that there’s cool stuff, and I can be your ticket.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I guess that’s... fine.” She paused. “Wait, does that mean we can hang out?”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “I guess so, squirt.”
Life surged back into Scootaloo as she gathered up a lungful to express her excitement.
“But just don’t distract me while I’m flying, okay? I don’t want to drop you while we’re flying over Saddle Lake. Not that I would, but...”
Scootaloo sucked it in, and nodded. “Y-yeah, of course, Rainbow Dash!”
“Cool! Then I’ll come find you when I’m not busy, okay?” She tapped her cloud for emphasis. “I’ve got a schedule to keep.”
Scootaloo would have never guessed that this would be her ticket to hanging out with the Rainbow Dash. And in the moment, all thoughts of the Cove and school gave way to pure, albeit contained, excitement.
She skittered happily across the ground, and bounced up high. “Thank you!”
“Heh. Thank me when we find you something cool, squirt.”