Episode Four: Bedridden - [Slice Of Life]
The Ponyville Ball – the biggest, most awesome party of the year. The town hall was going to be practically packed with ponies, all hanging out with friends or dancing and helping themselves to all the wonderful treats cooked up specially for the event. Everypony who was anypony was going to be there.
And Scootaloo couldn’t go.
She stared out of her bedroom window and across the snow-laden streets of Ponyville with a longing frown. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were probably out there somewhere, in their winter gear, playing and laughing as they made their way to the party. What Scootaloo wouldn’t have given to join them…
She caught herself scratching at the spots on her foreleg again and stomped the floor with a huff. “Dumb pony pox,” she pouted sadly. Turning away from the window, she slouched over to her bed, flopped down upon it and breathed a heavy sigh. She buried her muzzle in her pillow and shut her eyes tight, but it did no good – it seemed that the harder she tried not to think about how much fun the Ball would be, the harder it was to not think about it.
Hearing the door click open behind her, she lifted her head up off the pillow and stared idly at the headboard. “Mom,” she began thoughtfully. “You remember that one time when I was little, and you said--”
“Let me stop you there, squirt,” came the familiar voice of Rainbow Dash. Caught off guard, Scootaloo rolled over and looked towards the door, where Rainbow Dash stood smirking back at her with a pair of saddlebags strapped across her back.
“Rainbow Dash!” exclaimed Scootaloo joyfully, surging forwards to lean over the edge of her bed. “What are you doing here? I thought everypony was at the Ball!”
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. “The Ponyville Ball? As in dancing, flowers and all other kinds of mushy stuff? Yeah, that’s not really my style,” she said with a slight chuckle. “Besides, I couldn’t have fun knowing that my top filly’s stuck in bed with nothing to do!”
Scootaloo smiled a little at that, then her eyes went wide as something sprang to mind. “Oh, you can’t come in!” she said suddenly, sliding backwards on the bed. “Mom said that Pony Pox are contah—contan—uh…” She struggled to remember the exact word, but she knew that it was bad.
“Don’t worry, squirt,” chuckled Rainbow, confidently striding across the room towards her. “I’ve already had Pony Pox – can’t get it twice.”
“Oh,” said Scootaloo, relaxing as Rainbow came to a stop at her bedside. “Really? When did you have Pony Pox?”
“When I was about your age,” said Rainbow casually, giving a little smile at the memory. “I got to bunk off a whole week of flight school and hang around in bed. Kind of unlucky for you to get it on a holiday…”
“Yeah, unlucky,” Scootaloo agreed with a solemn nod. “So, what did you do?”
“Hmm?” grunted Rainbow in question.
“Well you must have been bored, right?” said Scootaloo. “I mean, since you couldn’t go outside or hang out with your friends or… fly…” She trailed off.
“Oh yeah!” said Rainbow, her face lighting up in understanding. “That’s actually why I’m here.” She shrugged her saddlebags onto the bed and turned to open one side with her teeth. Scootaloo watched in interest as Rainbow pulled a small board game box from her bag and placed it on the bed.
“Cloud battle?” Scootaloo read aloud.
“My mom bought me this to help pass the time when I was stuck in bed,” said Rainbow helpfully. “Since then, it’s been my favourite board game. C’mon, I’ll show you how to play.”
Scootaloo’s face lit up. Maybe this day wasn’t going to be so boring after all…
About half an hour later, Rainbow Dash threw up her hooves in triumph. “Aw yeah! I win again!”
Scootaloo beat her hoof against the pillow. “Oh come on! That’s four games in a row!” she pouted. In retrospect, she should have known better than to think she would have a chance of beating Rainbow Dash at her favourite board game. Still, she didn’t expect to be beaten quite this badly.
Rainbow Dash, obviously noticing the look on Scootaloo’s face, frowned at her. “Huh, that’s weird,” she said thoughtfully. “You’re not smiling? I must be doing this wrong… Hold on, let me check the instructions.”
As Rainbow flipped open the book, Scootaloo quickly corrected herself and forced a smile. “No, no – it’s okay. I’m having fun, really!” she tried desperately, not wanting to hurt Rainbow’s feelings. “Um, how about best of nine?”
Rainbow scanned the contents page for a few seconds before looking back up at Scootaloo with a thoughtful half-smile. “Y’know, why don’t we do something else instead?”
“Something else?” Scootaloo repeated, suddenly curious. “Like what?”
“Well--” Rainbow leant over to rifle around in her saddlebags again. “I did have a backup plan, in case you weren’t into board games. Where is it?” she muttered, her voice muffled. A moment later, she gave a triumphant “Aha!” and pulled her nose out of the bag, revealing a green, hardback book that she held in her teeth. As she set it down on the bed, Scootaloo leaned forwards to get a better look.
“Daring Do and The Frozen Temple,” Scootaloo read aloud. “A storybook?”
“The first in the series,” Rainbow confirmed with a smile and a nod. “It’s still one of my favourites.”
Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow in fascination. “I didn’t know you liked reading!”
Rainbow gave a short chuckle. “Yeah, it’s a long story. But hey, do you want to hear that boring stuff, or do you want to read some Daring Do with me?”
Honestly, Scootaloo would have taken a story about Rainbow Dash over a normal storybook any day of the week. She guessed that Rainbow hadn’t expected an answer though, because she had already shifted over to sit at the head of the bed, beside Scootaloo, and opened the book in front of them.
Rainbow flashed Scootaloo a smile, which she happily returned. Together, they looked down at the first page and, after clearing her throat, Rainbow started to read. “The world seemed to swim in front of Daring’s eyes as she lifted her head out of the snow. The icy wind bit at her face, sending shivers all through her body. Never before had she awoken in so cold a place as this…”
Before they had even finished the first few pages, Scootaloo was hooked. Whether it was the book or Rainbow’s awesome reading voice, she didn’t know, but something told her that she had to find out what happened next – a feeling that showed no signs of diminishing as time went on.
Soon, she had forgotten all about the Ball and the Pony Pox – finding herself completely absorbed in Rainbow’s storytelling. They followed Daring Do as she and her guide ascended the treacherous slopes of the Crystal Mountains – pursued by her cruel nemesis, Ahuizotl and his vicious predators. When, at last, Daring arrived at the so-called ‘Frozen Temple’, carrying her injured guide atop her back, she hurried inside to get out of the icy wind…
“Daring’s legs felt like lead beneath her – every step got that much harder than the last. Though she would never admit it, she knew she couldn’t keep it up for much longer.
“Hearing Snowy Peak give a muffled groan from atop her back, Daring bit her lip and came to a stop. It was no use – Daring couldn’t carry her any further. But she couldn’t just go on without her either – Ahuizotl would find Snowy if Daring left her there. When she stopped to think about it, there was really only one choice…
“She set Snowy down gently against the closest wall of white stone. Snowy looked up at her with questioning, half-lidded eyes. ‘Daring?’ she mumbled tiredly, her voice shivering as much as her body.
“…‘Don’t worry Snowy,’ said Daring, looking firmly into her eyes. ‘I promised that we’d see the inside of this temple together, remember? I’m going to keep that promise.’ She turned her gaze to towards the archway marking the exit, beyond which the blizzard still blew as fiercely as ever. ‘…I’m just going to need a little help.’
“With that, Daring turned away from Snowy and strode across the corridor, towards the great snowstorm outside. Her hoofsteps against the stone seemed to echo around her, as if trying to warn her that this was a bad idea, but she knew that she didn’t really have a choice. Soon, said hoofsteps were muffled by the snow as Daring stepped out into the biting cold again.
“She trudged through the snow to the top of a small hill and turned her head to the wind. ‘Ahuizotl!’ she yelled, her voice resounding what felt like a dozen times. She reared up and threw out her hooves. ‘I’m here!’ she cried. ‘It’s time we talked…’”
“What?!” exclaimed Scootaloo, gawping at Rainbow. “The chapter can’t end there – it was just getting to the good part!”
“Take it easy, squirt,” Rainbow chuckled, flipping to the next page. “The next chapter isn’t going anywhere.” Scootaloo flushed a little and offered a sheepish smile – she was getting a little more absorbed into the story than she thought.
Just as Rainbow opened her mouth to continue reading, the door burst open and a pair of fillies fell over the threshold in a heap. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, both looking equally dazed, turned slowly to look up at Scootaloo.
“Uh, evenin’!” said Applebloom with an awkward grin on her face.
“We weren’t listening!” Sweetie Belle added helpfully. Applebloom shot her a scolding glare.
“Guys!” exclaimed Scootaloo, her eyes wide. “What’re you doing here? I thought you were at the party.”
Applebloom disentangled herself from Sweetie Belle and stepped forwards. “We were,” she confirmed. “And it was kind of fun, but…”
Sweetie Belle, still on the floor, rolled onto her front and looked up at Scootaloo with a frown. “It wasn’t a whole lot of fun without you, Scoots,” she finished. “So we asked if we could come see you instead.”
“Really?” said Scootaloo, her face lighting up. “But… you guys know you could get sick too, right?”
“Aw, shucks, Scoots – we don’t care ‘bout that,” Applebloom reported with a smile. “Just like Sweetie Belle said – it ain’t a whole lot of fun playin’ without ya.”
Scootaloo gave Applebloom and Sweetie Belle a warm smile – they really were the most awesome friends ever. She saw that Rainbow was doing the same, even as she closed the storybook and shoved it into her saddlebags.
“Well, looks like the cavalry’s arrived,” said Rainbow, sliding off of the bed to land on her hooves.
“Wait, where you are you going?” asked Scootaloo, turning to frown at her in question. “We didn’t finish the story!”
Rainbow threw her a smile. “It’ll still be here tomorrow, squirt,” she said casually. “But for now you’ve got friends to hang with. Aaand, four’s a crowd, so I’m going to split.”
“Oh…” said Scootaloo, pouting. After a moment, she looked up hopefully. “But, you’ll be back tomorrow?”
“Of course!” said Rainbow, tossing the saddlebags into the air and catching them across her back. “I would never miss a reading date – just ask Twilight.”
Scootaloo felt herself smiling again. “Oh, okay!” she said, the cheer returning to her voice. “Tomorrow then!”
Rainbow simply nodded and started towards the open door. “Catch you later, girls,” she called back as she crossed the threshold, receiving a chorus of goodbyes in response. As the door clicked shut, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle approached the bed.
“So, what d’you want to do?” asked Applebloom, looking between her two fellow Crusaders.
“Hey, what’s that?” said Sweetie Belle, thrusting a hoof towards the foot of the bed. Turning to look, Scootaloo saw that Rainbow Dash had left her board game there. She had just opened her mouth to call Rainbow back when an idea struck her.
“That,” she said. “Is ‘Cloud Battle’.”
“Cloud Battle?” Applebloom repeated.
“Sounds scary,” commented Sweetie Belle, regarding the game board uncertainly.
“Nah, it’s just a board game. Here, let me show you how to play. I’ll go easy on you…”
Half an hour and three consecutive wins later, Scootaloo was fast beginning to see why Rainbow Dash liked this game so much.
~FIN