//------------------------------// // Letting You Know [?] // Story: Follow The Rainbow // by UnlicensedBrony //------------------------------// Episode Eight: Letting You Know Scootaloo cast her eyes over all the shining bracelets and necklaces on the stall, each encrusted with gems that glittered in the afternoon sunlight. Everything was so pretty and awesome... and, normally, completely out of her price range. Today though, a jingling pouch of bits hung from her saddlebag – the product of several months' saved allowance – and she wasn't going to let some dumb price tag get in the way of her finding the perfect gift for Rainbow Dash. Well, not so much the perfect gift, but it had to be awesome enough to finally let Rainbow know how Scootaloo really felt about her. But there were so many different pieces of jewellery, each with their own sentiments... how could she possibly choose? Naturally, her eyes had first been drawn to the ridiculously glossy, heart-shaped lockets in the front. They were kind of cool-looking, but also kind of sappy. And, if Scootaloo thought it was sappy, she knew that Rainbow would think so too. Besides, the words engraved upon them weren't exactly what she was looking for. 'I love you' and 'Forever yours' were pretty straightforward, and they sure got the point across, but they were way too forward for Scootaloo's liking – she didn't want to creep Rainbow Dash out, after all. Next, she'd found the paired bracelets – which were lame – and the paired necklaces – which were even more lame. There had to be something that would make a good gift for Dash. There had to be, because Scootaloo had already been around every other jewellery stall in the Ponyville Market and found nothing! Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of silver. A single necklace sat about an inch away from the others at the far end of the stall. She hurried over to it and craned her neck to get a better look... The design was simple – two silhouetted mares, cuddling, made from some kind of pretty, silver metal. The words on the front were written using really tiny gems of all colours, and their hues seemed to shift as Scootaloo looked at it from different angles. The thing that made it perfect, though, was the sentiment that the words formed... “This one!” cried Scootaloo, hopping up in excitement. “This is it! This one, this one!” The stall's purveyor, who had taken to grooming her hooves whilst she was waiting, smiled up at Scootaloo and trotted over to meet her. “...This one?” she asked, lifting up the necklace in question with her magic. Scootaloo nodded emphatically, then bit down on her money pouch and held it up in offering. “Ish thish enough?” Setting down the necklace, the unicorn magically took the pouch and peeked inside. A moment passed before a wider smile made its way onto her face – a smile that said 'D'awwww...' Which could also be taken as saying 'Sorry, but this couldn't even buy half of that necklace.' Scootaloo bit her lip, trying to think of something else she could give in trade. “I-I can get more!” she tried desperately. “I think there's some more bits under my cupboard from last week! I'll go check--” “Nonsense, darling,” said the unicorn warmly, pulling six bits from the pouch and depositing them in a metal box behind the stall. “This is more than enough. Here.” She levitated the pouch over to Scootaloo and reattached it to the filly's saddlebags. It was only about half as heavy as it had been before... Then, the kind unicorn lifted the chosen necklace into an elegant, red pouch of its own and offered it with an honest smile. “Wow! Really?” Scootaloo breathed. The unicorn nodded. Joyfully, Scootaloo shrugged off her saddlebags, took the pouch and gently lowered it inside. “Thanks so much, Rarity! Just... thank you!” “Oh, think nothing of it, darling,” said the unicorn, bending down to give her a quick nuzzle on the cheek. “Any friend of Sweetie Belle's is a friend of mine. And, if I may say so, I think it's an excellent choice.” As Rarity pulled back, Scootaloo threw her a worried look. “Y-You won't tell Rainbow Dash, right?” Rarity shook her head. “Not a word shall leave these lips, darling,” she promised. “Now, is there anything else I can get you?” Scootaloo jumped forwards to give Rarity's leg an affectionate nuzzle before grabbing her saddlebags and dashing off towards her next stop – Fluttershy's place... Fluttershy needed only very little convincing before agreeing to help out. Scootaloo had been prepared to tell the whole story if she had to – even the kind of embarrassing parts – but the demure pegasus was ready and waiting almost as soon as Scootaloo finished saying “Can you fly me to Rainbow Dash's house?” It was almost as if everypony was in on the plan before Scootaloo even mentioned it. She guessed that it was just the spirit of the Hearth's Warming season that was getting to them. Not that she was complaining, of course. Flying with Fluttershy was way different than flying with Rainbow Dash. For one thing, Scootaloo wasn't sure whether she would scare the timid pegasus if she held on too tight. For another, Fluttershy's wing muscles weren't nearly as strong and practised as Rainbow's. In fact, her movements were so subtle and quiet that Scootaloo actually had to look sideways to make sure that Fluttershy's wings were still moving. When they alighted on the cloud-stuff that made up Rainbow Dash's porch, Scootaloo was all too happy to hop down and find her own hooves again as she bid Fluttershy a speedy “Thank you.” What came next wasn't quite so easy though... She managed only a few shaky steps towards the door before her nerves got the better of her. What if Rainbow didn't like it? What if she didn't feel the same way? Of course, she'd had the same worries a hundred times before, but now that she was here, seconds away from finally coming out and speaking her heart, they seemed... well, about a hundred times worse. Just as she started backpedalling towards the edge of the cloud, she felt a soft something brush against her withers. Looking sideways, she saw that Fluttershy was still there – a soothing smile on her face as she nudged Scootaloo forwards with her wing. “Um, I think she wants to see you too,” said Fluttershy warmly. “I mean, probably... seeing as it's almost Hearth's Warming and all. You should, um, go ahead, if you want to...” Scootaloo blinked. Of all the ponies to tell her 'Don't be shy'... But she was right – there was no point in turning back after coming this far. And Rarity had said that it was an excellent choice... “Yeah,” Scootaloo muttered, taking her first step forwards. “You're right.” Each step measured, she made her way across the clouds and all the way up to Rainbow Dash's door before she stopped again. As impossible as it sounded, the door actually seemed bigger than usual... She cast a worried look back at Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus offered one last, reassuring smile, then flapped her wings and took off to leave Scootaloo alone with the obstacle before her. Turning back to the door with another nervous gulp, she knew she didn't really have much choice anymore. Scootaloo lifted a hoof, took a deep breath, and rapped on the door. “Rainbow Dash?” she called out. “Are you home? It's Scootaloo!” A long moment passed in silence before there came the sounds of movement from inside. Scootaloo took a few steps back and ran a hoof through her mane nervously. The door slowly opened outwards to reveal a very sleepy-looking Rainbow Dash, who was shielding her eyes with a hoof in the face of the sunlight. “Mornin', squirt,” she muttered, throwing her a forced smile. Scootaloo frowned at her. “It's afternoon...” Rainbow lowered her hoof and blinked painfully. “...Oh.” A smile found its way onto Scootaloo's face as she took a step forwards. “Um, sorry if I woke you. Fluttershy flew me up here so I could give you your Hearth's Warming present.” Suddenly, Rainbow looked wide awake – literally... Her eyes went huge and shocked as if she'd just remembered something very important. “Uh... did you say Hearth's Warming?” “Yeah...” Scootaloo's smile fell. “Did you forget?” “No!” said Rainbow hurriedly, backing away into her house. “Just, uh, wait there! Or... come inside! I'll be right back!” With that, Rainbow spun in place and darted up the stairs at the end of the entrance corridor. Scootaloo nervously glanced around for nothing in particular before trotting over the threshold and shutting the door behind her. She'd been in Rainbow's house a couple of times before, so it wasn't exactly a new and scary place. It still had the same, awesome atmosphere that it had the first time, though – there was something about a house made purely of concentrated cloud-stuff that was just... cool. She glanced about the corridor, taking in the various Wonderbolt posters and photographs that adorned the walls. It wasn't hard to resist the urge to go peeking around the rest of the house – her worries about whether Rainbow would like her present were more than enough to keep her occupied. “Aha!” came a cry from above. A moment later, Rainbow glided down the stairwell and alighted in front of Scootaloo with a proud smile on her face and a pair of golden tickets held between her teeth. She bent down and laid them on the floor, where Scootaloo could get a better look at them. “I haven't wrapped them yet,” Rainbow admitted. “But how do you gift-wrap a ticket anyway?” Scootaloo was only half listening. Her eyes went wide as she stared down at the slips of paper on the floor... “...Tickets to a Wonderbolts air show?” she breathed, looking up at Rainbow for confirmation. “In Cloudsdale?!” Rainbow scratched the back of her neck and gave a sheepish chuckle. “Heh, yeah... I mean, I know it's not until the Summer, but it's, like, the biggest Wonderbolts show of the year – you have no idea how far in advance I had to book these--” In a flash, Scootaloo shrugged off her saddlebags and bounced forwards to hug Rainbow's leg excitedly. “I get to go to Cloudsdale! With Rainbow Dash!” she cheered. “This is so awesome! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” “Sheesh, don't hurt yourself, squirt,” chuckled Rainbow, patting her on the back. “Like I said, it's not for a while, so don't get all excited just yet.” Scootaloo pulled back with a wide grin on her face and looked into Rainbow's smiling eyes. All the worries in her mind started to fade away. Now was the perfect time... Spinning in place, Scootaloo hurried back over to her saddlebags and unclipped them. As Rainbow watched over her shoulder, Scootaloo removed the small, red pouch and shook it a little to make sure that the gift was still inside. Satisfied, she set it down on the ground between herself and Rainbow, then stepped back and watched expectantly. Rainbow Dash cocked her head at the pouch and gave it a curious, lop-sided smile. She bent down and pulled the string to open it, then nosed inside. When she pulled her nose back out, it was with the chain of the necklace in her teeth. Scootaloo watched eagerly as the older pegasus laid her gift on the floor and leant in to get a better look. “Wow...” Rainbow muttered, a definite hint of surprise in her voice. “Didn't see that one coming...” The anxiety started to return. Scootaloo tried to gulp it down. “Uh, t-there's, um...” She stammered for a moment longer before simply leaning in and turning the pendant over so that Rainbow could see the jewel-engraving on the other side. Rainbow drew back with wide eyes as she saw the words and her mouth fell open a little. She stared at the pendant for the longest time. “I... oh, man,” she choked, scratchier than usual. She glanced up at Scootaloo, her eyes wavering. “...You're serious?” Scootaloo bit her lip and nodded twice. For a long, agonizing few seconds, Rainbow stared down at the pendant. Scootaloo, worried that she might've gone too far after all, opened her mouth to apologise. She didn't get a word out before a flash of rainbow-colour tackled her. When she came back to her senses, she found herself held against Rainbow's chest by a pair of warm, powerful wings. Rainbow Dash rested her chin atop Scootaloo's head and her chest rattled with a silent chuckle. “You could've just said something,” Rainbow muttered quietly. “...I did,” Scootaloo countered, closing her eyes and nuzzling into the embrace. “But you never got it. I just wanted to... 'let you know', y'know? Even if you probably don't feel the same way--” “Actually,” Rainbow broke in. “I do...” She squeezed her wings a little tighter around Scootaloo, whose heart suddenly felt a hundred times floatier. “I guess I just... didn't know how to say it...” Biting her lip again, this time to keep from squealing with joy, Scootaloo nodded in understanding. “Well, now you don't have to,” she said, her voice coming out as a sort of half-giggle. Rainbow gave a little chuckle of her own before the two of them fell into silence. Nothing else really needed to be said. Opening her eyes, Scootaloo caught a glimpse of the necklace through a gap in Rainbow's feathers. She smiled at the glittering, multi-hued engraving... 'Best Sister.'