//------------------------------// // The Night Before // Story: Big Sister Rainbow // by Nova Force //------------------------------// There simply was no position that was comfortable. She tried her left side, but it was just as uncomfortable as her right. All the tossing and turning tangled up her mane, making it that much more difficult to be at ease and doze off before the big day tomorrow. Eventually she settled on her backside, which became the winner for the least comfortable position. Soon Rainbow Dash found herself in a starring contest with the ceiling. No way was she going to lose this one. Unfortunately for her, the ceiling showed off its infinite stamina and remained unblinking. When her eyes dried out, she shut them tightly and rubbed her hooves in her face. This looked to be one of those long nights. Even though tomorrow promised to be an especially rare and lucky day for any Pegasus, something was causing great unrest within Rainbow Dash. I made the right choice, right? I mean, I promised her that we could go next year. Plus, it’s not like we don’t see each other every so often. If she knew how awesome the Wonderbolts are, she’d understand. Yeah. That’s it. And besides! Think how impressed she’ll be after I receive my Wonderbolt training. Yeah. This is for her, not me. I’m doing her a favor. After Soarin’ and I practice tomorrow, she’ll think I’m so awesome that she’ll tell me that she wanted me to go all along. Eeyup, she’s a good kid. The thought of Soarin’ slowed the momentum of Rainbow Dash’s thoughts. Seeing the two of them flying through clouds in her mind’s eye brought a much-needed sense of calm. Soarin’ and Rainbow Dash have crossed paths with each other in the past at functions like the Grand Galloping Gala or the Best Young Flyer competition, but never had they spent time together out of their own volition. Receiving a face-to-face invitation from Soarin’ to train with him and his team certainly was not commonplace. How’s a pony supposed to say “no” to that? Or, in Rainbow Dash’s case, to him? Tomorrow will be awesome. Soarin’ and Me. Together. Practicing our flight routines. Nothing can go wrong. Although I hope he doesn’t want to see a Sonic Rainboom. I can’t just do those whenever I want. It’s more than just going very fast. There needs to be a reason for me to do one beyond others wanting to see it. Shoot, I want to see it all the time! But I can’t say “no” either. He’ll think I’m lame. Unacceptable. I just got to think of an excuse why I can’t do one. Rainbow Dash’s thoughts came to a halt. Think of an excuse. She seemed to be thinking of a lot about excuses lately. The image in her mind’s eye of flying with Soarin’ through the clouds morphed into the last image she had of Scootaloo. Even though she tried her best to avoid witnessing the look of disappointment, Rainbow Dash did see little Scootaloo’s eyes begin to water up before she flew away from the little hill outside of Ponyville. The journey back to Cloudsdale after that exchange was heavier than usual. She began battling with her guilt from the moment she lifted off the ground. Since then, it festered within her like a disease. Now she was alone in bed unable to do anything else but wrestle with the decision she made. Like a kneejerk reaction, Rainbow Dash lifted her bed sheets over her face. Just keep thinking about Soarin’. Tomorrow will be awesome. We’re going to fly and everything will be great. The Wonderbolts will love me. You told her that we would go next year. You’re going to be a better flyer next year too, so she’ll appreciate that. This is what’s best for both of us. Yeah. Her guilt never fully subsided, but Rainbow Dash was able to create enough false justification to enable her to fall asleep. The others went home. Scootaloo had fallen asleep on her couch. None of this mattered. Twilight was not quitting. She knew it was somewhere in the Encyclopedia Equestriannica. She remembered highlighting it. This might come in handy one day. The problem for Twilight, of course, was filtering through her massive amount of highlights. Pinkie Pie once joked that many of her textbooks suffered from so much highlighting that they could be confused for coloring books. Twilight didn’t laugh then, and she certainly wasn’t laughing now. “It’s got to be in here somewhere…” Twilight said. Spike groggily sauntered into Twilight’s study. “Now here’s a familiar scene,” he said. If Spike had a bit for every time he saw Twilight buried in her books late at night, his wealth would put other dragons’ treasure lairs to shame. As he moved closer to Twilight, he passed the sleeping body of Scootaloo on the couch. Poor girl. For as much as she endured today emotionally, she did seem rather peaceful while she slept. “Twilight, what is it exactly that you’re looking for?” he said pulling up a stool to sit next to her. As per usual, Twilight’s laser-like focus did not break from her reading. Although she kept going through the text, she was able to answer her assistant. “I’m looking for a certain spell that I know will help resolve this situation between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash. I stumbled across it earlier when we were researching information about Scootaloo’s cutie mark. Had I known at the time what Rainbow Dash was going to do, I would have ripped the page out of the book and put it up on the refrigerator.” Despite how tired he was, Spike could not believe what he heard. Twilight would have ripped a page out of her Encyclopedia Equestriannica? The situation was apparently more serious than he realized. In times like this, Spike knew he was lucky to be with Twilight. She originally came to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship, but now the tables were turning. She was becoming the one who shared its magic with her friends. Such a fact was a testament to her resolve as Celestia’s student. Twilight and Scootaloo never even had that close of a friendship, yet here was Twilight determined to make things right. Spike looked over at Scootaloo on the couch. Her little orange belly slowly rose and fell with every breath she took. She was sound asleep indeed. Spike turned back to Twilight, whose pupils were darting back-and-forth on each page. Spike wanted to be supportive, but he also wanted to clear up a few things. “Hey Twilight, I’m curious about something,” he said. “About what?” she said, eyes still on the page. “Why are you bothering to go through all this trouble? You don’t have a stake in any of this. You’re not participating in the Sisterhooves Social. So what if Rainbow Dash spends the day with the Wonderbolts instead of Scootaloo? I know Scootaloo looks up to her and everything, but can’t they hangout some other time together?” Twilight stopped reading. She turned and looked straight into Spike’s eyes. Her brow furrowed as she glared into his now cowering figure. He was not expecting such a sharp reaction, considering nothing he had said up to this point elicited anything of the sort. Feeling like he needed to do a little backpedaling, he said, “I’m sorry, Twilight. I just don’t like seeing you work this hard at night. You need rest.” Twilight’s expression relaxed upon hearing Spike’s concern. She smiled at him and turned away to resume her reading. “No, Spike, I’m sorry. Here, let me try and explain. See, my mission since I came to Ponyville has been to learn about friendship. Of all the friends I’ve made here, Scootaloo is the one I know the least. She and I had a conversation earlier this week where she opened up to me about how much she admires Rainbow Dash. So far I’ve only encountered lessons concerning friendship. But now if I’m to help Scootaloo, I need to take it a step further. I have to learn about sisterhood. More importantly, I need to teach sisterhood to Rainbow Dash.” Spike scratched his head in confusion. “But, Twilight, you don’t have a sister. How are going to do that?” “Wait!” Suddenly Twilight’s eyes widened. A grand smile appeared on her face. She began pounding her right hoof on the spot of the page where she last read. “Spike, I found it! This is just what I need to help Scootaloo!”