//------------------------------// // The Sisterhooves Social // Story: Big Sister Rainbow // by Nova Force //------------------------------// Hello everypony! And welcome to the Sisterhooves Social!” Granny Smith said to a large audience of ponies while standing on top of an apple crate. Sweet Apple Acres had been transformed once again into an obstacle course for ponies to compete. Every year that the Apple family sponsored the Sisterhooves Social, both the participation rate and the audience turnout grew. This year drew the largest crowd yet, mostly because of the change in rules where young fillies with no sisters, but who had friends close enough to be sisters, were allowed to enter. Long lines of ponies formed in front of the registration table by the barn. The ponies who already registered gathered in front of the stage where Granny was making her opening remarks. Moments ago, however, Granny knelt down on her crate to ask Big Mac if he would fetch for her an additional booster box. Judging by the size of this year’s crowd, she needed the extra height to address all the ponies in attendance. “Golly gosh! Just look at all the ponies competing this year!” Apple Bloom said. She and Applejack were wandering just outside the herd of ponies who were focused on Granny. “I’m so glad we live on the farm. Otherwise we’d have to wait in those lines,” Applejack said. “I didn’t even know this many ponies lived in Ponyville. Or that they all wanted to compete in the Sisterhooves Social,” Apple Bloom said. “I guess we got our work cut out for us, don’t we little sis?” Before Apple Bloom could reply, her eyes had been scanning the area taking in the scope of this year’s attendance. When she turned away from the crowd, she recognized two familiar faces. “Hey, look over there!” She trotted over to Sweetie Bell and Rarity, both of whom were resting underneath the shade of a nearby tree. “Looks like you two don’t need to stretch or warm up, do you?” Apple Bloom said. “Hardly!” Rarity said while lying on her back with her eyes closed. “Don’t you remember that Sweetie Belle and I won second place last year?” Applejack struggled to see that as any sort of reasonable justification. “Sure we do, but how does that allow you two to not warm up this year?” Sweetie Belle, also lying on her back, answered for her big sister. “Rarity thinks that if we save our energy, we’ll have enough to see us through to the end of the competition.” Applejack knew when it came to fashion design, Rarity was queen. When it came to athletics, however, she was a work-in-progress. Applejack had hoped Rarity’s runner-up performance at last year’s competition marked a turning point. Maybe instead of staying inside and designing dresses all day, she would come outside and get her hooves dirty for a change. Alas, old habits are hard to break, and seeing Rarity relaxing under the tree’s shade just made Applejack’s eyes roll. She may not enjoy this outdoors stuff very much, but at least she knows how much it means to Sweetie Belle. Without warning, a little familiar voice popped up from behind. “Hey, why’re you ponies standing around here?” Standing behind them was Scootaloo. The group hadn’t noticed her presence. Applejack and Apple Bloom turned around while Rarity and Sweetie Belle looked onward. None had expected to see Scootaloo at today’s event, considering all she had been through with Rainbow Dash. Yet despite how dispirited she was on the tiny hill, she seemed okay. “Hey Scootaloo, um, how are you feeling?” Apple Bloom said. “Yeah, how are you holding up? After we brought you to Twilight’s house we all went home. We wanted to stay, but Twilight insisted we get some rest because she was planning on doing an all-nighter looking up some spell. That’s girl’s always studying something,” Applejack said. “Oh, I’m fine. Really. No biggie. Yeah, Twilight was really cool letting me stay with her. Spike even made breakfast for me this morning.” “What a sweetheart!” Rarity said, catching the others by surprise. Applejack cocked an eyebrow. Seeing Scootaloo weep on Twilight’s back last night was something she would never forget. To hear her describe herself as “fine” not even twenty-four hours later was highly suspicious. Applejack leaned closer to her. “You sure you’re okay?” “Absolutely, no need to worry about me.” Apple Bloom stepped forward. “Where’s Twilight? I thought she would be here with you.” “She left after breakfast. She said she needed to go see Fluttershy, but she didn’t say why or what for.” Scootaloo could see that everypony was still looking at her with unease. She tried again to reassure them that she was alright. “Listen, I really do appreciate your concern, but I’m a lot better now. The support you’ve given me means a lot, and I want to be here today to support you.” Rarity stood up. “My dear Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and I will make sure to do our very best and win first place for your sake!” Rarity said. Scootaloo awkwardly smiled at Rarity’s words. “Thanks, Rarity.” “Hey, look, the registration has been cut off. It looks like they aren’t accepting anymore competitors,” Apple Bloom said. Sure enough, the ponies once waiting in line were now walking over to hear Granny’s closing statement. Other ponies who had already registered were waiting by the start line. “Well, I guess we better get over there and warm up,” Applejack finished her sentence by shooting Rarity an emphatic stare. Almost as if she was bored, Rarity slowly strutted forth and yawned. “Yes, yes, alright. Let us do this. Come Sweetie Belle, it is time to show everypony who the best sisters are in Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle looked to Scootaloo. “What are you going to do?” “Oh, I’ll find a place to sit and watch you compete. I’ll try and get as close as I can,” Scootaloo said. “Alright, well we can hang out later when this is all over!” Sweetie Belle said. She, along with Rarity, Applejack, and Apple Bloom, began walking over to the starting line. “That sounds great!” Scootaloo said in return. She stood in place as she watched the two pairs of sisters walk away. This morning Scootaloo actually did want to be supportive of her friends and their older sisters, but seeing how excited they became as they got ready to compete only reminded her of how she was denied that same excitement and closeness. Scootaloo noticed herself beginning to fight a familiar heaviness in her throat. No. Not here. Not now. She didn’t want to get emotional here in front of everypony. To distract herself, she made her way to the bleachers. Luckily for her, she found one remaining spot near the front. Over on the track’s starting line, Granny Smith was sitting on top of her apple crate and booster box. Big Mac stood next to her with a giant checkered-flag in his mouth. Granny spoke into her megaphone. “All ponies ready? On your mark…” Scootaloo searched the starting line for her friends. She didn’t have to look for long because even at a sporting event, Rarity found a way to stand out from all the rest. While the others were sinking their hooves into the soil getting ready to launch into the race, Rarity stood perfectly still and calm. No pony could have guessed that she was last year’s runner-up. “Get set…” Granny said. Even though the contestants were locked in place ready to kick from their hind legs, Scootaloo saw Applejack and Apple Bloom give each other a quick high-five. Most incredibly, she found herself getting jealous of that. I could have high-fived Rainbow Dash today. “…GO!” Granny yelled with so much force that she fell from her booster box. Big Mac waved the flag downward, but caught Granny before she hit the ground. Soon Scootaloo could barely hear herself think. Everypony in the bleachers began cheering for their best friends. The ponies competing created so much noise from the sheer amount of galloping on the track. Such commotion would have overwhelmed some fillies as young as Scootaloo, but she felt nothing of the sort. On the contrary, although she was surrounded by ponies and had friends nearby, she felt completely alone. Worse yet, the lump in her throat returned. Only this time, it wasn’t going to go away.