Equestria Noir
Side Story
“Come Dance with Me”
Perspective: Tailspin
“Then with a series of harnesses we can have hold your body three feet off the ground,” Cross explained, showing me an elaborate diagram of a series of pulleys and harnesses to help me on the dance floor. He adjusted his black glasses and looked up at me. “This way all Scootaloo will have to do is pull and spin you along and you’ll be set”
I sat back in my chair as Cross explained his plan. I was sitting inside Carousel Boutique and it was only a few days until the dance. I’ve spent almost half a year trying to come up with a way to dance with Scootaloo. So far, nothing’s worked in my brain. Cross is the smartest colt I know, but…
“How are we gonna get all this?” I asked, pointing at the diagram. “My allowance is only fourteen bits a week, and that wouldn’t even pay for the rope.”
Cross sighed, crumpled up the diagram, and tossed it in the trash can. “Sorry, cuz, I can’t think of anything else and we tried everything.” He looked at me with a guilty expression. “It just doesn’t seem possible for a guy who can’t use his legs to dance…”
I looked down at my useless hind legs. It was because of these stupid things I couldn’t dance! I just wanted to give Scootaloo a good time. Was that so hard to ask?
I sighed and looked at my cousin. “No Cross, it’s not your fault. I’m gonna figure this out somehow.”
“Cross, deary~” I heard a voice sing upstairs, Cross’ eyes became pin pricks.
“Hide me!” He dashed under a pile of dresses and I looked up to see Rarity come down, various mane care products levitating alongside her. I was a little worried that a drill was among the items she was levitating.
She turned her blue eyes towards me and asked, “Oh Tailspin, darling, have you seen my apprentice anywhere? I was hoping to do something with that messy mane of his.”
Judging by the fact Cross ran away like a hydra was chasing after him, I felt it best to keep my mouth shut. “He said he had to do something,” I lied. “He left in an awful hurry”
“What a shame,” she said with a sigh. “I was hoping to test out some new styles on him, oh well that can wait until later.” She then noticed the diagram on the floor and asked, “What is this?”
“Just an idea we tried to come up with,” I explained. “I was hoping to dance with Scootaloo.” I blushed bright red at the mention.
Rarity’s eyes glowed for a minute, but then she frowned and said gently, “Not to be a bearer of bad news, darling…”
“I’m well aware,” I answered, trying to keep my frustration out of my voice. “I just wish there was some way I could dance with her.”
“Well,” Rarity said with a grin, “have you tried asking Twilight for instance?”
I looked at the objects levitating in Rarity’s magic. They could all be held without worry about anything. That’s it!
“Thank you, Miss Rarity!” I called back, already rolling out the door.
__________________________________________________________
Perspective: Rarity
What a little charmer, going to such lengths to find some way to dance with dear Scootaloo. Oh it is simply precious,
Crash!
“Cross, darling?” I said slowly.
“Y-yes, Miss Rarity?” I heard a nervous voice ask behind me
I turned around, levitated Cross in my magic and spoke firmly, “If you think you’re going to take out my sister with that mane cut you have another thing coming.”
Cross just sighed and let me take him into my room. Honestly, I don’t know what he’s so afraid of. It’s not like the fate of an empire rested on how his mane looked.
___________________________________________________________
Perspective: Tailspin
I rolled into the library and found Twilight sitting at her table. Across from her was Trixie who was trying to levitate several books at once. Twilight was instructing her nearby.
“That’s it, Trixie,” she encouraged. “Just breath in and out, feel the weight of each book as you carry it”
Trixie’s magic faltered as she added another book to her ever growing group. Her magic gave out as she overextended herself, causing the books to fall to the floor. She glared angrily at the books. “These foul pieces of literature are trying to sabotage Trixie’s efforts!”
Twilight simply chuckled and said, “You’ll get it eventually, Trixie, all it takes is a little practice.” She then noticed I was in here and told Trixie, “Take a break. I’ll be back soon, and if I catch you trying to dunk Spike again...”
“But Trixie was working on her three point shot,” The show mare whined as she moved on.
Twilight rolled her eyes and walked up to me, “Hello Tailspin” she said with a warm smile, “Do you want to check out a book?”
“Actually, I have two missions,” I said, trying to sound official.
Twilight played along. “What are those missions to be exact?”
“First, Private is going to give you something later so don’t leave too soon,” I answered.
She lowered her head to meet mine and asked, “What else did your brother say about me?”
“That you are the prettiest, smartest, and sweetest mare in the whole world,” I declared, doing my best imitation of my brother.
Twilight giggled and asked, “So, what’s your other mission then?”
“I need a favor,” I said, looking down at my lap.
“What kind of favor?” Twilight asked, looking at me curiously.
“Well,” I replied, as I met her amethyst eyes with my own blue ones, “you know how you can levitate things with your magic?”
“Every unicorn can do that,” Twilight explained, once more slipping into her lecture tone. “It’s the most basic of magics that we can perform.” She then lifted an eyebrow and said, “Why do you ask?”
“I was hoping that you could levitate me while I dance with Scootaloo” I explained in excitement. “That way my legs won’t get in the way, and I’d be able to dance and everything will be great!”
Twilight’s face slowly twisted into a frown. I blinked at the sight of it. She let out a breath and said, “It’s a good plan Tailspin, but I’m afraid there are some holes in it.”
“But you’re the best unicorn I know when it comes to magic!” I said, in shock. “You can teleport! You can do all sorts of things with magic! Private goes on and on about how great a magician you are! What’s so hard about this?”
Twilight gave another sigh and replied gently, “True, I could do all that, but the problem is that I’d have to maintain absolute concentration the whole time. Telekinesis is a very simple concept, yet incredibly complex in its intricacies. It’s one thing to lift an object like a book which is perfectly still, but another to lift a pony in motion.”
“I don't understand, Private levitates me all the time!” I pointed out.
“Sure,” she said, “but the problem is you were ready for it each time. That and the average pony can…”
“Catch himself if he falls?” I answered for her. “You’re worried about me falling if your magic breaks.”
“I’m sorry, Tailspin” Twilight said, setting a hoof on my shoulder “I know you really like Scootaloo, and I won’t try and say I understand what you’re going though, but I’m afraid having me levitate you is just too risky.”
“Then fix me! You got magic! Fix my legs so I can dance!” I screamed at her, pointing to my useless legs.
Twilight looked ready to cry and I regretted what I said. She said softly, trying not to choke up, “I’m sorry, Tailspin, magic can’t cure what was never there in the first place.”
“You mean…” I said, my lower lip trembling.
“I feel terrible for saying this,” she said, wiping her eyes, “but your spine never had the chance to fully develop. Even if I could cure it with some spell I wouldn’t know where to start. To top it all off, even if I knew when and where to start, the risks to you are just too great. I could permanently paralyze you while trying to help.”
“I just,” I whispered, wiping my eyes so she couldn’t see me cry, “I just wanna dance with her.”
“I know, Tailspin,” she said soothingly, as she took me in her forelegs. I hugged my brother’s marefriend tight, pressing my muzzle into her mane. “You’re a smart kid like your brother, you’ll figure out some way of doing it.” She gently nuzzled my head as I cried into her coat.
I hope I do, I really hope so, but the more I try and find an answer, the more hopeless it all seems…
___________________________________________________________
I rolled down the street towards home just as the sun began to go down. The snow was starting to melt alongside the street. Everypony around me was running around preparing for Hearts and Hooves day. Several passed me with huge gifts for their special someponies.
I just tried not to get too depressed over what Twilight said. I stopped as I got to the park and just stared down at my hind legs. I glared at them and shouted, “This is all your fault, stupid, useless legs!” I then realized how ridiculous that sounded and slumped back dejectedly in my chair.
“Look, Silver Spoon,” I heard a voice I never wanted to hear at times like this say “Tailspin’s getting all mopey, again.”
“Over the fact that he’s never going to be able to get Scootaloo to dance with him?” Silver Spoon answered her friend. I looked over and saw the pair of them walking past me, laughing at my suffering.
“What do you two want?” I asked, trying not to sound too annoyed.
“Well, Tailspin,” Diamond Tiara said, still in her snobby tone, “all of us cool kids are having a party at my place next Saturday night. We have a pool, a huge TV, and a petting zoo.” She then sneered at me and asked, “So, what do you have planned that weekend?”
“Next Saturday?” I thought for a moment and said, “That’s when the dance is.”
Silver Spoon scoffed, “Who would want to go to that dumb dance, anyway? Only dweebs and nerds would wanna go.”
“This is why I’m extending you an invitation to my party,” Diamond said with a smile that I despised.
“Why me?” I asked.
“Duh,” she said, as if I asked what two plus two equaled, “because you’re so not going to that dance.”
“Am too!” I yelled.
“What would you even do there?” Silver Spoon asked. “You can’t dance because you can’t walk, even Snails would know that.”
I fought every urge to punch these fillies to the ground, but Private said it wasn’t right to hit fillies. I wasn’t about to let my brother down now.
“So that’s why I’d save you the absolute embarrassment of trying to dance,” Diamond said, in her typical snobbish tone, “by being so kind as to invite you to my party where you won’t have to.”
“Forget it!” I yelled, turning away.
“That’s typical,” Diamond said, rolling her eyes. “Chickens should stick together I guess.”
Chicken…
All right that’s it! Nopony calls Scootaloo a chicken on my watch! I shoved off my chair and tried to get at Diamond, but gravity caught me and I fell face first in sludge. Diamond and Silver Spoon just laughed at me and walked off.
I tried not to cry as I wiped the muck out of my eyes. I looked down at my reflection in a melted snow puddle. I sighed and said aloud, “What am I doing? Everypony knows it’s impossible for me to dance…”
Why should I even bother?
__________________________________________________________
I hid inside Applebloom’s clubhouse, my chair off to the side, as I sat on the floor. The crusaders kind of opened up the clubhouse to anypony when meetings weren’t in place. They wouldn’t mind if I used it just to get away from everything.
I lied on my stomach fighting the urge to cry. I’m ten years old and I still felt like crying my eyes out. Diamond was right, what was I even going to do? Twilight can’t help, Cross can’t help, Private can’t help. I was only going to make a huge fool of myself…
“Tailspin?”
My ears perked up at her angelic voice and I turned to see Scootaloo climbing up the ladder into the clubhouse. She tilted her head upon seeing me “Applebloom said she saw you come up here, and that you looked really down”
I went back to moping and said simply, “Scootaloo…”
She walked over to me, sat across from me, and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
“If you wanna have somepony else take you to the dance,” I said slowly, “go ahead.”
“What the heck?” Scootaloo shouted, in absolute shock.
“Scootaloo, I’m never going to be able to dance with you,” I said, my voice sounding hollow in my ears. “So, I think you should take somepony else’s offer. Maybe Rumble or that Inkspot kid.”
“That’s crap, Tailspin!” Scootaloo fired back. “I’m not going with anypony else!”
“Scootaloo, will you listen to me?” I cried, fighting tears. “I can’t walk! I can’t fly! I can’t do anything without help! You had to fricking carry me through that mansion!”
Scootaloo just blinked her violet eyes, gosh they were pretty…
“I’m absolutely worthless to you!” I declared. “You deserve somepony who’ll be able to dance with you! Who can go for walks with you! Who can fly with you, for pete’s sake!”
Suddenly Scootaloo ran to me, pulled me into a tight hug and wouldn’t let me go despite my struggles. She just gripped me tighter and said, “I don’t wanna dance with anypony else. Tailspin, I want to go to that dance with you.”
“But I can’t,” I quavered as I felt tears start to flow.
“Tailspin,” she said, holding me tenderly, “if you don’t go to the dance, then I’m not going either.”
“But Scootaloo,” I said, looking at her in the eyes, “you guys have been talking about going for weeks.”
“It’s not worth it,” she announced, as she shook her head. “If I don’t get to spend that time with my best friend, and,” she blushed and added quietly, “special somepony…”
I fought the urge to faint as she said that. She just said that I was her, oh Celestia…
I refocused as Scootaloo said, "I’m going to try and figure out a way too. Asking me to leave you behind is completely dumb,” she continued, in her typical tomboy fashion. “I’d feel terrible if I did that. Besides, Rainbow Dash would kill me if I left you hanging.”
“And you wouldn't want to disappoint Rainbow Dash,” I said teasingly.
“Hey!” she cried, blushing even more.
“Thanks, Scootaloo,” I said, looking into her pretty eyes. “I needed the pep talk.”
Scootaloo then planted a kiss on my nose. Leaving my eyes wide as she let me go and prepared to walk out, with a casual, “See you later.”
I waved a goodbye and then subsequently fainted, as is the requirement when the prettiest filly on the planet kisses you.
___________________________________________________________
“Tailspin,” I heard a familiar voice call as I opened my eyes. I looked up to see Dad looking down at me. He reached a grey hoof and prodded me with it. “Twilight said you headed this way after an…outburst.”
I pushed myself onto my haunches as Dad sat down across from me. I’ve only really known him for a few months now, but I felt comfortable around him. He was pretty old, about in his fifties, I guess. His brown mane was starting to turn grey as his coat and we shared the same blue eyes. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What are you doing in this clubhouse?”
I looked up at Dad and blushed a little, “I was, um, meeting somepony.”
“It wouldn’t be a certain tangerine pegasus would it?” he asked with a smirk.
I blushed bright red and cried, “Private told you!”
“Actually, it wasn’t too hard to figure out,” he said, laughing as I continued to turn red, “In between you offering to escort her home, the looks you give her, and the fact she talks about you often with her friends.” He chuckled. “Ah, to be young and in love.”
“Dad,” I groaned, my face red as an apple, as I rubbed one foreleg on the other in sheer embarrassment.
“Sorry, I never got to tease Private about romance,” he said with a small smile. “I have to make up for it somehow.”
“I guess.” I sighed and said, “Sorry, I didn't mean to stay out so late.” I looked out the window and saw the sun was setting, was I really gone that long?
“We have time,” Dad said, not letting me get out of romance talk. “So, what were you and your sweetheart rendezvousing about?”
“Well,” I said, rubbing my hooves together, “you know about the dance next Saturday?”
“I did volunteer to be one of the chaperones,” Dad said, tapping a grey hoof on his chin. “I had a free weekend so, I figured may as well spen-“ He blinked and then smirked again, asking, “Are you taking young Scootaloo to the dance?”
I rubbed the back of my head and said shyly, “Yeah.”
He rubbed my mane and I laughed a little. “Tailspin, you are quite the little charmer.”
“Only one problem, Dad,” he stopped rubbing my mane as I pointed to my legs and added, “I can’t…”
His blue eyes weren’t so happy anymore. He touched one of my hind legs, I couldn’t feel it but I saw him do it. I could tell what he was thinking. I spoke up before he could say anything. “Dad, it’s okay, a lot of crazy stuff happened and well, I’m the result.”
“I know, Tailspin,” he said sadly, “I just wish there was…” His ears perked up, then he smiled wide. “I do know what we can do!”
_________________________________________________________
Dad opened a door and turned on a light with his magic. We were inside an old dance studio. It had a shiny floor, with some mirrors and pictures of dancing ponies on the wall. In the center of the room, however, was a chair.
It was a wheelchair, but the wheels were almost spread at an angle away from the seat. I looked at it curiously and asked, “Dad, what is that?”
Dad walked to the chair and put a hoof on it grinning at me. “It’s yours” he announced.
“Mine?” I asked, rolling up to it. “When did you get it?”
“Technically, it’s a hoof me down.” He patted the chair a little and explained, “You see a long time ago, your mother wanted to go out dancing with me.” He then blushed a little. “Unfortunately, your father was born with four left hooves.”
I tried not to laugh as I imagined my dad trying to dance.
He went on, “So, after I explained my situation to your mother, she directed me to a dance studio to learn. My dance partner,” he said, pointing to the chair, “used this.”
“You mean she danced in that chair?” I asked, dumbfounded at the notion.
“Yes,” He answered with a smile. “She'd broken her leg but she was so determined to dance that I had to oblige her. After I left the dance studio she allowed me to keep the chair. I keep it here for whenever I feel the urge to reminisce.”
“So, how does it work?” I asked.
“First, let’s get you in it,” he said, lifting me up with his front hooves and setting me down in the chair. He then used his magic to pull a leather strap around my belly. “This will keep you on when the dancing gets, hectic.”
I nodded and gave the wheels a test push. I was caught off guard by how easily they moved. Usually I have to put a bit of effort into pushing my chair, this one moved like a breeze. I looked at my dad and smiled, saying excitedly, “Hey, this could work!”
“Only one way to test it,” he said as he used his magic to turn on an old tape player. It started playing an old song I never heard. Dad seemed to know pretty well, though.
Now I’ve, had, the time of my life…
No I’ve never felt this way before,
Yes, I swear, it’s the truth,
and I owe it all to you…
Dad and I bowed to each other and he started moving me around. It was so easy moving around once I got used to it. I felt like I was riding a teacup ride at Disneigh world.
The music went on…
I’ve been waiting for so long,
Now I’ve finally found someone,
To stand by me,
I heard a female voice sing over the player as I went under Dad’s foreleg as he spun me around on one hoof. Man, this was fun!
We saw the writing on the wall,
As we felt this magical fantasy!
Dad let me go and allowed me to slide off by myself. I held out my hooves as the two voices sang together. For a moment, I was flying.
I’ve, had, the time of my life!
Oh I’ve never felt this way before!
No I’ve never felt this way before
And I owe it all to you
'Cause I've had the time of my life
And I've searched through every open door
'Til I found the truth
And I owe it all to you
________________________________________________________
Saturday…
I arrived at the school with Private by my side. I was dressed in one of his old suits from when he was my age. It was all right, I guess. At least I didn’t have to worry about what I was wearing so much. I looked down at the dancing chair I was currently seated in.
Dad and I had spent every night for the past week or so working on dancing in the chair. It started off a little rough but I quickly got the hang of it. I was on fire, ready to go! I was going to dance with Scootaloo tonight!
I looked over to my right and saw Pip walking by. He walked beside me and looked at my chair and asked, “So, that’s where you’ve been all week?”
“Yep,” I said with a grin. “I’m gonna dance with Scootaloo tonight!”
“I wish I had your confidence,” Pip said, looking a little bashful. “I’m still nervous about asking Dinky to dance with me.”
“Aw, come on Pip,” I said, slapping my friend on the back. “Dinky would dance with you in a heartbeat.”
“She would!” he shouted, but then said quieter “She would?”
“Definitely,” I nodded. I looked over at Private as we came up to the school and said, “We got it from here, bro.”
“Okay,” Private said with a small laugh, “just tell dad when you wanna go home.”
“Okay, Private,” I said, waving goodbye as my brother left. Pip and I headed into school where Cross, Tyran, and Rumble were waiting for us. My cousin examined my new wheelchair and said, “I see, using the angle of the wheels to allow for more freedom of movement and less friction on the floor.”
“Cross, you’re scaring everypony again,” Pip replied, rolling his eyes.
“Sorry,” my cousin said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his now tame black mane. Rarity must’ve used some heavy duty stuff to keep it from it’s normally messy look.
“Tyran, I didn’t expect to see you here,” I said.
“Well,” the red earth pony explained, as he rubbed his foreleg, “Applebloom didn’t have anypony to take her… So, she uh…”
“So, that’s why she keeps running home after school” I replied teasingly. “You getting closer to the farmer’s daughter eh, Tyran?”
Tyran just blushed bright red and I looked over at Rumble. I raised an eyebrow at the grey pegasus, “You, I really didn’t think would come.”
Rumble just crossed his forelegs, trying to act cool and said, “I just thought I’d come see what all the fuss was about.”
“Then who gave you that flower on your suit?” Cross asked, pointing at the lily on Rumble’s black suit jacket.
“Nopony!” he yelled, a thin shade of pink on his face. “I didn’t get it from anypony!”
“Liar,” we all said at the same time. I rolled up to Rumble and poked him in the chest, “Alright, fess up, pal, what sweet filly did you sweep off her hooves?”
“I told you,” Rumble growled, “that I’m not going wit-“
“Mumble!”
All of us except for Rumble turned to see Genova running toward us. Genova was an Alicorn filly, not a natural one thanks to Glimmer. She was sweet and generally nice to everypony, however. I guess it comes from living with Fluttershy. All of our jaws dropped as Rumble’s face turned deep scarlet at the sight of her clad in a pretty pink dress.
Genova gave him the widest pair of blue eyes I’ve ever seen and asked, “You are going to dance with me, right?”
Rumble ran a hoof through his black mane and said awkwardly, “You know I don’t like you calling me Mumble.”
“Aw,” I teased, “does Mumble’s filly friend have a pet name for him?”
Rumble couldn’t fire back because Genova rubbed her cheek on his. He was so red, it was too funny. Here was tough guy Rumble getting all bashful around a filly. I wish I brought a camera.
Rumble finally had enough and gently pushed Genova off him, saying, “Alright, I’ll be inside in a minute, okay?”
Genova nodded. “Okay Mumble.” That earned a few chuckles from all of us. “I’ll see you inside,” she said, as she flew away, leaving all of us to snicker at Rumble’s very red face.
“Okay,” Cross said, when our laughter died down, “what’s with Mumble?”
“She just started calling me that,” Rumble admitted, trying to look cool and failing miserably. “I had to stay at Fluttershy’s place during volunteer week. She and I kind of became friends and I mentioned the dance and…” He didn’t need to finish.
“That doesn't explain why she calls you Mumble,” Tyran said with a raised eyebrow.
“It’s because I said my name wrong when we introduced ourselves,” Rumble admitted.
“Were you enraptured by her sheer beauty, fair Rumble,” Cross said in a mock stage voice, “that you could not even utter your name in her presence?”
“Shut up!” Rumble cried as we all laughed. We all meant it in good humor though. It was nice that Rumble could get Genova to open up to him. She didn’t talk to other ponies much, but she really seemed to like him.
We all made our way into the gym where the action was going on. Streamers and balloons were everywhere, and the music was provided by everypony’s favorite DJ, Pon3. Does she just hide in a box somewhere and come out whenever parties are needed? It would explain a lot of things I heard about the royal wedding.
Rumble was smart to ditch us and run from any further embarrassment by mixing into the crowd. I was left alone as everypony went to find their dates. I felt a light touch on my shoulder and I turned around. My jaw dropped.
Scootaloo, tomboy tough girl Scootaloo, was in the prettiest violet dress I’ve ever seen. Her mane was down and sparkled in the low gym lights. She smiled that gorgeous smile of hers and said, “Hey, Tailspin.”
“H-he-hey,” was all I could muster as I stared at her. I snapped out of it and pointed to my chair. “Check it out, I figured out a way for us to dance.”
“Cool,” she said, “so let’s see those smooth moves of yours.”
I gave a bow as best I could in a chair and said, “Will you honor me with a dance, Lady Scootaloo?”
She gave a small smile and said, “Sure.”
She didn’t curtsey back, but that wasn’t unexpected. I rolled out with her on the dance floor, and took her hooves in mine. Then we just danced the night away…
__________________________________________________________
Perspective: Diamond Tiara
Everypony was enjoying the indoor swimming pool. I sat back on a sun chair and watched all sorts of ponies who didn’t go to that dumb dance splash around inside it. All of them were kids in grades above me. It was wonderful to have so many ponies willing to enjoy my generosity.
Now where is that dumb colt? He should’ve been here ten minutes ago! Doesn’t he know he has absolutely zero chance dancing with Scootaloo? He should be here right now!
“Silver Spoon!” I called.
“Yeah, Diamond?” Silver asked, walking over to my side, after stepping out of an innertube. “What’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong is that Tailspin isn’t here,” I said, stomping my hoof on the arm of the chair. “Where is he?”
“What do you care if he shows up?” Silver asked, raising an eyebrow.
Oh no, she’s going to discover my secret! I can’t let anypony know, not even my best friend. I gave an aloof look and said, “I just wanted to know where he dumb colt is so I can make fun of him more.”
“I dunno,” Silver said with a shrug. “I haven’t seen him the whole time I was here.”
I crossed my forelegs, this was so annoying. Where is he now? He’d better be moping in his room or something.
“Hey, Silver!” I heard a dumb voice speak up.
Silver Spoon ran to the entrance and I saw with horror that she… was talking to Snails!?!? Big Dumb idiot Snails, that somehow always manages to show up whenever I was thinking of Tailspin? How does he do that, anyway?
Silver hissed, almost out of ear shot, “What are you doing here, you idiot?” I moved closer, not wanting to miss this conversation.
“I wanted to see you,” Snails answered, sounding hurt.
“Right here? Right now?” she asked as she face hoofed. “Snails you can’t be here!”
“Well, you said you didn’t want to go to the dance” Snails said, looking down. “So I thought I’d come here instead.”
“Why aren’t you at the dance anyway?” Silver asked.
“I had to run home,” Snails explained, “mostly because I forgot my medicine. Then I heard about your party here and I wanted to see you, so I decided to come. Besides, I’m not as good of a dancer as Tailspin is.”
“What did you just say?” I asked, suddenly getting in the dumb colt’s face.
“I had to run ho-“
“After that,” I demanded, “the thing about Tailspin dancing!”
“Yeah,” he said with a nod, “he’s got this really cool chair that allows him to dance with Scootaloo. He moves around pretty well in it too.”
Tailspin’s found a way to dance with Scootaloo! No, this can’t be happening! He’s supposed to be all depressed so I can walk in and claim him for myself! I need to go to that stupid dance, sabotage the chair, and thoroughly embarrass Tailspin. Then Scootaloo wouldn’t give him a second glance. Sure, he might get his feelings hurt, but you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.
Once all of this is done, he will be mine, all mine! Muhahahahahahaha!
“She’s laughing manically in her brain again,” Silver Spoon explained to Snails.
Snails looked at Silver with a raised eyebrow and said, "And here I thought Trixie was a little out there.”
_________________________________________________________
Perspective: Tailspin
I danced with Scootaloo to a rather fast song. It was a little awkward at first but Scootaloo was quick to catch on. She had some pretty sweet dance moves. Including one where she ran to me, I held out my hooves and lifted her into the air like she was flying. She laughed when the song finished and looked down at me. “Wow, Tailspin, this is awesome.”
“Well, I had a good teacher,” I explained, grinning at my Dad who was nearby. He gave me a smile and went back to talking with Cherilee about something. I set Scootaloo down and wiped some sweat from my brow. “That last one took a lot out of me. I'm going to go grab some punch.”
“Okay,” Scootaloo said, smiling, “I’m gonna go talk to Sweetie Belle for a minute. We’ll be back for the other songs, right?”
I smiled and laid a kiss on her cheek. She blinked in surprise and I winked at her “Bet on it,” I said with a huge grin.
I left a blushing Scootaloo behind as I made my way towards the punch bowl. I set the breaks on my chair and poured myself a generous cup of the stuff. I looked over and saw Rumble “Mumble” Stormcloud trying to look cool while dancing with Genova. Good golly, she looked like she thought the world of him. I could tell he liked being around her, even though he won’t admit it.
He wasn’t really all that bad of a guy once you poked through that shell of his. I fought back memories of when we used to fight over Scootaloo. After a while Scootaloo made her feelings for me pretty clear. Now I guess you could call us friends.
The music got louder and a more upbeat song took over. I watched the dancers as I caught my breath. Everything was going great! Scootaloo and I were having so much fun together!
I looked over and saw Cross walking up to me. He had this big stupid grin on his face. I laughed as I noticed he seemed to be in an absolute daze. “Hey cuz, you okay?” I asked.
“I’m in love, Tailspin,” he said as he fell over on his back onto the floor. His glasses were all lopsided. “I listened to Sweetie Belle sing along to that last song. I told her she had a voice like an angel and she…” He rubbed a spot on his cheek, telling me everything I needed to know.
I rolled my eyes at him and said with a grin, “You’re such a dork, Cross.”
“I don’t care, cuz,” he retorted, still rubbing his cheek, “I’m never washing this cheek again.”
“You’re worse than Spike was,” I said as I reached into my pocket and tossed him a tissue. “Wipe it off before Rarity sees it three weeks later.”
“Alright,” Cross groaned as he wiped the spot where Sweetie Belle had kissed him. I laughed a little as Tyran came running by.
He spoke excitedly, “Hey guys, I managed to convince DJ-Pon3 to have us do Cottoneye Jock! Let’s get out there for a hoedown!”
Cross laughed and teased, “You’ve been hanging out with the Apples for too long”
“Nah, Ah ain’t!” Tyran shouted at Cross, his yellow eyes blinked when he realized he slipped into the Apple family accent. Cross and I just laughed.
“Give me a second,” I said as I released the brakes on my chair… and fell over to the side. I landed on my back and pushed myself up as Pip ran to me, Dinky at his side.
Dinky helped me to a sitting position and asked with concern, “You alright, Tailspin?”
“Yeah,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. “What happened?”
“Somepony sabotaged your chair,” Cross answered, lifting up one of the wheels that came off. “One of the wheels came undone and several screws and washers are missing.”
“Who would do something like this?” Tyran asked, “Can you fix it, Cross?”
“I don’t think so,” my cousin admitted, regretfully, “This chair is custom made, and I don’t think we can find replacement parts at eleven o'clock at night.”
“So you mean?” I asked, shocked as ever.
“Sorry, cuz,” Cross said, looking at me with guilty green eyes, “but you’re not going to be able to dance for the rest of the night.”
My hopes and dreams from earlier came crashing down…
_________________________________________________________
Perspective: Diamond Tiara
I laughed to myself as I walked down the hallway. Tailspin was so distracted by the dancing and loud music he didn’t notice me unscrewing his chair when he wasn’t looking. Now his method of dancing with Scootaloo is completely gone.
Soon Tailspin will be-
“Diamond!”
Who’s interrupting my mental maniacal monologue? Try saying that three times fast. I turned around and saw Silver glaring at me. I raised an eyebrow at this, since when has Silver ever been mad at me. “What’s wrong, Silver Spoon?”
“I know what you did to Tailspin,” she said, maintaining her glare. “Why’d you do it?”
“Duh.” How could she be so stupid all of a sudden “It's part of my master plan to embarrass him in front of Scootaloo.”
“Really? Taking apart his chair,” Silver hissed with a shake of her head, “that’s just low, Diamond.”
“What gives?” I asked. “I thought you would be behind me on this…”
“Maybe I would’ve a long time ago,” Silver replied. looking down, “but Tailspin did save our lives back at the mansion.”
“Oh, don’t tell me you’re growing a conscience,” I growled.
“Will you just listen to me for once!” she shouted.
I blinked at this sudden outburst.
“We've been best friends since we were five,” Silver stated, “and I was behind you because we were friends. I've done some things I am not proud of in the name of friendship. You act like you're trying to embarrass Tailspin, but this is really just a means of taking out your jealousy of Scootaloo.”
I blinked, she knew…
“Don’t think I’m stupid, Diamond,” Silver continued. “I’ve seen the looks you give him, I know you’re head over hooves for him.”
“Am not!” I shouted. “He’s just a dumb colt! A worthless pegasus who can’t even fly! How could I possibly-“
"He said no to you,” Silver stated simply. “You like him because he stood up to you and said you couldn’t have something”
I looked at my best friend, why was she saying this? “Silver, come on, what gives?”
She scuffed her hoof on the floor and replied, “Ever since the mansion I started thinking a lot about things. Tailspin was showing us a way to live without there being bullies and blank flanks, and I…” She looked away for a minute, before continuing, “felt brave enough to convince myself of something.”
“Of what?” I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.
“That what I’m doing is wrong,” she admitted. “What we’re doing is wrong. I’m sick and tired of being a bully and your lackey.”
“Okay, this is a funny joke, Silver!” I shouted. “Where’s the punch line, because I’m getting bored”
“There is no punch line,” she said slowly. “What you did to Tailspin back there was the last straw. It was just so… petty.”
“Petty?” I asked, dropping my jaw in sheer shock. “Silver, it’s what we do!”
“No, it’s what you do,” Silver said, looking away from me.
“Fine then,” I shouted, stomping my hoof, “but don’t expect anypony else to come be your friend! Remember, you were just a big of a bully as I was!”
“At least,” she replied, starting to cry, “I won’t hurt anypony anymore!” She then turn and ran.
I sniffed and tossed my mane. That dumb idiot was crying over this? Who needs friends anyway?
__________________________________________________________
Perspective: Silver Spoon
I can’t believe it! I can’t believe she would just say that! I wanted her to understand! I wanted her to see what we were doing. I rounded a corner and started crying harder. I then heard a sweet but dumb voice speak up, “I heard everything, Silver Spoon.” I looked up to see Snails standing there, a look of concern on his face.
“Snails, ” was all I could muster in between sniffs, “what are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you,” he said as he sat beside me. “I tried to warn you about Diamond Tiara”
“Too bad I didn’t listen,” I said with a sigh. “I can’t believe I was friends with that petty brat for five years.”
“We had to stop being friends,” he said slowly
“Snails, I’m sorry alright?” I looked over at my real friend. “I was so stupid and I wanted so badly to be popular. I can’t believe I threw away the only friend I ever really had,” I said, looked down, as my glasses fogged up.
He picked up my glasses off my face, I saw a blurry Snails wipe them with a paper towel he probably got from a bathroom. Then he set them on my face. He looked me directly in the eyes and said, “I was never mad at you, Silver. I just missed you but I knew you would figure out what Diamond was really like sooner or later.”
“Thanks Snails,” I said as I wiped my eyes, my tears finally slowing, “but nopony will want to be my friend now.”
He set a hoof on my cheek and said simply, “You still have me.”
“Snails,” I said as he pulled me into a hug. Just like when we were little kids, I can’t believe I traded this for popularity and Diamond Tiara. I never want to lose the friend I lost.
The special colt I love…
_______________________________________________________________
Perspective: Tailspin
I looked down on my hooves as Scootaloo ran towards me. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were flanking her. She bent down and looked me in the eyes, asking, “Tailspin, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lied, “but my chair is busted.”
“Can’t we fix it?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“I tried Belle,” Cross said with a guilty look in his eye, “but without the parts I can’t fix it.”
My ears drooped. “I'm afraid I won't be able to dance with you anymore tonight,” I muttered, unable to meet Scootaloo’s eyes. “I’m so sorry to have wasted your time, Scootaloo.”
She then put a hoof on my shoulder, shook her head, and said with a smile, “You are going to dance with me, in a place where legs don’t matter.”
“What are you talking abo-“ I was cut off when Scootaloo walked behind me, wrapped her hooves around me and spread her wings. They’d gotten much stronger since she started lessons with Rainbow Dash. Suddenly I was lifted off the ground by her and we flew out a nearby door to the cool outside air.
I looked down and saw the gym disappear behind a cover of clouds. Scootaloo and I were flying! Suddenly I was flipped over and I met Scootaloo’s eyes as her wings glided in the air. She smiled at me “Here, you don’t need to walk to dance.”
I smiled and we held each other in our hooves as Scootaloo did flips and tricks in the air. We were dancing in the sky, the world below a mere dream. Scootaloo did a few barrel rolls, loop de loops and spins around the clouds. All while we were laughing as I went along for the ride.
After a few minutes we landed on a cloud together. I was flat on my back looking up at a sweating Scootaloo. She smiled and wiped her mane out of her eyes. “That was fun” she said, with a wide grin.
“How’d you get so strong, Scootaloo?” I asked, amazed that she could carry me.
She smirked and replied, “A strength enhancing spell that Twilight cast on me.” She flexed one of her forelegs to show off, “I told you I would find a way for us to dance too.”
“Scootaloo,” I said, just basking in sheer awe at her.
“Tailspin,” she said, looking down at me, our noses mere inches apart, “I said it at the mansion, and I’ll say it again, I’m strong enough to carry you, and I’ll keep carrying you for as long as you need.”
Suddenly a bright light shone around Scootaloo’s flank. I looked over to see a cutie mark on her flank. It was of a stylized wind current with a pair of wings in the center. Her face glowed at the sight as she cried, “My Cutie Mark!”
“After all those moves in the air,” I said with a smile. “it’s no wonder you’d get one like that.”
She smiled down at me, a tender look in her eye and said, “I never would’ve gotten it without you.”
“Scootaloo,” I said as I reached up and put a hoof on her cheek, “Why did you go so far for me? I mean, I’m just a worthless, crippled Pegasus.”
She shook her head, and growled, "If you don't stop talking about yourself like that I'll kick your flank, you’re so much more than your disability.” She smiled putting a hoof on my cheek and said gently, “Tailspin, you’re a great friend, a kind pony, an incredibly selfless guy, why wouldn’t I be there for you when you need me?”
“Scootaloo,” I whispered. I felt tears coming on, but I fought them and pushed up with my forelegs. I planted my lips on Scootaloo and wrapped my forelegs around her. We subsequently fell back on the cloud and I found Scootaloo lying on top of me. She just smiled after we were done kissing and snuggled into me.
“Scootaloo?” I said slowly.
“Yeah, Tailspin?” she asked, meeting my eyes.
“You’re really cool,” I said with a smile. “I’ve never been happier around anypony else in my life,” I blushed as I admitted, “I really like you, Scootaloo.”
She blushed deeply in turn and said slowly, “I really like you too, Tailspin.” She snuggled her head into my chest and asked, “Dance with me again one day?”
I wrapped my forelegs around her in a tender hug and whispered in her ear, “Always, Scootaloo. I will always dance with you…”
____________________________________________________________
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8a