“Alright, Scootaloo. Let's move on, shall we?” the therapist was saying. “I'm going to tell you another story. I want you to tell me how it makes you feel.”
Scootaloo was sitting down on a small wooden chair, one arm dangling over the back of it, her mouth curved downward in a frown. Across from her sat the unicorn doctor. Scoot seemed very fidgety, running her hoof over the table and unable to keep her legs still. She glanced over to the long mirror on the wall, and then back into the therapist's eyes.
“If you really wanna know how I feel...” she said, tapping her hoof on the table between them, almost knocking over the microphone. “All these questions, getting a checkup, and this microphone... that mirror? It makes me feel weird. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I don't want to be here, I wanna go home.”
The therapist offered her a juice box. “I know this is a weird experience for you. But we're here to help you, Scootaloo. When this is all over, I believe you are going to feel a lot better. Do you want to hear the story?”
Scoot sighed. She looked at the mirror for a moment. Doing so seemed to strengthen her resolve somewhat and she sat up a little straighter. “Alright... I guess so.”
On the other side of the mirror, Rainbow Dash sat staring into the room. She was tapping her own hoof on the table she and her friends sat down at, squirming with unease. She could hear the voices of Scootaloo and the doctor coming from the speaker on the wall.
“I wish she'd be a little more cooperative with him. She's clearly not buying it!” Dash spoke, placing a hoof to the side of her face and shaking it.
“They're making progress. That's something, isn't it? Therapy is a lot better than medicine, Rainbow Dash. That's something to keep in mind; Scootaloo doesn't need to take anything,” Twilight Sparkle said, wrapping her hooves around Dash and giving her a hug. “I know this is all hard.”
“No, Twilight! You don't know. How could you know?” Dash snapped, waving the purple unicorn away.
“Dash...” Applejack said, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “She's only tryin' to help.”
“I know, Applejack! I...” She trailed off, huffing. After about twenty seconds, she bowed her head. “Sorry. I'm just on edge right now.”
Twilight smiled at her. “I understand.”
Twilight levitated a folder off the table, her horn glowing the colour of a raspberry. It floated a few inches into the air and fell open, causing the papers inside to spread neatly over the table. Twilight picked up one of the sheets, her eyes scanning it.
“These are the behaviour reports from the orphanage, right?” Twilight asked.
Rainbow Dash nodded. “I would have loved for them to give those to me when I adopted her. We could have caught this earlier. The fools should have noticed the pattern, they should have noticed that she was having anxiety attacks! They did NOTHING to help her!”
Dash grumbled herself into silence, fuming. Twilight was reading through the reports, every now and then consulting a book she had brought with her.
“I'm sorry I never noticed anythin', Dash. I had no idea she was sufferin'.” Applejack spoke suddenly, as though she was unable to keep it inside her any longer.
“It's not your fault, AJ. I didn't even notice anything until Scoot had that mood swing Wednesday night... It was so sudden, like flipping on a light switch. The doctor said it's harder to notice when she's around ponies she's either comfortable with or trust. So when she's, like, with the Crusaders or me, it'll be hard for symptoms to manifest.”
“I jes' hope the therapy works,” Applejack said. “If he's able to get Scootaloo to understand how and why these fits of anxiety are happenin' to her, then maybe she can avoid them or calm herself when they happen.”
“Exactly!” Twilight said, still reading. “It says here that behavioural therapy has cured a score of different types of anxiety disorders. So even if you don't know precisely which one Scootaloo has yet, simply being in therapy will do wonders for her. Every minute that she's in here brings her closely to getting better, possibly forever.”
Dash felt the unease lift a little from her shoulders at these words. She nodded quietly. As silence fell between them, the three of them listened to the exchange going on between the filly and the doctor.
“What would you have done differently, Scootaloo?” he asked, having just finished the story. “You said you felt like you wished somepony would have stopped them from arguing, even though it did nothing to harm their friendship.”
“I dunno...” Scoot sighed, leaning back in her chair so the front legs left the floor. “I mean, if I was there with them, I would have tried to calm Cinnamon Swirls down before she got mad with Sugarsweet.”
“Can you tell me why?” the therapist asked, sitting relaxed with his hooves together. “Do you understand why?”
“Well... I know they were still gonna be friends, but I don't like watching ponies fight. Or hearing about it... I feel scared when it happens. I don't think anyone should fight. I don't like... I just don't like it. I wanna stop it when I see it at school, but it's usually none of my business,” Scootaloo mumbled, glancing all around the room as her left ear twitched a little.
He leaned in close, extending a hoof to her. “Sometimes ponies got to confront their problems. And sometimes that involves an argument. Nopony is perfect, but this story shows us that Cinnamon Swirls and Sugarsweet were better friends once they settled their differences and understood what being friends meant to each other. It hurts your feelings, seeing others fight, is that right?”
Scootaloo nodded, putting her head down as she closed her eyes, a few tears squeezing out from under her eyelids.
“What's wrong?” the therapist asked, patting her shoulder softly.
“I don't understand w-what's wrong with me!” Scootaloo sobbed, starting to shake again. “I'm s-sorry... I'll stop-p... c-crying...”
“You're allowed to cry if it helps you feel better. That's what everypony wants, for you to feel better. There is nothing wrong with you, please understand that. You're a clever and kind little pegasus. I can tell just by talking to you. The problem is the fact that you let things stir your emotions that shouldn't. Things you cannot control and do not affect you personally.
It is perfectly fine to be concerned with bad things and to want to help. That is normal. You are normal. But you can't allow yourself to get nervous. You're not going to help if you can't control your own breathing, or how fast your heart is beating. That's just hurting you. Try and talk things out with your classmates if you absolutely must, but if you cannot, trust that those you know or the ponies it's happening to will be able to solve their problems.
You must be brave and strong in your heart and in your mind when you can't help but to feel nervous. It will always pass, won't it?” He finished, pausing to take a sip of coffee. “Remember: There is nothing wrong with you, you are quite normal. Extraordinary in your own special way, but there's nothing abnormal about you. Now... Scootaloo? Is there a special somepony you look up to?”
Scootaloo had cried silently throughout the doctor's reassurances, slowly and slowly regaining some control over herself. At his last question, she nodded at once, wiping her nose.
“Who is it?” he asked, smiling kindly at her.
“Rainbow Dash...” Scootaloo said, looking over at the mirror.
Dash was smiling quietly, very touched. She kept looking into the room and into Scootaloo's gaze, though the filly couldn't see her. She felt Twilight's hoof on her arm, feeling grateful she had her friends by her side. Dash continued to focus on the pale purple eyes, her own cerise coloured ones quivering.
Back on the other side of the mirror, the therapist followed Scoot's gaze, locked on to her reflection. “Do you think your mother is brave?” he asked, his eyes shifting from the mirror and back to Scootaloo.
Scootaloo glanced back at him in turn and nodded again. “Very brave.”
“Do you think she is strong?” He continued.
“Very strong!” Scootaloo said, a smile inching onto her face, flapping her small wings.
“Scootaloo, I want you to think of Rainbow Dash next time you start to feel nervous in school. The next time you start to feel sad and worried, and you don't understand why, think of how you want to be brave and strong, just like she is. You want to be brave and strong, right?”
“Mm hmm...” Scootaloo said, kicking her hooves a little under the table.
“Would you believe me if I told you that you already were?” he asked, standing up and smiling down at her.
“No way...” Scoot said, shaking her head.
“I think you are very brave and you have a very strong heart. Think of your mom when you feel one of these moments creeping up on you. Moments where you feel anxious or worried. Think of how you feel about her and let the thoughts of her remind you of how strong you are when she isn't there to do it herself. I believe you'll feel a lot better. Do you know why?” He asked, extending his hoof to her.
“I'll feel better because... Uh... I'll know I'm brave and strong, just like her!” Scootaloo answered, standing up and shaking hooves with him.
“You already knew the answer to that! I believe you are going to be just fine, Scootaloo. I think you know what to do from now on. I want to see you again in a month's time, alright? We'll see how well you've been doing.”
Ten minutes later, they all walked out of the office, once Dash had arranged an appointment in four weeks time. Rainbow Dash knelt down by Scoot and kissed her cheek. Scootaloo tried to push her away, pretending to be embarrassed. As much as she said she hated sappy stuff, Dash knew Scootaloo was quite fine with being hugged and kissed until she threw up sunshine and flowers.
“You did so well in there! Makin' me proud, Scoots!" Rainbow beamed at her. "Are you gonna have fun with Twilight and Spike today?” the older blue pegasus asked, ruffling Scootaloo's mane.
“Uh huh!” the little orange pegasus replied, before asking a question herself. “How long are you gonna be gone?”
“At least until dinner time. I'm sorry, but Dashie's gotta... dash! Soarin's been waiting on me all morning. He's had to practice with his brother, Wave Chill. He's a dork! Actually, they're both dorks! They're not cool like me 'n' you, Scoot!”
Scootaloo giggled and took the hoof Twilight offered her. “Nopony's as cool as us!”
“You know it! Knock it!” Dash said, extending a hoof out, which Scootaloo bumped. She then addressed Twilight and Applejack. “Thanks for coming with me today. I really appreciate it, I do.”
“We're always there for you, P. F. F.!” Twilight smiled at her. “Pony friends forever!”
“Exactly. What're friends for?” Applejack said, winking at her. “Good luck with your practice!”
“Thanks. See ya, guys! Love ya, Scoot!” Dash said, lifting into the air.
Dash rose up, away from the three of them. She watched as they all began to walk down the street, her attention focused on the pegasus. Dash caught her turning around and looking up into the sky.
'She's going to be okay. ' Rainbow Dash believed it as the words crossed the forefront of her brain.
Within half an hour, she Dash made her approach to Cloudsdale. She was sweating in the heat of the first really hot day of the summer. Despite the wind rushing by, the warmth of the sun could not be blocked. She flapped her wings hard, watching the other ponies passing her by. Judging by the traffic as buildings around her slowly evacuated, it must be close to lunchtime. It was alright for Scootaloo, who had the rest of the day off from school! However, Dash had a hard day's training ahead of her, sweating in this heat.
The runway of the Wonderbolts Academy passed below her. Her eyes locked on the gymnasium. She toyed with the idea that she could see both Soarin and Wave Chill in practice, but it was really impossible to tell. Through the blurry heat haze and the sharp angle to the windows, she could not get a good look inside. A sparkling, shimmering glare beat her in the eyes for a moment. Dash spotted the outdoor pool adjacent to the gym, surrounding by a marble floor. It was on a separate piece of floating earth, leaving a gap between the building and the pool which lead to the clouds, which Dash liked to use as a means of quickly leaving Cloudsdale.
“Yep...” Rainbow said, watching the light ripple on the surface of the water. “It's happenin'.”
Splash! She went into a nosedive, cutting a twisting path through the air and diving into the cool waters. Five, ten, fifteen feet she descended, the water caressing her warm fur. What a feeling, as the rays penetrated the surface, leaving the bottom of the pool quite clear and visible. Dash pretended to trot along the bottom, bubbles trickling out of the corners of her mouth and nostrils. She swished her arms in front of her, using her wings to help propel her quickly to the far end. Reaching the edge of the pool, she swished her tail and swam upwards, feeling the heavy squeeze as her head broke the surface of the water and lost all buoyancy.
Dash drew in great lung-fulls of air, twisting around and propelling herself across the surface of the water to the western wall. Rolling over, she allowed herself to drift along on her back, using her momentum to keep her in motion. Her eyes were closed, allowing the hot beams of sun and the cool breeze and touch of the water to come together over her face and chest. It was an extremely comfortable feeling.
“Enjoying ourselves, are we?” a chuckling voice asked overhead.
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and swore as the image of the sun burned into them momentarily. She gave a bump against the stone floor and flipped over again, treading the water.
“Argh!” Dash held a hoof over her right eye, which was paining her. “Soarin!”
“Hey! That wasn't my fault! Why did you open your eyes and look directly into the sun? You might have noticed... today's a scorcher!” he laughed loudly, standing casually on the flat stone that ran around the entire pool.
“Yeah, no kidding...” Rainbow groaned, blinking the spots out of her vision. “I figured you'd still be in practice with Chill, so I came in here to cool off.”
“I figured that much out!” Soarin said, sitting down along the pool's edge and watching Dash's multi-coloured hair and mane swirl around in the water, making it appear that she was lost amongst a mixture brightly coloured paint. “I haven't even got a chance to start. He was ill today, so it was pointless to do anything without a partner. I've just been doing some paperwork all morning! Spitfire is out on a flight exercise, plotting a new course for next year's Academy syllabus.”
“Uh... huh,” Rainbow said, her eyes finally returning to normal. She placed her hooves along the marble floor beside him. “Well, if you haven't done anything either, we're gonna have to double time it today! We've only had Wednesday! Even then, it took us a couple hours to actually get started, after you finished going over your silly one million-step training program! I spent all of yesterday looking around for a doctor for Scootaloo to see, AND you were busy with the campus inspection in the afternoon and evening! It's noon of the third day, and it feels like we've got nothing done.” Dash made to pull herself out of the pool.
“We'll still have plenty of time for me to go over everything! Eleven days total is quite a lot of time to prepare, so we're allowed to slack for a few.” Soarin grinned, holding out his arm to prevent her climbing out. He began to unbutton his uniform shirt, getting to his hooves as he done so. “We've got eight days left and I'll shift my schedule around if you want to work on our moves for the full eight. But right now, swimming is a great idea, and I can technically teach you the next move while you're in the water. Buck up, there, I'm coming in!”