“Watch this, Scootaloo!” Rainbow cried out. “Soarin, I'm gonna kick off this far wall. I'm gonna do a really slooow front flip. Grab my hooves as I make my way over you, alright? Don't let me drag you along, stay put precisely where you grab me! That's important, I'm gonna use you as leverage, swinging like a door on its hinge. Then... You'll see! This is gonna be crazy, straight out of a circus performance!”
“And where, pray tell, are you going to find a wall to kick off of in the middle of the air over that stadium?” Soarin chuckled. “C'mon, we're practicing moves that are going to work!”
“It is 'going to work'. I will MAKE it work! What, didja forget who you're talkin' to?!” Rainbow said, thumping her chest.
Scootaloo sat down with her back against the wall. She was at the edge of the gymnasium floor, her mouth agape with wonder, bouncing with anticipation. Rainbow Dash had brought her along with her to Cloudsdale to watch her short practice with Soarin. It would only be an hour or two long, as Dash knew Soarin had his own duties to attend to on Saturdays.
“Here I go!” Rainbow said, dashing to the far wall, her trail extending behind her as she accelerated.
With a grunt, Dash landed with her bottom hooves flat against the wall, her legs bent parallel to it. Her wings were buzzing rapidly like Scootaloo's to keep her precisely level. With a great kick, she sprang from the wall, twisting over in midair so she was right side up. She ascended a few feet gradually over nearly half the span of the gym's horizontal length before dropping just as gradually, her eyes closed and doing a very slow front flip with her legs and arms spreadeagled. She opened her eyes, seeing the figure of Soarin drawing closer and closer as she moved. Snapping her arms together, she waited for him to grab her hooves.
By the time Soarin made contact, Dash's body was completely vertical, her eyes able to easily see the very wall she had been against moment's before. With a great WHOOSH from her wings, Rainbow Dash accelerated her rotation. Soarin held fast, his arms and wings strained to maintain his exact position in the air against Rainbow's momentum. She swung around in a full circle, using him as leverage. Soarin himself had to rotate with her to make it work, but he stayed at the same altitude.
“FLY!” She commanded.
Soarin did as instructed. As Rainbow came around right side up again, she gave a great pull against his hooves. He followed through, swishing his wings and flying forward. She had thrown him like a javelin.
Dash allowed herself to drop, still moving forward ever so slightly. She stretched out her body, arms in front of her, and sped diagonally down to the floor. She landed in a kneeling position, one leg bent and the other flat against the floor. She held out both arms and bowed her head, wings stretched to their fullest extent.
“Precision. Perfection. Professionalism.” She said once Soarin touched down next to her. “Rainbow. Dash.” She lifted her head, smiling. “After I throw you, I'll l hold this position for a few seconds. It's gonna look so awesome! We'll need to figure out what you're going to do after being thrown, and and I'm going to do after I leave the grass again. Anyways, like it?”
“It's like being trapeze artists without the swings! Yeah, I like it, it'll look great in the show!” Soarin agreed. “Geez, you've already learned from the best, eh? What a stroke of inspiration!”
“I wouldn't call you the 'best'!” Dash smirked as she stood up, jabbing him in the chest. “But you've taught me enough to know that the crowd is going to want to see BIG displays of acrobatics.”
Dash walked over to Scootaloo and sat down beside her, throwing her back against the wall with a sigh. “Phew, Scoot! What a workout. What do you think? Think your big sister is going to be great?”
Scootaloo smiled, her wings buzzing. “Uh huh, that was totally wicked! The way you ZOOMED through the air and just FLUNG him! It was the coolest! Can I please, please, pleeease watch you guys perform when you go out there next week?”
“Of course you're going to watch, kiddo!” Dash beamed, giving her a quick hug. “Didn't I tell you? Soarin's gonna get you and Fluttershy VIP seating in the top box! You're going to get to see all the action going on in the air from up high!”
Scootaloo's face flooded with excitement. She jumped up, trotting in place as her hooves beat the floor in an erratic way. “Really?!”
“Yup!” Soarin said, coming over as well. “The sun will either be down or will be going down by then, since the game is scheduled to take place at night. That means your mom's rainbow trail is going to be a bright light in the night sky! You know that suit I got her? We're going to put some magic in it so speed trails glow in the dark! You're gonna have a great view!”
“It'll look so awesome from a distance. I'm so jealous, Scoots!” Rainbow agreed, watching Scootaloo now bouncing up and down.
“Quick shower, I think, then we'll head off!” Soarin said, “Sittin' there and watching Rainbow Dash must lose its coolness after an hour or so!”
“Hey!” Dash smiled, but punched him in the arm with her hoof anyway. “I'm right here!”
Soarin grinned. “I know. That's why I said it!”
Scootaloo giggled. “You two are so weird!”
“You have no idea!” Soarin agreed, laughing. “You wanna be a Wonderbolt trainee, Scoot? Run me a few laps around this gym while me and Dash get cleaned up! Then I've got a surprise for you!”
The filly's excitement mounted. She sprang to attention. “Yes sir!”
“No surprise for me?” Dash grinned at Soarin as they walked to the locker room, Scootaloo sprinting down the length of the gymnasium behind them. “Was I not a good little filly this year?”
“Of course not!” He chuckled in return. “You beat me up! But you can enjoy the surprise too! I delegated some tasks to Misty Fly and High Winds this morning to free up my schedule a little. I want to take Scootaloo flying.”
Dash's eyes opened wide in surprise. “Wow, Soarin... that's really sweet of you!”
“I know you take her yourself, but you ain't no Wonderbolt, lassie!” Soarin smirked, opening up his locker.
“Hope you aren't implying you lot fly better than me!” Rainbow sneered, flicking her mane.
Soarin chuckled again and pulled out a towel. He dropped it on the bench and returned to the locker. Reaching within, he slowly pulled out his blue flight suit inch by inch. It had been crammed roughly inside.
“It's a shame I rarely get to put this on these days. Our numbers are huge! Ever since Princess Celestia started commissioning the squad for tasks in Canterlot, we've had to beef our members.”
“That was ages ago, though!” Dash frowned. “Sure wish I could squeeze myself on there with you!”
“You've got a ways to go before you're ready to become a Wonderbolt, Dash!” Soarin said, shaking his hoof back and forth at her. “A Wonderbolt knows patience! It's not all about speed, you know. Besides, you've still got courses to do at the Academy.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes at him as he shook the suit out, knocking the dust off.
“Can't wait to see Scoot's eyes when I waltz out in this and tell her that she's going for a flight! I'm going to need to get it cleaned up before the airshow, though. I'll take your suit to get enchanted along the way.”
“Mind if I tag along when you go? I wanna meet this seamstress of yours. There's a few suggestions I wanna make on my suit! I wanna see the extent of her magic, reeeally see what we can make that suit do!” Rainbow Dash said, walking off to the showers, towel over her shoulder.
“Sure thing, Dashie!” He said, swapping the suit for the towel on the bench and taking the shower next to her.
Rainbow closed the curtain and hung the towel over the wall as usual. She saw Soarin's towel next to hers as he got into his own shower. She busied herself a moment with the taps and gave a little shiver as the cold water burst forth from the shower head, closing her eyes as it splashed down her face and through her hair. Within seconds, however, it reached it's full temperature.
“Do you think your seamstress could give Rarity a run for her money?” Dash asked, tilting her head forward to let the water run down through her mane.
“Depends on how good this Rarity is with magic. She's that unicorn from the Best Young Flyers competition, right? The one with the magic wings? Was Rarity the pony who made your dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza's wedding?” Soarin asked.
“Yup!” Rainbow replied as a blanket answer to all of his questions, grabbing a bottle of shampoo. “Rarity's a great dress maker, but it sounds like your seamstress is better at magic. We'll see, I guess! And call the Princess 'Cadance', would ya? That other name makes me wanna barf. Bah!”
“The Wonderbolts,” Soarin began with distinction, “Must always show full respect to the royal family.”
“You can show respect without sounding like a prat at the same time, you foal!” Dash groaned, stepping away from the jet of water to lather her hair and mane before moving on to her tail. “Oh! Did you know she used to foalsit my friend Twilight? Mad, huh?”
“That's a negative, ma'am.” Soarin replied.
Dash rolled her eyes, although he could not see her. She stepped back into the rush of water, watching the shampoo run down her body as it rinsed out, momentarily coating the floor of the shower in white foam. She picked up a bar of soap on a ledge beside her, and began to scrub it over her arms and legs.
“Don't forget where the sun don't shine, dork!” Dash called over to Soarin.
“Real cute, Dashie!” Came his sarcastic response.
Dash blushed slightly as she continued to scrub all over her body. “I'm always cute, that's the point!”
She waited for Soarin's response, ears perked excitedly. However, he remained silent. Scowling, Dash rinsed the soap from her fur and turned off the tap. She pulled down her towel and dried herself off. She threw it over the wall and into Soarin's shower ('Hey!'), opened the curtain, and walked off to stand in front of a mirror next to a sink to brush out her mane.
Once outside of the locker room, Rainbow Dash saw Scootaloo still doing her laps. “Scoot!” Dash said in surprise, holding out her arm to stop the filly. “Have you been running all this time? Sit your butt down before you have a heart attack!”
“But I'm getting a surprise!” Scootaloo beamed, buzzing her wings.
“Ha, you sure are!” Dash agreed. “Here he comes now!”
Soarin exited the locker room in full flight. He was wearing his suit and had his goggles on. Scootaloo gave a gasp of surprise, quivering with delight. Soarin landed next to them, lifting the goggles.
“I'm gonna hang out with you guys for a little while!” Soarin explained. “You've never been to Cloudsdale before today, have you, Scootaloo?”
“Um, I dunno! I was born here, but I moved to Ponyville when I was a foal, I think! I could never come here 'cause my wings... Um... They don't work...” Scootaloo said, hanging her head in embarrassment.
Soarin knelt down beside her. “That's okay, Scootaloo. Wanna fly with me for a bit?”
Scootaloo beamed, glancing quickly at Rainbow Dash. “Sis, can I? Can I, can I, can I?!”
“Well, duh!” Dash laughed. “That's the point! That's your surprise, you silly filly!”
“Climb aboard, this flight leaves in... FIVE SECONDS!” Soarin grinned at her.
Scootaloo scrambled up, her wings buzzing excitedly just like they always did whenever she rode on top of Rainbow Dash. There was something about seeing her with Soarin that just made Rainbow's heart glow.
“Five! Four!” Soarin counted, flapping his wings and zooming up to the high windows. “Three! Two! ONE!”
Dash followed as he jumped out, wings spread wide and body soaring gracefully through the air. Behind him trailed a dark blue streak of colour, surrounded by expanding clouds of dull grey, sparking with electricity. Rainbow heard Scootaloo giving a cry of delight when she noticed it. As the campus grounds passed beneath them, giving way to the open cloud undercarriage of Cloudsdale, Rainbow Dash flew side by side with them, watching Scootaloo's face. She had never seen the filly looking so happy as she clung tightly to Soarin's mane.
'Soarin... thank you.' She thought to herself. 'I would never get to see Scootaloo's face when she's getting to fly otherwise. It's hard to get a good look when it's my mane she's clinging to.'
“Where to first, Scoots?” Dash heard Soarin ask her. “Wanna see where your mom works sometimes?”
“Okay!” Scootaloo replied, grinning toothily. “Sis! We're gonna see your work!”
“I heard!” Rainbow laughed, still beaming, flapping her wings casually as she glided alongside them. “Scootaloo, you look like you're having fun!”
“I am!” the young pegasus replied in ecstasy , wings buzzing again.
They entered the main junction of Cloudsdale proper. Scootaloo gasped. Dash figured she had never seen such a sight as dozens and dozens of pegsai of every colour and size went about their daily business. Cloudsdale's alleys had been nearly deserted when the pair of them arrived en route to the Wonderbolt Academy earlier that morning. The other ponies flew in and out of cloud tunnels, a few sat perched on pillars of stone to talk to one another, and more were flying in and out of shops and homes resting on clouds and floating earth. Heads turned as Soarin's cloudy trail flew by them, his suit pulling out all the stops.
“It's a Wonderbolt, dad!” A colt was saying to his father, flying alongside him.
“That's one lucky filly!” His father replied, smiling as they passed.
Rainbow Dash's chest swelled with happiness as many more pegasai said similar things. Scootaloo was beaming all around, loving all the attention and drinking in every sight. Dash's affection for Soarin grew steadily as every second ticked by. His kindness to Scootaloo was melting her heart.
“Rainbow Dash! It's Rainbow Dash!” Another filly said to her friend as they flew below Dash. “She's the best pegasus in Ponyville, dad told me!”
Dash grinned broadly down at them, giving a wave.
“Looks like I'm not the only famous pony here today!” Soarin smiled sideways at her. “You might even get a louder cheer than me at that airshow, Dashie!”
“I doubt that, but thanks!” Rainbow replied, laughing proudly.
They flew through a cloud tunnel, Scootaloo looking all around with wonder on her face.
“There's my work, Scootaloo!” Dash said, pointing out the factory. “That's where all the rain and snow are made!”
“Rainbows too?!” Scootaloo asked.
“I make those!” Dash snorted, flapping her wings hard and zooming forward and across Soarin and Scootaloo's path, causing the filly to giggle as they flew through the colours of her fading trail. “But yeah, the factory does too!”
“Let's go to the Cloudosseum!” Soarin suggested. “It's where your mom won the Best Young Flyers competition!”
“Is that where you saved Rarity with that Sonic Rainboom, Rainbow Dash? I love that story!” Scootaloo asked, grinning over at Rainbow Dash. “She was so embarrassed when I said so when we all went camping!'
“She didn't just save Rarity, Scoots! She saved me too! And another Wonderbolt, Misty Fly. Even Spitfire! You ever heard of her? She's the Wonderbolt Captain! Your mom saved ALL OF US!”
Scootaloo's wings buzzed happily. “Rainbow Dash, you never told me you saved the Wonderbolts too! You're the coolest ever!”
Dash flew in close to Soarin, reaching up to hoofbump Scootaloo. “Thanks, kiddo!”
“Wow! Awfully modest, Dashie!” Soarin chuckled.
“I don't always try to sound like an egomaniac, Soarin! Just eighty percent of the time!”
They flew around the outer rings of Cloudsdale, taking a more scenic route to the arena. Scootaloo leaned over the edge of Soarin's back, glancing down at flowing rivers of rainbow and forests of cotton-candy coloured clouds.
“The clouds actually taste like a sugary treat!” Rainbow Dash said, darting down and scooping up an armful of the fluffy pink stuff. “The rainbow rivers aren't very good, though! They're super spicy!”
“Yum!” Scootaloo said happily, munching on the cloud Dash gave her.
“Look over there, Scootaloo!” Soarin said, pointing to the right. “That's one of the race tracks the Wonderbolts train on. And over theeere...” He continued, this time pointing left. “Is an obstacle course. Can't take you in there, though! There's some crazy lightning hazards.”
“Aww, but that sounds so cool!” Scootaloo sighed.
“Yeah, really cool until you get zapped like a lightbulb!” Dash grinned, ruffing Scootaloo's hair as she flew close to them again.
The trio kept on flying and eventually they reached the Cloudosseum. They flew over the outer wall and Scootaloo exclaimed in delight. It was a great open stadium of blue-white clouds with a marble interior. Within the inner walls were platforms for pegasus ponies to sit or stand on to watch events or races. A great open chasm was at the centre, devoid of all clouds, the earth far below quite visible. The pegasai touched down on the arena floor of solid cloud.
“Have a look around, but stay where I can see you, Scoots!” Dash said as Scootaloo slipped off of Soarin's shoulders. “And stay away from the big ol' hole!”
“This one?” Scootaloo giggled mischievously, trotting over to the chasm.
Dash gave a cry of shock and flew over, grabbing the filly by the ear and dragging her away from the edge. “That's not funny, Scootaloo!” Dash scolded. “You have any idea how high up we are? Don't you ever joke like that again!”
“I-I-I'm sorry!” Scootaloo panted, wincing in pain, her wings tucked close to her and her eyes darting. “I was j-just playing...”
Dash let go of her ear and looked a little worried, fearing an anxiety attack. She pulled Scoot into a hug, explaining why she wasn't happy with her.
“Dashie doesn't want you to be hurt, Scootaloo. You mean the world to me. You would die if you fell and I wasn't able to catch you. I wouldn't be strong enough to go on without you, Scoot.” She explained in a calm, but stern, voice. Scootaloo wasn't shaking, so Dash continued. “There's a difference between being brave and being reckless! Do you understand me?”
“I do. I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash... Sis...” Scootaloo said in a quiet voice before continuing in a panicked whisper. “You're not gonna punish me, are you?”
“No, but you gotta promise me you're going to be a lot more careful.” Dash whispered back, wondering if Scootaloo was embarrassed that this all went down in front of Soarin, who seemed to be keeping his distance to spare Scootaloo's feelings. “You want to see Cloudsdale again some day, don't you?”
Scootaloo nodded, her eyes still dry but looking ashamed. Rainbow Dash felt a little surge of pride in her, even though she was still not exactly happy with the filly. Scoot was keeping it together, and that made Rainbow proud.
“Then be a good filly for Dashie, then, and I'll bring you back here again some day.” Rainbow said, sighing. “Now go on and explore. And remember: Where I can see you!”
Scootaloo nodded again and trotted off. Dash shook her head in exasperation as Soarin walked over.
“Everything okay?” He asked, concerned. “Is Scootaloo alright?”
“Yeah...” Rainbow said, frowning over at her. “I was worried about setting off her anxiety by scolding her, but she took it well enough. I just gotta make sure I explain myself to her, so she understands why this or that is wrong.”
“I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so I stayed put. Sorry, Dashie... Coming here was a bad idea.” Soarin said, bowing his head to her.
“It's okay, Soarin! Look, I can't even begin to thank you for all of this. You have no idea how happy I was watching you and her flying around. She was having the time of her life!” Rainbow Dash said, kissing him on the cheek again, albeit on his suit's headpiece. “You're such a sweet guy, and I'm glad we got to hang out after practice.”
Soarin smiled broadly at her. Dash wouldn't be able to see the pinkish tint in his cheeks due to the headpiece.
“I should probably head off soon, check up on Misty and High Winds. Thanks for letting me take Scootaloo out!” Soarin said, giving her a hug.
“Hey, it's me who owes you!” Dash smiled at him. “How about it? Dinner tomorrow night, on me?”
“Hmm... Alright, I'm free after seven!” Soarin agreed, smiling.
“Alright. Meet me at my house, then!” Dash grinned at him, turning to look in Scoot's direction. She was flushed. “Scootaloo! Come say goodbye to Soarin, he's gotta head back to work!”
Scootaloo rushed over, frowning. “Aww, no fair!”
“Gotta split, trainee!” Soarin said, giving her a salute. “Happy we got to chill out, Scootaloo. You're as cool as your mom said you were!”
Scootaloo gave an excited squeal. “YOU TOLD A WONDERBOLT I WAS COOL?!”
“I might have!” Rainbow said slyly, winking at her.
“Well, I'm off. Take care, you two!” Soarin said, waving and taking off with a great dark blue streak, the clouds expanding. A firework-like effect seemed to go off once he was a safe distance away.
“Let's head on home, Scoots!” Dash said, scooping Scootaloo up with her arms and depositing her on Dash's shoulders.
“Sorry for earlier, sis...” Scootaloo apologized.
“It's okay, Scootaloo. But thank you for apologizing. It's very mature of you!” Rainbow said, reaching up and patting her hair. “Hold on tight!”
Dash flung out her wings and listened closely for the faint buzzing, smiling when she heard it. Despite flying around with a Wonderbolt, Scoot seemed just as happy to be back on Rainbow's mane. As she approached the chasm and dived through, heading off in the distance for the town she knew to be below the mountain, she realized that she had just successfully asked Soarin out to dinner. Her heart jumped at the thought.