//------------------------------// // Up In The Clouds // Story: Replacing Scootaloo // by I am not a Dalek //------------------------------// Chapter 4- Up In The Clouds I had a strange dream last night, like no other. I remember that I fell on my scooter and slept outside; I know that wasn’t a dream. But there was a voice, calling me, telling me to hang on. That was in the dream. I open my eyes to find that I am not outside anymore, but I am in an unfamiliar room. On the bedside table there is a collection of Daring Do books, all piled up neatly, the fluffy white walls are covered in signed Wonderbolts posters and an acceptance letter to the Wonderbolts Academy. I slide down off the bed and feel the soft floor beneath me, then I realise, I’m in a cloud! I’ve never been in a cloud before! Cautiously, I walk over to the desk by the door and examine everything on it. There’s a pair of goggles, which look similar to the ones which Rainbow Dash wears when doing weather duty. Wait... That must mean... I’m in Rainbow’s house! To make sure that I am correct I look at a photo of six ponies and see that it has Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, AJ, Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie. This definitely is her house... But why am I here? A cyan Pegasus walks into the room, her multi-coloured mane falls in her eyes and she flicks it out before looking at me. “Hey squirt, how are you feeling?” Rainbow Dash asks and sits on her bed. “Why am I here?” I ask as I walk over to the window. Ponyville looks so small from up here, the sun shines across Sweet Apple Acres, I never realised it was so big. The town, full of many colours, has ponies walking around the market or little foals playing in the school playground. It looks as if the town could never have any trouble, any torment. It’s too bright and happy for any of that to happen. “I found you lying by the Everfree forest last night, I needed to help,” Rainbow walks over to me and puts a wing around me. I look up at her, a smile across my face, “Thank you, Dashie.” “What were you doing out there so late, squirt?” She asks me. I sigh and look at the floor. She’s going to think I’m a wimp. “I had to run a few errands and my scooter crashed so I couldn’t move,” I say, not giving her any more details. “Why couldn’t your parents do that?” she walks over to the bed and sits down. “They were busy,” I lie, hating myself for lying to my idol. Rainbow looks over at me with a frown on her face, and then she examines my cuts and bruises. “So, if both of your parents are Pegasi, why did they not teach you how to fly?” She asks as she gently prods at my left wing. I flinch but quickly recover in attempt to act cool around her, “They, um, I just,” I sigh knowing that there is no possible way to lie my way out of this, “My sister is more important to them; they decided to teach her first. She’s been accepted into the Wonderbolts summer camp, you know? She’d love to meet you!” Rainbow puts her hoof back on the ground before looking at me, her purple eyes full of sadness and anger at my parents. I know what she’s thinking, why would two Pegasi refuse to teach their foal how to fly? “No, Scoots, I don’t think I want to meet her... You’re um...” She pauses as she is unable to find the correct words, “You’re way more important to me than your sister would be. I care about you squirt.” I look up at her in awe. Rainbow Dash cares about me? Really? Oh my gosh! “Really? You care about me?” My voice shakes with the tears now filling my eyes. “Yeah, of course I do, when I said I’d take you under my wing I meant it,” She grins at me, “I never let a friend down.” “Thank you Rainbow!” I throw my arms around her. Maybe some pony does care about me, it may not be Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle but still, I’m a some pony! “Now, will you tell me what’s going on with your friends,” Rainbow sits me down. “There’s a new Pegasus, he can fly, you met him...” I whisper and draw circles in the ground with my hoof, “He’s better than me, surely they want a Pegasus who can fly... Anyway, he’s probably a way better friend than I’d ever be. Apple Bloom has been so angry with me recently, and Sweetie Belle doesn’t seem to want to stand up for me...” I think back to the other day when Apple Bloom yelled at me when I lost my train of thought, she didn’t seem to care that I was upset. Sweetie Belle, on the other hand, knew I was upset and she cared, but she didn’t say anything to Apple Bloom, she just let me go ahead with everything, not saying a word. I love my friends but sometimes I feel as if they’d be better off without me. “Listen, every pony has friendship problems from time to time, even I do, but I know you girls will pull through. Have you talked to them about any of this?” Rainbow looks at me, she already knows the answer. “No, I haven’t... But it’d just make matters worse,” I look away, ashamed of myself. Rainbow sighs, “I’m here to talk Scoots, that’s my job as your big sister, but I can’t be any help if you refuse to listen to anything I offer. At least try and talk to them, and if it goes wrong I’ll be here to help.” Rainbow Dash, my role-model, my idol, if I don’t listen to her then I show her that I don’t respect or trust her, I have to trust her. I admit, I am scared, but if I want to be just like Rainbow I have to face my fears and be brave. I have to make her proud. “Okay then, can you take me down?” I ask her. Rainbow smiles, “You’re going to float down!” “Wait? What?!” I yell at her in fear, I have only been less than a meter off the ground and now she expects me to float down off her extremely high and scary cloud mansion? “I’ll be there to catch you if you fall, just trust me!” She leads me outside and stands me by the edge; the sun is beginning to set behind Canterlot. “Okay, hold your wings out,” I do as she says and she picks me up, holding me at arm’s length, “Right, now I am going to hold you until you get the hang of it okay?” I nod, fear suddenly washing over me, she jumps off the edge and flaps her wings, keeping us still. “Tilt your nose towards the ground, not straight down but at an angle,” She positions my body so I am ever so slightly pointed towards the dirt roads of Ponyville, “Once you get close enough you should straighten your body out, you aren’t going to flap your wings just angle them forward until I tell you okay?” Rainbow starts to glide forward and I gulp in fear, I follow her instructions and keep my wings tilted forward, suddenly I feel her hooves move away from me and it takes everything I have not to draw my wings back in with fear. I begin to smoothly glide down towards Ponyville and I look to my side to see Rainbow is there, smiling. “I told you that you could do it! Now carefully bring your body up a bit,” She gently moves move’s my body into the correct position, “and bring your wings straight.” I squeeze my eyes shut and my hooves touch something solid, I stumble forward and fall flat on my face, “I did it Rainbow! I FLEW!” I cheer and throw my hooves around her neck. “Indeed you did kiddo; you just need to work on your landing. Next time you want lessons just find me and I will make time for it, because who better than the best flier in Equestria to teach you right?” She smiles, “Now I have weather duty but you should go and find the other Crusaders.” Knowing that I can’t let Rainbow down, I agree and rush off to find Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, as I run towards Sweet Apple Acres, I turn around and wave to Rainbow, “See you later, Dashie! Thank you!” After conquering the fear of flying from such a distance, I feel invincible, I feel brave enough to even face my two best friends and tell them how I really feel. As the sweet smell of apples fills my nose, I repeat to myself over and over, “You can do this Scoots, they’ll understand.” And they will, I know they will, they’re my best friends for ponies sake! Soon, everything will be back to normal.