Dashaloo Days and Scootabow Nights

by RGLloyd


Worst Morning Ever

Rainbow Dash sniffed at the air. Cinnamon, sugar, and strong hints of strawberries trickled back through her muzzle as she halfheartedly flicked a tongue to explore the anomaly that was making it difficult to breathe. She was pleasantly surprised to find, breakfast? She inhaled half a remaining cinnacake, then reached up and tugged at the bag on her face, pulling the loops over her ears she tossed it onto the nightstand. Glancing around through a blurry mess, Scootaloo wriggling at her side caught her attention.

Dash propped herself up to get a better look as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. The sheets cascaded down, catching a wing, and hung in loose wrinkles hugging the curves of her coat. She gazed over one of the most adorable scenes she ever locked into memory. Scootaloo lay curled into a ball, her wings were splayed backwards and fanned out as she stretched. The sun catching each feather and projecting in a dance of orange glittery translucence on the sheets. Her mane was disheveled and ragged as she sat up, the softness of sleep on her features, ears hanging back limply, as she looked up at Dash groggily. Her lids opened slowly as she wavered back and forth, her head lolling in little circles. After a second of absent minded staring through eyes stretched impossibly wide in all their moist glistening wonder, she yawned, lost her will to sit up, and flopped back to the bed. A few clicks of her tongue, a gentle swallow, and she was once again snoring softly.

Dash giggled through restrained little snorts, trying not to fully wake the sleeping filly. Impulsively she stroked a hoof down Scootaloo's mane, taming some of the disheveled mess as she briefly considered falling back to sleep. Reality, however, was cruel in that it was a work day. Her own needs and wants aside, she had a job to do. She stretched out the pain in her muscles. The good kind of pain, like when you train for two days straight and push yourself to the extreme. However, this pain was also followed by the bad kind of pain.

The kind of pain where ones wings cramp viciously with a malicious intent to kill their host. Dash doubled over, trying in vain to stretch out her wings, breathe, and not squish Scootaloo at the same time. She failed all around. Trying to grab at her assailing wing, her foreleg slipped, sending her down in a twisted cluster to slam into an unprepared Scootaloo. –SQUEE!– The sound that squished out of the sleeping filly made Dash guffaw, worsening her plight as her wings tensed up with her mirth.

Scootaloo squirmed herself off the bed, out from under Dash, to ooze onto the floor with a thud. She sat up quickly, shaking the sleep off as she prepared to vent her crankiness at being squished awake and laughed at. However, taking in the scene before her she stopped, dropped, and twittered uncontrollably as she hoofed at her mentor. "You look ridiculous!"

Dash was a contorted mess. Having inexplicably grabbed one wing in a hindhoof sandwich, she was yanking downwards on it while stretching the other upwards with her forehooves forming a blue crescent moon on the disheveled mess of her bed sheets. She glared back at Scootaloo indignantly. "How's that fashion statement going for ya there, Squee?"

Scootaloo glanced over at her tail to find the hot pink nightmare still firmly attached. "Aww, dumb random baby magic. Wait, what? Squee?"

Dash continued to struggle with her wings but laughed through the pain. "It's your new nickname, deal with it. What happened yesterday, anyway?"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, shrugged off the nickname as a Dashism, and hopped up on the bed. "Just lie down." She gently kicked the confused Dash onto her stomach and scrambled up onto her back before she could argue. There, she grabbed a wing and yanked, simultaneously driving her hindhooves into Dash's spine. The bones cascaded into place in a series of pops down Dash's back, and throughout the wing, eliciting a relieved groan from the distraught pony. Scootaloo twisted the wing gently at the joints, working out the cramped muscles with a hoof. "I waited by Sugarcube Corner for you all day."

"I got orders a few days ago that my training weekend had been bumped up. It's part of the— unngghh…" Dash pawed at her pillow as Scootaloo stretched out her other wing. "Wow, did you train for this?"

"Hold still. It's hard enough to keep my balance without you moving." She filed the feathers through her hooves and began gently preening them into place. "My mom is always busy, and she never has time to take care of herself. So, you know, I do what I can."

Dash smiled in reply, affirming to Scootaloo her skills with relaxed happy little groans. "I was gone all weekend, I didn't have any time to tell anypony where I was going. Derpy delivered the mail late so I had to leave right that moment." Dash stretched out and yawned, eliciting a yip of disapproval from Scootaloo as she struggled to keep her balance. "If you ask me, it’s all part of the training to see how flexible we can be at a moment’s notice."

"Yeah, well, next time do me a favor and leave a note or something. I got caught by Pinkie yesterday, and yeah, I had some fun, but you just can't reason with Pinkie. 'I'm tired and don't want to play anymore' might as well be 'I'm bored with this let’s try something new!'" Scootaloo sighed.

"She played you out?"

"It's impossible to keep up! Tea parties, pirates, pirate tea parties, pin the tail on the Pinkie, forts, and that's just what I can remember. I think I went into zombie mode at some point…and that's when this happened." She smacked Dash in the face with her tail, eliciting a hearty sneeze.

"That thing’s horrible, Scoot. We got to get you fixed quick."

Scootaloo nibbled another feather into place, nuzzling it straight as she skirted around behind Dash to reach her primaries. "Can you drop me off by my scooter before work?"

"Not happening, kiddo."

"What?!"

"I can't fly. You’re stuck here with me for the day." Dash grinned as she glanced back. "Though they’ll send a messenger to check on me. We can ask her to take you."

"Nah." Scootaloo muffled around another feather. "I don't want anypony else to see my tail anyway. Maybe we can get Twilight to come here to fix it."

"Actually, come to think of it, it’ll probably just go away on its own. Baby unicorn magic isn't really permanent. If you don't have to be anywhere, you can hide out here for a few days if you want.” Dash shrugged. “I'm not going anywhere."

"So much for training," Scootaloo mumbled sadly.

"Later…"

"It's always later!"

"Life happens, get over it." Dash yipped and twisted as Scootaloo wiggled a hoof under her wing. "Noo! Doon't! That tickles!"

"Then take it back! Promise me you're going to train me!" Scootaloo glared at her, brandishing a mischievous hoof.

"Alright, alright! I'm sorry! Look, I just got a lot on my plate. It will be different when you can fly and shadow me around. Be patient, relax. We got this." Dash stretched, and sighed contentedly as Scootaloo finished off one wing and moved to the other.

"You sound like my mom…" Scootaloo intoned sadly. "No one ever has time for me, but I'll forgive you this one. Your wings are really messed up. I can feel the knots, and they keep twitching."

"Yeah… I know these kind of cramps. They’re going to come back. I can't safely fly for a couple days, so…I'm grounded for now unless I want to spend a week in a hospital bed later on from a…forced landing. Besides, you said your mom was busy, right? She's probably just got work, and life to worry about. It's not you, Scoot. I'm sure she would spend time with you if she had it. You really stress a lot for a filly."

"I know…" Scootaloo finished preening the rest of Dash's wing. It happens when you're needed all the time.

Dash squirmed uncomfortably under the weight of the silence. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. "What about school or your friends? Is it really okay for you to be hanging out here bored all day?"

"Apple Bloom is busy on the farm for the next couple weeks and Sweetie Belle is leaving today to spend the next week in Canterlot with Rarity. Something about a big fashion expo. Anyway, it's summer vacation and there's no school." Scootaloo grumbled, this train of conversation all too familiar.

"What about your dad…?"

"What about him? He's awesome, caring, and grumpy…" The vehemency in Scootaloo's voice jarred Dash. She turned back to look her in the eyes but the filly had already jumped down, heading for the door. "I'm making breakfast. If you want to get rid of me, you're going to have to try harder than that!"

"…Scootaloo, I…" Slam! Dash stared at the bedroom door for a moment, not sure what taboo she had just broken. Wow, what's her problem?


Scootaloo collected the plates…all two of them. Well, at least she’s prepared for company… She raised an eyebrow as she realized one plate had three or four different layers of food on it. She sniffed at it. Spaghetti? Well, that explains the red crusty stuff on top, but what’s the green stuff underneath? Is that grape jelly on the edge? Scootaloo shivered and fought down the queasy spreading through her stomach. Ugh…that is definitely streaks of chocolate under it all.

She grabbed a sponge. Yech! She wrinkled her muzzle as the overpowering stench of mildew assaulted her delicate nose. How long has it been since she did dishes? This sponge is nasty! She pumped a glob of dish soap onto the porous offender and prewashed the sponge. After it reeked of lemony cleanliness she scrubbed viciously at the plate, its caked on nasties, and sighed. "Like I never left home…"


Dash took her time showering as she mulled over what she could have possibly said to Scootaloo to set her off. She played it over and over again, picked it apart, but ultimately couldn't wrap her mind around it. I really don't think I'm cut out for this sisterly stuff. What do I know about taking care of a kid? She mulled the thought around for a moment. Then with a huff she rinsed, and shook out her frustrations as she dried off. I'll just have to tell Scootaloo sorry, but maybe staying here isn't the best thing for her. Ignoring her mane, as usual, she moved swiftly downstairs halting around the corner to the kitchen. With a deep breath she plodded in.

"Look, Scootaloo, I'm really sorry, but… Wow!" She came up short, halting just before the table. A humble pile of apple cinnamon cakes were sitting in the middle. "I didn't know you could bake!" Scootaloo didn't answer. She stood staring at Dash, her lip quivering. "Hey Scoot? What’s wrong?"

"You were going to kick me out, weren't you?" Her accusing eyes burned into Dash.

"Well, I…uhm, you see… I'm just not cut out for this. You know. You got problems, but I… I just don't have answers, Scoot. I don't know what you want." Dash brushed her foreleg with a nervous hoof, avoiding the pain in Scootaloo's eyes. "If it causes you pain to be here, maybe you shouldn't… I mean we can train and all later, after my wings…"

Scootaloo bit her lip and walked past Dash, shrugging off a blue hoof. "Maybe I don't want answers."

She clopped up the stairs, leaving Dash with her thoughts. Confusing, angry thoughts. Stupid! That was completely stupid. She slammed her head into the floor, cursing the clouds for being too fluffy to deny her feelings with pain. She spun around, and dashed up the stairs. "Scootaloo! Wait! I didn't mean it like that!"

"Well then, how did you mean it?!" Scootaloo had already locked herself in a random room Dash used for storage across from her bedroom. Dash sat down and propped against the wall.

"I mean… I don't know… I just never had a…you know…" Sister… She finished off the sentence mentally trying to translate it to her mouth.

"You didn't deny it on the camp out, or have any trouble saying it last night!"

"Yeah, well, now it means something!" Oh, I bucked up… Dash slammed her head into the defiantly fluffy floor again. "I'm sorry, Scoot! I didn't mean it like that!"

Dash could hear little sobs coming through the door, and a whispered, "Go away…"

Dash growled as the doorbell rang. She peeled herself away, her frustrations churning. "Fine! Lay in there and pout!" She stormed down the stairs, but faltered as Scootaloo started wailing behind her. "Aww, I'm such a…" Ding! The doorbell went off again. "I'm coming!!" Gah, worst morning ever!