//------------------------------// // Judged // Story: It's Not If, It's When. It Just Ain't Now. // by Bysen //------------------------------// Dash was exhausted. She’d been flying hard, doing anything to not think about it but nothing seemed to work. She couldn’t see her friends, if she did she’d have to tell them about it. Worse yet, she’d have to tell them how she’d over-reacted. She knew she had now. That Fluttershy had asked out AJ and that she’d accused AJ of being so horrible to one of her friends for personal gain. Then again, Fluttershy hadn’t been much better in that regard. Dash didn’t think any of her friends, or even herself for that matter, could’ve said no to Fluttershy if she had asked them out. At least not without hating themselves for declining her. Dash was slumped in a tree near Sweet Apple Acres. She planned on apologizing when she saw them. Back then, Dash had hated it when her friends had called her gay, and though AJ didn’t show it as much she hated it too. This must’ve been hard for her. But it had been Fluttershy that had said it about them to begin with. Dash just couldn’t figure out why on Equestria she would say that and then just flip-flop on it. She wanted to talk to somepony about this but she couldn’t think of whom. Rarity and Twilight said they believed her but Dash knew they still thought she was just in the closet. At least that’s what Dash thought about them, though they actually genuinely believed her. Obviously AJ and Fluttershy were out of the question. For now at least. Which only left Pinkie Pie. However, when she’d gone to Sugercube Corner to see her; those two had just arrived. They were telling all their friends… it made Dash feel all the worse about how she’d yelled at them over it. She wished that yelling had been the worst thing she did to them. “Hey! Rainbow Dash!” called Scootaloo as she jumped in excitement having finally found her. “You busy doing anything?” “I’m busy sleeping… does that count?” Dash yawned as she leapt from the tree. “Sup kiddo?” this was exactly what she needed to get her mind off of those two. “Nothing. I’m bored as hay! Applebloom’s grounded for something and I don’t know what.” “Bet I can guess…” Dash said under her breathe. “And Sweetie Belle’s with her coltfriend.” this was news to Dash; that Rarity’s sister was dating already. She was what, eight? Nine? She couldn’t even use magic yet. Same age as Scootaloo who Dash knew was nine. “Got nopony to hang out with today so I was wondering if I could hang out with you?” Dash, as aloof as she always pretended to be replied “Gee, I don’t know. Sure you couldn’t just spend time with some of ya other friends?” knowing she’d get something like ‘None of my other friends are as cool as you’ that she needed to hear right now to regain some composure on herself. “I don’t really have any other friends.” well… that backfired… definitely not what Dash had wanted to hear. Not that Scootaloo sounded sad about it, she had said it more matter-of-fact-idly. “Guilt trip huh? Fine, I guess we can hang. So whadya wanna do sport?” “Sport sounds fun” Scootaloo replied thinking her nickname was a suggestion, then noticing what she’d just said and hoping Dash hadn’t. “But we could just talk and stuff. Got any new tricks?” “Na, only been perfecting my old stuff lately. I can show ya that if ya want.” “Totally!” she yell-plied. Dash spent the next hour or so showing off what she could do, high above Sweet Apple Acres. Scootaloo was standing on a cloud that Dash had dumped her on, watching awe-struck as Dash performed her routine. Scootaloo couldn’t fly but she could glide down easy enough. Or so she said. Dash was worried at first and had kept an eye on her just in case but after a while started to let her guard down. Eventually Dash got to the point where she had been before Scootaloo arrived and remember why she had been resting in a tree. See finished her last trick: a double Skid McMarks followed by a R.Y.N.O. before landing on the one of the clouds near Scootaloo. It was about ten meters above the one the filly was on and Dash slumped her head over the side looking down at her friend, exhausted. “That was amazing! I’ve only ever seen one pegasus do 15 consecutive barrel rolls before!” Scootaloo yelled up at her idol. “Let’s go get lunch or something!” “Na, I’m tired. I’ma just rest and relax for a bit.” “Alright. But could you come down here?” “Why don’t you come up here?” Dash said cockily before noticing what she had actually said. Scootaloo couldn’t fly and she’d just rubbed it in after performing stuff that the filly could only dream about. “I mean… uh, yeah, I’m coming down.” Dash said as she got up from her back and stood on the cloud. “Na, that’s alright.” Scootaloo said as she took a leap off the cloud and flapped her wings. She hung in the air for a second before falling. Dash almost jumped from her cloud to catch her but didn’t need to. Scootaloo could glide easy enough it turned out and even managed to stop falling all together a few times but never was able to gain any altitude as she slowly descended to the ground. She landed about a minute and a half later and though Dash was easily 50 meters off the ground she could see Scootaloo’s face, scrunched up in anger. Dash hopped of her cloud and fell in the same way she had earlier on in front of AJ, just catching air in her wings at the last second, falling for barely six seconds before landing. “I thought I had it that time! I THOUGHT I HAD IT!!!” Scootaloo yelled. She tried so hard to do it, to impress her idol. But no, she still couldn’t do it. “Why can’t I fly!?” “Hey, it’s alright Scoots. You’ll learn when you’re bigger. Not every pegasus can fly at your age anyway.” “Don’t call me ‘Scoots’! And I’ve seen foals… new born foals who can f-fly…” Scootaloo sobbed, facing away from Dash, not letting her see her cry. She wouldn’t let anypony see it. EVER!!! Ever again... “Come on Scootaloo, I’m serious. I know a pegasus who couldn’t fly ‘til they were like two years older than you. And besides, Sweetie Belle still can’t use magic and you don’t see her crying about it.” Dash thought saying ‘crying about it’ may have been the wrong phrase but it was a common phrase after all. “No… YOU don’t see her crying about it. I see it sometimes. Those two losers Snips and Snails can both use magic. And who the hay did you know who couldn’t fly? You went to that flight school at my age. Everypony there had to fly!” “Fluttershy. She… she…” and then it came back to her. Dash had tried not to think about those two and had succeeded since Scootaloo had shown up. But now they’d come flooding back. And it felt all the worse now because of what she’d just done to Scootaloo. “Look, Scootaloo. I didn’t mean anything by what I said.” “What? But you were… you were saying it was alright that I couldn’t fly? It’s… not al-alright?” Scootaloo sobbed once more. Now apparently even Dash thought there was something wrong with her. “That’s not what I… I mean… I’m sorry ok? I didn’t mean to insult you or anything. I just didn’t think when I said it. And I’m sorry… to all of you.” “All of me? I don’t…” “I just mean that…” Dash sighed before adding “I got into a fight with some of my friends. And I was trying to forget about it. But what you’re going through… it reminds me of what happened to her and what the others at the flight school said to her for it. And what some jerks said about me. And… what I said to her this morning.” “You got in a fight with Fluttershy? What did she do?” “She didn’t do anything. Not really. I just… over-reacted. To something that doesn’t even involve me! And I beat up AJ too.” “You beat her up?! What happened?” yelled Scootaloo. She knew AJ and Dash competed a lot and they even threw a few punches from time to time in good nature. But to fully beat her up? “Really Rainbow Dash. What happened? You wouldn’t do that unless it was something serious! I know you wouldn’t.” “Yeah well, maybe I would. It wasn’t for nothing but, it wasn’t for anything either. It, it’s complicated and I don’t think…” Dash stopped herself. She knew Scootaloo hated being treated like a little foal and being told she wouldn’t understand, and she probably could help. “Screw it, Applebloom would probably've told you soon enough anyway. Applejack… is gay.” “Gay? As in a filly-fooler? Not just like slang for lame. Actually gay?” Scootaloo knew what Dash wasn't the type to throw words around like that so she was pretty sure Dash meant it but still wanted to be make sure. Dash nodded and Scootaloo felt something terrible: disappointment in her idol. “You beat her up because she’s gay? I didn’t know you hated them so much?” “No! It’s not that either… me and Applejack have a history with this… but not like that!” Dash shouted to interrupt whatever Scootaloo had been about to say. “All our friends thought that we were secretly a couple. They insisted that we come out but we weren’t and never had been. And it… it was…” Dash sighed. Why was she telling this to Scootaloo? “Fluttershy wasn’t the only pony the others teased at flight school.” “I think I know what you mean… I’ve been called names too. And yeah… it can hurt.” Scootaloo said. She wasn’t sad though, she was happy. Her idol was opening up to her, not treating her like a little kid but as if she really trusted her. It felt amazing. “But I’m not… and everypony just assumes I am… it’s not fair. The losers at flight school I get. They were just jerks. But my friends too? Even if they said it was ok if I was… that they judged me in the first place. I don’t judge them. They’re supposed to be my friends. Ponies I can trust but…” “I’m your friend Dash, and you can trust me right?” “I wouldn’t be saying this to you if I didn’t.” Dash admitted. “Well, trust me when I say they didn’t mean to hurt you. Maybe they said it wrong or did it wrong but they didn’t wanna hurt you I’m sure… I know… from experience. And don’t tell me you don’t tease them. You call Twilight an egghead, Pinkie Pie random and Rarity prissy all the time. Just be glad you have so many friends!” “I don’t mean anyth…” Dash realised she was right. She’d judged her friends just the same, even if it was by a different name. She could say she’d just been annoyed at them but she’d been calling Twilight an egghead for ages before that. She didn’t only think about that though. Scootaloo had said a lot, and what stuck into Dash’s mind the hardest was… “You have friends too Scootaloo.” “I have two… and I’m ganna be leaving soon. I’m moving to Cloudsdale with my dad in less than a month. And then I won’t have any friends! But even with me gone. my friends still have other friends. Applebloom has Twist, Sweetie Belle has her coltfriend… I only have those two though.” Dash knew about the parent’s divorce and had kept track of it. It had actually been quite civil. Neither had really blown a fuse or anything and her father was still staying with his former wife until he moved in a few weeks. Of course none of that really matter to Scootaloo who must’ve just felt a like child whose parents were getting divorced… Dash worried about Scootaloo a lot more than she let on. “Ya know kid… I’m offended. Here I was thinking I was your friend too.” Dash said with a grin. She definitely considered Scootaloo a friend. “And besides, I don’t know this Twist or Sweetie Belle’s coltfriend, but I always see them with you, not whoever these other ponies are. And you’re right, maybe they didn’t want ta hurt me. I know you didn’t just then when you forgot I was here.” “Yeah but… they did the same. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom did the same thing to me. But…” Scootaloo looked away and considered walking away as well. She then did. She only got a few steps before Dash was beside her walking too. A smile on her face that said ‘C’mon I opened up, it’s your turn.’ Scootaloo stayed silent for a bit as they walked before finally saying “I like you.” “Yeah, I know.” Dash said. “No. I mean… I like you.” “Yeah… I know you do Scootaloo.” Dash flatly replied, “You knew!?” “Well I didn’t know for sure. But I’m not supri… I just assumed that… oh damn it! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to! I swear!” Dash cursed herself… she’d done the same thing her friends had done. From what Scootaloo had told her, the same thing that Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had done to her as well. It was Dash’s turn to stop and walk away now but Scootaloo did the same she did and ran back beside her. “You don’t have to be sorry, you were right. I love you Rainbow Dash! I had to tell you before I leave! I know you didn’t mean to judge me or any of that stuff.” Scootaloo said, and she was right. Dash hadn’t meant it in a bad way. She’d just noticed it and was what she thought. She didn’t know for sure but maybe that was the same way her friends had been. And maybe… they felt the same way as she did now. So horribly ashamed that they had thought it and horrified that they’d hurt a friend. But there was one last thing that Dash didn’t understamd though. “I don’t get her…” Dash sighed. Scootaloo let out a loud sniffle. Dash turned to her to see her facing away. She was crying again and Dash had caused it. What she’d said then wasn’t directed at Scootaloo but at Fluttershy. “Scootaloo. Can I ask you something?” “Yeah?” she replied without facing dash. “One of my friends that said I was with Applejack was Fluttershy. Now she’s with Applejack. I don’t get it. Why would she do that to me? She knew better than anypony that I had been called a les in flight school. She knew I wasn’t. So why would she?” “I don’t know Dash! How the hell would I know that?!” Scootaloo yelled. Dash didn’t know why but Scootaloo was angry with her just for mentioning any of this. Scootaloo had just told Dash that she loved her and Dash hadn’t said a single thing about it. “I don’t know how other ponies feel. I just know how I feel! But, I do wanna know how you feel.” “I… I’m not like that Scootaloo… I’m just not like that. I didn’t know Fluttershy was. I didn’t know Applejack was. I still don’t think she is but I don’t know… I just don’t know…”