After Scootaloo’s disastrous (or possibly overly successful) bath had cleaned not one but three ponies, Rainbow Dash, Star Shine and Scootaloo dried themselves off and Star Shine watched as the other two Pegasi played some games together. They tried to get him to join in but he was insistent on just watching them play. Rainbow Dash chalked it up to something else she would have to ask him about and Scootaloo voiced her opinion that he was just being boring. Soon enough it was time to put Scootaloo to bed and this time Star Shine elected to go up with her and Rainbow Dash.
“What? Why?” Rainbow Dash asked when he stated his intentions to put Scootaloo to bed with her.
“Does there need to be a reason?” Star Shine replied. Scootaloo looked between the two of them, worried they might be having an argument. Scootaloo ran over to Rainbow Dash and reared up, leaning against her chest. It was almost as if she was holding her back. The way it looked was not lost on Rainbow Dash.
“Does it matter why? Can’t he just do it?” Scootaloo pleaded. Rainbow Dash smiled and patted Scootaloo.
“Don’t worry Scoots. I’m just curious is all. Doesn’t he always have a reason for things?” Rainbow Dash replied. Scootaloo lowered herself back down on the ground and looked back at Star Shine.
“Well yeah, usually I do sure. But they’re not all big reasons. Sometimes I just want to do something.” Star Shine said.
“This one of those times?” Rainbow Dash asked. Star Shine nodded. It was good enough for Scootaloo who headed up the stairs. Rainbow Dash followed and Star Shine went up behind Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo entered her room and jumped up onto the bed. When Star Shine entered the room Rainbow Dash was sat next to the bed with a book ready to read to Scootaloo. Star Shine sat down next to Rainbow Dash and listened to the story and when it was over he gave Scootaloo a quick kiss on the forehead himself after Rainbow Dash gave her one. Rainbow Dash looked at him curiously but she was hardly about to question him while they were with a sleeping Scootaloo. Star Shine headed back downstairs and Rainbow Dash followed him and found him sat on the couch already when she entered the living room. She sat down next to him and it didn’t take too long for the silence to become stifling and annoying.
“So, what’s on your mind?” Rainbow Dash asked, poking Star Shine in the sides. He gave a small grunt of pain and looked at her.
“On my mind?” he replied, raising an eyebrow. Rainbow Dash sighed in resignation.
“Yeah, why’d you come up to Scoots’ bath, but then not play any games with her? You even went with me to put her to bed.” Rainbow Dash replied.
“Oh. That.” Star Shine replied, looking down at the floor as if it was the most interesting thing in the world all of a sudden. “Umm...I just thought you were right is all.” he added. Rainbow Dash had trouble hearing him because he was mumbling a little and making it difficult for himself to be understood.
“Did you say I’m right? What about?” Rainbow Dash asked, leaning down to his level to make it much easier to understand and hear him.
“Yeah I said you’re right. About Scootaloo and how she wants to spend time with me. When I thought about it I decided I wanted to spend time with her too. With both of you. Like you said it doesn’t matter if I go away because I’ll be coming back. I didn’t want to get close to her because I was going away so soon too. Then I thought about it some more. It might not have been very nice to get close to her then leave her, but I think it would be worse if her last memory of me was me ignoring her and her not even knowing why. I realised that I wanted to leave her with more than that. I wanted to take more than that with me myself. That’s the reason I went up to the bathroom to play with her, and put her to bed with you. I didn’t play games with her because I wanted something...” Star Shine began to confess before stopping. He was fidgeting very nervously at this point and his eyes were darting around as he wasn’t looking at anything in particular and couldn’t stop moving them. Rainbow Dash would have prompted him to keep talking but knew he’d get it out eventually and she didn’t want to push him to say something he didn’t want to say. All in all she was being very considerate of his feelings. “...I wanted something to remember you both by. Not just her, but you too.” Star Shine finished, looking up at Rainbow Dash. A part of him expected her to laugh at him, or smirk, or do anything other than what she actually did. She pulled him close and rested his head on her chest before stroking his mane, comforting him. It also kept him from seeing the blush that had formed on her cheeks.
“Jeez, you’re only going to be gone for a month or two right? We used to go longer than that without seeing eachother.” Rainbow Dash said, still stroking his mane. She couldn’t resist teasing him just a little.
“I know, but I kinda got used to the distance. I wanted to see you more yeah, but I could live without it because of how rarely I saw you. I’ve gotten used to you being around all the time. I didn’t realise how much I...missed it.” Star Shine explained. He almost said “enjoyed” and wasn’t entirely sure why he didn’t. It wouldn’t have given that different a message. It might not have given a different one at all. He was, as per usual, worrying about how he might sound when he had no reason to.
“I guess I’ve been the same.” Rainbow Dash admitted. Her cheeks reddened even more and she settled for looking up at the ceiling instead when Star Shine looked up at her.
“That why you were so surprised by how quickly Scootaloo could be flying?” Star Shine asked. He had noticed Rainbow Dash’s behaviour and wanted to ask her about it. He was going to take advantage of this perfect opportunity. He didn’t believe she actually didn’t believe in Scootaloo and her ability to overcome something so quickly.
“I guess...” Rainbow Dash began slowly. Much like Star Shine, she was having difficulty voicing her thoughts. “I guess I just didn’t think about it myself. How quickly you would be going that is. It came as a pretty big shock to realise it could be so sudden and...and...” Rainbow Dash started struggling to speak and Star Shine afforded her the same courtesy she had given him. He would wait until she finished before saying anything. If it was something she wanted to say then she would say it on her own. “And I realised how much I wanted you to stay.” she finished. “You had better come back. Not just for Scootaloo, but for me.” she added, looking back down at him again. Star Shine wanted to smile or laugh at how bright red her blue cheeks were but knew that would be horribly insensitive. Instead he elected to reach up a foreleg and gently stroke her cheeks and smile up at her. Rainbow Dash smiled back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling. The moment didn’t last too long however as something occurred to Rainbow Dash. There was something more important to her and that was the most important thing to her in the whole of Equestria; Scootaloo. “Sorry to ask you this right now,” she began nervously, fully aware that she was ruining the moment, “but why did you ask Scoots about if she tried to stop herself when she...fell?” Rainbow Dash asked. She couldn’t quite bring herself to repeat what Scootaloo’s dad did. Star Shine let out a sigh and his foreleg dropped back to his side. Rainbow Dash hoped he wasn’t too disappointed but Scootaloo really was the most important thing to her and he had to understand that.
“It’s the instinct to fly, and above that even, the survival instinct.” Star Shine replied. He wasn’t really disappointed in Rainbow Dash. He had no idea of her reasons for asking him that at that time, but he typically answered a question when asked. It was just a subject he didn’t want to talk about much in front of even Rainbow Dash.
“Wha?” Rainbow Dash replied. Clearly the matter needed more explanation.
“Well normally the way Pegasi train kids by kicking them off clouds is actually very effective.” Star Shine began. Rainbow Dash wanted to disagree but she had never thought the training could be bad until she learned about Scootaloo and felt she had no right to. “Falling like that kicks in either the instinct to fly, or the instinct to survive. If the survival instinct kicks in then it starts the flying instinct. In Scootaloo’s case though all it did was cause her to flap her wings meaninglessly as she had NO instinct to fly. Teaching her to fly like that would only result in injury. In fact it’s...it’s impossible to train her using conventional methods. I don’t mean to brag but I’m probably the only pony in Equestria who can get her to fly.” Star Shine explained.
“It’s about time you showed some ego.” Rainbow Dash joked with a snort. It was not an answer she was happy with. “But you said she got the instinct to fly. That’s why she flapped her wings when she was gliding.” she added.
“The instinct to fly can be taught. It’s why I had her close her eyes and move her wings herself.I could have moved them for her but it would never be just right. You ever flown with your eyes closed and just felt the wind in your wings?” Star Shine asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“Can’t say I have. Why would I?” she replied.
“You should try it some time. It feels amazing.” Star Shine replied wistfully.
“So anyway, why would you be the only guy in Equestria that can get her to fly? What makes you so special?” Rainbow Dash asked, changing the subject and asking another question that had occurred to her. She knew he was good at his job, but not THAT good. She’d never really heard him brag like that.
“Can it wait until tomorrow? I’m going to have to explain it to Twilight too and I’d rather not have to tell the same story twice.” Star Shine replied. Rainbow Dash was disappointed but when she looked at a clock she saw she had no real reason to be. It was about time she left for work. She flapped her wings and shot up a short distance into the air. Star Shine tumbled onto the floor and groaned when he hit it. It was soft but that sensation was still rough to go through. “What was that for?” Star Shine asked from the floor.
“Sorry ‘bout that...” Rainbow Dash replied sheepishly. “But I gotta head out to work anyway, so what you had to say can wait I guess.” she added before taking off out the window and into the night sky. Star Shine went to the window and stared up at the night sky.
“Thank Luna for night time shifts...” he said quietly to nopony in particular. He blinked and shuddered in surprise when he saw a star blink in the sky and got the distinct feeling he was being winked at.