//------------------------------// // Ch 3: Sail // Story: Rainbow Dash Wants To Fly // by Scantrel //------------------------------// The afternoon sun was just starting to dip over the horizon, fading slightly behind the gathering clouds as Rainbow Dash took to the track. Even though she was still warm from the Volleyball match, Rainbow took a few extra moments to stretch, working her calves. She started her first lap at a medium pace, but soon her need for speed took over, and in short order she had worked herself up to not quite a sprint, but setting a fast pace as she ran the 400 meters around the next lap. Her mind was racing as fast as her feet, and Rainbow tried in vain to calm her thoughts and just enjoy feel of the breeze through her hair as she closed her eyes, savoring the light spring of the tartan with each foot-fall. In her mind’s eye, Rainbow once again took to the sky, as she often did in her daydreams. Each lap only carried her further into the fantasy, the feeling of soaring through the air, unfettered, free… “Rainbow…” So lost in her reverie was she, that at first Rainbow Dash didn’t hear the small voice that called to her. She was one with the wind, deep in the euphoria of her runner’s high. “Raaaainbowwwww Daaaashhhh…” The voice was closer, more insistent. Eventually, her concentration broke, and Rainbow opened her eyes and saw a familiar young girl standing to the side of the track, a backpack slung over one shoulder and a skateboard under one foot. Seeing Rainbow’s gaze, the young girl waved with a growing smile and Rainbow slowed her pace to bring herself down as she finished the last 200 meters and finally walked over to the other girl. “Hey…Squirt!” Rainbow said with a smile between breaths, as she started to get her wind back. The younger girl beamed back and said “Wow…you were really moving out there. Is it track season soon or something?” Rainbow suppressed a chuckle, and said “Huh? Oh..no, Scoots, I just needed a few laps to clear my head." Glancing around, Rainbow asked, "Where’s the other Crusaders?” wondering where Scootaloo’s other two friends were, the trio were typically inseparable. Scootaloo dug into her backpack, fishing around for something and said “Ah…Apple Bloom said she had to go into town with Applejack, they had to go to the hardware store before heading home.” This bit of information elicited a slight raise of an eyebrow from Rainbow Dash. “And Sweetie Belle had choir practice, they have a show coming up in a week or so and she’s staying late to work on her solo.” Finishing her rummaging, Scootaloo handed Rainbow Dash a bottle of water from her backpack. Rainbow took it gratefully, and downed it in a single long series of gulps. “Thanks, Scootaloo” Rainbow said earnestly. “So what brings you out here? I'd have thought you'd be surfing the pavement rather than standing around a running track.” She gave her friend a little smirk. “Oh!” Scootaloo exclaimed, as if she had almost forgotten the reason she had come looking for Rainbow Dash. “I just wanted to check…we’re still going to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters car wash tomorrow together, right?” Scootaloo looked up past Rainbow Dash to the sky and the gathering clouds, and her exuberance turned a little concerned. “I really hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow…” Rainbow Dash reached over and gave a friendly ruff through Scootaloo’s hair and said “Of course we are, I wouldn’t miss it for the world, ‘Little Sis’. And it’s not going to rain, that I can promise you.” Scootaloo swelled with happiness at Rainbow’s affectionate term for her, but then asked with a tone of mild uncertainty, “But how can you be so sure?” Rainbow Dash just grinned and said “I’ve always been pretty good with reading the weather, just a knack I guess. But nah, it won’t rain tomorrow and if it even tried, I’d just fly up and kick a few clouds to show them who’s in charge!” Rainbow's tone must have changed a bit, and Scootaloo picked up on it, smiling up at her “Big Sister”. Rainbow Dash and she had met when they had been paired in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program three years earlier, and whatever Rainbow Dash said, Scootaloo believed whole-heartedly. “I bet you would!” Scootaloo said with admiration. “Just like when we flew at the dance!!” she added with a burst of excitement. Rainbow Dash thought back to that night, how the first thing she had done after getting her wings was to scoop up Scootaloo and zip around the dance hall at the Fall Formal. While it had been short, it had been the most awesome thing ever. But now, without her wings, it all seemed like a distant memory. Realizing it was getting late, Rainbow Dash walked over to pick up her own backpack from the side of the track, and slung it over her shoulder. She turned to her younger companion and nodded over towards the school parking lot. “C’mon, Squirt” she said. “I’ll give you a ride home.” The pair started walking to where Rainbow’s car was parked. The sun was much lower on the horizon now, and they both had to shield their eyes with their hands as they walked. “Hey, Rainbow, do you have plans after the car wash?” Scootaloo asked suddenly, as if she’d been holding in the question. “No, not really…I might try to see if Fluttershy is free to help me with a dumb paper I have to write. Why?” Rainbow replied curiously. Scootaloo looked down at her feet a moment, and then said “Well, it’s just that I had some new tricks that I’ve been working on, and haven’t shown anyone yet…I thought you might like to see.” She finished. Rainbow Dash looked down at the younger girl and then bumped her with her shoulder. “New moves, huh? Yeah, I’d like to see that, Scoots. We can go by the skate park after the car wash.” Scootaloo beamed up at her idol, and gushed, “Oh yeah! I can’t wait to show you!” The pair reached Rainbow’s car, and Rainbow Dash pulled her keys from her pack, unlocking the doors. She tossed her backpack in the backseat, and Scootaloo did the same. After making sure that her passenger was buckled up, Rainbow turned on the radio just a little too loudly, and then started the drive to Scootaloo’s house. All the way there, her thoughts were a little distracted again at the memories of her flying with her “Little Sister”. By the time Rainbow Dash arrived home, the sun had started to set, and she knew that she still had a full night ahead of her. She had to get a jump on that paper if she wanted to have the weekend free for the car wash and for whatever Applejack had planned for her Sunday afternoon. As she entered the house and started to head upstairs to her room, Rainbow called out “Mom? I’m home!” “Welcome home dear!” came the call from the kitchen. Rainbow could catch the hint of something roasting in the oven, and it smelled awesome. Given her sudden realization of appetite, the lovely aromas coming from the kitchen only served to make her stomach growl. She quickly mounted the stairs and headed to her room, intent on taking a quick shower before dinner. Rainbow tossed her backpack carelessly onto her bed, and peeled off the sweaty gym clothes she was still wearing onto the pile of other clothes haphazardly gathered near her closet. No one would ever accuse of her being tidy, that was for certain. Stepping from her room to the bathroom, Rainbow dialed up the water a little hotter than necessary, and then eased herself under the steaming cascade of water. The shower was just what her muscles needed after the afternoon’s exertions, and she enjoyed the warm rivulets that ran over her body. For several minutes, Rainbow Dash allowed herself the luxury of the warmth, then dug out the soap and shampoo to finish getting clean. Finally, she turned off the water, and stepped out of the shower, wrapping her multi-colored hair in a towel and as she dried herself off, took time to appraise herself in the mirror. She was as toned and fit as ever, her legs having the bulk of her muscle. As she gazed over herself, she pondered that she might want to do some upper-body work to build up her arms just a bit more. Turning slightly, her gaze dropped to her bare hip, and the birthmark that stood out. It was about an inch long, and shaped like a jagged line. However, in the last few weeks, it had seemed to become more pronounced, and that had Rainbow Dash slightly concerned. After all, it wasn’t always a good sign when a birthmark changed, right? Rainbow told herself she’d keep an eye on it, like she always did, and finished toweling off. Heading back into her room, she put on a T-shirt and jeans, just as her Mother called up. “Rainbow, dinner’s ready!” “OK Mom, be right down!” Rainbow hollered back. By now she was quite hungry, and since her Mother was a fantastic cook, dinner would be nothing short of amazing. Rainbow bounded down the stairs, two at a time, and settled in at the dining table with her parents to enjoy what looked like a wonderful supper. After the meal, her parents retired to the living room to watch some television, and Rainbow Dash went back to her room to work on her paper. Digging out her History book with a slight sigh, she decided she needed backup. Sitting down at her computer, she launched her email program and typed out a quick message. Subject: Paper From: Rainbow Dash To: Fluttershy Shy, Sorry to ask you on short notice, but I could use your help again with a paper. Can I send you a copy and have you proofread it for me? Its due Monday, so if you could give it a look on Sunday and get back with me, it would be awesome. I’ll owe you big time. --Dashie Rainbow Dash clicked the “Send” button, and ticked that off her mental list. Now she had to get the paper done on time. Opening her textbook, she started reading and putting together her thesis in her head. After thirty minutes, she looked back at her computer screen, and realized she hadn’t yet written a single word. Sighing to herself, Rainbow Dash stretched in her chair and she called up YouTube and loaded one of her favorite videos. It was a hang-gliding montage set to Awolnation’s “Sail”. As she leaned back in her chair listening to the music build, she once again found herself caught up in her memories from the Fall Formal. It was becoming something of an obsession, which Rainbow knew wasn’t healthy but she couldn’t let it go. As she swiveled back and forth slowly in her chair, Rainbow had a sudden thought. She didn’t have wings, and without magic, sprouting another pair wasn’t going to happen. But that didn’t mean she could never fly again. A shot of adrenaline coursed through her at her impulsive idea, and she called up a search engine on her browser, filled with a sense of urgent purpose. The paper could wait…she needed to research her sudden inspiration.