//------------------------------// // Ch 5: Takeoff // Story: Rainbow Dash Wants To Fly // by Scantrel //------------------------------// As they made their way back to the car, Rainbow Dash decided to give Scootaloo a ride on her shoulders, piggy-back style. In a way it felt good, Rainbow thought, it was kind of like when she had taken Scootaloo for the short flight during the Fall Formal. It also allowed Rainbow Dash to grin from ear to ear at Scootaloo’s performance without getting caught. Rather than heading straight back to Scootaloo’s house afterwards, the pair stopped off at Sugarcube Cafe for celebratory milkshakes. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo claimed one of the tables near the counter, and it took a moment for Rainbow Dash to realize she’d picked the same one where the girls had held their impromptu meeting on how to help Twilight win back her crown a few weeks earlier. “My treat, Scoots, for your awesome moves!” Rainbow Dash said as she got up to place their order. “What d’ya want?” “Oh, mmm…Get me the same thing you’re getting, Rainbow!” the younger girl answered with a big smile of thanks as she relaxed on the couch that was used for the table seating. “Sure thing, Squirt.” Rainbow grinned back. As she walked up to the counter, Rainbow saw a familiar face at the register. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie Pie said exuberantly. “What can I get for you?” “Oh, hey Pinkie…I’d forgotten you were working weekends here for the Cakes.” Rainbow said as she fished in her backpack for her wallet. “Yeah, they were super-duper nice to give me a job other than just baby-sitting. And the best part is I get to make cupcakes all morning long!” Pinkie spouted. Rainbow Dash thought to herself that the Cakes probably should make sure that Pinkie stuck to decaf while at work. Finally digging past the papers in her pack to the wallet, she took it out and said “Let me get two large chocolate shakes, Pinkie, and that should do it .” Pinkie nodded, flashing a smile and said “Okie dokie lokie!” After taking Rainbow’s payment, Pinkie went back to the fountain area to start making the drinks. Rainbow waited as patiently as she could, and when Pinkie was done, Rainbow thanked her and headed back to the table where Scootaloo was sitting. “Here you go, Scoots” Rainbow said, putting down one shake for her friend and turning a chair around backwards to sit. “You really put on quite the show out there.” “Awwww,” Scootaloo blushed as she took the shake, and twirled the straw around to mix in the whipped cream. “It wasn’t that big a deal, just wanted to share what I was working on with you.” Rainbow Dash grinned at Scootloo, and dove into her shake in earnest. For some time, the two girls savored the treats silently. Finally, Scootaloo looked over at Rainbow and said “So…feeling better about things?” Rainbow Dash nodded, taking a moment to swallow down the mouthful she had and then said “Yeah. I am. I think the thing that made me stop and think was when you said how everyone else had been affected. I mean, sure, flying is…was…awesome, and I’d love to be able to do it all the time. But if other people can be hurt by magic, then I’d rather not have any at all. I’ll just stick to the kind my friends and I have.” As she said that, Rainbow Dash tipped up her glass and finished off her shake with a messy slurp, which elicited a little giggle from Scootaloo, who immediately tried to imitate Rainbow. Unfortunately, her glass wasn’t as empty, and a large glob of ice cream slid from the bottom of the glass to splash down Scootaloo’s chin and onto her shirt. With a sigh, Scootaloo grabbed some napkins from the dispenser and tried to mitigate the damage, but the mess had already been made. Rainbow couldn’t hide her smirk, but she didn’t say anything for once. After Scootaloo had cleaned herself up as well as she was able, the two girls got up and with a final wave to Pinkie Pie headed back to Rainbow’s car for the drive to Scooaloo’s home. It was growing late in the afternoon, and Rainbow knew she had to finish her paper tonight so she wouldn’t have to deal with it the next day. Upon arriving at Scootaloo’s house, Rainbow Dash made sure that Scootaloo had gotten all of her gear from the back seat, and before climbing back in the car, ruffed the younger girl’s hair warmly. “Take care, ‘Lil Sis’ and see you on Monday,” Rainbow Dash said as Scootaloo started to walk to the front door. “I will ‘Big Sis’, and thanks for everything! This was an awesome day!” Scootaloo said in return and flashed a smile before turning to go inside. As Rainbow Dash opened the door to slide into the driver’s seat, she thought she overheard Scootaloo saying to herself “Best day ever!” When Rainbow Dash got home, she saw that her parents were still not back yet from Cloudsdale. This wasn’t exactly atypical, often the work on the stadium project would run late and Rainbow was quite accustomed to scrounging up her own dinners. After tossing her backpack by the stairs and heading to the kitchen, Rainbow Dash foraged around in the refrigerator and found some leftover roast, which she took along with some salad and milk. Carrying her meal and backpack upstairs, she set the plate down on her desk and turned on her computer. The first place Rainbow did was to open her email, and was glad to see a reply from Fluttershy saying she would be happy to proofread Rainbow’s paper. Now all Rainbow Dash had to do was finish writing it. As she took the stack of papers out of her pack, Rainbow thumbed through them, and separated out the ones with her first draft of her essay from all of the others that Scootaloo had discovered. Setting her essay aside, Rainbow read back over the others as she ate, and after a bit, shoveled them all off into the trash can, except for the article she had printed about the Thunderbirds. They still sounded cool to her, and teamwork was one thing that Rainbow Dash knew well and admired. As she finished her supper, Rainbow Dash steeled herself for the task at hand…writing was not something she particularly enjoyed, and it certainly didn’t come easy to her. Still, it had to be done, and calling up a browser program to search for additional references, Rainbow started working on her assignment. It was just after 9:00 PM when her parents arrived back home, and as they did, Rainbow’s mother called up from downstairs, “Rainbow, honey, we’re home!” “Hi Mom, Dad!” Rainbow shouted back, “Working on homework in my room!” Rainbow's father’s voice carried up after her, “Homework? Who are you and what did you do with my daughter?” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and hollered back down “Very funny! Really.” She knew her father would be sporting his snarky grin, after all, she had gotten hers from him. Turning her attention back to task, Rainbow Dash continued to work on her paper. She wasn’t totally satisfied with how it was written, but it should do the job, and besides, if there was anything horribly wrong Fluttershy would catch it. As minutes marched onward into hours, Rainbow Dash struggled with her final edits. Eventually, she reached her conclusion and once it was in the document, she quickly saved a copy and then sent it in email to Fluttershy for her perusal. Glancing over at the clock, she saw it was after 11:00 PM, and she was glad she didn’t have to get up early tomorrow. Rainbow wanted to be rested for whatever Applejack had been cooking up for her over the weekend. Rainbow Dash yawned and shimmied out of her jeans, T-shirt, and underclothes and put on one of her over-sized sleeping shirts and crawled under the covers of her bed and was fast asleep in nearly 10 seconds flat. By the time Rainbow Dash finally started to stir out of bed, the morning was well on its way to being over. Rainbow just stretched luxuriously, almost cat-like, before climbing out of bed to take care of her morning necessities. A good night’s sleep was the cure for all ills, Rainbow thought as she made her way down the stairs to make some coffee. Rainbow Dash saw that her mother had left her some pastries sitting out near the coffee-maker, and she took two for her breakfast. The lazy morning felt great, and Rainbow Dash stretched out her meal to savor every moment of it. Her homework was done, she didn’t have any chores, and her afternoon was going to be spent with her best friend. Life was good. Eventually, Rainbow Dash took her plate and coffee cup to the sink and headed upstairs for a shower. When all of that was done, she pondered what to wear out to the farm. She suspected that Applejack’s plans might involve getting dirty, so Rainbow fished out one of her older pair of jeans and last year’s District Soccer Championship T-shirt. After getting dressed, Rainbow Dash decided she still had a bit of time to make the drive to Sweet Apple Acres, so she plopped down on the couch in the living room to watch some television. It didn’t take too long for Rainbow Dash to get bored with Sunday television, so she went upstairs to get her pack and keys and then headed out to her car to make the drive out to the farm. Despite her enthusiasm to see what the afternoon had in store, Rainbow Dash forced herself not to speed, at least not too much as she took the market road out of town and through the rolling hills that lead to Sweet Apple Acres. As she pulled her car up the dirt road that led to the house, Rainbow Dash spotted Applejack and Apple Bloom finishing up what looked like some chores near the barn. Rainbow parked and got out, and called over “Hey AJ! Apple Bloom! I’m ready to fly now!” The two farm-girls stopped their work and waved at Rainbow Dash, and Applejack leaned in to say something to Apple Bloom that Rainbow couldn’t hear. Apple Bloom nodded and ran off back towards the house and disappeared inside. Applejack took off her hat to wipe her forehead, then set it back on and walked over to Rainbow Dash with a wide smile on her face. “Howdy, Rainbow!” she said as she got within hearing distance. “Just sent Apple Bloom to get one last thing an’ we’re all ready.” Applejack nodded her head towards one of the gates in the pasture fence and said “Come on, sugarcube, you’re gonna love this!” Rainbow Dash fell in beside Applejack, and the two set out across the pasture towards one corner of the orchard. After a short walk, Applejack steered Rainbow Dash down towards one of the stock ponds, which had an older apple tree on the edge. Dangling from one of the limbs was a length of rope that had been pulled back and tied around the trunk. Upon seeing the rope, Rainbow Dash smirked and said “Uhhh…AJ, if you were just planning to hang me, don’t you think you could have made it a little less obvious?” Applejack snorted derisively but then lowered her voice trying to sound conspiratorial and said “Naw, if I was goin' to do you in, Rainbow, I’d find’a much more subtle way to do it and they'd never find the body.” Rainbow Dash laughed at her friend's overly dramatic comeback and Applejack joined in with her. As their laughter faded, the two girls heard the sound of running feet approaching, and they looked up to see Apple Bloom jogging up carrying something made of straps and buckles. “Thanks, Sis!” Applejack said as she took the item from Apple Bloom, then turned to Rainbow Dash and crooked a finger at her wickedly. Rainbow, for her part, regarded Applejack with raised eyebrows and said a little uncertainly, “And what, exactly, is that for?” Applejack gave a slightly sinister grin and walked towards Rainbow Dash, the buckles on the whatever it was clinking slightly. “Just for keepin’ you on the end of the rope, now turn around,” Applejack commanded. Rainbow Dash swallowed nervously a little, but then slowly turned around. Applejack moved forward, and started to fasten the harness around Rainbow Dash, tugging the straps a little harder than was necessary, or so Rainbow imagined. She better not treat me like we’re in a rodeo! Rainbow Dash thought to herself. Once she was satisfied that Rainbow Dash was securely fastened, Applejack untied the rope from the tree trunk and threaded the end through the large eye-hook on the back of the harness, tying a knot she knew wouldn’t slip. “Are you sure this isn’t one of Apple Bloom’s crazy ideas?” Rainbow Dash asked as Applejack finished her preparations. “Well…I might have let her give me an idea or two I reckon,” Applejack admitted with a grin back at her sister. "Now this here's like a rope swing" stated Applejack, eliciting a 'well, duh!' look from Rainbow Dash. Unperturbed, Applejack continued on. "I'll push to getcha some speed goin' and you should be able to stretch out like they do in the movies when they do them flyin' scenes." Rainbow Dash nodded, and had to admit to herself, it wasn't that bad of a setup. In fact, it looked pretty fun. "An' Apple Bloom here'll take a few snapshots, an' do that stuff she does on the computer to 'em and you'll have a few pictures of you soarin' through the sky!" Applejack concluded as she smiled at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash looked over at Apple Bloom and said "OK...but if this shows up on YouTube, you're dead, you know that right?" Apple Bloom nodded her head vigorously in understanding and Rainbow grinned at her. "Alrighty, Dash, are ya ready?" Applejack asked, moving behind Rainbow Dash. Rainbow turned to face away from the slight hill and said eagerly, "Ready!" Applejack grabbed Rainbow Dash's waist, and started to walk backwards, until the rope was taut and she could use the leverage to lift Rainbow off the ground, then moved her grip down to Rainbow Dash's ankles as Rainbow leaned forward, extending her arms out in front of her. Applejack pulled Rainbow as far back on the arc of the rope as she could, then suddenly burst forward, shoving Rainbow Dash with a mighty push into the swing. Rainbow Dash swung out over the stock pond, dangling a few feet above it and speared her hands to reduce the drag on her forward motion. As the rope ended it's forward swing, Rainbow flailed a bit, breaking a bit of her momentum and swinging back towards Applejack who whooped to see how well her design had worked. As Rainbow Dash regained her equilibrium, she brought down her legs so that her feet brushed into the ground, bringing her to a stop. "Oh wow, that was sooooo awesome!!" Rainbow exclaimed. "OK, let's go again, but at least 20 percent faster! Now that I have a feel for it, I can probably steer it some." Rainbow's voice had started to rise in pitch a bit, and was even more scratchy than usual, a clear sign of her excitement. Applejack grabbed Rainbow's waist again, and said "Ok...harder and faster, I can do that! You just hang on now!" Applejack tugged Rainbow Dash back as before, and this time Rainbow was ready for it, forcing her muscles to relax as Applejack backed up just to the edge of her reach, and then ran forward and heaved Rainbow again, with all her strength. Rainbow flowed into the curve, shooting her arms forward like a diver, piercing the wind as she once again soared over the stock pond. As she came near the end of her forward arc, Rainbow Dash bent like a swimmer turning in a pool and changed direction on the rope, so that she could follow the return swing more aerodynamically. Applejack didn't miss a beat, as soon as Rainbow Dash crossed near the base of the tree, she gave a shove at Rainbow Dash's heels, propelling her farther into the backwards arc this time, allowing Rainbow to gain a bit more air. "Yeaaaahhh!!!" Rainbow cried out, and closed her eyes, feeling the speed, the adrenaline, the wind in her hair. Turning once again at the top of the arc, she zoomed back downwards to where Applejack stood ready to give her another mighty push. Applejack crouched low and as Rainbow Dash whipped past, added the strength of her legs into the push, timing her jump to propel her hands into Rainbow's feet, and as Rainbow Dash soared even faster, Applejack snatched her Stetson off her head, waving and cheering "Yeee-haww!!" loudly. Rainbow Dash was lost in the moment. She was hurtling through the air, her eyes closed, as she flew, once again. She was soaring, soaring... *cccrrraaaaAACCCKK* She was...falling? As the tension on the rope went slack, Rainbow Dash opened her eyes in surprise, and all of her composure evaporated as she plummeted down towards the stock pond, the broken branch whipping after her. Her athlete's reflexes reacted, unthinking, and just before she hit the water Rainbow Dash curled into herself to not land face-first into the shallow water. The result was a very impressive cannonball right as the branch splashed into the water on top of her. Applejack had heard the branch break, and stood there gaping, frozen in the moment, but then she realized that Rainbow Dash might be hurt, and quickly scrambled down the short bank of the stock pond, splashing into the water calling out to her best friend. The stock pond wasn't very deep, just wide, and by the time Applejack had floundered up to her waist in the muddy water, Rainbow Dash surfaced. Rainbow's hair was plastered down the side of her head, she was completely soaked through, and a little muddy from the stirred up sediment in the water, but thankfully uninjured. For a moment, Applejack and Rainbow Dash just stared at each other. Finally, Rainbow Dash began to laugh. She brushed her hair from her face as her laughter grew, and Applejack, in a flood of relief joined in to laugh with her. "Are you alright, sugarcube?" Applejack asked once she could control herself again. "Yeah, I'm fine AJ, really. You sure Apple Bloom didn't come up with this idea?" Rainbow Dash inquired with a sly grin. She shivered a little at the chill of the air blowing over her wet clothes, and said "Let's get out of here before she takes a picture of this!" Applejack grinned and said, "OK Rainbow. I reckon that picture would fall under the 'get killed' kind anyhow." Rainbow Dash nodded her agreement, and the two girls waded back out of the stock tank. "I think some of my clothes'll fit you, let's go change at the house and get outta these wet duds," Applejack offered. Rainbow Dash eagerly agreed, and they headed back to the farmhouse, with Apple Bloom not far behind. As they approached, Applejack saw Big Mac standing on the porch, regarding them with a bemused look. "Told ya Bloomberg wouldn't like that." he said sagely as they passed him, and Applejack just grimaced at her brother as she and Rainbow Dash marched into the house and up to Applejack's bedroom to change. Applejack dug out a couple of pairs of jeans, and a flannel shirt for Rainbow Dash, and took off her boots and wet pants, while Rainbow peeled off her own soaked T-shirt and jeans. Rainbow buttoned up the shirt and started to put on one of the pair of jeans when Applejack's voice made her pause. "Hey...Rainbow...you took a look at your birthmark lately? It looks like it's got bigger." Rainbow ran a fingertip along her hip, and nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that. It's been that way a few weeks now, not sure if it's anything to worry about though" she said, trying to sound nonchalant about it. "Huh. That's odd...a few weeks ago..." Applejack's voice trailed off as she pivoted and turned her hip to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow glanced and saw that Applejack's birthmark, which had always looked more like a mole had also grown more prominent, and it looked vaguely familiar, as if she should know the shape. "This here's done the same thing. Got itself all swollen or somethin'," Applejack noted. "I didn't give it much thought either until you said somethin' 'bout yours. Purty big coincidence if you ask me." Rainbow Dash finished dressing, nodding back and Applejack reflexively and murmuring, "Yeah, coincidence." As Applejack finshed changing as well, she said "Well, at least ya got to fly again Rainbow, if only for a bit." Rainbow Dash smiled, remembering those few brief moments of feeling airborne again. Even as crazy as it had seemed, it really had felt good. "I did, didn't I?" Rainbow asked, giving Applejack a genuine smile. "But next time...IF there's a next time," she added. "Promise me you'll pick a stronger tree, ok?" Applejack just chuckled, nodding her head slightly. "That's a deal, Rainbow." She opened the door to the hall and said, "Let's go see what Apple Bloom took for pictures." Rainbow Dash followed after Applejack, curious to see how awesome she looked flying again. The adventure was over, but the memories were going to last a good long time.