Their glasses met with a bright clink, ice rattling around in the swirling red liquid. Scootaloo’s was notably less full than Rainbow Dash’s, but the young mare didn’t mind. She still hadn’t entirely got the hang of alcohol yet – it went to her head far too quickly – and it was probably for the best.
“This was a great idea, Scoots.” Dash reclined back onto the picnic mat, tousling her mane with a hoof. “We should do this more often.”
“Yeah, totally!”
Way too eager, Scootaloo. You sound like an idiot.
Rainbow Dash didn’t react, but Scootaloo could already feel a blush burning across her cheeks. Hastily changing the subject to avoid further embarrassment, she turned her attention back to her glass. “What’s this stuff called again?”
“Sangria,” replied Dash, taking a sip of her own. “It’s nice; just wine and fruit really, with some honey and the tiniest bit of brandy. I, er… didn’t want to make it too strong.” She gave Scootaloo a knowing grin.
Eugh, it had been three months since her birthday party. Were ponies still going on about it?
Catching Scootaloo’s expression, Dash gave her shoulder a brief nudge. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Everyone overdoes it the first time.”
“Overdoing it is a bit of an understatement.”
“Alright, maybe not everyone ends the night passed out in a pig trough,” Dash admitted. “But your friends should’ve been looking after you. That was seriously not cool.”
“They were pretty bad as well,” said Scootaloo. It was true, technically, but far from the only reason. It wasn’t as though she could tell Rainbow Dash about the arguments they’d had, or how Scootaloo had ignored every attempt Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had made to try to get her to leave. And maybe they would have tried harder had they not been so out of it themselves, but Scootaloo didn’t blame them for giving up. Not after some of the things she’d said. Her memory was decidedly fuzzy, and completely missing for the last hours, but she definitely recalled Sweetie Belle bursting into tears at one point.
But best not to think about that. Not today. They’d forgiven her; that was the important thing.
“Yeah, I guess.” Dash remained unconvinced, but thankfully said no more on the subject, taking another swig of her drink. The park was startlingly empty for such a beautiful afternoon, and only the occasional passerby came anywhere near their spot – a small rise overlooking the lake. Birds swarmed across the water's surface, all manner of ducks and swans and geese, their constant calling strangely calming. For a while neither of them said anything, Scootaloo content to watch the birds fly while Dash lazed in the sun.
The sangria was fruity and sweet, with just the barest kick from what Scootaloo could only assume was brandy – she'd never had it before. "Wow, this is really good, Rainbow Dash! Where'd you learn to make it?"
"Huh? Oh, my dad taught me. He used to have this homemade cocktail bar that he was nuts over. Kinda funny really; he never usually drank, but adored making cocktails. Really I think he just liked showing off."
Dash grinned at the memory, and Scootaloo did too.
"What about your dad?" asked Dash. "You've never really talked about your folks. Is he cool?"
"Oh, uh..." Scootaloo ran a hoof awkwardly along the rim of her glass. Back and forth, back and forth. "Yeah, he's cool. He used to read me bedtime stories and stuff. You know, Dad things."
Dash laughed. "Bed time stories? I was thinking a bit more recent than that."
"Uh, well..." The young Pegasus looked away, out at the lake, at the birds and their raucous cries. "He used to sing," she said. "Really badly. You know, karaoke and stuff? It always drove me crazy."
"He sounds fun," said Dash, giggling.
"Yeah, he is." Scootaloo was glad she was looking away – she knew she was supposed to be smiling.
"Hey, fill me up another, would you?" Dash handed her the empty glass. "Make sure to keep the fruit out."
A task much easier said than done, as it turned out. The spoon Dash had brought was just big enough to always catch at least some of the copious amount of fruit Rainbow had filled the pitcher with, and it took Scootaloo a good few attempts before she could hand Dash anything approximating a full glass.
"Thanks Scoots," said Rainbow when her beverage was finally passed to her, an amused look on her face. Scootaloo downed the rest of her own, and began fishing with the ladle again. Dash gave her a sidelong look. "So, Sweetie Belle and Rumble, huh?"
For a moment, Scootaloo stopped fumbling with the spoon. "Oh, yeah. How'd you hear about that?"
"Please." Dash snapped her sunglasses back over her eyes. "This is Rarity’s sister we're talking about. She's all over the whole "young romance" thing; it's all we've been hearing about for weeks. I don't know how Sweetie puts up with it to be honest."
"I'm happy for her," declared Scootaloo.
"Well, sure, I didn't think you were jealous or anything."
"Then why'd you ask about it?"
"I think Rarity's trained us to take an unhealthy interest in their relationship." Dash grinned. "And, well, I was kinda wondering if there were any colts you had your eyes on. It's Hearts and Hooves day, after all. Not that I've ever bought into any of that stuff, but I figured you'd rather be with a colt than chilling with me. You know, even when I'm as awesome as I am."
"I mean, I guess there's a couple I like." And again, technically true. Scootaloo was far from immune to hormones. She could still appreciate good looking colts, right? Even if they would only ever be eye candy.
"A couple? I'm all for being ambitious, Scoots, but you should probably start with just the one." Dash chuckled at her 'joke'.
"You know what I mean," huffed Scootaloo.
"Sure I do. I remember what it was like."
"You do?"
"Duh. It wasn't that long ago. And it was totally awesome, too. So many guys to choose from, right?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess." A thick pressure had started to build in Scootaloo's chest; heavy and almost painful.
"I was terrible as a filly," Dash continued. "Ended up with all the worst possible stallions. It didn't really matter though; that's the nice thing about being your age. You get to make mistakes."
The pressure spread, tightening around her midriff, pushing the air out of her, squeezing almost to the point of breaking.
please don't ask please don't ask
"So," said Dash, a dangerous grin plastered on her face. "There's gotta be somepony who's caught your eye."
Squeeze.
"Nope," said Scootaloo, trying to act nonchalant even as her chest tried to implode.
"Aw, come on."
Squeeze.
"You can tell me, right?" asked Dash. "Just between us?"
Squeeze.
"Fine!" conceded Scootaloo, a little more forcefully than she'd intended. But at least it caused that weight to lift slightly. "There's one..."
"Aha! Now we're getting somewhere. Here." Dash passed Scootaloo the half a drink or so she had left, taking her empty one. Scootaloo hadn't even realised she'd finished it, but the pleasant buzz reverberating in her skull said otherwise.
"Alright, spill it. What's he like? Hot, right?"
"Definitely," said Scootaloo.
Another bump on her shoulder. "Knew it!"
No you didn't.
"So, hot, that's a good start," said Dash, her own glass full again now. "But come on, you gotta give me more than that."
"Um... they're really... athletic?"
"A colt after my own heart. And yours too, it sounds like." Dash winked. "You should totally go for it."
"You think?"
"Sure. Not trying to be weird, Scoots, but you could totally get them. Especially at your age; it's way easier."
Scootaloo was quiet for a good while. "What if I know they're not interested?" she asked, eventually.
"Ha, what is he, gay?" Dash laughed and took a long drink.
No.
Her face must have said something, because Dash suddenly sprayed her mouthful of sangria everywhere, cheeks ballooning out comically. Scootaloo couldn't help but burst out laughing, and thankfully Rainbow took it in stride.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. But, seriously? Wow, you don't make it easy for yourself, do you?"
"Tell me about it."
Dash was quiet for a moment, her mouth scrunched in thought. "Okay, so this advice is gonna suck, but... That's like, one thing you can't ever change. And I know it's crap, but the only thing you can do is move on."
The weight returned in full force, crushing, squeezing, making it almost impossible for Scootaloo to breathe.
"It's not what you want to hear, I know," said Dash. "And I know that right now it seems like being with them is the most important thing in the world, but you know what? I promise that you'll look back in the future and wonder what you ever saw in them. Trust me, it'll pass."
And what if it doesn't? What if I don't want it to? What if everything you say makes it worse?
But of course Scootaloo said none of those things. "Okay," she said, her voice dull and emotionless.
The touch on her shoulders took her by surprise, and once she realised Rainbow had laid an arm around her she wasn't entirely sure how to react.
"Hey, it's not all bad," said Rainbow. "At least we got to spend an awesome day together, right? There's not much better than that."
And now Scootaloo did smile, a warm genuine one. Dash was right about that, at least. But she could see where the conversation was going, where the back and forth ended. A horrible, poisonous question that she hated even thinking about, but it was expected. The last thing she wanted was for Dash to think she didn't care.
"What about you?" she asked. "You're not spending today with a special somepony either."
Dash nodded. "Good point. Like I said, I don't buy into all that sappy stuff. And, to be honest, the stallion I like isn't really gonna happen either."
The stallion she likes.
"Oh?"
Why did I ask why did I ask
"Yeah. Turns out I'm bad at following my own advice."
Scootaloo's chest clenched tighter, so tight now. And yet she kept asking, kept pushing forwards, some masochistic need to know compelling her to go on.
"Is he...?"
"Gay? Nah, that's not the problem. Would certainly surprise Applejack if he turned out to be, though." Dash's eyes widened as she realised what she'd said. "Did I just...? Forget I said that, seriously." She swirled the last remnants of her drink, listening to the ice clink. "This must be stronger than I thought." Dash sighed, throwing the rest out onto the grass. "The other thing you can't change is if somepony's already taken. By, for example, a perfectly lovely purple earth pony.” A moment’s pause. “Well, alright, you could, but I would never do that to him."
Something inside the little pegasus snapped. The weight was gone, and in its place was a vast hollowness, taking up the entirety of everything that Scootaloo was.
Are you happy now?
And of course she wasn't. A bottomless pit had been dug in her stomach, which was simultaneously trying to eat itself. She tried to say something, anything, but there were no words to be found – just a horrible, pregnant silence.
"Scootaloo?"
Rainbow Dash was so blurry all of a sudden. Everything was, actually, and the whole world had taken on an oddly muted quality. She barely heard Rainbow, and now there was a strange whispering sound in her ears. It was a few moments before she realised it was the birds, those damn birds that just wouldn't shut up and now Dash was hugging her and why did something so wonderful just make her feel worse – why was Dash's fur wet, why couldn't Scootaloo hug her tighter, why couldn't she have this, why couldn't she just have this one damn thing, why couldn't she stay like this forever, why couldn't it have never happened at all.
Scootaloo sobbed pathetically into Rainbow Dash's chest, and there she stayed.
Rainbow was so warm, and whenever Scootaloo clutched her tighter she would reciprocate, murmuring in her ear all the while. Scootaloo didn't hear the words, but she knew they must be right because they were hers, it was Rainbow Dash's voice and that was enough. Enough just knowing which pegasus' hooves were around her, running soothingly over her little wings.
Eventually the tears stopped, but Scootaloo still held her, and Dash made no attempt to extricate herself. In the end Scootaloo had no idea how long they stayed like that, only that when the awful but inevitable time came to finally break apart she was stiff all over. And, worst of all, when she stepped back Rainbow Dash smiled at her. She smiled.
She didn't ask if Scootaloo was okay now. It was a redundant question, and Dash knew it. She always knew. "Sometimes we have to let it out, right?" was all she said.
But Scootaloo hated it all the same. Because it was forgiveness. Because it was Dash forgiving her. Because it meant she thought it was worth apologising for.
"I hate this," said Scootaloo, the bitterness in her words surprising even herself.
"Me too, Scoots. Me too."
They lay together on the picnic mat, close enough that if Scootaloo had reached out she could hug her again. But she wouldn't, of course she wouldn't.
The sun was setting now, a beautiful orange-red on the horizon that set Rainbow Dash's fur aglow. A cool evening breeze had begun to blow, a welcome change from the heat that had become so stifling in those last moments. Finally the birds were quieting, nestling their heads in their wings as they drifted over the water together, so close but never touching, dappled orange light transforming the lake into a sparkling crystal. It was beautiful. Perfect. A perfect day. Just a perfect day with the only pony Scootaloo would ever want to spend it with.
And nothing more.