//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash: Age Seventeen // Story: What Mommies Do // by SanityLost //------------------------------// Part 4 Four years later, found Dash scowling across the living room at her mother. The younger mare had grown several inches over the last few years. Angry rose eyes were sharply interlocked with equally angry red orbs. “Dash, what in the name of Celestia did you think you’re doing?” Star Shine took a step toward her daughter. She shook her mane, revealing some of the gray hairs that had been added over the past few years. “I thought I was doing what I wanted, that’s what.” Rainbow Dash puffed up proudly, something her mother noticed her doing more often than usual. “I’m aware of that. I mean specifically, why did you drop out of flight school?” “Because those stupid teachers didn’t have anything else to teach me, I fly better than any three of them combined.” Rainbow scoffed. Rainbow’s mother stamped her hoof against the puffy white floor, “Rainbow, this is absolutely silly. How many times have we gone over this? I know you’re good, half of Cloudsdale knows you’re good. But that doesn’t mean you can blow off your school or your teachers.” “I wouldn’t if they didn’t blow so much,” Rainbow chuckled. “Dash, this is serious. You need to go back to flight school and tell them you aren’t dropping out.” The cyan pegasus rolled her eyes, “Why?” “Because, there are still things you need to learn. You’re fast but your teachers say you crash a lot, and they say you need to work on your work ethic, you sleep too much during class.” “I sleep a lot in class because I’m bored, and I don’t crash as much as I used to, I’m getting better on my own. I told you, none of those wannabes at the flight school can tell me how to get better. Probably because I fly too fast for them to keep up with me.” Star Shine let out a long, deep breath. “Dash, maybe they can’t teach you anything at that flight school. Maybe you know it all and are the best flier in Equestria! But until then, you need to get your degree so you can get a good job.” “How do you know?” “Because that is the way the world works Dash, you need to have a diploma so you can get a good job.” “That’s not the way the world always works.” Rainbow let out an exaggerated huff, “every adult I talk to says that’s how the world works, but its not. Witherwing has a diploma from flight school, and he’s just the school Janitor.” Rainbow’s mother shook her head, “There are a few exceptions to everything Dash.” “Well, there must be a lot of exceptions, I remember that boring field trip to the weather factory a year ago. Half of the hydrology team, a lot of the snowflake manufacturers, and a whole bunch of the workers didn’t have their degrees. We even had weather teams come talk to our class and a lot of them didn’t have their flight school degrees either” “I bet none of them were in management.” “Four of the ones that didn’t have degrees were team captains and shift managers.” Star Shine felt the heated frustration in her chest, “Maybe there are more exceptions than I realized, but having your degree will ensure that you have a better chance in life. Having a degree will make you stand out even more than you already do now.” Dash brushed back her unkempt, rainbow colored mane, “I don’t need a piece of paper to tell someone how good I am. I can do that on my own.” Star Shine dug her hoof into the cloudy floor, “I know you are good at selling yourself Dash, but the first thing a lot of employers look for in a potential employee is if they have a degree or not.” Rainbow’s eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t want to work for somepony who hires me just because of some stupid piece of paper, I want to work for somepony who hires me for what I can do.” “Dash, the world doesn’t work that way.” A stern tone worked its way into Star Shine’s voice. “No, it doesn’t always work that way, but it sometimes does.” “I want you to get your degree so you’ll be okay when it doesn’t.” Rainbow blew a raspberry, “I’ll be fine no matter what. If some place doesn’t want me, I’ll move on to another place. There are lots of places in Equestria, you know.” “But by doing this,” an imploring tone was in Star Shine’s voice, “you may be keeping yourself from having the chance to live in the best places or do fun things.” “I don’t want to live in the best places and I don’t need a lot of bits to do fun things. The best places are just filled with snobby ponies that think they’re better than you.” “That isn’t necessarily true, but honestly, I don’t feel like arguing the point. Listen, I am your mother and I am telling you to go back to flight school.” Rainbow’s mother was stern. “And I’m telling you that I’m not going back.” Rainbow Dash said with steely defiance. “Rainbow, I am sick and tired of this,” Star Shine fought to keep her tone even. “Everytime I tell you to do something, you refuse to do it.” “That’s because what you tell me to do is dumb and doesn’t make sense.” Rainbow raised her voice. “Everything I try to get you to do is because I want you to have the best in life.” Her mother’s voice rose also. Rainbow snorted, “That is what you want, but you never ask what I want.” Star Shine huffed a sigh, “I ask you what you want and the only thing you tell me is that you want to join the Wonderbolts.” “That’s because it’s what I want.” “I know that dear, but you have to have a backup plan, just in case that fails.” “I don’t need a backup plan, because I’m not going to fail.” “You don’t know that, unless you are a psychic along with being a speedy flier.” Rainbow smirked, “No, but I don’t need to see into the future to see that I’m going to be the best flier in Equestria.” Rainbow’s mother shook her head, “Being cocky and bragging isn’t going to get you anywhere darling.” “Who said I was being cocky? It ain’t bragging if you do it and you back it up!” The cyan pegasus smugly tossed her mane to the side. The dark blue pegasus gritted her teeth, “Look, all of this aside, tomorrow I want you to go back to that flight school and tell them you don’t want to quit.” “Well that’s not what I want. So I’m not going to do it.” “If you want to live under this roof young mare, you will do as I say.” Fire burned in the younger pegasus’ eyes, “I will not do as you say. So I guess I won’t live under this roof then.” Rainbow flapped her wings and flew past her mother. Star Shine flew after her, “Where will you go then?” “I’m going to live with my friend Gilda out in Phillydelphia,” Dash called over her shoulder. “Phillydelphia? Gilda? You mean the Griffon?” “Yep, her. You know her, the friend you hate.” “She’s nothing but bad news for you Dash,” Star Shine shouted after her. “I knew mares like her...erm, females like her. Trust me, she won’t do anything but get you in trouble.” Rainbow Dash spun around and looked her mother in the eye, “You know what? I am so tired of you putting down me and my friends. You never cared about my dreams, you never wanted me to do the things that made me happy.” Star Shine gasped, “I do care about your dreams Rainbow, how dare you say that. I just want to make sure that you go about chasing your dreams the right way.” “Well I don’t want to go about it the right way,” Rainbow shouted, “I want to go about it my way.” “Honey, I know how you do things, your way will likely lead to a dead end.” Rainbow’s mother put on a sympathetic face. “You see, there you go again. You know what, just forget it. I’m tired of you and I’m tired of Cloudsdale. I’m tired of living the way you want me to live. I’m gonna get out of here and live the way I want to live for once.” “But Dash-” Star Shine began to speak but Rainbow cut her off. “No, no more. I’ve had it up to here,” Rainbow Dash motioned over her head with a forehoof. “You and this place can buck off for all I care. I’m gone.” Rainbow Dash turned to her room, and then turned back around. “Oh and by the way, Gilda and I are dating. We’ve been going out for three months.” Star Shine blinked, “Wait...what?” “Yeah, that’s right. I’m going out with another female, and a Griffon. Wanna know something? The sex is awesome.” Rainbow quickly walked to her room before her mother could follow and slammed the door. The dark blue pegasus stood at her child’s door with tears in her eyes as jagged tendrils tore her heart apart.