//------------------------------// // Epilogue: The Eye of Scootaloo // Story: Fluttershocked // by Gregory the Mighty //------------------------------// Scootaloo stretched her wings out on the couch. It would be good to get some rest before her shift, but she had to keep one eye open at least. Her wings were strong now. Her legs were lean and limber. Combined with her fashionable short mane cut, she was the apple of every stallion’s eye. She stretched her neck to the side and got a glimpse of her cutie mark. It was a jeweled heart with floral adornments. She was so proud of that mark. Having wings that worked was a great advantage, enabling her to live in the clouds and stay closer to family and friends. It even enabled her to be a roommate to her idol, the fastest Wonder Bolt ever, Rainbow Dash. That, however, did not work out as she had planed. She looked into the corner to make sure the ‘special room’ was closed and locked. There was a famous saying; ‘Never meet your heroes’. Scootaloo would have a more in depth description; 1. Never meet your heroes. 2. Never move in with your heroes. 3. Never agree to cover for their sexual deviancy. * * * The door flew open and a proud Rainbow Dash marched in, with a ruffled mane and the same outfit she had the previous evening. “I’ve met the stallion of my dreams. I’ve met the one I’m going to marry. You would not believe the sex I had last night.” Scootaloo jumped up. “Um, Rainbow?” “Best sex ever! This guy not only kept up with me all night, he actually taught me a thing or two! Or three! He’ll be coming by this afternoon for round two.” “Hey, Rainbow??” “I tell you, Scootaloo, I want to have his foals! Foals! Lots of them! You have to meet him!” “Rainbow!” “What?” Rainbow Dash suddenly realized something and turned around. Sitting on the counter was her sister, the product of her father and his new wife, Fluttershy. She was Rainbowshy, only entering elementary education and looked up at her sister with the biggest blue eyes imaginable. She was a lighter shade of sunshine than her mother, and her mane had all the colors of Rainbow Dash’s, only in reverse order. “Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on her while she made you breakfast.” Scootaloo spat. “But that means the week starts today? As in today today?” “None other. That means you have to take your darling little sister to the Sisterhooves Social today. And the Cloudsdale Weather Factory tomorrow. And the Aquarium the next.” Scootaloo laughed as Dash’s hastily made sexy-plans were falling apart before her eyes. “C’mon sis. Eat your breakfast.” Rainbowshy jumped over to the kitchen table, where she had prepared pancakes, a muffin, and juice. But the stallion of her dreams would be there this afternoon! If they competed in the Sisterhooves Social, she’d be gone until sundown. Rainbow Dash panicked for an instant, then composed herself. “Hold tight, Rainbow Dash! You can settle this like a mature adult.” Scootaloo raised an eyebrow incredulously. Dash wrote out a carefully worded letter and placed it in an envelope. “Scoots, you’ll be back by three today right?” “Yeah...” “Good! When the stallion comes by give him this letter, and be sure to put in a good word for me. I need to KEEP this one, do you understand?” Scootaloo didn’t quite know the reason for her sudden change of heart, but she went along with it. She put the letter on the kitchen table and grabbed her apron. “I’m already late for my shift. See you two tonight.” Rainbow Dash sat down to breakfast. It did look like some tasty muffins, pancakes, and juice. “Sis, what’s sex?” queried Rainbowshy. Rainbow Dash choked on the muffins. “Fraslgm. Fwar. Foo. It’s a-a special flying maneuver. Yes. It’s very dangerous however, so only adults should try it.” “Oh, ok.” Satisfied that she had silenced her sister, Rainbow Dash continued her breakfast. “Sis, where do foals come from?” Rainbow Dash choked on the pancakes. “Blugg. Frabb. What?” “You said you wanted to make little foals. How do you do that?” Rainbow put a hoof to her chin as she thought of an answer. All the media training she did with the Wonder Bolts publicity guru was about to come in handy. “I really don’t know. I’m going to have to consult my doctor on that one. As soon as I find out, I’ll tell you.” The little filly seemed satisfied and Rainbow Dash continued with a sip of juice. “Sis, why are all my mother’s other friends I call ‘Auntie’, but you’re my sister?” Rainbow Dash spit her juice across the table. “Gosh. You sure are a messy eater.” “Well, you see we have the same father. Sometimes mommies die when a foal is very little. Other times, they meet a rich doctor and run off with them to Trottingham. Anyway, our father married my friend Fluttershy, and they had you. And they were the happiest two ponies in all of Equestria!” said Rainbow Dash. “Wow. That must have been awkward.” * * * Rainbow Dash and Rainbowshy made it to the sign in for the Sisterhooves Social with plenty of spare time. “Alright, this will give us a chance to scope out the competition.” said Rainbow Dash. Rainbowshy was not the born athlete her sister was, but she was willing to do anything to make her big sister happy. The social has always been a huge event in Ponyville. It had only grown over the years. It now encompassed every inch of Sweet Apple Acres that wasn’t orchard. The booths and festivities went all the way up to the farmhouse wall, where you could smell Applejack’s apple pies cooling on the windowsill. There were pie eating booths and apple tossing games, but the real event was the obstacle course. It encompassed all events, including hay bale pushing and egg balancing. The most difficult part was the finale. After the egg carry, the two had to sisters need to jump three hurdles to make it to the finish line. A sinch for Dash, naturally, but Rainbowshy needed help just to be able to flutter over them. “Look who it is. I didn’t think HALF sisters were allowed!” That condescending voice could only come from one source. Rainbow turned her head to see Diamond Tiara, the richest filly in Ponyville! With her was her younger sister, Crystal Tiara, a light pink unicorn with a stylish crystal tiara on her head. They didn’t even mind getting dirty if it meant an opportunity to show how superior they were. The little unicorn was like a magnified version of her sister’s snobbery. “You’re too young and feeble to compete! Just look at those short legs!” Rainbowshy wasn’t taking any guff from the pastel unicorn. Not in front of her big sister. “Oh, yeah, well I have wings. That means one day I’ll be performing sex!” “Ha! Well I have a horn, and that means someday I’ll be giving horn jobs!” Rainbow Dash and Diamond Tiara each scooped up their sisters in horror. “What have you been teaching her?” “What have you been teaching her?" The two were at an impasse. They backed away slowly. “C’mon, Crystal Tiara, let’s practice our victory speeches. This will be easier than I thought.” Rainbow Dash turned away with her sister and gave her a pep talk. “Don’t you worry about them. They’re all talk.” “Well, yeah. You’re my big sis, and I know you can win. Plus you’re one of the Wonder Bolts and they’re just some pampered rich fillies. What chance do they have?” Once Dash calmed down, it all seemed to fit into place. “Oh, yeah.” “She does have a point, Rainbow Dash. We really need to make this more of a fair race.” Apple Bloom stepped in out of nowhere. A moment later Dash found herself having her wings tied behind her back by a young stallion. How dare he? Who was this joker? Hmmm... He had some skills. Oh wait, that was AB’s boyfriend, Lickity Split. Hooves off. “Sorry, but we all know you’re the best flyer in Equestria. This course is structured for no-wings events only. We need to give the others a fighting chance.” Apple Bloom gave a wink and proceeded to the stage to announce the starting of the race. Rainbow Dash and Rainbowshy adorned matching neckerchiefs and proceeded to the starting line. Out of nowhere, Rainbowshy hugged Rainbow Dash. “You are my WHOLE sister right? You’re not going to leave me half-way are you?” Dash’s iron-clad war face was broken. She ran a reassuring hoof over her sister’s mane. “No, of course not! You and me? We’re sister’s for life. No matter what happens.” * * * With a mighty cry from the megaphone, Apple Bloom started the race. Despite Rainbowshy being shorter than the other small fillies, she could run at a decent clip. They pulled out ahead early and nailed the apple toss, then proceeded to pie eating. Considering of how little of her breakfast actually got eaten, Dash made quick work of that pie. Next came pushing the hay bales. Pushing hay is really hard, and Diamond and Crystal Tiara started to catch up. As they rounded the corner, Diamond Tiara shot a smirk of superiority to Rainbow Dash. Something was awry. How could Diamond Tiara, the most prissy of ponies, be so confident? At the grape stomp, the two teams were neck and neck. It was clear this was going to be a race between them. After the grapes were done, all four entered the chicken coop for the egg carry. This was the last fine task before the race for the finish. Both teams had their eggs between their muzzles, but the Tiaras were pulling ahead fast. That was when Dash saw something. Diamond Tiara and Crystal Tiara were carrying an egg on their noses, but they were using unicorn magic to stop it from falling. Dash had enough close friends who were unicorns to tell the difference. Dash growled at the two. They were so close to winning. Winning by cheating. Dash could not let that happen to her little sister. Losing was one thing, but losing to cheaters was a pony of another color. She couldn’t just reach out and poke the horn. She was just a filly after all. Think, Rainbow Dash! What would Rarity do? And then it hit her. “Hey Crystal! You’re tiara just went out of style!” The pink filly let out a high pitched shriek. “It did?!” They dropped the egg. As the tiara sisters went back for another Dash and Rainbowshy placed their unbroken egg and started darting toward the hurdles. The first hurdle wind over pretty well. Rainbowshy only knocked her hooves a little. The second hurdle stopped the little filly dead in her tracks. “You can do it!” Dash cried out, but she was going to need a boost. With a quick whip of her rainbow tail, Dash popped Rainbowshy over the hurdle. But they weren’t done yet. One more hurdle before the finish line, and the Tiara sisters were gaining fast. Dash and Rainbowshy galloped toward the final hurdle. This time Dash would take no chances; with a whip of her tail, Rainbowshy was knocked clear over the hurdle to just steps before the finish line. Diamond Tiara was just steps away from the finish line. Dash and Rainbowshy made a leap for the goal. Confetti balls exploded all around the finish area. Cheers were heard. They had their winners for this year. Rainbow Dash held her sister high above her head. They had won the Sisterhooves social. Dear Princess Celestia, I know it’s been a while, but I wanted to write you about my sister. While the circumstances that lead up to this point were a little strange, I’m happy to have her. It’s been a rewarding experience getting to be a big sister for the first time in my life. I think I’m ready now to start my own family and start having my own foals. I may have met the right stallion for the job, but only time will tell. I’d like to thank you for all the years of encouragement and advice you’ve given me. I hope it’s enough to make me as good a mother as my best friend, Fluttershy. Your Humble Servant, Rainbow Dash * * * Scootaloo stumbled in the door. Preparing coffee, even for only four hours can be an exhausting task. She looked down at the table and saw the letter Rainbow had written that morning. As if on queue, there was a loud knock at the entrance to their apartment. Scootaloo opened the door. “Hey, Dad.” [Look for “Applejacked” this summer.]