My stomach rumbled weakly, but nowhere near as loud as it had four hours ago. I sat in one of the many velvet-lined boxes of the theater, watching the show below me with only slight interest. The fillies and‒–much to my surprise‒– colts performing were doing as good a job as could be expected for their age. They were the under-tens, mostly in the ballet because their parents made them.
They moved in sync with each other, only a few slip-ups happening. Their movements weren't too elaborate, but it gave me some idea of what to expect from Scootaloo's performance. Graceful spins, small leaps, and stretching their legs in a way that made mine cringe, it wasn't as bad or girly as I had always thought it to be. Watching the dancers and their control over their bodies, be it standing on two hooves or four, it was obvious that quite a bit of muscle control and balance was needed. It really was a challenging sport, just not one ponies think of as hard most of the time.
Despite having gained a new appreciation for the activity, I still found it hard to focus on the inexperienced dancers. I wasn't distracted for long; soon, they were all lining up on the stage to bow and exit. Their parents stomped their hooves on the floor in approval, the noise filling the theater. They all left the stage and the curtain dropped, leaving the attendees to go and congratulate their kids in the back.
Coco had disappeared as well, helping getting kids out of their costumes. She had told me to stay up here, as it was going to be crazy backstage and I'd probably just get in the way now. She'd be down there the entire performance as well, helping with any costume changes between acts. I was content to recline in the rather comfy box seats, watching as parents filed out and well-dressed ponies came in.
The number of upper-class ponies surprised me. They seemed to keep coming and coming, filling up the rows with their elaborate clothes and high-class manestyles. In short time, almost the entire room below was filled and my jaw was fully open. Scootaloo was performing at this? Nearly everypony in Manehattan was here! I spotted the Prime Minister of Canterlot, Fancy Pants, as well as a few other unicorns and pegasi that looked vaguely familiar from news articles or albums. Even Spitfire's flaming hair was there, shocking me all the more.
A flicker of movement in the largest box in the back of the room caught my attention. Two night guards parted the gold curtains and Princess Luna stepped through, then quietly sat down in one of the two seats. Not too many ponies had noticed her, but maybe they were just being polite. Regardless, I had to go over there and figure out just how huge of an event this was that a Princess would come to a filly ballet.
I scrambled out of the box and headed down the red, velvet-lined hallway towards her location. Stairs led up to it, a guard posted at the entrance to tell me I found the right place.
“Hey, could you let me in? Princess Luna knows me, I'm one of the Elements of Harmony.”
The guard gave me a judging look, trying to figure out if I was an impostor or not. His horn lit up and I felt a tingle running through my body. Probably running some anti-changeling spell or something. Nodding his head, satisfied, he stepped aside and let me enter.
The steps were short and curved, leading up to the back of the box. Yet another guard was stationed at the box entrance, holding up a hoof to halt me. She parted the curtains and poked her head in, saying something I couldn't make out to the Princess. Looking at me again, she gestured with her head to go in.
“Hey, Princess Luna, what's up?” I asked, walking around and dropping into the chair beside her. A smile touched her lips, one she made no effort to hide.
“A good day to you as well, Rainbow Dash. It is surprising to see you here, but I hope you enjoy the show nonetheless.”
“Yeah, that's something I don't quite get. How big or important is this show?”
She turned to me, a small look of surprise on her face. “You mean you're here and you don't know how big this is? Wouldn’t the ticket price alone give you a clue?”
I chuckled, trying to break the pressure the Princess had unknowingly placed on me. “Hehe, nope. I'm just here to support my little sister.”
The smile returned to Luna's face, causing me to breathe in relief. “Ah, so you got one of her free tickets. How lovely of you to use it. Who is your sister, again? My mind is blanking on me at the moment.”
“Her name's Scootaloo. Little orange pegasus, purple mane.”
That caught her attention. Her mouth formed a small “o” of shock, and she turned around to the guards. “Can you bring us a program please? Thank you.” She turned back to me, half still surprised and half looking almost giddy. But Princesses didn't get giddy, did they? Well, Twilight's an exception. She was giddy before becoming a Princess.
It took only a moment for the guard to return, hoofing Luna a small piece of paper. She in turn gave it to me, and I stared at the front cover. It depicted a white pegasus mare dancing with a unicorn stallion. A black shape rose up behind them, casting the rest of the page in shadow. Swan Lake was written at the top, the name of the performance.
With a prompting nod from Luna, I opened the pamphlet. It had a list of the performers in it on one side, with the list of financial contributors on the other.
Featuring
Starry Night as Prince Siegfried
Scootaloo as Princess Odette and Odile
Cloudy Sky as Von Rothbart
The list continued on, but my eyes were fixed on Scootaloo's name. She was at the very top, the place reserved for the best performers. Any athlete knew that. She was this good and she still didn't tell me? I sunk back into the chair next to the princess, staring at the name on the list. “So I guess she's a pretty big deal, isn't she?”
“Scootaloo is one of the best young ballet dancers of the current time, yes. And, she is one of the few without a ballet cutie mark.”
“Heh, course she's the best. I taught her. Although, I'd ask a favor of you, Princess.” Her eyebrows raised, but she waited for me to continue. “Would it be possible for you to cast some spell that makes me invisible to Scootaloo? I don't want her to know I'm here until after she performs.”
“I think I can manage that.” Her horn lit up, and I felt a fuzzy feeling go over me. Everything else looked the same, but I no longer cast a shadow on the seat. A huge grin stretched across my face as I realized I was invisible. I started to bounce up and down on the seat, imagining the pranking possibilities. “And Rainbow Dash? Before you get any bright ideas, that seat is what's making you invisible. Otherwise, the power drain would be quite taxing.”
“Aww...” I muttered, but shrugged and sat back in the seat. “In that case, let's get this show on the road!”
The alicorn chuckled, raising a hoof to her mouth. “Patience, Rainbow. The ballet will start momentarily. It will be good to see it again after a thousand years.”
“Whoa, you mean this thing is really, really old?”
“Yes. It came from folklore and was set to music before I was, ah, banished. Attending the theater was one of my favorite activities before I went away, and Swan Lake was a classic even then. So when I heard of this performance, I had to come see it.” She laughed again, louder this time. “I did not think my presence would draw so many others here though!”
Her words seemed to end the conversation, or at least neither of us spoke again. She was right; in a few minutes, the lamps over the audience dimmed, and the stage lighting grew brighter. Eventually, all of the lights over the seats went out. Well, there was a little light in the royal box, as Luna's mane gave off a very faint glow. Still, I was focused on the stage, waiting for Scootaloo to show up.
When the curtains pulled back, the stage was ringed with several male dancers, all standing on their hind legs with ease and dressed in red or green jackets, white tights on as well. When the music began to play, they danced around, acting almost as if they were at a party. I couldn't make out some sort of plot that was happening yet, but the music was fairly nice, and the jester that bounced onto the stage livened up the performance a little bit more.
I sat back and watched, waiting for Scootaloo's entrance, but it didn't come. Eventually, the dancers paused, took a moment to bow, and the ponies of the crowd stomped their hooves in approval. The lights on stage dimmed and the colts bounded off. I sat up straighter, confused. “Princess Luna,” I said, raising my voice slightly to be heard above the applause, “Was that it?”
She laughed again, eyes still focused on the stage. “Nay, Rainbow. That was merely a scene ending. There are four acts in this ballet, and each act has four scenes. Scootaloo will appear in Acts Two, Three, and Four. The lights won't always dim between scenes though.”
I sighed and leaned back into the chair, hoof on chin as I watched the performance resume again. My mind wandered as I gazed on, not too focused. While I did have to admit that it took a huge degree of skill and strength to stand on hind legs for so long, this was one physical activity that didn't much intrigue me. Maybe learning more about it from Scoots would help. Who knows, she could probably teach me a thing or two after this.
Luna nudged me as the curtains closed again, then resumed clapping her hooves together lightly. I shook my head to clear it and looked down at the stage. “Act Two is about to begin, and I think you'll find it most enjoyable.”
I leaned forward, resting my head on my hooves and watched the play unfold before me. I still wasn't sure what had happened, only that the dark blue unicorn who had appeared in the prior act was apparently important by how he had been emphasized. Probably Starry Night playing Prince Sig-something.
The curtains opened again and nopony was there, then a different unicorn dressed entirely in black leapt onto the stage. He began to dance as the theme played, doing so with no apparent reason. Only a few minutes passed before the music ended and he looked to the side, acting startled. He ran off-stage, only to have Starry Night come in cautiously, this time on four hooves and holding a knife in his mouth.
He too ran around a little before noticing the shape of a swan in the background. It slowly moved off-stage as well, only to have him follow it. The scene looked like it was depicting him following the swan, only to have him suddenly run back from where he had gone, throwing the weapon to the side. He turned and paused, gazing back.
And then, Scootaloo appeared.
Even from the distance, I could make her out clear as day with my sharp vision. Her orange coat had been covered up by white tights, similar to that of the colts. Her hooves had white shoes on them, kept inside the tights. Probably to help her balance on her hooves better. The white left her head and forehooves clear however, the dress ending across her chest. The dress itself was incredible; it looked like it was made of nothing but feathers, though it stuck out like a classic tutu at her waist. I had seen my fair share of dresses being friends with Rarity, but this one stood out against all of them. Maybe it was because I had only seen Scootaloo in a dress once before, or maybe it really was just that stunning.
She had a headpiece to match it all. Nothing too complex, but it was a silver tiara-esque object with white feathers curving down on either side. It reminded me of the laurel I wore to the Gala only more… feathery. Her mane had been pulled back and pinned up, and her tail hidden underneath a layer of feathers. Did swans have tails? Either way, the trail that hung barely off the ground completed the swan princess look, leaving me absolutely speechless.
She began dancing across the stage, and my mouth only grew wider and wider as I scooted closer and closer to the edge of my seat. She made her way across the stage on the tips of her hindhooves, forehooves sweeping around constantly to either assist her with spins or to simply look elegant, helping her keep the crazy amount of balance required. The fact that she could do it all with her wings pressed against her back and useless blew me away.
The pony in front of me was my sister, and I couldn't be prouder of how she stepped out onto the stage in front of hundreds of other ponies. She fearlessly did so, not caring about what anypony may think of her. It was an experience like none other, and I could barely think through the happiness that came from seeing the look of bliss on Scootaloo's face.
She engaged in a dance with the other colt, the two sliding and spinning across the stage. The other colt might have been decent, sure, but I had eyes only for my sister. I sat enraptured, not caring about how much time passed.
At one point, the colt she had been dancing with went off-stage, chased away by the black-cloaked one from earlier. Then Scootaloo herself was chased off, a tiny bit of anger rising in me at seeing her disappear from the stage. Quite a few more fillies ran out onto the stage, dressed similarly to Scootaloo, but lacking some of her elegance.
I watched the ballet unfold with new interest, at one point gasping as Scootaloo went into a dizzying series of spins, forehooves raised above her head or in a loop in front of her. She twirled across the stage, maintaining perfect balance the whole while. And even after the spins came the jumps, sometimes high enough to make it look like she was floating in the air for a moment. She might not be the best flier, but she could definitely leap and spellbind me. It was absolutely stunning to watch, especially as I didn't even know this part of her existed.
When the curtain came down for the end of Act Two, I pounded my hooves on the ground with the rest of the audience, incredibly proud of my adopted li'l sis. How could she possibly think that this was uncool or girly? The ridiculous amount of muscles, balance, coordination, and timing required more than made up for having to wear a dress. There was no way I could do what she was doing, even if I could use my wings and it was in the air. She had such grace, moving quickly, yet never making it feel rushed. I knew barely a thing about ballet, but if there was a filly out there that thought they were better than Scootaloo, I'd call them a liar.
“I take it you're a bigger fan of ballet now?” Luna asked, her hooves making a bit more noise this time than for the previous act. I nodded vigorously, bringing a smile to her face. I didn't know what she could be thinking, but I bet it was good.
The rest of the performance unfolded before my eyes as I watched, awestruck. Each sequence seemed to get progressively better and better, though I could see some fillies were getting exhausted by the end. Even Scootaloo, as amazing as she was, started to falter a little. But anyone that noticed waved it away, too preoccupied with the incredible performance coming from children. Well, teenagers, but close enough.
Finally the last note of music played, the dancers froze, and the curtain fell. The room erupted into thunderous applause, perhaps even going so far as to shake the building. Even the Princess had abandoned her soft clapping and had resorted to stomping her hooves against the floor, royal shoes adding even more noise. The lights came back on, albeit dimly. I started to leave my seat, heading to the back of the box to go congratulate Scootaloo.
“Wait a moment, Rainbow Dash, there's still the final bow to see. And before you go, I wish to tell you something.” Luna's voice stopped me in my tracks and brought me back over to her seat. I decided to hover next to her instead of sit down again, as my wings were itching to be used, especially after seeing all the jumps and twists that had been performed.
“What is it, Princess?” I asked, keeping an eye on the stage for the first signs of the bow. A few fillies started to come out, making their way across the arc in front of the curtain.
“Scootaloo has been having nightmares about messing this up for weeks. Honestly, that was another reason I came here today.” Her voice was softer, barely audible. Probably didn't want to let her guards hear.
“No wonder she hasn't been sleeping well. Don't worry, Princess, I'll be sure to let her know how awesome she was.” I gave a nod to emphasize it, wings flapping a little faster now. I wanted to go congratulate the star, but it'd be useless to go down there anyways.
Finally, the last of the ponies finished filing onto the stage. Scootaloo took center, flanked by those other two colts that were important. One was her lover, and the other some dark sorcerer. I think. I was mostly focused on my sis. They all stood on their hind legs, looped arms around each others' shoulders, and bowed to the audience. Not too low, or they would have fallen on their faces. Even the bow would have taken a week to practice! When did Scoots have time for all this?
The ponies stopped their bowing and started to walk back behind stage. As she neared the door, she looked up towards the royal box and Luna. I could see the color drain from her face all the way up here when she spotted me hovering next to the Princess.
Crap.
I didn't even bother saying goodbye to Luna, I just turned on a wing and dashed through the curtains. I blew past the guard and rocketed down the stairs, hooves running along the side of the wall to help me turn in the close quarters. I flew out the foot of the stairs and into the box seat hallway, not even spotting the other guard. It took me only seconds to reach the end of the long room, blowing aside the wall curtains I passed.
I hooked a hoof around the top post of the stairs and used that to help me fly down the spiral steps. The royal box had been on the third level, with the rest of the boxes on the second. The backstage was accessible through the below-ground level and that's where I rushed to, speeding over the velvet rope barring normal pony entry. I recalled the route that Coco brought me through earlier, the path now burned in my mind.
I entered the big room that I first arrived in, swooping up higher to avoid taking any kids out. My vision zeroed in on the orange pegasus trying to run out of the room through a doorway, but it was too late for her. I dived down and wrapped my hooves around her waist while still traveling at speed, causing us to go into an aerial roll through the doorway. I turned my body so that I'd be the one to hit the ground first and held Scootaloo tighter, trying to avoid any harm she might get at my hasty hug-slash-tackle.
The impact wasn't as bad as most, my back sliding over‒–thankfully‒–carpet. My wings didn't even take that much harm. Just a little friction burn. I'd take that any day in return for what was about to happen. Scootaloo tried wiggling away from me, but I still held her tight.
Coco's head poked through the doorway and saw the two of us in the hallway. A smile reached her face, and she turned to the rest of the watching ponies. “It's okay, everyone, Scootaloo is fine.”
I smiled at that and turned my attention to the struggling pony in my grip. "Lemme go!" she shouted. Her shout was punctuated with kicks in the air, and the motions gradually loosened my hold on her. While she would have gotten free on her own, I let go and she rolled away from me. She got to all fours and tried to restore the poofiness I had bent, though it didn't look like she was doing much. She looked at me and sighed, pulling her headdress off and taking out the clip keeping her mane up. “If you're just going to stand there, you could at least help me get my wings free.”
Her voice startled me into action, and I went over to her. I easily found the zipper after all the ones I helped with earlier. Gripping it in my teeth, I pulled it back and freed Scootaloo's wings from their tight prison. She ruffled them, spreading her feathers and breathing a sigh of relief. “Whew, that's way better. The rest can wait, I don't mind it as much. Now go ahead and say whatever you're going to say about this so I can go to my dressing room and see my friends.” Her head hung down, avoiding my gaze.
“Your performance was better than the best of the Wonderbolts,” I replied, short and matter-of-factly.
She gave a start, head picking up and looking at me. “Huh?”
“I said, your performance was better than the best of the Wonderbolts.” My calm appearance started to give way to the freak-out I was having inside, but I held on for just a few seconds longer.
“Please tell me you're not just messing with me and that you really enjoyed it.” A smile seemed to want to creep onto her face, but it was kept from doing so by caution. I couldn't say I knew the feeling, having never bothered with caution, but I certainly knew how to respond.
“Are you kidding me?” I asked, my voice starting to climb in pitch and get louder. “That was the absolute best performance I’ve ever seen! When you came onto the stage, I just couldn’t believe it! And then you just kept showing off more and more talent I didn’t even know you had and you were blowing my mind and it was absolutely phenomenal!”
Her face lit up, and she stood a bit taller, eyes gleaming. She started to shift back and forth on her hooves, “You really liked it that much? But… what about it being girly?”
I took to the air and scooped her up into my hooves, tossing her crown into her lap. “Only an idiot would think that incredible display of hours upon hours of practice and perfect execution would be girly. But—” I stared at her pointedly and waited till she met my gaze “—if you want to do something that could be considered girly, don't worry about me. If it makes you happy, I'm cool with it. Got it?” I booped her on the nose with mine, causing her to let out a little giggle.
She nodded several times, her smile impossible to make any larger. “So now that we're square on that, where's your dressing room?”
“It's room A113, up here on the left. AB and Sweetie are probably already inside.”
I carried her to the specified room, opening it with an elbow and backing in. The cheers of her friends paused at seeing me, but resumed with greater force when I turned around to show a beaming Scootaloo. I set her down again and she hugged her friends in a group hug, one I was all too happy to watch.
After they parted, the two of them set to work helping my sister out of her dress, taking it off over her head while she pulled off the white tights and set them aside. Next off came the shoes, soft soled, but wrapping around the ankle to give more support. The trio had obviously done this before, numerous times, something that made me start wondering. Before I could deal with that matter, a knock on the door heralded the arrival of another pony.
She proceeded to come in through the open door, having knocked out of courtesy. She was a grey mare, not dressed up at all save for small spectacles across her nose. On her back was a pair of saddlebags, and she reached into them to fish out a bag labeled with Scootaloo's name. “Here you are, Miss Scootaloo. Quite a few ponies have wanted to come by and see the star. Is that okay?”
My sister nodded and took the bag from the mare, who promptly left. When it exchanged hooves, I thought I could hear the sound of bits. I decided not to mention it, though it did answer a great deal of questions pertaining to transportation and where the Crusaders got all of their supplies.
I shut the door and flew over to rest on a seat, turning to the three fillies. “So, as much as I loved that performance, I've got a few questions for you all.”
I could almost see them all gulping simultaneously as they heard the “responsible adult” tone creep into my voice. “Relax, I'm not going to tell on you to your parents or sisters if you can tell me some things. One, how long have you been doing ballet and how often do you practice? Two, what's your excuse for not being back home? Three, did you realize yet that your wings being underdeveloped might be due to ballet? And four, well, four can wait a moment.”
I couldn't help but put them on edge a little bit. It was almost like a prank. Scootaloo hopped up into a seat, legs dangling off the edge of it. “I've been doing ballet since I was three. My mom signed me up against my dad's wishes, but when she left, I liked it so much I did it on my own. I've had to hide it from my dad, but I was already hiding it from everyone. The instructor knows about my situation, hence the bits, as well as why I'm allowed to miss group practice so much. I come to Manehattan twice a month, but practice by myself almost every day.
“As for our excuse? AJ and Rarity think that we're at my house, while my dad thinks I'm at Sweet Apple Acres. The girls always come with me to performances like this.
“Underdeveloped wings are a common problem for dancers, especially those who push themselves too hard. That's why you don't see many pegasi around here. I was afraid that if I told you ballet hurt my ability to fly, you would make me stop it. But by this point—” she flapped her wings a little “—I can almost fly. So I'll keep dancing.”
“Well you should. You're too good at it to not do it. And that brings me to my fourth question.” The Crusaders paused, not sure what I'd say next. I started smiling, breaking the mildly tense atmosphere of the room. “Do you three want to go for ice cream?”
“Yeah!”
“Woohoo!”
“Well,” said Scootaloo, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, “There's gonna be those ponies who want to see me.”
“Ah, forget them. Tonight is a night for celebration!” I flew over and hoisted her onto my shoulders, proudly flying with her atop my head. She let out a laugh and pointed me towards the door. I flew over there, knocking it open with a hindleg. The same mare from earlier was there, stopping at the sight of Scootaloo on my head.
I winked at her, flying out the door. “Sorry Miss, but there’s been a change of plans. Princess Swany here demands ice cream, so ice cream it is!”
The filly on my head laughed, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie. They ran after me as I flew down the hall and out into the bigger changing room. Coco gave me a wave as I headed to the exit. With a flourish, I opened it and flew out into the cool Manehattan air. Scootaloo gave out a whoop, raising her hooves high in the air. I mirrored her, doing a short spin in the air, briefly trying to imitate her majestic twists and turns.
“You've got a great time ahead of you squirt, and I'm gonna be there at every single one of your performances now. No way you're getting rid of me.”
My sister rested her head on mine, rubbing my mane against my scalp. “I shouldn't have wanted to anyways. At least that's behind us now.”
“Ayep. Onwards to ice cream?”
“To ice cream!”