//------------------------------//
// Chicken in the Storm 
// Story: Chicken in the Storm 
// by Sea Salt 
//------------------------------//

On this bright sunny morning Scootaloo felt dizzy and exhausted, and while she didn't drink it was entirely possible Pinkie spiked the punch again for the celebration party. Was there even a celebration party? What could they be celebrating? Scootaloo checked her flank, but it wasn’t there obviously. She thought through the previous day, she found it extremely hard to remember any of it. This was not good whatever happened, she better let Dash know how she was feeling.

As Scootaloo looked around her room, she spotted the practically un-missable fact that the ceiling was made of fluffy white clouds. Why was that odd? She lived in the clouds. Just today, they were particularly fascinating. Scootaloo sat up and stretched she began to remember that Twilight had given her a potion to try. She was too tired to remember. This had only happened one other time. It was to Pinkie, and Dash joked about it for only a couple of days so it wasn’t that bad. Scootaloo didn’t actually think Dash would lecture her about not drinking cider. Trying to avoid that Scootaloo took her time getting up and was content with the prospect of facing Dash but she didn’t want to rush it.

Scootaloo knew that she didn't have to do that unpleasantness right away, so she looked around, noticing that there were a few toys lying around. She really should clean. Her eyes scanned the room, she noticed the scattered mess in the room.
“Perhaps later.”

Fully awake now, Scootaloo noticed that the bed, desk, and side table were a bit too big for comfort, and thought that the clouds must of gotten wet and expanded. Her eyes focused on a photo of Rainbow Dash and her, the picture was when she had met Dash’s family for the first time. She smiled and went to find her stool.

As she entered the ensuite to wash up, Scootaloo stood on the stool because the mirror was too high. That was strange, but she was too tired to really worry about that for now. She looked in the mirror and splashed her face.
“MUM!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t hear. She brushed her teeth, “MUUUUUUUUUUUUM!” There must be a reason for everything to be too big.
“MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM”

As she went back to Scootaloo's room, Dash was there, looking concerned and floating in the doorway. “You okay, squirt?”
Scootaloo looked at Dash. “Yeah, I'm okay, Why is everything so big?” Scootaloo asked, smiling reassuringly, which made Dash feel a bit better.
“We have had a heat wave  all the moisture got trapped in the clouds. Breakfast is nearly ready. Come downstairs soon.” She smiled and flew back downstairs.

Scootaloo wondered why the Pegasi left it this long. 'Perhaps something science or magic' Scootaloo paced and thought.
Scootaloo opened a locket. “Sorry for shouting I forgot about this.”
She could hear Dash laugh in response. “I know how Twilight feels about yelling. You coming down?”
“In a minute.” Scootaloo promised.

On her way out Scootaloo spotted a scrapbook. It was read with the Cutie Mark Crusaders shield on it. She opened the book, and the first thing she saw was an inscription.'This are the memories and tokens of Scootaloo DO NOT REED unless you are invited bestest wishes Scootaloo'

Scootaloo smiled at the misspellings and the childish hoof-writing. She opened it to the first page and spotted a copy of an adoption certificate. As she smiled, remembering that day. She was exhausted and woke up in her new home.

She put the scrapbook away and went down to eat breakfast… which smelled burnt. Dash was flying around the kitchen, trying to stop the smoke and save what Scootaloo assumed were pancakes, though it was hard to tell.
“Dash, you need help?”
The dash was still frantic trying to fix the burning pain. “No, squirt, I think I've got it. Don't worry!”

Dash ultimately failed, and when the pancakes were served, they were practically inedible; something that, fearing food poisoning, Scootaloo pointed out.
“I don't think these are safe to eat.”
Dash exaggerated offense. “You don't like my cooking? But I think they look magnificent, and I bet they taste just as good!”
Scootaloo could tell she was acting offended; this was either due to her training in the art of friendship, or because it was totally obvious. “Fine, you eat it then."
Dash looked at it and made a disgusted face before floating over to the fridge with a pile of apple waffles, which smelled great. “Applejack made these just in case my cooking was...”
“Not very good?” Scootaloo offered.
“Horrendous I think was the word Applejack used.”

While they ate, Rainbow Dash talked about the weather. Now, for normal ponies, this is a sign of boredom, but in this case Dash was in charge of the weather, so it was probably important.
“Okay, squirt, here's the thing. This huge storm we have scheduled is going to be big, HUGE event, could be the biggest on record.”
“Why is it so big?” Scootaloo asked in between mouthfuls.
“It’s big because there are a lot of unnecessary clouds building up because of the heat. Ponyville voted, and they decided to have one huge overnight storm instead of constant rain throughout about 2 weeks...” Dash took a deep breath. “So I will need to stay there overnight to keep an eye on it. You, on the other hoof, get to stay with Applebloom for tonight.”
Scootaloo was excited about this, so she got up and started bouncing around the table, cheering. Rainbow Dash smiled and stopped her with a hoof.
“Stand up straight and repeat after me.” Scootaloo stood up and faced Dash who was a lot taller than her.
“I, Scootaloo...” Dash said with her hoof over her chest.
“I, Scootaloo...” Scootaloo repeated, watching her with curiosity.
“Swear by the honor of the Pinkie Promise...”
Scootaloo chuckled. “That's not how it...” Dash gave her a look that suggested that she should shut up. “Swear by the honor of the Pinkie Promise...” she said.
“To not do anything stupid or dangerous and to listen to whatever Applejack says, even if I don't understand it.”
“To not do anything stupid or dangerous and to listen to whatever Applejack says, even if I don't understand it,” Scootaloo repeated. Dash nodded approvingly.

They finished getting ready and Dash flew her to school. Scootaloo wondered if she would ever be able to fly. The doctor thought not, but Dash kept up her training anyway. As she rested into the blue fur, she didn't care she loved flying with Dash. When they landed and Dash hugged her, Scootaloo smiled and ran off.
“Bye Mum.” She waved as she walked to the school.

Scootaloo stood in front of the school building, which looked bigger and more intimidating than she expected. She shook it off and went looking for her friends. She started walking into the school grounds. She didn't know she was being snuck up on and didn't notice, possibly because she was distracted or because her stalker was just that sneaky.

Scootaloo felt herself being tackled and held in a tight hug. She looked and saw Applebloom's bow.
“Howdy, Scoot! It's so awesome that we get to have a sleepover!” Scootaloo tried to break free due to the lack of oxygen. “Oh boy, this is going to be so much fun! We can play bobbing for apples and pin the apple on the apple tree and tell ghost stories about the evil pear who tries to ruin the apples...”

Scootaloo broke free and tumbled a bit. “Sounds great, Bloom.” She smiled and looked to the fillies walking up to them. One was wearing a silver tiara and the other wasn't. They walked towards them with their noses up, trying to act as pompous as possible – which is really easy when you have practiced this much.
“You know, Silver Spoon? Our sleepover is going to be so good. Daddy says we can have caviar.”
Scootaloo looked at them. “Caviar? Really?”
Diamond Tiara smirked. “Oh yes, only the best for us. What will you have? Apples, I assume?”
Applebloom was going to yell at them, but Scootaloo stopped her. “Do you even know what caviar is?”
Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes in disgust at such an obvious question. “Of course I do! It's fancy food you can't have!”
“Sweetie Belle said that Rarity entertains clients and that It's fish eggs. The ponies don't eat caviar, we eat seaweed to be fancy.”
Diamond Tiara looked shocked. “You're lying!” Scootaloo explained in detail what caviar really is. “You’re wrong! If it was true, daddy wouldn't eat it... And what do you know anyway, blank flank?”

Scootaloo facehoofed as Sweetie Belle joined Applebloom in the small audience that was gathered around them. “Did you really just call me blank flank? Is that seriously the best you can do?” Sootaloo scoffed at them in annoyance. “Not about the fact that I can't fly or seem to have been obsessed with Rainbow Dash? Hey, you didn't even go for the obvious 'you haven't got real parents' insult, that would at least be dark and a personal attack to me.” Scootaloo sighed and looked at their shocked faces. “I guess it was too much to expect. I mean, your cutie marks mean that you two are rich and don't have to do anything.”

Scootaloo walked away as Diamond Tiara called to them. “Rainbow Dash isn’t your real mother!” Scootaloo continued to walk, ignoring them as she went into the school, followed by Sweetie Belle and Applebloom who were still in shock.
Diamond Tiara watched them go and turned to Silver Spoon. “What just happened here?” Diamond Tiara looked worried.
“I think...” Silver Spoon pondered. “...That we were insulted and judged on our technique.”
Diamond Tiara sat and thought about this. After a while she shrugged it off as a fluke and went to the swings.

“That was so awesome, Scootaloo!” Applebloom practically squealed, bouncing around the orange Pegasus.
“When did you learn how to speak like that?” Sweetie Belle pondered.
Scootaloo shrugged. “She was annoying. I wanted to shut her up.” Scootaloo was evasive to their questions. Apparently, if they weren't going to get to talk about it with her, they were going to keep trying, but for now they sat in the back waiting for their teacher to walk in. As they did so, Scootaloo looked out the window and saw the first gray cloud being set in place, ready for the storm.

Diamond Tiara walked into the classroom just before it started to rain. She sat next to Silver Spoon who had gone on ahead of her, because Diamond Tiara wanted to be left alone for a bit. Before Silver Spoon had a chance to talk to her, Cheerilee came in.

She was wearing a raincoat, hat and a smile just big enough for Tiara to notice it was fake, but not big enough for her to be forcing it, so she said nothing. Not that she would be heard if she did, as the wind had picked up and the rain was hammering on the roof. She sighed and looked in the direction of Cheerilee.
“Now class, today we… going… learn… carrotlot.” Diamond Tiara assumed she misheard, but this lesson was so unimportant she didn't actually care if she was really talking about a lot of carrots or whatever. No, now she needed revenge! Scootaloo had embarrassed her in front of the whole class, and now... She looked at Scootaloo waving her arms and talking to her friends… she was talking about her humiliation.

Perhaps she would print a really embarrassing story, like how she is dating Applebloom or something... No, that would be like insulting her for being blue, which would mean, A, no pony would believe her, and B, no pony would care if she was. A loud squeak annoyed her and she couldn't concentrate. When she looked at Scootaloo again, she saw the orange Pegasus running towards her, looking panicked. Diamond Tiara shot up as Scootaloo tackled her off the seat.

They tumbled on the floor as the light fell where Diamond Tiara had been sitting. Scootaloo climbed to her hooves. Diamond Tiara looked at her, then at the crushed desk. She turned back. “You ruined everything!” she screamed at Scootaloo, and stormed to the back of the classroom with Silver Spoon.

Scootaloo watched her go, confused at the hateful reaction to her good deed. She would probably care more, but first she had a job to do. “Cheerilee!”
The pink pony was bracing the window with wood. “What is it, dear?” she called back over the wind.

Scootaloo stood on the table near her and got the attention of the class. “This classroom is no longer safe.” Dash was big on safety and emergency preparation ever since her accident 5 years ago.  “We must evacuate and go to the school library. It is small and secure.”

Cheerilee looked at what had happened to Tiara's desk, then around to the students. “You're right, Scootaloo! Okay, everypony, form a line by the door. We are going to follow the evacuation and lockdown procedures!”
The students formed a line and Scootaloo stood next to Sweetie Belle at the back. “Well, Scoot, glad to see Dash made you a confident leader.” Scootaloo looked at her and nodded. As they entered the library, she slipped into the reading room without being noticed by Cheerilee.

Scootaloo tapped the locket. “Mum are you there? What’s happening?”
Rainbow Dash was flying around as lightning flashed near her. “Scoots not now.”
“I just wanted to check on you, are you okay?” Scootaloo whispered.
“Yes the team is doing well, we…” The message got cut off.
“Hello? Mum? HELLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOO?”

Scootaloo felt water pour over her head. As she turned around, she saw Diamond Tiara standing in the door, the water jug landing back on the table where it came from. Scootaloo was in shock now as she turned to face the pony.

“Before you get mad, you were yelling!” Diamond Tiara walked in front of her and took a deep breath. “You saved my life and I am from a noble family… so… I am indebted to you by strict rules as governed by my family's honour.” Scootaloo didn't know how to respond to this. “This doesn't mean I have to do whatever you say or that we are friends, I just have to be nice to you and repay the debt I owe you.”

Scootaloo did know how to respond to this; Sweetie Belle told her about Rarity having this sort of debt.
“You are leaving me and all who are a member of the cutie mark crusaders, past, present, and future alone. Also, I may need a favor from you soon.” Diamond Tiara respected how much Scootaloo knew about this deal. Honestly, she had expected her to demand that she left everypony alone, which would not be an honorable request and the deal would be broken, but this was a noble deal so she bowed and left her alone.

Scootaloo looked at the storm as the. “Why are you still out there? Is being loyal really worth this?” She tapped the locket, but didn’t get anything.

“You weren't outside, were you?” Cheerilee exclaimed. Scootaloo wondered why... Oh yeah, she was wet.
“No,” Scootaloo said and Cheerilee looked relieved as she joined Applebloom and Sweetie Belle.
“Listen, students. LISTEN!” The class grew quiet, shocked by the yelling. “You will have to stay here until the storm passes. It is unsafe for you to go home right now. This is a level 3 lockdown.” The class looked really worried; they couldn't remember what a level 3 lockdown meant, but they did know that it was the highest level.

As the class took the next 30 minutes to settle from fear into mild concern and hunger. As the class was talking and playing Cheerilee saw Scootaloo checking on all the students making sure they were comfortable and not scared. She checked and saw her cutie mark hadn't appeared. She watched her student walk up with a list.

Scootaloo held the list out frustrated about the locket. "There is a general concern for the safety of themselves and their families. I suggest reassuring them."

Cheerilee nodded. "What about you Scootaloo? Are you okay?" Scootaloo sighed, holding the list and locket trying to keep balance. "Yes, I am, Dash will be fine, she is probably at home by now." Scootaloo lied in order to comfort their teacher. Scootaloo gave her the list. "Cheerilee I need to go to the bathroom."
"Okay, dear but use the staff one here do not leave!" Scootaloo nodded and walked in.
Scootaloo felt tears run down her cheek. She fiddled with the locket talking into it trying to fix it.
“Cowards! The lot of you!” Dash exclaimed.
“Mum? Thank Celestia!”
“What are you talking to me now? I’m a little busy.” Dash yelled in between the sound of her breaking clouds. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHH” Scootaloo heard lightning and then nothing again.

Scootaloo's mind skipped utter panic and jumped into, shut up and think of a bloody plan mode. 'Okay, save Dash, I need help.' Scootaloo walked out and took Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara into the reading room.
"What the Hay?" The yellow mare squealed.
"Okay, quickly Diamond Tiara is going to help me because she owes me an honorable favor."
Diamond Tiara sighed. "What do you want?"
"Mum is out there in the storm and hooves to horse shoes she didn't go home for safety. So she needs my help." Scootaloo took a deep breath.
"You are not going out there alone!" Applebloom protested.
Sweetie Belle nodded. "She's right, we are coming too!"
"I know you are, you're as stubborn as me. What about Cheerilee?" Diamond Tiara asked, trying to be sensible.
“She will ask someone for help but that will take to long. It is up to us.”Scootaloo announced proudly.
Diamond Tiara looked terrified. "I vote for not dying in the storm."
Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "You aren't coming!" The look of relief on Tiara's face was instant. "You simply distract Cheerilee while we escape." Diamond Tiara thought about this and then nodded.

Cheerilee was leading the class in a song as Tiara was spotted. "Tiara dear, why don't you join us?"
Diamond Tiara started singing. "The frog went a-Courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh. The frog went a-Courtin' and he did ride, uh-huh. Frog went a-courtin' and he did ride. With a sword and a pistol by his side, uh-huh."
As the class sang along the Cutie Mark Crusaders slipped out relatively unnoticed except a couple of ponies shivering from the quick breeze.

The sun was blocked by the hundreds of clouds that covered the sky. Rainbow Dash flew through the rain, making sure this didn’t cause a flood, or something horrible that she couldn’t even think of. Granted this was probably unnecessary; the other Pegasi seemed to think so. Dash had told them that she couldn’t make them stay because flying in this weather was against health and safety. So those cowards just left. However, she was never one to be scared away. She separated some clouds which made the rain spread.

Lightning struck close to her, the heat radiating off her back for a few seconds. She was scared and felt like giving up, but her thoughts went to all the ponies down below in their houses; they were all relying on her, on Rainbow Dash, the best flier in Ponyville, good enough for the Wonderbolts! Now, Dash felt that taking care of Scootaloo was an experience that had humbled her… at least a little, but when the whole town was literally relying on her? She might as well enjoy the thought.

Below, on the ground, unnoticed by Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo was trying desperately to keep the rain out of her eyes. The three of them ran, Scootaloo ahead and the other two following her. They turned into the outskirts of town and ran towards the boutique. There they spotted Dash.

Dash was hard to miss, a rainbow in the rain. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle started shouting, while Scootaloo remained quiet as she thought. Then she spoke up.
“Are you finished?” The others nodded and she continued. “I need to get closer to Dash. It is way too dangerous for her to fly in this weather.”
Applebloom raised a hoof. “How?” she asked. This was a good question, but Scootaloo had a really stupid answer that was guaranteed to not work.
“Good question. This is a really stupid answer and probably won’t work. I need Sweetie Belle to levitate me up as high as she can so that Dash can see me.”
Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were in shock. “Last week I levitated my cat. That was hard. You weigh more than a cat... I don’t know the math, but I assume a lot more.”
Scootaloo nodded. “I know, I’m sorry, and if there was anything I could do to change this I would, but I can’t. Please?”

Sweetie Belle sighed and nodded. Her horn began to glow, and the silver aura surrounded both her horn and her friend. She saw Scootaloo start to float up high, higher than she had floated anything. She winced in pain as the spell pushed her limits, but she didn’t let it stop her. Rainbow Dash was out of earshot and too distracted to notice. The last thing Sweetie Belle heard before passing out was the high pitched scream.

Rainbow Dash heard the scream and saw Scootaloo falling. In the same amount of time it would take most ponies to think I should do something, Dash was already diving. Halfway down she realised that it was a pony, then half a second after that she realized it was Scootaloo and sped up, covering the distance separating them in the time it took Rarity to look out the window and think, ‘Huh? What was that noise?’

Rainbow Dash was flying towards her. It was meant to be in slow motion, that’s what she read, the victim falls and everything slows down, but the ground was getting dangerously close just before she felt the soft fur of Rainbow Dash’s arms. She nuzzled into her chest and closed her eyes.