Quality Time
By
Safaia Bara
Rainbow Dash was bored.
Absolutely bored.
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky that needed busting.
Twilight was holed up in the library working on a new assignment Princess Celestia had given her.
Applejack was helping Granny Smith and Big Mac get ready for their week-long trip to Appleloosa.
Pinkie Pie was in charge of watching the Cake twins and Sugarcube Corner.
Rarity was working on a large order for a new high-end client in Fillydelphia.
And Fluttershy was busy teaching orphaned baby cardinals how to fly.
So, with all of her friends out of commission for the day, and sleep evading her, what was the most awesome Pegasus in all of Equestria supposed to do? Her prayers were answered with the ringing of the school bell in the distance.
Scootaloo!
“I just wanted you to hang out with me and see how cool I was so you take me under your wing and teach me everything you know and become like my big sister.”
“So… you’re looking for somepony to take you under their wing, huh?”
“Mm–hm.”
“Yeah I might be up for something like that.”
“Really?”
“As long as you don’t go falling into anymore rivers in the middle of the night.”
“It’s a deal.”
That conversation had happened nearly a week ago, and Rainbow hadn’t seen hide nor mane of the little pony since.
Rainbow Dash frowned to herself, “Hmph, some big sister I’m turning out to be,” she sighed, “Well, better late than never, right?” So, with a shake of her head and a flap of her wings, she was headed straight towards the Ponyville schoolhouse.
As she flew, Rainbow’s mind wandered to the young, orange Pegasus. She was a pretty cool filly. The more she thought about it, the more she realized how much Scootaloo reminded her of herself as a kid. The same competitive nature. The same stubborn streak. And, of course, the same loyalty to her friends; she hadn't been at Diamond Tiara’s party, but she'd heard from Twilight and Applejack how the filly had stood up for Apple Bloom at the risk of revealing that she didn’t have her Cutie Mark either. That took real guts, and she was extremely proud of her little sister.
Dash quickly arrived at the school and landed in a nearby tree. Seeing the Cutie Mark Crusaders chatting, Rainbow Dash decided to let the girls finish their conversation before joining them. However, when two more fillies walked over, the cyan mare could feel the tension shift and leaned in closer to listen.
“So, what kind of Cutie Marks are you going to try for this time? Being lame?” Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laughed, “Blank Flanks!”
“Maybe if we ignore them, they’ll go away,” Scootaloo suggested, “Ready to go to the clubhouse?”
“Actually…Um…”
“Apple Bloom!”
“Sweetie Belle!”
“Applejack wanted me ta help clean up the orchard b’fore the next family reunion. It’s gonna be tough without Big Mac around ta do the heavy liftin’, so Applejack really needs me.”
“And Rarity promised that I could model her new filly clothing line for her client in Fillydelphia. She said it’s really important.” Both girls looked at their friend apologetically.
Scootaloo hid her disappointment well with a fake smile, “Oh, well, that’s great! You guys have fun.”
“Scoots…”
“We can go crusadin’ next weekend, right?”
“Of – of course! Y’know what? I’ll spend this weekend thinking up ways for us to earn our Cutie Marks!” she said, trying to act cool.
Rarity and Applejack joined the three fillies. The unicorn mare tilted her head to the side, “Next weekend? Why wait until then, girls?”
Sweetie Belle sighed and gave her sister an exasperated look, “Next Saturday is the Family Fun Fair, remember? Everypony in class has to be there and has to set up a booth or something to show off our families’ special skills. You promised that you’d help me set up a fashion show.”
Rarity smiled sheepishly, “Oh, yes, right. Well,” she cleared her throat, “if things remain on schedule, as they should, I’ll be finished with the Fillydelphia order by the end of this weekend. Then I’m all yours.” The unicorn filly grinned.
Scootaloo looked on with a sad smile as she wished for the same sisterly bond that her friends had.
Rainbow Dash smirked to herself. Scoots was gonna be so surprised!
“Ya want us ta walk ya home, Sugarcube?”
Scootaloo paled slightly and waved her hooves in front of her face, “No, no. I’ll be fine. I live on the other side of town. I wouldn’t want to be an incon- incon-”
“Inconvenience?” Sweetie Belle offered.
“Yeah, that.”
“If you’re sure, Darling…”
“Oh, yeah! I’ve done it tons of times before.”
Even from her vantage point in the tree, Dash could tell that her smile was forced.
“Okay, then…”
“See ya later, Scootaloo!”
“Bye!”
“Take care!”
The orange filly waved until her friends were out of sight before allowing her ears to flatten and her tail to droop. Sighing, she cast her eyes away. Suddenly, there was an unwanted presence beside her.
"Go away, Diamond Tiara. Just go away and leave me alone."
"Aw, even your blank flank friends abandoned you. I don't blame them, though. Who would want to be friends with a Pegasus pony who can't even fly, anyway?" the pink earth filly said, her voice filled with mock pity.
"Knock it off," Scootaloo growled through clenched teeth.
"What? I'm just telling the truth."
"Shut up or I'm going to tell."
"Ooh, who are you going to tell? Your parents?" Diamond Tiara sneered.
Silver Spoon trotted up to the orange filly's other side and added, "What parents? I haven't seen them. I bet she doesn't even have any."
"I'm going to tell my big sister."
The two earth ponies were taken aback for a moment before breaking out into fits of laughter.
"Big sister? Yeah, right."
"Who?"
Scootaloo grinned triumphantly, "Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow's heart filled with joy. At that moment, she was even more proud to have the little orange pony for a sister. To know that the young Pegasus had so much faith in her was an overwhelming feeling.
That feeling was destroyed, however, as the bullies' peals of laughter grew louder.
"Rainbow Dash? Ha!"
"Why in all of Equestria would an awesome pony like Rainbow Dash want to be your sister, Scootaloser?"
The young Pegasus filly puffed out her cheeks in anger, hiding the tears that were welling up in her eyes.
That was all the cyan mare could take. With a light flap of her wings, Rainbow silently glided down to the three fillies, landing right behind Scootaloo.
"Heya, Kiddo," she said. The three fillies jumped.
"R-Rainbow Dash!" Scootaloo squeaked, spinning around to face her idol, "What's up? What are you doing here?"
The older Pegasus grinned at her, "What? Applejack and Rarity can pick their sisters up from school, but I can't? That doesn't seem very fair, does it?"
A wide smile lit up Scootaloo's face, melting the tears away, "Really?"
Rainbow mussed up Scoot's mane with an affectionate noogie, "'Course. 'Sides, I thought we could start your flyin' lessons today. What d'ya say, Squirt?"
"Definitely!"
"Wait, wait, wait,” Diamond Tiara shook her head in disbelief, "You're serious?"
The mare turned and openly glowered at the two earth ponies, "As a thunderstorm."
"B-but, she can't even fly!"
Rainbow Dash arched a brow, "And? I'm going to teach her. Didn‘t I just say that?"
"She doesn't have a Cutie Mark, either!" said Silver Spoon, huffing indignantly.
Rainbow rolled her eyes, "So? She's a late bloomer is all. Actually, Fluttershy and I were two of the last ones in our class to get our Cutie Marks, too."
"No way!"
Dash gave her sister and encouraging smile, "Sure were. And we got the coolest ones of all,” she grinned, "and I'm sure the same is gonna happen to the three of you."
"Not possible. Everypony knows that we have the best Cutie Marks in class," Diamond Tiara scoffed.
Rainbow glanced at their flanks and smirked, but held her tongue. A tiara and a spoon? Aside from reminding other ponies of what their names were, she couldn't actually figure out what they meant. What exactly were their special talents supposed to be?
But she new better than to comment on it, she was more mature than that...
Even though it was oh so very tempting.
"Is there a problem here?" The four ponies turned towards the new voice.
"AJ? Rarity? What are you guys doing here? I thought you were going home," The two said mares, along with their younger siblings, were headed back towards the school. Rarity was levitating a piece of mail with her unicorn magic, and Sweetie Belle had a sour look on her face.
"We'll get ta that in a sec. Now, what in the hay is goin' on over here?"
Dash shrugged and jerked her head towards Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, "Not much. These two were just causing trouble again. I was thinking about going to talk to Miss Cheerilee about their bad attitudes." The two bullies went pale in the face.
Rarity and Applejack smirked.
"Really? Ah've been debatin' that fer a while now, too."
"I have as well. I'm sure that Cheerilee would be most interested to know how her students are spending their free time."
The retreating sound of galloping hooves sent a round of chuckles throughout the group.
As their laughter died down Dash turned to her friends, "So, what are you doing here, anyway?."
The unicorn mare sighed, "We were almost home when Derpy stopped us about halfway there and gave me this," she gestured to the letter with her hoof, "Apparently, my clients in Fillydelphia want to have a conference with me. They want me out on the next available train, and I'm going to be gone for at least three or four days,” Rarity brushed a hoof gently through her sister's mane apologetically. Sweetie Belle sighed in disappointment, but soon gave in and leaned towards Rarity's comforting touch.
"So, we decided that Sweetie is gonna stay with us on the farm ‘til Rares comes home. We wanted ta see if Scoots wanted ta spend the night, too."
The Pegasus filly flapped her wings excitedly and grinned. But Rainbow answered for her before she could even open her mouth to respond.
"Maybe later. Scoots and I have plans for today. Right, Squirt?" Dash wrapped her foreleg around Scootaloo and pulled her into a sideways hug.
The younger Pegasus just nodded wildly, her eyes filled with delight and awe.
Applejack and Rarity looked at each other and shared a secret smile.
“Alrigh’ then. See y’all tonight.”
Once the others were gone, Dash gave her sister another affectionate squeeze.
“Ya ready Scoots?”
“Sure am! I was born ready!”
“That’s what I like to hear,” she chuckled, “Hop on.” She turned around and allowed Scootaloo to climb onto her back.
“Hang on, Kiddo.” With a running leap, the two Pegasi were in the air, headed towards a small field at the edge of Ponyville.