“Sooooo, what have you been up to, Dashie?” Pinkie asks; placing down a tray filled with sugary treats on the table that the three were sitting at. Scootaloo reached her hoof over and picked up one of the baked sweets, taking a big bite out of it shortly after.
Rainbow Dash reaches over and takes one as well, saying “Nothing much, just helping this young flier over here with her flying problems.” She leaned closer to the filly and ruffled up her mane with her hoof. “It might take some time, but I'm sure she’ll be flying before you can even say-”
“Pinkie picked a patch of puffy pony feathers!” Pinkie Pie said with a wide smile and a giggle. She grabbed a couple of the baked goods and one at a time shoved them into her mouth to eat, still giggling occasionally from what she said.
Interrupted by Pinkie, Rainbow Dash just laughed upon hearing her response. “Well, that too I suppose. Also you might want to slow it down with the whole eating thing, wouldn’t want you to choke.” She proclaimed, motioning her hoof with her speech. Scootaloo had finished the sugary bun she was munching away at in the middle of their conversation. She reached over for another from the tray.
Pinkie Pie swallowed the food in her mouth before talking. “What did you learn then, Scootaloo?” She asked, placing another bun in her mouth and chewing as she was looking at the small orange filly. Scootaloo’s view perked up to the pink pony, placing down the partly eaten bun on the table. With a small heave, she jumped up into the air before extending her wings out and flapping.
The confident filly gave a smirk from her ability to hover. It may have been something simple, but she was proud of herself nonetheless. “I can hover in place easily now! I mean it wasn't that hard to hover before, but now I feel like I got the hang of it for good.” Scootaloo said, slowly floating back down onto the seat she was sitting on.
Pinkie Pie clapped, beginning to talk with her mouth full by accident. “I'm so happy for you Scootaloo! Continue to be confident like that and no doubt you’ll be flying to the top of the sky in no time! Just like Dashie!” She swallowed just after talking. Scootaloo smiled to the pink pony and gained a small blush.
Finishing off the last of the buns, Pinkie Pie grabbed the tray and got off her seat to drop it off for cleaning. “You want another batch? I have plenty made for all my friends!” She said, causing Rainbow Dash to laugh nervously and shake her head.
She slid off her seat and stretched her wings a little while speaking. “No thanks, Pinkie. I think me and Squirt will head home for now; do something else for a bit. So I guess I’ll see you later then?” Scootaloo grabbed the bun she was still eating and hopped down, trotting towards the entrance and waiting for Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie waved to them both. “Oookie dokie lokie then! See you soon!” She said enthusiastically before bouncing off and away into the back of Sugarcube Corner. The rainbow maned pony just trotted up to and past Scootaloo, leaving the bakery. The filly followed shortly behind, not straying too far from Rainbow Dash.
“Are we going to fly back home or trot there?” Scootaloo asked, looking into the distance and seeing the faint outline of Rainbow’s cloud house. Rainbow just shook her head slightly, stopping and leaning her back lower so that the filly could climb onto her.
“Of course not, that’s way too far for me to just trot there.” She stated, jumping up into the air and beginning to fly in the direction of her house. Scootaloo had wrapped her front legs around Dash’s neck, making sure not to fall off. Rainbow seemed to notice Scootaloo doing that a lot; holding onto her harder than she needed to.
She was either just being safe, or having a fear that she’d fall. The latter seemed like more of a probable reason considering the fall she took two years ago, but Rainbow Dash knew she’d never let Scootaloo fall like that again, even if it wasn't her fault when she fell the first time. She looked back to the filly. “You okay, Squirt? You never seem comfortable holding onto me.” She asked while slowing down.
Scootaloo hesitated on answering, but perked her head towards Rainbow’s. “I-I am, sort of. I don’t know how to describe it, but I just feel… paranoid. Knowing that there’s such a big drop below me and that I could slip at any moment is…” She paused for a bit, scanning the vast land of Equestria.
Rainbow Dash finished her sentence for her. “Scary?” She said as she tilted her head slightly, looking worried for the filly. Scootaloo nodded to her, gripping back onto her as tight as she could. Rainbow lowered herself towards the ground so that Scootaloo might not feel so worried, even then she felt like she needed to say something.
“…Don’t tell anypony about this, but I felt the same way you do back when I was a little filly. Way younger in fact. It is scary having such a big drop below you, but when you’re able to fly, the fear disappears over time. Big drops aren't so scary when you can control the fall just as naturally as trotting.” Rainbow Dash said with a soft smile, being sincere to Scootaloo.
With a small smile dawning over Scootaloo's face, she felt much more comfortable from her carer’s words. “Thank you, Dash. I suppose it’s just me being paranoid then, nothing to worry about.” She paused before she suddenly frowned. “But I can’t fly; does that mean I’d just fall?” She asked.
Looking back again to the concerned filly, Rainbow Dash shook her head to her. “Of course not, you can hover remember? It might be scary; but if you ever did fall you can just hover to safety. That’s if you did fall, which I promise will never happen to you as long as I'm by your side; no matter what.” Her words were reassuring to Scootaloo, making her feel much more comfortable. Her grip loosened very slightly from Rainbow’s neck, just trying to enjoy the ride as best she could.
It was starting to get dark in Equestria, where the sunset was the only sign of light left. After half a day of training, Scootaloo was starting to get tired as she yawned on Rainbow’s back. The stars were starting to shine in the sky as the moon soon became visible, casting a blue and white hue over the land of Equestria.
Upon approaching her cloud house, Rainbow Dash pulled Scootaloo over her head and into her arms as she flew up to her house’s height and onto the front entrance. She placed Scootaloo down on her hooves; the filly took no time in getting inside, going to the room that Rainbow Dash had re-purposed for her.
The first thing Scootaloo did when she went into her room was lay on her bed, feeling relaxed and happy to be home. Rainbow Dash followed her shortly behind, coming into her room and looking at her. “Guessing you want to go to sleep?” She asked. Scootaloo responded with a ‘mhmm’ sound as she stood up on her bed then going under the covers. Her room was similarly painted as to how it was in her old home, along with having a lot of important things from it as well. The light blue painted walls accompanied the sky like bedsheets perfectly.
Scootaloo had the covers pulled over her as she laid her head down on the pillows, getting comfortable again where she was. Her carer trotted around her room before picking up something with her teeth and placing it next to the filly. It was the familiar doll of Rainbow Dash that Scootaloo had had for years, the same one she always had. It was tidied up and given repairs where necessary, but otherwise it was exactly the same.
Leaning down towards the orange coated filly, Rainbow Dash smiled and said. “Goodnight then, Squirt. I love you.” Scootaloo responded by hugging the doll and saying “I love you too, Rainbow Dash. Goodnight.” with a yawn afterwards.
With that the cyan Pegasus left the room, but not without turning out the light first. It seemed like it was going to be another one of those nights where Scootaloo would sleep like a baby. She had never felt happier than she did now in her life; it probably couldn't get any more perfect.
Probably.