One afternoon I was heading down the stairs when I heard some voices outside.
"I'm not so sure, Rainbow Dash..." said the voice of a young filly, hesitantly.
"It'll be all right, squirt," replied an older mare confidently. "Twilight tells me this stallion's pretty good at helping others." Ah, so Miss Sparkle had started to tell her friends about me, and they were starting to tell their friends. My schedule should be getting fuller day by day in no time at all.
"He won't think any less of me because I can't fly?"
"Or course not!" said the older one, before adding "Probably. I haven't met him yet, but I trust Twilight."
"Okay..."
I opened the door, finding a cyan-colored mare with a mane the full spectrum of a rainbow and a small orange filly with a purple mane. Both were pegasi. The taller one must be Rainbow Dash herself, and her hoof was poised at my door. Apparently I'd opened the door just as she was about to knock.
"Good morning," I said. "I'm Dr. Mindwell. You must be Rainbow Dash," I said, talking to the older mare.
"You bet I am! And this is Scootaloo." I greeted the filly, who greeted me back. "Long story short, she just had to deal with a bully situation. She came out of it all right, but Twilight insisted I bring her here to make sure she was all right. You know how worked up she can get sometimes."
I did know. I'd experienced it firsthoof the day I arrived and then had learned of several other instances during our session together.
"Better safe than sorry, as they say. Come in, both of you."
"Okay..." The young filly was still hesitant. I'd have to make sure she was comfortable during the session. She climbed up onto the sofa as I stayed near the door with Miss Dash. As a pegasus, I would have expected her to fly up, but she didn't; rather, it seemed that she couldn't. She pulled herself up with her forelegs, using her proportionately small wings as more of a boost than anything. I made a mental note to keep a small step under the sofa for other fillies who might come through my door looking for help.
"Me too?"
"You're more aware than I of how she can be, but Scootaloo is still just a foal, and young ponies like her are best helped when they're with a parent or an adult they can trust. Are you her legal guardian?"
"No, she still has both parents. They just travel a lot lately, and I've kinda taken her under my wing. Plus it helps that she's my biggest fan!" This session was for Scootaloo, not Miss Dash, I had to remind myself. Yet I still couldn't help my mind from telling me that Miss Dash was very prideful and that I may have to talk with her later about her pride.
"What's your relationship with her like?"
"We kinda sorta adopted each other as big sister/little sister when we went camping a few months ago with some other friends. We bonded, and that's when I decided to take her under my wing."
"Then given such short notice, you'll have to join her in her parents' place. Given her apparent respect for you and your sisterly relationship, that shouldn't be too much of a problem for her, should it?"
"Nope," said Miss Dash. What I was allowing would make an ethics committee uncomfortable, to say the least, but my gut was telling me I was doing the right thing. If her parents traveled a lot and Miss Dash was the one to take Scootaloo under her wing, then perhaps having her parents here would actually be less beneficial than the current situation. "Hey, Scootaloo, looks like I'll be joining you today. Moral support or something like that."
I supposed the phrase was accurate, but Miss Dash's nonchalance and possible disinterest in the details would be another thing to talk to her about. In her own session, I reminded myself again.
The filly smiled, and her small wings fluttered. I closed the door and made my way to my desk, taking out my notebook as usual.
"Now then, would you like to tell me how the whole incident began?"
"A couple days ago Ms. Harshwhinny, the head of this year's Equestria Games, and I were visiting the schoolhouse - "
I held up a hoof, cutting her off mid-sentence. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, Miss Dash, but try to remember this is Scootaloo's time. I'd like to hear it from her mouth, and ask your input should the need arise."
"You're right. My bad," she smiled sheepishly, rubbing her mane with her hoof. "Although could you not call me Miss Dash? Ms. Harshwhinny called me Ms. Dash all the time, and she's way uptight. I'm pretty sure you're not nearly as uptight as her."
I chuckled, seeing that she had a very good point. "All right, I'll be more casual about it, Rainbow Dash."
She thanked me before turning to the filly beside her. "Sorry about butting in like that. Go ahead, Scootaloo."
The filly thanked the mare, and started talking. "Like Rainbow Dash said, she and Ms. Harshwhinny told my whole class that one of our teams would have the honor of carrying the Equestria Games flag for Ponyville, just like Rainbow Dash did for Cloudsdale when she was a filly! The class split into groups, and each team created a routine. My team, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, came up with a pretty good one."
"A really good one!"
"Who is in the Cutie Mark Crusaders?"
"Oh, yeah. You're new in town. The Crusaders are me, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle." I looked to Rainbow Dash for clarification.
"Did Twilight mention Applejack and Rarity when she gave you the tour?" the blue mare asked, and I nodded. "Apple Bloom is AJ's little sister, and Sweetie Belle is Rarity's."
"Thank you. What other teams were competing?"
"A bunch of 'em, but only one's important to the rest of the story. They're the rich bullies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Anyway, since each of the Crusaders is a different type of pony - Apple Bloom is an earth pony, Sweetie Belle's a unicorn, and I'm a pegasus," at this she gave her wings a little flutter, "Our routine focused on the three races living in harmony here. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon called us blank flanks again, but we didn't let it bother us this time! Our hearts were as strong as horses, and we were determined to win!" At this she and Rainbow Dash high-hoofed.
Then her face fell a little, and her voice showed less enthusiasm. "Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon saw our routine, and actually said it was good. And not just good: impressive. But the compliment only led up to a new insult." She rubbed her eye with her hoof, and Rainbow Dash put her hoof on the filly's shoulder.
"Take your time, Scootaloo. I don't want you to feel like you're being forced to say anything you don't want to say."
"It's ok. I'm mostly over what they said, but it still hurt a lot."
"I understand what you mean," I replied. "Although words are just words, they can also cut deep, causing long-lasting emotional pain."
"Thanks." She smiled. "But why would they go after my inability to fly?"
"You mentioned that they'd called you and your friends blank flanks before, correct?" The filly nodded. "And also that you didn't let that phrase bother you this time." She nodded again. "Then perhaps they felt the need to come up with a new way to get under your skins, since their go-to insult fell flat this time. Standing up to a bully like you did shows you're not afraid of them, and they either stop bullying you or come up with new tactics. Even then, though, they'll eventually run out of new insults."
The filly chuckled. "I guess we did show them we were tough little ponies."
I smiled and nodded. I asked if she was feeling better and ready to continue talking, although I already guessed from her smile and her chuckle that she was. She confirmed my hypothesis and continued her story.
"Anyway, they insulted my wings, and I decided to change the routine that would showcase my flying to prove to them and me that I could fly. That didn't work though. I still couldn't fly, even after practicing as much as I could. I was so focused on flying that we forgot to polish the rest of the routine!" Rainbow Dash nodded.
"I chose not to join them on the train to the Crystal Empire. I'd worked all night, trying to fly, but I just couldn't. I became discouraged, and abandoned my friends because I thought the only way we could win was if I was able to fly like a normal pegasus! Ugh, that was stupid. We hadn't even come up with a routine that only involved the two of them. They told me..." she sniffed, but kept her head high. As I looked into her eyes, I could tears lining her eyelids. I could see the struggle she was having with saying the next part.
"Maybe I should tell this part, huh Scootaloo?" The filly nodded and Rainbow Dash wrapped her forelegs around the filly, who did the same, hiding her face from me. "When I realized Scootaloo wasn't with her friends, I asked them what happened. They told me that she wasn't coming, and that they told her they didn't want a quitter in the group." Scootaloo coughed and sniffled, and I levitated a box of tissues over to them. I hadn't met her friends, but already I could tell that they were very close. "I think they were mad at the time, but by the time I talked to them they'd started to regret what they'd said. Fortunately I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria, so we flew to Scootaloo's house to try and get her to join the team again." She looked down at the filly and asked if she was okay to continue herself. Scootaloo must have shaken her head, because Rainbow Dash continued.
"The three of us talked to her, and the others apologized. Sorta. They told her they didn't want to have the honor of carrying Ponyville's flag at the biggest sports event in Equestria if they couldn't do it with their friend. Well, that's how I interpreted it. It's like when I was accepted into the Wonderbolts, but quit halfway through because one of the recruits' actions had put my friends' lives in jeopardy, and it felt like her irresponsibility was being rewarded. Twilight told you about the Elements of Harmony, right."
"More or less."
"Well, I'm the bearer - well, was; we had to give them up to bring back Celestia and Luna - of the Element of Loyalty. I may be selfish or arrogant at times, but I'll always represent the Element of Loyalty, and respect those who do the same. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle did make a big mistake that day, but I respect their decision to remain loyal to this little squirt in the end." She messed up Scootaloo's mane with her hoof as she said that, and I heard a muffled giggle. So Rainbow Dash knew she could be arrogant sometimes: that was fortunate, as I made a note that I wouldn't have to work as hard with her to work on some humility.
"Thanks, Rainbow Dash."
"Anytime. Feeling better?"
"Mhm."
"Wanna continue?"
"Mhm."
Well, that had kept me silent a little longer than I initially thought I needed to. Either Rainbow Dash had learned to read the situation well enough to know how to cheer up her protege, or she just knew her so well already. Either way, Rainbow Dash had known what to do.
"Rainbow Dash reminded me that I didn't need to feel so bad about my wings. She told me... actually, you say it. You said it so good the other day."
Rainbow Dash smiled, and said what I believe to be exactly what she'd said the other day in Scootaloo's house. "Maybe you'll fly someday, or maybe you won't. You're all kinds of awesome anyway."
"Yeah, that! We made it to the Crystal Empire in time to do our routine and earn the honor of carrying the Ponyville flag with the original routine."
I smiled. "Congratulations to you and the other Crusaders, then."
"Thanks!"
"Even Ms. Harshwhinny couldn't contain her excitement very long. Nice to know such a professional pony isn't always professional." She smirked. Apparently something had transpired between the two mares in the last few days that Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment - or could it have been superiority? - over the incident.
"Hey, are you gonna come to the Equestria Games and watch us perform?"
"I've never been to the Equestria Games, but I would love to if I could. I don't know how busy I'll be yet, so let's just say 'maybe'."
"That's okay. If you can't make it, we'll just perform our routine for you when we get back!"
Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo high-hoofed again. Enthusiasm and being awesome: just two of the reasons these two ponies worked so well together.
"So, uh, we don't have to stay a full hour, do we?" asked Rainbow Dash, looking at the clock.
"Not unless there's anything else Scootaloo would like to get off her back."
"Not really," the filly replied. "But could you make sure to talk to Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sometime? They need to know from an adult that what they did isn't okay."
"I'm making a note now," I said as I jotted down their names.
"Thanks!" she said as she jumped off the sofa and headed toward the door. I opened it with my magic, and Rainbow Dash got off the sofa as well.
"I'll catch up with you in a minute, Scootaloo. I'm just gonna talk to the doc for a bit first." Well, I certainly didn't expect this.
"What's on your mind, Rainbow Dash?" I asked as she walked the few steps between the sofa and my desk.
"Twilight's right about a lot of things, and she's right about you. You're gonna be helping a lot of ponies here. Celestia knows we need it after the year we've had."
"Yes, I was told about several things Ponyville had gone through the past year. Oddly enough, it seems nopony is suffering long-term effects of what must have been several traumatic experiences."
"I'm sure most of us have just gotten good at hiding it. This is the first time I'd ever seen Scootaloo so worked up about her wings."
"You kept your head and was able to calm her down at the end of the story. Whatever relationship you two have, I can guess that it's pretty strong."
"Y'know, I've always had a little difficulty helping her through personal pain. That night camping was different, because I'd gone through the same fears before, so I could relate. But I never got bullied as a filly, so that part's been difficult. The way you responded the first time that calmed her down helped me realize I could try and relate better, so I tried it and it worked. So, thanks for letting me stay with her."
"I'm sure she's just as grateful for that as you and I are. Now, I believe you have a filly waiting for you outside."
"I sure do." She readied herself to fly out the door. "Hey, Scootaloo, hope I didn't keep you waiting!" I may have blinked, because she was outside that fast, leaving a rainbow-colored trail behind that slowly faded. Perhaps she wasn't just boasting about being the fastest flyer in Equestria.