Scootaloo wanted to cry.
She was beginning to think she would never learn to fly. Everything the crusaders tried to help her fly eventually failed. Most of their ideas had immediately failed. She would never fly. Rainbow Dash would never respect her.
Having long since given up on going outside, the three crusaders had decided to stay in the clubhouse and coach Scootaloo on wing strengthening exercises. Which meant that Applebloom suggested it, Sweetie Belle agreed to it, and Scootaloo was too nice to tell her friends to stop trying. They had eventually grown bored, although not as quickly as the orange filly could have hoped.
Now Scootaloo sat alone in one corner of the room, reading a book and occasionally stealing a glance and Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. The other two fillies were absorbed in a game of checkers, with Applebloom pressing a slight advantage. They had asked Scootaloo to play, but she refused to join them. She wanted to be alone for a bit.
Scootaloo looked down at the book in her hooves. The title read, 'A Beginner's Guide to Aerodynamics', and she had hoped it would help her learn to fly. The book turned out to be full of information on how wind flowed over wings and how mane styles could effect flight speed, but it seemed empty of information on how to actually get airborne. She had held out hope that something useful could be found in the pages of this book, but with only one chapter left she had begun to despair.
Her eyes brightened when she saw a diagram on the first page of the last chapter. It showed a single wing, with arrows depicting the flow of air around the wing. It was similar to earlier diagrams, but in this one the wing was mid-flap. She read on, fascinated.
The book described how flapping in a certain way would catch more air, and generate more lift. Reading the book and studying the diagrams, Scootaloo got a good idea of the sort of motion the book was describing.
She looked over at her friends. They were starting a new game of checkers now, arguing over who got to go first. Completely distracted. Just how Scootaloo wanted. If she failed this time, at least nopony would be watching.
Slowly, watching her friends carefully, Scootaloo unfurled her wings. She flapped them once, twice, three times, stretching them a bit before giving an earnest try. Then she tried flapping with the new technique the book had taught her.
She felt the air push against her wings, harder than it usually did. The book was right, this really did push more air around! Scootaloo smiled, flapping several times. She felt her weight lift from her hooves, until they just barely touched the floor. She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of lift as she flapped even harder, her wings pulling down and pushing her body up. Eventually, after a few moments of flapping, she felt her hooves lift entirely off of the ground.
She hung in the air. The strain of holding herself up was exhausting, and she could feel her wings quickly tiring, but for a moment she was floating above the floor, not a single hoof touching anything but air. It was an exhilarating feeling. Her heart thudded in her tiny chest, racing from more than just the strain of the exercise. Her smile broadened, and she gave one last mighty flap before letting herself fall back to the ground.
She landed with a small thud, panting heavily from exertion. Openning her eyes, Scootaloo saw Applebloom and Sweetie Belle staring at her, slow smiles spreading across their faces. Her two friends took a step towards her, then another, then again, smiles growing wider all the while. Scootaloor stepped back.
"Hey, come on guys, there's no need to overreact," Scootaloo said, sensing what was coming and trying to hide her own excitement.
"You were flying Scootaloo!" Applebloom said.
Sweetie Belle nodded, "We saw you!"
"It was just a bit of hovering," Scootaloo said, waving her hoof nonchalantly, "Nothing to get excited about."
But her friends did not listen. Before she could blink, Scootaloo felt two warm bodies press up against either side of her. For a moment she resisted the group hug, but soon she relented joined her friends in the scream of excitement.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FLIGHT COACHES YAY!"
"Did you get your cutie mark Scootaloo?" Applebloom asked.
Scootaloo looked at her flank and frowned, "No, nothing. What about you two?"
"Nope."
"No."
"I finally learned how to fly with your help," Scootaloo said, her ears lowering, "and none of us even got our cutie mark."
"Aw, it's ok Scootaloo," Sweetie Belle said, putting a comforting hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder, "Rainbow Dash didn't get her cutie mark until long after she learned to fly."
Applebloom nodded, "Yeah! And who ever heard of a flight coach who couldn't fly?"
"Yeah, I guess," Scootaloo frowned for a moment longer, then hopped up, once again excited, "I can't believe I can finally fly!"
"I bet you can't wait to see Rainbow Dash. She'll be real impressed," Applebloom said.
Sweetie Belle nodded, "Yeah, she loves flying. You'll be able to spend a lot more time with her now that you can fly!"
"I guess," Scootaloo looked around the room, avoiding eye contact with her friends.
Sweetie Belle looked at the shutters, shaking in place from the storm outside, "I just hope they get home soon."
Scootaloo hoped they would not be home soon. She needed more time, time to practice and get better. Rainbow Dash would never be impressed by a pegasus that could barely hover. Struggling to fly was decidedly not cool. All of the excitement she had felt just seconds ago evaporated when Scootaloo realized that barely hovering was just as bad as not flying at all.
***
The wishes of fillies are not always granted. Rainbow Dash was heading back to Ponyville, flying through the storms at great speed alongside two pegasi-pulled chariots carrying her earthbound friends and the two princesses. Fluttershy, much to everypony's surprise, had elected to fly herself rather than add her weight to the already strained pegasi pulling the chariots.
Rainbow Dash herself noticed very little of this. She felt Ponawk willing the magical storm around Cloudsdale to stay in place, meaning they eventually passed into regular stormclouds. The wind and rain here were strong, but not unnaturally so. They group had been able to let the shield spell drop, and it was then that the chariots were called to speed their journey.
Rainbow huddled in the deep recesses of her mind, curled around the remnants of her personal identity. Despair had set in long ago, rooting deeply in her mind and sprouting a conviction that she would never be free. Her will to fight was quickly fading, and a desire to give in and let herself fade away seeped into the edges of her thoughts. She no longer tried to resist that feeling, instead resigned to slowly watching, waiting for the inevitable moment when her urge to surrender would overpower her urge to resist, and she would be no more.
They landed at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow Dash remembered hearing Applejack say something about checking on her family, and Rarity saying Sweetie Belle was supposed to be here as well. It had been agree that Sweet Apple Acres was as good a place as any for the group to plan and recuperate.
Rainbow Dash lost the thread of events for a while. Her mind forgot how to pay attention to her senses while it fought against the inroads of surrender flowing through it. Eventually, though, her will to resist proved the stronger. For the moment. She saw that they were now inside, and Applejack looked very upset.
"What do you mean you haven't seen them in hours?" Applejack shouted at a cowering Big Mac.
"They went out before the storm got bad, and they ain't been back since," Big Mac said.
"Why ain't you out looking for them?"
"Applejack," Twilight said with a consoling tone, "It's likely they got caught in town when the storm hit. They're probably safe and sound with someone in Ponyville."
"And what if they ain't?" Applejack asked, "What if they got caught out in their club house? They spend half of their time out there! In a tree! That ain't no safe place to be in a storm like this!"
Rainbow Dash felt her lips move and heard her own voice say, "Why don't we go look?"
"Say what, sugarcube?"
"The two of use can go out to their clubhouse and take a look while the others start planning," Rainbow Dash heard herself say, "Neither of us are much for planning anyway. We can go make sure they're safe."
Rainbow Dash felt the vague hints of a plan from the roiling mind of Ponawk. The elements could still be a threat, especially with both princesses present. But a small accident, a tree falling over on Applejack, and all the others would rush over to help the dependable earth pony. Distracted, they would not notice until too late that the others were falling around them. By the time they got over the surprise, too few would be left standing to put up any effective resistance.
She could feel Ponawk deciding whether the sun princess was the biggest threat, or the elements of Harmony minus one. The weather spirit could not be sure, but what finally decided it was that Celestia might survive a sudden surprise attack. Twilight Sparkle would be the first target.
With Applejack's nodding agreement, Rainbow Dash saw herself start heading for the door.
***
"Guys, the storm is getting worse," Sweetie Belle said.
Scootaloo let herself drop to the floor. With the encouragement of her friends, she had tried hovering several more times. It was easier once she got used to it, but she still could do little more than go up a bit.
"We really shouldn't be in this tree," Applebloom said, "I think we should make a run for the house."
"It's dangerous out there," Scootaloo said.
Applebloom gestured around the treehouse, "It's dangerous in here, too. The house has strong walls and a lightning rod, we'll be safe if we can just get to there."
"Well, nothing else for it but to run," Scootaloo said. The others nodded, and Scootaloo took a hold of the door handle.
"When I say go," Applebloom said, "One... Two... Three... GO!"
Scootaloo flung the door open and ran out of the clubhouse. The wind howled past her, whipping her mane around into her face. The driving rain pelted her coat and forced her to squeeze her eyes nearly shut. Keeping an eye on her two friends, Scootaloo led the way towards the Apple family farmhouse.
They made slow progress, and more than once found themselves wandering the wrong way. What was normally a ten minute stroll became an arduous thirty minutes, and all three fillies were soaked through by the time they reached the door to the farmhouse.
As they approached the door it was flung open. Glowing light shone outwards, and Scootaloo saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash preparing to step outside. The earth pony's eyes went wide when she caught sight of the three fillies.
"Applebloom!" Applejack said, pulling her sister inside.
Rarity ran up to the door from further inside, grabbing her little sister too, "Sweetie Belle! Thank goodness you're all right."
Scootaloo looked hopefully at Rainbow Dash, but the cyan mare simply turned and walked back inside. Head down, Scootaloo followed her inside. The other two fillies were being doted on by their sisters, but nopony paid attention to the orange filly.
Suddenly Scootaloo found herself buried in a towel. Twilight Sparkle, apparently, had noticed her. The vigorous application of the rough towel left Scootaloo feeling very damp, but much drier than she had been moments ago.
"Thanks," Scootaloo said.
She looked to Rainbow Dash again, but the older pegasus did not seem to notice her at all. Scootaloo thought back to the moment when the door had first opened. Applejack had immediately smiled, but the look on Rainbow Dash's face had been entirely blank.
Scootaloo tried to subtly catch Rainbow Dash's attention by walking in front of her, but failed to get any reaction. It was as if Rainbow Dash did not even recognize her.
The older ponies were talking about something, and Scootaloo was vaguely aware of both princesses being present, but at the moment she mostly felt anger at Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo had just spent several days building up to the biggest achievement of her life, nearly giving up forever, just to impressed Rainbow Dash. And the cyan pegasus did not even recognize her.
Scootaloo tried to convince herself that Rainbow Dash was just distracted. A lot had happened in the last few days, and Rainbow probably had a lot on her mind. Scootaloo knew one thing that would be sure to catch the older pegasi's attention.
She sidled up to Rainbow Dash, who was sitting on the sidelines of the conversation and only paying half attention, "So... I learned how to fly today," she said. She looked all around the room, anywhere but at Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo had just told her hero that she had just now learned to fly. It was a big risk, in her mind.
"What? Oh, that's neat, I guess," Rainbow Dash said.
Scootaloo felt her heart stop. Her life's biggest accomplishment so far, dismissed so casually by the only pony whose opinion mattered. Rainbow Dash did not care about her. Rainbow Dash had never cared about her. Rainbow Dash barely even knew she existed. The older pegasi probably did not even know Scootaloo's name.
Tears welling up in her eyes, Scootaloo stood in front of Rainbow Dash and glared at her hero, a rumbling rage building up deep inside her chest. For the first time, Rainbow Dash actually focused on the orange filly.
"What's my name?" Scootaloo asked.
"What?" Rainbow Dash said, looking around the room in confusion.
"You don't care about me!" Scootaloo shouted, "You never cared about me!"
"Listen, kid, I-" Rainbow Dash smiled awkwardly at the other ponies in the room.
"YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL ME MY NAME!" Scootaloo screamed, "YOU HATE ME! AND I HATE YOU TOO!"
***
As soon as the door opened and Rainbow Dash saw the little orange filly, a plan formed in her mind. A glimmer of a wish, too weak to be called hope, pushed back the dark tide of despair that had been washing over her for hours.
Everything Ponawk knew about Rainbow Dash came from Rainbow's own memories. She could still feel the taint on many of her most precious memories, the imprint of that malicious will looking through her private thoughts.
But she could also feel many of her memories that were clean of Ponawk's imprint. Including every memory she had of the little filly that was her biggest fan. Ponawk did not know who this little orange filly was, and did not know that she should know.
Ponawk ignored the filly, and Rainbow Dash felt hope, real hope, for the first time since Ponawk had entered her body.
Come on, notice it, Rainbow thought, deep down in her most guarded of thoughts, please.
Everypony continued with the business at hand. The fillies were dried off and conversation turned back to the problem of the storm. Ponawk paid rapt attention to every word that was spoken, but put on a show of not paying much attention at all. Rainbow Dash saw the orange filly walk in front of her, obvious trying to catch her attention, but Ponawk failed to react in any way.
Come on, that little filly spends half her waking hours following me around, Rainbow thought, Somepony has to notice that I'm ignoring her.
But everypony was too busy worrying about the storm, and trying to find a solution. None of them noticed anything unusual about Rainbow Dash. She began to despair again. If nopony noticed that she did not recognize her favorite filly, then it would not matter that Ponawk had never bothered to inspect those memories.
Then a feathered orange figure popped up right in front of her. Rainbow Dash's mind leaped for joy that the filly, at least, had noticed something was wrong. Then her heart sank at the sight of the tear-filled eyes that confronted her.
"What's my name?" the little filly demanded.
Rainbow Dash felt Ponawk force back a rising panic. She would have laughed if she could. But any desire to laugh was quickly crushed when Ponawk turned her attention inward. Rainbow immediately felt Ponawk searching for information about the orange filly.
No! Rainbow though, a mental shout at the weather spirit, That's mine! My memory!
Ponawk pushed hard, and agony returned to Rainbow Dash. Her screams echoed through her mind but nowhere else. All she wanted was for the pain to stop, and for an instant her resolve wavered and she nearly gave up the memories to Ponawk.
"You don't care about my!" she heard Scootaloo shouting, from somewhere far away, "You never cared about me!"
Nononono! Rainbow Dash's resolve returned, and she hid her thoughts from Ponawk, I care about you kid! I'm doing this for you. For you!
For her. That little filly that followed her around everywhere. The hope in those wide eyes whenever Rainbow Dash looked at her, the excitement at every compliment, every offer of time spent together. Rainbow Dash clung to it. It kept her going. That little filly was her biggest fan, the one pony who would always be there to cheer her on while she practiced, to shout encouragement at her whenever Rainbow felt like a trick might be too hard, too complicated. That little filly followed Rainbow Dash with an undying loyalty that deserved to be repaid in kind.
Loyalty
The word reverberated in her mind. The pain lessened for a moment, as if Ponawk had been staggered by the thought.
I am the Element of Loyalty, Rainbow Dash thought, clinging to her feelings of loyalty towards the little filly. It would be a betrayal to let this evil mind touch her memories of the filly.
I am Loyalty, the pain doubled, tripled. She screamed, feeling her mind burning away. She wrapped herself around those few precious memories, the only hope she had. She must protect those memories above all else.
Ponawk pushed and prodded, burning away everything around those memories, isolating them, closing in. Rainbow Dash felt her grip loosen, she felt herself fading away, Ponawk drawing closer to those last few memories.
"YOU CAN'T EVEN TELL ME MY NAME!" Scootaloo was screaming, from so very far away, "YOU HATE ME! AND I HATE YOU TOO!"
I don't hate you, Rainbow Dash thought, her mind spinning wildly.
I.
The word had nearly lost all meaning. Rainbow Dash had come close to losing her sense of self, but the filly's heart-wrenching cries had pulled Rainbow back from the precipice of disaster. She clung to the memories of the orange filly, guarding them desperately against the agonizing pressure that shot through her mind as the weather spirit bore down. Ponawk poured every ounce of her mental might into breaking Rainbow Dash, shattering the remnants of her mind and slipping into those essential memories.
Her consciousness slipping, Rainbow Dash saw Twilight approaching.
"Yes, what's her name, Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked.
A new hope lit in Rainbow's mind, and she grounded herself in it.
"Does it really matter?" Rainbow heard herself saying.
"It's really not that important right now, Twilight," princess Celestia said, turning back to the group.
Please please please, Rainbow thought, Please make this stop! It hurts! Oh it hurts you can stop it save me Twilight!
"I think it's important," Twilight said, "Rainbow Dash, that little filly follows you around all the time. You talk about her constantly. She's practically a sister to her. You know her name. Tell us what it is."
"I, uh... I agree with Celestia," Rainbow's mouth said, "We really have more important things to talk about right now."
"The book Spike found said that Ponawk had the power to possess ponies," Twilight said, "If you were really Rainbow Dash, then you would know who Scootaloo is. Which means you must really be Ponawk."
Rainbow Dash rejoiced. Hope surged and with it so did she, pushing back the weather spirit and clinging fiercely to what remained of herself.
"Very clever, Ms. Sparkle," she heard herself say, "But it will do you little good."
"We can stop you now," Applejack said.
Ponawk just laughed, "Do you really think you're strong enough to stop me?"
"My sister and I will bring you down," Luna said, taking a fighting stance.
"And we have the Elements of Harmony on our side," Rarity said.
"Even the princesses are no match for me," Ponawk said, "And you're missing one of the Elements, Loyalty."
Oh no no no! Rainbow Dash thought, I'm here! I'm right here! GETMEOUT!
Twilight smiled, "You're wrong, we have loyalty right here with us."
Ponawk chuckled, "This body? This is not your friend, not anymore. Rainbow Dash is gone, I erased her."
Don't believe her.
"I don't believe you," Twilight said, "You know too much. How Rainbow acts, who all of us are, everything. You could only know that by learning it from Rainbow Dash."
"Oh, I kept her memories around, of course. I knew I'd need them to fool you."
Twilight's smiled turned into a broad grin, "Liar. You knew so much, but you did not know Scootaloo. If you had all of Dash's memories, you would have known about her favorite little filly. But you didn't. That proves that Rainbow Dash is still there, still resisting you. That she's still loyal to her friends."
Yes! Yes! Yes!
"And that means that we have all six Elements of Harmony," Twilight said. The other four ponies had already slipped on their necklaces, and Celestia was slipping Twilight's tiara over the lavender unicorn's mane. Rainbow Dash watched with glee as her own necklace was lifted by a purple aura and shoved around her neck.
Rainbow Dash instantly felt herself flooding back. She flowed outwards, driving Ponawk back and filling her mind with herself. The unpleasant taint on her memories faded and washed away. She felt Ponawk's fear and anger as the weather spirit was forced to flee. Rainbow Dash stretched out her wings, reveling in her newfound control of her own body.
***
Scootaloo was not entirely sure what had just happened. One moment she had been angry, shouting at Rainbow Dash. Then Twilight started arguing with Rainbow Dash. From what Scootaloo understood, something had taken over Rainbow Dash's body, and that's why the older pegasus had been ignoring her. Then the Elements of Harmony were brought out, and there was a bright flash of light, and everything was really confusing. But Scootaloo learned one really important thing from all of this.
Rainbow Dash talks about me to her friends, Scootaloo thought, the bright light of Harmony still fading, She notices me! She likes me!
Soon after it became clear that the Elements of Harmony had driven out whatever had been in Rainbow Dash. Everypony started to celebrate, even the two princesses, but Scootaloo ignored them. She focused instead on throwing her hooves around Rainbow Dash, and burying her face in the mare's soft chest. Her heart fluttered when she felt Rainbow Dash returning the hug, and she smiled happily.
"Uh, hey everypony," Applejack said. Scootaloo looked up and saw that Applejack was looking through the window with an expression similar to fear, "Maybe we shouldn't celebrate just yet."
Scootaloo followed Rainbow Dash to the window and looked at the sky outside. Vast stretches of sky were already completely clear of clouds, but it took her a moment to see why. All of the clouds were being drawn towards one part of the sky, spiraling inward towards a bright golden figure.
"I don't think Ponawk is ready to give up yet," Rainbow Dash said. She reached a hoof around Scootaloo and gave the filly a light hug, "Don't worry Scoots, we'll take care of this."
The others all nodded, and began to run out through the door. The last to leave, Rarity turned to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"And you three, stay right here in this house until we get back," Rarity said, before galloping through the door.