Maybe
The Sparkle Dash Family
Prompt 370: Maybe it’s better that way...
Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
It was stupid. It was all just so stupid. Rainbow Dash was stupid. Twilight was stupid. Why was everypony being so stupid?
Scootaloo had thought that it would be the greatest thing ever when she found out that Rainbow Dash (and Twilight Sparkle) had adopted her. Hay, at the beginning things had been great. Sure, she had a curfew now, but it’s not like she had ever been one to stay up late anyways. Her friends all had similar curfews anyways, so it wasn’t like there was any reason for her to be out past the time her new parents had set.
But the curfew was just the beginning. Soon after she had moved into her room in the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight had given her a list of chores. Scootaloo had complained loudly about that. Why should she have to dust the library or help Spike with the dishes? She was supposed to be their daughter not a servant.
Even the chores weren’t that big of a deal though. It was when her new parents had received her report card from Miss Cheerilee that things had really gone sour. Twilight had stared at the paper that held Scootaloo’s grades as though she was afraid it might bite her. Even Rainbow Dash, the coolest pony in Equestria, had been upset that Scootaloo was doing so poorly in school.
Scootaloo had tried to defend herself to her idol-turned-parent. “School is just not cool, I need to focus on more awesome things!”
Neither Twilight or Rainbow Dash were willing to buy that excuse. So it had been decided that on school days Scootaloo would have to come straight home after class was over to be tutored by Twilight.
It was torture! She already had to sit through the lessons once! Twilight wouldn’t let it go either. She’d delve so deeply into each subject, making sure that Scootaloo “got it”, even if it took hours for the lesson to stick. Scootaloo had missed out on so much crusading because of it. How could she be a Cutie Mark Crusader if she never got to go crusading?
So today she had followed Sweetie Belle and Applebloom to the Crusader’s Clubhouse after school. She knew Twilight would be upset that she had skipped her after-school lessons, but trying to get her cutie mark was just more important.
She’d spent a fun afternoon going through various activities with her friends. They had tried Cutie Mark Crusader’s Novel Writers, which ended pretty quickly when none of them could come up with a story to write. Next had been Scootaloo’s favorite, Cutie Mark Crusader’s Disc Throwers. They had spent about an hour in the park tossing a frisbee back and forth, but no cutie mark came from it. Sweetie Belle had suggested they try Cutie Mark Crusader’s Zombie Hunters, but they had to nix that one before it started because Rarity had come to retrieve Sweetie Belle for the night.
Applebloom left shortly after that, so Scootaloo had trudged home. Each step she took towards her new home made her gut clench. She knew she was going to be in trouble for skipping out on her studies. The dreadful anticipation of what was going to happen was slowing her pace to a crawl.
When she had finally arrived back in the library, she was greeted not by an angry Twilight, but by Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus had stared at her with narrowed eyes. Her nostrils were flaring, and the feathers on her wings were fluffed up.
“Where the hay were you Scootaloo?!” Rainbow Dash hadn’t been yelling. She didn’t need to, the edge to her voice was more off putting than any screaming she could have done at the filly.
Scootaloo swallowed nervously. “I...I was with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, we had some great ideas for crusading today and-”
“And you were supposed to be here studying with Twilight! Do you have any idea how worried she was when you didn’t come home? She’s been freaking out all afternoon! She just teleported over to Rarity’s to ask if Sweetie Belle had seen you after school!” Rainbow Dash was pacing, nervous energy almost bristling from her body.
The fear that Scootaloo had felt when she saw Rainbow Dash’s angry demeanor slowly morphed into a feeling of guilt. Maybe she should have told Twilight that she was going crusading today instead of studying? But she was sure that the unicorn would’ve stopped her from going.
“I was fine, I was with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom the entire time.” Scootaloo mumbled, avoiding the burning gaze of Rainbow Dash.
“That’s not the point Scootaloo! We told you that you had to come home and study until your grades improved!” Rainbow Dash’s voice rose an octave, and she took a deep breathe to try and control herself. “Not being able to go crusading was part of your punishment for having bad grades.”
Despite her earlier unease Scootaloo felt herself bristle at that. “Punishment? Why should I be punished for not having good grades?!” She leveled a glare of her own at Rainbow Dash, “Nopony ever cared what my grades were before!”
“You’re our daughter now Scootaloo, and you have to follow our rules. There’s no way I’m letting you flunk out of school just because you’re too busy playing with your friends!” This, coming from Rainbow Dash. The pony that she had always thought was the epitome of cool. Out of everypony, she expected Rainbow Dash to know just how lame studying was.
“Once Twilight gets back you’re going to apologize to her,” Rainbow said in a calm tone that belied her anger, “and for your little stunt today you’re going to be grounded until your grades improve. Either Twilight or I will pick you up and bring you home after school is over. Also, I’m taking away your scooter for a week.”
Scootaloo felt like wind had been knocked out of her. She worked her mouth but no sound came out, as she stared in shock that Rainbow Dash would do something so uncool. She felt tears burn her eyes, but she quickly brushed them away with her hoof. She wouldn’t let anypony see her crying.
“That’s not fair!” She complained, her voice coming out a bit nasally.
Rainbow Dash shrugged as if it didn’t matter. “Tough. If you’re going to break the rules, you’re going to be punished for it.”
It wasn’t fair. How could Rainbow Dash act like that? The rest of the night had passed in a blur to Scootaloo. She had muttered a half-hearted apology to Twilight, who had given her a hug and told her she was glad that she was okay. She had agreed that Scootaloo’s punishment seemed fair, but promised Scootaloo that they would work harder to bring up her grades so she could get back to crusading sooner.
Scootaloo had gone to bed shortly after dinner, which she had hardly touched. Once she was safely in her room she had jumped onto her bed and covered her face with a pillow, before letting out a scream of frustration. She had cried then, but nopony would ever see it.
It wasn’t fair. Not the fact that she had been grounded, but the fact that her image of Rainbow Dash had been shattered. Gone was the cool pony who could do anything, who she wanted to be just like. In her place was Rainbow Dash the parent, the pony who thought that grades were more important than chasing your dreams.
After a while she realized couldn’t take it anymore. If being Rainbow Dash’s daughter was going to make her feel that way, then she’d rather not be her daughter. She quickly packed some of her things into her saddlebags, then crept out the window of her room. She jumped from tree branch to tree branch, and once she had landed on the ground she ran. Ran away from her adoptive parents, from her new home, and from the feelings that were plaguing her.
She ran until she reached the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse. She had bunked here before when the weather had been bad. It would work for her to stay for the night, but she’d have to figure something else out for tomorrow.
But what could she do? Twilight and Rainbow Dash were legally her parents now. Once they found her they’d just drag her back home. Would she have to leave Ponyville? She couldn’t do that. Where would she even go?
Maybe, maybe she could go back to the orphanage? Tell them that she didn’t want Rainbow Dash and Twilight as her parents, that it just wasn’t working out. Sure, she’d have to stay in the orphanage again, but maybe... maybe things would be better that way.
A choking sound escaped her throat at the thought, and she could feel her eyes burning again. She curled in on herself even as her body began to shake. She slowly fell asleep to the soft pitter-patter of tears hitting the floor.
-SDF-
The sound of wood crashing against wood jolted Scootaloo from her uneasy sleep. Her body ached from the position she fell asleep in, but even that feeling was drowned out by the emptiness she felt. She whipped her head around to see that the door to the clubhouse had been shoved open, and there, standing in the doorway, was Rainbow Dash.
“Scootaloo?” Rainbow Dash called out when her eyes landed on the filly. Scootaloo blinked, her eyes still feeling raw from the combination of tears and sleep. Still, there was no mistaking what she saw.
Gone was Rainbow Dash’s angry posture. She was gasping and it looked like her legs were trembling. She slowly made her way over to where Scootaloo was lying, and as she got closer Scootaloo could make out the tear tracks that ran down Rainbow Dash’s face.
Once Rainbow Dash was next to Scootaloo she quickly swept the orange filly into her embrace. She squeezed Scootaloo close to her, as if making sure that she was really there.
“Don’t... don’t ever scare me like that squirt.” Rainbow Dash’s voice was shaky. Her whole body was trembling now, and she kept nuzzling the top of Scootaloo’s head.
“Ra-Rainbow Dash? What are you doing here?” Scootaloo asked.
“I came looking for you. I wanted to check on you after you went to bed. I... I thought I might’ve been a little too harsh on you. But you were gone. You were gone and it was my fault! I’m sorry Scootaloo. I should’ve taken it a little easier on you.” Rainbow Dash was breathing heavily, and she pulled away from Scootaloo to look the filly in the eyes. “I’m not sorry for grounding you. Just for the way I went about it. We should’ve talked about everything, instead of me just coming down on you like that.”
Scootaloo opened her mouth to reply but Rainbow Dash held up a hoof. “I know you don’t think it’s fair Scootaloo, but you have to understand Twilight and I only want what’s best for you. We’re not trying to stop you from getting your cutie mark, we’re not trying to take all the fun out of your life. We want to make sure you’re prepared for whatever it is you want to do in the future.” Rainbow kissed the top of Scootaloo’s head, shocking the filly with the affectionate gesture, “We love you Scootaloo, that’s why we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure you grow up to be at least 120% more awesome than either of us.”
Silence filled the room at that. Scootaloo could feel her body trembling again, even as her vision blurred with unshed tears. She threw her forelegs around Rainbow Dash’s neck and pulled her back into the hug, even as a sob escaped her throat.
Maybe it wasn’t fair, maybe she’d have to get used to Rainbow Dash being both cool, and being a parent when things were tough. But Scootaloo knew one thing for certain.
Things were definitely better this way, with her parents.
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And Rainbow proves she can drop the hammer when needed.
Nice!
~Skeeter The Lurker
May I suggest that you make these 40 minute prompts? They are immensely more feel worthy and enjoyable when you accidentally go over the limit.
Forgive you?! No! How DARE you go over 30 minutes?! You ought to be ashamed of yourself! You call yourself a writer...
I really don't see why you put a time limit on yourself. You say this chapter went over the limit, and this was the best chapter yet. This story(collection of short stories?) would be a lot better with longer chapters to fully explore the ideas. They all just seem so rushed.
AHHH!!!! NOO!!!! THE FEELS!!! Tell... Scootaloo... That... Applebloom is being shipped with... Sweetie Belle...
*Dies from too much feel*
I say give youself a weekly time bank. Like thirty extra minutes that you can use where ever you need it so if your really into a chapter you can take from your bank.
Scoots now see to bad part of having her idol being her parent how different it can be. So great chapter and update soon.
it's ok we forgive you sometimes it is had to do all you need to in an alloted time
Da feelzies.
I feelz dem.
no you're not forgiven!
but i wont tell if you dont :3
2683535 I know right?
You're missing an e
Who cares if you go over the limit? THIS STORY IS AWESOME
Why do you have a limit placed upon yourself in the first place?
Anyways this was definitely an unique and interesting chapter.
<noogie>Ohhho, Scoots. Every-one hates doing chores.
Damn straight. Scariest time of the year, and it happens every nine weeks!
The parent less likely to let something slide(Twilight in this case, stepfather in my own) should be the one to decide such things. It hurts. It works.
There is so much of my childhood in this chapter it's not funny anymore. Knock it off.
See how far that will get you when Twilight tells Applejack and Sweetie's parents you're not allowed at their homes for a while.
Wait until nightfall then start mining. It should happen soon enough.
That was before you were part of this family.
...certain childhood memories should stay buried. Don't dig them up.
Prompt title. I sense a visit from Twilight this evening.
Remember what happened last time she ran away? That was one of the least cool things Rainbow had seen.
But...bonding with Bookhorse...Guess bonding with Rainboom is needed too. see Parent Rainbow Dash for real.
Great chapter.
Be 120% MORE awesome than Twi or Dash?
But that puts her at almost 300% awesome, no one body can handle those kinds of levels
The resulting detontation would cause death by awesome in a 80 km radius
It would wipe out ponyville while making it the most awesome place in the multi-verse
DO IT!!!!!!
BD out