Written Off

by Georg

In Over Your Head - Rainbow Dash And Her Secret Place

Rainbow Dash and Her Secret Place

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It was, in a word, cool. Anything Rainbow Dash was involved with was cool by default, but this was exceptionally cool in several ways, including how shady it was. The summer sun could not fully penetrate the thick layer of apple leaves overhead from where three or four large trees had grown together at some time in Sweet Apple Acres’ history, leaving a little bark-lined pocket just the right size for a pair of pegasi to enjoy the afternoon.

“What do you think, Scoots? Is this cool, or what?” After chasing away a nearby fruit bat, Rainbow Dash pulled a ripe apple off a nearby branch and tossed it to Scootaloo. “I’ve never told anypony about this place, not even Applejack.”

“It’s awesome!” declared Scootaloo before biting into the apple. It was sweet as sugar, still warm from the sun and just barely over the perfect ripeness for harvest. Juice ran down her chin as she finished it off in several quick bites and accepted another one with a grin.

“Yes it is. I found this place back when I first came to Ponyville. It’s always been the place I go when I want to get away from it all. I never thought I would ever share it with anypony, not even Gilda.” Rainbow Dash rummaged underneath a branch and pulled out a large cushion, which she settled down on with her guest. The light breeze through the canopy of thin branches evaporated the thin film of sweat both pegasi had accumulated through flying practice, although Rainbow had been only an inconsistent presence while Scootaloo was practicing. It had been a wonderful experience for the little pegasus, made only more wonderful by being able to spend time together with her adoptive big sister now, even if the older pegasus was acting a little strange.

“Is anything wrong?” asked Scootaloo. “Did you get a seed stuck in your teeth?”

“No, nothing like that,” said Rainbow Dash with a dismissive wave. “I was just thinking. I never had a little sister until now. Being a role model is a lot of responsibility, even more than joining the Wonderbolts. I mean there’s all these cool sistery things we can do and all the stuff I need to teach you, but the one thing I think I like the best is just hanging out with you.”

“Really?” Scootaloo fairly tingled with joy and her grin reflected her happy mood. “You like hanging out with me more than even going pranking with Pinkie Pie like you did this morning?”

“Absolutely,” stated Rainbow Dash with one hoof held up in front of her. “Pranking has its place, but after adding a little pink dye to some bubble bath, there’s nothing better than spending some time with you.”

The wind gently blowing through the tree could not disguise the distant sound of Applejack shouting at the top of her lungs, as she had been doing for most of the last hour.

“Rainbow Dash you consarned pest! If’n I find you, I’m gonna skin you alive and use your worthless hide as a throw rug! Come out and get the whuppin’ you deserve.”

Scootaloo leaned back into the cushion and giggled. “That’s so awesome. I don’t have anything else planned for today,” she said, snuggling into Rainbow Dash’s side. “We could just chill here if you want, big sister.”

“Get your rump out here, Rainbow,” shouted Applejack in the distance. “Ah’m gonna pound you like a… somethin’ that gets pounded into pulp!”

“Sisters do sleepovers, right?” asked Rainbow Dash. “What would you say to spending the night out here, Scoots?”

Author's Note:

The original story is here in the June 2016 In Over Your Head minific writeoff, which placed 20 out of 63 and made the finals, so I can’t complain. Too much. Where you can hear. What you see above is somewhat edited from the original, which had an ENTIRELY accidental tilt towards a romantic relationship between Scoots and RD. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

In the story, RD takes Scoots to her private thinking (and escaping from prank consequences) spot for a little bit of sisterly bonding. The ‘nest’ they wind up in is called inosculation, and it can happen with multiple apple trees, particularly in rubbish heaps where discarded bits of trees get thrown. Since the orchard has spots where the ponies don’t harvest (i.e. the fruit bat area), it was the perfect spot for RD to hide out after pranking Applejack pink. The story is written in two layers, with the top one being the two pegasi enjoying some sisterly bonding (not perverted, as I had originally implied and so many dirty-minded people naturally assumed), and the bottom one being a background event where a totally peeved pink Applejack is looking for a little revenge while RD waits for her to cool off.

It may be a long wait, but Scootaloo is willing to chill in the tree with her hero as long as it takes, and you should admit a little bit of jealousy here too. After all, who among us would not like to spend a lazy summer day in the orchard, chilling with the coolest pony in Equestria.

Chill, dudes
--Georg