Shower of Memories

by Strife

Sonic Sunset

She nervously fidgeted with her goggles, the annoying thing clinging to her face. Why do they want me to wear this? I don’t need it. Scootaloo stared back at herself through the mirror. She saw a pony that looked confident, ready, prepared. The orange pony was older now, still smaller than average, but taller than she was years ago.

Today is the day, she thought. I get to finally show off my tricks and maybe join … no … will join the Wonderbolts! She continued to mess with the goggles, the rule-imposed safety feature bothering her. Too absorbed in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the faint padding of hooves creep up.

“So, you ready squirt?” Scootaloo jumped a bit as she looked behind her. Still wearing that odd hat was a mare with a rainbow-colored mane. The nervous pony smiled. “Oh hey Skipper! Just waiting for my turn.”

Rainbow Dash smiled back, “They moved your audition up by two hours, and you’re on in a few minutes. Something to do with a poorly timed thunderstorm.”

“Wait, like in a few minutes from now?” Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she forgot to fidget with the goggles.

This time it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to smile. “Well of course!” She let out a small laugh, “Now follow me pipsqueak.” She turned around and started to walk down the hall.

The orange pony quickly followed, still worried about the sudden change of plans. “It’s just that I wanted to do a practice run before the audition first.” Fiddling with the goggles continued.

“Oh, you amuse me. You’re gonna do fine! You are my co-skipper after all.” She threw another smile at the younger pony. “Well, I’ll see you in a few squirt. Time for me to get to the Judge’s Table.” At that she turned to the right and headed down a different hallway.

Scootaloo continued to walk. “I guess you’re right. I can do this.” She whispered, mostly to herself. Finally outside, she took a deep breath of the clear crisp air and looked up. The clouds were already starting to gather in angry little black clumps. No wonder they moved my audition up, the storm could start any moment.

Going forward along the grassy path, the maneuvers played over in her head, making sure that each one was fresh in her mind. Let’s see, first I can do that one … yes, and then loop around there. Perfect. Going to do a – “Hey! Scootaloo!” Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar voice. Trotting over to her side was a pony with a purple and pink striped mane and a light grey coat. A smile tugged at Scootaloo’s face, “Sweetie Belle! How have you been?”

Sweetie Belle returned the smile. “Oh not too bad. I heard about a certain somepony auditioning for the Wonderbolts and decided to make a stop by Cloudsdale. Fortunately the worker ponies have been busy … even adding a park up here in the clouds I see!”

Enjoying the company of her friend, Scootaloo entirely forgot about her nervous fidgeting. “Yeah, some clever unicorns figured out a way to get stuff like that up here so non Pegasus can visit. Been a while since I’ve seen you, I trust your business is doing well?”

Before her friend could respond, a booming announcement broke their conversation. “Ladies and gentlecolts of all ages, the final audition will soon begin! Scootaloo please report to the Sky Watch!”

“Well, sounds like you have to go … I better go find Apple Bloom, she is saving me a spot! See you in the sky!” The two exchanged just a few more words before breaking off and headed for their respective locations.

Great, not only is Rainbow Dash going to be watching, but my only other two friends are here too! Scootaloo made her way to the Sky Watch, a large coliseum near Cloudsdale that recently had a large overhaul. She pumped her wings a few times, getting ready to fly. The orange pony finally reached her destination and took a deep breath. OK, I can do this. I’m ready. Jumping up, she thrashed her wings and took off, heading toward the registry counter.

Flapping slowly, she looked around her, taking in the sight of the remodeled arena. The building was on a massive white cloud, the first of its kind; magically enhanced by complex unicorn magic to allow all types of ponies safe passage. Made of a strange off-white material, the walls and pillars towered into the sky. Being above the lowest layer of clouds, the vision was very clear here. Only a few darker clouds existed much higher up due to the incoming storm.

Scootaloo finally arrived at the counter. “Hello? I’m Scootaloo, the last one to audition.” A brown and black pony looked her over real quick. “Good! You go up in a just a minute. Here is your number.” He placed a strap with the number ‘42’ snuggly around her hind quarters. He then pointed to the right, “The judges are over there, they are the ones you need to impress. You can start when the announcer begins.” Going about his business, the stallion then ignored Scootaloo.

She slowly walked out of the way, to a spot that looked good to start off from. The middle of the coliseum was a very large hole, allowing tricks to be preformed below the building in addition to above. The nervous pony fidgeted with her goggles some more, the infernal headgear still being a bother. Standing at the edge of the large gap, she looked down. Hmm, that goes all the way down to the ground. She shot a glance over to the judge’s counter. Sitting there were three ponies, Soarin’, Rainbow Dash, and in the center Spitfire. Her idol noticed the glance and tossed back a friendly wink.

Getting nervous, she was glad to see two of her friends on the other side of the gap, Sweetie Belle leaning on the new railing and Apple Bloom happily waiting for the start of the audition. Scootaloo set a determined smile. I’m ready. Let’s do this! She flapped her wings a few times, anticipation flowing through her. Now if only the announcer said something. Practically reading her mind, a booming voice filled the air. “And now the time has arrived! Scootaloo, the 42nd hopeful pony, will perform her tricks!”

Finally able to start, she dived off the edge, falling for a second or so to gain speed before rocketing up. She started with the easier stuff as warm up, not wanting to overextend too early. Even performing simple moves it was impressive, her attention to detail making every angle and flap of the wing like the stroke of a brush on canvas, painting a picture for all to see. Loops and curls adding a crazy touch to the curves and sharp lines in the sky.

Happy with her warm up, Scootaloo stepped it up a bit. Leisurely doing a backward stroke in the air she pretended to be swimming before delving into a rarely seen corkscrew slide. Few are able to perform it, instead of diving into a corkscrew, the pony leans back into the air and “slides” through the air in a corkscrew. After sliding down a few meters, the graceful pony flipped around and spun directly across the sky like a drill.

I wonder if anypony is enjoying this. I sure am. She shot up and began to prepare her next move. Wait, what if they aren’t? Her resolve began to slowly wear away as doubts invaded her mind. Trying to push them out of the way, she performed her next trick. Breaking through a low-floating black cloud, the moisture stuck to her. I never did see the other performances, maybe this one is bad. Scootaloo twisted around, successfully making two figure eights in the air that were perfectly crossed in the center. The moisture from the cloud made her tail give off an orange and magenta streak. She spun in the center a few times before diving in a curve below, flicking her tail to throw off the moisture and stop the streak of color.

Perfectly painted in the air was an orange and magenta colored flower, shining a bit before dissipating. Her mind began to cloud up like the sky around her. If they don’t like this maybe they won’t like me! They won’t be my friends anymore! As she was preparing the next move quick flashbacks of her lonely past scrolled through her mind’s eye. I will … be lonely again. The orange pony’s body shuddered at that thought again. With her resolve disintegrating, she was frozen in fear of potential abandonment again.

CRACK-KABOOM!

A huge wave of thunder rolled across the sky. At the same time a sharp yelp invaded Scootaloo’s ears, snapping her from the frozen state previously stuck in. Curiously peering below, she saw a familiar figure falling towards the ground. SWEETIE BELLE! Also noticing the broken guardrail, she figured the thunder must have startled her friend and caused her to lean too far forward.

Only the three Wonderbolts were quick enough to respond, unfortunately their position behind the table prevented them from getting an agile enough angle for a dive. Knowing they couldn’t make it time Scootaloo dived as fast as she could, swearing to herself that she could save Sweetie Belle.

The frantic pony put as much effort as she could into the dive, demanding her body could go faster, praying it will be enough. She felt small drops of moisture on her wings and flank; the rain begun to fall. Not … good enough ….! The goggles were slowing her down and she knew it. If my Skipper can do this, so can I! She shook her head viscously, the goggles flying off. The goggles off, that extra speed allowed her to out dive even the rain.

Sweetie Belle was dangerously close to the ground now, the green and browns of the terrain blending with the blues of the lakes and ponds that dotted the area. Must go fast, I can do this! Scootaloo’s eyes strained, trying to keep her eyes open as much as possible. Her body was getting sore, but she demanded even more, causing a deep ache to vibrate through her entire being.

In a flash, she passed the three Wonderbolts, determined to reach her friend. At the maximum speed she could squeeze from her body, it still wasn’t enough. Sweetie Belle was going to die! NO! THIS … WILL … NOT … HAPPEN! She stretched as far as possible, wishing herself to become faster. Just like Skipper always said. “Flying isn’t something that can be jumped into. It’s like swimming in the air; you need to learn how to paddle before you can swim.” Her will became a force unstoppable; suddenly she knew she was good enough. Her training was for this moment. “Imagine the air as the water. Try to swim float calmly, then focus on swimming. First you need to stay above the surface before you can dive squirt.”

The air around Scootaloo started to tug. It grasped her hooves, her face, her flank, her belly; every part of her body and tried to hold her back. Refusing to submit, she continued the dive into the air. Don’t worry Skipper, I’ve learned to swim … time to learn how to dive! Determined as ever, she slashed the air in front of her, imagining the entire time it was water. Slowly, the air began to compress around her, she knew it was almost time.

The force of the air threatened to rip off her face, but she ignored the discomfort, thinking only of her friends, the only ponies to shelter her from loneliness. Pain coursed through her and demanded attention, but that too was something she ignored … it was not important. One last thought of her friends whispered through her mind as the air started to fold into itself, allowing her to put the one last ounce of strength she had into the air in front of her.

Everything became still and silent. Serenity ensued for just one moment more before the air exploded in front Scootaloo as she was propelled forward faster than she has ever gone before. I … I did it! A large ring of orange and magenta spread across the sky, enveloping everything along its path in a gentle caress of hope and comfort. The ring continued to expand, covering the entire sky in its calm hues of color. A Sonic Sunset, sure to bring a happy ending to any day.

Shot forward from her epic feat, Scootaloo was able to dash fast enough to catch her friend. She cradled her in her hooves, but the danger wasn’t over. Going way too fast, they would still hit the ground below since the orange pony couldn’t break the forward motion. Trusting her experiences with her friends, instincts took over. A twitch of her wing caused them both to shift a tiny bit to the left, now at a slight angle.

Seeing what was ahead, Scootaloo flipped around, allowing her back to take the full brunt of the shocking force that reverberated through their bodies as they crashed into the deep lake and protecting the passed out Sweetie Belle.

Scootaloo’s colorful trail followed her into the water, the light somehow having substance enough to stain the water with colors of the trail. Only moments behind, the awestruck group of Wonderbolts slowed their descent and made a controlled dive into the lake to search for the two ponies.

A minute later, the three emerged holding up the pair. They carefully dropped them down at the lake shore. Scootaloo blinked away the water and looked around.

A beautiful sight greeted them as everyone noticed what had happened during their time in the water. The rain hit the Sonic Sunset and absorbed the light, causing small drops of orange and magenta to sprinkle the land in a shower that would forever be marked as a dedication of pure kindness.

Rainbow Dash looked at Scootaloo in the eye. “You’ve done well pipsqueak. Very well.” She took off her hat and placed it on the other pony’s head. “My co-skipper, all grown up … now a Master Skipper of the sky’s oceans!” The mare rested her head on the younger pony’s shoulder and began to weep. “Squirt, you make me proud!”

Too tired to speak, Scootaloo smiled as she also began to cry. For the first time in her life, these were tears of joy. The colorful rain continued to gently caress them as they shared a moment of pure happiness.