Chapter 1
“Alright, Squirt,” Rainbow Dash said, giving Scootaloo an affectionate rub on the head. “You about ready to go?”
“Yup!” Scootaloo said.
“You got your ticket?” Rainbow Dash asked, pulling out her own, a sky blue slip of paper with the words “Wonderbolt Air Show: Admits One” written on it. Scootaloo nodded, reached into the back of her cargo pants, and unfolded a matching ticket.
“I can’t believe we’re actually going to see The Wonderbolts!” Scootaloo squealed. “They’re so cool!”
“Heh,” Rainbow Dash said, patting Scootaloo on the back. “This your first time seeing them in person?”
“Mmm-hmm,” Scootaloo said, nodding.
“Well, that’s exciting and all. But I’ve seen them a few times. So, it’s not really a big deal for me.”
***One hour earlier
“I can’t believe we’re actually going to see The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow Dash squealed, dancing in place in her living room. “They’re so cool!”
***
“You got your inhaler?” Rainbow Dash asked. Scootaloo diligently presented it.
“I don’t really need it, though,” Scootaloo said. “I mean, it’s been weeks since I’ve had an attack.”
Rainbow Dash gave a stern look. “Look, Scootaloo, you’ve got to be really careful about bringing that with you, okay? If you have an attack and don’t have your inhaler on you, it could be really dangerous. And there’s probably going to be smoke and pollen at the show, so we really need to be careful.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I know…” she said sadly, and pocketed her inhaler. Then, she perked right back up again. “But it’s going to be awesome! I can’t wait to see them do all those AMAZING tricks in person! Oh, oh! Do you think they’ll show a new routine today?”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Maybe they will, Squirt. Maybe they will.
***A few weeks earlier
“Alright,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting down on the log in front of the campfire. “Fire’s lit. The sun’s down. Now, it’s time...for the traditional scaaaaary campfire story!”
“Oh, I love these!” Twilight said, clapping her hands quietly in excitement. Rainbow Dash raised a blue eyebrow.
“You do? Seriously?” Twilight smiled happily and nodded.
“Shining Armor used to tell me these all the time. Every Nightmare Night he’d come up with a new one and act it out for me. Ooo! Are you going to do the one about the Headless Horseman?”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Come on, Twilight. That’s not scary at all. It doesn’t have a head, how’s it know where it’s going?”
“Maybe it’s magic?” Applejack asked, distinctly thinking she should be on the other side of this conversation.
“I wanna hear Rainbow Dash’s story!” Scootaloo piped up, eager to please her mentor and, hopefully soon, surrogate big sister. This camping trip was originally going to be just Apple Bloom and Applejack, a sister bonding weekend together. But Applejack had invited Twilight to come along, hoping to coax her out of her shell a little bit...and, if she was being honest with herself, to give her a break from her friends at Crystal Prep. Friends they may be, but they were a handful to deal with.
To make sure Apple Bloom didn’t feel outnumbered by girls significantly older than her, Applejack had offered to invite along her two closest friends, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. Then, Sweetie Belle had wanted Rarity to come too, and Scootaloo mentioned that she’d really like for Rainbow Dash to come along...alright, she was trying to impress her, Scootaloo could admit that much to herself. But could anyone really blame her? All it would take, she told herself, was one weekend of being cool and easygoing around her, and then Rainbow Dash would see how awesome she was and become her surrogate big sister. Flawless planning.
“Alright, girls,” Rainbow Dash said, bending over and flexing her fingers menacingly, the light of the campfire illuminating her face and brightening the front of her rainbow hair in a dull, orange glow. Her voice was hushed, and every word drawn out like a ghost’s wail. “Have you ever wondered...where rainbows come from?” There was a pause here, during which Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom shook their heads. “Now, a-”
“Light,” Twilight interrupted. Rainbow Dash stopped and dropped her whispery voice.
“Huh?”
“Rainbows come from light,” Twilight said. “Well, more accurately, light and refraction. Sunlight contains light of all wavelengths in it, which we see as roughly white. But when it passes through a refractive surface, like an atmosphere, water, or a prism, the angle of that light changes. Different wavelengths of light bend at different angles, which our eyes interpret as different colors.”
Rainbow Dash blew on her lips dismissively and rolled her eyes. “That’s stupid SciTwi. Rainbows don’t come from light.” Rainbow Dash dropped her voice to a whisper again, resuming the story. “They come from-”
“Yes they do,” Twilight interrupted again. Rainbow Dash gave Twilight an annoyed, deadpan look, but Twilight did not seem to notice. “It’s the same principle that makes the sky blue.”
“Look, do YOU want to tell the story?” Rainbow Dash asked. Twilight shook her head. “Good. Then shut up, and listen.” She resumed her hushed, storytelling voice again, and leaned in closer to the fire. “Now, a rainbow’s tale isn’t quite as nice as the story we knew of sugar and spice. But a rainbow’s easy once you get to know it, with the help of the magic of the Pegasus Device…”
***One horrifying story later
“And those girls...never made it out of the factory...alive that is.” Rainbow Dash said, leaning forward slightly to further illuminate her face, contrasting sharply with the dark woods surrounding them.
“Alive?” Sweetie Belle asked. Rainbow Dash shook her head.
“Now, I know what you must be thinking…‘But Rainbow Dash, if no one leaves the factory, how do YOU know about it?’”
“Literally no one was thinking that,” Twilight said. Rainbow Dash pointedly ignored her.
“I know...because the manager of The Rainbow Factory...was ME!” Suddenly she jumped up, eliciting a scream from Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo.
“And that,” Rainbow Dash said, sitting back down, “is where rainbows come from.”
“No it’s not!” Twilight spoke up. “They come from light and refraction. You see them after a rainstorm because there’s so much water in the air, it refracts the light!” Rainbow Dash’s eyebrows sank.
“You’re sort of a party-pooper, aren’t you SciTwi?” Twilight stuck her tongue out at her.
“Alright girls,” Applejack said, standing up and putting an arm around her little sister, who was hiding behind her as best she could. “I think it’s time to get to bed.”
“Uh…” Scootaloo said, looking around at the surrounding tents. She counted three, one for Apple Bloom and Applejack, one especially large one for Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Twilight to share...and then there was...one more. “So...I’m staying with…”
“Me, Squirt,” Rainbow Dash said, slapping Scootaloo on the back. Scootaloo yelped and jumped up, grabbing onto a tree to secure herself. “Whoa, you’re jumpy. You okay?”
“J-j-just fine!” Scootaloo said, her eye twitching. “Just fine! I just thought...well, maybe you’d prefer to sleep alone? I’m sure I could get some space in the tent with Sweetie Belle and Rarity...o-or maybe-”
“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow Dash said. “You don’t want to be cramped up in there with those guys. You want to be in the cool tent.” Rainbow Dash pointed her thumb up at her face and grinned. “With me.”
“R-right…” Scootaloo said. She’d actually been looking forward to this earlier, being bunkmates with Rainbow Dash...alone...in the wilderness...with no to hear her scream…
“Aw, don’t worry Squirt,” Rainbow Dash said with a wink. “I promise not to turn you into a rainbow or anything...so long as you don’t snore, that is.”
An hour later Scootaloo was still awake, very much and very deliberately NOT snoring, and looking over at Rainbow Dash. She seemed to be asleep, though as loudly as SHE was snoring Scootaloo was almost certain she was faking it. Was Rainbow Dash just waiting until Scootaloo fell asleep? Then she’d creep up on her, quietly, and then…
Scootaloo gulped.
Nope. No. Nu-uh, that wasn’t how she was going to go. Scootaloo got up and ran out of the tent as fast as she could. They were out in the woods, but they had taken a hiking path for most of the way to the campsite. That path led back to the parking lot, which led back to the highway, which led back to the city. She could make it home, Scootaloo told herself, where she’d be safe, safe from anyone who wanted to kidnap her and turn her into-
Scootaloo felt a sudden tightening on her chest. She coughed and coughed, wheezing for breath as she collapsed onto her knees. No, no, no, she told herself, not here, not now. She reached into her pocket to grab her inhaler, then stopped as she noticed that the familiar weight of it was missing.
She’d left it back at in the tent.
Scootaloo continued to cough and gasp for breath, but with each passing moment she felt less and less oxygen making it into her lungs. This was it, she told herself, with no one around to save her, she’d be-
“Scootaloo!” Rainbow Dash yelled, running down the hiking trail at top speed. She came to where Scootaloo was kneeled over. “No, no, no, no,” Rainbow Dash said, and shoved an inhaler in Scootaloo’s hands. “C’mon Squirt, use this.” Scootaloo shook the inhaler and breathed in. She felt the tightening around her chest loosen slightly and she coughed, able to take in a full breath of air again. “You okay there, Squirt?” Scootaloo nodded.
“Mmm-hmm…” she muttered. Rainbow Dash sighed.
“Good, good,” she said, clearly relieved. Then, she face grew more stern. “What were you DOING out here by yourself in the middle of the night? And why didn’t you take your inhaler?”
Tears welled up in Scootaloo’s eyes and she said. “I’m so, so, so sorry Rainbow Dash! Please don’t turn me into a rainbow!”
A beat passed and Rainbow Dash gave a puzzled look. “Huh?”
“I-I just wanted you to come on this trip, see how cool I was and become, I don’t know, like my big sister of something! B-but then y-you told that story and I got scared! I was afraid that you were going to...going to…” Scootaloo gulped. “So I ran away. But I was in such a hurry that I forgot my inhaler, and then...well…” she looked down on the ground, ashamed of herself. Rainbow Dash’s stern face melted, a small smile crept across her face, and she sat down next to Scootaloo.
“Hey, Scootaloo, do you want to know where I REALLY heard that story?” Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash with a confused look on her face.
“I-I thought you said you were the manager of The Rainbow Factory?”
Rainbow Dash nodded. “Yeah, I said that. Because that’s how my dad ended the story when he told it to me.” Scootaloo sniffed and wiped her nose.
“H-huh? Your dad…?”
Rainbow Dash nodded, with a big grin on her face. “Yup. When I was a kid, I asked him why we have rainbow hair. I mean, no one else around here seems to have it.” Rainbow Dash threw a lock of her hair aside to demonstrate. “He came up with this whole story about how he’d been involved in an accident at The Rainbow Factory when a couple of prisoners tried to escape, and it’d permanently dyed his hair that way. Now, at the time I wasn’t quite the critical-thinking, deeply thoughtful, and cerebral girl I am today.” Rainbow Dash gave Scootaloo a sideways glance and a smirk to emphasize the self-deprecation in that comment. “So, I didn’t think to ask why MY hair would end up like that too. I couldn’t sleep that entire week, I was so scared.” Rainbow Dash laughed. “Of course, I eventually learned that he stole the whole plot from some cheesy SciFi movie.” Rainbow Dash raised her voice in the most overly dramatic impression she could give. “Rainbows are people. PEOPLE!” She laughed again. “But at the time, it was pretty scary.”
“S-so there’s no such place as The Rainbow Factory?” Scootaloo asked. Rainbow Dash considered for a moment, remembering a few stories Sunset Shimmer had told her about weather back in Equestria. She was pretty sure that a place technically called The Rainbow Factory did exist there, but this did not seem like the time to bring it up, even if the factory Sunset Shimmer described was nothing like the one in the story.
“Nope. Twilight’s right, Rainbows are made of light. But that doesn’t make as good a story.” Rainbow Dash draped an arm over Scootaloo’s shoulders. “So...you’re looking for a big sister?” Scootaloo thought back to her hurried confession and blushed.
“I-I mean, well, I-I…” she stuttered.
“I might be up for something like that,” Rainbow Dash said. A wide grin spread out across Scootaloo’s face.
“Really?” she asked, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.
“So long as you don’t go running off on your own in the middle of the night,” Rainbow Dash said. Scootaloo nodded.
“It’s a deal.”
***At the Wonderbolt Air Show
“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!” Scootaloo said, looking up at the jet fighters flying overhead. “I’m actually here! I actually get to see The Wonderbolts!”
“Pretty cool, huh?” Rainbow Dash said. She gave a confident grin. “Of course, the whole routine’s going to be better once I get in…”
“Well, duh!” Scootaloo said enthusiastically. “Once you get in, they’ll have the coolest athlete EVER to make the show even more awesome!”
“You know it!” Rainbow Dash said, nodding in agreement. Thinking back, Rainbow Dash remembered when she was younger, and had fully reveled in being an only child. She had never really wanted a sibling, younger or older. A sibling meant more competition for her father’s attention, and having a bratty little brother or sister around would just mean someone to knock over her trophies and exercise equipment, rip her posters, and get their messy hands all over her stuff. But, after spending a little time with Scootaloo, Rainbow Dash had to admit, having a little sister had started to appeal to her more and more. To be honest, even before Scootaloo had brought it up, Rainbow Dash had thought of her as a sort of kid sister. That night on the camping trip had just given words to something she was already feeling.
Seven jets flew overhead, staggered symmetrically in a “V” pattern, each one trailing a different color of smoke and decorating the sky in an artificial rainbow. Scootaloo sighed in admiration. “They’re so cool…” she said.
“Shorty?” a voice came from behind them. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo turned around to see Indigo Zap standing behind them, holding a cup of lemonaid.
“Indy?” Rainbow Dash said. “What are you-?”
“Ohmygosh!” Scootaloo said, jumping up from the blanket she and Rainbow Dash had been sitting on to run over to Indigo Zap. “Indigo Zap! You’re here!”
Indigo Zap gave Scootaloo a playful punch on the shoulder. “Sure am, Shorty,” she said.
“Uh…” Rainbow Dash said, looking from Scootaloo to Indigo Zap, noting the admiration in Scootaloo’s eyes. “You two...know each other?”
“Sure do,” Indigo Zap said.
“She coaches at the skate park,” Scootaloo said. “Isn’t she just the coolest?”
Rainbow Dash paused. “The coolest,” she said in a completely deadpan voice. “What are you doing here?” That came out a little more accusatory than Rainbow Dash had been hoping, be nice, she told herself. There wasn’t anything to get bothered about here.
“Twilight gave me a ticket,” Indigo Zap said, taking a long sip of her lemonade. “She’s got her dinner with Sunset Shimmer and her family tonight, and she wanted to make sure I didn’t try to spy on them.”
“Oh,” Rainbow Dash said, voice still completely devoid of enthusiasm. “Great.”
“Indigo Zap’s head of Crystal Prep’s volleyball team!” Scootaloo said. “Apparently they’re going to nationals this year.”
“More like are gonna WIN nationals,” Indigo Zap said, smiling confidently. “Trust me on this one Shorty, I know what I’m talking about. Mind if I join you?” Without waiting for an answer, Indigo Zap sat down on the blanket between Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash.
“Uh...sure,” Rainbow Dash said, moving over the bare minimum amount possible to give Indigo Zap enough room to sit.
“I can’t believe you two know each other!” Scootaloo said. “That’s, like...the coolest thing ever!”
Rainbow Dash scoffed, which she covered midway through by pretending to blow a lock of hair out of her face. “It’s not all THAT cool…” she muttered. If Indigo Zap or Scootaloo heard her, neither acknowledged it.
“You haven’t been slacking off, have you Shorty?” Indigo Zap asked. Scootaloo shook her head.
“No, ma’am,” she said, punching her fist into her open palm. “I’ve been working on some really cool tricks! You’re gonna be blown away by my awesomeness!”
“She’s really something, isn’t she RD?” Indigo Zap asked.
“Uh-huh,” Rainbow Dash said, standing up. “I’m gonna get us some popcorn. Be right back.”
As soon as she was out of sight, Rainbow Dash mentally scolded herself. She didn’t need to act that way, she thought. Indigo Zap was her friend, and Scootaloo was her little sister. I mean, sure, Scootaloo had called Indigo Zap, “the coolest”, when CLEARLY that title belong to Rainbow Dash and ONLY Rainbow Dash. But it wasn’t like she was jealous or anything. She was Rainbow Danger Dash, she didn’t DO jealousy. It didn’t matter that Scootaloo was starstruck, and talking about Indigo Zap in ways she usually only talked about Rainbow Dash, and that Indigo Zap had her own, stupid, meaningless little nickname for her, she-
“Rainbow Dash?”
“I’m not jealous!” Rainbow Dash yelled, turning around to see...Rarity?
“Uhm...I’m...happy to hear that, darling?” Rarity said. Rainbow Dash blinked, and resisted the urge to slap herself in the face.
“Rarity? Uh...what are you doing here?”
“Well, same as you, I suppose. I’m here to see The Wonderbolts, with a friend of mine from Crystal Prep.”
“Oh, Sunny Flare?” Rainbow Dash asked. “I didn’t know she liked The Wonderbolts.”
Rarity gave a small giggle. “Oh, no darling. Sunny Flare can’t stand loud, outdoor events like this. No, I’m here with Fleur Dis Lee. Do you remember when Twilight had her little...well, incident? And we saved a few students from falling through that hole into Equestria? Well, I helped Fleur out, and we got to talking. She’s really a sweet girl, and she invited me out with her and her boyfriend to see the show.”
“Oh...that’s cool,” Rainbow Dash said, stepping up to the concession stand. “One large popcorn, please,” she said to the vendor.
“Now, what’s all this about you being jealous?” Rarity asked.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “If you were listening, Rarity, you’d have heard that I’m NOT jealous. You’ve really got to learn to listen more carefully.”
“I see,” Rarity said. “Then what, exactly, is it that you aren’t jealous about?”
“I’m DEFINITELY not jealous that Scootaloo and Indigo Zap apparently know each other, if that’s what you’re implying,” Rainbow Dash snapped. She snatched her popcorn away from the vendor and threw a handful of it into her mouth. “And I’m not jealous at ALL that Scootaloo keeps gushing about how cool she is. Or that they’re apparently much closer than I’d thought. And it’s frankly stupid of you to think I would be.”
“Hmm…” Rarity said, crossing her arms in a show of ladylike disbelief. “You do know that it’s alright to feel that way, don’t you, Rainbow?”
“Pffft,” Rainbow Dash said, angrily chewing down on another mouthful of popcorn. “Maybe if I DID feel that way, I’d agree with you. But I don’t, so it’s a moot point.”
“I know I would feel just a teensy bit jealous if I felt that Sweetie Belle looked up to someone else more than me,” Rarity said.
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Rares,” Rainbow Dash said. “Just that it doesn’t matter. Because I’m not jealous. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back before SOMEONE decides that she’d make a better big sister than a certain SOMEONE ELSE.” With that, Rainbow Dash stormed off in a huff back to the spot where Indigo Zap and Scootaloo were camped out.
“Here you go, Squirt,” Rainbow Dash said, dropping the bucket of popcorn into Scootaloo’s lap. Scootaloo gave a big smile.
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” she said. “Indigo Zap was just telling me about a time she went to Equestria!”
“I see…” Rainbow Dash said, trying her best to hide her aggravation. Which, she made clear to herself, was NOT jealousy. Just annoyance. Completely different.
“I think that was the first time I’d ever been accused of starting an, ‘international incident’.” Indigo Zap said, grabbing a handful of popcorn.
“Yeah, very nice,” Rainbow Dash muttered, then piped in, “I’ve been to Equestria too, you know.”
Scootaloo’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Really?! What’d you do there?”
“Uh…” Rainbow Dash said, scratching the back of her head. “Well...we really just followed SciTwi and Sunset around to make sure their date went alright...but still!” Rainbow Dash scolded herself silently. Why’d she bring up THAT story of all things? It was distinctly un-cool, not the sort of thing that would impress Scootaloo at all...not that she felt she needed to impress her, or anything like that!
Three planes flew overhead, splitting apart and looping around, drawing fractal contrails of blue smoke in the sky. “Wow…” Scootaloo said. “They’re so cool!”
“You really like the Wonderbolts, Shorty?” Indigo Zap said. Scootaloo nodded happily. “You gonna join ‘em one day?” Scootaloo’s face immediately dropped, and every ounce of annoyance-not jealousy, mind you-that Rainbow Dash may have been feeling drained from her as she looked down at her saddened little sister. “Huh? What’s up? What did I say?” Indigo Zap asked.
“I-it’s nothing,” Rainbow Dash said, “you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just…” She looked down to Scootaloo, silently asking if she could go on, and Scootaloo gave a small nod. “The Wonderbolts are technically a branch of the military. And…”
“And with my asthma…” Scootaloo said, sighing. “I’m...probably disqualified from service.”
A guilty look passed over Indigo Zap’s face. “Oh...I’m-I’m sorry guys, I didn’t realize…”
“It’s alright,” Scootaloo said with a sigh. “And it’s not like I know for sure. My asthma’s getting better, and if it dies down enough, then it’s possible that they’d let me in. But I’d need to get a medical waiver for that, and they don’t give those out easily.”
Rainbow Dash placed a comforting arm around Scootaloo. “But even if you don’t get in Squirt, you’re all kinds of awesome anyways.” Scootaloo leaned in against Rainbow Dash and smiled.
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” she said.
Indigo Zap smiled. “You know-”, she said, “I-”
“Indy? Is that you?” Indigo Zap’s smile immediately faded as she heard the voice. Rainbow Dash looked up and saw...well...if she was looking at a distance, she would have sworn that she was seeing Indigo Zap. The girl had the same haircut, the same eyes, she was even wearing goggles and lightning bolt earrings, just like Indigo Zap. They were the spitting image of one another, except this girl was a light, greenish blue instead of peach, and had streaked blonde hair instead of streaked blue.
“Oh...hi…” Indigo Zap said, lowering her eyebrows in frustration. “Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, this is Lightning Dust...my sister.”
“Her OLDER sister,” Lightning Dust added in a taunting tone that only an older sibling can truly pull off.
“By seven minutes…” Indigo Zap said, blowing aside a lock of hair.
“Wait...you two are twins?” Rainbow Dash said, looking back and forth between the two girls. She could certainly believe it, by how close they looked to one another...except the colors were all off. “Uh...I mean, how…”
“We’re heterozygous twins. Not identical,” Indigo Zap said in an annoyed deadpan tone that Rainbow Dash inferred meant that she had had to explain this before. “Though you wouldn’t believe it by looking at us. It’s almost like we were supposed to be identical up until the last possible second, then someone changed their mind, swapped a few colors around and called it good.”
“So you’re Rainbow Dash,” Lightning Dust said, leaning in and giving a grin. “CHS’s star athlete. Nice to meet’cha. I’m Crystal Prep’s star athlete.”
“Uh...you are?” Rainbow Dash asked, looking over to a very clearly uncomfortable Indigo Zap. “I thought Indy was-”
“Indy’s captain of the volleyball team,” Lightning Dust said, putting a hand on her chest pridefully. “And I’m the star of the cross country team, the motocross team, the rollerblading team…”
“Swimming team, golf team…” Indigo Zap listed off automatically. “She’s the best on a lot of teams, okay?”
“That I am,” Lightning Dust said, then focused in on Rainbow Dash. “And I’ve heard a lot about you. You showed some pretty sweet moves at The Friendship Games. And, from what I hear, you’re looking to join The Wonderbolts.”
“Uh...yeah?” Rainbow Dash said. “What about it?”
Lightning Dust walked over, leaned into Rainbow Dash’s ear, and whispered, “I’m looking to join too.” Lightning Dust straightened back up and walked away. “Catch you later, Indy. And Rainbow Dash-see you at The Wonderbolt Academy.”
With Lightning Dust was out of sight, Rainbow Dash took a moment to take in Indigo Zap’s mood. The bravado Rainbow Dash had gotten so used to emanating from her was gone, she was avoiding eye contact, and looked...well, almost insecure.
Quickly glancing around, Rainbow Dash noticed the empty cup of lemonade sitting by Indigo Zap’s legs. “Hey, Scootaloo,” Rainbow Dash said, “Looks like Indy’s out of lemonade. Here.” Rainbow Dash handed Scootaloo a handful of bills. “Can you get us three more? Grab anything else you want for yourself while you’re up there.”
“Wow, thanks Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo said, then zipped off towards the promise of sugary drinks. Once she was gone, Rainbow Dash focused in on Indigo Zap.
“Want to tell me what that was all about?” Rainbow Dash asked. Indigo Zap shrugged.
“That’s my sister. Well, one of them,” Indigo Zap said.
“Does she bully you?” Rainbow Dash asked, feeling a flash of anger and protectiveness before Indigo Zap waved her hand away, dismissing the idea.
“No, nothing like that. We’re just...competitive. Always have been. The thing is, Lightning Dust is just a much better athlete than me, across the board.”
“But you’re leading the volleyball team,” Rainbow Dash said. “You’re beating her there, aren’t you?” Indigo Zap gave a little shrug.
“You know all those teams she listed off that she’s on? Have you noticed that they’re all things you can do yourself? You don’t really need to rely on teammates in golf or most swimming contests. Volleyball is a really team-intensive sport, and Lightning Dust just doesn’t do well when she has to work with others.”
“Uh...she’s going to Crystal Prep...and even you guys think she’s not a team player?” Rainbow Dash asked. “Wow.” Then a thought struck Rainbow Dash. “Wait, if she’s such a great athlete, why wasn’t she in The Friendship Games?” Despite her mood, a smile broke out across Indigo Zap’s face.
“She may be the best athlete at Crystal Prep. But it’s the top ten students who get to go to The Friendship Games. Principal Cinch puts a lot more weight on the academic portion of the games than the athletic, and she just didn’t make the cut.” Indigo Zap’s smile widened a little bit. “But I did.” She sighed, the temporary boost in mood dissipating. “But...I come from a big family. I’m the youngest of six children, all overachievers. It’s hard to get attention just from being second best. And my whole family’s athletic, so that counts for a lot more with them. And with Lightning Dust as my sister…” Indigo Zap sighed. “When I stand beside a legend, I don’t even compare.”
In that moment, Rainbow Dash saw it all. Everything she was afraid of in having siblings of her own, Indigo Zap had to deal with. The lack of attention, living in someone else’s shadow. This was not a bizarre hypothetical for her, this was her life. And spending time with Scootaloo gave her the chance to be admired herself, to stand alone, without her sister’s presence constantly lurking over her.
“I’m sorry I barged in on you guys,” Indigo Zap said, and she started to stand up. “I’ll leave you two alone to enjoy the show.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Rainbow Dash said, shooting Indigo Zap a wide grin. “Scootaloo’s coming back with lemonade for us, and I think she’ll be pretty disappointed if you just leave.” A soft, warm smile spread across Indigo Zap’s face. “And for whatever it’s worth, I don’t think you’re just a second-rate Lightning Dust. You’re you, she’s her. You both have things you’re great at. And if your family doesn’t always recognize that, well, it’s their loss.”
Indigo Zap scratched her face to cover her wiping away a tear. “Thanks, RD. I...thanks.”
“No problem, Indy,” Rainbow Dash said. “But it’s gotta be hard to have to deal with all that.”
***A while ago
Indigo Zap opened the door to her home and stepped into the kitchen. She sighed, dropped her backpack onto the table, and pulled out the list of students that would represent Crystal Prep in The Friendship Games.
She had made it.
“So,” Lightning Dust’s voice interrupted the mental celebration Indigo Zap had pushed off since the announcements had first been made. “You got in.”
Indigo Zap nodded. “Yup,” she said. She wouldn’t gloat, she told herself. She wouldn’t add in, ‘and you didn’t.’ There was no need for that. Not really. The victory spoke for itself.
Lightning Dust crossed through the kitchen and stood, face inches away from Indigo Zap. Indigo Zap gripped down on her hand, ready to duke it out right there, if she had to. This was HER win, HER glory, and there was no way she was going to let Lightning Dust tell her she hadn’t earned it. This time, she had WON.
Lightning Dust jabbed a finger at Indigo Zap’s chest, and said, “You’d better not lose.” The words were aggressive, but Indigo Zap could feel the respect in them. It was as close to an acknowledgement as she was ever going to get from Lightning Dust.
“I won’t,” Indigo Zap said, with a grin.
“You’re gonna need some better sports gear. Here,” Lightning Dust took off her goggles and handed them to Indigo Zap. “I’ve got another pair. But these should help in the athletics section.”
Indigo Zap examined the goggles, stretched out the band, and strapped them to her forehead. “Cool,” she said.
Lightning Dust turned around to leave the room, but she stopped as she got into the doorway. “Hey, Indy?” she said.
“Yeah?” Indigo Zap asked.
“...knock ‘em dead.”
***Back at the air show
“It’s not that bad,” Indigo Zap said, gently snapping the strap to her goggles.
***After the show
“-and then when the pilots parachuted down for the big finale!” Scootaloo said as she and Rainbow Dash walked back from the air show. “That was so cool!”
“It sure was,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m glad you had a good time, Squirt.”
“Thanks Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said. A considering look passed over Scootaloo’s face. “Uh, Rainbow Dash? Can I ask you something?”
“Sure thing, Scoots,” Rainbow Dash said, rummaging through her pockets for some loose change for the bus. “What’s up?”
“You seemed a little annoyed at first when Indigo Zap showed up. You weren’t...jealous the way I was talking about her, were you?”
“What?!” Rainbow Dash said, blushing. “No way, Squirt. I’m Rainbow Dash, the most awesome girl in the world. I don’t get jealous.”
“Uh-huh,” Scootaloo said, crossing her arms and giving Rainbow Dash a disbelieving look. “You sure?”
“Totally,” Rainbow Dash said, suddenly finding the coins in her hand very interesting.
“Good,” Scootaloo said. “Because if you were, I’d have to tell you that you’re the most awesome big sister a girl could ask for. And that I’m really glad you decided to take me under your wing. And that I think Indigo Zap’s cool and all, but you’re a million times cooler. Easily.”
Rainbow Dash’s face flushed and she poked at the coins in her hand. “R-really?”
“Really,” Scootaloo said, then crossed her hands behind her back. “Good thing you’re not jealous though, right?”
Rainbow Dash smiled. “Right. Not jealous at all.”
Okay, so...this one kind of came to me all at once. I'll admit, I've been wanting to write some Scootalove for a while now. I find Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo's relationship to be absolutely adorable, and I really wanted to try my hand at writing it! 
A little while ago, I read "The Courage To Try" by GeekySonic, and I thought that they brought up a really great point about how Equestria Girls' Scootaloo should have a similar disability to the main series' Scootaloo. But for a while, I was unsure about how she should be disabled. The tricky thing is that, while Equestria's Scootaloo does face challenges in not being able to fly, she is still able to be active and sporty on her own terms, and I really didn't want to take that away from her in this. So, I ultimately decided on asthma, which can be manageable and wouldn't outright stop her from being active, but would still present her with certain challenges.
I also couldn't help but try my own take of "Sleepless in Ponyville". It's one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series, and I really wanted to try my hand at how it'd go down in the Equestria Girls universe. I hope I did a good job at it!
Anyways, I hope you all like it! thanks for reading! 
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I have to confess that I find RD and Scootaloo to be two of the most boring characters in the show
, but this story was carried by their co-stars. Indy is actually cool (at the very least by virtue of not being Rainbow Dash 
), and I remember liking Lightning Dust back in the day too, who I always thought was RD without pretending to be a good person (back in season three I didn't consider RD a very good person). By the way, with the big family, are you by any chance alluding to the family from the flashback in "Top Bolt" where there was a foal that looked like it could've been LD? 
Also,
So in the human world the principals are still respnosible for the sky?
Anyway, it wouldn't be fair to expect the impossible (making RD or Scootaloo interesting for me), so I still gave a like because literally everything else was interesting, and heck, I actually like the asthma idea. Though it gives me horrible flashbacks of fighting evil cars in Mother 1 which would trigger the protagonist's asthma attacks with their exhausts and if you didn't happen to own an inhaler you were paralyzed until they killed you.
7747534 Oh really? They're two of my favorites
Different tastes for different people, I guess? Honestly, Rainbow Dash ranks in as my second favorite in the show, narrowly behind Rarity (I...have a thing for ambitious, hardworking characters, and I'm really glad the FiM doesn't seem to view these traits as negative. The morals around them tend to be more, "Being ambitious is good, but don't take shortcuts or be a jerk about it", which I think is really good in a kid's cartoon). And the times when she tomboyishly dotes on Scootaloo are some of my favorite moments in the series. I'm a big fan of the siblings relationship tropes (hence why Shining Armor keeps coming up in my fanfiction...) and well...I just find it adorable 
Yup, the big family thing is supposed to allude to the theory about Top Bolt
I was originally planning to have Indigo Zap reference it more directly by mentioning that Lightning Dust wasn't the only one who she felt she was overshadowed by, and mention that she has an older brother who's a figure skating prodigy (a sport that's very commonly done with a male-female partner combination). Ultimately, I couldn't work the line in without it seeming forced, so I toned it down to a more general, "I've got a lot of siblings, they're all high performers, and it's hard for me to stand out among them."
Sigh...I probably should have done a more thorough pass on spelling before hitting "publish"
I was just excited to get it out. Thanks for pointing out the error, I fixed it!
Even if it wasn't quite up your alley, thanks for reading!
Glad you gave it a chance and enjoyed some elements of it! Even if this story doesn't do as well as some of my other ones (it's looking like SunLight is my bread and butter 
), I'm glad I gave it a shot!
7747741 I really hated RD's personality in the first seasons. She pretty much encapsulated everything I either dislike or don't care about in people.
I've mellowed out towards her by season four or so, though. Scootaloo still remains incredibly boring to me, however her fangirling over Dash has kinda subsided so at least that little element of annoyance is gone. Funnily enough, in my rankings Rarity is also somewhere around second lowest. 
She can be really funny, but I don't much care for her personality or specific ambition either. My favorite is Pinkie 
(I used to always say that Pinkie is the right kind of juvenile, while RD is the exact wrong kind of juvenile), and close second is Twilight. If we wanna piss off some people and count Starlight among the main characters, she'd rank between them. 
Anyway, yeah, it's cool that the show has enough juice in it that people can enjoy completely different things.
And SunLight is definitely very popular. Even I, having never cared about shipping before, felt somewhat annoyed when SciTwi got officially shipped with Timber (though I liked him), because the idea of her falling for Sunset is just too delicious.
But hopefully you won't get tempted to just write SunLight all the time instead of what you actually want (I say that, yet I would totally jump on the SunLight bandwagon if I could do romance. Instead I write about freaking Principal Cinch of all people). Maybe just a few more to slowly attract followers and whatnot so that your next stories get some extra views 
7747783 Timber...I honestly didn't love him. PART of it is the ship-sinking he brings in, but frankly, I could totally ignore that. I just...don't find him that identifiable, to be honest. That's shallow of me, but I'm not really much of a "nature" person, so it was hard for me to get into a mindset where I could relate with him. I also felt like we were pushed to like him a little too much too early, but that's not really a major obstacle either. So, no really good reasons why I didn't like him...just couldn't get into him as a character
The same sort of thing is really why I like Rarity and Rainbow Dash so much: I find them relatable on a personal level, and I can relate to the struggles they have to go through and the lessons they learn. To contrast, while I love her and think she's adorable, I have difficulty relating with Fluttershy and the struggles that she has to overcome, so her episodes aren't the ones I tend to go back to a lot. Even though I enjoyed, "Filli Vanilli", an episode on stage fright isn't going to ring as true to you if you just don't have stage fright, you know?
And I still absolutely love to write SunLight
It's adorable and awesome and I'm totally writing more of it. I'm just hoping to test the waters of what else is out there. I feel like the Equestria Girls universe gives fanfic writers a lot to go with, because it's more or less isolated from the main series and we only get, like, a 70 minute movie every year, rather than a season's worth of episodes. So, we get a lot of opportunities to explore stuff that's left out of this universe, and how it relates to the FiM one, like how Scootaloo's disability would manifest as a human.
Also, I was surprised by how much I'm enjoying Starlight being in the mane cast. I was sort of against her reforming, I didn't love her as a villain, but I think the writers have done a really good job with her this season. My only real complaint, I think, is a fairly common one, and it's that I feel like she should be a part of the plot more in episodes where she's not the main character, but maybe we'll see more of that next season!
7747854 I definitely agree about the merits of EqG for fanfics. I mainly read EqG fanfics nowadays and so far all of mine included it, and most of the crap I have planned will too. The concept of parallel versions of characters is very interesting because you can explore a character by contrasting them to the pony version. A lot of them seem to have somewhat different personalities. For example, Trixie seems perfectly nice in movies that aren't Rainbow Rocks, Fluttershy isn't all that shy, then SciTwi is obvious, the principals, etc. This is part of why Friendship Games is my favorite movie: it dedicated itself to introducing a counterpart to the more or less "main character" that is incredibly different. It wasn't shy about using the potential of the EqG setting's nature as a parallel world. Whereas Rainbow Rocks and Legend of Everfree, I think, did much less with it.
As for Starlight, I like to be a complete heretic and say that she's almost Sunset Shimmer done right. For all of my love of EqG, I honestly don't much care for Sunset herself. As far as "reformed villain who becomes friends with Twilight's friends and a student to Twilight", Starlight is much more interesting about it. Sunset just flips to "great person" and puts her past behind her, whereas Starlight had to learn how to be good and such. I can't wait to see where her character goes now. Though I liked her as a villain as well, maybe apart from the slightly weak-sauce backstory at the end of the finale (still better than Sunset's though, she didn't even have one to speak of).
7748261 Really? I love Sunset! I sort of feel the opposite of you in this case, I feel like Sunset spent a lot more time trying to overcome her past than Starlight did (she spends pretty much all of Rainbow Rocks trying to make up for what she did). I guess I feel like Sunset spent a lot more screen time dealing with the consequences of her actions, whereas when it's brought up with Starlight she's more dealing with her anxieties about being a former villain, rather than the direct consequences. And I enjoy the symmetry of her coming back around and basically facing her own demons in Midnight Sparkle, and helping someone who's making the same mistakes that she did to make a better choice. But eh, again, different people are going to see things differently. I still like Starlight's new characterization...I just prefer Sunset
7749363 I feel like they discarded everything that could've made Sunset interesting. She was a villain with about one line of backstory in the original movie, at the end of it she gets rainbow-blasted into being a different person (unlike Starlight who was brought to "the light" psychologically), then she spends RR skulking in the shadows and occasionally smacking some sense into the Rainbooms, kind of accidentally saves the world without much effort (by being a sensible person and singing once), completely drops having any issue with her past (in that one extra song) and becomes a pretty bland character that ignores all of the potential. The one good moment was her relapse into anger in Friendship Games. I really don't like how she basically does a 180 at the end of the original and that's her whole reformation. She literally becomes a different person and doesn't seem to need to learn anything from Twilight afterwards. Part of why I love Starlight is that she spends the whole season six figuring out how to actually be good, that her old methods can't be applied for good, etc. She also doesn't get over her past as soon as others forgive her.
Overall good story, enjoyed seeing yet another form of Indigo and Dust being involved, really would like to see more of their sibling interaction one day, especially now that RD knows....
7790583 Yeah, I'd like to expand on these guys a little bit more...originally I was going to have Indigo Zap and Lightning Dust seeing a movie together in "Shadowbolt Movie Night", to show that, despite their rivalry, they still love each other, but I just couldn't work the scene in
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the fave!
7791712 no problem, looking forward to more stories! :)
Hmm... Not sure how to feel about saddling human Scootaloo with a disability, but I suppose if one had to do it, you handled it in the best way possible. Acknowledge, but don't dwell. She's not "the brave little asthmatic," she's Scootaloo. A respiratory condition shouldn't change that, and here, it doesn't.
As for the story itself, great character work all around. I can always appreciate a good dose of Scootalove, and this definitely qualified. Thank you for it.
7845392 Yeah, I can see why some people might not like having Scootaloo have a disability in the human world. To me, it seemed like a nice symmetry, and it feels like a part of Scootaloo's character is, "persevere through adversity", and it helps if she has a consistent adversity to fight against. But...yeah, I didn't want her to be too overwrought about it. Maybe a little big disappointed that her asthma may disqualify her from military service, but she's a tough kid!
I'm glad you liked this one!
It's...frankly my least popular piece, and I can understand why. But still, I really enjoyed writing it, so I'm glad you liked it too! 
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the fave!
I enjoyed this.
An interesting look at two similar but different characters.
How much the two groups intermingle due to SciTwi and Sunset is something something I dont know the word.
There attempts at friendship between there own group is a struggle but goes almost easier with their opposing group.
Im really liking the way you've developed their characters and backgrounds. And the world as well.
7880892 I think the reason for the friendships going easier with the opposing team is, at least in part, because they have at least one counterpart on the other team, each. Plus, The Shadowbolts are, at least in part, versions of the Main Six without character development, so there's some identifiability there. Rarity remembers what it was like to be like Sunny Flare, Rainbow Dash remembers what it was like to be like Indigo Zap, etcetera.
I'm glad you liked this one!
I had a lot of fun writing it. Thanks for reading!
7749576
You know you're in a vast minority of people who think like this. A lot of people absolutely ADORE Sunset after her redemption in Rainbow Rocks. Why do you think she has such a large fanbase these days and that people are still not used to seeing Starlight around? I think you are missing something crucial here...
8390946
Of course I know. However, until someone can explain to me what's actually good and interesting about Sunset's character in a way that allows me to at least understand, if not agree, I'll continue firmly believing that Sunset simply got to everyone by turning into this meek, flawless waifu in Rainbow Rocks, the effect of which was multiplied by contrasting her to her only other depiction - from the previous movie. Doesn't matter if it's the majority opinion: lots of people fall for cheap psychological tricks all the time.
I'm not sure why she didn't grab me as she did many others. I love Rainbow Rocks and EqG in general. However, I don't see anything to especially like about Sunset's character. She has no interesting flaws (there was a glimmer of one - in Friendship Games when she lost her temper. Guess what? Never happened again), no personality to speak of (she's the epitome of generic goody-two-shoes now). She doesn't make any sense: why has she completely abandoned Equestria and everyone she might have there? How did she turn from a two-dimensional evil bitch into a two-dimensional little angel? As far as I'm concerned, the only time Sunset is a good character is in some fanfics that actually make her into one.
Even if Scoots doesn't get accepted into the Wonderbolts, if they exist in EqG, she could fly for FedEx Express, National Airlines or UPS
Ok, major thumbs up for the Soylent Green reference
) so i dunno if SG has been compared to it before, but i appreciate it here nonetheless 
Ive never read Rainbow Factory (or Cupcakes either
9441810
Haha, I'm glad you enjoyed that! I don't know if that reference has been made anywhere else either...I think I read it on TVTropes at some point, so maybe I stole it from there? I'm not sure
I'm so glad you're enjoying these stories! thank you so much for reading!
Ohhh rainbow what did you do