Familial bonds: part two

by Darling Dearest

Defying gravity

Author's Note:

Any and all constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged.
I aim to post upcoming chapters as quickly as possible, though your patience is greatly apriciated.

It was a peaceful morning, ponies all across town getting on with their happy lives. Nopony would have noticed the two pegesi standing on a particularly large cloud overlooking a nearby lake. Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo stood there, high in the sky, the filly uncharacteristically nervous over what was to come.

“Okay Squirt, you can do this.”

“Really Rainbow? I’ve never been anywhere near to this height before. How will these little things even keep me airborne for more than two seconds?”

“It’ll be okay Scootaloo. You’re right, your wings are a little small to fly all on their own without help yet. But they won’t stay that way, an’ one day you’ll be able to launch yourself off the ground no problem, so don’t worry yourself. But for now, I thought that if you could launch yourself from somewhere already pretty high, your wings might have less work to do and you might be able to glide down to the ground. You just need to stay focused, and don’t try to fly, were only gliding for now, keep your wings out stretched and gently glide down to the edge of the river. Ya get me.”

“Yeah, I get ya, but why am I doing this over the river again?”

“Because, Scoots, water is a lot softer than ground, and if for whatever reason you fell, and I wasn’t able to catch you, I wouldn’t want ya getting’ hurt alright.”

Rainbow felt a small pressure on her left foreleg, as Scootaloo embraced it with a hug. She picked up the filly and put both her forelegs around her small body.

“Thanks for this Rainbow Dash, nopony ever believed in me before. It’s… nice. I actually think I’ll be able to fly one day, I never would’a thought that, or managed any of this without you.”

This comment caused a pang of guilt to accumulate inside Rainbow Dash, reminding her of her plight to discover the truth about Scootaloo’s home life. Was she really the only pony giving her this kind of encouragement? It had been two weeks since Rainbow had saved Scootaloo from going down that mountain with Scarlet Speeder, and starting her quest to find clues into Scootaloo’s home life. Though she had been largely unsuccessful. The only lead she had managed to obtain being from Cheeerilee, who showed a similar concern for Scootaloo’s home life, though her position as the filly’s teacher would have made any investigation look suspicious. She told Rainbow the location of Scootaloo’s house, and was sorry that she couldn’t reveal any other information that would allow Rainbow to find more answers. Rainbow had considered going to meet Scootaloo’s parents directly, but knew that she would decline if she asked for the filly’s permission, and didn’t want to betray her trust by going to see them without her knowledge. She knew that she wasn’t getting anywhere with her current strategy, she would have to try and talk to Scootaloo about her parents, as much as she knew the filly wouldn’t want to talk. She had to try.

“Say Squirt, I know it’s not related at all to what we’re doing, but… Are you okay? At home I mean. I’ve never seen you with your parents, like not even once. You just said yourself that you never received this kinda support before, not even from your folks? I mean, I got the most awesome parents ever, so it just seems a little odd to me, is all.”

Scootaloo noticeably cringed at the word “parents”. Jumping out of Rainbow’s forelegs.

“It’s okay Rainbow Dash, they just didn’t wanna get my hopes up, with my small wings an’ all. But now I’ve got you, so it’s fine… Really.”

Rainbow knew that Scootaloo was holding back from her. She would have pressed further, but knew that Scootaloo needed all of her courage to make this jump and didn’t want to deter her.

“Ha, if you say so Sport, just makin’ sure you’re okay. Now go on, I know better than anypony that you can do this, show me how awesome you are!”

Scootaloo approached the edge of the cloud, her hoofs trembling, and her mind turned to a frenzy. Yet she was still exited, she was finally about to defy gravity.

“Okay, too late for second guessing, I just gotta trust my instincts, close my eyes… And leap!”

In a rush of pure adrenaline, Scootaloo leaped of the cloud and stretched out her wings out as far as she could, she was finally going to prove THEM wrong. However, her adrenaline very quickly turned to fear, as the reality of her previous attempts kicked in. She was convinced that she was falling, that she had failed and finally proven to everypony that she would never fly. She worried that nopony would ever take her seriously again! Or even worse, Rainbow Dash would stop believing in her and stop being her sister all together! Though as she slowly opened her eyes, a giant, gleeful smile entered her face as she finally realised. She had done it, she was gliding. Rainbow had caught up to her sister in an instant and was now flying below her, just so she could be there in case the air resistance became too much for the filly to bare.

“You’re doin’ it Scoots, you’re actually doin’ it!”

“Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This is INCREDIBLE!”

“You’re doin’ great! But stay focused now, we wouldn’t want you to fall after getting’ this far.”

Scootaloo remained focused throughout the course of the glide, keeping her wings in the exact position Rainbow Dash had shown her and pulling them back ever so slightly to arrive at a peaceful landing. Upon Scootaloo reaching the ground, Rainbow lost any resemblance of her usual cool, stallion like persona and picked up Scootaloo for a hug, spinning her around with a feminine squeal projecting from her lungs.

“Oh my Celestia! Scootaloo, you finally did it, you can glide now. And before you know it you’ll actually be able to fly! I’m so proud of you!”

Rainbow barely sounded like her usual self, her excitement making sound more akin to a foal at Hearts warming.

“You really think I’ll be able to fly one-day Rainbow?”

“You kiddin’ me? I know so! You tell nopony this, but I’m convinced you’re gonna be as good as me one day! We’ll be the best flight partners in all of Equestria. An’ when it’s just you and I defying gravity, they’ll never bring us down.”

Scootaloo was on the verge of tears from Rainbow’s encouragement. Rainbow pulled her in for a hug, indulging in a moment of complete bliss as her pride for the young filly overwhelmed her. Though this quickly broke, with Rainbow using her intuition to realise that Scootaloo’s home life may have been worse than what she initially anticipated. The amount of comfort the filly was taking in Rainbow’s love and encouragement made it look as if she really had been told, by her own parents, that she would never be able to fly, and Rainbow really was the first pony to show her the support she needed. Though her pride and happiness remained, the pang of guilt she had felt on the cloud also returned. It was clear to her that Scootaloo’s parents were denying her the care that she deserved. Whilst she didn’t want to ruin this perfect moment between the two of them, she couldn’t ignore this any longer. She pulled Scootaloo in close and looked her directly in the eye, with a soft, yet stern expression.

“Scootaloo, I want you to tell me what you’re going through at home. I mean, it’s clear that I’m the only pony givin’ ya this kinda support. An’ I love you squirt, I’ll always be there. But you should be getting’ love from your parents to. It’s their job to make sure you have everything you need, and to encourage you when you’re not feelin’ so tough. An’ it’s ‘cause I love you that I can’t just ignore you when somethin’ ‘s clearly up. So what’s goin’ on Scoots? Please tell me.”

“Look Rainbow Dash, you really don’t need to worry about me… Sure my parents told me I’d never fly… That I should just accept reality… They just didn’t want me to get my hopes up… But, now I’ve proved them wrong, and I’m sure things ‘ll change. So, thank you Rainbow, I never would’a been able to do any of this without your help. You’re the best big sister ever.”

Rainbow gave Scootaloo a proud, loving look and held her tight, knowing that the love they shared was genuine and could never be matched by anything. She knew there was more to Scootaloo’s parents and home life than simple pessimism, and that she would have to find out what, for her younger sister’s wellbeing. Though she simply didn’t have it in her to break such a perfect moment of joy. The two stayed in the hug for a long time, as whilst neither liked anything traditionally feminine, they both enjoyed their little heartfelt moments together. However, Scootaloo did eventually had to leave, having made appointments with her friends to assist other ponies with their cutie mark problems. Rainbow flew the filly to the club house where she worked within a matter of seconds, Scootaloo enjoying the brisk air racing through her mane, adding to her desire to one-day be able to fly. Rainbow watched the door of the club house close as Scootaloo engaged in a meeting with her friends. This left Rainbow with the rest of the day to herself, whilst she usually enjoyed her days off by napping, inventing creative new areal tricks, and improving her speed, she knew that she had to further her investigation. Her morning with Scootaloo had only developed her lust to discover what was happening to the filly behind closed doors, if she wasn’t receiving the love and support that she deserved from her parents, Rainbow had to know why. Though at her current rate, she was likely going to have to visit them personally, something she was very much against.

An idea suddenly entered Rainbow’s head, allowing a smile to enter her face, reminding her that there was still hope of getting Scootaloo to tell her what was happening. With the help of the right two ponies. She looked up to the sky and took off like a bullet to the luckily nearby city of Cloudsdale, knowing exactly what she had to do.

Comments

[Ellington]

RD's parents are not awesome they're punks.

[Darling Dearest]

8553224
But are they not the most amazing, accepting and loving ponies in all of Equestria?

[Ellington]

8553432
No they're hooligans. RD didn't tell them about her life because she was smart enough to know they'd ruin it like they did. Her parents are dangers to themselves and those around them. RD should've spanked Scootaloo for unleashing those beasts on everyone, and the Wonderbutts should've pressed charges against those two for trespassing and public endangerment.

They shot fireworks in a crowded building, interrupted every Wonderbutt appearance, and even shoved them out of the sky. Who do these writers think they are saying RD is the wrongdoer.

[Darling Dearest]

8554062
I suppose you have a point. Rainbow's parents were needlessly reckless in that scene and I believe that it is a detriment to the episode that Rainbow's parents were not punished for their actions in this specific scene. However, I think that they, whilst undeniably eccentric, are otherwise just presenting the qualities of adorable, supporting, over the top parents, showing Rainbow unconditional love all the time and asking for nothing in return, something that some ponies such as Scootaloo can only dream of.
Though I do get Rainbow's annoyance, she never was one for the "mushy stuff", in fact I think if the fireworks scene were removed, we would have seen a more natural's progression of Rainbow's anger, until it eventually exploded in the locker room scene. But I ultimately do believe that Rainbow was in the wrong in that episode, given that she had always received unconditional love, whereas other ponies suffer from parental neglect. In addition, whilst it isn't shown in the episode, it is suggested that she never did openly speak out about her issues to her parents, thus there would've been no reason, for them to tone down their support. As they say in the episode "we were just being supported", there was no reason for them to believe that they were being over the top.
So whilst I respect your opinion, as it is well founded, I respectfully disagree. Also, whilst this is unrelated, I've been reading your work, and I must say that it is of quality.

[Ellington]

8554971
Do keep in mind that it wasn't just the fireworks scene. They broke into the Wonderbutts place, interrupted every Wonderbutt appearance etc. RD was not in the wrong anymore than Pinkie was in the wrong in Griffon The Brush Off, Twilight in Twilight time, or Fluttershy in Fluttershy Leans In.

How was RD in the wrong for being victimized by her own parents? What they did was not love, it was harassment. And even if their 'love' was as influential on her life as the episodes says, that explains why she destroyed the weather factory, RD's a product of bad parenting.

[Ellington]

8554971
Of course I'd bring up something only so-so related to this fic. 😒

[Darling Dearest]

8555606
Again, I respectfully disagree, I think Bow and Windy's actions were the writers exaggeration of showing why Rainbow was angry, and I agree that they probably weren't as strict on Rainbow as they could've been in her foalhood. But I ultimately think that they did what they did out of love, wanting her to feel supported and welcomed.

[OmniFox]

RD's parents are awesome to me.