Chapter 22: Snapshots
A yawn preceded Rainbow Dash’s appearance in the living room, the pegasus now too used to early mornings to sleep in anymore. She flopped down onto the couch, coffee mug grasped in her wing, and took a deep swig, the rising sun glinting off the record player in the corner.
‘Scootaloo’s probably gonna sleep in,’ she figured. ‘She partied hard with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle last night.’
The cyan mare chuckled to herself, taking another sip of coffee. Ever since she had bought that record player for her filly’s tenth birthday, Scootaloo had had a hard time staying away from it. Swore up and down she could feel the music tingling her feathers. What followed was the first of many evenings the filly spent leaping and dancing through the living room as the same record played over and over. Rainbow had to promise to let her pick out the next vinyl just to get her to go to sleep.
And she did. The filly’s growing love for music prompted her guardian to take her to her first concert, an easy-going, classical showcase. Rainbow herself couldn’t deny the impressiveness of all the instruments working together under the guidance of one pony. Scootaloo’s delight only grew when she found out they were selling records of the show afterward.
Rainbow hummed to herself as she polished off her mug. ‘It really is a shame she’s sensitive to rock concerts.’
When they had tried branching out to other forms of music, they had tried all different genres. What eventually led to a rock concert quickly turned into Scootaloo having to remove her processors, screeching guitars and pounding bass too much for the little filly. To Rainbow’s guilty relief, the records were perfectly fine, when they had tried again with the player, now able to control the volume.
Sighing, Rainbow stood up and trotted back into the kitchen, making sure the present was where she left it. She checked the clock, and smiled to herself, her prediction proven correct.
Scootaloo was fifteen minutes late.
She stretched out her neck and traipsed back into the living room, her eyes landing on the wall of photo frames. She chuckled at the first one she saw, lazily traipsing over and blowing away a bit of dust.
The smiling faces of her friends greeted her, a night that changed their lives forever frozen in a single moment. She could still feel Scootaloo’s little giggles against her chest as Twilight’s new wings accidentally fwip’ed her little sister in the face, the newly-made alicorn unsure how to control her wing muscles. It would take two weeks of lessons and constant encouragement to keep her eggheaded friend airborne for more than a minute, her friend finally beginning to feel more comfortable with them after a month.
As her eyes left the one picture, they landed on another, and her heart folded with nostalgia as she gazed upon a picture of one of Scootaloo’s proudest moments, her little filly grinning at the camera as she held a purple ribbon up into the air.
She snorted. “Scootaloo is lucky I don’t mind asking the awkward questions around here.”
“Hey, Rare!”
“Oh, Rainbow Dash! To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I, uh…need some fabric.”
Rarity blinked, her glasses slipping down her nose in her shock. A hoof reset them before they could fall, a cleared throat bringing Rarity’s thoughts out of her shock. “And…why do you need this fabric?”
Rainbow shrugged, a sheepish blush rising in her cheeks as she rubbed the back of her head. “It’s kinda hard to explain. Scoots needs a fabric that you can’t really see through, but you also don’t realize you’re touching.”
The fashionista’s head tilted in thought, her mind cranking out question after question. “What is she using this for? If I know its purpose, I may be able to better help you.”
“Uh…” Rainbow shuffled her hooves. “Scootaloo wants it to be a secret. It’s really important to her that no pony knows until she shows it. But…it needs to be stretched over something, while still hiding it.”
A low hum escaped Rarity as she tapped her chin. “What color?”
“White.”
Rarity couldn’t help but cringe, her friend’s lack of…fabulosity shining through once again. “Okay, then…something stretchy, yet opaque…that holds no resistance to touch…I’ve got it!”
A grin crept up Rainbow’s face as she watched Rarity trot away, her hoof bobbing along her bolts of fabric, her magic finally alighting with a nod of approval. “This should do it.” Sapphire aura unrolled the fabric and gave it a stretch. “Commonly called ‘stretchy silk’, this should be what you’re looking for. I’ve used this for a few of Sapphire Shores concerts, and now that I think of it, she mentioned it being very lightweight. I think you’ll find this satisfactory.”
Rainbow stepped up to the bench while Rarity held the fabric out. She closed her eyes, reaching for the fabric…
Only to feel nothing.
She grinned to herself, knowing she had passed the point where the fabric had been levitating right in front of her, and yet had felt nothing. With a sigh of relief at her quest yielding such quick results, she opened her eyes to find her hoof stretching the fabric towards Rarity. “This is perfect, Rare! Seriously, we were completely lost about this.”
“Oh, of course, darling! It’s my pleasure to help you two out. Although, I must say, you do have my curiosity held captive. Whatever in Equestria would you need only this for?”
The rainbow-maned guardian only grinned as she told Rarity how much fabric she needed. “You’ll just have to wait and see. But trust me, it’s gonna be awesome!”
Rainbow chuckled to herself, running her hoof over the red ribbon held in her filly’s hoof, the two posing for a picture in front of the finished product of her hard work.
“Oh, Scootaloo…” Twilight began as she stepped up to the filly’s piece, “it’s lovely.”
“Thanks!” Scootaloo chirped, Rainbow Dash once again having to hide a snigger behind her hoof, knowing even her eggheaded friend would not be able to decipher the artwork her filly had made.
Little orange chest puffed out in pride, cheeky grin splitting her face, Scootaloo stood on a little pedestal beside a blank canvas hanging on the wall next to her, the ten-year-old confidently displaying what to every passing pony could not argue…was a whole lot of nothing.
Words failing to reach Twilight’s brain, the alicorn finally managed an uneasy smile. “Well…I hope tonight goes well for you, Scootaloo.”
“Thanks! I’m sure it will!”
With the purple bookworm stepping away, Rainbow snorted as she leaned to Scootaloo. “She so didn’t get it.”
“I know, right?!” Scootaloo giggled. “I can’t believe I’m actually gonna have to explain this. I mean, when have I ever made art like this?”
As the two shared a laugh, an earth pony mare approached, haughtily clearing her throat. “I’m sorry, I fail to see what is so funny about entering an art contest with a blank canvas.”
The mare’s tone killed the humor within Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus straightening up to defend Scootaloo. “First of all, this was actually a mandatory thing for the school. And if you want in on the joke, maybe you’d like to be the first to actually ask the artist to explain the piece?”
The mare–Harshwhinny, by the badge–raised an eyebrow, and sighed. “Alright, I’ll bite. Please explain your piece.”
Scootaloo smiled and puffed out her chest, stepping forward and delivering the lines she had practised with Rainbow Dash. “As you can see, I am blind.” She paused as Rainbow snickered and Harshwhinny rolled her eyes. “And as such, I cannot create things, nor do I have a sense of art as everypony else does. I have to navigate the world by touch. So, to illustrate this, I created a piece that forces the pony to see things through my eyes. Or rather, my hoof.”
Officially intrigued–she had to admit–Harshwhinny hummed and made a mark on her clipboard. “And how does one view this piece?”
Scootaloo took a step toward her submission gesturing for the judge to come forward. “Please close your eyes and touch the canvas.”
Harshwhinny sighed internally, but did as she was told. She stepped up to the canvas, closed her eyes, and reached out her hoof.
She frowned in concentration, her hoof touching something that was most definitely not the cloth of canvas. Her hoof caught an edge, and she traced it, meeting another line, then another, the curves gently rising and falling as her hoof circled the area, condensing and tightening as they reached the middle. Something clicked in her brain, and her eyes flew open, her gaze finding the artist and her guardian. “Is this a rose?”
The filly’s bright smile gave her her answer. “It’s not the only one.”
Harshwhinny blinked, closing her eyes and her hoof diving back in to find another circular cluster of thin bumps next to the first, closing her eyes as her mind built the image as she felt it. She could almost smell the roses as the canvas of her mind’s eye filled with each head that revealed itself to her.
When she had finally reached the edge, her eyes finally reopened, seeing the small dent her hoof made in the false canvas that hid the artwork beneath it, a profound sense of understanding befalling the mare that had regulated and judged many a competition.
A canvas was supposed to translate what the artist saw in the world. This one was blank…and yet…
Harshwhinny’s attention finally left the canvas and her own thoughts as she jotted down a note. “Well, I hope the results are in your favor.”
Ponies, both judge and viewer, came around to view Scootaloo’s piece, all holding various reactions to her work. Scrunched noses and wide eyes intermingled that night, playing with Rainbow’s emotions and making her oddly anxious for the results of the contest.
She wouldn't remember all the names that night. The first place prize went to a filly with an impressive talent named Toola Roola. At the end, with Scootaloo shrugging off her mild disappointment, Harshwhinny took the microphone and announced a final reward of the night, one intended to be given to the foal who inspired the judges and viewers.
Rainbow would forever remember the way her hooves locked up when Scootaloo’s name was called.
To this day, her work of art and the ribbon she earned hung in her room.
A fond hum rose from Rainbow’s throat as her hoof left the frame, her eyes landing on the broad, multicolored stretch of landscape that was Flower Lake atop Haven’s Point.
Rainbow couldn’t help but cringe every time she thought of their first camping trip, the beauty of the destination nearly soured by the campfire stories told along the way.
The cyan mare swooped around her friends, sending a whirlwind to the three ten-year-old fillies huddled together on their log.
“And then Flash Magnus swooped down from the clouds, outflying the falling dragon and barely escaping with his tail from being crushed by it. They say the impact of its collision with the earth can still be felt today in quiet tremors of the ground.”
She grinned at the looks of awe on Sweetie Belle’s and Apple Bloom’s faces, the expression faltering at the confusion on Scootaloo’s.
“I don’t get it,” the filly confessed. “Why would it shake the ground? And why would have to outfly it? Why’s the dragon a threat, anyway?”
Rainbow mentally kicked herself. It had been a long time since she’d forgotten to properly describe something for Scootaloo. “Right, sorry. So, you know Spike?”
“Yeah?”
“Okay, so…take his scales and wings and stuff, and put it on Princess Celestia portions….then times a hundred for size.”
Scootaloo blinked. “Oh.” It took a moment for the image to sink in. In Scootaloo’s mind, Princess Celestia sprouted scales, Spike’s head popping on top of the lengthening neck as her legs stretched to an unfathomable length, Scootaloo’s expression leaving nothing untold of the horrors unfolding in her own mind, the mutated dragon Princess flopping and flailing around as she peers around clouds in search of a pegasus a fraction of a fraction smaller than her.
“Scootaloo? You okay?”
The filly wasn’t sure who had spoken to her, finding her limbs uncontrollably shaking as she clung to Apple Bloom. She couldn’t describe the terror that surged through her as she tried to get her voice under control enough to speak.
“Th-there’s…there’s s-still dra-dragons like t-that?!”
Rainbow snorted into her hoof, remembering how long it took to get Scootaloo to sleep that night. Both pegasi were exhausted the following morning, and barely spoke until they finally reached the peak of Haven’s Point, Scootaloo’s excitement at all the different smells and textures from the flowers managing to wake Rainbow up a bit as she listed off flower after flower as her little sister dragged her around, grateful for the guide under her wing that she had grabbed at the trailhead.
Rainbow’s eyes landed on a frame that still brought a tear to her eye. All of Ponyville had come out that day in support of the three fillies that had run amuck around town. Her heart fluttered as she remembered the excitement.
She scooped up her little sister, her wings moving on autopilot as she whooped through the sky, Scootaloo hugging her neck tightly.
“I’m so proud of you, Scoots!”
“Thanks, Rainbow!”
It was small, but she could hear it. The slightest hesitation, but one that told Rainbow more than words could.
Under the guise of celebration, Rainbow lifted Scootaloo away from the cheering crowd and to a quiet little cloud. She set the filly down in her lap and smoothed down her mane. “Everything alright, squirt?”
The filly tried to blink back her tears, her mind swimming as she tried to think how to say what was wrong. “I don’t feel anything.”
Rainbow frowned. “Well, most ponies don’t feel any different when they ge—“
“No. I mean…literally.”
A chill passed through Rainbow’s heart, the happy emotions of the moment vanishing in an instant. “Oh…right.”
Scootaloo sniffed, snuggling into her sister’s chest. “I know you can’t feel yours, but I was hoping I’d be able to feel mine. Maybe not like with my hoof or anything, but…maybe through my flank, you know.”
The mare’s heart flooded with sympathy as she held her filly close. She couldn’t imagine not being able to see the very thing that represented who she was. As she nuzzled comfort into Scootaloo’s mane, her gears began to turn, praying Scootaloo would find solace in the promise of a solution.
It was a couple days before Rainbow could talk to Twilight about any kind of solution, one she was happy to see her friend had already been working on. Later that week, the mares presented the filly with the product of their hard work.
Scootaloo eased the top off the box and tenderly felt inside. Her feather touch grated over the tissue paper until she felt something shift with the bump of her toe. She grabbed it, scooping the shield shape into her hooves and pulling it close.
Her delicate touch traced the outer edge of the shape, venturing in and sliding over the polished wooden surface, finding a straight indent running up the shape. She followed it to discover another stop, and traced around the raised edge, the piece in the middle making the shape of a feather. Her breath catching, she ventured closer to the center and found a couple dips within the feather creating a pair of swirls reminiscent of half a heart.
As she formed her mental image, a grin crept up her face. She looked up in the direction Rainbow last was. “Is this my cutie mark?”
“Sure is, Scoots!” Rainbow pulled Scootaloo into a tight hug. “Twilight worked some magic so you could see what your cutie mark looks like. Do you like it?”
“I love it!”
Scootaloo insisted on bringing the shape to school for the next month, where it sat on the corner of her desk so she could fiddle with it as she listened to Miss Cheerilee give instruction. When she had finally had her fill of the comfort the object brought her, she sat it beside the updated statuettes of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
Rainbow’s own reflection interrupted her thoughts of Scootaloo, her acceptance letter into the Wonderbolt staring at her through the glass.
Scootaloo was nine when Rainbow Dash had gotten the acceptance letter to the Academy, and after over a year of training, she had finally been accepted into the Wonderbolts, her family and friends conspiring with her little sister to throw her a surprise party at the Cloudominium.
She would be forever grateful to Spitfire for including Scootaloo in the practice the day she was unable to find a foalsitter, her captain guiding the Wonderbolts through their training with the whooping, squealing filly on her back. Hardly any of them could completely focus as the mares and stallions grinned and chuckled at the filly’s elation, Scootaloo making many new friends that day.
One of which she made after she turned eleven, at the annual Wonderbolt Summer Dinner.
Scootaloo traced her hoof through the water spot left behind by the shifted glass, letting herself get lost in thought as she swayed her head to the beat of the music and felt the raised stitches of the fabric, swearing she could hear Rainbow’s laughs as she talked to Soarin.
She grumbled to herself, half happy that Rainbow Dash got asked to dance, and half jealous that she couldn’t join her big sister.
“Is it okay if I sit here?”
Scootaloo jolted at the sudden auditory presence. “Oh, sorry!” said a colt’s voice. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s fine,” Scootaloo breathed a chuckle as her shoulders slowly relaxed. “Uh, sure…”
The chair next to her creaked, and the tablecloth tugged a bit to her left as whoever it was pulled themselves into the chair. “So, who dragged you into this?”
Scootaloo snorted. “Rainbow Dash is my sister. None of her friends could watch me tonight.”
The voice snorted a hum. “Yeah, same. Thunderlane’s my big brother. He swears I need to socialize more, and then he brings me to things like this where I can’t even socialize.”
A giggle bubbled its way out of Scootaloo’s chest. “Yeah…that’s kinda dumb.”
The colt chuckled. “I’m Rumble, by the way.”
“Oh, hi! My name’s Scootaloo.” Her ear flicked as she felt something move beside her. “Uh…” she gave a nervous chuckle, reaching for where she could only assume Rumble was reaching for a hoofshake.
“Oh, sorry,” Rumble said, and his hoof touched hers, lightly shaking it. “I, uh…I don’t want to sound rude, but…can you see anything?”
“No,” Scootaloo replied simply, offering the colt a smile. “And that wasn’t rude, don’t worry. It’s okay to ask questions out of curiosity. I’ve been blind ever since I was born.”
“Oh…okay, cool–” Rumble suddenly stammered as he tried to recover what he’d said. “I mean, uh…it’s not cool that you can’t see, I’m just saying it’s cool to, uh, learn that about you.” The colt groaned, and Scootaloo imagined he was hitting himself on the head, and couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s okay,” she chuckled. “I know what you meant.”
Rumble gave a nervous chuckle. “Sorry, I just…I’ve never met a blind pony before.”
“And I’ve never seen a socially-awkward colt before,” Scootaloo returned.
Rumble gave another chuckle, before his laugh suddenly stopped. “Wait, did you just–”
He was cut off by a mad giggle from Scootaloo, and the colt couldn’t help but join in at the self-made mirth. “Sorry, sorry, that was pretty bad,” the filly giggled.
“Eh, I thought it was funny,” Rumble shrugged.
“Okay, good. Sometimes ponies find my sense of humor a little…weird.”
“Self-deprecating?” Rumble offered.
“Yep.” Scootaloo emphasized her answer with a curt nod. After a sheepish giggle, she continued, “Speaking of can’t see…is it alright if I feel your face? It’s how I tell what ponies look like.”
“Oh, uh…y-yeah, sure,” Rumble stumbled, and Scootaloo reached out her hoof. She felt Rumble take it, and smiled patiently as the colt brought her touch to his face. She took in the shape of his muzzle, the curve of his eyes and angle of his jaw. She chuckled softly at his swept-back hair, finding his ears and trailing a hoof down the back of his neck and finding his wings.
“Thanks,” Scootaloo smiled, settling back down into her seat.
“Yeah, no problem,” Rumble answered. “Do you want me to tell you how you look?”
A bark of laughter escaped Scootaloo’s throat, Rumble chuckling along with her. “No, I have a pretty good idea of what my face looks like.”
“Okay,” Rumble chuckled. He looked up at the dancing, mingling Wonderbolts, finding his brother’s face as aristocratic ponies passed by. His eyes searched, finding Rainbow Dash as she let out a laugh, dancing with Soarin amidst a few other couples.
“So, uh…” he asked shyly. “You wanna dance?”
“Um…” Scootaloo shrank into herself. “I kinda…can’t. I mean, I can, just…not what everypony else does. The dancing I do at home…I don’t feel comfortable doing that around ponies I don’t know.”
Rumble hummed to himself. “I…think I can show you how. What everypony else is doing right now seems pretty easy.”
“Uh…I–I don’t,” Scootaloo insisted as she squirmed in her seat, “I don’t want to go out to the dance floor. There’s too many ponies, and too much movement.”
“That’s fine,” Rumble smiled. “We can stay right here, where they won’t be paying attention to us.”
At once, Scootaloo seemed to relax immensely, her shoulders lowering and head raising a bit. A moment passed as she thought, Rumble unable to take his eyes off Scootaloo’s own as they jolted back and forth as if looking for something.
“Um, okay,” she answered shakily. “Can you help me down?”
“Yeah, sure.” Rumble hopped down from his chair, reaching up and taking Scootaloo’s hoof. The filly held on, her other hoof gently feeling the edge of the seat before she leaned on Rumble, the colt supporting her gently as she eased her way out of the chair.
Once her hooves were on the ground, Rumble pulled her a bit away from the table. “Okay, we should have plenty of room here,” he said once the two were away from the tables. He looked up, making sure he could still see the ponies on the dancefloor from where they were. “Stand on my hooves.”
“Uh, what?” Scootaloo blinked. “Are you sure? I don’t wanna hurt you.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” Rumble assured. He moved his hoof so hers now rested on top of his. “Go ahead, put the other one on.”
Scootaloo hesitated, scrubbing her other hoof forward. Rumble moved his other hoof so it was directly in Scootaloo’s path, and she quickly made contact, sliding her hoof on top of Rumble’s own.
“Okay, so…” Rumble trailed as he looked up at the dancing adults. “First, you move your hoof like this.” Rumble shifted his left hoof forward, bringing Scootaloo’s right hoof back a step. “Then it comes back forward, and then the other hoof goes in the other direction.” As he spoke, he moved his right hoof back, bringing Scootaloo’s left hoof forward. “Then, uh…we both take a step back.” He slipped his left hoof out from Scootaloo’s right. “So I step back with this hoof, and you step back with your right hoof.”
Scootaloo nodded, doing what he said. “Like this?”
“Yeah,” Rumble smiled, taking his own step back. “Then we step forward at the same time, staying a bit to the left so our right shoulders touch.” He stepped forward again, slightly turning his body as he waited for Scootaloo to do the same.
The filly stepped forward, turning too far to her left. Rumble reached out a hoof, lightly touching her shoulder. “Not that far,” he corrected kindly, guiding her shoulder to his, Scootaloo’s eyes lighting up in understanding once contact was made.
“Now what?” Scootaloo asked, beginning to gain excitement for the new activity.
“We take a few steps so we circle around each other so we end up on the opposite side we were standing on.” Rumble slowly took a step, encouraging Scootaloo to join in the motion with him. “Good! And then it goes again.”
The two twelve-year-olds repeated their steps over and over again, their confidence sendi g them faster and faster as they forgoed the music and simply fell into step, finally stumbling to a close with sweaty foreheads and panting breaths.
“I…I need some water,” Scootaloo panted.
“Same.” Rumble took her hoof and guided her back to the table, making sure she knew where her chair was before clambering back onto his own.
As the foals gulped down their punch, Rainbow Dash grinned from the dance floor. Still dancing with her, Soarin followed her gaze to the foals at the table. “Do you wanna go check on her?”
Rainbow shook her head. “Nah, she’s fine. Looks like she’s made a friend.”
Soarin chuckled. “Looks like it. So, you’re not worried about her being bored anymore?”
The rainbow-maned mare smirked. “Nope. Looks like you’re stuck with me a little longer.”
The music began to shift into a more upbeat tune, Soarin grinned. “You won’t find me complaining. I do wish we were wearing our Wonderbolt gear, though.”
A snort lurched from Rainbow’s nose. “Eh, not the first time I’ve had to wear stuffy getup like this. I like to upstage the fancy guys on the dance floor to make up for making me wear things only Rarity can name.”
The laughter that rusted from Soarin was contagious, and made Rumble look in their direction. “I’m gonna use that one later. Let’s stamp some wood!”
From the table, Scootaloo frowned through a hum as her ears flattened, trying to cover her microphones.
“You okay?” Rumble inquired.
“It’s too loud,” Scootaloo mumbled, cringing at a trumpet sting. “Can we go away?”
Rumble nodded, mentally kicking himself as he jumped up and took her hoof. “Yeah, the back table’s aren’t so close to the speakers.”
He held her hood and awkwardly steered her around the tables, leading her to the back corner where a window overlooked the royal courtyard. He opened his mouth to comment on the nice view, only to close it again as he realized she couldn’t see it. His sinking heart gained a bit of air again as he saw her instantly relax at being further away from the loud music.
Scootaloo smiled in his direction. “So, how long has your brother been a Wonderbolt?”
With her question, whatever tension Rumble felt eased as he answered and asked in return, the foals conversing through several songs as the grown-ups danced and mingled the night away.
“Um…” Rumble trailed, embarrassed to finally ask a question that had been on his mind.
Scootaloo smiled patiently, putting a hoof on his shoulder. “It’s okay,” she encouraged. “What is it?”
“Isn’t it, I don’t know…scary? Not being able to see anything?”
Scootaloo’s head tilted, her eyes twitching about as she thought. “Not really,” she replied simply. “Yeah, I can’t see anything, but…I’ve spent my whole life figuring out how to find my way around, so…” She smiled, “Plus, I have Rainbow Dash and my friends! They help me out a lot, too.”
Rumble smiled. “That’s good! Must be nice to have so many friends.”
The filly’s head tilted at this. “You don’t have a lot of friends?”
“No, not really.” Rumble shrugged. “Cloudsdale’s great and all…but all the other foals just ask about my brother. It’s just ‘Thunderlane this’ and ‘Thunderlane that’. No pony asks about me. I get that it’s cool to live with a Wonderbolt, but…you know…”
A frown creased Scootaloo’s face. “Yeah, I get it. I don’t…really have that problem, probably because Rainbow just became a Wonderbolt this year. But I understand. That would be really annoying if that happened to me.” The conversation fell into an awkward silence before she piped up again. “How about this? Whenever we meet up here, we don’t talk about Wonderbolt stuff at all. We’ll talk about things we like, since everypony else is so busy with Rainbow and Thunderlane.”
The smile on Rumble’s face grew as she finished, becoming more genuine as he realized he had just made a new, true friend. “Yeah…yeah, that sounds great!”
Scootaloo grinned, pulling Rumble into a hug. “Awesome!” A giggle escaping her, she added, “And if you ever come to Ponyville, I know a ton of ponies who’d like to meet you.”
As beautiful as the conversation and budding friendship was, it would unfortunately not last as Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane came looking for their respective siblings, the party close to over.
Rainbow Dash blushed as she remembered how that night ended. She had listened to Scootaloo’s story with a distracted mind, her clever foal picking up on her hesitations and odd tone, finally getting out of her that Soarin had asked her on a date that night. The night of, the stallion was properly introduced to her, Scootaloo putting on a tough filly act and promising “pain unlike you’ve ever felt before” should he break Rainbow’s heart.
She never needed to make good on her threat, the two happily together even three years later.
Rainbow’s eyes fell to the dress her filly wore in the picture, the same one from the wedding in Canterlot. Her filly had grown so much over the years, the dress long ago donated, and Scootaloo had yet to wear another dress since.
Not for lack of trying, either. Rainbow had brought her sister to Carousel Boutique several times, but the filly had gotten surprisingly demure at the thought of trying on dresses and other clothes, and kept trying to hide when she heard other patrons around them. The last attempt had been months ago, and ended with Scootaloo nearly in tears after the eighth outfit, the filly once again claiming it didn’t feel right or was too scratchy or whatever other excuse she could make while still maintaining her composure.
A frown crossed Rainbow’s lips, reminding her of all the ways she had found she couldn’t help Scootaloo with no matter how hard she tried. When analogies and connecting perspectives couldn’t connect the dots and Scootaloo’s mind, only serving to highlight the remaining ignorance in Rainbow’s mind at what it was like for Scootaloo on a day-by-day basis.
She had taken comfort in knowing that she would always be there for her, even if she couldn’t help her figure things out.
She forced her hooves to move, lest she drown in her thoughts, passing picture after picture, moment after moment.
Her first Wonderbolt performance.
Their first escape room attempt.
The Daring Do-a-thon.
Scootaloo performing poetry for her classmates.
A group picture the summer the Cutie Mark Crusaders put together a camp to help other foals find their special talents.
The school play.
The talent show.
Scootaloo dancing alone in the living room, her movements fluid as the still frame threatened to move to allo Scootaloo to finish her solo.
Rainbow’s ear flicked at the familiar hoofsteps trotting down the stairs. She looked up in time to see Scootaloo step down onto the first floor of the Cloudominium.
Her fourteen-year-old filly now stood at her chin, purple locks hanging in loose curls down to her shoulders. Her cloudy eyes were every bit as active as they had been the day she met the filly that had stolen her heart.
She waved a lazy wing in the teenager’s direction, and her stirred mane signaled the message received. Scootaloo stopped with a grin as Rainbow approached, the older mare pressing her forehead to Scootaloo’s own in a gentle nuzzle.
“Happy Gotcha Day, Scootaloo.”
Scootaloo hummed a chuckle, slipping her guardian into a tight hug.
“Happy Gotcha Day, Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash pressed a kiss to her filly’s temple, her affection for the filly having only grown over the years. “I’ve got something for you on the table.”
Her charge chuckled. “Something awesome?”
“You know it!”
The young mare playfully rolled her eyes, breaking away from her guardian enough to share a smile with her. “Alright, lead the way.”
Rainbow grinned as she took Scootaloo’s hoof, leading her to the dining room. “Get ready for the best end of summer ever, kiddo!”
“We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work.”
- John 9:4 CSB
Hello, everyone! Long time no see!
Sorry about the wait, a couple parts of this chapter didn’t want to be written.
Speaking of, I tried to make this chapter as cohesive as possible, and I apologize if it felt a little choppy. As you can see, it’s meant to be a series of scenes that took place over the course of several years. My reasons for doing this is so the story wouldn’t drag out too long and to prevent myself getting bored writing it. So, compilation chapter!
If you guys would like, I can go into a bit more detail with some of the events that have passed. They won’t be posted to the main story, but I can make a little extras series if you guys want more of those stories.
What do you guys think of Scootaloo’s cutie mark in this story? It’s more based around her feather-light touch that she navigates the world with and the swirl represents her newfound love for dancing. I chose to keep their canon group talent for finding other’s special talents because it will become relevant later on in the story. I may go ahead and do a side story to that moment leading up to their own marks appearing.
With all that said (I’m horrible at author’s notes
), I will see you all in the next chapter!
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Oooohhh we're getting teenaged scoots now???? I wanna see where this is going
Also, here's my legally required whining as a soarindash hater, kept at a minimum cuz so far I've loved everything else on this fic
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It’s mostly to illustrate what has changed over the course of 6-7 years.
Fair enough. I know not everyone is, but if it helps, the SoarinDash will be kept to a minimum in the story
I would love an extra's story!
Scootaloo would probably love jamming to music with DJ-P0N3 (provided that volume control is a thing, since EDM and bombastic bass sounds are a regular combination).
Man, I hadn't even thought about how she wouldn't be able to see her mark. That's a mood right there.
Wait, hetero Dash,? Dislike /j
Where Foggy
It's nice to see Scootaloo growing up and making new friends.
Glad to see more, hope to see more soon. Need to know what's up with Foggy Day somepoint.
Are you kidding? That cutie mark looks great for her! Can't wait to see Rainbow training Scootaloo to fly it's going to be amazing.
Here's a song that will make you stronger. Enjoy!
https://youtu.be/MrcIN54E7Kk?si=IB7PfPPrnfKwGaxF
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Foggy told rainbow scootaloo's third dissabilty are her wings. Foggy told her its unlikly scoots will be able to fly. Also flying blind is not really save but we can always hope they find a way.
I found the time skip here pretty confusing - the start of the chapter talks about Scootaloo being introduced to music on her tenth birthday, and the discussion about concerts gave me the impression it's been a few months since then. When you mentioned a five year skip after the date with Soarin, I had to scroll back up because i still thought Scotaloo was currently ten.
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Oof, thanks for catching that! I changed the timeline in the middle of writing the chapter, and I forgot to correct that one. I’ll double check everything again and fix it up.
Yo 😢 my heart is warmed by this, especially the shipsssss, two of my favorites too! But also seeing the years go by, as I was not expecting to skip over so many so fast. Has Twilight become ruler in this story? The cutie-mark camp story, is Rumble a part of that in this? Cuz it seems unlikely he would act like that after becoming friends with Scoots. I love this story so much and I was literally silent squealing over Scoot and Rumble's dance, and the implications of Rainbow X Soarin ( five years? That boy better purpose soon! Lol ). But OMG WHERE'S FOGGY? 😱 It's been literally YEARS, and no sign of her. I'm literally so scared that she. . . isn't around anymore since she was so depressed. . . but you wouldn't do that, right? . . .
RIGHT???
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Glad you love the story so much!
I actually haven’t decided yet about Rumble’s involvement with that. And that’s actually why I want to go ahead and make a side series with more in-depth looks at what happens during these times. My biggest reason for skipping over them the way I did was so there wouldn’t be so much filler and so I wouldn’t lose motivation getting on with the story. I’m probably gonna start that after a few more chapters of the main story, so keep an eye out.
Also, RD and Soarin are only supposed to be together for 3 years, the timeline changed mid-write
Fixing it now!
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If you say so. I'm praying if she ever fly.
My goodness, this has been he best story I've read in a while! I hope to see more in the future! Especially Foggy... Hope that mare is alright.
Is this story going to get an update?
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Hi there! Yes, it will update very soon after November. I am currently in the last stretch of NaNoWriMo, and spent that time doing a lot of writing for this story. Chapter 23 will probably be up in about a week or so
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Hi there, I’m actually writing a similar story, where, instead of Twilight hatching Spike out of an egg when she was little, she adopts him from an orphanage when she’s an adult.
Spike is also deaf and blind so I need to figure out how Twilight will communicate with him.
I can’t wait for the next chapter of your story to come out.
Even though I truly want more of this story, the latest chapter feels like it could be the end, and I'd have no complaints. Brilliant stuff.
I really wish that I could like this again and again.